Decisions...Decisions...Decisions...

I believe that energy will be the biggest growth sector over the next twenty years. In that time there are going to be many innovations in the types of fuels that we use and the fundamental design of electronic equipment. The environment will grow as a sector that is related to sustainable business practices and the incorporation of alternative energies. This is part of the paradigm shift away from carbon based fuels.

As I currently work in the environmental sector, it is interesting to see the drift away from conventional engineering consulting services and the movement toward renewables. Most of the solid waste engineering is to capture methane from decomposing waste, scrub impurities and sell that gas as a commodity. Most of the air permitting work is for ethanol plants. Alternative wastewater treatment is done through natural treatment systems. Decomposing solids from wastewater generate methane which is captured and fired to lessen the energy demand for operation.

That being said, the growth of environmental business is transforming and the boom-growth area is alternative energy. As I was updating my resume for my employer I could not help but think of the changes in this industry. Now the question is: What is more lucrative: The tranformation of a mature industry like Environmental Consulting; or the emerging alternative energy sector?

Decisions...Decisions...Decisions...

www.FitDay.com

I can not stop raving about FitDay.com. It is so easy to use and very useful to estimate calories taken in and calories expended in a day.

If anyone is seriously interested in losing weight, this is a critical tool. My friend John mentioned that he was able to love seven pounds in three weeks by using it! I have shed 40lbs by using for the past 3 months.

It is free and easy to use.

Commuting and Brisk Air

I took the new CDale cyclocross disc on its maiden voyage today, and how sweet it is. The frame is 54cm vs. 56cm of a typcial road bike which makes handling really nice. The disc brakes are a huge improvement over dual-pivot calipers for commuting. I only had two emergency braking moments today that would have been controlled swerves without discs to avoid objects (e.g. cars). The cyclocross also has shorter cranks which can make accelerating from a stop quicker. The only drawback to cyclocross is the somewhat knobby tires that are 700x32 vs. 700x23 of a typical road bike.

I held onto mad speed coming into work. I averaged approximately 23mph (with stops) over the first five miles and much less over the remining three miles due to stop lights. Spinning has really been great for getting in shape. The reserve power in my legs is great for pushing hills and sprints. I am so excited to continue with my weight loss and get even faster and stronger as the year progresses.

Current weight is 233lbs. I anticpate a weight of under 230 and the end of next week...let us see how that goes

Ft. Myers, FL

I spent the last week in Ft. Myers Florida with my wife, mother-, father-, and brother in-law. My brother in-law plays baseball for Southwest Minnesota State University and during that week he plays about 2 games per day. Kat and I watched two games and did a lot of activities on our own.

Vacation put a damper on my weight loss. I ate and drank far too much, although Kat and I stayed active. We rented a waverunner on one day, went kayaking on another, and rented bikes on another day. We went to the beach almost every day and I swam in the ocean each time for about 15-30 minutes. The cold-to-the-bone feeling from the midwest winter diappeared, and I hope that it warms up in Chicago before that horrible feeling returns.

I rode to work yesterday and the feeling was great! I had a lot of reserve power for sprints when I needed it, and I held a pretty good speed. The air temp was about 30 degrees F, so my breathing was a little labored, but the road feel was great. Riding indoors is pure mental anguish compare to outdoor riding.

I hope to take time over Easter weeekend to pound out at least 60 miles. My philosophy is that the first ride of the year should be punishing because it sets the pace for the year. The pain that you endure the first day in 60 miles is typically the most pain all year because of increased strength, speed, and endurance.

Planning for the Future, Executing in the Present, and Recalling the past

Lately, I have not had too much to say. I have been continuing with my training, and have maintained continued weight loss. Although, two weekends ago, I treated my body rather poorly. I went to a Ski Party in Wisconsin that is billed as "...kindergarten with alcohol". Needless to say, the lifestyle of health and fitness was put on hold for a few days. Those few days off of the bike were good for recovery (of muscles and saddle pain)

I think that I am going to have to get the cyclocross bike I mentioned earlier, and probably a nice gift for my wife for her understanding of my cycling needs! (I love you Kat! You are the best!)

My six13 is almost fully built. It is the lightest bicycle that I have ever felt. On that point, I must say that it is pretty ridiculous considering the bike is one of the lightest manufactured, and I am by no means a featherlight rider. I intend to break it in softly (nothing too agressive) while I continue to lose weight. I hope to be under 200 before I really take the bike to task.

After a head-on collision with a car and the theft of my cyclocross bike involved in the accident, it is time to return to commuting. (I believe that the bike was cursed given its history. I can only hope the curse remains for whoever possesses the bike now.)

--By the way, bike thieves are one of the lowest forms of human life. For me cycling embodies the freedom, adventure, and imagination of childhood. Bike theft invades the innocence embodied in cycling.

That fatty is going to do what?!?

Some "scum of the earth" stole my cyclocross bike that I had pitured here in December. I have been considering a new cyclocross bike because they are the perfect commuting bike. I have my eye on a Cannondale Cyclocross Disc- a very sexy bicycle. Also, I have been slowly acquiring all of the bits and pieces for my new road frame. My grand cycling plan is this:

Cyclocross Bike - Year-round commuter, Touring
Old Road Bike - All conditions training, Centuries, Criterium Racing
New Road Bike - Good weather training, Centuries, time trials, All other racing (no crits)

Did you all catch that? I balloned up to 265+lbs over the winter and I am planning to race this year. I am down to 236lbs currently and the weight is still falling off nicely. My body fat percentage is dropping while my lean body mass is increasing.

I have joined a cycling group that I will begin riding with as the daylight increases and I have been contemplating joining xXx Racing.

I hope to enter a few races before my Mpls-Chicago trip. Following the trip I hope to enter many more.

Saddle Sores

This is an unpleasant topic, but one that cannot be ignored. I have been trying to fix these unpleasant buggers for about a week, as they result in an extraordinary amount of pain while cycling. The hard thing to do it to get rid of them while maintaining a workout schedule.
Keys to NOT getting saddle sores:
Wear clean cycling shorts (with flat seams) - If you are cycling often, try to get about 3 to 4 pairs of shorts
Alway shower after riding
Use a hard, smooth saddle (prevent unecessary friction)

More info here and here

I have recently acquired a new road frame that I will have the extreme pleasure of building up over the course of the next few chilly months. I AM SO EXCITED!!
This new bike is of some consolation to me because some scum of the earth stole the cyclocross bike that I had pictured here in December.

Continuing Weight Loss

In 1999, I lost 135lbs in 11 months by sticking to a workout routine that involved weight lifting and cardio. I have now re-established that type routine and the results are great. I am down over 20-lbs since my new fitness focus that began in mid-december.

I have found the following articles represented in my earlier weight-loss efforts (that is, before I lost 135lbs and before I began my current regimen) :

THE FAILURE CYCLE
Conventional diets don't work because they are fauldy in design. They are based on weight-loss instead of fat-loss. You restrict yourself to a very low calorie diet or liquid diet and think you are reaching your goal because you are losing weight. But, because the diet is not designed to lose fat, you are mainly losing muscle weight. Consequently, upon resuming normal eating habits, you gain the weight back. So, as the cycle goes you start the same method all over again-only to fail again. It's called yo-yo dieting.

BUILT-IN SURVIVAL
So why do we retain body-fat? The answer goes back thousands of years. Early man ate anything and everything he could. He instinctively did so because it might be weeks before he found another meal. To survive, his body stored as much fat as possible to be burned as fuel later. We have not evolved from this state. We still are efficient fat-storing machines.

The built-in survival mechanism is strong. You body continually makes instinctive adjustments to stay alive. Dieting is no exception. In your mind you know you are simply dieting - however, your body believes you are starving to death - and instinctively seeks high calorie food in order to store and hoard fat.

YOUR BODY'S DEFENSE MECHANISM AGAINST DIETING OR STARVATION
1)Dieter Lowers Caloric Intake
2)Bodyweight Falls
3)Body tries to regain original weight by becoming energy efficient and slowing metabolic process.
4)Body senses reduction in body and perceives diet as starvation
5)Sensing starvation from lowered caloric intake, body slows metabolic rate; hoards fat for survival, and learns to function on fewer calories
6)Body begins to look for alternative source of fuel for energy
7)Body adapts by burning muscle for fuel, which in turn lowers metabolic rate
8)Dieter becomes tired and lethargic. Craving sweets and fats, body tricks dieter into increasing caloric intake
9)Body has learned to function on reduced calories. Any increase in calories will be stored as fat. Dieter regains all lost weight - and more.

Home Exercise Routine

I met with Coach Cassandra again to develop an exercise routine that I can do at home. The nice thing about the exercises that she recommended is that they require a minimum of equipment. The equipment needed is as follows:

65cm resist-a-ball
4lb medicine ball
Dumbbells: 8lb, 15lb, 20lb, 30lb
14" high box

The exercises are as follows:
1:Planks- 30 seconds front, 20 seconds lateral (2 reps) - During the Front Plank exercise you hold your body flat in a push-up postion, except you are supporting yourself with your elbows. During the Lateral Plank, you support your body with the edge of your shoe and elbow. The opposite are rests on your hip.
2:Supermans (12 reps)- While lying on your stomach with arm raised above your head, raise opposite arm and leg and hold for 2-3 seconds. Focus lift on the lower back during the exercise and imagine you are trying to reach the walls with your outstretched are and leg.
3:Squats (12 reps)- Place feet shoulder width apart, sit back as if sitting in a chair. Extend arms in front for counter balance on way down, and bring arms to chest when standing upright. Hold the medicine ball to increase resistance.
4:Pushups (10-12 reps)- Keep hands 2-3 inches outside of chest. Modify by going to knees to complete the set.
5:Split Squats (10-12 reps)- Stand with feet shoulder width apart and separated so that when you drop for the squat, so that your knees do not bend to an angle less than 90 degrees.
6:Low Row (12 reps)- Use 20 or 30 lb dumbbell. Keep a wide foot stance with knees bent, bend and waist approximately 70 degrees, and place one arm on bench and keep your body weight over that arm. Keep shoulders parallel to the floor and lift weight vertically.
7:Step-ups (10 reps)- Start by standing on the box, drop on foot to the ground approximately 18" behind the box. Ensure that you land on the ball of your foot in a controlled motion, and don't allow your heel to touch the ground. Using the leg on the box, lift yourself so that both feet are on the box. Arms extend on descent and pull in on ascent. Finish tall on each rep.
8:Reverse flys (10 reps)- Stand in a split stance with a slight lean forward. Hold 8lb dumbbells in outstretched arms at shoulder height. Horizontally sweep dumbells from directly infront to the midline of your body (90 degree sweep with each arm)
9:Hamstrings (8-10 reps)- Place the resist-a-ball against the wall, and dig your heels into the ball. Keep a 90 degree bend in knees/hips. Roll hips up as high as possible by rolling hips up "one vertebre at a time".

These exercises seem to be mostly easy calisthenics, but my body is trashed after doing two circuits of this exercise schedule yesterday. These are basic "core muscle building" exercises, and I can't wait until my body feels warmed up after finishing this routine, versus feeling entirely exhausted.

Say What?!?

Typically when I think of King George, I think of King "Oil Slick" George and his administrations' ties to oil, where alternative energy is considered drilling in Alaska instead of the Middle East.

Don't get me wrong, I have posted in the past that readers research "Peak Oil", "Hubbert's Peak", "Ghawar is Dying" and such, suggesting that we need alternative energy. I do believe that the oil in ANWR is good for George's "Strategery" because we have mastered efficiencies with petroleum and our national defence depends on a domestic supply of oil. Consider that if we used ANWR oil to fuel Amercian's current driving habits, the ANWR reserves would be depleted in less than one-year.

I have written in the past regarding my "vision" of alternative energies, and the King is going to talk about how our national security depends on pursuing alternative fuels.

Today seems appropriate to revisit the "time will tell" post.

New tickers for consideration: STP, SPWR, ESLR, ENER, AND XSNX.OB (OH YEAH!!). I expect each of these to experience somewhat of a price correction tomorrow because the anticipation of KG's speach is built into the price. (Buy the rumor, sell the news.)

To restate from my previous post:

Being "green" should not have a tree-hugger connotation any longer. Being green is becoming the backbone of economic decisions that are driven by national security issues and the cost of carbon-based fuels.

Old Friends and New Motivation

I recently got in touch with a former co-worker of mine, Brent Winebarger. We worked together at Bennet's cycle in Saint Louis Park, Roseville, and Uptown in Minnesota. He was an awesome cycling partner and I have nothing but great memories of hanging out with him. He was also one of people that got me deep into cycling. We lost touch when he moved to Texas shorly after I completed my bike trip from Minneapolis to Florida in 1999. With a quick Google search, I came across his Cycling Profile. He is living the life that I am entireley envious of: surrounding by cyclists, and riding competitively.

I hope that soon I will back in shape where we can ride together the way we did in 1999, but for me that means taking it up a few notches to reach his current riding level.

The Ongoing Battle

When I first started my blog it was to track my weight loss. Through some misfiring and lack of commitment, I fell off the wagon so to speak. I have recently developed a simple and achievable routine that requires consistency and motivation. Previsouly, my workout routine included cycling to and from work. Although great exercise, I was unable (unwilling?) to continue through the holiday season and the winter.

My current workout routine is as follows:

Sunday: Weight Lifting (30 min) , Swimming (30 min) , Cycling Indoors (45 min)
Monday: Off - No Exercise
Tuesday: Spin Class (1 hour) , Cycling Indoors (45 min)
Wednesday: Weight Lifting (30 min) , Cycling Indoors (1.5 hrs) or (2-45 min sessions)
Thursday: Spin Class (1 hour) , Cycling Indoors (45 min)
Friday: Weight Lifting (30 min) , Cycling Indoors (1.5 hrs) or (2-45 min sessions)
Saturday: Spin Class (1 hour) , Cycling Indoors (45 min)

When the weather improves, I will be able to transition easily from indoor cycling to commuting while maintaining the remaining workout schedule. I have maintained the above schedule for about 6 weeks and it is becoming a habit.
One of the most valuable tools that I have been using is the FitDay website. It is crazy to see the amount of calories in food and their origin. The most remarkable food was pork ribs. Pork ribs have nearly equaly grams of fat and grams of protein. The other component is that Fat has 9 cal/gram and Protein has 4 cal/gram. This means for every 300 calories from ribs, more than 200 are from fat.

Being an informed eater really allows you to make more conscience choices in your diet.

Basal Metabolic Rate Test...

Okay, my meeting today with Cassandra was really informative. My Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test indicated that I will burn approximately 1480 calories/day to live. That is, the amount of caloires without standing up or moving around. Now, when I took nutrition class in college, we used the Harris Benedict equation to determine the RMR. That equation is based on empirical data and is presented as follows:
66.5 + 13.8*(Weight in kilograms) + 5*(height in cm) - 6.8*(age in years) = RMR
Entering my information yields the following:
66.5+13.8*113.4+5*182.9-6.8*27 = 2362 calories/day

That is a difference of 880 calories/day. The informative component of this is used while determining the energy deficit component of weight loss. A pound of fat (4 sticks of butter) has 3500 calories/pound. Given the above information, my weekly weight loss may be be slowed by almost pounds a week. (880*7)=6160 calories.

I had to log my eating habits for a week prior to our meeting (average calories/day was 1700). Based on this logshe told me to consume more calories per day using foods based on the calorie source inserted at parts of the day that correspond with my exercie.

She gave me the simple desciption of calorie function based of the foods source:
Carbohydrate = Fuel for your body
Protein = Repair mechanism for your body
Fat = Makes you feel full

Bike is fixed and ready to ride!

I had to have the fork on my bike replaced after my accident with a car. My favorite part of this whole experience was when the mechanic at the bike shop asked me "What on earth caused your fork to bend that way?".
Spin class has been awesome. I have been going three days a week and doing indoor cycling every evening and mornings with no spin class. I have started using the following website to track my weight loss and caloric intake:
www.fitday.com
This website is really easy to use, free, and fairly comprehensive in detail.

I am going to visit Coach Cassandra tomorrow (she is the instructor of my spin class) and have my Basal Metabolic Rate tested, and to consult about "total fitness" and other health nut stuff.

Full Contact Bike Riding

On my way to the gym this morning (6:15AM), a significantly challenged individual drove his car into me. I had a headlight and two taillights on my helmet. I was east bound and this westbound a**hole was taking a left turn and did not stop until his car was directly in front of me. Whammo!...Head-on collision. My bike suffered the worst of it. I skinned my knee, but I bent my fork.

I say this fellow was challenged because he was driving a circa 1980 minivan and he was taking a turn into the Currency Exchange. Three people (that look less capable than those shaking cups full of change at me on my way to work) stepped out of the car to see if I was okay. I do not know why people are so lazy and careless to conduct business at one of these establishments. Because my bike and I were not hurt too bad, I did not want to make this fellow's life any more miserable. The guy was at a Currency Exchange, obviously he doesn't have a bank account and he was probably uninsured. I only hope I don't come across an unknown injury.

New Cyclocross Bike!

I just recieved a Cyclocross bike that I purchased on eBay. I also picked up some studded tires and now I will be able to continue commuting to work through the winter.

My road bike that I have been riding indoors has been causing me some pain in the dreaded bulbospongiosus. I need to tweak my saddle position ASAP! I have been using the Specialized Body Geometry Comp and I think that the support is failing due to the age of the saddle and the burden of my weight.

Erosion of Civil Liberties

What else can one call the acknowledgement of "Secret Wire Taps" and the proposed renewal of the Patriot Act?

One answer is a tool of war. The tool of war argument preys upon fears and emotion. It does not address critical issues and requires the citizen to put blind faith and trust in their government.

The Patriot Act was signed in haste as part of our response to being attacked by a radical religious group primarily from Saudi Arabia. We are at war with terror (in Iraq??) like we have a war on drugs. These are open ended wars that cannot be won because of the nature of the enemy: decentralized and not represented by governments.

Our emotional and hasty response must be viewed in retrospect with very critical eyes to ensure that our government does not gain the powers similar to the dictators we oppose.

Spin Class

As I mentioned, I joined a gym to begin training for my bike trip to Minneapolis. I took my first spin class on Sunday. Spin class can be really intense if you are willing to push yourself. If not, participants can coast. It was strange to leave the workout soaking wet from sweat while other people just had glistening foreheads...(maybe I am just really out of shape)

My legs are still burning from the workout (an excellent feeling) and I will take another class tomorrow. High intensity aerobic excercise feels great, although I can't wait to begin riding on the road again.

New addtion to the Mpls-Chicago Trip

Another co-worker is onboard to go on the approximate 450 mile trip to Minnesota with me next year. I will be joining a health club tomorrow and begin taking spin classes to get in shape over the winter. My winter exercise target is three days of spin classes and three days of aerobic weight lifting. I believe we will begin this regimen at the beginning of 2006.

I recently purchased the Audiobook "How to Make a Good Brain Great" by Daniel Amen. He is a neuroscientist and founder of the Amen Clinic in California. The material presented in this book are keys points to live by to maintain brain health. Two major components are diet and exercise. This book is a must read, and I believe it should be part of high school health class curriculum.

Also, to alleviate my doldrums associated with finishing my Masters, I have enrolled in the MBA program at the Stuart School of Business and I will begin taking classes again January 2006.

Long distance trip!

Today, a co-worker of mine agreed to take the cycling trip from Chicago to Minneapolis with me next year. I am thrilled because this provides an exciting incentive to stay in shape over the winter.

I have a lot to plan for!