Back And Saddled

Monday, March 16, 2026

While it's great to have vacations, even mini-vacations, the travel and the consequences sure do have a way of reducing the joy.  Back in the saddle, staring at mountains of work to be done.

But that's life.  It was a good trip.  Got back late and did nothing beyond crash so I have lots that I'll need to do today, tonight and the rest of the week on the personal side in addition to catching up at work.  

Scale was good, it was nice that thanks to the high level of exercise I actually dropped a bit.  After the next couple days once I'm back on track it'll be time to fix some things.

Breakfast:  McD bec biscuit, egg mcmuffin, hash browns.  Coffee

Actually hungry this morning.

Lunch:  Deluxe sub, pepsi

 

In a hurry.

Dinner:  BK texas double whopper, fries, bacon cheese bites, dr pepper

Also a few pretzel nuggets and some very meh no bakes. 

Exercise:  Nope.  Glad to have a rest day, I'm pretty beat up.

111.8

 

And here's the all things approximate catchup on vacation food etc.  Should be pretty close.

 

Sunday, March 15, 2026

B:  Eggs over medium in EVOO, hash browns, bacon, toast w jam, a leftover pancake, grapefruit, coffee 

L:  Triscuits and cheese, coke

D:  Culvers bacon deluxe, fries w ketchup, coke

Also:  A fig newton, a werthers, a couple mini candy bars and a pepsi. 

 Exercise:  9 holes w cart

 

Saturday, March 14, 2026

B:  Scrambled eggs, sausage, buttermilk pancakes w butter and maple syrup, orange juice, coffee

 

L:  Triscuits and cheese, Dr Pepper

D:  Vegetarian chili, cheese, fritos, baked potato w butter, applesauce, oreos

Also:  Pretzels, 36 oz Yuengling

Exercise:  27 holes with cart

 

Friday, March 13, 2026

B:  Eggs over medium in EVOO, hash browns, bacon, toast w jam, grapefruit, OJ, coffee

L:  Triscuits and cheese, coke 

D:  Pizza Hut ht meat lovers, bread/cheese sticks, boneless wings, oreos

Also:  Pretzels, 24 oz Yuengling 

 Exercise:  27 holes with cart

 

Thursday, March 12, 2026

B:  Cracker Barrell old timers breakfast, coffee

 

L:  Triscuits and cheese, coke

D:  Home cheeseburger KMPO, triscuits, homemade applesauce

 

Also:  24 oz Yuengling 

 Exercise:  18 holes w cart, cart path only

 

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

B:  McD burritos and hash browns

L:  Jersey Mikes italian, chips, pepsi

D:  Culvers bacon deluxe, fries w ketchup, coke

Exercise:  Nope 

Crammed

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Cramming as much in as I can.  Time is short.

Vacation beckons. 

Breakfast:  McD 2x burrito, hash browns.  Coffee

Again.

Lunch:  Leftover tuna biscuit bake, pepsi

Again.

Dinner:  Leftover pizza, pepsi, chips and onion dip

Again.

Exercise:  Nope.  Again.

119.6 

Looming Vaca

Monday, March 9, 2026

The pending vacation looms over all I do.  The feeling of impending doom, the chaos that will be the result of being away from work for two whole days no matter how much I prepare.  Ugh.

On the bright side, it'll be good, I'll get some fresh air and exercise, and when I come back I can fix my damned diet.

And exercise.

Breakfast:  McD 2x sausage burrito, hash browns.  Coffee

They do make a tasty breakfast.

Lunch:  Jimmy Johns #9 with chips and light lemonade

Had a work thing over lunch.

Dinner:  Leftover deluxe pizza

Good again.

Also:  BK double cheeseburger, coke, 3x mini candy bars

Too much office time. 

Exercise:  Nope.  Not active at all.

119.2 

When You Should Be Working

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Today is going to be quite the test of my 'day of rest' strategy.  In addition to the usual weekly chores and a bunch of stuff to do to get ready for my vacation, I will be vexed by knowing that I really should be at the office.  I spent most of the day yesterday but did not come close to getting things done that needed doing.

Anyway, I hate the time change.  Very tired this morning and very slow getting going.  It's already after 11:00 and I have accomplished little.  Better move.

Breakfast:  Donuts, lazy bagels w chive and onion cream cheese, coffee

 

Got donuts from the good donut place yesterday since I went by it.   Tasty but so bad.

Lunch:  Tuna biscuit bake

 

So good I decided to make it again.  Also Snyders cheddar cheese pretzel pieces.

Dinner:  Home tacos, tortilla chips, applesauce, 12 oz Miller Lite

 

Sunday dinners.  Also TB$5 box and Pepsi.

Exercise:  Nope

117.2 

Poured On

Saturday, March 7, 2026

TGIS.  It hasn't been quite as productive as I hoped, but I did get some necessary things accomplished.  And I got rained on again.  That's two days out of three where I've been driving and it just poured.  Not a fan of driving in the rain.

Vacation coming up in a few days, even if it's just a long weekend.  Looking forward to it, but man do I have a lot to do beforehand.

Breakfast:  Panera asiago bagels w cream cheese,coffee

Meh.  Most meh bagel ever.

Lunch:  Mushroom swiss burger, fries, pepsi

Local chain, a notch above McDonalds but not as good as the 5G knockoff.

Also a mini bag of cheddar pretzel bits and chips

Dinner:  Deluxe pizza, pepsi

Tasty, bad for me.

Also a donut later

Exercise:  Nope.

115.4 

Gladness

Friday, March 6, 2026

Well that was a week.

Yeesh.

Breakfast:  Pretzel bagel w veggie cream cheese, coffee

Solid.

Lunch:  McD big arch, fries, coke

Also solid.

Later, no bakes

Dinner:  Jersey Mikes hot italian, chips, pepsi

Okay.

Exercise:  Nope

Step Count:  Not many, not even going to look.

115.0 

So Busy

Thursday, March 5, 2026

So busy I never got around to a post yesterday.  Oops.

Breakfast:  McD BEC biscuit, egg mcmuffin, hash browns.  Coffee

Blood draw leads to mcbreakfasting.

Lunch:  CFA spicy w pepperjack, strips, fries, coke

Again??

Dinner:  Mushroom swiss burger, fries w ketchup, cheese popcorn

Again.

Exercise:  Nope

Step Count:  2k again, not at all active.

114.4

 

 

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Worked super late.

Breakfast:  Leftover tuna biscuit bake, donuts, coffee

Never had tuna for breakfast before. But it inspired me to make a breakfast biscuit bake sometime.

Lunch:  CFA spicy w pepperjack, strips, fries, coke

Again??

Dinner:  LC pep, crazy bread, sauce, pepsi

Oof.

Exercise:  Nope

Step Count:  3k range

112.6 

Too Old Too Fat

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

What a week and it's only Tuesday.  I'm too old for this.

Breakfast:  2 slices Meijer extra sharp cheddar, coffee

 

Again.

Lunch:  CFA spicy + pep jack, strips, fries, coke

Busy.  Excessive.

Dinner:  Chopped steak, mash, toast, salad w ranch, 32 oz Yuengling, no bakes

And if I had any other junk food handy I'd be eating it.  Sheesh. 

Exercise:  Nope.

Steps:  3,456 per phone, 2,910 per the new pedometer.  There was a brief stretch where I was without the pedometer, so probably pretty similar.

112.4 

Fourth Fifth Sixthmeal

Monday, March 2, 2026

Ugh.  Once again not ready.  Did not sleep great, woke up well before 5:00.  Managed to get up when my alarm went off at 5:30, eventually got going and in to work early.  Where I was not productive.  Sigh.

It's going to be an absolutely brutal week.

Breakfast:  2 slices Meijer extra sharp cheddar, coffee

 

Standard.

Later:  McD Egg mcmuffin, hash browns

$1 mcmuffin day and I was hungry.

Lunch:  Leftover tuna biscuit sandwich, 2 slices Cabot white american, cheese popcorn

 

A very cheesy lunch.  Cleaned up the cheese and corn.

Dinner:  Chili cheese dogs, fries, sprite, CFA spicy + PJ, frosted Dr Pepper

Way way too much

Exercise:  Nope.

Step Count:  2,195 on phone.  New pedometer arrived today, haven't had time to unpack it.

111.4

New Month New Challenges

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Well okay then.  February wasn't very good.  Let's do better.

Second day in a row waking up at 5:00, though once again it took me a long time to get going.  Not sure that I'll keep waking up that early, but it's something I have no control over.

Breakfast:  Lazy bagels w chive and onion cream cheese, coffee

 

Bought some new baking powder recently and it's made a notable difference.

Lunch:  Hot tuna biscuit sandwich, cheese popcorn

 

An old favorite from my youth, which I just winged.  Also some tweaks, including avo oil mayo.  Turned out absolutely FANTASTIC.  10/10, will make again.  Probably next weekend, actually.

Dinner:  Spaghetti w meatballs, salad, garlic bread, 12 oz Miller Lite, chocolate sugar cookies w choc ice cream

 

Sunday dinners.  Ate too much.

Exercise:  Nope.  Day of rest.

Steps (according to phone):  300.   LOL.  I don't keep my phone in my pocket on Sundays, so no idea.  I ordered a new pedometer since I cannot seem to find the one I have (which I don't like anyway).

110.4

Dollars Spent / Monthly Total (excluding vacation):  $0.00 / $0.00 

Last Of Feb Thx

Saturday, February 28, 2026

Glad to make it through another week.  Now, if I could just fix a few things.

Spent the morning at work, left about 1:00 to grab some lunch.  Planned to just eat at my desk, but nope, cleaning staff are there.  Stop back later, nope co-worker is there.  I count on weekends and evenings for alone time, this is foiling my plan of grinding today so I could take tomorrow off.

Anyway.  Scale flat somehow.  That's good.  Tomorrow won't be, but it'll be a new month.

Breakfast:  McD egg mcmuffin, BEC biscuit, hash browns.  Coffee

I'm mostly indifferent to mcfood but they do make a tasty breakfast.

Lunch:  Mushroom swiss burger, way too many fries w ketchup and fry sauce

Local 5G knockoff.  Got carried away with the fries.

Dinner:  Pizza pep bacon

Not a home pizza since I did not prep dough at any point this week.  Idiot. 

Exercise:  Nope.

108.6 

Influenced

Friday, February 27, 2026

TGIF.  So glad.

I was successfully influenced last night.  Was scrolling X and encountered a random post about chocolate milk.  Sounded good so I had a glass.  Need to add it to the post.

Anyway, a long day is winding down.  One more day of February and then a reset.

Breakfast:  2 slices Meijer extra sharp cheddar, coffee

Again.

Lunch:  CFA spicy + pepper jack, fries, coke

On the go.

Snack:  No bake, pretzel thins

Still on the go.

Dinner:  Jersey Mikes hot italian, jalapeno ranch chips, 12 oz Miller Lite

Pretty tasty.

Will have a glass of chocolate milk.

Exercise:  Nope.  Fat.

108.6 

When Those Steps Aren't Very Big

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Limping along.   No big steps being taken.  No massive developments.  Just trying to get through the week.  Good times.

Scale minimum down, which was a pleasant surprise.  Maybe delayed punishment coming for last night's excess.  Speaking of which, I don't think it did my sleep any favors.  Need to not eat nearly that much in the evenings.

I was interested that my doctor said I could use Flonase to try to deal with my sinus issues.  Doing some research, maybe I'll give that a try.  If the airflow issues are solved (and I don't eat so freaking much), maybe that helps solve sleep, which in turn starts solving exercise.  It's all related.

Breakfast:  2 slices Meijer extra sharp cheddar, coffee

 

Rushed out the door, on the late side.

Lunch:  McD big arch, fries

Tried the new burger, it was pretty good.

Also Snyders cheddar cheese pretzel pieces 

Dinner:   Chili cheese dogs, fries

Sigh.

Exercise:  Nope.  Will be trying to reset again this weekend.

106.6 

The Rules For Success

It's been quite a while since I posted anything that wasn't incorporated into a daily log, but I figured that this is something worthy (to me, since I'm the audience) to post on it's own.

Given my decades of efforts and (mostly) failure, I have learned a few things.  It might help to write them down and keep them together, maybe if I review them often enough the lessons will stick.

Anyway, without further introduction, my personal rules for success.

1.  Always have food prepped.  I have been failing recently by eating out, triggered by the fact that I would have to cook something.  It was my plan to have things prepped for the week on Sunday, but I did not get it all done.  And so rather than do something as simple as cook up a pound of ground beef, I hit a drive thru.  Make it easy, make it a no brainer - have food prepped.

2.   You aren't going to do it on short sleep.  About a million times over the years I have cut something short in the evening, telling myself I'll get up early to finish.  That almost never works.  I'll tell myself I'll get up early to start the schedule reset, but then I go to bed late.  Never works.   Productivity drops like a rock on short sleep.  Bad eating happens on short sleep.  You aren't going to be successful, you're not going to do good things on short sleep so get your rest.

 3.    It's all connected.  Sleep, exercise, eating, breathing.  All connected.  If you can't breathe, you can't sleep.  Don't sleep and you won't exercise.  Don't do those things and you aren't going to eat right.  To fix the problem you have to address them all. 

4.    Habits are hard to start but can be surprisingly pleasurable to maintain ... but can be easy to break.  The obvious thing is exercise.  I have a hard time making myself do it.  I don't enjoy it.  But I know I need to.  It's difficult to get into a consistent routine, but once you get over that hump -- I forget what the experts say, is it 30 days to make it a habit? -- it's not so bad.  When I was a regular walker I enjoyed it. But ... it doesn't take all that much to break a habit.  You can't let yourself get away with that.

 5.    There is always a reason.  While the vagaries of weight loss can be puzzling, there is always a reason why for any gain or loss.  It may take time to reveal itself, but there is one. 

More to come... 

  

 

Endless Apps As In Appetites

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Whose bright idea was it to schedule a medical appointment at the crack of dawn?  Oh, that's right, it was me.   Idiot.  Oh well.  Made for a short night of mediocre sleep.  At least the appointment was fine.  We'll see if there is any weirdness in the blood work.  I was a little concerned about the BP number when this morning's reading was high but it came in good.

Anyway, another day.  A busy one.

Breakfast:  McD egg mcmuffin, BEC biscuit, hash browns.  Coffee

Had to fast for labs, did not have time to run home and did not pack anything.  Poor planning.

Lunch:  Taco meat and mashed potatoes

 

Standard slop bowl.  Tasty.

Late afternoon snack of pretzel bits and some kind of cheezit things. 

Dinner:  Dominos NY pep ham is onion jala, bread bites

Crashed out.

Exercise:  Nope.

Definitely was encouraged to be more active.  Which I agree with 100%.

106.8 

Partially Opened Gate

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Yesterday was a halfway decent day.  Other than cheese popcorn, I ate what I had planned.  And frankly I wasn't all that upset about the extra, not that many calories just too many carbs.

Also managed to get rid of a little water.  Not quite an open floodgate, but the scale was down this morning reversing the last few days.

Today won't be as effective, as I'm having some work done on my car.  Which probably means a delivered sandwich for lunch.  Oh well.

Breakfast:  2 slices Meijer extra sharp cheddar, Meijer chicken bone broth 

 

It was a broth kind of morning.  The Meijer brand was okay, but not as good as whatever kind I had previously, probably Pacific. 

Lunch:   Jimmy Johns #9, chips, light lemonade

Pretty good, toasting sure makes a difference.  As usual with takeout though I wanted to keep eating.

Dinner:  Cheeseburger, fries w ketchup

Very good burger and fries from the local 5G knockoff.

Also cheese popcorn. 

Exercise:  Nope.

107.0 

Bigger With Less

Monday, February 23 2026

Okay, it is Monday again.  I really enjoy taking Sundays off but I will say that I'm not getting enough stuff done.  Either at work on Saturday or at home on Sunday.  Just not enough zip I guess.

Anyway, so far today I have narrowly managed to keep back on track.  It has not been easy, I want to EAT.  All the things.  Constantly.  But I am not going to.  The plan is to get back to really simple basics, a focus on protein foods, eating at home, less carbage.  I have a bag of cheese popcorn but I think that's it for on hand junk food.

Scale predictably way up, BP about the same still on the high side. 

Breakfast:  2 slices Meijer extra sharp cheddar, coffee

 

A pretty standard breakfast.  I did buy some salami so I can mix it up this week.

Lunch:  Taco meat, mashed potatoes

 

Upped the protein quantity from 1/3 lb to about 1/2 lb.  Mash stayed at 1 C.  Solid.

Dinner:  5 eggs over medium in EVOO, 2 meijer sausage patties, 12 oz Miller Lite

 

Messing with the egg-to-meat ratio here.

Also:  Lesser Evil cheese popcorn.  Tasty. 

Exercise:  Nope.

110.8 

Greatly Greatly Excessive

Sunday, February 22, 2026

Looking forward to a day of "rest".  My to do list covers an entire page, but I'm actually looking forward to doing most of it.  A significant piece is several cooking projects so that I can get back on track here.  A birthday party tonight, but after that I have no excuses until it's vacation time in 2.5 weeks.

Another predictable large jump on the scale today and the BP number was high too.  Actions have consequences.

Breakfast:  Lazy bagels w chive/onion cream cheese, coffee

 

Really should be the last time for the lazy bagels for the foreseeable future.  Intentionally did not buy more cream cheese so maybe I can give them up.

Lunch:  Jersey Mike's hot italian, salt & vinegar chips

Very tasty.

Dinner:  Fettucine, chicken, salad, garlic bread, blueberries and strawberries, brownie and ice cream

Birthday party. 

And earlier I had chili cheese dogs, fries, coke.  Ate WAY too much today. 

Exercise:  Nope.

108.6

The Master Of Gain

Saturday, February 21, 2026

Nobody, but nobody, can gain weight like I can.  Ten pounds in less than a week?  Child's play.  It's a gift.  A cursed gift, but a gift none the less.  No matter how long I am "good", the ability to binge eat enormous quantities is always there, lurking in the background.  

It's disgusting.  And when I stop to think about it, it makes me mad.

So let's get back on the horse.  Hitting the grocery store tonight, cooking tomorrow, let's do that.  Once we get through today.

Breakfast:  McD egg mcmuffin, BEC biscuit, hash browns.  Coffee

All very tasty, all very excessive and mostly bad for me.  And again I hated spending money, which may be one small factor pushing me toward being good long term.

Lunch:  Italian beef sandwich, fries

Again, tasty and bad for me.

Dinner:  Home pizza with italian sausage, bacon and mushrooms, 12 oz Miller Lite

 

I make a very tasty pizza.

Exercise:  Nope.  On the plus side I did a pretty good hike at the grocery store.

106.0 

Look Forward Angel

Friday, February 20, 2026

Whew, we made it.  TGIF.  Another week in the books.

I'm honestly looking forward to the reset.  I have found that both spending money and being a slave to my gut the last couple days have been unpleasant.  I'm looking forward to returning to full eat at home, no snacks, no stops along the way.  I'm good enough as a cook that it's not suffering.  I'm mostly just lazy.

Anyway, let us weekend.

Breakfast:  3 slices Sargento sharp cheddar, coffee

 

Finished the package.  Had a raspberry muffin mid-morning.

Lunch:  Chili cheese dogs, fries, tots, Coke Zero

Tasty but toxic.

Had a slice of pizza late afternoon.

Dinner:  Cheeseburger, fries w ketchup, Snyders jalapeno pretzel pieces

Local 5 Guys style place, very tasty. 

Exercise:  Nope.

102.6 

Upcoming Reset

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Another unsuccessful day on the food and exercise front.  Reset coming this weekend.

Breakfast:  2 slices Sargento sharp cheddar, coffee

 

Again.

Lunch:  CFA spicy w pepperjack, fries, 2 strips, diet lemonade

Not bad, just bad for me.

Dinner:  Restaurant mushroom swiss burger, fries, 16 oz Mich Ultra

 

A truly excellent burger and fries, plus a cold beer.  A+ and paid for by gift card.

Also no bakes, Lays kettle jalapeno chips

Exercise:  Nope

100.2 

Uncarded

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Well that's certainly different.  I was going to go home for lunch as usual today but could not as the entire area is blocked off by police and fire.  I think the power is out too.  So much for that.

Not much else to report.  Scale was predictably up quite a bit.  BP a bit higher.  Nothing surprising.  Hoping that I can avoid having to work super late again tonight but it's looking iffy.

Breakfast:  2 slices Sargento sharp cheddar, coffee

Standard.

Lunch:  Meatloaf sandwich, fries

I couldn't decide what I wanted for lunch instead of the planned bacon and eggs.  Ended up on this, which was good as always.

Dinner:  LC pep pizza w sauce, capper of oatmeal cookies and milk

A no photo day.

Exercise:  Nope

99.0

Dollars Spent / Remaining:  $ 16.09 + $7.73 / Way over 

Post Meltdown Reflection

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Hours later and I'm still kinda ticked off at myself for last evening's failure.  It was something of a cascading fail - if I had cooked my potatoes on Sunday as planned I think I could have made myself eat the planned meal of leftovers.  But I left that chore for last night and when I realized that I had hours worth of stuff to do at work, I cracked.  I learned that I can still eat to crazy excess when I crack. 

The consequences weren't life altering.  Up a pound on the scale.  I'll lose it.  The stress and the excess calories kept me awake until about 2:00, so I'm running on very little sleep today.  So far it's been okay, but I will need to get extra tonight.  

Still hoping to get through the rest of the month without further damage, but I can already see cracks in the resolve.

Breakfast:  2 slices Sargento sharp cheddar, coffee

 

 

Standard.

Lunch:  3 eggs scrambled in a little EVOO, bone broth rice, 3 strips Meijer bacon

 

Also standard.   Merely okay.

Dinner:  LC pep pizza + sauce

Full embrace of FAT TUESDAY.   Once again back to the office for additional hours.

 

And the capper, oatmeal cookies and milk.

Exercise:  Nope.

97.0

Dollars Spent / Remaining:  $ 9.16 / $ 0.00 (over) 

After That The Fix

Monday, February 16, 2026

Another week.  Kicking it off with a non-holiday holiday.  Just another work day.

Scale minimum up, BP a bit higher than it has been.  I'm losing interest in the budget challenge, though I think I will stick it out through the end of the month.  Eating all meals at home is good for a lot of things, but as long as I eat this much starch (and don't exercise) I probably won't lose any weight.  So as much as it pains me to do it I think I'll have to change.

Breakfast:  2 slices Sargento sharp cheddar, coffee

 

Standard stuff.

Lunch:  3 eggs over medium, 3 strips bacon, bone broth rice

 

A bit light on the rice.  This was okay.

Dinner:  Dominos thin crust w ham, bacon jala stuffed cheesy bread

Ugh.  I cracked.  Stupid work.

Capper a glass of 2% milk. 

Exercise:  Nope.  Went back to work for hours.

96.0

Dollars Spent / Remaining:  $ 8.47 / FAIL.  $ 8.08 over.

Cook Those Projects

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Strange start.  Could not get to sleep last night.  Not super tired and with just enough sinus irritation to make it a challenge.  It was after 1:00 before I crashed.  Sleep itself felt okay, I guess.  But then I woke up and could not get back to sleep.  Finally looked at the clock, 6:00.  Ugh.  So I'm running on less than five hours today.

Scale minimum up, BP okay, let's have a day.  Lots of cooking and stuff to do but first off to Meijer for the mid-month restock.

Breakfast:  Lazy bagels with chive and onion cream cheese, coffee

 

Made with the little container of greek yogurt I bought on the first (since they were out of big ones) and some olive oil.  Tasty as usual.

Lunch:  2 eggs (plus two egg whites) scrambled w peppers and onions in EVOO, 2 strips Meijer bacon

Will also have tastes of today's cooking projections, which include mashed potatoes, bone broth rice and oatmeal cookies. 

Dinner:  Chuck roast w gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, NSA peaches, 12 oz Miller Lite, oatmeal cookies

 

Sunday dinners.  All very tasty and I have roast and carrots for the next two nights.

Exercise:  Nope

95.8

Dollars Spent / Remaining:  $ 13.06 / $ 0.39

Forgot I had five dollars of store perks so I was able to get what I needed.  Whew.   Also noted that I had not updated my spreadsheet when I bought a slightly more expensive bottle of olive oil at Walmart ($8.79 vs the $7.36 I had planned) the other day in order to get glass instead of plastic, so I didn't have as much available to start the day as I had thought.  Now to get through the next two weeks with zero spend.  

Fully Blocked

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Ah, the annual holiday that celebrates the fact that February is half over.  It truly is the worst month.

Many hours of complete blockage appear to have finally convinced the sinuses to settle down.  We'll see if that continues, but it's been good so far this morning.  Plan for the day is mostly office time, so the change of environments may test it.  Still, TGIS.

Scale was down this morning thanks to a nice system reset, back down to the low mark.  Today will test that.  BP was fine.  Feel okay, though I can't say that I slept well.

Breakfast:  Sprouted oatmeal w butter and maple syrup, coffee

 

Standard of late, though given that I plan to make another batch of oatmeal cookies on Sunday I'm not sure if my bag of oats will make it through the month.

Lunch:  Taco meat, bone broth rice, guacamole

 

Usual portion sizes.  Those 1C glass containers sure are handy.

Dinner:  Home pizza with pepperoni, ground beef and jalapenos, 12 oz Miller Lite

 

You have to love pizza night.  So, so good.  On one hand I'd like to increase the size of my dough balls a bit and get something closer to a 14" pizza, but the flip side is that would be a lot more pizza.  Which my mouth would love, but my waist not so much.

 

And the capper, oatmeal cookies plus 2% milk.

Exercise:  Nope.  Active but nothing that counts.

95.6

Dollars Spent / Remaining:  $ 0.00 / $ 14.88 

Yearning To Breathe Freely

Friday, February 13, 2026

Very happy to see Friday, though it is going to be a crazy busy day.

Also happy to see a small drop on the scale.  By all rights it could have been up due to another night of excessive eating of very calorie dense stuff.  But it wasn't.  Still essentially flat for the month as I drag my feet on exercise, but is what it is.   BP was a bit higher than usual but not crazy.

Also hoping for a day of no sinus irritation.  Very tired of that.  (ETA:  LOL, nope)

Breakfast:  Meijer extra sharp cheddar cheese, coffee

Last of the block.  It was interesting having the scaled down portion sizes this week (ate 4 oz over the five days instead of the usual 7 or 8 oz).  Can't say I really recommend it.

Lunch:  3 eggs over medium in a bit of EVOO, 1 C bone broth rice, 1 C chorizo gravy

 

Another day another bowl.  Gravy instead of patties or bacon does make for a heartier bowl.

Dinner:  5 oz taco meat, 1 C bone broth rice, guacamole, 12 oz Miller Lite 

 

Also a repeat bowl.  Yum.  I might make March the month of many slop bowls.

 

And the capper.  Sprouted oatmeal cookies and 2% milk.

Exercise:  Nope

97.0

Dollars Spent / Remaining:  $ 0.00 / $ 14.88 

Here come the test, I will get my restock in tomorrow or Sunday and so far my list is almost $ 2.00 over budget.  I probably have enough returnables (home and work) to cover that, but it will be close. 

Absurd Appetite

Thursday, February 12, 2026

I do not know what is causing it, but I have the hunger this week.  Just a relentless desire to eat.  It is quite annoying.  I have pretty much worked through my supply of readily eatable stuff other than planned meals so I won't necessarily be able to indulge going forward but this week has been bad.

Which is why it was oddly pleasing to have the scale give me the same number for the third day in a row.  It's not a great number or even a good one, but at least it was not up.  BP fine too.

Breakfast:  Meijer extra sharp cheddar, coffee

Again.

Lunch:  3 eggs over medium in a little EVOO, 1 C spicy beans, 2 Meijer sausage patties 

Again.  Testing out the EVOO I got yesterday, seems fine.

Dinner:  ~ 5 oz taco meat, 1 C bone broth rice, guacamole, 12 oz Miller Lite

 

I do like the slop bowls.

 

And the capper.  Ferris cherries berries and nuts with dark chocolate and 2% milk.

Exercise:  Nope

97.4

Dollars Spent / Remaining:  $ 0.00 / $ 14.88

Underappreciated Miracles

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Here to sing the praises of a truly underappreciated miracle drug.  We're talking ... Afrin. 

And I'm being completely serious.  A couple times a year I just can't stand the sinus issues any longer, crack and use the stuff.  And it works.  Five minutes later, I'm breathing freely the way the body is designed to work.  It truly is miraculous.

Obviously last night was when I cracked.  Just before I went to bed.  And you know what?  I slept better.  Deeper, probably.  Had a very lengthy dream.  Didn't get extra sleep (my fault) but slept through right up to my alarm.  Woke up and felt good.  Got going without incident.  Had a blood draw and I actually felt a bit of pep.  Noticeably more with it, like I could actually do things.  Sleep is good.  Oxygen is good.

Now if I could just get rid of the sinus issues without needed pharmaceutical intervention that would be great.  Not sure I can though.

Scale was flat which is miraculous given the minor meltdown last night, BP good.  Let's go. 

Breakfast:  Meijer extra sharp cheddar, orange juice, coffee

Last of the OJ.  Not planning a rebuy, that's a carb I can easily cut.

Lunch:  3 eggs over medium in butter, 1C bone broth rice, 1C chorizo gravy

 

Quite a bit of food.  Tasty.

Dinner:  Leftover chili, rice, 12 oz Miller Lite

 

 Last of the chili.  

 

Also Ferris winter spice mix.  More Christmas treats.  My desire to eat is relentless tonight.

 

And the capper   Truffles and 2% milk.

Exercise:  Nope.

97.4 

Dollars Spent / Remaining:  $ 7.36 /  $ 14.88

Had to pick up a prescription so I grabbed olive oil at Walmart.  I'll get the rest this weekend.  It will be tempting to pre-buy a couple non-perishable things for March - there are a few good sales.