Category: Phase 2

An old Iron Man cover that I suspect I used to have but died at the Cottage. Which looks somewhat like this cottage near Picton.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 49
Yesterday was a full-on dietary train wreck, but without the desserts. The Vancouver Bach Choir concert was on, was amazing, and I drank and ate to celebrate. Today, I must reel myself in and try to deal with the stressors that are not helping.

The music, interestingly, provided a release. As I am on the Board of the VBC I was wanting there to be a good house at the Orpheum. We did not fill the place, but the audience was great. I could tell that the vibe was right as soon as I walked in. When the first part “Invocation” of Jonathon Dove’s The Passing of the Year started I felt this release of stress. That I was free for the moment of all the situations professionally and personally that I found myself in.

Today, the music is still in my mind and, despite the desire to head to the carbs, I just can’t.

And, there’s a final irony. On the day I was cheating like an American President, I was waiting at the bus stop to head downtown for the concert. Friends who were also coming to the concert approached, and at first thought it was me at the bus stop but hesitated because it was too slender to be me.

Hulk and Wolverine from the cover of Wolverine’s first appearance seemed to work for today. I really do want to go to Cape Breton Island someday for summer vacation.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 48
This is the kind of day where diets go sideways. I could not face a power bar or making bacon and eggs this morning so I delayed with chores and then went to Starbucks and had a bacon, cheese and egg breakfast sandwich. The evil of wheat.

I saw Hugh Jackman on the Tonight Show and his Wolverine diet (an inspiration for me for this diet/fitness regime) came up and they fed him pasta. Had he done that during prep for any of the movies, he’d have lost a week on his routine. This makes me think, what am I losing today? Quite possibly my mind, but as I mentioned to my wife last night, my definition of blowing my diet is a piece of bread where in the past that phrase would have meant a Costco-sized bag of M&Ms.

Speaking of pain, I figured out what happened to my arms. The muscles at the top of your forearm and the very bottom of you bicep are used for gripping. Try grabbing your cellphone case really hard and notice what tightens in the arm. Those muscles got cooked on Tuesday. I think I know how to avoid this going forward.

Today, no exercise, rather I’m going to see Carmina Burana in which my wife and daughter are singing.

[two_third_last]

This is fairly representative on my mind today. Positively balmy in Toronto today for a February day.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 47
Last I checked exercise was supposed to help one’s mental state. At this point I’m feeling totally bummed out. I’ll have to see with my sore limbs what I can do that the gym today.

All this pain and just too much stuff going on clearly led to fries. It was a take-out night because I was too damn tired to cook anything but I only ate some fries. I heated my own meat and skipped pop and bun and so forth.

I need some sort of win in the in win column.

I really needed a superhero crossover today. Winnipeg is a civilized -6° today.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 46
Literally I am sore all over. I am considering skipping the gym or doing a drastically reduced homework session. The problem with the working out process is when your trainer suggests another set or something there’s a tendency to say sure, what the heck. You don’t know you’ve gone past a boundary later. It’s like driving without a speedometer; you don’t know you’re going to be given a ticket until you hear the sirens.

Sufficient rest is a problem. Lots of little cheats and desire for food just to keep me moving.

And all the responsibilities can’t just be dropped just because you are tired.

In honour of anti-bullying day I give you Metaphorpho. I checked the Regina page today and it’s not bad at -1°.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 45
Yesterday’s trainer session was interesting. Weight up. Body Fat down. There’s another measurement their magic scale takes which is how much water is in my body. Historically when I ate foods that I’m allergic/sensitive to I retained water. Now there’s a way to measure this. Once I get the water numbers, I’m going to chart them.

The good news is that mentally it did not bug me much. My theory of how my body works with respect to food and weight retention is becoming clearer.

The upgraded kettle bell workout was hard. She upped the weights I was swinging around and I felt the effects into today. I’m glad I plan yoga after a personal trainer.

Oh, and for the person who stole my towel at the gym from the personal trainer area, I hope the towel takes on a life of its own and throttles you.

After seeing the very silly Lego Batman yesterday, I offer this image of Batman villains. I’m feeling nostalgic today for Sandbanks Provincial Park.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 43
There is definitely a correlation between situational stress and food & drink. When I look at my food log over the past couple of days, I see a few carbs sneaking in and my wife and I saw fit to buy and consume wine.

We did a yoga class last night and this particular Hatha instructor is what you would call a bit more fire-y. They say go at your own pace etc, etc, but seriously you go to the class to do the class not follow a different routine. Nevertheless, when the knees were being put on the shoulders, I opted for a butter fly pose.

I read in an article that will power is a scarce resource and in high demand. And is not utilized only for maintaining a diet/fitness program.

Now to go to the dentist for a checkup.

This image is in honour of taking my son and a couple of friends in Vancouver to Lego Batman.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 42
Give the stress surrounding some aspects of my life right now (privacy and decorum prevent me from going into detail) I suspect that we’ll see the effects of cortisol levels on my weight coming Tuesday.

This weekend I need to prepare food for next week and I haven’t had enough time.

And it’s raining.

At least I’m taking four grade 3 kids to Lego Batman.

In continuation with the cat theme, this is Black Cat a complicated villain/love interest for Spider-man. Halifax maybe snowy now but wait until summer.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 41
So, the alcohol showing on the food diary is strictly therapeutic. I failed a safety tip. Don’t go to Costco hungry. I had bad food there, but I don’t think it was too egregious. However, I was so hungry I was a public safety risk.

My son thinks my stomach is less round. I guess that’s a good sign. As a birthday present for my wife I sent her and my daughter to my personal trainer for a “fun” bootcamp session. They haven’t come home yet and I’m wondering if I should worry.

I have so many things going on I feel like my brain is a frog on a hot plate.

Enjoy the weekend.

I was looking for an image of an obscure character called Hellcat and I found this ensemble picture. Time to start planning summer vacation. Parksville anyone?

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 40
Oh crap, I’m way past the halfway mark. Day 40 of 77!

Despite my weakness with homemade vegetarian nachos, I’m feeling more on track that any time prior in this Phase 2 of the never ending Mutant Diet.

I was sore after a self-inflicted Bulgarian bag workout but am feeling today not as sore. It’s good to have some recovery speed for a change.

The personal trainer said she was going to mix up bag and kettle bell work so today I had better review my kettle bell homework.

I was looking for Nightwing, the grown up Robin and I found this cool picture. I wonder if the US Virgin Islands are paying attention to what’s going on at the mothership?

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 39
Yesterday I think yoga saved my day. I was really becoming more Quasimodo than Baryshnikov in terms of posture due to the Tuesday personal trainer session. As I limped into the yoga class I warned the instructor that I was going to be struggling more than normal. She asked what was up and the hips, IT band and shoulders were the problem areas. She said she had a few poses that could help.

During the class I could feel things opening up. Some serious side stretches really worked. By the end I was tired, but hugely more aligned.

Today I think I can do my Bulgarian bag workout. Carefully.