I'm making this post after the first week of January to let the "New Year's Resolution" hype and fervor die down. Last week as I drove to work before 6am I passed a 24 hr fitness facility in my small hometown. Normally I would see 1-2 cars....or none, but on this day the lot is completely full! As I pass the glass front of the gym, I cannot see an empty treadmill or elliptical machine. The room is packed with people and I'm sure all with good intentions of making it happen this year unlike years past.
I write this entry with the deepest desire to see people succeed at becoming healthier and achieving their (healthy) weight loss goals. But please dear reader, be reasonable about your expectations! In 2007 one study estimated the money spent on weight loss at $55 billion! Now estimated at over $60 billion. How many of you have purchased a piece of exercise equipment that you used for approximately 2-6 weeks, then it slowly turned into a clothes rack until in shame you put it in a garage sale or gave it to Goodwill? How many of you have purchased P90X or some variation on the theme in a video or book format and only made it through the first 2 workouts? One of my pet peeves as a physician and consumer in regards to the fitness/weight loss market and the tons of info-mercials associated with them is the hard bodies you see represent 1 in a 1,000 of those who tried product X. A similar practice is seeing these folks in incredible shape with the implication that got in that shape using the Ab-matic 2000 or whatever machine is being advertised. The majority of these folks were already in great shape to begin with. That said, I do not want to take away from the testimonials that you may see, as I hope they are true to what they say. I also don't want to say that P90X or some similar plan won't work for you. Just be prepared for a radical change from your normal level of activity.
The majority of the weight loss/fitness market does a huge injustice to the population at large....it plays on our pain. We are sitting in front of the television feeling bad about how we look or what poor shape we are in, then BAM, right in front of us is that man or woman in perfect shape and smiling as they workout! Reality check: when I'm exercising that hard it's hard if not impossible to be smiling/cutting up, so I'm already set up for failure when I try to do what they are doing. All of the diet pills and supplements advertised somewhere in their ad or literature will insert a phrase something like this: "Use this in combination with a balanced diet and regular exercise to maximize your weight loss". Can you get in shape and/or lose weight using the stuff you see on the internet or TV? Absolutely! Are these things necessary to lose weight or get in shape? Absolutely not!!!
If you find yourself drawn to one or many of the products I've described, please stay with me. I'm no weight loss expert and I've struggled myself, but with over 20 years in the practice of medicine I've seen a lot of things come and go. I want to share with you the things I feel will benefit us all over the long haul. If you are looking for a quick or easy way to accomplish this, stop reading now and go to a different blog! It's my experience getting in shape or losing weight is like "getting rich"....slow, steady, with lots of discipline and hard work. In all of my research and experience, there is no successful substitute for the "eat right and exercise" approach. The key thing to remember is start with small consistent changes and build on that. I will go into more detail in posts to follow. But for now, if you are thinking about joining a gym, buying some equipment, videos or books....I challenge you to try this: For 2-4 weeks spend 10-15 minutes 3-5 days a week in the privacy of your own home and walk/run in place or do jumping jacks or dance. If you can't or won't do that the other things you are considering will not motivate you more! The one exception is that some people (women more than men) tend to be more consistent with exercise in a group setting. If you are that type of person, find 1 or a few people who are willing to take on this challenge with you (or this I would consider a reason to join a gym/YMCA...to take a fitness class you wouldn't do on your own)....just don't bite off too much at the beginning or you will burn out and quit.
More to follow!!!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
2011 year in review
It's been a LOT longer than I planned since my last post. I have a few things to document/chronicle for future reference & hopefully to encourage those who might stumble onto this blog by accident. Overall 2011 was a year of significant improvement for me from a health standpoint. It was a time of putting back into practice things I have been preaching to patients and my own children for years. I share some of these things not as a bragging post, but a time to celebrate with gratitude some of the good things that have happened from a health/fitness standpoint in hopes of encouraging others. In the next few days I hope to make a post with some general "startup" diet and exercise suggestions for those who are wanting to start off the New Year in a healthier way....stay "posted".
August 2011: Up to this point I have been "trying to eat better and exercise more" (both of which are good things to do), but without a significant plan of action. For years I have told people if they are TRULY serious about health/weight loss they needed to keep a food diary for at least one week (longer is better). By logging EVERYTHING put in your mouth it's easier to account for weight loss/gain. I truly wish I had a dime for everytime I've heard someone say, "I just don't eat that much".
Modern day solution to this is: www.myfitnesspal.com
Shy of the actual work of exercise and eating right, this in my opinion is one of the most powerful fitness/weight loss tools around....and it's FREE!!! You just have to use it for it to work. Since August of 2011 I have been able to slowly and steadily lose and keep off almost 20 pounds. More on this later.
September 2011: My wife and I rode in our first century (100 mile bicycle ride) on our tandem bike at the Sunrise Century in Clarksville, TN. The good news: we completed the ride. The bad news: it was over 100 degrees by 10:30am and in spite of lots of fluid intake I got dehydrated and had some horrible leg cramps. My oldest and youngest child also joined us for the 33 mile option of the same ride which as a parent couldn't have made me prouder as they encouraged each other together to ride over twice as far as either had done before! Here's a link to that ride's website: http://www.clarksvillecentury.com/
The following weekend, my wife and I participated in the Multiple Sclerosis society's MS 150 ride in Tunica, MS riding our tandem again for just shy of 150 miles over 2 days (quite a bit faster and easier than we did in 2010). We had the opportunity to meet and ride with some truly amazing folks including several living with MS. Again, I'm reminded what a blessing good health truly is! Link to 2012 MS 150: http://biketns.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BIKE_TNS_homepage
October 2011: We completed an "out and back" ride from Patti's restaraunt in Grand Rivers, KY down most of The Trace (a winding hilly beautiful 2 lane drive) going through Land Between the Lakes into TN. We logged 70 miles that day on our individual road bikes with a good friend/neighbor of ours. Also, I started some "more serious" running/training for my first half marathon (St. Jude in Memphis) coming up the first weekend of December (see below)
November 2011: We rode our tandem on the shorter leg of Tour de Reelfoot with another couple. The distance wasn't too bad at 30 miles (didn't have time to do the 66 or 100 mile option), but the temperature in the 30's at the start made it "interesting". http://www.nwtncyc.org/id19.html
A HUGE event for me as a dad and husband was the gathering of family and friends for Thanksgiving day in our home, but a real treat was running the Turkey Day 5k that morning with my wife and 3 of my 4 kids. My wife, youngest son and myself all had personal best times in spite of the 30-40 degree weather. http://www.goldsgym.com/gyms/tennessee/jackson/216/page/19437/11497
December 2011: Ran/finished my first half marathon (13.1 miles) the first weekend of December at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon weekend. Was able to make it under my goal of 2 hrs without injury/mishap. There were almost 10,000 runners in the half and full marathon event that started together and another 7,000 that ran in a 5k or 1 mile family fun run. The whole event has raised over $4 million! I started this as a fitness goal and finished it humbled again by some amazing kids/staff/family along the route including a run through the St. Jude campus with one child holding a sign saying "Thanks for running since I can't". I'm ashamed of how little I did fundraising wise, but plan to be very aggressive about this next year. Lord willing I will run the full marathon next year. Check out the marathon weekend website for info on fundraising for St. Jude and opportunities to run in the 1/5/13.1/26.2 mile options: http://www.stjudemarathon.org/
I've tried to include websites for these events to give you some ideas for 2012. It certainly helps to motivate yourself to do some difficult things when you are doing it for someone else's benefit. Look for similar opportunities in your area.
August 2011: Up to this point I have been "trying to eat better and exercise more" (both of which are good things to do), but without a significant plan of action. For years I have told people if they are TRULY serious about health/weight loss they needed to keep a food diary for at least one week (longer is better). By logging EVERYTHING put in your mouth it's easier to account for weight loss/gain. I truly wish I had a dime for everytime I've heard someone say, "I just don't eat that much".
Modern day solution to this is: www.myfitnesspal.com
Shy of the actual work of exercise and eating right, this in my opinion is one of the most powerful fitness/weight loss tools around....and it's FREE!!! You just have to use it for it to work. Since August of 2011 I have been able to slowly and steadily lose and keep off almost 20 pounds. More on this later.
September 2011: My wife and I rode in our first century (100 mile bicycle ride) on our tandem bike at the Sunrise Century in Clarksville, TN. The good news: we completed the ride. The bad news: it was over 100 degrees by 10:30am and in spite of lots of fluid intake I got dehydrated and had some horrible leg cramps. My oldest and youngest child also joined us for the 33 mile option of the same ride which as a parent couldn't have made me prouder as they encouraged each other together to ride over twice as far as either had done before! Here's a link to that ride's website: http://www.clarksvillecentury.com/
The following weekend, my wife and I participated in the Multiple Sclerosis society's MS 150 ride in Tunica, MS riding our tandem again for just shy of 150 miles over 2 days (quite a bit faster and easier than we did in 2010). We had the opportunity to meet and ride with some truly amazing folks including several living with MS. Again, I'm reminded what a blessing good health truly is! Link to 2012 MS 150: http://biketns.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BIKE_TNS_homepage
October 2011: We completed an "out and back" ride from Patti's restaraunt in Grand Rivers, KY down most of The Trace (a winding hilly beautiful 2 lane drive) going through Land Between the Lakes into TN. We logged 70 miles that day on our individual road bikes with a good friend/neighbor of ours. Also, I started some "more serious" running/training for my first half marathon (St. Jude in Memphis) coming up the first weekend of December (see below)
November 2011: We rode our tandem on the shorter leg of Tour de Reelfoot with another couple. The distance wasn't too bad at 30 miles (didn't have time to do the 66 or 100 mile option), but the temperature in the 30's at the start made it "interesting". http://www.nwtncyc.org/id19.html
A HUGE event for me as a dad and husband was the gathering of family and friends for Thanksgiving day in our home, but a real treat was running the Turkey Day 5k that morning with my wife and 3 of my 4 kids. My wife, youngest son and myself all had personal best times in spite of the 30-40 degree weather. http://www.goldsgym.com/gyms/tennessee/jackson/216/page/19437/11497
December 2011: Ran/finished my first half marathon (13.1 miles) the first weekend of December at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon weekend. Was able to make it under my goal of 2 hrs without injury/mishap. There were almost 10,000 runners in the half and full marathon event that started together and another 7,000 that ran in a 5k or 1 mile family fun run. The whole event has raised over $4 million! I started this as a fitness goal and finished it humbled again by some amazing kids/staff/family along the route including a run through the St. Jude campus with one child holding a sign saying "Thanks for running since I can't". I'm ashamed of how little I did fundraising wise, but plan to be very aggressive about this next year. Lord willing I will run the full marathon next year. Check out the marathon weekend website for info on fundraising for St. Jude and opportunities to run in the 1/5/13.1/26.2 mile options: http://www.stjudemarathon.org/
I've tried to include websites for these events to give you some ideas for 2012. It certainly helps to motivate yourself to do some difficult things when you are doing it for someone else's benefit. Look for similar opportunities in your area.
Late/Lost entry for November 1, 2011
Well, my efforts at blogging are certainly not the best, but as I like to say "It's a process, not an event."
I'm pasting below an entry made from November 1st, 2011. I had planned to add photos to the post, but couldn't get them in and ended up missing the post. I'm going to be playing a little "catch up" over the next several weeks and hopefully provide some useful and/or entertaining information in the process. Thanks for your patience!
here's the old post:
I'm pasting below an entry made from November 1st, 2011. I had planned to add photos to the post, but couldn't get them in and ended up missing the post. I'm going to be playing a little "catch up" over the next several weeks and hopefully provide some useful and/or entertaining information in the process. Thanks for your patience!
here's the old post:
Well, it's been an eventful month or so since my last post. Healthier eating and regular exercise are becoming more and more a part of my "routine", which is what I'm hoping for. I still could eat a dozen Subway cookies or a bag of chips at the drop of a hat, but have discovered that after having less sugar over time it makes me kinda queezy when I eat too much now. Thus far my body has tolerated increasing levels of running and bicycling, which I'm excited about. My weight has slowly gotten to a point that I have not seen since 1995. For that I'm grateful. I'm a little leary about the upcoming holidays. Last year I was doing well until my birthday late October, then BAM Thanksgiving and BAM Chirstmas with overeating at every stop. This year I made it through my 48th birthday without gaining and hoping to do the same through the holidays. I'm convinced one can enjoy good food IN MODERATION without being legalistic or miserable. Will keep you posted through the holiday season of 2011. The first weekend of October my wife and a good friend of mine rode the majority of the two lane road dividing "Land Between the Lakes" known as The Trace. This is a beautiful hilly ride with the leaves beginning to change. We parked and started from the parking lot of Patti's 1880's Settlement in Grand Rivers, KY. Our ride was 70 miles total, 35 miles out and back.
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