Discussion Board

Day 137

B: nothing
L: basmati rice with mex veggies and salsa
1/3 honeydew melon
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange
S: cucumber slices, baby carrots, and 3 cherries

E: 89 mins walking - 10,544 steps. Total steps for today - 14,297 steps.
M: 10 mins

Great day, lots of energy and feeling strong. Took my morning and evening walk with no issues. No tightness in legs today. Weather was nicer and cooler so the walks weren't such a big deal today.

It was a moderately busy weekend day as usual. Spent some time doing some shopping for food and such. Took my dau and her gf out swimming in the evening as usual. Thinking I may make some of Jeff's burgers tomorrow again, they really are good At any rate plan to grill some for the family.

Did a bunch of web surfing/reading yesterday mostly on exercise and such. Perused Clarence Bass's site. He always has interesting things to say and seems even Jeff has given him an endorsement. He's got a new book out, Great Expectations, I may get but its a bit expensive for me right now. He does look fantastic for being in his 70's though with a rather provocative cover that depicts his body/form at 70!

He's thoroughly grounded in science and using himself as a lab rat to test theories, so I really respect him for that. I used to follow him back in the late 70's early 80's when he was really making a name for himself as Mr. Ripped. Its amazing to see that he's maintained his leaness in the single digits (percent body fat) for all these years.

At any rate, if you have any interest in exercise and remaining lean and muscular, he's a great resource...however his nutrition advise is not nearly of McDougall quality but not too bad either. Taking Clarence's advise on exercise and DrM's and Jeff's on nutrition is a great way to start a new life in health and fitness.

Day 138

B: nothing
L: basmati rice with mixed veggies and salsa
2 cobs of corn
honeydew melon and cherries
D: baked potato and sweet potato
1 cob of corn
honeydew melon

E: 89 mins walking - 10,680 steps. Total steps for day - 12,829 steps.
M: 10 mins

Good day today. Felt nice and strong. Did my morning and evening walk with no issues. Whether was a bit warm and humid but nice. Felt refreshed after walks with plenty of energy. Overall just a nice lazy day with very little excitement...just how I like my weekends

Did a little shopping in the morning for some last minute items as usual. And took my dau swimming in the afternoon. Other than that I watched a BlueRay with my wife and did some grilling for the family. I didn't make any burgers this weekend as I just didn't have the time for it, maybe next weekend.

Did a bit of reading on my huge backlog of books, but not really making a dent in them as usual. I really need to learn to make time to get through them and/or just stop buying books till I get it under control. I'm just to curious for my own good...

Day 139 - Week 20

Its been 19 complete weeks now and here are my latest numbers:

Weight: 193.4 down from: 196 started at: 261
BP: 112/69 up from: 101/56 started at: 153/92
Pulse: 46 down from: 54 started at: 88
BMI: 26.2 started at: 35.4

Total weight lost after 18 full weeks on MWL - 67.6 lbs!

Well lost another 2.6 lbs this week which is staying at my 10 lbs/month average that I estimate I'm at right now. So everything is working just as it should. I'm right on track with my goals if not a bit ahead of them so couldn't be happier right now

I do feel quite bloated today from all the honeydew melon I ate yesterday Forgot to take my BP last night so took it first thing this morning by myself and don't think I 'm getting the cuff on right. I may retake it today with my wifes help.

B: oatmeal with cinnamon
2 cups of herbal tea
L: mex veggies with salsa
Banana
herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
1/3 honeydew melon

E: 45 mins walking - 5322 steps. Stair Climbing d/u/d - 17 floors. Total steps for day - 10,225 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Work was busy and stressful as Mondays usually are around here. Did my morning d/u stair climbing in the morning followed by going down in the afternoon. Felt strong and did well both times. Also did my evening walk and it was a bit warm and humid. Got to 95+ today. Legs tightened up a bit for most of the day after the stair climbing but not too bad. They are predicting 107 for the weather tomorrow...ugh

I ate a lot of honeydew melon to finish off what was left and really stuffed myself. Now I'm having stomach problems as expected. Oh well I'll learn. At least it was mostly just water and not really solid food. So should not last long...I hope

Today was the start of my Dau's summer dance intensive session. It finishes about the time school starts. She's all excited to see her dance friends again and get started on her dancing. That will give me a break during the week from taking her swimming Though I'm sure she will want to go more on the weekends now. At any rate maybe I'll be able to catch up on my reading a bit now.

Day 140

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
Herbal tea
L: basamati rice with mixed veggies and salsa
banana
D: baked potato and sweet potato
S: few cherries and small banana

E: 88 mins walking - 10,590 steps. Total steps for day - 13,632 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt good today. No tightness or soreness in legs. Did my morning and late evening walk due to the very hot weather today. It got up over 100 and pretty much stayed there all day. My walks though were good and refreshing. Had plenty of energy and didn't feel wiped out despite the heat. I do try to avoid the heat by walking in the early morning (before 8AM) and in the evening (after 8-9 PM) so as to minimize my heat exposure and so far its working out well.

Also I worked from home yesterday so my stress levels were only moderate...have a few urgent projects going on thats taking me to higher stress levels lately, but nothing too unusual. I do seem to be able to cope better with the stress now than I have in the past and I seem to be more even keeled these days than ever before, but some things do still irritate me to no end and get me angry. I'm still working on those things but they are getting better...

I've got a couple of self-help type books that I will be exploring soon on ways to be even happier and more positive and focused...a new one called Flourish and one older one called Flow. Both are really good. Now just to find the time to read them over with the other 40+ books I have piled up around the house and several hundred on my Kindle...<sigh> I'm turning into more of a book collector than a read I fear. I have enough books to last me a couple years worth of really good reading and a bunch more of just lower quality stuff I'll probably end up just skimming through

So far dau has had 2 hours of dance training a nite this week. Tomorrow she has 4 hours of it. So that will give the wife and I some nice alone time to catch up on conversations and enjoy a movie maybe or I'm sure we can find something else to do with all my new found energy

Day 141

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups of herbal tea
L: mex veggies with corn and salsa
banana
D: baked potato and sweet potato
iceberg lettuce
orange
S: watermelon

E: 45 mins walking - 5,334 steps. Stair climbing - d/u 17 floors. Total steps for day - 9,238 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Plenty of energy and felt strong. Did my d/u stair climb really well with my best effort to date. Used a 12-5 floor count which is the first time I only took one short, minute break going up 17 floors. I think in the next 2-3 weeks I'll be able to do the whole 17 floors without stopping

My evening walk went well and the temps were really nice in the evening. I worked at the office today but it was a relatively low stress but busy day. Had no time to take a second stair climb down the stairs in the afternoon as usual.

I took my dau to her dance classes and did a bit of food shopping after work. It was a nice quiet evening with the wife for a change. Didn't get any reading in, but was well relaxed I also stuffed myself with watermelon in the evening. I had cut up too much and no one else wanted any so couldn't just let it all go to waste Thankfully its mostly just water and its hot outside

I did schedule my car to go into the shop as well for tomorrow. Time to get the timing belt replaced in the engine and get some new brake pads. Can you say $$$ Oh well at least I won't be sitting in the office all day...

Day 142

B: banana
L: basmati rice and mixed veggies with salsa
watermelon
D: baked potato and sweet potato
watermelon
S: baby carrots

E: 43 mins walking - 5257 steps. Total steps for day - 8,446 steps.
M: 10 mins

Good day today. No issues at all. Worked from home so stress levels were low for a change. Did my morning walk with lots of energy and finished just as it was starting to rain. It pretty much rained all day long so I did not get to do my evening walk which really bothered me for some reason. Guess my body really wanted what it didn't get

It was a bitof a busy day otherwise as well. Took my car in to get some engine work and a brake job done...aka, $$$$. But it needed it done and its the only vehicle I have so what can you do I also took my dau to dance class tonight and tried to do a bit of shopping while waiting for her...that is until I get to the cash register and find I had left my wallet at home...well that was embarrassing.

The rest of the day was spent watching over my wife as she prepares for her colonoscopy tomorrow. Her Doc has been bothering her to get one for several years and she finally relented. At least they said they would put her under for the procedure. I'll be taking the day off from work to take her there and watch over my dau. Shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours. So should be back home by noon. Right now she's starving hungry since she can't eat anything for the last day. SAD eaters don't seem to tolerate fasts very well...

Day 143

B: nothing
L: basmati rice with mex veggies and salsa
watermelon
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange
S: banana

E: 88 mins walking - 10,531 steps. Total steps for day - 14,117 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Did a late morning walk and a late evening walk. Both felt strong and relaxing. The weather was actually cool without the humidity so it felt really good to be outside. I hope its the break in the heatwave we need. At any rate being outside was really enjoyable today.

Took wife to the hospital for her colonoscopy in the early morning. It took about 3 hours for the exam. They put her under for a short awhile. She came out pretty good...no polyps or cancer, but they did say she had a mild case of diverticulitis. Nothing that required any meds or anything just a recommendation to eat more fiber and come back in 5 years for another exam.

Overall the doctor was happy and I was very relieved. Now can I start pushing a few more fruits and veggies and whole grains into her diet and who knows where that may lead

The wife was pretty tired after the exam so I let her sleep the afternoon away and even took a little nap with her in the afternoon. It was refreshing to be honest.

Also went to the store for some minor food shopping today, actually twice because I forgot a few things as usual And took my dau and her friends out swimming as usual as well in the evening. All in all a busy day off with really nice weather. I hope it stays this way the rest of the week.

Hi Geo!

Well done on your success so far. Your journal is very inspiring, thank you for keeping it . I see that you have a pedometer - I've been thinking about getting one, I think that it would be interesting and fun to compare the day-to-day step counts. Do you make an effort to get in a minimum amount of steps per day or just go with the flow?

Go well,
M34

Hi Millie, thanks for the kind words. Walking is what I do for my "functional" exercise. It's just to get my body moving daily really as it doesn't build any stength or really effect me aerobically.

On days I'm home I walk in the morning and evening. On days I'm at the office I just do an evening walk. I use a route thats about 3 miles long. And I walk at about 4 MPH. So it takes about 45 mins to complete a walk in just over 5K steps. I try to get in about 10K steps a day. I do this everyday. I enjoy it as it gives me some "alone" time to just relax and think about things. There's more details in my journal.

Thanks for stopping by!

Day 144

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: baked potato and sweet potato
watermelon
apple
D: homemade 3 bean chili
watermelon and orange
S: herbal tea

E: 89 mins walking - 10,768 steps. Total steps for day - 14,342 steps.
M: 10 mins

Great day today. Got my morning and evening walks in with no issues. Felt strong and energetic. the weather was really nice today and it was good to be outside.

Had to go shopping for a new kitchen faucet and ceiling fan. Who would have thought those things can be so expensive Oh well, get good stuff the first time and you won't have to replace them so often...unfortunately that costs $$$.

My dau spent the day outside at her friends birthday party so that left the house pretty quiet most of the day. The wife and I ended up catching up on some dvr'd shows. I made some 3 bean chili that turned out really well. Made enough for the few days that is if my dau don't eat it all...I think I'm starting to enjoy cooking more these days. Been looking at a lot of the simpler recipes on the board and thinking I will try a few over the next few weeks.

Day 145

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: basmati rice with chili
watermelon
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange and peach

E: 89 mins of walking - 10,641 steps. Total steps for day - 11,679 steps.
M: 10 mins

Good day today. Did morning and evening walks today but felt a bit of tightness in legs. Also seemed a bit tired.Not sure why as I haven't really been pushing myself too much. At any rate, took it easy today and was generally lazy. Which did feel good Ended up taking a nap with my wife in the early afternoon and that seemed to help some.

Have a lot of work to catch up on today so I expect it will be very hectic at the office. I've got about 100 emails to work through just from Saturday and Sunday alone. I pretty much didn't look at my phone all weekend which is real rarity for me. At least it never went off

I did get a little reading in this weekend. I'm working my way through a pain relief book right now which has some therapeutic movements and stretches that I want to start doing this week that should help me get rid of a few minor aches and pains and tightness I still get from time to time. Thats the next step in my exercise program and hope to have it incorporated in my daily routine in the next few days. After that I'm adding some HIT strength training and HIIT aerobics to round out my overall fitness routine. I need to start ramping up the fitness level to match the health level I'm achieving from the MWL.

Day 146 - Week 21

Its been 20 complete weeks now and here are my latest numbers:

Weight: 190.2 down from: 193.4 started at: 261
BP: 101/63 down from: 112/69 started at: 153/92
Pulse: 49 up from: 46 started at: 88
BMI: 25.8 started at: 35.4

Total weight lost after 20 full weeks on MWL - 70.8 lbs!

I'm down 3.2 lbs this week which is a bit more than expected. I suspect I was holding onto a bit of water weight last week. I continue to lose at about the 10 lbs/month level after 5 months on MWL which is great I think. And all with no hunger or any need for Herculean will power My BP and pulse continue to surprise me with their low levels. I'm now only 7 lbs away from being in the "normal" weight range. At this rate I will reach that goal a little sooner than expected and be at a normal weight in 3 weeks! My size 38 pants are already getting loose on me.

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with bean chili
banana
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange and apple

E: 46 mins walking - 5307 steps. Stair climbing d/u/d 17 floors (12x5). Total steps for day - 9,927 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt great today and eager to get moving. Did my stair climbing in the morning d/u and then down again in the afternoon. It went really well and felt good afterwards. Continueing to improve everytime I do it. Also did my walk in the evening. Legs were a bit tight all day after the stair climbing as usual but everything went well. I was stoked from my morning weigh in and BP numbers and it really motivated me all day.

It was a really busy day at work as expected. Playing catch up all day long. Was thrown a new project to work on thats only 5 days away from completion but has been on going for 5 months and am expected to make it work. Yep that does wonders to my stress level. I'll be stressed out all week now...

For some reason my car battery was dead in the morning which also made me get to work a bit later than I had hoped. At least I have a quick charger for it which saved my butt again. 30 mins charge and I was back on the road. I left it on trickle charge overnight so hopefully all will be ok in the morning.

Didn't get any reading or much else done today. But a plumber did come out and install my new kitchen faucet which looks really great. Finally no more leaks, hopefully for a very long time On friday I should have my new ceiling fan installed in my great room. I can't do it myself as I have tall cathedral ceilings and no ladder to do it. Hopefully that will be the last major house expense for a while...


herbal tea

Day 147

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups of herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with bean chili
banana
herbal tea
S: herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
a little fresh pineapple and an apple

E: 46 mins walking - 5412 steps. Stair climbing 3xdown- 17 floors. Total steps for day - 11,138 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Had a bit of tightness in my legs but only slightly. Did 3 walks down stairs, twice in the morning and once in the afternoon. Took no effort at all and if I had more time I would do it a few more times Also did my walk in the evening that was very enjoyable because the weather was just perfect - no humidity and nice and cool with a slight breeze. Couldn't ask for better walking weather.

Work was very hectic today and a little stressful. I was on the phone nearly the entire day stuck in one critical meeting after another, yes being bored out of my mind and not getting so much done...oh well its a job I'm happy to have at my age (I know its time to change that attitude!)

Wife was not feeling well in the afternoon with tummy troubles...aftermath of her colonoscopy I believe. So I ended up taking dau to dance classes. Ended up watching a show or two on TV with the wife in the evening...for some reason we are really liking watching those Chef Ramsey shows...I seem to always be commenting now on hod greasy the food always looks and my wife is starting to agree with me

Day 148

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups herbal tea
L: mex veggies with bean chili
small banana
herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
small banana and peach

E: 44 mins walking - 5338 steps. Stair climbing - u/d/u 17 floors (14x3). Total steps for day - 8407 steps

Great day. Felt strong and lots of energy. Did my usual stair climbing and again improved my performance from a 12x5 climb to a 14x3 climb. I'm almost at the point I can climb all 17 floors without stopping. I probably could have done it today but I would have been taxing myself to the limits. Another week or so and I should be there more comfortably. Also did my usual walk in the evening that was uneventful but quite enjoyable as the weather was good again.

Work was busy but not overly stressful, just lots of work to still catch up on. Juggling several projects that are under short deadlines and such. Otherwise it was a fairly quiet day. Did get to watch an hour or so of TV with the wife in the evening.

I got a new book on exercise called "Bending the Aging Curve" by Dr. Joseph F. Signorile, which is just simply the best all-in-one source I've seen on exercise. Its primarily gauged for personal trainers wanting to know how to train those that are older and it goes deep into the current science, especially for those getting older 40-50+. It is loaded with pictures, graphs, charts, exercises and science/study references. Its very dense on the topics. It covers all aspects of exercise from strength to power to endurance, cardio, intensity, intervals, periodization, stretching, flexibility, coordination, skill, functional, routine building, etc... this book is simply a complete one stop shop for all the latest science on exercising. It describes the best exercises to do and explains why and the science behind it. It also includes a DVD showing all the exercises in the book....something like 70+ exercises. Theres so much info in this book that you'll probably need to read it 4-5 times to soak most of it up. Its an expensive book/DVD ($40+) since its more like a text book on exercise, but its quite understandable to the layman as well.
If your interested in all facets of exercising the best way at any age and how it can dramatically reverse the effects of aging then read this book.

Day 149

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with bean chili
banana
herbal tea
S: banana
D: baked potato and sweet potato
apple

E: 46 mins walking - 5348 steps. Stair climbing d/d - 17 floors. Total steps for day - 9,900 steps.
M: 10 mins

Good day,felt great. Went twice down the stairs in morning and afternoon with no issues. Was having a lot of back/shoulder pain in the afternoon and into the evening. I believe its coming from sitting for too long in my office chair. Need to remind myself to get up more often and just walk around. Jeff recommends 10 mins every hour just get up and move a bit.

Work was an interesting day of listening to people and their gripes. Its interestiing what people complain about but also sad they can get so focused on such trivialities that it rules their lives. Thankfully I can catch myself early in that game and mentally move myself to a better place these days.

It seems now a days I'm getting more and more compliments on my weight loss and I hear a few more people talking about losing some weight around the office but don't really see anyone doing it. I do notice my perception of people has changed markedly as well. Everyone just seems heavier than I remember.

I look closer at people now as I walk by them, even on the street, and notice how heavy they are and think how unhappy they must really be. Then I realize thats just the old me I'm looking at. I'm still not happy with myself but I'm getting better everyday and I do see the light at the end of the tunnel. The question is what else will I find when I get there? Will it be another adventure?