Put It All Together

It took me a long time to put everything together. In the mid 1990's I became a vegetarian for health reasons, but I was still drinking beer on a daily basis, and I wasn't doing any exercise. I'm sure I got some benefit out of my vegetarian diet, but a lot of it was off-set by my other bad lifestyle choices.

And while I was not eating meat, I wasn't really careful about what I was eating. I was eating my veggie burgers, but I was eating them on regular white flour buns, with plenty of ketchup. And although I was claiming it was for health reasons, I was eating just about anything as long as it didn't contain meat, or dairy. Looking back now, it all seems so silly of me. I didn't do much research at all, all I knew was that supposedly vegetarians enjoyed better health than omnivores/carnivores did... and maybe "real" vegetarians do have less heart diseases and other ailments, but there's more to it than just not eating meat. I mean you could eat nothing but Twinkies and call yourself a vegetarian.

The point I was trying to make before I went off on that veggie rant is... If your exercising regularly, but still eating badly...  or if you have a terrific healthy diet, but you can't be bothered to do anything physically... I think it's time to increase your benefits ten-fold and incorporate the other side of the Health & Wellness equation into your lifestyle.

Daily Physical Activity + Good Sound Nutrition = Health & Wellness

Baby Steps

I've made a couple of minor adjustments to my daily routine. Number One: the first thing I consume now at the beginning of the day is a big glass of water, about 12 oz... to give my metabolism a boost. I figured my body hasn't had any water for at least 8 hours when I wake up, so a glass of water should be good to get the motor running and all the other engine parts moving. Of course I go to the bathroom first and then weigh myself and then drink a glass of water. Previously the first thing into my stomach would be a cup of hot, black coffee.

Change Number Two: Now I wait until I eat my breakfast to take my multi-vitamins & EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids ie: Flax seed oil, fish oil, etc...) I used to down them with my first cup of coffee, but I read somewhere that they should be taken with food. Probably on the label, LOL.

You'll never have everything perfect, but you can improve things little by little. Same goes for if you want to make changes in your life. If you're going to try and do everything at once, you'll most likely be overwhelmed and not be able to stay with it. Take baby steps, change one thing at a time. Make a change once a week, or once every two weeks, or once a month. All the little changes will add up in no time at all. One step at a time and sooner or later you will be on an epic journey.

Do the Walk of Life

I had some discomfort in my shoulder again. I don't think it ever really healed properly because I never took enough time off of training the upper body. It mostly bothers me during my chest work-out. So I skipped the weights today and did an hour of walking instead, including a couple of sprints up the steps of the local High School track.
Add that to the half hour walk before work last night and about another 5 sprints up 3 flights of stairs. The stairs at the track are a lot harder to do than the stairs at work, they really get your heart rate going, I gotta get over there more often, it's just a short half-mile walk.
The rest of the week I'll probably do my regular workouts. I'll stay with the lighter weights and more reps for a while and see what happens.
Enjoy, your day.

Lab Results

I was pleasantly surprised to find my Lab Results in my eMailbox this morning, less than 24 hours after my physical. And I was even more pleasantly surprised by the results themselves. Everything was normal or in the normal range.
My Cholesterol was 160, below the 200 recommendation... the HDL (Good) was above the suggested minimum and the LDL (Bad) was below the suggested maximum, so I'm good there, as well as my Triglycerides, which was 57, way below the recommended max of 150.
Liver test was in normal range, as was sodium, potassium, glucose, calcium and a bunch of other stuff that I'll have to look up when I get a chance.
So this was all good news, but more important to me is that after 35+ years of abusing my body at various times with alcohol, tobacco, recreational chemicals, sodas, and junk food, and very little exercise... I came out of all that unscathed, for now... so I view this as my second chance.... no actually, probably my last chance to stay healthy and do things right in the last few chapters of my life. Not only for my family, but for all those people that didn't get another chance... and all those people that did everything right and still got a bad break health wise.
It reminds me of when I was still smoking, a friend of mine who had a son that had a respiratory disease told me straight up, "It's a shame that you want to ruin your lungs, my child would give anything for healthy ones." That stuck with me... and even though I didn't quit at that time, despite being shamed, I did quit a couple of years after that.

Physical Done

Well, I went for my physical today, I got groped and prodded and all those things that made me avoid it for so long in the first place. The doctor and his staff were great though, they really put me at ease from the moment I walked in there. They had my clothes off in less than 10 minutes after arriving at the office. (I must learn  their secret, LOL) I didn't even get a chance to sit down in the waiting area.... they just shuffled me right past everybody in the sitting room and right into the examining room... probably because they knew I downloaded new games onto my iTouch to entertain me while I waited, but alas, no waiting.
But the good news is from the initial tests I'm in good shape, Blood Pressure, EKG, Lungs, etc... all good.... now I just have to wait for the blood & urine test results. (I studied hard for those tests, I hope I pass.) I should have those results by the beginning of next week. The doctor also wants me to make an appointment for a colonoscopy sometime in the near future, I think it's mandatory after age 50, he said I was 3 years overdue... that's something else I'm not looking forward to. But you only need those once every 10 years.
One strange thing though, they measured me at 5feet 10and a half inches... I must have been slouching, I've always been 6 feet tall... I'm gonna measure myself tonight when I do my other measurements. I want my inch and a half back. And with the fasting, my weight went from 185 lbs. when I woke up, down to 182 lbs. by the time I left the house to 181 at the doctors office. The last 2 figures could be the difference in the scales.
After fasting for 12 hours, me & my daughter, who I talked into coming along for moral support, went to Panera's for a semi-cheat meal, I had a Turkey Sandwich and a salad... I'm still only around 1000 total calories for the whole day. I'm not hungry and it's almost bedtime, so that might be my final tally for today.

Check In, Check Up, Check Out

Hello everybody... I have no ideas for today's blog. I'm a little anxious about tomorrows physical, I haven't had one in over 20 years and it's probably about time. I feel great, better than I have in many years, better than I did in my 40's or my 30's, and maybe even better than in my 20's. But I can't remember how I felt back then, I was probably "feeling no pain" most of the time anyway. I'm sure I am in reasonably good health, but you can't be certain until the doctor says so. I've read that most of the time, you'll know somethings wrong before a doctor will, so I got that. LOL
I have to fast for the physical which is at 10:15 AM... which would be OK if I had normal hours, but I work the graveyard shift. So even on my days off I can't sleep through the night and I'll be up, thinking of food. It will take a lot of will power, but I have no choice. I'm guessing water is OK to have. And I'm sure I'll overdo it with a big breakfast or lunch afterward.
OK, I'll check in with my check up tomorrow, be sure to check it out.

How bad do you want it?

When it comes to things that you want to change, whether it's your body or your lifestyle, or getting out of any bad situation, there's no better question to ask yourself than, "How bad do you want it?" Because if you really, really want something, you have to put everything into it. You have to make it important in your life, you have to give it priority. It has to be your top priority.
If it's that important to you, you will find a way to make it happen. If it's just a want and not as important as your current lifestyle, you will find an excuse for why you can't. How bad do you want it? Bad enough to write down your goals? Bad enough to plan out your steps towards your goals? Bad enough to take action on your plan? Do you want it bad enough to skip the latest episode of "Desperate Housewives of the Jersey Shore" in order to do some research for your goals?
Everybody seems to want something. I know a lot of people who wish they had a few million dollars, but all they ever do is plop down a couple of bucks on a Lottery Ticket with odds at over 25million to 1. It's a fools game, in reality it's a way to tax poor people, they are the biggest customers. But if your goal is to become a millionaire, that has got to be the worst way to go about it. My friends always point to the people that won and say, "See it could happen." Odds are it won't happen to you, even if you played $50 a week for the rest of your life your chances are practically zero.
Anything that you want that is worth anything, will not be easy to get. Otherwise everybody would be a billionaire and everybody would have the body of a Greek god or goddess. Make sure you really want what you think you want and then go after it. Not everybody is cut out to be a millionaire. The majority of Lotto winners wind up broke... easy come, easy go... if you work hard for it, you won't let go of it so easily. That goes for anything and everything. So... How bad do you want it?

Tidbits

I found a few health related tidbits for you today:

First off, more bad news for Cola drinkers, it seems that the caramel coloring that they use to give it its cola hue could cause cancer. The sugars, sulfates and ammonia produce chemicals that are known to cause cancer...  wait... what? Ammonia? They use AMMONIA?
http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/54212-coke-pepsi-may-be-forced-to-change-color

The second one is scary also, a study found that even after a Heart Attack many people go back to eating fast foods... maybe they think the doctor fixed them so they could eat like they always did....  maybe they have a real short memory, or a real death wish... but I think it's a real lack of nutritional education after the fact. They were probably handed a list of foods they should be eating, and it was soon forgotten.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/18/us-fast-food-idUSTRE71H68K20110218

Here's one that I can attest to personally, Weight Loss Improves Knee Pain. Every time I go over 200 lbs. I can feel a pain in my knee and the more I weigh over 200, the more frequently I feel it.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Weight-loss-improves-knee-pain/articleshow/7539989.cms

Fourth:  Learning a second language protects against Alzheimer's.... Sprechen sie Deutsch?
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/02/21/learning-second-language-protects-alzheimers/

 And lastly...  CFS or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be helped by pushing the patients limits.... come to think of it, most things can be helped by pushing the limits, or going a bit further than before.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/18/us-fatigue-me-idUSTRE71H02320110218

All Hail Kale

Today I tried something new, to me anyway... Kale, I've never had it before, but I read about how nutritious it is. It has powerful antioxidant properties, it's considered anti-inflammatory and is high in beta carotene, vitamins K & C and other nutrients like calcium.
I just made a simple salad with it, I threw in some broccoli florets and sundried tomatoes and a little extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and that was it. I don't know what I was expecting and I don't know why I've never had it before but it was pretty good. I think it'll make a great addition to my mixed salad greens.
Next time I'll try cooking with it... I read that in Ireland they mix it into their mashed potatoes... hmmm, I wonder if that'll work with Mashed Sweet Potatoes.... I'll keep you posted.
Ciao

Short & Sweet

Short blog today... My brother and my sister-in-law are coming for a visit in a bit, so I have to do this quick. Not much going on today anyway... I just finished my chest work-out using lighter weights but doing more reps per set, and shorter rest in between sets. I'll do it this way at least for another few weeks, and then re-evaluate.
OK I gotta run, see you tomorrow.

Tweak Time

Ok, that's 2 weeks with no change in my numbers. Not that I'm worried, or panicked or anything, because I'm at a good place right now, but there's always room for improvement. So I think I'm going to have to change a few things. I'm going to stay the course this week and make a revised plan for next week. I have my long overdue, WAY overdue physical scheduled for this week, so that's on my mind as well.

Although I can see I have more muscle tone, they really haven't grown since New Years. I have been consistent with my workouts and I do believe I work out with intensity and the right types of exercises.
So that leaves nutrition, I might not be eating enough. I'm eating plenty of protein, so I can increase my carbs maybe. I'm also eating around 3000 calories a day, I might have to increase that by a few hundred calories. Having to eat more is always a welcome remedy. One thing that I read was that I should be having carbs with my Pre- and Post Work-Out Protein shakes at a 2:1 to 4:1 Ratio of carbs to protein... my shake is 27g of protein, so I'd need at least 55g of carbs... that's 2 bananas and 220 more calories.  I don't know I gotta figure it all out this week.
My body fat hasn't moved any more either, so I'll have to increase my cardio... come on bike weather. I can't get complacent, I have to keep adjusting and tweaking. And learning and growing. Someone once said,"When your house is finished, you die." So, I'll keep building.

Your Vehicle

I know a lot of people that take care of their cars a lot better than they do their bodies. Our bodies are the vehicles that get us through life. We need our bodies 24/7, and we need it to be in reasonably good shape. Most of us need it to work 8 hours a day, we need it to get to work first. We need it to get out of bed, we need it to "gas up" with breakfast. They haven't figured out how to keep our brains working for long outside of our bodies yet... or have they? LOL
We all say we "need" a car to get to work, to get around, to do our shopping, etc... although plenty of people do without cars. But a lot of us take the "vehicle" that we really need, our bodies, for granted... we throw loads and loads of junk in our gas tank and expect it to keep going and going... we have a minimalist attitude when it comes to physical activities and expect it to be there for us when we need it.
Well, I hate to be the mechanic with bad news, but... if you don't take care of your vehicle, it won't be there for you for as long as it could be or should be. If you're putting sugar and and bad fats in your tank, sooner or later your engine is going to grind to a halt. If you don't rev up you're engine a few times a week or you don't take it into overdrive on a regular basis, you're vehicle will turn into a useless blob.
Next week I'm taking my vehicle in for a long overdue check-up. Hopefully all my systems will be good.

Relax

Stress can cause a lot of health problems also... we should all learn how to relax... and how to relax instantly. Instant Relaxation can be learned with a little practice. All you need is a trigger, that will calm you down immediately. The technique that I've been using for years works like a charm... when ever I feel stressed out or if I'm in a stressful situation, I touch my thumb and 2 middle fingers and repeat to myself internally "Relax" or sometimes, "Be Still"... and right away my breathing slows down and my tensed muscles (usually my facial muscles &/or shoulders) relax.
This takes a little practice to learn, but once you've done it for awhile, it will be automatic. Find yourself a trigger that will work for you... find a word or phrase that calms you down. I like the thumb and finger technique because it reminds me of a meditating Zen Monk, calm... but alert. Just practice it a few times a day and your body will learn the response you are looking for.

1. Engage your trigger.
2. Repeat your word or phrase to yourself.
3. Take long deep breaths. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 2, breathe out for 4 - 8 seconds, repeat.
4. Relax your muscles, release the tension.

When you're stressed you can't think clearly and you could make wrong decisions and make the stressful situation even worse. Or if something is upsetting you, ask yourself, "Will this matter tomorrow, a week from now, a year from now?" Stop fretting about the past and stop worrying about the future, live in and take care of the here and now. 

Bottled vs. Tap Water

Don't waste your money buying bottled water, most of it is just filtered tap water anyway. How brilliant was it for companies to sell us something that is essentially free (or nearly free) and charge us at least 300 times more.
Bottled water is no healthier than tap water and a lot of it just comes from the Municipal Water Systems anyway. Save yourself the money and buy a filter for your faucet.
If you don't like the taste of your tap water, first have someone do a blind taste test on you, see if you really can tell the difference or if it's all in your head. Even so, it's a matter of adaption... after a short while, you'll get used to it.
There's also the environmental issues, all them little plastic bottles that don't make it to recycling and fill up the landfills. 80% of the empty bottles are thrown away and take thousands of years to biodegrade.
So stop being a sucker and drink tap water, buy a filter if you don't trust your municipal supply. Next thing you know we'll be buying special water for cooking and special water for taking a shower, special dish washing water, etc... if any of you run with these ideas, I only want 10%.

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day... if you're eating chocolate, I hope it's dark chocolate... but not too much. It's OK to indulge every once in a while, I know I do. A good idea is to put any Valentines candy in the fridge or freezer and only eat one piece a day as a bedtime treat for doing a great workout or eating healthy all day. But remember you have to put in extra workout time to work it off. By the end of the week it could be a few hundred calories, depending on the treat.
Better idea is to take your Valentine on a walk, while holding hands. Or cook him or her a healthy romantic dinner.

I had a good shoulder work-out today. I'm using lighter weights and doing more reps while concentrating on my form. I did the same for Chest on Saturday and My pecs are still sore. I'm learning you don't need to lift heavy all the time, perfect form is more important. I had to get rid of that macho attitude before I got hurt. To me it feels like more of a work-out with the lighter weights. I'll do this for the next few weeks and see how it goes.

Starting a Habit

Still having trouble starting an exercise routine? Here's an idea...
-Set an easy goal... something doable... like walking for 5 minutes everyday, working out for 5 minutes or bicycling for 5 minutes.
-Write your goal down on paper and post it where you and others will see it... this will make it more real and harder to dismiss.
-Start a journal... log in everyday what you did for exercise and for how long... you can also add how you felt, your mood, etc.
Be specific... What you will do, at what time, and for how long... make it an appointment with yourself and make it a priority.
-Then do it... you can do 5 minutes, it's not hard to find that kind of time, you've been stuck in traffic for more than 5 minutes and the rest of your life survived.
The aim here is to just start a habit, once you get into a habit it'll become easier... like brushing your teeth, you wouldn't leave the house without brushing your teeth, would you? You don't really have to, but you don't want rotten teeth or bad breath, so you do it. It's a habit, a habit with some motivation behind it.
So just do the 5 minutes of exercise a day for 2 weeks, then increase the time to 10 minutes a day... you can find another 5 minutes just as easily as you did the first 5... now you're doing 10 minutes of exercises a day.
Don't forget to change your goal and post it and keep logging your progress. It is progress now, because you've increased the time.
After the first month, you can decide whether you want to increase it another 5 minutes or just another minute every week or every day... until you get to 30 minutes. By then you should be seeing some progress, if not by weight loss then at least by feeling a whole lot better.

This & That

Yesterday I inadvertently forgot to mention my weekly measurements, but since there was no progress I probably subconsciously forgot about it. I've slowed down to a crawl, and unless I really intensify or increase my cardio I probably won't see any significant progress until I start riding my bike regularly. Cycling is what I enjoy doing and trying to do something else that I wouldn't enjoy would be fruitless and would probably only last a few weeks, if that. You have to do something you like doing, otherwise you will not stick with it. Cycling, walking, running, swimming, tennis, whatever it is, when it comes to cardio, you really need to like what you're going to be doing in 30 to 60 minute sessions.

Speaking of cycling, I'm toying with the idea of waking up an hour earlier when cycling weather comes around. Not to ride, but to do my weight lifting, so that when I get home from work I can just jump on the bike and do a good ride. I wouldn't ride anyway when I wake up, because my day starts at 9PM. Only thing is I don't think I should work-out on an empty stomach... It's just a thought for now. A lot of people do Cardio on an empty stomach (Fasted Cardio) first thing in the morning, but lifting weights is a different animal, I think you need something in your gas tank for that... I'll have to research that when I get time.

Sneaky Ways to Exercise

My job involves a lot of  what you might call "Hurry Up and Wait", we have deadlines, but one area has to wait for another area to finish before we can do what we have to do... and then it's on. But while I'm waiting I sneak in some exercises.

Sometimes I do sprints up the rear staircase, 3 flights, 5 times. Sometimes I find a nice quiet corner and drop and do 35 - 50 Push-ups, or just some body-weight Squats or Lunges. There is even a place where I can do some dips or sometimes I can find a place to hang from to do Pull-Ups.

You can get really creative if you really want to. If you don't have down-time you can take short walks on your breaks or lunch. Use half your lunch for a walk and the other half to eat. Like I mentioned before, stairs are great for cardio. Take 2 steps at a time at a good pace, walk back down at an easy pace, turn around and sprint back up. I once read that you can judge a persons health by what he takes 2 at a time, stairs or pills.

If you have a bathroom at work that is no too busy, or with very little traffic, and it's relatively clean, you can do 10 squats in there before you go back to your work area. I wouldn't do any exercise in there were you have to touch anything though. And it might be a bit awkward if someone walks in on you, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, LOL.

Positively Influential

The other day I was looking for a can of Pepsi in my house and to my surprise, I couldn't find any. No Pepsi, no Coke, no Sunkist or any other sodas that used to fill the the door of my refrigerator, and no 18 packs of colas stacked up on the floor either. I was looking for the soda to read the ingredient list and check the amount of sugar & calories in a can for a blog entry that I was thinking about writing. But all that was stacked on the floor was 3 cases of water and 3 cases of seltzer.
Could it be that I have had a positive influence on the rest of the clan? I certainly hope so. I finally had to do the research online.
A can of Cola is 150 calories, now if you only drink only one can a day (as many people claim), that's 54,750 calories a year. And as we know a pound of fat is 3500 calories, so if you replaced that cola a day with a bottle of water, that's 15.6 lbs. you would lose in that year. If you're drinking the 16 oz bottles that's 200 calories, 73,000 a year, cut that out and you could lose 20 lbs. a year, as long as you don't replace the lost calories with different ones.
That's just one step you can take, there's many more, little things add up after a year... if you cut out a can of cola and walk 30 minutes every day that's over 100,000 calories after a year, or about 30lbs.

And for those of you feeling good about yourselves because your drinking Diet Soda, think again... A newly released study that followed over 2500 New Yorkers for 9 years or more discovered that drinking Diet Sodas increases your risk of Heart Attacks or Strokes by 61%, yes, you read that right 61%... add that to doubling your risk of obesity that we already knew about.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41479869/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/

Be a positive influence on the people that matter to you the most. You don't have to preach, just teach by example. When I was drinking, smoking and gaining all my weight nobody was interested in how I did it, but now they see a slimmer, more energetic person, people are curious... and the people that are closest can't help but change, if just a little at a time.

Mind Body Connection

You can influence your thoughts and emotions in a positive way and if your thoughts and emotions are positive, it will have a positive effect on your over-all health. If you're down, or stressed, or worry needlessly, all these negative emotions can have a negative effect on your physical health. There is a definite Mind/Body connection.

So if you get angry. annoyed, or irritated easily, or if your anxious or worry a lot, or if you get stressed and are perpetually tense you could be setting yourself up for a myriad of health issues, including: Fatigue, Sleeplessness, Back Pain, Stiff Neck, Upset stomach, weight gain, sexual problems, Headaches, High blood Pressure, and lots more. You are what you Think & Feel.

So try for a positive mental attitude, stay calm & relaxed, but alert. You can influence your thoughts and your emotions. For me at least, if it doesn't affect my family or friends I don't worry about it.

Ideally, you should take 20 minutes every day and just completely relax, no TV, No Radio, no distractions... just close your eyes and relax every muscle in your body. Also calm your mind, think about nothing, use a short word to focus on, or an image that brings you peace and just focus on that. You will find that your mind will wander off, but just gently bring it back to your chosen focus point. Every once in a while mentally check to make sure all your muscles are relaxed, and don't forget your facial muscles. After 20 minutes you'll be refreshed, relaxed, but re-energized.

Feed the Children! (Age Appropriate Healthy Stuff)

2 studies in the news today pertaining to diet and children... the first study found that formula-fed babies that were given solid food before they were 4 months old had a 6 fold increase in their chances of being obese by age 3 compared to babies that were started on solid foods after 4 months old. On the other hand, breast-fed babies had no such difference no matter when they were started on solid food. You can read about it here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110207-700064.html

In the 2nd study researchers found that toddlers that were fed junk food or processed foods tended to have lower IQ's later in life, and it is irreparable, so if you change to a healthier diet after age 3 it's too late, it's irreversible. That's sad, considering what we see people feed their children these days. But changing to a healthier diet even after age 3 will have countless other benefits, so don't use that as an excuse.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/02/08/feeding-toddlers-junk-food-leads-lower-iq/

So what have we learned today... breast feeding should always be the first option and feed your toddlers fresh, unprocessed foods. Give your children a fighting chance for a healthy and educated life.

Second Chance

Our taste buds change as we get older, so give that healthy food that you hated as a kid a second chance. I eat stuff now that I swore I would never touch when I was younger.

I never liked broccoli, now I eat it 4 or 5 times a week. Raw in salads or just by itself, steamed with other vegetables, sauteed with a little garlic & oil. Same with peppers, and onions, I never liked them as a kid. Cauliflower? no way.

 My favorite vegetable was mashed potatoes, with lots of gravy. That was at home, when we were out it was French Fries of course. I did eat some salad.

Asparagus was another one that I never care for, in fact it made me gag, but now I love them. And if I go to Germany at the right time of year I can have White Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce, awesome. 

Sweet Potatoes I just started eating this year and now I enjoy them a few times a week.

Brussels Sprouts is another one that made me gag and guess what... it still does... that's the one vegetable I still don't like and I can't eat... although my brother did make an edible version once that I ate. He cut them in half, wrapped them in bacon and put them under the broiler, those were good. But everything wrapped in bacon is... Heyyyy  wait a minute, I'm supposed to  be about health and I'm talking about bacon & Hollandaise sauce... ignore that part...  the point I was trying to make in this blog is that if there's something healthy that you hated when you were younger try it again, maybe you'll like it now and you could enjoy it now.

Focus

If you want something done, you need to focus. You need tunnel vision. You have to put your blinders on and focus. This doesn't mean you ignore other parts of your life, or ignore friends, family or your responsibilities, it just means that your goal becomes a part of your life. A very important part, a priority. You can enlist the help of your friends and family, share your goals with them, let them know how important it is to you. (and to them, in the long run.)

Remember a positive for you is a positive for everyone around you. It will radiate from your center and spread outward. Your loved ones will benefit, your friends will benefit and most important, you will benefit. There is no downside to making yourself into the best that you can be.

Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.

Visualize, Realize, Actualize

Doctors can tell you to lose weight. Relatives can tell you you need to lose some pounds. Friends can be honest and tell you that you are getting too big. But only you can do anything about it, only you can make it happen. And you have to want it for yourself. If you're doing it for someone else, it ain't gonna work. Only you can motivate yourself to get moving.

Self-Motivation is hard sometimes. Visuals help, find a picture of the actor, athlete or any other person whose physique you would like to have. Keep that picture somewhere that you'll see it everyday... and cut out other pictures of where you want to be seen with your new body... maybe on a beach in the Caribbean, or poolside at a hotel in Vegas, whatever you want. Cut out pictures of the clothes you want to fit in. Cut out pictures of anything else that you want to be doing with your new body. Paste or tape all the pictures on a cardboard or poster-board and put the target date of your transformation on the top. Keep the poster where you work-out, if you exercise at home or somewhere that you'll be able to see it everyday.

The stronger your visualization is, the more energy your mind will use towards your goal. If your mind believes it, it will work to make it happen.

Little Things Mean a Lot

There's a lot of little things that you can do every day that will help you lose weight, burn calories, and hopefully make you a little healthier.

1. Drink more water.
2. Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk the rest of the way.
3. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
4. Walk during your lunch hour, even if for only 10 minutes.
5. Buy and use smaller dinner plates.
6. Walk to the store.
7. Hear music? Move to the beat.
8.  Don't eat while watching TV and only drink water.
9. When you reach for something to eat, think about whether you're really hungry. Wait 10 minutes to see if the desire subsides.
10. Avoid eating 3 or 4 hours before bedtime.
11. Walk in place while watching TV. or do crunches.
12. Use salsa instead of ketchup.
13. Eat most of your calories in the morning.
14. Close the kitchen after dinner. (Like our parents used to do.)
15. Switch to Low-Fat options on foods. (Avoid No-Fat or Non-Fat, these most likely have added sugar.)
16. Stop eating before you are full.
17. Take a walk after dinner.

Don't try to change all at once, that's a recipe for failure. Change one bad habit at a time, and/or add one good habit every day or every few days. A lot of small steps can turn into a journey of a great distance.

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

I was hoping to have at least a few days of cycling in already this year, but I don't think we've had a day without snow on the street yet. We had that big blizzard the day after Christmas and then a few storms after that, so that means the snow on the bottom of the piles is still Christmas snow. We have another Wintry Mix storm coming on Saturday and some snow showers on Tuesday.
I can't wait to get back on the bike and just ride around the neighborhood. I haven't been on the bike since the end of October when I did the Tour de Bronx. That's a long lay-off... it's going to be rough starting up again. But it shouldn't be as hard as last year when I was carrying 35 more pounds.
Hopefully, March will be a more suitable month to ride, the un-official start of bike season is March 15th, but if the weather is nice enough, I'll be out there at the end of February. I'll be the first to admit that I am a fair weather wimp, because I see people out there in all kinds of weather on their bikes... but I need a little sun and somewhere around 50°F... oh yea and dry streets would be nice also.
I still have my very reachable goal of riding 2,011 miles this year, if I get to ride just 200 days this year I would only have to ride a little over 10 miles a day. Last year my rides averaged about 13 miles a session, which would take me only 155 days to reach my goal. Of course some days there'll be longer rides of 20 miles or more, but most days should be around 13 to 15 miles which would be about an hours ride time for me.
Anyway until the weather becomes more agreeable to me, I will keep doing my walks, with some running mixed in.

Heart Month

February is Heart Month... it's a good time to think about Heart disease and what you are doing to avoid it. 600,000 Americans die every year of Heart Disease. It's the leading killer of both Men & Women.
So many deaths every year are from preventable diseases, either diet related, smoking, excessive alcohol,  sedentary lifestyles, etc... so what is keeping people from getting rid of these bad habits? or at least trying...
So many people eat fried foods, cakes, smoke cigarettes, dump tons of sugar into their coffee or teas, drink gallons of soda per week and then go to church on Sunday and pray that the Lord will make them healthy... well guess what? You are the only one that can do that for yourself. Just this past week, I overheard an overweight, relatively young (in her 30's) co-worker complain about everything that ailed her, mostly her knees... and no sooner had she finished complaining, that she started talking about the great price the supermarket had on Colas and she also went through her mostly unhealthy shopping list. Why is it in this information age, that people can't put cause and effect together? But then again, some people know exactly what they are doing to themselves but just continue for whatever reason.

Ice, Ice, baby

Sorry for the quick & short update today... we had freezing rain after the snow this morning and it made for a longer commute home... and this freezing rain will continue today, and into tonight for my ride back to work and then also tomorrow morning for my ride back home... it should be interesting.
Anyway I'm going to go to bed early today in case I have to give myself extra time to get to work. So I'll be back tomorrow with my normal blog update. Be safe out there.