Day 49: Back to the Quaker

The Quaker dude looks friendly enough, but his smug, steely-eyed stare makes me automatically drop 5 pounds.

I'm back over 160 pounds (160.8, to be exact). Technically, that's within the healthy weight range for my height (I'm 5'9"), and people are often surprised I weigh that much, because the poundage is distributed pretty evenly. However, I like to keep it between 155–159. Ideally, I'd like to be between 145–149, so another 10 pounds down the drain would be awesome. That means whenever I hit 160 again, I have to up the exercising and control my eating habits better.

Eating oatmeal every morning for breakfast helps me drop few pounds. A good virus does the trick, too, but I'm enjoying the summer and don't really feel like sacrificing my current state of sun-kissed vibrancy for a slimmer figure. I could inhale oatmeal every day for long stretches -- I once consumed it every morning for a month, with absolutely no variation in how it was prepared or what was included with it. Some people might get sick of that routine, but I'm what you call a systematic eater for breakfast and lunch (I need some culinary spontaneity with dinner, though).

I used to eat flavored oatmeal, but I didn't like consuming all the added sugar, so now I prepare two packs of plain oatmeal with skim milk (water makes it too watery for my taste, and I like the added calcium) and add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, blueberries, bananas, and whatever other edible items I have lying around. I'm usually sated with this meal, plus coffee, and I immediately feel leaner and meaner.

After a few weeks of hitting the Quaker (or any private-label brand -- plain oatmeal is plain oatmeal), I don't crave higher-fat breakfast repasts. That said, on September 20, the day after the Dash, you can bet your booty I'll infiltrate the nearest Long Island diner to scarf down a cheese-laden omelette with home fries and a gigantic buttered English muffin. Warriors deserve rewards in the form of over-the-top repasts.