Nothin Unusual...

The blank post is because Blogspot are a post I was writing about how we manage our menus here. I'll post more about it this weekend, but i don't feel like re-creating it now.

To a large extent, we are tied to the DFC, as that's where all the meals are. I hear people talk about "off-program" eating, but I am endeavoring to stay away from that. The only two "sins" I've committed since arriving here is some Popcorn at the Hockey Game, and one (okay two) small tootsie rolls ( I love tootsie rolls) while shipping a couple things home from the UPS Store today.

A typical day here starts at 7:15-7:30 for me. I wake up sadly forgo the shower. I mean, what's the point. I'm just going to either 1) get all sweaty after breakfast or 2) get in the pool after breakfast.

It's about a 5-10 minute drive from the Towers to the DFC. Once I arrive I head to the "Cafeteria" and grab my menu from the files on the wall. All meals are done by menu, you hand the menu to the food service personnel (one of whom had her 21st anniversary of working at the DFC today). They then give you what's listed on your menu for that meal, nothing more nothing less. I usually have the same breakfast. A 2 egg white with 1 whole egg Omelet with 2 ounces of ham and 1/2 a cup of sauteed vegetables and a fruit serving. Most mornings I have been picking grapefruit.

If there is an 8:00 lecture, you can take your breakfast into the Lecture Room. If there isn't a lecture I head to the Gym. The entire day is spent moving from Fitness Activity, to meal, to appointment. Twice this week I have taken some time out of the day and gone to the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Course to hit some range balls. A couple days a week I fit in a golf lesson. This week it was Monday Morning, and I have another one tomorrow afternoon at 4:15. I digress...

So, yesterday there was no morning lecture, but I had a 9:20 medical check in. After the medical check in (283.4 and a BP of 102/66), you have a brief consult with the Dr.'s. I had nothing really going on, so it was quick. Ten I went to the Gym, as I was going to hit the treadmill. However one of the ladies in my Orientation group was heading to "chair aerobics and stretch" and it was only her and the Instructor. Melissa, the instructor is an Intern from Penn State, who I have had a couple Private Training sessions with so her and Jane got me to join them for Chair Aerobics. Now, chair aerobics really isn't that challenging for me, so I did the whole class whole on a stability ball, which increased the workload, and actually provided a good "core strength" workout.

At 11:00 there was a class "Awareness training through Mindfulness Mediation", so I went to that. It was a interesting. All about focusing on the moment, and how to stay "in the moment". More information can be found here. Then, at 12:00 it was Lunch. There was a 12:00 Lecture session called "Ask the Dr.", but I passed on that one. So, from 12:00 to 2:00 I made phone calls, checked the Internet and socialized.

2:00 brought on "Advanced Portions and Calories" which was about, well, portions and calories. Quite a bit of discussion about growing portion sizes in American society. You know, "supersize"
For instance, did you know that 20 years ago the standard bagel sold in a bagel shop was 3" in diameter (140 calories) and it is now 6" (390 calories). Also, a Quiznos 8" Turkey sandwich with Swiss Cheese and Ranch dressing has 1,060 calories???

3:00 was "Body Image and Self Image" I passed on that and went and did 3.1 miles on the treadmill in 45 minutes. After the treadmill I had a Private Training session. I may not be able to lift as much weight as I used to, but I remember the moves, and am fairly co-ordinated so the trainers and I get along well. They seem to enjoy having someone to work with that is, comparatively speaking, fit and flexible. However, after 45 minutes on the treadmill I was a bit sweaty and that was providing some humor in the gym. Everywhere I touched we had to wipe down afterwards.

That took it to 5:00, and I spent 1/2 an hour in the Hot Tub after that. Dinner and back to the towers after that, and another day had passed. All told I was exercising, actually they don't use the word exercise, it's "Physically Active" for around 130 minutes. According to my Polar FT40 Heart Rate Monitor:

1. I burned 213 Calories in Chair Aerobics, with an average heart rate of 124 and a max of 154. Another 95 during the stretch session
2. 601 calories on the Treadmill. I was doing some interval work. 2 minutes at 4.0 miles per hour, and 1:00 at 5.1, although I had to raise the interval to 3:1 for the last 15 minutes. Average heart rate 154, max was (gulp) 179.
3. 516 calories during my strength training workout. 140AHR, and a max of 173 (medicine ball squats)

So, the total calorie burn for the day: 1,425, which is about the same amount as my food intake. In other words, I worked out pretty hard yesterday.

I don't want to get super fatigued, so I took it easy today. I did a "Deep Water" aerobics class to give my joints a rest, and hit a bucket of Golf balls this afternoon and that was it for the day. Tomorrow I'll either Treadmill or Elliptical after a Private training session that I have at 9:00.

I also have to check in with the nutritionist tomorrow.

As i said earlier, I have really focused on sticking to the diet plan here. No real breaks on that, except sometimes I have an apple at night. Tonight I went to Whole Foods to get some more apples (the Cortland apples are fantastic). So, I was heading to the checkout at the market when I ran smack dab into one of the nutritionists from the program. I immediately pointed to my basket and said "Looks, it's only apples". She laughed and said "I trust you"

They offer a grocery store tour as part of the curriculum, they take a group to the Krogers and help you learn to read food labels etc. If you want, you can also "for a fee" hire one of them to take a tour of Whole Foods as well.

Oh, and I was trying to figure out something to do tomorrow night (tonight I played some Wii bowling and Golf with some friends at the DFC) and I found that Lyle Lovett is playing in Greensboro. That's about 40 minutes form here, so I sent an E-mail, and Zev arranged for some tickets for me (Thanks Zev!). I have wanted to see him in concert for years, so I am pretty excited about that. I'll find someone from the Center to go with me since Val is 2500 miles away,