Jon Sagara

I love kimchi.  It’s spicy, it’s crunchy, and it has a fantastic flavor.  Served over white rice or alone, it’s the perfect complement to Korean dishes such as Bibimbap and Bulgogi.  And now, according to Health.com, it’s one of the world’s healthiest foods:

Kimchi (or kimchee) is loaded with vitamins A, B, and C, but its biggest benefit may be in its “healthy bacteria” called lactobacilli, found in fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt. This good bacteria helps with digestion, plus it seems to help stop and even prevent yeast infections, according to a recent study. And more good news: Some studies show fermented cabbage has compounds that may prevent the growth of cancer.

This is horrible news for Kelly.  If you’ve never experienced kimchi in the flesh, it stinks, and it looks like the Syracuse mascot barfed in a jar and let it ferment for a couple of decades.  So even though Kelly thinks it tastes alright, she just can’t get past the smell.  It’s always a struggle to get her to buy it for me.  Lately, I’ve had to resort to bargaining.  I’m now down to one kidney and 1/2 a lung.  And whomever was the recipient of my duodenum, you’d better enjoy it.  I miss you, Duod.  You were always like an intestinal tube to me.

But back to my point, I love kimchi, and I now have a valid excuse for eating it, stink and all. 

(On a related note, I have unilaterally decided what Troy’s first “solid” food will be: puréed kimchi.  Mm, mm, good.)

In Woodland this morning:

A bear got onto a Woodland highway where it was struck and killed by a car Thursday morning.

The collision was reported at 5:48 a.m. in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 just north of Highway 113, according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver of the green Chevrolet Impala was not injured.

The bear was attracting a crowd and causing a traffic hazard before it was removed within an hour by state fish and game officials, the CHP reported.

Geez.  Way to go, Bear.  You ruined a perfectly good Impala.

Stupid animal.

I didn’t write about last year’s GSWLD because, quite frankly, it’s a little embarrassing to admit you’re carrying 225 pounds on a 165-pound man’s frame.  Also, having tried unsuccessfully to use exercise as a means of losing weight many times before, I wasn’t feeling great about actually succeeding on Yet Another Diet/Exercise Plan, so I didn’t want to announce my grandiose plans to the world and then ultimately fail after only 2 weeks of effort.

However, this time was different.  Someone pointed me to a little eBook called The Hacker’s Diet.  It essentially uses an engineering approach to weight loss, where the body is considered a rubber bag, and the amount of weight you lose (or gain) depends on the difference between the calories you ingest and the calories you burn.  If you burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight.  If you eat more than you burn, you gain weight.  Pretty simple stuff.

What really smacked me across the face was this little fact:

There are 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat.

After reading that, the weight loss mystery suddenly became crystal clear.  In order to lose 1 pound of fat per week, I needed to create a deficit of 500 calories per day (3500 calories / 7 days = 500 calories per day).  Whether I achieved this by eating less, exercising, or some combination of both, the fact remained that I needed to eat 500 calories less than my recommended daily intake.

So in March of 2006, I did just that – I cut down my daily caloric intake, joined a kettlebell class led by Ken Black, and started taking brisk nightly walks with Kelly and Homer.  The results were immediate.  My blood pressure dropped from 150/100 to 120/80 within 2 weeks, and I started losing 1-2 pounds each week.  I continued this regimen until about mid-September, at which point I had shed a total of 45 pounds.

What with the success of the 2006 GSWLD, it’s time again to lose some weight.  As I mentioned before, we ate like kings for the three weeks following Troy’s birth.  That, combined with the fact that I have been pretty lax with my diet since Thanksgiving, has led me to put ~10 pounds back on my frame.  The pants are getting a little snug around the thighs, and I can see in pictures that my face has filled out again. 

I currently weigh in at 187 pounds.  My goal is to hit 165 by July 1st.  It’s go time.

If you’ve been meaning to shed a couple of pounds, now is as good a time as any.  You can probably drop 10-15 pounds before summer rolls around.  Talk to your doctor, figure out a weight loss plan that will work for you, and go for it!  It is hard work and takes a ton of discipline, but the results are very rewarding.  Stick with it!

First, there’s this:

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State forward Xavier Kilby was arrested after he was accused of pointing a gun at teammate Ronnie Aguilar’s head, police said Monday.

And now, there’s this*:

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A 4-year-old boy who was [...] blitzed by a college football player during a game has 30 stitches in his head[...]

Best Place to Live in the U.S. my left butt cheek.  Your college athletes are a bunch of gun-toting, child-beating thugs!  Mr. Greenwood, you’ve got some splainin’ to do.

* Excerpt intentionally and misleadingly edited to make my faux outrage seem real.

Edit: Of course it was only a matter of time until someone YouTube’d it:

Damn.

Edit 2: YouTube video dead.  Double damn.

Thanks to Bret and Vanessa for a fabulous evening of dinner and drinks.  The tri-tip was outstanding, and the shrimp?  Oh, the shrimp…  Succulent.  Juicy.  Cajuny.  Very, very good.

Sadly, I was too distracted by Señor Coors Light to even attempt to take any pictures, so you’ll have to use your imagination.  Or, look at some of our old ones.