Oct Updates

The 4th Annual Columbus Day Hike is officially over.  The fantastic four and one old dude hiked from Lee's Pass at the Kolob area to the Grotto in the main Zion Canyon, exiting down the Angel's Landing Trail.  It was a fantastic time.  My trip report will be posted on my Outdoor Adventurers Blog.

We returned home from Zion late on Friday and then on Wednesday I was off to the Gates of Lodore for a rafting/kayaking trip down the Green River with Mr. Eller, kids and friends.  What a hoot.  I was able to break in a new inflatable kayak going through such rapids as Triplette, Disaster I and II, Hell's Half Mile, and SOB.  The weather was great, the water was wet, and the kayak performed as advertised.

A few days after getting back home, I went to the base and had the bodpod done again.  I'm under 190 pounds for the first time in 20 years or more and my body fat is down to 20.6% pure lard.  Earlier this year I was 199 pounds and 26% fat.  Several years ago, before I was rescued by a friend who invited me on a bike trip, a trip that I failed to complete, I weighed in at 234 pounds.  What a difference 45 pounds makes.

Where did the summer go?

It's now Oct 2, 2011.  Summer is over, where did it go?

It's been a very active summer time, hopefully the autumn season will be just as busy.  My activities during the 'summer' include:

1. Whitewater rescue course on the Green River (3 nights), May
2. Joel, Annaleise, Madison and Brianna's birthdays (3 of them on the same day)
3. Overnight backpack on Indian Trail (1 night), June
4. Kayak trip down the San Juan River (4 nights), July
5. Green river canoe trip (4 nights), July 
6. Katie's birthday, July
7. Zion National Park (Subway, Kolob Arch) (4 nights), July
8. Burley Spudman, July
9. Family reunion (3 nights), August
10. Bailee and Pam's birthdays, August
11. Bike the Bear (1 nights), August (I made two loops for a century bike ride)
12. (I'm over 55 and had physical this year, do I need to add a special test for over 50 males?)
13. Zion National Park (Virgin River, Angels Landing) (2 nights), August
14. McKenzie's birthday, September
15. Justin, Pam and family moving from our home to Bountiful, September
16. Keith and Sheria's visit from Texas (& 2 new family members), September
17. Nampa, (3 nights), September
18. Aubrey's birth, September

Upcoming Activities include:

1. 4th Annual Columbus Day Hike (Lee's Pass to the Grotto)
2. Float trip down Desolation Canyon
3. Emily's birthday
4. Thanksgiving and lots of birthdays in November, along with our anniversary.
5. Christmas and more anniversaries and birthdays in December
6. Grand Canyon trip (Hermits Rest to Monument, Indian Gardens, Phantom Ranch)

Can I squeeze in a skiing trip?

Many of these activities have helped me in achieving one of my goals for this year.  This goal was to have at least one workout each week.  Thus far I've been able to achieve that goal.  A few weeks were a little iffy, but I was at least able to get at least one, one hour walk as a minimum. I've kept a activity journal and have included in the journal an estimate of the number of calories burned for the activity.  The number of calories comes from the Food and Exercise Diary and while I can't guarantee it's accuracy, at least it is pretty consistent.  Thus far this year, I have burned off over 122,000 calories.  It's a good thing I eat a lot!  If I didn't eat so much, I would have wasted away to nothing.  At approximately 3500 calories/pound, I would have burned off over 35 pounds.  For each of the last 3 years, I've averaged over 121,000 calories burned through my workouts.  That's the equivilant of about 105 pounds of fat.  If I lost that much, I'd be under 100 pounds.  (I'm not even close to 100 pounds).  

Unfortunately I also struggled to keep my weight in the neighborhood of 200 pounds.  What am I eating and whatever it is, it must be way to much.  In late August, I did another bodpod test.  I'm down to 24% pure lard.  That's a big improvement from the over 26% fat from my first time in the bodpod.  After getting this number, I decided to use the diet portion of the Food and Exercise Diary.  I didn't create a diet, I just started keeping track of what I eat and logging it in every day.  Once again, I don't have a lot of confidence in the exact calories recorded because I had to make estimates on the quanity and content of some of the foods, but once again, I think it is close. Once I finish deso trip, I'll make another appointment for the bodpod and get some updated numbers.