Utilities, redux/Fit by Fifty Update

Moon, Persimmon and Moth

by Anita Munman

I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State; and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare - I have no use for him either.

Sophocles, Antigone

My hope is that whomever wins the election, that they will be a good governor--be courageous and not compromise our fiscal well-being by pandering for voters. But it is the political silly season--so I'll not hold my breath.

Michael Kahn has an article in Barron's about utility stocks. I first mentioned here that I thought utility stocks looked weak. I bought some SDP (double short UYG) at $58 and sold at $65. I exited and was looking to re-enter. Kahn specifically mentions electric utilities. You can find a list of the HERE on FINVIZ.

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I've reinvigorated my efforts in getting my books reorganized. Of course you know why: I cannot find a book. Given that I'm on my FBF kick, I particualarly wanted to get my fitness, health, nutrition books in one place. I found Fitness and Health, by Brian Sharkey. If you are looking for a good all-round book on fitness and health, this would be a good one to get. I have the Fifth Edition. I sat down and went through the entire thing again.

What actionable item came from that time? I reconfigured my protein needs (reduced them) for my diet. Endurance thletes (which I am not) require 1.2-1.4 grams of protein per kilogram. Strenght athletes require 1.4-1.8 grams. the RDA is .8 grams per kilogram. I figure with my training, I need 1 gram per kilogram.

The point of interest is that our diets tend to have more protein than our body requires. If you want compute your protein needs you can do so as follows:

Your weight in lbs ______ (a)
Divide by 2.2 (to convert to kg) / 2.2 (a) / 2.2
Your weight in kg _______(b)
Your protein per gram intake based
on your activity level (between .8 - 1.2) _______(c)
Your total daily protein grams _______(b) x (c) = (d)
Calories per gram of protein 4.3
Your daily calories from protein _______(d) x 4.3 = (e)
Your daily calories (based on your BMR click to calc) _______(f)
Your % of daily calories from protein _______(e) / (f)


I provided a link for you to calculate your BMR. BMR is Basic Metabolic Rate--the amount of calories your body needs (based on your weight) to sustain basic functions. Do you know what yours is? If not, I'd encourage you to find out by clicking the link. The difference between what we consume in calories v. our BMR = weight gain. It doesn't take long for it to add up--particular for us middle-agers! Of course, the very next thing to do is to look at the amount of calories that you consume.

As I look at the weight that I've put on, I realize that my enjoyment of wine has contributed to this increase. Prior to cultivating my knowledge and enjoyment of wine, it was unusual for me to have more than 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks PER WEEK. That is far less than the couple of glasses of wine that I began to enjoy PER DAY. Here's a chart

Source: http://www.davidstuff.com/wine/calories.htm

Per week, then, ONE THOUSAND calories (100 x 2 (per day) x 5) v. 200 calories, OR 800 additional calories, is a formula that expands one's body. So every 4.4 weeks, this formula yields an extra pound of fat all things being equal. That's 12 lbs per year.

But all things are not equal--wine sure does taste good with good food.....Sigh. Now you know why I'm on my FbF path. I hope that I inspire you to get on your on Fit by ## kick. Time for another chart that will remove some of that unwanted wine weight!

Here's my exercise from yesterday. I was going to 'rest' but after reading my fitness book, I decided that I'd exercise.

The exercise above represents my running/walking the trail to get to my SIL's to let her dogs out. It is something that I do when I can. She only lives 2 miles away by the road. By the trail, which the above represents, she lives 1.1 miles away. I would have preferred to keep my exercise in the green level. I'll write more on that later as to why.

I elected to cross over my neighbor's dam. It is overgrown with bushes. When I got home, I discovered that I had seed ticks all over me. If you do not know what a seed tick is it is a tiny, tick--smaller than the head of a pin or a grain of pepper. But they bite you. If they get engorged, you can see them easily- as they swell up to the size of a pin head and are much darker (from YOUR blood). Their bites, like that of their larger brethren, are quite itchy. All of them are welped up on me today, but I'm not miserable. I had a devil of a time getting them off. Clearly some had latched onto me during my first pass through the bushes. I used an alcohol rubdown, but that was not enough to get them off.

I stayed within my allotted calories yesterday, AND I was not the least bit famished. I'm timing my snacks better.

I'm debating on whether or not to do this again today. I actually feel fine, so I may try this. What is instructive is to watch how one's heart rate manages the same load over a training period. I used to be able to run comfortably on the trail at 154--that was my pace that I could keep and go the distance. I cannot manage 154 now at my fitness level. But I plan to get there.