TheLegendsLeague

I’ve said it before and I will say it over and over until people stop getting it twisted - I’m out the graphic design game. Well, not entirely. I just ain’t a fucking free agent anymore.

I got TheLegendsLeague (IdeallClothing, TheMeaningOfDope), I’ve got my 9-5 gig as an Art Director for a marketing agency, and I’ve got a select few clients that I’ll fuck with if they ever need anything. So why do you keep seeing my new shit pop up on the October’s Very Own blog? Or on Photo Will’s blog?

You’ll get the picture soon enough. Just keep thinking about it.
Or maybe you should just peep the movements:

October 16.08
LOST IN THE WILLDERNESS (Photo Will)
&
OCTOBERS VERY OWN (Oliver, Niko, Drake, & 40)

Invite Only.

You better recognize them like they look familiar.

First off I wanna say that I’m really impressed by everyones interest and determination to join in on The Sober 165 (or whatever your goal weight is). I know first hand how difficult it is to break out of your routine and switch so many aspects of your lifestyle just to attain one goal. Thankfully that one goal comes with tons of other perks that make you realize the next time you plan on jumping into a routine like this there will be a lot more to look forward to than just a change on the scales. Your determination should also be about the general health benefits, the increased energy, the boosted confidence, and arguably my favorite of the perks - an altered stress response that will lead to an even broader range of pluses for you.

A couple of you have asked what my diet is like and what I eat on a regular weeks basis, so I thought I’d outline what a weeks worth of meals looks like for me.

Breakfast -
I start the day off with a green tea - always. Having something hot in the morning lights a fire under my ass to get the day going and makes me feel like I’m sitting fireside at a camp ground all at once. But the tea is a huge contrast to drinking a mug of java. Coffee just feels too busy-city business man when I’ve gotta jump on the streetcar and commute to work. Tea time is great for a moment of clarity and you don’t feel like a crackhead after drinking it.

I have a whole wheat or twelve grain bagel, untoasted and unbuttered or a whole wheat croissant, along with a low fat yogurt and a 1.5 litre water bottle that usually lasts the entire work day. Sometimes I’ll replace the bagel/croissant with a fruit & nut granola bar (not those wimpy little school recess ones), and I don’t necessarily buy a water bottle every morning. Tap water is drinkable, so refill that shit and stop drowning the planet in plastic.

On the weekends I’ll generally have 3 eggs (2 whites and 1 whole egg) pan scrambled with 2 slices of whole grain bread toasted and buttered with no salt butter. I’ll also have a glass of soy milk - I don’t respond well to regular milk, so sometimes a vanilla flavoured soy based substitute is great.

Lunch -
Working in an office makes going for lunch with the guys feel like recess, so its rare for me to bring something in to work. If I do its generally a turkey sandwich or left overs from weekend cooking, which I’ll outline later on.

The key to changing your lunch diet is looking at what you usually take in and altering it to be more beneficial to you while replacing all the trash in your diet with foods that are good for you. So during the week, here are some lunches I may have:

Subway -
That dude jared didn’t lose all that weight bullshitting. My homey mikey from inqmnd tried this diet for a bit and said it actually worked. I always get a 6 inch turkey breast on whole wheat. Yes, I can eat a footlong, (no bay day), but I can also eat a whole large bag of cheetos. Its about using your head and common sense. I get lettuce, olives, onions, pickles, cucumbers, and a lot of tomatoes. I basically try to fill up like I would on trap food (see previous Sober 165 post) but I fill up off of things that are good for me. I get a little lite mayo and a bunch of southwest sauce - that shit is the bomb and its one of my only indulgences. I get it topped with black pepper and NO salt. Also - NO bacon, ever. They’ll try to get you to buy a combo because its ‘cheaper’ but its 70 cents extra for 2 things that I’m not consuming - cookies and/or chips.

Sushi -
I fucking love it, and damn near all of it is good for you. Why do you think japanese people look so fucking good and seem happy all the time. They be eating that ichiban bomb shit. I go with the bulgogi bento box and you guessed it - green tea and a glass of lemon water. Again, it fills me up like a quarter pounder would, but feels like swallowing a million bucks. (No bay day).

Fresh -
If you’re not from Toronto you may not know what Fresh is - trust me, your missing out. I go for the ninja bowl, the power house, or the buddah bowl. And any/all of these are great with green dressing. Just ask for it on the side and pour away. It’s more food than a crack house, more good than a pack of nuns. When I gotta run, I grab a date almond powershake (or whatever its called). Fucking delicious. For those of you who hate tofu, I dare you to try a piece of their tofu steaks. It’ll change your mind about the otherwise bland meat replacement.

Lettuce -
I know, its expensive, and if you’re not from T.O. It sounds like a rabbits meal. But there’s nothing temptingly bad about salad. I just stay away from their “splurge” dressings and the bacon. Otherwise, its amazing and is usually more than I can finish in one comfortable sitting.

Cafe Supreme -
Guaranteed you’ve got a cafe of some sort around you, whether its Tim Hortons or some no name spot. For me, its Cafe Supreme. (I just love that I can consider myself Supreme Clientele and I don’t own any of Supremes gear or a life size golden eagle bracelet). I go for soup and 2 half salads - usually something with chick peas or corn and another with tomatoes or cucumbers. (If you work in a mall, get used to eating at Cultures. It’ll do you right). I’ll usually have a water or iced tea.

Greek -
As I mentioned in the first post, I’m a sucker for greek. (Ever since my high school homegirl stole me some London Fog shit and told me she had no problems with me selling it myself, I think I was in love with every aspect of the culture. Lol). I used to get the chicken with salad, rice, potatoes, extra tziziki and dressing. That already sounds bad. Now I go for just the chicken salad with balsamic vinegarette instead of the other shit. Again, water or iced tea.

Dinner -
Here’s where I’m usually pretty bad about eating. For those of you who know me, you know how much I work. So I’m usually not home until about 7 - 8pm. This is why cooking on the weekend and grocery shopping is important. Buying food from restaurants all the time is fucking expensive. You’re better off spending 60 bucks on the weekend and holding it down. Here are some things that I pick up so I can eat when I’m home:

Soup -
its cheap, not too heavy, and I can eat it at my desk no problem.

Canned corn -
fucking delicious with no prep time. Eat it with rice and some salmon or by itself as a snack and you’re good.

Spaghetti squash -
I told yall about this shit in the first post. Cut it in half and take the seeds out, bake it at 350 skin up for 15mins, then skin down for another 15, let it cool abit, and then scrape the ‘meat’ with a fork and you’ll have a dope alternative to pasta that is a little crisp and a lot lighter on the belly. Add sauce and you’re straight. (No bay day). Lol.

Salmon -
Canned, its better than tuna. Cut and cooked its better than cleaning your ears with q-tips. Yeah, I said it.

Lentils/chick peas -
Stop being a bitch and eat them. They’re good for you and easy to prepare. Chick peas with lemon juice, chopped cilantro and salt and pepper is bomb. Cool it for a bit though. I prep the lentils with canned spinach, hot sauce and various spices that I just try out. I’m not a cook, but usually if its cooked, I’ll eat it. Its all going to the same place - the goodness bank.

Granola/cereal bars -
they’re good if you’re always on the run, and they help manage the sugar cravings.

Vanilla soy milk -
it replaces a craving for sweets like the granola bars do and it keeps for a very, very long time, which helps if you’re like me and tend to forget you have a whole house that surrounds your desk that may just rot if you don’t pay attention to it.

Homemade sauce -
all you need is olive oil, garlic, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, a bay leaf, thyme, and ground beef/chicken. Coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil and let 5 cloves of garlic sit in that shit on low. Take them out before they char or burn and throw them out. Throw your meat in and season it as you like while carmelizing some onions on a frying pan. When the meat is nearly ready, throw in the can of diced tomatoes (drain it a bit), and the onions and cook it with the bay leaf until the meat is done and the tomatoes soften up. Throw in the rest of the crushed tomatoes, season that shit up a little more to taste and let it sit on low forever. You should have a great base for a sauce that you can add peppers, mushrooms or whatever you like in your pasta to. Toss it onto your spaghetti squash and you’ve got dinner. Make sure to give it time. You don’t want this sauce finished in 15 minutes.

Snacks -
Sometimes you need a snack. When I need one I’ll usually have a toasted whole wheat bagel with some butter, a banana, canned corn, or a handful of soy nuts. The soy nuts are hella salty so easy on them. You may shrivel into a raisin without showing some restraint.

I hope this helps you guys out a little. I’m not perfect, nor are my eating habits, but I’ve improved what I was used to eating and changed some things to further benefit my health. Do the same for your own routine and I’m sure it’ll assist in getting to your goal weight and/or state of contentment.

Good luck, and I look forward to hearing about the successes and struggles.

Love&Respect as usual.
be.

Last week I was asked a few questions by some dude, (now identified as Ben Kaplan of the National Post), regarding my experiences and thoughts about the streetcar and transit system here in Toronto. I answered my questions truthfully, saying something to the extent of, “Environmentally, the benefits of riding public transit are great. The worst thing about the fucking thing is the passengers. We’re so used to having it around that we find anything and everything to complain about. The fact is, it’s a fucking convenience.” I told them how I’ve seen a couple dogs get hit by streetcars after he asked me if I thought drivers should be drug tested, and they went on to doing their things as editors and writers, and chopped up what I said and mashed it into a small blurb that’s almost completely nonsensical just like everyone else’s.

So why am I posting this?

Well, for a couple of reasons…

First one is this - when they asked me where I was from, I said Canada. It’s the fucking truth. I’m not born in the Philippines nor do I associate myself with the culture at all. I actually have very negative reactions to the idea of being Filipino. So then he said, “Well, your parents, where are they from?”. And so I told him, “The Philippines. But I’m from Toronto. I was born in Toronto.”

Every person who answered Canada that is white is outlined in the printed version of the paper as being from Canada, and weren’t second guessed or requestioned when they said that that was their “country of origin”. If they were not BORN in Canada, their answers were given as their true countries of origin, ie. Hungary, Nairobi, Poland, and were rightfully printed as such. There was another interviewer by the name of Rebecca Tucker, whom I hope wasn’t doing the same thing.

I always thought the greatest thing about this country was our multiculturalism, and it would have been great to use the fact that the faces of our citizens reflect a diversity that is held in common by our one “country of origin” - Canada, rather than trying to make it seem like everyone of a race outside of something caucasian, has immigrated here. We’re all immigrants to this fucking place unless you’re an aboriginal, and that’s gotta be recognized, foreal.

I gotta say this, as blunt as a newfie would - Fuck you Ben Kaplan. That was an asshole move on your part.

My second reason for posting this is for the passenger to my left, who is identified as Shawn Mercer. You see, Shawn told Ben that he was on his way to Old City Hall to try to deal with an old marijuana case that he’d been dealing with for a long ass time. *I shuttered*. He told him how he’s had to miss work, reschedule shit, and struggle with the courts to try to sort this whole thing out, and Ben was empathetic. He asked him the same questions he asked everyone else: Best Streetcar Experience, Worst Streetcar Experience, Best Thing About It, etc, etc. And went his merry way.

Shawn was excited about being in the paper. When his photo was taken, he even asked the photographer to show him what his shot would look like. He cut into my talk time to tell the interviewer, Ben, that his mom was a TTC employee. And the young 21 year old seemed like his day had, to some extent, been made.

But then Ben Kaplan and his people decide that it might be a good idea to put 21 year old Shawn Mercer’s “En route to court on marijuana charges” in the city wide weekend edition of the National Post. I know, it’s Shawn’s wrong doing, and Shawn knows now to never tell everything to a news reporter or writer, but I’m sure his employer does too.

Damn..

I gotta say this as blunt as a newfie would - Fuck you Ben Kaplan. That was an asshole move on your part.

Have a great morning commute peoples. It’s Wednesday morning, we’re almost halfway there.

Peace.
be.