Beer and Pistachios! Better than "rope and corn"

My friend, Jim Valvano, (yes the Jim Valvano who coached the NC State Wolfpack to the 1983 NCAA National Championship and who died of cancer in 1993) used to joke about exercising and dieting.

“Exercise?” Jim would pilfer from other comedians while holding court in baseball coach Sam Esposito’s office just down the hall from his own on the top floor of the three story the Case Athletics Center. “When I get the urge, I usually just lie down and let it pass.”

He would joke about Jim Fixx, who wrote the best-seller “The Complete Book of Running” and started a fitness revolution in the United States. Valvano, in his early days at State, would say that Fixx would probably die while doing what he does best, running. Fixx, at the age of 52, died in July 1984 while running. He suffered a heart attack. Valvano quit telling that one.

There was never any evidence that Jim Valvano had organized and deliberate exercise unless you counted the energy he expended while coaching in practice and during games.

For a diet, Jim had many but his best was his “rope and corn” diet of late night after games in his office, a few feet from his cathedral, Reynolds Coliseum. His “rope” was a cigar, usually a brand that could have only been imported from, say, Cuba. And, “corn” was any variety of popcorn popped in the microwave. His diets usually worked for a while, but without exercising, his weight was dependant on eating less. And he kept in good shape.

Is there a point to this story? Yes, read on.

In the last 21 months, I’ve lost 30 pounds, due to exercise and diet and not from some medical condition. At age 65, both are important. In early April 2016 at a physical, I weighed 213.5 pounds. Prior to that, according to my faithful home scales, I was at least 215.

Today, I weigh 185, butt naked, of course. The first 10 pounds were easy, reducing intake, exercising a little with walks around the neighborhood. Losing the last 10 pounds has been tougher as has been maintaining my weight, though I would like to go lower, maybe to 180.

The exercise part is not effortless but it is routine. Daily, except some Sundays, I exercise. My wife and I go to the Workout Anytime in Cary. We each have our program. Mine is at least an hour on the treadmill, walking (no running) a minimum of 3.5 miles, sometimes longer and farther, sometimes at slight inclines (2-3 degrees). Then, if the urge hits, I lift weights, some free and some machine. We’re there no more than 90 minutes. 

There are days I miss Workout Anytime to play golf, walking 18 holes (about 8,000 yards) at hilly Lonnie Poole Golf Course, carrying my 23-pound bag of clubs and balls. This routine, either on the treadmill or on the golf course, is more than a year old.

Wonderful Pistachios

As far as my diet, well, because of weight loss, I’m not as hungry as I was so my diet can sometimes sound like Valvano’s “rope and corn” effort. But mine is better tasting than Jimmy's "rope and corn" diet. A few days ago, one of my golf partners asked what I had been doing to lose weight. (Glad he noticed.) I explained the exercise and then he asked about dieting.

“Currently, I’m on a beer and pistachios with a scoop of ice cream when desired,” I said. “Beer and pistachios before dinner. Ice cream after.” He laughed, thinking that was not the case, but it is. 

Even with a diet, I'm not depriving myself of drinking beer, but I do in moderation. I’m into any kind of nuts, usually peanuts and cashews, but recently my wife brought home a bag of Wonderful Pistachios. Now, a good combo for dieting is beer and pistachios; it requires arm lifts for the beer and it can be agonizing and difficult to pry open those pistachios. Always buy pistachios in the shells. Drink a high IBU IPA!

Reduced portions on my plate, not eating just to be eating and exercising are the keys to my weight loss and trimmer figure. Unfortunately, most of my clothes are too big for me, a much better situation that when I had a hard time fitting into them. And, fortunately, I think my bad cholesterol level is down, or at least it should be. I’ll find out at my next physical coming soon.