I make fun of the fact that Lauren has added at least a decade or two to my life with fit thinking, healthy lifestyle and eating options…. while the amount of life experience, fun, and gluttonous abandon I have introduced her to, in the healthiest of ways, has probably taken 10 years off her life. It all evens out, I am sure.
Anyhoo… this is what I have learned so far on my trek to be healthy, aware, and caring for my machine aka sexy bod.
I realized a couple things about working out and health… it isn’t a diet, it isn’t about weight. It’s part of my life, everyday, for the rest of my life. It needs to be like breathing or blinking eyelids… almost autonomous, without thought… and not an “option” so much as necessity. Diets don’t work for me, because when they end I am back on 5 course dinners. haha.
smarty pants. Brilliant. So far this is what I got…
a) morning workout jumps metabolism WAY more than late in the day. duh. Late in the day is much harder anyway with all that food you’ve eaten. Ugh. If you can work out a little in the morning *&* a little at night.. well then you must be training for something. But welld one.
b) drink too much water.. duh. But you still get water from other liquids you drink… don’t freak out.
c) Larger lunches smaller dinners, not the other way around. That doesn’t mean huge lunches.
d) Do not drink your calories. A movie theatre regular soda will have about 800-1000 calories in it, about half your daily allowance. A gatorade, a lemonade, etc… watch it. Diet Coke has free radicals and weird stuff… don’t get addicted to it. Don’t let it make you think you can switch those calories out for something else. Water, Iced Tea, etc. Watch coffee intake, it’s hard on the digestive track.
e) Salt is (bad) AMAZING in the way it effects weight and retension.
f) It has almost nothing to do with working out. That makes you fit. Eating and calories is what it’s about. That makes you healthy. That might be simplistic. But it’s true. Calories and consumption levels make you lose weight… not working out. If anything, that will add muscle pounds.
g) It’s all about calorie in and calorie out. Portion control is the most important thing in the history of time. The show Mad Men had to special order glasses for the show because our consumption has doubled the size of beverage containers, etc. A typical cut of meat at dinner should be 4 oz, no larger than a pack of cards. That’s insane…. we culturally frown and steaks under 16 oz.
h) a Fifth of Vodka, Gin, and most other hard liquors has about 2000 calories. How many days does it sit in your freezer?
i) V8’s are the bomb. You drop 2 servings of veggies in one or two gulps, and you can pretend it’s a bloody mary, in that you aren’t drinking much vodka (see above)
j) breakfast = bagels, breads, etc are stupid. Some grape nuts, or healthy cereal is great… but a hard boiled egg, some fruit like a banana, and yogurt can be the best way to get everything you need in the fewest calories.
I will keep it coming. I ain’t selling this, ain’t writing a book. It’s so simple, it’s free. That’s why it’s not a diet.
It’s life. My bro in law made a joke about that once… We said we weren’t going to work out because we were taking time off during vacation. “It’s not an option.. you can’t take time off from part of your life”
It’s true.
And he didn’t say it like that. If he ever read my blog, he would let me know what he said, but I can’t listen.. he is so droll. Hi Jahn.