Starting a new Journal

[rmjournal]

Ok, so it's Friday again.
Down 1.5 for the week at 237.5.
Down 28.5 since starting to track.

It's easy to understand why so many struggle with weight loss, it seems excruciatingly slow. One of the reasons I started this journal was to take a more objective approach. Without the journal, I would have seen almost two weeks with barely any results, but by journaling I see that the same two weeks actually equaled 2.5 pounds. Certainly not rock star performance, but slow steady improvement.

This last weekend, I went kayaking again, no surprise there. The hydrilla in the lake continues to expand and was even noticeably worse than the week before. While I have a couple of Hobie outbacks, they don't perform well without the rudder and mirage drive. It's like a floating washing machine without the rudder and drive and with it's almost impossible to get through the thick weeds.

I've been looking on craigslist for a while for a paddle (not peddle) kayak. I found a 12 yo wilderness system Freedom (15ft.) and picked it up Wed. I'm looking forward to a maiden voyage tomorrow and see how it performs.

The night I picked it up (before I went to get it) the brake lights on my wife's Hyundai were on. Wouldn't go off no matter what we tried. So a quick jump on the net and I isolated the problem to the brake light switch under the dash by the brake peddle. There is a little plastic tab that goes in a hole on the brake peddle lever. Due to heat and age the plastic tab broke (crumbled) and the sensor would no longer shut off. Hyundai engineers must have been smoking crack to design it this way. If they didn't but a hole in the lever, they wouldn't need the plastic part to begin with.

So, I didn't actually know (at the time) that the plastic tab was a separate piece from the actual brake switch. So I took out the brake switch and headed down to the local autoparts store. I've actually been surprise at the parts store that I now go to at the experience level of the clerks, they actually seem to know something about auto repair and the parts the sell. So, I go up to the parts window and the clerk recognizes the part before I even say what it is. I'm impressed! So we talk a little and he confirms (which I already knew) that the switch was fine and that I just needed a new plastic tab to fit into the brake peddle to make contact with the switch.

Now comes the frustrations.
me: Ok, can I just buy the plastic tab.
clerk: No, we don't sell them.
me: If I get a new brake switch, is new tab included?
clerk: No, they don't include them.
me: Do you know where I can get one.
clerk: Not really, you might try Hyndai but they would probably have to special order it.
me: That's not really going to work, the battery will drain over night and there are effectively no brake lights on the car now, do you have any other suggestions.
clerk: Most everyone use electrical tape to secure a penny over the hole, that does the trick
me: Ok, I'll give that a try then.

So, I head back to the house. It's a 100+ degrees outside with no air in the garage and a drop light next to my head as I'm upside down in the floorboard of this Hyundai and trying to get both hands up under the dash to resecure the brake switch. Oh and did I mention that my wife was holding down the break with a broom handle to hold it out of the way because I really needed a third hand and there wasn't even enough room for two! Thank you Hyundai, thank you very much. I finally get the brake switch back on. You have to thread a nut on a bolt while balancing both pieces in one hand, there is no room for two, and I contemplate actually now the task of using tape to attach a penny the brake peddle.

I didn't really like that idea when I left the parts store and I still didn't care for it. So, I'm thinking all I really need to do is just plug that silly hole. My first thought was a flat head screw and a nut on the back side to hold it in place. That certainly would have worked, at least for a while. However the plunger on the switch would now be rubbing against metal and possible catch in the head of the screw and break off, then I would be back where I started. So, what could I use to plug that hole?

Hyundai didn't know it, but they actually supplied me with several plugs just perfect for the fix. The upholstery plugs (that hold down the carpet in the trunk) are just the perfect size to snugly fit into the hole and provide a semi soft smooth surface to activate the brake switch and the problem is solved.

I only to tell this story to remind myself that had I actually tried this a few months ago, I would have had a much more difficult time carrying and extra 28 pounds. Two days later my back/shoulder are still sore from the awkward upside down position and my finger has a couple of gashes thanks to sloppy design by Hyundai. But, I'm still ahead several hundred dollars by not having to rely on a repair shop to perform the task. A couple weeks ago, I had to replace an alternator on my pickup and that went fairly well, but I'm also thankful I could actually reach everything by being a bit smaller.

On another note, I'm trying to drop another bp med. Been off three days but the bp is going up again. If it continues I'll need to continue with this med again and try again in a couple of weeks.

That's it for now, looking forward to the weekend.

[rmjournal]

So this morning was the test run. Here is a pic, (it's not for sale, this was the pic in CL).


This kayak is 15 ft. long and 28 in. wide. My other kayak is 12 feet long and 36 in. wide. That extra (or now missing) 8 in. in width makes a tremendous effect on the "tipyness" factor. I have to say that using the thinner kayak requires you to be very alert about your activities to avoid an unexpected dunking. I'm sure I'll get used to it after a little more practice. All in all, I'm pleased with the CL purchase, it allows me to travel faster and through the hydrilla that was making the peddle drive unusable.

I made the round trip from dam to dam in about 4 hours, that covers about 11 miles. It's a constant level lake, so the current is minimal and today was very still so no cross breeze to keep cool. I'm spent. It's time for a shower and a nap, later all.

[rmjournal]

It's not Friday yet so the weight in's not official but I hit the 30 lbs lost mark. Actually did it on Saturday at 31 but it's been fluctuating so I'll do it official on Friday.

Last week my wife had to take the truck to the shop (auto repair seems to be a theme this month) for some AC work. The shop was as shop's will be, not very accurate about the time frame needed to accomplish the work. So they kept her "on the hook" in the waiting area. After several hours the shop let her know that they had ordered a part and that the courier would have it over shortly. I guess that shortly didn't mean the same to them as it does to the rest of the world, so a couple more hours passed with no part in sight.

By now, my wife was quite frustrated as well as hungry. The repair shop was next to a strip shopping center, so it was time for her to go find something to eat. She started this WOE the same time as I, so we have both been eating "clean" for several months now. Even before this WOE, we would avoid heavily fried food like the cheap chicken places, LJ silvers, etc...

Well, the closest place to the repair shop was a Church's Chicken. In the worst of times we would not go there because of how we felt after eating there. Now after eating clean, the thought was, OH, no you didn't!! Normally, I'm the one with a sensitive sense of smell, my wife insist that I can't smell this or that, but I assure you that I can. She just knew they had some cold slaw in there to tide her over until something actually edible could be obtained.

So she heads over across the parking lot, and the closer she gets the stronger the grease smell becomes. Before she makes it to the front door, the smell becomes so overwhelming that she thinks she's going to ....(use your imagination)... right in the parking lot.
A Wendy's was another block down the road, so she never made it in through the front door and took the extra time to go to Wendy's for a side salad and potato.

She was telling me this and we both had a good chuckle about it and we just shook our heads discussing how people can actually eat that stuff and not need ambulatory care within 30 minutes.

At work, I have the misfortune of sitting near the community microwave. A coworker in a nearby cube routinely brings Hot Pockets and other breakfast sandwiches. He's routinely heated this things for years in the microwave and I've never paid it much attention, till the other day. Whatever he heated, it seemed to have a breakfast sausage. I actually thought it had gone rancid the smell was so bad. However, he seemed to suffer no ill effects as the day went on. In a couple of days, I noticed that he again heated the same thing, and again, it seemed rancid.

Now I've got another reason to dislike work. Microwaved grease is really quite putrid. Several years ago, we put a "NO Fish" sign on the microwave when someone kept repeatedly burning fish in the oven. Stunk up the whole place. I wonder if I could get away with a "No Hotpocket" sign. Probably not, I'm the only one that can smell how bad it really is.

[chickpeas]

well done on the weight loss so far!

[rmjournal]

Lynn: my wife is not posting, in fact as far as I know she's not even reading the forums. I guess all the food-0-mentries we've watched lately is about her limit.

---------------------------

AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH - The scale denies on official Friday weigh in. It's been bouncing around a bit all week but the official week will be 236.5 down 1 for the week or 29.5 since starting. I saw as low as 235 on Saturday, stayed on plan, lots of exercise, sometimes it makes no sense.

The cravings for a "cheat" meal have become increasingly strong this week. Next weekend, we will have family down and it may be time for a feast meal. Not a gluttonous one, but something to satisfy the cravings. About 6 weeks in (and that was several months ago) we did the same and have been "on-plan" ever since. It worked well to provide a sense of balance.

This week, I got noticed. One completely out of the blue with a comment like "I can tell your losing weight." and the other was in relationship to my comment about passing on a dessert left for our area. The conversation turned around to how is the diet going....

My jeans are considerably baggy now. I've never really carried much weight in my legs or buttocks and since they have to carry around my belly they have stayed relatively toned through the years. I was never really a fan of Fox's King of the Hill (or any animated comedy) but I happened to see one episode where the Dad (don't remember his character's name) was contemplating ordering but prosthetics because of his flat butt syndrome. I couldn't help but laughing because the episode hit way to close to home. The say that crack kill and that so does obesity, tie the two together and it's not a pretty picture.

So, as much as I hate to spend money on clothes at this time, it may be time to scout out some slimmer cut of jeans. Walking (during the lunch break) has become increasingly hot and uncomfortable.

We had clouds last night that brought the temps to the mid 90's. I had been thinking for some time that I need to start walking in the evenings as well. So, last night I kicked of the new evening walking program. It included probably about 10 minutes of jogging as well and covered about 2 miles. That will put me at 5 miles a day 5 days a week and weekends for kayaking. I've never really closely timed my kayaking speed. I will set a start time and end time this weekend so that I have a benchmark time to shoot against in the future. Saturday is my exercise day, and Sunday if I make it back to the lake is a leisure rest day on the water.

[rmjournal]

Yeah, it's Friday going into a long weekend (I hope). It's FY end at work so there is a possiblity of being on call while they load the '14 budgets....tyring to hide for the next three days.

Weight has been bouncing around all week as high as 239 and as low as 235. This morning it was 235.5 which give me a -1 for the week and -30.5 since starting.

I burned out quickly on the increased exercise schedule, it was too much. I've also sucummed to the lure of DDP. I'm still at a much lower volume than previous, but thats proving to be the hardest "fake food" for me to give up. Truly addicted.

It will be a weekend of house guests, so SAD eating will be a temptation this weekend. It's been fairly easy to stay on plan without the temptations, but not sure how I'll fare with the "smells" all around.

I'm not really much of a fisherman, but I got a fishing liscence this week. I actually hope to not catch fish, it's something to do to just be on the water and not get ticketed by the game wardens. Strictly a catch and release if anything is caught.

It's been busy at work preparing for FY 14 budgets, so I havn't been on the forums much, reading or posting. Hope to catch up next week. Later all...

[WendyLady]

You, sir, are talking about Hank Hill.



Hank used to voice the shuttle train system at IAH, the one that said, "please stand clear of the doors" and whatnot. I don't know if he still does.

I'm from Texas, though I rarely ever get to live there, and your posts about the river in Austin getting junked up make me sad. What a shame. I had no idea until I was home this summer and heard so much talk about how fast Austin has grown, too fast, and planning hasn't been able to keep up. Austin has always been my favorite part of Texas.

How amazing that your activity is kayaking, though! Wow! I would love to kayak around that area. Will have to put this on my to-do-someday list.

Best of luck rm -

W

[rmjournal]

WendyLady: Thanks, I couldn't remember at the time, but yes it was Hank.

This was a tough week at work, high stress with the '14 budgets coming in and a new production HR rollout all in the same month. I missed a couple days of walking and even though I kept with plan choices, the volume was much to great to truly be on plan. The results were a gain of .5 for the week putting me squarely at -30 (236) since starting to track.

Got through the weekend with the inlaws pretty well. Was able to stay on plan except for one eat out meal. We traveled about 50 miles to meet some other inlaws and the group choice for dinner was Whataburger.....ugghhh. Anyway, there was a Schlotskies (what happened to the spell checker) next door and they had a vegi-sandwich. The bun obviously had some oil and there was some kind of cheese sauce for dressing. Not perfect, but so much better than a burger and fries. We don't eat out much, even before starting this WOE. I do belive that was the first fast food I've had in six months. I gotta admit, it was quite tasty.

With the group down, I didn't do the marathon run up and down the lake in the kayak, but did get a chance to go for a leisurely ride both Saturday and Monday with the father-in-law. He's in his mid 70's so the pace wasn't to brisk. It was nice to have some "down" time.

My SIL moved back home with them recently, I swear I don't understand today's attitudes when parents in their 70's have to support children in there 50's. What's even more confusing to me is that the SIL lets the MIL provide the cooking and meal selection.

So, we get a call this week, half in jest, half in frustration from the SIL, saying that the MIL is only preparing pototoes for dinner, and PLAIN at that....hahaha...

We watched the starch solution while they were down....hmmmm.....go figure.

[rmjournal]

Yesterday's Walk:

Yesterday turned out to be a busy day and I didn't get a chance to post something that I experienced on my daily walk. I work in the Texas Capitol complex and walk the capitol grounds daily. In one section is the Texas Peace Officer's Memorial which I pass daily.



At night, it's a beautiful place as indicated by the picture. During the day it's a touching place:


And yet, yesterday as I was walking up to the Memorial, on the anniversary of the Twin Tower attacks, there seemed to be an adult game of hop-scotch going on at the base of the sculpture where the participants where loudly counting the diamonds present. It was absurd, obnoxious, and completly disrespectful to the memorial. Were these young teenagers? No. Some minority or political group with an axe to grind. No. This was a group of seemingly well to do retirees on some sort of vacation. I didn't actually care who they really were, but that's what there appearance indicated.

I could hear them from a long way away, long before I could actually see them. I was curious as to the commotion so when I came around a nearby building (the one in the background), I was just appalled. My walk route took me right past them.

As I passed, I said loud enough that they could hear, "Nice, dancing on the memorial." with as much satire as I could muster. One of the ladies, the loudest and the one leading the charade responded with "Oh, we shouldn't be here?". I never lost stride but responded back, "It is a memorial, I guess it just depends on your value system."

Not another word was spoken, but by the time I reached the end of the side walk and looked back, they removed themselves and had gone elsewhere. I'm sure they meant no real harm, but it's amazing to me how thoughtless people can really be sometimes.

While the names on this particular wall aren't the first responders in the twin tower attacks, they were the first responders for many difficult situations over the last two hundred years.

While I don't know any of the names personally, I just want to take a minute and offer my thanks for the service they provide and the freedoms we have even if some are so insensitive as to dance on there memory.

[rmjournal]

Friday the 13TH! I've had no email all day at work and limited internet access. Not a good day for the tech team....

I've been repairing the backyard fence after work the last couple of days. The first day was to take apart the sections around the broke/warped post. It was sweltering with high heat and humidity. I'm amazed at just how stubborn 15 year old treated timbers can be when trying to extract nails without damaging fence pickets can be. I needed to get it done that night (Wed) because I had some guys coming out to extract the old posts and concrete and set the new posts ( I also had to squeeze in a trip to Home Depot for the supplies), since I didn't plan on doing the extraction myself.

Time was rushed and I think I was at the point of seriously overdoing it. I did finish what I needed to, but I was feeling quite ill and dizzy. Even after resting and getting rehydrated, I wasn't feeling to well. Exercise has a tendency to drop my BP pretty drastically so I checked it. Sure enough I was 90/60 which for me is too low to feel comfortable.

I've already dropped two BP meds, but still have two I'm still taking. Without either of the last two, I'm way to high for comfort. I see the Dr. in two weeks, It's time to talk about lower doses on the remaining two. They have no idea I've dropped the previous two. Had too, or I would have been laying flat on the sidewalk somewhere from passing out.

Anyway, the next day (Thur), got a call from the wife, the contractor had just finished with the post concrete extraction and had the new posts set. They even reattached one portion of the fence that I had planned to do, and filled one of the post holes with dirt from a remote area in the backyard (I didn't replace that post, because I'm creating a 6' gate where a 4' one used to exist. Thank you craigslist for helping me find the contractors that saved my back (and hernia from surgery) and getting this taken care of.

I had hoped to get further along on the rebuild last night, but I got sidetracked by a trip to pick up a prescription (steroids) for the wife. Seems like a case of Dyshidrotic Eczema came flaring back on her feet. I'm open to any "food selections" that would assist with this, so far I'm finding nothing. I did manage to get the neighbors blocked off on both sides, but I have the gate rebuild to look forward too tonight.

The increased activity led to decreased appetite and the scales were kind to me this morning. This weeks weigh in comes in at 233.5 down 2.5 from last Friday and down 32.5 since starting to track.

During the Home Depot trip, I need to pick two bags of ready mix concrete. They where 80 # each. I've carried them before in my younger days, but they seem much heavier now. Eighty pounds is way more that it used to be... The realization that my total goal exceeds 80 pounds is astounding. No wonder I felt like I did for so long.

I probably won't be doing the kayak run this weekend. Austin Canoe and Kayak is having their semi-annual demo days this weekend. I plan to visit and start experimenting with a sit-inside kayak. I need a dryer ride for winter time. While the splash is fine in summer I'm too old to be in wet shorts/pants in the winter. Next weekend is a family outing which will include 3 days of camping/kayaking/bicycling at the lake in Waco. Unfortunately I'll also be tortured with the smells of slow cooked BBQ and all the trimmings. Beer is on plan, RIGHT?

To finish the fence, I'm considering buying a table saw. I've wanted one for a while and this is a good excuse, and that's what it really is, an excuse. I mentioned it to the wife last night, the conversation went something like:

me: I need to get a table saw to finish the fence.
wife: What's wrong with the other saw you have.
me: It's a miter saw, a table saw is different.
wife: Different how?
me: The miter saw is used to cut angles, or cut corners straight, the table saw is used to "rip" the fence posts down to size.

note: her father was a carpenter for many years, so the term RIP was not unknown to her

wife: Oh, ok. Where you going to put it when you get it.
me: In the shed I'm going to build after the fence project.
wife: Why you going to build a shed?
me: To hold all the tools I need to buy to build it.
wife:

Note that this conversation took place after she took the scripts and pain killers. I'll have complete deniability in a couple of days.

[rmjournal]

No change in weight this week. I seem to be in a holding pattern. I see the doc next week, so I'll get my first set of 3 month blood work. The last set only included 6 weeks of this woe.

It's raining today , and we really need it. Traffic was a nightmare, but it's worth the aggravation to get the precious water. Lakes around here are at historic lows and many lake business have had to shut their doors. It's suppose to end by tomorrow .

I finished the fence/gate installation. I couldn't pull the trigger on the table saw though. I found a rip guide at HD for $10 for my circular saw. I really want the table saw, but I don't really need it, or have space for it.

I posted the old fence material on CL and it was picked up within a couple days, also had an old TV that was also given away through CL. Since getting the kayaks, our canoe had been sitting idle. Sold it through CL in two days. It was a CL week.

Cleaned up the junk room and set up the weight bench. I don't really like lifting, but I need something to help break through the plateau. Probably start next week on a tue - thur lift schedule.

Next weekend is the camping trip. Looking forward to three days of kayaking/fishing/camp fires etc....

[rmjournal]

LynnCS:Thanks for the advice, I know it's true, it just gets lost sometime in the day to day.

It's not Friday yet, but I'm making today the offical weigh in day since I'll be away from PC's for the next few days. I'm going to call it down 2 for the week. An offical new low of 231.5 or -34.5 lbs since starting.

I had my first 3-month check-up (with full time this woe) yesterday. Since my last visit I was down about 20 lbs, they just started a new computer system and didn't have the previous weight.

Offically, I dropped three meds from my perscription list. Two for BP and the statin for cholesteral/trig. I actually did this two months ago, and the Dr. agreed it was ok. I still have two BP meds left, but we cut the dose of one of them in half. My wife grabbed the blood work sheet to stuff in her purse to take for the weekend (has to brag to the family and try to convence them to switch) so I don't have the exact numbers, but they all went in the right direction or remained relativly unchanged. But in summary

6 months ago , now

a1c 14, 6.7 almost in the normal range, so close
creatin 2.4, 1.4 they were talking about needing dialysis in the future, now nearly normal
TC 245, 125 The last test it was TC 85 (verified), I guess they had to check it twice to verify it.
LDL uncalculable, 22
HDL uncalculabe, 24 Yes my HDL came back higher than my LDL, they both triggered flags on the bloodwork as too low
Trig: 1500+, 345 I still have work to do here

bp in the office 135/84 totally new low for the office. I am seeing 90/60 on my kayaking days, so I'm skipping the meds on those days to keep from crashing.

I'm still not sure what to do with those ldl/hdl numbers, can it go to low? This was the first test that I got back real numbers, the one three months ago showed a -.08 ldl. I'm gonna assume it's all good, the Dr. seems not to worry, was all smiles about it.



Bridge over LadyBird Lake in Downtown Austin

[rmjournal]

228 down 3.5 for the week or 38 since starting. I did see a 226 Thur morning but that was due to fasting wed for thur colonoscopy so I'm not counting it. The cs went well, it was the 5 year checkup and all clear, so I'm good for another 5 years before needing to check again.

Last weekends campout was really wet. We called it off one day early because of all the rain and it was expected to continue thru Sunday. I got to experience some new weather conditions on the kayaks, the lake had extreme chop and had I been kayaking with my wife she would have been nervous. As it was I was kayaking with some teenager who thought the chop was great. I'm normally a pretty "dry" kayaker, but this wasn't the case this weekend, It was quite fun knowing you were going to get soaked and just going for it.

On the oher hand, all the rain did stir up the bugs, mosquitos, scorpions, and all sorts of other critters that I had no desire to share a tent with, so Saturday night we packed up and spent the last evening indoors with a clean shower and AC.

We had actually thought that Sunday was going to be a feast meal going off plan. As it turned out, the feasting didn't happen because of the weather, and it was more of a McDougall style for all Sunday morning.


A couple weeks ago, I took the camera on the trip on Lady Bird Lake, that where the prior train photo came from. I also took a picture of the construction for the new "water dump" where the city plans to dump city run-off into the lake. It's below. All the contruction is truly making the lake "sick." I'll show one of those pictures next week. Anyway, the runoff is suppose to help keep the lowlying inner city areas from flooding. This doesn't seem to be real big threat to me. Every decade or so, a couple of low lying low rent comercial areas do get flooded. Cleanup every 10 years or so couldn't cost more than a couple hundred thousands dollars at the most. This new plant must be costing millions. I don't have any numbers, but our city government doesn't do anything for cheap. It will also cost millions each year to maintain. It's sole function is to dump rain water from the city into the lake. In reality it will be dumping street oil, trash, human feces from the homeless, and all sorts of other contaminants that really shouldn't be there. If this is what progress looks like, I could do without it:

[rmjournal]

The downtown Four Seasons overlooks Lady Bird Lake and I'm assuming in prior decades their patrons enjoyed actually going down to the lake to feed the ducks, watch the fish, or throw treats to the abundant turtles that inhabit the lake. They have built a glorious stone stairway down to the lake in fine Four Seasons fashion, but it seems that in recent years, they have abandonded the idea of a "quality" water experience for their guest.


Four Seasons in the background

I don't really expect it to improve, at least not anytime soon. As the yellow buoy's indicate, the new water dump is only a few feet from the FS dock. As promised last week, here is a pic of how sick the lake is becoming. This is the dock right in front of the Four Seasons:



you can see the stairs in the background.

And here is a close up of the dock:




In contrast, just a small ways away from the area, the lake has the ability to cleanse itself and looks like:



Just goes to show, that if you feed the lake the wrong diet, you get poor results, feed it correctly and the results drastically improve.

I'm glad it's not Friday, I've been consuming too many nuts, nut products, and tortillas. My other choices are good, but I have to start working on the volume. Actually up serveral pounds this morning, maybe it will come back down by Friday.

[rmjournal]

This weeks been tough. Even though I've stayed on the right foods, quantity was probably not okay. Back up to 231.5 or +3.5 for the week. I've been feeling unsatisfied with what's available on the plan and the urge to cave has been rough. Last weekend and this weekend is ACL (Austin City Limits) a major music fest where bands from all over come to get exposure, network, and play to large audiences. Along with the bands come the food vendors.

During last weekends kayaking trip, I was just on the backside of the fest. It was early in the morning, so all I could hear were a few bands warming up and doing mic checks. However, the food vendors were also warming up. And I gotta say, it smelled pretty good. I do think thats what started the cravings and frustration with potatoes this week. The fest continues through this weekend. Rain has a high probability on the radar, so it's likely that it's going to be a beer drinking, weed smoking, mud fest for the multitude of teenagers and early 20's that mostly attend to see the 200+ bands appearing thoughout the weekend. The financial impact for Austin is huge and the fest grows every year. This is the first year that it covers two weekends.

I on the other hand, will be attending a wedding for someone I've never met, but they are family, so it's obligitory that I attend.


The new Lady Bird Lake Riverwalk, from underneath.