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.


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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.

Year 3, Day 129: Creme Delight

I'm not sure I mentioned it but a friend of mine has created a 'low-carb' ice cream called Creme Delight. You can see more about it here. Amazingly, they sell it in New York and New Jersey, and especially at Kings, which is the supermarket near where my father-in-law lived. Now that he sold his house, I never go to Kings, and so I have yet to try it. But I just know that it's deeeelicous in my heart. Anyone who can get some please try it and let me know!

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

Lunch: Russo's ($5.29)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
2 Sticks Beef Jerky
2 cups popcorn
2 oz. turkey

Dinner: Blue Ribbon BBQ
Brisket
Burnt Ends
Salad

Trying to stay hungry. That's really the trick. I am liking the Applegate farms turkey as a snack; it's incredibly low in fat, tastes good and is very satisfying. The only problem with turkey is its very very short shelf life- once it gets even a little wet it becomes very very unappealing. I'm not sure everyone has this problem with turkey, and in fact I'm almost certain that most of America never even considers the moisture level on their deli-sliced turkey. It's just another thing that I'm out there alone on. I'd like to add the sigh comment in pointy brackets, but that is actually a command in HTML that would make the sigh disappear. So you'll have to use your imagination.

Year 3, Day 128: Back at It

Of course, one of the joys of returning from any place away from home is returning to the routine, and that includes my beloved world-record setting breakfast that I will eat until the last edible strawberry falls down from the tree.

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

Snack
2 Slices of Turkey
2 Cups of Popcorn
2 Sticks of Beef Jerky

Lunch: Sushi 21
Sashimi
House Salad

Dinner: Papparazi
Caprino Salad
Breast of Chicken
Spinach
Broccoli

Tonight we went to Papparazi for dinner. There are a lot of reasons to go out to dinner. Sometimes it's "too hot to cook." Sometimes it's "too frazzled to cook." Sometimes it's "nothing to cook" and sometimes it's "Construction noise is driving me crazy." Whatever it is, Papparazi is well suited to us. It's a little bit closer to work than home so I can meet the family there. It's in a mall so if the kids get crazy they can get on the escalators (which is their very favorite thing). They have good food, and they serve a nice kids dessert. Emily just realized the bartender keeps a candy bowl, too. As I said, treachery is everywhere.

Year 3, Day 127: First Day of New Job

It's really amazing that after nearly 11 years with one outfit (that was three different outfits) I reported to the same office but a totally different set of goals, employers and a totally uncharted future. I could not be more excited about the opportunity, and the amazing thing is that I get to keep the walking gang, and Russo's, too. You really couldn't get any luckier and so I am literally counting my blessings, trying to remain calm and not to overdose on nuts. Well, okay maybe not the last one.

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

Snack
4 Beef Jerky Sticks
2 cups Boston Lite Popcorn
60 Almonds
25 Cashews

Lunch: Russo's ($5.17)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Trout
Cauliflower

Dessert
Cherries

I don't usually have dessert, but today seemed to call for something special and the cherries were soooo good.

Year 3, Day 126: Return Home

The forecast called for temperatures of 90 degrees. Our itinerary called for a three hour car ride across the mountains with no nuts, and really no way to distract our kids. We filled up the car with gas and got on the road. I was hoping to go to the gym, but it didn't happen. At least the car ride wasn't so bad.

Breakfast of Three Omelets
Omelet with Beet Greens, Parmesan and Sausage
Plus some of Emily's Omelet with Zucchini

Lunch (in car)
A few bites of turkey
a few bags of Smartfood
cucumbers

Dinner
7 oz sliced turkey
Salad
Edamame
a few nuts

No gym, and I am feeling bad. I just need to get back on the horse tomorrow. Gah.

Year 3, Day 125: Still Upstate, Falling Off

The thing about saving calories. It's like money when you're at a casino. YOu try to save it all day so you have some for later. No one ever got upset by going home with too much 'extra' money from a casino. It's the same thing with calories. You feel stupid if you splurge early on and then an opportunity comes along and you really don't have what you need to take advantage of it. Then you go into deficit spending. Tonight, I probably had a 1,000 calories at dinner.

Not good. The only things that can be entered in my favor is that Ruby and I walked a half mile and back to the Diner.

Breakfast: The Olympic Diner
Broccoli-Feta Omelet
Bacon
Coffee

Snack
Almonds/Cashews
Cheese Popcorn
Papaya
Strawberries
Cheese
Peanuts

Lunch:
Arugala Salad with Tuna, Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner
Hangar Steak
White & Purple Cole Slaw
Cucumber & Tomato Salad
1 oz. Frito Corn Chips

Dessert
Banana Cake
Jane's Cherry Pie
Assorted Ice Creams by Jane's

Felt like I had a Frito corn chip and took a dive off of the South Beach Diet. I made a note of some of the things that went through my head, and that go through everyone's head when they're falling off the horse.

I can handle this.

Just a little bit won't hurt.

I'm in control.

I'll stop after this.

This isn't so bad.

I'll make up for it tomorrow.

I'll going to do extra workout tomorrow.

Year 3, Day 124: Trip to Upstate

The trip to Kingston always involves eating in the car, and too frequently too many nuts. Not only that, but when we get there we are nearly always awash in lots of food. It is a happy, but challenging environment. Then of course, there's always the Hollydome, where we stay, a mildewy old Holiday inn with the charm of an abandoned dorm room near a swimming pool. Ruby and I took a swim in the pool. At most hotels, the pool is in a separate room, where it is generally warmer than than the rest of the hotel, as evidenced by the thrilling whoosh of cold air you get whenever leaving the 'pool area.' At the Hollydome, the geniuses built in an indoor lobby and put the pool right inside it. This created a strange environment, where when dressed in clothes you felt the lobby was too warm, but when in the pool you felt every degree of icy air conditioning.

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

1 slice banana cake

lunch
salad w white balsamic
chicken
bite of brie

on the road
almonds & cashews
popcorn
pecans
more banana cake
1 cherry
1 bite of corn, cucumber
some peanuts

dinner
salad with walnuts
salmon

I brought my recent banana cake and Jane helped me understand what was wrong with by pointing out the 'crumb' and described the three tips to knowing when a cake is ready. 1. Toothpick comes out clean (everyone knows that one). 2. The cake pulls away from the pan edge. 3. There is a spring to the top of the cake. Very helpful, I will keep these in mind for my next cake.

Year 3, Day 123: Hospital Detecto Says 176

Had big plans today for a workout AND tennis. However, a mysterious foot ailment in the middle of the night meant I had to go slow on my workout (only five miles in 70 minutes) about 5mph instead of 7-9, and no squat thrusts, though I did do my 100 ab crunches.

Happened to be a the hospital (assessment for unnamed injury) , so I weighed in, even though it was after lunch, after snacks, middle of the day, probably not the best time to weigh yourself, but I was glad to see I was in the zone, if not perfectly at 174.

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

Postworkout Snack
6 oz Stonyfield Yogurt
Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Lunch: The Met Bar
Greek Salad
With Chicken
(No Crisps)

Hospital Waiting Room Snack
Almonds & Cashews
1 Pear

Dinner; Yama (Wellesley)
16 Pieces of Sashimi
Miso Soup
Salad

Dessert
Banana Bread

In the search for the perfect banana bread I found this. I skipped the ganace, but make it at your own risk. It's addicting

Year 3, Day 122: Independence Day

It's cliche to quote a Bruce Springsteen song on the 4th of July, isn't it? Ruby and I were Needham refuseniks. They had a parade, but we couldn't get up early enough to be situated among the hot crowds. Anyway, I'm not enough of a patriot to withstand that type of thing. Instead, we made our way over to the Newton festivities, which took place at a park and involved popcorn, carmel apples, and plenty of water (it was very hot). Unfortunately, we got there early (10:30am) as the paper reported the festivus began at 11:00AM. Though it was painfully obvious to anyone with grade-school education that the fair was not ready for fair-goers, I had to track down a carny to make sure. No surprise, the paper got it wrong- festivities were really scheduled to begin at 12:00pm. Luckily, there was a playground; we stood our ground and waited. Then we got on the long line that had developed for tickets. That particularly reminded me of growing up in New York. Here was a fair where they were quite obviously not ready for customers- the bouncy-bounce (moonwalk) was not blown up; several gates were lying fallow on the ground. Rides were still being 'inspected," yet a long line to buy tickets from an empty booth had snaked beyond visibility. Ah, independence day.

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

Lunch:
Salad
Lime Grilled Chicken
A few bite of hamburger

Snack
Popcorn at the fair

Dinner
Sesame Encrusted Trout
Broccoli
More Salad

A word about mesclun greens and mint: Emily says adding mint to a salad makes it seem like a more interesting salad. I concur. So for all of you wondering how to dress up your salads (and you should definitely not take advice from me since I am like the robot-salad eater) add mint.

Year 3, Day 121: Last Day at Domania

August 9th Would have been my eight year anniversary at Domania. Well, I came close. My first official day at the new company will be July 9th, so that's 7 years, 11 months. If you count the first company Domania was (Inpho) it was nearly 11 years in total. That's a long time to be at one job, though, I had at least six different titles, five different bosses, four different computers, three different offices, and two different company names. There was a lot of change, but only one me. I can definitely say I went in the 200's (weight wise) and came out in the 170s. So that's one happy ending.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($5.69)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

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

Dinner:
Chicken
Boneless Ribs
Cabbage, Broccoli

Dessert
50% of a Healthy Choice Pop
1 Yogurt Covered Raisin
1 Chocolate Chip
A handful of cashews and almonds

Happy, sad? Mixed emotions have been running high, and with it neck and neck have been my desire to eat 10x and lots of dessert. Sometimes you just give in, and tonight was such a night. Consider it a toast to all my Domania comrades.

Year 3, Day 120: The FDA Working Hard For Us (After the Fact)

The US Food and Drug Administration has a Web site where you can read up about food recalls, e.coli outbreaks and my favorite, "Import Alerts and Import REFUSAL report." Go there. You might find it amusing; you might find it terrifying. It's definitely a good place to find out some information I bet you didn't know.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($6.21)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
5 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner
Chicken Breast, Salad
1/4 Hamburger, Turkey Burger

Dessert
Cherries & Strawberries
1 Apple-Cinamon Cheerio
4-5 Flakes

Despite the horrifying news regarding tainted toothpaste from China (where were the Refusal people then?); I have found that brushing your teeth is a great way to stop yourself from that post-dinner, pre-bedtime period where you are more likely than not to walk through your kitchen, or have to take something out of your pantry; empty the dishwasher, or somehow come in contact or in close proximity to food. I know there are some people who eat right up until they go to sleep, but for me, brushing your teeth sends that minty-mouthed signal to my brain that no more food is coming for the night. I occasionally will scarf some sugarless gum and water for Gumsert, but I find I am able to resist most tempting things when my mouth is minty.

Year 3, Day 119: Stop the Pie Insanity

Back on track. It's up early and out to the gym. Then, later in the day, I gave away the remaining pie. I knew having it in the house was going to eventually wind up with me in the corner, and a spoon.

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

Lunch:
Salad and a little brisket (Ruby ate most of it )

Snack
6 oz Stonyfield Yogurt
4 tablespoons of Super Chunky peanut butter

Dinner
Flank Steak
a few bites of Ruby's cheeseburger
a small bowl of salad
asparagus

Whole Grain Junk Food - By Laura Brady From Associated Content A Cookie by Any Other Name...

Published Jun 19, 2007

There's a huge trend in the food market to jump on the latest nutrition bandwagon. For example, during the low carb craze every food manufacturer introduced low carb versions of their most popular foods in order to keep customers and drive up their profits. Now that people are beginning to realize how important it is to have a balanced diet, complete with complex carbohydrates and fiber, the food companies are creating junk food made with whole grains. They're banking on the ignorance of the public to believe that because a food is whole grain it must be healthy. The truth is that junk food is just that. Even when you add some whole wheat flour to the mix it's still packed with sugar, sodium and fat. In fact the nutritional differences in these foods are virtually indistinguishable.

One of the most heinous examples is the new whole wheat Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut. Really, who are they kidding? Compared to the original glazed the whole wheat version only has 20 less calories, 1 gram less of fat, and 3.5 grams trans fat instead of 4. Your gain for choosing the wheat doughnut? One whole extra gram of fiber. Please, if you're going to eat a doughnut just eat the one you really want. Everyone knows they're not health food.

Nabisco is now making whole grain Chips Ahoy and Fig Newtons, among other things. They say that the Newtons provide 9 grams of whole grain per serving, but that's only 2 grams of fiber and they still have 13 grams of sugar. Let's face it; a cookie is still a cookie by any other name.

There's also the two bowls of cereal a day weight loss plan, created by Special K and then plagiarized by other brand names. Most cereals contain at least 12 grams of sugar, so that's not really the recommended way to lead a healthier lifestyle. I also don't know many people who are seriously satisfied with a serving of cereal for breakfast, one for lunch and then nothing until dinner. A serving of cereal is only ½-3/4 cup. Of course you'll lose weight but you'll gain it back as soon as you get back to eating real food again.

The minute a study came out about dark chocolate having health benefits dozens of varieties of dark chocolate candies, bars, cookies and other products hit the stores. People saw it as a red light to market chocolate as a health food, and some consumers believed they eat it every day as part of a healthy diet. The key to those studies though, was that it has health benefits in extreme moderation, and the less sugar in the chocolate the better. Moderation is not exactly the American style.

Food companies always latch onto a trend in order to market to mainstream America. As long as we read food labels and ignore the claims on the TV and boxes we can avoid the pitfalls they constantly through before us. There's a place for cookies and snacks in a healthy lifestyle, in moderation. Before you decide to buy into the latest trend, remember that life's too short to eat fake cookies!