#1996, Tuesday, December 26

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Post 1996
- 6 years and 360 days since I started this blog -

Special guest appearance by Brian Modafferi of Scuba Gear.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.7 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/25/17):          201.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       + 2.7 lbs.

Diet Comment

That's a dramatic one-day weight gain, and it is obviously because I couldn't control my appetite at the Christmas buffet at the annual Rooters Christmas Day jam. Even though breakfast was a huge, high-calorie fat and protein affair. But I don't care. It was worth it, just to fully participate in the event. Lots of sugar and salt in what I ate, and not too much of anything that could remotely be considered healthy. So today, I tried to cut back a bit (and pump water).

Food Log

Breakfast
8:35pm: Bacon and eggs times three, with a chopped salad: cabbage, chard, kale, spinach, walnuts, shaved parmesan and balsamic vinaigrette.

Lunch
9:20pm: Cole slaw, sugar-free chocolate.

Dinner
12:45am: Greek yogurt with walnuts, a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 78+ oz.;  

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#1995, Monday, December 25

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Post 1995
- 6 years and 359 days since I started this blog -

Special guest appearance by Brian Modafferi of Scuba Gear.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      201.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/22/17):          200.1 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       + 0.9 lbs.

Diet Comment

Not bad. I immediately (Friday night/Saturday morning) went off-plan, and didn't really compensate for the rest of the weekend, and if I'm reasonably careful going forward, I can end the year weighing two hundred pounds or less. So, with a week to go, that's what I'll do.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:55pm: Prosciutto and greens omelette: Sautéed kale, onions, spinach and prosciutto, topped with Dubliner cheese.

Lunch
9:20pm, at Rooters Bar: Christmas party food: Brown-sugar ham, chicken cacciatori, baked beans, corn chips.

Dinner
12:45am: Cottage cheese, walnuts, a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 64+ oz.;  and a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey

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#1994, Friday, December 22

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Post 1994, Day 356 of 2017
- 2,548 days since I started this blog -

Special guest appearance by Brian Modafferi of Scuba Gear.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      200.1 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/21/17):          202.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       - 1.7 lbs.

Diet Comment

Woo-hoo!!! I did it. Now comes the test: No bad eating until 2018. That isn't a commitment I'm going to make, but I probably should. I'm hedging because, you know, holiday season, still three gigs left, etc.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:40pm: Broccoli and Quorn (mushroom-based beef substitute) in Grandpa's Sauce (sausage, pepper and onion pasta sauce) with feta cheese.

Lunch
8:00pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
1:45am, at Mama Nancy's:

Half order of Big Anthony's Frittata (eggs, sausage, pepperoni, Swiss cheese, onions, peppers, broccoli, potatoes) and dry rye toast.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 0;   Coffee: 16 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 64+ oz.; 

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#1993, Thursday, December 21

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Post 1993, Day 355 of 2017
- 2,547 days since I started this blog -

Special guest appearance by Brian Modafferi of Scuba Gear.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      202.8 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/20/17):          203.5 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       - 0.7 lbs.

Diet Comment

So, the weight is coming off a lot slower than it went on - which makes sense, since my Friday-to-Sunday eating was a greater deviation than my adherence to the plan since Monday has been.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:45pm: Green-purple protein smoothie with coconut-almond milk, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, whey powder (24g protein), coconut oil, hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, celery, cinnamon, turmeric, vanilla extract, Dr. Gundry's Vital Reds and stevia-inulin blend.. 

Lunch
8:30pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
12:45am: Cottage cheese, walnuts, a Quest bar and a square of sugar-free chocolate.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 0;   Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 78+ oz.; and a shot of Jamerson's Irish whiskey

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#1992, Wednesday, December 20

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Post 1992, Day 354 of 2017
- 2,546 days since I started this blog -

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.5 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/19/17):          203.7 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       - 0.2 lbs.

Diet Comment

That's a stall. It will take me longer to lose the weekend's weight gain than I hoped.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:45pm: Pepperoni, walnuts, and a Quest bar. 

Lunch
9:00pm: Broccoli and Quorn (mushroom-based beef substitute) in Grandpa's Sauce (sausage, pepper and onion pasta sauce) with shaved parmesan cheese.

Dinner
12:15am: Cottage cheese with sugar-free chocolate.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.; 

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#1991, Tuesday, December 19

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Post 1991, Day 353 of 2017
- 2,545 days since I started this blog -

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.7 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/18/17):          204.5 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       - 0.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

It took me 3 days to gain the weight, let's see if I can lose it that fast. Day 1, a step in the right direction.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:35pm: A three-egg omelet filled with sautéed prosciutto, onions, kale and spinach. 

Lunch
10:30pm: A Quest bar and a chopped salad (chard, kale, red cabbage, spinach, walnuts, shaved parmesan cheese, chia and hemp seeds and balsamic vinaigrette), and a square of sugar-free dark chocolate.

Dinner
12:15am: Pepperoni.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 58+ oz.; 

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#1990, Monday, December 18

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Post 1990, Day 352 of 2017
- 2,544 days since I started this blog -

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      204.5 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/15/17):          201.2 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       + 3.3 lbs.

Diet Comment

I knew on Friday that my weekend plans would make weight loss unlikely, and I can't say I'm surprised that I gained weight. From Friday night's after-gig feast to Sunday's Indian buffet, I ate off-plan food a lot. A new week started today.

Food Log

Breakfast
4:35pm: A Quest bar

Lunch
10:30pm: Lox, eggs and onions, a chopped salad (chard, kale, red cabbage, spinach, walnuts, shaved parmesan cheese and balsamic vinaigrette), and a square of sugar-free dark chocolate.

Dinner
12:15am: Pepperoni.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 48+ oz.; 

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#1989, Friday, December 15: Memorable night

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Post 1989, Day 349 of 2017
- 2,541 days since I started this blog -

Comment

Here's an update, just because I had such a great day.

I was able to get a few trip-preparation chores done - picking up a prescription I would have run out of in Thailand. I also got some new and welcome info on places to go in Chiang Mai, and some good advice as to what clothes to bring with me on the trip. With a half-price sale on the new 'Spicy Thai Chicken Noodle Bowl' at CoreLife, I picked that up for breakfast.

Then, it was all about prep for I am Fool's first gig at my new home-base bar, the InsideOut Tavern. In the middle of loading all my bass and PA gear into the car (it's a lot of stuff, and there are stairs and a short walk to the parking lot - great exercise!), I got a text that added one more Scuba Gear gig in December! Great news! I love playing with that band, too!

Load-in and setup were pretty easy, but when I started ringing out the PA, there was some feedback I couldn't get rid of, and a speaker that wasn't getting any input. In the course of tracing cable connections, I spilled a cup of club soda directly into my bass amp. This may turn out to be tragic, because the amp started spitting out static noises while I was trying to clean it up. However, being the luckiest guy in the world, there was another excellent bass rig in the house (InsideOut's owner is a friend and a bass player, and makes his rig available for the weekly open mic), which made that problem one for down the line. We got the cable thing right, and the night went on with great sound.

And what a night! It was a triumph for the band, easily the best performance we've put on this year. We had a good-sized, enthusiastic crowd, and everyone had a good time!

I got super-pumped, feeling like everything sounded good, and the set list was simpatico, and the band's performance was, as I said, one of our best. With the audience giving us love the whole night, and me comfortably in that zone making the thump happen, I got a nice high.

I finished the night with a double-bourbon (they'd run out of Jameson's) and went out for a post-gig feast with Tamaralee (in both I am Fool and Scuba Gear) and her boyfriend (my friend) Brian (from Scuba Gear) to the nearby Denny's to eat and drink coffee. I was still on a high at 3:30am, but Brian was pretty done - or so I thought. Tami left right after taking this pic, but Brian and I hung out and talked for another hour-and-a-half.

3am, and Brian, in his Santa suit, only looks played... Apparently, that is just his face.

All in all, a triumph, and I couldn't be more grateful for... well, everything.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      201.2 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/14/17):          199.9 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       + 1.3 lbs.

Diet Comment

The only problem with fasting is how temporary the big losses are (leaving little losses in their wake). There is a sale on the spicy Thai Noodle bowl at Corelife, and I went for that, which is higher-carb than anything I normally eat there (rice noodles), but in my celebratory elation over the fabulous I am Fool gig, I went a little crazy at 3am at Denny's - a bit drunk and munchie-driven excess. I will have to work it off the rest of the weekend. Spoiler alert: That may not happen.

Food Log

Breakfast
6:35pm, at CoreLife Eatery:

Spicy Thai Chicken Noodle bowl: Baby spinach, mesclun mix, spicy Thai rice noodles, spicy chicken, peppers, scallions, sesame Sriracha sprouts, ginger, Thai chili sauce and Thai cashew dressing. Not shown: A cup of chicken bone broth.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
2:15am, at Denny's: Ultimate Omelette (three eggs, crumbled sausage, bacon, fire-roasted bell peppers and onions, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and shredded Cheddar cheese, with hash browns and dry rye toast. For dessert: Molten lava cake.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 16 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 50+ oz.; a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey, a double Jim Beam bourbon on the rocks.

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#1988, Thursday, December 14

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Post 1988, Day 348 of 2017
- 2,540 days since I started this blog -

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      199.9 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/13/17):          201.7 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       - 1.8 lbs.

Diet Comment

It's nice to get exactly what I hoped for (and exactly what I predicted). A win for fasting.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:30pm, at CoreLife Eatery:

Make-your-own bowl: Spicy grass-fed steak, kale, mesclun, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, edamame, cherry tomatoes, ginger, spicy Thai sauce,  and beef bone broth.

Lunch
9:00pm: Cottage cheese, pork rinds, a Quest bar.

Dinner
11:55pm: Pepperoni, carrot sticks, celery and a square of sugar-free chocolate.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 56+ oz.; 

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