2013 Is No Time For Fat Pants

Dec. 28, 2012

I got a blog message today that said to, "Put your fat pants away."

Good thought with only few days left in 2012. I don't know about you, but I've got regular pants, somewhat regular pants, fat pants and how-the-heck-did-I gain-all-this-weight pants.

I learned long ago that my weight on a scale isn't nearly as important as how my clothes fit. At least I like to tell myself that because it reassures me that I'm gaining muscle and not fat as I work out.

Fat pants are like the safety valve we all keep in the closet. You can fit into them, and only you are really embarrassed to be wearing a size or two up from normal, but it stinks when you think you've slipped and added five or 10 pounds in the last year or so.

Well, what can I say? Gravity sucks! Even the best of us who run, job, walk or roll face backsliding periodically.

But hey, it's a new day and we're on the brink of a new year. I read an article the other day that suggested you make a list all the things you have leaned on in the past year (chips, candy, cookies, etc.). But rather than do a giant knee-jerk wipe out of all the stuff at once, you pick one thing to stay away from for a while, and see how it works out.

The thought is that you make it a lifestyle change rather than saying you're on a diet. 

One of my favorites is eliminating accidental food. This is particularly important when you work in an office. Somebody brings in cookies or leftover Christmas candy and sets it in a high-traffic area and before you know it you've got party mix all over your desk and you're looking for more.

Accidental calories add up more quickly than you think. They can add 200 to 1,000 calories a day to your consumption. They're like little food gremlins that feed your need to binge and fuel the expansion of your waistline.

My other food downfall, like so many people, is drinking too much soda. I've been a diet soda drinker for years, so the calories aren't as much of an issue as the caffeine, sodium, acids and other unhealthy chemicals that are contained in sodas.

I'll admit it, I don't drink enough water. So my discipline is to drink equal or double the amount of water compared to the amount of soda I drink. If I want a glass of soda, that means I need to drink a glass or two of water.

It's not a great solution, but at least I don't have that giant caffeine crash at different points in my day. And I'd like to think that it's somewhat healthier than just a day of soda after soda as I crank out blog posts on my computer.

The key is to have a lifestyle that includes time to get up and move. Whether it's an hour at the gym or walking outside for 30 minutes. A combination of healthy eating and exercise will keep us all away from the "fat pants" sided of the closet in 2013.

Besides, think of all the energy it's going to take to climb back up from the bottom of the fiscal cliff.

Good luck everybody ... the World's Slowest Human.

Caution: Fiscal Cliff Ahead!

Dec. 26, 2012

Happy Boxing Day or Merry Christmas plus one.

We somehow made it past the Mayan end of times, and now we're headed squarely toward the edge of the fiscal cliff. My greatest fear is that the new normal of the current recession will be replaced by an even newer normal after we drop off the cliff.

Since there is little I can do about it, I might as well run. Left, right, left ... you know the drill.

I wonder if the president and first lady are jogging out in Hawaii this week? You know, that whole fitness thing and setting an example for the youth of America?

In today's Runner's World quote of the day, opera singer Beverly Sills says, "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."

Somehow this spirit of hard work equaling success was stamped into the DNA of what we regard as the Greatest Generation. These were people who valued a day's work for a day's pay.

I'd like to think whether you're out on the road putting in the minutes and miles or working for a living that hard work will eventually equal success.

Like many runners, walkers and riders, I took Christmas Day off for a rest day. I'm also a bit of a chicken when it comes to cold weather. 

When that old thermometer doesn't crack the freezing mark I'm hard pressed to bundle up and go outside for a run. I just don't have that ice water in my veins that I see in folks who go tromping through the ice and snow in the name of fitness. I admire those hardy souls, but it's just not my style. I've heard the legends of bike riders rolling around with water frozen in their water bottles. That's "yikes" on my cold scale.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to lie on the couch eating Christmas cookies and watching bad college football all day. OK, I might watch some bad college football, but it might come while I'm riding my stationary bike and not lying on the couch.

It's been three or four days since I've gotten out on the mean streets and put my world's slowest human status on the line. I have to admit, the first two days of riding indoors instead of hitting the streets were kind of nice. Not nearly as strenuous, but a good change of pace.

But the guilt is starting to set in. I find myself looking at t he Weather Channel -- MTV for geezers is what a friend calls it -- and plotting out the warmest point of the day. Good luck with that since it's nearly noon and the thermometer has yet to pop past 20. 

But the sun is shining and the siren's song of the road is calling. I miss the warm weather and rolling over the hills toward fitness; skipping the shortcuts in the hope of getting to places worth going.

So hopefully I'll bundle up and get out there. If not, it will be back on the spin bike. 

Either way, happy Boxing Day!