Boracay Bylines with Bo and D

Past sixty has been a bizarre entanglement, with an array of physical symptoms and serious self esteem issues. Basically my left arm has gone beyond "GoJuGata" (over 50 bum shoulder) and evolved into a bitter mix of muscle degradation, uncontrollable twitching, an arthritic clenching, tightened together in a general numbness. I have a left leg twitch for polar consistency, and back pain that prevents standing or walking in comfort. Down the tubes, at a remarkable rate, which makes even typing this awkward.

Yet I have my home, three great kids, and enough passionate love and friendship to fill all the bamboo bungalow here on Boracay. I am blessed, yet pursued by unfulfilled expectations. Remarkable how many bucket list resolution accompany a man into his sixties. Not the bungee jumping variety, but grand delusions of manly successes, great prestigious aspirations as impractical as they are unattainable.

Not that I haven't the time and resources to carve a small kingdom of prestige and an appreciative inkling of ego gratification, I just lack the fundamental belief, the necessary spark, a feeling of relevance. I imagine this wall of dull inefficiency is fairly common for my generation. There may even be books about this in my roof to floor library, or something I could listen to on audible. If my eyes were better I could take digital books on the subject to read here on the beach, or simply write one myself.

Lazy latitudes, fruit shakes on the shore of white sand perfection. I was told I would end up here, in a self fulfilling potpourri of half-happy pleasures... a leaky boat of unresolved emotions rocking close to shore. A rum and coke would work if it weren't for the hangover, so instead, I write to you, knowing you would understand.

The Pragmatics of Paleo

Originally, dating back to the middle of the last century, diets were low calorie, carbohydrate-rich, and fat free. Nowadays, these assumptions have all been challenged. While calorie consumption is still to be casually monitored, the present belief is calorie 'quality' is much more significant than the arbitrary measuring of caloric-intake. 

Counting calories can be useful if one is fully aware of the differences between veggies and starches, natural and commercial, paleo and pathetic. All calories are not created equal. Some foods are better at satiating our appetite, like fat-rich foods, while some foods stimulate our addictions. In my case that would be sugar and sugar-substitute 'treats' dressed-up as tempting psychological substitutes, soft and creamy carbohydrates. As sexy to me, and as ineffective, as all addictions tend to be.

My low carb experiment has proven to me, there is a direct relationship between the amounts of carbohydrates consumed and weight gain. Surrender to my sweet tooth, impulse eating, means a two to four kilo gain within weeks. Meat and vegetables, with sufficient fat, in the form of coconut, butter, and avocado, works... with only an infrequent carbohydrate extravagance, as in the white rice of sushi. 

Shopping, diligently, in the green grocery, and preparing my own meals, makes a world of a difference when adjusting my belt buckle. This reality of domestic persistence, house and garden domesticity, has become a health essential. For as my weight goes, so does my blood pressure, vulnerability to diabetes, back pain, and a slew of other  old man symptoms too embarrassing to list here. Staying as trim as possible is a prerquisite to senior survival.  

The final foundational stone, to Paleo perfection, is exercise... Cross-fit disciplines, or for seniors, simply, counter balancing the stiff joints of maturity with habitual walking. Paleo is an abbreviation for Palaeolithic... a time when our ancestors ate what they could chase down or grab from the ground, a time of natural essentials. For contemporary hunters and gatherers, paleo makes dietary sense, a pragmatic game plan for staying alive. 

Cacao Magic and Raw rumination

Cacao Magic is a newly opened 'raw food' restaurant and chocolate shop here in Kyoto. My daughter Kai and I were reminded of the delicate flavors of raw cuisine. A few years earlier we had enjoyed a wheatgrass holiday at the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico. Feeling clean psychologically, one trusts dedicated foodies, compliments the subtle palate of vegetables and herbs. 

We were lucky to catch Chocolatier Sumire Matsuda open on a weekday expressly for the cherry blossom season, as her new shop is in the blossom viewing heart of Eastern Kyoto, near the Silver Pavilion. 

Sumire is a charming host, fluent in English, having spent years as a fashion buyer in London. There are shakes made of a concoction of healthy goodies too numerous to name. The menu changes every week and I feel I will be tempted to return often. This is not the nurturing stuff of American meat and potato, though it does fit comfortably in my Paleo camp of low carbohydrate and all natural. The Pièce de résistance is her desserts, chocolate of course. Dessert is not voluminous, but it needn't be, as our raw food lunch of dehydrated onion chips, salad with goji berry dressing, and avocado soup filled me to the brim. 
And filling me is never easy.

http://www.cacaomagic.com/

The Complexity of Eating

I have been experimenting with a low carbohydrate diet for one year now. Low Carb works, though at times can be near impossible to maintain. I do a lot of traveling, and when away from home 'low carbing' is tough. Fortunately, my increased awareness of what I am eating does help keep me about 20 kilo south of morbidly obese.

The actual formula for success though demands stricter proportion control, more selectivity, and a better exercise plan. Also, while I have improved my statistics, lower weight and lower blood pressure, I have never been able to feel truly healthy. I feel my sixty-years disproportionate to my peers.

In a large part, this is because of my lack of physical activity. In fact, now it has become severely punishing for me to stand for any length of time. I have become car dependent, and even simple tasks, like doing the dishes, creates lower back pain. Added to this, a string of symptoms makes it near impossible to answer 'How are you?' without a tedious litany of complaints.

I have, for example, leg and hand tremor, all on my left side, all too often... Also what the Japanese call 'goju-kata' fifty years old shoulder, or what might be described as bursitis. Most recently, a severe stomach condition, initiated in the Philippines, lingers after a month with daily cramping and enough gas to impact global warming. A simple day trip into Osaka, though spent joyfully with good friends, was plagued by an underpinning of pain.  I am just no fun anymore.

What to eat... what needs to be changed... what little rituals can I introduce into my life... to bring back vitality? I have learned much from a year researching nutrition, yet feel I know too little. Meanwhile my body flounders and I fear the worse. A spring equinox equaling equanimity, a calm appraisal, with an appropriate response, what can I do right now to fix this?

A fast can be a beginning. Perhaps by creating space, proper choices can find their way in.

One Year on a Low Carb Diet

The cycles of dieting parallel our patterns in Love. 

There is the initial 'Honeymoon' when a diet can do no wrong, complete submergence, utter infatuation, when pounds pour off your waist line. Then reality sets in... all those little sacrifices on your personal life-style. It is amazing how many little carbohydrate goodies are so essential to our maintaining an equalibrium. A diet can be damn demanding, and that wonder methodology of sacrificial devotion, sacrificing delectable carbs, begins to be more bitch than inspiration.

But... having lost weight, and enjoyed some of the many merits of a steady relationship to health and nutrition... A dieter will return to a successful process despite an 'occassional' affair with a chocolaty distraction. It is hard to be true to one dietary discipline, but, in the end, one good diet prevails over a string of fad distractions. Survival via fitness eventually wins over deluded self-abuse and I tend to stay true when a diet fulfills my fundamental hungers. Greens and meat suffice.

I began my diet at 134 kilo and after a year of loss, gain, and loss again, I presently weigh 114. Twenty kilo lost ain't much for a year, yet it beats the complete futility of overt obesity. Having some handle on a chronic problem, while no longer feeling blissful enthusiasm, I do want to keep trying.

So, as a new year begins, I resolve to give up sugar, and her substitutes, for Lent, on the hope of reaching Easter at 110. It has been about 45 years since my last Lent offering. Let's see if that ancient stratedgy can still move this crusty old sod to stay true.

Plateau verses Rebound; a Dieter's Choice

The inevitable flat lining of a dieter's weight-loss is a test. If we allow frustration and boredom to overcome our enthusiasm for our diet, we will rebound. We know this from past experience. I have documented several cycles of weight loss and my inevitable rebound, the pattern is always the same. 

When my weight loss is dynamic and steady, I am inspired and diligent. But when life gets in the way, when dieting conflicts with work and social activities, I face a choice. Buckle down and stick to my current dieting methodology, or slip into the dark side.

My pattern may be familiar to you. Quietly I seek solice in comfort foods, temporarily escaping the tedium into old soothing addictions, sweet creamy tummy stuffers. I forget to pay attention. Lost in the oblivion of oral orgies, my weight line rises, defeating months of success... confirming again my own self-contempt. This is crazy, yet this has happened too many times to ignore.

My advice to myself? Play with the variables, eliminate obvious leaks in the system, persevere. Plateaus are inevitable, even unavoidable as our bodies adjust to our current metabolical state. Let the plateaus happen. Don't panic. Don't run away into an old abusive relationship with food. Reconfirm diet fundamentals, the rules that have carried you this far, and stick to your guns. If only to preserve the new you, that was so reassuring, when the pounds were melting away. 

"This too will pass."

133.4kg>115.8kg What's in a number...

I started a modest goal of descending from a crest of 134 kg (over 21 stones/near 300 pounds) to a weight of 115 kg (18 stones or about 250 pounds) and now, after 6 months, my goal is in reach. Of course, this present weight has me moved from Clinically Obese into merely Obese. Breaking the next goal of being under 100 kg (less than 16 stones and under 215 pounds) may well be another 6 months away... and still have me, squarely, within the Obese category... a wide trough of despair where most Americans live.

Considering some of the sacrifices, death by a thousand lost habitual oral gestures, one may question whether the journey is worthy of this extended footnote. Yet there has been so many small yet memorable moments, a small necklace of successes and learned lessons. In a life where progress is hard to detect, it is fun to feel progress... to learn more of the subtleties of cuisine, the addictive powers of common foods, the actual limits of my will power, and the humor of our human condition. Dieting is fun when it isn't outright miserable.

The Low-Carb experiment survived an American Southern States road trip, and now the next journey is more of the same, augmented by more actual exercise, in the Isles of the Philippines.

http://www.filipino-food-lovers.com/

Texan BBQ Low-carb benefits

The fast food chains are just too tough to find a good option for the low-carb dieter. Fortunately, when traveling through Texas, and some of the neighboring States, there are fantastic barbecue restaurants. Texans know how to prepare meats to be tender and savory. The trick is to remember to put the sauce on the side for moderate dipping. The sauces are strong so you won't need much for seasoning. Sides (side dishes an option of two or three in most restaurants) have vegetable options to replace the ubiquitous breads and potatoes.

In the fast food chains, almost all the fish and meats are breaded and deep fried, and accompanied by massive buns and hills of potatoes. This makes any home-style BBQ truck stop, or family friendly diner, a blessing of delicious low carbohydrate options. Usually the staff are also more enthusiastic, and helpful, in these family owned and operated establishments. I love eating in Texas as long as I can find a good family owned BBQ and can avoid the more common chain eateries.

Dieting on the road

Traditionally, when my Japanese friends visit the USA, they add on a few kilo. This is understandable, as most of us love to try the local cuisine when on the road. For a returning expat like myself, the temptation is more nostalgic, wanting to eat the favorite foods of my childhood.

Curiously, I've discovered these sentimental treats taste better as a memory, than in actuality. Very little of what I gobbled down as a child was all that special. What was special was being young and hungry and active, the perfect storm of delectability! Now at 60, I am mostly sedimentary, and I really do not need, nor even enjoy, the sugary carbohydrates of my youth. I deserve, and can afford, better.

I have discovered eating primarily a choice protein, a great well prepared steak, for example, or fresh un-breaded seafood, matched to a choice selection of well prepared vegetables, or a creative salad, beats the traditional poor boy grub of massive piles of breads, potatoes, grits and assorted greasy goop, designated to most of the American plate.

The trick to healthy eating while on the road is diligent scrutiny of grocery store labels, and restaurant options. Fail safe old habits, or following the suggestions of advertisements or fast food marketeers, is a formula for disappointment. There are great treasures in the American horn of plenty, it just takes scrutiny. Feeling satisfied beats being stuffed by bad choices. Too bad it took me so long to learn this lesson.

Staying Low Carb while holidaying in the USA

The very first challenge in my summer quest to keep my low-carb diet was high above the Pacific. Airplane food is laden with delicious but inappropriate goodies. The Chinese family seated nearby had the right idea. Take what you love to eat with you, when you fly. I immediately was forced to end my self-regulating restrictions, if I wanted to eat enough during the full day of multiple flights, from Osaka Japan to Albany New York.

The next blockade to Paleo perfection was the free continental breakfast at the Howard Johnson Motel, absolutely 100% CARBOHYDRATES, with stacks of bagels, loaves of bread, plates of donuts, bowls of cereal, and a splash of dairy or jugs of sweetened juice. In another time, on another diet, I would have been in pig heaven... but as a potential caveman in quest of bacon and eggs, I was plane out of luck.

The third obstacle to continued weight loss was lunch, having made breakfast with no 'break' but simply an unintential 'fast'. Lunch in an all American Shopping Mall FOOD COURT... every food stall was something potentially good wrapped in, covered in, stacked with gluten manifestations, soaked in sugary sauces. Only the pseudo-Japanese booths, owned and operated by competing Chinese chefs, allowed quasi-low-carb variables of meat and vegetables, laden with the obligatory MSG and sinister sauces.

Soon we will take to the road, after a family barbecue, and a day at the country fair. Doing America on a low-carb diet should prove a crash course in improvisational shopping. Thank God my medical statistics confirm why I prefer this style of eating.

Can't beat Success

My low-carb adventure, which I now more often refer to as Paleo, primarily because the sound is a bit more snazzy, has been a real plus in my life. I jokingly refer to it as age regression, as I started at 134 kg, quicky moved into the 20's (platforming for a while at 122), and most recently been in my teens (dancing betwen 118 and 119). I am striving for infancy, achieving a long held dietary goal of breaking below a 100 kg after too many years overweight.

No matter what variant, Low-Carb, Atkins, Paleo, et al. the basic formular works for my particular dietary needs and preferences. I imagine a great deal more of us unhappily oversized could benefit by experimenting with this 'eliminating carbohydrates' aesthetic.  Becoming aware of the sugar factor in our habitual over-eating, aware of the starch/sugar relationship to our body weight, reading food labels, and simply remaking old patterns... all play out well for apple body-shape types like me.

This direct assault, on my metabolic syndrome wasted waist line, has improved my medical statistics in under six months. This is the actual goal, to be further away from the threat of diabetes, heart disease, and all the many nasties of obesity. And though I am not yet in the green zone, I feel good getting out of the red hot danger zone. Perseverance furthers.

This summer I have scheduled a three week road trip with my dad and my son through the wilds of the USA, where delectable carbs wait in ambush at every diner dinner, fast-food courner, and family feast. I would love to continue to lose, but maintaining my present weight may be accomplishment enough.

My digestion of Paleo/low-carb literature, along with the ample informative podcasts available on the low-carb lifestyle, helps both to articulate my understanding and to keep me focused. There are many celebrates in this minority world of exotic nutritionists and fitness gurus, many are quite entertaining. It will take me months to work through my ever expanding book collection on this subject. But first... the challenge of traveling America and applying the lessons I have already learned, about avoiding those foods that make me fat, while enjoying the fats that satiate and satisfy... living the life... is key.

And... as an added bonus, playing with T'ai Chi & QiGong as my summer fascination, an exercise experiment as beautiful as it is enjoyable i.e. keeping cool by being cool!

Wish me luck.

A snapshot of Tai Chi instructor Roberto Paredes.

The Liberation Diet

If you are looking for a grand overview of the low-carbohydrate dieting world, with specifics on the history of conflicting opinions, said in a straight-talk tone, this book may suit you. The Liberation Diet explains in layman terms the historical reasons why high carbohydrate, low-fat thinking has dominated our current dietary culture, while, simultaneously, obesity is epidemic.

 For current devotee of the low-carb life-style, this book will provide you with a way to debate your friends, as well as, providing a slew of pragmatic tips for your Low-Carb/High Fat lifestyle. This is an overall good choice reader if you want a full understanding without getting lost in scientific jargon. I am thankful I have plowed through the other more famous authors on this topic, but for a simple yet thorough understanding, and a practical manual for your own diet, consider this book.

Coming to grips with obesity...

The transition, from 20 to 60 years old, brings with it added Adipose tissue... unsightly fat. The possibility of metabolic syndrome, extra weight around your waist, places a strain on our liver and heart, and a real possibility of developing type 2 diabetes. It ain't pretty, no matter how you look at it. Yet to ignore the issue of excess tissue is a death wish.

Fundamentally, there are three options. 

1. Do nothing and face the symptom menagerie: sleep apnea, sluggish energy, high blood pressure, diabetes, sexual impotence, poor self-esteeme... the list of consequences for middle-age obesity seems endless. But there is an end, earlier death.
2. Do the conventional solution, try and restrict calories: This can be a logistical nightmare as participants are perpetually hungry, as they laboriously calculate all they eat. Appetite suppressants can help but leave you edgy. Exercise will burn a few calories, in most cases, too few to mention. The premise is 'calories in' must be much less than 'calories burnt'. Considerably less, than what most people are use to, and much less than satiation, thus an endless nagging hunger. 
3.  Do the popular, yet controversial, alternative, a low carbohydrate diet. 

My choice has been to Low-Carb the challenge. 

I have averaged a kilo per week lost, from an initial weight of 134 kilo to my present 120 in 14 weeks. The advantage is: both protein and fat create a feeling of being full and satisfied. 
The disadvantage is: adjusting to a life-style different form before, and different from the popular culture. No sugar and starches, like potato, spaghetti, bread, and rice requires a keen awareness of what you are eating. A useful skill, yet one that requires vigilance. 

Fortunately, Option 3 works for me. And nothing beats success!

Addictive Coke, Addictive Diet Coke, perpetuating Obesity

People always tell you Coke isn't good for you. That is... everyone except the people who earn their living selling Coke. They spend billions advertising how very wonderful Coke is. But, as any addict will tell you, once you are addicted, no one needs to tell you the advantages of Coke. Your body screams the good points. Quick energy rush from a high sugar flush of your system, unregulated stimulation coupled with caffeine, an ingenious blend that can only be matched by more of the same. 

But inevitably, Coke becomes fat on your hips and around your belly, even for those gorgeous models in the Coke ads. So the conscientious model, wishing to stay slim, switches to Diet Coke. In fact, soon the weight conscious Coke consumer begins to prefer Diet Coke. Diet Coke is an even better high, squelching the anxiety of fat gain by an illusion of justifiable consumption. 

But now, try and stop. Oops... It isn't easy. Coke machines, Coke ads, Coke coolers, Coke blends are everywhere. But even more important is that thirst, that craving, that inexpensive temporary solution to our nagging addictive urge for a quick 'Pick Me Up'.

And then people explain, that sugar substitutes do not eliminate our sugar dependency. Non-caloric sweeteners exacerbate the problem, they trick our system into needing more. Great for the soft drink industry, but havoc for our bodies. There is no nutrition... just an inadequate solution to our natural urge for water and nourishment. Just the cyclical mania of malnutrition in the innocent practice of a well establish piece of Americana, drinking Coke and being obese.  

Paleo Diet for the 21st Century

Here is a quick read ebook by Douglas Robb. A great addition to your library, for anyone curious about Paleo. Douglas writes straight, no fluff, clear and honest... Good Caveman-like style. 

Here is his message to readers:

"...Click here to download the ebook. 

Any feedback would be appreciated. 
And if you do like it, feel free to spread the link around (hint hint) 
If you're interested in more info about the Paleo Diet, click here to check out the Health Habits paleo archives. 
Best Regards, 
Douglas Robb Health Habits"


Made me hungry for mammoth!!

Why We Get Fat... best book for a deeper understanding

There are books I am glad I have read, to help me get a handle on the complex issues of low-carb science, but only one I'd recommend without hesitation. Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It" is designed specifically to make the science of dieting accessible to the lay-person and as suggested reading for your doctor. Doctors are, more often than not, ill-educated in nutrition. As my doctor said to me here in Japan, "Just tell me the drug you need for your diet and I will prescribe it" suggesting a willingness to find a solution, as long as I do the research... and so I have. 

Researching the complexity of the human body, in a realm that combines psychology, sociology, and a myriad of specific body sciences, requires more reading than most of us have the time for.  Thankfully Gary Taubes combines science know-how, thorough research, and a refined writing skill, to create an ideal starter kit in one single book. To make it even easier on the eyes, I 'read it' as an unabridged audio book. I have a growing library of thick and heavy volumes, but this single text best sums up what the dieter needs to know, about how our body works and why conventional dieting doesn't.

Perfect Health Diet, a demanding but rewarding read

Paul and Shou-Ching Jaminet have created a challenging yet fully rewarding book detailing their design for a perfectly healthy diet. This is a plan well within the low-carb, ketogenic, and Paleo perspectives on weight loss, and their research appears consistent with many of the specialists producing nutrition/diet oriented podcasts and books. There is much science to be digested along with their dietary suggestions, so a meticulous attention to detail is necessary, along with a heaping dose of biological vocabulary. Yet, in the end, a truly rewarding read for anyone wishing to better understand their dietary options, with a goal of maximizing their health.

On a lighter note, I was amused to finally discover why Cannibals eat people. I recall as a young boy wondering why island cultures might want to eat their neighbors. My neighbors never seemed very appetizing. Yet the Perfect Health Diet parallels the make up of our own bodies (as it does mother's breast milk) and, in fact, eating people can be beneficial to your health... particularly, when the tribe on the beach won't willingly share the seafood, with their fat and protein starved neighbors, living deep within the island jungle. 

Marisa's Kitchen Talk

Marisa's Kitchen Talk has an interesting list of blogs, called BLOGROLL, all specializing on Low Carb cooking... a tempting assortment of personalized solutions for this life style. One amusing discovery was this 'GingerBread Log Cabin' a traditional speciality in many Christian homes during the Christmas holiday season, courtesy of Tracey and Katie of UNBREADED.


Atkins-friendly "gingerbread" log cabin, made from cream cheese, Slim Jims, meat snack sticks, and nuts: (originally posted with construction instructions at GEEKOLOGIE.)

Bacon Toothpaste Anyone?

Low Carb High Fat – The Swedish LCHF diet

A very popular Swedish diet is Low Carb High Fat – The Swedish LCHF diet.
Eat all you like

• Meat: Any type. Beef, pork, game meat, chicken. The fat on the meat is good as well as skin on the chicken. Try to choose organic or grass fed meat if you can.
• Fish and shellfish: All kinds. Fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel or herring are great. Avoid breading.
• Eggs: All kinds. Boiled, fried, omelettes. Preferably organic eggs.
• Natural fat, fat sauces: Using butter and cream when you cook can make your food taste better and make you more satiated. Béarnaise, Hollandaise, read on the packages or make it yourself. Coconut fat, olive oil and canola oil are also good options.
• Vegetables growing above ground: All kinds of cabbage, such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts. Asparagus, zucchini, eggplant, olives, spinach, mushrooms, cucumber, lettuce, avocado, onions, peppers, tomatoes and more.
• Dairy products: Always select high fat options. Real butter, cream (40% fat), sour cream, fat cheese. Turkish yogurt. Be careful with regular milk and skim milk as it contains a lot of milk sugar. Avoid flavored, sugary and low fat products.
• Nuts: Good to eat instead of candy in front of the television (preferably in moderation).
• Berries: Okay in moderation, if you are not a super strict /-sensitive. Good with whipped cream.
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• Dietdoctor.com/lchf
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