Weigh-in: 30 July 2012

Today's weight: 154.1 kg (339.7 lbs)
Change: +2.3 kg (5.0 lbs)
Total loss: 41.4 kg (91.3 lbs)

Yeah, things got a little crazy while I was on vacation. I may go back and try to add in some additional weigh-ins, but for now I'm just going to work with where I am now. Looking at the numbers I've got, after my 25 June weigh-in, I dropped down to 148.3 kg (326.9 lbs), then went back up 150.3 kg (331.3 lbs), back down to 149.1 kg (328.7 lbs), then back up to 150.9 kg (332.7 lbs). Then I went up to around 155 kg (eating a LOT of junk food), held there for about a week, then in the last few days of my vacation, I went into an eating and drinking frenzy.

Starting on the Friday (20 July), I drank a bottle of bourbon worth of Old Fashioneds, a bottle of vodka worth of White Russians, and another bottle of vodka worth of Moscow Mules. I ate cheeseburgers, fried chicken, ice cream, potato chips, cookies, brownies and pretty much everything I could get my hands on. I had a great time, but by the next Wednesday morning (25 July), I was up to 160.7 kg (354.3 lbs). Seriously, I had no idea I could load on the kilos so quickly.

The party was over, it was back to work on Wednesday, so I started behaving myself and lost 6.6 kg (14.5 lbs) over the next 5 days. I'm hoping to be back under 150 kg by my weigh-in next week. The main thing I'm doing to make that happen is eating a lot of beef and vegetable stew. I cooked up a big one in the slow cooker on Friday, ate it for dinner every night, and today I made another one that I'll eat for the next couple of days.

Simple reciple:

1 kg (2.2 lbs) of chuck roast
canned tomatoes
vegetable stock
sweet potato
carrots
spinach
chili peppers
potatoes
onions
green peas
corn kernels
balsamic vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
rosemary
thyme


1. combine vegetable stock, canned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, and thyme in slow cooker

2. cut the roast into large pieces, brown in a hot skillet, dump into slow cooker

3. slice onions and cook over low heat until soft and brown, dump into slow cooker

4. cut chili peppers, vegetables into large pieces, dump into slow cooker

5. cook all day or overnight

I'm loving it, but I want to buy some spicier peppers next time.

First Full (Unofficial) Slow-Carb Day

I've finished my first full slow-carb try-out day and ended up with 2243 cals in (a little over my earlier estimates because I ended up having a cup of coffee after dinner), 946 cals burned exercising, for a net of 1297. RunKeeper, on the other hand, says my net was -245. I think it's wild that there's so much variation.

I did what I ended up calling a Mexican stir-fry for dinner. Chicken breast (marinated in a little olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, tamarind paste, lime juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper), frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower), a half a can of borlotti (like pinto) beans, a few pickled jalapeño slices, and some salsa. it was delicious, and it was filling.

Then I did another 15 minute session (a much slower pace -- 3k in 12 minutes, 4k in 15) on the bastard of a cross-trainer, watched an episode of Eureka with the boys, then had a cup of coffee and worked on the grocery order. The coffee wasn't a cheat, because I used some sugar substitute that we keep around for Bill, and a little cream instead of milk (I'm not sure what the idea is there, but that's what Tim suggested). Fake sugar is really not my thing, but I can see myself doing it again when I'm jonesing for a coffee.

After today, I really don't think this slow-carb thing is going to be that hard. The two things that might screw me up is if I get bored with the food (I'm starting pretty simple, but it shouldn't be too hard to come up with some different options), and if I can't manage to hold out for six days without having a treat. I know it really shouldn't be that hard, but I also know from experience that it happens. Hopefully I'll get a good enough result to provide the encouragement to resist temptation.

Now it's nearly midnight, I'm tired and sore, and I'm getting up at 5:30 to try to help motivate Karen into doing a little workout before work. Even though she does a serious workout after work, I think even just 15 or 20 minutes in the morning will help a lot. But it's hard, because we're just not morning people.

Can You OD on Vitamin K?

Lesson o' the Day:  If you make a "Green" Smoothie with mixed berries instead of blueberries, then what you end up with isn't green at all. It's a brownish, purplish, greenish colored thing that doesn't look at all appetizing. But it tasted pretty damned good, even though it doesn't really seem right to drink breakfast (the way I've done that in the past is sooooo very different).





My Not-So-Green Smoothie recipe is:

1 cup frozen spinach
1/4 cup frozen berries
1/2 banana
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 tbsp honey

Whiz it in a blender (or use a stick blender), and drink it. I started out with a half a cup of milk, but I would've had to eat it with a spoon, so I kept adding milk 1/2 cup at a time until I got something that would actually pour. Then I took a sip and decided to add that tablespoon of honey.

I'm worried that drinking a smoothie and calling it breakfast means I'm going to get hungry before lunch. And lunch is only 2 or maybe 3 hours away. It just doesn't seem like a very filling meal. And yet it's just provided me with a serving of vegetables and a serving of fruit. If I'd eaten it, would it have seem more filling than whizzing it up as a smoothie?

I guess I'll just have to see how it goes. According to World's Healthiest Foods, that smoothie just provided me with a massive amount of my Recommended Daily Allowance of Nutritional Goodness:

• vitamin K - 1125%
• vitamin A - 390%
• manganese - 98%
• tryptophan - 70%
• folate - 65%
• iodine - 55%
• vitamin B2 - 55%
• vitamin C - 50%
• potassium - 50%
• calcium - 40%
• magnesium 40%
• vitamin B6 - 40%
• iron -  35%
• vitamin D - 32%
• phosporus - 30%
• calcium - 25%
• vitamin B12 - 20%
• vitamin E - 20%

I mean, damn, I don't know what vitamin K does for me, but I'm freaking EXPLODING with it right now! Okay, I just looked it up, and apparently it helps ensure that my blood clots normally, prevents calcification of my arteries, and strengthens my bones. So, you know, that sounds pretty cool.

I've totally got the vitamin K thing going for me. 

Sweet, Sweet Foodporn

Damn you Foodgawker, these are not the kinds of recipes I was looking for this morning! But I don't mind a snack from time to time. And if I'm gonna do it, I'd rather eat decadent and delicious sweet treats that I've made myself.




Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

These looks pretty damned good, and by using something other than mini M&Ms, these could easily be made vegan. Maybe if I bake a batch of these for Karen, she'll be too busy eating them to tell me how bad I am for making some of these other things.




Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

It's been a loooooong time since I've had a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie. A homemade version would be an awesome walk down memory lane.




Best Homemade Soft Pretzels

I'm sure I've eaten soft pretzels at other times and places, but for some reason whenever I see them, I think of the Texas Renaissance Festival.





Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

You wouldn't know it looking at this little collection of evil indulgences, but I really don't eat a lot of sweets. Even in my teens and early 20s, when I ate a lot of junk food, I was much more likely to eat a bag of chips than a box of donuts. But like the Little Debbie Creme Pies, ice cream sandwiches were a great treat when I was a kid, and on the rare occasion that I eat one these days, it always brings back a lot of summertime memories. I wouldn't mind giving these homemade ones a try, but I definitely won't be decorating them with ribbons.