Fire up the grill for a delicious ‘summer picnic’

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It’s been a while since I’ve used my grill, but a recent trip to Northern California inspired me to come back home and clean off my backyard bad boy for another summer of good eats.

The lunch I made for my buddies up north was inspired by Nadia’s favorite grilled dish of mine, “The Summer Picnic.” We call it that because I made it for her one summer night and the name stuck.

Basically it’s grilled shrimp, grilled asparagus and some bread.

I pierce the shrimp twice, through the head and near the base of the tail, to make the skewers easier to flip. As far as shrimp go, most would say sustainable is best, but it’s also pricey. You get the best bang for the buck at Costco, where the shrimp in the meat/seafood section are huge. I think I paid about $18 for 24 large shrimp. But they’re also farmed … so is the majority of the rest of the shrimp you and I are likely eating though, so I dunno.

Finally, I’ve read that it’s better to buy frozen than fresh in most cases. Unless you’re buying at Pearson’s Port (or sometimes Santa Monica Seafood), most of the shrimp you purchase is frozen on the ship at sea. The market then defrosts it to display it, so what’s the point? Lately, I’ve switched to frozen Northern Chef wild caught baja shrimp, 40-60 count in a 1 lb. bag for about $10 at Sprouts.

Omit the bread to save on the carbs, but if you plan on using it, you can serve it fresh or grilled. French is best, but you can also use italian. Slice the baguette or loaf into slices, and if grilling, brush lightly with olive oil (or garlic/herb-infused olive oil) and cook on the grill very briefly. Watch it close, because it burns quick!

What’s great about these ingredients is that you can tweak them different ways to keep it interesting. Here are some variations:

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-Wrap the asparagus pre-grill in bacon or post-grill in prosciutto.

-Throw some sausage on the grill too! My favorite is the pork sausage at Puerto Madero in Santa Ana/El Gaucho in Anaheim. Just like the bacon/prosciutto idea above, it’s not the healthiest idea, so save it for a sporadic treat. Finish with a drizzle of chimichurri, also available at the market (I like to leave off most of the oil and just use the herbs instead).

-Par-boil some halved yukon gold potatoes for about 12 minutes, until nearly fork tender. Finish face down on the grill, turning 45-degrees once in the cooking process. The chimichurri also works great here, or toss with a tablespoon of melted butter (plus sauteed shallots, a lot of garlic and parsley, if you’d like). Salt and pepper to taste.

-Other vegetables would also work here–spring onions, ramps, broccolini, brocolli rabe. We just alway use asparagus because it’s so yummy.

-Finish the veggies and the shrimp with a solid spritz of fresh lemon juice and fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley.

All the heavy lifting

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It’s time to shake it up again.

Since January my main tool for weight loss has been miles-long walks and bursts of cardio on the treadmill or elliptical. I used 30 second intervals and wrist weights to help melt the fat and shape my flabby batwing arms. For all the wrist weight haters, too bad for you, they actually work. My arms lost some girth and gained some shape. My legs too. Actually, my legs are friggin’ ripped because I’ve been walking so much.  I’ve walked 60 miles since March 19, which is crazy considering I wouldn’t get off my couch just a few months ago.

If you’re looking to start your own fitness routine, let me pass on this advice: Suck it up and jump in. It’s going to be a challenge for a couple of weeks to a month, but eventually you’ll find that your body craves the exercise more than it wants you to lounge around. Tough it out and you will be rewarded.

Speaking of rewards, I’ve figured out the best gift to give myself: weight lifting. Thank you, Niyaz. You’re welcome, Niyaz. 

It’s been a long time coming, but the time is right to transition. Lifting reshapes the body and builds a strong, lasting frame. I have separated my plan into two parts, the first involving two to three months of a total body cable machine regimen and the second involving a 12-week free weight program. From there we’ll see, but for now, here’s where I’m at, courtesy of this amazing resource at Answerfitness.

Workout #1 (Day One) Exercises
Chest Press Machine: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Pull Ups (Can be performed on a pull-up station with assist or a traditional pull-up bar): Perform as many pull-ups as you can for 3 sets.
(Substitute Exercise: Cable or Lat Machine Pulldowns)
Seated Overhead Shoulder Press Machine: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Seated Leg Press Machine: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Seated Calf Raise Machine: 15 Reps for 3 Sets
Bicep Curl Machine: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Tricep Pressdown Machine: Perform as many dips as you can for 3 sets.
Back Extensions (performed on 45 degree back extension bench): One Set of 15
Swiss/Stability Ball Ab Crunches: 20-25
Rest and Recover for at least 48 hours.

Workout #2 (Day Two) Exercises
Dips: Perform as many reps as possible for 3 sets
Cable Rows: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
(Substitute Exercise: Seated Machine Rows)
Cable Front Shoulder Raises: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Smith Machine Squats: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Smith Machine Standing Calf Raises: 15 Reps for 3 Sets
Cable Bicep Curls: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Cable Tricep Pressdown: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Back Extensions (performed on 45 degree back extension bench): One Set of 15
Hanging Leg Raises/Roman Chair (Abs): Perform as many as you can for 3 sets
Rest and Recover for at least 48 hours.

Workout #3 (Day Three) Exercises
Pec Deck Machine: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Lat Cable Pulldown: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
(Substitute Exercise: Lat Pulldown Machine)
Cable Side Shoulder Raises: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Smith Machine Lunges: 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Seated Calf Press (Performed on Leg Press Machine): 15 Reps for 3 Sets
Reverse Bicep Curl Machine (Palms down): 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Cable Press Downs (performed with palms up on the bar) 8-10 Reps for 3 Sets
Back Extensions (performed on 45 degree back extension bench): One set of 15
V-Crunches/Jack-Knife Sit Up (Abs): Perform as many as you can for 3 sets.

I’ve already completed the full routine for one week and I can feel this working already. I’m focusing on form and tempo rather than the amount of weight I can lift. If you focus first on those things, you will gain strength inevitably and the numbers will increase.

I’ll share numbers soon, but in the meantime, at least I’ve dropped another pound. I expect to lose little in the initial stages of this transition, as muscle weighs more than fat, but eventually I know the muscle is what I need to continue losing weight.

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As for the scale: Last week I weighed 223.8 lbs. Today, I weigh 222.4 lbs.; a loss of 1.4 lbs.

I was at my heaviest weight, 267 lbs., in August 2009. That’s a total loss of 44.6 lbs.

Fat Dude On A Diet: Report Card No. 3

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I was on the treadmill before work one day in late January, feeling pretty confident because for the first time in my life I was running.

Granted, I was doing intervals—running one minute for every four minutes of walking—BUT I WAS RUNNING, voluntarily, and not to catch the ice cream man. I was going strong to a track by How to Destroy Angels when the next song on my playlist, Paramore’s “Now,” started up just as I entered the last few minutes of my workout.

Maybe it was the rushing drums, or the sweat pouring down my face, but I hit my stride when the chorus came in:

“Lost the battle/ win the war
I’m bringing my sinking ship back to the shore.
We’re starting over/ or head back in
There’s a time and a place to die/ but this ain’t it.”

There was still some time to go before my final interval started, but I felt my legs start pushing. I kicked up the speed to “thunderous strut” and went for it. “There’s a time and a place to die/ But this ain’t it.The words screamed through my brain, punctuating themselves with every hard smack of each foot on the track.

My eyes welled up with (handsome, bearded man) tears. They blended with the sweat and I wiped it all away in motion. I reached over and kicked the speed up even more, thinking my lungs might implode and my heart would burst in the last 15 seconds. I glanced over, seemingly three times for every creeping millisecond, in anticipation of the finish line.

When it came, I slammed on the stop button and nearly fell backward. Sitting up against the wall, I panted like a labrador. My eyes were closed and I could feel every molecule of my body radiating with burning heat.

“I’m bringing my sinking ship back to the shore.” The phrase pulsed through mind as the warmth began to cool in lessening waves.

That was the moment I stopped punishing myself for my perceived failures and accepted the idea that those things are only setbacks. Setbacks become strengths when you decide to learn from them.

And I’m dedicated to learning. Finally.

Most all restaurants, and especially ones that serve poor-quality food, are out. If I don’t know what’s in it, or the ingredients are processed or have chemicals in them, I won’t eat it. No soda. No candy that’s not dark chocolate. Exercise is a must. Weight loss happens when you create a calorie deficit, so if you aint’ movin’, you ain’t loosin’.

I’ve established a new normal. Three to six-mile walks have become part of my daily routine. Whole, unprocessed foods are what I turn to instead of something from the drive-thru. These days, the microwave is my kitchen clock more than it is an appliance used to heat food.

It clicked. I’m not going to lose this weight by eating healthier. I’m not going to drop the gut by hitting the gym. The only way to truly change is to examine and conquer the walls I’ve built around food and exercise. My physical results are the effect of that mental change.

This has to come from within. It has to be a burning fire with a radiating warmth. All day, every day.

I’m halfway to where I want to be. Any time in my life before this week, the thought of having a shirtless picture of myself on the Internet was horrifying. But progress is liberating.

I went from XXL to L; from a tight 47-inch waist to a comfortable size-40. I shot the first photo at the top on the night before I launched this blog. I’m certainly not the guy on the left anymore. And even though I took the picture on the right this morning, I don’t really feel like that dude either.

In my mind, I’m already wearing size 30-something jeans and medium T-shirts. In my mind, I have more muscle, no love handles and shoulder blades. My gut will be vanquished. I can see my toes and they look sexy as hell. In my mind, I’m under 199 lbs. and still losing. It’s coming. I have earned this. AND I will finish. This report card celebrates my lowest weight in since the mid-2000′s. I find comfort knowing I’m closer to 200 lbs. than I once was to 300.

“Lost the battle/ win the war.”

Win the war.

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There’s just a six pound difference between this report card and the second one I wrote back in March 2012 (230.7 lbs.), but by the end of December 2012 I was back at 244 lbs.. While the difference in numbers isn’t huge, physically I have more muscle now than before and my body’s shape is different; I’m nearly out of a wardrobe because everything is too big. My stamina is far improved–meaning, now I actually have some stamina–and my athletic prowess, if one could call it that, is better than it’s been in my entire life, from childhood on. When I started really hitting the gym I could only plank 10 seconds. I’m up to 40 now. I would never run before and now I chuck my large ass up hills at full speed.

The biggest difference between this report card and the last is in attitude. I understand my relationship to food and instead of letting it have a hold on me, I know that when I’m strong I can have a hold on it. This all always felt like a chore until now–the shopping, the cooking, the exercising–but somewhere along the line it stopped being a burden. I started at “can’t do,” struggled with “can do,” and now, the only thing I see is “will do.”

I weighed 237.5 lbs. at my first check in of the year. Today, I weigh 223.8 lbs. That’s a total loss of 13.7 lbs. since Jan. 11, 2013.

 I was at my heaviest weight, 267 lbs. in August 2009. That’s a total loss of 43.2 lbs.

Fat Dude in the City: If you’re going … to San Francisco

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San Francisco and Vegas are two cities with a lot in common in my book. Now, just hear me out. Both were places that, as a kid, I only visited when family was in town. Every trip involved the same food: fast food on the long car rides and clam chowder in Frisco or the Circus Circus buffet in Vegas. Clearly, my window into both cities was very limited until I became an adult.

Las Vegas was a whole new world to me when I started going in my 20s. The food. The debauchery. My dad never said nothin’ ’bout that before. But explore I did, and eat I did. Though I’m from the Bay Area–P-Town represent!! San Jose represent!!–I never experienced much of San Francisco aside from Fisherman’s Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge.

After spending only a couple days in The City, I left with two main takeaways: 1) I could walk from neighborhood to neighborhood having dinner out and probably not repeat places for years. 2) I want to eat through this city, every night, for years. Here’s the first two days of that lofty, imaginary goal, in celebration of our friend Neil’s 30th birthday.

Check out the adventure after the jump. Continue reading

Moving and shaking. Cooking and grubbing.

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There’s one more week to go before the first 90 days of full throttle weight-loss work winds down. I was hoping to post more of a loss this week, but I walked about 15 miles this week and did boxing twice, so I really think I was okay on the exercise.

I did have a beer, a shot, a chocolate chip cookie and a small froyo (with almonds) on various days throughout the week, so next week I’ll cut all that stuff out before I post the next “Fat Dude Report Card” next week.

Nothing much to report. Just moving and shaking. Cooking and grubbing.

As for the scale: Last week I weighed 224.9 lbs. Today, I weigh 224.2 lbs.; a one-week loss of .7 lbs.

I was at my heaviest weight, 267 lbs., in August 2009. That’s a total loss of 42.8 lbs.

“What losing 180 pounds really does to your body and your mind”

I found a post on Yahoo! this week about a woman who lost 180 lbs. with the help of weight-loss surgery. She recently wrote a book detailing her struggle with her loss of identity once she developed a slimmer body.

“I lost my sense of self. My sense of proportion. My sense of dignity, of maturity, of control. I was skinny, but my life wasn’t suddenly and magically perfect-and that completely astonished me. It sounds ridiculous, having really fallen for the fairy tale of weight loss. But I had fallen for it completely, and then was blinded by the egregious lack of a happily ever after.

… The problem was that I lost all those pounds, but I didn’t have to change a thing about my self. I didn’t have to address any of the emotional or psychological issues. I didn’t have to figure out why I had been depressed–why I was still so, so depressed, despite the fact that the one thing I thought had been ruining my life was suddenly gone.”

It’s really her second paragraph that struck me. Though I never considered weight-loss surgery, I understand the idea of doing something drastic to lose weight, and how that effected me when I did it. I’ve talked before about my first major weight loss try in 2005–going from 239 lbs. to 202 lbs.–and how I managed to get there in three short months by going to the gym six days a week and eating a very calorie-restricted diet.

Once the reigns were released, I ballooned over time to 267 lbs. and was depressed that I had squandered my gains.

Aside from those with major health problems, I hardly think surgery is the right answer for weight loss. Weight loss is simple actually: Consistently burn more than you intake. No pills, no shakes, no gym needed. Make healthy choices and good things will happen. Weight loss and nutrition are complicated because we’ve made it so. In her case, the surgery was what helped her shed the weight, and because she didn’t have to earn it, she didn’t learn anything from the process.

I’ve done a lot of introspection and I understand that I didn’t keep the weight off because I simply went through the weight-loss motions. Through the food blog motions. I really believe that those who struggle with long-term weight loss have underlying issues that compel them to eat what they eat or avoid physical activity.

I believe it because I did that. And felt that. And know it to be true.

I’ve always wanted to be thin and athletic because I thought it would make me happy. What I’m learning is that healthy is happy; being thin and athletic are the side effects of a healthy lifestyle. It took me so long to come to terms with that, but I’m better for it.

The author faces those same worries and imagines how she would treat herself in a perfect world:

“I want this: I want to say, don’t love yourself even though you’re not perfect–love yourself because you have a body and it’s worth loving and it is perfect. Be healthy, which is perfect at whatever size healthy is and at whatever size happy is. And of course that’s totally easy and I have just caused a revolution in body image. Let’s all go home now.”

Sarcasm aside, she’s right, hard as it is to do.

“Be healthy, which is perfect at whatever size healthy is and at whatever size happy is.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about goals lately. Where do I want to end up by the end of this year? What would make me happy and healthy?

Instead of a gut, I’d like to see my toes when I look down. And I still want shoulder blades. After 40-something pounds, I’ve only recently developed a collarbone and I’m glad I have one now because I like drumming music on it. (Weird, I know.)

It’s not about the weight. That’s just a number. A marker. A progress report.

It’s going to be about the way I feel inside. How it feels to do this for the millionth time, to finally fail upward high enough that I’ve reached my goals. No shortcuts. I’m in it for the ups and downs of this roller coaster.

I want to know that I’ve fully tackled my “emotional.” The “physical” will be my reward.

That’s my goal. And I’ll have found happiness in weight loss.

 

My favorite Asian take-out comes from Trader Joe’s

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I generally try to avoid frozen foods, but when I’m burned out in the kitchen, the first place I turn to is Trader Joe’s.

I know they have an amazing selection in the freezer, but I’m really only interested in two things: the orange chicken and the teriyaki chicken. Both are only $5 per bag.

First, I’d rather someone else make these two specific items than for me to make them at home. Second, I’d rather buy at least the orange chicken this way and bake it instead of heading off for take-out and picking up a deep fried, over-sauced version of the exact same dish.

I prefer the orange chicken to the teriyaki because I’m fat and love meats/cheeses lovingly embraced by batter/breading. There are 320 calories per serving (approximately, but not always, 5 servings to a bag) and a serving really isn’t much on the plate. If I have some wiggle room, I’ll go two servings; if not, one and a half. Lay the pieces out on a sheet pan, blast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping once if you can, and you’ll have little nuggets of chicken that are a good enough to stand-in for the double-fried stuff you find at Asian chicken joints. Add the sauce, a bunch of scallions and it’s a wrap.

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Alternatively, I’ll use the Trader Joe’s BBQ Chicken Teriyaki on days where I need something lighter and less batteriffic. It’s 150 calories per serving and has 3.5 servings in a bag. I add veggies and a little bit of rice to stretch the meal into four solid portions.

For the dish above, I let the frozen strips of chicken sit out for a half hour to soften up. I cut them into bite-size chunks; then I halved 8 oz. of whole baby crimini mushrooms so they’d be a similar size. To finish prep, I tossed two servings of rice in the rice cooker and separated and halved the leaves of four baby bok choi heads.

You liven up the frozen chicken by building flavor, but it’s all very easy: With a little bit of oil in the pan over medium heat, saute 1/2 a shallot and 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, both minced, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushroom and a generous pinch of salt; cook for 3-5 minutes until most of the water has cooked out of the mushrooms and the pan is dry. If you have it, deglaze the pan with a splash of mirin and add the chicken. Cover with a lid and turn the heat to medium-low, allowing the steam to bring the chicken to temperature. When the chicken is ready, mix in the raw bok choi. The heat will wilt the thin pieces. Finish with the teriyaki sauce and dig in.

If you do it this way, this one makes four portions. The orange chicken is best fresh from the oven, but the teriyaki is perfect packed up and ready for the next day’s lunch. Clearly, it doesn’t suffice for going out to actual Chinese/Japanese (Vietnamese/Thai) restaurants, but if I’m not eating out every day, this is a solid way to split the difference.

Stuck in the awkwards

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It’s the best-worst problem to have when you’re losing weight and currently I’m wallowing in the thick of it.

Yesterday was the third time since beginning this weight-loss plan that I’ve given away clothes for donation. It stings as much as it is liberating to see those first XXL shirts, and now many XL shirts, heading out the door. But it’s hard to get rid of your favorite clothes, even if they don’t fit anymore.

I’ve donated over half my closet so far, but I’m slowly replenishing my wardrobe as I go. All of my size-42″ jeans are out of the house and I have a lone pair of 40′s hanging around for my eventual transition to 38″s. Those are already in my closet with the tag still on them, courtesy of the last time I said I would fit into 38″s but never managed.

I want to buy more now, but I know this is a waypoint to smaller sizes and a bigger selection of clothes to choose from. I have two shirts in my closet that I’m calling my “215 shirts” because I’m pretty sure I’ll fit into them when I drop another 10 lbs. Then I’ll pick up some “205 shirts” for motivation again. 

Until then, I’m stuck in the awkwards. XL’s vary from brand to brand, so half of my wardrobe fits right and the rest is kinda baggy and floopy. And then there’s that XXL Slim Fit Calvin Klein shirt I’ve been wanting to wear, but I’m still not slim enough in the tummy for it (almost though). I’m starting to hate the shirt anyway, as it mocks me from the closet with it’s ridiculous “XXL SLIM FIT” size. SERIOUSLY HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? What XXL dudes do you know that wear slim fits? Certainly not this one. By the time I’m ready to fit into the shirt, I’ll likely want to burn it out of spite instead.

Breathe. Remind myself:

“This is only a waypoint.”

To lose weight, establish a new normal

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Sometimes weight loss can be such a rollercoaster of gains and losses, elation and frustration.

Today, though, is a good day.

My weigh-in today represents a new low for this blog (the previous low was 226.4 lbs.) and is the lowest I have weighed in about 10 years, which is the last time I actively tried to lose weight. I did then, going from 239 lbs. to 202 lbs., but over the course of a couple years after, I ballooned even higher to 267.

The scariest thing about that was when I realized I was only 30 lbs. away from 300 lbs. Now I’m less than 30 lbs. away from 200 lbs. and I couldn’t be more happy that the consistent, daily effort I’ve put in since January is actually paying off. I set a goal of hitting 220 lbs. by the end of March and I’m on my way to making it.

I’ve done a lot of thinking over the last couple days, wondering how I got here and why I failed so many times before. The best way to sum it up is that to earn weight loss you must establish a new normal. My daily calorie allowance is in the ballpark of 1,500 calories. I try to walk at least 5 times a week, and I don’t count that as exercise if I can also make it to the gym that day. Basically, weaving healthy habits and actions into the weight-loss plan, and adopting those ideas as a part of your everyday life seems to be the only way that weight loss does not seem like a burdensome chore.

There’s been several times that I’ve established a new normal only to give it all back because I fall into old ways. That’s where consistency, desire and will power come into play: How much do you want this, and how much will you sacrifice to get there?

I want this more than I ever have. Cheers to the new normal–and a new low.

As for the scale: Last week I weighed 227 lbs. Today, I weigh 224.9 lbs.; a one-week loss of 2.1 lbs.

I was at my heaviest weight, 267 lbs., in August 2009. That’s a total loss of 42.1 lbs.

Fat Dude on a Fitness Plan

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Exercise has always been the missing element, but this was the week I decided to really commit.

Since January, I’ve been working hard to reverse the weight gain of the previous several months by squaring up my weight loss plan and executing in phases. In January I started cooking at home strictly and peppered in some exercise. In February I tightened up the exercise schedule, making it to the gym at least 3 mornings a week and doing an hour of cardio/boxing on Mondays and Fridays. This month, I’m putting even more effort into movement.

The biggest difference this month (and the last couple weeks of last month) has been the 45 min. walks I’ve been doing on my lunch breaks at work. I take a pair of shorts and shoes and hit an approximately 2-mile course every day with a friend. I’ve found myself running down the streets a few times, too, as my energy levels have increased as a benefit of the workouts.

Cardio/boxing, which is part of a wellness program at my work, still stays, plus that 5:30 session before work a few times per week. Nadia and I worked out a plan to add a day or two of strength training, too, on Wednesdays and (sometimes) the Saturdays she has off from work, which tend to alternate.

Here’s what I did this week:

Monday: 1 hr. cardio/boxing; 45 min. afternoon walk

Tuesday: 30 min. morning elliptical machine at gym; 45 min. afternoon walk; 45 min. evening walk

Wednesday: 45 min. afternoon walk; 45 min. strength training machines/15 min. cardio at gym

Thursday: Off day; 45 min. afternoon walk

Friday: 1 hr. cardio/boxing

Looking at the list it seems like a lot, but it’s mostly in-tune with how I am feeling these days. More than anything, I want to move. So why not make it happen?

I’ve been meaning to write more blog posts and write up my trip to San Francisco, but in my list of priorities that are not Nadia, writing blog posts comes after cooking healthy, exercising and my day job. Meanwhile, the easiest way to catch up with what I’ve been cooking in the kitchen is by the mobile uploads on the Fat Dude on a Diet Facebook page.

I’ve been meaning to post the photos here too, but it’s an extra step I’ll have to work into the routine first.

As for the scale: Last week I weighed 228.7 lbs. Today, I weigh 227 lbs.; a one-week loss of 1.7 lbs.

I was at my heaviest weight, 267 lbs., in August 2009. That’s a total loss of 40 lbs.

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