SpokEasy

March 2021

Sat Fat

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Sat fat?! What won\’t I come up with next? Sat-fat (as I prefer to spell it; but my blog-writing program doesn\’t like hyphenated titles) is my abbreviation for saturated fat; and sat fat, we now know, is a bigger culprit in high cholesterol counts than dietary cholesterol per se. Sat fat comes largely (entirely?) from foods of animal origin; and if you happen to be vegan it should be simple to avoid it. I\’m not vegan myself; and though I\’ve been interested in a meatless diet for decades, it\’s hard to eat a diet based on plants (whole grains, legumes, veggies); get enough calories; and keep from overshooting my carb count. As a result, I now eat more chicken and tuna. The nutritionist says I need to watch saturated fat and trans fat more than cholesterol. The former should make up less than 7% of my daily calorie intake; and trans fats should be avoided as much as possible. So I still have the leeway to enjoy a few ounces of cheese a week; and avoiding processed foods (e.g. snack cakes) ought to make sidestepping trans fat quite easy. But how much fat do I burn off through my cycling? I enjoy browsing through The Feed Zone Cookbook, and I think it would be fun to try more of the recipes. Unfortunately they tend to be high in fat. These dishes are designed with the pro peloton in mind, though; and I guess those folks burn off all that fat during training and racing. As a recreational cyclist, I wouldn\’t. Talking about saturated fat makes me think of videos such as this one. That poor young man has far worse dietary problems than I do. Come to think of it, I don\’t think I\’ve had pizza in at least a year! That Lion As March draws to a close, things look pretty stormy. That lion might be getting ready to pounce. When I went out on the road bike this morning, there were patches of heavy fog. I\’m glad I had planned to ride easy. Poor visibility and hard efforts don\’t mix well. It got warm today; up to 80 degrees. As the day went on, the sky got cloudier and cloudier. The sun dodged in and out; but it was still shining when I left work at 4:30 pm. I decided to give in to my hankering after Chinese food. I\’m calling it Easter dinner! Unfortunately it means a hefty dose of sat fat. You know how it goes when bad weather is about to set in: even though the sun was out, there were ominous-looking clouds in parts of the sky; and then it began to sprinkle. I stopped and pulled on the poncho; then hurried on. As I got closer to the strip mall where the Chinese restaurant is located, the sky in the Northwest looked uglier and uglier. I placed my order at the Chinese restaurant; then went to the drug store (almost next door) for a soda. Then I picked up my dinner, and went home. On the way, some pretty strong wind gusts came up; and I\’m glad they were behind me! And oh, did I get lucky. It didn\’t rain on me. About ten minutes after I got in, I heard a brief drizzle; but I suppose the worst is yet to come. The wind will probably start to kick up any time now. That lion is making itself felt!

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Lion!

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March is poised to go out like a lion; and not like the one in The Wizard of Oz. Right now the wind is blowing at 17 mph, with gusts up to 23 mph. The temperature is an unseasonable 80 degrees. Tomorrow evening and into Thursday, we\’ll be under wind advisory; and tomorrow night the temperature is expected to fall to the mid-40s. It\’s absolutely crazy! That wind made riding home from work, well, hard work at least half the way. I had a stiff headwind; but once I was on the bike path, I got a great tailwind. But tomorrow maybe I\’ll walk to work. First, because of the wind; and second, because the chances of rain are quite high. Merely thinking about it makes me want to stay at home! I hope the wind isn\’t strong tomorrow morning. My ride plan is to take it easy. Today I put in some force efforts, and my legs are rather tired. I need to let myself recover before I try to go hard again; but it\’s not easy to do a recovery ride when the wind is strong. It makes bike handling harder, for one thing. Then there\’s Thursday. I want to make a trip to the supermarket; but wind gusts could be as high as 30 mph! Riding with loaded panniers won\’t make it any easier to deal with that. I\’ll just have to hope for the best. Things will calm down after Thursday; and it looks like Sunday will be good for a nice, long ride. If I watch carefully, maybe I\’ll see the Easter Bunny! Peter Cottontail will have to watch his back; there are coyotes out there! I saw one this morning; and I hope I never see a lion.

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Sightings

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Sightings need not rely on binoculars. I can make plenty of them without field glasses. I love full-moon sightings. Yesterday\’s, the Paschal moon, was rather poor. It was overcast, and as a result the moon looked hazy. In fact, I guess I was lucky to see it at all! I rode early, at 5:30 am; and kept it short. The forecast said that T-storms were possible from mid-morning onwards; and I didn\’t want to get caught out in bad weather when I was miles from home. I didn\’t know just how cloudy it was until I was nearly back home, and it was growing light. The river is rising quite rapidly; and yesterday I got my first gator-eye sighting of the year. No doubt I\’ll see more and more of them as the weather gets warmer. As long as those gators stay in the water, I\’m OK with them. The weather was one argument for riding early and short; and another was making a trek to the drug store to get toilet paper. I saw the news article about the container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal, and they say it\’s blocking the entire waterway. The title of the article mentioned that this blockage was likely to cause shortages of many things, including that notorious bathroom tissue. I was close to having to break into my emergency reserve, so I wanted to replenish my supply in any case. I got lucky: there wasn\’t a whole lot of it on the shelves, but I found what I needed. It\’s déjà vu: remember the run on toilet paper when the pandemic first broke out? The weather got much cooler overnight; and it was mostly cloudy early today. Not much good for moon sightings!

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Tipping the Scales

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Tipping the Scales ⚖️ Tipping the scales isn’t high on many people’s enjoyment list; and since the pandemic began, it’s probably fallen by at least a few places. It seems that weight gain during the last year has been common. Many people haven’t been able to get out to exercise as much; and that means fewer calories burned. That right there can contribute to unwanted pounds. People have been under stress; and that can lead to stress-eating. And don’t they say that stress increases ghrelin? Incidentally, the word “ghrelin” amuses me: it reminds me of “gremlin“. Just as gremlins sabotaged airplanes, ghrelin can sabotage your diet! The results, of course, are not amusing; and I don’t mean to make fun of that. I’m among the lucky ones who have been able to keep up my cycling through all of this. Over the last thirteen months, I’ve lost weight: I’m tipping the scales at about 26 pounds less, which is a significant amount for me. A big motivator was blood work results in February of last year. It showed prediabetes; and I did not, and do not, want to develop full-blown Type II. Riding a bicycle can help with both stress reduction and weight loss; and keeping it up helps to maintain your weight, once you’ve reached your target. My goals now are to keep up the calorie- and carb-watching; and to keep my weight where it is. I don’t need to lose any more; but even less do I want to gain those pounds back! Even if the weigh-in isn’t always fun, it helps keep a body on track; and if my weight creeps up a pound or two, I’ll know right away. Then I can double down on the diet! This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is; and I hope I can provide a bit of inspiration.   Along the way, I got into blogging; presenting my kitchen experiments; and even setting up a store. You can visit my Facebook page here; or check into my Twitter (aka X) page, Cyclo_Pathy. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional. FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube Almost! October 20, 2024 What Happens? October 19, 2024 Persistence October 18, 2024 Wind Relief October 17, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Homing Pigeon

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Homing Pigeon This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” Just call me homing pigeon. Saturday after Saturday, I end up heading for the salvage store. You’d think it were my “home coop”! Today I didn’t see tuna fish; but I stocked up on canned chicken. I found hazelnut-chocolate spread; 13 oz jars for 99¢ apiece! That’s quite a rare find; and I grabbed two of them while I had the chance. Yes, I know — that stuff is on my dietary “naughty” list; but I don’t have to eat it a cupful at a time. I’m running low on olive oil; and when I spied a bottle of it, I took it. Brown rice got added to my cart, too. When the pandemic first started, rice of any type seemed in short supply; so when I find it, I get it. Never mind that I might already have five pounds of it at home! And, needless to say, I raided the grab-bag bins. Those bins are the best part of the salvage store; and I love it when I find items in those bins that have their original price stickers still on them. Today I found four Fit Crunch bars; normally $3.49 apiece. The savings on those bars alone paid for the entire $3.00 grab bag several times over! It’s no wonder I’m such a homing pigeon when it comes to that store. The sky looked rather threatening, so I packed along the poncho; but I felt only a few drops of rain. This trip I didn’t use the trailer. It comes to my rescue when I have a big load; but today I didn’t take along the cooler. Before long, however, I’ll need it if I plan to get stuff such as guacamole. Now I can start planning tomorrow’s ride food. A Fit Crunch bar is sure to appear on the menu!  

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Rolling Along

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Old Man River isn\’t the only thing that\’s rolling along. This foam roller lets you get a deep-tissue massage without having to leave home; very handy in these days of COVID-19! Designed to mimic the action of a therapist\’s hands, and weighs only one pound; easy to carry along if you do leave home! Comes with a 4K ebook of instructions. For a home-spa experience, maybe follow up your self-massage with an epsom salt bath.

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Indecisive

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The weather seemed quite indecisive this morning. It brought up those FAQs: will it rain, or not? How should I dress; and how dense is the fog? Was it \”warm\” or \”cool\”? At 5 am today, it was 72 degrees. That\’s approaching the temperature where I can skip the leg warmers; but it was still dark, and I knew it was likely to be foggy. Riding in the fog and dark can be chilling; so I wore leg warmers. I also wore my jacket, and a lightweight skull cap. For a change there was almost no wind; and I made several efforts at unclimbing. I got almost too warm! I think the lack of wind had a lot to do with it. So now I\’ll be indecisive for a while about how to dress for a ride. On Sunday long rides, I\’ll have the Camel-Bak, and if I start to overheat I can stash some stuff into the Camel-Bak\’s pockets; but on weekday morning rides I don\’t have that luxury. Is it better to get a bit too warm, than to ride for miles while getting chilled? I usually opt for the former; and soon all my rides will be just plain hot, anyway! I\’m feeling a bit indecisive about this coming Sunday: 50% chance of T-storms. Maybe that\’s because I\’m tired right now, after working all day. It would have been even harder getting through the afternoon if I hadn\’t ridden out to get a soda at lunch time. I\’m certainly not indecisive about how to continue with my eating plan. My A1c is now out of the prediabetes range; and I want to keep it there! The same goes for my \”good cholesterol\”. The work involved in meal planning and cooking has been worth it!

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Cholesterol

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Cholesterol is one of those things that has a bad reputation. Limit your dietary intake! Watch out for eggs! Beware of cheese and butter! Or at any rate, that\’s what I always heard in my younger years. When I was with the nutritionist day before yesterday, we got onto that subject; and she says that the rules have changed. A bigger problem than dietary cholesterol itself is saturated fat. I don\’t eat much meat or poultry; and I don\’t have hot dogs and/or bologna every week. I\’ve cut way back on snacks that might be high in saturated fats and trans fats; and I work to limit cheese to a few ounces per week. So why is my cholesterol level high? Thus far my dietary efforts have been aimed at calorie control and curbing the carbs. It helped, too: my A1c level was 6.2; and now it\’s 5.6. That\’s still top-of-normal, though, so my work isn\’t over yet! In fact, I don\’t think it ever will be. I\’ve begun to examine the labels on my ride foods for fat and cholesterol content. Take, for example, Fit Crunch bars. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough variety does, in fact, contain 16 g of total fat per 3.1 oz/88 g bar; and half of it is saturated fat. And the bar has 30 mg of cholesterol. I avoid using those bars as casual snacks as much as possible; and when I\’m on a long ride, I need the energy. But do my long rides really burn off all that fat? Should I change what I use for ride food? I see that my diet needs some further adjustment. I don\’t want to have to go on statins any more than I want to take diabetes medications!

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Dreary

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“Once upon a midnight dreary…” I don\’t know about midnight; but this morning sure was dreary. It was chilly and rainy. On and off there was thunder; and I decided not to go out on the road bike. I had fasting blood work scheduled for 8:30 am, so I couldn\’t have anything to eat; and who wants to bonk? I didn’t ride to my appointment, either. It’s only a short distance, a mile or even a bit less; but if the streets were going to flood, I didn’t want to have to take the bicycle through deep water. It got wet enough yesterday. So I walked. Luckily it wasn’t raining hard, but it was dreary all the same: a gray morning, and too cool for shorts. Afterwards I walked to work; and that was something of a hassle. I was trying to hold onto my water bottle and umbrella while chowing down the bologna sandwich that I had brought with me. I was getting too hungry to wait until I got to work to eat it. Surprisingly, by about 10 am the sun was coming out. It was still at least partly sunny when I went on lunch break around 11:30; but I didn’t trust it. Rain was still very much possible; and in fact we\’re still under flash flood watch. After I got home this evening, I discovered that we\’ll be under a wind advisory for much of tomorrow. It doesn\’t go into effect until 9 am; so maybe I\’ll be able to make a trip to the supermarket. It looks like they don\’t expect rain, but it will still be cloudy; so it will be a rather dreary ride. But temperatures in the 70s, and at 5 am! Summer is a\’coming!

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Adjustment

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Adjustment to saddle height; and adjustment to cleat position. Adjustments are part and parcel of everyday life; and sometimes the diet needs to be tweaked, too. This morning I had a session with the nutritionist. I suspected that something was awry with my eating plan, because I always seemed to be getting hungry. I thought I might need more calories; or more carbs; or perhaps both! And both it seems to be. In brief, the nutritionist recommends that I bump up the calorie count by about 200 per day; and increase carb intake to about 235-240 grams per day. The nutritionist also said to be sure I get in some good, lean protein with supper: whole grains, legumes, and such. She mentioned that physical activity can raise A1c levels. Intense physical effort draws on the body’s glycogen stores, causing blood glucose to rise. That’s why athletes who have diabetes must take special care with monitoring their blood glucose before, during, and after exercise; and adjust food intake accordingly. It all sounds like a big job; and gives me a lot of respect for, say, the members of Team Novo Nordisk. Now for some adjustment to my riding routing. Bad weather has set in; and we’re due for a lot of it in the next few days! The nutritionist also said to be sure I get in some good, lean protein w/ supper. This can be whole grain; or legumes; or some tuna [link] or chicken. I asked about tuna and mercury [link]; and the nutritionist says I’d have to eat lots of tuna every day, long-term for that to be a concern. Now for some adjustment to my cycling! Bad weather has set in; and we’re due for a lot of it in the next few days.

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