Let's Get Rid Of 2021

Friday, December 31, 2021

Goodbye and good riddance.  You miserable old bag of a year.

Even though it was a holiday spent the whole day at work.  Boo.  Have lots more to do this weekend, too.  Oh well, I got my holiday last weekend.

Breakfast:  Salt bagels w veggie cream cheese, coffee

Haven't had these in a while.  Awful for me but pretty tasty.

Lunch:  CFA 2x spicy, fries (w *one* ketchup)

I guess when you don't specify a quantity, you get one ketchup.  LOL.

Dinner:  Deluxe pizza plus jalapenos, bottle of cava after

Oh and I had a few chips and a little onion dip to clean that up too.  Happy new year!

Ate too much, now getting a bit silly.

Exercise:  Nope.

55.8

Things That Go Together

Thursday, December 30, 2021

It's no coincidence.  Eat way too much in the evening, especially pizza, and the snorning numbers go through the roof.  Probably related to needing more bed time too.   I'm kinda irked at myself for being waaaay too lax during the holiday -- should have buckled down outside of two or three days -- but it's almost over.  Just trying to keep the damage to ten pounds, which I should be able to erase in a few weeks without too much difficulty IF I can get back on track.  Fully.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup

Late Breakfast:  TB sausage breakfast burrito, beefy crunch burrito

Forgot I had to get a blood test this morning, was ready to eat something when I finished.  So I did.

Lunch:   Soup, toast

A bit later than usual but not too much.

Dinner:  Prime rib, mashed potatoes, toast, salad w ranch, 16 oz Labatt, Culvers salted caramel and reeses concrete mixer

Uh, yeah.

Exercise:  Nope.  Would have been a decent morning, too.  We're supposed to get hammered this weekend so who knows what will be possible.

54.4 

Sliding Far And Fast

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

I'm definitely ready to hit the reset button come Monday.  It's been a rocky week.

Breakfast:  Coffee

About the only thing that's gone right.

Lunch:  Jimmy Johns #5 Vito ex cheese? ex pickles ex peppers, salt & vinegar chips

Stuck at work.

Dinner:  Pizza Hut thin pep beef pork, Nice cheese popcorn and oatmeal cookies

Sigh.

Exercise:  Nope.  Sleep schedule still way way off.

54.0

Still Off Schedule

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

I'm thinking that it's going to be rather difficult to get back on schedule after the holiday.  I'm way off and not getting much better, though at least I did make it in to work today almost on time.  Still no sign of being rested enough to get up at what was the usual hour, I'm going to have to tire myself out and go to bed earlier.  Then again, I'm also not going to stress about it until after the holiday.  If I can't get back on track then, well then I will get mad.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Soup and toast

Yup.  Made more plain bread this time than raisin, tastes fine.

Dinner:  Dominos thin crust pep ham onion, chips and onion dip, 12 oz Miller Lite

The hunger.

Exercise:  Nope.

52.6

Mexican Monday Now Sugar Coated

Monday, December 27, 2021

I really should be getting a jump on the resolutions.

Interesting night last night.  Wasn't super comfortable when I went to bed, woke up before 1:00 with acid reflux and some serious gut unpleasantness, managed to get it settled down enough (despite not having any Pepto or anything on hand) to sleep in the recliner, moved back to bed at 5:00 and oops didn't wake up until 8:15.  Not good.  At least I felt decent.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Keto bowl with ground beef

Might be my current fave meal out, not sure.  Definitely good tho.

Dinner:  2 tacos mexican style, 2 american style, 12 oz All Day IPA, choc caramel corn, some random crackers

Relentless eating machine tonight.

Exerclse:  Nope.  Overslept, and wouldn't have gone due to weather anyway.

52.8

Breaking Soon

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Whew, ready for a break from the feasting and festing.  I'm hoping that I can go back to getting decent quality sleep on a regular schedule.  Cause I am WAY off right now.  One more day of feasting at least but I do have to work tomorrow so hoping to get a bunch of stuff done today - many dishes, a little laundry, cleaning, that sort of thing.

Breakfast:  Leftover sausage strata, almond banket, coffee

Not very with it, forgot to take a photo.  Oops.

Lunch:  Donkey chips with OTB guacamole salsa, Ore Ida onion tater tots w ketchup

Cleanup.  Not picture worthy.

Dinner:  Leftover turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, Jell-o, cranberry, rolls w butter, a small glass of pinot noir, more almond banket

Tweaked my reheating strategy and very, very pleased with the results.  All delicious.  Again.

Back to reality tomorrow, though I still have many holiday treats to eat and the New Years holiday.  We'll call it semi-reality.

Exercise:  Nope.  Slept in, needed it.  About nice enough to golf if chilly - didn't hit 40 - but I elected to do some of my million house projects instead.

50.6

Warming Up To The Merry

December 25, 2021

Christmas Day

A rough, rough morning.  Long day yesterday, by the time I went to bed I had been up over 20 hours and I'm too old to do that easily.  Slept poorly.  One lousy glass of wine produced two wakeup bouts of cramps.  Too bad, too, because I really enjoyed the wine and took notes so I could find it again.  Not happening, not worth it.

Breakfast:  Sausage strata, grapefruit, raisin toast w butter, pumpkin bread w butter, caramel nut coffee cake, coffee, orange juice

More feasting.  

Lunch:  Triscuits and a few Wheat Thins, bar cheez, 12 oz Miller Lite

After golf before making dinner.

Dinner:  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, gravy, rolls w butter, Jell-o salad, cranberry, pinot noir, christmas cookies w vanilla ice cream

Feast, capital F, full stop.

Exercise:  9 holes walking.  Great that it was nice enough to get out there.

49.4

The Eve of The Day Not of The Eve

Friday, December 24, 2021

Keeping the holiday stuff rolling.  It's been a busy morning.  Walk, Walmart, laundry, cleaning, cooking.  All stuff that needs to happen and it's been pleasant since I'm not too terribly far behind schedule.

Breakfast:  Marble corn bread scramble, diced redskin potatoes, coffee

Yup.  Haven't been there in a while.  It was a good choice, though after a rather generous tip a bit pricey.  Will continue not eating out as much in 2022 I think.

Snack:  A few club crackers, had about six left in the sleeve.  Donkey chips and On the Border guacamole salsa

The hazards of snack-making duty. 

Lunch:  All of the food.  All of it.  Sausage toasts, bacon crackers, cheese and crackers, bar cheez, carrots and celery with ranch dip, proscuitto, salame, a couple chocolates, a christmas cookie, no idea what else I'm forgetting.  Ate too much of course.  No photos.

Dinner:  NY Strip, cheese fondue with bread cubes, carrots and celery, red wine, 24 oz Coors Light

Not too heavy but super late, didn't eat until almost 10 ... didn't need to.

Exercise:  Walk, 1.8 miles, 42 minutes.  It was like Christmas, just a day early ... in terms of nobody being out and about.  Literally saw nobody walking or jogging.  A paper delivery truck and a food service semi were the only two vehicles I encountered in the first 20 minutes -- they're regulars.  Ended up with a vehicle count other than those of under five.   So quiet.   It wasn't even unpleasant, 35 and super foggy.

46.4

Seasonal Enfattening

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Amazing how little it takes to get thrown out of routine.  My sleep schedule is going in the wrong direction.  Barely made any effort to get up, let alone get out and walk, when the alarm went off.  Ended up dozing for a lot longer.  Fortunately it was nominally a vacation day and it didn't matter when I went to work.

The good news is that I didn't pay for my sloth this morning or the Jimmy Johns yesterday when I hit the scale.  I'm afraid that I won't be so lucky tomorrow or much over the next nine days.  Some enfattenting or refattening will be happening.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  CFA spicy chicken, mac and cheese, peppermint chip shake

Also pictured:  WATER.

Nice of them to send me a free shake offer and I had points to pay for the sandwich.  But for those things I probably would have just had a bowl of soup.

Dinner:  Spicy bacony beans w extra sharp cheddar, Donkey tortilla chips, 24 oz All Day IPA

Too many chips.  Honestly, not a great bag either.  Tasty if bad for me meal.

Also had a small handful of mixed nuts while waiting for the beans.  

Exercise:  Nope.  As mentioned, slept really late.  Will have been an active day with shopping and such (including what looks like is going to be a brutal trip to Meijer), but no set exercise.

46.0

Break Time Party Time

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Whew, made it.  Officially on break, even though I'll be working tomorrow.  Just not "officially".  

Holiday party today, indulgence planned for tomorrow, a couple days of holiday eating, leftovers, loads of treats on hand, it's going to be a scary 10 days.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Jimmy Johns #5 Vito, salt and vinegar chips, pickle

The usual holiday "catered" lunch.  It was fine.

Dinner:  Taco bowl, 12 oz All Day IPA

Standard.  Siete chips not pictured, were eaten.

Also:  Mixed nuts and another 12 oz of All Day IPA

Exercise:  Nope.  Got up, talked myself out of it.  Windchill was down around zero, was thinking about work stuff.  Snoozed an hour in the recliner, I've definitely gotten into a habit there that I need to break.

46.6

The Countdown Continues

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Only one more official work day before Christmas.  On one hand I'm a little jealous of those who get time off -- I mean, I always intend to take off the week between Christmas and New Years but never do -- but at the same time I'm usually ready to resume the routine after a long weekend.  So it goes.

Kicked off the 12 days of bad eating with lunch out, I'm going to have to be good during the week next week if I'm going to hang around my current number.  Way too many indulgences planned and there will some unexpected ones too...

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Steak sandwich, tater tots

Went out with a group.  Was going to get a chef salad but the place we picked out was too busy and this place didn't have one.  Boo.  I didn't like the other salad options.  Tasty, but not good for me.

Dinner:  Soup and toast, 12 oz All Day IPA

Repurposed lunch.  Good as always.  New batch of soup is fine.

Exercise:  Nope.  I do think after snoozing for an hour this morning that I'm back to my usual level of fatigue, which is good.  If I can go to sleep at the regular time maybe I can get a walk in tomorrow.  Also need to hit it hard on the weekends.  At least the scale was kind this morning.

46.0

Rapid Impact

Monday, December 20, 2021

It is quite amazing how fast the daily routine can run off the rails.  Slept in yesterday and the result predictably was that I was late getting to sleep.  Excess screen time and too many thoughts didn't help, but even with those I still would have been up super late.  Also predictably I'm not functioning great on 4 1/2 hours of sleep.  Will have to hope to crash early tonight and get it fixed.

On the positive side, not much damage from the weekend.  My body would probably like a day off from the cheese, but otherwise all good.

 Breakfast:  Coffee

 Yup.

 Lunch:   Soup and toast

Standard.  Last of that batch of soup, which was my best yet. 

Dinner:   4 tacos mexican style plus avocado, 12 oz Miller Lite

The universe was telling me I should have ordered three - got 3 slices of avo and 3 cups of hot sauce.  Oh well.  Tasty.

Exercise:  Nope.  Got myself out there but surrendered very quickly, just wasn't having it.  Cold wind.  I did go to Walmart and walked around for a half hour, but I'm not really counting it. 

47.4

Let's Delay That Impact As Long As Possible

Sunday, December 19, 2021

I do enjoy it when I'm trolled by the scale.  At least I find the humor in it.  Enjoy might be too strong a word, but it is definitely amusing.  I was fully prepared for a big jump this morning.  Huge dinner with pasta and dessert.  Ate late.  Went to bed late.  Slept in this morning.  Still full.  No walk.  Thinking okay, I'm mentally prepared for a spike of up to three pounds.  Result?  DOWN.  Oh come on ... no, wait ... OK thank you let's postpone the bad news for a day or two then.

I will say that it was nice to have that little bit of extra pep that goes with having lost what I have.  I could go up and down the stairs a few times, move furniture, zip around setting up dinner, clean things up, all sorts of things.  And I didn't get tired.  Sure, I was wiped out when I went to bed but I attribute that to it being well past my usual bedtime -- I didn't even get home until the time I usually go to sleep.

Anyway, no super ambitious plans for today.  Cleanup, laundry, the stuff that I usually do on Saturday, make some soup.  I'm not the least bit hungry so it's looking like a two meal day which is fine.  Or maybe even one if I'm still not hungry come lunchtime.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.  That's all I'm feeling like so far.

Lunch:   Soup and toast

Finally ready for lunch about 1:30.  Fresh batch of soup, as usual I expect it will improve with a freeze, thaw and reheat.  Placemats still in the dryer.

Dinner:  Home pizza with meat sauce and mushrooms, 24 oz Miller Lite

Last dough I had in the freezer, for fun I tried making it in a cast iron pan.  Used leftover meat sauce from the lasagna instead of regular pizza sauce.  Very tasty.

Exercise:  Nope.  Call it a rest day.  Slept in until 7:30, I hope that doesn't screw things up too badly but it was nice to get eight plus hours.

46.8

Mostly Cheesy

Saturday, December 18, 2021

TGIS.  As usual.  Yesterday wasn't super productive but the rest of the week certainly was.  

Finally wiped out last weekend plus Monday's damage.  Just in time for another weekend.  Oh well, I'm not going to stress about it much, Christmas will involve plenty of excessive eating.  I just have to keep walking and keep things light when the opportunity is there.  Hit it harder after the holidays.  I was rather pleased and more than a little surprised that last evening's monster dinner didn't result in a gain.

Speaking of which, today probably will.  Too many carbs, way too much cheese.

Breakfast:  2 egg omelet with extra sharp cheddar cheese, toast w butter, coffee

Kept it simple, didn't have breakfast until almost 11 and I was ready to just eat something.

Lunch:  Spicy bacony beans w extra sharp cheddar

Sure is a good batch.

Dinner:  Lasagna, garlic toast, salad with ranch, 24 oz Miller Lite, christmas cookies w vanilla ice cream

Even though I only make it once a year I make a pretty darned good lasagna.  The only regret is that I bothered with the ice cream -- I've become such an ice cream snob, I don't even really like the cheap grocery store brands.  Give me the premium stuff if I'm going to eat it.

Exercise:  Walk, 1.8 miles, 42 minutes.  Much like yesterday, early stages were full of dontwanna but managed to get through.  Once I turn the corner four blocks in I feel like I'm committed.  Also went to the grocery store for an hour after I got cleaned up.

47.0

Dozer

Friday, December 17, 2021

Friday.  Good.

Still dozy in the mornings after I manage to get in a walk.  Not sure why, really, but I am.  Maybe I can get a little extra sleep this weekend.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Soup and toast

Yup.

Dinner:   Keto bowl with ground beef

I got the bigger size.  Oops.  Yuge.  WAY too big.  About 3 meals worth.  Now I'm fat.  Okay, fatter.

Exercise:  Walk, 1.8 miles, about 42 minutes.  Slower today.  Had a whole lot of dontwanna this morning and really it's mostly the fact that it was a familiar route that got me through it.  Never got loose, never felt good, no pep.  But I made it.  It wasn't painful or anything, just not enjoyable. 

47.4

Slow Bounceback

Thursday, December 16, 2021

The week keeps chugging along.  Not ideal how it's going, but it's going.  It definitely hasn't been great, it's taking longer than usual to recover from the weekend excess, because Monday.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Soup and toast

Yup.

Dinner:  Taco bowl, 12 oz All Day IPA, 3 strips leftover thick cut bacon

Yup.  And cleanup.

Exercise:  Nope.  Not a surprise, knew full well yesterday that it wasn't going to be nice out there - wind gusts up to 65 mph.  Elected not to go out in it, not in the dark, not with stuff down all over the place.

49.2

Butter Makes It Better

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Hump day, hump part of day.  Week is half over and that's a good thing.

I need to lose the mental block about walk timing.  I talked myself out of going this morning mostly due to having an 8:00 meeting .. and then I promptly got in just before 8 because I went back to sleep.  Sure, I definitely could have used the sleep, but come on.  Once that alarm goes off, get up no exceptions.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Soup and toast

Standard.  Another good batch of soup.  And I never get tired of the HSCR toast with generous butter.  

Dinner:  Taco bowl, 12 oz All Day IPA

Again standard.  New batch of taco meat, used a slightly different technique this time, good as always.

Exercise:  Nope.  Got up, but not out.  Ended up sleeping from 6:00 to 7:00ish in the recliner and of course was more tired than before when I got up.  Felt reasonably peppy once I got moving though.

49.4

Expect The Disconnect

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Intellectually, I knew the scale would be up today after two days in a row of big dinners.  Knew it.  And yet all morning before weigh in I felt lean.  Leaner anyway.  Still terribad fat.  But leaner.  Hopped on the scale and that myth was dispelled, hard.  Oh well.  Like I said, I knew it.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Keto bowl with ground beef

Meeting out that way again, so I had a late lunch.  I like the bowl, even if they raised the price a buck from last time which was what, last week?

Dinner:  Leftover meatloaf and prime rib, Siete nacho grain free tortilla chips, Cabot reserve cheddar cheese, 12 oz All Day IPA

Cleanup, aisle my fridge.  Forgot to take a photo due to a Zoom call.

Exercise:  Walk, 1.8 miles, just under 40 minutes.  Notably quicker, especially on the first mile.  Had a little pep and picked 'em up and put 'em down faster.  Second half wasn't as quick but still respectable.  Like I said, I felt leaner and meaner.

49.8

Recoverathon

Monday, December 13, 2021

Whew.  I was tired last night.  Managed to make myself empty and reload the dishwasher with the last of the weekend dishes and I was done.  Capital D.  

I would like an explanation, though, about why I feel so much more tired if I snooze.  I woke up at 3:45, dealt with a foot cramp, and snoozed in the recliner.  Woke up with the alarm, multiple times in fact as I kept resetting it, and each time I was much more tired than I was at 3:45.  Guess I need to go to bed at a more consistent time and just refuse to snooze.

Anyway, that means today is a rest and recovery day.

Also of note, I was pleased that I didn't gain too much this weekend, though of course I am a little bummed that I gained at all given that yesterday was so active.  So it goes.  Have a work meeting tonight at a restaurant so today won't be great, but I'm well stocked on soup and taco bowls and spicy beans for what I hope will be a good rest of the week,

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Wild rice and ham soup, toast w butter

Last of the soup, first of the newest bread.  Both excellent.

Dinner:  Dinner salad w salsa ranch, rolls w a little butter (?), prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, 16 oz All Day IPA

New to me steakhouse.  Very good.  I did not eat all of the prime rib so I have some for dinner tomorrow.  Definitely ate too much, but at least I avoided a second beer and the dessert course.

Exercise:  Nope.  Rest day.

48.2

Achilleseses

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Wow, less than two weeks until Christmas.  So much to be done.  Scary.

It's kinda weird waking up well before 4:00 a.m.  It doesn't seem like that should be enough sleep, but I guess with eating less in the evening, semi regular exercise and fewer pounds I don't need as much.  I got up at 4:00 and tried lazing about on the couch for a change to see if I would be any looser.  Not notably so, unfortunately.  Oh well, I presume it comes with getting old.

Breakfast:  2 egg omelet with cheddar cheese and onion plus sour cream, 3 strips Smithfield thick cut bacon, medium avocado, 1/2 grapefruit, coffee

Deluxe breakfast.  Was the thickest thick cut bacon I have ever seen, I think the 12 oz package had six strips.  Which means this was a bit much, but whatever.  Probably would not buy again.

Also had a runt buttermilk pancake when I made those later for the freezer:

Turned out just fine even if the buttermilk was a couple days out of date.

Lunch:  Wild rice and ham soup, nacho Siete grain free tortilla chips

Good.

Dinner:  Meatloaf, box potatoes, green beans, rolls w butter, 12 oz Miller Lite

Also good.  Ate quite a bit, was hungry.

Exercise:  Walk, 1.8 miles, 40 minutes.  A bit faster today, despite grumbling achilleses.  They got over it.  Really the only negative was due it being Sunday and my being out a bit earlier than usual neither of the restaurants that I pass was frying bacon like they usually do before they open.  Sad.   So I had to make my own bacon aroma when I got home.

Also:  11 holes, walking.  iPhone credits me with 15k steps today with roughly 9k of them related to the golfing.  Whatever it was, a fine workout.

47.4

The Not Really Day

Saturday, December 11, 2021

TGIS.  I know the saying is usually TGIF but I was way too busy yesterday to feel any kind of relief that it was Friday.  Got home and was in bed not long after 8:00.

Of course early to bed means early to wake, which was sometime around 3:00.  I did manage to make myself go back to sleep until 5:00 and then dozed for a while after my aborted walk in the recliner.  Finally feeling decent after a cup of coffee, I definitely needed the extra sleep.  As an added bonus, very little snoring recorded and a good number on the scale ... though once again I'm less than fully confident in its accuracy.

Breakfast:  2 egg omelet with cheddar cheese and a bit of sour cream, sausage patty, 1/2 grapefruit, coffee

Quick and tasty.

Lunch:  Wild rice with ham soup

Version 2.0.  Winged it based on the Lunds and Byerlys recipe.  Added celery, more onion, more broth, used milk instead of half and half.  And much more ham.  Turned out very good.  I've really been eating well lately.  Have plenty left for the next couple of days.

Dinner:  Culver's mushroom and swiss burger, 12 oz Miller Lite

Not the most visually awesome burger but it was tasty as always.

Exercise:  Not really.  Got up, checked the weather which seemed OK despite what was a miserable forecast, and got out there.  Moved very slowly, was very tight.  Just did not feel right.  So between that and a lack of confidence in the weather holding -- we're supposed to get wind up to 60mph this morning -- I turned back before I made it more than a half mile.  Less than 15 minutes.  I'll be active around the house today which will help, but that'll probably be it.  Edit:  Went and walked around a craft show for 20 minutes plus, so another kinda-counting but not really activity.

47.0

A Visibly Cheesy Day

Friday, December 10, 2021

Quite a week.  Wiped out.  At least it's been a pretty good one, especially on the scale.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Keto bowl with ground beef

Could really call this breakfast ... got up at 4:30, finally ate after 2:00.  Whatever you call it, it was fantastic.  Really enjoyed it.  If this place was local I would eat there often.

Dinner:  Spicy bacony beans with extra sharp cheddar, 12 oz All Day IPA

Best batch of beans ever?  Maybe!  They were excellent.  And I have like 8 pints left in the freezer.

Exercise:  Walk, 1.8 miles, around 43 minutes.  Usual route, usual pace with no noted variation.  Felt okay throughout, no struggling but not a ton of pep after getting 5 1/2 hours of sleep.  Woke up well before the alarm.  Also did my grocery shopping before work and spent a couple hours this afternoon walking around a property.  Lots of steps today.

48.4

Postive Rebounding

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Not really sure what to make of this morning.  Felt kinda puffy.  Didn't walk.  Hopped on the scale and it bounced around some before settling on a number ... which was much lower than expected.   A good thing, of course.  I weighed again it gave me the same number so I'm recording it but it has re-raised questions in my mind as to how accurate it is.  I wonder if I have an old scale in storage that I could break out as a sanity check?

The more relevant takeaway is that I appear to rebound decently from the weekend and holiday badness.  Just like after Thanksgiving I have already dropped past my start of weekend low.  This is a very good thing, it's a relief to be able to think that a bad day can be erased relatively quickly.  Not an excuse to eat badly, just a comfort to know and that as long as the train stays on the tracks I'll get back to losing promptly.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Hamburger soup, toast w butter

Standard again.

Dinner:  Taco bowl, 12 oz All Day IPA

Standard yet again.

Exercise:  Nope.  Got up at the usual time but clearly needed more sleep.  Listened to my body (yeah right) and took an extra hour plus of snoozing time.  

49.6