Sept 24 update

191 today.

Food:

• 1 large orange
  
• 8 oz coffee with h/h and 1 Equal
  
• 1 orange
  
• 2 granola bars
  
• szechuan steak stir fry - steak, onions, green pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, yum!

Exercise:

• Ran 2.8 miles and walked .5 miles at lunch with newly inspired friend Tim R (Tim's not new, he's old. His inspiration is new.)

Tim and I at McDowell Forest Preserve, and I decided to also run there and back. It's about a 1/2 mile. At McDowell, we ran and walked a 1 mile loop twice. I think we ran and walked about 1/2 and 1/2, maybe even ran more than that. (But by distance that would be about 3/4 distance ran and 1/4 distance walked). So let's stretch a bit and say that we can 1.5 miles and walked .5 miles. Plus I ran another 1.3 miles there and back. So I ran about 2.8 miles and walked .5 miles today

I have to admit that when I stepped outside, it was hot and I thought, I should drive over there. But I had just told Westy that I was going to run over, so didn't want to cop out. And running back to work afterwards was tough but I ran all the way.

It was awesome running with Tim. He also needs to get into shape and lose weight, and he's actually in worse shape than I am right now. But he's done this before and within a week or two we'll be the same. I haven't seen Tim that much lately so it was great to get together and hang out. We've been friends since fourth grade. Instead of going out for lunch, we will try to run once a week!

Szechuan sauce

• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger
  
• 1/2 cup canned low sodium chicken broth
  
• 2 tablespoons sherry
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon red chili paste
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dry crushed red pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar (to taste)
  
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

- schneid

Sept 22 update

191 this morning. I can't wait to get under 190. I haven't been there in about 3 years.

Food:

• 1 granola bar
  
• 1 large McDonald's hazelnut iced coffee with 1 cream and 2 Equals...hopefully they don't put a bunch of sugar in there
  
• 1 can diet Pepsi
  
• iceberg lettuce with taco meat (hamburger), black bean and corn salsa, green peppers, nonfat sour cream, and just a tiny bit of shredded cheddar.
  
• 1 tortilla chip (yes, 1)
  

Exercise:

• none, really...walked with the kids for a round of mini-golf and at the park.

I made some black bean and corn salsa tonight. Mmmmmmmm it was good. Here's the recipe:

Black bean and corn salsa

• 1 15oz can black beans
  
• 1 1/2 cups cooked corn (cold)
  
• 1 cup prepared salsa
  
• juice from 1 lime
  
• 2 tbsp onions, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp green onions, chopped
  
• 2 tbsp green peppers, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp roast red peppers, chopped (optional)
  
• 1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
  
• 1 tsp cumin (to taste)
  
• 1/4 tsp ground chipotle peppers (to taste)
  
• Mix it all up!

This turned out really good. We couldn't stop eating it. All the amounts are to taste. You might want to add some chopped jalapeno, I didn't have one. The chipotle gives it a nice smoked flavor. And you should add enough cumin to taste it. Some roasted chili peppers would probably help too.

- schneid

Sept 20 update

192 this morning.

Food:

• yogurt (no granola today, I think I ate too much yesterday)
  
• 1 cup coffee with half and half and 1 Equal
  
• lunch was chicken stir fry with broccoli, green peppers, onions, chinese cabbage, mushrooms, and carrots. 1 scoop of szechuan sauce, and I added my homemade fat-free curry salad dressing. It was gooooood.
  
• green tea
  
• 1 20 oz diet Pepsi - needed a boost again
  
• grilled chicken salad with homemade ranch dressing
  
• 20 oz beer
  
• 1/2 cup nuts (pepitas, sunflower seeds, almonds, dried cherries, raisins

Exercise:

• volleyball at lunchtime

Tonight is poker night. I'm going to limit myself to 12-16 oz of beer and a handful of snacky stuff (probably this mixture of pepitas, sunflower seeds, almond, and soy beans that I just bought).

I tried about 4 different beers on Thursday night but shared them and only had about 1/4 glass of each. Also had the nuts as a snack.

I stopped at Trader Joe's the other night. Someone mentioned that they have a great frozen fish selection, and they really do. Ahi tuna was 4.79/lb. They have a lot of great products, including a wide selection of cheeses, which I'm not really eating right now. Lots of fun gourmet stuff. I was surprised that the prices are pretty good. I've only stopped in there a couple times before.

Homemade ranch dressing recipe

• 1/2 cup nonfat mayo
  
• 1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
  
• 2 tsp minced green onion
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 1 tbsp minced onions
  
• 1 tbsp minced red bell pepper
  
• 1/2 tsp parsley
  
• enough water to make it dressing consistency
  

It's pretty good. And it's about 9 calories per tbsp. Hidden Valley Ranch is 71 calories per tbsp. I might try some buttermilk next time to see if I can get it to be closer to store-bought.

- schneid

Sept 18 update

194 this morning. Same as yesterday, so I think I was dehydrated then and also I ate a little more for dinner last night than usual (a steak, mmmmm). I'm wondering if I should jog a little in the morning, to get my metabolism revved up for the day...I could jog for 10 minutes and sprint a block or two. Wonder if that will work?

I remembered to bring my salad dressing to work today! Here's the recipe. It's good on salad and for dipping (meats and veggies).

Curry salad dressing

• 1 cup nonfat mayo
  
• 1 tbsp ginger (crushed through garlic press)
  
• 1 clove garlic (crushed through garlic press)
  
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro
  
• 1 tbsp chopped green onions
  
• juice from 1 lime
  
• 1 tsp garam masala
  
• 1 tsp curry powder
  
• salt and pepper
  
• water

Mix all ingredients except water. Then add water and mix until it's the consistency of salad dressing. Amounts are all to taste, so you will need to adjust, to get the flavors that you prefer. I'm going to try making a homemade ranch similar to this. It's about 20 calories per tbsp and almost no fat. This recipe should make about 2 cups of dressing.

Food:

• yogurt and granola bar
  
• salad with my homemade dressing, yum
  
• banana
  
• granola bar
  
• 2 cups coffee, one black, one with 1 Equal and a little milk
  
• 1 20 oz diet Pepsi - I really needed a boost this afternoon
  
• steak stir fry - Suzette used last night's leftover steak, plus sesame oil, ginger, garlic, red chili paste, soy sauce, onions, green peppers, and some other stuff that I can't remember and it was fantastic. Really awesome flavor.

Exercise:

• ran and walked for 32 minutes outside today. I was sick of working out so I hit a few weight machines and then went for a jog. I walked and jogged the first half, then jogged all the way back. It was nice to get some fresh air and it felt pretty good (ok, it sucked, but afterwards I felt pretty good). My shins seemed to hold up pretty well.

I stepped on the scale at 10:00 PM and was 194...that looks pretty good. Must've been the run today. I'm trying to drink a lot of water tonight so that I'll feel confident in the scale if it says 193 tomorrow.

- schneid