August 2004 Archives

I couldn't just ride the bike once and leave it alone, could I? Of course not. I did the same Lake Monona Loop this morning and tried to complete it in 45 minutes. I was just a bit off, but I flew none the less. There's definitely going to be a initiation period of getting used to the bike, with my body and pressure points (as my saddle points so rudely reminded me) and how the shoes and gears, etc. works. It's all so very, very cool.

198.8 lbs. on the scale. Maybe the increase is because of the Limón and diet cola boot we had on Saturday night?

Some banner things happened today. First, I went on an unexpected run. I wore a heart-rate monitor for information purposes. It said that I was working out at about 190 bpm, which is awfully high. I can remember maintaining that type of heart rate for several sets when swimming in high school, so maybe it's okay.

Checking in with the scale confirmed awesome news. I weighed 198.2 lbs. Just over 15 pounds lost in 14 days. Anybody that says these diets are a fad most likely are the ones who need to try it out. I'm hooked, and after reading the book, I'm going to extend the strict phase another week to see if I can keep shedding the weight at the same pace.

Kris & I made some major purchases in bikes. I stuck with the Giant TCR even though Erik's had a sweet Specialized. Price made a difference here. Goin with the TCR allowed me to go with a really nice set of shoes for the cost of the Specialized alone. And Kris absolutely fell in love with the Specialized Roubaix (Say it: roo-bay') and its smooth ride. She loved it so much, I think she would've left me if we didn't go back and get the last one in her size. Thoughtfully, the clerk "hid" the bike in the display window so it would be there if we came back.

Now completely outfitted, we toured around Lake Monona on a nice 14.8 mile ride to complete my first two-a-day.

A nice day with bad weather. The scale held true at 199.9 pounds. Barely under 2-bills, but under. As Kris said, "Who's rounding anyways?"

Pretty muched finished up the bike shopping, too. I think I'm going to go with the Giant TCR. The price is a lot more than I intended, but I really didn't know too much getting into this. As we shopped it was appearant that weight is inversely related to money. With it, I get really nice components, a compact, stlyish look, and potentially life-saving (lack of) weight. I still need to ride it because of all the rain today.

Tomorrow is the last day of Phase 1. After that, we get to start reintroducing carbs back into the diet. Thus far, it's gotten much easier to prepare and make some healthy meals. You feel a steady fullfillment throughout the day, rather than the ups & downs of hunger when eating massive amounts of carbs. I also don't feel the need to feel full after a meal in order to make it to the next one. I wonder how many carbs I really need anyways. I still miss beer.

A banner day! The 200-pound plateau has been breeched, if only so slightly. 199.7! When I first focused on the numbers, it scared me a bit to see all the high numbers, but the very little first one made the difference. I know the scale is just teasing me, but it's fun to see.

Also exciting is the looseness of pants and shorts that haven't been worn since Day 1. The belt is even feeling a bit looser. It's days like today that makes all that baby spinach taste so good. The run this morning was a nice cruise with an awesome sunrise over Lake Monona.

I'm also proud to say that last night, I faced adversity and didn't flinch. Both at dinner and out with friends, I had the opportunity for a beer, and I was able to maintain my strength.

A frustrating day on the scale. I didn't work out, and maybe that's why. Or, it's just using negative reinforcement. I weighed 203.5 lbs, still down 10 pounds, but it feels like more than that.

I'm getting back on the wagon from Saturday's night binge. The new scale is working nicely, but it measures just a bit more than the old spring scale we have. It's hard to know which is right. But to be consistent, we'll keep using the new, digital one. It's easier to read anyway. Here's the data:

• Day 8: 202.4 lbs.
• Day 9: 203.5
• Day 10: 202.2

Overall, I'm down 11.4. I've been running about 2.5 miles every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

I don't sing in the shower. You wouldn't want me to if I did. There is nothing that can help you from my tone-deafness.

But, for the past two days, I've been dancing in the shower. There's been no hot water. It's so cold that it's not possible to stand under the water. I put one leg in, get it wet, wash it, and then rinse. Then I put the next leg in, wash, rinse, repeat. This goes on for each body part. It was when I was done, I realized that I've been dancing the hokey-pokey.

I've got five four more GMail Accounts to give away. Who's interested?

We strayed a bit off course last night. Tracy got married, and it's sooo hard to pass up cake, so we indulged on that as some liquor. Kris stayed strong and stuck with red wine. I traded up from the normal beer to Bacardi Limón & diet cola. We stuck under the radar, not boozing it up too much.

I was a bit scared to see what effect the cake would have. But it was a nice 203.5. I'm still waiting to see the magical numbers under 200. After today's bike ride and relatively small meals without too many snacks, there may be hope it tomorrow or the next day.

We got a new scale last night that will hopefully be a bit more accurate than the last. It evens keeps track of your weight, tells you how much weight you've lost, and how much more you've got until your goal. Which was automatically calculated to be 10% off of your starting weight, "according to many health study reports." It also has a level sensor to make you stand evenly on the scale. Cool.

This morning I went shopping for a road bike. I spent 2.5 hours learning that I know nothing about what goes into a road bike. I also learned that I don't have the money necessary to purchase even an entry level machine. So, I've set up an on-line hat to pass around to help raise some funds. If you don't fee like giving, that's cool. Your love and support is fine. In the mean time, I will be saving m precious pennies and educate myself as much as possible on what I need in a road bike. Any input you have is much appreciated.

I ran again this morning. Felt good.

204.6 lbs. on the scale.

Did nothing today. Another thing we've noticed in our first four days is the time necessary to prepare food. It's not easy to come home from work and put some salad together. It was much better when I could come home and toss two hot pockets in the nuker enjoy a hot meal four and a half minutes later. Though, the taco salad was mighty tasty compared to the plain chicken we've been having.

I weighed 206.4 this morning. I think I've burned off the binge fat from last week's beer fest and Sunday's last-rights pizza.

I ran to the park and back this morning. I was a bit more tired than I should be. I don't know if it was the up-tempo music, or the guy that passed me. When he did, I felt a bit of competitiveness take over and raise my pace, which was fine as long as the guy was in front of me. He wasn't on the way back and I paid for it. It was also really humid.

206.6 on the scale for a total of 7.0 pounds gone. Feels damn good.

The first thing I've noticed about being on the diet is the lack of sleepiness after meals. There's no downtime where the eyelids droop and drool creeps from the lips. I feel a nice, steady level of energy all day. It's quite refreshing.

Also, did-ya-know to keep the low/non-fat foods tasty, manufacturers add sugar? So, when eating "low-fat" foods, you actually take in more sugary carbs, which get stored as fat if you don't use them. And most of us don't use them. That's why our "low-fat" foods are actually getting us fatter.

I did some stomach exercises today.

209.2 on the scale. 4.4 lost so far.

I ran to the park and back today. It hurt. I don't think standing all day at the PGA on Friday and the Beer Fest Saturday helped too much.

It's time to get back into the game. Starting today, I am on the South Beach Diet. In two weeks time, by cutting the bad cards and sugar. (No Frosted Flakes!), I'm told that I can loose between 8-13 pounds, most of it around the middle. That's good. I'm getting sick of feeling the flab hang over my belt when tying my shoes.

After a bit of a binge this past week, I'm at 212 on the home scale. Let's see what happens.

The sun was beginning to set behind us as we looked out over Lake Michigan. A gaggle of men gallantly strolled up the fairway. Six of them, in groups of two, went to three separate balls that laid in the fairway. The others stood an watched. Some took notes, others spoke amongst themselves. Each in their own turn, conferred with their notes and caddies, selected their clubs and hit their second shot. None of them acknowledged the thousands that were following along, including us. The three shots yielded different results, JD went into the sand, where he kicked the rake down the hill. Vijay went right, as well as Tiger. We didn't get to see how they finished the hole. Tiger went on to make the cut, continuing his streak of nearly 150 straight cuts. Vijay went on to lead the Championship (and eventually won in a playoff.) John Daly didn't make the cut.

Unfortunately, I couldn't bring my camera to the course. But I had a great time. Some notes:

• Lots of fans get dressed up in their golf outfits, as if they were going to play a round, right down to the small socks that hide behind the golf shoes.


• You don't look any cooler smoking that cigar. In fact, you're quite annoying. You're lucky you don't get punched.


• Stop talking to me. You don't know that much about golf. Nobody's listening to you. Not even your wife. Stop before you get punched.


• Golfers are much taller and skinnier than on TV.


• These guys are good.


• The course was as beautiful as everyone has said it was.


• An amazing amount of infrastructure was constructed just for the PGA. Mainly to handle the crowds.

Update: Proof I was there.

When I signed up for a Gmail account, I also received five invites to give out. Not really knowing what to do with them, I found Gmail4Troops and signed up. After two weeks without a peep, I gave up on the service, but did nothing about it. Then, I got a request from a soldier in Iraq. Cool. I quickly replied offering the small token along with a huge amount of thanks. But, the invite got bounced back. I was down a precious invite with nothing to show for it.

Then another month and a half passed with no word. Then another request. I was cautious this time, contacting the soldier first to confirm the desire for the account. No reply. Oh well, no harm done this time. But, two days later I received two more requests. I sent the confirmation e-mail and received two eager letters in reply. I quickly forwarded their respective invites and within twenty minutes, had given two gigabytes of e-mail to two deserving soldiers.

One replied with a note of thanks and a request for my home address. With just a touch of worry, I gave him my work address. I can't tell you why I was worried, just a gut reaction. Within a week, I received a letter cancelled by the Army Post Office, which obscured a hand-written "Free Mail" where a 37-cent stamp should be. It took seven days for the letter to reach me.

An unexpected feeling of anticipation took over as I opened the letter to find four five-Dinar bills, all in near-perfect state, Saddam's portrait prominently displayed on the front. The nicest personal note accompanied the bills.

I proudly showed everyone in my office the note and the bills and everyone were equally impressed. Click on the "See More..." to read the note and see the bills. Very Cool. This is something I will save as long as I can.