I was seeing way too many "3s."  Was this a sign?  I then started looking at the Slim Fast Diet plan at Target and thought I would give it a try.  2 shakes a day and a sensible dinner?  Sounded interesting so I tried it.

I started off nicely.  I had a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, and a lean cusine or weight watchers smart ones frozen meal for dinner.  I was losing about 2 pounds a day which was very motativating for me.  I also began walking and jogging after work each day.

On May 2, 2004, my grandmother died of a stroke which made this more of a challenge for me but actually gave me more motivation to get better fit.

Sara and I were then just invited by Capstone down to The University of Maryland, South Campus Commons for an interview which took away some of my job security issues and stress.  Sara and I decided to move on with Capstone and leave UConn.

By early June, I had already lost close to 40 pounds and a lot of people really began to notice which was very motivational.

By the end of June when we left Connecticut  for Maryland I had lost almost 60 pounds.  When I arrived at Maryland, they almost did not recognize me as being the same person who interviewed back in early May.

After a while I began to get tired of the Slim Fast shakes and switched to the meal replacement bars which actually filled me up more.  I also began to eat more salads with chicken and tuna in them.

I then discovered EAS Carb Control Bars and Atkins Advantage Bars.   Which filled me up a lot!

By November of 2003, I was 165 pounds, which was almost half my previous body weight.

For the next few months I stayed around 165-180 and started eating more regular foods.  In January of 2004, Sara and I left Capstone due to the changes in management and worked at The University at Buffalo.  In March of 2004, I started intense training for running a marathon.  I focused my diet on oatmeal and EAS Carb Control Bars.  I did this for about 6 months and got down to 145 pounds.  I then fractured my upper left fibula which stopped me from running for about 7 weeks.  I was basicially training too hard.  I was up to 10 miles a day at 10MPH.  I quickly recovered from this injury.

I slowed down this intense training and I now only run about 3-4 miles a day at various interval speeds from 5-9MPH as well as weight train and swim.  I also just started the ABS Diet which is not really a diety but more of a life weight maintenance plan.  So far it is going really good.  I mainly eat: Oatmeal. Apples, Oranges, Bananas, Spinach, Berries, Peanut Butter, Olive Oil, Milk, Whey Protein Powder, Ricotta Cheese, Green Tea, Coffee, Water, Turkey, Yogurt, Fish, Chicken, Wheat Bread, and Cottage Cheese.  I eat 6 small meals a day (5am, 10am, 12noon, 3pm, 5pm, and 8pm). 

I have been staying around 150-160 very sucessfully and feel much stronger and fit.

UPDATE (January / February 2005): I have been sticking with the ABS Plan for about 4 months but just injured my upper left Burser (Bursitis of the Hip).  This has limited me from running over the two months.  I hope to begin running again in March and compete in my first 10K (6.2 miles) and 1/2 Marathon's (13 miles) this coming spring and summer in Cedar Falls, Iowa!  It has been a challenge maintaining my weight without being able to run every day.  Once in Iowa, I will try to get into swimming, strength training, and biking.

UPDATE (December 2007): It's been a while since this has been updated, but since January/February 2005 I have moved to Forest City, IA to work and teach at Waldorf College. I did that for almost two years before moving out to Ellensburg, WA where I am the General Manager of a 504 bed brand new Apartment Complex. In Forest City, IA I continued to upset my bursitis and ended up gaining a lot of weight (up to just over 200 pounds). Since then I have focused more on fruits and vegetables while still staying close to the ABS Diet and drastically started to lose weight. This was in August of 2006. Currently, I am about 130-135 pounds and have kept this for over a year now. I have also toned down my running and training. I must be getting old! :)

Here is my updated ABS Plan:

This is an eating lifestyle not a “DIEt.!”  The key here is to eat at these times (every 2-3 hours with lots of fiber one before you go to bed since this could be the longest you go without eating sometimes, of course it is hard to eat like this when on the road or not at home) to keep your metabolism going and fat burning. 

It’s basically the ABS Diet modified into my own plan. I try to stay with 2000 calories a day with NO fat and NO refined sugar. It is a very high protein and fiber diet.

Breakfast:

 3-4am:            1 Frozen Banana and Brewed Coffee.

5am:               1 Protein Shake (Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein Powder) 1 cup of milk, ice, yogurt, frozen fruit, blender).

6am:               Exercise (run, swim, bike, squats, crunches, weights, tread mill, elliptical, etc.)

7am:               Low Glysemic  Fifty50 Oatmeal with flax seed

8am:               1 whole grapefruit

10am:             1 hard-boil egg and no fat cheese stick, and coffee.

11-12noon     Tortilla wrap with turkey, 1 orange, 1 protein shake (same as and see above).

1pm:               Apple and green tea

3pm:               Carrots, Celery, and grapes.

5pm:               Coffee and either a dry apricot or prune.

6pm:               Spinach salad (leaf) with either packet of tuna, salmon, crab, shrimp, grilled chicken, or clams. Add spices, salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper, etc.

6:30pm:          1 Pear

7:00pm           1 Apple

8:00pm           1 protein shake (same as and see above).

9:00pm           Fiber One Cereal 

9:30pm           1 small Apple

10pm              Bed

 It might be a good idea to make a lot of the protein shake so you can just pour it 3 times a day to save time. I need to start doing this, but I like it fresh in the blender which challenges this. You will probably need less sleep with this eating plan lifestyle. Depending on the season you may want to change up the fruits and veggies to your liking (i.e. apricots, plums, nectarines, etc.). Always use either splenda, sweet n low or equal (no sugar). Never eat any white bread, potatoes, or rice!