@swimnurse wrote:
The more the merrier. Just share your secrets (lol)
Hoo boy, ok. You asked for it. You know, get more active, cut down on drinking, eat better. Of course, the devil is in the details. 🙂
Getting more active isn't complicated. It takes discipline, which is not one of my strong points. I've gone from couch to 5k three times over the past several years and 5k back to couch twice. I restarted that cycle again last September. Now I run about 10-15 miles or so each week.
If anyone is interested in getting into running, I heartily endorse C25k. It's not easy, but it's not really a struggle either. The first few weeks, it's just short intervals. Ten weeks later and you're up to 3.1 miles.
Cutting down on drinking. This one is a fail, but not completely. I've started to walk to the pub if I get a thirst. It's six miles round trip, good fresh air, and the dogs appreciate it too. If losing 20 by May means teetotalling, I'll have to pass. 🙂
Food has three rules:
#1: Lower caloric density. Less meat, more veggies, no brainer.
#2: Track my food. I'm not religious about it, but it keeps me on the straight if not exactly narrow.
#3: Food should be hard. Food should be slow.
Want pizza? Sure thing. Put down the phone and for the love of Jove don't heat up that DiGiorno's garbage. Whole wheat crust from scratch, homemade marinara sauce, home-pickled peppers, fresh veggies. No, I don't make my own cheese, but am selective about what I get. I don't get that shredded crap in a bag. Good stuff...parmesan, asiago, mozzarell' bocconcinis. Oil one side of crust and grill, bring it back in, top the grilled side, then once more on the grill to finish it off. Takes time, but it's fun.
Even more time...homemade linguine, whole wheat but cut a bit with semolina to give it a creamier consistency. This takes a few hours from start to finish. Ravioli is more like five or six hours. By the time I'm done, I've walked several thousand steps, ready to crack the wine and take a load off.
And soups...lots of soups, stews, chilis, etc. Every scrap from cutting onions, carrots, asparagus, etc. goes into a bag and into the freezer. After a few weeks, I dump it all into a pot, cover with water and make vegetable stock. If I have a turkey carcass or a ham bone, all the better. The pot goes on simmer and soon the house is filled with the aroma. After a few hours, I strain out all the remnants, defat if necessary. Then I make the soup. Usually whatever is around. Beans, veggies, maybe brown rice or whole wheat bowties, whatever. When it's done, I freeze them in cup-sized containers. Once frozen, out of the containers and into 2.5 gallon ziplock bags (I reuse the bags over and over). Each bag has enough single portions of soup for me to heat up at work for a week or so.
Last weekend, I made turkey soup with tofu, peas, and rice noodles. There's only a smattering of actual meat in it.
Anyhoo, that's about it. It's working pretty well. I've undone most of the damage done over the holidays and now need to knuckle down.
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