Day 241—Q: How Do You Find Your Place in This World?

A: Look for it.

I'm not sure how my whole neighborhood thing is going to play out, but after yesterday, when all of my neighbors appeared on the unbelievably minor Needham TV access channel there has been a lot of 'traction' about the whole story of a luxury apartment 5 times the size of my neighborhood going up behind my house. To the degree that a single 25-Watt bulb can be called 'a spotlight' we are in the spotlight, and it feels very exciting to be part of the local political machine, even if I'm the part that gets chewed up and spit out. I haven't yet seen myself on TV but as Emily noted "it's probably good that you lost that weight."


Breakfast
2 Eggs over Easy
2 strips turkey bacon
2 oz cheddar cheese
Tea

Snack
50% of 1/2 of a whole-wheat english muffin with peanut butter
1/4 cup almonds/cashews+8 almonds
2 apricots
1 Apple (Cameo?)

Lunch
Tuna salad over greens, olives, tomatoes, balsamic dressing

Dinner
Chicken Breast a la Emily
Snap Peas
Smidgen of Pulled Pork & 1 Rib from Blue Ribbon

Today was also Ruby's first public school Parent-teach conference. Everything went well, and they said she is "well-liked", which is not like being "a man of respect" or "a friend of ours" but still worth noting.

240: More Evidence South Beach Diet Newsletter Writers are Stalking Me Part One

From yesterday's South Beach Diet Newsletter: Common Sleep Concern
Do you snore loudly? Are you tired during the day even after a full night's sleep? You may be suffering from sleep apnea, a dangerous condition that can cause your breathing to stop while you sleep. The good news is that The South Beach Diet™ can help.

In the most common form of sleep apnea (known as obstructive sleep apnea), the muscles in your larynx collapse, preventing the flow of air to the lungs. The brain, recognizing a decrease of oxygen in the blood, sends a signal to the body to arouse you from sleep in order to take a breath.

In addition to preventing a good night's sleep for you and your spouse, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and an increased chance of heart failure or stroke. If you suffer from sleep apnea, you may find yourself unable to stay awake at work, while watching TV, or even while driving.

Men over the age of 40 (Like Me-Ed.) are most commonly affected by sleep apnea, but overweight or obese people are also at a higher risk of developing the condition. (That's two strikes—Ed.) Excess weight, especially around the neck, can obstruct the breathing passages. Losing weight on The South Beach Diet™ may relieve the obstruction, lessen snoring, and help you to breathe easier. (It's all true, see "Sweet Puffs of Air", Ibid)

Sleep apnea should not be taken lightly. Consult your doctor if you believe you suffer from the condition and weight loss is not helping. Your doctor can recommend alternative treatments

Breakfast
1 Big and 1 tiny Slice of When Pigs Fly Harvest Bread
with Australian Cheddar
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup Almonds/Cashews
8 Dried, Turkish-Style Apricots
12 oz Coffee (half decaf)
1 Apple (I thought it was a Jonagold but it said "Cameo" on it. See below for more details)

Lunch: Chinese
1 Pizza-Shaped Slice of Scallion Pancake
Hot & Sour Soup
Shredded Pork, Cabbage and Peppers
"Peppered" Chicken

Dinner
93% Chopped Sirloin
Broccoli
Peppadews
Pickles

So I have a fear about picking out apples because I love apples but if you're like me and you're used to the crappy supermarket apples, and you know the experience of eating an apple off a tree, you are always hesitant to pick out apples because of the dread fear that they will be brown, soft, mealy or powdery when you bite into them, causing you to have to go "off" apples until you disgust recedes. To avoid this, I started buying apples at Whole Foods, but even though I'm paying twice as much, I wasn't any happier. So I start going to Russo's for apples but they have so many kinds that I always freak out that I'm going accidentally buy just-out-of-season apples that sit next to something that is just in, crisp and delicious. Whatever I got was yummy, and I think it was a Cameo because the label said so. But the label also said "geewhizfruit.com" and so I went there and Cameo is not one of the varieties they sell. Meaning it could have been a Gala or Pink Lady, or they just haven't updated their Web site. Amazingly, in looking around for the apple of my eye, I did find the nutrition "label" for apples, so I've included it here.

239: Way Too Much Information

Don't worry about the title, there's nothing distressing in the blog today, I just thought it was a funny title. I've been thinking about changing up my eating. I realize I'm just going from Joy Stick to Yogurt and back again. Then from apples to cheese, you get the picture. Maybe just add more exercise. I'm thinking out loud, OK? It's just what I do. It's like saying "Note to self," only less annoying, because you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Looks like rain is going to keep me from a lot of walks this week, but I am looking forward to Halloween for the first time as a source of exercise (and candy, natch).

Breakfast
2 Slices When Pigs Fly Harvest Bread
Peanut Butter
1/4 Apple (Fuji)
Tea

Snack
12 oz coffee (half decaf)
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
12 turkish apricots (that's over the limit)
1 Fuji apple

Lunch
Beef K-Bab
Greek Salad

Dinner
Chicken Breast with Sauteed Cabbage
Peppadews

Emily and I just watched a show called "Hamburger America" (http://www.hamburgeramerica.com/). It was basically food porn. We just ooed and ahhed as we watched big beef burgers on buns, served with peanut butter, a whole stick of butter, and a seven-inch bun and LOTS of fries. We were literally salivating on the carpet. Of all the places they showed, only two were in the Northeast (Meriden and New Haven, CT). Emily and I were interested in the one in CT that 'steams' the burgers. We made a note to detour there on a trip home if we ever buy can both buy a map AND keep it in teh car. The owner, won us over when he said that he 'skipped the buns and lost 17 pounds.'

238: What Makes a Hero?

Although being on a diet makes me think of a hero like those also known as sub, grinder or hoagie, my rumination of the day was not about the edible type. An amazing by-product of exercise is how, when you can tune out the 30-minute Sudanese infomercials and the heavy mouth-breathers, and the smell of medicinal men's soap, you can really examine the so called 'four corners of your mind.' Frequently, during exercise I am thinking about my friend Ray, who long-time readers already know, died in the World Trade Center, building two, on September 11, 2001. I thought about him especially when I heard the song "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits (with Sting), who was one of his fave bands (though he liked Van Halen better). I had to just consider the thought for a minute of "what is a hero?" I know the obvious answer is someone who performs a heroic act. But I think there is another element to heroism. It's when what you stand for is so good, so clear and so right, and so absolutely demonstrable, that it makes an impression on everyone who meets you. And that was Ray. He was all about doing his homework, cleaning up, standing up for the little guy, doing what was right, and telling the truth. This isn't to say he didn't act badly sometimes, but whenever you thought "what would Ray do," you would know that he would do the right thing. In that way, I think he continues to influence me to this day. It's also why (besides the obvious loss to his family) I was so sad to lose him. Though we did not see each other often, he was like a moral compass in this world full of distressed and lost souls, among whose numbers I count myself. But at least I got two quarts of peppadews.

Brefest
Three Eggs, Over Easy
2 Strips Turkey Bacon
2 oz. Cracker Barrel Yellow Cheese
Tea

Shnack-en
Nuts
~6 oz lite yogurt (I shared most of two yogurts with Magnolia)

Lunch
Cheese from 1/2 slice of Pizza
Olives

Dinner
Steak Tips
Peppadews
Greek Salad

For the second day Emily let me sleep late and as a results of a later breakfast I am having a smaller lunch. For the first time in two weeks I got to the gym and did 40 minutes and 3.5 miles. I thought it would be a lot harder as it usually is when I miss a week. Surprisingly, it just takes a while to warm up and get into it—then it's pretty easy (if not occasionally boring).

237: Better Get Back to the Gym

Saturday after the poker game can be brutal, because many times I can't get to sleep before 3AM. This sounds horrifying to people, especially if you have kids who will awaken you at 7AM (which is what happened). At those moments I am praying for the day when Ruby will silently sneak downstairs, trying not to wake me or her sister, so she can watch her TV shows and eat all the sugar cereal (even if it is whole-wheat). This day was no different and as a result of being tired, it makes it harder to avoid mindless snacking and even harder to remember what kind of mindless snacking you did.

Breakfast (approx 10:30am)
Whole Wheat English Muffin
Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
Cracker barrel cheese stick
Olives
Peppadews

Lunch
Salad with Grilled Chicken

Dinner
Steak tips
Peppadews
Greek Salad

My sister in law procured for me a massive, two-quart bag of peppadews. It was one of those fantastic gifts that beside being something I wanted had an air of serendipity to it—I had been to Whole Foods prior to the game and they were SOLD OUT of peppadews. They sell them in the jar (not fresh) but I forgot to check that aisle, and left peppadew-less.

Day 236: A Poker Game

Of course even when I was eating at my worst, and poker games were an excuse for carb-loading sugar shocks, I still always tried to watch what I ate. This usually meant a salad for lunch; and a salad at the game with no dressing. However, since I would engage in ritual shameless overeating (and it was fun) these few conceits really didn't matter much. These days I know I should have a protein breakfast (as opposed to carbs) and avoid all nut-snacks, since they are obviously the easiest snack to consume at the card game. I also make sure I have salad for lunch (though today I didn't), and basically try to keep the diet intact.

Breakfast
2 Strips Turkey Bacon
2 Eggs Scrambled
Tea

Snack
12 Turkish Apricots
12 oz. Coffee (half decaf)
1 Fuji apple

Lunch
Miso Soup
Japanese Salad
Sashimi: Octopus, Yellowtail, Tuna, Salmon

Poker Game/Dinner/Snack:
Salami Slices
1 Cracker Barrel Cheese Stick
Olives
Pickles
Peppadews
Deli Meats: Corned Beef (4 Slices) Roast Beef (1 Slice) Turkey 2 Slices
3 Slices Muenster cheese
Half Sour Pickles
~1 cup Almonds/Cashews
Cole Slaw

In general, the poker game has felt the effects of SoBe—we went from consuming fully three bags of chips (Doritos 3-Ds, Fritos and Funyons) plus cheese, plus dinner, plus dessert, PLUS all those sugary drinks (like Snapple) AND Beer to a more carb free lifestyle. There's maybe one six-pack of beer; we mostly drink water and diet sodas. We only opened up one bag of chips tonight and it went unfinished. The entire poker game did, as you would expect, devoured all the nut mix I brought. Sigh. I tell you, people love nuts. No matter where I go traveling, people are wanting to eat them all up. That is why I have had to take to hiding them. But that's for another blog entry. For the record, I won about twenty bucks.

235: Wake Me When November Comes

It is increasingly obvious to me that everyone feels a certain shock and denial regarding the oncoming of this particular fall and winter. Mostly it can be seen by people who refuse to dress warmly enough, and those who are still trying to keep up their summer activities (is there one more beach weekend?).

Breakfast
2 Slices Harvest Grain Bread
Cheddar Cheese
Tea

Snack
Dunkin Donuts Coffee (black, half decaf)
Slightly less than 1/4 almond cashews
California slab apricots

Lunch
Beef K-bab
Greek Salad

Dinner
Rainbow Trout with Leeks
Broccoli

Tomorrow is another poker game.

Day 234: Walk For Hunger

The best thing I can say about this day is that was much less hard than I anticipated it would be. You know how sometimes you think you're going to have to really LEAN on a door to push it open, or pull hard, but it comes easily on the very first try? That was today. At every point I thought there would be difficulty, there was ease. Ruby woke up on her own (which she never does on a school day); she ate breakfast; got dressed by herself, and when I was going to get her into the car (we thought she could skip the bus on account of she wasn't 100% percent) I saw a beloved neighbor who offered to take Ruby. So I got to work at 8:45, which is an unheard of time—I haven't gotten to work that early since I had to meet a certain very snooty graphic designer who 'consulted' for domania and could only meet at 8:30AM on Fridays. Oh, how I hated that! To make matters worse, back then I played poker every Thursday and Friday mornings were not a super-good time for me to focus on detail projects. Of course, anyone could make an argument that no time is good for me to do that.

Breakfast
2 Slices of Zabar's Multi-grain bread
Slices of cheddar
10% of a Fuji Apple (the rest was Ruby's snack; she didn't eat it).
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
8-12 California slab apricots
6 oz Blueberry yoplait lite yogurt

Lunch
Greek Salad with Chicken

Dinner
Chicken Deluxe
Asian String Beans

Post-Dinner Experiment
Guava slices

It was a beautiful day for the middle of October, and the D.G. actually got to go out walking at lunch today. It was nearly perfect except that I wore two layers which I had to doff prior to the end of the walk. Of special note was a woman walking her dog who called us 'assholes' because I assume she thought we didn't get out of her way fast enough, or at all. Following a walk, some or most of us will go to Christos Seven Star pizza, an unremarkable sub shop in all respects except for its first-in-class poison tuna, which has sickened more than a few Domaniacs. Being that it is one of the two closest places to get hot food, it often is the last resort due to time limitations. Today I got the Greek salad and noticed that its mammoth size—it wouldn't be out of place on a Costco shelf—really makes it a poor choice for a dieter. It's almost as if they know they aren't very good so they try to make up in quantity what they lack in quality. It's really more like two salads, and yet I finish it every time. As we get into this period of cold and more indoors, I really will have to watch what I eat—and the volume of what I eat.

233: Get Nutty, Snack on Nuts

From "The South Beach Newsletter" : Fall is a season of cooler weather, changing leaves, and bountiful nuts. That's right, most tree nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, chestnuts, and pistachios) are harvested during the fall months. This means that now is the perfect time to rediscover the joy of these nutritional powerhouses.

What's in a nut? These satisfying snacks are low in cholesterol and saturated fat and high in healthy monounsaturated fat, protein, and a variety of essential vitamins and minerals, including folic acid and niacin. Numerous studies suggest that nuts may be effective in preventing heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.

Nuts can be eaten raw (fresh from the shell) or roasted, and can be used in cooking. Keep unshelled nuts in a cool place for up to a year. Shelled nuts can turn rancid more quickly and often require refrigeration or freezing. And remember that while nuts are good for you, their high fat content makes them potential diet busters. Keep your intake to the portion sizes recommended on The South Beach Diet™ (for instance, 15 walnuts, almonds, or pecans, or 30 pistachios at a time).

Breakfast
2 Slices Zabar's Multi-grain bread
Cheddar Cheese, to top
Tea

Snack
12 oz. coffee (half decaf)
1/3 clementine
1/4 almonds & cashews

Lunch
Thai Beef Salad
Thai Chicken Salad
Brown Rice

Dinner
90 Hamburger
Cabbage Slaw
Pickles
Peppadews
Broccoli

This morning I was getting Ruby ready for school when I noticed, with some alarm, that it looked like she had two black eyes. When I asked her what happened, she answered "I got a mosquito bite", without missing a beat. For a moment, I actually believed her. Then I wizened up and got her to the doctor. It looks like like she might have conjunctivitis—we'll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, I am trying to cut down on the nuts, and I discovered having cheese on toast might be a way to do that. It's really substituting one fat for the other, but it's something.

Plus, if I don't get some physical exercise I am going to turn into Jabba the hut.

Day 232: Back to Life, Back to Reality

After a weekend of G-d knows what, I am determined to get back to work after missing two days; getting back to physical activity after being still; and getting back to watching what I'm eating after a weekend of eating pound cake and rugelach. I decide to try and phase one it. I succeed for today—except for dinner.

Breakfast
2 Eggs, Over Hard
Melted with Cheddar Cheese

Lunch
Popeye Salad (From Strip T-s)
Spinach, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Poached Chicken
Balsamic Vinegar Dressing
Coke Zero

Snacks
1/4 cup Almonds, Cashews
1 Fuji Apple

Dinner
Breast of Chicken
Broccoli

Post-Dinner Grazing
1/4 cup Almonds/Cashews
~5 California Apricot Slabs

Amazingly, I order Chicken Breast "with rice and beans" at dinner. I ask if it can be "more beans than rice." Emily suggests I get no rice at all. The waiter comes back after our order to say that 'it is how it is," meaning we'll take what we get. Fine, I think, I don't care how much rice vs. beans I'm going to get. I've gotten to used to ignoring food. When the food comes, it's six beans and a plate of rice. I bring this to the attention of our waiter who says "it's premixed." Really, I was at a loss for words. I ate one french fry of Ruby's but managed to skip the ice cream place next door when we went for dessert. (It was JP Licks, not Cold Stone, for those who were wondering). When I got home, I was still hungry. So, again with the nuts.

Day 231: The Long Journey Home

This was Magnolia's actual birthday (there was no cake). If there's anything as bad for dieters as parties, it's traveling. Aside from the restriction on physical activity, there's little to do but eat. Plus lately, there's been at least one stop at McDonald's.

Breakfast
2 Slices of Zabar's Multigrain Bread
Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack
A ton of nuts
clementine

Lunch
4-day old, and most likely, improperly stored tuna
3-day old cold brisket
Jarlsberg

Dinner
Steak Tips a la Robert
Broccoli
Peppadews

The big advantage of this particular car trip was that I was TOTALLY CARSICK on the way home. It could have been from the tuna (see description, above).

Day 230: Magnolia's One (with the World)

Well of course the thing about a party is that there is a lot of delicious food. Also, there is no 'set' meal time, people are constantly grazing. This can be a problem for people watching their intake and never more so than the host is also one of the KITCHEN HELP. So there's a good bit of tasting, noshing, ripping and such. So really, the whole thing's a blur, and there's a slice of ice cream cake on top of it all. But how many times will my daughter be one? Just once. How many times will she sleep through the incantation of happy birthday? Possibly several. But all in all, it was a good day.

Breakfast
2 Slices of Zabar's Multi-Grain Bread
Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack
Cheese Stick

Lunch-Dinner-Party
Cheeses of many varieties
Olives
Spicy Pickles
Peppadews
~8 Meatballs
1 Piece Flanken
2 Chicken Breasts
Cabbage Salad
Slice of Birthday Cake (with a sliver of Snickers bar on top).

When you think about all the above as TWO meals, it probably isn't so bad. But it did seem at the time like an endless parade of food. However, as Emily's sister said in the beginning of the day "It's a SoBe friendly birthday spread." And why shouldn't it be? We did have crackers and cake, for the non-participants. The rest of us were able to nosh in SoBe safety.

Day 229: Atonement. Check. Party Planning. Check

When you have a new beginning, you should be careful! I choose to throw caution to the wind and start the morning with a few nuts. As the day goes on, I have consumed more than my combined daughters' weight in nuts, and so the new year is very much like the old year. But at least there's no rugelach or challah.

Breakfast 6 oz lite yogurt
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
1 c. strawberries
tea

Snack
Nuts-a-plenty
2 cheese sticks
.5 fuji apple
a few olives
2 coke zero(s)

Lunch
Greek Salad

Dinner
Chicken Soup (Celery, Carrot, Onion)
Salad

unintentional eating (but it counts)
1. bite of Magnolia's Challah french toast
2. a bite of a pletzel from Zabar's
3. a few noodles of shells and cheese

Dessert
3 Dried apricots

What is not revealed here is that I a make the dinner with Emily's sister, and so was eating every part of it along the way. Chicken, carrots, celery, the whole bit. I was heavily craving dessert, but I willed it away.

Day 228: Day of Atonement

SoBe Journal:

Breakfast

1 small slice pound cake,
1 dixie cup orange juice

tuna salad
egg salad
6 potatoes (fried in schmaltz)
1 dab of whitefish
cheddar cheese

2 rugaleach
1 small slice of chocolate bobka

Today was sort of different from every other fast that I've done on Yom Kippur. Today, I noticed that not eating was not the problem. I was not hungry. I did not want for food. I was a bit light-headed from not eating; possibly from not having any caffeine. But I was not hungry. My usual 3pm headache came and went; I did not medicate for it. It was an because I thought I wasn't going to get a chance to go to temple (Schul) as I try to do every year for a few hours. At the last minute though, I decided that Ruby and I would join Mag & Em in the trip in the rain to NYC and we arrived in time for family services there. My brother-in-law and I decided to stay at the temple, so we were there until the service ended (7pm).

If you're not Jewish, and you've never stayed until the bitter end of a Yom Kippur service, then you haven't fully experienced the pain of standing for 30 minutes when you haven't eaten for 25 hours; for being surrounded by people with 'yom kippur breath'; by feeling that you might keel over because the prayer book you're holding weighs the same as a building. You really go to do a different place. It's amazing how the Rabbi, etc. at the pulpit can keep going. It's like watching a grueling sports event. They just come up with the goods.

Day 227: Yom Kippur

Typically a night, and a day, spent in earnest thought and consideration for the year past, and the sins within it. Always a difficult time for me, and often one that finds me consulting the books or considering a nearby body of water. Tonight though, it was just the four of us at home, trying to figure out how to pack for a few days in New York for Magnolia's one year old birthday party. Often, there is a festive meal to say goodbye to the old year, a meat meal, but tonight there was sort of a catch-as-catch can meal comprised of frozen chicken soup (I made it a week ago for Rosh Hashanah); prepared-food brisket, and some frijoles. For Ruby, there was buttery angel-hair pasta and chicken soup, both of which she consumed with gusto that made me proud to have been the creator of both the dishes and the girl (well 50%). I wonder if having her buy lunch at school will make her appreciate the food we make it home more (Friday's lunch is French Toast sticks with maple syrup). For me, there was challah, apples and honey, a sip of wine and two coins of chocolate was going out sinning big, because next year is going to be a slimming one.

Breakfast
1 slice Harvest Bread, When Pigs Fly
Peanut Butter
3 Slices Ham
Tea

Snack
2 Dragon Sticks
8 Dried Apricots
1 Fuji Apple
12 oz Coffee (half decaf)

Lunch
Artisan Salad: Red Leaf, Ham, Grilled Chicken, Cheddar, Olives

Dinner
Brisket
Chicken Soup
Frijoles
~2 slices challah
~2 slices apple with honey
2 chocolate coins

Tomorrow will obviously be a 'light' day for the blog; there will be only one meal on it (the break-fast). I will be joining my brother and his family and friends in Marblehead (if the rain doesn't wipe the Massachusetts coast away by then) for a breakfast, for which I have secured $40 in baked goods (they're price gougers during this season). By then, I may be lighter of the soul, but heavier by at least one rugeleach.

Day 226: Detecto Says "196"....Yawn.

Today was my 13th wedding anniversary. It really is amazing to be married 13 years—it seems like a lot of years, but in fact it sped by like a bullet. This has been a year of many landmark ages. My dad turned 70, I turned 40, my daughters turned 5 and 1, and my wife will be 40 in November. Aside from the damage done to my ears by the iPod, I think I'm in the best shape of my life. The terrific non-stop rainfall continues to depress New England, and today I seemed to be on the receiving end of a lot of unintentional carbs. But since I got weighed in this morning (and on scale #2, not #4) I realized that if I can maintain this weight for a few more months (it's been three months give or take) than I can definitely get down to 185 if I really concentrate. Though heading into the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's zone, I'll be happy to get out of this year at the same weight.

Breakfast
Mastmacher Bread (the last slice)
Peanut Butter
3 slices ham
Tea

Snack
Coffee (12 oz, half decaf)
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
8 dried apricots
1 granny smith apple

Lunch (Chinese)
Wonton Soup (with wontons)
Beef with Celery (Very SoBe)
Schezuan Chicken (Not Very SoBe)

Dinner
Chicken Livers (dredged in flour)
Sauteed Spinach

We determined that since we're having a birthday party for Magnolia in NY this weekend, taking ourselves out for dinner was an unnecessary extravagance. As a result, we stayed home to eat 'what was in the fridge.' For lunch I unknowingly ordered something that was deep fried and in a gloopy sauce; for dinner I actually knowingly ate something with white flour. All I could do was think "tomorrow I'm going to eat more vegetables."

Day 225: Columbus Day

Today it was raining, and everybody everywhere (that I could make out) was getting tired and grumpy. So there was no walk, and very little energy. A lot of stuff was closed, and it's actually very infrequent that I ever work on Columbus Day, because I usually take the day off to celebrate my wedding anniversary with my wife (though this year it's actually on Tuesday, which is tomorrow, if you're reading this on Monday). A bright spot was when Ruby & Emily came to visit. Ruby really only had eyes for the Peanut M & Ms that were on my desk (they came from Angie's List, I didn't buy them)!.

Breakfast
Mastemacher Bread
Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack
Coffee (12 oz, Half Decaf)
1/4 cup Almonds/Cashews
8 Dried Apricots
1 Granny Smith Apple

Lunch
Ham & Cheese Rollmops
1 Heart Romaine
Olives

Dinner
Rainbow Trout a la Emily
Green Beans with Melted Cheese

Again, I apologize to readers who are tired of me having the same breakfast every day. It is so hard to be inventive, from a diet perspective. I tried to have a glass of wine with dinner but it was week-old and cold (and red) and didn't hold up very well. What can I expect though, when the cork was gone missing. I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you about my damaged hearing (iPod) and the email from my ex-Ed Humor friend (Derek). More on that tomorrow.

Day 224: Wick and Lennon's Birthday(s) Today

There is much to be said about ridding the American diet of its white flour and white sugar. First of all, the baking industry would be finished. There are very few successes of delicious desserts minus the 'whites.' No matter how the Whole Foods industry tries, for the most part they're always coming up with a "frookie"— a cookie that substitutes white grape juice for white sugar. The truth is that these products just aren't as good as their whited-up counterparts. Now they can make delicious desserts without high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils, and they should, but I'm getting off my point, which is that dessert is such a big part of American life. And never is it a bigger part of any part of American life than a birthday. Emily and I (& kinder) went to see one of our oldest and dearest friends to celebrate his birthday. They provided the food from Boston Market (read: hidden carbs) and a cake that was sized for 20 people. I had a tiny slice, Ruby had some, Magnolia is not of cake eating age and we'll just say that other folks had some cake too. It was delicious, as all temptations are. We asked that it be taken out of the room.

Breakfast
3.5 strips Turkey Bacon
Terribly Failed Eggs Over
2 oz. 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
Tea

Lunch
White Meat Chicken
Meatloaf (made probably with about 30% white breadcrumbs and sugar, by my guess)
Vegetables (Broc, Carrots, Zucchini)
Creamed Spinach
Dessert: Cake (Devils Food with White Frosting)

Snack
1 Cheese Stick
1 oz. salted peanuts

Dinner
Steak Tips
Double Greek Salad (I ate Emily's portion, too)

Just glad I got to the gym yesterday. Hopefully the rain will hold out and I'll be able to get some walks in. Also, I noticed at the JCC they were offering a "free consultation with a fitness trainer." I must get on that—I wonder if it's promotional? I'm sure you have to sign up for 10 sessions or something. But I am looking forward to the next level in my fitness training. Looking at all the old pictures really keeps me motivated. But resisting cake will always be hard.

Day 223: Crying on the Treadmill

I must keep reminding myself not to program songs that will elicit emotional responses when doing a workout. During the workout, you are trying to be focused on your activity; to clear your mind. Really, the only thing entering your headspace is the music you're playing (or if you're at the JCC today, a 45 minute Billy Blanks infomercial). There are a few songs (rockers, not ballads) that if you're in that mode can really kill you. Today the song "Wonderful" by the band Everclear did it. The reason it's on there is because my niece has been dying for some good work out music so I've been combing through my archives to see if there's any recent rock and roll (because basically, kids hate old music like they hate black and white movies) that she might like. I made a playlist for her and copied it to my iPod to give it a spin. "Wonderful" is a song about divorce, from a broken hearted kid's perspective. Though I am from a divorced household, what really got me was the line "Promises mean everything when you're little and the world is so big", which not only makes me think about my own childhood, but of how I'm raising my children, whether I'm doing a good job, providing a strong, honest, loving example of how a person should be. That whole topic could make you disappear down an emotional swirly-drain from which you might never recover. Aside from that, everyone knows that visibly sobbing on a piece of exercise equipment is a no-no. I switched to Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" and shined it on.

Breakfast
2 Eggs (you can guess at the treatment)
3 Strips Turkey Bacon
2 oz. 50% lite Jalapeno Cheddar
Tea

Snack
Coffee
30 nearly rancid jumbo cashews (that's what I get for leaving them in the car)
1 Fuji apple
2 bites of a cheese stick fed to Magnolia (by now she can eat a whole one)

Lunch
1 Dark meat turkey burger
leeks a la emily

Dinner
Greek salad with Tuna

The above writing should not make one think that I did have a good workout. It was a good one, because I made 5 miles—a new record for me. In all fairness, it was 4+ miles on the elliptical and about a mile on the treadmill (as I was waiting). I also did a bit on the stairmaster—it's not for me. I wasn't sure I was even going to make it to three miles, but the great thing about going fast is you cover a lot more distance more quickly. So after a while of thinking "I can't go on" I made it much farther than I thought I could. So let that be a lesson to all of you.

Day 222: The Notorious C.A.B.B.A.G.E.

I kid you not, this was the headline from today's South Beach Email: "Ending Embarrassing Gas."

Then it went on to say: "Some people experience an increase in gas when starting a new diet. While not a symptom of any serious condition, gas can be uncomfortable and embarrassing. Here are a few ways to cut down on gas:
• Reduce sugar alcohol intake. One of the unfortunate side effects of sugar alcohol consumption is excessive gas production. Since sugar alcohols are found in a variety of sugar-free foods, it's very likely that they are the cause of your troubles. •
• Reduce gas-producing foods. If time doesn't correct the problem, you may need to identify and reduce problem foods. Beans, cauliflower, and cabbage are notorious gas producers. Try cutting back on the number of daily servings of each of these foods.
There's more, but we can only use up so much space today. Amazingly, I had cabbage for dinner.

Breakfast
1 Slice Mastmacher Bread
Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack
1 Medium Dunkin Donuts coffee
1 joy stick
2 oz salted peanuts
8 dried apricots
6 oz lite yogurt
~30 Cashews

Lunch
Steamed Lemon Chicken with Broccoli
Beef with Peppers in Black Bean Sauce

Dinner
Schezuan Shrimp with Cabbage

Because I went for a brisk Domania walk today, I felt I could have a few more things to eat today. That probably isn't helping my desire my weight loss, but it's not hurting either. On the way home I picked up a massive container of cashews from Marty's liquors and THEY WERE AWFUL. For some reason, mostly hunger, and being trapped in the car, I kept eating them. That was sad. I've learned my lesson. Only Whole Foods cashews from now on.

Day 221: Raising Cain and Abel Eaters

Very often dinner, and blog-writing time is the time I think about how I could eat more vegetables. Right now it's amazing that Magnolia will eat nearly anything (which if you've ever had to feed a one year old, you know is rare). I think to myself "she'll learn to eat as we eat now—low carbs, high protein, vegetables." Meanwhile, Ruby grew up with both of us eating the old way, which resonates strongly with the 'big six' children's entrees: spaghetti and red sauce; hot dogs; hamburgers; chicken nuggets, pizza and mac and cheese. (You can add grilled cheese if you're spoiling for a fight). Maybe five years or so of eating with fish and vegetable eaters might eventually have an effect. We can only hope.

Breakfast
1 Slice Mastmacher Bread
Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack
1 oz Peanuts
8 Apricots

Lunch
Shredded Pork
Sliced Celery, Cabbage and Peppers

Dinner
Steak Tips
String Beans
Sauteed Onions and Peppers

Thursdays are most often a relief. Sure, everyone says Wednesday is 'hump day' but on Thursday you can really see the weekend in sharp focus. It isn't that I have any plans for the weekend, it's just that as Americans, we're trained to work for the weekend. And I for one, am lucky that I love to be with my family.

220: The Day After The Beginning

Today I went for my first solo Domania walk. No one was available to go with, but I could not stand another week without at least two walks in it, so I went. Made pretty good time, 40 minutes, which is a little slower than our fastest timed speed (37 minutes). I felt good, full of determination. Years ago, I never would have gone by myself. I'm not sure that I'll ever love exercise like some people, but I can tell that I have a place for it that I never ever had before. I can truly say that I have changed in this way. If I can do it, ANYONE can do it.

Breakfast
1 Slice Mastemacher Bread
Peanut Butter
Tea
20% 1 Fuji Apple

Snack
1 Fuji Apple
6 Dried Apricots
2 oz Salted Peanuts
1 Dragon stick
2 Baby Bell Cheeses

Lunch
Salad from Russo's
(Ham, Chicken, Red Leaf, Green Leaf, Tomatoes, Carrots, Oil & Vinegar)

Dinner
Breast of Chicken a la Em
Broccoli and Cauliflower

So much going on—I have several projects going on and so when I come home it's dinner, bath, bed and then on to work! For this reason I am staying up way too late and not getting enough sleep. This is a bad thing. At least of the projects involves looking at old video tapes of me and the kids—I was really, really heavy back then. It's quite sad. I want to apologize to the people in my life "sorry I was so heavy, I didn't know, I didn't care, I couldn't acknowledge." You really don't know, but it was SO OBVIOUS. I think I'll look at these films every so often, just so I don't forget.

Day 219: Rosh Hashana-"Today is the beginning of the world."

If you are given to emotional responses to the occasional heartfelt religious sentiment as I am, Rosh Hashanah can be a difficult time. However, its message of rebirth, reinvention and redemption is powerful, and it's one of the reasons that even the least religious Jews pay attention during this time of the year. Aside from the new year, there is talk of God writing in the "good book" and the "bad book" for the coming year. It's always difficult to gauge where you're going to land, but it's always much easier to look back and see which one you were in retrospect. I have much to do, improve and change about myself and consequently, I spend time at the river with loaves of bread, tossing in sins and contemplating how to do better. At the very least, in terms of food, appetite, and physical exercise, I have come a long way, and that feels good. But I have far to go to get to my next goal weight, and to make the lifestyle permanent. When I'm done with my physical body, there is a whole host of things to work on in the mind.

Breakfast
2 Eggs O'er
3 strips turkey bacon
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
grapes
coffee (1/2 decaf)

Lunch
Greek salad with Grilled Chicken

Post Schul Snack
6 oz 'lite' yogurt
Cheese
More nuts
1 slice ham
more grapes

Dinner
Flounder Stir-Fry a la Em
with Baby Bok Choy
Salad with Cabbage, Feta & Broccoli
Bites of a Hot Dog Ruby Didn't Eat

This morning I started my 'new year' by having a phase one breakfast. Then a pretty good lunch, but going to Schul (temple) and coming home made me hungry, and because Emily was interviewing a babysitter, we didn't get to eat until later, and I started combing through the fridge. Nothing un-SoBe, but with me the volume is an issue. I didn't finish my dinner or salad for once, and that certainly reflects eating a bunch of other stuff late. I still need to get back to regular walking tomorrow—these past days have been a little disruptive, from a schedule perspective.

Day 218: Happy 5766

There are a lot of days that are filled with bad energy, karma, what have you. Sometimes, when they arrive so that they overlap important days, like the 'new year's eve' for Jews, you could get suspicious. Fortunately for me, this day went pretty well (check back with me in a year). I didn't win the lottery or anything, but it was just a day that my coat didn't get caught on the drawer-pull, I wasn't late for work, the bus came on time, I had money for stuff I was on line for, and I remembered things in time to do something about it. Today I had Chinese for lunch and the fortune said "When you're finished changing, you're finished." I thought that was apt. It also said my lucky numbers were 7, 12, 28, 35 and 61. So take that for what it's worth.

Breakfast
40% of 1 Fuji Apple
Peanut Butter
1 Cheese Stick

Snack
4 Dried Apricots
1/5th Cup almonds/cashews
1 dragon stick
12 oz coffee (half decaf)

Lunch
Egg drop soup
Beef with Broccoli
Boneless spare ribs

Dinner
Apples with Honey (for Rosh Hashanah)
Challah
Goat & cheddar Cheese
Chicken Soup
Brisket
Asparagus
Noodle Kugel
2 Glasses Wine
Raspberry Rugelach
Marble Spongecake

So it was the Jewish new year and I got together with my friends for whom celebrating at least one of the Jewish holidays has become a tradition. We are getting it down to a science. I must say that both Emily and I ate more than usual, though I did not feel 'stuffed'—only that I ate my fill and was done. It's good to do that once in a while—especially if you get a two mile walk in the next day. I allowed myself to eat pretty much anything I wanted, though I clearly took as small a piece of kugel as I could, and tried to contain myself around the desserts.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of the year—and then Yom Kippur, the fasting day of atonement. That will be good for me. I promise.

Day 217: Back on the Horsey

With New Year's right around the corner I must not give up. I must be strong. And in the words of Antonio Banderas (as Puss in Boots in "Shrek 2"): "No matter what happens, I must not cry."

Breakfast
1 Slice Mastemacher Bread
Peanut Butter
3 oz Cheese

Snack
Nuts
1/4 of a whole wheat bagel with butter (made for Magnolia)

Lunch
Tuna over Cabbage, Lettuce Salad
1 Slice Ham

Dinner
1 scoop of ham salad, 1 scoop of cole slaw
1 Hot Dog
1 Hamburger
Grilled Zucchini, Peppers
Peppadews
Pickles

1 Morsel of Brownie Cheesecake

We had an all-neighbor dinner, where everyone brought something. This was amazing, if only because there were six adults and eight kids (not everyone practicing zero population growth!). It was also amazing that all the kids actually ate dinner, since they spent most of the time running, jumping and hurling themselves at each other. After all that food the dessert was brought out. I allowed myself a little something, since I did get back to the gym with my renewed membership—and commitment. It was really hard, but I did it. I must meet the fitness trainer, and start doing something other than the elliptical.

216: Sick

Only a quickie tonight–something I ate? made me feel quite queasy during the dinner hour—so I skipped all foods after dinner (excepting four rolaids, which, naturally contain sucrose—bastards). I did quaff a half a ginger ale, which helped quite a bit. It was a last resort.

Breakfast
Muenster Cheese Omelet
2.5 Strips of Turkey Bacon
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup o nuts
3 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar Lite
4 slices of Jambon
1 Coke Zero
1 Tsp Peanut Butter

Lunch
1 Fresh Roll
1 Beef Teriyaki Stick
Chicken, Broccoli, Ginger & Scallions

Not sure what made me feel bad, but it's just as well, because I had eaten quite a bit during the day (though we went to the town fair and I managed to avoid any trouble there). Bought a new pair of workout shoes, aka sneakers, because Emily's sister accidentally hot-fingered mine, mistaking them for her husbands. Saturday came and I knew I couldn't go into the JCC with Merrells on, so off to Model's I went.

Day 215: The New Year (for some)

Being on the diet for so long has definitely changed my outlook on many things, but none so apparent around now as the Jewish holidays. For instance, this was the easiest Passover without bread ever—I think I only had two pieces of Matzoh for the entire time. Matzoh, for those who care, is bad because it's made with white flour, and generally tastes bad. So it's bad for you and bad tasting—that's really something! I did long for a matzoh cream cheese and jelly sandwich, but I just added that to the list. I am hoping that I find fasting equally easy. We'll see, as getting through dessert could be challenging enough. Then there's the whole atoning thing. Yeesh.

Breakfast
2 small slices Harvest Pumpkin Seed Bread
Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack
Medium Dunkin Donuts Coffee (half decaf)
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
8 dried apricots
1 apple (fuji)
30 pistachios

Lunch (Sushi 21)
Bento Box- Seafood (and two slices of chicken)
Salad, Pickled Radish and Shumai

Dinner
Cod with Leeks
90% Sirloin Burger
Peppadews
Pickles

It was a strange day, as again, I felt like I was eating a lot. It also feels like I'm eating a lot when I'm not exercising. I think I may have to work out one morning a week in addition to the weekend, as I think the weather will grow increasingly unreliable as we move into the fall. Also, I think no matter how many walks there are, the workouts are a basic I need to keep, and vary. I did sign up for the JCC again today, in case in anyone was hanging on the edge on that one.

Day 214: Lost My Blog Entry

Sadly, I wrote an entire blog entry and due to a malfunctioning of the blogger software, lost everything. I am too tired and despondent (I didn't, as usual, copy it to a text document) to rewrite it. So you'll have to do without all the laughs and excruciating detail that I had described my crappy Bertucci's dinner. Really, it was a masterpiece. Now, all gone. Maybe tomorrow night I'll have the wherewithal to try again.

Breakfast
6 oz Yoplait Yogurt Blueberry
1 cup strawberries/blueberries
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
8 dried apricots
coffee (half decaf)

Lunch
Shrimp 'n' Broccoli
Sliced Chicken with Spinach

Dinner
The World's Worst Caesar Salad with Chicken

After dinner Necessity-Eat
1 Fuji Apple
1 oz. cracker barrel yellow
1 oz. 50% jalapeno lite cheddar

When you eat regular cheese and 50% back-to-back, you can really tell the difference. Reminds me that I live half in the world of natural food (fruits, vegetables, steamed food and whole wheats) and the other half in the substitute world (lite yogurt, lite nips, egg beaters, I can't believe it's not butter). The natural world is better, but I can't live without the occasional sweet thing.

Day 213: No Walkees

Another day without walking. I very much wanted to take advantage of the beautiful day, but my day was such that it didn't work out—I got to work late and had my heart set on trying out this burrito place for lunch. I thought long and hard about it, and decided that I could probably afford a once-a-quarter 10" flour tortilla. So we went to Tango Mango for lunch. It wasn't so great that I had to go again anytime soon, and I realized I probably could have had the component parts without the flour. But what the hell.

Breakfast
1 Slice Mastmacher Bread
1 tsp peanut butter
tea

Snack
1 fuji apple
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
30 or so pistachios
8 dried apricots

Lunch
quesadilla—cheese, pork, red beans, broccoli, guacamole, salsa, hot sauce
diet pepsi

dinner
90% sirloin burger, chicken strips
broccoli
peppadews
pickles

ephemera (from magnolia)
apple sauce (1 bite)
blueberry (1/2 one)

There are some obvious problems starting to creep in, aside from the occasional birthday cake fragment and a flour tortilla. I have to get moving (am going to join the JCC again, I think) and must keep my snacks down. It's been a little stressful, so I have been indulging more. I also find that if I have snacks in my office, I'll eat them. Now this normally isn't a problem, but I notice that it's getting too tempting and I can only bring one day's worth of snacks at a time. I am on edge, most definitely.

Fahrenheit 212

Emily commented that today I was wearing a shirt that was too tight when I bought it. I used to, as a rule, buy 2XL shirts, both because I like t-shirts roomy and because any other size was very unflattering. You don't want 226lbs in an XL, really. But lately I have not only been buying my shirts XL (like at the McCartney concert last night), but I have been wearing shirts that have not fit me for about 10 years. This is exciting, because it means I can reclaim many of my fave shirts that have found their home in Emily's drawer.

Breakfast
1 Slice Harvest Bread
Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack

8 Dried Apricots
12 oz coffee (half decaf)
1 Fuji apple (the red, not green)
2 Bonbell Cheeses
~50 Pistachios

Lunch
~5 Strawberries
Ham and Cheese Roll Mops (4) with Mustard
Romaine Heart
Olives

Dinner
Sole with Leeks a la Emily
Broccoli
1 Slice Ham with Cream Cheese (Leftover from Ruby's plate)

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Emily becoming a great Wok-chef has been the saving-grace of the past few months of the diet. The food is delicious, low-fat, low-carb and delicious. It really makes all the difference when you love what you eat. She really does a great job nearly every night for dinner. I am very lucky. Now I gotta get out there and get a gym membership.

Day 211: Back in the USSR

No matter how bad going to New York (metro) is, coming home is worse, even though it's such a relief. So often it is a rainy, dreary affair. Today was no different. Without really an idea of what we were going to eat in the car, we joylessly packed up and got the kids in. I had taken the day off of work in order so that we didn't have to leave on Sunday after arriving on Saturday—that's too much for us—we amble slowly. It also worked out that I was going to see Paul McCartney at the Fleet Center/Boston Garden/Whatever it's called, so I was quite eager to get on the road. When we were all packed and kids in, we realized that the car was TOTALLY DEAD. Like calling AAA dead. Emily saved the day by stalking the neighborhood and finding a workman with cables in his car (apparently this is getting harder to find nowadays). We got on the road only about a half hour late and I made it to the concert with plenty of time.

Breakfast
Whole wheat English muffin
Peanut Butter
3 oz Jalapeno Cheese (of the 50% variety)
Coffee and Tea

Lunch
Scrambled Eggs
2.5 Strips Turkey Bacon
More Cheese

Etc.
Cashews & Almonds
More Cheese
4 McDonald's French Fries (one with ketchup)

Pre-Concert Dinner
Boneless Chicken Fingers with Blue Cheese & Celery
Steak Tips
Mesclun Greens
Cole Slaw
String Beans

Not too surprisingly, I fell into a near-cheese-coma by the time we reached Stamford. This made it very difficult to be excited about the night's events. I was feeling quite ill for quite a while until about the half way mark when we stopped because we needed to go to the bathroom, Ruby was hungry and Magnolia was crying. I got Ruby a "Mighty Meal" which is basically a 'happy meal' with 'the same great toy." Not sure why it's more expensive, then? Amazingly, she picked the chicken nuggets meal, and possibly even more amazingly, she eschewed the french fries. After feeling totally car sick, the combination of fresh air and delicious SMELLING McDonald's food got the best of me and I ate a few fries. I remained fairly unwell until we got back to Boston. Then I got my appetite back, as you can read. The concert was a great time, despite the fact that Paul made the whole stadium full of people sing the "Nah Nah Nah Nah" refrain from Hey Jude. And I thought I came there to hear HIM sing.

Day 210: Looking Back on Food, Fondly

I don't have to tell you that one of the greatest things about New York is the ubiquitous availability of the greatest food in the world. For nearly 20 years, my trips down to New York were almost always centered on what I was going to eat. Literally, I kid you not, there was always at least one plan (if only in my mind) about a particular meal I would eat or a place to eat at. I think this is a common thing for anyone who lives somewhere where they get accustomed to the meals. It's only that New York has an endless supply of them, from Deli to Sushi, and from morning bake and cakeries to late-evening noshing. Of course, my favorite was always the Deli from Kensington Deli, which even among the titans of New York, like 2nd Avenue Deli, Katz's and The Carnegie holds its own.

Breakfast
Whole Wheat English Muffin
1 tsp Peanut Butter
2 oz. Jalapeno Cheddar 50% Lite

Post Tennis Snack
Cantaloupe
6 oz blueberry yogurt 'lite' yoplait
nutsapalooza

Lunch
Corned beef/Pastrami Rollmops with Mustard
.5 oz cheddar cheese stick
Cole slaw
a apple of questionable age

Dinner
Steak Strips
Caesar Salad
Ass't Vegetables: Eggplant, Zucchini, Tomato, String Beans, Carrots
Some Apple sauce I gave to Magnolia.

It was good to get out on the Tennis court. My opponent (in this case my brother-in-law) said the change in my speed was noticeable. Obviously, I credit the domania gang for getting me out walking and the elliptical machine at the JCC for building my stamina. I would have liked to play for another hour and half (we were out there for about 90 minutes as it was), but it was not to be. I would love it if I could get into a Tennis rotation here in Boston. If anyone has ideas, let me know.

Day 209—SoBe: Meet Cake, Eat Cake. Growl.

One of the things that Emily and I have not yet mastered is how to plan a car-trip at lunch time. Fortunately for our kids, we have gotten good at making things they can eat in the car (thank God for hot-dog buns!). But otherwise, it's a rather lonely parade of nuts, fruits, cheeses. Emily did have an exciting discovery about eating a Fuji apple (my Mom was right) and a Cracker Barrel cheese stick together. It's amazing how eating right is sometimes its own reward. The footnote is when you're hungry and you stop at a McDonald's. But more on that later.

Breakfast:
Eggs
Bacon
Cheese

Pre Car Ride Snack:
Apple with Peanut Butter
Coffee

Car Ride:
Cantaloupe Pieces
Nuts-a-plenty

Lunch
Whole Wheat English Muffin
Melted Jarlsberg
Tuna Salad

Dinner
Hummus
Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Eggplant in Tomato Sauce
2 Fried Feta Egg Rolls
About 5 Chicken Kebab
1 Swordfish Kebob
~1 glass white wine
1 Maddening Grab at some ice Cream Cake

We went to the New York metro region (in this case, actually New Jersey) to celebrate my father-in-law's 82nd birthday. It wasn't his birthday (but it was close) and there was a big gathering with family at what I must admit is a fantastic Middle Eastern restaurant. Now usually, if I'm gearing up to go to a party, I would eat something right before hand, so as not to break into a mad-frenzy-feeding once arriving. However, today I was not so smart. I ate a big breakfast to try and tide me over for the car ride, and we ate a bunch in the car. Then we had just a wee-lunch at around 2pm, and so by 7pm (when food arrived at party) I was pretty ravenous. I mostly filled up on good SoBe stuff, but two fried feta egg rolls later I was swinging off the SoBe ladder dangerously. I tried to get it together but our hostess kept wine-ing me and on my way out of the party, I was taken aback at nearly an entire slice of ice cream cake that went uneaten. This, unexpectedly, caused me to lunge for it, and eat one big bite (with a bit of a snickers bar in it). I was loving and hating myself at the same time. Now, this is the same ice cream cake (or a version of it) from Ruby's birthday party. It is made with the greatest ice cream and lots of different candy, with a really oreo (with filling inside) crust. Words don't do it justice, but I sure was mad it got to me.

Day 208: Slogging it Out

Another day, another dose of peanut butter. My neighborhood situation is bad; and I have to travel imminently. A total bummer. And not enough walks this week at work, even though the weather was cooperating.

Breakfast
1 Slice Pumpkin Seed Harvest Bread
1 Tsp(s) Peanut Butter
3 oz Cheese
Tea

Snack
1 Dragon Stick
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
8 apricots
Olives

Lunch (Strip-Ts)
Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken

Dinner
Hamburger
Cabbage
Pickles
Peppadews

Apricots and Olives are key. Though you do see overweight people in the Mediterranean, they are rare. It's because when you eat a diet of apricots and olives you are constantly filling your salty/sweet needs, with generally good for you foods. However, I must warn you than 8 apricots really should be your limits. People forget that dried fruit (such as prunes) have a purpose besides baking and snacking (I'm reading from the label now).

207: A Dorito Came into My Life

Is it weird that I think I'll have to find a new breakfast or people will no longer be interested in reading my blog? I really, really want to find something else to eat for you, but I think I could eat the same three or four things everyday. One of the amazing things about being on the diet, and not eating carbs, is how infrequently I ever get to a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts or place like that. I can remember when a trip to Dunkin' or Starbucks was an everyday occurrence. Forget the money, but everyday it was a frosted oatmeal scone (from Beans); a corn muffin (from Au Bon Pain, still my favorite); or a coffee roll (from Dunkin Donuts). Starbucks, despite its stranglehold on the world, offers substandard bakery products that I don't miss. I also was a big bagel trafficker. Often (especially in 2000-2001) would I fetch a satchel of bagels'n'cream cheese for the office, sometimes quaffing several in a day. Yep, those were the good old days.

Breakfast
1 Lonely Ol' Piece of Wheat Toast
Peanut Butter
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Lite Cheddar
Tea

Der Snack-ums
1 Fuji Apple (they're quite good when you can keep them properly)
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
10 dried apricots

Lunch
Chinois Salad (from Not Your Average Joes)—A Travesty

Dinner
90% Hamburger
Sauteed Cabbage
Pickles
Peppadews
4 Doritos (2 Cool Ranch, 2 Regular)

My lunch today was problematic because it contained a huge quantity of fruit (oranges), a sugary dressing, and crispy Chinese noodles that were listed on the menu as "wontons." In my experience, wonton is a dumpling that comes in soup, not a fried noodle. In any case, there were so many that it made eating the salad difficult and because of the heavy, sugary dressing the fried noodles (not wontons) were disintegrating and so I could not separate them properly. Oh well, it's still better than a twinkie. When I got home it was "Back to School Night" so Emily skee-daddled while I was trying to get Ruby to eat her tuna. She usually likes it with tortilla chips, but tonight they had been shunted aside. Since tortilla chips are used as a substitute fork and promote the eating of the tuna, I was eager to get a chip into her hand, because in reality she had little to no interest in eating her tuna. So I thought, I'll just get one of the several hundred bags of Doritos from the closet and see if she'll like them. Of course, I try them first so she knows they are OK. Even then, she doesn't like either of them and both bags go to waste. However, I did note they have less carbs and fat than some yogurts I could mention. I'll have to keep that in mind....

206: Sucrose in My Toothpaste

It's already so hard to do everything right—be a good person, floss daily, save money, eat right, exercise, tolerate annoying people—sometimes it's actually overwhelming. Then, you realize that there's SUGAR in your toothpaste, and everywhere you look. If it's not sugar it's corn syrup, either as High Fructose Corn Syrup or some other form. No one was very interested when I described drinking poisonous tree extract in Fresca, but it's out there, believe me. Today I tried to get back in the saddle. I did the sad part OK.

Breakfast
2 Eggs Over Easy (killed the yolk during the flip; was cleaning it up for five minutes afterward)
2 Strips turkey bacon
3 oz. 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
12 oz coffee (half decaf)
1 fuji apple (that I dropped twice: once in my own driveway, and once in my work parking lot. Determined not to let it go, i washed it thoroughly and I ate around the bad parts. There were many)
8 dried apricots

Lunch
3 Roll Mops—2 slices black forest ham, 2 slices low-fat mozzarella, mustard
1 heart o' romaine
olives

Dinner
Shrimp & Snap Peas
Cabbagy greek salad
1 crab leg

I have this Nalgene-style water bottle at work (and one like it at home). Since I drink about three filled ones a day, I assume I drinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 96 oz of water. Yes, it's great to drink water when you're on a diet, but it has ONE VERY ANNOYING SIDE EFFECT. And if you have a hard time concentrating already, that is not good to add to the pile. On the plus side, it is good practice for getting old.

Day 205: Lost My Sense of Humor

I don't want to complain, really. You have enough people in your life that do nothing but blather on. But today was truly one of those tough, tough days. Things bad at home (stairs project gone awry); things bad at work (client work going awry); things bad at the neighborhood (neighbor relations gone awry) and being constantly haunted by the twin specters of money problems and a 1 lb Trader Joe's chocolate bar I keep in my office for emergencies. I almost broke it out today. Fortunately, I stuffed myself with nuts and the feeling passed. Then, after what seemed like an endless day, the day came to a close. I broke out the wine for a special occasion—pity.

Breakfast
1 cup Fruit: Nectarine and Blueberries
6 oz Strawberry "Lite" Yogurt
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
12 oz black coffee (half decaf)
1 dragon stick
1 cheese stick
2 oz. Planters salted peanuts

Lunch
Beef kebab
Greek Salad

Dinner
Turkey, Onions
Sauteed Cabbage

Dessert
1 Glass Zinfandel

I must also add that I am grateful to the people at work for being helpful and tolerating me in my blathering, lost state. Tomorrow is the ye olde book fair at Ruby's school, and that is bound to lift my spirits. Also today, Gary finally wrote back, ending the 45-day embargo. It wasn't much, but it was proof that maybe good things come to those who wait.

Day 204: Anxiety Eater

Though Mondays are always challenging, today was difficult because I knew that I was going to attend yet another neighborhood meeting about a proposed project going up (literally) in my backyard. Though I had earlier written here that I beat back my anxiety eating, today I found this not to be true. Between a client presentation that I was trying to finish before a call, and the looming meeting that I knew would be filled with tension, I could not keep my hands off of anything that was near me. It's fortunate that I don't keep chocolate in my office. As it was, I has to resort to snacking on computer screen cleansing sheets.

Breakfast
1 Slice WPF Six Grain and Pumpkin Seed Bread
1 Tsp Peanut Butter
1.5 oz 50% Jalapeno Lite Cheddar

Lunch (Whole Foods "Hot Bar")
A skoach of brown rice
Chili Con Carne
a wee bit of chicken, guacamole
some cheese

Snacken
1 joy stick
1/2 cup almonds/cashews
1 granny smith apple
1 blueberry yogurt

Dinner
Sole a la Emily
Leftover Veg: Yesterday's Leeks, Asparagus and Broccoli

I thought I had eaten so much today that when it was finally time for dinner (8:17) I though I might 'skip' to make up for all the calories I had consumed. Alas, that was not the case. Once again, there's always tomorrow.

203: The Wedding

How best to prepare for a mid-day wedding? Why, bring my own snacks and have a big breakfast of course. Even these good preparations were no match for an 11:30 wedding and an endless stream of shrimp, bacon-wrapped scallops and chicken satay. But I did try.

Breakfast
2 Eggs, Over Easy (broke the yolks this AM)
2.5 Strips Turkey O'Bacon
2.4 oz Jalapeno Cheddar
Tea

Pre-Wedding Snack
1/4 cup Almonds/Cashews
1 Braeburn Apple (20% mealy, thrown away)

@ Wedding
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cantaloupe, Strawberries, Cheese
5 Bacon-wrapped Scallops
6 Shrimp 'n' cocktail sauce
2 chicken satay
1 Salmon
Buttery Vegetables
1.5 bites of Wedding Cake

Dinner
Steak Tips
Broccoli
Asparagus
Leeks

It was a big eating day. The best thing I could do for myself was not snack when I got home (though I was tempted); not eat any more dinner than I was hungry for; and try to get up and do it right tomorrow. So, that's the plan.

202: They Can Put a Man on the Moon...

...but they can't figure out how to make earphones for the iPod that don't get tangled up every time you so much as take one step away from them. Look, I love Apple, but this is out of control. I spend at least 5 minutes of my total workout time doing this. Something must be done. I'm not sure if the next generation will continue to say "They can put a man on the moon, but..." but it's something every mother of all of my friends used to say about everything.

Breakfast
3 Whites, 2 Yolks
4 Slices of Tuscan Ham
2.4 oz Jalapeno Cheddar (Lite)
Coffee

Snack
6 oz. Stonyfield Chocolate Yogurt (Fat-free)
Lots o nuts
Cheese Stick

Lunch
Peppers, Onions & Ham
Peppadews

Dinner
85% hamburger
Greek Salad
Pickles

Can you tell we have a lot of ham in the house that we need to go through? It's true. Today Ruby had a birthday party and it was at the Boston Sports Club, which has a tony facility in Wellesley. I was impressed enough to seek out the membership person, even though it's a bit farther away than the JCC. It's $115 a MONTH. Wow, I could buy an elliptical machine for that and have a cheaper monthly nut. Those people are nuts. Really gave me some perspective on the ol' JCC today when I was there. I can tell you there were no old man in short-sleeved flannel shirts with leather shoes and dark socks doing the row-boat machine at the Boston Sports Club today, no sirreee. I need that. That's part of what keeps me going back.

Day 201: Snack Control Fails

This completed nearly a whole week of the same breakfast. I just couldn't get it together to eat anything different, everything else was too complicated while trying to make Ruby's breakfast and preparing her lunch. I love this breakfast, but it's not great to eat the same food every day, for your diet, for your low-carbing, or just simply your joie de vivre. But it really helps to not have to THINK so early in the morning.

Breakfast
2 Slices of Multi-Grain Anadama Bread
Tsp Peanut Butter
2.4 oz. 50% Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese

Snack
12 oz. coffee
1 Apple (it was little mealy)
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
1 oz peanuts
30 pistachios
1 dragon stick
1 cheese stick
1 nip (60 calories)

Lunch (Sushi 21)
Bento Box: Seafood Teryaki, Salad

Dinner
Chicken and Cabbage

There's no doubt that this was a big snack day. I just couldn't get a hold of myself. One thing that's happening is that I'm getting up earlier and eating breakfast earlier; getting to work earlier; having my first snack earlier. But today I just was so hungry and I kept eating and I was still hungry. I think maybe the ice cream of yesterday set off a chain reaction. I must get back to basics and keeping it to 1 snack betwixt lunch and dinner and 1 snack betwixt breakfast and lunch (and no dessert).

Now I just have to get past the birthday party, Bingo night and wedding this weekend and I'll be fine...

Day 200: Independence From Lethargy

Despite the fact that I still don't get to bed on time, and am woken up several times during the night by children, I still feel like I have better energy all the time. I remember many a Friday night or weekend when I just couldn't lift a finger. Someone under 40 should never have to feel that way, but now I know it was all those unhealthy carbs and poor eating choices (e.g. "I'll just have this bowl of Rice Chex before bed.") Here, on day 200, I am taking a moment to reflect on that.

Breakfast
1 Slice WPFMGA Bread
1 Tsp Peanut butter
2.4 oz 50% Lite Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
30 pistachios
1 baby bonbel cheese

Lunch (Chinese V.1)
Sliced Chicken with Spinach
Shredded Pork with Cabbage and Celery

Dinner (Chinese V.2)
Steak with Scallions
Chicken with Broccoli
Teryaki Beef
1 Chow Fun Noodle
Ass't Chinese Noodles
Egg Drop Soup

Dessert
4 oz. Nutrasweet Fat Free Chocolate/Carmel

On this day, it just so happened that Emily's sister and brother in law were over, and volunteered to stay with the kids while we went out. So after my second Chinese meal of the day (which included a brief insane moment of eating crunchy-noodles) we set out for a date. Well, at 10 of 9, there isn't much you can do in the sleepy 'burbs, so naturally we went out for an ice cream cone. We went to the Big Dipper, but they were closed. So we went to check out Cold Stone Creamery, but we both found their product less than acceptable. So we hoofed it over to J.P. Licks ("20 Years of Licks") and split the absolutely, lowest-calorie, lowest-fat, lowest-sugar product they had in the 2nd smallest size. It was very little like ice cream, except that it was cold and wet. And that was enough.

Day 199: Baby Elephant Walk

A quick one tonight—as the stress of last night's neighborhood meeting begins to recede, and Magnolia starts to move her legs, things seem to seem not as bad. For that, as Emily's father would often say, I am grateful to all the 'black and white gods.'

Breakfast
Whole Wheat English Muffin
1 Tsp Peanut Butter
1.2 oz Jalapeno Lite Cheese
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup mixed nuts
1 dragon stick
1 not quite yummy apple
45 pistachios

Lunch
Greek Salad with Chicken

Dinner (Elephant Walk)
(I thought I would take the liberty of putting the menu descriptions here, since I could not describe it any other way).

Rouleaux: Cambodian spring rolls filled with ground pork, crushed peanut, beanthread, carrot
and onion; served with fresh greens and herbs for wrapping and tuk trey on the side for dipping

Loc Lac: Cubed beef tenderloin sautéed in lightly caramelized black pepper, garlic and
mushroom soy; on a bed of shredded lettuce with a black pepper, garlic and lime dipping sauce

Salade Cambodgienne: Shredded cabbage, carrots and chicken with fresh red bell peppers, mint, basil,
roasted peanuts and onions; dressed with tuk trey

Poulet Dhomrei: Sliced chicken breast sautéed in an aromatic sauce of lemongrass, galangal, coconut
milk, lime juice and chilies; with fresh pineapple, sweet peas and wild lime leaves

Grilled Whole Fish: Grilled whole 10 oz de-boned trout marinated in garlic, jalapeno and lime juice; served
with chili-lime tuk trey, Cambodian and sweet pepper pickles

Plus a few glasses of Pinot Gris. Now I am tired and must rest. More tomorrow.

Day 198: The Stress-inator

Today, I was just totally stressed out. I could not stop thinking about this meeting about my neighborhood tonight and it really came close to unsettling me completely. I suppose the best thing you could say is that I used to consider myself a 'stress eater,' as well as an 'anxiety eater,' but I guess I have licked that. Not the stress or anxiety, but the need to cram a cruller in my gullet when the onset came. I see now that I can forego that particular brand of salve for now.

Breakfast
Whole Wheat English Muffin
Tsp Peanut Butter
1.2 oz Jalapeno Cheddar
A few bites of a nectarine

Snack
1/4 cup mixed Almonds/cashews
1 dragon stick
60 pistachios

Lunch
Greek Salad with Chicken

Dinner
Shrimp Creole (made by Emily & Wendy)
Brown Rice

The meeting went OK. I stressed out for no reason (OK, you never did that before?) On the other hand, I need to a much better job than I am doing of finding new foods to eat. As I quoted in a South Beach email, plateauing can be the result of just eating the same foods all the time. There is no doubt that with few exceptions, I am eating the same foods all the time. I must change this if I am ever to slim down. I do not wish to stay 196. I suppose if I can stay at 196 throughout the holiday season(s), both Jewish and American, it will really be an accomplishment.

Day 197: That Sinking Feeling

It's official: I've plateaued. Saw Detecto today and it was a rousing 196, again. If it hasn't been absolutely crystal-clear to all the readers, then it will be today. It's about two months since I've hit my goal weight loss (30 lbs) and though there have been nights out at expensive restaurants, poker games, and visits to Martha's Vineyard (but no pig roast- sorry, Gary, maybe next year if you've forgiven me by then). Though I am surprised that I have stayed at the same weight I am also kind of glad that I have not gained any weight. To be able to maintain your weight is a skill that I never worked at- I just gained over the years. I know that only two things can get me to my next goal weight of 185 lbs—harder exercise and more stringent dieting. I am not sure I am ready to go there, and I've learned anything from my time on SoBe, it's that you can't go where you aren't ready to go. Well you can, but you won't stay long.

Breakfast
1 Whole Wheat English Muffin
1 oz. 50% Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese
Tea

Snack
Medium Dunkin Donuts coffee (half decaf)
1/4 cup mixed almonds/cashews
1 joy stick
1 nectarine

Lunch
1 Bacon Omlette with Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomatoes
More Coffee
2 Potato Wedges
1 Slice Whole Wheat Toast with Butter

Dinner
Salmon Steak
Broccoli

I'm thinking that the feeling of wellness I had the other day was not wellness arriving, but actually leaving—and the purpose of my awareness of it was that so I can remember what it was like during the days to come. I was kind of in a funk after the visit to the Dr., and at lunch I had for myself a slice of buttered whole wheat toast. It was good. The potatoes were hot, but not crispy. But they were good too. With all of this going on, I have to find a new gym, too, as I don't think I can sign up for a individual pass to the JCC which I think is something like $700. Does anyone know if that's a reasonable price for a gym membership? Because I'm thinking if I'm entrepreneurial I could be like Rocky Balboa, and chase chickens and punch meat for free.

Day 196: September 11th

I can't say that I spent most of the day thinking about the terror attacks of 2001, or even about my friend Ray, who died then. But, if you want, you can read what I wrote in 2002 (http://sneakerworks.com/images/september_02.jpg). I have been thinking about important things, and my head has been getting kind of screwy. To solve this, I went to the gym and kept an unprecedented 6.0 mph rate on the elliptical, by which I got to three miles in under 35:00 minutes, which I think is the fastest I've ever done. I can tell you that while it didn't clear my head, it was very helpful and therapeutic. It's true what they say about those endorphins. Also, I'm planning to go see Detecto tomorrow, so I wanted to be prepared.

Breakfast
1 Whole Wheat English Muffin
1 Tsp Peanut Butter
10 oz. Coffee
1 oz Cracker Barrel Yellow

Snack
1 oz. Cracker Barrel Yellow
6 oz Yoplait Yogurt with 5 Strawberries
2.5 Fistfuls of Cashews/Almonds

Lunch
Greek Salad with Tuna
4 oz. Lowfat Cottage Cheese

Dinner
Teriyaki Steak Tips
Peppadews
Broccoli

I did feel good after working out, but now feel a bit blah. I suspect I will have gained some weight back tomorrow, and I 'm not that keen to find that out. There is a line in the Barbie Movie (Princess & The Pauper) that Ruby made us watch 1,000 times that I hear in my head over and over again: "Courage is the key that opens every door." So even though I'm afraid, I'm going to go to that scale and see what happens. To quote Woody Allen, "90% of life is just showing up."

Day 195: Another Saturday Night

It was a strange day; I was tired all day, and at night I went to see the group BeatleJuice, a professional Beatles-soundalike band fronted by ex-Boston lead singer Brad Delp. Emily got me the tickets for an anniversary present, and she was going to go with me, but down two babysitters, she opted to stay home and I went with a friend. My friend came from RI and he was late, so we didn't have time for dinner, and we got to the show just in time. This meant that I got very hungry at the show, and at intermission was forced to get a popcorn so I didn't get LBS and pass out. I have never seen a smaller popcorn container (it fit maybe three popped kernels at its smallest circumference and four at its widest) and I split it, so not too much damage there.

Breakfast
Three Whites, Two Yolks Scrambled
2 Strips Turkey Bacon
Tea
1 oz. Cracker Barrel Yellow

Lunch-Snack
A few grapes
1 Slice When Pigs Fly Bread
2 Slices of Ham
1 Tsp Peanut Butter
1 oz. Cracker Barrel Yellow
1 Dragon Stick
Some Yogurt

Beatlejuice Snack
1/2 Very Small Popcorn

Late Dinner (@ Summershack)
3 Oysters
Halibut Filet
Tomatoes and Mesclun Greens

This is not a very good telling of the day's vittles, but it's all a blur to me now, so you'll have to go with it.

Day 194: A Feeling of Wellness?

Today I got up and I was super-hungry. I thought I would solve this by having a super-big, protien-rich breakfast. Alas, no, that did not help. Got to work, and was very hungry, but the tumblers did fall my way and I was able to go on a VERY BRISK domania walk during lunch. Got back and had to make do a with a salad from Christos Seven Star (see place of very questionable tuna). By the time I had lunch it was 1:45. When I got home for dinner there was more salad (and it should be noted, more mysterious tuna). Still hungry, I had a chocolate yogurt (fat-free); the closest thing I've had to desert since Martha's Vineyard.

Breakfast
1 Slice When Pigs Fly Bread
1 Tsp Peanut Butter
1 oz Cracker Barrel Yellow
2 Slices Black Forrest Ham

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
1 dragon stick
30 cashews
1 blueberry yogurt

Lunch
Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken

Dinner
Greek Salad with Mysterious Tuna
Chocolate Yogurt

About the title: when Ruby woke us up this AM at 6:50 I thought it was Monday, but then realized it was Friday. Right away I was feeling good. Then, I felt, for the first time in months, or even years, the creative urge coming back to me. I wrote a little during breakfast. Later that day I got my computer back; and Magnolia may even be taking steps toward walking (or doing something other than laying around). Meanwhile, we hired a contractor to do our steps and today I came home and there was a big kobuta where my steps once were. It isn't much of a story, but it sure is a pretty, 10,000lb machine.

Day 193: Still on the Diet

www.redcross.com

When Ruby was a baby I remember there was some very peaceful time in the mornings. Ruby and Emily would still be together and I would be free to shower, have breakfast, read the paper(s) and get ready for work. For the first time since then, I am finding I have about 20 minutes free every morning. This morning was rare—I had my turkey bacon and eggs while watching the end of last night's tennis match between Blake and Agassi. People who know me know I can't tell a hockey ball from a basketball stick, but I love tennis. I just was there, smacking up on my breakfast, it was quite a moment. Sure, there are bigger and more meaningful moments, but with the sun shining and Ruby off to Kindergarten, the girls upstairs sleeping and 15 minutes of tennis ahead of me, I sure was happy. But then I thought, "I wonder when Gary will call me?"

Breakfast
3 Whites, 2 Yolks
Two Strips of Jennie-O
1 oz. Cracker Barrel Yellow
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup mixed almonds/cashews
1 oz. peanuts
1 small nectarine

Lunch
3 Roll Mops: Ham, Mozzarella, Romaine Lettuce
Olives

Dinner
Chicken Breast
Greek Salad
Zucchini, Leeks and Scallions

Not sure I'll be able to get a walk in tomorrow at work because a client chose lunchtime to schedule a meeting--eek. Maybe I will try and get out in the late afternoon if possible. I must again keep my snacking under control. This year I'm looking forward to Yom Kippur (the day of fasting). Except for the guilt and atonement, the fasting should be a snap.

192: Still Hungry

www.redcross.com

If you've been reading here for a while you know that I often found the hardest time to give up eating was in the evening, right after dinner. In my previous life snacking would continue on through the night as we put stuff away, prepared Ruby's lunch, and had dessert at 10:00pm. Now, there is only sugarless gum and tea. While those are...how can I put it? Completely unsatisfying, I can squeak because chewing something sugary and lots of liquids tend to level me out. But now I'm finding that the mornings are getting more and more difficult for me. This could be because after four weeks, I am still without my Mac (after many calls revealed that the long-sought after part had been delivered so it should be on its way tomorrow) and working on a slow, beige Windows machine. In other parts of life, there is a lot of stress, and so the moments first at work can tend to be a highly stressful time of day. When you're on a diet that restricts your carbs (and calories) you realize how much you miss keeping a bag of anything nearby for constant snacking. You really miss it alot.

Breakfast
1 Cup Oatmeal
1 Cup Strawberries/Blueberries
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup almonds/cashews
1 oz peanuts
1 small nectarine
1 cheese stick
Diet coke

Lunch (Casa de Pedro)
Chicken on Salad with:
Nuts, Cranberries, Avocado

Dinner
Flounder with Leeks and Scallions

One unusual aspect of being on the diet for me has been giving up ketchup. When you look at the ingredients on the Heinz ketchup bottle, you realize that sugar is a huge component. Really, why kids love putting ketchup on everything is because they all come with a built-in sweet tooth and ketchup is sweet. If you're a republican, you can count it as a vegetable, but on the SoBe we are instructed to skip. So, needing a condiment I turned to Tabasco sauce. I love it, but it can be hard to take sometimes. But the Jalapeno Tabasco sauce (http://countrystore.tabasco.com/index_category_more.cfm?tlcatid=2&catid=46&moreid=C286) is just outrageously good. I just purchased a case of it from a restaurant supply house, because I must take a bottle with me every where I go. In this way, I have turned into my father, and I guess that's part of being 40.

Day 191: The Rest of the Year Begins, Crisply

Tuesday and we're all up at 6:50am and ready to get going for kindergarten. I am experimenting with exactly how hot I have to make things and put them in Ruby's food thermos so they stay hot when she opens it three hours later. Mornings are a little bit easier, as I don't have to get out of the house, but my breakfast is still limited to same three things: yogurt, eggs/bacon and peanut butter on whole wheat something. I am ready for change, but what?

Breakfast
1 Slice When Pigs Fly Multi-Grain Anadama
1 Tsp Peanut Butter
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup Almonds/Cashews
1 oz Salted Peanuts
1 Cheese Stick
1 Dragon Stick

Lunch
Steamed Chicken and Broccoli with Schezuan sauce
Chicken and Vegetables

Dinner
90% Hamburger
Cabbage
Peppadews, Pickles

We went for a VERY BRISK walk with the Domania gang today. I was schvitzing like crazy. I had to change my clothes. I realized that without one of our very fast walkers, we had been taking it a bit easy. Came back to a very healthy (read: uninteresting) Chinese lunch from a new market at Newton Corner. Came home and ate everything but the carpet hairs on the baby's knees.

Day 190: Labor Day Weekend is Over

For a few days now I have meant to chronicle a few upsetting things I have witnessed. On the dieting tip, I had the misfortune to watch a man at a Whole Foods inspect a package of blueberries, open the plastic top, touch one, feel one, eat one, and reclose the plastic top and move on. It was horrible. I knew that if my friend Aileen was there she would have read him the riot act, but alas, I did not have it in me to do so. Later that week I was in the gym on the ol' elliptical when I noticed a woman without a little workout towel draped across the machine. To my dismay, she had to cough and/or sneeze several times and just kept on working out. To add insult to injury, she did not 'wipe down' the machine. When the next heavy set semetic person showed up to work out, I removed my ear pods long enough to tell him that he was required to wipe down the machine before using it. He thanked me.

Breakfast
2 Eggs Over Easy
2.5 Strips Jennie O
Tea

Snack
10 oz. Coffee
3.6 oz 50% Jalapeno Lite Cheddar
1/2 cup Almonds/Cashews
30 Pistachios

Lunch
Pesto Chicken Salad
3 Slices Jennie-O Turkey

Dinner
Steak Tips
Broccoli
Peppadews

As I sit here, I am facing the work week, more Kindegarten, the fall and basic life changes. It has just made me cry out that I would give my eyeteeth for a fistfull of Oatbake. I must be strong.

Day 189: Over Half a Year

http://www.redcross.com

For those of you who are amateur mathemagicans, you might recognize that 188 is the magic number—the number of days when you actually pass the half-year mark. And so, as of yesterday, I have passed over half of a year on the South Beach diet. Of course, you have already figured out that I didn't start January 1—as most dieters do. Instead, I rose to the challenge of my wife complaining that there MUST be something I could do about my snoring. She said it was like someone shouting in her ear. In response, I went to my doctor to get a sleep study, figuring that if I got on the apnea machine it at the very least would make a noise that was consistent and more tolerable than snoring. When I told my Doctor (Dr. Parent) about my plan to lose 30 lbs by my daughter's birthday she said "If you want to succeed try the South Beach diet." Then, just a month ago Emily told me that my sleep breathing had gone from horrific snoring to "sweet puffs of air." So if that's not success, I don't know what is. To sum up: I feel better. I have more energy. I don't cower from physical exertion or exercise (like I once did). I don't avoid looking at myself in the mirror, and I've freely purchased new clothing. Do I miss eating irresponsibly? YOU BETCHA. But the truth is, I don't miss it as much I thought I would. With the exception of a few bites of pizza, and a few Dim-Sum-a-lettos, I can do without most everything bad for me. But it's still a walk along the razor's edge in terms of volumes. If you're a long time reader, you know that I'm this close (use your imagination) to a total nut-free-for-all. Plus, I know in my future I'll need to change up my eating and go heavier on the exercise if I want to get to 185. Remember, I started at 226.

Breakfast
1/2 cup Oatmeal
6 oz Yogurt
1/2 cup Strawberries/Blueberries
Tea

Snack
12 oz. Coffee
3.6 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar Lite
1/2 cup Almonds/Cashews
35% of a Mealy Apple

Lunch
Greek Salad with Tuna
Olives
A Slice of Chicken Breast

Dinner
Rainbow Trout a la Emily
Green/Yellow Wonder Beans
1 Bite of a Nathan's Hot Dog (But how could I refuse?)

Today, as on nearly every Sunday since I started exercising, I went to the gym. Today, the Sunday before Labor Day, the median age of folks there was 50. It was not crowded, but of course, they had CNN on playing not only Katrina disaster stuff but the other disaster of our age—the soon to be Supreme Court and Rehnquist's death. Ugh. Really, I mean I'm there to try and work out, and work all this stuff out in my head and I have to be faced with the absolute horrors of our world. Worth noting, as Ruby will not be going to school at the JCC come October, our membership will expire, so I will have to seek out horrible, spirit-crushing television and workout equipment elsewhere. But where else can I go where no one looks better than me? Where absolutely everyone knows what Kasha Varnishkes is, and most likely just ate some? As usual, these are questions for another day.

188: Dim Sum, Dat Sum

This morning started out like any other Saturday, and then we got invited to eat Dim Sum with our Neighbors, who go nearly every week and are regulars. It was a high honor to be invited, and so we accepted, even though I knew that aside from the volume of food, there would be another challenge: Dim Sum=Carbs. However, as I am committed to a way of life, I knew that it was wrong not to go. Instead the right answer is to go and eat what you can, and maybe even a little of what you should not, for life is too short to add stress thinking about one little sesame ball filled with bean paste (which was, for the record, delicious).

Breakfast
Yoplait Blueberry Yogurt (Lite)
1 cup Blueberries/Strawberries
Tea

Snack
1/4 cup Almonds/Cashews
2.4 oz 50% Jalapeno Lite Cheddar

Lunch @ Dim Sum
Eggplant stuffed with shrimp
Bean Curd stuffed with shrimp
Pork (eaten out of the Pork Bun)
3 Spicy Wontons (Steamed rice noodle outside) and mung beans
Meat of 1 Peking Ravioli
Meat of 1 thing that didn't have a name but was essentially a rice-noodle burrito
1 Tarot Rice-Noodle Pod (defying description, it was purple on the inside, which gave the rice noodle outside, which was nearly transparent a purple glow).
Edamame
1 Sesame Rice Ball (that I was trying to get Ruby to eat)
2 pieces of beef from a sesame beef/scallion pancake
1 deep-fried rice noodle ball with something inside it that I didn't know what it was but tasted good
4 pieces Sashimi (Salmon, White Tuna, Yellow Tail, Unagi)

Dinner
Catfish, Leeks & Scallions a la Emily

Sure, when you look at the list you're thinking "Wow, that's quite a meal," but the truth is these are all very small items and I think that lunch lasted about 90 minutes. I don't know about you, but that's a long time to be sitting at a table. At traditional Dim Sum presentations, they come around with a cart and you get to pick what you want (not unlike a Fenway game) but at this restaurant, you have to order from a two-sided, picture-less, description-less menu of items. Because there are no descriptions it is nearly impossible to determine how one thing differs from another, what things are made of, or whether they are served cold or hot, or come in multiples or singles. Luckily, our neighbors were very helpful in that regard, but we still had so much food that the lazy susan was overwhelmed with items. I did eat a lot though, and Emily and knew we had to be on the 'spa dinner'. Luckily, she made an amazing Catfish and that was it.

187: Labor Day Weekend Begins

A short one tonight because I have spent most of my time fretting about various different elements of my life and replaying the Tivo of the Concert for Hurricane relief. Did anyone else see that but me? Well, you should donate if you haven't (www.redcross.org) but you can do it quickly and easily by going to the iTunes store if the Red Cross site is inaccessible.

Breakfast
2 Yolks, 3 Whites
2 Strips Jennie O
1.2 oz Cheese (you know what kind)
Tea

Snack
1/2 cup cashews/almonds
1 oz peanuts
1 apple (granny smith)
1 dragon stick

Lunch (Chinese)
Shredded Beef with Cabbage, Peppers
Sliced Chicken with Spinach
Dumplings

Dinner
90% Burgers
Olives
Emily's Cabbage
Peppadews
1.2 oz Cheese

My snacking is out of control and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I must spend all my time working on a Windows computer. As a former Mac-only zealot whose computer has been in the shop for ALMOST THREE WEEKS my nerves are frayed and I am without many of my bookmarks, documents, emails and addresses. Not to mention the fact that the Windows machine is quite slow and really- not a viable long term substitute. I just can't believe that's what 90% of America uses for their computing needs. Anyway, using it increases my stress and frustration level, thereby sending me to the nut-bag if you will. It doesn't help that we are also bombarded with Katrina images and heartbreaking stories. Really, would anyone blame anyone if they had to binge on some Ben and Jerry's?

Day 186: Cashew'd

Between the aggravation of being a neurotic parent and being hypnotized by the constant, tragic images of New Orleans it is really hard to stay away from the unguarded vat of salted cashews that sits in the office. Ordinarily, I have my own supply of unsalted, but today and yesterday I was out and so I found myself making multiple trips. This kind of unregulated eating is not good for me but nuts are one of the few things you can eat a lot of when you're on this kind of diet, so if you must binge I think it's not a bad choice. Still, I felt pretty out of control today, and here it is the weekend of Labor Day (with all that you can think of about the end of summer) and Detecto scheduled for Tuesday. Meanwhile, I feel like an olive loaf.

Breakfast:
6 oz. regular yogurt with strawberries and blueberries
1 slice multi-grain Anadama bread
1 Tsp Peanut butter
Tea

Snack
1 Dragon Stick
1/2 cup- 1 cup salted cashews
1 small nectarine
1 apple
1 cheese stick

Lunch
Beef Kebab over Greek Salad

Dinner
Flounder a la Emily
Greek Salad

In my defense I can say that we went for a Domania walk today and I ate a lot of salad. There's not much else to say but that I better get out there walking, to the gym, or on the tennis court. Plus, I'm going to have to go back to throwing out Ruby's uneaten breakfast instead of eating it (even if it is yogurt). And maybe settling into a normal sleep schedule will help.

185: Well, That's Over

Sure, it LOOKS easy from the perch at 8:30pm at home with all the kids asleep. But at 6:15AM, when Ruby was not sleeping and we were all fretting, it looked bad. Fortunately, the snack bag was packed with the greatest of care (two snacks and a lunch) and Ruby's bus pass was affixed to her knapsack and off she went. If I was a good parent, I would have a photo, but alas you'll have to use your imagination. With Ruby off for her first day of Kindergarten, I proceeded to eat half her breakfast, for old time's sake.

Breakfast
1 Slice When Pigs Fly Multi-Grain Anadama Bread
1 Tsp Peanut Butter
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Lite Cheddar
3 oz "Lite" Yoplait Yogurt with Blueberries

Snack
1 Dragon Stick
12 oz Coffee (half decaf)
1 oz Peanuts
2 Apples
1 Cheese Stick

Lunch
Can of Tuna
1 Romaine Heart
1 Can V-8 (6 oz)
1 Cheese Stick

Dinner
Chicken Breast with Peppers & Onions
Leftover Chinese Eggplant

Today there was so much to do and I was so tired that as I was making phone calls I just walked to the kitchen, and opened a can of Tuna and ate it. Never left the office at all. But tomorrow looks like a good walking day, so maybe we can make the most out of the fall (isn't that coming soon?). For now, it's tired-late nights by the U.S. Open and more fear of Detecto.