Cheat Day Mayo

Hola Cheaters! This past Cheat Day was also Cinco De Mayo! Unrelated to the holiday I was very busy on Cheat Day so there wasn't a TON of cheating going on really... But don't stop reading! There was also a ton of crazy silly shit happening throughout the day as well!

I awoke late Cheat Day morning and weighed in at 2 pounds lighter than last week's weigh in! The was despite the fact that I drunkenly ordered a beer...and taco bell...the night before, at about 3AM after Liz's opening of the AWESOME show she is in: American Blues Theatre's Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. I guess I ought to make one thing clear for my Cheat Day fans. Cheat Day begins when you wake up and after you weigh in Cheat Day MORNING, not at midnight the night before. It is not a calendar day, it is a celebration! So, Liz and I woke up too late this Cheat Day to away to a local breakfast place for a nice Cheat Breakfast, as we both had appointments we had to keep in the afternoon.

Snack Montage

My appointment was a small, VERY indie, film shoot for a web series I co-created called "A Bit Touched," A "Chooch Chat" creation! It was our first shoot of this run and it was a blast and a half! Aside from starring in the episode I was in charge of props and catering (perfect for Cheat Day!). After I got to the location I dropped the props off and offered to run to a 7-Eleven for some snacks for the cast and crew. I brought my boy Andrew along to help carry. I got a bag of barbecue chips, a bag of new Taco Bell Fire Doritos, Tostitos scoops (to go along with the can of queso previously purchased for props), a bag of James Harden sneaker gummies, a case of Coors Light, and a case of water (ALWAYS a necessity Cheat Day or not). I also did what I always do in a 7-Eleven on Cheat Day, got Taquitos. I specifically bought 4 of them (ALL FOR ME!), 2 jalapeño and cream cheese and 2 taco and cheese...ya know for the walk back to the film location! NOMNOMNOM

Corn Dogs

Without giving a lot away about the episode (coming your way soon) there were corn dogs on the set, and lots of them. My costar, Anthony Giamichael, is eating corn dogs basically throughout the whole thing. He ultimately ate about 8 or 9 whole corndogs over the course of about a 5 hour shoot and it was hysterical. He was in great pain, and all the rest of the cast and crew were just cracking up. There was a moment in the episode where I also eat corn dogs and I made out of there having eaten about 4 myself (DELICIOUS and less hysterical). Corn dogs would never be my go to Cheat Day treat but I must say, I enjoyed them while I was eating them. I'd be singing a different song if I had to eat nearly 10 of them, but I rarely eat corn dogs and they are a nice treat on occasion and a bit of a change of pace. An American Classic! Also on set I drank about 4 Coors Lights and had 2 glasses of delicious Irish Whiskey.

Margaritas

After the shoot we had to drop our filming gear off. When we did I popped open a Sierra Nevada and pounded it before we turned around and hit the bar Nick's on Wilson where our friend Nick was tending bar! He made us a toight Green Tea Shooter thing that was sugary and delicious. He also mixed me up 2 DELECATBLE margaritas for Cinco de Cheat Day. I drank 2 other beers (one of which came with a shot of Malort...ugh Chicago amirite?) while we played Big Buck Hunter at the back of the bar (I suck at it). Nick got off work and led us to another bar where his friend was bartending where I got two more beers and another shot of whiskey...another beer filled Cheat Day nothing WRONG with that.

Lindo Guadalajara Exterior

Horchata

Cheat Day was coming to a close and I had been thinking about Mexican food all day (obviously!). I had decided that I would be going to one of my favorite late night spots for food, Lindo Guadalajara. This will also be my local spot of the week to review. This Mexican spot is open 24 hours a GOT DANG DAY, so it gets points for that. I have been here many times and they are always on top of things so this particular experience doesn't exactly dictate my over all rating of the food or establishment. I ordered a Horchata once I sat down. If you haven't ever tried this delicious milky-cinnamon beverage I recommend you get one and soon, it is a treat. Lindo's Horchata is a little light, which I actually prefer. I also ordered a chicken burrito suizo meal and THREE chorizo tacos. That's right! I went for it! If you couldn't tell by the rest of the description most of the cheat day was spent drinking not eating so I had to fill this tummy! And what happens next WILL shock you!

Chorizo Tacos

The Lindo staff had FORGOTTEN my burrito suizo dinner and JUST delivered me my three tacos like I'm NOT a big fat dude at the end of a drunken night over here! I wolfed those three tacos down in a flash and then awkwardly watched my friends, who had joined me at Lindo, finish their food. I was naively hoping that perhaps the staff did not forget my burrito completely but were just taking their time with it and giving it extra special care. They were not. The waitress did however catch my forlorn gaze and eventually waddled over and asked, "Oh! did you still want that burrito suizo?!"

Burrito Suizo Dinner

What I should have said was "YES GOD DAMMIT IT AND I WANT IT NOW! DO YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS?! THAT'S RIGHT! CHEAT DAY! AND DO I LOOK LIKE I AM FULL TO THE POINT OF PAIN TO YOU?! NO I DON'T! SO GO BACK THERE AND TELL YOUR KITCHEN TO WHIP ONE UP FOR ME CHOP CHOP!" But what I said was, "Oh, yes please, and can you make it to go?"

They got me my burrito suizo even before my friends were completely finished with their meals. I did not crack it open to eat it their in the restaurant. I waited to eat it until I got home, like I ordered the burrito with a side of shame and I DID eat it while I watched episodes of "Last Man on Earth" from the comfort of my own home. This little mis-step aside Lindo Guadalajara gets a complete Point and Pump. They are doing the lards work being open 24-hours and serving up cheap but well flavored Mexican food!

Once the burrito was all gone I quickly passed out on the couch thus ending another epic Cheat Day! This week was a strange Cheat Day but TONS of fun none the less! I think it just goes to show that not every Cheat Day requires a plan. Sometimes you just have to go about your day and cheat where you can. It's about getting one (or four) for the walk, it's about eating some things you wouldn't normally consider, and of course it's about celebrating a holiday no matter how late it gets. Take care of yourselves! Take care of each other! And eat like your life depended on it!

ELE,
Zach Finch

Don't Over Extend Yourself

Sup Cheaters! Post 2 coming at you! Let's start with the business breakdown. I am embarrassed to say that I mother fucking GAINED a pound from last Saturday! I KNOW! Duh FUQ?! I honest to god stuck to the Slow Carb diet to a T! When I weighed in Saturday morning at about 8:45AM  the scale landed at 263.6. I had to check 3 times and sure enough it stopped there every time. THIS IS BULLSHIT! But, I think I know what went wrong.

Skinny Face Selfie

FIRST OF ALL I didn't take a pre-weigh in DUMP. "HUGE mistake you big dumb IDIOT!" I know I know, LAY OFF! Also, I ate a few too many peanuts the night before, delicious peanuts. I understand that weight fluctuates and that this doesn't NECESSARILY mean I'm getting fatter, in fact I know I am not. My face has already begun eating itself. However, to wake up with a sunken face and feeling all the energy of an 18 year old and to see that you GAINED a pound after forcing yourself to eat nothing but complex carbs, healthy fats, meats and vegetables all week is a serious downer.

THE PERKS of this butt fucking diet are endless, however, regardless of what some scale tells me. As I mentioned previously, the boundless energy that I have obtained having not only stripped myself of carbs but also of booze for the month is a godsend. It is honestly incredible. I feel much lighter over all, I don't just pass out or crash any old time at any old place, and I am a LOT more focused on accomplishing things. For instance, I have taken up this blog again, I have started a second podcast beside Chooch Chat called The Poopcast and we are also well on our way to producing the second season of a web-series I started with Tony Giamichael called A Bit Touched. Not only that, but on this particular cheat day I booked myself two different auditions for theatre shows which served as the bread of a Chooch sandwich this past Saturday.

Poopcast Pilot Click Here

This brings me to the title of this particular blog entry. DO NOT over extend yourself on cheat day. My non-food related schedule this cheat day was as follows: Audition 1 at 10AM, 11 AM A Bit Touched read through, 12PM Chooch Chat recording, 1:30PM A Bit Touched rewrites, and then all the way to Evanston, IL at 4:50PM for Audition #2! That's a slam packed day leaving little time to relish in Cheat Day activiy, i.e. gorging yourself on what you need, carbs, cheese, sugars, and LOTS OF THEM. Of course, I say this now, but wait til you hear what I managed to eat on cheat day regardless, cause I was DAMNED if I was going to let that one little pound keep me from cheating my DICK OFF!

Upcoming Chooch Chat Episode Click here

I woke up with enough time before the audition to eat about 6 double stuffed Oreos and a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. After that I reverse-desserted by slicing up some sharp cheddar cheese and slapping it on Triscuits. This really fucked my stomach up which, now that I am thinking about it, didn't do me any favors at audition 1, I DID botch it a little...womp womp. After audtion 1 I had to bike my ass over to our Chooch meeting as fast as I could. Luckily where we meet for the Chooch Train is stocked with deliciously cheat-a-rific foods! While there I ate a smorgasbord of old valentines heart-shaped jelly cookies, chocolate pound cake, oranges (reminder: not allowed on the slow carb diet), candied oranges, various Italian breads and cheeses, and finally rotisserie chicken sammies on hawaiian rolls with cheese and sauces! GOD DAMN! My mouth is watering, I knew I shouldn't have complained earlier in this post.

I had to RUSH out of the Chooch Meet to get to audition 2. I slipped and fell on my ass in the snow as I hopped in an Uber to get up to Evanston on time. I nailed the second audition and got myself a call back, which completely made the entire over-extended day justified. Getting a call back is the equivalent to a firm pat on that back with an "attaboy" in the acting world. I left the 2nd audition to go watch the WVU @ KU Men's College Basketball game and eat the shit out of some Sarpino's Pizza. I know I promised a Chicago restaurant review last week so I guess will be reviewing the Sarpino's pizza chain's delivery.

Sarpino's Website

Sarpino's is actually an international chain headquarted in Singapore. It's US headquarter's is in the Chicago adjacent Lincolnshire, IL. It's U.S. locales include:

Chicago metropolitan area (23 stores)
Minneapolis–Saint Paul (10 stores)
Kansas City metropolitan area (8 stores)
Greater Houston (2 stores)
Greater Austin (1 stores)
Atlanta, GA (1 store)[4]
Clive, IA (1 store)
Fort Lauderdale, FL (2 stores)
Moorhead, MN (1 store)

It's fine pizza. Probably better than Domino's and as good as Pizza Hut and Papa John's. It's nothing to write home about and it is affordable enough. It is what it is. It does the trick. Any other cliches I can throw out to let you know that it's mediocre? Bottom line is that it is carbs, cheese, grease, butter, ranch dressing, etc. Pizza is essentially the perfect cheat day food and Sarpino's did it this time. Next cheat day pizza I'll be looking for is some Jett's Pizza. Also, just a heads up I WILL be eating Taco Bell next week, so get ready for that. Alright cheaters, until next time: take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and eat like your life depended on it!

ELE,
Zach Finch