However, that is no excuse for not working out. So, with me being a little more lax on the number of calories I took in, drinking a few beers, and burning a lot less calories – I ended up only losing 1 pound this week. I now weigh in at 204lbs.

I’m not completely upset. A loss is a loss. But I really didn’t want to have “a bad week” on this round of the diet but here it is. I hope this is my worst week as I want to make up for this past week during this next one. My goal remains 3lbs. per week and, on average, I’m still above that at just above 4+lbs. per week so far. But that could quickly fade away.

So, no more resting. I’m planning to have my best week of exercise yet and plan on being down 3lbs. next week. Maybe I’ll even get to 200? We’ll see.

Don’t forget to check in with everyone else on The Diet!

My exercise routine was very thin this week. I need to make it a goal to do something active for at least 30 minutes every single day. I can’t always count on the weather cooperating, especially in the winter, with me wanting to get outside. The only exercise I got this week was 1 session of basketball and 1 session of P90X. My goal for this week is to fill in the gaps of my week with a little something active each day.

I’ve lost 2lbs. this week which means I now weigh 208lbs. I’m happy with this number. I’m not happy I missed my goal but last week I said I wanted to be 207 and I’m 208 – no reason to cry over a pound or to get discouraged. Instead, I’ll make a plan of attack for this week to reach my goal of losing 3.3lbs per week.

You see, each pound I lose represents about 3,500 calories burned or simply not consumed during the course of the week. That is, if my metabolism is working correctly. Right now my body is reacting to the fact that I’m eating less and on a schedule. When my weight began to drop my body through up an alarm tell it to store some fat because obviously food isn’t coming by as easily as it had before. So, my metabolism is slower this week than it was last week (in theory I’m no doctor).

So what is my plan? Besides the 30 minutes (at least) per day of something active I need to jump start my metabolism again. For the first few weeks on this diet I’ve been eating at a regular schedule – 8am, 12pm, and 5pm. This week I’m going to double the amount of times I eat (but eat only small amounts). This will make my body think that I have a ready supply of food and that there is no need to store fat. I hope.

A few other tactics that I’m going to try is to increase my water intake. By drinking the right amount of water every day you actually burn more calories. I think it has something to do with your cells being able to take in energy and getting rid of energy easier if they have the right amount of water. Also, getting enough sleep can help you to lose weight. My sleep schedule this week wasn’t great. I’m going to see if I can get 8hrs. a night this week.

With all of these small adjustments combined: eat more often but the same number of calories, do something active for at least 30 minutes per day, drink the right amount of water, and get a good night’s rest – I know I’ll meet or beat my goal for next week. That is, to be at 205lbs.

Random 60: Watch those calories! | Favorite on Viddler.

Whether you are dieting or not it is always good practice to make sure you watch what you’re taking in. Calories can creep up on you. There are more calories in everyday food than most people would guess. In today’s Random 60 I use the extreme example of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to make a point – that there is a crap load of calories in most food you’d pick up off of the shelf and whoof down before even looking at the nutrition information.

Here are some sites that will either help you track what you’re eating, or generally enlighten you as to how many calories are in some everyday foods.

• If you have an iPhone, try Lose It. It is an application that can help you track your food intake day-to-day.
• If you’re hungry, do not click this link. This Is Why You’re Fat is a Web site that shows you delicious food (read: not food that is generally a good idea to look at if you’re trying to lose weight).
• SugarStacks is a Web site that shows you the number of sugar cubes found in every day foods. Neat idea.

Have you ever been surprised by the number of calories in food compared to the number of calories you thought was in that food? And, do you know any good resources to add to this list?

This approach, it would seem, usually escapes new dieters (which Pat is not). Many people approach a diet by “not eating”. This is horrible. Pat’s approach to only eliminate the amount of calories per day that help him to reach his goal in a healthy way – is the perfect approach to dieting.