The Football Fan’s Diet

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

It is early Monday morning. September is nearly upon us and Autumn will be dawning soon. It is still hot and muggy outside but there is the inevitable sense that the season will be changing. Our English Setter is outside barking at birds she can’t catch. The running shoes are on and I am thinking of exercise. Early morning exercise was a key when this all worked over a year ago now. Maybe it will be the key again.

I am off to the YMCA. If I score a touchdown and tell you about on tomorrow’s posting, you will know the day went well. This week I am focusing on the “day” as a unit of graspable progress; making sure that each precious day is a positive step forward. Making sure that each wonderful day is a productive day and moves me closer toward my goal of winning the “Super Bowl of Health.”

Remember the film Meet The Fockers? Recall the unforgettable scene where Ben Stiller as Greg Focker gave grace at the dinner table? To paraphrase: “Day by day by day. We thank you lord.” I can relate. I need to take this day by day by day.

Time to get my game face on. Time to get the car keys. Time to head over to the gym. See you in 24. In other words, see you in 1 day.

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

PITTSBURGH – Okay, so now I am on the fourth day of actually eating healthy and my weight is finally below my average from last week for a score. Yes, that felt good. The problem is now we have a block party on Saturday and this means a massive cookout of sausage and who knows what. Plus, there will be beer, beer, everywhere. Hmm. This will be most difficult to survive with a score. However, what if? What if I actually was healthy tomorrow and merely just cooked food and talked, etc.?

What a novel idea. Now, if I were to somehow win tomorrow and keep my new found streak going, then that would be like stopping Tom Brady and the Patriots with a first and goal from the 1 yard line. To score tomorrow would be akin to James Harrison intercepting the bowl during the Super Bowl and running it back for a touchdown as the half expires. Dare I dream. Dare I?

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

PITTSBURGH – There is less year remaining then more. There is still time to turn things around. I keep reading those old postings from the one stretch in February of last year that actually worked. Why can’t it simply happen again? Why not?

So here I am on Tuesday morning and my weight is at an all time high. It sucks. I have to figure out something here starting today. I have to figure out how to get back to that time last year.

This new scoring system is freaking scary. I will have to have some amazing days to get this week’s average going back down. Hmm. Maybe it ain’t so great after all. Did I just say that?

Okay what are the drawbacks of it then. Well, I can get the average down low and then the following week it goes high. The, I get it back down low and the following week it goes back high. Then again, it does have its benefits. It can keep you going strong when you get that average going down.

This weekend is the block party and then in a few weeks after that, we should have a new addition to the family here soon. And, here I am at this really fat weight. The fall is approaching and the scary thing is that is the time of the year I almost always gain weight. Yikes. This year is not shaping up well. But, it ain’t over yet.

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

I had a winning week for the first week of the Regular Season, but Sunday I dropped the ball big time. And, perhaps a fairly harsh mechanism of the new scoring system was demonstrated. I got on the scale and because of my caloric transgressions yesterday, I am not only over last week’s average but over the average from the week before as well. Ouch!

I must turn it around. It won’t be easy. In fact, I may have to accept that this week it will surely be nearly impossible to come in under last week’s average—what with such a high score already setting the fat bar even higher this week. Still, I must give it a shot. I must not quit. I must strive to get and be healthy. A lot is riding on that. And, today, becuase of yesterday, I am having trouble finding my gears. Alas, I must.

On a good note, yesterday was Samuel J. De Reno’s official baby shower. Soon Sammy D. will be here. Have to get into shape to keep up with all these kids. Okay, I am now going to drag my ass over to the YMCA and do something. That is right. I am going to do something.

By Matt DeReno
On the FFD

PITTSBURGH – So I have won again on the FFD even though I showed a slight gain in weight the past two days. How then could I be rewarded? Because I am still under my average weight for last week.

This built-in forgiveness is feature that is really nice about this new scoring system. In case you missed most of what this blog is about, The Football Fan’s Diet is sort of like a Weight Watcher’s for men.

Instead of attributing point values for certain food items, we dole out touchdowns and field goals. We compete against ourselves. We give ourselves a victory if we win a week. We track our record over a season with the idea of winning the Super Bowl of health.

Recently, I tweaked the FFD scoring system to simply reward myself for beating my weight average from the week before (though it should be noted the beauty of the FFD is that you can devise your own rules for earning touchdowns and giving them up). See our rules for more details.

So now with the new system in place, I have to beat my last week’s weight average. Yes, this means I have to weigh myself everyday but I am staying on top of my weight by doing so. I have also noticed when I weigh myself, I usually watch what I eat. It is almost like that weight number on the scale is a reminder of how much I have to loose.

What happened today is that I got a touchdown because I am still under that average from last week. Even though I could have surely ate better yesterday, there was still no junk food at night. Yes, I showed a slight gain, but today I have an opportunity to be really healthy and make up for it. To keep that average going down.

On the old system, I would have chalked up a loss for yesterday. Any slight gain is to give up points on the old system. A losing day seems to beget more losing days and then it all seems hopeless. Could a tweak in how I record my scores, result in me actually sticking with The FFD and losing weight? Or is it merely creative weight accounting? Those are legitimate questions for sure.

As tenuous as the weight loss psyche can be, I am inclined to believe that what keeps one motivated can keep one going. There is no creative weigh to record weight and be under that last week’s average. That will be the true test. And, by extension of this scoring system, it will get more and more difficult each progressive week.

Nevertheless, I won 4 days in a row now; 4 consecutive days I have been under that average. I am now inspired to hit the gym and keep it going.

The motivating factors are really in place with this system. When I think back to weeks where there were major events approaching, I was bummed out because in all likelihood it meant a loss on that day.

This system sort of means I can bust my but to keep that average going down for the week and then on the major event day, one so-called lax day of beer and grub might not even matter.

In short, the caloric transgressions of that event will simply have been mitigated across six days of ass kicking at the gym.

Now that is inspiring.

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

PITTSBURGH – The new scoring system seems to have kicked in now and I think I am going to like it. Two days in a row now, I have scored and silenced my fat slob. Yesterday, I even enjoyed a fruit smoothie and a cup of frozen yogurt. I was below the average of last week, so I scored. In actuality, I was below the average from a week ago – though that is something that is interesting to note, I am not ascribing any points to such facts.

The bottom line in the new scoring system is merely to weigh less than my average weight the week before. I can accomplish this no matter how I want. I can go low carbohydrates, calorie control, a little bit of this and a little bit of that…. So long as I beat that average from the week before, I get a touchdown. I get a field goal for adding exercise. I give up a field goal for boozing. On that note, I did booze a bit Sunday night.

I was so happy that I completed the week, I enjoyed a couple beers that were lingering in the fringe. Well, then I was so proud, I polished off a left over bottle of rum – there was not much in it. The next day, I suffered as I should. I remember thinking that anything that gives you the kind of headache I had the next day, can’t be good for you. So, it will be a while before I imbibe in a self-congratulatory act of such nature again.

Today then marks the 3rd day of the regular season. I am off to a good start. The day is my oyster. Today I keep the progress going.

By Matt De Reno
On The FFD

PITTSBURGH – The numbers have lied, but not anymore. I have one more day left on the Preseason part of Season IV of the Football Fan’s Diet. I went back and scored the preseason based on my new formula for doling out touchdowns and field goals (Again, if you have not been following (and judging from the hits, you have not), this is the diet for real men that love football; not the football where you kick a ball, but rather the football where you ram it down the other teams throat and kick up a cloud of dust in the process). It is not pretty.

On the old scoring system, where if I stayed under a certain caloric level I earned a touchdown, I would have had a chance to go 3-2 in the past 5 weeks of preseason. However, the scale showed I gained weight over this period of time. So how in the world if I put in one more good day, could I take a win?

I switched the the weight average system (for lack of a better name). This is I will receive a touchdown each day I beat the average from the week before. I will add a field goal if I exercise above and beyond my normal work day. I will give up touchdown if I don’t beat that average from the week before and I will give up a field goal if I drink beer on any day. This scoring system is much more brutal.

Let us consider the past 5 weeks. Under the weight average system, I lost all 5 weeks. In fact, I got clobbered in week one, 49-0; In week two, it was closer, but no cigar, 14-21; Week three, no dice, 14-28; Week four, 21-28; and finally, week five is just about a loss in the book (though there is one more day), 0-28. Ouch.

Now before I bemoan this new system as too draconian, there are some things about it I really like. For instance, I think it can be more forgiving than the previous scoring system, that is once I get on a winning streak. You see, if there is a big event, say like a picnic or something. So long as I beat the average from the week before, I still might have a “breather day”; have a few dogs and burgers, and still get a score the next day becuase I am down compared to last week. I like that becuase despite having won so much in Season III, I felt it was unforgiving on special events – I felt tortured after a week of hard work. So, if I put in a really good week and the scale goes down, then one somewhat lax day will be merely a blip on the map. Not something that unravels all the work done for the week. Keep in mind, that surely is no license to pig out either. Because, it doesn’t take much to show a big gain the next day.

In any case, the moral of the story is that the Season IV Preseason was absolutley atrocious. I am going to hear it from “Coach” this week. He is going to be rightly pissed off. Who in the hell losses every preseason game? Can I seriously turn it around in the back half of 2010 – heading into what is usually the seasonal weight gain time of the year for me – with the back loaded holiday season approaching, to say nothing of the fact that all the birthdays in our family are mostly from now to the end of the year? It seems impossible that I would win a Super Bowl as I head into the regular season now.

It seems ludicrous to set my goals so high -to be healthy come January 2011; To not suffer a winter like I have in years past; To have the energy and the values of health that are buried in this fat body, which have refused to die, to give up, to quit! Ah, I never quit. I am still going. I know it does not amount to much, but as the regular season begins, I can build on that fact: I have not quit.

I will find a way. I am committed to doing that. There is no good reason I should turn it around now, but I am committed to trying. You see, my weight is my cross to carry and literally it weights almost hundred pounds. Yup, I tipped the scales at 2XX today (I will insert those numbers when my pride can take it.) I need to get down to 1XX. This will be nothing short of a miracle.

I have the new job I wanted. I need the lifestyle to match it. I need the energy and the health to be successful at what I am doing now. To not change, is literally to die an early death from some sort of health related issue derived from carrying the extra weight. I have to figure this thing out and I will. The Regular Season on Football Fan’s Diet Season IV starts Monday, but it started mentally this morning. I hope that makes the Coach happy, but I am sure in for a tongue lashing because the Preseason sucked.

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

PITTSBURGH – Whatever that was turned on last year for me to lose weight is off. I took another step backward yesterday and well, that seems to be par for the course. I am getting really frustrated and maybe that is a good thing. Maybe I need to add some pent up frustration to the fuel mix of my motivation. There must be a way. I mean it seems as if I simply can’t loose a pound. My body does not want me to do so.

However, I think I still have hope. I think being the operative word. I simply can’t let this slide for the worst continue.

It is Friday and I have a lot of writing to do. I have a lot of day to be done. I have to write more business listings and then I have to get out and about and take some more photographs and meet with some more people. It is great, but it is hard to do when one is overweight.

What I am doing now is a job for a skinny guy. For the past years, I had a job for a fat guy. I was a technical writer sitting at home writing about software. Now, I am out there in the world, wandering around like a chicken with its head cut off, only I have a digital camera and Steno pad to help with the bok, bok, boking.

Here is to Friday and here is to hope. I do remember one thing that is not happening that did happen before and that was this willpower. I remember fighting the cravings and I remember getting evening exercise. I have to remember that and bring it back. It has to start today. It must. It will.

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

PITTSBURGH – I am back at the Football Fan’s Diet and it is Wed. afternoon in July. I am sitting in Borders Books in the North Hills in Ross Township to be precise. I have a large coffee in front of me as well as all my writing tools, which today include Netbook (not a notebook), a trusty Steno pad, some pens and a cell phone. And so goes the modern office.

I hit the gym this morning, but I am beat right now. My energy is low. My mental energy as well as my physical. I like coming to Borders. The music is better and it is far tranquil than the Panera Bread down the road. But, my appetite is in check. Is it the 5-HTP supplement? It could be or it could be a coincidence. Only time will tell. The 5-HTP is supposed to put you in a good mood, but this is one of those days where it seems no matter where you step you hit a pile of dog shit (exactly what happened to me this morning when out walking my dog.).

Have I hit a 3-day wall. I hope not, because somehow I have to get some work done today. That is hard to do when your energy is low. I will try to preserve. 5-HTP – don’t fail me now.

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

PITTSBURGH – Yesterday was a good day (not to channel my inner Ice Cube). Well, maybe I should channel my inner Ice Cube, “No smog, no barking from the dog and mommy cooked something with no hog.” I know I butchered that line, but is that really a lyric about eating healthy?

Back to the point. Yesterday was a good day. I exercised. My appetite was under control. Had no beer. It was good. Why? I should start with what I did differently.

I stopped at GNC and buy a bottle of 5-HTP. What is 5-HTP? To be more precise it is 5-Hydroxytryptophan, a naturally occurring amino acid that sort of aids the production of serotonin and melatonin.

Now for the less medical description: it can help you stop eating like a pig if you are prone to eating like a pig. You see, I am prone to eating like a pig. Not all the time, but every so often enough that it can undo all my health efforts built up over days at a time. So, I am giving it a shot. Are there any side effects? I am sure there are, but don’t ask me about them – ask your doctor. I am just a football fan.

I will say this. If there are side effects, well, I might have to way those risks with the risks that are staring me in the face from being an overweight slob. Heart attack? Stroke? Bail out early on the world? Well, that is all there for the taking if I don’t loose this weight now. So, I’ll take my chances.

Another reason I am interested in 5-HTP is that it also promotes good sleep patterns, a positive mood and satiety. I am firmly convinced that overeating in general is as much as a psycho issues as it is a physical one. When you know what to do, but you can’t do it, then it is your brain, baby, that got some confused thing going on about health. It could be it needs to get it snack on with some herbal supplements like 5-HTP. But anyways, well see how that goes. I have to try something different becuase what I am trying now is simply not getting it done.

Hopefully this critical self-analysis will appease my Inner Football Coach. He has been none to pleased with my progress in the preseason. Lastly, if you have any experience using 5-HTP as a natural supplement to controlling your appetite, then I would love to hear from you. Hey, you can even post a comment right here on this site.