<p>Speaking of sizes, I thought I had found a steal. TJ MAXX had a whole rack of blue long sleeve Champion C9 tech shirts in the men’s department – $7.99. I have several of the same shirt in short sleeve MEDIUM and they are great – trim fitting solid color workout shirts with reflective logos. Not fancy in terms of styling, but the quality is as good as the name brand stuff. So I found a MEDIUM and grabbed it. </p>
<p>Brought it home and I don’t know if its a MEDIUM for women or for children or what, but it is about four sizes too small. I think it must be a boy’s shirt that got racked in men’s department by mistake. Oh, well.</p>
<p>What is the feeling on here on Bill Clinton’s vegan regimen? I thought this piece in the WSJ yesterday on vegan bakeries was very interesting. Many are hiding the fact that they are vegan because people assume vegan tastes lousy but, in fact, vegan bakeries are taking top honors in pastry contests. My DH and I flirted with being vegan about 20 years ago. We both got thin to the point of gaunt. </p>
<p>Back from vacation and I still have a sleep deficit. I didn’t workout much other than that video but I got a lot of walking in and I generally kept a good amount of control on my calories (of course the content of those calories wasn’t up to my usual standards). Bringing along a few bags of pistachios and almonds did help.</p>
<p>I’m going to go on a short run today to see how the body feels and try to get in a little time on the Smith Machine too. My size 32 jeans fit so it looks like no damage was done.</p>
<p>The bottom is about to drop out of our weather here, so I got my run in this morning before the rain and cold move in later. I did my hard course from the house, which I’ve been avoiding since I’ve had the luxury of having time to drive to the flatter path. So- 7.3 miles done. The hills were tough, but I made it. Took 2 “catch my breath” stops on the way back after 5 miles. Right arm is sore from yesterday’s flu shot.</p>
<p>Our weather has also changed. Cool and drizzley this morning. Hit the gym and rode the recumbent and walked on dreadmill. HRM says I burned 550 calories…I never believe it.</p>
<p>I had to adjust my training schedule to fit around my work schedule, so instead of an easy run, I did a speed workout. Today’s plan was 6 x 400 in 1:52-1:55. I managed 1:57, 2:02, 2:00, 2:02, 2:03, 2:06. I think I don’t like speed workouts too much lol.</p>
<p>swehappy, I dunno. Vegan baked stuff can taste good (there is a local vegan bakery that sells their goodies at PCC), but it is too much work to try to exclude every single bit of animal protein and fat and honey from one’s diet. Most of the world’s vegan population is vegan by necessity, not choice. Interesting fact (from the *Born to Run *book): “vegan” Tarahumara would not think twice about eating fire-roasted mice for protein, but they considered it a treat, because they could not rely on catching mice every day, so corn and other plants provided their nutrition in the absence of mice. I think eating animal protein in moderation, limiting sugar and white carbs, avoiding trans fats and generally paying attention to what we eat can be as beneficial as a “vegan” diet.</p>
<p>Possibly the best fall day for of the year. Upper 60s and sunny. Since I have no plans to run, I’ll just walk around to catch some naturally-derived Vit D.</p>
<p>Walked/ran with neighbor this morning over hill and dale of the neighborhood. Realized she runs while I jog. It was a good workout and we talked all the way through. Lasted a full hour, no idea how far we went. I kept up but was challenged.</p>
<p>I could be Vegan except the butter part. And salmon. And the occasional steak. Otherwise, no problem!</p>
<p>I think Bill is looking really good though.</p>
<p>That’s what I do! I never eat meat more than twice a day and hardly ever more than a 16 ounce serving! I almost never eat more than a tablespoon of butter or three eggs at a time. That’s moderation, isn’t it? :)</p>
<p>Ran one mile. Calves felt very tight - almost like a cramp without the spasms. It might be lack of electrolytes, the colder temps or lack of sleep but no need to push things on the first day back. I switched to the Smith Machine and free weights and had a decent workout. Will do some stretching tonight and grab a box of Emergen-C at Trader Joes.</p>
<p>5K hilly walk/jog for me today. Sunny, 63 degrees. Worked up a nice sweat as I pushed the pace again although not quite as hard as the last time. Hit a max heart rate of 100%, but I’m definitely seeing improvement on these jogging intervals.</p>
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<p>I need some ol’ (formerly) fat guy fashion advice from the fashionistas. What’s the current style for geezers? Running shirt tucked in or out?</p>
<p>OK, shirt out it is. I’m always in the wrong place at the wrong time I guess. After many years of leaving the shirt out to cover my (formerly) fat belly, now I’ve gotta leave it out for fashion. Oh well… :)</p>
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<p>Speaking of (formerly) fat. So close, so close. I hopped on the scale when I showered and the big ol’ digital numbers said 155.2 pounds. For whatever reason, I’ve been losing weight at a pretty good clip for the last few weeks: averaging 8/10ths of a pound a week for the last month after three months of drifting flat or even up a tick. I’ve been eating and exercising all along at a rate that probably should result in a slow drift downwards, but I had obviously hit a plateau where my body wasn’t going to let go of any fat for a little while. Who can figure this stuff out?</p>
<p>I think 155 and another 5 pound celebration is probably in the cards and, I must say, that it is very difficult to even wrap my brain around that. Starting at 250, that is just hard to even comprehend, really. This little spurt can’t last long. I just don’t have much left to lose.</p>
<p>Speaking of exercise music… At the gym where I had my gait analysis session they played Lambada (not the resurrected JLo version, the original one). Maybe that’s why I ran funny! The pt told me that I need to keep my hips from moving side to side, LOL! ;)</p>
<p>Congrats to Mrs. iDad. And congrats to iDad for being an excellent role model for her, AND for not telling her how to diet but for letting her figure it out herself.</p>
<p>I just try to encourage her, notice new smaller clothes, ask her about her gym classes, etc. She’s in a new class at the Y (part of diabetes program) with trainers that are making them do a lot of the same sorts of workouts and exercises that I’ve been doing. TRX stuff, squats, intervals on the elliptical or treadmill, etc. If anything, I think the trainers are probably pushing them a bit too hard, but what I hear about sounds generally pretty good. I suspect that Mike Boyle has had a lot of influence on the whole personal trainer scene in Boston. Landing an internship at his places is a big deal.</p>
<p>Her trainer/advisor in the diabetes program worked up a calorie target and told her that she wasn’t eating enough. The target was more like what I had been saying, so I think she’s probably pleased that she’s losing weight without completely starving herself. All the theory in the world doesn’t mean much unless you can come with some combination of foods that you can live with. Whatever she’s doing is working and she’s excited and motivated to keep it going.</p>
I think eating animal protein in moderation, limiting sugar and white carbs, avoiding trans fats and generally paying attention to what we eat can be as beneficial as a “vegan” diet.</p>