Year 3, Day 198: Day of Meetings in New York

Got up at 6:30AM so I could work out in small, poorly ventilated, hot gym with television on at a volume that would deafen nursing home residents. Did about 5 minutes on the stationary bike when the elliptical (crappy little one, home machine, not professional strength) opened up. I did a 30 minute work out, and so was slightly late for my room service breakfast.

I ordered an omelet and wheat toast. They brought me white toast in cellophane which I left exactly as they delivered it. It also came with hash browns (unadvertised) which I inhaled like a lover's scent, taking one sinful crispy bite and putting the rest away to waste.

Breakfast
Omelet (ham, cheese, onion, mushroom, pepper).
coffee

Snack
1 Banana
3 Strawberries

Lunch: 15 East
Soup
Heirloom Edamame
Sashimi Platter

Various/Train Snacks/Dinner
Almonds & Cashews & Smokehouse Almonds
6 Sticks Beef jerky
1 Honey crisp Apple
5 dried apricots
1 oz Boston LIte Popcorn

Following my unfortunate choice of black and blue tuna at Wolfgang's last night, I was not feeling very good or very hungry when we broke for lunch at around twelve. Again, we had managed to choose an excellent lunch spot with the help of some very credible in-corporate advice. However, the thought of more uncooked fish was literally turning me green, so I ordered eel, but the waiter suggested it wouldn't be enough, so I ordered the sashimi platter. Out of financial and biological obligation I ate it, but I did not enjoy it as I should have, so it was quite a waste overall.

In a fury of last-minute luck, we managed to get on the 6:00pm train instead of the 7:00pm. Of course, this meant no dinner was available, so I ate what I had with me, which was just as well, because the thought of the Amtrak dinner was literally going to make me hurl.

Year 3, Day 134: Lucky There Were No Nuts

It's Monday but Emily decided to come by the office for lunch. Very unusual, but when she does come by we go for sushi nearby. It's not New York sushi, but it is very good.

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

Lunch with Emily: New Ginza
Double-Salad
Sashimi Plate
1 Shumai (after EMily inexplicably orders mushrooms)

Snack
2 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
4 slices of turkey
4 sticks beef jerky

Dinner @ $ Neighbors House
Pork
Fish
Spinach and Garlic
Sprouts

Dessert
2 Strawberries
4 Squares of Hershey's Organic Dark Chocolate (190 Calories)

Many nights when I come home to an unlocked door and an empty house I think the worst: some horrible accident has happened that required the quick exit via ambulance (explaining the mini-van in driveway) or someone else's car and soon the phone call will come. After I shake that off, I realize that my family is next door at the neighbors, eating them out of house and home. On the rare occasion I am invited over to eat too, but that's all about the timing.

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 10: Not Getting Hold of Myself

Year three continues to present challenges for me. I just having the hardest time getting a hold of myself and it could be because I have three or four big personal and professional projects going at once and it's likely to dissolve anyone's resolve. Of course, that's what quitters say, but I have been feeling less than stalwart and hoping that when all the projects are concluded I will rejoin my diet stamina.

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

Snack
Lots and Lots of Nuts
3 cups popcorn

Lunch
Burnt Ends
Cabbage/Romaine/Onions/Feta
Balsamic Vinegar
Bubbie's PIckles

Dinner: Green Tea
Moo Shi Pork (2 Pancakes)
Beef with Black Bean Sauce
Green Pea Tendrils
1 piece yellowtail, tuna
Salt & Pepper Squid
2 glasses of wine

We had some friends over for dinner, in one of our very first friend and baby playdates. It worked out very well, but I did manage to eat way too much. There's a bit of a problem when there's sushi AND something else on the menu, because something genetic inside me compels me to eat all the sushi because I know it cannot be saved for another day. This is usually a problem ONLY when there's other food because I have usually eaten my allotment of calories from the other food, because honestly, only about 10% of all sushi is mouthwateringly good and the rest of it has all the joy of sliced ham. Good sliced ham, don't get me wrong- it's not like slimy old deli turkey (throat-clearing noise). It's just that as Sushi has become a staple in my diet I have found it much less exciting, yet its mere fragility makes me act irresponsibly. And then there's the deep-fried salt & pepper squid...

Year 3, Day 9: Tripping at the Finish Line

Like every other day this week, I resolved to have resolve. Like most days, I get very close to the end of the day and falter somewhat. Not sure if it's the time change, weather change, or simply forward motion of time that's got me down. But I'll tell you, it's keeping me at nut's door.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee(plus a bite of apple and a bite of egg salad and 1 strip turkey bacon)

Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
1 Fuji Apple
5 Sticks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Osushi
Sashimi Platter
Soup
Salad

Dinner
Chicken Breast
Cabbage/Romaine/Feta Salad
String Beans
a bite of Blue Ribbon pork

Dessert
16 chocolate chips
a few cashews & almonds

From http://www.feelgoodfastfood.org/wordpress/

Fewer People are Dieting, says the NPD Group
March 4, 2007

In January, the NPD Group reported that dieting has reached an “all-time low” among American adults. NPD found that 60% of adults “would like to lose 20 pounds,” but interestingly, there are fewer Americans dieting than ever before. Furthermore, a greater percentage of Americans who are dieting are using their own diet plans, as opposed to those recommended by doctors.
I think this trend reflects the increasing importance of convenience to Americans, and Feel Good Fast Food can help address this problem.

The results suggest that Americans are quite aware that they need to lose weight, but they are less willing to diet because dieting is inconvenient; adults don’t want to give up the foods they are accustomed to eating. Similarly, the dieters who are adhering to their own diet plans instead of those of their doctors exhibit that they are not looking for the most effective diet, but the most convenient one. Americans need to lose weight without giving up the burgers and fries that they love, and Feel Good Fast Food can make this possible. Customers who value convenience over health will no longer have to choose against the latter.

Year 2, Day 356: Return Home

You thought it couldn't get any worse, but it did. After another Palisades breakfast of Omelet & Bacon, we set out on the road at lunchtime with little in the way of provisions. This led to some bad eating and some 'what did I eat today?' moments as well as some tired, cranky and hungry people arriving in Boston.

Breakfast: Palisades
Omelet (Ham, cheese, peppers, onions, mushrooms)
Bacon
Bites of pancakes (yum)
Lots of Coffee

Snack/Car-Ride
~4 cups Boston Lite Popcorn
1.5 Red Delicious Apple
1 oz Smartfood
2 Sticks Beef Jerky

Upon Arrival
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
1 Slice Balthazar Multi-Grain Bread
Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Dinner: Bamboo
2 mini-Shumai
1 Gyoza
Sashimi Special (Salmon, Tuna, Whitefish, Octopus, Sable, Crab)

Right after arriving home it seemed like the dark-haired girls (Magnolia and Emily) wanted to nap, so after a quick snack I took Ruby out to Create-a-Cook (www.createacook.com) where they teach kids cooking and have drop-in-sessions for decorating cakes and cupcakes. Ruby and I made three cupcakes and had a great time. Surrounded by every single sugary candy in the world, I felt a great sense of serenity; I did not want for any of them. Though I did accidentally eat some frosting when I tried to clean my finger with my mouth. After we got back we decided to go see a movie and we grabbed a quick sushi dinner at Bamboo. Now I have passed this restaurant a hundred times and NEVER would have even gone in because 1) it's in a Holiday Inn in Dedham and 2) It's a SUSHI restaurant in a Holiday Inn in Dedham. However, Chowhound said it was good and I trust them with my life so we went, and you know what? It was pretty good. No complaints, I would absolutely go again. As a possible nod to their hotel-hosts they also have Chinese food and you could just tell from the intergenerational families coming in that a lot of their customers were hotel guests. Not a lot of takers on the Japanese fare, but it was fresh and good.

Year 2, Day 349: Two Meals Out

Thursday has become our defacto "Date Night" and tonight though we have continued to try and get to the movies, it is just too big a time commitment and it takes too much planning. So we opted for dinner and the mall, which is a low-speed, low commitment exercise.

Breakfast
2 Eggs
2 Slices of Iggy's 7-Grain Bread
3 oz 50% jalapeno Cheddar
Coffee

Snack
1 Large Fuji Apple
5 STicks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Town Deluxe Diner
Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken
Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dinner: Olga Sushi
Edamame
Salad
Miso Soup
1 Shumai
Sashimi Deluxe Platter

I like Sashimi—for those of you who don't know, that's the version with just the fish and no rice and no seaweed wrapper (which by the way, is very high in carbs). One of the problems is I don't really like to pour over a sushi menu, but the Sashimi special is often like 25.00, which is the price I think about when I think about ordering lobster at Legal Seafoods, not just getting some plain, uncooked fish! So far, though, it hasn't stopped me.