Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

[geo]

Hi jewegar! My year journey ends around Feb 26. I will be taking my final blood work then and then report on the results, review the year journey and write up a quick testimonial story for Dr M and yes include some before/after pictures. So just another 3+ weeks ok

[geo]

Day 146

Food
=================================
B: oat bran with almond milk and blackberries
L: baked potato and sweet potato
edamame
apple and banana
D: baked potato and mix veggies with corn and salsa
blood orange and banana
S: oatmeal with flax and molasses

Exercise
=================================
None due to ankle injury

Daily log
=================================
Good day today. Basically rested my ankle all day long. The pain has subsided and only taking a little motrin. Swelling is down and generally feeling better. Can hobble along if need be.

Took a sick day from work. Pretty much just lounged around the house, did some surfing and computer work and a little reading. Took a little nap in the afternoon just to get off my feet for awhile.

In the evening watched some tv with wife and dau. Went to bed a little later than usual as I wasn't all that tired. But did fall asleep quickly once I hit the pillow.

[geo]

Day 147

Food
=================================
B: 5 grain hot cereal with flax and cinnamon and strawberries
L: baked potato and sweet potato
1/2 cantaloupe
S: rye crackers and home made peanut butter
D: baked potato with mex veggies and salsa
orange and banana

Exercise
=================================
None due to injury

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Ankle feeling much better, maybe 80% ok. Was able to walk around ok, though steps are painful. It was really cold today and snowing again.

Did my usual Saturday shopping albeit much slower and more careful of my steps. It went well without any real pain, though a little throbbing.

Otherwise spent the day just relaxing and reading and surfing as usual. Ate some of the peanut butter I made the other day and its really good I was surprised how simple it was to make and I think next time I may try making cachew or almond butters. What surprised me the most was that I kept it in the fridge and the oil did not seperate out as I had expected. It stayed creamy smooth and was quite spreadable. Its flavor was much better than store bought being very fresh tasting. Of course its just a treat and maybeI'll make some chocolate/peanut butter cups for my birthday

Went to bed early as I was bored and a bit tired and wanted to get my ankle up as it was beginning to get sore again. Fell asleep quickly as usual...

[geo]

Day 148

Food
=================================
B: steel cut oats with flax and cinnamon and blackberries
L: chili soup
banana and 1/2 cantaloupe
S: rye crackers and home made peanut butter
D: baked potato and sweet potato
apple
S: baked tortilla chips with salsa
oat bran cereal with almond milk and cinnamon

Exercise
=================================
Cycling: 3 x 38 mins exercycle
HIT: 12 mins body weight exercises
HIIT: 20/10 x 16 Tabata's on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Did my full workout and everything went well. Just a little pain in my ankle by the end of the day. Both HIT and HIIT continue to progress. More reps in HIT and better speed in my endurance cycling. HIIT also felt more draining and intensity was up a little as was my respiration. Felt really good doing the exercise and was energized.

Rested my ankle as much as possible but its definitely improving. Took a nap in the early afternoon. Did some online reading and watched some vid's. In the afternoon watched some tv with the wife and dau. Made some chili for myself and also cooked a nice pork roast for the rest of the family for game day.

Watched the first half of the super bowl and snacked a lot during it. To be honest I thought it was boring and the ads were not all that good this year. Was feeling pretty tired soon afterwards and decided to go to bed early as I knew it would be a long day at work tomorrow since I missed Friday. Fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.

[jewagar]

Hi Geo!
Glad to read that your ankle is getting better. It's good that your HIT and HIIT training isn't affected by that.
Are you still dropping in measurements or are you increasing muscle mass at this point? I was thinking about your journey and it's amazing how you have progressed from couch potato to fit and trim health nut in such a relatively short period of time.
You amaze me how little you deviate from plan. No wonder you are progressing so quickly. Can't wait to read about you in the Star McDougaller section.

[geo]

Hi jewegar! I think I'm both losing a tiny bit and gaining muscle. I lost about a pound in Jan, but I'm stronger and leaner as well so I believe I'm putting on a little muscle. But you can't gain much muscle quickly.

My HIT/HIIT training isn't bothering my ankle because I'm very careful in my exercise selection. I do only non-impact exercises to insure minimal wear and tear on ligaments/tendons/joints/bones/etc... I also make sure that my movements are slow, deliberate and well controlled. No fast, jerky, dynamic moves that involve lots of momentum or bouncing.

I've always been interested in health and training, especially when I was younger, but the last 30 years I lost my way. Now I'm finding the path again and actually enjoying it more than ever.

[geo]

Day 149

Food
=================================
B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon and blue berries
L: mixed veggies with salsa
edamame
banana and apple
S: rye crackers and home made peanut butter
D: baked potato and sweet potato
1/2 cantaloupe
S: Cream of WW cereal with almond milk

Exercise
=================================
SC: only climbed 2 floors
Cycling: 1 x 40 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Good day today. Got up feeling good and refreshed. Tried stair climbing but found it caused too much pain in my ankle so had to stop after only 2 floors. The up portion wasn't too bad but the down portion was quite painful to my ankle. So I'll need to give it a few more days rest before I try the stairs again. I did manage to get in one session of cycling after work today. The ankle rotation from cycling doesn't bother me at all, but the weight impact of going down stairs does quite a bit still.

Mondays in the office is always a stressful time Today was no different. Lots of issues to deal with and little time as usual.

After work, spent some time reading and relaxing online. Dau was in her dance classes all night and wife was working on our taxes. I just watched a little tv later in the evening with the wife. Went to bed at my usual time feeling tired and sleepy. Hopefully my ankle will heal up soon as I'm missing my usual routine...

[geo]

Day 150

Food
=================================
B: steel cut oats with flax and cinnamon and strawberries
L: baked potato and sweet potato and mex veggies with salsa
1/2 cantaloupe
D: baked potato and sweet potato
banana and orange
S: multi-grain hot cereal with cinnamon
apple

Exercise
=================================
Cycling: 3 x 39 mins on exercycle
HIT: 12 mins bodyweight exercises
HIIT: 20/10 x 16 Tabata's on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Did my 3 rounds of cycling, one after each meal and times/speed continue to progress. Expanded my HIT with 2 additional exercises and progression continues on all of them.

Worked from home so stress levels were only moderate despite the busy day. After work just relaxed and read a lot of online papers on exercise by Arthur Jones (the inventor of Nautilus and MedX training equipment). The man was a pure genius when it came to resistance training. Way ahead of his time and is only now starting to be recognized for his theories he developed 40 years ago. Much in the same way that Nathan Pritikin did on the nutrition front. Many of his writings are available for free online, including his autobiography. Note that Jones did not mince words and he used very crude language at times, but he was always honest and straight forward, even if it got people upset:

http://www.arthurjonesexercise.com

Later in the evening watched a bit of tv with the wife while dau was dancing. Went to bed a little later than usual and fell asleep quickly.

[geo]

Day 151

Food
=================================
B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon and blueberries
orange
L: chili soup
mixed veggies with salsa
orange and apple
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange and apple
S: oat bran with almond milk and molasses

Exercise
=================================
SC: 4 x 17 floors
Cycling: 1 x 40 mins on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Lots of energy and woke up early. Tried out my stair climbing and had to go slowly and carefully down the stairs as that did cause some minor pain still to my ankle. Walking up the stairs was not an issue. Ankle felt a little tender most of the day from the stairs. After work and dinner did one round of cycling that went well.

Stress levels high at the office and it was a busy and long day, worked about 12 hours In the evening, watched a little tv with the wife and dau and eventually fell asleep on the couch in front of the tv. Went to bed a little later than usual and fell asleep quickly.

[geo]

Day 152

Food
=================================
B: 5 grain hot cereal with flax and cinnamon and strawberries
L: baked potato and sweet potato and mex veggies with salsa
1/2 cantaloupe
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange and banana
S: oat bran cereal with almond milk and molasses

Exercise
=================================
Cycling: 2 x 39 mins on exercycle
HIT: 15 mins body weight exercises
HIIT: 20/10 x 16 Tabata's on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Got up at usual time and had lots of energy. Did my HIT and had a great workout, legs especially. Progressing nicely on all the exercises. My HIIT also went very well and really wiped me out as I ramped up the intensity. And finally my endurance cycling I limited to only 2 rounds instead of three as my legs were just so tired from the HIT training. But even the cycling was done at a higher speed and greater effort. This was definitely one of the hardest workout days I've had and felt very productive

Worked from home but stress levels were high due to all the issues I was up against. Lots of time spent in meetings and ended up being a long day working into the evening

Didn't get a lot of time to do anything else today. Went to the store very early in the morning to get some fruits and such. Later in the evening watched a little tv with the family and once again nodded off on the couch. What can I say it was a long day and I was physically tired from the exercise. Went to bed at my usual time and fell asleep quickly.

[geo]

Day 153

Food
=================================
B: steel cut oats with flax and cinnamon and strawberries
L: baked potato and sweet potato and mixed veggies with homemade marinara sauce
1/2 cantaloupe
D: baked potato and sweet potato
spaghetti squash with homemade marinara sauce
banana and orange
S: oat bran cereal with molasses

Exercise
=================================
Cycling: 3 x 39 mins on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Woke up at usual time and felt energetic. Legs doing great after yesterdays workout. No soreness or tiredness. Did my 3 rounds of endurance cycling and they continue to progress with slightly higher overall speed during the rides.

Worked from home due to the 6" of snow we got over night. Stress levels a bit better than yesterday. Was still a long work day.

Took dau and friend to store in the evening to get a few items and some snack foods for them. Made some marinara sauce in the morning in the slow cooker that came out wonderful! The slow cooker really brings out the sweetness in the tomatoes. I may now just switch from the store bought salsa to my marinara. Though I need to figure out still a good salsa recipe that I like. I know it should be so simple, but I never seem to like what I make myself. It always seems to be missing something. The family enjoyed the spaghettii squash I made...one of the few things they will eat that I make

In the evening watched a little tv with the wife and eventually went to bed at my usual time as I was nodding off on the couch. Fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow...

[geo]

Note:

I just weighed myself this morning (10AM - Feb 9) and discovered I have lost another lb since Feb 1. I'm down to 156.2 lbs (BMI 21.2). This is very surprising. I only lost about 0.8 lbs from mid Dec to Feb 1 and figured I had reached my set point. Now I've lost a whole pound in just the last 8 days. Completely unexpected, especially since I seem to be eating a bit more lately than I have been.

Of course I am exercising with higher intensity, and making good progression weekly. I believe thats what accounts for my increased eating/appetite. But I had thought I had reached my set point last month and was pretty much done losing weight.

So I'm pleasantly surprised by these results and now wonder if I will go any lower

[nicoles]

Hi Geo,

How great to have that surprise weight loss!

I just wanted to stop in and say I've been following your journal and I am really impressed with how well you stay on track (and sleep!) despite many reports of stressful workdays. I admire your tenacity.

And thank you for sharing that link for the Arthur Jones site. I am excited to read his writings.

Cheers!

Nicole

[jewagar]

Hi Geo,

Great news on the weight loss! Have you measured yourself at all to see where you are losing and where you may be gaining (muscle)? I suspect if you're still doing mostly MWL, you may even get lighter.
I'm going to re-read your journal and write down all the articles and websites you have listed. They seemed like they would be helpful. I wish I had taken notes reading it the first time around.
Thank you for your dedication. And I look forward to reading about your ending bloodwork and your photos!

[geo]

Hi nicoles! Thanks for the kind words. One of the most positive aspects this woe has had on me has been on my sleeping patterns. Before I had sleep apnea (not officially diagnosed). I was waking up continuously all night long, basically unable to breath and choking. I felt as if I was suffocating. My sinuses would close up completely and I could only breath through my mouth. Now I have no such problems and I sleep very well throughout the night. I do only sleep though about 6.5 hours a night. I fall asleep very easily and quickly and I wake up on my own naturally without any need for an alarm.

Arthur Jones was primarily only interested in Anaerobic exercise (I.e., strength training), he had little interest in aerobic exercise. And his primary focus was on how to gain the most strength/muscle in the most efficient way, i.e., via very high intensity weight training. So unless your interested in weight training his writings may not appeal to you. And as I mentioned, he was a very controversial person and highly opinionated. He lived a very colorful life that was at times seemingly outrageous. But that was his character, always bigger than life, always doing his own thing in his own way. But also he was a deep thinker and experimenter and when he thought he had found the answers he was looking for he had no problem telling everyone else they were simply wrong. He never shied away from an argument, but he also never suffered fools gladly. If he thought you were an idiot, he would tell you so to your face. He was very direct in that way. He wrote his autobiography himself and it details his life very well while retaining his very forward, many times crude language, that was his persona. Many get turned off by it thinking he was just arogant, but in fact he was mostly just correct and frustrated by the scientific and medical communities that simply ignored him and his work because he had no PHD or MD after his name.