Breakfast…. 2 Bananas (Payroll Day, no time to eat and can’t afford it).  I wish I can say the bananas were from my rooftop garden but…

No Snack

Late Lunch PBC…  Pappardelle Al Forno, no meat (with Cauliflower Merguez).  My Fave and we make our own pasta with high-quality flour.

Snack… Fruit Salad with Cottage Cheese

Dinner...  Friday night is Pizza night at my house.  Instead of using local Pizzeria, I brought home Pizza from PBC. 

Breakfast (PBC)…NY State goat Cheese, NJ Tomatoes and our Basil (we grow on site), a toasted Sesame Ciagel (Our answer to Bagels.  Using unprocessed, non-bromated flour, first they are steamed then finished in our Brick Oven)

 
 Red Velvet Iced Tea

 Alkaline Water with Lemon

 Snack… Handful of Pistachios

 Lunch… LI Duck Egg scrambled with Spinach, Mushrooms & Tomato, Baked Potato with Malt Vinegar, OO, Sea Salt, & fresh Pepper.

           Duck Eggs have   more to offer than Chicken Eggs.

Alkaline Water with splash of fresh OJ

 Sencha Shot Green Tea (need a boost)

 Snack… Double Espresso (finish what the Green Tea couldn’t) & Fruit Salad

 Dinner (PBC)… 2 Slices Margherita, 1 Slice Italian Wedding.

 Very filling, but not bloating.  When I have 3 slices of Pizza, usually my wedding band gets tight.  I guess that is why, every so often, my wife leaves leftovers on counter for me.

Here We Go….

DAY 1

Breakfast… McMann Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal with Dried Cranberries, Diced Granny Smith Apples for tartness, Vermont Grade A Maple Syrup for sweetness.

 NOTE:  Being I work long days, I need as much energy as I can get my hands on and Steel Cut Oats are what they feed Race Horses.

Alkaline Water with Lemon

Red Velvet Iced Tea in a Stainless Steel PBC bottle to sip throughout the day.

Snack… Carrot Sticks (boring) and more water.

Lunch… Wild Mushroom Barley Soup (Veg Stock), Millport Dairy Amish Cheddar on “Bread Alone” 7 Grain Toast with side of sautéed Broccoli Rabe with Garlic (breath) and OO.

Alkaline Water with splash of fresh O.J.

Snack… Apple and more water (yawn)

Cardio for 30 minutes

Dinner… (at PBC)… Jumbo Meatball, Wild Mushroom Sauté on a bed of Spinach (omg, so filling).  Next time, maybe half portion.

As a Chef, I have a love affair with food.  Tasting and um “quality control” makes it almost impossible to diet.  If you think managing your weight is tough, imagine if your job was to spend all day cooking, thinking about, and tasting food.  A chef’s lifestyle makes it difficult to eat well. “You’re never really off when you get to a certain level, especially when you own a restaurant, and especially one that specializes in high-volume catering. Over the past couple of years, I have packed on about 60 pounds stemming from tasting, cooking, late night eating after an 18 hour day, stress, and fatty foods with my kids.

I have beliefs on how people should eat to get the most of their food.  Unfortunately, I have not followed it myself whole heartedly.  When you are a “cook”, you tend to worry about others and forget yourself.  Now it is time to walk the talk.

My food philosophies are:

·        *  Forget low-fat and low-carb, but good fats and good carbs.

·         * Consuming food that I know where it comes from and what was done to it.

·        *  Mostly vegetables and fish with an occasional meat on celebratory occasions.

·        *  Alkaline, Alkaline, Alkaline (high).

·        *  My only beverage being water, infused waters (coffee & tea included), & watered down fruit juices.

·         * No processed food.  Period.

·        *  Chewing, chewing & more chewing (slow down!).

·         * 3 Meals, 2 Snacks.

·          * No eating past 7 pm (Ugh).

Thinking about sugar and fat consumption not in terms of calories but in terms of where and how it came about was key to making my decision and I invite you along to track my progress.   All feedback is welcome!

Current Stats:        Weight:        277

                             Waist:            44

Chef Edward Sylvia