Josh Shear

The first time I weighed in during 2011 I weighed 170.8 pounds. The first time I weighed in during 2012 (which was around 5:30 in the morning on New Year's Day), I weighed 160.4 pounds. OK, I get it, 10 pounds in a year is good. But I'm not happy with that, especially since I did a weight loss program in the beginning of the year and dropped almost 30 pounds. I understand that maybe that was a little quick, and it explains why I gained 2/3 of it back.

This year I set a goal of getting to 145 pounds by March 1. That's 15.4 pounds in 60 days, or just under 2 pounds per week.

That's sustainable, and while I could probably drop that 15 pounds more quickly, I want to be able to maintain this year, and still be under 150 at year's end.

Here are some things I'm going to do (other than checking in on the blog occasionally):

• Lose fat, not muscle. This means resistance training mixed with some heavy lifting and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I think it would be really easy to do a lot of cardio and burn off the weight, but I feel pretty strong and I want to maintain that, perhaps grow it. In that sense, if I don't hit 145 pounds but I get down to 11-12% body fat, cool (I'm probably around 20-22% now).

• Use trackers. I have a DietMinder, and I'm using it. I also love FitDay, which counts my nutrients for me.

• Live a little. Repeat after me: Diets. Don't. Work. You can get on a diet for a little while, but the second you feel like you're "cheating" or you hit your goal, all the results you achieved go out the window. I could pretty easily lose those 15 pounds in 2-3 weeks using a strict low-carb (under 15g or so a day) and high water consumption diet. But you know what? With a goal of 2 pounds a week, I'm going to be able to drink wine (dry red), eat chocolate (moderate amounts of dark), and enjoy the heck out of a Super Bowl party (unless it's a Giants-Broncos thing, then I can't enjoy it at all).

• Try new exercises in my workouts. Know what kicked my butt during my first workout of the year? One-legged deadlifts with a 20-pound dumbbell. I've never incorporated them before, and 10 each leg – done immediately following some one-legged jumping rope (hopping rope?), which was also a first for me – had my quads burning like they haven't in a long time.

• Have people I can check in with. Someone actually asked me yesterday if I could check in with him, call him "fatty" and be mean about it until he gets his act in gear. Done. And Ben, even if I don't comment on every entry, I'm watching you, pal. And there will be a dinner party at some point.

OK, I showed you mine. Show me yours.

Photo Credit

It's coming on autumn, the time of year I start to make the switch from post-softball game beer to nice glasses of warming red wine. Even the Mayo Clinic says it has good antioxidant properties, and both Mark Sisson, in his book The Primal Blueprint, and Timothy Ferriss, in his The 4-Hour Body, write that dry red wines (those with little or no residual sugar), consumed in moderation, won't have much effect on a weight-loss diet – plus they'll help you enjoy it.

One of my occasional summer stops is the Finger Lakes Wine Festival, which draws a bunch of Central New York wineries to the southern tip of Seneca Lake. Last year, I really got into rieslings (German varietals grow really well in our climate), and a few other more off-the-wall things. I kicked 2011 off with a weight loss program and changed up my diet – a lot. At the wine fest this summer, I couldn't take a second sip of anything with over about 0.5% residual sugar, which is extremely dry.

Here are some of my favorites from this year, along with some notes about some other wines the people I went with enjoyed.

Fulkerson Dornfelder. I tried more wines at Fulkerson's booth than any other vineyard over the weekend. I had never heard of this grape before, but it's another German varietal that can handle the sometimes harsh weather of the Finger Lakes. The winery bills this as a "red wine for white foods," which is probably an appeal to people who might be a little scared of red wines. The nose has a lot of berry in it, and it finishes exactly the right amount of dry. Their lemberger is pretty good, and if you like really dry, their vincent doesn't even make it to the back of your mouth (it was a little over the top for me).

Montezuma Cabernet Franc. Cab franc is a fantastic dry grape that you could reasonably compare to a beaujolais. The problem with that is that you can get a really good beaujolais for between $8 and $12, while most Finger Lakes cab francs run in the $20-plus range. We did find a decent $10 bottle from King's Garden, but Montezuma's runs $15 and is probably the only bottle I would have paid $20 for.

Niagara Landing Baco Noir. I can't get enough of baco noirs with moldy cheeses. Strong berry noses with tobacco-y finishes go great with gorgonzola, and I even get alliteration out of it. While Bully Hill is typically my go-to for a large variety of wines (because everything is really good and is typically in the $6-$8 range), Niagara Landing's baco surprised me so much at the launch party that I went back a second time to taste it and bought a couple of bottles.

Some other winners, according to my notes here:

• Anthony Road makes something called a "Devonian Red," which is a cab franc, lemberger and pinot noir blend in the $10 range.
• Glenora brought a pomegranate wine; much too sweet for me, but I have three stars in my notebook, so at least half our group thought it was exceptional.
• Rock Stream Vineyards has some interesting wines, including dry niagaras and dry cayugas – two wines that are typically sweet enough to make sherbet cringe. Definitely recommend checking them out.
• Coyote Moon makes a riesling so good even the sangria lovers made note of it.

And there you have it. If you were wondering what's in my glass while I sit in front of the fireplace, there's a good chance it's one of these.

Next to the Swan Pond in the center of the village of Manlius, you'll find The Saucy Swan, a cozy family-owned restaurant with an Italian-ish flavor, heavy on the seafood options.

I won't discuss the service, since a friend waited on us, but the place is definitely worth a go. The Utica greens are really good; the calamari was just OK, and our dinners (a seafood goulash sort of thing – a special the night we were there – and a white clam sauce over linguini) were excellent, as was the creme brulee.

The Swan, though, is apparently known for its cotton candy. We had a sour apple cotton candy to share as we took a post-dinner walk around the pond.

Definitely recommend – and we'll be back, as there are more menu items we wanted to try.

It's been a while since we've done some restaurant reviews, but I owe a couple of restaurants some shouts.

Lew's is a new place on Church Street in North Syracuse. Last summer, the town turned Church Street into a dead-end, and Lew's recently opened on the cul-de-sac.

It's a small, friendly place, with TVs in the appropriate places, billiards, darts, foosball and cheap beer. Their wings are passable (not in my top five, for sure), their burgers are exceptional, and their staff is friendly in a neighborhood bar sort of way.

Plenty of parking in back and on the cul-de-sac. Definitely give them a try.

This is a recipe by Jason, a Syracuse attorney known on Twitter as @jaseface1. I'm not usually a recipe kinda guy, but I'll mix it up and give it a shot when I get back into the starches in a few weeks.

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup fresh broccoli
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves (optional, i have a plant so i use some)
1 egg (also optional)

Dough: In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in water. Add the oil and salt; mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour, until dough is smooth and workable. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, or until it is elastic. Lay dough in a bowl containing 1 teaspoon olive oil, then flip the dough, cover and let rise for 40 minutes, or until almost doubled.

Filling: While dough is rising, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, broccoli and basil leaves in a large bowl. Mix well, cover bowl and refrigerate to chill.

Preheat oven to 350-375 degrees.

When dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into 2 equal parts. Roll parts out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface. Fill each circle with 1/2 of the cheese/filling.. fold over, securing edges by folding in and pressing. Brush the top of each calzone with egg (or olive oil) and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot.

Yummy, dessert!

What happens when you're experimenting with high-cacao chocolates (because they're actually good for you!) and you come across one that is just plain inedible? You make something yummy, of course!

This was a 100% cacao chocolate bar. No milk, no sugar. Way too bitter to eat by itself.

If you're like me and don't have a double-boiler, you can fake one by putting water in a saucepan, bringing the water to a boil, and then putting a metal bowl in the pan.

In the bowl part of the double-boiler, melt the chocolate and a stick of butter (keep stirring them so they don't stick to the bottom of the bowl). Add some almonds, blueberries and raspberries. Stir until everything's coated and somewhat evenly distributed.

Line a cookie sheet, casserole dish or pie plate with wax paper. Pour the chocolaty melty stuff on top, and stick it in the refrigerator. It should harden enough to eat in about 3 hours.

Sorry about the unsaturated cell phone blurriness, but I was too hungry to grab my camera!

Sometimes dinner's just so delicious it needs to wind up on the blog. And so it was with Sunday night's fare.

This started with large haddock fillets rubbed down with a Central New York favorite – a Java Gourmet dessert rub (Keuka Lake). After letting the rub seep in a bit, I sautéed some banana peppers in coconut oil and added the haddock, cooking until done.

Meanwhile, in the other pan...

I started with a generous helping of sesame oil and added some chili oil. I had some leftover chopped onions, so threw those in there, and then added a head of escarole.

And that's it, folks. Easy, tasty, healthy.

Except that I did. One of them, I ate twice in the past week. And by the way, I lost just over a pound, which is less than spectacular, but sustainable.

I've now lost 20.6 pounds in six weeks, dropped my body fat percentage under 18% (calipers) from 27.7% (bio-impedance), and am working on my third belt.

Here are three meals (three breakfasts and a lunch) I ate this week that contributed to my weight loss, even though nobody who considers themselves "on a diet" would ever eat them.

Cheeseburger Omelet

This was so good, I made another one a few days later.

Saute some onions in butter. Break up a hamburger patty and mix it in. While it's cooking, whisk three eggs, and cut up some cheddar cheese into small chunks. Add it to the egg.

When the meat is cooked (or close to it), add the eggs and cheese and cook until done. Top with salsa if you like (I do).

Breakfast at the All Nite Egg Plant

I've always hated that they call themselves "all nite," not only because I'm a grammar snob, but also because they don't open until 7 a.m.

But after a 7 a.m. workout in a snow squall? No problem. It's near the gym, and they didn't have their normal weekend crowd.

The Egg Plant doesn't serve a giant mound of potatoes with every breakfast, and I had them hold the toast, but what I did eat was a delicious pastrami, spinach and Swiss cheese omelet with a side of ham.

Tres Hombres

We received an invitation to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. I rarely, if ever, turn down such an invite. I suggest the same for you.

Frank, whose invitation brought us to lovely downtown Syracuse, looked at me while I perused the menu, and asked, "Hmm, how does Josh keep to his diet while eating at Dinosaur?"

Easily, actually. I just gave away the cornbread. I ate brisket, pulled pork, a quarter rack of ribs, barbecued beans and a tomato-cucumber salad.

Does it sound like I'm on a diet? Didn't think so. I love losing weight!

Tim: "Is this your 3-day chili?"
Me: "No, it was an afternoon quickie."
Tim: "Well, those can be just as hot sometimes."

This is a 3-hour chili recipe, but if you used a stove-top pot instead of a crock pot, it would go quicker.

You'll need:

1 lb black beans, rinsed
1 lb kidney beans, rinsed
2 lb ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
1 jar salsa
6 habanero peppers
6 jalapeño peppers
chili powder to taste
water
olive oil (or your favorite cooking oil)

In crock pot, combine the beans, salsa, two chopped jalapeños and some chili powder. Stir it, then put it on high.

Finely chop the rest of the peppers (I used a Magic Bullet, which made life easy). In a medium pan over medium heat, sauté the peppers and onions in some olive oil. Add the ground beef and some chili powder.

When beef is browned, drain off the liquid and add the beef, onions and peppers to the crock pot. Stir. Cook on low, stirring occasionally. If it starts to look dry, add water as necessary.

Eat.

Apparently I've been really lucky with the training I'm getting. I started light with a once-a-week personal training regimen and then moved on to a more intense, competitive weight loss program.

I more or less maintained my weight during the personal training, but in the first three weeks of what the gym calls the Weight Loss Challenge, I've dumped 15 pounds (I don't know what the body fat percentage loss is like – we'll check that after six weeks of the program), and, at 8.8% of my starting weight (170.4 pounds), that's good enough for second in the program.

That video up top? I never want to slice my trainer open. He lost 30 pounds in 12 weeks on his own, trains a few times a week with his adult son, and is a genuinely nice guy. I came into the program with a goal to lose exactly that number (30 pounds over the 12-week program), and I'm on track to beat that. I'm probably a couple of weeks away from my lowest weight since the late 1990s, and a couple of months away from my best shape (not lowest weight; I was a skinny tennis player) since high school.

For perspective, I graduated high school in 1994 at 115 pounds. By the turn of the century, I had hit 160. When I moved to Syracuse in 2003, I had hit 215. I did the first 45 pounds on my own (and in only a couple of years), but I'd stabilized in the 160s (my initial weigh-in for the program might have been slightly inflated by a breakfast of 4 chocolate chip pancakes with butter and maple syrup, a ham steak and a protein bar in the hour before I climbed on the scale).

By the end of next week, I'll have rendered useless my second belt of the Challenge.

Here is a sample workout – it's roughly one we do Thursdays (we also do team workouts on Tuesday and Saturday, I play racquetball three times a week, tennis at least once a week, and get short – 30-45 minutes – workouts in once or twice in addition to all that). And food's a big part of the program. I decided to not count calories in favor of eating good foods, and this is what's working for me.

A note about food: I can't say enough about Omaha Steaks. They're not the cheapest meat out there, but they portion their meats in the right sizes, the food is really tasty, and I'm expecting my second shipment. If you do one of the value packs, you can get 25 pounds of meat for about $6 a pound, and you can avoid the fatty stuff (like potatoes au gratin) in favor of lean burgers.