20 Pound Bet: Week 5 Weigh In

For a background to this post see How I Plan to Lose 20 Pounds and Win the Bet.

Week #5 Weigh-In: -2. Total Loss: –7.

After I posted the ant-Quantified Self post, I decided I didn’t want to continue creating food journals. The purpose of the journals were to keep me away from the foods I overconsume, which were dairy kefir and ice cream. Since starting the journals, that strategy has worked. Now I’ve created a habit. I think I can continue eating in the same manner I have been for the past 5 weeks without the journal. If I stall or begin to gain weight, I can always resume the food journals.

Kimbap by Amanda Wong. Whenever I visit the Korean grocery stores, I usually pick up some kimbap to eat on the ride home. 

Notes:

1. I am down 7 pounds in 5 weeks without restricting carbs. I eat a few pieces of fruit a day. Plus I eat potatoes, rice and rice noodles. I am also still eating dairy in the form of cheese and butter. Post-Paleo indeed.
2. My focus has been to reset my appetite to a lower level via higher protein intake and certain key foods such as raw carrots.
3. I believe I would lose weight faster if I consumed soaked or roasted almonds (not almond butter) in place of cheese, but it might be short lived as I suspect the high levels of PUFA in nuts lower metabolism. Although cheese is calorie dense, it also is metabolically stimulating (according to Matt Stone). Since giving up nuts in late May and increasing my cheese intake, my body temperature is up a full degree.
4. I am still unsure of the role fructose has on appetite. There is so much mixed information out there. I suspect eating apples and pears has helped, but I don’t know.
5. In my bet, I’ve heard one of my competitors is down 4 pounds and another is down 5 pounds. No word from the 4th member.

** UPDATE: the 4th member is down 5 pounds.