It’s only my opinion, but I think the word “hope” has to be the most misused word in our common language.  The dictionary definitions of it make pretty clear that hope is a combination of desire for something to take place in the future and a confident expectation that it will come to pass.  But, when most people use it, it means almost the opposite.

For example, I see this phrase often on message boards regarding dieting and transformation: “I hope I can do this, but I’ve tried and failed four times now so I’m afraid I’ll drop out again.” That is much more a wish than a hope, isn’t it? 

So, what’s the big deal about misusing hope? Well, hope is a valuable, absolutely necessary quality that transformation champions have. I’m not talking about naive overconfidence, or mere wishful thinking, but the true hope that comes from gathering enough information that you are confident that the system you select will work for you. I’m talking about the hope that comes from making significant and accurate preparations for the transformation so that you leave little to guess or chance as you get ready to go. And I’m talking about gathering a support system of others that will help you to maintain a confident expectation that you can do this, and that you will truly be transformed at the end of the transformation challenge.

As you can see, I’m talking about hope as an active mindset. One that comes from having done everything you need to do in order to keep it going. Anyone can have wishful thinking with a bit of enthusiasm. That’s the mindset you often see when someone’s first post is something like “Woo hoo, here we go!” And they haven’t even read enough about the program to know how to take their photos, make their measurements, or even how to eat and exercise during the coming weeks. That kind of attitude, though they may call it hope, is in reality just some enthusiastic wishful thinking that usually has a half life of about 10 days.

To make this the transformation of your life, you’ve got to have hope. And you WILL have it if you do your homework, invest in creating a support network, and  faithfully do what you know you need to do. Don’t put it off. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,  but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs, Ch. 29.

God bless!

Now, I don’t mean by this title that Christmas is somehow dangerous or unpleasant. What I’m talking about is “surviving” the Holidays insofar as your exercise and diet are concerned. It’s pretty simple, reallly–though not easy!

Begin with the notion that you’re not going to grant yourself permission to self-destruct like you have in previous years.  You DO HAVE the willpower and the necessary strength within you to avoid doing that. But, what happened in the previous years was you let yourself or someone else talk you into having a so-called forbidden treat, and then you thought, “what the heck I’ve blown it, I may as well enjoy myself!” And, of course the truth of the matter is that you didn’t enjoy yourself at all. You went to bad with a bad attitude about yourself and you woke up feeling like you know what.

How do you do what I’m talking about. A couple of ways. First of all, you can certainly take Christmas itself as your free day, or even have a Christmas eve dinner and then a nice breakfast and luncheon on Christmas. Cut it off after that, and you won’t have done any irreparable harm for sure. Secondly, exercise the most important thing you can–your mind–by going outdoors ( even if it’s blowing and snowing!) and taking a nice, brisk 20 minute minimum walk. Breathe deeply, swing your arms, celebrate the holiday out loud by singing or praying or just talking to yourself, but get out there! Nothing, absolutely nothing, invigorates you more than taking a good brisk walk. Then, when you come back in, instead of grabbing for the treats, drink a couple of cups of hot tea if it’s really cold, or even some hot water with lemon, or drink a couple of cups of good ice water if you live in a warmer clime.

Another thing that really helps a lot is to have some veggies nearby and eat them instead of the baked goods or the sweets. Carrots, celery, pepper sticks, those kinds of things will keep your hands and stomach occupied long enough to help you make it through.

Well, that’s about it. You don’t need to be perfect on Christmas, but you DO need to avoid that double back flip into the sweets again this year! Almost every good fat-a-thon begins on the Christmas holidays and doesn’t stop until shortly after Easter, and by that time you’re ready for the funny farm! Don’t let that happen to you–you deserve better.

God bless you all. Jesus is the reason for this season, and He’s also the reason that we have unlimited capacity within us to love ourselves appropriately, love others compassionately, and love and live life to the fullest.  That’s how He hard-wired us.

I’ve been doing more running recently than in recent years, and even though I’m now 62 years old, it has been a great “experiment.” I’ve learned to deal with a whole new set of injuries! Those old blown rotator cuffs and the back surgery don’t seem such a big deal anymore, now that I have been battling plantar fasciitis and knee pain. The truth is, though, the biggest battle in running is not the injuries, it’s the boredom!

Running outdoors helps more than anything to avoid boredom. The fresh air, the sounds and sights, and the changing climates and terrain make running outdoors the best way to do it. Even then, running the same old route can get a little bit dreary, so I started looking for things to keep me enterained while running, and discovered podcasts. There are several podcasts on running and a few of them I highly recommend.

The beauty of running podcasts is that most of them–the better ones anyway–are NOT just about running. They are also about the people who do them, and it’s almost like moving next door to them if you listen long enough.  Each podcast is also accompanied by a website, where you can listen to samples, and also get an overview of who is doing it, why, and where. Most all running podcasts worth listening to actually have some running segments in them, and listening to someone else talk while they are running takes a little getting used to, but once you do get used to it, it is almost like having a couple of running partners along with you!

One of my favorites is 4feetrunning.  You can find it on Itunes and you can visit their website by going to http://4feetrunning.blogspot.com/  Nik and Dan are a couple from Massachusetts who produce a bi-weekly podcast on running and whatever great adventures or misfortunes that have occurred to them recently. I need to warn you–you have to listen to several before you will stop thinking “why are they telling me this?” They share their lives with you, and in a very engaging and humorous way, but it’s just not the usual way that production audio shows are done, so give it a few times, and go back and listen to some of their older podcasts so you can really get a sense of who they are and what they are up to. I promise you that if you stay with it you’ll be hooked. I find myself looking for the newest episode several days before it comes out.

Another good one is Pheddipidations and can be found at http://steverunner.com/ What else would you call yourself other than Steve Runner if your real name was Steve Walker?  Give him a listen, and like 4 Feet Running, you’ll need to listen to a few before you get hooked.  Steve’s site has a link to another website which has ALL the running podcasts assembled.

Are there regular fitness podcasts as well? Yes, but they just don’t have the fun touch that the running podcasts do. They are pretty dry! 

Well, that’s it. A little different than my usual fitness blog, but something I think you’ll really enjoy if you try it. All you need is a computer, and preferably an MP3 or Ipod and you’re on your way to exploring a whole new world!

First of all, credit to Dr. Andy Stanely of North Point Church in Atlanta for doing a sermon that prompted this blog.

What’s more important, time or possessions? Well, if you have all the possessions in the world, but your time is up, the answer is pretty obvious, right? So, how do you maximize your time on earth? Good healthy activities, such as Body for Life prescribes is an excellent way of extending life, through the regular diet and exercise.

Next question: what should you do first, the important or the urgent things? Answering this question takes some careful consideration. First, consider that there is a cumulative value to important things done regularly for a long time. Example: Exercise done daily for about 45 minutes a day, over a year’s time, produces noticable and measurable health effects. So does regular disciplined dieting.  On the other hand, keep in mind that there is NO CUMULATIVE VALUE to any or all of the urgent things that come along to interrupt the important things. In his message, Dr. Stanley not only made this point, but he even challenged everyone to try to remember what the URGENT thing was that interrupted their important activities.  Further, though Dr.Stanley didn’t mention it, it has been my experience that if you do only urgent things, rather than important ones, soon enough everything becomes urgent, and your life becomes total chaos, with almost no measurable progress anywhere. Joy leaves and frustration rules the day. I’ve also noticed that most all “urgent” things, if left alone, tend to turn out to not even be important, let alone urgent, once a little time has passed.

Don’t mistake my words here! I’m not suggesting you put BFL activity above all else. Family must be a priority, just as BFL is. It’s not “urgent,” but it is instead a co-important activity, and your challenge is to balance it and BFL together, neglecting neither one.  As for the “urgent,” it usually ends up having been something like sleeping in, or wanting to have a beer with the boys, or getting lost on the Internet, or trying to suck up to the boss by putting in meaningless extra time at work.  That’s where most of us go wrong.

To sum up, remember that the important things in your life are those beneficial activities that you should do often and regularly. Give them your time and attention first. The urgent things are the enemy of the important, and you should not let them draw your attention aways from what is important. If you do, then chaos and discontent will be your daily companions, instead of the health and the peace that you seek.

God bless!

Not into Mythology? Me neither, but as I prepared to write this “how to” about avoiding the unintended consequences of the long holiday season, I thought that a scene from the life of Hercules was the best way to illustrate it. Hercules, as I am sure you all remember from that stuff that Mrs. Schisselbaum made you learn in school that one of the challenges that Hercules had to face was slaying a monster named Hyda that had several heads.  And really, that is what the holiday season can turn into, a multi-headed monster, if you let it.

Here’s what happens. FIrst, in most of our hemisphere, it begins to really look a lot like winter, and in the north where I live that means both waning daylight and cold temps, neither of which does much for most peoples’ outlooks. Getting outdoors, which is nature’s anti-depressant, just doesn’t look like much fun when you are wading in snow and wandering around under the gray skies of winter.  Even in the southern areas of our hemisphere, you’re still dealing with shorter days and tough schedules.

Because of the lack of daylight and the tendency to stay indoors, people get less exercise and they also get less sunlight than they need to help mood elevation. Also, the cold weather really ramps up the appetite. Take all these normal, recurring factors and add to them a virtual pigfest of holiday goodies which takes place in nearly every workplace and home from Thanksgiving through New YEars day and you have all the makings of a disaster.

Here’s what I have learned.

1. I CAN survive in the winter if I have a proactive plan. And I won’t do well if I don’t. 

 2. A proactive plan must include regularly scheduled outdoor time at least every other day for at least a half hour. For me, that can be anything from shoveling snow to walking the dog. In between those two activities I often go for a power walk if it is slippery, and a power jog if it isn’t.  I make this happen, because if I just wait around for a spare half hour to come up, it never happens. I own lots of warm clothes with lots of reflector material on it. I know right where it is, and I can don it in about five minutes. As you can see, I leave myself no excuse for staying indoors. Sure, I come in with my eyes and nose running and my feet freezing, but you know what? I feel great after doing it!

3. I can survive without eating all that junk either at work or at home. The best defense is a good offense, so I NEVER let myself get hungry. I eat the 6 small meals a day, 2.5 hours apart, substituting Myoplex chocolate ready to drinks for two or three whole food meals, and that keeps the sugar cravings at bay. As soon as I let myself get hungry, and there is food around–especially candy and nuts, I’m doomed! So, I go for the Myoplex first!

4. I consciously write down everything I eat during these times–everything. That “pact” with myself keeps me on track and it’s something I think about as I walk by that table in the break room with the sign that says, “help yourself.” I do help myself, by going right on by and saying to myself, there’s nothing there worth writing down!

5. I always try to remember exactly how much exercise it takes to burn off something I didn’t plan for in my daily diet. 

6. I avoid emotional meltdowns at all costs, my own, and those of anyone around me. Believe me, at my job the holidays are far and away the most stressful times, and we are dealing with trial lawyers, who are usually “stress carriers.” If the situation cannot be disarmed and turned into a simple agreement to disagree, I take a “timeout.” That may be something as simple as shutting my mouth, going to the break room and drinking a large glass of water, or it might mean taking a trip to the nearby store to get a cup of coffee. What I’m after here is some quiet time, not some coffee! It works. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been about to say something regrettable, and just creating a little space saved the day. Sometimes these can be the magic words: “You know, you could be right.”  That’s not capitulation–but it gives hope to both sides in a disagreement.

7. I do “nice things” for myself and others more often during this time of the year. We should all do an anonymous act of kindness once a week, but during the holidays we ought to step that up. After all, it is the giving season, and the beauty of these things is that as a giver we get all the joy–and joy is in short supply during the holidays–ironically!

Well, I could go on, but you get the idea. You CAN do this, but you have to recognize that this is indeed the mother of all “seasons” we face. And if we face it right, we’re not that far off from looking the way we want to on the beach as spring comes. Surrender to it, and the New Year comes with depression, poor health, and just plain self-disgust.

So, Hercules, keep your swords at the ready, and give that Hydra what it deserves. Come January 2, you’ll be glad you did!

In my Thanksgiving eve blog I talked about pushing myself out of my comfort zone to go run in a local 5K race. It worked out fine!

On the way over there (about 10 miles) I worried about everything–was I dressed warm enough? Too warm? Where would I park? Would I know anyone there? What if I can’t finish due to my injury?  Nothing I worried about ever took place! Sound familiar? There is really no doubt that worry is a waste of time, because almost never does what we worry about ever come to pass in a way that our worrying would have made any difference anyway. So, we pay the price for worrying just as though the event did happen to us, all for naught.

What happened instead was that I got to the race area, near downtown, and found that all the parking metered areas were free that day and that there were places within 3 blocks of the start-finish line. Looking at other runners, I saw that either I was dressed appropriately or the other 1209 runners were as dumb as I was! I had no trouble finding everything I needed at race starting area, including a large building that was open so we could go in and warm up and do one or two of those last minute body-function things we usually have to do, especially if we’re under stress.

The race started right on time and I finished in slightly less than 35 minutes. No injury problems, no nothing. I stuck around for the free food and drink that always is there at the end of these events. It was a record crowd for a race taking place on a holiday morn, 1210 finishers. I beat at least 350 of them, though there were a few old ladies I couldn’t ever catch up with!

Today is a resistance training day, and I plan on working core, a daily need almost because of the back problems I’ve been having lately, and upper back muscles as well. I split up workouts these days, into three different types, pull muscles for the upper body, push muscles for the upper body, and then core/lower body workouts.

The weather here is absolutely beautiful and miserable at the same time. It’s snowing and has snowed steadily since mid day yesterday. The snow is slippery and heavy and I’ve had to scoop the driveway three times already. That’s almost a workout by itself.

Some of you are probably getting ready to start a new diet, or a new transformation challenge, or “turn over a new leaf” right after New Year’s day, right? Well, it’s not a bad idea to beat the crowd and get started earlier. If nothing else, it will keep you from picking up that extra 2 to 5 pounds that most people seem to do from Thanksgiving through New Years.

Above all, even if the weather is nasty, get outdoors whenever possible. There is nothing so exhilarating and energizing as getting a bit of exercise outdoors, especially in the day time.