Blood type diet: like Astrology, but sciency!

Blood diet? Yes please!

Over the past few months, two completely unrelated people in my life both recommended the "blood type diet" to me. I shrugged it off both times as seeming like hooey, but upon reflection, when something gets thrown in my path from 2 different directions, doesn't it at least deserve a....blog post?

Off to do some internet thinkin'! A book was published in 1997 that stated if one were only to eat a diet that was tailored to one of four blood types that they may have, all the problems brought on by modern food would be resolved. According to Dr. D'Adamo, man has evolved over millions of years to their natural diets, and the blood types have evolved, too, shaped by these superior diets.

• Blood group O is described by D'Adamo as the hunter. He recommends that those of this blood group eat a higher protein diet. The group is alleged by D'Adamo to be the first blood type and to have originated 30,000 years ago, although research indicates that blood type A is actually the oldest.

• Blood group A is called the agrarian or cultivator by D'Adamo, who believes this type dates from the dawn of agriculture, 20,000 years ago. He recommends that individuals of blood group A eat a diet that emphasizes vegetables and is free of red meat, a diet more closely vegetarian.

• Blood group B is called the nomad by D'Adamo, who estimates this group to have arrived 10,000 years ago. He states that this type is associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. He also asserts that people of blood type B are the only people able to thrive on dairy products; this is contradicted by the fact that while people with blood type B tend to be from Asia (specifically, China or India), lactose intolerance is most common among people of Asian, South American, and African descent and least common among those descended from northern Europe or northwestern India.

• Blood group AB is described by D'Adamo as the enigma, who believes it to be the most recently evolved type and to have arrived less than 1,000 years ago. In terms of dietary needs, he treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B.

The hunter, the agrarian, the nomad and the enigma?

If you can dream it, Amazon has a book to sell you about it.

This sounds like astrology, not real nutritional science. From the BDT webpage:

The percentages (71-78%) of visitors reporting positive results are consistent across all the blood types. Type O (following a higher protein lower-carb diet) appeared as likely to report positive results as Type A (following a lower fat, plant-based diet) or types B and AB (following a more omnivorous diet.)

I don't doubt all the testimonials and statistics -- people probably are really getting healthier, losing weight and feeling better by changing their diet, the same way people see positive results from the stone age man diet, the master cleanse, and on and on. If you change your diet to eat better quality things with less calories, (regardless of high-protein, lower-fat, vegetarian or omnivorous labels) you'll lose weight and feel better. However, whether the underpinning of your new diet is based on strict scientific measures or funky assumptions about nomads and enigmas, the results are pretty much the same. Breaking out of old, life long eating habits and into new, challenging habits - that's the key.

This approach looks at food and eating as a strictly physical interaction, when in reality, it's so much more. Yes, we need food to survive, live and have energy, but that's like saying we need sex to procreate. Yes, it's true, but it's a little bit more involved and complicated than that. I imagine I could dismiss a great deal more of the diet industry with this brush. Dr. D'Adamo makes a big deal about how his diet is tailored to the "individual", but come on, he groups everyone into 4 huge stereotypes. If you really want to talk about the individual, how can you not discuss the emotional, rational and complex aspects of the individual's mind in how that person approaches their food?

On top of everything, the diet breaks down subcategories of each blood type by....ethnicity. I'm not even going to go there, other than imagine how a stand up comedian could riff on this bag o' turds called a diet. "Y'see, white people eat their spaghetti like this, but black people eat their spaghetti LIKE THIS!!"

VITE PEEPOL EET LIKE ZIS!

Reading through the message boards of the website, my feelings seem to be confirmed -- lots of true believers dismiss scientific evidence that there is no basis for their food belief system by countering that it works, therefore it must be true. It never quite occurs to them that it is working because they are doing something different, and not because of the over-weening assumptions of the good doctor.
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Kids today have no time for blues.

Holy cow, next week is weigh in! What happened to August? Where did the summer go? I guess this weekend is as good as any to try to start getting a handle on my weekend eating. Check out the "weekend report" at the far bottom.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2432

Again surprised my weekly average is over budget, but don't feel bad about it. 80 cal a day is not that big a deal, even though it will add up, I also think the bike riding and the weight lifting might be revving up my metabolism a little. A lot? No. Eighty cal a day? Maybe. Adding 80 a day to the week and subtracting 1000-2000 from the weekend by cutting out binge behavior might be the way to go.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2250

Good eating day, body still recovering from the 120 mile ride the previous day, but I must have ate enough, because I woke up with normal hunger.

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 8am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:30am, fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, falafel, chicken soup, health salad, 600 cal
A new lunch! Bought a bag of kosher frozen falafel balls from my local supermarket, matched it with a frozen Tabachnick soup (my dad was a fan) and added cabbage salad. Yes, mostly pre-made,  but convenient and relatively healthy, and within my calorie budget. Hopefully this will make it easier to skip McD's on Fridays....

Was a good lunch, but couldn't help but let the noodles in the soup bug me. This weekend, gonna make some real-ass soup for the freezer, with no refined silliness. What should I make? Chicken soup with proper stock and shiritaki noodles? Split pea with proper lardons of bacon? Hmmm, needs to be relatively high taste and lo-cal, but not a blender soup, save that for the winter....

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 180 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:45pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, mushrooms, butter and dried herbs,  600 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2,350

Good weight session in the morning.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2:  9:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal
Measured the oatmeal for the first time in a while, found this batch to be more calorie dense by 1/3. It always varies because of how much water is absorbed vs evaporated.

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meat balls, steamed string beans, mushroom taktak, pickles, 580 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, Subway 6" veggie burger sub, chips, diet coke, 760

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 710
WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2650

AM SNACK: 3:15am, caffeinated granola bar, iced green tea, 440 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2:  fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken breast, roasted brussel sprouts, bombay potatoes, 820 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, broiled flounder, quinoa, 530 cal
My asparagus that I bought on Saturday went funky. Booo!

EVENING SNACK: 7:45pm, Frito's, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:45pm, Cheeto's, 600 cal
Doubled up on cheetos busting my budget, but I was exhausted and hungry. I briefly worried this was the beginning of a bing, but I was satisfied after it, so I guess it was appropriate and needed.

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2470

Ug. Was so tired last night I forgot to make team for the morning. Had an interview in the afternoon so had to skip the poppa salad. Rare date night with B, went to an upscale pizza place.

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2:  9:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken sausage, roasted broccoli, quinoa, 680 cal

PM SNACK: 3:15pm, momma salad, hummus 180 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, asparagus appetizer, burrata pizza, +/- 800 cal
Pulino's burrata pie is very sauce heavy and cheese-light. Even though I ate the whole 12" pizza, definitely left me feeling lighter than if it was a marg. Their asparagus was nicely seasoned, but mine is more enjoyable.

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, Frito's, 300 cal
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FRIDAY COUNT: 2,440

Indulged in some ice cream with my family and some relatives, but was able to keep it under control and felt good about it. Easy to skip the chips after, as I put myself to bed early to get an early morning ride in the next da.

BREAKFAST: 6:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2:  7:45am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, almond butter & grape jelly on whole wheat, health salad, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, hummus 180 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, challah grilled cheese, corn on the cob, vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce (+/-1000 cal)

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WEEKEND REPORT

My first weekend report! I will still continue to eat freely on weekends, BUT without any binging. By reporting the details of one day (with honesty but with out measuring, except for binge-worthy foods) and just honestly asking, "did I go out of control?" for the other. Let's see how it goes, shall we, all near-0 people who read this far down?

SATURDAY (1160 cal bike credit)

AM SNACK: 2:30am, unsweeted iced green tea, caffeinated granola bar

BIKE SNACK: 4:45am, granola bar

BREAKFAST: 8am, BLT on a bagel, homefries, diet coke

BRUNCH: 11:30am, half a cuban sandwich, chorizo & potato hash, diet coke

PM SNACK: 2pm, peanut M&Ms (300 cal) 

DINNER: 6pm, small portion of vegetable lomein, shrimp toast, BBQ ribs, wonton soup

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, more peanut m&ms (+/-600 cal)

SUNDAY

Ate a bit too much, but did not binge on anything.

Step 2 this

Why do I think of things not related to food when I see this?

I have an odd relationship to yoga. It never really registered on my radar until my friend, the Hungry Vegan Society, started getting heavily involved in yoga's practice and culture. Even before I knew she was that heavy in to yoga, I did notice a change in her. She was happier, gentler, nicer, lighter -- that is a lot of foofy words, but I didn't have the language to put my finger on it then, either. That is not to say that she wasn't already a wonderful, rich person to begin with, but she was....changing.

The HVS never tried to recruit me into the ranks of her fellow yogic vegan happy people, but she left the door open without judgement of my non-stretchy, meat-indulging stressy self. At first we attended a few beginner's classes together, later I sometimes would attend classes she would lead as she grew more advanced. One of the things that always slightly bothered me (other than contorting out of my physical comfort zone) was the more mystical, spiritual aspects of the practice. Chanting "om" and the explanation of togetherness-vibrations, making connections between the positions, parts of the body, and aspects of internal emotions and issues, it all seemed a bit... suspicious. When are they gonna bust out the Jesus and ask me for my life savings?

Jesus needs to pay a graphic designer, and lose the pedo-vibe copy.

In the end, I have found that I enjoy the HVS more than I enjoy yoga, but the two together are such an awesome combo. Even though the only time I get to hang with her in recent years is around a yoga class, it's great. On top of that, I guess the exposure to this  easy-to-dismiss talk of "spirituality" also planted a seed. Do back bends open ourselves up to the future? I don't know about that, but making that "spiritual" connection between action and emotion, between external physicality and internal turmoil -  its a powerful idea.

I've been thinking a lot of this notion as I've attended a few Overeaters Anonymous meetings in the last few weeks. OA is not Weight Watchers or a diet plan or a tool to simply lose weight. From my limited experience, I gather it is a non-professional (i.e. no therapists, no dietitians etc) mutual support group that aims to help it's members end compulsive behavior. It hinges on some self-help literature written in the 1930s that stresses the need to connect to others to help overcome addiction, whether it be alcohol, drugs, food or any other compulsive behavior that one wishes to stop, but can not otherwise.

The leaders of the meetings I've attended all stressed that OA is "spiritual" in nature, not religious. What does that mean? There is a lot of talk of a "higher power", which sets off my alarm bells. Is this the "come to Jesus" moment? It was explained to me that yes, "higher power" can be God for those who believe, but it can be anything that fits two criteria. One, it is larger than yourself, and two, it can be called upon in your internal struggle to inspire you to stop doing whatever addictive thing that is hurting you. Common examples given were "the group", "my teachers" and "love". Huh, gettin' kinda yogic all up in thurrrr.

We are not people smoking a joint, we are joints smoked by people. Think about it.

But maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves. OA comes at food with a very direct, simple idea: Unlike drugs and alcohol, one can not abstain and live with out it. Therefore, food must be approached as a source of fuel, not something to party with.

Wait a second, I love food! I love cooking good food and savoring it! But as I thought more about it, I remembered a few months ago I was at a birthday party for a friend of my 4 year old daughter, in a confined space, and it was loud and raucous. Lots of good food was on offer during the party, but it was when the cake and ice cream came out, all the kids gathered to sing happy birthday, the cake and ice cream was distributed and then.....silence. Everyone was sitting, focused on the food in front of them, adults and kids alike. Even though there was other great food at this event, it was this high sugar, high fat snack that defined the party, that calmed otherwise wild children, and soon would send them spinning off into higher levels of sugar-energy. This is normal?

So it's not about abstaining from food, but about abstaining from the compulsive eating or compulsive over eating of food. In these meetings, members told stories of how they obsess about eating 10 to 12 meals a day, others discuss how they could not stop until the entire half gallon of ice cream was gone. I'm not going to go into those stories here, as the meetings are, well, anonymous. And it's anonymous for a very good reason -- it's a place to reveal and discuss behaviors that would otherwise be looked at with shame, pity, anger or disgust in other settings, and it's important to know there will be no gossip or blow back from being open and honest.

How great would have this show been if it was all about addicts talkin' smack about each other? Maybe it was, I never saw it. Was it?

It makes one wonder how those "celebrities" on TV going through rehab are really benefiting from putting all their crap out there between commercials, when what they need is to be unjudged so they can get a handle on their bad behavior. I have discovered a podcast, however, of real non-celebrity people telling their stories, similar to the stories you might hear at an OA, or any 12 step meeting. You can search their library for just OA, though they interview all sorts of addicts, and it's all pretty riveting in the way reality TV was supposed to be before it became totally fake and scripted.

I don't think I'm going to write about OA again, though I think for the time being I'm going to continue to explore meetings. I haven't quite drunk the koolaide yet, but nothing I've heard makes me think it could hurt me anymore than I've already hurt myself with years of over eating and lack of thought about what I was doing to myself. All the bad habits that I've compressed into the weekends have allowed me to lose weight, but it's sitting there, a fat little weasel, just waiting for when my guard is down to come back out and do some serious partying with more than just cake. (Like ice cream! And brownies! And big bowls of pasta! And fries, and bread, and fried bread!)

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Oddly enough, food addiction got a small spot light in the media this week because one of the horrible dummies from some dumb morning gossip program wrote a book about her struggles. Funny, I see her using some 12 step language, but she kinda skirts that topic, as she is supposed to, because the 1st rule of 12 step is you don't talk about 12 step. Well, rule of media relations, anyway. I gotta skim her book in a store, to see if she goes there at all.
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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2366

A relatively decent eating week, though I did fall off late Friday, unrecorded as it is rationalized by "oh, it's just part of the weekend." Thinking of instituting some sort of "weekend report", to hold myself accountable for all my eating. Just think readers, now you'll be able to read about my eating all seven days a week! 

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MONDAY COUNT: 2300

AM SNACK: 3:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, peanut butter and grape jelly on whole wheat, health salad, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, babganoush, 200 cal

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:30pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, mushrooms, butter and dried herbs,  600

EVENING SNACK: 8:45pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 750
TUESDAY COUNT: 2110

Up at 3am, out to Coney. Caffeinated granola bar helped, but not as dramatically as last week. Also, last week I was running on the fumes of almost no sleep, this time I had 6 hours in. 

AM SNACK: 3:15am, caffeinated granola bar, iced green tea, 350 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:30am, Fage yogurt with agave, vanilla, almonds, 310

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, steamed string beans, spinach daal, pickles, 580 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, babganoush, 200 cal

DINNER: 7pm, Subway veggie burger 6" hero, chips, 12oz diet coke, 760 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:45pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2605

Still felt honestly hungry a full 30 minutes after the Fritos, so I allowed myself that extra indulgence.

AM SNACK: 6am,  iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 350


LUNCH: 1pm, chicken sausage, roasted broccoli, sofrito black beans, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 180 cal

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, poppa salad, miso tahini, 100 cal


DINNER: 7:15pm, hake loin, whole wheat cous cous, roasted asparagus, boiled corn with butter, kimchi, 765

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, Frito's, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, Cheeto's, 300 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2435

Nice dinner out with B. Made me crave....an accurate calorie count. But it was a nice place without a bottomless bread basket, and we skipped booze and dessert, so I think I did OK.

AM SNACK: 6:15am,  iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:30am, Fage yogurt with agave, vanilla, almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, sardine & avocado on whole wheat toast, health salad, 575 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 180 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad, miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 6:45pm, skirt steak, string beans, Yeminite tart, crispy chippy things, water, +/- 800 cal
Out at Babooshka with the wifey. We fortunately resisted dessert, 

EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2380

Electrical work in the office over the weekend, office manager commanding us to eat all the ice cream in the freezer. Uggggg.

AM SNACK: 4:30am,  iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal

LUNCH: 1:15pm, quarter pounder, 16oz diet cherry coke, 540 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, hummus, 180 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, poppa salad, home made Italian dressing, 150 cal

DINNER: 6:45pm, challah grilled cheese, corn on the cobb, +/- 800 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, Frito's, 300 cal  

Money doesn't heal all wounds, time does.

What Mr. Pac meant was, "They got money for the war but can't properly subsidize produce to compete in the marketplace with heavily subsidized processed food products."

Eating healthy, organic food is snobby because it is expensive. A yuppie couple buying organic produce and artisanally crafted tofu is for 2  will spend more than a minimum wage worker will pay for a fast food meal for four. When I came at this argument after reading David Freedman's well written rebuke of this movement, I wrote:

Eating only whole, fresh produce and meats are only for the rich. I agree eating this way is more expensive, but food should be more expensive. There will be less waste, less over-eating and more appreciation for this resource. Not to mention paying our food producers properly so they can afford to use more sustainable methods and pay the bottom of the work force better.

In sum, my answer is yes, it is expensive partially because you get what you pay for, and if poor people just ate less, we'd all be good. I still feel this way (not just for "the poors", but every one else should consume less, too) but I understand how I'm really just provoking class-warfare rather than offering anything to calm the waters or offer a new solution. Mark Bittman just addressed the "eating well is too expensive for the masses" argument in a new piece in the NY Times this past week, and he strips it back to it's essence.

Look at it this way. Tons and tons of exercise is great. However, most people have to work and have families, so they can not work out 17 hours a day, 7 days a week. Exercising two or three times a week is very, very good. Still, some people just don't have the time, and may only work out once a week. That's not ideal, but it's still much, much better than never exercising at all.  The benefit of exercising just an hour a week as opposed to nothing is considerably better than exercising for 4 hours a week as opposed to 1 hour of exercise.

When his hip-bones started jutting out, it wasn't a warning sign that perhaps he was working out too much....

And the same impact of scale can be applied to eating well. Sure, eating 7 days a week of nothing but organic, homemade whole foods in rational portions is ideal, but few of us have the time or budget for such a luxury. Eating just one home made meal a week is still a lot better than none. Still, truth be told, some would regard what I call a luxury as a living hell....

The core problem is that cooking is defined as work, and fast food is both a pleasure and a crutch. “People really are stressed out with all that they have to do, and they don’t want to cook,” says Julie Guthman, associate professor of community studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and author of the forthcoming “Weighing In: Obesity, Food Justice and the Limits of Capitalism.” “Their reaction is, ‘Let me enjoy what I want to eat, and stop telling me what to do.’ And it’s one of the few things that less well-off people have: they don’t have to cook.”

And cookies and donuts and big macs and KFC and then a wafer-thin mint.

Food has been redefined by industry into what Bittman describes as a "carnival" of food. Sit back, let us do the cooking, let us assume the responsibility. Regardless of nutrition, consequence or thought, you will enjoy what you eat. For the sake of industry profit, food scientists have refined food to the most basic elements that will make a person want to buy more. And more. And more and more. This is a public health issue, a cultural issue and a moral issue. However, with most things in western society, when you really need to figure out a large problem is follow the money.

Truth be told, before I went to culinary school, I could barely cook. My mom hated to cook for a variety of reasons, and my dad had a small handful of dishes that carried over from his college days. My grandma could cook, but due to time and gender, she never really taught me anything. I grew up in a time where one depended on pre-made frozen entrees and packaged convenience as your "home cooked" meals, and restaurants and take-out to fill  in the gaps. All these things added up to the message: cooking is a complicated, messy chore that eats up all your time, so why bother because eating out is so "affordable".

Except that it's not. It's a myth, and all you have to do is do the math. Just as one does not have to work out 7x week to be fit, one does not have buy the most expensive organic greenery to cook at home. As a person who has spent some time working in restaurants, let me tell you a hard fact: any restaurant whose food costs are more than 1/3 of their total expenses are doing it wrong. In fact, that well-run local bistro that's been around for twenty years? Chances are only 20% of your check pays for the actual food going in your mouth. That's why industry has pushed us from the grocery shelves to the restaurant menu -- you're paying a huge mark up for the privilege. Selling broccoli and beans in a supermarket is a lot less profitable than a Big Mac or a breakfast taco.

No. Just no.

Since eating healthier this past year, I now cook about 75% of all the meals that go in my mouth. My grocery bills have gone up. However, it doesn't take a mathematician to determine that my bills over all have gone down, due to not paying for several restaurant's rent or fast food corporation's stock bonuses.

Again, look at this way: I grew up in a 2 car household and hated being trundled in and out of cars just to go somewhere local. At some point in high school, I had an epiphany: rather than take a long slog of a commute twice a day to school that involved a bus, a ferry, a subway and a walk, I could just ride a bike to school. I would be replacing one big fat daily negative with one big fat daily positive.

I had a similar epiphany that caused me to choose to go to culinary school: rather than try to cook as little as possible, why not treat it like a project or game where if I gain knowledge and skill, then I'll get to eat all sorts of great food...if I save money or gain health, well, that's nice but beside the point. Still, it was a crucial change in thinking that has lead me to where I am today.

Real cultural changes are needed to turn this around. Somehow, no-nonsense cooking and eating — roasting a chicken, making a grilled cheese sandwich, scrambling an egg, tossing a salad — must become popular again, and valued not just by hipsters in Brooklyn or locavores in Berkeley. The smart campaign is not to get McDonald’s to serve better food but to get people to see cooking as a joy rather than a burden, or at least as part of a normal life. 

"The poors" don't necessarily need more money to live a healthy lifestyle -- they need more time. There has been some coverage of national fast food workers protests in the media lately. To live comfortably in NYC on the wages a fast food restaurant pays, you'd have to work 208 hours  a week. Assuming one day off, you'd still have more than 5 hours off a day! In the end, time is money, and time is what is needed to relax, cook a proper meal for yourself, and cut out the middle men who profit from turning basic groceries into addictive food products.

Thanks to the Hungry Vegan, who pointed out this piece to me.

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Mmmmm, paper calzones....

Damn, it's amazing how a little technique can go a long way. For the past year, my approach to all fish has been super bare bones. Spray a metal tray. Place thawed fish on tray. Sprinkle with Old Bay. Cut up piece of butter on top. If a flat fish, place under broiler for 5 minutes. If a round fish, stick in an electronic thermometer and roast until it has an internal temp of 140 or so.

After a year of several different kinds of fish fillets this way, I'm getting bored. So I reached into my c-school tool box and thought about what my favorite fish preparations were. The one that first came to mind was loud and direct: en papillote. This is just a fancy French term for putting the raw fish in a sealed envelope with a little liquid and some aromatics, and baking the whole thing for a nice combo dry/wet, roast/steam kinda deal. I recalled using parchment paper to make a very fussy large square paper box, and placing all sorts of high-falutin' ingredients along with the fish. 

It was Thursday, I was tired, didn't feel like looking up a recipe. I riffed: Took my frozen Costco hake loin and placed it in the middle of a large piece of tin foil. Pat of butter, splash of red wine, Old Bay seasoning and a butt-load of fresh basil from the CSA that would go bad if not used soon. Placed the probe of the thermometer in the fish and closed up the foil tight, sealed around the probe and allowing some space for steam to form inside. Baked at 400 until the internal temp of this thick piece of fish reach 140. Oh. My. Gawd. The smell of wine and basil wafted forth when I opened up the packet, and the fish was flaky and moist. The basil was limp and kinda gross looking, but despite tossing it, the fish tasted redolent of it's herbal essence. 

This boring, work-a-day fish just became hot n' sexy with minimal effort. Gotta reach into this tool box more often.

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I'll try to come at OA next week -- the little research and experience I have has shown me that I may not understand what I'm talking about yet.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2452

Again, the average is above my daily calorie budget of 2200-2350, but I don't feel bad about it (yet.) Two days I rode, which revs up my needs, and other days when I surpassed the budget, it was after clearly finding I was honestly physically hungry, not acting on sugar-urges or compulsions.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2020

Good way to start the week, stresses are ebbing a little. Put myself to bed soon after my evening snack, as I was looking to be up ridiculously early, which helped with appetite control. Can't eat if ya sleepin'.

AM SNACK:4:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 140 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 220 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, peanut butter and grape jelly on whole wheat, health salad, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 4:15 pm, momma salad, babganoush, 200 cal

PM SNACK: 8:30pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:45pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, mushrooms & tomato sauce, 470 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 790
TUESDAY COUNT: 2675

Up early and pounded out a training ride to Coney, averaged 13.1, best speed in a long, long time. Is caffeine considered a legal drug in competitive cycling? I definitely think the granola bar dose was in part responsible for revving me up. Crashed hard in the afternoon, over ate in the evening due to stress and just being exhausted

AM SNACK: 2am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BIKE SNACK: 2:30am, caffeinated granola bar, 390 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 165 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, fage whole yogurt with almonds, vanilla and agave, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, Indian spinach and cheese, steamed string beans, 490 cal

PM SNACK: 3:45 pm, momma salad, babganoush, 200 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, 2 small ice cream cups, +/- 200 cal

DINNER: 8:30pm, grilled pork tenderloin, roasted brussel sprouts, quinoa, poppa salad with miso tahini, 1110 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Frito's, 600 cal
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2500
Really tried to resist the second evening snack, but after 30 minutes of feeling hungry, concluded it was real physical hunger, not a sugar urge or emotional compulsion.

AM SNACK: 4:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 170 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:30am, fage whole yogurt with almonds, vanilla and agave, 310 cal

LUNCH: 12;45pm, grilled pork tenderloin, roasted brussel sprouts, quinoa, 685 cal 

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, babganoush, 200 cal

PM SNACK: 7:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, hake loin, asparagus, kimchi, 435 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Frito's, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, Frito's, 300 cal
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THURSDAY COUNT: 2415

AM SNACK: 6:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, chicken breast, roasted broccoli, sofrito black beans, 545 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, babganoush, 200 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 7:45, Subway veggie burger, chips, 12oz diet coke, 760 cal

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 1450
FRIDAY COUNT: 2650

Work had a "morale building" event unpaid for freelancers (hows that for morale!) so I skipped it and road the bike about 70 miles. Was gonna push through the rain but B called in the morning and said Edie wasn't feeling well, so I turned around. Nice to bang out miles and be home by 1pm, but fell asleep on the couch before 8pm.

BREAKFAST: 3:15am,steel cut oatmeal, green tea, 350 cal

BIKE SNACK: 5:45am, granola bar, 420 cal

BIKE SNACK: 7:45am, granola bar, 420 cal


BIKE SNACK: 9:45, almond butter and grape jelly on whole wheat, 840 cal


BIKE SNACK: 11:45am, digestive cookies, 520 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, tortellini and sauce, momma salad, +/- 700

DINNER: 6pm, Sicilian pizza, house salad, +/- 700

2550 - 1100 (1250)

Weigh In: The Ground Under My Feet (is thankful, I suppose)

198.8-->196.2-->192.8

The deflation continues, but the ground is shifting under my feet. Though I celebrated my cross over from "obese" to "overweight" on the BMI index last month, that was based on a 5' 8" height. Calculated from my actual height of 5' 7.75", I needed to be below 195.5....so now I am just overweight by any BMI standard!

Some day's I'm like this....

And yet, I look in the mirror and what I see doesn't change. I even questioned if I had gained weight this month: I felt fine, felt strong and healthy, haven't gotten sick in a year, and yet I....look larger? My clothes are looser, my new 32" belt is working out well, and objectively (to my eye), my musculature is become more pronounced. Yeah, I said it, though they're not enough to give anyone tickets to a gun show.

Blog rule #743: if there is an opportunity for a Hitler gag, take it.

So whats going on? Perhaps work and family stress are getting to me, burrowing in and effecting this aspect of my life, which I'd like to be walled off and separate. In terms of this blog, it is separate by design, allowing only these monthly weigh-in posts to get a little blurry. Reality is a lot more chaotic and messy than a narrow blog.

...and other day's I'm all like this.

Anyhoo. Perhaps it's overly optimistic or a tad arrogant, but I've started to contemplate post-weight loss life. What will I do when I've lost enough weight to be "normal"? Well, first, I will have to celebrate! Check out the poll at the bottom of the right hand column. What symptom of mid-life crisis shall I indulge in? You choose for me! (I reserve the right to replace the most popular choice with a day-long bike ride.)

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The perspective issue is vexing, which I suppose I'll try to address next week on my report on OA. From a structural eating side, things are evolving to accommodate my new schedule of full time work:

• Changing up the juicing habit. Was doing it about 3x a week when I get home from work and activities, gonna now do it 4x a week, Monday through Thursday, within an hour of leaving home for the day. Other than the obvious good of more fresh vegetable juice, it is shifting easy, fast calories to when I need them (right before a bike commute to work) rather than when I don't (wind down time before bed.) Gonna push fruit smoothie to Fridays, to make Fridays more...Fridayish
• Add a dip to momma salad afternoon snacks, because they're getting boring. Got a boatload of eggplant from the CSA, making crazy-good babaganoush, perhaps revert to hummus when the season is over. This can also be seen as a way to shift calories to earlier in the day.
• Revisit the bad behavior I've pushed into Friday nights and weekends. Not just push it into one 24 hour period, but try to address the "why" of it, with the goal of eliminating 99% of it by the time I'm ready to move beyond weight loss.
• I need to vary my packed lunches at work. Gotta work on that, though that is fun work. Gotta be commutable (no fish), and microwavable (no raw meat), but also healthy as hell. Any ideas, internet people?
• Go easy on myself. Maybe add one more fast food meal during the week for mental relaxation. On top of my weekly Friday McD's burger & diet coke, perhaps also do a Subway veggie burger with chips earlier in the week when it helps the schedule. Maybe even axe the chips, hmmmm. To be determined.

In the interest of making it easy on myself, to give myself due credit:

• I continue to lose weight, despite going off the rails a few times this past month. (-back pat-)
• My bike riding is longer, stronger and more deeply appreciated than ever before. (-back slap-)
• I feel great, health seems to be great, I've never been stronger on the weights. I don't regularly complete a pull-up, but I can always get my eye balls up to the bar, which is 1000x more than I could when I started. (-manly back punch!-)

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Holy crap. There is a lot of stuff out there for obsessives trying to lose weight, some of it alright, some of it contradictory, some of it just....no. Just no.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2498

Despite the impending weigh in this week, I found myself eating more, particularly at end of day. My body just honestly felt hungry, and it wasn't just sugar cravings. What has changed? Is this temporary, or should I up my calorie budget so it doesn't all come in with the shitty snacks at the end of day? A reaction to stress? It's been over a year since a visit to a nutritionist, but this past year has shaken my faith in the nutrition establishment....

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MONDAY COUNT: 2890

Triple snack evening -- just hungry and feeling stressed. Annoying, because I'm weighing in this week, but resisted the call of cramming in some sugar, so that's something.

AM SNACK: 5:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 170 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, fage whole yogurt with almonds, vanilla and agave, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, almond butter and grape jelly on whole wheat, 490 cal
Wanted to pack kimchi to go with, but it smelled funny. Well, funnier than appropriate.

PM SNACK: 4:pm, momma salad, green pea crisps, 220 cal

PM SNACK: 8:30pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 9pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, garlic & butter, mushrooms & wine,  700 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, Frito's, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, Frito's, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, Cheetos, 300 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2505

Consciously watching out for myself, especially the evening. Just hungry, physically. Less stressed, but still. Thinking how stressed I'll be if I start gaining weight again.

AM SNACK: 5:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 180 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 220 cal
Added salt, butter, cinnamon and vanilla: forgot brown sugar. Oh my god, it tastes awful without the small amount of sugar. Gonna have to make a simple syrup of the brown sugar and post-mix it in to the huge amount of oatmeal I just made, or my kids won't eat it. It's only two tablespoons of sugar for 2 quarts worth of oatmeal, but it makes all the difference -- not sweet, just....round.

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meat balls, roasted broccoli, spinach daal, 565 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, momma salad, homemade babaganoush, 200 cal

DINNER: 8pm, Stouffer's French Bread pizzas, poppa salad, 960 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, Frito's, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, 2 pretzel rods, 80 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2885

With the impending weigh in in the morning, I still allowed myself an extra 600 cal in evening snacks again. 

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 8am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, thin sliced sauteed chicken breast, roasted broccoli, mushroom takatak, 610 cal
The chicken breast was still frozen this morning, but quickly remembered that the trick to slicing breast super thin (as in Chinese take-out style) is to slice it frozen. Cut one breast into more than 18 slices, and it was relatively defrosted by the time it hit the hot pan. Took about 60 seconds to cook, and upon reheating it, thought perhaps it was a little overcooked. Gonna try this method again, as it's so convenient -- no defrost time, and cook time is a fraction.

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, homemade babaganoush, 180 cal

PM SNACK: 7:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 7:45, broiled flounder, roasted asparagus, quinoa, 685 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, Frito's, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Cheetos, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, 3 pretzel rods & almond butter, +/-300 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2050

The morning weigh-in left me happy but with mixed feelings, and also a redetermination to stay focused. Eat more or less, whatever, but stay honest with myself and stay on purpose.

AM SNACK: 5am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 165 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 220 cal
Unsugared oatmeal, bleah.

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken sausage, steamed string beans, sofrito black beans, 405 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, homemade babaganoush, 200 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, Subway veggie burger hero, chips, 12oz diet coke, 760 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2160

Out of tea, dang it!

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 150 cal

BREAKFAST 2:  9:30am, fage whole yogurt with almonds, vanilla and agave, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, quarter pounder, 12oz cherry diet coke, 540 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, snap pea crisps, ice cream sandwich, 260 cal
It's Friday. Treat yo self!

DINNER: 6pm, sauteed chicken breast, roasted brussel sprouts, 600 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Frito's, 300 cal

1660 (640)