It is March 20th and I am making slow but steady progress toward the weight loss goal of 40 pounds. From an exercise perspective, I have decided to stop cheating myself during workouts.

Historically I have not been known as one of the hardest workers on an athletic team. I have been fortunate in that my natural abilities came somewhat easily but I know that the intensity needs to be turned up in order to really see the results.

The necessary evil is hitting the treadmill and sticking with the running program this time. While we do need to get on the bicycles for Tuscany, the steady diet of running is getting more enjoyable. This is saying a lot as I do not like to run long distances, and that is putting it mildly. I supported my wife as she trained for two marathons one year and thought that she was crazy for even attempting that.

The minimum mileage per week has been established at 14 miles to start.

The Car Situation, Resolved

The car situation has been resolved, although not in a way I had ever thought. I was pretty much born to drive a normal 4 door sedan, probably black and that has been the pattern over the last 18 years. Nothing too small, nothing too large and nothing with four wheel drive ever made sense for me.

So I bought a Mini Cooper. The year continues and I am further outside of what I had perceived as my comfort zone.

It is really something when you no longer turn the key and hope:
The engines starts
You get to your destination

We Are Going to Need to Get on the Bike

We booked the bike tour through Tuscany. Thus far, everyone we have told about this trip has said 'Wow, you know Tuscany is very hilly, right?'

We better start riding.

Should We Consider Biking Through Tuscany?

Lots of stuff happening this year - the big 4-0 for me, the big 4-0 for my wife and our 15 year anniversary. We are looking at different destinations and have decided that it is time for us to go to Italy. We are both of Italian descent and while I have been there once before, I did not experience the country properly.

There are lots of options to choose from when going to Italy, but is a 6 day bike tour through Tuscany really a choice we should add to our potential plans?

The Car Situation

My Volkswagen Passat has served me quite well over the last 11 years, but in order to get the thing to pass inspection it needed another large repair. I define 'large repair' as anything greater than $1,000, or in Volkswagen terms, ANY REPAIR.

At this point, something has snapped and I have had it. The next time that car breaks down, I am walking home and finding a different car for the next day.

New General Philosophy

As I get more into trying to change my mindset and actually make the weight loss stick, I have decided to try things that I normally would not try. This has never applied to eating and drinking but has always applied quite a bit to other activities.

Over the coming weeks, I will attempt to apply this philosophy to address my current car situation and to plan a future vacation.

Risotto, Baby!

Over the past few weeks I have been trying to perfect risotto and various other grain based dishes to make the mainly meatless diet flow a little easier. Arborio rice, farro, pearl barley and lentils are all quite useful. However, pearl barley and lentils are better when they appear in dishes that are served cold.

Stick with Arborio Rice and some basic recipes as they will fill you up well, they reheat nicely and will make meals interesting and far from mundane.

To Drink or Not To Drink

Since I travel a lot for work, carrying my meatless philosophy into the work week while I am on the road can be quite a challenge. Not only that, but I do enjoy my alcohol and much like food, I do not discriminate - wine, beer and cocktails are all fair game.

In addition to the mainly meatless philosophy, we are going to add another rule - no more than 5 drinks per week. Let's see how that goes and whether I'll try to cheat my way out of this rule should I have a week where I do not drink any alcohol at all and then try to justify making up for lost time.

Everyone Needs Something to Rally Around

Most things in life need a parameter to rally around. Large corporations and even small companies have bulls**t mission statements that attempt to get everyone on the same page. Athletes have routines that help them prepare for a game and parents instill values into their children that are around a set of guiding principles.

For my weight loss journey, I am rallying around an eating program that is mainly meatless. Note that I used the word mainly because as anyone who knows me understands, I'll eat just about any food that is put on a plate. Sea Urchin falls on the other end of that spectrum and is something I have tried once and will not ever eat again. I love peanuts and M&Ms, but have absolutely no interest when they are put together in that Yellow bag.

Sorry, I digress. What does 'mainly meatless' mean. Well, assuming there are 3 meals per day and 21 meals in a week, the goal is that a minimum of two-thirds of those meals will be meatless. And NO, fish does not count as meat.

That is the rally cry, we will see how it works out.

January 1, 2010

The official weigh in results begin at 238 pounds.

This weight is better than the all-time high weight of 244 pounds set back on 1/1/2008.

Even though people always tell me that I 'carry my weight well', there is just no reason to let this go further.