Day One

And so it begins...today was day one of a 10-week food study I'm participating in at Skidmore College, along with my daughter Katie. It started at 7:45 am with a weigh-in (ugh!), blood tests, and another test to analyze exhaled breath which tells the researchers quite a bit about my current metabolism. Then I received some written instructions and recipes, and a big canvas bag filled with the foods I'll be consuming going forward, including whey protein powder for shakes, vitamin supplements, an herbal tea powder, and really delicious chocolate protein bars.  A calorie counting device was provided, and that's worn for 48 hours and then turned in, giving an indication of just how much I do/don't move! These tests will be repeated at the mid-point of the study and then again at the end, and I am looking forward to making great progress and shedding some of this excess baggage while getting healthier.  Win win!

I'll be making dinner every night and the options are not as dire as I had expected.  Basically, it's a portion of lean protein, good carbs like brown rice or whole wheat pasta, veggies like broccoli and spinach and everything else that's colorful, and salads. Tonight I cooked a 4 oz. piece of cod fillet by poaching it in white wine, lemon juice, garlic, and a little bit of Olivio. Next to that I had a half-cup brown rice and a big pile of steaming broccoli. On the side I had a romaine salad with the freshest tomatoes from my little garden pot, dressed in Paul Newman's Lite Sun-dried Tomato dressing (new fave!).  Then, before bed I have a chocolate protein bar, and I have to tell you, it's like a dessert worth waiting for!  I'd have taken photos of the dinner but it was inhaled (prepared a little later than I'd planned) before I could find my camera.

Since I basically bought one of everything in the produce department today, there will be oven-roasted veggies with the next few meals. They'll go with the salmon, haddock, chicken, and pork sirloin fillets over the next week.

I'm pretty excited as this study begins, and if you'd like to come along for the ride, please do!

Photo credit: http://www.therenegadeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/day-one.jpg