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  • Protein Powder Alternatives

  • Uphill Biking

    Here at Kaplifestyle, we’ve touched on walking quite a bit. Y’all know sprints are part of my weekly routine. I ride bikes less frequently, but perhaps it’s time to share the love with cycling uphill. You may remember the last time I mused about bikes. I was in town, mobbing the streets of Minneapolis for…

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  • Stress may kill, but stressful situations can bring out the absolute best in us. If we can identify our heightened sense of focus in emotionally elevated situations while staying below our personal redlines, we can use our stress like a powerful drug. From artofmanliness.com: If you’re like many people, you likely experienced small cognitive and physical breakdowns…

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  • Supplements

    Peer into the locker of most professional athletes, and you’ll find a plethora of legal powders and pills promising larger muscles, speedier recovery and increased energy.  Some of these magic elixirs even claim to improve reaction time and memory.  Supplement companies make equally empty suggestions to the general public that may be even more egregious.…

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  • calories

    Sometimes, the best wheels are stolen ones.No, I’m not suggesting Grand Theft Auto as a lifestyle. Instead, I took a leaf out of my ten year old self’s playbook, stole my son’s penny board, and split. Skateboarding in place of driving can be yet another tool in your bag of healthy goodies for achieving an…

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  • Brain Pills

    As a community, we spend untold amounts of money on software and games to train our brains. We’ve long known that exercise helps various neurological functions; now science says perhaps all you need is a pill. Friends and loved ones often ask me about jogging. I tell everyone that if you want to look like…

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  • MLB

    I have an unhealthy obsession with achieving the perfectly cooked, easy to peel hard boiled egg.As a quick reminder, according to Dr. Jeff Volek, “Whole eggs contain more essential vitamins and minerals per calorie than virtually any other food.”I can trace my fascination back to clubhouse in Arlington while a member of the 2001 Texas…

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  • open thread

    Diving right in.Mike: Kap, best time to workout for me due to family job etc is in the early am and have been doing it for years. Since you have tried it on occasion how do you “wake up” nutrition wise to have a good workout? Not much time if you have to make work…

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  • After yesterday’s interlude, we return to our weekly open thread. Chris: Maybe you’re not aware of it as you breathe in the warm fresh ocean air of Malibu or bask in sun of the Dominican, but here in New England we have been buried with about 8 feet of snow during the last month. For…

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  • The Art of Compromise: Breakfast Pasta

    I fully recognize that I maintain somewhat restrictive dietary habits. I also have two teenage sons (almost; my younger son turns 13 in November). I encourage their love of food by preparing things they’ll thoroughly dig eating. Eating rules. One of the many advantages of this arrangement is gleefully experiencing indulgences through my young men.…

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  • Trial and Error – the Importance of Tasting

    Preparing food with focus on nutrition requires a great deal of trial and error. I’m not intimidated by constructive criticism, even when it’s harsh. I encourage it. It’s the only way I’ll know to make an adjustment. When I’m cooking for my boys, I know that I’ll get an honest response. I’ve offered them organic…

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I aim to plan and consciously choose all of my indulgences. I have the knowledge and willpower to do so, but occasionally, I will have a substantial misfire.

I was in Boston, my home away from home, for the 2004 World Series reunion. I splurged nutritionally as I had intended, but I didn’t map out my large nutritional stumble while watching the game.

I had it all pre-navigated. My two men (12 and 14) and I love to experience travel through food. We think it’s the most efficient and interesting way to explore the culture of a city. We discussed the trip ahead of time and decided on three restaurants where we would fully indulge and eat like kings. We’d start with the team dinner at a fine steak and seafood house, follow it up with breakfast the next morning at a bakery, and finish it out with lunch at a tapas joint in the South End.

The first night the three of us shared bone in filets, swordfish steaks, oysters, giant shrimp, crab cakes, lamb chops, chocolate cake, apple crisps and cold vanilla ice cream. I enjoyed a few glasses of whiskey, neat, and my boys drank Sprite. We left the restaurant 1 for 1. Remember, this indulgence was planned.

The next morning, we went to a bakery suggested by a Boston-based chef friend. The boys picked up scones and French toast; I scored big with a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a crusty roll with spinach and tomato. The bite came complete with a Dijon mustard finish that struck a chord with me, managing to last all day. 2 at bats, 2 knocks.

After mobbing around on the T train all morning, making our way to Harvard and back to Downtown Crossing, we landed at our destination for lunch, Toro. Theo Epstein made the recommendation after I mentioned that my boys and I were on a food adventure. This is the guy who went out to get the “washed up” 2002 version of David Ortiz, so he’s proven his scouting mettle. If he thinks it’s a worthwhile trip, I’ll take his advice.

Back to food.

Rather than turn this post into a restaurant review, I’ll keep it simple. I had an out of body experience. Every small plate that arrived was visually captivating and stunning on the palate. We sprinted the gamut. From spicy curry beef empanadas to cauliflower with golden raisins and pine nuts to the pièce de résistance, roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade. This dish, holy fuck. Our waiter described it exquisitely as “like rich, hot, beef flavored butter.” I was now 3 for 3 and ready for my final at bat.

A theme throughout this entire trip was advance planning. My first mistake was not preparing for this final meal. I figured my boys and I would just eat at the ballpark and didn’t put much thought into it. I knew that the options would be plentiful and come in large quantities. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I quickly got off course.

I was running around at Fenway from this place to that, answering questions and meeting folks. My boys were on their own and already up in the suite by the time I arrived around the start of the first inning. They had eaten pizza, snacks and fruit, totally what I expected for them. I walked in starving, my second mistake.  I reached for a plate and piled on decent looking veggies, a huge mound of guacamole, and the only available protein, stale fried chicken strips. I could have reached into my bag and opened a can of wild caught salmon. I didn’t. My defenses were down. I hadn’t snacked. I ingested that garbage and suffered strike one.

You know my stance on processed foods. Those frozen chunks of flour covered meat product provide little nutritional value. I had already experienced a whirlwind day filled with emotion and exertion, and the pizza under the heat lamp began to look lovely.

I advocate indulgence, but I advocate planned, quality indulgence. This was neither. I scarfed down a piece and the drugs hit my bloodstream. I couldn’t chew fast enough. Strike two.

The final pitch of the at bat came in and I chased it. I scarfed down a few more slices, knowing even as I did so that it wasn’t my finest hour.

3 for 4. In baseball that’s a hell of a day. Nutritionally, I expect 4 for 4s from myself almost always. I’m in control, so the high bar is appropriately set. Rather than dwell on it, I’ll do what Manny tells us to do after a rough at bat. “Turn the page, papi.”

I write this from the plane the following morning. I’ve turned the page. Today, I’ve ingested steel cut oats, fresh organic blueberries, a pile of kale, a chunk of a ham steak, a few fresh scrambled eggs and organic black coffee.

In my bag, I have a large salad with tons of fresh veggies, almonds, chicken, organic Hannah yams. I also still have that wild salmon I passed over for pizza in a box.

I’m back on track. I remember last night’s at bat and will make the adjustment without carrying the emotion of yesterday over into today’s game.

I hope you’ll share your stories of strikeouts or home runs in the comments section below.

Kap