The first two weeks of my new diet/fitness routine are in the books.
Wednesday, I go to get body fat measurements (pinch test). My weight loss has been noticeable and satisfying, but honestly, the shape of my body has changed enough that I'm pretty happy. Especially since I'm only 2 weeks into it.
Unfortunately, weight-loss is my primary goal and that comes mostly from diet. Unless I were working out, say, an hour a day, I won't be doing enough sustained aerobic activity to lose any noticeable weight.
One thing they promised on this new diet is that my energy levels would increase. I think they really have. It's not like I take a hit of speed or anything. However, yesterday, I cleaned the gutters in the house, edged and trimmed both yards, mowed the 2nd house lawn and cleaned the living room carpets in the first house.
All of those were things I had been meaning to do for months, but frankly, I was just too lazy to do.
Near as I can figure I'm plateauing. I haven't really lost any weight for the past week or so. I'm down maybe 6 pounds from my starting point, though. So, I'm not unhappy. I am probably also adding a pound of lean muscle mass here and there, too.
Because I'm eating a lot fewer carbs, I find that my energy is pretty low while running. Right now, my routine isn't that rigorous. Basically, I'm shooting for 30 minutes of relatively easy running, 4 times a week. I'll be bumping that out farther and farther as my fitness improves. My next goal will be to do the same run, 5 times a week. Then, to add 5 minutes, etc.
Ultimately, I'd like to be running about an hour a day. That's where I saw the greatest weight-loss progress, the last time I lost a lot of weight. (65-70 pounds, back then.) This time, I would be very happy to lose 20 pounds, which is no small feat, but not nearly the daunting task it was to lose almost 1/3 of my body weight.
I do notice that because I'm not taking in that many carbs, that my runs are harder to do than normal. Could just be lack of fitness, but I notice that even if I only run for 30 minutes, I'm sweating out that amonia smell that indicates ketosis.
Measurements at the 2 week point indicate that I went down about 2% in body fat. Time to keep the momentum moving in the right direction.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
New Diet and Health Club, Two Weeks In
Looks like so far I have probably lost about 5-6 pounds, give or take. It's not quite been 2 weeks: that won't happen for another 2 and a half days.
The diet is good on a lot of dimensions. Even if it didn't cause me to lose weight, I'd still consider it good because it's more nutritionally balanced than my previous diet (drive-thru heart attack in a bag). It's also much lower in fats. Ultimately, this is probably better for my long-term health.
I don't really miss the old diet so much. Last night I had pizza, which was the first bread I'd eaten in a week and a half. As long as I can cheat every now and then, I feel like this is a diet I can live with.
It's really a pretty simple formula: the more active I am, the more calories I can eat. At low activity levels, I would need to stick pretty close to the basic diet to continue to lose weight or maintain my weight loss. At higher activity levels, I can eat more.
I'm not sufferring through this diet like I thought I would. This is a lifestyle change that I should probably keep for as long as possible. I may have to depart from it now and then. It's not that it can't be followed, but when travelling, for instance, it would take some dedication.
I've also found that even though you can't necessarily follow the diet exactly, all the time, you can try to stay close to it. For instance, I was out of town the other day and ate at Applebees for lunch. I ordered chicken fajitas and just ate the chicken, onions and peppers off the hot plate. I ordered a baked potato for my starch and that was reasonably close.
The chicken was probably fattier than chicken breast. The onions and peppers probably weren't that good of a salad. It was obviously cooked in some really good tasting oils that were probably off the diet.
All in all, though, much better than I had been eating and close enough for the purpose of this diet.
Most of all, a diet has to be something reasonable that you can live with. If it's impractical, it's worthless.
The weight workouts are progressing. I'm totally on board with the trainer's philosophy: lighter weights, slower reps, high number of reps. I really want to avoid injury. Over time, strength will increase. I think he's doing this more for a body-shaping thing than for increasing strength, per se. I'm okay with that.
I'm doing my own cardio and based on my heart rate, it's embarassing to admit that the training pace I should probably be following is something like 12 minute miles. That'd burn fat and let me build aerobic base. I've been doing 5 minute warm-ups, 20 minutes at pace and 5 minute cool-downs.
If I restrict myself to ONLY doing the main set at 12 minute miles, I can probably add another 10 minutes to my main set.
It's hard to be patient with this because my running is so slow. I've lost so much fitness over time. A nice leisurely pace for me was probably a shade under 9 minutes a mile a decade ago.
Still, it took me a long time to let my fitness lapse. Plus, it hasn't helped that I've had issues with plantar fasciitis for the past couple of years and had a lot of months of zero running.
Also, as I continue to lose weight, the running will get easier and faster, too.
It's hard to be patient sometimes, but I just have to remind myself that I'm moving in the right direction and that there's no benefit to getting off the path, now.
The diet is good on a lot of dimensions. Even if it didn't cause me to lose weight, I'd still consider it good because it's more nutritionally balanced than my previous diet (drive-thru heart attack in a bag). It's also much lower in fats. Ultimately, this is probably better for my long-term health.
I don't really miss the old diet so much. Last night I had pizza, which was the first bread I'd eaten in a week and a half. As long as I can cheat every now and then, I feel like this is a diet I can live with.
It's really a pretty simple formula: the more active I am, the more calories I can eat. At low activity levels, I would need to stick pretty close to the basic diet to continue to lose weight or maintain my weight loss. At higher activity levels, I can eat more.
I'm not sufferring through this diet like I thought I would. This is a lifestyle change that I should probably keep for as long as possible. I may have to depart from it now and then. It's not that it can't be followed, but when travelling, for instance, it would take some dedication.
I've also found that even though you can't necessarily follow the diet exactly, all the time, you can try to stay close to it. For instance, I was out of town the other day and ate at Applebees for lunch. I ordered chicken fajitas and just ate the chicken, onions and peppers off the hot plate. I ordered a baked potato for my starch and that was reasonably close.
The chicken was probably fattier than chicken breast. The onions and peppers probably weren't that good of a salad. It was obviously cooked in some really good tasting oils that were probably off the diet.
All in all, though, much better than I had been eating and close enough for the purpose of this diet.
Most of all, a diet has to be something reasonable that you can live with. If it's impractical, it's worthless.
The weight workouts are progressing. I'm totally on board with the trainer's philosophy: lighter weights, slower reps, high number of reps. I really want to avoid injury. Over time, strength will increase. I think he's doing this more for a body-shaping thing than for increasing strength, per se. I'm okay with that.
I'm doing my own cardio and based on my heart rate, it's embarassing to admit that the training pace I should probably be following is something like 12 minute miles. That'd burn fat and let me build aerobic base. I've been doing 5 minute warm-ups, 20 minutes at pace and 5 minute cool-downs.
If I restrict myself to ONLY doing the main set at 12 minute miles, I can probably add another 10 minutes to my main set.
It's hard to be patient with this because my running is so slow. I've lost so much fitness over time. A nice leisurely pace for me was probably a shade under 9 minutes a mile a decade ago.
Still, it took me a long time to let my fitness lapse. Plus, it hasn't helped that I've had issues with plantar fasciitis for the past couple of years and had a lot of months of zero running.
Also, as I continue to lose weight, the running will get easier and faster, too.
It's hard to be patient sometimes, but I just have to remind myself that I'm moving in the right direction and that there's no benefit to getting off the path, now.
Monday, July 19, 2010
I shaved my head, and the diet is one week old...
Charles Barkeley once said something to the effect of, "I don't know why white guys are such pansies when they lose their hair. They do combovers and all sorts of stuff. Black guys just man up and when their hair starts to go, they shave it off."
I have to agree with that to some degree. I'm not bald, but I do have a pretty big bald spot on the crown of my head. My hair is also thinning on top. It's noticeable, but I still basically look like a person with hair (and a giant bald spot.)
Lately, the trimmer has been calling to me, though. Yesterday, I had too much time and too little to do. So, I took the clippers out to the garage and gave it a try. I was surprised at how easy it was. After maybe 5 minutes of work, there was a pile of hair on the floor and I was nubby.
This is the same haircut I got in the Army when I started basic training. I haven't really gone with this haircut since then. In the wake of the 70s, even the Army allowed relatively long hair during the 80s. My old pictures show a pretty full head of thick, black hair.
So, this is new, but wow, it's convenient. I am wondering what it may be like to go with, say, a #2 clipper all over. I'm not sure the nubby look is a good one for me. All the more credit to Vin Diesel and Jason Statham who can pull it off.
Still, this is fine. It's Summer and this haircut is nice and cool. Showering time has been reduced. I'm sleek and aerodynamic.
This is the 7th day of my diet. I haven't stuck to it 100%, but close enough. Maybe 99%. I have to admit, it accomplishes my 3 main goals for a diet.
1. I'm not hungry throughout the day. Not food obsessed and/or wondering when my next meal is going to be.
2. My energy level is at least as good as it was prior. I have to admit, I may actually have a little more energy, now.
3. It accomplishes the main goals of a diet: reduced calorie count, but relatively nutritionally complete.
I have no idea if I'm losing weight on it, but if I can lose a pound or two per week, that'll be fine.
I am headed off to start my 2nd week of workouts, too. So far, it's exactly what I would want. No straining. Low weights. Relatively high reps. Enough that I feel it pretty solidly for a few days afterwards.
I have considered joining my more fit friends with crossfit workouts, but I'm not quite ready for that. I'd like to build a little fitness and confidence, first.
This is my first genuine effort at fitness in about 10 years. (The last time, I finished an Ironman triathlon... if I can get in half as good condition this time, I'll be pretty happy.)
Mostly, I'd just like to get my weight down in the 185-ish range. As for strength and fitness, I'd like to get to where I can get a respectable score on my Navy Physical Readiness Test. (Pushups, situps and a 1.5 mile run.)
After one more week of the diet, I get some other foods re-introduced. I'm curious what those will be. Though, frankly, I don't really have any cravings right now. The biggest difficulty isn't in following the diet, it's in being in social situations where following the diet is difficult. For instance, my son's birthday party, there wasn't a lot of chicken breast on a salad. Lots of hot dogs and chips, though.
I'm also spending a little more time in the other house. I own a 2,700 square foot house that backs up to heavy woods, a ravine and creek. (I don't own the ravine and creek, though.) The idea was that my guys would work on the house when the business is slow. However, I am going to call in a plumber this week to take care of some things that will make a big impact.
For one, I need to get the plumbing all working so the downstairs half-bath will be usable. That'll be huge. The shower in the master bath leaks and the drain is sorta clogged. Getting all that done will make a big, immediate difference.
I don't think I'll be "living" in the place, per se, any time soon, but Logan has been wanting to sleep over in the house (we do have 2 beds, fortunately.) It's also a nice place to watch movies, etc. It still has the overall feel of a construction zone, but there are couches in one of the living rooms and beds upstairs.
I'll probably work on getting some pots and pans so I can do a little cooking there, too.
I have to agree with that to some degree. I'm not bald, but I do have a pretty big bald spot on the crown of my head. My hair is also thinning on top. It's noticeable, but I still basically look like a person with hair (and a giant bald spot.)
Lately, the trimmer has been calling to me, though. Yesterday, I had too much time and too little to do. So, I took the clippers out to the garage and gave it a try. I was surprised at how easy it was. After maybe 5 minutes of work, there was a pile of hair on the floor and I was nubby.
This is the same haircut I got in the Army when I started basic training. I haven't really gone with this haircut since then. In the wake of the 70s, even the Army allowed relatively long hair during the 80s. My old pictures show a pretty full head of thick, black hair.
So, this is new, but wow, it's convenient. I am wondering what it may be like to go with, say, a #2 clipper all over. I'm not sure the nubby look is a good one for me. All the more credit to Vin Diesel and Jason Statham who can pull it off.
Still, this is fine. It's Summer and this haircut is nice and cool. Showering time has been reduced. I'm sleek and aerodynamic.
This is the 7th day of my diet. I haven't stuck to it 100%, but close enough. Maybe 99%. I have to admit, it accomplishes my 3 main goals for a diet.
1. I'm not hungry throughout the day. Not food obsessed and/or wondering when my next meal is going to be.
2. My energy level is at least as good as it was prior. I have to admit, I may actually have a little more energy, now.
3. It accomplishes the main goals of a diet: reduced calorie count, but relatively nutritionally complete.
I have no idea if I'm losing weight on it, but if I can lose a pound or two per week, that'll be fine.
I am headed off to start my 2nd week of workouts, too. So far, it's exactly what I would want. No straining. Low weights. Relatively high reps. Enough that I feel it pretty solidly for a few days afterwards.
I have considered joining my more fit friends with crossfit workouts, but I'm not quite ready for that. I'd like to build a little fitness and confidence, first.
This is my first genuine effort at fitness in about 10 years. (The last time, I finished an Ironman triathlon... if I can get in half as good condition this time, I'll be pretty happy.)
Mostly, I'd just like to get my weight down in the 185-ish range. As for strength and fitness, I'd like to get to where I can get a respectable score on my Navy Physical Readiness Test. (Pushups, situps and a 1.5 mile run.)
After one more week of the diet, I get some other foods re-introduced. I'm curious what those will be. Though, frankly, I don't really have any cravings right now. The biggest difficulty isn't in following the diet, it's in being in social situations where following the diet is difficult. For instance, my son's birthday party, there wasn't a lot of chicken breast on a salad. Lots of hot dogs and chips, though.
I'm also spending a little more time in the other house. I own a 2,700 square foot house that backs up to heavy woods, a ravine and creek. (I don't own the ravine and creek, though.) The idea was that my guys would work on the house when the business is slow. However, I am going to call in a plumber this week to take care of some things that will make a big impact.
For one, I need to get the plumbing all working so the downstairs half-bath will be usable. That'll be huge. The shower in the master bath leaks and the drain is sorta clogged. Getting all that done will make a big, immediate difference.
I don't think I'll be "living" in the place, per se, any time soon, but Logan has been wanting to sleep over in the house (we do have 2 beds, fortunately.) It's also a nice place to watch movies, etc. It still has the overall feel of a construction zone, but there are couches in one of the living rooms and beds upstairs.
I'll probably work on getting some pots and pans so I can do a little cooking there, too.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The diet...
I have been seeing a personal trainer to try and get my big 40-something butt into shape, lately. He guides me through 2 workouts a week, then gives me a 3rd workout that I'm supposed to do on my own. It's through a local gym that only charges $20 a month. (They waived my initiation fee. No contracts, I can drop at any time.)
One of the things they sold was "nutritional counselling" for $100. When they asked me about my goals, I told them I wanted to drop 20 pounds.
First thing they said was, "that's going to come from diet, mostly, not from the exercise."
When I asked them what "mostly" meant, they said "about 85% of your weight loss is from the diet, 15% from exercise."
Blech. I've lost a lot of weight and kept it off for a couple of years with insane workouts. The idea of a diet just doesn't work for me, though.
Both the trainer and the owner of the gym went on and on about how, on this diet, I'll feel better than I've ever felt and my energy levels would shoot through the roof. The hyperbole was pretty much a turn-off for me since I figured it was complete BS and no way I'd feel that way about it.
I laid down some ground-rules: I'd give it a try, but it had to be stuff that was easy to buy and very little actual "making" of food. I wasn't going to get some bizarre grocery list of wierd stuff at a whole foods market or whatnot. Had to be stuff I could walk into a fast-food place and order.
They assured me that the diet wasn't wierd at all. That I could buy meals at Wendy's or other fast food places and that it wouldn't require elaborate recipies, etc.
So, before I left for Hawaii, I sat down with my trainer. He mapped out a diet for me that I was supposed to follow for 2 weeks. It was ultra-strict, but supposed to "clean out my system".
I could tell from what was on the diet that I wasn't going to be able to adhere to it very much while in Hawaii. However, I'd do what I could. In hindsight, I could have adhered to it, exactly, in Hawaii, but it didn't seem like it at the time.
When I got back, I started in earnest. (On Tuesday, 4 days ago.)
The diet is this:
Breakfast: oatmeal and either a protien shake or egg beaters or egg whites. Egg beaters are really easy to prepare. Just pour some in a bowl and microwave for about a minute and 30 seconds. Pause periodically to stir them. Same for oatmeal. One of the types of the stuff in the round cardboard can is instant oats, but you have to cook them in the microwave, versus just adding hot water. The protien shake they recommended is called "Dessert" and I got it in whipped vanilla flavor. It's delicious mixed with milk or almond or rice milk. They said this isn't as good as pure whey protein, but because it tastes good, people are more likely to stick with it.
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=177866&catid=176669&aid=337953&aparam=bsn_lean_dessert_protein&CAWELAID=107673486
The oatmeal has to be the stuff out of the big round can because it has very little added to it. NO SUGAR ALLOWED, IN ANY FORM. So, none added to the oatmeal. I could have artificial sweetener with it, or some sugar free jelly on top. That was it.
The protien shake could be made with water or skim milk. I've substituted rice milk for this week. NO SOY MILK AND NO SOY ON THIS DIET.
A morning snack of either an apple or a pear.
Lunch consists of a starch: either a baked potato or steamed rice. A rice steamer is a $30 appliance, btw, if you want a pretty nice one. A baked potato costs $1.50 at Wendy's. Chicken breast or turkey. (I've been buying ground turkey at the supermarket. Made a mistake and bought 85/15, which is higher in fat than ground turkey breast. Ground turkey breast is 99% fat-free. It's also twice as expensive, but that's what I'm going with. It cooks in about 5 minutes in a pan. Salad with clear dressing nothing creamy or like French, etc.
Mid-afternoon snack of either an apple or a pear.
Dinner: same as lunch, but without the starch.
Snack: either sugar-free jello cup or a protien shake.
TRY TO DRINK CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF WATER, LIKE A GALLON A DAY. Basically, drink constantly.
NO: carbonated beverages, milk, dairy products, sugars of any kind. (You can have skim milk with the protien shake, but that's only like 4 ounces.) No bread. Almost goes without saying, but nothing fried and no creamy soups or anything. Basically, if it tastes good, you can't have it.
OKAY: Crystal Light (makes it much easier to drink a gallon of water a day.) Coffee. Artificial sweeteners for the coffee and for oatmeal.
The primary rule: EAT EVERYTHING ON THE DIET. OTHERWISE, YOUR METABOLISM MIGHT SLOW DOWN AND MAKE IT HARDER FOR YOU TO LOSE WEIGHT.
This is the old "starvation mode" thing, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. We're not a nation of big fatasses because we're starving. But this important direction becomes critical once your appetite goes. Yesterday, I felt like I could have gone much longer between snacks and meals and had to remind myself that I HAD to eat.
For folks who are not on some sort of diet like this, don't worry about starvation mode. Yeah, 1% of you will eat some jacked up diet that will throw your body into starvation mode, but the other 99% have blubbery butts and need a little more starvation in your lives.
Once per week, I can have an "amnesty meal" where I can eat whatever I want. I have to admit, I haven't been that good about this. I had one amnesty meal where I had a beef kabob instead of chicken and salad. (Out with my son for his birthday and the restaurant didn't have a chicken-breast on a salad; it was a barbecue place.) I took a second one today when I had a hot dog, chips and diet coke plus some ice cream at his party. I know I broke the rule, but my first amensty meal wasn't that far off the diet. (Lean beef instead of chicken).
The first day and a half were the worst. First, I didn't shop and get everything I needed. I tried to eat the oatmeal but didn't have artificial sweetener, so I just gagged it down as best I could. I also sprinkled some protien powder on it, which helped some. However, I went to the store and got some artificial sweetener and now the oatmeal is just fine.
I was hungry all the first day. Like, "HOW LONG TO MY ****ING SNACK???!!!"
Makes sense because my body was still basically running on the old, bad food. It hadn't even been one complete digestive cycle, yet.
Going out and buying crystal light and the sweetener was a big step.
Crystal Light also sells boxes of 10 single serving packets. I have them in my car. So, if I'm at a restaurant or whatever, where they don't have a drink I can have (unsweetened ice tea would be fine, though), I can always throw one of the packets in. They're really small. Plus, I carry a little water bottle with me all the time and I can fill up the bottle and throw a packet in, anywhere. Not as convenient as buying a can of pop, but pretty close. Also, most fast-food places have a way to get cold water. So, if your water bottle is low or on empty you can run in to Mickey Dees and fill it up with water. I try to conspicuously show that I'm not taking any of the fountain drinks.
Also, I got some ground turkey to make up for the monotony of the chicken breast almost every meal. Chicken breast is convenient, though, since almost every fast-food place sells a chicken breast sandwich, and you can ask for it without the bun or any sauce. Almost every fast-food place sells a suitable salad with chicken breast on it. Throw in a Wendy's baked potato, and you're good to go.
Just make sure there's no cheese on the salad. The Burger King salad is one of the better ones because it has the cheese in a separate container. Also, Wendy's has some apple-something-something salad where you can ask them to hold the blu cheese. Panera assembles all their salads by hand, so you can ask them to hold the cheese.
I've found that it's really convenient to just buy bag salad at the supermarket. It's much more expensive than buying the component vegetables and making it yourself, but it's still only $2 or 3 for a bag of salad. This makes it much less expensive than buying a fast-food salad every meal. I like spinach and go about half and half. As most of you probably already know, iceburg lettuce has virtually no nutritional value, so I try to go for stuff like romaine mixed with greens. Mixed with the spinach, it's probably better for you, overall.
I showed up for my Wednesday workout and was ready to tell the trainer that there was no way in the world I was going to stick to the diet because it was ridiculous. I asked how long until we could re-introduce other items into my diet, and he stuck with "2 weeks". Yeah, I already knew the answer to the question, but asking it was sort of my passive-aggressive way of saying, "THIS DIET SUCKS!!!"
Thursday, I had the amnesty dinner with a beef kabob, but my body was already adjusting to the diet. I wouldn't say I was happy with it or totally adjusted to it, but I was starting to see how it could work.
Friday, my body had pretty much switched over. I had so little hunger that I had to remind myself to keep eating throughout the day.
Today, I feel great. Same deal. I'll look at the clock and it'll be like, "Whoa, I shoulda ate an apple half an hour ago" or "oh, lunchtime already?"
I can't tell you what a departure this is from my normal eating behavior. Honestly, I usually could sit down to a huge meal and 20 minutes later, sit down to another one. The minute I leave a restaurant, I have to remind myself not to look for another one on the drive home. I eat a lot. A LOT. If a normal adult male should consume a little over 2,000 calories a day, I bet, on an average day, that I'm between 3,500 and 4,000.
This diet should work out to about 1,500 calories a day, which is a good calorie count for sensible weight loss. I've done 1,500 calorie diets before and they work. Trouble is, I was hungry ALL THE TIME and couldn't sustain them.
Now, the theory behind this diet is that I'm avoiding eating things that spike my insulin levels (I hope the dietiticians and trainers out there will forgive any details I'm getting wrong.) Those make you crave more food. So, you go out and eat MORE food and it spikes your insulin levels, which makes you crave more food. That describes my previous eating, perfectly.
There are some things I like about this diet, too. It's more nutritionally balanced than some of the fad diets I see out there. For instance Adkins and other zero carbohydrate diets will let you lose weight, but I think they're unhealthy for you in the long run.
This one is protien heavy, but still has plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and carbs. So, it's relatively nutritionally complete.
I don't like the use of artificial sweeteners, but frankly, this is probably less artficial sweetener than I was getting with my six-pack a day habit of diet coke. I know there are dietary theories that say that artificial sweeteners work counter to losing weight.
To that, all I can say is: I'm on this diet, and I can feel it working. There are diets where you don't eat any artificial sweeteners, but frankly, I can't be on every diet in the world at once.
You have to find one that seems sane to you, and one you can stick with. So far, this one has controlled my hunger, which has been the hardest part of any diet I've ever tried in the past. (I honestly haven't tried many and have never really tried one seriously or for very long.)
This one seems nutritionally complete and I'm not craving anything right now. I can stick with it, at least for a while. My goal is to at least stick with it until I reach my target weight loss of getting down to about 185.
I'm at 200 on the button right now. Might have lost a pound or two on this diet, and a pound or two while in Hawaii. My starting point was right around 205 two weeks ago. Maybe a shade more.
With the number of calories I'm consuming, though, I know I'll lose weight. It wouldn't surprise me if I'm eating about 1/3 my usual number of calories. Will keep posting as time progresses.
Now, do I feel better than ever before, with energy levels through the roof? No. But I feel really good, and most importantly, I don't feel hungry. This diet has involved a lot of trips to the grocery store, but at least so far, it's one I can follow.
As they re-introduce foods to the diet, that should make it easier to follow, too. Plus, I'll be working on the other 15% by continuing my workouts with weights. I feel like I can see a difference, even after just a few days. I usually don't stick with this sort of thing long, but I'm eager to see what I look like at the 30 and 60 day point.
(I'm also going to continue my running routine, but am taking some time off due to the fact that lava ground off half my back, right under where a waistband would be. I want that to heal up a bit before I start running since clothes can really rub you when running and I basically have a giant, open scrape back there right now.)
This diet, like pretty much every other diet, works faster with men than women. Estrogen makes a person hang on to fat. (Maybe why so many chubby guys have man-boobs.) In an odd stroke, that's why soy is banned. There are some theories that it adds/creates estrogen in a person, which makes it harder to lose weight.
I had a long talk with the trainer about the diet yesterday and he said that basically everything recommended on the diet has a counter-argument that says it's bad. A lot of it is based on belief and/or theories that may or may not have been thoroughly tested.
So, he said if I absolutely have to have a diet coke, go ahead and have one. The theory is that it's bad for you, but one every now and then won't kill you.
However, I haven't craved a coke or even any caffeine over the past couple of days. Go figure. So, maybe it is affecting my energy level. Like I said, my usual intake was probably a six pack a day of diet soda... actually, probably more because there'd be a few bladder-buster sodas purchased at drive-thrus once or twice a day, too.
I think, honestly, this is one of those things where there's probably a lot of good science behind this diet, but a lot of nonsense crap superstition, too. However, on-balance, it seems to be working. So, sometimes you have to try not to nitpick the solution and just implement it. I'll lose a lot more weight following this diet than by trying to perfect it.
Other than not being hungry, I can tell my palette is changing a little bit. I don't quite crave the same foods I used to. I also don't mind some of the food on the diet quite so much. For instance, unsweetened iced tea tastes pretty good. Same with unsweetened coffee, now. Before, either one would need a LOT of sugar to be bearable. Bullion cubes and onion salt thrown in the rice steamer make steamed rice pretty easy to deal with.
It also affects the way I think about food. Before, life was just one continuous stream of delicious, not-to-be-missed meals. I honestly felt that if I died without trying that new delicious whatever from Olive Garden that I'd have missed out.
Now, not so much. It's just food. It's out there, but nothing feels like I MUST HAVE IT NOW. Not like before. Now, the stuff I'm eating doesn't inspire food-lust, either. It's all just food. It's not that hard to walk past the ice cream and go to get packaged spinach.
One of the things they sold was "nutritional counselling" for $100. When they asked me about my goals, I told them I wanted to drop 20 pounds.
First thing they said was, "that's going to come from diet, mostly, not from the exercise."
When I asked them what "mostly" meant, they said "about 85% of your weight loss is from the diet, 15% from exercise."
Blech. I've lost a lot of weight and kept it off for a couple of years with insane workouts. The idea of a diet just doesn't work for me, though.
Both the trainer and the owner of the gym went on and on about how, on this diet, I'll feel better than I've ever felt and my energy levels would shoot through the roof. The hyperbole was pretty much a turn-off for me since I figured it was complete BS and no way I'd feel that way about it.
I laid down some ground-rules: I'd give it a try, but it had to be stuff that was easy to buy and very little actual "making" of food. I wasn't going to get some bizarre grocery list of wierd stuff at a whole foods market or whatnot. Had to be stuff I could walk into a fast-food place and order.
They assured me that the diet wasn't wierd at all. That I could buy meals at Wendy's or other fast food places and that it wouldn't require elaborate recipies, etc.
So, before I left for Hawaii, I sat down with my trainer. He mapped out a diet for me that I was supposed to follow for 2 weeks. It was ultra-strict, but supposed to "clean out my system".
I could tell from what was on the diet that I wasn't going to be able to adhere to it very much while in Hawaii. However, I'd do what I could. In hindsight, I could have adhered to it, exactly, in Hawaii, but it didn't seem like it at the time.
When I got back, I started in earnest. (On Tuesday, 4 days ago.)
The diet is this:
Breakfast: oatmeal and either a protien shake or egg beaters or egg whites. Egg beaters are really easy to prepare. Just pour some in a bowl and microwave for about a minute and 30 seconds. Pause periodically to stir them. Same for oatmeal. One of the types of the stuff in the round cardboard can is instant oats, but you have to cook them in the microwave, versus just adding hot water. The protien shake they recommended is called "Dessert" and I got it in whipped vanilla flavor. It's delicious mixed with milk or almond or rice milk. They said this isn't as good as pure whey protein, but because it tastes good, people are more likely to stick with it.
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=177866&catid=176669&aid=337953&aparam=bsn_lean_dessert_protein&CAWELAID=107673486
The oatmeal has to be the stuff out of the big round can because it has very little added to it. NO SUGAR ALLOWED, IN ANY FORM. So, none added to the oatmeal. I could have artificial sweetener with it, or some sugar free jelly on top. That was it.
The protien shake could be made with water or skim milk. I've substituted rice milk for this week. NO SOY MILK AND NO SOY ON THIS DIET.
A morning snack of either an apple or a pear.
Lunch consists of a starch: either a baked potato or steamed rice. A rice steamer is a $30 appliance, btw, if you want a pretty nice one. A baked potato costs $1.50 at Wendy's. Chicken breast or turkey. (I've been buying ground turkey at the supermarket. Made a mistake and bought 85/15, which is higher in fat than ground turkey breast. Ground turkey breast is 99% fat-free. It's also twice as expensive, but that's what I'm going with. It cooks in about 5 minutes in a pan. Salad with clear dressing nothing creamy or like French, etc.
Mid-afternoon snack of either an apple or a pear.
Dinner: same as lunch, but without the starch.
Snack: either sugar-free jello cup or a protien shake.
TRY TO DRINK CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF WATER, LIKE A GALLON A DAY. Basically, drink constantly.
NO: carbonated beverages, milk, dairy products, sugars of any kind. (You can have skim milk with the protien shake, but that's only like 4 ounces.) No bread. Almost goes without saying, but nothing fried and no creamy soups or anything. Basically, if it tastes good, you can't have it.
OKAY: Crystal Light (makes it much easier to drink a gallon of water a day.) Coffee. Artificial sweeteners for the coffee and for oatmeal.
The primary rule: EAT EVERYTHING ON THE DIET. OTHERWISE, YOUR METABOLISM MIGHT SLOW DOWN AND MAKE IT HARDER FOR YOU TO LOSE WEIGHT.
This is the old "starvation mode" thing, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. We're not a nation of big fatasses because we're starving. But this important direction becomes critical once your appetite goes. Yesterday, I felt like I could have gone much longer between snacks and meals and had to remind myself that I HAD to eat.
For folks who are not on some sort of diet like this, don't worry about starvation mode. Yeah, 1% of you will eat some jacked up diet that will throw your body into starvation mode, but the other 99% have blubbery butts and need a little more starvation in your lives.
Once per week, I can have an "amnesty meal" where I can eat whatever I want. I have to admit, I haven't been that good about this. I had one amnesty meal where I had a beef kabob instead of chicken and salad. (Out with my son for his birthday and the restaurant didn't have a chicken-breast on a salad; it was a barbecue place.) I took a second one today when I had a hot dog, chips and diet coke plus some ice cream at his party. I know I broke the rule, but my first amensty meal wasn't that far off the diet. (Lean beef instead of chicken).
The first day and a half were the worst. First, I didn't shop and get everything I needed. I tried to eat the oatmeal but didn't have artificial sweetener, so I just gagged it down as best I could. I also sprinkled some protien powder on it, which helped some. However, I went to the store and got some artificial sweetener and now the oatmeal is just fine.
I was hungry all the first day. Like, "HOW LONG TO MY ****ING SNACK???!!!"
Makes sense because my body was still basically running on the old, bad food. It hadn't even been one complete digestive cycle, yet.
Going out and buying crystal light and the sweetener was a big step.
Crystal Light also sells boxes of 10 single serving packets. I have them in my car. So, if I'm at a restaurant or whatever, where they don't have a drink I can have (unsweetened ice tea would be fine, though), I can always throw one of the packets in. They're really small. Plus, I carry a little water bottle with me all the time and I can fill up the bottle and throw a packet in, anywhere. Not as convenient as buying a can of pop, but pretty close. Also, most fast-food places have a way to get cold water. So, if your water bottle is low or on empty you can run in to Mickey Dees and fill it up with water. I try to conspicuously show that I'm not taking any of the fountain drinks.
Also, I got some ground turkey to make up for the monotony of the chicken breast almost every meal. Chicken breast is convenient, though, since almost every fast-food place sells a chicken breast sandwich, and you can ask for it without the bun or any sauce. Almost every fast-food place sells a suitable salad with chicken breast on it. Throw in a Wendy's baked potato, and you're good to go.
Just make sure there's no cheese on the salad. The Burger King salad is one of the better ones because it has the cheese in a separate container. Also, Wendy's has some apple-something-something salad where you can ask them to hold the blu cheese. Panera assembles all their salads by hand, so you can ask them to hold the cheese.
I've found that it's really convenient to just buy bag salad at the supermarket. It's much more expensive than buying the component vegetables and making it yourself, but it's still only $2 or 3 for a bag of salad. This makes it much less expensive than buying a fast-food salad every meal. I like spinach and go about half and half. As most of you probably already know, iceburg lettuce has virtually no nutritional value, so I try to go for stuff like romaine mixed with greens. Mixed with the spinach, it's probably better for you, overall.
I showed up for my Wednesday workout and was ready to tell the trainer that there was no way in the world I was going to stick to the diet because it was ridiculous. I asked how long until we could re-introduce other items into my diet, and he stuck with "2 weeks". Yeah, I already knew the answer to the question, but asking it was sort of my passive-aggressive way of saying, "THIS DIET SUCKS!!!"
Thursday, I had the amnesty dinner with a beef kabob, but my body was already adjusting to the diet. I wouldn't say I was happy with it or totally adjusted to it, but I was starting to see how it could work.
Friday, my body had pretty much switched over. I had so little hunger that I had to remind myself to keep eating throughout the day.
Today, I feel great. Same deal. I'll look at the clock and it'll be like, "Whoa, I shoulda ate an apple half an hour ago" or "oh, lunchtime already?"
I can't tell you what a departure this is from my normal eating behavior. Honestly, I usually could sit down to a huge meal and 20 minutes later, sit down to another one. The minute I leave a restaurant, I have to remind myself not to look for another one on the drive home. I eat a lot. A LOT. If a normal adult male should consume a little over 2,000 calories a day, I bet, on an average day, that I'm between 3,500 and 4,000.
This diet should work out to about 1,500 calories a day, which is a good calorie count for sensible weight loss. I've done 1,500 calorie diets before and they work. Trouble is, I was hungry ALL THE TIME and couldn't sustain them.
Now, the theory behind this diet is that I'm avoiding eating things that spike my insulin levels (I hope the dietiticians and trainers out there will forgive any details I'm getting wrong.) Those make you crave more food. So, you go out and eat MORE food and it spikes your insulin levels, which makes you crave more food. That describes my previous eating, perfectly.
There are some things I like about this diet, too. It's more nutritionally balanced than some of the fad diets I see out there. For instance Adkins and other zero carbohydrate diets will let you lose weight, but I think they're unhealthy for you in the long run.
This one is protien heavy, but still has plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and carbs. So, it's relatively nutritionally complete.
I don't like the use of artificial sweeteners, but frankly, this is probably less artficial sweetener than I was getting with my six-pack a day habit of diet coke. I know there are dietary theories that say that artificial sweeteners work counter to losing weight.
To that, all I can say is: I'm on this diet, and I can feel it working. There are diets where you don't eat any artificial sweeteners, but frankly, I can't be on every diet in the world at once.
You have to find one that seems sane to you, and one you can stick with. So far, this one has controlled my hunger, which has been the hardest part of any diet I've ever tried in the past. (I honestly haven't tried many and have never really tried one seriously or for very long.)
This one seems nutritionally complete and I'm not craving anything right now. I can stick with it, at least for a while. My goal is to at least stick with it until I reach my target weight loss of getting down to about 185.
I'm at 200 on the button right now. Might have lost a pound or two on this diet, and a pound or two while in Hawaii. My starting point was right around 205 two weeks ago. Maybe a shade more.
With the number of calories I'm consuming, though, I know I'll lose weight. It wouldn't surprise me if I'm eating about 1/3 my usual number of calories. Will keep posting as time progresses.
Now, do I feel better than ever before, with energy levels through the roof? No. But I feel really good, and most importantly, I don't feel hungry. This diet has involved a lot of trips to the grocery store, but at least so far, it's one I can follow.
As they re-introduce foods to the diet, that should make it easier to follow, too. Plus, I'll be working on the other 15% by continuing my workouts with weights. I feel like I can see a difference, even after just a few days. I usually don't stick with this sort of thing long, but I'm eager to see what I look like at the 30 and 60 day point.
(I'm also going to continue my running routine, but am taking some time off due to the fact that lava ground off half my back, right under where a waistband would be. I want that to heal up a bit before I start running since clothes can really rub you when running and I basically have a giant, open scrape back there right now.)
This diet, like pretty much every other diet, works faster with men than women. Estrogen makes a person hang on to fat. (Maybe why so many chubby guys have man-boobs.) In an odd stroke, that's why soy is banned. There are some theories that it adds/creates estrogen in a person, which makes it harder to lose weight.
I had a long talk with the trainer about the diet yesterday and he said that basically everything recommended on the diet has a counter-argument that says it's bad. A lot of it is based on belief and/or theories that may or may not have been thoroughly tested.
So, he said if I absolutely have to have a diet coke, go ahead and have one. The theory is that it's bad for you, but one every now and then won't kill you.
However, I haven't craved a coke or even any caffeine over the past couple of days. Go figure. So, maybe it is affecting my energy level. Like I said, my usual intake was probably a six pack a day of diet soda... actually, probably more because there'd be a few bladder-buster sodas purchased at drive-thrus once or twice a day, too.
I think, honestly, this is one of those things where there's probably a lot of good science behind this diet, but a lot of nonsense crap superstition, too. However, on-balance, it seems to be working. So, sometimes you have to try not to nitpick the solution and just implement it. I'll lose a lot more weight following this diet than by trying to perfect it.
Other than not being hungry, I can tell my palette is changing a little bit. I don't quite crave the same foods I used to. I also don't mind some of the food on the diet quite so much. For instance, unsweetened iced tea tastes pretty good. Same with unsweetened coffee, now. Before, either one would need a LOT of sugar to be bearable. Bullion cubes and onion salt thrown in the rice steamer make steamed rice pretty easy to deal with.
It also affects the way I think about food. Before, life was just one continuous stream of delicious, not-to-be-missed meals. I honestly felt that if I died without trying that new delicious whatever from Olive Garden that I'd have missed out.
Now, not so much. It's just food. It's out there, but nothing feels like I MUST HAVE IT NOW. Not like before. Now, the stuff I'm eating doesn't inspire food-lust, either. It's all just food. It's not that hard to walk past the ice cream and go to get packaged spinach.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Lebron... a few days later...
Okay, now that my fury at Lebron has subsided, here are a few ideas I've had since the whole "announcement" spectacle:
1. As the details of Dan Gilbert's offer are disclosed, I'm thinking that Gilbert really got owned on this one. He did offer LeBron $15 million more than Lebron took in Orlando. However, the first thing I thought when I saw that was that Gilbert was obviously trying to outbid all other parties, but not go overboard.
Lebron, I am guessing, wanted them to go overboard. League rules say you can play a home-town free-agent up to $30 million a year. Lebron was worth that much and more because he puts butts in the seats, sells jerseys and generates revenue in every conceivable way. Not just for himself and his team, but for the city.
Now, $15 million, to a guy like Lebron isn't the same as it is to a person like you and me. It's just a way of keeping score. Lebron is a kid from the bad parts of Akron who had more money than he could ever personally spend on the day he graduated from High School.
$15 million? It's just a number. In my opinion, the number he wanted was something along the lines of a 4 or 5 year contract at $120 million.
When he didn't get it, he probably thought, "well... heck, if that's all they're offerring, I can get almost the same money in Miami and win championships."
No, it doesn't make sense to you or me. If we had a chance to make 10% more at our jobs, that would be a lot of money. But money doesn't mean the same thing to Lebron. He has enough money that he and everyone he knows never has to work another day in their lives.
It's a method of keeping score. Gilbert gave him an unimpressive score.
2. I think this shows us an insight into Lebron's personality. He aspires to be "the greatest, ever", but no decision could possibly have shown how far he is from that title. He's not even close. This decision, more than anything, says, "I can't handle the pressure. I'm not the go-to guy. I'm not the guy who, when the game, or the series or the championship is on the line, wants the ball. Give me somebody else who can bear the load with me."
If he wanted to build his legacy, he would have taken the contract in Cleveland. The fact that he accepted the best, though not an exhorbitant contract would have spoken to his humility and lack of greed. And once he won a championship or two, he would be barking down Jordan's legacy. Jordan? In Chicago? Had competent bit players, but seriously, Scottie Pippen is perhaps the most overrated player in NBA history.
Lebron, though unselfish and obviously one of the most talented players in the league, was never able to make a Scottie Pippen out of the members of his supporting cast. And he had a supporting cast that consisted of 3 or 4 other all-stars for most of his later years in Cleveland.
3. Lebron would have, I think, chosen differently if he had been managed by competent management. However, he is managed by Maverick Carter, who is a childhood acquaintance. It's like those conversations you had when you were in your teens and early 20s. "We should start a company. And bob is good with numbers, so he can be CFO."
The difference here is that the teenager involved was a multi-million dollar business the moment he graduated High School. Maverick Carter is a two time college dropout who saw his meal ticket, and talked his friend into giving him management fees.
Lebron is managed by a dumbass. Which, frankly, makes Lebron a dumbass in my book. A smart man would have let professionals handle this.
4. In a wierd way, this whole effort speaks to Lebron's loyalty, not his disloyalty. Lebron had a terrible childhood by most accounts. His mom pretty much defines the word "shiftless" and it sounds like Lebron lived in a lot of places, just one step ahead of the bill collector, for most of his life. There's no discernable father. Yeah, it was that kind of childhood.
He is actually friends with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. Got to know them pretty well when he played with them on the Olympic team. I think his attachment to them and to his ignorant buddy, Maverick, show that Lebron really is looking for a sense of family and belonging.
The entire state of Ohio? That's an abstraction to him. But his buddies? They're real.
If you really want to understand the state of mind of Lebron James, just think about when you used to hang out with your buddies in High School and you thought that being surrounded with your friends 24 x 7 was the most important thing in the world. Now, throw in hundreds of millions of dollars and you get the sort of messed-up state of mind that Lebron makes his decisions from.
He's a man-child. Uneducated and from a heartbreaking background. Like a well-intentiond behemoth, he honestly doesn't understand his capacity for harm.
At least that's my take.
All in all, I still respect him as a player and wish he were still with the Cavs, but the next best thing to somebody to root for is somebody to root against, and right now, he's the Baltimore Ravens and New York Yankees all rolled into one.
1. As the details of Dan Gilbert's offer are disclosed, I'm thinking that Gilbert really got owned on this one. He did offer LeBron $15 million more than Lebron took in Orlando. However, the first thing I thought when I saw that was that Gilbert was obviously trying to outbid all other parties, but not go overboard.
Lebron, I am guessing, wanted them to go overboard. League rules say you can play a home-town free-agent up to $30 million a year. Lebron was worth that much and more because he puts butts in the seats, sells jerseys and generates revenue in every conceivable way. Not just for himself and his team, but for the city.
Now, $15 million, to a guy like Lebron isn't the same as it is to a person like you and me. It's just a way of keeping score. Lebron is a kid from the bad parts of Akron who had more money than he could ever personally spend on the day he graduated from High School.
$15 million? It's just a number. In my opinion, the number he wanted was something along the lines of a 4 or 5 year contract at $120 million.
When he didn't get it, he probably thought, "well... heck, if that's all they're offerring, I can get almost the same money in Miami and win championships."
No, it doesn't make sense to you or me. If we had a chance to make 10% more at our jobs, that would be a lot of money. But money doesn't mean the same thing to Lebron. He has enough money that he and everyone he knows never has to work another day in their lives.
It's a method of keeping score. Gilbert gave him an unimpressive score.
2. I think this shows us an insight into Lebron's personality. He aspires to be "the greatest, ever", but no decision could possibly have shown how far he is from that title. He's not even close. This decision, more than anything, says, "I can't handle the pressure. I'm not the go-to guy. I'm not the guy who, when the game, or the series or the championship is on the line, wants the ball. Give me somebody else who can bear the load with me."
If he wanted to build his legacy, he would have taken the contract in Cleveland. The fact that he accepted the best, though not an exhorbitant contract would have spoken to his humility and lack of greed. And once he won a championship or two, he would be barking down Jordan's legacy. Jordan? In Chicago? Had competent bit players, but seriously, Scottie Pippen is perhaps the most overrated player in NBA history.
Lebron, though unselfish and obviously one of the most talented players in the league, was never able to make a Scottie Pippen out of the members of his supporting cast. And he had a supporting cast that consisted of 3 or 4 other all-stars for most of his later years in Cleveland.
3. Lebron would have, I think, chosen differently if he had been managed by competent management. However, he is managed by Maverick Carter, who is a childhood acquaintance. It's like those conversations you had when you were in your teens and early 20s. "We should start a company. And bob is good with numbers, so he can be CFO."
The difference here is that the teenager involved was a multi-million dollar business the moment he graduated High School. Maverick Carter is a two time college dropout who saw his meal ticket, and talked his friend into giving him management fees.
Lebron is managed by a dumbass. Which, frankly, makes Lebron a dumbass in my book. A smart man would have let professionals handle this.
4. In a wierd way, this whole effort speaks to Lebron's loyalty, not his disloyalty. Lebron had a terrible childhood by most accounts. His mom pretty much defines the word "shiftless" and it sounds like Lebron lived in a lot of places, just one step ahead of the bill collector, for most of his life. There's no discernable father. Yeah, it was that kind of childhood.
He is actually friends with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. Got to know them pretty well when he played with them on the Olympic team. I think his attachment to them and to his ignorant buddy, Maverick, show that Lebron really is looking for a sense of family and belonging.
The entire state of Ohio? That's an abstraction to him. But his buddies? They're real.
If you really want to understand the state of mind of Lebron James, just think about when you used to hang out with your buddies in High School and you thought that being surrounded with your friends 24 x 7 was the most important thing in the world. Now, throw in hundreds of millions of dollars and you get the sort of messed-up state of mind that Lebron makes his decisions from.
He's a man-child. Uneducated and from a heartbreaking background. Like a well-intentiond behemoth, he honestly doesn't understand his capacity for harm.
At least that's my take.
All in all, I still respect him as a player and wish he were still with the Cavs, but the next best thing to somebody to root for is somebody to root against, and right now, he's the Baltimore Ravens and New York Yankees all rolled into one.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hawaii Notes
This is my 3rd day on the island and it's a great vacation.
Went to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park yesterday. Wish I had gone earlier, with a giant boonie hat and some good hiking shoes. Really, to see what's going on there, you need to be on foot. I tried to do the crater-rim drive, but most of the roads were closed.
The Big Island (the island of "Hawaii") is not usually high on the list of preferrences for vacations here. Most of it is pretty desolate looking volcanic rock. There are some exceptions. Once you get into the mountains, it gets greener. Went to a little town called "Waimea" and it was pretty green.
Really, parts of this place remind me a lot of northern california.
I have yet to feel the need for A/C in my condo. The Island breezes keep things comfortable, despite the daytime temps in the low 80s. This would be an amazing place to visit in the dead of winter.
Yes, I really did go to the local wal-mart. I wanted to buy some sodas and a couple of souvenier tee shirts for my son. I ate at the Macaroni grill my first night here. However, the other day, driving back from the volcano, I stopped at a local Thai place and the noodles I got were amazing.
It's Thursday already. Tomorrow, I pick up my convention check. I'll be just kicking around on Saturday. Then, Sunday, I fly out late.
Hawaii isn't as developed as most of the US. Yes, in the touristy areas, you recognize a lot of chains from the mainland. Overall, though, it reminds me of what it was like visiting my grandparents in northern California when I was a kid. Most towns, you won't recognize the names of any of the businesses, other than True Value hardware. You can't just get anything, anywhere, like you can in most off the continental US. I'm sure it'll change, just as northern california did in the past 35 years. In the mean, time, though, Hawaii is familiar enough and yet, different enough that you know you're not in the continental US anymore.
The difference between island life and mainland life is probably best summed up by a conversation I had at the rental car place. (It was Enterprise.)
The guy said, "Your plane leaves at 10:30 on Sunday?" Yeah. (All the flights out of Kona seem to be on red-eyes.)
"That's pretty late. You might want to come here a few hours early because we'll be closed."
No late drop, no night attendant. Just "we don't work that late" and that's it. Hahaha!
I wanted to come very early, anyway, to try and see if I could get upgraded on my return flight. I think I actually have a middle seat on one of my legs coming back. (One is 7 hours long, the other is 5.) At the least, I want to see if I can change to an aisle on either one of those.
Hawaii, even the big island, does really kick butt. I wish I could have brought Logan, but oh well. He's at an age, now, where it's a little unfair to bring him places if he doesn't have somebody his own age to play with. I don't imagine I'll be paying airfare for one of his buddies to accompany us anytime soon.
The convention will be here in 2020 if I'm still in the Servpro system by then. Maybe he'll want to come, then. He'll be a college student, then, though. May appeal to him, but maybe not.
All in all, I still don't like vacations and I don't like being away from home. Mostly, I just don't like being away from my boy, even if it's to a tropical paradise like this.
Wierd note: when I was at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park there was this compound of buildings called the "Kilauea Military Camp". I had no idea what it was. Tried to drive around it and there were people there. There were also tennis courts, a theatre... reminded me a lot of Camp Hovey when I was stationed in Korea.
I wondered if it was like a military school for juvenile delinquents or what.
Turns out it's an Army MWR facility. (Morale Welfare and Recreation.) If you're in the military or retired, you can rent a cabin there. (The fee is based on your pay-grade. Folks who make more pay more.)
It wasn't dirt cheap, but it was reasonable. $100 a night-ish. You could rent an entire cabin for your family. It had a lot of appeal to it. For one, if you're going to explore Volcanoes National Park, you need more time than just an afternoon and a crater-rim drive.
The thing I liked is that it had several dining facilities, entertainment, movies (family friendly), etc. So, you didn't have to leave the park to get lunch, for instance.
The park, overall, is a pretty inhospitable environment, especially for very, very young kids. But the camp would be an awesome place to see things in the park, but also have a nice environment where little kids can play.
Went to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park yesterday. Wish I had gone earlier, with a giant boonie hat and some good hiking shoes. Really, to see what's going on there, you need to be on foot. I tried to do the crater-rim drive, but most of the roads were closed.
The Big Island (the island of "Hawaii") is not usually high on the list of preferrences for vacations here. Most of it is pretty desolate looking volcanic rock. There are some exceptions. Once you get into the mountains, it gets greener. Went to a little town called "Waimea" and it was pretty green.
Really, parts of this place remind me a lot of northern california.
I have yet to feel the need for A/C in my condo. The Island breezes keep things comfortable, despite the daytime temps in the low 80s. This would be an amazing place to visit in the dead of winter.
Yes, I really did go to the local wal-mart. I wanted to buy some sodas and a couple of souvenier tee shirts for my son. I ate at the Macaroni grill my first night here. However, the other day, driving back from the volcano, I stopped at a local Thai place and the noodles I got were amazing.
It's Thursday already. Tomorrow, I pick up my convention check. I'll be just kicking around on Saturday. Then, Sunday, I fly out late.
Hawaii isn't as developed as most of the US. Yes, in the touristy areas, you recognize a lot of chains from the mainland. Overall, though, it reminds me of what it was like visiting my grandparents in northern California when I was a kid. Most towns, you won't recognize the names of any of the businesses, other than True Value hardware. You can't just get anything, anywhere, like you can in most off the continental US. I'm sure it'll change, just as northern california did in the past 35 years. In the mean, time, though, Hawaii is familiar enough and yet, different enough that you know you're not in the continental US anymore.
The difference between island life and mainland life is probably best summed up by a conversation I had at the rental car place. (It was Enterprise.)
The guy said, "Your plane leaves at 10:30 on Sunday?" Yeah. (All the flights out of Kona seem to be on red-eyes.)
"That's pretty late. You might want to come here a few hours early because we'll be closed."
No late drop, no night attendant. Just "we don't work that late" and that's it. Hahaha!
I wanted to come very early, anyway, to try and see if I could get upgraded on my return flight. I think I actually have a middle seat on one of my legs coming back. (One is 7 hours long, the other is 5.) At the least, I want to see if I can change to an aisle on either one of those.
Hawaii, even the big island, does really kick butt. I wish I could have brought Logan, but oh well. He's at an age, now, where it's a little unfair to bring him places if he doesn't have somebody his own age to play with. I don't imagine I'll be paying airfare for one of his buddies to accompany us anytime soon.
The convention will be here in 2020 if I'm still in the Servpro system by then. Maybe he'll want to come, then. He'll be a college student, then, though. May appeal to him, but maybe not.
All in all, I still don't like vacations and I don't like being away from home. Mostly, I just don't like being away from my boy, even if it's to a tropical paradise like this.
Wierd note: when I was at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park there was this compound of buildings called the "Kilauea Military Camp". I had no idea what it was. Tried to drive around it and there were people there. There were also tennis courts, a theatre... reminded me a lot of Camp Hovey when I was stationed in Korea.
I wondered if it was like a military school for juvenile delinquents or what.
Turns out it's an Army MWR facility. (Morale Welfare and Recreation.) If you're in the military or retired, you can rent a cabin there. (The fee is based on your pay-grade. Folks who make more pay more.)
It wasn't dirt cheap, but it was reasonable. $100 a night-ish. You could rent an entire cabin for your family. It had a lot of appeal to it. For one, if you're going to explore Volcanoes National Park, you need more time than just an afternoon and a crater-rim drive.
The thing I liked is that it had several dining facilities, entertainment, movies (family friendly), etc. So, you didn't have to leave the park to get lunch, for instance.
The park, overall, is a pretty inhospitable environment, especially for very, very young kids. But the camp would be an awesome place to see things in the park, but also have a nice environment where little kids can play.
Monday, July 5, 2010
One more time... time to lose weight...
When I get back from Hawaii, I'm going to go full-tilt on trying to lose some weight. I joined a local gym. ($20 a month, no contracts. Gyms are getting seriously cheap these days.) Talked with a trainer who gave me a diet to follow.
I've been trying to lose about 20 pounds for nearly a decade, now. I've not really put the effort into fitness since taking my "break" after finishing Ironman New York in 2000. That break is now a decade old.
I'm also trying to run again, which is a chore, let me tell you. Last time I got serious about this was when I had lost a bunch of weight. It became a chicken/egg thing: I couldn't tell whether I was losing weight because I was running, or whether I was just running more because I was losing weight. In any event, it became a virtuous circle that included being careful about what I ate because I didn't want to give up the gains I was making.
I have a goal of running another marathon, but we'll just have to see how that goes.
I bought a rice steamer and I'm glad I did. I don't know if you can just buy refrigerated chicken breasts, but I would think you can. Not only does this thing make perfect rice, but because it takes 40 minutes, it makes me wait a little bit instead of seeking instant gratification every time I'm hungry. I may get a second one to keep at work.
Logan has one more game tomorrow, but I won't see it. However, he sent me off on my business trip with what was probably his best day of baseball all year.
Out of the blue, he got moved up to leadoff hitter. Ended the day with 8 at bats in 2 games. 1 strike-out swinging, 1 walk and 6 hits. A monster day by any measure. He also ruled center field.
It's a tricky thing. At center field, he's really head and shoulders above the next best available player. He could probably play second or third base (and has had a lot of innings at those positions throughout the year), but in all honesty, the difference between him and the next best available player at those positions isn't that great.
So, it makes sense for him to play CF when the game is on the line. I'd like to see him play more infield in the future, though. We'll see.
Tryouts aren't until the end of August. I'd like to give him as much time as possible away from baseball between now and then to avoid burnout. Maybe sometime in August, we'll do a few practices to keep him sharp.
Business was soft in May and June, but July looks like it'll be pretty good. I'm just riding the storm out praying for the best.
I've been trying to lose about 20 pounds for nearly a decade, now. I've not really put the effort into fitness since taking my "break" after finishing Ironman New York in 2000. That break is now a decade old.
I'm also trying to run again, which is a chore, let me tell you. Last time I got serious about this was when I had lost a bunch of weight. It became a chicken/egg thing: I couldn't tell whether I was losing weight because I was running, or whether I was just running more because I was losing weight. In any event, it became a virtuous circle that included being careful about what I ate because I didn't want to give up the gains I was making.
I have a goal of running another marathon, but we'll just have to see how that goes.
I bought a rice steamer and I'm glad I did. I don't know if you can just buy refrigerated chicken breasts, but I would think you can. Not only does this thing make perfect rice, but because it takes 40 minutes, it makes me wait a little bit instead of seeking instant gratification every time I'm hungry. I may get a second one to keep at work.
Logan has one more game tomorrow, but I won't see it. However, he sent me off on my business trip with what was probably his best day of baseball all year.
Out of the blue, he got moved up to leadoff hitter. Ended the day with 8 at bats in 2 games. 1 strike-out swinging, 1 walk and 6 hits. A monster day by any measure. He also ruled center field.
It's a tricky thing. At center field, he's really head and shoulders above the next best available player. He could probably play second or third base (and has had a lot of innings at those positions throughout the year), but in all honesty, the difference between him and the next best available player at those positions isn't that great.
So, it makes sense for him to play CF when the game is on the line. I'd like to see him play more infield in the future, though. We'll see.
Tryouts aren't until the end of August. I'd like to give him as much time as possible away from baseball between now and then to avoid burnout. Maybe sometime in August, we'll do a few practices to keep him sharp.
Business was soft in May and June, but July looks like it'll be pretty good. I'm just riding the storm out praying for the best.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)