Thursday, November 30, 2006

Bust My Gut Update 5

I never got around to doing an update yesterday. However, since it was snowing all day, I never really got much exercise either.

But here it is:

Yesterdays weight: 192 lbs
Estimated calorie intake: 2200
Exercise: Nothing significant.

Todays Weight: 194 lbs
Estimated calorie intake: 2000
Exercise: Riding to bus stop 150 calories, dog walk 50 cals. EDIT: Turns out I decided to ride home all the way so that is another 400 calories. There were icy spots all over so it was a huge mental challenge. Riding on the shoulder of the road for the last two miles was scary as well with not much room between me and the passing cars. I had a light, but still it was dark and very cold.

Because of a trip tomorrow, I will not be doing an update till next tuesday.

The Hoar frost was beautifu this morningl.



And the effort to get to work.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Bust My Gut Update 4

Today was dangerous. Chipotle was offering free burritos. 1000 Calories in a Chipotle Burrito...did you know this? It's true even though Chipotle won't tell you.... Glad I skipped breakfast.

The breakdown

Tortilla :330 cals
Steak: 230 cals
Cheese: 110 cals
Rice: 240 cals
Beans: 138 cals
Salsa: 28 cals

Total 1076

Source: Chipotlefan.com

So for the update:

Todays weight: 194 lbs
Estimated calorie intake: 2100
Exercise: Mountain bike ride: 1000 cals, walking dogs: 50 cals.

So far, effectively no change in weight shows how hard this is even with exercise. I haven't been super diligent on cutting calories but you gotta eat, especially when exercising. I think metabolic changes will start occuring soon though. Sticking to it is the key.

Tomorrow might be a disaster. There is a lot of snow already on the ground and the likelyhood of riding to work is slim. A plan to run with the dogs in the morning is in the relm of possibility--and not a bad one since its' a good way to keep warm and burn calories when there is lots of snow.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Bust My Gut Update 3

Todays weight: 194 lbs
Estimated calorie intake: 2000
Exercise: Mountain bike ride: 600 Cals, walking dogs: 50 cals.

Snow is projected for tomorrow, so biking is going to be a sketchy deal. plus Chipotle at 29th street has a free burrito deal tomorrow--900 free calories, whoo hoo!

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Bust My Gut Update 2

Todays weight: 195 lbs
Estimated calorie intake: 1800
Exercise: Mountain bike ride: 600 Cals, walking dogs: 100 cals.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Graffiti

We call it a crime. It is because there is apparent distruction on property when it's done. Does that mean an animal posting on the trail with invisible-to-the-eye urine is doing the same thing?



I do find it fascinating nevertheless.

Bust My Gut Update 1

Todays weight: 195 lbs
Estimated calorie intake: 2500
Exercise: Mountain bike ride: 700 Cals, walking dogs: 100 cals.

Notes: I have actually been riding like this since last wednesday. More tired than normal after todays ride. I didin't eat prior to riding today.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Bust My Gut Project

I can make a million excuses to how work screwed me over in 2006. Crazy projects that worked me seven days-a-week. And fed me as much food as I wanted. Projects that were so stressful that I had to go drink beer with friends to feel alive. I can make these excuses and they might even be valid. But I have to live with the results, and my work doesn't pity me.

My peak fitness, scary enough, was in 2003 when I weight 165 lbs and felt like I could do anything.

I recall that year fondly. The weather on the frontrange was very mild-- a drought I believe. I rode to work every day, did night rides a lot and rode hardcore rides every weekend. I was in a constant bike high were I needed to ride and couldn't eat enough food. It was euphoric. It was even obsessive

However, that year, I broke my collarbone and lacerated my kidney riding my bike. The mentality that made me think and feel I could do anything, got me way over my head. I want to get to that fitness level but not at a cost of injury.

It's amazing the small things that can knock you out of that rythym. Accidents take time to recover from and ruts appear. The weather plays a huge factor when you are in a rut. It's so easy to make an excuse.

So last spring (2006), I started really losing control. I was working all the time and never riding my bike. I ramped up to 185 lbs and lost my fitness. With a breather from seven-day work weeks in May, tried hard riding again but by the time I went on my work trip in July, I really just maintained my fitness. That trip was full of stress and lots of food to make one forget about the stress. I have a personality where when I'm under stress, I seek food for comfort.

So here I am facing the Holidays being 195 lbs. I think this is the most I have every weighed and it sucks. Based on my top fitness, my current weight is equivalent to carrying an extra bike on my shoulders during ride. There is no wonder that climbing is such a chore for me.

I can make the excuse that it's the holiday and put this off, but I decided that I am going to do something starting NOW. If I put it off till January, then I will be in a deeper hole, have one less month of time to get fit for spring riding and show that i don't have the discipline to this. There is no reason to put this off and every reason to do it.

So here is how I will update my blog. Very simple. Everyday I will try to post my weight (which will fluxuate like crazy) , the number of calories I ate (estimated) and any exercise I do. I have a good estimate of 50 cals per mile I use for riding my bike. It's not necessarily accurate but, hey it's something.

I'm posting this on my blog as a self-motivational tool. I hope it can inspire others but it's mainly to put it out there and force me, under the spotlight, to achieve my goal. So throw cyber tomatoes at me when i start slipping! ;-)

My goal is simple; Lose two pound per week with a goal of 170 lbs by March 1. I expect if I make that goal I will automatically be in prime fitness for mountain biking season so that is not really a goal, just a consequence because a large part of my effort will be exercise that I will try to make at least a 500 cal/day workout.

Once-a-week I will look at my progress and try to determine if I am ahead or behind my schedule...and a decision to whether I will modify my goal.

The stumbling blocks will be the week of xmas when I go to visit family and I have a work deployment coming up in February that might really throw a wrench into my schedule.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

The sunsets are getting crazy lately

With all the lenticular clouds on the front range of Colorado, this is the season of sunsets.

Looking Northwest.





Looking Southwest toward the flatirons 10 minutes later.



Note: these photos were only slightly enhanced for sharpness and balance but the richness of the sunlight was created by nature and the dust far west of Boulder, Colorado.

To all those who commented on my blog posts

For whatever reason, me being ignorant or what, I never saw the comments that were suppose to be "moderated" until I switched to the new blogger. I hope I retified this and thanks for all the comments.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Classic Optical Illusion

Seems most people are used to light in photos and diagrams coming from the upper light. This is typical of shadowed topo maps.

Here is a classic example. One looks like an imprint and the other looks like it's been molded. It's the exact same photo but flipped.