The Life Ledger

Fitness is a way of life.

One of the things that is so prevalent these days are fast food. It’s easy to travel a mile and pass over 10 restaurants in some places. And no one can deny that they are convenient, and sometimes there are no other nearby options. My goal with this article and others is to look at what is available. Taking the information available on their website, I want to provide a general idea of how much of what someone can eat. At the same time I’m going to indicate what I would get if just going by my natural instincts. I’m going to use my general numbers generated by the government to get me down to a healthy weight. That means 2600 calories a day. Subtract 150 calories for daily fruit and 300 calories in breakfast yogurt. Estimating about 1000+ for dinner, and I’ll give myself an even 1000 calories for lunch.

Today I’m going to start with an old favorite - Wendy’s. I admit, I’m a creature of habit and really like Wendy’s Spicy Chicken sandwich combo. Per their nutrition page that provides me

• Sandwich : 480 Calories
• Small Fries : 370 Calories
• Medium Soda : 220 Calories
• Total : 1070 Calories

So it looks like it’s just at what would be a good goal for me. But I want to modify these numbers just a bit for two reasons. First, I typically get at least one refill on soda. That’s 220 more calories, for a total of 1290. At the same time there is a tendency for Fast Food companies to under-report the caloric value of the foods the make. It’s usually considered within statistical error, but often enough that the values should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m going to increase the value by 5% in an attempt to adjust for that. Wow, that places the end value at 1355. That additional 350 calories cost me another 30 minutes on the treadmill. What can I do differently?

• Sandwich : 480 Calories
• Small Fries : 370 Calories
• Medium Soda : 220 Calories

Well, straight away if I remove soda I get a total of just under 900 Calories. That’s even with my 5% adjustment. It’s amazing how much soda can effect your diet. Maybe you don’t like chicken. You could replace it with,say, a Double Jr or a single Classic. The frescata sandwiches have just as many calories or more than my beloved spicy chicken. And even more surprising are the salads, for most of them with provided condiments have as many calories or more than the sandwiches, save only the Caesar.

So, I wonder. Are my instincts strong enough that if I remove soda from most of the combo meals, I would be able to keep me within my goal of 1000 calories? We will have to see.

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New Year’s Resolutions are like spam, dreams of financial gain or weight loss without form to re-enforce their promises.

In writing a previous post I had the above epiphany. It was to be my closure, but it struck a chord. It is simple, memorable, but with more than a grain of truth. So after some discussion with Cris, decided to give it a story of its own.

So why am I having a hard time writing? Both Spam and New Years Resolutions are common enough in our culture. Maybe it’s because no one really takes either one very seriously. The average person gets 7 or more pieces of spam a day. And experience shows how few people actually believe them, all being sent unread to the digital trash. Can the same not be said for New Year’s Resolutions? Look at how long most people keep them. I was making my first resolutions at age 10, only to be broken within 3 months.

There are similarities though in how they play with our psyches. Both encourage the impulse for a quick fix, but usually only end up helping someone else. How healthy do you think your retirement fund is going to be if you chase after “pump and dump” stocks? Or are you expecting that inheritance from a mysterious prince? It’s easy enough to ride that horse to death, so I’ll stop.

So why do we then lie to ourselves about future changes in actions, when we refuse to maintain the needed willpower to follow through? Maybe my google-fu is weak but I couldn’t find any research on how long people take to decide on their resolutions. But in the beginning of December, co-workers usually starting asking each other “what are your resolutions for next year”? Most of the time, people get that look of concentration, do a cursory self evaluation, and choose the least painful thing to promise. So few put actual thought into these “life changes”, requesting more time for serious contemplation.

This is why Cris and I both advocate that people should instead plan out their goals, approaching them as an integral part of life. Usually the same whims that lead you towards fitness are those that can cause you to stumble.

So you have taken those first steps: Catching your habits, Drinking water instead of soda, Exercising 30 minutes everyday, Saving 50 dollars every paycheck into your 401k. And you are seeing progress! Slimming of the waist or interest earned, it inspires you to do more. Each time you have a decision you spend more and more time trying to figure out what to do. And you look for more and more aspects of your life to improve.

First let me offer you a whole hearted congratulations. It’s definitely motivating to see progress made. In the second part of this series I’d like to offer a few warnings. It may seem odd to read, but let me explain.

To start with, its easy to have conflicting goals. Wondering how this would happen? A common example is saving of money while eating healthier. Simple economics dictate that fresh fruit and vegetables often costs more as well as being much better for you. So instead of trying to min-max where you search the Best solution, aim for a solid 90% towards your goal. In fact my personal belief is that perfection is an impossible thing to grasp. Also these conflicts can also arise from poorly defined goals and steps.

At the same time, there is also the problem of to many paths and cascading results. Like a grand master chess player or Deep Blue you look ahead to see how your current decision influences what you can decide later. But unlike chess, Life doesn’t have a clear winner. There is no checkmate in which to defeat Mother Nature. The more you try out think, the less actual action you take. Because if you spent 5 more minutes to figure out how to raise the end potential 1 more percent, you can loose it all. Cause see, all those possibilities are just that. Potential, until you finally act.

Lastly, making changes in one’s life can make you tired. At least for me it does. Trying to be aware of every little thing. Watching for those things you can improve. Remembering those new habits you are trying to create. The body, mentally and physically, is used to the old rhythms in life. When you deviate, you add stress until the newness wears off. A great example are all those that flock to the gym with “life changing resolutions”. You know, when parking during January and February is impossible to find. But how many keep at it? By changing too many things at once you can stress your body too much. What happens usually is you get “sick”. Could be a cold, sinus inflection, or more. By keeping those Conscious Acts slow and steady you prevent to much of a shock to your system.

So to wrap this up, I would say I’m a big fan of moderation. It was living in one extreme lifestyle that caused problems in the first place. It would do yourself no good to swing so far the other way that you cause problems yet again.

Or even worse, revert to your old ways.

Continuation from yesterday

I talked about water a few days ago, and mentioned using Crystal Light to flavor my water.  Since then, I read some articles on Splenda (sucralose) and have decided to reduce chemicals from my diet as much as possible.  The easiest place to start - the flavored Splenda packs I use to replace sugar in my coffee and the Crystal Light packs I use to flavor my water.

[Note that it seems most of the information available on sucralose is either based on assumption or surveys funded by either sugar associations or Splenda - thus, all the information I've seen so far is probably biased one way or another.  Bottom line for me - sucralose is a chemical, not a natural substance.]

I have since discovered agave nectar.  I have been using agave nectar by Madhava Honey to sweeten my coffee and water for the past week, and so far I’m very impressed with it.  Madhava’s agave nectar page has some interesting history and information about agave nectar in general and its product in particular, including the following: 

Because Agave Nectar is high in fructose, it enjoys all the benefits which continue to make fructose a preferred sweetening agent. It is sweeter than refined sugar (approximately 1.4 times sweeter); in fact, fructose offers an equivalent sweetness for nearly half the amount of carbohydrate calories. Fructose does not stimulate digestive insulin secretion as do other sugars. It is less disturbing to the glycemic index. In common parlance, it does not create a “sugar rush.”
…
Agave Nectar is certified organic. The manufacturers have obtained organic certification from BCS Oeko Garantie Gmbh, a German firm accredited by the USDA. The Agave crops used in producing Agave Nectar are herbicide and pesticide free. Growers that supply the raw material will use only natural fertilizers and employ agricultural practices that meet organic certification standards. The manufacturers will also obtain organic certification on their manufacturing process.

I haven’t found too much research or discussion on agave network, but if what Madhava claims is true about the low glycemic index, the low insulin response and the organic certification, I have found my ultimate sugar replacement.

I recently went from a size 46 to a size 36 waist, and started realizing how important clothes were to successfully reaching my fitness goals.  Here’s some tips:

Most importantly, dress nicely and comfortably.  A lot of unhealthy eating habits stem from emotional eating.  I realized as I began to lose weight that my emotional eating was fueled by being uncomfortable with my appearance and my clothes.  Wearing a coat and tie would make me hot and fidgety.  The same slacks that looked good on me through college now pooched in bad places.  It was time for a makeover.  Even before I began losing weight, I started by getting a tailored coat, changing to another brand of khakis and wearing knit short-sleeve shirts instead of T-shirts.  By paying attention to my appearance, I began practicing mindfulness and empowerment of choice; in small doses, I  was preparing myself  to undergo a lifestyle change without even knowing it.

Replace clothes wisely during weight loss.  Because I was losing so much weight quickly, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money replacing my entire wardrobe every month.  I focused on belts (they were cheap and extended the life of my existing pants) and boxers (being comfortable in clothes starts with the basics).  In addition to regularly replacing those inexpensive items, I focused on the clothes I wore the most of, and are the most versatile - khakis.  I can wear a T-shirt, a knit shirt or a shirt and tie with a nice pair of khakis.  Near the end of my weight loss, I started slowly replacing other items, like jeans and shirts.  Not only did I save money by replacing clothes in that order, it helped reward my success in reaching my fitness goals - my new clothes felt better, and I started enjoying going clothes shopping.  Standing in that mirror looking at myself trying on clothes, and showing the clothes to my wife, was an incredibly positive affirmation.  (It also helped that my weight loss occurred during my birthday and Christmas.)

Buy good quality clothes.  Not all clothes are created equal.  You don’t have to spend $100 on a pair of jeans, but it would be a good idea to start at a department store with a large selection of brands like Belk and try on different brands of jeans, shirts, khakis, whatever you are there to replace.  Different brands have different cuts, different pleats, different fabrics, and thus breathe and fit differently.  Start getting a sense of what brands you feel comfortable and nice in, then stick to that brand.