Foodie Weigh-In #4: Back on the Wagon

Well, I'm back below my initial weigh-in.  This Monday's result was 213 lbs.  Not great, but after the gorge-fest that was my D.C. visit, I'll take it.

I was mostly good last week. Aside from a few bottles of wine, I ate mostly healthy.  Three salads for lunch, and a sushi dinner splurge at eeZ, mark my weight is going back down.  YAY!

I got in a couple of good work outs, 45 mins of resistance training, and a spirited 45 min. hike on the dirt trails through Latta Plantation.

Now let's see if I can repeat that this week!

Foodie Weigh In #3: Off the Wagon

I spent part of last week with my wife, visiting friends.  During a quick trip into DC, we took our love of food to a completely new level.

First we had dinner at Focca Luna -- a place that has reached almost Sainthood (in my mind), for their pizzas.  Seriously, with its hand-made wood buring oven pizzas and very high quality ingredients, these are my favorite pizzas on the planet.  Also, they've got an amazing veal bolognese.  Since we couldn't decide which one, we ordered one of each and split them! 

Let me tell you.  You haven't lived until you've had a Focca Luna pepperoni pizza, TOPPED with their veal bolognese sauce (minus the noodles).  There are few things better.

The next evening we went to a dinner for my wife's former boss.  He was retiring, and all his ex-employees gathered to send him off in style.  (Yeah, he's a GREAT guy!)

So, a couple of his past employees are now high-level executives.  This means, that the ENTIRE dinner was paid for by a couple large companies.  The restaurant is a posh (not spice) italian place in downtown DC, just a few blocks from the White House.  The wine didn't stop pouring.  And the food was amazing. 

I started with a prosciutto "salad" -- gotta love a salad that is all meat and cheese.  I then worked my way into ANOTHER veal bolognese sauce with fettuchini.  Then topped it all off with a flourless chocolate cake.

All in all, it was amazing.  Until I got home and got on the scale -- 216.5.  My total weight-gain last week was 5 lbs.!  ACK!  I'd say it wasn't worth it -- but I'd be lying.

Now, this week, I'm getting back into my schedule. I worked out this morning, and my lunch will be a salad of some sort.  Hopefully, I can get back to my pre-trip weight.

Foodie Weigh In #2

I hopped on the scale this morning was was shocked to see that I was down to 211 lbs.  This week was full of work, not work outs.  I only had one resistance training, two 30 min. yoga sessions, and a 30 min. walk.  Not the amazing work outs I had planned.

But, it appears that the healthier diet is working.  I had several salads again this week.  And I stayed completely away from fried foods (except for sharing a bowl of kettle chips on Saturday.)

Well, it appears that something is working, so I'll be keeping this up!  On the down-side, I'll be doing some traveling this week, and plan to see some old friends at a free dinner with top-shelf drinks and gourmet food.  I may come back heavier than ever!

Wish me luck!

Foodie Weigh In

Well, it's been one week, and I'm down two pounds.  I didn't get in the work outs I had planned (only two resistance) and 1.5 walks (one was only a mile, the other probably about 2.5 miles.)

However, I think my diet was probably on the better side.  I had some salads for lunch and dinner, and desserts were kept to a minimum (only a few).  In addition, my snacks during the afternoon consisted mostly of nuts -- which I am told are healthier than Flaming Hot Cheetos (yeah, I don't believe it either).

So, I'm down to 212.5 lbs from 214.5 lbs.  My initial goal is 200lbs.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see if I can keep this up.

How about you?  Anybody want to join me in my efforts to be healthier?  If so, leave me a comment!

Has the Lake Norman Foodie Become the Lake Norman Fatty?

Being a foodie has it's perks!  I looove eating great food and drinking even better wine.  I've gotten to know local chefs, restaurant owners, and even folks that have wineries close by.

But it also has its down side.  For example: today's scale reading -- an outlandish 214.5 lbs.  Which rounds-up to:

TWO FIFTEEN!!!!

That is the weight I had when I was in high school.  I was able to loose and keep it off for over 18 years.  It's been creeping up for the past decade -- Now, it's come back.

Ugh.

So, what am I going to do about it?  Well, I believe in moderation with all things, so here's my plan.

1) Try to cut back on the wine.  I'm not going to cut-back a LOT, but I think during the weekdays, I should try to limit myself to three glasses Sunday through Thursday.  Friday and Saturday are still open bottle nights.  :)

2) Eat some freakin' vegetables.  Before I moved to the east coast, I had very little meat in my diet.  Often, it was vegetables and pasta (with the occasional pizza and linguisa sandwich).  So, I'm going to eat less like I did last night (filet mignon with a herb butter; bread with olive oil, and artichoke with a garlic aioli), and more like I will tonight (Chicken Thai Salad, with lettuce, cucumbers, corn, carrots, red peppers and peanut sauce.)

My goal is at least two dinners per week that consist only of vegetables, and at least two lunches during the week that are mostly vegetables.

3) Work out.  I'm going for about three 30-45 minute resistance work outs.  With at least one long walk / hike during the weekend.

I'll be posting updates and will keep a tally going on the right side of this blog.  Hopefully, I can knock off some of this weight before I'm at the beach this summer -- I'd hate to get harpooned!

Man on Twinkie Diet Loses 27 lbs in 2 months!

CNN is reporting that Kansas State University Professor Mark Haub has lost 27 lbs while eating a diet of Twinkies, "Hostess and Little Debbie snacks, Doritos chips, sugary cereals and Oreos."

He lost weight by carefully measuring his caloric intake.  By removing 800 calories from his daily diet, 2,600 cal/day to 1,800 cal/day, he was able to drop serious poundage while eating pure junk!  Somebody give this man an award!  And the keys to my heart.

Strangely, none of his other health indicators took a hit: "Haub's "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his "good" cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent."

I really can't tell you how happy I am that this information came out!  I'w I'll eat bacon, fried tomatoes, biscuits and gravy every day!  (Until my wife finds out and I get into some serious trouble.)
Here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html