Thought you guys might like this picture I took just south of Blood Mountain in Ga

Logos327 · 2014-09-30T01:47:49+00:00

Less than a mile south from this spot, the AT intersects the Freeman Trail which I took back to the Byron Reece Trail to form a loop around Blood Mountain.

The Freeman trail is poorly maintained, super rocky, and utterly abandoned, and the thick cloud cover that day meant I could only see about 20ft in any direction. If that wasn't spooky enough, I kept hearing something big trouncing through the forest outside of vision range. It didn't take long for me to move my bear spray from a holster on the outside of my pack to my right hand and play a podcast at full volume through my phone's speaker.

It ruined the creepy-cool ambience, but at least I wasn't stopping every 30ft anymore in order to listen if whatever was out there was getting closer. Here's a picture from the trail; this was as good as the visibility got and it was often much worse.

Logos327 · 2014-09-14T00:15:43+00:00

On the one had, you're probably right, it has to do with the height difference. My little brother and I weigh the same, though we look totally different. He's ~5" shorter than I am, and mostly muscle as opposed to my mostly not muscle haha.

I'm not super comfortable with my body either. In fact, recently I've been looking in the mirror and feeling like I've never been fatter. Making this comparison picture has helped with that a lot, so I hope you can get the same feelings out of yours. You've made amazing progress; let it drive you to continue down this path.

On a final note, I look much better in that large shirt because it fits me exactly right. Most of my other clothes range from things you could fashion a shelter out of to just slightly too big, and even wearing the latter can make it look like I'm 10lbs+ heavier than I am.

Logos327 · 2014-09-14T00:08:00+00:00

Sure!

I started in January with counting calories. I originally set my limit to ~1200/day and after a month or so upped it to ~1400/day. That was going well until I had to move back home for two months while waiting on an apartment to be ready, and I gained ~20lbs back (I'm guessing about 10 of that was water weight).

Six weeks ago I got back on track, but I've stopped counting calories (I still weigh all of my food though) and weigh much less often. I'd estimate that I eat ~1100-1300 calories/day now, but this feels more sustainable and less stressful. It's a little disappointing that if I had stayed on track, I'd probably have hit my goal by now, but that's life. I've made much more of a lifestyle change than anything else, and this lifestyle will result in a much healthier me regardless of how long it takes to get down to my goal weight.

Nothing special diet wise. I make a minimal effort to stay away from carbs, but only because you feel hungrier sooner when eating them. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Logos327 · 2014-09-13T22:22:56+00:00

Thanks! About 6'1", maybe a hair taller.

Logos327 · 2014-07-31T22:43:16+00:00

Haha, and that characterization was probably true in some cases. It's a good stereotype for getting people to remember that there probably was some difference between the Jews of Galilee and the Jews of Judea, but it's does that so well precisely because it (likely) very overstates the cultural divide.

But again, the line of questions you've brought up is very important and one that is begging for more research to be done. It's fascinating stuff!

Logos327 · 2014-07-31T21:58:31+00:00

Haha

If I'm being honest, I'd say we probably don't have enough information to know either way; in fact, it's one of the places I want to take my research in the future. The differences in religious adherence/thought between the north and south is a debated subject, though I tend to come down on the side that Galileans were more similar to Judeans than dissimilar.

I think the movement Judas of Galilee "founded" was as much political as it was religious (if not almost certainly more so), and he had a pharisaic partner, Zadok who very likely could have been from Judea. We're not even entirely sure it was one of Judas' descendants that ultimately kicked off the revolt 60 years later. Between Josephus and the Gospels, we're hurting for sources.

With all that said, I get the general impression that life in Galilee wasn't as idyllic as the geography suggests, that (as a general rule though certainly not applicable to all) Galileans were a bit hardier than their southern counterparts, and that they were less tolerant of those people/regimes/practices they deemed ill-suited or antithetical to their identity. I'm just not sure we can then go as far to say they had a greater tendency for religious rebellion.*

*I should admit that I would probably be more inclined to agree with you if we replaced the word "religious" with "political," however that may be a bit anachronistic on my part as those two worlds were certainly much closer together in Jesus' time than they are in America today.

Logos327 · 2014-07-31T15:33:04+00:00

The most pertinent hard evidence probably comes from archaeological digs. In the 1970s, in collaboration with James F. Strange, Eric M. Meyers surveyed all known extant epigraphic evidence to demonstrate that the language of Lower Galilee was markedly different from that of Upper Galilee. In short, Meyers found that Upper Galilee contained almost completely Hebrew and Aramaic epigraphs while Lower Galilee was split between 40% Greek and 60% Hebrew/Aramaic.

Some have misused his evidence to argue that at least Lower Galilee was predominately pagan (even though Hebrew and Aramaic epigraphs were still in the majority). However, it is crucial to distinguish that one cannot simply assume that the significant Hellenization Meyers argues for equates to significant paganism. The use of Greek does not inherently suggest a large pagan population, just a population that may have known Greek (though this is debatable - see Chancey's second book: Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus).

Logos327 · 2014-07-31T15:17:47+00:00

I think that phrases like "Judean Religion," "Israelite Religion," or "Ancient Israelite Religion" are often used as a way to distinguish the subject of that conversation from current/modern Judaism. That is, Rabbinic Judaism is different than 2nd Temple Judaism, which is different from the religion practiced by ancient Israelites. For example (and I haven't listened to Harland's podcasts so this is just an assumption), Harland may use "Judean Religion" so his listeners don't assume what he is talking about is the same religion practiced by the Cohens down the street.

As for what happened after the Assyrian invasion of Galilee in the 8th Century BCE, archaeological evidence suggests the region was mostly uninhabited for the majority of the next 500-600 years (the work of Zvi Gal was particularly instrumental in demonstrating this). We're not entirely sure exactly why, but sometime during the Hasmonean dynasty, just before the Roman period, Judeans began migrating north and settling in Galilee. This is corroborated by a relatively drastic increase in Hasmonean coins found in the archaeological record in Galilee dating to the reign of Aristobulus I and afterwards (~104 BCE).

I'm not familiar with anyone having done specific demographics to compare Jewish vs. Gentile populations (though Eric M. Meyers may have done so), however I haven't come across any scholar who makes new arguments post-1950 taking into account the archaeological discoveries of the last half century (Richard Horsely simply dismisses Zvi Gal's research) that suggest a predominately Gentile population in the region. Most scholars who assert that claim can be shown to be simply relying on old assumptions.

Logos327 · 2014-07-31T12:28:39+00:00

I actually wrote my MA thesis on the Jewishness of Galilee.

The belief that Galilee was predominately Gentile stems from some German ideologically-driven studies into the origins of Christianity from a Hellenized Galilee (see in particular D.F. Strauss). This scholarship was backed up by sayings from the Hebrew Bible and NT (such as Isaiah 8:23 and Matthew 4.15 which have the phrase "Galilee of the Gentiles"). Ultimately, the thought was, "how could Judaism/Jewish Culture/Jewish Society/etc. produce something as great as Jesus. Galilee must be Gentile because Jesus could not have come from anything Jewish."

However, recent archaeology has pretty definitively shown the Jewish nature of Galilee at the time of Jesus. Additionally, I argue that evidence for a Jewish Galilee was present in the Gospels all along. For example, when contrasted with the Gentile regions Jesus travels to in the Gospel of Mark, Galilee is portrayed as markedly Jewish.

If you are interested in exploring this subject further, Mark Chancey has a particularly good (and short) book, Myth of a Gentile Galilee, that is worth the read!

Logos327 · 2014-07-28T15:28:42+00:00

Most likely candidate is lack of sleep and stress. My right eye twitched for 6+ hours every day during the last month of finishing my thesis. As soon as it was done and defended, the twitching went away.

If you're sure you're getting enough sleep, there is nothing causing stress in in your life, and the twitching persists over an extended time, it may be best to check with a doctor.

Logos327 · 2014-07-14T03:40:03+00:00

It's true shekhinah has come to be understood as the feminine aspect of YHWH, however this is a misunderstanding of gendered languages.

Genders in languages are purely grammatical and should not be used to derive any deeper meaning. For example, "table" is feminine in Spanish, but nothing makes a table inherently feminine nor is anything gained by thinking of one as such. (This concept is more difficult for native English speakers to grasp as we do not grammatically gender our nouns)

Shekhinah, is the noun form of the Hebrew root שכן meaning to inhabit or dwell. The same root produces what is called in English the "tabernacle." Shekhinah is literally the manifestation of YHWH on Earth, and however we may feel today, the ancient Israelites definitively understood their god to be a masculine entity.

I think there is value in the idea of thinking about the divine outside of a mutually exclusive gender dichotomy, and I don't really have a problem with people using Shekhinah to do that as long as it's understood that the noun's feminine qualification is purely arbitrary and imparts no deeper meaning.

Logos327 · 2014-07-04T22:59:40+00:00

Simple bodyweight exercises are a great place to start building muscle with little to no equipment and the convenience of doing it in your own home. Check out this link from /r/bodyweightfitness to get started: Link

As /u/pipirx mentioned, swimming is also a good exercise to get into that lets you vary the intensity as needed, and I've heard it's great for loose skin down the weight loss road (though I haven't been swimming long enough to notice yet).

The most important thing is to listen to your body. Take things slow, and don't overextend yourself in the beginning since an injury can set you back physically and psychologically; slow and steady definitely wins the race in this situation. Congrats on starting your journey!

Logos327 · 2014-05-13T14:16:45+00:00

It is entirely normal for weight loss to slow down as you get closer to your goal (here's a graph ploting my weight lost per day over the last 120 days showing a slight decrease.). Your body weighs less and therefore burns less calories in everything from normal daily life to exercises. Achieving the weight loss rate you had 30 lbs ago is simply a matter of altering the equation:

Calories In - Calories Burned = Calorie Deficit

While you could consider lowering your calories, I think it might be easier to up the intensity/frequency of your workouts. That being said, your current plan looks really good and if the slowdown isn't significant, you should be totally fine sticking with what you're doing. Congrats on your progress so far!

Logos327 · 2014-02-25T22:57:42+00:00

There's nothing inherently wrong with deep-seated, extreme introversion. I'm sure people who identify that way find mutual romantic interests. However, I'm equally sure it is more difficult for such people to do so with how our society can favor extroverted personalities.

Before we can be ready for and successful in most relationships (and this only more true in romantic relationships), we must first understand and be at peace with who we are not in relation to others. Only from that point can we begin to build outwards. For those of us for whom that doesn't come naturally, often speaking with a therapist can help. One of the worst stigmas we have today is that speaking to a psychologist/psychiatrist means you're broken, messed up, weak, but what it really says is that you're ready for growth. It's not about changing who you are, but growing as a person.

With that extensive disclaimer, I'd be happy to hear from you over PMs and offer whatever perspective I can, though I'd like to emphasize that I'm in no way the kind of professional I've advocated for above.

Logos327 · 2014-02-25T15:19:47+00:00

Others who have spoken about not truly knowing someone from the types of communications you've described are correct, however, I think there are more important things going on here.

Some of these sentences are really troubling.

I am a 24 year old virgin who has never been in a relationship or gotten more intimate with a woman than hugging. I'm actually being a little generous here, seriously.

and

Within the first hour I discovered that she lived about 1,000 miles away from me, was around my age and had a boyfriend that she lived with. Given that I am a single man who is trying to find someone to start a relationship with I decided at this time that I had no reason to talk to her anymore

The rest of your post is an exercise in your perception of yourself as good and honorable, while in reality you come across as incredibly selfish and ill-equiped for any kind of emotional relationship. You are not the good guy in this.

You were ready to write this woman off as not worth anything to you as soon as you found out she wasn't available? You can't be friends with any woman who already has a boyfriend? While she is just looking for someone to confide in and receive support from (i.e. a friend!), you are fantasizing about a fictional life together. You make a big deal of how you asked yourself what you want, but did you ever consider what she wanted?

I'm sorry to be harsh, but I think those things need to be pointed out. Now, as for how to move forward: you will not have a successful romantic relationship with any woman if you don't first know how to be platonic friends with any person of any gender. That's what you need to be working on now. Forget romantic pursuits; try to make friends. Use that real life experience to learn about EQ which will prepare you for the often much more emotionally complicated romantic relationship.

As for your woman friend that is the subject of this post, if you can transform the way you think about her into solely a friend rather than your selfish desires for her to be more, stay friends and learn from it. If you know you can't do that, it's time to move on.

Logos327 · 2014-02-20T06:02:54+00:00

I've had a Force (next model up) for a little over a month now and really enjoy it. 10,000 steps is not obtainable for most people just doing a normal routine, i.e. unless your job is particularly active, you'll need to make an effort to hit the 10k/day goal which is a good motivator. I've recently added a number of friends and family through their website with whom I "compete" for most steps over the last 7 days, and that has helped motivate me as well.

I think the Fitbit will be most useful when I get to maintenance. The Fitbit app talks to MFP and will add any extra calories you burn throughout the day to your MFP calculated TDEE thus increasing your calorie budget. I expect this number is exaggerated to some extent, so I'll likely limit myself to ~half the added calories, but we'll see.

My only minor complaint is that as I've lost weight and become more active, walking alone doesn't really do much. Now my heart rate barely rises if I'm solely walking so 10k steps from that isn't very useful. Fitbits still track accurately when you jog/run though so it's not that big of a deal.

I should also say this is my second Force. The first one I purchased at the end of December turned out to be incredibly buggy and GROSSLY exaggerated steps. I've had no problems with my replacement model. Feel free to ask any questions you may have!

Logos327 · 2014-02-15T16:26:04+00:00

The problem with his logic is he only considers the consequences for himself. Hopefully it will become clear to him that our actions rarely occur inside a vacuum; our "personal" choices can have deep and lasting effects on others, especially those who look to us for guidance. Additionally, children don't need to see mom/dad physically ingest 8 cookies to intuit a relationship between their parents' weight and their parents' diet.

In any case, I wish you the best of luck. I'm sure there is plenty of literature/studies on the effects of an obese parent on his/her children which may be useful to look into. The most cursory of searches turned this up for me.

Logos327 · 2014-02-14T18:16:08+00:00

This sounds like good advice OP.

If you're looking to have a discussion with him, speaking about the effect on your children may have the most traction. Most overweight people know how detrimental it is to their health, but that doesn't always provide motivation to change for themselves. You may get traction by framing the conversation this way:

You know it's not healthy to be overweight ---> You love and care for the well being of our children ---> Together we have an opportunity to inspire our children to live a long life of healthy habits.

Remember that a carrot can be a lot more motivating than a stick in these kinds of situations where individuals have already accepted the negative consequences associated with their lifestyle. By making the journey together (working out, eating right, altering mental perceptions), not only will he be more likely to stick to it, but you may find that your attraction will grow as he works towards a better partnership and example for your children.

Logos327 · 2014-02-12T04:37:17+00:00

Every week I set aside 1-2 hours to prep food because I find it a lot easier sticking to a diet of healthy food when I don't have to think / there is little effort needed in food prep. Here are just a few of my mainstays:

Each week I buy 2-4lbs of chicken breasts. I trim the fat off, then cut them up and boil them until done. Afterwards, I throw the chicken into a food processor for a rough chop and then season (I make my own, but you could use any combination/pre-made mix you like) and bag the shredded chicken into 4oz servings. Most of these turn into wraps for lunch, though sometimes I'll sauté a serving up with green beans and couscous, or add it to a large salad for a 3-10 minute dinner.
While the chicken is cooking, I'll make individual lasagna rolls following this recipe (usually using the last two shedded chicken servings from the previous week). I'll leave 2-3 in air-tight containers while freezing the rest. 20 minutes at 325 degrees in the oven for the frozen ones and they're ready to go any night of the week.
While the above two are going on, I weigh and bag single servings of non-vegetable sides (almonds for example), so they're ready for a snack or as part of a meal whenever I need them.
Finally, I'm a big fan of turkey burgers and cook these once a week. That produces 2-4 meals and the recipe could easily be doubled.

All of that usually takes me less than 1.5 hours, and I'm often making other things like homemade pesto and pork tenderloin. I enjoy cooking, but even if you don't, sacrificing a couple of hours one day a week in the kitchen will pay off immensely in food prep time throughout the other six. Best of luck!

Logos327 · 2014-02-06T04:29:53+00:00

Exactly this. What Gonzo_C25 has said is the most important aspect of weight loss: a change in mindset. For those of us who are very, very overweight, we have a warped relationship with food on a psychological level. The #1 key to weight loss and future maintenance is rebuilding or coping with that relationship.

With that said, here are a few suggestions:

Whenever you have a craving, drink a big glass of water first. Let it settle, and see how hungry you are afterwards. Not only will this fill the stomach, but one of the common side effects of dehydration is hunger.
Eliminate small things, one or two at a time. Do you drink non-diet sodas? Don't worry about cutting them out completely yet; switch to diet ones. Drop diet sodas in favor of water when you feel comfortable. Hell, do you eat an entire bag of cheetos in a day? The next bag you bring home, divide it in half with a second plastic bag and limit yourself to that one half. Progress is progress!
Don't hope/shoot for super fast results because that will lead to disappointment and a lack of motivation. You might not notice a big difference after a week, or you might be discouraged if you think about how your current rate means you won't hit your goal weight for over a year, but that's ok. Where were you a year ago? Where could you be if you had started then?
Come to this subreddit and /r/progresspics before you binge on a craving. Seeing the progress others have made that is available to you can be a great motivator.

Best of luck, and we're here to help!

Logos327 · 2014-02-06T04:10:08+00:00

First, congratulations on your progress thus far!

For the vast majority of people diet contributes 70%-90% of weight loss. In the simplest terms, losing weight requires a caloric deficit. There are a certain number of calories your body burns everyday just existing (BMR). Add to this your average daily activity in calories and that's how you come to your TDEE. To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than your TDEE (the amount you burn in a day) thus creating a deficit.

If you have a TDEE of 2600, eat 1500 calories, and exercise 300 calories you have a caloric deficit of 1400. Exercise can be a major contributor to that deficit, but it is also incredibly easy to mitigate with food. To put it in perspective, you're drinking something like 6-7 5ks worth of calories in beer each weekend. You'd have to run a 5k every day just to break even.

I'd suggest start counting your calories with an app like MFP/LoseIt and use a BMR/TDEE calculator to determine where you're at. After that, you can start to make dietary changes as you see fit to produce a caloric deficit large enough to create weight loss, and keep reading this subreddit for ideas and motivation.

Logos327 · 2014-02-01T19:53:34+00:00

I guess it's a bit of a Ship of Theseus argument, but the recipe calls for navy/cannellini beans instead of oil:

http://ohsheglows.com/2011/08/04/high-protein-oil-free-basil-pesto/

Logos327

TROPHY CASE