Monday, July 26, 2010

Summer days, summer haze,

Hey everyone hope your summer has been good... mine has been pretty busy with finishing my second 'ep' which will be available soon, traveling to visit friends and family in SK and soon to Vancouver and Kelowna, as well as gigs in Dauphin, MB, and Kelowna (Aug. 2 at the Minstrel Cafe).

I always get a little scared when I have to go away from home, it usually means that you have little to no control over your diet, and you are away from you normal routine of sleep and gym time.  Summer itself changes my sleep and working out routines just because Amy and I like to stay up later than normal, and sleep a little later (I am usually up and out of the house by 9 which may not be late for some).

On our trips this year we have done fairly well at keeping ourselves active, by playing a round or two of golf, slo-pitch, even going for walks and attempts at playing tennis.  Because I am not 'gymming' it everyday means that I need to be active and I think that being a more active person is one thing that has changed overall in my life since I started the journey.

The eating part is alot harder than normal as you are going out to eat much more than you usually do when you travel, as well you may not be able to cook a lot when you are visiting someone else.

For instance we were billeted in Dauphin MB and our amazing hosts made us what I am sure is a treat to everyone else, but to us it was pounds in a pan.  She made us these amazing breadpan cinnamon buns.  Sooo much gooey caramel goodness, there was also orange juice, and cereal, and coffee.  To someone else that might seem like the ideal treat, to me it was hard to eat even though it was quite good.  It was all sugar, I need protein to survive, and thrive!  I was like a little school kid on our drive home because of the sugar high and then I became like Eore the Donkey when I crashed and I was angry at everything.

That is what sugar in your bloodstream does when it isn't controlled properly by balancing protein, fat and carbs.   Notice how you get tired in the later afternoon and need a 'pick-me-up' and we reach for the high-sugar- snacks like donuts or cookies with our mid-afternoon coffees.  When you consistently eat protein with carbs and fats in the right ratio your blood sugar level won't crash which means you will not be as hungry, or as tired, or as cranky!

Amy and I did pack a lot of snacks and we did do a lot of our own cooking when visiting with my family in SK.  It's a lot of hassle to pack a cooler full of fruit and cheeze and protein powder but it really helped us to stay away from junkfood and other quick foods that are full of empty calories. One of our 'power' foods was beef jerky!  It is a high-protein source, that can be low in sugar and in fat if you look hard enough.  Careful about the sodium content  eating a bag every hour or two will not be good for you.  The other thing we did was drink water, ALOT of it so that anything that wasn't 'good' for us was being cleansed quickly.  However, we did have to stop a bit more than usual ;)...

The summer travels thus far weren't that bad.  When I last weighed in it was a couple of days before we left and I was 374 (which meant that I had gained 2 lbs in the few days after my last blog) and when I came home expecting to be up again, I found that I had not only lost the 2 lbs since my last blog but also another 2lbs.  I weighed in this week at 370.2lbs!  My total weight loss now stands at just over 55 lbs.  Not bad for a 3.5 months.

I will be back from my travels next Tues. and get back to the gym and have some normal life for a couple of weeks before I head to Calgary for another gig.

Wish me luck!

Blake

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