Half way

New pics are up, and here's the score at half-time:

Body weight: 146.8
BMI: 21.2
Body Fat %: 15.2

Since Day 10, just over 5 weeks ago:

Lbs lost: 17.9
Lbs of FAT lost (est.): 15.4

Or, to put it another way:




To quote Mikhael and many others in the program (and elsewhere): "Booya!"

I'd be pleased with this kind of progress over 60, 75, even 90 days, but I remind myself that slimming down to this point--and shedding the last 5 or so lbs of excess fat--is only half the battle. The next step is to add MUSCLE. And though it's going to be every bit as challenging as the first half, for the first time in a long, long time, I feel like I have the momentum to do it.

Thanks to everyone--especially the team and Patrick--for helping us push ourselves this far!

Mind Over Marshmellow

I recently came across a 2009 New Yorker article about this classic study and its researcher, Walter Mischel. It's a good reminder for those of us trying to stick to a diet that our cravings are perfectly natural, that defeating them really is a question of mind over matter, and that the consequences of learning--or failing to learn--to do so can be HUGE.

Ayn Rant

Todd's recent post is great, and has motivated me to put down some of my own thoughts that had had been languishing in "Edit" limbo for the past couple weeks.

There are parts of me that generally agree with good, old-fashioned, libertarian free-market principles. I believe that, all things being equal, government should only intervene in markets where those markets fail, or seriously risk doing so, in order to provide what private industry cannot or will not offer. And I agree with some of the criticism of the idea that society 'makes' us unhealthy, and believe that yes, in many cases, we can usually choose to be healthy.

But where I differ with the "Atlas Shrugged"-toting crowd is the degree to which I think markets tend to fail, and the degree to which choices made in one market impact choices available in others.

First, it's important to remember that we live in a world of CONSTRAINED choices--constrained particularly by the marketplace, i.e., others' choices and preferences (demand) for specific kinds of goods, as well as by our own ability to access those goods at a reasonable price. Here is DC, there's a great little farmer's market 1/4 mile from my house on Sundays, and another that's even closer to my work on Wednesdays. But again, that's here in "progressive" DC--I'm originally a corn-fed Midwestern guy, and grew up where such markets were far scarcer and, well, just FAR. And I've got the disposable income to drop on high-quality food; others, even in my neighborhood, are not so lucky, and have to settle for choosing from a more limited range of more highly processed food. For them, the choice to eat healthy is a much more costly one.

Also, markets only function well when buyers and sellers (or producers and consumers) have near-perfect information. In reality, especially when it comes to food, we're light-years from this ideal. (Michael Pollan has already covered this territory well).

Lastly, markets only tend to function efficiently when the individual players behave RATIONALLY. But many of us are literally ADDICTED to sugar and salt; we have no experience of what it feels like to be truly healthy. Even when we "know" what the trade-offs are in terms of ill-being and shortened life span, we make the economically irrational choice and slurp down another Venti Frappachino with whip. When it comes to food choices, too many of us are more like crack addicts than car buyers. Rather than "kicking the wheels" and reading the label (or, better yet, eating something UNlabeled), we heedlessly gulp down whatever sugary concoction will give us our "fix."

Food product marketers themselves prey on our weaknesses. I have yet to begin to research this in any depth, but my hunch is that one of the reasons that food production companies chafe at voluntarily cutting back their sugar, salt, & corn syrup is that it may leave them vulnerable to competitors who DON'T cut back. (To Todd's point, one solution certainly is a broad-based regulatory intervention, or even a tax, that hits ALL producers/consumers evenly.) Since most consumers buy on that initial taste rush, any such cut back could translate into a loss of short-term competitive advantage. And though one could argue that consumer tastes appear to be gradually shifting in the healthier direction, many companies are merely paying lip-service to this trend; they still want to avoid losing their health-ignorant base just to please that smaller, health conscious segment. Starbucks, for example, is only going so far to improve their products; notice that they'll happily and publicly dial back every nasty ingredient--EXCEPT the two worst, the sugar and refined flour:




The housing market collapsed in 2007, bringing down our economy--and nearly bringing down our society--because individual suppliers relied on lack of knowledge and self-control on the part of consumers to pull them into shouldering unmanageable levels of debt, without realizing the cumulative impacts of their actions. In so doing, they burdened themselves, and everyone who ended up bearing or owning that debt, with unmanageable levels of financial risk, for which we are all now collectively covering the bill.

We're doing it all again, but now with our health. The cumulative actions of suppliers--food product companies, nutritionists, journalists, the fad diet industry, the medical industry--is pushing people to take on unmanageable levels of physical stress and bodily damage. In so doing, they are burdening themselves, and everyone who--literally--consumes their products, with unmanageable levels of physical risk. And once again, at the end of the day, it's everybody else who pays--via higher insurance premiums, higher in-patient medical expenses, higher Medicare and Medicaid taxes, lower worker productivity, and a generally lower quality of life.

Mix'n it up

I mixed up the workout today--instead of swinging the rope, I took a 25-minute (2.2-mile) run to Rock Creek Park, then knocked out my pull-ups (and incline pull-ups) on the taxpayer-funded work-out stations along the trail. Then I ran back. (The trip back included a grueling 2-minute slog up the steepest slope in the park). I still did the pistol squats, but passed on the creep, since my knees were feeling a bit iffy after the hill. I then finished up all of the remaining sets for Day 39. On to Day 40! Almost 1/2 way!!!

One year later

New pics are up. And while I've definitely seen a difference between day 10 and day day 37--14 lbs!--I was shocked when I asked my doctor's nurse what I had weighed at previous appointments. Last May, 2009, almost exactly one year ago, I was 185 lbs. And it was not muscle. Subtracting 2 lbs for business casual threads, and that's still 183. No wonder I had knee issues. Pack enough blubber for an Antarctic winter onto the frame of someone who's built more like a cross-country runner than a tight-end, and bad things are bound to happen. Duh.

The fact that I've lost over 32 lbs in a year is definitely an accomplishment, especially when almost half of that has come off in the last 5 weeks. But it's still disconcerting, because it begs the question: how did I end up in that state to begin with?

The quick answer is, of course, I ate crap and didn't exercise. But these are 'proximate causes'; the ultimate causes, as I'm learning, are much more subtle. I'll hopefully get to expound upon more upon these as I flesh out (pun intended) my thoughts in the coming weeks. Social pressure, and social norms, has a lot to do with it--e.g., "why do you need to lose any weight? You're not FAT!" I'm still getting this one a lot, particularly from overweight colleagues and friends. More powerful still is the peer pressure to come "hang out"--and eat/drink. I.e., everybody's doing it, and the food "tastes" good (i.e., gives you a nice sugar rush), so it must be OK, right? But one's own mind also plays a huge role. I definitely made selective comparisons with others over this time period, and did a lot of rationalization ("hey, I'm not that big compared to some in my family!"). I'll try to think of more of these as I become aware of them.

Fortunately, as I've found over the past 5 weeks, the solution is relatively straightforward: 1) eat good, nourishing food in proportions that your body needs to 2) safely push yourself to your physical limits on a regular basis, while 3) getting adequate rest.

Speaking of which--off to bed...

Egg-squisitely challenging new work-outs this week

We've started our new diets, which include lots and lots of eggs. (At least, the whites). This week, at least, we're at 5 per-day. It sounds like a LOT of extra protein--and it almost looked like a lot of extra protein...

..until you do the work-out, and your body realizes that it's going to need it. After that, I had no problem inhaling those suckers. And I'm looking forward to letting go of the reins at my favorite salad place tomorrow (no worries, just the veggies, with some fresh-squeezed lemon juice for dressing).

That's about all I can blog for now, I'm pretty wiped out from the newer, more intense sets, which include PISTOL SQUATS. Can't wait to see my doctor's reaction tomorrow at my check-up, when I tell her I'm doing those! I may bring in the week's workout sheets, just for kicks. And, of course, 40-second planks. I know we're just inching our way to minute sets. It already burns my abs thinking about it, like I shot-gunned a 40-oz. can of hot, molten lava.

"Bring it on."

I'll leave you with breakfast:



Sauteed peppers & onions, avocado, oatmeal, 200 ml of milk and, of course, the egg.

Boo-yah.

Another set of flawless jumps.

Wake-y, Wake-y, eggs and ba... er, nevermind.

Here's an interesting--and surprisingly main-stream--article from Reuters:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100517/hl_nm/us_heart_meat

There's an American Meat Institute? Wonder what their reaction to the study is...

...ah, never mind--it's right here on their website:

http://www.meatami.com/ht/display/ReleaseDetails/i/59536

I must confess, I did eat some jerkey on my little camping trip this weekend, for the lunch protein. I'd love to find some place that sells low-sodium, dried (but otherwise chemically untreated) meats for my backpacking trips. Perhaps the AMI website could point me in the right direction. Or maybe not...

Off to bed...

Un-dulgence

So my indulgence on Wednesday was supposed to be a chocolate pie with lavender vanilla gellato; however, they were out of the gellato, so I had to settle for vanilla frozen yogurt (which turned out to be a harbinger of the diet to come):




I ate this as a very late afternoon (OK, evening) snack, then went home and had dinner. It tasted good, but having eaten nothing but healthy for the past month, I could definitely sense the void of the "empty calories." And honestly, 20 minutes after finishing this thing off, my stomach felt a little upset, and my head started to hurt a little. My body definitely welcomed the shrimp & veggie salad an hour later.

Just prior to the "un-dulgence," I had traveled to Philadelphia for work, Monday through Tuesday morning. I had a PCP lunch that I brought, but dinner was with co-workers at a Mexican place. I did all right: shrimp ceviche with salsa and avocados--I picked off the way-too-buttery spicy popcorn off the top--along with a Mexican chop salad, naked--no dressing, no cheese. Though I had to do my best to pick off the tortilla fragments sprinkled on top. While I've known we live in a carbo-culture, following the diet really makes one realize just how much our cuisine is in a dysfunctional, co-dependent relationship with simple starches & sugars, too insecure to let a salad just be itself.

Aside from not being measured (I probably over-ate on the veggies, under-ate on the protein) and, as usual, too salty, I don't think I did too badly. I resisted gorging on the carb & fat-laden fare that my co-workers were enjoying washing down with their high-end margaritas. Breakfast at the hotel was a piece of toast, some scrambled egg (equivalent to about 1 real egg), fried potatoes (ugh--the only veggies available at the breakfast buffet!), and a cup of milk. Oh, and nice, low-cal coffee.

I'm actually a little relieved now that our dinners consist of a banana, an apple, an egg white, and milk; it's definitely going to save some preparation time--and make it easier to "dine out."

Rope

I made it to 1,300 jumps with no trips, skips, or breaks.

Eating pro-tip

Eating pro-tip: Be sure to brush your teeth after you eat beets--otherwise, you'll look like you were punched in the teeth by Kimbo Slice.

Worth the rough week

The week was tough, at least from a scheduling viewpoint. My workouts rotated to evenings again, and I ended up staying late at work pretty much every day. But no matter how tired I was, I still somehow managed to finish them. Still, I can't keep trying to count jumps while simultaneously trying to keep my eyes open; I'm sure it's going to catch up with me soon. Next week (starting tomorrow) it's back to mornings--and an early bed time. I've been thinking of adding another "exercise" to check off on our daily list: 8 hours of sleep. This way I won't think of the workout as being complete until the muscles I just torched have the rest they need to grow.

My sticking point with the exercises continues to be the pull-ups; tonight I could only do 2 sets of 3 each before having to switch to the incline variety. FAIL. Full push-ups continue to be a challenge, though I can finish the minimum number of reps & sets--for now. Otherwise, everything with the legs & the bands goes well--I can always work up a great burn.

My energy levels remain generally high. Moreover, I don't feel the same pendulum effect throughout the day that I used to. Even when I'm short on sleep (again, too often this week), the swings haven't been nearly as severe.

The effects are also starting to show a little in the pics--new ones are up!--and, as I mentioned a couple days ago, in the clothes. This used to be my favorite pair of jeans:



I guess it still is, but now for a different reason.

Next week's big challenge: sticking with the PCP diet & exercises during a 24-hour work stint in Philly. Suggestions on how to manage at restaurants (at least once) are welcome...

Two steps forward...

My little white, round friend above my brow has departed. As he was leaving, I've been taking note of some much more positive effects:

1. My weight is down to below 160 lbs--for the first time in years (probably since I was overseas);

2. As a result of #1, NONE of my jeans/slacks now really fit. I need a belt to keep from looking all gangsta' at work, and I've had to move the belt up a notch. I can actually take off my jeans without unbuttoning/unzipping them.

3. My jumping has gotten much easier; I was able to knock out the 1,000 jumps last night with only 2 or 3 trips, and no trips the last 500 reps!

Unfortunately, I awoke this morning with some pain in my left knee. I'm hoping this is just my body telling me to take it a little easier (i.e., dial down the high-elevation hikes while piling on more sets of leg exercises). I'm really hoping it's not spreading arthritis, which I've had before in my right knee, and for which I've been on drugs for over a year now.

The diet is good, and my scale continues to get its own workout. This week, it's been mainly the following:

Breakfast: boiled/scrambled eggs with fried zucchini, onion, spinach, and oatmeal;

Lunch: "Big Steam" veggies (new addition: Brussels sprouts), baked tilapia, and this millet dish which looked good online, but didn't turn out that great taste-wise. I've had to resist the temptation to "rescue" any decent flavor by adding salt.

Dinner: Sketchy-tasting millet stuff with lean ground beef and a salad of mixed greens w/ avocado, carrots, and tomatoes.

For snacks, I've added blackberries to the fruit list, which has been focused on bananas, apples, and dates.

Onward to the Day 22 workout tonight! New pics soon.

Zit-ups?

Yesterday I just noticed a nice, fat zit (i.e., acne--a whitehead, to be precise) hanging out above my right eyebrow. Today, Patrick e-mailed to let us know that as our bodies adjust to the healthier, crap-free diets, that we may start to get acne again in weird places--such as above our eyebrows. (This is most likely a sign that our bodies are pushing out the toxins associated with our previous diets). And I hadn't even posted any new photos of me with my new "feature". Hopefully, clearer skin to follow! It will be interesting to see what other, non-physique-related changes are in store...

PCP Trail Food

Mission(s) Accomplished:

1. Hike Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah National Park (8 miles, 2,500 feet of elevation gain):



2. Eat a "packable" PCP meal while on the trail--i.e., from zip-lock bags:



3. Day 17 Work Out. This was a bit tougher; I did my workout after dinner. I cut the jumps to 200, using the hike to sub for the rest (and to spare my already sore feet from actual damage). But I did finish the rest of the workout--including the squats, which burned like hell after the hike.

Looking forward to sleeping in, hitting the farmer's market, Day 18 workout, and cooking the meals for the week.