Day 41 - What a Week

Been an odd week in that stuff that is not usually part of our routines have had to be handled.

Monday was actually a normal day in most respects. Although coming home late to nearly nobody home was odd. That was the day I did a short 30-minute burn on the elliptical vs. wasting my time watching television. Never did that before.
Exercise, check; got in 4 trips up the stairs at work too.
Healthy Eating, check; actually since I got home late my dinner was very light so maybe I under ate.

Tuesday my wife was out with friends taking in a Cubs game (they won), so I got the kids all to myself to feed dinner. That really wasn't abnormal. What was however was that my son Ryan was eating his final meal before having his wisdom teeth extracted the next day. So I gave him the choice of what to have for dinner. He chose the Bento Cafe for some sushi (pictured to left).
Exercise, check; got in a great session with the dumbbells, and three trips up the stairs at work too.
Healthy Eating, check; the sushi rolls you see in that picture I did not eat. Those sauces are usually high in fat & sugar. Instead I had some tuna sashimi and a bento-box with salmon(3, maybe 4 oz. tops), a green salad and rice. Oh that sounds so good, when we going for sushi again?

Wednesday morning was spent at the oral surgeon with Ryan. He's a bleeder so it took a while before they would clear him to go. Here you see him after we got back home. Knocked out from the earlier anesthesia and later on some vicodin before sitting on the couch. With gauze still in mouth we had to wake him up after we saw he had nodded off; didn't want him swallowing and choking on it. But not before we took this picture to share with friends & family :-)
Exercise, un-check; took the day off.
Healthy Eating, check; I ate excellent all day before my son Andrew & I went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Look there, below, that's my basket of wings. What is that you say, how can I say that was healthy? Well let me tell you. Before disturbing that beautiful basket of heaven I put the six smallest wing pieces over by that celery and the six largest pieces into a take home box for my other boy Cameron (he ate them for breakfast Thursday - like me he is a wing addict). The sauce on these is Spicy Garlic which is their lowest carb sauce so not much unwanted sugar.

Thursday morning Ryan was up at 4:15 a.m. and needed a little help with his medicines but overall he is working hard at being a man and dealing with the pain and nuisance of having four less teeth in his head. In the afternoon I went with my wife to her doctor's appointment. Thankfully we received good news on her and the fear of possible surgery for her this summer has been erased.
Exercise, check; got in a 60-minute session on the elliptical in the morning. I worked from home both Wednesday & Thursday this week so no trips up any stairs to speak of. After dinner my wife & I went out for a 30-minute walk to end the day positive.
Healthy Eating, check; excellent meals and snacks capped off by firing up the grill for some sliders. Lean ground beef seasoned by a pro (me) and grilled to a perfect medium-rare (some to medium for my wife). A simple fruit salad to go with those delicious mini-burgers. I had my sliders (appx. 3 oz. each) without the buns and half the cheese the old me would have draped over them. Topped off with a couple pickles and a bit of my home-made salsa (oh it is good!)... why am I describing them so, here they are; see for yourself...

Why am I writing this food crazy post, it has me starving now :-o

Friday, well lets see what it brings. Back in the office for the days work. This being the Friday before a holiday weekend I'll likely cut out of here early assuming nothing needs attention. If I do, I am getting in some more cardio; perhaps a walk around a forest preserve.

So, How has your week been?
 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!

Day 21 - Hello Weekend

So who has plans for an awesome weekend? Certainly Mother's Day will see most have plans of some sort with family. Myself, Sunday is just a day at home as there are kids sports activities planned. Beyond lavishing my wife with some gifts Sunday will be fairly routine. Recall we celebrated our Mother's Day with a brunch last weekend for all the moms and grandmas; so glad no buffets this weekend.

Today I get my wife all to myself so we're going on a date. Dinner will be included, Cooper's Hawk, so there will be a bit of temptation to survive. But I am trying a technique I read somewhere he on blogger; go online and preview the menu before you go and decide on a healthy option to order. The idea is doing so lessens chances you will give into temptation's best shot at beating you, when you are at the table looking over the menu on a hungry gut surveying all of the many non-healthy options seducing you. Having look at the menu this morning I am going to order the Pistachio Crusted Grouper. Now I must admit, these technique does seem a bit rigid and may take a hint of fun out of dining out. While I have decided to try this I will listen to the specials the wait staff has to offer and compare them against my choice and then make the final decision. We'll see how it goes tonight.

What about exercise, who has exercise planned this weekend? Myself, I'll be working through a home-gym weight-workout today; actually soon after posting this. The past couple of days I have got in my cardio so not planning any today. Thursday I did a 2.2 mile / 41.5 minute walk and Friday I did 45 minutes on the elliptical. Sunday I might get some cardio in; I only say might as it is supposed to be a windy, cold, wet weekend here and I'd like to get outside for that cardio if I can. Where I'd really like to go for a walk is back to the forest preserve I walked in this past Thursday evening. This is a place nearby which I had never been to before. It was far larger than I expected and excellent for walks and runs of distances of a mile or two to five plus if you wish to make it one lap around this place. Weather permitting we will do so. Hmmm, I think you can call that a Non-Scale Victory; perhaps it's more of a discovery. However had I not decided to go on this mission I would likely have never gone to that preserve and discovered how cool it is. Yeah, I think I chalk it up as a NSV. No?

Sunday is weigh in day for me. Not expecting to have a let down today so I am hopeful to report a nice loss tomorrow. I'll be happy with anything at least 1.5 pounds less than last Sunday. That's my goal, 1.5 pounds a week minimum.

Have fun with your plans, your exercise, your day today!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!

Day 13 - Danger Ahead

Today is a day like many others. Up around 5:30 a.m. and at the breakfast table with my gorgeous wife by about 6:15 a.m., that is pretty much the routine for us during the work weeks. And I anticipate the rest of the day to be a usual day at work, at eating healthy and enjoying some family time when back at home this evening. It's all good and I'm good with days like this.

But what about tomorrow, or, the day after? The Weekend!?!? Most weekends don’t present too much added challenge to my efforts to get healthy. This biggest challenge of weekends would be boredom, there is more free time and if not used well boredom can creep in and in days of the past I'd hit the pantry for food to relieve the boredom. Then there is a definite up side to having more free time on weekends, I have more time. More time to exercise. More time to plan for the weeks meals ahead. More time to do healthy things.

On MOST weekends those notions are true. But not all weekends are equal and this, the first weekend of May 2010, is not to be a weekend like most. It is a weekend filled with danger, filled with temptation, filled with challenge, filled with scary scary scary hurdles. Of course I am talking about food challenges. Did I say it is going to be scary?

Saturday is my nephews 1st Communion. We'll make the 2 hour drive to attend the church ceremony and then it will be back to my sister's house where she has planned a bountiful menu of delivery pizzas. Ugh, what a temptation to face at a time which will be the usual time we'd eat dinner anyhow. No doubt after the drive, after the church service, after the initial mingling at her house; no doubt by the time the pizza is served my hunger will be at a scary state and I'll be faced with the first dangerous challenge of the weekend to my success. Pizza? Thanks Sis!

Sunday is no better. Sunday we are getting the families together to celebrate the birthdays we have in May and Mothers Day even though it’s a week early. How are we celebrating that? Well how else, with a Sunday brunch of course. Oh it gets better, we're brunching at Papadeaux. Yes, I know that Papadeaux is a seafood restaurant so there will be healthy options available. But if you have not experienced a brunch at Papadeaux then let me fill you in; it's HUGE. Decadent and Sinful foods from every planet in the galaxy and lots and lots of them. So here I'll be faced with the second dangerous challenge of the weekend to my success.

So how do I get through it? My immediate thought is that if I pay attention to what is before me and am conscious of the decisions I'll need to make this weekend, then I should be fine. Otherwise if I just go into these events blind to my having to think and make decisions then I will no doubt make bad choices and do harm.

Can I handle it, I think so... Can I make the best of these challenges and at a minimum do no harm, I think so… Can I stare down temptation without starving myself and feeling like I am being punished, I sure hope so… Can I quickly book a trip to Guam and avoid it all, I think that would result in a frying pan to my head so probably the best way to face the danger ahead.

All that said I am so looking forward to these events with the family. Never do I want to dread such events because of what they may do to my health. Therefore I am just going to have to learn how to balance family festivities with healthy eating, and as well, eating out with healthy eating,

Hey, TGIF, enjoy it!

Responsibility 199... Gotta Do It!!