Category Archives: Thoughts

Follow up to my weight loss

Food, Thoughts, ,

A few months ago, I wrote about changing diet and losing weight.  Today is the 6 month anniversary of that last update so I know you must be dying for another update.  All told, I lost 54 pounds during this process.  It was long and difficult as you might expect.  It wasn’t hard so much because I had to do a lot of physical labor (in fact, I did not exercise one bit) or because I was angry about having to lose weight, but rather because it was a very trying test of my will-power and an amazing illustration of the power of food.

I am talking anecdotally here of course, but I think I was addicted to sugary stuff…not like cocaine addicted, but I sought sugary stuff over other food sources for sure.  I drank a 2-liter of Mountain Dew a day and ate all manner of whatever other crap I felt like, whenever I felt like it.  I am not a dummy…I knew better than to eat so much junk, but it just tasted so good and I craved carbs constantly.  Fruit didn’t really taste good to me.  I only wanted junk.  As I look back on it now, I know my head was addled by something…weight or sugar or both.

Some folks have mentioned that they do not eat as much junk as I did so they do not think they will be able to lose weight, or that it will not be easy.  It wasn’t easy for me either, but I understand what they mean.  Honestly, I needed to be educated about what causes weight loss and weight gain.  Of course, I know there are many medical aspects to weight that some folks suffer, but in the absence of those, I’d bet that if you are overweight, your diet probably is not as healthy as you think.  Lots of bread, whole grain or not, and lots of pasta or potatoes and rice, come to mind as things that may be keeping weight on.  There is a lot to weight gain and “junk” hides in all sorts of ways in a typical menu.

So, here it is 6 months later.  I am within 2-3 pounds of my weight-loss weight, so I am still 50+ pounds down from where I was.  The exciting part is that my blood pressure is down to normal without medication.  The really surprising part is that my cholesterol numbers are all back in line too!  I basically dropped 40 points off of my overall cholesterol number.  My good-cholesterol numbers are good and my bad-cholesterol and triglycerides are normal again!

I still occasionally crave junk food a little, but not often and not bad.  I haven’t touched soda since January of this year.  I only drink water, coffee and hot tea.  Every now and then I will have a cookie or two or a small bowl of ice cream, but it doesn’t mean much to me any more. The cool thing is that fruit and vegetables taste good to me again.  I find myself not drawn to junk but rather to whole foods that I can identify.  I know that sounds like a load of crap, but I discovered plums and almonds.  I love plums and almonds!  I know what a plum and an almond look like!  Who knew they actually taste great?!

When I pick up a 50 pound bag of cat litter, I wondered how I ever even moved around before with the extra weight.  I lost 10 bags of sugar!  That just amazes me when I think about it that way.  Of course, I know my body built up muscle to handle it, but it astounds me how much more pressure I was putting on my joints and my heart.  I am so happy to have dropped the weight and I have found that I can easily keep it off, so long as I just decide to eat what I now know is good.  So, your mileage may vary, but I am pleased with my weight-maintenance plan…

Kids these days

Awesome, Family, Thoughts, , ,

Kids these days…You know, kids these days are different than when I was a kid. I had good pals and best friends and we did a lot together and had a lot of fun and all that. Something about kids these days seems different though. I have noticed that these kids share more and better than I remember doing. Sure, we took turns drinking from the garden hose and maybe we traded cookies from our lunch boxes, but Isaac and many of his pals give things to each other freely…and not just little things. They share what’s important to them among each other. I have seen them share money and clothes and electronics and all sorts of things without hesitation. I don’t mean, “here, you can borrow my shirt” kind of stuff, but “here, you can have my shirt.”

I wonder if it comes down to economics of it or if it is a true change in how kids are these days. I grew up in an economically disadvantaged region of PA. Most people there worked very hard to get by and few had a life of plenty. Of course, I had plenty of love and support, but we didn’t have stuff in plenty. I am and was perfectly content with that life, but maybe my growing up was different because of that.  Maybe I didn’t share as freely because I didn’t have as much to share or what I did have was a little more precious to me.  Maybe it was the time and the world and all that.  I don’t have any idea.

Last weekend, Abigail ran in a cross-country meet.  She ran well and came in among the middle of the pack.  I was very happy for her, especially considering she is a new runner and a 6th grader competing among 8th graders.  As the last of the pack was coming in for one of the other races, one boy was obviously struggling to complete the race.  I was so proud to see a number of other runners who had finished their race return back to the lone runner and encourage and support him.  They ran beside him, encouraging him to keep going, that they were there to keep cheering him and that they were proud to run with him.  I don’t know that everyone got a ribbon, but in my eyes, I saw a team of kids that, rather than teasing or bullying, or even just being indifferent, proved that they were champions and that they shared the joy together.

Still running
Still running

I hear people complain about how kids these days feel entitled because everyone gets a ribbon and everyone gets constant praise.  Maybe that can be taken too far and maybe it is taken too far, too often, but honestly, I do not know that I have seen that problem.  If that sort of thing breeds the kind of sharing and concern that I have seen among my kids’ friends, I am all for giving every kid I see a ribbon.

Maybe it’s a different time or maybe I was just a bad friend, but many kids these days simply make me proud and give me hope that it’s all going to be ok…

First day of school – 2014

Awesome, Family, Thoughts,

I can’t believe Summer is over!  Well, school has started anyhow…so Summer might as well be over.  Since almost everything is about me, I have to lament that now, with the start of school, I have to start getting up earlier and fight traffic around the schools that I must pass to get to work in the morning.

First day of school 2014
First day of school 2014

Well, I guess it isn’t really all about me.  The early-morning-rise is more drastic for the kids who have been sleeping in until 10 am.  They have to do homework each night and dress in…well…clothes each day as opposed to sleep-wear.  I think both kids were excited mostly and were ready to go back to school though going back this early does feel a little like we truncated our Summer.  Mostly, though, I was more wound up than either of them.  I had butterflies last night and this morning as we waited for the bus.  I ran through my checklist of stuff…pencils and paper, lunch, coonskin hat, binders, agenda, phone…it takes a lot to be a kid in school these days.

First day of school 2014

This is Isaac’s first year in high school and Abigail’s first year in middle school.  Both are significant changes which scares the daylights out of me.  How can it be that my sweet little children are becoming people…er…I mean how can it be that they are growing up?!  Isaac is taller than me and Abigail is nearly as tall as Emily.  They have grown-up voices and wear grown-up sized clothes.  They watch The Daily Show and understand it.  They are starting to think about what they want to do for a living and where they might go to college.  It’s scary!  I think that means I must be a grown-up too!  Terrifying!

It’s true you know…one day you are holding your newborn baby, the next day they are shaving eating two full helpings and casting a shadow bigger than mine…don’t blink!

2008   2009   2010   2011   2012   2013

Credit card thieves suck

Technology, Thoughts

We have a credit card like just about everyone.  We use it to buy pretty much everything so we can get points which we enjoy.  Every month we always pay it off in full so it really works for us.  It’s a somewhat typical story I suppose.  We are pretty mainstream consumers.  Of course, we buy stuff online, and not infrequently, but it is usually from pretty well known places.  Of course, nowadays, that doesn’t matter much.

So, just yesterday, we got a text message and an email from the credit card company saying that our card had been compromised.  That’s not necessarily odd any more (though it really sucks), except that this is THE FOURTH TIME THIS YEAR!!!

One time we caught it and three times the card company caught it so I am thankful that the credit card issuer has things in place to protect us and that this wasn’t our responsibility, and that it was cleaned up quickly and easily,  but it is a real drag to have to change the card number on all of the accounts that automatically draft against the card.  It’s a pain as we go “cardless” for a day or two while the new cards are shipped to us.  We keep some cash on hand so it’s not like we are doomed until the new cards arrive.  It just always seems that we need gas or coffee or medicine or something that can’t always wait a day or two (no, coffee cannot wait a day or two).

Of course, this is  just a rant and I know the a-hole thieves don’t care a bit, but if they did, I would tell them that they suck, that they are mean people and that their moms would be very sad if they knew what they were up to.

Burn it…bury it

Thoughts, ,

I was talking to my brother the other night and we were discussing the finer points of getting rid of stuff. After much discussion, partially fueled by liquid wheat, we decided that the solution to any problem can be solved with one of two options…burn it or bury it. Burn it…if you can’t burn it, bury it.

You might wonder why burn it is the first option…I think it is two-fold.  First of all…hello…fire.  Secondly, there is something cathartic about the finality of burning stuff.  One can un-bury stuff and, depending on the item, may find it in the same condition as it was before the internment.  But fire…that’s pretty much permanent.  I always say the hardest part of starting a project is starting the project, so when I finally work up the nerve to begin, I jump in with both feet…I “get committed”.  For home improvement, that usually involves smashing into a big wall or tearing out the flooring…something big that makes you mean it.  Burning is like that I guess.

I got to thinking about stuff that I keep around the house.  Stuff that I don’t even know I have…stuff that junks up corners and shelves and closets.  It made me consider the therapy aspect of burning stuff too.  We keep so much stuff that we don’t even know what we have.  Stuff that might have some meaning or memory.  Of course, when I look at those things, I often wonder what the memory was…and the really good memories, well, I have them regardless of the object…so burn it…if you can’t burn it, bury it!

It was a lot of fun to talk with my brother about pyromania a little bit the other night and it brought back other old memories…every couple of years, we would get a new couch or chair…hand-me-downs usually.  It was a ceremonial thing, but when we got the new piece, we would haul the old furniture out into the driveway and set it ablaze.  If we had an old tire, we’d throw it on top too, just for good measure.  Ahhh…the sweet memories and sooty faces….sweet times indeed.  Now those are the memories that are strong in my mind (or what is left of it after inhaling all of the tire-smoke)…the memories that don’t need any special prompting…only a conversation with my brother.

In the middle of tweendom

Awesome, Family, Fun, Thoughts,

My little baby girl turns 11 today.  That places her squarely in the demographic known as “tween”.  My mom always used to say that she liked my brother and me best at the age we were, whenever someone asked.  I have to say I see it now.  I loved Abigail as a baby and as a 5 year old and I am really enjoying her as a budding young woman right now.  It’s fun to see her interests begin to shape and her soon-to-be-adult ideas begin to form.  She is strong willed and determined and sometimes emotional and always just a lot of fun to be around.

Abigail! Abigail!

Emily and I had to beg her (as we always do) to give us some gift ideas.  Our kids have the most awesome responses when asked what they want for gifts.  Typically it is just a small thing or two.  I wrote about  a few examples awhile back…sort of a funny read I think.  Anyhow, I do not think they have ever just “gone wild” asking for things.  They see value in certain things and also are beginning to see and understand the value of money.

Birthday knife!
Birthday…knife?

Birthday Presents!

Birthday Presents!

So this year, Abigail asked simply for a pocket knife, an iTunes gift card and some Gobstoppers.  I think that’s a pretty cool list…not a typical list by any means.  Of course, the pocket knife surprised me the most but hey, who am I to question my daughter wanting to buck stereotypes?!  I got her exactly what she wanted and surprised her with it this morning.  As of breakfast time, she had not yet cut herself.  I know it will happen at some point.  Folks have to learn things and sometimes it has to be learned the hard way.  We will teach her safety of course so it will be up to hear to learn, one way or another.  It’s good to have a little danger and responsibility too…she is 11 after all…growing right up into a real person a wonderful young lady!

A little more about my diet

Awesome, Food, Thoughts, , ,

A LOT of people have asked me specifically how I lost 47 pounds (so far…probably won’t lose any more).  I did follow a particular diet called “The Ideal Protein Diet“.  My chiropractor said she was tired of telling people to lose weight to help with their back problems but then not having a real suggestion that was easy and worked.  She researched around and found this diet and tried it.  It worked so she became a provider.

I know people have all sorts of self-image issues and skinny isn’t always good and fat isn’t always bad.  I am not about chasing the “skinny ideal” and everyone has to make their own decisions about their own health so please don’t think I mean to judge anyone on whether they are thin or not thin.  I have blood pressure and cholesterol issues and those are the reasons why I did this diet.  My blood pressure is normal now without my medicine.  I will continue to monitor it daily, but so far, so good.  For me, I was comfortable at my previous weight but not with my other issues.

Anyhow, the gist of the diet is to minimize carbs and maximize protein but it is unlike Adkins or those sorts of diets in that the practitioners of this diet want participants to eat good protein (i.e. not bacon, etc) and to eat lots of vegetables, control portion sizes and hydrate.  It has worked for us because the diet program provides a video series that is excellent and not just smoke-blowing.  We see a weight-loss coach weekly who is helpful to our monitor progress and guide us forward.  The diet is very well regimented so there is no counting points or calories or anything like that…it’s just easy.  The other neat thing is that the process includes monitoring muscle loss and fat loss.  The idea is to minimize muscle loss and focus on fat.  It’s interesting but I lost very little muscle in this process which is not typical of most diets.

It is a little expensive to start as there are “good protein” products we eat to supplement other lean meats, etc but it has worked very well and I have not been uncomfortable or weak/tired, etc.

I am transitioning to the third phase where I begin to reintroduce healthy carbs and prepare for a maintenance phase.  The idea is to retrain my way of thinking about food and what is really going into my body.  The focus now is on eating whole foods, good portion sizes and how to enjoy food without gorging and snacking constantly.  There is no magic to keeping the weight off…no more eating donuts every day.  No more drinking four Mountain Dews a day.  No more snacking on chips right up until bed time.  This diet helped me get the weight off.  Of course, it is now up to me to keep it off and I have been pretty well educated on what causes weight gain, how to manage it and how to move forward while still being able to enjoy food.

I don’t usually advertise stuff on this blog because this space is not really about that but I know weight loss is hard and I am so pleased with how this worked that it seems like others may benefit.  If you are local, the link to my provider is above.

Memories…my new coffee cup

Awesome, Thoughts, , ,

I grew up in the 70s and mostly can’t believe it whenever I think back to how I dressed for school or what a mess my hair, when I had hair, was when I combed it straight down with my pocket comb.  Men wore aftershave like Aquavelva or Old Spice and those smells still trigger my mind whenever I smell someone wearing either.  I wore the very coolest pearl-button western shirts and tall tube socks with stripes.  Most of that seems like the stuff of horrors…or at least it did…

My parents and my grandparents, like everyone at the time, had dishes and decor that went along with the times…there were lots of mushrooms and owls and browns and oranges and otherwise funky patterns.  We had spider plants in macrame hanging baskets and I always sported a kool-aid mustache.  It was the 70s man…it’s what we did.

Pfaltzgraff Owl Mug
In its pure form…

A year ago, my grandpa passed and my mom gave us a few treasures from my grandparents’ house.  Like most older people do, they just stopped buying new decor items at some point.  They finally decided, I suppose, that it isn’t worth trying to be trendy…For my grandparents, their stopping point was somewhere in the 1970s.  So, one of the items that my mom gave me was a funky owl mug that my grandparents used with their daily coffee…not just any coffee mind you…Sanka!  If that isn’t 1970s…

Anyhow, I have clear memories of them using that cup, sitting around their table talking to my brother and me about whatever.  We didn’t drink coffee at the time but always enjoyed the warm cans of Red and White brand pop they kept under the kitchen sink.  So, I have that cup and it is safely tucked away so I can see it but I don’t want to use it.  Luckily for me, technology allowed me to browse the world’s markets (i.e. ebay) to find another owl mug.  I found one (and only one) and bought it right away!

Pfaltzgraff Owl Mug
Coffee just tastes better!

I received the mug the other day and have absolutely, positively enjoyed drinking coffee from it, thinking about my grandparents and the 70s and macrame and returnable bottles and western shirts.  It’s funny and awesome how much one little coffee cup can bring up in my memory and it’s worth so much more than the $12 it cost me!

I’m not the man I used to be

Thoughts

I’m a proud American.  I like apple pie and Chevrolet and a cold beer every now and then.  I stand for the flag at parades and I know most every Alabama song there is.  I also discovered that I ate a little too much junk while partaking the typical American diet.

When Emily and I were married, I weighed in at a whopping 145 pounds.  I wasn’t any taller then but I definitely had not finished growing.  I don’t mean just growing heavier, but I was still growing into an adult…yes, we were married pretty young…right out of college.

Anyhow, I matured and settled in at a pretty consistent 185 and that worked pretty well.  Like most people though, time goes on and the kids keep us busy and we ate less home cooked meals and more junk on the run.  I got pretty well addicted to Mt Dew and donuts and candy bars and all that jazz…and I never turned down a trip to Panera.  Consequently, I blossomed in the last 2 years, to a heavier-than-I-wanted-to-be 218 pounds.  That’s when I had enough and decided to do something about it…

Me at 218 pounds

Me at 218 pounds
Me at 218 pounds

So, I started eating right, got on a journal-what-you-eat program and have, in the last 7 weeks, lost 40 pounds.  My blood pressure is down.  My energy is fine and I have a healthy mane and coat…wait…I mean I feel good.  It has shed fast and is a bit startling to people around me but I am pleased.  Many people have asked if I am healthy or if I am angry at everything.  It’s weird, but when you get used to looking at someone at a certain weight, it’s weird when you see them a lot lighter.

20140228_065144

Me at 178
Me at 178

So, I am definitely not obsessed with weight but I am interested in my long term health and, to that end, I am determined to eat better and make better choices about my health.  I may not be the man I used to be, but I will be a healthier man and that makes me very excited!

A little more about my diet

Four eyes are better than two

Thoughts,

I think I was the last hold-out on my side of the family as far as glasses goes.  My brother got glasses when he was around 10 and my parents and everyone else has had glasses for as long as I can remember.  Somehow, I had escaped.  Emily is pretty much in the same boat.  Her whole family has glasses as well.

New glasses
My new glasses.  This was taken on Valentine’s day…notice we are both wearing black…coincidence?

Let pass 40+ years and even the vision-very-best of us fail though.  Emily got glasses last year and I recently gave in as well.  I guess most folks get regular lens and then move towards bifocals or progressives but we both went right to progressives.  That’s just because we made it 40 years without I guess…

So, I had my glasses about 1 week before we went to see Phil a few weeks ago.  I mostly got used to them pretty well on that trip.  Speaking of trip, however…a few folks had warned me about stepping off curbs and walking down steps.  Pretty early on, I fell down 4 steps when I misjudged a flight in our house.  Luckily Isaac already knew all those words  I used when I fell but it caught me by surprise and really hurt.  Nothing broken though.

Mostly a bespectacled family
Mostly a bespectacled family…during a recent walk in the woods

So, now Isaac is the only one in the family without glasses.  Abigail got hers a few years back too.  Hers are probably worse than mine or Emily’s so she follows the greater family tradition.  Isaac however…he’s the hold out now.  I give him 30 or so more years until he joins the club, but somehow I suspect he will!