My weight seems to be holding steady at the moment. The scale said 415 again yesterday. That motivated me to get my butt out of bed this morning and go for a ride. It wasn't very far or very long at just 3.5 miles in just under 18 minutes, but it was a ride and got me moving more than I have been. I felt pretty good out there.
As for my eating, it hasn't been horrible, I've been staying away from the sugars and the grains and flour, etc. but I have been over my target number of daily calories. I am going to be much more vigilant this week and that combined with riding every day should reap some results and get my weight once again moving in the right direction. I need to get serious if I'm going to hitmy goal of 378 in a mere 8 weeks from now.
Showing posts with label eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating. Show all posts
Monday, June 13, 2016
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Week 11 Report
Ok, I'm late with this week's report. I apologize. You see I'm just not motivated to write it this week since it seems my consumption of salty foods has led to a small and temporary reversal on the scales. This is also why I didn't put the word 'progress' in the title of this post. The fact of the matter is that according to the scale there is no progress to report this week. Rather it shows I gained 3 lbs. I know it is temporary and that I can recover from this little bump, but it still makes me loathe to post about it.
On a different note, the national Bike Challenge starts on Sunday. It runs from May 1 through September 30. I made it my goal in 2014 to ride every single day during the challenge and I did. Last year I didn't ride but a handful of times. This year I hope to equal the frequency of ride that I accomplished in 2014, but I already know there will be some missed days as there is some travel planned in June and August which will preclude riding. Those days aside, I will endeavor to surpass at least my mileage total for the 2014 challenge.
On a different note, the national Bike Challenge starts on Sunday. It runs from May 1 through September 30. I made it my goal in 2014 to ride every single day during the challenge and I did. Last year I didn't ride but a handful of times. This year I hope to equal the frequency of ride that I accomplished in 2014, but I already know there will be some missed days as there is some travel planned in June and August which will preclude riding. Those days aside, I will endeavor to surpass at least my mileage total for the 2014 challenge.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Week 9 Progress Report
What is encouraging to me is that I do continue to lose and I am not really feeling deprived of food. Sure when everyone is eating donuts or cookies, I certainly would love to have one, but I know that would be sabotaging my health. So I stay away and stay focused on eating healthy snacks like an orange or veggies.
I do need to get my butt more active though. Too much time is still spent sitting on my rear-end on the computer or watching TV. I did have at least a small excuse this week end as we actually had rain the last 3 days. No it wasn't all day rain but it was significant for the area. Of course that is just what I said it was, an excuse. I still could have done SOMETHING active, but I chose not to. This will be changing and soon.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Week 7 Progress
OK, I know I missed last week but that was because I was away at a conference for work. I left on Sunday and returned on Wednesday evening. The good news is that I wasn't totally derailed by the conference. At times it was a challenge to find decent foods to eat following the Paleo diet, but I made it and didn't resort to awful food choices. I weighed in this morning and the scale showed 431 lbs. That is a loss so far of 27 lbs. since starting this personal challenge 7 weeks ago. I'm still on track to hit my goal as long as I maintain my progress.
My 2 toughest days during this time were heading to and from the conference as I spent about 6 hours int eh car each way. I was so tempted to just grab fast food or other snacks to help occupy me while I was driving, but I didn't give into the temptation and made it through. One highlight of the conference was a special event where we had dinner on the USS Midway which is set up as a living history museum. While the food choices were scarce, seeing and touching the history was awesome. I also got in my most steps for the week traipsing around the decks and it didn't feel like exercise at all. Here is a peek at the flight deck:
My 2 toughest days during this time were heading to and from the conference as I spent about 6 hours int eh car each way. I was so tempted to just grab fast food or other snacks to help occupy me while I was driving, but I didn't give into the temptation and made it through. One highlight of the conference was a special event where we had dinner on the USS Midway which is set up as a living history museum. While the food choices were scarce, seeing and touching the history was awesome. I also got in my most steps for the week traipsing around the decks and it didn't feel like exercise at all. Here is a peek at the flight deck:
With that over, it is now time to buckle down ans really make some progress. A plus is that within our family we have also started our own competition wherein we are each putting up cash for the next 6 months and the person who loses the highest percentage of weight gets to take home the Prize. Because of the format of weekly weigh-ins and exemptions for the weekly percentage winners, the purse will be a nice $390. I'm planning on walking away with it.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Paleo Diet Food List
I was doing some research online about what I can and cannot eat as I am trying to follow a Paleo diet. I came across this list as part of a post over on PaleoDietPlusPlus.com.
Part of the list that felt even more important than what I can't eat, is what I can't eat. It is a much shorter list and easier to remember, I think:
Paleo Diet Food List
Protein
- Red Meat and Pork: Beef, veal, lamb, bison, ostrich, sheep, caribou, goat, venison (deer), pork. Try to get grass-fed and organic if possible.
- Cage-free Poultry: Chicken, duck, quail, goose, pheasant, pigeon, eggs from any of the birds just mentioned.
- Wild Fish and Seafood: Salmon, tuna, tilapia, anchovy, herring, yellowtail, mahi-mahi (dorado), trout, bass, halibut, sole, haddock, turbot, walleye, cod, flatfish, grouper, mackerel, white fish, shrimp, oysters, clams, mussels, sea urchin, lobster, scallops, crab.
- Nuts: Cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, cashews, almonds, coconuts. Note: Peanut is not a nut, it’s a legume, thus it isn’t allowed on the Paleo diet.
Fat
- Cooking Oil
- Extra-virgin coconut oil: You never want to burn your oil when you cook and since coconut oil has a high heat index (making it harder to burn), it is the oil I recommend for cooking for most meals.
- Bacon Fat (lard): Bacon fat can be used as a cooking oil. It’s delicious (who doesn’t bacon?) and can be easily harvested from the grease of rendered bacon fat.
- Beef Tallow: Tallow, much like bacon fat, is a rendered form of beef fat. I usually get my beef tallow from the fat that floats on top of my beef bone broth which I make once a week.
- Salad Oil
- Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO): This is my oil of choice for most of my salads. EVOO is high in polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) so it’s very unstable under high heat and sun light, so I don’t recommend cooking with it and don’t leave it in direct sun light or storing it in a clear bottle. Keep it in a dark place and use a bottle that is tinted (similar to red wine bottles).
- Sesame seed oil: Adds a great Asian flavor to any salad, I recommend only a teaspoon per salad.
- Food with Good Fat: Avocados, butter (if you can eat diary), ghee (clarified butter), pork, beef, duck, veal, lamb, cold water fishes (sardines, mackerel, salmon, anchovies), walnuts, pistachios, pecans, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, chia seeds, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, coconuts.
- Cooking Oil
Carbohydrates
- Starchy Roots: Sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, potatoes, purple yams, sweet yams.
- Nuts: Cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, cashews, almonds, coconuts. Note: Peanut is not a nut, it’s a legume, thus it isn’t allowed on the Paleo diet.
Sugars
- Raw honey, maple syrup, palm sugar
Alcohols
- None
Vegetables
- Lettuce, butter lettuce, carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, radish, artichokes, arugula, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, watercrest, onions, shallots, button mushroom, portabello, oyster mushroom, shiitake. Pretty much any green leafy vegetable. I also included mushrooms under vegetables even though it’s classified as a fungus, but most people usually cook mushrooms as if they were vegetables.
Spices and Herbs
- Onions, garlic, parsley, cilantro (coriander), thyme, lavender, mint, basil, rosemary, chives, tarragon, oregano, sage, dill, bay leaves, curry powder, all spice, five spice, paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon, vanilla extract (make sure it’s 100% pure), cloves, nutmeg, star anise, mustard seeds, cumin.
Fruit
- Apples, grapefruit, pomelos, oranges, pear, acorn squash, buttercup squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, yellow summer squash, zucchini,bananas, strawberries, raspberries, goji, cocoa, lemon, lime, tangerines, lychee, rumbatan, mangoes, grapes, papaya, plums, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, pineapples, pomegranates, cantaloupes, cherries, apricots, watermelon, honeydew.
Part of the list that felt even more important than what I can't eat, is what I can't eat. It is a much shorter list and easier to remember, I think:
Food NOT allowed on the Paleo Diet
- Refined carbohydrates: White bread, white flour
- Grains: Wheat, oat, rye
- Refined sugars: White table sugar, candy of all types,
- Legumes: Soybean, pinto beans, peas, fava beans, black eyed peas, lima beans, peanuts.
- Dairy: This is a point of controversy, as some people will say dairy is OK on the Paleo diet, while Paleo diet purist will argue otherwise. I say if you’re not lactose intolerant then eat dairy. But if you’re strict Paleo then stay away from the stuff! Dairy products: Cheese, milk, yogurt, butter, milk chocolate. Note: Ghee, clarified butter does not contain lactose nor casein, the proteins in dairy that causes harm to people who are intolerant to dairy. So enjoy ghee if you can afford it.
- Processed food: Anything that is in a can or bag and doesn’t spoil for months or years. You can bet it contains preservatives.
- All junk food: Chips, sweets, candy
- Hydrogenated Oils and Trans Fat: Vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, hydrogenated soybean oil, hydrogenated corn oil, margarine, shortening.
- Excitotoxins: Mono sodium-glutemate
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
To Paleo or not to Paleo....
Time certainly flies when one is busy with work and home life. I can't believe I haven't posted in almost a month. Time to address that.
I have been doing a good deal of reading and research on a new, old way of eating frequently referred to as the Paleo Diet. The basic premise of this way of eating is that as homo sapiens, we evolved to process certain foods based upon what we were eating. For thousands of years, what we had available for foods were lean proteins, fruits and nuts, and vegetables. that's it. There wasn't anything refined or ground or made into something else.
If you think about it, this means that to survive and thrive, our bodies adapted to these available foods and utilized them to the fullest. Our complex system of energy production evolved to prefer these types of foods. Obesity and type 2 diabetes were rare. Of course the fact that there wasn't a lot of sitting around back then due to the needs of being hunter gatherers didn't hurt, either.
We even did fairly well with some refined foods for the last few thousand years because life still required a fair amount of physical labor. then came the industrial and technological revolutions and suddenly we have people (like me) spending countless hours a day, basically immobile, doing very little physical movement. Add to the refined foods and sugars in abundance and its no wonder we have an obesity epidemic in this country.
The anecdotal proof is hard to deny. As the physical demands of life have decreased and the abundance of processed, sugary foods has increased, the obesity rate has gone through the roof. Not only in this country but other developed nations as well. To see this shift to not physical work and its effect on health, just look at China. As their economy and lifestyles evolve to match those of the west, the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is skyrocketing. Several articles have indicated that the rate of those with the disease has almost doubled in the last 10 years.
With all of this in mind, I am going to start following a Paleo approach to my eating. I will focus on vegetables and fruits, eat lean protein, limit my dairy and cheese and virtually eliminate refined foods from my diet. No more breads and pasta. Much less regular potatoes. No refined sugars. I am also planning on moving more, getting up and walking at least once per hour. I feel this will have a very positive impact on my health and my weight.
To monitor all of this I am making an appointment to see my doctor in a couple of weeks, during which I am sure he will be ordering blood work. this will be a starting point for me and I hope that in 6 months, when he repeats the same blood work, it will show some significant improvements.
As of today, my current weight is 456 lbs. That is up from this same time last year, but its not my highest weight. that was about 2 years ago when I hit 480. I don't plan on getting there, ever again. I don't have specific weight loss targets. I am simply going to monitor my weight as an indicator as to how well my body is responding to the new eating and movement plan.
Along the way I am planning on getting back on my bike to add in more movement and exercise. Its about time since its been several months since I last rode.
Get on your bike and ride!
I have been doing a good deal of reading and research on a new, old way of eating frequently referred to as the Paleo Diet. The basic premise of this way of eating is that as homo sapiens, we evolved to process certain foods based upon what we were eating. For thousands of years, what we had available for foods were lean proteins, fruits and nuts, and vegetables. that's it. There wasn't anything refined or ground or made into something else.
If you think about it, this means that to survive and thrive, our bodies adapted to these available foods and utilized them to the fullest. Our complex system of energy production evolved to prefer these types of foods. Obesity and type 2 diabetes were rare. Of course the fact that there wasn't a lot of sitting around back then due to the needs of being hunter gatherers didn't hurt, either.
We even did fairly well with some refined foods for the last few thousand years because life still required a fair amount of physical labor. then came the industrial and technological revolutions and suddenly we have people (like me) spending countless hours a day, basically immobile, doing very little physical movement. Add to the refined foods and sugars in abundance and its no wonder we have an obesity epidemic in this country.
The anecdotal proof is hard to deny. As the physical demands of life have decreased and the abundance of processed, sugary foods has increased, the obesity rate has gone through the roof. Not only in this country but other developed nations as well. To see this shift to not physical work and its effect on health, just look at China. As their economy and lifestyles evolve to match those of the west, the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is skyrocketing. Several articles have indicated that the rate of those with the disease has almost doubled in the last 10 years.
With all of this in mind, I am going to start following a Paleo approach to my eating. I will focus on vegetables and fruits, eat lean protein, limit my dairy and cheese and virtually eliminate refined foods from my diet. No more breads and pasta. Much less regular potatoes. No refined sugars. I am also planning on moving more, getting up and walking at least once per hour. I feel this will have a very positive impact on my health and my weight.
To monitor all of this I am making an appointment to see my doctor in a couple of weeks, during which I am sure he will be ordering blood work. this will be a starting point for me and I hope that in 6 months, when he repeats the same blood work, it will show some significant improvements.
As of today, my current weight is 456 lbs. That is up from this same time last year, but its not my highest weight. that was about 2 years ago when I hit 480. I don't plan on getting there, ever again. I don't have specific weight loss targets. I am simply going to monitor my weight as an indicator as to how well my body is responding to the new eating and movement plan.
Along the way I am planning on getting back on my bike to add in more movement and exercise. Its about time since its been several months since I last rode.
Get on your bike and ride!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
100 Miles Of Nowhere...
Ok, here's the story for this:
Not much to remark on for this segment of the ride. I did a bunch of laps, the sun was out and warming things up and surprisingly my legs didn't feel much worse for wear. My saddle season was another matter, though. I was getting quite sore.
Just after the 50 mile mark it was time for another break. Still maintaining about the same pace as these miles took just under an hour as well. Here I was at 50 miles and 4 hours into my ride.
More powerade, a Honey Stinger Blueberry Buzz bar, a few more pringles and some oreos and I was on my way again.
I noticed that I was slightly slower and this was due to shifting my position on the saddle looking for some relief. It wasn't to be found, though. I toughed it out to 62.5 miles and decided that was it for this event. I had completed the 100 Miles Of Nowhere Las Vegas Metric Century around the block edition. I was pleased to have made it that far since this was 3 times the farthest ride I had taken in the last 3 years.
Now for a nap, some sushi and Cold Stone Creamery.
I was competing in the 100 Miles of Nowhere Las Vegas Block edition. As I posted here, I signed up for this for the first time this year back in mid-April. I figured I would have lots of time to train, get my stamina up and be ready to go. While i had the time, things didn't quite work out as well as I had hoped in that regard. My longest ride leading up to this event was only 20 miles.
My swag showed up 2 weeks ago. Great swag from all of the sponsors. Here is my race plate.
As I planned my event I decided to use laps around my block as my course for the event. From training and testing ride I determined that it was approximately .47 miles around the block. Doing the math that meant I would need to do 213 laps to hit 100 miles.
One concern I had was with the forecasted temperatures for June 1st. !0 days out the forecasted high was 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Way too hot to ride in all day. Since a lot of my training is done before work when it is nice and cool, I decided to start my ride nice and early in order to try and beat the heat. So my plan was to get up and be on the bike by 4:00 AM.
As I posted yesterday here, I had just changed my seat and did a quick shakedown ride to check the position. Friday night I washed my cycling attire, laid out all my supplies for before and during the ride, set my alarm for 3:30 AM and went to bed early for my at 9:00 PM.
The alarm went off, what seemed like way too soon and it was time to get up and get going. I got dressed, headed downstairs and had a banana and some Oreo vanilla cookies washed down with a bottle of Starbucks Vanilla Frappacino. I then aired up the tires and opened the garage. I was relieved to feel the cool air come in as it was only about 65 degrees. I turned on my Garmin and my lights and off I went.
The first lap wasn't too bad except for the 10 to 15 mph wind from the west. This meant that I was pushing into the wind on the uphill prat of the lap. Not bad, but I started thinking that it might prove to be a problem later on. One lap down and a whole bunch more to go.
Very few people were out so early so i basically had the streets to myself It was relatively peaceful and quiet.
I got into a pretty good rhythm and the laps started going by. I kept a count of laps in my head and the goal was to complete at least 45 or 50 laps before I took my first rest. As I rode along I noticed that the sky to the east was getting lighter and eventually at 40 laps I noticed the sun on the mountains o the west. A few more laps and I actually saw the sun over the houses to the east.
As the laps were adding up, my saddle area was getting a little tender. Let's face it, I just didn't have enough saddle time leading up to this ride.
I hit 53 laps, which was 25 miles and decided it was time for a rest. I checked my Garmin when I went in and noticed that I had completed the 25 miles in 1:55 which equated o an average speed of 13.0 mph. I was right on the pace that I had envisioned before the ride. I knew I needed to get hydrated and eat some calories or I would be in trouble.
So, some powerade, more Oreos, a couple of fig newtons and I was back on my way. As I rode the next laps, the neighborhood started waking up. People were walking their dogs, backing out of their driveways and starting to do some work round their houses.
As the laps progressed I was thankful for the Garmin as I lost count and had no idea how any laps I completed. fortunately I had my distance traveled on the Garmin.
One thing to note is that during this stage I actually had a dog chase. On the opposite of our block a woman was putting her 3 dogs into the car as I rode by. I was almost by when the largest of the 3 dogs spotted me and all 3 took off after me barking. The woman called after them and within a house or two they decided to listen and turned around.
At approximately 12 miles I passed the house and my wife was there cheering me on! Thank you dear! I completed the next lap to make 12 1/2 miles in just under an hour and it was time for my next break. I had just under 3 hours seat time and a total of 37 1/2 miles so far. My saddle area was also quite sore.
A banana, a powerade, some pringles and a couple of fig newtons and I was back on my way.
My wife took a picture of me during the ride:
Not much to remark on for this segment of the ride. I did a bunch of laps, the sun was out and warming things up and surprisingly my legs didn't feel much worse for wear. My saddle season was another matter, though. I was getting quite sore.
Just after the 50 mile mark it was time for another break. Still maintaining about the same pace as these miles took just under an hour as well. Here I was at 50 miles and 4 hours into my ride.
More powerade, a Honey Stinger Blueberry Buzz bar, a few more pringles and some oreos and I was on my way again.
I noticed that I was slightly slower and this was due to shifting my position on the saddle looking for some relief. It wasn't to be found, though. I toughed it out to 62.5 miles and decided that was it for this event. I had completed the 100 Miles Of Nowhere Las Vegas Metric Century around the block edition. I was pleased to have made it that far since this was 3 times the farthest ride I had taken in the last 3 years.
Now for a nap, some sushi and Cold Stone Creamery.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Losing Weight
From the title of my blog, as well as just by looking at me, you would assume that this is something I’m doing. I joined Weight Watchers. I’m riding my bike and walking. You’d think I was, in fact losing weight right now. Well, to be quite brutally honest I'm not. In fact I’m betting I’ve gained 5 or 10 pounds in the last month or so.
I could come up with several excuses. I could try to lay the blame elsewhere, but it really does sit squarely upon my shoulders. I have made the choices in terms of what and how much I’ve been eating. I’m the one who hasn’t been doing all of the exercising I should be doing. I’m the one who gets home from work and sits on the couch like a lump and doesn’t get up and do anything.
Sure, I could blame it on the heat. I could say that I didn’t mean to overeat. I could blame it on the stress at home and my automatic response to the stress (which is to eat). Of course going to the various buffets in town 3 or 4 times a week doesn’t help. Neither does the fact that I have no idea how to control my portion size. Beyond all that, though the fact remains that I haven’t been doing what I need to do to continue the journey to a new, smaller and healthier me.
I have not gotten on a scale in 3 weeks now because I know what it will show. I’ve even stopped tracking things on the weight watchers website. I stopped when I started realizing I was going over my very generous points allowance on a daily basis. I started using up the weekly points and the activity points. I don’t think I ever totally blew my points, but I didn’t want to see that after having been so good about staying within my points, I wasn’t doing so good. I started thinking about “cheating” by not listing everything or as smaller portions. Then I realized that this wouldn’t be of any benefit. Sure the numbers on the site would look good, but I would be only cheating myself and that was pointless.
Part of my loss of focus is the fact the 2 weight loss competitions that I was competing in ended. The company’s Lose to Win and the corporate challenge Biggest Winner competitions did help to motivate me because it gave me that added accountability an dangled a “carrot” in front of me. Since they have ended I have lost some of my focus in that I have been looking more at the triathlon and not at weight loss. Of course if I were working harder at my triathlon training, the weight loss would probably follow.
There again is part of the issue – “probably follow.” I know if I am very conscious of what I eat, limit myself to what I know I should have on a daily basis, the weight loss will happen. All it takes it work and accounting for everything!
So I am here to let the world know that I am going to restart the weight loss and start to really focus on my eating as well as my activity so that I can shed more of the excess baggage I’ve been carrying around for a very long time.
I could come up with several excuses. I could try to lay the blame elsewhere, but it really does sit squarely upon my shoulders. I have made the choices in terms of what and how much I’ve been eating. I’m the one who hasn’t been doing all of the exercising I should be doing. I’m the one who gets home from work and sits on the couch like a lump and doesn’t get up and do anything.
Sure, I could blame it on the heat. I could say that I didn’t mean to overeat. I could blame it on the stress at home and my automatic response to the stress (which is to eat). Of course going to the various buffets in town 3 or 4 times a week doesn’t help. Neither does the fact that I have no idea how to control my portion size. Beyond all that, though the fact remains that I haven’t been doing what I need to do to continue the journey to a new, smaller and healthier me.
I have not gotten on a scale in 3 weeks now because I know what it will show. I’ve even stopped tracking things on the weight watchers website. I stopped when I started realizing I was going over my very generous points allowance on a daily basis. I started using up the weekly points and the activity points. I don’t think I ever totally blew my points, but I didn’t want to see that after having been so good about staying within my points, I wasn’t doing so good. I started thinking about “cheating” by not listing everything or as smaller portions. Then I realized that this wouldn’t be of any benefit. Sure the numbers on the site would look good, but I would be only cheating myself and that was pointless.
Part of my loss of focus is the fact the 2 weight loss competitions that I was competing in ended. The company’s Lose to Win and the corporate challenge Biggest Winner competitions did help to motivate me because it gave me that added accountability an dangled a “carrot” in front of me. Since they have ended I have lost some of my focus in that I have been looking more at the triathlon and not at weight loss. Of course if I were working harder at my triathlon training, the weight loss would probably follow.
There again is part of the issue – “probably follow.” I know if I am very conscious of what I eat, limit myself to what I know I should have on a daily basis, the weight loss will happen. All it takes it work and accounting for everything!
So I am here to let the world know that I am going to restart the weight loss and start to really focus on my eating as well as my activity so that I can shed more of the excess baggage I’ve been carrying around for a very long time.
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