Diet Jihadists

I’m currently completing the first pulse of a diet strategy that aims at putting me somewhere near a bit overweight for my frame, rather than outright obese.  During this journey it has become apparent to me that diet is akin to religion in this world we live in.  Something as personal as the fuel that we power our bodies probably does merit the status of cult in the grand scheme of things, but as with all such endeavors, it is best to lead through example and not through preaching.

We are inundated with the mantra to eat less and exercise more.  That is the key to a healthy life.  And while this may be true for those that are less than 20 pounds overweight, for the rest of us, the layers of psychosis associated with being overweight outstrip the sense of that simple mantra.  For the rest of us, we need to break a destructive cycle, build positive habits, and learn to move again before we can even approach the ‘eat less/move more’ paradigm.

Truly the ‘eat less/move more’ ideal is over simplified.  In reality, exercise only builds stamina and muscle tone and does not a lot for weight loss, other than gobble up a small amount of calories.  Eating less is also an over simplification.  You need to eat an appropriately balanced diet that is consistent with your level of mobility and age.

Let me start with diet.  The Western diet is packed full of simple carbohydrates.  Ignore fast food for a minute, and go to any restaurant and try and find a meal that doesn’t contain a sauce, a grain, or a glaze.  Our bodies respond to this load by producing insulin to trigger our cells to absorb sugars from the blood.  As more and more insulin is produced, our cells become, over time, resistant to the effects of the hormone and we reach a state where sugar balance becomes precarious and metabolism shifts to focus on breaking down that sugar for fuel in preference to other fuels that we ingest.  In other words, our bodies become dependent on carbohydrates.  This is very similar to drug addiction, and should be a key indication for therapy.

Well, we don’t want to be told that we are addicts or that there is something wrong with us, but at the same time we are hammered with a society that places value on the anorexic look and shuns those who are overweight.  At the same time, we live in a world where a Big Mac cost the same as a head of broccoli. 

We are told to move more and that will cure our ills.  Again, that is an oversimplification.  Until you can move, it is hard for someone to move more.  People who are overweight have a number of issues that need to be addressed before they can move more.  I have torn menisci in both knees and arthritis in my lower back and both feet.  Asking me to move more three months ago was akin to a water boarding session, but now that I’m 65 pounds lighter, the prospect of exercise is a much more welcome undertaking.  Exercise is important, but you need to be able to exercise before its utility can be realized.  Your diet needs to be under control before exercise can be of any benefit.

So, why am I writing any of this?  I was reading about the diet that I am currently on and came across some articles that put it down on the basis of it not being ‘balanced’.  I’ve also run across some friends that roll their eyes (friends in the less than 20 lb. category) when I talk about the benefits of what I’m trying to achieve with just diet alone (although it is hard to deny that 65 lbs. in 3 months is anything but significant).  You see shows out there like ‘The Biggest Loser’ that focus on torturing people with exercise, but ignore the ‘boring’ but more important aspect of diet regulation.

Being a food addict who was brought up in a thoroughly Western culture, my biggest problem was my utter dependence on carbs.  I needed to break that cycle and re-learn how to build balance into my meals.  I needed to learn that I didn’t need to starve myself, but rather change my focus on the types of food that I ate.  I needed to rely on science rather than dogma. 

I’m weaning myself off of my current diet onto a maintenance plan for 6-8 months.  Then I will go on the diet again to ‘pulse’ myself down another 20 – 30 lbs.  At that point I will be comfortable with just being overweight, active, and ultimately healthy.

The Old Republic

Just when I thought I was out, they drag me back in (thanks Gatling). So, I’m a couple months into playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, and I must say that I’m having fun.  I’m also surprised that Jill is having a great time too.  Seeing as I have my Sith Assassin dutifully farming dailies and I have a stable of alts, spanning all the classes within the Imperial Empire (my legacy even expands to the Republic as well), I thought I’d spend a few bytes giving my evaluation of the game and the associated classes.

Overall, I think that Bioware did a good job of bringing the Star Wars universe to life.  The addition of voice acting and animations to questing gives you a personal investment in your character that you really didn’t get in other MMOs.  The game is more casual as MMOs go and that’s not a bad thing.  Also, crafting is interesting (now, only if they would make it useful).  The bottom line is that I’m having a lot of fun and think that SWtOR is a good waste of time.  I also like the fact that you can get ‘orange’ armor at lower levels and use that armor throughout the game by upgrading mods/enhancements/armor.  That way you can keep the same look on your character throughout much of the game.

The game also lets you collect 5 ‘companions’ during your journey.  I really enjoy having a NPC that complements my skills and can help me solo any quest line if I so desire.  I’ve also been having more fun in PVP than I thought I’d be having.  There are some very well written companions, and some that, well, could stand to be re-tooled.  My favorites are; Mako (the first Bounty Hunter companion, a cute, plucky healer companion that you’ll use for the entire game), Blizz (the Bounty Hunter’s Jawa companion.. oh so cool), Vette (the Warrior’s first companion, a spunky Twi’lek with some of the best writing for a companion), Andronikos Revel (a pirate companion for the Assassin class, voiced by Steve Blum, who is in countless anime series… Which Hunter Robin, GTO, and Cowboy Bebop to name a few).

The classes are interesting.  My main is a tank spec’d Assassin, and I really do enjoy that class.  Where else can you have a light armor tank that totally survives at his/her job.  As a side note, you can get a full set of light ‘orange’ armor at level 14 for the Sith Inquisitor lines (Sorcerer and Assassin).  If you have a female character then she can wear a steel bikini for the majority of the game (Imperial Dancer’s Outfit).

Okay, so here’s my thumbnail on each class:

Sith Inquisitor:

Assassin – A solid class that can spec tank or dps.  Currently, the tank spec is probably superior.   Think of this class as the Ret Paladin in WoW, but with stealth and better tanking skills.

Sorcerer – The primary healer class (debatable, since other classes have healing trees) in the game.  All in all, a good ranged dps or healer.

Sith Warrior:

Juggernaut – Jill just started up a Jug and is loving it.  Gatling’s main is a Jug and he enjoys that class as well.  This is your basic heavy armor tank.  They also have a dps line.  Really it’s a solid class.

Marauder – This is a pure dps fighter class, limited to medium armor.  I found it a little squishy, but honestly haven’t given it a fair shakedown.  My Marauder is stuck as my Auction House mule.

Bounty Hunter:

Mercenary – I love my Merc.  She is a runnin’ gunnin’ death machine.  Any class with a skill called ‘Death From Above’ has got to be good.  She does great in PVP and has solid dps for a heavy armor class.  Mercs also have a healing tree, so they can be effective healers as well.

Powertech – Jill is playing a Powertech and they seem solid as well.  They call them a ‘ranged tank’ which sounds weird, but kind of works.

Imperial Agent:

Sniper – Jill’s main is a Sniper and I’ve spent many an hour trying to keep her alive.  The Sniper is the squishiest class in the game.  They have a very high dps potential, but that dps depends on setting up and preparing for the situation.  The agent story line is awesome though, but this class does need some work.

Operative – The Operative is more like the classic rogue than any other class, although it does have a healing line to make it one of the more effective healers in the game.  I think the Operative is more versatile than the Sniper because it doesn’t rely on the ‘cover’ mechanic that the Sniper does.  It’s more of a run around and stab things class, which makes it very good for PVP.

The Republic classes are essentially the same ones as the Empire, but put in different clothes.  At any rate, I’ve prattled on enough.  If you are interested in playing, come over to the dark side on the Darth Brandon server.  We are in the guild Fear Machine with our mains.  Look for Hastur (me), Rhysta (Jill), or Gatling (Jim) and say hi :)  You can also find me on my stable full of Alts (all named after Great Old Ones) under the R’leyeh Legacy.