Picasa's Logo

I had been using the Dezinerfolio version 1 photo gallery (link) to display photos on my page from my Picasa account.  I didn’t want to manually handle photos, so Picasa seemed to be the way to go.  Needless to say for anyone who tried to view those photos it was awkward at best.

I then tried to switch to Dezinerfoilo version 2 (link) but it hasn’t worked quite right and the developer is working to get it fixed.

Recently, I found my new system, it’s called PWI or Picasa Web Integrator (link).  It’s java code that uses Google Picasa’s API to pull the pictures into a website and display them.  You can check it out in use at my Photos Page.   I can make changes regarding album visibility, captions, etc. to the photos in Picasa and see it reflected immediately on the photos page.  It also has full CSS capability so I can (and did) edit the CSS to make the photo container match my site.  I can’t imagine an easier way to display photos on a site while retaining visual “customizability”.  There are picasa widgets, but as far as their appearance…you get what you get.

I’m not sure what all I’m going to do with it yet, but I’ll find something. I know I want to catalog lots of the information that I come across while I’m surfing around on the net on various topics. It could save me searching for things multiple times.

Feel free to contribute either to new topics, or to ones that are already there.

Anyway…

In our chest and back workout I did 78 push-ups in the 55 minute or so workout.   On January 1st 2009 I could do 2 push-ups with perfect form and all the way to the ground.  On day 1 of P90X (January 19th 2009) I could do 8 push-ups without stopping thanks to 19 days of burpees.  Today I did 78 push-ups.  That’s incredible, I don’t care who you are.  I also did 48 assisted pull-ups which is also incredible since I couldn’t even move myself in a pull-up position.  *Don’t tell Tony, I failed the pull-up portion of the fit-test*  The “X” is working…

Yoga.  I hate it…….but I Luuuv it….

Well I went from 207 to 173 in about 8 weeks using a ketogenic diet. Many people say these are not safe, but the research shows that, if the directions are followed correctly, they are completely safe. Additionally, bodybuilders have been using ketogenic diets for decades during their cutting phases prior to competition.

The most common ketogenic diet is the Atkins Diet. The Atkins Diet (and any other ketogenic diet) involves eliminating practically ALL carbohydrates from your diet for a period of 2 weeks BUT eating as much (within reason) meat, cheese, eggs, and fat as one wants, then slowly adding back carbohydrates until one reaches a level where he or she is neither gaining or losing weight.

Here’s the science behind it:
Normally, the carbohydrates in food are converted into glucose, which is used to fuel one’s body and brain. However, eliminating carbohydrates from one’s diet causes the liver to convert fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketone bodies pass into the brain and replace glucose as an energy source. When the body produces ketone bodies it is referred to as a “state of ketosis” (which is why these diets are called “ketogenic” diets)

The diet has just enough protein for body growth and repair, and sufficient calories to maintain the correct weight for age and height. The “classic” ketogenic diet contains a 4:1 ratio by weight of fat to combined protein and carbohydrate. This is achieved by eliminating foods high in carbohydrates (starchy fruits and vegetables, bread, pasta, grains and sugar) while increasing the consumption of foods high in fat (cream and butter).

The reason a person MUST eat fat on this diet is because if a person eats too few calories, that person’s metabolism will slow down. So, a person still wants to eat somewhere between 1,300 to 1,800 calories a day (this is a rough estimate; the real figure depends on a person’s height and weight. This was my estimate). Eating meat almost exclusively makes getting this many calories into one’s system a bit challenging (think about it: 1 whole can of tuna, for example, only contains 200 calories). Also, eating 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big ones keeps one’s metabolism going, which also aids the process.

While on this diet one should NOT do heavy weight training because carbohydrates are required to rebuild muscle tissue that is damaged during these activities (NOTE: Bodybuilders do use ketogenic diets, but they actually use “cyclic ketogenic diets,” which is unnecessary for your purposes). However, riding an exercise bike or vigorous walking for 15 – 30 minutes every morning BEFORE you eat will REALLY make the pounds disappear, and aerobic exercise/light weights are always good for a person.

My Experience:
When I did this diet, I followed it by-the-book. This meant for the first 2 weeks, I could only eat a MAXIMUM of 15 grams of carbohydrates each day. To put this in perspective, 1 slice of bread has between 15 and 20 grams of carbohydrates. I could eat no fruit, no grains (bread, pasta, cereal, rice, etc.), no milk, no nuts, absolutely nothing with sugar in it, and very few vegetables. The diet I did (Atkins) also recommends eliminating all caffeine since it often affects ones insulin levels (NOTE: eating carbohydrates creates insulin spikes that transport nutrients to fat cells to be stored, so insulin spikes are completely counterproductive during ketogenic diets). So I had no coffee, tea, etc. Finally, the diet required me to drink about a gallon of water a day; I was constipated a lot due to a lack of fiber; and I had a killer headache for the first 2 days while my body switched over from using carbohydrates to using ketones. However, I lost almost 20 pounds in that first 2 weeks. AND, I lost almost 20 pounds in 2 weeks by eating cheese, bacon, and spinach omelets, tuna salad with extra mayonnaise between cheese slices instead of bread, and steaks cooked in butter with bacon and cheese on top of them. This was WAY better than those no-food diets I had tried before. Anyway, during the 3rd week, I added nuts to my diet; in the 4th week, I added dairy; and so on…Remember, this is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.

I did this diet because I had a fatty liver, and my doctor told me to try it. After doing this for 2 months my liver function test showed that my liver was very healthy, showing enzyme levels that were near the bottom of the healthy range (whereas they had been 3x higher than the top of the range before). AND, since my body was converting fat for energy, my cholesterol level actually went DOWN during this cheese/bacon/mayonnaise frenzy! I am actually healthier now than I’ve ever been, and as long as I remember that this is a lifestyle change, and keep doing light aerobic exercise a few times a week, I shouldn’t have a problem with putting the weight back (and I haven’t yet). I even have a cookie or piece of cake on special occassions…I just have to do it in moderation. So, this diet/exercise plan will work, but it takes commitment. You sound like you have commitment, so maybe give it a try!

The links below should be very helpful in understanding this type of dieting further.

His sources were:

Scale

As of today I have lost about 18 pounds and Emily has lost about 6 pounds.  Remember though, we’re not equal because I did the crash diet for about 2.5 weeks before P90X.  We’re just barely over 1/6th of the way done with the program and we both are seeing pretty noticeable differences in ourselves.  Can’t stop now.

Bad Idea.

What we happened to overlook is the fact that on Tuesday we were supposed to do plyometrics.  “Plyo X” is by far the hardest workout in all of P90X.  We did both workouts yesterday, but it was a nightmare.  We did Chest and Back alright after work, then did Plyo around 9PM.  I had low energy after going crazy with push-ups and pull-ups earlier in the night.  I’m totally dead today, my whole body is sore, and I’m never doing that again.  Another lesson learned the hard way I guess.

After Dave and Marie left yesterday the superbowl was on and Emily and I started talking about food.  Papa Johns, pasta, etc.  Mmmm.  I decided I wanted a big bowl of cereal and Emily wanted Ramen noodles.  We didn’t have much because we boxed up all of the “bad” food in our kitchen so we wouldn’t be tempted.  We went for it.  Those had to be the best tasting Lucky Charms I have ever had even if they were “Marshmallow Matey’s”.

I think it was a really good thing we did it too.  Here’s why.

1. After I ate that big bowl of cereal I felt lazy.  Really lazy.  I felt like I didn’t want to do anything but sit around and lounge all night.  The superbowl was on and I had no reservations about laying on the couch and watching it the whole time.  That isn’t like us.  Emily just slept on the couch.  Lately we have had much more energy and have actually been feeling better.  This lazy feeling kinda sucked.
2. I actually had guilt.  I don’t think I have every felt guilty in my whole life about eating a lot of food.  I never have had self confidence issues when I was (still am) fat and I never felt bad about eating.  In fact, I love the really full feeling.  After that cereal, however, I had a feeling like I needed to get in shape, and needed to start eating better even though I kept telling myself I had eaten well for 31 days and had been working out hardcore for the last 14 days.  It was a crappy feeling.
3. We went ahead and did Kenpo X last night (we talked about skipping it) after the Superbowl was over.  I felt like I was trying to do Kenpo X with an extra 40 lbs.  My stomach was full and I felt like hell the whole time I was trying to work out.  It was obvious that after working out for 2 weeks, even when full with good food, was no big deal compared to that damn cereal.  I could actually tell a difference.

There are definitely changes going on in our bodies, and they are for the better.  This is only about  1/6th of the way through.  The sites told us that after 90 days your eating habits will have changed, and I don’t think they were lying.  If last night is any indication of the future, I’m not going to have a desire to overeat and eat crap all the time.  I’m sure we’ll splurge once in awhile, but I think the days of eating lots of bad food all the time may be over.  Good riddance I say.

This time was totally different.  I tried to actually do what Tony said (clear your mind, relax, etc.).  During the first 45 minutes we’re doing movements and something called Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga which is sort of a sweaty yoga.  It is hard on your muscles, makes you sweat like crazy, works on your balance, flexibility and coordination all at once.  After 45 minutes of that we switch to balance poses.  These are easier (as far as sweating), but your muscles burn worse.  In the last 15 minutes of the 1.5 hour workout we do final stretches and relaxation.

The amazing thing about this workout is that even during the beginning where we are sweating like crazy it is really relaxing.  There is lots of breathing work and the movements are mostly slow and methodical.  I’m really impressed.  By the end after all of the relaxation moves we do to finish you have stopped sweating, are breathing normal, and are very relaxed…all while your muscles are worn out like crazy.