It's no secret that a marathon is a race that consist of 26.2 miles and if you have ever run a marathon, you know it is not easy. To do it right, you have to train for months leading up to the race and have a really good nutritional strategy throughout the training that helps with recovery. With good training and nutrition, a marathon can be somewhat of an enjoyable event. But train improperly, it can be the longest and hardest hours of your life. I am not promoting everyone start training and running a marathon. My long distance running shoes have been hung up for a number of years and now a days I stick with very short runs.
Metaphorically speaking, let’s look at "Life as a Marathon". Let's say that the race of life starts at 50 and we all live to an average age of 76.2 years of age. How would you want to spend your 26.2 years of life? For someone that has been "training" for these later years , those last 26.2 years should be enjoyed traveling and hiking new destinations, spending quality of time with family, living with minimal pain, less trips to the doctor (unless for checkups) and avoiding prescription medications just to name a few. And just like running a marathon, adequately trained, there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to take in the scenery and enjoy our later years of life. Take the flip side and now look at an individual that hasn't really spent much time taking nutrition and fitness very seriously, those last 26.2 years could be painful, spent seeing many doctors and specialist, and taking meds to counter all the damage that was done for the previous 50 years not to mention surgeries. Just like the fable The Grasshopper and the Ant, the Ant planned all summer and fall for the winter while the Grasshopper partied and didn't plan and ended up cold and starving....sorry for being so dark but that fable always stuck with me. Sad to say with many of my family and friends, I see the negative results of making poor food choices and not incorporating fitness as part of their daily life. In many cases they will have a health setback and instead of being proactive and making adjustments to their lifestyle, they take the easy way out and take a pill. It's never too late to make changes that can make those last miles much more enjoyable, but the earlier you make healthier lifestyle decisions, the more miles you can enjoy in the "Marathon of Life".
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We have a tendency to eat unconsciously and just as easy, we can shop unconsciously by throwing food in our cart without thinking about what it is or looking at the package ingredient list and knowing what we are really getting from our food. It's easy to maintain a routine and buy the same stuff that we have been buying for years. Maybe it's time to step away and examine what is really in our cart. With that said, what does your shopping cart look like? When I am shopping at a grocery store whether it be Costco, Whole Foods, or a Tom Thumb, I many at times unconsciously look in a persons cart then look at them. Many times there is a correlation between the cart and a person's lifestyle. Carts that contain mostly processed foods such as chips, frozen pizza, mac and cheese, soda, sweetened cereal, etc, probably reflects that persons food and fitness choices throughout their days. This motivates me to look in my cart and make sure I have whole foods such as veggies, fruits, legumes, healthy proteins such as lean beef (grass fed when possible), chicken (free range when possible) , and/or Alaskan salmon. My suggestions for shopping in general (and this isn't a news flash for many), shop on the outside of the isles. The inside of the isles is where the processed foods live. Outside is where the fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, yogurts and fresh foods in general are located. The exception would be frozen veggies and fruits. These are totally acceptable and in many cases frozen veggies and fruits CAN have more nutritional value since typically they are picked and flash frozen immediately in order to maintain and preserve their freshness. So what about those middle isles? There are acceptable grains such as rice, dried beans, oats, nuts and condiments. These are items that I keep in my fridge and pantry, but try to avoid the other processed temptations. So a few bullet points for shopping that I live by:
So next time you go grocery shopping, be mindful of what is in your cart. I was never a fan of the reality show "Biggest Looser". Watching the coaches hammer the contestants with extreme calorie restrictive diets and over the top cardio sends a bad message to those that want to loose weight or get fit and believe that what they are watching is the best and only approach to dropping unwanted pounds or getting back in shape. This show is NOT "reality" and this approach will lead most people right back to where they started. Dropping unwanted pounds can be as simple and making a few modifications to your eating habits and then add more fuel to the fire by choosing an activity that you enjoy and are likely to continue. There are so many options to exercise that do not feel like exercise; playing tennis, walking, light jogging, biking, hiking in the woods or a park or lifting weights in a gym just to name a few.
Share Your Activities With Others Sharing your exercise time with your partner, friends, kids or even your dog can take what feels like a boring activity and make it a social and rewarding experience. You become each other's cheerleader or it brings out the competition in you. I personally like listening to music or to interesting podcast on various topics when I go out for a walk or a light run. Also having a gym membership that is close to where you live or work can be very convenient on days that are just too cold, dark, or hot, not to mention, most gyms have lockers and showers. Morning, Noon or Afternoon? Time of day can make a difference on your motivation to work out. I am not a morning person when it comes to working out and find myself unmotivated when I would get home from work. Mornings can be convenient for many and can really jump start the day. Getting the blood flow early is good for the brain. Personally I am a more noonish guy and would spend my lunch hour going to a gym that was very close to my work. In many cases I would take an hour and a half for lunch but I would make it up either by coming in early or leaving a bit later. Most employers are very flexible when you are being productive during your lunch hour even if you spend more than the typical hour. After all, a healthy employee is a more productive employee. When I would get home from work I could relax knowing I have the evening to focus on cooking and relaxing. If you can make your lunch hour your exercise hour, packing lunch takes the pressure off the temptation of grabbing fast food out of convenience. My goto was a smoothie that I had in my small ice chest. Typically I would make a double batch in the morning; one for breakfast and one for lunch. And don't forget to pack your afternoon snack! Mix it up Don't put pressure on yourself to do the same activity every day. Mix your activities up. I like walking, light jogging or biking one day then going to the gym to do weight training on another day. Don't limit yourself; just keep moving! The first time I heard the concept of "Crowding Out" through my Integrative Nutrition class I realized I had been practicing "crowding out" without realizing what I was doing. This is a practice of adding more healthy stuff to your diet thereby leaving less room for the bad stuff. For example, I find if I start the morning with a large smoothie, I will be less tempted to stop off for a bagel or a donut on the way to work. I am just not as hungry and don't have 'room' in my stomach for more food. Practicing this throughout the day can keep those sweet/salty treat temptations at bay. By having nuts, low sugar nut bars such as Kind Bars, fruit, yogurt, vegetable sticks with almond butter or healthy proteins such as eggs or jerky all within reach will help you make better choices when you have those snack attacks. If after having your healthy options and you still are wanting to have something bad, you will be less likely to overeat. I found this really helpful when the office was having what seemed to be a once a week birthday party where I would have healthy choices first and then, if I wanted a small piece of cake, a small piece would be completely satisfying.
A TYPICAL DAY OF YESTERYEAR
I can remember my typical work day of getting up in the morning, having my coffee, stopping off at Einstein's or Starbucks for a bagel and cream cheese, maybe throw in a banana or apple, and proceed to work. For lunch, go out with co-workers and have a burger and fries or a sandwich with chips. For that afternoon snack, someone in the office would always have candy or I could hit the snack machine for a candy bar treat or a bag of chips with a coke to get me through the rest of the day. At home for dinner, I would cook a meat along with potatoes and a vegetable. I thought I was eating pretty healthy and clean. Repeat this process 5 days a week and then it's apparent that I am eating only a couple of serving of vegetables a day and a piece of fruit. The rest of my diet was fast or processed food. I was getting "real food" for dinner but the rest of the day was just crap. I know a lot of families that take this further and for dinner go out for pizza or mexican food out of convenience not to mention it just taste so good. TAKE AN INVENTORY Take an inventory of what you are eating in a given week. Just write down a food journal at the end of the day using your phone memo app or just a piece of paper next to your bed. Once I starting taking notes on what I was putting in my body, I was much more mindful of my choices throughout the day. There is nothing wrong with the occasional burger and fries but try to double down on eating more veggies and healthy fruits throughout the day. MAKE THE CHANGE AND START EACH MORNING WITH A WEEK'S WORTH OF VEGGIES AND FRUITS... Studies show that making a good choice in the morning can lead to making better choices throughout the day. This is where my go to morning ritual is the smoothie. This gives me the opportunity to load up on nutrient dense foods that provide a powerhouse for the every cell of my body. My single smoothie has more healthy fruits and vegetables than many people eat in a week. The smoothie is also a great way to get creative with your ingredients. It's also a great way to have a wide variety of vegetables and fruits that you would otherwise not have time to eat. A few tips for smoothies:
So what does my smoothie typically have in it.
If you have a significant other, make a double batch and you both can start the day off on the right foot. Or you can put the other half in a quart jar along with ice packs and have it as your lunch or afternoon snack. Experiment with your smoothie by seeing how many various veggies you can add. Lately I have been adding raw red cabbage and raw beets. The benefits are too many to mention. It's like drinking a salad but the flavor is overshadowed by the blueberries and banana. Push yourself to get creative. Your body will thank you! At the age of 38 approaching 40, like many of us, I didn't like the way I looked. I was rather soft and out of shape and decided I wanted to do something about it before I hit the big 4-0. I bought several books on diet and exercise and started experimenting with different diets. I also started hitting the gym, ran a few marathons along the way, and found myself injured, in constant joint pain, and getting lots of colds and seasonal allergies. To make matters worse, my male hormones were shot and I was feeling burnt out.
Fast forward 14 years and now 52. After lots of experimenting and learning what works best for me, today I am a much better version of myself. I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge relating to nutrition and fitness but also incorporate stress management and the importance of good sleep. Not only have I acquired this knowledge but I have practiced it. While I still love experimenting with different diets and exercise routines, I discovered that better nutrition requires less fitness. I like to say "sweating starts in the kitchen." What started as the pursuit of vanity has produced many side benefits: less trips to the doctor, no more pain from chronic cardio, and less time in the gym. I am in better shape in my 50s than I was in my 20s, 30s or 40s and with much less physical work. I hear people talk about age as if once the magic number hits, it's all down hill. Every year, my goal is to be a better version of myself than the previous one and so far, so true! |