Geo - Eye's Wide Open 2012

[proverbs31woman]

Wow its been 100 days of daily posts on this journey. I've really gone from can I do it, to why did I think it was going to be so hard, to now just being routine. I know what I need to do, I know how to eat, I enjoy my food, I exercise a bit and move much more everyday, I rest and just mindlessly think and meditate everyday and I sleep well. Plus I seem to enjoy my family and life much more. I'm really happy these days and I've lost so many aches, pains, illnesses and assorted small issues that its hard to believe I once considered them just a normal part of life and aging I write these journal entries the day after the posted day, so it didn't occur to me I had hit that milestone and I didn't celebrate it at all...oh well maybe I'll do something special this weekend Now on to the usual stuff...

You're in a good place, Geo! Keep it up!

[geo]

Day 101

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with home-made salsa
banana
herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
orange

E: 46 mins walking - 5297 steps. walked down 34 floors and up 17. Total steps for day - 10,688 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Had lots of energy. Walked down and up 17 floors in the morning. Going up was still very difficult but getting easier. I recovered a little faster than usual which means I'm getting stronger. I walked down the stairs again after lunch. Did my walk after I got home from work. Was a little tired and felt slow during walk but did ok time wise I guess. Its obvious I can do my walk faster and with more energy first thing in the morning but when I have to be in the office I can only do it at the end of day.

Was an average stress day at work. Got a few things accomplished which felt good, but definitely have a lot on my plate. It always seems as if a large portion of my work comes in on Fridays which means I think about work all weekend which doesn't let me relax a lot. I'll need to work on that! At any rate, I went over 10 years at my current work place which got me some congrats, a certificate, and a little bit of money. So that litened things up during the week.

It seems like now I'm getting second looks from everybody everyday and at least one person a day mentioning something about me losing weight, even people I don't even know The interesting thing is that while everyone is noticing the weight loss, no one to date is really interested in how I'm doing it. A 50 lb loss is enough for people to notice but not enough to motivate them to do something about themselves

[geo]

Day 102

B: nothing
L: baked potato and sweet potato
banana
herbal tea
D: rice with mex veggies and salsa
orange

E: 92 mins walking - 10660 steps. Total steps for day - 15,301 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Well rested and lots of energy. Took a morning and evening walk and felt strong at both. Also did a ton of shopping and walking around today. Was a beautiful sunny day so got plenty of sun as well. And finally took my dau and one of her friends to the swimming pool today for about 3 hours.

That gave me a bit of time to catch up on the Starch Solution which I have not yet completed but almost done. I reread carefully the part on Vitamin D and B-12. I think I will stop taking the Vit D that I've been taking since I started this lifestyle. I have no proof of a deficiency and I have been getting lots of sun, more sun than I usually ever get. So I don't think I'm in anyway deficient. I think what I'll do is test my levels , next time I get my blood work done, just to see where I sit.

I also really liked what he had to say about the B-12 issue. I tend to be a bit more obsessive about that and will be switching over to a methyl or hydroxy form of cobalamin to better assimilate the vitamin.

The section on salt also opened my eyes a bit. I've been doing a lot of salt restriction which does make my food very bland and its one of the reasons why my cooking isn't as palatable as I would like and why my family generally does not eat what I do. So I will take a second look at how I handle salt after I go through a bunch of the studies that Dr M talks about.

[geo]

Day 103

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: baked potato and sweet potato
herbal tea
banana
D: rice with mixed veggies and corn and salsa
watermelon

E: 48 mins walking - 5476 steps. Total steps for day 5735 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt good today. Did my morning walk, but developed a blister on my left heel. This definitely slowed me down and shortened my stride do to the pain. In the end, decided not to do any more walking for the day to help the blister heal. For some reason my heels have always been prone to develop blisters.

Today was a really lazy day. Spent most of it just lounging around the house, getting some reading done and catching up on TV shows with the wife that we have on dvr. Just a good lazy summer day with not much to say

[geo]

Day 104 - Week 15

Its been 14 complete weeks now and here are my latest numbers:

Weight: 206.6 down from: 210.8 started at: 261
BP: 109/69 up from: 104/62 started at: 153/92
Pulse: 45 down from: 56 started at: 88
BMI: 28.0 started at: 35.4

Another really good week. Down 4.2 lbs from last week and 54.4 lbs since I started this woe. It seems apparent that when I lost only 1 lb last week and was feeling bloated that I must have been retaining water on that day. And I have now lost that extra water this week as I should be losing only about 2.5 lbs per week now. The extra 1.5 pounds I lost was probably last weeks water retention. In the end it all works out which is why you shouldn't worry about daily/weekly weight loss fluctuations. My BP is staying low as is my pulse. My wife thinks my pulse is too low but historically, from when I was much younger I know its always naturally low.

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups of herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mex veggies with corn and salsa
banana
herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
watermelon
herbal tea

E: 45 mins walking - 5310 steps. Walked up/down 17 floors and down again 17 floors. Total steps for day - 10,917 steps
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Blister on left heel is bothering me a bit. Took my evening walk after work and did pretty good, felt strong. In the morning did my down/up stair climb of 17 floors. Its still a killer but this is the first time I didn't have to use a hand rail at all in either direction. This means I'm quickly getting stronger I was still completely winded for 15 mins afterwards but overall my recovery felt stronger.

I did a second walk down the stairs in the afternoon. The walk down has become easy and doesn't bother me at all. I think the M-W-F schedule for stair walking is the best schedule for now and will stick with that for the future. In a couple weeks I should be strong enough to do the complete down/up sequence twice, morning and afternoon on those days

I think I've turned my dau into a sweet potato fiend I bought 8 sweet potatoes yesterday and in 24 hours she had eaten 5 of them, all nuked. I'll need to go out and get more in another day. She gets that way about food. She doesn't like anything till she tries it and then if she likes it she goes crazy over it. I hope she continues to like potatoes

[geo]

Day 105

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: baked potatoes
banana
herbal tea
D: rice with mixed veggies and salsa
watermelon

E: 47 mins walking - 5459 steps. Total steps for day - 8869 steps
M: 10 mins
BFT: 23 mins lucid dreaming (Bio-Feedback Training)

Felt good today. Worked from home and stress levels relatively a little high. Did my morning walk, but my blistered heel was bothering me a lot. Time and stride were both off. Decided not to do the evening walk so I could give my heel a break. Tomorrow I will do my walk in my water shoes which should be much better for my heel.

Got my self a little mp3 player (Sansa Clip+) so I could have something to listen too during my walks and also for some mental training/relaxation as well. I'm starting to listen to brain wave synchronization mp3's.

These will supposedly help you to relax and meditate via embedded binaural beats and such to force specific brain wave frequencies and patterns that are associated with specific bio-feedback effects - i.e., epsilon/delta/theta/alpha/beta/gamma brain wave entrainment. There is some science to this form of biofeedback so I figured I would give it a try to enhance my meditation/relaxation efforts. If nothing else its interesting synthetic "mood" music I can further relax too.

[geo]

Day 106

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: baked potato and sweet potato
banana
D: rice with mex veggies and corn and salsa
grapefruit
herbal tea

E: 95mins walking - 11,439 steps. Total steps for day - 17,375 steps
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Did more walking today than I ever have before and felt strong doing it all. I did a morning and evening walk, plus did some shopping and was generally on my feet all day. Worked from home so stress levels weren't bad at all. All in all a nice active day that went well.

I actually felt hungry today before my usual dinner time. So I ate about an hour earlier than usual and felt good for it. Did not get hungry again the rest of the night nor did I need to eat any more food than usual. Just a little time change in my eating pattern and all was well.

Dau got her dance schedule for the summer session. Its a packed schedule for the week which means she won't be able to get her gymnastics in this summer unfortunately, but at least her dance training will be more intense now which is good for her. Hopefully she will be able to take her gymnastics again in the fall.

[geo]

Day 107

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups herbal tea
S: herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with salsa
banana
herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
grapefruit

E: 49 mins walking - 5763 steps. Walked down/up 17 floors and down 17 floors.Total steps for day - 9592 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt real good today. Lots of energy. My stairs walking went very well. Going up stairs is still very difficult but I managed it better than ever so its readily apparent that my strength and stamina is improving every time I do it.

My walking routine was done after work and because I'm wearing water shoes as opposed o running shoes my stride and gait are being effected which is causing me to shorten my stride. So the number of steps is increasing and the times are slowing down. But I'm working just as hard as always. Its interesting how changing the shoes you wear can make such a big difference in performance.

It was a stressful day at work as I had to deal with quite a few issues that took lots of my time. All part of my new position but still not a lot of fun When I got home I made my dau some snow cones with the new ice shaver I got her. She just loves those things. I know the sugary syrups in them aren't great but when the weather is hot and she plays outside a lot its a great simple treat and shes so happy to have them and I'm a sucker for her smile

[proverbs31woman]

It was a stressful day at work as I had to deal with quite a few issues that took lots of my time. All part of my new position but still not a lot of fun When I got home I made my dau some snow cones with the new ice shaver I got her. She just loves those things. I know the sugary syrups in them aren't great but when the weather is hot and she plays outside a lot its a great simple treat and shes so happy to have them and I'm a sucker for her smile

So sweet!

[geo]

Day 108

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
2 cups herbal tea
L: mixed veggies with salsa
apple
herbal tea
D: baked potato and sweet potato
grapefruit

E: 49 mins walking - 5731 steps. Stair walking - 17 floors down twice. Total steps for day - 9579 steps
M: 10 mins

Felt good today. Very long, busy day at work with a good amount of stress. Did my stair walking in the morning and afternoon and my walk late last night. Was a bit tired during walk but did feel strong throughout.

Also took my dau and her friend swimming last night as well for about 90 mins. They want to go again tomorrow as usual. I used to complain about doing so as I used to get so hot even in the shade. But now I'm cool and comfortable even in the sun (which I do try to stay out of to much). Just another consequence of this lifestyle

Had some guys come out and fix up my deck which was in real need of repair. It looks much better now and I'm much lighter in the wallet as well But we can now make some use of it this summer which should be fun And of course the wife will want some new patio furniture to go with it I'm sure, lightening up my wallet even more

[geo]

Day 109

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
L: bake potato and rice and mex veggies with salsa
grapefruit
D: baked potato and sweet potato
apple

E: 98 mins walking - 11499 steps. Total steps for day - 15703 steps
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Had lots of energy and good sleep. Did an early morning and late night walks today. Also did the usual weekday shopping at 3 different stores so I got lots of walking in today. Took dau and her friends swimming today as well.

Otherwise it was a fairly lazy day today and actually took a nap with my wife in the afternoon. That was fortuitous as I ended up having some mid-night work I was called in to do (yeah on a Saturday) At least I'm taking Monday off for the Father's Day weekend

[geo]

Day 110

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: baked potato and sweet potato
apple
D: black rice with mixed veggies and corn and salsa
grapefruit

E: 97 mins walking - 11534 steps. Total steps for day - 14559
M: 10 mins

Happy Fathers Day! It was a very nice day I was totally surprised by what my Wife and dau gave me today as a gift - A big, beautiful basket of fruit - apples/oranges/green and red pairs/kiwi. What better gift for someone in this lifestyle

My Wife and dau never say anything about the way I eat, I wasn't even sure if they noticed it all that much. I never really talk to them about it other than to mention Dr M's name a few times. So they really don't know what this diet is about (unless they've been secretly reading my books).

At any rate, it blew me away that they would understand and get me really the only gift that would make me happy - no cake or ice cream, no fancy meal, just a beautiful, delicious, healthy basket of fruit. I've never gotten one before and its not something we would ever buy so it was a total and wonderful surpise

Its just one more reason why I plan to continue this lifestyle...I want to be with them for a very, very long time

[proverbs31woman]

Very sweet gift! Happy Belated Father's Day!

[geo]

Day 111 - Week 16

Its been 15 complete weeks now and here are my latest numbers:

Weight: 203.6 down from: 206.6 started at: 261
BP: 109/71 up from: 109/69 started at: 153/92
Pulse: 52 up from: 45 started at: 88
BMI: 27.6 started at: 35.4

Another week another 3 lbs down Still losing at a good clip on MWL after almost 4 months And I'm closing in on a psychological goal of 200 lbs. I always felt I was fat once I reached 200 lbs, so getting under it is a quick short term goal that will keep me motivated.

My BP and pulse are still doing great. I took it at night about an hour after taking my walk so I was surprised it wasn't a bit higher. And of course my BMI continues to slowly go down in the right direction. I should be able to reach that 200 lb goal by the end of June in 2 weeks.

Its clear from my body and clothes that I keep losing. My new belt from 2 months ago is on the last hole again. The new pants I bought at the same time is way too big as well. My shirts at 2x fit like bags and some 1x I bought last once are quite loose as well. So even without the scales the changes are readily apparent. Plus I'm getting almost daily comments at work these days about "looking good". Its going to be a good summer

B: oatmeal with flax and cinnamon
herbal tea
L: black rice with mex veggies and salsa
grapefruit
D: baked potato and sweet potato
few strawberries and orange

E: 91 mins walking - 10,690 steps. Total steps for day - 12,204 steps.
M: 10 mins

Felt great today. Took day off and stress levels were low for a change. Did my morning and evening walk wearing my regular walking shoes as I developed a blister on the ball of my left foot from my water shoes

At least the blister on my right heel is healed now and the walking shoes didn't seem to bother me yesterday. It seems like its always something with my feet and shoes but at least the problems are significantly less than they used to be.I guess I should start looking for another pair of shoes in a few weeks.

I'm reading "3 mins to a pain free life" now. Its basically about physical therapy to reduce/eliminate musculo-skeletal pain by doing various stretching exercises (that look a lot like various yoga poses). I'm going to follow the program for a few months once I'm done reading the book.

Hopefully that will get rid of my nagging lower and upper back pain that comes and goes. Its improved over the months but still not completely gone. I think stretching is the final answer to fix that little issue.

[pechke]

Just read a few pages of your journal and your posts have been so inspiring for me! Your consistency has been amazing, and I love how you simply made up your mind to DO this and voila... life-changing! Awesome job, and I look forward to hearing about you weighing less than 200... 190... who knows?