ksylvan's Journal

Today was a god day, in terms of exercise.

Started off with the ten minute abs challenge (doing crunches, situps, bicycles, etc. for the full ten minutes) which killed my abdominals completely. :-)

Then, I took a long (about an hour) bike ride, going to the library and back.

Later, I ran with my yorkshire terrier and my son to Church, dropping him off for a boy scouts event.

Much later, I walked with my beagle to the Church, to walk my son home.

Fun, fun, fun.

I think I am actually starting to shift away from the sedentary lifestyle I used to live, simply by taking every opportunity to not get in the car and drive.

I hope you are all having great weekends!

---Kayvan


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Okay, after my whining of a couple of days ago, I actually upped my calories from a target of 1600 to 1800 and I added a couple of Tabata Interval training sessions using the Elliptical (4 minutes each), as well as increasing my water intake.

Today, I weighed in at 146.2!!! I don't know if it will last, but I am definitely out of the 148 zone.

Have a great Friday, everyone!

---Kayvan


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I'm getting sick of seeing 148 on the scale. Here is the last two weeks of weights:

Date | KCalo  | Weight
--------------------------------
1/18  | 1441  | 150.2
1/19  | 1604  | 149
1/20  | 1675  | 148.8
1/21  | 1659  | 148.4
1/22  | 1606  | 147.6
1/23  | 1471  | 148.2
1/24  | 1430  | 148.8
1/25  | 1615  | 148
1/26  | 1429  | 147.8
1/27  | 1890  | 148.2
1/28  | 1560  | 148.8
1/29  | 1818  | 148
1/30  | 1676  | 148.4
1/31  |  ????  | 148.4

Any advice for how to shake things up? I'm walking a lot every day, doing 3-5 sessions on the Elliptical (about 60 minutes each) and working with weights on week days (5 days a week).

I'll also post this as a question in the forums.

---Kayvan


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I think my Wednesday-Thursday-Friday last week just stretched out into Saturday and Sunday and Monday (today), swallowing up all avilable time in a mindless, necessary and yet somehow soul-deadening storm of sound and fury signifying just a little bit of something...

Well, at least all the laundry is done and folded and put away. :-) (Hi Keri!)

Work deadlines are heating up. My school work is heating up. Domestic and parenting duties need constant attention.

Then there are the needed relationship maintenance things that also need nonstop energy and attention; the kinds of things that are only noticed when they are absent.

I know I am starting to feel a bit depleted when the sweet things that I do for my wife start to feel like just another part of the checklist... Oil change for the car: Check! Talk to son about his Boy Scout badges: Check! Write a little romantic note to remind wife I love her: Check!

On the one hand, I need to pump up the intensity to reach the physical goals I talked about in my last post (getting to the next level of athletic fitness) and at the same time, I need to center myself and reach inside... go to the still calm center that is the Real Me... and live in that place of stillness. The eye of the storm.

There is a Zen trick I know which I probably could utilize more. When I notice myself becoming frazzled, ask myself the question: "Who is doing the noticing?" and after a few seconds, "Who noticed the one who notices?" and so on. In a very few minutes, attention can be dislodged from all worries and a space created from which I can contemplate the wonder of the creation that is my life.

If any of this made sense to any of you, please tell me. ;-)

Best regards,
---Kayvan


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This morning, I weighed in at 147.8. I'm very happy with that.

I've managed to drop a bunch of weight so far and I feel good. I'm building muscle and exercising regularly.

I am in the last ten pounds of my weight loss.

So, I think it's time for me to think about my next goals:

1) I want to reduce my body fat percentage to 15%.
2) I want a visible 6-pack.

These two goals will take months to accomplish, but I know they are doable. I may need to up the intenisty of my cardio workouts and definitely work on a more intense sledgehammer routine.

Any advice is appreciated.

Best regards,
---Kayvan




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I was back down to 148.0 this morning. Yippeee!!!

So I'll continue to drink plenty of water and keep doing everything else (walking and shovelglove and the elliptical for exercise, while eating light but nutritious foods throughout the day).

I signed up for the February exercise challenge, since the January challenge motivated me to keep moving to the tune of over 2000 minutes of exercise logged. Nice.

I hope everyone is having a good week.



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Two days ago: 147.6, yesterday: 148.2, today: 148.8.

Okay. The above trend cries out to be examined.

Time to take stock of what I am doing and eating.

The only thing I can think of is that a few times during the day I've been eating a couple of handfuls of nuts and dried fruit mixes (peanuts, walnuts, banana chips, raisins, dried kiwi, etc.) from our snack room at work. I have also been drinking a lot of Diet 7-up and Fresca instead of just plain bottled water.

I've been exercising plenty and I am eating okay... except yesterday, when I managed to eat about 6 slices of that low-cal strawberry-cloud pie... but that was only about 600 calories... :-) Even if it was not the most nutritious food, I was still eating at my calorie target.

Anyways. I'm going to stay away from the salty trail mix and just drink plenty of water today. My breakfast this morning was three packets of instant oatmeal (~400 calories).

This is most definitely related to water weight and I'm hoping that my course correction will show positive results tomorrow morning.

Happy Wednesday to my friends!!!



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Yesterday, after work, I was feeling like baking things. Yeah, I know, even guys feel like baking sometimes. :-) Maybe I was procrastinating from other things I have to do, but it was a pleasant way to pass the time.

I took HG's Strawberry Cloud Pie (Thanks Jules!) and slightly modified it because I could not get the pie crust to turn out right with just 4 tsp of butter --- does anyone have any recommendations about that? --- and I made it and put it in the fridge.

This morning, before work, I had a couple of slices (<100 calories each) and it was delicious!

I'm keeping on with the exercising and the good eating. It's almost becoming second nature, which is exactly what I need and want.

Best regards,

---Kayvan




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Ouch. Ouch. My fingers hurt as I type this note.

This morning at 6:30 AM, I had my regular Chiropractic appointment, and I got the idea that "Hey, I'm already awake. Why not bike there?" Sounds like a good idea, no?

Well, it was 36 degrees outside so I put on a ski hood under my helmet and I wore my reflective windbreaker (it was still dark outside) and I checked my bike over and tried my hadlight and tail light and I started to ride. The problem is that I couldn't find my good thermally insulated gloves...

So, I'm pedaling, feeling good... My face is warm... I am comfortable... Except... My fingers are turning blue and my hands are starting to hurt and getting numb and my thumb nails feel like there is a spike of ice being driven right through them. By now, I have gone more than half way so it makes no sense to turn around, so I kept on going forward.

I arrived at the Chiropractor's office and used their bathroom to run hot water over my frozen hands. :-)

After my adjustment, I took my time getting on my bike to head back home. When I was finally on my way, my hands started to freeze again and they hurt even worse than the first time. :-(

By the time I got back home, I was having trouble moving my fingers. My hands were pink and completely numb. I got back inside and started heating up my hands again.

About twenty minutes later, my fingers are still hurting, but I'm fine. :-) At least I got my bike ride in this morning before work. :-) :-)

I hope your Mondays started in a less painful manner and that you all have a great week!

---Kayvan


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I'm going on a few hour "Day of Reflection" type of retreat at my local church for a few hours this morning. My daughter and I are walking there (the church is only one mile from our house).

I am caught up on all the laundry and vaccuuming since I got up early this morning, fed my wife breakfast in bed, and went into my house cleaning frenzy. :-) :-) Of course, as Keri says, you are never caught up on laundry.

My weight this morning was 148.8. I am firmly in the last ten pounds now.

Onward and downward!

I hope you are all having a great weekend!!!


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