Take care of yourself

Perfect opportunity to have a few beers to get your caloric intake for the day.

 

Had my first meeting with a diabetic specialist today. Have to chart my food/drink intake for 5 days using myfitnesspal.com, which is an impressive website.

I also have to start testing my blood-sugar.

As of 9 this morning I weighed 302.2. Let's see if I can't get down to 275 by October 1 with smarter eating and exercise.

 

Here's how precise myfitnesspal.com is.

 

Chest and back day. Increased to four sets per exercise instead of three, which I found several years ago to be exponentially better for strength and muscle growth.

Today's mile: 10:29. Ran 5.5 mph, 5.6, 5.8, 5.8, 6.0 for the first five minutes. Walked one minute at 4.1. Ran 6.0 -6.2 until 0.70 mile. Walked 30 seconds. Ran the remaining 0.23 at 6.5, 6.7, 6.8 and 7.2. That's fucking hoofing it for me. Did the whole thing at 1.5 percent incline. Next time, I'll try to keep my walking to a minute or less until eventually I don't walk at all.

 

I am getting bored with my 5x a week on the elliptical. I was thinking of a spin class, yoga or Pilates. I know I'd be terrible at the latter 2 because I'm not flexible at all, but friends in their late 40s swear by them and I need to improve my core strength and flexibility.

 

Why not run or bike outside? It's much more fun. I was a treadmill guy for a few years. I can vouch that outside is fsr and away better.

 

What's the (or is there a) consensus on wearable fitness trackers? I'm wearing a Misfit, which tracks steps and, supposedly, sleep (I don't know how). It's also something of a watch, but that part's awkward as hell and uses up batteries awfully fast.

I was thinking about getting one of the older Fitbits ... I'd like one that keeps track of heart rate and is a more functional watch. What says the board?

 

I had a Fitbit and used it religiously for a while -- I'd say about a year. It was fun at first, to see exactly the steps/mileage and heart rate, etc. Then, it got obsessive, to the point where I was walking circles around my house at the end of the day expressly to up my steps/mileage and heart rate, etc.

And then I stopped wearing it, and I don't miss it.

It was a fad. It's over. Just do your exercise routine.

 

Mrs. Whitman does that, too, to get her steps!

Last week we were hiking in the mountains and she got up to 30,000 steps and she was really proud. But what's funny is on the way out, while the truck was bumping along on the unpaved roads back to civilization, she noticed the Fitbit numbers continuing to rise. However it monitors steps - by your arm swinging, I believe - the Fitbit was mistaking the bumpy drive for it.

 

My Fitbit buzzes and displays a little celebration when I hit my steps goal for the day, usually 12,000. More than once I have received that celebration while performing less-than-holy acts on the girlfriend. So yeah, accuracy is an issue.

I've worn mine for about a year or so, but I almost do so just out of ritual and maybe curiousity now. I really don't care that much anymore because I usually hit my goal without really even trying. It was interesting to see that I hit more than 30K while walking around London recently.

 

I ruined my Fitbit two weekends ago when I swamped the kayak and had to drag it out of the water. I don't really miss that uncomfortable rubber band on my wrist every day, but I will acknowledge that it helped keep me moving. Now that I'm back on my routine of going to the gym at least four days a week, I don't think I'll buy another.

Today, on a do whatever day because I'd already been to the gym the past three days: cardio.

I didn't really know what I wanted to do -- stair climber, treadmill, rowing -- so I just warmed up on the treadmill at 3 mph for a few minutes. During that time I decided to run a little, so I cranked it up to 7.7 mph for 30 seconds, walked another minute, up to 8.1 mph for 30 seconds, walked a minute and up to 8.5 mph for 30 seconds. That's a pretty good warmup.

Then I switched to this treadmill that goes up to a 30-degree incline. There's a workout where you warm up for five minutes at 3, 5 and 10 degrees. Then you do three progressions of 1 minute, 15 degrees; 1 minute, 18; 30 seconds, 20; 1 minute, 22; 1 minute 25; and 30 seconds, 30. I was walking at 3.5 mph, and it damn near killed me. I thought I was done, but my pride (?) wouldn't let me quit, so I walked a minute and then did another round at 2.5 mph and the third at 2.5 mph.

It's supposed to burn, like, 168 percent more calories than walking on a treadmill without all the change in incline. I don't know if it does, but I was drenched in sweat when I got done.

 

Surely y'all have seen this ...