[845] Thoughts on My Weight Loss Journey

The heaviest I can remember myself weighing was around 236 lbs or 107kg. This was back in 2016, during an annual physical check-up I had with a previous company. I was advised by the doctor to start losing weight for my own good. They even had me attend nutrition seminars, that I appreciated at the time but also didn't pay much attention to.

You see, discipline and self-control were never my strong suits before. I love food, and I would eat food I loved a lot. Sure I could curb my eating for a few days or so, and my weight would drop by one or two kilos, but it always used to hover in the 105kg to 107kg range until some unfortunate events in 2017.

It was during 2017 that I decided to go walking almost every morning. That was the year I managed to drop my weight below 100kg for the first time since around 2012 (I won't go back to this in too much detail, let's just say I lost weight but since I loved to eat you know what happened after). I was perfectly happy with my final weight fluctuating between 96kg to 98kg. Occasionally it would go to 95kg but again, love of food and eating.

I managed to maintain that weight until 2019, when during one random weigh in I saw that my weight had ballooned up to 99kg again. I think this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Determined (for probably the first time in my life, health-wise) to not go back to over 100kg I decided to try intermittent fasting. And it worked. I powered through the first few months, increasing the frequency of my weigh-ins daily just to remind myself that I did not want to get heavier again.

It is now the 14th of May 2020. I am proud to say my weight now fluctuates between 86kg to 88kg. I've been doing a minimum of 16:8 IF almost everyday, and since this quarantine started last 15th of March I've been doing it non-stop. Yes there are times I'd like to have breakfast (I usually eat lunch and dinner plus snacks) but when I see where I've gotten it's easier to just say I can just wait a few more hours.

While I still refuse to set a concrete goal, right now I'm sort of trying to get below 85kg. And this is the funny part, I also said that near the end of last year. I was hovering between 92kg to 94kg at the end of the year and told myself if would be nice to at least get to 89kg so that when I reach one year of doing IF I can say I lost 10kgs and look where I am now.

I still don't believe in setting a concrete goal for myself. I can challenge myself to reach a certain weight, but I know that with the way I think I get frustrated if I don't achieve something with a deadline. And that can be counter-productive to what I've reached so far. So I'll still gradually push myself to lose weight, but as of the moment I'm happy with where I am at weight-wise.

Out.

[844] NBA All Sixth Man of the Year Lineup

Today I've decided to try and create an NBA team composed entirely of previous NBA Sixth Man of the Year winners. My choices are my opinion only and feel free to form your own team and opinions. I'm not looking for an argument, I'm just wanting to write something. By the way, apparently you can have up to thirteen (13) active NBA players so I'll be fielding 13 players.

First some minor things. I'll be creating this team with the intention of them playing in the present NBA, rules, mindset, and all. Since I only became an NBA fan in the mid-to-late 90s my bias will be towards players I've seen play. Anyway, on to my lineup. I'll be getting their averages from their Sixth Man of the Year season from basketball-reference.com and adding it here.

I'll be posting their stats in this format ppg / rpg (oreb) / apg / spg / bpg / topg fg% / 3p% / ft%.

Center

Kevin McHale. 1983 - 1984.

18.4 / 7.4 (2.5) / 1.3 / 0.3 / 1.5/ 1.8 .556 / .333/ .765

McHale is a low post beast, from what I've read about him in Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball. Don't let the 3p% fool you, he didn't even average 0.1 3pa in that season. Aside from that McHale is the only other big man I'd consider capable of playing center in the current NBA among those Sixth Man Award winners. Bill Walton was a lot older and injured when he won in 1986 and as impressive as Roy Tarpley's numbers were when he won in 1988, I never saw him play and all I know about him was he got banned for substance abuse issues for a few years. Also, rest in peace Roy Tarpley.

Forwards

Clifford Robinson. 1992 - 1993.

19.1 / 6.6 (2.0) / 2.2 / 1.2 / 2.0 / 2.1 .473 / .247 / .690

Toni Kukoc. 1995 - 1996.

13.4 / 4.0 (1.4) / 3.5 / 0.8 / 0.3 / 1.4 .490 / .403 / .772

For the two starting forwards I'm going with Clifford Robinson and Toni Kukoc. Uncle Cliffy is getting the start because of his defensive numbers, something I never expected. I always remember him as a stretch 4 / early stretch 5 during his twilight years in the NBA. I never knew he had good defensive numbers. Kukoc gets the nod at the other forward slot because despite his lack of defense, his range and passing skills will help the team keep the ball moving and give enough floor spacing for this team.

Guards

Manu Ginobili. 2007 - 2008.

19.5 / 4.8 (0.9) / 4.5 / 1.5 / 0.4 / 2.7 .460 / .401 / .860

Darrell Armstrong. 1998 - 1999.

13.8 / 3.6 (1.1) / 6.7 / 2.2 / 0.1 / 3.2 .441 / .365 / .904                        

I'm choosing Manu Ginobili and Darrel Armstrong to start. Armstrong is there for his defense, and Manu gets to start because he has the size and best all-around numbers among the guards I've chosen. Darrell Armstrong is also more of a traditional point guard so he would also help in ball movement and not try to do all the scoring by himself. I could have gone with Lou Will but I honestly feel that his size and defensive shortcomings would be to the detriment of the starters. Plus a Lou Will and Darrell Armstrong lineup would be too small in my opinion.

Now that we're done with the starters, let's focus on my core "big three" players off the bench. These guys will be getting the majority of playing time off the bench because of their versatility and scoring prowess.

Key bench players

Lou Williams. 2017 - 2018.

22.6 / 2.5 (0.5) / 5.3 / 1.1 / 0.2 / 3.0 .435 / .359 / .880
Lamar Odom. 2010 - 2011.

14.4 / 8.7 (2.1) / 3.0 / 0.6 / 0.7 / 1.7 .530 / .382 / .675

James Harden. 2011 - 2012.

16.8 / 4.1 (0.5) / 3.7 / 1.0 / 0.2 / 2.2 .491 / .390 / .846

Lou Williams would be THE sixth man in this all sixth man team. He provides instant offense, range, and some playmaking at the cost of defense. Lamar Odom gives the starting five a tenacious rebounder and good playmaker at the big man slot, plus he can spend some spot minutes at the center position if needed. I'm also a huge Odom stan so I'm making him the first forward / big man off the bench. James Harden is a taller Lou Williams, but at this stage of his career he still wasn't the MVP James Harden we all know today.

Rounding out the second five

Detlef Schrempf. 1991 - 1992.

17.3 / 9.6 (2.5) / 3.9 / 0.8 / 0.5 / 2.4 .536 / .324 / .828

Anthony Mason. 1994 - 1995.

9.9 / 8.4 (2.4) / 3.1 / 0.9 / 0.3 / 1.6 .566 / .000 / .641

Schrempf has similar stats to Odom, and he also provides nearly the same skill set as Odom. Mase (also rest in peace, Anthony Mason) would be the de facto center off the bench. He was also one of the early prototypical point forwards in Don Nelson's Knicks experiment. This rounds out the second unit.

The specialists

Mike Miller. 2005 - 2006.

13.7 / 5.4 (0.6) / 2.7 / 0.7 / 0.4 / 1.9 .466 / .407 / .800

Dell Curry. 1993 - 1994.

16.3 / 3.2 (0.9) / 2.7 / 1.2 / 0.3 / 1.5 .455 / .402 / .873

Bobby Jackson. 2002 - 2003.

15.2 / 3.7 (1.0) / 3.1 / 1.2 / 0.1 / 1.8 .464 / .379 / .846

This brings us to the remaining players who, I believe, are versatile enough to fill different roles and positions for this team. Miller can play shooting guard and small forward while Jackson can play point and shooting guard. Dell Curry and Mike Miller are both excellent 3-point shooters, while Bobby Jackson, from what I remember, was great for his hustle and defense.

So there we go, my thirteen man NBA lineup featuring players who won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Looking at my lineup it does appear that the team is lacking in the center category, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make in exchange for versatility. Besides, only one true center won the award. The team also appears to be a bit lacking in terms of defense but with all the offensive firepower we have I think this team can at least make the playoffs.

I'm imagining McHale or Manu would be the "alpha" of the team. Remember that I'm picking the players based on the year they won sixth man so Harden still hasn't unlocked his unstoppable game and MVP caliber mindset.

As for the coach, I'm honestly feeling Don Nelson as the head coach of this team. I honestly think he can unlock the offensive potential of this team. He would probably need a good defensive coordinator as his lead assistant coach, though.

Anyway, that's my team. Feel free to make your own lineup.

Out.