Mmm.... IN-N-OUT!!
Between 14-hour workdays and… well, an inherent need for sleep, I’ve managed to let my quest for fitness fall by the wayside. At my peak (almost two years to the day), I was weighing in at about 142-145 pounds, 9% body fat, and could rock a 20-minute 5k at the drop of a hat.
Now? Well… not so much. Time to get serious! Hence, one last feel-good meal for awhile. 
This post started out as an attempt to merely post/share/brag/whatever my activity results on my own website. But, no matter how you slice it, RunKeeper.com makes it pretty much impossible to do so on anything other than Twitter, Facebook, or Foursquare. And if my friends on either of these services cared, they’d be out here running with me.
RunKeeper.com - mostly useful. Mostly.
After hand-editing out all the div-tags, etc. The closest I can get to “copy/paste” is shown below. Which is actually “copy, paste, swear, spend 10 minutes editing out HTML code, reformat, paste, swear, give up…”. It would have been easier to just write in the results manually. Don’t get me wrong- I’ve loved RunKeeper ever since @loic first tweeted about it, and it’s a great way to aggregate and analyze my fitness results. Over the years they keep adding features I don’t care about like alternate workouts (not just running), and pulling in data from other devices like the Withings scale and Fitbit. Although I never use them, it’s still pretty cool. For the most part, RunKeeper is a great service, except for that pesky export feature.
So, to the RunKeeper folks- I beg you- please give us an option to post results on something other than Facebook or Twitter. Because those people- well, *my* people- don’t care. A share option that reformats the data to plaintext would be super duper! Or even preformatted HTML, WordPress/BBphp markup, embed code, etc. Something. Anything.
Or, perhaps I’m just overlooking it. Anyway, thanks.
RunningDistance
4.52
mi
Duration
0:38:20
h : m : s
Avg. Pace
8:29
min/mi
Avg. Speed
7.08
mph
Burned
474
calories
Climb
119
ft
After two days of searching, I have acquired the Cuisinart CCJ-100 Citrus Juicer!
Easy to use, easy to clean, not $100.
I finally found this Citrus Juicer at Best Buy for $35.99. My friend says I paid to much for it since you can get one for $20 on Amazon.com. But that’s the price you pay for instant gratification “shopping local”. It’s UI is brain-dead- Slice your citrus in half, plug in the CCJ-100, press and hold. Easy, peasy, Japanesey! It even has a “no-pour mode” so the juice won’t run until you’re ready. If you’re the type who forgets mundane details like a collection device, you’ll appreciate this option.
Don’t believe me? Click the link for a video! (video)
Now a frequent runner of the Big Dish, I’ve started to notice a pattern: The later in the day, the younger the visitors. No, seriously.
When I get there at the B.C.O.D., the route is dominated by 60+ y/o walkers; Around 7-8am the 40-50 somethings come out, with or without strollers. Usually by 8-9 I am already finishing my run, and the folks coming up the hill are mostly 30-40s, and usually with a stroller or dragging small children along.
Am I generalizing? Of course I am. There are always the die-hards and others who thwart the dominant demographics, but they are in a different category altogether, which I might discuss someday.
But the point of this observation is that based on this pattern, am I long gone by the time the college girls show up. Which sucks because
a) I like college girls
b) I’ve got sh*t to do.
Go figure. I would liken this to the college lifestyle which usually involves getting to bed much later than your average 50 year old. Yet another conversation for another day. If you just happen to see me trudging along the Big Dish someday, say hello!
Last week I went in for a free health screening provided by my employer. Yeah I know- it doesn’t mean as much when you get one every 3 months…. but it was FREE! I don’t know why I like to go to these things when I already know what they’re going to say.
Is it that I like tripping out folks who are probably totally used to dealing with out of shape people all day, or is it the regular and (fairly) consistent feedback that I’m doing things right. Summary evaluation? “Keep doing what you’re doing.” (that’s a quote!)
Despite the parking debacle, following by technical errors, once the ball got rolling it was pretty much what I expected:
* There are not consistent recommendations for body fat percentage, as there are for the other health screening variables. The “Healthy Range” and “Interpretation of Results” displayed on this screen are based on recommendations from American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Other sources may have slightly different recommendations.
Next step- “Step Three: Create a new Wellness Plan”
I’m trying to get back to my once achieved state of “prime physical condition”. Or at least to where I was at the end of three months ago. Back then, I was going to the gym 4 days a week, 2-3 hours a session. While I’m the first person to talk smack about someone who spends that much time at the gym, I was actually in such a routine that I wouldn’t realize it until someone else brought it up.
On Mondays and Wednesdays I would go to the glutes and abs class for an hour, hit the weights for about 40 minutes, and run for 30…
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I would go to a 40-minute core class and then run for 30-60 minutes…
Once or twice a week I would wake up at 5am and run w/ my roommate for 40 minutes before for work…
Not to shabby for the guy who has all the time in the world! I would usually get home about 830-900pm and still have time for a shower, small meal, and socialize with my roommate or get caught up on the Internets. Then there’s the weekend, which meant my Saturday “long run” or losing a 5k or 10k every couple weeks, and a requisite “day of rest”.
Then a life-changing event happened… THE NEW JOB!! While I love my new job, I hate the hours. No, I’m not writing this on-the-clock. Technically I have 17 minutes of lunch left! (okay, now I *am* on-the clock!). These days I leave for work around 8am, and if I’m lucky, get off work around 8 or 9pm. 730 on a good day. My new gym is 2/3rds the size of my old gym and twice as crowded before 7pm and after 8pm. So unless I squeeze in the door at the right moment, I’m spending half my time waiting for a damn machine!
The last two weeks I have been able to hit the treadmill for 30 minutes followed by 20 minutes on the elliptical. On the weekend (and weeknights when I get off work early enough), I’ll run al fresco (no- not *that* al fresco!) for 3-4 miles. And no weights. My old trainer once said that if all I do is run and don’t lift weights, I’ll just be a skinny with bad knees. Skinny is better than… um, not skinny. I’m definetly going to have to breach the testosterone cloud and start getting some free weights in soon. Or buy my own weight set.
None of this comforts the fact that in as little as three weeks, work will get all crazy again and I won’t have any time for the gym anymore. Sadly, I predicted that long before I started my new job.
I know I won’t be making many friends with this post, but sometimes I just have to vent. This weekend I went back to SoCal for an event and to see some friends. Now that I live amongst the most image conscious people in the country, I had forgotten about the fact that most (> 64%) people in the United States are overweight, with a good portion of them being very to morbidly obese. Yeah, I said it.
Because who wants to be this guy?!! (photo courtesy: fotosearch.com)
I’m not passing judgment on anyone, and I understand the difference between overweight and obese. Some people are inherently/genetically more likely to become overweight, and for them its a constant battle to stay on the right side of the mark. Difficult, but doable. I’m just saying that, if a person chooses to be obese, they shouldn’t try to blame it on genetics or anyone other than themselves. Not only is it a cop out, it’s self-defeating and a self-fulfilling prophecy. Plus it makes you fatter through non-action.
Example #1:
I have a friend that one day decided that being 300+ pounds wasn’t in his best long term interest. Instead of whining about it or blaming society or genetics, he actually did something about it. He didn’t get a lap-band or liposuction or bounce through a series of fad diets like most people do. Yet, in one year he lost either 120 or 160 pounds. I don’t remember which. What was his secret? The truth… WILL AMAZE YOU!!! His transformation was the result of a rarely mentioned weight loss program called Eat Less, Workout More. Amazing isn’t it?!?! We have joked around about writing and selling the book, but it would be two pages long including the title page.
The reason I say obesity is a lifestyle choice is because, well, it is!
Example #2:
This weekend I saw a series of photos of a good friend that chronicled his life from birth to now- roughly 30 or so years. He was an average sized toddler; by junior high school, he was the chubby kid we all knew, and stayed that way throughout high school. Then he got a good job that pays well, which put a lot of really nice restaurants on the radar, and a lot of extra pounds on his belly. At some point, he made a choice- He lost 60 pounds on the Atkins diet and exercise. I’m not a fan of the Atkins Diet, but I’m totally a supporter running your ass around the block a few times. The fad and the exercise fell to the wayside eventually. Where is he now? Well, do I really need to say?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because my new job description includes “sit behind a desk 10 hours a day”, and since I started my new job, I haven’t been able to get to the gym or even run as much as I would like. With about a total of ten gym visits/runs in the last three months, 20 minute inhalated lunches, and late night dinners, its no surprise that I’ve gained ten pounds in three months!
However, unlike some people in this world, I’m not going to bitch about it on my blog, blame it on cafeteria food (damn you cafeteria food!), and not do anything about it. You see, ten pounds in three months is 40 pounds in a year! That’s like, four or five clothing sizes different, to which I say, HELLS NO! Un- em-effing- acceptable! Already the days are getting shorter and my new (smaller) gym is filling up, so I don’t know what all my options are. In my best condition (yeah- about three months ago) I was in excellent shape, could run for days, practiced diligent eating habits, and had less than 6% body fat as a result. I felt pretty good about myself and I look forward to getting back to this level, but this post isn’t about me.
This post is about the guy or girl you know (or even you)- who is at, near, or over the line into obesity status. Perhaps a little self ownership is due. After lamenting the pot belly I’d never had until recently, I have vowed to get back into the exercise thing and eating right at any cost. Even if it means getting home at 10 pm every night.
Once I figure out a program that will fit around my work schedule, I will post and update it here, where I am accountable for my words as well as actions. And maybe to inspire someone else, too. It could happen.
Related Links:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/healthmedical/a/hhsobesity.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/defining.html
*Note: It took over an hour to write this post on my tiny screened, mobile device. Not recommended.
Almost 37,000* pics of the Warrior Dash SoCal event on Brightroom.com, and the sole photo of me on the site, is one of the lamest shots of the entire set. Go figure.
I’m totally not paying $35 for an 8×10 of this?!?!
*36,973 to be exact. I counted.
Related Links:
WarriorDash.com
Brightroom.com
with my new, more complicated life, i’ve been tweaking my “morning routine” in an attempt to squeeze in a 20-30 minute workout in every morning. i think today i came up w the magic formula!
0546: alarm, hit snooze… twice
0604: actually get up*
0606: prep breakfast/lunch
0640: check/send email, etc.
0700: workout
0730: hit the showers
0800: get dressed & stage office gear
0825: exit house, drive to work
0855: enter office building
PERFECT! If I can keep it up that is!
*this also involves not drinking heavily the night before. 
Boy this new life of mine is just chocked full of surprises! This weekend not only did I not pitch a hissy fit of wearing something red, I also played my first soccer game in about 25 years (but who’s counting?).
No More Mr. Nice Guy.
The “Big Disk” is the annual sports-ish competition between Stanford and Berkeley Residential Computing Staff. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be restricted to just students, but Stanford was the only side putting Staffers onto the turf this year (they do call it “turf”, right?). I’m not a sports writer so I’m not even going to try and summarize the chain of events other than the following:
a) Stanford beat Cal 4-2 in two 30-minute halfs.
b) I didn’t kill anyone or myself.
c) My bones are still aching a day and a half later.
d) I mostly had fun.
I say mostly because I can’t play soccer for shit, and I’ve never liked sprinting *or* team sports (which is why I can’t play soccer for shit!). My purpose for going out there wasn’t to win anything or impress anyone, but to meet even more of my new 100+ staff and participate in some team building. In that regard, I think the day was a success. At least in the meeting people part.
One of my new colleagues busted out the “big glass” and rustled up some cool photos of the event. He has posted it on his Facebook page, available at the following link: Big Disk 2010 . Who knows what might happen next in this new adventure!! (please don’t say karaoke. please don’t say karaoke!)
By the way, did I mention that STANFORD BEAT CAL!! (yeah, apparently that’s some kind of big deal around here. I’m pretending I care. )
This photo makes me look like I know what I'm doing. - Big Disk 2010 - Cal vs Stanford
My People! (in the red):
Big Disk 2010 - Stanford ResComp vs Berkeley ResComp
Related Links:
