Weekend Update
Forgive the length of this post, but it's been awhile since I've added anything to the site, so I have a few things I want to say.
Well i've decide to change things around on my website. I'm going to give Google's Blogger service a try. It will make adding entries easier, and so hopefully I will be able to update the site a little more often with random musings, photos etc.
2004 is turning into an interesting year. My life-long struggle with my weight and more recent battle with diabetes has taken a little bit of a turn for the worse over the last year or so, but I'm trying to get back on track. I was losing weight steadily for probably a year after I got diagnosed, but sort of fell off the wagon last year and have managed to add about 60 pounds back of the 100 or so I had lost. I also have not been very good about checking in with the doc. So I've been beating myself up about it quite a bit, and feeling bad about it but not really doing anything. I've made a few off and on attempts at dieting but haven't managed to stick with it for very long.
Finally a month or so ago I decided I better shape up my act or I was going to be right back where I was. So I went to see the doc, and miraculously my blood sugar and other numbers were still OK. I've also been getting more serious about my diet. I'm trying the somewhat controversial Atkin's diet this time around. Contrary to what you may have heard, it is not all about eating unlimited quantities of eggs and steak all the time. It seems to be working well for me so far. I lost a few pounds right away, which admittedly was probably mostly water weight. But I've lost a few more pounds so that I've lost a total of about 13 in a month. OK, not earth shattering, but it's a positive trend and I seem to not be constantly craving high carbohydrate foods all the time. With the low carb approach I seem to be able to eat a lot less food and still feel satisified. I have to say, I found a lot of inspiration from the book Living the Low Carb Life : From Atkins to the Zone Choosing the Diet That's Right for You. It covers a lot more low carb approaches besides Atkin's, some of which I may try out further down the line. I've just been doing Atkin's because it's the simplest and what I'm most familiar with.
I've also started exercising again. For awhile I was running, which was awesome because I had never been able to really run any distance. I managed to get up to the point where I could run a little over 3 miles non-stop, albeit slowly. I'm not even trying to the the running thing anymore, but I have gotten back on the exercise bike.
Along those lines, I'd like to ask your help with something. I have decided to once again participate in the Tour de Cure, which is a 100K bicycle ride geared at raising funds to help support the American Diabetes Association. I don't much like asking folks for anything, but this particular cause has a lot of personal meaning for me, and if you're a friend, family member or benevolent stranger reading this page, I'd sure appreciate your sponsorship. Any donation would be greatly appreciate, and remember - it's tax deductible. And making your donation is easier than ever this year, now that you can do it online through my personal Tour de Cure fundraising page!
And by the way, if you'd like to read a little bit more about my own personal experiences with diabetes, you can read a little sort of journal I wrote read a little sort of journal I wrote. You'll note I haven't updated it in awhile, you can consider this blog entry an update.
So what else is going on with me? I'm still employed, which is good. In fact at the end of this month I'll be at four years with my current employer, which I believe is the longest I've ever worked anywhere. I'm trying to keep my skills and credentials up to date so I've been studying for a Java programmer's certification. (By the way, if you're looking for a good book to study for the Java Programmer's certification, I can highly recommend the one I'm using: A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification: A Comprehesive Primer, Second Edition.
I guess the certification is mostly just a piece of paper, since I've been using Java for years right now, but in the event my job is outsourced to an Elbonian at 22 cents an hour hopefully it will look good on a resume. (If you don't know what an Elbonian is, you really should be reading Dilbert). A college degree is just a piece of paper too, right? But it demonstrates you have at least some level of competency I suppose. And if nothing else, studying for the test really makes you think about some of the more tricky parts of the language that you might not force yourself to look at otherwise.
Oh, and I almost forgot. GO #8!!! The Nascar Nextel Cup is off to a great start this year!
OK, that's enough for now, more random musings later
Well i've decide to change things around on my website. I'm going to give Google's Blogger service a try. It will make adding entries easier, and so hopefully I will be able to update the site a little more often with random musings, photos etc.
2004 is turning into an interesting year. My life-long struggle with my weight and more recent battle with diabetes has taken a little bit of a turn for the worse over the last year or so, but I'm trying to get back on track. I was losing weight steadily for probably a year after I got diagnosed, but sort of fell off the wagon last year and have managed to add about 60 pounds back of the 100 or so I had lost. I also have not been very good about checking in with the doc. So I've been beating myself up about it quite a bit, and feeling bad about it but not really doing anything. I've made a few off and on attempts at dieting but haven't managed to stick with it for very long.
Finally a month or so ago I decided I better shape up my act or I was going to be right back where I was. So I went to see the doc, and miraculously my blood sugar and other numbers were still OK. I've also been getting more serious about my diet. I'm trying the somewhat controversial Atkin's diet this time around. Contrary to what you may have heard, it is not all about eating unlimited quantities of eggs and steak all the time. It seems to be working well for me so far. I lost a few pounds right away, which admittedly was probably mostly water weight. But I've lost a few more pounds so that I've lost a total of about 13 in a month. OK, not earth shattering, but it's a positive trend and I seem to not be constantly craving high carbohydrate foods all the time. With the low carb approach I seem to be able to eat a lot less food and still feel satisified. I have to say, I found a lot of inspiration from the book Living the Low Carb Life : From Atkins to the Zone Choosing the Diet That's Right for You. It covers a lot more low carb approaches besides Atkin's, some of which I may try out further down the line. I've just been doing Atkin's because it's the simplest and what I'm most familiar with.
I've also started exercising again. For awhile I was running, which was awesome because I had never been able to really run any distance. I managed to get up to the point where I could run a little over 3 miles non-stop, albeit slowly. I'm not even trying to the the running thing anymore, but I have gotten back on the exercise bike.
Along those lines, I'd like to ask your help with something. I have decided to once again participate in the Tour de Cure, which is a 100K bicycle ride geared at raising funds to help support the American Diabetes Association. I don't much like asking folks for anything, but this particular cause has a lot of personal meaning for me, and if you're a friend, family member or benevolent stranger reading this page, I'd sure appreciate your sponsorship. Any donation would be greatly appreciate, and remember - it's tax deductible. And making your donation is easier than ever this year, now that you can do it online through my personal Tour de Cure fundraising page!
And by the way, if you'd like to read a little bit more about my own personal experiences with diabetes, you can read a little sort of journal I wrote read a little sort of journal I wrote. You'll note I haven't updated it in awhile, you can consider this blog entry an update.
So what else is going on with me? I'm still employed, which is good. In fact at the end of this month I'll be at four years with my current employer, which I believe is the longest I've ever worked anywhere. I'm trying to keep my skills and credentials up to date so I've been studying for a Java programmer's certification. (By the way, if you're looking for a good book to study for the Java Programmer's certification, I can highly recommend the one I'm using: A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification: A Comprehesive Primer, Second Edition.
I guess the certification is mostly just a piece of paper, since I've been using Java for years right now, but in the event my job is outsourced to an Elbonian at 22 cents an hour hopefully it will look good on a resume. (If you don't know what an Elbonian is, you really should be reading Dilbert). A college degree is just a piece of paper too, right? But it demonstrates you have at least some level of competency I suppose. And if nothing else, studying for the test really makes you think about some of the more tricky parts of the language that you might not force yourself to look at otherwise.
Oh, and I almost forgot. GO #8!!! The Nascar Nextel Cup is off to a great start this year!
OK, that's enough for now, more random musings later
posted by eric at
2/15/2004 07:23:00 PM
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