09 February 2008

What a great day so far....

I've done no working out but I've been very busy. I'm making my first 'commercial' and am very impressed with what I've been able to put together. When it's done I'll include a link so you can laugh!!!

Since fasting for almost 20 hours I've just been energized and mentally with it. It's kind of amazing. I've gotten a ton of stuff done that I've been putting off for weeks. I've gotten some things organized and even cleaned up my room. Not to mention made a commercial. I'm not sure if all this stuff is related but it seems pretty coincidental.

So far today I've put the commercial together, cleaned the house from top to bottom, stripped the beds and washed everything. I've been very efficient and productive. I like it.

One thing I haven't done yet is shower. I'm off to do that before I go grocery shopping.

08 February 2008

Interesting day

So I fasted. Well, almost :) No, I did really well until lunch, which didn't happen until 2 p.m. I felt really good. I felt very energized and alert. I wasn't really hungry at all. I did drink a lot more water than normal and that made me wonder if I'm mistaking thirst for hunger. A very common problem. Anyway, I was feeling unbelievable good and didn't even want to stop working for lunch. But I decided to sit down for a few minutes and that's when it started to fall apart.

I saw the other folks eating lunch and I thought I could have just a little. I wasn't really hungry but the sight of food, you know. So I had some lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers - no dressing. I was not even close to full and I thought I'd be okay. I thought wrong. Approximately 2 hours later I started having a blood sugar reaction. Oh this is not good. At that point I had to either ride the shakes out or have something else to eat. I opted for an apple, after which I was fine.

In trying to figure out what happened I came to some realizations. I must have blood sugar reactions every time I eat. But, because I'm eating protein and some fat, I don't notice them due to the length of time it takes protein to digest. When fasting I can not eat, can't handle that reaction - ugh!!! I like not thinking about food. I really enjoyed not worrying about what time it is and should I eat, am I hungry, blah, blah, blah. I really, really liked the freedom.

So I'm going to do it again on Tuesday. Actually I'll start 6 pm on Monday to 6 pm on Tuesday. I want to do it straight through and really see what it's like. I could see this getting easier and easier though it wasn't really hard at all. Tuesday's there's no one around at lunch so I shouldn't be tempted.

So not a bad first attempt. I can't wait for Tuesday. I was going to start another one tomorrow night but I have my long bike ride Sunday morning and I don't think that would work.

Meanwhile, I've been busy working on bird club stuff tonight, I've been so efficient. Holy crap, could not eating heighten mental functions? I've read that it does, maybe it's true. Anyway, I have 2 computers up and running in my room here and there are cables everywhere. I should probably look into bulk cable I use so many of them. One of my things is to get this organized this weekend. Efficiency - that's me!!!

Thinking Part II

Now it's 2 hours later and time to continue my thinking......

If you do a G**gle search for Intermittent Eating you will be amazed at the amount of info out there. Granted, it's the internet and a lot of it is crap, but there is some good stuff too if you can weed through it. There are all kinds of studies on fasting and there are some serious indications that it may help level off hormones, increase fat burning, reduce cancer risks, etc.

Let me clarify something. I'm not talking 3 days nothing but juice or some sort of master cleanse kind of thing. I'm talking taking a temporary break from eating once or twice a week, 24 hours at most. That's all.

Let's look at the numbers. If my BMR is 1500 (rounded for simplicity). That's what it takes me just to live. If I add in some activity what am I talking, a couple of hundred more calories?? So let's say in a day I burn 1800 cals. The prevailing theories say I should eat 500 cals a day less to lose 1 lb a week. That would be 1300 cals a day. I would die. But, if I ate normally and consumed my 1800 or so cals a day but fasted for 2 days, that would be 3600 cals cut a week and theoretically 1 lb lost. Now these 2 days would not be back to back and would only be for 24 hours. So if I eat dinner Monday night at 6 pm, I wouldn't eat again till Tuesday night at 6 pm.

Another school of thought says you should vary your calories day to day so your body doesn't get used to the input. This is just another variation of calories. There are some weekend days when I don't eat until noon or 1. And those are days I've worked out, so that doesn't appear to have any effect on me. I have never bought into the theory that your body goes into starvation mode as soon as you get hungry. I believe hunger is a natural human state that we have never experienced in our lifetime. Yes, I said that. I don't believe anyone of us has every experienced real, true hunger.

I'm sitting here right now drinking my green tea and I haven't eaten since 7 pm last night. So basically I'm 14 hours fasted. I only have 10 more hours to go. Maybe I'll do it today and see how it goes.

Anyway, thought I'd throw this info out there. I'm seriously considering giving this a shot and seeing how it works. I'll let you know what happens.

Am I thinking too much?? Part 1.......

Once again I didn't workout this morning due to plain and simple oversleeping. If I lay a certain way in bed my arm goes numb. Well, I kept doing that all night and kept waking up cause my arm was numb. I finally figured out what I was doing and I guess I missed the alarm. Oh well. The entire week is shot, tomorrow is a new day.

I've been doing a lot of reading about nutrition. A. Lot. The reason being is that all the methods I've used for losing weight in the past are no longer working. If I eat any less I'll starve myself. I haven't had anything sweet in weeks. My diet is so clean it's squeaky. And I've been working out (okay, not this week but this is an anomaly). Yet I can't seem to get the scale (or fat %) to move. So I've been reading. And reading. And reading. All the 'experts' say pretty much the same thing, which is what I'm doing.

So I started thinking. When I can't figure something out, I will take the situation and go backward to a point where I can figure it out. For example, I'm a chemist. If a test doesn't work right I'll go backward through the steps to try and figure out why. If I get all the way back to the beginning and can't find anything wrong, then clearly there is something with the sample. Make sense?? Well, it does to me.

So I started thinking about humans and eating. It's only been about 10,000 years since humans have been actively farming crops. Even then they could only farm in certain areas and during certain times of the year. Prior to that they had to travel to gather their food, they were hunters and gatherers, not farmers. So the basic assumption can be that food was not a constant thing. There were periods when it was scarce or non-existent. Which started me questioning this whole method we have of eating. Where exactly did the 3 meals a day come from? Who decided that we needed to eat every 2-3 hours?? Why??? I've tried to find the answer but it's not there. I find all this talk about keeping your metabolism revved up. Not going into starvation mode. Blah, blah, blah. I no longer buy it.

Having been to Africa and seen the animals in the wild, it's clear to see they don't eat 3 meals a day. They don't even go looking for food until they are hungry. They eat till they are full then laze around until they get hungry again. The only time that's different is with babies. They get to eat whenever they want which, I believe, is why mom makes milk. At one point a few years ago, I was having some problems with my dogs and the vet told me to feed them twice a day. I had been feeding them once a day. I asked why do we feed them once a day and he said probably for convenience, ours not theirs. Now my dogs eat twice a day and are quite happy with that (they eat the same amount just split into 2 meals).

I think 3 meals a day is something modern man dreamed up as a time saver. Instead of people going willy-nilly eating at all different times, a schedule was developed and that actually saved time. Over the last hundred years we've gotten so used to that schedule that it's etched in stone in our brains (not our bodies). I think our bodies were meant to fast sporadically.

Religious groups used fasting in all kinds of ways. The Orthodox Greeks fast like 200 days a year. There's lent, where you really don't fast but you give things up. There Ramadan where you fast all day and eat only at night. The list goes on and on. None of these groups are excessively obese as a whole. In fact the Mediterranean diet is considered one of the healthiest on earth. Could it be because of the fasting???

Part of my problem recently is that I have no desire for food. There is nothing I crave or want. Nothing that sounds, or tastes, especially good. I'm eating well and keeping the calories down so I'm not sure what it is but I go through periods like this every couple of weeks. Food just loses it appeal and I force myself to eat. I never lose weight during these times because I'm continuing to eat 'when' I'm supposed to.

Okay, I have to get ready for work and I don't want this post to be a novel, so I'll stop here for now. I'll finish when I get to work.

07 February 2008

New Toys

Last week I pulled out my digital camera (that is less than 1 year old) to take a picture and it wouldn't work. Hmmm..... I started looking at it and checking it out. I had just charged the batteries so they should be good.... What could be wrong??

It was then I noticed that the cover on the battery compartment was a tiny bit warped. Uhh?? What's this. I look more closely and discover it's been melted. What?? Now I carry my camera in my purse and I do not put my purse anywhere that's hot enough to melt a camera. So some more investigation and finally prying open the battery cover I discover one of the batteries had apparently overheated. I do not know how this happened. I charged the batteries in the charger and then they sat on my desk overnight and I put them in the camera the next morning. So they didn't go from the charger into the camera when they might have been hot. They were Duracell rechargeable and they were only AAA. Anyway, the camera is shot. The compartment where the card is stored was slightly melted but I was able to retrieve the card and it wasn't damaged.

So now I needed a new camera. I've totally gotten used to having a camera with me all the time and snapping pictures of strange things I see. The hunt began. I'm not going into detail here about the hunt since I'm actually going to get paid to tell it over at Flo's Place. But the result is that I got the coolest camera on the face of the earth.

This camera is so sweet. It's got all kinds of settings (I'll have to learn to use them :). It's 10 megapixels with zoom. I love it. And it's pink. And it was only slightly more than my little cheap Polaroid. I'm so very happy with it. It just arrived last night so I haven't had tons of time to play with it but I love it.

While I was looking for this picture on the web, I noticed that I got an incredibly good deal on this camera. I saw it for $200 but I only paid $125. Sweet!!! If you're interested you will be able to find out where I got it and how great the shipping and everything was over the weekend. Sorry, I really hate when people do that.

So that's my story today. I got up with every intention of going for a run and got wrapped up on my new camera (I left it charging overnight). So once again my workout plans were undermined.

On the workout front, after I casually mentioned maybe I need a plan, I realized - I did!!! I need to have a focus to what I'm doing or I lose interest. I need to have goals; swim faster, run farther, bike harder, etc. So I've pulled some plans off the internet and I'm going through my books this weekend and I'm going to get a plan together.

Okay, enough of this. I have to go get ready for work.

06 February 2008

Do you ever have one of those days??

Or weeks?? I just can't seem to get it together this week. There's nothing major wrong just little things keep tripping me up.

I over did it a little this weekend and had some serious muscle soreness. I went swimming Monday and it was a little tough as my upper arms/back were sore and kicking was an issue due to sore quads. Tuesday when I got up I was still a sore (more so than I thought I should be) and decided to put off my run. My plan was actually to run after cycling last night.

Trying to get to cycling last night proved to be too big a challenge. I left work a little late, so was off to a bad start. It was Mardi Gras and there were 2 big celebrations within blocks of each other creating a huge traffic nightmare. The normally 15 minute drive took me 45. Yea!!! So I got to the cycling location 30 minutes late. I didn't think it'd be a problem since we were riding the trainers. But I pulled into the parking lot I didn't see anyone. I drove around and around for 10 minutes and could not find one person or one car. I have the coaches cell phone numbers but of course had left the folder home. After looking everywhere I could think I gave up and went home. I thought I'd hop on the trainer at home but it was hubby's night to host poker so everyone was at my house and the studio where I workout has the bathroom the guys use. So that night didn't work out at all.

This morning I was planning on going swimming. My alarm went off at 5 and I swear I only hit the snooze once, but the next thing I knew it was almost 6. Ugh!!! I still could have made it if I had gotten my lunch ready last night, but I didn't. I figured I'd have plenty of time in the morning.

Why is this happening? I know that I'm undermining myself, but why?? I was thinking maybe it's cause I don't have a strict training plan. I'm just kind of floundering along. Earlier this year when I had a firm plan and a goal, I did great at getting my workouts in. I'm thinking I need to have a solid plan. I have a goal, my first tri is April 13th. So all that's really missing is a plan. Actually, my next race is Feb. 18th. But I'm basically trained and ready for that one. I'm looking towards the tri now.

Maybe it's time for a serious break. Maybe I'll go check out Winter Park real estate. Maybe I need a little snow and cold to shake me up some :)

Anyway, I'm going to try and get some work done and not screw anything else up.

05 February 2008

I can be very strange.....

even to myself :) I worry about the weirdest things, yet have no worries over other things. For instance, I'm not concerned at all about getting breast cancer even though it runs in my family. I have no fear of cervical cancer although I have a history of precancerous cells. Yet I worry uncontrollably about ovarian cancer. I mean an unnatural fear of it. It's weird. I get all panicky about getting into an auto accident yet ride my bike on narrow, busy streets. Strange.

I was just reading about mesothelioma. This is the cancer you get from exposure to asbestos. We have a lawyer here in Hawaii who advertises on TV quite frequently for mesothelioma sufferers. According to the National Cancer Society, almost everyone in our time has been exposed to asbestos. That's kind of freaky and causes me bizarre worries. It gets me thinking about if I've ever been exposed to asbestos. Probably....

There is lots of mesothelioma information out there and it's pretty scary. It takes 20-50 years for the cancer to show up. Yikes. That's a long time for it to do damage and you not know it. Very, very scary. The cancer generally occurs in people who worked with asbestos but even a little exposure can be hazardous. Asbestos is used in so many things too. I probably have some around me right now and don't even know.

Okay, enough. The strangest things run through my mind. I read stuff and get all caught up in it. I now have to convince myself I'm not a mesothelioma candidate.

Quick, get the duct tape!!

Because this will make your head explode!!

Mississippi wants to ban restaurants from serving fat people!!!

House Bill No. 282, which was introduced this month, says: Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies. A food establishment shall be entitled to rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person.

This is so wrong on so many levels I could write all day. But since this is a health and fitness blog I'm going to focus on that side of it. So they are going to develop criteria that will determine whether a person is obese. What will they use? Scale weight? That won't work because healthy weight is different for everyone. A bodybuilder may weight 300 lbs and not be obese at all. So scale weight can't work. BMI? Well, we know that doesn't work. Since BMI is basically height to weight ratio, that same 300 lb bodybuilder is only 5'8". His BMI is 45.6 and therefore considered obese. Well, one look at him will tell you he's not obese, but the criteria will needed to be applied consistently. How else can they do it? Some massive calculation? Some designation you get from your doctor? A star you have to sew on your clothes? This borders on Nazism, it really does. I am the first person to say this nation has to shape up and obese people need to lose weight, for a variety of reasons. But baning them from restaurants is so not the answer. Okay, the political discussion continues over at The Ones Who Get Screwed.

Grey Poupon

Sometimes people send me stuff and ask me to review it and write about it on my blog. Well, this is one of those reviews. The other day I got some Grey Poupon in the mail. Specifically the Harvest Coarse Ground and the Hearty Spicy Brown varieties.

Now I love mustard but only with certain things. I adore mustard on sandwiches, but it has to be the right kind of sandwich. I love mustard on hot dogs, but that has to be a specific type of mustard. I know, I'm weird and have strange eating habits. Hubby and I finally realized we had a corned beef in the freezer and that is perfect for trying different types of mustard and comparing.

So the other night hubby cooked the corned beef with all the trimmings, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. Yummmmmm......it was good. Anyway, back to the mustard…

Sorry about the crappy picture. This was also the night a battery melted down in my camera so I had to take this with my cell phone, but that's another post.

So first I tried the Harvest Coarse Ground. This is a great mustard. It is coarse so there is some gritty texture to it, but I really liked it. This one also has a bit of a kick to it. I thought there was some horseradish or something in it, but there's not. It's very good and I liked it a lot. I will definitely use this one often.

Next I tried the Hearty Spicy Brown one. According to the ingredients this one contains some horseradish yet I didn't think it had as much kick as the coarse one. I thought it was a much milder flavor and while very nice, I didn't like it as much. However, I can see where this would be the mustard of choice. I have a dipping sauce I make for baked chicken and the Hearty Spicy Brown would be much better with the other ingredients. The Harvest Coarse Ground would overpower the other ingredients and you don't want that for this sauce.

So, my opinion??? Both are very good. The Harvest Coarse Ground wins for use in things like sandwiches and as a plain condiment due to its spicy flavor and little kick. The Hearty Spicy Brown wins for use in recipes. I think this one would blend and meld well with different ingredients and not overpower them.

There you have it. Send me free stuff and I'll write about it too :)

04 February 2008

What a busy weekend.

I didn't have any major plans but it seemed like I didn't have a spare minute after my run Saturday. I did get an awful lot accomplished though so I'm very happy with that. I was so exhausted last night that I was in bed by 8:30. That caused me to wake up before the alarm this morning. So at least I know I've gotten enough rest.

This morning was swimming. I wanted to start a swimming program but I forgot over the weekend and I didn't get one put together. I ended up just swimming and working on my balance and rolling. I got to the pool late and there was no one there. I thought maybe it was closed, but the lifeguard was in his spot. There were just no swimmers. It was weird, but nice to have the whole pool to myself.

I've been lifting weights for a few months now, but the last couple of months I haven't been feeling it. Then last week or so I read an article by the author of the program I'm using. He says you should feel it every workout and gave examples of how much weight he uses. I realized I was not using enough weight, and had not changed my weights in about 2 months. So last week I started upping the weights. At first I went too high because I could not finish the reps. I backed off a little and found the perfect weights. It was hard work but I could do all the reps. By the time I was done I was sweating, breathing hard, and the muscles were shaking just a little. That's what I want.

Well, I got up yesterday morning only to realize I had a pretty bad case of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Ugh!!! I went to cycling hoping that the movement would assist in the clearing of the lactic acid. It did help some, but by the end of the 2 hours I could barely pedal back to the car. I thought I was going to land on my butt trying to get my leg over my bike. It was not pretty. I hobbled around the rest of the day and rested as much as I could.

This morning when I got up I was still a bit sore. I decided swimming was the perfect antidote. Umm, not so much. I'm still pretty sore but I'll live. It's mainly my quads today. I think biking yesterday probably wasn't the smartest idea. Oh well.

Okay, I have to go cut fish and grind it up. Oh how fun!!!!

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...