Halloween

Bravo, Scott!! I read your other posts before they were deleted (wish i had copied them), and i have just two words for you: olive oil!

eta: I see the posts have been combined.

If all goes as planned, I'll be in the bay area (staying in Berkeley) the first week of May. Right now, based on what i've read in this thread and the napa valley thread, i've got reservations at Aziza and Cyrus, and i'm on the waitlist at the French Laundry. Here's my question. What do I do if a miracle happens and I get into FL? Should I cancel my other reservations and go to FL, or should I stick with what i've got, and try to do FL some other time. Yes, I could do all three, but i'm not trying to blow my budget (not to mention the fit for summer challenge), and i'll be having many other meals on this trip and maybe a glass of wine or two . What say you?

Not sure how I missed this. Any one out there still interested in splitting a case?

I don't think she meant "poor" people like destitute, but rather the young adult just out of college, the young married couple, etc. that doesn't have the budget to spend $100 each on dinner and stay in a $200 a night room. When I was in that situation, I would have loved to have information of the kind that Rachel provides. (Of course in those days, Europe on $5 a day was a big seller.)

I don't understand the vitrol that is directed at Rachel Ray. She is what she is, and doesn't pretend to be anything else. If you bothered to watch the Chefography you will see that she certainly paid here dues and worked her butt off to get where she is. I understand that folks either love her or hate her, but I certainly don't understand why they feel the need to castigate her. We should all be so lucky as to work as hard as she does and make a huge success of something that we love to do. More power to her. I don't have to like her shows (and for the most part I don't bother to watch them) but I certainly admire her moxie and feel she is entitled to all the money and fame that has come from her hard work.

How you can know what she meant? My post was based on what she said about "poor" people. I don't hate Rachel, and i'm not sure why you assume that I do. If I hated her, I wouldn't have been watching her chefography. I watched it with my brother, and we both found her comments about "poor" people out of touch with reality and with her image, and a reflection that the food network is a bit out of touch as well since it didn't edit or reshoot that part of the segment.

I hope everyone's caught the Rachael Ray episode of "Chefography" that's been airing on the Food Network! How can you not love her?

You're kidding, right? Are you referring to the part where she says she's so excited about her "$40 a day" program because she's helping poor people. Give me a break. I know she had you at hello, but it seems this alleged girl-next-door is out of touch with reality. I'm sure "the poor" are excited to have Rachel's advice on how they can stretch their travel dollars the next time they're vacationing in Vermont.

I weighed myself yesterday. I've gained a pound (leaving me with a net loss of 11 pounds), which comes as no surprise to me given the amount of poundcake I ate last week while surfing the net and watching the food network. Such is life. My goal is to step away from the poundcake (my mother made two cakes?!!!), and get my body moving again.

I saw Heather at Corduroy tonight, and I can report that she looks great!

I just need to get some numbers for planning purposes, so please post here in the thread if you're planning on coming (Unfortunately, my PM box is too full right now to handle it that way!)

I'll see you on the 6th, Chris and txaggie. I am happy to support this cause!

The last time I weighed myself (about a week ago), I had lost 12 pounds. I'm not sure how much I weigh right now. I have been at home with my mom for the last week, so my routine is a bit out of sorts. I haven't been eating much (does the lemon poundcake my mom made before she was admitted to the hospital count?), but I also haven't worked out much. We'll see how it all pans out. I may be away from work most of next week, too, so my goal is to work out this week no matter what, and to continue to eat a fairly healthy diet. I think I have overdosed on the buffalo chili i've been eating for the last three months!

It's been a while since I last read New York Times v. Sullivan so I'm not sure that the heightend burden of proof required in defemation cases brought by a public figure would apply in a case involving the tort of business disparagement.

Damn lawyers.

I was at Central about a week ago. I ordered the burger and was asked whether I wanted cheese or bacon with it. I was not asked how I wanted the burger prepared. To be frank, I was confused. Central is a new restaurant, and I have never eaten at Citronelle. I didn't know whether it was an oversight, whether the restaurant was busy, or whether the chef knows how the burger "should" be prepared. I chimed in that I wanted it medium, and all was well. Nevertheless, given the number of people in this thread who have reported that they weren't asked how they wanted their burger prepared, I am beginning to wonder whether Central defaults to a certain preparation or whether they're just that damn busy.

The onion tart is phenomenal.

The burger is amazing (and messy in a comforting way), but I prefer Palena's.

I'm in!

I have lost 11 pounds or so. I have worked every day since February 19th. My mom has been in the hospital since last week. I am tired, and I have a cold. Go figure. I think that I have lost 8 or 9 pounds because of lifestyle changes i've made (preparing more meals, hanging out less, drinking less, not eating everything on every plate that crosses my path). I think the rest is the result of being sick earlier this year, being busy the last month, and being very stress out for the last week. The work madness comes to an end no later than Thursday. I'm happy to rebound and gain a couple of pounds, because I sure would love a good meal or two or three.

I am avoiding my scale. I know that I've gained a couple of pounds. I can feel it. And, I can see it. The jeans don't lie. (I know that weight fluctuates, blah, blah, blah). I was feeling sorry for myself earlier today, so, surprisingly, I went to the gym. Que? What I am realizing is that I really want to accomplish this goal. I don't want to get to May and find that i've let myself down.

Happy Happy

Happy Happy

Happy Happy

Happy Happy Birthday to you, Hillvalley!

Friday. Happy Hour. Corduroy.

Get out?!!!!!!! Hooray!!

According to my scale, I've lost 7.5 pounds. Of course, I weighed myself yesterday afternoon, before my out-of-town guests arrived for the weekend, and my what a weekend it's been.

f (x, y) =

y + 1 ........................ {when x = 0}

f (x-1, 1) ................... {when x > 0 and y = 0}

f (x-1, f (x, y-1)) ........ {when x > 0 and y > 0)

f(0, y) = 1 + y

Using strong induction to prove f(1, y) = y +2:

Base case:

f(1, 0) = f (0, 1) = 2 = 0 + 2

f(1, 1) = f (0, f (1, 0)) = f(0, f(0, 1)) = f (0, 2) = 3 = 1 + 2

Assume for all k = 2 to y-1 that it is true then show for y:

f(1, y) = f(0, f(1, y-1)) = 1+ f(1, y-1) = 1 + [(y - 1) + 2] = y + 2 QED.

Using strong induction to prove f(2, y) = 2y + 3

Base cases:

f(2, 0) = f(1, 1) = 3

f(2, 1) = f(1, f(2, 0)) = f(2, 0) + 2 = 5 = 2(1) + 3

Assume for all k = 2 to y-1 that it is true then show for y:

f (2, y) = f(1, f(2, y-1)) = 2 + f(2, y-1) = 2 + 2(y-1) + 3 = 2 + 2y - 2 + 3 = 2y + 3 QED.

Using strong induction to prove f(3, y) = 2^(3+y) - 3 [where 2^x denotes 2 raised to the power of x]:

Base case:

f(3, 0) = f (2, 1) = 5 = 2^(3+0) - 3

f(3, 1) = f (2, f(3, 0)) = f (2, 5) = 13 = 2^(3+1)-3

Assume for all k=0 to y-1 that f (3, k) = 2^(3+k) - 3. Now prove for y.

f(3, y) = f(2, f(3, y-1)) = f(2, 2^(3+y-1) - 3) = 2{[2^(3+y-1)] - 3] + 3

= 2* {[2^(y+2)] - 3} + 3 = 2^(y+3) - 6 + 3 = 2^(y+3) - 3 QED.

f(4, 0) = f(3, 1) = 13

f(4, 1) = f(3, f(4, 0)) = f(3, 13) = (2^16)-3 = 65533

f(4, 2) = f(3, f(4, 1)) = f(3, 65533) = 2^65536 - 3

Uhhhh. Que???!!!

Rachel Ray drives me crazy, with her evoo, and her goofy laugh, and her "eye ball it" nonsense, but I must admit that she had inspired me to cook. Everyone else in my immediate family is an amazing cook, but somehow the genes mostly skipped me. Now, with Rachel Ray, I'm convinced that all things are possible. Heck, if SHE CAN COOK, SO CAN I.

Thank you, Rachel Ray. Please buy a measuring cup or four, and learn to make dessert.

i... can't...help...myself....

Well, all and all, I have had a successful week. I'm not sure that I have lost any weight because of my "new" lifestyle, but I am developing some new habits, and I feel good. Heck, yesterday, I left Corduroy before 9:00.

I have one life lesson to share, though.

Life Lesson #1: No matter how delicious the Palena cheeseburger is, you should not order a second one, even if you tell yourself that you are substituting the second burger for dessert. This is not consistent with the plan.

Pardon me while I loosen my belt.

I've lost 6 pounds, but that's largely because I was sick last week and had a very small (and sometimes non-existent) appetite. Now that i'm eating again, I figure i'll quickly regain 3 of those pounds. We'll see.

I've made a few adjustments, and there are more to come. I usually eat oatmeal for breakfast or nothing at all. I prepare my oatmeal with soymilk, chopped apples, cinnamon, freshly-grated nutmeg, vanilla extract and, on occassion, slivered almonds. When I eat it, I feel like i'm indulging, which is nice. The oatmeal also gets me through the morning and early afternoon with no hunger pains.

For lunch I have been eating tuna sandwiches with no cheese and half the bun from Potbelly, which moved into my office building about a month ago. For dinner, I have been eating at home more frequently. I went grocery shopping over the weekend. So far, I've made a pot of pinto beans (using the last slice of Jake's ham from the fall picnic), tuna salad w/ mutligrain bread for lunch, and bluefish, which I ate tonight with sauteed portabello mushrooms. Even given all of my planning, I did not consume enough calories today, so by the time I got home at 10:30, I was starving. Talk about ruining an entire day of conscious eating. Damn it! Who knows how many calories I consumed between 10:30 pm and 12:00 a.m?!

That's all for now. Bilrus and porcupine, I have been enjoying your daily food reports. They inspire me. Please keep posting!

hot buttered rum

I have never been overweight, but at my heaviest was a good 15lbs more than I am now (they don't call it the freshman 15 for nothing right), and this is the best advice I can offer. Eating well and light, whatever "plan" or method you follow, shouldn't be looked at as a diet. Diets are temporary. It should be a lifestyle, a way of eating.

I could never go back to eating the fried foods I used to eat, or the creamy salad dressings. The thought of them turns me off... I don't miss fatty cuts of meat because I never ate that to begin with. There are so many wonderful foods out there that are absolutely delicious and healthy. And once you wean yourself off of anything, the cravings for it will go away.

On a side note, and this may just because I'm an allergic freak and have a weird GI tract, but I ate some fries and red meat after not having done so for years, and got pretty ill from that...

Welcome to dr.com, brettashley. I'm sure you mean well, but please know this: We know that you are not overweight. We know that even when you gained fifteen pounds you were not overweight. We know that you don't need to lose any weight. You've mentioned this is several posts. Why so many reminders (in the "fit for summer" thread) that you do not need to lose weight?

My weight loss strategy is to commit to a regular workout routine, eat out less frequently, and eat smaller portions of the things I like when I eat out. We'll see how this works. I'm not much for counting calories or depriving myself of the things I like, because I don't think I can sustain that over the long run. I'm sure many of you can, and I wish I were more like you!

Also, thanks for the reminders about olive oil. I tend to use quite a bit of it when I cook, because I know it's a good fat. Nevertheless, it's still fat, and I have been using it way too liberally. Keep those tips coming!

I'm in. I've had enough of the dr.com 15.