Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Why We Are So Fat
To determine what level of "fatness" a person is, the general measurement used is the Body Mass Index, or BMI. For a person to be considered obese, their BMI must be 30.0 or higher. In short, it uses a calculation of your weight and height.
I would like to side-step for a moment and point out that I have been on the wrong end of the BMI calculator. At my max, I was as much as 265 pounds. Calculated with my height, my BMI was 35.9.
I realize that there are some people out there who have legitimate health problems that cause them to be overweight or obese. I am not talking about them. I am talking about the rest of us who make thoughtless decisions on what we put into our bodies. The frequency at which we eat food that is packed with calories is often alarming. While some may disagree with me, I do not think the fast food companies are the reason for this. Sure, their foods are packed with calories, but it is ultimately up to us to decide what we put into our bodies. And far too often, we are eating large portions without even taking one second to think about how much we should be eating.
Unfortunately, most people only think about how much they are eating, not how many calories are in what they eat. The prevailing thought is that I am not eating a Claim Jumper sized portion of food, so it cannot be that bad. Sadly, there are many cases where this is wrong. Let's take a simple McDonald's cheeseburger and small fries. They combine for 530 calories. On the surface, this does not appear all too bad, but in most cases, including someone of my size, this would not be enough for one meal. They are both very small and a lot of people end up getting a bigger order of fries, or they add an additional burger. If we add another cheeseburger, we are then pushed over 800 calories for one meal. Of course, there is also the drink, and a lot of people order the fully leaded soda because they just can't stand diet. Given that you cannot get a drink less than 16 ounces anymore, if the non-diet drink is added, you are suddenly over 1000 calories.
I am not out to point fingers at McDonalds, I am just using it as an example. The same would apply to Wendy's, or KFC, or name-your-favorite joint (man I miss In-n-Out). My point here, is that we just order what will fill us up, but give no thought to how many calories are in the meal.
Back in 2006 I was challenged by a friend to run a half marathon. As part of my training I learned that eating right can improve running performance. So, I set out to understand what I was eating by reading labels. Specifically, I began counting calories. In my opinion, at the end of the day, it is all about calories in, calories out. Many people look at fat content, but loose sight of the fact that lower fat items often have higher sugar content, which packs on the calories. As a result of exercising 4-5 days a week and reducing my calorie intake, I dropped 35 pounds. In April of 2009, I re-dedicated myself to watching my calories and running again, and I have dropped another 20 pounds. I weigh less now than I did when I got married at 19, and am almost down to the weight I was as a senior in high school. My better half has lost 20 pounds simply by eating less calories.
Is it easy? Not at first. The main key is that it is not a diet, it is a lifestyle change. Once you get used to checking the calories, it becomes easy. Also, once you have done it for a month or so, you begin to remember, generally, how many calories are in an item. This becomes helpful when you go out to dinner. One of the places we like to go to is Red Robin. The thing is, I know that one of their awesome burgers is likely going to be close to or over 1000 calories, just for the sandwich. I keep this in mind when making my decision on what to eat.
If I can preach anything, it is to take the time to know what you are eating when it comes to calories. With no regular exercise plan, a man should probably not be eating more than 2500 calories a day. For women, and I say this is not fair, they should not be eating more than 1800-2000 calories. This can make it tough with couples because a man is able to get away with that extra item or that slightly higher calorie menu.
One last item to leave you with. For those that watched the Superbowl, you probably saw the Taco Bell commercial with Charles Barkely. It was about the NBA $5 Buck Box. Here are the contents of one of the boxes:
Cheesy Gordita Crunch
Burrito Supreme
Crunchy Taco
Cinnamon Twists
Medium Drink
Assuming this is ordered with a diet drink, the total calorie content is 1270!! Given that this is so cheap, I wonder how many people will order this thing, not having any clue they just consumed half, or more, of the calories they should eat in one day!
In comparison, a Five Dollar Footlong Ham from Subway, ordered with wheat bread, no cheese, all of the vegetables, mustard, no mayo or oil, is all of 580 calories. Mmmmm, Subway.
By the way, my BMI is now below the obese range at 28.5 and I continue to work to move it even lower.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Long time, no post
Why three pairs of shoes you ask? Because Little Man could not decide which pair he wanted to wear. The Wife and I bought a new pair for him on Monday so now he wants nothing to do with the old ones. In any case, wanted to get something posted to try and get back into the swing of things. I am hoping to give periodic updates to my training for the half marathon. Up to 4 miles right now. Hoping to be beyond six by the end of the month.
Friday, December 5, 2008
WTF?????
As I look at the last post, I see that it is very sunny outside and that Elijah is wearing shorts and t-shirt. Far cry from what we have today. If you have watched the weather at all, you would have seen that we have been getting a good amount of snow, but it is also very cold. Overnight last night and this morning is by far the coldest it has been since we moved here. I have been in colder temperatures, but not since we now have to live in it. Today, Elijah is wearing his double jacket, beanie, neck gator (man scarf), and snow gloves. Check this current weather report out:
OUCH!!!!! Wind chill of minus 9?!?!?!?!?! Holy $%#@!! I guess I can look on the bright side, at least it is clear and sunny, right? Similar to Melman's line in Madagascar "They're cute, from a reasonable distance", it is gorgeous outside, from inside the warm buidling. Snow on the ground, clear blue skies, bright sun.........frozen retention ponds and rivers.
Anyway, I gotta get back to work. We have been taking a lot of pictures over the last couple of months. I think I am going to upload them to an online photot storage place and then provide links to them in here. Seems like that would be faster. Have a good weekend!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
First Day of School
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Visit From my Sister
Sorry this is not longer. I stayed up too late last night watching the Olympics, and then I had to get up early this morning for an 8:00 meeting. I am going to bed!
p.s. - Elijah starts his new school on Monday! 2nd grade. Open house is this Thursday and we get to meet his teacher and walk the school. I actually have an opportunity to buy Bears tickets for their next pre-season game. Usually not a big deal, but they are playing the 49ers. Turns out the game is Thursday, so that nixes that because I would rather go to the open house. Well, that, and the tickets would be $92 EACH!!! My next door neighbor knows the fiance of the grandson of the Bears' owner. Her tickets are on the Bears sideline, at the 45-50 yard line, 10 rows up. Nice!! Someday I will bite the bullet and buy them. We'll see. Ciao.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Weeding.... yuck!
At my fathers request I took photos of the landscaping to see all of the flowers and the weeds (this was prior to weeding).
Enjoy.
This is the front walkway. I just planted the day lillies and the other lillies and the mums in the front and around the tree in the front.
Front to the left of the drive way.
Front tree.
Back yard waking in from the side gate.
Back yard waking in from the side gate.
Crazy Weather!!
As the storms were going through, I tried to snap some pictures. The first one is of the sky to the west. I took this about 8:00 pm. The worst of the clouds had moved east, and we could see an orange glow off in the distance. Obviously it was the trailing clouds with the sun coming through, but it was a very strange orange.
The other photos were of some lightning while we were looking east towards downtown Chicago out of our bathroom window. Keep in mind that these were taken about 8:30 at night when it was virtually dark outside. I told Becky today that it was a good thing she was not flying out here yeasterday. They had hundreds of flight cancelations at both airports (O'Hare and Midway). At least they are expecting great weather from Thurs through the weekend.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Just an Update
Amy took and past a test to be licensed to handle claims for Rhode Island. Way to go Amy!
I never came back here and mentioned it, but we now have our Illinois drivers licenses. They take your other license right there at the DMV and then hand you a new one. Kinda cool to not have to wait for it to come in the mail.
Bugs suck. You walk out in our backyard in the late evening, you might as well be camping in the woods. I guess that is what we get for living next to a marsh. I spray some good OFF! on me, but I think it attracts some kind of fly. Always buzzing around my head. Uhhggg!
Played golf last Tuesday after the boxes were picked up (see below) and shot an 81! That was with two double bogey's and one quadruple bogey (not good). I have to thank Ben Hogan and the Bible he wrote. I am itching to get out again.
My cousin JR is getting married Labor Day weekend. We are trying to figure out if we can go. We can always drive, but it would be two days each way. To avoid keeping Elijah out of school too long, we would have to leave on Thursday to get there and start our trip back on Monday. So that would be four out of six days driving. We could also fly, half day each way. The cost of flying is not too much more than driving, but it is still nearly $1100. It will be really hard to make that work and all that driving would really suck, especially with a two year old, plus sleeping at a hotel for a night each way. We are using free miles I have to go home for Thanksgiving. I guess we'll see. Maybe we can try and sell a bunch of stuff on Ebay or Craig's List. We do have a clothes dryer we need to get out of the garage. A crib too. As much incredible fun it would be, we really need to spend some money on putting up a shed.
Last, and certainly not least, my sister is coming in next week. We did have my Uncle Rick and Aunt Annette stop by for breakfast 4th of July morning on there trek back home to Montana, but outside of this, we have not seen any immediate family since we left California. I am looking forward to it and we are planning to have a lot of fun.
p.s. The weather is going to suck this weekend. Supposed to be in the mid to upper 90's with that wonderful Midwest humidity. Mid 80's with the humidity, very manageable. The 90's? Not so much. Wish us luck. I'll bet we spend a lot of time in the basement where the temperature is aways very cool.
Backyard Friends
As you look closer (see the next picture) you will see that they are not berries, but instead they are beetles. Japanese Beetles to be specific. Yuck!! Look at what they are doing to the leaves!
So I found a beetle killing spray that I connected to the end of my hose. Now there are many that are dead >:-) Yeah! Still need to spray some more.
Now there are some that I do not mind. Here is an *interesting* pair I found. In the words of Fillmore, the VW Bus on the movie Cars (voiced by the late, great George Carlin) with a 60's hippie tone, "There's a lot of love out there, man."
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Boxes.......Gone!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
House Pictures
The next four photos are of the backyard.The first two were taken back, i think in April. Notice just some trees and evergreens. The background water is the marsh directly behind our house. The third and fourth were taken a couple weeks ago. Notice how everything is MUCH greener now??!! We certainly hve a fair amount of yard work to do. For those who know about our old house and the size of the backyard, I would say this one is 3 to 4 times deeper than our old house, and about twice as wide. It is great for the kids and playing around, but it takes at least an hourjust to mow the front and back. If I mix in weed eating, edging, a little hedge trimming (I did all this last Sunday) it takes about 2-3 hours. I try to mix in weed pulling too, but there is A LOT. I really need to bear down and take a half day or so to pull weeds before they overtake some of the plants. It is a gorgeous backyard, but it comes with work. Good for us though. Get outside and stay active.
Not all of this green is ours. Beyond the tall bushes and evergrees is marsh (county) property. There is a wire type fence that is not visible in these photos that runs the property line. Out here there is no green waste garbage can like there was back in California. Here, yard waste/clippings, go into large brown paper bags. My first pass at mowing the grass, it took almost three full bags. Mind you these are 30 gallon bags. Not small to say the least. Now that there is less rain, I am able to cram it into one bag. We have had good rain this week, so I think this weekend will be a two bag job for the grass. I really do need to pull a lot of weeds, so I will have probably two more bags for that. What you don't see in the more recent pictures is the landscaping around the deck and to the left and right of the deck. There is plent more. Again, looks great, but will alwyas need maintenance.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Slow Transition to Ilinoian
Well, this evening, I put on Illinois license plates on the cars. I think this was one of those moments on the checklist where things sink in further. A milestone, if you will. I remember thinking during our first week here, it still did not feel like we had moved. I know that we had the house, the movers had delivered our stuff, but when I went to work on the Thursday and riday of the first week, it still had the feeling of being in town for one of my every-other-week trips out here.
I was telling co-workers that it still felt like I was getting on a plane Friday afternoon to fly back to California. I also told them that when I drive home on Friday, instead of fly home, and then go through a weekend in the new house, it will finally feel like we live somewhere else. Of course, this was the weekend we first experienced the crazy weather! A nice "how do ya' do" for our first full weekend. That following Monday I was getting on a train to work in our downtown Chicago office. That was certainly different. As the first week passed, I set up the phone, electricity, gas, TV, etc, and these were all put into our new address.
So another item on the relocation checklist done, new license plates. Now, a new drivers license. We tried to get that done today but got to the facility too late. Oh well, they are open on Saturday morning. Maybe it was God's way of telling us we needed to study a bit more. We'll see. I guess, after this, we will be down to checking people off the relocation list. That is, visiting family and friends will be another stepping stone in the many chapters of life. Amy had her cousin and her husband visit a couple weeks ago. Tomorrow, Aunt 'Net and Uncle Rick stop by for breakfast on their way home to Montana. We are looking forward to seeing them. Then, a friend of Amy's will be in town the end of July. Then, my big sis drops by for a few days in August. It should be a blast. And for her sake, the nasty weather should be long gone by then. It will be just a tad humid then ;-)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Northern Midwest Clouds
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Boxes Boxes Boxes
The Flight (a.k.a. Part 2)
As for the flight out here (Part 2 of 2). Everything went very fast getting to the plane. We got to the airport and I dropped off Amy and Elijah with the luggage. Well, everything but Malachi's little Elmo rolling backpack. He wanted to keep it with him. We then returned the rental car and we rode the shuttle bus back to the terminal. As we were approaching the terminal, I received a text message from Amy asking how far away we were. She said Elijah was pushing all of the wrong buttons. Go figure. We were just getting started and he was getting into rare form.
Well, I got there and we checked in our bags. It was quite the site. We had four suitcases we were checking. We were also bringing aboard our laptop bags, Malachi's backpack, a diaper bag, Elijah's backpack, an umbrella stroller, and a small suitcase we put our electronics in. While checking our bags, Malachi decided to go behind the counter to see what was going on. I mean all the way around, not just peer around the corner. Surprisingly, the ticket agents were okay and just laughed. I expected a sneer or stink eye. Guess I was stereotyping the airline industry.
After checking our bags, we went and got some food at a Chili's in the baggage claim area. Somehow during this time we managed to convince Malachi to get into the stroller. I think we bribed him with a banana. This really helped out because lugging everything around and also trying to contain him had become an Olympic event. We then proceeded to security, which went surprisingly well. It certainly took a while with all of our stuff, but we made it through without any issues.
Once we got onto the plane, we settled in and it was actually pretty uneventful. A little jostling between the boys for the window, but we eventually convinced Malachi to sit in the middle between Amy and Elijah. The flight was uneventful (which is never a bad thing). We ate shortly after taking off, and it was not long before Malachi fell asleep, and then Elijah. I think M slept for a little more than 2 1/2 hours, which was great. He needed it. Elijah also slept for about an hour and a half. I think I nodded off too. We had the boys switch seats for the landing so Malachi could see out the window.
Interestingly, the arrival was good. We were able to gather all of our stuff off the plane without too much issue. We took our time, let a bunch of people behind us go first, but it worked. When we got to the baggage claim our bags were there. It was awesome! I was actually going to get the rental car and then come get Amy and Elijah (taking M with me), but they were there. It was quite the chore getting the bags on a cart and to the rental car pickup, dropping the suitcase of electronics along the way. We were able to get going pretty quickly and stopped at Portillos for the famous Chicago style hotdogs. I think we made it to the hotel by 10:00. Whew!! It was a long day, starting out in Roseville, CA at 6:30 in the morning, and ending in Crystal Lake, IL at 10:00 at night, 2012 miles away. Interesting day.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Coming to you from Crystal Lake, IL (Part 1)
We then went to Elijah's last baseball game. We think that all of the stuff being packed, the house being empty, and him knowing how far away we will be, all finally caught up to him. Plus, he wanted to pitch really bad, and did not get to. He does not have much control right now, so it is not a good time for him to pitch. This added to everything and he spent about 10 minutes crying. Man he is an emotional kid. Still love him to death, though. After the game they game him his trophy and the coach gave him the game ball. This really cheered him up and he was pretty jazzed about it.
Afterwards, we headed to dinner with my sister, a couple of friends, and Elijah's coach and his wife, Tony and Elizabeth. We went to Mikuni for sushi. Had to go one last time before we moved. I ate waaaayyy too much, but did I care? Heck no. We then went and picked up the boys, and eventually made it to the hotel at 1:00 am. Got up at 6:30 am (thanks Malachi), went to breakfast with Amy's family, and then went back to the old house. It was strange to walk into it and see nothing there but our bags we took on the plane, and Josh already painting and making the house his. So it goes.
Well, I think this is kind of a boring read, but wanted to get it out there. This is only part 1 of at least two parts. I still plan to regurgitate everything that happened over the last 12 hours, which covers leaving the house in Sacramento to this point right now in the hotel where I am going to finish my glass of wine and crawl into bed.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Quick Relo Update
Well, it turns out that they did not. It is only two guys, and the only thing left for them to pack is our office, the kitchen (anything in cabinets or on countertops -- everything else around the kitchen is packed), and the hall bathroom. Even the garage is packed! They are good. So good that I am taking them golfing tomorrow afternoon. The will have half the house loaded by the afternoon, and will still have all of Friday to finish loading. I will try and dig out the camera to take a picture. Realy big trailer in front of our house too. Goodnight!!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Off to the Races
Sat - Work around the house and prepare for yard sale. It is raining so it will be inside work. Pack a few things.
Sun - Yard sale, then more house work. Going to get a jackhammer to break up the posts that were holding up the deck in the backyard. Pack a few things.
Mon - More house work, jackhammer, and a little packing. Don't want to pack too much, that is what the movers are for.
Tue - Pack my desk at work. I know, that should have been done already, but oh well. Also going to hang out with the sis, then Elijah has a game.
Wed - Movers show up and start. I am sure I will need to break down some stuff, like the desk.
Thurs - Movers still doing their thing
Fri - Movers finishing their thing. Elijah has his last game this night. Trying to also go to dinner at Mikuni with freinds. Gotta have the great sushi one last time.
Sat - We fly out in the afternoon.
I was talking with my boss yesterday, who has relocated five or six times, and I told him I had originally planned to work from home Wed-Fri, but decided otherwise and will take the time off work. He said there is no way I would get any work done. The are going to be asking questions all the time and I will have work to do, etc, etc. This should be an interesting week.
Monday, May 19, 2008
My Last "Commute"
So, anyway, I am sitting here at Chili's in the airport having a quick breakfast. Each time I head out, my father-in-law takes me to the airport, but he has to be at work by 7:00, so he always picks me up EARLY. Since I have time, I figured I would get a quick update in. I am waiting for a flight to Chicago. This is my last "commute" to the new office before our move. This also means we are less than two weeks from moving. I am glad that this will be my last trip away from my family for a while (I hope). Things are progressing along and we are just trying to make sure we have our berring's straight.
I was able to spend a little time with my sister yesterday. She bought a new TV (thank you stimulus package) and it would not fit in her car. So, I took the van over to pick it up and then helped her set it up real quick at her house. It was nice to hang out for a bit and goof off. The TV is nice, and I am sure Ty and Jeff will like it.
Anyway, it is 7:27 and my plane leaves at 8:15. Need to go through security. Another post soon (I promise).
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A New Place to Call Home?
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The 4th Biggest Decision of My Life
So, the 4th biggest decision (and the reason for starting up this blog site) was to accept a new job with the company I work for. That in itself is not that big of a deal. But, it is when the acceptance comes with relocating to the Chicago area. Yes, moving your family 2000 miles from your "support staff" can be the biggest decision for some, but I still think it was easier than the other three. In any case, I began my new position on Feb 18, 2008, and there is no looking back! This is a crazy time for us, but exciting as well. Amy was able to land a transfer (we work for the same company) and she started her new position this past Monday, April 14.
This is the short version of what has transpired over the last few months, but hopefully we will be able to stay on top of things and keep this updated. So, for now, happy reading!