The Running Man

As regular followers of this blog are aware (read: there is perhaps one person in the world who has been following The Newsroom that closely in the last 11 years), I used to weigh about 220 lbs. and worked my way down to an almost slim-and-trim 172 lbs. a few years ago. (I once weighed 155 lbs. as a fully-grown adult, but that was due to a weird combination of eating nothing but fried chicken all summer while working at KFC while in high school and biking 14 miles a day to and from work. It was a precursor of the Atkins diet.)

Anyway ... over the last few years, I've kept my weight anywhere between 175 lbs. and 178 lbs., which wasn't bad, although my long-term goal has always been to get south of 170 lbs. again. This past winter, my weight kept creeping up over the 180 lbs. mark mainly due to my older daughter playing indoor soccer nine nights a week, which kept me out of the gym.

So I've made a renewed effort this summer to get my weight down. I've returned to the gym and started running again. (I try do weights, sometimes ... but I really, really hate doing weights.) I do a 5 kilometer pre-set on the treadmill and follow that. In the last 2 weeks, I've dropped 3 lbs., and weighed in at 178.2 lbs this morning.

I'm still hopeful I can eventually get below 170 lbs.

I've also found a great homemade protein bar recipe that I've been using to keep up my protein intake and satisfy my chocolate cravings. I called it my "protein goo" because even in the fridge, it doesn't completely harden but forms a fudgy paste. Still, it's delicious.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Designer Protein Bars - 4 servings

1/4 cup reduced fat peanut butter
3 TBL fat-free chocolate syrup
3 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 - 1 1/2 TBL water (you may need more to get the consistency you want)
In small bowl, combine peanut butter and chocolate syrup. Add the protein and enough water to moisten slightly. Place mixture on waxed paper or plastic wrap, and knead by hand for a few seconds to blend ingredients. Form into four bars of small rectangles either by hand or rolling mixture with a rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper. Wrap each bar in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator to preserve freshness.

Make 4 bars

Per Bar: Calories 170/ Protein 17 grams/ Carbs 13grams/ Fat 6grams