Cokes of Sorrow (Week 3 Update)

I'm a day late with my week three update, as I left the house yesterday and forgot to weigh-in.

The extra day of no-Coke, no-Sweet Tea didn't help:

March 23: 190.2 lbs,  20.1% body fat

Cokes/Sweet Teas Drunk:  Zero
Dollar Bills Thrown Away: Zero
Feb 28 191.2 lbs/ 20.4% Body Fat
March 8 189.0 lbs/ 19.8% Body Fat
March 15 190.6 lbs/19.9% Body Fat
March 23: 190.2 lbs,  20.1% body fat
Weight Loss Week e: -0.4 lbs
Body Fat Loss: -0.2%
March 15- March 21 tri training: 350m swam/39.55 miles biked/1.16 miles run (down a bit, as I've been sick for a few days)

So after the drop the first week, I've basically stayed the same.  I'll admit, its kind of frustrating, but there have been some interesting things I've learned.  I've noticed it hasn't really bothered me as much when it comes to missing Cokes when I'm eating salty foods or when I'm going to some kind of event like a movie where its fun.  But it has been very difficult when I'm stressed or sad or frustrated.

Brian, why don't you get a Coke out of the 'fridge?

Last January, I got a call that my dad, who was only 60, suddenly and unexpectedly passed away.  I got the call at work and immediately...

Jesus, The A-Team, and The Golden Rule

"Remember boys, no matter how random things may appear, there's always a plan..."
- Hannibal Smith, The A-Team

[Each week, we're pairing up one of the teachers with someone in the class, and we build the lesson around that person's favorite verse and the story behind it.  This past week I got to teach on a verse from a class member named "Mike". Here is a quick synopsis.]

Matthew 7:12- "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

This is near the end of the Sermon On The Mount, in which Jesus spoke to his disciples and a large crowd with the glittering Sea of Galilee in the background.

A few weeks ago we talked about a verse on honoring your father and mother, and how the 10 Commandments seem to show how that parent-child relationship most closely resembles the relationship between God and Man, and acts as the bridge between how we relate to God, and how we relate to others.  The first four Commandments deal with our relationship to God.  The next Commandment, #5, deals with our relationship with our parents.  Then Commandments 6-10 deal with how we relate to others.

This section in Matthew sets up the same way- 7:7-8 deal with your relationship to God:
"7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

Verses 9-11 uses the parent-child relationship, like the 5th Commandment:
"9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (I like how Jesus threw in an exclamation point in there.)

And then verse 12 deals with our relationship to others:
"12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

There is a change from the Old Testament to the New, though.
Commandments 6-10 are basically "DON'Ts"- Don't kill, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't covet. 
But verse 12 is "DO"- as in DO unto others...  You need to be active, you need to go out and DO.

The preceding verses are very active, too- "Ask, Seek, Knock, Give"

So why did Mike pick this verse?

NCAA FINAL FOUR PICKS

OK, OK, I know you're very anxious to know my Final Four picks. 


BIGGEST SURPISE: Few upsets
I think there will be a lot fewer upsets than everyone expects.  The biggest shocker will be there aren't ath many shockers.  Unfortunately, no Belmont or George Mason run this year- unless you count San Diego State.

FAVORITE REGION: Southwest
It stinks in a way, because almost all of the teams I root for are in the same region- Purdue and Notre Dame (within 90 minutes of where I used to live) and Vanderbilt (where I live now).  But did I pick any of them for the Final Four?

Without further ado, here is my bracket:

BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH. Week 2 No-Coke Update

Julius Caesar had been warned to 'beware the Ides of March', or middle of March.  Instead of heeding that warning, exactly 2055 years ago, he decided to go into the senate without body guards, and the rest is history.  In retrospect, I should have known better than to have my two week weigh-in on the Ides of March.

(To catch you up, I've committed to literally throwing a dollar bill away in March for every time I drink a Coke or sweet tea.)  I'm now two weeks in.

WEEK TWO STATS:
Cokes/Sweet Teas Drunk:  Zero
Dollar Bills Thrown Away: Zero
Feb 28 Weight/Body Fat: 191.2 lbs/ 20.4% Body Fat
March 8 Weight/Body Fat: 189.0 lbs/ 19.8% Body Fat
March 15 Weight/Body Fat: 190.6 lbs/19.9% Body Fat
Weight Gain Week 2: +1.6 lbs
Body Fat Gain: +0.1%
March 8- March 14 tri training: 2000m swam/35.1 miles biked/10.4 miles run (about the same as last week)

That's right- no Cokes or sweet teas, worked out slightly more, and I GAINED weight.  Thrilling! 

My daughter Sydney (in pink, top center of photo) had her four year old birthday party, which featured an actual ballerina giving the dozen girls lessons, and my wife's fine party design skills.

How many cupcakes did I have?  None.  I did eat three pastel jelly beans, but that was it.  Perhaps it was the stress (it was good stress, but stress none-the-less) of having family in town for the weekend, helping

Kick Comic About Shopping Maturely

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I wrote this one after a conversation between my wife and one of her sisters.  When we first got married, my southern California wife almost exclusively wore leopard and zebra print, and metalic-style clothing.  After a few years of marriage, not so much :).

How to Replace One Addiction With Another

This isn't the first time I've worked to curtail my Coke (a-cola) intake.   Way back in early 2002, I decided to give up Coke for 3 weeks, and ended up creating a whole new addiction for myself.

Let me set the stage for you a bit. As you remember, the post- 9-11 world was a crazy place.  Stocks and business were down, people were more caring but also more on edge, and it seemed very likely that another and bigger attack would occur (say what you will about the government and military, but I think its rather amazing they kept another major attack on US soil from happening).  I come from a medical family (my mom is a nurse, my grandpa and all his brothers were doctors), and I felt it was the right time to check my medical punch card, so I decided to go through the classes to be a certified EMT for that very next semester.  Krista and I were hoping to start a family soon, so...

Literally Throwing Away Money To Lose Weight?- Week 1 Review

If you're just tuning in, I've committed to literally throwing a dollar bill away in March for every time I drink a Coke or sweet tea.  I'm one week in.

WEEK ONE STATS:
Cokes/Sweet Teas Drunk (Drank? Or Drinked? as my 3-year-old would say :). 
Dollar Bills Thrown Away: 0
Feb 28 Weight/Body Fat: 191.2 lbs/ 20.4% Body Fat
March 8 Weight/Body Fat: 189.0 lbs/ 19.8% Body Fat
Weight Loss: 2.2 lbs
Body Fat Loss: 0.6%
March 1- March 7 tri training: 1600m swam/25.03 miles biked/10.62 miles run

So far, so good, even though I inadvertently put myself in some tough situations. Remember how I said the hardest times to not have a Coke would be when I had pizza or Mexican? On Wednesday (Day 2), I called up my friend Jason for lunch, and he said he wanted to eat at his favorite pizza place.  I should have known, because the only time I ever go there is with him.  I told him about my plan, and he said he and his wife went an entire year without Coke.  He's back on, but generally, its maybe one Coke a day instead of 3 Mountain Dews. 

The next day, my wife and I had an impromptu lunch date.  She suggested Chuy's, which, of course, meant we had to go to Chuy's.  Somehow I safely made it through with just an unsweet tea, despite chips with the creamy jalapeno dip and splitting a plate of fajitas with Her Hotness.

The real challenge came on Friday, when I had to go to a government office to work on some of my dad's estate stuff, sit for a while, and then be told (albeit very nicely) that I didn't have the correct paperwork with me and that I'd have track it down and come back later- not to finish up what I needed, but just to be allowed get the information to see what I needed to get done.  To their credit, they were really nice, but it was still very frustrating, and it was all I could do not to pull into a fast food place and get a Coke.

After passing the initial pizza, mexican and frustration tests, Situation #4 was a piece of cake.  I really like to get a Coke when I go to the movies, and even though the movie I went to see started at 9:55PM (or 10:20 after previews), I passed on a beverage all-together.  (By the way, Unknown is very good if you're into the Jason Bourne type of movie.  My old English professor wrote an Esquire cover story on Liam Neeson, which I highly recommend.)





I'm happy about the 2 pound weight loss, but not too excited.  Some days it seems like the scale just likes you.  It could change its mind tomorrow and tell me I'm 192, you never know.  As far as triathlon training, its about average for me- again, not great mileage for a 'serious' triathlete, but good for a human.  I'm intentionally trying to eat what I normally eat just to keep this experiment focused on the effect sweet drinks have.  My mom/nurse/nutritionist made sure to comment that I shouldn't replace those with fruit drinks, as they're just as sugar-filled or more.  In the effort of full disclosure, the only fruit drink I'm having is maybe 2-3 ounces (about half an orange juice glass) of pomegranate juice after I work out, because all these top marathoners do it to fight inflamation.  I haven't upped that at all. I really am trying not to replace Coke with anything.

Actually, for my next blog, you'll get to find out how I learned that lesson the hard way...

Any guesses? (by the way, my wife is a real blogger, and she says its really good if you leave comments. She's gotten like 126,000 hits and everything)

Cartoon Friday

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Fun fact: In college, I studied video and film production, and one of my projects was to make a music video, set to "The Hard Way" by DC Talk. One of the scenes was me playing basketball and having my shot blocked. I learned 'the hard way' (ahem, corny!), and then later in the video scored on the guy. Who says college is for smart people?

25 Ways To Throw Away Money

Photo Credit: Kiplinger.com

Here is a cool article from Kiplinger on how people throw money away.

Interestingly, literally throwing away money in the trash to lose weight wasn't one of them.

My wife Krista is actually really good about doing a lot of these things.  She has no hesitation to take anything and everything back to the store rather than let it sit, she hates late fees, buys generic foods (when appropriate- staying on the Coke theme, we will never buy Sam's Cola).  Married a good woman, I did!

What are some ways you've learned not to throw away money?

Coke (a-cola) in Haiti

Only one of these were mine. OK, two.

In an effort to lose some poundage, I'm literally throwing away a dollar bill every time I drink a Coke or sweet tea in the month of March.

My love of Coke (a-cola*) knows no borders. I went with a team to Haiti this past July to rebuild a widow's house in Delmas (near Port-au-Prince). Breakfast and dinner were included at the guest house where we were staying, but Cokes were an additional $2.  Since I always made sure to have one, the guys made fun of me, and this picture was produced:

Near the end of the build,