Just to make sure y’all know: this blog will no longer see new posts (after this one). I’ll be updating at:

The Shrinking Man

Please update your bookmarks accordingly. Thanks for your eyeballs (unless you poked one out at play — you know what your mom always said), and join me at my new home. It’s nice, clean and has that new-car smell!

Again, the new blog is at:

The Shrinking Man

I normally don’t channel Britney Spears, but her song title really applies here.

I did it again … as in, I lied again.

I had no idea it was so easy to import and export blogs here at WordPress. It took me all of 5 minutes to do the export/import thing (and register a new blog at the same time). So all of the old posts are now at the new blog.

By the way, here’s the title:

The Shrinking Man

My reaction to it? I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me.

So bye bye, GizmoSherpa. You’ve been good to me. Now I’m on to The Shrinking Man. Please visit my new blog, as this one has officially been de-activated. I will keep the old posts up here, though, for as long as WordPress lets me.

… about posting once before I move to a new blog (and take all of my stuff with me, because it is my stuff, ya know).

I’m actually going to write two postings. One (this one) is the one I promised on a great protein mix that I’m using in conjunction with Smart for Life compliant, while exercising at the same time. The other will be an update on my weight loss after two weeks of exercising while on the Smart for Life (S4L) program. The question I’ll be answering is: Can you actually lose weight and exercise while being on S4F, considering that they all but forbid you to exercise while on it?

All right, here we go on the protein mix.

First off, it is pretty much fat free (1% total fat, 0.5% saturated fat per serving). It is also sugar free. It has no lactose — yay, no bloating! And it has 50g of protein — you read that right, 50 friggin’ grams of protein — per serving. Best of all, it actually tastes good.

It’s from Nature’s Best, and the specific line is called Zero Carb Isopure. (No, I don’ make any $$ of of those links. Just sayin’.)

I am currently plowing through a honkin’ huge 3 lb. container of the stuff. Creamy Vanilla is how I roll. Actually, I put a serving of mix in a shaker cup, fill it up with Crystal Light’s new Sunrise line in the Orange flavor (already made and ready to drink on its own) and ice, and go to town.

When you make it like this, the drink tastes like a Creamsickle. Really. Seriously. We’re not talking “I choke it down while I convince myself it tastes like a Creamsickle” taste. We’re talking “This tastes like a Creamsickle! Damn!” kind of thing.

I’ve also had it with Crystal Light’s Tangerine Strawberry flavor in the Sunrise line, and it’s got a similar kick-butt taste. The Sunrise line also has a Ruby Red Grapefruit flavor, but I’m not so sure how that would work with it. If you try it (or try other flavors with it), let me know.

I’ve even heard of people putting teaspoons of it in their coffee, just to get a little extra protein. Supposed to be good that way, too. If I was a “cream in my coffee” kind of guy, I’d try it like that. Alas, I am not.

Of course, you can mix it with just water, too. And as you’d probably not expect, it tastes really good on its own in plain ol’ H2O.

There’s a variety of flavors available, and I’d be willing to bet they’re all good. I’ll probably try more in the future, and when I do, I’ll let you know what I think of it in future postings (at the future blog, of course).

With S4L, I’m most definitely drinking my power orange drink after exercise. This way, I’m pre-burning the 210-220 calories the protein powder provides, so it’s basically a net zero kind of thing to my body. But I get the benefit of muscle-building and metabolism turbo-charging protein after the exercise.

Last week, my exercise was walking the dogs every day for at least 30 minutes. This week, I’m doing formal exercising 2 days (I’m traveling, which will cut down from the 3 a week I’d normally do) and walking the dogs every day while I’m in town. Plus, I’ll be doing a lot of walking, etc., while I’m at the conference I’m going to, so I’m not worrying about exercising then.  

The cool thing about doing this is that I believe the extra protein is supercharging my metabolism, so I’m losing weight when I’m not exercising. That’s kind of the “in” thinking nowadays among those in the know of these things. And I’m convinced that S4L doesn’t provide enough protein for people who want to be active, like myself. This, of course, may be by design by them — after all, they don’t want you exercising, because of the low caloric intake you have while you’re on the program.

As I’ve said before, I’m doing this on my own. I’m definitely running afoul of S4L on this, and I’m not recommending it for others. But I’ve spoken with a medical professional familiar with S4L about this, and that person thinks I should be fine doing it like this. Of course, the true test will be on the scale and in my clothes. As I said, I’ll definitely update my progress on this new way of doing things  … probably next week.

If someone were to ask me if I recommend doing this, I’d only tell them that they should talk with their own S4L doctor about it, and maybe point the doc to this blog. I would suggest, though, to get some weight off before exercising. That’s what I did. But now, I’m ready to start exercising. I’m just trying to fit it in with S4L as much as possible, because I still believe in the program.

Thanks for sticking with me as the blog goes through transition. I appreciate it.

Wow, I’ve been busy. Tres busy. Too busy (so far) to make the move I said I would do in the blog entry below this one. My apologies about that. I know you’ve probably come across blogs that apologize about not posting, and think, “wow, that’s lame.” But mine is sincere, so the lameness is gone! Kind of.

In fact, I’m just dipping in here now very quickly, as we have really high winds here today and the power has already gone out twice on me. Hopefully, it’ll stay up long enough for me to post this.

For those keeping score, I’m still on Smart for Life, and have now lost almost 55 pounds. That’s in about 4 months’ time. Not bad, eh? I’m back into clothes I haven’t been able to fit into for quite a while. I’ve already had a suit and some pants taken in, and I’ve got two blazers I like but are too big, so they’re up next on the tailor’s form. Plus, I’ve gone through two belts. We’re talking gone completely through two belts. Yee hah!

We were on a cruise a few weeks back, and I gained a bit of weight back (not nearly as much as I would have back in the “bad old days” of out-of-control eating and drinking, though). But just 2 weeks later, after re-starting Smart for Life and “hitting it hard” when we came back, I’m back down to the weight I was just before I left. Phew.

Now I’m at a bit over 270, and want to be at 255 by my birthday (at the end of next month). That’s 15 pounds in 5-ish weeks, which I think is doable. Then my next goal is another 30 pounds off by July 4th (225). 30 in just over 2 months? Doable wit’ a capital D.

One really, really good thing about Smart for Life is that you can fairly easily hop right back on the horse if you fall off. We’ve had a few short periods of cheating, including the cruise. But picking up this good “habit” happens in just a few days (after you get through that “I could eat a horse. And a house” feeling). And the quick weight loss really reinforces the plan itself.

And when we do cheat, we act like people who are already at goal. So we really watch what we eat, etc., so that the “cheat” really isn’t all that bad in the first place. And you know something? It works. When we do “cheat” like that, we don’t gain weight; we maintain our weight. Which tells me that when we’re done with losing it, we’ll be able to keep it off this time.

The not-so-good thing? Smart for Life’s cookie quality has gone down. I mean, really down. The chocolate ones used to be pretty darn good; lately, they’ve been really dry and not all that tasty. At our local clinic in D.C., they told us that their corporate HQ had switched bakers — I’m guessing an ill-advised cost-cutting move on corporate’s part. The good news is that they are now switching back to the original one that made the yummy cookies, which is a really great move. This is not the easiest diet to stay on, and you really need to have something that tastes good if you’re going to replace breakfast and lunch with 6 cookies.

A new thing with S4L, meantime, is that they are starting to encourage exercise. Not too much, mind you. But I guess they’ve had a lot of people like me, who complained about not being able to exercise as we lost weight and really started to feel good. So all this week, I’ve been walking at least 30 minutes with my dogs, which has also helped with my weight loss, too.

I will do at least one more blog entry (before moving), about getting more protein into your system on a daily basis, without really violating the S4L principles. Basically, I don’t think that the amount of protein in 6 cookies is enough for me, even with a protein-dominated dinner. I’ve found a really good, lactose-free, fat-free protein powder that absolutely kicks butt when mixed with Crystal Light Sunrise orange flavor. Tastes just like a Creamsickle, I swear. So I’ll detail my strategy behind it, and the results I’ve been getting.

Of course, I’m only telling you what works for me. I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist, and I’m not recommending you do anything. Your mileage may vary. Actual results may differ. Insert your favorite commercial disclaimer/cliche here.

If you want to check out what has kept me so busy, visit my company’s new “baby,” Sibdu. It’s all about commercial real estate search, but it flips the idea on its. Basically, it reverses the very process of search itself. We call it “Search by Request.” When you go to the site, you’ll see why. And of course, we blog there as well, at Sibdu Blog. Pretty cool stuff, actually.

Oops, another power dip. Gotta run. I promise to get a new domain here @ WordPress (somewhere) and blog away about my weight loss experiences, though. Please bear with me.

…and we’re movin’ to Beverleeee…

After much deliberation, I’ve decided I’m going to change the focus of my blogging efforts. I’m changing from being an all-tech kinda guy to focusing on just my experiences with the Smart for Life (S4L) program.

This means I’ll be closing down GizmoSherpa for the new blog. Why? Well, doing a gizmo-related site would have been very time consuming. And after examining the blog landscape, I determined that there are plenty of other people out there covering the same thing…and doing it well.

Fear not, though. I’ll not only keep the current blog up for as long as I can, I’ll post an update for where I’m going, Web address-wise, as I haven’t decided as to a name for the new blog yet.

Sudden thought - if you have an idea for a new name, please post it in the Comments section. I’d really appreciate it. So far, I’ve come up with “Smart for Life Guy,” “Smart for Life Life” (search engines won’t like that one) and “Living on Six Cookies a Day” (which, actually, isn’t technically correct, but it is rather darned catchy, eh?).

Meantime, I’m doing very well on the Smart For Life  program. I’m up to 35 lbs. lost, and it is still doing very well. Thanks for asking, crinklynose!

…that I haven’t updated recently. With work and the holidays, I’ve been too busy. I’ve commented in the article below about my progress. Let’s just say that I’m still doing well, especially considering it is the holidays.

I’m fully planning on posting more after the holiday season. I’m also considering doing a few things that will take this blog to new heights. Thanks.

Completely forgot to update with my stats from yesterday; apologies for that. That’s why I’m posting so late - I had your basic “ohmygod” thought before hitting the pillow tonight.

One word describes it all - wow!

Here are my new stats:

Weight: 310 lbs.
Weight Loss, week-over-week: 15 lbs.
Weight Loss, month: 15 lbs.
Weight Loss, total: 15 lbs.

(Sorry ’bout all of the repeating, but I’ll continue to keep track like this in the future, so those numbers will change).

When I said “wow,” I was actually repeating everyone’s reaction at the local Smart for Life office. No one could believe I lost that much weight (not even me!).

While that’s an amazing number, I know it will be smaller in coming weeks (even next week). But what a start, eh? I have to admit, I’m kinda proud of myself.

Well, off to bed now - I’ll post more on Monday or Tuesday.

By the way: As I get busier in my consulting gig and other Web-related things, I’m thinking about ending this blog’s gizmo-based focus and moving just the weight-loss stuff over to a new blog (either here or at a Web property I’m looking at buying). If you have any thoughts on this, please leave them in the Comments section. Thanks.

Day 5, and the muscle cramps have gone away. It’s definitely not good to have your arm essentially vapor lock on you so you can’t move it! Thank good ness they’re gone.

I also spoke with the doctor at the local Smart for Life office (here’s the national company’s Web site). I’ve got to tell you, it’s really nice to have a doctor there with you, every step along the way. They get an “EE” from me (exceeds expectations).

Read on for my experience…

My wife had e-mailed the Cookie Diet office earlier yesterday morning about a few different topics — most non-health related. But she did tell them about my headaches and cramps.

We got a call back the same day from them, asking me to call the doctor there as soon as I could. They didn’t make it sound like an emergency, but they did want me to call. When I did late yesterday afternoon, I got right through to her. That never happens with my normal doctor, that’s for darn sure.

The headaches and cramps do happen, she told me, mainly because this diet has a diuretic effect on people. People lose potassium on the diet. She suspected my potassium level has plunged, which I kinda figured, too. I started taking potassium supplements yesterday, and my problems have gone away.

Just to make sure, though, she’s going to run an electrolyte test on me tomorrow, when I come into the office for weigh-in and more cookies.

One other thing I like about this program is that supplements and blood tests are all a part of the fee you pay, which is really nice (and another thing my doctor’s office doesn’t do).

I am now totally sold on this program, based on their great response of yesterday. I know they’re very busy at our local branch/franchise, but the way they handled my situation yesterday speaks highly of them — especially when we weren’t even expecting any kind of response. Exceeding expectations. That’s what great companies do.

My first weigh-in is tomorrow. I’ll post my results. I know I’ve lost weight; it’ll be interesting to see how much!

Well, today begins Day 4 of the Smart for Life diet — otherwise known as the Cookie Diet (link goes to my local DC office). While I’d call the overall experience “mixed” right now, there’s lots of room for hope. Around 140 lbs. worth of room.

What’s more, I’m not giving up.

In a nutshell: I was really hungry throughout Day 1, Day 2 brought with it some nausea, and Day 3 featured a headache that just wouldn’t go away. Plus I cramped up the night of Day 3 and this morning.

The real encouragement comes from my wife, though. She’s got energy, is not having any of the symptoms I’m having, and is really loving the diet.

At least with me, I generally experience these symptoms just one to two days, and then they go away. I think I’m having a tougher time adjusting than my wife. But that’s okay, seeing that this is only Day 4 and they warned us that the first week could be kinda rough. With symptoms quickly coming and going, I’m sure this will soon be just a memory.

Now, here’s the positive stuff: I can already get my belt in another notch, one of my watches that is a pain-in-the-tuckus to adjust is fitting better, and my wedding ring slips on and off much easier than it did a week ago. That latter point is really important, as the ring was getting so tight I wasn’t wearing it that often.

Bottom line - I’m not sure how much I’ve lost so far, but I know I’ve lost it. It’s probably that “water weight” that everyone talks about, but at this point I don’t care. I wish I knew how much I’ve lost so far, but…

You all probably saw my weight when I first started. Unfortunately, I can’t keep track of my weight at home because I’m just a bit too heavy for the scale (it tops out at 300 lbs.). Actually, that’s going to be my first true “milepost” on this diet; the day when I can actually weigh myself on the home scale. I’ll be celebrating with…um…ah… an extra glass of water (?) that day.

Plus, getting to 300 lbs. will be a different kind of milestone in and of itself. It’s just a hair away from a 10% reduction in weight for me, which brings all kinds of good benefits with it. Don’t believe me? Here’s what a high-falutin’ doctor says:

(Dr.) Eisenson notes that men and women who lose 10 percent or more of their total body weight can see medically significant improvements in their health. “We do know that 10 percent weight loss typically leads to improvements in diabetic control, and reduces the risk of progression from prediabetes to diabetes. It also helps reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels,” Eisenson said.

So 10% loss gets a big w00t from me! And it looks like I’ll be there really soon (298 lbs. is the magic number). Plus, because of how percentages work, the next 10% won’t require as much weight loss as the first 10%, and it’ll keep trending in that direction. One of the few times I actually love math!

A side note: I’ve noticed that people are coming here based on searches for Smart for Life. If you have any questions, etc., please feel free to post them in the Comments section. Thanks.

There’s another two words you wouldn’t normally see in the same sentence. But that’s the idea behind a diet (you may have heard of) that’s combines cookies with a low-calorie, low-fat diet that has you eating at least seven times a day.

Read on after the break…

Today’s the first day my wife and I are starting it. It’s the Smart for Life diet, and it is unique in several ways:

1. You eat these cookies (and most of them are really good) at least 6 times a day, depending on your height. They’re full of fiber and protein, and nothing bad like sugar. Lots of water is also a requirement.
2. You also eat a small dinner consisting of a low-fat protein (no beef or pork) and either two veggies or a salad and veggies. There is a list of good and bad foods to follow, too. You’re supposed to equal about 800 calories a day, for fast weight loss.
3. You have weekly weigh-ins, for accountability
4. And for those of you who are going bonkers over just 800 calories, thinking you’d die (literally) from such a diet, this is a medically supervised program. There’s even a doctor right at the location who monitors your blood pressure, blood work (yep, I had a full blood test before I even began — 4 vials worth!), etc.

Like I said, today is Day 1, so I’ll make this a Long-Term Test. I’ll update with my successes, trials, etc. often. I’ll also explain more about it as we go along, so stay tuned.

So for now, here’s my stats:

Weight: 325 lbs.
Height: 6′ 0″ (a number that likely won’t change with this diet)
Waist: 46″

I also have to admit I’ve kinda been dragging my feet about getting videos up because of my weight. But I’ve figured out a way to turn that around. I’m going to use the Web for accountability! As if weekly weigh-ins weren’t enough.

With that in mind, I’m going to get a camera this week and start doing some videos. You’ll see a big guy, but keep in mind that I am definitely a “work in progress” now.