A.L.O.E. 04.22.12

With such a busy schedule, the Wife with school and work, myself with work, this blog and both of us with singing gigs, the housework has been slipping a tad.  So, last night it was a clean-a-thon.  Hence, the late posting of A.L.O.E., A Little Of Everything.  Tapas, to feed the mind and body.

To Brie or Not to Brie

Okay.  Maybe not brie, per se, but other cheeses.  I just liked the heading.  I often look for new recipes or food ideas to keep things interesting and tasty.  If the food sucks, I am destined for failure.  But healthy is essential for me these days.  Gone are the days where I ate something just because it tasted good.  And, with that, went cheese.  Well, for the most part at least.  I still scrape some parmigiano reggiano on my pasta, now and again.  Words like, cheddar, bleu and provolone have been absent from my vocabulary.  In reading these recipes from sources like, Cooking Light and Good Housekeeping (The latter is doctor's office time passing stuff.  I haven't turned into a domestic goddess.), I find recipes where the numbers look good, yet they include my old friend, cheese.  I am wrestling with notion of reintroducing cheese to my repertoire.  If I discover a concoction that has relatively low fat and calories and cheese can be enjoyed, why not?  Well, perhaps, because a good Gorgonzola might be my gateway drug.  Will it push me over the edge to harder options.  Or should I say, softer, more fat-laden options like, yellow American.  I don't want to be the guy they find all strung out, with Land-o-lakes packaging strewn around my chalk outline.  The question is, can I handle just a little?  I will think on this and report back.

Other Bloggers

I was compelled to see what other options were out there for weight-loss blogs, so I googled weight - loss - blogs and found a number of ones that might be worthy of your time and many that were not.  If you enjoy or find formats such as mine, informative or entertaining, then perhaps you might want to check some out.  One thing I found is that there are very few dudes doing what I do.  There are some, like Steve v5.0 at http://4point6.com.  Another well done option is from www.weightoflife.com.  Many of my readers are women and you might like a feminine perspective, as well.  Purple_moonflower123 of weightoflife has a similar approach to mine and is trying to incorporate more veggies and vegan options into her new lifestyle.  From my standpoint, we are all approaching things slightly differently.  I am not saying there is right or wrong.  I just know what works for me.  I am happy with my progress to date.  The dozen or so blogs I went through had varying levels of success.  I just hope that their victories are lasting ones.  It sort of pains me to see people on products like Medifast or extreme fad diets, because I know it will only get them back to there they were and worse.  So, feel free to 'cheat' on me and explore what is out there in the blogosphere.

*Interesting note: The word 'blogosphere' does not show up in Blogspot's own spell check.  Hmmmm.... neither does the word, 'Blogspot'!  lol

5000

Thanks to very one that helped TDT195 get over 5000 page views, as of last Wednesday.  While I am not hung up on the numbers, it does my soul a world of good knowing that a growing number of people are supporting my efforts and using their precious time to listen to my rantings.  I am humbled and appreciative.  Grazie!

Cya Monday night for a successful weigh-in report,

M

What I ate today today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal w/unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Lunch ~ Deli sliced organic chicken breast on whole grain bread and low fat chipotle mayo

Snack ~ One banana

Dinner ~ Homemade chicken enchiladas.  Using whole grain tortillas and lean chicken breast, this is pretty easy and only 390 calories with very little fat.  I may post the recipe this Thursday.

Exercise ~ I could not believe how sore I was after Saturday's walk.  I walked around the house with a vacuum and steam mop instead.