Category: Phase 7

These are Ultimates Avengers. Dawson Creek and Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. Go there for fun.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 71
Dinner at my friend’s place was really good. However, I won’t dwell on my dietary sins.

Back on the wagon. The usual protein for breakfast. Small snack at 10:30. Plan for a clean lunch. It’s all happening.

Does this ever end? Not really. Assuming one day I reach a stable size and shape that I can live with, I will then have to figure out what minor indulgences are allowed and then be permanently on whatever diet will work. As for fitness, it will be a forever thing where I always try to get stronger, more flexible and better cardio.

Can I go back to bed now?

I wonder if they’ll ever get the Fantastic Four right in movies? I wonder if Niagara Falls is still wet.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 70
Today the plan is to have dinner at a friend’s so indulgence will happen. Refocusing on Monday will be required. Lack of beating myself up is on the agenda.

Sleep is tough. I was examining my own attitude and you’ll notice in action hero movies and literature that the protagonists are tough characters who can function without sleep and drinking lots. I think this may have permeated into the general attitude.

It’s tough to argue that you can be more fit and more alert and without rest. You can argue the amount all you want but, if you don’t feel rested and you’re grumpy and having trouble focusing, what is the answer?

This is a part of one old comic book cover! Alert Bay in on the list of out of the what BC locations I want to see.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 69
I wasn’t expecting this phase to turn into a nightmare. The challenge I set myself for 2500 calories and ultra low carb is not holding. It seems the moment I have the devil’s combo of fatigue and emotional distress – which can be as irrelevant as a disturbing news story – I hit the carbs like a squirrel to nuts.

The paragraph above was interrupted by a child mini crisis and a nap. As I have a few moments of rest in my head, I can feel the difference. It may not stop me from screwing up the diet more today, but the rest makes me feel less bad about it.

I needed a heroic Justice League image. Last week I stayed at The Pinnacle in North Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 68
People I know in Ontario are having some nausea issues today.

In this context, I’m also seeing extreme responses to things that are different than people want to see them. In the diet/fitness context people are so married to their diet regime they can’t accept that someone else might have results with something else. This behaviour tends to lead to lashing out.

For example, let’s say someone was successful with a low fat diet and I think that low fat diets are mental. I might ask questions like “what exactly were you eating and how much?” but after that, what value is my opinion? Not much, frankly.

Spider-man and Domino could work in a movie. Shipyards Night Market in North Vancouver is worth it.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 67
I have evidence that there is no one weight loss system that works. The sheer number of weight loss programs is overwhelming. These I could pull out of my head without trying: South Beach, Weight Watchers, Paleo, Lo Carb, The Zone, Keto, intermittent fasting, Atkins, Grapefruit Diet, Mediterranean Diet, LA Weight Loss, Dr. Bernstein, Jenny Craig.

The fact there are this many indicates that there is no clear-cut way to knock lard off your frame and we’re all left to experiment for eternity to find the formula that works for you.

I bet you $10 that if I ever figure out something that works for me (i.e. something less glacial than this) it will be unusable to anyone else.

I still like the 1960s artwork. Beer? Try Tap and Barrel in North Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 66
The trainer session yesterday was wild. The mixing of stuff like burpees and boxing made for a super intense and somehow satisfying workout. The measurements were taken, but I did not look. They are in my drawer for later analysis.

Given situational stress levels from other corners of life, I think this was a good call.

But the eating is still wonky. I regularly turn away from temptation, which I think requires brain power – i.e. the energy to subvert semi-conscious habits. I don’t have a lot of this.

Rest helps but goodness. To meet all obligations and rest and exercise and take time for yourself and actually sleep. I’ll let you know how that works out.

With how nasty the Punisher is, I can’t imagine a movie in which they meet. Try out Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 65
On track, but not 100% so.

Better than a kick in the pants.

This is a 90-day phase, but I see from the calendar that I will be travelling before the end of it, so I may wind it up a couple days sooner. Travel and diet and exercise? A tough one.

I may reach out to the doctor who wrote the last diet book I read (Twitter is cool that way) and see if I can figure out how to achieve the nirvana of a do-able diet. His mantra is that you have to find a diet that is sustainable and enjoyable. For me there’s a need for the correction phase. If I could get myself out of the Secretariat size range I know for sure what maintenance looks like.

I have about 3 usable weeks remaining in this Phase.

Apparently it’s not a race. I didn’t blog for three days. I was travel writing. See Vancouver Art Gallery.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 64
Worst Monday yet because it was a 3-day carb fest weekend. Hoo hah.

So, I don’t want to weigh in, which is scheduled for tomorrow, so I’m going to do a blind weigh-in for mental health reasons, but it will give me vital data to use at the end of the phase.

Today I have to focus on getting back on track. There’s a stress to this process that can’t be ignored. I’m looking for a middle ground of quiet acceptance that I really don’t have a choice.

I saw the doctor to review blood pressure meds. My numbers are what he considers a stable zone.

Back to the mines!

I read somewhere that Spider-man faces Mysterio in the next movie. Toronto has lots of tall towers to swing from.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 60
The Fitbit is showing me the connection between lack of sleep or bad sleep and food choices. Yesterday I had to run errands before dinner to avoid closure of places like the optometrist who needed to repair my glasses.

My son and I ended up near Wendy’s and I was so screwed up hungry and tired that I weakened. I did skip the bun but not the fries.

And today is unlikely to have any meaningful exercise due to child care obligations. And later, dinner with a friend from out-of-town.

Tomorrow I’m taking a day off. Completely. If it kills me.

We’re nearing the end of the Supergirl finale on TV. Time for red beaches on PEI?

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 59
I am starting to conclude that limiting to 2500 calories and keeping the four horsemen of the carbo-pocalyplse (wheat, corn, rice and potato) out of your system is a tall order.

I felt much better with the organic corn chips last night. Strangely, I was able to keep the overall calorie count down. (Although difficult to estimate the nachos.)

According to the Fitbit, I am on 5 hours of sleep today. But I don’t feel as bad as yesterday. However, my focus is not so good.

Good sleep. Strict diet. Lots of exercise. Are these three items kind of like the project management maxim of “You can have it good, fast or cheap. Pick two.”?