Losing a part of me

Category: Weather

  • Day 274

    The last few days have been hard. I am not in the right headspace for my class; I am not in the right headspace for my diet. I have been cheating, and I know I need to stop. I am working on it. Hopefully today will be better. I have to do better. Fortunately, I have not slid too far – I am not at my original stated goal of the week (under 310lbs), but I am also not over 312lbs. I have to remember that even when I slide, it is important to not slide too badly. A week of treading water is better than a month of perfect swimming… and then drowning.

    I booked my fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Monday afternoon I will get stabbed one more time. Twice, actually… I am also getting my flu shot at the same time.

    I wonder if my weight-management troubles these last few days might not have something to do with the weather. Yes, I have my heater on the patio, and I am able to smoke my cigars all winter long. With that said, I am not sure that I am ready for these temperatures yet. The high temperatures since I got back to Canada has not hit double-digits, and it has been cloudy and a bit rainy all week. That changes tomorrow, with a forecast high of 14° Celsius, and gets even nicer for the weekend. In fact, the ten-day forecast (which is akin to voodoo) shows highs from between 13° and 19° every day, with sunny or partly cloudy predicted for most of those days. I can definitely get with that… and maybe it is not such a bad thing that I have been mostly sequestered in the apartment teaching this week, and not next week.

    Today will be the fourth day in a row that Princess Sophie’s best friend Charlie spends the day with us. His mom has to work all week, and I was only too happy to help. He is delicious and they love each other, but I only wish that sometimes they would play a little quieter. My students can hear them, and they can be a little distracting.

    When I first moved into this building, the first person who introduced herself was a downstairs neighbour named Wendy. She has a dog named Bella, as well as a cat named Oliver. She told me that if I ever needed anything, I could ask her. When I needed someone to take care of Princess Sophie in my absence, it was her suggestion that I ask Susan (and Liz, Charlie’s Mom). I knew before I left for Dallas that she was not feeling well, but I did not know any details. I found out yesterday that she is dying. While she has all of her faculties (I am told by her family), her body is riddled with cancer. I am truly sad and will miss my conversations with her. She is a lovely woman who always has a kind word. Liz and I were talking yesterday about the pros and cons of a quick death, both on the person and on the family. I see Wendy’s family coming and going at all times – I assume they have to take care of her 24/7, and someone has to take Bella out – and cannot imagine what they are going through. I am keeping them all in my thoughts and in my prayers.

    I expect this evening I will have my weekly check-in with my weight-loss buddy. It will be good to touch base because of how badly I have been doing this week. Of course, I am less than a pound heavier than I was a week ago, so all things considered, not the worst stumble I have had.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Beat the Heat

    It was closer to 95° Fahrenheit than 85° by the time I hit my stride this morning, and let me tell you, it was hot! I decided to try to beat the heat though, and I pushed myself… hard. The one concession I made to it was trying to stay on the shady side of whatever street I was walking on, which makes a big difference when it is this hot and this sunny.

    I have not worn these shoes in nearly two months, and they felt really good. My feet were on fire, and not only because the pavement was so hot. When all was said and done, I recorded three split-paced kilometres under the 10-minute mark, which allowed me to finish with a combined average pace of 9m58s. While that is not nearly a personal best, it is 56 seconds better than my previous best walk in the Texas heat (from June). Yes Ma’am, I am extremely pleased by that.

    • Distance: 7 km (9.5km)
    • Duration: 1:09:46 (1:37:15)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 9:58 (10:14)
    • Best Split-Pace Kilometre: (x2) 9m40s (9m43s)
    • Steps: 8.5k (12.1k)
    • Calories burned: 832 (1,187)
    • Elevation gain: 31 (32.6)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 122 (122)

    I am really happy that I did the 7-kilometres in under 1:10:00. A couple of walks ago, I was extremely upset that I was over 1:15:00 on that pace, and being below it is important to me. I do not know why, but it is a milestone I try to stay under.

    I stopped at 7km. Could I have gone further? Yes, I could have… but it was extremely hot outside, and I was running out of water. I also felt that had I gone on, there were only a couple of routes I could have taken without doubling back, neither of which would have provided much shade.

    Leslie and I splurged for lunch, enjoying a lovely dim sum meal. I do not think that I overate, but I will not make a habit of having dim sum often. It is a lovely treat though. Later in the afternoon, we will probably go to the Asian market. For now, I am going to sit and relax for a bit, allowing lunch to digest.

  • Day 212

    It is good to be back on track.

    Yesterday evening I was tired… but that did not stop me from going to Taekwondo. I made a mistake with the schedule, thinking that Thursday evening there were two classes that were appropriate for me – the senior belts class, and the adult class. After putting on my dobok, I walked into the gym only to realize that I was looking at a children’s class.

    I had told myself that I wanted to spend a lot of time stretching during class, I took the opportunity to carve out a small corner in the back of the room and did just that for nearly the entire class. When it was time for the actual senior belts class to start, I was not exactly limber… but I was ready to go.

    I need to do that more often. Just spend the full class stretching, regaining the mobility that I once had. It was never great – I have never been as flexible or as graceful as so many other martial artists, many of whom I have trained with and trained. My kicks are powerful and effective, but I would never win a competition based on beauty and style. However, I will do what I can to improve my flexibility, at least to the point where I was ten years ago. That will involve a great deal more stretching… and not only on occasional Tuesdays and Thursdays.

    Remember how angry I was at my bathroom scale the last two days? This morning it effectively apologized to me, with a massive 2-pound drop from yesterday. That brought me back into the ‘best weight yet’ territory, as I am now a full .6 pound less than my previous best. Unfortunately, my week-over-week loss is only one pound down from last Friday. While I do not consider a single pound drop in a week to be a good week, but I have to remember what I wrote: One pound lost is three pounds of progress. There are days when I just find it so hard to be patient with tiny steps, when I want to take giant leaps… especially when I am doing almost everything right. Just the other night, Leslie reminded me that patience is not one of her virtues. I guess in a lot of ways it is not always one of mine either.

    As I said yesterday, I will almost certainly drop below the 320-pound mark before I fly to Dallas on Wednesday, but it is extremely unlikely that I will drop as far as 315-pounds. I would need to lose another six pounds from today until Wednesday, which is only five days away. No, that will not happen… but as I have said, I aimed for the stars and while I missed, I still hit the moon. I have already lost better than twenty pounds since I returned from Dallas less than two months ago, and ten pounds per month is nothing to sneeze at… especially when some of that time has been as emotionally charged and difficult as it has been.

    I was considering buying a steak for lunch today, but decided against it. My indulgence from last week had no deleterious effects on me, and to celebrate the Sabbath is it proper to have a celebratory meal. I decided against it for a number of reasons, including cost. With that said, I have decided that while I will not be cutting red meat out (as have so many people), I am happy making it an occasional treat and not a regular part of my diet. I had a steak last week and it was wonderful. Maybe when I am back from Dallas, I will have another one. Once per month seems a reasonable cadence… and I have always loved chicken so it is not a hardship for me!

    Speaking of which, I just prepared my lunch. I am hungry, but it is still 90 minutes from meal time. I can survive that, no problem! I just wish I could pop a snack in my mouth to satisfy my hunger, but I know that either my hunger is really in my mind, or if it is in my stomach then I have to learn to control it. There were times in my life when other people controlled my food – when I was a kid and when I was in the Army – and if I got hungry between meals I could either complain about it or live with the hunger, knowing that it was temporary. I have to re-learn how to live with hunger.

    The weather forecast for the next few hours calls for rain, but that is supposed to clear up by 6:00pm, which means that I will be able to walk after class. I am happy about that, knowing that I have not gone for a good walk since Monday evening. That is not to discount the Taekwondo that I did last night, but it is a different kind of workout, and I look forward to pushing myself this evening.

    I am looking forward to the weekend, and will try to use some of my free time to do some more exercise – whether that be walking, stretching, or actually re-learning my Taekwondo patterns. Actually, that is a good idea. I will spend some time at the park with my new book on Poomsae and try to re-learn so much of what I have forgotten over the years. Fortunately, I know that my muscles will remember a lot of what my brain has forgotten.

    Have a great day folks!

  • And So It Goes

    What the heck? I was getting ready to finish up my class for the day. I was going to be able to call Leslie and speak with her for a few minutes, and then I was going to hit the road. What is that noise? I looked up, and out of my window I saw a deluge that made me look for Noah and his ark.

    I did speak with Leslie for a bit, and then I got ready to go out. As I walked to the front door, I thought to myself how nice it would be to have a really good meal right about now. I don’t mean something that I prepared at home… I was thinking about the kind of comfort food that I learned to luxuriate in as a child. What a great idea!

    The only problem was that I could not decide if I wanted Chinese food or a large plate of breaded, battered, and deep-fried Buffalo wings. Both are wonderful, both would really hit the spot. Both were within a five-kilometre radius. Decisions, decisions. Wait a minute… why not just do both?! I could combine the two!

    It is settled then… I called the Chinese restaurant on Upper Middle near Brant Street and I ordered a large bowl of hot and sour soup, two large egg rolls, and an order of wok-fried chicken dumplings. They would be ready in fifteen minutes for pick-up. I then rang Montana’s on Guelph Line south of Mainway and ordered the large plate of Buffalo wings with the medium sauce. They would take twenty minutes, but that was perfect because by the time I picked up my Chinese food and drove there, I would pull in just in time for my wings to come out. I would be gone and back in less than thirty minutes, and I would be able to sit at my table and pig out like I used to.

    .

    .

    .

    WAKE UP, MITCH! You were dreaming! Come on, shake the cobwebs and tell us about your walk!?

    Okay, okay. I put on my exercise kit, down to the shoes that I least worry about in the rain. I made sure I had my hat in my satchel, and I added a face cloth, because when it rains it helps to be able to clear off my glasses, as well as wipe the rain from my face.

    I was pushing pretty hard. I did not expect to break any records, which is good because I did not. What I did manage to do was my first split-pace kilometre under 10m00s since last Monday, making this only the second outing that I have been able to accomplish that feat… and while wearing the shoes I consider my slowest and bulkiest pair. I did take a five-minute break after three kilometres, but then I got right back to it, attacking the course with gusto.

    • Distance: 8.5 km (7.03 km)
    • Duration: 1:27:43 (1:12:07)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:19 (10:15)
    • Best Split-Pace Kilometre: 9m57s
    • Steps: 10.6k (9k)
    • Calories burned: 1,156 (725)
    • Elevation gain: 34.6m (29m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 122 (126)

    I should point out that a few days ago I changed my source for the Calories Burned stat. While the MapMyWalk app and the Garmin Connect app report most of the stats nearly identically, the Garmin is detecting calories burned based on my pulse and heart rate, and not just a chart in someone’s book. To show the discrepancy, the MapMyWalk app reported that I burned 494 calories today, while Garmin reported 1,156 calories burned. I tend to trust the one checking my pulse and heart rate, thank you.

    I did have one potentially hazardous encounter along the route. There was a group of teenagers from a Krav Maga school out for a run with what looked like body-shaped weights on their backs. One of the runners miscalculated his cool factor, and instead of missing me by a hair (ha ha! I buzzed the old guy!) he actually bumped into me… and went flying because I saw it happening, anticipated it, and at the moment of impact I threw a defensive arm out, throwing him off balance. He had the good sense to apologize sincerely, and that was the end of the encounter. I am glad I threw him onto the soft grass and not to the concrete, which would have necessarily resulted in my having to stop and explain myself to a supervising adult.

    Okay, it is time for me to hit the shower. I am zonked, I am hungry, and I am dreaming of all of the naughty food that I cannot have, and will have to settle for my evening meal replacement shake after my shower, followed by a cigar on the patio and a video date with my wife. Woohoo!

  • Saturday’s Shpatzir

    I discovered today that my fitness watch, and the fitness tracker app on my phone, do a pretty good job of staying in synch… except the fitness watch tells me I burn a lot more calories than does the app. I suspect that is because the app wants me to pay for the premium subscription in order to take the weather into account, whereas I paid the fitness watch, so it is not trying to upsell me. Either way, it was another good walk. I was, once again, pretty much done after the seventh kilometre… but even so, my pace for the last (eighth) kilometre was not too bad.

    Once again, I took the hiking trail for a couple of kilometres, and it was good to be away from the traffic. My pace throughout was excellent and constant – I was not breaking records, but with the exception of the final two kilometres all split-times were between 10m11 (5th kilometre) and 10m20 (1st kilometre). Consistency is never a bad thing… especially when you are performing consistently well.

    At the very beginning, or rather before my walk started, I did throw a bit of a fit. I have a fanny pack that I think I bought when I was married to my first wife. It has holders for two small bottles of water, in addition to the main compartment. I decided to wear it today, substituting the two small bottles with one slightly larger one. I was only a few metres out of my apartment building when I realized that Leslie is right… I have absolutely no butt, which means that the fanny pack was not going to stay up. I was quite annoyed by this realization, and after slamming it the ground in frustration, I picked it up and went back into my apartment to get the pack I have been using for the past two years. Remind me to find a new sling, as this one is designed to sling over the left shoulder, and has been known to cause aches when I am not careful.

    • Distance: 8.06 km (6.5 km)
    • Duration: 1:24:05 (1:10:13 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:26 (10:47)
    • Steps: 9.9k (8k)
    • Calories burned: 467 (375)
    • Elevation gain: 23m (19m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 118 (114)

    I am happy that every statistic is an improvement on yesterday’s walk. I am also very happy that my average pace per kilometre today was the second best since I started tracking (and indeed since I started fitness walking). 10m26s, averaged out over the entire walk, is actually better than any single kilometre I walked in my first ten outings! I am excited to see if I can keep up this pace.

    Speaking of paces, I have walked 39.5 kilometres since Monday (today is Saturday). I am only counting in that the actual fitness walking (and jogging) I have done, not the total steps or distance counted on my fitness watch. That means that tomorrow I could plan an easy 5.5km outing, and have forty-five kilometres in a seven-day period. Not bad, all things being equal. I am likely going to try to do another 7-8kms tomorrow, but we will see. A lot will depend on a lot of factors, not the least being the weather.

    I have been very lucky so far… while there has been rain this week, it has never interfered with my workouts. Looking at tomorrow’s forecast, there is a 50-90% chance or rain all day long. That is not to say that I will not go out walking… only that if it is raining, I will have to make some adjustments. I will have to dress for it, and I am almost certainly going to limit the walking to 5km if it is raining. If that is the case, I think I would walk up Walker’s Line to Dundas, and then turn around and walk right back. According to Google Maps, that is exactly 5km. Hopefully I will be able to get it in and stay dry… but I am not holding out hope.

    I should mention as well that if it is rainy that will affect my selection of footwear. I do not want to get my good running shoes soaked. I have figured out that the shoes do affect my pace, so if it is raining, my statistics will be at an immediate disadvantage. No matter, what is most important is the exercise, and not the numbers. Those are just for my knowledge and enjoyment.

    Have a great afternoon folks! I am going to try to take a nap… and if not, I will just lie down for thirty minutes before continuing on with my day.

  • Day 156

    It is hot out there! Today is an important day, but I started out with a bowl of cereal, and then I went for a walk. I wanted to push myself further than I went yesterday, and I did… to a point.

    • Distance: 5.00 km (4.00 km)
    • Duration: 56:10 minutes (46:17 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 11:09 (11:33)
    • Steps: 6.1k (5k)
    • Calories burned: 287 (226)
    • Elevation gain: 25m (22m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 108 (108)

    I did take a bottle of water with me today and thank G-d I did because it was hot! I was hoping to go further, but I realized a couple of things. Firstly, I needed to pee after the second kilometre. Secondly, it was hot out there! My phone registered it at 35°, and it is going up to 38° today. Wow.

    The bathroom scale continues to be good to me. This morning I was down another pound and a half… despite the fact that I ate pizza for lunch, and chicken wings for dinner. I did not gorge myself, but those are foods that one does not associate with weight loss. I also had a dram of whisky with my cigar last night.

    Leslie have an important meeting to head out to now, so I will post more tomorrow. Have a great day folks!

  • On My Way

    I finally fell asleep around 3:30am and slept about 4.5 hours. Yes, I am tired. I took care of my morning rituals, and then I packed my sundries into my suitcase. Yes, it was really weird waking up without Princess Sophie needing to go for a walk.

    I mentioned in my middle-of-the-night post that I did not eat a second meal yesterday. I am not sure if that is why I was 2.2 lbs down on the scale this morning, or if it is the Taekwondo and golf, or if it is the weird sleep patterns of the last few nights. Whatever it is, I am taking it. This is my lowest recorded weight of the diet, just in time to go to Dallas.

    I should clarify… I am not going off my diet in Dallas; I am going to eat different than I usually do, but still smart. I do not want to come home in a week to find out I have gained ten pounds. No, that is definitely not my intent. As well, Leslie will still be working while I am there, so I plan to do some walking. Yes, I know how hot it will be down there… I am not going to push myself, and I am going to take plenty of water with me when I go out during the day.

    Speaking of water, Leslie reminded me that I cannot drink the tap water there. I am good with that… I know that we in Canada are spoiled, and even in California I filtered the tap water before drinking it. Bottled water will be big for me while I am there.

    My son the elder is driving me to the airport today. He is coming by in a couple of hours, so we get to spend some time in the car together. I do love spending time with him, and if anyone wonders why I do not call him by name, it is because I do not want to embarrass him. We have a great relationship now, but it was not always so good. I understand he is sensitive, and I am careful to not press him. That is why there are very few pictures of him on my Facebook page. I did show Master Sasha a recent photo of him the other night though, and Sasha was blown away. My son is now older that Sasha was when he was teaching him Taekwondo. How things change!

    I golfed with a couple of nice guys from China yesterday. None of us were great golfers, and we all had fun. After I duffed one shot, one of them pointed out that I might be having trouble because I wear two watches (I usually do not while playing golf… I have been a little out of sorts these last few days). I thanked him, but said I suspect it is because I am a lousy golfer who does not practice enough. That was the end of the discussion. This morning my left wrist is bothering me a little though. It is not hurting, but I certainly notice it is there. Note to self: Wear either the fitness watch or the nice watch when golfing… but never both of them.

    As we prepared to tee off, I was chatting with the starter, and I told him that I was just happy that I was shooting in the low 90s again. He told me that 90% of golfers never break 100. I don’t know if that is true, or one of those out-of-the-air statistics… but it made me feel better for how badly I have been playing!

    The local forecast for the day is hot and rainy, but I am wearing shorts. The average high/low temperatures in Dallas for the next week are 38°C/26.5°C… I am bringing a couple of pair of pants, but I expect to be wearing shorts almost every day of the trip. For those keeping score, yes… the average overnight low temperature in Dallas is higher than the average daytime high here. That is hot! Thank G-d for air conditioning, right?

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 144

    I lost my cool yesterday and wish I could go back in time to change that. I am honestly not sure though if I should have walked away or punched the guy. Folks, here’s a suggestion: Never tell a Jewish person a joke about Hitler not being a bad guy and the gassing of Jews was a misunderstanding. It is a sure way to get you on someone’s shit list. He will not get another chance with me.

    I was at Ryan’s longer than I had expected so I ate with them… a large salad and some chicken tenders. I should have come home to eat, but that’s life. As for my weight this morning, depending on the measure it was either even with yesterday or down two pounds. I deleted those and stayed even. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

    I am taking my sons for breakfast shortly, which means that most of my morning coffee will be lousy. That’s life. When I come home (and they go home) I will brew a fresh pot to enjoy. The weather forecast is grim until 4pm, at which point it dries up a little. Tomorrow is the only sunny day on the forecast until I fly to Dallas, so I will try to golf.

    I miss my Leslie. I know she misses me. We are down to the short strokes now, but there are still four days until my love is in my arms.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 131

    Yes, I had popcorn at the movie theatre yesterday, with a large Coke Zero. Yes, I know that I should avoid treats like movie theatre popcorn at all costs. Yes, I know that aside from the 600 calories, it contains 31g of fats and 67g of carbohydrates. I made the conscious decision, knowing all of that, and knowing that it also has 10g of protein, and I used it as a meal replacement. I did not add butter, only some of the salt and vinegar flavouring that they give you… which probably added a million grams of sodium to my cheat, but very little else.

    Despite the popcorn, the bathroom scale was still better than yesterday. I did not lose tremendously, but I lost .4lb, which is better than staying where I was… or gaining.

    I have a tee time booked for this morning! As soon as I finish this entry, I am heading to the Tyendaga Golf Course to play my first round of golf in ten months. I am really excited… although I do not expect to do very well. I do not want my first round with Mike to be the first time I swing a club in a year. Wish me luck!

    I should also mention that Environment Canada has issued its first heat warning of the year. We are looking at a high of 29°c… which to put into perspective for my American friends is just under 85°f. Yes, Canada can be pretty wimpy when it comes to weather. I know I will be sweating out there, but I don’t mind. All I want is to enjoy myself… and to not embarrass myself too badly on the course.

    When I come home, I will prepare chicken for dinner, with a side of steamed vegetables. It should be a lovely meal… and yes, a perfectly predictable one, as I eat that nearly every day!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 123

    Mornings like this are why dieting is so frustrating. Aside from my peanuts (which were not excessive), the only straying I did from the program yesterday was that I made my final meal replacement shake very late at night. Normally, I would like to be done with it by 9:00pm; last night I came in from smoking cigars at 11:30pm. I should have skipped it, but I did not. The results? A full 2.4 lbs increase on the scale this morning.

    My plans for today: While I do have a lot of preparation to do for tomorrow’s class that I am teaching, I first have to go visit my son the younger. That sounds wrong. I love visiting with him and would be thrilled to be taking him for breakfast. That is not what will be happening. His mother (my ex-wife) told me that she has information about an assessment for him, which we need to discuss. She suggested I just come over, and we have breakfast there. Really, the timing could not have worked out better, as I have spent much of this week trying to figure out how to tell her that I am getting remarried. This will be that opportunity.

    Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous and glorious day… if you can discount the one hour when the winds picked up to 100 km/h and the heavens opened up as if expecting me to build an ark. The morning was hot and sunny, the afternoon was hot and sunny… and from about 12:30pm to 1:30pm, Hurricane WTF came through Burlington. I had gone to visit with Lyle, and Ryan, Josh, and Dean were there too. We were sitting out on the patio (basking in the sun) when Ryan said they should hit the road because of the weather. I figured I would do the same – I stopped off to do a couple of errands, and I parked the car in front of my building in time for the rains to start… and my hat and yarmulke both flew off immediately; lucky for me they were caught in the tree in front of the house, else they both would have been long gone. I got into the building with just a few drops of wet… I turned around and saw that I escaped the deluge by three seconds. It was raining sideways.

    Needless to say, I made no further plans to venture out of the apartment yesterday.

    HRF had gone for her walk but was begging to go out again. I smiled inwardly… I showed her what the weather was like outside, and she immediately decided that she did not want to go out, but that a treat was in order. She got one, and we stayed inside and dry until the weather front passed.

    I was shocked when, at 4:00pm or so, I looked outside. Not only was it sunny, but there was no wind. It stayed like that until 9:00pm, and shortly thereafter it started raining again… sans wind.

    Knowing that I am going to the doctor’s office for my official weigh-in this week, I am hoping that my weight loss hiccough of this morning was just that… nothing more than a reminder that A) I should never eat late at night, and that B) Weight loss is neither linear nor predictable… at least, not the points on a graph. Over time, the trend should be predictable, based on honest weight management techniques. It is not abnormal to starve yourself on a particular day, only to discover that you gained a pound the following morning.

    My friend Rabbi Barclay is a very difficult man to reach, except in case of emergency, at which point he is always there immediately. While I had very important need to speak with him these last few weeks, it was not an emergency. We finally connected last night, and had a great conversation about the wedding, including the requirements and possibilities. Yes, Leslie (who lives in Texas) and I (currently living outside Toronto) are going to fly to Westlake Village, California to get married. This is partly because I want him to perform the ceremony, but also because I have a lot of people in that part of the world. I have a few people here, and Leslie has a couple of people there… in SoCal we will have a lot of people who will be thrilled to be able to witness the nuptials. Of course, I might have to fly a couple of people into town… but we’ll see. All in all, I am thrilled that my good friend will marry me to the love of my life. Stay tuned for details… there will be no invitations, but you are welcome to join us in our celebration!

    Have a great day folks! I’m off to see my sons… and my ex-wife.