The next few days...

So as you may have noticed, I've stopped writing in this journal. But not to worry! It's only temporary. No, really. Here's the thing... I've started my job. And even though my first day was today, I've been preparing for it all last week. Not to mention we've had guests every weekend for the past month. So instead of barely keeping track of my meals and fitting in a random protein milk once in a blue moon, I've decided to put the entire endeavor on hold. Once Michelle and I get into a routine and can work out even so much as a dinner plan for the week, I'll get back into the "diet".

Thank you.

Day 38

BREAKFAST
4 eggs and OJ
SNACK 1
Protein milk
LUNCH
Tuna salad sandwich and milk
SNACK 2
Protein milk and walnuts

DAY 37

A day of eating out...

Carnegie Deli:
French Toast... and a whole lot of it

Maoz:
Half pita of falafel, hummus and tomatoes with Dr. Pepper

Da Nico:
Rigatoni with eggplant, ricotta and tomatos

DAY 36

BREAKFAST
Cereal
LUNCH
Chicken soup with rice
SNACK 1
Protein milk
DINNER
Random things till Jabes' arrived

Exercises:
Dynamic Stretches
Phase 1 Workout
Static Stretches

DAY 35

BREAKFAST
Cereal
SNACK 1
Protein milk
LUNCH
Chicken soup with rice
SNACK 2
Protein milk and almonds
DINNER
Steak and salad
SNACK 3
Steak and PB tortilla

DAY 34

BREAKFAST
Cereal
SNACK 1
Protein milk and almonds
LUNCH
Boca burger and milk
SNACK 2
2 bean burritos with salsa and milk
DINNER
Chicken, rice soup

DAY 33

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, salsa and juice
LUNCH
Chicken, broccoli, rice and juice
SNACK 1
Protein milk
DINNER
Salad, hot dog, 2 veggie burgers and protein milk
SNACK 2
Walnuts

DAYS 29-32

This weekend was Ben and Nat's visit to NY. I hate hiding behind this excuse for not following my meal plan, but frankly it was just too hard. We ate out almost every meal and it got too difficult to keep track. I did continue with my protein milks, but I know I didn't eat anywhere near where I should. This following a recent weighing-in I did last Saturday only to find out my weight is EXACTLY the same as it was 30 days ago. I just need to eat more. At least I worked out again Saturday.

The plan will resume tomorrow. God willing.

DAY 28

BREAKFAST
4 Eggs, salsa and milk
SNACK 1
Protein milk
LUNCH
Burger, Egg salad and milk

DAY 27

BREAKFAST
2 PB and bacon muffins with protein milk
LUNCH
2 Burgers and protein milk
SNACK 1
Peach and almonds
DINNER
Pizza, lasagna and chocolate mouse (at the jazz joint)

DAY 26

BREAKFAST
2 PB and bacon muffins with milk
LUNCH
Egg salad sandwich with protein milk
SNACK 1
Egg salad sandwich with yogurt and berries
SNACK 2
Protein milk
DINNER
Shrimp and salad

Day 25

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, salsa, milk
SNACK 1
Protein milk
LUNCH
Egg salad sandwich and peach
DINNER
Shish kabobs
SNACK 2
Almonds, protein shake and leftover pasta

Exercises:
Dynamic Stretches
Phase 1 Workout
Static Stretches

DAY 24

BREAKFAST
2 PB and bacon muffins with protein milk
LUNCH
Russian dumplings and chicken shish kabobs
DINNER
Steak, onion and tomato shish kabobs
SNACK 1
Ice cream

I think I'm addicted to ice cream. I must stop. Tomorrow I must get back on track. I must!

DAY 23

BREAKFAST
2 PB and bacon muffins
LUNCH
Leftover pizza and sushi
DINNER
Pasta
SNACK 1
Ice cream at the creamery

Way to stick to the diet, huh?

DAY 22

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, salsa and milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Tons of sushi
DINNER
Mushroom pizza
SNACK 2
Tiramisu and wine

Exercise:
Dynamic stretches
Phase II exercises
Static stretches

DAY 21

BREAKFAST
2 PB and bacon muffins with protein shake in milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Lemon-herb chicken
DINNER
Steak with green beans
SNACK 2
Ice cream and protein shake with milk

DAY 20

BREAKFAST
4 Eggs, Cheese, salsa
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
2 Cheeseburgers
SNACK 2
Falafel, tomatoes, pita, Mmm
DINNER
Lemon herb chicken and salad
SNACK
Ice cream, protein shake with milk

DAY 19

BREAKFAST
2 PB Muffins, apples, protein shake with milk
LUNCH
2 Cheeseburgers, protein shake with milk
DINNER
Chicken soup with rice

DAY 18

BREAKFAST
6 eggs, salsa, milk

LUNCH
Chicken soup with rice, apple

DINNER
2 Cheeseburgers, protein shake with milk

SNACK
Ice cream

Another poor day of eating, but I have an excuse! Today I was called in last minute for a temp job. I had to throw together a lunch and dinner. All in all, it wasn't that bad a day of eating. I'm mostly bummed about not getting around to exercising.

DAY 17

BREAKFAST
Brunch with Zofie and John - omlette, potatoes, toast and OJ
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Chicken and rice soup - Mmm!
SNACK 2
Chocolate ice cream

Ok... not the best day for my diet. But a GREAT day of eating!

DAY 16

BREAKFAST
Egg, toast and bacon (made by Meech)
SNACK 1
none
LUNCH
Pita with falafel and many toppings
SNACK 2
Berry shake
DINNER
2 cheeseburgers and protein shake with milk
SNACK 3

DAY 15

BREAKFAST
2 PB Muffins with apples and plenty of bacon, milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Lemon-herb chicken
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
2 Cheeseburgers and salad
SNACK 3
Almonds, olives and wine

Exercises:

Dynamic Stretches
100% of workout (only 5 Spider-mans, rest only halfway)
Static Stretches

DAY 14

It's like I'm a broken record. I keep falling into the same bad habits. This week was supposed to be better than the first, and it certainly hasn't been! I was just telling Meech the other day how I get excited about things, but they never last for more than two weeks. I'm now currently excited about the stock market, but I refuse to get myself invested (HA!) until I tie up other loose ends in my life. First, I want to prove to myself that I can keep this diet going and going strong. Second, I want to prove that I can exercise solid for more than two weeks. And third, I want to finish my research project!

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, cheese, salsa and milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
2 Cheeseburgers
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk, almonds
DINNER
Lemon-Herb Chicken and salad
SNACK 3
none

Exercises:

Dynamic Stretches
100% of workout (only 5 Spider-mans)
Static Stretches

DAY 13

BREAKFAST
4 Eggs, Cheese, salsa, milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
2 Cheeseburgers on muffins
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Pepperoni pizza, zucchini sticks and chocolate dessert (YAY Toby's!)
SNACK 3
none

Exercises:

Dynamic Stretches
100% of workout (only 5 Spider-mans)
Static Stretches

DAY 12

BREAKFAST
Cereal
SNACK 1
Protein Shake with milk
LUNCH
Turkey, bacon and cheddar cheese melt
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Soup, PB&J Sandwich
SNACK 3
Yogurt

Exercises:

Dynamic Stretches
100% of workout (only 5 Spider-mans)
Static Stretches

DAY 11

BREAKFAST
2 PB Muffins, apples and bacon
SNACK 1
Protein Shake with milk
LUNCH
Egg salad sandwich
SNACK 2
Protein Shake with milk
DINNER
Salmon steaks, scapes and salad
SNACK 3
Yogurt


Exercises:

Dynamic Stretches
100% of workout (only 5 Spider-mans)
Static Stretches

DAY 10

BREAKFAST
2 PB Muffins with bacon
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Pepperoni calzone
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Salad
SNACK 3
Yogurt

DAY 9

BREAKFAST
2 PB Muffins with bacons
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Egg salad sandwich
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Thai beef dinner thing
SNACK 3
Yogurt

DAY 7

I made it a week! But as you can see, I haven't stuck to the plan as well as I wanted to. This next week has to be an improvement. Last week's goal was to make it a week. This week's goal is to improve from last week!

BREAKFAST
Fruits, veggies and muffins (SMG Conference)
SNACK 1
none
LUNCH
Chicken wrap, potato chips and water
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Chicken legs, brown rice
SNACK 3
none

Exercises:

Dynamic Stretches
3 sets of first half (only 5 Spider-mans)
Static Stretches

DAY 6

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, salsa, 1 apple, 2 cups of milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Chicken legs with brown rice
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Shrimp, calamari pasta...Mmm!
SNACK 3
none

I began exercising today. Hopefully it will continue. I'll add my progress down here.

Dynamic Stretches
20% of Workout
Static Stretches

And I'm already sore as hell in my thighs.

DAY 5

Not that great of a day. Skipped my last meal and I need to get to the store for cheese.

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, 1 apple, 2 cups of milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Lamb kabobs with onions
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Chicken legs with brown rice
SNACK 3
none

DAY 4

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, 1 slice of cheese, 1 peach, 2 cups of milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Two cheeseburgers without buns
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Sirloin kabobs with onion and a salad
SNACK 3
1.5 cups of yogurt

DAY 3

My first "perfect" day.

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, 1 slice of cheese, 1 peach, 2 cups of milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Fish and Salad
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
Lamb, yogurt, bread and eggplant dip
SNACK 3
1.5 cups of yogurt, 1 peach

TOTALS
Calories - 2533
Protein - 215g
Carbs - 190g
Fat - 103g

DAY 2

Sticking to a diet, whether you're trying to lose or gain weight, is just plain hard when it's the weekend and you live in New York City. Sigh... I need to plan better.

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, 1 slice of cheese, 2 cups of milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk and yogurt
LUNCH
None
SNACK 2
Shake with milk and yogurt
DINNER
Chinese food - chicken, eggplant and shrimp eggroll
SNACK 3
1.5 cups of yogurt, 1 peach

TOTALS
Calories - 2332
Protein - 177g
Carbs - 199g
Fat - 67g

DAY 1

So the first day brought a few surprises. First off, I opened my 10-pound bag of whey protein to discover it was not vanilla, as I had ordered, but rather strawberry. And since I had already opened it, I'm now forced to keep it and so the next few weeks will prove to be all the more difficult. Also, my lunch was less healthy than I had hoped, but other than that, I was able to keep right on task!

BREAKFAST
4 eggs, 1 slice of cheese, 1 peach, 2 cups of milk
SNACK 1
Protein shake with milk
LUNCH
Slice of pizza (hey, it's New York. Whatcha gonna do?)
SNACK 2
Protein shake with milk
DINNER
1 cup of shrimp, 2 beef patties with cheese, Salad
SNACK 3
1.5 cups of yogurt, 1 peach

TOTALS
Calories - 2684
Protein - 222g
Carbs - 225g
Fat - 70g

THE NIGHT BEFORE

So I'm going to try to gain weight. I do actually have a plan. It's a revision of several other plans that I've had and that I've never stuck to for more than a week, but it's still a plan. This journal will mostly be for my own benefit, a chance for me to look back at how far I've come. I'm hoping to add pictures and give a little description of how I've feeling that day, but we'll see. Like I said... my record is one week.

And can I just say, it's so annoying to hear things like "I wish I had your metabolism" or "Lucky you! I wish all I had to do was eat more". Look, it's no picnic here. Trust me, I've eaten seven eggs for breakfast and there's been days I thought to myself how much easier it would be NOT to eat too much. Heck, I like healthy eating. Salads, veggies, fish, lean meats... they taste good! I think it's easy to lost weight, too. And remember, I'm not trying to gain fat, I'm trying to gain "healthy weight".

As my wife has said, it's true I don't really need to do this. I'm in good shape, roughly the right weight for my height and there's probably no health problems associated with being a 145lb 5'9" guy. But it's something I really want to do. It's like running, cycling or swimming. It's what will make me happy. And I'm not shooting for thirty extra pounds. I'd just like to have wrists that are thick enough to support my own hands.

So, here I go. The entry has been posted and tomorrow I start my diet.

Goal #1: Last for one week.