Checkin' In After 14 Weeks

Time to pause and look back on what's been 14 weeks of focus on better health and weight management. When I set out on this mission in early September, my goal was to arrive at a weight of 180 pounds by mid-May of 2010, which represents a loss of 35 pounds. Not only getting there but staying there (and staying healthy) is the real prize.
I'm happy to say that I weighed in today at 200.5, which puts me a half-pound ahead of schedule. Any secrets to this? Not really. But here are some things I'm cognizant of:

1. Do SOMETHING every day. I get a good all-around conditioning workout in, which includes aerobic exercise and light/medium weights, on four or five days a week. The other days might just be walking a couple of miles and/or doing yoga, but it's something.

2. Avoid fried foods and things loaded with fat. But if you have anything like that, limit your portions. This past Sunday I'll admit to having eaten a Burger King Whopper. But it was a Junior Whopper and hence not as tragic.

3. Limit snacking and eating after dinner. When I have been snacking though, we have these great lime popsicles that are around 80 calories each.

4. Don't deprive yourself of everything you like to eat and drink. I haven't given up on tacos and beer, and don't intend to anytime soon.

5. Finally, remember this number: 3500. That's what a pound of body fat equates to in calories. So in order to lose one pound per week, each day you have to somehow dispose of 500 more calories than you'd normally take in when you sustain the same weight. That can be a combination of exercise and less caloric intake. I choose to try and burn approximately 300 additional calories through exercise and reduce consumption by around 200. I'm sure there are factors that make this amount more or less but I find it to be an accurate rule of thumb.

To 2010 (and beyond)!

I Smoked a Turkey (now my lungs are charred)

At first glance, cooking a Thanksgiving turkey for eleven people sounds like a daunting task. And I suppose it could be if I were fighting for space in the kitchen and oven. This holiday was one of those days that I’m really glad that we have a propane smoker.
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I set things up the night before as I had to get things going pretty early on Thursday morning. Cherry wood chips were soaking and the water bowl that produces all of that nice smoky steam was in position.
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Some of the appetizer-eating crowd


We took the thawed 15 pound bird out of the refrigerator at around 6 am and slapped it with some olive oil, followed by a generous amount of Emeril’s Turkey Rub.
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The rule of thumb is that it takes ½ hour per pound to smoke at an in-smoker temperature of between 225 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. We were looking at around 7-8 hours of elapsed time (followed by ½ hour of setting time) with the goal of having the meat thermometer register 165 degrees at the end.
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By gosh, everything worked out as planned and judging by the comments we heard from our consumers, it was a major success. Hmmm….I just might have to toss a ham in the smoker for Christmas.

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BowlingJoe and the cooked bird: which is the real turkey?