Update: Feb. 8 - Feb. 23 (Valentine's/First Weigh-in)

J Alexander's has the best salmon I've ever had. I had a few glasses of wine with dinner on Valentine's which is the only alcohol I've had this month.

The first weigh-in results are in:

Domination. I am still going to eat healthy and workout but I won't do it as often. I'll gain some weight during my vacation but I'll get a better understanding of where I stand after the third weigh-in next Thursday.

I ate Chick-Fil-A a couple times after that last weigh-in but I still haven't eaten more than 1,600 calories in a day. I've lost 21 pounds total so far which makes my current percentage about 10.5%. 

Update: Feb. 5 - Feb. 7 (1,000 calorie workout)

Well I did my first 1,000 calorie workout. It wasn't as difficult as I imagined. I just rode at a steady speed on my stationary bike that's in my room as I watched the 2 1/2 hour Golden State Warriors basketball game. When I'm watching a game at my house, it's a no-brainer to be simultaneously riding my bike at the same time from now on. It stares at me.

I currently weigh 185 pounds. This means I've lost about 14 pounds since the competition began. Last year's winner lost 18 pounds throughout the entire competition. I'm now feeling pretty confident as eating around 1,200 calories a day hasn't been nearly as hard as I've thought. My energy doesn't appear to be any lower than usual.

Update: Feb. 1 - Feb. 4 (Super Bowl)

Super Bowl Sunday was probably my worst day since the challenge began but I'm assuming it was for most of the contestants. I had wings and tilapia for lunch and chicken with cheesy pasta for dinner. I don't want to become the annoying son who isn't eating anything his mother makes for dinner.

I also haven't worked out once during the past four days. I plan on working out tonight during the Warriors game if I finish my homework in time. I hope to burn at least 800 calories on the bike.

Most of my meals during this competition have consisted of:

• Panera
• Side caesar salad/half oven roasted turkey sandwich tomato on whole grain bread
• No croutons in the salad, no tomato on the sandwich
• Salad = 110 calories (10 g fat); Sandwich = 220 calories (3 g fat)

• Bowl of chicken noodle soup with whole grain baguette on the side
• Soup = 130 calories (2 g fat) ; Baguette = 130 calories (1 g fat)

• Bowl of garden vegetable soup with whole grain baguette on the side
• Soup = 140 calories (5 g fat)

• Whole Foods (hot food bar)
• Side salad, whitefish, rice and broccoli
• Approximately 320 calories

• Whole Foods (rest of store)
• Roast beef sandwich
• No tomato
• 460 calories (18 g fat)
• Teriyaki chicken with white rice, broccoli and carrots (half)
• No tomato
• 220 calories (3 g fat)

I read that I can eat about 22-39 grams of fat to maintain this 1,000-1,200 calorie diet.

I've still eaten very little desserts or snacks since the competition began and I just gave away my free birthday pastry reward from panera :(

I'm hungry but this is pretty doable ...

Update: Jan. 21 - Jan. 31 (Hunger Games)

The first 10 days of this challenge have been interesting. I haven't had many PGA TOUR shifts so it's difficult to see just how seriously everyone is taking this. But after reading Rob Bolton's latest One-and-Done article, I have more motivation:



#NoDaysOff is basically what I took from that. I'm mainly joking but this did somewhat implement a sense of resistance when seeing some new groceries arrive in our snack basket at my house. Since the Hunger Games started I have not eaten any snacks aside from a granola bar and one bag of Little Bites blueberry muffins.

There were rumors circulating that Chris Dunham had eaten less than 1,000 calories for the past two days to which D.J. Piehowski replied, "Yeah there's no way he can sustain that." I have been eating about 1,200 calories since the competition began. I have also been hitting the exercise bike most days. I have burned 3,942 calories using the bike alone for the first 10 days. That's an average of 394.2 calories burned per day.

When I've eaten out, I have pretty much only eaten at Panera and Whole Foods. Panera lists the amount of calories through their website and I've been ordering online a lot which makes it very easy to see and keep track of the total calories per meal.

When not at home, my mother has made healthier options for me to eat.

I am confident that I've already lost at least 10 pounds and know that when the group sees my weight loss during the second weigh-in, they will step their game up even more. It seems like everyone is already taking it more seriously than I thought they would so this is why I'm worried about the ethics. It sucks eating just lunch and dinner and working out when I can but it surely isn't torture.

The Hunger Games Begin: Intro, prep and mindset

The "Hunger Games" is a weight-loss competition amongst PGATOUR.COM staffers that lasts about two months (Jan. 21 - March 16). 

There are seven people involved and whoever loses the most weight (percentage wise) in that time period will win $100 from each of the six losers ($600 total). As soon as I realized money was involved, I questioned the ethics of this challenge to which Mrs. Detlefsen (one of the staffers) replied, "Well we did this last year!"

Chris Dunham and Bryan Mullen made jokes about "bulking up" prior to the challenge but I thought they were kidding. I'm pretty sure they weren't. I decided to eat unhealthy on the day leading up to the challenge. I had two jalapeno burgers and a small fry from McDonalds for lunch. For dinner I really piled it on by eating a giant plate of spaghetti. I added extra cheese and extra butter to the noodles and washed it down with four beers. Just looking at those pictures makes me want to wave the white flag and quit right now.

The morning of the first weigh-in I had another big plate of spaghetti at about 8:45 a.m. and chugged water during the 30-minute drive to PGA TOUR Headquarters. 

I think I gained four pounds within the past 24 hours because for the first weigh-in I clocked in at 204.6 pounds. ....

And so the Hunger Games begin and the odds are ever in my favor. I have a few advantages as well as disadvantages in this new Weight Loss Challenge for PGATOUR.COM staffers.

Advantages:

• $600 means more to me than it does to the other staffers
• I am younger (by at least five years) than the others so it should be easier for me to lose weight
• I have lost 40 pounds before so I know what it takes
• I get motivated by the smallest things, so when there's a big initiative, it's easier to focus

Disadvantages:

• I do not have a lot of time to work out
• I do not have the most weight to lose
• I am taking a vacation for the three days leading up to the final weigh-in
• To meet my girlfriend's dad
• He likes to drink
• Therefore I'll have to drink
• Therefore I'll have to lose more weight earlier
• Therefore it'll motivate the others to lose more after that first weigh-in