Netflix, Blockbuster, & Amazon Prime Update

We dropped the DVD part of Netflix and kept the $7.99 per month streaming.

The kids decided that $10 a month was too much for renting video games when we can get them for free at the Library so we dropped Blockbuster.

Amazon Prime won't play on the Wii so we dropped that.

Netflix wins for now but if Amazon can get their selection up and make Amazon Prime play on the Wii we'll probably switch to that service.

Enlisting Aid at $1 Per Incident

Waking up in the morning with that familiar bad taste in my mouth and the daily coughing and heartburn should be sufficient motivation to improve. To avoid all of the bad foods, but no. No it is not.

Just one piece of candy from the work bowl sets off the cravings and drives me to the vending machine or the candy bowl again.

I made a deal with my son that if he catches me eating any food with more than 4 grams of sugar per serving he gets $1.

Today's losses stand at $1.00 so far.

A Simplified Plan

Being depressed and angry won't get me any skinner but making and executing a plan will.

I have failed in all attempts in the past but current failure does not make it so that I cannot succeed in the future.

Here is the plan based extremely loosely on the food pyramid from The Culprit and the Cure by Steven G. Aldana.

These are my mimimums:

• Eight servings of whole grains
• Five servings of vegetables
• Two servings of fruits
• One serving of dairy or a calcium supplement
• One serving of protein
• 45 minutes of exercise every day
• Wake up by 5:30 am every day

These are the minimums. I can eat as much of any of the above that I want but the minimums must be done every day unless I am fasting.

The following are to be avoided completely:

• refined sugar except in regular whole wheat bread, pasta, or similar whole wheat product
• white rice or bread products
• sugar substitutes except honey

Here are the problems that I expect to have and my plans to overcome the problems:

Eating too much at dinner - load up a small plate or bowl once and do not get seconds
Avoiding candy and the vending machine at work - Leave my money in the car
Staying up too late thus making it hard to get up in the morning. - All screens and speakers are off at 8:30 pm.

Tomorrow is day one.

Dieting Disaster... The Last Time

Since my last writing my dieting has been a disaster. Each day is going to be the last time I eat poorly. It is depressing and embarrassing.

Sugar has to be a drug and is addictive similar to a drug.

UPS, Where are you?

So, I have a package due today from UPS and its status is "out for delivery". This is amazing information considering the network it takes to get a package from the manufacturer to my home. However, I have places to go and things to do. I'd rather not hang around all day waiting for the package that may not get here until 7:00 pm. I'd also rather not have the package sitting on my doorstep or miss receipt of the package because I am not there to sign for it. Here is what ups says about it on their web page: I tracked my package and saw that it's out for delivery, but it is 5:00 p.m. Will my package arrive today? Yes, UPS generally delivers to residential addresses Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and to business addresses during their normal business hours. In the U.S., Canada, and Europe, your UPS package cannot be scheduled to arrive at a specific time of day. UPS Ground packages are delivered any time between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. UPS Standard packages are delivered anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. OK UPS and Fedex, you know where your trucks are and you know about how long it will take for your drivers to get to my neighborhood. Why can't you give us a two hour window so we can be there when the driver asks for a signature or does his ring and run delivery. He might even appreciate my dog not greeting him when he arrives.

Diet Restart: No Sugar

The Paleo diet worked but is too difficult to maintain. I'm going instead for avoiding all refined sugar.

Humans have lived for all of recorded history on grains. Civilization would not be possible without agriculture so grains can't be all that bad. Sugar is a different story. Refined sugar is a relative newcomer to us.

Avoiding sugar will eliminate virtually all processed foods and is quite simple to follow. Easy to follow, no, but simple.

I had a last binge today before going on the plan tomorrow and boy did I binge.

Sugar is like a drug. Just a little bit sets off intense cravings for more. I expect an unpleasant and intense withdrawal period until I get off of the drug.

Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon Prime

Netflix did and about face on their two websites deal but not the price increase.

In American business you can go from hero to villain quickly and thus it is with the Netflix CEO. I felt sorry for the guy. He made a miscalculation and botched the communication and people are ready to crucify the guy.

Netflix is still a good deal and has by far the best selection. $8 a month is a steal to have instant on demand access to thousands of commercial free movies and television shows.

That said, I was not willing to go for a total price of $16 for the DVD's as well.

I tried Blockbuster's rental service to get access to the video games but quickly found that most of the titles I was interested in have very long or long wait times. We'll try the free service for a month but are very unlikely to keep paying the $10 a month. Our public library has less wait times for most game titles and it is totally free.

We also signed up for a free trial of Amazon Prime but the movie selection looks bleak compared to Netflix.