Tobogganing Video (my family at "The Bowl")

We joined some friends at a smaller hill in the center of the city. The benefit of a smaller hill is you get lots of shorter runs and, in this case, can park closer to your vehicle.

LINK: A huge article on how the body wants to regain lost weight

New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html

While researchers have known for decades that the body undergoes various metabolic and hormonal changes while it’s losing weight, the Australian team detected something new. A full year after significant weight loss, these men and women remained in what could be described as a biologically altered state. Their still-plump bodies were acting as if they were starving and were working overtime to regain the pounds they lost. 

Duck and Cover - Christmas is Hard on Your Diet

Christmas, I learned, is like flying through asteroids on a space ship. There's so many things coming at you from all directions that it's inevitable something's going to hit you.

For me it was Toffifee. My favourite chocolates. A Christmas tradition. Someone ambushed me with them on Christmas Day after an unsatisfying meal and I gobbled them up like like a crazy man.

Another was chocolate fudge at another family gathering.. Hadn't seen that before at a Christmas but I it's so rare that I eat fudge that I had to try some.

Then there's pecan butter tarts. My wife brought those to her family's gathering. We both like them but in hindsight, she should have brought something we DIDN'T like.

For the first Christmas in a long time, my elderly mother did not make her world-famous chocolate pie (to save her some much-needed energy.) I was thankful for that, because there's no will-power strong enough to say no to her chocolate pie. But she mocked me for not liking her strawberry cake and eating that. Fact is, no one had room. She berated me for only liking chocolate but guess why I like chocolate? She fed it to me when I was a newborn to get me to poop.

Oh well, it's over and my exercising didn't take much of a hit so there's hope of continued strength.

Merry Christmas!

The best minutes of my week are those I spend jogging on the treadmill. I can see why runners are addicted to their sport. For me, it seems to do so many things.

But now I must focus on controlling my impulsive eating over the holidays. I'll keep you posted.

Best wishes,

James

Mystery Cyclist in the Yellow Jacket, You Inspire

Not an actual picture of the person, that would be rude.

There is a man, roughly my age, who cycles every weekday morning on a road that loops around my isolated subdivision. I would guess that he makes several laps and spends 30 to 60 minutes each day riding.

It seems to me he was obese recently and he always appears to be getting smaller. This morning it was -15 C. with a cold breeze. I used to see him on frosty mornings in the Fall and greatly admired him even then. But seeing him today, and knowing that he's keeping it up, even on mornings with fresh snow and cold temperatures, is inspiring.

Many people quit walking in the winter (I was going to be one of those people until I came to my senses) but cycling is this guy's thing and he's hell bent on continuing it. Good for him.

Mystery man in the yellow jacket, keep going, keep inspiring!

My Big, Dumb--WRONG--Preconceptions

When I started to hit my exercise stride (so to speak) early last summer, there was one thing I dreaded: Summer ending.

I was focused on the silliest of things. I dreaded cool temperatures, let alone cold temperatures. I had it in my mind that I needed to accomplish much of my fitness and weight-loss goals by mid-August, of all times. That's not even the end of Summer, even in Saskatchewan.

Beyond that, I was hell-bent on getting my weight down to 325 pounds by October 30th. I had it ingrained in me that I couldn't be active after Halloween because the cold weather has kept me in in the past. 325 is the weight limit of my home treadmill and I wanted to make sure I could use it in time for winter. It was my summer ending safety net. I didn't reach that goal. I fell short by ten pounds.

But here it is, mid-December, and I'm outdoors getting my usual exercise and loving it. My only challenge is the occasional near-slip, but there are products (traction aids) you can buy to alleviate that problem.

With the right clothes and knowing how to layer, there's no reason not to keep living as per usual when winter comes.

However, deep snow and -40 wind chills are two things that I'll have to wait and see I how deal with those. But just remember, people do go on expeditions to the South Pole and sleep in tents. I should be able to walk around the block and not complain.

Oh My Heart, My Lazy, Barely Beating Heart

I didn't sleep well last night and I was tired tonight at walking time. The usual excuses went through my head, "I'm close to falling asleep, I can't possibly do this tonight." But I persisted. Halfway through you always wonder how you could have possibly wanted to avoid the enjoyment that a walk outdoors provides.

Like I always say, the hard part is making the decision to go, the easy part is going.

Yet I was tired and my muscles may not have been fully recovered from the night before. I jogged a bit, slow like I did when I first started in the summer (barely a trot) and I couldn't believe my heart rate. It was a full 20 beats below what it was at the same jogging  speed last summer when I first got my heart rate monitor, and ten beats below what it was in the Fall.

My heart has come a long way. It's a muscle, you know, and it's gotten stronger and more efficient just like many of my other (lower body) muscles. And that's definitely a good thing! Just see the video in the post below to be reminded why.

And finally today: You know how some women have shoe fetishes? Well I think I've developed a balaclava fetish. I now own two new, very useful balaclavas. One for very cold weather that covers my mouth and nose and one for coldish weather that lets my whole face be exposed. Wore it tonight, loved it.

If You Read This Blog, Watch This - Now!

A Doctor-Professor answers the old question "What is the single best thing we can do for our health" in a completely new way.

If you're a reader of my blog and have any interest in what I've been doing, this video remarkably sums up everything I've learned and discovered on my journey in the last year. Apparently, I'm not crazy. There's plenty of scientific evidence that proves what I've been preaching lately is true.

"Dr. Mike Evans is founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael's Hospital."

Share this fun and entertaining video with your friends, colleagues and family.

One Year Ago, I Asked My Doctor for Help

One year ago, I had the results of my annual check-up. Although my blood work was all good, my blood pressure was creeping up, as was my weight. It had increased far past the point I ever thought it could. And, although I surrendered myself to the idea of  having to do something, I continued to gain weight. I seemed helpless to stop it even for the following two months leading up to the first meeting with my nutritionist.

It had seemed to me that I was at a tipping point. My weight was so great and my overall energy and ability so low (and decreasing) that I was headed down a slippery slope. I couldn't move very much so my body didn't burn many calories. Since it didn't burn many calories, I got heavier no matter how much I cut back on excessive eating.

Fortunately, much of what ailed me then was miraculously cured by something called exercise, which strengthened my body simply by my moving in a fashion that kept my heart rate elevated but not too high.

If I could snap my fingers and go back to that time one year ago and feel my fatigue, that general feeling of being ill and the effort it would take just to walk across a room, I'm sure I'd fall to my knees and die. It's just that extreme, what has happened to me and how far I've come.

I never dreamed I'd jog again or ride a bike. I thought many fun things were over for me. I even spent time planning my funeral. I felt helpless about my situation. More than anything, I thought I had failed my children.

The journey I'm on has only just begun. I learn things every day about myself and about my condition. In recent months I have focussed soley on exercise and haven't worried about the number on the scale whatsoever. My overall weight does not effect the improvements in my health. My ever-increasing fitness is at the core of what I do. The reasons for my eating problems are so complex, I can't begin to understand them. I'll approach that aspect day by day, knowing that there is no quick solution to fix why I eat the way I do. Exercise and progress in fitness fuels my resolve to be in control of my eating.

Last night I was visiting with friends at a home where a nice spread of junk food was laid out before us. Each time chip dip reached my taste buds a ridiculously-euphoric psysiological reaction occurred in me. This can't be normal! Dealing with eating problems may take years for me to get a hold on. It will most likely be with me for the rest of my life at some level, but it matters not if I stay strong physically.

The night before last, I headed out on a very cold winter night with storm-like bitterly-cold winds. I walked the same half-hour route I walked last summer on the warmest and most beautiful of nights. I faced the threat of winter head-on. I learned that winter need not stop me and all I have to do is learn how to dress. I can't afford all the latest gear but I did invest in a good balaclava to keep my face warm. The rest of me was protected by layers of cheap and well-worn Walmart clothes.

Yesterday I returned home from a two hour shopping excursion. Out of habit, I collapsed on my bed and waited for the relief to set in. It didn't. My body didn't require any relief. It wasn't sore and fatigued. It was fresh and strong and ready for more.

And that's where I'm at, one year after deciding something had to give.

Link: For some men, staying in shape may override body weight

(Health.com) -- Men who carry around a few extra pounds may be able to offset the health risks of being overweight by staying -- or getting -- in shape, even if they don't manage to shed those pounds, a new study suggests.

"Fitness over time may be more important than fatness, when it comes to survival," says Marc Gillinov, M.D., a heart surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio, who was not involved in the study. "But it is a package deal. You have to focus on both."

...Read More Here (CNN)

Is My New Sport of Tobogganing Too Risky?

A sled for grown-ups that supports nearly 300 pounds. (New York Times)

I have to admit, sledding seems a little dangerous to my body. I weigh about 330 pounds, I'm middle-aged, and I hurtle down that hill uncontrollably with little hope of stopping or steering. On the icy slopes the other day, my back was compressed painfully over the smallest bumps on the surface of the hill. It's like re-entering the Earth's atmosphere on the space shuttle. Or at least I assume it is. 

Without my glasses--they fog up--I almost missed seeing two jumps some kids had built half way down the hill. Had I hit one of those I would have certainly injured myself, probably my back, possibly seriously, possibly permanently.

I've had adults tell me about their tobogganing injuries as adults. Tail bones that took half a year to heal, back injuries that never quite got better...it's all scary stuff. I currently use a large, basic plastic sled but I'm thinking about buying a foam sled for some padding protection for my back but that kind of sled is even slippery than what I have now and I'd go even faster. 

Another Eurosled adult sled. Weight capacity: 300 lbs. (Amazon.ca)

I have found some sleds that adults can use. I like them because they have steering and brakes--two things that are downright handy on a large toboggan hill. I'd opt for the "little kid" slope but my eight year old would probably be disappointed in me.

I'll be very careful. I'll check out the hill close up and try and find any problems. I might find ways of slowing down my sled and I might wait for softer snow instead of the ice that is there on our hill as of this writing.

My fitness comes from climbing up the hill over and over again but the fun comes from going down and spending time with my kids.

It's a Miracle! I'm Cured!

Here me out, exercise haters.

Something amazing happened today. I realized that I once had a hip problem. It wasn't huge but it seemed permanent, a product of my ageing body. It got worse over the last few years and was a real problem when I started walking in the early spring.

I hadn't thought about it in a long time but that's because it hasn't been present for...I don't know how long. I honestly don't! I don't think I've had so much as a hint of a hip problem since the spring. It's cured, exercise cured it! And, remarkably to me, I've long forgotten about it.

Sure my overall weight has gone down some but it's the strength I've gained from moving my body that has healed me. There's so much I take for granted these days and I only occasionally remember that just a few shorts months ago, I was very different physically.

I run of the steps in my home instead of avoided them.

I come home from shopping and I'm ready for more, instead of collapsing in pain and exhaustion on my bed.

I look at cold winter days in the eye and I head out there to do things. I look forward to shovelling. And just today I crashed on the toboggan hill for the first time.

I have to work to the my heart rate up where as last year, walking onto my treadmill was a task and I immediately began to sweat profusely. Three small fans weren't enough to keep me cool. Not any more.

Huge, huge progress without even thinking about weight loss.

Vintage Weight GAIN Advertisements

See more here:

http://www.retronaut.co/2011/11/vintage-weight-gain-ads/