The Peak Condition Project - Tim Coomber

Report Card

2008-11-23T09:34:00.005+09:00

Actually, I waited another week before trying to get my thoughts in order and make a few comments.

Diet

Well, in terms of weight loss and discipline, this was spectacularly successful. I went from 92kg to 79kg without feeling weak in any way. I was able to follow the instructions without feeling huge hunger pangs. the weight loss was very dramatic, nearly all in the first month or so.

I worried that the speed of the loss might be difficult for the system to take and that as I could choose what to eat, I might have missed out on some vital nutrients but Patrick was always exhorting us to eat a variety of things.

I was lucky about two things. First, living in Japan. While drifting down the same route, Japan does not yet have a preprocessed food culture so common in other developed countries and the grocery shops stay open late, sell in small quantities so following a resticted intake diet is actually easily doable here. Of course, there is a downside, I can't read labels so I can never be sure what is in the packet I am buying but even this has the advantage of me leaving something on the shop shelf if I am not sure what is in it. (Side grouse - content labels on imported foodstuffs just about ALWAYS get stuck over the English equivalent, leaving other, equally incomprehensible lists in other languages clearly readable). Second, after a previous diet some years back (at that time I went from 106kg to 81kg, but it took a whole year), I had retained a number of fairly healthy habits including a preference for brown rice and no red meat so adapting to the PCP diet was not too hard.

And I lapsed from the diet very rarely, only occasionally nibbling on something that was off limits.

So I can probably give myself full marks on the diet part.

And what about since? Well, my weight immediately bounced back up 2kg ..... but then has stayed put. I definitely now miss brown rice in the middle of the day. My appetite has fallen and I have noticed two things - a relative lack of vegetables in restaurant-served meals and that if I get peckish, I always previously went for a carbohydrate fix. I'm trying to concentrate on fruit now but it is not considered convenient enough to have much, if any, shelf space for fruit in Japan's convenience stores so is not always easy to find when I want it. I've been buying apples to take into the office.

Skipping

In week three, this nearly caused me to quit. I struggled for the whole time to get some "style" into my skipping and I read with envy the ability of the rest of the PCP2 team to apparently breeze to the target skips and embellish their routines with refinements I can only imagine. Instead, I could never get a long sequence of skips together and it always took SOO long.

In week 1 we had to do 500-1,000 skips and I started on day 1 with 500 and managed 1,000 on day 7. Week two was 1,000 skips and I managed that. Week three was 1,500 skips and at this point I nearly rebelled. I did 1,000, 1,500 and 1,700 on consecutive days but the 1,700 took more that an hour. I emailed Patrick in frustration and he put me on timed skipping before the rest of the team. This saved me.

Nevertheless, it did not get that much easier. I continued to trip over the rope with monotonous regularity. For the record, I think the longest sequence I managed was 159 skips and the average more like 20-30. On a bad day, tripping over the rope on the first skip on a sequence was all too common. The best six minute set managed 425 skips, just over 70 a minute, and that was the last one I did on the PCP.

On the other hand, I skipped every single day, in sickness and in health, rain (on the porch, or even, on a couple of days, inside) or shine (in the garden). And towards the end, with the temperatures dropping, this became quite a challenge to step into the garden first thing in the morning - I preferred to skip in the morning because leaving it to the evening meant skipping in the dark (my lights are not bright enough) and that was not fun.

So I guess I can award myself eight out of ten, more for persistence than style.

Post PCP has seen this stop. By the end, I was in a good deal of pain with my stiff neck and it is only slowly recovering. But, it is an easy discipline to get going again so this is only my New Year list.

Workout

One size does not fit all and I have a distinct aversion to "exercising for exercise sake". That latter statement is dumb, of course, because the exercising we have been doing is not "for exercise sake" but to promote overall health. But I have never enjoyed the "burn" and always preferred to do exercise with some other "purpose" - a sport or activity. In addition, I have been arthritic for seventeen or eighteen years and that added some discomfort to the workouts and a general low condition to be starting from.

So this was always likely to be the problem area for me and so it proved. Even the early workouts proved difficult although at my own level, I was able to notice the progress. I started out unable to do a push-up from my toes, just from my knees. I can now do this, although I need to work on getting down lower. And the plank, one of my less-liked exercises, I can now do a minute at a time - I started off at 20 seconds. On the other hand, I feel I did some exercises in my own style rather than what was actually intended. My stiff back and neck impeded the abs exercises in particular.

Patrick recognised that I was unlikely to keep up and had me on an individual programme that followed the main programme but recognised my personal limits.

I made noticeable progress but my physical condition eventually let me down. I picked up what seemed to be a flu bug in day 62 and this started to affect my ability to do the workouts. One thing seemed to follow another culminating in the worsening problem I had with my neck that was so painful, some exercises could not be done.

In the last week or so of PCP, I was unable (or unwilling) to do much on the workouts so that just at the time that I should have been building up my stamina and muscles, I was increasing unable to cope.

So here again, I can't get full marks - maybe six out of ten with a comment that I could have done more.

Blogging

Now this was an area that I could cope with. Even if it was just a few minutes before midnight, I did blog every day. Towards the end with the on-going frustration of my body not wanting to cooperate, it was a bit difficult to stay positive and interesting but at least a few words! I hope it was not too boring.

Towards the end, I thought we all got a little introverted on our blogs, concentrating on where we were and the finish line. But maybe that is what PCP is all about too - making sire we look hard at ourselves to be the best we can.

But I can definitely give myself full marks for the blog.

Time

What did suffer during the PCP was my time. I already had a pretty full diary and hadn't really taken on board exactly how much time PCP would take. Skipping up to half an hour (longer before I went on to timed sets). Workout thirty minutes to an hour. Preparing food - lunch, fruit snacks, and PCP breakfast and dinner - probably took between thirty minutes and an hour more than pre-PCP (dinner out was often the choice pre-PCP). And the blog took a variable amount of time. So on average I could say that I found an extra two hours a day out of an already busy schedule.........

Sleep

......... which meant that one of the instructions was often ignored. Patrick emphasised that eight hours sleep a day was necessary but this was one thing that was cut in order to meet the other requirements of PCP. This can be self-defeating because without enough sleep, it is difficult to maintain the mental and physical level necessary to complete PCP successfully.

So on sleep, I think I only get five out of ten.

Teamwork

It was great to be participating with the others : Nate, Amy, Emiko and Adrian. And, of course, Partick's daily email and availability for any personal difficulties, with Chen in the background supporting us all.

Everyone's blogs varies from the day-to-day routine to quite philosophical posts. We all seem fixated on food to start with but we all managed to contribute to the feeling that we were not alone on the project.

I feel that special awards need to be made to the team :

Enthusiast Award : Nate for pushing the envelope on the workouts, introducing us to Parkour and managing on a schedule that sounds even busier than mine.

Traveller Award : Amy for continuing the programme despite travelling to various places and fighting her allergies, neither of which I could have done.

Teamwork Award : Adrian and Emiko for supporting each other, and us, despite the friction it caused and showing how strong their relationship is, and volunteering for lots of new activities as the programme went on. And a special mention for Adrian for the egg-shelling record.

Mental Balance

The programme proved that it isn't just doing it, it really comes down to the mental effort it takes to stay on track throughout the whole ninety days. And the biggest lesson to learn is that this discipline and success can be applied to anything that we set our mind to achieve.

Aging

My special side project was to monitor the effect of doing PCP on a "slightly" older body. (OK, more than twice as old as any of others).

I think I can say that I proved that a rather more age-challenged person than the target PCP is aimed at, can cope.

But there were some things that need to be borne in mind.

1. Patrick did get us to sign a disclaimer and insisted that we get medically checked out, if necessary. I think this is ESSENTIAL for older participants for the programme. Actually, I didn't. I asked my doctor if I was up to an exercise programme and he thought it was a great idea but I didn't have an overall health check first. So while we may be aware of some things that no longer work too well (in my case, the arthritis), it is possible that we could have health problems of which we are not aware and while Patrick has always said it we feel under pressure to ease off or take a break, the fact is that doing exercises to "failure" could trigger some reaction in our systems and reveal a health problem we were previously unaware.

2. I will probably never know if the rapid weight loss did indirectly cause me to have the health problems I suffered at the end of the programme. We discussed that burning off the fat could cause the release of stored toxins back into the body causing extra pressure on the immune system. There were others in my office suffering from flu systems so the start of it could just have been coincidence. But the neck pain was such an extreme extension of the stiffness I usually have that it was difficult to spot a specific reason and the changes that PCP triggered could have been a factor.

So for older participants, I think we have to be aware of too much of a good thing and be aware of our limitations. Of course, we need to push the envelope as much as we can. But the envelope needs to stay in one piece.

Wile

And did I end up emulating my hero?

Well, I think you can say yes!! Lean, mean (well, grumpy with the stiff neck, anyway) and grey.

Wile only caught the Road Runner once (and then he regretted it) and in the same way, you can say that I never quite got to "Peak Condition" but I did enough to see what is possible and to start planning what I can do to build on what I've achieved already.

Just remember that Wile NEVER gives up and that is the way we should be.

Postscript

2008-11-16T23:46:00.000+09:00

Watch this space - final blog to follow.

Day 90 : That's All Folks

2008-11-12T22:41:00.013+09:00

Well, that's it. Something like 12-12kg (27-28lb) lost but still barrel-chested, not a six-pack in sight (but to be honest, I didn't think that would happen).

These trousers were from my favourite suit , made to measure in April, before PCP.

I even hit a high on my skipping this morning. The best set I've managed : 425 skips in six minutes. Amazing for me, at least.

Dinner was off to a curry restaurant but unlike my indulgence, this was a disappointment. The taste wasn't great and seemed much too salty. Should have gone to Malabar!!

Congratulations to the rest of the team, some hours behind me. It was great to share the experience with you and I hope it leads on to greater things in the future. Good luck!!

I will write a longer, final blog, probably at the weekend. But one kind of clip I have saved until the end has to come now!

Day 89 : Loose Threads (2) - Eyesight

2008-11-11T23:14:00.002+09:00

I went back outside for my skipping this morning and felt so much better for it. Skipping the the hall felt like skipping in a box.

The other thing I was talking about and stopped was the correction exercises to improve my eyesight. Well, like a lot of other things, my recent run of health issues knocked that to one side but not before my eyesight had changed enough for me to change my glasses. I intend to get back to the eye exercises shortly. Like PCP, doing the eye exercises requires application and support so I will have to think how to best achieve success there.

One day to go!!

Day 88 : Loose Threads (1) - NLP

2008-11-10T22:43:00.003+09:00

Skipped in the hall again today, still felt strange.

Also had my neck x-rayed : joints 3 to 7 look in perfect shape but it is difficult to get a good x-ray shot of joints 1 & 2 (closest to the top) so I'm going to have an MRI tomorrow, results back on Friday.

It occured to me that one or two things have come up in my blog that have been left "hanging". One was Adrian's question of weeks ago about NLP.

To be frank, I'm not an expert. Even though I have a certificate that says I'm a practitioner, I have never practised!! Although I am sure that I use some of what I learned in day-to-day life.

So just a couple of points.

The effective use of NLP is based on two assumptions.

1. The Map is not the Territory.
Each person has their own "map" in their head about what the world is. No-one's map is more real than anyone else's and when you try to communicate with someone else, the response you get depends upon their "map" not yours (but how you interpret their response dependes on your "map" not theirs).

2. Life and Mind are Systems
Processes inside a person and between a person and their environment are systemic i.e. linked into one system. Mind and body are one system (as we have realised in doing PCP). Behavior gives the most useful information about a system but in itself is not the system i.e. the system is more than just the behavior patterns. All behaviors have an original intention appropriate for the system at the time. Even if the behavior seems negative or damaging for that person, there will be an underlying positive intention behind the behavior.

And there is an underlying belief in NLP that people have all the resources they need to succeed so that change can be achieved by enriching a person's map (i.e. view of the world) so they have more choices and can use more of their own resources.

I won't even attempt to continue but feel the NLP contains a useful set of ideas and tools for helping both yourself and other people. Worth checking out.

You can see that PCP does fit well into even this brief introduction. It has changed our "maps" of the "world" and empowered us to use more of our own resources to generate change.

Cool, huh?

Day 87 : Skipping Inside

2008-11-10T00:12:00.004+09:00

It has only taken me 87 days to realise that if I pushed things around inside my hall, there actually is enough space to skip indoors. I overslept this morning and didn't have time to skip before I went out. By the time I returned home, it was cold, dark and wet and I definitely didn't want to skip outside so I finally had a good hard look at what I could to inside and found that it was just a matter of thinking outside the box (literally - I have one or two boxes belonging to a friend that I am keeping for him and I haven't found a better place to put them yet). Mind you, it felt really strange after becoming used to skipping outdoors and I occasionally hit the ceiling with the rope, which is not a problem in the garden.

I weighed myself this morning and got a shock. My weight has dipped further and is now below the 80kg mark - 79.4kg to be exact. I7m sure I haven't been this light for maybe forty years. Maybe the sickness has taken its toll because I certainly feel that I am eating a lot. Charlie reckons that he was able to get a lot more movement out of it when I saw him today but that still didn't stop needles of pain shooting up the back of my skull at times. I'm not wimping out, honest, this is real. I'll try to get it x-rayed or scanned this week to see if the is anything that can be spotted that is causing the pain.

Day 86 : Cold Rain

2008-11-08T22:59:00.002+09:00

I woke up to a cold, wet morning. Skipped, of course, with the chilly rain blowing into my supposed shelter on the front door step. I need to investigate an indoor skipping place.

This was followed by household chores, a shopping trip and a meeting with friends, all accompanied by the all too familiar aches and pains, making motivation a little bit lacking. But being at home for much of the day, at least I was able to be a bit more creative with food, turning my lunchtime vegetable ration into a rather tasty soup.

Day 85 : No Late Spurt

2008-11-07T23:24:00.004+09:00

I had been hoping that things were going to clear up so that I could have a good final week, but final weak is more like it. Today was a re-run of yesterday. I can skip without too much aggravation and did this on the front porch, now with all the foliage on the trees cut back, so nothing to get in the way of the rope, but have limped through the rest of the day and an evening meeting has got me home late again. Interestingly, the guy I met knows one of Corry's PCPers.

I've decided to go back to the doctor and get an x-ray or scan done although if it is a lymphatic problem, as Patrick suggests and he could be right, it won't show on a scan. Unfortunately my doctor was out of town today so I booked to see him on Monday so I won't have the results until PCP is finished, even if we can get it done quickly.

So I'll see what tomorrow brings and hope I can get some workout done.

I was so tired last night that I forgot to put on a new batch of rice so today was a foretaste (pun intended) on how to eat the PCP way on what is available in the shops. There is a convenience store chain here called Lawson and they have a sub-brand called Natural Lawson that sells higher quality items, at appropriately higher prices, of course. The is a branch near the new office. For example, they sell cut fresh fruit in conveniently sized 100g portions as well as small tubs of unsweetened yogurt so the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks were easy to fix. They had a great salad, but no weight listed on the container and the next door chicken restaurant was selling lunch boxes of grilled chicken on rice. I think I got the quantities more or less right. The down side - the chicken was grilled in something (teriyaki sauce?) and there must have been some salt thrown in as well. In the evening, we ended up in a family restaurant. A salad (non-oil dressing 9 cal), a portion of rice and some more grilled chicken with a few vegetables also seemed about the right quantity. But the chicken was covered with a rather tasty looking tomato/garlic sauce (which I didn't eat) and I think some oil must have been used somewhere.

So I can see that the biggest challenge to continued healthy eating is the oil and salt that are used in even the most simple of meals (plus soy sauce in Japanese food)and the use of sauces with possibly artificial ingredients (MSG etc). Not to mention the almost universal (in Japan) use of white not brown rice.

Day 84 : Seven Days to Go

2008-11-06T23:36:00.011+09:00

OK, showing my age again, this one dates from the year I returned to Japan.

As PCP days go, this one fizzled out. Up and skipping as usual but I paid Charlie a visit to see if we can loosen what ever it is that has my neck so stiff. Well, he did his best but has left it very sore and a very late return home means I guess this is a rest day.

We've been talking about what it might be. Another friend pointed out that if the body can't get rid of toxins, then it hides them in fat so if the fat is being disbursed, then the toxins get released again. And the theory we are working on is they've chosen to make a "last stand" in my neck. It is really weird. Charlie can be manipulating the neck which I can easily tolerate and then come across a point so sensitive that I can't stand to have even the lightest touch.

So, team, once in peak condition, stay there and avoid the side-effects of getting in shape again later!!

Day 83 : What a Day

2008-11-05T23:02:00.004+09:00

As a Brit, I have no direct say in the internal politics of the United States but as a not quite impartial onlooker, I think that the Republican Party was hijacked some years ago by some extremely powerful but hidden forces that have had a huge influence on world events in recent years. So for this reason and also the wonderful historic precedent of a bi cultural candidate breaking through the prejudice barrier, I think that the election result has generated an immense sigh of relief everywhere in the world outside of the southern and mid western states of the US (oh, and the new frontier of Alaska).

On a much lower key, I had a very long day waking before six and then skipping in order to get to an 8am meeting in Tokyo and an evening meeting which didn't get me home until nearly 10pm for a truncated workout before crashing.

The weather turned much colder today so my early morning skip had me wrapped up in a sweatshirt that did not get removed. The cold weather has put paid to my Snow White-style visitors that came to watch in the summer. And in any case, the annual visit from a gardener paid for by my landlord has laid waste the local habitat - they seem to believe in the scorched earth school of gardening. Nothing much remains until the weeds start poking through next spring. Although I have forgotten to mention that the shrubs surrounding the garden are actually bearing a crop of nuts, although I don't intend to see if they are edible.

Day 82 : Hungry

2008-11-04T22:48:00.003+09:00

I felt hungry all day. Maybe the amount of senna tea I drank on Monday created a bit of space (only half joking). I didn't have a PCP lunch because I took out some visitors from our Shanghai office who have been installing all the IT equipment in the new office. But I looked at my very healthy Japanese lunch (tuna sashimi, red rice, miso soup) and felt it was much less in quantity than I get under the PCP diet.

The new office feels a bit strange. My room (yes, I've got my own office) is much grander than I am used to and I feel a bit cut off from the rest of my staff. I dare say I will get used to it!!

I skipped this morning and worked out this evening so I felt that I'm still there or there abouts on the programme.

Day 81 : Strange Day

2008-11-03T20:41:00.005+09:00

A public holiday but I had to get up very early and meet the firm's founder, show him the new office and have a series of meetings so by lunchtime when I put him into a cab for his hotel and from there back to the airport, I was pretty tired.

So I came home, did my skipping and went to sleep.

That must have done me some good because, and now for the good news, I got up after two or three hours rest and managed nearly a full workout, only wimping out on the abs exercises, made (even more) painful by my stiff neck.

Maybe there is life in the old coyote yet!!

Day 80 : Feeling a bit lost

2008-11-02T23:56:00.002+09:00

I'm feeling that I'm only doing 2/3 of PCP. Diet, fine, and the skipping but my condition really isn't up to most of the workout so that while I thought Day 80 would be a great milestone, what I am realising is that I haven't reached that level that I could have and there isn't much (enough) time to catch up. And my thought of continuing past Day 90 will be relatively short-lived because I'm going to England to celebrate my father's 90 birthday at the beginning of December and that will throw out any remaining discipline. So it it beginning to sound like a New Year Resolution. Hmm.

Day 79 : Dehydration?

2008-11-01T21:27:00.006+09:00

As I said, my company is moving office this weekend and after declaring myself much better yesterday, I went and overdid it, carrying a couple of heavy bags of personal things home causing some of my recently improved muscles to go into spasm. Ah well!

The move actually went well and I dropped by the new office today to check on progress and it looks really good.

I also went to see Charlie, back from his recent trip. He came up with an interesting analysis. I've mentioned before that a number of people have suggested that becoming sick was as a result of the exercise and weight loss. This is not something I agree with. I mentioned to Charlie that I have been feeling very thirsty recently and also (something we haven't mentioned) constipated in the past two or three weeks. Charlie suggested that PCP is pretty tough on the system and that it could trigger the system to try to get rid of toxins, something Nate mentioned a few weeks back. To get rid of the toxins, the system needs water and has basically taken it, causing the thirst, constipation and dry skin, something that Amy and Emiko have both mentioned too.

So I've decided to drink a lot more tea and water to see if I can rehydrate myself and hopefully get back on track.

Day 78 : Theraputic Skipping

2008-10-31T14:36:00.002+09:00

The tone of my blog yesterday is an indictation of the discomfort I was in and I got up this morning feeling no better. But I had no choice but to go into the office and so, of course, I skipped. It wasn't very good but improved in each of the three sets and by the time I had finished, I realised something had changed. My neck was still stiff with restricted movement but it had stopped HURTING. Still a bit sore if I try to move too far or too fast but a huge improvement. I don't know what I did. Probably I managed to somehow click the neck into a more normal position or maybe the muscles loosened up a bit, but whatever it was, I'm grateful. Facing the boss on Monday relatively pain free will be a bit help.

Day 77 : Barely holding it together

2008-10-30T22:44:00.003+09:00

It's really great to read the progress from the team but it is adding to my sense of frustration. This week I have been going to work, at least, but physically feeling worse and worse.

Today I had a scheduled day off because I had booked myself to go to a seminar given by a world-famous behavioral coach, Marshall Goldsmith, that I didn't want to miss. So, of course, I went (after managing the skipping despite the neck pain - it woke me up three or four times in the night).

It was worth going. One of the best parts was when Marshall was explaining how he "fines" his clients small sums of money that they can easily afford for negative behavior and he introduced that into the seminar, "fining" participants Y50 (equals 50c) for similar behavior. He asked the attendants if anyone knew a worthwhile charity to whom the money should be donated ..... and I was the only person to put a hand up so I walked away with a pocket full of loose change, and a $20 bill from Marshall, for the Philippine Self Help Foundation, a micro finance organisation helping the poor in the Philippines run by a saint called Richard Foster, who I met in the spring.

At least that made me feel good to compensate for the physical discomfort that just got worse during the day.

And I have the weekend from hell coming up. We are moving office so I MUST go in tomorrow to finishing packing my desk and papers. I feel obliged to show my face on Saturday and Sunday to show support for the team actually doing the work and then the founder of the company flies in for meetings and an inspection of the new office on Monday, a public holiday. I will have to meet him at his hotel at 8am on Monday morning.

Once again, the sensible thing would be to rest but as readers of the blog will have realised, I seldom do the sensible thing.

Either way, the effort I am able to put into PCP has taken a battering so in the same way that Amy is considering extending her programme, maybe I should do the same. Something to think about.

Day 76 : Indulgence Three

2008-10-29T22:53:00.003+09:00

For Indulgence Three, I decided to revisit one of my old lunchtime haunts and have a set Chinese lunch. Today's special was prawns in chilli sauce (one of my favorites) with white rice, soup, pickles and almond jelly for dessert.

Once again, I waited for a negative feeling that just didn't come. In fact, it was a bit of a letdown. I enjoyed it but actually left the restaurant feeling hungry. That suggests that my PCP lunch is more filling.

So apart from worrying about the potential monosodium glutamate content of any Chinese meal, and eating white rice instead of brown, it was completely unremarkable, making me wish I had tried a new Indian I've spotted or my (previously) regular Thai place.

Health-wise, I'm still struggling with the stiff neck which today translated into a fairly constant headache so I cut back the workout again but skipped OK.

Congratulations to the PCPJ team who completed their project today - Kumiko, Kazue and Kazuhiro. Well done .... and we are only two weeks behind you.

Day 75 : Letting Off Steam

2008-10-28T22:23:00.008+09:00

I'm feeling pretty frustrated. It's all the little things. The stiff and painful neck that doesn't seem to want to get any better; the permanent feeling of exhaustion; well-meaning friends who say "you've lost too much weight" or "you are not eating enough" which WE know isn't true, or even "you've lost weight too quickly, that's what's made you ill" etc etc.

And getting home tonight with a workout still to do, needing to find some energy from somewhere.

So, in these circumstances, as I may have mentioned before, there really is only one thing to do. Play this VERY LOUD

And voila, a three quarters completed workout (still missing out a couple but a great improvement).

Meep, meep

Day 74 : A Long Day

2008-10-27T23:52:00.002+09:00

I was hoping to report that all of my troubles are behind me and that I completed the workout full of energy. No such luck. I got up this morning and skipped. Then got halfway through the workout before I ran out of time. However, a full day in the office plus two evening meetings absolutely drained me so by the time I got home at 11.15, all I wanted to do was eat and sleep.

Better luck tomorrow.

Day 73 : .... and half a workout

2008-10-26T23:23:00.002+09:00

I managed the skipping this morning and half a workout this evening, with a lot of rest in between, so I seem to be getting back on track. Let's see what I can manage tomorrow. Work unfortunately but maybe a full workout too!!

Day 72 : Signs of Life

2008-10-25T23:24:00.003+09:00

There are signs that the drugs are having some effect so I could be back in action soon. As it was, I only did a token skip this evening after it got dark. I found it difficult without enough light but I haven't missed a day's skipping since I started PCP so wanted to continue the sequence.

Day 71 : Rain and Doctors

2008-10-24T23:58:00.004+09:00

More of the same, I'm afraid. Woke up feeling less than 100%, took a bit more sleep and decided that I should go to work, did my skipping and headed out into the pouring rain. I was running a slight temperature by the time I reached the office but that went down again after lunch.

I spent most of the afternoon in doctors' waiting rooms getting tested. Nothing has come up so more antibiotics (blah).

Then the real reason for not taking the day off. If I had stayed at home, my conscience would not have let me go out in the evening and I had a ticket to the WBA Featherweight title fight between Indonesian Chris John and Japanese Hiroyuki Enoki. John won his 10th title defence by a unanimous points decision. It is the first time I have been to a world title fight. John reminded me of Adrian's hero, Manny Pacquiao!!

I hope a restful weekend will help.

Day 70 : Not much change

2008-10-23T21:17:00.004+09:00

Almost a carbon copy of yesterday except that when I woke up at 7, I recognised the feeling and went back to sleep until 11, and only went onto the office in the afternoon. There are some signs that the stiffness in my neck is getting a bit better.

To cap it all, it started raining this evening, I hope it lets up by tomorrow.

Day 69 : Three Weeks to Go

2008-10-22T22:28:00.004+09:00

I wish I could report some substantial improvement. I did get up early enough to do my skipping and did reasonably well. I decided I should "attack" more and this made me feel a bit more positive about things. But there were delays on the train going into work and I gradually felt worse during the day. In addition, we had four people out sick today, so it isn't just me.

By evening, the head/neck pain is sufficient for me to take today as another rest day and hope it will improve by tomorrow.

I haven't heard back from Doctor Fred what it might be but I tested negative for mononucleosis, which I was worried about. I had that about 35 years ago and believed it impossible to catch again but Fred said it was possible. At least I don't have to worry about that - it was nasty first time around.

Sorry I'm not more cheerful.

Day 68 : Back to Square 1

2008-10-21T21:04:00.004+09:00

Sorry if my blogs are getting monotonous but it was just more of the same today. Woke up a 7 feeling terrible, got up at 9.15 and emailed the office to say I might not be in, had breakfast and felt a bit better, checked my work emails and decided to go in because there were things to to, skipped, ate lunch and then felt progressively worse on the journey in. I got the things done that needed to be done and came home, hardly able to keep my eyes open. A quick dinner and then bed.

One thing that I have noticed in my behavior is that sometime in my past, probably as a child, someone (my parents?) implanted in me the notion that you "shouldn't" go sick unless you really have no choice. So I have this "guilt complex" about taking time off (even though I will always tell my staff to go home if they are not feeling well). It is great when the doctor says "rest" but usually it is my choice because I'm the only one who knows how I feel and I push myself to avoid the feeling that I'm "skiving". I get that feeling even though I'm the "boss"!! Ah well.

Day 67 : Moving in the Right Direction?

2008-10-20T21:01:00.004+09:00

Well, I got up, skipped, went to work and did the workout, except abs, when I got home, so returning to something like "life".

On the other hand, I felt washed-out all day and visited the doctor on the way home. The doctor I went to see last Wednesday is the one in the local clinic - when I'm really suffering, it doesn't make sense to travel an hour each way to see my regular doctor in Tokyo. But I dropped in on Doctor Fred and got a sympathetic hearing plus something that may loosen up the muscles in my neck. And I had a blood test to check some things out. Fred showed a great interest in PCP so I will have to introduce him to Patrick.

This meant I got home early so I'm getting ready for an early night, after steaming some vegetables to take the place of salad.

By the way, today is the three quarters mark!!

Day 66 : No-Man's Land

2008-10-19T14:36:00.004+09:00

I feel like I'm in a grey zone, not really well, not really ill.

I had a good night's sleep, got up, did the skipping quite well, followed on with the workout but once again missing out the abs exercises (my neck really does tense up with both the v-sits and the side crunch).

So I've been pondering on motivation and how to snap out of what seems to be a self-perpetuating cycle.

I will report back!!

Day 65 : Signs of Improvement

2008-10-18T22:05:00.003+09:00

Rather than my new-fangled gadgets, in addition of the pain killers, I resorted to a rather more old-fashioned accessory when I went to bed last night - a scarf. I thought about a photo but then thought better of it - not a pretty sight. Something did the trick because I slept through the night.

After a gentle morning, I tried my skipping, and that felt normal (i.e. the "normal" aches, especially in my back, rather than the sickness related ones). Afterwards, a bit more stiffness and pain in my neck than before I started, but not too bad.

I left the workout until the evening and managed OK except I decided to pass on the abs exercises. The v-sits give me trouble anyway and side crunches do not seem a good idea at the moment.

But after a good night's sleep tonight, maybe tomorrow will be better yet.

Day 64 : The Best Aloo Gobi in Tokyo

2008-10-17T23:23:00.014+09:00

Welcome back on line, Patrick!!

Last night was a repeat of the night before only my painful awakening was 2.30 not 4. I went to sleep earlier and about four hours sleep seems to be the amount before the pain breaks through. Once again it took about an hour and a half before I felt I could try to go back to sleep..... this time, though, I slept through until 9.30.

The sleep did me some good and I felt a bit better. But the work has been building up so I decided to go into the office in the afternoon. So I did my skipping which after a slow start, also went OK.

I set off feeling pretty good but even the walk to the station took it out of me and by the time I reached the office, I was feeling pretty shaky. And by the end of the afternoon, even worse. So, did I do the sensible thing and go straight home? Of course not. I have been promising myself this curry for weeks and so off I went to "Malabar", near Edogawabashi Station, for local readers.
As previously announced, I consider this to be the best aloo gobi in Tokyo so that was an easy choice, although the chilli prawn just below it on the menu was a bit of a temptation (but I know from experience how hot that one is and it could have been a risk lol).

Since I choose not to eat bread, I needed some rice.

And as this meal was definitely looking a bit light on protein, I added some fish tikka.

So my meal ended up looking like this :

And when I had finished, looking like this :

The net result?

I definitely felt full, with no temptation to add any more, which is what I might have done in the past, so maybe I have learned my limits. I had the "normal" "full" feeling after a heavy meal, something not felt since the beginning of the PCP, probably down to oil in the meal because the quantity wasn't actually much more than I am allowed at lunchtime on my PCP diet. I was waiting for some further reaction later but it didn't come although I felt full for a long time afterwards.

So, it was a "good" indulgence. The bad news? I would cheerfully repeat the exercise tonight if allowed!!

Unfortunately, by the time I got home, the aches and pains were back with a vengence and I resorted to painkillers which I don't like to do, and went to bed.

Day 63 : A Pain in the Neck

2008-10-16T18:46:00.009+09:00

I woke at 4am feeling it would be preferable if the world were to end. I didn't exactly leap out of bed, the pain was too great, but gently eased myself to a sitting position and then spent an hour and a half letting it all subside.

So no commute today either, although I did some work exchanging files with the office and answering emails.

The doctor yesterday said the antibiotic should help the glandular infection but the stiff muscles need warmth and massage. So before going home, I visited the local discount store and came home with these:

The first is a long sausage-shaped gel filled plastic sac that is heated in the microwave, put inside a cloth cover and draped around the neck. It feels quite good.

The name of the second makes me wonder what uses the makers had in mind. Nevertheless, it allows the head to rest quite easily and vibrates quite nicely so that may also help loosen things up.

Day 62 : Relapse

2008-10-15T22:26:00.002+09:00

Well, I was feeling pretty rough before I went to sleep and just as bad when I woke up. I did my skipping, not advisable with a stiff and painful neck and a severe headache, very gingerly and decided that today was not the day to be a hero, called in sick and went back to sleep. The next thing I knew it was 12.30.

A trip to the doctor in the afternoon just described what I already knew - swollen glands in my neck and throat causng the muscles to lock up and giving me the headache. The cover-all solution, of course, is a course of antobiotics. I hate taking antibiotics because they kill the good bacteria with the bad but as I have the things, and I really do ache, I've decided to take them.

So, let's see what tomorrow brings.

Day 61 : Speed Trials

2008-10-14T18:36:00.002+09:00

Well, working out faster seemed to do the trick. I definitely "failed" when required this morning.

I think that the summer temperatures also had something to do with me getting into the habit of "pacing" myself. We started on 15th August when it was HOT and I definitely didn't want to overdo it in the heat. Now it is cooler, there is less risk of that, although I certainly felt warm by the end of the workout. It is a switch to being more active instead of being more "stylish" but since no-one is watching me anyway, I can afford to lose a few style points.

I'm still not 100%. My neck muscles are still locked up, which is giving me a headache.

So I'm heading off for a massage (which I missed last week) and an early night.

Day 60 : A Milestone

2008-10-13T23:26:00.007+09:00

Two thirds sound great but even better when you realise that the time left is only half the days we have already put in. Keep it up, team!!

And I had a 60 day revelation today. I commented yesterday about having trouble with the "to failure" instruction. I've worked out why - I've been pacing myself!! By that, I mean, holding something back to make sure I can get through the exercise. I guess the arthritis has made me cautious about overstraining myself so what I've been doing is the opposite of "to failure". When you hold back, you make sure you can continue but then the exercise never seems to end!!

I actually had a bad start to the day because after skipping I really did fell dizzy - the room span so I left the workout, and left it, and then found something else to do and then left it some more.

I thought about taking it as a rest day but as it is Sports Day and the rest may be good later in the week, I finally started about 10.30pm. So I tried to get through it quickly and "voila", I began to run out of steam and feeling I couldn't do any more : in other words "failure". By taking things rather more slowly, I was allowing my body to cope as it went along which is great for stamina but not for what we are doing. I'll see how I get on tomorrow.

I spent some time yesterday checking out Looney Tunes cartoons because I had run out of signs that Wile has actually held up (or made, in the case of "Free Bird Seed"). The only picture of me not holding up a sign so far is the one with the umbrella, and he certainly has held one up either trying to use it as a parachute or to keep off the rocks that are about to drop on him, and the other non-authentic one is me holding up menu chart made by Patrick. I'm pleased to say that I now have at least five more authentic signs that I can use so I should manage a unique sign in each weekly photo through to the end of the project.

Meep, meep (OK, I know that is the Roadrunner's line).

Day 59 : Carbon Copy

2008-10-12T20:36:00.004+09:00

Almost a carbon copy of yesterday, a late start and a leisurely workout.

I'm having trouble with the "to failure" instruction. The bands, by definition, are flexible so the amount of tension they are put under dictates how hard the exercise is. I can make them so tight that the resistance is maximum and failure will come almost immediately. I didn't think that was the object of the exercise (pun intended) so what I have done is worked on the exercises I am supposed to do "to failure" until I'm feeling a bit light-headed/dizzy.

I had a fridge clear-out today. Completely out of eggs and all the meat and vegetables were cooked. So, a relatively expensive trip to the supermarket this evening to restock. I'm now OK for the next few days.

Tomorrow is a public holiday in Japan "Sports Day". I have Parent Teacher Conferences in the afternoon for my younger son, who turned seventeen yesterday.

Day 58 : The Meaning of It All

2008-10-11T23:27:00.012+09:00

I read Adrian and Emiko's blog today saying their motivation and energy have been low and I felt a bit the same today. The post sickness "bounce" lasted one day!! Nevertheless, I had a good set of skipping (on the porch because it was raining). This week, I have to do three sets of six minutes. I'm still slow and trip up over the rope a lot but in the three sets did 375, 402 and 352 skips, so 1,129 skips in eighteen minutes, so much better than when we started. But I couldn't get myself "up" to do well with the workout and took a long time to get through it all. It was a good thing that I had nothing special to do today.

Getting back to Adrian and Emiko's blog, I put myself on a strict diet about eight years ago and got my weight down from 106 to 81kg (a medical examination had told me I was 25% overweight - I didn't believe it until I actually got the weight off). Recently it had edged up to 92kg.

Anyway, the point of my ramble is to comment on what Abel and everyone is saying. It isn't actually that Adrian is too skinny, it is that modern society accepts being overweight as the norm - so many people told me that I had become too thin, even though I was exactly where the doctor told me I should be. You know, "you are tall, you can carry it" and other similar comments. The fact is that being overweight is not good for us but we just accept it most of the time. And we then come to equate overeating with pleasure and the feeling of being too full as being the way we should feel after eating.

So Tim's answer to the question "when are we supposed to start caring about our diets?" is straight away!! A lot of our eating habits are just that, habits. I still retain a lot of good patterns from the previous diet. I'm not sure whether it was actually bad for me or not, but I decided to cut out gluten. This means no wheat, barley, rye or oats. That is no bread or cakes and therefore no hidden calories in the form of butter and sugar that gets put into those things. I was brought up on sandwiches. particularly as a bedtime snack, but once I had made the change, it was easy to say no. And I had already switched over to brown rice (I actually think it tastes better too).

I can only second what Adrian and Emiko said "moderation is actually the key to happiness". We can always imagine that we need to have "more". More food, more travel, more possessions. But they don't make us happier and the desire for more can never be fulfilled so it just makes us unhappier. The people who are content are that way because they accept that what they have is, by and large, "enough".

And of course, PCP is not about doing more (although that is not the way my workout seems this week), it is about doing enough, the right amount to get us into peak condition.

By the way, I get a bit introspective after I've been sick. Having too much time on my hands makes me question the human condition (and mine in particular). I watched a video on YouTube this afternoon called " Zeitgeist Addendum" suggesting that we should switch from a system driven by profit maximisation to the detriment of the planet and the human race as a whole (why do we permit so many people to go hungry?) to one that is committed to the intelligent management of the Earth's resources.

Day 57 : Back to "Normal"

2008-10-10T13:51:00.005+09:00

Well, in some ways better than normal.

I woke up with familiar aches and pains. I still had a headache and back and neck pains. But I woke completely unaided (i.e. not the radio) at 6am with the clear sense that these are "normal" pains and that I was not sick any more. The headache isn't really normal but I often have to get moving to get my joints to accept that they can actually function without hurting.

So I got up and did my skipping and workout before breakfast, and did some business on the way to the office. Once in the the office, I felt tired but without the feeling I've had most of this week that I wasn't going to make it through the day. By the end of the day my head was hurting a bit but people in the office commented how much brighter I appeared today.

As we've said so many times, the mental state is just as important, if not more, than the physical.

Day 56 : Much the Same

2008-10-09T21:11:00.003+09:00

I woke up after a solid sleep feeling a bit better but not great and my temperature was back to normal. If I could have got back to sleep, I would have done but there were things to do at the office and trying to do them remotely was no substitute for being there.

So I swallowed a couple of painkillers, something I usually try to avoid, and after breakfast, felt vaguely human. I decided to make the commute and because of that decision, felt that I was up to skipping. I did OK after getting through the back and neck pains in the first set.

I ate my lunch before heading out but already knew by the time I reached the station that all was not well. I made it to the office feeling the worse for wear but managed to get done what needed to be done.

And then home, feeling tired and achy, in no shape for the workout so I'll claim sickness privilege again. A long weekend is coming up so I can get back on track then.

I had a look at the back diagram Patrick recommended but it didn't mean much to me. I looked at the neck diagram too to try to see which bits have locked up but putting a name to them doesn't make it hurt any less!!

Day 55 : Off Sick

2008-10-08T21:07:00.003+09:00

When I went to sleep last night, I was in pain, particularly my neck. This morning, it felt a bit better but a quick check with the thermometer quickly persuaded me not to make the same mistake as yesterday and I stayed put.

Staying put actually meant logging on to the computer, checking my emails and doing some work before heading back to bed.

In the afternoon, I acted on Emiko's suggestion and tried the skipping. I got through the sets OK but with a bit of back and neck pain. But it also pushed my temperature another point so I decided that the workout would have to be put on hold.

It occurred to me how easy it would be to drop out of PCP at this point. A couple of missed days and the pattern would be broken. Mustn't let that happen.

It is also much harder to stick to the diet if I am stuck at home. When I'm up, I tend to prowl around the house and nibbling is a real temptation.

Despite feeling ill, I actually had to go out this evening. I ran out of brown rice last night and as this is my carb of choice, had to make a run down to the supermarket for more supplies. I came back with 10kg which should keep me going for a while. Driving with a stiff neck is not a good thing.

Missing work highlights how our perceived commitments are actually a matter of priority. When faced with something more important, like not feeling well, work has to wait and skipping my school board meeting tonight was as easy as sending an email.

I've also been thinking about lots of things that I need to do that I have actually put off. I'll be making a list!!

Day 54 : A Tactical Error

2008-10-07T22:46:00.003+09:00

Woken up by the radio this morning having slept about 24 out of 32 hours, I figured I was fit enough for work if I could get through the skipping and workout, especially as I had a few appointments booked.

I guess I miscalculated. I managed the skipping and workout OK but felt a bit shaky on the way down to the station and by the time I reached the office, was definitely feeling the worse for wear. I managed to get through the day but at the cost of a pretty severe headache and a few aches elsewhere. I'm sniffing a bit too, so maybe the flu. What does the PCP handbook say about genuine sickness?

I guess I'll see how I feel in the morning.

Day 53 : Wiped Out

2008-10-06T19:12:00.002+09:00

Well, yesterday I said my lie-in didn't really work. Today it did!! After getting up and skipping on the porch (rather nasty, with cold rain coming down and the wind gusting rain into my little sheltered area) and breakfast, I was feeling a bit strange. I was running a mild temperature and decided that a lie down was in order. I emailed the office to say I wouldn't be in until at least the afternoon and went back to bed.

Four hours solid sleep later, I realised that maybe this was more than I thought. So after a quick lunch and another email to the office, back to bed. The next thing I knew it was 6pm!

I was dreaming too. I can't now remember the morning dream (travelling somewhere with someone, I think) but this afternoon's ended with me eating two bars of chocolate, something I wouldn't do consciously, and I was saying to myself, well, I guess this had better be my indulgence. Fortunately, it was alll in my mind so I am still on for my curry.

The curry target is still the best aloo gobi in Tokyo but unfortunately, it is in a restaurant near where I used to live, now in completely the opposite direction for me on my journey home from work. Thinking about it, the non-PCP things will be the out of balance carbs (half the dish is potato and I may have rice with it) and the oil. On the other hand, lots of vegetable and no meat (so maybe a piece of tandori chicken or fish tikka will be in order). But I'll have to schedule it and apart from today, and today is now a bust, I've got another full week of booked evenings.

I guess I've got to take today as my day of rest (I must admit I can't even think about doing a push-up at the moment) and try to make sure I can get the workouts done during the rest of the week. The worst day is likely to be Wednesday. Unless I get it done on the morning, School Board meetings often go on very late in the evening.

Day 52 : Sunday

2008-10-05T21:26:00.003+09:00

I tried to have a lie in and I guess by my normal standards, I did, staying in bed until 9am but it didn't really feel so long. I took a long time over the skipping and workout. I'm clearly able to do so much more than at the beginning. Push-ups, for example. I still don't dip too deeply but I'm doing it from my toes with my body straight. And now I seem to have got the right cushion combination, I'm feeling the V-sits where I should instead of in my back.

The morning weather was glorious but it clouded over this afternoon and it has been raining all evening. Looks like skipping on the porch again tomorrow.

Because of the long time I took over the workout, my meals got mixed up. I managed lunch before breakfast and only realised that when I was still feeling hungry in the early afternoon. I know Patrick wants the exercises done in order, I'm not sure about the meals.

One thing I think I've noticed in recent weeks is that I think I'm drinking less. Since I've been off alcohol for about fifteen years, in my case, drinking is mostly tea and water and I think that I am not drinking as much as before. Maybe less salt in the diet.

Day 51 : Just call me Prof

2008-10-04T23:59:00.004+09:00

Some months back I was asked to do a series of lectures for an online MBA programme. I finished recording them some weeks ago. Apparently this makes me an Adjunct Professor, whatever that means. Today's reason for not taking it easy at the weekend was the course opening ceremony. I looked very smart in the robe they provided.

It also messed up the diet for the day because I was provided with a lunch box, Judging by the quantities, it didn't look too different from my lunch allowances and certainly looked very healthy (with lots of vegetables, a bit light on protein, if anything), so I ate it but am not really sure exactly how much I ate.

Unusually for me, I actually logged on before Patrick was ready this morning giving me a great excuse to leave the workout until this evening. I must admit I don't like this "until failure" thing. Having said that, I just about failed on the Da Vincis anyway. Chest dips were a bit of a problem. V-sits were a bit easier - I added another cushion. But the side crunches are more challenging because my back just doesn't, well, twist. Maybe it will get better as the week goes on.

And tomorrow, nothing in the diary, so a lie-in is the order of the day.

Day 50 : Or 55%

2008-10-03T11:14:00.003+09:00

More than half way and the ratio between time already put in and time still to go will now get bigger so quickly. At the half way mark, obviously that ratio was 100%. Now, on day 50, we have already put in 125% of the time remaining to get to Day 90. By Day 60, in only ten days, it will be 150%. I like playing with numbers and I find making the remaining time feel "less" is a great encouragement to "stick with it" even when the mind (rather than the body) says it is too tired.

Having said that, I did feel tired this morning at the end of the busy week and only did the skipping. There were no fixed plans for this evening so the workout should have been done in good time but I got tempted by a massage on the way home and didn&t finish the workout until 11.15pm.

The weekend doesn''t seem to be too busy for a change. I'm booked up on Saturday but to my amazement, I seem to have a free Sunday, although there is the laundry to catch up on.

I weighed in this morning at 81.8kg and my weight has been plus or minus 82kg all week so maybe it has bottomed out, particularly as my dinner is back on solids again from this week. I must say I will miss the fruit content, although not drinking my dinner from the blender.

Day 49 : Stomach Ache

2008-10-02T22:41:00.003+09:00

Not an upset stomach, like Amy (hope you are feeling better, Amy), more of an ache after eating. I noticed it first after breakfast and lunch, the two substantial meals, but now I even feel it after my evening shake. I guess this is the stomach getting smaller and possibly, the tightening of the abs reducing the space the stomach has to stretch into. It doesn't last very long but the feeling is there!!

Other than that, not much to report. Skipped (in warmer weather) this morning and took my rest day. This week I seem to have spent a lot of time watching other people eat while I have politely refused, both at lunchtime and dinner. Dinner time is more difficult because while I can carry my lunch, I don't pre-prepare the shake and so have to wait until I get home.

I still haven't had indulgence one yet (I guess the time has passed) but I will think about indulgence two. Curry (with all that oil) has to be favorite at the moment.

Day 48 : No Rest

2008-10-02T00:22:00.001+09:00

I didn't take today as a rest day after all as I managed to do the workout in the morning. As I've just got home after midnight, I think tomorrow is a much better day to rest.

Day 47 : Sounding Like a Broken Record

2008-10-01T00:16:00.002+09:00

I guess this doesn't mean much to the younger generation but it means repeating over again. On vinyl records, scratches could cause the stylus to stay in the same groove of the record over and over again.

So here I am, listening to the rain pouring down. Another typhoon on the way, following much the same track as the last one but heading further out to sea so not much chance of it coming ashore, but a lot of wet weather, nevertheless.

Got back late tonight as expected but managed to finish the workout.

When I get home late but have the workout to do, my meals kind-of run into each other. I'm allowed some carbs before the workout and an egg white afterwards. What happens in practice is the carbs are a few mouthfuls of brown rice but then the extra egg white gets thrown into my dinner shake. And then, if I am really late, I can go straight on and have my bedtime snack.

I will have a trip out to the airport tomorrow to meet a business visitor as he has to go straight into a meeting and we have things to discuss first. I hope the typhoon doesn't delay his flight and the transport doesn't get messed up at this end.

Day 46 : Only in Japan

2008-09-29T22:23:00.003+09:00

The mystery of the disappearing bananas is solved. Apparently there is a banana diet being pushed on a TV show and that has caused them to disappear from the shelves. Sold out again in one supermarket this evening but still in stock in my local store.

This week is shaping up to be the week from hell. I only had time for skipping this morning and tomorrow I have an 8am meeting so I'll have to be up really early. And my evenings are booked solid. The worst is Wednesday so I guess that will have to be my day of rest.

If I haven't done the workout in the morning, it preys on my mind all day. I'm not enjoying this week's exercises either, in reality, probably just the push-ups (which I have hated since school days) and the abs exercises. The v-sits are still a problem for me and I'm still not finding quite the right position for my cushion.

And while I'm moaning, boy was I wrong about the temperature yesterday. It was only in the mid teens centigrade for most of the day and below 10 when I was doing my skipping this morning. I wore a sweat shirt ..... and didn't really sweat!! I was actually lucky not to be skipping in the rain too - it started as I was finishing my skips and it has rained all day. The rain is forecast to continue until Wednesday.

Wish me luck getting through this week!!

Day 45 : Half Way There

2008-09-28T22:23:00.002+09:00

A curious sense of anticlimax. I guess in PCP halfway is nowhere, despite the changes so far.

Only time for skipping this morning before driving up to Tokyo to do some errands I needed to have the car for. I don't drive much and this trip reminded my why - Y2,600 ($25) in expressway tolls and Y4,200 ($40) in parking, plus the cost of petrol. That, at least, has dropped in the past few weeks. A train ride would have been at no cost because I would have used my commuter pass.

So another evening workout with the usual exercises causing me the usual problems. I think I felt stiff yesterday because of the shoulder press.

I had a better night's sleep last night and felt a bit better for it. The weather has turned cooler and so I'm not fighting the heat while skipping. Indeed, it almost feels like I'm skipping to keep warm! Being a Brit, I can't really say it is cold. It still is reaching the mid to upper 20s centigrade during the day is in the mid to upper 70s fahrenheit but morning and evening are cool and autumn seems to have arrived.

Day 44 : Stop the World (I Want to Get Off)

2008-09-27T23:53:00.004+09:00

Even though it is the weekend, I'm still super busy. Got up and did the skipping with a new audience : a really pretty yellow butterfly, a small blue butterfly and a grasshopper. The grasshopper was a bit of a surprise. It was quite cool to start with but when the sun came out, it felt warm again.

The new workout felt tougher and I've been stiff all day. I wonder whether I overdid it or at least pushed myself a bit hard(er). The creeps reminded me of an exercise that sumo wrestlers do to strengthen their legs, the V-sits are still a problem and I kept slipping off the chair with the seated sit-ups.

For the rest of the day I was on the go. First, a shopping trip where I spent too much, of course. Then a visit to the home of the British Consul whose daughter was having her first birthday party. I felt a generation too old - the room was full of young parents with very small children. My boys are 16 and 20 so being so close to such a large number of young children was a throw-back experience. It felt strange and I wasn't sorry to leave to attend a ceremony at a volunteer group I am associated with. The really tough thing was not eating anything at the buffet dinner that followed with only a shake to look forward to when I got home. And then finally took in a new British pub that opened walking distance from my house a few months back. Good to know that there is somewhere that I can now catch the important soccer matches without being stranded miles from home (in the winter, UK 3pm kick-offs are midnight in Japan and by the time the games have finished, all the public transport here has stopped).

Moving around today, my meals got a bit messed up and I think I ended up with too many carbs and not enough vegetables but on balance, probably just about OK in total.

Day 43 : Six Weeks!!

2008-09-26T13:05:00.005+09:00

And I weighed in this morning at exactly 83kg, 9kg (20lb) down.

A better night's sleep, I guess - 11.30pm to 5pm straight and then I was woken up by the wind swirling around the house. The remaining 90 minutes until the alarm went off were less restful - probably asleep but feeling that I had actually been awake.

Things were a rush because I had to get out of the house early again for an early meeting (one of business visitors left this afternoon and the other will leave tomorrow morning so hopefully back to "normal" next week, whatever that is). I was surprised when I stepped into the garden. Not only was the wind strong, it was humid. And it completely messed up my skipping. The rope was blown around a lot and my timing, never the best, really struggled. Only two of the sets had any fluency. Right in the middle of the skipping, I spotted a mosquito flying sluggishly by my foot. A quick stamp and the mosquito turned into ..... a large smear of blood. Mine I suspect. If it hadn't eaten so much, it might have got away!

I visited a potential client mid-morning and he wiped the smug grin off my face - he has lost 7kg in four weeks, but then he said that he was dieting because of gall stones. I certainly don't envy him that.

The afternoon was meant to be a quick wrap-up with the second of my visiotrs but the final meeting went on until after 7pm and by the time I had done everything I had to do, I didn't get to start completing the workout until 10.30pm.

But now that is done, I guess that I have the new workout to look forward tomorrow.

The new diet gave me a small increase in rations here and there, which is nice.

Day 42 : Sleeping

2008-09-25T12:28:00.004+09:00

I got to bed too late last night and was really tired but that didn't stop my brain working overtime. I went to bed about midnight and then woke at 1.30, 3 and 4.30 before waking up before the radio, set for 6.40 at 6.30. After each wakening, I went back to sleep very easily but each time my brain was buzzing, as though it had woken me up for some conscious thinking instead of the unconscious thoughts that are happening all the time. Hmmm.

That at least got me skipping earlier. A little bit uncoordinated, as ever, but gradually got better and the last set was reasonable fluid. The workout went fine. I added the yellow band to the blue one I have been using for the chest fly, now rebranded as the standing ovation, and it stiffened the resistance up considerably to the point where I could feel the relative weakness of my left arm compared to my right. Disappointingly, the v-sits were not so good. They started off fine but I guess the positioning of the cushion is crucial because by the fourth set I was struggling and hurting. More experimenting required.

I had an expensive treat for my afternoon fruit - I found a shop near a client's office selling fresh raspberries so I splashed out.

Just got home at 10.15. Time for a quickie smoothie and bedtime veggies before going to sleep.

Day 41 : A Quick Blog

2008-09-24T23:26:00.003+09:00

As I said, a long and busy day today. I set the (radio) alarm early but was really fast asleep when it went off. My immediate thought was "day of rest" and reset the alarm for half an hour later. Of course, I didn't get any more sleep, just lay there wishing I was asleep. And I still felt asleep when I stumbled throught the skipping.

The day whizzed by and I got home at about 9pm and still had to make some calls. Then a straight choice - the workout or a massage. You can guess which one won.

So off to bed so I can get up and do the skips and workout before I leave tomorrow because tomorrow looks to be another long day.

Day 40 : Public Holiday

2008-09-23T20:27:00.004+09:00

Another public holiday and as usual I managed to get booked up. Woke myself without the alarm and felt ready positive. This was the result of a good meeting I had last night that has given me some new ideas.

It is interesting how mental energy helps the physical energy. A bit like biorhythms. One up and one down, you can get by. Both up and you are cruising. Both down and everything is a challenge.

Well, both were up this morning. All of my skipping sets went over 200 skips and I cleared most of the workout without too much of a problem. I even think that I may have found a way to do the V-sits with the strategic placement of a cushion. After a bit of trial and error, it will be great if I have found the solution.

Then out into the sunshine to the school for a meeting (again), back to cook lunch and some vegetables (lotus root, soy beans among them) before going to spend some time with my older son.

I have a really early start tomorrow so I've decided on an early night. I hope the attitude is still there in the morning.

Day 39 : Green Bananas

2008-09-22T23:28:00.007+09:00

Well, obviously the supply chain broke down somewhere. Bananas were back on the shelf of my local supermarket this evening but they are all green. At least they won't go ripe on me too quickly.

More torrential rain this morning had me skipping on the porch again but with the wind blowing the rain towards me. And it was COLD. I have five skipping sets to do this week and had the satisfaction of increasing the count on each one. Sometimes I just get more tangled up the more I do but today I just seemed to get more into the swing of it.

But I only had enough time to do floor jumps and get the plank out of the way before heading off to the office.

I managed to get my fruit ready and then left it at home so I went round to the discount supermarket near the office and picked up some grapes, wincing at the price of the bananas (18 for Y315 = Y17.5 each - my banana last night was seventeen the price!!).

I had a LONG day, getting home about 10.15 with the rest of the workout still to do. In addition to my back twinges (hang in there, Emiko), I've found a new ache to moan about. My hands hurt pressing down on the push-up handles! Actually, I shouldn't be too surprised. My type of arthritis typically affects the spine and the extremities i.e. the hands and feet. So I covered the handles with cushions!! The other difficult one is the V-sits but I managed to do the minimum in a remote semblance of what I should be doing. A long way from what it should be but an improvement.

My weight this morning was 83.5kg. I started the PCP at 92kg so that is an amazing 8.5kg (nearly 19ib) loss in 39 days - 1lb every two days! Kind-of scary and I do find that I lose energy at certain times of the day. The mid-morning and mid-afternoon fruit is necessary. A few years back when I weighed in at 106kg, I had a medical. The doctor said I was 25% overweight and should weigh 83.4kg. I put myself on a strict diet and lost weight smoothly at a rate of about 2kg a month for a year, ending up at 81kg. So I'm now more or less where the tables say my weight should be and approaching the lowest I've been since childhood (and that was a LONG time ago). My newest suits are now too big around the waist. Hmmm.

Day 38 : The Great Banana Hunt

2008-09-21T22:24:00.012+09:00

The day started well enough with the skipping under sunny skies. The exercises this week are tougher and I need to consult the oracle on a couple of them. I pushed the plank up the order again and was able to do it - if I leave it to the end, I seem to lack the inner strength to last out long enough.

Then off to see Charlie as the rain clouds banked up again. By the time I reached Charlie's, the heavens had opened again and we have had heavy rain showers for the rest of the day. After Charlie, a visit to Japan's ancient and recently scandal-prone sport, sumo. Great fun with a major upset in the last bout. Thought maybe they could use the PCP, although they are very fit underneath all that blubber.

Shopping on the way back, I thought I had everything, and even bought some mint. But I forgot the bananas. Actually, maybe they weren't on display because when I realised, I thought, even though it was late, I had time to walk down the hill to the closest supermarket, which closes at 10. Shock, horror, no bananas!! Quickly on to one convenience store and then another. They often have single bananas on sale but no such luck. Finally, I thought of one more supermaket that also closes at 10, the expensive one. Dashing in at 9.50, I'm greeted with signs for four different types of bananas - but no bananas!!! Eventually, prowling round the shop, I came across what clearly much be the gourmet banana corner. Individually wrapped bananas! (Funny, I've always thought of bananas as the most convenient of fruit because they come ready-wrapped). Anyway, in the interests of the PCP, I invested Y198 (nearly $2) in a gourmet banana.

I bought the mint because I thought it would be a good variation to add to the shake. And so it proved. My shake ended up a slightly greenish colour and tasted of, well, mint. So I didn't really get to savour the true taste of the goumet banana, after all. Ah, well!!

Day 37 : Typhoon Gone

2008-09-20T21:39:00.004+09:00

The storm blew over last night - thunder and heavy rain. The typhon never actually came onshore. It was the sort of rain where you lie in bed thinking, "wow, that sounds hard, shall I get up and have a look?" and then it gets even harder. I didn't bother to get up and have a look though. It did wake me a few times. But today we had some blue skies again and the typhoon has continued to the north east, back out to sea.

I did skipping and workout this evening and Nate was right about the mosquitoes at sunset. I looked down and I had a swarm around each ankle. I went running for the insect repellent (in Japan they have a slow burning "fuse" that gives off smoke the insects don't like).

I'm still trying to work out some of my new exercises. The plank increased, just as I was beginning to feel I could cope with it.

I've felt hungry and tired all day so an early night tonight.

I'm not holding a sign in this week's photo - in honour of the storm, I've got an umbrella, something that Wile often holds, either trying to make it into a parachute or to somehow hold off the rocks showering on his head. I'll do a diet sheet photo for Patrick next week.

Day 36 : Looking like your Hero

2008-09-19T12:18:00.009+09:00

You know what they say about people changing to look like their pets (or vice versa). PCP is about getting in the same condition as our heroes but will we actually look like them?

Patrick actually didn't end up looking like Bruce Lee but Adrian already looks a bit like Manny Pacquiao. Emiko will have to dye her hair and maybe get a perm to look like Michelle Rodriguez, Amy stands a chance of looking like Monica Carlson as the PCP takes hold and Nate is already jumping around like David Belle but look-alike, I'm not quite sure. As for me, it's more of a spiritual thing - I don't want to end up looking like Wile.

Patrick kindly stepped in an extracted the weather map for me. It looks like it is going to stay out at sea but be off Yokohama about 9pm this evening. I had better be home by then.

Day 35 : Lunch in a Restaurant

2008-09-18T21:41:00.006+09:00

More lethargy this morning, pouring with rain so skipped on the front porch again and left the workout for this evening. After breakfast, began to think about putting my lunch together. Then I remembered, I had a appointment with a former client at lunchtime. But since I had suggested somewhere with a salad bar, I had a brainwave and instead of packing my lunch, I packed my kitchen scales and at the salad bar, slid it under my plate and measured out 150g of tuna and 150g of salads. The only carb available at the salad bar was pasta and since I try to avoid gluten, I order a small bowl of rice and weighed out 100g of that. My first white rice in a month. My companion went back for seconds, of course, but all in all, it went quite smoothly. I have another lunch booked there next week so I'll know what to do!!

Yesterday afternoon and evening I had some very positive meetings that really put a bounce in my step, followed by my weekly massage. The ladies there seem to have decided that I'm their special client and are adamant that they will have me flexible by the end of the year. Yesterday I was told I'm much stiffer down my left hand side than my right. I guess that figures because I'm completely right-handed so the right side of my body has more to do.

Today was the opposite of yesterday with more stress than I needed at work and I came home feeling drained. The power of fruit came to my rescue though because after my shake, I had enough energy to get through the workout.

I tried to copy the weather map showing the typhoon still tracking towards us, still two days away but couldn't "lift" the image. Here's the link though. http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/081324.html

Day 34 : Back, Satan!

2008-09-16T17:37:00.005+09:00

I read Patrick's email after sleeping late and doing my skipping AND after deciding that I was just TOO TIRED to do the workout so that this will have to be my "day of rest".

What Patrick said was spot on. The little devil in my head was definitely whispering "It's ok to skip the workout today. You're tired, you deserve the break... no one will know...".

I would know, of course, and I am allowed a day off anyway so I haven't broken the rules but I'm glad that I didn't take the rest day to recover from the hike and so had it in reserve.

The main reason is the Board Meeting last night went on until 10.45pm so by the time I had got home, made my shake etc and got ready for bed, it was after midnight. Getting the sleep is so important.

I tried Kazue's recipe by just "baking" my eggs in the pan this morning "dry" but I definitely think a drop of oil improves it. I'm actually not very fond of the taste of olive oil which means I'm not likely to overdo the quantity.

On the train into the office I was already feeling hungry. Bad sign since the biggest meal of the day had already been eaten. But I was saved by my mid-morning fruit. I had mango today and it was delicious, giving me the sugar hit that I needed.

Day 33 : Skipping on the Porch

2008-09-16T12:51:00.006+09:00

Rain, as forecast, this morning so I had to think about somewhere else to skip. The only place that came to mind was outside the front door. There isn't that much room. I had to be careful not to fall down the front steps and kept hitting the rope against the wall and front door so I didn't get quite as many skips in but did OK. I was feeling lethargic through the skipping and the workout but had to get through them because today is one of those burning the candle at both ends days with a board meeting tonight at Yokohama International School. I hope it won't go on really late.

Everyone seems to be talking about food again (except Nate who is educating us on the ways of parkour). I've been feeling really hungry over the past two days. Emiko's photos had me drooling (not a pretty sight). I was interested to see Kazue's blog about breakfast because before I had read it, I ended up doing the same thing this morning but I used a drop or two of olive oil in the pan and made an omelette with steamed spinach and onion in it. I missed the salt I would normally put in.

Day 32 : Hey Dudes

2008-09-15T08:31:00.007+09:00

Actually, Patrick is quite right, I would never use the word as a term of address in a month of Sundays - I'm the Atlantic Ocean and about two generations from having it in my vocabulary but as we are proving with PCP, anything can change.

But I was sitting listlessly at the computer having been woken up too early by my thoughts (about a meeting I have this morning) reading Patrick's email and trying to summon the energy to get skipping when I thought "music" and "Dude looks like a lady", and went off in search of Aerosmith. I couldn't find the Greatest Hits CD with "dude" on it so I grabbed "Honkin' on Bobo" (what a delightful title lol) and if you are familiar with the album, you will know the first track is "Road Runner". Someone somewhere is trying to tell me something, I thought, and went skipping.

Not as good as yesterday but not bad and I've decided that skipping without my glasses is more pleasant but I've renamed my skipping rope - it is now my tripping rope!!

Then onto the workout - I rearranged the order to put the plank first. I often try to do the least pleasant things first to get them out of the way and this at least got me out of that horrible feeling of having one exercise left and it being the one I least want to do. I managed to struggle through it and got everything done by 8.20 with the rest of my public holiday "free" (apart from my from my morning and afternoon meetings, that is - both not "work" work but scheduled time, nevertheless).

The highlight of the day was actually lunch because for a change I was home and could do something in the kitchen. I threw some cooked minced chicken, some steamed spinach and some onion into a saucepan with a little water and some curry powder and dumped it on my carb allowance (brown rice). The rice seemed to disappear but the whole thing was delicious but I suspect my standards may have dropped in the last month.

We've got another rainy week coming up. There is a typhoon to the south-west and if it tracks up the coast, we could have some fun weather. I live on the top of a hill so my risk is being blown away, not being flooded.

Day 31 : The Day After

2008-09-14T21:30:00.007+09:00

Have you ever noticed that the day after something is when the reaction happens? You know, jet lag on the second day is always worse than the first.

So I woke up this morning feeling like I climbed a mountain yesterday. Stiff thighs, particularly.

But I stepped into the garden for my skipping and totally amazed myself. Unlike Emiko's (for me) unbelievable skipping sequences, my time trials seems decidedly wimpy (although Patrick assures me that they are doing what they are supposed to). I have been struggling to get skipping "runs" going and I currently have to do as many skips in 4 x 3 minutes as I can. To my utter surprise, this morning I did over 200 in each of the four sets. That's more than 800 in 12 minutes, which by my standards, is incredible. Then I did my lunges before going off to see Charlie.

A good seesion with him including something that I have been waiting for him to get to - the kinks in my back. Instead of concentrating on the legs and neck where he usually works, he concentrated on twisting me around. As usual, it wasn't totally painless but the gain is apparent.

On the way back, I thought, what the hell, let's have my indulgence so I detoured via the ice cream shop. BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE MY FAVORITE FLAVOURS. Well, I wasn't going to settle for a second choice indulgence so I walked out of the shop again.

What I did do on the way back was finish my book, "Maskerade", the 18th "Discworld" book by Terry Pratchett. I'm working my way through them in sequence. They are set in a fantasy world full of witches, wizards, dwarfs and trolls as well as ordinary people, not forgetting my favorite character, Death, who always speaks in block capitals. The stories range from amusing to hilarious. If you want a break from the seriousness of the world, try one. The first in the series is called "The Colour of Magic" (he's a British author so I guess that is the right spelling).

I was feeling tired by the time I got home though so postponed the rest of the exercises until the evening. And of course, felt no livelier by evening. So I toughed it out and even managed the planks in one set (just).

A good night's sleep is definitely in order.

By the way, something to watch out for, PCP Team - the unexpected compliment. I"m sure you have been getting some nice remarks about your weight loss etc but the other day someone told me I look taller. Hmm. It wasn't "slimmer" but "taller". Then I realised - I must be standing up straighter. Why? Because my back muscles are stronger. And that is what I mean by the unexpected compliment because even the complimenter doesn't realise the true compliment - the overall effect of PCP.

Day 30 : Another Mountain to Climb

2008-09-13T21:23:00.014+09:00

This one literally!!

I mentioned going hiking today. I should have used my better judgement and stayed in bed but there were actually some positives out of it.

A friend of mine organises a hike every two months. He grades his hikes into easy, medium and hard but what he grades as medium, I grade as hard so I should have known better. I also should have paid more attention to the location - Oyama means "big mountain" and I should have taken that literally. Japan is a very mountainous country and many times a hike will climb steeply up to a ridge but then once up there, gently wind up and down. Not in this case!

It's alright, he said, we are going part of the way in a cable car. That should also have alerted me too. The cable car went from 315m to 678m above sea level. Oyama is 1,252m at the summit. And the "hike" was all uphill - we rose through 578m vertical height in 90 minutes : that's 1,896 feet!!! I had visions of Nate doing parkour up the slope ahead of me, jumping from rock to rock and leaving me in the dust.

By the time I reached the top, I was really struggling. I had taken my PCP lunch with me and found it very difficult to eat and only managed about 2/3 (the other 1/3 tasted so much better when I got back down to the bottom of the mountain). The apple snack was delicious, though. Fortunately, the route down was marginally kinder - just as well as since going down often gives me more trouble than going up!!

So, what were the positives :

- my legs were actually fine, the skipping must really have had an effect. What I was lacking was stamina and energy.

- my older son came along and we had a good time together

(he's the handsome one on the right, me in the hat at the back).

I managed all this after a really bad night's sleep - went to bed too late about midnight, had trouble going to sleep, woke up about 3am, spent at least 40 mins in front of the computer before going back to bed and waking frequently before getting up at 7.15.

I just had time to check Patrick's email and I'm on specials (well, you don't lead a sedentary life style for years without paying some penalties) but no time to do the exercises before I left so they were still to be done when I got home.

I actually didn't need to skip when I got back because my hike must surely count as an alternative .... but I did. I'm on timed sets and did OK despite the leaden legs. It was dark, of course, by then and although there is a light in the garden, it was a bit of a surreal experience because since last week, I have been trying to skip without my glasses and while this is OK in the daylight, at night　everything turned into various shadows without them. Kind of like skipping on auto pilot.

The Continuous Jumpropes are a bit like time trials. Then Lunges (OK), Push-Ups (a Tim PCP first today - I actually did them properly from my toes, although not dipping down far enough yet), Chest Fly (I've change the elastic band from red to blue which is harder work); Curl (OK); Shoulder Fly (struggled towards the end); Leg Up (OK with my bum on cushions) and Plank (aaaargh - needed two separate attempts to do them).

Day 29 : Morning Off

2008-09-12T23:43:00.002+09:00

That was a great idea - a lie in, enough time for the workout, a leisurely bath ............ and then into the office and all the regular stresses of life.

The weather was great too so I really wish I'd been able to take the whole day.

As it was, I stayed at work too late and have ended up feeling tired after all, so sorry, that's it for today.

Day 27 : The Benefits of Chocolate

2008-09-11T13:13:00.010+09:00

This from http://www.pastrywiz.com/archive/whatis.htm.

The pharmaco-dynamic substances (those whose action is similar to medications) found in chocolate are responsible for its reputation concerning its abilities. Four of these such substances can be found in chocolate: theobromine, caffeine, phenylethylamine, and serotonin. They appear in a negligible quantity, but each in infinitely small quantities plays an important role. Theobromine stimulates the central nervous system, facilitates muscular efforts, as well as having diuretic and cardiotonic action. It is an orexigan (appetite stimulator). Caffeine increases resistance towards fatigue, favorises intellectual activity, and increases watchfulness. Concerning phenylethylamine, it has a chemical structure similar to amphetamines and therefore contains psycho-stimulating properties. Serotonin, on the other hand, is a neurotransmitter (substance freed by the nerve endings) in the cerebral cortex--its quantity is often found to be lower during certain nervous depression states. The serotonin found in chocolate helps correct its initial loss. Likewise, the caffeine and saccharose stimulate the body's stimulation of serotonin. Finally, due to the pleasure it offers, chocolate stimulates endorphin secretion thus procuring naturally the same effects as opium. With this description of chocolate's chemical composition, it's never-ending list of virtues are easily explained.

Yeap, it's another "light" blog day. Patrick sent out the updated diets a day earlier than usual. I note that Nate, Adrian and I are all now allowed a spoonful of cooked rice with our dinner. This is easy for me because I always have (brown) rice in my rice cooker and it has been my carb of choice for most of PCP (I had a few potatoes earlier but the rice is so much easier) but I'm wondering how the other will cope. Of course, a spoonful is a rather inexact measurement. At the risk of incurring Patrick's wrath and appearing even more subversive than usual, I thought I could eliminate my carbohydrate cravings by using this one, apparently located at a place called Cramlington, Northumberland, in the north of England.

My indulgent day off tomorrow has been halved because there are some necessary things to be done by the end of the working day. But I'm going to take half a day and have a long lie-in.

Day 26 : My Indulgence

2008-09-10T23:02:00.005+09:00

I've been reading the respective blogs on consuming the indulgence but I have a confession to make. I don't have much of a sweet tooth. I don't really like chocolate much and while I might have been tempted to gulp down some Haribo Gummi Bears, they used to make me feel sick before PCP (crazy what we do to ourselves) so I certainly don't want to do that now. I might be more tempted by some crisps (= chips in US, what we call chips translates to french fries) or corn chips, but they are so laden with fat and salt that I don't want to go there either.

My real indulgence is my now weekly visit to the Thai massage place and that hasn't cost me any calories. I called in on my way home tonight and decided that I wouldn't finish Workout 1 (I got as far as the squats this morning) and take today as my rest day.

Another calorie-free indulgence I'm thinking about is taking Friday off. Monday is a public holiday and that would give me a four day weekend, which I need!! Having said that, I'm planning to join a hike on Saturday so it will be interesting to see how my stamina holds up.

So the favorite for my calorie-filled indulgence is still the sorbet, and I know I'm going to love that. And let's face it, a good sorbet should be pretty healthy anyway. But I'm not going to go out of my way to get some. Maybe the urge will hit!!

Day 26 : A Ritu Rettis

2008-09-09T21:28:00.004+09:00

Today's lunchtime vegetables were salad and a memory from the past popped into my mind. On the American Forces Radio a few year's ago, there was a spot trying to teach the servicemen a few words of Japanese. The lady's name was Hiroko Kubota and she ended each lesson by saying "and remember, a ritu ranguage goes a (w)rong way". The Japanese have no equivalent sound for "l" and "r", the Japanese equivalent being about halfway in between and they are well-known for getting them mixed up.

So I was staring at my lunch and think what a nice quantity lettuce gives me. And the thought popped into my head that " a ritu rettis goes a (w)rong way" too.

From that you can gather that I haven't got too much to say today. Slept late (7.15) trying to recover from the previous day's tiredness and only skipped this morning, doing Workout 2 when I got home. I was surprisingly energetic on the workout, doing the maximum on all except the leg-ups.

I've continued the exercises on the PVP (Peak Vision Project) and am losing the ability to focus well through my glasses.

Day 25 : A Smoother Smoothie

2008-09-08T13:12:00.010+09:00

I figured I was going to have to sleep late to recover because I didn't get to bed until after midnight and set the alarm for 7.20 thinking I would just have to leave the workout for the evening. But I woke up at 6.10 and after a major debate about whether I needed the extra hour, got up and did everything in Workout 1 (hate the plank, but did it) plus a load of laundry and cooked a batch of rice all before breakfast.

I felt some cooked vegetables had been chilling in the fridge a bit too long so I combined my morning yogurt and the vegetables in the (old) blender, added a bit of water and some pepper and boiled it up to what amounted to a cream of vegetable soup. OK, to be strictly accurate a yogurt of vegetable soup. It seemed to make the quantity much more. Needed a bit more spice but not too bad.

Shame I didn't know about the dispensation while I was drooling in the ice cream shop on Saturday. Ah well. My real craving is for an aloo gobi at my favorite Indian restaurant but that would blow the 200-400 calorie limit. Let me think.

My day gradually ran out of steam. Patrick is right about needing the sleep. I lasted really well until mid-afternoon but felt really tired by 6pm. I tried my new blender out when I got home and got a much smoother result.

So, back to eyesight.

Leo makes the interesting point that opticians are not in business to make your eyes better, they are in business to enable you to see (and sell glasses and contact lenses). By wearing glasses, you train the brain to believe that eyesight can't/won't improve and get used to the physical requirements of wearing lenses.

My eyes are not good. Quite badly short-sighted, the eyes quite unbalanced, with astigmatism and recently some need in the prescription for reading assistance. Leo felt that (1) I was on a course to make my eyes worse and worse and (2) they CAN become better. So I set a target to eliminate the astigmatism by the end of September; "balance" the short-sightedness by the end of October and stop wearing glasses by the end of the year. Maybe it can be done quicker. Certainly, as a result of the exercises over the weekend, I'm not seeing too clearly now.

All I need to do is exercise my eye muscles, provide the eyes with enough energy and BELIEVE. Sounds like PCP, right?

Day 24 : Not Enough Time

2008-09-07T23:43:00.003+09:00

Up early, exercises done, off to the workshop (this is me, Leo and Wile), didn't have time to make lunch so found an organic food shop selling cooked items and guessed the weights (interesting how they don't label the weights on small packages, only on bigger quantities) - I won't have been too far out, I'm getting to know what the quantities look like. Dashed back for a family birthday dinner (all the more trying because I didn't eat) and finally went down to the all-night store to change the food mixer that was broken when I opened the box - got a replacement nearly double the price and a new blender since my hand-held one is really not coping with the dinner smoothie. And that's it - the day gone and already not enough sleep.

More in control tomorrow ........ maybe.

Day 23 : Similarities

2008-09-06T20:32:00.005+09:00

I've had a very interesting day. I managed to get the exercises done and out of the door so that I was only a couple of minutes late for the workshop and Leo himself, had not yet started talking.

Did you know that only 10% of your focusing is done by the lens? 80% is actually done by the cornea which is why laser surgery "works". And he had some super statistics on why Asian kids have very high incidences of poor eyesight.

Leo's teaching had remarkable echoes of PCP.

1. You have to believe that it is going to work
2. You have to put in some exercise to restore the functionality of the muscles
3. You need to ensure that you have enough energy (in the eyes, in this case)
4. Imagery and memory are important aspects of the visual system.

And he works with the following assumptions

1. Vision is 90% in the mind
2. Clear vision is the natural state
3. Sight is a learned ability
4. The visual field is a mirror of our energy level
5. Vision emanates from within the self, goes out and then returns within
6. Eyesight reflects belief imprints about what can be seen and what must not be seen
7. Muscles will regenerate in exercised.

It will not happen immediately but if I work at the exercises, the underlying assumption is that I will be able to restore my vision. I am both astigmatic and short-sighted. I always thought that the astigmatism was the real problem but if fact, it seems to be relatively mild and something that may be relatively simple to eliminate in a couple of weeks or so. After that, more work to bring my short-sightedness back to normal.

In fact, the only grumble about the whole day came from my stomach. I became very hungry towards the end of the afternoon and that was compounded by walking past my local ice cream shop without weakening, despite my favorites sorbets, cassis and passion fruit, being at the front of the display. Such self-control!!

More tomorrow.

Day 22 : Time

2008-09-05T13:05:00.007+09:00

Both Nate and Emiko & Adrian have posted recent blogs on the effects of PCP in terms of changing the eating and exercise habits (or lack of them) that we know are bad for us but that we do nothing about (until now).

The knock-on effect of last night's karaoke has got me reflecting on another aspect that hopefully will be corrected - time "management". Karaoke is fun and so inevitably, I had to do a song or two more before leaving the group I was with, still singing their socks off. I told myself that as long as I got out of there by between 8.30 and 9, I would be home by 10, have time to eat dinner and be in bed by 10.30 to get 8 hours sleep before the morning exercises.

Hah! I think I left at 9.25, got home at 10.45 and got to bed at 11.30 (and didn't manage to go straight to sleep, either). I moved the alarm back to 7.30am thinking I would leap out of bed and get everything done. No chance, of course - I still have most of Workout 2 to complete.

So that set me thinking - what is the problem?

I don't know about the others, but I've created this bad habit of trying to do "too much". I stay longer than I need in the office (maybe because I feel I need to get "my day's work" finished when there really is no definition of what that means) and then fill my evenings with other fun/interesting/necessary things and get home too late, (used to) eat out a lot because that "saves time" and consistently didn't get enough sleep (past tense because I am trying to follow the PCP directive). Even then, I use being "busy" as an excuse for not doing some necessary things in a timely manner - the laundry and other housework, for example. And I don't even watch much TV.

So in the same way that we eat to much, we do too much. Or like eating too much of the "wrong" things, we do to much of what is really unimportant or unnecessary and not enough of what would be good for us!

"Keeping busy" is the driven search to find and do something "fulfilling" and that search probably is looking in the wrong place. It just fills time rather than finding balance. Maybe PCP will, by the end of the 90 days, have rearranged at least some of my priorities so that I can get a new perspective on things.

In terms of a "three week" report, a few random comments :

1. the lunch box I bought three weeks ago is now too big - my lunchtime rice ration is now half of what it was.

2. on the question of saving time, I've been eating quite a lot raw - salad vegetables and I've been mixing my whole egg uncooked into my morning rice (carbs) - a very Japanese thing to do that most foreigners cringe at but which is actually quite good to eat, particularly with brown rice that has a lot of flavour

3. my weight this morning was just a touch above 86kg, 6kg down in three weeks.

4. the massage did have an effect. My legs were quite sore afterwards and it wasn't until yesterday evening that I realised I'm able to walk downstairs without the stiffness that I've had for most of the last three weeks

5. Patrick asked for comments on physical changes - I'm smelling different (unfortunately for the worse) and my breath is smelling. Undoubtedly down to the change of diet. I hope my body gets adjusted to it quickly.

6. my new diet has me eating fewer carbs. meat and vegetables but more fruit; and my frugal outlook has me cringing at the thought of throwing away THREE egg yolks A DAY. I always liked the yolks better - but I know that four a day would definitely not be good for my heart.

7. I'm going to run out of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies signs to hold up in my photos soon. I've been looking through the Road Runner cartoons but I've only identified three more at the moment. Yikes!

Oh, I nearly forgot, on the subject of time management, I've wrecked this weekend already (no time for the household chores) but maybe in a good cause. I mentioned NLP before (sorry Adrian, I haven't written more yet but it is on the list), and there is this amazing guy called Leo Angart who corrected his own eyesight after wearing glasses for 26 years. He came across the use of hypnosis that had been used to correct vision, researched the background and other techniques, and devised a methodology for correcting "incurable" eye conditions - like mine. Leo is in Tokyo this weekend giving a two day workshop and I am signed up. I'll feel pretty silly, although very pleased, if I can improve my eyesight after wearing glasses for 52 years. For more information, read http://www.vision-training.com/.

Day 21 : A British Sense of Humour

2008-09-04T11:14:00.014+09:00

Apologies to anyone who took yesterday's blog too seriously. It was intended to be "taken with a pinch of salt" (except, of course, we aren't allowed extra salt). I thought I had been a bit too serious recently and would lighten up at bit but maybe my whimsical sense of humour did not translate as well as I thought (I was grinning as I wrote it!). If yesterday had been 1st April, I would have been very proud of myself. Anyway, I've been within a lick of sticking to the diet and that is close enough.

So I had better not talk anymore about food, for a while at least, so back to the exercises. I don't seem to have too much trouble with the rubber bands except one of them, the shoulder press, has my left arm twitching as I extend my arms as the muscle gets tired. Weird. As already related, I have more trouble with the "up" exercises - push-ups, sit-ups and leg-ups. I think the general stiffness in my body has had the muscles basically not working properly for so long that they've forgotten how and these exercises are affected most.

So like last week, I dropped in at the Thai massage place on the way home last night - legs and back. They reckon that they can restore a lot of my flexibility by the New Year if I go at least once a week. We shall see.

Tonight I'm exercising my vocal chords - off to karaoke!!

Day 20 : Licking the Spoon

2008-09-03T13:17:00.004+09:00

Patrick's email today commented on keeping us strict on the diet and not "eating a little extra".

Right at the beginning he said that we weren't to be worried about being 10g over here and there but I have noticed a tendency of mine to lick the spoon. You know, when you've carefully measure out your 150g of yogurt and there is a yogurt covered spoon in your hand.

The PC (or should I say, PCP) thing to do is to WASH the spoon. For those of us with less self-control and/or poorer table manners, the obvious thing to do is to lick it. Boom, another 20g of yogurt consumed (and the most tasty 20g too). Of course, there maybe a few grams of yogurt left sticking to the bowl and even I don't resort to licking my bowl or plate. Well, not usually anyway and not when anyone is looking.

And then there is the last piece question. You weigh out your fruit, vegetables and/or meat ..... and there is ONE piece left. Again, we know what we SHOULD do but it hardly seems worth putting it back in the fridge and my mother's spirit is deeply ingrained (you mustn't waste food, think of all the starving people in the world - although what they have to do with me not eating my food I never did fully understand). So it either gets lobbed onto the plate while we turn away from what the scale says, or we pop it into our mouth so the weight on the plate stays right. Either way, it ends up inside us.

The same thing can be said for that last spoonful of yogurt that always seems to be left at the bottom of the carton.

And a final gap in the strict application of the diet is what I call "the sesame seed syndrome". Do you know that sesame contains more calcium than milk and in a more easily digestible form? Well, I'm a sesame seed junkie and it gets sprinkled onto my rice, vegetables, yogurt and occasionally other things. Now, of course, I am not weighing my sesame seeds and I know they contain oil. But I'm just viewing them as a seasoning, so what the heck.

Come to think about it, there are the spices too. Do they have calories?

Day 19 : Back on Track

2008-09-02T13:04:00.004+09:00

Got an email of "support" from my friend in Singapore : "Read your blog yesterday. Throwing tantrums in the garden are we ? Just DO IT !" But to put that into perspective he also said "I ran 15k last night in 1 hour 20mins so well chuffed" (for our American readers "chuffed" means "pleased") so you can see he likes to push himself.

There was also some support from an article in today's Japan Times reprinted from the Washington Post headed "It's never too late to pick up your pace". It is commenting on whether exercise, in this case running, can cause more damage than benefit. My friend will be pleased to hear that the study showed that taking exercise does not worsen the incidence of degenerative problems (knees etc) and benefits in other ways by reducing cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer, not to mention what they call "the compression of morbidity" meaning shortening the period of infirmity at the end of a person's life when they are no longer able to look after themselves. (Sorry to anyone who isn't thinking about that end of their life yet for bringing this up lol).

The point I latched onto in the article echoes what Patrick has been saying "Injury often occurs when runners press beyond their limits they had not prepared for. Endurance is built with consistency, not acquired all at once". And skippers too, I decided!!

So I scaled back on the skipping today. I had to from a practical point of view as well. My evenings are not always my own (tonight is one of them) so I really need to do the exercises in the morning instead of getting home late and tired and forcing it in the evening.

And that meant that I was able to sleep long enough to get the full eight hours as instructed, get Workout 1 done (apart from lunging when I should have been squatting) and get my food sorted out without all the time pressure I had created for myself.

So I've unwound the skipping rope from around my neck!!

Day 18 : Thanks

2008-09-01T21:05:00.006+09:00

I mentioned being bloody-minded yesterday and I'm grateful for your encouragement but the Sunday effort took a lot out of me - it may have been a touch counter-productive.

I woke up early determined to get the higher number of skips done. The spirit was willing and eventually won through but it was a real effort. I was not in the best of moods by the time I finished :

It also meant that I had no energy left for the workout.

So I'm definitely going to take Patrick's advice on the skipping (a timely message on today's email) and have taken today as my rest day. I'm going to get my food organised and take an early night.

Day 17 : 1,500 Skips!!

2008-08-31T10:15:00.013+09:00

Just before I went to bed last night, I printed out the two new workout sheets. What a shock!

I hadn't bothered yesterday because Workout 1 was the same exercises with a few extra sets so I had amended last week's sheet by hand. I didn't even look a the number of skips! I had been lulled into a false sense of security by Patrick's comments on Day 5 :

"So, as you get more fit, don't fall into old thinking. Yeah, you'll feel great, and be saying to yourself, "Only 1000 jumpropes? I could do 3000!" But don't do it. Keep it light, keep it consistent, and you'll see results."

So I naively thought that 1,000 skips a day was it. I should have known better!!

Yikes, up to 1,500, without even the option of a gradual build-up - you know, "1,000 to 1,500".

Being Sunday, I slept in and did everything I could think of first before the daunting task ahead of me. Finally stepped into the garden at 12.35 - into, shock, sunshine. The thunderstorms have finally gone away. This, course, also a minor miscalculation as it is still summer and therefore the temperature is UP. But I continue. The first thousand in just over 25 minutes, the next five hundred in another 15 and being bloody-minded, I thought I would see if I could make up for yesterday and reach 2,000. Discretion being the better part of valour, I decided that enough was enough at 1,705 after 50 minutes.

I don't seem to get the same long sequences going that eveyone else does and this really eats up the time.

Then the workout.

Yesterday I did :
Squat 4x20
Incline pull-up 5x6
Push-up 5x8 (from the knee)
Curl 4x8
Side Shoulder Fly 4x10
Sit-up 4x15

Today
Lunge 4x10 (not deep enough, my legs were very stiff after all those skips)
Lawnmower 4x8
Chest Fly 4x10
Ski Jumper 3x8
Shoulder Press 4x10
Leg-up 4x10 (not straight up, maybe up to 45 degrees)

After that, I lay in an exhausted heap for quite along time before a long bath.

No such problems on the dietary front and I clocked in this morning at exactly 87kg (the new scales go to 0.1kg instead of 0.5kg). So I've lost 5kg in 17 days.

I'm going to try to cook some batches of food, weigh them into the right quantities and freeze them to try to ease the time pressure preparing breakfast, snacks and lunch. Not sure about freezing fruit!

Day 16 : The Hint of a Shadow

2008-08-30T09:10:00.004+09:00

We had more thunder and lightning all night and I kept waking up It was very humid all night and still wet when I got outside to do my skipping about 8am. The clouds had lifted a bit though and at times there was even the hint of a shadow on the ground.

I've decided that skipping time like a train journey - it is not actually the running time, it is the gaps in between(changing trains) that decide how long the journey will be. It is the same with my skipping - if I have many breaks, it takes a long time. My 1,015 skips took 30 minutes.

This left me not enough time to do all the workout before I went out but did manage the squats before heading out. I was off for my weekly session with Charlie - a lot of work on my back (some spectacular "cracks") and legs (rather painful). A new twist today. I was connected to a meter measuring my pulse and I had to try to keep my pulse down while the session was going on!!

I mentioned my high acidity last week. I have been drinking the apple cider vinegar and honey mix, sloshing balsamic vinegar on my food and also eating predominantly vegetables and it all has had a dramatic effect. I'm now very alkaline, which is a much better place to be. I'm sure big swings are not good so I hope it will settle down and I will keep checking.

On the way back, I managed to catch "The Dark Knight", impressive, intense but a bit gloomy.

This means I didn't get home until 22.00. I didn't have time to pack a lunch so was rather hungry by this time. All the restaurants looked very tempting on the way home. So a very, very late lunch and then I managed to finished the workout. I actually survived without eating lunch quite well, although I'm sure it should not to be repeated too regularly. I'm going to pass on dinner as I feel full.

Day 15 : TGIF

2008-08-29T12:55:00.008+09:00

Well, in bed Thursday night by 21.00, surfaced briefly at 01.00 before being thoroughly shaken at 04.30 by one of the biggest thunderstorms I've ever heard. I was tempted to get out of bed to watch the lightning but felt too tired. When you were a child, did you ever work out how far away the storm was by counting the seconds between the lightning flash and the thunder clap? Well, this one was over my head, NO space between the lightning and thunder and some of the thunder claps seemed like they were rolling on forever.

I managed to get back to sleep but didn't want to get up when the alarm went off at 06.30. So much for a restful night's sleep - I felt exhausted. But, I hadn't taken my rest day!! So no Workout necessary!! I stayed in bed for an extra 30 minutes. I still had to skip, though, and dragged myself out of bed and into the garden. 1,006 skips in about 25 minutes - not up to yesterday's high(er) standard.

It was wet after the storm and one corner of my eye was on mosquito watch. Nate mentioned heightened reaction time. I can't say I feel the same but at one point, with a mozzie closing in, I dropped the rope, bent down and clapped my hands (in a very smooth movement, if I say so myself) and there was one less mosquito in the world.

Since I have nothing to report on the Workout as it is my "rest day" and as Patrick has been encouraging us to focus on our role models, I though I would share with you the ground rules under which the Roadrunner cartoons are supposed to operate.

Copied from Wikipedia :
1. Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going "beep, beep".
2. No outside force can harm the Coyote -- only his own ineptitude or the failure of Acme products.
3. The Coyote could stop anytime -- IF he was not a fanatic. (Repeat: "A fanatic is one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim." - George Santayana).
4. No dialogue ever, except "beep, beep".
5. Road Runner must stay on the road -- for no other reason than that he's a roadrunner.
6. All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters -- the southwest American desert.
7. All tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the Acme Corporation.
8. Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.
9. The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.
10. The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote.

Actually, some of these rules were broken in practice - there is one cartoon with Bugs Bunny where Wile actually talks, for example. So I have broken them too by acquiring my equipment from other sources than Acme.

Please note that Rule 10 is especially important.

Beep, beep.

Day 14 : Progress?

2008-08-28T13:08:00.006+09:00

Patrick said "In just one more week the results will start to show." Maybe sooner than that. Maybe Emiko's feeling marvellous helped as well but after a disturbed night's sleep (there is no point in going to bed early (I finally made it by 22.40) if you don't sleep and I was still awake at 23.50 (I checked), awake again at 02.25 and I woke up for good before the alarm set for 06.30), I did well.

A factor could have been thinking about my 08.30 appointment, for which I had to rush but in the end was only a few minutes late, but I stepped out onto the patio (wet again after more overnight rain) and for the FIRST TIME since starting PCP, I actually managed to do a skip at the first attempt. Not only that, the first sequence didn't get tripped out until I had done 51, and that is a long sequence for me. I decided to try to turn the rope faster and managed to get through the skipping (1.006 today) in twenty minutes, easily the fastest yet. Amy managed her skips well yesterday too so maybe we are getting somewhere. My left calf and knee are still stiff but my legs are feeling a bit more balanced.

Workout 2 today. I should probably lunge a bit deeper, I'll work on that (I wobble a bit) but most of the other exercises went well. I did consult Patrick on the leg-ups and he suggested using a cushion to support my back. In fact. the right location for the cushion was under my bottom and while I won't claim I got it completely right, I did manage 4x10.

On food, because I was late last night, my dinner and bed-time snack ran into each other - yes, it was like having a real dessert. The fruit from dinner (half a Japanese pear) got mixed in as well and as I didn't have any boiled eggs ready, I put a raw egg white in the mix and noticed it less than the boiled one!

Day 13 : Doesn't Time Fly

2008-08-27T22:00:00.002+09:00

So here I am at my newly-set bedtime, 22.00, hunched over my computer, eating chicken and cabbage, with four pieces of fish on the stove. OK, reset - must be in bed by 22.30.

The massage did help to loosen my legs up but after 1,005 skips, they tightened up again. I'm definitely going to go back and include my back in the massage next time. The clouds had lifted when I got up and no rain. By the time I left for work the sun was shining.

Nothing new from the exercises so given the clicking clock, I'll pass on that one.

Tomorrow I have a meeting at 8.30am (in Yokohama so I don't have to get to Tokyo, at least) and then I'm out in the evening so tomorrow could be a real test of my time-keeping.

One good thought, I haven't taken my "rest" day yet.

Day 12 : Perchance to Dream

2008-08-26T12:36:00.009+09:00

In his email today, Patrick told us to get enough sleep "If you don't rest enough, you will actually become weaker, as your torn, messed up muscles try to do the work intended for healthy tissue. You will look stringy and thin. So, no late nights. This is important."

Of all my procrastinating behavior, going to bed is the worst - I bumble around finding things to do until amazingly it is well past a sensible bedtime. Mind you, my lifestyle doesn't help. I have an hour or more's commute each way every day and frequently have activities, both social and work related, in the evening. 21.00 seems early to be saying "Time to go home" but if I'm out in Tokyo, that probably means I don't get home in Yokohama until 22.30. For now, PCP has made this a touch worse - I've been getting up earlier to do the exercises and not necessarily getting to bed any earlier. Even last night when I made an effort to be home early (I left the office at 6.30pm which counts as early), I made it by just after 19.30, did my exercises and had promised myself an early night. I then spent some time on the computer (including the blog) and then an hour or more in the kitchen so somehow didn't get to bed until 23.15. I'm going to have to learn to multitask - steaming vegetables and doing my laundry while I skip.

Mind you, I did sleep like the proverbial log last night.

And I'm feeling there may be a glimmer of progress. Despite all my grumbles, I did manage two sets of exercise within the space of ten hours.

This morning was OK - I was expecting my muscles to complain more. The clouds were still there but no rain and I managed 1,007. I envy Nate's ability to ace the skips and take picture of bees at the same time. My insect onlookers seem to have been washed away. The LCD screen on my skipping rope has made a recovery though and amazingly this morning was correct within a jump or two. I'm taking this as a sign that I'm getting more consistent. Amy's tips of skipping style are helpful, although believe me, I was already trying to jump as low as possible. This accounts for my No1 cause of breaking a skipping sequence. No lift-off or jumping to soon resulting in nowhere for the rope to go - jumping too soon usually means that I step on the rope which is why it gets dropped and broken. The No2 cause of breaking a sequence is getting the arc of the rope wrong and hitting myself in the back of the head. And the No3 cause, kind-of frustrating, is when I'm in a groove and start noticing other things - a beetle crawling across the patio or a bus passing the garden and my rhythm starts to get a bit ragged, resulting in No1 or No2.

But I'm getting there.

Then the exercises. I was on Workout 2 today. For the lunges, I alternated the legs (why didn't I think of that before); I discovered the door anchor works best with my front door and once again, only hit "trouble" with the leg-ups. I only managed 2x10 again. Because of my arthritis, I actually can't lie flat of the floor and I think this is causing the problem as my back keeps trying to "help out", usually with painful consequences. I will consult the Boss offline on this one and see if there is a work-around.

So what kept me so long in the kitchen last night? Steaming pumpkin, potato, celery and spinach. The spinach shrunk down to virtually nothing. And "dry" sauteing (i.e. using the frying pan but relying on the oils to come out of the food) some mackerel and salmon.

I mentioned getting my acidity down and Amy asked what foods are good for making the body more alkaline. Nate mentioned one website and I quite like this one http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm.

On my way home tonight I finally succumbed to the Thai massage place at the bottom of the hill. It has been tempting me for a while. Legs only this time. I'll report tomorrow on whether it helped. Feels good at the moment and I wish I had some on my back ..... next time!

Day 11 : A Drowned Rat

2008-08-25T20:55:00.006+09:00

As I was trudging up the hill with a couple of bags of fish and vegetables at 7.30pm, I suddenly realised that it had stopped raining. This must be a sign of encouragement from the Universe, I thought, so I quickly got outside with my skipping rope. Hah! I reached about 300 when there must have been a change of shift on high because back came the rain and by the time I had finished, I was soaked. For the record, 1013. I managed the other exercises in my own inimitable style with only the occasionial epithet. I like Workout 1 better than Workout 2. And amazingly, I'm halfway through Week 2.

I'm doing OK on the meal front. I bought a large size lunch box and my brown rice fills half of it and the meat/fish and vegetables fill the other half - just the right size. I think I should be drinking more (water, of course). I'm sure it is not, in fact, but the diet seems very "dry" - the lack of sauces, I guess.

Actually, I'm going to break ranks just a touch. Charlie checked my acidity when I saw him on Sunday and I'm way too acid. So I'll be trying to pick alkaline vegetables but also be driinking a diluted mixture of apple vinegar and honey. Someone (Adrian?) asked about honey earlier - I'm taking it for medicinal purposes.

Just a short post today. I've got some vegetables to steam .............................

Day 10 : Just in Time

2008-08-24T23:32:00.003+09:00

I was going to take today as my day of rest (seemed appropriate on a Sunday) so I did my skips (1,007, I'm still worried about my left leg, the pain in the calf has spread to the knee as well) before heading off for a busy day to Charlie, who I mentioned before, so he could do some bodywork on my slightly twisted frame; then a volunteer project I work on twice a month and finally drop by to see my family, which I usually do on a Sunday evening.

But the rain that was threatening during my skipping set in for the day about lunchtime and so I thought that I wasn't sure how I would organise things during the week since the rain is forecast for a few days. A club I an a member of has a gym where I think I can do my skipping but it will mean a change of routine. So I did the exercises when I got home at 22.30.

Lunge OK 4x10 (I wasn't sure if we were supposed to switch legs so I did 2x10 for each leg)
Incline Pull-Up OK 4x8
Chest Fly OK 4x12 (The anchor I bought on Friday turned out to be useless with the doorframes I have but I was able to find a new sets of tubes, including an anchor, on Saturday).
Triceps Dip OK 3x8
Forward Shoulder Fly OK 4x12
Leg-Up Arrrrgh. After 5, an enforced rest (my abs are not strong enough to lift my legs without twisting my back) then I did 2x10 before deciding that I need to think about this one a bit more.

After all that, dinner and now, with midnight approaching, I need to sleep .........................

Day 9 : Looking on the Bright Side

2008-08-23T12:49:00.011+09:00

OK, I admit it, I've been a tad too focused on the aches and pains.

So, the Day 9 blog will concentrate on the bright side.

Friday was actually one of those "busy" days that Patrick mentioned - doubled booked in the evening. Went to a fun show called "Drumstruck" ("the show where the audience plays the drums") but then had to dash off to a client reception (glad I did, I may have lined up some new business), ending up a little light-headed after four oolong teas on an empty stomach. It was 12.30 by the time I got home and was tempted to go straight to sleep but thought that if I did the exercise in the morning without having eaten, it could be a bit dangerous. So I checked my diet sheet, weighed out 150g of lettuce and tomatoes and found I only had 100g of fish so left it at that. Then 100g of dried fruit. I'm not sure if dried fruit counts in the same way as fresh fruit. My new electronic scale is great.

This is what is on my plate going forward :

Breakfast 150g carb 100g veg 1 egg 150ml yogurt
Morning tea 100g fruit
Lunch 200g carb 150g meat 150g veg
Afternoon tea 100g fruit
Dinner 150g meat 150g veg 100g fruit
Night tea 1 egg white 1 banana 200ml milk

My choice of carb is brown rice and my meat will either be chicken or fish.

I didn't go to bed until after 1.30 so I turned my alarm off. Woke at 7.30 but thought that I needed more sleep so stayed in bed until 10 but got up feeling groggy - must have been the oolong tea (joke, or maybe not).

I procrastinated for an hour before going into the garden. It had rained overnight, was cloudy and COOL. It took some time to get going but I managed to get to 1,021 skips. Not without a major casualty though - I dropped the skipping rope a few times and so much for cool Japanese technology, my skip counter doesn't work anymore.

Then on to the exercises, still a touch in slow motion.

Squats 3x15 OK

Incline Pull-Ups 4x5 : I used the coffee table to start with.

Push-Ups 4x10 (from my knees) : I like the push-up grips. They helped to hold me straighter.

Curl : 3x10 OK

Side Shoulder Fly : 4x12 OK

Sit-ups : 4x15 - Patrick's explanation helped.

So, breakfast not until 12.30pm : 150g of brown rice is a bowlful, and three small tomatoes weighed 100g. I thought I had one egg left but apparently not, so I skipped that. The yogurt was a bonus and I ended up feeling full.

Now a long soak in the bath before heading off to the supermarket to stock up on all the good stuff ...................

Day 8 : Diet Half a Day Late

2008-08-22T14:01:00.007+09:00

By yesterday evening, I was decidedly grumpy. A friend had delivered some serious personal news in the afternoon (not about me but worrying nevertheless), an important meeting was cancelled due to a typhoon in HK (the guy I was supposed to meet had to dash to the airport because Cathay Pacific is cancelling the flights to HK today); I was caught out in a thunderstorm and got back to my office to find I'd been locked out (my keys were in my bag inside the office - if you are reading, thank you Mariko and Grace for coming back) and the sports equipment shop I tried first didn't even know what a door anchor is so I was dodging the rain at 8pm trying to find one. And the trouble with using the gel was that when it wore off, my back complained and was feeling quite sore by the time I got home.

Of course, the other factor was I was hungry!! So it was me AND my stomach grumbling.

I guess the evening got better from there - I finally got the anchor and the push-up stands, and an electric kitchen scale, a small blender (that I maybe didn't need) and some new bathroom scales (that I almost certainly didn't need but the old ones have a crack it them).

So all set. But unlike Amy, I don't plan ahead so I didn't try to anticipate what the diet would be - so I'm only starting this evening once I get home and have time to think.

I had already decided that I wouldn't have time to get the new exercises organised either so I thought I'd be sneaky and do the week one set before turning on my computer so I would be able to say that I didn't know. Patrick thought of that, of course, by waiting until tomorrow with the new instructions.

So up at 6.30 (sounding suspiciously like a routine) and out into the garden. Nate, thanks for organising the weather. After saying how much I envied your temperature, here it was, low seventies fahrenheit, blue skies and fluffy clouds (although I guess that last night's thunderstorm might have had something to do with it too). I decided that masking the pain was not actually in my best interest so the deep heat stayed in the cupboard. But I had a really good skipping session anyway - one burst of 137 skips, the best yet, and a total of 1,016 (I continued after 1,000 until I missed one - there is method to my madness, it means that tomorrow I can do LESS than today and still be on track!). My left calf is still stiff and that bothers me.

5x20 squats as before and then 4x5 push-ups (from the knees as before and starting from the "up" position) - I only got the pain in the fourth set once I stopped being able to hold my back straight. Then the crunches. 4x15. The same limited movement and today I felt more of what I began to feel yesterday, some strains in my neck as I tried to roll forward. Hmm, new aches!!

So, for the diet, sorry guys, it only starts when I get home tonight. Breakfast was pretty light (a couple of kiwis topped with some plain yogurt) and the same lunch box (it is actually quite healthy from an organic restaurant with brown rice and lots of vegetables, a small piece of fish but some Thai green curry that probably has too much oil in it).

I will be interested to see the volume that the diet translates into.

Day 7 : The Meaning of Words

2008-08-21T13:18:00.006+09:00

In some our comments yesterday, we were kicking around the word "routine". It got me thinking about how we use words, or misuse them. My mentor/friend Charlie (have a look at http://www.seishindo.org/) often picks me up on the way I use some words. He'll say "did you mean that?" and I will say" well, no, but you know what I mean!" and he'll say "no, why should I know!".

So I was thinking, what does "routine" mean? For some it can mean a fixed set of boring, mundane tasks that have to be done; for others it can mean a pattern, like a dance routine, still a fixed way of doing things but with useful or enjoyable overtones.

For me, I have a habit of procrastination and so some sense of routine is good. In the last week, I have been going to bed and waking up earlier, sleeping deeper (I think - I've certainly been waking up in the middle of the night less; on the other hand, I have been feeling really tired) and putting some discipline in my eating habits, not to mention the PCP exercises. And this all has to be "good". I certainly don't want PCP to become mundane but inevitably, I think I will have to have to have a routine.

So this morning, I was up at 6.30, determined to get the whole programme done. Today's secret weapon - some deep heat gel I had in the bathroom cabinet. I rubbed some in my back so by the time I was half way through the skipping, my back was glowing. Not related, but the skipping went really well. A couple of sequences of 70-80 skips and I did 900 in 22 minutes, more skips in less time! And yes, if you've noticed the pattern, I will be up to 1,000 tomorrow.

Then 5x20 squats, not so deep, but having an effect, before the main event. And lo and behold, the warm back did the trick - hardly a twinge. That meant I was more conscious of how weak my upper arms are. Was it Amy who asked whether the push-ups can start "up", lowering first before lifting again? This must the easier option because the lift does not come from a motionless position. So, of course, that's the way I went (still from the knee) but 4x5, only beginning to struggle in the last set. Finally the crunches. 4x15 and feeling it. I only curl until the part of my spine that doesn't bend (yet) (psoriatic arthritis typically affects the extremities, fingers and toes, and both end of the spine).

The downside of the gel - getting in a warm bath after the exercise. The warm water made the gel feel even warmer!!

A very light breakfast (I had some soup I had left in the fridge - shouldn't have had something hot, it started me sweating again) and no mid-morning snack so I'm afraid my attention was focused on lunch instead of what I should have been doing this morning. The same lunch box but I finished it and still felt hungry!

After one week, so far so good, with a few personal idiosyncrasies! Oh, and weight wise? Last Friday I weighed in at 92.0kg. This morning, it was 90.5kg.

Day 6 : Change of Routine

2008-08-20T21:41:00.006+09:00

Woke up unprompted at 6.15. I still felt tired but I had slept right through and took it as a sign so I got up.

The humidity was back up, shame the cooler weather couldn't last and I managed 800 skips in 25 minutes. My legs didn't want to cooperate but once I got going it was OK. I noticed a strange thing - I skip backwards i.e. while I'm skipping I slowly edge backwards and eventually worry I'm going to fall off the patio. So I stopped every now and then to reposition myself!

Then I did my squats which were evidently successful because the front of my thighs (does that part have a name?) have been complaining, ever so gently, all day.

At that point, I decided that I would leave the rest until this evening. This was good because it meant that my arms did not have to have the argument about whether they can do push-ups or not, until this evening at least. And it got me out of the front door and into the office early (once I got there, I wondered why, of course). But I've fretted all day about getting home to get things finished and so on balance, I would rather have got things done this morning. If I'm going to split the exercises, I think it would be better to do everything except the skipping in the morning and leave the skipping until I get home.

It also meant that I couldn't write my blog at lunchtime which is what I have been doing.

When I got home, I realised how little I had left to do - 4x5 push-ups (from the knee again, strong start, difficult fourth set) and 4x15 crunches (more difficult with a stiff back after a day's strenuous whatever it is I do).

So, while I was eating my lunch box, I did some internet research on qi gong and found a residential healing retreat in China but it lasts 25 days and I don't think I can spare the time this year.

Eating - more of the same but I'm stretching out my meal this evening to feel fuller as soon as possible and so eat less.. Pretty healthy too - raw fish and rice, and I've substituted balsamic vinegar for the soy sauce so the salt content should be less.

I haven't done my shopping yet so I will have to try to buy a couple of things tomorrow.

Day 5 : Reflections

2008-08-19T12:30:00.004+09:00

I've been thinking about a couple of comments from team members and the words of coaches wherever "listen to your body".

Amy said "any new workout routine results in some DOMS if it works different muscles or works them in a different way". Not only does that account for the slight (sic) discomfort I'm having going up and down slopes and staircases, but it also accounts for at least part of the trouble I'm having with push-ups. The skipping is, at least to a minor degree, exercising the muscles in my upper arms. Just enough that if I do the push-ups after the skipping, those muscles start complaining straight away - "hey, we've already been working so give us a break". The other way round, doing the push-ups first, gets the heavy duty work for them out of the way and then they don't care too much about the skipping action

And Nate said "So I realized today this whole eating half thing can be very deceiving". Me too. It is really difficult to order "half" and the ghost of my mother doesn't like "waste" (sorry Patrick). I really am ordering less when I eat out, but in reality, I think at meals out I'm only at about 2/3 . But I'm probably getting down to half overall by cutting out ALL the on-the-go snacking I was doing - grabbing something on the way to the office (even if I had eaten breakfast) and/or something mid-morning, and almost always something late afternoon and/or on the way home (even if I was eating later) . In fact, almost impossible to judge. But if I am right, this is a conditioning exercise to get us to eat less and I'm certainly doing that - leaving all meals with the feeling that I could eat more, getting hunger pangs when I had previously made sure they wouldn't come by eating too much, and trying hard to chew smaller mouthfuls for longer.

The heat is back today. I surfaced at 6.30 and managed 4x5 push-ups (still from the knee). In the fourth set, I got some twinges in my back and, "listening to my body", think I know what is happening. At the begining, my arms can cope but as they begin to get a bit tired, my brain starts to try and help by getting the rest of my body to make it as easy as possible. Unfortunately, this involves twisting my back a bit, trying to help the upward movement, and my back doesn't like that. The answer, of course, is to get my arms stronger and stop twisting my back. Easier said than done, at the moment, but let's see how things go.

Then out into the garden for the skipping. Two days running, I have had an audience of a small blue butterfly and what looks like a hornet. There are also the mosquitos who are less welcome and who can disrupt my rhythm if I catch sight of one out of the corner of my eye. Towards the end of the skipping, I put in a couple of squat sets when I came to a halt. This also emphasised the different uses the muscles are being put to because I could feel the difference. I ended up with 700 skips today.

Then inside to complete 5x20 not yet low enough squats and 4x15 of my rather limited crunches.

Only then did I log on (maybe, leaving the computer until later is a good thing). The good news from Patrick "keep it light, keep it consistent, and you'll see results" (light being a relative term, of course) but rather more ominously, given the current state of my muscles "strength training".
Hmm, can't wait until Friday lol

All that and out of the house 20 minutes earlier than yesterday so I was in the office more or less on time.

Day 4 : The Start of a new Working Week

2008-08-18T12:13:00.008+09:00

The feedback has been great so thanks to Nate for pointing out that I could fool my back by doing the push-ups first and to Amy for explaining about DOMS (I have never taken an exercise physiology class so this was all news to me - I just knew that lactic acid had something to do with the stiffness).

The alarm went off as set at 6.15 so I immediately reset it for 6.30 (I'm not an early morning person although this may be something PCP2 will change). I eased my way downstairs (this was before I knew about DOMS) and checked for Patrick's email (you will note clear avoidance behavior creeping in) before opting for Nate's advice.

And he was right! Caught my back completely unawares and, admittedly doing the push-ups from my knees only, managed the first set so easily, I went up to eight. Bad move because that meant that I felt honour bound to do eight in each set. On the third set I realised that I had already done enough push-ups for 4x5 and I really struggled through the fourth set with my back beginning to work out it had been fooled. This left me feeling a bit dizzy (may be back to sets of five tomorrow).

Then onto the skipping. The weather was still cool this morning after yesterday's rain but I had a bit of a reaction to doing the push-ups, feeling a bit shaky and I had a lot of trouble getting a rhythm started. But I managed to get a few good sequences together and decided to finish off just above yesterday's total, today I did 660.

Both the squats and crunches I do only to the extent I am able - that hopefully will be more and more with time. I managed 5x20 squats and 4x15 crunches. The crunches still don't curl too far but after all was done, I lay on the floor feeling wrecked.

All this took time. After a soak in the bath and a bowl of cereal, I headed off for the office far too late. I think I said that I live on the top of a hill and the DOMS aches were certainly felt on the way down the slope. Fortunately, the trains remained delightfully uncrowded with lots of people still on holiday (unless it was because I was so late).

Eating will be easier to control during the week. It was tough prowling round the house yesterday and not continuously nibbling. Today I had the smaller size bowl of cereal (brown rice flakes with some dried cranberries and soy milk); a banana mid-morning, a lunch box from an organic restaurant 30 seconds from the office (quantity bigger than I expected but still much less than I would normally eat); another banana for mid-afternoon (I was hungry by 2.30); and salad in the fridge for this evening.

I solved the blister mystery - I bought the expensive the skipping rope that is supposed to count how many skips I do (it isn't very accurate, I only have to shake it for it to count one so I'm counting in my head anyway). The handle has some battery instructions on it in raised print and it was these that were rubbing a hole in my finger - now healing well.

I gave my office team the blog address so I now have an audience inside the company.

Day 3 : Skipping in the Rain

2008-08-17T10:33:00.004+09:00

I intended to get up early, unheard of on a Sunday morning, to do the exercises before it got too hot again but I managed not to press the "on" button on the alarm function on my radio and so I slept through until 8.30. But something seemed wrong - it was not chokingly hot (I don't like to sleep with the aircon on so my room is often a bit warm by morning in the summer) and it didn't seem too early because it wasn't very light.

The answer - heavy overcast skies and drizzle. A blessing because the temperature must be at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than yesterday but, oops, I have to skip outside (no way I can skip inside with my height) - will the tiled part of my garden be slippery?

Fortunately not slippery so I was able to go outside, do the skipping and stay reasonably cool. I ended up just as wet as yesterday but with rain causing most of it.

So I immediately thought of this although I certainly wasn't raining this hard - Gene Kelly must have been in pretty good condition himself.

I think the most skips I managed in one burst was 70 and I decided that 650 was the number for today. After yesterday, my right leg was complaining about the extra work it had to do, and the left calf is still stiff, but they just about balanced each other out so most of the time I was skipping fairly evenly. Progress!!

Then the squats. No problem because I really am not squatting down too far. Just to the level I feel comfortable with. But as I get used to it, I should be able to start going lower. (5x20)

Hmm, the push-ups. I did try again last night and managed one set of five (from the knee, not full length) before the particular point in my back that is giving me the trouble decided that enough was enough. So, was I going to do it this morning?

Surprisingly yes! The key is getting my back in the right position to avoid causing too much stress. So I start by lowering myself down rather than starting by lying flat, and if I can do that and avoid the twinge going down, I can manage to do a set, still only from the knee, not the feet, but a better try than yesterday. And I managed the required four sets. (4x5)

The crunch doesn't have me rolling too far forward either - basically until the same point in my back complains. But I can feel it in my abdomen so it is having some effect. (4x15)

I've just discovered the spell checker on Blogger so I may have fewer typos in future!

Day 2 : Mad Dogs and Englishmen

2008-08-16T10:34:00.011+09:00

For those who have never heard it, this is the name of a song by Noel Coward "Only mad dogs and Englishment go out in the midday sun"(not my generation, but much later the name of an album by Joe Cocker - that's my generation).

This can also be said for going into my garden on a Japanese August morning (yes, I'm a Brit) - I had a couple of hours extra sleep and didn't get outside for my skipping until 9.10. Boy, was it already hot by that time. The skips took half an hour to do 600, with rest and drink breaks squeezed in. My left calf definitely didn't want to cooperate so they were more like 600 hops on my right leg. My style is improving, though. And while I'm being musical, to quote John Lennon, "I'm got a blister on my finger" (at the end of "Helter Skelter" on the "White Album" (yes, I know I'm dating myself further)) - the skipping rope was rubbing away without me noticing it yesterday.

This is what I looked like after the 600 skips!!

The squats were not too much of a problem but I'm not squatting low enough yet.

But the push-ups absolutely defeated me. I have always had trouble with these and I really don't have the upper body strength to lift my own weight. Compounded by the regular aches and pains plus some extra stiffness from yesterday, I just lay on my front in frustration and couldn't move (up). I'll try again this evening.

And the crunches come in the same category as the squats. As long as I don't have to curl too far (and I guess I'm the judge of that), I can manage them (I can certainly feel the effect).

I've had a lot of cold tea so far today but don't even feel like eating after the exercise.

Thanks for all the support so far. I think I'm going to need it!!

Day 1 Continued : Home Late

2008-08-15T23:56:00.007+09:00

I got home rather late, about 11.15, with most of the exercises still to go. Argggh!

The final score :

Skips : the extra 450 I needed to reach 500
Squats : the remaining 4x20
Push-ups : ouch! after the skipping, my back doesn't want me to.
Trunk Curls : the remaining three sets and to make up for not doing the push-ups, and a rather restricted curl, 15 per set
Push-ups : try again but no, I really can't do this on a hard wood floor. Then inspiration, I have a tatami room (straw thatched matting) - yes, some success : I manage the remaining 3x5 but only pushing up from the knees. I'll have to work up to proper push-ups.

But I've managed it by 11.53 so I'll count that as a success.

So what's the damage - some not-nice twinges in my back, an aching left calf from the skipping (my back is not straight, that probably accounts for the back pain, and I may be favouring one side causing the ache in my calf), and a sore right knee.

But what really matters is how I will feel in the morning. I'll let you know!! I'm off to the bath .........

Oh, I forgot. Eating half is the least of my worries - a small bowl of cereal instead of a large one for breakfast; a lunch box, definitely smaller than my usual set meal in a restaurant for lunch and another set meal as part of my business meeting this evening but it was labelled light and low calorie (grilled fish, boiled vegetables and "red" rice with miso soup and Japanese pickles) and I finished each meal still feeling hungry. AND zero snacks between meals and no drinks other than water and cold tea. In the summer heat, drinking is important. I weighed in at 92 kg this morning, let's see how that comes off.

Day One

2008-08-15T06:13:00.007+09:00

Just for the record, made it to my computer a minute after the email arrived.

First reaction, for me, the ease of the instructions is the wrong way round.

Cutting back on food is a mindgame and I know I can do that. Mind you, I never measure my food so eating half is a judgement. And Patrick is right, I have it in-grained that leaving food on my plate is a waste (and I know my mother is watching) so I will just have to eat less.

But the exercises are more of a challenge. Easy? Ha!! Fine for you folks that can do these things. My back is a bit easier than yesterday so the skipping looks to be "on", squats, OK because I can hold onto something. Push-ups? These will have me struggling - I didn't have the stamina to do these properly in school, let alone 40 years on. And then we get to the crunch (sorry, I couldn't resist that one) , I'll need to anchor my feet and then see how far my stiff and painful back will let me go.

Well, that's it for now, I'll report back later to tell you whether my fears are justified. Wish me luck!!
.....................................................................................................
(one hour later)
OK, instant feedback time :

The key word is stamina

Skipping is possible but I managed fifty (in about five or six tries) and I'm winded. The only place to do it is the garden and the mosquitos were finding it very interesting. I can do something about them, though.

Squats - OK as long as we are not too serious about keeping my heels on the ground. This is a trade-off : heels on the ground, not much squat; heel off the ground, a lot more squat.

Push-ups - surprisingly possible to a point, the point being at what stage my chest leaves the floor. half way through, i.e. a sort of rolling push-up, not too bad; if the chest has to leave the floor immediately, I don't have enough strength in my arms (yes, I know, that's why I'm doing this so you don't kick sand in my face).

Crunch - hmm, I don't roll up very far but if that is not too important to start, then something was achieved.

Mind you, all this was on the basis of only fifty skips and one set each. And the sweat is pouring off me. I'll be catching up with the rest this evening!!!

Patrick - I'll be in touch!!!

Why Me and Wile E

2008-08-14T13:41:00.005+09:00

Why Me?

A couple of quotes from Patrick's Blog Day 125

"I have spent my whole life thinking of myself as a "young person" but as 30 approaches I am forced more and more to the realization that yes, age is happening to me too. I'm not saying, oh gosh, I'm 29, I'm so old, poor me. It just hits me in the gut sometimes that I too will lose my youth, get aged, and die, and that's a new feeling that I'm still working with."

and "Anyone can do this. Anyone. You can do this".

Well, substitute "60" for "30" and "58" for "29" and you've got me. Mentally I don't feel nearly 60 but I've been suffering from psoriatic arthritis for about fifteen years (the psoriasis for about 24) and while I was never an exercise freak, the only exercise I take now is walking so if I don't do something soon, it really might be too late.

Patrick has been my yoga teacher for nearly three years but I dropped out about six months ago because my back was giving me a lot of pain and I decided that trying to achieve mental and physical "balance" through a pain barrier was kind-of counter productive.

So I'm here to test out that second statement "Anyone can do this. Anyone. You can do this". And to provide my team mates with the added incentive that "if that old guy is still doing it, then so can I".

I have one slight advantage over them - I've watch Patrick succeed in person and I know that he is literally going to be keeping an eye on me. The disadvantage I have is that I've still got that pain barrier to worry about until my body catches up with my brain on this thing and stops complaining.

Talking about the pain barrier, I got up this morning and I couldn't even jump up and down without shooting pains through the small of my back. Not good, I thought. But by lunchtime it had eased off and I could bounce around a bit so I might have to be selective about what time of day I do my exercises.

Wile E

I know, everyone else has picked a really fit-looking real live role model and Patrick winced at my choice but my hero is Wlie E. Coyote - I've always like him and I have T-shirts to prove it.

OK, so he's not real, just a cartoon character but he epitomises the concept of "never give up". Of course, he never succeeds, but if he did, that would end the story and we all know that life is a journey and the enjoyment is what happens on the way, not reaching the final destination (which I don't want to think about yet, anyway). And he is in the best condition nature (or the Warner Bros cartoonists) will allow - lean and extremely fit, just not quite quick enough to catch the Roadrunner. And he always has a new plan.

Who wants to be quick enough to catch the Road Runner anyway?

The only alternative would have been Superman (the new-fangled light bulb in my bathroom looks like it has the Superman symbol inside it so I figured that the universe was trying to send me a message) but who wants to wear tights and a cape!!

So, counting down in hours now!!

Counting Down

2008-08-13T21:20:00.003+09:00

Well, I'm counting down. Clearing my fridge of things that might tempt me next week ... so as a result I'm eating even more than I usually do. But, hey, it doesn't matter because I'll be heading towards peak condition from Friday.