TheLegendsLeague

After 75 days of watching my diet, not drinking alcohol, 100 push ups a day (sort of), OD’ing on Green Tea, spaghetti squash, salad, sushi and Subway sandwiches, The Sober 165 is DONE!

As posted a while back, I did in fact hit my goal weight of 165lbs, and I feel the best I’ve felt in a very long time. My clothes fit better, I can walk up stairs and put on my socks without sweating, and I don’t feel like there’s a water bag in my shirt when I walk around the office.

This test of will and determination and discipline and insanity did a lot of things for me, good and bad.
So let’s start with the good:

• I am far more conscious of when I eat just to feel full and when I eat to feel nourished.

• I’ve gained a respect for my body and my health that I truthfully never had before.

• My face doesn’t look haggard from all the drinking and sleep deprivation - something that me and Stacey really noticed yesterday while checking out old pics from last Summer.

• My mind is sharper, more clear, and my rationale when dealing with emotional issues is far more reasonable.

• I have become incredibly productive while at home. Even more productive than I was in the past.

• I have saved a TON of money.

• My friends have become more mindful of what changes they may need to make to better themselves, and thankfully, have began implementing them.

• My confidence as a result of my physical health and physical shape has changed drastically, and my mood (on good days) reflects this greatly.

And here’s some of the not so good:

• I haven’t spent too much time with friends, usually opting to go home to work rather than going out.

• I have gained a deep, deep disgust for spaghetti squash after eating so much of it over the past 3 months.

• I never feel like I’m unwinding or relaxing. My mind is constantly in work mode, and while I know that it’s not good to rely on alcohol or vices to relax, sometimes it’s an aide to getting to a point of relaxation.

• I “waste” food. This is a big one for me. I was raised to scrape the plate at all times, but now when I’m full or feel nourished enough, I don’t clear my plate. This is something that bothers the hell out of me, and maybe I just need to lessen my portions to avoid this.

• It’s hard to think of places to go eat. Sometimes while I’m out with my girl, we can’t think of places that I’m “allowed” to eat, or she doesn’t want to indulge while I have a salad and a tea, so we end up eating the same things. Shout out to Jasmine Rice and that Sushi spot at Royal York and Bloor.

• I have spent a lot of money on eating out for lunch.

I know, the goods clearly outweigh the bads. I just felt like you guys should know what you’re in for when and if you try to do anything like this.

So being that yesterday was the last day of my Sober 165, I decided to take the day off to work on Ideall shit, but more importantly to do some of the things I hadn’t done for so long.

Here’s some of what yesterday looked like:

• I had chocolate for the first time in 3 months! Imagine how that shit tasted!! It was like a non sexual orgasm in my mouth! (*pause).

• I drank a hot drink that WASN’T tea and it had whip cream on it! It was good, but I felt wired as a motherfucker after drinking it. I don’t even know if it had caffeine in it! LOL! Thank you StarBucks!

• I drank a soda! A yummy, yummy CREAM SODA!

• I ate at Craft Burger and had a Bleu Burger!

• & Fries!

• & onion rings! HOLY CRAP! my belly was punching me after all of that!

• I drank a tall can of beer! And I was surprised that I didn’t start bursting into my old body like Barney in The Simpsons! After all, if you rearrange the letters in “Barney” it DOES spell, “Bryan E”!

AND after me and Stacey, who had just finished a cleanse of her own, (congrats baby!), were done all of this…

• We finished a bottle of wine!! And were drunk! lol.

Damn yesterday was good.

But what now? Does my life go back to the debauchery and malpractice? The misfeeding and binge drinking?

Nah.

I didn’t do all of this to prove a point. I did it to get into better physical shape and treat my body how it should be treated while pushing the limit on withdrawing myself from all possible vices. Now that I know that I was able to do The Sober 165, I am confident that the habits that I’ve picked up over the past 3 months are ones that I will continue to carry out in my day-to-day life from here on out. I just don’t crave salty foods like I used to. I don’t really crave chips that much, or want to have cookies that are sitting in the kitchen for all the staff in the office like they were today at work. I’m not really dying to get the feeling of excess weight back into my gut, or the look of exhaustion in my face. It’s just not in me all that much. After feeling like I have control of myself and the things that I do, remembering the out of control regularity of my life both 3 months ago and even further into the past, is kind of pathetic. Yes, it’s understandable that we all fall to certain vices at some points in our lives. But to forget that a vice can be loosened is a dangerous flaw. During The Sober 165 I learned to regain possession over something that we all claim but very rarely exercise, and that’s CHOICE. I said it a number of times while doing this thing - it all comes down to a question usually - “Should I” or “Shouldn’t I?” And the important thing to remember is that if you’re asking the question in the first place, the answer is very likely, “No”.

I’m not saying that I’ll never get hammered and mumbly again, or that I won’t sit at the movies and eat a whole thing of nachos with my daughter. I would feel like a fool if I never indulged. I’m just saying that now I know how much control I have over my day to day decisions, and I see how much they can make a difference in my life as a whole if I compile enough of the right decisions together in succession. And that’s what this experiment was meant for, I think. As a means to say that going through this isn’t a test of your will, it’s a testament to your character. How much do you control your life? How much does it control you? And when will you stop lying about which answer you believe in? If nothing else, The Sober 165 showed me that what we sometimes think are trivial decisions in our day are actually pieces to the major decision that helps shape our outlook on our lives and ourselves. I am not as young as I once was. And I’m doing nothing but getting older. What is there to do but decide that my life will only be great from this point forward? No, deciding to drink green tea will not raise my salary, but the effects of falling dominoes are an interesting bunch. One thing leads to another, and to another, and to another, and hopefully ends in happiness. But all of those things are led, by one person - you. Don’t forget that.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement over the past 75 days! If you’ve got any questions about The Sober 165, post them in the comments.

Love&Respect as usual.
be.

Yeah, me and my girl are a goofy bunch. I realized she might actually kill me for posting the hilarious face she made in this pic so I took it off… lololol.

We decided to go for dinner and a drink or two on Friday to celebrate a few things:
1) The semi-completion of a TV commercial we’re working on at work. It’ll be aired nation wide vurry soon.
2) Our 4 year and 1 month anniversary. Yes, we still do the monthly thing like we’re in 8th grade. But we loves it, so back off. :P
3) The 4 year anniversary of my final arrest, and arguably the most important turning point in my life. If you don’t know.. go back in the blogs to find out.

Close up lovin.

My Rickard’s White. I went for a lighter beer thinking it would be easier to stomach. It took me longer than an hour to finish. Non-fiction.

She’s on a crazy cleanse right now, so she went with the vegetable platter. We were expecting a couple of celery sticks and carrots, but instead we got a gigantic plate for only 4 bucks!

4 Dolla Holla.

Drake thought he’d clown my design skills a couple months back by posting a potato chip version of his own 808’s & Heartbreak cover. With all those veggies at my fingertips, I had to get him back.

Sweet, sweet chicken wings… How I’ve missed you so.

This experience was better than cleaning your ears with a Q-tip.

Attack Mode!

Curtain.

It’s Thursday evening. Now it’s Friday ’cause I got so tired last night that I couldn’t finish this post. November 6th. Now November 7th. I’m exhausted still. I always am. I’m down. and out. and not quite sure why. But I keep referring back to the fact that I probably just need a drink. Who knows? Maybe that’s the solution. But unfortunately I know that it’s also the problem. I think it’s quite possible that what I need is what many of us have always sought - freedom. It’s very likely that I’m feeling shackled with responsibility, with the tug of war between dreams and the chase, and reality and the idling time involved with waiting for the right wave to surf. I thought I found it with TheLegendsLeague. Maybe. Maybe I was terribly wrong. Maybe spending all this money to fund my passion to design and have a clothing company is a waste that I may never be able to turn to a sustainable business that will have me feeling a little less shackled, and a little more strapped to surf.

A few days ago I hit my Sober 165 goal weight. I woke up to an amazing message from a girl who had been keeping an eye on TheLegendsLeague from Dubai and from Manila during the summer that floored me and had me awed by her honesty and passion. I got out of bed and stepped on the scale, and there it was - 165lbs. Something I had been working towards since September 18th was finally here. A whole month earlier than I expected. And I admittedly, was happy as hell. I had done it. For myself, for sure. But for you guys. More.

I know that sounds a little bit messed up. But it’s true. I wouldn’t have been able to make it through The Beer Weight Experiment or The 5 Minute Me. without you guys supporting me, sending me messages, trying it out yourselves, and returning to the blog to see how I was doing. And while I definitely feel like I need to eat something at home that’s hearty and NOT spaghetti squash - (*pukes in mouth) - I feel more passionately about not letting you guys down.

You inspire me. A lot. With your support and kind words, and your trust that I’ll be able to carry out anything that I randomly think up. And that means the world to me.

And then I’m back to feeling like shit.

My hair is growing out. I look scrubby. And I can’t go to a barber.

Yeah, crazy right? I’ve never been to a barber to get my hair cut. Go ahead. Laugh. It’s fine, I’m used to it. When I was a kid my dad would just cut our hair. Bowl cuts, “fades”, (notice the quotes there), chelsea’s (yup, I had a chelsea. I’m from a different era than a lot of you). He did it all. And not that bad either. So I just never went to a barber. All my friends used to go to the barber shops and pay money to get their hair cut, and I had to just stay home and get my dad to do it. As I got older, I just cut my own hair and ended up never having to go to a barber shop. I did go when I was older. But that was to get braid ups. The only other person to ever cut my hair was Zaki. But she’s too busy making the best music in the world, so hair cutting isn’t on the top of the list. And her peanut don’t work no more. :(. So anyways, I feel like a fucking scrub and I don’t know what to do about it ‘cus I wanna grow my fucking hair back to when it was all long and shit and I had a ponytail. Yes. Laugh again. I also had a ponytail… but it looks mad stupid right now. Whatever, besides the point I guess. But I feel like ranting a little. A lot.

Next topic:

I’ve been doing a lot of Ideall Clothing related stuff which has really drained me. I’m bad when I’m in financial binds, and the whole country is in a fucking financial bondage fetish fuckfest right now. On a thrown bound and gagged then thrown to the ground and bagged. I think I’m poetic. The path is wrong. (I think I’ll use this in something new). But the success, or relative success of Ideall Clothing has been cool. I’m eating off my passions, what more could I ask for? Hmmm. I can think of a few things.

I never see my girlfriend anymore. And if we do get to see one another it’s just to sleep and then we’re up in the early morning ready to go to work or school. I haven’t seen my sister Zaki in soo long. I miss her very much. I haven’t seen my homey Phil, my other big sister Rose, OR their semi-new baby, Charlie. Word on the street is that she’s already graduated kindergarden. Not really, but it’s been that long. I missed Rose’s birthday because I had a fucking emotional breakdown with Stacey about how I’m usually not so angry as I seem and the majority of the time I’m actually just upset like a fucking child who wants to cry all the fucking time. I cried so much that night it exhausted me and I could barely keep my eyes open. And then I sent Rose ANOTHER apology text message… I’m pathetic. And I fucking hate it. I missed her birthday festivities for the sake of being an emotional cupcake. What did they do for MY past birthday? Phil, Rose and her daughter Dé sent me the best message ever. And I saved it on my phone since then.

Best Message Ever.

Yeah, amazing right? Dé’s the best. And hearing Rose say, “I Love You” as much as she used to tell me that taught me something about having family members who just say what they feel. I love them a lot, and my fucking emotional issues got in the way of me ’showing’ them for the first time in almost a year.

Then there’s this girl at my work who always pushes me to write a book. I’ve always said I was going to. But who the fuck cares really? Same shit. Over and over. Nothing new right? Well, I’m just gonna have to write this thing and get it off my fucking chest to see if anyone DOES give a shit about me writing it. We’ll see I guess.

I’m starting to get really tired again and I don’t plan on continuing this shit into tomorrow so I’ll just cut it off here.

Before I go, I’ve got a quick message to everyone else trying The Sober 165 - it is possible to change your life by changing your body. Your body is easily changed by your habits. And your habits come down to a simple question most of the time - “Should I? or Shouldn’t I”. The answer is usually no if you need to think about it, so just show some restraint and some discipline and your life will improve. I promise you. I’m at a weight that I thought I’d never get back to, and have been Sober now for 51 days with the exception of the beer and the wine that I had on my anniversary. You can do it. I’ve got faith in you and I’m always open to help people out if you’ve got any questions. Right now I’m just in a pissy mood. So good luck.. and keep being strong. As I said to my homey Addy, momentary emotional pain is nothing in comparison to a lifetime of psychological defeat. Face your withdrawals and you will reap the greatest rewards.

I’m out.
Thanks for listening guys.
Love&Respect.
be.

WithDrawal

I’m coping still
With withdrawal
But I’m enthrawled
with how dope this feels.

And all of my trips
Maybe not inline..
Shit,
If it makes me just as shaky as
A spokeless wheel..
Let’s hope this heals.

Today is just another weighed scale swayed ways.
From blacks to the white light glow
Through the greys.
I flow with the waves.

And know
if I graded what I’ve done
Its all A’s.
Canadians say,

“We’re strong and we’re free”.
While the rockets glare red,
We’re tryina shoot for stars above the stripes of the feds.
Crop cops…

From the image of our lives.
You get the picture.
To them we are just:
(Enter word here)

First there was the interum scare -
“If I take it from my life
Will the pendulum care?”

I am steady swinging
With my legs ready
Kicking any habits
That have damaged
Anything that’s worth giving of myself.

And now the focus is my health.
Hell if I aint happy with the wages of my wealth.

My bank account is hefty as the
Packaging of trash cans.
And my feelings are as open as the acting of a masked man -
After the curtain falls last and
All is left is the walk home briskly.

I talk thoughts like their not
at all costs risky.

And god saw everything
that I saw within me.
So I don’t pray nightly.
I just say whattup
and tip my hat down politely.

“Hello, sir.”

I know I am just closer
To building things
The homies and my girl
Can raise a toast for.

From here here its all cheers
‘Cause I have clapped every aspect of all fears.

And I have now fully shifted self through all gears.

The pace might brake.
But won’t stop.

The pain this takes
Puts the “H” through the “ace”.
And not many will look
that “acHe” in the face
for the long term.

Maybe I am in the wrong land.
Bad plans misdirected like a wrong turn.
Bad hands that I’ve never tried to fold.

Put your hands together and breathe.

He is cold like a slight sick sniffle.
The light might flicker,
The chances of the flame going out
are much thinner
than an alley cats whisker.

So why submit to your figure for?
A dope excuse to use a metaphor.

I’ve gone sober for a plethora of reasons,
But mostly so that I could just breathe.

Believe me.

- be.

I never really wrote for the sake of getting a response for much of my life. The fact is that not a lot of people were listening. It wasn’t until I had an assignment to write “an anthology of poems” in 7th grade that I felt anyone paid any attention. And so, with a new found ear in one of my grade school teachers, I wrote with the voice and idea that there was somebody on the other side of the globe doing the same, just waiting to sit with me to share his pieces.

Suddenly when 2 people heard me read my work I realized that I may be able to write for 4 people who would possibly sit in on the coffee shop readings that used to happen around 1995 and 96. Those 4 people may turn into 8 and into 16, and into a huddled crowd outside of my high school. Then maybe it would turn into open mics at York University and Fruition. It may turn into outros on mixtapes, random recordings, pieces on a myspace, and then suddenly - this blog. And now I’ve found that I write more to share than I do to vent, while still brushing my chest off at the end of it all to feel intensely relieved.

The other day I wrote a little bit about what I was doing with this Sober 165 experiment. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a plan that I’ve made for myself to remain disciplined and focused on my health and well being, namely my diet and sobriety, over the next 75 days (starting September 18th). I am doing this for myself. Because I’m tired of feeling like shit about the way that I look and feel. But I am sharing it with you to hopefully motivate some of you to do more for yourselves, and thankfully, many of you are joining in on the fight with me. I applaud and bow my head to you.

Soon after posting this introduction to The Sober 165, I got an email from one of my regular readers…

I will not post the details of this message, but I will say this -

My heart is full. And it is humbled by the fact that there are things that I decide to share with all of you that touch on your emotions in such a way that you feel trust enough in the person that I am to share right back. I never imagined that the effects of what I would say, or do, or create would allow for another person’s liberation, honesty and opinion to come right back and refuel me to continue to do more; that the idea that I am making an effort to do more for myself would stir memories of childhood hardships and family woes to such an extent that you would be willing to shed so candidly your thoughts and feelings about something so fresh in your life. I am really, truthfully floored by the support you have always shown me, and I’m sorry that there isn’t more that I can do to show you how appreciative I am of the fact that you sent what you sent to me, you’ve supported how you’ve supported me, and you continue to lead, what seems to be, an incredibly clear life, with a light heart, a smile, and something positive to say.

Thank you. Sincerely. It’s amazing to be able to get the same energy back that I do my best to send out.

With Love&Respect as usual.
bryan.

Yesterday marked the 3 week point of this 75 day binge on sobriety and all things shitty for me. I’m tired. I’m restless. And I’m in need of some rest and actual relaxation.

A week ago I went for a massage. And as good as it was it was more painful than anything. My back is fucked up for reasons X, Y, and Z. And my neck is fucked up for reasons A, B, and C. So while I would have loved to been able to enjoy the sounds of whales singing ballads and the wind rustling leaves, I was a little more in the mode of cringing and thinking constantly - “This is for the better”. After all was said and done, I was relieved. But not relaxed.

I had my first opportunity to go out with the wife and have a couple of drinks. Sorry - nothing interesting to tell you here. We chilled out, played some bar games, ate and went home. Even given the opportunity, I chose not to have a beer.

I’ve been keeping up with my diet - with the small exception of some pizza today at Remix. It’s been good to me, and very fucking refreshing. But I gotta be honest with you, the green tea is starting to make me sick. I need alternative tea choices and I need them now. Let me know if you’ve got ideas.

As for my weight? No real significant change. I’m at a consistent fluctuation between 172 and 175 and cant seem to break into the 60’s yet. Maybe some crunches and cardio would help this. I may even start to do some Yoga or something to get me a little more trimmed than these billion push ups are. But like I said - I’m fucking tired. And doing Yoga is fucking hard.

Right now I am terribly exhausted. I just got off the phone with my little bro in LA and I don’t think I’m gonna be able to make it out there for the Pacquiao fight. :’( Just rest assured, the payoff will be worth it.

Well that’s all for now. Sorry about the blandness of this post. If you didn’t already know - I’m tired.

Love&Respect as usual.
be.

Today marks the official 2 week mark since my last drink. It really hasn’t been that difficult, and I feel that the main reason is staying busy. Keep yourself gunning for improvement in all aspects of your life and you’ll find yourself increasingly aggravated with the things that generally pull you down.

I weighed 182 lbs on September 17th, and weighed myself at 173.2 lbs this morning, for a drop of 8.8 lbs. 8 more pounds to go and I’ve got exactly 60 more days to do it. And this is strictly from a change of diet and the implementation of relatively easy exercise. I still haven’t done ANY cardio - I haven’t practiced yet because of my schedule at work, and I haven’t worked out any more than my 100 push-ups and crunches on a daily basis. I’ve lost a lot of beer weight though. I’m far less bloated and weighty from water weight. So I’m thinking the next 8 lbs is going to be a little more difficult. We’ll see.

Regardless, I’m feelin’ real, real good right now yo.

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.

Some of you already know this, but I’ve given up the bottle again. (I know, I sound like a toddler with separation issues.. but seriously now..)

A couple of weeks ago I left for LA for the first time in 4 years to see some loved ones, namely my young bro Mike for his 25th birthday, and finally get an opportunity to take a real, true to form, vacation.

It was amazing.

When I got back to Toronto my mind was in a different place. My approach to everything was different. I was more carefree, more on point, more considerate of my own life and my own movements, and more aware of where I wanted to be and what was necessary for me to do in order to find myself at my end goals within reasonable deadlines. I started to look at life like a vacation. Zero work days. Only enjoyment in anything I do, no matter how difficult, how time pressing, or how frustrating. I was to take everything in stride, chin up, chest out, and prepared to tackle obstacles accordingly.. or just step around them politely if it made more sense.

And so to the idea of being sober again.

I need to be on top of my game if everything I see before me is to go as planned. And if you know me like you think you know me, my issues with alcoholism are plenty and always available to topple my steps. So I’ve decided to go sober until I return back to California, (which is tentatively in December for the Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar De La Hoya fight). But I figured if I’m gonna go sober, I may as well change up more than just my drinking habits… so there’s a couple more things I’ve implemented just to make things interesting. The main thing is getting back down to 165lbs. and living an overall fuller, more uplifting life, than I already am.

So here it is - The Sober 165.

Limitations:

NO drinking alcohol of any sort.
(I only drink beer, wine, and champagne, so liquor doesn’t really matter).

NO salting of foods after cooking or after purchasing from restaurants.
(My love for sodium is an issue. I’m surprised I’m not pissing out crystals the color of canaries half the time).

NO potatoes and rice while I’m at work.
(Yeah, this sounds crazy, but I’m a sucker for the Greek spot by my work and I kill that shit).

NO chips, chocolate or candy.
(I eat chips. I love them. I love nachos. Eating nachos lets off my endorphins. And I love nachos more than Nacho loves orphans. LMAO. So nachos at the movies is an exception).

NO coffee. NO soda. NO trap food.
(I used to drink a lot of coffee. “Used to” being the important phrase here. Soda is just a bad thing altogether. Not really a fan. And ‘trap food’. Well, trap food is basically what my homey Auggie stays eating - McDonald’s, BK, Taco Bell, Popeyes type shit. Never that).

NO pasta at home.
(I cook A LOT of pasta. But the carbs aren’t the greatest thing for me. My replacement - spaghetti squash. It’s incredibly easy to prepare, and I love the taste of it).

Implementations:

Start the day off with Green Tea.
(I drank a lot of tea in Cali, and it was great. So I’ve been starting all my days since coming home with a cup of green tea, and also the occasional cup at night).

At least 100 Push Ups a day.
(Ideally, I’d be working out all the time, but if I can’t, push ups and crunches is the acceptable route for the off days. 50 in the AM, 50 in the PM).

Only whole wheat bread.
(This is something that I had been doing even before I left, so it’s more a continuation than anything else).

B-Boying.
(I got a chance to meet Poe 1 in LA, and that dude is a machine. Seeing his approach to b-boying at his age and stage in life was incredibly inspiring and got me on a kick to start working on my footwork at home for the only reason we used to do it before - the love of it. Every Monday and Thursday night are the planned practice times).

No hats in the office.
(To many this sounds very silly. But me wearing a hat is like Linus carrying his blanket everywhere. I do it out of comfort. I wear a hat all the fucking time, and for some strange reason it helps with my panic and anxiety attacks. So no wearing hats in the office or while eating. It’s the courteous thing to do, and it’s about time things change).

The Exception:

Drinking with The Wife.
(It doesn’t happen very often at all, but if me and the wife go out for a drink, I’m good to go. I’m interested to see if I even break code for this exception).

Duration:

I’ve been sober since September 17, so by December 1st it will be 75 days of this project. So far it will be the longest LegendsLeague project that I’ve given myself, and clearly the most difficult. I am dedicated to it though, and determined to make this happen for myself. I am urging anyone else who is interested in doing the same for themselves to join me, and anyone who is considering it but unsure to stay up to date on the blog to see my progress. My starting weight as off September 17th was 182 lbs. my weight as of this morning is 174.6 lbs.

Wish me luck. I’ll keep you posted.

With Love&Respect.
be.

Special shout out to Nebby for the suggestion to blog it all. I had planned on letting ya’ll know what’s good, but not to the extent of the other LL projects. Show her some love at her blog