Slowly turning the wheel

207.0-->214-->216.6

Well, I could see this as the ship turning, just not as fast as I'd like, but when it comes to things like weight gain and loss, slower is always better. As my bike riding has taken a back seat to the weather, I've restarted lifting free weights twice a week this past month, and truth is I feel good, a littler firmer in the right way. I'm healthy.

It's been a bit tough because my freelance dance card has been slow last month, and I suspect February will also be a slog, but truth: it's so much better than where I was last year. I may be fatter, but I'm also happier with how my life is with my family, personal affairs and day to day management.

Though my calorie consumption was pulled back a bit, sweets continue to bleed over from the weekend and into my weekdays. Rather than take this new number as a discouragement, I'm going to take it as an encouragement to stay the course on exercise -- the weights and limited riding do me good, not as a weight loss tool but literally as a mood-elevating drug. But again, truth: I need to refocus on habits that need to last me the rest of my life, not a "diet". I remember my body reacting to my weight loss at the bottom of the curve above by getting ravenous all the time. I need to lower the boom....slowly. Steps for this month:

• Target a calorie cap of 2750 every day
• Limit deserts to Fri night-Sunday afternoon
• Cook more, aim for 5 dinners a week at home.

I have other ideas, but I think taking too much on at once would be a recipe for getting lost in the details -- all those "diets" with a zillion rules and strict meal plans for limited time are all guaranteed to fail. Just retain my mindfulness and don't beat myself up when I backslide a little -- it's the bigger picture that's important, but the big picture is made up of a string of little pictures.

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2682

Not bad, improving, pat on the back for steering this ship BEFORE weighing in on Friday.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2870

SLEPT: 9pm - 6am, 9 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:30am, iced black tea

BREAKFAST 1 : 10:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11:15am, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, beef patty, pickle, split pea soup, health salad, momma salad, pickle 640 cal

DINNER: 6pm, grilled pork tenderloin, roasted brussel sprouts, poppa salad with dressing, 720 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm,  kind bar, popcorn, handful of animal crackers, nutella, +/- 900 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2660

SLEPT: 9pm-6am,  9 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:15am,  iced black tea

BREAKFAST: 10:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11:15am, fage with honey, vanilla, almonds, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, momma salad, cheezits, pickles, 330 cal

DINNER: 5:45pm, burrito, ice cream, +/-1320 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, kind bar, small bowl of cereal and whole milk, +/- 400 cal
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 3340

SLEPT: 9:30pm-1am, 2am-6am, 7.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced black tea

BREAKFAST 1: 9:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11:30, fruit smoothie,  450 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, grilled pork tenderloin, roasted brussel sprouts, poppa salad with dressing, shortbread, +/- 820 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15pm, streetza, +/- 300 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm, lamb sausage poboy, fries, pudding & pie, +/- 900 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, shortbread, +/- 400 cal
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BIKE CREDIT: 500 cal
THURSDAY COUNT: 2290

SLEPT: 11pm-6:30am, 7.5hrs

AM SNACK: 6:45am, iced black tea

BREAKFAST 1: 10:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 12:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 2pm, momma salad, veggie straws, 230 cal

BIKE SNACK: 4pm, homemade granola bar, 300 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, kind bar, 200 cal

DINNER: 6pm, lemon sole, asparagus, poppa salad, ice cream & short bread, +/- 1,500 cal
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FRIDAY COUNT: 2250

SLEPT: 9:30pm-6:30am, 9hrs

AM SNACK: 6:45am, iced black tea

BREAKFAST: 11:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 1pm, fage with honey, vanilla, almonds, 450 cal

LUNCH: 3:45pm, bacon with poppa salad with dressing, 440

DINNER: 7:15pm, burger and fries, +/- 900 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 9pm, shortbread and ice cream +/- 300 cal

Chiptole's Troubles

Chipotle has been recently recurring in the news cycle because of repeated food-born illnesses affecting swathes of customers from locations all over the map. They're soon to close every shop for a morning to institute some new rules about food safety, which is about as loud as you can get in the media to say, "Yes, we are doing something." This is not really surprising, as their sales figures and stock prices are tanking rapidly, partially due to the Feds starting up an investigation into just what the hell is going on with all the people puking, pooping and some even nearly dying because of their burritos.

It's tempting to regard this as a symptom of a lack of social and economic justice -- I've spent some time in restaurants as an adult. There was an incident where I visited a friend in a hospital, it was sudden and the reasons a little mysterious, but it all turned out fine and no big deal. However, a few days later I got a call from the local Center for Disease Control, that while I was in the room where my friend was, there was an recently immigrated African patient who turned out to have a very dangerous, air-borne communicable disease that could be fatal to kids, oldies, etc. They strongly recommended I quarantine myself for 2 weeks - I realized quickly no work for 2 weeks is no pay for 2 weeks, and the CDC wasn't going to cover my bills. I called up the owner of the restaurant and told him exactly the situation -- it was unlikely I was infected, but if I was, the restaurant could potentially become Ground Zero for a plague. Did he want me to stay home or (chortle) offer to pay me to stay 2 weeks at home? I was at work that day, fortunately no one got sick.

The outbreaks at Chipotle could potentially be from a sick or sloppy poppy-handed employee, but it's not certain. However, Chipotle covered those bases in the media this past June, before it could be ascribed to a reaction to the sickenings:

 Though Chipotle has always shown more of an interest in employee retention than many of its competitors (by their own metrics, 95% of all managers are promoted from within), much of their talk of treating their employees well has been more buzzword than actual fact. In moving to allow part-time hourly employees to accrue sick days and paid leave, they appear to be taking a tangible step in the direction of actually backing up their talk.

I guess that's a result of a conflict of their model and the model of the food producers at large -- Chipotle aims to deliver less processed food stuffs more directly from the farm's dirt to the customer's mouth, and our food chain supply system has learned to depend on processing to keep food safe, unspoiled through longer channels and cheap.

Real talk: Chipotle is fast food working in a capitalist system whose marketing works harder than anyone else's to convince you it values YOU equally or more than it's profits. Don't believe it, the only people who value you more than money is yourself. (And maybe your parents and kids, if they're not complete a-holes.)

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2744

An ok eat week, getting a little better, hopefully I can keep pushing in this direction slowly without evoking a counter reaction in my cravings and appetite.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2120

SLEPT: 10:30pm - 7am, 8.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 9:30am, iced black tea

BREAKFAST 1 : 11am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

LUNCH: 2:30pm, beef patty, pickle, split pea soup, health salad, momma salad, pickle 640 cal

DINNER: 5:30pm, lemon sole, asparagus, poppa salad with dressing, 750 cal

EVENING SNACK: 6:30pm, pocky,  570 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 3330

SLEPT: 9pm-6:30am,  9.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:45am,  iced black tea

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: noon, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 12:45pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 3pm, steamed string beans, mushroom curry, chicken meatballs, pickle,  630 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, veggie straws, 130 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, French bread pizzas, poppa salad with dressing, 1060 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8-11pm, kind bar, popcorn, special k and milk, +/-800 cal
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2480

SLEPT: 11pm-5:30am, 6.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 5:45am, iced black tea

AM SNACK: 8:30am, 2 turkey sausage patties, 1 small whole wheat pancake, +/- 200 cal

BREAKFAST 1: 11am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 12:15, Greek yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla,  450 cal

LUNCH: 3pm, bacon, poppa salad with dressing,  400 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, momma salad, pirate booty, 170 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15pm, streetza, +/- 300 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, ramen, pork meatballs, +/- 800 cal
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THURSDAY COUNT: 3080

SLEPT: 10pm-6:30am, 8.5hrs

AM SNACK: 7:15am, iced black tea

BREAKFAST 1: 10:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, fishball hand pulled noodle soup, vegetable dumplings, +/- 500 cal

PM SNACK: 2:45pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with dressing, veggie straws, 370 cal

DINNER: 8pm, skirt steak, mashed potato, string beans, potato pancake, bread, chicken & hummus, chocolate bread pudding, +/- 1,200 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 10pm, nutella, 540cal
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BIKE CREDIT: 575 cal
FRIDAY COUNT: 2710

SLEPT: 12am-5:15am, 5.25hrs

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BIKE SNACK: 11:30am, homemade granola bar365 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 1:15pm, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 3pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 3:45pm, kind bar, 200 cal

DINNER: 5:15pm, chicken cutlet with mashed potatoes and mushrooms, +/- 900 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 6-8pm, M&Ms, 2 slices streetza, handful of animal crackers, +/- 900 cal

Loaf, Revisited

Cult of the Hamburglar

I wrote about prison loaf a few years ago, and it's been back in the news recently.

Under an agreement announced on Wednesday, the loaf’s long reign as the worst food in the worst corners of New York prisons came to an end, a symbolic victory for inmates’ advocates and state officials seeking more humane, and more appetizing, treatment for prisoners.
“We will eliminate the loaf,” said Alphonso B. David, the chief counsel to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Any society can be measured by how they treat their least powerful -- children & old people, the sick & handicapped, poor & unlucky, minorities & prisoners. This is a small but notable move in the defense of some of our most powerless, when the trend in this country has been to let prisons veer towards becoming post-apocalyptic hellholes, defund education, allow healthcare costs to balloon on the "free" market, cut welfare and role back voting protections.

Still, in the annals of food justice, this isn't just low-hanging fruit. This is fruit that fell off the tree decades ago, is well-rotted, and should have been collected a long time ago. I understand that the NY Times prints articles like this because it is news, not opinion or pushing a particular agenda, but I wish these random stories were somehow connected to the bigger world at large. As the rich get very richer, the middle class disappears and the ranks of the poor balloon, literal bread-and-butter issues will come to the fore. Government largess for radicalized idiot rancher-terrorists out west need to go away and targeted government support for unprofitable but healthy foods need to tip the scales. We can do better.

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2714

My eating tapered off later in the week, capped by a good bike ride mid-day. Just didn't find myself as hungry, not sure why. Maybe the good sleep I've been having? Or something more nefarious?

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MONDAY COUNT: 3010

SLEPT: 11pm - 6am, 7 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1 : 10:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, beef patty, pickle, tomato soup, health salad, 540 cal

BREAKFAST 2 : 3:30pm, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER: 6:45pm, lemon sole, asparagus, poppa salad with dressing, 750 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, popcorn, bowl of cereal and milk, kind bar  +/- 800 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 3210

SLEPT: 9pm-6am,  9 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:15am,  iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11:45am, Greek yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla,  450 cal

LUNCH: 3pm, steamed string beans, lentil curry, chicken meatballs, pickle,  670 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, veggie straws, 270 cal

DINNER: 6:45pm, French bread pizzas, poppa salad with dressing, 1060 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, kind bar, special k and milk, animal cookies, +/-600 cal
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2520

SLEPT: 9pm-3am, 6 hrs

AM SNACK: 3:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 11:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 12:15am, fruit smoothie, 450 cal

LUNCH: 3:15pm, bacon, poppa salad with dressing,  440 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, momma salad, veggie straws, 270 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15pm, streetza, +/- 300 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, Japanese BBQ, 1 beer, small amount of ice cream, +/- 900 cal
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THURSDAY COUNT: 2710

SLEPT: 10:30pm-6:30am, 8hrs

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 10:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11:15am, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 2:45pm, chicken and haloumi sandwich, small side salad, water, +/- 500 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, homemade meatballs with sauce and whole wheat pasta +/- 1,100 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 8pm, peanut butter pretzels, pocky, +/-500cal
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BIKE CREDIT: 650
FRIDAY COUNT: 2120

SLEPT: 9:30pm-5:30am, 8hrs

AM SNACK: 5:45am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: noon, Greek yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla,  450 cal

LUNCH: 4:15pm,  sardines and avocado on whole wheat toast, health salad, momma salad, pickle, 660 cal

DINNER 1: 7:15pm, saag paneer with  little rice and a naan, vegetable samosas, pocky +/- 1500 cal

The Restaurant Con

In all the lazy media noise leading up to the new year, one story caught my attention. It's about a small NYC restaurant chain called Tad's that is nearly extinct. They used to be all over the place back before I was born, and there was one off Union Square when I was in high school, but now there is but one left, in mid-town. It s a restaurant concept that in all my days of culinary school, it would never occur to me -- the budget steak house.

Steak houses were anointed as money spinners in class because even though the menu was limited and such high end prices don't end up being for the masses, the mark-up on everything (think sides and drinks) are so high that you end up doing pretty well in that realm. The idea of Tad's runs contradictory to that -- it moves LOTS of cheap meat, fast, and things are sold in combos that destroy possible high mark ups on sides and sodas.

Cheap meat, post-Tad's

But the part that really resonated with me was how the author summed up the shift in the (restaurant) culture -- going from a short con to a long con.

As I ate, I experienced a certain elation, as did my lunch companion. And I wondered why I was so happy at Tad’s. I realized that it was the short con, of old America.
Anyone familiar with con-man movies knows the difference between the short con and the long con. The short con is a cheap steak, but extra for onions. The long con is artisan hamburger buns. The long con is artisan anything, it’s the big lie that special, expensive food can impart sophistication, instill morality and forestall death. The short con is the carnival midway, the long con is the totalistic impulse towards ideology, it’s Whole Foods and, ultimately Jonestown.


One con or another is unavoidable. Every nickel, on its way to becoming a dime, must pass through some trickery. Until the Rapture, there will always be opposition and a cash register to help us navigate it.
Tad’s way—the short con—may seem unpleasant or confrontational to people used to the cloying smarm of our current slate of Olympian “established brands.” But I find it less insulting.
At Tad’s, there are no adjectives on the walls, no promises that the cows have been “grass-fed” or that their flesh is “char-sizzled,” and no aspirational exhortations that you be a better you. It’s just a steak.
Tad’s Broiled Steaks may or may not make you a better you. But it will fill you up. And they will leave you alone, in almost every sense, which is nice. The steak may or may not be juicy. They never said it would be. But they'll ladle on some extra juice, no extra charge.

In a way, expensively produced food like cow flesh sold cheap IS a long con -- cattle prices (and grain and sugar prices) propped up artificially by government largess makes steak (and many other processed, unhealthy foods) artificially cheap, leading our diets away from "expensive" veg and whole foods and towards cheap, high-processed, health-harming but profitable dreck.

Hey Ratso, let's go to Tad's!

Tad's is a relic of a cheaper, down-on-it's luck city, as well as of a culture that still found novelty and excitement in cheap food done good. The long con of small batch artisanal everything has been upon us for a while, but it comes at a price. Literally -- who can afford a $20 baggie of granola? As the wage gap widens and more and more of us find us on the poor side of things, I wouldn't be surprised if the cheaper short-con came back in fashion (think fast food, minus the Chipotle-pretense) and Whole Foods devolves into something cheaper.

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2812

Not as dramatic a drop  in increase of consumption and increase in vegetables as I hoped, but better to ease in than freak out.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2780

SLEPT: 10pm - 6am, 8 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1 : 10:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2 : 1pm, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 3:30pm, beef patty, momma salad, tomato soup, health salad, 710 cal

DINNER: 6:45pm, French bread pizzas, poppa salad with dressing, 1060 cal

EVENIGN SNACK: 7:30pm, popcorn,  +/- 400 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2750

SLEPT: 10pm-6am,  8hrs

AM SNACK: 6:15am,  iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 10am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11am, Greek yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla,  450 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, steamed string beans, lentil curry, chicken meatballs, pickles,  680 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER: 6:45pm, lemon sole, asparagus, poppa salad with dressing, 750 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, peanut butter pretzels, rice crispies and milk, +/-400 cal
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2870

SLEPT: 9:30pm-6am, 8.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 10:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 12:15am, fruit smoothie, 450 cal

LUNCH: 3pm, bacon, poppa salad with dressing,  440 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15pm, streetza, +/- 300 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, Chipotle Burrito, 920 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, chocolate chip banana bread, +/- 500 cal
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THURSDAY COUNT: 3320

SLEPT: 11:30pm-4:30am, 5hrs

AM SNACK: 4:45am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 11am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 12 noon, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1:45pm, shrimp and mushrooms with oyster sauce and shiritaki noodles, poppa salad with dressing, 550 cal

PM SNACK: 3:45pm, momma salad and cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, cashews, 250 cal

DINNER: 5:45pm, mixed fried perogies, saur kraut, +/- 800 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 8pm, peanut butter pretzels, nutella, +/-800cal
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BIKE CREDIT: 660 cal
FRIDAY COUNT: 2340

SLEPT: 9:30pm-6:30am, 9hrs

AM SNACK: 6:45am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BIKE SNACK: 12:30pm, homemade granola bar, 370 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 2:15pm, Greek yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla,  450 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, veggie straws, 270 cal

DINNER 1: 5:15pm, fish and chips, hot dog, ice cream, +/- 1000 cal

DINNER 2: 9pm, steak, potatoes, cheese & tomatoes, bread and oil, olives, 1 beer, +/- 750 cal