Weight: Did not weigh in.

Exercise: Spent 90 minutes lifting weights following the Stronglifts program. Today was squat (180 lbs.), overhead press (100 lbs.) and deadlift (240 lbs.).

Breakfast: Bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon.

Lunch: Big salad of mixed greens with cabbage, baby carrots and almonds topped with Chef AJ’s Husband’s Favorite No-Oil Dressing.

PM Snack: Baked tortilla chips with salsa roja.

Dinner: Shredded hash brown potacos on a bed of cabbage topped with cheese sauce #2, salsa roja and guacamole.

Synopsis: Riding the wave of two poor days as it relates more to when I ate rather than what I ate, I had time to put together come potato tacos last night after I was done lifting weights and more importantly playing Nerf guns with my son in the house. Before we get to dinner, let’s quickly recap the day.

With no more Nutty Nuggets in the house, I have been on oatmeal the last few days, the only drawback to oatmeal is having to wait until I get to work before I can eat. It’s not that bad, as the oatmeal seems to keep me satiated through the morning until I get up for my first break at work, usually at 900 AM. Now to find some ways to jazz up my plain oatmeal. I know, there are endless ways.

During my first break at work I put together my salad, which has been a staple the last few weeks while at work. I could easily add more vegetables, but right now the amount of salad with the carrots and almonds seems to hit the spot, so I am not going to change too much during lunch time when at work. I should probably add an AM snack to my list of foods as well.

Eating early allowed me to digest the food and be ready to for weight lifting when I got home in the afternoon. I stopped by Mi Pueblo, Winco and Raley’s to pick up groceries for dinner. The weight lifting went extremely well, with only a minor setback on one lift, the overhead press. I had to deload the weight by 5 lbs. as I could not finish the reps/sets I had planned at 100 lbs. The squat and deadlift went very well. Since putting together my own power rack I feel as if I have been lifting better in my garage than I had been lifting at the gym. Now to make it official and cancel my gym membership, saving $120 a month.

Potato tacos are quickly becoming my “go to meal”. It’s one of those meals that is quick and easy to throw together and relatively inexpensive. Did I mention they taste very good? I have moved away from the original recipe, which saw me cubing whole potatoes and then boiling them, only to add the spices and then bake them. The link recipe is time consuming. Now, in a pinch it’s much quicker to use frozen shredded hash browns or hash brown, add the spices and then place on a baking sheet cover with parchment paper. While the potatoes were cooking I made more salsa roja and cheese sauce #2.

While at Mi Pueblo, the local Mexican grocer I found Roasted Chile de Arbol in bulk for $3.69/lb. It’s another time saver and the price is unbeatable, no more buying these small bags with small chiles. Today will be the rest test of the salsa, now that the flavors have come together and the salsa has cooled. I have not been let down yet by this amazingly simple recipe from Julie-Marie.

I was eating by 615 PM last night, which is the best I have done all week, in fact I was done eating and cleaning up my kitchen mess before 645 PM. It helps to have dinner planned or already made. If I could knock off another 30-45 minutes I will be doing better.

Overall, it was a very good day. I haven’t been hungry through out the day the past 18 days. Guess that is something to say about favoring starch over some of ways of eating. Still I have been reading and discussing other “diets” on the Stronglifts Inner Circle, many with the Paleo crowd. While I am still not sold on thriving on protein and fats, many swear by it, just as I swear by what I have learned from individuals like McDougall, Novick, Esselstyn and Campbell.