Wednesday Potpourri

I’ve been a fan of “Jeopardy!” for as long as I can remember. I’ve even taken the test to be a contestant three times (but never passed it – it’s hard!). I learned the word “potpourri” from “Jeopardy!” I knew it as a word that means ‘a little of this and that’ (it’s the catch-all category on “Jeopardy!” that features questions answers on anything and everything) long before I knew it was a collection of dried flowers, fruits, and twigs that grandmothers put in their bathrooms so they smell nice.

I got a bunch of topics to cover in this post, so welcome to Wednesday Potpourri! Let’s get started, shall we?

1) Weigh-in. I was due for one of my biweekly weigh-ins yesterday. Or do I mean bimonthly? I always get those two words mixed up. I weigh myself every two weeks, so I think that’s biweekly. And if I weighed myself every two months, it’d be bimonthly. Or do I have that ass-backwards?

It’s besides the point. What’s important is that I weighed myself, and I’m…

…down 2 pounds! A very nice way to start the morning. At the risk of sounding like a complete snot, I feel like I deserved to lose those two pounds. I’ve been working out like a maniac (including my second-ever 10K race), and eating well, too. It feels good to know that results happen when you work hard.

You may be wondering why I’m not sharing pictures of my Weight Loss Chart, and that’s because I haven’t updated it yet. As I explained in my last weigh-in post, I’m out of room on my chart, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about it. Now I have a game plan, but I haven’t implemented it yet. I’m doing to take my buddy Matt‘s suggestion and redraw the chart with a narrower X-axis, which would create tons of new space. It’s exactly what I did last December with part of my chart when I introduced my Weight Loss Chart, Version 2.0. But redrawing it will take time, and I haven’t done it yet. I will. And I’ll share with you when that happens.

In the meantime, those two pounds puts my weight at 238, which is a total loss of 164 pounds. Awesome!

2) A Starry Run. Yesterday, I wrote about how I needed to re-introduce StairMaster into my workout regimen as an occasional, but reoccurring form of cardio. Well, I need to do the same with running. Before I began training for my recent 10K, I went months without going for a run, and I don’t want to let that happen anymore. So I laced up my shoes and hit the streets yesterday. It turned out to be a nice run! A little hot, but a nice breeze helped with that. My stats, courtesy of RunKeeper:

RunKeeper uses the GPS on my iPhone to track my route, and at the end of my run, I did something I’ve wanted to do since downloading RunKeeper: test the GPS. I started and finished my run in a park a little ways from my home, and the park has a giant open field, so, at the end of my run, I tried running in a certain pattern, just to see how it would turn out. And it worked!

My star isn’t perfect, but it’s a good first attempt! My mind is racing with what I’ll draw next while running!

Ooh – gotta add my run to my Running Chart!

3) StairMaster Milestone. Speaking of exercise charts, when I updated my Skyscraper Collection yesterday, I realized something incredibly cool:

With the addition of yesterday’s tower, the Titanium La Portada in Santiago, Chile, my cumulative StairMaster floor count surpassed 3,000 stories.

THREE THOUSAND STORIES!

This calls for the world’s largest firework:

If you haven’t been to my Skyscraper Collection lately, click here to check it out. At the bottom, below the list of skyscrapers, you see all sorts of cumulative stats. As for right now, I’ve climbed 3,018 stories – that’s 42 skyscrapers on 6 different continents!

4) I Need Your Input! I’ve decided that I want to keep some green supplements in my kitchen. Specifically, the powdered kind that you stir into beverages or smoothies, and are loaded with all the nutritional benefits from leafy greens, vegetables, and fruits. They have tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

The plan is not to replace all the produce in my diet with supplements. I just like the idea of having an alternative around for days when I’m running low on produce, can’t make it to the store, or don’t have time to cook. I keep protein powder around, and use it the same way – maybe once or twice a week, as a quick solution when I’m in a pinch.

The supplement section at Whole Foods was completely overwhelming, but luckily for me, most brands and companies have single-serve packets. I bought a bunch, so I could try different kinds before committing to a big container, as they run anywhere from $20-$40.

I bought these:

…and these:

The packets in the second picture are all the same product in different flavors: Chocolate, Lemon/Lime, Orange Dreamsicle, Goji/Acai, and Berry.

I haven’t tried any yet – I’ve been getting my veggies in every day – but I’m curious: Do you use powdered supplements? What brands/products are your favorite and why? Any tips or suggestions for me?

Sound off in the comments section! And…

…Keep it up, David!