Thursday, February 28, 2013

Some things shouldn't be done

Greetings! Welcome to another episode of "What did Chad Eat Today?"! Hope your day was a great one. Mine was pretty darn good.

Started the day off with my good friend the scale. Today's weigh in was 236.8. When I started this journey, I was 254. So, that means I'm getting close to that first 20 pounds! So exciting! Not sure what I am going to do to celebrate that milestone. However, if I go back to my highest weight in the past year, I am down almost 25 pounds! Even better!

It's been so nice getting back in to my old clothes. The problem now is the only clothes I have that are my "skinny clothes" are jeans and t-shirts. In about 10-15 pounds, I am going to have to get new clothes. My current work shirts are starting to hang poorly on me. Pants are okay for now, but some are starting to sag a bit in the backside, and I only have a few pair or "skinny pants" to wear in a week. However, I don't want to spend a lot of money on new "fat" clothes. I'm thinking thrift store for my in between clothes. Not sure though. It's kind of weird wearing someone else's clothes. Going to have to think that through.

Good day at work. More presentations done by the kids. They enjoyed hearing each other's work, especially the 2nd graders who got to listen to one of the 6th grade groups. They also enjoyed when I did this:


and this:


Good stuff, right there! Bald Santa and White Haired Weird Guy.

Not sure if it beats my friend's day at work, though. The lovely and talented Felicia Day stopped by his place of work. Not sure if he got to meet her, but needless to say, jealous. For those who don't know who Felicia Day is, she is an Internet Star who has also does a lot of other cool stuff like voiceovers for cartoons and video games, TV shows, etc. She is one of my celebrity crushes.



On to the food diary!

Food Diary for Thursday 28th of February:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in butter
                2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Coffee with 2 packets of SitR

AM Snack: Too busy to eat.

Lunch: 1 Turkey Stuffed Portobello Mushroom
           Big Ol' Salad w/Lemon Olive Oil and Oregano White Balsamic Vinegar

PM Snack: 3 oz of Turkey Breast
                  A few pecans

Dinner: Baked "Breaded" Chicken Breast (Eh...not very good either. Chicken was good, but breading, not so much)
            Baked Kale Chips w/Garlic Olive Oil and Taco Seasoning (Actually pretty good! This might be a regular snack food!)
            1 square of the World Market 99% Cacao Bar (still not so sure about this one.)

Water: About 80 oz

Sleep: about 7 hours

Exercise: Walking at work
               33 minutes on the Stationary Bike watching Warehouse 13

Well, that's it for today! Hope you have a great Friday (or whatever day it is when you read this)!


Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Phew!


Woke up this morning feeling pretty good, but hesitant about the blood work. I was hoping the doctor would call early in the day to give me the news. Luckily, the phone range right around 7:30 with the results. She said, and I quote, "All your numbers look great! Whatever you are doing, keep doing it." YES! I love it. I guess I should go ahead and get my prescription for my cholesterol meds refilled, though.

Weight was down a hair today at 237.6. Good news. I used to be good at guessing, but now, not so much. The down/up/down pattern has stopped for now, but as long as the trend is down, I am ok!

Second day of presentations went well. 3 of my students did a newscast using a green screen. It was AWESOME! Very cool indeed and the best one so far. Funniest moment was when they interviewed one of the boys brother who was wearing a blue, white, and green striped shirt. The green, of course, disappeared, so that the picture in the background showed through. It was classic!

Food Diary for Tuesday 26th of February:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, fried in butter
                2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Coffee with 2 packets of SitR

AM Snack: 1 stalk of Organic Celery

Lunch: 1 serving of the Hungarian Stew (even though I didn't like it, there was too much of it to waste)

PM Snack: 3 oz of Turkey Breast
                  1 mini bell pepper

Dinner: 1 Turkey Stuffed Portobello Mushroom (recipe here. I subbed garlic for the nutmeg and didn't use    the Worcestershire Sauce or Fontina Cheese)
            Big Ol' Salad w/ Garlic Olive Oil and Oregano White Balsamic Vinegar
            2 squares of the World Market 99% Cacao Bar (um...yeah...not so sure about that one.)
            10 oz of Decaf Coffee with 2 packets of SitR

Water: About 80 oz

Sleep: about 7 hours (couldn't sleep last night as my brain was in overdrive)

Exercise: Walking at work
               Abs Diet Original Workout, Wednesday Edition

Hope you have a great day!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Milestone 1

So, the big news for today is I was able to fit back in to a pair of pants that I haven't been able to wear in almost a year! So awesome! It really made my day. Granted, they are still size 38, but they don't have the "comfort waistband" on them. "Comfort waistband" being a euphemism for "Hey, you know your fat, and we know your fat, but why buy a bigger pant size? Just buy the ones with elastic in the waist so you can fool yourself into thinking you are still 2 sizes smaller!"

The next milestone is to get back into the XL t-shirts without them being too snug. I like my XXL shirts, but I will be glad when they are fitting a lot looser! Plus, I have some nice XL shirts I want to get back into!

...and my weight was lower today. 237.8 was what the scale read. I expected it to be higher than yesterday, but apparently I was wrong. Oh darn. Hopefully I am down again tomorrow. I know I keep saying it, but I am really pleased with the results of what I am doing.

I went to have blood work done. Marianne at Renown on Los Altos is the best. She never misses and gets the job done right! I hope to never have to go to anyone else. She does an amazing job. Now, I'm hoping for good results back from the doctor. I know the exercise helps, but hopefully the diet is working, too. I know the carbs are low, which is good for losing weight, but the higher sodium and cholesterol could be an issue. I'll only know when she calls! Wish me luck!

First set of presentations are in and they were pretty good. Unfortunately only about half of the kids presented, due to missing group members, faulty tech, or lost items. That was frustrating, because I had hoped to have them done this week. Now I am not going to be done for at least another week. Grrrrrr.

More olive oil and balsamic vinegar purchased. This time it's a garlic fused olive oil and an oregano balsamic. It's a pretty good mix and I can't wait to try it on the salad tomorrow.

Food Diary for Tuesday 26th of February:

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs
                2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Coffee with 2 packets of SitR

AM Snack: Too busy to eat

Lunch: 1 Pecan Crusted Chicken Breast from last night's dinner
           Big Ol' Salad w/Jalapeno Balsamic and Lemon Olive Oil

PM Snack: 3 oz of Turkey Breast

Dinner: Hungarian Stew (Not a favorite. Apparently I don't like Caraway)
            3 oz of Turkey Breast
            Godiva Extra Dark Santo Domingo Chocolate (88% Cacao)

Water: About 80 oz

Sleep: about 6 hours (couldn't sleep last night as my brain was in overdrive)

Exercise: Walking at work
               30 minutes on the Stationary Bike watching Warehouse 13

Another round of presentations tomorrow. Not sure how this group is going to go, but hopefully as good as the ones today!

Later!

Monday, February 25, 2013

What a difference...

10 pounds makes! I added another 10 pounds onto the weight bar today, and that seems to be a good weight now. I started at 50 pounds and it was a struggle. So I dropped down to 20 pounds. That may not seem like a lot, but for me, that was a good starting point. By the end of last week though, I could tell it wasn't doing anything. So, I jumped up to 30 today. Oh yeah, feeling it now! Sweat flowing, muscles burning, breathing hard. It was a good workout! Maybe in another 2 weeks, I will be ready for 40 lbs?

Speaking of weight, today the scale read 238.4. Down about half a pound from yesterday. I think tomorrow will be an up day, but I am guessing somewhere around 239.5. Hopefully not above 240. Feeling good. I know the weight loss slowed down after the first week, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. My goal is 200 by June 10th. Not sure I will get there, as that is about 2.3 lbs per week. It will be close, since I am down 15 lbs since I started, with almost all of that the first week. It's a goal though, and I don't think it's unreasonable.

I was talking at dinner tonight with mom about my calorie intake. Depending on the day, I am taking in between 1000-1300 calories per day. Honestly, I don't know what else I could be eating to up that number. As you can tell from my food diary, with the exception of yesterday, I am not skipping meals or lying to you or myself. I eat pretty much non-stop from 7:00 am until about 8:00 PM. Small meals, spread out over the whole day. I am never "hungry" nor do I feel "depleted" of energy. I feel much better than I have in a long time. No idea, but I guess eating healthy means you need to eat less.

Speaking of which:

Food Diary for Monday 25th of February:


Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy fried in 1 pat of butter
                2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Coffee with 2 SitR packet

AM Snack: 2 medium stalks of Celery
                   1 tbsp Almond Butter

Lunch: Big Ol' Salad w/Balsamic and Olive Oil
           6 oz of Roasted Turkey Breast

PM Snack: 1 oz of Roasted Turkey Breast

Dinner: 1 serving of Pecan Crusted Chicken Breast (Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook)
            1 serving of Brussels Sprouts sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper
            Big Ol' Salad w/Balsamic and Olive Oil
            2 squares of 88% cacao bar

Water: 80 (give or take a few) oz

Sleep: 7 hours

Exercise: Abs Diet Traditional Workout

Tomorrow I go get blood work done. I am very interested in the results since this is the first time since I started the new diet plan and I will be curious on how it all comes out, especially the blood sugar and the cholesterol levels.

Later all!

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Blue and Gold

Today was the last Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet for me and the family. It was tough, while I don't agree with many things in scouting, there are many good things that happen because of scouting. I've made some great friends in scouting and my boys had some great times. It's nice to be done, but I will miss the people we've met along the way.

Today also marks my first intermittent fasting day. I stopped eating at around 1 PM today and have had nothing but water since then and won't eat again until breakfast. Besides my rumbling stomach, I am not feeling too bad. It's something talked about in The Primal Blueprint, and I figured today would be a good day to try it since I would not be eating during the banquet, pizza, breadsticks, chicken wings, cake, etc. So, the food diary is going to be short today.

Weight this morning was 238.8. Tomorrow should be a down day. Not much of a surprise. I also start lifting more weight tomorrow night. It's still not a lot, but I was barely breaking a sweat by the end of this week with what I was. I figure if it's too easy, I'm not doing enough!

Food diary for Sunday 24th of February:

Breakfast: 10 oz of coffee w/ 2 packets of SitR
1 serving of the Steak and Pepper Frittata

AM Snack: 2 stalks of Celery w/ 1 tbsp of Almond Butter
3 oz of Turkey Breast
6 oz Picante flavored Pork Rinds

Lunch: Big Ol' Salad w/ Balsamic and Olive Oil
9 oz of Turkey

Water: 100 oz

Sleep: 8 hours

Exercise: Walking around

Take care all!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Gardening soon?

Howdy all! Thanks for stopping by today. Hopefully something I say is interesting. I know it's mostly what I eat during the day, but I am trying to add more to the blog.

Today was an adventure in shopping for organic produce. Whole Foods is super expensive and Winco has almost zero options. Next week, I guess I will try Raley's or maybe Trader Joes. I'm seriously considering the service my sister-in-law mentioned: Basket Case Organics. Prices are cheaper than Whole Foods, that's for sure.

We've also got plans to start planting our garden for the spring. Now we just need to get the seedlings started, the garden soil amended, and the hoop house built for the second bed. Maybe this time I won't smack my nose with a piece of PVC! Today we brought home 20 bags of steer manure to add to the soil. May dump some of them tomorrow if I feel the inspiration.

So, eyesight is getting worse, apparently. I read 1/8th of a teaspoon as 1/2 a teaspoon, and so I added that much, plus probably a little more. Of chipotle powder. Yeah, the Spicy Slaw for dinner tonight was definitely spicy!

Food Diary for Saturday 22nd of February:


Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy fried in 1 pat of butter
                2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Coffee with 1 SitR packet

AM Snack: None

Lunch: 1 serving of the Fajita Frittata
           2 slices of the Steak from last night

PM Snack: 6 Macadamias

Dinner: 1 serving of Fish Taco with Spicy Slaw from the Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook
           2 squares of 88% cacao bar

Water: 80 (give or take a few) oz

Sleep: 7 hours

Exercise: Abs Diet Traditional Workout

Ok, Saturday night awaits after I do the workout I said I did above, so here I go! Hope your weekend is going well! Until tomorrow...

Friday, February 22, 2013

Friday Night at the Rink

Good day today. Work was good. Got to work with some of my favorite people. Even my students were on it and got a lot of work accomplished! Pretty stoked about that. We celebrated oldest son's 13th birthday. 5 teen and almost teen boys over for pizza, cake, soda, video games, and then off to do some rollerskating. A good time was had by all, and even the parents got in some skating.

Today's weigh in was 239.6 lbs. If the pattern holds, my weight should be up again tomorrow. Figuring about 240. Honestly, this is what I expected so, it's all good. If it's lower, I will be glad since I turned down doughnuts, cupcakes, pizza, and chocolate cake today! I think I deserve a drop to like 238! That would be awesome!

Food Diary for Friday 22nd of February:


Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy fried in 1 pat of butter
                2 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Coffee with 1 SitR packet

AM Snack: 3 medium stalks of celery
                   2 tsp Almond Butter

Lunch: Big Ol' Salad w/ Balsamic and Olive Oil
           1 serving of Turkey deli meat

PM Snack: 6 Macadamias

Dinner: 1.5 servings of Ginger Steak (no kale)
            1 serving of Brussels sprouts, sauteed in olive oil and salt and pepper
           2 squares of 88% cacao bar

Water: 80 (give or take a few) oz

Sleep: 7 hours

Exercise: 30 minutes (give or take) rollerskating

Tomorrow we run errands, including the grocery store for some good old organic veggies. I'll let you know how that goes!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Blue Shirt

So, apparently I should wear this color more often.

Lots of compliments today. It's a pretty good color on me. The bald head also got a lot of notice today as well. Tomorrow is the shirt you can see in the background and my newest tie,

I think the color of Pinky and the Brain's ears match the color of the shirt. We shall see what Malia says in the morning!

Busy week about to be capped off by a busy weekend. Tomorrow night we take Noah and his friends roller skating for Noah's birthday. Saturday is an errand day and Sunday is the Blue and Gold Banquet. Should be a fun weekend, but not very restful.

Food Diary for Thursday 21st of February:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy fried in 1 pat of butter
                3 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Coffee with 1 SitR packet

AM Snack: 5 green beans
                  2 Mini Orange Bell Peppers
                  10 Macadamias

Lunch: Big Ol' Salad
           1 serving of the Better Butter Chicken

PM Snack: Nothin'

Dinner: 1 serving of Fajita Frittata, minus the Avocado Salsa
            6 squares of Endangered Species 88% Cacao Bar

Water: 80 (give or take a few) oz

Sleep: 7 hours

Exercise: 30 minutes on the stationary bike

Thanks to all who posted advice about herbs and organic foods. Definitely going to check those out!

On that note, it's time to call it a day! Hope you have a great Friday!


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Quest

So, in my quest to become a healthier person, lose weight, stop taking medications, and giving myself a better future, I have started to be pickier about where my food comes from and how it is treated. To that end, I ordered a copy of the book Rich Food, Poor Food. I should have it by Friday and hope to...devour... it's contents before I go to the grocery store on Sunday.

I know I have a long way to go in the area of learning about GMOs and some of the other things, but the one thing I am going to change is buying organic, grass fed meat products. I know it will be more expensive, but I think for my health and the health of my family it will be worth it. I will go through the freezer and use up whatever we have in there, no sense wasting it, but begin to replace it with higher quality products. I know that more expensive doesn't always mean better food, but in this case, I think it will be worth it.

I've also decided to start growing/making my own spices. It will be another hobby, but one with useful side effects! Should be interesting! Plus, the garden should be full of good food this year, so I am looking forward to that as well.

Food diary for Wednesday 20th of February:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy fried in 1 pat of butter
                3 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Coffee with 1 SitR packet

AM Snack: 5 green beans
                  2 Mini Orange Bell Peppers

Lunch: Big Ol' Salad w/Yellow Mustard
           3 Small Pork and Apple Sliders

PM Snack: 10 Cashews
                  10 Macadamias
                  6 oz of Picante Flavored Pork Rinds

Dinner: 1 serving of Better Butter Chicken (Recipe from this book.)
            1/2 serving of Red Chard fried in Coconut oil (Didn't make enough, which was why I only got 1/2 a       serving)
            6 squares of Endangered Species 88% Cacao Bar

Water: 80 (give or take a few) oz

Sleep: 7 hours

Exercise: Abs Diet Original Workout for Wednesday

Ok, I'll keep you up to date on everything as I learn it! Until we meeet again, have a great day!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Vacation...

Going to Hawaii! Got all the reservations made and we are good to go! 20 years we've been married and it's going to be a great trip! Very exciting, I must say. Now I just can't wait until this summer!

Weigh in this morning was 241. Still all over the board, but the trend is down, so that's a good thing.

Food diary for Tuesday 19th of February:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy
                3 slices of Canadian Bacon
                10 oz of Black Coffee w/1 SitR packet

AM Snack: 10 cashews
                   10 macadamias
                   15 green beans
                   20 oz of Black Coffee w/3 SitR packets

Lunch: 2 left over Ground Pork and Apple Sliders from last night
           Big Ol' Salad w/Yellow Mustard

PM Snack: Nothin', due to an early dinner

Dinner: Royal Red Robin Burger (on a plate with lettuce, no condiments)
            1 serving Sweet Potato Fries

After dinner: 3 Squares of Endangered Species 88% Cacao bar (pretty tasty!)

Water: 80 oz (give or take)

Sleep: 8 hours

Exercise: 30 minutes on the stationary bike

Good day today. Hopefully yours was too!

See ya!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Bald is Beautiful!

Howdy! So no one even bothered a guess on the post titles. That's okay. They were all parts of  quotes from Abraham Lincoln.

Gotta tell ya losing weight is tough. Well, weighing myself everyday is tough. I know I said it was bound to be a roller coaster, and boy was I right. According to the scale this morning, I weighed 243.2, which is exactly where I was last week at this time. Now, I know the scales will be wonky sometimes, so I weigh myself until the scale comes up with the same number 3 times in a row to try to get a consistent measurement. It takes some doing some days! I expect tomorrow to be a down day. Kind of funny how I can tell. Not sure how or why, but there ya go!

Anyway, did some yard work today. Well, pruned the grape vines out of the plum tree and dumped some manure on the garden. Apparently I took over Malia's job, but I don't think she really minded that much.

Nothing major exciting today. Got another of my WoW characters in to the level 70 range. Lets see if I can get him to 90!

Food Diary for 18th of February:

Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy, fried in 1 tsp of butter
                1/4 cup sausage
                10 oz of Coffee with SitR

AM Snack: 12 Cashews
                 10 oz of Coffee with SitR

Lunch: 1 chicken leg and 2 wings leftover from last nights dinner
           Big Ol' Salad w/Balsamic and Olive Oil

PM Snack: 12 Macadamias
                 10 oz of Coffee with SitR

Dinner: Ground Pork and Apple Sliders
            Big Ol' Salad w/Mustard
            9 squares of the Green and Black Organic 85% Bar

Water: 70 oz

Exercise: Yard Work
               Abs Diet Traditional Monday Routine

Today was a coffee day, apparently.

Oh, I know what else I did today:


Figure if the kids keep saying I am bald, I might as well go bald again. I actually like the bald look. It's a bit early in the year to sport it, but too late now!


Sunday, February 17, 2013

Adhere to your purpose...

Hello! Late again. Hope your Sunday was great. Mine was pretty okay. Quick update for today.

Weight: 240.2

Breakfast: 2 Scotch Eggs
                12 oz Coffee with SitR

Morning Snack: 2 dozen Green Beans
                         10 Macadamias
                         12 Cashews
                         10 oz Picante Flavored Pork Rinds
         
Lunch: 1 Chicken Breast (fried in coconut oil with salt and pepper)
           12 Green Beans

Afternoon Snack: 1 Hard Boiled Egg

Dinner: Chicken Breast w/skin (slow cooked with various spices)
            Brussels Sprouts fried in olive oil w/ salt and pepper
            Green and Black Organic 85% Cacao bar (6 squares)

After dinner snack: 5 oz Picante Flavored Pork Rinds
                             1 Scotch Egg
                             10 Cashews

Water: 70 oz

Sleep: 8 hours

Ate more food later in the day than usual. I was hungry, therefore I ate. Not going to beat myself up about it on the scale tomorrow. It will be about 241 or so. No sweat. 1 day with a bit more food than previously won't ruin me. I've tried not to eat after 8, and have done a good job until today.

The purpose of this blog is to make me accountable for my actions to myself, but in a way that I can live with and gain support from others. If I write it down, I am more likely to stick to it. I appreciate all the support I get from friends and family though, so keep it coming!

Have you figured out where the post titles are from for this week? Comments below or on the Facebook link!

See ya!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Cool Shirt, man!

Ok, a break from the quote titles and something about me.

I love t-shirts. I am a t-shirt kinda guy. If you see me walking around, most likely I am in a t-shirt and jeans.

This lovely shirt came in the mail yesterday. I am very excited to be one of only a few thousand to own it.


This is my gift for helping to crowd fund the Let's Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum fundraiser on Indiegogo. I was pretty darn excited to fund it, because Tesla was one of our most influential scientists, yet was so maligned because he was...well, let's face it, pretty crazy at times.

However, I look forward to some day seeing this museum built, and plan on donating more of my money as needed in the future. They were able to buy the land and now they are working on getting all the inspections done and figuring out what the next steps are.

I am sure the museum is YEARS off from being open to the public, but it will have been worth it.

Speaking of T-shirts and science. I saw this one yesterday and I must have it! Xl, please!





...tie a knot and hang on.

Phew, roller coaster of a day today.

Decent morning, led to a good 2 hours in the afternoon, followed by an hour of hell, and ended with 3 hours of pretty good. Started off well, if not early, enough. Made a decent breakfast and a strong cup of coffee. Eventually got the oldest boy down to work on his missing and late school work. Took the boys to their first Kung Fu advancement test, which they passed.


Got home and all the positives were sucked out of the house due to a major tantrum by oldest son. He struggles with why you have to do something right the first time, and so failed a major test which he can't retake. I was...displeased and let him know it. By the time his tantrum was over, his room was clean and the backyard had been cleared of dog droppings. His behavior definitely got me to the end of my rope.

He was able to come back and get the rest of the missing work done and we had a relatively pleasant afternoon and evening.

Food Diary for Saturday, 16th of February.

Breakfast: 2 Primal Scotch Eggs (pictured below next to the hard boiled ones)
               12 oz of Double Black Diamond Coffee with 1 packet of SitR




Morning Snack: Handful of Almonds
            
Lunch: 3 oz of Rib Eye Steak

Afternoon Snack: 2 hard boiled eggs

Dinner: Big serving of the Lamb and Veggies (heavy on the veggies) from earlier this week
            Green and Black Organic 85% Cacao bar (12 little squares)

Water: 60 oz.

Sleep: 7 hours

Exercise: 30 minutes Stationary Bike

Hurm, what else to talk about? Not much, really kind of drained. Gonna go do that bike ride now and then hit the showers and bed!

Night all!


Friday, February 15, 2013

...a friend who believed in me...

Friday! Wahoo! 3 day weekend? WAHOOOO!

Weigh in today was 242. Feel like I am losing the same few pounds this week. Oh, wait...that's because I am! Heh. Hopefully tomorrow is 241. We shall see.

I like this food diary breakdown better than the paragraphs, so I think I will use it. I started it the very first day I cam back to blogging, but moved away the next food diary, so I will see if I can stick with it! What do you think?


Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy fried in 1 pat of butter
                3 slices Canadian Bacon
                1 cup Coffee with 1 packet of Stevia in the Raw

Morning Snack: 10 Cashews
                         10 Macadamias
                         4 Mini Orange Bell Peppers
                         12 Green Beans

Lunch: 1 serving of the Crispy Carnitas
           2 cups shredded Romaine

Afternoon Snack: Nothing

Dinner: Boneless Rib Eye Steak
            Green Beans
            1 square Back and Green Organic 85% Cacao Bar

Water: 80 oz

Sleep: 6 hours (Going to start adding this in each day as well from now on, as it is one of the primal laws)

Exercise: Friday Abs Diet Traditional Routine

So, today was 80's day at work. Sadly, it didn't take much for me to get the look. The only thing I was missing is the hair. The picture below doesn't quite do it justice. I am wearing a teal t-shirt, a Batman windbreaker loaded with buttons, a pair of button fly 501's that have been pegged, and a pair of Chuck Taylor's  Add the big glasses, and I almost nailed the look. Had I shaved off the beard, it would have been better.

I cut my 80's partner in dress out of the picture, since I don't have her permission to post her, but she was rockin' the 80's today as well! The kids had fun with it. Well, mostly they made fun of my glasses, but still. Some people weren't actually sure if I had dressed up or not. Kind of sad, but that is not actually a surprise. I am still a t-shirt and jean kind of guy, and once I ditched the big glasses and the jacket, unpegged the jeans, and turned the shirt around, it looked like what I would normally wear. Now, if I could just get the hair back...

So, a friend who believed in me is the title for this one. And actually, so many friends are believing in me that it makes this journey easier. Thanks to all who read the post, respond on Facebook, or in private. Your words of encouragement keep me going!

Primal Law # 9 Avoid Poisonous Things. Well, I do my best. Still probably eating too many chemicals since I can't afford to go organic everything. I have definitely moved away from the processed junk and sugars and trans-fats  I do my best to only eat things that Grok would have been able to find. I bend and break that on the dark chocolate and coffee, but a man must have something!

Primal Law #10: Use your mind. This blog helps me be creative, so that is one way. My job keeps me thinking all the time, so that is another. Doing online school with my son is a third. I think I might do too much thinking some days! I think the one thing I want to get serious about again is learning to play the bass. That would definitely stretch my brain muscles!

So that's it the 10 laws. So far, I have done a good job keeping true to those. I plan on staying true to them as long as I can. I know I am going to slip up eventually. The test will be to see how badly. I know the Hawaii trip will cost me a bit, as will the Disneyland vacation, but beyond that? No idea!

Okay, off to do the workout I said I did at the top there! Have a great day and see you again tomorrow night!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

...the very best I can...

Happy Thursday!

Quick food run down after the weigh in today, and then a bit of a story.

Weight was 243 this morning. I have a feeling it's going to be a bit bumpy and the dramatic weight loss is over. The pound or two a day just wasn't going to keep happening, as nice as it seemed.

Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy fried in 1 pat of butter
                3 slices Canadian Bacon
                1 cup Coffee with 1 packet of Stevia in the Raw

Morning Snack: 10 Cashews
                        10 Macadamias
                         4 Mini Orange Bell Peppers
                        12 Green Beans

Lunch: 2 Cups of Salad
           1 tsp Lemon Fused Olive Oil
           1 tsp Black Currant Balsamic Vinegar

Afternoon Snack: 2 Mini Orange Bell Peppers
                            3 Cashews
                            2 Macadamias

Dinner: Crispy Carnitas
            2 Cups of Salad
            1 tbs Salsa
            1 Square Black and Green 85% Cacao bar

Water: 80 oz

Exercise: 25 minutes moderate pace on Stationary Bike

So, that was my day. Today was another day of not giving in to temptation. Today's temptations?

One box of Redvines, 1 Hershey's Milk Chocolate Nugget, a bag of assorted candy, a bag of Valentine's Candy Corn, a tin of Dove Chocolate, a Fruit flavored Sucker, and 6 homemade M & M Cookies.

Sigh...Brought them home for the boys without eating any of it. I don't even let myself have a little. I'm kind of addicted. I know if I have even one bit, my body will take over and before you know it, there will be nothing but those wrappers left. So, I do the very best I can, every day.

Speaking of which, had a good day at work. Honestly, most people would not want to work in the situation I do. I teach in the large room in the middle of the building. Four hallways lead into my classroom, and every 15 minutes a class is going somewhere. Most teachers are really good about going through quickly and quietly. Doesn't always happen, but my kids are pretty much immune to it. 

But not today! Valentine's parties, dress up days, food, flowers, talking, laughing, etc. The topper though was the PTA (I think) blowing up helium balloons. They were loud. Their children were loud. The popping balloons were loud. There was no way I was going to be able to teach over that.

Luckily, the kids were really focused on their projects and were working in small groups, so really, all I had to do was ride herd. It was not a bad day. 

The best part was I had 4-5 people say how amazing/patient/flexible/awesome, etc... I am. Apologies from everyone for the chaos. Honestly, I'm flattered. I am not all that patient, but it's my situation. I can't change it, so why get upset about it? Roll with it. Adjust. Find ways to make it work. 

I love my job. I love what I do, and what I do is...the very best I can.


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

...stand firm.

Blogging, day...10... heh. Had to count it out. Another late night. Adding that 30 minutes of weight and ab work is tough! Almost didn't make it. Started feeling weird in my lower abs after the first set of warm up exercises and almost stopped. Got up, walked around, got a drink, sat down again, did some light stretching and the pain subsided. Think I just pulled something that didn't like being pulled!

Anyway, food for the day!

Breakfast was 2 scrambled eggs, 2/3 a cup of sausage, and water. I made two cups of coffee with 2 different batches of my homemade creamer, but all it did was make the coffee watery and taste funny. Skipping that and sticking with the Stevia in the Raw and maybe eventually some heavy cream once I start adding dairy back in.

A friend asked about the hash I had made, so I wanted to give out that recipe. It's pretty easy to make. It comes from the Everyday Paleo cookbook and it is called Karina's Sausage Hash.

3 medium Sweet Potatoes (though it looks like they actually used yams)
1 pound ground pork breakfast sausage
3 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 tablespoon of cinnamon (I didn't use, because I hate cinnamon with meat)
Sea Salt and Black pepper to taste

1) Peel and grate the sweet potatoes while the sausage browns in a large skillet on medium heat
2) Add the coconut oil and the grated sweet potato and cook until the potatoes are soft (7-10 minutes)
3) Add the spices, mix well and serve

It's not a bad recipe, but if you want something not as sweet, you could use extra-virgin olive oil instead of coconut oil.

Got to school to find out I was invited to the Friendship Luncheon put on by two of the teachers for their classes instead of a Valentine's party. Good idea. I accepted, only to find out the meal consisted of garlic bread, various pasta dishes, and just about every dessert under the Sun. You can imagine my predicament. I kindly explained to them both my situation, and they understood. To make matters worse, the luncheon was happening right outside my teaching space, so I could smell it all morning! GAH!!! I'm surprised I didn't eat through my morning snack and then some. I did eat a couple green beans and drank a bunch of water.

During the luncheon, I mingled with the parents and students. I ended up talking to one of the parents who has also adopted a Primal/Paleo diet. We had a really nice discussion, while I ate my lunch of standard big ol' salad and some of the leftover lamb with them. It was nice to meet someone out in the wild who understands and is going through the same experience as I am. The other upside, was it kept me concentrating on the goal, so I didn't want to eat the carbs! Woot!

Got home and had a dozen macadamias and two dozen cashews.

Dinner was Chicken with Mushroom Basil Cream Sauce and another big ol' salad. The chicken was good. The sauce was not creamy and I am not a big fan of mushrooms unless they are on pizza (um...) or sauteed with onions and butter. So, this one won't be a keeper. Last square of the 90% is gone. Next up the 85% Black and Green Organic.

Drank about 10 cups of water today, not including the one that a student dumped all over the floor. He wasn't paying attention and threw his notebook on the table right where my water bottle was. He ran out and got paper towels, so good on him! 

Worked out again tonight. Did the Wednesday routine of the Traditional Abs Circuit Training. Starts off with stretching and all that good stuff. Then it's some ab work exercises, crunches, back extensions, leg lifts, etc. Then it's on to the weights. Various lifting of bars behind my back, over my head, to my chin, with my legs, etc. I am not in great shape and not using a lot of weight, but I think breaking a sweat qualifies as a workout.

Primal Law #8: Avoid trauma. Don't do stupid things. I always wear my seat belt. I don't take unnecessary risks. I'm usually pretty smart about things. I do drive a little too fast on occasion, but I try not to drive like an idiot.

Ok, that's it for today! Hope your Wednesday was as awesome as mine!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

...one day at a time

Ah ha! As I predicted yesterday, my weight bounced back up 1 lb. Today I weighed 243.8. Not a surprise obviously, but a bit discouraging. I knew the weight was going to fluctuate, but it's never good to see it go up. That's why I am taking this one day at a time. Can't worry about the past, so we move forward!

Today was a good day, food-wise. Breakfast was eggs and another serving of the hash along with a cup of coffee and a cup of water. Making sure to keep hydrated. So far I have done a good job drinking my water. I drink filtered tap water. No bottled water for me. Most times I even drink straight tap water! I know, shocking! We have pretty good water here in Reno, so it doesn't bother me. I use a big 24 oz cup with a lid that I wash every day so I am not adding additional waste in the form of plastic bottles.

No food in the lounge today, so I didn't have to fight that off. I had green beans and bell peppers for my snack as well as a 24 oz cup of water.

Lunch was more of the "Minestrone" soup and a salad with some turkey breast. Pretty good lunch and it did the job of keeping me full throughout the afternoon. I didn't even bother with a snack until around 4:30, and even then it was only 10 cashews.

Dinner was 2 hamburger patties over a big ol' salad with yellow mustard as the dressing. Simple, easy, but very satisfying. Followed up with a 90% square. 1 more to go. More water to drink.

I've been drinking my coffee with just a stevia packet, but I miss my flavored creamers, so I looked online and found a couple recipes. I messed one up so I think I will make it again tomorrow and give it a try. Here is the link. I made the Almond Joy one, but forgot to shake the coconut milk can up first, so I ended up stirring it and it just didn't get the right consistency.

Took a 15 minute stationary bike ride tonight. Last night I started my abs/weight routine. I went back to my old Abs Diet: Get Fit, Stay Fit Plan book. It's a good book on weight training and core strengthening. Lots of good exercises and it has a weekly routine that I like. Monday, Wednesday, Friday are weight training and ab workout. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are light cardio work like riding a stationary bike. I need to build up my time on the bike to 30 minutes, but I do a lot of walking everyday, so for now, the 15 minutes is ok. I like this book because it tells you exactly what to do in each exercise and it has options for the home "gym" as well as the Gym. The one thing I don't like is the home "gym" alternates are all done by a woman and not a man. Seems a bit sexist that they don't alternate between the two models, but I understand that they want to remain consistent so as not to confuse people.

Primal Blueprint Law #7: Get some sunlight everyday. Boy, did I feel that today. I was dragging today. I didn't sleep well last night and woke up earlier than I wanted too, then had a hard time going. I was shuffling my body around the classroom for most of the morning. I let the kids go out for recess and just kind of sat in a chair for about 10 minutes, just sitting. Right before the bell rang, I got up and went outside to wait for them. I felt that warm sunshine on my face, and I just stretched out my arms and raised my face to the Sun and soaked it in for a minute. It was an amazing feeling. I felt refreshed. I had energy. I felt like myself again! It was weird, as I had never had that strong of a connection to sunlight before. Usually, I shun the sun. But today, it was an amazing sensation. After about 5 minutes out of the sun, I was dragging again. Maybe it was boredom, but wow. Going to go read for awhile under the solar lamp!

Hope you had a great day and another good one tomorrow!

Monday, February 11, 2013

If this is coffee, then please-bring me some tea.

Monday! Yay! Monday! 1 full week on the "diet" and still going strong. Feeling pretty good now that I am a week in.

Weigh in was a bit...eh...this morning. I went down to 242.8, but not sure about that. I am expecting a rebound tomorrow. Just a gut feeling, if you will. Sunday was a relatively sedentary day with not a lot of veggies, so that is probably why I didn't lose much. I was blaming the Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash, but the lazy day was probably why. Either way, tomorrow will be my first test of will when I have gained weight after being really good. Plus, I am at my junk food school tomorrow, so going to need to an extra dose of will power! Wish me luck!

Breakfast was scrambled eggs and the Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash. I'll try the hash again tomorrow to see what happens on Wednesday. A good scientist always leaves something constant to check out a hypothesis. If my weight doesn't change that much, I will dump the one thing I know was added and I stopped losing weight. A cup of coffee today after none yesterday. I am not addicted to it, and with the Keurig, I make pretty weak coffee and add a packet of Stevia in the Raw to it, so it's not strong at all. Might need to mix it up a bit and brew a smaller cup of stronger coffee. 8 oz of water with breakfast, as well as another 24 oz of water before lunch.

Lunch was a bowl of the Primal "Minestrone" from last night. It was just as good today as it was yesterday, and maybe a little better! Another 24 oz of water with this meal made for a lot of liquid in the afternoon with a long time between pit stops! That last student couldn't leave the class fast enough!

Snacks today were a bunch of green beans, 10 cashews, and a small piece of turkey.

Dinner was an ok Leg of Lamb dish. I put it in the crockpot and let it cook for about 8 hours.Personally, I think it got too mushy. There was a distinct lack of texture to it. Along with the lamb were some veggies (carrots, celery, onions, and green beans) served on top of the big ol' salad, and a big glass of water. After dinner was the usual dark chocolate. Can't believe one candy bar has lasted this long! Down to the last 2 squares.

Weight bench is calling my name tonight after I finish school work with the oldest boy. Taking a bit longer because we are insisting he do it correctly not, not just get it done. He's bucking that a little bit, but it's for the best. It's not a matter of getting the work done, it's learning.

Think I am losing my mind, because I had a thought about what to write, turned to answer the boy's question, and forgot what I was thinking.

Primal Law #6 for those playing along at home is:  Play. This is something I need to make time for. I am so busy between work and home, that I don't take much time for active play. I do a lot of gaming both online and table, but not enough playing outside. I have a dog who doesn't know how to play fetch. Maybe that should be my next goal, teach the dog to fetch! That will get me outside playing with the dog who likes running and being smart and stuff. If I have less weight to lug around, I might even like running. Once the weather gets better, I can try to get the boys outside to throw around the baseball again. They could use the eye hand coordination and catching and throwing skills.

That's it for today. Take care all!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

One Week

Late post tonight! Sunday night is WoW night with our friends in Seattle, so we were playing with them. Usually play until 10, but Malia's not feeling good so we called it early. Gives me time to do the blog before it gets too late. So, on with the show!

Reading on the scale this morning was 243.2. Just about 11 pounds for the week. I'll take it. Next major attack on the diet will be in 2 weeks when we have the Blue and Gold Banquet. Pizza, wings, breadsticks, and salad. Going to try to just do the salad and see how it goes. Eyes on the prize!

Breakfast today was two fried eggs and a Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash. It's really good, though if I make it again, I think I'll use olive oil. The coconut flavor is a bit strong. It called for cinnamon, but I am not a big fan of cinnamon and meat, so I skipped it. Big ol' glass of water to go along with it.

Snacks for the day were some spiced almonds, macadamias, green beans, and some turkey breast slices. Heavier on the green beans today than yesterday, so that's a good thing.

Lunch was a big ol' salad with the rest of the bison tri-tip and more water. No dressing as the meat was still super moist and tender.

Dinner was a really good soup, based off of this recipe. I didn't follow it exactly, so I imagine it would have been even better if I had. I just didn't have enough time to do it correctly. It was a minestrone like soup with chicken, carrots, cabbage, and kale. I should have added some onion and celery, but didn't think about it until later. It was darn tasty the way it came out though, and we've got enough for leftovers for the next few days, so that's good. Less salad, more soup! I imagine I can take a little salad instead of the big salad I have been eating. Gotta say, a hot meal in the middle of the day will be nice. Had another big glass of water, and a square of the Lindt 90% Cacao. Down to only two pieces left of that. Trying the Black and Green Organic 85% bar next. It is the sweetest one I picked up, coming in at 8 g of sugar, so much sweeter than the 4 g that I am enjoying now.

The rest of the day was a laid back affair. Watched some TV, did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, went to a pack planning meeting, and played some WoW. Pretty quiet day.

Primal Law #5: Get lots of sleep. I've been trying to get to bed by 10 PM each night. Most nights I've made it. Might be a bit late tonight, but overall feeling pretty good about that as well. I know if I don't get enough sleep my body craves food to keep it going, and before I would dive into a bowl of something not good for me, usually an old standby of pepperoni, pasta sauce, and a handful of mozzarella, heated it the microwave. A crustless pizza, but still, lots of dairy and artificial food. I'll talk more about artificial food when I do law #9.

Ok, so, 1 week down, 7 days in a row of blogging about my experience and 7 days of eating better. Grok may not have kept a blog, but this public food diary is a good thing for me. It keeps me honest.

New blog title theme for next week. This week's theme was song titles.

Brand New Day and A Man's Gotta Do from Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog
Barefootin' by Robert Parker
The Waiting (is the Hardest Part) by Tom Petty
Dinero by Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers
Just the Two of us by Bill Withers
Great White Buffalo by Ted Nugent
One Week by the Barenaked Ladies

See ya!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Great (White) Buffalo

Happy Saturday!

Today was a good day. I didn't eat a whole lot today, but I wasn't hungry, so I didn't push it. Got a lot done, so that's good.

Started the day by finishing off the rest of my steak from dinner last night. 1 minute in the microwave and it was good to go. Just as good as last night. Had about 12 oz of water to go with it.

Decided it was time to straighten up the "comic book" room. It's basically my room for all of my collections, comic books, books, movies, sports memorabilia, figures, statues, role playing games, etc... Usually it becomes the dumping ground for all things no one knows what to do with. That's where the weight bench has been relegated.

Well, since I ordered a weight set to start using, I needed to get to the bench. So...the room is now clean and organized. Looks good and the weight bench has already been used by the boys. Sure won't hurt them to start lifting weights. They both could use some upper body strength!

And since I was in a cleaning mood, I gathered up all the cardboard and took it down to be recycled. For some reason, Waste Management in Reno will not take cardboard. So what happens is we get a HUGE stack and then take it to the recycling center. Got there and out before the homeless guy came to help. Apparently, he "works" there on the weekend. People give him a couple bucks for helping. One guy even brought him food. Nice enough guy. Next time I will remember to take a few bucks. At least he isn't begging.

Had a couple helium tanks hanging around as well. Trying to find a place to recycle them is pretty difficult. If anyone knows of a place in Reno area, let me know. I tried Amerigas, but they are closed on the weekend.

Got home and had lunch. Big ol' salad with the usual homemade balsamic vinaigrette and a slab of turkey breast chopped over top. More water to drink.

Snacks today consisted of about 10 cashews, a Macadamia-Date Macaroon (Malia made them, not bad, but probably won't eat anymore), a cup of iced coffee with a packet of Stevia in the Raw. A bit lighter on the veggie snacks than I had been doing, but I think I made up for it with the 2 big salads today.

Dinner. Ah...dinner. Not as good as I was hoping for, but it always sounds good. When I picked the Best. Steaks. Ever. Friday, I also picked up a Bison Tri-Tip. It was a bit pricey, but it's such a lean cut of meat and quite tasty, so I decided to go ahead an buy one.

I followed the recipe for Succulent Bison Tri-Tip. It came out pretty good, but I don't think I will buy it again. It's expensive and honestly, I really can't tell the difference between Bison and a good piece of Beef. Another Big ol' Salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette and another big ol' glass of water finished dinner off. Followed it up with a square of the Lindt 90% Cacao. Kind of looking forward to that one being done so I can try another bar with a different percentage!

So, the big news of the day is my weight. Weighed myself and it was down to 244.6 lbs. That's a total of almost 10 pounds. Definitely noticing a difference. The "roll" is getting smaller, that's for sure!  I've got another 8 days of this, then I will start to introduce fruit back in to the diet. That should be interesting. Sugar in any form is a weight gainer for me, so we shall see how it goes. 200 lbs seems a long way off, but closer than 175 lbs, that's for sure.

Exercise routine kicks in next week. Plan is to alternate riding the bike with weights every other day. I will probably take Sunday off of the routine so it's an even 3 days for each. Easier to remember that way!

Oh...Primal Law #2! Forgot to do that yesterday! I'll do 2, 3, and 4 to catch up today. Here they are if you can't wait to read all 10!

#2: Move around a lot at a slow pace. My job encourages walking, so I do that everyday. It's probably not a lot, but the recommendation is low level aerobic activity for 2-5 a week. I'm not sure it counts as exercise, but I am moving.

#3: Lift heavy things. 30-45 minutes, 2-3 times a week. I ordered the weight set with that in mind. I am not a strong man, so I think I have about 100 lbs of weights ranging from 2.5 to 25 lbs.Starting the dumbbells at 10 pounds each, and the barbell at 50 lbs. We shall see how that goes. May not be enough, but it's more than I lift on a consistent basis, so I wanted to start off light. I think I probably owe the UPS man something for lugging those up to the house for me!

#4: Run really fast every once in a while. I've been doing that as part of the bike ride. I pedal along at a normal pace for about 5 minutes and then do a flat out fast as I can for 1 minute. By then end of my ride, I try to get 5 sprints in.

Ok off to watch a couple episodes of Archer! Later all!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Just the two of us...

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a good week. Mine was petty darn good. Cold is mostly gone, and my energy level is fairly high. Though after the dinner I just ate, I can feel a food coma coming on.

Weight down another 1/2 pound to 246.4. I can definitely tell the difference in my clothes. Pants are looser and I had to poke a hole in my belt to get it to keep my pants up! So a new belt was ordered.

Breakfast was the same old thing, 2 eggs over easy, 3 slices of Canadian Bacon fried in a tsp of coconut oil today, along with my cup of coffee with Stevia in the Raw, and the first of 12 cups of water.

Big test today as someone brought in a white chocolate raspberry Bundt cake. I stayed strong and didn't have any! Woot for me!

Snack today was some spiced almonds. Very tasty. More water helped to wash it down.

Lunch was leftover stir fry from last night. Another big old glass of water with lunch and I was ready to face the rest of my day.

Afternoon snack was the rest of the veggies from the stir fry, which was good because I had gone through the nuts and forgotten to bring anything else!

Dinner was...No...this requires some mood lighting.

I stopped at the store to pick up some steak for Malia and me since the boys were having pizza.

The selection at the normal grocery store was a bit lacking. and I needed to check Whole Foods for some other things anyway, so I decided to to look at the steaks there. Not a great variety, but found some bone in rib eyes that looked incredible. And they were grass fed, hormone free, etc. They were also expensive, but oh my was it worth every penny.

Came home and got the grill on the stove started and got it smokin' hot. While that was heating up, I seasoned the steaks with fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt. My mouth is watering again just thinking about it.

Steaks on the grill and then mushrooms and onions caramelizing in a pan. Pulled the steaks off after about 10 minutes. And let them rest on the plate. Mushrooms and onions right on top, and a bowl of salad, and it was then time to eat. With the first bite I knew I had done a good job.

You know that sound you make when you take the first bite of something really good? Yeah, that sound. Malia makes that when she gets crab legs. For me? A good steak. Malia looked at me and asked if I needed to be alone with my steak. Apparently the look of bliss on my face matched the taste.

I actually left a little for tomorrow. So good.

Another square of dark chocolate, and I'm good for the day.

Weekend ahead and some housework to do. Cleaning up the garage and the comic book room so I can get the weight bench set up correctly.

Dinner tomorrow should be good as well. Tune in tomorrow for the run down.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Dinero

Hello, and welcome to another addition of "What did Chad Eat Today?"

So, apparently I should list the decimals in my daily weight check in. Yesterday the scale was at 247.5. Today was at 247.0. So, technically I only lost 6.5 lbs as of yesterday, and 7 lbs. as of today.

Breakfast was 2 pieces of thick cut Applewood Smoked Bacon, 2 eggs over easy fried in just a smidgen of bacon grease (Honestly, I'm not a big fan of doing that and won't do it again, as the eggs cook too quickly and don't taste as good. Plus, they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan.), a cup of coffee and a packet of Stevia in the Raw which I only drank about 1/3 of, and 8 oz of water.

Snacked on green beans and bell peppers spritzed with a little Jalapeno White Balsamic, and 24 oz of water.

Lunch was the usual big ol' salad with Turkey Breast and Lemon Fused Olive Oil and Black Currant Balsamic, and another 16 oz of water, plus some more of the veggies.

Ate more of the green beans and the bell peppers and another 18 oz of water. A few macadamia nuts were added to the mix after I got home from the grocery store, where I ran into a work colleague and spent about 10 minutes chit chatting.

Dinner was Chicken Stir Fry with carrots, celery, onion, broccoli, bell pepper, and garlic. I used homemade chicken stock, soy sauce, and a tsp of cornstarch for the sauce. It was a pretty basic stir fry, but it was good! Another 12 oz of water while eating, and wrapped up my day of eating with a square of the Lindt 90% Cacao bar.

As I was eating dinner, I tried to figure out what the base flavor was, and then realized I had used Coconut Oil, but it gave it an almost cinnamon taste. Not bad, just a bit unexpected. Coconut oil is becoming the new go to oil for cooking. It does add a bit more flavor than other oils I have used and I can't say I dislike that.

Exercise was once again the normal walking I do during the day, and setting up my classroom again. If I remember, I will take a picture of my "classroom".

So, Primal Diet is going well so far. I feel pretty good. As I was telling Malia tonight, I don't feel as exhausted as I used to. I feel tired at the end of the day, but not so worn out and worn down. Eating better and sleeping more seems to be increasing my energy, as well as decreasing the pounds.

There are 10 Laws, which you can find at Definitive Guide: The Primal Blueprint, that help you focus on making good choices. The first is to eat lots of animals, insects, and plants. I've got the first down pat. I love meat about the same amount that I love carbs. Even though the plan says you can eat any kind of meat, I tend to stick to lean proteins like chicken and turkey, with a little beef, pork, and lamb every once in awhile. The plan recommends organic, free range, hormone free meat. I do my best, but dang that stuff is expensive! Organic whole chickens cost a lot more than Foster Farms! I'd like to find a local provider for some good quality beef and lamb next fall. Not sure I could raise chickens for meat. Eggs, yes, but meat? That would be tough. Any ideas, local friends?

Insects are the next thing on the list. I think I will pass on that except for the ones I ingest accidentally or those that are allowed to be in our food by the Government.

Plants I am getting better at. Still having a hard time expanding the palate for those. I grew up eating carrots, green beans, peas, corn, and potatoes as my main vegetables, and 2 of those aren't even veggies! Tomatoes are okay, but not whole. They need to be cooked and therefore unrecognizable to be palatable.

I am doing a better job this time around than in the past with adding more veggies to my diet. I think I need to add almond butter and celery to the mix tomorrow. Not getting enough fat with my snacks just eating veggies. I am avoiding fruit for now because of the sugar.

Water consumption is not a problem. Getting rid of the water can be challenging, since I am not able to leave the classroom until lunch time. 24 oz is usually the best I can do before it becomes a problem! TMI? Probably.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

One picture and no recipes today. It was a boring day, food-wise, except I found a way to spice up raw broccoli!

The scale showed a weight of 247 this morning. That's 7 lbs in 2 days. Mostly water, I know, but you know what? My shirt and pants felt less snug than usual, and my belt seemed looser than normal! I am going to need to buy a new belt since I am cinching all the way on the last hole.

Breakfast was the same as yesterday, 2 eggs, over-easy fried in butter with 3 slices of Canadian Bacon, 12 oz of black coffee with a packet of Stevia in the Raw, and 8 oz of water.

For my snack today I took the usual bell peppers, broccoli, and green beans, however, I spiced the broccoli up by eating a macadamia nut at the same time. The buttery smooth taste of the nut with the broccoli was a nice touch. I also drank 24 oz of water to was the greens out of my teeth!

Lunchtime seemed to take forever today, but it was just another big ol' salad with Lemon fused Olive Oil and Jalapeno White Balsamic. I actually like the Black Currant Balsamic better, but the Jalapeno is pretty good. On top of the salad were a few slices of True Story Applewood Turkey Beast. It's a really nice flavor, and it's organic! (I would love to get more into the free range, organic, home grown meats and eggs. Any suggestions out there, let me know!)

Another 24 oz of water at the start of lunch until my next class began. Filled it up just before the kids showed up and drank about half of it before the end of the day.

Once I got home, I snacked on a few more veggies and some almonds.

Dinner was leftovers since we needed to do a little emptying of the fridge. That left me with another big ol' salad with the last of the taco seasoned ground turkey. No guac leftover though! Drat!

After dinner was another square of the Lindt 90% Cacao candy bar. It really is a just a tiny amount of chocolate, but I break off little bites and let them melt in my mouth, so it takes about 15 minutes to eat the whole thing. I look forward to it every night! It's that little bit that helps me get through the day knowing it's waiting for me after dinner.

Exercise was about 20 minutes moving furniture, including 2 of the big school lunchroom tables, my movable chalkboard which acts as one of my walls, and the 2 movable wall panels. Oh! Here is a picture!
 

Yep, that's my classroom on Wednesdays. It's a bit more private than what I will deal with for the rest of the week, but that's ok. I really love my job.

I need to buy a new pair of black work shoes. I really want to buy American made, so I did some looking on line. I found a pair, but not knowing my shoe size ( I buy 10.5 in tennis shoes, but I know that is not the same as a good pair of Oxfords) I set out to measure my foot. According to the measurements, I should be buying a full size smaller, or the same size as oldest boy. Really? That just seems wrong. So, I think I will go to a shoe store tomorrow and really measure my foot on a measuring scale. Then, I'll buy the shoes! And maybe the Vibram FiveFingers!

Another thing I have been trying to do is get enough sleep, so I am trying to be asleep by 10:00 each night. Since I wake up with the alarm at 5:45, it's a bit less than 8 hours, but closer than I have been in years. I've been using a white noise generator on my phone, but while the sound is on an alarm to turn off after an hour, the program still runs and I end up with a dead phone in the morning.

The weight set I ordered is arriving in pieces, and the last of the pieces should be here by Friday.

That's all for today! Later all!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Barefootin'

Bonus blog post! Bonus blog post!

I am seriously considering getting a pair of the Vibram FiveFingers "shoes".



I love being barefoot and these look like the next best thing. Anyone own a pair or something like them? I am thinking the more expensive ones are probably better than the cheap ones, but not necessarily. Thoughts?

A Man's Gotta Do...

Day 2 of the new life style done. Still feeling good. Especially after the incredibly yummy dinner. Oh my! But more on that later.

Woke up this morning and weighed myself. I was down an amazing 5 pounds! Ha! I know I didn't lose 5 pounds in one day, but that sure was nice to see the scale at 249 lbs. I stepped off and did it two more times and each time confirmed the original. 249 lbs. So, we shall see what tomorrow says.

I actually ate breakfast this morning while finishing up my taxes. Getting a refund! Sweet! Not a huge one, but that's good. That just means I got more of my money than the government did. Not that I am against paying taxes, but I don't want to overpay either. Breakfast was fried eggs in 1tsp of butter and 3 pieces of Canadian Bacon, 8 oz of water, and 12 oz of coffee with 1 packet of Stevia in the Raw. Found out I can use that and boy does it make a difference in my coffee.

Today was the day I was not looking forward to because of the temptation that awaited. The staff lounge back table looked like this:




A basket full of Crunch bars, blueberry muffins, Cool Ranch Doritos, Cheetos, Nacho Doritos, and fresh pumpkin bread. Good stuff. And I didn't eat any of it. Instead, I ate this:


Raw broccoli, green beans, and bell peppers. The bell pepper was my favorite actually. Plain raw broccoli is very dry and the green beans are just kind of blech. I'll continue eating all of them though since they really did keep me from feeling hungry. Just snacked on them throughout the morning until lunch time. Drank about 24 oz of water.

Lunch was a "taco salad" that consisted of mixed greens and leftover turkey taco meat from last night. Not exciting, but it did the trick. More of the veggies accompanied that, with another 12 oz of water.

Took a short walk after school to a little shop called Big Horn Olive Oil Company to check out their supply of local honey. Unfortunately, they had none. So I wandered the shop and tasted a few different olive oils, nut oils, and balsamic vinegars. The pear raspberry balsamic vinegar with Perrier was an amazing taste! It was super sweet, yet very tangy and left the inside of my mouth tingling. I eventually settled on a bottle of Jalapeno White Balsamic Vinegar.

Dinner tonight was another big ol' salad with the Lemon Fused Olive Oil and the new Jalapeno White Balsamic Vinegar, and Beef Stroganoff. Follow the link for the recipe. It is well worth the click! Here is a picture of it:

Everyone ate it and the hopes of taking it for lunch tomorrow soon evaporated as two people went back for seconds! A definite keeper that will be added to the rotation of dinner meals.

Another square of the 90% Cacao as my after dinner treat. Still bitter, but honestly, I don't mind it either. I love dark chocolate and this one is pretty darn good. I'm going to finish this one before starting the 86% bar.

No major exercise, but I did a lot of walking today so I didn't feel so bad. The weight set should be here by the end of the week so I can start to do Primal Law #3: Lift heavy things. I'll talk more about the primal laws as I get further along.

Another bit of news is that I have gone to the grocery store by myself 3 times now and not purchased any sugary junk food! This was always a temptation since the "good stuff" is right by the register. Turning a corner!

I feel really good about the choice I am making so far. Today, I was talking to one of the ladies at work and she was saying that being so public about all of this takes courage. I don't know about that. I guess it helps keep me honest and motivated, even if only a few people read it. I don't mind. After all, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Monday, February 4, 2013

It's a Brand New Day!

First day of my new life is in the books!

I feel pretty good. Certainly not hungry, thanks to big ol' salads for dinner and lunch. I am sure the variety will get better as I go along, and the 5 new cook books will be of use, as will be the website, www.marksdailyapple.com.

Started the day with my weigh in. After a weekend of over-indulgence that included spaghetti, (frozen) White Castle Cheeseburgers, chips, breaded chicken, cheese, soda, and quite possibly the best Starbucks Coffee ever, The Starbucks Doubleshot (1 pump Peppermint, 2 pumps Mocha, 2 pumps White Mocha, Cream, and 5 shots of Espresso served over ice) I topped the scale at 254. Not the heaviest I have ever been, but definitely, not a good look on my 5'8" frame.

Woke up this morning, got oldest boy started on school and then sat down and decided for some reason to start my taxes. No idea why, but by the time I realized it, it was time to go to work and I had not eaten breakfast or showered or anything. So breakfast was 12 oz of black coffee and a handful of raw green beans which I snacked on throughout the morning. Actually, it wasn't too bad. Maybe I was so carb-ed up from Sunday, that I was able to sustain? No idea, but it was OK.

Lunch was my usual salad with my new favorite dressing, a teaspoon of Lemon infused Olive Oil and Black Currant Infused Balsamic Vinegar with about 6 oz of turkey. I polished off the green beans, and the first of two 24 oz cups of water.

After work, I stopped off at World Market and picked up three dark chocolate candy bars (85%, 86%, and 90% Cacao). As a treat, I will be allowing myself 1 square a day after dinner unless I see it is causing problems. Started with the 90% tonight after my Taco Salad  (homemade taco seasoning, ground turkey, home made guac, salsa, and two drops of After Death Hot Sauce to help clear the sinuses, all over a bowl of mixed greens) and another 12 oz of water. Good dinner, even if everyone else had taco shells, cheese, and White Texas Sheet cake for dessert. 90% Cacao is definitely going to take some getting used to, as is the black coffee.

I even managed to get in 15 minutes of biking, 12 minutes of moderate speed, with three 1 minute sprint sessions mixed in. I imagined I was being chased by a saber tooth tiger for the sprints. Don't judge me! Thinking like a caveman!

Actually, I don't plan on taking the caveman thing too far, but as I read the Primal Blueprint, I find myself agreeing with the author. It's similar enough to the book Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It that I feel comfortable with embarking on this. Primal is not written by a scientist, like Why We Get Fat is, but there is enough of an agreement between the two in terms of reasons to go no/limited carbs as a lifestyle change.

Tomorrow is the real test of will for me. My place of work always has high carb goodies around, and I work from the lounge there so it will be staring me right in the face all morning! Must...be...strong. I'll let you know tomorrow!