Merry christmas!

Happy holidays everyone!

175 pounds this am before Christmas dinner. Writing from my iPhone – which I have had for a week. I’m loving it so far.

Update Sun 12/7

For those who have been stopping by, sorry about the lack of updates.

This morning, 173 pounds. The (worthless) Tanita scale has had me in single digit bodyfat for a while now, but I am guessing I am around 10%, looking fairly athletic with visible musculature.

Progress has not been too brisk, since I have been enjoying holiday food and dining out 1-2x per week.  I seem to have a little outpost of adipose tissue over my mid-abdominal region which is dissapointing. I can see the upper set of abs now, but I think I would have to get to a crazy level of lean to get rid of that little “pooching” over the mid-trunk.

I’m reading Sharkey’s Fitness and Health right now, which is basically an Exercise Physiology 101 text. I’m not sure how it will shape my training in the new year yet. Dr. Dan asked a while back what I thought of In Defense of Food and I have to say that it was just OK.   I’m still a fan of Willett for a 200 page overview of what is known via science and epidemiology about what it means to eat healthy. He’s an honest writer, and you can read between the lines on carb intake, but he doesn’t run off into speculation. Marion Nestle’s What to Eat was better than IDoF because it delves just enough into food marketing and politics while still touching on the health aspects. It’s written (like IDoF) from a U.S. middle/upper-middle class urban perspective. Take that as you will, but it sure gets entertaining at times.

I’ve read all the usual: Protein Power, New Diet Revolution, Good Calories, Bad Calories, and more.  I’ve followed Art DeVaney for years, and I’ve read lots on Crossfit and paleo eating. It all makes a lot of sense, and maybe it’s ideal. That doesn’t make it practical or even possible for most people. Most people’s access to food resources don’t allow a good simulation of ancestral foods. Most people also live in the real world of going out with friends and eating with non-orthorexic family members. In my opinion, getting active and controlling one’s propensity for overweight do not at all require experimental or fringe methods, or withdrawal from mainstream living. If someone eats right (avoiding chronic calorie poisioning and indulging in calorie bombs too often) and lives an active life, and wants to experiment with paleo, and has the money and time to track down grass fed meats and a cornucopia of local vegetation, I think it’s great.

Apologies for the ranting, just some thoughts this morning. I’m heading out for Dim Sum!