Increasing Your Reading

So, I recently had a challenge that I "quit" because it wasn't an actual challenge. It was a way to say I was doing a challenge while not really changing my behavior at all.

That challenge was to read 30 minutes a day. I already do this most days, so it was a pointless challenge (i.e., it wasn't a challenge at all. A challenge should be challenging)

But, for those of you who may have thought this would be a great concept for you to follow, I can provide some tips.

1. Find a comfortable place to read! A lot of people think a great place to read is in bed. This doesn't work for me. I can't stay comfortable reading in bed for more than about 10 minutes. For me, the best place is a comfortable chair. The best place I've ever read was on a double chaise lounge in my Uncle's back yard in his place in the Mountains of Scottsdale Arizona, with a fire going. It was sublime. 
2. Read things you enjoy reading. So often, we do what we think we should do. "Well, I'm supposed to enjoy the writings of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. I think I'll read some of their books". If you don't like their writing, or you don't like fiction in general, then don't read it. I prefer non-fiction myself - Business biographies, Business development, self-help, Theoretical Physics, etc. That's what I like, so that's what I read. Remember High School? If you didn't like the books, then you probably just didn't read them.
3. Find a routine. This doesn't apply to everyone. Heck, it doesn't even apply to me. I don't do well with routines. I prefer to do things as they come to me, so if I'm in the middle of a book, I may pull out my phone, my tablet, or my kindle, and pick up where I left off. However, if you're looking to increase your reading throughput, create a routine. Say every night, before going to bed, I'm going to read for 30 minutes. Or just, "I'm going to read before bed" - the amount of time will likely vary depending on how tired you are. This provides a couple of benefits. The most important one is that you will focus on yourself, and have something that you enjoy doing. If you are taking care of a family, they will know that this is your time. It's important to have time for yourself, and don't let anyone (family, friends, or work) take that away from you.

My last tip is for anyone who wants to reduce clutter in their life, without sacrificing a book collection. I have probably 100-200 physical books right now...I also just moved. Those two things do not go together. Books are freaking heavy, and moving them is a pain. I nearly killed my back trying to move my big box o' books. As part of the move, I'm looking to reduce the crap I have in my life, so I decided to pick up a Kindle from Amazon. You can use any e-reader, but I prefer the Kindle because of the content dominance, and the apps that work on my other devices.

The coolest thing is something called whispersync, which syncs up where you are in the book with the cloud. So if I read to page 142 on my Kindle, then when I pull out my tablet or my phone, it asks if I want to jump to where I left off. Yes, please! I'm still building my collection there, but it is growing quickly. I especially like all the free books. You get tons of classics free - so if you want some of the classic books (1920's and earlier), you can have them free. I'm also reading up on Einstein for free. Additionally, the books are cheaper on Kindle, so if you digest a lot of books, like I do, then you will make back your money quickly. I've already saved ~$20 on books in the month since I got it.

My recommendation is the Kindle Touch (wi-fi or 3G, your choice. I went with wi-fi, but I kind of wish I had gotten the 3G). It's light, and it just kind of disappears in your hands - you forget you are reading on a device. I also recommend you get it with special offers. It essentailly brings up new offers in your area from Amazon Locals. I actaully prefer it, because it gives you special deals, and it knocks $40 off the price of your Kindle. If you hate them, you can get rid of them by paying the $40, but everywhere I read said that they are better than the standard, and I agree.

Anyway, if you want to check out the Kindle, check the link below, and see if it's right for you! It's highly recommended by me, and let me say, I was one of the people who always said he would never ever get rid of his physical books!!!

Reading Challenge is Called Off

So, I have not done my reading every day like I set out to do, but that's okay. Let me explain why.

The motivation behind the new challenge was to make myself more productive. The problem is this: I already read frequently, but I have fallen down on this lately, due to a number of other things popping up in my life (family, friends, a dinner party I just threw...stuff creeps up)

I realized last night that this challenge was not in the true spirit of this blog, or of the concept. It was a cop-out. I felt like I should have a new 30 day challenge, so I came up with an easy one. Since I already read frequently, 30 minutes a day would be easy. The purpose of the 30-day concept is to challenge yourself. So, with that all said:

I am cancelling the 30 day reading challenge

Finally, a New Challenge! Reading Every Day

So, I completely fell off the wagon with my blogging. I did complete the "No processed or refined carbs" challenge. It didn't stick, but it was very eye opening. My co-workers hated me, pretty much, because I was being difficult.

I'm still difficult - I don't eat meat anymore. Not by choice...I just had a sudden, unexpected aversion to meat. It all happened one day at the grocery store, and I haven't had the desire to eat any meat since.

I'll keep this one short, 'cause I know you probably don't have a ton of time to read this :)

My new challenge is


Read at least 30 minutes every day


Now, my goal is for one hour, as I've done that before, but I figure for 30 days, I can take it nice and easy and go for a 30 minute minimum. It can be anything, as long as it's not for work.

1. Magazines (I like Men's Health, GQ, and Entrepreneur)
2. Books
3. Educational Electronic Reading

I recently bought a Kindle, so I can buy lots of books for free! I just downloaded a couple of Nietzsche books that I'm looking forward to reading. I'm also going to read a few physics books.

Today, I read Men's Health, and finished it. It's a great magazine. I learned quite a bit...but I'm too tired to tell you about it, so I'll just say: Sometimes the best medicine is to take a smoothie made from Saline and Poop.

Last night, I finished a great book about Vagabonding - I hope I can take off for a few months at some point! That would be fantastic :) It was called Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts





It was a great book. I'm going to leave it at this, and I'll tell you more about what I'm reading tomorrow. Maybe Nietzsche, maybe Michio Kaku, and maybe, just maybe, some J.K. Rowling

Day #12 & 13: No Refined or Processed Carbohydrates

Day 12: Unsuccessful (barely!)
Day 13: Success
Success Rate: 84.6%

Another couple of successful days!!! It is becoming more and more difficult for me. I'm facing cravings, and they are getting more powerful. Usually I'm good at sidestepping cravings, but this is becoming intense. Not even for highly processed carbs, but more for the lightly processed carbs that I am used to eating. Whole wheat tortillas, whole grain bread, even simple rice (brown rice is not always available)

The thing to remember, though, is that it takes ~30 days to create new habits, or to break old ones. I assume that goes along with getting over cravings. That simply means I need to stick it out like a big boy, and run toward success. Yeah baby, I'll do it!!!

Over the past couple of days, I ate relatively simple foods. Fried eggs with all natural pesto and homemade hash browns for breakfast (FYI, Yukon Gold's are the best potatoes for hash browns). Yesterday, I had Thai food with a friend for lunch - chicken Masaman, with brown rice. So so so good (I also had Chicken Sa-teh, and Tom Ka with Tofu...god I love Thai food).

Dinner last night...and the night before, was where I shined! But I just realized (as I am writing this) that I actually had an accidental, tiny, slip-up.

2 nights ago (day 12), I made grilled chicken with grilled Carrots. The chicken was awesome, I used the following marinade:

• 1/4 c. Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1.5 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Tarragon
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• Chicken breasts

Mix it all together, and let it marinade for 15 minutes. Grill. Done

The carrots I made were simple.

1. Peel Carrots
2. Toss with a bit of oil (not olive oil - use Canola, Vegetable, safflower, peanut, whatever, but not olive oil)
3. While those are grilling over medium high heat, mix together ~1 Tablespoon of butter (melted) with a Tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar, a dash of mustard (to help it emulsify), and dried thyme (maybe 1/2 teaspoon?)
4. When you first flip the carrots (do it when they have grill marks) brush on the butter - careful, it will flare up. 
5. Keep grilling until properly charred, and tender.

Looks awesome, right? Well, it was freaking awesome! The thing I just now realized is that Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire sauce has a bit of sugar. So I lost that day. It's a shame.

Yesterday night, I also had the carrots again - they were so good, I had to try them again, and I also grilled some Yukon gold potatoes, with the same process. Oil, grill, brush on butter, grill until crisp and cooked through. 

Doesn't that look just amazing? It's really easy, too, and that was a very very filling meal. Vegetarian to boot, and good for the soul.

I keep moving forward, and as I type this, I'm on my way out to Vegas for my second major week of challenges. I'm not looking forward to dealing with these cravings while working in the city of temptation (I know it's the city of sin, but that doesn't work as well as "city of temptation", and I think it's still accurate, so...)

For those of you who have taken on 30 day challenges of your own, please let me know about it! And keep chugging along!!!

Day #11: No Refined or Processed Carbohydrates

First of all - sorry for taking so long to get another post up!!! I've been crazy busy at work - literally working from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. Part of that is due to the time zone issues - it always feels like it's midnight.

Day 7: Success
Day 8: Success
Day 9: Success
Day 10: Success
Day 11: Success
Success rate: 90.9%

As some may know, I started my work out in Las Vegas this week. It was...tough...to say the least. For the most part, it wasn't too bad - I was able to work around just about anything Vegas threw at me. We get to eat some of our meals at the Employee Dining Rooms (EDR, for short) which has, typically, a salad bar, fruit, breakfast items, and then hot food items.

Eating in the EDR's is easy - for breakfast, I have been getting a little bit of egg, some oatmeal, and a few pieces of fruit. The nice thing is, I can take a banana or two up to my office, and I have a mid morning snack.

Lunch has been in the EDR's, and it has consisted of salad, more fruit, and maybe a little bit of the hot food, if I'm confident that there is no added sugar to any marinades or spice rubs. Water to drink most of the time. Not too shabby.

The one problem I ran into was: the Las Vegas Buffet's.

The first night we were there - we swung by a Sushi buffet for dinner. Holy cow - all you can eat Sashimi, crab, shrimp, seaweed salad, bacon wrapped asparagus, and other stuff. So so so delicious. I really loved the buffet, but I didn't love it so much at 2am. I woke up at about 2am with a burning ball of lead in my stomach. I'm not sure whether it was bad fish, or if I accidentally ate broccoli somewhere. I had a mushroom salad that looked like it had asparagus in it, but now I think it may have had broccoli sliced up in there. I'm allergic (really food intolerant) to broccoli, and I end up in lots of pain if I eat even a little bit.

Later, we decided to get a 24-hour pass to buffet's - it gets us access to any buffet owned by a Caesars Entertainment company - it was $44. We ate at the Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood for dinner...it was okay, nothing to write home about, and some of the food was down right nasty. For breakfast, we ate at the Paris buffet, and it was AWESOME. I had an omelet, sausage, smoked salmon, potatoes, fruit, and mmm, mmm, was it good!

Lunch time came around, and it was time to check out the Caesars buffet. The food was tasty - I had more smoked salmon, some cheese, roast pork, and fruit and vegetables. Easy enough. But then, I was faced with my biggest challenge so far. We were seated right next to the dessert buffet area. It was a major challenge for me, and I'm not HUGE on desserts, but this was a challenge.

You can see how that would be a challenge for me, or for anyone.

Other than that, it hasn't been too bad. Mostly the EDR's - and I told you how I handled that already. The rest, I had a great dinner at the Strip House - a steak house. Started with beef jerky - homemade, then a crisp organic chicken for entree, with crisp goose fat potatoes. So delicious.

Yesterday was straightforward, many potatoes and eggs. Not a whole heck of a lot to say there.

I will say, that there is some worry from a family member that my current challenge will be an issue during Thanksgiving, since it will require a different menu, as carbohydrates are such a major part of the menu. Once we discussed it, however, we realized that it won't be so bad. I can still eat:

• Turkey
• Brussels Sprouts
• Asparagus
• Salad

The things I can't eat: Crescent Rolls, gravy, cranberry chutney, jello salad, are all things that I don't typically eat (well, except for the cranberry chutney - it's so much tastier than cranberry sauce, and much better for you probably).

When all is said and done, it's not too bad for me, and the menu doesn't really need to change. I'll need to work on figuring out a dessert I can make that I can eat - something fruit based of course - but I'll figure that out without a problem.

The last thing I'm considering, is putting together a tray of "raw" bars, to have for food while in Vegas. They are healthy, and completely raw (something your body really likes). You can see recipes here and here.

I'll let you know if I try them!

Day #5 & 6: No Refined or Processed Carbohydrates

Day 5: Success
Day 6: Success
Success Rate: 83.33%

I know, I know, I missed day 5. So sue me. I was busy with...not doing a whole lot, just relaxing.

Anyway, I had a great weekend - on Saturday, I went with eggs and hashbrowns (homemade - I cut up the potatoes from scratch) and sauteed with onion and olive oil. Lunch was...well, I missed Lunch to be honest. For dinner, I made a fantastic fruit smoothie, with banana, frozen berries, some milk, and some cacao nibs (raw chocolate beans) mmm, mmm, was it delicious. A Late dinner was at a place called Frankies - a sports bar. I got some chili, as I hung out with a buddy while we watched the games. He also realized something great for me - I can drink wine! No beer, no liquor, but wine is okay, because it is made from grapes, not from grains. I'm calling it okay, mainly because red wine (I'm only going to drink red) has much of the "goodness" of grape juice in it.

Today, I was hanging out with some friends (they slept at my place last night) and they slept much later than I. I woke up, as usual, at 6am...although I did go back to sleep until 8:30am. I still was up before them, and I made some more homemade hash browns. I know, more potatoes, big whoop. There is calcium in the skins (you do eat the skins, right?)

For lunch, we hit up a place called Mooyah, which is a burger place. I ended up grabbing a burger, but it was an "ICEBurger" which means they used iceberg lettuce instead of a bun. Couple that with lots of veggies, mustard, etc. and it was a pretty great burger! The fries were also pretty great...we split a large.

Dinner time was special - it was like practice for thanksgiving dinner. Roast turkey, sweet potato (whole, not mashed with marshmallows)  zucchini (fresh organic of course) and rolls (which I skipped)

I also had to skip the gravy, unfortunately. It is made with flour (or sometimes with cornstarch) and it can't be eaten by me.

All in all, it was a good day, with good friends, and a great bottle of pinot noir to finish it.

I'm now off to Vegas to kick off a new project. It should prove to be difficult, but I can certainly do it. I'm not finding that I'm desiring the processed carbs, but it is just a challenge to avoid them! Food manufacturers like to put then in everything because they are cheap, and they even make you MORE hungry, like a crack dealer who gives you "just a little" crack for free (but more on that later...the carbohydrate thing, not the crack thing)

Day #4: No Refined or Processed Carbohydrates

Day 4: Success
Success Rate: 75%

Okay, okay, I know that today isn't over yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm done eating for today, so I'm calling this one a success.

I started the day with a planned juice fast. There was just one problem, well, two problems really.

Problem the first: The fruits and vegetables I had were pretty dry, so I was not getting much juice out of them at all. This makes for a pretty poor juice fast, when you juice three hands full of spinach, an apple, and 5 carrots, and I barely got a glass of juice out of it.

Problem the second: I didn't feel like going to the store to buy fresher vegetables.

So, I ended up eating a few solid food items towards the end of the day, but I followed the challenge anyway.

So here's the food:

Breakfast
Juice. 5 carrots. 3 handfuls of spinach. 1 apple.

Lunch
Juice. 6 carrots. 3 handfuls of spinach.

Mid afternoon snack
I made some eggs for this. Just a couple of eggs, mixed in with some pesto, and some parmigiana cheese (yeah, I don't like the standard boring eggs that some people like to eat). They were good, and a quick little snack.

Dinner:
I made up some brown rice, which is good enough by itself, but then...

I mixed up some carrots (lots of carrots today!) and some onions, sauteed them in olive oil, with sesame oil, Mongolian fire oil, and soy sauce. It became super delicious, and would have been great by itself.

I then tossed in the brown rice, and a little more soy sauce. Yum. Yum. Yum.

So now I'm stuffed, and don't quite feel like moving. But seriously, tomorrow morning, I need to grab some vegetables for juicing, because that really is great for you.

Overall, a successful day, though that's pretty easy when you are at home, and half of the day is spent juice fasting.