I Did A Thing!! (Bonus: A Recipe For You)

Day 119: 6/20/2016

Progress is something that we inherently want/need to measure. If you can only run 1 mile today and are able to run 1.3 miles the following week, that's progress, right? But what if you wanted to run 1.5 miles? did you succeed? is that progress?

I've been thinking a lot about my goals in all of this. When I sat down with Dash Cox at Title three weeks ago, he asked me "what makes this time different than the lasts?". I didn't really have a good answer.... until now.

My goal, is to want to be healthier everyday. My goal is to feel like at any moment, I am physically capable of going out to do anything I want. For example, right now, I'm not capable of being comfortable on an economy seat in an airplane. I most likely won't be able to ride a rollercoaster because I wouldn't meet the weight/space requirement. I can't go skydiving. I want to be able to go out and hike with my wife and dogs without worrying about getting hurt or sick due to being so out of shape.

Now, here I am, a full 7 days into my new food plan and my new exercise routine. Holy hell it sucks in the best sort of way. It's the most tired, most hungry, and most physically and mentally challenged that I have felt in a long time. I had more success than I think I was possible for me in a 4 day period.

I lost 13.6 pounds from Monday morning to Friday morning. More than the weight, though, I proved to myself, that I could fight through my own way that got me to this heavy point, and have success and show "progress".

I'm now in the mindset of trying to define some additional goals. I'll update as I figure them out.

NOW

I promised the bonus of a recipe. Tonight, I made a "roulade". It's typically some type of meat that is rolled with veggies or cheese, or other items.

You will need:
15-18 oz piece of sirloin (london broil will work, too)
16 oz of sliced mushrooms (I used blancas in this, but portabella would be great as well)
4 cloves of garlic
1 shallot
1/2 cup of baby arugula
1 1/2 feet of butcher's twine.
Sea salt and black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Take your piece of meat, place it in either a plastic bag, or you can use parchment paper (like I did) and pound it out with a meat mallet. Do your best to make it even all the way around.

 Once it is pounded out, rub the meat lightly with extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper on both sides.

Chop the shallot and garlic finely and set aside.

Saute the sliced mushrooms in a pan on medium heat with some olive oil and salt and pepper. When the mushrooms have started to get some color on them, place your chopped shallot and garlic in the pan with the mushrooms and stir. Make sure to stir often as to not burn the shallot/garlic. Once you have some color on the mix, place in a bowl and set aside.

(Don't judge my roll job..... I struggled on this one for some reason) place the baby arugula on the meat and then the mushroom mixture on top of that. Carefully roll the meat into itself. If you don't know how to tie meat, I learned via Food Network and Youtube. Tie it off while trying to keep the insides intact. (Pro tip, reserver some of the mushroom mixture to use as a garnish on top when you plate it)

 Sear the meat in an oven safe pan (if you have one) on all sides.

 Once it is seared on all sides, place the meat on the seam side down. Place it in a preheated oven (set to 375) on the middle rack for 25-30 min. If you want medium, use a meat thermometer and test the middle of the meat to hit a temp of 155 and take it out of the oven.

 It's important to let the meat rest for at least 10 min to allow the juices to settle. If you cut into it right out of the oven, the juices will run and you'll have a dry piece of meat.

 Cut the twine off of the meat with some scissors. Slice it it up and give it plenty of "ooh's and aaah's" and sniffs.








Plate it, and SERVE!!!!

Hurdles

Day 6: 2/28/16

Every journey is riddled with stories of triumph. The reason they're triumphant is because it is due to a rigorous fight against something in the way of the success of that journey.

Today, a kidney stone is that hurdle. It's weird because you would think that a kidney stone has nothing to do with eating healthy. Here's the deal. Whenever I'm in the kind of pain that a kidney stone provides, the only thing that soothes the soul, are pain killers. If I can't have those, then comfort food is my jam!
Despite this being my reality right now, I did good today. I woke up with a zeal to come up with new ideas for healthy, GOOD tasting food. I made a veggie filled egg white omelette. I'll post the recipe, and a picture, below.

Thus begins a new week.... More meal planning. I start my new exercise program. I fight the battle of the kidney stone.
I feel an overwhelming amount of support from family and friends. Thank you for those who read and follow.

EGG WHITE FRITTATA

Ingredients
8 egg whites
2 eggs with yolk
3/4 cup of diced bell pepper (I used red, yellow, and orange)
1/2 cup of diced yellow onion
1 1/2 cup sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup baby spinach (ribboned)
1/4 cup shredded colby jack cheese (substitute any type of your choice)
1/3 cup of fat free half and half
1 tsp Lowry's seasoned salt
1 tsp black pepper

Instructions
mix all ingredients together minus 1/2 cup of the sliced mushrooms to be placed on top of the mixture once placed in the pie tin.
Take a standard pie dish, spray with non-stick spray (I used canola oil). Pour mixture into pie dish, lay the last of of the mushrooms in a decorative fashion. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 min (or until the mixture is no longer "jiggly")

95% Of The Time, It Works Everytime

Day 5: 2/27/16

Imagine this. You wake up, fully knowing what it is you're going to do, feel, say, act upon, eat, drink.... You know that you'll feel strong. You know that you'll perform to the best of your abilities; whether it be your job, or a task at home...... Now imagine me, Aaron, A A Ron (that's my name at work).... I'm the exact opposite. I don't know what I'm going to do, or feel, or say... let alone what I'm going to eat, or drink.

Today, I woke up, knowing what I WASN'T going to eat. I had some great conversations about food. I told my wife, Alysa, that for me, I feel like I have to be the extreme. I can't say "Oh, today, I can have a cheeseburger." That's not because I truly feel that one cheeseburger will make or break my journey. However, what will break my journey, is the mindset that I can justify, at anytime, eating something that does not align with my end goal. Today it's just one cheeseburger. That one, turns into one the next day..... and the next.... and the next. So for me, it's not one cheeseburger.

If 80% of weight loss is what you eat, then 95% of that 80, is mental. You can go to the store and buy only vegetables and lean protein. You can eat a vegan diet, or gluten free. You can whatever fad diet you want, but the largest factor in your success of execution of that diet, is mental strength.

One of the things I would like to start doing for the log of this journey, is to post certain recipes that I come up with that help with eating a high protein diet.

I roasted a turkey last night to use in dishes. Here is that recipe.

ROASTED TURKEY:
You will need the following
1 - 8 to 12 lb. turkey (completely defrosted)
3 - large parsnips (peeled and chopped)
4 - large carrots (peeled and chopped)
4 - celery stalks (chopped)
1 - yellow onion (chopped)
2 tbsp - course sea salt
2 tsp - poultry seasoning
1 tsp - black pepper
1 tsp - Extra virgin olive oil
6 - garlic cloves (whole)
2 - sprigs of fresh rosemary
4 - leaves of sage
2 - sprigs of thyme
3 cups - low sodium chicken stock

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350f
place chopped parsnips, carrots, onions, celery, and chicken stock in bottom of roasting pan, set aside.
rub olive oil over the body of the turkey, after that rub your spice mix (salt, poultry, pepper) on the body of the turkey (reserve a couple of pinches for the inside of the turkey.
place remaining spice mix, garlic cloves, rosemary, thyme, and sage inside the turkey and set on top of veggies in the pan
Cover tightly with foil
Place in oven. Plan on 20 min per lb of turkey.
about 40 min before the planned end of cook time, remove foil from turkey to allow the outside of the bird brown. after you take it out of the oven, allow to rest for 30 min to an hour before carving.

I chose to refrigerate mine prior to carving as I'm using the meat for many different recipes.