Bad Day

It was just one of those days.  I've had a lot on my mind lately and I am just easily distracted.  Getting work done efficiently is a chore, so the day just dragged on, making me tired.  Food-wise I did just fine, but due to my returning back pain, there was no exercise.  The pain isn't nagging, it is sharp when I move a certain way.  I will be taking it easy for a few days.  I am afraid I didn't listen to my own advice last week and do just that: take it easy.

Tonight, for the first time since I was perhaps seventeen, I ran out of gas.  Fortunately, I was following a friend somewhere and had a helping hand to easily fix the result of stupidity.  Tuesday morning I step on the scale for the first time in months.  Will tomorrow be any better?

Cya then,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Egg White Delight McMuffin and coffee on the road.

Lunch ~ Protein Bistro Box and coffee

Dinner ~ Left over chili and minestrone

Exercise ~ none

2 Days Until Weigh-in

In case you didn't read the reboot post from about four weeks ago, I held off weighing myself until October 1st.  I know full well that I put on weight this summer. Probably a significant amount. Unfortunately, my personality is such that I can get easily discouraged and might pack it all in if faced with a setback. Knowing the score could trigger such event.  So I waited.

There are no, or shall I say few, rules with regard to this self-made program.  But one sure rule of thumb is this: Weight goes on far faster than it comes off.  I can only hope that this month of very hard work which I put into myself will undo whatever damage was done since June.  Either way, I can only move forward with positive action.  I cannot undo the past.

Today was a good day of hard work.  Two exercise sessions and healthy eating.  And so it will go, one day at a time, until I reach my goal. If that is by the previously ascribed deadline, great.  If not, the end goal is the same.  Health, happiness and educating others on well-being based on my experiences.  Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Cya Monday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ One egg, one slice of toast and a dollop of pesto all mixed up in a bowl.  Yum.
Lunch ~ One bowl of chili and a bowl of minestrone
Snack ~ One banana
Dinner ~ Some rotisserrie chicken and more minestrone
Exercise ~ Three miles of walking in the morning and a half hour workout late in the day.

Saturday 09.28.13

Decent day today.  I got most of what I wanted to accomplish done, including cooking a big batch of my minestrone soup and some grocery shopping.  My exercise was fit in and it was a fairly uneventful Saturday.  My only regret was that lunch, while not calorically reprehensible, was basically crap.

I felt like my blood sugar was crashing while at the grocery store and opted to have my lunch right then and there, in the form of popcorn chicken.  A bad choice I know, but for 340 calories on the run, I righted my blood sugar.  It was just devoid of any nutritional value.  At least I made up for it with a gagillion servings of veg at dinner with a bowl and a half of minestrone.

Cya Sunday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/banana and almond milk
Lunch ~ Popcorn chicken
Dinner ~ Minestrone Soup ala TDT195
Exercise ~ Power walk around the lake: 2.5 miles

Soup's On!

I'm not shy about my love for soup.  The Wife loves a good bowl as well.  The other day she said she had a desire for some broccoli soup. Always happy to oblige a request to feed someone, I happily volunteered.  I recall a while back seeing a Gordon Ramsay show where he made the simplest of broccoli soups and won a heads-up competition with it.  While this one is extremely similar, it has a couple little additions to suit our tastes.

This couldn't be easier.  It helps, however, to have a good size steamer and decent blender.  And, of course, the fresher the broccoli, the tastier the end product will be.  If you don't have a steamer, boiling the broccoli works as well.

Broccoli Soup

Ingredients
8 cups ~  broccoli florets and stems, cut to equal size, stems trimmed of tough exterior
6 cups ~ water
3 tsp ~ salt
1 tsp ~ fresh ground pepper
1.5 Tbsp ~ Olive Oil
2 Tbs ~ Dijon mustard
3 ~ roasted garlic cloves

Optional garnish ~ toasted pumpkin seeds, toasted pignoli, toasted walnuts or feta crumbles

Method

1. Steam the broccoli until tender.  Extract individual pieces once they easily pierce with a knife.  USE TONGS!  Steam is hot. Offload to your blender.  DO NOT DISCARD THE WATER!
2. Cover your broccoli filled blender half way with the steamer water.
3. Add the rest of ingredients and blend until smooth.  Add more water if necessary.  You may not require all of the water and you may need to blend in batches.  TIP: Remove the center cap of your blender lid and cover with a towel. Hot liquids expand in a blender and it can explode if you do not do this!
4. It's ready to serve! Garnish with your choice of accoutrements.

Cya tomorrow,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Egg White Delight McMuffin and coffee.  I bought bagels for a customer and it took incredible control not to eat one slathered with cream cheese.

Lunch ~ A Protein Bistro Box and Decaf Skinny Caramel Macchiato

Dinner ~ Rotisserie chicken, brown rice and seaweed salad.

Exercise ~ My back felt much better, so I tempted fate and did a 30-minute workout at the gym.  I feel good! da da da da da da da... I knew that I would. da da da da da da da.

Back Again

I used to have a co-worker who'd joke "I had a weak back about a week back." Well ask me in about a week and I will tell you the same.  I felt a twinge yesterday morning when I awoke and thought it would iron itself out as I moved around throughout the day.  It gave me no trouble during my workout last night, yet this morning, it was more prominent.  

So today I went without exercise.  I will need to double up in the next few days, but I won't risk doing damage that will take me out even longer.  I've had spells in the past that laid me up for weeks.  Stay tuned...

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk
Lunch ~ A seafood soup and 2 maki sushi rolls
Dinner ~ A salmon burger and roasted cauliflower
Exercise ~ none

Salad Days

salad days

pl.n.

A time of youth, innocence, and inexperience:

Ah, yes.  Those days when we were young and happily ignorant.  Was it just then or are most of us blissfully ignorant today?  Probably a little of both when it comes to the things we eat.  I am a firm believer that we ignore our gut instincts and throw things down our pie hole that we inherently know aren't good for us.  Enter Mr. Salad.

One of the things I like about Panera Bread is that they list the caloric content of each and every menu item right up on the menu board.  I spend less time there these days due to the overwhelming desire to eat everything in their bakery, but for lunch and some mobile office time, it's a good choice.  Today's choice for me was "You PICK 2" option, which included their low-fat chicken noodle soup and the new Roasted Turkey Wheatberry Salad (Wheatberries are delish!  Who knew?)  The YP2 offerings are roughly a 2/3 sized soup and a 1/2 sized salad or sandwich.  My salad, as listed on the board, was 230 calories. The soup only 80.  Add in an apple as a side and I'd be getting a very tasty and fairly nutritious lunch for around 390 calories and 16g of fat.

Now, my wife, being the nutritionally savvy person that she is, has always said that salads are traps.  What she is usually referring to are the calories and fat in salad dressing.  People think they are eating responsibly and all they are doing is making the healthy bits a delivery system for a ride to Cholesterolville.  This wasn't necessarily the case today, but the theory is the same.  I spotted the trap and defused it.

I received my lunch tray and what I saw was a gorgeous salad with copious amounts of bleu cheese covering the top.  The "Salad Artist" of the day painted my creation with a little too much bleu.  When I extracted the offending cheese-bombs, they amounted to about an extra two tablespoons of crumbles, which equals an additional 110 calories and 9g of fat.  That's a far cry from the posted menu board promise.

The lesson here is that you need to be your own defender of dietary intake.  It's great that mindful restaurants such as Panera are listing the caloric content of their menu items freely (except in NYC where it is law), but the $8.00 an hour food prep kid, isn't as concerned with staying within those guidelines.  Don't lie to yourself when you see the mountain of bleu cheesy goodness or a salad drenched in dressing and think, "Cool!  Who'd have known you can get all this for only 210 calories?!"  You can't and your bathroom scale will know, that's who.  110 extra calories is no big deal, but the habit it stems from means that 110 is multiplied many times over the course of a month, or even a week.

Cya tomorrow,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk

Lunch ~ My very tasty, yet dissected salad, soup and coffee

Dinner ~ Homemade broccoli soup and a grilled chicken breast

Exercise ~ A 30-minute PF Express workout 

Tuesday Recap: 09.24.13

Not much to report today.  It was a busy day at work and I came home to help a friend with some car issues.  The old me would have used this as an excuse to blow off exercise.  The new me drove to Modell's afterward and bought himself a headband to keep the sweat out of his headphones, so he could listen to his audio books and pod-casts as he exercises.  After my Modell's excursion to buy a snappy black Air Jordan terry headband, I walked the lake at a modest rate, ear sweat free.  It's the little things...

Cya Tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ An egg, ham and pesto sandwich.
Lunch ~ A bowl of New England clam chowder and a chicken Caesar salad
Mid-afternoon ~ Starbucks Skinny Iced Decaf Caramel Macchiato
Dinner ~ Pressed for time, since I put exercise above cooking, I grabbed a Quick Chek Protein Pack, consisting of a hard boiled egg, some apple slices and an almond concoction that I think had carob chips mixed in.  That part wasn't best bites of the week.
Exercise ~ 2.5-mile, 45 minute lake walk

Hard, Indeed

Get your mind out of the gutter.  In yesterday's link on Facebook I mentioned that my first weigh-in since the reboot is eight days out and I need to hit it hard. Today, my friends, I did, indeed.  Since yesterday was an exercise bust due to a misconception about the gym hours, I wanted to double up and get in both walking and a workout.

Two years ago this following statement would have been inconceivable. Today I got in not one, not two, but THREE exercise sessions.  I got up this morning and logged 30 minutes on the dreadmill.  The next part of the plan was to hit the gym after work and do the 30 minute circuit, which is a mix of Cybex machines and stepping.  That was until my friend Alex asked if we would be walking tonight.  Not wanting to look a gift friend in the mouth, we walked the lake.  Then, after dinner, I got in my PF Express workout at the gym.  Upshot to the whole day, I feel great!  

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/half a banana and almond milk
Lunch ~ A Caesar side salad (no croutons) and calamari (not fried) served in a spicy fra diavolo marinara.  No pasta.  No bread.
Snack ~ The other half of the banana
Dinner ~ A frozen Amy's Bowl, which turned out to be much better than I anticipated
Exercise ~ I am a beast!  LOL

Sunday Night Quickie

I almost forgot to do this today.  It's been just a lazy Sunday.  I vegged most of the day with the intent of cooking dinner, then, after eating, going to the gym. When I got to the gym I realized, much to my chagrin, that it closed at 7PM and not at 9PM as I assumed.  I'll be up early to walk or go to the gym with the opposite occurring after work tomorrow evening.

The dinner that you see here was Turkey Piccatta and oddly enough, after I shopped and prepared for it days ago, it popped up on my screen today as a suggestion from Cooking Light.  I'm intuitive, I guess.  I went my own way with the recipe and it was quite enjoyable.  I served it with roasted Brussels sprouts, glazed with Dijon, maple syrup and cayenne, plus some brown rice.  I am guessing the whole meal came in around 550 calories.

Cya Monday,
Mike

What I ate and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal and a banana w/almond milk.  Coffee.
Lunch ~ Ham and egg sandwich with homemade pesto
Dinner ~ See above
Exercise ~ None today

The World's Most Expensive Tomato

Back in the spring I wrote about how I had bought a Veg Trug.  This is basically a bathtub-like trough that has legs and is suitable for growing a reasonably sized elevated garden.  The whole setup including the dirt to fill it cost me about $425.  Add another $50 for the tomato plants, various seeds and food, and we're in about $475.  

Above is a representation of what I "attempted" to grow.  Granted, the season isn't over yet, but I'm unsure as to how the rest will play out with the colder weather we've been getting.  What is out there still may, or may not, make it.  Here is a rundown of how this gardening season went.

• Planted everything some time in May so we could start harvesting tomatoes in July.
• Lemon Basil grew quite well and, although interesting, I am not particularly fond of it.  It reminds me of soap.
• The regular basil (one of my favorite things ever) didn't sprout and was replaced with a grocery store plant in August.
• Cherry tomatoes started to pop up VERY small and sparse in August.  I occasionally plucked one and ate it out of hand.
• I finally started to see regular tomato blossoms in August.
• Carrots, although quite small, started breaking the surface in late July.
• Now in mid-September, I have one billiard ball sized tomato ripening in a paper bag and about 4 others of various sizes on the vine.  To date I haven't eaten a single one.
• I harvested about 10 oz. of carrots for dinner the other night and about the same of cherry tomatoes two weeks ago for a very nice roasted veg salad.
• I have about the same amount parsley from both plants than what someone would notice when they point to you and say, "You have something stuck in your teeth."

If I added up the weight of everything I have grown, it will probably yield about 3 pounds of product. That is assuming I can get the tomatoes on the vine to ripen and enjoy them.  That amounts to about $158 per pound.  In other words, FUCKING EXPENSIVE.  

I do think I have figured out the problem and it was all in the soil I bought.  Despite the crack advice from the wiz at Home Depot, the composted organic soil I bought wasn't right.  It needs to be cut with regular soil.  Also, the carrots by the tomatoes are woefully lagging behind those on the opposite end of the trough by the cherry tomatoes and basil.  I will keep them more separated next year.

I know that next year I will get more yield and the bulk of the cost was this season was from the Veg Trug, which I will have for years to come. I can tell you one thing, though.  Ripe or not, I will eat everything that comes out of that damn dirt tub.  Like it...or not.

Cya Sunday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Exercise ~ Listed first because I got up bright and early and walked the lake with my friend Alex
Breakfast ~ Again, green eggs and ham w/coffee
Lunch ~ Chili
Snack ~ A banana and a Fiber One Bar 
Dinner ~ Rotisserie chicken and sauteed spinach

Tender is the Loin

Here is tonight's dinner.  It was a recipe I found online for Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Baby Carrots.  I was thrilled to have an excuse to finally dig up some carrots from my Veg-Trug garden.  I filled out the lack of quantity with some parsnips, which hands down are my favorite.  The meal was simply divine.  

After we ate I went for a record setting lap around the lake.  Crushed my old best time of 44 minutes, turning in a time of 42:08.  That's an average speed of around 3.5 MPH.  I'm thrilled with that!  One thing I found interesting was that although I had expected my arms to be sore this morning after yesterday's workout, it wasn't until I finished my walk today (there was a tad of running too) that my arms really started to ache. Go figure.

Tomorrow I will talk about my gardening efforts this summer.  It didn't exactly go as I expected

Cya then,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised.
Breakfast ~ Seen here is green egg and ham.  Toast with homemade pesto, a poached egg and a slice of ham. Soooooo good.  The coffee rocked too. 
Lunch ~ Spinach salad w/rotisserie chicken and a homemade vinaigrette
Snacks ~ A banana and a Fiber One bar scattered throughout the afternoon.
Dinner ~ Above
Exercise ~ 2.5 miles in 42 mins.

I've Got No Strings

I joined a gym and went for the first time last Sunday.  The plan is to go three days per week and walk the rest.  So Sunday I figured I would try the elliptical.  As much as I hate the dreadmill, the elliptical seemed like a great alternative.  I would see people gliding like gazelles, effortlessly melting away the pounds.  What I found is that it is far from effortless and I am thinking that Torquemada would've had a much easier time at The Inquisition if he threw the non-believers on these torture devices.  If you haven't "ellipted" before, it’s like trying to run while squatting.  You would think that using your arms on the ski pole thingies would help you get through, but you only wind up looking like an epileptic marionette with an agonized look on its face. The strain on your leg muscles is intense.  I lasted maybe 10 minutes.  It will be a while before I try the elliptic-hell again.

Cya tomorrow,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ 2 scrambled eggs with a spoonful of chili on top

Lunch ~ A can of Progresso Light Chick Noodle Soup

Snack ~ Fiber One bar

Dinner ~ Rotisserie chicken and a side salad

Exercise ~ A 30 minute circuit of Cybex and stepping that I will explain in a later blog

Back Home and Bushed

It's been a whirlwind three-state tour over the last two days and I am spent.  This will be real quick.  I got back home today after logging around 400 miles behind the wheel and ate a bowl of chili, then fell asleep on the couch for two hours.

The plan was to hit the hotel gym dreadmill this morning and then when I got home tonight, hit the gym I just joined. Total fail on both parts.  When I got up at 6 AM I found that I left my shorts at home.  The hotel airport wasn't conducive to walking outside.  'Asleep on the couch' speaks volumes about what happened to the second part of the plan.  I guess there is no shame in working hard, but I really needed to exercise today.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ A Kashi cereal bowl pre-pack w/skim milk and coffee
Lunch ~ A green salad w/grilled shrimp and a lemon vinaigrette
Snack ~ Some nuts on the drive home
Dinner ~ Chili
Exercise ~ FAIL...none

Biz Travel Post

Hey there.  It's been a mad-busy day that started with a trip to pick up a colleague about 30 miles south of me. Onto Brooklyn next for a trade show.  Picking up another in our group, we headed down to Philly for a business dinner and meetings tomorrow.  I left the house this morning at 7:45 AM and by the time I got to the hotel room tonight it was 10 PM.  Busy, busy day.  But a productive one.  No time for exercise, but I will be up at 6:30 and down in the hotel gym.

I am happy to report that despite many opportunities to fail, I navigated the day with good judgement.  I passed on pre-dinner drinks as well at the wine at meal.  I didn't touch the bread on the table and ordered a shrimp fra diavolo, where I ate the shrimp, but left the pasta.  Back to the hotel opted for a club soda, instead of a nightcap.  It felt good to have some control.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ An egg sandwich on the road w/coffee
Lunch ~ Pork tenderloin and veggies on a trade show buffet with 3 shrimp shumai.  Some eggplant caponata on one pita triangle.
Dinner ~ Grilled calamari and veggies for an appetizer, salad, then shrimp fra diavolo, minus the pasta.
Exercise ~ none

Recipes

While I am fairly certain that the vast majority of my recipes that I have published here have never been tried by a reader, I do know that, on occasion, I get positive feedback on a creation I have posted. More often, I get positive reviews from people that actually try a dish that I have made myself and served to them.  It's a great ego boost to know people are truly enjoying something healthy that I have created. Feeding people is a very personal and gratifying connection that means the world to me.  

My cousin John is one of my most ardent supporters.  He actively reads the blog, asks questions and makes comments.  He asked me the other day if there was a link somewhere to all of the recipes that I have posted.  Unfortunately there is not, yet I think there needs to be. Once in a while I do have a reader tell me they tried a recipe and loved it (Megan, have you made that eggplant stew again?) or tell me they would buy a cookbook if and when I wrote one (Thanks, Joan!)  I will go one better for now.  I will find a way to link the dozens of recipes that I have developed into an easily navigable page.  Perhaps that will help spread the word that these recipes aren't just healthy, but delicious.  Of course, we all think something we have created is good.  That ownership adds a few points to approval rating of anything we bring to being.  I hope that I am objective enough to trust my palate and be honest with my assessment.  

Ego plays a very small part in this plan.  I'd like to get some honest feedback and field testing on the recipes.  Sometime soon I will link all of those concoctions together and give you all a virtual cookbook.  Once I do, please take some time out to make a recipe or two and let me know what you think.  If nothing else, you'll put a smile on my face.

Cya tomorrow from a hotel room in Philly,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk
Lunch ~ Protein Bistro Box and a Starbucks Decaf Skinny Caramel Macchiato
Dinner ~ Chili
Exercise ~ Heading to the gym to try out an elliptical.  

Sunday Recap 09.15.13

If the Giants hadn't stunk so badly today, Sunday would have turned out to be dang near perfect.  I got to sleep late for the second day in a row, I kept my dietary intake under control, shopping got done, a HUGE pot of chili was made, and after the Giants shit the bed, I went for a record-paced 2.5-mile lap around the lake.  Oh, yeah!  I also went and joined a gym.

There were a few other things I was going to cover tonight, but due to not writing them down they fell by the wayside.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Egg McMuffin and coffee
Lunch ~ A salad with butter lettuce, 1/2 a tomato, celery, about 3 oz. of chopped chicken, toasted pepitas and chipotle lime dressing
Snack ~ Fiber One bar
Dinner ~ A bowl of chili, with a dollop of reduced-fat sour cream
Exercise ~ 2.5 miles around the lake in a record 44 minutes

Early Saturday Pre-Gig Blog

Hiya, kids.  It's a very lazy Saturday and I slept in late and I've been a couch potato all day.  I was going to go check out a local gym or two, but tomorrow is another day.  I need some veg out time.  I visited the local Y the other day only to find out that it is much more expensive than I remember.  For about half as much I can join LA Fitness or, for even less, Planet Fitness.  I'll be sure to take care of that on Sunday. 

Tonight we have a gig at our new favorite place, Shenanigans.  It's a nice, smallish Irish bar/restaurant where the regulars, mostly in their 50's, enjoy oldies.  We are more than happy to oblige.  Last time we were there, we did the whole three hours straight without a break.  It was that much fun.  That was a first for us.  Nothing better than soused middle-aged folks dancing and singing along.  I'll work off a bunch of calories being roadie, performer and sound tech tonight so that will serve as my workout.

Tomorrow I will make a big batch of my turkey chili to enjoy while watching some football.  We'll let you know how it turns out.

Cya then,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk and 1/2 a banana
Lunch ~ A Fiber One bar and a salad w/butter lettuce, avocado, tomato, canellini beans, toasted pumpkin seeds and my Spicy Chipotle-Lime Dressing only made with lemon out of necessity.
Dinner ~ TBD, but I am thinking either a veggie burger or a salmon burger.
Exercise ~ 3 hours of performing tonight, plus lugging around the equipment.

What a Difference a Few Days Make

I had a hell of a time getting around the lake just a few days ago.  I had to take a break, my muscles ached, and I was winded.  Tonight after dinner I set out to conquer Lake Parsippany all the same. Once I hit the one-mile mark, at around fifteen minutes, I was surprised at how "not bad" I felt.  I could never say I felt "good" after walking a mile, so I will say I felt particularly "not bad".  

I thought I would take a breather at this bench I like that overlooks the lake at one and a half miles.  Nope.  Still feeling like I can plow through. And so I did.  I did the whole 2.5-mile route in exactly 45 minutes.  That is damn near the best ever.  A far cry from the last time.  By my best estimate, that burned at least 420 calories.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ One egg and 1 oz. of lean ham on a multi-grain sandwich round
Lunch ~ One can of Progresso Lite Chicken Noodle Soup
Snack ~ One banana
Dinner ~ This here looks like many dinner photos I have posted in TDT195.  It is tilapia over spinach and canellini beans with a tomato lemon basil sauce.  The reason you see this so often is that it is easy and one of my favorites.
Exercise ~ 2.5 miles at 3.3MPH

Damn You, Steak!

Okay.  I've told the world I was staying away from red meat.  I've had it three times in the last nine days.  If this were the major leagues, I'd be batting .666 and win a batting title.  Unfortunately, here in TDT19land it's just sad.  I had lunch today with my best friend Doug at the iconic NJ diner, Tic Tock.  I went in with the intention of having a Greek salad.  On the specials there was steak on Greek salad.  Without thinking, I ordered it.  It was good.  I ate half.  There's my disclosure.  So sue me.  I made up for it at dinner and yes, I drew the cow.

I was finally able to harvest enough cherry tomatoes to actually do something with them, other than eat two or three right off the vine. Dinner tonight was vegetarian in light of the lunch scenario.  What you see here is an all roasted, warm salad of cauliflower, eggplant and my wee little tomatoes, tossed in basil (from my garden) vinaigrette.  Very delicious and very satisfying.

Cya on Friday the 13th,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal and banana w/almond milk
Lunch ~ Pea soup and the steak Greek Salad
Dinner ~ See above
Exercise ~ For the first day since I started, I didn't get in any exercise. I'll double up some day soon.

Mike? Mike? Mike? What Day Is It?

It's Hump Day!  Is anyone else tired of that already?  I like the commercial, but I hear people every Wednesday saying the above words.  Now I am guilty of the same thing for the sake of a cheap and easy title for today's blog.

I'm feeling pretty good about my efforts so far.  I will be changing up my exercise routine by re-joining the local YMCA.  The one in Mountain Lakes NJ is quite nice.  I'd like to get some weight training in and develop muscle mass.  My understanding is that when I finally go for my surgery to remove the excess hanging skin, lean toned muscles will not only make the surgery go easier, but recovery quicker and my appearance much better.  The months ahead will be the hardest I've worked at this so far.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/banana and almond milk.  Coffee
Lunch ~ Turkey, mustard and pickles on a multi-grain sandwich round.
Dinner ~ Here you see is a one-pan meal that I whipped up on the fly.  It was supposed to be chicken and cashew lettuce cups, but the cashews in the fridge miraculously turned into almonds. Call the Enquirer!  It's a miracle!  I paired it with broccoli.
Exercise ~ 2 mile Sansone walking video.  By my estimates, these burn anywhere between 350 and 400 calories.

Life Should Be Sweeter

Tabitha has forever been after me about my use of artificial sweeteners.  Splenda has long been my poison of choice... and therein lies the rub.  Apparently, it could be my poison.  The more I read on the science of artificial sweeteners and how they are metabolized, the more I think I should walk away.  Studies have shown that a key ingredient in Splenda, sucralose, supposedly turns to something quite different when it reaches 88ºF... formaldehyde.  Well at least if it kills me, I will be well preserved.

Entire books have been written on the subject of the whole Splenda/FDA "cover up".  Formaldehyde poisoning expresses itself in Multiple Sclerosis-like symptoms and muscle deterioration.  Symptoms that seem to reverse somewhat upon exclusion of the artificial sweeter.  

I take my coffee sweet, love my Snapple Diet Peach Iced Tea and turning to actual sugar doesn't seem like a viable alternative, given its caloric impact.  And before you suggest it in the comments section, I flat out do not like Stevia.  It leaves an odd aftertaste.

My take on this was always that I didn't consume enough of it to make a difference.  I'm still not sure I do, but it's on my radar.  It would be a pity to morph myself into a fit corpse or, ironically, a fit disabled person. What to do?  What to do?

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal with almond milk
Lunch ~ Starbucks Protein Bistro Box and a Skinny Decaf Caramel Macchiato
Dinner ~ Thai Shrimp Bisque and some brown rice. This recipe ROCKED.  Click the link and make it for your family.  The brown rice was a very good addition.
Exercise ~ 2 mile Sansone walking video

Monday Quickie

Just firing off a quick report so you can get back to your Monday Night Football or 2 Broke Girls or whatever you kids watch these days.  Today was uneventful.  I managed to get in everything that I needed to, despite being hugely busy with work and chores around the house.

One thing of note, though.  I had two meals today in sandwich form.  This was the result of poor planning.  I knew how busy I would be and didn't have on hand what I needed to steer clear of bread.  I managed to eat well and stay well within my caloric guidelines, as fuzzy as they may be, but this is how things start to fall apart.  Fail to plan and you plan to fail, the old saying goes.  I'm mindful of this and will act accordingly.

Cya Tuesday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ One egg and avocado on a whole grain sandwich round.  My coffee
Lunch ~ A salad w/peppers, celery, avocado and mustard roasted garlic vinaigrette
Snack ~ One super delicious Jazz apple
Dinner ~ Garden Burger on a whole grain roll and a cup of last night's crab soup
Exercise ~ 2 mile Sansone walking video

Soup Bowl Sunday

When the weather starts to get cooler my thoughts turn to soups.  I love soup.  If I had a kid, I'd name him or her Bacon Soup Accardi. Maybe Soup Bacon instead to avoid confusion over whether it was bacon soup as opposed to bacon AND soup... plus having the initials BS would kinda suck.

Pictured here is tonight's dinner.  Tab and I love crab, so it was worth getting some good stuff.  Above is a Savannah-Style Crab Soup and this extremely satisfying, creamy bowlful you see before you has only 135 calories per bowl.  That's not a typo.  135.  It's loaded with lump crab meat and is chock full of vegetables.  If you click the link above you will be told it has 151 calories and 5g fat per serving.  I made some minor mods and it had 135 calories and less than 4g of fat.  I had two bowls without any guilt.

This week also look for these gems in my meal log, all courtesy of Cooking Light and MyRecipes.com.
Thai Shrimp Bisque
Savory Beet Soup
And a non-soup dish, if my cherry tomatoes decide to ripen: Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Ancient Grains Granola w/almond milk and my morning coffee
Lunch ~ A large salad w/butter lettuce, carrots, roasted red pepper, celery, a can of solid white albacore and a great new dressing I concocted: Dijon Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette.  Look for the recipe soon.
Snack ~ Smoothie with frozen banana, PB2 and almond milk.
Dinner ~ See above
Exercise ~ Even though it was not as easy as it was just a couple months ago, I walked around our lake: 2.5 miles

Weekend Worrier

My dad used to be in the National Guard. We would often see military trucks on the highways on the weekends and Dad would say "There go the Weekend Warriors!"  I'd never get it right and if I saw them first I'd say "There go the Sunday Sawyers!"  This weekend I realized I may be enlisted as a Weekend Worrier.  Weekends are treacherous in the weight loss realm. Free time on your hands and parties around every corner.

Our neighbors, Noah and Kim, sprung a nice invitation on us to come over for a small BBQ today.  I started to worry.  Could I resist the beer, the chips, the cheese, the salads perhaps laden with mayo?  I did fairly well.  Let's give me a B+.  As it turned out, it was pretty much the four of us for dinner and they did a fine job of providing as hosts.  Just as I would have done, I was offered beer, chips and dip, soda and even some fruit before the grill would be fired up.  I politely declined and explained my final push toward my 50th.  I had water, some melon and two wings that I brought over in the interest of being a good guest. These were roasted, not fried. 

Then when offered the options for the grill, it was Italian sausage or a burger.  Despite my red meat ban, I opted for a plain, bunless burger and VERY small amount of pasta salad that Kim whipped up.  Minus 5 points from the judges on main course choice I made.  Given the options, it was the lesser of evils.  Afterward, Noah brought out jalapeño poppers wrapped in bacon, explaining his bumper crop of peppers from the garden and limited options for using them.  Now you could wrap bacon around a turd and I would turn into Pavlov's dog.  It's my kryptonite.  I ate one.  It was divine.  I then moved the platter they were on out of reach.  Minus 10 points from the judges.  Overall, an 85 score in performance.  

I needn't have been too worried, I supposed.  The angst, albeit minor, was on the front end of the soiree.  It was an enjoyable evening and they are such nice and gracious people.  I excused myself before the cake would be served and thanked them for a lovely time.  I explained that I had some walking to do and did just that.  I immediately went for a brisk walk.  Resolve tastes like victory, but it doesn't taste as good as bacon.  Sigh...

Cya tomorrow, 
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast~ A two-egg omelet w/broccoli, onion and garlic. One piece of whole grain toast and my morning coffee. 
Lunch~ A can of Progresso Lite Beef Soup.  Crap!  Red meat again.  Didn't realize until I wrote this. 
Shopping~ I often get a coffee when I grocery shop.  Iced decaf Skinny Caramel Macchiato today. 90 calories. 
Dinner ~ see above
Exercise~ 35 minute brisk walk.  

Man... Stuff Goes Downhill Fast

It's been two and a half months since I did the 5k Foamfest thing.  Did I mention that I did completed that?  We've been apart. Forgive me.  Yes.  I completed the 5k obstacle course back in June and I will fill you in on that one day soon.  I'll even throw in some video from the camera I wore.  The point is that since then I slipped back into bad habits and that includes not exercising.  So now when I do exercise it royally kicks my ass.  I guess we need to ease back into it.  I will keep my bravado in check and still do at least 300 calories a day worth of exercise, but it will just take a little longer than I like.

The other night I planned on doing a 3-mile walking video.  I got through 2 miles before I needed to stop.  Tonight I jumped on the dreadmill and, while I did manage to do over 2 miles and burn over 300 calories, it also was also 35 minutes of suckdom.  Slow your roll, Michael.  You ain't in great shape yet.  Hell!  You aren't in fair shape.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk and coffee with fat-free 1/2 & 1/2
Lunch ~ Leftover eggplant and kale from last night's dinner
Snack ~ I was jonesing for something sweet and opted for a FiberOne bar
Dinner ~ A monster spinach salad w/a can of solid white albacore, carrots, peppers and homemade roasted garlic vinaigrette.  
Exercise ~ The above mentioned 35 minutes of dreadmill suckdom.

Daily Report: 09.05.13

Let's see if we can make this the first exercise in brevity.  Here's a snapshot of my day and how I fared in my quest for clean living.  All in all it was a pretty good day.  Admittedly, I felt like shite yesterday morning and I am thinking it might have been a touch of detox from all of the crap I have been taking in.  Today I felt real good.  For the past few weeks I have felt like I was tightly packed into the newer clothes I purchased over the last few months.  Today I finally didn't feel like the Michelin Man.

I ate very well today, got my exercise in and I'm feeling good about myself.  Who could ask for anything more?

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Nature's Path Ancient Grains w/almond milk and coffee with fat-free 1/2 & 1/2.
Lunch ~ Garden Burger Chipotle Black Bean burger on a multi-grain sandwich round w/ketchup.
Mid-Afternoon ~ Coffee with a milk and a touch of cinnamon.
Dinner ~ Pictured here is my dinner that came in just a hair over 300 calories. Made with several ingredients from my fridge that I classified as "Use or Lose", it is grilled eggplant w/a smattering of fat-free feta and marinara sauce. Accompanying the eggplant was kale sauteed with onion, garlic and red pepper flakes, mixed with the same marinara.  Overall, not a bad effort for a fridge raid dinner.  Certainly healthy and there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Exercise ~ About a 35-minute brisk walk with The Wife.
*Note from yesterday's blog ~ I didn't make it through the whole 3 mile walking video.  I did over two miles and, by my estimate, burned over 450 calories, far exceeding my 300-per-day goal.

What's New?

Yesterday, I sort of thumb-nailed the upcoming four month's expectations. Today I will go a little more in depth as to what I expect from myself in the final days for the drive.  What will I eat?  What exercise will be involved?  What will you read about here?

One of the pieces of the puzzle that I laid out in the "Home Stretch Reboot" post was that the daily offerings would be shorter.  Somehow I will need to have a brevity gene implanted into me sometime soon.  If you know me, or anyone else in my family, brevity is not our strong suit.  Ask us the time and we'll tell you about a distant, long-dead relative that made watches for a Czar.  The daily posts will gradually ease into a recap of what I did that day, how I felt, any angst I may have faced staring down my demons and, hopefully, the good-humored information you have come to expect.  Yes, the first couple of days where I explain the framework will take up more space, but I promise you, if you show up here daily, you should be in and out quickly.  Think somewhere between a Post-It® note and an index card's worth of info.

Exercise is more critical now than ever.  I calculate that if I can exercise daily, enough to burn at least 300 calories, I can add more than 11 lbs. to the weight loss tally.  Currently my countdown ticker says there are 129 days left until I turn the big Five-O (Great...now we will all have 70's TV theme music stuck in our heads for a while.  Sorry!  Book'em, Dano.)  129 days times 300 calories equals 38,700 calories burned.  At 3500 calories per pound, it works out to about 11 lbs.  What is 300 calories worth of exercise?  For me, it's about 35 minutes of walking at a 3 MPH pace.  That will change as I lighten the load, of course, but all I need is a rough idea to execute this well.

Gotta eat, right?  One of the unfortunate draw backs of being a food addict and attempting great weight loss is the need to eat.  I've researched the viable alternatives and while decomposition is certainly effective at shedding pounds, death isn't an option.  So, eat I will.  In the next month or so until my weigh-in I will limit meat of all kinds.  Chicken and turkey will be my very occasional indulgence.  Mostly I plan on a vegetable based diet that is supplemented with fish, minimal, but some dairy, no alcohol and little, or no bread.  A few of these tenets were devices that made me successful early on. Once allowances were made for drinking, dairy and meat, they became more and more pervasive in my daily routine and I faltered.  Back to basics, as they say.  Back to what gave me success before.

That about sums up what my life "should" look like for the next 129 days.  If life was a compilation of realized "shoulds" we'd all be rich, thin and brilliant, right?  I'll do my best reach for these expectations and roll with the punches that life throws my way.

Cya next time,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ A much more successful smoothie concoction today.  1 small cooked beet, 1 carrot, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/4 red bell pepper, 3/4 cup spinach leaves and about 3/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. A very tasty accompaniment to reading my work emails on the patio.

Lunch ~ Health Magazine voted this the #2 best fast food lunch and I have to agree.  It's Starbucks Protein Bistro Box: 370 calories, a little high in fat but tolerable.  I also enjoyed a Skinny Iced Decaf Caramel Macchiato for 90 calories.
Dinner ~ Pan-seared Mahi Mahi over sauteed spinach and pan-roasted broccoli.  Deeeeelicious. 
Exercise ~ A 3 mile Leslie Sansone walking video.  
Find it here ----> YouTube Walking Video

Home Stretch Reboot: The Final Drive

What has two thumbs and is an asshole? This guy. That's what.  I hear a number of you out there saying "Finally!  He figured that one out."  Hopefully, there are enough of you in my life that say "No, Mike. You're no asshole."  Well, we all strive to minimize our asshole quotient, but when we fail to do so, best to fess up and move on.  So why all the self-deprecation? Here is why:

It's been months since I wrote.  The reason I stopped was largely because it turned into a job and I wasn't enjoying it all that much.  A more likely reason is that my food addiction, aka "The Devil on My Shoulder" wants me to fail.  What I cast away was much more valuable than the free time I gained back.  I threw away all of you, and with it, my accountability.  The point of this whole project was to include the world in my quest and maximize the eyes holding me to my goal.  I was good for a while since we last met here, but on the whole I have slipped back into some bad habits and have definitely put some weight back on. Asshole. 

So how much weight did I gain back since I last checked in with minus 103 lbs. at 260 lbs. or so?  I don't know.  And I will never know. Understanding myself as well as I do, if I were to step on a scale today I would get too discouraged to want to restart this and hit my target 195 lbs.  So I will wait.  Wait until October 1st to do the weekly weigh-ins once again.  By then I should have gotten my stride back and my head fully extracted from my buttocks.  I am actually excited to get back on track and see the progress resume.  I will need to be patient to see those results though.  Set myself up for success.

So what can you expect from the blog from now on?  What will be different?  One thing you can expect is a daily edition.  I will once again write seven days a week until my birthday on January 12, 2014.  The posts will be much briefer and will mostly be a diary of the day, including the daily meals and exercise, just as before.  I will be posting at different times of the day, depending on my schedule.  Before I was posting between 7PM and 9PM to gain maximum readership.  The readership numbers are less important to me this time around.  Those who want to follow my journey will find me.  I'll just promise to check in sometime before bed each night.  

Many of you have reached out to me over the last few months, asking me to return to the blog.  I thank you deeply for your interest, concern and encouragement.  I am back, folks.  I hope you'll join me for the ride!

Cya next time,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ A green smoothie with kale, broccoli, red pepper, carrot, almond milk and 1/2 a frozen.  It was pretty gross.  I choked it down anyway.  I was over-zealous in my new resolve by including so much greenery.
Lunch ~ A can of organic chicken soup and some left over sauteed spinach.
Dinner ~ Pan-seared tilapia over a spinach salad with homemade roasted garlic vinaigrette.
Exercise ~ About a 1.25 mile walk with The Wife.