Exercise - 90 minutes on the treadmill (2 x 45 mins at 2mph)

Water - 11 cups

Food - 1819 calories (24% fat, 52% carbs, 22% protein)

Breakfast - protein shake, 3 clementines (159)

Lunch - navy bean soup, apple, fruit salad (508)

Dinner - baked pasta with meat sauce, broccoli, butter, salad, french dressing (737)

Snacks - protein shake, apple, fruit salad, crispy tortillaz (416)

It was a great day today. Had to really push the last session on the treadmill, but managed to finish it. When I post at this hour I haven’t actually taken my last 2 cups of water and some of the snacks. I’ve actually been pretty good about keeping to what I’ve left for myself (so far).

On the freezer - Yes, it’s a little intense, but it means there are never any take-out meals. As well, having plain chicken breasts, flank steak and pork tenderloin means there is a little flexibility (ie. change up seasonings/marinades). As a last resort there’s usually a thin crust pizza on the top shelf for the ‘oh my god I don’t even want to plan a meal’ nights.

Round - I think sometimes I find the forums move too fast for me. If I’m keeping up there’s no problem. I love to surf through the blogs for a more cohesive look into each person.

So after talking about the freezer I had to go inventory it. Well, technically it’s two freezers in the garage. The little one on the side by side only holds soups. After all is said and done there are enough choices for 63 meals (for 2) and I have 22 soups left. It’s actually even a little worse than that since there are two packages of smoked chicken and turkey sausages on the door. They make into either 10 meals of roasted tomato pasta or 4 lots of bean soup (navy bean last time).

I think it’s time to take a break and have lunch!

I’ve always been a bit of a pack rat. If I look into it on a deeper level, I’m a planner. Or a compulsive organizer. For years I’ve collected and organized things. It’s changed from books, to recipes, to media files (audio and video). It doesn’t matter what, it’s just something I seem to do. Even a lot of my overeating has been planned. Some of it will be the typical “I’m hungry” stuff, but far too much of it was planned. I’ll make little mental deals with myself. Things like - I’ll just go to the store and buy ABC, then after it’s all done, I’ll diet. Cooking is another area I’ve done this kind of planning. Like right now I can tell you that in the freezer is: Pork Loin with Cherries (3), Gumbo (8), Lasagna (4), Meatloaf (2)… That’s really just a partial list. There is also beef stew, chicken curry, chicken breasts, shrimp, pork tenderloin, souvlaki. Well, it’s also probably time to review it (just to make sure). I actually figure that since I’m now marking down everything I eat I should probably go verify it (see, it’s a sickness).

Some of it has a rational background. We’re out of hamburgers and will be getting ground beef at Costco today. Since I’m using the last batch of meat sauce for dinner tonight I know that I should make the extra ground beef into meat sauce. At least this is how I justify it. And since I’ve already picked out dinner for this evening and brought in a soup for lunch (navy bean) I can pretty much tell you what my calorie intake will be for the day. The only real variable now is probably how much of the spreadable cheese I end up cutting out of the container for my snack later.

Cheese is one of those things I have to be rabid about measuring. Although to be fair, at the moment, this really applies to pretty much everything. Although I tend to make bulk recipes I now track everything in FitDay and divide it into the number of servings I ended up dividing it into. Oh, and speaking of recipes, I started a blog to track some of the recipes I’ve used (and enjoyed) over the years. It’s the link called A Recipe for Weight Loss. I’ll warn people that the recipe sizes tend to be for large batches. Today for example I’m going to add the recipe for the meat sauce I’m using for dinner. I’ve divided it into 9 double servings, probably just about a cup in size per single serving. The problem with things like sauce is that they can be a different amount depending on how thick you make it. That’s why I usually just divide in into the number of servings I want to end up with.

Oops - I didn’t look at the settings for comment moderation.  For the moment I’ve pretty much set it so comments don’t need moderation.  I don’t know if junk mail posts are a problem.  I suppose I’ll find out.   Since I’m still awake (but not for long) I thought I’d answer some of the comments.  Thanks for all of them,

insubordination - I’ve always avoided short term (and even long term) goals.  I think I’ve always felt that if I don’t meet them I’ll be disappointed.  So I suppose it will just be one day at a time.  Perhaps I need to track days on plan (exercise and food) and see what I max out at.  I’ve been on plan with food since the 5th of January (New Years Eve was a bust, as was my birthday on the 4th).  So maybe the first short term goal should be 30 days on plan.

mizu - Thanks for the kind comments.   I’ve really only blogged once before, although I’m planning another one in my head (recipes, unless I find a better way to store/point to them online).  I added a link to my travel blog in the links section.  It’s called “Work to Travel”.  It was done while doing the 5-month freighter trip I did last year.  It was never really a public blog, just something that friends and family could keep track of so they knew we were okay and where we were.  Oh, and people noticed about the initial weight loss about maybe 40 or 50 pounds in.  Or at least that’s when people starting mentioning it.  Dave caught on first, at perhaps 30 pounds down.

leanmoomercows -  I hope to find a little insight for myself most of all.  I thought I knew what worked, but the illness showed me that I didn’t.  I’m really trying to approach this as a new way of living, not a diet.  In theory the only thing I’m denying myself is excess.

Thanks to you all.   I always feel I have nothing to say, but who knows.