purpleklipse’s BodyBlog

This is by John Perry who is a Stanford University Professor. He is hilarious and super smart. More of his essays can be read at: http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/light.php

 OK on with the show

The Justice Diet

I have discovered an amazing new diet, the Justice Diet. Its novelty does not consist in the sorts of foods one eats or does not eat. It consists rather in the fact that this diet is the first one that is honest about the sort of principles on which it is based. Like most diets, the Justice Diet has nothing to do with nutrition, and everything to do with sin, punishment and just reward. Unlike other diets, the Justice Diet admits this, which allows for a revolutionary approach.

The basic premise of the Justice Diet, like all diets, is that the world is run on just principles, so if one suffers, one will be rewarded. On most diets, the suffering consists in one or more of the following: not eating anything, eating vegetables, and exercising. The Justice Diet thinks these forms of suffering are simply wonderful, and Justice Dieters are encouraged to not eat, eat vegetables and sweat as much as they feel like.

But the Justice Diet recognizes a fourth form of suffering, passing up food. It seems only fair that dieters should be rewarded not simply on the basis of what they eat, but also on the basis of what they wanted to eat and could have eaten but chose not to eat.

Let me give an example of how it works. You and I eat the same thing on a given Tuesday. Cantaloupe, coffee and toast for breakfast, a turkey sandwich and a light beer for lunch, and some sort of Thai dish with rice and such things for dinner. Our calorie and fat intake is exactly the same. But there is an important difference. You ate at home, making your own breakfast and lunch, and taking your dinner from the freezer. You ate basically what there was to eat. I on the other hand had breakfast in a cafeteria, where I had the opportunity to add a couple of fried eggs and bacon and a cinnamon roll, which I passed up. At lunch I went to a deli with pre-made sandwiches, and there on the counter next to the turkey sandwich I chose was a wonderful pastrami and cheese which I passed up, and I also didn’t take the piece of cheesecake that the cashier suggested. Finally, I had dinner in a restaurant, where I could have started with some deep-fried appetizers and ended with dessert, but I passed them up.

Now it is perfectly obvious that I have suffered a great deal more than you, in spite of the fact that my intake of calories and fat was the same as yours. Therefore, I deserve to lose more weight (or gain less) than you do. I deserve this just as much as if I had eaten less, or had eaten some sort of Vegen monstrosity rather than my turkey sandwich, or had gone running after dinner. Suffering is suffering.

How much should the things one passes up count? After a lot of careful research and deep thought, I have concluded that one should get credit for one-fifth of the calories that one passes up. Suppose that piece of cheesecake contained four hundred calories. Then I get eighty calories credit. Even though you and I ate exactly the same amount, it is only fair that I lose just the amount extra, or gain the amount less, that I would have if I had eaten eighty calories less than you did, or ran for however long it takes to burn up eighty calories (five or six hours, if I remember correctly). Of course I am not sure that one-fifth is exactly the right figure. Any scientific theory is subject to revision based on new evidence. Perhaps the right figure is one-fourth or one-sixth. However, the official figure chosen at present for the Justice Diet is one-fifth, and I’m pretty sure that when all the evidence is in that it won’t be far off.

Dieters have a tendency to deceive themselves about how much they eat. Those on the Justice Diet must fight the tendency to deceive themselves about how much they pass up. Suppose for example that when I had breakfast in the cafeteria I not only could have picked up eggs and bacon off the counter, but also a large stack of buttermilk pancakes, slathered with butter and dripping with maple syrup. But suppose that as a matter of fact I wasn’t in the mood for pancakes, but was very much in the mood for eggs and bacon. Then it is fair to count the eggs and bacon, but it would be contrary to the Justice Diet principles to count the pancakes. "Passing up" does not just mean "walking past". One must be seriously tempted by the food in question for it to count. Otherwise we could all get skinny just by putting large fruitcakes around the house.

Like all diets, the Justice Diet can be abused, and when this happens the health of the dieter can be put in jeopardy. Jaime is a case in point. Jaime had good results on the Justice Diet, but then he got in a hurry to lose weight. Jaime would buy some pastries every morning at the pastry shop, and carry them around with him until lunch. Every few moments he would pull out a bear claw or a chocolate croissant and stare at it for a few minutes, letting the desire to wolf it down grow in him, and then pass it up. At lunch he would buy a turkey sandwich and a pastrami and cheese sandwich at the deli, return to his office and put the pastrami sandwich on his desk and stare balefully at it while he at the turkey sandwich. For dinner, Jaime would grill himself a sirloin, put it on a plate and lust after it as he ate his Tofu-stack-up. The problem is one cannot keep up this kind of suffering for long. Every couple of days Jaime would break down and eat a croissant or a pastrami sandwich or his steak. Given that the calories in the food one passes up count for only one-fifth of the calories in the food one eats, Jaime suffered a lot and ended up as bad or worse as if he had taken a more moderate approach, not to mention all the money he wasted on the croissants and sandwiches and steaks he didn’t eat.

Like all diets, the Justice Diet should be used only after consultation with a physician. Given the basic principles on which it works, a physician with theological training is a good choice.

Wahooooo! Did the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Run. Very fun. Very sunny. Ate afterwards up in Seattle. Got a lot of fun little things at the booths including breast check "massage oil" - great idea, actually. Don’t think the guy appreciated me asking if it came with someone to apply it. Oh LIVE A LITTLE!!!

Imagine a line of 30 women trying to use the potty before the race….. only to find out once you inched up close enough in the line that we were using a mens bathroom with 15 urinals and like 6 toilets. Thanks Qwest Stadium.

I have no idea what else I was going to write out. Other than the gym I teach at just got totally remodeled and it freakin FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!! They  have this abs machine where you lay back sort of and then get basketballs to throw through hoop. And another like the Ab Glider or whatever that is on tv right now. So stinkin COOL! And my new room to teach in is reaaaaaaaaaally fun and painted neat green colors. Much livelier than the old 80s/90s Harts/24Hour decor.

So excited that it’s sunny here and summer has finally arrived! It’s awesome!

Kitties are doing well - little depressed, ya know - but good overall.

Through my sad drama situation I have kicked coffee. It’s pretty amazing. I feel so much cleaner and even keel. Just happy because I’m happy and not up and down with the venti americano blaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Choreographed to a new Kat DeLuna song last night. She is pretty awesome.

I’m EXCIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITED!

Thank you a bajillion times to everyone helping me! I so appreciate you guys!

Hello!!! So as I said on my BS profile I’ve never been a runner. But in the last month or so I’ve been working on it to do the Sound to Narrows. I finished with flying colors! It was amazing!

Little cold outside but that worked to our advantage once we were really hot running. Also got some cool new waters to try.

I feel good - calm yet excited. Makes me want to go do more physically, but for now, my legs rest.

Next weekend there are two running events. I had to choose between them - toughy! I’m doing the Susan Komen Breast Cancer run instead of Run With the Cops Not From Them. That would have been fun/funny to do, though.

Also going through a lesson in my "get out of that pit" I ran across this and thought it was interesting based on my current situation with the love of my life.

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of GOd because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continued lust for more. Ephesians 4:18-19.

I don’t say that with a mean heart toward him. But it kind of does ring true. I love him. pray for him, pray for me, pray for us.

THANK YOU to everyone who is supporting me and helping me through this. It’s a wonderful surprise to have such amazing friends on this site helping me through this very personal time. I appreciate you so much!

I had a conversation with a colleague about this before but the topic has really grown inside me. I now believe it even moreseo and have even more examples as when I started thinking this about a year ago.

The most fruitful things in life are not things you can buy (duh) but those things that require STEADY EFFORT.

I used to be fat. Would cry about why I couldn’t be thin. I was so successful in my job, why not this too? I was so intellectually SMART about weightloss and read a ton of great material on the Web, oxygen, fitness, shape magazines all the while still being fat.

There are the things in life that - if you can do it CONSISTENTLY - will give you the best outcomes in life.

No matter what you are willing to pay you cannot get these things. You simply have to do the work - and not just once or twice! That kills us, I know.

Parenting - you really have to give it CONSISTENT and steady effort to raise a healthy well-adjusted kid. Can’t take a year or two off. Or just do a great job in the beginning. Or rush to "catch up" later when he’s 12. Buying or reading all the parenting books in the world also does nothing. Can’t just buy them the best of the best and expect them to turn out alright. You have to put in the effort and consistently be there with your kids.

Relationships - Can’t just do nice things when it works for you. Can’t just show up to your family’s house on a holiday a year and expect to have a deep connection with them, if that’s what you expect. Relationships are built with consistent effort - even a small note on a regular basis is better than one huge effort very rarely.

Finances - like wine that ages with time, your finances are something that if you are consistent and methodical with - giving your best effort - you can grow pretty well. Same thing with repairing your damaged credit. You can’t just hope to win the lotto and bam take care of that debt and credit score. You’ve got to show a track record of consistent, incremental COMMITTMENT.

Working out/eating right - You can’t have extreme highs and lows. I couldn’t work off the pounds until I just got out there and did it - pounding the pavement day in and day out. You can’t think about it and the minimum effort to give. Even if you aren’t a rockstart coming right out of the gate, you will make MORE progress by giving what you are able and coming back the next day and giving it effort and attention again. and the next day. and the next day.

I used to wish I could just PAY to lose the pounds. Walking into 24Hour Fitness and seeing the Biggest Loser promotions "Lose 15 pounds in 6 weeks! Prices starting at $59" I’d joke to my significant other "That’s a bargain - let me go pay for that right now." It just doesn’t work that way.

"You can’t have 9 women pregnant for a month and expect to have a baby"  You just have to go through the journey. May as well enjoy it.

my husband-to-be (in 2 months) left me last week. he wants to move out immediately (of our new townhouse). a girl from 10 years ago in high school persued him and he is excited about that new love feeling.

haven’t been able to eat. losing muscle but oh well at least i’ll lean out and be less bulky like my legs tend to be.

i am so in love with him and cherish him. I adore him, appreciate and respect him. I would have loved him so well as a wife. I pray that he can turn his heart back to me and we can resolve this.

Please never be too busy providing for your family by working. Always tell your significant other that you LOVE THEM no matter what. Specifically find sweet little things to do - and never stop. When you think of something sweet to say, ALWAYS say it. You don’t get credit for things you think of but don’t do.

I am devastated.

I miss by best friend. He even just helped make final wedding prep plans. Were switching our insurance. Still go on dates, talk, laugh, have a great time.

have to let him go as he wants. pray that he has a change of heart and comes back to our family (cassie and holly - the kitties who adore their Daddy).

we were so incredibly in love.

in training: still planning to do the Sound to Narrows next weekend. and i’ll find it in me to teach my gym classes this week.

sweet man sleeping in seahawks jersey.
Dan and I in henderson nevada starbucks
Dan at a comedy club (last stop on his birthday extravaganza I planned)
Dan and me in oregon - first picture ever taken of us together
Dan and I in vegas at hotel
Dan and I Christmas at our place. Present from his grandparents to us.

my husband-to-be (in 2 months) left me last week. he wants to move out immediately (of our new townhouse). a girl from 10 years ago in high school persued him and he is excited about that new love feeling.

haven’t been able to eat. losing muscle but oh well at least i’ll lean out and be less bulky like my legs tend to be.

i am so in love with him and cherish him. I adore him, appreciate and respect him. I would have loved him so well as a wife. I pray that he can turn his heart back to me and we can resolve this.

Please never be too busy providing for your family by working. Always tell your significant other that you LOVE THEM no matter what. Specifically find sweet little things to do - and never stop. When you think of something sweet to say, ALWAYS say it. You don’t get credit for things you think of but don’t do.

I am devastated.

I miss by best friend. He even just helped make final wedding prep plans. Were switching our insurance. Still go on dates, talk, laugh, have a great time.

have to let him go as he wants. pray that he has a change of heart and comes back to our family (cassie and holly - the kitties who adore their Daddy).

in training: still planning to do the Sound to Narrows next weekend. and i’ll find it in me to teach my gym classes this week.

I have a lot going for me in my life but he was what I looked forward to. Our time and memories together.

I look like shit in the Christmas picture but I don’t care. This is our family - minus two cats that didn’t want to be held. I love him.

sweet man sleeping in seahawks jersey.
Dan and I in henderson nevada starbucks
Dan at a comedy club (last stop on his birthday extravaganza I planned)
Dan and me in oregon - first picture ever taken of us together
Dan and I in vegas at hotel
Dan and I Christmas at our place. Present from his grandparents to us.

Hellooooooooooooo! Ninja Bill brought to my attention that I haven’t blogged since Dec 31 2007. Crazy!

Definitely had ups and downs since that point. Mostly ups!

Ninja Bill asked about the kitties…. so glad I’m known as the cat woman on this site and don’t even have cat pictures UP anymore! They are doing great. I play laser light with them so they are getting a workout too. We do "mommy and me" workouts where I lay on my back and put them on my feet and lift them up like real moms do with their human children. lol Their favorite is actually when I practice Zumba cardio dance routines in the living room - they like the music or something and try to stand on top of my feet or just watch me.

At the gym and on the road I am running a lot more. Doing Sound to Narrows and some Boeing races in June. Run With the Cops and not from them in July, I think it is. Just keeping up with that and using awesome music to motivate me through it. Hardly ever on the elliptical anymore. Doing the running on my own and with a woman I work with - her husband is the fitness director at a local gym here and us ladies wanted to try something more out of our element (she is awesome at cycling).

Then, I am also doing workouts on this huge hill where we live with a girlfriend Toya. We have gone 3 times so far and alternate climbing the hill with long strides and jogging up.

This week I will be in Denver….. packing my food minus pre-made shakes by EAS. Couple work trips ago one exploded on my bag, ruined it and a couple things. duh. Gotta love the BF for trying to help me out, though. Now I just take everything BUT that. On a trip to Austin in January someone actually took my bag of food and can opener from the business facility I was at. that was really stupid. the better part was the company (when I asked if perhaps a lost and found could be checked - ????) asking "Why would you ever bring your own food and a can opener????". OK nevermind.

Sometimes life gets really busy and I am sent the message to slow down …. or else. Case in point: I needed to run and get an americano from the good ole Starbucks so left my house (where i work) at 11:30…. grabbed my ATM card and phone… slipped on shoes by the front door (new $120 steve madden high heel sling back sandals) and ran out the door……. WITHOUT my keys. dammit! Decided to go on a walk instead to get the coffee 1.5 miles away and ended up tripping on the sidewalk (damn high heel sandals) tossing my cell/pda almost in the road… boyfriend had to drive home to let me back in the house in time for a client meeting at 2pm.

There’s this thing I read about online from someone inDenver called Red Rock Amphitheatre outdoor workout. can’t remember whose blog I read it on and I’m super excited to find out if its happening when I’ll be there. Sounds rockstar!

Keeping up on my lifting workouts and progressing. Don’t workout with the BF anymore - works out better anyway that way. Still doing my bosu and resistance bands at home too … just piddling around while watching tv. And got a small ball (not swiss) to do abs stuff on - like bender ball stuff. I like it; gives me a new spin/variety on things.

Settled into my new place and painted the downstairs powder room memorial day weekend  - slate blue color. Goes well wtih the tile and counter. whoo hoo.

Best friend is pregnant and having her bambino soon!!!

Work is great, stressful but I am so blessed to get to do what I do!

The BF works for a larger city now and sees crazy action every night at work now. Fun/sad/wild stories about criminals, teens, etc. etc. He gets to use his athleticism now to chase and wrestle with people. Much different than the small "polite" town he was in before. He actually gets told regulary to be a "hard(er) ass". Great LOL

Everyone on here is looking fantastic. Keep in touch!

P.S. Love active.com Trainer/tracker. Sorry i’m sure the bodyspace ones are awesome too, I just haven’t dug into them personally yet.

Wahoo! I upped all my weights for legs yesterday and today I totally feel it. Love the stairs in my house now - it’s a constant reminder!!!

After my shoulders/upper body tonight I had the motivation to run for 10 extra minutes on the treadmill….

I found that if I put an ice cube or two in my NO Explode  it’s like a blue ICEE from back in the day. Sweet!!!

Interval training isn’t new to most people but what HAS worked really well for me over the last couple weeks are coached interval audio files. They have music that matches the speed of the intervals which is super helpful. The different tracks even change up the interval levels, order in which they cycle through, and duration of each interval. They are general enough to work for any kind of cardio but specific enough to be helpful. I love how the BPM actually match up with the level of intensity and there is no guesswork or jumping around from song to song on my mp3 player.

Also, "Santa" brought me something I am pretty stoked about… The boyfriend found a Motorola "converter" thing for my phone/mp3 player where it plugs into my phone (the weird motorola connector thing) and then has a spot to plug in traditional headphones. It’s such a difference and I have gone back to my cool headphones with rubber that fit in my small ears. Now I can HEAR my music and run with headphones in! (Just can’t answer the phone with them, but that’s a distration anyway, right??)

So I make it a goal to change up my cardio for variety and to challenge my body in new ways.

But if the calories are always highest for running on the treadmill and going hard/fast on the elliptical, how do you prioritize still doing the bike, stairmill, stepper, rowing machine?

if it works your body in a new way and is still worth it, that gives me hope…. but that calorie counter doesn’t even come close to running/elliptical. And the intensity is really up!

What gives? What do you do?