It’s Week 14 of Food Blogger vs. Fat (where does the time go?) and it’s update time. This week we celebrate a milestone while also celebrating the Fourth of July.

The Successes

In my open, I mentioned a milestone. That came on Sunday when I recorded my 100th consecutive of tracking my weight loss on the Lose It! app.

Lose It! has played a key role in my weight loss so far, helping to hold me accountable for everything that I eat.

Everything gets recorded in the app from a single teaspoon of ginger (two calories) to the regrettable McDonald’s milkshake (610 calories).

Many sources have cited the benefits of keeping a food diary – it makes you aware of how much food you’re actually eating, it makes you realize what exactly is going into your body and it makes you feel guilty about eating that extra snack.

All of those are true for me. I read nutritional labels a lot more closely than I should, and I spend way too much time researching restaurant meals before I go.

Without Lose It!, I would not have made it this far.

The Challenges

Recording everything has its downfalls, including knowing exactly where I went wrong in my dieting. This week was easy to find. It was the Fourth of July holiday weekend so Julie and I decided to take advantage of it (we each had off Saturday, July 1 through Tuesday, July 4) with several day trips.

Saturday we visited Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania State Museum. It’s a great museum – extremely family friendly – and I highly suggest it for anyone interested in their home state.

Before the museum, we made a stop at Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market.

Broad Street Market is one of the larger farmers’ markets that I have seen in the area. The market spans two buildings with several vendors set up in the open space in between.

One of the buildings is completely devoted to dine-in and takeout restaurants, and they cover the globe from Asia to the Caribbean and all places in between.

I couldn’t resist trying the market’s African kitchen – Tasty Dishes – and some jollof rice.

Jollof rice is yellow rice with a little bit of seasoning. It was served with stewed chicken legs and fried plantains.

The best part was the chicken. It was a little sweet, not barbecue chicken but similar. It also went great with the rice.

The woman behind the counter asked me if I liked spicy and being the manly man that I am, I said yes. So she also gave me a dollop of spicy paste that consisted of ginger, garlic and jalapenos.

I didn’t feel so manly after I got my first taste. Julie said she could see my eyes light up when it hit my tongue. It was the last bite that was intentionally ingested.

Later that day we stopped at A&M Pizza in Lebanon for sandwiches. The rolls at A&M are some of the best around (I’ll be visiting the recently re-opened Wernersville location for a blog soon) and it’s a favorite stop of ours when we’re in the area.

I had the chicken parmesan sandwich and we shared my side of fries. It’s a lot of food, but I didn’t feel like I had overdone it on this day.

Sunday felt more like overdoing it when Julie and I made a late afternoon visit to Knoebels Grove.

As someone who doesn’t do roller coasters, Knoebels is my favorite amusement park (no entry fee means I don’t feel guilty watching other people riding the Phoenix). Knoebels also has great food – the best amusement park food in the country according to many surveys.

While we both enjoy the grab-and-go snacks throughout the park, Julie and I are big fans of Knoebels’ sit-down restaurant, the Alamo.

Don’t let the name fool you, there’s nothing southwestern about the Alamo. Instead, it’s a family restaurant with classic American diner food.

I had the roast beef with mashed potatoes and applesauce (if you read my blog from Sunday, you know why I was inspired to order it). It was served with a personal gravy boat to pour as I chose.

The roast beef is more of a pot roast-style with tender chunks that pull apart easily. The mashed potatoes are like homemade.

The applesauce deserves a paragraph of its own. It’s my favorite applesauce that I have eaten anywhere, a one-of-a-kind dish that is sweeter and packed with more flavor than any other version. It’s almost like eating a caramel apple that has been crushed into sauce. I love it.

Monday was a day trip to Doylestown (I think we’ve about covered all points of the compass over the weekend) which included a heavy lunch at Paganini Ristorante. We both ordered ravioli – Julie with gorgonzola sauce, me with tomato sauce. She definitely had the better of the two, but mine was lighter.

And Tuesday was, of course, the Fourth of July and picnics. And a cup of ice cream from Sweet Ride at the West Reading fireworks.

The Results

Current Weight: 171.2
Weekly Weight Loss: -0.0
Total Weight Loss: -18.2

It was a wash this week, but that wasn’t surprising with my weigh-in coming after a heavy eating weekend (I weighed in Monday morning so Monday and Tuesday will affect this week’s weight).

The Week Ahead

There’s no rest for this weary food blogger this week. The holiday is behind me but on the horizon is the PA BBQ Fest at the Leesport Farmers Market. It’s one of my favorite events of the year because I get to try a lot of barbecue all in one place.

This Saturday and Sunday also marks the last weekend of this year’s Kutztown Folk Festival. Sure, there’s lots of great entertainment and history on display at the Folk Festival, but I’m in it for the food.

One thing about Pennsylvania Dutch food though: it’s not exactly low-cal. Neither is barbecue, come to think of it. Should be an interesting week (and a heck of recap next week).

Lucky 13 – this is Week 13 of my journey to better health. Settle in because this is the longest update so far, but I think you’re going to enjoy it.

The Challenges

If you read last week’s blog, you know that I was spending the week in Quebec City for a conference. There are a lot of great things about travel, but being on the road can be an obstacle to healthy eating.

Tuesday and Friday were spent hopping from plane to plane and airport to airport. (Take my advice: don’t fly Air Canada. If I ever go back to Quebec, I will drive).

When I finally arrived on Tuesday – two hours late – I drove to the hotel and headed to our opening reception. It was mostly light fare of cheese and crackers until they brought out the main attraction: poutine.

For those unfamiliar with this French Canadian specialty, poutine has three ingredients: French fries, gravy and cheese curds. This version was served in a little takeout box.

I wish I had it from an actual restaurant because this didn’t do the dish justice. The fries were lukewarm and the gravy wasn’t thick enough. But it was the only real entree at dinner so I had to force it.

And if you couldn’t guess, none of the three ingredients would be considered healthful super foods.

It’s hard to have portion control at a conference, especially when a buffet is involved. Wednesday morning I managed to restrain myself as I dined on delicious crepes and a side of breakfast potatoes.

Lunch was a served meal of filled pasta with tomato sauce. I hesitate to call them ravioli because that was Thursday’s lunch. It was okay, and that might have been an exaggeration given that it was the only option.

Dinner, on the other hand, was a feast. We were all left to our own devices so I wandered the big city (it’s actually more of a medium city) on my own in search of adventure and food.

What I found was Cafe l’Omelette, a little bistro in the Old City (Vieux-Quebec) that caught my eye mostly because the menu was printed in both French and English.

They were serving five varieties of poutine, but I wanted to experience more of the area cuisine so I ordered the Specialties Quebecois, a three-course menu featuring some of Quebec’s other favorite dishes.

It started with a bowl of pea soup that looks and tastes nothing like the baby food-esque split pea soup that I am familiar with. Instead, it more closely resembled a ham and bean soup (though these were definitely peas,  not beans) and there was even ham in it. It was an enjoyable start to the meal, and somehow, this was the lightest course.

One thing about Quebec cuisine, it’s not light. And that was evident with my entree: meat pie. It’s exactly what it sounds like: beef (in this case, roast beef) inside a traditional pie shell. Of course, it was all topped with gravy, because it’s Quebec.

The crust was a little overcooked in places, but the beef was fantastic and the gravy had a little something extra that I still can’t quite put my finger on.

And there had to be fries on the side (to be fair, the menu said nothing about fries). Oh and there was a salad. I’m not sure how that fits in, but it was there, and I ate it.

The third course was Quebec’s favorite dessert: sugar pie. Think of it as pecan pie without the pecans. It had a gooey sweet filling with a tasty pie crust. It’s like Quebec’s version of shoofly pie.

Needless to say, nothing I ate here would fit my diet.

The next day was more conference food: breakfast potatoes and fresh fruit at breakfast; ravioli and sautéed vegetables at lunch; and a served four-course dinner including  salad, cream of broccoli soup, stuffed chicken breast and chocolate mousse cake.

Friday’s journey home included a stop at Tim Horton’s for breakfast for muffins and orange juice and a hearty lunch of a hamburger and fries in the Montreal airport.

The Successes

Upon arriving in Quebec City, I picked up a rental car. But after a drive to the hotel, I parked it for the week.

I missed out on the hotel room block for our conference (the Hilton) and instead stayed about a mile away at the Best Western. I made the walk between the two hotels a total of 10 times (five times each way), but that was only the beginning of my exploration.

I walked across the Plains of Abraham, hallowed ground to French Canadians. It was here during the French and Indian War that the British defeated the French, essentially giving them control of Canada. Today, it’s an expansive park with lots of walking trails.

An added bonus during my visit was seeing the construction of a temporary stage and grandstand for an annual music festival. I even got to hear a rehearsal on Wednesday night, though it was in French so I couldn’t understand a single word.

I made my way along the Promenade de Gouverneurs to the famed Hotel Frontenac. Built as a destination for railroad travelers, the hotel is a stunning piece of architecture that towers over the city and looks out upon the St. Lawrence River.

A highlight of my walks was walking through the old city gates. It was like traveling through time – forward one way, backward the other. The walls that once kept the city safe from its enemies now protect the Vieux-Quebec from the encroachment of downtown modernity.

Over the course of my three days in the city, I walked for a total of 7.5 hours – about 20 miles by my best estimate. Most of it served no purpose other than to explore.

The Results

I ate a lot of calories. I burned a lot of calories. It turns out, I burned more than I ate:

Current Weight: 171.2
Weekly Weight Loss: -1.6
Total Weight Loss: -18.2

After a flat week, it was good to see the results come back this week.

The Week Ahead

Compared to last week, the next seven days are easy. Julie and I are planning a few day trips over the holiday weekend but hopefully our exploration can overcome the extra calories, just like last week.

Greetings from Quebec City, Canada! As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel lobby north of the border where I am attending a marketing research conference.

But that’s not going to stop me from checking in with my weekly update. So here it is, Week 12 of Food Blogger vs. Fat:

The Challenges

It was a crazy week for me that saw me dining out a lot more than usual. Wednesday night I attended a meeting where I ate way too much junk (chocolate chip cookies and lemonade).

Thursday, I visited Normandy Farm Hotel & Conference Center in Blue Bell for their Crab Fest dinner. I don’t eat crab, but I enjoyed everything else on the menu – chicken, sausage and mini S’mores pie.

Friday was our visit to Bixler’s Lodge for my weekly review.

Saturday was the annual The Truck Stops Here: Mobile Madness food truck festival at the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles.

As a foodie and member of the museum, it is one of my favorite events of the year and one that I look forward to every June.

Many of the trucks were repeat visitors, but one new addition that I was excited to try was Philly Fry.

There are two Philly Fry trucks (Red and Blue) operating in South Philadelphia along with a third location inside Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles. I love a good French fry so this was my first stop.

Philly Fry offers a wide variety of loaded fries, but I wanted a true taste so I got a small bucket of fries only while my in-laws, who were joining us at the festival for the first time, tried the cheesesteak fries.

I thought the fries were excellent. They were battered and fried to a crisp – the kind of fries that no longer resemble potatoes but are completely irresistible. The cheesesteak fries meanwhile, were topped with shaved steak and melted cheese, with plenty of both to ensure that every bite tasted like the South Philly favorite.

My main entree came from Mom-Mom’s Polish Food Cart. Last year, Julie and I sampled the halupkis and pierogies from this small wagon. This year, I had the kielbasa sandwich.

It was a giant sandwich loaded with homemade sauerkraut that was a perfect complement – not too sour to overpower the flavorful sausage.

After a walk through the museum, the day ended with a stop at the Mister Softee truck for dessert. Julie loves her chocolate-covered ice cream cones and I can’t resist a good Mister Softee milkshake.

The next day, we hosted a Father’s Day picnic at the house complete with burgers, hot dogs and strawberry pretzel pie for dessert so there was no opportunity for my body to recover from Saturday’s feast.

The Successes

While I somehow kept close to my calorie goal through most of the week, I had few moments that I could call “successes.”

I did a lot of walking during the food truck festival and at Crab Fest, but that was a wash with all of the food that I consumed.

Beyond that, I had two lunch walks and spent some time on Saturday and Sunday doing some house cleaning, but other than that, it was a rather uneventful week.

The Results

Last week was a wash. I am hopeful that my weight was actually skewed higher because my heaviest eating days were Saturday and Sunday and that I will have a much more successful week to come.

The Week Ahead

As I mentioned in my intro, I am in Quebec City for a conference. You may have guessed, that means it’s another crazy week for this food blogger.

I fly home tomorrow (Friday) for my second travel day this week. In between, I have attended workshops, listened to lectures, explored the city, and of course, sampled the local cuisine (poutine anyone?). I look forward to sharing those adventures with you in next week’s blog.

It’s week 11 of my journey to better health, and we’re talking Home Chef, volleyball and desserts.

Note: I have moved my weigh-in day from Saturday to Monday to be closer to the blog’s publish date.

The Successes

This week’s successes were twofold.

First, Home Chef continued to deliver with well-portioned meals that helped me make it under my calorie limits.

On Wednesday, Julie and I enjoyed pork tacos al pastor. The three tacos were filled with ground pork, cilantro, shallots and pineapple. With three tacos each for Julie and I, it was plenty of food to where I didn’t need a side. And at 956 calories, it fit right in line with my allotment for dinner.

Friday was the lightest Home Chef meal that I have had so far. The chicken Kiev was delicious and just 496 calories. The pan fried chicken was topped with parsley butter and served with a side of green beans.

Sunday was a grilled sirloin steak salad. Most of the time, Julie is charge of cooking. Sunday was my turn.

It was listed as “intermediate” skill level. I think that just means it uses more dishes and pans because it wasn’t a hard dish to prepare, but it made quite a mess.

The salad dressing was not my favorite – a mixture of mayonnaise, buttermilk, olive oil and dill that didn’t get as thick as I think it should have. But the steak was good and so was the grilled romaine lettuce (I grilled lettuce and I liked it).

My second success was my weekend. The week was light on exercise (see below) but I made up for it starting Saturday night with a 2.8 mile walk along the Union Canal Towpath trail at Gring’s Mill.

Saturday I really let loose with nine holes of disc golf in the morning followed by an afternoon volleyball game at my cousin’s high school graduation party.

I’m not very good at volleyball to begin with. Couple that with the fact that I was 13 to 14 years older than my teammates and opponents, and it was a recipe for a lot of aches and pains. But it was worth 125 calories so at least I had that going for me.

The Challenges

It was hot. Really hot.

That made it hard to get exercise through most of the week – walks at lunch were just not happening. If not for an evening of lawn mowing on Thursday, it would have been a really bad week for me.

I had calories to spare most days, but I didn’t spend them wisely. Instead, I ate a lot of junk:

• Monday: Whoopie Pie
• Tuesday: Popcorn
• Wednesday: Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Thursday: Baklava and Carrot Cake (They were mini desserts, okay?)
• Friday: Whoopie Pie
• Saturday: Banana Cake and Ice Cream Sandwich
• Sunday: Strawberry Shortcake

Basically, I need some non-sweet snacks around the house to take the place of dessert.

The Results

Current Weight: 172.8
Weekly Weight Loss: -0.8
Weight Loss Since Start: -16.6

I was just shy of my one-pound weekly goal, but coming off a week where I lost 1.4 pounds, it was still a great result.

The Week Ahead

This is shaping up to be a crazy week. I have various meetings and events Monday through Thursday, and Friday will likely be a bloggable meal so that doesn’t leave a lot of opportunity for evening exercise.

It’s also still hot. So lunchtime walks, if they happen, will be short.

Also, I’m going to make a pig out of myself on Saturday at the annual “The Truck Stops Here: Mobile Madness” food truck festival at the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. If you love food, cars, local history or any combination of the three, I hope I see you there because it really is a fun event with some creative food trucks at an amazing hidden gem of a museum.

It’s the 10th week of my journey to better health. This week, we celebrate three things: Memorial Day, NASCAR and my birthday.

The Successes

As mentioned last week, I spent the past weekend at Dover International Speedway.

I am fortunate enough that I’m not attending just as a fan, but as an employee of the track.

My friend Lynn is Dover’s Social Media Manager. She and I were interns together four years ago and bonded over a love of racing.

So when she realized that she needed help on race weekends, she called me. This was my sixth race weekend as her assistant.

My job is basically to be everywhere, hopping between driver appearances, pit road and events around the track, taking pictures and posting to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

I get to do a lot of amazing things – I drove Dover’s official pace car, shot a t-shirt gun and ate a slice of Richard Petty’s birthday cake (more on that later).

I also walked. A lot. Walking is my preferred method of getting around the speedway. The track is one-mile around so everytime that I walked from the infield media center – home base for the race – to the fan zone, I was walking about a mile each way. I did that multiple times throughout the three days while doing shorter walks and a lot of standing.

It was a great weekend, and I got plenty of exercise, but it was almost impossible for me to quantify it in my Lose It app.

The Challenges

This was a week that presented an array of temptations.

It started with Memorial Day weekend and a Sunday picnic of hamburgers, baked beans, ice cream cake and strawberry pie.

Monday was worse. We had pizza for lunch. And at dinner, there were more hamburgers on the menu, plus potato chips, chocolate zucchini bread and ice cream.

Tuesday was Shady Maple Day (aka my birthday). We went for breakfast, and I was as disciplined as I could possibly be (baked French toast, potatoes and an apple cinnamon pancake), I still couldn’t keep within my calorie limit for the day.

The birthday celebration continued on Wednesday with cannoli dip at work and Rita’s custard after dinner.

My weekend at the races followed. For all of the walking that I did, I did just as much eating. Meals were served buffet style – enchiladas, pulled pork sandwiches and manicotti were among the menu options.

And I couldn’t resist the chocolate chip cookies, Oreos and popcorn that were there for the taking in the Media Center.

Sunday was the best of times and the worst times. I ate a slice of Richard Petty’s birthday cake – a delicious piece of art created by Desserts by Dana – a former winner of TLC’s Cake Boss. This was better than 99 percent of cakes that I have tried. The layers of frosting were the perfect level of sweet. The cake itself was light and airy. It was perfect.

If that wasn’t bad enough, I stopped at McDonald’s on the way home. Not my proudest moment, but if you’ve ever driven between Dover, Delaware and Reading via Routes 41 and 10, you know that there are not a lot of options.

The Results

Current Weight: 173.6
Weekly Weight Loss: -1.4
Weight Loss Since Start: -15.8

I know I did a lot of walking, but even I am shocked by the results. I was going to be happy to just break even. Instead, I was right on pace (given the extra two days before my weigh-in).

The Week Ahead

It’s a return to normalcy this week. No racing. No birthday celebrations. No reason to not make my goals.