One year later, how did it go?

The million dollar question from Andy:

Andy said... It's Christmas a year later. Merry Christmas! Are you just as happy (happier?) but much less fat, as you hoped?

The short answer to both questions is yes. I dropped 20 kilograms (44 lbs) in the past year. My stated goals were "...to counteract this upward [weight] trend and engrain lifestyle changes that will allow me to maintain a healthy weight. Quantitatively, the goal is to get down to 100 kilos, weight by body hasn't seen since elementary school, and run a 5K race by 31 December 2007. " But, as Andy pointed out, it was really about being happier and less fat. On those points, it was a success. I feel good, or at least better. J.J. Syvrud (former NFL player and my former college resident assistant and teammate) once prophesied, “The only thing that feels better than being drunk is waking up not hung over.” True words that took nearly a decade to finally register for me. Perhaps it was that he was in the middle of ten hour session of Nintendo64 Bond and opining from the comforts a dorm room couch that prevented this nugget from really taking hold at the time. Though it’s about more than just not drinking (or drinking less). It’s about taking care of yourself – taking that commitment seriously in the lifestyle choices you make. Eating better, watching the booze, getting exercise, and making sure you get enough rest.

I have a long way to go though. I still tip the scales over 300 lbs – a threshold that means a lot. I work too much and need to manage my stress better. I recognize that I am human and it’s a process. With that in mind, I am extending this whole program for another six months. In reality, it is about a lifetime commitment. However, I do hope someday not to have to spend the majority of my weekends in the gym by getting to a healthy weight and being reasonable.

So what’s the plan for next year? We’ll stick with two quantitative goals. On weight, I am actually going to scale back even from last year’s goal. I am shooting to hit 115 kg (250 lbs). In the chart below, you can see it’s a threshold I have flirted with a few times but never actually reached as an adult. On running, I far exceeded last year’s mark, running a few 5k’s and doing at 10k too. This year, it’s a full marathon or bust. Part of the training for this will be a Nike+ Challenge with Dale and Yanny, our goal is 300 kilometers in 100 days. You can see our progress in the widget on the right. We'll gladly take praise for our achievements and hope you'll bust our chops if we get off target; we need to log over 20 kilometers a week to stay on pace.

Packin' - In the tradition of Mardi Claus

More Spin Santa

Doing spin class in a Santa suit is a good way to drop a few pounds quickly, crazy hot! That suit smelled like I had wore it at Mardi Gras for 3 days straight by the time the class was over...

Spin Santa Spin!

Southeast Asia Santa

Adidas Picture from Singapore 10K

Big Race Weekend

Despite a heat index of over 90 degrees, the race in Singapore went well. Dale and Sam both ran great marathons, beating their goals by a great deal. Sam by nearly half an hour and Dale switching to a full marathon from a half the day before the race - a gutsy move for sure. Irma and Yanny ran excellent 10K races. The first race ever for Yanny and a great time for Irma. For the non-racers, non-metric readers, the marathon is 42K (26 miles) and 10K is just over 6 miles.

I was hoping to run my 10K in less than 100 minutes. I came across the line at 101 minutes. I felt good about the race. I overdid the hydration and needed to go to the bathroom about 5 times in the final hour before the race and needed to go to the bathroom 3 times in the first 5K. My joints were sore, but no major issues. Primarily muscle pain - which is good, the best kind to have. Muscles are much better at recovery than joints.

Back to Jakarta tomorrow with my girls!

Karno!

In an earlier post, I wrote about Dean Karnazes' book and how inspirational it was. This video is about one of his exploits, 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. Inspirational and cool. Check it out.

Tonight is another "SuperBike". Two and a half hours of straight spinning. I expect it should be a solid 3000 calories.

Jakarta International School 5K

A sweaty mess.

I Don’t Jump High, I Fly Low

I finished a great week in the gym with a great finish. I beat my 5K personal best by 7 minutes – a blazing 45 minutes. I was targeting to run 10-minute kilometers (which would have been a two minute improvement), and I far exceeded that goal.

I was coming off a very intense week in the gym: over 13,000 calories burned last week. The workouts including a monster leg workout on Thursday (my legs are still sore on Monday afternoon). Given that I was not “fresh” and in fact quite sore from earlier workouts, I am especially pleased with the race results. I felt great after the race. In fact, after a quick protein shake and about 30 minutes downtime, I did a spin class and 3K more on the treadmill on Sunday morning. Barely able to walk, I did call it quits and skip the BodyPump class and afternoon workout I had been planning.

This week I need to try to squeeze as much final preparation work in as I can before the 10K race. I am behind in the NikePlus challenge and also still want to make up for lost time earlier this month when I was sick. It will be challenging though as I am writing this update en route to Papua.

A busy week proceeds Singapore – but I am so excited to see my girls and get after that race. Another big step, it’s just 217 days to Gold Coast Marathon.

Mardi Claus Returns - Stay Tuned...PCD May Dump Snoop for This Santa

Update from Singapore

Everything is Singapore is going well. My sore throat during the day of the delivery grews horns, evolving into a nasty respiratory and sinus infection. This was awful news in that I had to limit my time around Dakota, and wearing a mask the whole time I was with the baby. I am finally starting to feel better. At doctor's advice, I did not travel back to Jakarta. I will return to Jakarta this weekend to get back to work. Iren, Dakota, Erica, and Maria will remain in Singapore through the end of the month. Both Iren and Dakota will have follow up appointments in the next couple weeks, but so far all indications are that everyone is doing well. The whole family will return together to Jakarta on December 3rd, assuming all the check-ups go well.

The other major downside from this illness has been over a week with no real workouts. I bought a new bike in Singapore too, but I only have been able to use it once. This is bad news most immediately because the Singapore 10K race is coming soon, just a couple weeks to go. I am going to try to ease back into the gym this weekend, but I am still coughing alot and wheezing - so it's not ideal conditions for training for this big race.

Some of you have asked what's going to happen on Dec 31st. For lots of reasons, I am going to extend this program. Though I am much healthier than I was a year ago, I have not achieved the weight loss and fitness goals I envisioned. Therefore, I am extending the commitment through July 2008. The goal is to run the Gold Coast Marathon at a weight of 110 kilograms. This means there are concrete weight and fitness goals to be achieved.

That means I have 30 weeks to drop 40 kilos. An aggressive goal for sure, but I think it is possible. To drop 1.3 kilos a week, I need a negative weekly calorie balance of approximately 10,000 calories. Therefore, my strict fitness goal is to burn at least 10,000 calories per week.

Welcome to the World - Dakota Ratu Hanna

Dakota Ratu Hanna was born at 7AM on November 8, 2007 at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore. (Ratu is Indonesian for ‘queen.’)

Dakota weighed 2.7 kilograms, or nearly 6 pounds, at birth. But this figure is sure to change quickly because Dakota spends most of her time eating and sleeping, not unlike her father.

Though both are tired from the 12 hours of labor last night, Irene and Dakota are both doing well and are expected to rest and recover at the hospital through the weekend.

Not one to easily give up the limelight, Erica ensured some attention remained focused on her by Copperfield-ing Irene’s wedding ring yesterday morning. Though the ring remains missing in action, a frantic set of precautionary x-rays amid the check-in procedures for Irene confirmed that our little magician didn’t swallow the prop.

Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support.

"The damn vacation is over."

The title quote was the greeting that Clarence Thomas' grandfather issued to him upon arrival to live with his grandparents at age 7.

It was a wonderful trip: family, friends, and fun. I was able to get in a couple workouts a week, which meant it didn’t lose a lot of ground in my program, but I sure didn’t make any progress. With the Singapore 10K only 38 days away, I have little time to lose; indeed, the damn vacation is over.

I have hit the gym hard. I totaled over 8,000 calories last week. My goal for this week is 10,500 calories – roughly the caloric equivalent of 3 pounds of fat. I will do another 5K in Jakarta on Sunday. Though it is a real road race with cash prizes, I certainly won’t be racing for the bucks – but rather just using it as another training run.

While in Singapore last weekend, I picked up a book that struck me as interesting. Though I had never heard of the author or the book, I am thrilled I picked it up. Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes is incredibly motivating. Karnazes was named among Time’s Most Influential People last year, so I am surprised I had never heard of him before – but I really am glad I came across his book. Anyone looking to get inspired to get off their couch, ramp up to the next level, or stay inspired should check his book out. Great stuff.

The Slim Buttes On A Blog About Slimming My Butt

Bringing a bit of Indo to NoDak

Jamestown may well have the highest number of Chinese restaurants per capita of anywhere in the United States, but there isn't any Indonesian food to be had. So, Irene and John cooked up an amazing bounty of Indonesian food.

Mom

Mom took so many photos during our visit that the only picture we could get of her was when she had a camera over her face.

Salt Lick, Oh, Salt Lick

If it's not Heaven, then it's close.

Washington

A whirlwind 24-hour layover in DC included the National Mall, White House, Smithsonian, and brunch with beloved LBJ Friends.

Spain

Europe: so much history is makes your head hurt.

Shakier Than Britney's Live Show Performances

Indonesia has been hit by a series of earthquakes since Wednesday night. Jakarta was about 400 miles from the epicenter, but we still felt the tremors. No major damage in Jakarta, and nobody I know was hurt. Those in high-rise buildings, like my apartment and including Iren, were frightened by extensive swaying.

Not as much as you you see, but I still love technology

Lots of geek news to report. First, I got a new Polar watch that has a neat feature for keeping track of total calories burned per week - so that will be one of the quantified measurements that I will be reporting on here. The week of August 29th I burned 4829 calories. The week of September 3rd another 6636 calories. My goal for this week is to hit 10,000. I got a good start with over 2300 calories tonight with two spin classes.

In other nerdy news, Dale and I have started a NikePlus online racing challenge for who can put in the most kilometers in 80 days. If you are beginner and would like to join our challenge to motivate yourself to start running, just send me an email and I will invite you (you'll need to get the gear also). No veterans allowed though, you'll bust the curve. As it is, I am going to have to log some serious hours to keep up with the more-fleet-of-foot Barron.

Next week I start the "Around the World in a Month" trek. Stay tuned for some pics from the trip and updates as I get start much more roadwork to prepare for Singapore.

My First 5K!

In Jakarta on Sunday, September 2nd, I completed my first ever road race as part of the the 2007 Jakarta Race Against Cancer Everyone (RACE), the annual Terry Fox Run. I didn't plan it that way - I had intended to bike the event (thinking that my legs probably weren't ready for the running yet). The fun-run allows the participants to run, walk, cycle, roller skate or use a wheel chair to cover a distance of 5 or 10 kilometers. But, on the morning of the race day, I had a problem with my bike. I thought to myself, "The guy this race is named for did marathons across Canada with one leg and lung cancer; I can do this." And, sure enough, I could and did.

The top photo shows the racers getting underway. The second picture is an image that too few people saw; it took me nearly an hour to cover the 5K, a time I hope to improve greatly with further training and weight-loss. The third picture gives a sense of the crowded conditions and nasty smog even though the race was early Sunday morning. And the last photo shows me cruising down the streets of Jakarta, jamming to Nike+iPod tunes.

In case you are wondering about the background, the Terry Fox Run events have raised more than $400 million worldwide to fight cancer through research since 1981, following the inspiration of Terry’s Marathon of Hope.

The next step is the Singapore 10K in December. Much work to be done before then, so I better get on it. Off to the gym.

I am speechless; wish she had been

Just call me Pre

Perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration. But I was pleased with the results from the 2K last week (with about another kilometer warmup and cooldown). The time was terrible - taking nearly 30 minutes to complete, but it is probably to be expected given that I have never been known for blistering footspeed and the fact that I did the run after a full spin class and tough upper-body lift. The most important thing is to later be able to finish the big races – firstly, the 10K in December.

After an intense stretch of workouts over the past week, I gave myself a day off on Monday. I’ll be back in the gym tonight with some cardio.

Happy Indonesian Independence Day!

I celebrated the holiday with a morning of traditional ceremonies and spent a bulk of the rest day in the gym. Though I did not hit my goal of 5000 calories, I did make it through the three Spin class and BodyPump – burning through 4000 calories.

A couple weeks ago I tried to make it through 5K again on the treadmill, but it was a doomed run. My knees were still very sore from the basketball game (then nearly 2 weeks before), my iPod froze about 2K into the run, and the treadmill locked up at about 3.5K. I considered it a sign and cashed it in. To give my knees a bit more recovery time, I’ve planned a more gradual ramp up on getting more running in. Last week I did just 1K, this week I’ll do 2K, next week 3 - you get the idea. We’ll see where I hit the wall in the progression.

For now though, the focus will be on cardio that’s less impact for the joints. I still need to drop some more weight before to safely ramp up the roadwork. I got the bodyscan last week in Singapore, which I will post later. In summary, the results were a bit disappointing in that my weight loss is off target from the progression that I’d planned. However, the trend is still in the right direction. Just have to work harder, be more disciplined, and patient. None of those things is terribly fun – but they are all essential to success.

New Nike Plus Ad

Props to any commercial that has the guts to say "man boobs". And, I identify with his attitude toward workouts.

Counting the Days

30 days until vacation. 45 days until DKR. 100 days until the baby. 108 days until Singapore 10K. I know the saying about life being too short to wish away, but there is plenty coming down the pipeline that I am eagerly anticipating. Iren and I will be embarking on a whirlwind trip next month. Previously, it was around-the-world in 30 days. Now, it’s even faster.

· September 17th – Depart Jakarta.
· September 18-21 – Madrid
· September 22-23 – Washington, DC
· September 24-26 – New Orleans
· September 27-30 – Austin
· October 1-8 – North Dakota
· October 8-10 – Los Angeles
· October 12-14 – Singapore.

Iren will remain in Singapore through the term of the pregnancy. I will return to Jakarta on Sunday night, October 14th.

The trip will be full of challenges. Iren will be dealing with her first major international trip and doing so as a very pregnant mommy. I will need to try to balance devoting time to doing all the tourist things I should, spending time with family and friends, and getting in the workouts I need to stay on track. And, perhaps most challenging, enjoying the trip without losing sight of dietary guidelines.

August 17th is Independence Day in Indonesia, honoring the declaration of independence from the Netherlands in 1945. Freeport will commemorate the day with a ceremonial flag raising with games to follow. I plan to spend the rest of the holiday in the gym. I plan to attempt to do 3 spin classes in a row and BodyPump class, with the hopes of hitting 5000 calories burned for the day.

Shakin' Around, Ring of Fire-Style

Another quake hit Indonesia last night, luckily this one seemed to cause little damage. I was in Papua for work, but Iren and Erica were in Jakarta. Our apartment building, a forty-story complex, shook badly for about a minute. Iren and Erica took the stairs down as precaution (luckily in this case we only live on the 11th floor). They returned to find some damage to items that fell but nothing too major.

Here is an interesting approach to races. Though perhaps this article is an indication that I haven't changed completely, as it was "beer run" in the title that caught my attention.

Today I registered for the 10K race in the Singapore Marathon on December 2nd. This gives me a very concrete goal. I have 114 days to get ready! Of course, I'll welcome friends to join the race or come to watch. Those who make the trip can also come see the latest addition to the Hanna family, as Iren's due date is in late November, so she and our baby will still be in Singapore waiting for the passport paperwork (which usually takes about 10 days).

Bad Knees and the Amazing Trip to Asmat

Even the airlines are down with CanDoTujuh, implementing mandatory weigh-ins.

On Sunday, I traveled to the Asmat area of Papua, an area just to the east of the Freeport project area (traveling from black arrow to the blue arrow on map).











It is said that ‘getting there’ is part of the adventure, certainly in my experience no where in the world is that more true than Papua. Travel infrastructure in limited and the terrain incredibly difficult. This trip involved a 45-minute flight in a Twin Otter above dense jungle and a 30-minute boat ride through swamps known to have danger critters like crocs (video in post below). The Asmat area is famous for producing some of the most famous ‘traditional art’ - previously known by the less politically-correct ‘primitive art’ – and for being the point of disappearance for Michael Rockefeller and the associated speculation about cannibalism which was still practiced in the area at the time.

Recent airline accidents in Indonesia would have compounded my concerns about getting on a small plane like this - until the pilot flashed Hook 'Em Horns.

Yeah boat rides!

Checking out Saturday morning mass while the locals check out the big white guy. All the buildings here must be built on stilts because the entire area floods when the tide comes in. All the buildings are connected with wooden walkways (of varying quality and sturdiness). The church is pictured here is certainly one of the biggest structures in the village.

Quite strangely, despite its isolation - not only is there cellphone signal here, but also Goodlink/Blackberry 'push email' service works. This service doesn't even work in most of North Dakota, which I suppose says something. Unfortunately, both this trip and the last week of workouts have been impaired by tremendous knee pain. I played in a basketball tournament last Friday night and am still having problems even walking. I have been pushing through the pain for cardio workouts and stretching but have been skipping any lifting for the lower body. I will try to do some light leg lifting and BodyPump tomorrow, with the hopes that the tough love treatment won’t delay recovery significantly.

Video of boat ride to Asmat area

This video is actually from on the way back to meet the airplane again. The tide came and allowed us to take this "short cut" through this set of trees instead of looping out closer to the open sea where the waves were much rougher. Sadly, the combination of video quality from small digital camera and compression system of YouTube make it tough to see well - but, I assure you, it was a wild ride.

Shout out to Albania (how often do you see that?)

To the newly elected Albanian President Bamir Topi, I have two messages:

One, congratulations. Two, good work.

Another success story

The last story I linked to was about a crazy race that made a ‘normal marathon’ seem easy. This story is another success story about a couple who made lifestyle changes that led to remarkable success in their weight-loss.

Last night I burned through a solid 2000 calories, including 1000 during a tough spin class. Hope to repeat the same workout tonight. Tomorrow morning I depart for a quick trip to Papa, where I hope to get in at least one day of high-elevation hill work. Next week I will be back to Singapore and will have the results of a full body analysis test.

Like that weekend I read the Hobbit

Not exactly. This one was much more physically demanding. Mentally, I'm not sure - perhaps a draw. Between Friday and Sunday, I burned through nearly 7,000 calories including 6 aerobic classes. And, it didn't have nearly the fat intake of last weekend's deep-fried fiesta. Pictured below is the star attraction. The googles proved absolutely unnecessary, too bad those don’t make similar protective devices for the arteries. I reckon all my work from last weekends was really just about un-doing the damage from this event.

In addition to a healthier life, this program is about being able to do so many things that I have never been able to because of my weight, including run a race - hopefully a full marathon. Here’s a story that makes that seem like a less than ambitious goal, even considering my starting point. Considered differently, it makes my goal seem so much more easily attainable.

Back to work

Sure, the weekend in Bali was really amazing. Good weather, good friends, and good times. I have posted a couple photos below. You can see some online photo albums from Heather and Dave. After a wonderful long weekend in Bali (which – as the photos indicate – including a break from the beer ban that stopped just short of Jager-zone), it was time to get back to work in a serious way. Pictured above has been one of those recents mega-workouts - I have been targeting to burn at least 2,000 calories 5 days per week. This "Super Bike" class involved 200 people doing a 2-hour spin class session. It was alot of fun (though my feet were killing me and the wonderful Jakarta smog seems to have given me touch of respiratory infection) and I burned 3,500 calories.

So, what's the plan going forward? April was major lost time due to sickness and work issues. Much of May and June were distracted by wedding preparations. Based on the way my pants fit and a marginal decrease in weight, it does appear I kept the BMI going in the right direction. I did a lot of leg work, including many Body Pump classes, which has provided strong gains in leg strength. But, in terms of body weight, there is no doubt I am off the pace of my goals. Next week, I will travel Singapore and will use the Body Mass Analysis machine to get a better sense of where both body mass and BMI stand.

The ultimate goal is to run Standard Chartered Marathon in Hong Kong early next year (around March or so), which means a few things. One, I've got some serious catching up to do. Two, my commitment is being extended beyond "one year" - in part to reflect a penalty of lackluster performance in recent months and also to continue preparation for this major event.

Bali, Bali, Bali

This is the first time I have ever cut a cake, I usually just treat them as bite-size goodies.

After I taught this young lady how to bust a move, I fried some chicken and read lines for the new Miami Vice, "Tubbs in Asia."

Oh, so late

First it was email updates. Then, I got bad about those. Then, it was blog updates. Then, I got bad about those. Well, I will put this one on both – and plan to rededicate to the blog updates, as well as better committed on the regime which it is profiling.

The big news is pictured above from the ceremony in Jakarta. We will have our reception gathering next weekend in Bali.

Below is a fun photo from ‘This week at work with Scott.’ This was a traditional welcome ceremony for a group of guests that I took out on a tour to a local tribal village for one of the two tribes indigenous to the project area for our mine. After this, we had a feast of live grubs, tree-eating mollusks, and local mud crab.

This week at work with Scott

For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

June 23rd will be the big day for Iren and me. Our wedding will be at the Intercontinental Bali, about 100 yards down the beach from the location of this photo. If you are able to join us for our special day, please email me to coordinate travel and planning details for your trip.

Happy Birthday Erica!

Erica makes an early run for the cake. Certainly there was nothing about this cake that was approved for my diet plan.

Worker demonstration disrupts work at Freeport mine, workouts for Freeport employee

Despite such a wonderful start to the week – with a vigorous hike to Hidden Valley last Sunday (see post below) and a solid workout in the gym on Monday, I have had an abysmal week for exercise and not much better on diet. On Tuesday, a large group of employees stopped working and began a demonstration calling for more money. This event has resulted in work days starting in the early morning hours and ending well past midnight. Discussions continue today. I hope that a resolution is reached soon, as I look forward to some sleep and getting back into the gym.

Hike to Hidden Valley, A Walk in the Mountains of New Guinea

Starting at 2,000 meters and ascending around 400 more over a distance slightly over one kilometer. A challenging walk indeed. For fit folks, it’s usually slightly over 30 minutes, but I still need about 50 minutes to complete the journey. Typically I burn about 1500 calories.

SDH Reports First Quarter Results

With first quarter results delayed one week due to illness, SDH released first quarter results today. Since January 1st, SDH is down 16.5 kilos (36 lbs). While these results indicate significant performance in the past three months, SDH admitted these results were one kilo short of first quarter targets.

"You're sick, Jesse! Sick, sick, sick!"

Perhaps my last post, talking about routine and ruts, was a jinx. I contracted a viral infection, complete with high-fever, weakness, coughing, and sore throat. All of which has kept me out of the gym for nearly a week now. Finally starting to feel better, I hope to be back in the gym this weekend. My illness also meant I have yet to make it the gym for my April weigh-in, so the results are also delayed.

Chasin’ Around, Doing More of the Same

Sometimes being productive is about ruts and routines. Moreover, those routines make for habits which make for lifestyle changes. And that’s a good thing. I reckon that is a fair description of the last couple weeks of workouts. Hitting the gym consistently, keeping dietary blips to a minimum --though the last couple days on that front have been overly naughty. Last weekend was another solid week of aerobics class, burning over 2,000 classes each day. And this weekend is a plan for more of the same. On Monday, I played soccer with our company league in Jakarta for about the third time in my life. While wearing my heart rate monitor (which henceforth I will only refer to as HRM), certainly didn’t make any less terrible a player, it also me to register a solid 1,500 calories burned running around like an idiot. I wasn’t happy about losing the game but I was happy about losing the calories.

On Monday, I will return to Papua for the third month weigh in on the original scale. Stay tuned for the results.

Fat Man Fantasies

My experiment and a killer superset of calf-raisers on Saturday left me barely able to walk the last few days. Therefore, I took one day of rest and only had a light pool workout to get the blood flowing yesterday. This down time has perhaps allowed me to ponder my process and objectives some in the last couple days.

No, this passage won’t involve extensive discussion of my thoughts about Kelly Carlson, the best thing to come out of Minneapolis since – well, maybe ever. It’s not because I couldn’t think of enough things to say. It is because I don’t think fat boys’ fantasies about cute girls are much different than those of skinny boys. And because my girlfriend reads my blog.

Instead, the point of this passage is to talk about the practical ways being obese affects your life. There are plenty of subtle but important ways to which much attention could be directed, like self-esteem and self-confidence. Talking about such things would make me feel un-dude-ly and then I would have to watch Rocky IV again.

The fat man fantasies include doing stuff like:
Sitting…

• in an economy plane seat comfortably, or at all;
• in a lawn chair without worrying that it may explode at any moment like a drunk uncle at your cousin’s wedding;
• on wicker without doing that semi-squat for fear that it may otherwise produce some version of one of those post-twister tales about straw sticking into electricity poles down the street;

Buying…

• candy bars without feeling like a meth-head loading up on sinus meds;
• clothes in the normal person section;
• clothes with fewer X’s on their labels than your movies;
• clothes that you like, not just the ones that come big enough;

Riding…

• horse without worrying about winding up on the butt end of some fake (or real) PETA poster;
• amusement park rides;

Or anything involving water. From the beach to swimming to water sports, anything involving water is full potential for huge embarrassment or even practical limitations.

These are just some of things I look forward to.

Pound of flesh

I performed an experiment yesterday, to see how much work was required to burn a single pound of fat. I measured the progress with my Polar heart rate monitor, which by the way – for those of you thinking about way to improve the data associated with your workout is great.

• Exercised for 3.5 hours continuously:
• Included 2 classes (one Spin class and one Bodypump class) and 50 minutes on the elliptical machine;
• Average heart rate of 122 through that time; and
• Peak heart rate of around 200, too high actually when I was pushing hard during the Spin class.

All of this burned 3971 calories, around the amount needed to burn one pound of fat. Of course, I only “lose” that pound of fat if that my caloric intake is equal or less than my BMR or calories burned by my body on its own.

This experiment is useful in helping to remember why weight-loss is so difficult. One, we often want the weight to drop off in days or weeks, when it often crept onto our bodies over months or years. Two, it takes a hell of a lot of work to burn a pound. Further, it was useful in giving me something to concentrate on during one really tough Sunday afternoon workout.

I have a confession to make about yesterday also. While getting ready for my workout, I watched the Rocky IV training scene and final fight sequence not once, but twice. Now I need to go look for my high school letterman jacket and selected action figures to complete my transition to total loser. Err, I mean ‘Biggest Loser’. Off to the gym.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I would gladly trade today’s news for Alexander’s mishaps, even borrowing his string of descriptors fails to capture the awfulness of today. Erica’s mother passed away this morning. Though she was quite ill, her death was still shocking – all expectations were that she would recover. Erica and Iren have returned to Manado for the services and to discuss the plan for Erica. With her mother’s passing and her father having taken off before she was born, Erica is left without a biological parent to play a significant role in her life, which further compounds the sadness of the situation.

My reference to the child’s title has nothing to do with the book’s theme, rather it is connected to my compulsion to lie on the floor, kicking and screaming that it isn’t fair that this young woman was taken from the planet so soon and her beautiful young daughter won’t remember her mother and will likely never meet her father. This child-like tantrum is so tempting because no words alone are adequate to capture the grief of the day, no notion of fairness in the world is fulfilled when considering the situation, and no other action seems more effective in handling the sorrow and anger.

A small plateau

Based on today’s weigh in, in the past week, I have not lost any weight. That was disappointing – but I will try to keep reminding myself to keep in mind the longer-term view, that I have lost about 30 lbs in 70 days which is still ahead of the pace I need to keep to reach my goal by the end of the year. I have a two-prong plan to combat this short plateau:

1. Use protein-powder for meal replacement and as a snack to avoid overeating at meals. And, use this in the context of improved discipline on my diet. Staying focused, especially after a minor setback is important.
2. Increase my cardio regimen. Boredom is becoming a bit of an issue so I am going to attempt to increase the diversification, including some swimming and added aerobic classes.

In addition, this plan with persistence and patience should allow me to overcome this minor sticking point. I would really like to have a good weigh-in on April 1st (though I won’t utilize the date to announce any fake results) – as I would like to be well ahead of target by the end of the first quarter.

Still alive

More plane crashes and natural disasters for Indonesia. As this writing might indicate, I am not among those unfortunate victims. I did know one of the currently “missing” Australian citizens who were on the flight. I hope you will all join me in sending your thoughts and prayers to his family, as well as all the other loved ones who have lost someone dear. May this serve as a helpful reminder to tell those dear to us how much they matter and treasure our every moment.

Two becomes three

Erica is Irene’s niece. Erica’s mother in Manado is very ill so Erica is staying in Jakarta until she recovers. Erica is as joyful as she is cute, a delightful little girl. She cannot speak yet, but I am certain her first words will be, “Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.”

Luckily, the title doesn’t refer to my hands – though being able to deliver a Stooges-style eye gouge amid a game of mercy would be a good bar trick. It refers to, in part, how two weeks between updates have stretched into three. A string of personal events, in addition to my continuing all-consuming professional schedule, have kept me off the blog. Through all this, I would grade my performance around a C- or D. I have only missed getting into the gym a handful of days, and I have done OK on my diet. And, still flawless on the booze ban, even at the wedding of my two dear friends, Sam and Irma. Luckily, the culture of weddings in Yogyakarta isn’t that of Ypsilanti, North Dakota – an open bar at a wedding back home would be a move financial suicide. Though the momentum is still going in the right direction, I need to recommit and increase the velocity again. On that point, I need to hit the gym before work.

The setting for Sam and Irma's wedding - Congrats!

A beautiful setting and ceremony in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

‘Water, water everywhere – not a drop to drink’

My apologies for not posting an update last week. The last two weeks have been a wild ride, from major floods in Jakarta to a medivac to Singapore. And, as me writing this update would indicate, I made it through both events.

Jakarta floods

My uncanny ability to find my way into disaster zones continues. From the New Orleans (’05) to the Yogyakarta earthquake (’06) to the Jakarta flooding of last week, my track record for the past few years indicates that if I move into your neighborhood, you might want to think about moving. The flood waters resulted in dozens of deaths and have left hundreds of thousands homeless, as well as struggling to find food and potable water. Heartbreaking and tragic, I was blessed again in not being personally impacted in any serious way.

Trip to Singapore

A few weeks ago, I started having problems with the dilation of my left pupil. A strange problem to have and one that puzzled all the local doctors. Concerns that it might be an indication of some major problem, I was sent to Singapore to consult with a neurologist and have an MRI. The most important results were that the MRI showed I do have a brain and that there aren’t any bubbles which could be life-threatening, at other than the schemes I cook up for myself. The real cause of problem remains largely mysterious. The diagnosis essentially concluded that the cause is unknown but the dangerous things like aneurisms have been ruled out, but there appears there may be a connection to my migraine headaches, which I have had problems with for a few years now. Similarly, the triggers can include the same kinds of things – caffeine, booze, and stress – some of my favorite things. For now, it seems I can add freaky eye to my long list of party tricks.

Though not fundamentally related to my weight-loss journey, I feel compelled to comment about my hotel in Singapore. I walked into the room to find of those mega-massage chairs, which was awesome until I returned to Jakarta and, upon recount of the experience, had the image of hundreds of bare bums breaking in the leather before my arrival by my friend – paradise lost. Apparently to make up for the expenditure on the chair, the hotel scrimped on toilet maintenance and beds. The toilet handle had a motion like a kick-start Yamaha dirt bike and a noise to match. I will resist the temptation of any jokes drawing comparison to my own bathroom noises. And the bed felt like they outfitted leftover hardwood from the Garden not as baseboards, but as the mattress.

Time to hit the gym. Next week, I will be back in Papua and hope to get some photos of the mountain hike that I promised a while back.

Down 10 kilos in 5 weeks!

Above - Body Mass Analysis from Feb. 5th
While in Singapore waiting for my medical appointments and MRI, I was able to get a full body mass analysis at California Fitness. They performed the test for free - so I feel some duty to pitch the gym: if you find yourself in Singapore, I would highly recommend this gym. The best news was that I have lost 10 kilos (22 lbs) in the 5 weeks since my start. That's a great start and I am happy about those results, especially given that I did not get good workouts for the latter half of January because of work issues. One week in, February has been good, so I hope to keep up the positive momentum.

The analysis provided lots of useful and interesting information – and will be a great baseline. While I was thrilled to be down 10 kilos, the test showed I still have another 50 kilos (110 lbs) of fat on my frame. That’s a lot of extra weight to be lugging around, and I know my body will breathe a huge sigh of relief when I drop it. As further motivation, the test showed muscle mass of 99 kilos and bones of 6 kilos – which means I will be one buff dude if I reach my target of 100 kilos while maintaining most of my muscle mass. I have always maintained I have an awesome six-pack in there somewhere, I just need to find it!

My buddy Sam posed the challenge to me of running the NYC marathon with him in November. My initial response to him was that I get fatigued after driving 26 miles, no way I am going to run that far. In seriousness, I have given serious consideration to the idea. For right now, I plan to stay focused on just getting the weight down enough to even consider it. I would, however, consider that the ultimate accomplishment as part of all this – but for now, I want to stay focused on the first set of goals rather than set the bar too high, too early.

For now, the road I face is hundreds of more hours of cardio on elliptical machines, bikes, and swimming to minimize the impact on my joints – especially my knees are in bad shape after years of football. However, aspirations of crossing that finish line in the Big Apple and breaking the rules to have a celebratory beer with Sam and Mike Blood in a NYC pub will help keep me going.