Sorry I’ve been away for awhile … we had baby class over the weekend and visitors coming into town and all sorts of monkey mischief going on that has prevented me from devoting the proper amount of time to my daily blog upkeep. I assure you that the quest continues, though, and I’ll try to post the last few days whenever I get my notebook in order. Attempting to remember every meal I’ve had over the last week is a losing battle without notes.

Morning weight
183.8

Breakfast
Cracklin’ Oat Bran (decidedly not healthy) with fresh fruit (healthy)

Morning snack
1 apple

Popularity: 1% [?]

Morning weight
184.4

Breakfast
granola w/ fresh fruits

Popularity: 1% [?]

This morning I realized I can put my belt around my waist and easily stretch it into the area where there are no holes. Neat!

Morning weight
182.4

Breakfast
(out)
1/2 a egg, bacon & cheese croissant

Lunch
(out)
overpriced papaya salad from some restaurant in West Hollywood

Snack
1 small apple from our apple tree

Dinner
(in)
The debut of the new grill! It’s a beautiful thing!
1 skirt steak
1 piece corn on the cob
1 piece of toast
salad
2 beers

Dessert
a few spoonfuls of ice cream

Popularity: 1% [?]

69, MOTHERFUCKERS!!! Ha ha, that’s a funny number because it has something to do with sex. I’m not quite sure what.

Anyway, 2 great pieces of news this morning. #1 I’m clocking my lowest weight ever (just like Harmon! See: comments.) #2 the grill that I spent all day assembling on Sunday and that did not work only needed a small adjustment, and now it works like a charm! Thank you, grill! No more non-grilled foods EVER AGAIN!!!

Morning weight
182.4

Breakfast
(home)
egg white omelette w/ tomatoes, (fresh from our garden! but p.s. I don’t really like tomatoes. But P.P.S. that is how far I’m willing to go for the Weight Loss Challenge … actively cooking a meal with foods I don’t really like.) basil, and cheddar cheese
1 slice of toast

Lunch
(home … well, at the office … but not out, I mean)
leftover Indian experiment

Dinner
(out)
1/2 a steak sandwich
1 orange

Exercise
5 mile bike ride

Popularity: 1% [?]

Our sink was broken all weekend which was a bit of a shitty thing. It’s really difficult to do dishes without a working sink. I did them, mind you … I cannot abide by dirty dishes. It involved a lot of bucket work. The repairman came this morning. You don’t need to know any of this information, really.

Morning weight
185.6

Breakfast
(home)
granola parfait with strawberries, blueberries, plum & yogurt

Lunch
(out)
El Greco is finally open again! 1 chicken Greek salad

Dinner
(home)
awesome improv stir fry w/ green beans, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, curry, and paneer (a very mild Indian cheese) over rice
1 piece of corn on the cob

Popularity: 1% [?]

Morning weight
185.4

Food was a mishmash today, because we were casting a short film all day. It was not really divided up into a typical breakfast/lunch/dinner type situation. Instead:

The weird first 8 hours of the day
1 orange
1 tiny cupcake
3 handfuls of nuts

Pre-dinner dinner
(out – Wurstkuch)
1 chicken sausage
a few fries with hyper-caloric dipping sauce
2 pints of beer

Dinner
(out – The Park in Echo Park)
1/2 salad
1/2 order spaghetti w/ meatballs
2 pieces cheesy garlic bread

Sarah and I had a date night. We went to see Joanna Newsom at the Orpheum. I thought the Orpheum was in Hollywood. It’s actually downtown. We ate in Echo Park, which is RIGHT BY downtown. And then drove to Hollywood. When we got to Hollywood, I realized that the Orpheum is not the theater I was thinking it was. So we had to go back to downtown, which was a 45 minute drive with Saturday night traffic. I felt like a real buffoon. And we ended up missing the first 15 minutes of Joanna Newsom, which sucked ass. What we saw was amazing, though … love or hate her music, she’s a force to be reckoned with in a live setting. Although, can people stop shouting “I love you” to performers? We get it. That’s why you paid $40 for the concert ticket. And the response is always the same – “I love you, too,” followed by a laugh from the audience. WHO WOULD LAUGH AT THAT? Who hasn’t heard this exact exchange a million times before? Come on, Newsom … I know it’s creepy that complete strangers would shout “I love you,” but you’ve gotta give us something more creative than that.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Morning weight
186.4 – it’s creeping up! Due diligence from here on out!

Breakfast
(home)
Kashi Go-Lean Crisp w/ peach & blueberries

Lunch
(out)
Honduran food! 1 taco-y kind of thing with cheese & beans
1 fried kind of thing with meat

Dinner
(home)
kale salad w/ creme fraiche dressing
1 piece corn on the cob
mushroom pasta

Exercise
1 hour tennis

Popularity: 1% [?]

Today was not so good, diet-wise. At this point I’m taking things for granted. I mustn’t! I must be diligent!

Morning weight
184.4

Breakfast
1 jelly donut (note: this is not a diet food. My brother-in-law and nephew stopped by to treat us. I couldn’t resist.)

Lunch
Asian chicken salad from Quizno’s (I checked online … this is the lowest calorie food they sell)

Dinner
1 fried chicken breast
1 waffle
1 biscuit

I mean, come on … when you’ve got the opportunity to go to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, you frigging take it.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Morning weight
I didn’t weigh myself. I forgot to weigh myself! That’s how invested I’ve been in the weight loss challenge lately.

Breakfast
tomato, basil, & feta cheese omelet

Lunch
1 chicken taco
1 fake meat taco
a few chips

Dinner
chopped chicken salad
4 pints

Eating light so you can drink more is not the smartest idea. My friend Tony was in town doing a reading for his new book, Sick City, so I gave myself the gift of drinking without guilt. It was a fun night, although the next day I still felt guilty.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I keep waking up in the new house thinking I’m hearing terrorists busting in. My body must be preparing itself for having a baby.

These are the times that try men’s weight loss souls. I could easily give up now … or not give up, but just maintain at this weight. I weigh less than I have since college. I’m still not in the technically “average” range, but I’m just a tad overweight and I look perfectly fine in clothing. Maybe not so great in a swimming suit, but good enough for a dad.

But my thinking has changed when it comes to food, which is a nice side-effect of what I was shooting for. Last night, I really wanted a grilled cheese for dinner. But I opened up the refrigerator, saw some lettuce that didn’t have much more life in it, and decided to mix up a salad instead. I just thought, “ya know, it’s not worth it.” I’ll save my empty calories for awesome meals at good restaurants. The question is whether or not this mindset will continue after I’ve met my goal. I can see how it would be a slippery slope, especially after having a baby … your sleeping & eating schedules are all screwy, so you end up just grabbing whatever quick food you can get instead of taking the time to prepare a real meal. Definitely, the next challenge should be to figure out how to prepare stuff in advance and utilize the freezer. Anyone interested in joining the Cooking Challenge? (By anyone I mean you, Harmon, since you’re the only one still here. And congrats to you, by the way, on the continued diligence.)

Morning weight
184.2

Breakfast
granola w/ fresh berries, 2% milk

Snack
1 peach

Lunch
1 eel & avocado roll
1 spicy tuna roll
a bit of crab salad

Popularity: 1% [?]