photo by c.p.storm (terms)

This is the first line of an absolutely great article titled “Unhappy Meals” from the New York Times. It covers almost all the bases about eating with regard to health and lifestyle.

The gist of the article is in the title. Eat food, not foodstuffs, not nutrient enriched chemical creations. A good rule of thumb is to imagine if your great great grandmother would recognize it as food. Keep your food intake in check, and watch the amount of meat you eat.

This article, while long, is a must read for anyone who struggles with their weight or needs a ground floor introduction on the right way to eat. Even for those who think they know what they are doing because they are following recommended dietary guidelines, this article will shed some light on who is influencing those guidelines and who is really benefiting in the end (hint: most likely not you).

So clear some time in your schedule, grab a carrot and click here to read the whole article.

Here’s the deal.

I am fat.

I overeat. Regularly.

I am six feet tall and weigh roughly 245 pounds.

I do not like myself because of the way I look.

I am going to change this.

I feel shame and I don’t know how to mentally convince myself to stop. At one point not too long ago I was on the right track, losing weight slowly but surely. Eating well and going to the gym 3-4 times a week in the mornings.

My friend and I started a small challenge between us, which I would consider a miserable failure.

I am not interested in failing any longer. I need to express my dissatisfaction with my lifestyle and acknowledge publicly where I am failing in my life, figure out why, fix it, and move on.

I am not interested in being fat any more.

I have a 16 week old daughter and I want to be able to keep up with her for a long time. Being fat does not play into this.

I don’t want to publish this post. I feel embarrassed every time I type the word fat.

My palms are sweating. If you could see me typing this, you would see about a half dozen nervous ticks every time I finish a sentence.

Everyone always says the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat healthy and exercise regularly, the key behind this strategy though is the mindset. How do you get in it?

For me, I believe this post is a first step in a good direction. I am going to set my plan in writing here, and post weekly updates, holding myself accountable. I will assume that anyone reading this is holding me accountable as well.

My plan 0.1

• Get up earlier & go to the gym at least 3 times a week.
• Eat no more than 1500 calories a day.
• Eat more vegetables
• Eat fewer carbs & starches.

I will keep you posted.

Here’s the deal. I don’t really work close to home, the drive can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending. So if I need to run any errands, I like to do them before I get home. Often times grocery shopping is one of these errands, but the problem is that I am not in the habit of carrying the grocery list around, mostly because it stays in the kitchen so things can be added as they run out. I have been racking my brain, trying to think of an easy way for my wife and myself to add to a central list that can be accessed almost anywhere.

What I came up with is a Grocery List website for us. It’s basically a SQL database with a PHP front end, very simple to set up, very simple to use. There is a box to type in the quantity, a drop down to select common items and an empty box to type any items not in the drop down.

To run this setup you need a web hosting service that lets you create your own SQL databases. The setup I am using is basically a hacked up version of Todo List borrowed from ulyssesonline.com

I personally barely know anything about PHP or SQL for that matter, and I am struggling to find a way to add a ‘Clear Entire List’ function. So if you are interesting in adding something like this to your own website, I can share my edited php files, but you might want to go to ulyssesonline.com and give him a shout too.

If you are interested in using this script, my altered files are available for download here

The sticker read something along the lines of how to safely handle the meat products, detailing how to clean the meat and the area and utensils you use during the preparation.

I noticed something odd about the sticker though. It wasn’t made of paper, and it was kind of thick, with a thicker band running around the edge of the sticker about 1/4″ wide. I tried to tear the sticker in half, and couldn’t, it had a sort of thin laminated plastic coating. I took out my keys and jabbed at it until it tore open, and sure enough RFID inside.

Then I looked down the aisle; every package of meat, be it beef, swine or bird, had one of these ‘safe handling’ stickers on it.

What I want to know is this: who is so interested in the meat that I am eating and why?

I had all last weak off, enjoyed spending time with my wonderful wife and relaxing, but I did have some free time where I could have used the time to work on some of this stuff, but instead everyone decided to call me on my first day back at my full-time job.

I’m not complaining though, I just think its interesting. I guess its like the old saying…how does it go?
Catholic school girls can’t be tamed…oh no, sorry its…when it rains it pours.

Treadmill @ 5mph
Time 25min
Calories 355

Treadmill @ 5mph
Time 25min
Calories 355

Precor @ 35min
Distance @ 3.1mi
Calories @ 540
Resistance @ 8

Precore @ 35min
Distance @ 3.1mi
Calories @ 540

PreCor @ 35min
Distance @ 3mi
Calories @ 532
Level 10