Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

[geo]

Day 46

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
orange
herbal tea
L: rice and mixed veggies with salsa
D: baked potato and sweet potato
banana

E: 65 mins walking
M: 10 mins contemplating my navel and I was asleep

Great day! 17th anniversary and its as good as it has ever been I think I'll leave it at that...

[geo]

Day 47

B: hot multi-grain cereal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: rice with mixed veggies and salsa
orange
D: baked potato and sweet potato
banana

E: Walked 60 mins
M: 10 mins of focusing on my breath

Great day. Got half-way through my walk when it started to rain. Nothing I could do but just finish it. It stopped raining about 3 mins before I got back home. Was soaked but felt really good too.

Was a bit depressed as I didn't have any of our anniversary cake. Its the first anniversary that I did not celebrate with my wife with food. But I know she understood and didn't ask me if I wanted any. My dau ate more than enough for me

Next year I think I will try my hand at baking one of the McDougall cakes I've seen recipes for. I'll make sure I get a store cake as well for backup

[geo]

Day 48 - week 7

Its been 7 weeks now and here are my numbers:

Weight: 231.4 down from: 235.2 started at: 261
BP: 119/66 down from: 128/77 started at: 153/92
Pulse: 64 up from:51 started at: 88
BMI: 31.4 started at: 35.4

I'm down 29.6 lbs in 7 weeks. Thats 4.2 lbs per week. I'm quite satisfied with that My BP has gone down again which is good. Diastolic took a bigger dive than I expected. Pulse is up a bit, I believe because of the walk I took yesterday that was a bit hard. I was walking in 50 mile an hour winds...

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups of herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mex veggies with corn and salsa
apple
herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange
S: handful of baby carrots

E: 53 mins of walking
M: 10 mins

Great day. Was extremely windy when I took my walk, but still managed to cut time off my usual route. My legs were tired and a bit sore as were my feet. But overall feeling good.

Was a bit hungry after dinner so I ate carrots as my snack and that filled me up. I think the walking is starting to build up my appetite so I need to pay attention that I don't over eat as I adjust to my new exercise levels.

I did order a pedometer so I can start gauging how much/far I'm walking. I want to start doing that 10,000 steps a day program as my functional exercise to stay active. Its slow and boring but gets me out into the fresh air with some sun and gives me plenty of time to just "think" on my own.

[carollynne]

wow, love your BP drops... and your walking is impressive too!
Keep at it!

[geo]

Thanks Carollynne! I used to walk more last year but stopped when it got cold. Now that its warming up I've started again. I enjoy the solitude it gives me for an hour

[geo]

Day 49

B: multi-grain hot cereal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: rice and mixed veggies with salsa (extra veggies today because I felt like it)
D: Baked potato and sweet potato
orange

E: 50+ mins walking (forgot to set timer)
M: 10 mins

Felt good today. Legs and feet were a bit sore but not bad. My walk felt really good, had lots of energy and felt like I was quicker today. At least I wasn't fighting high winds or rain today

The exercise has definitely ramped up my appetite so I've decided to keep breakfast in place for now. Not so much because I'm hungry in the morning but because I want to even out my food intake through out the day so I don't feel like I need to eat an overly large volume at lunch and dinner. We'll see how this goes...

This coming weekend my dau has another dance competition. Yet another Sat/Sun event spending most of the day sitting around. I think I'll take my walking shoes with me and take a little stroll during the break times. Also I'm going to make some roasted chick peas to take as a snack. That should keep the hunger away along with some fruit and raw veggies.

[geo]

Day 50

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with corn and salsa
Apple
herbal tea
D: Baked potato and sweet potato
orange

E: 50 mins walking
M: 10 mins

Felt good. Still a bit sore in my legs but feet feel fine. I notice that my back is a bit sore too (both upper and lower). I don't feel comfortable sitting for as long as I usually do and have to get up and walk around. I wonder if thats my body telling me to get up and move

My time keeps going down in my walking so that's good. I just got my new pedometer last night so tomorrow I'll test it out and see how many steps and distance my normal walking route is. Goal is to get at least 10,000 steps a day in. 10,000 steps is supposedly "active" lifestyle and 12,500 is "very active".

Besides my legs being a bit sore still and the increased appetite the other thing I've noticed is that I'm quite tired now in the evening. Feel physically exhausted, which I guess is a good thing as I'm exercising more. I suspect that will improve in the coming weeks as I get stronger. At least I sleep like a baby now and when I wake up I'm quite refreshed and mentally very alert.

I'm reading another book now on how to reduce musculo-skeletal pain - "3-Mins To A Pain Free Life". It involves doing just a few mins of various yoga/stretching/posing exercises that are suppose to keep you well stretched and body physically aligned. I don't usually give these kinds of books much credence (they are usually much hyped and full of bad science) but it seems to have good reviews and its written by a Dr/Physical Therapist and looks to be relatively scientific. I'll probably give it a shot in the next few days to do before and after my walking.

[geo]

Day 51

B: multi-grain hot cereal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups of herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with corn and salsa
Apple
herbal tea
D: 3 small baked potatoes and mixed veggies with salsa
Orange

E: 54 mins walking - my route is 5905 steps. Total steps for the day is 10290!
M: 10 mins

Well I used my new pedometer to measure how many steps I walk in a day and I'm amazed really. I measured at work, when I went to the grocery store and my exercise walk and it was over 10,000 steps I was really surprised at that. I'm not as sedentary as I originally thought. I was also suprised that my exercise walk route is almost 6000 steps itself and for the day I walked almost 5 miles. So 10,000 steps is not such a good goal afterall since I already meet it I think I'll change that goal to 10,000 steps of exercise walking instead, which means I need to expand my route

BTW, the pedometer I got is great!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00631 ... 01_s00_i00

Only $11.99 (free shipping). Its one of those fancy new tri-axial digital pedometers. It will work whether being held horizontally, vertically or even flat. It doesn't have a movement in it so there's no mechanical clicking noise like cheap pedometers.

And it appears to be very accurate. I measured several times after a 100 or 200 steps and it was 100% accurate 3 times and was about 3 steps low on a 200 step walk. That's to be expected as it takes up to 10 steps for it to set itself up initially to your walking pattern. I'll measure again my walking route tomorrow to see how accurate it is on longer walks.

It measures steps, mileage, kcals burned, time and keeps a 7 day memory of your steps. It automatically resets itself after midnight so you start with a fresh count each day. You have to set it up for your stride length and weight initially so it can make its calculations properly. You also set it up for your goal steps and once you reach it it will automatically beep at you for a few seconds.

Its very small and light weight. The buttons are easy to use even for fat fingers like mine and don't appear to be effected while in your pocket as they are somewhat recessed. There is no on/off button as the screen turns off automatically after a few mins of non-use and turns back on once it detects movement. So it saves batteries. It uses a cheap CR2032 button battery that's easy to replace. And it will indicate when the battery is getting low.

The only thing missing from it would be a back-light for when its dark, but I don't walk in the dark so its not an issue. Overall I'm very happy with it considering anything else available with the same features costs at least 3 times as much. Now I wonder how robust it will be...and no I do not know whether it will work well for jogging or running.

[geo]

For those that are interested in this whole 10,000 steps to fitness routine, here is the latest science study on it from 2011 for adults:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 8-8-79.pdf

Great information on the use "steps per day" in improving your health and its all free and not to difficult to read:D Here are the links for the same article based on older adults and another for children:

Older adults and special populations:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 8-8-80.pdf

Children:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 8-8-78.pdf

[geo]

Day 52

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups of herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with salsa
herbal tea
S: Apple
D: 3 small baked potatoes
orange

E: didn't get to take my walk due to working late and rain But did put in 3410 steps total today.
M: 10 mins

Felt good but thighs and calves sore most of the day. Back still bothering me too, especially if I sit for too long.Have to get up and walk around to make it feel better. Probably best I give my body a bit of a rest today.

Prepareing today for dau's dance competition tomorrow. Made some roasted chick peas with a little "fiesta" spices (chilli and lime) and salt. They really taste good, like nuts. Its about the only way I like beans I've been told that other beans roast well too. I may try some peas or kidney beans next time.

A guy at work today mentioned that he could tell I was really losing weight. Said I looked trimmer. It does seem as if people are giving me that little once over look as if something is different. Nice ego boost, but they haven't seen anything yet

[geo]

Day 53

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
L: Baked potato, chick peas, carrots
Apple
D: rice and mex veggies with salsa
grapes

E: 50 mins walking. 5808 steps during walk. Total today 9482, but I took the pedometer off in the early evening so its possible I hit 10000 before I went to bed.
M: 10 mins

Felt really good today. No pain in legs at all. Taking a day off from the walking really helped. I need to remember that rest is when the body recovers and builds muscle. you don't build muscle during exercise, thats when your tearing it down to force growth and increases in strength. Rest and proper nutrition is what allows for growth, exercise is the potentiator of that growth!

The 101 step difference in walking my route is a 1.7% difference from the other day. So that means my pedometer is quite accurate. Its claimed accuracy is 98-99%. So its exactly as claimed. Not bad for a cheap pedometer. I feel confident now I'm getting accurate readings from it. I just need to remember now to wear it all day so I don't miss any steps

My dau's dance competition went well yesterday. They took a second place in their age group I was surprised that they changed the routine slightly at the last minute but they pulled it off wonderfully. It was a group tap routine. Tomorrow she has a jazz and a jazz/pom routine. We'll probably be there about 8 hours, so I'll need to pack a lot more food..

[geo]

Day 54

B: multi-grain hot cereal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: Chick peas and baby carrots
banana
S: chick peas and carrots
D: baked potato - it was 10 PM before I ate dinner and I did not want to go to bed overly full. In fact I could have gone without really I was so tired.

E: no walking today due to being out all day. Total steps 3382
M: 10 mins

Felt great today but legs were sore again after yesterdays walk. Didn't walk today because we spent about 11 hours out at my dau's dance competition. Was exhausting of course.

I didn't have a lot to eat today but I was more than comfortable all day. The roasted chick peas were great and just a small amount kept me satisfied. I cooked up one 15 oz can of the chick peas and ate 3 servings this weekend and still have at least one serving left. They do tend to soften up a bit over time but still very good. I love raw baby carrots and ate a ton of them

The dance competition was a lot of fun. Lots of really good dancers so the competition was tight. My dau finished 3rd place in all 3 of her dances which is great. We sat through over 200 dance routines this weekend, very exhausting but I enjoyed it a lot.

[geo]

Day 55 - week 8

Its been 8 weeks now and here are my numbers:

Weight: 228.0 down from: 231.4 started at: 261
BP: 121/75 up from: 119/66 started at: 153/92
Pulse: 53 down from:64 started at: 88
BMI: 30.9 started at: 35.4

So after 8 weeks, I'm down another 3.4 lbs this week. Thats a total of 33 lbs or 4.125 lbs/week. Obviously its slowing down a bit but still making very steady progress. My latest near term goal is to no longer officially be obese. That means a bmi of <30. I'm targeting Mother's day next month to have that happen My BP is all over the map right now and pulse is too. I measured 3 times in 30 mins and each time it was completely different. So I'm not sure if I'm getting accurate readings at all. I'll try again later and see if it settles down... OK tried my BP again and it has settled down a bit. So the numbers posted above are my 4th and final reading. I think I just get anxious about taking it and it goes crazy.

B: 2 cups of herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mex veggies with corn and salsa
apple
herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
S: roasted Chick peas

E: 51 mins walking, 5873 steps, for a total of 7979 steps
M: 10 mins

Felt good this morning. No soreness in legs. Which I expected as I didn't walk yesterday. It was terribly windy and cold again so it wasn't an enjoyable walk. But I still made good time. My meditation is getting better now...at least I'm not falling asleep anymore while doing it I wonder if I should try taking my BP after I meditate and see what happens?

[geo]

Day 56

B: oatmeal and flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: rice and mixed veggies and salsa
banana
D: Baked potato and sweet potato
orange

E: 48 mins walking - 5989 steps. total steps for day - 8133
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Was walking in high winds and cold yet again today. Slipped on the side walk and sprained my ankle. I barely felt it (didnt even think anything happened) and easily completed my walk. But after an hour at home it started hurting and got worse through the night. It woke me up throbbing and I could barely walk to get some aspirin. So I don't think I'm going to be doing my walking for a few days. I'll need to figure out some other exercises I can do

I have had bad acne most of my life, but since starting this program it has cleared up greatly. Not completely gone but mostly. However I had a facial breakout (nose and chin areas) recently. The only thing that has changed in my diet is that I was eating roasted chick peas for the last three days. Otherwise my diet hasn't changed in the last 2 months. I wonder if its the protein in the chick peas thats causing it? Or maybe I'm just a little allergic too them? At any rate I will be avoiding them for the next few weeks till I clear up and then maybe try them again as a test (I do love them roasted).

[geo]

Day 57

B: multi-grain hot cereal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: rice and mixed veggies with salsa
Apple
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange

E: no exercise due to ankle sprain. Total of 1672 steps today.
M: 10 mins

Not a good day. My ankle is swollen and its hard to walk right now Aspirin helps a lot with the pain, but mostly just tried to stay off my right foot. Worked from home as well since I couldn't really walk much. The pain went down a good bit by night time but the swelling is still there. We'll see how tomorrow goes.