Resolution Number 1 - The NO S Diet

13 resolutions - Why 13? The first resolution is to do a resolution every month of the year - the rest are self explanatory. Popular New Year's resolutions include the following - Some of these will be my goals over the next year. Some I have already done. Some I do not need to do.

Lose Weight
Manage Debt
Save Money
Get a Better Job
Get Fit
Eat Right
Get a Better Education
Drink Less Alcohol
Quit Smoking Now
Reduce Stress Overall
Reduce Stress at Work
Take a Trip
Volunteer to Help Others

For my first resolution I have decided to get back on a regular and routine diet. I used to do a 80% / 20% diet. I had great success and I was able to lose a lot of weight. Along with exercise I have been in the best shape of my life. During the work week I eat oatmeal for breakfast, second breakfast (think hobbits), lunch with a pouch of tuna and for afternoon snack. I then have a sensible dinner. This dinner almost always includes grilled chicken and streamed vegetables. That's right - oatmeal 4 times a day. This would seem to be a pretty clean diet by almost all accounts. Where is the problem?

I am able to eat these same meals day after day without difficulty. However, I have recently read that people who eat a limited variety of meals have more frequent and more powerful cravings. This is definitely true with me. As the week progresses I will gradually get into more and more of a calorie deficit and then binge. This has had detrimental effects on my diet.

As I stated, this works for the first part of the week and then breaks down. I become more and more less satisfied after dinner and I start looking for anything to eat. Fortunately, there is rarely anything bad in the house but that does not stop me. Any granola bars, cereal or peanut butter is fair game. At this point I have no regard to serving size. Any cookies or cakes that are at the work place are consumed completely. People know to save me large pieces of cake with lots and lots of icing. I never disapoint! I am hoping that by sticking to a plan, regardless of how simple, I will be able to control my cravings and get back to my goal weight.

I have been a fan of Everyday Systems for quite some time (I used to always listen to the podcast) so I have decided to follow the No-S Diet. It is incredibly simple.

There are just three rules and one exception:

No Snacks
No Sweets
No Seconds

Except (sometimes) on days that start with "S"

My goal is to lose a pound a week for at least the next 12 weeks and weigh in at 155 pounds by my 1/2 Ironman race date on April 5th, 2009. I am going to post my weight and body fat percentage everyday. I weighed 168.2 with +5 % body fat this morning. I use a bio-impedance body fat analyzer that is built into the scale. I have been using this scale for a number of years. And although I do not believe that it is accurate in anyway it is precise. The +5 represents how far I am from my idea body fat percentage.