Day 16: Monday November 14

Weight: 193.6
Energy: excellent
Breakfast: oatmeal and raspberries
Lunch: leftover chicken taco
Dinner: perch poached in tomato, olive oil and fennel
Cravings: bacon cheeseburger
Superpowers: nil
Notes: Surprised that it took me this long to crave a bacon cheeseburger.  Coarsely ground meat.  A nice thick patty.  Just a touch above medium rare.  Old cheddar and homemade hickory smoked bacon with a slice of good dill pickle.  Mint tea and rice crackers... also nice.  A bit upset about the weight regain, but we’ll see what tomorrow brings.  Damned chicken tacos probably didn’t help.

Day 15 Video

Day 15: Sunday November 13

Weight: 193
Energy: tired
Breakfast: oatmeal and raspberries
Lunch: leftover chicken taco
Dinner: shrimp pasta with basil and lime
Cravings: wine and cheese... and peperoni sticks
Superpowers: I can see right through potato chips.
Notes: The baby is sleeping.  My wife is out with the girls.  There are at least eight bottles of wine in the house.  There are two tubs of ice cream in the freezer.  There are a dozen pizza places within a one mile radius of my home.  I am sipping herbal tea, trying to see how long I can make seven dried apricots last, and not watching Sunday night football.  

Day 14: Saturday November 12

Weight: 193
Energy: excellent
Breakfast: toast and jam
Lunch: leftover eggplant
Dinner: chicken soft tacos with tomato, onion, cilantro and lime
Cravings: chicken soft tacos with tomato, onion, cilantro and lime
Superpowers: None?  WTF?  Who’s got the kryptonite
Notes: 2 weeks in!  4 pounds down!  
Tonight’s dinner was a good demonstration that I can still eat things I really like.  If I was stuck on a desert island with just 5 ingredients, I might very well choose chicken, tomato, onion, cilantro and lime.  This experiment isn't (thankfully) all about self-inflicted suffering.  Sure it’s mostly about that, but every tummy deserves a smile once in a while.  Unfortunately, I learned that the large whole wheat tortillas I like contain 190 calories each.  Sorry tummy, that’s all you get for now.  No wonder nobody ever loses weight eating wraps.  69 calories in a slice of commercial whole wheat bread.

Day 13: Friday November 11

Weight: 193.2 (holding steady)
Energy: moderately tired
Breakfast: oatmeal, raspberries and blueberries
Lunch: carrot-ginger soup
Dinner: breaded eggplant with tomato basil sauce
Cravings: Wine - why did I not move all these bottles of wine out of the house before the experiment?
Superpowers: Super bread-baking ability
Notes: Homemade bread is to me what Batman’s utility belt is to him - the deus ex machina solution to all my problems.  I look forward to making it.  It keeps my hands busy.  I lose myself in it. I enjoy the smell of it.  My mood rises with it.  And boy do I like eating it.  Today I produced two of the best loaves I’ve ever made.  The wife and I have just about finished one of them already.  When you are allowed to eat homemade bread, who cares what you are not allowed?

Day 12 Video

Day 12: Thursday November 10

Weight: 193.2
Energy: excellent
Breakfast: oatmeal and raspberries
Lunch: salad - I’m one of those people now
Dinner: pan fried sole, potatoes, peas
Cravings: None.
Superpowers: Positivity
Notes: 3 days in a row of weight loss.  Almost 4 pounds in 12 days, which seems like a very healthy amount.  And 2 days in a row of no cravings.  I’m in a great mood, even with my job kind of sucking right now and the baby having croup.  The baby is also in a great mood, despite sporadic coughing fits.  If my little monkey can smile through that, surely I can smile through this.  Maybe getting past day 10 put me over the hump.

Day 11: Wednesday November 9

Weight: 193.6
Energy: average
Breakfast: oatmeal and raspberries
Lunch: leftover chicken curry
Dinner: scrambled eggs and toast
Cravings: None.  Really, none.
Superpowers: None.  Sadly, none.
Notes: My weight is moving in the right direction.  2 days in a row of good losses.  Perfect time to torture myself with some food porn.  This was the last meal I ate before starting this experiment. Those are strip steaks. The baked ball on each plate is a knish filled with smoked meat hash. There is a god, and he loves us.

Day 10: Tuesday November 8

Weight: 194.6
Energy: average
Breakfast: oatmeal and raspberries
Lunch: leftover pasta
Dinner: curried chicken and veg
Cravings: A lazy night in front of the TV with my wife, the dog, the baby monitor and a bottle of wine
Superpowers: Is tiredness a superpower?  Criminals beware!  Overwhelming Fatigue Man is on the scene.  He turns kidnappers into cat nappers.  He made the forty thieves catch some Zs. He...oh wait... he fell asleep again.
Notes: 30 days is too much.  Every day of the monkey chow diaries was worse than this, but there were only 7 days.  I know there are lots of people in far worse situations than me, and my circumstances are entirely self imposed.  I could quit at any time.  And that`s what makes this so hard.  People in terrible situations endure because they have to.  I don`t have to.  And yet, so far, I am.  $750 is a lot of money.

Day 9 Video

Day 9: Monday November 7

Weight: 196
Energy: average
Breakfast: oatmeal and raspberries
Lunch: leftover elk, potatoes, fruit salad
Dinner: whole wheat pasta in homemade tomato sauce
Cravings: quitting
Superpowers: Hulk-like rage without the physical strength (boo!) or torn pants (yay!)  
Notes: It’s getting difficult.  An unpleasant day at work.  Some minor annoyances at home.  Sleep schedule affected by the time change.  I suspect the stress of these is causing me to crave booze, TV and fatty snacks.  But it’s entirely plausible that the lack of booze, TV and fatty snacks is making these problems more stressful than they would ordinarily be.  We have some serious chicken and egg stuff going on here.  This is the first day I have wanted to give up on quitting.

Day 8: Sunday November 6

Weight: 196.4
Energy: excellent
Breakfast: bread and jam
Lunch: just kind of picked at some leftovers
Dinner: elk steak, garlic mashed potatoes and squash
Cravings: red wine please
Superpowers: Time travel - I leaped an entire hour into the past   
Notes: Time travel must have messed up my metabolism, because I put a pound back on.  It looks like if I want this project to have any kind of weight loss component I’m going to have to put some effort in.  On an unrelated note, I’m very thankful that I specified beef and pork on the big list rather than banning all red meat.  Elk is delicious.  It completely satisfied my steak craving, but with only 0.9% fat (less than turkey, antelope or squirrel).  Cooked rare, it came out very tender and tasting much like grass fed beef.  And at the absurd prices the guy at the farmer’s market charges, I could only afford a small portion. P.S. The Packer covered the spread - karma owes me $10.

Day 7: Saturday November 5

Weight: 195.4
Energy: excellent
Breakfast: oatmeal with raspberries
Lunch: Vegetarian buffet
Dinner: leftover stirfry, canned salmon on homemade bread
Cravings: was operating power tools in the garage and felt naked without a beer
Superpowers: None - in fact I’m so weak I got robbed by dirty hippies.   
Notes: Well maybe not robbed exactly.  Today was my first time in a vegetarian restaurant.  Buffet style, charged by weight of food.  It was actually pretty tasty, but $15 for a plate of vegetables is a hose job.  Also way too many cold items on the buffet.  Do vegans not eat warmth?  And I had to clear my own plate. Hippies are cold-hearted penny-pinching businessmen in disguise!

Day 6 video

Day 6: Friday November 4

Weight: 195.2
Energy: excellent
Breakfast: applesauce, an orange
Lunch: leftover daal, pita, carrot and celery sticks
Dinner: stir fried noodles, beans and veg (eggplant, carrot, celery, broccoli, green pepper,onion) with garlic and sesame oil
Cravings: Would love to get some money on the Packers at -5.5 with the Chargers coming off a short week.  
Superpowers: I can see the future.  But only this one football game.  
Notes: 2 days in a row of veganism.  Good grief, am I going to turn pasty white and frail?  Well I started out quite beefy, so a little more frail would be ok.  As for pasty white, we’re heading into a Canadian winter, so at least I won’t be alone.

Day 5: Thursday November 3

Weight: 196.8
Energy: excellent
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: avocado sandwich with lettuce, tomato and sunflower seeds
Dinner: daal with rice and pita
Cravings: hot dog
Superpowers: pretty sure I could make a gallon of beer disappear right now. Is that a super power?
Notes: 196.8? What the hell?  But I feel better than I weigh. Perhaps it was that fantastic sandwich from the hippy bakery today. Say what you want about hippies, but they make a damn fine vegan sandwich.  The hippies just might be my secret weapon in this endeavor. Although my dinner as excellent too. I whipped up some lentils and topped it off with my proprietary Green Chili Death Paste (pureed hot finger chilies, ginger, garlic and cilantro).

Day 4: Wednesday November 2

Weight: 196.6
Energy: excellent
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: sushi, apple, chamomile tea,
Dinner: leftover vegetarian chili with organic whole wheat baguette from the hippy bakery
Cravings: The Ultimate Fighter Season 14
Superpowers: none
Notes: My weight is moving in the right direction.  I’m feeling great.  There might be something to this clean living business after all.  That said, Wednesday is usually my night to stay up late with beer and jalapeno chips watching cage fighting.  Reading with chamomile tea and unsalted almonds before turning in at 9:30 is an unsatisfying substitute.

Day 3 Video

Day 3: Tuesday November 1

Weight: 197.8
Energy: better than average
Breakfast: oatmeal with almond milk
Lunch: leftover grilled eggplant peppers and onions, carrot sticks, apple
Dinner: vegetarian chili with flax bread toast
Cravings: wine
Superpowers: none
Notes: Well no weight loss yet, which is mildly disappointing.  I suspect that proper hydration counts for some of the small weight gain. I'm drinking lots of chamomile tea and water. I feel pretty good, and no crippling cravings. I'm now a believer that if you are just going to make your chili with ground beef (instead of proper bites of steak), you might as well go vegetarian.

Day 2: Monday October 31

Weight: 197.4
Energy: moderate
Breakfast: oatmeal with raspberries
Lunch: sandwich of grilled eggplant peppers and onions, carrot sticks, chamomile tea
Dinner: leftover fish soup with garlic bread (olive oil), orange juice
Cravings: rockets, the crack cocaine of Halloween candy
Superpowers: none
Notes: So Halloween is a pretty cruel time to be on a diet.  In my own home I’ve walked by a giant bowl of candy about 30 times. But I haven’t faltered yet, and it’s already close to the end of Day 2.  Just 28 more days! Monday Night Football, I miss you already.

Day 1: Sunday Oct 30

Weight: 197
Energy: moderate
Breakfast: apple, homemade rye bread
Lunch: homemade rye bread, a carrot, almond milk and raspberry smoothie
Dinner: Fish soup (smoked mackerel, potato, carrot, spinach, onion, garlic)

Snacks: Chamomile tea

Cravings: NFL
Superpowers: none
Notes: I baked the bread yesterday afternoon, which is why I’m eating so much of it.  I know some people are down on wheat, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that homemade bread is bad for me.

Video: Day 1

Going Cold Turkey

I am quitting all of the following things for 30 days.

• hamburgers
• hotdogs
• french fries
• onion rings
• chicken wings
• chicken burgers
• chicken nuggets
• pizza
• beef
• pork
• bacon
• milk (cow)
• cheese (cow)
• yogurt (cow)
• potato chips
• corn chips
• popcorn
• pretzels
• crackerjacks
• candy
• pork rinds
• ice cream
• popsicles
• jerky
• beer
• wine
• liquor
• coffee
• tea (excluding herbal)
• soda pop (excluding soda water)
• illegal drugs
• video games
• internet pornography
• online gambling
• television 
• frozen food that comes in a box
• cookies
• cake
• brownies
• muffins
• tarts
• and pies

The key to sticking to my plan is a cheque, made out to Oprah Winfrey in the amount of $750 dollars.  

The cheque will be given to my good friend Scooby, with instructions to mail it if he can validate any claim that I have breached the terms of my fast.  Many of my family, friends and co-workers know Scooby, and love Oprah, so I will be under constant scrutiny.

I’ve asked Scooby to be fair and use good judgement, noting that this is a test of my willpower rather than a challenge to my friends to screw me over.  Being Rick-rolled with internet pornography won’t result in a default.  Glancing at a TV in a department store or a friends living room won’t result in a default.