Day 9

It seems easier on the weekends.  Maybe because I sleep longer.

1200 calories per day +/-

A minimum of 30 minutes exercise on the rowing machine.  Hard.  Set a PR today for distance rowed in 30 minutes AND it was done in a fasted state.  So much for not having energy while I’m fasted.  Also did some pullups, pushups and deadlifts.

Drinking lots.  Lemon squeezed into my water first thing tin the morning as well.

I’ve been at 174.5 lbs for 3 days.  Mini-plateau.  I’ll kick it in the ass if it continues by going for a hard run.

Took my measurements with a tape today.  20.4% body fat.  If I hit 155 lbs I will be at 10% body-fat which is NOT unhealthy for a man.

Ate well all week.

Onward.

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Eat well

What’s Your Goal?

Delayed gratification is taking an action now that will give you the desired results later.

If I delayed gratification on a regular basis, I’d be incredibly fit, have saved enough for early retirement, have gone back to school and made a career change.  Easy concept.  But reality is its usual pain in the backside.

Can delaying gratification in one area of my life give me the tools to do so in other areas?  We’ll see.  First I need to meet a long term goal by successfully delaying some serious gratification.  Enter my current battle to drop a weight class for Jiu Jitsu…permanently.

Weight loss is the ultimate exercise in delaying gratification.

• The short term reward / gratification…well I can hear all the goodies in my refrigerator calling my name as I type.
• The delayed gratification…Being as lean as is necessary to be healthy in the long term, having a better strength to weight ratio, and if I’m honest with myself, looking great.

Step One: Make an Advance Decision

Done.  Get lean.  Not skinny.  But the detail is simple:

1. Control what I put in my mouth.  Full stop.  Quantity AND Quality.  At first, I will limit calories so that I lose weight gradually.  No alcohol.  No sugar.  No junk food.  Limit dairy.  Limit gluten.  Lean meats.  Lots of veggies but no starchy ones.  Lots of water.
2. Daily exercise minimum.  Even on high stress days.  30 minutes minimum on the worst days.  The rowing machine is always ready for a high intensity tear.  Face it, I eat and stop exercising when I am stressed, leading to…
3. Manage stress.  I can’t cure my son’s epilepsy.  I can’t make my parents any younger or less infirm.  I can’t control the demands of my job or the reality of a vested pension plan given my financial situation.  I can’t reverse my age related aches and pains.  My old dog IS old and yes he is starting to have bad days.  SO what can I control in order to minimize stress?  a) Sleep – I will get 8 hrs,  b) I will learn to say NO.  ”Not today”.  ”Not tomorrow”.  ”Can someone else do that?”. c)  I will ask for help.  d) I will leave the dishes on the counter, vacuum less.  e)  I will meditate everyday before bed.

Step Two: Ponder the Consequences of Failure

For me it is simple.  If I won the lottery today, I still would not have sufficient hours in the day to be with the special people in my life and to follow my interests.  So what am I waiting for?  As Mark Twight says, “Do it now, you aren’t going to live forever”.

The consequences of failure are status quo in every case.  I am an atheist.  In my reality I only get one chance.  What AM I waiting for?

The small dream is losing a bit of weight.  But it is also that the little bit of discipline that I gain doing that, translates into discipline to write more, to do more programming, to innovate, to invest in my family, and to live in the now.  A little bit of discipline goes a long way.  You get the idea.

Step Three: Reward Successes

When I hit target, I’m going to reward myself.  Not sure what yet but it might be:

1. A getaway with Annette
2. A trip with Annette and the boys
3. A week in NYC with Marcelo Garcia or in Salt Lake City with Gym Jones and Unified Brazliian Jiu Jitsu in SLC (If they’ll have me).

Step Four: Build on Success

This will be where I see whether some new-found discipline will let me tackle a new goal.  Maybe financial, maybe BJJ related…we’ll see.

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It’s not conclusive.  It’s not scientific.  I have no proof.  BUT…

I suspect that my year and a half of stomach pain, myclonic jerks, heart palpitations, bloating and general gastrointestinal malaise has been due to a combination of stress and dehydration.

I have been on zantac, Nexium, rebeprazole, famotidine, antacids…you name it.  I have had an ultrasound, barium xray, etc.  I have seen a gastro-specialist.

As soon as I started drinking lots of water, my symptoms started improving.  Bit by bit.  Now I’m off all drugs and would say I am 95% back to normal.

As I age, my sense of thirst seems to have abandoned me.  It went totally unnoticed until one day I noticed my skin was not snapping back when pinched.  Then I recalled that my symptoms had disappeared when we were on vacation in Rome and Paris.  It was hot so we drank LOTS of water.

I thought I had a major issue.  Maybe something fatal.  Dehydration I can handle!

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Rome concentrates marvelous sights and attractions into a relatively small and walk-able footprint.  The summer is very hot but much of the walking can be done in the maze of shaded alleys.  Every twist and turn of the streets reveals another magnificent church, fountain, or Roman ruin.  The food is fabulous and the Romans can be kind and generous hosts if you can get away from the tourist areas.  Still, even in such an interesting and historic city, travelling with teens needs to be planned carefully.

Tips, tricks and notes:

1. If you have never traveled with a single carry on bag then you are missing out “big time”.  It is easy, saves money, saves the wear and tear of baggage handling, makes for a lighter load and, miraculously, does not leave you wanting for items you would have packed in a bigger bag.  We bought one of these and three of these.  We were the first through customs, and didn’t pull any muscles lugging around our luggage
2. Summer in Rome is really hot BUT it is bearable.  Much of the walking can be done in the narrow streets and alleys and they are considerably cooler than the open squares.  A cool teen is a happy teen.
3. We used Rick Steves Rome 2011 guide book (now 2012).  It was like a bible.  Read it before hand.  Many sites allow you to book in advance.  Doing so allowed us to walk past a two kilometer lineup to the Vatican.  Imagine standing in 36 Celcius heat for 4 to 5 hours with teens.  I don’t think so.
4. We stayed at Hotel Smeraldo for 160 euros per night for two adjoining rooms.  That included breakfast and they arranged a taxi from the airport for 50 euros (it was at 4am).  The hotel is a 5 minute walk from Piazza Navona.  As a base it was perfect because EVERYTHING was within walking distance.   It was clean, inexpensive and centrally located.  So DO research your room online.  And DO check out the reviews and testimonials.   It matters.    Later in the trip we had to book last minute, ended up in a sweltering room and had bug bites that itched for days.
5. A/C in your room is a must.  A well rested teen is a happy teen.
6. Tips are included in the restaurant bill.  If the staff are out on the street trying to lure you in, or there is a lavish display out front written in English, then you will get a second rate expensive tourist meal.  Instead, get off into the back alleys away from the bigger attractions and go somewhere where it appears the locals are eating.
7. Don’t be surprised if there are no condiments or salt and pepper on the table.  You are eating the cook’s masterpiece.  If it needs salt, then salt was already added.
8. Expect to pay between 60 and 100E for dinner and around 40E for lunch
9. Water comes in “naturel” and “frizzante”.  Your teens might not like the latter because it is carbonated.
10. Street vendors will sell you a 330 ml bottle of water for 2 euros and a coke for 3 euros.  Instead, find a grocery store because they will sell you a six pack for less than that.  It’s even cheaper if you buy no-name.
11. We refilled our water bottles every chance we got at the outdoor drinking water fountains.  Liam was afraid to drink it but Aidan, Annette and I did and suffered no ill effects.
12. Dress in light colored synthetics and yes shorts are ok.  Synthetics dry quickly and are NOT the polyester nightmares that your great-aunt wore.  We brought zip-off convertible pants and they worked well.
13. If you want to fit in a bit, then make sure you stay away from clothes covered in logos and wear a shoe that isn’t blatantly athletic.  We didn’t see a single baseball cap but many people wear Tilley style hats to keep the sun off.
14. Some churches require that your shoulders are covered and women can buy one of the inexpensive shawls from the plethora of vendors for a couple of Euros if they need one.
15. Jeans would be terribly hot plus they don’t dry quickly if you wash them.  The Italians DO wear jeans and they are more often than not higher end designer brands.
16. In general Italians seem to dress up a bit more than we do.  Women wear more dresses and skirts and they buy their clothes so that they fit properly (no oversized baggy clothing).
17. We all wore Keen or Merrell shoes.  Annette wore a pair of comfortable sandals and they destroyed her feet on the first day.  Sandals appear to be very bad news.  Oh…you’ll do 90% of your walking on cobble stones.  My normally sedentary sons walked for as long as 12 hours a day without complaint.  What’s with that?
18. Pack a super lightweight day-pack in your bag.  You can carry drinks, snacks, wipes, tylenol, bandages (for blisters) and your maps and guide books.
19. In 6 days we saw dozens of churches, Piazza Navona, Castel Sant Angelo, The Vatican, St. Peters, The Colosseum, The Pantheon, The Forum, Palatine Hill, The National Museum, Villa Borghese and the Borghese Gallery, The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps and MUCH more.
20. We also took a side trip by fast train (270E round trip for 3) to Naples (Napoli) where we caught the Circumvesuviale commuter train to Pompeii.  It delivers you to the door of the ruins.  It was AWESOME and 38 degrees.  Bring water and wear sunscreen.
21. We took about 4000 pictures.  An 8 gig SD card should cover it.  You can buy another one if you run out.  I had a 32 gig card and could have taken 4000 more pictures than the 1400 I did take.
22. A compact decent quality camera will do the trick for most situations.  We like Sony because they have a cool panorama feature that we used a lot.  Mine was a step up to a larger sensor in the Sony NEX-3.  It was the most useful for taking shots in low light conditions like at night or in galleries where flash is not allowed.
23. The favorites for my teenage sons were the Colosseum, the Forum, The Pantheon, Palatine Hill, The church of San Giovanni in Laterno, Villa Borghese and the National Gallery.  They were less impressed with the Vatican, St Peters and the Spanish steps because of the massive summer crowds.
24. Other highlights for the boys (and us) was the fabulous gellati, Italian pizza (“Dad, how can pizza taste this much better than at home?’), the abundance of Smart cars, the crazy drivers and the intricate maze of alleys.  They also marveled at how the most unobtrusive doorways could open up into a sprawling grocery store.  Also surprising for me was that my teens actually enjoyed the art and I have a very special memory of us all lying on our backs in the National Gallery, taking in the intricacies of a beautiful ceiling fresco.

Have fun, travel soon.

John McKay, September 2011

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I broke my foot on June 23rd when I was thrown onto the edge of a low platform during a warm up for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  One of those stupid avoidable injuries.

At first, I thought it was just bruised and I was able to finish the class and drive home, walk the dogs etc.  The following morning however, I couldn’t put any weight on it at all.  I hobbled around for a day, iced it and finally took the advice everyone was giving me and went to the hospital.

The x-rays clearly showed a broken bone.  The doctor told me I could have an air cast or wear a supportive shoe.  I chose the latter because I felt it would give me more mobility.

The first couple of weeks were a bit painful and I limped to favour the injured foot.  I continued to roll at the club but I was careful.

After about 4 weeks I was able to walk a bit better but still with a a pronounced limp.  I could bear about 60% of normal weight without too much pain.

By 6 weeks after the injury I was able to bear full weight on the foot but it still hurt a bit.  I didn’t try to run.  There was still a noticeable bump at the injury site that was tender to the touch.  Sitting cross-legged was too painful to attempt but overall it felt good.

Then we went to Europe and walked A LOT for 16 days.  Although I could feel the injury, it did not trouble me.  It ached a bit at the end of the day and was still a bit tender to the touch.

Now it is approximately 95% healed.  Still a bit tender if I bump it.  I rolled last night and didn’t notice it at all.  I may try and run on it this weekend.

So you can expect 8-10 weeks for a simple fracture like this.  I’m sitting cross-legged on my mats in the basement as I type, and it seems just fine.

So if you do fracture your foot in the same fashion, that is what I went through, so it might by similar for you.

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Then someone nice gives you a call and is so positive that you smile.

Then you ask the boys if, on the off chance, they might consider contemplating, the possibility of riding my coveted Rocky Mountain race bike beside me while I run in the dark?  Who am I kidding?  They’re on their computers.

Then, I decide that bed is a better option, I get a drink, and Aidan brings in the dogs.

Now Aidan, to be fair, rides beside me a lot.  he always has.  But wait…

“What was that about a bike ride in the dark?”, Liam asks.

So we’re back.  Ran 7.5km on dark trails and quiet streets.  Liam rode and lit the way with my Petzl head lamp.  And we talked.

Life is very very good.

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Ran just over 8 km today.  I burned 678 calories.  No problem.

I guess I’m doing more of a 20/4 fast.  But it’s still an intermittent fast.  Annette and I cooked Tilapia, eggplant, peppers, onion and spinach for dinner.  We also had guacamole with rice crackers and an oatmeal muffin.

So maybe 600 cal for dinner, 400 cal of muffins, 400 cal of guacamole = 1400 calories for today.  Hmmm.

Pics from class yesterday

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Haven’t been able to train or workout this week due to other commitments so between laundry loads I did a quick Crossfit “Cindy”.  As many sets as possible in 20 minutes of:

• 5 pullups
• 10 pushups
• 15 squats

I stranded 7 seconds at the end so it was close.  Of note:  I managed to do the pullups without stopping all the way up to set 12.  Around set 16 I had to slow down or throw up.

20 sets in all.  1 better than last time and 6 better than when I started using it as a test again.  Good form.  That’s a record.  Now 21 is calling my name.  Yuck.

I wonder if all that time off helped.

Not bad for a guy in his mid 40′s.

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I grew up in a world where we opened the door for an elderly person, a lady, or someone whose arms were full.  When we asked someone for a favour, we made sure that it was repayed in kind.   We imposed ourselves as little as possible on others, helped wash up at dinner, and gave our friends and family our full attention when we were with them.

In those days we knew that it was wrong to be a “gossip”.  We kept our mouths closed when we had nothing good to say.  We were generous when praise was warranted.  We assumed that everyone else was as busy as we were, and we understood that we were not that close to the center of the universe.

“Please” and “Thank you” were a reflex back then.  Courteous language was a currency that when traded, and saved, yielded tremendous returns.  We tried very hard not to interrupt others when they were speaking, out of respect, and we tended to hear a lot more, as a result.  Four letter words were avoided, not because were were puritans, but because we knew we could do better, and because we had a wider vocabulary.

Seldom were we late.  Communication was not as casual back then either.  When we got a message we called back right away.  When we were invited to an event we RSVP’d.  We were predictable and we were trustworthy.

These days that courtesy seems to be gone.  The tragedy is that the rules and rituals by which we lived made us consider that other people had lives and hopes and struggles very similar to our own.  Now we impose on others because we have lost touch with what it was to be polite.

Email and MSN, and Blackberry’s, and voicemail make my life easier everyday.  But the role models for my daily interactions remain people like my mother, who sets a very very high standard for courtesy and caring, and Annette who has a very busy life and yet always makes time for her friends and family.

I have two teeneagers to raise.  They find such dicussions irrelevant in their world of one line texts and multi-multi-multi tasking.   Getting them to understand the importance of manners is sort of like trying to push an elephant through a funnel.  The subject is huge and the focus is narrow.   As Dilbert says  “I guess that will be handy if you ever get a call from 1993″.  Maybe I am becoming a relic.

It is not always easy to be polite.

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