Getting yourself set up for success in your path to fitness

As I've discussed and written elsewhere on this site, making a state change requires some iteration to refine the changes. Do your best, keep going, and come back to review and update your thinking as you learn more. Here's some general steps for setup:

Evolution of my thinking on fitness

I thought it would be good to write down a few thoughts on how my thinking about fitness has changed over the years.

Theory to Practice

Ok, let's say that you have things generally worked out, you know you have time for sleep and exercise, and you are planning to eat good quality food. How do you fit everything together while holding down a job? Here's what I've been doing:

Managing Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

I now have two friends with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and this is a condition which can impact optimum health. I ran across some information over time regarding managing this with diet. I'm putting this post together at the request of one of my friends with this condition, so that it can be a resource for one approach to attempting to manage this condition.

The world is always changing into something new

The title of this post is a poetic quote from a Japanese manga/anime (comic/cartoon) series called Bleach, but it's a quote that I find appropriate when I'm feeling reflective.

We don't know where the world is going, but we can see at any point in time some of the options on its trajectory. And whether we like it or not, the world does change. Change is part of its nature. Change is nature.

Within the domain of that which we create, we have more direction, but even the imagined and designed worlds sometimes need to unfurl or develop more than follow from a strict plan.

I see that happening further with this site too. On the one hand, I have some new things to discuss. On the other hand there is still plenty more for me to manage that I don't have much time to write on a blog.

As a creation of nature, change is part of you too. You changed from a baby to an adult. You're changing now, even as you read these words. You maybe cannot stop change from happening, but you can guide some of the changes that happen.

So as you and your world change, I ask you to think about how you can change the world around you to be a kinder and less stressful place. I ask you to think about how you can change yourself to be healthier and content in all aspects of your life. And I will do my best, when I can, to post thoughts here on this website in order to support those changes for you.

Getting Leaner

I moved to a new location and a new job over the summer, and I've been using this occasion to work on building up my fitness. I now live several thousand miles away from where I was living previously, and my day job is pretty much a dream job.

I made a few changes with this move that seem to be paying off with regards to getting leaner. I weighed 265 lbs. when I moved here and when I last checked I weighed 250 lbs. I just tried on some shirts and noticed myself in the mirror that my face looks a lot leaner, and my midsection too (although there's still more to go!). Here's what I did:

In the Thick of It

It's been a while since I posted here, but I will continue to post eventually. Right now you could say that I'm busy going from theory to practice. I'm working to finish a bunch of work, and I'm planning a move to a new job and a new location, to occur in a few weeks. It's times like this that I see whether what I wrote holds up to the test of stress in real life.

Courage and Fear, and a Mundane Lesson

 I had a lesson in my everyday life recently that reminded me how to step around fear.

Internal dialog: managing attitude and happiness through the stories we tell

All of us have some sort of mental frame, an internal voice that presents a constant stream of discussion. Some people are able to quiet this chatter and just be present, but much of the time being aware of the chatter is part of bring present. If you can pay attention to some of this chatter, you can start to become aware of the messages you tell yourself, and the world, about yourself and the world. These messages have power, and reinforce your thinking and your attitude. You can change your thinking by changing your message.

Link to a simple summary for nutrition

The folks running the weightlifting gym where I go posted some thoughts about nutrition this past week. I liked this summary, so I thought I should link to it. Here it is:
http://www.barbellstrategy.com/2017/04/simple-nutrition-recommendations.html

Hangry: Managing Appetite

Every now and then, I'll get a visit from what I call the Hunger Monster. When the Hunger Monster takes up residence in my stomach, I am ravenous and I will eat everything within reach. More than that, I'll have a bad attitude until I've eaten enough to feel satisfied.

That's not so easy, and sometimes I joke that my stomach has been replaced by a black hole or some other tear in the space-time continuum. Matter may go in, but it forever departs from known reality. The hole is unfillable.

I found a few ways to keep from getting to this point, and if I plan correctly, I can go for a whole day on very little food. Here's how:

Intermittent Fasting: My Experience

Intermittent fasting is a technique that I have found to be the most effective technique to reduce my weight. However, "fasting" is a loaded word that means a lot to different people. Here's how I do it and some additional thoughts about this.

Making Big Changes... One Day at a Time

I've been trying to bike to work more. As I was biking in today, I noticed a bit about my process of making a change.

In the process of changing something, you have to take things one day at a time. Think of each day as a chance to test out something.

At the end of the day, think about what worked and what didn't, and see if you can plan ahead to do anything that would address what did not work. Then, set up to make things streamlined for you for the next day.

Deal with It/Buck Up. Some strategies for handling things that are out of your control.

Stuff happens. In the world, quite a lot happens that has no effect on you. Other stuff happens due to your own actions. Some stuff happens that is good for you. But then other stuff happens that is beyond your control and not pleasant at all. In this case, all you can control is your response, and you can respond at a few different levels: feelings, thoughts, words, actions. Here are some strategies for managing yourself at each of these levels.

My Core Message: Sleep-Food-Exercise

I believe that paying attention to sleep, food, and exercise, in that order, is the basis for solving 90% of the problems you may face.

Sleep: Sleep well, sleep enough.

Food: Eat nutritious food, don't overeat. Get veggies and some protein every day.

Exercise: Break a sweat doing exercise a couple times a week. Try to get some movement every day, even if you don't break a sweat. Find something you like to do and keep doing it.


Beyond this, stress management interplays with these factors. Good sleep, good food, and some exercise will help you keep stress and anxiety from taking over your life. Keeping stress and anxiety under control will help you do better with physical maintenance of yourself with sleep, food, and exercise. To that end, that's why I've posted a page about anxiety, and why I also write about organization and adjusting your frame of mind.

Don't Let the Perfect be the Enemy of the Good

In 2004, I had to make a decision. Or at least a plan. I was driving around the US on a road trip. My job had evaporated, and I needed to figure out some new direction. At some point on that trip I landed at a friend's place in Portland, Oregon, and I picked up some used books by Ursula Le Guin at Powell's Books. One of the stories that I read brought up the point that sometimes, when faced with a decision, what matters is not the actual decision, but rather that an action is taken. Inaction, the lack of any decision, becomes itself a sort of prison.

What's Going on Here

So, I've made it a couple weeks in to adding more content to this site, and I think I should attempt to clarify what's going on with this site.

Being of Good Character

Here's a strategy to eliminate a huge source of anxiety from your life.

Being Sick

Having a cold or illness sure is one way to get thrown off of your normal healthy activities.

New Anxiety Page

I've added a new page on strategies for managing anxiety in the links above. My hope is that this can be a helpful reference for you. It's written from the perspective of personal experience.

Keeping stress under control is critical to managing and developing overall health. In a complex, modern world, anxiety is a natural response to complexity, and a major component of mental stress. Mental and physical health are tied together. Reducing stress and anxiety helps promote physical health. Basics of physical health, i.e. good sleep, food, and exercise, are excellent support for managing anxiety.