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When I hopped on the scale at the gym today I was pleased to discover that it looks like I've hit the 17 pound mark in weight lost since the beginning of the year.  That's good progress yet somehow it barely seems like a dent.  Nevertheless, I'm pleased with what I've accomplished so far and I definitely feel better.  The thought of being guilty for not going to the gym on a given day was something I could not have even comprehended just a few short months ago.

Liz & the kids went to visit family and friends in NY yesterday so I was on my own for dinner.  I decided to make a batch of French Onion Soup as the soup regular season is nearing a close.  It came out pretty damn good.  I was tired and around 8 PM I went to grab something from the bedroom where not surprisingly I found Maggie sacked out on our bed.  (Note - there are two dog beds on the floor in our bedroom)  I decided to give her a few scritches for her disobedience and the next thing I know I'm being awoken by Liz when she came home.  I ended up getting about 10 hours of sleep which is unheard of for me.  I guess I was tired.

Speaking of soup, if you have HBO and are even a casual sports fan then you should check out Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals tomorrow night (3/6) at 8 PM ET.  I've never been a huge NBA fan and it's barely watchable these days but this promises to be a good special.  Check out this clip from 1988 3-point competition during the NBA all-star weekend for some vintage Bird.  I didn't watch this live but I have a friend who still talks about it incessantly.  Anyway watch the special tomorrow night if you're not otherwise occupied.

We threw together a pretty sweet dinner tonight that was also quite healthy so I thought I would share the recipe.  We're sick of winter so the idea of a burger for dinner was a welcome concept and a nice way to shrug off the Team USA overtime loss to America Jr.

Ingredients:

• 3 small to medium onions (white or yellow)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Spray cooking oil (Canola)
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
• 4 slices yellow American cheese
• 4 multi-grain sandwich thins (Arnold's)
• 4 Boca burger patties (we tried the bruschetta flavor)

The key to a successful patty melt is in the onions.  Caramelized onions kick ass.  If I had my way, we would have a continuous batch of caramelized on the stove at all times like a greasy spoon dive.  Caramelizing onions is easy but a little time consuming.  Here's a good article on how to do it so I'm not reinventing the wheel here.

Once your onions are all set, spray a non-stick pan or skillet with the cooking spray and warm it over medium heat.  Throw in the Boca burgers or whatever your patty of choice is.  For frozen veggie burgers, cook for about 8 minutes total and flip at the half way point.  Move the patties around every minute or so to keep them from burning.  Grilling is always a better option if you have one and the weather permits.

While your burgers are cooking, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Get a baking sheet or stone and arrange the 4 sandwich thins.  Once the burgers are done, add them to the sandwich thins.  Top with onions and then cheese.  The cheese must go on after the onions in order to form a protective blanket that preserves the structural integrity of the patty melt.  Throw the sandwich thin top on the stack and pop it in the oven for about 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted just right.  Once the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted, add your tomato slices and of course some ketchup.  I threw some hot sauce on that pig as well.

Sides are up to your individual preference but we went with the trusted garden salad.  All in, the patty melt is about 5 WeightWatchers points.  Not bad.  Fat free ranch dressing on the salad adds another point which is still not bad for dinner.  We used veggie burgers but you could of course do this with regular burgers or whatever you like.  It was pretty damn good.

We all have a mental image of ourselves and it is usually a vision of where we want to be or perhaps where we were.  For me, I think back to over a decade ago when I was a much thinner lad in my post-high school or college days.  Years of easy living and late night eating took their toll and at some point my metabolism decided to go on strike.  The two sides have not returned to the bargaining table since.

Liz and I have tried dieting etc. a number of times to get ourselves more healthy.  We were probably most successful in the months before we found out that she was pregnant with Abby.  Of course after we learned that she'd be eating for two, all bets were off and I was back on the salsa con queso express.  In the four years since that point we've made some other unsuccessful attempts to get back on the horse but to no avail.

Along with probably a hundred million other people, I started a diet immediately after the New Years holiday.  I think I finally hit rock bottom somewhere around Christmas.  I won't go in to the gritty details but let's just say there were probably wings and cheese products that contain no real cheese involved.  I think something finally snapped for both Liz and I.  We made the decision to make a change and so the dieting started.

The critical juncture in this latest diet escapade was when I decided that eating healthy was simply not going to be enough.  So, I started looking around at gyms in the area, hoping to avoid the meathead, guido, unz unz unz unz unz places.  We found a great health club that caters mostly to families and even offers child care.  Both of us have been going there at least 5 days a week since the beginning of January and I think we finally found our niche.

Monday is the first day of March.  I'm approaching 15 pounds lost and hopefully some lean muscle gained.  I'm looking forward to walking in to the gym Monday morning knowing that I have made it through the post-New-Years-start-a-diet-join-a-gym bubble.  The trainers etc. at the gym tell me that the beginning of March is usually where the non-hackers fall off.  We still have a long way to go as this is a lifestyle change but it feels good to be turning a corner.