How I've Completely Changed My View on Winter

Courtesy the Internet

Like most people, I've often complained about winter being too long on the Canadian prairies. I may have even agreed with other people saying, "Well, maybe we could have one month of it at Christmas, just for variety." No one likes scraping ice off their car in the mornings and slipping on sidewalks, but I've changed my negative thinking on the subject of winter.

There's no question I froze my face and my legs some days walking to school when I was a kid. Winter could be painful and miserable. There were, however, some magical moments I can remember. I'm not talking about snowball fights or playing hockey at the local outdoor rink. I'm thinking about really harsh winter nights that I decided to venture outside out of sheer boredom.

I remember the utter quiet of it all. The fresh snow absorbing what little movement there was outside on those cold nights, or a howling wind whipping through power lines and creating a certain haunting feeling inside of me. The worse it was, the more alone you were in it. There's something about the winter landscape that's welcoming. It's like we humans were meant to exist here. It's not unnatural at all.

Decades of sedentary adult life have faded those rich memories and the feelings that accompanied them. Only now have they started to reappear as I try so hard to use winter to my health's advantage.

The other night my son and I embarked on a short trek away from the car to see if a bicycle bridge had been constructed before winter set in (he's has an unnatural interest in new roadways and related construction.) It was a Saturday night that was cool and windy with fresh snow blowing around. We walked away from the safety of the street lights and behind the houses onto the bike path that I had discovered only this summer.

It was beautiful in summer with lots of mature trees and a serene landscape that reminded me of a provincial park. When the leaves fall off the trees in September and everything is brown around here, I stop enjoying nature. But what I discovered that night was that once the snow comes, everything is beautiful again.

In the city even a moonless night can provide for a bright landscape in its darkest corners when there's snow everywhere. The green fir trees stood in stark contrast to the white waves of virgin snow around the familiar paved pathway.

Everything is quiet and peaceful in winter. Every movement and sound is amplified. The stars are brightest in the dry winter air. The cosmos is so vivid in winter it feels like it's painted onto the heavens just for you, almost within arm's reach.

We found the bridge. It was in fact there, but abandoned before completion when the snow and cold temps set in.

The field behind my house has the same beauty to it on a winter's night. Previous to now, I wouldn't have dreamed about venturing out there in winter. The idea never even crossed my mind. In spite of being surrounded by houses, the snow-covered field remains quiet and the sky brightly detailed. When the moon comes out and lights up the snow, it's feels almost like daytime.

My epic walk in -45 degree windchills last year also had me thinking about winter's beauty. In spite of the fury and the supposed danger all around me, I enjoyed the crisp fresh air and the serenity. It's not like anyone else was out there.

Now that I'm learning to love cross country skiing (can't get enough of it but I have a ways to go to master it well) I find myself having a completely opposite view on winter.

The other day I caught myself thinking, "Why is winter so short? It's only 3 good months of snow, why can't it be more?"

If I could only figure out a way to enjoy the "brown" seasons, those weeks of cold weather without snow or foliage, life would be perfect.

How This Fat Guy's House Has Changed in Two Years

It drives my wife crazy. They're everywhere in our house. You can't swing a cat with out hitting one. My house is cluttered with items used in the support of an active lifestyle.

The winter of two years ago was different. The house was much less cluttered by comparison. There were a pair of gloves, a toque and a standard winter jacket. That's all I needed. My big endeavors were to go to the grocery store. Maybe do a little fast food eating in the minivan. The rest of the time was spent on the couch or in bed, sore from a high-fat diet and jellified muscles carrying a ridiculous amount of weight.

Walk in my front door with me now, will you? I'll give you the tour.

The front porch is heavy with indications that I'm no longer sedentary. You'll notice two sets of cross country skis. I only started a week ago and I'm already on my second set. Picked up some waxless skis yesterday that are easier to use. Cost me $20.

Your eyes will no doubt dart towards the snow sleds sitting by the front closet. I have three, one for each particular sledding condition. My latest is soft to keep my spine from compressing and has a fin to guide it true.

On the floor you'll see winter boots for the first time in decades. I need these for tobogganing and winter hikes. A cheap pair of runners is dedicated to icy conditions. They have metal cleats strapped to the bottoms. Can't let ice keep me indoors.

Inside the closet you'll find drawers with not one, but three, sports balaclavas. Each for a different temperature range. Beyond that, there's an assortment of toques, beanies and skull caps for cycling or winter exercise. On the floor, runners for jogging, complete with orthopedic inserts that finally provide relief to my calves during vigorous exercise. And be careful of the freshly sharpened ice skates. They're waiting for December.

You'll have to forgive me for the bike wheel by the front door, I don't know where else to put it right now.

The open stairs as you enter the house are littered with Jameswear. Three sizes of fleece jackets, made for a man who sweats, all of which can be layered if necessary. There's T-Max Heat socks ready to go for cold days, long underwear (which I haven't used since I was a kid), ski pants for very cold weather, and layers of sweat pants for cooler weather. A heart rate monitor and watch sit at the ready, along with my iPod and headphones. Athletic shorts and shirts for the gym are also all over the place. All these clothes are at the ready. Every day some of them get used in the pursuit of fitness.

Which leads me to something else we have a lot more of: Laundry detergent. I'm washing a lot more clothes. Usually there's a fresh pile of clothes soaked with sweat that gets cleaned almost daily. Two winters ago, I rarely worked up enough heat to require clothes to be washed on a regular basis. Now, the washing machine is running constantly.

Entering the kitchen, there's a serving cart that couldn't be more full of bike helmets, sweat bands, cycling gloves, hydration back packs, water bottles and a few cycling tools and bike spare parts.

In the laundry room, more skis for the family, and a bike rack for the car.

The shed had bikes in it two years ago. Now it has twice as many. I picked up bikes on UsedRegina and at garage sales for me or the kids.

Our home and our life is hardly recognizable from two years ago. Thank god!

Eureka Moments in Sports: A Personal Story

My son struggles with a slippery hill on his first day but he did great.

It happened again: that moment when I knew I had mastered an athletic endeavor for the first time. I don't know many greater feelings after years of being sedentary and semi-disabled. Today, following several days of struggling, cross-country skiing finally clicked. I realized, I could--and will--do it.

It was a fantastic feeling, one that snuck on me and bit me in the ass.

In eighteen months these moments have come every now and again and put tremendous wind in my sails on this journey to change the course of my life.

It came when I suddenly got strong with walking, when I took my first bike ride in years, fell down and got up again, when I started to jog for several minutes at a time, and when I suddenly found myself jogging for twenty minutes. It even came when I realized I could go for a walk on a dangerously cold night and be perfectly warm. And it came this summer when I discovered mountain biking in a moment where I realized I loved it and I could do it. It was a new kind of fun for my long-time favourite activity: cycling.

They're moments of joy because I'm having a lot of fun when they happen. They're moments that open up a big can of hope because I can see my future ahead of me looking bright and the activity I've just conquered being a part of my success.

Today I took my son out to a city park several kilometers away from home where there was a groomed ski trail. It was his first time on skis and I did my best to impart to him what I had learned some 35 years ago when I was only one year older than him. I tried to teach him the basics of cross-country skiing that I had learned at school in grade five.

We headed out onto the groomed track and, unlike out in the field behind my house where I made my own tracks, everything began to work as it should after about 100 metres. Suddenly, I found myself gliding and kicking along as I should until my heart got pumping.

The hills are another story. That'll take some practice. I fell over, to my son's delight, going down a hill. But that's a good thing. When you're tentative about something, it's good to wipe out so you know you're not going to die or break anything if you do. From then on you can be more relaxed. And I was.

I look forward to continuing to get competent at cross-country skiing with the old used equipment I have and one day venturing out onto a groomed country trail to take in some nature with my son. I might even scrape up some money for a lesson one day. It's kind of a winter replacement for cycling (and it's even done in some of the same places.)

What's next? Maybe winter cycling. My son is trying to talk me into it. Stay tuned.

For now, I'd like to give a shout out to my nutritionist who suggested cross-country skiing to me a year ago as a way to stay active during the winter. And my thanks to the Regina Ski Club for grooming the trails and providing this opportunity for me. Skiers we've encountered have all been very kind and encouraging.

• Regina ski trails maps and current conditions

Note: The Regina Ski Club puts on a ski swap in early November every year. Used sporting goods stores also have ski equipment.

Strategies for Staying Active in the Winter

Mount Pleasant toboggan hill, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

I'm eighteen months or so into my new life as a healthy human being. It started with short walks and eventually took me places I thought I'd never go. In fact, there's so many things I've surprised myself by doing, I now refuse to rule anything out when I imagine my future. 

My second summer of fitness was a very active one. I took up mountain biking and cycled on hills and valleys for long periods of time (for an obese person). My fitness level was surprisingly improved when I returned to the gym in the fall. But I hated not being outdoors. I hated not having a sport to pursue when the leaves started to fall off the trees and it got cold outside.

I welcomed the snow when it finally came last week (in mid-November.) It gave me an opportunity to go tobogganing and even to try something new: cross-country--or "Nordic", as the kids call it nowadays--skiing. I hit the annual ski swap and outfitted myself and my son.

I discovered two pair of skis in my shed that I had recently wanted to get rid of. The idea of me ever using them seemed patently absurd. But like the encouraging man at the ski swap said, "There  ain't no mosquitoes in the winter time."

I created a ski trail outside my back yard in an adjacent field so I can practice (I took lessons in grade five and loved it) but it's coming really slowly to me. I'm fit enough to do it, it's just that I'm having problems with technique. I can't really get going. Mostly, I'm walking on my skis and just trying to keep upright.

My ski trail got messed up by contractors installing residential fiber optics.

I also bought a pair of ice skates. There's a speed skating oval near me that I would love to skate on. But it's been a long time and my body doesn't bend or repair like it used to.

Of all the things I've done to improve my fitness, nothing kicks my ass like slogging my heavy body up the large toboggan hill over and over again for an hour or two with my kids. I show up at the gym afterwards and my heart has grown to be as big as a basketball. Everything else I do is easier.  My heart and lungs work even more effortlessly than before. In other words, tobogganing really improves my fitness--like nothing else I've tried so far.

I now look forward to winter. It's the "in-between" non-cycling, non-winter sports seasons I dread.

Reese Half-Pound Peanut Butter Cup and Other Walmart Autrocities

Avert your eyes, dieters! (Photo: The Internet)

I noticed these yesterday during a frantic trip through the calorie-laden landmines of Walmart. It's the half-pound Reese Peanut Butter Cup, the food fantasy of fat kids everywhere.

Good news, though, as it only has 190 calories and 11 grams of fat per serving. Bad news: one of these monster peanut butter cups is six servings. Like I would EVER eat one sixth of any peanut butter cup, no matter how humungus!

On the corners of every aisle at Walmart are bags of chocolate candy for a very low price. Calorically speaking, it's easy to get a fix with little money. And easy to overdose, something I've done a lot in my day and something I'm trying to learn how to avoid.

My strategy: To not think of the first, endorphin-releasing bite of such snacks but to instead think of my last bite (after I've consumed the 2000 calories.) That's when I feel sick physically and am filled with regret. Avoiding such pitfalls is not an easy thing to do but imagining the end result instead of the initial benefit is a tactic that is part of my obesity-fighting arsenal.

Other food landmines at Walmart include boxes of doughnuts for $1.00. Less if they're on clearance, which they are every day. In the outside world, you can't buy a single dougnut for 70 cents, but at Walmart you can get a whole box.

I'm economically challenged so I shop there, but there are a whole lot of ethical reasons why I wouldn't if I could afford to. However, I have been impressed from time to time at some of the environmental efforts Walmart makes to improve their image as well as their bottom line.

I just wish one day they'd tackle all the temptations they are happy to display in every corner of their stores that affect our health when we give in to the temptation. The more economically-challenged you are, the more likely you're going spend your money on the cheapest, unhealthiest foods.

The 2XL Shirt at the End of the Rainbow

A 5XL Shirt (courtesy the Internet)

Oh, the lofty goal of "2XL." Why is 2XL significant to the severely overweight male? It's because you can walk into most stores these days and buy that size off the shelf. You would shop like, you know, a normal person would shop.

With each X comes two clothing sizes, or 4 inches on the chest usually. I had got up to 5XL a year and a half ago and I was running out of Xs. Even the Big 'n' Fat stores didn't sell beyond 5XL, at least not in my city. Some U.S. stores online go beyond that. I always was a bit surprised by that since it was so easy to get to 5XL, but then I wondered if people just didn't die off anyway before they outgrew that size.

People, including medical professionals, ask me the big question: What was it that got you to finally do something? That's the million dollar question, isn't it? Running out of Xs was one of the reasons, I suppose. That and getting to a point where I was gaining weight and doing less. Part of a viscous cycle where I lost all control, even when I tried. I saw a downward spiral that would end badly.

My crazy dream was to fit into a 2XL shirt one day. I could walk into a store one day and pick out a shirt I liked then select something from the back of the rack with two Xs on it. 2XL seems SO tiny, so everyday, so...healthy. So much a bloody fantasy.

Well I'm here. I arrived earlier this month. And it's not what it I expected. I'm still huge. The fact is, 2XL is still very big. Being 2XL is by no means a healthy size. I was mad at retailers for not catering to the large, but they do. 2XL is for very overweight people. Most men don't go beyond 2XL.

I know clothing sizes are becoming larger as our population as a whole gains weight, but I was still surprised that my current size fits into most 2XL tops. There are a lot of people who haven't even noticed I've lost any weight at all. I'm pretty sure I've lost at least 100 pounds of fat (I've gained a tremendous amount of muscle just from moving my body so my overall weight may not quite be down by 100 pounds yet, but my size certainly is.)

I've had relatives say, "You should probably lose some weight." Um, are you blind? Is a person so large at 5XL that one hundred pounds of fat is not noticeable?

A year ago, when my exercise counselor at the time cautioned me that the human body will work against me to gain weight back and wanted me to temper my weight loss goals, I told her that I didn't want to be thin like so many overweight people do. I told her I wanted to be 2XL; I wanted to just be healthy. I had little vanity in my goals since I was happily married with kids and not planning an affair.

But now I must revise my goals. 2XL is just a point on the journey. It's nice to buy "regular clothes" and feel like you're more a part of society, but it's still way too big. Although the good feelings of going from 5XL to 2XL are indescribable and many, my motivation now is to lose weight so I can do more.

I've had a lot of fun and really started to live my life since I got in shape. But I want more. I don't want the weight of excess body fat to hold me back. As my son--my partner in adventure--gets into his tweens now, he's doing more and I want to keep up to him.

But at least now, I can stop worrying about the letter X.

Inspiration and Wonder from My Time as a Personal Trainer

No, no one's hired me as a personal trainer. I decided I would help my son succeed in his first attempt at competing in an individual sport: cross country running in the Public School system. He's eight years old.

My son has always struggled physically. He's not physically handicapped but he has other emotional struggles that have limited him in the past. He has always lagged behind with his fine motor skills and is even surpassed by some things that his four-year old sister can do. As his father who loves him, I have fiercely tried to help him overcome these limitations.

He's active but not a "jock." He's not a sports-oriented kid by any means. He's played soccer and it was a struggle. Mostly he doesn't participate in the games and is overwhelmed by the whole thing, but he happened to be on three teams that won A or B-side trophies so he felt proud and happy about the experience. 

Cycling is something that got into him at an early age, long before his dad could even get on a bike, so it wasn't me who influenced him. He runs around a lot, but not for sustained periods. In fact, he used to skip or hop involuntarily after taking only a few strides while running. This slowed him down in his soccer games. His coordination has been very slow to develop but it's coming along.

Even as a fat kid I had a whole lot of fun playing unorganized sports when I was a kid. I was no jock either but I had fun. In a world where obesity seems like an unstoppable epidemic, I want to encourage my kids to embrace an active lifestyle for the rest of their lives.

I started my son training about a month or so before his first race. I put him on the treadmill at home which he's used before, but mostly because he's seen me using it. He'd walk fast and hop every few steps involuntarily. It was unnatural and a little bit concerning. He loved looking at the numbers and seeing how far and how fast he was going. That continued into our training.

I got him to jog at a speed that prevented him from hopping every few steps. The treadmill forced him to keep going in a continuous, fluid motion. His heart and lungs could more than keep up at that speed. Soon he was asking me if it was time to do his training each day. He made charts to put on the wall to track his progress and even set goals for himself. I'm so proud of him.

Quickly, the hopping disappeared and he was getting faster and faster, covering the 1.2 KM distance of the race. He started running 1.2 KM at 10 minutes and 40 seconds. As he progressed, he pushed himself further to beat his "record" times. And he did, shaving 30 seconds or more off when he tried hard. I told him that you try to shave one or two seconds off when you're doing this sort of thing but he proved me wrong time and time again.

His last training session on the treadmill came in at 6:12. When we started, I had hoped he'd get down to 7:30. In the qualifying race he came in 14th and got to go onto the final race of fifty kids. We never dreamed he'd do that well. In his final race he came in 23rd. We call him the 23 fastest eight year old in the city. Had he shaved another 20 seconds off, he'd be the fastest. It's been surreal, especially since the kid couldn't even run properly when we started.

Even now he doesn't hold his arms up in a punching like motion when he runs. Instead, he flails them around randomly. We worked on this a bit at the end and made some progress. But it illustrates how physical things don't come naturally to him.

So what have I learned?

It was an astonishingly wonderful gift to watch my son's body and technique improve the way it did in a few weeks. And it was hardly work for him. The kid barely broke a sweat. 

Even in the last week, I could see his heart and lungs getting undeniably stronger from the training he did the week before. He could do far more at the same breathing level than he did a few days earlier. An eight year old's body can repair itself and strengthen really fast. A night's sleep does the trick.

I've seen this progress in myself, measured by constant heart-rate monitoring. But to see it happen before your eyes in a person you love is beyond description.

It reinforces the notion that you are the master of your body. You can change your body and it is ready to change for you. 

Running, I hope, will be a part of my son's life until the day he dies. He needs it, not only to stay healthy physically, but for all the psychological benefits it will bring him as well.

Fitness as a cure for another fatal disease: Aging

Hours after celebrating my 46th birthday, I had self-assessment done of how well my summer went for my body: I went to the gym for the first time in three months and did my usual workouts.

I worried I would be sluggish doing what I do at the gym because I hadn't done those things all summer. But I did take up mountain biking, which can be straining on one's cardiovascular system, even for novices. And even when I didn't pedal my still-heavy body up those hills, I got off and walked the rest of the way.

Turns out, I'm fitter and stronger than I've ever been. Having fun all summer led to a stronger, more efficient heart and lungs, and seemingly more muscle mass to carry me around. How do I know? I did far more with less heart. I monitor my heart-rate and know that it took a lot more to get it up to the top of the target zone than it did when I was last at the gym at the beginning of summer. I even ran out of incline on the treadmill. It's as if my heart grew five sizes this summer. (Sorry for the Grinch reference so early in the season.)

My birthday made me think of two things. Firstly, birthday's are a psychological challenge for me with my eating and binging habits. Everyone's different but my plan of attack is to eliminate "holiday reward eating." If you pig out on whatever you want on your birthday (I probably achieved 4000 calories or more in the past), you may want every day to be your birthday (or Christmas, etc.) If you're having a bad day, you may say to yourself, "I want today to be like past happy days so I'm going to eat a bunch of junk food until I feel sick."

I kept the cake small so there were no left-overs to have for breakfast or midnight snacks, and ate like I do every other day. It's bad enough I'm one year older, why should I knock days off my life by eating really badly? And one bad day of eating poorly usually leads to more bad days (for me.)

I spent the day mountain biking with my son on the the most beautiful of fall days you could imagine. Usually I'd be at home sprawled out on my bed will full belly, digesting in anticipation of my next birthday reward meal. Best birthday I've had in years.

My second birthday problem: Getting older.

Aging is a fatal disease. Eventually it'll kill you if nothing else does. I overcame most of the ill-effects of obesity by getting fit. I think I can do much of the same with my other fatal disease.

Instead of slowing down in my middle-age, I'm picking up speed, doing more things and having more fun, getting stronger and healthier instead of the opposite.

Fat or thin, aging will take it's toll. Getting active is the secret to warding off old-age.

Buffalo Pound Park: Then and Now

Entering Buffalo Pound from the north (Wikipedia)

I went out and had me some fun with the family at one of the closer provincial parks to the city where I live. It's in a river valley that cuts into the endless flat prairie. In other words, there's hills, something I'm not used to.

The last time we were there was about two years ago. I know because I took lots of pictures. That's about all I could do then. I was very concerned at the time with how little I could do and how I was letting down, if not embarrassing my family because of the unfortunate condition I had allowed myself to descend into.

It was all I could to walk to the beach from the parking lot and sit for awhile. I didn't enjoy myself, not only because I couldn't do anything, but because I was tense and generally sore and tired. But thus was my life at the time, the life I thought I would always have until one day the lights would go out.

I thought about the contrast between this visit and my last visit to the park. This time I was cycling up and down hills with my eight year old son. We had a great time looking at wildlife walk right in front of us as we glided down hills on our bikes, enjoyed the silence of the quiet park in the shoulder season and I had that missing energy and pep to live my life (almost) as I want to.

I didn't take any pictures this time. I was too busy living.

My Life-long Love Affair With The Bicycle

The closest relationships are built on trust.

My new-to-me bike passed the hug test last night. I've been fixing it up after buying a few weeks ago but something came over me when I was putting it away. It was a feeling of fondness that you don't have for an object normally. It got me to wondering.

Near the beginning of my fitness quest when I dusted off my other (road) bike after ten years of being hauled around the country and stored in garages, it was like getting re-acquainted with an old friend, a close friend.

Looking at and touching that bike as I inspected it brought back a flood of memories. We had been through a lot together and covered a lot of miles, some far from the security of home. I realized that I trusted that bike. I know it sounds odd, but there's something about the bonding of rider and bicycle that creates an emotional relationship between man and machine.

It's something about knowing what it can do, when it can do it and how it relates to what you can and cannot do. Knowing it won't break down and, most importantly, knowing the positive emotions you've experienced in it's presence. I've always enjoyed bike riding, it's instilled in my DNA.

It's one more punishing sadness about my 10+ year decent into the abyss of obesity.

Some Memorable Outings Seem Epic

I still remember the time I heroically ventured out for a walk on the coldest night of the year. The -46 C wind chill was blocked out by carefully chosen winter clothes. It was epic, that walk. Cinematic, even. The sounds, the smells, the adrenaline and the excitement produced a vivid, wonderful memory that won't die anytime soon.

This summer has provided for some epic adventures too. Minor achievements for the non-obese outdoorsy types, but significant and memorable ventures for me, the former "bed potato." (I aspired to be a couch potato a year and a half ago, that's how bad things were.)

Last night a number of things happened to create a perfect storm for me and the kids to attempt something unusual. First of all, my four-year-old fell asleep during supper and had a huge nap which was destined to keep her up late. Secondly, it was a strangely hot night for the end of summer in Saskatchewan. I took the kids out after dark (the sun sets 75 minutes earlier than it did at the beginning of summer) for a bike ride in the night.

The kids and I rode through the hot city streets, among the hurrying cars, lit up like an airliner with bright flashing LED bike lights that assured our safety, at least in my mind. The experience was unusual, even surreal.

It created a memory for me, it certainly must have made an impression on my young girl who pedaled her tag-a-long bike trailer, attached to my bike, through the traffic with me. She chatted relentlessly as we rode, even bonding with me before getting philosophical about how often I get angry at her and how I should take a different approach by comforting her instead. She's four!

It all could have been a dream, for either of us, but it wasn't.

The night before found our whole family on a highway in the Qu'Appelle Valley near Katepwa, one of the most beautiful places in our prairie province. We road the Trans Canada Trail between Katepwa and Sandy Beach. It was beautiful and challenging. Hills are new to me and boy, you'd better be ready for them. Even going down takes full concentration and some braking skill. It was a bit like a roller coaster except there were no guarantees you wouldn't go off the rails.

The sun set, glowing orange over the valley. We were all but alone on our ride on a rare hot night for the end of August. We cycled back on the vacant highway (narrow but with only 70 KM speed limits) in a setting that seemed nothing short of magical.

Doing new things heightens the senses and I like that. Can't get enough of it. I want to do it more. Having a fitter body can get me to that goal. The sedentary, obese me from recent history had NO such experiences. Life was a straight line. A finite line.

I'm hoping to rid myself of more body fat so I can do more and more things and have more epic evenings like I had this week.

From the net...

"A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way: 

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness. 

They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia. 

They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.""

Does Nike Ad Exploit Obese Boy?

From the Globe and Mail:

"Twelve-year-old Nathan Sorrell jogs down a country road. He’s 5-foot-3 and weighs 200 pounds. He nears the camera, panting. (video link) 

“Greatness is not some rare DNA strand. We’re all capable of it,” a voice intones in the video, an ad for Nike that ran during the Olympics, purporting to highlight everyday feats of greatness."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/does-this-nike-ad-exploit-an-obese-boy/article4479445/

No, not in my mind. If someone is improving their health and inspires others, I can't see the fault. Millions of people see these ads during the Olympics and I can't help but think even if one obese kid was inspired to do something, or have hope, it's a good thing regardless if the actor is actually jogging in his own life or not.

Shaking Things Up by Doing the Opposite

When you're trying to correct life-long habits that have led to serious health problems, you have to look inward from time to time and rethink what's going on with you.

There's a popular episode of Seinfeld when George decides to do the opposite. He figures everything he's done so far in life has led to him being a total failure. So he decides to do the opposite of whatever his instincts tell him to do. It works out well for him, for the episode, anyway. 

What I've been doing most of my life with regards to my weight and health hasn't worked out well for me. So why not challenge myself? Why not try new things? Why not re-examine old beliefs? Why not shake things up a little?

In my fitness endeavor today I did the opposite of what my previous instincts would have had me do. For one thing, I did the opposite of sitting on the couch. On this rainy, cool day I went mountain biking on dirt trails outside the city. My previous instincts have always been to stay indoors when it rains and to keep bicycles away from water and mud. However, today I decided to do the opposite.

And boy was it invigorating and just plain different!

I discovered that lowering the air pressure in my tires allowed me to ride off-road with far less vibration and strain on my arms. It reduces your efficiency but allows for a much more comfortable ride when off road.

My bike got so clogged up with mud, I could barely push it, let alone ride it up hill. I might have been a bit freaked out by this in the past. Today, I threw caution to the wind and just went with it. A visit to the car wash later took care of most of the mud.

There was no one out there in the valley, there was no oppressive heat to burden me and the adrenaline involved in the challenge roused my spirit. Wheels slipped around and even spun in place at times. These are things I haven't experienced before in cycling. I was living dangerously.

When you start to get old like I am, time speeds up. A challenge I've given myself apart from my fitness journey, is to slow time down. Doing new things and challenging myself is one way I think I can slow down my rapid decent into old age. If everything's the same every day, time just keeps going by quicker and quicker.

It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. It's hard to break old patterns. It's hard to challenge old beliefs. But doing so, I think, is necessary as part of what it will likely take to permanently change the obese person's destructive course.

It's one of a thousand little things I'm working on to overcome my weight-related health issues. And it's always fun.

Sluggishness and the search for childhood experiences

Net image, not my own.

Repeat readers of my blog on fighting obesity with fitness will know how important cycling is to me. It stems from a life-long love for the activity that was born in my childhood.

It's also important because it's low-impact and empowering for an obese-sized man like me.
I can whisk myself around the city like a man in flight and not have sore joints afterward.

Last week I hit a wall. Too much cycling, not enough recovery time. When this happens, I don't enjoy my ride as much because I feel weak and strain too much to have fun. I often feel bad about not being able to get out there.

I took some time off and walked or jogged instead but those days turned into nearly a week as I decided to focus on refurbishing an old mountain bike and do a little upgrading on my hybrid road bike. I took the mountain bike that a friend donated to me apart down to the last ball bearing, cleaned all it's inner bits, replaced some more parts and even painted the frame while it was disassembled.

My new tires are big on my mountain bike and they slow me down. The mountain bike is a lot less efficient than the bike with smooth, hard tires made for pavement. If you're using a bike to improve your health and fitness, I suggest getting the right tires: tires that are smooth and hold at least 65 pounds of pressure. A mountain bike is good for heavy people because it's stronger, but being able to glide along with ease may keep you out there longer and more often. I'm using my mountain bike just for off-road adventures on light trails. After that, get a good seat that is comfortable. I went with a huge springy seat.

When it came time to test my refurbished bikes out, I was discouraged. My body was sluggish and I began to wonder if I had cycling in me as much as I thought. But then, last night, after an afternoon visit to the gym where I jogged on a treadmill, I took my road bike out for a test in the humid but cooling night air. I surprised myself.

I had myself believing that I couldn't go for a significant bike ride on a day I had already jogged. I had myself believing that I was too tired from a poor sleep the night before. I had myself thinking it was too late for a ride. This is the problem of the obese person: too many negative voices saying "You can't..."

I had one of the fastest, most aggressive rides of my life. Sometimes you feel like you have a tail wind the whole way, even when you don't. My legs just took off. I went so fast, I didn't even feel safe at times. Fortunately, the local football team was playing and the streets were deserted.

I made an effort to recreate the moments that made me fall in love with cycling when I was young, those nights of pure freedom when hot air off the pavement blew over me as I soared through the city. I ventured to my old neighbourhood and I rode through the streets that I'd take off on when I was a kid on a similar hot summer nights.

Some of those streets are notorious now and most people don't feel safe there but it didn't matter, I was going too fast.

My Eight-Year-Old Trainer Pushes Me Hard

My kids, like most these days, aren't big on getting off the couch and doing things. Even though we try not to hyper-parent or be overly protective, keeping them on a short leash, there still seems to be little that gets them out into the real world. But my eight-year-old son rarely says no to a bike ride with Daddy, even if it's clear across the city to visit Grandma. Even my four-year-old daughter joins us on the ride-a-long bike trailer sometimes. We did 90 minutes in the warm sun the other day.

My boy, who has always been slower to advance athletically compared to many of his peers, is pretty gung-ho to head out on a bike and pedal to the best of his ability. His ability used to lag behind my rapidly improving fitness level, but now his fitness is improving too (building muscles I presume) and he's pushing me. You wouldn't think we'd be a good match for workouts but I'm still a very overweight middle-aged-man and he's just beginning to blossom into a young athlete as he grows like a well-watered weed.

I don't know what affect our bike rides will have on the kids in the long term, or what they'll remember of it. I do know that I couldn't imagine my parents even going on so much as a walk with me, let alone a bike ride.

I refurbished an old mountain bike to compliment my road bike (hybrid). It's opened up the door to all sorts of new adventures and put at ease my anxiety over breaking a bike wheel again. However, mountain bikes are less efficient than road bikes and I have to work harder to keep up with the boy who won't slow down.

We also bought a deluxe bike rack for the car. This makes us officially a cycling family, like the happy, adventurous ones you see pulling up to bike shops or occasionally depicted in tourism commercials on TV.

It's such a far cry from the other stereotype I used to be.

My New Permanent Profession

I, James, am happy to announce that I am now an athlete.

F.A.Q.: "James, what do you do?"
A: Excellent question. I'm an athlete.

For the rest of my life, that's what I vow to be. You see, I don't want gastric bypass surgery. I don't want my disability to return. I don't want to not enjoy everything that life has to offer a healthy human being. I don't want to live out my life stuck in quicksand.

To me, keeping fit means putting my chronic disease (obesity) into remission. Thank God I don't have to take pills or undergo invasive treatments for my debilitating disease.

All I have to do is have fun.

Even if I were a naturally thin person, this is what I should be doing with my life. One's health or quality of life isn't necessarily dependent on the size of one's waistline. I believe the older we get, the more important fitness is for our quality of life no matter what size we are.

On the weekend I headed out to a nature preserve that is an hour out of town by bike. My eight year-old son and I traveled on gravel roads to get there. It took about an hour each way. Unlike on roads, I had trouble keeping up with my boy "off road" on my less-efficient mountain bike.

He was so proud of what he accomplished and so proud of his dad, who did almost nothing with him up until last summer.

When I got back from that exhausting trip (it wouldn't have been so exhausting if my son took it easy) I had had my fill of cycling. It was even something of a letdown to be done that goal and not to have anything else on my list of things to try.

But a day or two later, the feeling started to burn inside of me. I want to tear up something with my bike. I want to get out there, to make my heart beat fast, and to push my body to it's full, ever-increasing potential.

I hope that fire never goes away. It's my choice to keep it going.

Judge Ruling if Obese Man Too Fat to Be a Father

In a family court case to be ruled on soon, a judge will, in part, decide whether a 38-year-old Ottawa man is too fat to be a dad. 

In court filings by child-welfare authorities, a doctor at the family court clinic wrote:

“Finally, (father) has struggled with obesity for years, which impacts significantly on most aspects of his life including (his) functioning as a parent. He was short of breath or winded in simply walking short distances about the clinic and he lacks both the mobility and stamina required to keep up with young and active children.

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Judge+rule+whether+obesity+factor+fitness+fatherhood/6794649/story.html#ixzz1yGDYDeBg

Just Like That, Something New Realized

Sometimes I forget he's only eight.

Tonight I did something I've never done before.

I've said that a lot in the last year, haven't I? You know how many times I've said that in the fifteen years before that? Probably not at all.

Since I re-took up cycling almost a year ago,--Jesus, it's hard to type that, remembering that person who first got back on his bike on July 1st and the limitations he had and/or felt he had...

Let me start again.

When I got back on my bike a year ago I was reacquainting myself with fond memories of my younger years riding a road bike on streets, paved pathways and the occasional highway. I've never owned a mountain bike, didn't like them. I grew up watching my brother fine tune his racing bike for the lightest and fastest it could be...on the road. Mountain bikes were inefficient and pointless to me. I never understood them.

Until now, anyway.

During the last year of cycling with my eight year old, he's often asked me to go off road with him. I never did because I was afraid of breaking my wheels. I even avoid unsmooth streets because the wheels on my road bike are too thin and delicate for a 300 pound man. I bent a wheel once last year and had to get it fixed. Fortunately, perhaps due to a lower weight than last year, I've not had that problem again. But I stay off the gravel paths that my boy wants me to go on.

The only mountain bikes I've tried have been my wife's. They've never felt good. I dismissed mountain bikes altogether after several failed rides.

But recently I started getting curious about mountain bikes. I've often felt that I should ride one until I'm lighter because the wheels are wider and stronger on mountain bikes and they have bigger tires to absorb shock.

Then I started thinking it'd be fun to cycle through provincial parks on a mountain bike. And then I started researching trails. The Trans Canada Trail will one day go from coast to coast to coast in Canada. I started to think it'd be fun to ride on parts of it.

Call it a dream. Call it a notion to try something new. Nevertheless, I'm still a very large man who has a long way to go in reclaiming his body. I'm also getting long in the tooth, so the idea of trying new physical things still makes me hesitant.

About a week ago, my friend Brian offered me his old mountain bike which he stored outside due to lack of room. It was old and well-worn but it was a decent bike when it was new so it had potential. I quickly overhauled it and even painted some of it. For not too much money, a little bit of elbow grease, and a few trips to the bike shop, I got myself a spanky "new" ride.

Tonight, as the sun set, my son and I went for a spin to test her out. After a few gravel trails through neighbourhood parks, and some zipping up and down sidewalks onto the streets, we brazenly headed out onto a trail created by an SUV or two that circled around the edge of our neighbourhood, through a farmer's field and onto railroad property.

It was exhilarating, mostly because it was scary. The terrain got worse and worse but I felt that stopping would be a bad thing, especially because it was getting hard to see in the fading light. We dodged large rocks, minor cliffs and pools of water with mud, not to mention tall grass and weeds with thorns poking into our ankles.

It had me on edge, and my son too. But we made it and it was fun. And different. Different is good.

My son told me he was proud of himself and proud of me too.

The sedentary rarely do anything that raises the hair on their back. Sometimes living--really living-- means taking chances or trying new things that aren't easy or there's no sure outcome to them.

I hit a rut tonight, stopped suddenly and banged my belly into the handlebars (while the bars twisted downward out of place.) Was I phased? No. I'll be back again tomorrow.

Me, of one year ago, the fat guy who was two weeks from his first bike ride in fifteen years, wouldn't have had tonight's events cross his mind in his wildest imagination. What we accomplished tonight was completely unimaginable to me a year ago.

I'm almost afraid to think what else might be out there for me.

In Defense of Going Hard

People ask me all the time--from sedentary friends and acquaintances to the medical professionals who assist me in my quest--why I go so hard in my fitness quest.

The truth is, I could go a lot harder. Some people do. They spend hours per day exercising until they go from super-obese to the societal norm we call thin.

I could just go for walks every night and I'd benefit enormously from that activity. I'd lose weight and regain energy while toning the largest muscles in my body, those in the lower half that hold us up.

Part of it is that I do nothing half-assed. I either commit to something 100% or I don't do it. This comes from a fear of failure and an obsessive personality.

Another part of it is the psychological high I get from being in the zone.

But what really drives me is a mix of anger and appreciation. I know that sounds like an odd mix so I'll just jump to the point.

If you did not have the use of your legs and were confined to a wheel chair say, since you were a kid, what would you do if you suddenly had the permanent full use of your legs? Would you live a "normal life" sitting in front of a TV or computer screen all day, or would you run a marathon? You'd probably run ten marathons. You'd probably do everything you could possibly fit into a day.

I wasn't completely physically restricted when I was at my worst but I was increasingly disabled. There's a lot I couldn't do that healthy people take for granted. Much of what life has to offer was off the table for me. I was resigned to always having only the smallest taste of the joys the world has available to the able-bodied person.

So should it be a surprise that I strive to be all I can be? Too make my heart the opposite of what it was when I hit rock bottom? To improve every day? To seek out more and more out of life?

It's as simple as this: You don't know what you have until it's gone.

I go hard because of all that I had lost.

A Rare Connection with Nature.

I'm old. There's not much that makes me pause anymore. I've seen everything. Nothing is new. Time flies by fast because the world has lost its wonder. I wish I was twelve again. I'd like to look at the world for a while again with young eyes.

It's rare when my frantic world comes to a stop and I look at something with wonder. I saw the sun setting tonight, not on TV as I sat on my couch, not on my computer, not through my window, and not from the isolation of my car.

I saw it while riding my bike on a street on the edge of the city. There was nothing between me and it other than a serene wheat field. It's the kind of connection that makes everything pause. You sense that you can hear the event taking place because you're that close, even though there's no real sound. It's musical, maybe. Something evoking magic or heaven.

Moments like that should fill our days but they don't. We sit on couches, in front of TV sets and computers, or stuck in traffic jams anticipating what's next in our day. Suddenly we're old.

I'm glad I've unstuck myself. I'm going to go looking for more.

Four Sizes Down and a Flashback to 1 Year Ago

Today, I bought a new pair of shorts and they were three sizes smaller than my last, and four sizes smaller than my largest size (of about a year and a half ago.) Today was a good day. Maybe a good day to reflect, too.

Saturdays are my in between gym jogs. I jog at a slow, comfortable rate. My heart rate doesn't rise beyond a moderate level, and my breathing is full and steady, but nowhere near laboured or heavy. I jog for a couple minutes less than the gym, all just to keep those muscles strong, and to burn a few extra calories than walking.

Two days a week, I'll jog at the gym, bringing my heart rate up to the top end of 'aerobic' and spend a minute or two, or several, doing a wind sprint up to just under 90% of max HR to improve my fitness (it really, really works, kids.)

So tonight was a warm, humid night, very quiet and still. No people around and a full moon shone through the clouds. I was able to go out in shorts and a t-shirt for the first time this year at night and it brought me back to a moment one year ago.

I was getting more fit, having gone for longer walks the previous month or two, and decided I would slowly test out jogging. I'd do my half hour walks, but every second night I'd jog as slow as I could for 20 seconds. That's about all I could handle. My heart was nearly maxed out by the end.

Of course I was still uncomfortable exercising in public. Most very large people are self-conscious of how they look when exercising, especially when they're pushing their limits. Well, at the end of 20 seconds I happened to be in front of a group of people standing in front of their house. I decided to keep going for another 10 seconds (utill I got past them) to save face.

My heart probably reached 100% of it's capable rate. My chest tightened and I got worried that I had gone too far. I was gasping for breath. It's never happened again. Nothing even close. But I could have thrown in the towel and got discouraged that night, thinking it would take way too long to improve my body.

I asked my doctor about it and he confirmed my theory. My heart probably had reached its maximum rate or close to it. He then got me to buy a $50 heart rate monitor for my fitness quest and keep my heart below 85% most of the time.

Your maximum heart rate is generally considered 220 minus your age. I'm 45, so 220-45=175.  A good exercise (aerobic) zone is 70-85% (for those losing weight, although there are different opinions.) So 149 is generally the pulse rate that I try to keep below most of the time. And I like to do things like walking that keep it above 120, but it's hard these days without a raised incline on a treadmill (some people carry weights with them when they walk to get their heart working.)

Lately I sometimes have trouble getting my heart going fast enough, which is a big difference from that night one year ago when I went a bit too far in just thirty seconds. I'm not even sure there's anything I can possibly do now in thirty seconds to max out my heart, short of jumping out of an airplane naked.

Of all the things that have changed for me--my self-image, the profound energy increase, my ease at exercising in public, all the new things I can do with my kids, the reduction in size, the new waistline, THE FUN!--the most remarkable is the very measurable changes in my heart. Doing one activity that used to be, say, 150 beats per minute may now be only 120. It's the difference between gasping for oxygen and breathing normally.

Tonight my legs felt like strong pillars, more than capable of carrying me as I jogged through the night.

This night, this year, cycling is not a dream, as it was a year ago. It's a fitness pursuit I am fully immersed in. The jogging's a side-hobby. I can't get enough of cycling. Already, this early, I'm dreading winter.

Two different activities cross-training the body--one group of muscles aids the other on their day off.

The James of a year ago is gone. It's important to try to remember him, but may he rest in peace and not be seen again.

It's Summer and I'm on Fire!

The weather is warm and I've more than hit my stride, I've broken into a sprint. It's the cycling that's done it. That and visible progress breeding more progress.

I have significantly less fat on my body than this time last year and small reductions in pounds of fat is becoming more noticeable, unlike before when it was only a drop in the bucket. I've dropped two Xs from my shirt size and it feels good to be progressing toward a more reasonable body size. It makes me want to do more. It makes me get angry at myself for letting my health get as bad as it did. It makes me angry that I was so disabled last year. My anger is translating into fitness gusto.

It'll take this summer and next to get me to a good physical size but I'm ready for the challenge. I plan on riding my bike like a madman all summer. I love it. I love everything about bikes and cycling. I could spend all my money on the sport, just because it is, and has always been so important for my soul.

To go from bedridden and useless to someone who soars down asphalt effortlessly is enough to make me wanting more. Lots, lots more.

Bring it on. I've been waiting a long time for this!

I'm Winning My Fight Against Obesity

My body continues to get smaller. My clothing sizes are changing. Most importantly, I've shed my disabilities by vastly improving my fitness level.

Even in months where my pounds don't decrease, I am boosted by the fact my fitness level is increasing. This I can control, very easily. Eating control is a lot more complex and difficult. And for me, maintaining exercise on a regular basis helps me want to be more in control of how I eat.

People so want to be "skinny." They so want to be a "normal" unfat person. It's the end all and be all for so many overweight people. It was for me fifteen years ago until I realized being thin didn't solve any of my problems.

Today, as a middle aged man, I'm focused on my physical ability. A year and a bit ago I thought I was on a short road to an early death. I had lost much of the use of my body. I was helplessly sedentary. Just rolling over in bed was a big deal.

It's not any more. I could stand to lose another 140 pounds of fat but it doesn't matter that much to me. What matters is my health and the fact that I have one hell of a strong heart these days. I've regained the ability to participate in everyday activities most people take for granted, everyday activities I was unable to do for much of the last ten years.

For me, my quest for "normal" is now a quest for a normal physical ability, not a normal body size. I am fat, but I don't feel fat. I haven't for a long time. I feel good about myself. A year ago I'd insist on "driving" the shopping cart at grocery stores with my family because I was ashamed of my body and leery of my capability of walking around the store without something to lean on. I'd return home exhausted and sore from head to toe. Nowadays I could tip the shopping cart on it's end and dance on top it. Well, almost.

As I achieve frequent new milestones with my journey to physically improve myself and ever increase my abilities, I am thankful for two things. The first, obviously, is my medical clinic which supports me. I needed that little nudge of guidance and encouragement to get me going.

Secondly, I have found that I am thankful for the gift of knowledge. Knowledge about the basics of physical fitness and how the body works. I'm far, far away from being an expert and I've got lots to learn, but I very much regret entering adulthood awfully ignorant of how the body works. All this should have been taught in school, but it wasn't, at least not for me.

The book that changed my life was The New Fit or Fat by Covert Bailey. The author was very well known in the early 90s for his PBS TV appearances. His best selling book taught the basics a fat person needs to know about changing their body. He argued that people are either fit or fat. Even thin people can be fat if they're not fit. And fat people can be fit. I'm getting to be one of those people now.

I learned about using heart rate monitoring for any and all exercise as a way to improve my fitness. I learned that the body adapts to whatever you do. He taught me the importance of making the muscles in your lower body hard and strong through gentle aerobic exercise such as walking. Finally, I learned how to quickly monitor and improve my fitness through this knowledge.

The book is now all but forgotten, and the author retired. I'm sure there are many other great books out there, but I strongly encourage you to learn about your body. You need to know how fitness works even if you never plan to put on a running shoe for the rest of your life.

I am tremendously lucky to have the gift of this knowledge. It's the foundation my future health is built upon.

My friend Jay lent me the book in 1993 when we were both underemployed and struggling. I took it to heart and never forgot its lessons. Without this knowledge, I'd be just another struggling dieter.

Biking for the First Time: This Year vs. Last

I did some bike riding this weekend and you'll forgive me if I start by saying, "Wow!"

It was such an intense, soul-scraping moment last spring. That's when I ever so tentatively tried to get on my bike and ride down the street. It was under the cover of night on bent wheels. An activity that I loved all my life was shaming me to my core as I attempted to get back on the saddle, as it were.

I strained just to get thirty yards up the street. I returned home thinking cycling was over for me. Or, if it wasn't, I figured it would be years of hard work before I could get there.

This year I had a big plan to start getting in shape for cycling by using a stationary bike at the gym for at least six weeks. Well, spring snuck up on me and I didn't get much of a chance to prepare.

This weekend I headed out on my bike again, wondering how I'd do the first time out. I was apprehensive but it went very well! My family was left behind in my dust.

Staying strong all winter got me ready for summer cycling.

Staying strong also gives me confidence in my body and the ability to do much more than a person my weight should be able to.

It started one year ago just by putting one foot in front of the other.

I'm looking forward to a fun summer.

What I Learned from a McDonald's McGriddle

I've eaten a lot of McDonald's breakfast sandwiches in the last fifteen years. I'd hate to know the amount of calories and fat that my body had to process.

I even continued to indulge for many months into my year long quest to save myself from myself. I had a coffee habit from Tim Horton's and, more recently, McDonald's. I often included a breakfast sandwich with my morning coffee.

By coming up with a cup of coffee that works for me at home (a Keurig) at Christmas this year, I stopped going to those places and eating their high fat, high calorie breakfasts. Finally.

So I've been on the wagon in that regard for over three months. But I had my first breakfast sandwich a couple of days ago due to an unusual time management issue. I'm happy to say that I learned a lot from the experience.

Consistently, I have three slices of toast for breakfast made from Smart Bread. It includes fibre but hides it. It seems like white bread when you're eating it but it is more filling. I put lots of fat and sugar on my toast, but at least it has fibre.

I know how long I can last on that toast before getting hungry. The breakfast sandwich has about the same number of calories as my all-toast breakfast but I got hungry sooner. Much sooner. I could feel my blood sugar rise and fall quite rapidly. I also craved more fat, it seemed, after I got hungry again.

This confirms my belief that bad eating breeds more bad eating. That's also why I go in cycles with my diet. If I'm consistent and keep crap out, I crave it much, much less. If I eat something bad, I seem to hunger for more bad things in a physical--not emotional--way.

Thank you, greasy breakfast sandwich. You've taught me well.

The Incredible Lift My Podiatrist Gave Me

Many of you have applauded me for being very enthusiastic about my fitness quest. But there was a dark cloud for me. It was the pain in my lower legs/ankles (mostly from tendons, I'm told) during jogging. It happened a few minutes in and caused me discomfort that subsided a few minutes after I finished.

This was a barrier to me being all I wanted to be physically. Now, I'm over 300 pounds still, and jogging probably could have been a bit much for me, but I suspected that it was something else. The rest of my legs did fine. This part of my leg would fatigue long before the rest of my legs.

I have high arches--very high arches. You can limbo under them. They've never really been addressed, until now. I decided to take advantage of my wife's work medical coverage and seek out an opinion from a foot professional.

Right away he saw significant problems with the way I walk. Friends have been telling me that I walk funny ever since I was in high school. Shoe salespeople could do little to help me.

I got my custom orthotics yesterday. They cost me $420! My insurance will pay for most of that, but boy, that's a lot money. A computer scans the bottom of your feet. They send the data away, and in a couple of weeks you get custom insoles to put in your shoes. They last a couple of years. I plan on mine lasting a hundred years.

I took them for a jog and I couldn't believe that I for once didn't feel discomfort in my lower leg tendons. The lower legs felt as the upper parts of my legs did. My legs were getting a work out, but there was no pain. I felt like I could go on forever.

This is huge for me. It opens up the potential for me to progress physically with no boundaries. I no longer have this problem holding me back. In short, I need feel I can get as fit as I want to. My jogging time can now start increasing up to a length I'm happy with, say twenty minutes or so, for now.

I've said before that there are probably a thousand things that led to my severe obesity. Bad feet was probably one of them.

Chocolate lovers tend to weigh less, study finds - Healthzone.ca

Chocolate lovers tend to weigh less, study finds - Healthzone.ca

CBC.ca | The Morning Edition | Obesity Epidemic - A Medical Blind Spot?

Dr Sharma interview from this morning's CBC Sask morning show.
CBC.ca | The Morning Edition | Obesity Epidemic - A Medical Blind Spot?

My First Winter as an Active Person is Now Over

Winter came and went and I regret it's over. Because it was an unusually mild winter, my kids and I didn't actually get enough of a chance to enjoy it. We could have done a lot more tobogganing.

From the onset of this attempt to reclaim myself from obesity, I dreaded the coming of winter. Even in my previous athletic/dieting periods I slowed down in winter and didn't do much. Having access to my clinic's gym helped this time out. It also helped that its not a regular gym. You make appointments and you feel obliged to keep those appointments. Even when I start to slip off the wagon, my appointment at the gym twice a week keeps me on.

It was a fun winter, much more enjoyable than any I've had--save one where I took up skiing--as an adult. I bicycled with the family on a cool night in November. I trained on a treadmill with the highest incline to get me ready for climbing our large tobogganing hill, then I climbed it. Then it became easier and easier to climb. Hill climbing became my winter exercise and it did wonders for futhering the improvement (fitness level) of  my cardiovascular system.

But the highlight of my winter was when I faced my fears and preconceptions head on by going for a walk in -45 wind chills. It was on my wife's birthday, we had gone out for supper and it was bitterly cold that night. The four of us huddled under covers for an hour just to warm up again. Walking from the car to the house was excruciating.

Yet I came up with the idea later that night to try out my MEC balaclava with my new warm gloves and layers of clothes. It was an amazing experience and I doubt I'll ever forget it. Obviously, it proved I could do anything in any weather, so winter was no longer an obstacle to staying healthy.

It was even enjoyable being out that night. The air, as cold as it was, was fresh and being in nature when it's fierce is still being in nature. My senses were heightened to the max and I loved it. My walk in -25 a few days later seemed like a ho-hum non-event.

Now I'm doing some time on a recumbent bike at the gym twice per week to make sure I'm ready for bicycle season, Chapter 2. Spring snuck up on me but I can't wait to see what this year brings.

Work burnout tied to 'emotional eating' in women

This is right up the alley of our Craving Change class.

During the work day, do you ever find yourself in the office cafeteria or in front of a vending machine, wondering why you’re buying more food? You had a good lunch. You’re not hungry.

But you could be suffering from work burnout, according to a new study.

The study, from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, found that women who are fed up with their jobs are more likely to eat for comfort when they’re stressed.

Here's a link to the story in the Globe and Mail.

McDonald's Canada: Switching Healthy Choices to Even Worse

I'm pleased to say I don't go to McDonald's nearly as much as I used to. It's more of an emergency that gets us there now rather than the thought that pleasure would be gained by eating their food.

I was out shopping with my daughter yesterday and we needed some lunch to keep going. I pulled into McDonald's and tried to order one of the very few healthy things on their menu: the chicken fajita, weighing in under 10 grams of fat each.

Well, I was told they are discontinued. A year ago they introduced 800 calorie Angus burgers (50% worse than the gold standard of bad food, the Big Mac.)

Needless to say, McDonald's is not committed to serving healthier foods. In fact, it's quite the opposite. They are concocting even worse foods to get us hooked on a drug-like fat fix.

They're not all that different than Big Tobacco. Or the drug dealer on the corner.

Keeping Certain Foods Out of the House

The philosophy: Don't completely cut out the foods you love.

The reality: Having those foods around leads to over-consumption and unrestrained eating.

I keep most of those bad foods that gave me problems out of my house these days, mostly desserts and take-out pizzas. But something new crept in. I needed to make sure I had snackable foods around so I didn't overeat but one of those snacks was liked too much by me and has become a problem I now have to banish from my kitchen.

It's simple and maybe a little unusual: Wheat Thins crackers and cheddar cheese. They go so well together. It all stems from a night when I was super hungry and I started to combine these two items I found in the kitchen. I really enjoyed it and began looking to recreate that original experience of pleasure. This is a problem because it leads to emotional eating. Emotional eating leads to an over consumption of calories.

I've decided I can't easily beat this problem, so I have to just not buy Wheat Thins crackers. I can keep the cheese for other things, but the combination has been unhelpful.

I Coulda Stayed Home Tonight

Snow has been a rarity this winter around these parts. It's a shame that I take up a winter sport and we have a winterless winter. The sport is tobogganing, in case you're new here.

It started snowing today and, although there were reports of numerous accidents on slippery roads, my son and I went tobogganing at Mount Pleasant (not a real mountain, just an old landfill site but a significant hill for the large person nonetheless.)

The air was still and the temperature mild. It was perfectly still out there on the fresh powder. We had the mountain to ourselves. Wafts of wood smoke from fireplaces filled the air. Everyone else was keeping warm and dry in their homes. To punctuate the magical and surreal atmosphere, we could continually hear coyotes in the distance, not uncommon for our neighbourhood on the edge of town. I guess they were trying to find each other in the falling snow.

I can see why skiers love fresh powder and will pay for a helicopter to go up a mountain to get it. It's so quiet, so peaceful. Cutting into the fresh, virgin snow was a thrill for us on our sleds. You go down in a wavy but unbelievably soft motion, like skipping along the surface of a cloud.

Laying on my back, watching the snow fall from the sky, I noticed a light. My son told me it was the moon shining through the clouds. I didn't have my glasses on.

The lesson is obvious. Get out and enjoy life. Don't let anything stop you. You're missing so much if you stay on that couch. The greater the reasons not to go, the more amazing the experience will be.

Link: Why It’s So Important to Keep Moving

Hoping to learn more about how inactivity affects disease risk, researchers at the University of Missouri recently persuaded a group of healthy, active young adults to stop moving around so much. Scientists have known for some time that sedentary people are at increased risk of developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. But they haven’t fully understood why, in part because studying the effects of sedentary behavior isn’t easy. People who are inactive may also be obese, eat poorly or face other lifestyle or metabolic issues that make it impossible to tease out the specific role that inactivity, on its own, plays in ill health. ...

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