| Steps I've taken to lower my cholesterol and triglycerides |
[21 Nov 2009|01:56am] |
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Paul Revere and the Raiders: Hungry |
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1) Stopped drinking soda and eating sweets
2)Decreased alcohol consumption. No drinking at all 4 nights each week. Curbing drinking on other nights. Still drinking more than 4 beers most of those nights. But one step at a time now...
3) Replaced highly processed carbohydrates with whole wheat alternatives.
4) Adding foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids
5) Dieting to get to a healthy weight. I've lost nearly 10 pounds in the last five weeks. GOAL WEIGHT: Under 180 pounds. Currently 198 pounds (down from 208 nearly pounds).
6) Increasing dietary fiber to over 25g/day
7) Adding spread with plant sterols.
8) Eating 6 times each day (including breakfast).
9) Drinking 5 or more glasses of water each day
10) I've increased exercise (walking over 8,000 steps every day) and I'm doing ABS exercises and stretching TUES and THURS and I'm doing ARMS exercises and stretching WEDS and FRI. My wife and and I work out Sundays at the YMCA (Body Pump).
11) Limited my saturated fat intake to under 16 grams daily (doing really well at this...undershooting it by several grams)
12) Limited my cholesterol to under 200 mg (doing even better here...often undershooting it by over 100 mg)...never over 173mg. Some days I've only taken in 70mg of cholesterol.
13) Additionally, I'm trying to incorporate other cholesterol reducing vitamins like chromium and niacin.
Overall, I think my biggest challenge is scaling back my drinking. Cutting out 4 nights each week is helping because my tolerance is not as high as it was before. But, after a few beers, I can still usually go for a few more.
Anyways, I've made a big effort. We'll see where I'm at in a couple more months.
Wish me luck.
Cheers!
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| More About the new diet |
[08 Nov 2009|11:58pm] |
I am trying to cut back on the bad cholesterol as best I can and to scale back my drinking (to cut down the triglycerides). I'm getting a lot of exercise: walking (8500-16,000 steps per day), an abs routine and a body pump workout (tried it this weekend). I don't want to shrink my world back any more than I must. I've cut drinking out four nights per week. So far, I've managed to make one of the drinking nights fairly tame (drinking less than four beers (1-4) that night). I should make another one of those nights a little more tame as well. As time goes by, my tolerance should drop; and it will make the goal easier. I'm hoping to cut back to four beers each of two of the nights I drink and leave just one night of abandon. That will be a huge improvement, healthhwise. It's about being proactive (as best I can).
As is, I'm making some progress. I seem to be losing more than 1 lb/week.
Cheers!
Nick
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| Drinking Tonight |
[16 Oct 2009|11:55pm] |
The new diet is going okay. I'm cutting back to drinking only Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And, otherwise, I've cut down on red meat and cheese. I've stopped drinking soda. And I'm eating flax seed, apples, green vegetables, nuts and high fiber cereal and drinking low fat milk and water instead of soda. So far I haven't shed any pounds, though I've easily cut 4,000 calories out of my diet over the past week by simply not drinking for four consecutive days. I could stand to lose maybe 30 lbs. But what's more important to me is that I give my arteries a good scrub. I'll do the thyroid test to see if that's part of the problem (with all the triglycerides and cholesterol in my bloodstream). Otherwise, I'll see how my blood test comes out in three months.
Tomorrow we're helping to clean up the Minnesota Home Brewers Association's adopted highway. We're getting up by 8:30 AM. So, I'm turning in soon. I may have another beer though first.
Good night.
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| Brewing Update |
[16 Oct 2009|11:53pm] |
PRIMARY 1: Cider
PRIMARY 2: ESB
PRIMARY 3: Empty
3 Gal Carboy: Sweet Mead (started Labor Day)
KEG 1: Imperial IPA 8% ABV (started 9/26)
KEG 2: Cyser
KEG 3: Strong Dark Belgian
KEG 4: Abbey Blonde
KEG 5: Empty
KEG 6: Empty
KEG 7: Empty
KEG 8: Empty
Keg 9: Empty
Keg 10:Empty
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| Got the results back from my physical |
[12 Oct 2009|01:18am] |
My triglycerides are 6x what they should be; and my cholesterol is 2-3 X what it should be. Also, my EKG came up funny (coronary artery disease?). So, I probably have fat build-up in my arteries. And I need to get my thyroid tested. I'm really low on vitamin D. Maybe I have an overactive thyroid. The doctor recommended medication to reduce my triglycerides and cholesterol. But the medication would hurt my liver. A change of diet sounds better. I'll try that. I'm still young. I can cut a lot of crap out of my diet. That should help. I'm starting the abs diet with my wife. And we plan to cut our drinking back to 3 nights per week.
Glad I had the physical. I can probably get ahead of this if I make the effort now.
Good to know.
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| 10/8/09 Brew Schedule Update |
[08 Oct 2009|01:22am] |
I'm starting a hard cider tomorrow night and I'll brew an ESB this weekend. I'll make a starter for the ESB tomorrow.
Starter: 1300ml CIDER YEAST
PRIMARY 1: Imperial IPA 8% ABV (started 9/26)
PRIMARY 2: Empty
PRIMARY 3: Empty
3 Gal Carboy: Sweet Mead (started Labor Day)
KEG 1: Patersbier
KEG 2: Cyser
KEG 3: Strong Dark Belgian
KEG 4: Abbey Blonde
KEG 5: Empty
KEG 6: Empty
KEG 7: Empty
KEG 8: Empty
Keg 9: Empty
Keg 10:Empty
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| Started an Imperial IPA today |
[27 Sep 2009|02:27am] |
Made a 4 liter starter. Was able to chill the wort down to 75F before I siphoned it into the carboy and added the yeast slurry. I moved the carboy to the basement fermentation chamber. I checked on it 3 hours later and found it chugging along rapidly(very active), still at 71F. I'd rather it were fermenting below 70F, probably closer to mid 60s. I've seen big beers like this get out of hand. The fermentation can generate a lot of heat; and the wort temperature can easily rise 2F-5F above ambient. I moved the carboy directly in front of the dorm fridge in the chamber, set a couple of ice packs beside it and put a piece of insulation board next to it to cut back the airflow from the dorm fridge to the other side of the chamber (effectively lowering the ambient temperature in the side of the chamber nearest the fridge from 66F to 64F).
I expect that I will be able to lower the carboy temperature to between 66F and 69F (i.e. 64+2=66 and 64+5=69). I'll check the carboy again in the morning. It should be fine. I wouldn't have bothered with the ice if it hadn't taken off so quickly. I want to get it into range quickly before it ferments too much.
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| Brewing Update |
[24 Sep 2009|02:20am] |
Starter: 2L APA YEAST
PRIMARY 1: Sweet Mead
PRIMARY 2: Empty
KEG 1: Patersbier
KEG 2: Cyser
KEG 3: English Special Bitter (ABV= 5%) brewed 8/8
KEG 4: American Pale Ale (ABV= 5.5%) brewed 8/15
KEG 5: Strong Dark Belgian
KEG 6: Abbey Blonde
KEG 7: Empty
KEG 8: Empty
Keg 9: Empty
Keg 10: Empty
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| Repurposed a dorm fridge |
[15 Sep 2009|12:42am] |
I built a foam box 29" X 29" X 17" and affixed a dorm fridge to the end of it. This will fit 2 carboys. I'll have to see what temperature it naturally hits and how cool it can get. So far it doesn't seem to want to cool any lower than the mid 60s. Room temperature is 74F degrees.
I thought I might be able to use it for lagers in the summer. But it might only get cool enough for ales. 66F is better than the old fermentation chamber under the stairs (68F at its coolest during the dog days of summer with the AC unit running), though it does reliably stick below 68F for most of the warm months. I didn't run the AC unit at all this year. That dorm fridge is really weak; but its good enough. The new fermentation chamber could replace the fermentation chamber under the stairs in the dog days of summer; and it would cost a lot less to run it.
During the winter, the fermentation chamber under the stairs will work good for lagers. The outside walls cool it down into the 50s.
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| Okay. It's Been Three Weeks. |
[14 Sep 2009|01:44am] |
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music |
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Guitar Wolf: Wild Zero |
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I've been busy. Judged three flights at the Byggvir Homebrew competition [1) Scotch/Irish Ales, 2) Historic Ales and 3) Meads]. Also, Liz and I conducted a mead making demo. We have the 3 gallons of sweet mead chugging away in the basement.
My Abbey Blonde won a 3rd place ribbon in the Strong Belgian Ale category. My Strong Dark scored 37.7 (nearly EXCELLENT) and my Cherry Basil scored 38 (excellent). I didn't do as well in the State Fair competition. My Belgian Abbey scored 8 pts lower. My Belgian Strong Dark scored 2.2 pts lower (actually did better than the Abbey) and my Cherry Basil (a specialty beer) lost a lot of points because the judges apparently weren't handed the description of the beer I submitted and didn't know how to judge it. I'll have to send an email to the organizers. That was disappointing.
I brewed/kegged an English Special Bitter; and my friend Adam and I collaborated on an American Pale Ale. We dry-hopped the pale ale. It turned out great. We may try an Imperial IPA next. And I'd like to improve upon my ESB.
We had a garage sale and made enough money to buy those IKEA bookshelves I was talking about in my last entry. We've moved our library downstairs.
Not much else for now.
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| New Plans for the Foyer |
[20 Aug 2009|02:48am] |
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We've got plenty of time; but I'm moving my book collection out of the baby's room so we can start putting the room together. We decided to move the book collection into the foyer. I think 5 x 15' 3/4" W BILLY bookshelves should be adequate for most of the books. That's all I can easily fit in the foyer. I think that will look really smart.
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| New Brewing Update |
[20 Aug 2009|02:40am] |
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music |
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Phil Collins: Inside Out |
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PRIMARY 1: English Special Bitter (predicted ABV= 5%) brewed 8/8
PRIMARY 2: American Pale Ale (predicted ABV= 5.5%) brewed 8/15
KEG 1: Patersbier
KEG 2: Cyser
KEG 3: Abbey Blonde
KEG 4: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
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| Wow! |
[14 Aug 2009|01:55am] |
I can't believe how fast time is moving these days. Went to the Minnesota homebrewer camp out last weekend of July, drank that Thirsty Pagan growler, got drunk on Mead and puked in the morning (first time I got sick on liquor in the past 6 or 7 years).
I think the Thirsty Pagan ale got that wild berry flavor from the yeast (not the hops). Cool yeast complexity.
I'm entering three beers in the Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition tomorrow. They'll be judged next weekend. I'm sampling my Abbey Blonde just now...beautiful clarity...notes of pineapple from the yeast... creamy mouthfeel. This one could go places.
I'm back to putting those finishing touches on my novel for the last time.
But the BIG NEWS is that my wife is PREGNANT with our child.
I'm drinking for two now.
And I'm suddenly really digging this video:
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| Back From Vacation |
[27 Jul 2009|01:34am] |
My wife and I spent last week with some friends at a lake home near Moose Lake. We did a lot of drinking, eating and listening to music.
We went up to Duluth and to Superior, Wisconsin for a day. We visited the aquarium in Duluth, which was a sizable disappointment. It cost $15.00 per person to get in; but, then, a lot of the displays were broken down. For example, there was a new terrarium with carnivorous plants; but, then there was no information about them. It looked like any informational plaques had been torn off the display, foam tape left exposed. And a cheap paper sign had been taped up "Carniverous Plants Summer 2009". There were serious maintenance issues.
We had a great time in Superior at the "Thirsty Pagan" brew pub. They have decent pizza, very good beer and a unique atmosphere (with an old bar, a giant old High Life mural, other old beer signs, and pin ups in the men's room, etc). I sampled all eight of their beers. The Dunkleweizen was uncharacteristically sour (some problem with wild yeast, I think); but, aside from that, the other beers were great. One unique beer I tried was an India Wheat Ale 8+% ABV. It had a smooth character with noticeable alcohol and generous hops for serious hop character (and IPA bitterness). We left with a growler of their Derailed Ale. It was my favorite. But it was my last beer of the night. So, I'll need to try it again before I can remark about it with any seriousness. I remember the hops came across my palate with a hint of wild berry. The overall impression was delicious. I'll look forward to the next time I visit Superior...and, of course, to cracking open that growler. :)
http://www.thirstypaganbrewing.com/index.html
Well, back to work tomorrow.
Goodnight.
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| More Feedback About the Novel |
[16 Jul 2009|10:27pm] |
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music |
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Mick Ronson: Play Don't Worry |
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So, I got some more feedback about the novel. The test reader mostly liked the novel (even a great deal through most of it), though she was a little confused at a few points and, moreover, didn't like how it was degrading to women. She'll read it again and give me some more specific feedback. In the future, I could try to be less of a pig, I guess. After all, it's women who read what I write...
For now, the fix is sounding a little simpler than I originally thought. I could possibly just clarify a few passages.
That's good news...sort of.
I could maybe be a little more sensitive to my chief audience in the future.
Really, I'm just exploiting an aesthetic I was raised to appreciate. I'm pushing it.
My hyperbole should be confrontational and cathartic...even progressive....
at least, regressive-progressive...
Exploit stereotypes to dispel myths...that sort of thing.
It's my point of entry. I'm midnight dynamite...
</lj-embed>
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| Back for More |
[15 Jul 2009|11:21pm] |
So, my computer was seriously messed-up. My motherboard was fried. I was able to salvage the hard drive; but the computer wasn't worth repairing. I bought a new computer and upgraded my internet connection to DSL (versus dial-up). The new computer didn't have an internal dial-up modem. So, I didn't have a choice. Thankfully, DSL was finally available to me in my neighborhood.
I've been distracted with changes at work (my job is picking up a sales component), getting my new computer situated and by internet television (hulu, etc).
My test-reader finished reading my novel. She expressed to my wife that she would want to read it again before discussing it with me. All I've got to go on (regarding the ending of the novel) for now is that she could visualize the place and the action in the ending of the novel; but she would have liked more back story about the place where the last third or so of the novel takes place.
The story does switch gears towards the end. I started with a story which was mainly character-driven...and the story gradually transitioned to a mostly milieu-driven story. In the end of the novel, I split my time between character and milieu. I went to great lengths to describe the milieu; but the history of the place is revealed only through remarks made by the many characters who dwell there. Also, the main character continues to deteriorate. So, there's a bit of switching horses mid-stream...though the success of the story does depend on the successful execution of that maneuver.
It seemed fine to me. But, now, I'm gauging from the reaction I got that the pacing was tripped-up somewhere during the transition.
It was finished.
(SIGH)
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| My Computer's in the Shop |
[25 May 2009|02:32pm] |
Hopefully it's just the power supply. A tech-guy will have a look at it sometime later this week.
Wish me luck
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