Alpha Progress

10-8-ious asks, "Where did everybody go?", to which I answer, "The gym to work out!" Yes it is a busy time of year and finding time to blog is tough. I have been running all over the place, seems like there is always something else to be done. But that is another Blog. This is about my diet blog.

Minor setback last week. I had an elbow problem. Seems I possibly had an infection in my left elbow that triggered a bout of gout in the same elbow, or at least that is the theory without poking me full of needles. They ran some blood work and Uric Acid was high. Anyway it hurt like hell for two days and swelled up big time and knocked me off my weight lifting regiment for about 5 days. But I was back at the gym on Monday and the elbow is feeling much better and lifting has not been a problem.

Since I have had a history of gout, though no recent flare-ups, and this being the first in a joint other than my big toe, I decided to do research into what may have caused the high Uric Acid. It always used to be brought on by bad diet + no exercise + too much red wine or dark beer, etc. But my diet has been stellar, I hadn't had any red wine or dark beer in 3 days before the attack and I've been exercising like a banshee. A little research on some sites on gout.com (yes they is actually a site) and I have some big clues. First, weight loss (especially quick losses) can raise Uric Acid. Second, dehydration keeps the body from flushing it through the kidneys, and I think I have been dehydrated. Third, foods that increase Uric Acid include Spinach and Mushrooms which I have been eating like 5 days a week in large quantities (my lunch salad). On sets of gout are often triggered by trama to a joint. The doctor thinks this trama was the infection that I had from a scrape. Put it all together and bingo, I'm up at 3 am with an elbow the feels like someone hit it with a sledge hammer.

So I have modified things to prevent a re-occurrence while still staying on the weight loss program. First plenty of water, at least 40 - 48 ounces a day. Second limit spinach and mushrooms, I replaced them in my lunch this week with Strawberries, Red Grapes and Wheatables. Fourth, take care of the cuts and scrapes. It seems to be working, though you can never tell with gout.

Progress!!! I'm down another 4 pounds. Weightlifting is going good. Feeling good, clothes are fitting better. Lifted weight last night new Personal Record Dead Lift. Which got me thinking... So I went back through the archives to my first blog on this diet site. March 1, two months ago to almost the day. It was about me doing deadlifts in the gym, lifting 335 pounds and tweaking my back in the process. Since then I have worked out about 32 times in the gym. What a difference some hard work will make. Last night I deadlifted 405 pounds, no back pain, a good strong lift. And it felt really encouraging breaking the 400 pound mark.

What has my weight done? Since the first of the year I am down over 35 pounds. So while my weight went down about 11% my deadlift went up 21%. By the way, when I went to see the doctor last week, my blood pressure was lower than it had been in over a year 110/80.

Another thing I noticed in some of my early blogs was I talked about getting through hump day with limiting my beer consumption at Mug Club. Well tonight was Mug Club and for the second week in a row I drank Diet Pepsi. And I didn't feel deprived. Progress is so sweet.

One other observation, I think the change in the lunch menu from Spinach/Tuna Salads to Fruit with Smoked Chicken Breast has put the metabolism back into high gear. I'll have to see if it is the food or just the change. Stay tuned..... From the Alpha Male, l8r.