Little updates

So the 2013 is here, the goals are set (not 1 but 2 marathons) and training for them get going in just under two weeks.  So some small updates instead..

No sweetener coffee- probably near 18 months since i started this one.  I was reminded because a few weeks ago I ordered a coffee and it bad sugar in it.  I think we can mark this one done.  I drank it, but can’t say it was a magical drink I missed.  Was different, didn’t particularly enjoy it and happy to not have it again.

Tomatoes and mushrooms- can’t say the tomatoes have grown on me overall but we are at a truce.  If they are there i eat them but I don’t ask for them.  (Sun dried on the other hand are great.)   The real surprise has been mushrooms.  I’m not seeking them out actively either but I do eat them as well.  On occasion I have really enjoyed them.

Cardio- been enjoying my break from the treadmill and going back to the stairmaster even tho i know calorie burn is less efficient.  The sunday long runs (1 hour) have highlighted the lack of mid week running getting harder and harder.  Also highlights my need to target distance not time.  No motivation to go faster.

Cold- i am nearly wearing two sweatshirts at home!  One thing i continue to not like about the weight loss.  I also had to cut a few minutes off run sunday for same reason.  Will need to watch it. Last year was warmer and i was still doing more treadmill in January and February

Advertisement

Around the Web – May 18

If you want to live, drink coffee.

Healthy not necessarily more expensive.

Food ideas to keep feeling full.

Via Keeping Off 200 Pounds, an obesity mathematician.

And via failbook:

Quick Updates

Coffee
I mentioned that I had been experimenting with eliminating sweet-n-splenda from my coffee. It’s been 5 or so months and I still haven’t had any. I have to admit, it’s starting to taste normal now. I haven’t had the courage to try it with some sweetener yet though. Will give it a few more months I think.

Clothes
Those pants I bought back in November? Falling off me. Look almost as bad as the pants they replaced. I’m wearing some 36″ waists now for some jeans I bought at a great discount (on the down side, I’m wearing 29″ length – what the hell old age!). Thankfully the shirts are still good (I doubt I’d ever go down to a medium size shirt).

I also bought some suits during a good sale on President’s Day weekend. I have to say, I was looking pretty sharp. I find myself looking in the full-size mirror in the men’s room occasionally.  The suits were all in the 33-34″ range (tho that was for jacket, they all needed a touch of a let out on the waste – but it was amazing that I could even squeeze them on!) I bought some new shirts too – 16″ neck, down from 17 1/2″ – and the sales guy was suggesting 15 1/2″, but I prefer slightly looser.

Sitting
I find myself sitting at work all the time now with my legs crossed like the picture to the right (nope not me!).  I find it bizarre since I never would have sat like that before.  I actually find it distracting as I am thinking about it quite often.

Colds/Coughs
This winter seems to have been one extended cold/cough for me – I can’t wait to have a run where I don’t spend the first 5-15 minutes de-phlegming.

The Abs
No, no six pack.  Still a ‘one’-pack, but it’s a clearly defined area where the six-pack would be.

Chocolate
Went to an expo over the weekend. Thankfully it was smallish and was actually hard to get at the booths. The kid managed to attract most of freebies since she was up on my shoulders. I had about half a small chocolate covered pretzel and a 1/2 cup of chocolate gelato.

A Little Less Sweetness

About 6 weeks ago, I decided to try and be a little healthier and reduce the amount of Nutra-can-splenda-del-sweet I ate, mostly by eliminating it from my coffee. I typically would use between 3-4 packets per coffee and have two cups of coffee a day most days (I don’t drink any soda anymore, so I don’t think I’m overly caffienated – more than some, less than many).

I’ve always been concerned about the cancer risks (in rats), especially when I also used to drink a lot diet coke/pepsi so I’ve gotten a lot of artificial sweetener in the past. I was also moved by some of the recent articles I’ve linked that indicate that having sweet things activates the body’s response to sugar, regardless of it’s real sugar or not and is why having diet drinks doesn’t help. (Why my flavored drink of choice now is unsweetened iced tea.)

I also firmly moved into the skim milk camp (I was generally ok, but would lapse). That changed as soon as I started logging calories and saw the difference.

My wife, who hasn’t ever taken sweetener since I’ve known her, always claimed I would enjoy it more once I got used to it, and would never go back (she had switched a long time ago).

So how’s it going?

I have to say so far, I am still missing the taste. When I sit down with the first cup in the morning, it’s still not ‘ahh there’s the start of the day’ it used to be. I was originally thinking I might try sweetener again to test my wife’s theory, but I don’t think I’m rewired yet (I have/had a terrible sweet tooth so this is not a shock). I now may wait til New Year’s to give it a try and see. If it’s still not feeling right by then and I still like sweetener, we’ll have to see how it goes.