Florida - Sunny and Deep Fried

From October through the winter, holiday weight gain seems to be at its strongest. October fills the shelf with Halloween goodness, only to be replaced by Thanksgiving fillers and Christmas treats. And, once that three month period is over, the cold winter months makes it seemingly more difficult to shed the excess weight.

Therefore, with summer festivals being my nemesis this year, I did my best to be good around Halloween time and I thought I did rather well with some food choices and preparations. Then, as Thanksgiving came, I gave myself some allowances to various treats...sweet potato balls, two kinds of pie, etc.

But one thing I overlooked was the week-long trip to Florida coming the following Tuesday.

Perhaps I didn't overlook it as much as I underestimated it.

I thought, Florida! Warmer climates...fresher produce...healthier food.

But that wasn't so much the case. You're still traveling and it's hard to eat right when you're traveling...especially in the south when things tend to get fried up faster.

I, myself, got caught in some traps, thanks to assumptions. Sometimes the seafood I assumed was steamed was really fried. The devil crap was a ball of crab stuffing that was deep fried. The crab roll, mistaken for the east coast dish, was also a ball of deep fried crab stuffing.

Other times, I just let myself go with it. I knew the shrimp wasn't fresh, so I thought I might as well eat it like everyone else did. Perhaps some of those other times were simple excuses to let the 300 man inside of me breathe a little bit. :-)

Allow me to brag here of the things I didn't eat in Florida that I found entertaining. Granted, these aren't particular foods to Florida that probably couldn't be found in Ohio...but I didn't eat them all the same.

Cola Dessert Toppers



Butter Sculptures



Seemingly innocent "mini" cones.



Snowballs (these really look good to me)

and cool cakes (mucho frosting!).

And now that you look about these various fitness trainer nightmares, I present you with various foods I DID eat.

Please take note that these foods are NOT shown in the order I ate them. The sushi was scattered and some of the healthier food was actually at the end of my trip due to the fact that I felt badly about stuff I ate earlier on.

So let me hang my head a bit as I present that which will make me work out extra these next few weeks...

Sashimi and Boiled Shrimp and Avocado Roll



Roll with mango and another with Coconut



Sushi pieces and a jalapeno roll (really hot!)



Two crabs with Old Bay



Rice, avocado, Salmon Roe (a creation)



Pasta with shrimp and avocado



Veggie Panini and salad

(are you seeing the progression?)



Macaroon and Chocolate (and coffee)



Chicago dog

(uh oh...)



Chicken Balls (no lie) - this was the most fried I ate, I think



Mexican and Chinese Take-out medley - oh yeah...forgot about this



Mexican-Chinese leftover fry mix
(extreme badness...head hung REALLY low here)

So now that I've picked up the workouts again, I'm trying to be careful what goes into my system, trying to avoid Christmas cookies and treats. Of course, I'm on the road this weekend, and right before Christmas, so things are going to be even more difficult.

Add this to the fact that the Christmas Eve dinner menu is fried oysters and perch and cole slaw and dessert. The 300 pound man may win this battle after all!