Vacation 2014

We arrived home from the land of Ice and Cold exactly 5 minutes before midnight on the 31st.  We spent roughly 11 days on the road visiting family and friends back in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In that time we got in at least three Christmas parties, a wedding reception and a baptism.

We started the visiting on Sunday December 22 at a Christmas party for my wife's mother's side.  I was just getting ready to fill my plate when my wife's cousin Julie made the remark to watch what I was eating so I didn't get gout. (Yes she actually reads this blog) I chuckled to myself since I have not had a flare up in about three months and there was no red meat or other gout inducing food.  That night as I was getting ready for bed I could feel the twinges of a gout attack and silently cursed Julie..or I may have possibly told Kristine..I hate your cousin..one of the two.  What the heck? I had eaten a small amount of pork...some fruit and veggies as well as mashed potatoes.  How could that be the cause of a gout attack?  And then I remembered the 4 cans of Squirt and the Christmas cookies. ( I love Squirt soda and very rarely see it in Colorado..so I took advantage of a fully stocked fridge of ice cold Squirt..I even drank the good stuff..no diet...During the trip I also saw Mello Yello..Sun Drop and Big Red..sodas not seen very much in Colorado)   Thus I am thinking the high fructose corn syrup may have been the culprit. Ugh. Luckily I had brought some of my pills and took them before the attack got too bad.

I had promised myself that I would not put on weight this trip and would work out.  And I actually did work out.  I made it to the Sealed Air YMCA in Racine which is a fairly new facility. If you are ever in the area make sure you check the facility out. I ran on the treadmill the first day. I was actually pretty impressed with my effort and how low my heart rate was..until I realized I was running at altitude.  That does seem to help immensely.  I even went to the Y on Christmas Eve. I took my daughter with and we hit the pool for some laps.  It was pretty cold out..single digits with some snow..so there were hardly any people there and no one to share the pool with.

Of course it was a Wisconsin Y..so they had a snack stand complete with nachos!!  Just in case you wanted to fuel up before or after a workout.  Seriously, I asked the guy working the stand about the Nachos and he was just glad they weren't selling fried cheese curds.

 

 

I celebrated Christmas with the family and got a Ninja Blender from my wife.  I can't wait to actually put it to use.  Thursday I was back at the Y, this time with the in-laws and Laila and her cousins.  I got a decent swim workout in and then went upstairs to walk the track.  While upstairs I met Jason who is the co-founder of Strive Tri Club in Racine.  If you are at all interested in triathlon and are in the Racine area check out their webpage and give them a call.  I talked with him a bit and met three high school students he is training to compete in the Racine 70.3.  They are also trying to raise money to support different community organizations and programs.  You can find out more about them and their efforts here..VAD 70.3.

David, Alonzo, Jason and Victor

Friday we attended a relatives wedding and I noticed my suit was fitting a little snug..I actually blamed the dry cleaner..although I do look good.

Me and the wife stylin

Saturday we were on the road to Minnesota..moving from the balmy - 2 in Racine to the fridgid -12 of Minneapolis (-25 with wind chill)  and there is a big difference between Racine Cold and Minneapolis cold.

Racine Cold (-2)

Minneapolis Cold (-14) - and I'm still freezing in this coat..looks like I put on 20lbs in 4 days

While in Minnesota I got to meet my new nephew and hang out with my brother and his wife. 

I was even a Godparent.

Unfortunately we were not able to work out much in Minnesota although the Cambria Suites where we were staying had a great workout facility.  In fact I would recommend the Cambria Suites for anyone especially since they are more than reasonable price wise.  I was able to at least have a picture done in the facility though. That should count for something.

We were able to get some golf in as well as "ice"ball.  (They called the skee ball ..ice ball..which was actually appropriate.  We also got some hockey, basketball and baseball in. 

We left on Tuesday after Laila worked her mandatory shift at my brother's coffee shop.

So..today was the big moment.  I got on the scale and was hoping to see a loss.  I had eaten ok and worked out..Hell I had played like 5 sports in one day...instead of a loss I saw this..

A new record for me and one I hope not to ever break.  There were some signs I was putting on weight during the week..my suit "shrinking" after having it dry cleaned.  The fact I had to buy size 40 pants ..seriously..I just blamed the manufacturer for faulty labeling.  I also noticed I was now using another hole on my belt.  During the the month of December I had two friends post pics of them at work with different colored shoes on..and then Jen Small posted a pic of her work out pants being on backwards. I made fun of them all.  On Saturday night I was thinking how nice my underwear were feeling and went to check the tag when I was getting ready for bed.  The tag was in front..apparently my underwear are now fitting me better backwards..this may also have been an indicator of things shifting.

I didn't think my dietary decisions had been all that bad. I didn't have a single piece of kringle and limited myself to one serving of cheese curds. However it would seem by my weight gain that there were only two people who had made worse dietary decisions than myself.  My 8 year old nephew (on my wife's side) who had eaten a dollar coin and had to go under to have the coin extracted from his throat (yes he is a special kid..lol) ..and my sister-in-law Adrianne who decided to open her mouth and look at her two month old just as he decided to belch up his milk.  Apparently regurgitated breast milk is not that tasty.

I am guessing the 4 days of being on the road were what really killed me.  No moving around and I get a hankering for Mountain dew..usually the 44 ounce variety..right about the 4 hour mark of a road trip.  Luckily on the drive home my peeps on facebook persuaded me to forego the Moutnain Dew on the return trip home. There are just some items that you must have on a road trip and for me those items are Dew and Smartfood popcorn.  Also, there are just not a lot of healthy things to eat at gas stations.  However I did see this in one of the bathrooms in Iowa.  Maximum strength horny goat weed..unfortunately I did not have 3 quarters to purchase the item. I did notice that it was coming out of the "Health Care Convenience Center" so it had to be good.  Also..what 6 different sensual items could you possibly buy for 75 cents??? And honestly, why are people buying condoms at a gas station in Ames Iowa?

Well the trip was fun. Tomorrow I start work again and the stress that goes with it.  We did stock the fridge this morning with "good" choices and I am looking to a 2014 full of change as well as races and training.  I am hoping to start the change right off the bat.

One good fitness blog related item came out of the trip. I have a great "before" picture.  Holy crap..I have no words for the pic or the idiot in it. And no..I wasn't playing baseball..the employees at the fun center just thought I should be wearing a helmet at all times.

Happy New Year everyone. 

Time to start training again.

Oh it's holiday time.. That time of year when the food and alcohol flow and it gets cold outside.   The time of year when sweaters can cover up that roll hanging over your belt.  Not that this ever happens to me.  So..my last post I was espousing a plant based diet.  So what has happened in the last two months?  While, I stuck with it for the month of October. Actually ate vegetarian for 4 to 5 days a week with chicken or fish on the other days.  And I didn't feel hungry or deprived and the NSA did not put me on any lists for being a socialist bent on the destruction of the American way.  I actually felt good and lost about 7 pounds without trying.  Then the worst possible thing happened. I had my cholesterol test.  It came back and my numbers weren't good..they were great. My total cholesterol was under 150.  The only thing I really could improve on was raising my HDL a bit and lowering my LDL.  So what was wrong with these results?  Welcome to my mind where I now told myself..your numbers are great why don't you ease off on the new food plan..which I did..but instead of easing off I pretty much just threw the brakes on completely and did a reverse.  Yep...started eating out again and started eating meat and white carbs.  And I feel like crap. 

So how could I let myself do this?  A few reasons.  The first is that is is just plain easier to eat like crap than to plan out menus and buy fresh food all the time.  It's also easier to go out to lunch instead of packing it. 

Second, it is holiday time and thus my low level of self restraint and a cornucopia of tasty treats that appear out of nowhere equals dubious eating choices on my part.


Lastly I will blame my Wisconsin roots for jut having a genetic predisposition to really terrible food choices.  Seriously, I come form a state where the Center for Disease Control just had to put out a warning specifically for Wisconsinites not to eat raw meat.  Yep, it is the holidays and time for some good old fashioned Cannibal Sandwiches.. a Wisconsin tradition. Read about it here..CDC to Wisconsinites..stop eating cannibal sandwiches.  Seriously, what the hell kind of people have to be warned about eating raw meat?  The same people that lead the nation in brandy consumption (You always have a brandy old fashioned while eating a fish fry at the local supper club), binge drinking, and that have three times more taverns per capita than any other place in the United States.  (We already know about the beer, cheese and kringle consumption).  My inlaws were nice enough to deliver two kringles right to my door at Thanksgiving.

Thus I am sitting here at my usual winter weight of 237 instead of being ahead of the game.  Which was just in time for me to start my official training for my A race next year.  The big race is on August 3, 2014, just 8 months..or 32 weeks away.  

The first thing I noticed when I started training this week was my bad quad was not supporting my weight.  Actually I figured this out in Church.While kneeling my leg started to quiver.  I also found out that I have ZERO Hip flexibility..again while kneeling in Church..I couldn't get my back and legs to line up..I kept trying to push my butt forward but to no avail.  I can only guess wht the people behind me were thinking.  I worked on this the entire time during mass and ended up not being able to walk properly out to the parking lot.    And yes, I do go to Church..sometimes twice a week. As a side note, I think most triathletes must be non church goers since the races are almost always on Sunday mornings and my training partners always want to start early on Sundays. Luckily I am Catholic so have that Saturday evening option for attending mass. 

I was able to work out three times at lunch this week instead of going out to lunch.  On the first day I weight trained..ok..I bar trained..since I am so weak at this point I couldn't actually put "weight" on them.  The second day I was on the treadmill..holy crap..my heart rate spiked at 165..within 30 seconds...of me dropping my mp3 player and having to bend over to pick it up.  Seriously.  I just started out with walking and was so annoyed by the guy next to me due to the noises he was making that I took my yurbuds out of my ears and turned to ask what his problem was when I realized it was me that was making the wheezing noises.  I then went to leave the gym and saw my reflection in the mirror..which I usually stop to admire.  However, I have apparently not looked at myself from the side in a while..because my butt is huge!! Why hasn't somebody told me this?  Yes, I have been having issues with underwear and my pants and having an unusual amount of plumbers crack..but I never thought it was because my butt was big. 

So the eating binge is over, the training has begun again and a plan has been formed..ok..is being formed.  I am guessing coach will want me doing strength training to get everything ship shape again before hitting the base training.   Oh, there was one good thing this week.  My shoulder issues (Separated while mountain biking and then reinjured in a car accident in October) did not seem to be giving me too many problems.  I still felt "something" but the pain and soreness were minimal.  We will see how it is when I begin swimming and lifting heavier weights.(ok..when I actually put weights on the bar) 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying this holiday season!

WTF?? (Fat..what the fat?)

Warning...this blog entry is actually a bit educational in nature.  It is based on my own research as well as discussions with people I know and trust..namely, my doctor, my friend and ex coach Suzanne Atkinson, M.D., the drive thru guy at Dunkin Donuts and  others too numerous to mention.  I am not posting this blog as advice to anyone..it is merely my opinion after doing my own research...and unfortuantley the conclusion I come to is not what I wanted.

So after my doctor advised me to become a vegetarian and forgo meat and cheese I started to do a little research regarding what exactly constitutes healthy eating.  I especially wanted to know what is "heart healthy" eating.  You would think that this would be an easy question to find an answer for..but it isn't.

My doctor had indicated that cutting out saturated fats and cholesterol was the answer to stopping my arteries from becoming as clogged as I-70 on Sunday nights during ski season.  This made sense since I had been hearing about low-fat diets for the last 20 years and how a heart healthy diet was one that limited fats in the diet.

However, do a google search for saturated fat and heart disease and the first 50 items will have articles about how saturated fat is not the enemy and there is no proof showing a correlation between saturated fat and heart disease.  Some of these articles are from physicians but a good number of the articles are by authors pushing a Paleo diet agenda..crossfit..or some similar diet or philosophy.  In fact, many of these authors have no issue with eating as much cheese and bacon as you want.   Well I know for a fact that the saturated fat is not your enemy theory is wrong.  The mere fact that I want it to be correct automatically makes the theory false.  So what is the answer?

Well there are a few things that everyone agrees on.   The first  is to avoid Trans fats.  Trans fats are most likely found in  products made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, like stick margarine, many commercially prepared baked goods, and deep-fried foods. Trans fats elevate harmful LDL cholesterol, depress beneficial HDL, and increase inflammation.  So..Trans fats should be avoided..good bye fried foods.

The second thing is to lose weight if you are carrying anything over and above what you should be.  A healthy BMI (Body Mass Index)  is 18.5 to 24.9.  Overweight is 25 to 29.9 and Obese is anything over 30.  At my current weight and height 6'1" 235 my BMI is 31.  Yes the Obese category..however the calculation does not take into account the extraordinary amount of muscle I carry as well the weight of my thick skull.  However, I know that to be healthy I need to start getting taller.  You can calculate your BMI here..BMI Calculator.

The third thing that most of my research indicates is that the low fat diet should be thrown out.  It seems to be agreed that we should take in more polyunsaturated (Foods high in polyunsaturated fat include a number of vegetable oils, including soybean oil, corn oil and safflower oil, as well as fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and trout.  Other sources include some nuts and seeds such as walnuts and sunflower seeds) and monounsaturated fats (olive oil, avocados and peanut butter).  The debate is still whether saturated fats should be minimized or not.

So what about saturated fat.  I went through numerous articles, blogs, studies etc..and I found this article to be the most helpful in trying to sort everything out.  Fats and Cholesterol - Harvard Health  Click on the link and take a read...it is well worth your while. In fact the Harvard Health Publications Website was filled with interesting and very well written and researched articles.

The article actually reviews the new claims that saturated fat is not bad for your heart health and comes with this conclusion.:

...some of the media and blog coverage of these studies would have you believe that scientists had given a green light to eating bacon, butter, and cheese. But that’s an oversimplified and erroneous interpretation. Read the study and subsequent studies more closely, and the message is more nuanced: Cutting back on saturated fat can be good for health if people replace saturated fat with good fats, especially, polyunsaturated fats. (16,25)  Eating good fats in place of saturated fat lowers the “bad” LDL cholesterol, and it improves the ratio of total cholesterol to “good” HDL cholesterol, lowering the risk of heart disease. Eating good fats in place of saturated fat can also help prevent insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. (26) Cutting back on saturated fat will likely have no benefit, however, if people replace saturated fat with refined carbohydrates—white bread, white rice, mashed potatoes, sugary drinks, and the like. Eating refined carbs in place of saturated fat does lower “bad” LDL cholesterol—but it also lowers the “good” HDL cholesterol and increases triglycerides. The net effect is as bad for the heart as eating too much saturated fat—and perhaps even worse for people who have insulin resistance because they are overweight or inactive.

In short, according to the article saturated is bad and should be cut out of the diet..but it needs to be replaced with good fats or carbs.  Replacing it with "bad" carbs might be worse than the saturated fat itself. I was actually amazed that eating simple carbs seem to have just a bad an affect on the heart as saturated fats.  I knew that simple carbs were bad for your health..but honestly thought the heart was one thing that was not affected.  According to the same article.

One problem with a generic lower fat diet is that it prompts most people to stop eating fats that are good for the heart along with those that are bad for it. Another problem is that when people cut back on fat, they often switch to foods full of easily digested carbohydrates—white bread, white rice, potatoes, sugary drinks, and the like—or to fat-free products that replace healthful fats with sugar and refined carbohydrates. The body digests these carbohydrates very quickly, causing blood sugar and insulin levels to spike. Over time, eating lots of “fast carbs” can raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes as much as—or more than—eating too much saturated fat. (16-18) That’s why it’s important to replace foods high in bad fats with foods high in good fats—not with refined carbohydrates.

In my opinion some of the people who are starting to believe that saturated fat is ok for you may be looking at individual cases where people have gone on a paleo type diet where the person is eating more saturated fat but has basically gotten rid of all the "fast carbs" thus showing a possible health benefit as far as cholesterol and heart health are concerned.  If the person was to also cut out the saturated fat they may show even better gains in health. 

So..what does this mean to me?  I will be cutting back on the saturated fats as well as the "fast carbs".  Why wouldn't I?  Much like Pascal's wager wouldn't it be better to cut out the saturated fats as well as the carbs instead of risking that the saturated fats may be ok?  (Yes I put a link in for the uneducated lot of you..lol).

Also..for those of you who still argue that eating bacon and pastrami in large doses is ok...here is another article condemning processed meats. New study links L-carnitien in red meat to heart disease    "In the bigger picture, we do have pretty damning evidence about the harms of eating a particular type of meat. “Processed red meats—bacon, sausage, salami, deli meats—are associated with much higher risk of heart disease,” Dr. Mozaffarian says."

Lastly..I can only look to my friend Cliff and his experiment with veganism to show that cutting both the simple carbs and unsaturated fats help with controlling heart disease. He also cut out the "fast carbs".  Cliff is much like me..same height..weight..from Wisconsin..although he definitely is not as good looking. Here is his experiment in his own words:

"Personal story with personal information that is worth sharing. I have been doing the reverse of the Morgan Sperlock documentary - "Super Size Me".
I started with a cardiac risk of 8.01 with 3 being high risk. My triglycerides were over 600 even being on the strongest dose of trilipix for 3 years. Taking a beta blocker to slow my heart rate to prevent PVCs while getting exercise mainly from volleyball once a week and maybe work around the house. My resting heart rate was 83 and my BP was 134/89 (even on a beta blocker). Blood sugar was 20% high and my cholesterol was not a number that could be calculated. I was pre diabetic and seriously felt awful.
5 weeks on an almost exclusive vegan diet and here are the results:
Lost 12 pounds without starving - actually ate rather good. Found out there are a lot of foods I wouldn't try before that I actually like. Triglycerides are below 100, blood sugar normal, heart rate is at 56 and BP is at 108/64. Work out 3 times a week and still play volleyball once a week and my cardiac risk is at 1.9 or average.  You say you would rather die than give up your steak and beer? I say you just might if you don't. Don't care? Ask your friends and family if they do."

Now I don't think I can ever become a vegan or even a vegetarian but it is becoming more and more clear to me that to be healthy I have to eat more fruits and vegetables..cut out the saturated fats..add in some good fats..get plenty of protein and most importantly cut out all of the quick processed carbs we have become accustomed to...and which I love.   Hopefully this post gets some people doing their own research and finding out what works for them.  Honestly I wish the best diet was a chili cheese dog on a pretzel bun with tots and a large coke..but apparently that is about the worst thing I could have.

Happy New Year!!

Yes..I have decided to start the New Year as of today.  Why not?  I can't wait to get rid of 2013 so might as well do it a few months early.  And what better day then my birthday!!  Another year older but none the wiser.  And all you federal employees can thank me now for the government giving you the day off to help me celebrate. We will just refer to anything after October 1 as 2014 FB.

The last straw for ending 2013 early was when I went to pay for lunch last week and the bill showed a senior discount for me.  Ok..I know I look older when I wear my glasses and let my hair grow..but seriously?  So one of my resolutions is to not let my hair grow out more than three days without shaving it. And you know you are getting old when you can no longer play video games...not because I don't understand them..but I am physically unable to play.  For some reason I decided to play HALO this weekend. I haven't played in over a year.  First of all I had to change out of my contacts into my glasses so I could see.  Then my wrist and thumb started to hurt.  I finally had to quit when I got violently ill from the movement in the game..yep..after ten minutes I was in the bathroom with my head in the toilet.  Which brings me to my second resolution for the year...Spend less time on the bathroom floor.  I was also concerned the other night when I got out of bed to get a drink of water and saw a picture of my grandfather hanging on the wall..I was wondering where my wife even found it when I realized it was a mirror...WTH!  Resolution 3..get rid of the mirrors in the house.  OK..I'm just kidding about this..I still have a great looking butt..I'd never get rid of the mirrors.  Maybe I will just lower them a bit.

So as of today everything starts fresh and anew.  Ms. Jen Small has sent me my first off-season training plan. Talk about baby steps.  Day 1..Try to find some shorts and a tri top that still fit you and put them on.  (This was actually harder than I thought)..but I suppose I better get going if I want to complete Ironman Boulder in August of 2014.  (Apparently Ms. Small does not believe in cramming for races...she wants me training more than 3 months beforehand...hell cramming got me through college and law school).  Yesterday was my first run in a long time...the pic below pretty much sums it up.

I took more time finding my running shoes and figuring out which shorts I looked best in (Obviously I still need mirrors) than my entire run took. But hey..one day of training in the books. So I came home and decided to write down all of the aches and pains I had from the strenuous workout..let's see..both feet hurt..possibly gout or dehydration related..knee hurt a bit..probably because I have lost all of the muscle mass in my bad quad by not lifting weights. (I'm pretty sure the knee issue has no connection at all to the amount of weight they are supporting).  I also had a dent on the top of my head...I finally figured out I had rested my sunglasses on the top of my head and the nose piece had made an indentation in my forehead.  If you have a fat forehead..you might be a little overweight.  I did some calculations and based on the aches, pains, memory loss, clogged arteries, grey hair, my weight, and newly established habit of wagging my finger and yelling..You Damn kids!! at 30 year olds... I figured I'm probably closer to 60 than my chronological age of 46,  I was pretty depressed..until I realized that I forgot to factor in the multiplier for my family genetics...46 in chronological years is like 70 in my family years..so I am doing pretty good at actually looking and feeling like I am 60.  Woo hoo!

So in honor of my birthday and starting the New Year on October 1,  Kompetitive Edge has rolled out it's Athlete applications for next year.  They are doing some new programs with a couple of tiers of sponsorship.  I would recommend that if you have any interest at all to fill out the simple application and send it in.  Here is the link:   Kompetitive Edge Application  .  KE actually made a position just for me next year. I was going to be the official taste tester of all of the new nutrition products. However, when they found out that I hate anything even related to coffee I was told I couldn't have the job. Apparently triathletes in general love mocha this and coffee that I and I just couldn't relate.

Next post will be my 2014 race schedule, complete list of resolutions and my starting point for the year 2014 FB. Oh..I can't wait.  Happy Trails!