Yet another entry

Well, it's been a while. So far so good, well, almost. Major events and observations during the last 10 days or so:

1. I occasionally scale at about 186, normally I am around 189 - 191. Not too bad, pretty happy about it.
2. I have slept without a pillow for at least past 2 weeks. I think it forces me to sleep on my back and sides instead of my stomach. I am happy about that too.
3. My right ankle still bothers me. I am not happy about that. The bad news is that it hurts when I walk or run. The good news is that it doesn't hurt when I ride a bike or swim. So I ride a bike and swim. I rode the bike to Longmont on Saturday and back (44 miles), and I swam a mile Sunday morning. Still feel just fine. Took a day off today.
4. The other good news is that my infrared massager seems to help quite a bit. Need to totally lay off of it for at least a week. Which is hard to do, I do have to walk once in a while.
   
5. I had a few food slips but overall not too bad. There was the episode at a Chinese place in Louisville on Thursday, when my coworker ordered way too much food (family style lunch). Well, I know it doesn't make it much better, but I didn't have dinner that day.
6. Yeah, trip to Harry and David's and buying a bag of chocolate truffels didn't help much either.
7. On the other hand, my veggie intake has been pretty steady, likely increasing a bit. I make an effort to eat either meat and vegetables, or pasta (breads, rice, potatoes) with vegetables, but not pasta or bread with meats. Basically, either eat protein with veggies or carbos with veggies but avoid having both protein and carbos in the same meal. Slight change in my diet, I do think it makes sense. My wacky guy's guide to a healthier body claims that the typical American way of eating is about as bad as it gets. You're not supposed to eat meat and potatoes, hamburger is the pinnacle of atrocious foods. If you do have to have rice and meat, just eat a couple of tablespoons of it, for crying out loud, not a freaking casserol.
   
8. I feel taller. Got to measure myself.
9. I am getting addicted to the scale. This starts to feel like a race between me and me. Can I really do it? I have friends I have not seen for a couple of months looking at me and saying: "What the hell did you do - you look great". Yes they do say it and I am not afraid to write it here. Makes me feel accomplished about what I did in past 6 weeks.
10. My shorts are falling off of me. Literally, I am losing my shorts. What a freaking wonderful feeling. A few more weeks like this and I'll be seriously looking at purchasing a size 32 jeans. I think last time I was able to fit into 32's was probably in 1987. I know there was a time I had to buy me 36's in about 1994. Serious blow to the ego, but obviously didn't learn at that time.
11. The other cool thing is that I don't think I have bulked up any. I do a lot more exercise than I did 2 months ago, I feel more energetic, but I don't think I have gained a whole lot of muscle. Maybe on my legs a little.
12. I am starting a Yogalates class tomorrow. I test drove it last Tuesday, signed up for the class. I want to gain flexibility.
13. I did some thinking about the cholesterol question. I think I have been doing reasonably well with my food (even before I started this blog), but the cholesterol doesn't seem to be moving. Hmmm, is it possible that my body knows something that our fabulous medical researchers don't? It seems like since I am depriving it of cholesterol, my body just makes some more. What if my body just wants to have it at that level and doesn't really give a crap about what I (or the medical professionals) think about it? How big of a surprise would that be? I decided I will keep going the way I am going and we'll see at the end of October/November when I go for my regular checkup. I am still very determined not to take any !@#$% cholesterol pill. While hate is not a family value, I do hate our drug industry (should I say drug pushers) with a passion.
14. My body and I are best friends now. We get along very well - other than my stupidity with the right ankle. I normally give it what it asks for and it talks to me in return. It's a two way street and it's so easy to listen to it. How could I have been so deaf for the past 44 years? Such an amazing machinery and I just totally ignored it. Well, those times are over. Only if I could straighten my mind now - well, I am working on it.
15. Working out is not a chore now, not something I have to do, it's something I kind of look forward to. How cool would it be if I could run a marathon one day? How about the Ironman? Wow. Setting my sights too high? I don't think so, it's never too late.