so, the friday before my big run, i had a healthpass appointment at work to check just how out of shape and unhealthy i really am. yesterday i got the results. they’re depressing, to say the least.

i knew i was ‘overweight’ because i see myself in the mirror everyday, but also because my doctor told me so a while back. clearly he didn’t really put in terms that i could really digest, because i didn’t think it was that big of deal, or that i was that fat. clearly, i miss understood.

ok, so here are the figures:

height: 5’6″
weight: 179
bmi: 28.7 (that would be my body fat percentage)

that’s right, i’m apparently nearly 30% body fat. add on the 70% water and that leaves 1.3% muscle, bone, hair, etc. i almost fainted. maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but i was definitely shocked.

given my short stature (slightly below average?) i’m supposed to weight somewhere between 115 and 145 pounds. that means to reach the middle of that range i need to lose in the vicinity of 50 pounds! that’s a tiny person! a midget, a mini me!

in an effort to reach that goal, i’ve started looking at what it means to eat healthy (balanced diet, proper portions, etc) and what kind of regular exercise i need to be doing. 50 pounds! the task seems so daunting and the thought of it depresses me. i can’t imagine losing that much weight….

we’re talking about a major lifestyle change here and i don’t even know where to begin.

in all honesty, it’s the change in my eating habits what will be far tougher than adding more exercise to my routine.  i’ve already been trying to exercise more, though it’s clear to me now that the months of training for the run have done nothing for me in the way of weight loss.  more is obviously needed.  more running, more swimming, more… i don’t even know.

i’ve started looking into exercise programs, joining a gym, or even getting a personal trainer.  i simply don’t know what to do or where to start with this stuff.  then, of course, there’s the eating healthy bit.  i knew i could eat better, but i honestly never really thought i ate that poorly.  i mean, i don’t eat a lot of sweets, i’ve cut back on fast food (though still break down occasionally), and i don’t eat nearly as much junk food as i used to.  and still, i’m carrying around a mini me on my frame.  what do i do?  get a cook book?  confine my meals to salads?  get myself a nutritionist?  i just don’t know how to begin….

so now i’m stuck with this feeling of relative helplessness and a clearer understanding of just how unattractive i must be (wallowing?  yeah, maybe just a bit).  while i have some doubts about my ability to turn all this around, i’m fairly confident i can succeed; all i need to do is figure out a plan and where the hell to start….

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sunday night was the supposed peak of the perseids meteor shower.  don’t ask me, because i didn’t see much.  a friend of mine and i walked to the top of makapuu point, away from the lights of honolulu, in order to get a clear view of a show so many expected to be spectacular.  it wasn’t.  i saw two shooting stars over the course of a few hours, as did my friend.  aside from the disappointing shortage of shooting stars, the sky itself was certainly a sight to behold.  away from the city lights, in the pitch darkness of night, we could see literally thousands of stars, not to mention the milky way itself.  it was just so clear and the sky was so beautiful that, by the time we started back down the hill, i barely minded not seeing the show i had been expecting.  i saw one that was just as spectacular.

also, last night the big island was hit with a 5.4 earthquake south of hilo.  yes, i slept through this one too, but in my defense, it was smaller than the one last fall, not to mention further away and a huge mountain was between me and the epicenter.  in itself, i’m not sure that this would be worth mentioning, except that it happened to occur on the same day that hurricane flossie is scheduled to brush over the big island with up to 10 in inches of rain and tropical storm force winds.  nope, not the best week to be visiting the big island of hawaii.

flossie (who comes up with these names?) is on track to barely miss the rest of the islands, but here in honolulu, we do expect heavier than normal winds, rain, and surf as the hurricane (by tomorrow, maybe a category 1?) moves northwest parallel to the island chain.  on the one hand, i’m glad we won’t be hit directly by a this storm for the sake of safety.  still, on the other hand, part of me would really like to see/experience a hurricane (i’m not asking for a category 5, i think a 2 or maybe 3 would be sufficient).

i’ve now lived in places on earth that produce two of the most powerful, destructive, and cool (yes, i said cool) type of storms in the world and i’ve seen nor experienced either.  i’m lucky and annoyed all at the same time!

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so, technically i’m about a third of the way through guns, germs, and steel, but haven’t picked it up in a while.  what’s more, i’ve got a slew of books at home that i still require reading, including plato’s complete works and two treatises of government.  can’t say as any of those are ‘fun’ reading and as i’ve committed myself to reading more current events, periodicals, reports, etc., i figure i should have something fun to read on the side.

here’s what i bought today: mark twain in hawaii, 1984, and the sirens of titan.  i’m equally excited about all of them, but am going to start with mark twain, because it’s the shortest.

yippee!

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