biked there, stretched, did 15 lunges per leg, used the upper torso machines for a while, biked home.
65 minutes total
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
The sauce!
Something I forgot to mention yesterday (or simply cannot find it when I looked)... I am not a BBQ fan at all.
However!
Granite falls is home to a barbeque joint that is to DIE for. On the way back through town I had my ride stop long enough for me to pop in, and buy 32 ounces of their spicy barbeque sauce for $10
I cooked myself a steak on the barbie tonight and
MAN
OH
MAN!
This barbeque sauce is ambrosia! It is so good I ate two spoonfulls by itself. I want it to last so I stopped at 2. But geez this stuff can be used on anything you'd put ketchup on and is just delicious!
*drool*
I am going to be so sad when I run out in a month or three. I only get up to Granite Falls about once a year. I'm telling you - this sauce is the stuff - maybe I ought to find a way to market it.
:)
However!
Granite falls is home to a barbeque joint that is to DIE for. On the way back through town I had my ride stop long enough for me to pop in, and buy 32 ounces of their spicy barbeque sauce for $10
I cooked myself a steak on the barbie tonight and
MAN
OH
MAN!
This barbeque sauce is ambrosia! It is so good I ate two spoonfulls by itself. I want it to last so I stopped at 2. But geez this stuff can be used on anything you'd put ketchup on and is just delicious!
*drool*
I am going to be so sad when I run out in a month or three. I only get up to Granite Falls about once a year. I'm telling you - this sauce is the stuff - maybe I ought to find a way to market it.
:)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Pilchuck 3, Charles 0
Been awhile since I posted. To be blatantly honest I've been too ashamed of myself to share that I have so completely fallen off the "get my body healthy" wagon.
anyway...
I attempted Mt. Pilchuck today. Third time I have attempted it. Third time I have not made it to the top.
It's not like it is *that* difficult of a hike. In the past the people I was with were newbies to hiking and it was too much of a challenge for them.
Today it was raining. doG damn was it raining. My shell (outdoorsperson for rainjacket) wasn't water proof. It lost its ability to repel water when I washed it, and so far I haven't been successful making it waterproof again. Probably time to get a new shell... though I might attempt to waterproof it one more time.
That isn't what stopped us. There were three of us. Although I was soaked all the way through I knew I was fine so long as I didn't stop moving. Good hiking clothing is warm enough when wet, so long as you keep your temperature up.
Let me start over...
Mt. Pilchuck is a 2.5 miles and 2.5k foot hike. Short, simple, and on a clear day absofreakinlutely gorgeous.
I bought some returned poles at REI and one of them wasn't working right (thus why it was returned obviously). The first half mile of the hike I wasn't even aware of the trail as I was dinking with the pole until I was finally able to fix it.
Once the distraction of my poles was gone, it was immediately obvious that by allowing the other two people to set the pace, I was moving too fast and wearing myself out. When I am hiking I measure how my legs feel with every step. If they are getting more tired I slow down that step, if they are restoring themselves faster than getting tired I speed up. Going uphill, I can slow down to the point where I am taking babysteps. The other two hikers were in better shape than I was in, and they were being patient with me and waiting here and there for me to catch up.
The footing started getting tricky. One of the two other hikers was having enough trouble with footing that even though she was in better shape than I am, the advantage immediately turned in my favor -- I could go my same slow pace reguardless of snow or tricky rocks or slippery wood. Makes sense, I've been hiking my whole life, I hope I know how to choose my footing.
Then we hit the snow fields - not only did the footing get trickier, but my endorphins *finally* kicked in. We're talking an hour+ for my endorphins to kick in. So now not only did I have the footing advantage, but I was able to go at least as fast as the other two, and was able to book up the mountain.
...I sure wish it didn't take so long for my endorphins to kick in, I felt pathetic and then suddenly I felt like a rock star...
We hit the open area and I saw this gorgous miniature waterfall which sprung off a rock jutting out of the landscape -- a waterfall you'd never see if it weren't for the melting snow and the relentless rain. By time I had gone 20 yards to delight in the miniature waterfall, it was already apparent to me that we... I was leading... that I had lost the trail. If I had been somewhere I wasn't familiar with I would have doubled back, but since I was confident that there was more trail straight up, I headed straight up. I don't like walking on alpine growth, it can take it decades to get as abundant as it is, so I did my best to stick to snow or walking up on the rocks.
Pilchuck has a lot of rocks.
I was truly enjoying the abolute misery of the weather.
Stopping wasn't an option for me, but I wasn't too worried. Worst case survival scenario (assuming I didn't break a leg) is I'd have to march in place overnight and I am confident I could do that no problem to maintain body temperature.
By time I found the trail again and let the others know it was here, we were at the low end of a beautiful snow field. I was concerned this was a recipe for worse yet to come and was considering calling the hike off right then and there, but after talking to some guys coming down they said the snowfield was the worst part of the hike. Two of us urged the third to make it to the top of the snowfield where we stopped to take a break.
All three of us were comfortable in our safety, but only two of us wanted to continue the hike. Apparently not everyone finds the drama of the rain and discomfort as a beautiful thing and she really had no desire to keep going.
Since we were in the kind of situation where all three of us would have to want to continue, I didn't argue and immediately announce that this 5 minute break was all the standing still I could handle - I was already getting very cold - I had to start down the mountain immediately and I would see them at the car.
Stella was soaking wet, and wasn't looking uncomfortable so much as dejected. Stella hates being rained on, who knew?
The only thing noteworthy on the way down was noticing that my feet had been the only part of my body which was bone dry... until I started down. once I started down my feet got sopping wet too. No blisters, but another 2-3 miles and they would have gotten pretty funky in those conditions.
The rain finally cleared up... Half way through the drive home.
I really enjoyed the hike. Always good to have gear failure on a day where the risk is low.
For next time:
- Fix shell problem
- Get gators (they prevent water from running down your legs into your boots)
Curses! I'll get you Pilchuck! Some day! ;)
Charles
anyway...
I attempted Mt. Pilchuck today. Third time I have attempted it. Third time I have not made it to the top.
It's not like it is *that* difficult of a hike. In the past the people I was with were newbies to hiking and it was too much of a challenge for them.
Today it was raining. doG damn was it raining. My shell (outdoorsperson for rainjacket) wasn't water proof. It lost its ability to repel water when I washed it, and so far I haven't been successful making it waterproof again. Probably time to get a new shell... though I might attempt to waterproof it one more time.
That isn't what stopped us. There were three of us. Although I was soaked all the way through I knew I was fine so long as I didn't stop moving. Good hiking clothing is warm enough when wet, so long as you keep your temperature up.
Let me start over...
Mt. Pilchuck is a 2.5 miles and 2.5k foot hike. Short, simple, and on a clear day absofreakinlutely gorgeous.
I bought some returned poles at REI and one of them wasn't working right (thus why it was returned obviously). The first half mile of the hike I wasn't even aware of the trail as I was dinking with the pole until I was finally able to fix it.
Once the distraction of my poles was gone, it was immediately obvious that by allowing the other two people to set the pace, I was moving too fast and wearing myself out. When I am hiking I measure how my legs feel with every step. If they are getting more tired I slow down that step, if they are restoring themselves faster than getting tired I speed up. Going uphill, I can slow down to the point where I am taking babysteps. The other two hikers were in better shape than I was in, and they were being patient with me and waiting here and there for me to catch up.
The footing started getting tricky. One of the two other hikers was having enough trouble with footing that even though she was in better shape than I am, the advantage immediately turned in my favor -- I could go my same slow pace reguardless of snow or tricky rocks or slippery wood. Makes sense, I've been hiking my whole life, I hope I know how to choose my footing.
Then we hit the snow fields - not only did the footing get trickier, but my endorphins *finally* kicked in. We're talking an hour+ for my endorphins to kick in. So now not only did I have the footing advantage, but I was able to go at least as fast as the other two, and was able to book up the mountain.
...I sure wish it didn't take so long for my endorphins to kick in, I felt pathetic and then suddenly I felt like a rock star...
We hit the open area and I saw this gorgous miniature waterfall which sprung off a rock jutting out of the landscape -- a waterfall you'd never see if it weren't for the melting snow and the relentless rain. By time I had gone 20 yards to delight in the miniature waterfall, it was already apparent to me that we... I was leading... that I had lost the trail. If I had been somewhere I wasn't familiar with I would have doubled back, but since I was confident that there was more trail straight up, I headed straight up. I don't like walking on alpine growth, it can take it decades to get as abundant as it is, so I did my best to stick to snow or walking up on the rocks.
Pilchuck has a lot of rocks.
I was truly enjoying the abolute misery of the weather.
Stopping wasn't an option for me, but I wasn't too worried. Worst case survival scenario (assuming I didn't break a leg) is I'd have to march in place overnight and I am confident I could do that no problem to maintain body temperature.
By time I found the trail again and let the others know it was here, we were at the low end of a beautiful snow field. I was concerned this was a recipe for worse yet to come and was considering calling the hike off right then and there, but after talking to some guys coming down they said the snowfield was the worst part of the hike. Two of us urged the third to make it to the top of the snowfield where we stopped to take a break.
All three of us were comfortable in our safety, but only two of us wanted to continue the hike. Apparently not everyone finds the drama of the rain and discomfort as a beautiful thing and she really had no desire to keep going.
Since we were in the kind of situation where all three of us would have to want to continue, I didn't argue and immediately announce that this 5 minute break was all the standing still I could handle - I was already getting very cold - I had to start down the mountain immediately and I would see them at the car.
Stella was soaking wet, and wasn't looking uncomfortable so much as dejected. Stella hates being rained on, who knew?
The only thing noteworthy on the way down was noticing that my feet had been the only part of my body which was bone dry... until I started down. once I started down my feet got sopping wet too. No blisters, but another 2-3 miles and they would have gotten pretty funky in those conditions.
The rain finally cleared up... Half way through the drive home.
I really enjoyed the hike. Always good to have gear failure on a day where the risk is low.
For next time:
- Fix shell problem
- Get gators (they prevent water from running down your legs into your boots)
Curses! I'll get you Pilchuck! Some day! ;)
Charles
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Same as yesterday except...
Pushup pyramids to 5 - 27 more pushups than yesterday.
100 crunches - 60 more than yesterday
10 lunges per leg - same as yesterday... couldn't believe how sore my legs were this morning so left the number alone.
Time to eat and then be almost late for work.
100 crunches - 60 more than yesterday
10 lunges per leg - same as yesterday... couldn't believe how sore my legs were this morning so left the number alone.
Time to eat and then be almost late for work.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Bit o exercise
I'm not going to bike when it is wet out like this... But I can start making an effort at "daily"
exercise, so this morning i did 10 lunges each side, pushup pyramid to 4, and 40 crunches.
exercise, so this morning i did 10 lunges each side, pushup pyramid to 4, and 40 crunches.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The ride home
Really pushed myself tonight.
Checkpoint
1:06:48
24.3 kph
27.06k
whole trip (4 extra blocks in there)
1:39:59
20.2kph
33.79k
Great... no allergies the whole trip, get home and THEN start sneezing.
Checkpoint
1:06:48
24.3 kph
27.06k
whole trip (4 extra blocks in there)
1:39:59
20.2kph
33.79k
Great... no allergies the whole trip, get home and THEN start sneezing.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Got up on time this morning.
Body didn't like that. At all. I totally blew my sleep schedule by going to bed a few hours late and sleeping-in way too long Saturday, Sunday, and went to bed 11:30ish last night. Getting up at 5am today has meant my mental acuity is down and I was also in a great deal of pain - I'd say 4 or 5 on the pain scale, and remember I typically pick a number 2 lower than other people - 3 is enough where I may or may not use pain killers. First time I've needed pain killers in about a month.
Brought the bike to work on the Bus. Not going to bike home, will leave it here for tomorrow - just need to focus on sleeping well tonight.
Brought the bike to work on the Bus. Not going to bike home, will leave it here for tomorrow - just need to focus on sleeping well tonight.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
A grocery store to call home.
I have lived in my house for 2.5 years. In that time, I have had nothing but contempt for the local grocery stores. The closest, Albertsons, is the worst store around. Second worse - two Safeways about the same distance away. Then a sorta-eh QFC. I get very irritated by cookie cutter grocery stores which all seem to require their own "super duper deal" card which you have to have or they charge you 2x what anything is worth.
Growing up on Bainbridge, I was spoiled to have a Town and Country at my disposal. There is another one in Poulsbo called Central Market (Take it from me - that is the best fookin' grocery store there is, period). There is another one North of me 4 or so miles on Aurora, but is kind of a pain to get to.
Tonight, I was going through greenwood on the prowl for any place with produce as I was too late for my produce stand Lenny's Market and saw "Greenwood Market". The produce there is FABULOUS aaaaand, they are owned by the same chain as the other good places mentioned in the previous paragraph.
I bought
3 boxes of Good Earth Original tea (I meant to get 2 decaf, and accidentally did it the other way around). This stuff is YUMMY, and getting increasingly more difficult to find it anywhere - most stores that carry it have an empty shelf where it belongs. You'd think they'd wise up to that and order more.
3lbs of organic broccoli (their deal of the day - 98 cents a pound)
3 organic cucumbers (98 cents each - looked WAY better than the 78 cent normal ones)
Hmmm, looks like she only charged me for one.
Non-organics:
1 pounds of radishes
2 lbs clip top carrots
1 pound fuji apples (2 apples)
Bananas
1 pound green beans
2 green bell peppers
2.5 pounds of rhubarb (to make rhubarb custard, YUMMY)
Can you say snack heaven?! Now I have to start eating it because I'll be upset if I let any go bad. NOM NOM NOM!
Two steps forward! For you organic officionado's out there - cool it. I am doing WAY better than I was by even buying what I did, and right now I'm just not willing to pay your typical organic costs pesticide worries be damned.
Growing up on Bainbridge, I was spoiled to have a Town and Country at my disposal. There is another one in Poulsbo called Central Market (Take it from me - that is the best fookin' grocery store there is, period). There is another one North of me 4 or so miles on Aurora, but is kind of a pain to get to.
Tonight, I was going through greenwood on the prowl for any place with produce as I was too late for my produce stand Lenny's Market and saw "Greenwood Market". The produce there is FABULOUS aaaaand, they are owned by the same chain as the other good places mentioned in the previous paragraph.
I bought
3 boxes of Good Earth Original tea (I meant to get 2 decaf, and accidentally did it the other way around). This stuff is YUMMY, and getting increasingly more difficult to find it anywhere - most stores that carry it have an empty shelf where it belongs. You'd think they'd wise up to that and order more.
3lbs of organic broccoli (their deal of the day - 98 cents a pound)
3 organic cucumbers (98 cents each - looked WAY better than the 78 cent normal ones)
Hmmm, looks like she only charged me for one.
Non-organics:
1 pounds of radishes
2 lbs clip top carrots
1 pound fuji apples (2 apples)
Bananas
1 pound green beans
2 green bell peppers
2.5 pounds of rhubarb (to make rhubarb custard, YUMMY)
Can you say snack heaven?! Now I have to start eating it because I'll be upset if I let any go bad. NOM NOM NOM!
Two steps forward! For you organic officionado's out there - cool it. I am doing WAY better than I was by even buying what I did, and right now I'm just not willing to pay your typical organic costs pesticide worries be damned.
Researching an Elimination Diet
I have discovered that "detox diet" is the wrong term for what I am interested in. I want an elimination diet. One where I exclude all reactive foods for two weeks, and then one at a time introduce foods with a single reactive chemical and see if I react within 2 days. If there is no reaction, introduce another food. If I do react, back up for 5 days before trying a new one.
Here is the wiki on what I am talking about - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_intolerance
I have done this kind of diet before - It sucks at first, but ultimately it made me feel wonderful.
I am having some real problems finding what I want. Maybe I need to go to the book store, the internet is not providing me with very good answers.
Charles
Here is the wiki on what I am talking about - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_intolerance
I have done this kind of diet before - It sucks at first, but ultimately it made me feel wonderful.
I am having some real problems finding what I want. Maybe I need to go to the book store, the internet is not providing me with very good answers.
Charles
Monday, May 5, 2008
Ride home
Southerly headwind slowed me down (last time there was a northerly speeding me up)
Work to where 145 intersects the lake:
1:10:28
27.03k
22.9 kph
Entire Trip
1:40:30
33.47k
19.9 kph
Work to where 145 intersects the lake:
1:10:28
27.03k
22.9 kph
Entire Trip
1:40:30
33.47k
19.9 kph
breakfast and afternoon biking
While tending my bees yesterday, I got stung on the thumb - basically right before I got started. I must have grabbed directly on a bee accidentally. itchy itchy scratch scratchy!
I missed breakfast and forgot to bring snacks in to work today. Holy smokes does that make a difference in how good I feel. Making up for it now.
Left my Bike here on Friday - means I can bike home today. Not sure why I have taken my bike home in the past, by leaving it at work I am more likely to ride home sooner than riding to work. Today it means leaving my motorcycle here at work, but I am okay with that, maybe I'll bike back to work tomorrow. (tomorrow is a do not bike home day... Dentist appointment in kirkland).
I missed breakfast and forgot to bring snacks in to work today. Holy smokes does that make a difference in how good I feel. Making up for it now.
Left my Bike here on Friday - means I can bike home today. Not sure why I have taken my bike home in the past, by leaving it at work I am more likely to ride home sooner than riding to work. Today it means leaving my motorcycle here at work, but I am okay with that, maybe I'll bike back to work tomorrow. (tomorrow is a do not bike home day... Dentist appointment in kirkland).
Friday, May 2, 2008
Harder yet faster
I used the fact that there are no morning meetings on Friday to get myself to bike in to work - an hour or so late. Been long enough that I cringe in the morning, so I needed to use anything possible to do it... and I did.
More painful today than previous two times - butt hurt a lot, and muscles only had that happy warm glow for about 10 minutes 35-45 minutes in to the ride before they started complaining. But... The numbers are definitive, I am still biking stronger - averaged 1kph faster today than previously.
I've had my one step back - time for two steps forward.
Marymoore checkpoint
1:24:29
30.77k
21.8 kph
Trip total
1:46:27
34.39k
19.3 kph
More painful today than previous two times - butt hurt a lot, and muscles only had that happy warm glow for about 10 minutes 35-45 minutes in to the ride before they started complaining. But... The numbers are definitive, I am still biking stronger - averaged 1kph faster today than previously.
I've had my one step back - time for two steps forward.
Marymoore checkpoint
1:24:29
30.77k
21.8 kph
Trip total
1:46:27
34.39k
19.3 kph
Thursday, May 1, 2008
rollercoaster
I have been nailing the sleep schedule for a week, but not sleeping so well. I do not feel rested. My mind is not sharp.
I had grape nuts today, but within half an hour didn't feel satisfied for the morning. Once I got to work, I ate one of the apples I had packed, and that staved it off for a while... Then by 12:30 I realized I was *seriously* hungry, much in the way I used to be hungry before I was eating breakfast. I waited too long to eat, but today it was more than that.
The result is I am now on the ol' glucose/insulin rollercoaster I have been very accustomed to for the first time in a few weeks - and it feels HORRIBLE.
W.T.F. mate?
I had grape nuts today, but within half an hour didn't feel satisfied for the morning. Once I got to work, I ate one of the apples I had packed, and that staved it off for a while... Then by 12:30 I realized I was *seriously* hungry, much in the way I used to be hungry before I was eating breakfast. I waited too long to eat, but today it was more than that.
The result is I am now on the ol' glucose/insulin rollercoaster I have been very accustomed to for the first time in a few weeks - and it feels HORRIBLE.
W.T.F. mate?
Energy levels depleting Capitan!
Interesting.
After biking to work, I am depleted that day, but my energy levels the following days are much higher.
I am noticing that it has been long enough since biking that my energy levels are falling fairly dramatically - I don't like getting home after work being completely depleted...
After biking to work, I am depleted that day, but my energy levels the following days are much higher.
I am noticing that it has been long enough since biking that my energy levels are falling fairly dramatically - I don't like getting home after work being completely depleted...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Changing cravings
I found I haven't been drinking my morning mud lately. Just kind of petered out and stopped on its own. No craving for it, nada.
strange.
strange.
Wednesday morning
I've been pretty level on the sleep front.
Right now I'm behind on exercise again. I needed to go friday, but didn't. I wanted to go yesterday, but couldn't due to an appointment. I'm really not going to go when it is wet out like today... but I am really excited to bike to work so we'll see how much of a setback this is in a few days.
Time to eat breakfast and pack snacks for the day.
Right now I'm behind on exercise again. I needed to go friday, but didn't. I wanted to go yesterday, but couldn't due to an appointment. I'm really not going to go when it is wet out like today... but I am really excited to bike to work so we'll see how much of a setback this is in a few days.
Time to eat breakfast and pack snacks for the day.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Crappy food makes me feel
LIKE CRAP!
Yesterday I was helping my cousin andrew haul a new (for them) couch to his place. No problem. It was a sleeper sofa. uh-oh! So we finally got it in his place - had to prop it on end to make it around a few corners and decided to sit down and play some old school video games - herzog zwei on the sega genesis. I was there for maybe 6-8 hours and ate what was available consisting of...
7-up
A whole bunch of cheese left over from wine night.
A whole bunch of potato chips.
This is the first time I've fallen off the wagon concerning white carbs since I started writing in this blog, and all I can say is that I was useless beyond reckoning for several hours. Andrew kept asking me if I wanted to play chess, and I kept telling him no until many hours later when the malaise wore off.
Sleep - in bed at 9:52, up at 5 am. PERFECTION!
Yesterday I was helping my cousin andrew haul a new (for them) couch to his place. No problem. It was a sleeper sofa. uh-oh! So we finally got it in his place - had to prop it on end to make it around a few corners and decided to sit down and play some old school video games - herzog zwei on the sega genesis. I was there for maybe 6-8 hours and ate what was available consisting of...
7-up
A whole bunch of cheese left over from wine night.
A whole bunch of potato chips.
This is the first time I've fallen off the wagon concerning white carbs since I started writing in this blog, and all I can say is that I was useless beyond reckoning for several hours. Andrew kept asking me if I wanted to play chess, and I kept telling him no until many hours later when the malaise wore off.
Sleep - in bed at 9:52, up at 5 am. PERFECTION!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
sleep notes
Thursday night I went to bed at 8:30 (!). I figured if I waited till 10 I'd be in 'I dun wanna go to bed' mode so I let myself go to sleep cause it wanted to.
Friday I got up at 5, went to bed at 11:30.
Saturday I got up at 7:30.
Friday I got up at 5, went to bed at 11:30.
Saturday I got up at 7:30.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Seafair triathlon
Here are my stats from two years ago:
33 M
2:11:54 overall time
82 div place
0:22:55 swim time
1087 place
7:06 bike tran time
0:59:08 bike time
1219 place
2:33 Run tran time
1213 Overall place after bike
0:40:12 Run time
1199 place... this is the run place, there is no overall place?
Seattle, WA
Lots of room for improvement.
33 M
2:11:54 overall time
82 div place
0:22:55 swim time
1087 place
7:06 bike tran time
0:59:08 bike time
1219 place
2:33 Run tran time
1213 Overall place after bike
0:40:12 Run time
1199 place... this is the run place, there is no overall place?
Seattle, WA
Lots of room for improvement.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
EWG.org
For the first time in my life, I seem to be getting along with food geeks. I'm not sure if it is because I am meeting moderate food geeks, because my attitude has changed, or if food geeks in general have learned that educating people like me is a lot more effective than telling me I am wrong. Of course - it may be that I'm talking about 2/2 people and don't have a large enough sample size...
I met a vegan named Ann at movie night last night... She explained some of the things I have scoffed at in terms that I am not scoffing at. Anyway she handed me the url for a website to check out - http://www.ewg.org/. I am just starting to check it out and will add notes as I accumulate them, but lets start with tuna:
I eat a lot of tuna. It is a very fast easy fill'er'up meal. Well, after reading this, I don't think I want to buy tuna once I run out:
http://www.ewg.org/tunacalculator?lbs=205&sex=male
Ann had a card which itemized the "dirty dozen" of produce - gives a good focus on what produce items I need to care about buying organic compared to others. Two of my favorites - apples and bell peppers rank 2nd and 3rd worst. Damn. http://www.foodnews.org/ - odd, not sure why ewg directly links another site like that...
After looking at the data for the dirty dozen - I don't agree with the way they rank them - and fortunately for me, they provide enough data where I can sort them the way I find most logical.
Their method: They aggregate the scores for percentage of samples with detectable pesticides, two or more pesticides, average number of pesticides found - etc. Well they have a number for average amount in ppm of all pesticides found, and if you ask me THAT number is really the only one with consequence:
That said, here is an example, bell peppers, which changed considerably:
My Rank: 22
Old Rank: 3 (third worst out of 45)
Sweet Bell Peppers
Combined Score: 86 (this is where I think they're being silly)
Detectable Pesticides: 81.50%
Two or More Pesticides: 62.20%
Average # of Pesticides: 2.4
Average total pesticides PPM: 0.138 (this is the number I think is important)
Max # of pesticides found: 11
# pesticides found on commodity: 64
The last 20 items ranked on pesticides PPM have considerably less pesticides than the others at 0.057ppm or less, so I'll use this as my "safe enough" group.
Cucumbers, Mango, Grapefruit, Papaya, Carrots, Tomatoes, Bananas, Cantaloupe, Asparagus, Watermelons, Winter Squash, Eggplant, Honeydew Melon, Sweet Peas - Frozen, Sweet Corn - Frozen, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Pineapples, Avocado, Onions (carrots go from 13 to 30 this way).
The worst ranked using my method is Potatoes, Spinach, Peaches, Raspberries, and Apples.
Ooooh, cool article! --> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24230246/?pg=10#dtl_toxic
I met a vegan named Ann at movie night last night... She explained some of the things I have scoffed at in terms that I am not scoffing at. Anyway she handed me the url for a website to check out - http://www.ewg.org/. I am just starting to check it out and will add notes as I accumulate them, but lets start with tuna:
I eat a lot of tuna. It is a very fast easy fill'er'up meal. Well, after reading this, I don't think I want to buy tuna once I run out:
http://www.ewg.org/tunacalculator?lbs=205&sex=male
Ann had a card which itemized the "dirty dozen" of produce - gives a good focus on what produce items I need to care about buying organic compared to others. Two of my favorites - apples and bell peppers rank 2nd and 3rd worst. Damn. http://www.foodnews.org/ - odd, not sure why ewg directly links another site like that...
After looking at the data for the dirty dozen - I don't agree with the way they rank them - and fortunately for me, they provide enough data where I can sort them the way I find most logical.
Their method: They aggregate the scores for percentage of samples with detectable pesticides, two or more pesticides, average number of pesticides found - etc. Well they have a number for average amount in ppm of all pesticides found, and if you ask me THAT number is really the only one with consequence:
That said, here is an example, bell peppers, which changed considerably:
My Rank: 22
Old Rank: 3 (third worst out of 45)
Sweet Bell Peppers
Combined Score: 86 (this is where I think they're being silly)
Detectable Pesticides: 81.50%
Two or More Pesticides: 62.20%
Average # of Pesticides: 2.4
Average total pesticides PPM: 0.138 (this is the number I think is important)
Max # of pesticides found: 11
# pesticides found on commodity: 64
The last 20 items ranked on pesticides PPM have considerably less pesticides than the others at 0.057ppm or less, so I'll use this as my "safe enough" group.
Cucumbers, Mango, Grapefruit, Papaya, Carrots, Tomatoes, Bananas, Cantaloupe, Asparagus, Watermelons, Winter Squash, Eggplant, Honeydew Melon, Sweet Peas - Frozen, Sweet Corn - Frozen, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Pineapples, Avocado, Onions (carrots go from 13 to 30 this way).
The worst ranked using my method is Potatoes, Spinach, Peaches, Raspberries, and Apples.
Ooooh, cool article! --> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24230246/?pg=10#dtl_toxic
Nailed my sleep schedule last night.
I didn't have much of a choice... keep sleeping poorly and eventually my body is going to force the issue. In bed 10:20ish, up at 5:40.
Time to eat grape nuts and a hard boiled egg (one or two for stella too, her favorite!)
I signed up for the Seafair half triathlon last night.
Time to eat grape nuts and a hard boiled egg (one or two for stella too, her favorite!)
I signed up for the Seafair half triathlon last night.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Third post today - morning "stuff" count.
The only way I remember what I need for the day is to know how many things I need and be able to account for all of them before I go out the door. Right now that number is 9 and they are (in no particular order):
- Wallet
- Microsoft Badge (in wallet - not plugged in to computer)
- Keys (I don't need them to drive away, so they get forgotten regularly)
- Spectacles (I'd occasionally forget my nose too if it weren't glued on).
- Phone
- Flipper (fake tooth)
- Meds (determine if I need to bring a week or two's worth in to work)
- Microwaveable neck warmy thing. Been skipping this lately, neck has felt better than usual since it was spasming early this month.
- Snack food - newest item on this list.
Revisiting daily goals
Going over my daily goals to evaluate and pick things I want to work on more. My comments in italics, my DO-list in bold.
It is really easy to be hard on myself and focus on what I have not been doing as well as I want to... Now that I have re-hashed this list, it is obvious to me that even though I coulda/shoulda/woulda be further along, I have made solid steps in the right direction. I'm okay with "Two steps forward, one step back" as long as I am not bogging myself down by losing sight of the fact that this is what is happening.
0) Shop for food twice a week. (new goal I made up right now)
My diet goes to hell when I run out of good stuff to eat. bad bad baaaaad.
Start buying food regularly
1) Read labels. If you are eating something packaged, read the label. If you don't know what it is, don't eat it. Aim to eat mostly whole foods.
I have bought a lot fewer processed foods... I still bought salami last time I was at costco.
Am on track, will keep getting better over time.
2) Eat breakfast. The fog you are experiencing could be because of what you are eating early in the day. Try something with a fat and a carb.... almond butter on whole grain toast and a banana, an egg white and veggie omelet, etc.
So far I've only been doing the carb (unless almond milk counts as a fat). My daily energy has been much more stable as a result.
Time to add a fat to my breakfasts - hard boiled eggs sound easy enough.
3) Eliminate refined sugar and refined flour. Just say no to white (sugar and flour).Potatoes too.
I have taken this to the next level. I would estimate I have eaten half as many white carbs as I was - and none of it in the form of candy. Things I can think of off the top of my head which has sugar or corn syrup in it which I have been eating still:
-Salami
-Instant oats
-hot chocolate component of my morning mud
-I'll add more things if I think of them.
4) Eat something every 2-3 hours. You should be having a good breakfast, a mid morning snack (such as trail mix, 1/2 health protein bar-read label!, veggies and hummus), a healthy lunch such as a salad with chicken or tuna or a wrap, an afternoon snack and a light healthy dinner. I would aim to get about 2,000kcals a day, though I have to do more specific needs analysis.
Compared to what I was doing before I started this effort (zero) I'd say I'm hitting this approximately 50% of the time.
Add snack foods to your morning "stuff" count! (yeesh, that puts the count at 9)
5) Do some sort of exercise everyday and drink lots of water.
I have been getting some exercise in the form of now weekly bike rides, but not even close to daily.
Do something daily even if it is silly
I was doing good on water, but dropped the ball. Pick it back up.
6) Don't eat the majority of your calories at the end of the day! You should be taking in 500 cals at Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and 250 at each snack. That will definitely help keep your energy and focus stable.
Days I eat breakfast and snacks are days where this happens naturally.
7) Nail sleep schedule (new goal)
I've been on the horse and off the horse.
Nail sleep schedule
It is really easy to be hard on myself and focus on what I have not been doing as well as I want to... Now that I have re-hashed this list, it is obvious to me that even though I coulda/shoulda/woulda be further along, I have made solid steps in the right direction. I'm okay with "Two steps forward, one step back" as long as I am not bogging myself down by losing sight of the fact that this is what is happening.
0) Shop for food twice a week. (new goal I made up right now)
My diet goes to hell when I run out of good stuff to eat. bad bad baaaaad.
Start buying food regularly
1) Read labels. If you are eating something packaged, read the label. If you don't know what it is, don't eat it. Aim to eat mostly whole foods.
I have bought a lot fewer processed foods... I still bought salami last time I was at costco.
Am on track, will keep getting better over time.
2) Eat breakfast. The fog you are experiencing could be because of what you are eating early in the day. Try something with a fat and a carb.... almond butter on whole grain toast and a banana, an egg white and veggie omelet, etc.
So far I've only been doing the carb (unless almond milk counts as a fat). My daily energy has been much more stable as a result.
Time to add a fat to my breakfasts - hard boiled eggs sound easy enough.
3) Eliminate refined sugar and refined flour. Just say no to white (sugar and flour).Potatoes too.
I have taken this to the next level. I would estimate I have eaten half as many white carbs as I was - and none of it in the form of candy. Things I can think of off the top of my head which has sugar or corn syrup in it which I have been eating still:
-Salami
-Instant oats
-hot chocolate component of my morning mud
-I'll add more things if I think of them.
4) Eat something every 2-3 hours. You should be having a good breakfast, a mid morning snack (such as trail mix, 1/2 health protein bar-read label!, veggies and hummus), a healthy lunch such as a salad with chicken or tuna or a wrap, an afternoon snack and a light healthy dinner. I would aim to get about 2,000kcals a day, though I have to do more specific needs analysis.
Compared to what I was doing before I started this effort (zero) I'd say I'm hitting this approximately 50% of the time.
Add snack foods to your morning "stuff" count! (yeesh, that puts the count at 9)
5) Do some sort of exercise everyday and drink lots of water.
I have been getting some exercise in the form of now weekly bike rides, but not even close to daily.
Do something daily even if it is silly
I was doing good on water, but dropped the ball. Pick it back up.
6) Don't eat the majority of your calories at the end of the day! You should be taking in 500 cals at Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and 250 at each snack. That will definitely help keep your energy and focus stable.
Days I eat breakfast and snacks are days where this happens naturally.
7) Nail sleep schedule (new goal)
I've been on the horse and off the horse.
Nail sleep schedule
bike bike bike
I got up too late to bike to work - which is too bad, the weather was perfect for it.
BUT
I bussed my bike to work and will bike home rain or shine. Ideally not rain, but we'll see.
I talked to a guy in the locker room - he mentioned that he biked back and forth to work every day, but found even when he was used to it, all he wanted to do when he got to work was sleep and recover for several hours. I have been experiencing the same thing so far - I have to wonder if the difference in the long run is either be eating right, or planning training to enable the body to deal with it. A non-changing commute every day in and out sounds like a sure fire deal designed to put your body in a rut... I'm not close to the point where I need to worry about stuff like that, today I just need to ride home.
I'm shakey-cravey for food. I didn't bring snack food today so instant oats it is.
BIKING HOME
Turns out there is a trail that follows 520 from right before marymoore right to where I work. convenient.
From work to the bottom of the ginormous hill in seattle (where 145th would meet the lake)
1:06:40
24.4 average km/h
27.08 k
Entire trip (lost of walking in last few k)
1:37:52
20.2 average
33.18 k
so yeah, the last 6k took me 31 minutes.
BUT
I bussed my bike to work and will bike home rain or shine. Ideally not rain, but we'll see.
I talked to a guy in the locker room - he mentioned that he biked back and forth to work every day, but found even when he was used to it, all he wanted to do when he got to work was sleep and recover for several hours. I have been experiencing the same thing so far - I have to wonder if the difference in the long run is either be eating right, or planning training to enable the body to deal with it. A non-changing commute every day in and out sounds like a sure fire deal designed to put your body in a rut... I'm not close to the point where I need to worry about stuff like that, today I just need to ride home.
I'm shakey-cravey for food. I didn't bring snack food today so instant oats it is.
BIKING HOME
Turns out there is a trail that follows 520 from right before marymoore right to where I work. convenient.
From work to the bottom of the ginormous hill in seattle (where 145th would meet the lake)
1:06:40
24.4 average km/h
27.08 k
Entire trip (lost of walking in last few k)
1:37:52
20.2 average
33.18 k
so yeah, the last 6k took me 31 minutes.
Monday, April 21, 2008
A step backwards...
Before I actually blog - here's a shameless plug for Devon's racing:
Devon won the Leona Divide race running 50 miles in ~7:44. GO DEVON GO! *hee hee - there is a movie I like called "run lola run" - it has nothing in common with Devon's running, but I keep segui'ing to it*...
Leona Divide website http://www.leonadivide.com/ It would be nice if the race people would update their site with this years stuff already... The current course records document is several years out of date to say nothing of this years stats.
Devon's racing blog http://dch262.blogspot.com/ I am looking forward to her new race blog when she gets around to it - she writes in a visceral way where I feel like I am experiencing it too.
On to my actual blogging...
Sleepy sleep sleep.
Friday night Saturday morning I slept till 7:30, but otherwise was on schedule. Got a lot of laundry and cleaning done Saturday...
Saturday night Sunday morning I went to bed on time then proceeded to sleep 13 hours and of course felt like crap all day Sunday as a result.
Sunday night Monday morning - I went to bed at midnight and got up at 7. Too late to bike to work... Really need to bike to work twice this week which means I have to tomorrow. The weather is forecast to be crappy/rainy all week... If I'm going to bike in the rain I'll have to psyche myself in to it before I go to bed with a no matter what attitude or it won't happen.
I forgot to eat breakfast before I left home this morning... Luckily I have instant oats here at work. I mixed one of the plain ones with one of the 13g of sugar ones to reduce overall sugar... and now it is time to go get a sandwich for lunch.
I need to buy fruits/vegetables - I am finding myself opening the refridgerator and looking longingly every 30 minutes while I'm at home. I tend to stuff "anything" in my mouth when I do this and the correct thing to have on hand is fruits/vegetables.
Devon won the Leona Divide race running 50 miles in ~7:44. GO DEVON GO! *hee hee - there is a movie I like called "run lola run" - it has nothing in common with Devon's running, but I keep segui'ing to it*...
Leona Divide website http://www.leonadivide.com/ It would be nice if the race people would update their site with this years stuff already... The current course records document is several years out of date to say nothing of this years stats.
Devon's racing blog http://dch262.blogspot.com/ I am looking forward to her new race blog when she gets around to it - she writes in a visceral way where I feel like I am experiencing it too.
On to my actual blogging...
Sleepy sleep sleep.
Friday night Saturday morning I slept till 7:30, but otherwise was on schedule. Got a lot of laundry and cleaning done Saturday...
Saturday night Sunday morning I went to bed on time then proceeded to sleep 13 hours and of course felt like crap all day Sunday as a result.
Sunday night Monday morning - I went to bed at midnight and got up at 7. Too late to bike to work... Really need to bike to work twice this week which means I have to tomorrow. The weather is forecast to be crappy/rainy all week... If I'm going to bike in the rain I'll have to psyche myself in to it before I go to bed with a no matter what attitude or it won't happen.
I forgot to eat breakfast before I left home this morning... Luckily I have instant oats here at work. I mixed one of the plain ones with one of the 13g of sugar ones to reduce overall sugar... and now it is time to go get a sandwich for lunch.
I need to buy fruits/vegetables - I am finding myself opening the refridgerator and looking longingly every 30 minutes while I'm at home. I tend to stuff "anything" in my mouth when I do this and the correct thing to have on hand is fruits/vegetables.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tired but very productive
Went to bed at 10 last night, tossed and turned most of the night and got up at 4:40 to take Devon to the airport. :)
I imagine every issue in the days leading up to her race tomorrow is magnified by the worry that it could have an impact. My assessment? She's going to kick major booty, run the 50 miles, and I won't be the least bit surprised if she breaks the course record as she is planning. She'll come back in one piece grinning ear to ear - I'd put money on it if I were the type.
I ate a brick of food she gave me for breakfast, the thing made me full after every single bite and took me three hours to eat - I was so stuffed at lunch time that when my whole team went to red robin to eat, I sat there and consumed only water.
Somehow I managed to funnel my fatigue in to the most incredible amount of productivity at work today. I was in pretty sorry shape by the end of the day but I consider today a success.
I picked up my steaks at the Golden Steer and put them in my freezer... this'll be a topic for a post on it's own when I feel up to it.
well, it is 10:12 and ironically my natural resistance to going to bed has me feeling falsely not tired. time to go lay down until my body stops fighting it and succumbs to the deep sleep which is coming.
:)
Charles
I imagine every issue in the days leading up to her race tomorrow is magnified by the worry that it could have an impact. My assessment? She's going to kick major booty, run the 50 miles, and I won't be the least bit surprised if she breaks the course record as she is planning. She'll come back in one piece grinning ear to ear - I'd put money on it if I were the type.
I ate a brick of food she gave me for breakfast, the thing made me full after every single bite and took me three hours to eat - I was so stuffed at lunch time that when my whole team went to red robin to eat, I sat there and consumed only water.
Somehow I managed to funnel my fatigue in to the most incredible amount of productivity at work today. I was in pretty sorry shape by the end of the day but I consider today a success.
I picked up my steaks at the Golden Steer and put them in my freezer... this'll be a topic for a post on it's own when I feel up to it.
well, it is 10:12 and ironically my natural resistance to going to bed has me feeling falsely not tired. time to go lay down until my body stops fighting it and succumbs to the deep sleep which is coming.
:)
Charles
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Holy whole paycheck batman!
I was half a week to a week overdue for grocery shopping - the pickings were getting slim.
I went to costco - and bought a lot less stuff than normal because the labels had too much garbage on them. I got completely non-wheat flax bread I've had before, I remember it being tasty, we'll see.
Then i went to PCC. Place smells good. I immediately wanted to carve my eyes out with a spoon looking at the price tags.
Devon recommended replacements for mayonnaise, soy milk, and my reesers burrito's. If my memory serves me correctly, I got her recomendations on all three.
Almond breeze (x4) ...$9.96
Amys Burritos ............$2.69 (each?! egad!)
Garlic sauce .................$6.99 (I'm looking forward to trying this out)
Ginger Brew Soda ......$1.30 (x2) (wait! How did those get in there?!?! :D )
2 Fuji Apples ...............$3.44 (at $2.99 a pound this is rape!)
2 Cucumbers ...............$4.07 (at $3.99 a pound this is... okay maybe best not to go there)
... anyway, ZOIKS!
The Check-Out girl (who was waaaay cute and had just plain amazing eyes! Damn, didn't have my camera with me) comiserated on the sticker shockedness with me and suggested I check out new Roots Organics... Kind of neat stuff --> www.newrootsorganics.com (Devon then pointed me to http://pioneerorganics.com for another similar service).
Devon made a pretty good rebuttal to my complaining about the burrito's... I could make my own with anything I wanted in them for a fraction of the cost. Wrap them in saran wrap and that paper they wrap steaks in and they'd last in the freezer forever.
I went to costco - and bought a lot less stuff than normal because the labels had too much garbage on them. I got completely non-wheat flax bread I've had before, I remember it being tasty, we'll see.
Then i went to PCC. Place smells good. I immediately wanted to carve my eyes out with a spoon looking at the price tags.
Devon recommended replacements for mayonnaise, soy milk, and my reesers burrito's. If my memory serves me correctly, I got her recomendations on all three.
Almond breeze (x4) ...$9.96
Amys Burritos ............$2.69 (each?! egad!)
Garlic sauce .................$6.99 (I'm looking forward to trying this out)
Ginger Brew Soda ......$1.30 (x2) (wait! How did those get in there?!?! :D )
2 Fuji Apples ...............$3.44 (at $2.99 a pound this is rape!)
2 Cucumbers ...............$4.07 (at $3.99 a pound this is... okay maybe best not to go there)
... anyway, ZOIKS!
The Check-Out girl (who was waaaay cute and had just plain amazing eyes! Damn, didn't have my camera with me) comiserated on the sticker shockedness with me and suggested I check out new Roots Organics... Kind of neat stuff --> www.newrootsorganics.com (Devon then pointed me to http://pioneerorganics.com for another similar service).
Devon made a pretty good rebuttal to my complaining about the burrito's... I could make my own with anything I wanted in them for a fraction of the cost. Wrap them in saran wrap and that paper they wrap steaks in and they'd last in the freezer forever.
Biking to work
sleep - midnight to 5am, got out of bed at 6. Ate bowl of grape nuts... out of grape nuts... Store run tonight.
I took a 0.6k more efficient route by going up to 145th before cutting across to the lake instead of 130th which diagonally backtracks to 125th. In the future I think I'm going to stick with the 130th route - 145th felt more dangerous due to traffic this morning.
I figured out why the burke-gilman just ends without pointing to the next leg of the trip up by woodinville. There is a Y in the road - I have always taken the right, go about a kilometer, and the train just ends - need to skip laterally a few blocks and behold there is the trail that goes where I want to go!
Well, the Y is the beginning of where the burke gilman and the sammamish river trail parallel each other for about a kilometer - by taking the left instead of a right I shift trails without having to use city streets to cross from one to the other. You'd think there'd be a sign or something which explained it at the intersection, or a sign at the end of the burk gilman saying "sammammish river trail <-- that way" but no biggie now.
The worst part of the ride is the ~10km leading up to marymoore park. It is straight, boring, and every single time the boringness of it leads me to start focusing on how good I'm not feeling at that point. Add a little bit of irony - Redmond touts that it is the biking capitol of the state - while at the same time the trail is in the worst shape there. The long stretch reminds me of when I was doing the honolulu marathon and as far as I could see down a perfectly straight boulevard there are marathoners stretched miles before me. It is disheartening simply by giving the illusion that there is no end in sight... Well technically that is exactly correct. If I had given up on the marathon, this would have been where.
Total travel time was 3 minutes 31 seconds faster. I figure 90 seconds faster due to the shorter route, and 2 minutes faster by biking more of the hill at the end then I did last time.
My average speed was slower up to marymoore, but I finished stronger on the hill at the end.
Marymoore waypoint:
1:30:52 hours
30.84 k
20.3 average kph
Finish
1:50:51 hours
34.25 k
18.5 average kph
Lunch:
It is an hour after lunch. Overall I feel good and alert.
A bunch of us went to Cafe Ori. I usually don't like chinese fare, but I like Cafe Ori. It usually leaves me feeling over fed, but I find it unique in that it does not put me to sleep. I have gas now - too bad I don't know what gave me the gas cause other than that the food agreed with me very well.
I took a 0.6k more efficient route by going up to 145th before cutting across to the lake instead of 130th which diagonally backtracks to 125th. In the future I think I'm going to stick with the 130th route - 145th felt more dangerous due to traffic this morning.
I figured out why the burke-gilman just ends without pointing to the next leg of the trip up by woodinville. There is a Y in the road - I have always taken the right, go about a kilometer, and the train just ends - need to skip laterally a few blocks and behold there is the trail that goes where I want to go!
Well, the Y is the beginning of where the burke gilman and the sammamish river trail parallel each other for about a kilometer - by taking the left instead of a right I shift trails without having to use city streets to cross from one to the other. You'd think there'd be a sign or something which explained it at the intersection, or a sign at the end of the burk gilman saying "sammammish river trail <-- that way" but no biggie now.
The worst part of the ride is the ~10km leading up to marymoore park. It is straight, boring, and every single time the boringness of it leads me to start focusing on how good I'm not feeling at that point. Add a little bit of irony - Redmond touts that it is the biking capitol of the state - while at the same time the trail is in the worst shape there. The long stretch reminds me of when I was doing the honolulu marathon and as far as I could see down a perfectly straight boulevard there are marathoners stretched miles before me. It is disheartening simply by giving the illusion that there is no end in sight... Well technically that is exactly correct. If I had given up on the marathon, this would have been where.
Total travel time was 3 minutes 31 seconds faster. I figure 90 seconds faster due to the shorter route, and 2 minutes faster by biking more of the hill at the end then I did last time.
My average speed was slower up to marymoore, but I finished stronger on the hill at the end.
Marymoore waypoint:
1:30:52 hours
30.84 k
20.3 average kph
Finish
1:50:51 hours
34.25 k
18.5 average kph
Lunch:
It is an hour after lunch. Overall I feel good and alert.
A bunch of us went to Cafe Ori. I usually don't like chinese fare, but I like Cafe Ori. It usually leaves me feeling over fed, but I find it unique in that it does not put me to sleep. I have gas now - too bad I don't know what gave me the gas cause other than that the food agreed with me very well.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Update
Saturday I pretty much slept all day recovering from the ride on Friday - missing the sunshine, then went to a little impromptu party with my cousin.
Sleep - still not on the schedule I want. Last night I worked as late as 11pm, went to bed, and couldn't fall asleep till after midnight. Got up at 7 this morning to find I probably could have biked.
Biking plan - weather looks half promising tomorrow - so tomorrow it is!
I'm still eating breakfast - but I'm pretty much out of food at the moment and seriously need to make a few store runs. I am almost out of several staples which I get to replace with Devon's suggestions - Almond milk instead of soy. Garlic olive oil stuff instead of mayo. Etc.
I need more fruits and veggies - I'm out and I eat much more poorly when I don't have them on hand to nom nom nom on.
4:20 I ate lunch an hour earlier than usual and did not have an afternoon snack - I feel sugar-low woozyish. Shocking how I let myself feel like this as a default for so long and how some very minor changes to eating habits have made this feeling a rarity lately. WAKE UP AND EAT RIGHT CHARLES.
I am *really* looking forward to riding to work tomorrow. I always seem to leave it to the day after I actually want to go. Last week I wanted to go Thursday, but went Friday. This week I wanted to go today but will go tomorrow. It really makes sense to push and go again this Friday too.
Sleep - still not on the schedule I want. Last night I worked as late as 11pm, went to bed, and couldn't fall asleep till after midnight. Got up at 7 this morning to find I probably could have biked.
Biking plan - weather looks half promising tomorrow - so tomorrow it is!
I'm still eating breakfast - but I'm pretty much out of food at the moment and seriously need to make a few store runs. I am almost out of several staples which I get to replace with Devon's suggestions - Almond milk instead of soy. Garlic olive oil stuff instead of mayo. Etc.
I need more fruits and veggies - I'm out and I eat much more poorly when I don't have them on hand to nom nom nom on.
4:20 I ate lunch an hour earlier than usual and did not have an afternoon snack - I feel sugar-low woozyish. Shocking how I let myself feel like this as a default for so long and how some very minor changes to eating habits have made this feeling a rarity lately. WAKE UP AND EAT RIGHT CHARLES.
I am *really* looking forward to riding to work tomorrow. I always seem to leave it to the day after I actually want to go. Last week I wanted to go Thursday, but went Friday. This week I wanted to go today but will go tomorrow. It really makes sense to push and go again this Friday too.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Bike my butt off day!
Why am I putting the date in the titles when the date is right there above the title? That's just plain silly!
Went to bed at 11.
Alarm went off at 5 - I vaguely remember turning it off and crawling right back in bed. At 5:30 I remembered the alarm going off and got up to set my 6 oclock alarm to 6:30. ... Then at 6 oclock I got up without the alarm.
I get to claim a clear success this morning!
I got up at 6, ate, played with stella, and rode my bike to work starting at 7:20(ish). I decided it is silly to drive my truck closer to Burke Gilman when that results in the hardest 2 miles of the ride being after work, after the bus ride. By riding an extra 6k at the beginning, I leave myself only an easy 1.5 k from the bus to home at the end of the day.
7:40 I hit the burke gilman. At first I let my legs dictate my velocity - I was averaging about 20k. I didn't want to burn out by pushing too hard early on, I needed to be at work by 9:20 and can't really afford to miss the morning meeting.
I pretty much completely zoned out - to the point where a bike passing me startled the crap out of me. I was daydreaming about what riding a bike used to be like as a kid - how my legs felt different, how I was confident back then that I could completely burn them going up a hill and have them recover by time I reached to bottom on the other side. I was on the flat and the memories started making me angry at my current fitness. I'm on the flat, going a measly 20kph and my legs are complaining? Screw this, lets see how much I can get away with pushing myself. I still don't want to push so hard I burn out and gimp my total trip time, but I can do better than this.
So I started pushing myself. I found I could push up to about 25kph and while my legs would complain more, they weren't burning out. I kept pushing like this from approximately the 10k mark to the 25k mark. While I kept pushing all the way to marymoore, 25k is where I ran out of steam and despite pushing as hard or harder my velocity slowed to about 20k again. I was far enough along I was okay with this, the last 3k to marymoore was pretty brutal.
At marymoore I stopped and stretched for about 60 seconds and memorized what my computer said. Legs were pretty much maxed out, but no big deal as the next portion of the trip I was planning on walking anyway.
Biked the last k to 51st street, got off the bike, pressed the crosswalk button, and walked half of the remaining trip up the monster hill. ... monster... as a kid I would have laughed at how puny it is. I *will* laugh at how puny it is some day... Some day soon.
I walked in to my meeting, pushing my bike and wearing my helmet and wearing my obnoxious fat flashing neon yellow bike shirt at exactly 9:20. They had free bagles (even whole wheat ones - BONUS!) and I scarfed two of them and now feel like I ate too much.
Here are the stats - Both up to Marymoore park, and the entire trip.
Marymoore Park
1:31:31 hours
20.4 Average k/h
31.24 k
Entire Ride
1:54:32 hours <-- I bet I beat this time every single future ride.
18.2 Average k/h
34.85 k (21 miles)
I figure it was 1k more of trail from marymoor to 51st which means that 75% of the trip is entirely off roads. When I start doing round trips I'll park at my friends which will mean 91% of the trip is all trail. Nice!
...........
It has been two and a half weeks since my last bike trip. I can claim being sick for 1.5 of those. I have a lot of work to reach my goal of two round trips by the end of this month. While I don't know if it is realistic to make that milestone, I am going to keep aiming at it and try to make it, and if I don't I am okay with that so long as I feel I have actually tried to hit the mark.
:)
Charles
Went to bed at 11.
Alarm went off at 5 - I vaguely remember turning it off and crawling right back in bed. At 5:30 I remembered the alarm going off and got up to set my 6 oclock alarm to 6:30. ... Then at 6 oclock I got up without the alarm.
I get to claim a clear success this morning!
I got up at 6, ate, played with stella, and rode my bike to work starting at 7:20(ish). I decided it is silly to drive my truck closer to Burke Gilman when that results in the hardest 2 miles of the ride being after work, after the bus ride. By riding an extra 6k at the beginning, I leave myself only an easy 1.5 k from the bus to home at the end of the day.
7:40 I hit the burke gilman. At first I let my legs dictate my velocity - I was averaging about 20k. I didn't want to burn out by pushing too hard early on, I needed to be at work by 9:20 and can't really afford to miss the morning meeting.
I pretty much completely zoned out - to the point where a bike passing me startled the crap out of me. I was daydreaming about what riding a bike used to be like as a kid - how my legs felt different, how I was confident back then that I could completely burn them going up a hill and have them recover by time I reached to bottom on the other side. I was on the flat and the memories started making me angry at my current fitness. I'm on the flat, going a measly 20kph and my legs are complaining? Screw this, lets see how much I can get away with pushing myself. I still don't want to push so hard I burn out and gimp my total trip time, but I can do better than this.
So I started pushing myself. I found I could push up to about 25kph and while my legs would complain more, they weren't burning out. I kept pushing like this from approximately the 10k mark to the 25k mark. While I kept pushing all the way to marymoore, 25k is where I ran out of steam and despite pushing as hard or harder my velocity slowed to about 20k again. I was far enough along I was okay with this, the last 3k to marymoore was pretty brutal.
At marymoore I stopped and stretched for about 60 seconds and memorized what my computer said. Legs were pretty much maxed out, but no big deal as the next portion of the trip I was planning on walking anyway.
Biked the last k to 51st street, got off the bike, pressed the crosswalk button, and walked half of the remaining trip up the monster hill. ... monster... as a kid I would have laughed at how puny it is. I *will* laugh at how puny it is some day... Some day soon.
I walked in to my meeting, pushing my bike and wearing my helmet and wearing my obnoxious fat flashing neon yellow bike shirt at exactly 9:20. They had free bagles (even whole wheat ones - BONUS!) and I scarfed two of them and now feel like I ate too much.
Here are the stats - Both up to Marymoore park, and the entire trip.
Marymoore Park
1:31:31 hours
20.4 Average k/h
31.24 k
Entire Ride
1:54:32 hours <-- I bet I beat this time every single future ride.
18.2 Average k/h
34.85 k (21 miles)
I figure it was 1k more of trail from marymoor to 51st which means that 75% of the trip is entirely off roads. When I start doing round trips I'll park at my friends which will mean 91% of the trip is all trail. Nice!
...........
It has been two and a half weeks since my last bike trip. I can claim being sick for 1.5 of those. I have a lot of work to reach my goal of two round trips by the end of this month. While I don't know if it is realistic to make that milestone, I am going to keep aiming at it and try to make it, and if I don't I am okay with that so long as I feel I have actually tried to hit the mark.
:)
Charles
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
April 9th
Went to bed late - 11:30
Got up around 7. Yeesh, I was on target - need to hammer my sleep schedule. Have to admit, I think anxiety around work causes me to not go to bed.
2:46
I've hit a wall starting at noon right before I ate lunch today... in a funk. slow, low energy, but otherwise feel good. Going to look at puppies now, maybe that'll wake me up.
Got up around 7. Yeesh, I was on target - need to hammer my sleep schedule. Have to admit, I think anxiety around work causes me to not go to bed.
2:46
I've hit a wall starting at noon right before I ate lunch today... in a funk. slow, low energy, but otherwise feel good. Going to look at puppies now, maybe that'll wake me up.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
April 8th - Staring at lunch.
Last night - went to bed at 10:20, didn't get to sleep till 11:30ish, slept fitfully, turned 5am and 6am alarms off, got up at 7.
I got lunch. After eating breakfast and bringing nuts to work for my mid-meal snack, I just don't have the appetite to finish lunch right now. I am so NOT used to not being ravenously hungry during lunch.
I did eat too many nuts in between meals - looks like I'll need to find a way to portion control my snacks.
I guess my lunch will also be my mid-afternoon snack. Beef stew, carrots, and baby red potato's all three obviously cooked with too much butter.
I got lunch. After eating breakfast and bringing nuts to work for my mid-meal snack, I just don't have the appetite to finish lunch right now. I am so NOT used to not being ravenously hungry during lunch.
I did eat too many nuts in between meals - looks like I'll need to find a way to portion control my snacks.
I guess my lunch will also be my mid-afternoon snack. Beef stew, carrots, and baby red potato's all three obviously cooked with too much butter.
Monday, April 7, 2008
April 7 notes - replace burritos.
So after feeling like a rock star last night I blew it by going to bed over two hours late and then getting up at 8:45 am. Nothing like being behind the curve on a monday morning. Need to get to bed at 10 tonight.
I am going to need to replace my reesers burrito and whatever they are chimichanga staple. I don't like the ingredients.
Devon recommends
"I can recommend Amy's Organics. Delicious and nutritious. Not only the burritos but the samosas. So good. Basically like a normal samosa without the fried wrapper, ww tortilla instead (though I can't eat these any more!)"
and
"http://www.amyskitchen.com/ they have lots of products without cheese, gluten, etc....various healthy permutations...plus healthier versions of the stuff you probably like."
She says they're cheap so sounds like a good thing to try. (Written here so i can find it when I want to remember what she said.)
I am going to need to replace my reesers burrito and whatever they are chimichanga staple. I don't like the ingredients.
Devon recommends
"I can recommend Amy's Organics. Delicious and nutritious. Not only the burritos but the samosas. So good. Basically like a normal samosa without the fried wrapper, ww tortilla instead (though I can't eat these any more!)"
and
"http://www.amyskitchen.com/ they have lots of products without cheese, gluten, etc....various healthy permutations...plus healthier versions of the stuff you probably like."
She says they're cheap so sounds like a good thing to try. (Written here so i can find it when I want to remember what she said.)
Sunday, April 6, 2008
April 6 notes.
Well,
I feel better than I have in months. I have not taken my medicine for nearly a week now, yet my energy levels are higher than usual and sufficient to motivate myself to do normal chores I normally can't bother with. I attribute this mainly to two things:
- Eating breakfast in the mornings
- Setting a sleep schedule and being good enough about adhering to it.
I have not kept up on the exercise front. I had being sick this last week as a convenient excuse - no longer. I have gotten over being sick. Still cough here and there, but my strength is back. Exercise is the next gear to kick it in to.
Fun fun!
p.s. Exercise: I went on two walks with my parents today before buying super awesome rose plants and coming home.
P.P.S. I'm not going to track my food intake much any more unless Devon sees use in it.
I feel better than I have in months. I have not taken my medicine for nearly a week now, yet my energy levels are higher than usual and sufficient to motivate myself to do normal chores I normally can't bother with. I attribute this mainly to two things:
- Eating breakfast in the mornings
- Setting a sleep schedule and being good enough about adhering to it.
I have not kept up on the exercise front. I had being sick this last week as a convenient excuse - no longer. I have gotten over being sick. Still cough here and there, but my strength is back. Exercise is the next gear to kick it in to.
Fun fun!
p.s. Exercise: I went on two walks with my parents today before buying super awesome rose plants and coming home.
P.P.S. I'm not going to track my food intake much any more unless Devon sees use in it.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
April 3 notes.
Not filling in the details much today. Went to bed at 9:31pm, got up 7am. Ate breakfast. Snoozy day till 1ish.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
April 2 notes.
Went to bed at 10:35. Got up at 7:00 am with no alarm. Slept fitfully, likely because I've been sleeping so much with this staying home with a cold and all, but it is obvious that it is already easier for me to get up in the morning simply by stabilizing when I go to bed.
Kind of disgusted with myself for not biking to work a second time yet let alone daily exercise. Both yesterday and today the sun is glorious and would have been good opportunities. But - lets be realistic, my lungs were raw after mowing my lawn yesterday. Mowing my lawn only counts as "daily exercise" while I'm still outta shape - it did warm me up to the fuzzy level at least - and geez my bees are going gangbusters!
Today's goal. I am going to work from home today which gives me the opportunity to go around greenlake on my bike. If my lungs aren't completely parched by time I'm done with one loop, I'll make it two.
8:00 It looks like I've rediscovered my oldest staple food. Peanut butter sandwiches baby! I'm willing to bet Devon will tell me to upgrade to a non-gluten bread. What is gluten anyway?
+12 ounces water.
+ 4 radishes
9:00 I haven't had enough water yet and feel dehydrated - time to go drink some more.
+ 4 radishes
1:40
Drank many glasses of OJ.
ought to eat lunch before I go out and run errands and exercise.
Observation: No meds today and while I'm not mr. go, I'm pretty aware and awake.
2:15 Just ate two burrito's, cheese, salsa... I'm crashing. hmm, didn't think these things did this to me.
next stop: run errand, then walk stella around green lake (not bike you ask? why no, then stella couldn't go).
5:30 arrived back home. ate a bunch of wasabe peas which spilled out in my truck. A wee bit more than I wanted to eat. Walking green lake and I feel like I just did much more than that. hmm.
Kind of disgusted with myself for not biking to work a second time yet let alone daily exercise. Both yesterday and today the sun is glorious and would have been good opportunities. But - lets be realistic, my lungs were raw after mowing my lawn yesterday. Mowing my lawn only counts as "daily exercise" while I'm still outta shape - it did warm me up to the fuzzy level at least - and geez my bees are going gangbusters!
Today's goal. I am going to work from home today which gives me the opportunity to go around greenlake on my bike. If my lungs aren't completely parched by time I'm done with one loop, I'll make it two.
8:00 It looks like I've rediscovered my oldest staple food. Peanut butter sandwiches baby! I'm willing to bet Devon will tell me to upgrade to a non-gluten bread. What is gluten anyway?
+12 ounces water.
+ 4 radishes
9:00 I haven't had enough water yet and feel dehydrated - time to go drink some more.
+ 4 radishes
1:40
Drank many glasses of OJ.
ought to eat lunch before I go out and run errands and exercise.
Observation: No meds today and while I'm not mr. go, I'm pretty aware and awake.
2:15 Just ate two burrito's, cheese, salsa... I'm crashing. hmm, didn't think these things did this to me.
next stop: run errand, then walk stella around green lake (not bike you ask? why no, then stella couldn't go).
5:30 arrived back home. ate a bunch of wasabe peas which spilled out in my truck. A wee bit more than I wanted to eat. Walking green lake and I feel like I just did much more than that. hmm.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
April Fools Day
Last night I went to bed at 10:35. Alarm went off at 5:00... Alarm went off at 6:00... I got up at Stella's insistence at 7:20 - those brown eyes staring at me longingly with her chin just barely over the lip of the bed.
2:00
Sick day today. So far I've eaten a ton of grapes, 2 peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and not enough water.
2:00
Sick day today. So far I've eaten a ton of grapes, 2 peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and not enough water.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Pain
While I may mention pain relatively often I am convinced that physical fitness (and more water, and a hard core sleep schedule) is the only thing which will cure it. Getting fit may induce pain situations more often than I would if I didn't try, but I have tried a *lot* of methods of reducing pain and losing weight and getting fit seem to be the only long term things which reduce it. Just gotta push through it.
Right now - I do seem to be going through an upper back spasm phase. I use my microwaveable neck warmer often. I try to not use pain killers too much, but probably will 3 or so times a week.
Now if only this cold would clear up and the weather would be warmer. :)
Right now - I do seem to be going through an upper back spasm phase. I use my microwaveable neck warmer often. I try to not use pain killers too much, but probably will 3 or so times a week.
Now if only this cold would clear up and the weather would be warmer. :)
March 31 notes.
It is easier for me to do this in a disciplined fashion when I use elements of my work schedule to do it. I suspect weekends will be much harder to do well than the week.
9:35pm last night - went to bed.
5:00 alarm went off. Took meds went back to sleep.
upper spine is in a good deal of pain.
6:00 got up.
6:30 did pushup pyramids to 4 and crunches.
7:00 ate grape nuts (with soy milk) and a hand full of pecans
8:00 left for work. Hot shower appears to have alleviated most of the neck pain. still have a mild cold.
9:30 Two packets of instant oatmeal - one of them plain to try to reduce sugar. 13 mg sugar total.
10:21 Drank 8oz of water... have another 8oz sitting by if I'm able to down it over the next 40 minutes before my meeting.
10:30 Losing focus
11:00 Finished the second 8oz by 11. Had morning mud (8oz coffee, 8oz hot chocolate, 1 packet saccarin).
12:15 Ought to be eating lunch but just do not have the stomach for it.
1:40
I have the chills - microwaved my neckwarmer.
Drinking 8oz of water.
2:40
The water stabilized me. Now I'm hungry. Going to gulp 8oz more water and go home early, will eat soon.
9:35pm last night - went to bed.
5:00 alarm went off. Took meds went back to sleep.
upper spine is in a good deal of pain.
6:00 got up.
6:30 did pushup pyramids to 4 and crunches.
7:00 ate grape nuts (with soy milk) and a hand full of pecans
8:00 left for work. Hot shower appears to have alleviated most of the neck pain. still have a mild cold.
9:30 Two packets of instant oatmeal - one of them plain to try to reduce sugar. 13 mg sugar total.
10:21 Drank 8oz of water... have another 8oz sitting by if I'm able to down it over the next 40 minutes before my meeting.
10:30 Losing focus
11:00 Finished the second 8oz by 11. Had morning mud (8oz coffee, 8oz hot chocolate, 1 packet saccarin).
12:15 Ought to be eating lunch but just do not have the stomach for it.
1:40
I have the chills - microwaved my neckwarmer.
Drinking 8oz of water.
2:40
The water stabilized me. Now I'm hungry. Going to gulp 8oz more water and go home early, will eat soon.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
March 30 notes.
Up at 9. I appear to have a mild cold.
Eating grape nuts at 9:45
12:00 Ate leftover whole wheat spaghetti
12:30-2:30
took a nap.
2:45
inch of salami and an apple
6:00
Eaten a quarter pound of carrots, a cucumber, and a large glass of water recently.
FEEL LIKE CRAP. Not coughing more than once or so an hour, but boy, do I hurt. Now that I think about it, been very bloated since mid day yesterday.
Eating grape nuts at 9:45
12:00 Ate leftover whole wheat spaghetti
12:30-2:30
took a nap.
2:45
inch of salami and an apple
6:00
Eaten a quarter pound of carrots, a cucumber, and a large glass of water recently.
FEEL LIKE CRAP. Not coughing more than once or so an hour, but boy, do I hurt. Now that I think about it, been very bloated since mid day yesterday.
March 29 notes.
Writing this a day later so just a summary:
Got up noonish - neck hurt like hell most of the day - maybe 5 on the pain scale (which is pretty high for me - anything at 3 or higher means I'll try painkillers). painkillers wouldn't help, in the late afternoon I even tried muscle relaxers - looks like it may have been dehydration. Oops.
12:00 had scrambled eggs, bacon, french toast, salt, pepper, honey, caff tea.
Tea several more times.
Had several V8's and waters once I realized dehydration was a factor.
8:00 Had spaghetti with red sauce with ground beef for dinner. Time to go order a bunch of new organic meat.
2 guiness
Went to bed 11:30ish
Got up noonish - neck hurt like hell most of the day - maybe 5 on the pain scale (which is pretty high for me - anything at 3 or higher means I'll try painkillers). painkillers wouldn't help, in the late afternoon I even tried muscle relaxers - looks like it may have been dehydration. Oops.
12:00 had scrambled eggs, bacon, french toast, salt, pepper, honey, caff tea.
Tea several more times.
Had several V8's and waters once I realized dehydration was a factor.
8:00 Had spaghetti with red sauce with ground beef for dinner. Time to go order a bunch of new organic meat.
2 guiness
Went to bed 11:30ish
Friday, March 28, 2008
March 28 notes.
Went to bed at 11:30 last night. Slept fitfully. Kept waking up thinking it was already morning.
6:00
Alarm went off. took meds, went back to sleep.
7:00
got up
7:30
Ate an avocado and smallish bowl of grape nuts.
8:30 - working from home today, expect to be eating a little differently than usual.
1+ cup of grapes.
9:05
Couple handfulls of salted pistacio's and some tea with honey.
12:00
In the last few hours I have had some salami, some cheese, and an apple.
2:00
Totally been up and down passing out and sleeping all afternoon since 11ish. W.T.F.
Everything I eat tastes bitter too.
Ate 3-4 servings of lasagne for dinner, went out and proceeded to eat several handfulls of m&m's
Went to bed at 12:30ish
6:00
Alarm went off. took meds, went back to sleep.
7:00
got up
7:30
Ate an avocado and smallish bowl of grape nuts.
8:30 - working from home today, expect to be eating a little differently than usual.
1+ cup of grapes.
9:05
Couple handfulls of salted pistacio's and some tea with honey.
12:00
In the last few hours I have had some salami, some cheese, and an apple.
2:00
Totally been up and down passing out and sleeping all afternoon since 11ish. W.T.F.
Everything I eat tastes bitter too.
Ate 3-4 servings of lasagne for dinner, went out and proceeded to eat several handfulls of m&m's
Went to bed at 12:30ish
Thursday, March 27, 2008
What is this breakfast thing anyway?
Hoe - Lee - Sheet.
In response to my goofing about not knowing what breakfast was, Devon sent me this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/health/nutrition/25brea.html?em&ex=1206763200&en=130a33531a176613&ei=5087%0A
I think breakfast just became one of the most important components of my quest for better health.
In response to my goofing about not knowing what breakfast was, Devon sent me this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/health/nutrition/25brea.html?em&ex=1206763200&en=130a33531a176613&ei=5087%0A
I think breakfast just became one of the most important components of my quest for better health.
So what is a "Pushups Pyramid" anyway?
It is a pure evil I learned from my friend Dan(imal).
Each set uses three different types of pushups. Hands together, hands at shoulderwidth with elbows pointing feetward, and hands far apart. HARD, Hard, easyish...
- You start at 2 reps using the three different kinds of pushups.
- Then you do a set of 3 reps... etc until you get to the number you are aiming at. Today it was 4.
- Then you decrease the number of reps 1 by 1 until you are back at 3 reps.
Why start at 2 and end at 3? I don't know, therefore I shall answer "because".
So today when I said I did "Pushups Pyramids to 4" it means I did:
2 narrow, 2 shoulder, 2 wide
3 narrow, 3 shoulder, 3 wide
4 narrow, 4 shoulder, 4 wide
3 narrow, 3 shoulder, 3 wide
"Pushups pyramids to 5" would have 27 more pushups than 4 by adding the following sets:
5 narrow, 5 shoulder, 5 wide
4 narrow, 4 shoulder, 4 wide
... Dan(imal) goes to 10...
Each set uses three different types of pushups. Hands together, hands at shoulderwidth with elbows pointing feetward, and hands far apart. HARD, Hard, easyish...
- You start at 2 reps using the three different kinds of pushups.
- Then you do a set of 3 reps... etc until you get to the number you are aiming at. Today it was 4.
- Then you decrease the number of reps 1 by 1 until you are back at 3 reps.
Why start at 2 and end at 3? I don't know, therefore I shall answer "because".
So today when I said I did "Pushups Pyramids to 4" it means I did:
2 narrow, 2 shoulder, 2 wide
3 narrow, 3 shoulder, 3 wide
4 narrow, 4 shoulder, 4 wide
3 narrow, 3 shoulder, 3 wide
"Pushups pyramids to 5" would have 27 more pushups than 4 by adding the following sets:
5 narrow, 5 shoulder, 5 wide
4 narrow, 4 shoulder, 4 wide
... Dan(imal) goes to 10...
Eating directives from Devon
My own comments are in italics...
Ok, while you are compiling your food journal for me and I am moving, here are the things I want you to do in the meantime (before more in depth recommendations and plans can be made):
1) Read labels. If you are eating something packaged, read the label. If you don't know what it is, don't eat it. Aim to eat mostly whole foods.
easy, ok.
2) Eat breakfast. The fog you are experiencing could be because of what you are eating early in the day. Try something with a fat and a carb.... almond butter on whole grain toast and a banana, an egg white and veggie omelet, etc.
looking in my fridge and cupboard... eggs, bacon, several kinds of nuts, grape nuts + soy
3) Eliminate refined sugar and refined flour. Just say no to white (sugar and flour).
Potatoes too. I have been consciously doing this for a while - but am interpreting this as "take it to the next level". When I see there is corn syrup and sugar in my salami that means I need to find a new salami without the sugars next time I buy any.
4) Eat something every 2-3 hours. You should be having a good breakfast, a mid morning snack (such as trail mix, 1/2 health protein bar-read label!, veggies and hummus), a healthy lunch such as a salad with chicken or tuna or a wrap, an afternoon snack and a light healthy dinner. I would aim to get about 2,000kcals a day, though I have to do more specific needs analysis.
translating this as... Bring a bag full of nuts or fruits/veggies to work every day.
5) Do some sort of exercise everyday and drink lots of water.
Exercise every day?! *feigned whining*. I have been telling people for years that exercise and water are the only two miracle cures in the world.
6) Don't eat the majority of your calories at the end of the day! You should be taking in 500 cals at Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and 250 at each snack. That will definitely help keep your energy and focus stable.
This is hitting the nail on the head for sure.
For now, that will do.... more will be forthcoming.
This is about as much tweaking as I can handle at least till I get used to it. I think I am going to have the most trouble with 5. I wonder if simply doing a pushups pyramid + abs counts as I think I can pretty much make myself do those every day.
Ok, while you are compiling your food journal for me and I am moving, here are the things I want you to do in the meantime (before more in depth recommendations and plans can be made):
1) Read labels. If you are eating something packaged, read the label. If you don't know what it is, don't eat it. Aim to eat mostly whole foods.
easy, ok.
2) Eat breakfast. The fog you are experiencing could be because of what you are eating early in the day. Try something with a fat and a carb.... almond butter on whole grain toast and a banana, an egg white and veggie omelet, etc.
looking in my fridge and cupboard... eggs, bacon, several kinds of nuts, grape nuts + soy
3) Eliminate refined sugar and refined flour. Just say no to white (sugar and flour).
Potatoes too. I have been consciously doing this for a while - but am interpreting this as "take it to the next level". When I see there is corn syrup and sugar in my salami that means I need to find a new salami without the sugars next time I buy any.
4) Eat something every 2-3 hours. You should be having a good breakfast, a mid morning snack (such as trail mix, 1/2 health protein bar-read label!, veggies and hummus), a healthy lunch such as a salad with chicken or tuna or a wrap, an afternoon snack and a light healthy dinner. I would aim to get about 2,000kcals a day, though I have to do more specific needs analysis.
translating this as... Bring a bag full of nuts or fruits/veggies to work every day.
5) Do some sort of exercise everyday and drink lots of water.
Exercise every day?! *feigned whining*. I have been telling people for years that exercise and water are the only two miracle cures in the world.
6) Don't eat the majority of your calories at the end of the day! You should be taking in 500 cals at Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and 250 at each snack. That will definitely help keep your energy and focus stable.
This is hitting the nail on the head for sure.
For now, that will do.... more will be forthcoming.
This is about as much tweaking as I can handle at least till I get used to it. I think I am going to have the most trouble with 5. I wonder if simply doing a pushups pyramid + abs counts as I think I can pretty much make myself do those every day.
March 27 Notes
Last night
- ate a quarter apple
- the moment I lay down I realized I was achy and twitchy so I took painkillers.
- Slept very well
6:00 woke up, took meds, went back to sleep
7:00 got up, a little tired but feel way better than yesterday.
9:00 Morning MUD - 8oz coffee, 8oz hot chocolate, 1 packet saccarin.
took meds.
10:30 Mind is clearing for the day. Energy level isn't high, but I do have a steady energy level. I can tell I'm hungry through the suppression my meds give me, going to eat 2 instant oatmeal packets. 290 calories, 25 grams of sugar.
11:30 Losing focus. Hungry. Drinking 8 oz ice water.
12:00 Water lifted me out of the slip in to mental fog - for the time being. Neat trick I learned somewhere, but forget to use more often than not.
12:30 SAMMICH! Consisting of:
dark rye bread
red pesto and hummus for the spreads
avocado
sliced ham
cheddar cheese
ample roasted vegetables - bell peppers, onions, zucc's
1:00 spent 5 minutes stretching shoulders and chest. Heated up my neck warmy thing and am basking in it. :)
2:30 Feeling too hot and flushed. was too warm where I was.
3:30 Serious head fog. Glass of ice water remedied some by 4.
5:00
2.5 inches Salami - damnit, there is corn syrup in these?
1 whole avocado
1 whole yellow bell pepper
1 cup grapes
A bunch of radishes + salt
5:45
Did a pushups pyramid to 4. will explain what this is soon.
20 leg lifts with back on the floor
10x2 crunches with back on blue ball.
(I intended to do 2x crunches and lifts... tummy says no)
7:15
Another cup of grapes
8:00
Went out and had a giant delicious burger and a guiness at Bicks - good joint.
;)
- ate a quarter apple
- the moment I lay down I realized I was achy and twitchy so I took painkillers.
- Slept very well
6:00 woke up, took meds, went back to sleep
7:00 got up, a little tired but feel way better than yesterday.
9:00 Morning MUD - 8oz coffee, 8oz hot chocolate, 1 packet saccarin.
took meds.
10:30 Mind is clearing for the day. Energy level isn't high, but I do have a steady energy level. I can tell I'm hungry through the suppression my meds give me, going to eat 2 instant oatmeal packets. 290 calories, 25 grams of sugar.
11:30 Losing focus. Hungry. Drinking 8 oz ice water.
12:00 Water lifted me out of the slip in to mental fog - for the time being. Neat trick I learned somewhere, but forget to use more often than not.
12:30 SAMMICH! Consisting of:
dark rye bread
red pesto and hummus for the spreads
avocado
sliced ham
cheddar cheese
ample roasted vegetables - bell peppers, onions, zucc's
1:00 spent 5 minutes stretching shoulders and chest. Heated up my neck warmy thing and am basking in it. :)
2:30 Feeling too hot and flushed. was too warm where I was.
3:30 Serious head fog. Glass of ice water remedied some by 4.
5:00
2.5 inches Salami - damnit, there is corn syrup in these?
1 whole avocado
1 whole yellow bell pepper
1 cup grapes
A bunch of radishes + salt
5:45
Did a pushups pyramid to 4. will explain what this is soon.
20 leg lifts with back on the floor
10x2 crunches with back on blue ball.
(I intended to do 2x crunches and lifts... tummy says no)
7:15
Another cup of grapes
8:00
Went out and had a giant delicious burger and a guiness at Bicks - good joint.
;)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
March 26 notes.
Very stiff from my initial bike ride to work yesterday, but not particularly sore from it.
6:20
home from work.
Feel pretty tired and stiff. Shoulders aren't their usual painful, but I am definitely hunched over.
6:30-50
Ate 2 inches of salami.
found out I lost 3-4 pounds since last time I checked. Very unexpected.
7:00
Good earth original tea, decaf + raw honey.
7:45
Dan showed up - We're drinking a guiness.
Much more relaxed and feel better - able to pop my neck (rare than I am relaxed enough to do so).
I plan to shanghai him in to painting with me.
8:45
more tea
10pm
V8
11pm
went to bed.
6:20
home from work.
Feel pretty tired and stiff. Shoulders aren't their usual painful, but I am definitely hunched over.
6:30-50
Ate 2 inches of salami.
found out I lost 3-4 pounds since last time I checked. Very unexpected.
7:00
Good earth original tea, decaf + raw honey.
7:45
Dan showed up - We're drinking a guiness.
Much more relaxed and feel better - able to pop my neck (rare than I am relaxed enough to do so).
I plan to shanghai him in to painting with me.
8:45
more tea
10pm
V8
11pm
went to bed.
Goals
Anything written like it is addressed to someone is written to my new kick ass friend Devon who is helping me put all of this together. You can read about her here or here:
http://dpstraining.blogspot.com/
http://dch262.blogspot.com/
I aimed at setting measurable goals. Rainier is the stretch goal (this year anyway). See anything that needs tweaking?
I don't feel the need to set a goal like "work out until I feel strong" because that will happen on its own if I work on the more measurable ones.
I am 5 foot, 10 1/2 inches.
General weight goals:
Short term - get to 25 bmi, from 207 to 175lbs (35 pounds may sound like a lot - but it will be trivial by doing the stuff below - I was 180 or 185 a year ago)
Long term - get it to 22 bmi. My research shows that skinnier than that doesn't give enough health benefit to be worth working for. I have not been at 22 BMI since mid college.
End of April:
Fitness
- Be able to ride back and forth from work 2x in a week with no more than a single day of rest in between.
- Pushups Pyramids to 5 (currently 3ish)
Sleep - get it within 30 minutes of 10pm to 5am, 6 nights a week. (hardest goal - takes 3 weeks of HARD before easy)
Food - TBD (to be determined)
Weight: Lose 2lbs a week minimum after muscle increase spike goes away
by Seafair Half Triathlon: (date?)
Fitness
- Biking - two round trips to work on two consecutive days.
- Capable of running all the way around green lake even when I feel super shitty.
- Pushups Pyramids to 7
- Abs - TBD
- Swimming - swimming schmimming - this is the part I'm naturally strong and skilled at, focus on running and biking goals instead.
Sleep - within 15 minutes of 10-5, 6 night a week.
Food - unknown
Weight: Keep losing 2lbs a week until 175lbs, then 1lb a week.
by time I Climb Rainier:
Figure out if it is too late to sign up this year.
Up and down Si in benchmark time (I forget how long, I think 2 hours?)
Training needed - TBD
Gear needed - TBD (crampons, axe, anything else???)
Food - TBD
Writing this out would have been impossible for me 5 years ago.
http://dpstraining.blogspot.com/
http://dch262.blogspot.com/
I aimed at setting measurable goals. Rainier is the stretch goal (this year anyway). See anything that needs tweaking?
I don't feel the need to set a goal like "work out until I feel strong" because that will happen on its own if I work on the more measurable ones.
I am 5 foot, 10 1/2 inches.
General weight goals:
Short term - get to 25 bmi, from 207 to 175lbs (35 pounds may sound like a lot - but it will be trivial by doing the stuff below - I was 180 or 185 a year ago)
Long term - get it to 22 bmi. My research shows that skinnier than that doesn't give enough health benefit to be worth working for. I have not been at 22 BMI since mid college.
End of April:
Fitness
- Be able to ride back and forth from work 2x in a week with no more than a single day of rest in between.
- Pushups Pyramids to 5 (currently 3ish)
Sleep - get it within 30 minutes of 10pm to 5am, 6 nights a week. (hardest goal - takes 3 weeks of HARD before easy)
Food - TBD (to be determined)
Weight: Lose 2lbs a week minimum after muscle increase spike goes away
by Seafair Half Triathlon: (date?)
Fitness
- Biking - two round trips to work on two consecutive days.
- Capable of running all the way around green lake even when I feel super shitty.
- Pushups Pyramids to 7
- Abs - TBD
- Swimming - swimming schmimming - this is the part I'm naturally strong and skilled at, focus on running and biking goals instead.
Sleep - within 15 minutes of 10-5, 6 night a week.
Food - unknown
Weight: Keep losing 2lbs a week until 175lbs, then 1lb a week.
by time I Climb Rainier:
Figure out if it is too late to sign up this year.
Up and down Si in benchmark time (I forget how long, I think 2 hours?)
Training needed - TBD
Gear needed - TBD (crampons, axe, anything else???)
Food - TBD
Writing this out would have been impossible for me 5 years ago.
Things to write down.
Eating:
Record what I ate, and how I feel before and after.
Painkillers:
Make a note about the severity and type of pain any time I take my usual 1 ibuprofen + 1 acetametaphin.
Exercise:
Sleep:
Quality of the sleep and hours.
Record what I ate, and how I feel before and after.
Painkillers:
Make a note about the severity and type of pain any time I take my usual 1 ibuprofen + 1 acetametaphin.
Exercise:
Sleep:
Quality of the sleep and hours.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
