I've noticed a lot lately that when I don't eat enough breakfast, I overeat throughout the day, or if I manage to not overeat I feel hungry all day.
Now, I can't eat just anything... it has to have protein, and it has to have bulk. And, as I've said before, I have enough food allergies that I can't just nip up to McD's and grab a McMuffin or a Steak Bagel, I'd spend my day in the bathroom. Plus, have you ever looked at how much fat and sodium one of those has?
I also can't trust donuts, bagels, muffins, or even toast at a restaurant, as most of them would have either corn or dairy, or both.
At home, on days where I have to get moving like mornings I work, I usually make toast from bread that I *know* I can trust and spread it with peanut butter. The peanut butter I like is Smucker's Natural. I can't buy the reduced fat, since it has maltodextrin or some corn ingredient in it, so I buy the regular and then pour off a little less than half the separated oil for use in cooking before mixing up the rest. It isn't a hardship to me to have discovered that the safest bread for me is the stuff baked in a wood fired oven at my local grocery store (Holiday Market in Canton, MI. If you live around here, check out their sourdough or beer bread). Since I usually use the bread for a week, I buy the day-old to save money when they have it in the kind of bread I want. But even when I have to pay full price, the sourdough is cheaper than a loaf of Pepperidge Farm or other "Premium" bread, it tastes better, and it has simple and short ingredient lists.
Speaking of ingredient lists. I discovered this week that one of the problems I was having was because there was corn sugar (dextrose) in our SALT! Oops! And that was a pretty high-end brand - Hain "Pure Foods". What a joke. So I had to buy a different brand. There were two other reasonable cost Sea Salt brands that didn't include sugar. One had an anti-caking agent that was chemical in nature, and one had my favorite kind of ingredient list: One Ingredient: Sea Salt.
My other two favorite breakfasts are cold cereal and oatmeal. For cold cereal, I like Barbara's Natural Shredded Oat. Sometimes for a little variety I use less than a normal amount of that and break up a few Frosted Mini-Wheat biscuits over the top. I then pour Rice Milk over it. Rice milk is too sweet to substitute for regular milk in some foods, but for me that makes it better for cereal, where I don't have to add as much (or sometimes any) sugar because the rice milk itself is sweet. For Oatmeal, a few years back I discovered Silver Palate brand "Rough" oatmeal, and while I liked it, it is really quite expensive for a product that they carefully do LESS to it than the Quaker brand. Basically, oatmeal is generally made from oats that have either been modified by rolling thinner, or my cutting in pieces. You can make oatmeal from whole unmodified "groats", but it takes much longer. Irish oats are steel cut or "porridge" oats, where they cut the groats into smaller pieces. Porridge oats are classified by size, ranging from fine through medium, coarse, and the largest, "pin-head" oats. Different companies offer different cuts and of course everyone says theirs is best. Fans of Irish oats say that the climate in Ireland creates better oats... Who really knows? In Scotland, they often use steel-cut porridge oats as well, but apparently much of what is sold in America as Scottish oats is more of a stone-ground meal. Quaker oats are traditional rolled oats, the kind most English speaking and Scandinavian countries usually eat. The groats are steamed, then rolled flat, then apparently toasted to dry them. Instant oatmeal is basically very thinly rolled and often cut into smaller pieces, but I don't like the gluey texture that they make. The Silver Palate oats are just not rolled as thin as Quaker oats so they keep more of the nutty flavors. However, one of my favorite flour, grain, and cereal companies, Bob's Red Mill, sells 2 pound bags of "thick rolled" oats, which are basically the same thing without tripling the price. The Bob's Red Mill are what I like best. I usually drizzle just a little raw unfiltered honey or perhaps sorghum molasses or pure Michigan maple syrup on mine. I prefer Grade B or Grade A Dark syrup, because it has more flavor. Grade A fancy syrup is "fancy" because it has a lighter flavor. If I get more flavor per calorie, it helps.
So, I suppose in summary my three favorite breakfasts are all simple, hearty breakfasts. Peanut Butter Toast is the quickest to make that I can carry, Cold Cereal is the absolute quickest to make but I need time to sit still and eat it, and Thick-Rolled Oatmeal takes around 20 minutes to cook and I need time to sit still and eat it, but all three give me some fiber, some protein, and enough calories that I'm not looking for a snack before lunch.
Oscar
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wow. Busy in my professional life. I'm preparing to teach in front of a classroom from the Monday after Thanksgiving through until Mid-March, three classes, one after another, four days a week on the other side of town. So this week is about getting the car ready, learning the material, and figuring out how to present the material. I have more time to present than the book is designed for, but from personal experience as a student the book isn't memorable, so I need to figure out how to present each topic without presenting the book, which they can read themselves.
Busy at home also. Trying to finish painting the front room(s) (combo Living/Dining/Kitchen) and hallway. I have the feature wall complete, and the lighter color and satin finish are clearly going to make a HUGE difference mentally trying to make it through winter. Nearly everyone this far north that isn't a winter outdoor athlete gets some level of Seasonal depression. The lighter color and added reflectivity will be great.
The only reason all of that makes any difference here is that I'm struggling with time management and how it relates to squeezing in exercise. I've decided that what it means is that this week I try to exercise once a day for at least 15 minutes, but for example grocery shopping for 2 hours counted for yesterdays exercise.
It should be possible to get into a pattern once I get to teaching. Four days a week I should get to my work location with 15-45 minutes to spare depending on traffic, then have a couple of short breaks and a lunch break every day.
On the good side, this week I reached a full 20 pounds lost since I started weighing myself. My next milestone is passing 300 pounds, which is now less than 5 pounds away. Pretty good for a week I struggled with getting in exercise. At least I didn't go crazy with food.
Oscar
Busy at home also. Trying to finish painting the front room(s) (combo Living/Dining/Kitchen) and hallway. I have the feature wall complete, and the lighter color and satin finish are clearly going to make a HUGE difference mentally trying to make it through winter. Nearly everyone this far north that isn't a winter outdoor athlete gets some level of Seasonal depression. The lighter color and added reflectivity will be great.
The only reason all of that makes any difference here is that I'm struggling with time management and how it relates to squeezing in exercise. I've decided that what it means is that this week I try to exercise once a day for at least 15 minutes, but for example grocery shopping for 2 hours counted for yesterdays exercise.
It should be possible to get into a pattern once I get to teaching. Four days a week I should get to my work location with 15-45 minutes to spare depending on traffic, then have a couple of short breaks and a lunch break every day.
On the good side, this week I reached a full 20 pounds lost since I started weighing myself. My next milestone is passing 300 pounds, which is now less than 5 pounds away. Pretty good for a week I struggled with getting in exercise. At least I didn't go crazy with food.
Oscar
Friday, November 9, 2012
FOOD! Don't talk to me about FOOD!
If you think Corn and Dairy are Gods gift to humans, you might want to skip reading this post.
Food is difficult for me. Not just because I love rich foods (I do), but because I often feel deprived.
I have been reading food labels since before they got very useful, since my mother has been on a very low sodium diet for over 35 years, and my sister and I used to go grocery shopping for us. The reading of labels got more critical when I discovered that I am allergic to dairy, and things stepped up a notch when my wife figured out that she is allergic to Citric Acid. We already were avoiding Sunflower for her, and now I have to avoid Corn. And try to keep my sodium down.
Currently I'm thinking Potatoes may be the other culprit I am looking for that is causing me digestive grief. But I wanted to say that many people do not understand how much of our food supply contains corn, dairy or citric acid. Or, in my view, is "contaminated by" corn, dairy, sunflower, and/or citric acid.
Taken one at a time, each of the above actually brings a relatively long list of ingredients we need to avoid. Some because we know they are what we are allergic to, others because they are too vague to take the risk. Oh, Diana is also allergic to sunflower. I'll cover that, too. Note that these lists are not complete or authoritative, just what I know.
I'll start with Dairy. Specifically, I am allergic to more than one protein in dairy. For sure I am allergic to casein, and there is also something in whey protein that I am allergic to. This means I have to avoid:
DAIRY:
Milk
Cheese (all varieties, including vegetable cheeses that add casein)
Cottage Cheese/Farmers Cheese
Butter
Cream
Yogurt
Buttermilk
Milk Solids
Butter Solids
Buttermilk Solids
Nonfat Dry Milk
Sweetened Condensed Milk
Evaporated Milk
Casein (the protein that makes cheese melt, I am told)Sodium Caseinate
Whey
Whey Protein
Whey Protein Isolate
Milk Protein
I seem to be fine with Milkfat, Butterfat, and Ghee/Clarified Butter, but I usually avoid them in case they aren't pure enough.
CORN:
Corn (including Popcorn)
Corn Meal (and Polenta)
Grits (Hominy and otherwise)
Corn Syrup
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Corn Oil
Vegetable Oil
Vegetable Shortening (unless it specifies a different source)
Corn Starch
Food Starch
Modified Food Starch
Dextrose (Corn Sugar)
Fructose (may be from corn unless another source is stated)
Dextrin
Maltodextrin
Caramel Coloring (usually made from Corn Syrup)
Brown Sugar (because some brands add Caramel Coloring made from Corn Syrup)
If you didn't know, that eliminates 98% of the candy made in America. My local store even sells "honey" straws that are corn syrup flavored with a little honey. I buy a different brand elsewhere that is 100% honey. It also eliminates almost all breakfast cereals, cookies, muffins, donuts, many breads, and other snacks. I can have unsalted nuts and expensive chocolate and a couple brands of cookies.
SUNFLOWER:
Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower Oil
Jerusalem Artichoke (sunflower roots)
7-grain, 9-grain, and 12-grain breads (even if they don't claim sunflower)
That seems pretty tame, until you realize that most products that use vegetable oil have this "and/or" issue, like "canola, sunflower, and/or safflower oil". Also, the healthier a product is trying to seem, the more likely they will have substituted sunflower oil for whatever they used to use. The comment about the high grain breads is from experience. Once a bakery starts adding large amounts of grains and seeds into the bread, it seems that intentional or not, enough sunflower seeds get into the dough that Diana reacts to it.
CITRIC ACID:
Sometimes I feel like I am researching a doctoral thesis for this one:
Tomatoes
Lemon
Lemon Juice
Lemon Peel
Lemon Zest
Lime (including Juice, Peel, and Zest)
Orange (including Juice, Peel, and Zest)
Citron
Tamarind
Ponzu
Pineapple
Berries (except Blueberries)
Most other fruits (except Apples, Pears, and Bananas)
Citric Acid
Sourdough Bread
Sourdough "Culture" or "Mother"
Canned and Dry Beans (Navy, Pinto, Kidney, Black-Eyed Peas, etc.) (Green Beans are OK)
And a Surprising item:
Triple-Washed ANYTHING (Spinach, Lettuce, Mesclin, etc.) - One of the three washes is Citric Acid, and since they are living plants, they will pull the citric acid in from the root end and possibly absorb it in through the leaves.
POTATOS:
I haven't researched Potatoes yet, but Potato Starch, Food Starch, and Modified Food Starch would be issues as well as potatoes themselves.
So, what can we eat together? Meat, Rice, Pasta, most green veggies. Apples, pears, and bananas. Carrots, cauliflower, some breads. In the supermarket, we look for ingredient lists that are 5 or fewer items when we can, as simpler foods are probably healthier and a heck of a lot easier to read the list. When I see one of those ingredient lists that is 2 inches long or more, I assume that it probably has something in it that we can't have. If I am bored enough or motivated enough to read it, I usually find out that I am right. About the only exception to that rule is Clif Bars, which I can have. Which is good, as I obviously don't do well at potlucks or pizza lunches!
Diana can have dairy, I can have tomato sauces and citrus fruits, but we can't share. Heck, if I drink Orange Juice I have to drink some water or rinse my lips off before I can kiss her!
Of course, there are worse things in life than having to eat right.
I'm really feeling for the folks in the Northeast who are still dealing with Sandy, the NorEaster, and related damage, outages, shortages, and displacement. I haven't donated much , but we have given what we can afford at this time.
Food is difficult for me. Not just because I love rich foods (I do), but because I often feel deprived.
I have been reading food labels since before they got very useful, since my mother has been on a very low sodium diet for over 35 years, and my sister and I used to go grocery shopping for us. The reading of labels got more critical when I discovered that I am allergic to dairy, and things stepped up a notch when my wife figured out that she is allergic to Citric Acid. We already were avoiding Sunflower for her, and now I have to avoid Corn. And try to keep my sodium down.
Currently I'm thinking Potatoes may be the other culprit I am looking for that is causing me digestive grief. But I wanted to say that many people do not understand how much of our food supply contains corn, dairy or citric acid. Or, in my view, is "contaminated by" corn, dairy, sunflower, and/or citric acid.
Taken one at a time, each of the above actually brings a relatively long list of ingredients we need to avoid. Some because we know they are what we are allergic to, others because they are too vague to take the risk. Oh, Diana is also allergic to sunflower. I'll cover that, too. Note that these lists are not complete or authoritative, just what I know.
I'll start with Dairy. Specifically, I am allergic to more than one protein in dairy. For sure I am allergic to casein, and there is also something in whey protein that I am allergic to. This means I have to avoid:
DAIRY:
Milk
Cheese (all varieties, including vegetable cheeses that add casein)
Cottage Cheese/Farmers Cheese
Butter
Cream
Yogurt
Buttermilk
Milk Solids
Butter Solids
Buttermilk Solids
Nonfat Dry Milk
Sweetened Condensed Milk
Evaporated Milk
Casein (the protein that makes cheese melt, I am told)Sodium Caseinate
Whey
Whey Protein
Whey Protein Isolate
Milk Protein
I seem to be fine with Milkfat, Butterfat, and Ghee/Clarified Butter, but I usually avoid them in case they aren't pure enough.
CORN:
Corn (including Popcorn)
Corn Meal (and Polenta)
Grits (Hominy and otherwise)
Corn Syrup
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Corn Oil
Vegetable Oil
Vegetable Shortening (unless it specifies a different source)
Corn Starch
Food Starch
Modified Food Starch
Dextrose (Corn Sugar)
Fructose (may be from corn unless another source is stated)
Dextrin
Maltodextrin
Caramel Coloring (usually made from Corn Syrup)
Brown Sugar (because some brands add Caramel Coloring made from Corn Syrup)
If you didn't know, that eliminates 98% of the candy made in America. My local store even sells "honey" straws that are corn syrup flavored with a little honey. I buy a different brand elsewhere that is 100% honey. It also eliminates almost all breakfast cereals, cookies, muffins, donuts, many breads, and other snacks. I can have unsalted nuts and expensive chocolate and a couple brands of cookies.
SUNFLOWER:
Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower Oil
Jerusalem Artichoke (sunflower roots)
7-grain, 9-grain, and 12-grain breads (even if they don't claim sunflower)
That seems pretty tame, until you realize that most products that use vegetable oil have this "and/or" issue, like "canola, sunflower, and/or safflower oil". Also, the healthier a product is trying to seem, the more likely they will have substituted sunflower oil for whatever they used to use. The comment about the high grain breads is from experience. Once a bakery starts adding large amounts of grains and seeds into the bread, it seems that intentional or not, enough sunflower seeds get into the dough that Diana reacts to it.
CITRIC ACID:
Sometimes I feel like I am researching a doctoral thesis for this one:
Tomatoes
Lemon
Lemon Juice
Lemon Peel
Lemon Zest
Lime (including Juice, Peel, and Zest)
Orange (including Juice, Peel, and Zest)
Citron
Tamarind
Ponzu
Pineapple
Berries (except Blueberries)
Most other fruits (except Apples, Pears, and Bananas)
Citric Acid
Sourdough Bread
Sourdough "Culture" or "Mother"
Canned and Dry Beans (Navy, Pinto, Kidney, Black-Eyed Peas, etc.) (Green Beans are OK)
And a Surprising item:
Triple-Washed ANYTHING (Spinach, Lettuce, Mesclin, etc.) - One of the three washes is Citric Acid, and since they are living plants, they will pull the citric acid in from the root end and possibly absorb it in through the leaves.
POTATOS:
I haven't researched Potatoes yet, but Potato Starch, Food Starch, and Modified Food Starch would be issues as well as potatoes themselves.
So, what can we eat together? Meat, Rice, Pasta, most green veggies. Apples, pears, and bananas. Carrots, cauliflower, some breads. In the supermarket, we look for ingredient lists that are 5 or fewer items when we can, as simpler foods are probably healthier and a heck of a lot easier to read the list. When I see one of those ingredient lists that is 2 inches long or more, I assume that it probably has something in it that we can't have. If I am bored enough or motivated enough to read it, I usually find out that I am right. About the only exception to that rule is Clif Bars, which I can have. Which is good, as I obviously don't do well at potlucks or pizza lunches!
Diana can have dairy, I can have tomato sauces and citrus fruits, but we can't share. Heck, if I drink Orange Juice I have to drink some water or rinse my lips off before I can kiss her!
Of course, there are worse things in life than having to eat right.
I'm really feeling for the folks in the Northeast who are still dealing with Sandy, the NorEaster, and related damage, outages, shortages, and displacement. I haven't donated much , but we have given what we can afford at this time.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Tracking my Weight - Or Not (Percent Body Fat - PBF)
In order to stay on track, I need to track my "weight".
In order to stay sane, I need rules about this.
Let me explain that:
- First of all, I mentioned before that I'm not really trying to lose weight, I am trying to get healthy and fit. My measurements for that will primarily be a combination of Percent Body Fat (PBF) and Blood Pressure, along with Cardio stamina/health, if that can really be measured.
- Second, I can get obsessive. At one point in my life, I belonged to Weight Watcher's. Great organization in some ways, but the live weigh-ins were horrible for me. They want you to weigh in every week. They congratulate you if you lose even a quarter of a pound, but on the other hand, I had at least two different "official" people comment on weekly weight gains loud enough for the whole room to hear. I used to stop drinking water on the days I had to weigh in, and eat almost nothing. That isn't healthy. And can't be maintained as a healthy lifestyle. Remember, this is about health, not weight.
- Third, it is a fact that within a day, your body gains and loses weight. Every time you eat or drink something, you gain weight. Every time you use the facilities, you lose weight. If you sprain an ankle, the fluid retention of the swelling means you gain weight. Every time you breath out, you lose a tiny amount of water weight from the water vapor released. Are we getting ridiculous here? Yes, to make a point. A relatively typical person will gain or lose 2-5 pounds cyclically every day.
- Fourth, weight fluctuates from day to day. Based on anything from the amount of sodium consumed to the effects of the moon phase and sunspot activity, weight is not stable, even if consumption and exertion levels are.
So... I need to be relaxed and sane about this - but how?
Well, I try to track my weight based on two rules:
- First, weigh-in every week but only weigh once a week.
- Second, don't worry about a weekly weight gain - look at this week compared to two weeks ago.
And, I use another App on my Android phone for this. A simple app called Weight Tracker++. It allows me to see a graph of my weight loss on my phone or tablet, and if I really want I can export the data to a .csv file that I can import to Excel or Open Office to make a chart on my computer. It also has a "statistics" page where it tells me how many entries I have, elapsed time since my first entry, Latest, Highest, Lowest, and Change in weight (for example right now it reports that I was 323.8 on 9/13/2012 and 310.0 on 10/31, for a loss of 13.8 pounds over 1 month and 18 days (a total of 8 entries).
And this may be repeating myself, but... I'm not concerned about my actual goal "weight". And BMI? Don't get me started on BMI! BMI was never intended to be applied on an individual basis. As a measure of a person, it relates height and weight to each other in a way that allows researchers to generalize about large populations of people. But it counts the same whether the weight entered into the formula is muscle, fat, or because you haven't gone to the bathroom in a really, really long time. It doesn't take into account bone density, muscles, or for that matter it doesn't take into account if you just drank a half gallon of water. Even as a research generalization, it is mediocre, but often the best available since most studies didn't take the time and cost to analyze the percent body fat of the people in the studies.
I've chosen to set my goal on Percent Body Fat (PBF). PBF is a really good measure for health. It is probably the best "weight" tracking measurement we have available. It doesn't matter how tall you are, it isn't concerned with how much of your weight is bone. A male non-athlete PBF of 14-17% is considered "fit", although adjustments for age and gender apply, and some scales show a "healthy" range which seems to merge the "athlete", "fit", and "average" ranges. If you want more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage.
There areinexpensive calipers and bathroom scales that will measure PBF, at least one of which is Wi-Fi enabled and willing to talk to a number of phone Apps. Unfortunately, I bought a scale that had a different feature I liked (wider platform for better balance), and my scale will only display PBF as part of a combination of Percent Bone, Percent Muscle, Percent Water, and PBF. Unfortunately for me, if any of the 4 is out of range, my scale won't display any of them. And since fat doesn't contain water, and the scale won't report if Percent Water is below 45%, and I have a LOT of fat on my body... The scale will only display my weight until I get down to some magical point where there is enough water in my body to make my scale happy. SHEESH!!!!! Oh, and calipers are not recommended for obese people.
So, I don't know what my PBF is at this time, but once I get to a reasonable weight range, I will be looking to get my PBF down to about 16%.
Oh, and it may not seem obvious, but the method that bathroom scales use to calculate PBF is "mostly" accurate, and uses low-level electricity to sense body content. Hydration levels and dampness of your feet will affect the measurement. Some of these scales say that people with pacemakers should NOT use them. Some Gyms and Fitness Centers will do a caliper measurement calculation for you to estimate PBF. Either of these methods has a +/- accuracy of something like +/- 10%, although some people claim the calipers have a much lower error percentage in trained hands.
Doctors have other methods that are more accurate, everything from tanks where they measure how much water you displace when you get in, to a machine that scans you with two different frequencies of X-Rays, one of which is absorbed more by fat, then compares the two images to estimate the PBF. I'll skip the X-rays, thanks! There is also a machine now that uses air displacement to calculate PBF, which claims to be as accurate as the dunking method. It is certainly faster and more convenient, although I have no idea how much it costs.
Any of the methods of measuring percent body fat should at least show if you are making progress. My plan is to get down near where I think I should be, measuring weight at least until my scale will measure PBF, then tracking both but concentrating on the PBF. Once I get where I think I should be, I'll arrange to visit a "Bod-Pod" air displacement or dunk tank water displacement center where I can get a real measurement. The cost of that is high enough that I don't care to pay it until I think I am where I should be.
Regards,
Oscar
In order to stay sane, I need rules about this.
Let me explain that:
- First of all, I mentioned before that I'm not really trying to lose weight, I am trying to get healthy and fit. My measurements for that will primarily be a combination of Percent Body Fat (PBF) and Blood Pressure, along with Cardio stamina/health, if that can really be measured.
- Second, I can get obsessive. At one point in my life, I belonged to Weight Watcher's. Great organization in some ways, but the live weigh-ins were horrible for me. They want you to weigh in every week. They congratulate you if you lose even a quarter of a pound, but on the other hand, I had at least two different "official" people comment on weekly weight gains loud enough for the whole room to hear. I used to stop drinking water on the days I had to weigh in, and eat almost nothing. That isn't healthy. And can't be maintained as a healthy lifestyle. Remember, this is about health, not weight.
- Third, it is a fact that within a day, your body gains and loses weight. Every time you eat or drink something, you gain weight. Every time you use the facilities, you lose weight. If you sprain an ankle, the fluid retention of the swelling means you gain weight. Every time you breath out, you lose a tiny amount of water weight from the water vapor released. Are we getting ridiculous here? Yes, to make a point. A relatively typical person will gain or lose 2-5 pounds cyclically every day.
- Fourth, weight fluctuates from day to day. Based on anything from the amount of sodium consumed to the effects of the moon phase and sunspot activity, weight is not stable, even if consumption and exertion levels are.
So... I need to be relaxed and sane about this - but how?
Well, I try to track my weight based on two rules:
- First, weigh-in every week but only weigh once a week.
- Second, don't worry about a weekly weight gain - look at this week compared to two weeks ago.
And, I use another App on my Android phone for this. A simple app called Weight Tracker++. It allows me to see a graph of my weight loss on my phone or tablet, and if I really want I can export the data to a .csv file that I can import to Excel or Open Office to make a chart on my computer. It also has a "statistics" page where it tells me how many entries I have, elapsed time since my first entry, Latest, Highest, Lowest, and Change in weight (for example right now it reports that I was 323.8 on 9/13/2012 and 310.0 on 10/31, for a loss of 13.8 pounds over 1 month and 18 days (a total of 8 entries).
And this may be repeating myself, but... I'm not concerned about my actual goal "weight". And BMI? Don't get me started on BMI! BMI was never intended to be applied on an individual basis. As a measure of a person, it relates height and weight to each other in a way that allows researchers to generalize about large populations of people. But it counts the same whether the weight entered into the formula is muscle, fat, or because you haven't gone to the bathroom in a really, really long time. It doesn't take into account bone density, muscles, or for that matter it doesn't take into account if you just drank a half gallon of water. Even as a research generalization, it is mediocre, but often the best available since most studies didn't take the time and cost to analyze the percent body fat of the people in the studies.
I've chosen to set my goal on Percent Body Fat (PBF). PBF is a really good measure for health. It is probably the best "weight" tracking measurement we have available. It doesn't matter how tall you are, it isn't concerned with how much of your weight is bone. A male non-athlete PBF of 14-17% is considered "fit", although adjustments for age and gender apply, and some scales show a "healthy" range which seems to merge the "athlete", "fit", and "average" ranges. If you want more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage.
There areinexpensive calipers and bathroom scales that will measure PBF, at least one of which is Wi-Fi enabled and willing to talk to a number of phone Apps. Unfortunately, I bought a scale that had a different feature I liked (wider platform for better balance), and my scale will only display PBF as part of a combination of Percent Bone, Percent Muscle, Percent Water, and PBF. Unfortunately for me, if any of the 4 is out of range, my scale won't display any of them. And since fat doesn't contain water, and the scale won't report if Percent Water is below 45%, and I have a LOT of fat on my body... The scale will only display my weight until I get down to some magical point where there is enough water in my body to make my scale happy. SHEESH!!!!! Oh, and calipers are not recommended for obese people.
So, I don't know what my PBF is at this time, but once I get to a reasonable weight range, I will be looking to get my PBF down to about 16%.
Oh, and it may not seem obvious, but the method that bathroom scales use to calculate PBF is "mostly" accurate, and uses low-level electricity to sense body content. Hydration levels and dampness of your feet will affect the measurement. Some of these scales say that people with pacemakers should NOT use them. Some Gyms and Fitness Centers will do a caliper measurement calculation for you to estimate PBF. Either of these methods has a +/- accuracy of something like +/- 10%, although some people claim the calipers have a much lower error percentage in trained hands.
Doctors have other methods that are more accurate, everything from tanks where they measure how much water you displace when you get in, to a machine that scans you with two different frequencies of X-Rays, one of which is absorbed more by fat, then compares the two images to estimate the PBF. I'll skip the X-rays, thanks! There is also a machine now that uses air displacement to calculate PBF, which claims to be as accurate as the dunking method. It is certainly faster and more convenient, although I have no idea how much it costs.
Any of the methods of measuring percent body fat should at least show if you are making progress. My plan is to get down near where I think I should be, measuring weight at least until my scale will measure PBF, then tracking both but concentrating on the PBF. Once I get where I think I should be, I'll arrange to visit a "Bod-Pod" air displacement or dunk tank water displacement center where I can get a real measurement. The cost of that is high enough that I don't care to pay it until I think I am where I should be.
Regards,
Oscar
Friday, November 2, 2012
Exercise - Who Needs it? Me!
Exercise. I need it, I don't enjoy it.
Okay, the reality is, I don't like to exercise. I like what it does for me short term (improved mood and energy especially if I can get outside when it is sunny), and I like what it does for me long term (improved mood, improved health, improved stamina, improved energy, reduced blood pressure), but I don't like exercise in and of itself. Exercise to get out into Nature is different. Whether it is hiking or even driving to a place where I can commune with nature, that exhilarates me. Walking or biking on roads, sidewalks, or parking lots... Not so much.
I don't run. I actually believe that in most cases running is anti-healthy. Jogging/Running has a great deal more ankle and knee injuries than walking or biking, and with me being over double my ideal weight, and with arthritis symptoms since high school, I don't need to push the envelope. If you are a runner I won't try to convert you, but I do have a couple of things to say to people who think running is harder exercise and want to convert me:
- Walking for 1 mile burns more calories than jogging for 1 mile.
- Walking is not necessarily the same as strolling. While strolling is also exercise, I walk fast. Usually around 3mph. I used to walk 5mph, but that was 75 pounds and 15 years ago. Maybe I will build up to that speed again after I lose some weight and get in better shape.
- Walking at 5mph is harder exercise than jogging at 5mph. More steps per mile, same miles.
- Walking at 3mph or less at temps below 70 degrees or less for 15 minutes or less probably doesn't require showering afterwards. Maybe a couple of quick baby wipes on the face and neck. In warmer weather, changing into a T-Shirt for the walk and back to the business casual shirt after (with a few baby wipes) may be all that is needed.- If you jog at 4.5 mph and someone walks by you at 5mph, run your own race/exercise. I can run 6mph just like you can for a short distance, but if my 10K pace is 5mph from start to finish and your 10K pace starts at 5.2mph and drops to 4.5mph for the middle 5K, running at 6-7mph to pass me is going to burn more of your reserves than needed, and it will just amuse me more when I walk past you the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time. Every single time I entered a 5K or longer event, and many times while walking on a track, I have had someone or a bunch of someones modify their pace to re-pass me, often multiple times. No need. I didn't pass you for my vanity. I walk my own walk.
Exercise as a social activity used to happen for me, two companies ago, but I found that when I used other people as part of my motivation, I didn't exercise if they didn't come along. Now I have to motivate in other ways. Not that I would turn down a walking partner for a specific walk, just that I won't predicate whether I exercise on whether someone else comes along. Schedule a walk or bike with me and don't show up? I'll go without you. Because I have to. Nothing Personal.
For me, exercise is about goals and motivation. Progress Not Perfection. Just Do It. Get 'Er Done. Don't Should On Yourself. Walk Your Own Walk. All cliches, but they all mean something to me.
Progress Not Perfection:
- Do more exercise than I did last year, both total per month and days per month. Not Hard!
- If I choose to consider Grocery Shopping with a push-cart instead of a handicap scooter as exercise, then it is exercise. After all, walking is exercise so pushing 30 pounds of groceries around while walking must be exercise too! So is carrying boxes for moving.
Just Do It:- Don't worry about what anyone else thinks. Exercise.
- Don't worry if I didn't exercise yesterday. Today is what counts.
- Don't worry about my current week totals. Or current Month.
- Celebrate what I accomplish, even if it isn't what I hoped to accomplish.
Get 'er Done:
- My current lifestyle doesn't usually give me huge chunks of time to exercise. Some days I can't carve out any time before or after work at all. So, my "minimum I feel comfortable with" goals are pretty minimal.
- I had to find a way to insert exercise into my life. The bulk of my exercise is near or during work time. Get to work early and walk until I need to get to my desk, maybe as much as a mile or so. Take a quick half mile walk on my 15 minute break. Take a 1.5 mile walk at lunch. Another half mile walk on my 2nd break. Some days, squeeze in 1-2 miles after work before driving home, or maybe drive home, eat dinner, then do a little exercise.
Don't Should On Yourself:
- This one might not be as hackneyed as the first three, and you may not have heard it before. The basis for this is "Guilt is counterproductive".
- No "I should have walked at break". No "I should eat less". Take the energy I would spend on guilt and turn it into motivation to try to do better.
Walk Your Own Walk:
- Own your exercise.
- Do the exercise that is right for YOU.
- Don't change pace because of other people unless walking in a group. If group walking, try to pick a group whose pace is at least reasonably close to yours.
- Pick a time and place that works for you.
Since I don't enjoy it on its own, exercise doesn't motivate me without some kind of immediate goal.
Goals for exercise can be measured in a lot of different ways. The ultimate measurement might be being at the right weight, able to sprint for 2 minutes, being able to hike for 5 hours, or some other such lofty goal, but my reality is that I can't hold out for nebulous goals or goals that may take 2-5 years to reach, I need something that I can touch and feel today. Goals like "how many days in a row can I get in at least a half mile walk" and "how many walks can I fit in during a month" are more my current style.
But in addition, I have found a couple of programs for my Android phone that provide some goals. The first one is RunKeeper. It allows me to track run/walk/bike/wheelchair/whatever activity, uses GPS to track location and altitude, and reports via email to me when I set a new personal record speed, distance, time, calories burned, total cumulative altitude change during a walk etc.:
The second app isn't actually on my phone, but the web site http://notch.me. It is linked to my RunKeeper data, and creates amusing "InfoGraphics" (somewhat twisted humor). But it is a way to look at my data in a different way. The graphics can be posted to Facebook, direct links created, etc. Below are links to my 1st one, my current one, and my October Monthly Summary one:
http://notch.me/p/4NFlY2M5yg7PIclOassQc5 - Outwalked a Venus Fly Trap, eaten by a Python
http://notch.me/p/1UNah813D6L3kAyDKhmJZR - Outwalked a Python, eaten by an Ocelot
http://notch.me/p/2k6VMH4X29VaN8yDv3CRs1 - Monthly summary for October
Cold won't stop me, Grey skies don't stop me, and walking by parking lot lights doesn't stop me. Hopefully snow itself won't stop me. Rain, Hail, or Sleet take me indoors where I can't receive the GPS signal for the RunKeeper app and can't walk as fast. So, with all of this, I am trying to walk at least once for at least a half mile 6 days a week, and I am trying to walk as many of my 5 "near work" time slots a day as I can, aiming to do at least 2 miles a day. My best day I did 5 walks, totalling nearly 4 miles. My worst day I managed one walk for half a mile. Actually, I took two days off one weekend when I was sick. At some point I may dig out my pedometer so I can track how far I walk if it is inside.
And the encouragement I get from RunKeeper, Notch.me, My friends, and the Bathroom Scale keep me moving. Even when I have to wear ankle braces and take Ibuprofen.
Regards,
Oscar
Okay, the reality is, I don't like to exercise. I like what it does for me short term (improved mood and energy especially if I can get outside when it is sunny), and I like what it does for me long term (improved mood, improved health, improved stamina, improved energy, reduced blood pressure), but I don't like exercise in and of itself. Exercise to get out into Nature is different. Whether it is hiking or even driving to a place where I can commune with nature, that exhilarates me. Walking or biking on roads, sidewalks, or parking lots... Not so much.
I don't run. I actually believe that in most cases running is anti-healthy. Jogging/Running has a great deal more ankle and knee injuries than walking or biking, and with me being over double my ideal weight, and with arthritis symptoms since high school, I don't need to push the envelope. If you are a runner I won't try to convert you, but I do have a couple of things to say to people who think running is harder exercise and want to convert me:
- Walking for 1 mile burns more calories than jogging for 1 mile.
- Walking is not necessarily the same as strolling. While strolling is also exercise, I walk fast. Usually around 3mph. I used to walk 5mph, but that was 75 pounds and 15 years ago. Maybe I will build up to that speed again after I lose some weight and get in better shape.
- Walking at 5mph is harder exercise than jogging at 5mph. More steps per mile, same miles.
- Walking at 3mph or less at temps below 70 degrees or less for 15 minutes or less probably doesn't require showering afterwards. Maybe a couple of quick baby wipes on the face and neck. In warmer weather, changing into a T-Shirt for the walk and back to the business casual shirt after (with a few baby wipes) may be all that is needed.- If you jog at 4.5 mph and someone walks by you at 5mph, run your own race/exercise. I can run 6mph just like you can for a short distance, but if my 10K pace is 5mph from start to finish and your 10K pace starts at 5.2mph and drops to 4.5mph for the middle 5K, running at 6-7mph to pass me is going to burn more of your reserves than needed, and it will just amuse me more when I walk past you the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time. Every single time I entered a 5K or longer event, and many times while walking on a track, I have had someone or a bunch of someones modify their pace to re-pass me, often multiple times. No need. I didn't pass you for my vanity. I walk my own walk.
Exercise as a social activity used to happen for me, two companies ago, but I found that when I used other people as part of my motivation, I didn't exercise if they didn't come along. Now I have to motivate in other ways. Not that I would turn down a walking partner for a specific walk, just that I won't predicate whether I exercise on whether someone else comes along. Schedule a walk or bike with me and don't show up? I'll go without you. Because I have to. Nothing Personal.
For me, exercise is about goals and motivation. Progress Not Perfection. Just Do It. Get 'Er Done. Don't Should On Yourself. Walk Your Own Walk. All cliches, but they all mean something to me.
Progress Not Perfection:
- Do more exercise than I did last year, both total per month and days per month. Not Hard!
- If I choose to consider Grocery Shopping with a push-cart instead of a handicap scooter as exercise, then it is exercise. After all, walking is exercise so pushing 30 pounds of groceries around while walking must be exercise too! So is carrying boxes for moving.
Just Do It:- Don't worry about what anyone else thinks. Exercise.
- Don't worry if I didn't exercise yesterday. Today is what counts.
- Don't worry about my current week totals. Or current Month.
- Celebrate what I accomplish, even if it isn't what I hoped to accomplish.
Get 'er Done:
- My current lifestyle doesn't usually give me huge chunks of time to exercise. Some days I can't carve out any time before or after work at all. So, my "minimum I feel comfortable with" goals are pretty minimal.
- I had to find a way to insert exercise into my life. The bulk of my exercise is near or during work time. Get to work early and walk until I need to get to my desk, maybe as much as a mile or so. Take a quick half mile walk on my 15 minute break. Take a 1.5 mile walk at lunch. Another half mile walk on my 2nd break. Some days, squeeze in 1-2 miles after work before driving home, or maybe drive home, eat dinner, then do a little exercise.
Don't Should On Yourself:
- This one might not be as hackneyed as the first three, and you may not have heard it before. The basis for this is "Guilt is counterproductive".
- No "I should have walked at break". No "I should eat less". Take the energy I would spend on guilt and turn it into motivation to try to do better.
Walk Your Own Walk:
- Own your exercise.
- Do the exercise that is right for YOU.
- Don't change pace because of other people unless walking in a group. If group walking, try to pick a group whose pace is at least reasonably close to yours.
- Pick a time and place that works for you.
Since I don't enjoy it on its own, exercise doesn't motivate me without some kind of immediate goal.
Goals for exercise can be measured in a lot of different ways. The ultimate measurement might be being at the right weight, able to sprint for 2 minutes, being able to hike for 5 hours, or some other such lofty goal, but my reality is that I can't hold out for nebulous goals or goals that may take 2-5 years to reach, I need something that I can touch and feel today. Goals like "how many days in a row can I get in at least a half mile walk" and "how many walks can I fit in during a month" are more my current style.
But in addition, I have found a couple of programs for my Android phone that provide some goals. The first one is RunKeeper. It allows me to track run/walk/bike/wheelchair/whatever activity, uses GPS to track location and altitude, and reports via email to me when I set a new personal record speed, distance, time, calories burned, total cumulative altitude change during a walk etc.:
Congratulations!
This is a RunKeeper FitnessAlert to let you know that you achieved the following milestones with your most recent walking activity:
- Farthest distance
- Longest duration
- Most calories burned
- Fastest average speed
- Fastest average pace
- Biggest elevation climb
The second app isn't actually on my phone, but the web site http://notch.me. It is linked to my RunKeeper data, and creates amusing "InfoGraphics" (somewhat twisted humor). But it is a way to look at my data in a different way. The graphics can be posted to Facebook, direct links created, etc. Below are links to my 1st one, my current one, and my October Monthly Summary one:
http://notch.me/p/4NFlY2M5yg7PIclOassQc5 - Outwalked a Venus Fly Trap, eaten by a Python
http://notch.me/p/1UNah813D6L3kAyDKhmJZR - Outwalked a Python, eaten by an Ocelot
http://notch.me/p/2k6VMH4X29VaN8yDv3CRs1 - Monthly summary for October
Cold won't stop me, Grey skies don't stop me, and walking by parking lot lights doesn't stop me. Hopefully snow itself won't stop me. Rain, Hail, or Sleet take me indoors where I can't receive the GPS signal for the RunKeeper app and can't walk as fast. So, with all of this, I am trying to walk at least once for at least a half mile 6 days a week, and I am trying to walk as many of my 5 "near work" time slots a day as I can, aiming to do at least 2 miles a day. My best day I did 5 walks, totalling nearly 4 miles. My worst day I managed one walk for half a mile. Actually, I took two days off one weekend when I was sick. At some point I may dig out my pedometer so I can track how far I walk if it is inside.
And the encouragement I get from RunKeeper, Notch.me, My friends, and the Bathroom Scale keep me moving. Even when I have to wear ankle braces and take Ibuprofen.
Regards,
Oscar
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Well... 4.5 years later!!!
I finally figured out where my old blog was. Only one entry. Oh well.
Earlier this fall, I weighed in at 323.8 pounds, and that was after a bout with digestive issues, so I probably actually weighed over 325 at some point. My doctor thinks I should weigh around 150, my personal belief is closer to 175, but that makes my theoretical goal close to 150 pounds.
I also discovered that I am allergic to Corn as well as the Dairy I already knew about.
And a friend of mine who used to weigh 696 pounds went and lost 425 of them and went from unable to walk 100 feet without resting to walking a nearly 14 mile military-style obstacle race (in 13.5 hours):
http://www.youtube.com/user/spartancoaching?feature=results_main
http://www.facebook.com/ProjectChrisDavis
So, Chris inspired me, my even higher weight "milestone" inspired me, and my new allergy inspired me to change my eating habits. I seem to be reacting poorly to some other food, possibly potato, so that will be interesting to me as well.
Chris started his exercise program with with "progress, not perfection", "just do it", and perhaps "get 'er done" as core concepts.
I was one of the people my friend Chris talked to before he lost his first pound or started his exercise regimen. If he can lose over 60% of his weight, then I should be able to motivate myself to lose 40% of mine (and his doctor says that the skin flap left over from the weight loss probably weighs 40-50 pounds).
But I won't lose the weight or get in shape if I don't change my life.
On the good side, since 2008 I lost my job, retrained myself, and landed a job I love. I am a Mentor and Technical Instructor at New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in Livonia, Michigan.
Also, we managed to get out of the house we were in that trapped my lovely wife Diana in an existance where daily living impacted her health negatively and into an ADA compliant apartment.
Because of those things, my blood pressure (BP) is down, below textbook "normal". Not dangerously low, but because the meds have side effects I would like to reduce them. I haven't been taking BP readings as often as I need to to talk to the doctor about changing my meds, but I see that conversation happening in the next few months as my life continues to change.
Stay Tuned for new entries at least weekly.
Oscar
Earlier this fall, I weighed in at 323.8 pounds, and that was after a bout with digestive issues, so I probably actually weighed over 325 at some point. My doctor thinks I should weigh around 150, my personal belief is closer to 175, but that makes my theoretical goal close to 150 pounds.
I also discovered that I am allergic to Corn as well as the Dairy I already knew about.
And a friend of mine who used to weigh 696 pounds went and lost 425 of them and went from unable to walk 100 feet without resting to walking a nearly 14 mile military-style obstacle race (in 13.5 hours):
http://www.youtube.com/user/spartancoaching?feature=results_main
http://www.facebook.com/ProjectChrisDavis
So, Chris inspired me, my even higher weight "milestone" inspired me, and my new allergy inspired me to change my eating habits. I seem to be reacting poorly to some other food, possibly potato, so that will be interesting to me as well.
Chris started his exercise program with with "progress, not perfection", "just do it", and perhaps "get 'er done" as core concepts.
I was one of the people my friend Chris talked to before he lost his first pound or started his exercise regimen. If he can lose over 60% of his weight, then I should be able to motivate myself to lose 40% of mine (and his doctor says that the skin flap left over from the weight loss probably weighs 40-50 pounds).
But I won't lose the weight or get in shape if I don't change my life.
On the good side, since 2008 I lost my job, retrained myself, and landed a job I love. I am a Mentor and Technical Instructor at New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in Livonia, Michigan.
Also, we managed to get out of the house we were in that trapped my lovely wife Diana in an existance where daily living impacted her health negatively and into an ADA compliant apartment.
Because of those things, my blood pressure (BP) is down, below textbook "normal". Not dangerously low, but because the meds have side effects I would like to reduce them. I haven't been taking BP readings as often as I need to to talk to the doctor about changing my meds, but I see that conversation happening in the next few months as my life continues to change.
Stay Tuned for new entries at least weekly.
Oscar
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