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Tuesday, January 06, 2004 Lightening Up    Most all of us want to lose some weight, drop a few pounds, lose a few inches, slim down, tighten up, feel good -- feel sexy! -- improve our health and all that. Here in Alaska the deck is doubly stacked against us and our goal. Not only do we have to struggle with restraint in the face of bountiful holiday spreads like everyone else in America, we have the darkness and cold winter days programming our biorhythms over and over again with a single instruction -- EAT! Winter is here! Food will be scarce! Sleep! Store fat or die!    In an effort to fool the biorhythmic code some uprights buy full spectrum lights and place them under timer control in their bedrooms to come on slowly in the morning like the rising sun. Some uprights claim this helps; their subconscious craving for a half dozen eggs and a pound of Jimmy Dean sausage fried together in a stick of butter mysteriously disappears. They find they can get out of the house and into the car and off to work with little more than a bagel and hot coffee. They even feel a modicum of cheeriness which ordinarily attends only spring and summer mornings. Others report no success whatsoever. Like robots no longer masters of their own satiety they unconsciously turn into the first McDonalds they see and before they know it they've downed their third sausage egg McMuffin -- with extra cheese. Winter long crumpled bags with golden arch labels pile up on the passenger side floor. "Pfft -- full spectrum light schmull spectrum light," they scoff.   Not to worry. Master and I are out each morning at 6:30 AM with friends for our walk together. It must be a mile and half or so that we do. It's still dark then, but it won't be too much longer and Mother will be back; we're gaining over two minutes a day now. Even a short walk in the cold burns twice the calories it would in warm weather.   That, combined with our daily afternoon walks, Master's time on his cycle trainer, ritual morning sit-ups and pushups, weekend hikes, along with sensible eating, and we're staying pretty fit this winter. Still, the siren call of the biorhythms is ever-present and tempting -- REFRIGERATOR - FRENCH ONION DIP - POTATO CHIPS... EAT MAN, EAT! 8:43:14 PM    Comments disabled © Copyright 2009 Rufus. Nonsense, distribute widely and freely! Last update: 7/1/2009; 9:21:29 AM.			Readers Amused       Home About Me Airedale Philosophy How this all got started       FAQ What's an Upright? Upright: noun : a by and large bipedal companion, also referred to as a human being. What's a Cheechako? Cheechako: noun : a person new to Alaska who has come with the intention to live here. Who's Master? Master: pronoun : just the finest upright on the face of the earth, that's who! To read him is to love him. What's Dogdom? Dogdom: noun : Life's venue from a dog's point of view. What's a Sourdough? Sourdough: noun : A long time Alaskan who has an automatic suspicion of cheechakos. What does Outside mean? Outside: noun : A provincial reference to somplace other than Alaska; usually the lower 48. What's Breakup? Breakup: noun : A uniquely Alaskan season between winter and spring when the snow and ice begins to melt for good. Where is SquareBanks? SquareBanks: slang : A self-evident euphemism for a place widely known as Fairbanks, AK. Where can I read the Houston Trip? Houston Trip: vignette : Here What digital camera do you use? Camera: hardware : Canon Powershot A80 (4.0 MP) Who's Mom? Mom: Hottie : Have A Look What's a Squeakamunka? Squeakamunka: noun : your ordinary gray squirrel which can be seen everywhere in our Cleveland neighborhood! « Alaska Blogs »  Stories Fiction Boy Wonder Bat Girl Objects in Mirror Are Larger Than They Appear Used To Be Fish Skin Deep Essay Life Is Good Desert Nostalgia A Voice of Reason Fictional Four Realms of Darkness Poetry Lucky Chain  The Cycling Pages 1999 Canadian Tour 2000 Tour of Alaska "Yooper" : 2001 Tour of WI/Michigan UP 2001 Spine of Italy Tour 2002 Tour of New England 2004 Tour of New Zealand (coming soon!) 2005 Tour Of Nova Scotia Conways Game of Life (needs java plugin) Sometimes Interesting Billy Greg (Hiatus) Virginia Postrel Wendy McElroy Samizdata Atlantic Monthly Reason No Treason Slashdot Derke Lowe Heather Champ (Photo blog) T.C. Boyle Liquid Generation Improved Clinch Exquisite Corpse, A. Codrescu Fred On Everything Assymetrical Information The Daily Ablution (Hibernation) Lileks Frank Kelly (Hiatus) Up In Alaska