Wavering a Bit

Man, it'd be so easy to hang it up right now. The weekend weight gain was more draining than it was demoralizing. Five more pounds to make up. On top of that, they ordered pizza for the class I was in today.

My plan for this week is to try a couple days of the no-carb diet. Lots of meat 'n greens, liters of water. On top of that, I need to get back in the workout groove. Here's the plan:

2 weight lifting sessions w/ elliptical
1 long bike ride with Pops

Food Log:

Breakfast:
turkey sausage, egg, and cheese muffin - 6

Lunch:
pizza x3 - 27

Dinner:
8oz white meat chicken - 8
2 servings sweet potato fries - 8

49/49

Let's Pretend this Weekend Never Happened

A couple things happened (or didn't) that has me hurting tonight:

1. My buddy Stevo was in town. This inevitably leads to drinking beer.
2. VT knocked off #1 Duke in hoops Saturday night + I attended a birthday dinner the same night. More beer.
3. I failed to meet my workout goals. Couldn't drag myself to the gym today.

The weight plot tells the tale, as will the photo of me in size small pajamas. Stay tuned.

Food Log:

Lunch: shrimp salad - 10-15

Snack:
nuts - 3
turkey - 3

Dinner:
2x chix thigh - 8
2c corn - 8
salad - 4

41/49

Onward!

So, on the advice of a friend, I radically altered my diet to jump-start the weight loss process. Her advice was to eschew virtually all carbs and load up on water, protein, and sugar-less foods. Really eat up. That I did, and it was somewhat enjoyable. Thing was, I think she was hinting that I should ditch the Weight Watchers for a day or two, and not worry about the points; just focus on eating protein and dodging carbs. I altered this gameplan slightly to adhere to the chemistry of her plan, but still keep my points under 49. It actually worked out well, until I got home. More about that in a bit.

Drank a couple gallons of water today, and I'm not done. Ate four hardboiled eggs, and we know the effect that can have on my cholesterol. Suffice it to say this is a temporary diet. I actually felt sufficiently full throughout the day, but sustained a headache on my commute home and felt generally irritable. Sounds about right when you detox off refined sugars. Continued with my protein-rich, carb-starved diet for dinner, but sadly, I think I sabotaged the entire chemistry experiment by hitting the whiskey bottle pretty hard. Decent amount of sugar in those spirits. We'll find out tomorrow. I'll stick with this detox for as long as our pantry, fridge, and freezer can support it. Hopefully this metabolic shock is just what I need.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
2 hardboiled eggs - 4
3 turkey sausage links - 3

Lunch:
monstrous chef salad w/ grilled chicken and 2 hardboiled eggs - 10

Snack:
pistachios - 10

Dinner:
6oz pork chop - 8
caesar salad - 2

Spirits:
Our very own Sperryville-distilled Wasmund's Single Malt - 12

49/49

RAGE!!!

Yesterday I ate modestly, consumed an early dinner, and snacked on carrots when my hunger grew out of control around 8pm. I knew I was poised to lose a sizable chunk. I was predicting the 211s. Plus, there were other "indications" that I'd lose weight. I was just plain confident.

This morning was more painful than normal. Had to get up a bit early to make it to work for an early meeting, haven't been sleeping well because of allergies, and had to deal with an irrational weigh-in. Plus .6lbs? Really? I must have reweighed a half dozen time, repeating my morning ablutions. Hilariously, my weight increased to 214.2 after my second round. What the frak? This makes no sense. The only thing I can think is that I loaded up on motrin last night to treat my ailing back. Did I retain a couple liters of water? Bah!!!

This morning just sucked. I was feeling stressed about this thing last night but knew I had done everything right. I was going to lose a big chunk of weight. ROAR!!! 

Anyway, I must keep chopping wood. Sarah Allen-Short wrote me a long instruction manual detailing how to shock my metabolism back into losing weight. Thanks, Sarah. I will do my best to shed the habits I've fallen into and try some other methods. Perhaps that's the problem. Bring on protein-rich, natural foods and gallons of water!

Hit the gym tonight with renewed vigor. 30 obsessed minutes on the elliptical and a good bicep and triceps workout. It's amazing how much muscle mass you lose after missing three weeks in the gym. My arms look like noodles.

Food Log:

Breakfast:

turkey sausage, egg, and cheese muffin - 6

Lunch:

chix caesar salad wrap - 15

french fries - 11

Dinner:

mushroom ravioli - 11

chix portion - 3

1/2c strawberry milk - 3

49/49

I Think I'm Panicking

It's really not an option for me to fail at losing 30 pounds. This will happen. I'm starting to think I can't accomplish it in 90 days, though. I'm well behind the curve. What happened to those 2+ pound losses overnight? I guess this is the plateau people foretold. Still, I have to think with some epic workouts and a clean diet I can make up the time. Another couple weeks like this, though, and 90 days will probably turn into 120. Ugh.

This is the probably the time when I need the most encouragement from my readers. Wait...I don't think they exist anymore. Just a week after the costume ideas escalated to a point of madness, people have all but forgotten what is on the line. I mean, I posted my workout goals Sunday, and there have been zero costume instructions. Woe is me.

At least there's Adam. Adam, who has fought through flu, vomitous kids, and barren energy stores, has left me regular comments. Any man who calls me an Adonis deserves his own paragraph. Adam, I thank you. And as far as the Thor the Mountainclimber goes, those pictures are a lesson in smoke and mirrors. Let's start with the backpack. The waist belt of the pack beautifully tucks away my love handles. The black lycra shirt? Well, it does a great job of optically smoothing the topography of my man-boobs. And yes, the above-shot photograph lessons the doublyness of my chin. Still, I think we can see some real improvement.

Food Log:

Breakfast:

turkey sausage, egg, and cheese muffin - 6

Lunch:

fettuccine alfredo Smart Ones - 6

Crackerful - 4

snack bar - 4

Snack:

apple 

Dinner:

roast beef, cheese, horseradish mayo sandwich - 12

baked Lays - 4

cheesecake - 5

Snack :

carrots 

49/49

Pizza

So I've determined that pizza is about the worst food one can eat while dieting. It must be the sodium and binding agents that keep the weight elevated for days. My weight has been heading in the wrong direction, and while I'm confident it will drop, I must confess I'm getting nervous. Not only am I falling pretty far behind, but the carbs in that pizza has my hunger raging out of control. Must control my appetite! Must really control my post-workout appetite!

Well, I got some photos back from the hike this weekend, and it's reassuring to compare my present form to that of my December body. Remember, it was that hike in late 2010 that got me juiced for my diet. Check out the difference:

Before:
  

After:

Now, it's a bit apples and oranges. Shetland wool does not a svelte appearance make. And lycra really doesn't add any pounds.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
yogurt - 2
South Beach bar - 4

Lunch:
spinach and fettuccine alfredo Smart Ones- 7
Crackerful - 4
snack bar - 4

Snack:
banana
apple
bourbon - 6

Dinner:
soup - 2
beef and bird sandwich - 11
mashed taters - 3
cheese cake - 5

48/49

Acountability

Today found me sore, pooped, and generally lazy. Somehow I motivated to the point of fertilizing my lawn along with adding a layer of lime. Following that, I slept for two hours. Now, normally, if you're going to work out, it's not recommended that you nap just prior. In fact, it comes close to guaranteeing you won't work out. This is the beauty of public accountability. Would I be required to wear UVa garb for my next photo update? Not that big of a deal. In fact, the dramatist in me relished the idea of posing for a photo wearing a UVa t-shirt over two polo shirts, both with popped collars, along side a crisp chardonnay and a wedge of parm. But I think this public deal focused me on the idea of failing to the point that it just wasn't an option. My workout sucked, I counted the minutes until completion, but it was completed.

My workout plan for this coming week is as follows:

2 gym days
1 cycle day

First to comment on this post gets to pick the photo conditions for next week should I not meet my workout goal.

Food Log:

Breakfast -
yogurt - 2
South Beach bar - 4

Lunch:
3 pieces thin crust pizza - 18?
1 breadstick - 4?

Dinner:
1 6oz filet - 8?
mashed taters - 6
asparagus w/ cheese - 1
cheese cake - 5
truffle - 1
wine - 6
whiskey - 6

61/49

Workout:
30 minutes on the elliptical
chest, back, and triceps

Just a Note

I'm either bushed or sick. Probably both.

Managed to make the hike this morning, and it was well worth it. White Oak Canyon is a real gem. Frankly, it's a better hike than Old Rag.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
Cliff Bar - 7

Snack:
3 Cliff Shot Blocks - 2?

Lunch:
Peanut butter sandwich- 11?
turkey roll - 6?

Dinner #1:
garlic chix with brown rice - ?

Dinner #2:
3 pieces flat crust pizza - ?
1 breakstick - ?

How am I starving right now? I suppose if you believe the calorie calculator for the White Oak Canyon hike, I burned 3000 calories. Perhaps I've still banked some?

No idea/49

Oof

Not feeling the best tonight. Sore throat, flushed, and a slightly upset stomach. Perfect for the night before a long hike. Wish me well. Please be allergies.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
South Beach bar - 4
yogurt - 2

Lunch:
chicken salad - 6
Crackerful - 4
Snack bar - 3

Dinner:
general tso - a lot

a lot/49

Halfway Home

Day 45. Let's take a moment to reflect on the past month and a half. It's really been action packed, with two birthdays and a romantic holiday. Couple that with two injuries that kept me out of the gym and off the bike, and I feel pretty good about the fact that I'm only 1.4lbs off the mark. What I consider the primary challenge at this point is fighting the boredom of healthy eating. Putting a time limit on the loss really forces me to minimize cheating. If this was a classic "life change" thing, a pizza here and a Five Guys burger there wouldn't really matter. Eventually I'd reach my goal.

 I'd say I'm well past the point of obsessing over how little I'm eating. In fact, it seems more than adequate. It's just boring. Healthy is just boring. Look, salad on my diet is truly like eating rabbit food. A salad in other circumstances can be a delicious meal. Walnuts, feta, dehydrated cranberries, a rich balsamic emulsion, hell, tortilla strips, meat, croutons. That's mostly healthy eating. It just won't lose you 1/3 pound a day.

Cheers to me! I'm back in the gym, baby. I wrung out that elliptical for 30 minutes and dusted off the guns with a bicep and triceps workout. My back is still in shambles, but if it hasn't healed by now, perhaps a workout is the proper medicine. One more gym trip this week, and that UVa gear will have just been a bad dream. Looking forward to my hike Saturday.

Food Log:

Breakfast-
South Beach bar - 4

Lunch-
6" turkey, cheese flatbread (Subway) - 11
Crackerful - 4
Fiber One bar - 4

Snack-
Cliff bar - 7

Dinner-
2c vegetable soup - 2
turkey and cheese sandwich - 11
van Winkle 12yr bourbon - 6

49/49

Top 5! Breakfast Foods

Well, I better get that UVa t-shirt from Craig. Feeling run down tonight, and I skipped my workout. I still have time to fit them all in, but it'll be tight. Looks like we have some interesting ideas for next week.

Today's post will rate the various breakfast foods I've consumed with some regularity these last two months. Let me know if you have some other treasures I should try.

1. Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Croissant

This right here is magic. 2 minutes in the microwave, and you've got a flakey, tender sandwich. While the muffin version gets almost soggy, the croissant stays dry and is a bit more flavorful. Perfect sandwich for the drive to work. At 8 points, it's more expensive than the options listed below.

2. Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage, Egg, and Cheese English Muffin

This is a more tender version of the previous sandwich, but after being micowaved, the muffin gets too soft, almost soggy. Toss a couple drops of Texas Pete on this baby, and you've got a serviceable breakfast sandwich. Sausage and cheese on a diet is just great. 6 points.

3. South Beach Cinnamon Raison Breakfast Bar + Peach Yogurt

Take the bar, crumble it within the package, open the yogurt, drop in the bar crumbles. What you have created is a overly processed culinary masterpiece. On it's own, the breakfast bar is painfully sweet. Added to the yogurt, the less desirable bar tastes are rounded out by the sweet and slightly sour taste of the yogurt. The cinnamon and peach flavors meld well to form an almost cobblery taste. Perhaps what I like best, though, is the consistency. Chewy, bite size morsels floating in thick, peachy yogurt. 5-6pts

4. Yogurt + Blueberries

Like above, mix the blueberries in with the yogurt. I've found pretty much anything mixed with yogurt is great. Nuts, granola, fruit. Anyway, this breakfast tastes great, and you feel good about yourself. "Hey, my pansy arse is eating yogurt and fruit. I'm hella-healthy!" The only problem is, it doesn't fill you up quite like the other options. Plus, like #3, I have to wait until I arrive at work to eat this. 1-2pts

5. Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Bowl

Now, I've only had this once, and it was weeks ago. I fairly remember it tasting fantastic. Scrambled egg, sausage, cheese, what's not to like? It gets dinged points for not being portable. I'd like to try it again, though. Probably around 6pts.


Food Log:

Breakfast:
sausage, egg, and cheese croissant - 8

Lunch:
orange chicken Smart Ones - 8
cheezits - 4
Fiber One bar - 4

Snack:
Cliff Bar - 7

Dinner:
turkey, cheese sandwich - 11
vegetable soup - 2
cheesecake - 5

49/49

Time to Hit Cruise Control

Two birthdays, numerous birthday dinners, Valentine's Day all are responsible for the various hiccups on my weight loss plot. However, these excuses for gluttony have run their course. Now my only temptation is slinging back a few cold ones with the cornhole team. I must say it's near torture to watch my friends imbibe at a match, immune to guilt I feel, then continue the night at a local watering hole for victory (or more likely triage) beers. I look forward to the spring season that will have my svelte, sub-200 pound,  gorilla juice-head body tossing cornhole bags and draining brew with impunity.

Until then, I leave the cornhole match immediately after we lose...or win, and satisfy my food and drink cravings with apples and bananas. Bah!

Looks like I'll have to don Craig's UVa t-shirt should I fail to meet my workout goals. I must say I'm disappointed in Stevo's lack of creativity, and to suggest UVa gear? I just don't get it.

I'll try to rate more foods in my next blog entry. Perhaps I'll tackle breakfast.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
sausage, egg, and cheese croissant - 8

Lunch:
Smart Ones rigatoni - 8
Crackerful - 4
cheesecake - 5

Snack:
1.5 banana
pistachios - 5

Dinner:
2c basil shrimp - 10
1c rice - 5
cheesecake - 5

50/49

Happy VDay, Friends

Love my wife.

Food Log:

Breakfast:

turkey sausage, egg, cheese muffin - 6

Lunch:

thai chicken Smart Ones - 7

Crackerful - 4

Mint cookie bar - 2

Snack:

apple

pistachios - 5

Dinner:

1.5 crabcakes - ?

asparagus

roated taters - ?

shrimp

wine

cheesecake 

?/49

Welcome Back, Exercise....and You Too, Post-Exercise Appetite

Yeah, so that dinner last night crushed me. Thankfully, I was able to get out on the bicycle with Pops today. We rode almost 24 miles at a very modest pace. Eventually, after a couple weeks of consistent training, cycling is a truly enjoyable source of exercise. However, the first few rides out are downright painful, unending, and really no fun at all. Four hours later I feel as though a bus ran me over. I get light-headed every time I stand up. At least I sleep well tonight.

The downside of this extreme form of exercise is the voracious, unyielding appetite that follows. I went on an eating tear that lasted three hours. It's not like I binged during dinner. I just ate three different dinners, each separated by an hour or two. This sort of thing can't go on.

Okay, so my body is healed, and I have grandiose plans for exercising this week. Here's the plan:

Tuesday: biceps, triceps, 30 minutes on the elliptical

Thursday: chest, back, shoulders, 30 minutes on the elliptical

Saturday: 3-4 hour hike of White Oak Canyon

Sunday: if I manage to get on the bike after the hike, that's a bonus. I'm not committing to this.

You folks keep me to this. The first person to comment on this blog entry gets to choose the outfit I wear for my next picture (within the bounds of good taste).

Food Log:

Lunch:
1c chili - 5
turkey, cheese muffin - 6
2 cookies - 6

Snacks (throughout the day):
bourbon - 12

Dinner 1:
cheeseburger - 13
2 servings sweet tater fries - 10

Dinner 2:
Crackerful - 4
2 cookies - 6

Dinner 3:
bowl cereal w/ a side of milk - 7

69/49

Oh, What Have I Done?

It's late, I'm full and tired, this will be short. I woke up to a mighty 2.2 pound weight loss. This got me right back on track. However, I ruined it with a gluttonous dinner at Kitchen 64.

Food Log:

Lunch:
Trader Joe's chicken burger - 8
1 1/2c basil chicken - 8
bourbon - 6

Snack:
movie popcorn

Dinner:
prime rib salad - countless
bread - many
chocolate cake with coconut icing - approaching infinity

49++/49

Top 5! Brought to You By Stevo, the Birthday Boy

Each day brings a new viewing record for my blog, and I'd be lying if I said it hasn't gone to my head. We're probably just days away from Weight Watchers Magazine syndication. At least part of this is thanks to Sarah Allen-Short, who I believe has sped-read my rags over the past day or so. To address your comments, yes I'm using the Points Plus system, and no, I don't count points for fruit.

But with success comes pressure. Not only must I ratchet up the weight loss, but I must raise the content bar. My buddy Stevo had the brilliant idea of rating my microwave meals, and I'll probably create lists for various meals and snacks. My first list, though will rank the microwave lunches I've consumed since the start of my diet. Clearly, there are better options out there than the ones mentioned, and I'll count on you to point those out. Considering Kristy does the bulk of our grocery shopping, the freezer is a sometimes exciting, sometimes dreadful grab-bag of frozen dishes. Here we go:

Top 5 Microwave Meals:

1. Smart Ones Thai Style Chicken and Rice Noodles

Microwave meals tend to lack flavor and variation in texture. That's what makes the Thai Style Chicken so surprising. It's got a lovely peanut sauce that marries sweet and savory, and there's a nice texture contrast between the soft, spongy rice noodles and carrots. Plenty of protein, which is key during a diet, but the real jewel is the sauce.

2. Lean Cuisine Chicken Enchilada Suiza

Again, your best bet is to stick with ethnic food, as it provides the most flavor of all your options. Now, the enchilada itself is pretty horrid, as it resembles tasteless chicken mash wrapped in a band aid. However, the secret is in blending the side bowl of rice and corn in the fake cheese soup upon which the enchilada rests. I find that when dieting, I really miss cheesy, rich foods. This scratches that itch. Mix in about 10 shakes of Texas Pete and you have yourself an extremely adequate meal.

3. Smart Ones Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Microwave pasta is pretty easy to pull off, and Smart Ones does just fine with this dish. Spaghetti provides that comfort food fix that I tend to miss when dieting. The sauce is bland, but the meal is filling, thanks to the meat product and mushrooms. Again, a few shakes of hot sauce makes the flavor tolerable.

4. Lean Cuisine Cheese Ravioli

Pasta, cheese stuff, marinara, what's not to like? The meager portion, that's what. This one comes through in the umami taste category. Just wish there was twice as much.

5. Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken

Honestly, this one probably belongs at or near the top. Ample chicken portions, fried breading, sweet sauce, it's really a renaissance meal. It gets ranked this low because I've probably eaten this thing a couple hundred times in the last three years. Still, eat this if you haven't yet.

I eat one of these probably 3-4 times a week, and it's a testament to the convenience and adequate quality that I've stuck with them this long. Each of these dishes equates to 6-8 WW points, so I really should be eating two of these over lunch. Also, the flat-bread and pizza options are quite tasty, but I'm not sure how many points they cost, and we just haven't had them in the freezer for a while. In the coming weeks, I'll probably rank my bottom 5 microwave lunches.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
yogurt - 2
South Beach bar - 4

Lunch:
Trader Joes chicken burger on wheat bun - 8
baked Cheetos - 5
Cinnamon snack bar - 3

Snack:
apple

Dinner:
basil chicken - 5
1c rice - 5
2x fresh spring rolls - 10
bourbon - 12

54/49

Matt Zuckerohrer, A Sellout

Blogspot has some interesting features that allow you to plot page visits over the past day, week, month. I was somewhat proud to see I've had over 600 site visits since its inception. My visitation has grown over the past month and even week, and it's not surprising considering I've started throwing around shout-outs. Another cool feature Blogspot provides is monetization using Google's Adsense. Screw the diet, and screw your unimpeded reading experience. I'm making a cash grab! You'll soon see my paltry blog peppered with ads, that ironically, will probably focus on food, grocery stores, and restaurants (considering my regular topics).

Now, truly coincidentally, I just watched Social Network tonight. I must say it will be a bit disappointing if I don't walk away from this diet and blog with an office in Palo Alto and a few hundred mil. That being said, if any money is made at all, it should go towards funding my whole-hog roast with Bottoms Up! appetizers. Unfortunately, after studying some of the Adsense business models, I discovered that 30+ days into my blog, I would have netted roughly $1.50. Unless my readership increases by several orders of magnitude, I assure you the ads won't be around for long.

It's nice to see the comments roll in, and I thank you guys for sticking with this blog. Updating it on a daily basis tends to dilute the quality. I find myself with maybe one interesting story a week, but I've committed to typing out something each day. I'm sure it makes for boring reading, so I'll try to up my game.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
turkey sausage, egg, and cheese muffin - 6

Lunch:
chili - 5
Crackerful - 4
snack bar - 3

Snack:
pistachios - 5
apple

Dinner:
luscious hamburger on wheat bun - 11
sweet tater fries - 10
snack bar - 3
bourbon - 6

54/49

Snacks and Boredom

It's no coincidence that the diet (and life in general) becomes boring right about the time I hit a consistent string of weight losses. That's normally a sign that I'm doing something right. Which itself is a sign that I'll struggle to keep the weight off after I've reached my goal. Thankfully, I've found new and interesting snacks to make my boring afternoons a bit easier to handle. Pistachios, baby! While one of the healthier nuts, it's also probably the tastiest, in my opinion. Not to mention you burn a few calories while shedding the shells.

I skipped the gym again tonight due to a lingering back issue. It doesn't look like I'll get a workout in until this weekend. I plan to take a 20+ mile bike ride. Thanks for the various comments, friends. It's nice to get some encouragement regarding my mini-plateau. When I've lost 15 of my 30 pounds, we'll start to plan the victory party. Adam suggested smoking a whole pig. I'll be interested to hear other suggestions.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
turkey sausage, egg, and cheese muffin - 6

Lunch:
chicken enchilada - 7
baked Lays - 4
mint chocolate cookie crisp - 2

Snack:
pistachios - 5

Dinner:
chix burger - 8
mac n cheese - 4
potatoes and green beans - 5
cupcake - 8
milk - 2

51/49

Nothing Motivates Like the Enemy

Every wrestling opera needs a heel, and folks, I've found mine. It seems the positive vibes were too much for one "m-roll", the villain who commented on yesterday's blog entry. Now, we all know that the power I've accumulated over the past weeks in the form of my rabid, faithful blog following, could crush her with just a few stinging comments. However, I ask you to take the high road with me, dear readers. Let the rage drip away along with the weight. A graceful victory is like no other. Know this, m-roll, I will lose the weight!

So, my foot is feeling better with each passing day, and my back has recovered quickly. I'm making a play for the gym tomorrow. I can taste it! My gorilla juice-headedness has waned over the past two weeks, and I'm eager to get my sweat on. And Lord knows I need the get back on the other side of the weight loss curve. I miss those days when weight loss was seen back-to-back-to-back-to-back.

Big shout out to Craig Campana, who has been leaving pretty regular comments and has responded to my daily weight-twitter. You my boy!

Food Log:

Breakfast:
turkey sausage, egg, and cheese muffin - 6

Lunch:
thai chicken Smart Ones - 7
baked Lays - 4
mint chocolate cookie crisp - 2

Snack:
trail mix - 10

Dinner:
ham, turkey, cheese sandwich - 10
vegetable soup - 1
3 small, lite beers - 9

49/49

Foot Bone's Connected to the...Back Bone

I packed my workout clothes today. Back in the groove!, I thought. But after sitting with my legs crossed for a half hour at work, my back tweaked. This happens occasionally, and when it does, it's impossible to sit for long periods. I took myself home, applied heat, and laid down for the day/night. Wee bit depressing.

So I've decided to take Stevo up on his suggestion to award the readers w/ various embarrassing outfits when I don't meet my workout goals. I'll define the coming week's goals each Sunday night and will document them throughout the week. Obviously, this starts next week.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
yogurt - 2
South Beach bar - 4

Lunch:
orange chicken Smart Ones - 8
baked Lays - 4
cupcake - 3

Snack:
pretzels + dip - 8

Dinner:
sandwich - 9
chili - 8
ice cream - 3

49/49

Diet Destruction

This quote from yesterday turned out to be hilarious:

"Dinner:

not sure what I'm getting, but let's keep it somewhat reasonable!"


Ended up ordering a burger, fries, crab dip, and peanut butter pie. Unknown to me was the fact that the burger was a double bacon cheeseburger. What's hilarious (and glorious) is that I only gained .4lbs. Woot.


Today was worse. I cut loose a bit at our joint birthday family celebration, and my free fall reached terminal velocity at Craig's super bowl party. Needless to say I have my work cut out for me going forward. Time to resume exercising and healthy weekend eating. Check out this rap sheet:


Food Log:


Lunch:


2 small sandwiches - 18
vegetable soup - 1 
cupcake - 3
cake - 5


Dinner:
2 servings white chili - 12
cheese - 2
sour cream - 1
2x bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers - countless
chips and queso dip - countless ^2
chocolate cake - bunches
many 'a bourbon - mondo


approaching infinity/49

Falling Behind

Well, I missed my first post yesterday. Kristy's birthday celebration had us out until 1am. What's interesting is that the wine pairing dinner and subsequent drinks didn't keep me from shedding weight. I'm not out of the clear, though. I'm taking her out tonight for dinner and a movie.

I'm still losing weight, but I'm falling behind the curve. Thankfully, my foot seems to be mostly mended. Time to hit the gym next week. Stay tuned for my decision on clothing.

Friday's Food Log:

Breakfast:
turkey sausage, egg, cheese muffin - 6

Lunch:
12" turkey, cheese sub on wheat - 18

Dinner:
strawberry and greens salad w/ lime cumin vinaigrette - few
sausage, potato, cheese amalgam - countless
seafood cakes - countless
pistachio ice cream angel food cake - moderate
wines, beers - countless

Saturday's Food Log:

Lunch:
5/8 thin crust pizza - 20
garlic butter - 10?

Dinner:

not sure what I'm getting, but let's keep it somewhat reasonable!

Real Food and Real Hunger

Muahahaha! I knew if I lauded one reader publicly, others might retort with comments! Had an additional blog comment today and another person tell me they're still reading. Perhaps I'll honor the most verbose commenter each week.

Stevo had an interesting idea that has me wearing different outfits for my weekly photo determined by adherence to my workout plan. If I follow the plan, I get to wear the Maroon Effect shirt. If I skip my workouts, UVa gear or bra and panties (which is worse?). Let me know how you feel about this, folks.

I met a couple buddies up at Buffalo Wild Wings for some real bar food and a couple beers. My, did it taste great. But a sampling of forbidden fruit has this sinner craving more! Came home from the bar famished! I must have eaten a pound of carrots at Rohrer Ranch.

Food Log:

Breakfast:

turkey sausage, egg, and cheese bagel - 6

Lunch:

curried tuna - 6

cheezits - 4

Fiber One bar (much to the detriment of my work-suite mates) - 4

Snack:

banana

Dinner:

2 chicken soft tacos - 8

chips/salsa - 8

3 pints light beer - 12

48/49

Shoutout to Jen Noble!!!

It's been thirty days. I've hit the first milestone signifying the first third of my journey is complete. At this point I had hoped to lose 10lbs. If you notice the statistics on the left, I'm down exactly 9.8lbs. Not bad.

I'd like to give a formal shoutout and "thank you" to Jen Noble. Jen has been my most consistent commenter, and it's nice to know at least one person is reading this babble.

Sucked it up and used both crutches and the boot today, and I must say my foot is feeling a bit better. Surprisingly, I actually think it's easier (and faster) to use two crutches. The problem is it's affecting my productivity at work. Instead of jumping out of my seat to confer about something, serious, well thought out plans and schedules must be made before I venture out of my office. I try to condense as much activity into one trip as possible, simply to reduce the number of trips. Why? It's tiring, and I'm sick of explaining my inexplicable injury.

As far as food goes, I've come to find that the quantities I'm eating are satisfying. In the past, it felt like I was starving myself. The only torture I live with now is knowing that I can't, on the spur of the moment, order a large, sweaty pizza. I'll make 200lbs, this is not in doubt. It's just going to be a boring trip.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
turkey sausage, egg, cheese bagel - 6

Lunch:
2x chix sausage - 6
cheetos - 5
Fiber One bar - 4

Snack:
trail mix - 10

Dinner:
bunch of sushi - 18
banana
apple

49/49

Security in the Idea of Snacks

Funny tidbit: I missed a photo update last week and was eager to add one today. It's hilarious how much bigger I look today than I did on 1/18. I must have been sucking it in on the 18th.

I packed a bit light today, totally forgetting to pack snacks. No apple, no trail mix, no almonds, nuthin. As I got a hair hungry around 3, I almost panicked at the thought of having nothing healthy to eat. Pretty bizarre. Having a dusty pack of trail mix sitting in my drawer would have probably persuaded me to abstain. Having nothing made me crave for donuts, chips, etc.

I'm really missing my workouts, and my foot is taking its sweet time to recover. That's all I got, folks.

Food Log:

Breakfast:
South Beach bar - 4
yogurt - 2

Lunch:
gumbo - 9
baked Lays - 4
cottage cheese and blueberries (rad combo) - 2

Dinner:
gumbo - 9
mac 'n cheese - 8
salad w/ oil and parm - 4
peach crisp - 3
chocolate popsicle - 3

48/49