day eight: anti-inflammatory lifestyle breads suck

01.08.10

i've been studying the health benefits of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle and discovered that the foods we eat have tons of inflammatory ingredients that cause inflammatory responses. the inflammatory responses from these foods causes many diseases, fatigue, and other ailments. one of the major ingredients that do cause an inflammatory response to our bodies is gluten. this stuff has some health benefits, but the cons outweigh the pros. only benefit i have researched with gluten is to keep bacteria living longer in our digestive tract.

so far, i have done an okay job trying to stay away from gluten, but it is tough. i feel for people who have celiac disease. they have it tough. almost every product out there contains gluten. for instance, bread!

i think the hardest product to find that is gluten-free and taste at least decent is bread. so far, i have been unsuccessful in discovering some awesome gluten-free bread, but the one pictured above taste okay toasted. don't even bother eating this untoasted. it is just nasty. when toasted, it taste kind of like corn bread.

day seven: got my snack on

01.07.10

the snack i cannot resist! almonds! i eat these almonds raw. however, my wife can not tolerate them raw, so one day she decided to roast some of my raw almonds. first she glazed them with olive oil and added a bit of sea salt. popped in the oven and crunch! they tasted okay, but i still prefer to eat them raw.

these amazing nuts have huge endurance benefits. if you're an endurance junky as myself (triathlons, marathons, cycling, etc) it would be most beneficial to ingest seven of these puppies daily five days before a long endurance exercise or event. study shows to buffer lactate acid. personally, i haven't felt any difference. i guess if you are out of shape and then tried them, you would feel the benefits.

day six: punishment addiction

01.06.10

i purchased this specialized s-works m4 road bike about seven years ago. i finally did some research on this awesome machine a few months ago and was surprised on what i have learned about this bike. the frame is extra aerodynamic for a road bike, made with five different types of metals (al, v, si, mg, and cu), super stiff frame, light weight, and punishes the rider. yes, punish the rider. the nice quality of being super stiff is for power transfer from the cyclist legs to the crank is all used for forward momentum of the bike and not wasted in the flexing of the frame. the problem is the frame is too stiff causing a harsh ride for the cyclist.

cycling experts who have reviewed this machine have said that they would be surprised for a cyclists to ride this bike more than 60 miles due to all the vibration being absorbed by the cyclist. wow, only 60 miles. this continuous vibration to the cyclist will cause premature fatigue.

i started wondering if i had a different bike for my ironman race in 2005. would i have had a faster time on the cycling portion? would the 26.2 miles of running after cycling 112 miles have been bearable with fresher legs if i had a different bike? would my experience overall for this race have been better? maybe, but i'll never know.

i still have the bike. i am still riding it. i plan on racing on it this year. my goal for 2010 is to knock out 3000 miles of cycling on this bike. i guess i am addicted to punishment.

day five: piper's new best friend

01.05.10

what piper has in her mouth is her new christmas present, her toy duck. her and that toy duck are inseparable since she opened her gift on december 25, 2009. she'll tease you with it, force it into your hand, take it away from your hand, stomp on it to make it quack, roll on it to make it quack, sleep next to it her on her bed, etc. toy duck's name is "woof".

day four: substitutes can be wonderful

01.04.10

since I started this healthy lifestyle more than ten years ago, i have cut out red meat (with the exception of my birthday weekend) and pork (i definitely stay away from). one of my favorite foods i really miss eatting was the chorizo torta. good stuff, but had all the bad stuff such as salivary glands, lymph nodes, and fat! i sure miss this nasty stuff.

not too long ago, a co-worker of my wife and I mentioned a product called soyrizo. she said that it taste just like chorizo, but made of soy. i was like no way. i have tasted many soy products to substitute as a meat product and have experienced some really bad tasting imitations and some just ok. but, never experienced a soy substitute or false meat that tasted just like the real stuff. all i can say about this company that made this product is that they did it right. the package even indicates, "you won't believe it's chorizo!"

this stuff is very healthy. only 0.5 grams of saturated fats, no trans fat, only 5 grams of carbohydrates, and a good serving of proteins (7 grams). the soy beans used are non-gmo, no cholesterol, and no sodium nitrates! this looks like a good substitute for my protein intake as cycling race season has started.

day three: lazy

01.03.10

this is one of my pet peeves. people not being able to put away their shopping carts. how difficult is it for someone to move a cart (with wheels) in it’s proper location that is only fifty feet away? this just to show you how lazy people are in this country and why the united states have the largest population of obese people. come on, 30.6% of the united states population is considered obese. 2/3 of the american people are overweight!

day two: classic

01.02.10

rosie and i were out grocery shopping out in eastlake area, as this is the only place we know that has a henry’s farmers market and a trader joe’s 422 feet away from each other. not only do they have two awesome grocery joints, they even have a coffee bean & tea leaf. in my opinion has better tasting coffee than starbucks. however, starbucks does sell the best rooibos vanilla tea.

we exited out of henry’s farmer market and saw this old and rusted 1954 classic dodge b-series job custom truck. This is a great looking truck with the exception of the Henry’s logo sticker on the side doors. classic cars never go out of style.

2010 is here and i can’t believe that i will be four decades old this year. to think i just turned 39 on december 7 and twenty-four day’s later, 2010 comes around and i’ll hit 40. makes me feel old, rusted, and a classic! it’s ok, i’ll keep on trucking like this old 1954 dodge truck. all i know is i can still beat some twenty year olds in these triathlon races!

day one: family

01.01.10

i was inspired by an old friend of mine Noilyn Abesamis Mendoza who started her own project 365 where she would post one photo a day of her life that she felt was significant or provided a description of her whole day. i feel this is going to be a challenge to try to select a photo that would best describe my day as my day to day activities are routine and some may feel is pretty boring. however, this project is to open my eyes and let my camera document the little things in my life.

how appropriate to have my first photo posted for this project i plan on doing for 2010. spending time in sunny san diego with my family in the middle of winter at a freezing 70 degrees. yep, me, my wife, and piper hanging out at the beach catching some cold sun ray. i know people who live up north are just thinking how we can live in such harsh conditions.

this is my family! small for now, but should be growing sometime in the future.