10 Pounds Lost!

Weigh in number two and the results are in - I have already lost 10 pounds!  This just  in my first two complete weeks of following the Weight Watchers Points Plus system for men. I haven't done anything dramatic. I still haven't started a regular work out program.

These are few of the things I can pinpoint that have worked:

1. Keep Track of What I Eat
I am religiously counting what I eat. If I am not entirely sure of the points, I either don't eat it or I average up on the possible points.

2. Eat Half Portions
Stacey and I started WW together right in the middle of finals. Neither of us has had the time to cook at home so we have eaten out quite a bit.  The difference has been, I do not feel compelled to eat the entire serving. Instead, I will half it and eat the leftovers for lunch.

3. Make Smarter Choices
Just the other night, I had Dickey's Barbecue. Instead of eating the sausage, I opted for the turkey and chicken. Keeping to the "half-strat" I set aside half of the meat to make a fideo dish with it later.

4. Be Bold at Restaurants 
Early last week, I met a friend for dinner at a local asian fusion spot. I ordered one of the dinner specials when I noticed it came with an egg roll, which I knew was a no-no. I asked the waitress to substitute it with egg drop soup instead.  No problem. I'm also not a big fan of salads. Tonight my choices at dinner were a high point Caesar salad or cole slaw. It wasn't on the menu, but I asked for a fruit bowl. When the waitress said they had none, I asked nicely if she could ask the bartender for some strawberries and pineapple that they use with drinks. They threw in a few orange slices and I had a fruit bowl.

Today was supposed to be the blog exchange on the Blogathon.  My intended partner and I were not able to coordinate for today. Instead, I encourage you to check out Hey, Eddie! for another man's successful take on his Weight Watcher experience.

He's the dude that makes the rainbows and lollipops statement:

Half Birthday Tradition

I began celebrating half birthdays when my youngest brother, Matthew, was around 8 or 9 years old. He was bummed out that his February birthday was too close to Christmas. So I made a deal with him to celebrate his half birthday in August. I don't recall it being too extravagant; I think I gave him a card and a small toy.

Since I got married and had my own family, I continued the tradition in our household. Again, we tried to keep it simple by giving each other a 1/2 Birthday card (normally hand made or on the computer) and a simple gift in the neighborhood of $25-$50, often a gift card. We love gift cards because you can hold onto them until a sale rolls around at your favorite store and then they become the gifts that keep giving.

We like celebrations.  We've celebrated the anniversary of our baptism days and even the feast days of our patron saints.

Today happens to be my 1/2 Birthday.  I came home from Mass and had a small gift bag waiting for me.  In it, courtesy of our "homerdogs," Calvin and Hobbes, was my favorite cologne (Happy for Men).  

Think about adding 1/2 Birthday celebrations to your family.  It can be a lot of fun, especially when your loved is surprised.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

e-Reading & Writing

Today I made good on my Mother's Day promise to my mom and took her to see Thor and to the bookstore.  To my surprise, she did not want a Dean Koontz, but wanted a copy of Stephen King's Under the Dome. We were at our favorite used book store, Half-Price Books.  I would have preferred to have bought her the less expensive hard cover, but she wanted the trade back edition because it was lighter and wouldn't cause her hands to go numb. I wondered if she might be better off with an e-reader. She surprised me again by saying she wanted a Kindle.

It got me thinking about the relationship between reading and writing. One of my colleagues, who is an incredible AP English teacher, always says "what you read dictates how you write." I don't disagree with this statement, but my question is whether the format we read matters.   I have found that I very rarely read any paper based books, magazines or even articles.  I have already been an Audible member for a number of years, listening to audio books on commute to work each day. Since, I got my iPad, I read almost all of magazine and scholarly articles on it. I actually think that the iPad has increased my reading because I can now read in bed without worrying about waking my wife.

I do not the think the format of the book matters. Reading is reading. My sister-law would argue with me that listening to audio books is not reading. Perhaps in its purest form it is not, but it is still connected to the ancient tradition of oral histories and storytelling. As long the reader is able to enjoy the story or the article, then the purpose has been met.

As a writer who hopes to have his novel(s) published some day, should I be bothered by the recent numbers published the Association of American Publishers that e-book market growth increased by over 200% and audio books increased by over 30%?  I don't think so. I view that as an opportunity to reach more people.  I know that some have concerns with piracy issues and I will address that further in another post. I know one thing, if my mom who has bookshelves upon bookshelves of books, is ready to transition to an e-reader, those numbers are only the beginning.