331.6 - back on the wagon (PCT d - 105)

331.6 lbs, a new low (recently)

After a month of bobbing up and down, the 'losing' trend is finally continuing. I'm down to 331.6 lbs now. I missed my end of month goal, but I'm okay with it, since I am still losing weight overall.

There are only 105 days to go until we leave on our Pacific Crest Trail adventure. As weather and road/trail conditions permit in my neighborhood, I'm trying to transition from working out at the gym to walking/hiking "in the real world". At the end of March I will drop my gym membership altogether (which will save some money). I'm trying to increase the amount of muscle and strength-building that I do, using the elastic resistance bands that I already have at home. I wake up earlier now to do that. 

We are also slowly acquiring more and more of the gear that we'll need for a successful adventure. Earlier this week we ordered new backpacks (rucksacks) and my daughter got her own head lamp. I also have a new lightweight rain jacket coming, since it was on sale for $40 less than the normal price. Holy cow! That stuff is still really expensive though! My "sleep system" (hammock, bug net, fly sheet to keep the rain off, tree straps and ground pegs) will be $245. A lightweight duck or goose down sleep bag or quilt will be c. $200. The train tickets to Klamath Falls are about $140 each, each way! But, it's going to be an epic adventure, and worth every penny! 

I'm still largely avoiding excess carbohydrates, but not cutting them out altogether. I had my first slices of pizza in seven months yesterday. Today's lunch was a baked potato with chili. The portion sizes are much more moderate then before. I've found it really difficult to keep an up-to-date food journal. Maybe I'll try an electronic one instead of a paper one soon. I'm getting plenty of protein and green vegetables. I'm avoiding peas and corn. I'm temporarily given up on giving up stevia as my sweetener of choice. Using raw honey as a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners wasn't working for me (I stopped losing weight when I did that). 

As soon as I can, I want to take a whole day to walk 10 or 15 miles, just to see where I'm at in my preparations, and see if I need to step up my training. Then, in a month or two, I'll do it again but with a 30 lb backpack on. I've got a couple of Fridays booked off work in April so that I can go further afield and test the rest of my gear before we set off on May 18th. More details about the 100-mile hike can be found here: http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016 

Butter is back in favor, and high in flavor

If you only read one other thing today, let it be this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/opinion/bittman-butter-is-back.html

It's an article by food journalist and author Mark Bittman, talking about the benefits of butter. After being told for 40 years that saturated fat in butter is bad for us, the consensus is shifting again back in favor of 'real' butter and away from highly processed margarines, etc. As Bittman says, "...the real villains in our diet — sugar and ultra-processed foods — are becoming increasingly apparent".

Alternatives for flavoring water without Aspartame

Water flavor enhancers

After reading some more about the safety (or not) of Aspartame, I've decided to get rid of all the products in my apartment that contain it. The two things left were sugar-free chewing gum (more on that later) and water flavor enhancers.

Filtered water with lemon slices

I'm not opposed to drinking plain water but it's easier, sometimes, to drink it when it has some flavoring added. I still have to experiment with cold brewed teas. In the meantime, I will be trying out simple sliced lemon. It's not that my tap water at home tastes bad. I would just like some variety. I currently filter my tap water in a jug in the fridge but it's really only to get rid of the chlorine smell.

If you have any good recipes for flavoring water, please share them with me. If I get enough, I'll create a new web page with those recipes so that everyone can enjoy them. Happy hydrating!

A week of intensive learning

I'm on vacation (holiday) this week. I was supposed to be writing a novel for NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing month. Instead, I have been learning a LOT about different aspects of diet and nutrition. Oh boy! There's a lot of information available, and a lot of misinformation. The challenge for anyone is to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.

My biggest take away, the most striking thing I've learned, is just how evil refined table sugar is. Artificial sweeteners are just as bad, which makes me sad since I was a faithful user of stevia for years. And, even though the government says it's safe, I'm more convinced than ever that Aspartame is really evil and dangerous, and I'm redoubling my effort to eliminate it from my diet altogether.

I've been reading a lot, and watching YouTube videos, on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is gaining in prevalence in the population as a whole and, frighteningly, among young children. The number one culprit: sugar-laden drinks, whether they are sugary colas or "sports drinks" or even fruit juices (and most of those contain very little actual fruit).

I've been learning about the benefits of chewing gum after meals. Not as substitute for brushing and flossing teeth, but as an extra thing. The American Dental Association has information on its website: http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/ada-seal-of-acceptance/product-category-information/chewing-gum about how the mechanical act of chewing increases the flow of saliva in your mouth. If you chew gum for 20 minutes after eating, the increased saliva flow can help neutralize and wash away the damaging acids that are produced when food is broken down by the bacteria on your teeth. Now my dilema is, do I use gums that are made with synthetic plastic and use Aspartame (No!) or go for something more natural, with the old-fashioned and more natural chicle as its base?

Since your mouth is the gateway to your gastrointestinal tract, it has an underrated importance in your overall health.