I have beer in my shoe. Plug your ears Part 2

There are worse places to be than Montreal on a Saturday night. Especially Place Jaques Cartier.

Lunch:
espresso, caesar salad with smoked salmon, Unibroue Blonde, and a glass of Toscana red wine.

Dinner:
Salmon Lasagna absolutely smothered in cream sauce and melted cheese. 2 bottles of Boreal Rouse, a glass of Argentinian red, two whole grain buns with butter. Absolutely yummy.

The lasagna was fantastic but I'd be lying if I was to say my favourite carb-loading material was anything other than beer. Dangerous territory I know. AND I will admit the evening before the biggest race of my year I drank wayyyyyyy too much of it.

The amount of calories does not even beg to be questioned, it's high and I hope to burn them off soon enough. But I'm not willing to contemplate all the implications at this point.

Post dinner I managed to catch one of Montreal's cultural phenomenon: M Festival. Local Montreal bands rocking out for free on the river-front. Here's the catch: bands that DON'T SUCK. One of the wonderful ladies working at the restaurant was able to tell me about the concert before I left. I am forever greatful and can never forget her smile. I enjoyed the concert immensely.

I caught the tail end of some random band in lab coats, they were...meh. But afterward:
I had a beer. * Please note that all beers from here on in are TALL cans of Sapporo. They were only selling tall cans the very concept alone is near and dear to me. But $6 each, at a concert. Honestly I was happily surprised as I would expect to pay more for a tall can of something not urine-based at something like this.

Also note that beer on average is about 75 calories per 200ml. I drank a weeeeeee bit more than that.

The bands:
Winter Gloves, scrawny metrosexual college boys boys wanting to be Weezer flashed-back ala 1985 but coming off more as Goat Punisher with more balls. They were energetic and fun. I dig.
Afterward:
I had a beer.

Days Months Years, the only non-Montreal band, from Toronto which "oddly" solicited a level of initial boo-ing until they actually started playing. They were a spastic celebration of everything cathartic and dyscordant in music and in desperate need of ritalin. Pink Floyd with more metal and techno. Vocals weren't sung so much as embelished as any other instrument, they were simply there adding to the din. Every member of the band save the bassist swapped instruments throughout the show showing their versatility. I dig.
Afterward:
I had a beer.

Some Random Cock-Metal-Hair-Metal-Big-Metal band, they were fun, no name was given in english that I could discern, no need to. The singer was wearing all leather and had his fly down on his leather pants and wearing a sleeveless shirt under his leather saying "Wolf Fucker", smashed open a can of beer on his head soaking his long hair-metal hair and proceeded to sing hair-metal like I'd never heard before. I dig. AND I don't even like hair-metal.
Afterward:
I had a beer.

Priestess: evidently a local headbanging favourite that not being from Mon-ree-ALL I'd never heard of before. The crowd was up in arms almost immediately singing along. The bassist from previous cock-metal/hair-metal band I think, well at least appeared to be the lead guitarist/singer of Priestess...though I could be wrong. Much headbanging ensued and I had a blast in the pit. Moshing and giving the "rawr" devil sign with complete random strangers as only a metal concert allows. I highly dig.

I did not have another beer. I had run out of cash.

Closing out the night the mighty rockers Voivod. They were fun. A bunch of old fat guys doing what they do best, and it was good.

Voivod, who I've heard of but not properly heard ... evidently are old Montreal legends and even speak to having Jason (who replaced the late and infinitely awesome Cliff Burton in Metallica) Newsted as past-bassist/producer and I was evidently watching history making itself and didn't realize it until now. Jason Newsted wasn't there but Voivod was still on form.

I regret nothing. The enormity of what faces me in less that 9 hours is not lost upon me especially now that my neck and every other part of me aches beyond belief.

Now it's midnight and I have to run off this f***'n salmon lasagna and numerous beers off in the morning for 42.2 F***'n kilometres. Holy hell.

If there was ever a better example of my old saying as there was now, I could not have imagined:

Eat and drink whatever the hell you want, just be prepared to work it off.

I'd dropped that one on Flocons numerous times over the years. Well now I'm about to eat my own words. I regret nothing. Least of all Montreal on a Saturday night.

What does 200 calories look like?

A complete visual depiction of 200 calories worth of various foods can be found here.

On a diet of roughly 1300 calories per day, I can choose from about six and a half of these items.

Possible menu du jour:

• 60 g of Corn Bran Cereal
• 333 ml of milk
• 3 eggs (150 g)
• 1425 g of celery
• half of a sesame seed bagel (70 g)
• 60 ml of Bailey's Irish Cream
• 25 g of Splenda

Le cry.

Master Mung Cleanse: By the Numbers

Like most things in life, putting numbers into a graphical form makes them better. Hey! Stop! Come back here! Really, it's true. And it's interesting. Check it out.

Calories consumed during the kichadi fast compared to calories burned due to basal metabolism.

As you can see, the kichadi fast was very effective in moderating my food intake, restricting my caloric intake to what is probably dangerous levels. From these numbers, I would have burned ~8800 calories more than I consumed during that week. This equates to approximately 2.5 lbs.

And yet, no weight loss? Or rather, only 0.5 lb of weight loss?

This leads to the question, is there an explanation for this discrepancy, or I am just full of shit? To answer this, I turn to the awesome power of graphs.

Excitement level and death wish with progression of the kichadi fast. Additionally, days since the last bowel movement (BM) are indicated.

There are a few major conclusions to be drawn from this graph. First, I do not like kichadi and mung. I do not like them, Sam-I-Sung. Second, over time I recognized that the pain of starvation was far preferable to the pain of eating kichadi. And thirdly, kichadi, as prepared, most definitely did not lead to more frequent pooing. As you can see, by the end of the competition, it had been 4 days since my last deposit.

In actuality, it turns out that the answer to the question posed above is both: there is an explanation, that being I *was* full of shit!

As such, any failure to lose weight can be attributed to this side-effect, and potentially to differences in water weight between our infrequent weight measurements.

Kichadi works. Believe in kichadi. You will lose weight. But you will also cry. Trust me. :(

On an important note, I would like to thank the Story Master for her support through this past week of pain. The kichadi fast had many upsides, including a great test of willpower, and a chance to examine my food-related desires in a more critical way.

I would even recommend it as a viable diet option for those with strong willpower and a large surplus of tissue paper (for crying, not pooing, obviously!).

...

Random boring (non-graphical) numbers:

Calories per cup of basmati rice (pre-cooking volumes): 600
Calories per cup of mung beans: 220
Calories per tablespoon of olive oil: 130
My basal metabolic rate: 2200 calories/day

200: This is Sparta!

I am close... so close to being less than 200 pounds for the first time in a long time. At some point between leaving university and the entering the working world, I my weight crossed into the 200+ zone, and I have never gone back.

As it stands right now, I am a little over half a pound over this threshold. Since Thinspiration XXL began, it seemed like a demonstration of Zeno's Paradox. I've gradually get closer and closer... but the ultimate goal remains elusive. Royal Pinguo has been kicking my ass to reach this goal. (Kicking my ass out of love, I'm sure.) To be so close to achieving my goal, and not to make it would be shameful and heartbreaking. The Wii Fit tells me that I'm still overweight, but thankfully well out of the obese range.

In the week ahead, I will face the weight-watcher's ultimate test. The Burlington RibFest! I must control myself in the heartland of gluttony. How terrible this is... I just want to binge eat those delicious ribs. But my goal is so close at hand. What to do? What to do?

Is it really harder for women to lose weight?

Before

After

Yes, it is.

Master Mung Cleanse: Mung Out to Dry, Day 7

Day 7: Tuesday

So long, kichadi!

Comments: The final day of kichadi. I started the day with a bland and flavorless meal of kichadi, forcing myself to stomach a whole meal in one sitting. I weighed in. And then I almost immediately began stuffing my face with cookies. Dinner was healthier, but decidedly delicious.

My goals: 1) To poo. I failed. Again. 2) To use the spices in kichadi to make something tasty, but not so rich that my poor digestive system will make me regret it for days.

Food choice: (Before weigh-in) Kichadi. (After weigh-in) Cookies; potato curry (recipe below); cheddar garden salad.

Total kichadi prepared: 1 cup of rice (pre-cooking measurements); 0.5 cup of mung bean

Total Kichadi eaten: 100%

Beverage choices: Many glasses of water, Master Cleanse (minus maple syrup).

General feelings about life post kichadi meal: Jubilant. This is almost over!

Excitement level regarding eating kichadi (0-10; 0 = revolted, 10 = too much Botox): 1

Likelihood that I would rather starve than eat kichadi (0-10; 0 = never, 10 = kill me now): 8

Side-effects of meal: Mild dizziness; dehydration; failure to poo

Days without pooing: 4

Food related dreams or fantasies: Not eating kichadi was the only dream I entertained, and it came true.

Occurrences of note: Still no bowel movements. After 4 days!

Weight before kichadi diet: 166.4 lbs
Weight after kichadi diet: 165.9 lbs

Conclusions (more to follow in a subsequent post): The diet appears not to have been very successful on a numerical level. However, the constipation endured as part of the kichadi fast likely factors into this equation. Anecdotally, numerous individuals with no ties to one another have informed me that I look like I've lost a noticeable amount of weight in the last few days. Stay tuned for the next weigh-in!

....

"Kichadi recovery" Potato curry (very mild):
Makes 4 servings
Calories/serving: ~550

Ingredients:

- 2 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp tumeric
- 2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 4 tbsp olive oil (tastier alternative: ghee)
- 1 jalapeno, finely diced (alternative: 1 tbsp cayenne)
- 6 medium sized white potatoes, peeled and cut into strips or cubes ~0.5 inch thick
- 3 cups water (tastier alternative: vegetable stock)
- 1 cup coconut milk (healthier alternative: low fat plain yogurt)
- 2 cups frozen peas
- salt to taste

Preparation:

Saute dry spices and jalapeno on medium heat in oil until spices brown (~1-2 minutes).
Add potatoes and mix thoroughly to cover with spices.
Cook ~10 minutes with frequent mixing.
Add water and simmer over low-medium heat until potatoes are soft (~30 minutes).
Add peas and coconut milk and heat until cooked (~5 minutes).

*Adapted from similar recipe listed on Allrecipes.com.

Challenge #2 conclusion: diets don't work

Based on our scientific study, Challenge #2: Money to Burn, diets do not produce exciting results for possible anorexics. Just look at those weigh-in results!

My Liquid Diet-cum-SlimFast 3-2-1 Plan would have been more effective if I had actually stuck with it consistently. I found myself in restaurants where they served delicious food in large portions, and I could not safely carry leftovers while riding my bike, so I carried it in the safest place possible (pats belly). Yet, my weight did not fluctuate as wildly as usual in between weigh-ins, and I attribute this to the predictable caloric intake of my diet.

While the meal replacement shakes make me look like a dieting idiot at work, but I am won over by its convenience. I did not have to rummage through the fridge each morning to combine tofu/chick peas/egg with whatever vegetable mix was in the freezer. The meal replacement shakes are also quick and easy to consume. It helps that I can drink chocolate meal replacement shakes day after day without gagging.

I will continue my Challenge #2 diet until the meal replacement shakes run out, and then maybe I'll buy some more. With the finale of Thinspiration XXL looming, I will need every gimmick that I can use.

Fatty Weigh-in: Week 9

Competitor	Current Weight	Tally	Total
celestialspeedster	120 lbs	- 0 lb	- 9 lbs ( - 7.0%)
Doctor Cook	166 lbs	- 0 lb	- 14 lbs ( - 7.8%)
Flocons	201 lbs	- 2 lbs	- 11 lbs ( - 5.2%)
Opiate	175 lbs	- 0 lb	- 8 lbs ( - 4.4%)
Royal Pinguo	137 lbs	- 5 lbs	- 7 lbs ( - 4.9%)
Thorn	168 lbs	- 0 lb	- 8 lbs ( - 4.5%)

Special K Everything & Then Some Day 7 (Wednesday)

Through my entire life "Wednesday" is one of those nonsensically arranged words I've just never been able to spell. When writing, I scribble. When typing, I mash the keyboard and hope for spell-check to do it's job.

Marathon Status Update:
Weather: Sunday forecast in Montreal is a high of 17c (good!!) but with 40% humidity (not good!!).

Re-experiencing cycling through the humidity this week has left me feeling ill and squishy. Precisely the kind of weather I hate. It saps any energy from my muscles and air from the lungs, leaves me feeling like I've got lead weights bolted to my skin, and my mind a hazy mess more so than a typical day.

When I'm hallucinating around 25-30k on Sunday, I'll be sure to say hi to FISH for everyone.

Survival Outlook: BLEAK. Unless the weather changes. I can stubbornly muddle through a lot of things but running 42km in 40% or more humidity is like kryptonite.

Breakfast:

• Special K in skim milk (regular 1 1/4 cup serving)
• OJ 200ml
• 2 special k bars
• apple buttermilk muffin with blackberry jam
  

Lunch:

• sandwich (standard build, bacon instead of salami this time)
• tangerine/peach in syrup mix
• green tea
• OJ 200ml

Dinner:

• meat ravioli with my weird tomato sauce
• steamed veggies
• OJ
  
• bacon
  

Exercise:

• 16km cycling
• too damn humid to do anything else
  

Master Mung Cleanse: Mung and dung, Day 6

Day 6: Tuesday


Comments: The second last day of kichadi. I feel terrible. The kichadi of the day is slightly too old. It is starting to smell. This should deter me from eating it for lunch. Yet it doesn't. Slightly expired kichadi has a unique flavor that I find myself unable to resist. That and I'm starving. At dinner, it is too expired, and I refrain from eating.

My goal: To poo. I failed.

Food choice: Day old microwaved kichadi, with mung beans. Slightly expired by lunch. Very expired by dinner.

Total old slightly expired kichadi remaining: ~1 cup of rice (pre-cooking measurements); 0.5 cup of mung bean

Total Kichadi eaten: 50%

Beverage choices: Many glasses of water, Indian Spice herbal tea, Master Cleanse scares me today.

General feelings about life post meals: Optimistic. It will be over soon.

Excitement level regarding eating kichadi (0-10; 0 = revolted, 10 = too much Botox): 4 (lunch); 0 (dinner)

Likelihood that I would rather starve than eat kichadi (0-10; 0 = never, 10 = kill me now): 6 (lunch); 10 (dinner)

Side-effects of meal: Mild headache; terrible digestive issues; failure to poo

Days without pooing: 3

Food related dreams or fantasies: Continued perusal of the internet for delicious recipes. I crave indian food, though indian food that is delicious. Potato curry may be prepared on Wednesday, for consumption at 12:01am Thursday. Otherwise, nothing too unusual.

Occurrences of note: Still no bowel movements. However, I woke numerous times in the night feeling like "this was the time". It was always a lie.

Lessons to children: 1) Refridgerate food overnight. 2) Kichadi fasts are for grown-ups. 3) Cigarettes may be smooth and delicious and make you feel super cool, but wait until you're at least 14 to sneak behind the school and smoke one that you found on your brothers desk between you and 8 friends.

Special K Diet: Kelloggs vs. Kashi vs. Chicken Wings

I spent this past weekend preparing for my friend's wedding in Niagara region. Weekends are a tough time to follow diets because we are social and busy. Diets depend on routines, and only the most boring people have a regular routine for their weekends.

I ate terribly (or terribly well in some cases) this weekend. During this fiasco, I was able to finally try Special K bars. In fact, Royal Pinguo and I were stuffing our face with 2 bars each, in between doing wedding-related tasks. Given the choice between eating 10 Kashi crackers or one Special K bar (both 90 calories) I would choose the Special K bar hands down. For a far comparison, I would have to compare Kashi bars with Special K bars, but I haven't bought any Kashi bars yet.

The wedding was beautiful. The meal was Western-style. Normally, I go to Chinese weddings where they serve a filling 10 course meal. This was a sensible 4-course meal of light but high quality food. Phew! Since Royal Pinguo and I were the wedding MC's, we didn't eat as much as we could. We were saddened by this, but at least it was good for Thinspiration XXL.

On the flip side, we spent Monday shopping in the States. We took some time to visit the birthplace of Buffalo chicken wings. It's called The Anchor Bar on 1047 Main St. It was a small place tucked in the middle of nowhere. From these humble beginnings came the coveted pub food that has ruined the diets and figures of many. We sat down and ordered 100 wings. (That is not a typo... 100 wings.) That was shared between 5 people... with the intent on having leftovers. It was neat gone to the Anchor Bar, since it played such a pivotal role in pub food history. The actual chicken wings were nothing special, as I've had better wings elsewhere. I was tempted to go nuts and stuff my face with wings... but I stopped after 12 wings. Thinspiration XXL has taught me about portion control. We now have some leftover wings sitting in our fridge... slowly waiting to be eaten.

Saturday: (Wedding preparation and planning)

• Special K
• MilK
• Toast and jam
• Scrambled eggs
• Beef with pancaKe
• Shredded potato and vinegar
• Steamed porK bun
• Green bean with noodle
• Special K (again)
• MilK
• Nectarines

Sunday: (On the road, and at the wedding)

• Tim Hortons breaKfast sandwich (eww)
• BlacK tea
• Bagel with creme cheese
• Kashi cracKers
• Special K bar
• PumpKin soup
  
• SmoKed salmon appetizer
• Salmon and steak
• Strawberry cheesecaKe
• Lots of wine
  

Monday: (Cross-border shopping)

• PancaKes
• Scrambled eggs
• Sausage
• Iced tea
• ChicKen wings
• Diet CoKe
• Special K
• MilK

Weekend K-count: KKKKK KKKKK KKKKK KKKK

Special Everything Diet Day 6 (Tuesday)

I bought a coconut. Sobey's has them on sale for $1 each right now so I figure I'll try my hand at crackin' the bugger open and see if I'm successful without destroying my counter top or setting off a small thermonuclear milk explosion. Coconuts are healthy right?

Last night I visited the ex. She cut my hair for me so I don't run with a mop on my head come Sunday.

With the visit came the inevitable: BBQ'd Ribs and booze. When asked if I was hungry my rubber arm was tied in a knot. These ribs are an effective Holy Hand Grenade to any diet plan, and I thought I'd made progress working off the weekend's binge. Right.

We drank, we noshed. Her father dropped by in time for the ribs, got to play catch-up, drank some more, then her new beau came home and we had some laughs. Drank some more. Played with the dog. Drank some more.

All through this I learned a very valuable lesson:

That Coke Zero, no matter how attractive I find the models... is terrible in a drink.

My stomach is a churning disaster this morning and I lay the blame solely at the feet of the Coca-Cola company for this truly terrible concoction.

Breakfast:

• 2 bananas
• 1 special k bar
• 1 home made apple buttermilk muffin slathered in home made blackberry jam
• coffee with skim milk and sugar
• orange juice 200ml
  

Lunch:

• 2nd half of jalapeno sub
• orange juice 200ml

Snacks:

• 1 special K bar

Dinner:

• rum and coke
• rum and coke
• rum and coke
• rum and coke
• BBQ ribs
• rum and coke
• rum and coke
• rum and coke

Exercise:

• 24.5km cycling
  

Special Subway Everything : Day 5 (Monday)

I broke down, not due to any desire or urge, but time and hunger duress. I ate Subway, well half a Subway sub, the other is reserved for lunch on Day 6. I really am starting to hate Subway, not the mediocre food so much as the service. Lacking any form of I don't know....service.

The customer is always right?? When? It's sad that we live in a society where the customer always gets treated like crap unless they complain. Things like this happen all over the place, not just at Subway, no wonder I brown bag lunch as much as possible.

I ordered a sub, which you know has "toppings" on it. When the staff behind the counter only put on a few meagre pieces of peppers, onions and jalapeno....that just irks me so I asked politely for a bit more.

When someone orders something the length of their arm it's generally good to put more than 5 pathetic jalapeno or green pepper slivers on it. FIVE!!! I asked for more, got glares of hatred and malice, and smiled back all the while as they loaded it up, cut my super-stuffed footlong, I paid and left. Munched happily on the excess jalapenos especially after the sub exploded in happy spiciness on my desk.

They overloaded it on the jalapeno to the point they could barely wrap it, maybe hoping to punish my stomach for my insolence and were belligerent to me through the rest of the transaction. Little do they know...

It occurred to me how Jared may have lost all that weight: he likely never asked for more of a topping because the staff were rude, made him feel bad (or at least tried to) and glared at him like he was a freak.

Breakfast:

• special k with skim milk (only a normal serving this time)
• 2 special k bars
• green tea

Lunch:

• half of a footlong jalapeno sub that had some other stuff on it too, on a whole grain bun
  
• orange juice 200ml
  

Dinner:

• orange juice
• Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness (about 300ml)
• 2 bananas
• tangerine and peaches in light syrup
  

Exercise:

• 22km biking
• 1 hour dragon boat practice
  

Survey results: If their plane crashed in the Andes (or was delayed on the tarmac), the competitor left standing and uncomfortably full would be...

• celestialspeedster - 1 vote (11%)
• Doctor Cook - 2 votes (22%)
• Flocons - 3 votes (33%)
• Opiate - 1 vote (11%)
• Royal Pinguo - 1 vote (11%)
• Thorn - 1 vote (11%)

Master Mung Cleanse: Enter the Mungon, Days 3-5

Day 3: Saturday

Comments: My third day of kichadi. My last day without mung beans. I am excited for mung beans.

My goal: Just one more day!

Food choice: Fresh kichadi

Total Kichadi prepared: ~2 cup of rice (pre-cooking measurements).

Total Kichadi eaten: 75%

Beverage choices: Many glasses of water

General feelings about life post meals: Optimistic that tomorrow will be better.

Excitement level regarding eating kichadi (0-10; 0 = revolted, 10 = too much Botox): 3

Likelihood that I would rather starve than eat kichadi (0-10; 0 = never, 10 = kill me now): 5

Side-effects of meal: Fatigue; mild headache; poor digestion

Food related dreams or fantasies: Stared longingly at raw spaghetti. Picked up a piece and held it, wishing I could eat it, as is, knowing it to be far more delicious than kichadi.

Occurrences of note: Party at the house with wine, chips, and appetizers. I partook in none of these.

Day 4: Sunday

Kichadi fantasies

Comments: My first day of mung beans! My excitement was misplaced. Spent the afternoon with Thorn, celestialspeedster, and an outside observer, Jon.

My goal: Not to pass out.

Food choice: Day old kichadi, fried with mung beans.

Total Kichadi prepared: ~0.5 cup of rice (pre-cooking measurements); 0.25 cup of mung bean

Total Kichadi eaten: 100%

Beverage choices: Many glasses of water, Master Cleanse in sparkling water (minus cayenne and maple syrup)

General feelings about life post meals: Depressed and fearful.

Excitement level regarding eating kichadi (0-10; 0 = revolted, 10 = too much Botox): 1

Likelihood that I would rather starve than eat kichadi (0-10; 0 = never, 10 = kill me now): 8

Side-effects of meal: Fatigue; mild headache; dizziness; inability to poo

Food related dreams or fantasies: Cannibalism. Or at least theft of the food of my competitors. If their hands were eaten as well, that would be okay.

Occurrences of note: Became so tired and dizzy that I needed to go home to eat more kichadi. By the time I got home, the idea of kichadi was so repugnant that I abstained from eating more.

Day 5: Monday
Comments: More than halfway through this diet and I feel awful!

My goal: I'm too tired for goals.

Food choice: Fresh kichadi, with mung beans

Total Kichadi prepared: ~2 cup of rice (pre-cooking measurements); 1 cup of mung bean

Total Kichadi eaten: 50%

Beverage choices: Many glasses of water, Indian Spice herbal tea

General feelings about life post meals: Moderately depressed.

Excitement level regarding eating kichadi (0-10; 0 = revolted, 10 = too much Botox): 2

Likelihood that I would rather starve than eat kichadi (0-10; 0 = never, 10 = kill me now): 7

Side-effects of meal: Fatigue; mild headache; dizziness; inability to poo

Days without pooing: 2

Food related dreams or fantasies: Tempted by enticing smell at work. Commented on how delicious it smelled. It was yeast extract, which normally turns my stomach. Again eyed raw spaghetti longingly.

Occurrences of note: Nothing of note. Inability to poo is becoming slightly worrying. This seems to counter predictions of kichadi.

Canadian National Exhibition: destroyer of diets

Thorn and I attended the Canadian National Exhibition on Saturday and while we did no succumb to the deep fried butter, we did consume the following:

• breakfast mac and cheese with egg and sausage from the Mac and Cheesery (unfortunately, the mac & cheese was soft and tasteless)
• buffalo burger (excellent, as usual)
  
• poutine
• Maple Butter BeaverTail

We also bought some short bread cookies from Sprucewood Handmade Cookie Co after sampling them. We enjoyed Rosemary and Dark Chocolate, but bought Spicy Thai and Raspberry. They will be coming to a Thinspiration XXL showdown soon!

At no point did I have a meal replacement shake. In fact, I did try to bring a bottle of meal replacement with me, but Thorn gave me a dirty look so I put it back in the fridge.

The madness continued on Sunday, when we attended BuskerFest and ate delicious pub food in front of Doctor Cook, who died a little inside as he squeezed his lemon into his fizzy water. That evening, we ate dinner with Jon Levy at The Acme Burger Company. The burgers were fresh and tasted like real meat, but were otherwise unspectacular.

I am back to the Slim-Fast 3-2-1 Plan today:

• 3 Snacks: Banana, apple, peach
• 2 Meal Replacements: Life Brand Complete Meal Replacement Shake - Chocolate flavour
• 1 Balanced Meal: Scrambled eggs with cucumbers, string beans, green peppers and rice.

Special K Diet Days 3 and 4: Weekend at Calorie Hill

Where to even begin.... It all started with a Sapporo.

As always weekends blur into a mesh of random events one leading into another and it never really makes any sense as it's happening.

Saturday started at 3:30am-ish, not long after I went to bed after watching 3 crazy movies in a row. My sisters dog, love the furball but he decided to wake me up to go outside, doing his doggie business and play fetch in the dark. Then repeated it at around 8am.

Finally woke up proper around 11-something-er-other-ish to the order of "get ready we're leaving" ...um okay. Barely time to brush my teeth.

Arrival around 1pm-ish (still hazy): instant meetings with parents, family we'd not seen since this same event last year, new family I hadn't met before from BC, Manitoba and other parts of Ontario.... as all this is happening the Sapporo was opened and quickly followed by the first of many Keith's. All downhill from here trying to remember all these names.

Also discovered I have a cousin that works in the video game development industry, had a geek-out moment.

There was some chips and cheesies but beer as breakfast had to basically carry the day for a little while. We put a nice dent in the 24 of Keith's as the day wore on into night and the mosquitoes found us.

Though after so many Keith's it was refreshing when my cousin (also a beer snob) hands me a bottle of Edelweiss.... rough day eh?

Breakfast:

• 1 Sapporo 650ml
• several bottles Keith's IPA
• handful of potato chips
• handful of cheesies
• fresh air
  

Lunch and Dinner, one blended into the other, it just sort of never stopped:

• 2 cups Bacardi Lemon with pink lemonade
  
• more Keith's
• 1 bottle Edelweiss
• BBQ pork
• BBQ beef
• peanut cashew noodle salad stuff
• greek salad
• other salads of some kind
• other loads of heavy meal stuff I don't recall the names of but was all awesome
  
• cocktail shrimp and seafood sauce
• grapes
• watermelon
• pineapple
  
• strawberries
• potato salad
• more Keith's
• more chips
• more cheesies
• small coffee cake deserts
• small chocolate cake deserts
• small coconut deserts
• more Keith's
• 4 chocolate cupcakes
• caramel chocolate crunchy bark stuff (FANTASTIC!!!)
• and I'm sure there's more I'm simply forgetting, there was a lot!

Exercise:

• swimming
• keeping up with the kids
  
• 3 person game of horseshoes I lost with a meagre single point to my name
• walking around and mingling all day talking constantly, think I blab a lot? You haven't met the clan.

...and that was just Saturday

Sunday:

• Tim Horton's everything bagel with tomato and swiss
  
• 2 bottles orange juice
• cheeseburger topped with tomato onion lettuce mustard
• black bean (veggie) burger with the same but no cheese
• 1 bottle Keith's
• grapes
  
• raspberries
• strawberries
• olives
  
• pickles
  

Back home:

• special K bar
• bowl of PC whole grain Cheerios knock off (which actually tastes better!) in skim milk
• not so much fresh air