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During my weight loss journey and often when people hear what I do “at my age” 
, I am asked how I can keep doing it. This question always catches me by surprise as I rarely have a conscious thought about not doing what I need to continue to reach for optimal health. A day wasted is a day lost.
Don’t get me wrong last week we helped some wonderful friends back and move their house. This was a 4 day project after work. Was a lot of lifting, stacking, packing, bending and all kinds of exercise. So after the first day, I didn’t do my morning workout for 3 days. I went to bed each night exhausted and feeling good about how well this old man humped all that stuff.
This morning I realized that my workouts are a lot like my life in general. I have come to realize over the years that life is lived in moments. Some moments are like the next rep of curling a dumbbell to my chin. If it is the first few reps it seems easy enough, but as the set nears completion, it will become harder for me to complete that set with the full number of reps. Now if I don’t increase the weight, it stays easy, but no progress is made.
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Life is that way isn’t? If we glide through it we get comfort zone results. We live from what is easy. There is little challenge, little growth and often no or very little progress. Kinda of boring don’t you think? That is where I used to survive from. It seemed like it was all I could do. Perhaps as you read this it is where you feel you are now as well. Well I have some good news for you, it isn’t that hard to get more from life.
When obesity limited my life, I had no energy, no motivation and struggled each day with pain, depression, and various concerns of my health. Had I given up I would have lived out my life in a much shorter time span. I would have allowed the doctors and the pharmacy to control how my body “survived” for the time I had left. I just had to make new choices and become more conscious that it really is about moment to moment living.
So ask yourself right now, what choices do I make in each moment to have a fuller, more fulfilled life. Notice I didn’t ask where you are now. I didn’t look for the reasons you got there, I asked what are you going to do to change it? I don’t believe in being stuck in the past, or what someone just said that hurt my feelings. I believe in the statement “If it is to be, it is up to me!” What say you?
Today my legs where killing me from the workout I gave them 2 days ago. The workout is designed to take the muscle to near failure and was one of the toughest leg workouts I have done in a long while. So I have a lot of lactic acid burning up my muscle. I thought a slow walk was a good idea.
Now normally I would have my Nike+ shoes and my Ipod Nano to record my mileage. Gotta get those miles logged so people can see I live what I preach. I am kidding, well kinda, I have to admit I like seeing the miles add up. But, when you really take a look at it, it really only matters that I am working on my health to continue the journey I started. So off I went for a slow, maybe painful walk to get some circulation going in my legs. No music. No measurement of time (how fast or slow I was going). Just a walk to feel better was all I was after.
It is a sunny day in Boise today. My walk during the day is almost always on the greenbelt and today was no exception. It was a sunny 88 degrees and humid. Little did I know that more than my legs were about to get restored.
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I looked around, there where all kinds of things to see and hear. First was the kayaker floating and bobbing along down the river. A reminder of things still on my “bucket list”, one day to take either a white water rafting trip or lean to kayak and venture the wild waters in Idaho. Then there was the man and his dog walking along the banks. This one took me back to the recent lost of my dear pet and friend that recently passed away after being with us for 20+ years.
I walked on as my legs started to free up a bit and each step seemed a bit lighter. I started thinking about some of the recent events in my life that needed quiet contemplation to come to some sort of decision. No music, no concern about a pace, just walking along the river on a hot summer day. As I searched my soul, that still quiet voice (note to self, you still have to get quiet to hear it) led me into the next steps and an inner knowing what to do next.
Getting ready to go around the bend I noticed the bike rider coming around the turn and waited in case he would go left instead of right. He actually stopped for me to cross and we exchanged smiles that acknowledged we where both courteous to each other’s journey. On across the old steel bridge, the boards creaked and bounced as I looked up and down the river noticing for the first time all week that the water level had changed and enjoy the flying cottonwoods as they floated through the air like angels guarding us along the way.
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On to the home stretch, sun beating down and body getting warmer now as the sweat started to form on my brow. Half way and my walk would be done. I was almost sad for it to be over till I hear all the birds signing and I became lost in the harmony of their song. Be still they sang and enjoy the day. Each step, took me closer to my destination.
Last bridge and only a few yard to the door. As the real world approached I realized that the walk had done more for my health than getting the blood moving in my aching legs. It had renewed my spirit. It had reminded me of the sights and sounds of life being enjoyed around me. As the sweat poured down my brow it also reminded me of the days when I would have never thought of walking off those aches and pains of life that I had just been released from. And often never took the time to enjoy the sweet moments being active has to offer.
I hope in some small way this reaches one person and makes a difference in their life. It reminds them to take a moment and enjoy their walk. It doesn’t have to be for exercise. It doesn’t have to be around a park. It can be just for a brief moment when you hear the birds sing out to you or smell the fresh scent of the lilac trees as they send their scent through the air. Oh and that still small voice, it is always in waiting for when you take the time to listen. Be blessed and enjoy the journey!
I get to enjoy going in to work every day and talking with some of the most interesting people. Many of them I am sure think I over-analyze stuff all the time. After all I am the computer geek so it is natural to be accused of this often. I am also the guy that talks way too much about weight loss, health, and fitness to make most people happy.
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Today was no exception. I was talking about the trip up to the summer camp on the bus with the “at risk” kids on their way to be treated to loving one on one care all week. I was then asked if I “had to” go back up on Friday to bring them back. Which I responded with “No I don’t have to, I get to!” Well you know what I meant was the response. To which I explained there is a difference.
The difference is in how you approach the task. I hear it all the time from clients. The ones that “have to” do something consider the sacrifice and the work they are doing as a chore or an unwanted task. It is all about the food they miss or how tough it is to stay on track. The one’s that “get to” consider it a chance to improve their lives and their health. The things they get to do are simply part of the process towards being a better, healthier individual.
You see I am blessed. I get to go to a gym 3-5 times a week. I get to walk 2 miles during my lunches around a beautiful park and river run. I get to pay attention to what I eat. I get to compete with other walkers and runners after years of hating to run or walk any distance. I get to go up on Friday and see the faces of a group of kids that this week may be the only week this year that they feel really appreciated and blessed. They will be excited, they will be energized and they may even be a handful. I am sure that it will be another blessing to be at their service and perhaps find one more opportunity to encourage and bless them on the way.
So if that is over analyzing then I will continue to do that to. Cause, I get to choose the way I think, the way I feel, the way I handle challenge and the way I handle blessings. You see I have found out it is a lot more fun to see life as a choice instead of a “have to”. I come at it feeling empowered and motivated, instead of repressed and forced. I get to enjoy life! Hey maybe even tomorrow I will get to write another story from the joy of having a job and having people think I am cut from a different cloth than many.
Ultramarathons are increasingly popular. But do they also pose a health risk?
This Sunday in New York, a small knot of runners will start running around the block. They will resemble any other running club although they might look a little slow. They will run one lap of the 0.5488-mile block. Then they will do it another 5,649 times.
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The 3100 Transcendental Race is the longest certified foot race in the world. Every day for the next six to eight weeks, the entrants will race from 6am until midnight – averaging 75 miles a day. For no payment or prize.
While few subject themselves to the lunacy of the 3,100 mile race, ultramarathons (anything longer than a marathon) are becoming increasingly popular, with races popping up all over the world. Keith Godden, editor of ultramarathonrunning.com, says there are already more than 100 such established races every year in the UK; with, he estimates, “a couple of thousand” British ultramarathon runners. “The sport now offers a great variety of very different challenges,” he says, “whether it’s 32 miles on the roads across Dartmoor, 24 continuous hours going around in circles on a running track in London, 145 miles non-stop alongside the Grand Union Canal in less than two days, or a marathon per day for three days along the Jurassic coast.”
Just finishing one of these punishing events is an achievement – but may come at a price. Personal trainer Rob Blakeman, who has trained boxers Ricky Hatton and Mike Tyson, explains: “We’re very specific organisms, with very specific requirements and very specific limitations. More training is not necessarily better training. If you do a really tough workout, the next day you often feel as though you have the flu. It’s a systemic stress. If you don’t allow that systemic stress to subside before you go back to the gym, you break the cycle of improvement.”
These flu-like symptoms, says Geraint Florida-James, senior lecturer in sport and exercise sciences at Edinburgh Napier University, are explained by the “open-window theory” which suggests that a prolonged bout of running weakens the immune system, leaving the window open for infections to attack the body. “Any stress that you come across, whether physical or psychological, will cause a response in the immune system. If you saw any of the interviews before the London marathon, everybody’s carrying a bit of a niggle, or they’ve got an illness. People trying to do ultra endurance events are taking it to a further extreme level.” If you keep on pushing yourself, disaster can strike. “If they go into overtraining syndrome, it can take years to recover from. We’re not sure, long-term, with an ultramarathon runner, how much damage they may be doing.”
Worryingly, ultramarathons could affect athletes’ hearts, says Florida-James. “Research has looked at cardiac damage within ultramarathon runners, and has shown that there are some temporary changes in terms of the functionality of the heart.”
One of Britain’s most celebrated ultramarathon runners, Geoff Oliver, president of the 100km Association, seems to bear this out when he says of the days following a long race: “I feel very weak. My heart rate is normally 48-52, and it goes down to 40-42 for a few days – I certainly feel more tired. The body is not functioning properly. It also affects my liver and my kidney sometimes. There may be blood either in my urine or out of the other end. Usually within four days I’m back to normal.”
He confesses that this has caused him to question whether he’s pushing himself too hard, but says “I’ve spoken to other runners and it’s quite common. It never lasts long.” And it’s clear that Oliver is in remarkably good shape – he recently ran the London marathon in “a disappointing 3:45.” He’s 76.
Florida-James is quick to point out that, with the proper preparation, ultramarathon running need not be unhealthy. Many people can run 100 miles without damaging themselves. That means adequate training, but also sufficient recovery time. “Everybody is different, and it will affect some people more than others.”
So why do some thrive under these harshest of regimes, while others simply crumble under the physiological stress? This, it seems, is the area that fascinates scientists and athletes alike. “I do it out of sheer interest. What can the human body cope with?” says Oliver. “I’ve always had this nice little mantra, an Alexander Pope couplet: “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man.”
Five tips for ultramarathon runners
1. Go for long runs, on consecutive days, bookended by two days of total rest.
2. Splice running with periods of walking. That’s how you’re likely to complete the event.
3. If you’re finding the going tougher, the instinct is to push harder, when you should ease off.
4. Eat and drink on your runs. You should take on 400-500 calories per hour.
5. Taper off training three weeks before the race. In the last week, do almost none.
Walking to a first place win
This month has been a new milestone for me. I have won two first place awards in sporting events in one month. Now for many of you that would seem like old hat. I knew your types and their abilities my whole life. I just was never on a first place team or came in first on any sporting event in my life. This month I received a first place ribbon in a 5k walk for my age bracket and our volleyball team won the university staff tournament for staff appreciation week.
Now for you folks that have been good at sports getting 2 first place awards in a month might seem small. Stop for a moment and imagine being in your 50’s and never having taken first place before. Twice in one month seems like a life changing event. In fact it was due to a lifestyle change that it came about.
I now know why people who are good at sports seem to walk a little taller. It feels good to compete honestly and win. Win with humility and not in their face but win none the less. Imagine a whole lifetime of never winning and you understand why someone might give up the idea of ever winning at anything. I have lived my life thinking I would never win. It did keep me from trying until the last couple of years.
Still moving at the end
After I lost my weight someone suggested trying for a 5k run. My first one I did some training and came in better than some but didn’t place at all. The great thing was it keep me focused in trying to improve. I found I could get faster. I found I could run longer. I found that I could train for a purpose that was as much about me as it was the people I was working with to improve their health and fitness.
The results are, it continues to motivate family and friends to do more for their health. They remember when they couldn’t get me off the couch, or to garden, heck even sometimes to just go visit somewhere. I was too tired. I was too sick. It gives them hope. I get the benefit of enjoying more life. I believe because of my choices to lose weight that people in my life and those yet to come along will live longer, more enjoyable lives. And that my friends is a prize worth winning.
Tobey and April not far behind
I say if I can do it I can help someone else do it. What say you? Your comments are welcome!
To continue the series I want to address the people who you will want to coach. If you are reading this series as a possible client you may see yourself in one of the categories mentioned.
First Timers
This is a group of folks that have decided for the first time in their life to really take on their health. They are ready to take an honest look or have been motivated recently to take care of themselves. Often one would associate this with age, but I see a trend that it is about awareness of their personal health condition. They may have recently visited their doctor, taken an honest look in the mirror, or even heard someone say something when they thought they weren’t listening. Something has them thinking about needing to make a change without any knowledge of how to get started, more or less to finish the journey successfully. They need someone with the expertise to do it right and teach them how to make it stick!
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Yo-Yo’s
I was one of these so I have particular affection for them. This person is someone that tries to lose weight, in fact often has tried many times. They may have had some measure of success. The hard thing for them is the ability to find it inside to try one more thing. Why would they think this diet would work for them, everything else failed at some point, why this one? They don’t understand why and they don’t know about metabolism and diet, they just know they have really tried and failed. They need someone that understands they are serious about it, they just struggle with something that keeps them from succeeding. Often they are the hardest to get to try again. They need an uplifting coach to believe in them and motivate them to give it effort and determination that this time they will succeed.
The Expert
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
This bunch is a hard bunch to even get to work with. They know it all. They have read every book. They have tried everything, and yet they have not reached optimal health. Another version of these wonderful people show up at trade fairs and run when they see a weight loss booth. They know nothing will work for them. I was also part of this group. I was convinced that nothing would ever work and that somehow I had messed up my body so bad that I would never be able to lose weight. I knew that there was no magic pill, no patch, no abs system, and it seemed like there was nothing that would work. If there was certainly I would have found it already, after all wasn’t I the real expert on what would work for me. This group has one question to ask them: Are you happy with the results you are getting now? If the answer is yes, they automatically become un-coachable. To be coach you have to be willing to admit you don’t have all the answers.
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Yesterday was my birthday. It was a day of mixed emotions and feelings as birthdays normally are for me. My wife remembered as did many of my friends on Facebook. My son remembered by giving me an extra special dose of a hard time. My mother chose to be mad enough with me not to call so I had to deal with those emotions. Then at work the usual happened, I fell through the crack of the usual card and well wishes system we have there. All in all it was a very normal day, some sweetness, some sorrow and a lot of gratefulness for the good things in life.
But this morning I am reflecting on my own age and where I am. I am coming up on the first year anniversary of my 100 pound weight loss. The middle of April last year I went back to eating what I wanted and how I wanted. I looked at that this morning and realized after another year in my life I am in better shape than I was 30 years ago. I can do things that I couldn’t do physically and mentally. I am stronger all the way around. I have given myself the gift of life and as a weight loss coach I am able and willing to give it to others.
This time last year I felt like I had arrived. I had reached my big goal in life. Now I realize I am just getting started. This month alone I started working with three new health coaches. These people will join me in making a difference to people. Being there with them in a journey that can often challenge people to their core. The rewards are there each step of the way but it often feels like a hill that cannot be climbed. It is great to walk side by side with some one and say, of course you can do this, look how far you have come already.
Today then I am grateful for all the new friends I have. I am grateful for my journey even when that last step might seem a bit harder. And I am grateful that my spirit has moved me in the direction it has. I can’t express the joy I have being involved with so many good friends and people that are taking on the same journey. Optimal health is a journey, weight loss is just a beginning. Loosing weight is just the start of the search for better health and happiness. Come and join us!
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