Chup Raho!
Mindless ramblings of some guy
Day 16 – 216lbs
Jul 5th
Food Eaten:
2 granola bars
Handful of almonds
3 slices of whole wheat bread stuffed with vegetables (the third slice was eaten later in the day)
1 roll of some Indian crackers
1 slice of processed cheese
~2 servings of pasta (incl. pasta sauce and two tablespoons of olive oil)
~4 nectarines
Exercise:
None
Thoughts:
So today was a pretty laid back day, primarily due to the heat. It was Indian-style temperature (in the mid-40s approximately). I didn’t feel like leaving the comfort of an air conditioner. I’ll probably have to man it out today and fully experience that sun-burn. I know I’ve gain quite a bit of weight (~4lbs since last Thursday, but I have a feeling I should be able to bring it back down with constant exercise. When I’m at home, I tend to eat more than normal, and that’s exactly what happened today. When I’m bored, I eat. So here’s to getting back to routine!
After the Long Weekend – 215lbs
Jul 5th
Let me start off by telling you that anyone who goes on vacation to a world-class destination (i.e. not the heat-stricken rural areas of India), is bound to gain weight. That might not be a universal reality, but I’d like to assume it is. Taking that into consideration, I did gain quite a bit of weight on my four days and three nights mini-vacation to NYC. We ate at some pretty good restaurants, and enjoyed an amazing breakfast each morning. Clearly there was no exercise and even our walking was cut short due to our time constraint and the amazing NYC subway system. This week I intend to jump back on the bandwagon and continue to lower my weight.
Day 15 – 212lbs
Jun 30th
Food eaten:
2 slices of whole wheat bread with vegetables
2 granola bars
Handful of almonds
1 chicken shawarma
Exercise:
65 minutes on an elliptical
Thoughts:
Today was a light day in terms of quantity, but I felt the shawarma might have been too oily. I was shocked at the price as well. I’ve been a long time fan of Paramount Fine Foods, located in Mississauga, because their offerings have never disappointed me. They’re reasonably prices and taste great. However, after today’s visit (haven’t been there in a long time), learnt that they jacked the price of one shawarma to about $7 including tax. A rip off if I’ve ever heard of one. Average street price is anywhere from $4 to $5. $7 is too much for a sandwich in my opinion, especially for fast food. So because it felt like it was layered in oil, I cut back on other items that I usually eat.
Now I probably won’t be leaving posts over the next four days because I’m heading out of town. Road trips are never good for the stomach, so lets see how I weigh once I return. Talk to you soon!
Day 14 – 213lbs
Jun 28th
Food Eaten:
2 granola bars
Handful of almonds
2 slices of whole wheat bread with vegetables filled in
Assortment of cherries, strawberries and nectarines
1 bowl of channa ki daal aur lauki (losely translated – lentils with squash)
1.5 whole wheat pita
Exercise:
1 hour on the elliptical
Thoughts:
Today was another good day. The food consumption was regulated, however the workout was slightly labourous. I had to help my dad fix a leak in our washing machine, which required installing a new part. This delayed my outing to the gym by a good hour to an hour and a half. The workout was really killing my knees, but I grinded my way through it. Here’s to hoping that tomorrow isn’t the same.
Day 13 – 216lbs
Jun 27th
Foods Eaten:
2 slices of whole wheat bread with vegetables
1 packet of instant oatmeal
2 seekh kabobs (Mughal/Indian)
1 regular size plate of 3 spoons of ladyfingers, 1 large spoon of lentils, ~1 scrambled egg
2 whole wheat pitas
Mix of oranges, apples and cucumbers.
Exercise:
65 minutes on the elliptical
Thoughts:
Today was a big day for eating. My dad was in the mood to cook some seekh kabobs from the meat that he bought earlier this week. Who am I to say no to kabobs? They weren’t exactly delicious, but the chutney that I had along with it really kicked it up a notch. We usually have something fresh for dinner, and mom wanted to make something light; but my dad wanted to finish up all the leftovers that have been building in the fridge, so that’s why I can a thali (assortment) of vegetable dishes. I was slightly stuffed by the end of the day, but I don’t see it being an obstacle in my weight loss plan. Weekends are always tough.
Day 12 – 217lbs
Jun 26th
Foods Eaten:
1 packet of instant oatmeal
2 slices of whole wheat bread filled with vegetables
4 types of fruit
1 plate (~2 servings) of Thai spicy basil noodles with vegetables
Exercise:
1 hour of intense squash
Thoughts:
The noodles’ portion size was much more than I thought I would receive; but that’s what you get when you eat in a restaurant. It was probably jam packed with oil as it is. Once in a while isn’t a crime 
Aside from that, the day went by pretty well.
Day 11 – 216lbs
Jun 25th
Foods Eaten:
2 granola bars
1 handful of almonds
An assortment of fruit
1 large bowl of mom’s lentils
1 whole wheat pita
Exercise:
1 hour on the elliptical
Thoughts:
Today was a good day overall. Got a good workout on the elliptical. I think I’m going to transition to it for my cardio going forward. My calves start to ache when a run a lot, but the same effect isn’t there when I’m using the elliptical. Maybe I’ll switch back with time, but for right now the elliptical seems like a good choice. The food was traditional and it was good. No complaints.
Day 10 – 216lbs
Jun 24th
Foods Eaten:
2 granola bars
1 handful of almonds
2 slices of whole wheat bread with vegetables stuff in
2 large nectarines
1 large navel orange (very unsweet)
~20 lychee
1 normal size plate of chicken biryani
Exercise:
1 hour of basketball
Thoughts:
I’m only human – how could I resist my mom’s chicken biryani. I could actually feel/see the amount of oil on the chicken, but it was irresistible. I’m trying to control myself though, which is still good. Usually I would have gone for seconds, but portion control is the name of the game. Aside from that, food was normal as usual. My calves/knees were actually killing me today when I was playing ball; I wasn’t able to jump as much and when I did I felt the pain shoot through my legs which made me miss nearly all of my shots. It’s not as if I’m a superstar at basketball, or even any good, but c’mon, it’s pretty pathetic if I can’t even get one shot in, in over 20 minutes of play. Ridiculous. Hopefully the pain goes away tomorrow – I’m going to take some painkillers with me, just in case.
Day 9 – 216lbs
Jun 23rd
Foods Eaten:
2 granola bars
1 large nectarine
1 large navel oranges
2 slices of white bread with vegetables stuffed inside
1 handful of almonds
~20 lychee
1 large bowl of my own stir fried vegetables (1 tomato, 1 green pepper, 1/2 onion, 10 florets of cauliflower with 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce & 1 tablespoon of olive oil)
Exercise:
45 minutes of a fast pace squash game
Thoughts:
Weight is slowly reducing. I can see the difference in my face. The rest of the face always follow suit. The portion of my dinner I think was just; compared to yesterday’s definite large portion. For tomorrow, my mom’s made some lentils for me again, so I don’t have to worry about burning my food… No one said I was an expert cook 
Day 8 – 221lbs
Jun 22nd
Foods Eaten:
2 granola bars
1 packet of oatmeal
2 large navel oranges
2 slices of white bread with vegetables stuffed in
1 large nectarine
1/2 handful of almonds
2 servings of pasta
Exercise:
1.5 hour of squash (7 games – not wholeheartedly though due to dinner)
Thoughts:
Dinner was obviously too much. I prepared it myself, but I overshot the serving size because it didn’t look big enough in the cooking pot. For next time, I’ll remember to use a glass rather than a cup The large portion, and the fact that it was made one hour before my workout, definitely decreased my quick response time during squash – I was pretty much laggard the whole game; picking up in the final two (of seven) games. I guess the ‘itis much have been wearing off by that point. My mom made achaar chicken with rice today. It is one of my favorites of her cooking, but the only problem is that the amount of oil involved in home cooking is outrageous. Once I opened the pot, on one side was the chicken and on the other was a mix of oil/water/masala. It wasn’t a pretty picture; even on the chicken I could see a thick layer of oil. I’ve made it sound unappetizing, but if you were to see/taste it yourself, you probably wouldn’t be able to resist it. Either way, I stayed away from it, yet I overate with the pasta. The plan for tomorrow is to eat something light for dinner. Perhaps stir-fried vegetables.