Month: January 2017

Lose weight or get healthy? What’s your real goal?

Published on by PaleoMarine6 Comments

File_000 (39)I was afraid I was going to die young due to poor health. If things kept going the way they were going, it was going to be an early end for me. I decided that I wanted to get healthy, and weight loss factored into that for me. I didn’t set out to merely lose weight. It was a big part of it to be sure, but it wasn’t the main goal.  The main goal was to not die young, get healthy, and maybe even get fit.

When we start a diet plan for the reason of losing weight, we tend to watch the scale very closely for feedback and we base our success or failure on the numbers. When the numbers don’t match our expectations, we are much more likely to give up and fail in adopting the new diet or lifestyle. That’s why I always say that the scale is just one measure of our health and progress. There are many times when I go through days or weeks (and in the past few months, bunches of weeks) without any loss of weight. But during these lean times where the scale didn’t reward my good eating habits, my waist did by losing almost 4 inches, and my overall fitness levels have been rising as I’ve been running now for over three months.

I have friends who are using many different methods to get healthy. Some see great weight losses and others see the loss come at a slower pace. We all have our own journeys, and we can only truly commit to them when we are able to come to terms with the sacrifices required. That’s totally okay. That Sherry and I were able to commit to a much more rigid lifestyle than others doesn’t mean we are any better at it. It just means we set our minds to it to a different level; nothing more. You have to be comfortable with your level of commitment or the change in lifestyle won’t work for you. Again, like I always say, do whatever program you want to do, but do it to the best of your ability.

With that said, for 2017, I recommend setting a goal of getting healthy, not losing weight. Weight loss will be a healthy and welcome byproduct of getting healthy. Our bodies are made to be thin, so getting healthy will bring your body back into balance, and you will get weight loss. Just don’t look for weight loss to be the only measure of success. There are so many ways to look at it, and your body will give you constant feedback in different areas. You just need to know where to look.

Some Days I Don’t Want to Run

Published on by PaleoMarine2 Comments

It’s weird. I have found that I enjoy running, yet there are days I really don’t want to do it. The reasons can range anywhere from, “I’m just not feeling it,” to “My knee has some pain in it that I don’t want to exacerbate.” Today, I’m just not feeling it.

But I’ll do it.

I feel horrible if I don’t run now. I’ve developed the habit of running, and I do enjoy how I feel after a run. The day after a run is even better: my legs feel strong, I feel vibrant, and physically able to tackle anything. Also, as much as I’m not feeling it today, as soon as I get done with my push-ups (I’m up to 60 pre-run push ups now), I’m ready to go. I usually decide on a minimum of 3 to 3.5 miles, and depending on how I feel at mile 2, I may go for an extra half or even mile and a half. My longest run to-date has been 5.23 miles, and while I don’t do that often, it’s a new benchmark for me to pass up at some point.

But probably not today.

I’ll likely do my 3.53 mile course and be happy with that. The weather is a little warm today so I’m going to wait until it gets dark before I hit the road. Then, when I get back, I’ll shower and eat dinner. Tonight is lobster night. I think it’ll be a good celebratory meal after getting out there and getting it done even when I didn’t feel like it.

Update: I did run. It ended up being 3.53 miles (as I predicted) and I felt great running today. As a matter of fact, it was probably my best run since I got sick back in early December and couldn’t run for nearly two weeks. Even though I was able to get back into running after being out of it for those two weeks, it’s taken me nearly a month before I was able to really feel good on a run. I’m glad that the good feeling is coming back. It makes my runs so much more enjoyable!

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Categories PT

New Years Resolutions: The Truth

Published on by PaleoMarine2 Comments

I’m not a believer in New Years Resolutions for myself. I’ve never been one to make a resolution based on the year changing. As a friend recently said, there’s really no magical difference between one year and the next, and I agree.

With that said, however, New Years Resolutions do seem to be a thing, and a thing that works for some people. I won’t belittle anyone for making one. If that’s your thing, DO IT! But if you make a resultion, then there’s something very important thing you need to know. Most of them fail.

The reasons for this are many, and I am not going to go into them. I will dovetail off the last post I made and tackle one such reason: realistic goals. Many people make resolutions to exercise three or even five times a week. They make a resolution to eat healthy. They make resolutions to lose weight. All of these are very difficult to do when going from a lifestyle that doesn’t incorporate any of these already.

Make whatever resolution you want to make, but make it realistic. Make it more generalized. Make the goals attainable. Instead of saying, “I want to lose 50 lbs by July,” say, ” I want to be healthier by the summertime.” Instead of saying, “I will work out five times a week,” say, “I am going to adopt a plan that allows me to get into exercise in a healthy way that encourages me to want to exercise more on my own” or “I want to get into the habit of exercising.”

When Sherry and I decided to do our first Whole30, we didn’t wait for New Year. We started a week after our decision was made. We took that week to get rid of food we already had by either eating it, donating it, giving it away, or throwing it away (it’s surprising how much bad food we had in our pantry and refrigerator!). When we did our second Whole30, it was again, something we felt we should do to reset things, and we just did it. We are about to start our third Whole30 in a few days, and it has nothing to do with New Years Resolutions and everything to do with the fact that we need to get back to smaller portions and eating good, whole foods. Our Paleo diet has been super awesome, but we’ve allowed some non-Paleo things to creep in here and there, and we don’t want to backslide. So… Whole30 #3, here we come!

If you’re a resolutions type of person, make a realistic one. For the rest of us, there’s no time like the present to make a change. That it happens to be a New Year shouldn’t stop you. If someone asks if your changed diet or exercise plan is a resolution, you can tell them it is and be done with it or tell them it’s a coincidence. It really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you make a change, set realistic goals, and stick with it.

Happy New Year’s Day!

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If you took my advice yesterday, you ate, drank, and were merry! Today, your head may hurt a little and you may feel badly for having eaten a bunch of food that wasn’t Paleo.

Like I said yesterday, don’t. The past is the past. We celebrate holidays with friends and loved ones rarely, and it’s important to be a part of your social circle.

Just let it go and make the next meal a good one. Maybe hit the gym or go running later today or tomorrow if you’re up for it.

I hope your celebrations were safe and fun! Let’s make 2017 a great year of health and fitness!