Goals. Everyone needs a Goal

TheWayneReport

Blog 11

Goals. Everyone needs a goal.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to figure it out. I’ve made lists for numerous things over the years. Career goals being the most obvious one that I can think of.

I had a Five and Ten year career plan. I made a list of where I wanted to be and what I needed to do to get there. Guess what? It made all the decisions that much easier. It kept me focused.

In November I started this journey. I’ve struggled with stops and starts and staying committed since that time. I’ve only been completely average. But the problem was that I had no goal. No plan. No path to travel down that would lead me to the magical final destination that I think I’m looking for. I was hoping that unicorns would be there, too.

It only makes it easier, for me, if I know what the end plan is. When it comes to my health and wellness this is something that totally makes sense. It’s totally obvious. It only took me 6 months to figure it out. Oops. My bad.

I’ve been putting together a list for myself to follow. It’s not that complicated, but it’s a guide for me to follow. Something that I can use to check off my progress. How’s it been working?

This week has been stellar. I have my plan. I know where I want to be. I can actually see it. I can see where I want to be.

Losing weight, and building muscle are two different things. Muscle has mass. Mass is weight. If I wanted to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, I would not want to lose weight, but I’d want to build muscle.

If I was looking to be a lean marathon runner, I would not want as much muscle mass because I wouldn’t want to drag the extra weight along on a 26 mile race.

The training for these two examples is different. From eating different foods, to a focus on different exercises.

For me, it’s all about being leaner, having a little bit of upper body definition and the ability with my cardio to easily do 10k in less than and hour.

That is the plan. I’m not looking to be Hercules. I’m not looking to be a marathoner. I’m looking realistically at the in-between person.

Having this plan makes running on the treadmill so much easier. I know exactly why I’m doing it. Lifting my 20 lb weights has a purpose. I don’t care if the monkey beside me is lifting 3 times as much as me. I don’t want to be him.

Of course, the other reason I started the whole wellness plan was to make healthier food choices. Eat foods that would get me out of the diabetes and high cholesterol Danger Zone. Having a goal will do everything to help me with this.

I can’t believe I was aimlessly moving along without a real plan. Now I have a plan. Now I move with a purpose. It’s a whole lot easier to be motivated.

It’s also a whole lot easier to be motivated when you’re sitting on the patio of your favourite pub drinking beer and eating awesome chicken wings and then being caught by your Personal Trainer who saw you, parked their car and then came over to visit and ask why you haven’t booked any more sessions recently.

I’ll be at the trainer’s house tomorrow. It’s going to hurt…. I’m sure…. But I have a goal. I’m okay with that!

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

TheWayneReport

Blog 10

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics ~mark twain

Lies
I’ve never been a very good liar. I was probably at my worst when I was a youngster. No matter how good I thought my story, it always seemed to have just enough holes in it to get me in trouble. Sure, it’s funny now, but it was terrifying as a kid.

It’s hard to choose just one story to share. The time I drove by my mother and my sister while skipping school. I denied the whole thing until it was abundantly clear that I was caught. There was also the time when the cops knocked on my friend’s door because we were hitting golf balls onto a golf course from his parent’s backyard, high upon a cliff. We denied the accusations, until the officer asked us about the two golf clubs sitting by the door. Stupid things for sure.

It doesn’t matter which one of the many of my youthful lies I choose. It will probably always go in the same order. When confronted with the lie: 1) deny, 2) when caught – confess and 3) after its all over, feel a sense of guilt and/or a sense of relief.

Damn Lies
As an adult, I have learned from the unpleasantness of being caught in a lie, so I avoid it. Why bother? There are too many other things to worry about, other than being caught in a lie.

Sure, there are necessary “little white lies” that one must use sporadically. You know, like leaving the dinner party, that I didn’t want to go to in the first place, early because “I’m not feeling well”. But this is truly harmless in the big scheme of things.

There is no point in my world to tell any lies. The biggest ones that I encounter are the ones that I tell to myself. These are the ones that can do the most harm. Probably because after the denial and confession, the guilt can eat away at me. It leaves a sense of personal disappointment. It does not bring much relief.

I have never called in sick to work without actually being sick. As a kid, I may have faked some sort of illness to stay home from school but, as an adult, I own my responsibilities of going to work. I wouldn’t want the responsibilities of owning the guilt of calling in sick and then having to own up to it at some point.

Life’s too short for that stuff, man.

So, then, why is it that I struggle with the promise I made to myself to be healthy? To take my wellness serious? I may have been lying to myself about how I really feel. Just maybe I’m not as concerned about my health and wellness as I initially thought.

It’s so easy to start something and not finish it. It’s so easy to say I’m going to do something and then do something completely different.

I’m late on this blog. I know there’s only 2 or 3 people who actually see my brilliant ramblings, but it’s only me that I’m really letting down. It’s only me that I’m telling the damn lies to.

Statistics

Now, I’m not going to lie. I don’t think much of statistics, but some people do.

When it comes to how many people stay with their fitness program, the numbers are all over the place. Generally speaking, they are pretty low.

I live right next door to America and, since they seem to have a wonderful connection with statistics and a huge population base to draw from, I will use numbers from the Land of the Free.

I can not verify the numbers from the sources, but….

According to realbuzz.com (http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/10-shocking-gym-statistics/):
– 80% of the people with gym memberships don’t use them.
– In January, there is a 12% increase in memberships but after 24 weeks (6 months), most people have quit or stopped attending.

According to statisticsbrain.com (http://www.statisticbrain.com/gym-membership-statistics):
– 67% of people with memberships never use them.

According to Quora.com (http://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-new-gym-members-in-January-stop-coming-after-February):
– Only 16% of Americans that have a health club membership.
– Of the 12% of January sign ups, 80% will drop off by the second week of February.
– Essentially, 1 in 5 will use their membership for longer than a month.

An additional source for the statistic-minded individuals:
http://www.fitness.gov/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/

So, WHAT does THIS mean?

The journey into health and fitness is full of peaks and valleys. The simple fact that I’m still thinking about it, and trying to stay the course when I don’t really feel like it, speaks volumes. Sure, not the same volumes that the gung-ho do-gooder is accomplishing without any signs of faltering, but volumes nonetheless.

I am feeling proud of that.

Next week, it’s back on course. Back to the gym. What the hell, I might even answer the personal trainer back and book another torture session or two.

To hell with the lies and damn lies – statistically, I’m already ahead of the game.

Did I mention that I don’t like statistics?

Good Things Are Worth Repeating. Good Things Are Worth Repeating

TheWayneReport

Blog 9

Good Things Are Worth Repeating. Good Things Are Worth Repeating.

I’m not gonna blow sunshine up my own ass, but it hasn’t been a total disaster of a week. I did pretty good, other than the drinking and eating crap food…Good Things Are Worth Repeating.

I did scrub a day or two from my gym schedule just from being busy doing other things, but the funny thing is, I did miss the gym…kinda.

I think it was on Monday – or maybe it was Tuesday – the weather was so nice, I decided to go for a little run outside. I can’t say it was awesome, or anything productive, but it felt pretty good to get outside and take advantage of a sunny day – a little dose of Vitamin D. I probably walked more than I ran but, like I said, it felt pretty good.

This morning, I dragged my sorry butt to the gym with a hangover that could have killed a horse. Again, probably not the best workout, but it felt good. That, plus a couple of hours picking weeds in the garden (not picking weed…that would be different). I feel like I accomplished something good…

… And good things are worth repeating. Just not the gardening. I hate gardening.

The fridge has been loaded with this weeks food. Stocked…mostly healthy.

Oddly enough, there is space for some beer…. Uh….. Never mind….

The week ahead will present some challenges between work and practicing for St. Paddy’s Day (not drinking but playing music…I play Irish music for St. Paddy’s Day. Although it’s not a bad idea to practice drinking too), but after its all over I plan on committing myself. Not to an institution, but to this experiment.

I’ve paid the money. I want to see it through. I have to have something good to say in my weekly blog. I’m actually looking forward to it. I’m (somewhat) staying the course. Sure, the course needs some adjusting.

Of all the good and bad things in my report, it’s important to remember: Good things are worth repeating. Good things are worth repeating.

Did I say that often enough? It’s good to remind myself…good things are worth repeating. ’til next week

The Older I Get, the Older I Get

TheWayneReport

Blog 8

The older I get, the older I get. As crazy as it sounds, it slipped my mind to write my Sunday post on Sunday. I’m sure that everybody noticed.

I don’t recover from a night out as quick as I used to. It takes me longer to remember anything that I want to. In the morning, I’m a lot stiffer than I used to be. At a certain age these things seem to happen.

What am supposed to do? Easy. Keep on with the direction that I’m on. Okay, maybe not everything, and although my going to the gym is not yet an addiction, I’m going. I’m doing the program that was set out for me. Eating good is coming along — during the week anyway.

Baby steps. That’s where I’m at. Hopefully I will have more to say next week.

It’s All About the Base

TheWayneReport
Blog 7

It’s All About the Base

It all starts with making good food choices. Simple decisions that can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of my health and wellness.

Below is a sample of two days of eating. I know that some choices might not be the best but I have to start somewhere. I might point out, in my defence, that there is no junk food in there. No chips. No candy. No soda and, as usual, no excuses.

Wednesday.
Fresh homemade bun
Fruit smoothy with protein powder
Carrots
3 1/2 oz steak
2 homemade fajitas w/ salad
4 triscuits with cheese
5+ litres of water

Thursday
2 pieces of toast w/ margarine
Smoothie
3 triscuits w/cheese
Veggie bag
3 oz chicken
Yogurt
1/4 c granola
Apple
8 hot wings
4 beer
4 litres water

Thanks to the missus, my work lunch usually looks something like this:

Since I haven’t lost any weight, I’m going to guess that I haven’t been eating the right foods, or perhaps the right amount of good foods.

It appears that I must work on my “base”.

The gym experience hasn’t killed me…yet. I managed to up the intensity a bit so the 5 lb and 8 lb weights are gone. It’s all about the 10, 20 and 25 pounders.

Initially, I was worried that someone might see me and make fun of my “wimpy-ness”, but it’s worked out pretty good for me so far. Nobody that I know goes to the gym. I am safe in my anonymity.

I shall work on the base. I shall keep on “showing up”. Things are looking up.

I’ll just stay the course and look forward to reporting back next week.

Forgive me for being brief this week but I have to get back to watching the beautiful people on the Oscars.

Show Up. It’s a start

TheWayneReport
Blog 6

Show Up. It’s a start. I went to the gym a couple of times. I went to the trainer. I didn’t want to.

The first couple of times I was dealing with a cold…. I really didn’t want to go to the gym.

But I did.

That got me started. I mean, once you’re there you might as well do something, right? Even if it’s the “old college try”…

… And I survived. It wasn’t that bad. I didn’t like it, but I did it.

I showed up.

There’s no worse feeling than being at a bench with my 5, 10 and 20 pound Dumbbells straining to complete my assigned exercises. Maintaining my dignity and looking cool at the same time while some monkey lifts weights that involve more math than I’m willing to do is no easy task.

But I showed up.

And you know what? I feel good for it. I know I haven’t lost any weight. I know I’ve slipped a lot on my healthy eating, but I did a simple little workout and I feel good for it.

I showed up.

Next week I plan on reporting on my healthy eating habits and making progress on my trips to the gym, but the first thing I must remember is:

I showed up.

That I did.

Week 1 – In the Beginning…

TheWayneReport
Blog 1

They say that your body speaks to you. They’re right. My body is speaking to me, not like a cute little newborn or an Ewok, but more like a Lunatic Gorilla or a Screaming Beast of some sort. The problem is that I can’t understand what the hell it’s telling me.

At the age of 43 I could just write it off as “getting older” but I’m not so convinced of that. On the nights that I sleep right through till morning, (no, I don’t have to wake up to go pee…not yet anyway), I never wake up feeling rested. I wake up and my joints ache. From my ankles to my back, every movement comes with a dull ache (at best) until I get going. I believe the Medical People call it “malaise.” A general sense of “ick”.

Knowing that something is wrong is one thing; doing something about it is another. If you want to follow along with me, I’m about to take a 3 month journey into my health and wellness. I’m not going to lie, the whole purpose is for Me to help Me. I’m not only writing this down for your entertainment, but on the off chance that someone out there is struggling with the same thoughts, feelings or just has “the malaise”, maybe I can help inspire them.

Full disclosure: I’ve been down this road before. It must be four years ago now, I took part in a 6 week weight loss contest. I carried on eating the same, exercising the same (read: not exercising), and drinking just the same. I showed no commitment until the last 3 weeks. I had help from my Missus and my buddy, and I think I lost 16 pounds in that 3 week period by being healthy and changing my ways.

I was so proud of myself. I felt so good inside. But ask those around me and they’ll tell you – I was miserable…I’m not going to lie. I was. But I felt a little better inside. It was so hard to do (note: you can’t cram for weight loss like an English exam) and I swore I would NEVER let that happen again…

…And so, here we are. I tip the scales about the same place as I did before. Somewhere in the 200 lb park. At the towering height of 5′ 9″ (and a smidge) I should be in the 160 – 170 lb range. I’ll the first to admit, my numbers are not too far in the extreme, but in the interest of being healthy, the numbers have to come down. If you happen to be reading this and your numbers are much, much higher than mine, here is a great inspirational article to get you started. http://markmanson.net/weight-loss (I don’t know this guy, but his story is worth reading).

The question I’m going to ask is: Would I feel better at 160?

Let’s be honest. I haven’t seen 160 since high school. I do recall a period of 170 and that seemed to be alright for me. I could still wear my 32-32 501 Levis (not the skinny’s though, but let’s face it, nobody needs to see a 43 year old guy in Skinny Jeans). Really.

Last Saturday, November 1st, 2014 I weighed in at 201.4 lbs. (Ironic, the number is the same as the year, isn’t it?). I knew this journey had to happen. I admit my changes this week were small, and somewhat weak, but I believe that it is a better method than the alternative of going Cold Turkey and making drastic lifestyle changes like eating habits, going hard at the gym, and doing all sorts of crazy things that you’ll never be able to keep on top of for 2 weeks, let alone 3 months or a lifetime.

Instead, the approach was quite simple. Cutting down food portions, and choosing healthier foods more often.

Boring scientific, number/math stuff:
Let me be clear on this. It’s unfortunate, but in order to lose weight I need to either cut calories or exercise harder… Or ultimately — both. I’m lazy. Let’s try the easier approach first. There are many online calorie counters for you to google. I plugged my info into this one (http://www.cancer.org/healthy/toolsandcalculators/calculators/app/calorie-counter-calculator) because it came up first. I plugged in my numbers and it told me that maintain my current weight, I need to eat 2625 calories a day.

First of all, that’s a lot. Obviously I eat that much to be maintaining this weight. If that’s not depressing enough, I can’t account for where all those calories come from (or I don’t want to admit to it). It doesn’t matter. Not at this stage. I know I’m eating wrong. Let’s start to fix it.

What did I do? I can’t lay claim to this technique, but cut things in half (more often). I tend to eat out more often than not. Let me be extreme in this example. If I were to go out and order 2 pieces of Fish and Chips, order 1 piece of fish instead and don’t eat all the chips. This is not a healthy meal option by any means, but it’s at least a start. If you were to order a 12″ sub, make it a 6″ instead. At home, instead of filling up the big plate with your food, grab a smaller plate instead. This week is not about counting calories. Okay, enough boring, preachy, parent talk.

So how’d it work? This Sunday morning, November 9th, I weighed in at 197.8. A loss of 3.6 lbs and I didn’t even really try, or suffer. Would this get me to my goal of 170? No.
Using the same calorie counter with 170lbs, I have to eat 2423 calories to maintain that weight.

I’m almost done with the numbers (phew). If I eat only 2423 calories I will eventually get down to my goal weight, right? Sure. In a perfect test tube like scientific world, but it would take way too long and the ultimate goal for me is NOT weight loss, but overall health. More work is required.

The result:
So, do I feel any better? No. Well, not any healthier, anyway, but just knowing I was able to lose 3.6 lbs without much effort is so encouraging that I can’t wait for next week’s result. And I want to make sure I get a good result so, right now, I don’t mind the sacrifices that I know I will have to make.

Next week’s food choices involve much more veggies. Thankfully, the leftover Halloween candy is almost gone so I should be able to eliminate junk food!

This weeks key points:
Eat smaller portions
Eat healthier choices
More often