My One and Only Epic Award Post Linkfest Blowout Extravaganza

I’ve won a blog award.  Not the first, actually.  And for those of you who I know IRL, I'm not bragging.  While heartfelt, blog awards are not uncommon, and bear more than a passing resemblance to chain letters.

Plus, most of these awards are, well, “cute”.  And the Pounds Off Playoff is the male, macho, manly weight loss blog*.    (*with added testosterone!)

So I've never responded to a blog award.  But at the same time, I want to uphold the bloggers social contract.  My seven year old has figured out the best way to score in soccer is to stand by the goal and wait for the ball to come to you.  We’re educating him about the responsibilities of playing defense, too.  Blogging is the same way – it’s bad form for you to just have people link to you without reciprocating. (True, you aren’t obligated to reciprocate any specific blogger, but if you never reciprocate, that’s bad form.  That’s why I try to comment on other blogs as much as I can.)

So...I’ve decided to do one blog award post and respond to all the awards that are making the rounds at once.  I’m going to spread the link love liberally.  And then, I’m done.  Here goes.

Following the Geneva Convention protocols for blog awards, I will:

1.       Thank the person who gave me the award.

2.       Answer some kind of question or produce some kind of list.

3.       Identify one, or six, or ten, or whatever new blogs to pass the award onto.

1. Thanking those who have given me awards

I’m pretty sure these are the bloggers who have given me awards.  If not, they’re really cool blogs you should check out anyway.  And if I’ve missed any, my apologies.

Clyde at The Clydesdale Project

My original blogging buddy.  He has a great story, he bikes a lot, he supports so many others, he involves his son in his exercise journey, he has the corner on the market of Andre the Giant pictures, and his blog is just a really good read.

Patrick at Responsibility 199

The hardest working blogger in show business.  Patrick is constantly commenting, finding new blogs, and drilling holes in his old belt because of all the pounds he is shedding.

Dr. Fatty at Dr. Fatty Finds Fitness

A great, prolific writer.  Insightful and with a level headed perspective.  Probably the biggest sports fan among my readers, her only flaw is rooting for the Cowboys.  I think I know her first name, but think she likes keeping the surgical mask up, apparently to avoid spreading germs.

Tish at Incremental Improvements

What a great name she has chosen for her blog, as Tish is one of the steadiest bloggers out there.  No drama.  No crazy proclamations or self-loathing.  Just a straightforward commitment to improving her health, with some great bike ride stories along the way.

If you want the ABWS rules, click here

Raegun at Diminishing Returns

Rae is Canadian and certainly reinforces the stereotype of the fun loving, friendly Canuck.  She is one of the most positive, supportive commenters out there, and the tunes on her site are uplifting.

Becky at My Walk from Flab to Fab

I learned of Becky’s blog when she give me the A Blog with Substance award.  I’m looking forward to following it and learning what the new fabulous unmentionables are! ;-)

A big THANK YOU to all!

2. Answer some questions

These questions will look familiar to those of you who read a lot of blogs:

Sum up your blog in five words.

Find what works & do it!

What would you change about your life?

Not much.  I have a great life.  My wife Shannon is the greatest.  We are so lucky to have healthy, thriving children.  It’s not that I have done everything right, but the good far outweighs the bad.

One thing I would do over is stopping playing baseball.  I was absorbed in baseball through my age 18 season, then stopped.  As a kid, I would happily practice baseball every day.  It kept me active, and I was pretty good at it, too.  I finally righted that wrong this past spring, joining a softball team.

What are ten things people don’t know about you?

1.       Have been to 24 major league ballparks.

2.       Majored in applied euphonium in college.  Turns out there's no application for euphonium. 

3.       The West Wing was and is my favorite TV show.

4.       I love data in a totally unnatural way.

5.       My wife and I went to a minor league hockey game for our first date.

6.       Once ran into Mr. Rogers and Itzhak Perlman within a five minute timeframe.

7.       I spent four summers sleeping outside, by choice, and I never have since. (it was on a lakeside dock with many close college aged friends I worked with)

8.       I think all laws would be best made if the lawmakers could have temporary amnesia as to whether they were rich/poor, white/of color, healthy/handicapped, etc.

9.       My dad is certified to teach three languages, and regrettably I didn’t get that gene.

10.   Shannon and I attended Jim Abbot’s no-hitter in Yankee Stadium (a complete fluke, but very, very cool)

10 blogs to pass the award on to

Since I’m making up for several awards, let’s make it a dozen.

Christina at Making Healthy the Norm

An inspiring mom/college student who has pushed herself and achieved amazing health milestones.  She is honest, without all the over the top stuff that people usually do to show their honesty.  (She’s probably won before, but I can’t find it, so tag, you’re it! ;-)

Kathleen at Write-Sizing

W-S is unlike most of the other blogs here.  The posts are concise, so I can read every one, no problem.  I love that.  Kathleen’s a mom of teens, so there’s a lot of parenting stories, but also great insights about how we see people who are thin vs. overweight (see her 9/24 post).

Michele at Ruminations and Uncovering

This is a great blog.  Michele has won a few awards – deservedly so – but not A Blog with Substance.  I’ve always heard Minneapolis is extremely bike friendly.  Michele demonstrates how.

Lori at All About Me

Another Washingtonian, Lori started in January in a Biggest Loser contest at work, and just passed 70 pounds lost!  A nice, balanced style.  Really a great blog that few are onto. 

Going for 96

Like me, he’s inspired by grandma’s healthy habits and biking as exercise of choice.  Unlike me, he logged 500 miles in three months.

Father Dennis at This is the Day the Lord Has Made

Here’s the one I’m confident is a new blog with no awards.  Father Dennis is my mother-in-law’s priest in Idaho and he has taken a leave to get his health under control.  He’s 360 pounds and in his 60s, so it’s an urgent situation.  He is taking it all with great humor.  Get on now and support his journey!

The Heavy Man’s Diary

This guy has a daily post where he poses with a NY tabloid, "proof of life" style.  I think that’s hilarious.  He won his first award last week.  Well, add A Blog with Substance to your virtual trophy case, Heavy Man.

Shannon at Superwoman Spirit

Grappling with parenting, weight, and family illness, she keeps a positive vibe going.  This blog has a great tone, and I’m guessing she’ll get through the tough times stronger than ever.

Sam at Slimmin’ Sam

Sam was an active blogger when I was starting.  Then, he announced he was giving it up.  He returned a few weeks ago.  Sam seems like a good guy who really needs to lose for his health and family.  Let’s get behind him.

Amy at The Adventures of Miss Priss on a Diet

Another blogging mom.  She's figuring the blogging out.  And she’s already lost 100 pounds, so she knows the weight loss part. 

Maggie at I’m Losing It

An avid picture taker, Maggie effectively uses pictures to document the big journey she is embarking on.

Janelle at Awake for the Dance

A really thoughtful blog.  Janelle has a lot to say, and it will make you think.

Thanks again for these awards.  Let’s give some love to these new awardees. 

And I have to give a special award to my wife Shannon, the My Spouse Spent More Time on This Post Than He Ever Should Have, Yet I Was Cool With It, For Now Anyway Award.  Honey, now you have to pass it on to 10 other blog spouses...

Week 36 Recap: Ain’t-teen Hundred Calories

Good Samaritan Hospital overlooks the artery-busting Puyallup Fair

Last Week’s Plan

1800 Calories per Day

Weigh-In

This Week: -0.8 pounds

Total Loss: 33.4 pounds

Non-Scale Victory

I survived the Puyallup Fair (pictured).  Ate what I perceieved to be the healthiest optionat the stand my family chose for lunch.  OK, the chicken sandwhich with fried onions wasn’t healthy, but I skipped the fries, skipped ice cream later, and only drank water.  And before you think, “Hey Alan, the fair’s only once a year, live it up,” I want you to know I really didn’t miss eating a bunch of fair food.

POP Update

2500 Calories advances to the semi-finals.  1800 Calories is eliminated.

Here’s The Deal

It’s a shocking outcome, with the seeming mathematical impossibility of 2500 calories defeating 1800 calories.  As the cliché goes, that’s why they play the games. 

1800 calories had two main problems.  First, it wasn’t very resilient when I got into situations where it was difficult to manage my eating and calorie counting.  It was too easy to get past 1800 calories and just stop counting. 

Second, early in the two weeks, I had some serious energy crashes.  I would do just about anything to perform well at work (which is partly how I got so big), so a mid-day dip wasn’t unacceptable, and I upped my eating accordingly.  Over the two weeks, I basically treaded water, weight wise.

I feel a little disappointed, as I know Clyde and others have made a similar calorie level work.  But as I concluded in the first round, 1800 calories is more than 1000 a day less than my maintenance level.  1800 is about right for a petite woman.  It just didn’t work for me.

This Week’s Plan

8:00 Curfew

Stay tuned on Wednesday for my one and only epic award post and linkfest blowout!

Visit My New Little Baseball Blog

Photo Credit: Matt McGee

Baseball fans, I've started a fun little blog called Let Felix Hit.  The basic premise is that Mariner's ace pitcher Felix Hernandez deserves to win the American League Cy Young Award this year based on his pitching performance this year, but he might lose it because the Mariners pathetic offense has provided him three runs per game less to work with than Cy Young contenders C.C.Sabathia of the Yankees and David Price of the Rays.  Since the Mariners designated hitters have been embarrassing this year, and Felix once hit a grand slam, this blog makes the tongue-in-cheek case that Felix might be able to win the Cy Young, if only the Mariners allow him to hit.

I've posted a primer on the 2010 A.L. Cy Young race today.  If you're a baseball fan, check out Let Felix Hit!

Pounds Off Profile: It’s *Not* Over When Cindy Sadler Sings

(credit Greg Emel)

When I have my act together, I try to match the Pounds Off Profile with something timely.  There have been posts for the opening of the baseball and football seasons, and for tennis’ U.S. Open and golf’s British Open. 

While most of America is aware that football season just started, did you know that classical music just started again, too?  It’s true.  In fact, I just attended the Seattle Symphony’s opening gala. 

In that spirit, this week’s profile is an opera singer.  Go ahead, make your jokes if you must.  (Extra credit if you work in a viola joke...and extra, extra credit if you get that reference!)

Cindy Sadler is an Austin based mezzo soprano.  She used to be the proverbial “fat lady”.  (Ugh, twice to that well, I’m done, promise.)   And she has quite a career, singing at the prestigious Lyric Opera of Chicago, among others.

A few years ago, Sadler turned her life around and lost 100 pounds.  And then she lost 30 more.  Sadler started with a read of the Beck Diet Solution, which teaches you to “think like a thin person.”  Over time, she became knowledgeable about nutrition and made changes like ditching processed foods and sweets.  She’s become more active, too, working with a trainer, walking, and hiking.

If all that isn’t enough, Cindy is an authentic weight loss blogger.  She has blogged regularly on her site The Next Hundred Pounds for nearly three years.  And it’s great stuff.  Really, if she spent a lot of time commenting on other blogs to build her readership, she’d be a big name in weight loss blogging.  I also like that she links to Pasta Queen.  This is a quality health blog by a legit opera singer who’s lost 130 pounds.  You don’t see that every day - check it out!

Avoiding Stress and Stress Eating

Last week went off the rails for me when I returned to old habits under stress.   Work is challenging these days, with my department down about 30% in staffing, and a seemingly higher workload and expectations.  I have a career I really care about, one that makes a difference in people’s lives, so I can’t just avoid the work, even if there aren’t enough of us to do it.  Meanwhile, looming budget cuts are a constant reminder that we are fortunate to have a job at all.  Sound familiar?

This all came to a head Thursday.  My wife was out of town – the kind of thankfully rare experience that reminds me of all she does for our family (thanks honey!) – and I added chauffeur and dinner provider to my list, all the while downing caffeine like water and working for three hours after the kids went to bed.  I wasn’t at my best, and I ate like I was in grad school again.

I am becoming increasingly aware that personal productivity skills, those that allow you to maintain a balanced stance in spite of the deluge of modern life, are an important part of weight and general health management.  After researching stress management (links here, here, here, and here), I started the following practices on Monday:

1.       Get consistent sleep.  Not enough sleep leads to vulnerability to stress.  For me, this means bedtime is 11:00.  No more snooze button, either, since you can’t get into a good sleep cycle in nine minutes.

2.       Reduce caffeine intake and get enough water.  I drink way too much coffee.  The rule of thumb is three 8 oz. cups is the max.  I’m trying my morning mug and then no more than a half-decaf later.  And LOTS of water.

3.      Organize.  A place for everything and everything in its place.  Keep project materials together and handy.  Throw things out mercilessly.  Also, to dos go on a master list, as well as a master list of projects.  

4.       Do one thing at a time.  Multitasking is for computers, not humans.  Focus.  Be present.

5.       Do it now.  Do tomorrow’s tasks today and today’s right now.

6.       Say no.  I want to serve people well, but sometimes this one is essential.  Time is a limited resource.

Do you have any tips for implementing these?  Or ones you would add?  

Week 35 Recap: Best Friends and The Best Laid Plans

This Week’s Plan

1800 Calories per Day

Weigh In

This week: +1.2 pounds

Total loss: 32.6 pounds

Non-Scale Victory

I found a good compromise for biking on a rainy day.  It was my ride day, but there was intermittent rain in the forecast and dark clouds on the horizon.  Rather than ride a long trail that could leave me miles from my car in a steady rain, I chose Plan B, electing to ride my hilly neighborhood and the adjacent crazy hilly neighborhood.  With the hills, I could get a good workout, while not being too far away if the skies opened up.  As a bonus, my 10 year old joined me for the last 10 minutes on the flatter part of our neighborhood. 

I have been grappling with being a fair weather cyclist in rainy Seattle.  I was pleased to get in a 50 minute ride, much of it riding cardio intensive hills, while building up my tolerance for dodging raindrops on two wheels.

Here’s the Deal

Well, I gained, but having lost 5 pounds over the previous two weeks, I’m not too concerned.

This was the kind of week that really challenges an eating plan.  It started with a Sunday brunch so dangerous, I only go there on very special occasions.  This special occasion was the first visit to Seattle of my life-long best friend and his wife (woo hoo!).  We met when I was two and he was one and have been great friends ever since, although long-distance for most of those 37 years, unfortunately.  The funny thing is that while our interests, worldview, and sense of humor are a good match, physically we’ve always been polar opposites.   The above picture is from our Little League All-Star teams.  I could hit the ball twice as far as him, but he could run twice as fast as me.  Fun times.

Unfortunately, the rest of the week was a major challenge.  Shannon was visiting the Republic of Texas (but not Dr. Fatty), which left me in loco parentis (bada bing!).  Actually, my boys were great, but work was stressful and Thursday night I ended up working until 1:00 AM, totally messing me up.  I had too much caffeine and not enough water or sleep.  Yes, this knocked me off of 1800 calories for a few days, but I couldn’t run the household, work, deal with stress, and count calories.  And that’s a part of the P.O.P., too.  I need an eating plan that will be resilient when conditions aren’t favorable.

My next post will be about a few things I’ll be trying to do to manage heavy workloads without stress eating.  What do you do to manage stress and avoid stress eating?

Pounds Off Profile: Ralph Friedgen

Terrapins Football (credit Nick Hall)

A part of watching football is hoping nobody gets hurt.  Most people enjoy the intensity and the hard knocks, but nobody wants players to get injured, even the hated rivals.  But injury is an ever present threat, and catastrophic injury – though thankfully rare – is only one tragic play away.  You worry about the players and their health. 

At Maryland Terrapins games, though, it’s the coach they worried about. Until last year, Ralph Friedgen stepped in at a shocking 410 pounds.  Having celebrated his 60^th birthday, with a father who had died at age 69 and doctors predicting his impending doom, Friedgen got serious about weight loss.  After rejecting lap band surgery because of restrictive eating rules, he tried a low-calorie approach like Mike Huckabee used, losing 30 pounds, but not gaining a lifelong habit.  A chance encounter with a local fan who works at a commercial weight loss company resulted in him taking on their service, which delivers 1000 calories a day of pre-planned meals.  (I don’t recommend this calorie level, personally, but Friedgen had a team of experts advising him.)

Long story short, Friedgen was down 105 pounds in time for football season last year.  He still weighs too much, and he hopes to lose more, but he’s a lot closer to a healthy end to his coaching career than when he started. 

I enjoyed reading Freidgen’s stories. The three I’ve linked to paint a picture of a normal man who has had struggles with his weight.  He’s had successes and failures.  It’s obviously not easy for him.  He should have started earlier.  But he’s working to improve himself, which is the modeling I need as I work to improve myself.

How I Manage My Google Reader

Before I blogged, life online was simple.  I read a handful of news, sports, and work related sites on a regular basis. 

Last year, I came across a Slate article on managing your web reading.  It said some people were dumping their RSS readers in favor of keeping links bundled in folders based on how frequently they wanted to read them.  I went to that system, populating a “Daily” folder with sites like CNN, Slate, ESPN, and USS Mariner.   I added a weekly folder with Newsweek, The New Yorker, and the New York Times Magazine, among others. 

Now that I blog, I really need a system to manage my on-line reading.  Most non-bloggers don’t realize that reading blogs is a major part of blogging, especially in the weight loss blogging community, which constitutes an ad hoc support group.  Shortly after starting this blog, I started using Google Reader to organize my reading.  But after making dozens of friends and acquaintances on-line, even Google Reader was feeling overwhelming. 

Finally, I went back to the Slate method and got things under control.  I still use Google Reader, but now I sort all blogs into frequency based folders.   I’ve come up with five:

Daily.   These are the blogs I am riveted to, based on their content and perhaps the relationship I have developed with the blogger.  Most of my “Daily” blogs are written by frequent commenters to my blog.  Of course, I comment frequently on theirs as well, thus the time sensitive nature.  I try to read or skim all posts in the “Daily” folder the same day.  Currently, I have 30 blogs in my Daily folder, which sounds like a lot, but only about 20 post on any given day, many of which I just skim, and only a few I comment on.  It's a little like reading the newspaper, where you skim a couple of dozen stories, give some a quick read, and go deep on just a few.

Weekly.  Blogs I want to keep up with on a frequent basis are in the “Weekly” folder.  These are blogs I would like to follow closely, but just can’t keep up with on a daily basis.  My minimum expectation is to read one post per week on blogs in this folder, though I’ll scan the titles and read more if I have an interest.  I currently have 37 blogs in my Weekly folder, although some post infrequently.

Monthly.  If I want to keep tabs on a blog, but am not invested in the daily trials and tribulations, I’ll sort it to the “Monthly” folder.  A good example of this is a person who is not a weight loss blogger, but who occasionally posts about biking, which I have an interest in.  Or perhaps it’s a person who is in weight maintenance mode, and now mostly posts about her cats.  Right now, I have 14 blogs in this folder.

Discontinued Blogs.  Sometimes bloggers we love go away.  If that happens, I put the blog into the “Discontinued Blogs” folder.  The great thing about Google Reader is that they can just sit there dormant forever, and I don’t have to check them to see if the blogger came back.  If they did, the header will go to bold font, and I can check back in.  I only have two blogs in this folder currently, as a couple just returned to blogging, but I expect this to grow after I’ve been reading blogs for a while.

Maybe Someday.  Usually this is for blogs that I’ve signed up to follow in Google Friend Connect, but after a few visits, I realize we’re just not a close enough match.  I used to unsubscribe, but that always felt cold, especially if they signed up on my blog.  So I park them in “Maybe Someday”, as I have with eleven blogs currently.

You’ll notice from my photo that I’ve modified the categories slightly so that the folders appear in alphabetical order.  A few other tricks:

-          My Google Reader is set to open to the feed of “Daily” blogs.

-          I try to zero out my “Daily” folder once per day and my “Weekly” folder once a week, even if I have to hit “Mark all as read”.  My “Monthly” and “Maybe Someday” folders aren’t intended to be read in their entirety, so I don’t worry about marking all of those as unread.

-          Just because a folder says “Weekly” or “Monthly” doesn’t mean I can’t read the posts more frequently at times.  There will always be times when I am able to dip into those in real-time, but only when I’m on top of the blogs I follow most closely.

-          Blogs are not sentenced to a folder for life.  Sometimes I’ll notice a growing interest in a blog, and I may move it “up.”  Or vice versa.

Bundling my blogs has allowed me to stay on top of the blogs that I have the greatest connection to, keeping their posts from being buried in my reader.  By structuring when I read blogs and setting realistic expectations, I now have a more positive feeling toward my reader.

Give yourself permission to prioritize some blogs, while following others less frequently.  You’ll be reading what you need to, commenting more effectively, and avoiding the energy drain of chasing a never ending reader in-box.  

Week 34 Recap: Cheesy Math

This Week’s Plan

2500 Calories Per Day

Weigh-In

This week: -3.1 pounds

Total loss:  33.8 pounds

Non-Scale Victory

Sticking with the Pounds Off Playoff through 16 eating plans. 

Here’s something I haven’t shared.  I “tried” three eating plans in the first two weeks of January.  Same story as everyone, I was trying to start the year anew.  But the plans – which I don’t even remember – weren’t structured and they lasted four days on average. 

Fortunately, I had recently read about Scott Cutshall in Bicycling Magazine and read his blog start to finish.  (I had also sacrificed two hours of New Year’s Day football to watch “Julie and Julia” with my wife...)   One day in mid-January, I took a walk, had a flash of inspiration to try eating plans like the NCAA basketball tournament and blog about it.  The P.O.P. started on January 17^th.  My first post was a week later, after I had lost 6 pounds and gained just enough confidence that this might amount to something.  I posted anonymously for a few more weeks before feeling comfortable that this would stick, long-term. 

Here’s the Deal

Calories don’t lie.  Counting calories is the best of both worlds – technical and intuitive.  Technically, we know with precision how many calories a person needs to lose or maintain weight.  But the act of counting calories keeps my intuition from crashing. 

How?  Here’s an example.  I sometimes will make a sandwich for lunch.  Here’s the process I used to use with just one ingredient: cheese. 

1.       Put one slice of cheese on the sandwich. 

2.       Notice that the cheese doesn’t cover every square millimeter of the sandwich.

3.       Snap a second piece of cheese into the shapes necessary to cover the remainder of the sandwich.  (I call this Sandwich Cheese Tetris)

4.       Eat one slice of cheese, because, well, it’s only one slice of cheese, right?

So if you took arithmetic in school like I did, you’ve counted THREE slices of cheese in the above example.

Fast forward to sandwich making while counting calories... 

1.       Get pre-sliced Tillamook Cheddar out of the refrigerator.

2.       Look at label.

3.       Notice that EACH slice is 90 calories.

4.       Do a little math (90 X 1 = 90 ... 90 X 2 = 180 ... 90 X 3 = 270...)

5.       Think to self, “What the $*%&#(@$!”

6.       Put one slice on sandwich, ziplock the remaining cheese, and put it back into the refrigerator before it jumps into my mouth. 

7.       Whew, dodge 180 extra calories.

This Week’s Plan

1800 Calories per Day

Pounds Off Profile: Nate Newton

credit daveynin on Flickr

I grew up in suburban Philadelphia, only a few miles from Eagles training camp at West Chester University.  During the 1980s, the Eagles vs. Cowboys rivalry was one of the best ones going.  And it brought out lots of bizarre behavior in my feathered brethren (stay classy, Philadelphia).  Eagles coach Buddy Ryan put a bounty on the Cowboy’s place kicker.  A future governor passed out twenties to any fan who could hit a Cowboy with a snowball from the 700 level.  There was no love lost. 

I’ve now mellowed on the Cowboys, just a little.  Even though you could build 60 elementary schools with what it cost to build their stadium (literally), you have to marvel at how well the franchise has been run.  It’s really not that often that their coach gets busted taking guns through airports or their players get caught trafficking 175 pounds of marijuana (Nate, what WERE you thinking???).  And the pep squad isn’t too bad looking.

So it is in this new spirit of détente that I kick off the 2010 NFL season with a Pounds Off Profile of Nate Newton.  The six-time Pro Bowl lineman has lost 130 pounds following gastric sleeve surgery, which is the equivalent of squishing your stomach from a football down to a banana, I am told. 

I’m conservative about weight loss surgery, believing that it should be undertaken only after diet and exercise no longer are viable options and surgery is needed to avoid serious health issues.  In Newton’s case, it seems to have made sense.  He topped out at 411 pounds, with diabetes and high blood pressure.  At 48 years old, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he was going to die.  So he had the surgery and started exercising two hours a day.   So far, it’s been a success, thank goodness.

I’ve used the phrase “guilty pleasure” to describe overweight entertainers before.  But the NFL has the corner on that market.  In fact, in trying to find pro football player weight loss stories, I’ve found a disturbing number of cases where players get in trouble with their team for losing too much weight. That being the case, let’s acknowledge Nate Newton.  He should have found health before his post career troubles found him.  He probably could have done it without surgery if he’d have acted sooner.  But he’s doing it.  He’s lost 130 pounds and he’s healthier than he’s been in years.  This is one Cowboy I’ll be rooting for.  Tony Romo, not so much.

Book Review: Edward Ugel's I’m With Fatty

I can relate to this one.  Edward Ugel was 36 years old and had grown a beard to cover his chins.  But it was time to lose weight, and his wife Brooke insisted he shave the beard, too.  Ugel was on board with weight loss, but not fully on board with a clean shaven face.  Passively complying, he shaved his beard, but left a goatee.  Brooke demanded Ed return to the razor.  Game on!  Determined to force Brooke’s hand, Ed emerged again, this time with a massive 1970s style mustache, the kind that covered the upper lip and turned downward.  Brooke, not afraid to play herself, announced that she loved it!  Uh oh.  Ed was trapped, with a dinner party that evening, and a mustache he wouldn’t be caught dead in. What to do?  Kiss Brooke, of course.  That would make her concede.  But as he made his move, she feigned delight and announced it was like kissing Burt Reynolds!  Ed caved, and began his diet.

Edward Ugel is a freelance writer and work-at-home dad in Bethesda, MD whose wakeup call came when his wife recorded his snoring.  (Honey, I know you read this blog.  Please never do this!)  She took the recording to the family doctor (who I think Ugel has a man crush on), and after a night in the “sleep hotel” he was required to sleep with a CPAP mask.  Apparently in need of work as well as weight loss, Ugel quickly formulated a plan to lose 50 pounds in 50 weeks, and write a book about his experience.

Ugel’s central question is whether a “foodie” can be a healthy eater.  With relatives in the fine dining scene in Washington, D.C., Ugel is a skilled home chef.  What he learns over the 50 weeks, however, is that he wasn’t fat because he’s a foodie, he was fat because of compulsive overeating.  Ice cream runs that would serve a family.  McDonald’s.  Chinese.  One of the funniest stories of the book is when his wife leaves town for a week and he reunites with his favorite Chinese restaurant after nine months on his diet.  He hoped nobody would recognize him, but quickly was outed.  “We thought you had moved!” the delivery man said with tangable relief and emotion.  It was a vivid detail of the embarrassing emotional baggage we all experience around our food habits and their demons. 

Ironically, Ed got hope when one of his “experts” – he hired a doctor, sleep specialist, nutritionist, and personal trainer – told him foodies are the most likely to succeed at weight loss, because they can appreciate healthy ingredients.  And his 50 weeks were a success, though not entirely in the way he set out for them to be.

I’m With Fatty is not a literary masterpiece.  It’s an easy read and leans heavily on male stereotyping.  While it’s funny, I suspect Ugel is funnier in real life, when he isn’t trying to please a wide array of readers.

However, if Ugel were one of us, dispensing his 256 pages as a series of blog posts, I’d be raving about his story.  That’s because despite my wanting every “Joe” who writes a book to have a literary alter-ego (like Dirk Hayhurst, for example), his I resonate with Ugel’s story.  We learn from his journey, his mistakes, and his successes.  If he can do it, maybe I can do it.

Week 33 Recap: *Finally* Down 30

On the Foothills Trail, Orting, WA

This Week’s Plan

2500 Calories per Day

Weigh-In

This Week: -1.9 pounds

Total Loss: 30.7 pounds

Non-Scale Victory

I rode my local bike trail yesterday in 46 minutes, shattering my former PR of 49 minutes, and cutting a full TWENTY MINUTES off the time it took me the first time I rode the whole thing, about 13 months ago.  Just as gratifying, I dismounted only twice to walk up hills.  Until recently, I was walking five hills on the course.  Yee haw.

On Friday, Shannon and I rode the Foothills Trail, which is on the way to Mt. Rainier.  There are beautiful views of said mountain, and also a gorgeous stretch along a river.  We actually saw a fisherman net a huge salmon from alongside the river as we rode by.  Perhaps the combination of the Foothills Trail ride (11 miles) and the two 12 mile rides in the previous two weeks led to my PR yesterday.

Training...it works.  Who knew?

Here’s the Deal

So I could be, like, the 2879^th blog to write about what it’s like to count calories.  Or I could do it next week.  Since it’s a holiday weekend, I think it can wait.

Enjoy the last days of summer!  (unless you’re in Seattle, in which case I’ll see you at Burlington Coat Factory)

Pounds Off Profile: Mardy Fish

Mandy Fish (credit Christian Mesiano)

The U.S. Open is in full swing (pun not intended), and so are puns about a slender, streaking American tennis player, Mardy Fish.

A Leaner Fish Hungers for Open Success

Mardy Fish Causing Waves in Professional Tennis Arenas

Fish Adds Flavor to Pilot Pen Menu

And the best, from those headliners “across the pond”...

Fish Makes Waves Now He’s Happy on the Scales

Another Fish story (booyah, pun intended!) has the stats: 203 pounds last September, 170 pounds now.  After knee surgery in 2009, Fish decided his (gasp!) 203 pounds had to go.  Fish employed the following sensible tactics to shed the pounds:

·         Not eating junk food.  He hasn’t had pizza, French fries, or cheeseburgers in nearly a year.

·         Cutting down or eliminating alcohol, soda, lemonade, sweetened tea, and coffee.

·         Cutting down on portions.

·         Increasing water, chicken, and vegetables

·         Finishing  eating for the night by 6:30.

·         (And you knew it was coming) Eating more fish.  (Bada bing!)

The results speak for themselves: an 11 game winning streak, the consensus hottest U.S. player entering the U.S. Open, and the #19 seed.  His world ranking has improved from 108^th to 21^st. He’s playing the best tennis of his career, holding up in the heat, and he hasn’t lost his power serve, still 130 MPH.  Whoa.

By the way, this is a before picture.  Fish was hardly a whale.  When does a reasonably proportioned guy need to lose weight?  When he wants to become the biggest fish in the pond.

"50 Ways" to Leave Eight Eating Plans

Click to view full size

With the first round of the Pounds Off Playoff in the books, it’s time to say goodbye to the plans that won’t be back until that awkward “after” show with Jeff Probst.  I lost 37.9 pounds on the eight plans that have advanced, but most of the eliminated plans dragged me backward.

Here’s a final farewell to each plan, in order of weight loss, and set to Paul Simon’s 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. (right click/open in new tab to hear while reading)

You just slip out the back...

No Whites (-1.0 pounds in two weeks)

I’d recommend this one, even though it’s been eliminated.  As the old saying goes, “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.” (source: Pollan)

Make a new plan...

No Eating Out (-0.7)

Good idea: cutting back on restaurant food. 

Bad idea: a diet plan where you can eat anything, anytime, just not anywhere.

You don’t need to be coy...

Portion Tricks (-0.2)

It’s gonna take more than small plates to get me a small belly.

Just get yourself free...

Hunger Scale (+0.4)

OK, I’ve rated my hunger. Can I eat now?

Hop on the bus...

Write it Down (+1.0)

I read the single best weight loss technique is to write down everything you eat, because you wouldn’t want to put that you ate “that” in writing.  And it worked for a few days, until I figured out that nobody read my log.

You don’t need to discuss much...

Plate in Quarters (+1.8)

Eat as much as you want, as long as it’s in balance.  Why didn’t that work, exactly?

Just drop off the key...

Sodium Limit (+3.7)

A plan dependent on healthy restaurant food.  Why didn’t that work, exactly?  (Oh, because I couldn’t find any, so I pretty much gave up and ate whatever?)

And get yourself free...

9 Fruits and Vegetables (+4.1)

This is what we scientists* call a good theory.  Eat so much good food that you couldn’t possibly want anything else.   But in practice... “Mmm, those oranges filled me up.  Wait, are those nachos?”

* I’m not a scientist, but I play one on my blog.

The next 28 weeks will be devoted to the eight remaining plans:

2500 Calories per Day (-9.0**)

1800 Calories per Day (-6.2)

Three Strikes (-5.2)

No Junk Food (-4.9)

No Processed Food (-3.9)

No TV/Reading (-3.2)

What Would Granny Do? (-2.8)

8:00 Curfew (-2.7)

**Six pounds came off the very first week of the P.O.P., probably a lot of water weight.