What I'm eating

Every now and then I like to keep a record of what I'm eating. I don't know why, really. I guess it gives me something to do. I'm also sort of a habit eater, in that I tend to eat the same things for a period of time. Then, once I get tired of that, I will switch to something else.

So, here's a rough list of the foods I am currently in the habit of eating:

MORNING -

• I start every day with a big glass of water right off the bat.
• I make a big mug of green tea (with a splash of milk) to take to work. It usually lasts from 4:30-8:30-ish.
• I have been eating breakfast between 8 and 9 am. Usually a cup of plain Greek yogurt that I mix with blueberries. Once in a great while I will have scrambled eggs with veggies. I will also drink a couple cups of coffee after eating breakfast.

LUNCH -

• I've been on a big avocado kick lately. Generally I will have a half or whole avocado one of three ways:
• On a mixed green salad (and the avocado serves as the dressing). I will also add in some other veggies like tomato, carrot, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, etc, as well as sunflower seeds. Or,
• A slice of turkey or ham with avocado rolled up in a tortilla shell. Or,
• A slice of turkey or ham with avocado between two slices of whole wheat or whole grain bread.
• Water to drink.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK -

• I just started a week long green smoothie "thing." I think it's called the 'Simple 7 Smoothie Challenge' or something. There are just seven ingredients, for seven days. Each day's smoothie consists of either: Spinach or Kale, and banana, strawberry, mango, oranges or pineapple. 
• When not doing smoothies I will generally have a side salad or fruit (apple, banana, or melon) or a raw veggie like celery, carrot, broccoli, or cauliflower. I may use peanut butter with the veggie sometimes (rarely anymore).

SUPPER -

• Jane takes care of supper. She is a great cook, and most of the time she makes super healthy suppers of fish, chicken, turkey or hamburger, with rice and/or some other type of healthy vegetable.
• Occasionally we will splurge and have a frozen Tombstone pizza (my favorite treat), or maybe order out or go out to eat. If we go out, it is almost always to the same place, where I will get a cheeseburger with a side salad (and ranch), a flat-bread of some sort, or pizza. We try to go out once a week.
• Water to drink if at home. If we go out it is usually beer.

LATE SNACK -

• I try not to snack after supper, which isn't usually too difficult since I also try to go to bed around 8 pm. 
• If anything I may have some almonds, which I keep a bag of beside my recliner in the basement.
• Most nights I will have a couple glasses of wine between supper and going to bed.
• And, just like how I start every day, I end every day by drinking a big glass of water before going to bed for the night.

That's pretty much it. Every day. I vary my diet very little, although it does change slightly on the weekend. Mostly because Jane usually makes a big sausage, egg and potato breakfast, and sometimes we don't have lunch if that's the case.

While I am not intentionally intermittent fasting, I do usually go from 6 pm to 8 or 9 am without food. So I guess that's 14-15 hours of fasting every day. That's just kind of how it works out.

Overall, I'm actually pretty happy with my food choices. The day before writing this I had: yogurt with blueberries, turkey and avocado sandwich, spinach/banana/mango/pineapple smoothie, some kind of turkey and veggie mixture for supper, and two glasses of wine at night (along with the tea and coffee and umpteen glasses of water during the day).

To be honest, I do have my weak moments though. If I start eating Tortilla chips I have a hard time stopping. Same with chocolate, cheese, and cookies (hmm, they all start with a "c"). I am at my worst when we visit my parents. I don't know how they've lived so long and stayed so healthy, because their house is full of the worst food choices. :) 

Anyway, I try not to be too much of a fanatic about food. I try to keep things as simple as I can, and the foods I eat seem to agree with my body well. I think that's what's most important. I prefer a rather bland diet, and foods I am familiar with. I also try to eat as much fruit and vegetables as possible, and water.

And that's about all there is to say about that!

Peace out; and in...

Muesli time

I have lately been on a Muesli kick. Muesli and yogurt, to be specific. I take it to work with me and have had it for breakfast every day for the past couple weeks.

I had never even heard of the stuff but one of my coworkers gave me some as a gag Christmas gift. It sat on the counter for almost a month and I finally decided to give it a try. I kind of like it! Though I have to add extra raisins or blueberries or something for flavor.

According to Wikipedia: "Muesli is a breakfast dish based on raw rolled oats and other ingredients like grains, fresh or dried fruits, seeds and nuts, that may be mixed with milk, soy milk, almond milk, other plant milks, yogurt, or fruit juice. Developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, muesli is available ready-made in a packaged dry form, or it can be made fresh."

I purchased the pictured 'Bob's Red Mill Old Country Style' at Fresh Thyme and just add a handful of extra raisins. I did not realize they have other flavors available too!

So far, the only way I've eaten it is with a glop of Whole Milk Plain Greek Yogurt. I toss it together in a plastic container and mix it as best I can with a spoon and simply eat it cold. It's quite filling. Hopefully it is also somewhat healthy, but I don't honestly know.

Anyway, I felt this new food source worth pointing out.

If you've got the time... they've got the breakfast. :)

A whole 30 (without drinking)

Jane and I (and daughter Carrie) did the 'Whole 30 Program' during the month of January. Jane and Carrie were likely pretty strict about it. I basically just ate whatever Jane prepared for me, so mine was probably more of a "modified" version. I still put an occasional honey and milk in my tea and had some non-fat Greek yogurt now and then. The big thing for me, though, was NO DRINKING OF ALCOHOL for the entire month! And, actually, it's been over a month since I've had a beer (I was taking daily shot(s) of whisky around Christmas-New Years while I was sick).

As far as the food part, I think the Whole 30 is pretty good (tasty). There aren't many things we have to do without as part of our daily diet, and you can eat as much as you want. So my/our diet doesn't change that much. Jane is great at making a variety of great-tasting meals - many of which she found in the whole 30 cookbook - and there was never any deprivation food-wise. I'm a big fan of veggies anyway!

Again, the biggest difference for me/us, was alcohol. Not that it should take a special meal program for us to change our drinking habits..... but it certainly doesn't hurt. We actually gave up drinking for Lent last year, and Jane did a whole 30 late last year as well (I did the eating part but didn't give up the drinking).

So, not only did I lose some weight this month (I'm down to 160 - could stand to lose another 5-10 lbs), but I feel great mentally and physically as well. I like not drinking. Not that I don't also like having an occasional beer, glass of wine, or nightly nip, but my mind simply works better when it's clear and I have more energy. I also tend to like myself more as a sober person.

I could probably go without alcohol altogether if not for the occasional social encounter. However, being someone who struggles with addictive behaviors, even social drinking is sometimes difficult for me. So I'm going to play this by ear for awhile. As of right now I have no desire to drink whatsoever.

So, that's that. I don't really know what I weighed at the start. I'd guess I maybe lost not quite 10 lbs - and over the holidays even - so I'm happy about that. 160 actually feels pretty good on me. I had to switch back to my 30x30 jeans (when I actually wear something other than sweat pants). I could live at this weight, but I could also still stand to get rid of the remaining ripple of this spare tire around my midsection. 150 is ideal; 155 is probably a little more realistic. We will see.

I guess I would consider myself a fan of the Whole 30. It doesn't seem like a diet at all to me (and maybe it's not), and the food is actually really good. And that's about all I know...

Diet run done

I started this post earlier in the week, which seems so long ago. I think it's good to post these sorts of thngs anyway - whether they still hold true or not. Many people question the cliche "It is what it is." Well, this is sort of what that means. To me. So...

No, I did not participate in a 'diet run,' but I am done with the New Lifestyle diet. I stopped last weekend. I was feeling run down and just wasn't into it. I don't think I eat all that bad as it is. So I am done. I will still have some of the pudding/shakes for snacks maybe, but it's back to salads, fruits, veggies, nuts, eggs and meat for me.

I am also contemplating giving up on running. I know. I have yet to run outside this year, and I haven't even been on the treadmill in over a week - maybe longer. There are a number of reasons, but it mostly boils down to... I'm just not into it anymore.

I think when I loved running it was because it was something *I* did - by myself. That was kind of my hobby. I didn't have to think about when or where or who with or how much time it would take or anything. Plus it was a time for me to lose myself or, meditate, if you will. I think I started thinking too much and lost focus. And... I'm just tired. Work is wearing me out. I had one of my busiest months ever last month - in addition to all the kiosk crap! Maybe I'm lazy, but I simply don't want to be working this hard anymore. At least not at what I'm presently doing. I'm also starting to feel mentally drained again. That kind of scares me. How can I be burned out again? I don't know.

I upped my Zoloft/Sertraline dosage this week thinking maybe it was that. Sometimes it's easy to tell when I need to adjust it and sometimes it's not. Sometimes I don't think it matters all that much.

So, that's about all there is to say about that. I may still run, or I may not. I will likely still try to eat healthy, but I can't make any promises. I guess maybe I'm lowering my own expectations for myself. Sometimes I forget to be kind to me.

And... today... I need to mow the lawn. The grandkids will be here for the day and overnight. It's a nice sunny day and I don't have to work - at work. I feel pretty relaxed. Now.

Diet, kiosk, jane to buda

I actually started this post sometime last week. One day I wrote several - including all the Nouwen book posts - and haven't had time to get back and finish. So here's a few things.

DIET
I've started on a diet. Trying to drop a few extra pounds and hopefully get in a better weight range for longer running I guess. Jane actually ordered the supplies. It's the New Lifestyle Diet. We've done it before. We're only doing the 2-week plan. They say it's a total health thing, but basically it's one of those diets where you drink a lot of powdered mixtures. We eat one regular meal per day. I don't think it's the healthiest plan in the world, but I suppose simply fasting for 2 weeks wouldn't kill us either. I really don't have a weight-loss goal in mind, but I could stand to take off about 20 pounds.

KIOSK/WORK
My job has been "interesting" lately. It's actually not as bad as it was there for awhile, but the kiosk is now up and running! Tomorrow will mark one week that it's been operational, and not one single person has used it yet! Lol.

Otherwise, work is still as chaotic as ever. One of the things I liked about this company when I started was that all six facilities operated exactly the same. That way an employee at one place could go to another and know how to do pretty much anything. Now my facility operates different from all the others. As does another facility that has a kiosk and no manager on-site. We do not operate the same either. And, like that's not bad enough, I really have no idea what my operational procedures are supposed to be. They are different, but I've been told so many different things that I'm basically just on my own trying to figure it out. No one has any clue. I can manage to get through each day, but my fear is it's going to catch up with us one of these days and be a total fricking mess. But, no one seems to care. I'm still holding out hope I will find another job before that day comes, but I guess I actually need to be looking for another job if I want to have one. Argh.

And... to top things off... when I got back to work at the end of last week after being gone to Atlanta, we developed an email problem. Apparently someone clicked on something they shouldn't have or something, and Outlook has not taken kindly to us. We were notified last Thursday that we've been sending too many emails (spam), and as of this moment I am completely locked out of Outlook. I haven't been able to send mail this whole time, and now I can't even open the program. Our computer guru (in Michigan!) is "working on it." So far this week I've deleted over 3000 spam emails that were returned. Only a handful of those are ones I actually sent. I can hardly wait til they start coming back. As the "office" I get the bulk of mail for the company, and for almost a week now I haven't been able to send invoices, receipts, collection notices, rate adjustments, or reports and mail scans (to owners). It just keeps getting better by the minute here...

JANE TO BUDA
In other news, Jane went back home this past weekend. Her brothers oldest grandchild graduated high school. He is the first of that generation, so she thought she ought to go. I had to work Saturday, as well as about every Saturday for the next month, so I just stayed home. She said things were especially difficult with my parents. She took my mom shopping Saturday - which mom loved - but otherwise she said my dad is getting much worse. I/we feel bad, and hope it doesn't take too much of a toll on my mom. So we will likely be trying to go back more often. My sister isn't much help, so life may get a lot more interesting here shortly. We even talked about the possibility of buying a house back home, because staying at my parents might not be an option much longer. We'll see.

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Well, there, I wrote something. Finally. Now I suppose I should dive back into the confusion of work. I have no idea what I'm doing - or supposed to be doing - but, again, apparently it doesn't matter. I suppose this is the new normal in the "Trump era." As long as money's being made nothing else matters. Or it's just a messed up place.

It's the sun - and 1 week soberly

Last night we attended Anna's kindergarten class production of.... um, I don't remember the name of it. It was very cute though, as was she. It was in the St. Paul's gymnasium, where she goes to school. I'd say it was the perfect little play. It only lasted about 20 minutes, it was just her class (and not the entire school), and the costumes were very simple and I imagine provided by the school. There weren't a lot of people there either, so I thought it was splendid.

It is so amazing to see how she has grown and matured this year. She looked HUGE. She's getting so tall. She also smiled and giggled the whole time, which is a nice change from when she used to just stand with her fingers in her mouth. Although yours truly was just the same, so I'm not knocking it.

The boys had a good time watching it - though none of them look too thrilled after it was over. I'd say it was a good time had by all though.

In other news, I have now made it a whole week without any alcohol. It's not like I was a stumbling idiot drunk or anything, but it's been awhile since I've gone this long without beer, wine, or anything. There were a few days where it sounded pretty good, and I think my stomach is still adjusting to the lack of sugar, but I have to say... I FEEL GREAT! My mind is clear, and I've been working out fairly regularly at the Y. I've actually lost the equivalent of a pound a day over the past week. 15-25 more and I'd be pretty darn ecstatic. The best part is, I haven't even been dieting! Just not drinking. I always eat pretty well, for the most part.

I do have to say, I like myself much better when I'm not drinking. I think it had honestly just become a habit born out of boredom, and the more you give in to it, the worse it gets. I'm still hoping to make it through the entire season of Lent, and we'll see if I continue total abstinence or not. I would like to get back to where we don't keep it in the house, and maybe just have a beer or wine here or there more for social reasons. Who knows. I'm feeling pretty good though.

We've become poachers

We recently purchased this handy dandy egg poacher at Bed Bath & Beyond. Mmmmm. This was always my favorite way to eat eggs as a child. My mom had a poacher, and somehow she managed to cook them just long enough so the yoke didn't run but was still good.

I am yet to utilize the contraption myself, but Jane has been doing a mighty fine job of it. Apparently poached eggs are one of the healthiest ways to eat them, plus it's neater and cleaner with a poaching pan.

I will normally have 2 poached eggs and 1 piece of Zachariah bread (toasted) each morning for breakfast. Sometimes I'll have a couple slices of turkey bacon as well.

So... that's happening.

The cleanse

Jane and I just finished a 7-day modified candida cleanse. I got it from a friend (Justin Meier), and apparently this is his concoction. I think if you click and enlarge the pic above you'll be able to print it off and see the details. I'm not exactly sure how Justin arrived at these particulars, because if you google "candida cleanse" (or diet), there are a variety of ways to do it. Most I saw don't allow fruit, but his does. (Here is a "Candida Cleanse" website). At any rate, I guess candida is some kind of fungus or bacteria or something that grows in your stomach and isn't good to have too much of.

Justin's plan entailed making this super yummy vegetable-ish soup and eating at least 3 bowls of it each and every day of the cleanse. Then you ate the following on these days:

Day 1 - eat only fruits, all you want (no bananas). No juice.
Day 2 - Start the day with a baked sweet potato (the only thing you can add is oil and raw cinnamon). Then eat only vegetables, all you want (no starchy vegetables like corn).
Day 3 - eat only fruits and vegetables, and all you want (No starchy vegetables or bananas).
Day 4 - eat only bananas, milk, and unflavored Greek yogurt.
Day 5 - eat only tomatoes and proteins like fish, chicken, and turkey.
Day 6 - eat only proteins like fish, chicken, and turkey along with nonstarchy vegetables.
Day 7 - eat only fruits and vegetables.

Also, every day:
1. Before you eat anything, work up a sweat on an empty stomach.
2. Take a table spoon of organic apple cider vinegar.
3. Take an over the counter "live culture" probiotic.
4. Drink at least 8 - 8 oz. glasses of water with essential oil cinnamon or clove or a combination of both.

So, we did it, and it was rather difficult. We also didn't drink any caffienated coffee or alcohol. I drank a fair amount of green tea along with water though.

We both thought it sounded rather easy, since you could eat as much as you wanted, plus we usually eat fairly healthy anyway. Boy were we surprised. The first several days were pretty tough, and I'm not really sure what it was due to. And day 4 was the worst as far as the food we ate, but that actually seemed to be the turning point. I started to feel GREAT on day 4. I wasn't hungry anymore (too much), and I had so much more energy. On day 5 I felt a sense of clarity like I haven't felt in several years.

I ended up losing 8 1/2 pounds over the 7 days (171 to 163). I'd lost 6 by Thursday, and for some reason really slowed down at the end. I think I even gained weight on Sunday on just fruit and veggies. Still, I feel much better physically and mentally. It's probably hard to tell if it's from the cleanse or just from not drinking for a week though. At any rate, I'm glad I/we did it.

Some additional thoughts: I thought the soup was great! I love it. One thing I thought would happen, though, was that I would go to the bathroom more often (#2). Interestingly enough, that never really happened. In fact, it almost seemed like I went less.

Going forward I want to continue trying to eat healthy, and I'm also going to try to stop drinking alcohol. I'm shooting for staying dry until Jane's birthday (2/27), and maybe even through Lent. So we'll see.

All in all, I'd recommend this cleanse. It's not easy, but you don't have to starve yourself either. It's a good way to get off sugar (other than through fruit). I may try doing it every few months, or at least a couple times a year.

Where I'm at: food/eating

A typical lunch at work

In order to have a full week of these "where I'm at" posts, I wasn't sure what to include after running, church, coaching, and work. So I figured another important aspect of life for me - that I have some control over - is food. Today I will post some of the foods I typically eat.

I just downloaded a calorie-counting app on my phone (I think I prefer MyPlate over MyFitnessPal), so I've never really known where I was at in that regard. After 1 day of about 1400 calories - which included 2 beers and no running - I supposed I'd like to average somewhere around 1500 calories a day. I can usually do that pretty easily as long as I avoid beer and a random bag of chips or going out to eat. Every now and then I'll have a fail day, but for the most part, this is what I eat.

Morning:
- 2-3 cups of coffee (1/2 caff)
- either a 160 calorie Pure Protein shake, or a couple eggs (toast if I eat out)
- twice a week I meet people for breakfast and then have way more coffee
- Mid-morning I will have a hard-boiled egg, avocado half, or banana

Lunch:
- 160 calorie Pure Protein shake
- a handful of baby spinach, kale, lettuce or other green
- a handful of blueberries or some type of raw veggie
- *on Saturdays we usually go to a local eatery and have 2 eggs, sausage, fruit and wheat toast

Mid-afternoon:
- some type of raw veggies (radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery)
- maybe a piece of fruit (kiwi, banana) or avocado half, or handful of almonds

Supper:
- some type of meat (chicken, fish, beef)
- some type of veggie (broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, brussell sprouts, etc)

Evening snack:
- usually some almonds and/or walnuts

I probably drink between 75-100 oz. of water per day. Sometimes I'll have some hot tea, or add some lemon to my water. As I said earlier, my main culprit is if I have beer, because I've lost a taste for lite beers so it can be a problem in more ways than one.

All in all I generally like my food choices. I eat fairly healthy and try to vary fruits and veggies from time to time. I don't really know what I would change. I like the things I eat, I rarely feel hungry at all, and other than the occasional binge when we eat out or I get a bag of chips, I'm pretty good with things for now.

Healthy eating

I've kind of been on a healthy eating kick lately. I've been trying to get plenty of protein, vegetables, and limit my sugar intake (thus the minimal fruit). Here is a rough list of my regular foods - at least during the week.

Breakfast -
- Eggs (scrambled or over-medium) & toast, if necessary
- If not eggs, it's probably a protein shake of some sort

Lunch -
- Raw Vegetables (usually an assortment of celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, cucumber, "power greens" (spinach, chard, kale & mizuna)
- Protein of either a hard-boiled egg or almonds
- Possibly an avocado half
- Fruit - blueberries, and maybe a kiwi (with skin)

Supper -
Jane usually makes a scrumptious meal including a meat (beef, chicken or fish), and a vegetable (broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, brussell sprouts, or something). Will will occasionally have a carb in pasta or something.

Night-time snack -
- Cup of hot water with honey and lemon
- Mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts)

Liquids -
- Coffee in the morning (2 cups unless I am meeting someone at a restaurant - then I have quite a few more)
- Hot green tea (most days I will have 2-4 cups at work; sometimes it's just hot lemon water)
- Water (I drink probably 80-100 ounces per day - and always at the beginning and end of each day)

Results of the 24-day challenge

So... yesterday ended our Advocare 24-Day Challenge. We started it back in early June. I had hoped to lose 10-20 pounds. And... not so much. I started off well - averaging about a pound a day the first week - and that's about all I ended up losing (~8 lbs).

I must confess, it wasn't all the fault of the diet though. I followed it pretty strictly at first, but around Father's Day I slipped on the food and drinking. Otherwise I didn't have any problem with the food part - it really wasn't any different than our normal diet. The biggest issue for me was the alcohol. I discovered it was more of a problem than I thought. I really only drank beer a few times, but some changes are definitely in store for me. I will write about that later. I also wasn't able to exercise the way I wanted to. Part of that was due to being sick, and part of it was my own laziness.

I will say this, though, even though I didn't lose as much as I wanted to... it's amazing how much better I feel just losing those 8 pounds. I've actually thought about starting it over, but I think I'm going to try some other things instead. I still want to drop another 10-15 pounds over the summer. Actually, I kind of NEED to if I want to do the things I want to do. So we'll see. I'm trying not to get too fanatical about it, but it will require a life-change regardless. Which I think really is the sign of a successful diet: it's not how much weight you lose, but whether it results in any long-term life change. In that regard... yes, I'm glad I did it.

Carbohydrate intolerance test menu

A healthy food platter

Do you suffer from any of the following?

• Poor concentration or sleepiness after meals.
• Increased intestinal gas or bloating after meals.
• Frequently hungry.
• Increasing abdominal fat or facial fat (especially cheeks).
• Frequently fatigued or low energy.
• Insomnia or sleep apnea.
• Waist size increasing with age.
• Fingers swollen/feeling “tight” after exercise.
• Personal or family history of diabetes, kidney or gall stones, gout, high blood pressure, high cholesterol/low HDL, high triglycerides, heart disease, stroke, breast cancer.
• Low meat, fish or egg intake.
• Frequent cravings for sweets or caffeine.
• Polycystic ovary (ovarian cysts) for women.

According to Dr. Phil Maffetone it could be as a result of carbohydrate intolerance. He describes it as...

Carbohydrate Intolerance—and the full spectrum of ailments that accompany it—begins as a hidden problem. CI then progresses to a functional disorder producing symptoms that negatively affect quality of life, such as fatigue. Gradually, this process generates serious illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.

You can read the entire article HERE... but I wanted to list the menu for the 2-week test he suggests to see if one is CI.

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During The Test: The Menu
You may eat as much of these foods as you like during the Two-Week Test:

• Eggs (whites and yolk), unprocessed (real) cheeses, heavy (whipping) cream, sour cream.
• Unprocessed meats including beef, turkey, chicken, lamb, fish and shellfish.
• Tomato, V-8 or other vegetable juices, but no carrot juice.
• Water—drink it throughout the day between meals.
• Cooked or raw vegetables such as squash, leaf lettuce and spinach, carrots, broccoli and kale, but no potatoes or corn.
• Nuts, seeds, nut butters.
• Oils, vinegar, mayonnaise, salsa, mustard and spices.
• Sea salt, unless you are sodium sensitive.
• All coffee and tea (if you normally drink it).

Be sure to read the ingredients for all foods, as some form of sugar or carbohydrate may be added. Especially focus on ingredients in peanut butter, mayonnaise, sour cream and even sliced meats.

You may not eat any of the following foods during the Two-Week Test:

• Bread, rolls, pasta, pancakes, cereal, muffins, chips, crackers, rice cakes and similar carbohydrate foods.
• Sweets such as cake, cookies, ice-cream, candy, gum, breath mints.
• Products that contain hidden sugars, common in ketchup and other prepared foods (read the labels).
• Fruits, fruit juice, carrot juice.
• Processed meats and fish such cold cuts and smoked products which often contain sugar.
• All types of potatoes, corn, rice and beans.
• Milk, half-and-half, and yogurt.
• o-called healthy snacks, including all energy bars and sports drinks.
• All soda; this includes “enhanced” mineral water, and diet drinks.

A Note on Alcohol
If you normally drink small to moderate amounts of alcohol, some forms are allowed during the test.
You may include these kinds of alcohol: dry wines, and pure distilled spirits (gin, vodka, whiskey, etc.), and those mixed with plain carbonated water, including seltzer, tomato juice, or V-8.
Avoid these kinds of alcohol: Sweet wines, all beer, hard cider, Champagne, alcohol containing sugar (rum, liqueurs, etc.), and those mixed with sweet ingredients such as tonic, soda or other sugary liquids. If in doubt, avoid it.
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Not sure if I will take this test or not (I know I won't right now - while doing the 24-day challenge), but I am shooting for a steady diet similar to this one. At least I'm thinking about it.

The 24-day challenge

We started the Advocare 24-Day Challenge yesterday. According to their website, it is a "comprehensive supplementation and nutrition program designed to give your body a jumpstart... in weight management, energy, overall body composition and/or overall wellness." It has two stages: Days 1-10 are the "cleanse" stage, where, in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise, you rid your body of waste and prepare it to better absorb nutrients. The second phase, days 11-24, is the "max phase," which is about fueling your body in order to achieve maximum results of sustained energy, appetite control, core nutrition and overall wellness.

Yes, that all sounds a little hokey to me too, but I'm going to try it. I know people who have used it successfully, and I like that you don't starve yourself. In fact, we don't really have to change our diet (eating) that much at all. It is basically just a healthy diet, limiting sugar intake. There are a few drink mixes you make, and some pill-form supplements. It's probably not that different than the "white cross" tablets everyone took in the 70's and 80's.

Anyway, the hardest part for me will be no alcohol or caffeine; and I need to start exercising REGULARLY. I'm sure I will survive. I think it does actually help that it's a "challenge," because I need something to motivate me.

This was Carrie and Jane's idea, so I hope they both find it beneficial. I could stand to lose 10-20 pounds myself, and if this helps, then I'll be happy. We'll see.

Detox cleanses

I ran across this site full of detox/cleanse plans. We are having our Thanksgiving supper tonight, so I may need one of these after that. :) I would like to try one someday. Not a seriously radical one, but something on the order of one of these...

• The 7 Day Detox Plan - http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/detox/plan.htm
• The 3 Day Clean-Food Detox Plan - http://life.gaiam.com/article/3-day-clean-food-detox-plan
• The Hallelujah Diet - http://www.myhdiet.com/what-is-the-hallelujah-diet/
• The Jay Robb Fruit-Flush 3 Day Detox - http://www.jayrobb.com/books/fruit-flush-diet-ebook.asp
• The Ultimate Tea Diet - http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Tea-Diet-Metabolism-Kick-Start/dp/0061441759

There ya go.

My new menu

I'm kind of a creature of habit when it comes to eating. I gave up on that last weight-loss diet awhile ago, and Jane and I have turned to more whole and - hopefully - healthy foods. This is my eating plan for most days (though it suffers pretty poorly on the weekends):

7am-ish -- Eggbeaters or the egg & bean burrito

11am-ish -- banana

1pm-ish -- lettuce, carrots, celery, tomato

3pm-ish -- rice & beans (or some such smallish portion)

5pm-ish -- an apple (usually a Gala if I can help it)

7pm-ish -- Jane usually makes a really good meal of some kind. All whole foods and such.

My biggest problem is, after I eat the meal, I seem to be the most hungry. We have some raw almonds to snack on. Sometimes I have a few too many though.

I basically only drink water throughout the day - always remembering to start my day and end my day with a big glass, and probably a gallon in between. I also have 2 cups of decaf coffee in the morning, and usually a large regular coffee for when I get to work.

Friday night to Sunday afternoon are usually the worst. We always go out to eat Friday night, and then again Saturday for lunch. Saturday night and Sunday lunch are kind of dependent on what else is going on.

Overall I feel pretty good about our eating right now though. Probably the worst thing I have is an occasional order of pancakes, or the breakfast potatoes at Spyro's. I will usually have a salad or something off the low-cal menu when we go out on Friday nights.

So, that's about it. It's amazing how much better real food does taste. Especially without the smoking. This is day 4, and so far, so good.

Egg and bean burrito

I've been making an egg and bean burrito for breakfast lately. I had been simply scrambling up some egg-beaters, but one day I wondered what it would be like if I added some beans to my eggs. Jane had mixed up a batch of assorted beans. Then I though, "Well, why not warm a tortilla shell and make it a burrito!?" I can't believe I actually thought of it all by myself. It tastes really good too.

So, I use those pre-measured cups of egg-beaters; dump it in my frying pan; add a few beans; and scramble it up. Then I heat the tortilla shell in the microwave for 10 seconds, dump the egg and bean combo into the shell, roll it up, and enjoy. It is very satisfying and a good way to boost my morning protein intake.

Another diet

Jane and I have started on the New Lifestyle Diet this week. It's another of those protein-based diets where you buy pretty much all the food consisting of a lot of drinks/shakes/pudding, then meat and vegetables. This one relies even more on protein drinks and snacks than the previous one we did. Most of the drinks can also be made into pudding by just adding less water. They're actually pretty good. We get a shake/pudding/soup for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and before bed. We also get a snack bar for lunch. Then for supper we eat a hardy meat and vegetable meal. Plus loads of water. It's kind of nice that there isn't a boatload of salad like the other one, but I kind of wish it didn't rely so much on artificial foods. Whatever. It is much cheaper than the previous plan we did.

It's funny, because neither of us have ever been fad dieters. We really liked the results of the previous one we did though, and we needed something to take off the holiday weight and get us back in running shape, so... here we are trying this one.

Personally, I would like to lose at least 10 pounds. I would like to stay at 150 or less. I would be pretty happy with 140 though (20 lb loss), but I'm just not sure I can maintain that. If I run a marathon this year I would like to run it at 140 though.

So, we'll give this a shot for a couple weeks (or maybe a month). At least all the stuff I've tried so far tastes REALLY good. I haven't been too awful hungry either. We'll see how it goes.

Blood pressure (off the meds) and diet (again)

I was near one of those blood pressure machines yesterday and didn't have anything better to do so I checked it. It was 98/67! So I checked it again: 100/70. So I went to the other side and checked it a third time: 100/71. I suppose maybe that's why I've been feeling a little tired this week. I guess I can probably stop taking the blood pressure medicine again (Lisinopril 20 mg). I stopped taking it today and we'll see how it goes. The doctor did say he thought I only needed it temporarily.

In other news, I wanted to drop some weight before the half marathon (I want to carry as little weight over 13 miles as possible) so I tried going back on the protein diet this week. Monday was not so good, but from then until today I have lost 6 pounds. I woke up this morning at 149! Another 5 pounds would be great, but I could live with anything under 150. I think that is when I feel the best.

Of course, I still have some belly fat I need to lose and would like to replace with muscle. I quit lifting weights a couple weeks ago. Since muscle weighs more than fat, I wanted to drop weight however I could. So my goal after the half is to start lifting again, but keep trimming the fat. I will likely add some weight, but hopefully it will be in a different place. But.... I'm sure none of this will matter when we go out to eat tonight. Just dreaming... 

Monday morning weigh-in

I hadn't done a 'Monday Morning Weigh-in' since August 20th (apparently - it's the last one I have recorded).  I kind of find that hard to believe, but I didn't search my blog overly long trying to find out. Anyway, on Aug. 20, 2012 I weighed in at 144 lbs. I know I got a couple pounds lighter than that, but I don't think I ever went under 140.

Anyway... I have been wanting to drop a few pounds again. It's not that I'm heavy or anything, but my pants are getting tighter and I just seem to put everything in my gut or around my waist (which is the most unhealthy place for it to be). So last week I actually tried to start back on the protein diet thing a little bit. I was up around 155 lbs. Which is odd because reading back through my "diet" posts, I was pretty ecstatic when I got down to that weight last summer. Anyway, I decided to start working on it again.

So, yesterday morning I weighed in at 151.6 lbs. And the real issue is not the weight, but what the weight consists of. They say muscle weighs more than fat, and most of that 151 lbs is fat right now. I need to ADD some muscle - to get rid of the belly - and then reduce the fat. So not only am I going back to protein drinks, but I also need to start working out again. I still can't run much, but I can walk (on a severe incline) and lift weights and do other aerobic and muscle-building exercises.

Sometimes I think I get a little fanatical about this, but I really think this was one of the main reasons I survived at all last year. Plus I really like not being on any medicines. I like being healthy. A lean, mean, pacifist machine. Fighting for what is right and just and good.

So we'll see...

Monday morning weigh-in

Well, I'm still weighing myself Monday mornings. Last week I was at 144.6. This week I once again dropped slightly to... 144.0 lbs. Although I ran 7.5 miles instead of the usual 5 or so... so it may not be a true measure. It was also after having a protein drink, water, and cup of coffee.

I also ran in my knee-high socks for the first time too. They're not actual compression socks (I don't think), but they are black athletic socks that come up into my knees. They felt pretty good. But I feel kind of like a dork wearing them. I would like to get some compression socks - for the longer runs, and for after runs - but they are so stinking expensive. So I got a 3-pack of these long athletic socks instead. I don't see why they wouldn't do the same thing. They're supposed to be good for keeping the blood circulating during a run and recuperating the legs afterward. I try to wear them on Fridays after long runs, but I've not worn them to run in. I have noticed a couple people on the Rivergreenway lately wearing them. I'm thinking they are people getting ready for the Fort4Fitness half marathon. Or... I don't know, it seems like there is a marathon too.

Anyway, I feel pretty good about my weight. I would like to stay at or under 145 if I could. I feel good physically, and I think I carry it well. Although I pretty much need a whole new wardrobe at this point. Even my gym shorts are too big for me anymore.