What we consumed in 2010

An unexamined life is not worth living.
--Socrates

Below is a list of some of the foods we consumed in 2010 as compared to average Canadian in 2008 (source):

Average Canadian in 2008 -- our consumption in 2010

------------------------ kg --------------------- kg
fruits ----------------- 47.5 ------------------- 130.7
vegetables --------- 44.5 ------------------- 145.5
(not incl. potatoes)
potatoes ------------ 35.0 ------------------- 11.0
fish ------------------- 6.6 -------------------- 36.0
poultry --------------- 13.6 ------------------- negligible
pork ------------------ 9.7 -------------------- 9.0
beef & veal --------- 12.8 ------------------- negligible
egg ------------------- 144.0 pcs. ------------------ 288.0 pcs.
wheat ----------------- 43.7 ------------------- negligible
rice -------------------- 7.0 ------------------- 4.0
rye bread ------------- ? --------------------- 14.5
plantain ---------------- ? --------------------- 24.5
refined sugar -------- 23.1 ------------------ negligible

-------------------------- Litre ------------------- Litre
wine -------------------- 15.0 ------------------ 26.0
beer -------------------- 77.2 ------------------ negligible

daily calories ---------- 2382 ---------------- 1900

When it comes to energy consumption, we consumed 78 gigajoules for our 3500 sq. ft. home in 2010 as compared to 106 gigajoules per average Canadian household in 2007 (source). Even though this number seems low, it is even lower if you convert it to consumption per sq. meter. We only consumed 0.24 GJ/m2 as compared to 0.68/m2 for a single person household.

We strive to be conscious in all our consumptions.


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It's that time already

Happy holidays to all!

Time flies. It's that time of year already to do a yearly review.

We continued to walk daily when weather permits, and we added a few kilometers a day from 8 to 12.

Richard continued to play pool every day and started rope skipping. He continued to lose weight. Now he weighs around 160 lbs. This is the weight he will maintain. We measured his height and turned out that he was 6'. At the above weight his BMI would be 21.7.

I added some stretching exercise, and 15 to 20 minutes meditation in the last three months of the year when walking became difficult due to the weather. I continued not smoking.

We continued to eat healthy, which to me is home prepared meal with plenty of vegetables and fruits. Our protein source is mostly from fish. Towards the end of the year, we added some tofu and a little bit of pork. Our carb. comes from pumpernickle bread, plantain and rice. Fat source is from cheese, avocado and walnut for Richard, and avocado and walnut for me. Of course, all nutrients overlap somewhat. there is fat in tofu and protein in cheese and walnut.

We cut off refined sugar in every format, except one chocolate cake (1kg) every two months on average.

We stopped drinking fruit juices all together after reading how fruit juices are processed (Orange juice: basic beverage isn't that simple).

Are we caloric restricted? Not by very much, anywhere between 0 to 20%. However, I have achieved my goal when BMI is concerned, which is at 18.8.

At the beginning of the year, we wanted to put in some house plants into the apartment. We started with 3 Mother in law's tongue (which survived three months without any care). Now we have 13. The ones we added include:

1 English ivy
6 Money Plants
1 peace lily
1 Christmas cactus
1 Madagascar jasmine

Out of all these, the Madagascar Jasmine was the most expensive and probably hardest to care for.

Richard continued his bible study.

I read and studied health and longevity related articles and becoming increasingly convinced that living till or beyond 100 is very achievable.

We started to host our own blog, which you can find at www.instead-of-wishing.com.

On the living space, we started the year by finishing Sanya home and just continued on. We started purely to beautify our living environment. However, this year seemed to have more weather related disasters on buildings than ever. We were one of its victims. So we fixed whatever damages done to us and tried our best to stay one step ahead; do what we could in order to prevent future disasters.

It's that time already

Happy holidays to all!

It is this time of the year when every one reflects what one has done for the year.

We replaced the last segment of the cast iron pipe in our building, in doing so Richard broke his leg, which turned out to be good luck after all. While learning how to walk again, we discovered the pleasure of walking. We now walk 8 kilometers a day along the St. Lawrence River every evening when weather permits; 3 kilometers in bad weather. Next year we will continue to do the 8 km walk in the evening and would like to add a 3 km walk in the morning.

I started blogging as a way of observing my own thoughts. In the process, we have set our course for the next 40 years for Richard and next 56 years for me. We are also implementing steps towards Epicurean way of simple life or Jerome K. Jerome’s simple pleasures. I will continue to blog next year first as a tool to find out what I think and then to monitor my thinking.

Richard is playing pool every day as a physical and mental discipline. He will continue to do so next year.

Richard has also joined the gym and lost 15 to 20 pounds in the course of three months. He will continue to go to the gym next year and will exercise in a way to maintain his current weight, which is 180 lbs for 6’2” height.

We have cut out sugar in our coffee. Richard has also cut out coffee for a couple of months, but we have decided that drinking 2 to 3 cups of black coffee a day are more helpful than harmful.

We always eat a lot of vegetables. This year, we have consumed more fruits than ever. We practically have an apple a day, but have also eaten tons of grapes, raspberry, blueberry, etc.

Meditation continued to be difficult for me. I tried and failed to form a habit to meditate daily. I will try again next year. Richard reads his Daily Bread (a Christian program) and following its program to read the bible cover to cover in a year.

I quit smoking since August 17 and will evaluate its merit next year. Side effects of quitting smoking includes weight gain of 12 lbs (12.5% weight gain), which helps my appearance; but hinders my agility.

We did some Lian Gong in 18 forms (type of exercise to combat modern forms of stress caused by bad posture, structure and balance) and will try to form a habit next year.

Richard kayaked several times in the summer with a friend and will do more next year.