The Life Ledger

Fitness is a way of life.

My run today was great. I wandered off the Greenway’s a ways, and followed a dirt trail for about 10 minutes. There is something to be said for running trails. Besides the feeling being alone with your thoughts, the uncertainty of the ground can strengthen your ankles. Flowing over the ground lost in the music on your player. I love running to ska or punk. For those would like to try trail running, I would suggest taking a partner for safety. It’s something that takes abit to get used to, and in my case I would only have to push through 50 yards of woods tops to get help. If you do decide to run some trails there are some tools that can help you track where you go.

In fact this run wasn’t for getting ready for my race. I specifically kept it slow in order to get loose, and warm up my body for sparing that I knew was coming in karate. After 15 minutes of bull in the ring, I am officially a brown belt. Boy am I tired… Time to soak the feet and relax for awhile. Not that I mind, it’s a beautiful Spring day here.

And spring is here in full force. New green as far as the eye can see. And Yellow. As if a huge bag of cornmeal had burst open, dusting everything. On the cars, windows, roads. This past Tuesday oak pollen created clouds so dense they looked like smog hanging over the highway. While my white running shoes are bit yellow after today, my sinuses amazingly don’t seem to mind.

One of the most noticeable benefits brought on by my weight loss is the change in allergies. Before I used to be congested from March to May then September through October. Weather changes meant breaking out the sudafed or other drugs, buying so much bet their stock went up a tick. And even then the drugs didn’t do what was expected. What should have wired me, knocked me out. Nyquil seemed like sugar water.

So allergies was one of the primary reasons I started my running in winter. Contrary to what my wife may think, winters here aren’t that bad. Hat, gloves, and decent sweatshirt take care of most days when running. Only a few required me to break out a ski mask. And I had been able to get about 3 months under my belt before the seasons changed and the yellow dust started to replace the snow. I can remember running up a hill, realizing I was following a 2 inch wide bare spot in the trail and surrounded by pine pollen. 20 minutes later I was home, and still no reaction. It was great motivation to keep it up.

I still get hit a little now and then. Rapid weather changes for instance and one tree that I haven’t tracked down yet. But it’s no where as bad as it has been. Walking to the car, I don’t flinch seeing it yellow tinted. I just smile and think about when I should wash it. Waddle on friends.

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Step 2 - Set long-term and daily goals.
Now that you’ve recorded a starting point, it’s time to set some goals. There were three types of goals I set - goal weight, daily achievements and dream goals.

• Set a goal weight.
  

  First, you need a goal weight. Personally, I know I was pretty fit in high school when I weighed 185, so I chose that as my goal weight. If nothing else, you can use the BMI calculator from Step 1 to determine a rough estimate of your “healthy weight”, keeping in mind this is not an accurate measurement. Subtract your goal weight from your current weight, then divide by two - that’s roughly how many weeks it should take to reach your goal, assuming an average weight loss of 2lb/week . For example, last September I weighed 265 with a goal weight of 185:

  Read the rest of this entry »

  Table of contents for 10 steps to jump start your fitness

  1. 10 Steps to Jump Start Your Fitness: Step 1 - Get Started
  2. 10 Steps to Jump Start Your Fitness: Step 2 - Set Some Goals

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.

I hate the first of the year.

Okay, that’s a bit harsh.

What I hate is how many people set themselves up for failure. Sometime after the holiday ham and before the midnight bubbly, the average American takes this long look inward. Maybe it’s that change in the last digit of your checkbook. Or the lengthening days that hint at the coming promise of spring. And just as the moon pulls at the sea, we make those same resolutions as last year only to be foiled a few months down the road. And we are used to the cycle. We see those same articles dusted off : Most common resolution, First to go, How long can you last? ….. Sorry, that last sounds abit like spam.

And in droves We the People stimulate the economy: our gym memberships, exercise equipment, fad diets, IRA contributions, increased savings at the Banks. Companies love that financial shot in the arm. They know that very few people keep their resolutions because…

Exercise:
Off to the gym we go, shiny new gear in the trunk. Wait, everyone else seems to have gotten the same deal! Packed parking lots, queues for machines, and not enough clean towels just made my 30 minutes at lunch become 2 hours! After work is even worse. Can’t go outdoors because I’m above the 39th parallel. Anyways, I don’t remember being this sore last year when I started up.

Savings:
It’s time to improve my retirement savings plan. 10% into the 401k, plus 100 a month into an IRA. Hmmmm….. The bills from Christmas just came in. I know, I’ll start next month. But then that’s Valentine’s Day. Oh and taxes, can’t forget Uncle Sam. I’ll try to remember to start this up again in May.

Diet:
Oy, after all that holiday food I need to lose some weight. Time to diet, I’ll try those pills I saw on TV. Shoot, George brought in left over Christmas cookies. Maybe after the Superbowl because Sam always makes the best wings. One or two chocolate hearts aren’t going to hurt. What the hell?! Why aren’t I losing weight!?

So your motivation drops, and with it the focus of your resolutions. With no visible forward progress, you got frustrated and decided to try again in another year. So I say to you, be contrarian in the timing of your resolution. Pick a time that is away from birthdays and holidays. It could lead to a greater chance of keeping it.

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