Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

[geo]

Day 160

Food
=================================
B: thick cut oats with flax and blueberries
L: baked potato and sweet potato
mixed veggies with marinara sauce
1/2 cantaloupe
D: baked potato and sweet potato
salad with broccoli and cauliflower and olives and tomatoes
fruit salad - cantaloupe/pineapple/honeydew melon
SAD sweets - a little fudge, brownie, cookie,and macaroon
S: oat bran and All-Bran buds with molasses

Exercise
=================================
Cycling: 1 x 40 and 1 x 80 mins on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily log
=================================
Good day today. Got up well rested and energetic. Did one regular round of cycling after breakfast and didn't have a chance to cycle again till after dinner in the evening so I did 2 back-to-back rounds then because I felt like it.

Worked from home again and stress levels were moderate. Mostly busy day on the phone and doing some reports.

After work took the family out to dinner. We went to Golden Corral which is a pretty simple inexpensive buffet place which is perfect for SAD volume eaters and surprisingly good for McD volume eaters as well. I could easily have plenty of fresh veggies there and baked potatoes and fresh fruits. Plain and simple like I enjoy. But since it was part of our Valentines day meal I decided to also enjoy the sweets they had there. Basically loaded with fat and sugar and milk, but not a problem to control. A little sampling of a bunch things and I was more than satisfied and it did make the meal and evening more enjoyable.

Then we went out shopping and walked off a bit of our meal After that I felt a bit bloated so hopped on the exercycle and worked out for 80 mins while we all watched American Idol on the dvr.

I was curious to see how eating the sweets would effect me and everything went fine, till I went to bed. Then my sinuses quickly clogged up and made breathing difficult as it used to before I started this woe. Its the effects of milk/milk products that causes my sinuses to react badly. So it made sleeping a bit difficult as I woke several times during the night not able to breath, but I still fell asleep quickly.

Its nice to know what the effects of eating SAD foods are and being able to pinpoint exactly where your problems are coming from.

[BarbD]

Oh gosh... sorry to hear about the reaction that dairy had on your sinuses...

After being on McD's for a while and we begin to feel good again, we forget what meat, dairy, & oil can do to our bodies... and our bodies let us know quickly and loudly!! in one way or another...

Company coming today... 5 more SAD'ers in the house...
My cupboards are well stocked with "my" food so I'll be able to stay on plan.....

[geo]

Day 161

Food
================================
B: nothing, wasn't hungry
L: baked potato and sweet potato
mex veggies with brussel sprouts and salsa
1/2 cantaloupe
S: a few valentines day candies and chocolates
D: baked potato and sweet potato
apple and orange
S: oatbran and ALL-Bran buds cereal with molasses

Exercise
================================
1 x 40 mins on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
================================
Good day today. Did only one round of cycling as I was feeling a bit tired today physically. Probably the after effects of the SAD deserts I had yesterday. I have started ordering and purchasing some new exercise equipment so I can prepare my little gym for my next one year journey. This is going to be fun!

I also ordered up another series of medical tests. This time some vascular and heart health testing to be done on Thursday, Feb 21. It will comprise a few basic tests such as an EKG and a series of vascular ultrasound tests to see how clogged my arteries may be. I did this way back in 2009 and the results showed that my right arterial blood flow was ~25% blocked. It also showed that I was suffering from Metabolic Syndrome, though I paid no atention to it at that time.

You would have thought that that would have been enough to scare the bejeezus out of me. Instead I was reassure by my doctor that that was a great result for a man my age (52 at the time) and given my size then (BMI 39.5). He even said I had nothing to worry about for the next 5-10 years and at that time they would probably start me on "routine" anti-cholesterol drugs and such.

Imagine having 25% blood flow impediment to your brain and being told that was excellent and perfectly fine! We have gone so far out of health these days that clear indications of problems are just thought of as "normal" and life threatening diseases and processes are just routine things to be expected and not concerned about.

<sigh> and I was stupid enough to listen and buy in to it. Dumbest thing I've ever done, especially since I knew better.

Always question authority, do your own research and if necessary conduct your own experiments. There's no proof if you can't do it yourself. And without results, your just fooling yourself. Take control of your health as no one else will do it for you...

Oh well enough of that screed. It just gets me mad when I think how stupid I've been over the last 30 years. But now I've caught myself and am turning everything around. And soon I'll have my proof that "normal" is far from what my doctors think it is.

My final report on this one year journey may be delayed a little as I want to get the results of my heart/vascular screening first. That could delay things by 2 weeks I'm told. But I'll get it posted as soon as I get it

[geo]

Day 162

Food
=================================
B: steel cut oats with flax and strawberries and cinnamon
L: baked potato and sweet potato
mixed veggies with corn and salsa
1/2 cantaloupe
S: Grape Nuts and All-Bran Buds cereal with almond milk
Last of the Valentines day candy
D: baked potato and sweet potato
oranges
S: oat bran and ALL-Bran Buds cereal with almond milk

Exercise
=================================
Cycling 1 x 40 mins on exercycle
HIT: 15 mins body weight exercises
HIIT: 20/10 x 8 on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Good day today. Slept well and got up with lots of energy. Did my HIT/HIIT exercises first thing in the morning. I continue to see progression in my HIIT. Started adding in small dumbbells to some of the exercises to up the intensity as well as adding a few more reps on just about everything.

For HIIT today I decided to cut back on the intervals so I could up the intensity a bit more. I noticed lately that instead of going all out on the intervals I was starting to pace myself as I increased the number of intervals I did. That was reducing the intensity of the exercise overall and I think makes it less productive.

Have to conciously be aware that in exercise, more is not necessarily better. If your doing more volume, then by definition your intensity must be lower. They are inversely proportional. And to stimulate growth of muscles, its all about intensity and proper rest, not volume.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and reading as well as searching out additional exercise equipment I will need for my little gym. Its amazing the garbage thats sold for "fitness", much like the "super" foods and suppliments sold in the nutrition world. Lots of claims with no basis in reality. Thankfully with my limited funds and a little bit of studying/learning, I can easily avoid it all.

I found my appetite a bit strong today. I ate the last little bit of Valentines day candy and 3 small chocolate truffles. In the afternoon cooked up some marinara sauce for the week. In the evening relaxed with more reading and watched a little tv with the wife until she took dau to her extra dance class.

Went to bed at my usual time and fell asleep quickly as usual.

[geo]

Day 163

Food
=================================
B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups herbal tea
L: mex veggies with marinara sauce
edamame
orange and apple
s: 3 chocolate truffles
D: baked potato and sweet potato
1/2 cantaloupe
S: oatbran and All-BRan buds cereal with almond milk and molasses

Exercise
=================================
Cycling: 1 x 40 mins on exercycle
SC: 4 x 17 floors

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Lots of energy and woke up well refreshed. Did my stair climbing without any issues today. Did all 4 climbs in the morning and didn't feel tired at all. Too busy in the afternoon to do any more unfortunately. After work did a round of cycling at a good clip, > 12 mph average and didn't feel tired afterwards.

Stress levels were moderate today which is good for being in the office all day. Was busy but fairly relaxed.

Ate a little of the leftover chocolate from Valentines Day when I got home. Was a bit hungry and so I indulged lightly. Otherwise I ate as I normally do. I've noticed that I seem to get hungrier at work at times and I chalk it up to being bored. When I'm not actively engage or keeping my mind occupied I want something in my mouth. Its like a reflex action. Have always had it and not sure it will ever go away. It is what it is and I'm well aware of it so its always at the back of my mind and relatively easy to control or at least understand.

Watched a little tv in the evening with my wife as dau was out in her dance classes. Did a little reading and web surfing as well. Finally went to bed at my usual time and fell asleep quickly.

[geo]

Day 164

Food
=================================
B: 5 grain hot cereal with flax and blueberries and cinnamon
L: baked potato and sweet potato
mixed veggies with corn and salsa
1/2 cantaloupe
S: few chocolate truffles - the last of the Valentines Day stash
D: baked potato and sweet potato
oranges
S: oat bran and wheat bran cereal with almond milk and molasses

Exercise
=================================
Cycling: 1 x 40 mins on exercycle
HIT: 20 mins body weight exercises
HIIT: 20/10 x 8 Tabata's on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Slept well and had lots of energy. Did my usual HIT routines in the morning that continue to show progression. After breakfast did my round of cycling at a nice pace 12-13 MPH, peaking at 14 MPH. In the evening did my HIIT routine which also went very well. March 1, I start my next year long journey focusing on fitness and McDougalling for optimum wellness. I'll be retiring this journal then and starting a new one...

Worked from home and stress levels were relatively low. Busy day with lots of phone calls but overall not bad.

After work did some food shopping and took dau to her dance classes. Her first competition is coming up in a couple weeks and shes starting to get excited about it as am I Did some reading and surfing in the evening and watched a little tv with the wife while relaxing.

Also ordered a heart rate monitor so I can start to better gauge my HIIT training efforts. It was a cheap unit ($26), http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O0 ... UTF8&psc=1 but seemed to get decent reviews so we'll see how good it is. Its a watch based system with a chest strap ECG that allows use to easily see your pulse rate and the watch has all sorts of timers and heart rate zone settings so you can easily keep your rates in your training zone for maximum efficiency. This will give me just the info I need to properly track my aerobic fitness training. And yes another gadget to wear and have to buy batteries for

[geo]

Day 165

Food
=================================
B: oatmeal and wheat bran with flax and cinnamon and strawberries
L: mex veggies with marinara sauce
edamame
banana and apple
D: baked potato and sweet potato
1/2 cantaloupe
S: oat bran and All-Bran buds with almond milk

Exercise
=================================
SC: 6 x 17 floors
Cycling: 1 x 40 mins on exercycle

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Lots of energy when I got up. Did 6 rounds of stair climbing at work today. Heven't done that much in a while and it felt great. If I had the time I could have done more easily. Also after work did a round of cycling that went well too.

Oh and got in a bunch of my new exercise equipment including 200+ pounds of weights plus additional equipment which I hand carried down to my basement over an additional 7 trips. I guess you could consider that another workout today

Stopped eating about 6:30PM today as I have a 7:30 AM appointment tomorrow to have some heart checks done. This is an additional test I wanted done to see if my arteries may have cleaned up some over the past year on this woe. Last time I had this done was in 2009 and at that time I had about 25% blockage in my right neck artery.

Over the years I'm sure it had gotten worse before I started this woe so I can't really say how bad it was a year ago, but we'll at least see how bad it is now and see if it maybe has improved in the past year. I think this is the ultimate test of a diet, can it actually clear your arteries?

DRs. Ornish and Essylsten have shown it can for their versions of a plant-based diet. Now I want to see if the McDougall diet will do the same. I plan to take this same test in another year just to see if things continue to improve.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and doing a bit of reading and surfing while the wife took dau to her gymanastic classes. Went to bed a bit early as I was feeling a little tired. Fell asleep quickly.

[zippy]

Looking forward to seeing your results on the artery test. I'm betting the results will show improvement.

[geo]

Hey Zippy!

I don't think I'll see improvement yet as I don't have a good, valid baseline. In 2009 when I took my original heart/vascular tests I was at a BMI 0f 39.5 (291 lbs) by Christmas of 2010 I was at 297 lbs. So I continued to gain weight and eat SAD. And even throughout 2011 I continued to eat SAD. So my thoughts are that my arteries just continued to get worse over this time frame.

It wasn't until Feb 2012 that I started the McD lifestyle. So even if there has been improvement (and I believe there has been as all my other markers show that there has been) my results may still look worse than back in 2009.

I'll never really know for sure how bad I got before I started this woe. And to be honest all I want to do is correct/reverse the issues as quickly as I can and not look back. I always remind myself that you can't expect to reverse 50+ years of SAD eating in only one year. Yet even so, the improvements I've made have surprised even my jaded expectations.

[geo]

Day 166

Food
=================================
B: oatbran and wheat bran with flax and blue berries
L: baked potato and sweet potato with mex veggies and salsa
1/2 cantaloupe
D: baked potato and sweet potato
banana
S: oatmeal with wheat bran and almond milk

Exercise
=================================
Cycling: 1 x 40 mins on exercycle
HIT: 20 mins body weight exercises
HIIT: 20/10 x 8 Tabata'a on exercycle
M: 10 mins

Daily Log
=================================
Great day today. Got up well rested and energetic. Did my HIT in the morning and it went very well. I continue to make progress in all of the exercises. Did my HIIT in the evening that also went well. It will be a big help when I get my heart rate monitor as I will better be able to judge how well I stay in the proper heart rate zone for progression. Right now its just guess work on my part. After lunch I did my endurance cycling and it was the best round I've had so far. Pretty much 12-13 MPH the entire time with peaks into the 14 MPH range.

First thing in the morning I went to have my heart and vascular screening. It was the same as I had done in 2009 just using newer machines. They basically take ultrasounds of your arteries to see how much blockage their may be in 5 different areas - left and right neck arteries, abdominal artery, and left and right leg artery near your ankles. After that they take an EKG of your heart to see how well its working. And finally they take your weight/height and BMI measuerment followed by an interview about your exercise, eating and lifestyle habits. I'll get the final results in about 2 weeks they say. Needless to say they were impressed with my weight-loss and new lifestyle habits

I worked from home today and things were much calmer finally and gave me a little break stress-wise. My birthday is tomorrow and I'm taking the day off to relax. However I won't be celebrating yet as I will be taking my end of journey blood work on Tuesday moning. So I don't want to have a feast day 3-4 days before I test. I'll have some cake and goodies after I test.

I plan to start my next year long journey into fitness on March 1. I also found a Doctor locally that will do total body composition testing via the latest DXA methodology. That will allow me to get a full picture of my leaness and body fat levels at the beginning of my next journey so I can guage my progress over the year. Needless to say I'm excited by this. I'm waiting for an appointment and to get the full costs by monday (i.e., it ain't cheap as its only on a cash basis, can't be covered by insurance).

Oh and I also discovered a vegan Doctor that believes in and follows a whole food, plant-based diet and he's only like 1 mile from my work office. He's a big fan of FOK and Dr Essylsten's, Campbell and Ornish's work and know's of Dr McDougall's work as well. I'm thinking of having him become my doctor though in reality I'm so healthy now I'm not sure I really need a doctor any more But I guess its always good to have one that's of the same mind set as yourself just in case of an emergency.

Needless to say everything I've been hoping for on this journey is finally coming to fruition and I feel as if I can do anything now...the future is looking much brighter lately

[zippy]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!
and many more!

[geo]

Note:

I weighed myself this morning, 22 Feb - 9AM and I'm at 155.0 lbs (BMI 21.0). Thats 0.8 lbs lost in 10 days. So I'm still losing slowly. This despite having eaten a bunch of Valentines day treats for 3-4 days last week. I think my exercise program is whats causing the renewed weight loss. Not something I intended to happen but I'm happy it does

I still have 4 days left in my 1 year journey so maybe I will drop a little more by Tuesday. Now I'm excited to see what my final blood work will look like next week This weekend I'll be working on my final report and my "story" for Dr McDougall and yes, some before/after pics as well...no rest for the weary

[jewagar]

That's so great that you discovered a vegan doctor! Looking forward to seeing your bloodwork and photos. You've done a great job!

And Happy Birthday! The gift of health is the greatest gift you could give yourself.

[scooterpie]

Happy BD Geo!

[geo]

Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes! Didn't do anything special to celebrate yet, that will come probably Tuesday and yes will probably involve cake and ice cream (of the McDougall variety of course!)