Inert Ramblings

I hopped on the mountain bike last night and did a leisurely 8 miles in Winnekenni Park around Kenoza Lake. It was the first time I’d actually ridden up to the castle and, instead of just bombing back down the access road, I took Castle Trail back down to Dudley Porter Trail. There was quite a bit of washout and a few fallen logs on Castle Trail which turned it into a mildly technical run.

Instead of tackling the hill on Shore Trail, I dropped down to Plug Pond Trail which has quite a few rocks and exposed roots. I was caught out a few times because my tire pressures were too high, I lost traction on the larger uphill obstacles, and dropped my chain due to a poorly-adjusted front derailleur. Other than the few times my feet were forced to touch the ground, the trail was in great condition. Even the mudpit where the trail meets the lake was almost dry and easily navigable.

Merrill Trail, however, was much different than I remember from last year. Extremely tight and twisty, the trail had become an extremely overgrown singletrack with lots of blind corners. Bushes and branches hung into the trail from all sides giving a tunnelvision effect. It was also extremely dry hardpack, which led to some very high speeds weaving between trees and bushes. I came up on the bridge so fast I didn’t even have time to hop onto it; I just dove into the (luckily) dry stream bed and popped out the other side. A few fallen trees right at helmet level made the last 1/4 mile quite interesting.

Now that I know the conditions are dry, I’ll definitely load my pack up with my Digital Rebel and document the trail.

If Poland Spring sparkling water is liquid crack, then Crystal Light is liquid ecstacy. Both are hopelessly addicting, but freshly-mixed Crystal Light has a warm and fuzzy tartness to it. One tub makes 2 quarts, so half a tub mixes perfectly in my 32 oz water bottle. And what do I mix it with? Ice cold Poland Spring spring water out of the office water cooler, of course! Twitch…

News about the SUPER SIZE ME documentary has already made its rounds, so I won’t go into any verbose details. A movie trailer isn’t available yet, but quite a few promotional downloads are now available, including the Super Size Me “Full Length” and Super Size Me “Radio Edit” MP3s.

Incidentally, McDonald’s claims that the negative publicity caused by the film did not influence their decision to start their Eat Smart campaign or to discontinue the SuperSize menu.

Slim-Fast has entered the low-carb arena with a new lineup of shakes, meal bars, and snack bars.

Now that the Atkins Diet has more or less gone 100% mainstream, dozens of vendors are jumping on the low-carb bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a Good Thing, but quite a few companies are relying on their marketing department to design their labels and nutritional datasheets. Even tried and true respected companies that have been producting low-carb foods for years have started to modify their labeling and marketing technique.

For example, some products may tout “0 sugar carbs” in bold letters on the front of the package but only reveal in the fine print on the back that the product has a few grams of net carbs. Even worse is avertising low net carbs per serving on the front of the package and then revealing on the back of the package that one serving is rediculously small. Sure, companies have been doing this for years, but I’ve noticed an upwards trend over the past six months or so.

Either way, before purchasing any food item for a specialized diet, be sure to read the front, back, and fine print of the label to make sure it’s the appropriate product for your needs.

I burned my tongue on steamed soy milk this morning that I was frothing for my caffeine injection. I’m now eating a salad with vinegar on it. Yes, Ralph, it does taste like burning.

Today’s lunch consisted of a few slices of turkey, a salad with bleu cheese dressing, shredded cheddar, and a small wedge of smoked Gouda. Breakfast was a few nibbles of the aforementioned this morning while I was packing it up.

So I caved. I threw Atkins out the window for Thanksgiving and totally hogged out. Turkey, stuffing, pie, ice cream, the works. But whatever…I’m down to a 38-inch waist and fit into clothes I either haven’t been able to wear for 10 years or have never been able to wear! Besides…you need to cheat every once in a great while so you don’t cave in and succumb to daily temptation! By basically gorging myself silly yesterday I reminded myself of what it felt like to eat that much food…and I really didn’t like it all that much.

So I’m back on induction today…joy of joys.

I ran across a great breakfast/dessert this evening while I was craving something sweet. Take Keto Old Fashioned Hot Cereal and, instead of plain water, prepare with 1 part low carb vanilla soy milk to 1 part water. It’s surprisingly sweet and satisfying! I’m absolutely addicted to the Blueberry and Strawberry, and this evening was the first time I’d tried the Old Fashioned.

I’ve been warned about letting the cereal cool off, however. Apparently, it turns into a solid concrete that can be used as a floor sealer and tile grout. Talk about healthy eating through creative chemical ingestion!

Breakfast was quite simple. Two fried eggs with a side of toasted low carb bread smothered in soy nut butter and Keto Strawberry Fruit Spread. Since the soy nut butter is truly an acquired taste, I sweetened a cup of it with 4 or 5 tablespoons of Splenda Granular. It now has the same consistency as natural peanut butter and is a sweet acquired taste.

I’m still not really sure if I actually like it or not. The taste and consistency on my tongue is kind of like a car wreck…everybody looks and is disgusted, but no one can turn away!

Dinner was also quite plain…3 chicken hot dogs with mustard, a hamburger with buffalo sauce, and a small salad with Caesar dressing.