Couch Potato No More
Diet, nutrition, exercise and living an active lifestyle after the first year.
This chapter is about tweaking your healthy lifestyle after the first year of freedom. In my case by Christmas time I had lost about half the weight I needed to and was significantly healthier in my lifestyle. I was walking 10 to 15,000 steps a day, five days a week. Eating a fairly balanced three square meals a day. Had been free from fad diets, binging and exercise programs aimed at weight loss for about a year. The results of just normal eating and walking a little could not be argued with. 64 inch waist to a 52 inch waist and a weight loss of 70 pounds.
In previous chapters we have discussed the big picture of health; eating normally and moving. Now we’re going to tweak our lifestyle. Just a little bit at a time. Discovering what works for us, what doesn’t work and what works that we actually like?
But before we do let’s ask ourselves some hard questions. Before you start this chapter, reread the first paragraph carefully. Are you still eating three square meals a day? Or has some snacking sneaked back into your life? Are you still at your maximum weight loss or has 10 or 20 pounds creeps back in? Do you still eat basically one plate of food per meal or are you occasionally ordering a medium pizza and 12 wings that require you to reload your plate three times? Have you eased back into getting seconds at special events or your girlfriend’s house? If any of these things are true? Congratulations! You’re normal. The same thing happened to me and our first step is simply to reinstitute the basic; three squares a day, no seconds, no massive plates, walk, water, meditate, etc.
While you’re doing that go ahead and read this chapter. But remember, take a couple of weeks to eliminate bad habits before you actually start making any more changes.
Let’s talk a little bit about keeping track of how your body progresses during this process. As you start your journey, after 12 months you may want to take your daily weight, waking blood pressure and heart rate. I like to think about weight loss as sailing on a course. You don’t worry so much about what the compass shows at any one moment, you monitor it for a period of time and if you’re off course, determine the reason, make adjustments only if needed and continue to monitor.
Here is a couple examples where the scale shows you are up a few pounds. In the first, the previous night you went out for Chinese and in thinking about what you had to eat you determine you had a normal size portion and nothing extraordinary would account for the weight gain. You decide perhaps it is water weight gain due to the excessive amounts of salts used in that style cooking and make no adjustments in your lifestyle. Over the next couple days the excess weight disappears and you weight loss of a couple pounds a week continues. You’re back on course. In the second example you put on a couple pounds after having pizza delivery. In thinking over the evening you realize you did not have a single 8 inch plate full of 3 slices of pizza and 4 wings, but rather four such plates. When you finished watching TV, you realized only one slice was left. You had consumed most of the pizza and all 12 wings. You certainly ate too much food and might even be getting dangerously close to binge eating again. It also is a serious waste of food. That medium pizza and 12 wings could have easily been divided into three meals. A major course correction is in order. Getting back to three squares a day on an 8 inch plate with no seconds will get you right back on course.
Diets don’t work, all people in developed countries who diet just get fatter (>90%) and fatter. They also spend more and more money on diets, diet equipment and exercise equipment. Healthy people don’t diet and they don’t do the things that the dieters do. It’s not a series of short term goals it’s a lifetime journey. Perhaps longer than a lifetime. It’s perhaps even better to look at a lifetime as it has a lifetime journey leading to your legacy.
You will want to make gradual changes that will allow you to live your life in a happy healthier manner.
First, you’ll be identifying behaviors that you have engaged in over the years that lead over time to poor health and excess weight. No two obese people are the same. I avoid walking. It started when I developed debilitating osteoarthritis in both hips. After they were both replaced and I had no limitations I could’ve walked I just didn’t. I inhale my food. I learned that when I was on growing up on a boat with my parents. We always ate quickly and standing up so we could get back to work on the boat. It’s just a habit. I became a teacher and we had only 20 minutes to deliver our children to the cafeteria and eat our lunch. My habit was now very useful and my new career reinforced the wolfing down of food. Our issues will all be unique. Your path is unique. Diets however are NEVER unique.
So what is the reasonable answer? Choose any one behavior and tweak it. A new way of doing it to improve your moving or eating habits. Try it out first as an experiment. Integrated into your lifestyle. Changes must be enjoyable. As an example I integrated 10 to 15,000 steps a day to my life. I walked for about 15 minutes when I arrived at school and I make it a habit to get to school early. I liked it because I avoid traffic, I’m never late so my commute is stress-free, it increases my energy level, I get to think through my lesson plan for the day and consider what problems might arise all before I even write it on the board, I get to see what’s happening in all the other classrooms, I get to say good morning and meet many of my colleagues who I might otherwise never have contact with. Later, at lunch I do the same thing, walking for another 15 minutes. In addition my colleagues became an automatic cheerleading section encouraging me on a daily basis. While I certainly realize that I’m exercising it’s more about feeling good and being happy. This is what you’re looking for. You’re looking for a way to integrate a minor correction that you enjoy doing and provides multiple unexpected benefits besides just weight loss. The bottom line is if you like it, you get a lot out of it and you look forward to it you’re going to continue it.
Changing food choices same idea. There’s no restrictions on what you should eat we just want to make better decisions. Try new things. We tend to eat the same few items meal after meal. You might want to try new items when you’re eating out at a restaurant on a date; since they know how to cook it right.
Synergy will compound the effects of the changes you make. Synergy is the idea that 2+2 = 5. The idea that when several parts of a whole system are working in harmony, the expected performance of the whole system is significantly better than expected. Small adjustments in movement, water, nutrition, activities, sleep, schedule, meditation and social interactions feed off one another producing unexpected synergistic progress in your mental and physical well-being
Think of how each one of the small changes you are considering in movement or eating habits will affect your health over the next 30 year period. You’re in this for the long term.
Since you have no doubt implemented some of the suggestions about overcoming binge eating, you’ve already made some changes. Such as eating three square meals a day, don’t binge or have seconds, walking for stress relief, 5-10 minutes of daily meditation, making a grocery list before going shopping and eating salads, fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. In my case these small changes resulted in a loss 70 pounds over a one-year period.
Here are some examples of my own list of small changes that I listed as habits that I would expect of a person who has a healthy relationship with regard to food and moving would have. Habits that could be integrated into my life and that would make a significant change in my health if implemented with fidelity over several decades.
Some Healthy Habits
• I drink water.
• I don’t inhale my food.
• I don’t have seconds.
• I don’t worry about what I eat at a celebration.
• I don’t worry about what I’m eating when I’m out with friends.
• I don’t eat out alone for regular meal.
• I eat very little when I’m sick.
• I eat very little when I’m very sad.
• I’ve learned to listen to my body’s needs for food.
• I’ve learned to listen to my body’s needs for movement.
• I drink water when I’m thirsty.
• I keep cool water on my desk at work.
• I keep bottled water in the refrigerator.
• I keep a bottle of water on the nightstand.
• I understand and feel my metabolism.
• I pay attention to how my stomach feels.
• I stretch my body.
• I don’t eat late at night.
• I don’t eat when I’m not hungry.
• I use exercise equipment that I have free access to.
• I don’t worry about time and reps when I exercise.
Remember when you make your own list try to figure out what are the habits typical of healthy individuals throughout the world. Ask yourself two questions before putting it on the list. First, is it something that a healthy, active and normal weight person would do? And second, if I were to do this as part of my life, what would I expected the effect on my health over a decade to be substantial? Now go ahead and make your own list. Don’t forget, from time to time, add to it as you observe more and more healthy people and take notice of their behaviors.
Most of the small changes on my list are self-explanatory, but a few may need some more elaboration. ‘Beginning to understand your metabolism.’ This can take a few to several months but it’s worth the trouble. You’ll know you’re getting it when you can almost feel a tingly sensation when you’re losing weight that is occasionally followed by an increased level of energy. Similarly you may be able to feel when you’re putting on weight. It’s not magic, it’s just the normal way your body communicates with you. At least it’s normal for skinny people all over the world.
‘Start paying more attention to your stomach.’ If you’ve already started chewing your food completely, you’ve probably noticed some things already. Chewing your food is the first step in the digestion process. It’s a step I had been skipping for years. There are digestive enzymes in your mouth and gulping your food makes your stomach, your intestines and your brain unhappy. Similarly three square meals has introduced you to the difference between being satisfied versus being full. Now you can start experimenting with how your stomach likes this food delivered. Your stomach could be very happy with your three square meals a day. Mine liked minor modifications to three squares a day but instead of having the fruit with breakfast it preferred it around 10, similarly saving something from lunch, like a second fruit, to finish around three or four was good for keeping my stomach happy. Also, if I got home too late my stomach and the rest of my body were happier with just a snack, soup or salad and just skip the main entre altogether. This was not a change in the amount of food, just when it was put in my digestive system. That way I didn’t have to listen to my stomach rumbling from 10 to 12 in the morning, and from 3 to 6 in the afternoon.
Don’t forget to tell your doctor about your healthy changes. If you’re like most of my readers, you have issues with sleep apnea, your hips or knees, your heart or blood sugar or other health issues. Talk to your doctor about your blood pressure, heart rate, diabetes and other medications. Understand the probable effects of getting healthy over time with your medications. In my case my heart rate and blood pressure kept coming down requiring adjustments to the amount of medicine I took until finally getting off it all together. Do not make these changes on your own but only with your doctor’s blessings. Also as you make these changes make sure you keep very close track of your body changes. For instance when I went from one pill to a half a pill the first time my heart rate stayed very low for nearly a week before going up to an average of hundred beats per minute. My body was not ready to come off the medication yet and more time was needed.
Regarding changes in movement and spending money on gym memberships. I would only join a gym if I loved being a gym rat, otherwise it is a waste of money. That take a look at what you have already around the house or at work that you can use. In my case, I had a huge carpeted rectangular hallway at work nearly a quarter mile around. It was air-conditioned and the perfect place to walk. After my rotator cuff tear I needed weights to build up the strength in my arm. I still used bottled water first, then a hammer that graduated to sledgehammer. Stretching your body doesn’t required equipment all feels great improve circulation. I then realized I had forgotten that my apartment building has a 24 hour weight room and a basketball court I wasn’t using. Excited with my find I asked the janitors it the junior high where I teach and it turns out we have an exercise and weight room at our school we don’t use. Well that’s not completely true with me there’s now three people using it.
Do what’s fun and what feels good. Don’t worry about how long you do it or how many reps you do. At this point in your journey that’s the surest way to get injured. Go to exhaustion, or until it’s not fun anymore. Stop immediately if you start experiencing minor pain; don’t do the last rep or two! Then just stretch it out. Working thru the pain to do one more deep knee bend and get to that 10th rep, just because you want to do 10, is the surest way to be limping around on your knee for the next couple weeks.
Lastly, don’t forget to revisit your old list of activities you made before. Some of those might not have been enjoyable when you tried them before, but now that you’re getting healthier and more flexible, they might be. Biking, dancing, hiking and martial arts or kayaking for instance might have moved from difficult and painful to fun and exciting.
Have fun, be active, socialize and progress.
Cappy