Robert Domingo

Sleep: Not sure when I went to sleep. Woke up around 9:30 AM. I think I was woken up around 1:30 AM by a notification on my iPhone warning about potential flooding  (I probably wouldn't have heard this if my iPhone was in my kSafe.)

Lunch: Plumcots x 2 from FreshDirect

Snack: Curried Chicken Salad from FreshDirect, Painterland Sisters Blueberry Lemon yogurt, Spindrift Lime

Nap: Fell asleep while watching podcasts in bed. 

Fitness: None. Woke up at 6 PM. Had a 7 PM call scheduled with my cousin. Decided not to go rucking, didn't want to do yoga. I need to get back to the gym.

Dinner: Wonder, Yasas, Build-Your-Own (White Rice, Chicken Souvlaki x 2, Spicy Pepper & Feta Spread, Tzatziki, Toum, Roasted Broccoli, Feta Cheese, Avocado, Lemon Vinaigrette); Spindrift Lime

Snack: Curried Chicken Salad from FreshDirect, Pineapple, Spindrift Lime
"Midnight" (more like ~2 AM) snacking w/ podcasts

Sleep: Went to sleep after 2 AM. Woke up around 7:45 AM. I listened to podcasts while trying to fall asleep.

Breakfast: Curried Chicken Salad from FreshDirect, Painterland Sisters Meadow Berry Yogurt, 

Lunch: Curried Chicken Salad from FreshDirect x 2, Pineapple

Dinner: Wonder, Yasas, Build-Your-Own (White Rice, Chicken Souvlaki x 2, Spicy Pepper & Feta Spread, Tzatziki, Toum, Pickled Red Onions, Feta Cheese, Diced Avocado, Lemon Vinaigrette), Spindrift Lemon, Spindrift Grapefruit, Spindrift Lime

Fitness: Rucking, 47 minutes total

Sleep: Didn't get to bed until around 1:40 AM. A long nap in the early evening plus staying up late to watch Alex Eala's 1st round tennis match at the U.S. Open wasn't ideal for sleep. Woke up at 2:25 AM and went to read on my Kindle in my bedroom chair. Am I starting to build a habit of needing the Kindle to fall asleep? Woke up to a 9:30 AM alarm of my iPhone still in the kSafe.

Lunch: Grilled chicken from FreshDirect, Spindrift Lime

Fitness: Rucking, 35 minutes

Dinner: Wonder, Yasas, Build-Your-Own (White Rice, Chicken Souvlaki x 2, Roasted Broccoli, Avocado, Crumbled Feta, Tzatziki, Red Pepper & Feta Spread, Toum, Lemon Vinaigrette); Spindrift Grapefruit, Spindrift Lemon, Bai Rubi Raspberry Lemon Lime

Snack: Painterland Sisters Blueberry Lemon Yogurt, Spindrift Lime

Sleep: Went to bed around 11:30 PM. Locked away my iPhone and iPad in the kSafe. Used my sleep mask. Got up a little after midnight to read on my Kindle, maybe for a half hour, then went back to bed. Woke up around 7:30 AM.

MEASUREMENTS (1st of the month)

Mar 1 (last time I took these measurements) -> Sep 1 
Right upper arm (mid-bicep) 15 -> 15
Left upper arm (mid-bicep) 14 -> 15.5
Waist (horizontal at navel) 43.5 -> 49.5
Hips (at widest point below waist) 41.5 -> 45
Right leg (mid-thigh) 21 -> 22
Left leg (mid-thigh) 21 -> 23.5
Total Inches 156 -> 170.5 (Up 14.5 inches since Mar 1)

It's even worse if I go back to my best month of August 2025:

Aug 1, 2025 -> Sep 1, 2026
Right upper arm (mid-bicep) 13.5 -> 15
Left upper arm (mid-bicep) 12.5 -> 15.5
Waist (horizontal at navel) 40.5 -> 49.5
Hips (at widest point below waist) 38.5 -> 45
Right leg (mid-thigh) 19.5 -> 22
Left leg (mid-thigh) 19.5 -> 23.5
Total Inches 144 -> 170.5 (Up 26.5 inches since Mar 1)

Breakfast: Painterland Sisters yogurt, Plain; Pineapple

Lunch: Wonder, Yasas, Build-Your-Own (White Rice, Chicken Souvlaki x 2, Spicy Pepper & Feta Spread, Tzatziki, Toum, Roasted Broccoli, Feta Cheese, Diced Avocado, Lemon Vinaigrette); Pineapple; Spindrift Lemon, Spindrift Grapefruit, Spindrift Lime

Nap

Fitness: Yoga For Brain Power | 12-Minute Home Yoga Practice
I was originally going to ruck, but somehow forgot to put on my Rucker 4.0 before leaving to do errands. It's been a while since I've practiced yoga with Yoga With Adriene. Picked one of the videos from her playlist of 10-20 minute practices. There's always a point during the practice when I ask myself, "Are we done yet?" but I'm happy at the end. I'm glad I have Yoga With Adriene as one of my fitness options.

Dinner: Curried Chicken Salad; Painterland Sisters yogurt, Meadow Berry; Spindrift Lime

• This week is what I've been calling my "Launch Week," though I've been eating about 90% according to my plan since the middle of last week.
• I can't find my WHOOP and don't know how long/how well I slept last night. But I locked away my iPhone and iPad in my kSafe before bed, setting the timer for 6 hours. I also used my sleep mask. I woke up maybe once during the night to pee. I'll see if I can do a better job of "manual" sleep tracking.
• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs. I've already made my first exception, as the recipe includes mayo, though I didn't use butter.
• Lunch: Grilled chicken from FreshDirect, Painterland Sisters Organic Skyr Yogurt, Vanilla Bean, Spindrift Lime
• Fitness: Rucking for 41 minutes with 30 lbs. of plates with my Rucker 4.0. (GoRuck is now on the Rucker 5.0.) For me, rucking is a good way to get some fitness in, even if I'm just doing errands.
• Dinner: Wonder, Yasas, Build-Your-Own-Bowl (White Rice, Chicken Souvlaki x 2, Eggplant, Tzatziki, Toum, Roasted Broccoli, Feta Cheese, Diced Avocado, Lemon Vinaigrette) , Spindrift Lemon, Spindrift Grapefruit. (no photo)
• Good start to my Launch Week.

• 

  

  

My biggest takeaway from the Introduction is that I need to prepare in advance for challenges/rough patches.

Beck asked the dieters who she works with what they now know about dieting that they wished they'd known years ago.

Some of the words of wisdom from Beck's clients which particularly resonated with me:

• "When I'm tempted to eat something I shouldn't, I need to pull out my list that contains all the reasons I want to lose weight"
• "Just because I'm hungry doesn't necessarily mean I should eat"
• "Cravings always go away, and there are things I can do to make them go away faster. I don't have to give in to them."
• "I have to prepare in advance for sabotaging thinking"
• "I need to give myself credit every time I do what I'm supposed to do."

On to Chapter 1...

Thoughts on the Foreword

OVERALL STRATEGY

"What?" means "What do I eat?" and "What don't I eat?"

"What?" means "What are my constraints?"

There need to be some guardrails.

Eating anything and everything isn't working!

I want to make this as easy on myself as possible.

I want to be able to know right away, that's "allowed" and that's "not allowed."

I don't want to always have to negotiate, "Can I have this? Is this on the diet?"

Ideally, not too many rules and exceptions, I don't want to make it too complicated.

ALLOWED

What diet am I going to follow?

The "protein and vegetables diet!" LOL

• Protein
• Chicken
• Beef
• Turkey
• Pork
• Eggs
• Beans
• Tofu
• Beyond Burger/Beyond Breakfast Sausage and related products (Impossible, veggie burgers)
• Protein powder
• Nuts
• Fish (very little, because of mercury concerns)
• Vegetables
• Rice
• Potential issues with lettuce/salads in the U.S. right now
• Base for lunch/dinner bowls
• Satisfying
• White or brown
• Dairy
• Spicy feta and tzatziki yogurt sauce at Mediterranean-inspired fast casual lunch places
• Cheese at a party, but not crackers
• Tahini adds dairy-like creaminess to Mediterranean bowls
• Fruit
• Drinks
• Water
• Tea
• Spindrift (Lime is my favorite)
• LMNT (electrolyte packets, Pink Lemonade is my current favorite)
• Bai (Brasilia Blueberry is my favorite)
• Seltzer water 
• Mas+ if I can find it

NOT ALLOWED

• Noodles
• Pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine alfredo)
• Ramen
• Bread
• Bagels
• Sandwiches
• Pita bread/pita chips
• Naan
• Rolls
• Tortillas, wraps
• Quesadillas w/ sour cream
• Pizza
• Mac and cheese
• Mozzarella sticks, and other foods with fried breading
• Potatoes (Sweet potatoes and yams are OK)
• French fries
• Waffle fries
• Potato wedges
• Mashed potatoes
• Crispy potatoes
• Tater tots
• Home fries
• Hummus
• This is one of my biggest "domino" foods (h/t 4-Hour Body)
• Especially tubs of hummus with crackers or chips
• Falafel, chickpeas
• Nut butters (easy for me to overdo it)
• Corn
• Tortilla chips, Tostitos, Fritos, Cheetos
• Corn salsa
• Sugar
• Brownies
• Cookies
• Brookies (brownie + cookie)
• Crookies (croissant + cookie)
• Cheesecake
• Gatorade
• Lemonade
• Ginger ale
• Soda
• Other sugary drinks
• Restaurant meals may have hidden sugar, I'm not expecting myself to be 100% perfect
• Processed foods (anything in a bag, box, jar, can, or tube, h/t Dr. Alejandro Junger)
• Exceptions for pantry staples like cooking oil or salt
• Condiments
• Olive oil
• Mayo
• Ketchup
• Coffee (my personal preference)
• Alcohol (my personal preference)

MONTHLY SPECIAL OCCASIONS

I'm not going to say "I'm never having pizza again."

"Never again" is hard, and probably counter-productive for me.

For me, daily, weekly, or biweekly "cheat days" are too frequent.

I'll have "monthly special occasions" instead.

• Not a regular delivery option (Wonder, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, etc.)
• Not an "everyday indulgence," like a pizza from the neighborhood pizzeria
• Ordinary
• Too easy
• Not special enough
• Ideally with family or friends
• Requires planning
• Opportunity to add to my life experiences while living in NYC
• Ideally something I haven't tried before, but I can return to an old favorite
• Hopefully a monthly cadence will help lower the volume of the voices in my head that want me to indulge

Examples of monthly special occasions:

• Birthday party
• Anniversary dinner
• Wedding
• Michelin-star restaurants
• 50th birthday dinner at NYC Wine and Food Festival with Food Network star chef Maneet Chauhan
• A restaurant on a "Best of NYC" list

CASE STUDY: CHIPOTLE

• Bowl
• White rice 
• Chicken, steak, barbacoa, or a limited-time option like Honey Chicken or Carne Asada
• Pinto beans or black beans
• Medium salsa 
• Fajita vegetables
• Cheese
• Guacamole
• No chips
• No soda or juice

You learned them in grade school.

I call them the Fundamental Questions of food/diet/nutrition.

• Who?
• What? (I'm going to combine What? and Which?)
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• How?

For me, "What?" is the most important Fundamental Question, but I'd like to briefly address the other ones in this overview.

Who?

I don't mean "Who do you eat?" -- though that would be funny! (The Cannibalism Diet -- it's high protein!)

I mean "Who do you eat with?"

I'm currently single, so the vast majority of my meals will be solo meals.

"Who?" might matter if I was in a relationship, and my partner and I had very different diets.

"Who?" also relates to social situations, which I'll cover when I get to "Why?"

Where?

I remember from the Ocean's Eleven director's commentary that Brad Pitt's character was always eating on the move.

I don't have a huge problem with eating all my meals while standing up or walking.

"Where?" could also refer to eating lunches somewhere other than your work desk, or eating dinners at the dinner table vs. your couch.

When?

To me, this mostly refers to the concept of intermittent fasting.

I've used a "12 hour window" before (for example, if I stopped eating at 8 PM, I couldn't start eating again until 8 AM the next day.)

This could also mean consistent meal times during the day.

I'm probably not going to worry so much about "When?," as I expect that "What?" will be much more challenging for me.

Why?

We eat for so much reasons besides nutrients and calories.

• Emotional eating
• Stress (eating as medication, h/t Institute for Integrative Nutrition)
• Boredom (eating as entertainment, h/t IIN)
• Mental strain (h/t MyBodyTutor)
• Happiness, celebration
• Social situations - parties, dates, business dinners, going out with friends
• Travel/vacations
• Special occasions - birthdays, holidays, anniversaries

These require their own strategies, which I'll cover in future posts.

How?

There are approaches to nutrition that focus on how you eat:

• Chewing every bite 50+ times
• Putting your fork down between bites
• Mindfulness, Fullness Scale, asking yourself "Am I actually hungry?" (h/t MyBodyTutor)

There's also "How much?", which is a world that many of us are familiar with:

• Calories
• Macros - protein, carbs, fat
• Tracking everything you eat
• Taking photos of what you eat

It kinda sucks to have to do this! LOL!

What next?

I think for now, I'm going to focus on "What?" and "Why?" to get to 155 lbs. 

I will probably have to do a lot more of the tracking in "How much?" to get to 15% body fat. 

We'll see...