journal

the danger zone

Here is where things get interesting. There are times when things are very busy with regular or work life that horn in on my time to exercise. And as it happens, these intrusions tend not to involve much physical activity. In my case a day of being chained to my desk for 12 hours working on a deadline based project and spending a day in the car. Literally a whole day. This is where the rubber meets the road. Good food choices, get your activity anywhere you can (extra walking, extra stairs) and hope you have more time the next day. And do what you can today – like hitting the mini-tramp while I wind down with some TV.

One more note, I am adding Fish Oil to my routine. Did a bunch of research and it seems to be a no-brainer. I am starting with 1000mg per day. Some recommend taking that amount three times per day, but I am starting small. Also, I am taking it at night to reduce any of the possible side affects (thought they are minor). The other specific vitamin I will be adding is D (D3). This has so many benefits for male health that it too is a no-brainer.

Fish Oil – Day 1: No real issues.

Choices, choices

Today was an average day. My step count was around 7000 – not bad considering I spent a bunch of time in the car and at a concert. I did manager to complete a 40m swim. The tricky part of eating right is clearly what happens at a restaurant, trying to make choices without a Good Healthnutrition roadmap. I ate at another Chinese buffet tonight. There was little choice, as I was pinched for time and it was right next to the other store I needed to be at. I didn’t know if was a buffet until I went in – it was lower end, cheap food. I was happy to see they had brown rice and then went looking for the best stuff I could find. Skipped the egg rolls and crab rangoon and  found some beef with broccoli. With a serving (small) of that and some moo goo gai pan, I added some green beans and sat down to eat. For desert I had a few gelatin squares (way more calories than I thought) with some watermelon, pineapple and peaches. The latter two clearly canned. It was still a reasonable meal even consider the large amounts of hidden sodium and other stuff (MSG). The key remains portions and I’m sure I could have dialed it back a bit from what I did. Having said that, I LOVE Chinese food and normally would have had much more. So there are a few victories worth quick little happy dances.

Oh yea, time to come clean. I did have a diet Sobe Graprfruit drink on the drive over. This would be the first fizz drink I’ve had in over a week. Otherwise, I’ve been drinking the right amount of water along with some skim milk.

As I think about recording that drink, I find myself getting better at estimating the amount of food that I eat. As I mention above, portions being kind I have to keep getting better at estimating amounts.

Keep Moving!

Friday

Today was a busy day at work, but most of the busy occurred at my desk. I ended up with a measly 4400 steps. Have been staying up too late to be getting up so early and had the good sense to take a nap when I got home. Which was fantastic! However, it did delay eating dinner until just after 8:00p violating my no food after 8:00p policy. I’ll have to write myself up.

For lunch I was going to get chicken or fish but noticed they had turkey – so I got that thinking it would be good and good for you. Just to set the record straight, it looked like a grilled turkey breast, but it turned out to be a turkey burger. It was pretty good, but a bit high in sodium. I also decided to get a cup of chicken noodle soup – fearing it would be super high in sodium. It did not fail to deliver in that department. The next big task is going to be preparing breakfast and lunch and brown-bagging it. The café food is not terrible, but it is over processed and more expensive than just doing it myself. I’ve already started bringing in fruit and veggies as snacks and components to those meals, just need to step it up and bring the rest.

cholesterol

Been thinking about my cholesterol levels. Quick side note, it is never good when you have to learn to spell a new word that is not related to a fun exotic event. The question is how do I raise my HDL (good cholesterol). The Mayo Clinic website has a good article explaining what it is and how it helps. I really like their site, great content in digestible articles. Check it out! Here are the recommendations for improving HDL:

  • Don’t Smoke
  • Maintain a Healthy Weight
  • Get More Physical Activity
  • Choose Healthier Fats
  • Drink Alcohol in Moderation

Now, all of these are on my plan – just need to continue to execute. In addition to these steps, there are references to fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) that could help as well. I’ve read that the our ancestors used to get “fish oil” from the animals they hunted and ate. As we’ve domesticated our herds and changed what they eat, this has gone away. With the proliferation of fish farms, they are starting to see fish without the fish oil as well. I guess that’s progress. I have been taking a daily multivitamin again and will likely add an omega-3 supplement after doing a bit more research.