Life123 Continues The Good Fight

Dear All:

I've gone and back and forth from completely abandoning the site.  But now I've decided that I must go on.  While I can't post just now, I will leave you with this tidbit.

From Life123.com

When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by the changes you’re making in your diet and your lifestyle. At times, you might feel that successful weight loss is beyond your reach. While losing weight does require commitment, you stand a better chance at achieving your goals if you follow a few weight loss tips. Read more about successful dieting tips.

Year 4, Day 109: Nuts

Tim Russert's tribute.  Thunder road makes me cry. Work makes me eat nuts.

Breakfast

Kashi

Heritage Flakes

Strawberries

Blueberries

Banana

Unsweetened Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch : Russo's $5.48

Romaine Lettuce

Red pepper

Chicken

Feta Cheese

Cheddar Cheese

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Balsamic Vinegar

Snack

Beef Jerky

Tamari ALmonds

Dinner

Brisket

Romaine, Cabbagte, Feta

Year 4, Day 108

After several days of buying strawberries at Russo's, I realize my refrigerator has shriveled them all to a unpleasant raisiny-version of themselves.  To add insult to injury, they taste like my refrigerator. 

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.45)

Green leaf, mushrooms, broccoli, red pepper, cheddar & feta cheese, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Snack

Lots and lots of almonds

Beef jerky

Dinner: Cabot's

Baby spinach salad with chicken

Year 4, Day 107: 19th Hole Golf Mix

Part of working at an Internet startup is long hours, and often needing to eat without having the time to plan a good meal. I have certainly been loading up on popcorn and almonds but the 19th Hole Snack Mix (rice crackers, wasabi peas, honey-roast peanuts, sesame crackers and spicy cheese crisps) is off the hook. Yet I finished the container, then hit the almonds. Oh, and I finished the bag of sweet and cheesy popcorn. So sad.

Breakfast
Peanut butter bread

Lunch: Russo's ($5.54)

Romaine Lettuce

Red pepper

Chicken

Feta Cheese

Cheddar Cheese

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Balsamic Vinegar

snack
all of the above

dinner
breast of chicken
cabbage

Year 4, Day 106: Father's Day

Hung over.  Must remember to give up alcohol.  In our effort to keep things moving through as a family, I did not get to go to the gym.   To make matters worse, we took out the family for ice cream for a special father's day treat.  Naturally, I opted for the fat-free soft yogurt, but at this point, does it really make a difference?

Breakfast

Tea

Coffee

Peanut Butter Bread

Lunch:

Burger, Corn, Pickles

Tuna, Corn Chips

Snack

Maple Vanilla Yogurt

Dinner

Chicken Thighs

Bok Choy

Dessert

No Fat Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookie Cone

Peanut Butter Bread Crusts

Year 4, Day 105: Saturday at the Pool

Lately I have been waking up without an appetite.  Unfortunately for me, this is cured by beginning to eat, at which point I become ravenously hungry.  Today there was no shortage of opportunities to overeat.  A chef who lives in the neighborhood offered up gourmet sausages for his daughter's birthday.   Then, we were invited to a friend's house who is recuperating from a leg-injury.  Naturally, I brought over home-made bread and rice krispy treats slathered with dark chocolate and drizzled with Carmel.  Plus, I had three beers.   Wow.

Breakfast

Peanut butter bread

coffee 

cheese

lunch: Izzy's birthday party

Sausage.5 Mustard

Chips & Salsa

2 Fruit 2Os

dinner

chicken salad

chips & salsa

carrots & hummus

3 beers

rice krispy treats

Year 4, Day 104: Missed it By That Much

Today I had planned to go to Russo's for the fifth straight day in a row, and walk there no less. My plans were interrupted by a meeting with NY.   We ended up going to Demo's, for salad and kebab.  This not only thwarted my best chance at a five-in-a-row, but squashed my Strawberry dreams.  I made up for it by eating almonds, pistachios and popcorn.

Breakfast

1 Slice Balthazar Bread

Super Chunky Peanut butter

2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Coffee

Lunch: Demo's

Chicken Shish Kebab

(On Salad)

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

Almonds, Pistachios

1 Bag of Popcorn

Dinner:

Tilapia a la Emily

Broccoli

Year 4, Day 103: Might as Well Face It, You're Addicted to Strawberries

I've gone to Russo's every day this week for lunch, and I have already planned my walking gang for tomorrow's lunch.  It's a clean sweep. I have been buying (and eating) strawberries every day.  I have also been eating everything that's not nailed down.  Including today's 19th Hole Mix, which although is somewhat SoBe friendly, contains many no-no's like rice crackers.  That's really a great example of something I shouldn't buy, or be left alone in the room with.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

1/2 container 19th Hole Mix

Lunch: Russo's ($5.45)

Romaine, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, feta, broccoli, red peppers, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Dinner:

Strawberries

6 oz Stonyfield Yogurt (with Splenda)

1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter

I was going to have a fudge-pop or a beer, but brushed my teeth and put the yearning away.

Year 4, Day 102: No Leftovers

Today was very stressful. It saw an unprecedented third trip in a row to Russo's, and with it, an impulse buy of "Sweet and Cheesy" popcorn.  Not sure why this particular, and I'm sure to some, unnattractive sounding bag of treats called out to me, but it did.  I gnarfed half the bag in what has to be the saddest example of anxiety eating seen in recent times.  Thankfully, a colleague who is also staying late and anxiety eating came by to finish the bag and save me from a fate worse than death-- finishing the whole bag.  When I got home, ALL of the Chinese leftovers had been fed to some company, so I ate the leftovers from two nights ago.  Cheesy indeed.

Breakafast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Russo's ($5.45)

Romaine, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, feta, broccoli, red peppers, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Dinner:

Three of Emily's Meatballs

Leftover, and way too crunchy cooked Cauliflower

Year 4, Day 101

It was so hot for the second day in the row.  Went to Russo's and bought more strawberries. They are so amazing it's easy to forget the world can be an ungainly, difficult to place to inhabit. Ruby and I headed over to Cabot's for our usual meal of a hamburger and ice cream (her) spinach salad and sugar-free yogurt (me).  I can't tell you what I'd be eating if it were 2004-- I'd be having the french fries, chili, and then splitting a huge sundae with her.   As it was, their air conditioning was broken, causing me to high-tail it out of there for the cool confines of the Chestnut Hill mall, where I ordered spicy food and sweated like a stuck pig.  

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Blueberries

Strawberries

Banana

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.35)

Romaine

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Peppers

Tomatoes 

Cheese (Assorted)

Olives

Chicken

Balsamic Vinegar

Snack

Almonds

Strawberries

4 sticks beef jerky

Dinner: Bernard's

Shrimp Soong

Moo Shi Pork

Boneless Spareribs

Broccoli/Snowpeas

Year 4, Day 100

Strawberries are back.  I was just starting to think about them.  Then, like someone you're waiting for in the airport I saw them. I couldn't wait and starting eating them right away. It's really amazing how the locally grown strawberries are so good, and so unlike the awful, white, tasteless, unnaturally large ones that come from Driscoll, the evil anti-strawberry farm located somewhere (and everywhere) in California.  Vive la Massachusetts strawberry!!

Breakafast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.35)

Romaine, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, feta, broccoli, red peppers, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Snack

Almonds

Beef Jerky

Strawberries

Pistachios

Dinner

Steak Tips

Bok Choy

Cauliflower

Year 4, Day 99

Amaingly, the heat wave continued and I took myself to the gym. Though I did 40 minutes on the elliptical, and I started to feel not so great so I didn't push it on the weights and stuff.  If figured you're not supposed to push yourself when it's hot.  So I took myself  home to the air conditioning and had two or three lunch entrees.  Then, to the pool, and home for a high-carb and red meat dinner. No peanut butter today.

Breakfast

kashi go lean

heritage flakes

banana

strawberries

blueberries

soy milk

coffee

Lunch: 

Tuna and Salad

Plus two ribs from Whole Foods

and Chicken Thighs

Snack by the Pool

Grapes, Almonds

Dinner

Steak Tips

Corn

Blue Moon beer with Lemon

Year 4, Day 98: Needham Fair

Saturday saw me trying to get the gym and continuing to shake off my cold. I didn't get to the gym, but I did feel better for the first time in quite a while.  Emily and I decided to take the kids to the Needham fair. The first few times we went to this when we lived in Needham it was really enjoyable. Now I see it for what it is-- just a lot of businesses giving away free waters and pens for people who think they're going to a fair.  But there's really not a fair, just Cablevision and free sucking candies.   I have nothing against it, I'm just saying you shouldn't tell your kids you're going to fair when the highlight of the event is four contiguous card tables loaded with Michaelson's discount shoes.     To add insult to injury, the (very slow) line for the ponies was so long I could tell just by looking at it that it didn't make sense to wait on.  Added to that, I think the ponies got too hot and had to be retired to a dark mulchy place where they could eat oats.   To get out of the sun and avoid the ear-splitting noise level, we ducked into the very mediocre stone hearth pizza restaurant.  Then we went home.

Brakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Blueberries

Strawberries

Banana

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Stone Hearth Pizza

Caesar Salad with Chicken

Meatball Poppers

1 Slice of Pizza

Snack

Popcorn, Almonds, Coffee

Beef Jerky

Dinner

Meat 

Corn on Cob

Salad, Squash & Zucchini

1 Blue Moon Beer

Year 4, Day 97: Friday with No Walk

Still feeling the hangover of being sick.  Rain cancelled the planned walk to Russo's.  We went by car in the rain and it was super crowded. I can't for the life of me understand why so many people walking through Russo's just stop, in the middle of the tiny aisles, for no reason. They just stop. They just cease to move forward.  Then you're forced to either crash into them or carry your little red basked above their heads so you don't knock the precariously balanced fruit all over the place, which would then necessitate you bending over and picking it up. 

So maybe someone can explain that to me.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Blueberries

Strawberries

Banana

Soy Milk 

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.35)

Romaine, mushrooms, broccoli, olives, red peppers, cheese, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Snack

Almonds

Beef jerky

Dinner: 

Fish with Ginger & Scallions

Dessert

2 Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares,

Almonds

Year 4, Day 96: You've Got Trees

Today we had chapter two of our tree plantings.  Even though our trees are to real trees what matchbox cars are to real full size cars.  Even though they brought them up the mountain yesterday, they were unable to plant them due to the rain. Today, they got planted and so far, we're happy, even though you can still see the monstorous 350 complex behind it.   After all, they are only 14 foot trees.  Today I could not finish my breakfast, after not finishing my lunch yesterday.  

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan

Chinese Celery with Beef

Moo Shi Pork

Wonton Soup (with Wonton)

Dinner

BBQ Chicken Thighs

Bok Choy

Cauliflower

Dessert

32 Chocolate Chips

Year 4, Day 95: Trees

This morning they came to install trees in our back yard.  Where did we want the Spruce? The Maple? The Tall Pines? I don't #(*&$# know!  You're the guy carrying the trees around! You put them somewhere!  Make sure they don't crash into each other!  A cold, rainy wet day, which I suppose, is good for trees, but bad for people who can't get out of bed in the morning.

Breakfast

1 Slice of Whole Wheat Toast with Super Chunky Peanut Butter

1/2 Bagel with Cream Cheese that Ruby didn't finish

Coffee

Lunch:  Russo's ($5.65- but I didn't finish it)

Romaine, cheese, chicken, tofu, broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, balsamic vinegar

Dinner

Chicken thighs a la emily

Romaine + Feta + Cabbage + Balsamic

Dessert

1 Healthy Choice Pop

Year 4, Day 94: Not That Diety

As the primary season winds down, my sickness progresses and somehow I find the strength to get up and go to work every day.  Between a big Chinese lunch and dinner with Ruby at Cabot's (with dessert) it just simply wasn't a very diety day.  Add some more old, bad almonds in the mix and you have a real profile. 

Breakfast

1.5 Slices of Whole Wheat Bread

Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Coffee

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan

Chung King Beef

Moo Shi Pork

String Beans

Dinner: Cabot's

Baby Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken

Dessert

Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cup Yogurt

Year 4, Day 93

Ruby did not get to bed until nearly 11:00pm last night. Of course, this means we spent most of 9:00pm-till then trying, unsuccessfully to get her to go to sleep.  This lead to a bad night of sleep which is really not what I needed before a big week at work.  I decided I was well enough to go without the sudafed.  Sadly, I purchased a container of almonds from Russo's last week (or maybe two weeks ago).  They were, for some reason, bad.  So I put them aside, intending to return them. However, I never got to do that, and instead, I ate most of them today.  

Breakfast

1 Slice of Whole Wheat Bread with Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Snack:

2 Sticks of Beef jerky

30 almonds (or more)

Lunch:

Greek Salad with Chicken

Dinner

Emily's Chinese Ribs

Cauliflower

Dessert

1 Healthy Choice Pop

Year 4, Day 92: No Work Out

I knew there would be no work out today when I got up, I just wasn't up to it. Though as a sacrifice to our children, we took them to the local pool, even though we both dreaded going.  It was only for 90 minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.   Naturally, I got hungry and there and tried to get a tuna wrap. They were out of tuna, so I opted for chicken, but it sure wasn't even my second choice.

Breakfast

Some bread crusts and peanut butter

Lunch

Chicken Salad Wrap

Dinner

Chicken Breast

Corn on the Cob

Dessert

Healthy Choice Fudge Pop

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Year 4, Day 91: Saturday

Sick, sick, sick absolutely sick. Sick as a dog.  Wow.  Even though I was sick, I got up early and took Ruby to the hospital for a blood-drawing. From there we tried to get Emily's car inspected, but unfortunately the registration had expired.  So we went searching for an RMV office that was open on Saturday, but alas, there was none.  I thought we were a gonner, but then we thought- what about the Internet!  We found out that you could renew your registration-- even if it expired, albeit for a usurious fee.    Ruby and I had breakfast, but that was about it for the day.  I thought finally, a sickness where I've lost my appetite.  Finally.

Breakfast: Johnny's Luncheonette

Three Eggs

Turkey Sausage

Bacon

Coffee

A bite of Ruby's French Test

Lunch

Some Popcorn

Dinner

Tea with Honey

Year 4, Day 90: Lunch With An Old Friend

I met an old friend for lunch.  We went out for a big Chinese lunch.  Even though I was coming down with a cold, I soldiered on and went to the card game.  There, I got progressively sicker.  On the good side, I was the big winner.  Additionally, I tasted the best potato chips the Lord has ever made.  They're called Tyrell's Sweet Chili and Hot Pepper Chips.  Absolutely yummy. 

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Blueberries

Strawberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Shangri La

Chinese Pea pods

Pork Meatball

Chicken with Cabbage

Beef with Asparagus

Dinner/Poker

1 Corona Light

Almonds, Cashews

Popcorn

Turkey, Corned Beef, Roast Beef

Provolone, Swiss, American

Pickles

Dessert

Healthy Choice Pop 

Year 4, Day 89: Guest in Ruby's Classroom

This morning I was scheduled to speak in front of Ruby's classroom. Though the presentation was originally supposed to be about newspapers, the teacher wanted me to talk about reporters. So I wrote to some of my reporter friends for advice.  They didn't have any, but I did my best. I think the kids liked it.  All day I was fighting a sore throat and by the time I got home I didn't even want to have dinner. So I just had tea.

Breakfast

1 Slice of Whole Wheat Bread

Super Chunky Peanut Butter

2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Lunch: Cafe Stelina

Mediterranean Salad with Grilled Chicken

1 slice of bread

Snack

4 sticks beef jerky

2 cheese sticks

30 almonds

Dinner

Tea with Honey

Year 4, Day 88: Just Not Feeling It

Woke up today, and was unusually not hungry. I had coffee and still not that hungry.  I know I can't go to work hungry, so I had a slice of my own white bread with peanut butter and some 50% cheese.  At work I had only a few beef jerky sticks and had lunch at Demo's.   I got a call from Emily (who was suffering a debilitating case of food poisoning) and rushed home.  At home, I loaded up on popcorn, and my neighbor donated the balance of her homemade Chinese Greens to me, which I ate with some brisket.  

Breakfast

1 Slice of Bread

Super Chunky Peanut Butter

2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Coffee

Lunch: Demo's

Greek Salad 

Chicken Kebab

Snack

3 oz Popcorn

Dinner

Chinese Greens

Brisket

Year 4, Day 87: Tuesdays at Cabots

Spent the morning hiding under a chair. Emily talked me into going to work.  I realize everyone has a hard time going back to work after the long weekend, but sometimes it's just being away makes you less used to it, and it makes it harder.    I continue on my dates with Ruby, but now instead of Bernard's, the Chinese restaurant in the mall, we're going to Cabot's which is the ice-cream & burger shop around the corner from her clay class.  Though I've already been dragged down the sugar-free yogurt pole, tonight I had a bite of Ruby's burger and fries and IT WAS THE GREATEST THING I EVER ATE IN MY LIFE, for real. When Ruby eats it, she closes her eyes and makes the yummy noise.  I thought she was putting me on, but it's for real, they make great hamburgers.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Blueberries

Strawberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Crown Cafe

Greek Salad with Chicken

Snack

4 sticks beef jerky

30 or so almonds

Dinner: Cabot's

Baby Spinach salad with Grilled Chicken

Sugar Free-Chocolate Yogurt

A few bites of Ruby's Hamburger and French Fries

Year 4, Day 86: Memorial Day

Of course, the best thing for me about Memorial Day is the beginning of the French Open, but since I've had kids it's been kind of difficult to watch 120 hours of Tennis, or let alone one.   Now that the coverage is on the tennis channel, it's not quite as good, but as a full-on tennis junkie I'll take whatever I can get.  Went to the Gym today (finally) and went 7 miles in 65 minutes.  Also, did the usual collection of squat thrusts, gravitrons, and ab-crunchers trying in vain to work off my Reese's debacle.  However, a barbecue with all my baked goods set me back again.  The cheesecake I made didn't help.  Think I might be done baking for a while. 

Breakfast

2 Eggs

4 Slices of Microwave Bacon

Snack

6 oz Stonyfield Yogurt (Plain)

3 Tablespoons Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Lunch

Salad, Chicken Breast

Snack II

Tuna

Barbecue

1.5 Hamburger, 1 Hot Dog

Cole Slaw, Pickles

1 Corona Extra Light (!)

2 Oatmeal Cookies, plus some cinnamon roll and 1 slice of my cheesecake

Year 4, Day 85: Sunday- Rock Bottom

Okay, I must confess. I went to see Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  Such a very dissapointing experience. First, it succumbed to the "Godfather III" and "Star Wars 2nd Trilogy" problem of being way too far later for us to believe in these characters.  Then like in Godfather III they tried to insert new characters and pretend they were old friends.   Like GF III core people were missing (Denholm Elliot and Sean Connery to name two).  To top it off, I bought a movie-sized bag of Reeses Peices and ATE THEM ALL.  Yes, I ate them all.  That's about as bad as it gets.  Oh wait, I also ate about 3 oz of Boston Lite popcorn that I snuck into the theatre. 

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Blueberries

Strawberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch:

Yesterday's Salad Leftovers

Yesterday's Chicken Breast Leftovers

Snack:

Popcorn 

Dinner:

Steak Tips

Salad

Dessert 

More Popcorn

Reese's Pieces

Year 4, Day 84 Saturday

I tried to get to the gym today but failed.   We took the kids to the Tempanaki place in Needham, where the roaring fire of the piled-up onions made Magnolia recoil in horror. They love the little fish-pond, and generally made the other couple with responsible, quiet, properly-acting kids sorry they had come to lunch.  Today I made cinnamon rolls from a recipe.  It took over six hours including kneading and proofing, but it was worth it, because they were yummy. The downside: it started me on a sugar weekend bender.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Blueberries

Strawberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Snack

Some Bread

Lunch: Fuji Steak House

Sashimi Platter

Plus Salad (x3)

Steak and Vegetables and Mung Beans

Dinner:

Salad with Chicken

Cinnamon Rolls with Icing

Year 4, Day 83

There continue to be walks.  They may not be as fast as they get by September, but they're getting there.  Today at Russo's I noted with great disdain that red peppers had been replaced completely with green peppers.  If you know me at all, you'll know that I find green peppers revolting, perhaps owing to a early, but forgotten childhood incident.  There were no hot peppers, or tofu.  They were down to the last two pieces of chicken.  I took them unhappily, but right after I did, the woman came out with the new replacements--- chicken in hand. It's very often a timing issue with Russo's, but some days the timing is better than others.

Breakfast

1 Slice of My Wheat Bread with Super Chunky Peanut Butter

2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Coffee

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

30 Almonds

Lunch: Russo's ($5.78)

Romaine, mushrooms, broccoli, assorted cheeses

Dinner: Village Fish

1 Blue Moon Beer

Caesar Salad

3 Oysters

Grilled Swordfish

Year 4, Day 82: Fun at Chan Shin Yuan

I continue to fall hard.  If it weren't for brushing my teeth, I would have eaten up the closet, the doors, the hinges.  Went to Chan Shin Yuan with my brother and they were fantastic.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk 

Coffee

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

2 Cheese STicks

Assorted Almonds

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan

Boneless Spareribs

Moo Shi Pork (2 pancakes)

Chun King Pork

String Beans & Prawns (Fantastic)

Dinner

Left-over Chop Salad from Skipjacks (Sugary dressing)

1 Tuna Maki piece

the remainder of the Chun King Pork

Dessert

More almonds

healthy choice pop

some peanuts

Year 4, Day 81: Walks Don't Entitle You

To eat chocolate during the afternoon, yet I was gobbling it up in an effort to quell my crippling work-related anxiety.  This was proceeded by popcorn and followed by almonds.  I could feel the rip-cord dangling in my hand as I parachuted out of the South Beach diet for the day, uncontrollably.  Certainly it was good to have walked to Russo's and back, but it was a struggle.  When I came home I made an onion cheeseburger and a salad, and Emily finished both of them, which was just as well.  Towards the end of the night,  I fed Magnolia a creamsicle, which I literally HAD to eat the last bite of as it threatened to drip all over me, her, and her bed.   It really was the only way.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk 

Coffee

Snack

1 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

2 Squares Hershey Dark Chocolate

About 15-20 Unsalted Almonds

Lunch: Russo's $5.98

Romaine, Peppers, Hot Peppers, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Assorted Cheeses, Tofu, and Chicken, Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner

Onion cheeseburger

Romaine, Cabbage, Feta, Balsamic

Dessert

1/17th of a Creamsicle (Edy's)

Year 4, Day 80: Fordee's

This morning Ruby and Magnolia were both crying before 7:30AM. That makes it really hard to create a good breakfast for myself. Therefore, I resorted to the peanut butter and bread, and try to make the best of it. No walk today, and it remained cold.  It's a truly bad sign that at 7:48 I am praying to make it to the American Idol finale.

Breakfast

1 Slice of my Rye-Wheat Bread

Super Chunky Peanut Butter

2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Lunch: Fordee's

Chicken Schwarma Platter

Lettuce, Hummus, Chicken

Dinner: Cabot's

Spinach Salad

Grilled Chicken

Dessert

Sugar Free Chocolate yogurt

Year 4, Day 79: Crying on the Treadmill

You know you're in trouble when a TV commercial with the sound down can make you cry.  Nothing makes you feel stupider, smaller, and like a shriveled-up, running-too slow loser.   

Look for yourself.  

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk 

Coffee

Snack

1 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Lunch: Russo's $5.98

Romaine, Peppers, Hot Peppers, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Assorted Cheeses, Tofu, and Chicken, Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner

More Salad, Romaine, Cabbage, Tuna, Cheese

Dessert

1 Healthy Choice Pop

1/4 bite of a Peppermint Brownie

1 Slice of My Whole Wheat Bread with Butter

Year 4, Day 78: Sunday

First night of good sleep in quite a while, determined to make the most of Sunday.  Made three loaves of bread (two white, one wheat), four quarts of chicken soup and Katherine Hepburn's brownies.   Also, found time to work out for 35 minute (400 calories burned) and a few squats, ab crunches and a spin on the gravitron.   Got to to barbecue and still played with the kids.   However, still needed help going to sleep.

Breakfast

Two eggs and a rasher of bacon at Whole Foods (they have a breakfast bar)

Lunch:

Scrambled Eggs

and My Bread with Butter

Postworkout Snack

6 oz. Stonyfield Plain Yogurt

Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Dinner:

Steak Tips, Broccoli

Barbecue Bok Choy

Year 4, Day 77

Sure, there's a lot to discuss about the reunion, but I can't write my manifesto here, because it's public and it because there's too much to write. I'd fall behind and it's my motto not to fall behind too much anymore.   This morning, we were all feeling the sting of having a little too much and staying up a little too late.  I had a few moments of waking up in the night but mostly they passed. However, Ruby called me at 7:50Am that was not a very happy moment, either for me or her, I'm afraid.  After not being able to go back to sleep, I mummied-up and got the room in order, and met Joe for breakfast at the stage door. It was serviceable, and the coffee was good.  For some reason, I thought breakfast at 10 would be good enough for me to skip lunch on the train back to Boston.  Just goes to show how alcohol can affect your thinking!   I bought a bag of almonds and some chocolate but did not get a salad or a sandwich.  What was I thinking?  By the time I got on the train I was starving and had only a 6 oz bag of nuts and a bar of chocolate.  I proceeded to eat too much of both and then I sought out the bar car.  My dream of a $6.50 tuna sandwich was destroyed when they were sold out, so I took a yogurt and the cheese plate.

Breakfast: Stage Door

Tomato, Feta and Spinach omelet

side of bacon

Wheat toast (really white toast with wheat flavor)

coffee

Train ride to South Beach Hell

nearly 4 0z of Almonds

2 squares of chocolate

1 Dannon Yogurt

Cheese & Cracker Platters

Upon Arrival Home

1 Pink Lady Apple

2 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner

Steak Tips, Hamburger Bits

Rober'ts BBQ Bok Choy

Emily's Cauliflower

Year 4, Day 76: Reunion

Or "Please God I'm Sorry I ate the Almond Pudding."  Prior to me going to New York, both Emily and I had a premonition that I would have some kind of gastric distress while there, perhaps at the reunion.  As I take those things very seriously, I tried to be careful about where we had dinner.   Unfortunately, two things-- the liver (my colleague ordered it) and the almond pudding (really just milk pudding with almond slices) did me in.  I tossed and turned most of the night, and, concerned about today's slate of meetings and reunion, I got myself into a terrible middle-of-the-night tizzy.  It didn't help that the Affinia hotel, and especially my room, featured an assortment of nerve-jangling old-style elevator noises that were really unidentifiable, but especially jarring at night.

Breakfast (Guy & Galliard)

Bacon & Cheese Omelet

2 Slices Multi grain Bread

Fruit Cup

Lunch: La Luncheonette

Salad Nicoise

Coffee

IAC

Grabbed two Dannon probiotic lite yogurts.

They were good.

Reunion (Non-Dinner)

A few pieces of pita in hummus

felafel balls

some other fried things

salmon tartar

Dinner (PJ Clarkes)

Cheeseburger & Bacon

Side of Greens

French Fries & Onion Rings

Lots and Lots of Beer

Year 4, Day 75: Trip to NY (Tired of that headline, yet?)

Today I worked from home in advance of going to NY.  I got to the gym, and I did 3.5 miles in 33 minutes, probably 500 calories.   Ate the usual breakfast and got by on the train with only a few snacks, but then I blew it at dinner. Sigh.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean 

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: 

Tuna Salad

Lettuce & Cabbage

Balsamic Vinegar

After workout snack

1 Slice Multi-grain brad

super chunky peanut butter

50% Jalapeno Cheddar cheese

Dinner: Turkish Kitchen

Artichoke

Liver

Eggplant

Mediterannean Sole with Romaine Salad

Almond Pudding

Year 4, Day 74: Running Out of Time

Today we had an unexpected conference call at 12pm (very hostile) that lasted till 1pm.  I'm sorry to say I was nearly laying my head on the desk from low blood sugar.  I walked into the square and ordered a salad from the Upper Crust Pizzeria, whose claim to fame is that salads take 20 minutes, which is not great when you are hypo-glycemic.   The only other alternative was Crown Cafe, but they also take a long time but use only old iceberg lettuce.  UC sold me their $9 Greek salad that has no feta, and one pepperocini.  Are there standards anywhere?

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk 

Coffee

Snack

4 sticks Beef Jerky

100 Almonds

2 Cheese Sticks

Lunch: The Upper Crust

Greek Salad with Chicken

Dinner:

Cold Catfish, some chicken

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Dessert

About 32 Chocolate chips

Year 4, Day 73: Another Walk

Amazingly, went for a walk today, which is good because on Tuesdays I go out with Ruby for a little Daddy & Me date.  I pick her up at clay class (where she 1) covered with clay and 2) eager to hug me so I am then covered with clay).  Then I ask her where she wants to go to dinner. Tonight's answer was "Cabots," which is the Hamburger and ice cream shoppe in Newton. It's not FANTASTIC, but it's so rare to find an above-average, family friendly place with good food and good ice cream that you really can't complain. Plus on Tuesdays it's not busy.  I asked if they had any "low calorie" yogurt. Their answer: "We have sugar free, lactose free, wheat free and dairy free" desserts.   I asked which one was the lowest in calories.  She didn't know, she was stumped. I guess no one ever came to Cabots looking for low-calorie desserts.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk 

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.35)

Romaine, Peppers, Hot Peppers, Mushrooms, Chicken, Tofu, Broccoli, Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner: Cabots

Baby Spinach Salad

with Hard Boiled Egg, Cheese, Bacon and Grilled Chicken

Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette (lots of calories, I only used half)

One french fry

Dessert

1/2 sugar free Chocolate yogurt.  A few Reese's cup pieces that fell off Ruby's dessert.

Year 4, Day 72

Five days til the reunion. Okay, I'm not even the most obsessed with it.  There are a few people on the boards flying in from far away.  Some are planning a pre-reunion party.  Some have invited people to come to their house after the party.  Me, I'm just trying to get through the week. There are deadlines, big meetings, and naturally, the reunion.  I'm a tad worried about all the eating.   Hopefully, I'll get to the gym Friday morning.

Breakfast

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

3 Slices of Microwave Bacon

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.98)

Green leaf

peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms

Dinner

Psuedo Chinese Ribs

Bok Choy

Year 4, Day 71: Gym and Chocolate

Went to the gym this morning, and did a 40 minute workout in the fear that I would once again, be kicked off the elliptical by a posse of low-endorphin-possessing folk who need a fix.   After 40 minutes was up, I was still feeling like I could do more and there was no one waiting.  So I set up another 25 minute workout and finished it out.  Around 7 miles, all on fat-burning.  I calculated I lost about 700 calories, not including time downstairs (in the weight room) doing some various other workouts.   Then I went home and proceeded to eat at least 700 calories, thereby eliminating nearly any advantage of the workout.  

I mostly spent the day with Magnolia and Ruby and tried to give Emily some much needed free time, though it probably only amounted to a few hours in the end.   Perhaps not the classic hoped-for Mother's Day, but at least it was something.  

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Bananas

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Various Things Eaten Without Paying Much Attention To

Nuts

Cheese from last night

Some chocolate chips

Lunch

1 Slice of Whole Wheat Bread with Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Small Salad with Canadian Cheddar and little bit of Chicken

Dinner

Steak Tips 

Broccoli

Dessert

1 Healthy Choice Pop

Year 4, Day 70: Dinner at Jillz's

The usual up and out with Magnolia and I trying fruitlessly to get a new mailbox for our house (went to three hardware stores and nothing).  I had a thought that kept me company all day, giving me no end of chuckles.  I thought, "I need a mailbox." Wouldn't it be funny if I went to Mailboxes, Etc. and insisted they sell me one? And the confused clerk there would be trying to tell me that they don't sell Mailboxes.  And I would insist they must, because otherwise, why is the store called "Mailboxes Etc.?"  Maybe you don't think it's funny, but I sure do.  Especially because I just can't think how in the world I am going to get myself a mailbox.

Breakfast

2 Slices Flax & Fiber bread

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

Assorted Almonds

Coffee

Lunch: Sweet Basil

Greek Salad 

A few spoonfuls of pesto

Dinner at Jillz

Flank Steak

Chicken

Asparagus

Grilled Scallions

Flourless Fudge Chocolate Cake

Chocolate with Bacon

Year 4, Day 69: Walking Again

Though rain was threatening, I convinced two others two risk wetness, coldness and general other unfortunate results of being caught in a rainstorm and walk to Russo's with me.  We took the chance, and except for a few drizzle-drops at the end, we got lucky and had a successful trip.  I must say that I can't remember the last time I walked out of Russo's with ONLY a salad.  For that, it was remarkable.  It was a poker night, so I tried to withstand the siren call of nuts and all things carbie, though I did indulge in the semi-usual breakfast.

Breakfast

Heritage Flakes

Kashi Go Lean

Strawberries

Bananas

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.48)

Romaine, broccoli, chicken, peppers, hot peppers, mushrooms, parmesan.

Snack

4 Beef Jerky Sticks

2 Cheese Sticks

Dinner/Poker:

Cashews & Almonds

19th Whole Mix (which is basically that kind of spicy cajun mix with rice crackers)

Popcorn

Blue Ribbon BBQ: One Rib, Some Chicken, Sausage

Cole Slaw

Baked Beans

Collard Greens

Year 4, Day 68: I heart Shangri-La

A great moment for me during the very early stages of my diet was eating a dish called pork with celery from Chan Shin Yuan in Watertown, MA.  I had been on phase one for maybe three, four weeks and hadn't had anything with any flavor in it for a while.   Everything tasted like cardboard and felt like rubber in my mouth.   That day was an incredible day because the spice and the flavors made fireworks in my mouth and I ate the whole thing in three minutes, like a depression-era hobo given some soup after a long day canvassing the rail road tracks.   The cousin of the owner of Chan owns Shangri-La, which is amazingly, much better than Chan and fortunately, close enough to my office to go every once in a while.  We try to eat our way through the menu and today was no exception.

Breakfast

Kashi

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Blueberries

Strawberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Shangri-La

Sauteed Cabbage

Pork, Bean Curd and Scallions

Pork Meatball and Bok Choy

Snack

Four Sticks of Beef Jerky

2 Cheese Sticks

Dinner:

Tuna Salad

Bok Choy

Year 4, Day 67: Stay Hungry

Another key element in a life of weight management is being hungry.  Going through a stressful period, I can tell that part of the problem is pressure that leads to need for stress relief which can be found, usually, by eating nearly 100 nuts. Fortunately, I was out of nuts today, which left me eating everything in my office, including lint and paper clips (not listed).

Breakfast

2 small slices of Balthazar Bread

2 nearly too hard boiled eggs

coffee

Snack

5 pieces of beef jerky

2 cheese sticks

.5 oz Boston Lite popcorn

Lunch: Russo's ($4.98)

Romaine, red peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, feta, chicken, balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner

Breast of chicken plus more salad

Year 4, Day 66: Sugar Free is not Calorie Free

One of the most difficult things to remember is that things that don't contain sugar are not only not reliably GOOD for you, but that often they are WORSE for you than the things they are replacing.  What all the sugar-free stuff really is for is not for dieters who actually will torpedo their diets by ingesting lots of calories and bad stuff like corn syrup but for diabetics and those that actually can eat anything but not SUGAR.  Anyway, tonight I took Ruby to Cabot's after her clay lesson and for some reason I talked myself into ordering a sugar free chocolate soft-serve yogurt.  To my own dismay, I completed the transition to old Jewish man when I could hear to repeatedly say outloud, to no one but my uninterested, underpaid wait staff 'this can't be sugar free.'  Ruby, meanwhile, was buried, nose to eyebrow in coffee oreo sundae, minus the cherry, whipped cream, or really anything that would qualify it as a sundae.  Again, there were a lot of nuts. It was not a great day.

Breakfast

2 Eggs

3 slices of Canadian Bacon

Coffee

Snack

4 sticks beef jerky

2 cheese sticks

lots of almonds (probably in the 70s)

Lunch: Demo's

Chicken kebab with Greek Salad

Dinner: Cabot's

Side Caesar Salad (made from the dark green gritty tops of romaine hearts, a sad tale but I ate all of it)

Dinner Salad (Spinach, bacon, olives, mushrooms, cheese, grilled chicken). I eschewed the eggs.

Dessert

1 cup of sugar-free (!) chocolate soft-serve yogurt

Ruby said her hamburger was 'perfect' and even better than the 'burger bar'.  She poured ketchup on half of the bun, then dipped seven french fries in it.  Then she lost all interest in her french fries and ate the entire hamburger and left both halves of the bun over.  That's my girl, I thought.  Save the calories for the ice cream.

Year 4, Day 65: Nutsed Out

Well, somedays start out good and turn into 100 nut days, and then there are days when you're reaching for the nuts early. I always laugh now when I read diet advice that says "instead of chips or something unhealthy, reach for vegetables or nuts."  WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU GET ADDICTED TO NUTS?   They don't talk about that, it's all about swapping out methodone for heroin, but what then?   Mainline nuts, that's what.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.49)

Chicken, Romaine-Stamos, Peppers (red and hot), mushrooms, broccoli, feta, balsamic vinegar.

Snack (out of control)

3 sticks beef jerky

1 oz Boston lite popcorn

2 cheese sticks

somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 almonds

dinner

salad with tuna, feta, cabbage

dessert (if you can believe it)

some of the last squares of chocolate espresso bean bar (sure is yummy)

Year 4, Day 64: Kicked Off the Elliptical

Well, it's been three years and it finally happened. A posse of folks gathered behind me and observed that I was on minute 57:00 of my workout and wanted me to observe the sign that says "30 minutes if people are waiting."   I finished my minute and deplaned, when the guy on a nearby elliptical said "I wouldn't have handled that as well you did."  To which I responded, "well, I had the runner's high."  But what I should have said to the gang is-- the 30 minutes begins when people are waiting or not?  Maybe next time.  Anyway, I did about 6.5 miles and was surely to hit seven if not interrupted.   I did lots of weight stuff at the gym, and I'm looking to do more core-strengthening.   Two weeks till the reunion.  Jeez.

Breakfast

Kashi Go lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Postworkout Snack

6 oz Stonyfield Yogurt

Superchunky Peanut Butter

Lunch: The Met Bar @ Natick with Ruby

Greek Salad with chicken

a bite of Ruby's burger

a sip of her chocolate milkshake (delish)

a few fries with ketchup.

Dinner

Flank Steak on the grill a la Robert

Cauliflower

Big Green Salad

Extraneously eaten while preparing dinner or cleaning up

sponge cake slices

some 50% reduced cheddar jalapeno (yep, that again)

some tomato sauce with sausages

Sometimes I fear I'm eating more on gym days than I'm even working off.  Eating at the burger bar with Ruby was a great, great time. She loved her milkshake. When I asked her if it was good, she answered 'it's better than good, it's perfect!'  One of the few shiny parenting moments.  Listen, you've got to take them where you get them.

Year 4, Day 63: Day Goes Awry

Right from the start I knew this day would be trouble, and surely it showed itself to be troublesome indeed.  Computer problems, scheduling problems, and miscommunications abounded.  I missed going to the gym, and ergo my eating plan was wrong for the day.  If you're like me, you'll need to have a good idea of what you're going to eat in the way of breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner.  Today I had my cereal and yogurt with peanut butter but without the gym those are generally a bad combination.  And right before i wrote this I had a few break-off square of chocolate espresso bar.  Yeeeks.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch

Hastily combined sandwich of

2 Hard Boiled Eggs, 4 Slices of Microwave Bacon,

Salsa and 1 oz of Cracker Barrel Cheese wrapped in a Joseph's Net Carb wrap with Salsa.

Snack

A few goldfish

6 oz Stonyfield Fat Free Yogurt

2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

Some Popcorn (Boston Lite)

Dinner

Hamburger

Pickles, Olives and Broccoli

A few bites of Ruby's Pizza (Freschetta, which is not very good).

Year 4, Day 62: No Walkees and 10,000 Nuts

After a frightfully bad night of sleep where Ruby was up five times, I could not bear to either make a hot breakfast (like eggs) or a cold prepared one (like cereal).   At 6:22, after both Emily and I had taken turns cooing to her, lying with her, sitting with her, she came in the room like Kramer from "Seinfeld" and said "Can I play with my dollhouse?" as if it were a code she had somehow cracked.  Instinctively, I got up and went into her room, glowering and skulking.  I asked her, when she was back in bed, 'do you know what time it is?'  She winced at the digital clock read out, and in a moment that only other tired, beaten and dissapointed parents can understand, she responded "six-two?"  An hour later I was facing breakfast and I chose two slices of bread and peanut butter.  Later in the day it was nuts, and then at night for dessert with Magnolia, it was pistachios, or as she pronounces it, "pee-stachios."  A nutfrenzy, and all I can say is I better work out tomorrow and I'm glad I skipped the beer I was dreaming of all day.

Breakfast

2 Slices of Balthazar Bread

Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's (salad total unknown as I was weighed with another salad)

Romaine, hot peppers, peppers, broccoli, feta, chicken, tofu, balsamic vinegar, mushrooms

Dinner

Trout a la Emily (fantastic)

Cauliflower (ditto)

Year 4, Day 61

I am trying to vary my breakfasts.  Today I played tennis with Emily and as usual, she won, 7-6 (7-5).  It was disheartening not because I lost but because I didn't feel I was playing well.  Felt like I was swatting at things, pell-mell. Kind of ridiculous.  Also, we only played one set instead of two.  It's really in the second set that I start to get going, so I didn't feel like I earned any dessert, but hopefully I can make up for that with a few more walks, workouts, and more.  After all, I do have to look good for my 25th reunion which is in three weeks...

Breakfast

2 Eggs plus one yolk

3 discs of Canadian Bacon

1 oz. cracker barrel cheese

coffee

Snack

Some Almonds

2 cheese sticks

some GLJerky

Lunch: Not Your Average Joe's

Balsamic Salmon

Double Asparagus

Mango Salsa

Dinner

Big Salad from Whole Foods

Chili

Year 4, Day 60: I am not price-sensitive at the pump

We ran out of milk today and I needed gas. I went to get both at the gas station. There were no cars at all the usually-packed station.   I saw a sign that said "Super only."  That meant if I wanted gas I was going to have pay $3.83 per gallon.  My immediate feeling was to bolt- but when I did the math, at 10 gallons, it added up to $2.50 more than I would have paid if regular was available, $3.58.   I filled up the tank, and still alone, I realized: I am a spendthrift.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flake

Strawberries

Blueberries

Banana

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.31)

Romaine, Mushrooms, Pepper, Balsamic Vinegar, Feta, Chicken, Pepperocini

Snack

Nearly 100 almonds

2 cheese sticks

Dinner

Brisket

Salad of Cabbage, Broccoli

Year 4, Day 59: Comfort in Grains

Right before my pants stopped fitting me in late February (around the end of my third year on SB) I noted that my typical breakfast of Kashi, et al was probably not very good for someone who doesn't exercise, and believe me, this winter, I did not exercise as much.  Last week, I got a walk, a tennis game, and a workout in, but during Dec, Jan, Feb and March it was just barely getting to the gym.  That's when I realized that a six hundred calorie, sugar-laden (bananas, etc.) breakfast had to go.  I went back on phase one and welcomed back eggs and Canadian bacon to my life.    Now, back in the swing, I am feeling the love again of my old breakfast.  Though I realize I shouldn't eat it everyday, I do love cereal, flat out.  I could eat just about any cereal, any time, and in any amount, and for any meal, but mostly I limit to low-sugar cereals and only in the morning. But if I ever get to the place where I can work out three times a week, I'll definitely be reaching for a box of Quisp, or Cinnamon Crunch.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan

Pea Pod Stems

Shrimp with Lobster Sauce

Pork with Black Bean Sauce

Snack

A little bit of Jerky

3 Cheese Sticks

Dinner

Hamburger

Banana Peppers

Cabbage, lettuce salad

Luckily, I've avoided dessert

Year 4, Day 58

A cold rainy Monday is a tough order on the first day back after a long school vacation. During vacation, I got to sleep late because the kids were in different and later-starting programs. Seems silly but those 15 minutes make all the difference.  Felt like I was lounging around the Wald0rf Astoria, practically.   Did I mention I inherited a Kitchenaid from my mother?  Yes indeedy, and it is a 4.5 quart model and I have not yet put it through its paces, but I believe I'll be making my Grandmother's recipe for sponge cake next weekend.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean 

Heritage Flakes

Banana, Strawberries, Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($6.41)- a desperate cry for help

Romaine, olive mix (strange, not the usual), peppers, mushrooms, feta, balsamic vinegar, pepperocini, chicken.

Snack

60 Almonds

2 Cheese Sticks

2 cups decaf

1 piece of Green Light Jerky

Dinner

Salmon

Cauliflower

More Salad

Year 4, Day 57: Sunday

When you spill your entire cup of coffee across a counter ruining your bread and newspapers, you know the day may not be off to the best of starts.  However, I taught Ruby tennis and we played for two hours.  Before she went to bed she said "I  Love Tennis" which made my heart leap.

Breakfast

Kashi, Heritage Flakes

Strawberries (old) Blueberries, (Very, Very Old), Banana (in good shape), Soy Milk (right on the edge).  Coffee (spilled).

Lunch

Salad, romaine, cabbage, feta, red peppers, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Dinner

Dove Sole with scallions with ginger

Broccoli

Dessert

a little bit of last night's uncooked brownie

Year 4, Day 56: AM Workouts

For a long time, the only time I could get to go workout was in the later morning on Sunday.  Now I have come up with an alternative that is working for me-8:30AM.  Since I'm up anyway (can't sleep), I usually eat breakfast at 7, and this morning it was just me (all girls in the house asleep) as I watched the end of Roger & Me (I had never seen it), suited up and got to it.   This is good because it gets me back to the house around 10, where I can have another snack, and get on with the day with the girls.   Also, it was especially good because I knew at tonight's dinner I would be driven to eat off the hook (plus to drink) which I took full advantage of.  

I did 7.2 miles in 65 minutes, plus lots of reps on the squat thrust, ab cruncher and gravitron

Breakfast

3 Cakes of Matzoh

Cream Cheese 

Postworkout snack

6 oz Stonyfield Farm Yogurt

3 Tablespoons Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Lunch

Some Barbecue at Blue Ribbon BBQ

A few ribs (undercooked), some burnt ends,

some beans, a bite of cornbread and one accidental sip of lemonade (it was good tho').

Dinner at Friends

1 slice bread with butter  (my own homemade bread, wheat, rye and sugar)

shrimp with cocktail sauce

samosas (fried trader Joe's but still yummy, though fried)

steak tips

chicken masala

okra

eggplant

salad a la lisa

dessert in two course

a cake from 'icing on the cake' in Newton

my brownies, baked from Katherine Hepburn

Year 4, Day 55: Another Walk

It continues to be passover, which is highly problemetized since it means you cannot eat anything leavened or with yeast in it.   Many of my friends have expressed confusion at this particular rule.  They wonder, why is Pita not allowed? (It has yeast in it).  Why aren't tortillas or tacos allowed, since they aren't risen (they're made of corn, and grains are a no-no).  That doesn't explain if grains are a no-no why you can have matzoh, which is made of wheat, or things made of matzoh, which are made of wheat. Whatever, it's over on Sunday.  Today the gang formerly known as the Domania walking gang went for a fast walk around the river and we were super glad the office was like a meat-locker because it really got hot.

Breakfast

3 Eggs (one broke yolk)

3.5 strips of bacon

a little bit of matzah with cream cheese

coffee

lunch: russo's (5.45)

romaine, mushrooms, chicken, peppers, mushrooms, feta, balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snacks:

two cheese sticks

probably 50 unsalted almonds

50 pistachios

1 piece of Green Beef Jerky (not as good as Buffalo Bills)

dinner:

salmon

green beans

Year 4, Day 54: Big Chinese Meal

Today we went to lunch late at Shangri-La, which is, hands down, the best Chinese restaurant in the Boston area.  Say what you want, but I've eaten at four or five dozen different Chinese restaurants, from Boston to Wellesley to Dedham to Framingham and nothing comes close.   Maybe I ate too much there, but I couldn't help it.  

Breakfast

3 Matzah boards

Cream cheese

Coffee

a little bit of tuna salad

Snack

1 Extra Smokey

2 Cheese Sticks

1 Beef Jerky

Lunch: Shangri La

Diced Chicken with Cabbage

Pork Meatballs with Bok Choy

Watercress

Dinner

Salad (Romaine, Bacon Bits, Carrots, Asiago Cheese, Sunflower Seeds, Cauliflower)

Year 4, Day 53: Return to Demo's

You know, my company HQ is in NYC but we work in a suburb of Boston, which is pretty nice because you can park and it's manageable, but you certainly run out of new places to eat after a short period of time. We've solved that somewhat by exploring outside of the five minute drive range, but excellent places are few and far between, and unlike NYC, new ones aren't popping every few minutes. Today we went to Demo's which is a serviceable little Greek place that has nice shish kabob but I wouldn't put up against a push-cart vendor in the city.

Breakfast
3 Eggs (one yolk broke)
three slices of Canadian Bacon (from Whole Foods)
Coffee

Lunch: Demo's
Chicken Kebab and Salad
(No Pita)

Snack
5 Beef Jerky
3 Cheese Sticks
45 Almonds

Dinner
Salad (romaine, pepper, feta)
Steak tips

Year 4, Day 52: Sponge Cake Queries

It's still passover, and I'm still eating matzoh. I'm not convinced it's good or helpful.  But it brings up the age-old question, 'what's less kosher?'  And by that I mean, what's worse, eating bread or bacon?  For the time being I'm skipping bread.  However, I continue to seek out a sponge cake recipe that reminds me of the Passovers of old.

Breakfast

Gravlax

Matzoh & Cream Cheese

Coffee

Snack

2 Cheese Sticks

6 sticks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Russo's ($5.13)

Romaine, Mushrooms, Red Pepper, Feta, Chicken, Broccoli, Olives, Pepperocini, Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner: Papparazia

Green Salad

Breast of Chicken

A few bites of steak

Spinach & Broccoli

Dessert

2 Nips

Year 4, Day 51: Monday Cometh

My pants are still tight. And did I mention my 25th hs reunion is coming up?  I am trying to decide whether or not I need my teeth whitened or to just go and ignore those who ignored me all those years ago.  It's now full-on Passover which means I must avoid bread (not a problem) and whole grains (slightly more problematic) and eat matzoh (which causes constipation).  I love matzoh and so I have been having a whole wheat board (100 calories) with cream cheese in the mornings.  I really shouldn't be having it, but I feel like it's a way to celebrate the holiday.  Got my salad cost down today at Russo's.

Breakfast

Matzoh, Lox and Lemon

Coffee

Snack

50 Almonds

2 Cheese Sticks

2 Beef Jerky

Lunch: Russo's ($5.15)

Romaine, feta, olives, chicken (x2), mushrooms, red peppers, pepperoncini, balsamic vinegar.

Dinner

2 pieces of gefilte fish with horseradish (I Like Dick's from Russo's).

left over broccoli

Dessert

healthy choice pop

Year 4, Day 50: M & I Bachelors

Ruby and Emily still in New York, Magnolia and I on our own. She woke up and wanted to go to the 'big park,' so naturally I obliged. It was a nice day.  We hung out and had a great time, though sometimes I am overwhelmed by the humanity on display in the form other annoying parents.  I have to keep asking myself, "Am I that?"  Today I can still answer "no," but not sure for how long.  

Breakfast

Two Eggs

3 Strips Bacon

Whole Wheat Matzah and Cream Cheese

Coffee

Snacking with Magnolia on the Playground

Grapes

Cashews

Lunch

Matzoh with Cream Cheese

Romaine, Cabbage, Feta & Balsamic

Gefilte Fish with Horseradish

Snacking at the Soccer Game

1 Joy Stick (Whole Foods Jerky Treat)

25 Almonds

Dinner

Tilapia en pappilote

Broccoli

Dessert

Robert's First Sponge Cake

Year 4, Day 49: Pesach and Pants

Ruby & Emily were going to NY for Passover and Mag and I staying home.  In order to accomodate their travel schedule, I was at the gym by 8:30AMish.  Unfortunately, the JCC was closed to do something having to do with some kind of rank smell coming out of their pool?  So how was I going to work out? My pants are tight and my twenty-fifth high school reunion is just one month away....I decide to go to the Boston SPorts Club where Emily is a member; I always meet her there for tennis so I figure no one will care either way. I'm right.  I did 7.25 miles in 65 minutes.  Plus the usual assortment of leg crunches, squat thrusts and gravitron pullups.  Sheesh.

The day in food was not great-- hanging out with Magnolia is like walking along the cliff behind the road runner, where he nevers fall off and you do.

Breakfast

2 Eggs, 3 strips bacon

Coffee

Postworkout Snack

6oz stonyfield plain yogurt

4 tablespoons peanut butter (cream nut and teddy)

Lunch:

Shrimp and Cocktail sauce

More Snacking:

Boston Lite Popcorn

Grapes

Cashews (given to me one at a time by Magnolia in the back seat)

Dinner

Chicken on the Barbie

Leeks

Matzoh with Cream Cheese

Gefilte Fish with Horseradish

Dessert

Yogurt covered raisins

Year 4, Day 48: Nuts, Again

Though today was marked by too many nuts, it did mark the first day I went for a walk in a few months.  Three other colleagues went with me.   I was on the slow team.   Then, I ate a $6 salad, a desperate cry for help.

Breakfast

Kashi Go lean

Heritage Flakes

Bananas

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($6.21)

Romaine

Feta

Chicken (x2)

Peppers

Broccoli

Red Peppers

Mushrooms

Snack

20 Almonds

60 Pistachios

Dinner

Brisket, Hamburger

Salad

Leeks

Year 4, Day 47: Taxes

Well, tax time is behind us and I must say this was a frustrating year in many senses.  Ruby and Magnolia both had to pay taxes due to some weird transfer of something or other that generated 16 cents.  I actually had to file three income tax statements, and believe me, it wasn't worth it.  I am now just putting everything behind.  For most of my life I filed my taxes in early March--- lately I have been pushing up against the deadline, and having to pay.  Drats.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan

Pork with Black Bean Sauce

Chicken with Asparagus

Snack

6 Sticks Beef Jerky

60 Pistachios (limit is 30)

Dinner

Salad with Tuna, Feta, Sunflower Seeds and Balsamic Vinegar

Dessert

2 Bites of a Healthy Choice Pop

Some fair trade chocolate covered bananas

1/2 square of Ghiradelli Chocolate

I thought I would have some dessert today, but I was fouled by Magnolia, who wanted my healthy choice pop (they usually don't like them because they're sugar free).  I usually don't like them to have it, because it contains chemicals.  So I gave her mine and took another one out.  But then, Ruby wanted the next one.  So I moved on to fair trade bananas. But they wanted those too. So I moved on to plain dark chocolate squares.  Again, I had to give them up.  So I probably ate three times as much dessert and was half as satisfied.  Makes you want to give up dessert.

Year 4, Day 46: Oatmeal

In my constant yearning for the perfect breakfast, this morning I tried some steel cut oats by Arrowhead Mills.  It was as advertised 'toasty and nutty'.  I added strawberries and blueberries for flavor. It was good, but I'm not sure it was this great, super-filling thing it's supposed to be.  I was hungry about two hours later, but as I type this, I'm realizing that perhaps that is unavoidable.

Breakfast

Oatmeal (1/2 cup)

Strawberries and Blueberries

Coffee

Snack

3 Cheese sticks

3 beef jerky sticks

5 Strawberries

Lunch: Russo's ($5.33)

Green leaf (didn't want to cut in line in front of a guy getting romaine); cucumbers, red peppers, mushrooms, feta, two pieces of chicken, olives, hot peppers, balsamic vinegar

Dinner

Two Tacos with Cheese

Salad with Everything

On my lifelong quest to get my girls to like Mexican food, I continue to make tacos and they continue to be refused. While this is heartbreaking, I am in it for the long haul and I will not give up. These girls will learn to eat corn tortillas if it's the last thing I do!  As it was, I ate two of them.  While not very SB friendly, they were yummy.

Year 4, Day 45: The Project Behind My House

This morning began with another meeting with the developers of the massive, War-of-the-Worlds complex going up behind my house. For people who are destroying the quality of my life, they are actually quite nice. Spring is on deck, and planting season is here. We're hoping they'll put in a lot of trees to create a 'screening effect.'

Breakfast
2 Fried Eggs
3.5 Slices of Bacon
Coffee

Snack
2 Cheese Sticks
1 Green Apple
1 Beef Jerky

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan
Double Cooked Pork
Moo Shi Chicken
Spicy String Beans
Hot & Sour Soup

Dinner: Blue Ribbon BBQ
A few ribs
Beans
Burnt Ends
Chinese Broccoli From Next Door