What's In My Head Wednesday, 3.14

Welcome to WIMHW for this Pi day, 2012.  What’s Pi Day?  One might think it was dedicated to delicious desserts or pizza but thankfully, it is because today is 3.14, the same as Pi (the circumference of any circle divided by its diameter).  I say thankfully because what could be worse for a food addict than a whole day dedicated to a dessert or everyone’s favorite, pizza?  Well some sadistic marketing genius must have realized that point, because today is also National Potato Chip Day.  I got bombarded with facts about potato chips today.  I even saw articles about flavors ranging from Chili Squid to Chocolate Marshmallow.  I kid you not…Chocolate Marshmallow potato chips.  The point is that we are bombarded by pleas to make unhealthy food choices almost every minute of every day.  A study in 2007 showed that the average American adult is exposed to 600-625 ads per day.*  A large percentage of that is for food.  If you feel might be susceptible to yielding to these flirtations with your taste buds, then perhaps you should turn off the tube and pick up a book.  If you think about it, it’s not much different than an alcoholic being asked to go to a bar a few hundred times a day.  Stay strong folks.  Temptation is everywhere.

Speaking of temptation, this week I am throwing myself in harm’s way... twice.  Thursday evening I will be taking my best client out for a fancy dinner at an upscale steakhouse, overlooking Manhattan.  I would normally start the evening with a vodka martini, up, with blue cheese stuffed olives and then move on to an appetizer, wine with my large fat-marbled steak, plus a baked potato swimming in butter and sour cream, then dessert.  Tomorrow, I think I will just have a nice salad (dressing on the side), a petite filet mignon and some grilled asparagus.  I’ll pass on dessert and have some decaf.  I will also forego the once savored,  post-gluttenfest scotch.  That’s going to be a hard one because this place is also a cigar lounge.  Not much better with a cigar than a good scotch on the company dime.  Sigh.  It ain’t worth it in the long run.

Saturday is Saint Patrick’s Day.  I will be attending my cousins’ annual SPD party.  Bloggergirl45, the hostess and one of our followers here at TDT195, is being so gracious as to provide alternatives for me on this day where I am sure she has a lot better things to do than cook for some of us with alternative food lifestyles.  I was thinking of just having a sampling of the various Irish dishes that will no doubt be on hand, but knowing that she is trying to support my efforts is so touching to me that I will keep my resolve.  Sobriety from food addiction, alcohol or controlled substances is not a part time job.  You can’t do it part way.  Even I, who writes for hours and hours each week on the subject forgets that at times.  Gatherings like this were once all about the food for me.  What is important is spending time with those you care about.  The things that endure are not the corned beef sandwiches or buttery boiled potatoes you shoveled in your cakehole.  I’ll be sure to blog more about holidays and how we view, and should view them in the future.

What's in my head this Wednesday is temptation, dear readers.  It’s always around.  The devil on your shoulder is telling you, “It’s okay.  A taste can’t hurt.  You can make up for it tomorrow.”  Well, that’s how your resolve gets broken down, when the guilt sets in and you feel a sense of failure.  For me at least, that is when things fall apart.  Well, not this time.  I’m going to see that scale move on Monday.  It will if you do the right thing, Mike.  You’re new life is waiting.

Cya tomorrow for Cooking Thursday,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Kashi Island Vanilla cereal w/a small banana and Vanilla Almond Silk

Lunch ~ Tomato soup and a big salad w/baby romaine, cukes, chick peas, cannellini beans, red oinion, carrots and sherry wine vinaigrette

Dinner ~ A homemade salmon cake and steamed broccoli w/lemon and garlic salt.  Look for the recipe tomorrow.  Here is a picture to whet your appetite.

Exercise ~ What a beautiful spring day to walk 2 miles around the lake.

*Media Matters, 2007

TV Mirroring My Life

Last night at midnight I was about to pack it in and call it a night.  I am generally a night owl anyway and I noticed a program was coming on called My 600-Lb Life on TLC.  Previously, I had avoided these shows because I felt that if I watched it, they would strike too close to home and be extremely uncomfortable for me to bear.  Last night was different, however.  Given my newly found food sobriety, I decided to stay up for the hour and see how closely it mirrored my own life.  The smart thing would have been to TIVO the thing and get a decent night's sleep.  I never professed to being smart.   Okay, that one time in the blog two weeks ago, but I digress.

The show chronicles the life of a person of over 600 lbs. during his, or in this case her experiences through weight-loss surgery and beyond.  This poor 24 year old,girl, named Ashley, started out the show at 617lbs.  Watching what she went through and how she discussed her struggles with being obese touched me greatly.  From how she hardly fit behind her steering wheel to her joy in buying clothes from a brick and mortar store rather than online, it mimicked my own tribulations.  Seeing her come to after her gastric bypass surgery, in absolute agony, made me flashback to the worst pain in my life; awaking after my own such procedure.  The expression 'feeling like you were hit by a bus' seems like an understatement.  It was excruciating.

Her eating habits after the surgery and an initial one year loss of over 200lbs. started to return to her old poor choices. Sound familiar?  The addiction crept back in.  She put on a fair amount of weight once she got used to eating 'normal' again.  But happily, even though there were struggles throughout, she managed to take off over 360lbs and have multiple surgeries to remove skin, ultimately becoming a girls softball coach.

So now it's 1 o'clock in the AM and I am off to bed, right?  Hell no!  The frigs at TLC decided to ask, "What goes better with 600-pounders shedding their fat?"  Former gastric bypass patients living in their now deflated bodies and in need of skin removal, that's what!  Ugh.  I guess I wasn't getting to bed until 2 now.  Devious programming bastards!

The Real Skinny journals two such people, one man and one woman, who's skin is sagging so much that they "have the bodies of eighty year olds" under their clothes.  All of their hard work and dedication to making their lives better with a new body hits a brick wall when they have done all they can and will go no further without the help of a cosmetic surgeon.  Their sagging flesh was a constant reminder and source of shame as to what they had done to their bodies.  If you have read this blog before, you know I am dreading this part.  To watch the surgeries didn't help much.  The doctor literally makes a 360 degree incision around the waist, TWICE, to remove a strip of skin and fat weighing over twenty pounds.  He then sticks his hand up under your skin and separates it from the muscle as if he were putting butter and herbs under the skin of your Thanksgiving gobbler.  Subsequently, he hikes the now distant pieces of remaining flesh up like a pair of jeans and staples you back together.  While the woman on the show had little or no complications, the man struggles with infections, his wounds re-opening, and depression.  No sh*t!  I'd be depressed too if I could see inside my own wounds, like Jesus on the cross. 

I am glad I stayed up for these two hours of reality, so closely resembling mine.  It reminded me of much of what I have been through and made me face what's to come.  If you haven't seen either of these documentaries, I would imagine by virtue of the fact that you have read this far and frequent The Drive to 195, you'd find them worth while.  You will certainly gain some insight into my own issues.

Cya tomorrow for WIMHW,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Flax Raisin Crunch cereal w/ 1/2 a banana and Vanilla Almond Silk

Lunch ~ Out to lunch for Chinese to my colleagues.  Various dishes from octopus with sour vegetables to turnips cakes. I tried to pick from the healthiest choices on the table.  With several sets of eyes on me familiar with this blog, I kept myself in check fairly well.

Mid-afternoon snack ~ 1/2 a banana

Dinner ~ TBD as I am writing this before dinner.  Likely, vegetarian sushi though.

Exercise ~ Taking the day off from walking and I napped instead, given my late evening prior.  Beautiful day for walking.  Pity I wasted it.

Week 5 Weigh-in

At the start of week 6, I find that I am not dreading the scale as I used to.  I supposed I have settled in with the fact that this is my new lifestyle and everything else will take care of itself.  My body will take off the weight as it sees proper.  The jeans are a little looser, the belts need another hole punched and my shirts, while always roomy in the collar, are now less snug around the waist.  Although I am looking forward to clothes shopping for the new trimmer me, buying clothes for the interim me is going to be a dilemma.  Look good, but don’t spend too much.  Why bother?  I’ll be growing out of them soon enough.

Let’s get down to the numbers then.  I guess today was a milestone of sorts.  This last week brought a weight loss of 2.4 lbs.  That brings the total for the end of the first 5 weeks to exactly 25 lbs.  I now weigh less than I have in the last 5 years, or so.  Nice to be able to roll back the clock five years in five weeks, huh?  What I would really like to do is turn back the clock 10 years by November, when my thirtieth high school reunion takes places.  I recall being around 295 for the twentieth.  I still have the suit I wore that night in a closet downstairs.  It was bought just for the occasion.  It’s been forever since that suit fit.  I’d like to get into it again for the reunion.  I remember feeling better about myself then.  Far from fit that night, but almost 200 lbs. less than at my heaviest.  It might be hard for anyone to understand how one can feel good about one's self at 295 lbs., but knowing how bad I felt at 483.5 lbs gave me a perspective I expect few to grasp. 

Borrowing from one of my readers, onward and downward.

Cya tomorrow,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Amy’s Breakfast Burrito w/1Tbs fat-free Greek yogurt and salsa.  Fresh fruit salad of pink grapefruit and ½ a banana

Lunch ~ Black Bean Chipotle Gardenburger w/piquillo pepper sauce, baby romaine on a whole grain sandwich thin and tomato soup

Dinner ~ Pan-seared tilapia over sautéed baby kale and white beans. I wasn’t going to post a picture but it looked and tasted too darned good!

Exercise ~ 1 mile around the lake on this gorgeous night.  The week’s goal was 7.7 miles.  I walked 8.2 miles this past week.  WHO DA MAN?!!!

A.L.O.E. 03/11/2012

Welcome to A.L.O.E. (A Little Of Everything) for this Sunday.  Just small bites of info, witticisms and observations too small for a full post.

Life of Riley

My dog Riley (pictured here) is actually smarter than I am.  Lately, he has gotten into the habit of just eating how much he wants and only when he is hungry.  We will put out food for him three times daily, as we always have, but he'll only eat when and if he feels like it.  If there is too much on the plate, Riley will only eat until he is full.  Smart dog.  How did this 18 month old pooch figure out what took me 48 years?  A conversation with Tabitha and I the other day went like this... 

Tabitha: Michael, you can't leave the Riley's unfinished food plate on the floor when he is done eating.
Mike: He'll come back to it when he is hungry.
Tabitha: It is growing bacteria!  You can't just leave it out!
Mike:  The freakin' dog eats poo for chrissake!  Leave it there until he wants more!

The food got put away in the fridge.  She always wins.

The Bodies

Tabitha has gone back to school and is currently taking human biology.  A requirement for the class is that she attends an exhibit in NYC called, "The Bodies".  If you haven't heard of this before, it is actual human bodies that have been dissected, plasticized and displayed.  You see EVERYTHING, inside and out.  Very interesting and very educational.  Looking at both diseased and healthy organs side-by-side with healthy ones is eye opening.  Given my recent epiphany about my health, I certainly looked at the display with much more interest and certainly, more optimism about my changed ways.  Knowing what could have happened to me (or already start to?) had I continued on my former path of smoking and living to eat will stick with me for years to come.  I highly recommend you visit this attraction in lower Manhattan.  It makes you want to be more caring of your body.

Feelin' Good

At the end of this week (I think of Mondays as the start of the new week were this project is concerned), I feel very good about what I accomplished this week and for once I look forward to weigh-in tomorrow.  As of today, I am only .25 miles from the goal of 7.7 I set for myself this week and my eating has been on target for 5 full weeks now.  Life is good and looking better all the time.

Cya for weigh-in tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Kashi Island Vanilla cereal w/ 1/2 a banana and Vanilla Almond Silk
Lunch ~ Brown Rice California Roll and fennel, Mandarin orange salad
Afternoon treat ~ My 200 calorie Chocolate Banana Shake (see yesterday's blog of recipe)
Dinner ~ Huge salad of mixed greens with cannellini beans, tuna and artichoke hearts in a red wine vinaigrette.
Exercise ~ Walking through NYC and shopping today logged about .4 miles.  Weekly total so far is about 7.5 miles.

Take It On The Run, Baby

I know that I have been a big proponent of cooking your own meals to live a healthy lifestyle, but let's face it, that isn't always possible.  If you are a busy parent, on a road trip or like me, spend much of your work life logging time behind a windshield, you sometimes have to eat on the run.  Fast food is most definitely the scourge of American health, but, in a pinch, you might have to make a run for the border, visit The King or cozy up the that crack pushing clown, Ronald.

Many blogs I just write from my head as a free flow of consciousness and look up facts as needed.  Others I do some background research so I have everything in a row and can lay out facts easily for you.  This is one of those posts.  The other night I did some digging into the nutritional values of the fast food giants and looked for menu items that might be the least of all evils when faced with a meal on the road.  Below are some of the choices you could make when when those less optimal times arrive.  The key elements I looked for in making these choices were, calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium levels.  What I found was that the amount of salt in fast food is off the charts.  That alone disqualified quite a few of menu items that otherwise looked decent.  I found out why the chicken crossed the road.  The Colonel sent him to the neighbor's house to get more salt.  Everything on KFC's menu has more salt than the Dead Sea.  Just typing the letters KFC may have just raised my blood pressure a few points.  Wendy's is just as bad.  Keep in mind, when choosing the items below, that conventional wisdom is to take in less than 2300mg of sodium daily.

Here are some options for you from the major chains.

Breakfast:

• MacDonald's Egg McMuffin ~ 300 calories, 10g fat, 3g sat. fat, 970mg sodium
• MacDonald's Fruit and Maple Oatmeal (hold the brown sugar) ~ 260 calories, 4.5g fat, 2g sat. fat, 115mg sodium
• Burger King Fruit Topped Maple Oatmeal ~ 270 calories, 4g fat, 1.5g sat. fat, 290mg sodium
• Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal w/mixed nuts and dried fruit (hold the brown sugar) ~ 340 calories, 11g fat, 1.5g sat. fat, 115mg sodium

Lunch/Dinner:

• MacDonald's Premium Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken ~ 280 calories, 19.5g fat, 4.5g sat.fat, 825mg sodium *note, this is using HALF of the Newman's Classic Caesar dressing  supplied.
• Burger King Hamburger ~ 260 calories, 10g fat, 4g sat.fat, 490mg sodium
• Burger King Tendergrill Chicken Sandwich w/o mayo ~ 350 calories, 7g fat, 5g sat.fat, 1010 sodium
• Burger King Veggie Burger w/o mayo ~ 320 calories, 7g fat, 1g sat.fat, 950mg sodium
• Wendy's Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich w/Honey Mustard Sauce ~ 390 calories, 10g fat, 3.5g sat.fat, 1080mg sodium
• Taco Bell Fresco Bean Burrito ~ 350 calories, 8g fat, 2.5g sat. fat, 990mg sodium
• Taco Bell Bean Burrito ~ 370 calories, 10g fat, 3.5g sat. fat, 980mg sodium
• Taco Bell Fresco Chicken Soft Taco ~ 150 calories, 3.5g fat, 1g sat.fat, 310mg

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Mike's Egg Mexmuffin (Gardenburger Black Bean Chipolte Burger, 1 egg, 7-spouted grain English Muffin
Lunch ~ Leftover Channa Saag (spice chick peas and spinach) and in the spirit of today's blog a banana chocolate shake (recipe below)
Dinner ~ Chicken breast w/mustard soy glaze, 1/2 cup rice blend, braised cabbage w/apples
Exercise ~ 3.4 miles walked in 2 sessions.  2.1 around the lake and 1.3 at the mall.

Mike's Chocolate Banana Shake
(Serves 2.  Approx. 200 calories per serving):

In a blender combine, 1.5 cups ice, 1 cup Vanilla Almond or Soy Milk, 1 banana, 1 Tbs natural no sugar added peanut butter, 1 Tbs cocoa powder,  1.5 Tbs low fat Greek yogurt, such as Fage 2%, 2 packets Splenda.  Blend until smooth.  Enjoy!

How Did I Get Here?: Part 4

When we last left our husky hero, it was the exit of the eighties and he was lost in funk, looking for direction.  Unfortunately, that direction was heading toward even larger pant sizes and a car full of fast food wrappers.  Also, a need to fill his social calendar.  That outlet was found early 1990 in the form of karaoke.  I was a voice major in college and people were always telling me I should go sing at karaoke down at the Ground Round in Springfield, NJ.  It took me a long while to get up the courage to go sing, but once I did, I found something that not only sated my artistic bent, but also quenched the desire to meet people in a social setting. 

 
I remember the first song I sang that night, Sister Golden Hair by America.  The reaction of the crowd was very favorable and I was hooked.  I have always been one who sought the approval of others and this gave me that fix.  Three and four times a night, I could have the attention of others all to myself and they showered me with pats on the back, drinks for requests filled and sometimes outright gushing of admiration over my singing prowess.  This was a shot to the ego an insecure fat guy could learn to like quite a bit.  People didn't see me as the overweight loner at the bar.  They saw me as a talented, affable guy they wanted to come sit at their table and hang with.  I ate it up...along with a lot of nachos, chicken wings and fried anythings that are served at such establishments.

 
I found myself so into this newly discovered ego boost that I was literally going out seven nights a week to sing.  Now I am not the guy that goes into a joint and drinks a soda or water or some other low priced beverage.  I have always thought that if you are going to take up a seat somewhere, you should support the place and spend some money.  That meant drinks and food.  Alcohol and bar food seven nights a week can pack on the pounds in hurry.  Did I mention that I smoked back in those days too?  Smoking and drinking went hand in hand for me.  If I were to calculate how many beers/cocktails I might have had in a given year, it would likely go something like this: 3 drinks a night, 7 nights a week equals 1092 drinks a year.  Between beers and gin & tonics (my beverage of choice when cocktailing back in the day), a conservative guess of 160 calories each would come to...are you sitting down?  175,200 calories annually.  Add in probably around 7000 calories a week in golden, crispy, delicious cholesterol bombs and you would make 540,200 calories per year, OVER AND ABOVE my three large squares a day!  Not hard to see how by 1996 I expanded to around 350 pounds, is it?

 
In 1994 I hooked up with a wedding band that heard me at the bandleader's weekly karaoke gig.  I spent about a year with them and during that time met someone that I was in a relationship with from about August of 1995 to July of 1996.  She wasn't anything significant to the the topic I write of here, other than the fact that once it was over, I was lonely, bored, and did little else but stay at home, watch TV and eat crap.  The closest thing I a had to relationship for the next two years was with Kumar, the Domino's guy.  I finally decided I needed to go find some friends and get out more.  That is exactly what I did.

 
I knew what I had to do to find a social life.  I would go out and sing.  The conversations would start easily I would meet new people every time.  I wasn't all that interested in dating at the time.  I just wanted camaraderie and something more stimulating than watching Bob Ross painting, from my couch (say it with me now...a little bit of blue...a little bit of blue...oh look! Mr. Tree has a happy little friend! *YouTube search Bob Ross to see the human Quaalude, himself.)  Many of the people I met back in the days of The Sports Section in Roselle Park are still very near and dear to me.  I have been in their weddings, been godfather to their children, and consider some of them family.  Interestingly enough, those people shared a passion for food and drink, just like Yours Truly.  The cycle of gluttony would continue on, only not in private, but with partners in crime.

 
More in the next installment of "How Did I Get Here?" on my surge to peak enormity at the dawn of a new millennium.

 
Cya,
M

 
Here is what I ate and how I exercised today:
Breakfast ~ Oatmeal  and a Skinny Decaf Mocha at Starbucks after a business meeting.  The oatmeal without their brown sugar topping, their mixed nuts and half of the mixed dried fruit was 290 calories of filling tastiness.
Lunch ~ Business lunch out a Chinese restaurant.  Steamed chicken and mixed veg, sauce on the side and brown rice.
Afternoon snack ~ 2 carrots and some hummus
Dinner ~ Brussels spouts soup with veggie protein sausage crumbles
Exercise ~ None today.  It should be a beautiful Saturday to get in some serious mileage.

Cooking Thursday for 3/12/2012

Cooking Thursdays is dedicated to the premise that if you want to be serious about losing weight and being healthy, you need to cook the vast majority of your meals at home. Of course, there are times when you have to eat out or even treat yourself for a special occasion, but knowing what to cook and how to prepare your food at home is essential.  Today I will cover items that I feel indispensable to a well stocked pantry in order to whip up a delicious, healthy meal anytime.

Coming home at the end of a long day of work, shuttling your kids from point A to point B or even both can be a daunting proposition if you know you have to make a nutritious meal and are not sure what that meal might be. One thing that can help tremendously is to have, at all times, the right ingredients on hand that can serve as tasty, wholesome components of your supper. Here are some things I always have stocked to aid in my cheffing.

Spices and dried herbs:
I always have a cadre of staple spices and herbs in the pantry. My ‘go to’ choices are usually garlic powder or garlic salt, oregano, dried basil, and red pepper flakes. I have a few dozen others as well but the 'go to' ones so easily add zip to pasta dishes, seasoning of meats or vegetables and for homemade salad dressings. Bland food will make you feel deprived and bored. That only leads to failure. Set yourself up for success and keep these items on hand.

Brown rice:
Brown rice is not only delicious, but so much healthier than your run-of-the-mill white rice. Sorry, Uncle Ben. That converted stuff is about as healthy as packing peanuts. Brown rice does take longer to prepare so you will need extra time, but if you are in a pinch, I like the Success Boil in a Bag Brown Rice. Ready in about 8 minutes. 

Brown rice is a good source of iron, riboflavin, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, trace minerals such as copper and manganese, and selenium. Plus, it has 4.5x the fiber of white rice.

Whole grain pasta:
If you are trying to lose weight, let’s face it, pasta is not your friend. But if you’d like some pasta occasionally, then use your noodle when choosing your noodle. Look for the stamp similar to the one pictured above, indicating you are getting the most nutrition for your buck. Be wary of labels that say ‘whole wheat’, ‘whole wheat blend’ or 'made with whole grains'. While nutritionally better than white pasta, it’s a slight advantage. When it says ‘100% Whole Grain’ it has the germ and bran intact, the most nutrient rich parts of grain. A typical serving is 1.5 to 2 cups cooked. Most restaurants serve 4 cups of ‘white’ pasta plus sauce and that can be upwards of around 1200 calories. 4 cups of ‘white’ pasta is the equivalent of eating 12 slices of white bread. YIKES! Also, beware of the sauce trap. Just because you are eating a whole grain pasta doesn’t mean it goes into mac and cheese or is served with a high-fat, high-caloric, jarred sauce. A straight up marinara is your best bet.

Extra virgin olive oil and a variety of vinegars:
I use extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) sparingly in volume, but almost daily in my cooking. Oil is a fat and although EVOO is a somewhat healthier form of fat, it is still a fat. Go easy! 

I keep many different kinds of vinegar in my pantry for salad dressings and cooking in general. More than I dozen, I bet, but here are some you might want to keep on hand.

• Red wine vinegar; that old staple that every Italian grandmother put on her salads.

• Balsamic; sweeter and smoother than the red wine variety. Perfect over tomatoes and fresh basil. Reduced over fresh strawberries is one of my faves.

• Apple cider vinegar; take some cabbage and sauté it with onions, apples, caraway seeds and a touch of this vinegar. Fabulous!

Canned beans:
These are a great source of protein. I have become addicted to beans. I love cannellini beans most, but also keep chick peas (aka garbanzo beans) and kidney beans hand. These add texture, fiber and a host of nutrients to your dishes.
Hopefully these tips will keep your food interesting and flavorful. If you don’t enjoy the food you eat, you are doomed to revert to bad choices.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Kashi Island Vanilla Cereal with ½ a banana and Vanilla Almond Silk
Lunch ~ Whole grain pasta with homemade pesto, cannellini beans and fresh tomato
Pre-walk snack ~ ½ of a Honeycrisp apple. If you find these in the store, buy them. My favorite apple.
Dinner ~ Tuna salad a la Mike. A mix of white tuna, cannellini beans, artichoke hearts, tomato and capers in a red wine vinaigrette. I also roasted a sliced eggplant with some EVOO and garlic salt. 
 Exercise ~ I always thought walking all the way around our lake was 2.7 miles. Tonight I found out, via my nifty pedometer watch, it is just 2 miles, but I walked it all. Beautiful weather to walk in.