Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Fat boy vitals and habits

Name: undisclosed, just call me fat boy for now. Not really that fat. Really.
Gender: male
Age: 44 1/2
Weight: ~205 lbs (~93 kg)
Height: ~5' 11 1/2" (180 cm)

Occupation: engineer (sit on my ass most of the time)

Shape: Round is also a shape! Reasonably muscular in other areas. Capable of running 4.5 miles in under 50 minutes in Denver area - altitude of 5280 ft (1609 meters). A bit'o spare tire, some love handles, chunky ass?? (my description).

Activities: I run, walk, rollerblade, ski, swim, table tennis, occasionally ride a bike. I am not too serious about working out, but I am not a couch potato either. I normally walk or run ~2.3 miles about 3 times per week, play table tennis (competition level) 1-3 times per week (2-3 hours on average), when in mood I do crunches (100-200) on the exercise ball 2-3 times per week.

Foods I avoid:
I tend to eat just about everything, but there are foods I prefer to stay away from.
  1. I avoid anything that has Nutrasweet, Aspartame, Splenda, ..., any of the artificial sweetener crap. Basically I am of the opinion that while sugar may contain a lot of energy (calories count), it's better than pickling my brain in man-made synthetics. This is #1 in Dr. Kevorkian food group pyramide.
  2. I avoid soft drinks most of the time. Rum and Coke (not Diet) or gin and tonic is an acceptable treat.
  3. I prefer to consume bacon grease or butter instead of margarine. See my comment on synthetic foods above. That is not to say that I have bacon grease for breakfast. Well, not everyday. Margarin is #2 in Dr. Kevorkian food group.
  4. If the potential food is trying to escape from my plate using its own extremities, I tend to forgive it and let it go. On the other hand, I have eaten steak tartar and I am quite willing to do that again.
  5. I avoid junk food most of the time. However, when the cravings come, I am quite willing to consume a cheeseburger with a load of fries. A good slice of pizza qualifies as the best of the junk foods. See my comment on homeopathy below.
  6. I normally avoid MSG and other things I can't pronounce if I can read the label.
  7. I don't drink beer without alcohol, coffee without caffeine, don't eat fat free bacon or synthetic eggs. I don't smoke cigarettes without nicotine. See below.
Bad habits:
  1. Alcohol. I like wine (mostly reds), beer, rum, basically all forms of alcohol, maybe with the exception of sake. Moderation is the key.
  2. It is likely that I am addicted to food. All you can eat buffet places just kill me.
  3. Occasional smoke (2-3 times per month). I started smoking when I was about 16 (young and stupid), I quit at the ripe age of 37 (still young). With the exception of my 2 years in the army, I never smoked too heavy, I was down to about 3-4 smokes a day when I quit. However, I still light up once in a while. I do recognize this to be an addiction and will likely remain so for the rest of my life. And as such, it is a matter of controlling it. I call it homeopathic treatment - introducing myself to small quantities of poison makes me stronger. Yes, you got it, I am a male - I can justify stuff. However, for all practical purposes, I call myself a non-smoker anymore. I don't think I inhale any more poison than an average Denver motorist during rush hour. And unlike Denver traffic, I can control my addiction.
  4. Coffee. I like to have my bucket of coffee daily. I drink strong, Turkish style, black, no sugar. Occasionally I replace coffee with yerba mate or green tea.

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