Fundamentals

This is a good website to calculate how many calories to eat to achieve your weight goals.
http://www.healthnetwork.com.au/weight-loss/daily-calorie-needs.asp

At the end of the day, it comes down to simple math. There are 3,500 calories in a pound, so in order to lose one pound per week you need to decrease calorie intake by 3500 calories. This equates to taking in 500 calories less a day.

Exercising and building muscles just means you'll be able to consume the calories faster at every hour of the day.

Eating whole unprocessed foods just means it's easier to know exactly what's in your food.

Finding new activities, grocery shopping for variety, cooking, reading, researching and blogging just keeps me sane.

Activities

So I always talk about food and traveling. What am I actually DOING to lose weight and get fit you ask? I'm glad you asked...

Monday - Rest.
Tuesday - 7am wakeup for 45 min bike ride.
Wednesday - 6am wakeup for 45min swim.
Thursday - 7am wakeup for a 45 min run.
Friday - 6am wakeup for 45 min swim.
Saturday - 7am wakeup for 1 hour boot camp
Sunday - outdoor activity: tennis, hiking/biking trails, beach volleyball

I need to add two gym slots either at lunch or in the evening. Also maybe tennis/volleyball once a week too.

Also, I try to park as far as possible from my destination. I try to take the stairs instead of the elevator. I also try to walk between floors and buildings a few times a day. This is all because of the pedometer and my goal of 10,000 steps a day which is only a little annoying when you're late.

Intense Saturday

My day started at 6:30am to get ready for my first bootcamp session with JJ at Glen Park at 7:30am. I have never gone to boot camp and had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be an amazing but challenging experience! I met a really good group of supportive people. Also JJ was such a good motivator. He was starting me off slow, modifying the exercises and drills. I think I'm going to look forward to every Saturday morning for the next while!

We finished at 9 and I decided to wake up my SF friends to go play tennis, as if I could still use my arms and legs. Chris took us to basketball/tennis courts by Lombard which overlooked the golden gate bridge and all of SF. It was BEAUTIFUL - the weather and the view. So after an hour of that, we ended up doing stretches and yoga poses.

After heading back, they came up with a bright idea to walk to get food. We walked along embarcadero for about a mile or two to my favourite Cross Roads cafe. It was great to see the sun out and so many people. After finishing off an ahi tuna salad, we headed over to the farmers market to wander.

I'm so excited about the CSA we signed up for. They had a stand at the market and had some really awesome looking fruits and vegetables. We're getting our first delivery next week and I can't wait. We even stopped to get a snack of 2 oysters at the Hog Island stand. Yumm!

Of course we had to walk all the way back the way we came.

I rewarded myself by getting some fresh salmon and scallops and wakame from the Japanese grocery store on the way home. I also made some Soba noodles, fried tofu to go along with my feast. Yummy.

Back to Reality

So I've been on the ground for one whole week and the rest of the coming week too which is a nice change from visiting airports and changing timezones. I'm trying to feel out what sort of routine I can realistically fit into my schedule. Coincidentally, I'm back into the full swing of busy work life again which means longer hours, less time for my master plan of exercising twice a day and cooking everyday.

This week I managed to hit the gym twice for some cardio and swim twice. I don't know when I can squeeze in weight training. I'm also checking out bootcamp this weekend and beach volleyball in Santa Cruz. The end result is that I have to wake up at 6am and sleep like a baby by now.

I managed to find some time to buy some groceries and still take my time to make breakfast in the morning. Lunch is definitely at work. I bring snacks of carrots and pistachios and peanuts. And I've only cooked dinner once this week - French Onion soup for the first time! I'm making it again tomorrow night so I'll describe it then. It's so simple and yet so tasty. Other dinners have been salad (at work and at an Italian restaurant).

It still gets some getting used to and figuring out what my priorities should be. I can say I'm feeling much more awake, alert, clear headed and happy. Hopefully it all won't be too overwhelming!

Preparation

Now that vacations are over and I'm back in the bay, it's time to get into a good routine for cooking and working out. To prepare, I've ordered 3 cookbooks:

• The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook [ILLUSTRATED]
  
• Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways To Incorporate Whole and Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking
  
• The Diabetes and Heart Healthy Cookbook
  

I've also went on a shopping spree at Target (Blender, Food Processor) and at World Markets for nice plates, bowls and utensils to make my pictures of meals look even better! (Everything was 50% off at World Markets, so check it out!!) I've never had a blender but it's a $15 well spent!! Goodbye Jamba Juice, thuSmooth(ies) are waaay better! I recommend getting the frozen strawberries and mangos at Trader Joes. They're perfect for making tasty icy smoothies.

I use this to map out jogging routes in my neighborhood and mapped out at 1.5 mile and a 3.5 mile run to try out.

Also, I really like the pool in Sunnyvale I tried out this morning.

Luckily I have a gym at work where I'm spending at least 1 hour everyday (4-5pm) to do weights and elliptical.

I haven't set in stone which activities in which day - but we'll see how it goes.

I've shared my tracking spreadsheets here just for accountability :)

• Weight and Fitness
  
• Food Diary

Nicotine-free!

It's been more than a month since my clothes and breath and car don't stink of smoke.

I suppose I can count my blessings that smoking led to diabetes rather than lung cancer or instant death.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/12/11/study-smoking.html

How to survive the holidays

Tomorrow, I'm heading back home to spend some time with family and friends for the next 2 weeks. I'm mostly looking forward to it but also have been dreading how I will be able to keep with my new lifestyle.

I can imagine how hard it'll be to say no to the yummy Vietnamese food that I grew up on - Pho, Bun Bo Hue, Cha Gio, Banh bot loc, Banh nam, Bun Rieu, Mi xao dong.
read: carbs, fat, deep fried, more carbs.

I can't imagine hanging out with my friends at bubble tea, chinese desserts, dim sum, food, lounges and clubs - and order water.

So I've come up with a game plan!!

Right after landing, I'm going to go to a grocery store. I'm going to get me the same food I've been following here. Yogurt, soy milk, plenty of fruits and vegetables and nuts. I'm going to volunteer to cook for the family.

As for friends, sushi is a great option to go out and meet up and catch up. I can show up for house parties after eating and get plenty of water :) I also can put up a blog and a link from facebook a couple days in advanced to give people notice about how I'm not going to be excessively drinking or eating this time (or ever). (Oh wait, I did that! :)

I'd like to finish 4 books by the time the holidays are over.

• The First Year - Type 2 Diabetes
  
• In Defense of Food - An Eater's Manifesto
  
• The China Study
  
• Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About
  

I'll likely do a review of these when I'm done.

Happy Holidays everyone!
Let's hope that 2009 is the turning point for all of our good healths!

Exercise

I only started this blog yesterday and have way more I want to write about but I should space it out. Until now I've talked mainly about food but of course thats just half the weight loss formula.

After getting out of the hospital I was weak and would get tired very easily for the first 2 weeks. Right after I could feel my spirits and energy levels picking up I started doing Wii Fit - only for a few minutes to judge how fatigued I really was.

Wii Fit is great - I'm not sure about other fat/unproportional people but I sure as heck have no balance or core muscles. I can't do any of the activities which forces me to stand on one foot. The yoga, strength training and balance games all focus on the ability to stand completely still and be more aware of your body and balance. Anyways, when I was forced to stay home for a week, thats what I would try doing. Now, I've been trying to use it once a morning for 30 min for stretches, core balance and cardio boxing. It gives me a bit of an energy boost before heading to work. And also kicks off my body to burn off calories for the rest of the day.

My target for going to the gym has been 5 times a week. So far I've probably only been able to go 3 times a week. I started off just running on the elliptical and got tired after a long 13 minute mile. I've pushed it up to 30 min for 2.75 miles today. Other than cardio, I try to do some weights to build muscles in my back, tummy, arms. I could use extra muscle to help me burn off more.

In January, I'm going to go check out my friend's bootcamp. I'm a little scared since I can't even handle the taunting that the Wii Fit board dishes out. But it'll be good to commit to something every week. Also, I've been on a search for a pool. It's been very tough to find an INDOOR pool in the south bay. It seems that they're either outdoors (but heated) or super expensive or dirty and crowded. I'll keep looking after I come back. I suppose that I didn't realize I live in California where it's theoretically sunny for the majority of the months. Indoor pools are definitely not hard to find in Toronto :)

Alcohol

So the results of multiple blood tests in the last few weeks about my liver have not been promising. My AST/ALT levels are high which means they're no longer inside of my liver. Normally these enzymes stay within the cells of the liver - but when the liver is injured for any reason, these enzymes end up in the blood stream.

Luckily, reading online has mentioned that the exact number doesn't actually reflect liver diseases or how badly the liver is functioning. Also luckily, the liver can repair itself.

So I've been banned from drinking alcohol for good. At least until these levels get under control.

How do I feel about this?

Well it's a blessing in disguise. Alcohol does strange things to blood sugar. Alcohol like beer and mixed drinks add unnecessary carbs and sugars into my body. Alcohol takes days to recover from. And it is quite expensive.

That being said - for about 10 years, it's almost natural to drink. At the dinner table back home in Toronto, we'd have beer or wine. Traveling the world, I've enjoyed the best wines of France, Australia, Canada and of course California. I've developed such an appreciation for Napa Cabs, Niagara Ice Wines, Kelowna Chardonnays, France's Burgundy and Champagne. Ah, not to mention the Sake in Japan. I've enjoyed plenty of clubbing nights, birthday parties, karaoke with drinking games. So many pictures, so many memories, so many friendships and memories were made with alcohol as the catalyst. I used to think Patron was the great thing about California.

That being said - enough is enough and I've had my share. The memories I'll cherish forever. I much rather that forever doesn't end tomorrow or next week.

So I haven't had a drop of beer or wine or sake or any alcohol for a month now. I've given away all my hard liqour or watched as it was being consumed at my house. I've participated in drinking games by drinking water and enjoyed watching the others get intoxicated. It's amusing that when you're completely sober and everyone else is not - you can really have some laughs at their expense :)

I can now volunteer to be designated driver so that's always a bonus. I don't really need the alcohol for me to talk to new people or feel less shy or embarass myself :) So I'm not missing much.

However, I hope that one day I will be able to enjoy a glass of wine or sake again. For the next while though, I'm ok with putting an end to this favourite pastime of mine.

The Plan

In the last 2 weeks while waiting for my Endocrinologist appointment, I read all I could about Pre Diabetes, Diabetes and what that means for my diet. I decided to follow the Glycemic Index to minimize carb intake. Since my cholesterol also was high, I have to go with low fat as well. Kidney problems means that high protein intake won't be good either. So I decided that I could eat unlimited carbs (which includes sugar) that comes from Vegetables and Fruits. I was also missing Iron so I happened upon leafy vegetable alternatives with ample supplies of Iron (bok choy, edamame, gai lan, spinach) Actually the more I read, the more I realized that to easily break through with this diet, I should be vegetarian. Since I want to make a lifestyle change for life and not just a lose weight quick scheme - I didn't think that it would be realistic to cut off my love of meat. At least not cold turkey. (Unlike smoking, which I have quit forever, since a month ago)

Cutting rice is already a huge sacrifice that I'm coping with. Afterall, I can't name of a single Vietnamese dish that does not have rice, tapioca, or noodles.

I cleared out my kitchen cabinets of candy, snacks and carbs and headed to:
1) Trader Joes to stocked up my kitchen with whole wheat: spaghetti, pita, pizza dough, crackers and brown rice for my emergency carb needs.
2) Ranch 99 for all their cheap vegetables, fruits and chicken breasts.
3) Safeway for yogurt, and fresh(er) fruits.
3) Walmart to get new cooking supplies - grater for carrots. pizza dish. wok steaming utensils.

So what did I do after this shopping spree?

I cooked of course!! We've been rotating houses once a week to cook a good healthy dinner. I've experimented with dishes that I've never made before and it's turned out to be a great success so far.

I've regulated my diet to be as follows for the past 2 weeks:

Drinks:
Water (Refill bottle 3 times a day)
Tea

Daily Breakfast:
Choice #1: Low fat yogurt with pomegranate or grapefruit or banana.
Choice #2: Soy milk with Kelloggs Smart Set Cereal (Has a huge dose of iron)

Daily Lunch:
Choice #1: Self serve salad with chicken/turkey cold cuts or tuna (at work)
Choice #2: Whole wheat bread or flax seed sandwich.

Daily Snacks (at 3-4pm):
Choice #1: Fruit (Orange, Banana, Grapefruit)
Choice #2: Edamame
Choice #3: Quaker Rice Cakes

Daily Dinner:
Choice #1: Salad
Choice #2: Cheese and 10-15 Whole Wheat crackers. Grapefruit.
Choice #3: Special Cooking experiments (mentioned in future posts)