Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies
Listened to a great meditation podcast this morning where they mentioned the five solas, latin for “alone”, which I was unfamiliar with. The five solas are:
Sola Gratia – Grace alone
Sola Fide – Faith alone
Sola Christus – Christ alone
Sola Scriptural – Scripture alone
Soli Deo Gloria – To the Glory of God alone.
In the process I learned a little more about the five solas and the Protestant reformation on a post from Concordia University
The Encounter podcast, a great way to start your day.
Well, today it happened. 200 or less on Tuesday!
As I posted a week ago I set a goal earlier in the year. And, in spite of Domino’s pizza and a couple of glasses of wine last night, the goal was achieved this morning at 198.4. I know nobody but me cares about this but goal achieved. Feels good.
Now the new goal is to hold between 195 and 200 and make this my new normal.
Back in February 2022 I embarked on a weight loss program. I’m sure that this is something that many of us have done from time to time but this is the first time I’ve been serious (sort of) about Dorning some weight.
Back in April 2021 I dipped below 200 lbs and I wasn’t even trying. II’d say it was my medical situation that did it all by itself with no conscious help from me. I remember feeling good about that weight and how I looked etc. It’s the weight I was when I graduated high school and hadn’t seen since that time. So that was the goal, get back to 200.
For me the weight loss was primarily about helping my performance on the bike. Less weight to ride around with makes you faster as you increase your fitness levels. Less weight to pedal up those hills at the lake. All that plus I’ll look a bit better in the bathing suit this summer. ?
So here is the plan. Eat and drink less, exercise more. Pretty simple eh? Eating less was aided by a daily reminder I put on my phone.
I am consistent – Back to 200! Healthy foods in healthy amounts – skip desserts! smaller plate, one plate, no seconds
I’m a firm believer in that it’s all about the calories. Less calories in and the body will burn off the weight. So how did that go? Well… it was a good reminder for sure and some days I stuck with the program and some days I didn’t. I’ve not yet got into the “small plate” habit but I think my portion control is a bit better. Desserts are less frequent and it’s 1-2 cookies not half a bag of Fudgeeos
More exercise = more riding the bike + some weight training. This part is going very well. Almost daily there is 1+hours on the bike either indoors on the trainer doing formal interval training or outside on generally longer rides. On non-riding days there is a 1 hour weight program. Occasionally, both on the same day. ?
I decided to record weight daily and have an official weigh-in day once a week on Tuesday. Why Tuesday? Well, I thought if I messed up the program on the weekend that I might be able to get back on track on Sunday and Monday and make the weekly goal on Tuesday.
And what was the weekly goal? Well somewhere I heard that 1 lb/week was a reasonable rate of loss and 2lbs/week would be fairly aggressive. So, being a bit of a data guy II created a spreadsheet and targeted somewhere between 1-2 lbs/week.
So all of this put together has worked out fairly well overall with one little exception, 200 Tuesday. Here is the data to date.
What the chart doesn’t show is that there have been several days recently where I’ve been under 200, just never (so far) on Tuesday, the “official” weigh-in day. Generally, I manage to self-sabotage myself in the days right before Tuesday with a little to much self congratulation on making the goal. Right now I’m hovering daily between 201-202, agonizingly close, but no prize. May long weekend was the planned date to make the goal which is only 8 days away. The pressure is on!
The counter is ready and the installers are here. Inside of two hours the counter is installed and the new sink is in place.
For me this meant that last night I removed all the now old counter tops for the last time. Disconnected the kitchen sink and the dishwasher and move the stove out of the way.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the process they used to join the two pieces right in the middle of the sink. Two suction devices where placed on either side of the sink cutout and a vacuum pump attached. Each suction device had a bar on one side that allowed the installer to attach a nylon web strap with a ratchet device to each suction device. The epoxy joint compound was then mixed and applied, the two sides were pulled together by the ratcheting strap while multiple clams ensured that both the back and front edges of the joint were flush and smooth on top. The joint is almost invisible in the end.
Of course once the counter installers are done, the other trades (me) are on tap to put all the appliances back and reconnect the dishwasher and re-locate the electrical switch for the garburator . The sink connections have to wait 24 hours to allow all the silicone and epoxy to set properly.
The new deeper sink requires a small adjust meant to the drain, which turns out to be a full re-build of the connections from the garbage disposal to the drain line.
Once we’re all reconnected it’s put back all the stuff that lives on the counter and start thinking about the next step which is is to finish repairing the wall behind where the old counter top was and prime it in preparation for backsplash tiling.
Until then the the kitchen looks like this.
So, along with loosing some weight I’ve been focused on another cycling fitness goal, that of improving my Functional Threshold Power or FTP.
Once upon time I hit a record high in my FTP of 311 way back in January 2014 and that was the last time it’s been anywhere near that good.
Over the last 4 1/2 years various health issues have put a dint in my cycling abilities and correspondingly the FTP has been on a bit of a roller coaster. But after some steady workouts over the winter things are once again looking up. Today, I hit 230, the highest it’s been in a while.
I’ve been using the Wahoo X (formerly known as Wahoo Systm before they acquired RGT) for measuring FTP for the last little while and TrainerRoad before that all the way back to March 2012.
Wahoo Systm has two tests that they use to measure FTP the Half Monty and the Full Frontal. My last few testing results are below.
Pretty excited to be back to the cycling fitness level prior to starting on The Journey
There is nothing like pressing into His presence in pursuit of our portion through Him. There is nothing like pursuing the Provider.
Surprised that I’ve not done a post about my F1 addiction.
After watching a lot of Drive to Survive while in Toronto hospital last year I find F1 fascinating. Probably the most interest in any sporting event in my life so far. I’ve never followed a sport his closely before.
For whatever reason I was a big Mercedes/Hamilton fan last year but this year it’s hard to stand by the team when things are going so badly for them. It’s quite a shockingly bad start to the season with no signs of improving so far. But, never count them out, there is a lot of racing left.
This year my interest is even higher as I’ve joined an F1 Fantasy league. I’m currently sitting 10/19 and of course hoping to move up this weekend.
I have to admit that I’ve been banking on Ferrari for the Fantasy league but still hoping Mercedes/Russel can get back in the game and score some big points for my team.
Why do phrases like these seem to immediately resonate? Is it simple the alliteration or is there more to it? Many authors, especially leadership authors, seem to use this technique to reinforce their points. What makes them memorable phrases?
The breaking is necessary for the breakthrough.
When I commit…
Craig Groeschel – life.church
… I don’t quite
God created you on purpose for a purpose
Christine Caine
Just one thing.
That the blood of Jesus
can reverse the curse of sin
and raise the dead to life.
