Well, yesterday didn't go quite as well as planned, as I had no time to make it to the gym nor get out on my bike, and due to the crappy budget dishwasher we have in the apartment it took two wash cycles to get the stockpot cleaned and ready to make the soup. So starting at just before midnight I got cooking.
I have a new kitchen gadget, called a Chef's Rival. It's like a food processor but instead of electric it's hand cranked, and does a better job already than my old food processor (which, let's face it, it cost all of $10 5 years ago, it couldn't be that great to begin with!). I started, like always, with the carrots. I put half in to start (too much for future reference), and got to work. Within 5 minutes I had all the carrots done, in fairly uniform size chunks for the most part, a time savings of 45 minutes (chopping up 2 lbs of carrots into tiny pieces is incredibly time-consuming). I also chopped up the green peppers, green onions and celery this way too. I think it's actually a good thing because before adding the tomatoes and green beans the stockpot was only half full, when usually it's closer to 3/4. This is also good because it helps prevent stuff from spilling over when it boils!
As far as food for the day, I had a pretty healthy day. I didn't have anything until almost 4 (which is NOT healthy), when I had two gyros from a deli, which were thick with the gyro meat, and heavy on the veggies as well. My parents invited me over for dinner, which was grilled salmon, fruit salad consisting of cherries, peaches and blueberries, and patty-pan squashes (you'll have to look them up... very interesting). And my dad also served some beer as well, not terribly healthy but it balances out! Apple pie and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream topped off the meal. When I got home, I made a small batch of salsa from
So here I am taking a short break at work to update this, and it's 1pm, still haven't had anything to eat. I'm debating running across the street to the hot dog cart. If I do, I'll get the beef polish like I always do, and have it loaded up with veggies, like is normal. Kraut is a veggie, right?
Thanks again for reading, and I'll try to post again later to finish off the day.
Cheers!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
August 1st, 2011 - Phase 2 begins! (with weigh-in)
Well, it's been a long and crazy bit since my last bunch of regular posts. Tech problems plus an extremely busy schedule contributed to this, but now it's time to move on to the next phase of my diet plan. Phase 2, to be exact. But first, the official weigh-in:
Previous weight (May 28th): 372.3
Current weight (August 1st): 379.7
+/-: +7.4 lbs
Total weight-loss to date: 18.6 lbs
Well, frankly this is better than I expected. Near daily weighings had me as high as 384 at one point, but I've been trying to see how my body is reacting to not being on the regular diet weeks as they were in the past and how effective my changed eating habits were. Now I know. And yes, I had weak moments. Made some less than stellar choices for my dining options from time to time, but everybody does.
So, you're asking what Phase 2 consists of. As hinted in the last couple posts, the soup will be a mainstay of the diet. However, I'll be augmenting constant protein into my daily meal plans. This means I'll be eating a bunch of chicken, some pork, some beef, maybe lamb and goat from time to time (don't knock it if you haven't tried it), in addition to healthy diet choices like salads, veggies, fruits, etc. There will be carbs, and probably there will be some meals where I choose a less-than-healthy option, but it's ok; it's like one drop of salt water in Crater Lake. A fresh batch of soup is in the makes today.
Also in the plans for Phase 2 are 3 lifting days at the gym each week. One day will be devoted to upper body, one day for lower body, and one for the core. Why you ask? Well, one thing I learned long ago was that aerobic exercise is all well and good, but nothing burns fat like muscle does. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. So I want to put on some muscle to help fire up my metabolism.
Also, I'm going to be out on the bike much more. I'm going to try and target a one hour ride twice a week, plus (weather permitting) riding to Smokey's and back on one of my work days. I recently did the latter last weekend, shaving 10 minutes off of my travel time to work and a whopping hour and forty minutes off the return time (a easier route made a big difference though, although my improved physical conditioning played a major part as well). This will give me aerobic exercise in addition to the lifting.
This may be added to as things progress, but these are the three big tenets to Phase 2. These should really help me out in my weight loss journey.
As always, thank you for reading. I was happy to hear so many of you commenting on your notice of no entries. It means a lot that you read and encourage me, and push me when I slack. Your encouragement is a big reason why I continue to carry on.
Cheers!
Previous weight (May 28th): 372.3
Current weight (August 1st): 379.7
+/-: +7.4 lbs
Total weight-loss to date: 18.6 lbs
Well, frankly this is better than I expected. Near daily weighings had me as high as 384 at one point, but I've been trying to see how my body is reacting to not being on the regular diet weeks as they were in the past and how effective my changed eating habits were. Now I know. And yes, I had weak moments. Made some less than stellar choices for my dining options from time to time, but everybody does.
So, you're asking what Phase 2 consists of. As hinted in the last couple posts, the soup will be a mainstay of the diet. However, I'll be augmenting constant protein into my daily meal plans. This means I'll be eating a bunch of chicken, some pork, some beef, maybe lamb and goat from time to time (don't knock it if you haven't tried it), in addition to healthy diet choices like salads, veggies, fruits, etc. There will be carbs, and probably there will be some meals where I choose a less-than-healthy option, but it's ok; it's like one drop of salt water in Crater Lake. A fresh batch of soup is in the makes today.
Also in the plans for Phase 2 are 3 lifting days at the gym each week. One day will be devoted to upper body, one day for lower body, and one for the core. Why you ask? Well, one thing I learned long ago was that aerobic exercise is all well and good, but nothing burns fat like muscle does. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. So I want to put on some muscle to help fire up my metabolism.
Also, I'm going to be out on the bike much more. I'm going to try and target a one hour ride twice a week, plus (weather permitting) riding to Smokey's and back on one of my work days. I recently did the latter last weekend, shaving 10 minutes off of my travel time to work and a whopping hour and forty minutes off the return time (a easier route made a big difference though, although my improved physical conditioning played a major part as well). This will give me aerobic exercise in addition to the lifting.
This may be added to as things progress, but these are the three big tenets to Phase 2. These should really help me out in my weight loss journey.
As always, thank you for reading. I was happy to hear so many of you commenting on your notice of no entries. It means a lot that you read and encourage me, and push me when I slack. Your encouragement is a big reason why I continue to carry on.
Cheers!
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