Television Tactics: Who Needs Cable When You Have A Gym?

How much time do you spend sitting on the couch watching tv? If you’re anything like the average American, it’s likely quite a lot.  According to the A.C. Nielson Company, South Dakota Department of Health, and Wikianswers, average people watch over 4 hours a day.  The importance we give to television entertainment comes at a high cost, too.

First, there’s the cost of time. Think of what else could be accomplished in all that time. You could walk over twelve miles, bike from Pasadena to Burbank and back, go out to see a concert, clean your house and car, or visit a museum.  In the one to two hours it takes to watch other people meet their goals on Biggest Loser, Ultimate Cake Off, or the Bachelor, you could be well on the way to achieving your own goals.

Secondly, there’s the financial cost of watching tv.  Obviously, the service comes with a price tag.  Cable costs take huge cuts out of your income.  Sure you have a billion channels to choose from, but is it really worth what you’re paying?  You can easily spend over $1000 a year on television, movie rental, or satellite services, and at the end of it you don’t have anything to show for it.  The other cost is the cost of being at home.  It’s really common for people to use couch time as snack time.  Cleaning out your cupboard during t.v. watching sessions takes just as big of hit on your wallet as it does your weight loss goals.

Finally, there are significant negative psychological effects that come with watching too much television.  Staying up to watch shows cuts into sleep time and productivity.  These are the obvious detrimental side effects, but there are many more.  It can make you feel helpless, lethargic, and unfocused.  Advertisements can influence you to eat or buy things that are unhealthy.  It can limit your brain productivity, acuteness, and functionality.  This link is a pretty good eye-opener when it comes to some of the effects of television watching.

As an alternative, I suggest spending your time going out and exploring. The money you save in cancelled subscriptions will pay for fun and interactive experiences.  If there is a show or a sports game you must watch, then go to the gym with some ear buds and walk, jog, bike, or elliptical at the same time.  When I watch a game, I always pick a team to win.  Every time that team gets the ball, I speed up to a sprint as if I’m running up the field or court for a pass.  When they lose the ball and are on defense, I slow down and recover as if I am getting in position and holding off the other team.  Not only does this give me a good idea of the percentage of time my team is controlling the ball, it also provides a pretty nice interval-type workout.  I’m keyed into both the game and my workout.

Your homework starting right now is to go a week cold turkey without watching television.  The ONLY exception is watching at the gym while you workout.  Write in your activity log the things you accomplish in the time that you would normally use for watching  t.v.

Race Ya To The Other Side Of The Country!

Running at a fast pace down the street, the course seems like it is just further than I can make it.  I think I am slowing down so I say to myself, “when I get to that green mailbox, I’ll slow down.”  Funny thing is, when I get to that green mailbox, I realize that I can keep going.  “I’ve made it this far, I might as well go up to that big tree down the way,” I reason.  So I keep myself focused on making it to the tree with a quality stride.  My feet keep moving forward because when I get there, I see a spot another good target down the road.  Before I know it, I’ve completed a challenging workout in a time I’m proud of.

Breaking a challenge into smaller pieces helps us see our progress and stay focused.  Many times we are in the gym, on the treadmill, or traveling the same familiar routes day in and day out.  It’s easy to feel like a hamster on a wheel when we have no visual or concrete evidence of our hard work.  Luckily, we have many fixes to help remedy this.  One of those is taking measurements and staying knowledgeable on where we stand on our weight loss.  Another is the calendars we fill out.  Now we are adding a new, decidedly more fun tool.  We will be walking, running, biking across the country.  Each day we report how far we have traveled, and this website will add it up and show our team and individual cross-country trek progress map-style.

Your assignment is to create an account on that website and join our team, Laces United.  Each day log how far you’ve traveled.  The website shows roadside pictures of where we are and what states are coming up.  We will say to ourselves, “let’s just make it to Kentucky…. Well, we’re at Kentucky, let’s see how fast we can make it to Missouri!”

Eat to Live

Americans have a unique approach to food.  We want the most for our time and money, we want something to do, and we want more than others.  When we want to lose weight, food becomes a stressor.  We look at it as a challenge to hold ourselves back and control temptation.

Other cultures see food as a meaningful and fulfilling part of life that is to be savored, enjoyed, and balanced.

Starting now, try to look at food as nourishment.  Eat with somebody and take time with each bite to savor the flavors and textures.  Prepare food and take joy in the creative process.  Eat at the table rather than eating on the run, on the couch, or standing up.  The new recipe I put up is a healthy and tasty substitute for mashed potatoes that I am confident you will enjoy preparing and eating.  Have a fun weekend!

Balancing Our Budget: Let’s Out-Perform Congress!

Proximity is not the only close connection between our wallets and our bodies.  Finances and health have a legitimately close relationship.  Let’s take on two challenges at once by maximizing our calorie deficit and minimizing our financial one.  All we need is a plan and the determination to follow through.

1. Look back at your last few weeks of spending and calculate how much money you spent on food, vitamin, and drinks. Notice what was superfluous.

2.  Make a menu plan for the week and write down a grocery list based specifically on your needs for that plan. Be precise in amounts.

3. Make a budget based on your grocery needs.  Also, set a limit to meals out and how much you can spend on them.

4.  Grocery shop with your list and any coupons you’ve happened to find for those items (don’t base your list off of coupons, rather, make your list and then see if you can find coupons that match your needs).

5.  Keep track of what you spend and adjust as necessary.

I’ve heard of smokers who put the money they saved by not buying cigarettes each week in a jar or a savings account.  Try putting the difference in the money you spend on food aside and use it as a reward of meeting your goals.  We’ll make the differences in your calorie and monetary expenditures and intake work to your advantage!

Changing the Scene If You Know What I Mean!

Music can be a powerful motivator. Finding a genre, group, or album that speaks to you can carry you further than you might think.  Through years of going through sports, working through injuries, and facing challenges, songs have given me a lot of strength.  Alicia Keys, No Doubt, Kings of Leon, Killers, and Jack Johnson have all at some point or another carried me through tough times.  They’ve gotten me out of bed, pushed me to work harder, and made me smile when I couldn’t on my own.

Your assignment for July 6 is to find music and artists who speak to you.  Go to your favorite music store, put on headphones, and tryout some music.  Get an album that speaks to you and keep it in your music player on repeat!

Now some words from those awesome orators:

And you ask me what I want this year /

And I try to make this kind and clear /

Just a chance that maybe we’ll find better days (Goo Goo Dolls- Better Days)

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

No message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make the change/ (Michael Jackson- Man in the Mirror)

Been looking forward to the future/

But my eyesight is going bad/

And this crystal ball its always cloudy except for /

When you look into the past (Fall Out Boy- Thnks Fr Th Mmrs)

And often times we’re lazy /

It seems to stand in my way /

Cause no one, no not no one likes to be let down (Jack Johnson- Flake)

But I know it’s gettin’ better/

And a change is gonna come my way (Tesla- Gettin’ Better)

And sometimes I get nervous /

When I see an open door /

Close your eyes, clear your heart /

Cut the cord (Killers- Human)

 

My Body tells me no/

But I won’t quit /

Cause I want more, cause I want more (Young the Giant- My Body)

I got the green light /

I got a little fight /

I’m gonna turn this thing around (Killers- Read My Mind)

I can change I can change I can change

I can change I can change I can change

I can change (LCD sound system- I Can Change)

Run fast for your mother; run fast for your father / 

Run for your children all your sisters and brothers /

Leave all your love and your longing behind. 

You can’t carry it with you /

If you want to survive (Florence And The Machine- Dog Days)

‘Cause we’re living at the mercy of /

The pain and the fear /

Until we dead it, Forget it, / 

Let it all disappear. (Linkin Park- Waiting for the End)

A little sweat ain’t never hurt nobody (Beyonce -Get Me Bodied)

So high the climb /

Can’t turn back now/

Must keep on climbing up to the clouds /

So high the climb Can’t turn back now /

Must keep on climbing up to the clouds (No Doubt- The Climb)

You know a dream is like a river /

Ever changin’ as it flows /

And a dreamer’s just a vessel /

That must follow where it goes (Garth Brooks- River)

Even on a cloudy day,

I’ll keep my eyes fixed on the-/

I’ll keep my eyes fixed on the-/ 

I’ll keep my eyes fixed on the sun (Cage the Elephant- Shake Me Down)

‘Cause I am a Superwoman/

Yes I am (yes she is) /

Still when I’m a mess, /

I still put on a vest /

With an S on my chest /

Oh yes, I’m a Superwoman / (Alicia Keys- Superwoman)

Yeah, I think I’ll be alright /

I’m working so I won’t have to try so hard/ 

Tables, they turn sometimes /

Oh, someday… / 

No, I ain’t wastin’ no more time (The Strokes- Someday)

Scars remind us /

That the past is real /

I tear my heart open / 

Just to feel/ (Papa Roach- Scars)

Cleaning House

Alright, this homework is mandatory, and it’s due by Saturday morning. 

1. Empty EVERYTHING out of your kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer.  Any food that is in your house is going to be in grocery bags. 

2. Wipe down and sanitize everything.  If your shelf paper is old, put down something new that you like to look at. 

3. Go through the food in the bags.  If it isn’t part of your healthy lifestyle, toss it out.  If it is a weakness, toss it out.  If this sounds wasteful, think about the time and money you’re using at the gym unnecessarily when you have to work off those excess calories.  Likewise, anytime you buy unhealthy food because it’s a “good deal” (i.e. McDonalds, Cheetos, ice cream…) you are paying to gain weight and to gain health problems that will cost you more money in the future.  It is wasteful to keep those weaknesses around.

3. Organize your fridge, cabinets, and drawers to your liking, but make it neat.  We don’t want chaos in the kitchen. 

4. Clean off the outside of your fridge and put up only one or two pictures of role models or people who give you fortitude.  Whether it’s Dirk, Mia, Mother Theresa, or your sister, the person or people you choose should make you think ‘STRONG!’ You will have one more thing to put up on that fridge when you come in this weekend. 

5.  Walk to the store and pick up any staples for your meals that you have noticed you need (think spices, quinoa, wheat germ, soup bases). Make sure that you go into the store with that list and stick to it. 

Now you’re set.  You have a kitchen that reflects the attitude you have towards food: clean, functional, healthy, and purposeful.

Running Errands

This weekend I want us to give another meaning to the phrase “running errands.”  We’re going to be very literal here.  When  you need something from Target, the grocery store, or any other place, lace up your sneakers and leave the car keys at home.  Walk, run or bike anywhere you go.  Share your experiences in the comment box.  Between this task and yesterday’s you should have some adventures to tell us about by Monday!

Graze on Greens

Stop by the store on your way home from the gym tonight and pick up a plethora of vegetables. Snap peas, carrots, broccoli, and bell peppers are just a few of the easy-to-prepare snacks or meal add-ons that you should have on hand.  It’s unlikely that you get enough vegetables in your diet, and it is infinitely more unlikely that you are getting too many.  When you feel hungry for a snack, eat some raw veggies by themselves or dipped in hummus or salsa (I like carrot chips with salsa).  When you need something extra to complete your meal, saute some zucchini or grill some asparagus.  Your greens will add so much to the taste of your food and to the qualities of calories you consume.  Enjoy!