Another year is passing, in 4 days I will turn 54. That seems like it is getting up there to me. I have really accomplished many things in my life thus far but I am clearly at a crossroad - this is not a midlife crisis, this is a crossroad. There are so many things that I want to do and yet it seems I am frozen from doing anything. So for my 54th birthday I am going to give myself a present - this present is also for my family. There are so many things that I want to do but I have to get serious about a few things first. Health, Spiritual, and Profession. I am not unhealthy or sick, but I am not doing healthy things - I need to get a healthier body and mind. So that is going to be a category for next year. My faith has been on and off but I know it is important, I am going to get it on. Finally, I have had far more success in my career that I really imagined, I have truly been blessed, but it has come at a cost - family, health, spirituality - this year I am going to make sure I get on a course that allows me to focus on the important things - I want to love my work without giving up the rest of it. 

Big Birthdays are great for forcing one to think about your life, this year I am going to think about my life - how I can be a better person and how I can be a happier person. The next post will map out specific goals - they will be tough but they are essential. 

Another Weekend

I had my weigh in on Saturday and it went pretty well - lost another 3 lbs so I am under 260 now. Long way to go but off to a good start a. So far I have lost 13 lbs. It is also coming off at a good pace. At this point and time, it would be great if I could lose 2 lbs per week. I think that increasing exercise is going to be critical at this point. Other then that it was a great weekend. Did not alter my eating habits other then dinner on Saturday. Probably had a bit too much wine which is full of sugar. This week I have my doctor appointment to review the bloodwork. I am excited to see what changes might have happened in all of the various counts that she looks at. I will report back after that appointment. In the meantime more running and eating the same is the tasks for this week.

The long road continues

Another successful day on South Beach and a run as well. The runs are really difficult, not sure why. I would think with the work that I am doing with the trainer it would start to get a bit easier. I have not been running steadily so perhaps it is just an issue of scheduling more runs to get into a pace.

Wife and I went to a movie an dinner, healthy chinese, not bad. Looking at an IPad 2 - I think I am getting near the decision point. I was torn on some issues, but I believe I have resolved. Going wi-fi only - not only is the unit 25% more but you need a $30.00 data plan to support monthly usage. I can get wi-fi from most of the places and if it appears I need access via cellular more often, I can set my android up as a hotspot for $20.00 per month. Maybe tomorrow:)

Tomorrow is a big day, have to weigh in - the hope is that I lose 2lbs. If I can eat like I did this week and lose 2 lbs it would be perfect.

Will write tomorrow.

Back to the Workout

Kendell and I finally got a session in today - it has been 10 days since our last. Will have another on Saturday. Need to run 2 miles tomorrow and then on Friday or Saturday. Eating was really good today. Stayed away from the carbs in total except for blueberries in a protein shake.

Today's food included:
Breakfast - Protein Shake (blueberries)
Breakfast - Baja Fish Taco Salad - chicken
Snack - Refried bead soup
Dinner - Steak, pork chop, salad, zucchini
Dessert - Whip cream, peanut butter and fudge cycle.

All in all a good day.

Tomorrow, eggs in the morning.

End of Month, End of Quarter, End of Year

We are nearing the end of the month, quarter and year - and from what I can tell today the end of time as we know it. Lot's or issues being thrown out today. Had to step back and take a minute to eat lunch. Good news is that this too will pass and we will get back to working on some of the bigger issues that need to get addressed. Having fun:)

On another note, it looks like Apple is going to introduce the 5 soon, might wait a couple of weeks to see if it happens. Linda is about due an upgrade and we are thinking IPhone. Kathryn and Jen both have gotten them lately so it makes sense for LJ to get one. I am going to stick it out with droid at this point. The navigation is too good to give up.

Stronger Every Day

I find the longer I am following South Beach the easier it gets. Still have to stay focused, but no longer crave the same things I was 3 weeks ago. I was able to start the 10K training today. I am working on changing my stride so I am focused on form. Ran 2 miles today, will run 2 miles on Thursday and 2 on Saturday. Have the personal trainer on Wednesday. The mileage is not big, but the regiment it.

Meals were all good today.
Breakfast - 2 eggs, boca crumbles and a little cheese
Snack - turkey slice, hummas on celery and peppers
Lunch - salad with a lime chicken burger from TJs
Snack - nuts and a little bowl of bean soup
Dinner - salad from Baja Taco, had blackened fish tonight
Dessert - greek yogurt with blueberries

It was really a perfect day, the only carb I had were the blueberries

Tomorrow I will add a complex carb, probably whole wheat pasta for dinner.

More to report on later.

Progress

Weighed in on Saturday and was at 262, roughly 10 lbs. from 3 wees ago. I also feel good about what I crave (or don't crave) as a result of cutting out sugar and carbs. It takes a couple of weeks to get used to paying attention what and when you eat. Some things I have learned - you MUST stay away from fried foods. You have to take a serious look at cutting as much sugar out as possible. You have to eat smaller portions and eat snacks in between. You need to include protein in all meals and snacks.

I am now adding in fruit and complex carbs. However you have to add slowly. Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, sugar substitute, berries and some slivered almonds make a great dessert. Humma's makes a great snack, string cheese is critical, eggs, chicken breast, turkey and all fish is key. Finally as many vegis as you can get in. At some point exercise has to increase to facilitate an improved metabolism.

So a typical day like today:
Breakfast
2 eggs
Pork

Snack
Cheese stick (at church)

Lunch
Chicken Salad
Salad that included brocoli slaw and lettuce, tomatoes
Dressing (2 tbsp) - fat is ok, watch for sugar.
Bean Soup (chicken, can refried beans, can tomatoes, 2 cups chicken broth, jalapeno, 2 tbsp taco seasoning) 1 1/2 cup

Snack
TBD - will probably have hummas, cottage cheese, nuts and perhaps a slice of turkey

Dinner
Appetizer (veggies and hummas)
Pork tenderloin
Brocolini
Farro salad (farro is a grain used in Italy. Going to add roasted peppers, eggplant, garlic, onion, olive oil)

Dessert
Same dessert as noted above.

So what is missing - fried, processed, prepackaged, sugar, simply carbs.

My next goal, get under 260 by next Saturday - key will be to get 4 days of workouts in this week. Mon, Wed, Thur, Sat

Will keep things updated.

Dessert

SB Update

First week of travel while trying to follow South Beach. Overall a really good week. I managed to stick to the program all but one meat. It is getting easier to watch what I eat. I am no craving many of the things that I typically do. I am still not getting the exercise in that I need to. That will be the focus of next week. Tomorrow I have my trainer and then a weigh in.

I am going to start adding in some fruit this weekend and then a couple of carbs maybe on Sunday. I might try to time it to when I work out. If I work out that day, I enjoy some carbs.

Will report the weigh in tomorrow.

The Best Dessert

One of the difficult things about South Beach is the dessert hour. This week I was introduced to a life saver. Sugar Free Chocolate Fudge bar, Sugar Free Cool Whip and Almond Butter with Flaxseeds from Trader Joe's. I used two bars, 2 Tbsp. of Cool Whip and 1 1/2 of Almond Butter, just mix it up and eat it. It reminds me of Chocolate Almond frozen custard from Abbott's back in Rochester. These are the things that really help. Next week the berries with help.

Other then that I am still feeling a bit tired, it seems my energy level picks up at night (right when I am getting ready for bed)

Next week will be the first week where travel comes into play. It is going to take some major will power to make it through. I am looking for some weight loss this week to keep the mojo going. 

SB Continued

Another successful day on South Beach. Started the morning with a workout at the gym. One of the things that I have not done yet is to articulate all of my goals.

1) Weight - 200-210
2) Half or Full Marathon
3) Off of my Lipitor
4) More energy
5) Get my blood sugar lowered (not diabetic at this point, would like to keep it that way)

One of the things that has been happening in my runs up to this point is that I am not getting my feet off the ground. Weight, etc. My trainer is working on strength and conditioning so my runs are a little different now. I used to run for distance without concern for time, now I am working on getting my feet up. Net is I cannot run as long but I am working just as hard. I have to figure the routine out a bit more.

In terms of eating today, Linda made a Portobello Mushroom stuffed with goat cheese and roasted tomatoes that was outstanding. All in all a good day, have to keep hard at it every day.

South Beach - One Week In

Still feeling a little tired between meals. However I did drop 6 lbs since starting. I went out to dinner on Friday night and was able to follow the plan pretty well. You have to stay away from bread, pasta, wine and bear. I have also started to really focus on really cutting back on anything with sugar. My trainer asked me to extend phase 1 for another week which I am good with. However we did agree that I could add berries into my diet after the original 2 week time frame. This is key, I find the hardest part of the plan is giving up some fruits.

I am going to try to get some more runs into the plan this week. I am hoping that it helps on the energy level. 

Day 5 - South Beach

Well, made it through day 5. Went out to dinner with friends and was able to stay the course. I am noticing that I get tired at many points in the day and then when I eat I get my energy back. Not sure what to think as of yet. Cannot tell much on weight loss at this point. I have my trainer tomorrow so am hoping to be able to push myself a bit more than usual.

I have been eating a lot of salads which really are easy. I also eat eggs every morning, which I thought might not be too good. Will see if it has a negative impact on the cholesterol in a few weeks. I do not really miss bread, pasta and rice. I do however miss fruit so I will be glad to be able to get that back in the plan in 9 days.

I am looking forward to seeing a bigger difference in my energy level. Not sure how the weather impacted my energy this week - it was very warm all week and since we have no AC it wore us down a bit. Then the power outage for 12 hours made it even more fun. It however has cooled off today so we are back to normal.

South Beach?

I have been feeling very tired of late. I have also had a great deal of trouble staying focused. It was pretty simple to see that I have been eating too much and not exercising. Time for a change? I have started to see a trainer again, mainly to get some change up in the routine. More importantly, at his suggestion, I have started to follow the South Beach plan. Net net, get rid of sugar for two weeks. I am on day 4 and feel that I can easily make the two weeks. However after that I can see where it will become more challenging. However after 4 days, I am feeling much better. I am not traveling for a couple of weeks so it ended up being a great time to start something like this that requires focus.

So lots of vegi's, lots of lean proteins - no fruit, no pasta, no bread - no carbs.

I will report back as the days progress. Looking forward to seeing some great results.

We are made in the image of God.

We started a series at church called "fan or follower" a couple of weeks ago. It has made me think more about my priorities and areas where I need to focus. I have always used my running to spend time with God which should be a priority. Of course the less I run the less time I spend with God - funny how that works. The less time I spend with God, the less time on focus on others and the more time I focus on me.

Today I was able to get out and get a run in. Earlier in the day I had read a post on facebook from a friend who was reflecting on being more like Christ. As I was running I thought long and hard about that question. When I think of being like Christ, I think most frequently of the Golden Rule - treat others as you would want them to treat you. This has always worked well for me and I will continue to use it as a gauge. What if you do not care how are you are treated? Is there another way to think about this. I then thought how in Genesis, we are created in the image of God. There are lots of ways to think about this, however today I thought about image being more like seeing the images God sees through his eyes, or better how he views his creation and each one of us in it.

Well the run became more interesting, today I ran through the marina and there were lots of people there. I began to see how precious each person was, the time they were spending with family, the time they were relaxing, the time they were spending with friends. Then I was able to see the beauty of Gods creation. The ocean, the cliffs and a beautiful sky.

I think this is a pretty good reason to run....