PeakFit Challenge: Week 6-7 completed (like a blur).

The past two weeks was the worst of PFC I’ve done, but its not Michelle Dozois’ fault.  Its my stupid body and its stupid hormones.  I have to change the meds I’ve been taking and my body finally is starting to react to it.  What does that mean exactly?  Lots of fatigue and lack of sleep…and when that stuff got settled then life had some extra stuff to throw at me.  Let’s just say that my diet went down the wayside as a result.  At the end of week 6, I had managed to lose another 1.5lbs, but I seemed to negate all my gains in week 7.  I’m not sure if its really true since I’m fluctuating all over the place so we’ll see now that I have a little bit more control in the last week.  It’s a little upsetting to do so poorly so close to the end of the program, but it is what it is.  Its almost a little depressing the recap of the past two weeks because the fatigue and frustration prevented me from really enjoying the workouts…

PeakFit Challenge: Week 5 Complete!

So, this was my first week really trying to hit that 1300 calorie limit.  The end result was a 2.5 lb loss!  Did you read that correctly?  Two and a half freaking pounds.  As exciting as it is, it does sort of depress me that weight loss really comes down to diet in the end….but at least we know what the secret ingredient really is!  If you remember my post from last week, I also was trying to add my weighted gloves and do more yoga.  I failed at the yoga, but I blame a seriously hectic schedule.  It’s not going to clear up until the next week though so I have to take what I can get.

Now, I should mention that I didn’t hit 1300 calories every day.  Actually, I did a little less everyday.  The first day, I had a huge emotional fight with my husband which resulted in my eating 1800 calories.  The next day I was determined to do better and go down to 1600.  After that I pretty much hit 1300-1400 calories/ day.  I even got under 1300 calories one day (but barely under).  On the easier days, I supplemented with more walks around campus or the neighborhood with my dogs.  All in all, the culmination of consistent effort led to a now total of 4.5 lbs of weight loss in five weeks.  Not my best number ever, but it gives me hope for the end of the PFC rotation which is coming to a close very quickly.

PeakFit Challenge: Week 4 Completed!

I’m a little disappointed this week.  I didn’t lose any weight so its only 2lbs in 4 weeks.  Fully aware that I have to be in more control of my diet, I’m still a little disheartened because on Nutella Monday, I had this horrid epiphany about my calories that day (I had been doing really well until I saw the jar) and have been trying to stay disciplined since.  I tell myself that it takes one day to knock out 7 days of consistent effort so not to feel too crappy about it, but as the first month of PFC closes, I’m really mad at myself — not at the program, at myself.  The last week just makes the hammer really hit the nail: it’s all about the diet.

Trying to take the more positive end, I do think my body is changing.  I’m pretty sure I lost about an inch around my waist (but when I started it was embarrassingly big) and I definitely think my butt is smaller and tighter.  I value having rest days because I realize my back doesn’t hurt or bother me as much during the week either.  In addition, I’ve started adding extra challenges like weighted gloves and increasing the weight I use during workouts.  The next month there’s a big shake up: only one rest day!  That should have some affect, right?

In other news, my husband dropped another 2 lbs.  Seriously?  Hi God, it’s me, and you’re clearly a man.

PeakFit Challenge: Week 3 Completed!

I lost another pound this week….so that makes 2 in the three weeks.  Not super impressive, but I’ll take it given my crappy eating.  It’s been a bit upsetting since my husband has managed to lose 8lbs in the same amount of time, but I shouldn’t be competing right?  I shouldn’t be thinking of lacing his food with craps of processed sugar and carbs, right?  I shouldn’t be thinking about putting his weakness (Dr. Pepper) all around the house, right?  Right?  RIGHT?!?

That aside, I am impressed with how I am able to maintain my weight despite all my indiscretions.  My husband did console me during my tantrums that I have started to take a shape that is more acceptable indicating that maybe if the scale is a lying bastardo and I am changing my body.  I like to refer to this process as “reorganizing” my body composition…but I would love to fit into that Vera Wang dress I have too.  Ok, ok, take the wins, and enjoy the fact that this past week — at least workout-wise — has been super fun with the introduction of new workouts.  

PeakFit Challenge: Week 2 completed!

I don’t have as exciting news like last week (a weight loss number).  I have a flat number — so I maintained.  Should I be happy?  Hell yes because my eating has been out of control.  I’ve been eating over 2000+ calories for a couple days in a row now…the long weekend which was extended longer at home for work on my thesis (so, it was really a weekend but one where I transferred my work from lab to home).  It’s a bit exciting to be eating so much more and not be gaining any weight though I will admit, I am completely feeling the chunk now in my third week.  Hopefully it will motivate me to have better control in the coming week.  Feeling chunky is a horrible feeling, but I’ll tell ya: completing the second week of PeakFit was challenging and brutal.

PeakFit Challenge: Week 1 Completed!

Now, don’t get super excited and invest money into a bouncy castle to celebrate, but I’ve lost a net of 1lb in my first week of PeakFit!

I know, you can sit down now.  I was excited too, but we all have to move on.

Out with the old, in with the new: my notebook had a heart attack

I knew something was up last week.  My wonderful convertible tablet was acting weird, and I was afraid it was going to burn out chipset soon until I figured out the problem.  Because of my concerns, I asked my DH to find my flash drive so I could back up my data just as a precaution.  My notebook was pretty fast and had always done its job well with the exception of three incidents (where one was truly my dog’s fault for slobbering over my keyboard and shorting it).  Anyway, my DH found the flash drive quickly and I took my sweet time to back up my data for my dissertation.  I wasn’t too worried because I figured I’d fix the problem eventually.

Well, I didn’t.  In a second, the computer was dead not to be revived at all.

I actually was stunned for about 20 minutes.  I tried all the usual suspects to figure out what the problems were but there was nothing to be had.  All I could say was thank god that I actually did back up my data the night before after procrastinating on it so long.

Upset that I missed the Microsoft Store sale earlier that morning (because my notebook didn’t have the common sense to die on me before big sale items went OOS), I waited for the weekend to see what sales may pop out.  I was decided online between a highly rated Samsung (that seemed almost too much for me and I would have to wait until Tuesday), Lenovo Ideapad (without an optical drive and would have to wait a couple days), or something I could pick up at a B&M.  I ended up picking up a ThinkPad at a pretty cheap price (right around $650 after taxes) and have been setting it up throughout the day.  I have managed to get most of my applications on the machine as well as all my data.  I realized in the midst of it all…I’m incredibly boring.  I have no games or frills.  Just work.  Despite realizing this fact, I am utterly depressed with how unstylish (and thick!) my notebook is.  I’m glad to be gone with unnecessary buttons, but I do like shiny things.  And I’m still balking at the thickness.   Of the choices I saw, I was leaning towards the Ideapad (it was the lack of the optical drive and its delayed arrival was what stopped me) and now I find myself wanting it more because its so damned thin.  Oh well.  Such is life.  When you need something and are not willing to spend a crapton of money on it, you just have to compromise.

On the positive note, the computer is quite fast (i5 processor, not i7, but I doubt I need i7), barely heats up, and is incredibly quiet.  I counted three seconds from when I pop the lid from when the machine “wakes up.”  Absolutely can’t complain with that.  But I have to say, I hate the red trackball.  I hated it in 90s, and I still hate it.  My sister bemoans Thinkpads…but I think they’re still considered some of the best business laptops and I think I understand why: its really good at doing its tasks and its so boring that you don’t want to flick and take time away from your business!  Despite its thickness, its pretty light.  So, there are definitely good things about the computer and I’ll take that to heart.    But most importantly, I’m thankful I was able to afford a fast notebook at such a critical point in my degree!

Top Chef: lamest. cold. war. ever.

I actually got pretty upset this week with Top Chef.  It started out simple enough, where the chefs were given exotic food items from emu eggs to duck liver which turned out to be duck testicles and everyone had a giggle at Angelo’s expense who chose the offending item.  Halfway through the quickfire challenge, Padma comes in and tells all the chefs to take the station to the right of them so now Kevin gets stuck with the duck testicles and Kelly has the emu egg.  I thought it was sort of a lame twist.  I actually wanted to see what the hell they could do with their dish.  Kelly ended up winning immunity by having an omelet with emu egg.  I love omelets so I was happy for her win.

The side drama: the guest judge is a competitor of Andreas.  Not cool.  Out of all the judges they could have gotten, they pluck one out with a conflict of interest with one of the chefs?  I understand that in the past sometimes people had previously worked under guest judges, but that relationship had ended by the time of the competition.  It wouldn’t be nice to have a chef with a current positive relationship and same goes with the negative.  What, nobody wants to play with Padma?

Then the elimination dish: to prepare a meal best served cold, hence cold wars.  They were in two different teams, Group A with Kenny, Kevin, Ed, Amanda, and Alex and Group B with Angelo, Tamesha, Tiffany, Andrea, and Stephen.  Each group would get to nominate someone for the win and someone for the loss.  Hmm…I wonder if there is going to be some strategy in play here?

We watch them cook and plan and be pissy and then the judging happens.  How long did it take Angelo to start attacking Kenny’s dish?  (Kenny’s not even that awesome anym0re!  I mean, he has the inflated of Angelo but sent to the bottom wayyyy too many times to justify it.  At least Angelo has only been there when HE HAD IMMUNITY.)  Angelo needs to think of a better enemy.  The group mostly votes against Kenny except for Andrea who points out that she got cartilage stuck in Amanda’s dish (which Alex had noticed and not bothered to mention).  Majority rules so Kenny is at the bottom.  Kevin is placed at the top despite being accused that it lacked acidity (though Tom was quick to point out that Kevin had indeed taken that into account when preparing the dish with lemons and tomatoes).

The second group comes in.  Everybody loves Tiffany’s dish – ahi tuna in gazpacho sauce – and she comes out on top.  Everyone else except for Andrea sorta sucked it seemed.  But they singled out Tamesha which made me smile because her attitude had been grating on me lately.  Her being sent to the bottom also makes the audience wonder if Angelo sabotaged her.  It doesn’t seem that he would do that to her this early in the game, but he was acting LIKE the executive chef and he made some bad calls about her dish.

So, Kenny whines and moans about how he’s only sent to the bottom because people are afraid of him.  Really?  How many times have you been sent here?  The guest judge ripped a new one for him.  Tamesha got ripped as well and for someone so young to be such an uppity little bitch on screen to get ripped like that was pleasurable.  I mean, seriously, at first she seemed like she was classy but then she just seemed to be a quieter, egomaniac with no record to prove it.  I’m the first person to say it could be editing by the TV people to have transformed her this way but in the end, you know you’re on camera, don’t talk about you’d kill another chef so easily WHEN YOU SUCK.  And part of becoming better is to admit when you make mistakes.  I don’t recall her doing that at all this season.  So Angelo’s little buddy got sent home.  Come back when you grow up.

But what really pissed me off?  No one, not even I’m-so-Asian-despite-not-being-sexy-Asian Angelo, tried sushi or sashimi.  I understand its actually very difficult to be trained in this arts but why is it on this show when I see a challenge best suited for Asian cooking, the best I see are Asian “influences?”  But seriously, when I think I want a cold dinner, I think I’m going to eat some sushi tonight.  (Actually, I really want to have sushi tonight!)  Can the judges shake things up and give them an Asian challenge?

Top Chef Double Recap: Chefs collide

I actually thought I had posted last week, but it seems to have gotten eaten in the ether. Both of the last episodes showed the chefs getting contentious with each other. I know its reality television and all but am I the only to miss the camaraderie that existed in the last season?  I know there were definitely egos bashing but the Voltaggio brothers, Kevin, Jennifer, and Eli really made it seem near the end that there were chefs making good food as opposed to Survivor like flanks.  I miss that a lot.

Top Chef: summer treats and picnics

A belated recap, but belated is better than nothing.  (As you may have heard, I lost some depth perception recently.)  I’ll keep it short.

I didn’t actually care for this episode at all.  The quickfire was a dessert challenge which really seemed to be a front to show the Top Chef audience, look we have a new show!  DVR that show please too!  I get it — unless you’re a pastry chef you’re probably going to suck at desserts.  The whole quickfire were the contestants pissing over themselves.  Though some moments an average cook could have avoided.  Tracy has literally screwed herself public image wise in her short stint at Top Chef.  That mish mosh pie almost made me gag.  Angelo’s brain trick, “it’s a curry challenge” made me want to question his intelligence.  There was also a fancy pie put out by Alex (who’s restaurant I’ve gone to previously) that seemed like he was picking random ingredients in the dark.  The winners?  Big surprise, the simple chocolate ganache and a new spin on a banana fosters pie.  Kenny’s banana fosters pie won finally giving him the victory he needed and deserved.  Onto the elimination challenge…

The elimination challenge was a summer picnic…mostly BBQ… for the interns of DC.  Everybody tried something and most everyone was happy with what they made…each saying they were sure they were going to be on the top with the exception of Tracy who tried to make lemonade out of lemons.  The most memorable line went to Alex, who I’m convinced was pushed to say it by the producers, fr saying his pork butt was something he’d, “eat the ass out of this pig all day.” Amanda surprised her fellow chefs by coming out with the best ribs (wtg girl for showing we can do a man’s job better then men!), and though Angelo had a magazine cover dish, it was Arnold who won the day with his lamb meatballs.  No, I’m not going to make a ball joke.  And I was happy he won.

The loser?  Tracy.  But the way the episode was made, did we not think Tracy was going to tank it?  She just screwed up everything from top to bottom.  “If that’s what you call Italian food, then it’s almost insulting to Italians, including me.”  Ouch.  And frankly, why did the producers decide to show the part where Tracy says she’s clairvoyant?  To make her look more crazy?  That just isn’t nice.  What was surprising was to see Kevin at the bottom.  I did not expect to see him produce “safe Puerto Rican” food.  But the exchange the judges had, where they explained how chefs take normal food up a notch, was really important to hear.  That was probably the best part of the entire episode.

Honestly, I hope there will be better episodes to come.  There’s some kinda reunion coming up?  I’ll be looking forward to it…