Day 54 / Week 8 - Mmmmm...Beer

As promised from yesterday, I made up the 20 min of cardio that I lost from my previous workout. Kept pretty strong with a few temptations with free cake, doughnuts and pizza that my work was offering in the passed few days(including today). But since I knew that I would be facing an extra 20 min of cardio, why eat something that is going nullify my extra cardio, or worse yet nullify my whole workout?

Looking in perspective, this seems to be a challenge that I face almost everyday. As you probably figured out from my previous posts, I unfortunately have an Achilles heal and that is BEER...Mmmm..I love beer.... As a cruel reality, if I want washboard abs fast, beer cannot be in the equation. I do however give myself a pat on the back though for the amount of beer that I have sacraficed for the 54 days that has passed. I have kept it to no more than 2 beers per week, where before it was like 15 to 20 beers per week. What I am realizing since starting this program is that if I do not consume things in moderation, I will get fat - again. If I eat something that is very high in calories (like a full bucket of KFC or whole bottle of whisky), the fat will just collect in my body if I don't burn it off by going to the gym. It's all about balance.

In my case, I want to lose pounds, not sustain - therefore I need to stay away from these high calorie foods/drinks on a daily basis(except for my day off/reward day) and workoff the fat that is currently in my system, without the concern of burning the calories that are being consumed....That being said, I plan to have KFC(2 piece - not a full bucket) and a light beer for my reward day tomorrow... ;-) Looking forward to it!


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Day 53 / Week 8 - Date Night checking out Milestones & Jersey Boys Broadway Musical

Came very close in missing my workout for today as my schedule in the evening was extremely busy. Since I have started this program, I have always made my workouts a top priority (just ask my wifey) and today was proof again of my determination to ensure I don't miss a day.

Today's workout was cardio and abs and instead of 40 min of cardio, I did 20 min which I will definitely make up the following day. The reason for cutting short my cardio was that I had to leave to go out for dinner with the wifey and then go see the Broadway hit "Jersey Boys" with the parents. During dinner, I could not help but to have a Stella as it's always been customary to have a beer at my favorite restaurant, "Milestones". Dinner was great as usual, where I ordered a New York Striploin Steak, mashed potatoes and veggies. As an appetizer, wifey and I split an order of fried calamari. Absolutely delicious!

I also recommend the Spinach dip(which I usually get) which comes with pita and tortilla chips. Ahh..so good.. Service was very quick(as usual) and the waiter who took care of us was excellent. There was however a little disappointment with their margaritas. It tasted like seltzer water and lemon and requested for a new drink with no hassles at all.

As a quick review of "Jersey Boys" - it was absolutely excellent! 5 stars out of 5 stars and I am not usually a fan of theater....I came in with very low expectations as I did not know who the Four Seasons were nor who Franky Valli was. It all came clear to me when they started singing their songs and then remembered my mother listening to these songs on the radio back in the day. The stage changing was done very smoothly as it changed from scene to scene and the story line was very exciting. Either, if you were a huge Four Season's fan or never knew or heard of the band, you will enjoy the story behind it along with the overall performance. Even though the tickets were complimentary for us, it would have been worth every penny. My recommendation : Go see it...

Milestones Verdict: Excellent Food & Service



Jersey Boys Verdict - Very Entertaining - 5 out of 5 stars


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Day 52 / Week 8 - Another Successful Workout Complete

Simple day today...Ate well all day, and finished workout before heading over to the mechanic to get an oil change for the car.


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Day 51 / Week 8 - The Canadian Health Care System

Didn't exactly start off too well this morning as I had to get a check-up with the doctor and was told not eat or drink anything for my morning appointment. After getting blood work done, x-rays, urine test and coughing a few times(pretty awkward moment), I was finally able to have breakfast at 11am. BTW - if there are any Americans out there reading this, my physical at my doctor with all the many tests, cost me nothing..zero...zilch...nada...Waiting time? 5 minutes.

If you are worried about "socialized" healthcare - I say embrace it!! This is the whole reason why my parents left Trinidad to come to Canada 35 years ago...For FREE HEALTHCARE. I didn't mean to go on a tangent with this, but my daily doses of MSNBC and CNN have got me riled up in disgust when they expose the lies and misleading information from the US conservative party (GOP) when they're explaining Canada's health care system. As a very proud and patriotic Canadian, I'm a little perturbed and disgusted by the lies. If they don't know anything about Canada, why bash us? For getting free health care? Wow...they are sooo confused ...Look, our system is in no way perfect, but overall we all love our healthcare. I really hope Obama does succeed with his plan, as I have lots of family and friends in the U.S that are currently "suffering" due to the crappy health care they are getting. It's the number 1 thing they always complain about and at this time they are just praying for a miracle to have free healthcare like us. The status quo cannot continue and health care change is needed badly for America. God bless America and I really hope they get it...

Canada's/Ontario's Platinum Card - Our Health Card
Verdict : Since I have never paid for a doctor's visit, previous surgeries and 100's of tests : Highly Recommended
(need to be a Canadian citizen to have one - of course)

Oh one last note, if you are American and still confused about the Canadian Health Care system, take a look at this clip I found from Youtube on Canadian Health Care that pretty much sums it all...All the people in this clip are stated as Canadians (no I don't know any of them, but all of them are from Ontario) and speak the same health care language as I do...So here is the truth before your eyes...




Anyhow, back to body transformation - I finished the day with 15 min extra on the elliptical and really targeted my core abdominal's today with some extra reps to ensure I get that extra burn.

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Day 50 / Week 7 in Review

So the results are in for this week. 3 more pounds are lost - bringing me down to 175 pounds. Woohoo! Looking back at this passed week, I really worked it hard and quite proud of myself. So proud, that I had to indulge myself this weekend with margaritas and and ox-tail dinner. This passed week I also suffered from a back ache, where I came pretty close to missing a day of exercise and possibly more. I'm just happy that the pains went away due to the TLC from the heating pad, some Excedrin and massages from the wifey. As you can tell from the pic this week, my gut is continuing to decrease and my body is starting to show a little more definition. My pants are still falling and refuse to purchase new pants, knowing that I'll be needing new pants again very soon. As a temporary solution, I have created another hole in the belt(since I ran out of holes - again) to assist in my situation. Since this week will be the finishing stretch for the month, I will push just as hard as last week to ensure that I keep within the guidelines or exceed them by any means necessary. As part of the planned transformation to Little Riddick, next week you shall see me with a lot less hair on the chest. :-) Can't wait...

Week 7 Results



Week 7 Pic of the Week
(quite the difference from the 1st day of my journey) =)



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Day 49 / Week 7 - Taste of the Toronto Harbourfront

Today started with a great sleep and a casual walk to the Harbourfront Center again since it was really nice outside. The Harbourfront Center was again providing a Caribbean taste of live bands and again food, food and more food (for pics of the Harbourfront, see below). I again split a meal with the wifey, having jerk chicken with peas and rice. Again, excellent food. My meals today was all over the place (since I slept in) and therefore missed 2 meals. I had successfully completed my cardio today and put in an extra 20 min since I wanted to finish the show that I was watching on the iTouch and to make up for the white rice I ate today.

Pics of the Harbourfront / Downtown(Queens Quay) Toronto.








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Day 48 / Week 7 - Caribana Weekend in Toronto

If you live in Toronto, you would know that this weekend is our most celebrated weekend for the whole year. It's Caribana Weekend! Millions of visitors from all over the world (mostly the U.S) come to Toronto to celebrate the caribbean culture with lots of laughs, lots of food, lots of skanty costumes, spending lots of money and watching lots of booty! (there's nothing wrong with looking right?). Since I had to work during the day and pretty much broke for any night clubs, cruise ships, or banquet halls, wifey and I thought we'll keep it cheap this evening and just walk to the Harbourfront Center to check out the festivities(which is always free). We started with a pre-drink(margaritas) at home, where we 'knocked back' a half bottle of tequila, then headed to the Harbourfront Center. When we got there, there was a sea of people listening to a Jamaican band play their sweet reggae tunes along with the various amount's of Caribbean foods there. Instead of eating a whole meal for myself (especially when eating at 11pm), wifey and I split an oxtail, with peas and rice. Mmmmm...absolutely delicious! Not too sure if the walk to and from the Harbourfront will make a difference to the meal I just ate, but hey - today is my reward meal day anyways! :-p

G-Times today...G-times...

A few pics from Caribana 2009 to keep you entertained...










Harbourfront Center at Night


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