Fiddleman

Hehe, fully immersed. Kind of like that scene in 13th warrior where he finally understands the German language after listening and not understanding for weeks. I tried this technique when I went to Italy 2 years ago, fully hoping to " get it" by the time the vacation was over. After being there 3 weeks, I had picked up on some phrases and could order about anything I needed. Also figured out when Italians were making fun of us silly Americans. I hope to become proficient in another spoken language other then English someday, but you know what they say about learning languages when you are older. My hat off to all those people who can fluently understand and speak multiple foreign languages. You would figure that I could become more successful at it as I know 4 musical clefs for different instruments and about 12 different computer programming languages ( proficient in 5). Maybe these are used by a different part of the brain then the spoken and written language. Who knows?

Thank goodness for google translate. My high school Spanish is very rusty.

That is very motivating to hear from you. What a great goal to have and to strive towards!! I think everyone has the ability to achieve what they set their minds to. You will get there!!

Yes, good idea. Danyelle said in a previous post that it is good to replace your shoes every 300 miles or so. I am getting close to this as my shoes are as-of December 2012, so that makes my shoe life at about 3.5 months. Since I do most of my running on the treadmill and use these shoes for literally only running on the treadmill, they appear to still have a good tread as I approach 300 miles. They still feel good to me. What I might do is visit the running store and ask them what they think of the current state of my running shoes. I have no problem buying new running shoes if the time is right. Should cost between 100-150. Since you have been running for a year, you might find your shoe requirements have changed a little. A trained eye will point this out to you so trust them in helping you find a new running shoe.

So glad that Cheese cake factory has a small plates menu! Will need to try it out sometime soon. I remember also liking their Asian lettuce wraps pre surgery and those still be pretty good for us if we don't go gang busters on the sauces.

You should be able to drink large amounts for sure after 5 months. I think even after 2 months, you can change from sip to gulp if you want to. It really depends on when your stomach is fully healed.

I am finding one spoonful of low fat cottage cheese does a good job at holding over to 3 hour mark if at 90 min mark since last meal. Thanks for your suggestions everyone.

Tried out the Detour Lean Muscle Bar today. It is not bad in terms of taste, nutritional stats and satiety. The flavor I got is cookie dough caramel. This may be on the sweet side for some, but it does not seem to bother me. Calories: 190 Fat: 6g Carbs: 17 g (1 fiber, w sugar and 13 sugar alcohols) Sodium : 230 mg Protein: 16 g Vitamins: claim is 21 Vitamins and minerals. A little high on sodium, but still manageable. I still like the nu go slim bars better over all.

The flag with red background is a derivation of the original human rights flag with blue background and gold equality sign.

You are doing wonderful so far in your exercise activities. A suggestion that has worked for me is to mix in some HIIT days where you are focused on applying high levels of exertion (>80% perceived effort) for short bursts of time. For example, I will alternate between 2 min sprinting (.5 % incline 7.7 mph), 1 min hill running (5-6% incline @ 6.0 mph) and then 30 sec recovery @ 5.6 mph. Usually i will do this cycle for about 30 minutes and then spend the remaining 30 minutes on a 5 k @ 1-2% incline. on HIIT days, it is not about a race speed or even about calories burned. it is about maximizing intensity so you are seriously spent at the end of each active part of the HIIT cycle where you NEED the 30 second recovery time to continue. I like exercise equipment like a treadmill because it lets me dynamically adjust intensity for HIIT on a moments notice. HIIT has also helped me become a faster runner (and hiker). You can certainly practice HIIT for cycling or for any other exercise where you can alternate between > 80 % exertion and lower exertion levels. Running really does help with weight loss and toning up. For me, running has helped me lose about 40-45 lb from beginning of Dec 2012 to the beginning of Feb 2013. Pretty strong in the legs, but have average size arms and not very muscular. running will do this so it is best to get into strength training also if you want to maintain arm strength. Still being very active, but scale has not moved for last month or so. That is ok with me as I am +- a couple lbs around goal since then. I am now solely focused on improving my fitness levels through faster and longer running as well as cross fit training. Will also start some Yoga this week to round things out a bit and become more flexible. Looking forward to some Hot Yoga in the future!! I am hoping Yoga will eliminate some of the bodily stress caused by intense exercise. Finally, make sure you are drinking lots of Water and eating lots of Protein. Try and drink 120+ oz a day and eating 150+ g protein a day. sleep enough. Your body recovers and repairs best when sleeping. I am still figuring out better ways to sleep with high quality. Green drinks seems to be helping. I am a long term user of sleep aids and it is good to not need to take them any longer (as of last couple weeks).

It is the gay rights symbol for solidarity. There is a major Supreme Court decision being reviewed at this time for the legal aspects of same sex marriage. There are some marches, protests, etc going on today. The central debate is on the constitutional aspects of Proposition 8 ban on same sax marriage in California. The ruling is expected to be made by the end of June 2013.

You guys have to admit these are awesome to watch, even when we were not so strong or not so healthy. Who would not give to haul a semi 100 feet or to carry 250lb/500lb stones and place them on pedestals. Awesome! These shows bring out the he-man in us ( or she-ra for the women, if they like watching this kind of thing). Don't forget to watch American Ninja Warrior (or the Japanese original). Not nearly as raw, but is still uber motivating to see what you can do when you are at the top of your health and fitness.

That is a good suggestion! Would a low fat cream cheese be OK for it?

I'll be here all week. Be sure to throw a couple bucks into the hat to show your comedic appreciation. It will slowly fund my upcoming TT.

Loose weight is the extra jiggly stuff that flaps in the wind.

Where are your favorite places? I may get over there on business in a couple months.

Wine is pretty good after a few months. Not something to abuse, but good to relax with. Make sure you know the time table for when to introduce according to your doctor. Mine said post 3 months if I recall correctly. Laura probably remembers my live post from the Italian restaurant in Jan 2013 where I was throwing it all in the wind with a 35 glass of fine Chardonnay at a very fine Italian restaurant. I was tipsy and having a good time with my wife after my first 1/2 glass and had trouble walking after one glass. It was a very full wine, so I think that matters when you choose one. Need less to say, I started in on a second glass and only made it one or two sips before getting an upset stomach. Waste of a glass. I think I probably drank it too fast @ 10 minutes. The effects wore off after 20 minutes. I had wine a second time @olive garden See, I do not discriminate as long as they offer the good stuff. Lol. One glass this time. Same drunken walk experience. This was in February 2013. Post 7 months. The effects wore off after 10 minutes. For the final alcohol test..ERM... experience, I tried drinking a Dangerous Dave from Dave's BBQ ( national franchise). It was basically a Long Island with a few other spirits thrown in. I was able to drink 2 of these which was very surprising. Needless to say, I was woozie for a good 3 hours after that and it did not hit all at once. Came in waves. Probably won't do that again, but it was a tasty mix. This was in march 2013. Post 8 months. I think wine is good to have, but for me, I will stick with 1/2 glass or less if it is full so I can still speak intelligently with others at the table and not fall over on the way to the mens. Lol. If it is lightweight like Moscato, then maybe I could do two glasses. Anyone care to share experiences with Moscato? Last time I had Moscato was at 2 am in a little cafe in Roma tucked back in an alley way. Per surgery at that time.

Sorry I missed this post by a few days. It flew by for some reason. You look pretty hot with the weight loss, so different from when you first started out. I told you that success would come your way! Slow and steady has you ready for Dancing With The Stars! You will be smoking up that dance floor here on out. Great job. I bet you are on cloud 9.

In the beginning, every morning, crack of dawn, no clothes and after a session with the toilet. Did this until month 5 and entered everything about weight change and why ( if only a hypothesis). This helped me to see the trend and figure out what works. Then I started to weigh every Monday, same time. For last 2 months, I weigh once a month or so, just to see what the scale thinks of me after I dumped her for the mirror. I like how the mirror looks back at me now. All sexy. Today, I have a pretty "cool" relationship with my scale now; it is pretty stale and she is more of a burden then the hot flame she used to be. She gets terribly lonely and clingy, desperately wanting love and attention. When the crying gets too loud I will get on it for a little affair, but no more. It is more for her then I. And I feel so dirty afterwards, especially after considering all the nights I spend with the mirror before sleeping.

We were all wondering where you went Dean. Glad to have you back!

Mix together salad bag mix, sliced beets, crumbled goat cheese, diced walnuts and garlic chicken. Very yummy and full of flavor, especially the beet and goat cheese combo. You can buy the garlic chicken from costco in packs of 6 garlic chicken skewers. They naturally break apart into 3-4 chicken chucks per skewer, you can break them down further depending on desired size.