Forecast Last Updated at Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 5:39AM

November Weekend to Remember!

If you have a chance, get out and enjoy some spectacular November weather this weekend. The mornings will be a bit on the chilly side, but a nice recovery is expected in the afternoons. You'll want to bottle some of this up for those cold, gloomy days in January! Our next chance of rain comes early next week. Details below.

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Saturday Hi: 54 Lo: 44 Mostly clear; Mild after a chilly start; SW wind 5-10 mph becoming light at night

Sunday Hi: 57 Lo: 42 Sunny skies; Warmer; Light west wind

Monday Hi: 54 Lo: 43 High clouds, thickening at night; Chance of light rain late at night; Light south wind

Tuesday Hi: 47 Lo: 40 Cloudy; Rain likely; Cooler

Wednesday Hi: 45 Lo: 33 Becoming clear; Cool but not cold for Veterans Day

Further Out

Thursday - Mostly clear; Pleasant; High near 50 degrees; Low in the mid 30s
Friday - Partly cloudy; High in the lower 50s; Low in the upper 30s

Forecast Discussion

Slow moving high pressure will move off the Eastern Seaboard today, then park over the western Atlantic for a few days. The southerly flow will let increasingly warm air back into the region. In the meantime, a storm system will slowly get organized in the Gulf of Mexico. This is probably our biggest forecast question; it's not clear at this point precisely how this system will evolve. At least some of its energy will probably originate from Ida, a northward moving Tropical Storm in the western Caribbean just off the coast of Honduras. Some computer models bring it farther west and north by Tuesday and Wednesday, giving us a good slug of rain. Other guidance suggests the best rains will track south and east of our area. To complicate matters, around that time a weak cold front will be also coming through the region. We think that there will be some added moisture for the front to work with, but leaning toward the idea that the heaviest rain remains downstate. The front will knock our temperatures back to near normal for the middle of the week, with fair and warmer weather returning to finish out the week.

Announcements

Ray's Weight Loss Keys

A few days ago, I mentioned that I was running the Asheville Marathon and that I had lost 75 pounds since the beginning of 2009. My next goal is to run the Charlotte Marathon in December. Countless emails have come in saying congratulations and asking how I did it. (Thanks for all those emails!!) So, here's the gist of my advice based on my experience.

• Decide to do it. (The most important tip of all.) When I say "decide to do it", make it a "whatever it takes, stick with it, will not waver from the path regardless" decision.
• Log what you eat. I use the calorie counter at everydayhealth.com. You have to sign up but it's free. (But I have a group of my ASU students working on a similar tool specifically designed for our area.)
• Realize that food is fuel. Treat food like you would gas for your car. "I need x number of calories today so that's how much fuel I'll put in." We would not put dirt in the car's gas tank because we are happy, sad, bored, excited, etc. or because everyone else was doing it. Why do we do that with our bodies? So eat for fuel not for social, craving, or emotional reasons.
• If you log what you eat, you'll learn to maximize volume of food for calories consumed. I targeted 1400-1500 calories a day and NEVER got hungry because I ate lots of volume and often. In general to maximize volume, one will eat lots of fruit, green vegetables, complex carbs, and protein (I ate lots of chicken, fish and pork, limited amounts of beef because of a gout problem.) Also, to maximize volume for calories consumed, drink little (preferably no) alcohol--a glass of red wine or light beer once in a long while, but you probably will not lose any weight on days you drink that. Finally, by logging foods, I realized that I was not getting enough fiber. My weight loss increased when I started getting more fiber.
• Eat 5-6 times a day. If you eat BEFORE getting hungry, you don't eat as much. Plus eating more often keeps our metabolism up. (Our bodies are built for "grazing".)
• Start exercising. Do what you can sustain for 30 minutes. 30 minutes non-stop is the key. Then gradually increase the intensity as you get in better shape--there's a fine line between pushing yourself and overdoing it.
  
  Err on the conservative side and gradually increase the intensity. But again... do what you can sustain for 30 minutes. When I started exercising (about 3 weeks after starting the diet on January 8), I could not run more than a half mile, but I did what I could. Last weekend, I ran a half marathon in 1 hr 50 min 47 sec. Slow and steady and persistent does win the race! Running is not for everyone but I enjoy it. Walking, running, cycling (I have a stationary bike at home now.), swimming, hiking, etc.; any of these will do.

The reward is HUGE!!!!! I feel like I'm 30 again--no exaggeration. My total cholesterol went from 190 to 144. Good cholesterol went from 20something to 49. Triglycerides are in the 40s. Blood pressure is 116/65 and resting pulse rate is 54. Feel like "I could kill a bear." In May, my doctor said "Ray, you have done a total body reset. I'm taking you off all meds and see what happens." I had a check-up two weeks ago--all still good. Dr. Harter literally did not recognize me at first.

No food tastes as good as being healthy feels!

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