the gym

In light of both my exercise pledge and my earlier allusion to my disdain for the gym, now's as good a time as ever to explain why exactly I prefer to exercise in the great outdoors. It's a combination of two factors: I love nature, and I can't stand the gym environment. Whether you're like me, or exactly the opposite (you can't wait to jump on the treadmill at Bally's), one thing is for sure: getting regular exercise is a lot easier if it's on your terms.

As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing more beautiful than the world around us. I love the breeze, the trees, the grass - the everchanging scenery of the outdoors makes exercise infinitely more enjoyable for me. Conversely, the gym triggers the exact opposite response in me. I'm not sure why exactly, but it just seems boring to walk on a conveyor belt watching closed-captioned MSNBC.

My goal to exercise daily over my Spring Break has helped me realize how much my enjoyment of an exercise impacts my inclination to sustain it. The moral of the story: You want to exercise more? Make sure you love what you're doing!

See you on the mountaintop!

My Spring Break Exercise Pledge

" I hereby pledge to engage in significant physical activity daily for the duration of my Spring Break (3/26-4/4) "

This endeavor has been a long time coming - despite my affinity for outdoor exercise, I've rarely committed to regular athletic recreation, and even on those occasions, only for short periods of time. I've got some goals to accomplish now, however, so I'm trying to keep my focus on what's important to me:

1. Staying trim (losing weight is too much work to allow myself to gain much back)
2. Feeling fit (who wouldn't want to feel like they're in peak physical condition?)
3. Improving my tan (I've never minded looking a little bronzed!)

So far, I've done pretty well, playing some basketball, going on a 2 1/2 hour hike in a local park, playing lots of drums (my favorite), and my crowning achievement this weekend: a 37-mile bike ride from my house to the coast, then pedaling down the beach from Playa del Rey to Torrance.

I've learned that there are two key elements to success in any endeavor I undertake: clarity in purpose (setting specific goals), and making the task at hand more enjoyable. My goal is clear, my motivation is clear, and, to avoid wrestling with my strong antipathy towards the gym, I've decided to focus on engaging in outdoor recreational activities that keep my interest and are enjoyable to me - especially with friends!

























Since activity is squarely in my sights this week, I look forward to making movement happen! If there's something you want to get done for yourself, try doing the same thing: set up a clear goal to do over a short time (a day or two, or a week, is fine). The result may surprise you!

Well, I'm back off to my drumkit ... I'll keep you posted on my results. In the meantime, happy trails!

Keeping our eyes on the prize

I think the weight-loss journey is kind of like a roller coaster - sometimes it's easy to handle, sometimes it's hard, sometimes you can see the next twist or turn before hand, and sometimes you can't. It's not always simpler to stay motivated through all the trials and tribulations of slimming down, but I've always found that having a clear and important goal in mind makes it a lot easier.

Why do you want to lose weight? For your health? For your physical fitness? Maybe vanity is your biggest motivator - it was, and is, for me. Perhaps a combination of these and other reasons is what finally drove you do decide, "now is the time to lose the fat."

Notice this has little to do with what others want - "the doctor wants me to lose weight" isn't enough. If the doctor told you to lose weight for your health, and you want to be healthier, focus on that: "MY weight is unhealthy, and I want to lose weight for MY health." Now, I'm not saying that what other people want isn't important, because it sure can be. But what the doctor wants - or what your spouse, sibling, friend, child, coworker, or anyone else wants - is nowhere near as important is what YOU want.

So, now that we have a "ME-centric goal" (I want to lose weight because _________ ), let's visualize it. What does "slimmer you" look like? What can "skinny you" do that you can't do now? Make this visualization as detailed and vivid as possible.

If you want this goal enough, if your visualization is powerful enough, this can be a great tool to help you overcome temptation. Think about what "slimmer you" looks like, and then ask yourself whether what you're eating is helping or hurting your efforts. I think you'll be amazed at hope much this exercise, with your new clear goal in mind, helps you keep your eye on the prize.

This is why you're fat.

I'm not gonna lie - I've had a perverse obsession as of late with thisiswhyyourefat.com. If you haven't surfed over there, it's essentially a collection of photos featuring disgustingly caloric edible creations which, if a made a regular part of your diet, would provide a clear explanation for why you're fat. Having a couple deep-fried beerritos a week can't be too good for the old love handles.

But this site, gross and comical though it may be, really made me think - it really isn't that hard to tell why we're fat, is it? Whether you wear them on your sleeve or carry them deep within your subconscious, people struggling with their weight have at least a couple obvious causes of their robust waistline, and addressing these must be key to slimming down. Stated simply, I think we should try to figure out why we're fat, then figure out how to be skinny. We can do this through simple observation.

Ever watch skinny people eat? Most of them don't eat like folks with food issues do. My sister is one of these slender freaks that eats half of what's on her plate, savors every bite of her fave foods, and won't eat dishes that aren't that satisfying. Eating in moderation, tasting every morsel, and choosing foods wisely, huh? That must be why she's skinny!

Myself, at my old weight, was the polar opposite. Why would I want to leave perfectly good, uneaten food on my plate at the end of a meal? Why bother to taste and chew when I could shovel food straight into my throat? And as for just eating foods I like? EVERY food was my favorite food! Why was I so big? Probably because I was eating like a fat guy - that's why I was fat.

So I guess that's something to think about - if (to a great extent, anyway) our eating habits our connected to our physique, then what does your eating style say about YOU? My transformation from fat to slim was accompanied by an ESSENTIAL eating-habit-shift from "fat eating" to "skinny eating." It's not magic; our weight is determined by our calorie intake and expenditure, effected to a great degree by our style of eating.

I know the shift can be made - I did it. And YOU CAN TOO!