April 2009 Archives

Another update and milestone today for me. I haven't weighed under 245 since 1993. I hit 239.9 today, down from a start on my total make over of 262.4 on 3/27/09 and 60 lbs under my all time high in 2007. All the bike riding is paying off but I'll have to increase the upper body workouts to make sure I don't repeat the shoulder injuries from the 2007 trans continental ride. ( All the riding and no upper body work will turn my chest and shoulder to sponge if not careful. I got injured really bad from the hunched over position and road vibration over the two months in 2007 , I don't want a repeat of that. )

So that was 23 lbs in month one. Anyone can believe results. Blood pressure is down and I have had one adjustment to that already, other symptoms of obesity and a pre-diabetic syndrome are going away fast. I'm looking forward to my next blood test now instead of dreading it. Swelling in legs and ankles is gone now, Knee selling is almost gone ( even with the long rides.) Average speeds and pace on known 50 mile workout rides is up almost almost 18-20%. Headaches from caffeine withdraw over. I did have a beer one day after the 100K ride around the west side, last Sunday with the Maui Bike Alliance. I still lost almost 3 pounds on that one ride even after re-hydration. I eat all I want but only approved foods. Aside from that I have stayed true to the McDougall restoration diet. No meat, No Dairy, No fat ,No Caffeine, No Alcohol, No Cheese No white sugar or processed foods. Total vegan . It has taken this month to get used to eating good foods, the right amounts and not without some effort. Each day is easier, and if you have any number of self help books , there is an old adage of habit changing taking at least 30 days and I have to agree it has been all that. The most interesting thing is our food bill, even with all vegan and organic foods has dropped almost in half! See http://www.drmcdougall.com/index.html for more information.

So hello Mr. Bowflex.

Not only am I motivated but I'm starting to workout out even harder. I haven't felt this confident or driven in my whole life to accomplish a goal. So I thought I'd broadcast it to hang myself to my friends and family. Barb Like the new attitude, calmer and confident.

In as much as I'm about 50% to 60% towards my ideal target weight I'll get pictures in a few days but will only publish them all after the fact. The first one in 2007 is really gross, I can't believe I was that big. You can get a hint by looking at day one of the bike ride. I was approximately 294-295 then. http://www.aswallace.com/bikeride.html

Dr McDougall's and that of Dr. Dean Ornish were ground breaking achievements when first published for the public in 1990-1991. Today it is just a simple fact and well documented that the best way toward restoration of your health is simple exercise and a controlling what goes in your body. All low tech. No gimmick drinks, No gimmick diets, No prepackaged foods, No living better through Chemistry and the pharmaceutical industry that wants to saddle you with symptom treatments without addressing the core issues. I have never had any invasive testing other than a stress test to check my heart but have just assumed that at my weight , my symptoms for so long I have a certain amount of arterial blockage and am taking a long term holistic approach to restoration. The total goal is an improved healthy lifestyle, a healthier heart and longer active life, and be an example to friends and family that have similar problems and symptoms to help them gain belief that if i can make a change they can do it to! Maybe we can make a difference in peoples lives in this country one body at a time. I am reminded so much of a phrase I once heard and can not attribute, " Let your action speak so loudly , that what you say I can not hear."

I was just reminded of the word "try" by a very dear friend, Dr Darrell Shaffer a Doctor, Psychiatrist, and long lost High School friend that I had the pleasure of spending a couple of pleasant afternoons with here in Maui last week. I realized that so many of us, me especially, have used words like"try" and "if only" to explain away our shortcomings and avoid responsibility. Almost like we want to stay victims and blame other circumstances and events in our lives for not achieving or making positive changes. I used it in conjunction with a different goal than my weight and diet but the argument was just as valid.

Thanks to all of you supporting me in this change it helps.

All the best -AL

Many times I am asked why are some of the best brands so expensive ! Trying to explain this on a one on one level is like trying to explain the difference in a fine wine versus a jug wine or fine chocolate vs. a Hershey bar.

They all have a place in the economy and there is room in the economy for an extravagance ,enthusiast, or just passion as fine art.

http://www.hautehorlogerie.org/en/encyclopaedia/metiers-art/

This website offers dozens of video's all about 3 minutes that you can enjoy in your leisure. Designed to excite the passions of maybe a new student I found them to be a great testament, to the art to explain some of the complications, the engineering and art. ( Look to the left side menu from this link)

In particular pay attention to the complicated watches as no matter how fine the machinery that makes the parts, there is always a certain amount of hand finishing and part modification to get these watches to work perfect. In some cases a very complicated watch can take up to 10 days to assemble and adjust. A diamond dial can take up to 10-15 hours to set by a master setter. Each set of the process is very labor intensive and in the end you have a piece of art that you can wear the rest of your life.

You will think that some of the 10-20K watches are bargains after seeing this and understand why people pay 100's of thousands for some of the rare hand made unique watches.

In a conversation I had yesterday I reminded myself of all the old wrist watches and pocket watches I have collected over the years and I think I'm going to re-build a few more collectible and memorable watches to wear myself.

It was a passion of excellence from old watchmaker Howard Hawkins from Vermont that also designed machinery like the lathe that cut the Gyro for the fist space program ( And then he make that part as well in 16 year period he work for them. ) I loved stopping by his store sometime after work and just listened to all the stories from Sherve, Crump and Low in Boston, Waltham Watch Company after WWII, and Chelsea Clock Company. It started me on one of my career paths as well.

Hope you enjoy this site -Al