Oats of Diets Past, Present, and Future

Yes, yes, I like puns way too much. Aren't I clever?

I made up a Diet Plan table on Google Documents to show my past diet plan, the current plan, and I am working on getting the future one done.

I know this may sound odd, but I am not really at all sure how much food I will want to eat after I get back off the phentermine. A lot of the eating I was doing during my lull in diet loss wasn't so much to feed hunger, but because something was telling me I needed to eat.

The nice thing about the Phentermine is that it helps me get used to smaller amounts of food again. I'm eating half portions for 2 out of 3 meals. (This scares me though, so I will be adding some vitamins to my routine.)

Still, I have serious doubts that I will be able to maintain a 1350-1400 calorie diet and maintain the exercise routine I have managed to stick to for the last week and a half. I may have to revise the plan, but we'll see when the pills run out. I remember in college I was able to eat a similar number of calories but I had to use nicotine as a meal replacement to do so.

Though, this reminds me of another funny thing. In both cases a drug cost was mitigated by the lower cost of groceries. I am buying almost literally half the amount of groceries I was previously. The phentermine is only $45/month supply so the groceries completely offset the cost. (I remember food being so much cheaper when I was broke.) The cigarettes of course were more expensive than buying food and left me feeling terrible. I will ramble about quitting some other time, as this is already "Too long, didn't read".

Slowest Speed-freak ever.

Last month, I gained 13lbs due to poor discpline in my diet. In response, the doctor prescribed phentermine to help get back on track.

Taking a stimulant makes me worry due to the associated heart risks. I suppose due to a lowered cholestrol count (From 207 to 91) that my risk profile is much lower, but still I worry. Of course, I was joking with a friend that I am becoming paranoid about being paranoid (one of the possible side effects).

Another effect, is that I have cut out almost all soda. I made the mistake of drinking a cafeienated soda while on Phentermine only once. It would have been a very productive time, if not for the extreme restlessness the combination caused.

I am trying to use this time to re-establish an exercise routine. I did go out walking 4 days in a row. Then missed 7 in a row. I have also tried using the bike I have up on a trainer (makes a normal bike a stationary bike), but my heart-rate always goes out of control. I have trouble regulating my pulse when I don't see how fast I am going. Though, that may not be the problem either. My heart-rate was always faster on a bike.

Still trying to come up with a good strategy to get exercise back into my daily routine.

Tomorrow, I am going to try riding the bike at a measured pace.