Official Weigh In:

315 Lbs

35.1 % Body Fat

After a solid week of working out, and eating well, I had a bit of a miss step this weekend.  As a result of a few unplanned outings with my family, I spent two days completely off of what has become my normal eating pattern. 

Saturday morning, I helped with my mom’s PT, and then visited both washes.  It was a busy day at the washes but, we were fully staffed, and the uncooperative patient was in dire need of fresh air, so we took a trip with my sister, father, mother, brother-in law, and two nieces out to the Eastern Shore.  What started as a trip to get some crabs near the waterfront turned into a long day of driving and eating. 

If you have never had blue crabs, it’s a must do when visiting Maryland.   You would never think a creature which sustains itself primarily on the detritus of the ocean floor, can produce meat which is both savory and a touch sweet.  This region was once the largest producer of blue crabs in the country, but over fishing, and environmental factors directly linked to the large number of Maryland chicken farms has caused the blue crab to become a scarce commodity.  Most of the blue crabs eaten are now farmed off the shores of North Carolina, Texas, and New Orleans.  In any case when visiting Maryland it’s a part of the culture and must do experience.

The problem with the blue crab is that it has short thin legs, and the bulk of the meat is in the body.  The inner part of the body is broken up into multiple chambers, so extracting the meat is a practiced venture, part of the fun of going to eat with a newbie is watching them try to figure a way to get at the meat.  You will watch people slam their mallets on the body, and have crab juice and shell fragments fly across the room.   

If my mother had a last meal I’m sure it would be Blue Crabs, and Kimchi.  After the lunch we took a short ride to the Queenstown Outlets where my sister and mother picked up a few things.  The blue crabs are topped with a seasoning called Old Bay which is very salty, and will coat your hands when eating these crabs.  From the high sodium intake I was pounding water continuously after lunch.

I think I might have been dehydrated because I started having headaches.  It was fun for me to enter the Addidas store and actually find something I could buy which I will be able to wear in a matter of weeks.  I purchased a number of t-shirts, and shorts for my workouts.  I can buy sometimes now in normal stores, it’s perhaps a comment on the changing state of the American waistline, because as a kid you could never find 2xl in a store, but today it’s in almost every retail chain.

The outlet trip was short, at this point my brother-in law took my nieces back home, and we took a short drive to Dover Downs Casino, and played for a couple of hours.  I don’t know who benefited more my sister, or my mother. 

We had dinner at the Casino, the buffet at Dover Downs sucks; it’s like an Old Country Buffet for the Beverly Hillbillies.  A poor attempt to produce a high class buffet.  I found it hard to make good choices, even the salad bar was a mess, and they had premade salads with dressing already tossed into the greens.  It was more like dressing with a side of greens. 

The drive home was long, and we didn’t’ arrive back in Virginia until near midnight.  I decided to sleep at my parent’s house, and head to work the next day from their place.  In the morning I had a Korean Breakfast, with only a scoop full of brown rice, not exactly the breakfast I have been eating. 

For lunch I ended up eating with my family at another Korean Restaurant, where we ate pork belly in a lettuce wrap type meal.  It was oh so good, but again different from my recent meals.  It was at this lunch my mother reminded us of my parent’s 44^th wedding anniversary.  FUCK, another dinner at a restaurant. 

We had dinner at 4 Sisters in Falls Church, VA it’s a Vietnamese Restaurant very different from what you are used to, picture PF Changs atmosphere, yet authentic Vietnamese food.  At dinner we ordered several dishes including a mango salad which is awesome, they julienne green mangos like noodles, and use a subtle sauce which is enhanced by the pork in the dish. 

Following the dinner I was concerned about how my weekend would cost me all the work I put in during the week.  When I weighed in this morning I was surprised to find that I hadn’t gained any weight. 

It has bolstered my confidence that I am making the right choices, and portion controlling my meals even when it feels like I’m falling off of a food cliff.  I just hope I don’t forget where the line is drawn.

This next week I am going to use it as a recovery week.  I have no plans to lift except for Wednesday.  I do plan on getting in Cardio workouts Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Wednesday I am going to keep my regular workout schedule of Cross-Fit, PT with Ali, and my Core class. 

I am hoping by next Monday I will feel like the tank is full again.  It’s frustrating at the end of a workout not having that reserve that I can dig into to finish the workout stronger than I started it.

It’s a good feeling to get below 320, but 300 is right around the corner.  When I get below 300 I almost feel like I need a small victory party.  I just hope I can get there before the end of June.   Progress is being made, so I am happy, but I realize I am going to have to evolve my plan into something more sustainable over the long term.