Days 7 to 9 - Back on the Saddle

I'm still feeling my way around how to go about posting this blog. I figure I'll just post every few days with reports of what I ate, how it tasted, and what exercise I got.

Day 7
On Day 7 (April 16), I took a day off work and went to Opening Day at the New Yankee Stadium. I also took a day off the diet. Since this is a diet and exercise blog, I won't go into the game, but I will go into the food. It is amazing. They have Carl's cheesesteaks, garlic fries, Carvel ice cream, Boar's Head deli sandwiches, Famiglia pizzas, sushi and noodles, and of course, hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts and cracker jack.

And one more new food vendor which I found very, very interesting. Lobel's calls themselves the "butcher to the stars", and they have a stand with hand-cut steak sandwiches.

My friend and I stood on line for about 40 minutes as they were carving the meat off of the bones for the sandwich. They were even handing out the bones to people on the line to gnaw on.



So, why am I posting this on my diet and exercise blog? Well, because my philosophy about diet and exercise is not that your life has to end when you go on a diet. Sure, you can treat yourself, and if you do, just exercise a little bit more the next day. If you plan on being sedentary, then don't treat yourself.

Anyway, after the steak sandwich (which indeed was one of the best sandwiches I've eaten in my life), it was back on the Nutrisystem diet.

That night I had the frozen Chicken Alfredo entree. Once again, it was outstanding, better than any TV dinner I've had. The chicken was tender, the carrots and broccoli crunchy, and the pasta


Overall, I'd rate the meal a 9 out of 10.

For dessert that night, I enjoyed a bag of Nacho Crisps from the non-frozen package of food. These were surprisingly good. They were crunchier than any regular potato chip or crisp I usually had. I'd compare the texture to a pork rind, but instead of deep fried fat, this was deep fried soy protein, tapioca, and cheese. As unappetizing as that might sound, it was very good. 10 out of 10.

At night, I exercised for 30 minutes with Gold's Gym Cardio.

Day 8

For Day 8, I went completely back on the Nutrisystem food, going all non-frozen. The nice thing about the non-frozen food is that it's very convenient to bring to the office. For breakfast, I grabbed a cranberry granola bar. A bit dry, but it tasted pretty good when washed down with a bottle of Fiji Water (6/10).

For lunch, I tried the "pasta parmesian with broccoli". This was an interesting one. It comes in a cup, the same kind that you find ramen noodles in. It worked the same way--just add hot water, let it sit for a few minutes, and stir. I have to say the smell was quite unpleasant, and the noodles didn't cook all the way. But it was edible, and it tasted okay (5/10).

For dinner, I tried the lasagna. Of all the non-frozen entrees I've had so far, this tasted the best so far. It tasted, well, like lasagna. You had the pasta, the ground beef, the ricotta cheese all piping hot and tasting pretty good (8/10).

For dessert that night, I reached into the box and pulled out a bag of "pretzels". They tasted more like saltines in a pretzel shape, but I have to admit they were quite tasty (7/10). Reading the ingredients, I saw they were made of soy, which seems to be a trend. Ah, those magical beans.

Day 9

For day 9, it was a beautiful day, so I decided to take the bike out and ride. I like using the Wii to exercise when I'm too tired to get out of the house on a weekday or when the weather outside isn't great (which happens a lot here on the East Coast during the winter and summer months). But on those handfuls of days in the years when it's absolutely gorgeous, I definitely try to get out.

Breakfast on Day 9 was from the frozen kit. A vegetable frittata strata. Now, I've cooked up frittatas in the past, but usually they required about 20 eggs. This frittata came in a cute little tin. It was definitely delicious. It had a slightly crispy top, and inside was a blend of puffed egg, herbs, and a balanced taste of spinach, peppers, zucchini, and of course parmesan cheese. A cup of yogurt and grapes completed breakfast. (9/10)

For lunch I had another frozen entree--the steak and cheese melt. Think "healthier version of a Hot Pocket". This is anothe example of "it tastes better than it looks"--like all the other frozen entrees, it tasted really good (9/10).

Afternoon dessert was a white chocolate chunk cookie (7/10), and for dinner was chicken with dumplings from the non-frozen box, which reminded me of Chunky soup, but the dumplings were especially chunky, the way I like them (7/10). For dessert, I helped myself to another ice cream sandwich :)

I admit, there are times when I feel hungry. I think one of the problems is that I don't supplement the meals with vegetables the way I'm supposed to. But I'll be making a trip to H-Mart next week, and to BJ's after that, so I should be stocked up after that.