I often do business at a building in DC's SouthEast neighborhood, near to the new ballpark. It's just under two miles from my office, two metro stops away. The DC metro has a lot fewer stations than the NY subway, but there is a stop at the corner of my building, and it's the right line to come out right on the corner of the giant new government office complex built to anchor the neighborhood - it had to come before the ballpark could come. Transportation is celebrated there with public displays of ancient artifacts such as old train switches, and the Navy Yard is right across the street.
The metro is convenient, but in the middle of the day you can wait up to fourteen minutes for a train to make the eight minute trip. The new "bike sharing" system has a rack right at the other building, and one is planned for my corner, but its not there yet. Often my meetings over there are right before or after lunch, and I can treat myself to walking one way or the other. It takes about forty minutes, so I can't afford the time every day. I'm always looking for a chance to squeeze in a bit more activity when I can, and this is one I can often justify. Here is the route I took today: SouthEast to SouthWest
Shortly after leaving the office complex and walking past the construction zones outside the ballpark, I enter DC's SouthWest neighborhood. One of my colleagues in the other building, an extremely avid walker, won't walk there, such is the bad reputation of the area. Clearly an outdated and unwarranted feeling, in my opinion, but the area has an interesting history. Over the course of several walks I've read many of the local history signs posted around: River Farms to Urban Towers, and often muse about the effect of transportation on neighborhoods, and on the ability to get fitness.
In a nutshell, this peninsula within DC was cut off from the rest of the city by the building of huge expressways through the city right after World War II. It had been a lower class mixed neighborhood of African Americans and Jewish immigrants, and many of the tenements still had no electricity or running water after the war- this within the shadow of the U.S. Capitol. The solution, according to Congress which micromanaged DC those days and felt no qualms about running experiments with peoples' lives, was to bulldoze the entire place and build the first "urban renewal" neighborhood. The expressway was the excuse for the first bulldozers, and today it still roars through the neighborhood, so loud I can't listen to my ipod during the walk, and only a couple of streets have over- or under-passes to allow making my way north to the government office neighborhood where I work. (The expressway goes underground and heads north past the US Capitol, and then surfaces and just peters out into regular streets. The plan was to continue it north through several more vibrant neighborhoods, including my current home, and connect it to the Beltway on the north. It was the first interstate highway ever blocked by activists, but that is a story for another day.)
Today, there are still some very un-lovely buildings dating from the fifties and sixties, and slowly the urban solid concrete jungle is being busted up to allow for some more green elements throughout. There has also been extensive re-development throughout the neighborhood, but there is still a gritty element in the less lovely sections. I can understand my colleague's lack of comfort in walking there, and I understand how tough it was in the past if you lived there. Not a place you would let your children go out and run around in. Many of the people there would not have their own cars, but you would want to cluster at the bus stops, not wander through ugly streets with no trees, no art, ugly buildings, and questionable people. At the bottom of the peninsula is Fort McNair, today home to the National Defense University, and which was where the Lincoln assassination conspirators where imprisoned and hung. The Fort is a very lovely urban oasis for those with the right id badge to get in - now - but it used to be much more industrial in feel, with big trucks running in and out, adding to ambiance of the neighborhood.
It makes for a very interesting walk, which keeps me moving.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Tea Season is Back
I am not a habitual tea drinker. I have to have my coffee in the morning, good and tasty and caffeinated. I'll drink ice tea in a restaurant at lunch, if I can get good brewed tea with no sweetener. But I won't touch bottled ice teas, which are almost universally sweet. I'm generally too lazy to make my own herbal ice tea in the summer, because it requires planning ahead enough to make hot tea then cool it down.
But when feeling tired and cold, or like I may be getting sick, or just housebound and bored, there is nothing like a cup of hot herb tea. I forget how much I like it. I simply forget to make it. I fall out of the habit in the summer.
This week, with fall weather and fall dark evenings on me, I found myself "mouthy" in the afternoons. Not hungry, but wanting to eat. My seltzer didn't appeal. Had to be hot and filling.
Suddenly I remembered tea. I got out one of my teapots and surveyed my stash of teas from last year. Such names, such marketing. Tension Tamer, Soothing Moments, Camomile Bliss, Lemon Smoother, and simply Peppermint. Except for the last, I'm pretty sure I couldn't tell one from another in a blind taste test. But when I'm in that restless "gimme hot food" mode, four minutes to heat water followed by pouring from the pot, holding the heated mug and surrounding my nose and swallowing the hot liquid and feeling it filling me up wherever I was empty can be just what I need. All that I need for just that moment. Another brief triumph over the siren call of fat sugar and salt.
- iPhone uPdate
But when feeling tired and cold, or like I may be getting sick, or just housebound and bored, there is nothing like a cup of hot herb tea. I forget how much I like it. I simply forget to make it. I fall out of the habit in the summer.
This week, with fall weather and fall dark evenings on me, I found myself "mouthy" in the afternoons. Not hungry, but wanting to eat. My seltzer didn't appeal. Had to be hot and filling.
Suddenly I remembered tea. I got out one of my teapots and surveyed my stash of teas from last year. Such names, such marketing. Tension Tamer, Soothing Moments, Camomile Bliss, Lemon Smoother, and simply Peppermint. Except for the last, I'm pretty sure I couldn't tell one from another in a blind taste test. But when I'm in that restless "gimme hot food" mode, four minutes to heat water followed by pouring from the pot, holding the heated mug and surrounding my nose and swallowing the hot liquid and feeling it filling me up wherever I was empty can be just what I need. All that I need for just that moment. Another brief triumph over the siren call of fat sugar and salt.
- iPhone uPdate
Saturday, October 2, 2010
It's a Downward Trend, If Ever So Slightly...
This was not a particularly good week for me. Everything feels really hard. I want to turn into a hibernating slug. I'm so tired, with aches and headaches and a nagging soreness in my throat. I'm seriously wondering if I'm over-training, because my body doesn't seem to recover between the strength workouts. I did keep all three appointments this week, and that is good, because I didn't dedicate any time to serious aerobic working out. When my overall calorie burn is as low as it it, "over-training" sounds absurd, but it is a possibility on the strength side. I think about cutting the appointments back to two times per week, but on weeks like this it is what reminds me how committed I really am to being strong and fit. Here is my pathetic calorie burn for the week, per the magic device:
Some days it didn't even reach 2000!
How did I do on eating? Not so good. I logged the first two meals of every day, but tended to blow off the evening meal, which is always harder to calculate anyway. Then, there was the incident with the apple turnovers.... Rather than share the details, let's just say I knew when I bought them I have a history of finishing them off, and I bought them anyway. My calorie total for the week, if summed up, would still be quite a bit over goal.
But, the joys of weighing consistently almost everyday, and considering your weight to be the weekly average, not any single day! I am on an almost undetectable downward trend. Each week for the last three weeks the weight has been lower than the week before, and all three weeks were the lowest for this weightloss effort.
Here's the picture:
I don't know if I would be as motivated to keep on going if I didn't have this picture to tell me I'm on the right track. No one bad day - or even bad week - can derail my progress. It is consistency and persistence that will make the difference over time.
A very small victory, but it's big to me. This month, I'm going to see a couple of new numbers for the first time, and I should need to adjust the axes on this graph to show the new, lower, results!
How did I do on eating? Not so good. I logged the first two meals of every day, but tended to blow off the evening meal, which is always harder to calculate anyway. Then, there was the incident with the apple turnovers.... Rather than share the details, let's just say I knew when I bought them I have a history of finishing them off, and I bought them anyway. My calorie total for the week, if summed up, would still be quite a bit over goal.
But, the joys of weighing consistently almost everyday, and considering your weight to be the weekly average, not any single day! I am on an almost undetectable downward trend. Each week for the last three weeks the weight has been lower than the week before, and all three weeks were the lowest for this weightloss effort.
Here's the picture:
I don't know if I would be as motivated to keep on going if I didn't have this picture to tell me I'm on the right track. No one bad day - or even bad week - can derail my progress. It is consistency and persistence that will make the difference over time.
A very small victory, but it's big to me. This month, I'm going to see a couple of new numbers for the first time, and I should need to adjust the axes on this graph to show the new, lower, results!
Monday, September 27, 2010
My Reptile Brain
I've been pretty quiet here. I'm engaged with my real life and it's very hard to be introspective or self reflective when I'm go go going all the time. It also makes it harder to plan to eat well and make time for exercise- real exercise, not just errands and housework.
But there is something else going on here and I think it's rooted deep inside my reptile brain, down so far below my consciousness that it takes real time and effort to dig it out and shed some light on it to see what's going on.
It's Fall, and Winter is not far away, and we're all gonna die if we don't build a nest to crawl into, if we don't fatten up and slow down to conserve energy, and get about four months of sleep.
This happens to me every Fall, and this year it slammed into my energy and motivation like [insert truck-based metaphor here].
I had a really busy weekend, but what was I doing? Nesting, mostly. Decorating my girl's room, and sitting in a brief period of sunshine soaking it in, blinking lazily like a basilisk, instead of charging up and down the soccer sideline shouting encouragement as I usually do.
Accountability? That's for long days of sunshine, not for chill grey days when it's still dark when the alarm goes off and we're making dinner after sunset.
Exercise? The need to move? Fighting my pineal gland's imperative, I just had a stroll around the block. It's grey but not actively drizzling, and I think at least I got today's vitamin D. It was light enough for my glasses to darken, so I took them off to fight against the SAD. I'm better for stretching my legs, but have to do better still to get that downward trajectory on the scale.
- iPhone uPdate
But there is something else going on here and I think it's rooted deep inside my reptile brain, down so far below my consciousness that it takes real time and effort to dig it out and shed some light on it to see what's going on.
It's Fall, and Winter is not far away, and we're all gonna die if we don't build a nest to crawl into, if we don't fatten up and slow down to conserve energy, and get about four months of sleep.
This happens to me every Fall, and this year it slammed into my energy and motivation like [insert truck-based metaphor here].
I had a really busy weekend, but what was I doing? Nesting, mostly. Decorating my girl's room, and sitting in a brief period of sunshine soaking it in, blinking lazily like a basilisk, instead of charging up and down the soccer sideline shouting encouragement as I usually do.
Accountability? That's for long days of sunshine, not for chill grey days when it's still dark when the alarm goes off and we're making dinner after sunset.
Exercise? The need to move? Fighting my pineal gland's imperative, I just had a stroll around the block. It's grey but not actively drizzling, and I think at least I got today's vitamin D. It was light enough for my glasses to darken, so I took them off to fight against the SAD. I'm better for stretching my legs, but have to do better still to get that downward trajectory on the scale.
- iPhone uPdate
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
What are the Odds?
The coffee is on the timer. The alarm is set. Clothes are both packed and laid out. All I need to do is roll out the door with shoes on and coffee in hand, to arrive at work in time to use the gym there before the office.
For years I said I hated the idea of going to the gym in the morning because I'd have to get dressed and go out twice, including getting ready for work in a locker room. Now I am going regularly to a gym a mile away very early, for an appointment with a trainer. I manage to leave the house 25 minutes after the alarm goes off, and I return home (three minutes drive) to get ready for work in my comfortable and familiar surroundings.
But I want more aerobic activity, and the same logic that drove me to schedule appointments at six in the morning is compelling me to think about using the gym at work, before work in the morning. I've proven I can roll out of bed and into the car fairly quickly. Because the drive is longer, I don't have to drink any coffee before leaving (there is no point trying to exercise without some caffeine in me). I'm actually sleeping in a half hour later than a gym day, because I'm trying for only a half hour of exercise.
The plan is to go right from the garage to the gym, work out, and then shower and change and drop the bag back in the car before heading up to the office. With work clothes and shower kit packed, this should work, right? It didn't work last week, but I'll try again tomorrow. Last Monday, the alarm went off, I rolled over, and then it was forty-five minutes later, as if I had dropped through a time warp.
So what are the odds this week? At least, they are much better for having declared my intentions publicly here.
For years I said I hated the idea of going to the gym in the morning because I'd have to get dressed and go out twice, including getting ready for work in a locker room. Now I am going regularly to a gym a mile away very early, for an appointment with a trainer. I manage to leave the house 25 minutes after the alarm goes off, and I return home (three minutes drive) to get ready for work in my comfortable and familiar surroundings.
But I want more aerobic activity, and the same logic that drove me to schedule appointments at six in the morning is compelling me to think about using the gym at work, before work in the morning. I've proven I can roll out of bed and into the car fairly quickly. Because the drive is longer, I don't have to drink any coffee before leaving (there is no point trying to exercise without some caffeine in me). I'm actually sleeping in a half hour later than a gym day, because I'm trying for only a half hour of exercise.
The plan is to go right from the garage to the gym, work out, and then shower and change and drop the bag back in the car before heading up to the office. With work clothes and shower kit packed, this should work, right? It didn't work last week, but I'll try again tomorrow. Last Monday, the alarm went off, I rolled over, and then it was forty-five minutes later, as if I had dropped through a time warp.
So what are the odds this week? At least, they are much better for having declared my intentions publicly here.
Friday, September 17, 2010
No, Really, Things Will Be Different This Time!
I've thought this often. I've heard it and read it and thought it. This time will be different. This time it's for real. This time, I've changed and things will never go back to the way they were.
Probably half the times I hear this, it turns out not to be true. Think about Oprah. She did the work, she got to goal. No matter how many personal trainers and chefs she had, she did it herself. But look where she is now. Then think about Kim Bensen. I suppose if your living depends on selling your weight loss story, you may have even more motivation than normal to keep it off. But she still has to actually do it herself. Every day.
What does it take to make a permanent change? What does it take to get all the way to where you want to be? What does it take to keep the weight off when you are there?
During my Big Loss, I managed to lose forty pounds in a year, another ten in the next year, and kept that off for another year. Then it started to creep back up. I had a single day this winter where I got within five pounds of my top weight, and that's what sent me off on this round of losing weight. Technically, I am a successful loser, because I kept 25 pound off for more than five years. I wouldn't call my history yo-yo dieting, but it's also not a pattern I want to relive constantly. What are the keys to success here? What are the things that truly make a difference, and can I do them permanently?
I really don't need to think about this right now, because I still have so far to go. But I've been thinking about permanent change a lot lately. I thought I had changed permanently ten years ago, after the Big Loss. But now, I think I've made some actual permanent changes. I think the real changes for me come from activity, not from eating habits.
I love to move! I was on a real exercise kick for a year before tragedy changed my life, and as soon as I could, I got back into it. I'm really really enjoying the activity. I don't do it for the weight loss or even the appearance benefits. I do it because I enjoy doing it while I'm doing it, and because energy breeds energy. I want to get out there and do stuff. This lets me do it.
Eating every day is a struggle. If I didn't think about it constantly, I would be falling back to what is easy and enjoyable at least in the moment. I love bread, and french fries, and chocolate, and beer. I'm able to manage it, for most of the day at least, but only by keeping it present in my mind. Only because of the activity am I really losing weight. I keep bumping up the calories burned, and keep scheming about how to burn some more.
Right now, I think I'll sign off and take the dog around the block. Because, ultimately, there is no permanent change. Only today, and tomorrow, and each day one at a time, with a million little decisions to make that add up to loss or gain over time.
Probably half the times I hear this, it turns out not to be true. Think about Oprah. She did the work, she got to goal. No matter how many personal trainers and chefs she had, she did it herself. But look where she is now. Then think about Kim Bensen. I suppose if your living depends on selling your weight loss story, you may have even more motivation than normal to keep it off. But she still has to actually do it herself. Every day.
What does it take to make a permanent change? What does it take to get all the way to where you want to be? What does it take to keep the weight off when you are there?
I really don't need to think about this right now, because I still have so far to go. But I've been thinking about permanent change a lot lately. I thought I had changed permanently ten years ago, after the Big Loss. But now, I think I've made some actual permanent changes. I think the real changes for me come from activity, not from eating habits.
I love to move! I was on a real exercise kick for a year before tragedy changed my life, and as soon as I could, I got back into it. I'm really really enjoying the activity. I don't do it for the weight loss or even the appearance benefits. I do it because I enjoy doing it while I'm doing it, and because energy breeds energy. I want to get out there and do stuff. This lets me do it.
Eating every day is a struggle. If I didn't think about it constantly, I would be falling back to what is easy and enjoyable at least in the moment. I love bread, and french fries, and chocolate, and beer. I'm able to manage it, for most of the day at least, but only by keeping it present in my mind. Only because of the activity am I really losing weight. I keep bumping up the calories burned, and keep scheming about how to burn some more.
Right now, I think I'll sign off and take the dog around the block. Because, ultimately, there is no permanent change. Only today, and tomorrow, and each day one at a time, with a million little decisions to make that add up to loss or gain over time.
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