There are seven major traits of a introvert that I could really identify with:

• I often find my self in meetings were I freeze up when put on the spot during meeting where I may be a subject matter expert, but for some reason cannot think fast on my feet.
• I often feel like a tortoise sounded by a hair. My communications are often slow and deliberate.
• I am generally really annoyed with interruptions (about 75% of my work load today) and constant shits in our plans. I don’t like to interrupt others, I figure because I hate interruptions other probably do too.
• If I get over stimulated I often want to “Zone” out watching TV or surfing the web mindlessly
• Last year after my wife read my performance review, she summed it up as it sounds like you are a Introverted Genius (I almost thought it sounded a lot like a Unabomber) So people have a perception of me as being aloof  and disconnected but with an incredible amount of knowledge.
• I absolutely hate the phone. When I was growing up my parents ran a business out of our house using our home phone. You just never knew who was going to call. I still have this loathing towards the phone (oddly enough my brother still does too).
• I often feel drained after social events and big crowds do not energize me they leave me drained.  Most of the time I enjoy these events but just feel drained afterward.

There were other traits that I do identify with but the seven of them above have been the ones that bother me the most.

In the past I have taken Myers-Briggs temperament tests before and always came up as an Introvert . So I it is no surprise that that I recent took the test and got a ISJT.

From the book here a few summarized points about the introverts brain:

• Introverts tend to use the parasympathetic nervous system. 
  • Sometimes it requires more effort to get motivated or moving.
  • Sometimes react very slow when under stress
  • Enjoys more breaks and relaxation time to refresh
  • Generally have a calm or reserved manner and never panics
• Introverts have great memories but
  • sometimes it takes longer to retrieve information
  • Often feels it is better to sleep on an idea
  • Often forgets things that they know well when put on the spot.
• Introverts tend to
  • Shy away from too much attention
  • Zone out when over stimulated
  • Surprise others with a wealth of information that is stored in their brains.

I have also noticed that my children seem to be introverted too. Sometimes they display some of the behaviors from the list above.  I suspect that they too may feel that being an introvert is difficult but I hope that see that is not a bad thing, it is  just different from most of the population.

I look forward to exploring my introverted personality more and seeing how I can may play with it a strength rather than a weakness that I have seen it as for most of my life.

My symptoms were:

• Gas, Bloating when I woke up every morning
• Fatigue every day
• Heart burn
• Pretty much collapsing into bed every night exhausted
• Difficulty getting going in the morning
• Difficulty focusing on tasks and easily distracted

I already had determined that I have gluten sensitivity but have not been tested for Celiac Disease.   I have been gluten free for 10 years now. Gluten is a sticky protein found in wheat, barley, rye and oats.   (Oats may actually be gluten free but most people with Celiac will avoid them because Oats are in the same plant family as the other three grains)  Celiac is a condition in which the lining of the intestines get irritated because of the immune systems response to Gluten.    What happens is the body sees gluten as a dangerous invader, it then sends in the white blood cells that attack the gluten protein .   The actual damage comes from the immune system attacking the gluten, the damage to the intestines is like collateral damage.    The bodies immune system does not necessarily attack the small intestine but does release a lot of chemicals that signal the cells in the intestines to  inflame themselves.   This causes the vili be become impaired. The vili are like little hairs in the intestines that help move food particles through the intestines and helps absorb food.  When the vili are impaired the absorption of nutrients is also impaired.   People with full  blown Celiac disease are often suffering from malnutrition.

My Regular doctor had put my on Maximum strength Zantac to treat Gastro Esophagus Reflux Disease (GERD).   I had tried to cut back a little because I knew from reading that  GERD  is not caused excessive acid but is caused by the valve at the top of the stomach leaking acid into the esophagus (the tube that leads from your mouth to the stomach).  It didn’t take me long to realize that you just cannot stop taking these medications.  Zantac and Pecid are Histamine 2 Blockers which reduce the amount of stomach acid.  The body has a huge rebound effect when this type of medication is stopped.  This seems to be in direct contradiction to what I need since I need to absorb my food better but my intestines are already impaired and now we are reducing the acid in my stomach.  This just didn’t seem right, since the stomach needs a fairly strong amount of acid to break down  proteins.   (By the way if you look on the package of Zantac or Pepcid it is only recommended that you take it for 2 weeks at the maximum)

I started looking for some new answers.  Fortunately my company sponsors a health coaching program every year.  I got the name of a local Naturopathic Doctor from my health coach.  So I made an appointment and got in for an office visit about 1 week later.

We started discussing my symptoms and she immediately recommended the following

• 8 – 12 Grams of  L-Glutamine per day
• A super good multivitamin (6 capsule per day)
• Some herbs to support the Adrenal System
• Some Digestive enzymes to help my system process my food
• Discontinue eating all Dairy products

On this protocol I started to get a little more energy that I have been missing for quite some time.    After doing this for about 1 month I still was not where I wanted to be but I was on the correct track to getting where I wanted to go.

Last years:

Total Cholesterol - 243 mg/dL
LDL Cholesterol   - 173 mg/dL
HDL Cholesterol   - 40  mg/dL
Triglycerides     - 150 mg/dL

This Years Results:

Total Cholesterol - 190 mg/dL
LDL Cholesterol   - 119 mg/dL
HDL Cholesterol   - 44  mg/dL
Triglycerides     - 136 mg/dL

This the first time my cholesterol has every been below 200. My first cholesterol test in 1988 came back with 220 total cholesterol.
My strategy of eating a lot of vegetables and fruits has paid off.

• My exercise regimen is not working for weight loss.  Walking for 1 – 2 hours a day and yoga a couple times a week is great but it is not giving me weight loss.

• I need to compress my workout to a shorter amount of time.  I don’t have a lot of time but need a higher return on my investment.  I have worked out for up to two hours per day several days per week

• I still need to take the time to walk with Blaze, he will be 12 yrs old in April.  In January he had his annual check up and got a good bill of health.  I believe walking a mile every day has helped him avoid problems that a lot of older dogs have.

• I feel less effective than I could be at work.  I think some of this is caused by habits established when I was tired most of the time.

• My work / life balance seems a little out of balance at the current time.  Right now it feels like I have a lot of personal stuff on my to do list that is neglected.  My work to do list seems very lightweight right now; I need to plan out my work better so that I can get focus better on both issues.

• I have made great progress but need to get the next level of benefit. In 2007 I weighed 229lbs with 32% body fat. This means I had about 156lbs of lean muscle; I have increased my lean muscle to 168lbs in the last year.

To address the issues I identified above I will need to work on creating a few new habits and routines.

• I will start interval training to increase my metabolism. Interval training is a different way to workout. I will increase the intensity of my workout to the maximum I can output for a few minutes, continue with my workout at a much lower intensity.   I will repeat this for 4 – 10 reps to start with and see what feels right.  Several studies have shown interval training creates more muscle mass and improves metabolic function.  Since this workout will have a much higher intensity I will be able to work out less and achieve more.

• I will continue to monitor my weight and body fat and food intake.  I will also continue to take a snack everyday to work.

• I will need focus on getting my work tasks flushed out and getting into balance.  Looking for the best way to execute all my tasks.  My work will be changing a lot over the next few weeks.   So there will be new challenges in this area.

I did not loose or gain any weight while consuming more calories.  For most of the experiment, I think my hunger was under much better control than it has been in the past.   I would often find myself extremely hungry, craving carbohydrates in the afternoon.

Other accomplishments during the experiment

• I started tracking my food intake and exercise using BalanceLog.
• I purchased a new scale for measuring body fat and weight.
• I increased my exercise by doing Yoga and walking more.

Other than regular drops in my energy level in the afternoon I have been doing really well.

I have been thinking about my exercise and eating plan.  I believe I need to increase my activity level significantly.  Most of the exercises I am doing I have been doing for a while now and I think my metabolism has adapted to them so that I don’t burn as many calories as I used to.

My plans going forward

• Pay attention to my weight and track my eating habits so that I can adjust down my intake and up my output.
• Attempt to  increase my muscle mass so that I burn more calories.  Need to consume a little more protein
• Investigate interval training to increase my exercise effectiveness

So here are my statistics as of this morning

• 234.5 lbs,
• 28.8% body fat
• 1.9% water this morning.

This means I have ~168 lbs of lean muscle and about ~67 lbs of fat I can loose.  My goal for now remains at 200lbs before then end of 2009.

I have been using Balance Log this week to track my food.

I did remember to bring a snack today:

• Pear
• Almonds

reakfast was:

1 Egg

1/2 cup Beans

1/2 cup Peas

For Snack today:

• Almonds
• Pear

For lunch I ate the salad bar from the cafeteria at work- about 1.5 cups:

• Gourmet Lettuce
• Sweet Potato
• Slice of 2 roasted potatoes
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Chick Peas
• Shredded Carrots
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Kidney beans
• Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar

Diner was:

• Beef Chili w/Cheese
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Today Karen was up at 6:30 and rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes.

Today I also walked the dog for about 1 mile, Walked 1 mile at lunchtime today.   Overall not a bad day.

Breakfast was:

• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup Beans
• 1/2 cup Peas

For Snack today:

• Almonds
• Pear

For lunch I went over to whole foods and ate a 7oz serving of  Salmon and Avocado Sushi.

Diner was:

• Pork Tenderloin
• Rice
• Salad

Breakfast was:

• Eggs
• Beans
• Peas

For Snack today:

• Almonds
• Rice Cake with Peanut Butter

For lunch I ate the salad bar  from the cafeteria at work- about 1.5 cups:

• Gourmet Lettuce
• Sweet Potato
• Slice of 2 roasted potatoes
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Chick Peas
• Shredded Carrots
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Kidney beans
• Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar

Diner was:

• Gluten Free pasta with Pesto Sauce
• Little bit of Italian Sausage and Chick mixed in.

My energy level was good until around 1 pm today; it was a struggle to keep focused on work.  When I got home this evening I took some Probiotics and Grapefruit Seed Extract.  I immediately got a headache and crash.  I think I will sleep in a little bit in the morning, 6:00 instead of 5:15.

Breakfast was:

• Eggs
• Beans
• Peas

For Snack today:

• Raisins & Almonds

For lunch I ate the salad bar  from the cafeteria at work- about 1.5 cups:

• Gourmet Lettuce
• Sweet Potato
• Slice of 2 roasted potatoes
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Chick Peas
• Shredded Carrots
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Kidney beans
• Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar

Diner was:

• 3 pieces of chicken thighs
• 3/4 cup Mashed Potatoes
• 1/2 cup of canned corn (yuk)

My energy level was good until around 4pm today; it was a struggle to keep focused on work.

I plan to get up and do the Burn Yoga in the morning tomorrow.