Year 3, Day 137: Detecto says "174"

Today was a pretty good day. The latest batch of jerky didn't taste very good, which helped me avoid eating it. Me and another coworker took a very, very fast walk. I was nearly panting to keep up with him. By the time we finished, the sun had come out and we were both hot and sweaty. It's a good thing the office is like a meat locker.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
3 pieces of jerky
9 almonds
1 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Lunch: Russo's ($5.25)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner: Vela
1 Glass of Wine
2 crusts of crappy white bread with crappy pesto
arugula salad
halibut, pepper relish and sauteed spinach

Gumsert

Emily and I met to play tennis after the rain cancelled our second successive session with a tennis instructor. We met at the Wellesley BSC and it is amazingly small, private and air-conditioned. We were so knocked out it made it hard to concentrate on the tennis! I took the first set (6-3) and she the second (6-3). Then she took the tiebreaker, 8-6, after I had been ahead 5-1. What can I say, coffee is for closers and I didn't get any. We wanted to go to Jimmy's (my fave) but there was a wait so we skeedaddled without canceling our reservation and went to Vela, which had no wait, and I think I know why. I weighed myself at the gym. Their detecto is suspect, but in the words of business geeks, 'it is what it is."

Tomorrow begins the onslaught.

Year 3, Day 57: Jill's Birthday- "Detetcto Says 176"

I always get excited in April because of Jill's Birthday, the Spring and the close arrival of Strawberry season. Though I resolved not to eat them post season last year, I have for the past month broken with that pact and continued to buy all kinds of white, crunchy, tasteless strawberries that I will continue to insist I am enjoying until the real four weeks of heaven (June) arrives and every day is like a strawberry holiday.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
5 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Lunch: russo's ($5.87)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner: Ginza
Beef Yakatori
Edamame
Eggplant
Salad
Soup
Sashimi
Fried Green Tea Ice Cream
Red Bean Ice Cream
Sake

Despite my continuing identity crisis about doctors, I manage to get into the usual doctor's office and get weighed. Though I am now being shuttled from scale to scale, I realize deep down that what's important is that I changed my life and that I can fit into the new, smaller clothes I purchased. Once those things are gone the numbers are going to start to matter a lot more. Detecto says 176, and that's disappointing because I honestly thought I could get below 174 but that has just not been a reality. I'm not sure it should be a reality, but it's disappointing nonetheless. To both celebrate being in the 70s and Jill's birthday, we ate a ton of stuff that we weren't sure what it was. The general assumption is that if it's Japanese it will taste good (unless it's mackerel-based) and most likely to be good for you (unless it's deep-fried). Throwing caution to the wind I had some sake and red bean ice cream, and then vowed to run the triathlon one day.

Year 3, Day 29: Detecto Says "174"

I've got to tell you, that weighing in at 178 a month ago was a terrible blow, especially since it was my three-year mark. I really wanted to say I had lost OVER 50 lbs, but I couldn't. That's just how it goes. But I prevailed and lo and behold, I am back to 174. It just takes a bit of seriousness. You can't eat all of your kid's cast-offs and lose weight. You can't eat anything you want and maintain your weight. Well you can't if you have my metabolism, anyway. I suppose if I'm lucky, I will be ping-ponging between 174 and 178 for the rest of my life.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
80 tamari almonds
4 sticks beef jerky
1 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Russo's ($4.90)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner:
9 Pieces Sashimi
Double Salad

Dessert
12 squares almond-chocolate
2 strawberries

Good intentions don't equal healthy choices by Monnica Reinagel from nutritiondata.com

A number of different reports on Americans' dietary habits and preferences were in the news this week, all pointing to the same trend: Although we consumers say we want to eat healthy, there seems to be a significant disconnect between our attitudes and our actions. A report titled "Attitudes to Food: Weight and Diet" indicates that while consumers believe it's important to eat a healthy diet, they continue with unhealthy habits.  The majority of consumers surveyed considered saturated fats, trans fat, cholesterol, salt, and added sugar to be harmful, for example. Yet we eat more fat and calories than ever before--and have the expanding waistlines to prove it. 

Why? Because, consumers say, unhealthy and fattening foods continue to be cheaper, quicker, and more available--not to mention tastier.  It's tempting to shift the blame and responsibility for our unhealthy eating habits to the food and restaurant industry. But is this really fair? A study commissioned by the restaurant industry reported that consumers were frustrated by the lack of healthy choices on restaurant menus.  Yet restaurant managers insist that when they add low-fat, low-calorie, or other healthy alternatives to the menu, customers continue to order the same fat- and calorie-laden dishes that were on the menu to begin with. The broccoli spoils in the walk-in cooler while the French fries continue to flow out the kitchen doors.

Adding menu items that no one orders spells financial hardship for restaurants, which run on impossibly tight profit margins.  So you can hardly blame restaurant owners for thinking twice before revamping their menus.  A survey of menu developers and marketing executives for the country's leading casual-dining restaurants (published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine) reveals that the most important considerations for choosing what's on the menu are sales and profits.  Food safety is a distant second, followed by consumer demand and labor issues.   Health and nutrition were listed as a consideration by less than a quarter of respondents.

Although efforts are underway to legislate healthier menus with trans fat bans and other initiatives (which I discussed in a recent issue of the ND newsletter), many people find this type of government interference in private industry (and personal choice) troubling. The way I see it, healthier food won't be a priority for the restaurant industry until we as consumers make it profitable. 

Ironically (but perhaps not surprisingly), those who say they are most concerned with nutrition also eat out the least. Is it because there are so few nutritious options on the menu? Perhaps if we frequent restaurants and support chefs who make it a priority to offer great-tasting, nutritious food, they'll get the message that healthier menus can be profitable...and we'll have more to choose from.

Year 2, Day 365: Detecto Says "178"

From a marketing perspective, it's very disappointing that I can only claim to have lost 48lbs and not 50 (or as in a month's ago weigh-in, 52). While I was tempted to lie about my weight to make it more exciting, I realized that that's exactly what this blog and my journey is NOT about. It's about giving the truth, and saying what I think and I feel and what's happening as it's happening. So for a long time I was told that "muscle weighs more than fat, so don't worry if you gain weight." The truth is, I was never doing anything but cardio back then so any weight gained had more to do with slippage than muscle gain. Today, though, I must acknowledge that whether it's a 'loosening' or muscle gain I am okay with a sum total loss of 48lbs. The truth is, I feel good, I have energy, my clothes fit and I like to look at myself in the mirror. Most days (except rainy days and Mondays) I am filled with the hope that today can be better than yesterday and also with the knowledge that I (and by extension, you) can do anything I set my mind and body to.

Breakfast
2 slices of Iggy's 7-Grain Bread
Super Chunky Peanut Butter
1 Small Apple
Coffee

Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
3 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
2 pistachios

Lunch: Demo's
Greek Salad with Chicken Kebab

Dinner
Emily's kicked-up flounder
String Beans

Dessert
crusts of bread made for Magnolia
about 20 chocolate chips
1 spoonful haagen dazs chocolate

Of course, writing down everything you eat means you can look back over the days and see what contributed to a gain or a loss. There was clearly a period prior to getting weighed in where I was eating more food during meals and eating more snacks during the day (four instead of three, for instance, like today). I was being less of a zealot and more of someone who occasionally eats what he wants. Honestly that's not working for me. I'd rather be a zealot and keep my weight at 174 then to eat what I want and watch the scale go up. Watching the scale go up fills me with dread. So onto year three.

Year 2, Day 327: Detecto says "174"

Will wonders ever cease? For quite a while since my nephew's bar-mitzvah I was convinced I was getting out of control, but apparently that was not the case, at least from a weight-wise perspective. You know, the fact that I am not able to clearly tell whether I am up or down to me is quite fascinating, because if losing weight is so subtle, it means gaining weight is too. And that's why we all have so much trouble (that is, those of us who have trouble).

How did I get weighed in? When I called Dr. Parent's office again, they checked to see if were still 'in the computer,' and what do you know? Our records HAD been transferred, only not to the doctor that I thought. So I walked in to make an appointment with the new doctor, and promptly insisted I get weighed.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Ikea Muesli
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
4 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Lunch: Talk of the Town Diner
Asparagus, Tomato and Feta Omelet
4 Slices Bacon
Coffee

Dinner: Blue Ribbon BBQ
Burnt Ends
Brisket
Three Bean Salad
Asparagus

As today looked like the best of the day of the week (37 degrees) we all high-tailed it outside for a brisk walk. Most of us were sweating by the end of it. Instead of a salad, which was my plan, we all chose to go to a diner. It was a big day for salty meat, what with bacon for lunch, jerky for a snack and BBQ for dinner. Definitely makes for a very thirsty person.

Year 2, Day 272—2006: A Skin Oddity/Detecto Says 176

Last night Ruby developed some kind of skin oddity that sent Emily and I to call the pediatrician. Now we are pretty slow to call the pediatrician but we were both a bit worried/flumoxed by this development. We decided she needed to see the today (Thursday) so I had to go to work late, which was a bummer because this was going to be the only walkable day of the week (besides Monday, which was the first day back after a long holiday). As it turned out, one of our co-workers was celebrating a birthday so everyone went for Sushi but I made lunch for me and Ruby at home. Since she wasn't contagious (said the Doctor), after lunch I dropped her back at school and went to work.
Breakfast
2 Not Quite Soft-boiled Eggs
1 Slice Balthazar Multi-Grain
Coffee *yum*

Snack
1 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn
2 oz 50% Reduced Fat Jalapeno Cheddar
4 Beef Jerky Sticks

Lunch:
Hamburger
Cabbage/Lettuce Salad with Feta
Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner:
Almonds & Cashews
Chicken Fingerlings
Cabbage
String Beans

Dessert
4 Squares Green & Black Chocolate

At the Doctor's office, I weighed myself again. Sure enough, their Detecto says 176 lbs. Pretty amazing. Because of this revelation, I treat myself to some cashews and almonds when I get home, as well 4 squares of Green & Black chocolate after dinner. Now I don't like to get into the whole dessert thing because it's hard to stop once you're in the mode, but
I have been very hungry upon arrival home lately. Part of this is psychological because if you can just stop eating long enough so that your body realizes it's full, you can stop eating, but if you just keep going, you can really cram a lot in there that you don't need.