Skipping Dessert … and taking the stairs

WordPress, which hosts this blog, provides some nice tools for tracking site stats.  I can’t tell who reads, but I can tell how many read, what they read, and which, if any, links they click.  I can also tell what, if any, search terms have turned up Skipping Dessert.

On Wednesday, somebody actually searched the Google for the phrase “nonstop river of chocolate flowing indulgence.”  Which is a scary-ass line from a Golden Corral ad I quoted (with some degree of disgust) in this post.

Nothing surprises me anymore.

Hey, look!  It’s Five Things Wednesday!  To close out 2011 I’ve been posting what are essentially New Year’s Resolutions.  In no particular order of priority, here are five things I intend to get done in the coming year:

1.)  Run the Watermelon Run.  OK, “jog” is probably a better term for my approach to this annual Independence Day morning 5K.  I’ve done it before, but not since about 2003.  At my best I’ve never been what anyone would consider a fast runner, but this run accommodates schlubs like me as well as real runners.  It’s a bit of a stretch, but I can do this.

2.)  Publish 208 Posts to Skipping Dessert.  I know what you’re thinkin’.  “208?  That doesn’t add up, Harv only posts thrice weekly.”  And that’s where it pays to have been paying close attention.  I don’t plan on any 31-days-of-posting in 2012, but, hey, I didn’t plan on having a blog this time last year.  Regardless, 208 posts in 2012.  Book it.

3.)  Lose an Average of a Pound a Week.  That should be pretty obvious.  That’s been my goal all along … the difference is that this pace will get me to my goal weight (207) by the end of 2012.

4.)  Read Don Quixote.  (In English.)  I started this nearly a decade ago, and it’s one of my Lovely Wife’s favorite books (she’s an associate professor of Spanish at UF – hell, she’s the chair of Spanish and Portugese Studies at UF), and she recommended it to me a long time ago.  I’ll file a book report here when I finish.  Don’t be shy about asking in a couple of months.

5.)  Learn to Play The Christmas Song on Guitar.  You know, chestnuts roasting on an open fire … I have a great book of guitar tabs with this, and for about three years I’ve been kind of meaning to learn this.  This year, it happens.  By the day after Thanksgiving, I’ll be the electric guitar equivalent of Mel Torme.

There’s also a goodly portion of bourbon left in a bottle of Knob Creek in my house I intend to finish.  There’s a fair chance I’ll accomplish that before 2012.

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Bonus new word from the Research Department:  Hangry:  (Han-Gree)  adj.  a state of anger caused by lack of food; hunger causing a negative change in emotional state.  “Skip dessert, not lunch.  I don’t want you goin’ around hangry all day.”

I’m familiar with this one.  Bet you are too.

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Remember the other day when I told you to go read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin?  I’m serious. You should read it.  I’ll bring you my copy if you want.  Unless you’re outside Gainesville, in which case I’ll mail it to you.  First to ask gets the book.  I only ask that you pass it on (the attitude as well as the book).

You can call this “Christmas Vacation” all you want, but it does not absolve you of responsibility for the reading assignments …

First, from the Research Department, this Dr. Oz link to a “food list” from my favorite TV chef, Alton Brown.  Alton’s program Good Eats seems to have fallen from favor with the honchos at the Food Network, but it’s entertaining and educational.  A year or two ago he aired an episode about his own journey to healthy living, and this article sums up his advice on the subject.  I wholeheartedly endorse the link as well as the program and it’s host.  Even though he’s a God-forsaken Georgia Bulldog.

Moving on from matters strictly food-related, let’s talk about attitude for a moment.  Clearly I tend toward cynicism, sarcasm and irony, but the older I get the less useful I find each of those.  Experience tells me, over and over again, that living and working with intention and actively seeking the positive in life is the far superior path.  With that in mind, I can’t recommend Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project enough.  The site, the book, etc. Take the time to read it – I don’t claim it’s a life-changer by any means, but it’s worth your time.

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Yeah, I missed my weigh-in post this past Friday, but not the weigh-in itself:  259.  Nice to be out of the 260’s (again).

Thanks, as always, for reading!

If it’s Wednesday (and it is), it must be time for five things.  This week, continuing last week’s theme of sorta-kind new year’s resolutions, I’ve got for you a list of things I need to do more of to ensure a better me in the coming year.

1.)  Breathe.  Yes, breathe.  I’ll expound on this more in a couple of weeks, but breathing is an overlooked pleasure in life.  Stop right now, take your hands off you keyboard, lean back in your chair and take a slow, deep breath.  Nice, huh?  And free.  And centering.  Too good not to do more regularly.

2.)  Run.  Yeah, I should have been doing this all along.  I know.  No more excuses for this phase of the program in 2012.

3.)  Nap.  Kind of like number one, napping is free, good for you and simple.  I don’t mean a two or three hour pipe dream of a daytime snooze, just 15-20 minutes of shut-eye.  I can manage that, and I think it’s likely to make me a better person.

4.)  Stretch.  Even if I’m not running, I need to be stretching.  Because, you know, it makes you feel better.  Just does.

5.)  Push-ups.  Again, simple, free.  I need to build more muscle to lose more weight, and this is a hell of a lot faster than visiting the gym.  And, did I mention cheaper?

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Thanks, as always, for reading!  I appreciate the support.

It’s (still) Monday, and I have prepared your reading assignments.  With my editorial remarks, as always.

First up, the article that inspired the headline above.  I had never heard of shirataki noodles before today, and I kind of wish I never had.  They’re billed as a calorie-free substitute for regular pasta.

Now, if you’re a regular reader, you probably know how I feel about substitute food already.  If you want pasta, eat pasta, just be reasonable.  That way you won’t walk away from the table thinking, “Damn, I still have a taste for pasta,” and end up standing over your kitchen sink at midnight eating a plate of the pasta you were craving in the first place (What?  That’s just me?  Oh.  Sorry).

Food is supposed to have calories.  Without calories, it’s probably not anything Great Grandma Hortence would recognize as “food,” and Michael Pollan and I don’t condone such a thing.

This stuff, which is apparently a growing trend in diet circles, is a tortured yam derivative.  The key sentences from the article:

The noodles are made from konjac yams, processed to be edible but indigestible. You can eat them, but your body extracts no nutrition from them at all. (To wit: In the United States, the same fiber is given to treat constipation, and apparently, in Japan, they’re known as a “broom for the stomach.”)

If the phrase, “broom for the stomach” weren’t enough to scare you away from the this latest miracle diet garbage, the writer also reports that it is flavorless and has a decidedly non-pasta texture.

Again, I say, Do. Not. Eat. This.

Moving on, here’s something to not drink:  Sugary soda.  Coca-Cola, to be specific.  I do want to point out to you that they’re working on selling you dietary supplements at the sight this article comes from.  But it’s a good piece and the information is right-on.

My favorite sentence from this article:  “Don’t drink cola if you want to be healthy.”  That says it all, but go read it anyway, ’cause it should sp00k you out of drinking this stuff anymore.  Or letting your kids drink this stuff anymore.

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Thanks for reading, as always.  Interesting food note of the day:  I’ve always thought it was affected BS when people told me they “forgot” to eat lunch.  You know, just showing off how much self-control is at their disposal.  I can report to you that I now know it is possible to forget to eat lunch.  I did today.  Just worked right on through it and didn’t realize until I got home that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

Hey, it’s Five Things Wednesday!  Today I’m featuring five foods I intend to eat more of in 2012.  We’ll be deluged with new year’s resolutions about what not to do regarding food for the next few weeks.  True to my noncomforming nature, I’ll be posting about my resolve to take positive steps instead.  

The five things below are foods I already like, and that I know are good for me, but that I generally don’t eat very often for some reason.  I’ll be changing that in 2012.   In case you were wondering, this list definitely qualifies for the “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” dictum.

1.)  Almonds.  I like almonds.  Preferably roasted, with a little more salt than I should probably ingest.  I have to admit they aren’t my favorite nut, but they’re easily in my top three or four (behind cashews and pecans at least).  I go through phases where I snack on mixed nuts, but I’m narrowing that down to almonds in 2012.  And I’m committing to at least a handful of those a day.

2.) Spinach.  I like spinach.  It might be my favorite vegetable.  And not just because I want great big forearms.  Strangely enough, it’s kind of inconvenient to eat spinach.  Regardless, I’m committing to four servings a week of my leafy favorite.

3.)  Broccoli.  See above.  I’ve always liked broccoli, but I haven’t always made sure I ate enough of it.  That changes now.  Four servings a week, comin’ right up.

4.)  Yogurt.  There just doesn’t seem to be a convenient way to fit yogurt into my schedule.  I think I’ll start using it instead of milk with my cheerios and blueberries.  We’ll see how that works, and if it doesn’t work well, I’ll find another strategy.  I’m willing to commit to five servings a week.

5.) Salmon. Easily my favorite fish, and so good for me it’s ridiculous.  Kind of an overpowering odor, so I’ll have to work on ways not to stink up the office when I open up a container to mix up in a salad or put on a sandwich.  Three servings a week, minimum.

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So there you have it.  I resolve to add food to my diet this year.  I encourage you to do the same.  As always, thanks for reading!

Ahhh, Monday.  A new work-week, fresh perspectives, bountiful opportunities, etc.  Or as most of us think of it, a desk-full of new crap you have to deal with.

Allow me to take you away from all that for a few minutes and refocus your thinking toward your health for a few minutes.

This week your reading assignments fall in two distinct categories:  Stuff That Shouldn’t Surprise You and Real Food.

First, under the “Stuff That Shouldn’t Surprise You” category, here’s a link about that perennial favorite, the McRib.  The Skipping Dessert research department turned this one up for me a few weeks ago (during the phantom November), back when the McRib was undergoing one of its occasional re-introductions.

When I first started seeing McRib ads I was a little sad about having given up fast food.  Because I LOVE me some McRib sandwiches.  Or at least I did.

As I’ve read more about them in the past few weeks, I’ve learned (and really, how was this not OBVIOUS to me before?) the McRib is pretty much the epitome of Frankenfood.  Even if you still eat at McDonald’s please don’t order this.  Please. You don’t want this stuff in your body.

Leaving the realm of Frankenfood behind, we move on to the  “Real Food” category.  Here’s a Michael Pollan New York Times piece chock-full of nutritious information.  As I’ve said before on this blog, if you have time to read me or Michael Pollan, read him.  He won’t help you learn how my personal struggle to live better is going, but he’ll help you live better.

There’s too much information in this article to pass on to you here, but I do want to call your attention to his comments on soy.  I’m distrustful of soy for all the reasons he delineates here.  It’s being sold to us as more healthful than the things it replaces, but I’m not sure it actually is … mostly because we’re not using it in traditional ways.  I think the jury’s still out on the long-term body-chemical responses to soy, so I think I’ll pass on the Silk for now, thanks.

Thanks for reading, as always!

It’s weigh-in Friday, and it’s a positive one.  261 this morning, which is down three from the previous week, but still above my lows from a few weeks ago.  The good best news I glean from this is that when I pay attention – when I eat intentionally – good things happen.  Conversely, when I let my mind wander from the goal, bad things happen.

I suggest that the same is probably true for most, if not all, of us.

Now, I don’t want to tell you this was a perfect week of eating.  I generally ate with intention, but I did have some white bread and a few other things that deviate from my good-sense plan.  I’m taking a moment to pat myself on the back for mostly staying on-target this week because it was a particularly stressful work-week (Yes, the stress has worked itself out and all is well on that front, thanks for asking.)

Regardless, for those of you keeping score at home, that’s 39 weeks (hey, three full quarters) and 26 pounds.  Not where I wanted to be at this point, but what’s past is past and there’s nothing to be gained from berating myself.  What’s relevant is that a.) I know the path and b.) I’m headed down it.  And, you know, 26 pounds lost so far?  That’s respectable.

Full steam ahead.

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I’m not including this in your Monday Reading Assignment because I know some of you just don’t do the happy-smiley stuff, but you should go read this blog.  I do like the happy-smiley stuff (and one day I’m going to assign you some Gretchen Rubin reading, like it or not), and I found Karen Salmansohn’s blog time well-spent.

When I started writing this blog back in May I’m not sure I knew there would be a 100th post.  Yet here we are, friends, stop number 100.  Cue Kool and the Gang.

In recognition of this august occasion, and of the fact that this is Five Things Wednesday, below are my favorite five posts of all time (“all time” being defined, of course, as “since May”).

Do not confuse these with the posts that have been read the most (this one and this one, primarily because of their formidable friendliness to searches by The Google).

They are also not my most important posts.  That would be this one and this one.

No, these are my favorites.  It’s the difference between “Greatest Hits” collections and “Best Of” collections.  This is “Best of”:

1.)  Ode on a Bowl of Oatmeal  Poetry and breakfast, all rolled into one.  Call me Byron.

2.)  If You Talk About it Enough In which I confirm that incessant modeling of good nutritional choices is having the desired impact on our Sprightly Daughters.

3.)  Why Does This Chocolate Chip Cookie Have Such Power Over Me?  I love it when smart people confirm my suspicions.  Which is what happens here.

4.)  An Unlikely Group  From the Pythagorean Theorem to a veggie sub in five easy steps.

5.)  Frozen Blueberries, Part II  Oatmeal ratings.  Just another service I offer.

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Now that I’m back into this (having skipped November), I’m pretty excited about the next few hundred posts.  In addition to Weigh-In Fridays, Monday Reading Assignments and Five Things Wednesdays, I’m working on another regular weekly feature.  But you’ll have to wait for 2012 for the unveiling.

In the meantime, thanks for reading!