Back!

Blog? Oh, yeah, I was getting around to that!

Well, now concentrating on health again, with little new on the ongoing garage project front. Multiple instances of neuroma and plantar fasciitis have taken the workout regimen from “active”, to “healing and resting”, to “nonexistent”. Now, after a long recuperation, I have found workout refuge on the lifecycle and the Nintendo Wii. My daughter’s Wii “Fit” program has given me a chance to work on flexibility, balance and core strength without having to leave the house. I’ve been working on a mix of yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance activities for a fairly rounded (pun intended) workout that has virtually eliminated the lower back pain that has been my regular companion in recent years.

Food intake has been modified slightly based on ideas outlined in “Sugar Busters.” I am setting modest weight loss goals, hoping for a slow, steady loss of around 3 lbs per 2-week period.

An bbq-related shop project is in the planning stages. More on that later.

T

Venturing back cautiously….

So I visited the podiatrist again a couple of weeks ago. Both of the pedal maladies are improving. A cortizone shot helped the neuroma, and a little caution has been helping both of the conditions. As the temps approched 70 degrees today, I washed the car, got the newly-failed van ready for sale, and finally got out for a bicycle ride. Although less than 20 lbs have dropped off, the difference is quite noticable on the bike!

A workout challenge

OK, so it looks like the momentum I had for the first few weeks on the elliptical is taking a short pause. I went to the podiatrist this week to check out a sharp pain in the ball of my left foot, and heel pain. The good news is that x-rays showed no fractures, arthritis, or heel spurs. The bad news is that I appear to have neuroma (pinched nerve between the third and fourth digits of the left foot, and plantar fasciitis (inflamed plantar fascia- the connecting band that supports the arch of the foot). I am taking a few weeks off of the elliptical trainer and outdoor walking for exercise, but my nutritional focus is intact. The break in the cold weather should allow me to move into biking as time permits.

The “Health” Thing

Part of the purpose of establishing this blog was to provide a venue for reporting and monitoring progress on the quest my family and I have begun.  We are now working on overall improvement of our nutrition and overall wellness.  In the past we have, like so many folks, dieted, exercised, and lost weight only to have it return after an extended period.  Our approach this time is simply based on the time-tested truth that monitoring food intake to limit overall calories, increasing fruits and vegetables, increasing water consumption, and increasing activity will lead to slow, permanent weight loss.

My  BMI at the begining of this journey was around 37, and is now in the mid-35 range.  I am 50 years old, and have spent too many years eating as I pleased with little regard for the effects such a lifestyle has on my quality of life.  I view our recent improvement in nutrition and activity not only  as a way to lose extra weight, but as a way to enable myself to begin to enjoy many activities again (including healthy eating!) and remove the guilt associated with poor health maintenance choices.   My biggest goal in this is to make these changes permanent.

Tim’s ’09 Gamer Specs (pretty much final!)

I’ve searched for conflicts and compatibility issues, and have pretty much settled on the following components for my next machine:

LIAN LI Lan cool PC-K1B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition
SAPPHIRE 100270SR Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR10664GK
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Logitech UltraX Silver/Black USB Wired Standard Media Keyboard
Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 for System Builders

It isn’t the fastest stuff out there, but it shouldn’t have too much trouble keeping up with the pack!

It’s been a multi-tasking night in the basement PC den.  I’ve been setting up a laptop for a friend, and on the brighter side, going over specs and choosing components for a new gaming rig.  Maximum PC, Tom’s Hardware and NewEgg just rock my geeky world!  I am considering going to the dark side and building an Intel/Nvidea combination someday, but I feel the need to continue supporting the underdog, thus,  I am going AMD/ATI yet again.  It’s a beautiful thing.

Hello

I am called Tim.  I am a family guy, married for 23 years to my true love, blessed with two children aged 14 and 10.  Interspersed with sharing the activities inherent to keeping said household running, I enjoy playing with cars, motorcycles, and other handy-guy projects, as well as LAN gaming, computer building, fishing, hunting, hiking, etc.  Life is busy, and for the greater part, busy is good!  I love tackling projects for the satisfaction of meeting a new challenge.

Please drop in from time to time for occasional updates….