The Michael Golrick Diet Plan

On Wednesday morning I walked into a meeting to be greeted by the Mayor. He complimented me on how well I looked and how much weight I lost. [I think he was also confused by my lack of beard.] He, and subsequently other City staff, have asked about my secret. And while I have posted previously, I have done some thinking, and here is my explanation.

To start, let me note that in February I weighed almost 270 pounds. Today (Saturday), I am down to 211 (before breakfast, always the lightest of the day). For the record, my height is 6 feet 2 inches (on a good day), and the official BMI charts say that the top of the Normal range for me is 194 pounds.

Part of this is specifically targeted for the Mayor, who was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and has said that he needs to loose some weight. I'll be emailing this to the Mayor's secretary as well as printing it out for him.

• First: Eat at home. I typically eat out only one meal a week, the Rotary meeting at lunch on Tuesday. Restaurant servings are over-large (and over priced). At home, you can control the portion size. I have a small pastry for breakfast, along with tomato juice and a glass of iced tea. [I also take the fist full of pills--prescription and vitamins.] By the time of the ALA Conference in New Orleans, I found that I could not eat all the food presented at the banquets which I attended.
• Second: Smaller portions. At dinner, if we are having chicken breasts, Jill and I split a one chicken breast. If I have cooked two, then the other one is sliced for sandwiches. I bring my own lunch (which, to give Jill credit, she makes). That is a sandwich, a piece of fruit and something salty (usually a small bag of chips of some sort).
• Third: No seconds. A great deal of this is about reducing calorie intake. You don't really need seconds. Eventually, you get used to it. Am I hungry? Most of the time.
• Fourth: No snacks. No visits across the hall to the vending machine. No eating at meetings. When I was at Wednesday morning's meeting, I did not visit the coffee table, I did not take any of the little breakfast snacks offered.
• Fifth: No fast food. I love French Fries. But there is no surer way to add calories, than to eat regularly at fast food restaurants. Last week, I needed to get breakfast away from home, and chose a simple croissant rather than a donut or other sugar filled food.
• Sixth: Drink water. I have a Nalgene bottle which I fill with ice and water each morning. This bottle is a souvenir which has been on adventures with me including traveling down the Allagash River in Maine during the summer of 2004, and the Boy Scouts National Jamboree last summer. It holds a liter of water. I try to finish it before lunch. Many days I drink a second one in the afternoon. Does that mean more visits to the rest room? You bet! But most Americans are at least slightly de-hydrated. Drinking water when I feel hunger fills the stomach, with zero calories. Way back in my youth, the librarians in my hometown library adopted the Stillman Water Diet which included drinking six to eight 8 oz. glasses of water during the day. Did it work? As long as you kept it up, it worked. Drinking water before a meal means that you are less tempted to over eat since your stomach is partly full already.
• Seventh: Restrict alcohol intake. I used to have one or two drinks every night, and more on weekends. Those are empty calories. I now have a drink or two on a weekend, and not during the week. I believe that was critical to the loss of the first 40-50 pounds.
• Eighth: Exercise. I only started this in early July. I dug out my bicycle. It is a trusty 30 year old street bike. A ten speed. In an hour I can now ride from my house (in Bridgeport) to Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford (almost on the river). The direct route there is about 6 miles, one way. I try to stay off the busy streets, so my route (which varies) is not direct. My trip is probably 15 - 18 miles round trip. I also have been swimming. In an hour (lunch) I can go to the YMCA, and get into my bathing suit, swim a half-mile (in about 20 minutes), get pulled back together, and return to the office. That means I take about 10 minutes to eat my lunch while reading the email which arrived while I was out. I feel better as a result. I also take the stairs instead of the elevator at work (other than when I am bringing my laptop in or out -- at the beginning or end of the day). There are six flights to my office from the ground floor. That helps. I also take the stairs when I go around the building to meetings and to see people. I take the steps up to the second floor of City Hall Annex. I walk to City Hall, not drive. (With the price of gasoline, there is an additional saving.) Walking is good!
  

Has it been easy? Yes and no. It was certainly easier in the beginning. Do the math. The first 25 pounds was 9.25% of my starting body weight. To go from my late July weight of 220 to my goal of 195 (also 25 pounds) is 11.1% of my new starting body weight (220). Over all, My goal is to lose 38.5% of what I weighed in February. Right now I have lost 21.85%. That is a lot, but I know that the last bit is going to be harder than what I have done so far.

I will be healthier. That I know. But to stay at that weight, I will have to change from what I had been doing before February. Before I started this, I would just eat and drink as much as I wanted. I am now paying attention to not what I eat, but how much I eat. Yes, I have cut down on bread, but I'm one of those people who could go all day, not eat bread, and not miss it. For me the downfall was sweets and especially desserts.

This is a lifestyle change. I have often said about technology and libraries: Change or die. Well, the same applies to diet, I have found.

Those are my secrets. They aren't really secret. If one other person gets healthier, that would be a bonus for me.

New study on diet and exercise

One of my friends (no, I am not mentioning who), told me about this study. It basically tells me that I did it right.

Let me remind you that it is not easy, and based on anecdotes from some friends, my way won't work for everyone.

Vacation in Panama #4 - wrap up

The rest of the vacation was not as adventure filled.

We spent some afternoons at the pool, when the rains did not begin too early. We had dinner most nights at Rancho de Caldera. The food was excellent, if sometimes a little sophisticated for our daily diet.

Wednesday morning, we went off to the hot springs. These are the naturally occurring hot springs which give the settlement (town is a too organized idea of what is there) its name. The springs are pictured in the Boquete area activities part of the Rancho's page. They are very hot 102 - 106 degrees, but you can cool down in the nearby rive. We walked from the bridge (about 500 meters), but it was a muddy rutted road. The folks who own the property have some "changing rooms" (i.e. sheds), and charge $2 per person.

Thursday we took a horse ride around the property. It was loads of fun with fantastic views. Our guide spoke very little English, but with my very little Spanish, we were able to communicate effectively. (I'll note that he had to put a different saddle on to start, because my big, fat feet would not fit in the original stirrup.)

Stay tuned for photos, on Flickr.

Friday, we drove to David (for the first time since we left). It was an interesting trip to do in the daylight and see the scenery. We visited one casino (small by Vegas standards, or even New Orleans standards) but with mostly penny slots - right up our alley!

Saturday was the early rising to begin the long trek home: five airports, four airplanes, and a taxi ride, plus the drive to the airport and finally home.

Diet Update

It has been a while since I talked about this.

I have been under 200 pounds for three or four weeks now. That is not bad. I've even sometimes had seconds, and had more than one drink in a week, and still stayed at that weight. Maintenance is good, even if I'd be happier with a slightly lower weight.

I've been pretty good about the exercising, although with the cooler temperatures, bike riding has suffered. I have been swimming 4 or 5 days a week. I've been doing the work out on the Nautilus equipment either Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday, and alternating the 3 day a week work out with a 2 days work out.

With the changes coming up in my life, my goal is now to get to a steady 190 pounds by the end of the year. If you count the start date of this adventure as February 1, that would be 80 pounds over 11 months, or almost 30% of my body weight in that time. Seven and a quarter pounds a month is not too bad, and certainly a slower pace than on shows like The Biggest Loser.

I have made lifestyle changes. I want to keep the weight off.

Birthday Ruminations

Well, it is not only the beginning of Banned Books Week, but it is my birthday.

It is not a major milestone this year. Since last year, I have found that I have a colleague and friend who not only shares my exact birthday, but was born in the same hospital, and with the very same obstetrician! More amazing is the fact that it is not where we currently live! It is kind of cool to have that "brothers seperated at birth" thing going on! We joke about it constantly. Did I mention that he is the deacon at my church where I am a Lector and Special Minister of the Eucharist? About a month ago, we found that one of the altar servers was born on our 40th birthday. This particular young man is also in the Boy Scout Troop where I am one of the Assistant Scoutmasters. I find it reassuring to find compatriots, and sharing a birthday is a special connection.

On a more sombre note, I did some math recently. On April 1, 2007, I will be exactly five years older than my father was when he died.

We all have different relationships with our parents. I am blessed that my mother, at 81, is in reasonably good health. There are times, and recently they seem more frequent, when I really miss my father. He died when I was 21. I really did not have a chance to develop an adult relationship with him. But at the same time, I miss him. One of my friends was talking about the fact that her father died when she was in her mid-twenties, and that she never knew her grandparents very well. She also only has one sister. My life has been similar, but also opposite. My father died six weeks after I graduated from college and was not yet 22. I have seven younger brothers and sisters. My youngest sister was nine (9) when our father died. At the same time, all of my four grandparents were alive for my wedding, and three of the four met my eldest son, their great-grandson. One of my grandparents was alive to see all three of my children born, and when my beloved Grandpa Fitzgerald died he had over a dozen great-grandchildren. His eldest great-grandson was an altar server at his funeral.

I've been paying more attention t my health recently, and it occurred to me, that at this point I am more active than my father was. My father faced some of the same weight issues I have been wrestling with. I remember some vague discussion of that in my distant past. But up until his final fight with cancer, he was out there wrestling with us boys (I have three younger brothers) and throwing around the football and baseball. Those have never been skills of mine. However, I can swim a half-mile in 30 minutes, and can ride (on a bike) 20 or so miles in an hour. Two summers ago, prior to my current fitness craze of mine, I managed to keep up with six teen-aged boys and canoe over 70 miles in a week. Eight or so years ago, I swam a mile, straight, in open water. At the same time, while working to keep myself in better shape than my father, and visiting the dermatologist regularly, I still miss my Dad.

Diet update: I've been hanging around 200 pounds for about the last week. That is not bad since I have taken up adding some drinks to my life again ... for good or ill.

A birthday is a good time to sit back and assess. My physical health is better than it has been in many years. My blood pressure medication has been reduced for the first time in 30 years of taking it. My cholesterol numbers are great. My blood sugar is below the threshold for diabetes (which runs in my father's family), and my PSA numbers are normal. My mother and I both look good, and we feel good.

Monday brings the Library Boot Camp East. I'm looking forward to it. Jessamyn West will be spending Sunday night at my house (and I am glad to offer the hospiality). I expect it to be one of the best birthdays recenty. Certainly better than my birthday in 1989 which was spent at the calling hours for Grandpa Fitz. That was the last time I spent a birthday with my siblings.

Enough blathering. More professional thoughts to follow.

Downsizing - In a good way

Some of you who saw me at ALA in New Orleans realize that I have lost some weight. And, if you talked to me, you know that it was on purpose. After Midwinter, I saw my physician, and he yelled at me...well as much as he has ever done. I weighed more than I ever had in my life, and about 20 of those pounds were between August 2005 and February 2006.

He put me on the right path.

No more seconds. No more snacks. Almost no more alcoholic drinks. Drink at least a liter of water every day (preferably before about 2 pm) ... my Nalgene packed with ice each morning helps. Smaller portions, too. Instead of a whole chicken breast, 1/2 of one for dinner. Am I hungry? You bet! But I drink water, and that helps.

Since February I have gone from almost 270 pounds down to .... [drum roll please] 218 pounds. That was after today's bike ride. A little more than a week ago, I started the exercise portion. I purchased bike shorts, and am riding several miles on my "street bike." It was the top of the line when I bought it in the spring of 1976 (to replace one which was three years old and was stolen at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign). It is a Raleigh Grand Prix, ten speed, and it works just fine, thank you. [The model name is still used for a road bike. Here is what it looks like now.]

I looked up the BMI (Body Mass Index) charts from one of the NIH sites, and find that after all that work, I have merely gone from "Obese" to "Overweight." My goal...."Normal" which for me is 194. That's only 22 more pounds!

One benefit became clear this week when my wife brought up from the basement some suits which I had "outgrown." I now have a great tan cashmere sports coat (waiting for fall) and two new suits. When I looked at the label of one of them, I realized that the last time I wore these was in about 1992! That's when G. Fox became Filene's (which is now Macy's).

Look out world, here comes a skinnier me. And you know what? It has not really cost me any more than having a couple of suits altered--to be smaller. No fancy diet foods. No health club memberships. Just pure common sense. I'll drink to that...if it is water!

[Links added Monday 7/17 10:30 am]