Category: Phase 2

In keeping with the winter theme, I found a Killer Frost and Justice League image.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 28

The charm of snowfall in Vancouver is losing its effect, but it is sure good for exercise. Take last night. My daughter was at a friend’s and I like any paranoid father, after 9 PM, I trust public transit neither for its security nor its effectiveness, particularly in snow. The fewest flakes seem to render Translink functionless.

I was aware that the home from which I was retrieving my daughter and her friend was in an area where the side streets would be snowy. So, like any good Ontario raised boy, I brought a shovel in my car’s trunk in order to be able to help myself or others.

I succeeded in picking the children up, but not so much exiting the neighbourhood. I was stuck. Rather blue language was used. My shovel came out and I dug up an area around my car. The girls had been visiting Some Boy’s House in which I realized might have other teenaged boys. “Call them. Tell them to come push,” I ordered. Some twittering with cell phones occurred and three teenaged boys, all without coats of course, appeared. Thus began the big push. Between my shovelling and the pushing of 5 teenagers, I extricated the car and was on a level snowy path.

Once in the car, I said to the 15-year-old girls, “By the way, that’s what teenaged boys are for.” There was a snort of agreement from both girls.

Of course my step counter was great for a weekend. There was booze because I had done yoga with a new more intense teacher just 2 hours before the snow event. I had shovelled walks earlier as well. I nearly pulled a pec muscle digging out my car. This morning I was at the shovel game again in West Vancouver at the church in order to make it possible for people to park.

Today is the celebration of my wife’s birthday, a couple of days early. There will be Indian food. There will be cheesecake.

I thought an image with Iceman would help on a day like today. I could handle Jamaica today for sure.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 27

You can tell you are in Vancouver when it snows because someone in Kitsilano walks around in shorts and open toed sandals, in the snow, but with a decent coat.

I’m not sure how well I’m holding onto the diet, but today I feel less feverish. And I did shovel snow.

Emergency bacon to the rescue as I haven’t had time to make lunch. Tomorrow is cheesecake and Indian food day to celebrate my wife’s birthday. I hope I stop snuffling.

I was looking for an image of The Spectre and I found this instead. Guyana is technically more Atlantic than Caribbean, but hey, it’s snowing in Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 26

It’s official. It’s a sick day. And a snow day. I stayed in bed until noon and have managed for forage for coffee. And a power bar.

But now I face a million emails I have not dealt with and a conference call in which I need to listen and not speak, because right now I have the voice of Satan.

My fitness has been so low the step counter barely indicates I’m alive.

This is what happens when I miss lunch. Guadeloupe is another French Caribbean destination.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 25

Never get in the way of someone on a diet who has five minutes to heat his lunch, another five to eat it and has another five minutes to burp and go into a meeting.

I had to skip lunch yesterday and survive on a 1/2 of a power bar. The people in the way lived.

I’m surprised SWAT didn’t have to come to the office. The cold is present in a minor way and definitely not helping. Yoga class yesterday was OK, but relatively low-key.

This weekend is cheesecake weekend as my wife has a birthday. There will be cheating.

Here’s a cool team drawing of Justice League and Justice League Dark characters. It’s still so cold here I am even dreaming of Cuba.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 24

O boy. Colds are fun. I must be insane because I went to the gym yesterday even though later at around 3 PM I went home to lie down to see if I could shake the cold. The reason is that today in my normal yoga day and I wanted to test out the new Bulgarian bag routine before I forgot how to do it. However, the cold only let me do one set. The hamstrings have told me that I successfully touched on the leg muscles.

The diet included sushi yesterday because I overslept and forgot all my food supplies for work. I’m hoping that doesn’t encourage my system to store 17 million cu m of lard.

It just felt like a Wonder Woman Day. Please visit Grenada. That’s where my mind went when I felt the cold this morning.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 23

Yesterday was the great Bulgarian Bag workout. I’ve moved to weekly workouts and weigh-ins to try to keep me focused on the process and see if I can make some significant progress for March 28. I’m going to toggle between the Bulgarian bag and the kettle bells and see if I can activate the metabolism enough to chew up the fat cells that my body is fervently hanging onto. The new workout is at the bottom.

The good news is that I did drop 0.4 pounds and reduced body fat by 2.3% in a 6-day span. The waist was in slightly smaller and the chest was bigger.

Today the cold bug is trying to get me. I may have to retreat home after a couple of key meetings.

Bulgarian Bag Routine
Lots of hip movement!

• Halo with Kettle Bell – hold kettle bell upside down in front of face. Keep close to your head while having the kettle bell circle it. Use pink and complete 8 circles in each direction. 2 times
• Bag Sway – the first exercise we learned together. Use the red bag and have it moving towards the straight leg. Wide leg stance. Complete 20 sways total, take a break and complete 3 more sets.
• Bag chop – the second exercise we learned together. Feet closer together, bring the bag horizontal to the ground and pivot on your back foot. Complete 10 reps in each direction, rest and then 2 more sets
• Squat and press – create a ‘necklace’ in front holding onto the handles of the bag. Squat with the bag and as you are standing up press it overhead. Red bag, 10 reps. Rest, 3 sets.
• Power snatch -the one where you’re almost hitting the back of your head. Careful with your back – do not bend at the top, core tight! Swing the bag through your legs and then pull it overhead and flip it at the top, straightening your arms. Green bag, 10 reps. Rest then 2 more sets.
• Bag Clean – swing the bag through your legs then catch the bag when it is in front of your shoulders, keep your arms straight. Red bag
• Half a swing – swing the bag up to one side and rest it on your shoulder/elbow.
• Squat with the bag resting on your back. Red bag, 10 reps and 3 sets.

In honour of the nasty cold/flu bug that’s going around, I give you Captain Cold and friends. He’d hate it in the British Virgin Islands

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 22

The joys of colds and busy teens. My daughter was in the junior improv competition on the weekend and a team from Kitsilano Secondary won the tournament. He team did have the chance to compete in the wildcard round, which made the effort and preparation seem worth it.

I barely moved as I was chauffeur boy and there was a GST quarterly return to complete. At least that is done.

I have a personal trainer session today and I’m working hard not to let this cold fully take hold. It’s been a real pain.

In honour of seafood on Granville Island, I thought I’d find a picture of Namor fighting The Hulk.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 21

Yesterday was another dining out event that went better than usual. At The Sandbar on Granville Island I treated my wife, son and in-laws to a meal. The trick is to find something not totally boring for the vegetarians and not totally disastrous for the lo-carb guy.

I dodge the bread, the potato and the alcohol. A minor deviance with the clam chowder, but it being a proper seafood place, it was good.

It’s not helping that yet again this cold is trying to take out my family. Again!

Tomorrow is a personal trainer session and want to spend less time arguing about diet and trying to push the body into a stronger state.

Batman has a large number of death-and-resurrections and I many need that power. But where would Bruce Wayne vacation? Cayman Islands I bet.

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 20

This whole taking enough rest thing is tricky. Even when I do go to bed early the mind takes over with stress dreams. What fun.

It’s officially the slogging portion of the diet/fitness program. There’s planning and plotting and peeing on sticks and trying to dodge carbs at restaurants but in the end, it’s slogging.

I have stay strict with my body as it seems to be able power an entire workday, plus fitness routines, with 1 gram of sugar.

Today we persist. And await the effects of yesterday’s workout to pass.

This is a bad ass image of Katana in honour of Asian superheroes. Netherlands Antilles would work. I want a vacation!

Mutant Diet Phase 2 Day 19

Yesterday was the dreaded team lunch at Pink Thai.

It’s not the team I dread; it’s the carbs. At Pink Thai there’s a cheap (for a reason) set lunch menu; I had pork and vegetables. The arrived with a small salad with wonton. It was OK, but it wasn’t much food. The rice is the enemy and I didn’t eat all of it.

A technique a coworker, who’s at Weight Watchers, used was to literally take half of her meal and put it on another plate out of reach. Fortunately that extraneous half was out of my reach. It’s an interesting technique. In my case, the trick would be to isolate any carbs and put them aside.

The downside to this was that I was killer hungry by the time I made it home, despite a power bar at work.

It seems to always boil down to better planning.

And, before I forget, let’s talk about muffins. I did not have enough time today to prepare bacon and eggs for this morning and I had to take a risk and go to Urban Fare for their breakfast buffet. I dodged the carbs there. But it made me remember that I used to go to Urban Fare every day for a muffin or croissant and coffee. This is now a distant memory. It also confirms my theory that my body is hanging onto weight for dear life because, according to common sense, I should have lost more given the changes I’ve made.

Age, stress and lack of sleep are not our friends.