Fortune Cookie, 23FEB08 You are strong and sensitive.    16 21 34 41 47 . 30 7 11 28 33 24     1 2 0

Well, back on the wagon. I'm not going to make my stated goal (215#) for February, so I'm back to logging everything. 11FEB08 2 eggs, egg substitute, feta cheese, salsa - 300 calories, 135 fat cal, 14g fat, 7g saturated fat, 3g carbohydrates, 0g fiber, 29g protein Fiber One bar (chocolate and oats) - 140 cal, 35 fat cal, 4g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 29g carb, 9g fiber, 2g protein Starbucks Cafe Mocha (my cheat for the day) - 330 cal, 140 fat cal, 15g fat, 8g sat fat, 43g carb, 2g fiber(?!?), ...

Although I got home a little later than I wanted (but earlier than I had feared; I had to man my unit's "tax desk" until 1730 - no one showed up for a walk-in), I went ahead and actually made myself dinner. Ripped from this month's Men's Health: Grilled Italian Skirt Steak Ingredients: 12 oz skirt or flank steak 1 can (15.5 oz) cannellini beans 1 large red onion, sliced 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 tsp dried) 2 cloves garlic, min...

In response: I suppose I could just tell them to go online (I believe militaryonesource.com directs servicemembers to free versions of the commercially available products, like TurboTax), but it defeats the purpose of this class pretty well. I did comment to my supervisor this morning that I would probably just use TurboTax for my own again this year... and she said that it doesn't really instill confidence when the guy tagged for Tax Assistant isn't going to do his own. Which is fine, sin...

I volunteered for this additional duty position over half a year ago, as the alternate. I started to figure that it was something my unit didn't take seriously, since I didn't have any training and I was the "alternate" to an empty primary position (ever since Geezer left the service). Then, at the beginning of the calendar year, the base started directing all servicemembers to see their Unit Tax Representatives for assistance with filing. (What was I supposed to tell them, go online? For...

Back again, trying to cut down after two weeks of indulgence after the PT test and before the holidays really kick in... wondering how it will all go with Thanksgiving next weekend and banana bread needing baking. Still. Slimfast Bar - 220/45/5/3.5/34/2/8 Propel - 25/0/0/0/6/0/0 Powerbar - 220/45/5/2/32/4/11 Protein bar - 190/60/6/3/17/1/20 Brocolli & Cheese - 60/25/3/1/7/2/2 Lean Cuisine - 320/70/8/3/44/5/19 10.5 oz steak - 542/205/23/8/0/0/78 Corn - 120/18/2/.5/24/2/3 Bread - ...

My on again, off again diet has paid some dividends this past week, although my periodic checks throughout the past half-year were discouraging along the way. The principles of my diet were to push protein and fiber while still maintaining between 1500 and 1800 calories. When I was keeping track, my calories never dipped below 1350 or above 2100, although any day that started off poorly tended to not get tracked. I had mixed success with the protein: various fitness magazines recommend 2...

This weekend is homecoming for Angelo State University, the local school in the city where I'm stationed. Of course, I'm not out there with the college students, not at the game, not at the bars. The Sergeant Major of our Battalion had a pair of tickets to the game that he wanted to give away earlier this week, but it sounded like there would be a PT competition for them... so no one in our company fell out of formation to go see him. Especially not me. What business would I have in a...

I got an email from Wes Higgins, who was my point of contact for coordinating the color guard for the roping event, and he let me know that they made about $22,000 for the Wounded Warrior Program. He also forwarded a story, a description of one of the great trips that they take injured veterans on. I'm reproducing it here without really knowing the author, so if they contact me to ask me to take it down, I will. I just thought that it was a great thing to share. It was the evening of ...

PT this morning was a 2.5 mile ruck march. I didn't repack my ruck to the lighter standard, so I carted around 60lb of weight on my back (in addition to the flak vest and load bearing equipment with the useless water-laden canteens). My knees have been killing me lately, so I fell back some and walked with my boss a bit. Still, after the ruck I was 215lb this morning... and that was after I had a bowl of cereal and downed 16oz of Crystal Light. Food: Crystal Light - 40/0/0/0/16/0/0 2 ...

MSE for PT this morning, some gym time this evening (10 minutes stationary bike and back + biceps on machines). Food: Propel - 25/0/0/0/6/0/0 2 eggs, egg sub, salsa - 200/90/10/3/5/1/20 Crystal Light - 20/0/0/0/4/0/0 Curves bar - 100/30/3.5/1/17/5/2 protein bar - 190/50/6/3/17/1/20 South Beach Diet entree - 240/60/7/3.5/16/4/26 Powerbar - 230/70/8/4.5/30/4/10 protein powder - 240/30/3/2/8/0/44 Lean Cuisine panini - 300/80/9/4/33/3/21 Crystal Light - 20/0/0/0/4/0/0 Totals: 1565...

Catch up - Last Wednesday I was on track with everything. Honestly, the only thing I didn't do was account for it all here online. Thursday and Friday were weird days, since I was up all night on duty and then slept for most of the day Friday. Saturday was mostly on the road (check my previous article) and Sunday was... Sunday. Back on track today, with a 2.5 mile run this morning and 15 minutes on the treadmill and 15 minutes on the elliptical machine this afternoon. Food: Propel -...

Over a month ago, a former Army Staff Sergeant contacted my Battalion to request an Army color guard for a local event. After checking with the legal office, my command okayed our participation, and I secured the assistance of three other volunteer NonCommissioned Officers to perform the drill duties. I really didn't know much about the event, or the organization... but now I wish I did, and I would have publicized it to the entirety of our unit. Only after the event did I find this on...

PT with the Platoon was MSE (muscular strength and endurance). Not terrible, but a little too much stress on my lower back (which is always my concern with standardized Army PT). But not terrible: push-ups, sit ups, crunches and pull ups, mostly. Food: Propel - 25/0/0/0/6/0/0 Crystal Light - 10/0/0/0/2/0/0 2 eggs - 160/90/10/3/2/0/14 egg sub - 30/0/0/0/1/0/6 salsa + onion - 18/0/0/0/4/1/0 4 prunes - 100/0/0/0/24/3/1 powerbar - 220/45/5/2/32/4/11 lean cuisine panini - 300/80/9/4/3...

PT was ability group run, where I tagged along with the slightly-too-fast 15-to-16-minute-two-mile group. Food: Propel - 25/0/0/0/6/0/0 2 eggs - 160/90/10/3/2/0/14 salsa - 10/0/0/0/2/1/0 slice of wheat bread - 60/10/1/0/11/2/4 yogurt - 100/0/0/0/19/0/5 protein bar - 200/45/5/3/18/0/20 lean cuisine - 350/80/9/3/56/6/13 2x propel mix - 20/0/0/0/6/0/0 powerbar - 300/50/6/3.5/38/1/23 propel - 25/0/0/0/6/0/0 184g ground turkey - 432/218/24/6/0/0/50 chili - 460/140/16/7/50/16/30 oni...