Friday, April 30, 2010

The Wall

Days 179 & 180

When I started my meatless experiment back on November 2nd, my brother warned me of “The Wall”:


No, not the one he meant. That’s the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.



No, not that one either. That is “The Wall”, one of the best-selling double albums of all time by progressive rock band Pink Floyd.


NO! That is Amanda Waller, a fictional character from comic books and TV who is sometimes referred to as, “The Wall” for her stubborn refusal to back down.

The “wall” my brother was referring to was the point one reaches in a diet, exercise routine, or new set of eating habits where things seems to be slowing down or not progressing anymore.

Right now, my weight is fluctuating between 163 and 166. I haven’t quite lost 50 lbs yet. My weight behavior as of late could be a result of putting on some muscle as a result of my first nine weeks of Nautilus weight training. I think pretty soon my body will adjust and the weight loss will show again.

“The Wall” also refers to the point where eating habits may become too repetitive and, therefore, start to become boring. Well, I think I have done a good job of mixing up what I eat by trying different kinds of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and meat substitutes.

Just last night I made myself some meatless soft tacos with a package of Morningstar Farms Meal Starters, shredded cheese, taco seasoning, whole grain tortillas and salsa. It tasted just like the real thing!

That’s why I think I ate too much of them. That, and my meals have become more spaced out lately. The more you wait between meals, the chances that you will overeat at one go up. Small in between meal snacks, such as sliced apples with chopped walnuts, can help tide one over until lunch or dinnertime.

So let’s see…continue to workout regularlymix up the variety of my foodsdon’t wait so long in between eating.

Okay, I think this “Wall” concept is beaten!

P.S. This entry also marks my 100th Tweet on Twitter! You can find me on there at http://twitter.com/MeatlessYear.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

This is no surprise…

Days 177 & 178


Hmmm...doesn't say eat more meat to be healthier...

Talk to you soon!
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Monday, April 26, 2010

Random Monday Numbers

Days 174 - 176

Here are my weekly numbers, freshly measured today:

21.1 FAT
24.4 BMI
Waist 35.5 inches

The waist and BMI seem to be going down. You will notice weight is not listed on here. I still quite haven’t gotten to the point where I have lost 50 lbs yet. Getting closer…

Talk to you soon!
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Friday, April 23, 2010

What is your BMI?

Days 172 & 173


No, the item in the above picture is not a new video game controller. It is, in fact, a Fat Loss Monitor. When used properly it helps estimate the percentage of body fat one has, their Body Mass Index (BMI) and what body fat range one falls in; low (underfat), normal (healthy), high (overfat) or very high (obese).

I have asked the nice people at my local Y now to measure my body fat and BMI numbers with their fat loss monitor a few times in the past few months. Finally, I figured if I was getting it checked this often anyways why not just buy a monitor of my own? So a few weeks ago I broke down and bought one and when it arrived on 4/12 I went about using it for the first time.

After programming the fat loss monitor with my sex, age, height, current weight and another factor or two that I can’t remember right now, I was ready to find out my body fat percentage and BMI. After pressing the start button I gripped the handles of the monitor and squeezed as the monitor manual instructed.

My numbers were:

22.2 FAT
24.6 BMI

When I used it again this Monday (4/19) my numbers were:

20.0 FAT
24.6 BMI


According to this chart:


I am borderline healthy/overfat for my age group, 20 – 39. It also looks like my fat went down a little while my BMI stayed the same. I didn’t know that was possible.

147 - 162 lbs is the ideal range of weight I should be according to reverse BMI calculating. This calculator here is just one of the ones I used to find that range.

At the presentation I did on going meatless at the AAPC meeting two days ago (more on how that went in a future entry), a member pointed out that muscle gain may skewer the BMI number in the future when entering weight into the fat loss monitor. This is a good question to ask the people at my local Y. Sure, I have a neat new weight loss toy but will it be useless if I obtain more and more muscle?

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Poll Results!

Days 170 & 171

The latest Meatless Year blog poll results are in!

I asked "Should clothing companies be held legally responsible for misrepresenting sizes on their labels?" and-

68% who voted said Yes.
31% who voted said No.

Thank you to all who voted! Results are posted on the side and will remain up until the next poll.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Monday, April 19, 2010

A Tea Party to Protest Against my Own Spending

Day 169

Happy Patriots' Day!

What was one of the earliest acts of patriotism in America?

Yesterday, I had a tea party of my own, of sorts. It was the ritual of buying green tea at a price that would not make my wallet feel violated.

I find that Stop & Shop is the best place to do this and made my first stop in the health food section where I found some Nature’s Promise green tea for $2.69 a box. Not bad but I had a feeling I could do better.

I then proceeded to the coffee/tea aisle proper and did indeed much better prices there:

I ended up getting one box of herbal wellness green tea at $1.99 and four boxes of Salada green tea at $2.00 a box. Much better than the Nature’s Promise price.

All in all I paid a total of $9.99 for five boxes (100 individual teabags) which averages out to .09 cents per serving. I love that something that is tasty and good for you (think antioxidants people) is just under 10 cents a cup. That is much cheaper than buying coffee pods for my single serve coffee maker and I can make a box of tea last much longer than a bag of those pods too.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Vote Now!

Day 168

There is only one more day to vote in our current poll on the right side of the blog which is:

Should clothing companies be held legally responsible for misrepresenting sizes on their labels?

This poll began on Tuesday and was inspired by Monday’s entry.

Please vote now if you haven’t yet. There is only about one day left to vote so please vote now and be heard!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Saturday, April 17, 2010

The Y is my Home Away from Home.

Day 167

Since mid-December, I have been working out at my local YMCA and it has helped further my body along in its healthy transformation. Not only do I go there to workout, I go there to relax and get away from life in the outside world. Most of the people I know there are people I only know from my daily Y visits and no other areas of my life.

I do cardio seven days a week and Nautilus three (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). Since I am there everyday, I think I will do Nautilus every other day starting tomorrow. This will make it either three or four times a week depending on where the Nautilus workout days fall during a particular week.

Nautilus has been a part of my workout for exactly eight weeks now and already I have been seeing results. My chest is beginning to develop a vertical center ripple and my midsection is slimming down. Over these past eight weeks I learned more and more machines, so if I am getting these results in just eight weeks doing them three times a week without doing the whole room of machines until just two weeks ago, imagine how I will look in eight more weeks, going three to four times a week using every Nautilus machine in the room.

I have spoken about my meatless year project to a weight loss group at the Y twice and now I am giving back even more. Today I started volunteering on Saturday mornings at the Y’s front desk. I figure it’s a great way to occupy my time and even put some more experience on my resume under the “other” section.

Today from 9 am to 1 pm I answered phones, greeted Y guests, set training appointments all from this point of view:


That’s my coffee in the picture of course. I think that was my second of the three cups I had today. Coffee always makes the time pass faster but I didn’t need it in the positive, relaxing atmosphere of the Greenfield YMCA.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Friday, April 16, 2010

100th Blog Entry!


Day 166

It is day 166 of being meatless for me but it is the 100th Entry for the Meatless Year Blog—yayyyyy!

I am closing in on losing 50 lbs and a half year of being meatless as well!

I thank all of you readers for the support and encouragement you have given me thus far!

Please let your friends know about this blog, even if they eat meat. This blog isn’t just about going meatless, it’s about healthy eating and fitness too!

Once again, thank you all!
Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Thursday, April 15, 2010

Blue Hair and Belly Fat

Day 165

And continuing with the “Waist Week” theme…

Last Friday, I attended an event at the Y where I workout entitled, “Fighting Belly Fat Through Nutrition”. It was held in the wonderful Y Social Room.


Imagine the above pictured room filled with rows of tables in turn filled with elderly ladies all having lunch while chatting away and you will get a good mental picture of how crowded and noisy it was in there. Before the presentation started I was assisting in cleaning up spills, helping find seats for late comers and chatting with some of the attendees about weight loss. Old people and I are tight like that.

I decided to stand in the back of the room and not partake in the lunch they served (I had a salad in a cooler in the car anyways). The nutrition consultant, Barbara Krolick, MS,RD,LD/N; spoke for about thirty minutes on some of the ways to fight fat through healthier eating.

She recommended cutting out sugar and including more fiber in addition to supplementing one’s daily meals with these following foods that are supposed to be fat fighting agents:

These foods contain Omega-3 Fatty Acids which are good for the heart and help burn off body fat. Note: Consuming the flax seeds in their original form is a great source of fiber but to get the additional benefit of Omega-3s they should be ground up before added to your meals.

After the presentation I went out and got the above items. Let’s see how they work.

*Also, don't forget to vote in the current poll on the right sidebar of the blog, "Should clothing companies be held legally responsible for misrepresenting sizes on their labels?" Be heard! Vote now!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Pleather

Day 164

This week just seems like it is all about the waist here on the blog!

Remember how I wanted a new belt that looked respectable but wasn’t real leather?

After posting that entry good friend and loyal blog reader, Rebecca, sent me to this site.

I found a medium sized pleather belt on there and ordered the exact same one off of Amazon where it cost a little less. Yes, I know that I got a Velcro one a few months back but I got sick of the look of Velcro and the fact that it didn’t hold as much as my old leather wallet so while I was getting a pleather belt I thought it might be a good time to get a better wallet too.

They arrived a couple of days ago and the belt does indeed fit better and sure enough the wallet holds more stuff.

Yay pleather!

*Also, don't forget to vote in the current poll on the right sidebar of the blog, "Should clothing companies be held legally responsible for misrepresenting sizes on their labels?" Be heard! Vote now!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

New Poll!

Day 163

I have received several comments on my Facebook page about yesterday’s entry. I learned through those comments that many clothing companies mislabel their clothes with the wrong sizes for marketing reasons. I did not know this. I thought that an inch should always be an inch. Apparently I was wrong.

So what do you think?

Voice your opinion in this new poll:

Should clothing companies be held legally responsible for misrepresenting sizes on their labels?

The poll can be found on the right side of this page and will be open for the next week.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Monday, April 12, 2010

The Mystery of Waist Not, Want Not.

Day 162

My 32 waist pants are a little snug.

My 34 waist pants are loose.

My waist size is 36.

What gives?

Within the last week I have had my waist measured twice, once was at a department store and once was only yesterday by myself with a brand new tape measure. Both times it was 36”.

I assume the man at the department store was doing it correctly because he worked in the men’s department and he should know. When I first entered the men’s department at Wilson’s I asked the lady behind the check out who does the measurements ‘round here. She told me an older fellow named Rob was the person to see and that he had plenty of experience—measuring waist sizes, you sickos!

After strolling over to this Rob fellow he promptly took my waist size and it came out to be 36”.

Even though I seriously doubted the word of the worldly waist measurer Rob, I politely thanked him, walked out to my car and then proceeded to swear aloud.

Remember,

My 32 waist sized pants are a little snug.
My 34 waist sized pants are loose.

So how can my waist size be 36”?


A few days later, on Saturday, I purchased a tape measure and Googled how to measure my waist myself.

Upon measuring my own waist size I came up with the same number that master measurer Rob did…36”!

Can someone explain why my pants sizes don’t agree with that number?

Are elves altering my pants when I am out?
Is 36 the new 40?
Was there a label mix up?


Any answers to this mystery would be much appreciated.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Sunday, April 11, 2010

All You Can Eat

Days 159 - 161

Last October I was visiting my girlfriend at the time in upstate New York. On the way up she texted me to pick up a couple of bags of Halloween candy for her. I thought she was joking.

When I arrived without the requested candy she yelled at me for it. I told her I didn’t think she was actually serious, especially because she was always the one teasing me about eating healthier.

Well, she wasn’t kidding me about the candy and she asked me again the next day to get her some. This time, not wanting any more bad vibes from her, I complied. When she came home from work and saw the assortment of 3 Musketeers, Snickers and other individually wrapped sweets, she was pleased and thanked me warmly. I had placed the candy in a plastic Halloween themed serving bowl on the edge of her kitchen counter. At least that way, everybody would see the candy upon entering her apartment and more people would pick apart candy from the container rather than just the two people living there.

**********************************************************************************

I went to BJ’s two days ago to see if they had any whole flax seeds (they didn’t) and explored an aisle in a corner of the store which I had never been down before, the candy aisle.

Of course, anybody who has ever been to a BJ’s Wholesale store knows that the foods there are mostly sold in bulk. The candy aisle is certainly no exception.


As you can see in the above photo, you can get your fill of your favorite brand name candy for less than a dollar a bar.

Now in these photos,


you can see by the instructions on the back of the box that these bulk packages are intended for use by places like convenience stores or check out lanes in grocery store chains as display boxes where a customer can impulsively buy just one individual bar.

However, what is to stop a person with weight control problems and a sweet tooth from seeing these big boxes of their favorite candies at a BJ’s or Costco’s and taking home a whole bulk box or even two? We live in a culture of convenience where it is drilled into our heads that bigger means better and what you want can be procured just by getting in your car and driving 5 – 10 minutes away.

I guess buying those two bags of candy back in October wasn’t such a big deal at all now that I think about it. It was Halloween season after all and it ended up filling a communal bowl. But I think I would have been more reluctant to run that errand, even for that really special person, if it was summertime.

Talk to you soon!
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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Easter Weekend in Review

Days 153 - 158

Sorry for not updating for almost a whole week but it was a very busy Easter weekend.

First up was Good Friday dinner with my family. It was me, my parents, my brother, my sister and her husband and kids. My sister’s oldest, Cailyn, was very amused by the name of one of our table condiments: Grey Poupon. She proceeded to repeat ‘Poupon’ several times because it is very fun to say out loud. Try it if you don’t believe me. Poupon! Poupon! Poupon!


We usually have this traditional dinner at Wolfie’s Resturant in Deerfield, MA. The only difference this year that I was eating meatless and forgoing the seafood platter I usually have for a plate of Veggie Pasta!


I was so glad to find such an excellent dish at the first dinner out with my family that I’ve had since starting my meatless year back in November. The vegetables were fresh, the portion was huge and it was tasty! There was so much that I couldn’t finish it all and had enough left over in a doggie bag for another meal!

I worked out at the Y early Saturday morning then my family and I had to drive across the state for a funeral. At the post-service gathering there were some platters of cheese, cookies, fruit and veggies. They were more than very satisfying for a midday nibble and I thank my aunt and uncle for it. Everybody loved it.

On the return trip back east, my sister’s family was obsessed with stopping at the Sonic drive-in in Peabody. After two unsuccessful passes on the freeway trying to get on the same side of the street as the Sonic we pulled into the lot and made a beeline for the walk up ordering area since all the drive-in service slots were taken.

Let me explain the Sonic experience for those who haven’t been to a Sonic fast food restaurant. If you are lucky and there is a drive-in parking space you get to order right from your car and have your food delivered by young pretty girls on roller skates.

If you are not so lucky, all the drive-in slots are full, and you get to go to the walk up order area where there are several trash strewn tables and a hanging menu where you press a button and voice your order into a speaker after waiting five minutes for someone on the other end to respond. Then, a young pretty girl on roller skates comes out to deliver your order where you can get a closer look at them then you would if you were ordering from your car. Now that I think of it, this actually makes up for not being able to order drive-in style.

My sister and her family ordered a plethora of fatty fast food while I just ordered an ice coffee with cream. The pretty waitress who brought me my coffee brought me a hot one instead so I had a great opportunity to ask another pretty waitress to bring out some ice. I should have asked a third from coffee creamer since they also forgot that too. It would have been so worth it.


Easter morning came and the kids came over for Easter dinner, an Easter egg hunt and more Easter Candy in addition to the big baskets they already got at home. For those who aren’t completely clear on my thoughts on Easter candy, check out this earlier entry.

When it came time to serve the holiday meal, Cailyn spotted more Grey Poupon on grandma’s table. This elicited another round of spouting out, “Poupon! Poupon! Poupon!” Yes, it was still fun to say out loud two days later.

Shortly after the midday meal, our neighbor from across the street, Josh, brought over two jugs and a full pitcher of Berkshire Brewing Company Steel Rail Ale.


Josh, you were my hero of the weekend.

I had a glass around 1:30 pm, did some Photoshoppin’ on some pictures and then took my bike out for the first ride of the season. I tried the Turners Falls bike path for the first time and it was a wonderful experience.

After the two hour ride I returned home and had another glass of beer. Okay, three or four more. It is really good beer though!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Friday, April 2, 2010

5 months meatless!

Day 152

Today marks the five month mark in my meatless year!

152 days without any beef, pork, poultry, fish/seafood or whole eggs!

Since November 2nd I have lost 45 lbs, developed longer lasting energy, improved my flexibility and have better digestion!

Since starting Nautilus weight training at the local Y just over a month ago I am now beginning to tone up as well!

Five down and seven to go people!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Thursday, April 1, 2010

R.I.P. Captain Vegetable

“It is I,
Captain Vegetable,
With my carrot
And my celery.
Eating crunchy vegetables
Is good for me.
And they're good for you,
So eat them, too.
For teeth so strong,
Your whole life long,
Eat celery
And carrots by the bunch.
Three cheers for me, Captain Vegetable,
Crunch, crunch, crunch!”


The flags are at half mast on Sesame Street today in honor of its greatest hero, a muppet who devoted his all too brief existence to making the world a better place by encouraging healthy eating habits.

Captain Vegetable is dead and our lives are all the more somber for it.

On Monday at 12:35 EST, the legendary muppet superhero sacrificed his life to save 7-year old Prairie Dawn who was in danger of being run down while crossing the street by of an out-of-control meat delivery truck. Eye witnesses told authorities that Captain Vegetable was quick to act as soon as he spotted the danger little Prairie was in, dropping his carrot and his celery and rushing to her rescue without hesitation. While the Captain was successful in getting Prairie to safety, he failed to escape the path of the speeding vehicle himself.

The citizens of Sesame Street are still reeling from the shock, many of them being Muppets also saved by Captain Vegetable over the years.

Andy, who used to love candy, gives credit to the late, great Captain for weaning him off a diet consisting of mainly sweets: “When he first showed up, I was really freaked out. I mean I didn’t know eyebrows could grow to be that thick and bushy. Scary.”

Eddie, who used to consume vast quantities of spaghetti, also lamented the Captain’s passing: “I somehow knew deep down inside that eating just pasta was not the best thing for me. I owe Captain Vegetable a debt of thanks for making me realize that a diet that also includes fresh fruit and vegetables can do wonders for one’s natural health. But man…his eyebrows were very scary.”

Besides turning kids on to the world of edible vegetation, little else was known about this champion of justice besides him claiming to use a secret garden located in New Jersey as his base of operations. When not crusading solo he was a part of the Justice League of Sesame Street (JL of SS) which included other defenders of the downtrodden such as
Super Grover, Captain Breakfast, Wonder Pig and, of course, the all-powerful Super Beaker.



The runaway meat truck continued to spin out of control after killing Captain Vegetable and the driver was instantly killed when it crashed into the Sesame Street streetlight sign. This has left the authorities to speculate if this was perhaps a carefully planned act of foul play and not a true accident.


There were many that would benefit from Captain Vegetable’s death including, a human pretender to the throne that looks and sounds very much like actor John Leguizamo. This pretender has emerged in recent years claiming to be the one, true Captain Vegetable. This man is wanted by the police by questioning and people are advised to approach this individual with extreme caution.

The internet has also began to buzz on the possibility of the murder with conspiracy theorists already drawing parallels between Captain Vegetable’s death by meat truck with the freezing death of Captain Carrot over a year ago in a meat locker—a death the authorities have since officially ruled accidental.

In the days to come Sesame Street will be forced to cope with the loss of a savior that only wished for us to be properly nourished with the vitamins and antioxidants that come from a diet laden with vegetables. Captain Vegetable was brave, courageous, and had the most well-endowed set of eyebrows in known existence.

To paraphrase the late hero:

Three cheers for you, Captain Vegetable,
Crunch, crunch, crunch!