Two Guys Lose Weight: iPhones, Sirius/XM, and AC/DC versus a turtle sundae

The following is a blog documenting two Los Angeles Times editors’ attempts to lose weight. It all began on Jan. 10.

First up: the scale. My trainer weighed me in at 205 lbs. on Jan. 8. Four weeks later, I’m weighing-in at 191. I’ve strayed from my dietary plan twice so far. The evening of the Delmonico steaks and this past Friday when I had a turtle sundae (oops). But who’s complaining? Fourteen pounds lost with two mulligans. Not bad. Nutrisystem food holding up just fine.

Second: I love technology. Whether it be the Sony Walkman I bought in 1982, the first iPod I got in 2002, or the iPhone 4 that I bought last May, the ability to have music accompany a workout has always made the experience richer for me. Richer meaning that I’ll actually do the workout and not quit after five minutes.

I remember running the Bolder Boulder back in 1983 with my Walkman blaring songs from Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne and AC/DC. That Walkman still exists -- as does the playlist. The Walkman’s in a box somewhere alongside my Mattel Football and Basketball games, and a well-used Atari 2600. The playlist has survived countless versions of portable audio players.

On Saturday, I decided against my iPod, opting for live streaming instead. I paired my iPhone to the gym’s Wi-Fi, loaded up the Sirius/XM app, and listened to, well, basically the same artists I’ve always listened to but on “The Boneyard,” “Hair-Nation,” and “Classic Rewind.”

There’s something about someone else picking the songs that make them more fresh somehow. And they picked them well. One person of note doing the picking? Original MTV VJ Mark Goodman was ‘spinning the discs’ on the Classic Rewind station. Sadly, however, his ‘fro is no longer.

Whoever was on The Boneyard couldn’t have picked a better song at a better time. Just as I was ready to “climb” the most difficult digital hill on the Stairmaster, the unmistakable guitar riff began. A minute and a half later, the bagpipes kicked in. Only AC/DC has been able to pull off that musical pairing. “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock ‘n’ Roll)” got me through the workout. Amazingly, I didn’t fall off the machine when I couldn’t help performing an epic air guitar solo.

I needed that cardio, by the way. After all the self-congratulatory praise I heaped on myself last week for avoiding junk food, I succumbed Friday night to a turtle sundae. Well, how damaging could that be? Yikes, 1,060 calories and 59 grams of fat. By the way, you will not find this dessert item on the Nutrisystem menu.

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