“I’ve thought many times that I ought to erect a stand-up workstation for my computer,” I told Lauren via e-mail. “I’m not sure of the long-term implications, but it seems to me that standing would be better for me physically than sitting.”

Lauren, who for some reason has better insight into The Way J.D. Works than anyone I know besides Kris, wrote back:

I have thought about the same thing. I have heard that standing burned a large percentage more calories than sitting, and activates the muscles while sitting makes them ‘go all marshmallow’.

I think this stand-up workstation is a great idea. However, take a reminder from old pubs – make a place underneath (pubs use a foot-rail) to rest one foot about 4 inches higher, to take some strain off your back. (They gave us little boxes in art school to do this while standing at our easels). If you go back and forth between standing and sitting (as I may do) this may help you in many ways. You can always just flex your glutes frequently while standing

While killing time this afternoon, I came across Jason Kottke’s aside about walking desks, standing-height desks built over treadmills. Apparently there was a recent New York Times article about these workstations.

Now all of a sudden I’m wondering if it might not be possible to blog from a treadmill. Insane? Perhaps not. Check out this video.

The only drawback? Cost. I don’t own a treadmill, so there’s no chance that I’m going to whip up one of these from scratch. (Though I will begin watching garage sales.) Buying a pre-fab “walkstation” is out of the question. They run $6,500. That’s enough to pay for my gym membership for the next 54 years.

For more on treadmill desks, check out the following:

• Book of Joe: Treadmill workspace
• The Treadmill Desk blog
• Treadmill Workstation
• Office walkers

At a mile an hour (which is a typical pace for people who do this), the average person would burn about an extra 100 calories. If I’d spend just eight hours blogging from the treadmill every week, I’d lose an extra pound a month! Hm. I wonder if Kris would let me put a treadmill in the den…

My grand plans for hitting the gym once Megan got back into school lasted for about 5 minutes.   On Monday, I suited up for my workout and headed out the door.  After dropping Meg off, Liam and I headed straight for the gym.  I paid my three bucks, plunked Liam down in the daycare, and listened to him scream as I turned my back and headed out the door.  FIVE minutes later, they hunted me down and told me to take my kid because they couldn’t calm him down–and I didn’t even get my 3 dollars back.  I was mad.  Mad that I didn’t get to work out, mad that they made hardly any effort to pacify my son, and mad that I had to rethink my workout plan.  This was not a good start to getting back on track.

I spent the rest of Monday thinking about how I was going to get my workouts in.  I could take 2 kids to the gym daycare every time I want to work out.  I think Liam would be OK if Megan were there with him.  But then I’ve got to haul two kids worth of stuff every time, and pay for two kids instead of 1 every time.  I don’t think I want to deal with that.

So the solution is simple, right?  I’ve got to get my butt out of bed in the morning and get to the gym.  It’s 6:25 in the morning, and I’m back from the gym, workout completed, muscles sore, wide awake, and feeling awesome!  So the new plan is a 4:30 wake up call on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to renew my efforts in the stronglifts 5X5 program.  For my cardio, I’ll be using my treadmill during nap times on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  I’d like to get some cardio in everyday, but we’ll see how this goes for a few weeks.  Small steps, right?

I feel great after my workout this morning.  I was able to complete my 5X5 program with no muscle pains.  I’m tired and sore, but not injured.  I warmed up properly, correctly performed my “ass to the grass” squats with a very light weight, and even added in the 15 minute core routine from my personal trainer.

So, I’ve woken up at 4:30 one day in a row.  Friday morning will be small step #2.  So you see, things aren’t as gloomy as they seem.  We’ll get back on track, slowly.  And we’ll continue to…get fit slowly.

I'm going to kick your blocks off

While most of us understand that exercise is vital, particularly if you want to lose weight, it’s getting there that can be the problem. Whether you can’t find the right motivation or you are simply stuck wondering what exercises are right for you, there are many stumbling blocks they can keep us from reaching our goals. Regardless of the reasons you aren’t exercising there are ways you can demolish those stumbling blocks, and start reaping the benefits that exercise can bring you.

• No more excuses – The first word that you have to take out your vocabulary is “but.” Every time you find yourself saying “but I…”, stop yourself and demolish that stumbling block. One of the main keys to a successful exercise program is cutting out the negative thinking. By realizing that you can and that there are no excuses you can find that inner motivation that will help you stay committed to getting fit.
• Find the time – Another common reason that people fail to exercise, is simply due to their busy schedules. However, even the busiest person can spare half an hour or even three blocks of 10 minutes every day. Think of how much time you waste and compare that to the time that could be spent getting healthy. It’s a good idea to keep a logbook of your entire day and see just how much time you to waste. Chances are you be surprised at how much free time you could have for exercise.
• Get past body image issues – If you are out of shape the thought of going to a gym can be incredibly embarrassing. No one wants to be the center of attention and it is easy to think that if you do go everyone will be staring at you. The truth is most people are there for the same reasons you are and everyone has to start somewhere. If this is truly a problem for you consider finding ways to exercise at home until you get to that point where you are comfortable exercising in front of people at the gym
• Set attainable goals – No matter how much weight you need to lose is easy to get a little discouraged thinking that you will never reach your goals. One way to get around this stumbling block is to work on setting smaller goals that are much easier to attain. Try to avoid basing these small goals on numbers on the scale. If you can start small, chances are you will notice that results you may be surprised at how quickly they occur.

Once you get over your stumbling blocks the rest of the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place when it comes to exercising. In fact, if you get a chance, you may even find that you actually like exercising, especially when you start to see the results and you start to feel better. The endorphins should definitely kick in at some point. The first step however is getting rid of all the reasons you use to avoid getting to that place.

Photo Credit: Yogi

As with an RPG, you roll a virtual character, manage your inventory and resources, and try to achieve a goal. Weight Watchers’ points function precisely like hit points; each bite of food does damage until you’ve used up your daily amount, so you sleep and start all over again. Play well and you level up — by losing weight! And the more you play it, the more you discover interesting combinations of the rules that aren’t apparent at first. Hey, if I eat a fruit-granola breakfast and an egg-and-romaine lunch, I’ll have enough points to survive a greasy hamburger dinner for a treat!

Even the Weight Watchers web tool is amazingly game-like. It has the poke-around-and-see-what-happens elegance you see in really good RPG game screens. Accidentally snack on a candy bar and ruin your meal plan for the day? No worries: Just go into the database and see what spells — whoops, I mean foods — you can still use with your remaining points.

And those 35 extra points you get every week? They’re like a special buff or potion — a last-ditch save when you’re on the ropes.

I’ve never used Weight Watchers, so I can’t comment on its game-like aspects. However, I’ve spent long stretches of my life carefully counting calories, and I can attest that this, too is very game-like. So, too, is exercise. One of the reasons I keep detailed stats on my running and biking is that the stats keep me motivated. I’m able to seem my progress. It’s fun for me to watch my improvement. It really does feel like a game.

Many other people have realized that people can be more motivated toward health and fitness if it’s disguised as “fun”. The one hundred pushup project sort of operates on this principle: make the gradually increasing pushups into a challenge in order to motivate participants. It works.

I believe Nintendo has actually tapped into this with their latest video game console. Kris and I don’t keep our Wii in the media room — we keep it in the exercise room. With the yoga mats, fitness ball, and weights, we have an old television and the Nintendo Wii. Kris uses Wii Fit nearly every day. Last winter, I played hours of Dance Dance Revolution. She and I both like the idea of games that require more than just sitting on the couch. (We have only a single chair in the exercise room — we always stand to play the Wii.)

Making fitness fun can help motivate those who might otherwise lose interest. I do suspect there are dangers in making people think that eating right and exercising must be a game, but at the same time I think any move toward fitness is better than none at all.

Footnote: Dance Dance Revolution II is coming out for Wii in under a month! Time for me to practice my dance moves.

Christian and Dennis at 5-in-5 recently spent a day trying to see how well they could do at five Olympic events. When they were finished, they compared their results to those of Olympic athletes. Here’s their video:

I love this on so many levels. First of all, how many people ever actually try this stuff? Like many of you, I’ve found myself wondering, “Yeah, just how hard is that anyhow?” (Well, not about the still rings. Those guys are amazing!) But how many people actually get off the couch to test themselves?

Second, these guys are pretty fit. Admittedly these aren’t events for which they’ve trained, but they’re still in good shape and pretty indicative of the average athlete. That they can’t even come close (spoiler!) to the Olympians is perhaps unsurprising, but humbling nevertheless.

Finally, I like the ingenuity that Christian and Dennis display. I especially like their impromptu hurdles.

In a related story, Kathryn Bertine, a former competitive ice sakter and a professional triathlete, decided to find out just how difficult it is to make the Olympic games.

Does it require a lifetime of training and devotion? Would an average person with an athletic background have any shot at all?

You can read her story in ESPN’s “So You Wanna Be An Olympian?”

Now that I’m nearly 40, I no longer harbor any illusions that I’ll one day be on an Olympic team, but I still find the games just as inspiring as ever. I may never be a world-class athlete, but I hope to one day be a Lee Avenue-class athlete!

Here is a graph of my weight loss (if you are reading this in the future this graph will have updated for future weigh ins as well)… Clicking the image will open to a larger image.

So what is the plan?

I will be out of town during my next weigh in and so this plan will be in effect for two weeks prior to the next results.

I will swim a significant amount in the next week and the week after my rehab is allowed to begin in earnest. The doctor increased my dosage of phentermine to help with the portion control in the evening meal. I am going to redouble my efforts to watch my portion sizes. I will be weighing my food again using a food scale to remind myself of the correct portions for the diet. I will continue taking my blood pressure medication and I will try to avoid excessive salt.

My goal for the next two weeks is a total of 10 pounds.

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The picture from December looks painful to me. We both look sheepish and pale. I remember thinking that this picture was going up on the blog as a before picture and I was totally uncomfortable–hiding behind JD and my own two hands. Now, we both look a lot better–more confident and slimmer. But JD looks buff. I think he’s sucking in his gut too. Keep up the good work partner.

Dieters who write down everything they eat each day lose twice as much weight as those who don’t, according to one of the largest weight-loss studies ever conducted.

According to a new study found in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, dieters who kept a food diary lost an average of 18 pounds in 6 months while dieters who didn’t only lost 9 pounds. The big losers also attended weekly group sessions and exercised more than those who didn’t lose as much.

You might be saying that this is just a simple case of motivation: That those who worked harder at their diets lost more weight. And in part, I bet that’s true. But for me, and lots of people I know, looking at a list of the foods your eating (and their caloric values) have a tremendous impact on how successful a diet can be. Here are just a few reasons why I think food diaries can be helpful.

Food List as Motivator—If done right, a food list should provide you with certain targets to hit each day. Your targets should at least have the number of calories you’re supposed to eat each day.

Food List as Guilt Inducer—If you’re not doing well on a particular day, and you’re being honest with your food diary, when you see those chocolate chip cookies on the list from earlier in the day, you’ll find it harder to eat them again later in the day. When I tend to have a small lapse in diet judgement, it really helps me to get back on track when I’ve got my list going.

Food List as Nutrition Guide—By keeping a diary, you can track where your calories are coming from. This is especially helpful if you’ve adopted one of the many specialized diet plans out there such as Atkins, or The Zone diet. Even if you’re not on one of those diets, it’s still helpful to know how many calories your getting from the different types of foods: protein, carbohydrate and fat.

Food List as Secretary—I don’t necessarily use this very often, because I don’t often look into the past. But looking back at your diary to periods that were particularly successful for you might help to work through the tough times. And we all have tough times when we’re trying to lose weight.

Whatever the reasons may be, food diaries work for many people who want to lose weight. I think it’s time for me to start mine back up. Now…what did I have for breakfast this morning?

It appears that I have avoided surgery on my ankle which I am very grateful for. I am have been moved from the walking boot 100% of the time into increasing use of the ankle brace recommended by my doctor (click the image to view the product page at amazon).

Here is a graph of my weight loss (if you are reading this in the future this graph will have updated for future weigh ins as well)… Clicking the image will open to a larger image.

I have no known issues planned for the week so I am hoping I will be able to commit to my diet and exercise program without interruption… (I may have a glass of wine or two that I brought back from Sonoma, but other than that…)

Until next week… Enjoy the articles and keep the comments coming…

Here is a graph of my weight loss (if you are reading this in the future this graph will have updated for future weigh ins as well)… Clicking the image will open to a larger image.

This week I continued my knee up version of the 100 pushup challenge.  I have had no trouble thus far with the 3rd level.  I even set a new consecutive push up mark at 35.

I was even able to swim…  I bought a buoy for my legs that you hold between your knees to keep your feet on top of the water…  I only swam twice, but as mentioned about the smoke from the fires has caused a health warning for much of the last week.

I am open to other suggestions for exercise given that my ankle is out of commission and bay area residents are supposed to stay indoors.  Any ideas?

I think I am going to start a upper body lifting program tomorrow morning after swimming. Until next week. 

Here is a graph of my weight loss (if you are reading this in the future this graph will have updated for future weigh ins as well)… Clicking the image will open to a larger image.

So while I was not able to do many of my normal exercises (basketball, volleyball, and walking) I have been participating in the 100 pushup challenge training program…  The goal of the program is to be able to do 100 consecutive pushups. While only 3 days of exercises it was more than zero. In the end it was 195 more pushups this week than I did last week (or the week before or the week before that ).  With my ankle/foot injury I am not able to do full pushups, but even so 100 consecutive knee pushups will be an incredible accomplishment.  Plus maybe by completing the 100 pushup challenge with knee pushups I will then be able to complete it again with either 1 handed knee pushups or full pushups depending on the status of my ankle.

Also on the food front… Once my dad left I got back on the straight and narrow.  Perhaps going just a touch overboard on the calorie restriction, but I did eat 4-5 small meals through out the day with the main staples of the my diet being nuts, eggs, and organic chicken hot wing sausages.

Also there is news about my ankle injury (see the next post) which I think will enable me to increase my exercise level a little this week in the form of swimming… 

So emboldened by my successful week, which was 4 days (Fri-Mon) of slight to moderate overeating (including 2 pieces of chocolate Father’s Day cake my biggest diet sin to date) and 3 days of straight and narrow, I will be setting a 5.5 pound goal for next week. 

Here is a graph of my weight loss (if you are reading this in the future this graph will have updated for future weigh ins as well)… Clicking the image will open to a larger image.

As for exercise…  I didn’t get much… I went to the FRST and did a little exercise including the arm bicycle… twice…  I need to go more.  Next week 3 times… I swear.

I was told not to get my hopes up, but I may not need surgery… Surgery is currently scheduled for a week from Monday…  At the preop the doctor thought that I had excellent strength and range of motion in the ankle…  He is scheduling an ultrasound study and a follow up prior to confirming surgery…  Here’s hoping.

I am also going to partake in the Get Fit Slowly 100 pushup challenge: following this 6 week program…  With my ankle I will have to do knee pushup, but it would still be pretty amazing to be able to do 100 knee pushups consecutively.  That starts Monday…

I set next weeks goal at 5 pounds, but I think it will be a stiff challenge to meet given my lack of ability to exercise normally.  Until next week…  Stay sexy fit blogosphere.

Here is a graph of my weight loss (if you are reading this in the future this graph will have updated for future weigh ins as well)… Clicking the image will open to a larger image.

What happened? Oh boy is this a long story (to be told over multiple blog posts)… I played full court basketball for the first time this week. Great! What a workout! My week was going great full court on Saturday, more basketball on Monday, and playing volleyball on Tuesday when it happened…

My teammate passed the ball to the setter and I was backing up to position for the approach for the spike… When I changed directions (not even a very athletic move) there was loud pop and I thought who just throw a rock at the ground at my foot. I stopped playing and spent the rest of the week figuring out what had just happened… But this being the post about my weigh in I will stop there…

And I ate a little too much the night before the weigh-in and I did not exercise for the remainder of the week after the incident at volleyball…

I am sticking to the diet, but I am reducing my expectations (4.8 pound goal for next week aka end at the same goal weight as last week) given that I will not be able to work out at the same intensity…

So with less chance to work out my new plan is to continue to stick to the diet and to look for opportunities to work out… Given that I am currently non weight bearing and on crutches I am hoping that crutches alone will be good exercise….

First, make a list of all your “cheat” foods, or the things you normally turn to when you’re feeling down or when you want to celebrate. Post this list in an easy to spot location so you can keep it on your mind. Keeping it right there will help you retrain your brain so that you’ll be aware of your danger zones and steer clear of them.

Next, you’ll need to set up a rewards system based on your diet and exercise plan. Our goal here is to replace the usual food rewards with something that is a lot less damaging to your figure. Take that list once again and write down a column that contains all of the things you enjoy doing. Whether it’s a bubble bath, a trip to a museum or a shopping spree, you’ll need to list everything.

Start by setting your first goal. It’s a good idea to make sure that it is achievable in a small amount of time so that you stay motivated. Whether it’s losing that first few pounds or lowering your blood pressure by a few points, keep the goal easy to reach. Now, pick one of the things that you enjoy doing and set it up as a reward.

It’s a good idea to make sure that it’s not an event that you generally do. This will help you keep the rewards special and make it more fun to reach them. Once you have your first few goals and their corresponding rewards outlined, you’re ready to start making progress.

Whenever you feel as though you’re ready to give into a food craving, look at that list again and see what you’ll get to do if you can hold on and keep on your diet. This can really help you retrain your brain and get rid of problem behavior that leads to the failures of so many diets.

By sticking with your diet and making sure that you reward yourself for your successes, you’ll be able to stay motivated for your diet. In addition, since you are replacing food rewards with other activities, you’re building a strong foundation for a new and healthier life. This means that long after your diet is done you’ll be able to keep that weight off.

Losing weight is difficult, but it is doesn’t have to be impossible. We all need rewards and sometimes it just feels better to pat yourself on the back. When you’re not using food, you’re setting up a whole new future for yourself and guaranteeing your success.

Photo Credits: 1

Having over-achieved my goal of 6.5 pounds (the previous goal was set to 6.5 to make up for missing a 5 pound weekly goal several weeks ago.)  I am setting a more modest goal this week of 5.4 pounds.  Why 5.4?    My weight at this weight was 344.4, so if I succeed I will weigh an even 339.  Here’s to a great week in the past and a great week upcoming.

Here is a graph of my weight loss (if you are reading this in the future this graph will have updated for future weigh ins as well)… Clicking the image will open to a larger image.

I didn’t get a chance to work out as much as I would have liked because of work consideration… I didn’t swim, play volleyball, or golf this week.  I did play basketball twice and go on several walks…  I am going to try and get to the gym for volleyball or basketball 5 times this week, I plan on playing (walking carrying my golf bag) at least 1 round of golf, and I would like to swim more than a few laps.

I plan to continue trying to eat less fat free cheese and more lean protein.  I have been getting my dairy with a double tall non-fat no-foam latte from Starbucks.

I have not tried to stop my intake of caffeine, but my consumption of caffeine is drastically curtailed from where it was.  (I need that morning java and coffee with skim milk just isn’t the same.)

Good luck to all that are working on losing the weight…

I attribute missing the goal for the same reason as missing last week’s goal… a later than normal and larger than normal (for a 1200 calorie diet) dinner last night and missing my regular movement this morning. I except that there are normal fluctuations in the weekly number as even on a daily basis I can fluctuate 5 pounds from morning through evening with the ups and downs of water loss and water consumption with the Ketosis and exercise.

Here is a graph of my weight loss (if you are reading this in the future this graph will have updated for future weigh ins as well)… Clicking the image will open to a larger image.

So if I am to believe my claim that 1.5 pounds is within a normal fluctuation and that I am still maintaining a 5 pound a week average weight loss (from missing my goal last weigh in.) Then I need to set my weekly goal for 5 pounds plus the pound and a half that the scale failed to recognize lost in previous weeks. So my goal for next week is to end the week at 345 or to have lost 6.5 pounds for the week.

I played 2 hours of basketball twice and 2 hours of volleyball twice and went of several walks and played 9 holes of golf at Harding Park Golf Club. I did not get a chance to swim… My plan is about the same for this week, only with more swimming.

I was able to drastically reduce my fat free cheese intake and plan to continue with more lean meats instead… I feel more satiated and frankly they taste better too. I ran out of sugar free Metamucil (non water soluble) and switched to benefiber (water soluble). If Metamucil is an orange cream shake, benefiber is like dirty water (in plain water) and noticeable but ignorable in crystal light. I plan on switching back as soon as my current container is used.