Archive for the ‘Weight loss’ Category

Don’t be that guy…

Posted: September 12, 2012 in Exercise, Gratuitously Naked Guy, Physical activity, Weight loss
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I went to the gym this morning (and no, I didn’t skip an exercise appointment to work out) and was totally killing it on the elliptical. See, Ryan had told me to not lift on consecutive days and since I’ll be lifting tomorrow, well I made today a cardio day.

Gym was pretty sparsely populated today, so no problems getting my favorite elliptical. It’s the one at the end of the row. I choose that one so the maximum amount people working out next to me is one. Not that I’m antisocial, I just find having people on either side of me messes up my pace. It’s all those years as a band geek.

Anyway, after killing it on the elliptical, I did some time on the bike. It’s hard to get used to, though. I can never seem to get the height of the seat exactly right. That and the muscle groups are subtly different. I don’t have nearly as much endurance on the bike. I’ll get there. Anyway, I went back to the locker room to use the facilities, wash up, and wait for Supportive Partner Woman to be done. That’s when I encountered Gratuitously Naked Guy. Gratuitously Naked Guy (in search of a colony!) is this old guy who likes to parade around the locker room buckass nekked, y’all. It’s the moon, sun and stars in all their wrinkly glory. He likes to hold conversations. Naked conversations. With other guys. With his foot up on the bench. No towel within 50 feet. Just a guy (who looks like The Joker) wandering about the locker room waving his junk all over Hell and creation. I’ve never spoken to him before.

That all changed today.

As I was washing my hands, Gratuitously Naked Guy sauntered over and started the following conversation:

GNG: Say, nice weather out there.
Me: Uh, yes. Yes it is (concentrating on studiously drying my hands)
GNG: (no lie) Come here often?
Me: a few times a week
GNG (who is not exactly what you would call svelte): Good to see overweight people such as yourself here working hard.
Me: Er, thanks?

That’s the truth.

Gratuitously Naked Guy then wandered off on search of another victim. You might be wondering why I actually spoke to the guy. Other than it would be rude to ignore him? Well, I always figure that you should be nice to the crazy naked people. Here’s the funny thing, though… as many times as I’ve seen him touring the locker room, I’VE NEVER ACTUALLY SEEN HIM WORK OUT. In all fairness, I probably wouldn’t recognize him fully clothed. And for the record, he looks a lot like a bloodhound.

So, to anyone out there considering taking up the hobby of trolling the locker room at the gym sans apparel, here’s some advice…

Don’t be that guy.

Song of the Day: Escape – Journey
Currently Reading: Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson

How to tell when you’re getting old… or, Senior Moments… I haz dem.

Posted: September 10, 2012 in diabetes, Exercise, Physical activity, Senior Moments, Weight loss
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So, after a nice weekend which included a wonderful break to the heat we’ve been having, Monday dawned sunny, cool and breezy. Having been cleared by the physical therapist to attend water Pilates, Supportive Partner Woman wanted to be at the gym by 10:00 for class. I thought that would be an excellent time to go… I could get my cardio in while she was doing the Pilates thing.

I had a great workout. 30 minutes and decent resistance on the elliptical, followed by a training loop on the bike. I’m still leery of the treadmill, as I don’t need a blister relapse before vacation. I finished and waited for SPW to emerge from the pool area. We went home and I was browsing through my calendar, wanting to make sure that my scheduled session was in fact at 11:00 tomorrow. Turns out I made a whoopsie and the session was for 11:00 today. That would be 11:00, or 33 minutes earlier than the current time. So, I skipped my session at the gym because I was at the gym. Sigh.

I called in and Cory had a good laugh at it… I was still pretty mortified. The sad part is that if I hadn’t decided to check, I probably would’ve missed the Thursday appointment as well, thinking it was on Friday.

So, the weekend was pretty good… had an unexpected Saturday off, so SPW and I traveled to Berks County to see her family and I took a side trip to see my mom. See, I’ve been a bad son… I haven’t stopped in to see her for several months. No particular reason, I just got caught up in life. It’s not a good thing, though. There’s more to life than working and not taking enough time for your family. Let’s face it… when it comes down to it, family is all you can really count on.

It was nice to see Mom, though. In a surprise move, she was trying to feed me, but I managed to escape without damage. I had stopped at Chick-Fil-A on the way to her house, as my sugar level was starting to go low. I ordered a #1 with a fruit salad, as opposed to fries, and it was very tasty. I probably should’ve gotten a grilled sandwich, but I felt that I needed the carbs. Three hours later, the blood sugar was going low again, so that necessitated me taking a glucose tablet. That held me off until we had dinner.

Crab quesadilla with onion rings and green beans.

We went to a new place for us, after getting shut out at Bonefish Grille. It’s a place called the Black Knight Tavern and Grille. We’ve been getting mailers from them for a couple of years, just never got around to trying them. Turns out the food is pretty good. Maybe not the greatest cuisine on the planet, but it was serviceable and filling. It also had the advantage of being pretty nicely priced. They offer a couples special. You get an appetizer to share, a choice of two selected entrees, and two small desserts. All for around $25. So, SPW (lover of fine crustaceans!) and I agreed on a crab dip appetizer that was served with some yummy warm bread. For her entrée, SPW went with a grilled swordfish, served with fries and green beans. I opted for a crab quesadilla topped with shrimp, served with onion rings and green beans. Like I mentioned earlier, the food is not haute cuisine. It’s basically pub grub, kicked up a notch. My quesadilla was fresh, loaded with plenty of crab meat. The rings were very crispy, and the only drawback with the beans was that they were a little oily.

Is this place going to earn a spot on our dining rotation? Probably not. The service was a little slow and the ambience isn’t that great. Our server seemed to have a regular in the same room as us and spent most of her time chatting up the regulars rather than attending to her other tables. I also realize that this probably wasn’t the smartest choice in terms of nutrition, but with my sugars running a little low all day, the carbs were probably a good choice. That’s what it all comes down to… making a smart choice. You have to weigh your options and know that if you had ice cream earlier in the day, you’d be better off having a big salad for dinner.

That pretty much sums it up for today. Keep making the good choices… your body will thank you.

Song of the Day: Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters
Currently Reading: Return to Atlantis – Andy McDermott

Quote of the Day:

Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. ~George Bernard Shaw

Everything old is new again.

Posted: September 6, 2012 in Comcast, Cooking, Customer service, Exercise, family, recipes, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss, Xfinity
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The Comcast saga continues.

After I actually got decent customer service, Teh Interwebz worked fine for a couple of days. Sunday through Tuesday. Wednesday morning, it was jacked up again. So I called them. When I finally got a live person, I explained the issue, stressing that they were out on Sunday and I still think the problem lies with the modem. As I was on the phone, the modem rebooted itself and things were working. I was told to call back if it happened again. It did. 10 minutes later. I called, spoke to someone different, who insisted on setting up a service appointment. For Friday. Two days with intermittent (at best) Internet service. I reluctantly agreed, still thinking it’s the modem. When I finally got off the phone, I unhooked the modem and reattached the old one. I tested the circuits and no anomalous voltage readings. I let it power up, the AirPort’s green light winked on and the Internet was back.

It’s still back on.

With my (supposedly) EOL Linksys modem from 2003 or 2004.

I have to wonder if Comcast gets a kickback from Motorola on these “recommended” modems. This thing is a piece of shit and I will be taking it back to Best Buy tomorrow. Lord help them if they give me crap about it being open… Admiral Furious might set sail. I might need bail money, so if you have a couple bucks to spare, I’d appreciate the help.

Chicken skewers… all kinds of yum.

Just kidding. I’m gradually getting back on the healthy eating train. Yesterday, I made some chicken skewers for lunch that turned out yummy. I’ll post my marinade recipe below. I usually alternate the meat with slices of green pepper, sweet onion and tomato. I will use mushrooms, too, if I have some in the fridge. I like to get the grill heated up, spray the grates with cooking spray, then back the beat off as soon as I put the skewers on. This allows the meat to get some grill marks and a bit of a sear without overcooking the meat.

I’m on the hook to work Saturday night. Hoping for an unexpected day off, as SPW’s cousin’s daughter (one of our pseudo nieces) is having a birthday. Gotta love that the child likes Legos.

Back to the regular workout schedule next week… I have sessions on Tuesday and Friday. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve missed the usual setup, with two or three other people. It should help to shake me back out of the funk I’ve been in.

I’m going to wrap it up for tonight… Hope you have a great evening and a better day tomorrow. I leave you with my marinade recipe.

Garlic & Herb Chicken Marinade

  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup vinegar
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian-style seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, combine the water, vinegar, oil, garlic, thyme, Italian-style seasoning, poultry seasoning, rosemary, salt and ground black pepper. Mix well and put in a heavy zipper bag along with your chicken breast pieces. Don’t let it go more than 5-6 hours for maximum flavor.

Song of the Day: The Secret of my Success – Night Ranger
Currently Reading: For Love of the Game – Michael Shaara

Quote of the Day:

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. Doug Larson

Less stress = good

Posted: September 4, 2012 in Cooking, Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Exercise, Physical activity, Stress, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss
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This would be about right…

So, I might have mentioned Supportive Partner Woman’s wonky back. She’s been dealing with it for five days now, and don’t let it be said that she doesn’t have salt… she went to work four out of those five days. The rest of the time, she was pretty much cuddled up in bed with her best friend, the heating pad. Seeing as it was a holiday weekend, she couldn’t get ahold of the doctor’s office to schedule an appointment. So, I woke her up and she called this morning. She scored a 10:20 appointment and managed to get poked and prodded and x-rayed and scheduled for physical therapy. She’s finally starting to move a little better, but I’m very relieved. I was stressing pretty hard because she was in so much pain. It was hard for me to watch. Let me just say that getting older isn’t much fun.

Otherwise, things are pretty good. Had a decent holiday weekend… didn’t do much, but did manage to chauffeur SPW to and from work. I felt a little better about that as she didn’t have to walk as far as she would’ve had she parked in the garage. I did mostly domestic stuff, laundry, rotated the mattress, all that stuff. I even whipped up a couple of dinners using Stuff From the Fridge. I’m always excited when I can do that… makes me feel like I’m doing something important. The one thing that fell by the wayside was my gym-going. I went over to the Rec on Thursday only to find the fitness center closed for annual cleaning. I was told I was welcome to use the tennis courts, but that wouldn’t do me much good, as I don’t play tennis. I was supposed to have a session with Ryan this morning, but I had to reschedule so I could take SPW to her appointment. I’ve got an appointment tomorrow morning at 8:00. Yes, it’ll be early, but I need to go. I have three weeks until we head off to Florida and I plan to get to the gym as much as possible. The good news is that Cory will be back next week, giving me my usual appointment times and class sizes. Ryan did a heckuva job running the show all by himself, but I’m sure he’s looking for a break.

The other thing that happened was that I wasn’t particularly mindful of what I was eating between meals. I know… NOT a good thing. I think it just made me feel better at dealing with my stress and I didn’t want to do anything else in case SPW needed me for something. My actual meals weren’t too bad… cereal or eggs in the morning, a sandwich for lunch, and a sensible dinner. It was the between meal visits to the fridge for cheese or ham or a tortilla that caused the problems. I need to refocus and remember how good it was feeling.

Well, that about sums it up. Not only is SPW on the way to recovery, Stubby is in pretty good shape. We will see how he does tomorrow.

Song of the Day: Bad – U2
Currently Reading: The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

Back on the field

Posted: August 28, 2012 in Exercise, Foot issues, Physical activity, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Weight loss
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Hey everyone!

The Boot of Shame

What a difference a couple of days make. I was bemoaning my lot in life and talking about a reboot, then I went to the podiatrist yesterday and received some good news. It really made me that much happier, but I am out of the Boot of Shame. This doesn’t mean I’m full court back into the treadmill life. Dr. Miller wants me to stick to low impact stuff for another week or so, give the newly grown skin a chance to strengthen. I was, however, allowed to go back to the elliptical and arc trainers. So, yay me!

Since Stubby the Wonder Toe is out of the Boot, Dr. Miller still recommended cushioning him and, well, he gave me a little padded cuff to put around Stubby. It makes him look like he’s wearing a little g-thug hat. The only downside is that Stubby isn’t quite long enough to wear the padded bandage well, so I’ll stick to moleskin and gauze for cushioning.

I hit the gym today and Ryan had me doing a solid 25 minutes of cardio and working it the entire time. It was only 25 minutes as I had an appointment with the dietician as well. We did 10 minutes on the elliptical, another 10 minutes on the X-Ride and closed with five minutes on the arc. It felt good. I didn’t quite realize how much I missed it, but I started noticing my energy level being down the past couple of weeks.

Anyways, Shauna (dietician) is pleased that even with all that’s been going on, I’ve managed to lose 2.7 pounds. She wants to see me another time before SPW and I go on vacation. I know I can do better, but honestly, as bad a week as I’ve had in terms of food and exercise, I expected to gain weight.

I came home, fired up the grill and cooked up some chicken breast to take for dinner. I made some brown rice to go along with it, accompanied by peas (because it’s the only frozen vegetable I have at the moment. I also made some veggie flatbread pizza for lunch… this time topped with tomato (including one of our own!), mushroom asnd turkey bacon. Turned out pretty good. Shauna suggested that I try turkey pepperoni… thinks I might like it better than the bacon.

One of the other blogs I follow on wordpress, Fat Teacher, has a feature that I’m thinking of borrowing… the author likes to share a song of the day and also what she is reading. It’s a nice way to get a few things out there, and, knowing the music I like, prove how old school I am. So, look for that in future posts.

It’s about time to head off to work… hope I can write some more tomorrow.

Song of the Day: Stone in Love – Journey
Currently Reading: 56 – Kostya Kennedy

Quote of the Day:

It’s kind of fun to do the impossible – Walt Disney

Well, did you reboot?

Posted: August 26, 2012 in Baseball, Physical activity, Stress, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Supportive Partner Woman, Weight loss
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Seems like that’s the question our IT guys are always asking when we call to bitch about something not working.

I think it’s time for me to do a reboot of my life. Not a complete cold start, but that hold the home button and power switch on the iPhone until the Apple logo appears. I’ve been stressing hard, and well, it’s not a good place to be.

I mentioned howe pissed I was about the blister. It’s pretty much healed… in fact, I see the podiatrist tomorrow. I’m hoping he will see fit to say I can back to my usual workout routine. It has really been depressing the last few days, not being able to do the workout I’ve become accustomed to. I also have a consult session with Ryan on Tuesday. Hope I’ll be fully back into it by the end of the week. I will probably avoid the treadmill for another week, but the elliptical or arc trainer should be fine. I can hopefully start getting back over to Hempfield Rec on my off days. I just can’t believe how much I miss it.

We’ve also been dealing with some personal stuff here at Chez T that I’m not going to go into any details on. Suffice it to say that SPW and I are both fine, but there has been a recent issue that’s taken up a lot of our time.

The other place I really need to reboot is my attitude. It’s really not been particularly positive. A lot has to do with the job… well, not the job but with the work environment. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t mind people chatting, but for the love of God, please use the indoor voice and STOP CALLING ME DARLING OR DEAR OR HON! There are two people allowed to call me that stuff… one gave birth to me, the other married me. I might make an exception for elderly relatives, but it’s really unprofessional to call your coworkers stuff like that. You might think you’re being friendly, but it comes across reeking of insincerity and obsequiousness. I’d much prefer to be called Brian. Or if that’s too many syllables, I’ll even answer to “B”

So, as you can tell, I needed to do something fun. I had mentioned this to my friends Hollie & Charles and they turned around and invited me to the Lancaster Barnstormers game tonight. I had a lot of fun. We were sitting right behind the plate and it was nice to just relax, enjoy some nice weather and good company. It’s something I really needed. I also got to fix something yesterday. The electrician determined that a feedback loop in the cable modem’s transformer was causing isssues with the outlets in my office. I had to retire the 8-9 year old Linksys modem after so many year of faithful, pretty much 24/7 service. It’s been replaced by a new Motorola Surfboard. If it lasts half as long, I’ll be impressed. It’s amazing how costs have dropped. This ran around $53 at Best Buy. I remember buying a 14.4K telephone modem in 1991 or 1992 for around $300.

Next up on the docket is to start clearing space up here to add SPW’s desk. We’ve determined that it makes more sense to do it this way… especially now that the outlets are working right.

Well, as I mentioned, I have appointments the next two days. I’m thinking I need to do margaritas soon. There’s something about making them with fresh fruit that really does it for me. Here’s a couple of my favorite recipes:

Mango Margarita:

approx 10 oz of fresh mango chunks
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2/3 cup tequila
2 tbsp triple sec or Cointreau
2 tablespoons superfine sugar or simple syrup
Approx 2 cups ice

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, unless you have a frozen concoction maker, in which case, put everything but the ice in the blender, load the ice hopper and flip the switch.

Makes 4 cups (approx)

Pineapple margarita

2 cups ice
1 1/2 shots tequila (preferably silver)
1/2 shot triple sec
splash of fresh lime juice
splash of sweet and sour mix (or simple syrup)
1 1/2 cups of fresh cubed pineapple (or more)

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, unless you have a frozen concoction maker, in which case, put everything but the ice in the blender, load the ice hopper and flip the switch.

Makes approx 4 cups

So, that’s pretty much it. If you are interested in any way in Disney animation, Supportive Partner Woman (now being followed by Hollywood director types on Twitter!) has done a review of the upcoming animated short Paperman. Find that review here:

I’ll keep you posted on how my attitude adjustment and doctors appointments wind up going.

Burning down the house

Posted: August 21, 2012 in Cooking, Exercise, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Weight loss
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You read that right. I seemingly tried to burn down the house today while making roasted cedar plank salmon. I usually rub the plank with olive oil so the fish doesn’t spot weld to the plank and it most it will smolder. This time when I put the plank under the broiler to get a crust on it, well, it was a rather impressive conflagration.

Seriously decent stuff.

I have good news to report, though… Stubby survived his gym session without any difficulties. I found some padded moleskin amongst the foot care supplies and put a piece of that over the bandage to relieve any pressure. I think I might add that to the pre gym workout even after Stubby is better.

I had contacted Ryan (exercise physiologist extraordinaire) with the tale of Stubby. He was in the loop and had come up with ways for me to get my work in without putting too much stress on Stubby. Of course, that just meant extra effort from the rest of me. I spent some time on a seated elliptical and a few go arounds on a rowing machine. Let me just say that I preferred the rowing machine because it didn’t involve basically kneeing myself in the gut on every stroke. I also got a better appreciation of what Olympic rowers do and, well, ouch.

This thing was interesting, but not necessarily fun

The seated elliptical gave a workout, and maybe I will get used to it, but I prefer the good old-fashioned elliptical. Of course, I hated the arc trainer and while I’m still not enamored of that beastie, I can respect the workout. Ryan also introduced me to the dip. In the dip, I have to sit on a bench, then lower my butt below the level of the bench, then l had to lever my bulk back up. If I didn’t know I was fat before, this clinched it. This is going to be the new squat, at least until something worse comes along.

Speaking of fitness, how about a hand for Supportive Partner Woman, who dragged her butt out of bed to be at a Bodyflow class at 8 AM. She claims it’s painful. Or at least her knees claim that, but I’m so proud of her for getting up and going. Read about it here.

At any rate, I need to get myself showered and ready for work. I don’t really want to put the Boot of Shame back on, but what can you do? It seems to be helping, so I can’t complain about that. It’s just uncomfortable to wear.

I leave you with this final thought. It really annoys me when people look at the boot, then look at me and say, “Did you do something to your foot?” I usually explain my blister history and that the boot helps it heal by keeping weight off the toes. Inside, I’m screaming, “No, I just LIKE to wear something this fugly and uncomfortable!” That’s another thing I need to work on… patience. I’ll get there, too.

Oh, and just for the record… a 500 degree broiler will ignite an olive oil coated cedar plank. Trust me… I’m experienced.

Crisis averted

Posted: August 20, 2012 in Disney, Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Exercise, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Weight loss
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It was a half-decent day at the doctor’s office. My weight was up a couple of pounds, but I’m not too concerned about it, since my right foot was ensconced in the Boot of Shame, which feels like it weighs around 40 pounds. The BP was also a little elevated, probably from me being in full blown freakout mode.

The good news came as a result of my labs. One of the key markers for a diabetic is the hemoglobin A1C measurement. This measures the average blood glucose levels over the previous months prior to the measurement.

The ADA (American Diabetes Association) considers an A1C of greater than or equal to 6.5% as a marker for a diagnosis of diabetes. The first time I had this test run, during that fun hospitalization, my A1C was 14.3%. Three months ago, it was 10.9%. Last week, 6.6%. Guess there’s something to that exercise crap.

Cholesterol was another concern. Last August, my cholesterol was 211. Last week? 158. In 2008, my triglycerides were a nifty 257 (which is rather high). Last week? 102. Only weak point was my HDLs are still a little low. That’s something to work on for the next batch of tests.

On the Stubby the Wonder Toe front, Rachel was very pleased with the healing that has been done so far. She cleared me to go back to the gym, just no weight bearing cardio until the blister is healed. Guess that means the stationary bike. Woohoo. I’m not a huge bike fan… would prefer to be on a real bike, except for seat wedge. I’m also cleared to go back to weight training. I’m happy about that… I haven’t been since last Wednesday and I really miss it. Rachel indicated that she felt I should be good to go back to full steam next week, depending on what the podiatrist says on Monday.

One other really need thing is that since most of my doctors are all in the same health group, I’m able to view all my records online. It was pretty cool to see all my labs. The bad part was the pathology notes on the part of Stubby that is no longer. It’s one thing to hear it described to you, but when you read the descriptions, oh boy. There’s something so clinical and detached about it that makes it worse than when you hear it from a doctor. When you see words like osteomyelitis, well, that’s creepy. Just saying.

After the doctor, SPW and I went grill shopping. Sadly, the altar of meat is not in the best shape. I tried to use the side burner to saute some asparagus for SPW and I couldn’t get the valve to open. Found one that we kind of liked, but it’s not on sale yet. Soon. Just hope I can get one that isn’t assembled. I’m not sure I’d trust those brain surgeons with propane. I feel like I’ve accomplished something when I get to assemble it myself.

We headed out to Elizabethtown afterward to pay a visit to the library. I had a book on hold and I picked up a book about Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. Post library, SPW and I swung by Sonic, where she really made me proud. She actually passed on a vanilla malted. I opted for a grilled chicken sandwich and tots, because, well, tots are awesome. Was it the best choice? No, but it was handy and I think we made the healthiest choice that we could.

So, I start back at the gym with Ryan tomorrow. I’ll have five weeks from that point to get my pudgy ass into shape for Disney touring. I feel a lot better about it than my last visit. I realize it will be hot, but probably no World Showcase Death March, so I have hopes that it will work out for the best. It will be a challenge, eating with a healthier slant, but it’s a life change that I need to make, so I’m going to stay on the straight and narrow. My sole exception will have to be our visit(s) to Ohana. Even then, I’ll stick to the healthier proteins.

I’ll keep you posted as to how tomorrow’s session goes. Even if I do take a bike ride to nowhere.

Time to refocus

Posted: August 17, 2012 in Cooking, recipes, Weight loss
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Been kind of cruising along here at MOASTBFFG and it almost seems like I’m going through the motions. I haven’t really been hitting what I need to hit and I’ve been doing you, the readers, a great disservice.

The big ass blister has given me a chance to sort of pause and take stock of where I am, physically, mentally and blogally? Didn’t think that was a word.

See!?!?!? Pigs CAN fly!

I think I need to set some goals and try to establish a time frame. Operating without a set time frame is nice, but it’s easy to just mosey along until it’s too late. It sort of reminds me of being in college and having a paper due at the end of the semester and writing it all the night before it was due, fueled by caffeine and desperation. You can do that with a paper… not so much with weight loss. If that was the case, I’d be snapping my fingers, shotgunning Mountain Dew and I’d weigh 180 in the morning. Aye… and if pigs could fly.

I haven’t talked about recipes in a while. It’s not that I haven’t cooked, just that what I’ve been making has been not a lot of prep work. I’ve been trying to go a simpler route… making tasty food that is simple and depending on the actual food to be the flavor star, rather than the prep. When I made the giant scallops last weekend, all I did was brush them with olive oil and a little salt and pepper before grilling. That’s easy to do this time of year in Cow Country. With the produce being so fresh and available, well, why cover up all that wonderful taste?

One thing I did make was a batch of my meatballs. See, I’m kind of elitist when it comes to meatballs. I simply won’t eat those frozen ones… too salty and the salty taste overwhelms any real flavor the meatballs might have. Not only that, you can be pretty sure that she’s NOT using the highest quality beef. I will usually see the bags of Mam Lucia at the grocery store and mutter, “Mama Lucia… that bitch…”

I think the real secret to meatballs is how long you keep them simmering in the sauce. Not only does that give the balls a chance to absorb the richness of the sauce, it also makes them tender. My recipe is one that I’ve been tweaking over the years, and I am willing to share it.

Here goes:

Brian’s Meatballs

2 lb. ground beef (I use 90%)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. basil
1tsp. oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper (optional)
1/4 clove garlic (at a minimum)
2 large eggs
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan

Mix ingredients well. Seriously well. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, transfer immediately to sauce and simmer. Four hours, minimum.

For sauce, I usually make a combination of whatever jarred stuff I have in the inventory. I would prefer to make my own, but I don’t really have the time or the tomatoes. Maybe one of these days I’ll get ambitious. One other thing you can do is lightly cook some Italian sausage and put it in the sauce with the meatballs. Adds some extra flavor. My usual sauce ratio is one jar of DelGrosso three cheese and two jars of DelGrosso Tomato Basil.

As far as pasta goes, one of the nutrition people I spoke to had recommended Ronzoni’s Smart Taste pasta. It’s enriched with fiber and while it’s still pasta (40g of carbs) there’s 5g of fiber to help balance it out. While the whole grain pastas might have a smidge more fiber, this wins in taste, in my opinion.

At any rate, I’m going to try to refocus things here. I want to add a monthly measurements feature, more pictures of yummy noms, and just try to not be so scattered and completely stream of consciousness. I’ll still have those moments… this is my blog… but maybe not as many. Besides, the Olympic opening ceremonies won’t be coming around for a year and a half. Plus, they will be in Russia. Maybe President Putin will wrestle a bear or something.

Anyway, I wish you all a happy and healthy weekend!

Russian spam?

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Exercise, Weight loss
1

No, I’m not referring to the “tasty” meat-like stuff manufactured by Hormel… I’m talking about the spam comments I get on this blog. Thankfully, Akismet filters most of them out, but these comments are written in Cyrillic. I also like when you get a seemingly legitimate comment that when you hover over the web address it’s some kind of currency exchange. I’d really like to meet the people who fall for this stuff. It’s like the one time I got a spam email allegedly from my bank. Except they spelled “bank” wrong. I mean if you want to spam somebody, take the time to learn English.

Enough about spam… we are back on the normal trail, finally. Successful sessions at the gym with Ryan the past couple of days. Even started doing some hamstring curls that didn’t feel too bad. Until I got up this morning. Ouch. I still hurt, but as soon as Supportive Partner Woman (making like Julia Child!) gets ready, we’re headed to Hempfield Rec.

It was an early morning for me. I had to get blood work done and I had to fast. When fasting, the sooner the blood is drawn, the better. I was actually pretty hungry by the time I got home, so I had cereal and milk, with a sliced banana. It really went down well. I took a bit of a nap while watching Storage Wars On Demand. No biggie. I probably missed Barry bidding too much for something of dubious value and Dave being a general jackass.

SO, not much to report other than that. Hope everyone’s having a great day!

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