For me, getting over my compulsive urge to snack at work was a huge part of my campaign to lose weight when I started. At first I didn’t see my little grazing here and there as a big problem, but when I really began to take stock of what my hands were putting in my face almost subconsciously on a daily basis, I realized that ripping that habit out by the root was a huge step.

Stash bomb
The first wave of attack should be to empty your drawers of all the crap you keep stashed. Candy, chips, chocolate. Throw it away and feel that rush of conquest over a vice. Or if you can’t bear to see all that waste, put it out on your desk and let the office vultures clean it up. Don’t shed a tear for being an enabler, they were bound to get it somewhere.

Re-purpose that walk
So your walk to the vending machine is a boredom killer, a way to stretch your legs, right? Killing boredom and stretching your legs at work are totally Trau-sanctioned activities. In fact, I would encourage you to keep doing it. Just change your destination. Walk around the building maybe. Get 15 minutes of activity that doesn’t result in a snack that negates not only that activity, but probably a good chunk of any previous activity of the day.

Start a fund
Next, gather up all that spare change you keep in your coat pockets, purse, desk drawer — anywhere you can access it at work — and take it home. Make a jar on your counter that says “snacks” on the outside of it and begin depositing your pocket change there (if you don’t already have a change jar for some other purpose, of course). This accomplishes 2 goals: It gets all that vending machine loot out of reach for those down moments at work where you wanna stretch your legs and drop 75 cents on a Payday bar or a Fanta; and it creates a small account for you to save money for the final phase of our attack.

Restock
So you’ve cleared out your food and you’ve cleared out your money. You now have a clean slate at your desk. But the reality is, you get hungry at work, and getting fit isn’t about complete deprivation. It’s about smart choices. Candy bars, chips and sugary snacks can be replaced by things like nuts, trail mix and cheese. A little bit of fat in moderation between meals is good for your metabolism. Especially good fats, like the monounsaturated fats found in nuts. My snack of choice for work is raw, unsalted almonds. Roasting a nut leeches some of it’s nutritional value, and salty snacks are just unnecessary. An almond also contains some of the natural compound that makes you feel full, whereas many processed snacks aren’t nearly as satisfying per calorie.

But hey, some people don’t like nuts. I get that. Tomatoes make me gag, so I can’t judge! So maybe some nut-free trail mix, or just a mix that contains nuts you can handle. Peanuts? Maybe. But stay away from the trail mix with chocolate and lots of overly sweetened dried fruits. It looks healthy, but a lot of times those fruits are no better than a jawbreaker. Read labels. Go for less sugar, more natural.

If you live near a Trader Joe’s, they have a package series for their nuts and trail mix called “just a handful” that is basically a big bag filled with a bunch of small-serving bags of whatever it is. It’s a good way to budget your snack without thinking about it too much. I just keep a tub of raw almonds and go for a few every couple hours or so. That seems to work.

And maybe you have a little bit of a cheese craving every now and then? Popping a little mini wheel of low-fat BabyBel cheese or some small, pre-portioned package of cheese you can keep in your work fridge is harmless. Just maintain control! Don’t come blaming me if you make 5 snacks a day out of BabyBel cheese and gain 3 pounds a week!

What it boils down to when restocking is that aside from lettuce and celery, there isn’t much that has a negligible caloric impact. But that’s just a small part of the equation. Light snacking is good because it keeps your metabolism on a roll. Assuming you’ve had a good breakfast, a nice workout and a healthy lunch, your metabolism will pound right through whatever healthy snack you choose — burning up all the bad stuff and putting the good stuff where it belongs.

Maintaining a hot, burning metabolism between meals will be most beneficial by the time you hit dinner, and that snack might actually improve your body’s processing of your final meal of the day.

Challenge
Send me pictures of your stash before you trash it or leave it for the birds!

TRAU

P.S. Do you check the Twitter feed to the right? See last night I doubled my nightly run distance for this week! I feel great and can’t wait to do it again tonight.

When I first began to lose weight, there was a sort of mantra about it whenever I would exercise. I’d feel the lactic acid burning me up, I’d feel the sweat, I’d be wheezing and spitting and moaning and getting dizzy and nauseous — and I’d call out OldTrau. I’d think to myself, that’s the OldTrau, the part of you that wants you to stop now is the part of you that doesn’t care if you succeed. Give in now and you make that part of you stronger. Roll with NewTrau and you will look damned sexy in the mirror in a couple months.

So I’d curse out OldTrau in my head, picture NewTrau — a buff, lean version of myself — kicking my own horribly-out-of-shape ass. I’d let the battle rage on, as externally I kept exercising and working harder. I’d forget how much my body was hurting because I was distracted by this sort of meditation I was doing.

Then I got to a point where I had lost 120 pounds overall. I was pumped. I told myself, I AM NewTrau! All that exercise paid off and I achieved my goal. Good job, me. Now go take a breather. I began considering NewTrau as NowTrau. I was pretty proud of that. Clever, right? Cool. So I’d chill on that and be proud of myself.

I felt entitled, like I was owed some relaxation. And now it was time to enjoy summer, to take my shirt off and be proud of the results and bask in being NowTrau.

But what I didn’t realize was that sneaky OldTrau had been biding his time, sure he’d get his chance again. He dressed up like NowTrau and walked through the door like he owned the place and never set off any red flags until I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror one day and thought… uh oh.

The backslide had begun! My weight had gone from a comfortable plateau to a slow creep upward again. Crafty OldTrau… well played.

So I got back on it, threw NowTrau in the gutter and conjured up my ol’ pal NewTrau. Then, I had a bit of an epiphany today as I was jogging and watching once again the epic battle unfold in my cranium…

There should be a sort of perpetual nature to the idea of NewTrau. To the idea of NewAnyone, really. I think it’s healthy to be proud of yourself, but not to be satisfied.

Satisfaction is OldAnyone’s phone number. He always picks up and he’s never busy.

There will always be something better than ourselves. And until the day we die, we should be chasing that version, and never looking back.

NewTrau is always new, and OldTrau — I promise — will always be old.

TRAU

http://howtraudoesit.wordpress.com

lovety

10 months in the planning, and the moment that typically would’ve become a waning spark in my mind 9 and a half months ago is actually here. I’m really doing what I set out to do.

I’ve never in my life wanted to do something for 10 months. I know that sounds stupid, but I’ve really just never put my mind to something like this.

It’s unreal, really. Surreal. Fucking bodacious, but inconceivable.

The pipe dream has legs. It’s got feet and it’s standing on them, facing my apartment door right next to the pile of clothes, food and gear I have ready to stuff in my car in the morning and get the fuck out of this city for a while.

I wish I could fully explain to you how different my life is today than it was 10 months ago — a year ago, 2 years ago. It’s the difference between being alive and dead. Night and day. It’s sweeter than I thought it would ever get.

You know when you peel an orange — and you expect to bite into an orange — and when you put it in your mouth, every once in a while it shocks you? It’s explosive! It’s running down your chin and you can’t suck the citrus off your lips in time to keep it from dripping all over the table and your hands and it’s not the mess you’re concerned with, but you just suddenly can’t bear to let any of that nectar go unswallowed?

I tell ya what, going from where I was to where I am — every day it feels like I get that orange, in one manifestation or another.

So I’m gonna go to Isle Royale. I’m gonna walk myself into the biggest challenge of my life thus far and climb to the top of the highest thing I can find and scream at the top of my lungs.

I think I’ll yell “thank you” somewhere in there.

To myself, to you, to it.

Long Live The Kachonga.

lovety

I agonize over details. I pour over menus. I check and re-check. I adjusted the fit of my backpack 3 times this weekend. I tested some trail recipes.

Today I’ve been going over my menu and making sure I’ve got enough calories here, or that I’m not carrying unneccessary weight, and that every cubic inch of food is worth it’s volume.

The best moment came when after reading a couple more backpacking blogs and informational web sites, I had a little EUREKA! See, ever since last week when my friend Dawn asked “soooo how long do you think all this bread is going to last you?”, I’ve heard it over and over in my head like one of those nightmarish echoes in a sitcom: “gonna last you, gonna last you, gonna last you, gonna last…” At first I was like, eh, it’ll last. Worst case, I eat stale bread.

But the more I think about it, the more I’m thinkin, damn. I’m gonna be really hungry. Do I really want to sit down to replenish myself with a loaf of rock-hard baguette or a pita that has become essentially pita chips? No. Hell no. This is supposed to be hard, but it ain’t supposed to be torture.

So when the backpacking blog mentioned crackers as a good way to substitute for bread, the bells started ringing, the lightbulbs started flashing. CRACKERS! DUH! Kashi makes a whole variety of hearty, healthy, heavy-duty crackers that would be perfect for BOTH bread needs I have on the menu: tuna and cheese!

So no bread or pita. Replace it with crackers. Weight might not fluctuate much, but the space sure will. The baguettes would take about 3 times the space a day’s worth of crackers will. Booya. Perfect.

Now if only I could make my own crackers.

Aw shit, why’d I have to think that?

lovety

This is the base pack for the trip to Isle Royale. I loaded it today with (almost) every thing I will possibly need, except for food and clothing. It weighs in at around 36 pounds. It still needs a small tacklebox, bug spray and a backup compass. Maybe a couple more trash bags for waterproofing stuff. All in all, it should be around 36-38 pounds. When I pack it up the final time, I’m going to try to whittle down any weight I can. If I can get it closer to 30 lbs, I’ll be happy.

Food will probably weigh in at 14 lbs or less. I’ll start each day’s hike with about about 2 liters of water. I’m thinkin I’ll probably be a little over 50 lbs altogether. Clothing won’t weigh much — I’ll have the heaviest of it on my back, and I counted the rain gear into the base weight. So all I will be carrying in the bag is a couple extra wicking shirts, which hardly weigh anything, a pair of wicking pants, and socks. Most of the hiking books I’ve read reccommend going without underwear to save weight and space. I’m going to take a couple of pairs just in case it gets reeeeaaaally cold.

On my body I’ll have the heavy clothes –pants, boots, shirt, fleece, beanie. Plus I’ll have the Hawk and my knife hanging from my belt and the camera hanging from my neck. And a walking stick with a bandana tied on.

I was really pleased with myself today when packing this thing, because I took a bulky item — my tent — and repackaged it to fit much better in the pack. I stuffed the tent, the fly, the stakes and the ground cover all in the front pocket of the backpack all flattened out, and put the poles in the side pocket by the fishing pole, lashed in. So rather than have to have it take up valuable space in the main cargo compartment or cause akward balance issues by strapping it to the bottom of the pack with the sleeping pad, it’s now spread out pretty evenly. AND what’s more, that pocket it’s in basically covers the whole front of the pack, so when I put the rain fly in last, I made sure to really spread it over the whole pocket, so it creates another layer of waterproofing for the things in the cargo area should I get stuck in a sudden storm. Awesome.

So now there’s a ton of room in the pack. I have no worries about getting the rest of my food and clothing in there. Should be a cinch!

Base pack contents:

Top pocket:
Map, compass, bug spray, toothbrush/paste, chapstick, headlamp, batteries, matches, safety pins, shoelaces, 6 feet duct tape, journal, pen, deck of cards. Eventually lunch each day.

Front pocket:
Ground cover, tent, rain fly, stakes.

Side pockets:
Fishing pole, tent poles, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, GPS, multi-tool. Eventually small water bottle

Belt pocket:
Tripod, eventually snacks.

Main cargo: Sleeping bag, inside floor cover for tent, camp shoes, first aid kit, stove, 3 fuels, water filter, spork, scraper, rope, shammy, towel, cutting board, isle royale book, kerouac’s “dharma bums,” 2 stuff sacks (clothes and food), rain gear, eventally a large water bottle.

That’s about it. Am I forgettin anything?

lovety

Supply list is probably incomplete, as I’ve been collecting stuff and storing it all in the same spot. No way I can miss anything if I already have it, but I may have forgotten to write it down, ya know? Still, if you see something missing from the list, I am open to any and all corrections or suggestions!

Isle Royale Hike Itinerary
Rock Harbor to Windigo via Rock Harbor/Greenstone Ridge/Minong Ridge trails — 48 miles
Sunday, June 14, 2009 — Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Day-by-day plan

Day 1
8 am: Leave Bay City, head north on I-75, stopping for a stretch and lunch somewhere just north of the Mackinac Bridge.
6 or 7 pm: Reach Fort Wilkins State Park north of Copper Harbor, set up camp and eat dinner. 

Day 2
8 am: Leave Copper Harbor aboard the Queen IV
12:30 am: Arrive at Rock Harbor. Hike 7.8 miles on Rock Harbor Trail to Daisy Farm and set up camp.

Day 3
Daisy Farm to McCargoe Cove. 8.4 miles.

Day 4 — Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Minong Ridge trail head. McCaroge Cove to Todd Harbor. 6.7 miles.

Day 5
Make camp in Todd Harbor all day.
Phone MIGHT work here.
Option to hike about a mile inland to Lake Harvey to fish pike.

Day 6
Todd Harbor to Little Todd Harbor. 6.8 miles.

Day 7
Little Todd to Lake Desor. 5.7 miles.

Day 8
Lake Desor to Windigo. End point of the Minong. Showers are $1 for 6 minutes. 12.6 miles.

Day 9
10:30 am: Ferry on Voyageur II back to Rock Harbor.
2:30 pm: Arrive in Rock Harbor. Try to catch Queen IV if I’m lucky. If not…

Day 10
2 pm: Ferry on Queen IV back to Copper Harbor. Might crash back at Fort Wilkins. So assuming I camp…

Day 11 — Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sleep in. Drive to Bay City. After that, we don’t need no stinking itinerary.

Meals
11 each — Breakfast/Lunch/Snack/Dinner
Plan is to take each day’s food rations into a large ziploc bag and label them by day. Each morning at breakfast the day’s food should be checked and stuff like snacks should be moved to the front pockets of the pack. 

Food list OUT OF PACK

Egg Beaters
Omelette stuffing

Sandwich

Hot Dogs

Buns

Baked beans

2 days worth coffee

2 servings almonds
1 Jerky
1 Chocolate
1 Dried fruit
1 Protein shake
1 Cous Cous
1 Dried Veggies

2 Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
Trail Mix (2)
4 clif bars

Ferry carry-on pockets?

Trail Mix (2)

2 clif bars
Almonds

Food list IN PACK

10 Coffee

3 Cheese babybel x4

3 Mini Baguette

5 Minute rice

4 Tuna packet

4 Pita x2

8 Mustard packets?

4 Cous Cous

16 Clif Bars

10 Gatorade (equivalent)

8 Almonds

8 Trail Mix x2

10 Dark Chocolate

10 Oatmeal

2 Choley

2 Noodles
20 Dried Fruit

10 jerky

10 Protein shake

3 Olive spread

3 dried black beans

2 Bisquick for dumplings

4 Dried veggie mix for cous cous (mushrooms, peppers, onions etc.)

4 Bullion cube

Possible bonus items
Smoked fish from U.P., depending on how long they think it will last in a pack
Fresh fish from a lake.

Condiments and such
Gatorade mix
Mustard for tuna
Salt/Pepper
Cinnamon for coffee/oatmeal
Brown sugar
Pepper grinder for everything
Garlic cloves in case I need to poach fish
Bullion for cous cous

Meal Planner day by day (21 stoves)

Day 1 (on road to U.P. from Bay City)
OUT OF PACK
Breakfast
– Egg Beaters omelette with goodies from store day before
– Toast and peanut butter
Lunch
– Sandwich, packed in cooler with goodies from store
– Nuts
– Clif bar
Snack
– Clif Bar
– Trail Mix 2
Dinner
– Hot dogs over fire at campsite
– Buns
– Baked beans
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit

Day 2: wake up at Ft. Wilkins campsite, ferry ride, will need easy lunch for ferry or mid-hike, night at Daisy Farm
OUT OF PACK/IN PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack: (pack separate for on ferry)
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch: (separate too, should be easy and quick to beat the rush)
– Clif bar
– Nuts
– Cheeses
– Baguette
– Olive spread
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Choley
– Quick Rice

Day 3: Wake up at Daisy Farm, hike to McCargoe Cove
IN PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch
– Clif Bar
– Nuts
– Tuna
– 2 pita
– Mustard
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Rice
– Black beans

Day 4: Wake up at McCargoe, hike to Todd Harbor
IN PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch
– Clif Bar
– Nuts
– Cheese
– Baguette
– Olive spread
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Choley
– Rice

Day 5: Wake up in Todd Harbor, stay in Todd Harbor all day
IN PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch
– Clif Bar
– Nuts
– Noodles
– Dumplings (Gusterd Stew)
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Cous Cous
– Dried Veggies
– Bullion

Day 6: Wake up in Todd Harbor, hike to Little Todd Harbor
IN PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch
– Clif Bar
– Nuts
– Tuna
– Pita
– Mustard
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Beans
– Rice

Day 7: Wake up in Little Todd, hike to Lake Desor
IN PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch
– Clif Bar
– Nuts
– Cheese
– Baguette
– Olive spread
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Cous Cous
– Veggies
– Bullion

Day 8: Wake up in Lake Desor, hike to Windigo
IN PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch
– Clif Bar
– Nuts
– Tuna
– Pita
– Mustard
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Beans
– Rice

Day 9: Wake up in Windigo, Ferry to Rock Harbor at 10:30, catch ferry home or camp again
IN PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack: (pack separate for on ferry)
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch: (separate too, should be easy and quick to eat on boat)
– Clif bar
– Nuts
– Tuna
– Pita
– Mustard
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Cous Cous
– Dried Veggies
– Bullion

Day 10: Wake up in Rock Harbor (maybe) catch ferry home around 2-3, camp at Ft. Wilkins
IN PACK/OUT OF PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
– Prepare gatorade bottle
Snack
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch
– Clif Bar
– Nuts
– Noodles
– Dumplings (Gusterd Stew)
Dinner:
– Jerky
– Chocolate
– Dried fruit
– Protein shake
– Cous Cous
– Dried Veggies
– Bullion
– 2 4-packs of Guinness cans to party down with

Day 11: Wake up in Ft. Wilkins, drive to Bay City
OUT OF PACK
Breakfast
– Oatmeal with fruit/brown sugar
– Coffee
Snack
– Trail Mix (2)
– Clif Bar
Lunch
– Clif Bar
– Nuts

Anything beyond that will be paid for on the road.

SuppliesStuff I have
__50 feet rope to hang pack
__Camera
__Compass
__Duct tape
__Fishing Rod
__Fishing tackle
__First aid kit
__GPS
__Handkerchiefs
__Hawk
__Headlamp
__Jumbo trash bags for pack at night
__Knife
__Lighters (3)
__Matches
__Moleskin journal
__Multi-tool
__Nat Geo trail map
__Pack
__Rain gear
__Shoes slip-on
__Sleeping bag
__Sleeping pad
__Stove
__Stove fuel (3+)
__Tent
__Tin foil
__Trash bags
__Water filter
__Walking stick

Clothes/accesories

Out of pack
__3 pairs socks – regular
__3 pairs underwear
__3 beaters
__jeans
__3 t-shirts

On body
__ grey pants
__ 1 long-sleeved wicking shirt
__ socks
__ fleece
__ boots
__ beanie
__ sunglasses
__ belt
__ knife
__ hawk

In pack
__ 7 pairs hiking socks
__ 1 long-sleeved wicking shirts (buying 1 sat.)
__ 1 short-sleeved wicking shirt
__ 1 pair wicking pants
__ 4 pairs underwear
__ camo shorts
__ jacket

Food: Homemade / from home
20 servings Dried Fruit

10 servings jerky

10 scoops Protein shake

3 servings Olive spread

3 servings dried black beans

2 servings Bisquick for dumplings

4 servings Dried veggie mix for cous cous (mushrooms, peppers, onions etc.)

8 Bullion cubes

Shopping this week:
@ meijer:

ground beef for 10 sevings jerky

pencils

20+ servings dry fruit for snacks and oatmeal

10+ servings jerky meat
1 jars kalamata olives

Veggie mix to dry for 4 servings with cous cous

Shopping Friday:
@ REI:
bug spray
compass
spice carrier
mini flashlight
22 Clif bars
10 servings energy drink mix

@ Trader Joe’s

11 Almonds

11 Trail Mix x2

11 Dark Chocolate

10 Oatmeal

2 Choley

2 Noodles x2

Shopping Saturday:  

@ Dunhams:

spandex pants

long sleeve spandex shirt

socks

@ Meijer:

2 Guinness 4-pack cans

Egg Beaters
Omelette stuffing

Sandwich

Hot Dogs

Buns

Baked beans

Brown sugar

10 Coffee

3 Cheese babybel x4

3 Mini Baguette

5 Minute rice

4 Tuna packet

4 Pita x2

4 Mustard packets?

4 Cous Cous

anyway… that’s it.

lovety

That number both terrifies me and makes me eager to leave. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so compelled to do something yet so frightened of it at the same time. This is an awesome feeling.

I can’t focus on work. The Wings are playing for the Stanley Cup and as far as I’m concerned they do not exist.

GM does not exist.

The economy does not exist.

There is only an island and a need to be there.

After that, I have no idea.

lovety

Wow.

lovety