Tuesday, May 31, 2011

No skinny kings!

Lawrence Toppman

"I lived like a king." But what do people mean when they say that? Frequently, they've stuffed themselves, regardless of expense or consequences. When we see paintings of the kings of old, they all look like prime candidates for gout, clogged arteries and adult-onset diabetes.

Well, I went to Spoleto Festival USA and lived like a king over the long holiday weekend: coconut cake at midnight, glasses of coffee sweetened with Bailey's Irish cream just before bed, eggs from my queen's plate (err....my wife's) after I'd cleaned my own. Exercise? Pah! A six-block amble in the 90-degree heat and humidity of Charleston was a marathon.

And I have put back two and a half pounds. The squeaking of my treadmill this morning sounded like the gentle titter of an old friend who couldn't help saying, "I told you so."

Perhaps I thought I could have one breakout period without cost, but I was wrong: Slow losses can be confounded by quick gains. So I'm going to redouble my watchfulness and start living like a commoner again. Uneasy lies the belly that wears the crown.

Give banana cream a try


Elizabeth Templin McCamic

With the weather heating up, I thought I would tell you about my new favorite frozen treat: banana cream.

Now, when I was growing up, I was pretty picky when it came to bananas. In order for me to eat one, it needed to be just barely ripe, maybe even just a little bit green. I wasn't a fan of the way truly ripe bananas smelled, brown spots seemed a little scary and I was not interested in eating a mushy banana.

Today, that's all changed.

You see, really ripe bananas now signal something better. Try peeling, slicing and freezing your really ripe bananas for an hour or two. Then drop them in a blender or food processor. The blended bananas take on a creamy quality that is very similar to ice cream - one of my favorite treats. You don't have to add anything else, so it's a perfect, guilt-free treat.

Sometimes I'll add a little honey or peanut butter to my bowl of banana cream, but for really ripe bananas that's not necessary. They are perfectly sweet all on their own.

If you give this a try, let me know what you think.

100-day burpee challenge update: Today is day 39 of the 100-day challenge and it's still going pretty well. I've reached a point where this project is becoming more of a time commitment. I'm doing burpees in sets now, taking short breaks in between. It has also been harder to make up for a missed day, and I want to come clean and tell that I did miss a couple days while I was out of town - we ended up being busier than I'd planned. Still, the challenge is going well and is fulfilling its purpose: my arms and core are feeling stronger and my burpee form is getting better. It's been a nice boost to my regular workout.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Triathlon time!


Ellyn Ritterskamp

Triathlon time! My mom and I are doing a team sprint triathlon on July 10, just six weeks away. I'll swim 250 meters, Mom will bike 10 miles, and I'll run 2 miles. Yes, she has the bulk of the work. She rides all the time, though, and can knock that part out with no problem.

I've adapted a training program from Self magazine, switching out the biking days for more running and swimming.

Week 1-2 (two rest days): Day 1: Run 20 minutes. Day 2: Swim 10 laps, resting 20 seconds between laps. Day 3: Run 20 minutes. Day 4: Swim 10 laps, resting 20 seconds between laps. Day 5: Run 30 minutes.

Weeks 3/4 and 5/6 are six days of activity instead of five, and gradually increase the times/distances. I may doing a bike day those weeks just for the variety.

Onward.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Scrooge was right

Lawrence Toppman

Remember the exchange between Ebenezer Scrooge and the charitable chap who asked for a donation in "A Christmas Carol"?
"Are there no prisons?
"Plenty of prisons."
"And the union workhouses: Are they still in operation?"
"They are. Still, I wish I could say they were not."
"The treadmill and the Poor Law -- are they still in effect?"
"Both very busy, sir."
"Oh. I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course."

The key noun in that conversation is "treadmill," a noisy appliance for people too lazy to go to a gym, too misanthropic to exercise with others, too unwilling to walk their neighborhoods alone (and unable to get their spouse for company during the school year) and eager to cram in another 45 minutes of a movie while knocking off some calories.

That would be me. So I reacquainted myself with the whirring mechanism yesterday after an inexcusably long time away.

I told a friend I was going to start trudging back into the treadmill room (as my wife and I call it) on a regular basis on weekday mornings. He said George Orwell had considered "The Treadmill Room" for the name of the torture chamber where human individuality is wiped out in the novel "1984." I think he was kidding.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

DON'T PANIC


Ellyn Ritterskamp

It's Towel Day, in memory of Douglas Adams. He was one of the coolest writers ever, and in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, he said, "Never go anywhere without your towel."

A student asked me what that meant, and I said it means different things for different people, but for me it means be prepared, but don't take anything too seriously.

So what does that mean for us and our health? (1) Be prepared: I am doing better about packing lunches and snacks for work, and stopping for ice water when I first get there. Now I can start thinking about doing that at home, too: keeping a cup of ice water on hand means I will drink it. (2) Don't take anything too seriously: It's easy to get obsessive about fitness, and maybe I would do better to go that route rather than coast. But I like the idea of easing into habits rather than being obsessive.

Like everything, there is a happy medium. Onward.

PS: DON'T PANIC is another Adamsism. It reminds me to take a breath.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Staying on track when you're out of town


Elizabeth Templin McCamic

Like a lot of people, I am getting ready to go out of town this weekend. We are going to a wedding and visiting family.

While I'm looking forward to this time away from home and my normal routine, I've also been thinking about how I can stay on track with my fitness goals.

When I was dieting more seriously a few years ago, there were a few things I'd do to make sure I would stay on track. Even now, it's good to have a reminder. I've been working hard and I don't want to blow it on one weekend away.

So here are a few tips as the season of vacations and outdoor parties and barbecues begins.

1. I drink a lot of water each day while I'm at home. It helps me keep hunger at bay and keeps me hydrated. I make sure to drink plenty of water when I'm away, too. Just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean my good habits also need to go on vacation.

2. When I go to a party, I try to bring something healthy to eat to share or pick just one or two things to eat. Having too many options can lead to eating more than I planned. I try to pick the most healthy option, when there is one. When I go out of town, I try not to skip any meals and try to keep breakfast simple because it's usually the meal I have the most control over (just a little cereal for me, please).

3. The same thing goes for drinks. I try to stick to water or just one type of drink (and then keep it to not too many drinks).

4. When I go out of town, I pack some healthy snacks to munch on in the car or when I get hungry and there's no other option. Eating a healthy snack means I'll be less likely to overeat at meals (when there might be fewer good options).

5. I also try to stay active while I'm out of town. I'll go for a long walk and make sure to take the stairs when I can. Carrying luggage up and down stairs can be a good mini workout. This weekend I'll be keeping up with the 100-day burpee challenge.

These are just a few ideas. Please feel free to share your tips in the comments. I'd love to hear from you.

Monday, May 23, 2011

"It's better to look good than to feel good"

Lawrence Toppman

"If you know what I'm saying, and I think you do." That was Billy Crystal's tag phrase when he impersonated Fernando Lamas on "Saturday Night Live." (Does anyone remember Lamas, mega-tanned Latino star of MGM musicals of the 1950s? For that matter, does anyone remember Crystal?)

I thought of that phrase today, because I slumped onto the scale this morning expecting bad news. Instead, I found out I've lost another half-pound, though I haven't exercised much this past week. I'm down to 184 pounds, so I've dropped 10.5, and I feel pretty good (if a bit guilty).

Yes, I know this is deceptive. I know that, although my pants sag a bit -- I'm in that between-sizes place where you don't get a new wardrobe yet -- this doesn't mean I'm in the pink of condition internally. I know I need to befriend the machine that waits patiently in what my wife and I now call "the treadmill room."

Nor am I convinced I can lose another 9.5 pounds merely through portion control. At the same time, I'm pleasantly surprised that my laxness hasn't caught up with me yet. I should take steps, literally, to make sure it doesn't. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Friday, May 20, 2011

New York: Now I get it about the toddlin' town


Ellyn Ritterskamp

I just returned from three days in New York City. I'd been there before, but this time I wised up, and stayed in Brooklyn. Less crowding and horns and yelling and all that.

So that meant a bit more time on the subway, which I like just fine. But I'd forgotten, if you go downstairs to get on the trains, at some point you have to come back up. There is a terrific Blood, Sweat and Tears song in there somewhere.

At most stations it was just one or two flights. But there is one station where I had to transfer every day, and you had to do like four flights. Both ways, I think.

I climb a sedate set of stairs to my apartment every day, but after all that, I think I will make myself climb them extra times. That stuff wore me out, in a good way.

Onward.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Smug as a bug in a rug

Lawrence Toppman

The second hardest part about losing weight is not being pleased with myself when someone says, "Man, you look thinner!" (The hardest part is keeping my fingers from reaching for any jelly donut on my radar.) I haven't heard that kind of compliment since Reagan was president, so my head starts to swell like an overinflated bicycle tire.

At times like that, I remember my dad. He dropped about 60 pounds through Weight Watchers after retiring from the military, going from 230 to 170, and actually joined the company as a lecturer and then a regional manager for southern New Jersey. (Worry helped sweat off the pounds, as he covered an area of about 1600 square miles.)

Like a lot of folks who've kicked a bad habit, he became a proselytizer for his newfound faith. I recall him telling me that he'd approach obese strangers in shopping malls with an "As you are now, so once was I" kind of pitch, asking if they hoped to see their children grow to adulthood. (Miraculously, he was never pummeled.)

I don't have any desire to emulate him, partly because I expect to backslide from time to time. When I step on a scale every Monday morning, I'm always prepared for bad news. But when I don't get it, I smile -- quietly, to myself -- for about three days.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Biggest Loser home video-style


Ellyn Ritterskamp

That Biggest Loser program name is just genius. They appeal to what we are and what we want to be (just kidding - I don't feel like a loser in the bad way).

I've never watched the show, but I picked out a couple of DVDs based on it from Netflix, and will do my own boot camp at home. Shane and Sergeant York will have to wait.

I've always loved home videos and also the Wii, but worry about the downstairs neighbors having to listen to the floor squeaking. But maybe it's time to just look to see when their cars are gone, and do it then. This Bob Harper guy doesn't seem like the sort who will wait.

Onward.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Weight training requires patience


Elizabeth Templin McCamic

So far I am not loving weight training.

I'm probably not giving it a fair chance, since it's only been a week since I started incorporating weight lifting to my workouts. Perhaps it will grow on me. I hope so.

I think my biggest problem with weight training is that it makes for a slow workout and it takes more time to see results. It's also one more workout I have to make time for, which is probably not the best way for me to approach a new routine.

I don't always know if I'm getting a good workout when I lift weights. I'll do a couple of sets, go home and not feel sore until the next day. With running I know I'm working hard the whole time. I'm sweating, my legs feel tired and when I go to bed after a long run, I sleep really well. I just don't get that out of weight training.

And it's hard to tell if I'm actually getting stronger. In the past, when I've done regular weight training, I've not noticed a lot of change.

I'm hoping this time will be different. I would love to be stronger and a little more toned. I just need to find the right combination of workouts. And I need to be patient.

And to update you on the 100-day burpee challenge, it's going pretty well. We did a good job sticking with our daily commitments last week and the burpees are starting to get easier. I worked on my form, which really made a difference. I was letting my back bend when I lifted up into the pushup and that made it more difficult to transition to the squat to standing.

Monday, May 16, 2011

The word I must never say

Lawrence Toppman

A reader recently told me I should never refer to myself or anyone else as "fat." That word, she said, has too many negative connotations. I should say "overweight," which carries less shame -- and is inoffensively vague, as it can refer to someone five or 500 pounds above his ideal level.

I thought about the state of Georgia, which now posts billboards with pictures of fat children and text that reads "Chubby kids may not outlive their parents" or "Big bones didn't make me this way. Big meals did." I'm not sure humiliation works in an anti-obesity campaign, and this seems to me like bullying. But the opposition to the billboards is led by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, and the name of that group makes me cringe.

Abusing people because they're fat is as cruel as abusing them because they're black, gay, Islamic or anything else that results from choice or genetic destiny. The adjective shouldn't be equated with "nasty" or "disgusting."

On the other hand, being fat can shorten your life, limit your activity, incommode others and create problems every day. And calling someone "hefty" or "chunky" -- as I was called when I was a rotund boy -- may minimize the need to change. Fat people aren't bad, but there's nothing positive about the condition. Sugar-coating the problem helps nobody.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Big Apple miles


Ellyn Ritterskamp

I got a decent lab report this week from the doctor: weight is up a smidge, blood sugar down half a point, all cholesterol numbers excellent except HDL, which I don't mind, since the others are so good.

My next goal is to keep working on actual poundage, since everything else comes from that. I am headed to New York City soon and will walk a bunch there. I hope to find a dog park near where I'm staying so I can walk around there and enjoy the fun. I'll be going to a Mets game, and I generally do at least one lap around any stadium I visit (after this I'll have seven major league teams to see).

So that should all add up to a bit of mileage. I bet New York Citiers are slimmer than we are, what with not having cars so much.

Onward.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

One less jug of milk

Lawrence Toppman

A wise person told me to measure weight-loss progress in tangible ways, so I try to envision the pounds as something specific that I no longer carry around. When I realized I'd lost eight pounds -- roughly the weight of one gallon of milk -- I imagined myself no longer tying such a thing to my waist.

I assume the weight is mostly gone from my waist, anyhow. My belts now slide (sometimes with a little extra persuasion) into the holes next to the ones that are creased and worn from long use. If I'm losing weight from anywhere else, I can't tell.

As of yesterday, I could taste food again. Yet I wasn't tempted to reward my reawakened senses with a gigantic snowflake muffin, one of my favorite indulgences. I had three small cookies at day's end and was thankful to have all five senses in working order.

I'm under no delusion that I'm free from the need to binge on sugar. I'll spend my whole life looking longingly at cheesecake slices across diner counters. But if I toe the line most of the time, I'll feel better about stepping over it on occasion -- especially if I can get rid of one more "gallon" of fat.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Lifting to exhaustion


Ellyn Ritterskamp

Lifting to exhaustion used to be what I strove for in my weights routine. Now, it is just what happens when I pick up the cat.

Fellow blogger Elizabeth and I met last week to get her started on a circuit routine and to get me back on track with a routine of my own. We agreed we would lift twice a week, and measure the amount we lift early on, and then measure it again in about six weeks. I think it would be way fun to bench press in three digits again soon.

The first time I started lifting seriously, nine years ago, I dropped a good bit of weight right away. Well, lifting, but I was walking three miles, three times a week. Whichever it was, I will get back at them today. I say in six weeks I will drop 12 lbs.

I am writing it down.

Onward.

Trying out weight training


Elizabeth Templin McCamic

Last week, I met fellow blogger Ellyn at the Dowd Y to get a few tips on weight training, a subject Ellyn knows a thing or two about.

One of my goals for this year was to work on becoming stronger, but with so many options, I wasn't sure where to get started. Ellyn and I talked about free weights and machines and mapped out a plan for me to follow for the next few weeks.

As I build up my strength, I'm going to start doing two or three circuits on machines at my gym two times a week. Then, once I'm feeling a little more confident about what I'm doing and how much I can lift, I'll start working with free weights and adding other challenges. I'm still keeping up with my cardio routine, running a few times a week.

For me, it feels great to have a plan and feel a little more focused. I've had success with running because I had a clear plan and time commitment. I hope following the same path helps me meet my strength-building goals.

Now, to update you on the 100-day burpee challenge:

So far the challenge is going pretty well, though we did miss a couple days and then made up for them the next day. I would not recommend this path. Last night, I did 33 burpees when I was supposed to do only 17 (but I missed doing burpees on Sunday, so it was time to get caught up). I can see how this could get out of hand very quickly as our daily burpee commitment grows.

We also have not done a great job getting the burpees done early in the day. I'll just say that doing burpees right before bed is not ideal. The burpees really get your heart pumping, which is not conducive for sleep. I have pledged to knock them out earlier in the day this week.

I have seen my burpee form improve. For a while, I was placing my arms too far in front of my body during the pushup part, which was making my right shoulder ache. Now I'm being more careful about my arm placement and that seems to have fixed the problem.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Memory eating

Lawrence Toppman

When you have a cold that lingers and wipes out your taste buds, do you ever start to eat from memory? By that I mean, do you eat things you can't taste but wish you could taste, and would be enjoying if you could sense their flavor?

I made that mistake over the weekend. My body told me I wanted a chocolate cookie with peanut butter filling. I had no hope of savoring it on the way down. So while I ate it (and a couple more), I tried to remember what it was like when I could taste it -- and I almost convinced myself I did.

On another occasion, I had peanut butter smeared all over a piece of honey wheat bread, one of my favorite treats. Some part of my brain tried to resurrect the heady peanut aroma. But in my heart, I knew the only nuttiness at work here was my own. That didn't stop me from further experiments, however.

Result: I put on a pound over the weekend. It's not time to panic, but time to behave like a sensible human being. As long as I can't taste what's going down, my sugar intake shouldn't be going up!

Friday, May 6, 2011

A dark cloud to my silver lining

The good news is, I've lost 10 pounds since I started January 1. I hit the magic double figure at noon today, when my scale teetered electronically and fell in my favor at 184.5 pounds. My cats clustered around to see who was croaking with joy. Maybe they thought I was a toad that had gotten into the house somehow and need to be chased back out.

The bad news is, I still don't sound fully human. The cold is in day 6 -- mine tend to last the full 10 or more -- and I'm supposed to sing full-out by Tuesday's dress rehearsal for "H.M.S. Pinafore." (On the other hand, the sailor suit will fit better.)

So my sudden success is due to illness, not will power. I still can't taste or smell food at all. I went to Meskerem, an Ethiopian place I like, for lunch today and could almost make out the flavor of the spicy chickpeas. So in a way, this part of the weight loss seems like cheating: If food yielded no sensory pleasures, almost anyone could drop weight all the time.

The real test will come when chocolate tastes different from cheese, and macaroons and macaroni provide distinctly different rewards. Until then, I'll be grateful for looser pants and try to find a way to continue the success when I'm back in health.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Giving the burpee challenge a try.


Elizabeth Templin McCamic

I am wondering if my half marathon experience has made me a challenge junkie.

About a week ago, when I was looking around for a new workout routine, my husband casually mentioned that he's been wanting to try a workout he read about online: the 100-day burpee challenge.


What's a burpee, you ask? It's an exercise where from standing you drop into a squat then kick back your legs to a plank position, lower to the ground so you can do a pushup then hop back to a squat ending with a jump back to standing. The whole thing takes just a minute and when I do them I look about as graceful as a beached whale. Well, maybe it's not that bad but that is how I feel, especially after five or six.

This 100-day challenge pops up on a lot of fitness sites focused on simple exercises. They all tend to emphasize how this is a good, full body workout with no equipment necessary.

We've being doing burpees together each evening. The idea is you do one the first night and increase one a day until you reach 100. We're up to 11 and right now I honestly cannot imagine what we're going to do in another month or two when our daily numbers reach into the 30s, 40s, 50s and higher. I'm hoping by then my arms and core will be stronger so I'm less shaky moving through the poses.

So far it's been a fun challenge for us to do together. It's also been a nice, small addition to my longer running and weight training workouts. Every minute we move counts, so I am trying to make sure I move as much as I can.

Has anyone out there tried this challenge before? Any fans of the burpee out there?

Monday, May 2, 2011

Hooray -- I'm sick!

Over the weekend, I stumbled upon a secret ally in weight loss: a cold. I have zero desire to eat and can't taste the chocolate lying in the refrigerator dessert drawer. I don't even want the apple and raisins that sit reprovingly on my desk at work, reminding me I have to consume some fuel whether I want to or not.

True, the illness probably infected everyone else in the Opera Carolina chorus with "H.M.S. Pinafore" looming 10 days away. (It opens May 12.) True, this will incrementally spread to their friends and families, creating a ripple effect of monstrous proportions. True, I am so medicated now that my head feels simultaneously stuffy and foggy.

Also true that I'm not going to feel much like exercising while I can't breathe through my nose and am wheezing through my mouth like an antique calliope. (This makes life tough for my wife, who unreasonably wishes to sleep through the night.)

But for the moment, I'm going to enjoy a lack of desire to pounce on any food I see. And if I keep my good eating habits once I can taste and smell again, maybe this will be a good thing overall. Germs, do your worst!