What's new on Saturday

Went to Wild Oats today to have my cholesterol, blood pressure and couple of other things checked at a portable lab they had setup there. They use a blood sample from pricking my finger, which may not be as representative as the flask they normally suck out of my arm at my regular doctor. The portable lab is probably not as accurate as the lab my doctor uses but I figured it's probably good enough to get some baseline numbers.

Overall the ticker (heart) seem to be running pretty good, they actually clocked me at 57 bpm resting rate, which is better than I ever clocked myself. I scored well on the blood pressure, but the total cholesterol is still kind of high. LDL is higher than I'd like (borderline), HDL is also high (better than average) so the ratio is actually pretty good. Tryglycerides level is excellent. I also got 'Framingham risk analysis' with the result of having 4% risk of coronary problems in next 10 years. That sounds pretty good, we'll see what happens when I visit my regular doctor in October.

Learned the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber:

1. Soluble fiber (oat bran) forms a gel when mixed with liquids and binds to bile acids, therefore prompting liver to produce some more. The major ingredient in the bile acid recipe seems to be cholesterol, therefore soluble fiber helps with removing cholesterol from your body.
2. Insoluble fiber (wheat bran) forms a sponge when mixed with liquids and acts largely as a scrubbing brush, seems to be beneficial in prevention of colon cancer, hemorrhoids and basically keeps your digestive track in balance.
3. Both fibers pass through the body largely undigested.

My right ankle didn't feel like a rusty hinge anymore, so I went to Boulder to Fleet Feet and got a pair of good running/walking shoes. Went for a 2.5 mile run/walk. Not too bad but as soon as I came back, I iced it and then soaked myself in the hottub. Hmmm, it starts feeling like the rusty hinge again. The shoes feel really good. Will I ever learn?

Rolfing

Session #3

1. I'll start with a warning: If you ever want to get rolfed and get the impartial, genuine experience, do not read this (read my first 2 rolfing sessions writeups). It's not because it would be scary, but I am talking about my experiences here so if you do keep reading, you will condition yourself to expect something similar and your mind will pre-build a response to it before you have a chance to feel it yourself.
2. You have been warned and you're still here. Fine, read on.
   
3. We definitely took better pictures than last time. We used a tripod this time and aimed the camera at little below my waist and tried to get the right angles really right. We have pictures from before the session, in the middle (after my right side was done) and after the session. I am still not posting them here - you'll have to wait until I scale at or below 175.
   
4. Session #3 is concerned with the sides of my body. Ashlane started working with my right hip and I did feel the heat there. Literally. She was right about at the limits of what I can handle as far as the pressure goes. Just about perfect.
   
5. Then she moved really slowly up to my obliques and up to my arm and moved to my back later on. Repeat on the other side.
   
6. I really enjoy the slow, meticulous, determined movement. Have you ever seen Andrei Agassi walk on the tennis court? He walks with determination and a purpose. He means to make that every step. That's what I would compare rolfers movement to. Very deliberate, patient, every move has a reason.
   
7. There was a time I stopped talking in the middle of a sentence - talking is optional, not always desired, I tend to exercise my right to free speech unless asked to shut up and breathe. Ashlane asked me what's wrong. Nothing was wrong, I was just savoring the moment, it felt so good.
8. She has never even touched my legs and they started shivering and shaking towards the end of the session.
   
9. This time I didn't do any reading beforehand (hence my warning above), I did know it's going to be on the sides of my body, I didn't know what to expect.
10. Physically, this session was a bit more intense than the previous one, I felt more pressure, more heat. That may not be too surprising when you consider you have someone's elbow melting the tissue right below your skin and right on top of your hips or ribs. Not too many places the tissue can escape to and there is not much muscle cushion there either.
    
11. On the other hand, when she did move over to the more masculine parts (no bones underneath, on my sides), these muscles felt like a flexible canvas she was painting on.
12. Couple of times I wasn't quite sure whether I should resist or let go when she dug into my back. I felt like if I give in, she'll push me off the table. Well, she didn't, she was nice :).
    
13. I have a couple of tender spots on my hips, considering this is a pretty tough area, it shouldn't come as a surprise.
14. Very good experience one more time. I didn't feel nearly as wired as the last time. I felt much more mellow, didn't have any equilibrium problems.
15. I like to stretch in the morning when I am still in bed. I felt like stretching after this session. I laid on the table and felt like I can reach both sides of the room with my extremities if I wanted to. My upper body feels taller and stronger, I don't feel any different in my lower body, my feet are firm on the ground, standing very upright, I would say. I kind of feel like a stretched rubber band in a slingshot, begging to be released. I guess that could indicate power and strength.
    
16. I talked to my friend at work yesterday and we stumbled on the subject of yoga. I asked Ashlane about yoga and she is of the opinion that it's likely to be very beneficial to me. Got to find a place to go to. I think it would be a good thing to do. I am very inflexible.
17. Nighty, night, I'll probably do an update in the morning or sometime tomorrow.
    

Other comments:
Nothing to do with rolfing, but since I stopped writing down the food, I just have to mention this here. Had lunch in all you can eat pizza place. Yup, one of those shops of horror. Had 1 slice with ham and pineapple, one slice with pesto and 2 plates of salad with no dressing. It was still a relatively painful experience, looking at all those pies there, just begging to be eaten. Although I felt like a reformed alcoholic in a liquor store, I resisted. I am winning this game!


My ankle is still swollen a bit, I am still laying off (well, today was a rolfing day and I don't work out on rolfing days anyway). I will go at least walking on Friday, maybe running. Maybe I should go swimming in the morning - hmmm, what an idea!

Update on Thursday 6/23/05:
Didn't go swimming. Came to work today and my friend, coworker and running buddy S. said: "You're grinning and you look taller. Did you get rolfed again?" I could not compliment Ashlane any better.

I'll add that although she was pretty brutal (in a nicest possible way) and applied a lot of pressure to my hipbone area (I think it's called suprailliac) which is still somewhat tender, there are no bruises. Very impressive.

I feel good, walk with my head up, look people straight in the eyes. Cool beans.

Westminster rec center offers a three week yoga classes. I'll see if I can get in. Probably a reasonable place to get acquainted with yoga.

Update on Saturday 6/25/05:
Finally, a couple of bruises showed up on my hips last night (Friday). Both were about the size of a quarter. Ashlane applied plenty of pressure there - yes, she did ask and I said I was fine. It took two days for them to show up. Actually, they are almost gone by now (Saturday evening). Still pretty impressive.

I'll go to sample 'Yogalates' class on Tuesday evening. Combination of Yoga and Pilates offered by Westminster recreation center. New class starts on July 5th, I'll probably sign up for it.

Status

Breakfast: morning mush
Lunch: had a green chili burrito at La Casita de Durango. A really good, local 'hole in the wall' (no offence folks, you have a great place) type Mexican restaurant. Also had some chips & salsa of course and as an added bonus, pickled pork skins.
Snacks: had a small piece of chocolate cake, about 2x2x2 inches, about a cup of trail mix
Dinner: cup of potato pork leak soup, 1 toast, 1 sausage, load (about 4 cups uncooked) of sauteed spinach.
Fluids: my daily gallon, glass of wine.

Exercise: none - laying low with my right ankle. I have been icing/heating it up, it seems to be a bit better than yesterday, I wasn't gonna do any exercise tomorrow anyway (no workouts on rolfing days), we'll see what it feels like on Thursday.

Comments: it has been a month. Wow. I scaled at 191.8 today in the morning at my regular time (after a cup of coffee and regularly scheduled trip to the bathroom). Not too bad. I will definitely post on rolfing either tomorrow or Thursday. I am thinking about moving the rolfing to a new, separate blog, don't know yet, we'll see how much of other stuff I'll be blogging from now on.

This has been an experience I will never forget. This blog has kept me honest with myself and I am very confident I have broken my overeating habit. Sure, the cravings still come, but I have means of controlling them now. Kind of like with smoking.

I am definitely much more in touch with my body, mind and spirit than I was a month ago. I will have my cholesterol tested this Saturday, I am really curious whether my morning mush combined with generally better eating habits and weight control had any effects.

I am losing my shorts and this time it's not during a poker game. I really mean it. Would it be possible for me to go back to size 32? Hell yes, I know it's possible, it may take another month, but it's doable. I want to go to Chatfield or Cherry Creek reservoir at the end of the summer, put on my Speedo (I do wear them anyway, I am a European) and have the guys be pissed at me because their girlfriends are staring at me instead of them (well, they stared before, too, but that was because they couldn't take their eyes off of a chunky boy in body clinging swimsuit). Hmmm, we're talking about a serious ego trip here, aren't we? Eh, no, not really, I really don't care whether the chicks eyeball me or not. It's a nice thought, though, everyone likes to be liked :). I prefer for people to like me for my mind :).

Seriously now, I am much more appreciative of my well being - physical, mental and spiritual. That's kind of very important to me now. OK, enough rambling. The goals don't matter, it's all about the journey, master would say (and I dare to disagree). It's been a great, joyful trip. I'll make sure I heal so I can continue.

Status

Breakfast: mush
Lunch: my pork feet gello - low fat, pure protein, 2 small toasts, 1/2 onion, vinegar
Snacks: 1/2 cup of carrots, handful of trail mix
Dinner: 3 chicken drumsticks, 2 cups of broccoli salad, orange later on and handful of trail mix
Fluids: gallon +, no alcohol
Exercise: 2 hours table tennis, ran 2 laps:
Lap 1: 2.23 miles at 4.8 mph in 0:27:47, 136 average bpm (beats per minute)
Lap 2: 2.30 miles at 6.8 mph in 0:20:09, 175 average bpm (hit 191 once for about 5 seconds)


Comments: I can get my heart to go up to 150 bpm playing table tennis. Interesting. Morning scale: 192.0

OK, I am officially hurt. My right ankle is swollen. I need to lay off for a few days. This is a major bummer.

Status

It's Monday already, I am backposting (just like Saturday).

Breakfast: mush
Lunch: toast and herring
Snacks: orange, 2 bananas, handful of nuts
Dinner: Oh yes, party at my friends V & A. Get a load of this:
various chips and guacamole, cheese cubes and baby sausages as snacks
2 chicken drumsticks
1/2 cup rice and vegetables
1 cup broccoli salad
3 egg sausage pastries
3 glasses of red wine
1 shot of port wine

Yup, pretty hefty, but overall it was not too much. I could have eaten a bit less, but I decided that today was my day off from being good. And that is, I decided this before I had any wine. I am OK with it.

Exercise: played table tennis for about 2 hours, not too bad
Fluids: other then the wine, had my gallon of water, actually a bit more.

Comments:
pretty relaxed day, didn't work too hard, my right foot hurts a bit, I am thinking about running to work tomorrow morning but it will likely not happen.
Scale: 192.6

Status

It's really Monday night now, so I am backposting this (and Sunday) with fake dates. I did keep track.

Breakfast: mush
Lunch: potato latke (it's actually some sort of corn cake, relatively greasy), half a cup of sobe noodles
Snacks: banana, toast with herring
Dinner: 2 small steaks, yellow gold potato, bowl of spinach salad with olive oil and vinegar
Fluids: gallon of water +, glass of wine, chamomile tea
Exercise: woke up in the morning and decided I need to earn the food I eat. So Nancy and I walked to Wild Oats on 96th and Sheridan. At around noon. Very hot. Bought the food, dropped of Nancy at Barnes & Nobles and walk/ran home to get the car. Totals:
Walk 4.17 miles in 1:10:00 at average speed of 3.5 mph, average heartbeat (bpm = heart beats per minute) at 104
Walk/run 4.0 miles in 0:46:39 at 5.1 mph, 148 bpm.


Commentary:
The walk/run was interesting. Thanks to my new toy, I would just run until I reached about 160 bpm then start walking and let it drop to 135 and then run again. This way I can comfortably do 4 miles and still get a decent average.

I think I need to lay off walking for a few days, had to ice my feet. This business of walking kind of hurts - I think I am using muscles I have not used before. We'll see.

Scale: 194.6

Setting goals

Hmm, almost at the end of the experiment and I am about to set my goals. This is the way I function, I guess. I need a bit of experimentation to learn what I want.

Mission statement: to feel good, have a healthy, balanced and well functioning body and mind, have a nice dose of self-esteem while not becoming an arrogant asshole. That about sums it up. Damned, I am becoming a Dilbert organization, I have a mission statement now.

Background: last time I was in this kind of shape was back in 1994 when I worked for NREL and visited a 'Total body conditioning' workout 3 times a week. At the time my smoking, my 'I don't really care' attitude combined with a horrible diet worked against me, while my youth (relative) and my coworker in the next cubicle (who happened to be the aerobics instructor and pushed me to go the workouts) worked for me.

A typical breakfast would consist of the following variations:

1. a cup of 7-Eleven coffee with a doughnut (the bigger the better)
   
2. McDonald's coffee with Egg McMuffin and sausage
3. 2 eggs, sausage, toast, cup of coffee (at home)
4. my favorite, Taco Bell breakfast burritos (they don't make them anymore - eternal shame). I'd have about 3 of them for breakfast.

And of course, I would top the above variations with at least one smoke on the way to work, sometimes 2 or 3 (Marlboro reds, non of the light or nicotine free crap).

A typical lunch would consist of:

1. Arby's, Burger King, McD, ...., you name it. The bigger the better, don't forget the greasy fries. I was never too much into the giant soft drinks, so at least the damage was limited to the food (well, lets call it a 'food product', I dare not to call it 'food' anymore) source.
2. Chinese and other all you can eat buffets. Yup, make sure you clean up at least 3 plates.
3. Leftover pizza, or some of my own creations - normally pretty fatty and fried stuff.

A typical dinner would be:

1. Some form of home made fried food. Be it pasta, potatoes, rice, or even bread, I would fry it in bacon grease. Top it with some form of sausage food (ham on a good day), be careful not to add too many vegetables, they spoil the taste.
2. Once in a while pizza or takeout.
3. Add beer (2 - 3) or wine.
   
4. I didn't dine out much.
   

Add a generous portion of some kind of potato chips, Little Debbie apple pies, icecream, chocolate, toast with a load of butter, a half a pack of Marlboro reds and you have a pretty good picture of my normal day. There were times in my life when I drank beer for breakfast.

The above makes me realize how hard did I have to work out to get to the shape I was in. At that time I dropped from about 208 to 193, about the same drop as I did during past month, but in 1994 it took me 3 months of 3 times per week of about an hour workout. And I hated the workouts, so it was pretty easy to stop when I changed jobs and I was (very quickly) back to the vicinity of 210 and above. I think my worst ever was somewhere around 218.

Things have changed, I am a bit wiser (yeah, right) and I am motivated now. I don't know why, it seems like something is instructing me to get in shape and I seem to be pretty eager doing it. Which is likely a Good Thing (TM).

Body fat:
Last time I had my body fat checked about 2 years ago, it was somewhere around 23 - 25 % if I remember well. I know it changed quite a bit in past month, but I think I still sport a good 20+% body fat. Considering I weigh around 195 now, that's almost 30 lbs of energy reserves. I think I could do with a bit less.

Heart and body condition:
I have no indications that there are any problems with my heart. I have an ECG graph on my desk from last week's surgery - the nurses and doctors all tell me it looks really good, I had something similar done last October at my regular doctor - came out with clean bill of health as far as heart and lungs are concerned.
I did have a problem with high cholesterol. Well, the bad guy was a bit higher and the good guy was a bit lower. So the ratio kind of sucked. I don't remember the numbers and even if I did, I would not post them here for my insurance may read this blog (yeah, right).

Heartbeat:
There are 2 simple formulas for calculating your maximum heart rate. '220 - age = max' is the basic one, normally used for non-trained people, '205 - age/2 = max' is used for physically active people. I use the latter since I think I am pretty active. That puts me at 183 max. This number is not set in stone, of course, there are a lot of other factors involved. I know from experience that when my ticker hits close to 200, I can still function relatively well. Considering I live in Colorado where the air is thin, I think I can safely push myself to about 190 on semi-regular basis. However, this is kind of open to experimentation and I don't want to push it too far. So, I consider my max to be 185 now for all practical purposes. My resting heart rate is about 63. Therefore, these are my calculated target zones, which I can conveniently program into my heart rate monitor gizmo :)

1. 50-60%, light activity: 92 - 111
2. 60-70%, fat burn: 112 - 129
3. 70-80%, aerobic rate: 130 - 148
4. 80-90%, optimal conditioning: 149 - 167
5. 90-100%, peak performance: 168 - 185

Short term goals (by mid to the end of summer):

1. 185 lbs live weight on an accurate scale. Considering the added weight of muscle tissue growth, that should put me somewhere around 13-15% body fat. Maybe?
2. the target weight needs to be sustainable
   
3. resting heart rate below 60 bpm. As the heart condition improves, it can 'pump more for less'. However, there are just too many other variables to make this a too aggressive of a goal. My gut feeling is that I would probably clock at around 55 - 58 at sea level. I may be horribly wrong.
4. straight posture (rolfing)
5. better harmony between my body, soul and mind
   
6. I will reevaluate these goals when I reach them or sometime by mid to the end of summer
   

Long term (wishful thinking), I am due for physical exam mid October:

1. I think 175 is attainable, however, that may be pushing it too hard AND it may not be easily maintainable. I am not Lance Armstrong.
   
2. Reasonable cholesterol levels (I wish I could measure it myself within a reasonable margin of error, and inexpensively)
   
3. Resting heart rate of 55 - that may be way too much to ask. We'll see.
   

Status

Today was a great day. Last night I was torn about whether to walk or not and decided to sleep on it. The goal was to get up at 5:30, move my legs and see if they want to walk to work. Well, I woke up at 5:30 and decided I don't really want to go anywhere. At 6:30 my 'better I' finally dragged me out of the bed, I still really wasn't that enthusiastic about walking but convinced myself to listen to my body (yup, I am consciously doing it) and go. Learning from the past, I stepped on the scale, got 197.4 and had my

Breakfast #1: a cup of coffee and slice of cheesecake

As I said, I wasn't too enthusiastic, but it only took about 1/2 mile and I was grinning from ear to ear, I started talking and listening to the birds, poking fun at prairie dogs and in general started having an immense amount of fun. I realized I just got high drinking the morning sunshine. What an experience. Made it to work in 1:37 and proceeded with

Breakfast #2: bowl of morning mush and more coffee
Various snacks: about a handful of trail mix and blood orange
Lunch: 2 toasts (no butter) with a bowl of my creation from last night topped with 1/2 onion and bit of balsamic vinegar. The creation is really bunch of pork feet parts (skin, cartilage, tendons) that most people throw away, but I cook them in a pressure cooker and they pretty much dissolve into this rich protein soup that just gells up when cooled. If you ever had this thing they call 'head cheese', you know what I am talking about. It's loaded with collagen and actually has very little fat.
Afternoon snack: had a banana half way on my way home

My GPS heart rate monitor arrived, so I asked Nancy to bring it to me to work so I could use it on my way home. Since I didn't figure out how to work the speed+distance thingy, I only used it as a stopwatch and heart rate monitor. Made it home in 1:34, average heartbeat 136. Walking uphill I was ticking up to 160 at one time. Pretty good.

Dinner: 4 small toasts (equivalent to 2 normal ones) with my headcheese (this one is the other one I made last night, same technique, only used beef tendon and ox tails to make it), onion and vinegar. BTW, whey I talk about toast, it's normally either rye or sourdough bread from Wild Oats. Yes, I can't stand Wonderbread and other crappy excuses for bread. Topped it with bowl of raw spinach with olive oil and vinegar.

Fluids: again, I didn't quite finish my gallon at work but had few more glasses at home and half teapot of chamomile tea.

Alcohol: glass of red wine late in the evening

Exercise: walked to work and back - as far as I know, it is 2x 6.9 miles (no shortcuts today) for total of 13.8 miles, decent time.
total walking: 15.25 miles
running: 2.45 miles
other: did 25 crunches, 25 oblique crunches on each side

Commentary:
When I got home I started reading the GPS gizmo manual and in order to test it I decided to go for a walk. So I walked for 1.45 miles and then decided to run the rest of our bikepath loop. This was the first time I ran since the surgery and I did 2.45 miles at about 9 minutes per mile. I was really watching my heartbeat and I clocked myself close to 180 a couple of times. I need to set my heart rate alarms (I can set 5 zones) on the gizmo and keep myself ticking where I am supposed to tick. So, to summarize, today was just freaking great, only if it wasn't for the damn mosquitoes in the evening. I am so full of life it's not even funny. For some reason this seems to be pretty important. I realized I need to set my goals. Pretty late at the game, don't you think?

Status

Today was not my favorite day. I still have a bit of headache.

Breakfast: finally finished the chicken ginger plum sausage (one piece), one egg, cheese, spinach, buttered toast.
Lunch: vietnamese noodle soup (pho), medium with tendon. Still craving tendon.
Snacks: handful of trail mix, teaspoon of cacao nibs, orange
Dinner: small bowl of potato leak pork soup (made it myself)
Fluids: didn't finish my normal gallon at work (however, the soup is probably 1/4 gallon right there), had a few more glasses of water at home, teapot of chamomile tea, glass of red wine.
Alcohol: glass of red wine
Sugar: none
Exercise: none, took a day off.

Commentary: I woke up with a headache but was tempted to walk to work again. Decided not to push it. I really don't want to hurt myself, that would be quite bad. Took it really easy in the morning, spent 20 minutes in hottub before going to work. That was a good thing.

Had difficulties concentrating today. Not that I was tired or low on energy. I guess despite of my intentions, I was just pissed off at myself for yesterday's stupidity and just could not focus very well. I have a feeling that not exercising didn't help either.

Went home early, stopped at food store, got some stuff and spent evening cooking. I like cooking. I cooked beef tendon with ox tail as one dish and pork potato leek soup as another. I hope this is the end of my collagen protein craze. I do feel that my body is telling me to slow down a bit. Oh well, we have some really potent beef broth in the fridge now.

Feel fine physically, my legs don't hurt at all, maybe I can walk tomorrow? We'll see.

Scaled at 198.2 in the morning.

Things learned

I feel I need to make this extra entry to summarize what I have learned yesterday.

First of all, I need to correct my distance estimates. I measured the distance today with the truck and it is exactly 7.0 miles from our garage to the office parking lot. Since I don't walk to the parking lot and I took a shortcut at one time (cut across a switchback winding up on a bridge), I cut off another .4 miles from that. So, the errata:

1. I really just walked 6.6 miles each way
   
2. for a total of 13.2 miles
   
3. at combined time of 3:16 hours
   
4. resulting in an average speed of 4.04 mph.
   

Which is much closer to what I thought I can sustain.

Now for the other things I have learned yesterday.

1. Learn to listen to what your body tells you, stupid.
I came home last night, ate a bowl of split pea soup (very good) and then my mind landed on the icecream in the freezer. The little devil in my mind can justify just about anything and it just made perfect sense that since I did a pretty heavy workout, I can have icecream now. Right? That train of thought totally shuts up the little angel (who I think is the real voice of my body) telling me: "Hey, think about this for a minute". So, to totally drown the poor little angel, I had a slice of blueberry cheesecake, topped it with icecream and topped that with a shot of rum. And felt pretty good about it.

I woke up in the morning with a slight headache. I normally get headaches only when I get dehydrated or drunk. Searching for the cause of this problem I reiterated what I did last night and that's when it hit me. The sequence of events:

1. I get exhausted walking
2. I eat some body building blocks (peas, meat)
3. I eat a load of sugar
4. I have a shot of strong alcohol
5. I am a dumb ass, I should have stopped at step 2 and go to hottub instead. I can just hear the little angel grinning from ear to ear while he whispers: "Would this be a good time to say: 'I told you so'?".

To explain the logic of the above. Sugar and fat are just about pure energy with no other nutritional values. I think that eating sugar before or during the exercise is probably OK if I really have to have it because it will burn (well, unless I eat a pound of candy). Since the exercise normally just rips and damages my muscles, it's probably a good thing to help your body to rebuild right after it. Proteins appear to be pretty well suited to help with the job, sugars and fats are totally useless, they just get stored as the excess fat I am trying to get rid of in the first place. I am not a nutritionist, so I may be totally wrong, but the above logic seems to make intuitive sense. So, basically, I have worked my ass off first and then totally negated the effect of it.

I am severely disappointed in my lack of brains, especially after I was so confident last night, and told my friend about, of how I am learning to listen to my body and we're getting to be pretty comfortable with each other. Well, as one of my moments of Zen on my wall says: "Good judgment comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment". So,

2. Don't beat yourself up over it and learn from your mistakes
sounds like a pretty reasonable thing to do now. My nutritional guidelines have been permanently altered to

1. Think first
2. If you want to have sweets, do it right before workout
3. Workout
4. Do not eat sugar and fat right after workout
5. Do not drink alcohol right after workout - in addition of it being just pure source of energy, it also diminishes my mental capacities, so there is a heightened danger of eating stupid right after I drink rum. Pretty obvious.

3. After you learned what your body told you, follow it through.
Learning to hear is different from understanding the words, which is different from using my judgment and doing the right thing. I have to be right on all three counts. Seems like the first step is to learn the voice of the little white angel. It should not be too difficult, normally he makes a perfect sense although I may need to think about it a bit.

Status

First day at work after the surgery. Certainly interesting. I got up at 5:30 and decided I'll walk to work, so, at first I had
Breakfast: slice of cheesecake and a little bit of coffee to get me started while I cooked up one of those plum ginger sausages with 2 eggs, handful of spinach and two toasts with butter and cheese. I figured if I am about to walk 7.5 miles, I better get my body going.
Various snacks: about half a cup of trail mix, about a teaspoon of chocolate nibs and a blood orange after I did my morning walk to work.
Lunch: a bit late lunch, about 2:30 PM. Started with bread and olive oil, then lentil soup and medium rare rib eye with garlic mashed taters. Good stuff, but hey, I walked 7.5 miles.
Afternoon snacks: about a cup of baby carrots
Dinner: cup of split pea soup, slice of cheesecake, cup of icecream topped with rum
Liquids: easy gallon of water, about a shot of rum
Exercise: about the best day I had in a long time. Walked to work in the morning, 7.5 miles in 1:35, walked back in 1:46. The distance is as good as I can measure with the pickup truck (and my road bike), I'll know better when I can measure it with my new toy. It should be here Friday. The times put me at about 4.5+ mph average, according to one web site I went to, I have burned somewhere around 2300 - 2400 cal today. Yes, I am tired, but I felt a real emotional high a couple of times when I walked. Almost a religious experience (that is if I believed in religions), being synchronized with the world around me. It was just a pleasure to be. I could get used to this ...

Other: I am very conscious about how I walk. I did have a backpack (not too heavy), and I walk with my head up and try to keep my upper body straight yet loose. I noticed yesterday that it is a bit more comfortable if I just let my legs kind of swing into the rhytm instead of forcing them to walk. This swing is pretty natural, I do it without thinking. I do have to think about using the full range of motion my ankles are capable of. Ashlene was working on those places last week, I hope I didn't screw it up. I don't think I'll be walking to work tomorrow. Time to go hottubing now ....

Also, I started drinking about a shot of aloe vera gel (pure, organic, just the plant's leaf gel) every day. Tastes like crap (got to take it like a tequilla shot), but I think it's good for me. And the healing continues ...

Weekly status

Well, whod'da thunk it, it's Tuesday again, hence the time for the weekly.

1. I have been doing this for past 3 weeks. Wow.
2. Looking back, what a change!
3. I am very used to the new regime, I have noticed I have a pretty reasonable control over the contents of the refrigerator and I don't even think about the fact that I have to write it down.
4. I have noticed that my alcohol consumption went down as well. I was used to having at least one drink per day, usually a glass of wine or shot of rum in the evening. Sometimes more. We have had a lot of beer in the refrigerator since the ping pong party 2 weeks ago. I don't think I had a single one of them. And I love beer - I am Czech.
   
5. I am not much tempted by chocolate, icecream and other sweet stuff. I am slowly consuming Nancy's cheesecake, which is pretty damn good, but just one slice a day. A month ago that thing would not last a day, I'd have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
6. I drink a gallon of water (normally with 1/2 lemon in it) every day (the surgery time was an unfortunate anomaly) and it does not seem to cause any major problems anymore. Granted, I do have to plan a bit ahead once in a while - you don't want to drink 3 glasses of water before you go and get rolfed or massaged, you want to drink them after - but overall, no big deal anymore. I don't even have to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes anymore, my body deals with the supply in relatively nice way.
   
7. The above leads me to a conclusion that I'll do the daily logging for one more week and then I'll try to wean myself off of the daily status and slow down to a once a week only. This hinges on me not screwing up by eating everything on the table next time I go to all you can eat chinese or pizza buffet.
8. I like the way I feel mentally. I walk more straight with my head up and I seem to feel very level-headed with my feet planted firmly on the ground. I feel tall and confident. I have had a very positive attitude lately.
   
9. The people from the surgery clinic called me on Monday morning asking how do I feel and I told them that if it wasn't for the surgery itself, I'd do this every week. I think this has to do with my inquisitive nature - I am naturally curious about things and since this is the first time I ever went under and the first time I ever had a surgery (well, I had to have 6 stitches when I was 15 and my friend accidentally cut me with a knife - young, stupid, screwing around with sharp objects), I was kind of looking forward to the experience. This is probably my defense mechanism, too - I know it's inevitable (well, you can always skip the town if you're willing to pay for the consequences), so I keep my mind busy with stupid questions and inquiries (asking anesthesiologist: "can you strawberry flavor that gas you're gonna zap me with?" - and guess what? - he can, so I got 'tutti-frutti' for my nighty-night) so it doesn't have much time to think about needles, knives and other sharp instruments which I am not too fond of.
10. My low weight was about 197.2, I think, although I don't always write it down. I think the high was somewhere around 202, in the evening with full stomach and loaded with water. Not too bad, I see the 195 mark steadily approaching. I did see as low as 194, but that's right after exercise with not enough water in my system so it doesn't count.
11. I ordered the GPS heart rate monitor. It tracks your heart and gives you exercise time with speed and distance data gathered through GPS. Oooh, aaah, I hope it's as cool of a toy as it sounds. If I was paranoid, I'd say uncle Sam has one more means of tracking my every step. I am not paranoid.
    

Status

Breakfast: finally had my morning mush again. Had to resist the plum chicken sausage - not too difficult.
Lunch: large bowl of chicken soup leftover from the weekend. Added some garlic and spinach, I was craving spinach.
Snacks: about a handful of my trail mix, cup of baby carrots, had a slice of blueberry cheesecake before my walk, one herring (pickled fish) and toast with butter and white cheese in between my walks.
Dinner: small bowl of split pea soup with ham shanks.
Exercise: today was rather interesting. I was curious to find out how long is my standard walk on the nearby bikepath, so I took the bike out to find out. It is 2.9 miles roundtrip. I added another 1.1 miles to the other side, so now I have a nice 4.0 miles loop I know about. This was in the morning, so in the evening Nancy and I did the 4 miles loop walking in a little over an hour (about 65 minutes), then I had my herring and toast and walk the loop again, this time in about 55 minutes. Not too bad. In a few more days I may even go running, I don't think I am ready yet, I think I'll stick with walking till next week.
Fluids: gallon of water, 2 cups of tea, teapot of chamomile tea with honey, no alcohol.

Other ramblings:
Since the surgery I have been craving skin, tendons and similar animal parts that most people normally throw away. I asked for head cheese at the local Super Target and the lady said 'Yeah, I remember, it's something my dad used to eat, but we don't have it'. Cooking ham shanks and eating the cartilages and sucking out the bones was about as close as I could get. Funny, with all the health craze it's becoming impossible to find the old fashioned fat foods. Thanks God for pickled herring and ham shanks. It's becoming difficult to find a good menudo anymore too (the one I had yesterday was very good).
I guess my body wants these things now. I strongly suspect it's after collagen in order to heal and I am desperately trying to listen to my body lately. It's kind of cool, we're becoming to live in pretty decent harmony. Only if I could get my mind to do the same ... :).
Very good day overall. Scale told me 197.2 in the morning.

Status

Breakfast: chicken ginger plum sausage (a bit too sweet for my taste), 1/4 onion, 2 eggs, 2 toasts with butter. One small blood orange (with the rind - stuff's good for you).
Lunch: tortilla wrap with turkey and spinach
Snacks: handful of banana chips with nuts and apricots, slice of Nancy's blueberry cheesecake (hmmm, good), cup of baby carrots.
Dinner: we went early, at about 5 pm. Of course the customary chips and salsa came in first. Then I had a small bowl of menudo (I have been after collagen lately) and a large plate of medium rare Mexican steak with refried beans, rice and green chili. Los Arcos on 80th and Sheridan is a good place to eat.
Exercise: walked before lunch about 2.5 miles (relatively fast), than walked again before diner for about 45 minutes (leisure pace).
Fluids: gallon of water with lemon, bucket of coffee, had a 'presidential' margarita at Los Arcos - good stuff.

Other: hmmm, not much exercise today, I made up for it with the Mexican dinner. Oh man. The scale is still good to me, 197.4 in the morning at the regular time.

Status

Breakfast: breakfast mush
Lunch: 1/2 onion, slice of bacon, 2 eggs
Dinner: two small toasts with white cheese, turkey
Late dinner: cooked chicken parts in a slow cooker with onion. Had it with pasta and sea weed. It's hard to get a piece of fat chicken at Wild Oats - I was looking for the skin - collagen for healing.
Fluids: 2 glasses of wine, gallon of water
Other: handful of banana chips, 2 bowls of icecream (and chocolate). Yup, fat city. About 2 cups of baby carrots.

Didn't do a whole lot today, some shopping, bunch of reading, watched 2 movies, no exercise at all.

Status

OK, still alive and relatively no pain. Life is good, I am not taking any pain pills.

Breakfast: one egg, 1/4 onion, shreads of mexican white cheese. Complemented with 50/50 oat and wheat bran mush.
Snacks: about two cups of banana chips with apricots and nuts
Lunch: toast, butter, white cheese, turkey
Early dinner: leftover banana squash 'stuff', 1 1/2 corns (boiled)
Dinner: same as lunch
Fluids: back to gallon of water, teapot of chamomille tea, glass of red wine
Exercise: went for a walk twice. First time to Walgreens - about 20 minutes each way, between lunch and early dinner. Second walk was before dinner, about 30 minutes each way.

Comments: I have seen the epiphany of laziness today. Walking by a house in the neighborhood I saw a few, not exactly lean people watching their automatic lawnmover robot cutting their yard. The last form of exercise known to Joe Sixpack is disappearing into the abyss of oblivion! What's next - a burger will walk itself to the grill and then back on Joe's plate? BTW, the cutter robot doesn't do that great of a job - definitely not the English lawn. Hmmmm, 60 % of our population is obese, how could that have possibly happened???

Status

Today was certainly interesting. I had my surgery today, so the last food I ate was yesterday noon, last liquids at 10 pm last night.

Food: stopped at Fazoli's on the way home from surgery and got pasta alfredo with chicken and broccoli, added a handful of spinach sauted on bacon grease. Hmmm, good.
Liquids: very little, had a teapot of chamomile tea and a glass of red wine.
Exercise: 2 hour walk

Overall: the surgery went really well (I think). They sneaked up on me and I went under a general anesthesia before I knew it. No counting, nothing, all of a sudden I was in the recovery room and the clock on the wall said 2:30. Not too bad, I was under probably from about 12:30. The good thing is I feel very little pain, just a little bit discomfort. So, to celebrate my survival, we walked to CB & Potts on 120th Ave in a search for a cigar. Well, they don't sell them, but I found one at nearby liquor store. There you have it, I smoked one Romeo y Juillette and had a glass of Merlot (I did ask, it was OK to do so). The staff at Denver West Surgery Center was superb, made me feel really comfortable.
The scale at home claimed 195.2 before I left and I got on the scale at the center, 198.2. So our scale is about 3 pounds off, I was kind of expecting that. Not too bad, but yes, I was totally empty, but realistically, the 195 mark is not too far away. I have to take it a bit easy with my exercise now, but if I eat sensibly and at least walk, I should be OK.
I am filled with goodness, so far I only took 1 pain pill. If it goes like this, I hope not to have to take any more. That would be really cool.

Added on 6/12/05 - I forgot to mention the observable benefits of smoking a cigar on the evening of me doing so, so here it is. Background info first. They stuck an IV tube into me before the surgery, this is how they put you under. Well, my IV went into one of the vains on my right hand. Here comes the fun part after I smoked the cigar (it took me an hour). I noticed a large blue spot on my right hand, centered on the needle entry point and also, while I have a relatively light tan on my arms, my skin was freakishly white. The bruise was not there before and it was not there next day in the morning. Also, looking in the mirror next day in the morning, the skin color was back to normal light tan. There is only one explanation for the bruise on my hand and the whitish skin. The cigar just shut down my capillaries. Big time. My conclusion is that smoking while getting suntan on the beach is likely to dramatically increase your chances of severe sunburn (shut down capillaries, less blood, less nutrients and less UV filtering ability. Whod'da thunk it ...

Status

The day after I got rolfed for the second time and still feel very good about it - no, there are no bruises, there was no beating, I still think it's pretty cool.

Well, my regime is changing for next few days due to my surgery tomorrow. I had to stop eating at noon today, have to stop drinking at midnight. One paper claims I can have clear liquids up to about 4 hours before the surgery, the other instructs me not to. I guess I'll keep it on the safe side.

Breakfast: About the last solid food I will have for a few days, I slowly enjoyed a parmesan cheese square bagel with bacon and swiss cheese at Brueggers. And a nice cup of coffee from my favorite Peaberry's coffee.
Snacks: none
Lunch: cup of french onion cheese soup at Jason's. Very good and inexpensive.
Dinner: nothing
Alcohol: none
Water: drank only 1/2 gallon at work, working on a pot or echinacea tea, will likely have another one and some more water before I go to bed. Yeah, I'll have to get up during night, but I don't care, they'll put me to sleep tomorrow afternoon - preferably they'll wake me up, too :).

Exercise: walked to Jason's - I think it's about 4 miles, I got to measure it with the vehicle. Maybe tomorrow.
General mood: not too bad, but was kind of worthless at work. I have never had surgery or been under general anesthesia, so I don't worry about it too much. Learning to let go and accept things that are meant to be.
I am fully aware that my attitude may drastically change by tomorrow afternoon - it's been quite a few years since the last time I seriously freaked out. Actually, I can't even remember what was the occasion. I must have freaked out one time or another in this lifespan. Everybody does. I think.
The scale claimed 198.2 in the morning. Not too bad, I am pretty happy. I am probably going to drop a few pounds in next few days. I think I'll need to gain them back quickly before I lose them again. I think losing weight through fast, anesthesia and surgery is probably not a Good Thing (TM), although this method seems to be very popular in Hollywood and other upscale (pun intended) places.

Rolfing

I decided to post this as soon as I can, although I am a bit sleepy and tired. However, while I can still feel the effects full force, here it is.

The session

1. First of all, my rolfer gave me full permission to publish her name. So, she is one Ashlane Hale and you can either google her for more info, or look her up at the Rolf institute (Locate a Rolfer link, Boulder CO, USA), or you can call her at 303.859.1410
2. Today's session was #2 - I am pretty sure I got it correct this time, see my errata on last session in yesterday's weekly status. So, we did the feet and legs. Notice the 'we', although she did most of the work. My job was pretty easy today - relax, focus on my feet and let her do what she needs to do. However, I have homework to do.
   
3. We started with pictures today. Four shots, one from each side, if I figure out how to post pictures here, I'll do it but only if I can password them. Yup, not everyone gets to see me in my underwear, only selected few. The rest of you are better off. We also took the same shots after the session. Same light, same distance, no sucking in of my guts. This is for real, no faking.
4. Ashlane did her normal 'Hmmm, let me see what your posture is today' from all four sides, had me walk back and forth down the hallway, asked questions about which parts of my feet do I feel when I stand up, walk and bend my knees a little.
   
5. Then it was up on the table and Ashlane promptly proceeded with adding a new dimension to the word(s) 'footwork'. She spent significant time on my right foot loosening it up (top and bottom) and then she made me stand up, walk and bend the knees. It felt kind of silly with one foot worked on and the other still awaiting the good news. Well, definitely a bit out of balance.
   
6. The other foot also got what it needed and then Ashlane paid attention to my lower legs and then the final treat - she dug deep into my quads. I always had pretty strong quads. She went in deep, but so slow and gentle, that
   
7. she made it really easy for me to relax and not resist (which in turn makes it really easy for her to do the job, which in turn makes it really easy for me to relax, which in turn ... - whoa, infinite recursion ...). Actually, I don't think rolfing is really easy on her - while pretty strong, she is slim and this just has to take a toll on her body, too. I know, I know, if you learn to do it right, it doesn't take as much effort, but still, I have always imagined a rolfer to be a 200+ pounds bodybuilder, not a slender woman.
   
8. I am sure that by now, my dear reader, you're itching to ask the million dollar question: 'So, how the hell do you feel now?'. The short answer is 'Yes, I feel'. A bit more detailed insight is: 'I feel short and low to the ground'. I am a fine specimen of down to earth humanoid, but now I physically feel shorter, more bound to the ground I walk on, but somewhat lighter. Pretty weird, huh, and I didn't even smoke any funny stuff. My quads feel like they had Sombra or some other Menthol (Icy Hot, etc.) product applied to them, but I am pretty sure Ashlane didn't use anything like that - this time I was fully awake the whole time. My quads are currently nice and warm.
9. About half way through the adventures, my shivers came. This is really cool. Ashlane is working my right quad and my left one starts shaking and shivering, kind of like the entagled electron (google it). At one time towards the end of the session, when she worked my neck, it got to the point that I felt my teeth chatter. At the end of the session I was standing up and my knees were shaking - and it wasn't from fear, for I do not fear no rolfer :). I recall that other time while I was still on the table, Ashlane worked one of my quads and my upper body muscles were firing away (pecks, deltoids). I think it's my body's reaction to the loosening up and the detox process that's also happening at the same time (I am pretty sure, but I may be wrong).
   
10. The funny thing is my walking. For some reason the feet don't end up at their usual places and I feel I walk like a Neanderthal. Or like on a boat - a bit unsure. However, my steps are softer and I am more aware of which part of my foot I use during each phase of the step. It feels like my arches got flattened a bit and I use more of their surface now.
11. At the end Ashlane did something really interesting - kind of put her fingers on the top of my head while I was standing and got me to balance myself somehow. I started falling back at first, but somehow she got me to correct myself. I felt like an upside down lollipop, her hand holding the stick.
12. The homework - be more aware of what I do, how I walk and keep posture. Well, this already started happening. I caught myself adjusting my car seat the other day so I sit more upright, kind of like in a big truck.

Mental effects

1. When I bend my knees I feel moving down, when I straighten them, I don't feel moving up.
2. I feel enlightened and in peace with life, universe and everything. Point in case - I got severely cut of by an SUV from Michigan on my way home. To the point that I had to lay both on my horn and my brakes to avoid a collision. Normally my heart would rise up to my throat in a fraction of a second, my blood pressure would shoot sky high, and I'd curse the driver, his mother and her mother, followed by curses aimed at his offsprings for several generations to come. This time I called him a !@#$% moron just once and shrugged it off. Didn't even bother to establish nonverbal hand gesture communication. No big deal, yeah, whatever...

In conclusion
Cool stuff, enjoyed it immensely, looking forward to #3 in two weeks.

Update on the morning after (Thursday 6/9/05):

1. I slept really well, my feet seem to be firmly planted in the ground. Notice I said 'in', not 'on'. When standing still for a few seconds I feel like I am about to sprout roots (that's not the right English, is it?, hmmm, sprouting roots?). My upper body feels stretched, which is strange since she didn't touch it once. I feel the difference in the way I walk. I don't know whether it's good or bad and I don't know whether my mind will adjust to the new set of feet or my feet will adjust to the way my mind envisions them to be. I have a feeling that the former would be more beneficial.
   
2. There is a difference between learning a new language being 16 versus being 6 years of age. When you're 16, your mind has it's own ideas of what to hear and how to say things. Not too good for learning new sounds. When you're 6, your mind is more concerned with exploring butterflies, ghosts and other things that adults rarely see. Therefore much more open to the possibilities of new sounds. By the time we're 16, we're too stiff, both physically and mentally.
   
3. It is for the same reason I decided not to read about rolfing on the web or anywhere else anymore. In past couple of days I have read enough material on the web about the second session to get a mental picture of what to expect and of course my mind prepared itself by creating preconceived notions of how to react to it. Although the reality of the session was quite different, I think that my unconscious expectations likely skewed the results.
   
4. I didn't read enough about rolfing to be able to describe each session. From now on I will be testing the waters with both feet, no preparation other than what Ashlane tells me to prepare, preferably with the minimum knowledge of what's coming. Happy go lucky attitude and keeping my mind open to the unknown are the only ways to get genuine response unpolluted with prepositions. Yes, I am an overly analytical engineer, you bet.
   
5. As for you, dear reader, if you have any inclination to ever be rolfed or experiment with your body at this level, I am sad to tell you that you should probably stop reading my rolfing diaries right now. But if you never made it this far, you have nothing to fear, your mind is apparently still a rolfing virgin.

Evening update (6/9/05):
I was a bit unsure for the most of the day but I am gaining stability towards the end. It's not too bad, I am getting used to my new feet, I think. Basically, I was a bit off balance when standing or walking, went for about 4 miles walk to Jason's Deli for lunch and I was a tiny bit dizzy. Not enough to have to sit down or anything like that. It was like I had to walk with purpose, it wasn't totally automatic. My upper body feels stretched, my lower body feels short. Still get occassional wave of heat over my quads (that feels pretty darn good), I am in pretty mellow mood.

Status

Pretty simple day as far as eating and workout.

Breakfast: oat bran mush
Snacks: about 1/2 cup of nuts and fruits, about a teaspoon of cacao nibs, there were still cookies in the office kitchen from yesterday, didn't touch a single one. Ya-hoo!
Lunch: this was interesting. Three of us decided to combine lunch with exercise, so we walked to Jason's Deli, had all you can eat salad bar (1 egg, about tablespoon each of pasta salad, coleslaw, spiced peanut salad (yummy), the rest of my plate was onion, spinach (I like spinach), bell peppers, broccoli, okra, tomatoes, ...). Also had about 3 teaspoons of vanilla, chocolate and cream liquor pudding. Yummy.
Dinner: Hmmm, very busy, skipped dinner altogether. I guess once in a while it's OK to do so.
Alcohol: none
Water: didn't do the whole gallon today, well maybe I did, I am sucking down my teapot of echinacea tea right now. Pretty close.

Exercise: 25 crunches, 25 obliques on each side, 4 mile walk. Easy day.

Other: I realized yesterday afternoon that I didn't drink coffee neither on Monday, nor on Tuesday. Hmmm, maybe I am not too addicted to it, looks like I didn't miss it too much. Had half a bucket today (about 2 cups of my Turkish).
Scale showed me 199.2 - that's right, yesterday was a fluke. As I said, I suspect a bit of dehydration.

Weekly status

Alright, it's Tuesday night and I made it through another week. Whod'da thunk it. Well, let's see what the week was like in a glance.

Exercise: I did something useful every day, didn't get hurt, that's the most important part.

Food: I think I ate in relative moderation, yes, thinking of writing this blog still scares me away from overeating. What will I do in two weeks when (as planned) I stop writing this? One thought is that I'll just keep a weekly blog and see if it has the same effect.

Mentally: pretty stable, mostly cheerful with a positive attitude. I am beginning to like running and other physical activities, probably because I feel really good when I finish. The food addiction control isn't too bad either, although I know I could do better. However, I don't want to do too many drastic changes all at once. Overall, pretty happy.

Physically: other than the bit of knee trouble, I feel pretty good. I have a lot of energy, I really noticed it last night when I played table tennis. I felt really playful even after I ran 4.6 miles in the afternoon. I felt I was just dancing in the gym. A few months ago I didn't even go and play on Monday night when I ran (slow) 2.3 miles. No big deal now.

Other:

1. Well, got my allergy shots as I mentioned on Sunday
2. I am acutely aware that my body and my mind both are going through some (me thinks) good changes.
3. Getting rolfed tomorrow. Tomorrow should be my legs and feet. BTW, my rolfer's name I use here is a pseudonym to protect the innocent. I'll ask her tomorrow if it's OK to use her real name. I'll have the rolfing writeup #2 probably by Thursday night.
   
4. Pretty used to drinking a gallon of water a day.
5. I'll have a minor surgery on Friday - nothing major (me hopes, anyway) and nothing I want to discuss here, either. That may put a (preferably temporary) damper on my exercise regime and my happiness. Hence the drinking of ecchinacea - I need to be strong and build up immunity so I can recover quickly.
6. I figured last night that my target hearbeat is 136 - 159. Supposedly, according to the 'Karvonen formula' (google it if you want to). I clocked my heart at about 57 bpm (beats per minute, resting heartbeat) the other day. I need to check it one day as soon as I wake up - I wonder what's it right after I wake up.
7. Speaking of the heart beat, I am still debating the heart rate monitor. I mean I have done OK up to this point, didn't I?
8. I am obviously confused about what's aerobic vs. anaerobic exercise. Oh, hell, I'll just play Forrest Gump and just keep running, the hell with all this science crap.
9. I also noticed that due to this log I am limiting my alcohol consumption. I think of it as a treat now, not as something automatic that I just do when I come home from work.
   

Errata: I described my rolfing session as number 3 in the previous rolfing entry and I don't remember how I came to such a conclusion. Re-reading about rolfing on various websites leads me to a conclusion that I have gone through a session #1, just like Ida Rolf prescribed. So, yes, I was wrong and I apologize. I could have fixed that, but then we wouldn't have any proof that even I can be wrong, would we?

Status

Pretty normal day, nothing too unusual. Here we go:
Breakfast: oat meal mush
Daily snacks: had about 300 calories worth of various cookies (my bad), tablespoon of cacao nibs, about a cup of dried fruits and nuts.
Lunch: medium Vietnamese noodle soup with tendon - preferably this will help my knee ache
Dinner: 2 slices of pizza from Sunday, load of spinach, glass of white wine
Exercise: ran a slow loop (yes, 2.3 miles) with my friend, today she finished the whole thing in 31 minutes. This is good, she'll be back in shape in no time. I didn't run the second loop today, my left knee just didn't feel right, so I decided to take it easy today.
Alcohol: glass of white wine
Water: my usual gallon + pot of ecchinacea tea

Other: the scale told me I was 195.2 pounds in the morning, which obviously is a problem. No way I lost 3 pounds since yesterday. I think what happened was as follows. I drank my gallon by 6 pm last night and then I went to play in Longmont. I played for probably 2 - 2 1/2 hours and only had one water bottle of water to drink, so my body probably got dehydrated a bit. This is really a welcome news, this could mean that my body is getting used to being well watered and doesn't seem to want to keep a whole lot of reserves.
Well, either that or the scale really broke this time ...

Status

Breakfast: had the 50/50 oat bran / wheat bran mush. Not too bad. Wheat bran is much much lighter and mixed with oats doesn't taste too bad.
Snacks and other: 2 coconut cups (pretty small but still probably quite a bit of fat), had about a cup of nuts and fruits before and after exercise. Tablespoon of cacao nibs.
Lunch: 2 slices of pizza from yesterday
Dinner: 2 1/2 slices of toasted rye bread with butter, mustard and one lightly fried egg with handful of spinach.
Alcohol: none
Water: normal gallon + a bit more while I played table tennis
Exercise: it was interesting today. My coworker came back from India last week. She asked me to train her before she went and we managed to get rid of 6 pounds in about a month. She accomplished our 2.3 miles circuit in under 30 minutes - that was the goal. Well, she is back and she is getting back into it. So we ran almost the whole loop together, making pretty good time but she ran out of steam at about 1.75 miles. If she had kept the pace, we would have finished at about 31 - 32 minutes. Considering she didn't do anything in India, I am pretty happy. She did well. We finished the loop walking, she went back to the office to stretch and I went one more time at my pace. Finished in 21 minutes, heart beat at about 160. I think I like it around there. So, total of 4.6 miles running.
Went to play table tennis in the evening, got a good workout from that, too.
Other: morning scale was good to me - 198.4. Me happy.

Status

Breakfast: last night I thought I'll try the new 50/50 mush. Well, I got up, stepped on the scale (I weigh myself every morning after the customary bathroom trip) and the scale claimed 199.4. Feeling giddy, I had 2 strips of bacon, 2 eggs, 1/2 onion, 1 roasted chili pepper, some feta cheese and 1 1/2 red potato. All nicely fried in bacon grease. Have to say, much tastier than mush.
Snacking: about a cup of almonds with dry bananas and dry apricots. Found an apple in my table tennis bag and ate it.
Dinner: oh boy, today was my day to be bad. Hawaiian pizza - ham and pineapple. Yes, because I am acutely aware that I have to write stuff down, I had only 2 1/2 slices. On my normal day, I'd put away 4 - 6 slices. Not too bad.
Treat: cup of pistachio icecream with 1/2 shot of rum. Yup, it's Sunday night and I did have a reasonable workout today.
Exercise: did 25 crunches, 50 obliques (25 on each side). Played table tennis for about 3 hours. Not too bad. Feel physically strong.
Other: not much more today. Watched the finals of French Open. What a match. Actually, there was something rather interesting. On my way home from table tennis, just as I was pulling into the garage, I felt a burning sensation under my right shoulder blade. First I thought that maybe a hair got caught in my shirt or something like that. So I wiggled a bit and felt it again. I stopped the car, and by the time I got out, I felt it 2 more times. Well, it was a poor misguided wasp who fell through the sunroof and I squished it with my back a bit. Yup, I got zapped for a total of four times. I carefully removed the wasp and let him (her?) loose in our xeriscape garden, I am sure he had quite an adventure to tell his buddies. The welts stopped itching in about an hour. Hey, these are my allergy shots for the year :)
Alcohol: none other than the customary 1/2 shot of rum with icecream, had a gallon of water and 4 cups of echinacea tea.

Status

Morning: lazy morning. Bought a couple of books last night, started reading 'The science of the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy'. Interesting stuff. Had morning mush at first, topped it off with 3 pieces of apple crumb cake a couple of hours later.
Lunch: snacked on nuts and dry fruit (about 1/2 cup), had lunch kind of late because I was not really hungry. Ate at Senor G's. Had a large bowl of menudo soup and a side of chicken enchilada with green chili and cheese and two tortillas. Yummy. Oh yes, bowl of tortilla chips with salsa.
Dinner: due to late lunch, not really. Had three pieces of white chocolate (which we know is just fat and sugar), had about a tablespoon of the cacao nibs (much healthier).
Alcohol: none
Water: had my gallon, also about 4 cups of echinacea tea
Exercise: Very nice day. Did 2 sets of 150 ball crunches for a total of 300. I think this is a bit too much, we'll see how my abs feel tomorrow. I am beginning to feel that I don't really get much more of a workout doing 150 crunches at a time. Although it's a mental challenge to do it. Also did 50 side crunches on each side (hip supported on the ball, lift upper body sideways, work the oblique group muscles) and 50 leg lifts (lay on your back, lift both legs (straight) as high as you can) - this works the adductor and pyramid muscle groups. Went for a 50 minute brisk walk. This was a good day. Hmmm, should I get the Timex heart monitor with GPS?? Oooh, ahhh, new toy on the horizon. Is it worth the money? Yes, I am a gizmo geek.

Other stuff: learned that oat bran provides soluble fiber and is about 240 calories per cup, while wheat bran provides insoluble fiber and is about 120 calories per cup. The problem is that eating wheat bran is like chewing on a sponge. If you think oat bran tastes like a shreaded cardbord, try wheat bran. So, I did an experimental 50/50 mix, will try it in the morning. The scale is still nice to me, 199.2 in the morning.

Status

Breakfast: morning mush
Snacks: handful of dry fruit and nuts
Lunch: ham sandwich, 4 very small toasts, 2 slices of ham, quarter of onion
Dinner: a bowl of chicken chili, bowl of tortilla chips, icecream (yum) with a dash of rum. Oh yes, had a couple of bites of apple crumb cake.
Exercise: 2.3 miles run in 19:05
Water: these gallons are so easy to drink now. I stopped at about 1 pm to go to the doctor's office and resumed at about 5. Still finished the gallon and had a liter of echinacea tea in the evening on top of it. I'll be drinking that stuff quite a bit from now on.
Alcohol: dash of rum with the icecream - maybe about 1/2 shot.
Other: I realized my right eye is loosing focus. Kind of strange, got to keep my eye on it :)

Memorable moments:

1. Stepped on the scale in the morning, it said 199.2 - just to make sure, I tried it again and again and it never went over 200 (it's digital scale, so it fluctuates).
2. Ran my fastest time ever - it kind of felt good from the beginning, I just cruised down the hill and at 1.5 miles I realized that I am making a really good time, I should keep pushing. Well, I had to stop couple of times and just gasp for air. At the end I measured my pulse at about 200 - a bit too high. I should probably look for a pulse-o-meter and keep better track, I wouldn't want to keel over on the bikepath.
3. Went to a doctor today, among other things they checked my blood pressure and I think the nurse said 130 / 88. I asked her whether it's good or bad and she said it was really good. OK, I am happy. Didn't get a physical, so I still don't know what my cholesterol is. My next physical is due in October, I think I'll wait till then.
   

Status

Breakfast: A bit unusual, I started with a square of my homemade chocolate from yesterday. It actually tastes pretty good. That was about 7 am. I decided to take about a tablespoon of the cacao nibs and dump them in a coffee grinder at work. It resulted in a chocolate paste. It really releases the chocolate aroma when finely ground like that. Tried to make a chocolate drink out of it but that kind of sucked. Ended up eating it mixed with the sugar cane syrup. Then I had to wait for a couple of hours for the fat to be digested, so I really had my breakfast at about 10 am. Morning mush. Hey, I totally forgot to drink coffee today and guess what? I am still alive. Hmmm, maybe I am not addicted to coffee.
Snacks: finished the tortilla chips we had left in the office - they are actually not too bad (other than the fat content) - made with organic corn? Yeah, I wonder what the term 'made with organic' means... There are 2 organic corn kernels per bag ... Anyway, ate these after my workout. Also had a handful of nuts and dry fruit.
Lunch: Subway 6" turkey sandwich, no cheese, no mayo, no dressing. Just bread, turkey and load of veggies.
Dinner: those damn chips. Well, had some more (corn chips) with salsa.
Alcohol: glass of white wine (Pinot Grigio). I don't drink whites very often. Not too bad, kind of light.
Exercise: rollerblading. Did 3 of my exercise circuits of 2.3 miles on rollerblades for the total of 6.9 miles in about 45 minutes. Just in case you wonder what's the deal with 2.3 miles - that's the roundtrip on the bikepath next to our office. Conveniently going down, around an artificial lake, then up the hill and back to the office. Also did 111 crunches on the ball at home about an hour after dinner.
Other: Had no coffee, was done with my daily gallon of water at 2:30 pm. So, I drank a bit more than a gallon today. I am getting used to it but still need to get the timing right.

Comments:

1. I was browsing through my previous posts and found a few spelling and typing problems. Have to go and fix them.
2. I am a pretty decent rollerblader - coming from former Czechoslovakia, of course I played ice hockey as a kid. So of course I don't wear a helmet or any kind of padding - I can usually find a reasonable place to land when in dire straits. Well, today I was zipping down the hill (on the second round), my left blade slipped a bit unexpectedly (put too much pressure into braking) and I started doing gymnastics in the middle of the street, thinking 'Shit, this would be really bad, there is no grass anywhere near me, just asphalt'. Somehow I managed, but going through for the third time I was a bit more careful. I do get kicks out of going downhill on rollerblades.
3. Rollerblading can be aerobic and also anaerobic exercise. Going downhill is definitely anaerobic. I have to really press on my legs to keep the speed under control, not much of breathing there, this is strength exercise. Going uphill on the other hand requires the whole body movement and a lot of air. I could not believe my heartbeat was at 180 when I topped the hill - that's about as high as it gets when I try to run my circuit below 22 minutes.
   

Status

Pretty simple day, not too much excitement.
Breakfast: morning oat bran mush - man, I am getting used to this. I have been eating this stuff for past 9 months, but not every day - I would do it anywhere between 2-5 days per week. Now I eat it almost every day. It's actually not too bad with a touch of cinnamon and a few raisins.
Snack: Aaaah, our friend came back from India and brought this sweet stuff. Made with milk, sugar and nuts. No, there is no such thing as fat free milk in Indian cuisine. Had 2 squares (about 1x1 inch) - probably 100 Cal a piece if not more. Also, I had a couple of nuts and a few potato chips during the day.
Lunch: all you can eat buffet! Yup, this time at Jason's Deli (our local shop) and this time it was the all you can eat salad bar. We did a takeout, so I loaded my box with a bunch of goodies. Spinach (did you notice I like spinach?) instead of lettuce, a few tomatoes, onion, green peppers, etc. However, topped it off with a tablespoon of each of potato salad, bean salad, cole slaw and threw some nuts on top of it. No dressing, but I did have about 1/2 cup of various puddings with strawberries and bananas. Not too bad. Ate about 1/3 of it before I went running, finished it within 1/2 hour of coming back.
Dinner: Hmmm, we still have some tortilla chips at home and they need to be eaten. Had a small bowl with salsa.
Exercise: running 2.3 miles, 20:40, did 111 crunches on the exercise ball.
I am really beginning to like stretching after I run. I spent probably 10 minutes out on the lawn next to the bike path doing different leg and back stretches. Feel good about the time, too. Who knows, maybe I can do it in under 18 minutes one day. That would put me at 7.6 mph. I could live with that - somewhere around 8 minutes per mile would be really cool. OK, that's the goal for the end of summer.
Alcohol: none, drank a little over gallon of water - still having another glass right now. Had only one cup of coffee in the morning.

Other comments: Tried to make chocolate out of my chocolate beans. Pretty hard stuff. I have to find something that will crush the beans into a fine powder. It's pretty hard to do so by hand in our ancient ceramic mincer (crusher?), so I tried to grind them in a grain mill - that does not work very well, it clogs up pretty quickly. Finally got it in some kind of almost powder form (about 1/4 cup of the beans), added about 1/2 teaspoon of cacao butter, added 1/8 cup crystallized cane syrup, 6 almonds, dash of cinnamon, dash of allspice, bit 'o coriander and tiny bit of ginger. Mixed it together, heated in boiling water to the point of having some kind of paste out of it and shoved it in the freezer. It tastes pretty good, but the consistency is far from your standard Hershey bar.