Back in the Doghouse?

Spending time with Dad and Kathy in Mt. Airy was great this weekend, going up to the mountains usually triggers a reflective period for me, where I remember times spent with the family. This was especially true after this recent visit due to the writing of this blog.

In the past I have written about Tammy’s “magic toaster” which was a means to tease Tammy about her cooking “prowess” and to hopefully entertain the reader. Here are the two blog posts associated with that subject, it would be best to read these in order, Tammy's Magic Toaster and Shitake Mushrooms Hit the Fan?

Going up to the NC/VA mountains and to places like Maybry Mill reminds me of my relatives who lived up “in them there hills”. Going to the mountains also reawakens my love for “Mountain Music”, as well as Country Music. We were able to see and hear some musicians while we were at Maybry Mill.

While I was reminiscing, I was reminded of a frying pan that I inherited from my grandmother Virginia when she passed away. This was NO ordinary frying pan …it is a real, heavy-duty, cast iron frying pan. She used to fry eggs, bacon, sausage, country ham….and real, made-from-scratch, mouth watering cornbread…. (Sigh) I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss her delicious carb rich meals. I would also be doing my grandmother a disservice if I did not mention her home made, made-from-scratch biscuits….the best I’ve EVER eaten. PERIOD!

The cast iron skillet does not get as much use as it once did but I still use it from time to time. This morning I cooked breakfast with it. For Tammy I fried bacon and eggs with Toast. For me I had fried bacon and eggs but also added some collard greens and a tomato.... a fine meal indeed (no toast, juice or jam).

Tammy really doesn’t use the cast iron heavy duty frying pan for cooking. I’ve asked her if she wanted to use it…

….but Tammy said “no, I’ve tried it a few times but the toaster cooks toast , waffles and such a lot quicker and easier than the frying pan.” (snort, snicker LOL!)

…occasionally she will pick it up and threaten me with it though….

Since I’m sure these comments will land me back into the “doghouse”….enjoy one of my favorite songs from Hank Williams Sr., “I’m a Long Gone Daddy”. My favorite line from the song, “I’ve been in the doghouse for so dog gone long, when I get a kiss I think something’s wrong”. :)




P90X Status

Completed Back and Biceps Today – this is my last week of heavy pushing and pulling…and this week is half over…. The end is now in sight.

In the beginning I was PSYCHED and excited about getting into the P90X workouts. Then after the first couple of weeks the “newness” wore off more and more. Then I started seeing results…the increase in strength and in stamina…that certainly helped raise the energy levels for the workouts.

There are days where I just don’t feel like doing the workouts but I grit my teeth (not literally ) and perform the workouts. I don’t just “perform the workouts”, I push play everyday and “bring it”. That means I bring the intensity or as Tony says…”I do my best and forget the rest”.

So far (knock on wood) I have not missed a workout and the only “blemish” was one day that, due to my lower back pain, I did not feel comfortable completing all of the exercises.


Later,

Steve

Mountain Trip II (The Tempting of Steve)

I just had to do a follow up post on my trip to Mt. Airy, NC. The post yesterday was basically an itinerary, it did not fully tell the story. Here's the link to my previous post, http://ow.ly/jFbN.

Tammy (my wife) has been supportive of my efforts to lose weight, get fit and to fight diabetes…Here's a link to the post I discuss this, http://ow.ly/jFdv.

…but she still buys “sugar drinks” and “empty carb snacks” for herself and her “babies”. I was joking around that she was "testing me", she really isn't. She's just buying what she and the boys want to eat and drink. It doesn't bother me as far as my meal plan is concerned, I do wish they would learn to eat more healthy foods...they are slowly moving in the right direction.

But ....If you think I am tested at home, it was nothing compared to the way I was tested this weekend in Mt. Airy, NC.

Recap:

First test, Dad cooked some healthy items like grilled pork tenderloin, fresh tomato and green beans, but then he also cooked fried potatoes, fried apples and homemade strawberry short cake with whipped cream of course....

I only ate the grilled pork, tomato and green beans so all was well.

Next we headed to Virginia and along the way he turned a Candy Store into a tourist stop at Meadows of Dan, VA.

I do the family's grocery shopping so every week I walk through grocery stores at least once a week. Weekly, I walk past beer (I STILL LOVE BEER!), candy bars, Twinkies, potato chips etc etc nothing phases me.

Well…when you walk into this store…

...the smell of chocolate overwhelms you. To be as accurate as possible, calling it the “smell of chocolate” does not do the sensation justice. I think they were pumping chocolate dust into the air!! Much like JR’s Humidor Room is for Cigars, Nancy’s Candy Co. is for chocolate. ….in a word, it's AWESOME!

They have everything imaginable pecan nut rolls, fudge, chocolate covered peanuts, pretzels etc etc. They even sold dishes and bowls made of chocolate. I did not buy nor eat free samples of anything in the store. ...yes, they offer free samples...

When everyone got back into the car, Brad didn't want all of his SUGAR FREE Pecan Cluster, so I did eat about half of his leftover cluster.

As if that were not enough, dad stopped in Cana, VA at one of those tourist trap "general store" type places, it had many items for sale ...some that I wanted but not at their prices. I walked outside and there was dad, he had purchased an ice cream cone and ate it in front of me….

Bottom line: the only thing I had to eat that wasn’t primal or “clean” …I ate half of my son’s sugar free pecan cluster.

I wonder…if I’d been a reforming alcoholic…do you think Dad would have taken me to every beer joint and liquor store in Mt. Airy???? LOL!

P90X Update - For the record…today was day 78…12 days left and counting.

Exercise

I haven't mentioned this in a while, so I wanted to restate this.

At minimum you should exercise 30-45 minutes a day, four times a week.

…at minimum….

The quote below was copied from the AHA website, it took me 10 minutes to find this. The quote was actually 4 pages deep….I got so aggravated. You would think this would be on the front page in bold letters, you know…because they want people to get fit!

“Don't overdo it. Do low to moderate level activities, especially at first. You can slowly increase the duration and intensity of your activities as you become more fit. Over time, work up to exercising on most days of the week for 30-60 minutes.”

Take care all and "peace out",

Steve

Trip to Mt. Airy, NC & Goal Update (End of Wk 11)

The family unit had a nice relaxing trip to Mt. Airy yesterday to visit my dad, Larry and his wife, Kathy.

When we arrived Dad was cooking pork tenderloin on the grill...the pork as well as the entire meal was "most Xcellent".

We also had homegrown green beans, tomatoes, fried apples and fried potato wedges. The desert was homemade strawberries and homemade short cake.

For the record, I did NOT have the apples, potatoes or dessert...but they looked delicious. :) This picture shows my dad grilling some "pig". Dad grills better than anyone I know....always spiced just right.

After the "eats" we took an hour trip to Maybry Mill in Virginia. If you have never been, it is definitely worth the drive especially if you are headed to Mt. Airy, NC area.

The mill gives a snapshot of mountain life in the early 1900's. Mr. Maybry, the creator, used a

creek to power the mill which he used for a wood lathe and to grind grains.

There are several "stations" where folks were demonstrating cloth making, milling, blacksmithing etc but my favorite treat was a stage where local musicians play "mountain music".

You can learn more by viewing this link, there is also restaurant and souvenir shop on site.

Blue Ridge Parkway, Mabry Mill, VBR http://ow.ly/jysF

Here is a picture of me, my wife and my son. Just in case you can't tell who is who...I am the one in the middle. I wanted to tell you in case you know...because I've lost so much weight, you couldn't ...ok, I'll shut up now. :)

In this picture is my son, my dad and his wife, Kathy. Dad is the one on the right, hamming it

up, you know, in case you couldn't tell who was who....

Goal Updates

1) Wearing 32” jeans…Done!

2) BMI = Normal, Weight = 166 lbs…..Done!

Yes...I reached new low....

3) 30 Push Ups….DONE!

Completed 38 Push Ups, up from 35 last week.

4) “Beating sons in basketball”…Done!

5) Sub 7 Minute Mile - No Update....I returned home too late last night. To be honest...if I thought I was getting closer...I'd probably run a test at 3:00 am if I thought I could "brag" about it. :)

Steve

P90X - Week 11 is….History!

Two Weeks To Go!

Can you believe it!!! For those of you who knew me as the obese, sedentary garbage disposal....raise your hand if you thought back in February that in August I would be two weeks away from completing a challenging fitness program. I did not see any hands....raise them higher....huh...no one. Oh yee of little faith. :)

Updates? I am going to Mt. Airy, NC tomorrow so it may be Monday before I’ll be able to do a full goal update. I did do 38 push ups today…a new all time high. For the record, I’ve been able to do 2-3 additional push ups each week. That is the only expected change but we'll see about the mile run.

Shout Out to Someone Who is “Getting it Done”.

Alisha Haas told me last week that she has started exercising and eating “clean”. When we spoke she was down 19 lbs but today she updated me that she was down 21 lbs!!

… CONGRATULATIONS ALISHA!

In a related matter, Perry Kyle stated that he found the 21 lbs that Alisha lost. :) JUST KIDDING! Love ya Perry!

Some Administrative Stuff

1) Feel free to email me with any questions or comments you may have. You can also use the comment button at the end of each email.

2) There is a “subscribe” box on the upper right hand side of the webpage, if you subscribe, you’ll receive an email version each time I post.

Healthy Low Carb - Recipe…it’s Awesome!

It is a crab cake recipe but I didn’t have crab meat so I tried the Bumble Bee canned Mackerel…it really is good. The mackerel is only $1.82 per 15 oz can…so it is economical too. I did add a clove of minced garlic and some black pepper, other than that I went by the recipe.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/breadless-crab-cake/

Balancing Act

When I first started on this quest, (oh no, when Steve talks like this …it’s soapbox time…), I was obese, recently

diagnosed with Diabetes, had high blood pressure and high cholesterol…. other than that my health was great! LOL!

Other than those minor details...I was a “picture of health”. I know this to be the case because I looked up “health” in the dictionary…IT

HAD MY PICTURE IN THERE beside the word “health”!!!! Can you believe it!?

I was more than a little surprised by this; I read the caption below the picture, it said, “we do not know what “health” looks like….but we do know what it doesn’t look like, so here is Steve Cooksey's picture!”

….now that was a slap in the face, let me tell you!

…getting back to why I am writing this post….when I first started I had a single, simple yet difficult task….LOSE WEIGHT and the faster the better!

Why? Everything I read said that if you lose weight it will help with insulin resistance, blood pressure and cholesterol. So I lost weight, from 212 to 185 lbs fairly quickly. At that point, I noticed that despite the fact that I was lifting weights I wasn’t getting noticeably stronger. I knew that the more muscle I could add would help in two ways, add strength and burn fat.

Problem is, I don’t want to be 150 lb “fit” guy….no one wants their wife to out weight them…oooops, did I say that out loud!! :) Just kidding, Tammy doesn’t quite way 150 lbs…yet.

So I have been performing a balancing act, walking a tight rope for really the entire stretch of my P90X workout. If my goal was to only add muscle, I’d eat more and not worry so much about my weight.

If my goal was to lose weight, I’d stick to the nutrition plan and go through the motion and I’d easily be 5-10 lbs lighter right now. But…I want it all…a lean yet stronger body. Thus far I can say that I have been somewhat successful, I’ve lost some weight but continue to add strength every week.

MY NEXT P90X SESSION = P90X II

BTW, after this P90X workout, it ends in 2 ½ weeks, I am taking a couple of weeks off and starting another session on 9/07/09.

If you or someone you know would be interested in working out a day or two a week with me, please let me know.

Have a great weekend and be safe…remember, I can’t afford to lose any readers due to unnatural or natural causes… :)

Steve

Back in the Saddle Again….I’m Back

Wednesday morning my leg and back injuries were feeling pretty good but I continued stretching periodically during the day. Last night I felt real good….so much so I ran some sprints…not "all out" 100% SPRINTS, I definitely did NOT run Tabata Sprints. I took it relatively easy but it sure did feel good running hard again.

I was not sure how this “plan of action” would play out. After I cooled down last night from my sprints, I still felt good. This morning, woke up and felt fantastic! No lower back nor leg pains. Performed my Yoga X routine which as you can guess…has a lot of stretching etc and I felt like a million bucks afterward.

Steve is once again stoked and “back in the saddle again”, enjoy this song from Aerosmith.

I had forgotten how great this song is...it used to be a song I'd play over and over and over....

I was going to add a picture of a rough and tough cowboy riding his horse….but when I googled the term and saw this…I had to post it....

Daily Activities

As I get closer to the end, I am really trying to watch what I eat. Not necessarily to make sure that I do not eat too much…but more so to make sure I eat enough. Therefore I am attempting to track my meal plan more closely and will try to report them daily.


Grub

Snack – pecans and blueberries

Breakfast - 3 eggs, collard greens

Early Lunch - meal replacement shake & whey protein

Late Lunch - meal replacement shake & whey protein

Dinner - 4 oz fish, chicken breast and stir fry veggies

Snack - Pecans and blueberries

Workout of the Day: Yoga X

Heart Rate Monitor – my new toy.

I purchased a new toy the other day, a heart rate monitor. I bought it to compare workouts and to see how they stacked up with each other as far as the cardio was concerned. I also wore the unit while I ran sprints last night. As I become more and more comfortable with the use of the device I’ll give more details.

Heart rate is used to determine several things including estimated calories burned during a given period of time.

** This blogging software does not handle formatted text very well. It handles Excel data even worse. I am having to "force the format", not my preferred method. Hopefully you can make sense of the info. Basically I am reporting my maximum heart rate for each routine, dividing it by 172 to arrive at the Heart Rate percentage.

------------------------Max HR------HR
Activity----------------Exercise-------%

Sprinting----------------153---------88%

Plyometrics--------------147---------85%

Arms and Shoulders------123--------75%

Notes:

1) The sprints were not “all out” 100% effort, if I had to guess I would say 90%. I was pretty close as the estimate equaled 88%.

2) Plyometrics is a P90X workout with a lot of cardio including squats and lunges.

3) Arm and Shoulders is mainly a “pulling” workout, with curls and flys the predominant activity.

4) My Maximum Heart Rate is estimated by subtracting my age from 220 which equals 172, this is a common formula for the estimate but there are other formulae.

5) Final Note: Plyometrics and Shoulder & Arms readings were taken, on days that I was still experiencing some health issues. It will be interesting to see how the data changes now that I am 100%.

Questions, comments or suggestions….let me know.


Steve

Like a “Kitten in a Traveling Cage??!”

Would you believe that I have been described as a “caged lion”??

(can’t go with that?….hmmmm)

How about, Steve has been described as a “rabid dog in a veterinarian overnight cage?”

(can’t deal with that either?…let me see…)

Alright…what about, Steve is like a “baby kitten in one of those travel cage things”….

(Good we can agree on something!…)

Recently I have been described as a “baby kitten, trapped in one of those portable travel cages….”

WHY? You ask.

Because I have not been able to perform my workouts with the zeal nor the zest that I normally perform them. I also have chosen not to jog, sprint or walk Max in the evening. (Max has been PO'd about that...let me tell you!)

Why? you ask.

Because….for over a week now I have been nursing injuries. I went 9 plus weeks without an injury (unless you count a broken finger, LOL!). For about a week I was dealing with a back ailment that has for now disappeared. I completed my workouts for the most part, except for some of the Ab exercises.

In case you missed the post, I injured my back while playing basketball with my son. It had nothing to do with P90X workouts…wait, that isn’t entirely true. Had it not been for P90X…I likely would not have been playing.

My back situation was starting to make me nervous, one day my back would feel better…the next day it would be worse. I was beginning to wonder if it would heal in time to finish P90X. I was really dreading going through the remaining weeks with a nagging back ache that wouldn’t go away. These back problems can be severe and in the past, I’ve actually been incapacitated with them for a day or two.

No doubt about it…I should have rested my back…that would have been the wise thing to do. However, I did perform my exercises using the correct form and I really felt that I wasn’t “pushing the envelope” too much. Regardless, this past Monday morning rolled around and I was feeling 99% healed…I performed my P90X workout, “CHEST AND BACK” and even completed the Ab Ripper X module in its entirety…so I was FINALLY back on track.

I had worked so hard earlier, I was felling a little sleepy and laid down for a short nap. When I woke up, 30 minutes later…I felt as though someone had taken a 2x4 and had beaten me with it. LOL! I even asked Brad (my son) what he had done to me. To be honest…I didn’t really like his nervous response…but for now he’s off the hook. :)

I woke up with a bad pain in my …”left buttock”. I must have twisted my leg while I slept because ever since that nap Monday it has been painful to move the leg AT ALL. It was a sharp pain from inside my leg to hip joint and at times my whole leg seemed to throb.

Originally I thought it was a hip problem but yesterday I determined it was a muscular issue. Since yesterday I’ve been stretching using some of the movements from the Yoga X routine and this morning…it feels much better.

SO for now its….onward and upward!

Steve

Obesity Subsidies - End them now

Government Needs to End the “Obesity Subsidy”

As a blogger, it is always gratifying to have your opinions validated by a 3^rd party.

In this San Francisco Chronicle article, http://ow.ly/iZg3 it makes the case against governmental subsidies for obesity and I agree. I said as much in this post. http://ow.ly/iZff

According to the article, each taxpayer spends $175 per year to subsidize obesity.

Here’s an excerpt from the Chronicle:

<< We need to tell Congress that we want our tax dollars spent on providing children with healthy meals and teaching healthy eating habits, not treating their obesity-related health conditions down the road. >>

This article did not include farm subsidies to the corn and soybean growers that artificially keep prices low. Cheap corn costs create incentives that make corn syrup more economically attractive as a food additive. More corn syrup equals more sugar to feed the sugar addictions which leads to obesity.

What did you eat today?

Breakfast – 2.5 eggs w/ cheese and collard greens. I mix these all together…(yum, yum)

(Max received the other .5 eggs w/cheese and collards too.)

Snack – meal replacement shake with whey protein

Lunch – Salad with Grilled

Chicken, mushrooms, carrots, squash, cukes, onions and lettuce.

Snack – Small Apple, hand full of pecans and hand full of blueberries

Dinner – (2) Low carb Turkey Burger w/Collard Greens, cheese, onion and tomato. (no

buns, no condiments)

Snack – None…those two burgers filled me up.

Max Does it Again….
Max doesn’t do this every time we leave him alone…but he does it too often. I left him alone and I forgot to put a rubber band around the cabinet doors. So Max opened the door, drug out the trash can, turned it over and…..partied down!

I feel like I need to call the Dog Whisperer, Caesar Milan about this. :)

Cheers,

Steve

Some Like it HOT!

GOAL UPDATE (10 weeks down, 3 to go)

Today is Sunday, a rest day …day 70 of 90

1. BMI = Normal : ACCOMPLISHED! (wt 168)
2. 32” jeans : ACCOMPLISHED!, I can wear 29’s.
3. 30 Push Ups : ACCOMPLISHED! ** completed 35 today with Tammy as my witness.
   
   Up from 32 last week!!!!
4. Beat sons in Basketball : ACCOMPLISHED!
   
   
5. 7 Minute Mile – Last week I ran an 8:19 mile, my back is still bothering me, did not attempt to run a mile today. It has now been a week since I’ve done the Tabata sprints.
   
   
   

Some Like it HOT! …some do not.

Facts:

1) Tammy (my wife) does not like spicy hot foods.

2) Tammy is well aware that I cook spicy hot foods including chili on a regular basis.

3) She knows that we are growing Chili plants.

Situation:

Given the facts above…if you were Tammy, would you walk into the kitchen in the middle of meal preparation and pop one of these into your mouth????

I wouldn't either....and do you know what?

Tammy won't do it again! :)

These are Hababero Peppers...they rank between 100,000 to 300,000 on the Scoville Scale.

Just for a frame of reference Jalepenos top out @ 8,000 Scoville units and Cayennes @ 50,000... SO THESE ARE HOT PEPPERS!

The peppers stayed in her mouth for only a second, still Tammy whined and her eyes teared up...she started drinking water...like a rookie. She should know that drinking will not do the trick. In this case, you should eat bread or other food that will "soak" up the plant oils.

Thirty minutes later she was still complaining about the pain. LOL! ... I mean, bless her heart.

FYI - I put the tip of a pepper to my tongue...it was pretty extreme.

Max the Magnificent

Max provides me with amusement and entertainment on a daily basis. This is a picture of Max on our bed. If you knew the ins, outs and what-have-yous, this picture would tell you that Tammy is NOT in the house.

If Tammy is in the house...he will not jump up on our bed under ANY circumstances.

When the cat's away...the mice will play.

I guess he figures...what she doesn't know...won't hurt HIM! :)

Take Care,

Steve

Free Radicals? Why would we free radicals?

Have you heard about the “Free Radicals”? They truly are radical and they are “reactive”. Not a good combination. I have heard about them for years and decided to read up on them and report the findings here.

I will provide a summary up front and if you want more detail you can read through the post, if not you can skip down to the next subject.


Free Radicals – what are they? How do they affect me?

First, what they are not….Free Radicals are not a left wing political group. They are chemicals that can have a negative impact on cell structure. Very interesting….did you know that “Free Radicals” are destroying our cells?

It's the radicals, man

Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons and can be formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Once formed these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction, like dominoes. Their chief danger comes from the damage they can do when they react with important cellular components such as DNA, or the cell membrane. Cells may function poorly or die if this occurs. To prevent free radical damage the body has a defense system of antioxidants.

This info was pasted from this Rice University website.

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/antiox.html

Studies show that by eating fruits and vegetables, damage caused by free radicals can be repaired.

FOR THIS AND SO MANY OTHER REASONS…IT IS IMPORTANT TO EAT

….a minimum of (5) Servings of Fruits and Vegetables.

Thought Provoking Ideas - Saturated Fats...

The ideas included in these articles are not new but they do go against the grain of conventional wisdom in the medical community. I must admit that I am interested in the theory but I have not committed 100% to the idea. I just can't get over the long held view that saturated fats are bad for you.

Regardless...these are two excellent, thought provoking reads.

(these posts are talking about natural dietary saturated fats).

READ these posts and tell me what you think…I’d really like to know.

Nutrition and health in agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. http://ow.ly/iedo

Is Saturated Fat Healthy? | Mark's Daily Apple http://ow.ly/ievP

Tabata Sprints Update – I ran one set on Monday but due to my back “injury” I have not run any more this week.

TTFN,

Steve

Two Pronged Attack!

P90X Status:

Nothing exciting this week. Just "pushing play" everyday and "bringing it" each day. I did beat my sons in basketball but the big news that I didn't mention...the night we played, I "tweaked" my back. At the time, there was no serious pain but I've experienced these "tweaks" before. By the time I got home I was "stiffening up" so immediately I did my Plyometrics workout.

There are some who would say that I erred by doing that...they would probably be right. Wednesday morning my back was in "not so good" shape. I've had much worse and it did get better during the day. I was able to finish my "back and bicep" workout for the day.

I WAS VERY CAREFUL TO PERFORM ALL THE EXERCISES PROPERLY, USING "GOOD FORM".

However, I could not complete all of my Ab exercises, some of these just put too much strain on the small of my back, which is where the pain was located.

....so for THE First time, I failed to complete a P90X routine. I had made it this far .... what worried me more...I wasn't sure if my back was getting better or worse. Luckily, today the back is much better and I was able to complete the entire Yoga X routine. The Yoga really helped my back, it actually felt much better after the workout.

Getting Fit - Two Prong Approach.

Someone was asking me how to get started “getting fit”. Of course I mentioned my story of curling water bottles and doing squats in the hospital room. But then I remembered some other tips or things I did to initiate the fitness journey.

a) Managing your Consumption or Meal Plan (I hate to use the word diet).

I follow the Low Glycemic approach to eating, which basically means that I try to limit my eating to those foods that have a Low GI or Low GL. I won’t go into all that here but there are many resources online. http://www.glycemicindex.com/.

b) Caloric Expenditure: To lose weight, you have to expend more energy than you consume.

To maximize your expenditures or the calories you burn each day, it helps to find ways to increase your metabolism through out the day. You can use these tips in the morning:

1) As soon as you wake up, jog in place and stretch for 30 secs. Next do some push ups. If regular push ups are too difficult (as they were for me initially) lean over a dresser or sink etc and do them at an angle. I liked to do 2-3 sets of 20-30, to get the blood flowing.

2) Knee raises – marching in place, raising the knees as high as possible for as long as possible.

3) At this point, I had worked up a sweat so I would then jump in the shower. While I was washing and shampooing, I would do squats for as long as I could and then finish up with more knee raises.

I would then begin to turn off the hot water until at the end I was only using the cold water…this never fails to wake you up and get the heart moving. :)

Doing these would only take a few minutes and if you were like me, this will be enough to get your heart rate up and get you off to a good start in the morning.

HIIT vs Slow Cardio

A friend who is experienced and knowledgeable on all matters fitness and nutrition sent me an article today. It restates the case I was making earlier in regards to Interval Training vs Slow Cardio.

The article backs up what I was saying in a previous post, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) like Tabata Sprints burns more fat and improves your cardiovascular health more than hours of jogging.

Fit with HIIT: http://ow.ly/iEpv

What is another form of H.I.I.T. …let me think…oh yeah…P90X!

This is kind of funny…in a sad way.

Kids Fool Obesity Researchers, Put Pedometers on Dogs - Health Blog – WSJ.

Falsifying data…yet another reason to distrust studies.

http://ow.ly/ifXx

C U L8r,

Steve

The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

More WEIGHT LOSS ..... (yawn).......down to 167 lbs...(yawn).

Why am I no longer concerned about weight loss?

While I do continue to lose weight, I am also still getting stronger.

I lifted more weight with bicep curls today than I've done in my life ...combined! JUST KIDDING ABOUT the "combined" comment. just checking to see if you were reading for comprehension!

SO, I am losing weight and I continue to strengthen ...that's a combo that I am comfortable with.

Squash Noodles Recipe

Speaking of combos, I tried a simple change to an age old recipe...AND IT WAS AWESOME!

BRIEF RECAP: Once I started becoming fit...I greatly reduced my carbs but I was still eating legumes and All Bran cereal almost daily. Also, I occasionally would eat whole grain pasta, whole grain breads and rice. I have reduced them all ...my goal is to only receive carbs from vegetables. I am still adhering to the Low Glycemic Index...just more stringent than their general guidelines.

In the past I would eat whole grain pasta which is better for us than regular pasta, but my sugar would still increase some. In other words, it still has a lot of carbs...just not as many AND the fiber from the whole grains is supposed to slow the assimilation of the carbs into your system.

BUT I FOUND A RECIPE ANYONE CAN USE TO REDUCE CARBS YET ENJOY A TRADITIONAL DISH with a twist.

I used squash noodles with my spaghetti sauce, I followed this recipe...IT WAS TASTY!

Low Carb Pasta Substitute |

Mark's Daily Apple http://ow.ly/ixrE

I followed the cooking instructions but not the prep...as you can see...I used a knife to slice the squash....got in a hurry and cut them too thick...but they still tasted great.

I know the picture of just squash may look like french fries...I assure you it's yellow squash. :)

I could eat the squash by itself, they were so delicious when cooked by the recipe. They were heated with virgin olive oil and minced garlic....hmmm.

Be good,

Steve

*We interrupt this regularly scheduled program - Steve’s Goals UPDATE!

With 24 days left in his P90X training, Steve has accomplished the 4^th of his 5 goals! In an exclusive interview with this blog, here are Steve’s comments.

5 Goals

1. Wearing 32” jeans…Done!
2. BMI = Normal, Weight = 168.5 lbs…..Done!
3. 30 Push Ups….completed 32 Push Ups…Done!
   
   
4. “Beating sons in basketball”…Done!
   
   “Wow, just got this one last night. What can I say…beating 18-20 year olds in any sport is tough especially when you are 48 years old. Not to mention the fact that 5 months ago I was diagnosed with Diabetes, obese and taking insulin shots. Today I am medication and insulin free.
   
   “It was a tight match until the end with both of us having long runs. We were playing to 11, win by two. He went up on me 4-0, then the old man warmed up and I had a 6-0 run to take a 6-4 lead. He could have put it away, he was up 10-9 with the ball but I was able to score the last three baskets to win 12-10. I do credit P90X for giving me the strength and endurance to compete. He is taller and quicker but my experience and conditioning were the keys to a hard fought victory.”
   
   “People on this blog have read these words from me before…but it truly is exhilarating to be able to run 100% , all out sprints. It truly does get me “stoked” to compete and be competitive playing basketball, a sport I’ve participated in “on and off” for over 35 years!”
   
   “Is it worth “pushing play” for 90 days ......ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY!”
   
   

5) Sub 7 Minute Mile.

“I do have one goal still outstanding…running a sub 7 minute mile. IT WILL BE TOUGH to accomplish at my age but we’ll see how the last 24 days of my P90X training goes.”

Steve

Food Pics and Obesity Stats

Observations from a Recently Released Study

1) Obese spend 42% MORE ON MEDICAL COSTS….wow!

2) Obesity Related Health Care Costs have increased 89% from 1998 to 2006, can we as a nation afford another 89% increase in the next 8 years??? NO!

3) US Obesity Rates ….rose 37% in eight years---today 2 out of 3 are overweight, 1 out of 3 is obese! To rephrase it 66% are overweight, 33% are OBESE !!!

** These first three findings should be enough of a reason for all of us collectively to do something about being overweight and / or OBESE!

But guess what…there is more than just the economic costs.

What about the quality of life costs? Can’t quantify these but they ARE REAL! I’m talking about reduced self esteem. I’m talking about the inability to play with grand children or take hikes with a loved one or going swimming.

I am NOT talking about living longer…although that is part of the equation.

….I AM talking about being able to live more fulfilling lives, being able to enjoy life more.

4) “One expert was talking on TV about malnutrition in the United States…in the past you could always tell who the malnourished kids were because they would be too thin.”

That isn’t the case any longer due to our highly processed “junk” foods of today. You can be obese and be malnourished thanks to all of the sodium, sugar, carbohydrate packed, “nutrient lacking” foods we Americans eat today.

Think about that…you can be OBESE and be STARVING for nutrients.

5) There are talks of taxing sugar drinks and junk food as a means to slow the growth in their consumption.

At the end of the day, it is up to each of us to take personal responsibility to improve not only our health but the health of our children. That means eating more vegetables, lean meats, fruit and some whole grains. Drinks are an important part of the puzzle as well, do NOT drink sugar drinks….and only drink artificially sweetened drinks occasionally.

6) Just a thought…why don’t we decide today that we will discontinue providing/selling/subsidizing non-nutritious foods & drinks in our schools.

Wait a minute…let’s think about this…today, we the taxpayers are subsidizing the foods that are provided to our children. We are providing them with bad fats, bad carbs and sugars (yes I know sugar is a carb),…we are contributing to the poor health and increased medical expenses…that we the taxpayers will have to pay for later.

Does anything seem inherently wrong with this picture?

This reminds me of the fact that we put fertilizer on our yards so we can pay more time and money to care for it. At least with fertilizer you get a more attractive lawn, that isn’t true with the results of the ”junk” we are feeding our kids.

….maybe WE should sue our school systems for child abuse!!!

Food Porn Info & Pic

The information below came from Nutritiondata.com. I wanted to compare a former favorite restaurant’s food but they did not have Bojangles…so I had to resort to KFC.

Look at what KFC does to a beautifully nutritious food like Chicken Breasts.

(I had difficulty formatting the stats, for some it may not format correctly..sorry)

KFC Chicken Raw Skinless Chicken
Breast – Original Breast, meat only

1 breast

370 calories 195
19 g fat 1 g
6 g sat fat 0 g
145 mg cholesterol 105 mg
1145 mg Sodium 115 mg
11 g carb 0 g
40 g protein 40 g

I’m not saying that feeding your kids a KFC Chicken breast is child abuse…but JUST LOOK what you are feeding them.

In looking at the sodium alone…they are receiving over half the daily amount of salt for an ADULT WITH JUST ONE PIECE OF CHICKEN! Not to mention all the fat, carbs and sodium in their other menu items.

Sad truth…there are probably much worse “so called foods” that you and your children eat on a daily basis. Then we wonder why children are getting obese and why more and more children are being diagnosed with what used to be called “Adult Onset Diabetes”.

Another name for “Type 2” diabetes is “adult onset diabetes”. It typically was a condition for adults, something they obtained when they “slowed down” and ate more.

Today…they can’t call it “adult onset diabetes” because more and more children are being diagnosed with the disease!

While I was looking for a chicken breast pic....this one came up. I posted this one because I just like looking at it. See, ladies....if you eat large garbage can buckets of KFC chicken...you can look just like her. :)

Ok…sorry for the ramble. I need to get busy.


Take care,

Steve