Posts made in November, 2007
Daddy’s Getting Skinnier – The TNT Diet update
It’s been four weeks since I committed to the TNT diet lifestyle. In the interim, I’ve been on two business trips and gone through Thanksgiving. The result so far? I’ve dropped almost 10 pounds and have cut body fat by 2% (from 23% to 21%). Most importantly, I feel good.
I’ve been trying to weight train at least 3 times a week following the recommended exercises in the TNT Diet book. Additionally, I’m trying to row twice a week. So, yes, I am trying to increase my metabolism by exercising. But…I must confess that the biggest change is to what I’m eating.
I’ve been focusing on eating healthy, low-carb food. I’m eating more regularly and smaller portions. I’ve tried to make it easy on myself and my wife. For example, for dinner I’ve purchased a meal delivery service called Fit 2 Go. It delivers a low-carb, portion controlled dinner for me every work day. On the weekends, I use the recipes found in the TNT Diet book.
I think the change to my eating habits is really what is driving the results. I’ve really stuck to the low-carbs and more vegetables philosophy that the book teaches. For example, as I type this post, I’m on an airplane to Honduras for business. I had the meat, broccoli, stewed tomatoes and salad for my lunch. I had a glass of mediocre red wine. I passed on the bread and baked potatoes that accompanied the meal. I would never have done that before. The other meal option sounded very good (risotto and shrimp).
My goal is to reduce my body fat percentage. By that I mean I want to eliminate my belly fat (i.e., see my six pack). At the same time, I’m trying to build muscle and “get into shape”. So far, I can see I’m going in the right direction. My belly does seem to be losing some fat.
I highly recommend the TNT Diet to the other dads out there that could be in better shape. It’s never too late. Your kids are counting on you being their for them. You need to treat yourself right, for them. Of course, wife will always appreciate less fat, more muscle and plenty of energy.
All the best.
Technorati Tags: diet, exercise, low-carb, TNT Diet, weight loss
Read MoreMemories of four year old defiance
Dad Gone Mad posted a wonderfully written story about the defiance of his four year old that brought back wonderful memories. Yes, it was a frustrating time because you don’t expect the rebellion from your sweet, beautiful daughter. I too remember guarding my crotch when she came to greet me because their just the right height to cause you substantial pain.
Anyway, check it out at By Any Means Necessary. Good luck DGM!
And, a Happy Thanksgiving to all from the mountains of North Carolina.
All the best.
Technorati Tags: Dad Gone Mad, father, 4 year old, defiance
Read MoreIncluding Samuel- a must see documentary for every dad
On my way home today, I heard a very moving story about Samuel Habib and his dad, Dan. It hit home and almost brought me to tears. Not of sadness, mind you. Tears of happiness. It’s a story about a family that loves their son who is living with a disability. He’s seven. He has cerebral palsy.
Here’s a little more information from the San Francisco Chronicle on who Dan and Samuel are and about what Dan’s documentary (Including Samuel). Of course, the film is about the rights of disabled children to learning in a “normal” (read, non-special ed) environment. It’s a tough issue. Dan doesn’t sugar-coat it.
As a parent, I urge you to read their story and learn more about it. As a dad, my hat comes off to Dan.
“Dan, YOU are an excellent father. Your son is lucky to have you. Keep up the good work.”
All the best.
Technorati Tags: cerebral palsy, father, health, disabled, samuel
Read MoreDad, what’s wrong with your eyes? (LASIK)
I took the plunge! I had LASIKs done yesterday and now I can see without glasses for the first time in 25 years. Well, still a bit blurry but I can see!
The procedure is really quite simple. You sit back in a chair and they numb your eyes with drops. Oh, I forgot to mention that they give you a very helpful Valium pill before. Then they place this bracket that holds your eye open and still.
You are whirled under a machine that creates a million tiny bubbles between your cornea and the cornea cover. It is a laser so you don’t feel anything. It takes about 10 seconds to create a flap of the cornea cover. The doctor then uses a very thin tool to carefully lift your cornea cover back revealing your cornea.
You are whirled under another laser that fires for about 15 seconds. It literally corrects any refractive errors caused by the shape of your cornea. It reshapes it. Then the doctors flips back the flack and with a tiny brush makes sure there are no bubbles underneath it. Your eye is covered and they go on to the next one.
I was done in 15 minutes. They place two eye shields over your eyes that you are to leave on until the next morning. They tell you to come back the next day so that the doctor can check you out and they send you home with someone else driving. At that point, I could see better than I used to without glasses but things were very blurry.
On the drive home, the anesthesia was wearing off and my eyes began to hurt. Nothing too terrible but certainly significant discomfort. It was like sand was in your eyes and you begin to tear uncontrollably. They tell you to sleep for 4-5 hours to avoid the worst of it.
Two tylenol PMs and a Valium did the trick for me. I was knocked out for 4 hours. When I woke, the worst was, in fact, over. I still felt them a little but the terrible discomfort was gone. I began putting the drops they send you home with and spent the rest of the night looking like ET to my children. Mostly, they laughed.
I took the shields off this morning and viola! Although still slightly blurry, I’m seeing as well as I saw with my glasses. It’s simply amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone one of you considering it.
Oh, and if your reaching (or have reached) that magic age (40) when you begin to lose the ability to read things that are close (presbyopia), what they do is under-correct your less dominant eye. So they leave you somewhat myopic in one eye so that you will be able to read things up close without needed reading glasses.
Let me know if you have any questions.
All the best!
Technorati Tags: health
Read MoreA rough about 48 hours coming
Sometimes your job asks you to do something that just tough. You muster up all your courage, determination and will power and tackle it. For you, but especially for your family. It’s what you do to provide for your family. You’re dad.
This is what I’m doing the next (about) 48 hours. It’s 10:21 p.m. and I’m sitting at the surprisingly busy Admiral’s Club at the airport awaiting an 11:30 p.m. flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I don’t like long flights much less the type that I need to sleep on.
I get there at 10:30 a.m. I run to the hotel, change and hit the office by 3 p.m. to meet with a client. The meeting should take about 2 hours. I’ll head back to the hotel to change and relax for a while before heading back out to the airport to catch an 11:50 p.m. flight back home.
It’s a kamikaze run. It’s grueling. Probably, not necessary but the client is an important one (so they tell me). So, I grit my teeth and head out. It’s what I do. I’m dad.
Read MorePlease stay in touch!
About Me
I'm a forty-something father and husband in training. It's on the job training and I'm doing my best. I share my successes, faux pas and experiences as I try to keep my priorities straight while climbing the corporate ladder (a/k/a the rat race).