208.8-->207.2-->204.0*
I'm down another loop on the new belt, so there is only one more loop to go, huh. I suspect after the summer, if it goes as I expect it will with the newly starting biking season, I may have to think about another flight of new corduroy pants. This past month I upped my weights, felt a new level of soreness but still can't. do. one. damn. pull up. I cut back my diet soda from 14oz a day to about 7oz every other day, and have found eating around 2000 calories is as satisfying as 2300 was when I started this mishagos.
Things to focus on the next month:
- Knock out diet soda all together out of the week and into the weekend.
- Keep refining weekend eating. I've started limiting the no-holds-barred eating-too-much-of-everything-except-vegetables to one day, and the second day should become a model for eating when I'm post-losing-weight and post-recording. That second day is less calories, but still rife with sugar. Gotta tighten that up.
- Expand my vegetable & salad repertoire. Adding a new miso/tahini dressing helped, and mushrooms and leeks are rocking my world, but I'm still afraid of hitting a rut, which is the first stop to boredom, losing focus and reverting to bad habits.
- Do. One. Damn. Pull up.
One new feature that is coming to this blog soon is once in a while, I'm going to choose one item that appears frequently in my weekly eating routine and really drill down into it - commonly accepted health benefits, history, my recipes and critiques of how it fits in a diet and, uh, if it's yummy or not. To my two readers who may or may not read down into my daily eating logs, feel free to email me what you'd like me to focus on in depth.
My original initial goals are in view: get down to 196 where my BMI says I'm merely "overweight" rather than "obese", and to do the aforementioned one. damn. pull up. When I hit one of these (hopefully before Spring is over), I think I'm gonna celebrate by putting out the dosh for a baby sitter on a week day and just ride my bike from sun up to sun down, hopefully ring up over 100 miles. And eat freely that day to stay far away from a bonk and be comfortable. Yeah, thats what I'm gonna do.
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| My cycling spirit animal. |
*I actually weighed-in on Friday morning the 29th. Though I usually do the 1st, I figured if I weigh in Monday, I might get a false increase due to weekend eating. And on the 1st, I was 208.4, so I wonder if January's spike was exaggerated simply by the proximity of my weigh-in to my weekend gorging.
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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2131
Considering there as a major eating holiday and an appetite-revving bike ride this week, I did pretty darn good.
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MONDAY COUNT: 2335
Travelled to deep dark NJ for a Passover with relatives I don't see any other time than this holiday. This one is thrown by my cousin, picking up exactly where my uncle left off, so this Seder has roots going back to the 50s -- and the food is similar. I've been eating this food, these recipes, since I was a kid, though a few things have changed. The gefilte has been upgraded from a can to a fresh loaf, I contribute knishes, and I haven't had my uncle's shpitzboom cookies since he passed away. However, the beef meatballs in ketchupy sauce with sweet matzo meal muffins have been consistent, as well as the strong ceremonial brandy and homemade soup. -sigh-
In the afternoon, B got me a surprise cake for my birthday, it was a bit difficult resisting eating a large wedge but somehow did it. I originally thought I'd freely eat today, and just restrict on Saturday and Sunday, but Saturday became a full-on cram-it-in day and I was on the edge of getting sick Monday morning, so I rolled as hardcore as possible....and the cake was it's victim!
Attempted to lift weights in the morning, but on my first pull-up hang, my arms cried out in pain and I decided to just skip this side of the week's routine -- my body is saying rest, so I guess I'll listen.
In the afternoon, B got me a surprise cake for my birthday, it was a bit difficult resisting eating a large wedge but somehow did it. I originally thought I'd freely eat today, and just restrict on Saturday and Sunday, but Saturday became a full-on cram-it-in day and I was on the edge of getting sick Monday morning, so I rolled as hardcore as possible....and the cake was it's victim!
Attempted to lift weights in the morning, but on my first pull-up hang, my arms cried out in pain and I decided to just skip this side of the week's routine -- my body is saying rest, so I guess I'll listen.
AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 9:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 250 cal
LUNCH: 12:45pm, chicken sausage, steamed string beans, channa saag, momma salad, water, pickle, 685 cal
PM SNACK: 3:15pm, 1 & 1/2 slices streetza, +/- 400 cal
A Passover tradition is to get a slice before arriving, as with the ceremony, sometimes it can be very late before you eat anything other than a scrap of matzo.
SEDER: 7:30pm, matzoh, small amount of grape juice, hillel sandwich, gefilte fish, meatballs & matzo mel muffins, matzoh ball soup, brisket, chicken, health salad, knish, shot of slivovitz plum brandy, diet sprite +/- 1000 cal
Edie went nuts on the grape juice to the exclusion of most food and even sweets, though I did a bit better. Ate enough to feel just a notch beyond comfortably full, which is the traditional way to feel after this kind of meal. The "health salad" was much rougher cut and much sweeter than my version, and had cucumbers in it, so I ate only a little. The only other two vegetables were carrot tsimis, which is waaaay too sweet for more than a nibble, and broccoli kugel, which was more of a baked egg/milk thing with a little green for color, he he. By the end of the night when all the sweets got rolled out, it was easy to avoid. Funny, in years past I always found space for some chocolate, this time I didn't even want any.
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TUESDAY COUNT: 2035
A bit busy with chores and catching up with lide, skipped the afternoon snack. Got tired and lazy for dinner, leaned on some frozen pizzas.
A bit busy with chores and catching up with lide, skipped the afternoon snack. Got tired and lazy for dinner, leaned on some frozen pizzas.
AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 10:15am, Fage whole yogurt with almonds, agave and vanilla, 300 cal
LUNCH: 1:15pm, grilled chicken breast, steamed string beans, momma salad, 515 cal
PM SNACK: 6pm, poppa salad with tahini miso dressing, 100 cal
DINNER: 7:15pm, Stouffers French bread pizzas, 820 cal
Funny, this made me feel hungrier, but I sat with a quart of water and drank about half of it over 20 minutes following this meal, and THEN I felt the food finally hit my system. Huh, funny thing about these super-processed food products...
EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, Fritos, 300 cal
Holy crap, I started getting bad sugar cravings an hour after this snack, undoubtedly set off by the double dose of French bread pizzas. White flour, it's a bitch.
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2165
Crunchiness of the poppa salad, my lord! I know it's super healthy and virtuous, but I was really hungry when eating it, and half the greens are low-nutrition ice berg lettuce (the junk food of lettuces), and the new garlic & lemon heightened miso tahini dressing was so good, that somehow my brain associated this salad with deep fried snacks. Weird. Like making love to an interesting, lovely but ugly person and suddenly realizing they're as beautiful as a supermodel, minus the vacuity. Sorry for the hippy daydream...
Crunchiness of the poppa salad, my lord! I know it's super healthy and virtuous, but I was really hungry when eating it, and half the greens are low-nutrition ice berg lettuce (the junk food of lettuces), and the new garlic & lemon heightened miso tahini dressing was so good, that somehow my brain associated this salad with deep fried snacks. Weird. Like making love to an interesting, lovely but ugly person and suddenly realizing they're as beautiful as a supermodel, minus the vacuity. Sorry for the hippy daydream...
AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 10:15am, steel cut oatmeal, 250 cal
LUNCH: 12pm, sardine and avocado on whole wheat toast, kimchi, momma salad, 625 cal
PM SNACK: 4pm, apple/carrot/beet/kale/ginger juice, 160 cal
DINNER: 8:30pm, stir fry with shirataki noodles, shrimp, broccoli, mushrooms and black bean sauce, poppa salad with miso tahini dressing, 7oz diet sprite, 530 cal
EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Fritos, 300 cal
EVENING SNACK: 10:45pm, Cheesy Poofs, 300 cal
Felt a mix of hunger and sugar cravings, and though I hoped my eating day was done, my budget was still below my old minimum of 2200, so I did a carby/fatty snack again. Still felt hungry and sugar-cravings, but blunted. I wonder if the 7oz of det sprite at 8:30 had anything to do with this...
THURSDAY COUNT: 2055
Took the kiddies to the AMNH in the morning, packed lunch. It was still a little cold out, so we managed to wangle a table in the over-flowing cafeteria. While I ate my sammich and veg, Edie ate her sammich and apple and string cheese and Milli ate his steel cut oats, string cheese and blueberries, we were surrounded by families scarfing down huge plates of fried nuggets, greasy pizza, french fries, sugary sodas, cakes and other nutritional hobgoblins. I felt a little proud of my little ones, they enjoyed their food and didn't seem to be phased by the sad gluttony around us. I wonder how long THAT'LL last, he he.
BREAKFAST: 10:15am, fruit smoothie, 375 cal
LUNCH: 12:15pm, almond butter & jelly on whole wheat, momma salad, pickle, water, 540 cal
PM SNACK: 3:15pm, beef jerky, 160 cal
PM SNACK: 7:45pm, poppa salad with tahini miso dressing, 100 cal
DINNER: 8:30pm, mahi-mahi, black beans, asparagus, 580 cal
EVENING SNACK: 8:45pm, Fritos, 7oz diet sprite, 300 cal
Third time this week with diet sprite. Third time it tastes funny, like sweet cleaning fluid.
BIKE CREDIT: 1000
FRIDAY COUNT: 2065
Had a nice 45 mile ride out to the Rockaways and into Queens, stopping early for lunch at Subway. Tried to power through to home, but 10 miles out from home, felt a serious bonk coming on. Was prepared for the circumstance -- calorie dense with a shot o' sugar, a mix of almond butter and nutella with cheesits to dip did the trick. Kinda shocking how little 600 cal is, but it cleared my head and got me home safely.
BREAKFAST: 10:30am, Fage whole yogurt with almonds, vanilla and agave, 300 cal
PM SNACK: noon, momma salad, 100 cal
BIKE LUNCH: 1:45pm, 6" veggie burger on whole wheat, potato chips, 20oz diet coke, 760 cal
BIKE SNACK: 4:45pm, cheezits with almond butter & nutella, 600 cal
DINNER: 7pm, chicken breast, black beans, roasted broccoli, brown rice with wild rice and wheat kernals mixed in, poppa salad with miso tahini, 1005 cal
Ate a reasonble amount of brown rice, surprised this meal passed 1000 cal. If I hadn't ridden, I'd have skipped the rice and the meal would have been fine in the mid-600s. Still, nice to have rice with my beans!
EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, cheesy poofs, 300 cal
EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Fritos, 300 cal
EVENING SNACK: 10:45pm, Cheesy Poofs, 300 cal
Felt a mix of hunger and sugar cravings, and though I hoped my eating day was done, my budget was still below my old minimum of 2200, so I did a carby/fatty snack again. Still felt hungry and sugar-cravings, but blunted. I wonder if the 7oz of det sprite at 8:30 had anything to do with this...
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THURSDAY COUNT: 2055
Took the kiddies to the AMNH in the morning, packed lunch. It was still a little cold out, so we managed to wangle a table in the over-flowing cafeteria. While I ate my sammich and veg, Edie ate her sammich and apple and string cheese and Milli ate his steel cut oats, string cheese and blueberries, we were surrounded by families scarfing down huge plates of fried nuggets, greasy pizza, french fries, sugary sodas, cakes and other nutritional hobgoblins. I felt a little proud of my little ones, they enjoyed their food and didn't seem to be phased by the sad gluttony around us. I wonder how long THAT'LL last, he he.
AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 10:15am, fruit smoothie, 375 cal
LUNCH: 12:15pm, almond butter & jelly on whole wheat, momma salad, pickle, water, 540 cal
PM SNACK: 3:15pm, beef jerky, 160 cal
PM SNACK: 7:45pm, poppa salad with tahini miso dressing, 100 cal
DINNER: 8:30pm, mahi-mahi, black beans, asparagus, 580 cal
EVENING SNACK: 8:45pm, Fritos, 7oz diet sprite, 300 cal
Third time this week with diet sprite. Third time it tastes funny, like sweet cleaning fluid.
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BIKE CREDIT: 1000
FRIDAY COUNT: 2065
Had a nice 45 mile ride out to the Rockaways and into Queens, stopping early for lunch at Subway. Tried to power through to home, but 10 miles out from home, felt a serious bonk coming on. Was prepared for the circumstance -- calorie dense with a shot o' sugar, a mix of almond butter and nutella with cheesits to dip did the trick. Kinda shocking how little 600 cal is, but it cleared my head and got me home safely.
AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal
BREAKFAST: 10:30am, Fage whole yogurt with almonds, vanilla and agave, 300 cal
PM SNACK: noon, momma salad, 100 cal
BIKE LUNCH: 1:45pm, 6" veggie burger on whole wheat, potato chips, 20oz diet coke, 760 cal
BIKE SNACK: 4:45pm, cheezits with almond butter & nutella, 600 cal
DINNER: 7pm, chicken breast, black beans, roasted broccoli, brown rice with wild rice and wheat kernals mixed in, poppa salad with miso tahini, 1005 cal
Ate a reasonble amount of brown rice, surprised this meal passed 1000 cal. If I hadn't ridden, I'd have skipped the rice and the meal would have been fine in the mid-600s. Still, nice to have rice with my beans!
EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, cheesy poofs, 300 cal
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