I ended my self-imposed lent with a 12 mile bike ride to an open house where I had my first burger in a year! Worth the wait....but now back to reality.
This lent didn't go as well as it could have. I didn't quite kick out the numbers I had hoped in terms of losing weight or burning calories. And I had a couple of days where I strayed. But I have a much better idea of how my diet works - I think I can average under 20% with most of the fat being the preferred unsaturated fat. And I hope I encouraged a few of you to think a bit about heart health. It is the biggest killer with nearly 1/3 of us likely to die from heart disease. So I am signing off and until next year when I hope you will join me again. In the meanwhile do something to improve your chances...see you next June 5th.
Regards,
John
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
What killed my metabolism?
Somehow things didn't quite work out right the last 2 days. On Thursday I did my lunchtime power walk and hit the gym after work doing an extra 10 minutes on the stair climber and even hitting the weights (not that I need to). Still, I only managed to burn 2,576 calories - fewer than my average and way short of my goal of 3,000. Friday was worse. I didn't hit the gym (only 3rd time I failed to make a workout during my 'lent') and burned the fewest calories yet at 2,403.
At least I got to focus on relaxation which is another key to heart health. Sailing can be relaxing when an experienced skipper is aboard to make sure that all is well - no playing bumper boats or getting sunk. I, however, am not an experienced skipper. Somehow, in a moment of weakness, James agreed to go sailing with me yesterday. He even brought the beer. And it was a gorgeous day without too much wind and we obviously made it back to shore. But it was not without peril. First, a crazy osprey flew directly overhead in an apparent bombing raid. I thought he was going to try to sh%t on us but turned out he was showing off the fish he caught. Later, we sailed towards some kind of Navy helicopter operation getting closer than we should have. Finally James strongly suggested that we would lose any battle to them so we changed course and sailed away back towards Glorietta Bay boat docks. Coming back with less wind we realized it was going to be a longer journey than we had estimated. I don't think the crew at the boat docks was too impressed with my skill at the helm. They suggested I get towed in so as not to hit the boats that were lining up for the 4th of July weekend festivities in the bay. I turned him down and somehow avoided hitting any boats and did it all without worrying about it - low stress - as it was only a rental afterall.
At least I got to focus on relaxation which is another key to heart health. Sailing can be relaxing when an experienced skipper is aboard to make sure that all is well - no playing bumper boats or getting sunk. I, however, am not an experienced skipper. Somehow, in a moment of weakness, James agreed to go sailing with me yesterday. He even brought the beer. And it was a gorgeous day without too much wind and we obviously made it back to shore. But it was not without peril. First, a crazy osprey flew directly overhead in an apparent bombing raid. I thought he was going to try to sh%t on us but turned out he was showing off the fish he caught. Later, we sailed towards some kind of Navy helicopter operation getting closer than we should have. Finally James strongly suggested that we would lose any battle to them so we changed course and sailed away back towards Glorietta Bay boat docks. Coming back with less wind we realized it was going to be a longer journey than we had estimated. I don't think the crew at the boat docks was too impressed with my skill at the helm. They suggested I get towed in so as not to hit the boats that were lining up for the 4th of July weekend festivities in the bay. I turned him down and somehow avoided hitting any boats and did it all without worrying about it - low stress - as it was only a rental afterall.
 |
| The Captain |
 |
| View of Downtown SD |
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Take the quiz...
Take Dr. Oz's Heart Health Quiz. I only scored 14 out of 22.
June 28
Weight: 187
Calories Burned: 2624 - short of my goal of 3000 which is disappointing as I thought my power walks would make the difference.
Calories Consumed: 1473
Fat: 15%
Carbs: 60%
Protein: 25%
June 28
Weight: 187
Calories Burned: 2624 - short of my goal of 3000 which is disappointing as I thought my power walks would make the difference.
Calories Consumed: 1473
Fat: 15%
Carbs: 60%
Protein: 25%
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Renewing my vows...
Recent events and my own lack of discipline have allowed me to veer off course. Time to make adjustments. I have found that I am averaging about 2716 calories burned per day. I am going to kick it up a level and try to hit 3,000 calories per day. This will involve some power walks at lunch etc. I will also shoot at keeping my calories consumed to under 2,000 per day and my fat intake under 20%.
According to a story published in the WSJ (click to see video) Interval Training may be better for your heart than regular training. The story includes the usual disclaimer of contact your physician for approval but makes some interesting points nonetheless.
Kathryn made one of my favorite meals last night....pizza and beer. Actually I made the beer but the pizza was all hers. She made the dough with our bread machine and its so easy a husband can do it but it takes some time (not effort). It's a super low fat dough but it cooks nicely and you would never know that its low fat. Then she added non-fat ricotta cheese and some low fat mozzarella. We chopped up some tomatoes and red peppers to complete the masterpiece after adding some low fat pepperoni (only 35% calories from fat). We made a second pizza that but avoided almost all of the fat by excluding the mozzarella and pepperoni.
According to a story published in the WSJ (click to see video) Interval Training may be better for your heart than regular training. The story includes the usual disclaimer of contact your physician for approval but makes some interesting points nonetheless.
Kathryn made one of my favorite meals last night....pizza and beer. Actually I made the beer but the pizza was all hers. She made the dough with our bread machine and its so easy a husband can do it but it takes some time (not effort). It's a super low fat dough but it cooks nicely and you would never know that its low fat. Then she added non-fat ricotta cheese and some low fat mozzarella. We chopped up some tomatoes and red peppers to complete the masterpiece after adding some low fat pepperoni (only 35% calories from fat). We made a second pizza that but avoided almost all of the fat by excluding the mozzarella and pepperoni.
 |
| Kathryn's awesome homemade pizza |
Monday, June 27, 2011
The slingshot...
On Friday I received some tragic news that affected the lives of two close friends of mine and changed my plans the last few days. I don't really want to discuss it but it was very stressful and caused me to miss workouts on Friday and Saturday. And then I ate poorly do to stress and situation...no doubt poor excuses.
Friday Calories Burned: 2,533
Saturday Calories Burned: 2,559
Sunday Calories Burned: 2,758 (worked out)
The lesson learned is that the BodyBugg is very sensitive to my activity level. I have averaged burning 2,716 calories per day and have worked out every day except last Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday I went to the Del Mar Fair and had some beers at the International Beer Fest. Afterwards I did the Slingshot (click the link for the video). The film is of me and my wife's cousin's wife. No drunks were hurt in the making of this video - thanks (sort of) to Josh Graybill. The video also illustrates my recent weight situation. Enjoy.
Friday Calories Burned: 2,533
Saturday Calories Burned: 2,559
Sunday Calories Burned: 2,758 (worked out)
The lesson learned is that the BodyBugg is very sensitive to my activity level. I have averaged burning 2,716 calories per day and have worked out every day except last Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday I went to the Del Mar Fair and had some beers at the International Beer Fest. Afterwards I did the Slingshot (click the link for the video). The film is of me and my wife's cousin's wife. No drunks were hurt in the making of this video - thanks (sort of) to Josh Graybill. The video also illustrates my recent weight situation. Enjoy.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Bending and breathing...
Dr. Dean Ornish is considered the world's leading expert on reversing heart disease. After my heart attack my cardiologist recommended I read his book on the subject. He advocated many things I expected such as a low fat diet and exercise and quitting smoking (not that I smoke). But he also suggested doing yoga and breathing exercises. This seemed a bit silly to me but he makes a very good case about stress relief and how yoga and breathing has been proven to lower stress. Try it!
Downward Dog Your Way to a Better Mood is an article that shows some studies that suggest your mood can be enhanced by exercise and yoga. Don't judge it until you have tried it and according to one friend of mine the ratio of beautiful women to men is outstanding!
June 23
Weight: 186
Calories Burned: 2703
Calories Consumed: 2418
Protein: 23%
Carbs: 55%
Fat: 22%
Total Calorie Deficit: 11,602
Downward Dog Your Way to a Better Mood is an article that shows some studies that suggest your mood can be enhanced by exercise and yoga. Don't judge it until you have tried it and according to one friend of mine the ratio of beautiful women to men is outstanding!
June 23
Weight: 186
Calories Burned: 2703
Calories Consumed: 2418
Protein: 23%
Carbs: 55%
Fat: 22%
Total Calorie Deficit: 11,602
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Consistently counting...
June 22
Weight: 186
Calories Burned: 2608
Calories Consumed: 2108
Protein: 35%
Carbs: 44%
Fat: 21%
Total Calorie Deficit: 11,317
Weight: 186
Calories Burned: 2608
Calories Consumed: 2108
Protein: 35%
Carbs: 44%
Fat: 21%
Total Calorie Deficit: 11,317
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)