Category Archives: Improvement Sprints

Italian Cooking Improvement Sprint

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sensecam_080821_022050_01911 It looks like I will be pushing off my micro-goal of creating a truckload of desserts for another month or two. I am dedicating the month of June to cooking at least 20 Italian dishes, at least half of which I want to be new and original recipes.

Obviously, with Italian food there is going to be a lot of pasta involved and with that in mind, all of the pasta I create will be fresh and made by hand to be as authentic as possible. I am staying with a family right now that has a strong Italian heritage so the matriarch of the family will be showing me many of her cooking tricks, which I am really looking forward too.

Again, I am not working from a pre-determined meal plan, deciding on the day what I will be cooking for lunch or dinner. I will pick up any ingredients I need in the morning on the way to the office, and then begin cooking at around 5PM in the kitchen there.

This time I will be experimenting with photographing the food as it is prepared and once more when the dish is finished, as I would like to start compiling my recipes in to something more presentable and usable than a Microsoft OneNote notebook. Who knows, maybe one day I will release a cookbook of my original recipes. :)

So twenty fresh and exciting Italian meals, hand-made pasta, nothing out of a packet or a box as far as I can manage it, only the freshest and best organic ingredients I can purchase and a varied menu, that is the goal, so let’s see how closely I can stick to it.

It should prove to be an interesting journey. I am just glad I am back working at my treadmill desk so that I will be losing weight as fast as I am gaining it (hopefully). ;) I will of course be continuing with my treadmill desk “improvement sprint” for the foreseeable future, or at least, until one of our clients has a crisis project that needs to be saved.

I will post regular weekly updates on the more noteworthy meals I cook, along with any new tricks I have picked up.

Weight Loss With A Treadmill Desk Improvement Sprint Update #2

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DSC01988Now that I am all set up on my treadmill desk, I am off to a great start.

No weight loss to speak of yet, but that is what I was expecting. Every log I have of weight loss for exercising on the treadmill desk shows improvement after the first month rather than in the first month. When I first set up a treadmill desk, almost a decade ago, the improvements in health came in spurts as I reached each new plateau and that is what I expect to see again after a year away from regular use.

Right now, I am intending to keep the speed below my usual treadmill desk walking speed of 3.5MPH and aiming low on the hours too. I have been keeping a regularly consistent 2MPH for two hours a day, and I will continue with this programme until I have gotten back into my groove. I am not expecting to see any dramatic weight loss until my speed and endurance begins to creep up in month two.

I am expecting to keep my current speed and duration for at least another two weeks, and I am keeping my hands well away from the “increase incline” button for at least two months. I want my legs to survive, and I can already feel the new exercise working on my knees and ankles when I go to bed each night with them slightly aching and tired, but I am oh so satisfied with myself.

I played World of Warcraft for two hours the other day, playing healer and hunter in a quick Nexus dungeon run, and did pretty well with it. I will get back to five manning the place on a multi-boxing setup sometime next week when I have the time to practice. Five months away from World of Warcraft and multi-boxing, and a year away from the treadmill desk has made me rusty.

Overall, my weight has remained almost constant, and any weight loss I can attribute to water loss rather than burning off fat.

Since getting back on my treadmill desk, I have walked a total of 58 miles in 32 hours, burnt almost 7,000 calories and jogged my way through three dungeons. ;) This is my treadmill desk log for up to the 20th of May.