Month: March 2011

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Eat less, move more

Eat less, move more. It’s a fitness mantra that’s been around for a long time. And it works. But people, like the lady in the MadTV skit, want an easy way out.

The madness of it is that eating less and moving more is an easy way out.

Eat less. Hmmmm…. How hard is that? Remove simple carbs from your diet. Do it incrementally. Get rid of those sugars little by little. First sodas. Then donuts. Then cupcakes. Then bagels. Or, bag it, keep the bagels, but get rid of the obvious sugars. Guaranteed you will be eating less.

People tell me, “I don’t see how you can just not eat sugars.” First of all, if you cannot control what you eat, you have addictions you should address. Second of all, those addictions can be beaten, just like any other addiction.

I used to sometimes bake a german chocolate cake, add the coconut-pecan frosting, and have that for dinner. Half the cake. The rest would be gone in a day.

I used to buy a six-pack of Cinnabons and eat three of them without blinking.

I had to stop doing that because it was killing me! Did I want to stop? No! I was addicted.

But now I can be in the same room with a German chocolate cake or a Cinnabon and not even feel tempted.

Maybe cake and cinnamon rolls are not your weakness, but what is? Coke? Cupcakes? At some point you need to make the decision to stop … and … then … just … stop. Add more fresh or frozen fruit into your diet — it’s sweet but healthy. Get the organic kind to keep the sugars down, and eat the berries and fruits as nature intended. Or don’t do that, but you gotta get off the sugar!

Eventually, even though you cannot imagine it now, your cravings for those sweet treats will diminish.

As for moving more, this is a simple thing, too. You don’t even need to work out. It’s a good idea to work out, to build muscle and keep your mind and body fit, but these simple tips will get you moving in the right direction.

  • Wear a pedometer. Shoot for 10,000 steps. Having a number goal will keep you moving. When I used to wear a pedometer, I started at 10k steps, then moved up to 15k as a minimum. The pedometer shown above is a good one. It’s silent, no annoying clicks. A number on a pedometer was a real motivator for me, when I was getting started. If I’d look down and see it was under 5000 at 2:00, that would get me moving.
  • Park far away. Don’t look for that parking spot up close. Park far away. This not only forces you to walk more, but also you avoid traffic, and you don’t need to search for a spot.
  • Get up every hour or two from your computer. You need to rest your eyes anyway, so get up and move around for a little bit. Walk around the house or office. Just walk. I walk in circles around my kitchen island, then up and down the stairs a few times.
  • Walk on the phone. If you are on the phone and use a cordless or cell, walk around while your talking. You can get in a good mile during a twenty-minute conversation that you normally would have wasted sitting and getting fatter.
  • Read while you walk. This is a new one for me, but now that I have a Kindle app on my phone, reading while walking — indoors, obviously, not out on the street — is much easier.

There’s no silver bullet to kill the fat that is killing us. Eat less, move more is the only way to go.

 

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What if you just can’t make it through a workout?

A lot has been said about forcing yourself to work out. Just getting started is the hardest part.

But what if you do get started with a workout and it becomes apparent that you just don’t have it today. What do you do then?

I don’t know what you usually do, but when it happened to me today, I (1) lowered the weight, and, then, still not feeling it, (2) quit.

There is a lot to be said for forging on, getting through the workout, but after a while, you know your body, and sometimes it’s best to just quit. This was one of those times.

How did I know?

I was lifting weight that was lighter than usual … and struggling. I had little mental motivation to continue. This is a recovery week for me, so I felt that quitting halfway through was fine, because of that.

All that added up to just quitting, because there is nothing worse than forcing yourself through a workout only to get injured. Now you are on the sidelines for even longer than one workout, just because you wanted to prove a point to yourself.

Know your body. If you can’t make it through a workout, quit. It’s okay. Stay injury-free and ready to lift another day.

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So much health and fitness information. What should we believe?

Wow, there is so much health and fitness information out there. Can I really get fit and strong in only 30 minutes a week? Should I avoid carbs? Are fats bad for me? How about cholesterol? Aerobics — good or bad? And stretching?

The first thing you need to know about any information you receive is that the person presenting you with that information has an agenda separate from the obvious one. Usually that person is trying to make money.

Think about it.

Let’s say you have built a pretty good salary selling people on low-fat living. Then low-carb living comes into vogue, becomes the publicly acclaimed healthy way to go. Are you going to give up your salary, even in the face of scientific evidence that debunks the basis for it? (I am not saying this evidence exists for low-fat living — this just an example.) NO! You are going to continue to push the scientific evidence that shows low-fat is the way to go!

What if you are a pretty successful personal trainer, making $60 for a 45-minute session. You have a list of clients who keep a roof over your head, food on your table, and a 60-inch tv in your living room. Are you really going to tell them that they can get in shape in only 30 minutes a week?

How about if you are a government agency facing budget cuts if you don’t endorse the version of the food pyramid your primary supporters in Congress want pushed through for whatever political reasons they have?

I gave up on information I get from others long ago. This is not to say that I ignore it, but I filter it, picking and choosing what sounds right. Primarily what I do is try it out on my own body.

Exercise is supposed to make my arthritic knee feel better? Let’s try it out. Well, yoga definitely helps, but plyometrics does not.

Carbs are evil and making me fat? Let’s try it out. Maybe it looks like calories are more important than the actual types of nutrition that comprise them.

I know, I know. It takes a lot of energy to try  stuff out. It’s much easier to believe in the one thing, do it, then blame the thing when it doesn’t work, or praise it when it does. That situation — when the thing actually works — creates problems, too, because even if it works for you, it might not work for someone else.

I love Tony Horton’s P90X. LOVE IT! But it’s not for everyone. In fact, all the parts of it are not even for me. But I love the parts that do work, and I do them, and that’s my thing. I have to be careful, though, not to evangelize about it. I only really talk about Tony Horton’s P90X when asked.

So, back to the original point — how about this blog? Should you believe me?

You won’t see a lot of answers here. I raise questions, try things out, and let you know what works for me. My thought is that maybe some of the stuff that works for me will work for you. That’s all. This blog costs me nothing to keep. I do make a kickback on any links you click to buy stuff here, but that’s not how I make my living.

My goal is just to let you know — honestly — my experiences in my quest for fitness. My hope is that you’ll find it interesting enough to read from time to time.

My agenda? To help you get healthier and more fit.

Believe it.

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Always time for abs or some yoga

In keeping with the theme of my last post, I am faced today with a time crunch. Too much to do, too little time to do it.

Now, I do always take time out from work to get up from my computer and walk around for a bit, usually reading a book with the Kindle app on my phone as I walk around the place. I also, whenever I make or receive a phone call, walk around as I’m talking. This keeps the blood circulating.

Of course, I like to get a workout in, as well.

Sometimes that just doesn’t happen. Maybe there are too many fires to put out. Maybe there is a firm deadline that I have to meet. Maybe I just don’t feel very strong that day.

I ran into this problem last Friday. It was a combination of things, but I just didn’t have the time I needed to do the workout I wanted, so, you know what? I did Tony Horton’s One-On-One “Patience – Hummingbird Yoga”. It’s only a half-hour or so, and, wow is it a great workout. Not a lot of movement, but definitely some strength-building and sweat creation.

Have less time than that? How about an abs workout. Make it intense, like Ab Ripper X from Tony Horton’s P90X, but still only take 15 to 20 minutes. If you work it hard enough, you feel as if you did a full workout, and your core can always use it.

Really short on time? Do something. There’s always time to do something, and doing something is always better than doing nothing. Your mind and body will love you for it.

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Finding the time to work out

I remember the first time I told someone I just don’t have the time to do whatever-it-was, and he said back to me, “You know, we all have the same amount of time.” Yeah, I know. Thanks for the insight.

Once I got over being pissed off at his superior tone, I realized that he was right. He was, after all, just saying that what we accomplish depends on what we prioritize. Of course we can’t fit everything into our busy schedules, so we have to prioritize our to-do lists, written or mental, to make sure the things that are most important do get done.

At some point, getting into shape moved up my priority list. I think I probably owe that fact to my brother, because really, dammit, how was he gonna be in shape while I was a fat slob? It’s that competitive nature. I mean, I don’t have to be in better shape than him — it’s not like that — but I’ll be damned if he’s going to just leave me in the dust.

So I prioritized working out. I set aside an hour or hour and a half every day to do it. And I did it.

How about you? Maybe you don’t have even an hour to set aside, but how about a half hour, or fifteen minutes? Get started with what little time you do have and you may be surprised. Your physical improvements may lead to your giving a workout even more priority, even more time, and next thing you know … boom … now you do have an hour or hour and a half to get it done.

Don’t fool yourself that a lack of time prevents you from getting into shape. That’s just an excuse — and, honestly, maybe a good one — being in shape may really not be a top priority for you — but be sure to analyze your motives and what has hold of your time before you decide you don’t have enough.