Living My Best Life

I almost wrote this post in early May of this year. At that point, several things were falling into place. I had just gotten fully vaccinated. I was listening to my favorite bands (which I did post) and with the help of bluetooth speakers, I was listening to music in the shower and when I played basketball in my backyard. Yeah, and I was playing basketball every day. I had lost 50 pounds at that point and got my BMI to under 29. And I had just figured out how to make delicious Italian hoagies fit into a healthy lifestyle. 

Looking at all of that, I don't know why I didn't write it all down. This is an awesome list. 

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Three months later and things are...even better? After having the same hairstyle for the last 6 years, I went to a real stylist who gave me a fresh hairstyle that I love. (Before 2015, I had no hairstyle. I just let it fall in front of my face like a doofus.) I just took a great family Chicago vacation. I got promoted back to Associate Creative Director. Over the last month, I re-started my pedometer app and have been taking a ton of walks. My goal weight is in sight this year. And year four of Mahomes as a starter is about to begin. 

Last year, despite everything else, we crowned it Year of the Fym. My 2021 is sure giving my 2020 a run for its money. It reminds me of my weight loss mantra of "keep stacking good months." If I keep stacking good years, that's a recipe for an enjoyable life.

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Update on 9.2.21: Just upgraded to a 4k tv and got a new pixel phone and got back into disc golf so the wins just keep coming.

Update on 11.5.21: Just got back from an incredible work trip to Rome and the Greek Isles. What a great year. 

One Year of Progress

 Here's what I looked like a year ago, end of July 2020. I weighed 240 pounds, the most I've ever been.

Here's a shot from 2018 in New Orleans. For most the last four years, I was about 230. 

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A year later and I now weigh 179. This what I look like after losing 61 pounds.

At 5'8.5", I've gone from a BMI of 36 to a BMI of 26.8.

The threshold of a normal weight is a BMI of 24.9. For my height, that is 166. If I reach 165, that will be 75 pounds lost. So yeah, I think 166-165 is a reasonable goal weight. 

Here's the weight loss by month:

August 2020:         12

September 2020:    7

October 2020:        8

November 2020:    3

December 2020:    0

January 2021:        7

February 2021:      5

March 2021:          4

April 2021:            3

May 2021:             5

June 2021:             3

July 2021:             4

(In December I actually lost 5, then gained them back at Christmas, but then they quickly came off again. It's probably more accurate to say I lost 3 in December and then 4 in January. Not that anyone cares.)

So that's 12 months in a row of good months. I'd previously had a 4-month healthy stretch in 2007 (where I lost 40 pounds) and a 5-month stretch in 2013 (where I lost 30 pounds). 

The last time I was in the 170s was back in August-September 2013. It didn't last long. Here's my post-college weight history in one chart:

(you can click to expand)

A lot of wild things in this chart. First that I was actually in the 170s or less from April 2007 through April 2011, which is when Mrs. Hoagie Central got pregnant. 

In fact, you can see two big increases in 2011 and 2013 during both pregnancies. Sympathy weight is a real thing. In 2013, I crossed 200 for the first time and used that motivation to turn into a successful weight loss down to the 170s. 

After that you can see a general trend of weight loss, followed by a sharp gain where I went from slightly under 200 to 230 upon moving to KC. In 2018, I had a decent weight loss progress derailed by getting fired. Then in early 2020, I lost 19 pounds, only to gain it back once the pandemic started. 

Since I moved to KC alone, there were 7 distinct times where I tried to lose weight. If you count the period from 2007-2016, there's another 8 distinct times. That's 15 times in 15 years. Which makes the point that I've never been able to maintain. Not many horizontal lines on this chart. Hoping that all the lessons I've learned this year stick, and I'll be adding a horizontal line in the 160s/170s. 

If I can lose 5 more and get down to 174, it will be the first time I've been at that weight since 2010 when I lived in Oak Park, before we had children. That's wild.  

Anyways, here's a side by side, what one year of progress looks like in one image:

So the Olympics added 3x3 basketball (which I suggested in 2016) but the USA didn't qualify. Despite having the best basketball players in the world, we put Robbie Hummel on our 3x3 team. Like Dame Lillard couldn't play 3x3?

Daily Favorites: Meatball Pasta

This is one of those dishes where all I did was measure my food and make one healthy swap to turn a high-calorie meal into a 600-calorie weeknight dinner. 

Here's the framework of how I hit my calorie targets:

300 calories of pasta

150 calories of turkey meatballs

100 calories of tomato sauce without additions

under 50 calories of sauce additions

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Here's how I made it. Get 84 grams of pasta boiling. 

Meanwhile, warm up 3 Trader Joe's turkey meatballs (35grams each). I cut each meatball into 8 wedges and seasoned them with my garlic+. 

Measure out 150 grams of pasta sauce. I used Newman's Own tomato + basil. I added oregano, basil, red pepper flake, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar to the sauce. 

Meanwhile I sautéed some diced onion and red bell pepper. Once they were done, I added a splash of balsamic directly to the veggies. I also diced up some pickled cherry peppers. And I microplaned a little romano cheese. 

After the onion and pepper were done, I added the sauce, meatballs, cherry peppers, and of course once it was done, the pasta. Stir and serve, topping with the grated romano. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how large this serving of 600-calorie pasta was. 

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I mean, this is basically spaghetti and meatballs, but with some healthy changes. 

A tomato sauce without adding butter, olive oil, or sugar. 

Using turkey meatballs is only 150 calories instead of 360 for the regular meatballs. Without that swap, this 600 calorie dinner would be 800 for no difference in filling (or a big difference in taste either). 
Just used a dusting of cheese and not a huge portion. 

Overall, measured a specific amount of everything so I could eat the entire pot of pasta instead of the classic method of make half a box of pasta, half a jar of sauce, plan on eating one portion but then end up eating the entire pot. 

The red pepper flake and hot cherry peppers give a nice layer of background heat/depth. Appreciating this dish requires some moving of the goalposts from the pasta journey. That was about trying to master some authentic pasta recipes and make the best version possible. Now I'm focused on making tasty yet healthy dishes, with an emphasis on quick and easy. This is another winner based on those metrics.

Daily Favorites: Brat Burger & Sweet Corn

This is not all that different from my Italian Sausage sandwich, but is it a lot less calories. Let's dive in. 

The patty is a frozen Johnsonville Bratwurst Burger coming in at only 260 calories. I grabbed the lowest cal bun I could find at 130. Instead of mayo, I made a ranch spread out of nonfat greek yogurt and ranch seasoning. Other toppings are sautéed onions and fresh cherry peppers. There's also a layer of Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce. (I had originally planned on using my holy trinity for hot dogs and sausages (mustard, relish and onions) but made some game-time decisions to mix it up.) 

So the sandwich comes in right around 400 and is very, very tasty. I used the stovetop method on the package from frozen and it turned out great. Even cooked the onions in the pan at the same time. 

The sweet corn is simple, roast at 400F for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper. I normally use butter but (don't tell anyone) today I used cooking spray. It works. 

So with the corn, filling meal for 500 cals. This worked out well as a I had a Chobani flip earlier in the afternoon. If I had more cals left at the end of my day, I could have added pepper jack, but it didn't need anymore fat/flavor. Though there's always next time.

weight update

Here's my current weight. (speakers up)

I first watched Bo Burnham's "Inside" on June 15. It took my breath away that night. I didn't know who he was before that night. I've listened to the songs and watched it countless times since then, and I only like it more and more. 

I'm tired and don't really want to explain all the ways I think it's brilliant at the moment, but just wanted to acknowledge that I think it's brilliant. 

The penalty at the end of Denmark-England was awful. Yes, there was contact. The play that was in progress had maybe a 5% of chance of scoring. Some contact in the box, the ref blows his whistle, and now England gets a penalty with a 90% chance of scoring. It's like taking an offside penalty on 2nd and 7 from midfield and giving the offense first and goal from the 1. 

I outlined how to fix this back in 2018.

Daily Favorites: Pulled Pork and BBQ Beans

This is kind of cheating as I'm starting with ingredients that don't need anything besides microwaving. But hey, I'm not out to impress anyone here. 

I started with Trader Joe's carnitas, weighed out a serving on my food scale, smoked salt, pepper, garlic+, worcestershire and added my own bbq sauces (half gates, half no sugar). That portion of pork above is 200 calories. With sauces, it's still under 250. 

Same idea with can of beans. I measured out 130 calories of beans, added my own smoked salt, pepper, minced onion, no sugar bbq sauce. Poblanos/jalapenos if you've got them.

EDIT: I've turned this into an entree by adding turkey smoked sausage sticks, onion, jarred jalapenos, smoked salt, pepper, no sugar bbq sauce.

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I happened to have these portions at the end of two different days when I had only a small amount of calories left. But you could easily combine these into one meal, make larger portions, or add a bun if you wanted.

Daily Favorites: Brats with Homemade Pickles and Pickled Onions

After I figured out how to do hot dogs and chili cheese dogs, my mind went to brats next. 

I knew I didn't want to compromise on turkey brats or anything like that. So with two brats coming in at 520 calories, to keep a meal under 600, any sort of bun was off the table. Once again, the first solution in healthy eating is just eat your protein on your plate without the usual bread/bun/tortilla. 

But plain brats seemed too boring. What could I serve to complement them? I had been planning on caramelized onions for a long time. (And I might just do that with the uncooked brats in my fridge.) But I thought that making my own pickles and pickled onions would bring a nice freshness and acidity that would go well with the rich meat. 

For the pickled onions I followed this recipe with rice vinegar. 

For the pickles, I followed this recipe.

For the brats, I poached at a simmer in water for 10 minutes. Then browned in a pan on medium-low. If I had beer in the house, I would have poached them in that. But I didn't. Brats still turned out great, very juicy. 

The whole dish worked well. Although the pickles aren't as good as the bar pickles I recently had in Billings. But for my first time making them, not bad.

Probably won't make this that often, but nice to know when summer rolls around and I'm in the mood for brats, I know how to fit them in easily. 

I just made the Hot Carnitas Hoagie again for the first time in a month. It might be my signature recipe. It might be the best thing I make. It's insane.

Weight Loss by Month: June 2021

June: 3 pounds

57 pounds lost in 11 months. 

I started June at 186. Right after Peoria, I was as high as 189 and then got down to 181 before my Billings trip. I was 182 for most of late June. So I'm 183 today but should be temporary Billings weight. I bet in a few days I'll be down to 181 again. 

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11 months of progress in a row. I've got a family vacation to Chicago the last week of July so I'll need to record progress on July 25. My goal for this month is to cross into the 170s. Cross the 60 pound lost mark. 

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In early June, I got a shipment of medium shirts just to see how far away I was from wearing them. I was absolutely floored that they fit. 185 is about the upper limit for mediums on me, so they'll fit even better at 170 but they fit. I don't have an exact goal, but I'm thinking somewhere between 160 and 170. 

Just a little over three weeks left for me to reach my one-year of progress post.

Crossword Tournament

I entered a crossword tournament last week. There were 101 entrants. 

On the first puzzle, I finished with the 54th best score. Solving the puzzle correctly in 10:55. 

The highest score solved the puzzle correctly in 2:21.

I knew I wouldn't be at the top, but had no idea how I would finish. I'll take middle of the pack.