Two wheels good, four wheels bad

It was near freezing as I biked to the singing at the Fire Roast.  It got dark too, but there was plenty of traffic on the bike lanes.  Bikes rule.  The greenway exit at my street is almost done, that'll give me direct access.  Yay.

Ordered hot cider, garnering a point for avoiding hot chocolate.  Also implemented an AFD strategy: ordered nothing, was offered chips.  Was not up for eating much if anything after lunch buffet (lose 1 pt).

Zumba waiting for class discussion centered on big muffins, bakeries and ice cream.  Apparently some people suffer from real cravings, and feel guilty when they cave in to them.  The AFD says eat what you like.  Don't feel bad about it.  Just don't make a habit of highly unhealthful practices.   Poco a poco.

Motivational decline

I've been driving more recently.  I suppose that's good for the van, as it needs exercise and some certainty that the starter and engine are in good shape.   Since it's not getting any warmer, this is going to be an ongoing issue.

Lets do a blow by blow.  Today has just started.  We can assume that I'll do all the right things.   Wednesday I hibernated, but managed to drag myself to the Y.  My Y sessions have gotten shorter, with most of the weight lifting falling by the wayside.  Most of the session is devoted to stretching and ab/back strength.   Way back when I moved near the Y, under the assumption that I may work anywhere, but would always want to be near the Y.  After the Y, I drove to the Fire Roast.  It turns out I could have biked.  The cold wasn't excessive, and I could have left the mando at home or strapped it to the rack, an operation that can be a bit of pain, but that's the price we pay.  Tuesday I saw the dentist up north by 694.  I had been biking there.  It's an hour plus, but almost all bike path.  But as I said, I've been driving more.  After chess class, which I also drove to, I stopped by the midtown farmers market, the last Tuesday one.  Combining errands is all the rage nowadays, and not a bad idea.  I cooked more green things than I could eat, froze a little, and fed the neighbors.

Sometime this week, I forget when, I walked to the wedge once, and around the neighborhood some.

Saturday I went to yoga at the Y, where we had a substitute teacher who had us hold downward facing dog longer than usual.  I sure had sore calves the next day.  After that I biked to St. Paul. That was nice.  Sunday I biked back to Minneapolis, and it rained.  I got wet, but not being made of brown sugar, did not melt.

I chatted food and fitness with a slew of people over the week, many of whom said they would post their thoughts.  Yay.

Zumba is cool because

The latin rhythm, the confusion of left and right, the jungle-like screams.  And why do you like Zumba?

Talking to myself again

Now where were we?  I've just come from the Y, where I received inspiring thoughts about tofu, pre/post dinner strolling, and going running with persons whose style is incompatible.  These are all now paragraphs in my book in progress, The All Food Diet.

Way back on Wednesday, I ended up biking to a friends house for some house-cleaning.  Thursday I biked over to my child care engagement.  Again I thought it was cold, but it warmed up after lunch, and we ended up playing football and basketball.  I think we all threw better than the local pro's, but the bar is quite low this year.  My basketball opponents had trouble getting past me.  Was it skill or just my three foot height advantage?

Heisenberg uncertainty principle

My blog is affecting my behavior.  Since I'm being watched, I felt pressure to conform.

This morning I did the mini-set of floor exercises, designed to avoid complete slothishness and help the back.  This consists of 108 ab crunches, 30 leg lifts eqach side and on tummy, and 20 modified pushups with the knees down.  Sometimes followed by cat/cow and tree poses.  A five minute set is better than nothing, and a fine addition to other daily activity.

Then we walked to the drug store for some architectural criticism and fall leaf gazing.

Lastly, I dragged myself to the Y yesterday.

It seemed cold to go running, but it's really not.  I found my box of winter gear, stay tuned for further fitness non-adventures.

A change of seasons

The end of indian summer threw a wrench in my plans.  Fortunately, I have winter gear, although I'm not sure where it is.  In the morning I was unmotivated and skipped the Y.  In the evening I strapped the mando to the bike rack and rode to six-string.  It's next to Trader Joe's, I think it's high time to ride back there and shop.  The route is almost entirely on bike paths.  The city builds more bike friendly paths every year, I wish there were more here there and everywhere.

A lapse or two

The weather is turning, but I still could have walked or biked more.  I had company & played the chauffeur, and had a chess class and singing back to back.  Thus I drove 100 miles this week.  Usually the van just sits and I take it out for exercise once  a week so it doesn't get arthritic.

While it's a good thing to support the Fire Roast, because they let us sing there, I could have supported them less enthusiastically and purchased less food.  I realized the error of my ways, and gifted one of my tamales and some cookie to some singers.

It appears that there is an opportunity for improvement.

The All-Food Diet

Hello, I'm going to talk about the All-Food Diet, a series of life-style suggestions that I'm compiling into a book.

The basics:

Eat foods with one ingredient
Avoid chemicals
Walk or bike whenever you can
Pay attention to your lifestyle, make it active, green, and moderate.

Rather than repeat what I'm writing, I'm going to talk about my daily activities.  Sometimes I practice what I preach, other times I stray.

Ho hum, it was not a very exciting day.   I went to the Y for a brief workout, one point.  Had herb tea and fiber-laden natural cereal, another point.  Failed to walk or bike, lose one point.  Had small portion of my home-made chili for lunch, one point.  Raided the chocolate, a gift from work, lose one point.


I'll give myself another point for starting my blog, and sign off.

I'd be interested in hearing what y'all do to stay fit.