My Health Journey

Cleaning my closet, I decided to discard the first pairs of jeans I bought after I started losing weight five years ago. They were a trim size 38, way slimmer than the unspeakable size 40 I was wearing. I loved them. But now I cannot bear to wear them anymore. They feel heavy, baggy, and without a belt, can slip down my hips zipped and buttoned. Meanwhile, even the size 34s that I had gotten more recently feel big. Moreover, I managed to get into size 33 jeans I had saved from 1995 !  So now, the size 38s are out of commission. (I only kept wearing them so long for sentimental reasons that no longer apply) So how did I do it? How did I lose some 50 lb., and over five sizes, and get to feel 25 years younger, in five and half years? Discarding my first "weight loss" jeans from 5 years and more than 5 sizes ago. There is no magic potion. The way I did it was through small changes in my lifestyle, introduced gradually, one at a time, until each change was embraced and beca...

As the heat and humidity of summer abated, I am catching up on my steps. Good season to enjoy the outdoors. Scattered maple leaves

For 36 hours on Monday and Tuesday, we were drenched by the remnants of hurricane Florence. Intermittently, walls of water fell from the sky. I was awakened at 2 AM on Tuesday morning by a flood alert in my area. Suddenly and ahead of the schedule, on Tuesday afternoon, the storm blew over, the sun peeked at us, and the humidity began subsiding. I had to go outside. Though I had worked out in the morning, and was somewhat exhausted, I had no power to resist the inviting sunshine after days of gloom. I headed over to the nearest lake to watch the floodwaters rush the dam.

I wrote about the importance of planning new and different routes to break the monotony of outdoor exercise. Especially when following a running program that assigns runs of certain distances, it's useful to know the length of each possible route. There are a number of ways to do that. First is past experience. If you travel this path once, with the aid of a pedometer, gps watch, fitbit, or smartphone you can tell or estimate its length. When I first started walking, I only had my Omron pedometer. It was nice because it counted my steps all the time, not only when I worked out. To estimate distance, I measured how many steps it took for me to walk or run a known distance. After repeating on several occasions, I'd have an idea of how many steps it took me to cover a mile, and use that to measure future walks / runs. It's not so accurate, but it works and is relatively inexpensive. After losing my pedometer, my girlfriend got me a Fitbit. The Fitbit has the featu...

Boredom is probably the single greatest enemy to persistence in a workout plan. Within weeks, my daily walks helped get me physically and mentally healthier. Just as quickly, however, I realized I needed to vary the route I walked or would sooner quit. The same applied to my runs, bike rides, hikes, and everything else I did outdoors. I needed new trails, new terrain, different scenery, and trails of varying lengths as well. Route created on Google Maps Google Maps quickly became my friend in that regard. I used it to survey the area around me and find routes, and also to measure distances. It is indispensable when it comes to travel. I study my destination for routes and print out maps ahead of time. With that and my running or hiking gear packed, I have no excuses to skip a workout because of travel. Furthermore, running or walking is a fun way to explore and sight-see. You see a lot more than from a moving car. Google Maps  is also indispensable for planning long ...

my jogging stroller One of the earliest challenges I faced was integrating my exercise with my single-parent life. I had separated from my marriage when my daughter was only three years old, retaining shared custody. On my custody days, the child demanded much attention. She could not be left alone, so I was unable to do any early morning outdoor activities. Enter the jogging stroller. Upon a friend's advice, I purchased it a month after my separation. For less than $100, I bought my freedom to exercise outdoors anytime I wanted. The Baby Trend Expedition stroller I got was fairly sturdy. It supported my child until she was five years of age, and weighed 50 lb., as advertised. It also has two cup-holders for each of us and a phone / wipes compartment, along with storage at bottom. We kept it in good shape, so I sold it on Craigslist after for $35.                             I started with walking. I...

Had a nice one hour walk today around the lake. Under the towering trees shading the trail, I saw a caterpillar climbing a silk thread. Every day that I walk, run, hike, or bike outdoors, I see a small wonder of nature, be it a great blue heron wading in the pond, turtles sunning on a log, or deer almost perfectly camouflaged in the thickets. Last week, I saw a hummingbird hovering near a treetop, and a rainbow patch next to the setting sun. Over the years, I have seen red foxes and beavers. Caterpillar climbing on a silk thread. Every exercise session outdoors is an adventure. Even walking the same trail over and over, you see different things at different times of day, and as the seasons change. It is a refreshing way of breaking the monotony of exercise . For me, it wins hands-down over working out in a gym or a treadmill. Fresh air and Vitamin D are a welcome bonus, and being closer to nature is refreshing and healing. The outdoors often pose a challenge. Trail conditions a...