Sugar bomb

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I just saw a clip from a very popular podcast where an ‘expert’ talked about the equivalent sugar in a bowl of cereal not being as bad as a bowl of plain white rice. It basically conflated carbohydrate energy with white sugar cubes. This is ridiculous. We have a hard enough time trying to cut sugar out of our diets to have this deceiving information shared to millions of people as if it’s informative much less helpful.

I’ve only ever spent a few weeks tracking my calorie intake and that was only about a year ago. I didn’t really give it an honest effort. However, 7 years ago I started paying attention to sugar content in foods and that had a dramatic effect on my healthiness. I reduced my sugar intake considerably, and I dropped the weight I needed to.*

It was really challenging. Almost everything had more sugar than I expected. Here are two examples:

1. Ketchup. Sugar isn’t on the ingredients list, it’s usually corn syrup. But a serving of one tablespoon has 4 grams of sugar – and who ever just uses one tablespoon of ketchup? I used to consider ketchup its own food group, I put it on everything. Now, I have almost completely eliminated ketchup from my diet. I’ll only have it occasionally on fries or cooked into a recipe, but I often substitute it with mustards (plain, Dijon, and/or honey Dijon, although you need to check the ingredients for sugar in the honey Dijon).

2. Granola. When you go into a granola aisle in a grocery store, you might think you’re choosing a healthy meal. Most granola has at least 14 grams of sugar per serving and some go up as high as 22g or more. The first time I looked, the lowest I could find was 8g. When you factor in that the recommended serving sizes are usually half to 1/3 the size of what my typical serving would be, all of a sudden this ‘healthy meal’ has a crap load of sugar in it!

There are also other very obvious places where it’s easy to cut out sugar. Cookies and soda are easy examples. I don’t drink a lot of pop, and when I do it’s usually sugar free. I will also have the occasional cookie (or 3), but occasionally means 2-3 times in a month at most.

Sugar is added to so many things, and it affects our gut biome, which in turn can generate cravings and a cycle of always seeking/desiring more sugar. I’m not immune to this, but by intentionally avoiding sugar I can say that my desire for it has been dramatically reduced.

The newest thing I’m keenly aware of is keeping away from sugar replacements as well. Foods don’t need to be sweet to be good. But again, this is hard. It seems like every processed item in the grocery store is filled with sugar, corn syrup, or sweeteners. It takes effort to avoid. But it’s worth the effort.

I like to think I’m already sweet enough, I don’t need loads of sugar to make me any sweeter. 😆

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*Note: When I lost the weight 7 years ago I didn’t just cut out sugar. Initially I combined this with a couple other strategies to get the greatest impact: 6 weeks on a ketogenic diet, and about 10 months of intermittent fasting, which I still try to follow several nights a week, eliminating after dinner snacking, which for me is seldom healthy. I still pay a lot of attention to my sugar intake.)

Intentional Inconvenience

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I used my Extended Health benefits beyond what was allowed without a Doctor’s note and it was denied. Fortunately, I have a doctor’s note, so I sent it in via snail mail… something I had previously done without issue. Months later I followed up with a phone call when I realized that the benefit still wasn’t approved. After waiting an inconsiderate amount of time to speak to a human, I was told that it would be better to use the health care company’s app and upload the doctor’s note, so that it’s attached to the claim. I did this, as instructed and was turned down again.

Today, after once again going through the automated phone tree of options, I was told by an automated voice that ‘My call was important’ and also that due to too many calls, please hang up and try again. Twice. The third time I was lucky enough to be put on hold. At this point I was offered an opportunity to hang up and be called back, but I chose to stay on the line. I didn’t want a callback when it was inconvenient and then have to go through this process again. Upon finally talking to a human almost 30 minutes later, she was able to see the unapproved benefits on my file. She then informed me that their automated system can not read the attachment uploads on the app, and so no one looked at my doctor’s note.

Here is a synopsis. Don’t mail in the doctor’s note like you used to, we won’t connect it to the benefit claim that needs it. Instead, use the app, which will allow you to upload the doctor’s note… so we can ignore it there too.

On top of that the app itself is inconvenient. It has a series of check boxes and boxes to fill, but interwoven are also tabs that are necessary to go to, to toggle or choose other options not on the original screen. Even after using it several times, I still end up trying to complete a claim only to be told that I’ve missed a toggle/tab (or two).

In this day and age, I doubt if this inconvenience isn’t at least somewhat intentional. I wonder how many people don’t get their (deserved) claims just because the process is designed such that you need to make a very inconvenient follow-up call to ensure payment? I wonder how many seniors and people with disabilities lose out on opportunities to claim benefits because the process is too challenging for them to navigate? We are intentionally inconvenienced because servicing our needs is not seen as the purpose, but as an expense… We are seen as the inconvenience.

Gains not pains

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I lift heavy in the gym. Not crazy or super strong, but for how much I weigh, I can move some heavy weights. That said, my age has changed my strategy on how I do this… safely. When I was younger, I’d often lift to my maximum, my one-rep max. Now, I don’t know what my one-rep max is for any of my exercises? I never try.

Instead, I work to get every set to 10-12 reps. When I can get 10-12 on my third set, that’s when I consider moving up in weight. That happened today on shoulder press. When I move up in weight next week, I will be at that new level for a long time, I’m not going to get to 10 reps any time soon… And that’s ok.

I haven’t moved up in weight for bar bench press in a couple years, but I have significantly improved my free weight barbell bench press. Why? With the bar, I feel a lot of pressure on my shoulders. That doesn’t mean I don’t push hard. I’m still only at 5-7 reps for my last 2 sets, I just haven’t seen gains with the bar, and again that’s ok with me.

The point being, with any set I’m still going to the point where I’m struggling to get to 10-12 on my second last set. I’m going to hopefully get 4-7 reps on the 3rd set. I’m going to be pushing my muscles to fatigue. What I won’t be doing is straining to lift a heavier weight which I can only lift 1-2 times. Those days are over.

I’m so much better at listening to my body now. I’ll lift lighter when I feel fatigued. I’ll adjust my hand placement or change my workout when a set doesn’t feel right. I’ll sacrifice lifting heavier for good form. That said, I still need to do a lot of self-talk to temper pushing hard with pushing smart.

And while I’m doing my best to lift safe and smart, I also want to push hard and make gains. I’ve got a few more years of gains to make, as long as I stay healthy.

The weakest link

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This is just me sharing some uncertainty and self-doubt. I’ve shared that in a couple weeks my buddy Dave and I are attempting a physical challenge of walking up a local hill 37 times in 2 days, which will be the equivalent of the hight of Mount Everest. You can search my blog for ‘Everest the Crunch’ to find out more. I’ve also mentioned that the distance travelled will be as far as 2 full marathons (up hill), and involve over 19 hours of walking over 2 days.

Here is something that I didn’t mention. Dave and I have both decided that if one of us can’t make it, the other person will not continue either. We aren’t doing this as some sort of badge of honour, we are doing this as a challenge… together. It was an idea born out of our finding a way to connect during Covid, and we value the opportunity to spend intentional (and healthy) time with a friend.

In fact, that’s why we also decided to raise money for men’s mental health. We recognize how important this time together has been for us. We also know that men usually don’t get together to have a coffee or even a beer and just chat… they usually need an event, be it a sports game, a barbecue, or a birthday… Or a walk or a hike. The act of doing something together becomes the reason to gather, and thus the opportunity to chat.

Dave and I have found this time invaluable. A fun fact about our walks, very early on we created a rule that we could only talk about work on the way up the hill, no ‘shop talk’ on the way down. So, we’ve had a lot of opportunity to talk about life, family, anything and everything; Time we would not have made if we were just meeting for a coffee, although very often we do meet for a coffee after our walks.

So, on August 21st and 22nd, with the support of family and friends, we will attempt to climb the Coquitlam Crunch 37 times. And we will do it together or we will fail together… and that’s where the idea of the weakest link comes in. So far, the most we’ve done in a day is 10 times up The Crunch. That’s just over 1/4 of what we have to do over 2 days. Today we did 5, and we probably won’t be doing more than 2 or maybe 3 in a day leading up to the challenge. Today felt really good and made me optimistic about our chances for success.

But… but it is clear to me that Dave is fitter than I am. His pace is slightly faster, and during the challenging 457 step segment my heart rate climbs a good 20+ beats a minute more than his. Dave knows I need to go slower than him and is very accommodating. I keep track of my heart rate to ensure that I’m not pushing too hard. But I feel like I’m the weakest link in our journey to 37 climbs. I feel like if WE are not successful it will be because of ME.

Dave is awesome, he would not begrudge me quitting. He knows that like him, I know how to push myself. We see it in each other in the weight room 5-6 times a week. He knows that if I can’t continue, I really can’t continue. I’m not worried about external judgement. I am worried that I’m the one that will let our team down.

Maybe it’s years of competitive sports. Maybe it’s just who I am, but the idea of me being the one that lets a team down is haunting. The idea that I could be the weakest link is painful.

The coach in me says, ‘Give it your all and be proud of what you can do.’

The competitor in me says, ‘Win at all cost, failure is not an option.’

Overall, my confidence is high, but I won’t lie, the idea of being the weakest link is unsettling.

Everesting in Two Weeks

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It was January 2021 when I started doing the Coquitlam Crunch with my buddy Dave Sands. Two years ago Dave had a holiday in Ireland and on our subsequent Crunch walk he asked me, ‘Have you ever heard of Everesting?’

No, I hadn’t.

He explained that a friend’s son had ridden up a hill a number of times in order to ride that hill for the equivalent hight of Mount Everest… Everesting.

Then he said, ‘We should do this for The Crunch’. He expected me to say ‘No’. I didn’t. We then decided to coincide it with our retirements and his 60th birthday (one the day before we make our Everesting attempt).

37 times up the Crunch will be about 9,000 meters, a bit more than the height of Everest. According to my calculations, to get to that height will require walking the equivalent of two full marathons, at least 19 hours of uphill walking, and over 100,000 steps. We will be taking breaks. We’ve got family and friends to help drive us down the hill, so that we are only walking up, and not down too. It’s still going to be very hard. The most we’ve done in a day is 10, we will really have to push ourselves to be successful.

Please follow us on Instagram: EverestTheCrunch 

And follow along on August 21st and 22nd.

We e also decided to do a bit of fundraising:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/everest-the-crunch-for-mental-health

And if you are local, come join us for one trip up… in a couple weeks.

Gone electric

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I’m loving my new electric vehicle. I’m so impressed with it. It’s quiet. It has amazing acceleration. It’s affordable to run. And while the charge time is less convenient than a fill up, soon I’ll have home charging and that will all but eliminate this inconvenience other than for occasional longer drives. I’ll admit that we were really considering a hybrid for a while, but I have no regrets for going fully electric. I think it’s the way of the future.

One neat feature our new car has (that is not exclusive to electric cars) is drive assist cruise control. Not only does the car slow down with traffic while maintaining cruise control, it also has lane assist, where the car self-drives, staying in the lane. I’m still required to be watching the road and need to have a hand on the steering wheel, but I love this feature. It has made me realize something. I’m ready for self driving cars.

Just like I made the transition from gas to electric, I know that in a few years I’d be willing to give up driving and let the car do all the work for me. I could see myself writing a post in 2028 titled ‘Gone self-driving’. Imagine how much safer the roads would be without distracted drivers, without erratic lane changes, and without unnecessary delays at traffic lights.

Imagine cars on a highway where every car knows what the intentions are of the neighbouring cars… traffic fully in sync, and flowing to maximize efficiency. How incredible would that be. Of course this won’t happen in just a couple years, it would take decades for people to give up their freedom to drive a car. But maybe we’ll see driver-free zones or driver-free lanes in the near future.

My first electric car has me excited about the future of cars and transportation.

29 years later

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Twenty nine years ago I did the West Coast Trail with my wife, her parents, and two of their friends who were younger than them. This 70km hike along the west coast of Vancouver Island is a one-way trip along a rugged shoreline with many rivers to cross, ladders to climb and repel, and even a few cable cars to pull yourself over deeper rivers. You carry everything you need in your pack and you have to be prepared for any weather systems coming off of the Pacific Ocean.

This September I’m doing the trip again with a buddy. Today I picked up new waterproof hiking boots, a water bottle that filters the water (necessary since we can’t bring enough water with us for 6-7 days), a new tent, and a few other accessories. Over the coming month I’ll need to collect quite a few more items and dig up a few more from my garage that I haven’t used in years.

While it’s going to be a challenge, it’s going to be a lot different than my last experience. I’m actually in better shape, with a better back, and equipment is now a lot lighter and more compact. This is really going to a great experience.

I usually like looking for new experiences, but I think a 29 year gap is long enough that this will feel as new as if I’d never done it before. Also, my last trip was north to south and this time we are starting in the south… so the adventure really does feel new.

I can’t decide yet if I’ll do a paper journal or if I’ll still find a way to digitally write, but I won’t be taking a break from writing daily. That said, I also won’t be posting anything until I return from the trip. I’ve never written a daily travel log but I think I’ll give it a go. Or maybe I’ll do a series of daily photos? Or both? I have time to decide all that, first I’ve got to make sure all the supplies are purchased and will fit in my pack. This isn’t a trip where you want to leave behind something important, there aren’t any stores along the way.

That said, there is a local (and very remote) restaurant near the halfway point. It was called Mona’s when I was last there, and I got an overpriced (but well worth the price) breakfast of bacon and eggs on my last journey. I’m not sure what the new place is called, and how expensive it will be, but I’m not going to pass up a ‘gourmet’ meal on this trip when everything else I eat will be cooked by adding boiling water.

I’m looking forward to roughing it on the trail, but I’m going to accept any luxuries that come my way. One other luxury I hope to take advantage of is staying an extra night at a beautiful waterfall. The waterfall is near a ferry that we need to take, and I’m hoping the locals that run the ferry will sell us some crab for a dinner on our extra night at the falls. A luxury like this is a memorable moment on a trip like this… I trip I hope to remember 29 years from now.

The view from here

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I’ve been geeking out a bit, looking into quantum mechanics, space, and time. Admittedly, I don’t have a very strong physics background and so my understanding is limited. That said, there are a few somewhat related ideas I’m bouncing around:

1. We never actually touch anything. Even the densest materials are inevitably made up of empty space at the sub atomic level.

2. Everything is a wave.

3. Time slows as we approach the speed of light, and light itself does not experience time.

4. We live in a 3-Dimensional world, which is what we can observe in a universe that likely has more dimensions that we can’t experience.

As I sit here trying to make sense of this, I’m essentially a collection of space dust, that’s comprised mostly of empty space… which happens to be a self-conscious collection of waves, with limited senses… which can only sense things in 3-Dimensional space. All while travelling at a speed that is relative to where I decide to measure it, be that the speed I’m moving on earth, the speed that the earth is travelling around the sun, the speed that the sun rotates around the galaxy, or the speed that the galaxy is moving around the universe.

And when I look out at the stars at night I see light that has travelled millions of years to get to me. I’m seeing that star as it was millions of years ago, and right now that star might have gone supernova and no longer exists. Yet the light that travelled all the way from that star to my eye did not experience any time at all from the moment it left the star until it reached me.

But I got to observe it. There is a view from right here of this amazing universe, a universe I get to observe and experience in a way that no other entity ever will. I’m insignificant and yet I can find meaning… Me… a collection of stardust that understands what it means to exist, and interact with the universe even if I’m just a pattern of waves that never actually touches anything. And so while I’m insignificant, thinking of my place in the universe might be one of the most significant things this universe has to offer. 

The return

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I had a wonderful holiday break. We got home yesterday and were fully unpacked before bedtime. I met my buddy this morning and went for a workout and then we were back on the Coquitlam Crunch for a couple training walks up it, getting ready for our challenge just two weeks away.

…and that was my entire day.

Isn’t it weird how even after a very relaxing holiday, the first full day home feels like you need to recover from your holiday? Is this just something I experience or do others feel it too?

I’ve heard the expression, ‘I need a holiday to recover from my holiday,’ but that’s usually because you’ve had an action-packed holiday. I did nothing but relax on my holiday. I ate well, I did a wine tour. I enjoyed a short walk to a waterfall. I listened to an audio book. Sure, I exercised a few times, but not a single workout compared to anything I usually do at home.

So how did I come back and feel I had to take the entire afternoon and evening off?

Existential Threat

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From Zain Kahn’s ‘Superhuman newsletter‘:

Over 1,200 employees at frontier AI companies signed a letter warning of runaway development
“The open letter cautions that AI could advance “beyond our ability to understand or control the resulting systems,” and calls on the US government to deliberately pace progress at the international level, which would reduce competitive pressure on each lab. Signatories include chief scientists at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. The scale of the signatory list — spanning companies and roles — is a signal of how seriously insiders are taking the risk.”

I grew up believing that a super-intelligent AI would be created in a lab. The fear was that it would somehow escape into the ‘real world’ and only then could it dominate the world. The whole idea of some sort of firewall to protect us just evaporated when LLM’s were trained and unleashed on the internet. We completely bypassed any sort of protection or safety net that would allow human intervention in order to prevent a rogue AI from running wild.

Worse yet, we have unleashed AI into a world where any one person with ill-intent can use AI with nefarious intentions. I’ve said before,

“I don’t fear the famous scientist, I fear the rogue, unhappy misfit who uses incredible technological advancements for nefarious reasons. The same technology that can make our lives easier, and create tremendous good in the world, can also be used with bad intentions. But there are differences between someone using a revolver for bad reasons and someone using a nuclear bomb for bad reasons. The problem we face in the future is that access to the equivalent harm of a nuclear bomb (or worse) will be something more and more people have access to. I don’t think this is something we can stop, and so as amazing as the technology is that we see today, my fear is that it could also be what leads to our demise as a species.”

Now 1,200 AI employees are heeding a warning that AI could advance “beyond our ability to understand or control the resulting systems.” That’s just AI systems acting on their own. That doesn’t include the danger of humans using these complicated and little understood intelligent tools with bad intentions. Sure we need to worry about AI running amok, but I think the far greater existential threat is a rogue government, or even a rogue lone wolf angry at the world, using AI in ways that we won’t be able to stop. Think of a cascading virus either electronic or environmentally contagious beyond our ability to stop it. Not created by scientists, but by a brilliant incel who feels cheated by the world.

We don’t need to fear rogue AI nearly as much as we need to fear rogue individuals armed with a super-intelligent AI. This is what really scares me.