Wednesday Weigh-In 20120613

My wife is sick, and the dog training is not going smoothly. So I'm very worn out right now.

Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Notes From "In Defense of Food"

Here's the list of Web Resources from "In Defense of Food : An Eater's Manifesto," by Michael Pollan.  They are focused on helping consumers find locally grown or produced food.

Center for Informed Food Choices
Eat Local Challenge
Eat Well
Eat Wild
Food Routes
Local Harvest
Weston A. Price Foundation

...a science journalist named Gary Taubes ... for the last decade has been blowing the whistle on the science behind the low-fat campaign.  In a devastating series of articles and an important new book called Good Calories, Bad Calories, Taubes has all but demolished the whole lipid hypothesis, demonstrating just how little scientific backing it had from the very beginning.

Indeed.  Wind the tape back to 1976, and you find plenty of reasons to doubt the lipid hypothesis even then.  Some of these reasons were circumstantial, but nevertheless compelling.  For instance, during the decades of the twentieth century when rates of heart disease were rising in America, Americans were actually reducing their intake of animal fats (in the form of lard and tallow).  In place of those fats, they consumed substantially more vegetable oils, especially in the form of margarine, sales of which outpaced butter for the first time in 1957.  Between the end of World War II and 1976 ... per capita consumption of animal fats from all sources dropped from eighty-four pounds to seventy-one, while fats from seed oils approximately doubled.  Americans appeared to be moving in the direction of a "prudent diet" and yet, paradoxically, having more heart attacks on it, not fewer.

Here's an online article that discusses oils further.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20120607

Trying to get over a cold that I've had since Friday.

Waist = 37.5"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20120530

Hot steamy weather is making me sweat and is putting a big dent in my appetite.

Waist = 37.5"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Towel Day

Author Douglas Adams died unexpectedly on May 11, 2001 at age 49.  Adams was the creator of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," the work he is perhaps best known for, and in which we learn that the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is 42.

Fans organized a wake called "Towel Day" to take place two weeks later, May 25, 2001.  It was such a success (as if a wake could be a success) that it has been held annually on May 25.

This year, Towel Day falls on 5/25/12, which is numerically auspicious.  You see, 5 + 25 + 12 = 42.

Here are some links so that you can learn more about Towel Day.

http://strugglingwriter.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/happy-towel-day-2010/

http://TowelDay.org

Wednesday Weigh-In 20120525

I ate lots of ice cream over the weekend and on Monday. And yet I came out weighing a bit lower. I think it's because the dog is better trained on the leash, so I'm able to take longer walks at a faster pace.

Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20120516

CTrides week is coming to an end here in Connecticut. I had planned to cut back on my 5-day-per-week commute by bicycling one day and then telecommuting another day. But the weather was rainy and humid on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so I didn't bike then.

Today, our daughter had a big doctor's appointment that I had to drive her to. So I planned to telecommute afterwards. However, my wife was committed to having Chinese food tonight, and the only restaurant she likes is the one near my work place. So yes, I could've worked from home, but then one of us would essentially drive to work and back just for Chinese food. So I decided to drive to work today.

So that leaves just tomorrow. We'll be having lunch delivered to work, so I won't need to bring my lunch or go out for it. That's a good arrangement for a bike commute. I must remember to bring home my bike and gear tonight!

Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.