Latest Goings-On

It seems all I've written about lately is art. My recent rush of creativity has slowed a bit and my mind is back to other things. It was fun while it lasted, but it's nice to take a break from basically either working or painting all day. The relapse might also stem from the fact that I am doing a huge cabinet refinishing project at Melissa's place.

I will be doing a series on refinishing cabinets soon. Our first section of doors and drawers is almost done and I am just about to get started on the faces/bases. I will be posting pictures, step-by-step instructions, glaze mixtures, the products we used and all the pertinent details. I think it will be useful and interesting to see how much money we saved by doing this ourselves. Plus this way we're getting exactly the finish we want.

Also in the news, I have been losing weight again. Soccer season is starting sometime in the Spring and I set a goal to be under 200 pounds by then. In 2005 my highest weight was 245. That is six-kinds of ridiculous, but my legs are really thick and no one that knew me would guess that I weighed that much anyway. When I weighed myself this morning I was 213. My means to success thus far...cutting almost all sugar out of my diet and exercising more.

For me fat and some carbohydrates are ok. I've found that by eliminating processed sugars, and foods that break down into mostly sugar, I lose weight evenly and slowly. This is the best way to do it. I've tried Weight Watchers before and I lost a lot quickly, but then as soon as I stopped the rigorous points plan, I gained it all back. With this low-sugar diet I can eat almost everything I used to, but my weight keeps dropping.

Foods like potatoes, french fries, potato chips, hash browns...basically everything made from potatoes, are the single worst regular food you can eat when trying to limit sugar intake. A potato will instantly turn to sugar in your stomach. Then the body produces insulin to deal with the excess sugars. Insulin is a fat-storage hormone, so your body is filled with all this insulin and then it grabs onto fat and stores it away for another day.

Other foods that are bad in terms of sugar are white rice, anything made from white flour and yellow cheeses. Fruits and vegetables are generally good for a low-sugar diet, but corn and carrots are bad, and bananas and pineapple contain a lot of sugar as well. I can get by reducing my sugar intake and still enjoy the little pleasures like some Taco Bell once in a while or a few slices of pizza and a beer. Actually I've cut down on my beer consumption a lot recently. One because it isn't in my budget anymore, two because they are relatively high in sugary carbohydrates and three because I am trying to give my system a break while my medication goes to work.

As far as exercise goes, I have been walking/running on the treadmill and lifting weights again. Doing the treadmill thing has been good because not only is it helping my heart and lungs build up strength, it also is getting my legs ready for the demands of a 90 minute soccer game. The weight lifting is of course building up my muscles and also helping to convert excess energy and fat into healthier tissues.

This stuff isn't so much a resolution for the year as it is just a solid, common-sense change in my life style that has been a long time coming. I feel better overall and even my attitude has been better. Nothing like stimulating the body to stimulate the mind. Cheers!