Friday, June 17, 2016

Battle of the Bulge Part I: Learning to Love Water and Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend



 To an adolescent boy in the early 90s Tim Burton’s Batman was the tits. Many others have surpassed it since but back then it was THE superhero movie. Nicholson is in top form (and top billing for that matter) as the fiendish, yet delightful Joker. Keaton gets nuts years before George Costanza as a brooding Bruce Wayne/Batman. The Danny Elfman/Prince soundtrack and Burton’s gothic vision are the icing on the cake.

While I was too young to first absorb this minor masterpiece in theaters upon its 1989 release I was living in the golden age of home video. Many repeat viewings on VHS tape certainly led to my adulation for the film. Any time we would visit my Aunt Ruth’s house I would end up watching a video in her bedroom. As I remember it, she owned three tapes: Batman, The Shining, and Star Trek IV. I was too young for Nicholson’s other opus, and an early love of the Next Generation had me prejudiced against the original Enterprise crew. Batman it was. Every….single….time…

If you were lucky enough to watch this film on VHS you will surely remember this vintage commercial:



My young brain proved susceptible to advertisement and so began my love affair with diet coke. I just had to have a refreshing can every time I watched Batman. I brought it school with me for lunch. I would chug it after exhausting physical activity. Anything I ate, I needed soda to wash it down. I would even make a point of choosing a restaurant based on the quality of their fountain diet coke. I was obsessed. Rock bottom came on one of my many trips through the McDonald’s drive through. $1 any size soda (largest they had of course), and two McDoubles. This was not my dinner, it was a snack.  I weighed nearly 260 pounds and was in the worst shape of my life. 


Of course diet coke, and other soda, was not entirely to blame for my poor health. Yet, if I had to pick the one thing that has contributed most to my weight loss, it would be giving up soda. I had made many attempts to curb my soda intake in the past. I would manage to stick to a plan for a few weeks, and then fall off the wagon. Once I was at my heaviest and committed to change I began purchasing soda in the half can six-packs. I limited myself to one half can with lunch and one with dinner. I thought I was on the right path but then I would go out to eat, and proceed to down a whole glass of diet coke, followed by at least three free refills. The after-meal bloating and caffeine jitters had to go.  

I have a very addictive personality. No matter what it is, the more I have of something, the more I want it. I decided that I needed to cut out all soda, cold turkey, no exceptions. Around the same time I was also reading a lot of research about the effects of aspartame. Artificial sweeteners leave your body craving the real sugar it was promised. This leads to more snacking throughout the day. One particular image was popping up a lot on Facebook. Whether or not it is all true is insignificant. It was enough to convince me to drop soda from my life.


The first six months or so were rough. Up until that point I had myself convinced that I needed to have something flavorful to drink whenever I was eating. I decided to swap in lemonade and other fruit juices in place of soda. As you can probably guess I gained even more weight with the inclusion of so much sugar. I tried several flavored waters, each worse than the last. Finally I decided to force myself to just drink plain water while eating. 

Once again the first several months were brutal. After reaching a certain point though it just became my new normal. It reminded me of some advice I once overheard on a brewery tour. In response to a visitor’s complaint that they did not like dark beers, the guide stated “if you do not like dark beers, drink more of them”. In my pursuit of a healthier lifestyle I have found this to be very accurate. Many of the foods that make up my daily diet were unappealing at first. Only after continued exposure did they become palatable, and finally enjoyable. 

I have found water to be a very useful tool at staving off hunger cravings. One article I read stated that if you are hungry within a couple of hours of eating a meal that it is more likely that your body is craving water than food. Sure enough I would tend to have these after meal cravings, and a bottle of water would do the trick. It has also helped to keep my late night snacking at bay.

There is also an economical benefit to swapping water for your soda. Water is free. Whether you are at a restaurant, or a residence, tap water is almost always an option. If you are fussy about your water like me, and choose to buy bottled, it is still far cheaper than soda. I tend to stock up at BJs, forty bottles of Poland Spring for five dollars. Bad for the environment I know, but I have a thing with reusable water bottles…a story for another time.

The real benefit of quitting soda was that it proved that I had the will power to give up something I loved for good. When I found myself struggling to make other healthy choices I would draw strength from this resolve. Coincidence or not I did notice myself having fewer and fewer cravings for snacks in the absence of soda. I have since lost 100 pounds and am in the best shape of my life. It was not all thanks to breaking it off with diet coke.  If you still drink soda though and find yourself struggling with weight loss, it may be time for a change. Diet Coke isn’t the hero anyone deserves or needs….





Friday, June 10, 2016

Arrogant Titles and Summer Goals

The title of this blog is taken from Milton Babbitt’s controversial 1958 article, “Who Cares if You Listen?”. Babbitt contended that American culture had no knowledge of, or interest in, advanced music. Therefore the need for an audience, and/or public performance had become obsolete. While it may be true that the article’s title came from an editor and not Babbitt himself, it is the best thing he ever wrote. 
 
In choosing this title I certainly do not mean to assert that my musings are too advanced for general consumption. On the contrary, I do not write particularly well, and assume no one is interested in reading. I am starting this blog in an attempt to flex my mental muscle. My mind is nowhere near as sharp as it was in high school or early college. I have seen similar deterioration in others and wish to stave it off. 




My summer vacation began this week, and it is already off to a great start. Katrina and I had the fortune of seeing the wickedly talented Mandy Patinkin sing with the Boston Pops on Wednesday. While some of his arrangements were a bit odd, I did not leave disappointed after hearing him croon four Sondheim tunes. This weekend I am lucky enough to have two gigs with one of my mentors, Jay. I also found out a few days ago that I will be playing trumpet for Seacoast Repertory Theatre’s upcoming run of Reefer Madness. Throughout the summer I have a smattering of other gigs, and will also be employed by the Summer Youth Music School at the University of New Hampshire. For fun I have several vacations planned (Cape Cod, Lubec, Tanglewood, Las Vegas?), Chris’s stag party, and one last hurrah at Ben’s Tamworth getaway. Oh, and I am also turning 30 somewhere in there….

While it may seem like I will be keeping busy I know there will be plenty of days spent sticking to my couch and staring at the wall. In order to combat this I have made a list of summer goals. I made this list public last year and failed to complete as much as I had hoped. With any luck this blog will give me further incentive to finish what I pledge:

Hike Mount Washington
Bike the Cape Cod Canal
Visit the Boston Symphony Archives
Reach and maintain a weight of 150lbs (154 as of 9/10)
Start a blog for the summer and post weekly
Complete all SYMS planning by July 11
Create a private lesson teaching curriculum
Catalog my BSO broadcast holdings
Organize external hard drive
Create a website 
Join the musicians union
Create new teaching contracts
Catalog all printed music
Watch the following shows: The Leftovers, Sherlock, Big Love, Six Feet Under, Twin Peaks, Master of None, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Fargo, The Night Manager, Archer, Orphan Black, The Americans
Read the following books: Game of Thrones Novels, The Crossing, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Evening at Symphony, Sennets & Tuckets: A Bernstein Celebration, The Run of His Life: The People vs. O.J. Simpson


Future entries will keep you apprised of my progress. Topics may also include movie reviews, television, Walt Disney World, trumpet stuff, and existential ponderings. I have had moderate success losing weight and keeping it off. People have asked me for insight on this many times. I have never fully been able to articulate everything in person that I would like to. Hopefully this medium will be an appropriate outlet to share my strategies.

Two final thoughts for this week:

“What am I Thankful for?” - My car battery died on Tuesday morning. This may seem an odd thing to be thankful for. The fact that this happened in a BJs parking lot when I had nowhere I needed to be is a minor miracle. It could have just as easily happened Wednesday at 11pm in the Prudential parking garage. I know folks who have had far greater misfortunes with automobiles, so I am counting my blessings.
 
Lastly, being June 10, 2016, my former best friend Matt turns 30 today. One of my greatest regrets is that we are no longer in touch. He was and remains to be a very special person to me. I hope that he is celebrating today with people that love and care for him. Mark, also pictured, turned 30 yesterday. Happy birthday wishes to both of them.




So sit back, relax, and join me for my summer 2016 journey. If not, who cares if you are reading anyway?