My Goal for 2012

I’ve said it before: resolutions suck. Instead, I like to focus on goals. One of them is to get my fat butt into shape.

More specifically, by the end of 2012, I want to weigh 185 lbs, with significant fat loss.

Where am I now? Well, it’s embarrassing – here are the stats:

• Height: 5’7″
• Weight: 215 lbs
• Waist: 45 inches
• Hips: 43 inches
• Pants size: tight fitting 38
• BMI: Who knows? It’s high!

What is a guy to do? Well, the fit test near killed me, so looks like I will have to start from the beginning. It’s all about body weight exercises for the resistance training, and the occasional Turbo Jam workout with my wife (and son.) I am not so keen on the hour-long, grueling, inflammatory cardio sessions, but the 20 minute blast hits the spot.

I plan to write what I am doing here for accountability. I hope I actually get better, not worse.

Today’s workout

Grok squat (warmup)

The following exercises are done with a 2-1-2 cadence. (Slowly down for 2 seconds, pause 1 second, up 2 seconds.)

• Wall push ups x20
• Wall push ups x30
• Knee tucks x17
• Knee tucks x13
• Plank x 34 seconds
• Plank x 24 seconds

Turbo Jam 20 min workout (only about 15 min though)

The Result

Yes, it was a bit of a push today. Nothing like a bit of racing heartbeat to tell you that you are working hard.

Some might begrudge the wall push ups. I admit, I am out of shape. Thing is, when you do the push ups super slowly, it is a hard workout. By push up number 15, your arms are feeling it.

Until tomorrow! (Tomorrow is a rest day, so more like a bit of stretching an play with my son.)

This post is a Fight Back Friday Post.

I just read an awesome, thought-provoking piece over at Jan’s Sushi Bar about a Farm-To-Table event that was practically kyboshed by the “evil agents” of the Southern Nevada Heath District.

For the sake of brevity, here is what happened:

A small family farm organized a “Farm-to-Fork Dinner” – a dinner in which they feed guests meats and produce entirely raised and grown on their farms – prepared by a chef and his staff offsite in the big city, then transported using refrigeration trucks to the site, to be served on the farm. The guests were sent out the following invitation and charged for the event:

By bringing the table to the farm we want to reconnect our guests to the land and the origin of their food and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate the local bounty that we enjoy here in the Moapa Valley. It’s not everyday one has the privilege to sit next to the person who planted the beans, raised the beef, shaped the cheese, or who milked the cow that was the source of that luscious cream on your plate.

After a tour of the farm, dinner will be served family style (or farm style). The menu will be dictated by what we freshly harvest from our farm and other local small family farms.

Join us for an amazing dining experience. The sun will set. Candles and a fire will be lit. You will enjoy live music (Bach under the stars), a magical atmosphere, great company and incredible food with a mileage footprint of 5 feet!

The event sold out, and looked to be a great success. Unfortunately, it was not to be; two days before the event, the owners received a phone call from the Southern Nevada Health District informing them that because this is a “public” event, they needed a “special use permit” or face a fine. Incredibly, the farmers complied.

On the day of the event, the heath board inspector showed up. The woman who was inspecting was on the phone with her supervisor, perhaps to get some coaching for the event, or to make sure that whatever she was about to do was within the letter of the health code.

Not surprisingly, since the items to be served were prepared offsite, then transported to the event, they were subject to the health code guidelines. Some items were not up to temperature for service (a huge no-no for those of you who are initiated in the finer points of mad inspection-passing skills.) The inspector demanded the items be discarded.

Surprisingly, they asked the inspector if they were able to save it for their families, or for their livestock. Can you guess the response? A big, “Hell No!” (The code specifically states that if the food is not to be destroyed, it needs to be held in containment until such time the health board can decide what to do with it.)

As you can guess, the whole situation devolved into a scene that would make for a good drama on Friday nights. Thing is, it didn’t have to go out that way.

The first question I would ask is, where the hell was the chef in all of this? I assume he was up to speed on the regional health code, so he would know that he was walking a fine line. Why wasn’t the food up to temperature before service? Where were the labels, etc.? What I’m also missing from this story was how everything was held. Why does the inspector demand that the items be up to temperature? How were they being reheated.

Second, why did this event need a permit in the first place? In the case of the farmers, I wouldn’t have accepted the fact that I needed the permit. There is a fine that can be associated with non-compliance, but the burden of proof is on the state at that point. That’s the time for the Farmer’s Legal defense to get involved.

By getting the permit, they basically admitted they were a food establishment, and were subject to the codes and regulations (however draconic,) laid out by the SNBH. Even if they didn’t make a dime of profit, they were still charging for the food, and to be non-profit they wouldn’t require the permit in the first place.

It states in the Southern Nevada Heath Code that a FOOD ESTABLISHMENT is:

(A) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT means an operation at a particular location that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides FOOD for human consumption which:

(1) Includes but is not limited to a restaurant, satellite or catered feeding location, catering operation if the operation provides FOOD directly to a CONSUMER, market, vending location, a conveyance used to transport people, or an institution.

(2) Includes an operator that relinquishes possession of FOOD to a CONSUMER, directly or indirectly, through a delivery service including but not limited to home delivery of grocery orders, restaurant take-out orders, or service that is provided by common carriers.

Later, it states that:

(C) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT does not include:

(1) An establishment that offers meets the exemption requirements pursuant to NRS 446.870 and is subject to the requirements of NAC 446.042.

(2) Private homes, unless the FOOD prepared or manufactured in the home is sold, offered or displayed for sale, or for compensation or contractual consideration of any kind.

(3) Fraternal or social clubhouses at which attendance is limited to members of the club.

(4) VEHICLES operated by common carriers engaged in interstate commerce.

(5) Any establishment in which religious, charitable, and other non-profit organizations sell FOOD occasionally to raise money, or in which charitable organizations receive salvaged FOOD in bulk quantities for free distribution, unless the establishment is open on a regular basis to sell FOOD to members of the general public.

(6) Any establishment where animals are slaughtered which is regulated and inspected by the State Department of Agriculture.

(7) Dairy farms and plants which process milk and products of milk, or frozen desserts, which are regulated in NRS Chapter 584.

(8) The PREMISES of a wholesale dealer of alcoholic BEVERAGES licensed in NRS Chapter 369 and who handles only alcoholic BEVERAGES which are in SEALED containers.”

There it is in black and white. You can see what I mean by checking out :http://www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/food-regulations/

I don’t agree with the way things were handled… but I do have to point out that the farm did contravene the health code restrictions, and were asking for a problem. I am all for legal defense for the farmer, but I am not into throwing out the baby with the bathwater when it comes to the regulations that govern a restaurant establishment codes of conduct.

By charging for the event, in my eyes it was no different than an event that I would cater – yet I would be bound by the laws of the state’s heath board to comply with the sanitation, operations codes. If I had to comply, but then a farm didn’t (because they were catering to a “private” event,) then I’d be pissed.

I’m not trying to be inflammatory here, I am trying to point out that from the get go, on BOTH sides, this was a grand mismanagement of time, energy, and bureaucratic tape. Worse, it presents a case precedent later on to show that small farms like this are not willing to comply with the state health code, and that in turn hurts the whole movement of farm to table.

My question is, what now? You can fight the law and win, but what have BOTH sides learned from this? If I was the farmer organizing an event like this in the future, I would make sure that I knew where I stood in terms of the health board. Perhaps I am speaking as a chef here – whose had to deal with inspectors making surprise visits, and kind of understands what the health code is there for.

One way to get involved is to go over to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, If you believe you have the right to eat what you want, (i.e. raw milk) then that is the place to go. If you are planning an event like what happened above, know your rights first, before there is a problem.

Where do you turn if you are a Canadian, and looking to support your local agriculture?

I know, I know. What am I doing looking for a CSA in November? There isn’t much growing around here in the winter besides snow, salt, and gravel. I still think it’s worth looking. With my research, I found there is the possibility of procuring meat from the farmer here in Quebec.

Unlike the United States – with its superb LocalHarvest.org – Canada’s information on local CSA programs are a bit like an insipid wonton soup at a Chinese buffet. Sure, there are websites that cater to Ontario and Quebec, but the steps to find information elsewhere are atrocious. Perhaps, once we catch up with our American neighbors, things will take a turn for the better. A universal website for Canada, (that works) would be a great help.

For my Canadian readers, I have put together a list of CSA programs to visit. I searched for CSA programs by province. If there is one that I have missed, let me know in the comments below.

• British Columbia: Farm Folk City Folk is a great resource to find what you need.
• Alberta: CSA Alberta
• Saskatchewan: Your best resource is Keith Neu’s site, JustBeef.ca
• Manitoba: You can go over and look at CSA Manitoba for your resources.
• Ontario: Ontario CSA Directory is your best resource. Ontario has a LOT of plans. (It is a huge province after all!)
• Quebec: Equiterre is your best bet. The link is in English, but the site is native French for those that care about that sort of thing. (You’d have to live in Quebec to understand what I mean by that.)
• Atlantic Provinces: The best resource I could find for Nova Scotia was Taproot Farms. I visited Nova Scotia this summer, and it has a lot to offer. For the others, the best bet is Acorn Organic’s Database of CSA farms. Apparently 85% of New Brunswick’s produce is imported, so it might be a bit difficult to find local produce. Prince Edward Island is pretty self-sustaining, and a quick jaunt over the Confederation Bridge might be in order. (If you don’t mind paying the $43.00 to leave P.E.I.!)
• Northwest Territories/Nunavut: I haven’t been able to find anything out there. I tried, but the closest I could find was something from Sweden. I know the growing period is very short there.

If you find it difficult to navigate the sites, or get the information you need, let me know in the comments below, and I will direct them to the web wizards over there.

In the meantime, support your local farmers, and get the best produce and product you can buy with your money!

A Worldwide Pandemic

Every year, millions of people worldwide are affected by diabetes, a degenerative disorder of insulin dysregulation. In the United States – the year 2010, 18.8 million people were diagnosed with some form of diabetes, and 7.0 million people don’t know they have the disease. According to the NDIC (National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse,) Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, non-traumatic lower-limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults in the United States.

Here I am, a day late for this proclamation, but here it is: Since November is Diabetes Awareness Month, I will grow a goatee to raise awareness for the cause, research, and eventual cure.

Perhaps you know about Movember – a great campaign that is raising awareness for prostate cancer. There are rules to promoting your cause. In the interest of simplifying things, I suggest that the rules for Diabetes Advocacy be a little more relaxed.

Here is how you can join in: For the month of November, don’t shave your growth completely off. If you want to grow a mustache, goatee, beard, or go completely Grizzly Adams, that’s great. Starting yesterday, and through to November 30, see how long your growth will get!

If you want to help the cause, grow your growth, and give to the advancement of a cure at the Joslin Diabetes Center’s High Hopes Fund. You can also give online here.

With so many people out there plunging head first into NaNoWriMo, I know that a novel isn’t in my future. Instead, I plan to follow up with the Daily Blog Challenge – succinctly labeled DBloC.
The idea is a daily post, for all of Nobember. I know that I have neglected my blogs like my garden this sommer. Lucky for me, the garden flourished anyway – but my blogs have been locked in a dark negative airspace, weezing for breath.
I plan to fix that, and use the momentum to continue through.
I can’t promise that all posts will be quality, but I will do my best. I plan to give freelance writing a try.

Today’s topic? Exercise.
I recently got a hold of an excellent resource by Pavel’s crew called “Convict Conditioning.”
Despite the name, it is chalked full of great instruction on something I feel is the long-lost art of a bygone age – body weight conditioning. Imagine, you can get your health back by nothing more than your body, a chair, and a pullup bar.
You start off at the very beginning, despite how good you think you are. The reasoning is simple; you want to build up your joints and ligaments, (as well as muscle,) in increments. Sure, you might be able to bang off a straight pushup, but without the proper conditioning, could you do a one-arm pushup for 3 sets of 50 pushups?
The regime predicated on time you would have to burn serving your sentence. It makes perfect sense, you have nothing but time, so do it properly.

Weigh in today was 209.5 lbs (at 5’7″!)

I did 2 sets of exercises today, wall pushups, and knee tucks.
The wall pushups proved to be straight forward. Lean into the wall, slowly lower yourself until your head is touching the wall, pause one second, then push up over 1 second until you are back where you started. I thought the pace was difficult to maintain, but by concentrating on form, I also found the exercise surprisingly effective.
The knee tucks proved more difficult. Perhaps it is the spare donuts on my side, or my back is weak, but I was hard pressed on that exercise. You sit on the edge of a chair, lean back, the lift your feet a couple inches off the floor. Then you slowly exhale and bring your knees to your chest. Hold a second, then inhale and bring your feet to the starting position. All of this while tensing your abdominal muscles. (My spare keg was proving to be resistant to sucking it in. (That six-pack had better start pulling its weight soon, or else!)
With nothing more that a wall, and 35 minutes of time, I was panting, sweating, and sore. Looks like the simple exercise works.
I plan to exercise at this level for a month to build up the strength. This is for the long haul – so what I do now will pay off later. The best part? I won’t break the bank with equipment either! Imagine that!

Pushups

Wall pushups
Warm up – 10 reps
Set 1: 50 reps
Set 2: 40 reps
Set 3: 50 reps
Notes: was shaky while doing this, arms started feeling it. Form was good, surprisingly effective exercise.

Leg Raises

Knee tucks
Warm up set: 6 reps
Set 1: 8 reps
Set 2: 12 reps
Set 3: 12 reps
Notes: this exercise was a bit hard, due to skipped heartbeats from crunching stomach. I found it hard to tense abdomen muscles. My back also hurt, limiting my reps. Perhaps as The muscles get stronger, it will get easier.

I feel like I have been trapped in my house for months, suffering from the icy claws of doom – anxiety and all its bogeymen – the sensations of rapid heartbeats, feeling like I’m going to pass out, and like I am going to die. Imagine then, finding out that a support group is only available at the END of January!

For those of you who don’t know me, YES, I suffer from anxiety, and panic disorder. I have found myself in the ER countless times, hooked up to a machine with six supple fingers caressing my chest, arms, and legs attached to blue and white plastic disks held on by globs of sticky snot-like glue. (Let me tell you, with or without anticipation, those suckers sting like hell. Go ahead, pull out a chest hair, or a few arm hairs, and you’ll see what I mean!)

I know, I have read The Boy That Cried Wolf when I was little. I’m blessed that I will get the same care regardless of how many times I rush to the hospital, in my latest Holy Shit, I‘m Fucking Dying again! What’s wrong with me, why won’t my heart ever stop?????

A couple of weeks back, I found myself in the ER, worried as to why my heart was thudding in its chest during resting, and movement caused me to fire up as if I was running full speed on the hamster – err… treadmill. THAT time I was only concerned, not really panicked. That is, until they decided to call over the wheel chair and rolled me into the cardiac wing like an invalid. Yes, then I admit the panic roared in, red-lining at 8000.

Turns out I had a turn of pneumonia. Let me tell you, nothing is more fun than hocking up gritty bits smeared with maroon chunks. Reminded me of my smoking days, without the head rush, nor the cravings. I digress.

I’ve been slowly recovering, but I am left with this abnormal fear. Fear of overdoing it, fear of the symptoms that I have. That’s the thing there. People assume that anxiety issues rise out from Mommy not showering you with affection when you were little, or when you were bullied into eating mud pies as a grade-schooler.

For me, all of that is in the past. I have been through a lot of crap as a kid. Multiple moves, bullies, beaten up, a mother that constantly HAD to work in order for us to do the finer things in life – like sleep under a roof, eat and be generally healthy. Sure, bad things happened to me during that time, and worse later on in life. But that’s not it. That’s not what has me freaking out.

Yesterday, I had this turn that I thought my heart was going to explode. I checked my pulse while walking to my wife’s car, and it topped out at 170 BPM. I was just walking, not jogging, or running. My anxiety level was at a 9 or 10. When I got to the daycare to pick my son up, I was at a full-blown DEFCON 2, ready for the fallout to arrive. I had to sit in the window sill, breathing through a plastic Zip-Loc bag to calm myself down. I had taken 2 x 1mg pills of Ativan, so I calmed down enough to be able to safely drive my son home.

How did this start? It didn’t come out of the blue. For days I have worried about the pain in my solar plexus area. It’s a dull, rotten finger pressing on the sternum, with tendrils of pain radiating from the center. Once in a while I would feel a claw-like stabbing pain in the rib area attached to the sternum, or under my breast on the left. Then maybe a vice-like pinching down my arm that shot tiny flaming darts into my fingers. Or perhaps best of all, the very center of my back felt as if someone took a rubber mallet to the area where my rib cage meets my spine. My chest muscles feel like a band of glowing, hot coals that area slowly rendering the fat off my chest muscles.

I’m afraid of the symptoms. My nerves are raw, and talking about past events doesn’t make those symptoms go away. Sometimes they make them even worse, because of the tensing of the muscles. What makes me do the double-take is when I can feel my heart hammering in my chest, threatening to get out, it skips a beat – or when I am dizzy while walking, in a bewildered state. When a simple red color looks fluorescent against a white background.

When my tired mind asks me: What if I am having a heart attack? What is that pain? Why is my heart rate so high? Do I have a fever? Am I overdoing it? What if I drop dead? Who would take care of my son, and my wife? What the hell is wrong with me, and why do I feel this way?

Throughout this, I guess a normal person wouldn’t worry about it. It’ll pass. I know this, because I used to be that normal person. Today, that sharp claw-like pain lasts for a half-second, but my heart backflips – thinking maybe something is serious.

That’s how panic gets me. It takes what would be boring old buttercream, and tricks my mind into thinking it’s Royal Icing.

I know that I need help, and I am on my way to getting it. Thing is, the psychologist costs $90 per session, and from the 6 sessions I have been with her, I got nowhere. I’m not running from a past, I’m not worried that my mommy didn’t show me much love, I’m not questioning my marriage, or whether it’s what I want or blah blah.

There are groups that I could join to get support. Unfortunately the waiting list is obscene. Here I am, October 12th, and the earliest I can get to is the END of January! I hope my nerves will last that long. The hardest part is being alone with these thoughts, for a few more months.

Excuse me all, I need to take a week here to catch up on post-vacation things, and to get back into the swing of things here. I want to get things in order so I can focus on what matters, so I can help you all better!

See you in a week!

I am participating in Fight Back Fridays! If you want to know what they are all about, then check out the main site here.

What Are You Ranting About Today Jason?

Where is the Love, or Passion with our food? We have lost that connection. Traded it to the devil for “convenience”.

I Get It.

Someone once told me, (before I had my son,) that coming home after a hard day’s work, figuring out what to make the screaming kids, then cooking it fast made it impossible to cook things that were good for your family. You need fast, right now!

I thought the person was nuts. There I was, a chef – one who believed in the concepts of REAL food.

Then my son arrived, and I set out to work a 90 hour-a-week job. Since I was the one preparing the food, trust me, when I came home, the LAST thing on my mind was, “what’s for dinner?”

Companies Bank On Your Apathy.

The fact is that more and more people are working insane hours. We are not taught to cook anymore. We also just can’t give the food the attention it deserves.

I’m not talking about the act of cooking alone. I am also speaking of the planning aspect. Why is it so hard to put something on the table at the end of the day? You are missing a plan.

Every time you reach for that pre-made item, think on how much money actually went into the conception, promotion, packaging, and manufacture of that item. It was designed to do your thinking for you. How much easier at the end of the day is it to just yank something out of the freezer, dump it into a skillet, reheat, and serve?

You Pay For That Convenience.

You pay in dollars. No brainer. “Convenience” foods cost up to 3x as much per serving as if you made it yourself. Sure, a box of cereal may cost next to nothing – but what you getting from it also costs you too much. When you compare that with how much 2 eggs cost for breakfast and the nutritional profile, guess who wins?

You pay in time. Sure, the item saves you time, but since it costs you more, you need to work more in order to afford it. Plus, the medical cost down the road will also up the time. How? Waiting for doctors!

You pay in heath. Do you know what is in those products? My favorite recent discovery is how much wood (okay, powdered cellulose) is in your convenience products. Don’t take my word for it – check out the list here.

You pay with your voice. You have the power to dictate what goes in your mouth. If you let someone else make the decision, then you are at their mercy. Don’t want to eat wood? Then don’t eat the imitation pancake syrup – that simple.

It’s Harder To Be Passionate About Grey, Disgusting Food

Seriously, open up that little burger cardboard box, look at a sad, fluffy bun, with the perfect squirt of ketchup, mustard, and the chopped onions. Melted plastic-like cheese, and then the pièce de résistance – the WHOLE reason you bought the burger – grey/brown disks of “meat” and/or cellulose fillers leaking clear grease onto the bottom of the cardboard.

Or perhaps we could look at a “convenience” product straight from the freezer – like a plastic bag filled with gummy pre-cooked pasta, frozen vegetables (that are most likely freezer-burnt!), and little disks of “sauce” that you throw into a skillet, heat up, and choke back though the freezer taste that permeates through your food.

Do you see anyone out there really advocating eating out at the drive thru, or the freezer section? (Besides paid actors in commercials?) Do you see whole shows dedicated to changing our thoughts on the drive-thru, and on how good it can be for you? Hell no!

It Doesn’t Take Much, Just A Connection To Your Food.

I discovered an interesting fact on my vacation; while it cost a bit more to go to a Mom-and-Pop establishment to eat out, it was far more exciting to eat there than the Golden Arches. Sure, the clown gives you a sack that is the same the world around – but it lacks real taste from Moscow to Albuquerque.

One visit to a burger joint that writes on their menu that they are not like the Golden Arches – and that their burger takes time to cook will prove to you what you are missing. Perhaps a bit of time to chat with the waitress, or (god forbid!) your kids.

When the plate comes out, it will be gorgeous. It will smell like it’s supposed to, without any additional additives.

Take this beauty here: It cost a bit of money, but it was well worth it!

If You Aren’t Passionate, GET PASSIONATE!

I admit, I am a food geek. I am always thinking, “What are you stuffing down your gullet?”

I developed health problems due to genetics, and an unhealthy disconnect to what I was eating, (read: gorging) on. A dietician friend/boss once commented, “I can’t believe you are a chef, and you eat and feed your family that crap.”

It wasn’t until my diagnosis that I woke up. Turns out what I was eating had an impact on my health!

Start reading your labels, if you must buy convenience.

Read a cookbook. Have fun in the kitchen. A lot of people think it’s a chore, but make it fun. It’s like exercise. You won’t commit to it, unless it is something you want to do all the time. You need to do it, so it might as well be fun!

What Can I Do To Make You More Passionate About Food?

So what do YOU think? Tell me in the comments!

You know how it is – see, Diabetics usually end up dying of heart attacks. Heart attacks are caused by blocked arteries, and cholesterol is for sure to blame.
Okay, if you follow me, you know I think that is bullshit. I read a few books and articles in my time, and I have consciously decided what I need to do based on feedback from my body. A high carb diet is NOT what my body needs; it can’t handle the surges of blood glucose.
Last night I found myself in a very upscale restaurant at a Fairmont resort. The thing about Fairmont that sets the company apart from other competitors is they go the “extra mile” to bring you a memory. Case in point:

That’s awesomeness at it’s best!
Because the culture of the company is based on anticipating the client’s desires, the staff are able to “Wow” you at every turn. From the bellman coming to your room with stickers and a coloring book for your son, to a server who talks to the kitchen about your dietary needs and makes it happen for you.
I am following my Primal Plus Rice plan, so I ordered this beast:

Great dish, full of awesome smells. Just missing the beurre blanc.
I mentioned it to the server, and she was not aware of the missing sauce. I’m on vacation, so I let it go. Gotta turn off the chef once in a while. LOL
My wife was digging into chicken fingers with a chipotle mayonnaise. She’s not fussy on spicy, so I got her mayo and asked for another.
I got the famous line, “Can you have that?”
Some people would get pissed with that. I used to work for The Fairmont, so I understand she was just trying to stay 1 step ahead of me.
Yes, I can have that fatty sauce.
When she came back with my mayonnaise, she also brought my buerre blanc. I knew it wasn’t her fault, a cook or sous chef had made the dietary decision based on their training. Unfortunately because I am diabetic that means nonfat for me!
Supper was awesome, and the place was fantastic. Would I eat there again? In a heartbeat. The pocketbook won’t let me though.

Vacation travel can be tricky when you are following a specific WOE. Primal eating in a strange place isn’t exactly the easiest thing, especially when the bulk of your eating comes from restaurants, (or even gas stations!)
I splurged yesterday when we found a Tim Horton’s in Maine, and got a large iced cappuccino. I thought it was weird when they were asking me about caramel drizzles, and whipped cream. (I have never come across that in Canada.) I only ordered the ice cap, no extra drizzle.
I drank it, after testing normalish. I tell you it was a HELL of a lot sweeter than in Canada.
Later, while driving, I could feel my body starting to act weird. I tested, and found myself at 12.7 mmol! (I should be between 5 and 7 after 2 hours by even CDA standards.)
After a correction dose, I had to eat ultra-low carb for lunch, because I had another 6 hours of driving.
There, that’s what NOT to do.
Later, to continue my WOE, I found myself at a restaurant in St. Andrews called “The Gables.”
The menu stated the burgers are not premade, so the wait could take 20 minutes. A good sign. I ordered up a burger with a Greek salad, no bun and extra lettuce for the burger wrap.
The waitress understood that I “was gluten-free,” so I said yes, and all was good.
That’s how you do it. You may have to be firm, or explain a bit – but you are the customer, and have the right to eat how you want. Sure, vacation travel is a good reason to throw away the WOE, but you also pay for it later.
Here was my meal last night, taken with an iPhone. Not food porn material, but you get the gist!