June 30

Post 874, Day 181 of 2013
- and 911 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

What I said yesterday: No comment, still tired of this blog. Looking for a 'second wind'.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

First 6 months of 2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         210.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     211.8 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.8 lbs

Diet Comment

At the end of the first six months of 2013, the results aren't really that great, or that awful. The bottom line, though, is that I'm not where I want to be.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch

Dal (split lentils), Italian-style chicken sausage (with onions and peppers) and spinach and eggs with salsa.

Dinner

Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia gel, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend. Hard-boiled eggs

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  32 oz.   Water: 84+ oz.

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June 29

Post 873, Day 179 of 2013
- and 910 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Again, no comment, other than to say that I am tired of this blog today. Like everything else, temporary.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         211.8 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     211.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 0.8 lbs

Diet Comment

An inadvertent 24-hour fast happened as a result of sleeping in and then being busy.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner

Chili (grass-fed beef, tomatoes, black beans, mushrooms, spices) over cauliflower.

Snack
Chili and a protein bar.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  24 oz.   Water: 64+ oz.

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June 27 and June 28

Post 872, Day 178 of 2013
- and 909 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

This late two-day posting is going to contain only the weight charts and no commentary. I got very busy. I got a little lazy. I got a little disgusted at the intractability of my year's weight run-up, and the bad habits (eating the equivalent of an extra meal late at night on a regular basis), and let that affect my progress.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight (June 27)

Today's Weight:         212.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     211.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 0.8 lbs

2013 Daily Weight (June 28)

Today's Weight:         212.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     211.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.0 lbs

Diet Comment

No food diary - by the time I got around to posting these, I'd forgotten what I ate. Friday (June 28), however, was something of a cheat day, since it involved eating an entire bag of Wholesome Medley nut, fruit and dark chocolate mix.

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June 26

Post 871, Day 176 of 2013
- and 907 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

The different musicians I play with sometimes aren't on the same page with me and each other as to matters of performance and practice. It sometimes leads to misunderstandings.

When misunderstandings escalate into emotions, it can affect the quality of the music we make.

Using email, chat, or texts to work out the miscommunication has had the opposite effect, in my experience. The lack of tone of voice, along with the reader's mood, perceptual filters and reading habits mean that what would work in a business letter often doesn't convey the right meaning in these less formal communications.

I've been the victim of thinking I was communicating clearly when I wasn't. I have also misinterpreted others' comments. 

Sucks when that happens, because it forces you into damage control. The good side is, it usually also forces you reach an understanding.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         211.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     212.6 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.4 lbs

Diet Comment

Well, hello, again, 211.2. Good to see you again. Hope to see you in the rear-view mirror on my way to a lower weight soon. Today might not be the day, with two meals out...

Food Log 

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
At Ling-Ling's Chinese Buffet and Grill:

Brussels sprouts, kimchee, and, from the "Mongolian Grill", my go-to dish, pork and chicken with cabbage, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and broccoli.

Snack
Buffalo chicken breast (sliced) with cole slaw on coconut Paleo bread, with a Spring Mix and balsamic vinaigrette salad.

Dinner
At Eskapes Lounge, where it turns out I know the chef from when she was the Executive Chef at the cafe at Sensis, my first employer when I moved up to Syracuse; she's very good. She made me a custom dish, which was eaten by Chad. I had his meal, which was the same as last time's: A BLT salad with grilled salmon.

Snack
A protein bar.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  26 oz.   Water: 96+ oz.

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June 25

Post 870, Day 1755 of 2013
- and 906 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I just realized that there's a lot of music around that I don't like, don't want to listen to.

My taste in music relegates me to old-fogeydom, and makes me irrelevant to many, if not most, modern musicians.

I have been doing some thinking about it, and realize that pretty much any and all rock music that descends from Black Sabbath's Paranoid, which I liked, including the anti-pop punk derivatives of the Sex Pistols, who I didn't like, are uninteresting to me. 

The list of music that I couldn't get into extends to the corporate-rock bands, like Journey, Foreigner, Styx, et al, down to Van Halen, whose faux-emotional, big-arrangement posturing never evoked a positive response.

I never found a place in my heart for rap music, and sampled music, if I listened at all, only got me interested in any of the original music that went into it. 

Somewhere along the line, my musical taste solidified into an appreciation of music that reached me on an emotional level, music with beauty. Music that expressed violence, lyrically or (worse, to me) instrumentally, was just anathema to me.

I liked the Who a lot, and that might seem at odds with the previous statement, since they destroyed their instruments to end a performance, but until that point, I so enjoyed their songs and musicianship, that I ignored the end, dismissing it as just theatrics and a way to avoid playing an encore.

I found the 1970s to be a great time for soul music (Philadelphia International!), and I got heavily into reggae,  but it was a time of picking and choosing more carefully to find rock music I could relate to (Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, the Eagles, Ricki Lee Jones, yes; the Clash, the Ramones (and all the stupid-rock posers who copied them), no).

For about fifteen years, from the early '80s to the mid '90s, I went through a period, during which I didn't play much music myself, and my listening went almost entirely away from any sort of pop music. I listened almost exclusively to classical and jazz music. 

When I returned to playing, I found that the things I liked playing most were now 'oldies'. I had missed out on the entire 80s rock stuff, head-banging, house- and rap-music. And I didn't have a taste for it. Most of the stuff on the radio then was similarly not geared to my taste. 

Of course, there were exceptions, all along the way. But not too many new artists got through to me. And those that did, embodied the musical values I had established growing up: They were good performances of good songs or melodies, presented with intelligence and my idea of musicality, which incorporated dissonance only rarely, and then as an effect, not a statement.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         212.6 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     211.6 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 1.0 lbs

Diet Comment

Ugh, part/day two. I have to stick to three meals a day. But I have such strong cravings late at night...

Food Log 

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia seeds, a large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

Smoked turkey, black beans, Spring Mix, cole slaw blend, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner
Buffalo chicken breast, broccoli with Dal Makhtani (lentil curry).

Snack
Two protein bars.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  26 oz.   Water: 112+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

June 24

Post 869, Day 174 of 2013
- and 905 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I really do believe that your thoughts and beliefs influence what happens to you.

I believe it because your thoughts and beliefs control your perception. I think, in some imaginary objective world, thoughts might not change reality, but they will determine how you perceive and interpret that reality. 

In real life, there is no objective reality. So, your perception of reality is your reality. How you interpret, at conscious and unconscious levels, what happens to you is entirely a matter of how you perceive it.

It seems obvious to me. 

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         211.6 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     209.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 2.4 lbs

Diet Comment

Ugh.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia gel, a large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

Smoked turkey, black beans, Spring Mix, cole slaw blend, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack
Pepperoni and cole slaw.

Dinner
Post-nap, so late dinner: Italian-style chicken sausage with whole grain Dijon mustard. Broccoli with cottage cheese.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  26 oz.   Water:  96+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

June 23

Post 868, Day 173 of 2013
- and 904 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Summer brought with it some really pretty weather - warm and clear.

Until today. Hot and muggy, with thunderstorms.

Why bother with a weather report? It's a mood thing. I am drained of inspiration.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         209.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     211.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 2.0 lbs

Diet Comment

Yesterday's fasting/eating has me below the trend line for the first time in a week. I tried to keep that going today.

Food Log 

Brunch

Dal Tadka with scrambled eggs and spinach. Not shown: A slice of coconut Paleo bread. 

Dinner
Pepperoni and lentil and cabbage slaw.

Snack
Cottage cheese and hard-boiled eggs.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  30 oz.   Water:  130+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

June 22

Post 867, Day 172 of 2013
- and 903 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

It is a hot day, and I have been lolling around, ignoring all the things I should do, the chores, exercise, eating...

For some people, this would be considered the waste of a beautiful day. For me? It is a needed respite.

Lazy, yes. But it bodes well for my hammock-oriented future.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         211.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     213.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.8 lbs

Diet Comment

I "fasted" until 10 o'clock tonight. Then, for the next two hours, I ate the equivalent of a few meals-worth of food.

Food Log 

Breakfast

Skipped.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
A Protein bar.

Snack
Ezekiel Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with blueberries, coconut-almond milk and stevia-inulin blend. Coconut Paleo bread with guacamole..

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  0 oz.   Water:  40+ oz.

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June 21

Post 866, Day 171 of 2013
- and 902 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Have I become so complacent I've forgotten how to deal with disappointment?

Maybe. Especially if I'm disappointed in myself, which, right now, I am.

My lack of effective action in addressing this year's weight gain is one of two things that is making me feel bad. This is something I have gone through every couple-three years my whole adult life.

It is familiar, and so is the self-loathing it causes me, when I let it. 

I know what to do - I am just not doing it. Why? There's something going on here, when, in most other ways my life seems so good, nearly perfect, I have to create some drama for myself. There are two ways I'm doing that: The first, as I'm saying,  is by causing myself a weight problem (again).

The second is by being a terrible slob. This is a life-long bit of OCD that I find terribly depressing and very, very difficult to deal with. I make Oscar Madison look like, well, Felix Unger. It makes me ashamed of myself, and that starts a downward spiral of just-under-the-surface emotions that paralyzes me, instead of moving me to deal with it.

The (only) good thing about this second problem is that it is not public (well, not until this blog entry). This is the expose, right here, although most of the readers of this blog are quite familiar with it. 

One way to fix it is for me to stop living alone; in the company of a room-mate I don't have much difficulty staying on top of things. 

But finding another person to live with, and then dealing with the ramifications of that insures having to deal with a whole other set of difficulties.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         213.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     213.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 0.0 lbs

Diet Comment

As long as I keep doing what I'm doing, I'm going to keep getting the same results. When will that end? I keep saying, Monday. 

So, Monday.

Food Log 

Breakfast

Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia gel, a large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend. Lentils and balsamic vinaigrette.

Lunch
Hard-boiled eggs and a salad with Field greens, baby spinach, garbanzo beans and ranch dressing.

Dinner
A Protein bar

Snack
A Protein bar and a salad of Spring Mix greens and cole slaw mix, with balsamic vinaigrette.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  28 oz.   Water:  84+ oz.  and a shot of Tequila at the bar I visited.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

June 20

Post 865, Day 170 of 2013
- and 901 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

OK - I have nothing today.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         213.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     213.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 0.0 lbs

Diet Comment

I guess cheese is really not my friend. Despite yesterday's large quantity of food, it was all on-plan... except for cheese. I am despairing. I need to go back to basics. That means cutting out a lot of food that has become 'normal' for me: chia and hemp seeds, home-made mayonnaise, protein bars, maybe even protein powder. I have a lot of stock to get through first. That means, I have to be careful.

Food Log 

Breakfast

Skipped.

Lunch
Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia gel, a large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend. Lentils and balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner
At PJ's Pub:

Cobb salad (steak, hard-boiled eggs, cheddar cheese, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, bacon, greens, blue cheese dressing). Bread was eaten, Rock-hard avocado was not.

Snack
Two protein bars and a bowl of Ezekiel Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with blueberries, almond milk and stevia-inulin blend.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  28 oz.   Water:  100+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!