Alligatorob's Diary

It was a good day, but with with minimal exercise. I did walk a little and worked around the house, but kind of needed a rest after 4 long workout days in a row. I ate well and feel good tonight. Back to the refuge in the morning, it is going to be cold cold!

Had a bad covid related experience this afternoon. I went to the Ogden ski swap to see if I could find a deal on some used cross country skis. There must have been over 1,000 people there and no social distancing. Most were wearing masks, but there were just too many people in too little space. I just got in the door and saw the huge crowd, then I turned around and left, went home and washed my clothes. I can't believe something like that was allowed to happen give our recent governor's mandates...
Hi rob you sound more sensible with your calories . And it's good to hear that the USA are finally starting to mask up .
I am trying to edge the calories back up as I increase exercising. I am still not quite up to my pre-surgery exercise level, but working on it. We are seeing a lot more masks, but not 100%, probably never will get to that level.
But iirc you were an engineer and are presumably more comfortable using a generous factor of safety...
Thank Err, especially for your thoughtful analysis. You are right I am in Box Elder County, our health department reports covid statistics for 3 counties, the largest of which is Cache, and they have the highest rate. A lot of the national databases just lump the 3 counties together and call them Box Elder, guess we are alphabetically first or something. Cache county is home to Utah State University and has always had a high rate, folks blame it on the University and so many people coming and going from afar. At first their rates were much higher than ours, unfortunately we are catching up. I had to do some research, I did not know it, but you were right we had an outbreak at the High School. Just reported and the school is now shutdown. My oldest grandson is a student there... It is getting closer all the time.
What does your gym routine typically consist of?
My gym workouts are typically 3 days a week, one day chest and shoulders, one day legs, and one day arms and back. I have a rotator cuff problem and have had to modify things a bit to accommodate it. At the gym I work with a trainer, and try to do things I cannot do at home. My home workouts are a mix of exercises I learned from a friend and at the gym, I try to rotate those also. Probably not perfect, but not too bad. Pre-surgery I used to try to get 2 hours in per session, not quite up to that yet, but I have been getting into the hour and a half range. Thanks for asking.
Dropping a hello, after a hiatus! Omg is that a new profile pic, you have lost considerable weight! How are you?

People are mandated to wear masks in indoor spaces here, and lots wear them on the street in Toronto. The economy has definitely been affected. I don't like wearing one, takes some getting used to for sure. Our gyms are closed.
Hey Misty, great to hear from you!! Yes, I have lost a bit over 160 lbs, more than half my starting weight. But I am done losing now and working on maintenance. We also have a mask "mandate" but there is little enforcement, so its kind of hard to know what the word mandate means. And if you read the governor's orders in the fine print you see a lot of words like highly recommended and advised... Culturally it is hard to force Americans to do something they don't want to do, particularly with our current president as the role model...
Hi, Rob. Do you have any interesting plans for the weekend?
Hey Cate, I do plan to go back to the refuge and check swans again tomorrow morning, after that I am not sure, our weather is awful. Cold windy and alternating rain/snow, doesn't make outdoor activities very attractive... I do have a set of shelves that needs building, and I have some real work that needs doing, I am not completely retired yet...
 

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Culturally it is hard to force Americans to do something they don't want to do, particularly with our current president as the role model...
That's hard anywhere, believe me. A certain group of US folk does seem more likely to take any however reasonable guideline or suggestion from the government as attempted lethal force!!! so they reject out of hand things that would objectively help them.
Hope you don't get too cold at the refuge: be sure to wear thick-soled shoes. (I can feel myself turning into my mom as I type this :D )
 
Keep making those smart choices regarding where you go and how you mix with others Rob. Smart choice to leave the crowd!
 
Rob enjoy the morning at the refuge . Pity about the ski swap crowds . Perhsps you will find someone local or on marketplace to get some or sell some.
 
Hey Rob,

Glad to see you doing well post-surgery and getting that exercise in. It must feel great.

I agree the handling of the epidemic has been pretty poor here in America. I don't get why something as sensible as wearing a mask during a pandemic is somehow considered an infringement on our rights, but hopefully, the messaging gets clearer with the new administration.

The upcoming weather doesn't sound too appealing! Building the shelves sounds like a good idea, though.
 
As a Canadian, and not to get too political, I'm looking forward to your new administration. I hope they're able to handle the pandemic well. Over here, rules keep getting tighter in the major cities as people seem to be getting very tired of staying in quarantine & our cases are rising, but it just means more stricter measures like closing indoor dining, closing gym etc. to control the spread.

I'm glad to hear you are done losing weight and maintaining. That is half the battle!!
 
Hi, Rob, Shelf assembly sounds like a good alternative. You are obviously getting enough exercise, getting back down to your "happy" weight.
 
It was a good day, I ate well, got some exercise and feel good tonight. My exercise was working on the shelves, I got the boards mostly cut to length and started painting. It will take a few more days. The refuge was a bit of a bust, confusion over schedules and two of us showed up to do the job. I went home early and will do it next Saturday instead. Cold as it was I was ok with that.
That's hard anywhere, believe me. A certain group of US folk does seem more likely to take any however reasonable guideline or suggestion from the government as attempted lethal force!!! so they reject out of hand things that would objectively help them.
Hope you don't get too cold at the refuge: be sure to wear thick-soled shoes. (I can feel myself turning into my mom as I type this :D )
Yeah, the whole mask and social distancing thing has taken on a political spin, makes no sense to me... Hope that changes with the new administration, but I doubt it will. I did wear good warm shoes and socks, but didn't need them for long!
Keep making those smart choices regarding where you go and how you mix with others Rob. Smart choice to leave the crowd!
Thanks, it is getting harder, I sure want this to be over with, but I know that will be a while.
Hey Rob,

Glad to see you doing well post-surgery and getting that exercise in. It must feel great.

I agree the handling of the epidemic has been pretty poor here in America. I don't get why something as sensible as wearing a mask during a pandemic is somehow considered an infringement on our rights, but hopefully, the messaging gets clearer with the new administration.

The upcoming weather doesn't sound too appealing! Building the shelves sounds like a good idea, though.
Hey Jack, great to hear from you! I agree on the mask thing, and have a hard time understanding why anyone would object, but plenty of people do. I still hear a lot of people saying that masks don't work, despite pretty good science now telling us they do. It is the least disruptive thing we can do, if there was more mask wearing we would likely have fewer other more onerous restrictions. Seems like a no brainer to me.
As a Canadian, and not to get too political, I'm looking forward to your new administration. I hope they're able to handle the pandemic well. Over here, rules keep getting tighter in the major cities as people seem to be getting very tired of staying in quarantine & our cases are rising, but it just means more stricter measures like closing indoor dining, closing gym etc. to control the spread.

I'm glad to hear you are done losing weight and maintaining. That is half the battle!!
Hey Misty, do you think the Canadian border will reopen to us by summer? I was hoping to go fishing in British Columbia in July, but right now it seems like a long shot. I am not sure which is harder losing the weight or maintaining, but I do know I don't want to regain it!
Rob enjoy the morning at the refuge . Pity about the ski swap crowds . Perhsps you will find someone local or on marketplace to get some or sell some.
Yeah, guess I will have to look elsewhere for some skis, better to pay a bit more under safe conditions.
Hi, Rob, Shelf assembly sounds like a good alternative. You are obviously getting enough exercise, getting back down to your "happy" weight.
Thanks Cate, and I like to think my exercise is ok, I don't feel quite as pressured to do it, but want to.
 

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I am not sure which is harder losing the weight or maintaining, but I do know I don't want to regain it!
I think both are difficult in different ways, and being able to do one doesn´t mean we can do the other. Different skills to learn, or different mindsets to gets used to.
 
It was a good day, I ate well and feel good tonight. My exercise however was limited to working on my shelves, its turning into a bigger project than anticipated.
I think both are difficult in different ways, and being able to do one doesn´t mean we can do the other. Different skills to learn, or different mindsets to gets used to.
One struggle I have with maintenance is the lack of reinforcement that came with seeing weight loss. I was excited to weigh in and felt really good when I saw the losses, and got a lot of kudos from folks here for it. Now the best I can hope for is holding steady... I know its a good thing, but somehow just not the same. I spent so many years wanting to lose weight, then about a year and a half actually doing it, so now I am there, struggling to figure out what "there" is.
Happy Sunday Rob hope it’s a good one
Thanks Petal, it was! Hope yours was good also.
I just had a look at the statistics around the world & the US stats are very different. Instead of suppression with a couple of spikes, it seems to be a consistent rise in cases & consistent deaths. Take care xo
Yep, and this was predictable. We are probably the only developed country without any real coherent plan at the national level. It may be too late to do much other than ride it out, things will get worse before they get better. We have so many infected people that its not realistic to think you can go anywhere in public, or meet anyone without significant risk of encountering an infected person. I am still doing my best to protect myself, hope that's enough... I guess I am not locking myself down, but I am doing a pretty good job of distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing. Oh well, enough for gloom and doom, at least there is some comfort in knowing that most people survive the virus, and not everyone will have to get it to develop herd immunity. So I, and most Americans, will probably survive. Also, maybe there will be a vaccine, but I fear it will likely be too late for a lot of people here.
 

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One struggle I have with maintenance is the lack of reinforcement that came with seeing weight loss. I was excited to weigh in and felt really good when I saw the losses, and got a lot of kudos from folks here for it. Now the best I can hope for is holding steady... I know its a good thing, but somehow just not the same. I spent so many years wanting to lose weight, then about a year and a half actually doing it, so now I am there, struggling to figure out what "there" is.

Are there any sport or athletic goals you might have - something else to shoot for aside from monitoring digits on a scale? FWIW I do think it is impressive that you've been able to maintain so well - especially when recovering from surgery...
 
What Err said. Goals that give you someof the satisfaction and require you to still honor your physical health without being 100% focused on food at all times sound sensible.
 
Yeah it's good to have things to continue to aim for. Do you find you still have to be very conscious about food choices or is it a pretty natural lifestyle choice by now? Maybe weight will just become an aside and you can focus on other things more and more...like shelf building!
 
...We have so many infected people that its not realistic to think you can go anywhere in public, or meet anyone without significant risk of encountering an infected person. ...

San Diego county topped 1000 positive cases for the first time yesterday. this past week has seen a new record every day. 5 months ago the ICU capacity in the county was about 10% filled with COVID-19 patients... today we're closer to 50%. better than a good deal of the country, but as you say, nobody sees any proactive national policy. nobody is changing their mind about masks... the two camps are not about to budge.

i am very lucky... retired so my income has not been effected, i live alone so i don't have to worry about contacts from family and probably the most important... within the county, the two zip codes in my area are two of the lowest positive rates in the county. yet it still sucks feeling like i'm essentially in solitary confinement. i can't remember the last time i've even been within a foot or two from anyone or talked to anyone more than a few seconds.
 
Not my best day, to be honest I am feeling diet/exercise fatigue... Kind of felt sorry for myself, thinking about how much I just want to be "normal" and eat what I want and exercise when I want. I did manage to stay on track with my calories, but did little I can call exercise. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
I’m very glad that you have the good sense to be careful Rob :)
Thanks Cate, and I am being careful, just hope it works.
Are there any sport or athletic goals you might have - something else to shoot for aside from monitoring digits on a scale? FWIW I do think it is impressive that you've been able to maintain so well - especially when recovering from surgery...
Thanks Err, and I think you are right, I need some new goal or interest, just not sure what it should be. And I appreciate your kind words, being reminded of where I am and came from helps.
What Err said. Goals that give you someof the satisfaction and require you to still honor your physical health without being 100% focused on food at all times sound sensible.
Yes, it sounds sensible, I just don't know how to do it, or what to do. I guess I need to start by not feeling sorry for myself, I know I am not in a bad place, in fact a whole lot better place than I was in a couple of years ago.
Do you find you still have to be very conscious about food choices or is it a pretty natural lifestyle choice by now?
Yes, I do have to be just as conscious about food as ever. I still have the desire and drive to overeat. I am not sure that will ever go away. I think I am probably resigned to either counting calories, or somehow closely tracking my eating for the rest of my days. Either that or regain the weight. It can be a kind of depressing thought, but wishing it was different is kind of like wishing I was younger, taller, and better looking, LOL. It just ain't the way things are.
it still sucks feeling like i'm essentially in solitary confinement. i can't remember the last time i've even been within a foot or two from anyone or talked to anyone more than a few seconds.
I know that feeling, I have not been as locked down as you, but I sure do miss the social interactions and freedom to travel. Funny thing is I have not been to Canada in years, but was kind of planning a fishing trip next summer. Now I am beginning to obsess about the real possibility that will be impossible. Its the not being able to go that bothers me more than the reality of not going.

Oh well feeling sorry for myself ain't helping, I just need to buck up and move forward! And get back to those shelves... and the gym (in full mask).
 

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i dont know whats wrong with me. i am not able to loose my weight. i can hardly loose 4kg each time i try to do.
 
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