Look down and see the road you’re on, as if you are on a marathon…
Let me start by saying thank you to all of you who have stopped by Orcsamongus and have had kind words to say. This journey is a permanent one, as I plan to be alive for many more decades to come. As my way of eating needs to stick with me, I think of this journey as a marathon. A marathon that will never end. I may get tired of it at times (I had a week where I couldn’t even look at another tomato), but the results far, far outweigh the minor annoyances of desiring some Sour Patch Kids, or needing to find a new type of lettuce to enjoy.
Won’t Stop Swinging…
One of the main points I made in my previous post was that I can still eat pizza, and what a relief! I live in a part of the country that is home to some of the best dang pizza in this nation. From Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally’s Apizza in New Haven, to Zuppardi’s Apizza in West Haven not to mention Colony Grill in Stamford and Letizia’s in Norwalk (my personal Top 5, not in any order). I love me some good pizza and whenever I try a new place out, I order a plain cheese, because if that sucks, you know they can’t do anything else right. But, here’s a secret for you: I think I’ve only had maybe 5 or 6 slices the entire time since I’ve been on this path of wellness. Why? Well, I guess I’m just waiting for the right time, or the right mood to strike, or the opportunity to partake of one of my Top 5, because I want to enjoy that slice. I’ve come to discover that healthy moderation makes things start to feel special again. Plus, I’m doing so well and I’m so stubborn that I won’t allow myself to partake of it too often. I bought a slice while I was at the local game store in town Battlegrounds Gaming (Hi Steve!), I picked up a piece while shopping for groceries at Wholefoods, and I made two frozen Amy’s pizzas (the tiny one, shared with my wife) for a couple different nights’ dinner.
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- One of my favorite pizzas. This is from Letizia’s. Dang, now I want a slice!
One of the reasons to which I attribute my success, is the knowledge I have been given by my nutritionist, (Hi Abby!) and the fact that I’m actively using that knowledge. I know that pizza is going to taste amazing, I know I’m going to love it, I know I’m going to want more. So, the knowledge I have leads me to the understanding that everything I eat has consequences, either good, or bad. Dropping pounds and looking better and feeling better, wearing new clothes are all a byproduct of not slamming down a ton of pizza whenever the mood strikes me because I know I’m “allowed” to eat it. Let me say this, I can eat any dang thing I want to and I do. I eat ice cream, I have a piece of chocolate, I eat burgers, but all of it is backed up by the knowledge and the fact that I’m making a conscious choice. That’s why I say to you, if you want to lose the pounds, get yourself a nutritionist.
When you walk in golden halls, you get to keep the gold that falls…
My mornings start out with a large glass of water as soon as I wake up (one of the things I need to be more diligent on, if I’m being honest) and I’ll make three eggs, with some veggies and a cup of coffee. I cook the veggies in grape seed oil (it has no taste, I found I didn’t enjoy the taste of olive oil in my eggs) with salt and pepper. I may use some other spices to jazz it up, like the fine Arizona Dreaming blend from Penzey’s. For veggies I like to use peppers and onions, sometimes mushrooms. I should be throwing in some spinach as I could always use the iron, but I just can’t stand slimy, wilted green things. The closest I can get to a cooked green I can stomach is broccoli rabe, so I may try that one day. I whip my three eggs up and after the veggies have had some time to cook a bit, I throw in the eggs, making a scramble.
I make my coffee with a couple Splenda pellets (I tried using no sweetener at all at first, it didn’t jive with me, but if I had a choice between sweetener or milk, I’d take the milk) I also use whole milk. Why not skim, or 2%? Well, having some fat in your eating is not a bad thing. It’s satisfying, unlike carbs, which are not because you’ll only crave more. It’s the same reason I eat yogurt with fat content, I avoid the gimmicky non-fat stuff. First of all, it tastes better, it’s more satisfying and…costs less! My current yogurt of choice is Wallaby’s, into which I throw some cashews for a snack. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s a typical breakfast for me now.
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- Eggs, peppers, onion. Coffee. This was today’s breakfast as I worked on the blog.
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- Eggs, peppers, onion. I now and then add two slices of turkey. I know, you see three. I cut two in half and I ate one before I plated!
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- Eggs, peppers, onion.
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- Eggs, peppers, onion.
One Way Ticket to Hell…and Back…
Lunch varies. I might have a sandwich with ham or turkey, maybe both. Some grilled veggies are good or lettuce, tomato and onion. I try to use mustard instead of mayo and I’ve been having some mayo here and there but, while it tastes good, I don’t feel good mentally about having it (the knowledge) so I’m trying to back off on it, although it’s not off-limits. I get a grinder roll usually (or hoagie, sub or wedge depending on where you’re from. I once had the thought of travelling around the country and finding out what they call their sandwiches in all the various states and devoting a website to it, but that will wait until I’m rich, unless one of you wants to fund that adventure…I can dream) or bread. Wraps are a scam, they are no better in most cases than bread, so unless I really want a wrap, I pass. I also get a small salad with tomato, roasted red peppers, red onion, cucumber, carrot and maybe a couple artichoke hearts or hot peppers to change it up. Now and then, some dried cranberries. I used to add a hard boiled egg, but stopped doing that. I’ll only do that now if I miss breakfast, which is rare. And yes, I do put dressing on it. The house dressing from the place I go to is really good. That place is Jimmy’s Deli in Norwalk and they couldn’t be more helpful in accommodating my needs. They were actually some of the first people I told about my journey, as they are so helpful and they have observed my change in eating habits first hand, so it’s fun for me to banter about it with them. I may also get a small bag of nuts (usually cashews) to snack on. I get a big bottle of water and a V8, something I thought was the most disgusting thing in the world when I was a child, but I love now. That whole taste bud change I’ve mentioned previously. On the weekends I like to enjoy a burger cooked on my Foreman Grill, with no bun, a splattering of mustard and some marinated onions and peppers.
Damage Case…
Quick side story: I wouldn’t tell anyone about my weight loss for the first couple of months. For one thing, I didn’t want to say it and then not follow through and secondly, I was very guarded of the fact that I was doing it. I was doing it for me and my family and for someone to be all like “Hey, I know a guy who lost a hundred pounds!” was bulls#it to me. It’s like “You didn’t do any of this process, I did, so what the heck do you have to be happy about?” Disco Stu don’t advertise. It wasn’t until I felt good about my progress that I started talking about it to people. Right when I finally got under 400 pounds. That felt like something to me. My next milestone will be 347, as the last time I was weighed officially and it was documented was a few years ago when I was in the hospital for my blood issue. I was 447 then, so that’s my documented 100 pounds, even though I know I was around 470 when I started this marathon, I just couldn’t use a scale to measure that amount. I’ll never know how much weight I’ve lost and I don’t care. I weigh myself once every two weeks when I go to my nutritionist, that’s it. The numbers are a distraction to me. But I’m 364.4 as of this writing.
Here’s some various lunches:
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- Hamburger with onions, peppers, mustard and tzatziki. Fennel slaw, peppadews and a half of a turkey sausage. And a couple olives. Today’s lunch as I wrote this post.
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- V8, nuts, salad and hot roast beef with sauerkraut, peppers, onions and pickle.
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- Fresh turkey, lettuce, tomato, mayo. V8.
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- A heck of a good Subway is near my work, they give you tons of veggies. Very authentic tasting Subway. I should know, the World Headquarters is in my hometown.
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- Ham, turkey, peppers, onion, broccoli.
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- A corned beef reuben with no cheese on homestyle bread. I should have only eaten half. This is the half that made me feel like I ate too much and was off my game. It was dang good though.
If Eternity Should Fail…
Snacks. You should snack. In fact, snacking was a direct order from my nutritionist. I like to snack on pickles, nuts, yogurt, olives, or some pickled crispy snap peas, hot and spicy. I also dig hummus with some carrots or grape tomatoes. I tried getting some bags of stuff like rice cakes or popcorn cakes. They didn’t feel good mentally to me, and my nutritionist confirmed they’re for the birds. I might have some popcorn but it causes havoc with my teeth, so I found an alternative called Pipcorn which uses smaller kernels for less husk to get stuck in my gums. As far as sweets go, I like to have a Yasso yogurt bar (blueberry is great), or some real, honest to goodness ice cream. I’m just mindful to have a canelle or two of it, not a whole dang pint of it. (My weakness used to be a pint of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond.) A single square off a good dark chocolate bar can hit the spot.
I haven’t mentioned cheese. But really, I frakking love cheese. One of my favorite gifts from my wife was a three month subscription to the Cheese of the Month Club. But, cheese can be a big problem for me since I love it so much. I’ve found a work around that is like a game to me. It’s challenging and at the end I feel like I’ve won! I bought a small wedge of this amazing aged gouda. It’s got these little crystals that form in it and it tastes amazing. What I do is this: I cut a small slice, maybe 5mm, off the small end of the wedge and only eat that. I don’t go back for more. I know once I get to the back part of the wedge that is the largest width, I’ve earned it, so I enjoy that piece of cheese. I’m choosing to savor quality over quantity. Incidentally, it took me two months to go through that first wedge, but you can bet your bum I got another! I don’t snack as much or as mindlessly as I used to when I first started this road, but I attribute that to nothing other than not feeling as hungry as I did in the beginning now that I’m properly hydrated and nourished. So, go see a nutritionist. A point I can’t stress enough.
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- Really good ice cream, this stuff is like crack, yo. (See what I did there?)
Pictures of You…
Dinner. A piece of protein the size of my palm, veggies and salad. Always. Unless I go out to eat for a special occasion, I stick to this formula. Even when going out, I make sure I cover my bases but I may eat more than usual as it’s a special occasion, not the norm.
While I’m mentioning special occasions, I abhor the notion of a “cheat day” and so does my nutritionist. I have a litany of cuss words I could use to describe the concept. Instead, have knowledge, use it and never, ever diet! If you do this, why the heck would you ever need to “cheat?” So you can have a “break” in your regimen? Relationship rules apply to food too. Diets end. Cheat days help that process. Why work so hard to then have a day that’s going to send you spiralling out of control? Eat right all the dang time and if you want something sweet or different, be conscious about it, own it, and then like my nutritionist says, “move on.” That’s a heck of a lot better than that other accursed concept. Once again, see a nutritionist, get the knowledge, be accountable to yourself, lose the weight.
Here are some typical dinners. I love me some bison meat and my wife makes a mean bison bolognese with bean pasta. Yeah. Bean pasta. If my Italian wife, who has more right to know what good Italian food is than most people due to her lineage, says it’s delicious, then you know it’s good.
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- Explore Asian Bean Pasta. It’s good. Trust me. If you don’t trust me, trust my Italian wife!
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- Comparing whole wheat pasta, regular pasta and bean pasta.
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- You can get it on Amazon!
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- My wifes’ amazing Bison Bolognese. With bean fettucine. Best meal on Earth. (Another zinger!)
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- The makings of my kimchi chili.
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- Kimchi chili simmering.
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- The finished product of my kimchi chili.
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- A chicken kabob with salad of course. My veggies were…somewhere.
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- I don’t know what I was doing this night. The wife was away and I had a touch too much Bulleit Frontier Whiskey. Sauerkraut, hot peppers, peppers and chicken. Some dog food too, but I gave that to the pup.
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- Green beans, Mustard Green slaw and barbecue chicken.
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- This was a good one. Barbeque chicken, salad and the veggies cooked in the pan with the chicken. The barbeque sauce did some magic this night.
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- Some barbeque chicken, salad and veggies.
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- The Mustard Green slaw, half a wild boar sausage and my typical burger with mustard, onions and peppers.
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- Just a couple of breasts. I just wanted to write that caption to get more site traffic.
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- Mustard Green slaw, Hamburger with peppers, onions and mustard. Veggies too!
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- Another stuffed chicken breast with cranberries and corn. This was the night I perfected my balsamic carrot recipe. Wife was away for the weekend, so I experimented.
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- Another view of the previous meal.
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- Once again, the same meal. Hey, it looked good!
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- Half a stuffed chicken breast. I didn’t like the stuffing which was apples, cherries and cinnamon. I ate the chicken and dumped the rest. Notice the portion size of the veggies. Load ’em up!
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- Bean pasta. Very good and healthy for ya! Made with some beef, cooked with onions and roasted garlic. Rao’s tomato sauce.
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- Balsamic carrots, a stuffed chicken breast and salad. Probably a bit too much chicken for me, but I’m still losing!
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- What’s wrong with this pic? Excellent dinner, but they gave me three chicken breasts! That’s three meals! The old me would have said “What a great portion size!” The new me had dinner, and lunch for two days! At a place called The Bayou located in Mt. Vernon New York. Try the alligator sausage.
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- Dinner tonight as I finish up the blog. Filet mignon kabobs and corn.
When I cook chicken breasts, which has become pretty often, I use various different spice mixes to change it up. We have a place called Penzey’s here that has a huge selection of spices, some in mixes ready to go, others that are just the base spice. I recommend switching it up! One night, barbeque, another night Jamaican Jerk or garlic and herbs. Keep it vibrant and exciting. Salads. At some point you may just not be able to look at another tomato. So keep changing it up. If you go to your local market you’ll see many different greens, use one one week and then another the next. Keep some variety flowing. For veggies I like green beans, corn, peas, broccoli, carrots, Brussels sprouts, heck, most of the ones that exist. Plus, you can eat all the veggies you want, which is why I say: Save A Gamer, Eat A Veggie. Made my own hashtag with that one.
Pump it Up…
Moving on, I know I’ve talked about providing you with some recipes, those will roll out with the next post. Same with the giveaways from Lesser Gnome. Here’s a teaser:
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- Some great prizes donated by Lesser Gnome. A quality company making quality old-school gaming products. These will be given away in an appropriate Gnomish manner.
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- 2X t-shirt and some quality miniatures. Another lovely Lesser Gnome giveaway!
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- Original art generously donated by Lloyd Metcalf. One of the giveaways coming soon!
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- Great postcards and a couple Micro Quests, again, generously donated by Lloyd Metcalf. Details on how to win them coming soon!
In the meantime, if you want to ask me any questions, need someone to vent to, or just want to send me money, I can be reached via e-mail at orcsamongus@gmail.com. On Twitter my main account is @Icetower but I use @Orcsamongus as well. I have a Facebook account for Orcsamongus, but hardly anyone likes it (poor me!). I’m on Google+ as well, just search for Daniel W. Cisek. How can you help me? Share this post with anyone you think may benefit from it. But please don’t say “Here’s how to lose weight ya fat ass!” I find people aren’t receptive to that, plus, the best advice is to see a nutritionist! Thanks folks. Let’s get moving and prevent Grognarok!
Deaf Forever…
Here’s a bonus pic:
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- This was my view from when I recently saw Motörhead. Absolutely amazing show! Felt great to watch the whole thing and be able to stand without feeling like I was gonna die! A few months ago, I would have been too uncomfortable to go, worried about my own body failing. But I’m out there now and living life! Going to see King Diamond in November.
Links for some of the places and things I have mentioned:
My Nutritionist
Lesser Gnome
Lloyd Metcalf Art
Frank Pepe
Sally’s
Letizia’s
Zuppardi’s
Colony Grill
Jimmy’s Deli
Penzey’s
Battlegrounds Gaming
In case you haven’t noticed, my titles for each section come from music I enjoy. The below pic is a lyric from W.A.S.P.’s new album Golgotha, specifically the song Last Runaway. It means quite a bit to me.
Currently listening to: Bad Magic – Motörhead, The Book of Souls – Iron Maiden, Golgotha – W.A.S.P. and Last of Our Kind – The Darkness. Along with the 1st Wave channel on SiriusXM. I wish they would stop playing The Smiths everytime I get in the car. F**k Morrissey! The Cure forever!
Orcsamongus! 