Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tomorrow scouting locations in San Francisco and La Mar at the Embarcadero

Tomorrow we are heading to the city to scout out locations for our Northern California Stout
Burgers and Beers location.  Of course no trip to nor Cal would be complete without stops at some incredible restaurants.  So the plans are La Mar Peruvian food tomorrow and Vik's Chaat Indian street food on Thursday.  I have to say that Vik's is one of my favorite places in Nor Cal especially since my extended family knows all the ins and outs of this type of cuisine.  I know that its going to be a little bit of a challenge eating there and adhering to my low carb guidelines but Im always up for a challenge that involves eating delicious foods.

I cant believe its almost 2012, so here it goes.  I want to end 2012 married... with 5 Stouts open and operating. Two shows on television at least one in production and my novel finished and published...Im not sure exactly how to quantify my fitness goals with The Cheat Day Diet but Im sure one day next year Ill look in the mirror and know that Ive arrived. 

Well im heading to bed, long day tomorrow and I want to hit the gym first thing in the am.  Night everyone, happy dieting!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ruth's Chris...Muscle Milk and Wholefoods Fresh Veggie Juice.

I must say Im truly enjoying the beautiful crisp weather up here in Northern California.  Today we relaxed around the house and caught up on some emails and phone calls regarding Stout Burgers and Beers.  I managed to sneak into a local 24 Hour Fitness which was one of the nicest gyms I have been to in a long time.  I decided today that I'm going to add a FAQ section to the blog.  Ive been getting a fair amount of questions : Do you eat fruit? Do you drink alcohol? Do you go to the gym on a regular basis? amongst many others.  So if you happen to have any questions feel free to shoot them to me and Ill try to answer them.  We had dinner at Ruth's Chris in Walnut Creek which was absolutely amazing?  I had a petite filet with a side of mushrooms and spinach, the steak was fairly small but by the time you eat the sides you realize you dont need a pound of meat to be satisfied.  I finished the meal of with a decaf coffee, not as tasty as the hot apple pie that everyone else was enjoying but still a nice way to end a delicious dinner.  Okay well Im of to put together my proposal for tomorrow regarding the expansion of Stout into Northern Cal.  I hope everyone is enjoying the end of the year and planning for a fabulous 2012.  Happy dieting everyone.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Eggs Sausage Bacon Muffins...Virgin America...Starbucks and San Francisco

So I woke up this morning to my niece peeking her little head through the door to wake me up.  This was only her second Christmas so we all marched through to the tree to watch her rip apart packages completely confused as to what was going on and why she was being bombarded with presents.  About an hour later and completely exhausted from playing with all of her and my nephews toys we sat down to enjoy breakfast.  Being that it was not only Cheat Day but also Christmas Cheat Day I was determined to make it count.  I started with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and scallop potato's all jammed onto an English muffin or two ;)  I finished breakfast of with an extra large mimosa and a healthy slice of poppy seed lemon pound cake. 

I went from my Christmas feast to the airport to jump on my Virgin America flight to San Francisco but not before stopping by Starbucks for a large orange juice and a chicken cheddar ciabatta.  I gotta say it was pretty delicious, like I've said before they really have some decent food options.  I jumped on the Virgin flight but unfortunately passed out three minutes into it and I didn't even get a chance to eat. 

We landed in San Francisco and went straight to my other family for Christmas dinner.  We had a Middle Eastern inspired dinner complete with lamb and rice, mixed eggplant dish and accompanied by my favorite mint chutney sauce.  The best part of the meal came in the form of desert which consisted of a vast array of sweets including caramel chocolate apples, chocolate cake, biscotti and last but not least a traditional middle eastern desert made up of ground carrots, milk and sugar called gadja halva....AMAZING.

I'm pretty sure Ill be able to squeeze one more meal in before bed time, come tomorrow its back to the diet and back to the grind.  I hope everyone had an amazing day, happy dieting!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday from The Cheat Day Diet...

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.  Im just getting ready to finish up a day that has taken me all over Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood and then down to Orange County for some family time.  I'm headed to San Francisco in the morning for a couple days of business/pleasure which will no doubt include coverage of some eateries in Northern California.
I spent the majority of my day yesterday at Stout Burgers and Beers Studio City going over the plans and making sure everything was in order.  Starting Monday we have our big push to open by mid February 2012.  I decided to grab something to eat and checked out Eggplant next door to us.  From the outside it looks really small and somewhat plain but once you get inside its very well laid out and quite charming.  There was actually quite a few good low carb options on the menu.  I started with an eggplant appetizer it was a deliciously prepared eggplant sliced into spears...Winner!  I then moved on to the Garlic chicken and the Lemon chicken.  Both of these dishes tasted quite good although the garlic was noticeably more flavorful.  On another positive note the servings were really quite large and you could easily split one between two people.  
There are so many interesting little spots around that area I cant wait to try them all...Have a great night everyone, talk soon.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The cheat day Diet takes Brentwood...Lovely Low Carb Options!

Next time your in Brentwood and in need of a healthy, fresh meal make sure to take a trip to A Votre Sante.   Its nestled right in the middle of Brentwood at 13018 San Vicente Blvd.  When I say there is an abundance of options for every diet plan I really really mean it.  Vegan, Low Carb, Organic, and low fat options abound at this amazing eatery.  I ordered the Chicken Asparagus minus the rice, it was not only a very generous portion but also delicious.  Everyone that was with me seemed equally enthused with their meals which included Turkey Chili, Salmon Tacos, and Free Range Turkey Bolognese.  Im also extremely enthused to report that they made me my decaf latte so I didn't even need to make a follow up trip to Starbucks.  I would highly highly recommend this location, service was great and the prices were reasonable.  I'm going to include a link to their menu just so you can get a look at the offerings at this healthy wonderland.  Okay, well back to work, talk to you guys soon...Happy dieting!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Options for The Cheat Day Diet when stuck in Beverly Hills for the day.

So today I was in Beverly Hills for a large part of the day.  I had lunch with a friend, a client meeting, and finally coffee with a potential investor.  With that being said here is how I stuck to my Low Carb Diet while walking the streets of Beverly Hills.

I found myself first at Il Pastaio.  This is a comfortable venue on the corner of Canon and Brighton Way.  there is not a huge amount of seating inside but they have provided additional seating on two substantial patio areas.  We managed to get a seat without waiting and sat down at a well appointed all be it shaky table.  I ordered the Lenticchie salad which was a delicious blend of arugula, lentils, and shrimp with a wonderful lemon, olive oil dressing.  This was a perfect meal for the diet, substantial enough to leave me satisfied and very very tasty.  the net carbs on this meal are extremely low with a fair amount of protein.

I left Il Pastaio and wandered around Beverly Hills as I had 30 minutes until my client meeting.  The whole area never ceases to amaze and interest me, it might be the greatest people watching in the entire world.  I finished my client meeting and walked over to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.  I have to say that this particular Coffee Bean in Beverly Hills is absolutely beautiful with an amazing outdoor area and ample seating.  I ordered my typical decaf latte and sat and discussed Stout Burgers and Beers with a potential investor for the better part of an hour.  I'm still not sure If I have a preference between Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Starbucks strictly from a beverage perspective but I do prefer the food and snack options at Starbucks.  Next time you find yourself in Beverly Hills in need of a low carb option I would highly recommend Il Pastaio.  Okay well back to work so I can finish up and get some sleep.  I have to get back to the gym tomorrow in the am.  Have a wonderful night everyone and good luck tomorrow on your Cheat Day Diet.

Trying to open up two new Stout Burgers and Beers = 16 hour work days....

So today was a pretty easy diet day considering I didnt have more than 20 minutes at all during the entire 16 hour day to eat.  In fact my day consisted of running from one meeting till another starting at 8am and ending with me dragging myself through my front door at 12:11am.  I ran from one bar to another and from one Stout to the other two construction sites.  I filled the spare moments in my day jumping on the phone with clients and even managed to pick up a Christmas present for the lady.  I made my customary Starbucks trip and enjoyed my decaf latte immensely.  My Low Carb diet today consisted of primarily Muscle Milk Lights and chicken from a couple of different sources.  I missed out on my vegetable juice simply because I didnt have the time to get over there and get one.   Okay time for me to jump on Virgin America and book my flight to Texas....Have a great night everyone, talk soon.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Broke the 200 pound mark on The Cheat Day Diet.......

Woke up this morning and weighed myself. I was shocked to see 199.7 pounds. This kind of shocked me especially after last weeks gluttony in New York City. I'm heading down to San Diego now for an engagement party and a feast at C Level restaurant. I just got word this morning that I'll be heading back to New York City next week and San Francico. It's going to be a crazy week full of Power Crunch bars and Virgin America flights.

I think the veggie juice and ginger every day might be helping to step up the fat burning. It definitely helps to curb the appetite. This week I'm going to step up the water consumption and try to get in the gym every day. Talk to everyone soon, happy Cheat Day.

Monday, December 12, 2011

On Virgin America Half Way back from NYC and Two Cheat Days

Im currently on the flight back from NYC and indulging in whatever menu choices Virgin America has to offer.  So far Ive eaten a "hearty" pack which included crackers, cheese, salami, some type of biscotti, and fruit snacks.  then just for good measure some type of egg salad wrap which was actually really really good.  It was a great trip, two days of glorious eating including meals at Eataly, The Darby, Dean and Delucca, and Abe and Arthurs.  Made a couple of Starbucks trips and had a peppermint holiday coffee drink instead of my typical low carb beverage.  We met with two investment groups regarding Stout Burgers and Beers and even managed to meet with a TV executive for a reality Pitch meeting.  NYC was an amazing place that Ill be sure to visit again hopefully very soon.  Okay, time for more Virgin America entertainment....Talk to you soon.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Flying out to NYC tonight...Going to check out the Low Carb fare in the Big Apple

Running around like a lunatic trying to get ready for the red eye to NYC tonight.  I hit the gym up early every day this week knowing that once I get out there its going to be very difficult to squeeze that in.  The Low Carb diet has been pretty perfect consisting primarily of Stout Burgers and Beers arugula salad and chicken patties.  I'm still trying to figure out how the Starbucks non fat decaf picks me up....It must be just the placebo of coffee.  Okay everyone about to head out and grab a kale, lemmon, ginger, spinach juice and get to packing.  I will post some picks of NYC and the culinary adventure as it occurs, this will be a cheat day to remember. 

Monday, December 5, 2011

Low Carbs with a Twist...Getting ready for my NYC trip and an extended Cheat Day

So the diet continues to move along well.  I have two new recruits following the diet who approached me on Saturday wondering what type of diet I was on and asking if I could help them out.  I told both of them to consume everything that they wanted on Sunday and get ready for a system shock the rest of the week.  Both of the guys did a great job following the diet today and were enthusiastic at the gym this evening.  I will keep you updated as to their progress and hopefully get testimonials from them as they start to see results.  I will also publish the diets that I gave them as people have been asking me on a regular basis for a list of foods that they should eat.  Today has been a great day so far energy levels are high and the workouts continue to be productive.  Looks like I will be stuck in the office all night trying to get ready for my trip to NYC time for a decaf nonfat latte reward from Starbucks....Talk to you guys soon.