Wedding Weekend

Thursday I drove down to Philadelphia for my cousin's wedding. As our far flung family gathered at the hotel in Conshohocken throughout the day and night it was a great rolling reunion. My parents thought I looked great, as did my brother...who looks more pregnant than his wife incidentally. I think he is now sporting a beard to draw attention away from his once svelte, and now swollen, mid-section. But he could not hold a candle to me at my worst when I tipped the scales at 302 lbs! He is like me and will just decide to reverse the trend and focus on losing weight again just like my older brother did recently.

You know, I have a photo on my refrigerator of my High School graduation, and looking at myself and my two brothers we were all terrifically fit and slim. Then each one of us maxed out at some point and needed to recapture that once athletic body. (Even my Mom has gotten into the act as she told me tales of her new favorite hobby - Zumba! The hot new exercise dance class craze). I think my maxing-out on weight after a young life of living slim is similar to many American adults -- as the active lifestyle slows down the intake of processed, addictive, horribly unhealthy food and drink increases. Well, guess what, just like my training team in Central Park which focuses on movements and exercises that we grew up with on sports teams or P.E. classes, we are now trying to eat healthfully, not by following some new-fangled fad diet, but, by eating what we grew up with - fruits and vegetables! You see, Mom was right all along! If I had a nickel for every time I heard this in our house growing up, "Mom, I'm hungry." "Have an apple!" Or the ever popular, "Mom, I'm bored." "Go play outside!" If America's current parents replicated this age-old dialogue we would not be besieged by this growing epidemic of childhood obesity.

One thing that was not easily navigable this past weekend was drinking - it was a wedding/family reunion after all! But the good thing is that each morning I had my oatmeal and fruit and plenty of water. I also visited the gym in the Marriott to stay on my exercise schedule. I made the time pure and simple. Often, we don't "have time" for things we should be doing, but in reality, we have plenty of time. When I do nothing, the day zips by. When I do activities there constantly seems like there is more time in the day. It is true that "time waits for no man." It is also true that time actually speeds up when you live a sedentary lifestyle.

The wedding was your typical Italian/German/Irish affair with plenty of food and booze and dancing. The reception was at a beautiful golf course and during the cocktail hour I chose not to really drink or eat - partly because I was so nervous for my speech (the first few sentences were to be spoken in Italian). I heard someone behind me get the vegetarian plate (I should have called ahead, but did not want to be a pest!). The crab on steak dish was very good, but I would rather have had the vegetarian dish.

It was a fantastic time being with family, my cousin looked beautiful, and you really can't ask for anything more - family and fun (and mostly healthy eating).

Back to Bonobo's...But Something is Missing

        President Arthur

Last week I went back to Bonobo's and the guy with the president Chester Arthur whiskers was cleanly shaved! I asked about it and he just said that he often changes his facial hair style. However, he did mention he read my first posting about Bonobo's on my blog, and said "thanks." So, of course I started to channel Woodward & Bernstein and asked if it was my story about his whiskers that prompted the major shave and he said, "Not at all." Hmmm, days after reading my post he is cleanly shaved? Sorry, I got carried away, this is a blog about going vegan for 6 months, and eating healthfully, not an investigative piece, nor a fashion blog!

So the vegetable nori rolls were fantastic as usual, but I also got the avocado soup which I did not realize was supposed to be cold. Also, there was not much to it taste-wise.

I still love sitting in the beautiful Madison Square Park and enjoying my healthy meal while I watch hot, impatient people stand in an enormous queue to eat their beloved Shake Shack greasy hamburger. Each time I eat there (3x) I see who the last person on line is waiting for their burger, and each time they have still not received their burger by the time I am finished with my vegetable nori roll and salad.

Counter

Last week on the last day in NYC for my cousin I wanted to show him the famous pub, and oldest bar in the city, McSorley's which opened in 1854. Being the 4th generation of my family to drink in this pub, and because of its history I was moved to write an ode to it five years ago. If you are interested in an essay wildly off my vegan quest topic, it is posted here: http://nycwritingarchives.blogspot.com/

My cousin does not drink, and neither was I drinking that night and as we went from bar to bar heading east down 7th Street not one bar had non-alcoholic beer. Finally we found a bar on 1st Avenue and 7th Street that served my cousin his Buckler's and I stuck with the seltzer. We met a new friend of mine and then the three of us went in search of dinner. They allowed me to pick a vegan/vegetarian restaurant.

I found a great place at 105 First Avenue called Counter. The interior looked like a kitschy, 1960's lounge and of course me and my suit and tie stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the Lower East Side hipsters.

I ordered the White Bean Hummus & Kale pizza for the table. I thought it was delicious and both my cousin and friend were very skeptical of eating kale, but they both really enjoyed it. For the main course they both went with flatbread pizzas which the menu says, "Includes local - sustainable dairy with no animal rennet." So, I looked up rennet and that is, according to Wikipedia: is a natural complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. So, I ask you readers - this is dairy, thus not vegan, so why is it important that it does not include animal rennet?

I ordered the Farmhouse Panini which included walnut-lentil pate, wild arugula, rosemary aioli, rustic Italian ciabatta -- it was great, very tasty. But the bread was not flat like a traditional panini, it was too thick. But, I really liked the place!

We ended the night up on my roof smoking cigars and listening to songs by Oingo Boingo ( my friend who is my age never heard of them, and she fashions herself an 80's music expert!).

My First Spin Class

Many apologies for the long absence! I traveled to Philadelphia for my cousin's wedding from Thursday to Sunday and did not have the time, or should I say, I did not make the time to write!

So, backing up here. Last week I took my first spin class!

Now, I first heard of spinning 15 years ago and was always interested but never took a class. Then when I met and dated the Lady of London I would go to the gym with her while she taught her spin class. I think I was too intimidated to take her class because I was afraid of not keeping up with the rest of the group. One of my friends loved his spin class, while another said it is too awkward for tall people like us. Then there was that story on the Post about one guy in a spin class was so angry with the noise another guy was making that he picked him up and slammed him to the ground. Reading about this saga both guys sounded like such jackasses - another excuse to not try out spin class. So with all of these mind-made impediments I kept skirting the spin class. Then, last week I went to the gym after work and hopped on the bike for 10 minutes for a warm-up and then went to lift some weights which is next to the spin studio. Well, a class was about to start and without thinking I walked in and told the instructor that this was my first time. I requested a spin bike in the far back of the studio and the instructor made sure the seat was the appropriate height and told me what his commands mean.

OK, and we are off!

I was now in a darkened studio on a spin bike and incredibly fit people, mostly women, file in and get on the bike. Of 22 people in the room I was 1 of 3 men. I suddenly started to get really nervous. I have felt this peculiar anxiousness only twice before: once while standing outside the locker room before my first High School football game and watching a team significantly bigger than us walk onto the field, and the other time in college minutes before my first rugby game when our coach said something startling and all-too-true, "For most of you, in addition to playing your first rugby game, this is also the first rugby game you have ever seen live." Now, although it was to be just me and my bike (as opposed to a full contact sport against others), I was still very anxious, as silly as that sounds. I just did not know what to expect, and my greatest fear was not keeping up with the class.

We started out at a good pace, but then I realized that I was already 10 minutes in on my bike riding from before! The music was pumping, and now we are standing up on the bikes pedaling madly. The sweat was pouring out of me like blood was spurting out of Eli Manning Monday night...and it was only 15 minutes in! The whole purpose of spin class is a steady climb up an imaginary hill using increasing resistance on the wheel and punctuated by sudden prolonged bursts of pedaling.

After one particularly long burst of energy the instructor calls for a water break as we continue to pedal...water? What water? I was supposed to bring water? Looking around I saw that every single person has a big ice-cold bottle of water. I turned into that kid with his nose pressed up against the ice cream parlor, with no money in his pockets, salivating at the other kids inside enjoying their ice cream cones. Water, water everywhere and not a drop (for me) to drink! Damn. I really wish I knew that water was a part of this program! Oh, and towels. Everyone had multiple towels to wipe down their arms, legs, face, handle bars...and me with my one tiny dish towel sweating like coal shoveler on a steam ship and hallucinating from thirst. The rest of the class did not seem to be panting as much as I was as their trim bodies were effortlessly wheeling with the spin bike at a ferocious pace, and their little blond ponytails dance from side to side...wait, ahem, let's stop it right there! It was pretty gruelling since I could spy the clock in the weight room and the minutes slowly, maddeningly so, crawled forward.

But...I did it! The full hour! It was exhausting, and I never sweat more in my life. Did I like it? Well, I really love the feeling after a hard work-out, and the spin class was rough on my leg muscles but easy on my knees. Yeah, I will definitely do it again. I love boxing more, but the spin class had me all wobbly and soaked to the bone afterwards and that was a great feeling. And I got over my fear of spinning.

Been in Philly for 4 days for Wedding

Lots of updates comming soon!

Park Day

After a well deserved sleep-in (I was actually up quite early on Saturday - too early), on Sunday morning I decided it was time for an early lunch and I made my famous vegan wrap -- this time, instead of slices of avocado, onions, and tomatoes, I just made some guacamole to spread on with the hummus! Yes, it was awesome.

Central Park (OK, not Summer)

Then I decided that it was time for some activity, so we went for a bike ride in Central Park. It was a crowded day in the park, but the weather was not as bad the previous week. Although dodging traffic on pot-holed roads in Manhattan was not in his training, my cousin handled himself quite well - he represented his home town of Venice, CA with aplomb.

Sheep's Meadow

It was great to cruise around the park on our bikes, and then for some "culture" we popped into the Boat House (often a stomping ground for the "wetter" and "less healthy" me over the years). I sipped my water and told old tales of the old me trudging through life unhealthily - to remind myself not to visit again. Then for more people watching we rode over to Sheep's Meadow were tons of people were laying out as if at the beach. It was so great to be outside, in the sun, being active and enjoying natural surroundings -- in fact one woman (obviously European) caught our nature-loving eye as we passed when she flipped over on her towel to lay on her back and nothing but the sunshine was covering her recently purchased chest. By coincidence, we both needed to tie our shoes at that moment...and my cousin was wearing slip-on Vans sneakers.

After hiking our bikes up my 4th floor walk-up, I jumped online to get a good deal on Yankees-Red Sox tickets for that evening's game. Getting pretty good seats online at a great rate we hoped on the subway up to the stadium. The new Yankee Stadium is certainly beautiful, the team: best in baseball, but the food selection is still abysmal. Now, most certainly a baseball game must have peanuts, hot dogs, and cracker jacks - if they did away with that I would be the first one on the protest line! However, give me just a little something that is remotely healthy. In our section there was nothing. Not one single salad, or chicken sandwich, or anything that was not either fried, or living under a heat lamp for the last 8 hours. All I was able to get were some peanuts and a water for the game. They had nothing healthy, or even quasi-healthy! It is just a shame, but it is really stupid - they would sell a huge amount of healthy food guaranteed!

Additionally, this was my first baseball game since going vegan (and now moderately vegan). Add since I promised myself a booze-less weekend, I wont lie to you, the urge and desire to have a beer was immense! But I fought through it successfully and watched the Yankees put on a great show beating the Red Sox handily! However, I noticed that when you are only drinking water at a Yankee game those drunk, obnoxious losers from somewhere outside Manhattan (sorry my elitism showing through) are not merely annoying as other times, but downright insufferable!

More drunk idiots on the train home and I was reminded how much happier it is to live a cleaner life - no drunkeness, no box of cracker jack sitting at the bottom of my belly, and no regrets.

More of a Diary Entry than a Food/Vegan Blog!

Lexington Bar & Books

Friday night I had dinner at The Mermaid Inn in the Lower East Side. I was expecting more of a roll-up-your-sleeves New England joint, but it was very good and I decide to eat fish this evening having their clam chowder, and the salmon. Both delicious, but my taste buds are now hypersensitive so I will say the chowder was too salty and the salmon too oily. If I lined up 10 people who had the same dish, however, my guess is that only one or two would agree with that assessment. We ended up at Lexington Bar & Books where I thoroughly enjoyed my cigar...OK, cigars. The waitress was very proper and her diction and elocution were flawless. It was like she had an accent - actually we asked were she was from. Turns out, from Philly - just a classically trained Shakespearean actress. Refreshing to see such a proper woman at only 27 years old -- nice to see a young woman without a tramp stamp, using foul language, and jug of vodka in her hand as seen on TV! Although, I'm sure she was teased mercilessly growing up since she spoke that way always. It was a civilized evening that included gentlemanly behavior in a prime, proper, old school, jacket and tie, cigar in hand sort of way...I got lost in the ambience, the company, and the discussions about the curse of actually saying the "M" play, literature, poetry...jeez, I actually recited Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade" merely to impress my little audience. Oh, and yeah, well, on this night I really got caught up in it all and I did have some rye on the rocks. But I swore to myself that the Saturday and Sunday would be a life of clean living...it was.

Saturday was healthy food choices, and the my cousin came into town. We ate at my regular Turkish restaurant Taksim- he loved the lentil soup - and then we went had a cigar. Even though it was only 11:30 (on a Sat. night, no less) I was tired, and there was no benefit in chasing fun so we headed home. We stopped into P.J. Clarke's to survey the crowd, and the bartender promptly poured me a water without asking. Nice.

Class War in Obesity

Southwest Porch, Bryant Park

On Friday after work I met a friend at the Southwest Porch of Bryant Park - a great place to feel like you are on a neighbor's recently refurbished patio to munch on snacks or have a drink. I met a father and son from Denmark as we were sitting at the same communal table. Although my Irish side is quite dominant, percentage wise I am actually more Danish than Irish (a Czech [Bohemia] paternal Great Grandmother tipped the blood-line percentage in favor of my maternal Scandinavian heritage). So, being their first visit to NYC I was fascinated by their reaction and I of course gave them my suggestions to get the real flavor of the city. I then asked about Denmark and the people. And of course I asked about obesity issues - they were both tall and thin. They bought me a beer as my friend showed up so wanting to avoid an international incident, I obliged. Not to worry the entire weekend was liquor-free and quite healthy (if you remember, it's the weekends that give me the toughest boxing match with moderation).

Denmark

They mentioned that in their travels of the United States they have seen much heavier people outside of NYC - I tend to notice the epidemic in the city as well.  And as a side note - my cousin is staying with me this week, the one who works for Devo, and they just finished a concert tour. He said the people he saw in middle America (mentioning the Rochester, NY area specifically) were almost to a person quite obese. Very sad. I digress.

So, the Danes answered my question about obesity in Denmark thusly: "The upper class, the educated, are fit, only the lower class and uneducated are obese in Denmark."  Although lacking tact, he was speaking the truth and I think that goes to many things here in the States too, mainly: fast food is deathly cheap. I only insulted them once - I never realized Carlsburg is a Danish beer. I never gave it much thought, but if pressed I would have said German or even the Netherlands. I could tell the old man was hurt, he told me so. Sorry! I was also curious about that extremely fattening piece of pastry some people eat in the morning, and asked them, "What do Danes call a danish?" "Vienna bread." Whoa! Who knew? I was about to launch into a line from the film Caddyshack, as often men my age do - typically on the golf course, but thought better of it. There was also the chance of offending them again ( more likely confusing them - along with you the reader) with the inane line from Chevy Chase pondering, "A flute without any holes isn't a flute. A donut without a hole is a danish."

Caddyshack

The rest of the weekend will get its blogging due soon - Turks, Cigars, the Park, Yankee game, etc.

Pure

**Update**

Last night I finally went to Pure restaurant in Grammercy Park which describes itself as:

Pure Food and Wine's raw vegan menu is entirely plant based and does not use any processed ingredients. Nothing is heated above approximately 118 degrees in order to preserve vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Everyone always imagines a menu of just salads, but it's much more than that.

Although it is certainly not the cheapest vegan restaurant in NYC, I am going to say that it is close to becoming my favorite.

By coincidence there was a going away party for a colleague next door at Cibar on Irving Place. After my friend met me there we went next door to Pure and sat out in the garden which was beautiful. I had not seen my friend in a year so it was great to see her, and catch up. We were sitting next to a group of women in the corner, and the lady next to me was quite beautiful. My friend informed me later it was Shania Twain!

The meal was fantastic! My appetizer was the nuri rolls which were amazing, and my entree was Sweet Corn and Cashew Tamales with Chili Spiced Portabella: salsa verde, cashew coconut sour cream, avocado, raw cacao mole. She had the heirloom tomato and watermelon tartare and stuffed squash blossoms with cashew cheese, heirloom tomatoes and olive tapendade.

I am a huge fan of Pure now!

Question My Tailoring, Don't Question My Ice Water

Yesterday I grabbed lunch with a friend up at Redeye Grill - a cavernous, and popular seafood restaurant across from Carnegie Hall. We both got salads, and even though I tried to eat around the crumbled bleu cheese I had enough to remember that I used to like it, and now I don't. My guilt in eating probably less than 3 oz of blue cheese was increased when the manager came around with a tiny buttermilk biscuit out of the oven - it was on the tray and everything. It was quite small, less than half the size of a typical dinner biscuit, but I gobbled it down impulsively, and then properly cursed myself. At the end of the meal he came around again, and this time with a hot tray of chocolate chip cookies! Well, that was no bother at all - no friggin way! The two women next to us each grabbed one. They were fairly over-weight and since we started chatting (being in the same business as my friend) they raved about the cookies and chirped that it is "OK" because "They are so small." Certainly true that a small cookie is better than a sleeve of cookies from a box, but from the looks of their salads (covered in gobs of high fat dressing), the amount of biscuits they went through, and their overall girth, I would say that these are women who consciously want to eat healthy, but their health dies the death of a thousand cuts. Meaning, I think they probably pick a little non-nutritious food here and there and justify it...hourly. "Oh, those cookie were small," or "I had a salad." But in actually, I bet if you lined up the daily calories of some guy who eats at a fast food restaurant for all three meals and the calories of this woman who cancels out healthy eating (salad) with unhealthy attachments (creamy dressing, many bread rolls, cookies), they would be about the same. Besides, having a small cookie as a guilty pleasure is so much more satisfying and guilt free if it is in addition to a nutrient-dense meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner day in and day out.

An old friend wanted to meet me for an urgent discussion, so from a scene right out of a John Le Carre novel we had a rendezvous in the corner of Bryant Park. Although the conversion was quite surprising, it was hardly urgent, juicy, but not urgent, and in actuality the biggest takeaway was her scolding me for wearing a sport jacket that was so big on me, "You look like the kid from the film Big." Yeah, I've been meaning to get this one taken in.

After work I went to the gym. Well, first I went to Modell's in Times Square who is having a terrific sale on sporting goods so I loaded up on work-out clothes. Ladies, the same excitement you get from a Barney's sample sale I got for my 2 Russell gym shorts for $16.

Happily, the New York Jet cheerleaders were at the gym and I had a rather decent work-out. It is amazing how bored I get with the treadmill, and other machines in the gym and long for the work-outs in Central Park!

After the gym I met my buddy and a couple of his colleagues who I had not seen in a while. We met at the recently expanded and beautified Irish Pub on 7th and 54th. I was still sweating from the gym and the heat and humidity made me a sad soaked site. I ordered a pint of ice water and this drunk, fat, bearded 60 year old bellows, "Get the hell out of here!" in a pathetic attempt to be funny. He then joked with the Irish bartender like he was his best friend (the barman just rolled his eyes) asking if he knows how to make one. In a crowded bar he humored no one, and when he saw that I was actually friends with this bartender as well and not some meandering tourist slowing down the works of a crowded midtown pub with an order of water, he sheepishly went quit. Why is it when I am challenged for drinking water it bothers me so much? It is like I view it as sport, and I was really, really good in this sport for years, and now that I am semi-retired if someone questions my teetotalerism I either want to deck him, or challenge him to a drink off, or both! Childish, I know, but it really bothers me sometimes.

Well, after an hour I did have a pint of Guinness with my friends and had lots of laughs. When I got up to leave and put on my sport jacket both women (in the fashion industry no less) chastised me for wearing a sport jacket two sizes too big! I really need to get that jacket altered!

Hey, Hey, We're the Monkey's

A contemplative bonobo

In all due respect (again) to William Jennings Bryan, the Bonobo is the closest to humans, sharing more of the same DNA with us than all the other great apes. Now let me quickly open and close the underling argument here and submit, correctly, that the H.M.S. Beagle and Genesis are not mutually exclusive. Moving on.

So, apparently the bonobo suffers no degenerative diseases like humans do, and subsist predominantly on raw, wild and plant based: fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I read this at the exceptional, and casual Natural Foods restaurant called...anyone? Anyone? No, not Darrows. Bonobos!

The Original Madison Square Garden

Bonobos is on 23rd Street in the shadow of the famous Flatiron Building, and directly across from Madison Square Park (named for our 4th president, and was the front lawn of the original Madison Square Garden sports complex at the turn of the last century). And, now known most famously as the home of the wildly popular outdoor burger stand, the Shake Shack.

Pres. Chester A. Arthur

Huge line for the Shake Shack

I ordered from a thin guy, heavily tattooed and sporting serious sideburns which framed his chin like president Chester Arthur whose statue anchors the north side of the park. I got the nori vegetable roll which was a type of seaweed wrapped around the freshest, raw, finely chopped vegetables and this organic spread that was amazing. I also got a flatbread-looking thing made exclusively with raw nuts and seeds. I then went to sit down in beautiful Madison Square Park with its large collection of tables and chairs that service the ridiculously long queue for the Shake Shack. There they were, standing in lines that stretched to the street on a warm summer August day just to scarf a greasy hamburger. I almost pitied them as I ate an equally delicious meal of 100% health. Hey, it was monkey food, it was 100% plant-based with no preservatives or additives, and it tasted fantastic! I may have found a new, favorite lunch ritual!

Tonight one of my married friends was in the city, at P.J. Clarke's and was hoping for a drinking chum -- he was slightly put off when I informed him that I am no longer "on call" for quick jaunts to the bar to spin tales for my hen-pecked married pals who's excitement at coming into the city sans wifey is akin to a 10 year old at Disneyland. Besides, I was gingerly shuffling home on my aching (a good sore) legs and loaded down with fruits and vegetables. Dinner was my famous vegan wrap and a giant bowl of cherries.

And that's the way it was for this Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010. Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Monday Training

What Our Work Outs "Don't" Look Like!

My Monday night training session was again pretty rough on my knees, but a killer work-out. The volleyball courts are being redone so we were unable to use the poles to set up the TRX equipment which is so much better for my cartilage-less knees. Again, my trainer Chris is sort of revolutionary by focusing on "movements" and not "exercise." Yet, so much of these movements I've done countless times in sports drills. We just worked every area of the body by doing the simplest drills and I was exhausted at the end of the hour - felt great! Hopefully, we will begin studio work and I can start to show video of my exercises and, hopefully, my progression.


Walking home I felt so much better about myself because my whole body ached, it was a beautiful evening, and walking through the park I was able to think how lucky I am to live here. Plus, I am more at peace and not marching through the city with a scowl like during the day. I am more relaxed and more courteous. Most importantly, I am starving for something incredibly healthy. This is where rewarding my body is something pure and healthy. I got vegetables and some salmon and edamame.

Staying on an eating schedule that is healthy and filling, and exercising regularly is when I feel my happiest, and I am most motivated to stay that way. It is always when I stray that I start to think of food and drink as exclusively pleasures - thus leading to some bad decisions - and not just fuel for the body. Also, when you eat healthfully day in and day out, that "pleasure" food once in a while is so much more special. When you reverse that and eat "pleasure" food day in and out it becomes addictive and you need more (and more decadent) food to feed your addiction.

Wading into Some Deep Philosophical Questions Here...Feel Free to Join in, or Throw Me a Life-Preserver.

The Lady of London posed a question to me, "What do you think of the female form?" This was in response to a discussion started by my friend from Junior High School who told me that she first bought diet pills in the 8th Grade, and first made herself vomit in 9th Grade (as well as other girls I knew). This was all quite shocking to me. My friend from Junior High School was discussing the obsession that women have with weight - even at such a young age, and even back when I could not recall just one girl in my class that was even remotely heavy. So why do women obsess over such things, and is it the fault of Madison Avenue, men, both? Or something else?


My friend prodded me since being a bachelor at 42 years of age I have had a few dates in my lifetime. And the Lady of London joined the debate with such a question of preference. I mean I guess I prefer blonds to brunettes, but I've dated more brunettes in my lifetime. Perhaps I find that perfect 10 body more desirable, but I certainly did not have an army of women with perfect 10 bodies hanging on my arm. And what is a perfect 10, anyhow? My "10" is not my friend's "10." And is rating women on a numerical scale just a tad sexist? I'm no Alan Alda, but still. Now, my buxom-loving buddy prefers women with a balcony you can do Shakespeare from, whereas I do not have such a predilection for the higher alphabets. I'm 6'4" and find myself more attracted to petite women, in fact when I was 300 lbs I dated a string of size 0's and 2's, but there were a handful of women 5'10 - 6' tall that I have dated as of late too. Now, can I appreciate the full figured, Rubenesque form? Most certainly! Have I been less attracted to a woman with a beautiful face and personality that could barely fit into my jeans - yes, I suppose I have.

Now, I think this infatuation with waifish, "Heroin chic" stick-thin bodies is outrageous, but nor do I find "body-by-McDonald's" attractive either. My friend said that she knows of no woman who is happy with their body, and who does not think they need to lose at least 10 lbs. I am not so sure, scary if it is true. That is why I applaud Dove's "Comfortable in your own skin" media campaign. I mean Marilyn Monroe would be considered very over-weight by today's fashion magazine standards, so it is good that these impossible standards are changing to be more realistic. However, with this tsunami-like focus on boosting self-esteem in young girls let us not allow over-eating and no exercise to be excused out of fear of damaging their sensitive feelings. I mean, no kid should be over-weight. I think there are tons of nuance when discussing the epidemic of childhood obesity and we should not walk on eggshells out of fear of some imagined new epidemic of Bulimia. It is not, in my opinion, convoluted or ambiguous to say to kids and teens: "You are over-weight, stop eating fast food and soda every day, and go outside and play or exercise" and in the same breath say, "By the way, plus size adult models are gorgeous too."

Yes, I have dated lots of women, but at no point did body type detract from the relationship at hand. I know one ex-girlfriend who is a size 0, double-take beautiful, has an amazing job that takes her to some of the most beautiful places in the world - in other words a great catch, but runs miles daily not because she loves it, but because she feels she needs to stay in shape to be more desirable to men. She can live at Taco Bell for 6 months and still turn heads. So, why this obsession?

It is obviously ingrained. The same mental state that makes a 13 year old girl stick her fingers down her throat in the school bathroom is the same mental state that made my friend in the Hamptons obsess for :30 minutes over which sandal was "cuter" to wear before going out. I assured her at no point will any straight man in any bar in the Hamptons ever, ever look to see what sandals she (or any other woman) is wearing. So how do man's qasi-Neaderthal disposition force some women to worry so much about those extra pounds as to sometimes be dangerous? I really don't know. But, I do know, rather, I strongly believe there is no such thing as a perfect " female form."

So, as a single man in New York City let me answer the Lady of London's question: "What do you think of the female form?" Answer: I like it.

The Hamptons

Georgica Beach

Famous 18th Century E. Hampton Windmill

Friday afternoon was a half day and my friend was generous enough to invite me out to her beach house in East Hampton. Battling sporadic traffic on a gorgeous day heading out to the Hamptons was just perfect for me. Although, just as we entered West Hampton traffic was stopped on the Expressway for 15 minutes as we waited for an enormous motorcade to pass. I read the next day that it was the VP and Mrs. Biden vacationing at the home of some activist (who is obviously wealthy). The Hamptons really is a major political hub of fund raisers, etc. Perhaps in the not too distant future I will be sponsoring a fund raiser to get school kids eating healthier and exercising more! I think I could entertain in one of those giant mansions on the beach rather effortlessly, no? I wish!

Easy Hampton Estate

Obviously, on such a gorgeous day the number one food desire is firing up the BBQ. We went to the store where I stocked up on vegetables, as well as whole wheat tortilla, humus, etc. We then went to the fish store for some salmon, scallops, and shrimp.

Another East Hampton Beach House

I absolutely love grilling - and grilling healthy food. After marinating the scallops and salmon in Newman's Own Italian dressing, Old Bay seasoning, and a little beer (an old recipe from my fraternity) I put on skewers the scallops, shrimp, zucchini, onions, and squash. Grilled the salmon separately and used the rest of the shrimp for shrimp cocktail. For vegetable, sweet corn on the cob. It was fantastic!

I will say that it was even better the next morning when I grilled the rest of the vegetables for my famous vegan wraps (also adding leftover scallops and shrimp). Taking those wraps to the beach was a perfect, healthy, summer lunch. My friend said it was the best sandwich she has had in the last 10 years and vowed to get rich stealing my recipe.

Stephen's Talkhouse

The beach was spectacular. The difference between the Jersey Shore (except the gorgeous Spring Lake), as far as beach goers, compared to the Hamptons is similar to the difference between a New York Jets tailgate, and a polo match. Nary a tattoo, nor hair-jelled body builder strutted the tony neighborhood of the rich and famous. We settled at the exclusive beach Georgica where people like Steven Spielberg and John Bon Jovi often lay their towels. No spottings this weekend.

I went for a long walk down the beach to look at these enormous seaside mansions and to get my exercise in. I was overcome with energy cruising this Gold Coast and started running. Sure enough my knees were barking and I smartly pulled up, jumped into the cool ocean water and started swimming -- truly a great workout! No wonder swimming Olympian Michael Phelps needs something like 8 Billion calories a day!

Cyril's

Saturday night I met a buddy of mine at the famed Stephen's Talkhouse in Amagansett to watch the greatest band that never was, The Bogmen. Between Stephen's Talkhouse, and the Meeting House across the street, and the famous (infamous really) Cyril's on Montauk Highway, I ran into a large assortment of former colleagues, friends, friend's of friends, a waitress from P.J. Clarke's, and a couple of ex-girlfriends. All in all an adventuresome weekend!

I will say that my poorest move was ordering a mudslide at Cyril's...well, poorest for dietary purposes. The poorest move was ordering from the bartender before she asked me what I wanted - there is a very strict code at Cyril's on how to order a drink. The following day I actually poured out my beer at Cyril's. Cyril's is a seafood restaurant and outdoor bar where hundreds congregate in the gravel parking lot. Another friend was drinking a syrupy strawberry daiquiri and she dropped it accidentally covering my legs in sticky frozen drink. Well, I would never waste a beer in my old days, but today, I really don't have much use for it, so with the one beer I had at Cyril's I simply poured it over my legs to get rid of the sticky daiquiri much to the delight of my friends...sticky beer is less of a nuisance, and there was not a hose near by. Besides water was better for me.

The weekend in the Hamptons was terrific and I caught the last Hampton Jitney bus back Sunday night (driving back with my friend at 4 AM did not particularly interest me).

I really love picking up summer fruits and vegetables and yes, some fish, and having an absolute bang-up feast!

Bacon, Surf Boards, and a Dive Bar

Thursday I had a client luncheon and we went to, surprise, Primehouse steak restaurant. She is a good friend and runs the Bacardi business - although this was not a liquid lunch thankfully. Primehouse is a rather new steak house in NYC and is quite popular. Although I had a delicious lobster bisque to start, my entrée was a large salad with no dressing and a plate of asparagus. It was quite good and very filling. My client ordered an appetizer that consistent of slices of bacon about 1/2 inch thick. It was an enormous plate of heart-killing food, but it looked so good! Why? Because even though my taste buds have changed, and my food desires have changed radically, and my education on food went from 3rd Grade to a Masters Program in 6 months, a big sizzling slice of bacon still looks good! I'm not repulsed by it, and a mouth-watering Pavlovian reaction to it still exists. But, what I do now is simply resist the impulse, whereas the old me would have had a knee-jerk reaction and would have ordered two plates!

Her entrée was a lobster roll that also had even more bacon! She offered me a strip, and I took a small bite out of curiosity. Guess what, it still tastes good, but my mind was able to ignore that rest of the strip and acknowledge how unhealthy it is for me. So, a salad covered in bleu cheese dressing now tastes awful (I used to love it), but eggs and steak still taste good -- it's just I have no desire for those things anymore. It is amazing to me that my mind can change so much. But look at it this way - most people love ice cream or cake, but you don't eat it every day, or even every week. Yes, I still like food that is terribly unhealthy if eating in large quantities, but I have conquered my all or nothing attitude -- at least as far as food is concerned.

Thursday evening I took my assistant, and a colleague to a brand new surf bar called Reunion. My client at lunch was telling me about the bar and a Bacardi rum product that is great in a "Dark 'n' Stormy" (rum and Ginger Beer). Looking to blow off some steam and satisfy a longing for a good "beach" type bar like the one's I would frequent when I lived in Hermosa Beach, we went to Reunion. Also, I wanted to test myself and have just one drink and not dive into an all night session. Remember, total abstinence is much much easier for me than extreme moderation! We had a Dark 'n' Stormy. And then another. OK, time to leave - time to take myself out of the temptation. So, what did we do? We went to the great, famous dive bar Rudy's down the street, also in Hell's Kitchen. Rudy's opened in the 1930's and is famous for their free hotdogs and duct tape holding their booths together. A dive bar amongst dive bars. My two colleagues had never been so I was playing tour guide of my old haunts! Thankfully, I stayed in tour guide mode, and did not dive into a drink-a-thon like I used to.

I ended the evening with a banana and a giant bowl of cherries feeling rather satisfied with myself since the night could have ended up very differently if the old me surfaced. He did not.

"Free Fallin'" - Well, Not Really

Sorry for the long absence!

Wednesday was a full day. For lunch we took clients who work on the Jaguar account to Caffe Lugo. A good Italian restaurant across from Madison Square Garden. A few of the clients dove into some wine, but I abstained. I've had the salad at Caffe Lugo before and it is OK, but I was terribly hungry. I ordered the pasta special with mushrooms. Tasty, but too much oil for my new taste buds. Then Wednesday night we were entertaining our Sprint client by going to the Tom Petty concert at MSG. Being that Caffe Lugo is one of very few good restaurants in the area, back we go! And spying someone else with the scallops risotto I caved and ordered it. That was ridiculous - two past dishes in one day? I definitely let my desire to "please" myself trump my desire to "fuel" myself. And when the taste is gone? Feelings of regret, whereas, eating a healthy meal leaves a lingering satisfaction. I can pause, and put the candy bar down, but sometimes for a meal I will justify all my sacrifice for a healthy life and diet (which is not a sacrifice at all) deserves moments of decadence. Although we should all feel free to reward ourselves with a less than healthy decadent meal once in a while I just don't deserve it - not with my goal unattained.

The concert was terrific (except for the part in the middle in which he played all his new stuff), and at 59 years of age he sounded better than ever. We were in our company box with plenty of booze and unhealthy snacks. Just like our luxury box at Citi Field, it is stocked with all of the unhealthiest snacks you can imagine! The temptation was great to bite into a chocolate chip cookie, especially after a couple of beers! Why can't they serve a healthy option? I think it is economics - it is so much cheaper to offer bags of chips than a delicious vegetable tray.

Over-thinking the Candy Bar

The Executive Asst. in the office has a giant fish bowl filled with candy - a real temptation on some days.

Yesterday, without thinking I grabbed a Reeses's Peanut Butter Cup. I sat down at my desk, went so far as to open it, and then said to myself, "What will I feel like 9 seconds after eating this candy bar?" I'll feel angry with myself! Is 9 seconds of quasi-ecstasy while suffering a sweet-tooth late in a tough day at work worth it? I just kept saying to myself. 9 seconds for what...for what?

I threw it away. I over-thought it, and during that process I talked myself out of it. It is like taking a deep breath when you are angry. It is not so much self-discipline as it is rationalizing the negative, and allowing time to elapse, just moments, to dampen this impulsive urge.

Oh, what the hell do I know? All I know is it worked for me!

Veganism Wins Wars

Last night I picked up a sandwich from Candle Cafe for dinner. Candle Cafe is the casual dining sister to Candle 79, and happens to be on 3rd Avenue and 75th, ironically just steps from one of the best burger places in the city, J.G. Melons. I got the Cajun seitan and mixed vegetables, and it was quite tasty. I am sure that a person with a knee-jerk aversion to veganism would find this sandwich delicious and filling. I actually thought there was too much balsamic on it. It is truly amazing how much my taste buds have changed to prefer plant-based foods grilled, but without any additional dressing, or oils (something I had to have on when eating vegetables in the past).

Today I was unable to go to my Monday training class in the park, and went to the gym later in the evening. Although I had a decent work out, it is clear that I am more effectively pushed, and find greater joy from working out with a trainer in our group. I just can't get enough of that long lost team effect that I had no idea I missed!

Being a collector of books I recently picked up a science book from 1946 -- "Our Environment and How We Use and Control It." I immediately flipped to the section on foods and was surprised how accurate it was in describing the proper foods for fueling our bodies. Obviously, more advanced information has made this 64 year old book generally dated, but not totally obsolete -- it still provided accurate information about food that was made before the scourge of processed and chemical-laden foods.

One thing I found fascinating was this:

1946 Text Book

Boys, Age 14 -- ideal daily caloric intake: 2600-3800

Girls, Age 14 -- ideal daily caloric intake: 2400-3000

2010 Medical Recommendations

Boys, Age 14 -- ideal daily caloric intake: 2200-2500
Girls, Age 14 -- ideal daily caloric intake: 1800+

So, there is an enormous increase in calories that is recommend for teens in 1946 versus today, and I can only assume since teens were in superior shape back then compared to today it is the result of the sedentary lifestyle of today's 14 year old, compared to those in the immediate post-war period that needed more calories.

I must point out one laughable photo showed a navy flight officer getting his eyes tested with the literature saying how war experimentation discovered that eating carrots improves vision at night. This is a text book! In fairness, with all the beta carotene and Vitamin A in carrots it helps your vision stay strong, but certainly does not improve it. As far as improving it at night that comes directly from the propaganda of the British during the war. They invented a type of radar that were able to shoot down German planes at night. But, they put out this "research" over the radio about carrots improving night vision as the reason for their nocturnal success rate to befuddle the Third Reich. Well, not only did that propaganda make it into an American Science book, it is commonly accepted even today! Two years ago at the fantastic British War Museum in London I stumbled upon a class of 3rd Graders getting a lecture. When the docent asked them who has heard that carrots help you see at night nearly every hand went up - amazing. An urban legend for kids that I think should survive into perpetuity.

However, all that war chicanery aside -- eat your carrots! Not for your vision, but for your health!