Day 106 : Monday


02/29/2016
steps 5862
weight 195

Leap Year! 1 whole extra day added to your life. What did you do with the extra time?

I spent the day hooking up wires, and straightening up for the dinner guests. I moved a lot of junk to the basement and garage, and after making a frog cookie-cutter for Gina, I was on quality control for the cookies. I got eat all the broken 1s.

Evening was great right up until our guests were leaving, then, as they stepped out the door, Virginia missed her footing, went down hard on the pavement with a THUD. It was not a fun way to end the evening, and got me thinking again about aging.

Gina did the exact same thing a couple months ago. We were heading out for a walk, and as I started across the driveway, I heard a big thud behind me. Turning around, I found Gina on that pavement, rubbing her knee, and the walk for that day was canceled. In both cases there was no warning, no yelp, or “oh shit”, and no stumbling around. Just THUD.

Now I'm starting to think about age proofing the house. Things we had no problem with 20 years ago, are now getting dangerous. We don't have the reflexes or flexibility to deal with even slight obstacles anymore, and of course, we don't bounce or role as we did years ago.
Now it's just a big THUD as you hit the ground before you even realize it's happened.

If you ever hear some old fart bragging about the “golden years”, remember that they are trying desperately to enjoy the rapidly shrinking list of things they can do, as they watch the end of the road coming up fast.
After 60 it really is “1 day at a time”.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at 2 comments:

Day 105 : Sunday


02/28/2016
steps 4017
weight 195

I got the china cabinet in place and started cleaning up for the dinner guests tomorrow.
It was another uneventful day. 1 of those “now what did I do yesterday” days, that happen with increasing frequency as the years go by. If you don't keep a log or take couple of photos with your cell phone, they disappear completely. Like clouds drifting by on a sunny day, just a quick glance and their gone.
And I'm still running a little low on my step count for the day.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 104 : Saturday


02/27/2016
steps 4985
weight 195

I was up at 530 a.m. today, and heading to a toy and train show in Pittsburgh with Bernie. I may need to do some work on my pedometer,as it's been kind of acting up lately. I spent several hours walking around a large auditorium at the train show today, and even with all the added walking around the house and stuff, I still only came up with 4900 steps. I tried moving it to my shoe, and it cut the steps in half. Hanging on my back pocket, it didn't move at all, and on my belt, sometimes counted double steps.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 103 : Friday


02/26/2016
steps 8531
weight 195

An uneventful today. I got the drywall up for the china cabinet alcove, and spent the day getting all the mud work done. After dinner I textured the ceiling and got everything ready for Gina to paint tomorrow.

This is when the habits of Diet 1 are most important, as you focus on daily life and the thoughts of diets drift to the back of the line. When you are too busy to check the scale in the morning, or look at food labels, or even, like me, keep up with your daily log, the habits you slowly developed over the months, are what keep the pounds coming off.

I'm writing this on Tuesday, March 1. 4 days behind on writing, and a week behind on posting.
Even still, those slow formed habits of 1 bite, 1 helping, eating slower, etc., are working in the background. You may not think about Diet 1, but it's there. It's there when you set your fork or sandwich down between bites. It's there when you choose a small drink instead of a large 1.
It's there when you finally getting around to checking the bathroom scale, after a week or so and find out it's down, instead up!

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 102 : Thursday


02/25/2016
steps 2564
weight 195

I got a little bit slack today and walking, didn't get my 6000 steps in.

Well it's back to winter with a light snow falling, and so is my weight. Down 1/2 lb. since my last trip to the VA, 2 weeks ago. 1/2 lb. ain't much, but it's down instead of up, and that's the good part.
Now to just keep it moving down to the 170 mark.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 101 : Wednesday


02/24/2016
steps 6817
weight 195

It rained most of the day, but I got my steps in, even without a walk into town. Got the washing machine back in place and working. One more small piece of the house looking good...

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 100 : Tuesday


02/23/2016
steps 10073
water 6
weight 195

Day 100 of my Diet 1, and I did 10,000 to celebrate!

Not eating means NOT EATING. Think about it!

Face it, you got to this point in your life because you constantly eat stuff you don't need, and your body is forced to put it in the storage as fat.
Now, like me, you're trying to get rid of it, in a way that's the least stressful to you, and hopefully permanent.

What this all boils down to is not eating, the stuff that got you did before. Mostly it's not eating less of whatever you are used to, and counting calories, and exercise, etc. etc.
It still boils down to not eating.

When the idea to grab some food pops into your head, it has to be replaced with the words, not this time.

If you really pay attention, what's going on is, you find yourself grabbing food, almost unconsciously. You'll have your hand in a bag of chips or find yourself stuffing some snack in your mouth almost with out thinking.
When the Diet 1 side of your brain finally wakes up, you're already pigging out on something you shouldn't have. What has to happen if this system is going to work over a long period of time, is the idea of not eating, has to be at the front of the list in your automatic thought processes. And unless you want go through some crazy aversiontherapy, it just takes time to press the habits into place.
Constant reminders that not eating means NOT EATING!

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 99 : Monday


02/22/2016
steps 6727
water 5
weight 195

Not moving along too good on the Diet 1 blog, too busy working on the house.
I'm Mudding drywall now, but I'm in the still making my steps goal of 6000 per day.

The hip was a bit annoying this morning. Probably from running up and down stairs all day, not to mention dragging sheets of drywall around the house.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 98 : Sunday


 02/21/2016
steps 7732
water 5
weight 195

It's not as toasty as it was yesterday, but it's still above freezing.
I started hanging drywall in the laundry room today, a space just big enough for a washing machine.
I'm still keeping up with the steps, mostly running up and down the stairs working on this house.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 97 : Saturday


02/20/2016
steps 7731
water 5
weight 195

Today we woke up with a tree on the roof. Yes, we had some really howling winds last night, as winter turned to spring for a couple days. 50 degrees out today. Some of the upper branches of the tree made it all we to the chimney and over to the front side of the house. Not too much damage, and I got some exercise cutting firewood off my roof.

But before I did that, we went out for breakfast in Gerard, Pennsylvania, a small town about 20 minutes east of us. At a nice little place called Gerard Dinor, that's been in business over 100 years.
Dinor, instead of diner, is spelling peculiar to western Pennsylvania.

After breakfast we walked around town a bit, as I've and getting kind of bored wondering around Conneaut.
With my hip acting up, I'm only good for about a half mile or so before it gets annoying and I need to sit down. But that's why I'm on Diet 1, hopefully as the weight goes down the miles will go up.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 96 : Friday


02/19/2016
steps 8172
water 5
weight 195

Here is something you haven't thought of I'll bet. Cutting out foods that use other foods, when you eat.
What does that mean?

Well, if you think about it, many foods you eat, you don't eat plain. A good example is at breakfast.
A normal breakfast might be 2 eggs over easy, home fries, toast and coffee.
But if you think about it, when was the last time you ate a piece of toast plain? The minimum added extra is usually butter, and quite often, some sort of jelly or jam.

Same with home fries. How often do you put butter, ketchup, hot sauce, or even gravy on your home fries? Those are all added calories you're taking in along with whatever you think you're eating.
The bright side is when you cut out one of those foods you also cut out the added calories of the extras.
And when it comes to things like toast and home fries, the extras are probably more calories than the food you're trying to enhance.

So the next time you say no to toast, you can have a little smile for all those fat extras that would've come with it.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 95 : Thursday


02/18/2016
steps 6136
water 6
weight 195

It's a beautiful sunny day, and we walked all over town watching the sun glisten off the icicles. Can you remember the last time you ate an icicle ?
Do kids nowadays even do that, or have the germ-o-phobes destroyed another bit of growing up?
For you folks that haven't, here's a tip from an icicle gourmet ( Gor-Met ). Icicles are best when aged and starting to melt, often just after they have fallen. You can tell because they are full of tiny little cracks, like a piece of tempered glass that is shattered. It kind of looks like it's made out of hundreds of little cubes.
That's the perfect time to munch on them.

For you germ-o-phobes, eat your heart out, it's probably all that you're aloud to eat.

On a lighter note, air.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 94 : Wednesday


02/17/2016
steps 8357
water 6
weight 195

Testing testing it's a nice day for a walk, like snow, and temps up to 30 degrees.

Today was the least amount of food I've had for a day in a while.
A coffee and burrito at McDonald's for breakfast.
A small bowl of noodles with cream sauce for lunch.
3 small slices of pizza for dinner, and some plain popcorn for TV snack at night.

It helped that I spent all day wearing a mask as I tore out plaster and lath in the old living room. It's a dirty job, but it's also a little bit of exercise to.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 93 : Tuesday


02/16/2016
steps 8044
water 6
weight 195

I've been a bit lax lately on water intake, drinking way too much coffee. It looks like I'm going to have to start lining water glasses up on the sink again.

One nice thing about winter, I'm getting some extra exercise shoveling snow. It's also nice just sitting here in the sunroom with a hot cup of coffee, watching the snow fall.


Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 92 : Monday


02/15/2016
steps 7137
water 3
weight 195

It's warming up outside today, 30 degrees, a hot spell LOL. A pretty quiet Presidents' Day. We did a brisk walk around town or the fresh air and exercise than Gina spent the day with her mom all I got more writing done.
I've been in the mood to work on my tourist story lately. Now that Herbie and Buzz are in print, and need to get going on the next book.
Diet 1 is still stable. It 195 lbs, so got to get motivated on something to get that number dropping again.


Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 91 Sunday


02/14/2016
steps 5885
water 4
weight 195

Well it was cold as hell today, but I still managed to walk downtown with Gina, and pick up some groceries for our Valentine's Day dinner party tonight. We have friends coming over at 6, and Gina spent the whole week getting ready for, which of course means I have a lot of work to do putting away tools and moving stuff around, and in general trying to cover up the fact that the houses under construction.

Gina has already made some cookies, which I'm managing to stay away from.
For dinner were tried out a new recipe I got at my last VA meeting.

It worked out pretty good, but just for Gina's sake, I cut the chilli powder measurements in half.
When you first poor in the tomato sauce, it looks like you've just created a big bowl of tomato soup, but it levels off after you add the lentils. You might try the crushed tomatos.
We served it over rice, with cornbread muffins on the side.

If you decide to try this recipe keep in mind that the quantities listed will make dinner for about 8 people.
Lentils Ole'
This is one of the best tasting lentil dishes I’ve ever prepared. I found it in the
Minnesota Heritage Cookbook, produced in a state not known for haute cuisine but one
that harbors quite a number of wonderful cooks.

Serving suggestions:
These lentils go well with rice, plain pasta, baked potato or corn
bread. Or serve them as a taco filling or on a flour tortilla with chopped fresh vegetables
(tomato, lettuce, cucumber, peppers, onion) and shredded cheese for garnish or as the
base for tostadas (prepared with softened com tortillas) with toppings that might include
shredded carrots and zucchini, chopped fresh spinach or lettuce, mashed avocado,
plain yogurt, salsa, and sunflower seeds.

Preparation tip:
This recipe freezers well. It holds up well, and the flavor improves
upon reheating.
Lentils Ole’

7 1/2 cups water
1 pound lentils
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced 28 ounce can tomato sauce or crushed tomato
2 bunches green onions, chopped 2 ‘A Tablespoons molasses
(including green tops) 2 ‘A Tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 cups chopped sweet red or green pepper
2 “/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin

1. in a large saucepan, bring the water and the lentils to a boil. Reduce the heat to
medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer the lentils for 25-30 minutes or "until the
lentils are tender but not mushy. Do not overcook the lentils. Drain the lentils.

2. While the lentils cook, saute the garlic, onion and pepper in olive oil in a large pot
for about 2 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp.

3. Add the chili powder, cumin, tomato sauce, molasses and red-wine vinegar and
simmer.

4. When the lentils are cooked and drained, add the lentils to the vegetable mixture.
Heat through before serving it.

1/2 cup serving = approximately 155 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 7 grams fiber
Source: Jane Brody’s Good Food Gourmet 1990

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 88 Thursday

02/11/2016
steps 6802
water 4
weight 195 / 203.3 on the VA scale

I was up at 5 a.m. And spent the morning reading until 9 when I remembered my appointment and had to make a mad dash for the VA clinic. It's 13 degrees outside and I had to shovel a foot of snow to get the car out.

Good News, today was the lowest weight on the VA scales since 2014, things are looking down. That's a pun.
Now I just have to keep that line going down to the 170 mark.


Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 87 Wednesday

02/10/2016
steps 6001
water 4
weight 195

I'm sitting here watching the snow fly and men fishing.
Yep, up to about 4" and rising. I'm watching 5 guys down on the riverbank fishing, ankle-deep in icy water. Now and then the falling snow block them out, and I wonder why anybody would want to stand in a snowstorm fishing.
I have fished bit over the years. There is something relaxing and thought provoking about it, but I stuck to the warmer months. I never had the craving to stand in the cold with a fishing rod my hand.


Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 86 Tuesday

02/09/2016
steps 7030
water 5
weight 195


Except for a walk into town, the day was spent in the house. I didn't build a sunroom overlooking the valley for nothing.
I did do a bit more work on the kitchen, mostly just putting things back in place. Plus, I got Herbie and Buzz published.

Now on to the next book in my never-ending list, as I write them much faster than I illustrate and publish. The goal for 2016 is to hit an even dozen in print. Not hard as Herbie and Buzz was number 10.

As for Diet 1, I'm still not getting the exercise needed, but I am eating better. Fiber cereal and bananas for lunch usually, and stir-fry for dinner.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 85 : Monday

02/08/2016
steps 8525
water 5
weight 195


The scale dropped again today, but I won't start celebrating until I see it down to 190 lbs. or lower. After spending the first 3 months getting used to Diet 1, it's time to get it together and start moving.

I got a lot of walking in today, as we emptied the kitchen, peeled 20-year-old wallpaper, and got the walls painted a nice pale green.

I know what you're thinking, a bigger and better kitchen is an odd thing to do when you're working on a diet, but it's what you cook that counts. You can steam a batch of veggies, or deep-fried doughnuts. It's up to you what you do in the kitchen. As always, like a every thing else in life, it boils down to daily choices.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at 1 comment:

Day 84 : Sunday

02/07/2016
steps 4163
water 5
weight 197


Finally, “Herbie n Buzz” are almost ready to publish, and I got Bernie's 3-D printer going again. 3-D printers are fun, but without a good background in CAD, and a scanner, they are mostly just pricey toys.

Anyway, I held the food line a bit better day, and even managed to spend the afternoon at a model train in toy show with only 1 slice of pizza. I also managed to fend off most of my snack cravings in the evening.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at No comments:

Day 83 : Saturday

02/06/2016
steps 7732
water 5
weight 200


I'm coming up on the end of the first quarter, 90 days, and of course looking like shit! Not feeling too chipper either. Weight is right where I started, and except for a few simple habits that are slowly taking hold, Diet 1 is stalled.

I'm battling a lifelong craving for not just food, but junk food, fatty food, crunchy food loaded with carbs.

Foods that would leave me thin and energetic, like fruits and veggies, I have never had a taste for. Might have some thing to do with a childhood based on sugar and fast food.

So the question still hangs in the air. How?

How to change something that is at least partially genetic and has stood unchanged for 60 plus years?
Well of course it means something else I have had little experience with in my life.
Discipline!!!

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at 1 comment:

Day 82 : Friday

02/05/2016
steps 6831
water 5
weight 200


I'm bloated, bummed and cheesed off. I love that phrase. Cheesed off his so appropriate for use in a diet context.

I'm 5 lbs. heavier than I thought, and self-control around food is gone out the window the last few days.

At least I finally got back to work on the kids books today. I've had lots of ideas over the last few months, but just too focused on other things like Diet 1. Which if you've been keeping up with my daily blog, is stalled. So maybe I need to think about something besides diets for a bit.

Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at 1 comment:

Day 81 : Customizing My Scale

02/04/2016
steps 6782
water 6
weight 197

This morning, like many days, I stared bleary-eyed at the bathroom scale I was standing on and realized I'd been reading it wrong. With these old eyes, that 4 inch dial and all those little markings for each individual pound, I was actually seeing the wrong marks, being off by 5 lbs. It doesn't even show the numbers I need to keep track of on this diet, only having numerals for every 20 pounds, 140, 160, 180 etc.

So, a pair of pliers, a few minutes on the computer and voila, a custom dial on my 20 year old bathroom scale. Now, as the photo shows, the scale only has the numbers I need, marking off every 5 lbs. And I saved the cost of a new, Big Number scale.

As I've mentioned before, counting every pound, every day, just adds stress. All you need to see, is that scale moving down 5 lbs. at a time, and not bouncing back up.


Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at 1 comment:

Day 80 : Wednesday

02/03/2016
steps 8221
water 5
weight 197

Nice weather does make a difference when it comes to getting exercise. It was in the mid-40's yesterday, and sunny. Gina and I got in a good walk around town, and some work in the yard. By 3 p.m. I was done for the day, with over 12,000 steps in.
Tinnitus
Last week while on the road I noticed I have Tinnitus, ( ringing in the ears). I don't know how long I've had it, or how permanent it is, but of course aging is a contributing factor. I can also unfortunately say yes to many other possibilities on the list of causality.

Loud Noises
Guns, explosives etc. when I was younger.
At the age of 14, or so, I lost the high-pitched hearing in my left ear, when a homemade rocket exploded on the launchpad. After that I switched to remote electronic ignition systems.
I didn't even notice it until years later, when I couldn't hear my flash attachment charging for a shot.
Up to 90% of people with Tinnitus have some level of noise induced hearing loss.

Music
I still remember a Queen concert that left my ears ringing for 3 days.

Work
A lifetime working with various power tools, often very loud and very repetitive.
The list would be nearly endless.

Drugs
If you are a quiet, sedate person, don't laugh yet. A quick read, reveals that over 200 prescription drugs and medications listed Tinnitus as a possible side effect, with good old Aspirin right up near the top.
How many of you, like me, have been popping an Aspirin a day for the last few years to ward off heart problems.

Well now I get to chase a few more habits in an effort to remain functional on this planet for a bit longer.


Remember!
1 bite at a time, and 1 day at a time!
KRASH


Posted by at 1 comment:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)