Month: August 2017

Today, I was told no fewer than three times before lunch that I look fit, that I look healthy, and that I am an inspiration to men who want to get healthy and fit. It’s weird. I love hearing it (who doesn’t like compliments!) but at the same time, I always feel a little shy or embarrassed. I’m not sure if it’s cultural or something I was taught, but while I strive to be a leader to the soldiers in my National Guard unit and leading by example, being told that I’m an inspiration to my face is another thing entirely.

I talked about my reasons for getting healthy in previous articles, and I even discussed why I got into fitness. I never did it for anyone else to notice me, nor did I do it to become an inspiration, role model, or example. Yet, here I am. I do, however, take this new status seriously, and I endeavor to be the best version of me I can possibly be.

So, it’s pretty cool to receive compliments based on the hard work I did to get back into shape and to be healthy. It’s also a little sad that being fit and healthy is something worthy of a compliment instead of being the norm, especially for a guy my age. We need to make it the norm, to where 50 year-old men are healthy. 50 is too young to look like an old man, to be overweight, and waiting for death. 50 is the new 30. Take back your health, feel young again, and get fit!

When I decided to change my lifestyle and get healthy to lose weight, it never occurred to me what some of the positive side effects could be. I thought I was going to eat healthier foods and then my weight would drop and that would be it. What I didn’t know was what would follow. Often, when people think of ways being healthy changes their lives, they think of things like mobility, being able to fit into smaller seats on airplanes, or being able to go up a flight of stairs without being winded. I used to look at it that way.

Fitness

I waited a year before I began running, and another ten months before I began working out with kettlebells. I never expected to become a runner, let alone enjoy running. I currently run at least three times a week for three miles minimum. I also start each run with a minimum of 80 push ups, regularly getting up to 95-100. As of this week, I’ve also added a kettlebell workout called Simple & Sinister by Pavel Tsatsouline. His book has opened up an entirely new area of fitness to me and also confirmed an idea I had about how to safely get into fitness (my slow and steady method seems to be preferred by not only Pavel, but many other professional athletes).

Finances

This is an area I did not expect to improve in, but being healthy has changed my mindset about how I even look at my finances. For the first time in a long time, I’ve prioritized savings and eliminated excess spending in many areas. Coupled with no longer eating fast food and treats, this savings has ended up being a windfall for me that I enjoy

Professional

I find that at work, I’m more responsible, responsive, and a harder worker. It’s easy to work harder when you are not distracted by aches, pains, hunger, cravings, and other physical limitations.

Military Service

This is not something everyone who gets healthy will do, but getting healthy allowed me to join the National Guard 20 years after I left the Marine Corps. I always enjoyed my military service, and it’s been a pleasure and a gift to be able to return to it now 20 years after I left the Marines. There are additional challenges being a 50-year old soldier, but I embrace the challenge and I have become a better person for it.

Personal Relationships

I have become sort of an example to my close friends for what Whole30 and the Paleo Diet can do for one’s health. It’s allowed me to help my friends, people I love, to become healthier and in some cases, even more fit. It’s nice when your friends share your diet, but it’s even nicer when they care enough about you to encourage you, and in turn, look to you for inspiration when changing their own lives to get healthy. It’s a responsibility I take seriously, and I am honored that they respect my opinion enough to ask for guidance from time to time.

I feel that my life is better now than it was two years ago, and it all started with a Whole30. I never thought I’d be a person who works out 6 times a week voluntarily. I also never expected how much richer my life would become after getting healthy. It’s all been worth it, and I never want to go back to my pre-healthy days.

It's simple enough, yet so many people get it wrong. I see post after post on Reddit and other places where people, mostly my age or close to my age, are asking, "What exercise can I do to lose weight and get fit?" When they see people explain that it is in fact diet that makes you lose weight and exercise makes you strong, they often get indignant. "That's now how I did it when I was young." Well, when you're young, your body will allow you to get away with things your older body will not.

I used to be able to exercise away a bad diet because my muscles put up with a lot more abuse when I was younger. I could exercise for longer duration, put in more effort, and do it with less recovery time because I was enjoying the benefits of youth. Now, as a fifty year old man, I realize that there are limits on my abilities. I can overcome a lot of these, but only through careful and thoughtful exercise.

Want to lose weight? Change your diet.

Want to get fit? Exercise.

Want to lose weight AND get fit? Change your diet and exercise.

It's that easy, but it's also that difficult. You can't really exercise away a bad diet. There are some who say they have lost weight through exercise alone. I did this when I was a young Marine. But it's not something sustainable, and it's not safe when you are 50 or more pounds overweight.

Do yourself a favor. Whole30. Paleo Diet. Keto. Running. Push ups. Kettlebell swings. Pick one of those diets and pick one of the exercises. I did a Whole30 and transitioned into the Paleo Diet. I then started doing push ups which led to me adding running to my exercise routine and recently, I've started kettlebell swings and get-up drills. The different in my fitness level between now and a year ago is astounding. And the best part? With my method, I have no soreness the day after.

But back to basics. I will repeat it once again:

Want to lose weight? Change your diet.

Want to get fit? Exercise.

Want to lose weight AND get fit? Change your diet and exercise.

There is no other way. There are no shortcuts. There is no magic pill that will make you lose weight and no effortless way to get fit. You have to do the work. Just get it done.