Eliminating The Elimination Diet Or Something

Thursday, January 16, 2020

I got so inspired I started this post last night.  Go figure.

Another slow start.  Didn't fall asleep until well after 1:00, so I was less than perky come morning.  But, frankly, not as bad as I expected.  Which is a good thing.  Still, very glad tomorrow is Friday.

A thought I had last night on the conflicting information that's out there:  I'm going to experiment to find things that work for me.  I think the internet calls it N=1.  One example, TCD says no to avocadoes since they're mostly unsaturated fat.  Keto/lowcarb/etc says yes to avocadoes because they don't particularly spike insulin.  (Or something like that, I'm grossly oversimplifying).  I have some avos in the fridge I bought before reading about TCD.  I'm sure I'll still eat them, but I don't know if I'll buy more, it'll depend on how it goes.  There are plenty of other things I can and think I will eliminate -- for example, the Donkey tortilla chips.  They're tasty but they're fried in corn oil, which is about the worst fat out there according to TCD and they're not kosher on any diet focused on carb restriction.  We'll see if I eat the rest of the bag first though.  Probably will.

Lunch:  Wendy's double with cheese, plain, minus bun and one slice of cheese

That other slice of cheese stuck to the bun so completely that it was a complete loss.  I may need to resort to triples in the future, though this wasn't particularly good so it's not likely to happen too often.

Dinner:  Poor man's brisket nachos (Donkey chips, shredded cheddar, can of diced jalapenos, a medium avocado, leftover chuck roast, can of Herdez salsa)

Holy mother of something, I should not eyeball stuff when I'm hungry.  That was enough for 3 people and I didn't come remotely close to finishing it.  I did eat the entire avocado and the salsa, but the rest, not remotely close.  It was decent, if not quite great.  Did clean up a bag of cheese, the last of the chuck roast and much of my remaining bag of Donkey chips, so that's good.

Still ate too much and I'm quite stuffed.

Exercise:  Nope.  Going to stick around the house tonight.  Getting close to the point where I need to get moving though, excuses are weak and I've been feeling a little better.  I do think about ten more pounds and I'll see a definite bump in how I feel.

127.2

Cold Pizza Diet Wanted

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

A little sluggish this morning.  My schedule is definitely a couple of hours off and I need to try and fix that over the next few days.  I have an early start on Friday so I'll definitely get a nudge there whether I like it or not.  I still think it would be glorious to wake up early and rested.  Some day.

Was also a bit bloated.  Not sure if was eating pizza after 8:00 pm or the chips and salsa verde or a combination of both but I definitely was holding on to some extra liquid.  We'll see if it goes away today.

In other news, I noticed yesterday that I'm finally getting into this.  My interest level the past few years (and many attempts) is best described as superficial.  You probably have to go all the way back to the successful period in 2012-2013 to find a time where I was actually super invested in what's going on here.  Otherwise, just recording stuff.  This is a very good sign and makes me hopeful.

And it's not just the novel-length posts!

Another sign of being into it is that I've been reading more stuff online about different eating plans.  I've read more about keto, carnivore, croissant, French, whatever.  Of course there is a ton of conflicting information, but it's been interesting trying to puzzle some things out.  One thing I do wonder is if I'm super sensitive to vegetable/seed oils, since I do better when I don't eat them.  I should ask the mexican place if the corn tortillas they used are fried in lard instead of corn oil.  Could blow my whole theory right up.  (Insta-edit:  Looks like soft corn tortillas aren't even fried in any kind of oil.  Note to self, buy some masa harina.).  Obviously it's incredibly difficult to avoid them in 2020 USA but it is possible.

I think I'll be experimenting with some things, trying to see if I can keep the trend line moving downward while still enjoying food.  I should have room to do so since I have lots of extra weight.  Just a question of whether I can consume some level of carbohydrate while still losing.  On a related note I found this morning that Walmart carries a quality brand of animal fat (Fatworks) so I picked up some lard and some tallow.  I can get lard from the farm I patronize but have no local source of tallow.  Looking forward to frying up a potato or two.

Lunch:  Cold leftover pepperoni mushroom 4 cheese pizza

Good stuff and about as quick and easy as it gets.  If only every day were that simple.  I'll have to look and see if I can tweak pizza any to fit better into any reasonable diet plan.  Only eating half at a time is a step in the right direction at least.

Dinner:  Leftover chuck roast with green peppers, TCD style mashed potatoes.

Decided to only re-heat half of the last portion of the roast (since it would be too much) and to try the super-buttery mashed potato recipe from the croissant diet page.  300g potato is about 45g of net carb, which isn't as much as I would have guessed.  It's also more potato - 2 of what I would call medium potatoes came out to 283g.  4T of butter is a lot of butter, probably double what I would use normally and I always though I was pretty generous with the good stuff.

Anyway, this greatly improved my enjoyment of the roast.  Very delicious and I'm quite full.  Since I only did maybe half of my last container of roast I'll probably do this again tomorrow night, especially if I don't retain a bunch of water.  Maybe I'll have some green beans or something since I'm now out of the roasted green pepper.

Exercise:  Nope.  A pretty sedentary day.  I should go out now and do something, but it's already after 7:30 and an early bedtime is the best idea.  I'm also quite full.

127.2

Arguing For Tacos

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

I have noticed that my weight tends to be lower on Tuesday than it is on Monday.  I always weigh in the morning before I get dressed for the sake of "consistency".  Jokingly I've attributed that to my habit of indulging in takeout Taco Monday at the local mexican place -- they're good and it's hard to beat $1 tacos.

Today because I am a moron and because I don't really want to be at work I decided to attempt to quantify the impact of tacos.  I determined that I ate these tacos and recorded my weight both days 24 times since the beginning of 2019*.  On the day after eating TACOS my weight was lower 19 times, higher 5 times, with an average loss of 1.3 pounds. 

Sounds like I need more taco nights.  A lot more taco nights.  I could be at my goal by summer!

I know, I know.  I'm not serious about suggesting that this "proves" anything.  It may be mostly lag from the weekends where I'm usually much more active.  On two of the five increase days the gain was explicable due to fast food lunches, but two others showed a 1 lb increase despite "clean" eating.  It absolutely could just be variance with the scale -- three of the five increases were just 0.2 lb -- or with fluid retention.  I certainly don't trust the accuracy of the scale since I'm up there not too far from the capacity limit.

(* Data is incomplete since there are stretches of no reporting.)

 Now, with all those disclaimers, I will say that it's pretty amusing that tacos "could" be a weight loss food.  When you are as fat as I am that is.

Anyway, since I'm in active avoidance mode I will also say that getting a new chromebook has been very helpful as far as keeping up with posts.  It's just so much more pleasant to use than my old one which was having screen issues.  It would be great if I could track the entire year.  Also:  I'm not going to get carried away with goals, especially weight-related ones since I know how hard I can fail, but I think it would be reasonable to try and be down 25 lbs before my next trip in about two months.  I should have at least ten of that in easily disposed water weight, the rest would be attainable just by eating on plan for a stretch ... he says as he plans another testing night of homemade pizza.

Lunch:  Leftover italian beef style chuck roast, a little way past prime spelt rye bread.

Satiety!  What a concept!  This was too much food.  I ate maybe 2/3 of it and then I ... stopped eating.  I could get used to that.

Dinner:  Donkey chips and a can of Herdez salsa verde, homemade pepperoni, mushroom, 4 cheese pizza.

More satiety.  I am not even remotely considering eating the other half of the pizza that's cooling on the counter.  I'll be satisfied to eat it tomorrow.  It was delicious by the way.   Now, once I get through this bag of chips, I should see about not buying more.

Exercise:  Nope.  Super tired today plus I worked very late.

126.8

Redirected By Fed X

Monday, January 13, 2019

Ah, the dawn of another week.  I spent a few minutes this morning compiling a list of things to do ... as usual it's infinitely longer than the list of things I'll actually get done.

Paid the price a bit this morning for yesterday's crap eating.  It requires a lot of activity to offset the garbage and I did not get there.  At least today will be better in the eating department.

Had a nice experience with Fed Ex today.  I wasn't home to accept a delivery, so they dropped it off at a Walgreens three blocks away and left me a voice mail.  It couldn't have been easier to pick it up and so much more convenient than the Fex Ex office which is a good 20 minutes away.

Lunch:  Deconstructed chicago italian beef

Okay, I just like the name.  I used a recipe from the food network yesterday to cook my chuck roast to get approximately the flavor of an italian beef.  I roasted a green pepper and added some giardiniera to my bowl, along with some past-its-prime rye spelt bread with the end of a stick of butter.

Very tasty.  Will eat again -- tomorrow, in fact.  Minus the bread though, unless I can salvage a bit more.  I will say that I should have made more portions, this was a LOT of food.

Also, as mentioned, I'm not going to bother listing breakfast unless I actually eat something.  Just assume that there was coffee.  I don't drink as much, but usually one or two cups are part of the routine.

Dinner:  4 tacos mexican style with cilantro, onion, avocado and hot sauce

Standard taco Monday.  Best deal in town.

Exercise:  Nope.

129.4

Ice Semifizzle

Sunday, January 12, 2020

I haven't been outside yet but it sounds like iceamageddon wasn't as bad as projected.  Certainly enough to be annoying, but without the widespread power outages.  I'm happy about that.  And shaking my head at the people on social media criticizing the local meterologists. 

Not a lot of sleep last night or pep this morning.  Decided to do my roast in the crock pot instead of the oven, it's just easier and I might want to venture out if it's not too bad.  We will see.

Breakfast:  2 eggs over medium in butter, spelt rye bread with butter, coffee

Decided to make today a three meal day with the early start.  Quite delicious.  The bread is past its prime and probably not edible beyond tomorrow, so I will probably mix up another batch.  I think I'll try making a half loaf size but restricting the horizontal spread in the pot using aluminium foil and parchment paper. 

Lunch:  Chips and salsa, 2x Taco Bell beefy fritos burrito, shredded chicken burrito, fire sauce

Alas, my roast was not done at lunch time.  I had some chips and salsa after a successful run to Walmart for can Herdez while I waited for the roast, then it wasn't done.  So I got Taco Bell in between trips to the storage unit.

Dinner:  American style goulash w parmesan cheese, garlic bread, 12 oz Miller Lite, 2x McChicken

Fail.

Exercise:  I'm counting it.  Moved a lot of heavy bed pieces and boxes.  Pretty active day.  And I am completely and utterly wiped out at 9:00 pm.

128.8

Waiting For The Ice

Saturday, January 11, 2020

It's going to be a quiet day.  No plans.  Managed to sleep in a little and delay doing anything until about 9:30, soon to be followed by some low key weekend chores like laundry.  About a zero on the excitement meter but I'm perfectly fine with having a rest day.  No ice yet as far as I know but it could happen any time. 

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.  If was going to bother posting breakfast: coffee going forward I'd probably have to start taking mug shots.

Lunch:  2 jumbo eggs over medium, kiolbasa breakfast sausage, sharp cheddar, Alexia hash browns in butter, coffee

Breakfast bowl.  This was a bit much, though it did do a good job of keeping me not hungry for eight hours or so.  The sausage was the weak link, I just don't seem to get it hot enough for my liking even though I heated it for quite a while.   Oh well, it was still good.

Dinner:  CF beef bacon, Donkey chips with Herdez roasted tomato salsa

The other half of last night's dinner.  Tried eating the beef bacon first to see if I'd eat fewer chips.  Maybe it worked.  Maybe.

I have a roast to cook tomorrow, hopefully it's done in time for lunch.

Exercise:  Nope.  A moderately active day including a little heavy lifting but nothing sustained.

128.2

Double Donkey

Friday, January 10, 2020

Getting ready for a major winter storm this weekend.  By that I mean I joined eight million other people at the grocery store and am now home, hunkered down and waiting for it to hit.  No plans to go anywhere tomorrow, not sure it would even be possible.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.

Lunch:  Kiolbasa breakfast sausage, 2 slices extra sharp cheddar cheese, spelt rye bread w butter

Good stuff.  Went a little heavy on the bread due to a thick slice.  And I just realized that I posted this photo upside down.  Oops.

Dinner:  Donkey tortilla chips with Herdez roasted tomato salsa,  CF beef bacon with black pepper and garlic

Extreme salsa closeup!  It's just a standard cereal bowl, not some enormous monstrosity.  Half a jar.

No cans of Herdez at the store tonight, guess I'll have to try Walmart.  Bought extra Donkey chips because storm.  Or something.  Seriously though, just on a kick.  I'm sure I'll be done shortly.

Exercise:  Nope.

128.8

Donkeys Down

Thursday, January 9, 2020

A day that was okay.  Decent sleep, including something like six hours before interruption.   Felt like I'd had enough rest, a good thing considering that I had to be out the door early.  A relaxing evening of doing very little.  All good and tomorrow is Friday.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Yup.  Glad I had k cups and an insulated mug on hand since I needed to hit and run.

Lunch:  Homemade spelt rye bread with Kerrygold butter, Applegate sliced turkey, 2 slices extra sharp cheddar cheese, Fage TruBlend yogurt

A/K/A Deconstructed turkey sandwich!  (with yogurt).  I enjoyed this more than expected -- it was a quick pit stop lunch break.  The full sized loaf of bread turned out fantastic.  I even enjoyed the turkey, which usually is good for only a meh.

Dinner:  Ham and bacon and white bean soup, Donkey tortilla chips

Made the beans last month, still great.  This was a larger jar than usual, most of the extra was liquid.  This was definitely soup-y.  Like those Donkey chips, would get again even though I shouldn't eat them.  Cleaned up this bag.

Exercise:  Nope.

131.6

Mourning The Sleepthru

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

All things being equal, I'm glad that the sugar withdrawal wasn't rougher.  Hopefully I'll be clean or close to it for a while.

Another interesting night of sleep.  Went to bed earlier, was asleep by 10:30.  Woke up at 3 (knee, bladder), moved to recliner and again was sound asleep when my alarm went off at 7.  At least I wasn't as fatigued this morning.  Sad, however, that sleeping straight through appears to be a thing of the past.  I'm going to miss that.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Not at all hungry this morning.

Lunch:  Leftover homemade pepperoni mushroom pizza

Ate it cold.  At 2:00.  It was a weird day.  Did the job.  And, YES!  Success with not eating all the pizza until gone.  Very pleased by that.  That's twice in a row.

Dinner:  Chips and salsa verde, a little spelt rye bread and butter, 3 slices of Applegate Farms turkey, 2 slices of extra sharp cheddar, Fage TruBlend strawberry yogurt.

Keeping the weird theme going.  Attacked the chips and salsa verde when I got home, then decided I was pretty satisfied and that I didn't want to eat my planned dinner -- which I'll just eat tomorrow, no big deal.  Then I decided to make a plate of something and I ended up with this.  It looks like more than it was since the bread was past its prime and the outside layers too tough to enjoy so I didn't eat those parts.  Bought some Kerrygold and I had a nice butter to bread ratio.

It was still a bit much.

Exercise:  Nope.

133.0

Observant

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

So I was reading some of the archives last night and it hit me ... I used to eat less.  When being good, I mean.  Maybe I should pay more attention to that.  And, you know, be hungry once in a while.

Another bumpy night.  Went to bed only a little later than intended, more like 11 than 10.  It took about two minutes to become uncomfortable -- ankle this time.  Moved to the recliner and fell asleep relatively quickly.  It felt like I slept OK, had a dream, but when the alarm went off at 7 I was still very tired and sleepy.  I may need to allow more time, though in the past that hasn't really done much for me as I generally can't force early sleep.  We will see.

Mid-day update:  Not a very pleasant morning.  Tired, no energy, slight headache.  It took until almost lunch to realize what's probably going on here -- I didn't think of the keto flu because I didn't exactly cut all carbs yesterday, this is likely its close cousin sugar detox.  Duh.  Stupid sugar.

Evening update:  Felt much better this afternoon.  If I'm struggling tomorrow morning I'll need to remember to eat something with a few carbs.  I can worry about those after the sugar has been cleared out.

Breakfast:  Coffee

After this week will only note breakfast if I eat something.

Lunch:  Leftover quasi-hungarian goulash, spelt rye bread with butter

Also added some black pepper today.   Definitely good and will make again, especially since it's ridiculously easy.

Dinner:  Chips and salsa,  homemade pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms

Experiment ongoing.  I had a nice big dough ball which made a good sized pie -- the photo above is half of it.  The other half is lounging on the cutting board, waiting to be packed up for the fridge.  Will it make it there before I eat it?  Stay tuned!  Science!

Seriously, though, the plan is to eat the other half tomorrow.  It's be easier to justify eating the pizza if I didn't eat quite so much at a time.

Chips were a new kind to me, Donkey brand.  Liked them.  Salsa was a little can of Herdez, which is my favorite.  Sadly the cans are getting harder to find.

Exercise:  Nope.  We'll see if I can get my legs under me for a few days first.

133.8

Seen Before, Will Be Seen Again

Monday, January 6, 2020

Back to the regular routine.  The holidays are great, but at the same time there is something to be said for a consistent schedule.

More of the same this morning.  Chased out of bed early by discomfort and bladder, snooze in the recliner.  I was definitely getting back to sleep each time I hit the snooze, thankfully if this happens tomorrow I can just set the alarm for a later time and maybe get an extra hour.

Breakfast:  Coffee

Back to trying for two meals a day.  If I were a hipster I'd probably refer to it as 'intermittent fasting' and there seems to be some evidence that not eating for >12 hours is a good thing, but I think I'll just call it not eating as much.  Not hungry today in the morning.

Lunch:  Quasi-hungarian goulash, homemade spelt rye bread with generous butter

I perked up the goulash with some smoked paprika, cayenne and salt and it was quite good.  Reheated very well.  I will most likely make it again, possibly playing around with the recipe some.  Really pleased with how the bread turned out.

Dinner:  4 tacos mexican style plus avocado and hot sauce

You've seen this before.  I was quite hungry by the time I got home, so these were devoured quite quickly.

Also:  A few pretzel chips and cheddar cheese spread.

Cleaned up.  I think I'm down to a bag of tortilla chips (and salsa) for on-hand junk.

Exercise:  Nope.  Very tired this evening and it was all I could do to perk up sufficiently to put in a half hour picking up around the house.  At least I did that.

137.0

Making Lists This Time In Volume

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Next week will be rough, getting back to a full week of the usual routine.  Ended up sleeping in, sort of, this morning.  Chased out of bed at 6 by a full bladder and a draft, dozed in the recliner, maybe some sleep, finally roused at 9:30.  Which puts me behind on chores but at least I feel a little better than I did at six.

I've been making lots of to do lists the last couple weeks (and checking some things off for once).  Made a fresh one this morning which is cleaner than the full weekend one I was working off yesterday -- it's super dumb, but there is something about having a shorter, cleaner list that makes it easier to get going.  I moved some of the project stuff I wanted to do to a side list which means the main list isn't so daunting.

Breakfast:   Leftover domino's pizza, coffee

Yep, actual leftover pizza.  A rare thing in this universe.

Lunch:  A few Meijer knockoff ranch doritos, Coke

Cleanup, aisle this.

Actual Lunch:  A little hungarian-ish goulash, spelt rye bread with butter

This week's cooking projects.  I thought the goulash was okay, it really could have used some heat.  We'll see how it is on reheat, maybe I'll add some cayenne or something.  The bread turned out really nice.

Dinner:  Chuck roast w gravy, potatoes, green beans w cheese, roll w butter, 12 oz Miller Lite, pecan pie with vanilla ice cream

Also:  McD 2x McChicken, cheeseburger, large Dr Pepper

Exercise:  I'm counting it.  Busy much of the day, including an intense stretch of moving heavy things.   I am quite tired.

137.0

Seriously I Guess It Could Be Worse

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Sigh.  I had a pretty good plan for the day.  And then I did other stuff.  I did not eat on plan.  At all.

Tired today.  Felt like I slept OK and got something like 7 hours.  Physically, though, by late afternoon I was hurting pretty good.  Of all the reasons to get back off sugar (and lose a few pounds), losing the aches and pains rates up there. 

Breakfast:  2 oatcake waffles with butter, 4 strips thick cut bacon, coffee

I had a brilliant insight last night that I could do oatcakes in the waffle maker.  So I did.  I only ate two, since I knew it was going to be a three meal day.  The rest went in the freezer.

Lunch:  Five Guys little cheeseburger, little fries

Later:  Coke

Have about a third of a bottle left, probably going to kill it tomorrow and see if I can get off it again starting Monday.

Dinner:  Domino's pan pizza, pepperoni ham and green olive

Have a little left over for tomorrow.  It was OK.

Exercise:  I'm counting it.  Quite active, lots of movement all day.  Broke down a bunch of boxes, made a Target run, moved stuff around.

137.6

Garbage Assembly

Friday, January 3, 2020

Welp.  Rough day food wise.  Didn't feel great either.  Need to do better.  I did go to the grocery store tonight and only bought about two items that qualify as awful, the rest was good solid food.  I have a couple cooking projects on tap for Sunday.  Let's try to do better.

Breakfast:  2 big asiago bagels with veggie cream cheese.  Coffee

New local place opened today, so I checked them out.  Good stuff but so bad for me.

Lunch:  McD 2x cheeseburger, 2x Mcchicken, large Coke

Late late lunch in a very short window.  I really need to stop eating while driving, it's dumb.

Dinner:  TB 2x beefy fritos burrito, shredded chicken burrito, fire sauce, Coke

Bah.  I should do my grocery shopping after dinner, not before.

Exercise:  About 45 minutes of grocery shopping.  Hardly counts but it does.

138.0

The Ungolden Hour

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Not a great day.  Felt like I slept decently, though I could easily have slept longer.   Not much pep.  But an okay day at work I guess.  Motivation level was moderate.

One thing that I really noted is how much my enthusiasm level drops between 5 pm and 6 pm.  I usually don't leave work until 6 and by then it's pitch black this time of year and the last thing I want to do is cook something or exercise or do much of anything.  I managed to drag myself home but I couldn't go directly to fixing dinner, that took some time which meant that I didn't eat until almost 8:00.

Really not sure what I'll do about it though.

Breakfast:  Entemann's frosted donuts, coffee

Done with those, cleaned up.

Lunch:  CFA spicy chicken sandwich, fries, lemonade, 8 pc nugget w a little Polynesian sauce

Not much time, not close to home so it was lunch on the go.

Pre-dinner:  Pretzel chips with cheddar cheese spread, Coke

Dinner:  Tacos with cheese and fire sauce

At least tacos are pretty easy and don't really take that long.  I'll eat the leftovers tomorrow.  I also managed to clean up two half-eaten bags of shredded cheese.

Oh.  Later I had maybe an ounce of potato chips.  Cleaned them right up too.

Exercise:  Nope.  I made a point of putting it on the to-do list, but like I said, my pep level just goes off a cliff after 5:00 pm.  We'll see if I experience an evening surge later on.

137.6

Time To Draw Down

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Happy new year!  New decade!  Same fat guy.

I ended up staying awake past midnight, though I think that's a function more of a messed up sleep schedule than anything else.  I went to bed earlier, but as usual didn't sleep.  Woke up before 5 but thankfully was able to go back to sleep until 7.

I've never been big on new year resolutions, but it is a convenient day to set out plans and goals and to give yourself a kick in the pants, and so even though I don't believe in starting before January 2 here are some plans:

1.  Gradually improve the diet by (a) cooking and eating at home and (b) drawing down my stocks of bad food and not replacing them.  Seriously.  If I don't eat out, especially drive thru/takeout/pizza and if I don't have crap on hand I don't eat crap.  Incidentally, no, today's menu is not a "diet" menu.  Crap drawdown.

2.  Get at least some minimal level of exercise nearly every day.  I'm not talking running or weight lifting.  Just walking or some kind of sustained movement.  Probably no more than 15 minutes to start, but I want to progress to at least 30 and ultimately back to 60.  I don't know when I've felt better than when I was walking an hour every morning.

3.  Post everything I eat here.  One of my justifications for getting a new Chromebook was that it would make it easier and more enjoyable to post.  Plus, it's accountability.

4.  Build on the momentum I've had lately with house projects.  One thing that I'm really happy about is this.  I still have lots of stuff in storage and boxes to be sorted and purged.  If I can get rid of about half of my stuff that would be great. 

5.  Less concrete -- There are some improvements that can be made at work.  Maybe I'll detail that later.

Breakfast:  Entemann's rich frosted donuts, coffee

As mentioned I have a bunch of junk to draw down.

Lunch:  2 jumbo CF eggs over easy in butter, large avocado, 3 strips thick cut bacon, slice of homemade buttermilk wheat bread with butter, glass of whole milk

Bacon was a minute overdone and it's better with hash browns but still tasty.

Snack:  Pretzel chips with cheddar cheese spread, Coke

Dinner:  Ham, a couple scalloped potatoes, 2 rolls with butter, christmas cookies and ice cream with hot fudge

Also:  2x McD cheeseburger, McChicken, large Dr. Pepper

Exercise:  Yes.  30 minutes of steady (if very very slow) walking.  Went to the grocery store and meandered around, not stopping, for that long.  I only bought one item and did very little looking so it was pretty easy to stay in motion.  Not exactly high intensity, but it's *something*.   And it didn't require me to walk on the icy sidewalks.  Considering how lousy I feel, I'm quite happy.

136.8

Last

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Last day of the year.  It hasn't been a strong finish in many respects.  Bad eating, no exercise.  And yet I've gotten more projects done around the house in the last two weeks than I accomplished in six months before that.  So it's a mixed bag.

Slept okay last night.  I didn't get enough sleep and I woke up an hour before the bell but it was okay.  A small positive step.  I randomly ordered a couple new pillows with some accumulated Sears points last night so in a few days I'll have something else new to try.

Breakfast:  Homemade buttermilk wheat bread with butter, coffee

Grabbed a couple small slices on my way out the door.  Pretty solid stuff.

Lunch:  Italian beef sandwich, fries, coke, brownie

I have to say, sugar makes me feel like crap.  I won't miss that even if it proves to be torture to give it up.

Dinner:  12" pepperoni sausage thin crust pizza

Also:  A shot of Sobieski vodka with grapefruit sparkling water

Exercise:  Nope.  Icy out there today.  Moved some stuff around and was active, but it doesn't count.

138.0

To The Finish

Monday, December 30, 2019

It felt like a miracle.  Six hours of uninterrupted sleep!  And I could have gone longer, since I woke up to my alarm.  Glorious.

Otherwise, I'm just kinda waiting for the calendar to flip.  Awful eating today. 

Breakfast:  McD sausage biscuit, hash browns, medium Coke, coffee

Lunch:  McD 2x cheeseburgers, mcchicken, large Coke

Dinner:  Jet's super special deep dish pizza

Exercise:  Nope

137.0

Salinity Increased And Rinsed

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Thinking positive.  I managed a couple three hours stretches of sleep last night, so that's encouraging.  Consumed too much liquid to make it straight through, but I'm sure some of that is just a function of aging.  Can't say that feel super rested, but at least I'm also not notably fatigued.  I do think I could definitely use more rest since I'm a little sluggish after a lot of exertion yesterday.

On a thoroughly unrelated note, I got a super deal on a Navage, so I tried that this morning.  I've used a neti pot in the past a few times, but never stuck with it.  This went ... so so.   Cleaned a little stuff out, dumped some water down my throat, it was a mixed bag.  But I'll give it a while and see if it helps.

Breakfast:  2 eggs over medium, hash browns, 4 strips thick cut applewood bacon, coffee

Another smash hit.  Love this meal.  Finished off the hash browns, will have to buy another package.  Also:  Note the super duper artistic presentation!

Lunch:  2 grilled cheese sandwiches, chips and onion dip

More cleanup.  Done with the store bread, finished the sliced cheese.  Almost finished the chips and dip.  

Dinner:   Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots, rolls with butter, 12 oz Miller Lite, christmas cookies

Yikes.

Also:  2 McD cheeseburgers, large Coke

Exercise:  Nope.  Not quite as active today, though still pretty active for me.

135.0

Expenditure Overload

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Very glad that it's a weekend.

Sleep continues to be an issue.  Didn't go to bed until well after midnight and then woke up hourly due to physical discomfort.  I just cannot find a position that works.  At least I didn't have sinus issues for once, that was pleasant.

On the plus side, I don't feel too tired this morning and am continuing efforts to improve my sleeping setup.  It'll take a while to get it fully set, but I can see progress.  And yes, of course it costs money, just dropped a wad this morning buying a new area rug.  Sheesh.

Breakfast:  2 jumbo CF eggs in butter, 4 strips thick cut applewood bacon, Alexia hash browns in butter, coffee

10/10, no idea how this could be better.  Got a couple new pans for Christmas and they both worked flawlessly.

Lunch:  McD 2x cheeseburger, McChicken, large Coke

On the go, decided I was hungry.

Dinner:  Homemade pepperoni and extra cheese pizza

Very tasty.  A bigger dough ball so the crust was thicker than usual.  Still, all good.

Also:  a little choc drizzle caramel corn

Cleaned that up.  All gone.

Exercise:  Nothing that counts, though I was super active today.  Moved a lot of stuff including furniture.  Cleaning.  Etc.

135.8

Bad, Repeat

Friday, December 27, 2019

Another sluggish morning.  No surprise.  Sleep issues are bad.

Breakfast:  Almond banket pastry, coffee

Lunch:  2x McD cheeseburger, McChicken, large Coke

Dinner:  2x McD cheeseburger, McChicken, large Coke

Also:  Choc drizzled caramel corn

Exercise:  Not really.  Moved more stuff, quite active in the evening, but it doesn't count.

135.8

Aftermathtastic

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Back to work.  It was another super warm for December day.  Lots of people with the day off found their way out to the golf course.  Oh well.

Breakfast:  None

Didn't even have coffee.  Ran super, super late due to horrible sleep and resulting fatigue. 

Lunch:  3 McD cheeseburgers, McChicken, large Coke

Grabbed this after a blood test and before some meetings.  It was better than average.  Stuff to not eat in 2020 though.

Dinner:  Leftover turkey feast, same as yesterday minus the Miller Lite.

Exercise:  Not really, though I did get a little burst of energy around 10:30 pm and I moved some stuff around for half an hour or so.  Felt good to get that done.

136.0

Now With Actual Christmas

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Holiday eating season rolls on.

Breakfast:  Sausage strata breakfast casserole, 1/2 grapefruit, nut bread with butter, sm glass orange juice, coffee,  caramel pecan coffee cake

Lunch:  Chips and onion dip

Dinner:  Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, rolls with butter, lime Jello with pineapple and walnuts, green peas, 12 oz Miller Lite, frosted christmas cookies

Massive holiday feast.  Had seconds.

Exercise:  So tired today.  But it was so nice I was able to get out and walk around at a very leisurely pace for about a half hour.  Win!

136.8

Pre-Christmas

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Glad to have the day off.  I don't have a ton of preparation to do -- just make some snacks for a family party this afternoon.  All presents are wrapped and ready to be loaded.  Should be a pretty relaxing day.

Breakfast:  Orange rolls, glass of whole milk, coffee

Last of the sweet rolls.  Honestly pleased with how well they turned out.  Even though I shouldn't and hopefully won't eat baked goods too often it would be nice to add a few new things to my repetoire as one of my biggest goals in 2020 is to cook at home instead of eating out/fast food/pizza all the time.

Lunch:  Rye sausage/beef/cheese toasts (and on my bread too), bacon parmesan crackers, assorted crackers and bar cheez, celery w ranch, various sweets, lemonade

Holiday spread.

Also:  3 McD cheeseburgers, Coke

No idea why I thought this was a good idea, though ...

Dinner:  Beef tenderloin, bread cubes with cheese fondue, bacony green beans, red wine, 12 oz Labatt Blue Light, a couple bites of chex mix

... turns out it wasn't horrible since dinner was about 10:00.  Didn't overeat.

Exercise:  Nope, though I was completely wiped out by the time I got home.

136.0

Week In A Day

Monday, December 23, 2019

One dumb day of work, followed by two days off for the holiday.  If I had any control over my schedule I would have just taken it off to have a five day weekend.  Spoiler:  I don't have any control.

Breakfast:  Orange rolls, glass of milk, coffee

Lunch:  1/2 package of Kiolbassa breakfast sausage, homemade bread with butter, chips and salsa

Snack:  2x McD cheeseburger, Dr. Pepper

Dinner:  Domino's brooklyn pizza with ham and ground beef, parmesan bites w marinara, 12 oz Miller Lite

Also:  Christmas cookies with icing.

You can't make cookies without sampling the goods.  Just not possible.

Exercise:  Nope.

136.0

Overcome By The Wiped

Sunday, December 22, 2019

A bumpy start to the day.  I stayed up too late last night, past midnight, as a live concert by one of my favorite bands was being streamed online.  No regrets staying up to watch it, but I knew it was going to be a little rough.  And sure enough.  Woke up after a few hours.  Forced out of bed at 6:00 by a combination of bladder, headache and knee pain (also sinus congestion but that's a given when laying down anymore).  Went to the recliner, where I usually can't sleep, and boom, out.  Only woke at 10:00 due to sun shining directly in my eyes through a crack in the blinds.  The good news is that I feel somewhat better, especially after shower and breakfast.

Of all the motiviations to get things back on track and finally fix some of my issues, the prospect of someday getting a real, restful, full night's sleep is right up there at the top.  Okay, fine, it's below extending my life expectancy from months back into years, but still, it's way up there.

Breakfast:  5 strips thick cut bacon, buttermilk wheat bread with butter, decaf coffee

I think this is my best loaf of the bread yet, used the slightly larger enameled cast iron and the loaf really turned out pretty.  It's not very tall because there is way too much horizontal space, but that's fine, I'm not using it for sandwiches or anything.

Lunch:  Homemade orange rolls, whole milk.

I guess I can call it lunch.  It was only a couple hours after breakfast, if that.  First try making cinnamon, or in this case orange, rolls.  Turned out very nice.  Would make again if a very special occasion called for them.

Snack:  Chips and Salsa

Dinner:  Chicken chop suey casserole, green beans w cheese, roll with butter, 12 oz Miller Lite

Sunday dinner.  Turned out good.

Also:  3x McD cheeseburger, medium coke

Ugh unnecessary

Exercise:  Nope

135.0

Here Comes The Pounds

Saturday, December 21, 2019

I thought of about six good post titles during breakfast ... and have promptly forgotten all of them.  Standard.

Weird morning.  Woke up slightly before 5, didn't have enough pep to get going for a while but the brain started spinning about work stuff.  It didn't help that I was in the middle of a work-related nightmare when I woke.  Ugh.  Really going to need to not spend the weekend thinking about that.

Lots on the to do list for the day, we'll see how much gets accomplished.

Breakfast:  1 jumbo egg over medium, hash browns in butter, 4 strips thick cut bacon, coffee

Glorious.  Exquisite even.  A little heavy on the potatoes since they came out of the bag in a giant chunk.

Lunch:  1/2 package Kiolbasa breakfast sausage, chips and salsa, assorted holiday treats

Grazing.  Lots and lots of the junk.  Which is conveniently not pictured.  Trust me, it was plentiful.

Dinner:  Thin crust pepperoni ham pizza

Local not chain.  Forgot to take a photo.   Destroyed it.

Exercise:  Nope.

133.8

Here Comes The Destruction

Friday, December 20, 2019

Whew.

Here we go.

Breakfast:  McD sausage biscuit, hash browns, coffee, slice of pumpkin bread with butter

Lunch:  Jimmy Johns #7, salt and vinegar chips, little christmas cookies

Dinner:  Italian beef sandwich, fries, some assorted holiday treats

Exercise:  Nope.

132.8

Get Me Out Of This Week

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Long day.

Breakfast:  Pumpkin bread with butter, coffee

Lunch:  Jimmy John's east coast italian plus pickle, salt and vinegar chips

Snack:  2 tiny holiday cookies

Dinner:  Deluxe pizza

Exercise:  LOL no

131.8

Not Exactly As Pictured

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

I suppose that I had a bit more pep today, which is a good thing.  Now if I can just go to bed at a reasonable hour, that would be swell.  That remains to be seen, however.

Breakfast:  Pumpkin bread with butter, coffee
 
Once again forgot to take a photo.  Looks like I'll have enough left for both tomorrow and Friday, too.  Now I just need to remember to take out more butter.

Lunch:  A little leftover chicken soup-style, bread with butter, 2 slices sharp cheddar, Fage TruBlend yogurt

I didn't eat much at all of the soup, it just wasn't as good.  Last time I ate it over mashed potatoes with way less broth and it was delicious.  Weird.  So instead I ate more bread and butter -- it was quite stale, Saturday bake to Wednesday is asking a lot -- and tried the yogurt, which was good.

Dinner:  Ham, salami and cheese sub, garlic bread w cheese and pizza sauce, rice krispie treat

Was hungry, now am stuffed.  Not an ideal choice.

Exercise:  Nope.

130.8