Alligatorob's Diary

[Petal001]

Have visions of exploding kitchens everywhere . Yes our kefir smells sour I don’t go near it if I can help it . Rob that’s a super ancestor to lay claim too .
I am a huge fan of Liam Neeson . I could listen to his voice all day

 

[alligatorob]

Made it up the hill! My white whale of biking! Although once done it now looks more like a molehill. Its been a while since I tried and I have apparently gotten stronger, I rode right by the spots where I fell last fall with ease! Our weather warmed up and the sun shone yesterday afternoon and today, so a lot of the snow and ice melted off our dark colored gravel, I saw an ice free path up the hill and I took it! Now I know I can do it any time its clear of ice, guess I need a new white whale.

So I got in a decent workout, 40 laps, 1 ride up the hill and 6 minute of anti chafe stationary riding (the LaMa method). I feel good!

Sturm

Thats a new word to me, and I am not sure looking it up helped. I found a Strum's skin lotion, and apparently there is a Strum's Foods in Wisconsin, but I am not sure that's what you meant. What is your Strum?

Rob that’s a super ancestor to lay claim too .
I am a huge fan of Liam Neeson . I could listen to his voice all day

Thanks, I grew up hearing stories about descending from Rob Roy, but I was always skeptical, for one thing I could not see anyone with the MacGregor name in the family. Recently a cousin who is into genealogy researched it and found that some of Rob Roy's sons took the name Mackey and migrated to the Carolinas in the early 1700s, and there are lots of Mackeys in our family. She was able to put the lineage together and verify the connection, proving not all family legends are myths. I agree on Liam's accent, its great! I (and a lot of Americans) really like hearing the Irish accents.

Have visions of exploding kitchens everywhere

Lets hope not, but you have me regularly checking the lid on my kefir to make sure it's loose!

 

[Llama]

Sturm, not Strum. Like a storm. It's young, unfiltered wine that's still fermenting. At the beginning of the season it's very sweet and it gets bitterer over the course of a month or so. Drink more than a cup or two and your guts will have a party.

 

[Petal001]

Rob well done on getting up that hill . There is now no looking back . Onwards and upwards you are going . ( down with the weight of course )

 

[alligatorob]

It was a good day, made it up the hill, ate well, and I feel good.

My wife found a place to buy kefir and got some, so I was able to make a comparison today. I think I like the homemade better, and it has fewer calories. I also suspect the store bought has less of the bugs that are supposed to be good for your gut. The store bought has a little smell, but not bad, my homemade still seems to have little odor. And neither have exploded, yet anyway.

Sturm, not Strum. Like a storm. It's young, unfiltered wine that's still fermenting.

Got it! I think I had some once in Vienna, I was there at a conference in the fall, November maybe. A German college took me out to what he called a new wine festival, they served the wine in large glasses and it was as you say not completely fermented. I drank a lot of it but don't recall the stomach problems though. I think I posted this on your diary not long after I joined and discovered you live in Vienna. As I recall it was good stuff, but I don't remember the Sturm name, it was 20+ years ago.

Rob well done on getting up that hill

Thanks Petal, the hill now looks so small, kind of embarrassing I wasn't able to get up it sooner. But I couldn't and now I can, as you say upward or downward and onward.

Friday
breakfast
home made kefir 52
cereal - weetabix 130

snack
apple 94

lunch
sardines 220

snack
home made kefir 40
cereal - weetabix 65

dinner
ground beef 115
lettuce 25

snack
banana 100
apple 94
store bought kefir 70

total calories 1,005

1005 in the Islamic calendar is approximately 1596 on our Gregorian calendar. In 1596 the first flush toilet (in England anyway) was invented by John Harington and installed in his home. Some believe the slang term John for a bathroom came from his name, but this is in dispute. Actually things resembling flush toilets were in use as early as 2000 BC in India, but it was John's toilet that our modern flush toilets descend from.

 

[Llama]

Thanks Petal, the hill now looks so small, kind of embarrassing I wasn't able to get up it sooner. But I couldn't and now I can

That's the main thing! I've had hills like that and there's nothing better for seeing how far you've come. Congratulations

 

[jackbenimble]

Congrats on making it up the hill, Rob! It's very cool and inspirational to hear stories of people mastering things they weren't able to do previously.

 

[Petal001]

Rob I recall when I first started walking locally . I met an older couple who walk a lot . I was so embarrassed as I couldn’t talk to them as I was heaving and panting . Practice helps so well done on that hill .

 

[Cate]

Rob, that hill will get easier & easier. Do you like walking? Walking when it's really snowy &/or slushy would be hard work & good for you.

 

[aiminglow]

Late entry in the dangerous foods category - homemade wine! and also ginger beer.

And well done on the hill, Rob! It's brilliant not to be puffing any more.

 

[Want2Lose]

That's great and inspiring about the hill! And interesting about the homemade kefir. My mother, a real do-it-yourselfer, made yogurt for a long time. It had a zesty sourness you just don't get with store-bought. And like you say, probably better for gut health.

 

[alligatorob]

It was a good day, I ate well and feel good. I did not exercise, I was too tired after spending most of the day working on the shelves in the utility room, but got them done. I am trying a new food calculator, its on my fitness pal, does not agree completely with my numbers, but close enough. I was hoping for something easier, and to help make sure my counts were making sense.

LaMa, Petal, Jack, Amy, Cate, and W, thanks, I appreciate it. Small victories are better when shared, and recognized by friends.

Rob I recall when I first started walking locally . I met an older couple who walk a lot . I was so embarrassed as I couldn’t talk to them as I was heaving and panting .

Good for Petal! I know that feeling, for many years I struggled just walking in airports when I had a long ways to go for a connection. It has gotten a lot easier, and now I can even talk on my cell phone whilst walking without the huffing and puffing. You are right, it was embarrassing.

Do you like walking? Walking when it's really snowy &/or slushy would be hard work & good for you.

I do, or did, I don't walk so much any more, my feet have not fared well under all the weight I put on them. But I have noticed less pain, very little really, since losing weight, I will give it a try. I can certainly stand and walk around the house and yard a lot better, maybe I can take longer walks.

Late entry in the dangerous foods category - homemade wine! and also ginger beer.

My homemade wine only seems to get dangerous after about the 2nd or 3rd glass. Never had ginger beer, homemade or otherwise. Homemade root beer is a Utah favorite, maybe similar.

interesting about the homemade kefir. My mother, a real do-it-yourselfer, made yogurt for a long time. It had a zesty sourness you just don't get with store-bought. And like you say, probably better for gut health.

So far so good, I've just finished the first batch, about a quart and have started a second fermenting. The one I am making doesn't have much of the sour or zest, but it is thick, kind of like yogurt. We'll see about the gut thing, but for a while I think I will use it instead of the store bought yogurt I have been eating.


1039 or so was the year the Persian poet Unsuri died. It is said that Unsuri wrote over 30,000 distichs (two-liner couplets) as well as other writings. Probably 10% have survived. One of his poems translated to English:

The Eagle and The Crow: A Dialogue

A dialogue occurred, I happen to know,
Betwixt the white eagle and the crow.
Birds we are, said the crow, in the main,
Friends we are, and thus we shall remain.
Birds we are, agreed the eagle, only in name,
Our temperaments, alas, are not the same.
My leftovers are a king's feast,
Carrion you devour, to say the least.
My perch's the king's arm, his palace my bed,
You haunt the ruins, mingle with the dead.
My color is heavenly, as everyone can tell,
Your color inflicts pain, like news from hell.
Kings tend to choose me rather than you,
Good attracts good, that goes for evil too.

Not sure how much Unsuri really knew about birds. I know the Bald Eagle best, and though it is an impressive bird and our national emblem, I know they are very much scavengers and on the beach more likely to be looking for dead and rotting fish. Osprey are much better fishermen.

 

[Llama]

Crows are a lot more intelligent than eagles, certainly, and even if we were to take this poem as gospel they´re a lot nicer...

But I have noticed less pain, very little really, since losing weight, I will give it a try. I can certainly stand and walk around the house and yard a lot better, maybe I can take longer walks.

Good shoes can make a big difference here as well, especially now that you´ve lost all this weight. Let´s all be nice to our feet: they work hard for us!

 

[Petal001]

This time last year I would hobble out of Bed in the morning . The difference now is unbelievable. That's great about you walking easily around the airport and can chat on the phone at the same time . Do you wear trainers or boots Rob . I admit I live in trainers when I am not at work or going out . Would help with the walking .
Interesting how the poem translated and rhymed perfectly .

 

[bibbidi_bobbidi]

Thanks for stopping by my diary. I see yours is pretty long so read the first and last page.

Making your own kefir is exciting! I used to make kombucha but the last place I lived in had much more room than my current house so didn't really have the space. Gifted all my bits to a friend and just buy it now. Not as delicious but still good!

Gosh you're strong for getting through on such low calories, I honestly feel like I'm dying some days if I get through 1500-1600 and I've been busy. I'll lose a lot slower though I guess. I'm a bit of a binger, I have ADD (currently untreated) which comes with very poor impulse control as one of my biggest issues. Trying to restrict too much is a big trigger.

 

[aiminglow]

I enjoyed the eagle-crow poem, though that eagle was a bit full of himself, I think! (He'd hung around the kingly types too long, I expect.)
Good for you, getting the utility-room shelves done.
I didn't realise you had pain in your feet - that would really crush the thought of getting pleasure from walking. I'm glad you're walking more easily, less painfully, now.

 

[liza]

Getting in late with the congrats to your making the hill on your bike. That is excellent. Yes I love seeing the progress with inclines especially. I only walk and biking always looks harder to me. It's probably all just different muscles. I've developed my walking muscles but not my biking ones!
Have you ever gone to a podiatrist about your feet? Mine were horribly painful a few years back. Turns out it was because they were flat and insoles made all the difference.

 

[jackbenimble]

Cool poem, Rob. The eagle's a bit full of himself, but they are impressive. I actually really enjoy watching seagulls. There are plenty of them at the local beach.

 

[alligatorob]

It was a good day, I ate well and feel good. It was a busy day, grandkids were here all day and we played games like Unstable Unicorns and Mafia (a kids card game). I also did some snow plowing, I did not get on the bike, but plan to tomorrow. Hopefully I can ride outside, but probably only if it doesn't snow tonight and its supposed to.

Crows are a lot more intelligent than eagles

Makes sense, I know you can teach a crow to talk, not sure that is true of Eagles.

Do you wear trainers or boots Rob

Mostly tennis shoes with good soft support inserts, kind of like what you call trainers I think. Over the years I have tried lots of different shoes and inserts, these are what I have settled on as easiest on my feet.

kombucha

Had to look that up, its new to me. Sounds interesting, maybe I'll give it a try. Where do you get the yeast or culture to start it? The recipe I saw on the internet just said add some of your old kombucha.

This time last year I would hobble out of Bed in the morning . The difference now is unbelievable.

Maybe someone, I nominate Petal, should start a thread were folks could post things like this. In many ways its these smaller things than really make weight loss feel good. How about it Petal do you want to do that?

I didn't realise you had pain in your feet - that would really crush the thought of getting pleasure from walking.

It is getting less, I have to try a walk, soon as the weather clears up a little. Of course I could try walking in snow as Cate suggested, it is more exercise.

I actually really enjoy watching seagulls.

I like seagulls as well, and we have them here in Utah, maybe because of the Great Salt Lake? The seagull is the Utah state bird, there is an interesting story behind that Miracle of the gulls - Wikipedia



1023 on the Islamic calendar is approximately 1614 on our Gregorian calendar. In 1614 Tisquantum, aka Squanto, a Native American Wampanoag was kidnapped and enslaved by Thomas Hunt, an English sea captain working with Captain John Smith (of Pocahontas fame, a chapter Disney missed). After escaping slavery he traveled for five several years in Europe and North America, before returning to his home in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Where he taught the Pilgrims to farm. This is the basis for one of our Thanksgiving stories as to how the Indians taught the Pilgrims to grow corn.

 

[aiminglow]

What a terrible and sad story, about Tisquantum. Wow. The vileness of Thomas Hunt, but also to come back, and find your whole family and community gone - an "epidemic infection", wikipedia says. I think I need to ponder that one for a while.

By the way - yes, about the thread Petal could start! And great that you had a good day yesterday.