Year 3, Day 149: Going to the Hernia Doctor

So I am scheduled to see a doctor about the hernia. Just like the gall bladder, I engage in stupid question asking, like "are there any surgical alternatives?" I am met, as usual, with a teeth-sucking breath followed by a scoffing laugh muffled by a simple "no." Do I want to schedule the appointment? Yes? See Mel outside. Thanks for coming.

Breakfast
Kashi
Heritage Flakes (Again)
Bad Driscoll Strawberries
Old Blueberries
Banana

Snack
5 Slices of Organic Turkey
5 STicks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Au Bon Pain
Mediterranean Salad (3 Pieces of Chicken)
1 Apple
2.6 oz Cashews & Almonds

Dinner
Hamburger
Broccoli & Cheese
Cabbage, Scallion & Mint Salad

The Brigham and Women's hospital has valet parking, which I take advantage of. We had to go there a lot when trying to get pregnant and I determined that except for a few pennies there was little advantage to parking it yourself.
Amazing how the car-park guy managed to put my car radio on 94.5 and turn the air conditioning up on high in the five minutes he had my car. It was a like in a totally different condition then when I left it, except for the egregious mess.

Year 3, Day 148: Another Monday Off

Again, I took Monday off because the thought of a long day of travel followed by going back to work was just too much for me to bear. Of course, I tried to make the best of it, by having a slow workout, 4.5 miles in 65 minutes in the AM (after dropping Magnolia off) and then playing tennis with Emily. Playing a tie break and interrupted by the clock running out; Emily 6-3, 1-6 (10-10)

Breakfast
Kashi/Flax/Driscoll
Banana, Blueberries, Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch:
Burnt Ends
Salad

50 Tamari Almonds
1 Large Slice Banana cake

Dinner
Char
Cauliflower
Edimame
1 Horrible Boneless SParerib from Green Tea

Our girls love boneless spare ribs so sometimes we get some to supplement a dinner that's lacking. But after you've had Bernards, you can't hardly go anywhere else. And afterjavascript:void(0) tonight, we've determined that you certainly can't go to Green Tea. For boneless spareribs, anyway. Their Matrix maki is still right on the money.

Year 3, Day 147: Trip to Block Island

It was up early, get dressed, get sprayed and Ruby and I were off with David & his family to see my father and stepmother at their place on Block Island. It was a perfect day, not too hot but nice enough to go to the beach. David went to Dunkin Donuts en route and got Ruby some munchkins (at my request) and some coffee for the adults. We got to the ferry on time, got parked and got over. When we arrived safely we had lunch-- I eschewed the probably delicious fried foods or fresh lobster for a plain old greek salad with chicken. Just like my father-in-law would say, lunch is a 'biological requirement.'

Breakfast
Kashi
Flax/AMartahin
Driscoll's Strawberries
Blueberries
Soy Milk

Lunch: Block Island
Greek Salad with Chicken

Snack
Lots of Cashews & Almonds
Some 4-Bean Wasabi
1 oz Boston LIte Popcorn

Dinner
House Salad
Tuna (Black and Blue)
Zucchini

1 Bite of Coffee Ice Cream

We spent some of the day walking, but since my father's back is in crisis, we made our way to the beach. I suggest I drove us toward the beach with 'amenities' though everyone else wanted to go to the nicer, quieter, beach 'without amenities.' I didn't think the beach we went to was very crowded (by my standards) and I was glad to be there since we took advantage of their shower, their lifeguard (Ruby thought she got bitten by a jellyfish) and their ice cream stand (she actually got frozen Reese's). On the way back to the ferry, my father & s.m. took us out to eat, and perhaps egged on by her cousin, Ruby ate one entire Caesar salad all by herself. My jaw was on the floor but I stayed silent, all the way home, when at about 9:00pm, we carried her tired, drooping, half-asleep body upstairs to bed.

Year 3 Day 146: Intervention Needed

Okay, now it's not funny. I am addicted to baking. Then, I am also addicted to eating what I bake. When you read the post below, "Sugar more addictive than Cocaine," you'll know why. Luckily, I had a workout today. Tomorrow it's off to Block Island.

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

Snack
Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cake
Brownie Squares

Lunch: Salad + Hamburger

More Snack
2 diet cokes
Split a Microwave Popcorn with Ruby

Dinner
Turkey Crumble (+ Lettuce Leaves)

Sugar found to be more addictive than cocaine
from www.slashfood.com

We've known for years that sugar isn't good for us. It promotes tooth decay, provides quick highs and lows and offers nothing but empty, nutritionless calories that pack on the pounds. However, it appears that it is even worse than we previously thought. Researchers recently determined that refined sugar is actually more addictive than cocaine. In a recent study rats were given a choice between sugar water and cocaine, and 94% them chose sugar. Even the rats that had previously been addicted to cocaine switched to the sugar once it was a choice. No wonder it's so hard to give up that 3 pm pack of M&M's, it's more addictive than illegal drugs.

Year 3, Day 145: But Where Is the Obesity?

CNN takes advantage of modern Internet technology to show us exactly where we're getting fatter, and how quickly.
Go here to see it.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($5.89)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
4 sticks beef jerky
1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
100 Almonds
6 Cherries

Dinner
Emily's Turkey Crumble with Cabbage
1 Ear of Sugar-Sweet Corn

Don't ask about 100 almonds. Why is that the right amount? I don't know. Why so many almonds? They are so tiny and yummy and crunchy and satisfying. I wish I could stop oh I wish I could stop. But I just can't.

Year 3, Day 144: Obesity is Contagious

Just a usual day at work. I wanted to go for a walk, but the gang rebuffed me on account of it was too hot. After dinner the family (and my niece) piled into the mini van to go out for ice cream. I was sadly, a refusenik.

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

Snack
5 Sticks Beef Jerky
2 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
Coffee

Lunch: Russo's
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Hamburger-Bacon
String Beans
Mesclun Mix Salad

Study: Obesity Is 'Socially Contagious'

ALICIA CHANG | July 25, 2007 11:10 PM EST |

— If your friends and family get fat, chances are you will too, researchers report in a startling new study that suggests obesity is "socially contagious" and can spread easily from person to person.

The large, federally funded study found that to be true even if your loved ones lived far away. Social ties seemed to play a surprisingly strong role, even more than genes are known to do.

"We were stunned to find that friends who are hundreds of miles away have just as much impact on a person's weight status as friends who are right next door," said co-author James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego.

The study found a person's chances of becoming obese went up 57 percent if a friend did, 40 percent if a sibling did and 37 percent if a spouse did. In the closest friendships, the risk almost tripled.


Top News
Top Posts
Media: Bush Praises Woodruff's "Will To Recover"
Politics: Thompson's Wife "Integrally Involved" As Fundraising Is "Markedly" Down
Entertainment: The 50 Craziest Celeb Baby Names: Heavenly Hiraani, Lark Song, Audio Science...
Business: Stocks Nosedive
Living Now: Drug Companies Jack Up Price Of Pill On College Campuses
Researchers think it's more than just people with similar eating and exercise habits hanging out together. Instead, it may be that having relatives and friends who become obese changes one's idea of what is an acceptable weight.

Despite their findings, the researchers said people should not sever their relationships.

"There is a ton of research that suggest that having more friends makes you healthier," Fowler said. "So the last thing that you want to do is get rid of any of your friends."

The study was published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the National Institute on Aging.

Researchers analyzed medical records of people in the Framingham Heart Study, which has been following the health of residents of that Boston suburb for more than a half century. They tracked records for relatives and friends using contact information that participants provided each time they were examined over a 32-year period.

In all, 12,067 people _ all Framingham participants _ were involved in the study.

After taking into account natural weight gain and other factors, researchers found the greatest influence occurred among friends and not in people sharing the same genes or living in the same household. Geography and smoking cessation had no effect on obesity risk.

On average, the researchers calculated, when an obese person gained 17 pounds, the corresponding friend put on an extra 5 pounds.

Gender also had a strong influence. In same-sex friendships, a person's obesity risk increased by 71 percent if a friend gained weight. Between brothers, the risk was up by 44 percent and 67 percent between sisters.

Indiana University statistician Stan Wasserman said while the study was clever, it had its limitations because it excluded relationships outside of the Framingham group.

Obesity is a global public health problem. About 1.5 billion adults worldwide are overweight, including more than 400 million who are obese. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese.

Much of the recent research focus has been on the intense hunt for obesity genes involved in appetite or calorie burning. Treatment has been mainly centered on helping individuals curb their weight through better diet and fitness.

The findings could open a new avenue for treating this worldwide epidemic. The researchers said it might be helpful to treat obese people in groups instead of just the individual.

"Because people are interconnected, their health is interconnected," said lead author Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a Harvard sociologist.

Obesity experts not involved in the research said the results back up what they have suspected all along _ that people look toward one another for what is an acceptable weight.

"If you're just a little bit heavy and everyone around you is quite heavier, you will feel good when you look in a mirror," said Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center.

___

Year 3, Day 143: UGH

On a 50 almond day, you don't want to go out to eat and have dessert while you're at it. But in fact that's exactly what happened. Emily, Magnolia, my neice and I went with Ruby and a friend to the Full Moon Cafe in Cambridge, which is one of those rare places where they serve good adult food and it's a family-friendly restaurant, read: your kids can play in a dark, dingy corner. But still it works for most of the meal until some smelly kid wallops yours with a broken toy found in a dirty bin. Then, it's time for dessert and the to go bag. Fast.

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

Snack
4 Pieces of Jerky
50 Almonds
1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Lunch: Russo's ($5.47)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner: Full Moon Cafe
Grilled Asparagus, Feta & Mesclun Greens
Steak, Green Beans & Arugula (I split the steak with Ruby and I hardly had any)

Dessert
1 bite chocolate. chip cookie
1 bite vanilla ice cream

From foodfacts.info/blog:

Wendy's NYC nutritional info
Wendy's has posted the following on their website regarding nutritional information posting in NYC:
We regret that Wendy's cannot provide product calorie information to residents or customers in New York City. The New York City Department of Health passed a regulation requiring restaurants that already provide calorie information to post product calories on their menu boards -- using the same type size as the product listing.

We fully support the intent of this regulation; however, since most of our food is made-to-order, there isn't enough room on our existing menu boards to comply with the regulation. We have for years provided complete nutritional information on posters inside the restaurant and on our website. To continue to provide caloric information to residents and customers of our New York City restaurants on our website and on our nutritional posters would subject us to this regulation. As a result, we will no longer provide caloric information to residents and customers of our New York City restaurants.

We regret this inconvenience. If you have questions about this regulation, please contact the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and refer to Health Code Section 81.50.
Subsequently, a judge has prevented NY from enforcing the new law, stating that the rules, which would have applied only to restaurants that already disclosed calorie data, "would have attempted to punish the very restaurants that are already providing accurate and comprehensive nutrition information."

Year 3, Day 142: Hernia!

I thought a hernia was a strain, like a bad back. Little did I know it resulted in a visible protrusion. I apparently got myself one by bringing two buckets of rock salt to my shed on Friday so they wouldn't be on display for Ruby's party. And really, why is the rock salt on the porch in July anyway? I thought I was in good shape and I could handle it. Apparently not. I go to see my new doctor, who both confirms the diagnosis and makes me long for Dr. Parent. I called Dr. Parent, but she was on vacation. So I guess it's back to surgery to correct this unfortunate problem. All I could think of was blue-collar workers who wore belts 'for their hernias." I thought "Will I have to wear a belt now?"

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

Snack:
4 sticks beef jerky
65 almonds
1 jazz apple

Russo's ($5.27)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Breast of Chicken
Salad

First day back to work and it's back to old reliable Russo's. I never seem to get tired of it, though I am tired of people who bring their shopping cart down the salad bar aisle. And the people who cut really need a schooling. But sometimes I'm just not up to it.

Year 3, Day 141: Monday Off

Something I highly recommend people do is to take a Monday off after a long weekend. It helps a lot, because then you don't have that Sunday night where you can't face going back to work (even if you like your job). During the day, Emily and I played 90 minutes of tennis. She took the first set 6-3 and I took the second set 6-3, which seems amazingly common lately. We played two tiebreakers, and she won both of them, 7-5 and 7-4.

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

Pre-Tennis
1 slice Balthzar Bread, Teddie Peanut Butter

Lunch: Leftover Bernard's
Chicken With Vegetables
Eggplant
1 Beef Teriyaki

Snack
Banana Cake
.5 oz Popcorn

Dinner
3 Tacos
Salad

During this period of my life I am examining my inner baker. Today, I made a banana cake, and took my sister-in-law's advice and cooked it longer. Ruby ate nearly half of it. Later in the day, feeling buoyed up by physical activity and a successful banana cake, I tried to make tacos for Ruby. She ate two of them, and I was happy. I am always struggling with how to make different, and healthy things for her to eat that aren't eggplant.

Year 3, Day 140: The Day After

Attempting to get back on the straight and narrow, I go with Emily's sister to play two sets of tennis at hour each. She took the first set 6-3 and I took the second set, 6-3. There was no tiebreak, as I couldn't hack it, and folks were waiting. Though it is not the same calories-burn as a workout, I ate like a hozzer anyway.

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

Lunch:
1 Slice Balthazar Bread
Egg
Tomatoes, Lox, Red Onions
Salad with Balsamic Vinegar
50 Unsalted ALmonds

Movie Snack
3.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner
Chicken
Salad
Broccoli

Dessert
Brownie, Chocolate Chips

Ruby and I were supposed to go on a date with another Dad & Daughter but it didn't work out so we went to the movies by ourselves, after being shut out by Circus Shmirkkus and stopping to see some cows poop on the road. (Ruby absolutely loved that). About 90 minutes into Ratatouille, (which is 1 hour and 50 minutes total) Ruby couldn't sit still because she was too tired (figure that out). On my way out I thought we'd ask for a refund, which we were granted. I was disappointed, but as I had eaten the entire bag of Boston Light popcorn, I figured we'd better get home and chill out, and eat some chocolate.

Year 3, Day 139: Ruby's Birthday Pary

or "What Didn't I eat?" I tried to start the day, my birthday and Ruby's party, on a solid note, but the comings and going of everybody, coupled with the anxiety of throwing a party and the abundance of food made it nearly impossible to stay on the program. Mostly it was just a volume issue, but I did keep the running around going all day. Fortunately, I learned a lot of lessons from last year, and so we avoided a lot of unnecessary anxiety. We also didn't have to worry about rain, since we got a beautiful day.

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

all downhill from there

Lunch
1/2 Grilled Chicken Burrito
1/2 Grilled Steak Burrito
1/2 Veggie Burrito

Assorted Things Eaten While Walking Around
2 oz Tostitos Chips & Salsa
Ass't Fruit

Dinner
6 Pieces of Sashimi
Salad with Feta & Balsamic
Wine

Dessert
1 Very Healthy Slice of Ice Cream Cake (chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and other stuff)

You know, at the end of the day, what could you do but eat ice cream? I ate it and just made my peace with it. I did realize that I heart multi-grain tostitos. They are hands down better than regular tostitos, and every other variation out there.

Year 3, Day 138: Almost the Birthday

Took the day off, went to the gym. Not my best workout, 65 minutes, 6.10 miles. I was taking it easy because we played tennis last night and will probably play again this weekend. Didn't do any weights. But I did let myself eat whatever I wanted a bit today. Emily's family came over and we all ate and ate and ate.

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

Postworkout Snack
6 oz Stonyfield Yogurt
4 tablespoons super chunky peanut butter
popcorn
almonds
yogurt cheese

Lunch: Legal Seafoods
Greek Salad with Calamari

Dinner:
Bernard's Eggplant
Rotisserie Chicken
Spring Mix
Bernard's Boneless Spareribs
1 Glass Red Wine

Dessert
Tate's Cookies (Chocolate chip cookies)

75 percent of Americans overweight by 2015
Two-thirds considered heavy or obese now; rate still increasing, study finds
Reuters

WASHINGTON - If people keep gaining weight at the current rate, fat will be the norm by 2015, with 75 percent of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent obese, U.S. researchers predicted on Wednesday.

A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore examined 20 studies published in journals and looked at national surveys of weight and behavior for their analysis, published in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews.

“Obesity is a public health crisis. If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese,” Dr. Youfa Wang, who led the study, said in a statement.

They defined adult overweight and obesity using a standard medical definition called body mass index. People with a BMI of 25 or above are considered overweight, while those with BMIs of 30 or above are obese and at serious risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Studies show that 66 percent of U.S. adults were overweight or obese in 2003 and 2004. An alarming 80 percent of black women aged 40 or over are overweight and 50 percent are obese.

Sixteen percent of U.S. children and adolescents are overweight and 34 percent are at risk of becoming overweight, according to federal government figures.

Every group is steadily getting heavier, Wang said.

“Our analysis showed patterns of obesity or overweight for various groups of Americans,” said May Beydoun, who worked on the study.

“Obesity is likely to continue to increase, and if nothing is done, it will soon become the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.”

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19845784/

Year 3, Day 137: Detecto says "174"

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

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

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

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

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

Gumsert

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

Tomorrow begins the onslaught.

Year 3, Day 136: Wednesday at Ruby's Camp

We are working on content at work, which is excellent, because it's something I love. The thought that I would have a job where I actually got to do something akin to what I feel I am talented is was something I did not allow myself to think about for a very long time. Though some might say I performed by job adequately, there was little love or passion except that associated with trying to do your personal best. Now it seems as if I might actually get to write, and manage writers, which though headache-inducing, is something I love and have dreamt of doing since my last gig doing it, which was at Editorial Humor (V2).

Breakfast
Kashi
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.47)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
5 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 Entire Bag of Orville Redebacher Microwave Popcorn

Dinner
Brisket
Cauliflower

Ruby's camp night. Rain, and magnolia crying a lot. I thought it would be a lot more than it was-- I thought people would talk to us and explain what's going on camp and why we should be delighted that our kids were there. No, it was just a moonwalk in the auditorium, cookies in the cafeteria, and beads in the arts and crafts room. Then a boy took Magnolia down, WWF-style when they were playing and she cried for 10 minutes until I took her to the playground she was looking at through the window of the room where she got hurt. Of course not knowing the school I went out through the boiler room, but she didn't care. I just kept telling her "we're almost at the playground."

Year 3, Day 135: Driving to Quebec

Frustrated by two successive trips to Russo's without local strawberries, and devastated by the crappy taste, texture, appearance of Driscoll's sub-par product, I leave work early to suss out a local farmer's market where I am disappointed. A few phone calls bring me to Volante Farm, where I land two quarts of Quebec-based strawberries which look like native Massachusetts strawberries and taste fantastic. At $6.99/quart they are truly an indulgence, but I must have them. I pack them carefully in a box, considering whether I should buy a third quart and skulk away, eating them in the car on the way home.

Breakfast
Kashi (last of mass. strawberries)
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
4 slices of turkey
1 beef stick
1.5 oz boston lite popcorn.

Lunch: Chang Shin Yuan
Chun King Pork
Shrimp & Broccoli
Pea Pod Tendrils
Tea

Dinner
Hamburger & Brisket
Salad
Equivalent of two ears of corn, as unfinished by Magnolia

Cahn Shin Yuan closed for two weeks, it was tough. Today was our triumphant return, and it felt so good. Perhaps giving in to a little indulgence, we ordered a third dish between two people, though it was a vegetable, and it Pea Pod Tendrils, and they were so yummy. We finished everything.

Year 3, Day 134: Lucky There Were No Nuts

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

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

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

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

Dinner @ $ Neighbors House
Pork
Fish
Spinach and Garlic
Sprouts

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

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

Year 3, Day 133: Someone turn on the AC

I've started to do some weight machines now when I go to the gym. Just like the diet and the exercise thing, I am taking it slow. I have looked around the machines and I am especially interested in the ones that will help me obtain my washboard abs by age 45. One of the 'trainers' at the gym, who I'll call "K," is after me to work with a trainer (there's a free session) and get a program together. For no reason whatsoever except inconvenience, I've been avoiding this. And I think he's starting to notice. I am starting to feel uncomfortable when he's around, because I think he's going to assault me with the form (again) or somehow stop me from using the machine until I do.


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

Lunch:
Salad
Blue Ribbon Brisket

Snackz
6 oz stonyfield yogurt
4 tablespoons super chunky peanut butter
crusts of magnolia's cream cheese and jelly bread sandwich that she didn't eat
a few almonds and cashews

Dinner
Robert' Brisket
Carrots, Celery
Cauliflower

30 ab crunches
30 squat thrusts
7 miles in 73 minutes, not too fast, very hot in the gym. I tried to pace myself. As longtime readers know, when I run out of water, I pretty much have to stop. The 'pause' button doesn't work and if I get off to get more water I'll lose my place in the work out. So far I've been lucky, but today was like working out in a greenhouse.

Year 3, Day 132: Pimp My House

Saturday with the contractors. We had the people who did my friend's Jill's house come over and suss out the place. They will have us work with a designer, who is not an architect, and maybe that will be cheaper and maybe that will work out. We'll see. Right now it's all very abstract, we are trying to explain to them what we want and we don't anything about house-building or house-fixing.
Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
1 Slice Balthazar Bread, Peanut Butter
A few nuts

Lunch
2 Burgers
Salad

After-snack
3 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner
Chicken Breast
Broccoli

Wanted, but Didn't Have:
Brownies from New York

Visit to the pool. One of Ruby's good friends has a pool and we are often guests there. Whenever we go over there, they make us lunch, and it is often barbecue. For some reason I can eat a lot more stuff off the grill than I would in just regular life. I mean, who would order a second hamburger in a restaurant? Somehow the idea that swimming (the kind where you chase your seven year old with a pool toy) is exercise took hold.

Year 3, Day 131: Where Art Thou Christo?

Today, a pair of shorts and a afast walk. I thought we'd go to Christos 7 star, but I called to order my eigh pound salad and got a distorted message saying they were closed. We walked to Russo's instead. I am not dissapointed, but I will keep you posted.

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

Snack
Turkey
4 Sticks Beef Jerky
2 CUps Boston Lite Popcorn
10 Almonds

Lunch: Russo's (5.41)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Mesclun Mix, Cabbage Salad
Scrambled Eggs
Turkey Bacon

Desert
A crumb of a cupcake

When you're having eggs for dinner it's a certain kind of sadness. It's usually associated with being poor, but often it's a lack of planning or imagination. Sometimes, the desire for something hot that's protein leads to those slippery yellow curds.

Year 3, Day 130: New York Introduces the Twelve Dollar Salad

Silly me. Here I am in provincial Boston fretting over the six-dollar salads at Russo's. Then today I went to the Chelsea Markets for the first time and inside, found "Hale and Hearty Soups", which features a sort of smoosh-in salad bar. I ordered a large salad of Mesclun Greens with chicken, feta, olives, steamed broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions and balsamic (no pepperocinis were available). Cost: $12.00.

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

IAC Conference Room
1 Strawberry
1 Banana
1 small apple
a few grapes

On the Plane/Back & Forth
Nuts
Popcorn
1 Strawberry
3 slices of cheese

Lunch: Hale & Hearty Soups
Salad wit feta, olives, steamed broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions and balsamic

Dinner:
Blue Ribbon Tandoori Chicken
Elephant Walk Salad Cambodgienne
Blue Ribbon meats

New York is great when you can fly there and fly back in one day, but all the traveling takes its toll on you. They especially make it hard on people when they're giving out little milky ways and other stuff I can't, won't or shouldn't eat in the plane snack. You're hungry, tired, captive. Most people eat it all. I Ate the cheese and strawberry and passed the other stuff to my seat mate, a chocolate-loving co worker.