Back in the chain gang

I am back on my quest to lose the extra Miguel attached to me.
I started the past Saturday, two days ago and two days after Thanksgiving at Junior's new abode.
That night I stuffed myself or the extra Me with triple servings of turkey and on top of that and as is the tradition, some cake, pie and sweet potato thingy that Jesus and Marla brought over.
As of Saturday the scale showed me a mean number, 238 Lbs. I am 195 normally, the other 43 is the extra Miguel. And so I am decided to obliterate the other me.
I have been eating mostly salads with fresh and raw veggies with a little dressing (you got to dress it up, otherwise it would not stand a chance to be eaten).
I read an excerpt of Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD's book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, after watching CNN's Documentary The Last Heart Attack by Dr. Sunjay Gupta in which a number of subjects, among them President Clinton, detail how they have changed their eating habits after being threatened and/or having had an open-heart surgery.
It got interesting to me when I heard certain similarities in Dr. Esselstyn research that involved following people in other less civilized countries in Central and South America, in which the death rate is below US's and not related to heart attacks. Of course, in these studies it was discovered that people there have a very healthy diet as compared to what we eat in the States, I am mexican and beg to difer from the eating lifestyles of the anglo-saxon population. Mexican is not exactly the most healthy, but it is healthier than the average northamerican counterpart.
Anyway, I decided to follow the Dr. Esselstyn guidelines and modifying them to my taste, at least just as I begin this project. the diet is not easy, and not for everybody if you take into consideration that you must not eat anything with a mother or a face, in other words, no meat, no poultry and no fish.
I haven't eaten a burger or any red meat in 17 months, but I've had chicken and more fish than before. Also, this strict diet only allows for vegetables( except for avocados), legumes and whole grains.
No dairy products of any kind.
No oils, that's right not even a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil is allowed.
Leafy green vegetables, root vegetables, veggies that are red, green, purple, orange, and yellowand everything in between • All legumes—beans, peas, and lentils of all varieties. • All whole grains and products, such as bread and pasta, that are made from them—as long as they do not contain added fats. • All fruits.
Well, I am doing it my way, to ease up the hardest part later. So I use a little dressing in my salads, I am eating my favorite fruits like oranges, bananas and grapes, grapefruits and honeydew.
So far so good!
I will try and keep blogging about it.
Latersssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!

The eternal question

Why her? Why them and not me?

This is by no means a rant against God, but seeing my daughter suffering from diabetes tears me apart. I would give anything to get all her maladies into me so she can be happy forever. God, I know that you don't which anything bad onto your children, you don't have a hand in it, it's destiny, it's written, is bound to happen. But if this is a test of will, is a test for who?

My baby doesn't deserve the pain she is going thru!

I, on the other hand do.

I ask all the Angels up there to take care of my baby. Don't let her despair, show her the way to the light, teach her the right way, give her love, encourage her to follow the best path.

I know I should be the one with all the pains and despairs, I deserve the punishment not her, nor my wife. I already suffer just knowing that my two beautiful women suffer in silence. and is so frustrating feeling this impotency to be able to reverse their maladies and sadness and see them enjoy life and live a happy and productive life.

If somebody is to blame for the unhappinness in this family is me. God help me make it better for my family, I love them with all my heart and maybe with some bias I feel more for my daughter, my baby Raquelucha

God forgive me for this rant, but I'n still imploring to you and all your Angels to watch over all the suffering creatures in this world especially my babies.

Running late

Always running late. this should have been posted at least an hour ago. Anyway. Today I walked and run for 2 hours with Gus The Wuz. I went to work at noon but stopped at Chapala's to have some breakfast tacos (lengua, potato and egg and Beans with chorizo) and coffee. Oh I know I almost forgot I need to list my food intake, well okay at the end of this post I'll do that. I feel good about myself but, the weirdest thing is that I look the same way in the mirror, and yet, as it happenned before, I am actually losing weight; I went to the gym a couple of hours ago and I stepped on the scale, as I usually do after my work out and when I'm ready to leave. Tonight it showed 226.6, Yesterday it showed 227.4. I didn't go to the Gym on tuesday, that's when I went walking in the riverwalk barefooted, but the previous day, Monday I weighted 228.7. about 3 or 4 days earlier I remember seeing 231 Lbs and before that, I remember 233. Now, for the record, the scale that we have here at home is so inaccurate that right now it reads 218 when I step on it. But regardless, If I go by the one at the gym, I am continuosly losing weight, but I don't feel it. I know I am walking and running more than ever, but I don't always do it strenuosly. But I will continue on my quest of becoming a serious or professional runner, God willing. Ok, now my eating log data:

• Breakfast: I had my now customary cup of instant coffee before leaving the house for my morning walk/jog. Then at about 11:30, almost noon i had the tacos mentioned above.


• Lunch: I had the southwest salad from McDonalds and water as drink.


• Dinner: After the work out I eat the piece of chicken breast and tomatos with calabazita or some kind of pumpkin with roasted tomatoes, and a glass of Mootopia chocolate.

I will count the calories later. I am soooo tired I'm falling sleep as I type these lines. Hasta la vista.

A little tired.

I feel exhausted. Even though I walked for less than an hour this morning, I got tired.

I went to work mid-morning, lots of jobs to get inspected and readied, since Gloria called-in sick today and will not be able to work tomorrow, (that's four continuos days off) because she has allergies and her high-blood pressure bothering her. So jobs and calls are piling up. I did ready-up a good batch today, but could not finish, and on top of that there is about 3 or 4 whse boxes that need to be checked-in. Amanda came in today also feeling sick, so she didn't do much, other than call the jobs that I had completed.

I had to take a little 5hr energy drink to be able to go to the gym and work out for about one and a half hours, while watching The San Antonio Spurs mop the AT&T Center's floor with the Sacramento Kings, beating them by 32 points. The final score 124-92. With that win the Spurs stay un top with a record of 60-19 and three games left on the regular season. As of this moment the LA Lakers are being bullied by the Golden State Warriors, last check The Warriors were up by 11 points in the 3rd Quarter. I hope the Warrior win.

Ready to go to bed, but not before making this update.

• Breakfast: No breakfast today, just a cup of Nescafé before walking.


• Lunch: I went to Chick-fil-a and got me a spicy sandwich, fries, two carrot and raisin salads and water.


• Dinner: Another cup of coffee, a can of sardines and the skins and leftover pieces of a baked potato.

In between meals I munched on some pistachios, an orange and almonds.

We'll see what God decides for us tomorrow.

Night!

A Day Without Shoes

As a promised, I walked barefooted today.

Although I walked a total of three hours today (One this morning and two more tonight after work) I didn't do the entire walk descalzo because I had forgotten about it. So on my way back to my car from the upper riverwalk, as soon as I remembered the deal, I took off my running shoes and finish my walk without them. I felt good. In fact, I liked it so much that I am going to do it again.

Ok, next issue,

Today, Tuesday April 5th, 2011,

• 
  
  Breakfast; I had toast with Hazelnut butter (chocolate) and a glass of orange juice. And of course, a cup of coffee before my walk. These days I prefer Nescafe Instant.


• 
  
  Lunch; A chicken salad sandwich in a croissant, and a medium sized cup of fresh fruit. Also a small gatorate drink.


• 
  
  Dinner; After my second walk I had a taco of chicken with veggies, another cup of instant coffee, a banana and an orange.

In between meals I had some almonds and spicy pistachios.

There, that's my food log.

Laterrsssssssssssss.

PS/ The Spurs beat Atlanta Hawks, albeit not without a struggle.

On my way....

Well. I can now count three participations in healthy run/walks.

Feb. 19, 2011, Fight For Air 5K Run/Walk at Sea World grounds, my first official entry in the running circuit. I liked it and it inspired me to keep training to be a runner, a good one. a professional if possible. It was fun, lots of goodies and freebies to all runners, my daugther and younger son were supposed to do it with me but they overslept. My unsanctioned PR was of 48 minutes, by my own personal timekeeping record.

Sunday March 27, 2011, McAllister Park , Get Your Rear In Gear 5K Run / Walk, promoting and raising awareness to prevent Colon Cancer by getting a colonoscopy.

In this, my second participation, I was joined by my wify, my daughter and my younger son, I wish my older son could have joined us, but I guess he couldn't. At this ocasion, Official time recorded our PR for posterity . I liked that, because now I can challenge myself to improve my timing and endurance. Here are the official results. Ana's was not officially recorded but she beat all of us hands down, by about 5 minutes. quite impressive for a first time participant.

Ana M. Rodriguez, Age 48, Bib # 2101, Time: 26:00:00 *

16Miguel Rodriguez Sr. Age 50, Bib # 2098, 12th Place in Age Group and 8th Place Overall, Time: 33:46:00 and Pace 10:52.

Miguel Rodriguez II. Age 21, Bib # 2100, 13th Place in Age Group and 132th Place Overall, Time: 31:43:00 and Pace 10:13.

Raquel Rodriguez, Age 24, Bib # 2099, 20th Place in Age Group and 150th Place Overall, Time: 32:35:00 and Pace 10:29.

Sarah May, Age 20, Bib # 2299, 19th Place in Age Group and 148th Place Overall, Time: 32:31:00 and Pace 10:28.

Saturday, April 2nd, VisionWalk (run) Sponsored primarily by Walmart. Joskie's Pavilion at The Brackenridge Park. My unofficial time was 30 minutes by my own count.

On to the next one.