Peanut M&Ms Revisited

It's hard to say exactly what possessed me last night. We visited Costco early in the evening to buy a few necessities, and, as we waited in the checkout line, I left Michelle and the kids and grabbed a last minute 52 oz. bag of Peanut M&Ms. At $9, it was quite the impulse buy. And since I opened the bag last night, there's no returning it now. I'm stuck with it.

My weakness for Peanut M&Ms is well documented and seems to know no bounds (well, save for the size of the bag). As even a cursory review of these posts reveals, self-control has inevitably eroded, and I've eaten them and eaten them far past the point when they no longer tasted good.

Still, it has been a few months since I last purchased a bag, and since that time, I devised and implemented our exercise for treat days program. Maybe it's foolish, but I'm optimistic I'll have at least a modicum eating control this time around. That I managed to stop short of eating myself sick last night was encouraging. The truth is, if the bag survives a week, that'd be about normal (Yes, I know.) Two weeks might well be a record. Three weeks would be unheard of.

So I'm guardedly optimistic, but history is not on my side.

The 70,000 Calorie Challenge

A few weeks ago I posted about a new approaching to reviewing donuts. Here's the problem: I haven't been so hot on donuts lately.

First it was the oil soaked butter log from Peterson's Donut Corner that kind of shook my faith (and thoroughly disgusted me). How could a donut shop that I've heaped such lavish praises on in the past (including calling them the best donut shop in San Diego County) turn on me with such lazy craftsmanship on a late July afternoon? After paying for and tasting that batch of donuts, I had to battle the thought: I don't really like donuts that much.

Then I had three experiences with Randy's Donuts (in Los Angeles) over the course of a month or so, due entirely to the generosity of traveling friends. Even absent the Peterson's oil soaked butter log experience, Randy's Donuts revealed everything else here in San Diego County to be so decidedly inferior that I've started to genuinely question why I bother. To satisfy my sweet tooth, of course, but I've started resorting to other means (like these giant chocolate chip cookies that I've started making).

Ah, but there are other reasons, too, why I haven't really blogged much about donuts lately -- chiefly because I've been trying (again) to reign in treats.

Granted, it's a much kinder world in that arena when I'm hovering around 5 lbs. of my target weight [as opposed to years and years I spent weekly resolving to lose 40, 50, or 60+ lbs.] Since July, Michelle and I have taken to another exercise incentive plan. It's devastatingly simple: 4 days of exercise a week = 1 treat day; 5 days of exercise a week = 2 treat days; 6 days of exercise a week = 3 treat days. The treat days carry over from week to week, and they never expire. This was working very well for me, at least until things got terribly busy at work, and I was out of town a few weeks.

Now, with roughly four months until Christmas, I'm trying to layer in yet another goal into my exercise routine – the 70,000 calorie challenge. My goal is through exercise and extra activities (like taking the stairs at work) to burn an extra 70,000 calories by Christmas. This amounts to roughly 17,500 calories a month, or roughly 673 calories a day (exempting Sundays). That may be a bit much given the effects of my work schedule lately on my exercise routine, but I'd like to think there's something noteworthy just in the attempt.

Care to join me?