Cooking at Home and Weight Loss: Air Fried Chips with Cheese (Tips from a Fitness Trainer)

Cooking at home is a joy for many, while for others it’s more about making healthier choices. In today’s world, where pollution, hormones, and chemicals often enter our food supply, cooking at home makes a lot of sense. Research also suggests that over-processed foods can contribute to a range of health problems and may even be linked to shorter lifespans. Getting in shape is also much more difficult if your eating the wrong kinds of foods.

Homemade potato chips
Made on a boat. Glamping!

About two months ago, I realized I couldn’t keep going to the gym for hours, eating the way I was, and still expect to stay in decent shape. So, I tried an experiment. For three to four weeks, I ate a completely vegan diet to increase my intake of fruits and vegetables, then I added fish. While I still occasionally eat meat when it comes with something else, I’ve been avoiding burgers and steaks—except for this Friday, when I’ll treat myself to a $15 steak dinner.

I’ve also shifted from going to the gym to working out at home. The type of workout is a discussion for another time, but what’s clear is that cooking at home has led to better health and weight loss. Without even trying, I’ve already lost over five pounds simply by focusing on quality calories and total intake.

One of my recent experiments was air-fried potato chips made with coconut oil, cheese, and a light dusting of sea salt. Honestly, they taste better than store-bought chips—and they’re much healthier. They’re unprocessed, made from real potatoes (vs mash), and definitely a keeper.

I think about 6 more
lbs would be good.

Research shows that if more people cooked and ate at home, it could significantly improve public health. It’s becoming clear that our reliance on processed foods wasn’t the best idea. Now may be the time to strengthen local and regional food supplies, support small farms and businesses, and pay closer attention to the science of healthy eating. COVID already taught us the importance of resilient local supply chains—we just need to apply that lesson to food.

On a personal note, I hold a fitness trainer’s license along with a few other qualifications, and I’d like to put them to use more often. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out—I’d be happy to do some virtual sessions. I do this on the side. 

Is cooking at home associated with better diet quality or weight-loss intention?

Orange Lighthouse Painting: Since Cave Art

Art helps ground us. In a world shaped by big data and AI, it can be refreshing to engage in a fully human experience like creating or appreciating art. Since the dawn of humanity, people have been blowing pigment, wiping, drawing, and painting on surfaces—an artistic tradition stretching back over 45,000 years. I suspect our early ancestors may have had more skill than I do. 🙂 But art is about the journey, not the destination. We create for the sake of creation itself. Smithsonian-Journey to Cave Art

You can buy this off of Etsy for like $40 and if you want it for like $35 send me a message to the right or via PayPal code below. Free shipping continental US. Make sure you send your address and it is up-to-date. I don't make much on the hobby and pretty much give it all away except expenses I can say that on occassion someone will buy something. Feels good one someone buys. :)

Orange Lighthouse Etsy Link
or
PayPal Link

St. Louis Federal Reserve: Economic Outlook Risk and Monetary Policy (Sept. 22nd, 2025)

Reading economic news provides insight into upcoming changes and adjustments. I’m often concerned about unemployment rates among young people and minorities, as well as the impact of inflation on spending for middle- and lower-income households. Broadly increasing growth-oriented and career-oriented jobs, while also finding ways to reduce costs in essential areas, could help (In Theory). Core expenses such as energy, food, and housing affect everyone, but those in the middle and lower brackets tend to feel the squeeze the most.

The more you read and watch the economic news the more you will understand. If you have a business or work within an industry it will help you gain a sense of the broader market changes and shifts. 

You can also read Remarks on the Economic Outlook, the Balance of Risks and Monetary Policy

 

Escanaba City Council Meeting (Sept 18th, 2025): Lots, Businesses, Development

Much of the discussion in the Sept. 18th, 2025 city council meeting and the related video focused on downtown development and vacant lots. Sept. 18, 2025 (Agenda) Buildings sometimes fall into disrepair leading to blight that discourages investment and drives down property values. This not only reduces current tax revenue but also limits future revenue, as vacant or underutilized buildings waste space that could otherwise support businesses and revitalized properties.

Escanaba is in relatively good shape compared to many cities, with on the surface fewer blight issues than many other places and an upwards swing in businesses moving downtown (I wonder if there is a place to get stats on that?). Property prices remain fairly affordable, which creates an opportunity for growth for locals and newcomers alike. 

One tool being considered is a partial tax exemption for obsolete buildings. If used effectively, it could incentivize redevelopment and possibly pair well with state/federal grants, financing options, and other incentives to spark further investment (In theory). A total package that can incentivize new investment into downtown buildings and housing by relating that to the infrastructure, quality of life, and coastal living (It is like living on the coast but in the Great Lakes. A small town quaint vibe).

A recent piece highlights how vibrant downtowns help attract younger talent. Young families can help the area grow. Thriving housing, businesses, nightlife, and aesthetic improvements have an impact on the attractiveness of the area to residents, entrepreneurs, and tourists. Consider, 

The Role of Downtown Development in Attracting Young Talent 2025 02 13

November 1st Fundraiser for Orphaned and Abandoned

If you’re interested in supporting a meaningful cause, consider attending the November 1st fundraiser in honor of Día de los Muertos at Estancia La Jolla Hotel. The event will benefit orphaned children in Baja California, who face unique challenges and lifelong struggles with loss. I’ve had the opportunity to visit them before through the Corazon de Vida organization, and while I would like to go more often, the timing of the trips has not always aligned.

You can find the ticket information below.

I also have a fundraiser page available if you’d like to contribute directly with a donation. M.Abel Fundraiser Page

Noche de Gala Fundraiser Nov. 1st. Tickets

Industries with Employment Decreases from 2000 to 2024

An empty pubisher chair

Industries are constantly evolving, and examining how they change over time provides valuable insight into broader economic trends. These shifts can reveal the strengths, weaknesses, and adjustments taking place within society.

Sources such as Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases are useful indicators, but they represent only one piece of the puzzle. To fully understand emerging trends, it is important to combine that data with other information and observations of broader environmental developments.

A quick review suggests that many changes occurring today are technology-driven. As technology advances, it reshapes industries and, in turn, employment opportunities within them. Some of the sectors currently experiencing notable shifts include:

• Publishing and photography

• Leather products

• Circuit board and computer manufacturing

• Telecommunications

For individuals working in these industries, these trends suggest that change is ongoing, making it important to adapt and learn new skills. Likewise, for students entering or leaving college, understanding these patterns can provide useful guidance when considering future career paths and employment prospects.

Industries with employment decreases from 2000 to 2024

 

The Story of the Clan: Philosophy and Intentional Harms

Certain values should
transcend time and
misapplication.

It is important for society to continually reflect on values, as it is those values that guide progress and raise the quality of life for its members. Shared values are essential. The Story of the Clan is a hypothetical, philosophical thought experiment meant to explore how values function within a specific narrative. It is designed for learning purposes and should be taken with a grain of salt. Feel free to reflect on your own values.

The Story of the Clan: The story centers on what hate and corruption look like in a closed system. Hate provided the motivation, while corruption offered the path. People were targeted and intentionally harmed in order to reward in-group members. In this learning story, the technicalities of the law were manipulated to undermine the higher institutional purpose that was supposed to be rooted in democratic philosophy. With systemic dehumanization in place, victims had no recourse or path to correction. A break in social contracts, direct rejection of certain oaths and undermining of long-term societal values.

The narrative is designed to create a moral dilemma: doing good for all versus doing good for a privileged in-group. It raises the question of whether loyalty should lie with universal principles or with social position. Broader lessons also emerge, including the impact on economic health and quality of life. One cannot justify intentional harm in one instance while still claiming fidelity to broad moral structures. Justifying in one place means there was or will be justifying in other places.

As we focus on what benefits society most—through enduring moral truths and beliefs that transcend time—we strengthen our resolve to uphold founding principles. Such values carry historical and philosophical weight. Therefore, the pressing decisions of the present (the “trees”) should be evaluated in the context of long-term societal health (the “forest”).

The quote below captures this idea well: the structures we build may appear strong, but it is our ideas and beliefs that endure. Structures can eventually disappear but certain founding values will live on as long as people are willing to believe and support those values. Those who came before us sacrificed for lasting values, and so our decisions should align with their long-term historical and philosophical purpose.

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."-Pericles (495-429 BC), statesman, general who started the construction of the Acropolis in Athens.

The study below discussions intentional versus unintentional harm. Unintentional harm is different and often an accident while intentional harm is specific to certain out-group members. Those who engage in in intentional harm often have other goals and motivations. Intentional harm is a tool to some other end.

Intentional Harms Are Worse, Even When They’re Not