First, let me tell you a little about me and my background in relation to this subject. As stated, I have always been interested in fitness, but that interest has manifested itself in different ways, and in different degrees, over the course of my life. The earliest serious interest in this regard was an interest in cycling that began in my teens. In part, this was a matter of necessity (read: transportation). As I headed into my twenties, this interest grew to the point I found myself riding not just to get around, but to improve my physical condition. I also participated in some organized rides and races. The pinnacle of this interest was a metric century (100 kilometers/62 miles) I rode in at the age of 21, which included a brutal eleven-mile climb up to Look Rock Tower in the Smoky Mountains. Reaching the pinnacle is still one of my proudest athletic moments.
There was a brief period in my mid-twenties where I really got bitten by the fitness bug. Unfortunately, I had started smoking at the age of twelve, and this was a habit I struggled with for the next fifteen years. But there was a period in the early nineties where I was in the midst of one of my successful non-smoking periods. This really fueled a desire to strive for optimal fitness. This rekindled my cycling activity, and I started to do some short-distance running on the local track as well. I was lifting weights consistently at this point too, something I had also first tried in my early twenties. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed lifting weights, as I was never the "musclehead" type (perhaps owing partly to my lanky frame).
During this period was also the first time I ever got interested in nutrition. I guess it just went along with all of the other healthy things I was trying to do. Though my knowledge was limited in those days, I do remember switching to skim milk, and snacking on fruit.
Alas, I did not stick with it, and gradually slid back into less healthy habits. It took me until 1994 or 1995 to finally kick the cigarette habit for good, but I was finally successful. However, I continued to smoke the occasional cigar for several years, rationalizing it on the basis of it not being a "habit" (as if only habits can harm you, I guess). I also became less active, and much less careful in my eating habits. I was also drinking plenty of beer.
These bad habits were at their zenith right around the time I turned thirty. I guess I have been blessed with a relatively high metabolism, but my bad choices started to catch up with me. I found myself weighing close to 200 pounds. This may not sound bad based on my six-foot frame, but it was. I have a very small, slender frame, so at 200, I was fat. I remember becoming winded easily, and being extremely uncomfortable when I stooped to tie my shoes. In pictures (such as the one above, age 33), my fat gut was unmistakable.
I became so uncomfortable that I launched a modest effort to get in shape. Appropriately, I had modest results. I got down to around 185 mainly by trying not to pig out quite so much. I still was not very careful about my food choices, though. I was also exercising, but it was sporadic. I might run once or twice a week...or not. I might play tennis once a week. That was about it. Every once in awhile, I would try to get back into the weightlifting habit, but it never seemed to stick. And I was still drinking plenty of beer.
Still, I managed to convince myself that I was in pretty good shape. Sadly, it is not so hard to do in this country. Frankly, most of us have forgotten what "fit" means. And especially if you looked at my face or limbs, I did not look fat. But I had a nice little paunch of abdominal fat, which I now know is the most dangerous kind.
Even at 185, I was considered slightly overweight by the BMI charts. And though my small frame and loose clothes may have helped me hide it, my body fat percentage was 22%, which is also considered overweight. Ugh. Still, when I mentioned wanting to lose weight, most looked at me askance and said, "Why?"
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Not surprisingly, as recently as two years ago, my cholesterol was 344, 144 points above the recommended 200. HDL ("good" cholesterol) was 48, 11 points below target. LDL ("lousy" cholesterol) was 218, well over twice the target. Triglycerides were 176, 26 points above target. Then my blood glucose started rising, to six points above the target of 100. My brother has diabetes, so this is definitely not good.
I need to do something, but sadly, I felt like I did not know exactly how to go about it. I was running at this point, sometimes as much as ten miles at a shot, so I tried to tell myself that I "should" be healthy, "what more can I do". But I was not exercising consistently, and I was eating (and drinking) pretty much whatever I wanted.
My wife, Jill, was also overweight, even more so than I was. Amusingly, it was only in helping her that I helped myself. In researching, I thought that Nutrisystem might help her, and decided it could not do me any harm either. So, we started the Nutrisystem plan in November of 2008.
We both had quick results. The momentum we gained as our weight improved encouraged other healthy changes as well. First, I finally managed to convince myself that consistency was the missing piece in my running. I started running most days, even if only a couple of miles. Next, I started lifting weights again. This time, I kept at it. Yes, occasionally "life events" got in the way and I might miss a workout (or even a few workouts), but I always managed to pick it back up again when smoother waters returned.
As I became concerned about the risk of repetitive stress injury from all the running, I decided to branch out into cycling (again) and swimming. I had completed a triathlon a few years ago, and have now decided to focus my future racing energies into triathlons. I believe the multi-disciplinary "cross training" approach to be the wisest course for a "masters" athlete.
Within a few months, I lost forty pounds. I had brought my weight down from 185 to 145, well within the "normal weight" range. Even better, I am proud to report that I got my body fat percentage down to 11%! I never thought I would be able to achieve that. That is not just within the healthy range for a man my age, but it is at the lower end. To me, this is consistent with my small frame, not to mention my racing goals. My blood chemistry also shaped up. Only my overall cholesterol is still "borderline high" at 206, but it continues to trend downward. Jill is also normal weight now. I believe she lost 75 pounds, and actually won a local "body transformation" contest!
We are no longer on the Nutrisystem program, but I credit the program for encouraging me to really dig into and understand the "nuts and bolts" of good nutrition. Jill and I are now doing our best to follow a "Mediterranean-style" diet. We eat mostly fruits and vegetables, high-quality complex carbohydrates, and unsaturated fats in moderation. We eat almost no red meat, nor "bad" carbohydrates such as added sugars or simple carbohydrates, nor processed foods. I also finally gave up beer; now, I confine myself to one or two glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon per evening. An occasional Scotch is also allowed. For her part, Jill cut out alcohol altogether.
So you may think our successes are why I am interested in blogging about fitness now. When I tell you that I have decided to pursue a Certified Personal Trainer certification from the American College of Sports Medicine, you may think our successes are the reason for that as well. And you would be partly correct! I feel so much better and am so much healthier now that I want to share this great feeling with everyone! I want to share what I have learned on this journey. But here's the thing: how great it feels to be healthier is not the only thing that I have learned.
An unexpected secondary result of this journey is that I have learned much about the sad state of affairs that is American health. I mean, I knew we were not the healthiest folks in the world, but I had no idea how dire things really are. I suspect I am not the only one.
The thing that really got my attention is that the situation is very fixable. This is great news! But the sad truth is that fixing it, we are not. BUT THERE IS HOPE! This is what I plan to talk about next time. I am not yet sure if I will try to do this weekly or monthly, as that depends upon many factors; most importantly, your interest and my time!
In the meantime, I would love to hear any and all comments, questions, feedback...you name it! My ideal vision for this blog is a conversation between the readers and me, not just a one-sided, boring lecture. I want to give you information, and hopefully motivation, that is relevant to you and that you can use in the real world! If I can help someone get to where they want to be health-wise...well, that would be just the greatest thing in the world. God knows there are those who have, and continue to, help me! I do not pretend to have all the answers, and there is always more than one path to any goal. But if I can shine some light on your path to help you make the right turns that work best for you, then that would be awesome. So please, communicate with me and help me to make this blog as good as it can be.
Until next time, take good care of yourself. MAKE IT HAPPEN!
2 comments:
Glad to see the resurrection of the blog. Good subject matter, too. Looking forward to some anti-spare tire advice for lazy couch potato types with bad feet. :)
From a master blogger such as yourself, that is quite a compliment, thank you! But I am sure you are not referring to yourself as a "couch potato". Hippo or not, I seem to recall seeing you on the race course, and sometimes ahead of me. :-)
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