Emiko: Day 17, A New Yearn For The Burn

Today was the first day since Day 8 (the first day of weighing-out our food) that I really screwed up my diet. I wasn't on track this morning when I first got up before work, and only managed to eat the egg before I left. Once at work, I ate a 100g bowl of Vanilla Almond coconut-flakey granola (yum) with 150ml milk at about 8:30am, and then some carrots, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with a little baba ghanoush around 11am. All of this space in between my "breakfast" didn't feel right. The Sunday morning shift is the busiest of the week, so I was feeling the pressure to even find time to stop and eat.

One thing I will pause to tell you about is the amazingness of cucumber water! Some of my coworkers and I have become really excited about it, and put a pitcher of it out for customers to drink. I made some for Adrian the other day, and he liked it too. All you have to do is slice some cucumbers, put them in your glass and pour water over them. I like to add a little ice to bring out the cucumbery flavor. It is so refreshing!

Anyways, I should also mention the new, harderrrr exercises! Right before the new exercises came a couple of days ago, I was just starting to feel comfortable with most of the old ones. So of course we are offered a bigger challenge! Yesterday I surprised myself and did really well with the jumpropes. I did a couple sets of 200 or so jumps, then a set of 404 and finally a last set of over 500! I kind of shocked myself with that one. Today's jumps were not so crazy, but I made it over the required 1,500.

I also struggled through a lot of my work out today (Week 3, Work out 2). My shoulders had proved weak weak weak during last week's work outs, but the new Shoulder Press exercise was more manageable. I was really burning by the 10th rep, but I kept sticking it out until rep 15. My face looked like a radish, it was so red. But TRIUMPH! That is all that matters! Similar cases with the Ski Jumper and Leg Ups. But somehow I maxed out all of the exercises! What?!? I was confused when I realized that I had gone to the maximum set of reps for all of them. 

HOW? I thought. But I guess my will-power is getting stronger. I know that I often find myself thinking, "I'll be one step closer to Peak Condition if I keep going!"

Adrian: Day 17, New Exercises

Just a short one tonight.

I attempted the new exercises today at around 1:30 p.m. I performed the shoulder press incorrectly. I felt the burn mostly in my triceps, and I also dry-cried a little about half-way through. I thought the ski-jumper exercise would be the easiest to do, but felt quite a strong burn in my triceps. The leg-ups still kill me. Probably the most painful exercise for me at this point. At least I know I'm doing them right. I forgot to do the chest flies, so I did them later at around 8 p.m. Also tried the shoulder press again and was able to do one full set correctly until my shoulders pooped out. Maxed it though.

Later while Emiko was doing her jump-ropes in the alley behind our apartment, I went to the common area balcony of the third floor to check up on her. I noticed my neighbor was sitting there smoking a cigarette. He said he noticed we'd been jumping rope and he wanted to workout with us. Told me he'd buy a jump-rope for himself and teach me how to box. Said it would be good for him as he pointed to his cigarette. It was a friendly gesture; the guy's been trying to buddy up for awhile. Felt a bit weird though, because it seemed like he was peeping on Emiko.

Well that's all for now, G'night.

Adrian

Emiko & Adrian: Day 16, Good Snooze and Bad Snooze

So, remember how we mentioned that Patrick wants us all to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night? One would think that forcing ourselves to get that much rest would allow us to wake up refreshed and jumping out of bed. But what we've been doing is more like crawling out of bed. For some reason, the body just says, "hey, I like sleep! I want to keep doing this." *Emiko hits snooze button* Emiko has actually learned how to hit the snooze button while still in REM sleep.

The bad news (or bad snooze) is that the first hour of the day is spent in a groggy haze. We shuffle around in the morning going through the motions, weighing our veggies and peeling our eggs, etc. The lack of energy might also be because we are not seeing the results yet, and it's hard to keep feeling excited every day when we can't really imagine our bodies looking any different.

The good news (snooze) is that despite this lack of energy, we know it's important to continue going through the motions, and we are. We've been sticking closely to our diets, struggling through the exercises, and pushing on.

Adrian found this proverb in Buddhism, A Very Short Introduction, the text we are reading for our Buddhist philosophy class:

"Sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny."

We both found this quote to be inspiring, and we hope that it's inspiring for the rest of you as well. Every action we're undertaking right now with this new lifestyle is creating better habits, and will eventually strengthen our characters and not just our bodies.

On that note, we are off to bed for another full night of rest! G'night.

Emiko: Day 15, Spilling the Beans

Good evening! As I type this, Gus is eating the two leftover yolks from the eggs I had for dinner. He definitely remembers how much he loved them the first night he got to try them. He he!

I don't know what to write about tonight, so I am going to make a confession: Going against all of Patrick's encouragement for us to tell everyone we know that we are involved with the PCP, neither Adrian nor I have told a single soul...!

I haven't told any of my friends, coworkers, no one. I haven't even told my mom. Both Adrian and I decided before the Project started that we would tell people after we had reached the half-way mark, so that we would at least have made some progress by the time we had to explain it all. Some of my coworkers have noticed me sneakily weighing out my 100g fruit snacks behind the counter, which has been a little awkward when they're like, "wow, you're actually WEIGHING your fruit?" I think for the most part they think that I'm just hardcore into my diet.

Although I admit I am glad that these first few weeks were PCP'd in secrecy, I know that we are supposed to be supported by the people around us as we go through this journey. I have been so nervous about people who I see regularly going through our blog. It just seems so personal! But I know sharing the experience is going to be positive. So, I have decided that slowly, starting in about a week, I am going to tell people about it. I will start with a few friends and probably my parents, and then all my coworkers at our staff meeting at the beginning of the month.

Wish me luck!

Adrian: Day 15, Hot Hot Heat!

I jumped out of bed this morning at around 7 a.m. I was wide awake, but my body wasn't, and I stumbled my way downstairs into the white sunlight that plastered the living room. Gus followed me down and ran into the kitchen towards his food bowl. My thought generator hadn't kicked in yet, and I just kind of half-registered the warmth and the sounds of morning traffic.

I had beans and buttered toast for breakfast for the second day in a row. It was satisfactory. Also had a somewhat deformed boiled egg. It reminded me of 'Krang' from the Ninja Turtles.



The heat slowly intensified all morning and at around 11 a.m., the apartment had become an oven. It was so hot that it was difficult to move or to care about moving. At some point I stopped using my legs. There was lots of sweating, groaning and whining. It was hot for pretty much the rest of the day, and it was a chore to do chores. At around 3:30, I laid down on the couch and thought about how I didn't want to finish up my work and exercise, and I also wondered what would happen if I got heat stroke, and then I fell asleep.



I woke up an hour later, with a feeling of determination. I finished my work and I did my exercises around 5:30 or 6. By that time, there was a cool breeze outside, and I felt pretty happy, and strong. I nailed my jump ropes for the first time this week, doing sets of 250-300.

It was a pretty good day.

Emiko: Day 14, Like Leather Sweat Pants

Today I rode my bike to work, which was very pleasant in the cool morning. I left pretty late, allowing only 15 mins to get from my apartment to my work. But I made it on time! My pace was pretty relaxed in fact, and riding felt easier. I think my new leg strength is coming through for me!

But as the day wore on, the temperature rose as did the humidity. The ride back felt like the sun was personally attacking me. It was really really hot inside my helmet, and I started to get this coat of sweat everywhere. I also started to get nervous because my mom just had some skin cancer removed from her forehead, and I still keep forgetting to wear sunscreen.

By the time I got home, I could see sweat droplets all on my shins, which is something I have definitely never experienced before ever. It was like wearing leather pants, except sweat. Very hot. I also wiped my forehead the way you do when you are hot, and when I looked at my hand it seemed like I had just dipped it in canola oil. How could I possibly sweat this much?! So I thought, may as well do my exercises!

I went outside behind our building near where the trashcans are and starting jump roping. My first set I did 120 skips, and after that all of my sets were 200 skips or greater! This is by far my best round of jump roping. Near the end, I realized that it's probably because I had been exercising and moving a lot throughout the day already, instead of just starting my work out after eating our huge lunches, which is a painful experience.

The rest of my work out went pretty well. The shoulder exercises kill me though. I am struggling by the 5th rep in the set of 10-12, but somehow made it to the minimum of every set. I am also proud to say that, in response to Patrick's advice to use the last set of an exercise to push to muscle failure, I did 45 sit ups on my last set! I actually could have done more, but I didn't want to be too sore tomorrow and also I had timed the broiling of my turkey patties perfectly to match with the end of my sit-ups (getting more efficient!).

Oh yes, and here are new our diets for Week 3! The diet for Week 2 had us eating a lot of food in order to get our bodies workin' to shoot our metabolisms through the roof. The new diets are a little smaller, but still running on the same, higher metabolism. Hopefully soon we'll see the results and the fat melts off.

I consulted the PCP binder (yes, we have a PCP binder) and put the differences between old and new diets in parentheses cos even I never quite memorized the grams.

Adrian:

Breakfast 100g carb 100g veg 1egg 150ml yogurt (50g less carbs)

Morning snack 100g fruit

Lunch 100g carb 150g veg 200g meat

Afternoon tea 100g fruit

Dinner 2egg white 1apple 1banana 150ml milk (1 more egg white, 50g less meat, 150g less veggies)

Emiko:

Breakfast 100g carb 100g veg 1egg 150ml yogurt (50g less veggies)

Morning snack 100g fruit

Lunch 100g carb 150 meat 150g veg (50g less meat)

Afternoon tea 100g fruit

Dinner 2egg white 1apple 1 banana 150ml milk (added 1 egg white)

I was never a fan of the "smoothie" option for my dinner due to a very very nasty thick shake I made of the first day of our last diet. But Adrian and I did to make banana ice cream tonight, although it didn't quite come out as planned. We froze two bananas overnight, and then chopped them up and blended them with our nightly 150ml of milk. It turned out more like a banana milkshake, although added ice helped a little. Something interesting to try, for sure.

Not much else to say today. Sorry that this post was a little random. Hope you all have (had) a good night!

Quote of the Day

Adrian: "I hope this reduced diet reduces my gas."

Adrian: Day 14, Time flies!

Nate mentioned in his last post a very interesting quality of time:

"...when we are busy time goes really fast in the moment, but in retrospect seems to have been forever. And when we have little to do in the moment time seems to drag but in retrospect went very fast. "

That's definitely been true for me. Working from home gives me a lot of time to do whatever I please, and usually, it doesn't amount to much activity. Prior to PCP, there was lots of reading involved. And walking, lots of walking. Walking to book stores and more reading. I've gone for a couple weeks without knowing what day it was. Maybe this is what the Zen masters were alluding to when they spoke of "no mind".

Probably not. But speaking of Zen, I came across a really interesting quote in a book I was reading today:

"To observe the regulations and keep to the rules is tying oneself without a rope. To act freely and unrestrainedly just as one wishes is to do what heretics and demons would do."

The quote goes on quite a bit, but those first two lines I find particularly relevant now in terms of how we've all been thinking about time and structure.

Our relationships with others are very intimately and almost exclusively related to our schedules. There are the people we socialize with when we have to be at work, and people we talk to when we're at school. There are friends that we see on the weekends, that we meet for dinner, and that we see only on birthdays. There are our parents, who we may see very little of. The person you live with you might see even less of. These social rules are incredibly powerful, and they define all of our relationships. There's seemingly very little room left for choice.

But these schedules, these routines, we have to keep them, how else would we live? At the same time, this is the invisible rope which binds us together, or keeps us separate from one another.

The second sentence of the quote is about separation. And I feel like it very much applies to a person like me. I have felt like a 'heretic' and an outcast many times in life (very strongly during high school). I was always very opposed to going with the flow. But going against the flow for too long may result in much suffering and eventually drowning. Without routine or schedule, our relationships become severed. When no one cares about you, its easy not to care about yourself.

So tell me, what is the right way?

Emiko: Day 13, Learning to Cook Our Life

Adrian and I just finished watching an awesome documentary called How to Cook Your Life, which follows Zen Master and chef Edward Espe Brown as he teaches and/or works with others to cook and prepare meals at several zen centers.

Here is a trailer for the movie, to give you some idea:



Espe Brown is a really funny and quirky guy, and all of his moods are represented in the film, as well as how all those different moods and changes affect the kitchen he is working in. As you can see in the trailer, one moment he will be mindfully slicing tomatoes in utmost calmness, and the next moment he'll be stabbing a package of pepperjack cheese which he deems "inpenetrable."

"When you're cooking, you're not just cooking. You're not just working on food. You're also working on yourself, you're working on other people." This quote from Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Espe Brown's teacher, really makes sense to me especially in the context of the Peak Condition Project. Like Adrian and I have both written about recently, the way that we treat our food and treat our meals is directly related to how we are treating each other.

The documentary focused on engaging with food. Espe Brown mentions a lot the writings of Master Dogen, who spoke to the necessity of treating food as if it were as precious as your eyesight. To really pay attention to our food, and to recognize the importance of it. You are connecting with the tomato just as much as the tomato is connecting with you, and somehow you and the tomato mesh into just experiencing. A baker in the film said, "I'm trying to stay with the dough, pay attention to what the dough is telling me...and every dough responds differently." Later he said, "People ask 'How are you doing?' And I say, 'I'm baking'."

Highly recommended!

Adrian: Day 13, Spirals.

I've been kind of lamenting the fact that I haven't been able to meditate on a regular basis this week. Yesterday was the first day I missed my morning sitting, and I wasn't able to sit this morning either. It doesn't really irritate me, but it is a part of my old routine that I relied on. It's kind of like realizing you forgot to brush your teeth the night before, and feeling sort of cheated.

I've been thinking a lot lately about this new way of life that we PCP'ers have been living, and I wonder if when it is all over, I'll just revert to my old ways. I remember when I was younger seeing issues of the National Enquirer about how Luther Vandross had lost 200 lbs only to gain 400 a couple months later. Will it be the same way with me?

Emiko and I quite often talk about the kinds of foods we want to indulge in, and I imagine us hitting up our old haunts and just going back to being lazy and inactive. It seems all too easy for us to go down that same route.

However, I feel like I'm learning things about how to live right now that will stay with me forever. Prior to this project, I was just sort of ignorant about what I put into my body and how I used it. I mean, even things as simple as jump-rope techniques, which Amy so kindly posted for us, are things that I wouldn't normally think about. I've always been somewhat physically awkward, and mostly ignorant about why. These days though, I am more able to feel when and how I am using my body improperly.

For example, today in drawing class, the teacher gave us a concentration exercise. We were instructed to take a sheet of sketchbook paper and to fold it into 4 boxes. In the first box, we were to draw a spiral as tightly as possible and with one continuous line, until the spiral filled up the entire square. During this exercise, I consistently found myself tightening up, hunching my posture, gripping my pen too tightly, and holding my breath and becoming frustrated. Normally, a person can go on for hours like that without noticing what they are doing.

It's easy to be carried on a wave of subconscious activity. But the PCP has really forced me to look at many aspects of my life simultaneously - How I deal with stress and pressure, how I physically exert myself, how and what I eat, the feelings of frustration and irritation that I am sometimes prone to, everything... And I'm grateful for it.

I hope everyone is well.

Adrian



It's a hot and sleepy day...

Emiko: PCP Nachos!

Well, they're not dripping with melty cheese and sour cream, but check out today's perfectly weighed breakfast!

The best part is that the beans, salsa and rice were all LEFTOVERS and it still tasted great, or "protein-licious" as Adrian called it. :) Just threw some cottage cheese and toasty pita chips on top of the leftovers and we had nachos! Definitely adding some more salsa next time. Yum!

Emiko: Day 12, A Lust for Life

Hello! I just came home from printmaking class and hour or so ago, completely blissed out from three hours of art class, but then I was like, "holy mother of god, I have no idea what to write about." And then I realized, I should really just share with you all how amazing I am feeeling!

Today in Patrick's daily email, he wrote that right now we might be experiencing this crappy stage in our progress that's kind of like a rotten, marshy no-man's land between having to struggle through all these changes and when we will actually start to see results. The point was basically to not let it get to us, and to just keep marching on.


But I have to tell you, I feel F-ing marvelous.

Tonight as I walked away from the printmaking studio, holding a giant, juicy, crunchy Pink Lady apple in my hand, I could not help but feel my body literally glowing with glee and energy. I know a lot of my happiness is connected to really getting into making art again, but that's just not all there is to it.

During the three hours of class, all I did tonight was cut, bevel, file-down, sand, and polish a single 5"x6" zinc plate (in preparation for etching a design into the plate on Thursday). That's it. We didn't work on our designs or draw at all, but the whole time I felt engaged and really satisfied.

While sanding my plate down -- which believe me takes a looooooonnnnggggg time to complete -- I could feel my muscles moving around and I could sense their new strength for sure. It was wonderful. Even as they struggled, I enjoyed just feeling the connection between my exercise and my real life. Of course a lot of the other students in the class hated the struggle, and gave up half way through and went home. But I guess giving up is just not something I've allowed myself to do lately.

Right after class was the best part though. The combo of the slight burn in my right arm from all of that work and the replenishing goodness of my apple was incredibly invigorating. It is such a change to experience my body responding to the food that I am eating the exact moment it is happening.

That apple was so pure and nourishing. Food is amazing. My body is amazing. How did nature come up with all of this stuff? It has become apparent that my body is coming into an equilibrium, and my energy and concentration and happiness are directly, positively affected.

I just ate two egg whites in a row and it was so great. I can't even tell you. Feeling this good inside, I know what I am doing (and all of us on the PCP are doing) is right. I am so stoked on life. I am living! And alive! Alive and living and I LOVE IT!

It reminds me of something Adrian said to me recently: "If you are excited about your life, you won't even want to go to sleep at night. But you know you should, so you sleep. But that excitement is what keeps you from snoozing the alarm in the morning and instead gets you jumping out of bed."

Well, I don't want to sleep! I want to stay up all night and draw and dance and draw some more! But we all know what Patrick said yesterday, so buffy sleep it is. :0)

Adrian: Day 12, This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds...

I have a bad case of the writer's block today. I have no idea what to write about. Mostly I'd like to get in bed and read.

Originally, I was going to write about how Emiko and I bought 13 lbs of turkey this morning, but that's the end of the story.

I guess I'll mention Patrick's email. Every day, Patrick sends us an email with background information on what we're doing - like how to perform certain exercises, why jump-rope isn't just for kids, different ways to use a carrot, and things of that sort. Emiko, Tim, Amy, Nate and I are the privileged few who get to read these letters, and in a way makes me feel important, like Inspector Gadget, reading my top-secret assignment every day.

I wonder what it would be like to have a machine that lifted me up and down and jump-roped for me, while brushing my teeth and boiling eggs.

Anyway, this is from Patrick's email:
"In these tough times, become a mule (or a bulldog if you prefer). Keep your head down and just keep moving. Don't question why or look too far into the future."

I'm definitely feeling that statement. On my good days I'm a mule, and on my bad ones I'm an ass. I've been plowing through my exercises, cooking and washing dishes like a mad man. But sometimes when things aren't going according to plan, I get stressed. The PCP has brought out the control freak in me, and dealing with that side of myself right now is another project.

Emiko: Day 11, Catching yer ZZZs

So Patrick a.k.a. "Papa PCP" just gave us our newest assignment:
SLEEP.
8 hours.
Every night.
Maybe more.

Why? Well, only by allowing our bodies ample time to rest and recover, do we build our strength. He explained that our muscles literally cannot become strong unless we rest well. And now it is required as a part of the PCP!

This one was a shocker, because with all of the work that goes into our new diet and lifestyle changes, getting up early is a necessity (and Adrian and I were already getting up at 5:30am every day pre-PCP). There is a lot of prep work to make sure each meal runs smoothly, and for Adrian and I (and I'm sure the other PCPers alongside us) the morning is when that happens most. The PCP is a huge presence in our lives and has really changed how we spend and interact with our day.

I feel like I don't really even have time to sleep! Our schedules are already so full: Get up, eat, go to school, eat, cook, eat, exercise, go to work, eat, do homework, EAT EAT and....well, after all that hard work, the length and quality of my sleep at night is sort of an after-thought. I mean, look at me right now! I'm blogging after coming home from work (my night shift gets me home around 11pm) instead of getting the rest I need. I am reminded that the time during the day is not to be wasted. Even those little moments where I let myself be lazy for five minutes, by doing so I am escaping my responsibilities.

This is on my mind especially because tomorrow is a very busy one, and I know I need to be very present in order to get things done well. Adrian and I actually had to sit down and plan every part of the day, because there is just that much to do.

Well, I had better go get my beauty sleep (now known as BUFF SLEEP!), and gather my strength for tomorrow!


Goodnight y'all!

Adrian: Day 11, Time

As Emiko talked about in her last post, time is becoming scarce in supply.  I'm typing this while eating bananas & milk, and boiling eggs all at the same time.  On the up side, I'm getting quicker all the time at peeling boiled eggs.  Anyways, sorry for the short post, I've got to eat my egg and then hit the hay pretty soon so I can get the required 8 hours of sleep.  I haven't gotten 8 hours of sleep in months!

Emiko: Day 10, Pressure Cooking

As you all know, Adrian and I are the first couple to go through the Peak Condition Project together. It has really made us learn about each other, and I know we will continue to reap that benefit throughout the process. 

With our new, gigantic diets for Week 2, the stress of preparing that much food for two people —with slightly differing requirements for our individual meals— has been a bit challenging. Having to think about what food to make that fits our diets, then preparing, cooking and actually eating all of that food is pretty time consuming. 

We both also started school last week. I am going full-time, and Adrian is going part-time. Along with my cafe job and Adrian's bookselling business, we have little time to rest. Our schedules look completely different, so we haven't been able to slide into a routine yet. We have even had to cut our usual amount of meditation by almost half to accommodate our new, fuller days.

Today, our third day on the new diet, the tension rose between us. We realized that the meal we had somewhat-planned last night was not as planned as it should have been. We knew what we wanted to eat but were not really prepared come lunch time, and that made the tension boil over. But in the end we were able to put our meal together and work things out.

Something you learn after being with someone for three years is that you will never know everything about that person, you only become aware of that person. The Project is also definitely a learning process, and I think we are lucky that we are doing the PCP together as partners. Adrian and I not only get to learn how to cook, but we are learning more about ourselves and each other. 

Although we are sitting on the cushion much less, we have had to bring our practice into our daily activities a lot more. This is such a necessity, and we have both been trying to be more mindful of everything that we do. But this week it was really forced upon us because you must pay attention to what you are doing. I am really appreciative of that, even if it is hard right now.

We definitely haven't hit our groove yet, but that will come. Balancing our tasks efficiently while still remaining sensitive and aware of each other is our newest challenge, and one that we have to face together. 

I love you Adrian!

Adrian: Day 10, eats

Improvised a few new dishes today.  Patrick's advice was to make a lot of food in advance so we wouldn't have to spend so much time cooking every day, but Emiko and I have yet to find a meal that we can eat without feeling sick, so we're trying a bunch of new things.  It's time consuming, but it's fun, and it requires you to think creatively.  For the first time, Emiko and I are learning how to use a kitchen.  We never spent much time preparing meals before starting PCP.  We were the type to buy bread, milk, eggs and sandwich meat at the grocery store, and eat out every other day.  These are the new dishes:

Lunch

baked home fries w/onions & garlic

broiled chicken breast strips w/onions, garlic, squeezed orange juice & apple slices.

whole grain brown rice

Dinner

broiled turkey patties

1.25 lbs 99% fat free turkey

1 c bread crumbs, whole wheat

1/4 c yogurt

green onions

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp cayenne pepper

a sprinkle of curry powder & thyme

2 T dijon mustard

My veggie serving for dinner was slow cooked beans seasoned w/onions, garlic, thyme & bay leaves.

If you make 9 turkey patties with this recipe, then each patty gives roughly 50 g of meat & 10 g of bread.  It's pretty simple, and it was tasty too.

I'm struggling a bit with the new exercises.  I can't do the incline pull-ups without overstraining my neck.  Hopefully I'll get that worked out soon.

Adrian

Adrian and Emiko; Day 9, number 9, number 9, number 9....

We both got a little sleepy in the afternoon, and wanted to nap, but felt like there was too much on our plates (hehe) to do so. Emiko almost got a migraine, but took some medicine to fight through it. Adrian did his work out first while Emiko rested and let the headache medicine sink in. Once he was done, Emiko began her exercises while still experiencing migraine aura.

After Emiko did about 300 jumps our downstairs neighbor (we live on the top floor) came and knocked on our door and asked what all the "jumpin' around" was about, and to stop it whatever the reason. Emiko apologized guiltily and told him that we had been working out. "Well, go to a gym!" he said. "I'll give you free passes to my gym." Man, he really wanted the noise to stop! Emiko thanked him, politely declined his passes, and decided to stop the jump-roping there at a sad 300. So, next challenge: find a semi-secluded place to do jump-roping somewhere in Oakland!

We have been given two new exercise routines for Week 2. They are called Workout 1 & Workout 2. We alternate between the two workouts each day, and we are also allowed one day of the week as a "rest," where we do just jump-rope. So, without further ado, our exercise accomplishments for Workout 1:

Week 2, Workout 1:
Jump-rope 1000
Squats 3x15
Incline pull-ups 4x5-8
push-ups 4x8-10
curls 3x8-10
side shoulder flys 4x10-12
sit-ups 4x10-15

Adrian
Jump-rope 1,000
Squats 3x15 (He actually completely forgot to do these, and only remembered when he saw Emiko doing them. "Oh shit, we have to do squats?"?)
Incline pull-ups 4x8
Push-ups 10/10/8/8
Bicep Curls 3x10
Side Shoulder Fly 10/10/6/9.5
Sit-ups 15/20/15/15 (we both did an extra 5 reps without even telling each other...weird, huh?)

Emiko
jump-rope 300
Squats 3x15
Incline pull-ups 4x8
Pushups 8/10/10/8
Curls 3x10
Side Shoulder fly 5/9/5/5
Sit-ups 15/15/15/20

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Today's meals:

Breakfast:
A bowl of quick-rolled oats w/almond slices, a sprinkle of cinnamon & milk (tasted like paste with almond slices)
A plate of steamed broccoli and cauliflower
1 hard boiled egg each

Morning snack :
Shared a red pear

Lunch:
Tuna salad w/shredded lettuce & red cabbage, onions, green onions, tomatoes, cilantro, low-fat dressing, pepper, a dash of apple cider vinegar (so much tuna...)
Baked whole wheat pita chips w/salsa from yesterday

Afternoon snack:
Another shared pear

Dinner (Adrian)
Salad with shredded lettuce & red cabbage, tomatoes & ham (running out of ideas...)
grapes
Green/Chai tea, egg white w/pepper
Sliced bananas in milk

Dinner (Emiko)
Throat Coat tea
2 egg whites w/ pepper
Apple
Banana
Milk
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Emiko:
Some recent and scary news: two of my coworkers were held up at gun point last night while they were beginning to close up the cafe. Two men strolled in right at closing time, told them and the two remaining customers to get into the back room and cough up their money and the money from the register. Pretty frightening, but I talked to one of those two ladies who were working last night, and she said that it was not as bad as it could have been. But that's because they are brave and somehow kept their cool (and suspected the gun might have been fake, but didn't want to risk it). It still freaks me out! Here's the article if you're interested.

Goodnight everyone!
Adrian & Emiko

Quote of the Day:

Emiko (after hearing a noise outside at 10:02pm): "oh my god, why is someone using a staple gun right now?!"

Adrian: "Maybe they're stapling their butt-cheeks together."

Day 8: Meal Plan Mishaps a.k.a. My Belly Hurts!

So we messed the new diet plan up. We weren't prepared at all, we didn't even think about what we'd eat this morning. So we improvised breakfast. We made a big salad with mixed greens, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions and corn. Bell peppers, cucumbers and corn are all fruits, so we kind of cheated. But they are vegetable fruits, and we didn't have anything else. We ate the salad naked (no dressing), it was very interesting. Definitely could taste each individual ingredient. We also both ate two pieces of lightly buttered whole wheat toast, and subbed milk for yogurt. We're wondering if it would it be all right if we had honey with our yogurt.

Around 6:15am Emiko ran off to work with half her salad in a tupperware for later, and half her slice of bread. It was a really busy morning, so she had to try to eat the rest of breakfast during a little 15 min. break around 10am. She gagged on her salad because she tried eating too much at once. The salad was never finished, sadly. There does happen to be a digital scale at Emiko's work, so she measured out her fruit for her morning snack, which was more like "noon snack."

We went grocery shopping after Emiko got home from work around 3:30pm. So we ended up missing lunch all together. We had our meal prepared around 7pm.

Two sandwiches with broiled turkey patties, roma tomatoes, cabbage, onions and cilantro on whole-wheat bread. Not pictured - a side of steamed broccoli.

Gus ate an egg yolk. He is very clever, and after feeling it out and realizing he wanted to eat it, he used his claws to break off little pieces and then licked them off of his paws. Good Gus, help us not to waste food!

We also prepared a simple salsa to eat with baked pita chips for tomorrow. The salsa consists of tomatoes, onions, cilantro, half a green chile pepper, and a bit of apple cider vinegar.

We're checking out a screenprinting class tomorrow (PCP t-shirts, anyone?) so we have to get up extra early and prepare food to bring to school. The salsa will be a handy snack.

We're also pretty excited about trying the new exercises.

Goodnight everybody and good luck tomorrow!

Quotes of the day:

Adrian (after tasting a chili pepper that was to go into the salsa): "AAAAAH! I feel like I just got punched in the tongue!"

Emiko: "I feel like someone pissed on my tongue...with acid rain."

Adrian and Emiko: Day 7, Our Last Meal

It's the end of week one. We got our individual diet plans today. Emiko is angry that she has to eat two egg whites for dinner. Adrian's a little hurt that he doesn't get a smoothie. That's life though. Some people get smoothies and some get egg whites. When life hands you egg whites, turn it into lemon meringue.

Our new diets, starting tomorrow:

Adrian:

Breakfast 150g carb 100g veg 1 egg 150ml yogurt

Morning snack 100g fruit

Lunch 100g carb 200g meat 150g veg

Afternoon snack 100g fruit

Dinner 50g meat 150g veg 100g fruit

Night tea 1 banana 1egg white 150ml milk

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Emiko:

Breakfast 100g carb 150g veg 1egg 150ml yogurt

Morning snack 100g fruit

Lunch 100g carb 200g meat 150g veg

Afternoon snack 100g fruit

Dinner 1 banana 1 apple 1egg white 150ml milk (blended together in a smoothie if you like)

Night tea 1 egg white

We haven't thought too hard about what we're going to eat yet, but Emiko is planning to eat soba noodles as a carb source. Adrian said it was disgusting to eat noodles just by themselves. He said it would be like eating worms. But that is because he is silly.

For our last meal, we ordered Japanese takeout. We split a plate of chicken teriyaki and 8 pieces of avocado roll.



It's pretty amazing how we used to be able to eat separate plates of chicken teriyaki and rice, along with 2 orders of avocado rolls. Now just half of one order fills us up. We didn't eat the noodles because they tasted like they had barbecue sauce on them. Also, the chicken was undercooked, so we didn't eat all of it. So don't get angry about the tasty looking food, it wasn't all that great. It was tasty though. The food put Adrian to sleep, so we'll just wrap up with a few Last Supper moments:




...the middle...


...the END!


G'night everyone!

Emiko: Day 6, New Beginnings

The greatest gift that the PCP has given me is an awareness of what I am putting in my body. When I feel hungry, my reaction is different now than it used to be. I actually think things through, instead of just grabbing and making what seems satisfying at the time. I ask myself, How hungry am I, really? And how is this going to make me feel if I do eat it? What is half of my normal portion of this food?!? I can see how addicted I am to food, and this focused awareness really helps me to catch and break my old habits and attachments.

Something about either exercising daily or eating so much less—or maybe both—has brought me into the present a bit more. I feel clearer, more aware of my present experience, and less forgetful. I was starting to notice this on my own, and the Adrian told me he was noticing it too. So cool! I seem to have become exponentially forgetful in the recent past, so it feels really good to find this improvement as a bonus to an already amazing experience.

Today marks exactly one month until my 20th birthday. It's pretty exciting knowing that after just a single month I am going to be looking, feeling, and eating so much healthier than I probably ever have in the last 10 years. And just a couple months after that, I will look the best of my entire life!

I am also excited (and nervous) to start the "PCP Proper" with new, strict, weighed-out diets. Patrick will be sending us our individual diet plans on Friday. Is Week 1 really almost over?! Adrian and I are still undecided about what to eat for our Last Supper. I hope we don't cross the line just because it's our last un-weighed meal!

In other news, school started up again today, and I am pretty excited. I am taking a bunch of art classes and can't wait to get going!

New beginnings.

Adrian: Day 6, Happy Feet

I woke up around 6 this morning. I was hungry when I woke up, so I ate half a banana. Emiko got up a few minutes later and made me a ham, egg and cucumber sandwich. Ate a date shortly afterwards, and snacked on some kettle chips as well. We listened to music for a while, and then it was off to our first day of school.

We're taking a few classes together, web design, drawing and Buddhist philosophy. Today it was drawing, and class was in Alameda. Alameda is a weird little island suburb...more on that later. There were some people in class who didn't seem like they wanted to be there. There was a girl sitting next to me who had restless leg syndrome. It looked like she was playing a kick drum solo through the entire class. I wondered why she was there. You're grown up now. You don't have to draw if you don't want to! Haha.

After class we were both pretty hungry, but it was only eleven o'clock, so we decided to go and buy our art supplies for class first. About half an hour later we went to lunch at a cafe in the Rockridge district of Oakland. We split a "Cuban sandwich" which is a grilled sandwich made with Black Forest ham, onions, pickles, & pepperjack cheese. It took about 15 minutes to make (they had to warm up the grill), but I ate it in under 1.5. On an interesting side-note, Pasta Pomodoro, also in Rockridge, was robbed a couple nights ago. We used to eat at that restaurant all the time. If we hadn't started the PCP, we might've been robbed!

After lunch, we went back home. Emiko did her exercises and then rushed off to work. I went to work too (in front of the computer), packing up a couple dozen books that had been ordered in the past couple of days. I did my exercises shortly after. The squats and crunches seem to be challenging me more lately, but I was able to do the maximum number of reps per set today. I've been listening to music during my workouts. After pushups, I often get a bit winded and lie on the floor for a bit. At that point, music becomes very engaging..

That's all I have to say for now. Good night everyone.

Adrian

Emiko: Day 5, Cravings Cravings, Cravings...

...leave me be! 

It is already Day 5 of the PCP and our "eat only half" diets, and my body has finally decided to rebel. I have had cravings all throughout these five days of dietary change, but Day 5 for me was when, in Patrick's words, "your body might say, 'I've had enough of this BS, hand me a cookie!'" It wasn't just cravings, really, it was the habitual action of filling myself with food and drinks all throughout the day. The cravings only fueled my actions. This constant feeding is more in anticipation of hunger than in reaction to hunger. And that just pisses me off!

At first I was like, "you're right, body, I need a bagel! Ooh, and hand me that pastry. Pour me a latte while you're at it!" You see, I am trying to cut these dense, sweet and buttery breads out of my diet, and am also weening myself off of caffeine. Of course these are all things I'm surrounded by at work, and I used to not think twice about eating or drinking something I didn't really need. I soon got a grip on myself today and said, "Fuck off, body! It's time for me to help us feel better in the long run."

I am so glad that we have the benefit of having a community built in with the PCP. Without that, I may have cut myself more slack today, and just gone downhill from there. Knowing that I have the support of Adrian and everyone here, I just can't give up or give in! (That was probably corny, but I can't help it!)

Adrian: Day 5, Habits.

Nate mentioned in his last entry how he is annoyed by people who complacently let themselves go, by not caring for their bodies. I am complacent in my own way. I wake up early every morning, do my meditation, have breakfast and tea, shower, check my email and then do my work. Now, I have the habit of eating a small bowl of cereal with half a banana for breakfast every day and doing exercises. It is sometimes difficult for me not to turn my daily life into a routine.

Complacency takes many forms. And it is often invisible to those who suffer from it. Essentially, it is putting your life on autopilot. When this happens, you lose the ability to attend to and appreciate your life. Eating poorly because it is easy to is one form of complacency, but so is believing that a daily exercise, diet and meditation regimen is going to make your life better. You really have to be there for it every minute of every day.

A week before the PCP began, I asked a question on a Buddhist message board regarding complacency. To sum up, I asked if it were possible to break old habits without replacing them with new habits. One of the answers I was given was basically that 'some habits are better than others'.

I am reminded now that the point of this whole project is not to have a beautiful physique (although that is a nice benefit). The habit of paying attention to our body's needs is just the beginning. To be in peak condition is to be in a deep state of appreciation for your life. And it is my aspiration that during these 90 days with all of you, I can deepen this understanding and come to be more consistently aware of what it means to care for myself - when it is difficult, and especially when it is easy.

Emiko: Day 4, Fatigue v. Energy

The first two-thirds of today I was in a total haze. I felt really fatigued, lazy, and unmotivated and that just made me feel crappy and down. Emotionally I was pretty out of whack, which is abnormal for me because, as Adrian says, I am "usually just a happy-go-lucky girl." Today was the first time during the PCP that I have felt that major lack of energy that led me to apply for the PCP in the first place. While I was experiencing it, the lack of energy made me feel even less optimistic...but soon I realized that so much of that was a falling into old habits and not examining my actions.

Along with Adrian, I waited until about 6pm to begin my exercises. In fact, I am glad he got started first because if he hadn't made that move I may not have started until much later. The fatigue I was feeling made me not want to do much of anything. I kind of lay stagnant, seemingly unable to move my own body around or to get my brain working past half-speed. 

Boy do I regret not doing the exercises in the morning. After engaging my body and getting my blood flowing and muscles working, my energy level came bursting up. Now it's three hours later, I am showered and filled with curry and tea, and yet I still feel energetic. Feeling so good and in touch with my body makes me really want to sit zazen, or draw. Something that engages my body and mind. I think I may go to that right after I post this. 

A fog has truly lifted, and I feel much clearer...and happier.

<3>

Adrian: Day 4, Moderation

It was a bit gloomy here in Oakland today. Cold and overcast. I didn't really feel like doing my exercises today and waited until about 6 p.m. to do them. I took things a bit easier, following the advice of my PCP friends not to overdo things. I did my jumps in sets of 100, instead of pushing to the point of exhaustion like I did a couple days ago. During this first week I have mostly ignored the soreness in my muscles.

I've always been the type to push myself to the limit physically, to see what my body is capable of. I see now how counter productive that is. I've gone through phases with my meditation practice like that too - sitting for hours a day, and then kicking myself whenever my concentration flagged (and it's very difficult to kick oneself while seated in the cross legged position).

Honestly though, I've gone through many things in life in that fashion - pushing myself strenuously towards my goals and ideals, and then being disappointed whenever falling short. I've also waded in the nihilistic end of the swimming pool. I guess that's how I came to the middle way of Buddhist practice. How I've been working with my body during these first few days of the PCP, dealing with my food cravings and hearing the words of my fellow PCPers has been a good reminder of moderation.

Adrian & Emiko: Day 3, A Fantastical Day

Hey everyone, we're writing this one together in bed right now because it's late for us early birds and we're tired, and we'd prefer to use two brains instead of one.

We got up early this morning and did an hour of zazen, and then completed our daily exercises. Emiko was really sore and couldn't do nearly as many jumps as yesterday, but both of us got through the routine fine.

After exercising, we went to San Francisco and ate at our favorite Indian restaurant - Tasty Curry. We both ordered Chicken Tikka Masala and shared a plate of plain basmati rice. It was hard not to eat more than half of what we usually eat, or to even make that judgement. We also got this weird naan that looked and tasted like a large, flat cookie. It was called Tasty Naan and had butter, raisins, anise seeds and some sort of candied nuts that were dyed neon green and neon yellow. Didn't eat very much of this because it was too sweet, and not too "Tasty".

We then went to Adrian's parents house, and did our laundry. After loading up the wash, we went to the nearby sporting goods store and bought the resistance bands and push up bars. Then it was off to Target to buy the kitchen and bath scales and blender. We ended up returning the blender later because Adrian's mom had a spare which she gave us.

Back at the house, we played around with the exercise equipment Patrick suggested we all buy. We both found the push-up bars made doing push-ups much more difficult. Watched the Olympics for a bit while folding laundry. Adrian decided to become a marathon runner, then changed mind and decided to become a marathon cyclist.

Later went out to dinner with Adrian's folks at Fresh Choice. Didn't eat too much, mostly because the food was pretty lame tonight. Emiko ate frozen yogurt under the table to hide it from the hawk-eyed manager who told us not to go back for seconds.

Drove back home to Oakland, and tested out the weight scale. Emiko weighs 129lbs (about 3lbs less than last month's doctor visit) and Adrian is at 139. We can literally see our double-chins melting away!

Good night everybody, thanks for bearing with us bed-bugs.
Adrian & Emiko


Quote of the Day:

Adrian: "Zebracorns* are so... fantastical." (*Hybrid of Zebras and Unicorns)

Emiko: Day 2, A Pooey Day

Hey y'all. It is really late...almost midnight. I just got home from work a little while ago from a really crazy closing shift. I feel POOPED.

I was actually pretty tuckered out by the time a got to work (around 2:30pm), because during my workout today I pushed myself harder/was much more sore than yesterday. I did a full 1,005 jump-ropes! The sad part about all those jumps was that I accidentally hit my cat Gus with the rope...I felt SO BAD. I guess he was scared of the rope and tried to flee the room, but got too close on his way out. He wouldn't let me get near him after that until Adrian started doing his jump-ropes, and Gus decided I had become less of an enemy and more of a protective shield that scratches his head in nice ways.

Squats were hard, because I was trying to do them slow to get the full benefit of them, with already sore calves. But I finished them eventually, and never cheated :)

Had my first milky drink in a while (foamy steamed soy milk with a drizzle of almond syrup...yummers), but it was only around 7oz so I don't think I've committed too big a crime.


I can't think of anymore because I'm so tired, so I'm gonna head to bed. Love to everyone who is following and supporting Adrian and I, thank you so much!

Night night.

Adrian: Day 2.

Emiko and I just finished the daily workout, and right now we're listening to the Zen is Stupid podcast. I think it's kinda cool how we're 30% of the listeners. It's like they're talking just to us. We're listening to the episode where Patrick and Gwen bash old people for half an hour..

We ended up skipping the lecture at the Berkeley Zen Center today. I ended up playing around with our new laptop instead. I created a last.fm account and I spent pretty much the entire morning fooling around on it. I guess I finally jumped that bandwagon.

Anyway, back to the workout. The jump rope part of it was a bit easier today. I did 350 jumps for my first set, then I took a short break to heave and gasp for a minute. Then over the next 5 sets I did 350 more. Oh yeah, and those stomach cramps are a nice bonus.

Today's workout:

Jump rope: 350/91/78/122/56/203
Squats: 20/20/20/20/20
Pushups: 8/8/8/8
Roll up like a newspaper: 15/15/15/15

For breakfast this morning, Emiko and I split a bowl of cereal and a banana again. I had a cup of earl grey/green tea and some water. Around 10:30 Emiko made a delicious salad with mixed greens, onions, red bell peppers, corn, cherry tomatoes and a red wine vinaigrette. After that I had a singular date. I wonder how well I would eat if I were doing this alone. I've caught myself fantasizing a lot about oily pizzas, gyros, falafels, sushi, fried chicken and paneer tikka masala. Did anyone else just salivate? Actually it hasn't been all that bad. I'm definitely playing the mental game with myself right now though. How's everyone else getting on?

Quote of the day:

Emiko: "I wish cats didn't poop. It would be so much better if they didn't."

Emiko: Day 1, I Am a Hummus Addict

Well, today is the day!

I started out the day with a slow wake-up at 5:30am, and getting ready for an 8-hour shift at my cafe job. I had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast and shared a banana with Adrian. I biked to work (a new thing for me, but more about that  later) at 6:10am and had a good 20 min. bike ride. Very invigorating in the early morning!

Trying not to eat at work is a big challenge. Apart from avoiding all the milky, sweet lattes and so on, there are bagels galore and we happen to get our fresh cookie delivery on Friday

 mornings. Talk about temptations!

But I did manage to eat only half-servings. I had an ultra small (and cute!) piece of toast with hummus, tomato and cucumber on top. It was delicious, but definitely small. Later, I had a half pita pocket sandwich with 1 slice of prosciutto, some hummus and cucumber. I know, I know..I'm a hummus addict! I have a feeling I might be told not to eat hummus anymore once our diets get more strict (have mercy!).

After biking home I took a rest, and then got to my work out. The jump-roping would have been more fun if I did not whip myself with the rope every 10 jumps! Adrian and I share a jump-rope, so it is a little bit long for me, and I haven't worked out how to adjust to that quite yet. Also, I am just not used to jump-roping. My toes were taking the worst beating from the rope, so I found a solution: my old ballet slippers! They were perfect for the job, and felt good to jump around in. I surprised myself by doing a grand total of 688 jumps. Woo!

The rest of the work out was fine, although I found myself constantly talking and getting distracted (and distracting Adrian, too). I got through it, though, telling myself to not escape from the struggle and burn, because that the struggle was a good struggle and the burn was a good burn...all those weak muscles that were screaming now would soon be strong and useful.

I took a long, warm bath half an hour after the work out, and it was wonderful. It was so good to relax those muscles and reward them for their hard work. I also took that time to do some deep-breathing and to be mindful of the sounds around me for a while. It felt really good.

Anyway, I will end with that for now. Adrian just told me he saw that Amy posted something and I want to read it! See you all tomorrow, Day 2!!

Emiko

p.s. I must confess now that I came this close to eating a spoonful of ice cream...but I resisted! ..somehow!

Adrian: My first papaya

It was soft, juicy and delicious.  Next time I'll remember to peel before slicing.

Adrian: Day 1, Half-Time

It's the first day of the rest of my life.  Woohoo!  For breakfast this morning I had half a bowl of cereal and half a banana.  I also ate half an orange.  About an hour later I had 2 dates, and a pineapple snack bar thing.  

I just finished the prescribed daily workout, and using a jump rope was more challenging than I thought it would be.  I got winded after the first hundred jumps, but I managed to do a total of 505 in 4 sets.  It was a very traumatizing experience for our cats.  

Anyway, it's lunch time now, and I'm going to go make myself half a ham sandwich.

Adrian

Emiko: Introduction Time, number 2!

Hello everyone,

My name is Emiko, the second-half of the Adrian and Emiko team. We are the first couple to be doing the PCP together (at least officially), and I am excited to see how our support for each other will affect our next 90 days.

I am 19 years old, just over a month shy of 20. A lot of my interest in making a major lifestyle change came from Adrian noticing (and me noticing, although partially ignoring) how sluggish, lazy and fatigued I have become. Being a full-time student as well as a part-time cafe worker, I blamed my condition on time commitments, stress and a lack of sleep from school and work. But as time went on, it became clear that I couldn't keep blaming outside sources for a problem centered in this young, once-energized body.

I used to do gymnastics as a kid and played soccer and volleyball constantly until I was 13, but ever since I started high school I kind of spiraled downwards. Between the normal weight-gain at that age and the fact that I went to a weird art school with no PE classes or sports teams (I'm serious!), it was very easy to lose my muscle. I have been in the same shape, and almost exactly the same weight ever since. But the complete lack of energy only emerged in the last year or so. I have a feeling that this has a lot to do with:

1. Getting my first car, which meant a lot less walking than I did when I relied on public transit (and also helped me forget how much I love walking).
2. Moving into an apartment, and realizing I wasn't a very good cook. So Adrian and I ate out. A lot.
3. Working at cafes, where I could munch on yum-yums and sip on milky things for the entire duration of each of my 8-hour shifts.

In the past few weeks, Adrian and I have moved towards eating better and exercising regularly, and let me tell you something about vegetables...what the Project says is true! Eating vegetables all throughout the day, and especially in the morning immediately packed more energy into a single day for me than I would have had in a few days combined. I can't wait to feel that energy escalate as we start the PCP.

Well, I think that I have gone on long enough. I can't wait to begin, and to experience this journey alongside Adrian, Nate, Tim and Amy!

Adrian: Introduction Time!

It's the eve of PCP round 2, and I'm excited for it to officially begin.  Both Emiko and I have been making shopping lists of all the things we want/need to get - a kitchen and bathroom scale, a blender, free weights, a jump rope, etc.  We've also been wondering what specific kinds of groceries we should be getting from now on.  Lots of eggs, that's for sure.  

Shortly before I discovered Patrick's PCP blog, I had made the decision to start eating right and to get fit.  I looked at myself in the mirror one day, and I saw for the first time how I had let myself go.  It's funny how you can look in the mirror every day and not see yourself clearly.  You see the idea you have of yourself.  But when you do see, it can be a surprise.  Anyway, Emiko and I decided to do this together, because as we've both noticed, it's so much easier to make changes in your life when the person/people you live with, supports you.

So a few weeks ago, we stopped consuming junk food, cold turkey (mostly) and began buying and eating more fruits and vegetables.  At first I thought we'd be saving money by not eating out so much, but actually, we've been buying groceries more often, so it might be about the same, money-wise.  An interesting thing I've noticed since we started dieting, is how addicted to certain foods I am.  I'll see a bag of potato chips and my mouth will start watering, and I'll have to kind of fight myself not to want to eat any.  I feel like Homer Simpson (mmmm...Potato chips...).  It just shows how brainwashed I am to automatically salivate whenever I see a neon-colored bag of artificially flavored flakes.  Fruit juices and candy have the same effect on me.

Aside from eating better, we've also been exercising regularly.  We've been jogging around Lake Merritt here in Oakland regularly.  It's 3 miles around, and we both recently were able to make it around the whole way without stopping.

Well, that's about all I want to say right now.  Thanks Patrick for taking us on, and I can't wait to see how things unfold for everyone!

Adrian

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Welcome to Adrian and Emiko's PCP blog!