After Some Setbacks, I Now Feel Really Good

November was a tough month for me in that my level of hope was challenged by injuries to my knee and back. After an early November bike ride, my first that late in the year, the snow came and my back injury got worse. In September I had a ridiculous accent with cycling shoes indoors and fell on my ass. My back hurt but seemed to be on the mend, although ever so slowly.

I had a good jog in October that was 20 minutes, a very significant landmark for me. It was, in my mind, a real jog because that's what I used to do in the old days of being fit. But it was too much too soon. My previous record this time out was fifteen minutes and that was too large of a jump all at once. I did it because I felt so good up until the end of the run but I didn't stop when I got signals from my knee that it had had enough. It pushed it one minute further to meet my goal.

My knee has been troublesome ever since. Going up stairs and jogging seemed iffy on occasion. But I'm happy to say it's all better now. If anything, going up and down a large toboggan hill seemed to help. It certainly strengthened my legs in ways they weren't before. But I'm taking it easy with jogging just in case, doing intervals instead of one long jog. Even at home on my treadmill (my fitness safety net) I do a minute or two of jogging intervals to spice up an otherwise boring routine.

All runners will tell you it feels really good to run. Well, I'd imagine it feels even better for people like me who, less than a year ago, were confined to laying in bed most of the day. Doing it for even just a couple of minutes here and there, with ever-increasing speeds as my fitness improves, feels oh so good.

I should have seen a chiropractor from the beginning. I hadn't seen one before and I know more now about back problems and how chiropractors can help get things better in a week or two.

So I feel pretty darn good! The only problem is the snow is melting. I actually want it to come back. I was just getting the hang of sledding and I'd usually much rather go tobogganing than go for a walk.

Tobogganing Day 2

I'm okay!

I could walk on the treadmill for thirty minutes like a mouse on a wheel or I can say, "Hey kids, lets' go tobogganing," and get a high intensity workout while having lots of fun with the family. 

It's like walking on a stair climber for an hour with short breaks when you go down the hill. 

Forgive Me, I'm A Bit Eurphoric

Winter Goal 2011: Accomplished! (And I lived!)

We haven't had a whole lot of snow and it is nastily cold out but my son and I hit the slopes and I tobogganed today for the first time in 25 years.

It's a great workout. I strapped on my heart rate monitor and I'm glad I did. A slow walk up the hill easily gets my heart rate up to 85% of max, where I like to limit myself. I had to pause for a moment or two now and again and slow down to keep my pulse in check, but I was amazed at how well I did. And I expect, like any new exercise, it'll get easier and easier as my body quickly adapts.

Last year I thought I was a hero for walking up the hill a couple of times during the winter but I did it really slowly, pausing to "watch the sledding" every now and again. And I didn't dare put my sedentary body on a sled.

For the last five years, since my first born was old enough to go sledding, I stood at the bottom of the hill envying him, as well as my wife who did the tobogganing. I thought for the first time in many years about the last times I went. It was just after I finished high school and some of my friends would head to the very same hill my son and I went on today.

I remember being dragged there on a really cold winter night and we had the hill all to ourselves. Remembering that night, I'd always be impressed with myself for going out on such a cold night and having fun. Everyone had a blast and I thought of that night often. Today was almost as cold and, as an overweight middle-aged man, I certainly could have stayed at home and had another predictable, safe day. God knows most of the children of Regina opted to stay indoors and play video games. But not me, I got out there, not knowing what might happen.

I put on some cheap winter boots that I bought today from Walmart on credit (don't blame me for being poor) and my deluxe MEC balaclava, stopped by Toys R Us and bought a wide plastic sled and headed for the hill.

My first ride down was surprisingly non-eventful. I seemed to go slow (the snow wasn't very packed down and there's still some grass sticking through.). My son sped ahead of me on his Norwegian-made sled which I wish I had when I was a kid (It has a fun fur seat, steering wheel and brakes on a plastic frame.) I marched up the hill with lots of energy an zest. Really, you don't stop hill-climbing save for the few moments it takes to hurtle down the slope. The subsequent runs were much faster and were a challenge for my recovering back. But what a blast!

My son was nonplussed. I thought it'd be a big deal for him since he's always asked me to to do this (and cycling.) It was just another day on the toboggan hill for him. I'm sure he'll remember it though.

It occurred to me today, after I did the math, that my father was my age (46) when I was born. He died twenty years later and throughout that time, his health steadily deteriorated, mostly due to a weak heart. He was somewhat overweight and had smoked until I was five but he never exercised. That's going to be the difference maker for me and for my kids.

I couldn't have even imagined in my wildest dreams my father going tobogganing with me when I was a kid. I don't even think he went with my brothers who were born eleven and twelve years before me. And all this wouldn't be possible with just weight loss alone.

It's a common theme on this blog that exercise empowers me to do so much more than would be otherwise possible, even with weight loss alone. Just having the confidence in my body to sit down on a sled wouldn't have been possible without having changed my body with fitness and strength.

So the dreaded Winter season has arrived and the side walks are slippery or impassable for walking or jogging. But for a workout--a great workout--all I need do is grab a kid and our sleds and head a few blocks East to the toboggan hill.

I'll keep you updated!

I Might As Well Blame My Mother -- It's Her Fault

I might as well blame my mother for my poor health. My closer friends often encourage me to blame her for things because they know the stories, they know my history with her. It's not functional and it certainly isn't brief so I won't jump into it here. But in addition to all the unhealthy things that I endured growing up, both emotionally and psychologically, there was also a lot of negative things going on when I was learning how to eat.

My mother was a nurse from the World War II era who was and is always concerned what people think of her. Dr. Phil could write a book on her. I wish he would.

I was born a few weeks premature and underweight. The nurses let my mother take me home just shy of five pounds because she was a nurse who should know how to take care of me. Well, that was an error in their judgement. She fed me Pablum the night she got me home so she could fatten me up.

Doctors and scientists know that eating solid food early in life can lead to obesity but even back then it was not something you did the first night home from the hospital. Nor was I breast fed, more common back then but now we know bottle feeding is another factor in your chances of becoming obese. I'm no expert but I read the occasional newspaper.

Needless to say, my mother wanted me fat, anything else was a sign of her personal failure. Even now she criticizes me for having skinny children. I'm thankful my children are of a normal weight. I consider it a minor miracle considering the bad habits that endure with me. And my kids are in no way skin and bones, they're perfectly healthy.

My mother, the nurse, even poo-pooed my wife's breast feeding of our kids every now and again. Our kids were breast fed beyond the two years they now recommend (it's not exclusive, obviously, after they start eating solid foods.)  I hope my kids get a good start in life.

My mother is now 86 and she isn't involved much with my kids, partly because I'm the black sheep of the family and partly because she's getting too old. But she revels--I mean really revels--in feeding them. She takes delight with every spoonful she can get into them. She erroneously thinks I never feed them junk food or meat and as a result she's convinced they're starving.

I was reminded of all this yesterday when I brought my three-year old daughter to my mother's home at lunch time. My mother made scrambled eggs and toast for both me and my daughter. I buttered my own toast and I was criticized for the 'small' amount I put on it. I'm a man who likes far more margarine on his toast than any reasonable individual yet it wasn't good enough for her. "That's all you're putting on? This is good margarine, one of the best there is..."

Don't worry, she'll be dead any day now. She eats a lot of bacon.

You learn early how to eat and you acquire your lifelong tastes for food before the age of five, some say before the age of three. My toast habits have lived with me for 45 years and it's a hard habit to change but if I can piss off  my mother, I must have made some progress.

Body Don't Fail Me!

I'm currently laid up due to my back injury sustained in late September when I got a pair of cycling shoes for my birthday and promptly fell on my ass when stepping on to laminate flooring. I'm seeing a chiropractor but it got worse when I did. Walking isn't even an option right now so I must wait and see how long it will take me to get better.

It's very disconcerting when this happens in the midst of a personal fitness revolution. It feels like I'm once again an invalid. Hopefully this thing will get fixed soon and I can go strong again. Stay tuned.

My First Visit to a Chiropractor

I didn't know what to expect when I walked into my first chiropractor appointment that I've ever had. I was surprised at what their profession covers. It seems like just about everything.

For instance, we talked about irritable bowl syndrome, which I occasionally suffer from and diet. He went on about how a lot of people are getting more gluten in their diets from whole grains and that humans never used to until 10,000 years ago when there was the agricultural revolution. He said fossils from before that time show excellent health including no signs of cancer, for example. He even discussed the possible relationship of an anxiety disorder (of which I suffer) and skeletal problems. A person who tenses up constantly has a body that learns to be in an unnatural state.

As it turns out, I'm all messed up. Yes, I had a fall that injured my back two months ago, but my body is all out of whack. My arms don't hang right, I slouch, my shoulders aren't where they're supposed to be, among other things like a lack of flexibility and range of motion. In short, this could be one more thing in the perfect storm that led to me being severely obese.

I've learned to pick up things with my feet because I can't bend over very well. My wife is always amazed by this talent.

Today I Begin My Intensive Mountain Training

How I envisioned our
tobogganing hill last year

Today, at my clinic's gym, I began my training for accomplishing my winter goal: Tobogganing!

I've never gone sledding with my eight year old son even though I've always wanted to. I would simply watch from the bottom of the hill or slowly make my way to the middle. Getting up the hill was too much of a struggle to do in public (heavy gasping of breath, moving very, very slowly to get there.)

I walked up the hill in question (known as Mount Pleasant, an old landfill site) a few weeks ago before the snow came. I seemed to do okay although I started to get out of breath and had to take it slow. It'll be more of a challenge finding my footing as I go up the snowy slopes with my son.

Today I did my first workout on the treadmill with a significant incline. I pumped that bad boy up until my heart rate reached 85%, about 8% incline for those keeping score. I look forward to gauging my improvement on this task by watching the incline get higher over time while my heart rate stays at the same level as it was today.

The other important part of my preparations for the upcoming tobogganing season is selecting a sled, one that won't break when I sit on it. The first thing that came to mind was a Krazy Karpet style sled because they're so thin, there's nothing to break. However, I've never been a fan of Krazy Karpets because you can't steer them and bumps can be painful underneath.

I think I'll go with something in a saucer.

Dusting off My Home Treadmill

My treadmill. I eat people that size for lunch.

When we bought our current home a couple of years ago I made sure we factored in a treadmill--a nice quiet and powerful one. Got this baby delivered from Costco online. Had to get my friend Jack to carry it up the stairs, it was so ridiculously heavy, even unassembled.

I actually used the thing on a regular basis for about three months ending a year and a half ago. I used it every other day for about 20 minutes. I noticed an improvement in my health but nothing like I did when I started walking around the neighbourhood every day for the same amount of time this spring.

I found the treadmill tedious and boring. My kids were always excited when I got on but hassled me all the time and I tensed up worrying about their safety, especially my two-year-old at the time.

I set up numerous fans and perspired like the dickens. I was really out of shape. Walking on the treadmill isn't quite as good as walking in the real world but I did have a few fantastic workouts where I got lost in my thoughts, exercised for over a half hour and pumped up the incline a bit to get my blood pumping even more. Endorphins flowed freely.

Time on the treadmill at the gym seems to pass so much faster than at home. In both situations I have headphones playing music but at the gym, maybe, I can let my mind wander when I'm not worrying about family coming and going. Also, not staring at a wall, as I do at home, might be a better environment.

The treadmill I walk and jog on at my clinic's gym is a pro-quality treadmill. It's very sturdy and very powerful. My floor tends to wobble at home, just a bit, but enough to distract me.

With winter suddenly here, I decided to literally dust off my treadmill and home and test it out. One thing I noticed tonight is that I'm Superman now compared to before. I'm so much stronger and my heart hardly notices the challenge. I'm stronger and more fit. I've come a long way. The old me on that treadmill was a sickly, profusely sweaty, unhealthy man.

Heavy D

Speaking of which, rapper Heavy D passed away today. He was only 44. I'm not familiar with him in any way beyond recognizing his name and knowing he was heavy, but it's yet another overweight celeb dying in their early forties.

I let my eight-year-old son try the treadmill tonight, using every precaution to keep him safe. Man did he love it. He put in more than 15 minutes in his formal dress clothes. He was fiddling with the incline and speed, slowing it down to have a drink of water, and trying out running. He was very, very happy about his experience and immensely proud of himself. I suspect he'll want to do it a lot more.

He's not a very good runner because he always hops and skips and then slows down. He also has poor form with his arms (he's had a lot of fine motor skill issues.) Running on a treadmill might force him into a proper technique and boost his confidence in sports at school and in soccer.

The Weather Elephant in the Room

Ever since I hit my stride with exercise in June and July, it's been in the back of my mind that winter will one day come and put an end to my outdoor frolicking. I tried to make as much progress by the end of August because September can be unpredictable in these parts. Snow is even possible.

Fall has always seemed inhospitable to cycling for me. I would not have expected to have done all the cycling I did in the last two months. I embraced every chance I could, often in the evenings post-dusk. And tonight, I cycled for the first time in my life in November. It was also a first for my family who tagged along.

I'm getting used to knowing what to wear for what activity in very specific weather conditions. 0 C with a light wind is different than 0 C with a wind. Dressing in layers really does work the best. It keeps you warmer but you can also make slight adjustments if you get too hot or too cold. The old me would put on a light winter coat and sweat in it far past the point of being comfortable. I would have been hot and wet. Being wet would have made me cold even though I was hot.

The new me has invested in a few pieces of winter athletic gear and utilizes a pair of fleece jackets, size 5XL, that I got for five bucks a piece on clearance (I like to live beyond my means.) I no longer sweat to the point of discomfort. You can stay warm and relatively dry if you know what you're doing.

However, I'm still intimidated by winter and how it can put the kibosh on being active. (My neighbourhood has tonnes of walkers in the summer but you can't find a single one on November evenings even though the weather has been pleasant.) I had a goal of losing enough overall weight so that I would be under the limit of my treadmill that I bought a couple of years ago when we moved to our current home. I failed in that goal. I built up a great deal of muscle mass in the late summer and fall but neglected pushing my calorie restrictions. I lost some fat mass but not as much as I could have if I worked harder at it.

It's got mesh over the mouth and a nose flap that
directs breath away from your glasses (or goggles.)

I can still probably use my treadmill if it turns cold (I'm fairly close to the weight limit) and I have access to the gym at my medical clinic which I currently use twice per week. But I also spent some money on winter gear including a deluxe balaclava, a skull cap, and some light gloves that can be used for liners when it gets colder. From what I've read and heard, very active people like runners need surprisingly little to keep them warm because their bodies heat up so much, including their extremities because of increased circulation and blood flow.

Even when the streets are too icy and snow-covered for walking, I can use this gear to stay warm while tobogganing with my kids (a winter goal I'm looking forward to achieving for the first time.)

As winter comes, I'm going to try and face it head on, one challenge at a time. If I can beat winter, I can beat anything!

17 Pounds of Candy

My friend has two twin daughters who collected some 17 pounds of candy this Halloween trick or treating. It nearly fills a garbage bag.

As a borderline diabetic, he decided to put it in the trash. Charities were discussed but in the end he didn't want it to harm anyone so out it went.

It seems to me that we're more affluent now than when I was a kid 35 years ago. People are giving out more candy now and you hardly have to work for it these days. It only took two or three visits to houses to fill up my three year old's plastic pumpkin bucket. And then everything was so big, you couldn't get it out.

I think we need to rethink Halloween. Maybe giving out less is a good option. But it sure is a fun holiday.

My Surprisingly Difficult Halloween Experiment

On the morning of Halloween I decided I would not eat any candy of any sort until the morning after. I wanted to test my will power after so many Halloweens consuming thousands of calories of candy and feeling sick afterwards. I needed to experiment and learn something about myself. What I learned is disheartening.

I had an active day, one hour at the gym and a couple hours trick or treating with the kids, so I made sure I ate enough not to feel hungry. But I had a hard time not feeling hungry. It was like every cell in my body wanted some chocolate or chips. The candy in my house was ever-present on my mind. Touching it or thinking about it produced a physiological yearning for it. I got hungry knowing it was there.

Me and my kids (I'm a ghoul)

At times I felt like an addict trying to kick a habit, perhaps a little like a smoker on his first day of quitting. At worst I felt shaky or even slightly ill, and had to do breathing exercises to relax. At its best, I felt like I had made it through the worst and I could shake the cravings by sticking to my guns.

The next morning I had some of my stash (a couple mini bars and a couple salty snacks) and I expected to keep eating. My kids got sooo much candy in such a short period of time but they had no trouble giving it up. We ran out of the candy at our place and my son was enthusiastic about giving up some of his to give out to kids after he got home. That way there wasn't much candy around the house afterwards.

Old habits are hard to break. I need to start relearning my eating patterns. I can see it taking a long time.