Thursday, January 30, 2014

To Anchorage

This morning, I'm in Anchorage for a couple of days. I hear that the weather will be pretty nice and probably a little warmer than Fairbanks. This is the slightly doctored view of the Alaska Range as the flight passed over. Just increased the contrast and exposure using the Snapseed iPhone app. There is a hint of color from the sunrise but this is before the sun actually appeared above the horizon.

I'm on the 13th floor so there's a pretty good view to the north east. Downtown would be behind me and the Cook Inlet is several blocks is to the left. 

Over the last few weeks, I've been watching all these videos on nutrition and diet. I knew that I needed to do something and not just assume that things will get better on its own. I started with Forks Over Knives based on a recommendation from Chris L from EverydayRiding.com and moved on to Fat, Sick and Almost Dead. Plus a few more thrown in for good measure (isn't Netflix and Amazon Prime wonderful!). I suspect that there will be some challenges during this trip. I'm not completely convinced of the "juicing" thing though it has become a tasty addition to my diet. 

Thursday Evening Update - The view on the opposite side of the hotel. ProHDR iPhone photo. 

15 comments:

  1. Anchorage looks warmer than Denver! We're getting another blast of snow tonight....should make tomorrow's commute interesting. Maybe I'll work from home.

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    1. It's 25°F right now and very sunny here in Anchorage. No snow in the forecast for a while. I'd do anything not to commute into the city during inclement weather. How is the V-Strom doing in the snow?

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  2. Richard:

    I liked the Alaska Range. They look so small and insignificant as there's no sense of scale. So deceiving unless you were on ground level

    You are making good progress with your diet. I went down, then back up to higher than I was when I started. I have a lack of will power, especially when I am making the meals. I suppose too much starch this time of year. Summer brings more salad and lighter fare

    It's almost like you are on vacation with the warmer temperatures

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. Things look different from 33,000 ft. Lots of areas open for exploration.

      The diet is working fine. Haven't eaten anything for the last five days and today I had a small bowl of steamed veggies and some beans. Maybe a cup of food and I'm fine. The fast and vegetable juicing was a transition mechanism.

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  3. I really enjojyed juicing. Great way to get lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in. I have been thinking of getting back to that and the heathy shakes and such...since I keep running out of the door in the mornings.

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    1. I was skeptical at first and was pleasantly surprised at how good and filling they actually were. I have to pass on a lot of the fruit due to the sugar content.

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  4. Richard the mountain shot is spectacular. (Just saw a promo for fat, sick and almost dead tonight - sponsored by Breville Blenders, great way to sell high end blenders.) Good luck on your new path, my advice - eat healthy, eat often and always leave a little on your plate. Juices are great but often lacking in fibre which is important to healthy cholesterol levels. Aren't you glad so many people have advice for you?

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    1. Always looking for advice especially when accompanied with personal experiences. I enjoyed watching the fat, sick and almost dead movie and actually ended up watching a couple of times. Not because of the wonderful artistry but because it sort of hits close to home.

      So far, no issues with cholesterol levels and I've been tracking my blood sugar. Slightly higher during the juice fasting probably due to the higher sugar with the added fruit. But all seems fine so far.

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  5. Richard, I have gone down that path with regards to changing my nutritional lifestyle, and never looked back. As a matter of fact I love the juicing part, and have since found some interesting combinations of fruit and veggies.

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    1. Actually, you are the one that got me initially thinking about changing my diet to feel better. Brad, Brandy, Chris L and others further convinced me to actually do something. Plus, a significant percentage of my extended family is either vegetarian or vegan.

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  6. Pretty view of the mountains from the air.

    I haven't tried juicing, but I do love homemade blueberry smoothies. The juicing always worries me that when you only put liquid in, you only get liquid out the other end.

    I've seen Forks Over Knives, it is what promoted us to go from vegetarian to vegan just over 2 years ago. Veggies roasted in the oven have to be my favorite meal but we've been making a lot of raw recipes lately. Raw broccoli salad with avocado dressing, raw tabouli made with grated cauliflower, etc. We bought a VitaMix high speed blender from Costco on the advice of Chris L and love it.

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    1. I believe that one of the benefits of juicing instead of blending was being able to get more nutrients per unit volume. I've found that it is more than filling. Thank you and Chris L for the food suggestions...

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  7. Richard, my diet is simpler, but not as effective. I'm foregoing carbs. It's relatively easy for me but requires discipline. The easy weight loss of the early going has past. Now I have to stick to it and get over the hump.

    Keep it up! Very impressive.

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    1. This is more dietary change then diet. Yes, I really did need to lose some weight but more importantly, I needed to identify what part of my diet was causing me problems. The easiest way for me to initiate a dramatic change in my diet was doing something like a green juice fast.

      Maybe I'll do a post about the changes...

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    ReplyDelete