Only 94 Miles to Go!

I'm thinking that maybe I bit off more than I can chew.

The 100 mile goal for walking is doable, but is going to take more effort than I was thinking. I really have to get my mind back into the habit of a good daily walk. I've really been stepping out these first two days but will give myself permission to ease up when I feel like it. The bad thing about slower/farther is it takes more time. Of course, time isn't really that big of an issue on most days.

The 100 reps of something -- I'm going to have to be more careful in my choices. 
On day 1 I chose squats. The squats themselves weren't too bad, but my quads and ass were feeling it late yesterday and this morning.
Day 2 was sit-ups. Oof! That was way harder than I expected. Even with spacing out set through the afternoon and evening it was still difficult. I am not looking forward to the sore abs later today.

I'm going to have to remember that I'm an overweight, out of shape, 60 year old when I make my daily rep exercise choices. Can I use 100 minutes of meditation and call it mental exercise?
I will probably use the weight machine for a few things. I know I'm not ready for a 100 pushup day, so I think I'll pick a decent weight for a chest press and work towards the 100 pushups. I'll probably do the same for pulldowns, rows, and maybe an upright shoulder press. I might as well make use of this equipment that we have.

Oh! The daily walks have pushed my step totals back up over the 10,000 step count, so that's a bonus.

Day 3 is here!

John

April -- 100s

I don't know if this is a good idea or not, but it's an idea from my brother.
100 miles -- he's running them; I'm walking.
100 reps of something every day - squats, pushups, mountain climbers, lunges, etc.

Yesterday I did a brisk 3 mile walk (going to have to up the distance), and 100 free squats.
It was a spur of the moment decision and I don't know about today. Maybe 100 crunches or sit-ups? Idk.
I'm thinking another 3 mile day today, but will have to plan for longer walks to make the 100 total miles. In the back of my mind is adding a little running, but I also know that it will probably stay in the back of my mind (which is where it belongs). 

It's day 2.

Be well,
John 

Really Sucking at Healthy Living

Yeah, I really am sucking at the healthy living thing.
I am not finding a rhythm for exercise - not even regular walking.
My diet isn't too terrible, but I eat way too much. I realize that's a bit of a contradiction, but I think you know what I mean. 
I haven't lost any weight this year (actually may have gained a couple of pounds), and still can't seem to find the motivation to change things much.

I suppose that part of the problem is that I am unaware of any underlying health issues. My BP and cholesterol levels are good. My heart seems to be healthy. I'm still mentally sharp. And I am pretty much enjoying life. 

The thing is -- I know I can be better!
If you know better; do better -- right?
Ugh!

New month tomorrow. 
I wonder what I can accomplish in 30 days.
I'm going to dig in and find out.

Be well,
John

February

Well it is February. I did manage to get back to walking a little bit last month -- 5 of 7 days this past week.
I'll eventually work on getting the daily distance back up to 3+ miles, but am okay with a regular 2 for now. I did manage 10,000+ steps on three of those five days.
My February plan is to add a MWF routine with some weights. I'm more interested in some conditioning and muscle tone rather than strength. I don't have the need for great strength except to haul my fat ass down the road on my daily walks. There is no heavy lifting and I don't plan on needing to beat up on anyone so bulking up just isn't a priority.
I forgot it was Monday when I got up so I didn't weigh-in this morning. Maybe I will later; maybe not.

John

Still Stepping Out

I've managed to keep walking through this current cold spell. Since beginning on the 14th, I took the two Sundays off (planned) and used the indoor cycle once. Other than that, I've walked every day and topped my 8000 step goal. I've topped 10,000 steps four times. It's not a grand achievement, but at least the habit is reforming. If I up my daily walking distance, I'll go back to 10k as a daily step goal. I'm good with 8k for now.
I keep telling myself that I need to do more in the way of exercise, I just haven't put the action to the thought. I really don't have the excuse as I have plenty of time, space and equipment for a good, hard workout. Maybe today...eh, maybe not.

Diet wise -- we've kept from buying much in the way of junk food snack stuff. That's been a help. We need more fruit. Apple slices and peanut butter is a favorite snack of mine. 
What's your go-to mostly healthy kind of snack?
What's your guilty pleasure snack? (Pecan shortbread cookies and milk is mine.)

Be well,
John

Week 1

Today ends the first full week of reactivation. I actually started last Friday with a walk, followed by some indoor work on Saturday, and a day off on Sunday.
I know a day off after only two light days seems a bit lazy, but Sundays off will be my plan. Walking isn't a big deal, so I may still be walking on most weeks, but I'll leave that decision to each week, or I may use Sundays as make up days should I miss a day during the week.

This is my step chart since last Friday. The dotted line is my daily 8,000 step goal. I should manage 8k today and will probably be on the exercise bike while watching part of the fights tonight. I topped 10k twice this week. 
Included on my watch data is a heartrate monitor. I was a little surprised to see my resting heartrate at 62bpm - not too bad for an old, out of shape, fat guy.

Diet awareness continues to be okay, although I haven't gone back to logging foods and counting calories. I don't really want to do that since I don't think it's a long-term sustainable kind of thing and I'm more interested in being healthy rather than just losing weight. I may change my mind on that, but for now I'm okay with just paying closer attention to overall consumption and what I need balanced with what I want.

Right now, I want another cup of coffee.

Be well,
John

Day by Day

I'm working on getting back into the habit of a daily walk. Today will make five days in a row and 6 of the last 8 days with one of those off days a day on the indoor cycle and weight machine. I need to spend more time on the weight machine or at least doing some simple body weight exercises. I could use the overall toning and muscle conditioning. I need to go back to learning the tai-chi short flow program and using it regularly. I still don't have an exercise routine.
Balance--right?

Diet awareness has been better and I expect that the scale will start moving soon. As I said before, I'm not going to focus on weightloss even though I know it will be a good indicator of overall health. For now, I'll stick to the Monday morning weigh-ins and see how that goes. 

All-in-all, it's been a good first week of getting back to it. I feel good. I hope you do, too.

Be well,

John

Subtle Changes

It really is pretty amazing what a few simple changes can make to ones overall feeling of health.
I don't believe that a day or two of walking makes a big difference in my weight or health, but it does come with some subtle benefits. And since those benefits are more my goal than the weight loss -- well, that's a good thing.

I bought a cheap fitness watch for counting steps and tracking activity/sleep/heart rate. It frees me from having to always have my phone with me to track steps. I set the daily step goal to 8000 since I realize that is a more realistic daily achievement for a mostly sedentary fat boy like me and is still twice what I have been getting. I've managed the 8k goal three of the past 5 days and did 10k+ yesterday. Maybe I'll be back to 10k as I get more active, but I'm okay with the 8k for now.

I wouldn't say that diet has been great. It's been okay -- not too unhealthy, but nothing to brag about.

Even with just the simple changes of taking a walk and being more aware of diet I am feeling good this morning. It's not that I was waking up feeling bad, but there is a difference in attitude, energy, and overall wellbeing. I'm expecting a good day today. I hope that you are, too.

John

 

Ugh! Maybe It's Time for a New Approach to Healthy Living

At this time last year I weighed 258 pounds--not the heaviest I've ever been, but pretty damn close. 
Over the next several months I managed to lose 28 pounds and was 230 by September. Then I just got lazy -- lazy about exercise, lazy about diet, lazy about caring. Ugh!

Now I find myself back at 248 pounds and basically starting over at a year older. I add the year older because I'm finding age to be a contributing factor in the increased difficulty of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 
My new approach is to make this more of a mind-body-spirit health kind of journey. I have some thoughts on how this will look and feel, but I'm not entirely sure how to express them at this point. There will most certainly be some Eastern influence in the way of meditation and philosophy, perhaps also in the physical exercise part. Although a person wouldn't normally consider reading to be a part of a weightloss or healthy living program, I think that reading will most definitely fuel the mental and even spiritual health part and be a significant contributor to the physical health. 

One of the gifts we gave to ourselves this past Christmas was an Instant Pot Duo. It's a pretty multifunctional kitchen device that can cook, slow cook, pressure cook, bake, hot air fry, and more. It's easy to use and easy to clean. Although we are still on a discovery journey with it, we've used it in preparing most of our meals. Of course, the fixing healthy foods part and consuming smaller portions is still up to us.

A new approach to an old struggle.
Let's see how this goes.

John

Backslidden

 Spell check doesn't recognize backslidden as a word, but any evangelical will know it to mean a return to one's old ways and sinful past.

As this is only my second post here in a month, it isn't difficult to come to the conclusion that I haven't been doing well on the healthy living thing. Some dietary indulgences and physical laziness have contributed some added pounds over the past few weeks. Yesterday's Monday morning weigh in (the first in a few weeks) was at 234 - not good.

But with a plan to begin some regular exercise (not just physical activity) and a renewed attitude for the healthy living lifestyle, I'm sure that I'll be back on track in no time.

Although I didn't log food yesterday, I'm confident that it was a decent total calorie day. I (we, since Chris joined me) started the day with a 30 minute exercise session. We plan to make morning exercise a regular part of our day. Then I spent several hours moving dirt and doing yard work. I ended the day pacing the house while brushing my teeth to get my 10,000 steps in for the day.

I have some things to do this morning, but I'll be back to moving more dirt and working on another section of the yard. I have to admit that I'm a little sore from yesterday's activity.

Time to move!

John