Right now it is freezing outside and I am looking at my bike while the weather channel is talking about a snow storm coming. All I can think about is springtime and getting on the bike and exploring new places in the city. Last year after I got the bike tuned up I explored parts of Manhattan that I never knew existed.

This year I want to explore Brooklyn and other places that I haven’t been to yet. I want to explore Brooklyn Bridge Park but I am not sure if bike riding is allowed there. I will have to look into that. I want to ride along the belt parkway near the Verrazano bridge. I haven’t been down there in years. Probably the last time I was down there was in 2003 when I did the 5 boro bike tour.  If you haven’t done that ride I suggest you add it to your bucket list.

I want some help from my readers as I am looking to find some cool places to ride in Brooklyn. Can you help me out?

On Saturday night we decided to head over to the new casino at Aqueduct. Resorts World New York City is a welcomed addition to me as I hate taking the bus down to Atlantic city. Looks like I won’t be doing that anymore. I expected the casino to be busy but nothing like what I saw when I walked in.

The entrance to the casino is absolutely beautiful. Hard to believe I was at Aqueduct where I have been playing the ponies for years. There was security all over the place and that made me feel good.

Resorts World New York City Entrance

Debbie and I were not really planning on doing much gambling and it was a good thing because we couldn’t. We got to the casino around 8:30 pm and figure we would sign up for players cards and get some dinner. That didn’t exactly work out since the line for players club cars was about 50 people.

We decided to get some dinner instead so we headed over to the food court and looked around and there was no seats and the lines were all 15 people deep. We got in a huge line for the buffet instead. What we didn’t know was that the line was for reservations to get into the buffet. After standing in line for a half hour we got our reservation for 9:30. I was starving at this point and regretting that we came to the casino.

With a half hour to spare Debbie and I figure we might as well sign up for players club cards since we have a 1/2 hour to kill. We got online and it took 25 minutes to get a card. We get our cards and head over to the buffet where we wait online again even though we have reservations. They then open the line to people without reservations and 18 people get to cut right in front of us.I was not a happy camper to say the least. How I kept my cool is beyond me at this point.

We get into the buffet which was cheap at $19 but I didn’t care as I was starving. Debbie got the upgrade for another $9 and had lobster which she loved. It was well worth it. I should have upgraded also and got a filet. They looked great and they cook them on the spot to your liking. I was very happy though as I loaded up my plate with manicotti, meatloaf, mashed pototo’s and some fresh strng beans. I went back and filled up a second plate it was so good. They had loads of choices and all the food was fresh. Every plate I looked at had huge crab legs so they were a big hit.

The deserts were great and I loved the ice cream which is probably the best I have ever eaten. Our waitress was very pleasant as was all the help in the restaurant. I was amazed I was at Aqueduct, it felt like I was in a major 4 star restaurant. It was a very plesant experience from start to finish.

After dinner we decided to try to play some slot machines. This was a bad idea as there were 3 or 4 people waiting at every machine waiting for people to lose their money and move on. After 25 minutes walking around the casino Debbie finally found a machine to play at. She lost a quick $40  and then the seat next to her opened and I put in $40 into a nickel machine which I hate and hit max bet and it was a $20 spin. What the hell is that? I spun again just to get off the machine and that was that $40 in 2 spins. I didn’t even want to play nickels and here I am losing $40 in 30 seconds. I was ready to leave. Debbie had some money left on her voucher so we found another machine and settled in and lost our buget and we got out of there.

The walk back to the train was very dark and it is only a matter of time before there is a mugging. They need to get the new ramp for the train ready as fast as possible. Although that wouldn’t have helped us since we were heading towards the Rockaways. Walking to the old North Conduit train station is dangerous. You can take a shuttle bus but even after they drop you off you have to walk down a dangerous path. The really need to make the station at the casino be accessable to people in both directions.

The lines at the casino on a Saturday night are long. Until they open up another floor it is just dumb to go here again. I hope they have more food choices on each floor also as it will be very crowded for food at all times if they only have a food court planned.

Yesterday I got my bike out of the bike shop on the upper west side and decided to take a ride down the west side bike path instead of just getting on the train to take the bike home. Since I haven’t exercised in a few days I figure it would be a good thing.

Bike path on west side of Manhattan

While driving the streets towards the bike path was an adventure in itself as I had to avoid double parked trucks as I made my way across West 77th street. After avoiding a few cabs I managed to get my street smarts kicked in and took no prisoners attitude and rode with an aggressive attitude and I was much better off.

The bike path was much better than I expected. Finding it was kind of tough as I had to drive through a dog park to get to it. There was an entrance to the west side highway for cars that I almost made a mistake getting on until I thought about it and pulled over and asked a parks department worker who saw I was lost.

In the background of the picture you can see the boat basin which is a great place during the summer to stop and have a bite to eat. Behind that is the George Washington Bridge which is now a goal to bike up to since I found this bike path.

After using the restroom and composing myself from the aggressive street driving I headed towards lower Manhattan.

The bike path really is a cool place for runners and bikers alike. Some ways the path winds around playgrounds and stuff was pretty cool. After passing a few of these I ended up at the foot of a big cruise ship which was parked next to the the USS Intrepid Museum.

Seabourn Sojourn

USS Intrepid

I grabbed a vitamin water from a vending machine at the USS Intrepid  which I had never seen up close before. Which I find amazing since I live in the city. I have just never been over here before. It is now on my to-do list to come back and spend the day. They have some cool planes on board, a submarine parked next to it and what I want to see “The Concorde” on the deck.  I have the feeling I will be back here in the very near future.

After taking a quick break I got back on the bike and past by the Heliport where they were doing some practice landings with Military helicopters which was pretty cool. The traffic on the bike path became a lot more congested as I approached Chelsea Piers. They even have traffic lights on the bike path and people directing traffic. I had to stop twice for pedestrians.

I made my way downtown and saw signs that to use the Brooklyn Bridge I had to cut across Warren street. I stopped to take a picture of One World Trade Center being built. Which I am sure that will be done next time I am in the area.

One World Trade Center

Since I was prepared for Manhattan bike riding from my earlier adventures I decided to man up and drive across town. It was now around 5 o’clock and people were getting off work and the streets were just packed. I made believe I was a bike messenger and just took the traffic as if I owned it. I had to get off the bike and walk across City Hall park as it was just too crazy on the streets.

I made my way up the Brooklyn Bridge and got back on the bike and it was just as nuts as tourist and people walking home from work had the bridge packed. The bridge does have a bike lane but with so many people and not enough room for bikes to pass each other in both directions it was crazy. I stopped in the middle of the bridge and took a few pictures and a video. I didn’t realize until I got home that the couple in the video must have just got engaged. She was not just giving him a kiss on the bridge, she was giving him a OMG yes kiss.

Fuji bike on the Brooklyn Bridge

I navigated the streets of Brooklyn to the Jay street station and took the train home. I had enough adventures for one day.

Everywhere I turn lately I am tripping over good places to eat. It is quite exhausting choosing the right meals when there is so many food choices on menus that are bad for you. I was talking with my friend Sharon today and since she is vegan I had to ask “What is Vegan“.

I had no idea how many products that I am eating are actually vegan and some that I thought were vegan were not. She sat me down for an hour and we did nothing but talk about healthy foods and I think she was trying to get me to turn vegan. She will be disappointed but I am sure she will get over it.

It got me thinking if there is any vegan restaurants in Brooklyn? There must be some that I could tell Sharon about. Let me know in the comments if you know of a good vegan restaurant.

For those keeping track of my 5 pounds in 5 weeks plan the second part of the challenge proved too much too fast. I am currently at 229 pounds. Down about 8 pounds so far in this journey.  I need to get back on the bike more and eat a little better but that is no excuse.

I joined a fitness challenge with my friend Jeremy and Daniel to see how many miles we can do on the bike. Jeremy came up with the idea and then did 20 miles so we have a big void to make up already. I put the bike in the shop today for new tires and a tune up and will be ready to go in a few days.

It has been over a week since I last blogged about my getting healthy plan and let me tell you it sure has been a busy week or so. Besides the Affiliate Summit conference in NYC where I was trying to be careful with what I ate to the Earthquake (which I didn’t feel) to Hurricane Irene it was a trying time.

So to catch up on what I have been doing in a nutshell has been chaos. I had planned on posting twice a week but life got in the way. Through it all the scale this morning said 227.8 so I am down almost 10 pounds from where I started. Long way to go but I know the goal is reachable with some effort. I knew that the conference would be tough for me since it involves a crazy schedule and late night drinks but I played it rather cool. My main goal was to eat 3 times a day and that’s what I did.  It wasn’t always the healthiest of choices but I did ok. I still had an Old Castle burger everyday.

I limited myself to 3 or 4 drinks each night and usually had a light beer when I thought of it. The walking that I did proved to be a good workout. I usually do a lot of walking at these shows but this time I did twice as much. Guess that was a good thing but I sure was tired after each day.When I got home my new bike was delivered and ready to be put together.

Hurricane Irene

When the mayor ordered an evacuation we didn’t take any chances and we loaded up the car and headed to my brother Bobby’s house in Syracuse.   Between the long drive and truck stop food that trip was also not good for my lifestyle. I did eat lightly except for the one night we ordered pizza and I had no lunch.  On the way home we were stuck in traffic for hours and that made truck stop food the norm again and at that point I was tired and just needed food.

I have been using the bike every other day and so far I have done 10 miles. We have a great bike path by me that is about 5 or 6 miles round trip. I plan on doing this at least every other day.  It will take time to build up to where I use to be but this is a start.

Now I need to get back on track and get slimmed down a bit. My breakfast at home is cheerios with low fat milk and I have been good about eating that. My goal is to be at 225 by Sept 15th which will be the 5th week mark of my lose 5 pounds in 5 week plan. I have 14 days to lose 2 pounds or so. If you want to see where I started go back to the beginning of my weight loss journey.

My New Fuji Allegro

So for the past couple of weeks I have been harping on getting a bike. I wanted so bad to have the bike that I use to ride steadily that I decided to find one and get one just like I use to have.

This bike is a Fuji Allegro and it took a few weeks but I finally got one. A bonus is that it is the same color as the one I use to have.

After a few weeks of searching Craigslist and almost pulling the trigger on a couple of EBay auctions that were either too big for me or they needed work I finally bought one.  I noticed that these bikes were being listed on EBay every few days so I decided to wait for the exact one I had and that is what I won. It cost me $180 and that is about what they were going for on EBay anyway. I am happy about that.

I am pretty excited to have a bike that I loved so much and use to ride all the time. I am going to change the brakes on the bike as I like the ones that go across the base of the handlebars. Odds are I will change the rear sprocket sometime down the road like I use to have.

I am looking for a good bike shop in Brooklyn or Manhattan to get the bike tuned up. I use to hang out at a bike shop and do tune ups and stuff I just don’t feel like doing it this time.  If you know of a good bike shop leave the url in the comments section.

The bike should be here in a few days as it is being shipped from Boston and I look forward to adding a few miles everyday to my workouts.

If you have not been keeping up you can read about my weight loss plan here.

Wednesday morning the scale was 229.5 and I am feeling good about the weight loss so far. Hopefully I will never see that 230 number ever again in my lifetime. Wednesday started off with my regular breakfast of a bowl of Cheerios and 2% milk with one spoon of sugar. That would be the only normal part of the day as work got in the way and I didn’t have a snack or lunch. If you are sensing a problem coming you are 100% right.

Dinner time came and I was starving and not in a mood to make dinner. I went around the corner to the pizza place and got a meatball parm hero. I also got one of those Orange Crush soda’s that were calling me yesterday. I almost died when I got on the scale after I ate (Big Mistake) and it said 231.6. Amazing how going off the plan for a minute can cause a good plan to go bad quickly. I did 5 minutes on the elliptical around midnight. I also made some fresh ice tea with new lemons and limes we picked up from the store along with about a dozen apples. I also forgot to take my vitamins today. It was just a bad day, which will happen from time to time I guess.

Thursday saw the scale at 231.4 and I am mad at myself but now that it is out of my system it is time to get back on track. Usual bowl of Cheerios. Some peanuts for a snack. Lunch brought the usual turkey/cheese/light dressing on whole wheat bun. Took a walk and did some sunset pictures and that made me very hungry. I had 2 hard boiled eggs for a snack and then made a cheeseburger for a late dinner. Does ketchup count as a vegetable? I was talking with my friend Sharon from Big City Vegan and she was asking me what vegetables I was eating. When I said none she was amazed. My taste buds are shot and I can’t tell a vegetable or fruit from a piece of cardboard. That is why I don’t eat them. No taste = no value to me, at least that is what I have been doing for about 25 years.

Friday morning I got on the scale and it said 228.8. I was surprised with that number. For breakfast I had my usual Cheerios but I was out of 2% milk so I had to use regular instead. Did some early morning elliptical for 17 minutes and burned 143 calories. Think that is a new record for me. There is nothing better than having the workout machine nearby and be able to do it when I feel like it. Got another email on the Fuji bike search and another one that has too large a frame, getting disappointed but know that there will be the right one listed on EBay or Craigslist soon. It is just a matter of time which I feel is slipping away with the summer but I know once I get one I will ride it unless we get 6 inches of snow.

Lunchtime I went to the store to buy whole wheat rolls and 2% milk since I was out. I really wanted a hero but I held my ground and came home and made a turkey sandwich on whole wheat rolls. These rolls that I am using are very tasty and made by Arnold. Only 100 calories which is a nice even number for me to figure in my calorie intake every day. I can see these already helping me drop a few pounds and will become a part of everyday life. I love the way they taste so that is a bonus. After my sandwich I had the last hard boiled egg that was left in the fridge.

For dinner I went up to the store and talked to the butcher a little bit. He told me yesterday when I was there that he had a fish sandwich for lunch and as he was explaining it I knew I would be back to get one and today was the day. Not the healthiest of fish because it was a filet in the deep fryer. I had him make it the same way he made his yesterday. It was wrapped in a pita flat bread with fresh mozzarella, bruschetta and lettuce. It was very good but I don’t see me having this every week, maybe every other week. It was a nice light dinner. About an hour later I got hungry and had a fruit bar. I picked them up the other day and they are 100 calories. I took a walk and took some sunset pictures which I am sure burned a few calories. Here is a picture of the sun setting over Jamaica Bay.

Later in the night Debbie wanted cookies so I went to the store and of course the cookies were right next to the ice cream. I looked in and saw these little ice cream bars. They were kind of like a Klondike bar and they were calling my name. I picked up two, one for Debbie and one for me. Debbie took one bite and didn’t like hers so it became mine. The other one went into the freezer for another day. After eating the ice cream I did 7 minutes on the elliptical. Two workouts for the day for 24 minutes.

Saturday morning scale said 229.8 I guess that ice cream and the workouts canceled each other out. I am a little discouraged as my weight is almost the same as it was when I started. Guess weighing myself every morning is just driving me a little crazy. I only care about weigh ins on Sunday morning though as that is my end of the week official weigh in time. For breakfast I had a bowl of Cheerios with the 1% milk I bought yesterday and I ate a banana too. I know what you are thinking, Vinny had fruit and vegetables in the same week. That is a new thing unless you count ketchup and fruit loops as a vegetable and fruit lol.

There is a new auction up for a black Fuji Allegro on EBay and it is only starting at really low. It is the color I want but I will have to change the brakes on it asap as I don’t like the ones that are on it. I have a strange feeling that this will be my bike. It is a two day auction that ends Monday so hopefully I will win the auction and have the bike I want. Odds are I will over bid just to get it over and done with.

My Saturday snack was half a banana and for lunch it was just a grape jelly on whole wheat. I wasn’t really hungry but knew I had to eat something before I went out shooting pictures.  That walk ended up being almost 4 miles when I was done. I was exhausted when I got home, I knew I had to drink something and eat something. We ordered Italian as usual but I ordered a Ceaser Salad as a side dish with my veal parmesan diner. I ate half the salad and saved the rest for my Sunday snack.

Sunday morning the scale said 229.0 – Lost a pound for the week.

Here is a recap from week 1 of losing weight. You can also see my update in week 4 where I purchased my new bike on EBay.

So I got on the scale and it said 230. Goal of 5 pounds in 5 weeks was accomplished in 3. Now I have been on the fence about what to do now that first challenge is over. With a conference in a few weeks it is going to be a real challenge to drop pounds since there is a lot of after conference parties and I like my Rum and Coke’s. Guess I will just have to cut back or be smart and find something else to drink. This also has to be controlled when it comes to food. I am the first person to tell you that when I go to these shows I eat like crazy. Guess a little moderation is in order. I am going to go for it and try to lose another 5 pounds in 5 weeks. If I fail and lose 3 pounds it is still a 3 pound loss right? So lets get on with the progress report which I will be doing twice a week since that last post was so long.

Sunday: Usual bowl of Cheerios with 2% milk. I read a little bit more of “The small change diet” and it is talking about milk and how you can cut back from regular milk to 1% or 2%. Since I am on 2% now I guess my next milk purchase will be 1%. It seems like the author is in my head since I am reading the same things I have been doing. This is a good thing as every little bit helps. After breakfast I did 10 minutes on the elliptical. I am finding it better to do this in the morning, hopefully it will become the norm from now on.

Update on the Bike: I lost the EBay auction for the Fuji Allegro. Actually I bid a few times on a bike in Brooklyn and still wasn’t the highest bidder so I gave up when the price got to high for the shape the bike was in. I have been contacted by a few people from the Craigslist ad that I put up so maybe I will get lucky there. The hunt continues.

Sunday afternoon I had my usual turkey/mozzarella/thousand island on whole wheat. For a snack I had some peanuts. Then I decided since I was having Lasagna for dinner I should take a walk and burn some calories before I ate. Ended up taking a 2.9 mile walk with my camera in hand and took some pictures of the sunset. Debbie and I split the lasagna we ordered the night before. Splitting up this meal is a good thing as it serves as portion control. I also opted out of the bread that came with it. I am sure the birds in the neighborhood are happy with my decision to feed them the bread. Drank plenty of unsweetened ice tea today especially on my walk.

Monday started off the same with a bowl of Cheerios and for a snack I found Quaker rice cakes in Duane Reade that are low in calories. For lunch I had a roast beef on whole wheat with fresh mozzarella and a dab of thousand island dressing. In the afternoon I had a bag of peanuts. Wasn’t really hungry at dinner time so I snacked on some cheese and crackers. Just a little bit and I considered it a treat instead of dinner. I didn’t do any workout today as my body needed a rest from yesterday I guess.

Tuesday morning I had my usual bowl of Cheerios with 2% milk. Usually I add a spoon of sugar to it but this morning I went sugar less. I also started taking a multi vitamin again. I have had 2 bottles for about 6 months now but stopped taking them a few months back. Be interesting to see what becomes of that. Lunch was a turkey sandwich with american cheese and this new light dressing we bought. It wasn’t too bad, I could get use to it. After lunch my snack was some peanuts. Dinner time I went and got a slice of pizza. It was very tempting to reach into the soda case and grab one of those ice cold orange crush sodas at the pizza place but I held out. Although I am not going to deny myself anything I just didn’t feel like working twice as hard on the elliptical to work it off. I only got one slice of pizza too.

Wednesday Morning the scale said 229.5 on to week 4 of eating better plan or I should say half of week for since it was a lot of new stuff going on.

Sunday started with Cheerios with low fat milk, my usual 2 cups of coffee. I have 2 to 3 cups everyday so I won’t add them in daily just assume that they are there. After breakfast I took a 6 mile walk. It was suppose to be about 2 miles but I felt good so I kept going. That was a mistake. Had dinner late and made a Bubba burger with cheese on whole wheat. Later that night I had another bowl of Cheerios. Drank a 1/2 glass of orange juice. Drank lots of water though out the day. I was happy as I got on the scale and was 231.8 down from the 236.6 I was a week ago.

The 5 pounds in 5 weeks is way ahead of schedule. I haven’t decided yet what I am going to do once I lose 5 pounds, am I going to keep going and try to maintain the 5 pound loss for 5 weeks or immediately start a new 5 pounds in 5 weeks plan. We will see and since this is not a sprint I don’t have to make a decision right away anyway. After losing 4.8 pounds the first week I have the feeling by the time I post this I will be ahead of my 5 pounds in 5 weeks schedule.

Monday I woke up sick, tired and I could hear my body asking “What were you thinking?” That six mile walk was too much to start with. Had a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast, 1/2 Philly cheese steak hero for lunch, some mixed nuts for snack, then another bowl of cereal for dinner. I didn’t work out at all unless you count the 2 miles I walked getting to the bank exercise. I started reading a book called “The Small Change Diet” where it seems that I have been on the right track so far with my plan. I am going to really enjoy this book, I can tell already.

Tuesday I was feeling a little better and had a slim fast for breakfast. A few crackers for a mid morning snack. For lunch I had a turkey sandwich on these cool whole wheat buns. I wouldn’t really call them buns since they are flat like a pita bread. I add just a splash of French dressing to the sandwiches for flavor. The rolls are 50 calories and full of fiber.

Fighting off The Temptation

Dinner time came and Debbie suggested we should get pizza. I know you are thinking NOOO, Vinny don’t do it. Well after we talked about it we decided 1 slice each instead of me having 3 is ok. I went to the store and bought only 2 slices. I was proud of myself when I left the pizza parlor with only 2 slices. Usually it is 3 slices for me and 1 for Debbie, I usually get a 2 liter Pepsi also, not this time.

We ate the pizza and then 1 hour later I was hungry so I made a small turkey sandwich on whole wheat. When I say small it means 3 slices of turkey. My old sandwiches would have 7 or 8 slices. Felt so much better that in an hour or so I did 8 minutes on the elliptical. My friend Liz said she was going for a walk so it inspired me to get on the elliptical. It is so good to have the machine right in my house. I could never be one of those people that go to a gym. Just the time wasted going to and from the gym would kill me. It was almost midnight when I got on the machine to workout. No gym’s near me are open at that time of night.

Wednesday saw me having a slim fast like normal, I have been switching back and forth between that and Cheerios for breakfast. For snack it was peanuts but this time they were honey roasted because I ran out of the plain peanuts. I am not a fan of these but that’s all I had. For lunch it was usually turkey on whole wheat. Then more peanuts as a snack. It got late when I realized I didn’t have dinner so I made a bowl of Cheerios. I didn’t drink much water during the day. This ended up being a big mistake that I won’t do again as I tossed and turned all night. My stomach had gas pains all night and I couldn’t sleep the whole night I actually had to sit up in the recliner at times just to pass gas. Lovely huh! I am blaming it on the roasted peanuts since that was the only thing I changed in my diet. Actually I have no idea. If you have any ideas feel free to chime in the comments section.

The Battle With Gas

Thursday saw me sleeping late as I finally got some rest when gas finally passed. During the night I took 4 Tum’s and a Gas-x and the Gas-x is what helped. I had a bowl of Cheerios and felt really tired. I didn’t bother with a snack since it was late and when I got hungry Debbie went to the store and bought some cold cuts and some sandwiches. I had a ham/cheese on wheat wheat bread with thousand Island dressing. I have been using that instead of mayo lately. I had some coffee and later in the day switched up to unsweetened ice tea. I have been drinking unsweetened ice tea all week except for Wednesday when I only had 1 glass. I have had 6-8 glasses a day. That is my normal day. I am usually good with drinking plenty of water.

For dinner I wasn’t really hungry so I had a peanut butter on whole wheat. I was a guest on my friend Daniel M Clark’s podcast “Yet Another Weight Loss Show”. Lots of fun talking about what I am doing to drop some pounds. After the show I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and then had another peanut butter on whole wheat. I was hungry so I ate.

Friday I had a slim fast for breakfast and then did 5 minutes on the elliptical. Went to the store and bought some turkey and tuna fish so I have something ok in the fridge. My fridge is still full of some junk so that will need to be cleaned out. I also bought a large bag of mixed nuts. The bag had some good stuff in it, blueberries, cranberries, raisins, walnuts, almonds, cashews, and apples. Bag says all natural and 0 trans fat. I haven’t been watching trans fats or any fat intake actually. I will pay more attention to that as I buy stuff to eat. At least these nuts are better than the roasted or salted peanuts I have been eating. This bag is good to make a mix with me if I take a walk.

Last Sunday when I went on the 6 mile walk I was hungry when I got back. Eating some nuts while walking will stop me from getting 6 slices of pizza when I get done. For lunch I made a turkey on whole wheat but changed up the routine and had a slice of mozzarella cheese and used a dab of French dressing. Now before you say “Vinny don’t use cheese!” let me tell you that before this plan my sandwiches would have 5 slices of cheese so cutting back to one slice is a big change. I like cheese so no sense in denying myself something I like. If I did that it would stop my progress and make me want to sit down and eat a whole package of cheese. Letting me have a little from time to time prevents the binge and cravings for it.

I cut up an apple for Debbie and stole a slice and had some of the nuts for a snack. I actually ate more nuts then I had planned on but that’s ok. I will have to buy a few bags to keep in the house now that I know I like them. Simple way to add some fruit to the diet also. We went through the fridge and got rid of some of the junk that was in there along with some stuff that was expired. While in there we decided to make some hard boiled eggs to have around as a quick snack or maybe cut up for a quick egg salad sandwich. I was on the fence of what to have for dinner, didn’t really feel like cooking again but we decided to make egg sandwiches since we had 2 dozen heart healthy omega 3 eggs that we picked up on Saturday. I cooked up a double egg with a slice of American cheese on whole wheat. I spiced it up with some garlic salt and onion powder like usual, makes it taste better. I did have a late night snack of a hard boiled egg since they were sitting in the fridge.

My stomach has been bothering me a little still with gas. I am starting to think its the Slim fast. I am out of them now and will pick some up when I go to the store but I don’t think I will have one every day next week. Between that and the milk from the Cheerios I really increased my dairy intake. That will have to change in the coming weeks if it is the cause for the gas. I am up to the small change #3 in the book and it seems I am on the right track. I am waiting for something I can’t do but the book is really common sense and easy to read.

Saturday morning the scale had a very good number, well over my 5 pounds in 5 weeks plan. At this point I have no idea what my plan will contain for the next 5 weeks. I have in my head that I will just try to maintain the number that the scale falls on when I do my official weigh in on Sunday morning. I guess I will decide on Sunday. Speaking of Sunday I have to say this is going to be my biggest challenge when the NFL season starts as my Sunday consisted of getting a whole pizza and eating about 6 slices of it during the game. Have a few weeks to decide what to do about that. Maybe a salad pre game and get a Lasagna at halftime who knows. It will contain Italian food in some capacity.

Started off the day with a bowl of Cheerios with the new 2% milk I picked up yesterday at the deli. Started to watch the NASCAR race and it didn’t last long until it started to rain there so there was no racing after like 15 laps. I decided to get on the elliptical which is rare for me to workout after breakfast. I did 10 minutes on the elliptical and burned 88 calories according to the counter on the machine. I don’t trust that counter but its nice to see. This workout I did something different, every minute on the elliptical I decided to work extra hard when the machine hit :00 and do some quick sprints. This only lasted 10 to 15 seconds but got my heart racing pretty good. I think I will do this more often, not every minute but maybe every two minutes instead. After the 10 minute mark I got off the machine and felt pretty good.

I found my hand weights and did a few stretches with them. They are 6 pounds each and I think I have them about two years but never really used them. They looked so good on the shelf at Modells when I bought them it is a shame I never really used them until now. Guess it was good that I had them though and even better that I found them now. I used the weights for some quick curls, not much to talk about there. I will have to find a routine for them on Youtube and incorporate that into some sort of routine. We will see what that turns out to be.

Ready To Get My Bike

I placed a wanted ad on Craigslist for the bike I was looking for and someone replied from Bay Ridge but he wasn’t sure if the 3 Fuji bikes he had were actually an Allegro so I sent him an email telling him that before I come out to Bay Ridge I need to actually know before I waste my time. There are two Allegros on auction right now on EBay but one is too small and the other needs work. I may bid on the one that needs work since I can do that myself. Heck I may just get it and put it in a bike shop for a tune up. If you know a good bike shop in Brooklyn feel free to leave that in the comment section. I can’t wait to get a bike and knowing the summer is flying by I really don’t want to wait for the perfect bike. With all the good parks in Brooklyn to ride in and drop some pounds.

Had some nuts as a snack, actually finished the bag that I bought yesterday. Lunch time brought the usual turkey sandwich on whole wheat with a slice of cheese and a splash of thousand island dressing. Since it was Saturday we decided to order out. I looked over the Italian menu but since I love the veal Parmesan I got that. It came with a salad but I gave that to Debbie. I was good and didn’t have no bread or pasta just a few veal parm cutlets. When we order from the Italian place we always get a lasagna to reheat the next night, so that will be my dinner tomorrow. It is so big Debbie and I will actually split it tomorrow after the NASCAR race. After midnight I got a little hungry so I had a hard boiled egg. Not the greatest way to end the week but that is just fine by me. Its a journey not a race to good health.

Sunday morning my scale said 230.0 – 6.6 pounds lost in 3 weeks. Update to week 3 of my weight loss plan.

It is Sunday and since I plan on blogging about my battle with weight I decided that every Sunday will be the “Official Scale Day”. Last Sunday when I got on the scale it said 236 and this week I am happy to report that this morning it was 231.8. I dropped a little over 4 pounds.

I know when you get started it is easy to take off the weight but my goal is lose 5 pounds in 5 weeks then repeat the process. This means I have 4 weeks to lose 1 pound which is totally a thing I can handle. I changed my food intake 100% and I feel so much better. The elliptical is getting a good workout too. During the week it started to make a clicking noise but after my brother and I took it apart we determined that it is nothing we can fix and although it is slightly annoying it is something I can tolerate.

My diet consisted of adding a slim fast in the morning for breakfast. For lunch it was usually a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with a slice of cheese. Dinner has been all over the place. Sometimes its a bowl of cheerios with non fat organic milk, sometimes the bowl of cereal is replaced by another turkey sandwich. Either way it seems to be working.

I am drinking a lot more ice tea that we brew at home and put a lemon in. No sugar added at all, we have been brewing a blueberry rooibos blend and some other pots of tea and putting it in two pitchers and keeping them in the fridge. I would say I have been drinking 6-8 glasses of that a day instead of soda.

No More Late Night Ice Cream Runs

As for the ice cream runs, I didn’t do any at all this week. Instead it was replaced by a couple of handfuls of peanuts. If I am still hungry I make another bowl of cereal. Not exactly a great plan but that is what I did this week. On Thursday for lunch I had a ceaser salad. When vegetables and fruit taste like cardboard it feels like a waste to add it to my meals but I am trying. For the past 10 years my only fruit or vegetable had been ketchup on a burger or tomato sauce on pizza. Speaking of which I did not have pizza at all this week. That has to be some sort of record for me.

Saturday was probably the only day I did something really different because we turned on the BBQ. I had a Bubba burger on whole wheat with a side of Bush’s baked beans. Last night was a night full of gas, I guess that could also be seen as a good thing since the beans flushed me out this morning.

As for my workouts they have just been on the elliptical so far. I go at 5 or 10 minute clips so far. I can get up to 15 minutes if I want to but I would rather do 5 minutes a few times a day than one long workout. In the next few weeks I plan on getting back into riding a bike. I use to do it all the time and since I want to start riding again I want the exact bike that I use to love which is a Fuji Allegro.

I Want This Bike

I have had plenty of expensive racing bikes over the years but since there is no need to race I want a bike that I once owned that was steady and one of the best built that I owned. I have been searching Craigslist and Ebay for one and they pop up every three weeks or so. I can wait and get what I want. If I don’t see one I will just get another bike I guess.

We have a nice 2 mile bike path here and that is about a mile from the house so I can map out a plan and do 6 miles when I get the bike. I may use the neighbors bike and make a few runs while I am waiting. His bike needs work but since I use to work in a bike shop I am sure I can get it working better.

Well that is where I am this week in my getting healthy change of lifestyle plan. I am open to any tips so feel free to leave a comment. Update here is week 2 of my weight loss journey.