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What A Wonderful Sunday

August 8, 2011 By 1 Comment

Golden Sunday

  • Woke up at 7am, took the dog for a 30 minute walk.
  • Got back and napped for a 30 or so minutes on the couch.
  • Julie woke up and we took another walk with the dog.
  • At 9:30, she went off with her mom to get various items for our upcoming wedding and I stayed and worked on the house.
  • I got a lot of gardening done, cleaned up the shed, worked on the garage and found a bit of time to play with the dog.
  • Also made myself a nice breakfast of organic bacon and tomatoes.
  • When Julie and her mom came back, I made lunch with some fresh chicken and a greek style salad (olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce tossed in a bit of of olive oil and feta cheese) for us to eat while we worked on the seating arrangement for the wedding.
  • In the evening, Julie and I did some more work on the house, then took a two hour hike in the hills.
  • To finish it off, I cooked dinner out of some turkey sausages and a fresh green salad.

I feel tired but great.  We walked so much today and I also got in some physical activity through the gardening and house work.  I feel full but not stuffed which tells me the amount of food was perfect.  All in all, an amazing day. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eating Healthy, Fitness, Healthy Habits, Walking Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Secret To Staying Skinny, Discovered In Singapore!

May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Orchard Christmas Light-Up 2005I had the good fortune of spending the last few days in Singapore. It’s a beautiful place and one which offers inspiration to a host of good ideas. However, for me, the thing I noticed most was how few overweight people I saw. In fact, the whole time I was there, I spotted maybe 1 or 2 overweight people who were not obvious tourists. The fitness expert in me kept wondering; what’s their secret? What are they doing to stay this skinny? We’ve all heard about the French diet or the Med diet, but what about the Singaporean diet? So I paid a bit of attention and this is what I found: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eating Healthy, Walking, Weight Loss Tagged With: , , , , ,

Step 3 – How And Why To Lead An Active Life

September 15, 2010 By 2 Comments

Woman Walking White Dog on Beach Last week I talked about eating healthy. Honestly, that’s the best and easiest thing you can do for your health. However, eating healthy on its own will not get you 100% there. It’s more like 40%. Today, we tackle another 30%, being active.

No, being active does not mean exercising; we’ll get to that in the remaining 30% of this health trip. Being active just means leading an active life. It means not spending every evening on the couch and every weekend in bed. It means hiking, dancing, playing sports, riding horses and plenty of walking. Being active means turning your life from a sedentary one into an active one.

Bang For The Buck

But wait, doesn’t exercise mean being active? Is doing a bit of walking really better than an hour of jogging? Well, if all you’re going to do is a bit of walking then yes, I suppose, but if you’re really going to turn your life into an active life then no, exercise doesn’t even come close. Let me demonstrate.

Jogging is one of the most calorie intensive exercises out there. Jogging for an hour will burn somewhere between 600 and 1000 calories depending on your weight and speed. By way of comparison, walking for 15 minutes will only burn 50 calories. Sounds like the jog is way better until you add in the stairs instead of the elevator, the additional 30 minute walk in the evening instead of TV, the bike to work, playing soccer with friends on the weekend, tossing the Frisbee to the dog, walking over to your coworkers cube instead of emailing them, doing a bit of gardening and cleaning your house instead of hiring someone to do it. When you add all those together, they’re actually far better than any job and far more enjoyable too (except maybe the house cleaning part). This is the best part about being active, it’s a way of exercising without feeling like you’re forced to exercise. Even better, it’s good for your wallet and for the environment.

I know it seems intimidating at first, how the heck are you going to turn your life around with all this activity, but you have to trust me on this, I’ve been through it and it’s awesome! Once you add activity into your life, you’ll never look back. So with that, let’s take a look at a few ways we can make your life more active.

Use Your Feet!

The best and easiest activity you can add to life is walking. Amazingly enough, walking does in fact get you places and, considering traffic and parking, it can sometimes get you places quite quickly. For example, I can drive to the book store in 5 minutes and spend 5 minutes parking or I can walk there in 15 minutes. I can walk 5 minutes to the train station and take a 45 minute train to San Francisco or I can drive there in 40 minutes and spend 20 minutes finding parking (argh! I hate SF parking!). I can spend an hour after dinner chatting with my girlfriend while watching TV or we can go for a lovely walk and have a much better conversation. I even had a boss who taught me that the best 1 on 1 meetings can be had while taking a leisurely walk around the office building.

Every time you sit down, every time you get in the car, every time you relax on the couch, stop and think to yourself, could I be doing this walking? Could I use my feet instead? And if it’s a bit far, consider biking.

Stop Paying People To Exercise For You

Ahh, if only we could pay people to exercise for us and still reap all the benefits. Wouldn’t that be an awesome world? I would rent out my jogging to every overweight coworker and help them work off the lbs while making a bit of pocket cash. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work this way. When you pay someone else to do a physical activity for you, they benefit from the exercise AND they take your money. Sounds bad, doesn’t it? And yet, people do it all the time. We pay people to wash our car, mow our lawn, trim our hedges, walk our dog and clean our houses. Now granted, some of these activities are not so fun and others may require skills or tools you don’t have, but most of them don’t.

Walking your dog is a pleasure, not a chore. Mowing your lawn and working on the yard is an incredibly rewarding hobby, not a hassle to be pawned off on some poorly paid laborer. Even washing the car can be fun, especially if it occasionally devolves into a water fight with your significant other. (Not saying this ever happened to me…) Stop looking at these activities as a chore and start looking at them as an opportunity to be more active while also saving a bit of money.

Get Active Hobbies

For most Americans, their number 1 hobby is watching TV. Their number 2 hobby is surfing the web and their number 3 hobby is watching TV again. This is pretty sad, especially when we’re talking about kids. There is a wonderful world out there to be explored and enjoyed. There are hills to be hiked, soccer games to play, baseballs to swing at, forests to explore, lakes to swim in and plenty of off-the-beaten-path spots to make out in and bring a bit of romance back into your life. Most of these hobbies require zero money and almost no special knowledge or skills. On the contrary, many of these hobbies will actually give you an education you can’t get anywhere else.

For example, 7 years ago, when I first started focusing on my health, I became an avid hiker. Since then I try to hike at least once a week. I’ve become an expert on weather patterns, wildlife, edible plants and reading terrain. I now know the layout of the San Francisco Bay Area far better than I ever did before and I’ve also learned quite a bit about the history of this area. All this while spending zero money, burning through a lot of calories and having a ton of fun.

Last week we hiked Portola Redwoods park and it was terrific time. Towards the end of the hike we spotted a little creek and just sat there, right next to the water. I held my girlfriend, we chatted as we enjoyed the running water and laughed as my dog tried, and failed, to catch the bugs hovering over the pool. It was a moment I will never forget and one that I doubt you can replicate at home, while watching the latest episode of House.

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So yes, being active won’t just make you healthier, it will also enrich your life with experiences, knowledge and lessons that will last a lifetime. Now would you still rather go jogging?

Filed Under: Fitness, Healthy Habits, Walking Tagged With: , , , ,

How To Choose A Healthy Place To Live

May 16, 2008 By 2 Comments

My wife and I are looking for a new place to live these days. Our lease on our apt is about to expire at the end of June, which means we want to find a new place to move into by the end of May. I’ve been talking to a number of friends about their housing options and they all seem to have made their decisions based on the following aspects:

  • Schools for their kids
  • Price
  • Commute time

Price and schools seem to be the most important items for most people with commute time coming in a close third. However, I have to ask, where is health in all of this?

Healthy Living In The News

There have been a number of recent articles that have discussed the impact of home location on health. From Science Daily is an article about how tree lines streets can help childhood asthma. From the Dallas News come this article about the connection between obesity and easy access to fast food. Along the same topic is this article from the LA Times which discusses the link between poor health and poor eating options in a neighborhood. Finally, From Reuters, comes this article about how walkable towns reduce health problems and pollution.

With all of this evidence, plus numerous other articles that discuss the benefit of walkable streets, quality food sources and non car commutes, I find it difficult to believe that health should not be part of a housing decision.

Our Criteria

My wife and I are looking at housing with a number of different criteria.

Money – Yes, money is a factor in a housing decision, but money doesn’t just mean the rent.  For example, our current housing complex has a nice gym which I use on occasion.  Losing that would cost us an extra $50 a month in gym fees.  So that factor goes into the cost of a new house.  At the same time, we’re looking for a house with hardwood floors that would be easier on my wife’s allergies, so that’s another health factor that changes cost.

Commute – Commute is important.  That’s why we’re looking for a home within biking range of the train station.  That would allow me to continue my bike / train commute which is healthy, cheap and good for the environment.

Yard – We want to raise our own vegetables because it’s cheaper and healthier, so we’re looking for a place with a backyard as opposed to a small balcony.

Walkable – We want somewhere that is walkable so we don’t have to take the car everytime we want to go shopping for groceries or out to a restaurant.  That lowers our fuel costs while also adding a healthy walk to our daily routines.

The Health Factors

Notice how health subtly changes each one of the criteria for housing.  For example, health tends to go hand in hand with reducing cost.  A healthy home ends up costing you less in terms of groceries (raise your own vegetables), fuel (walk to store, bike to work) and overall medical care (less allergy medication, lower weight).  However, if you looked at rent or buying price alone, you might not notice this.

It’s also good for your kids.  Numerous studies have shown a connection between health and school performance.  So that park close by or the daily walk to school isn’t just about health, it’s also about their education and mental development.

Even the commute factor is changed by health.  It’s no longer about how close you are to work but how close you are to public transportation, and that gives you a much larger range of housing areas to look at.

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When you look for a home you worry about your commute, your wallet and your kids education.  Shouldn’t you also be worried about your and your kids’ health?

Filed Under: Walking

It’s 1:45pm, Do You Know Where Your Walk Is?

April 23, 2008 By Leave a Comment

It’s 1:45pm here in California.  I just came back from a beautiful 30 minute walk.  How about you?  Have you had your walk for the day?  If so, then good for you.  If you haven’t, why not?

I don’t have time for a walk

That’s a pretty poor excuse.  During my 30 minute walk, I made two business calls and one personal call which I had to make today.  If I wanted to, I could easily fill up the 30 minutes with business calls.  Heck, I could go walking during any number of conference calls and still contribute.  Besides, everyone needs a break once in a while.  How about spending it walking instead of sitting on your butt?

It’s too cold outside

Take a jacket.  Besides, the cold will do you good.  Cool air forces your body to spend extra calories in order to keep warm.  Unless there’s a snow storm outside or you’re somewhere like the Arctic, then it’s not too cold to walk.  And if there is a snow storm outside then find a place where you can walk indoors.

It’s too warm outside

Take your jacket off, or just walk a bit slower.

What’s the point of walking anyway?

It’s good exercise, it keeps you active and it’s a refreshing break from work that will allow you to be more productive when you come back.  In fact, a simple walk every day is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself.

I have uncomfortable shoes

So fix that.  Buy shoes that look good enough for work and are comfortable enough to walk in or bring an extra pair of shoes to work that you can put on for your walk.  Stop letting your clothing make your decisions for you.

I’m too busy

Really?  If so, why are you spending time reading this site?  We all waste quite a bit of time every day.  Why not use some of it productively by taking a walk?

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Stop coming up with excuses and start living a healthier life with a daily 30 minute walk.  Now why are you still reading this site when you should be out there walking?

Filed Under: Walking

The secrets of walking

September 14, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Walking, it’s one of the best exercises options we have.  It’s easy, can be done almost anywhere, requires virtually no equipment and has little risk of injury.  I’d recommend that everyone get at least 30 minutes of walking per day.  Here are a few ways to maximize the efficiency of your walking time.

Walk on an uneven surface – Uneven surfaces burn more calories because we need to engage more muscles to keep us stable.  So trails are better than pavement and soft surfaces like sand are even better.

Get your whole body involved – You don’t have to jump around, but you should get your arms moving.

Keep your back straight – Don’t slouch.  Walking is about feeling better.  So straighten out your back and walk tall.

Use your time wisely – Walking is time that can be used very productively.  Bring along an iPod and listen to a podcast, learn a new language as you walk, listen to the news or bring a coworker and have a walking meeting.  Remember, walking engages your body, not your brain.  So get some brain exercise as well.

Walk faster – You don’t need to jog or even power walk, but there’s a fine line between walking and strolling.  Enjoy your walk, but do keep up a good pace.

No weights – You may have seen people walking around with weights.  Well, forget that.  Weights don’t really add much except injury risk.  Keep the weights in the gym and enjoy your walk weight free.

Make it a social activity – In the South SF Bay Area where I live, we have a large population of Asian immigrants.  One of the health habits I most admire is this population’s tendency to go out and walk as a family.  Every evening you see dozens of Indian, Chinese and other Asian families strolling around the neighborhood.  Just think, as opposed to sitting in front of the TV, they’re out there walking and chatting.  It’s healthier for your body and your social ties.

Walking as transportation – Remember you legs?  You know what their original function was?  I’ll give you a hint, it wasn’t to press the gas pedal.  Your legs are the original human mode of transportation.  They’re very efficient at getting you places.  Unfortunately, most people seem to have forgotten about this.  If you’re going to the store down the block, will it really be faster to get the car out, drive over, find a parking spot and then go in?  Will the five minutes you save that way make up for the money you spent on gas, car wear and tear plus the healthy benefits of the walk you could have taken?  Use your legs to get places.  Unlike your car, they’ll never run out of gas.

Filed Under: Exercise, Walking