Hint, it involves re-balancing levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin.
Waist = 37.75"
Height = 5' 9"
References:
- Wikipedia BMI page
- Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
- Javascript must be enabled to view the data.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Wednesday Weigh-In 20120328
The 7 Keys to Permanent Weight Control. Information to fight the battle against obesity, by Todd Burstain, MD
Hint, it involves re-balancing levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin.
Waist = 37.75"
Height = 5' 9"
References:
Hint, it involves re-balancing levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin.
Waist = 37.75"
Height = 5' 9"
References:
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Challenge of Travel
I don't like to travel. By "travel," I mean "fly in an airplane and stay in a hotel for at least one night."
One issue is the idea of planning the trip. Remember that my wife is a medical enigma that would confound even Gregory House. So the idea of purchasing plane tickets and making hotel reservations for a set of dates during which I have no idea whether my wife will be stricken by any number of bizarre symptoms... Sorry, I lost my train of thought. But the idea is ludicrous.
Even traveling alone or with relatively normal people bothers me. The main issue for me is diet. I need to eat fresh, high-quality, gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, minimally-processed food in order to pass myself off as a normal-functioning human. This is something that airport food and hotel fare isn't well-known for.
When I went to Maryland for two days in January, I did fine with the free hotel breakfast on day one. Yes, most of the offerings were bread-related -- cereal, bagel, oatmeal, pancakes, etc -- and I passed those by. But I did find mini-omelets, sausage links and fruit. So I took two of the omelets (which each had a mere teaspoon of chopped green peppers) several sausages, and a banana. Yes, sausage meat is processed, but I did okay with it. But on day two, the only thing I could eat was the bacon, and that more resembled wrinkled pink plastic than meat. So I ate that and then went to the deli next door to buy an omelet loaded with vegetables. Now that I think of that hotel stay, I never did get asked to complete a survey -- I was looking forward to lambasting them on their understanding of nutrition.
One other minor issue is that I seem to do things backwards in the morning. When I get up in the morning, I like to eat first (after feeding the cats and dogs, getting my daughter off to school, fetching the newspaper, scooping the litterboxes, taking the dog out for a brief walk and making my lunch). Then I brush my teeth, shower and get dressed. Of course, when I'm away from home, all that parenthetical stuff goes away. But the reason I eat first is that "first" is the logical place for eating to be. After all, you don't eat after brushing your teeth. You eat before you brush your teeth. And you don't shower and get dressed before eating because if you spill something on yourself while eating, or work up a sweat while preparing breakfast,1 you'll just have to change your clothes and maybe shower again. My preference is to prepare and eat my breakfast while wearing the previous day's clothes, and then shower and put on fresh clothes right before leaving for work.2
But when I travel, I find that food choices are extremely limited before 7am. So if I need to show up someplace at 8am, I'd have to eat, brush my teeth, shower, get dressed and commute all in an hour's time. Or I have to do things backwards: brush my teeth, shower, get dressed, eat, and lastly commute, even if it means I have to go out with bacon breath and a display of coffee dribble on my shirt.
I wonder, am I the only one who has these issues?
1 It's easy to work up a sweat just by preparing breakfast in the summer, especially on a humid day if you don't have air conditioning. And if the preparation doesn't make you sweat, the hot tea or hot coffee surely will.
2 I discretely chose not to discuss how bodily functions contribute to this issue. I prefer to shower after using the toilet, and I usually need to use the toilet only after eating breakfast. And sometimes I have sneezing or coughing episodes due to excess mucus in my upper respiratory system. My preference for expelling mucus is to shower after having a nice hot breakfast and some tea.
One issue is the idea of planning the trip. Remember that my wife is a medical enigma that would confound even Gregory House. So the idea of purchasing plane tickets and making hotel reservations for a set of dates during which I have no idea whether my wife will be stricken by any number of bizarre symptoms... Sorry, I lost my train of thought. But the idea is ludicrous.
Even traveling alone or with relatively normal people bothers me. The main issue for me is diet. I need to eat fresh, high-quality, gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, minimally-processed food in order to pass myself off as a normal-functioning human. This is something that airport food and hotel fare isn't well-known for.
When I went to Maryland for two days in January, I did fine with the free hotel breakfast on day one. Yes, most of the offerings were bread-related -- cereal, bagel, oatmeal, pancakes, etc -- and I passed those by. But I did find mini-omelets, sausage links and fruit. So I took two of the omelets (which each had a mere teaspoon of chopped green peppers) several sausages, and a banana. Yes, sausage meat is processed, but I did okay with it. But on day two, the only thing I could eat was the bacon, and that more resembled wrinkled pink plastic than meat. So I ate that and then went to the deli next door to buy an omelet loaded with vegetables. Now that I think of that hotel stay, I never did get asked to complete a survey -- I was looking forward to lambasting them on their understanding of nutrition.
One other minor issue is that I seem to do things backwards in the morning. When I get up in the morning, I like to eat first (after feeding the cats and dogs, getting my daughter off to school, fetching the newspaper, scooping the litterboxes, taking the dog out for a brief walk and making my lunch). Then I brush my teeth, shower and get dressed. Of course, when I'm away from home, all that parenthetical stuff goes away. But the reason I eat first is that "first" is the logical place for eating to be. After all, you don't eat after brushing your teeth. You eat before you brush your teeth. And you don't shower and get dressed before eating because if you spill something on yourself while eating, or work up a sweat while preparing breakfast,1 you'll just have to change your clothes and maybe shower again. My preference is to prepare and eat my breakfast while wearing the previous day's clothes, and then shower and put on fresh clothes right before leaving for work.2
But when I travel, I find that food choices are extremely limited before 7am. So if I need to show up someplace at 8am, I'd have to eat, brush my teeth, shower, get dressed and commute all in an hour's time. Or I have to do things backwards: brush my teeth, shower, get dressed, eat, and lastly commute, even if it means I have to go out with bacon breath and a display of coffee dribble on my shirt.
I wonder, am I the only one who has these issues?
1 It's easy to work up a sweat just by preparing breakfast in the summer, especially on a humid day if you don't have air conditioning. And if the preparation doesn't make you sweat, the hot tea or hot coffee surely will.
2 I discretely chose not to discuss how bodily functions contribute to this issue. I prefer to shower after using the toilet, and I usually need to use the toilet only after eating breakfast. And sometimes I have sneezing or coughing episodes due to excess mucus in my upper respiratory system. My preference for expelling mucus is to shower after having a nice hot breakfast and some tea.
Wednesday Weigh-In 20120321
Tuesday is Chinese food night at our house. But I didn't order Chinese food for myself last night. We had some baked chicken breast left over, so I decided to have that instead. The issue I have with Chinese food is that it can taste so good that I'll eat too much of it. And this makes me tired, so I seek out crunchy or sweet snacks to perk myself back up. I'll do this even (or especially) when I feel totally stuffed.
I think Chinese food is a far better fast food option than burgers and fries. But it's not perfect. Even if you avoid the "crispy" dishes (General Tsao's chicken, for example, is breaded before it's fried) you'll still ingest the wheat and/or corn starch that's used to thicken the sauce. Wheat can be found in soy sauce, too.
If I'm desperate to stick to my gluten-free diet, I'll order the steamed chicken and broccoli. But the restaurant we order from gives us a free order of Crab Rangoon, which is like a small turnover. I hate to throw out food, so I usually succumb to this temptation. I'm sure the dog would eat it on my behalf, but he shouldn't be having that stuff, either!
Now for something completely different.... My wife complained last night that she weighed herself on Monday and was 13 pounds lighter than usual. Then she weighed herself again yesterday (one day later) and got the normal reading. I can get two back-to-back readings that are off by two pounds or so, depending on how hydrated I am and how much sleep I got preceding each measurement. And if the scale isn't quite level for one reading, it can report a different result. But 13 pounds is quite a lot!
Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"
References:
I think Chinese food is a far better fast food option than burgers and fries. But it's not perfect. Even if you avoid the "crispy" dishes (General Tsao's chicken, for example, is breaded before it's fried) you'll still ingest the wheat and/or corn starch that's used to thicken the sauce. Wheat can be found in soy sauce, too.
If I'm desperate to stick to my gluten-free diet, I'll order the steamed chicken and broccoli. But the restaurant we order from gives us a free order of Crab Rangoon, which is like a small turnover. I hate to throw out food, so I usually succumb to this temptation. I'm sure the dog would eat it on my behalf, but he shouldn't be having that stuff, either!
Now for something completely different.... My wife complained last night that she weighed herself on Monday and was 13 pounds lighter than usual. Then she weighed herself again yesterday (one day later) and got the normal reading. I can get two back-to-back readings that are off by two pounds or so, depending on how hydrated I am and how much sleep I got preceding each measurement. And if the scale isn't quite level for one reading, it can report a different result. But 13 pounds is quite a lot!
Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"
References:
- Wikipedia BMI page
- Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
- Javascript must be enabled to view the data.
Dream: Arriving at Work During Fire
I've just arrived at work with a co-worker and WN, the sales guy, who is visiting with a customer. Rather than have WN go through the trouble of getting buzzed in, I offer to unlock the door for him with my badge. However, I see that the door is already unlocked and slightly ajar.
I think how strange this is and wonder if there is a fire alarm. I go inside and hear the alarm. Sure enough a female fire rescue person shows up at the door. Instead of turning around and leaving, I decide to enter further. We usually have false alarms, so I figure it's safe to ignore it.
I'm walking around looking for any evidence of fire. The surroundings resemble the concourse of an indoor mall. I notice some commotion a few stores up ahead on the right. A fire rescue person with an ax is smashing the window of a travel agency, and there is indeed smoke coming out from the store.
I think how strange this is and wonder if there is a fire alarm. I go inside and hear the alarm. Sure enough a female fire rescue person shows up at the door. Instead of turning around and leaving, I decide to enter further. We usually have false alarms, so I figure it's safe to ignore it.
I'm walking around looking for any evidence of fire. The surroundings resemble the concourse of an indoor mall. I notice some commotion a few stores up ahead on the right. A fire rescue person with an ax is smashing the window of a travel agency, and there is indeed smoke coming out from the store.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Good Parenting Leads to Good Driving
In my previous post on Road Rage, I described how the thought of my own
daughter driving (or one of her friends) made it less likely I'd be
reacting to other drivers' annoyances.
The thought of my own daughter driving leads me to another form of behavior modification. I now feel the need to set a good example. I'm less likely to coast through stop signs, run red lights or grossly exceed the speed limit lately. And that's not even when she's in the car, peering at the speedometer. This good driving malaise sets in whenever I see a car marked "Student Driver," or a young driver, or even a driver that makes an actual full stop at a stop sign (a rare occurrence in Connecticut).
I wonder if my auto insurance company considers this?
The thought of my own daughter driving leads me to another form of behavior modification. I now feel the need to set a good example. I'm less likely to coast through stop signs, run red lights or grossly exceed the speed limit lately. And that's not even when she's in the car, peering at the speedometer. This good driving malaise sets in whenever I see a car marked "Student Driver," or a young driver, or even a driver that makes an actual full stop at a stop sign (a rare occurrence in Connecticut).
I wonder if my auto insurance company considers this?
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Wednesday Weigh-In 20120315
I have a coworker who likes to walk at lunchtime, so lately we've been walking together. Unfortunately he doesn't walk briskly enough for me. On the plus side, I have someone to talk to (beside myself), so the walk is a lot less boring.
Waist = 37.5"
Height = 5' 9"
References:
Waist = 37.5"
Height = 5' 9"
References:
- Wikipedia BMI page
- Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
- Javascript must be enabled to view the data.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Road Rage Innoculator
Those of us who drive have encountered drivers who cut us off, drive slower than we'd like, drive faster than we'd like, follow behind us too closely, and (generally-speaking) annoy us.
It's tempting to honk, shout and make hand gestures at them.
But many years ago, it occurred to me that I don't know who that person is whom I'm gesturing at. What if it's a friend of mine, or my Mother-in-Law, or the Pastor at our church?
Then I expanded that list to include elderly folks and those who are disabled or are on pain medication. How can you rant at someone whom you feel sorry for? Besides, would you really want someone who's taking an opioid to be going as fast as the rest of us?
This morning I realized I'm allowing for another class of drivers -- teenagers. This comes from being the parent of a teenager. That annoying driver could (one day) be my own daughter or one of her friends. Would you give the finger to your own daughter?
Then the epiphany landed on me. Everyone is someone's daughter (or son). I should rant at no one.
So that leaves me with only one outlet -- traffic lights. Yes, when the light turns red right in front of me, and I'm alone in the car, I give it the Finger below the dashboard, where only I know about it.
It's tempting to honk, shout and make hand gestures at them.
But many years ago, it occurred to me that I don't know who that person is whom I'm gesturing at. What if it's a friend of mine, or my Mother-in-Law, or the Pastor at our church?
Then I expanded that list to include elderly folks and those who are disabled or are on pain medication. How can you rant at someone whom you feel sorry for? Besides, would you really want someone who's taking an opioid to be going as fast as the rest of us?
This morning I realized I'm allowing for another class of drivers -- teenagers. This comes from being the parent of a teenager. That annoying driver could (one day) be my own daughter or one of her friends. Would you give the finger to your own daughter?
Then the epiphany landed on me. Everyone is someone's daughter (or son). I should rant at no one.
So that leaves me with only one outlet -- traffic lights. Yes, when the light turns red right in front of me, and I'm alone in the car, I give it the Finger below the dashboard, where only I know about it.
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