일 15

It's Saturday and I'm working from home. I've recently started a new project. It involves writing about natural health on the Internet. This has been an interest of mine for many years and I've dabbled in and around the natural health industry for most of life - both professionally and personally.

The two things I've always been drawn too are a) films and b) alternative medicine. I've had the good fortune of having the opportunity to work in both fields. But, I'd always hoped to find a way to be able to do both things at once. In the past, I've had limited success in marrying these two interests. But, for whatever reason, an opportunity recently presented itself and I took it.

So now I find myself trying to manage two Internet projects. This is a big change. And it's quite a bit of work. But, I think that's part of what's helped me to stay on a healthier path. I just don't have the time to mess around with unimportant things anymore. Less TV. Less unfocused Internet surfing. A lot less daydreaming. A lot more living.

I want to thank you all for your part in this new life. Reading your blogs and seeing your effort and your struggles helps me to try to be strong. Knowing that some of you are reading what I write and are interested in my choices and my successes and failures also helps to keep me going.

As part of my on-going commitment to change for the better, I plan on taking a walk this afternoon. The weather here is beyond beautiful. It's in the low-70's, if you can believe it! We call this Winter here in Southern California.

I think that's all for now. Y'all be well.


Saturday - December 6, 2008

10:00 am

+ one cup of "choco-coffee" - (two tablespoons of pure cocoa, one teaspoon of instant coffee, one packet of stevia + FOS and a few ounces of half-and-half)

12:00 pm

+ a vanilla whey protein shake - (two scoops of natural vanilla whey protein powder, 4 oz of half-and-half and a packet of stevia + FOS)

3:15 pm

+ 1/2 cup of mashed cauliflower

+ 1/2 cup of seasoned ground beef

+ 3 slices of natural bacon

6:15 pm

+ 1/2 freshly made mashed cauliflower

7:00 pm

+ 1/2 hour walk on a treadmill + 10 minutes warm-up and 15 minute cool-down

8:00 pm

+ a vanilla whey protein shake - (two scoops of natural vanilla whey protein powder, 4 oz of half-and-half and a packet of stevia + FOS)

10:30 pm (pictured above)

+ sliced leg of lamb

+ homemade creamed spinach

+ a glass of red wine


More to come ... I hope!

Giorno 14

It was a long day at the office. I'm just going to let the picture and food speak for themselves, ladies and gents.

Tomorrow morning I shall (hopefully) sleep and restore my depleted energy levels.

All my best to all of you.


Friday - December 5, 2008

7:30 am

+ one cup of "choco-coffee" - (two tablespoons of pure cocoa powder, one teaspoon of instant coffee, hot water, one packet of stevia + FOS and a splash of half-and-half)

9:00 am

+ a vanilla whey protein shake - (two scoops of natural vanilla whey protein powder, 4 oz of half-and-half and one packet of stevia + FOS)

1:15 pm

+ one cup of "burrito in a bowl" - (ground meat, spicy salsa, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and a dash or two of Also Salt)

http://alsosalt.com/

3:30 pm

+ one cup of instant coffee with a few ounces of half-and-half and a dissolving stevia tab

7:00 pm (pictured above)

+ salmon fillet - (with some cumin, black pepper, sea salt, a tablespoon of Asian marinade and a squeeze of lemon and olive oil)

+ 3/4 of an avocado

+ 1/2 cup of mashed cauliflower

10:30 pm

+ 5 turkey-broccoli "tacos" - (five turkey slices, a dollop of sour cream on each, topped with a heaping of sauteed broccoli and garlic)

+ 5 slices of natural bacon

+ a glass of red wine


More to come ... I hope!

Mmm Mmm Good!

Dinner for Thursday, December 4th 2008. One of my favorite meals.

Ημέρα 13

Chris Elliot in the cult classic, Cabin Boy.

Thursday is my weigh-in day. And on every Thursday, I walk the path to myTanita body weight and body fat scale much like a fancy lad walks the plank of a pirate ship.

Well, much like a fancy lad that's lost almost four pounds and nearly 2% of his body fat - in a week's time!

Not bad, eh? I'm keeping it all in proper perspective, but I do believe this is something to be thankful for.

We'll know more about where I'm really at next week, I suppose. I'll be here. I hope you will be too.

Current Body Weight: 231.8 lbs.

Body Fat %: 37%

Previous Body Weight: 235.6

Previous Body Fat %: 38.9

Thursday - December 4, 2008

7:30 am

+ one cup of "choco-coffee" - (two tablespoons or pure cocoa powder, one teaspoon of instant coffee, a packet of stevia + FOS and a few ounces of half-and-half)

9:00 am

+ a vanilla whey protein shake - (two scoops of natural vanilla whey protein powder, 4 oz of half-and-half and a packet of stevia + FOS)

1:30 pm

+ a homemade low-carb burrito bowl - (ground beef, sour cream, spicy salsa and a little grated cheddar cheese)

4:00 pm

+ one cup of instant-coffee, one quick-dissolving stevia tab and about 3oz of half-and-half

http://www.nunaturals.com/products/stevia.html

7:30 pm (pictured in the following post)

+ 3/4 of a large rib-eye steak

+ 1/2 cup of sauteed broccoli and garlic

+ 1/4 cup of mashed cauliflower

10:30 pm

+ natural, smoked salmon

+ approx. 2 oz of cream cheese

+ a glass of red wine

More to come ... I hope!

天12

I'm feeling quite optimistic today. That doesn't happen very often. But, when it does, it's always a scary place for me. My irrational sense of superstition often rears it's ugly head whenever I start to feel too good about life.

And, while that may generally be a bad thing, I think it may also serve a purpose. The superstitious element is nonsense of course. But, slowing down and proceeding with caution isn't necessarily a bad move.

Let's get down to brass-tacks: My journey is in it's infancy. The small gains that I've made are something to be thankful for but there is yet much to do - in terms of my diet, weight and overall health, my psychological and spiritual status and just getting my life in order in general.

So, I'm here today simply saying this: I'm feeling better than I have in quite some time. I know that the recent changes that I've made have contributed to this. The improvements in my diet. The menu-blogging. The support of my wife and family. They're all pieces of a greater puzzle than just the low-carb story. It's a part of larger landscape that makes up my life. And, I feel like I'm inching closer to a better existence for myself and those whose lives I affect.

Nobody wake me up. :-)


Wednesday - December 3, 2008

10:30 am

+ one cup of "choco-coffee" - (two tablespoons of pure cocoa powder, one teaspoon of instant coffee, one packet of stevia + FOS and a few tablespoons of heavy cream)

11:45 am

+ a vanilla whey protein shake - (two scopes of natural vanilla whey protein powder, 4 oz of half-and-half and a packet of stevia + FOS)

2:00 pm

+ one chicken thigh

+ half-cup (fresh) homemade mashed cauliflower

4:30 pm

+ one cup of "choco-coffee" - (two tablespoons of pure cocoa powder, one teaspoon of instant coffee and one packet of stevia + FOS ... no half-and-half or cream this time)

6:30 pm (see picture on top of blog)

+ two medium tilapia fillets with a homemade lemon-herb butter sauce

+ half-cup homemade sauteed broccoli and garlic dish

+ half-cup homemade mashed cauliflower

10:30 pm

+ one Roma tomato (sliced), topped with sour cream and blue cheese

+ 5 slices of natural bacon

+ a glass of red wine


More to come ... I hope!

Tag 11

Look, Ma! A picture!

Photo credit goes to my lovely wife. :-)


Tuesday - December 2, 2008

7:30 am

+ one cup of "choco-coffee" - (two tablespoons of pure cocoa powder, one teaspoon of instant coffee, hot water, one packet of stevia + FOS and a dash of half-and-half)

9:00 am

+ a vanilla whey protein shake - (two scoops of natural vanilla whey protein powder, 4 oz of half-and-half and one packet of stevia + FOS)

1:30 pm

+ a large serving of a shrimp, spinach and grilled onion dish *

* I had an allergic reaction to this, I do believe. I've had it many times before without incident. Not sure why that happened. I look funny enough without the red blotches on my face. God must have a sense of humor. :-)

4:30 pm

+ a large, iced coffee Americano with a few ounces of half-and-half

7:00 pm

+ approx. 6 oz. of sliced leg of lamb

+ half-cup of homemade creamed spinach

+ quarter-cup of homemade mashed cauliflower

10:15 pm (pictured above)

+ one Roma tomato (sliced)

+ three (+ one) slices of prosciutto (I had an extra slice after the photo shoot)

+ sour cream (as a topping)

+ blue cheese (approx. 2 oz)

+ one glass of red wine



More to come ... I hope!

Jour 10

Some people refer to the day that's past as Monday. For me, a more fitting name would be "D-Day". The D would represent "dentist".

I can't think of any other place where we actually pay that much money to get tortured! I feel like a boxer. Too bad I don't look like one - from the neck down.

The ironic thing is that my dentist and her assistant are really sweet. Not sweet when it comes to billing. But, kind while they're engaging in the sadism between my nose and chin.

Anyhow, enough with the (attempts at) dental humor. So far, as of 5:15 pm or so, I've been doing just fine. But, of note, I've had some obsessive thoughts creep into my cranium.

Confession-time: Many moons ago, I actually had an eating disorder called "anorexia nervosa". You might find it ironic that, back then, I was actually trying to starve myself to death. Oh how the times have changed.

Part of that disease/condition involves an obsessive-relationship with food. So, today I noticed that I was having some obsessive thoughts about planning my meals. How will I make sure to eat enough vegetables? Am I harming myself by not eating enough fresh foods? How can I make sure our shared meals are acceptable to my wife and still on-program for me? Etc., etc., etc.

I think some of this is coming up because my free-time is becoming scarcer. I've taken on a new work-related project, that I'm excited about, but that will also require mental energy and time. I'm determined to stick with this new menu-blog and my new commitment to health - which are both healthy and rewarding but also time-consuming and mentally-demanding.

So, for now, the only way I can figure out to deal with these thoughts is just to keep things simple. I just have to tell myself that I'll stay on-program no matter what. I'll try to plan ahead better. I'll try to plan my menus for the upcoming days ... instead of leaving things up in the air. This is naturally kind of a drag. I'd like to think I can make things up as I go. And, maybe in some instances, I can. But, ultimately what's most important is that I set myself up for success. Planning ahead, I think, may be an invaluable tool to achieving that end.

Thanks for reading this rather lengthy blog, folks. I hope that my sharing will somehow be of use to someone out there.


Monday - December 1, 2008

9:45 am

+ one cup of "choco-coffee" - (two tablespoons of pure cocoa, one teaspoon of instant coffee, one packet of stevia + FOS and a dash of half-and-half)

10:45 am

+ 5 turkey and tomato "tacos" - (5 turkey slices with a dollop of sour cream on top and Roma tomato slices as the filling)

3:30 pm

+ a vanilla whey protein shake - (two-scoops of natural vanilla whey protein powder, 4 oz of half-and-half and one packet of stevia + FOS)

5:00 pm

+ one cup of "choco-coffee" - (two tablespoons of pure cocoa, one teaspoon of instant coffee and one packet of stevia + FOS)

7:15 pm

+ approx. 6-8 oz of leftover prime rib

+ half cup of homemade creamed spinach

+ quarter cup of mashed cauliflower

11:00 pm

+ approx. 3 oz. of salami

+ a glass of red wine



More to come ... I hope!