Brainsprain.net

As of today, I’ve run 100 miles since I started keeping track on July 7, 2008.  That’s 5k five days a week.  That’s 165k today, or 102.52 miles.  I ran my 5k this morning in 38 minutes and 43 seconds.  That’s neither my slowest nor my fastest, but about average.  I weigh 226.6 lbs.  I’m writing this because I wonder what all these statistics were one year ago to see how much I’ve progressed, but at least now next year (or in 3 months or whatever) I can know.

Okay, pardon me for using this space as my personal notepad for recipes I just made up, but I feel like all 10 of you will forgive me.

Boil until tender:

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Mix in a small bowl:

2 T Brown Sugar

2 T Soy Sauce

1/2 t Rice Wine Vinegar

1 t Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

1/4 t dry mustard

1/2 t lemon juice

It’s gonna be… um… a bit hot.

Let the chicken cool, then shred it up. Put it in a ziplock and dump the sauce on it. Shake it up and put it in the fridge.

Throw 1/2 c rice and ~2/3 c water in a bowl, cook it up.

Mix all this together and refrigerate. 2 servings. Tastes like PF Chang’s Lettuce wraps and I made it up.

Skipping tuna tomorrow!!

(Two pictures are worth 72 pounds):

August 2006

August 2007

Thanks for the old picture, April!

Time for another snapshot. I’ve now been on the Hacker’s Diet for 180 days. I’ve lost 65 pounds by my scale and 62 by my trend line. I’ve lost 75 pounds since I was at my heaviest last October. I’m to the point where I don’t look extraordinarily large nor skinny nor muscular. In essence I’ve lost about a pound about every three days, choosing to take 1100 – 1200 calories of what I burn every day from what I once referred to as my “mighty hump.” If you don’t know how much 1100 calories is, check the nutrition information the next thing you eat. You’ll be surprised at how much that is. I’m so close to my goal, and I know I can do it. All of you have been so supportive and wonderful, especially my wife. Thanks to everybody for giving me the loving and supportive environment to make this possible.

If you carefully study the picture below, you might be able to find me! You might have to closely examine it, but I promise, I’m there!

Always one of my favorite topics, but nothing brings it to the forefront of my mind like a sudden change in appearance. With all the weight I’ve lost (50 lbs so far!) and the new hairdo, I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the way I’m treated by strangers.

Prejudice simply means judgments on someone based on the way they look, and we all do it — it’s a survival technique. Six months ago, people immediately dismissed me as jolly and harmless. Now that I’m way down in weight and have extremely short hair, I fall into another category. The wife describes it as “tougher,” but I assure you it’s only skin deep. Oddly, though, it’s resulted in better service when I go to someplace like Fry’s. I think it’s cause I ordinarily don’t go around with a big grin on my face, and without the hair, that equates to a scowl, I guess. I’m going to experiment with wearing a big grin and see how that changes the reaction I get. Stay tuned for details.

While we’re discussing interesting stuff, you should read this. My buddy Bill sent it to me, and it’s a pretty powerful idea. At the very least, it’ll provoke conversation. At most, it could change the world.

Today is a red-letter day for me. Today marks the halfway point on my journey to my target weight. 40 down, 40 to go. In this case, I see the glass as both half-empty and half-full. I think either way, it’s optimistic.

Tomorrow marks ninety days on my silly diet. Officially, that’s 33 pounds in 90 days, or 0.37 pounds per day. My scale actually tells me I’ve lost 37 pounds, which is an equally impressive 0.41 pounds per day. My exercise program works, too, and while you may not notice the subtle changes, I can see muscles brewing under that excess skin. I’m not quite halfway to where I want to be, but I note this important milestone with these words:

I weigh more today than I ever will again.

Scientists Say Dieting Does Not Work

This article does NOT, in fact, quote any scientist as saying that dieting does not work. What they DO say, however, is that dieting without lifestyle changes can not only lead to weight re-gain, but also to other health issues. I hate to get off on a rant here, but I have two main ranting points:

1) Changing your eating habits (also known as your “diet”) is the only way to make major changes to your body composition. If I relied only on exercise to lose my weight, I could realistically burn about 300 more calories a day on my old diet, possibly severely hurting myself in the process, and resulting in a yearly weight loss rate of 30 pounds. That’s walking for a full hour every day rain or shine. And eating horribly. I’ve lost 30 pounds in 73 days by simply doing some portion control and starting a reasonable exercise program. The goal here is to make these changes permanent and not yo-yo.

2) On an almost completely unrelated note, what happened to journalism? It is irresponsible to publish an article like that one under that headline. It’s precisely because of that kind of shoddy eye-grabbing writing that people think they have to pay Nutri-Systems or similar to lose weight. Fox Faux News spreads to the medical profession, I suppose. Say whatever you want in the headline and make minor corrections in the fine print.

Does blogging help appease hunger pangs?  Let’s find out… I knew when I started this thing that there would be moments like this… Moments when a cheeseburger, fries, and an order of hot wings would start chanting my name.  Right now they’re doing that “Eat Me” dance from Addams Family Values on the inside of my eyelids.  I take deep breaths and remember my favorite diet fantasy to get through:

I’m in the midst of a terrible, worldwide famine. Skinny WebEx salesmen and other annoying people are dying all around me. Sure, I’m hungry. Sure, I’m starving on barely half the nutritional requirements of my body.  But I planned and trained for this for seventeen years. My mighty hump is providing me with all the nourishment I need, and at the end of all this, I will shed it in favor of a new, healthy, lean body in a world where everyone who pisses me off has starved to death. It’s brutal, but there is nothing I can do to save them. I take some of the food I’ve scrounged and put it in a secret place to give to the people I love. My belly is strong and good and will sustain me another day.

Um, yeah, I need to get back into therapy… 63 more pounds to go.