Week 7 – Slow and Steady

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series The Long Path To Health

Little Things MatterNot much to report this week.  I’m back down to 225, which I was disappointed with at first because I was hoping to be lower than that by this point.  However, then I thought to myself, “holy crap!  I’ve lost 12lbs in the past month and a half and I did it in a completely sustainable way.  AWESOME!”  Sometimes, you just need to remind yourself how well you’re doing overall so you don’t get too depressed with the little setbacks. [Read more...]

Week 5 – Speed Bumps Encountered

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series The Long Path To Health

Speed Bump AheadThis is week five of my project to get back to a healthier lifestyle.  If you recall from a couple of weeks ago, my goals at this point were:

Plan:

  • No drinks other than water
  • No sweets other than fruit (no dried fruit either)
  • No beef
  • No bread
  • Three runs per week
  • Three weights workouts per week

And The Goals Were:

  • 1 hour run at 5.5mph
  • 1 set of bench press at 255
  • weight 225lbs (this has changed)

How am I doing? [Read more...]

Week 3 – The Battle Of The Bulge Continues!

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series The Long Path To Health

I’m writing this on a Saturday afternoon.  I went hiking this morning and I’m about to head out later this afternoon for some outdoor fun at the park.  I weighed myself on Friday and the scale showed 230lbs.  Goal Achieved!  However, what about all my other goals? [Read more...]

Week 1 – And so it begins…

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series The Long Path To Health

Julie and I arrived home three nights ago after an amazing two weeks in Croatia (which I highly recommend for anyone looking for a beautiful place to go).  I’m tired, I’ve had a miserable weekend because I caught a cold on the flight home but I’m also incredibly happy. The honeymoon showed me just how much I love her and how wonderful our life together will be.  However, since this is a health and fitness blog and not a marriage blog, let me focus on a couple of thoughts that occurred to me while I was gone.

First of all, my choices are no longer mine alone.  In the past, if I wanted to eat poorly and not exercise that was my choice and the consequences were mine and mine alone.  That’s no longer true.  My health is now Julie’s concern as well, especially when we’re talking about kids and a future together.  The consequences of my choices are hers as well as mine.  This is difficult for some people to accept and I can see why.  It’s not easy to take responsibility for another person, to be accountable for what they do and to allow your own actions to be dictated in part by them.  In effect, it means I’ve abdicated some control of my body, my decisions and my choices to her, just as she’s done for me.  That’s a lot to accept but I accept it willingly because it’s part of our commitment. [Read more...]

How To Maintain Weight On The 4 Hour Body Diet

This entry is part 15 of 15 in the series 4 Hour Body Diet

Tim Ferriss Will Take You HigherI got a question from a reader a few days ago in regards to the 4 hour body diet.  He wanted to know how to maintain his weight now that he had reached his goals.  Interestingly enough, it sounded like he was still losing weight, past where he wanted to be, so he was wondering what changes he should make in order to stop the weight loss but not go back up to his previous weight. [Read more...]

All Clear! Life Is Good :)

This update is going to be a little short due to a life that has become increasingly busy over the past two weeks but normal posts should resume next week.

The Finger Update

First, that numb finger I told you about?  Turns out it’s most likely a pinched nerve.  Which brings me to a funny story. [Read more...]

The New Rules For Eating Healthy

Going Green!After my recent experiments with the 4 Hour Body Diet, I am revising my rules for eating healthy.

  1. If it doesn’t look like nature intended it to, don’t eat it – Do you see Twinkie trees out there?  How about pasta bushes?  How about herds of candy bars?  No?  Then none of these things belongs in your diet.  The more processed something is, the worse it is for you.  The closer you can get something to its original form, the better.  This applies to everything.  For example, fresh fruit is better than dried fruit, steak is better than hamburger and so on.  If there’s a way to eat something that would involve less processing then do that.  (note that this means cutting out most breads, pastas, noodles, sweets, chocolates and many other foods.  If it’s processed, don’t eat it.
  2. Food racism – If it’s white, cut it out.  Rice, potatoes, white bread and anything else that’s white.
  3. Top 5 Ingredients – If the top five ingredients on the box include any sugars, corn products or chemicals you can’t identify, don’t eat it.
  4. Water only – If it’s not water, don’t drink it.  No, I don’t care how many studies come out showing wine is good for you or coffee cures cancer, I can also show you some lovely studies that show cigarette smoking makes you thin.  Stop drinking anything other than water.
  5. Never eat alone – If you can’t find someone to eat with you then don’t eat.  It’s ok, your body can take a few hours with out food.  Eating with someone will prevent you from binging and help you eat slower.  If you find yourself really hungry then you need more friends.
  6. Only eat when hungry – It doesn’t matter if your friends want to go eat, are you hungry?  If not, don’t eat.  Go with them and have a water if you must, but don’t eat to be social, to avoid projects or for any other reason other than being hungry.  Yes, this is completely counter the Tim Ferriss idea that you must eat proteins in the morning.  I say that’s wrong.  If you’re hungry, eat.  Otherwise, do something more productive with your morning, like working out.
  7. The golden rule – On Saturday, all rules can be broken.

That’s it.  7 simple rules for eating healthy.