Weight: 178.5 lbs.

Exercise: Some minor work around the house, but I failed to get to the gym. On a positive note, I did order a barbell and set up a squat rack with 270 lbs. of weight, which was given to me by a friend. Soon I will be able to cancel my gym membership and work out at my convenience, in the comfort of my garage.

Breakfast: Baked sweet potato with smoked paprika and cumin.

Lunch: 10 oz. bag of baby carrots.

Snack: Reheated baked potato with ketchup (HFCS free).

Dinner: Baked potato chips with an assortment of different seasoning, spices and BBQ sauce.

Synopsis: Trying to improve on Day 1 I was hoping to eat more food today, but that didn’t happen. I don’t believe I was really prepared to tackle this challenge so quickly, but I did not want to procrastinate. Yet, even today it was evident I am not meeting my required caloric intake.

The afternoon snack really filled me up or maybe it was the 2 liters of Crystal Geyser I drank, but I felt a bit bloated for a few hours, which is why dinner was nothing more than chips, which equated to one large potato.

Speaking of the chips, I broke down and bought a TopChips microwaveable potato chip maker. Just over 4 minutes in the microwave an I had a plate of crispy, healthy potato chips! I then spent the next 90 minutes (about 10-12 chips at a time) making chips with different spices and seasonings. It’s a work in progress, but now we can enjoy chips whenever we want and they are good for you.

In an attempt to get more variety into my potato hack, I made a quick trip to the supermarket. I picked up some red and green peppers, more hash brown potatoes, a few condiments I was low on and some sweet corn. I was able to make a fat-free cheese sauce with a bit of a kick yesterday, which I intend to use on my potatoes. The texture feels a bit grainy (like beans, since that is the base), but it’s one of the better tasting cheese sauces I have made without using nuts.

Weight is down, not quite sure why there is such a large discrepancy between the first 2 days of 2.5 pounds. Again, this “hack” isn’t to lose a large amount of weight, it’s to get me back to eating basics and limit those fat plant foods that I had become accustom to cooking with.