Write it down. These are three words I say all the time. I say it to my clients in parenting class every week; I say it to my coworkers who try to pass off information of importance to me verbally every day; and I say it to myself about just about anything important that comes […]
It’s true, at least as far as working out goes. I have a lot of goals. I don’t reach all of them. Even my exercise goals are the same way–I have a plan, if I don’t reach it, then the next week (or month or year) I need to change the plan. For instance, this […]
I’ve discussed training schedules and books and all kinds of other things when it comes to getting into shape (although not so much about controlling your diabetes–that’s coming) and while all of that is useful, the ultimate lesson I learned was this: there is no substitute for hard work. There are days like today when […]
Interestingly, for a single day, I had a serious blip in my weight–I’ve been between 183 and 185 for awhile now, and suddenly, one day I was up to 190. The only thing out of the ordinary was I had to buy dinner on Wednesday night while on my way to my class rather than […]
Being accountable for your workouts is a way to make sure they get done. I’ve been finding out that using social networks like Twitter and blogs like this one and You’ve Got to Move it Move it (a group health blog that I participate in) is a way to hold myself (and others) accountable for […]
What’s realistic in terms of your goals? That’s a tough question. I think when I started this journey back in 2002, if I said my goal was to lose 80 pounds, I’d have thought of myself as crazy. Yet here we are, more than 80 pounds later. Of course, that 80 pounds took years to […]
I’m an awful runner, but I’m an even worse swimmer, and that’s despite living on an island in the middle of the ocean with near perfect weather. I don’t know if that will change, but in the last couple of weeks a couple of my coworkers and one of our former interns have decided we’re […]
Editor’s note: this entry was written before yesterday’s entry, “What 40 Miles Looks Like”. How much of getting into shape is psychological rather than physical? My guess is that it’s about 75% psychological and only 25% physical–if not closer to 100% psychological. Yes, you have to physically exercise to get into shape, so it’s not […]
Early on, small signs of progress are encouraging. In the beginning, when you’re struggling, very small things show progress. Being able to ride your bike for an hour rather than half an hour can be a huge deal. When I started running, being able to run an hour without stopping–or later, walking rather than stopping–was […]
As I confessed here some time ago, even though I’ve done the Great Aloha Run (twice), the Ford Island Bridge 10K, and hobbled badly through but finished the Honolulu Marathon, I hate running. But that said, there’s still some positives to this exercise I don’t like but participate in nonetheless: Low cost: Running doesn’t cost […]