Tom's Diary

Dear [Lynn],

Ah, thank you. I do endeavor to be organized. It keeps life’s many stresses at bay.

Avoiding coffee, tea, pop, and hot chocolate took much soul searching, and getting used to not having them around. But I feel so much better without them. Took years to make it happen.

Why did you have to give up coffee for the year that you did?

Your kitchen sounds like a pleasant place in which to enjoy breakfast, especially with the sun shining in.

Do you like preparing meals with a date? I just love those togetherness kinds of activities.

Can you see the ocean from your home?

Well, gotta go for now. Talk to you soon.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Caffeine Headaches

Dear   [Lynn],

Sounds like your kitchen smells very nice each morning, with those coffee aromas wafting about.

On the excuse of needing more coffee to end a letter: *smile*

I used to be a big coffee and pop drinker (Do they call a soft drink a soda, a pop, or a soda pop in your area?). But I had trouble sleeping at night also, and so gave it up about 12 years ago.

Caffeine is probably the single worst widely available assault we can make on our body rhythms. My mother drinks lots of diet Pepsi and then wonders why she can’t sleep at night and can only stay half awake during the day. Also, there’ve been numerous reports about how so many people are falling asleep while driving these days. I suspect that caffeine (or, more precisely, the excess consumption of caffeine) is largely responsible for these snoozing road warriors.

Admittedly, immediately after consumption, there is a lift of mental energies. But in me at least, that goes away in an hour or less, and I am worse off then, than had I not consumed it at all. But hey, everybody’s body chemistry is different. Mine just happens to hate too much caffeine. Some I know can drink a ton of it, and still sleep like babies after feeding. To each his own, right?

Well, I really must get going this time. Talk to you soon.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Abstaining from Caffeine
• Caffeine Headaches

Hi Mary Ann.

Yep, been exchanging email with Joann all week. She likes it.

Coasting is nice now and then. I get restless if I coast for too long though.

Good luck on LA Weight Loss. They’ve been running lots of ads here on Philly TV quite aggressively. If you can believe them, their track record is quite good. Perhaps it will work well for you.

No, I don’t recall having any joint pain when drinking lots of caffeine, though caffeine did give me headaches. I did have joint pain though, when I was 25 pounds heavier. Excess weight can cause that too, particularly in the hips, knees, and especially the ankles and feet.

Weight control is going pretty well. I gained some weight (close to 10 pounds at camp). Lost all but about 2 pounds of that in August. But the weight has been pretty stable since. I’m getting used to eating much less each day. Difficult. But I think the routine is finally becoming internalized.

Today went superbly. Or, it superbly went. Not sure at this point. We had only minor build issues today with the software. All of those were straightened out by 9:00 AM. And the company wrote an article about me and their “home basing experiment,” as some like to call it. ‘twas quite flattering, and will be printed in the company newsletter this month. Nice to have a few highly positioned allies in Dayton, relatively speaking. They help make sure the rest of the company doesn’t forget about me, since I work so far away. There’s even going to be a picture of me sitting here in the home office in the article. I took it with my new digital camera. Came out pretty well.

Went up to Neshaminy Mall last night. Been looking for a tall cabinet to serve as a pantry and storage bin for some of the excess pots and pans, that currently adorn the top of the stove in this galley-style kitchen. Found nothing so far. But walking in that crisp, cool, and dry autumn air was most invigorating. Love fall. Love spring. I love *all* the seasons, when they start. *smile* But I usually love them much less as then end, especially this past summer. So glad that heat is gone for another year.

At any rate, I’m going to head out to Boston Market for dinner. Haven’t enjoyed a good meal in several days. So, going to sign off for now.

Take care,
Tom

Hi Mary Ann.

Thought I’d send my reply to your note, to Diane and Christine also. They might enjoy reading it and may find it informative.

Anyway, been back in Philly a few days now. I’m glad I came home for the 4th because it was very hot here last weekend, getting up to 100 degrees on Monday, and 98 degrees on Tuesday. It’s supposed to be cooler and less humid over the weekend.

The Microsoft studies are progressing, although not as quickly as I had hoped at the beginning of the year. My additional responsibilities at work keep me from studying as many hours each day as I had been. But I hope to take the next exam in August or September.

I will be home on July 28th, after camp and will stay until August 1st.

Just let me know when you want to come to visit. I’ll probably be here.

What did you decide about working every other weekend at Chambersburg?

I’m glad I don’t have to work the night shift. That would be particularly difficult since I do not consume caffeine these days. And since I was around 25, I’ve been a day person all the way around, although as hot as it has been, I wish I could stay up late. Ah well.

Now that I know Philly a bit better, I know which areas are good and bad for walking. When I first started this, I ended up in a few seedy looking places. But where I live now, near Roosevelt Boulevard (route 1) is pretty good for walking. Working to middle-class families live here, and have all been very friendly.

On the weight goal: No, I don’t think that is too thin for me, although my doctor did advise me not to go much below 130. His advice was to monitor how I am feeling and if I start feeling weak, then I’ve lost too much weight and should stop. So far though, that has not happened. I feel better than I have in a very long time. In fact, the Met Life weight tables suggest that, for maximum longevity, a male who is 5’ 7’’ tall (like me), dressed in normal street clothes and shoes, with a medium bone frame size (7’’ wrist circumference) , should weigh somewhere between 129 and 143 Lbs. I, however, am a small framed person with a 6.5 ‘’ wrist circumference. And they say that us mini-people should weigh 5 to 10% less than medium framed folks, or roughly 122 to 134 Lbs. So, based on that, 135 may still be a bit heavy. When I get into the low 130s, I’ll have my blood tested again, as well as determine how much fat I’m still carrying around my middle (very dangerous for males to carry any sort of “spare tire”).

And, the 13 Lbs. I’ve lost since my last physical exam in 1998, seem to have favorably affected numerous blood values.

Value Affected Last Year This Year Doctor’s Interpretation
Total Cholesterol 241 H 210 H Improvement but keep trying.
HDL (good) Cholesterol 39 46 Great improvement
LDL (bad) Cholesterol 141 H 148 Problems here. Eat less Sat. fat
Bad /Good Cholestoral 6.18 H 4.5 Great improvement
Triglycerides 304 H 78 Vast improvement
Red Blood Cell Count 4.61 4.36 L No comment

Where the letters beside some of the numbers mean the following:
H = “Above healthful range”
L = “Below healthful range”
No marking = “Within healthful range”

So, the weight loss (and the diet associated with it), seem to be benefiting me so far. Heck, I haven’t had a common cold in almost two years. Ah but I sure do miss those Reese’s peanut butter cups. Perhaps if I drop 10 more pounds, my total cholesterol will fall below 200. Stay tuned for updates.

Are you having anymore copy-paste problems in your email reader?

Well, I’d better get going. I’ve got to finish up some work here this afternoon. And then I want to make a trip to the health food store later on. Take it easy and will probably see you at the end of July. Have Jesse say BA BA BA BA BA BA.

Tom