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Time I think for a Deadpool series. I seem to recall Deadpool making fun of Regina in the first film.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 34
Now that was a cheat evening. A good friend turned 50 and we celebrated and it was beer, chilli, pizza, cake, WOW. The best part of being super strict for over a month is that, when you cheat, it tastes really good. You are eating it because you enjoy it, not because your body thinks you need it.

And the fitness yesterday was good. A lot of walking around plus 6 km on the bicycle and a battle ropes workout.

Today was very restrained but not carb free.

Even the monsters had a bad go of it in DC’s Futures End. I just think Bragg Creek is a funny name.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 33
It’s not raining but it’s the kind of day that invites going back to bed. I had my lower back shoved around by the chiropractor and I’m thinking it’s in place now. Time to be careful because I want it to settle in place. She’s also suggesting Orthotics and I’m on hold trying to figure out what my coverage is. I decided to look up the blood pressure med to see if it’s covered and it’s not!

Today won’t be a great diet day. One person is leaving and there is a soiree after work plus a friend’s birthday party this evening.

I think today, mentally, the process I’m undertaking has me tuckered out.

I guess that means I have to be super careful I don’t go way off side.

DC’s Futures End with a girl Firestorm. Ingersoll is just hard to say.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 32
Yesterday was a small things causing big irritation day. In the morning I forgot my breakfast so I had to eat at a place that charged a lot for so-so quality. Then at yoga class I realized I has washed and destroying my prepaid punch card and now have to get a new one.

Dieting is hard enough without this kind of stuff.

But, let’s focus on the good stuff. My blood pressure is down. The pills work and now I have to take the time to remove the extra weight that’s causing this. My pants are still loosening so I can tell that – despite the truculence of the scale – I am headed the right way.

All I need to do now is convince my lower back to chill out.

DC’s Futures End with scary Supergirl. There’s a crazy election coming to Ontario.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 31
OK. Here’s the news. I fucking gained weight. You can’t have this much fun dieting your fucking ass off only to gain weight.

One my great pleasures, it turns out, is confusing the living shit out of my personal trainer.

According to all analysis, since Dec 12, 2017 (my last weigh-in), I have gained about 3 pounds of muscle. The reason I know it is muscle is that the % body fat and water weight is basically the same. Other indicators are my pants falling down and my gut is not hanging over my belt as much.

But it’s still ludicrously frustrating.

The mistake I made was not weighing in on Day 1 of this phase. In retrospect, I should have done a blind weigh-in where the personal trainer would have kept the numbers and not shown me until I was ready. I definitely gained 1.5 belt notches over Christmas and January through February during which time my mother passed away.

The plan going forward? Keep on this diet because my body tells me regularly that it’s working. Let’s see what next month holds.

My theory is that my Anglo-Saxon DNA at age 55 is saying, “Nice try, mother-fucker. I don’t give up lard. I told you that I’m storing for winter. Because you still need to lift things for chores, fine. I’ll build muscle. It takes longer but it works just as well when I’m storing for winter. God you’re dumb.”

Here’s a comparison photo from the beginning of this voyage and now. You can decide if it has been worth in.

Click on image to see the larger one. I should also learn to stand up straight.

DC’s Futures End image 2. Did you know there was a place in BC called Horsefly?

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 30
The doctor’s visit illustrated the frustrations that diet/fitness can produce. My blood chemistry is good. My mobility is good. (Apparently not all big 55 year olds can squat down to the ground and stand again without assistance.)

However, after over two years of relentless effort, my damn blood pressure is wrong. And it’s not the lab coat syndrome (I had 20 minutes yoga breathing in advance and I had not been riding for an hour before the test.)

Again, the damn weight. And age. I can’t do anything about time. WebMD writes that “For every 20 pounds you lose, you can drop systolic pressure 5-20 points.” I need to drop the 20 points or more. Actually for normal BP I need to drop 46 points.

So, little BP pills are in my system and I’ve changed my diet chart to track blood pressure.

My weigh-in and measurements are later today. I guess I’ll need those numbers as the new baseline to see how to knock down the blood pressure.

DC’s Futures End reality is this week’s theme. I made some updates in Ottawa.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 29
This post is during the waiting period before I see the doctor. I got rained on riding here. 20% chance of rain. Sure – damn weather network app.

I need to get in there, get the needed referrals regarding sleep apnea and ride soggily to work. The things I do for fitness.

I have to be super strict today because I don’t want some stupid amount of dairy or wheat to cause me to hold water. My planned weigh-in tomorrow is simply a mark in the sand, but I want it to be representative of the past month’s effort.

Yes, I’m overthinking it. Damn, there I go again.

Switching gears back to DC. Turks and Caicos still sounds nice.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 28
I was worried last night that I had eaten too much and then around 9:30 I started to get hungry. I was happy to have the feeling of hunger. That’s a departure from the norm for me.

I have to see the doctor tomorrow to sort of the sleep apnea crap. I hope I can try out a device fast. Of course, I’m being optimistic.

Then on Tuesday is the first weigh in in months. I have to keep talking about this as a scientific thing so that I don’t feel all hung up on what the number means. It is a marking on a page and a number other people (like the medical profession) find interesting for their purposes.

I just thought of the technique of talking to the inner child who was originally traumatized with the scale and tell that little guy that it’s all going to be OK. I won’t let any mean people make fun of you little guy.

Childhood trauma: the neurological damage that keeps on giving!

I found this old cover. I ended up finding an escape in North Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 27
I had an OMG moment while reading the label of a Burnt Almond chocolate bar. On Friday afternoon, I was feeling really in need of a chocolate fix and I wondered just what I was up against. They were on sale, which made the cost was OK but, I read that there were 200 calories in 38 grams. The bar itself weighed 100 grams. On the front of the package was a big 200 calories label.

I’m standing there trying to figure out 100/38 * 200. I guessed 500, but I just realized that I could have simplified to 50/19 which is almost 50/20, which is 5/2 which is 2.5 calories per gram which works out to 500 calories for the whole candy bar. My calculator says 526.3157895.

My snack calorie limit is 250 and there’s not a chance in hell I could have held off from eating the whole hundred grams.

I left the store without buying anything.

Who knew that reading nutrition labels could put you off your food?

My last Avengers image for the week. If anyone talks to be about Infinity Wars I will smack them. I’ve been looking at Tsawwassen.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 26
I’m coming up to the first month of Phase 7, which I’m hoping is a turning-point phase. The funny part is I don’t know in what direction this is turning.

I had a tough conversation yesterday where I found myself stressing out over the diet and the workouts. I was basically saying that I was failing. But how can anyone be failing on a voyage when they don’t know where they are going? The old diet traumas lead me to always pretty much hate myself no matter what. There is always room for improvement and there’s always room for self abuse.

Since this pattern of behaviour is spectacularly wasteful I am looking to achieve the following:

• Improve my own self-image. This means when I look in the mirror I try to be neutral or look for a simple positive statement. I think neutral will be a good start. Fair? Compassionate? Reasonable?
• Determine what results from diet fitness I am trying to achieve. My key point where I offend myself is the gut-overhanging-the-belt-thing. If I can lose that, I think I can live with myself.
• Accept and try to be happy with yourself that the diet/fitness management processes are permanent. Maybe one day I won’t have to be in these painful correction phases. That’s a nice goal to think about.

On Tuesday next week I’m doing a weigh in and measure because I’ll need it for medical history but also I want to see if I can just see it as a mark in path. I’d like to see if there’s a way to correlate that number to the visual goal. It may not work, but it will be interesting to see if I can make a healthier connection with pounds and inches and my perception of self.

Another Avengers image. I’m looking at Ladner.

Mutant Diet Phase 7 Day 25
I saw the Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) for my lower back today and apparently my transverse abdominal muscle needs to strengthen. Joy. I was also late for the appointment (on time, according to what I’d written down) and now really pissed off with myself.

I rode for the first time yesterday and my strength was pretty good but my backside whined a lot this morning. I was kind of hoping this would make me feel like I was somehow even MORE on a diet, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I’m no more or less miserable than I was yesterday.

Having written, that I am enjoying the sunny weather that finally allowing riding.

OK. Back to the mines.