Blood sugar now acting strange.

Thrilled, last dose today.

Can’t watch TV without it.

You should get one too

Sadly, my sons can beat me.

They are five years old!

10 K in sixty minutes?

That sounds doable

Ready for a good workout.

Stay healthy this time!

Decided to start back small.

One haiku per day.

While I haven’t been posting, I have been working towards my goal. It’s been a long few months, but as of today, I am down to 204 lbs. I have been working out about 8-10 hrs a week, including jogging, swimming, and recently some core strengthening exercises.

You can see all my ups and downs of the past few months over at Goalmigo where I’ve been entering in my weight every day, and trying to get to my goal weight of 195. LINK to Goalmigo – By the way, this is a free service, and a great way, I think, to set and track goals for yourself.

More posts to come.

To summarize, I am trying to eat alot of protein and fiber, coupled with the right kind of healthy fats. When I do have carbs, I am trying to make sure that they are right kind of carbs; And never to have the carbs alone, but rather coupled with some other food to lower the ‘glycemic load’ of the meal (this is very important). I am also making sure that I have my meals at the right times. The old cliche’ “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper” is definitely analogous. Another main focus is to eat as many whole foods as possible. In other words, foods that are unprocessed, and as close to their natural state as possible. Definitely no refined flours and sugars. And under no circumstances will I eat any trans fats. I’ll see how this goes in combination with my regular workout regimen.

I didn’t get to see much of the cycling portion, since they pedaled all the way out to Lagrange, KY. But the swim/bike transition was cool to witness. These athletes are literally climbing out of the water and going straight into a jog to the changing tent. And just a couple minutes later, emerging to jog to their bike and head out on a 112 mile trek. I was also very impressed by some of the bikes that I saw. I’m sure those space age bikes improve performance, but it must have been a serious investment!

So, I was downtown for the winner to arrive at the finish line. If you are not familiar, after these racers have already completed the 2.4 mile swim, and the 112 mile bike ride, they embark on a full marathon – 26.2 miles! I saw several runners completing their first of two 13 mile laps. These would have been the pros, so they do this sort of thing for a living, but it is just mind-boggling that they still have so much energy left and are waving to the crowd and having a great time while they are out there. I wanted to be able to see some of the amateurs in that later stage of the race and see what condition they were in. So, when Chris McDonald came to the finish after 8 hours and 39 minutes, the crowd really had something to go crazy over. It’s great to be in an atmosphere of total excitement like that! Makes you want to go out and swim, bike, or run!

“The research, conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, appears in the August 21, 2007, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).  According to the study, the relationship of the waist measurement to the hip measurement (known as waist-to-hip ratio) was much more closely tied to early, hidden signs of heart disease than other common measures of obesity, such as body mass index (BMI) and height/weight charts. In other words, get rid of that potbelly!

Ideal waist-to-hip ratio :
For men, a ratio of .90 or less is considered to be safe.
For women, a ratio of .80 or less is considered to be safe.

For both men and women, a waist-to-hip ratio of 1.0 or higher is considered “at risk” or in the danger zone for undesirable health consequences such as heart disease.”

A lot of athletes feel that the BMI charts are unfair to them since muscle weighs more than fat, and their numbers would tend to imply that they were unhealthy. Of course, those same athletes knew better.

I measured my own WHR just to see where I stand. I knew going into it that I would probably high. I was right. My WHR is 1.05; So, I still have a few inches to lose of my waistline. Incidentally, my body fat percentage is down about 20.5% the last time I checked,  so I am feeling pretty good about that.

Okay, I’m off to lift some weights at the gym!