Tag: fitness

A Creul Irony #health #fitness #diet #firstworldproblems

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Here’s a first world problem.

I used to have a nervous habit of shaking my leg and can’t count the number of times people have complained about it. I recently noticed that I no longer do it and probably haven’t for years. Based on certain changes I’ve made in my life, that’s not surprising, but its absence snuck up on me; I didn’t notice that I had stopped.

Anyway, the internet read my mind (as we know it always does) and placed a Joe Rogan video in my YouTube shorts stream. The health expert being interviewed mentioned that your calf muscles use an inordinate amount of energy relative to similarly sized muscles, and as a result, you can burn a lot of calories because of that nervous tic. I did some internet research and found several articles confirming these findings. Here’s one with six ways to burn calories.

I have a multitude of posts talking about my weight loss, weight gain, gym time, etc., and now I’m forcing myself to shake my legs with the intent to burn between 50 and 400 calories a day. These numbers represent the lowest and highest estimates I could find. Keep in mind, though, that fidgeting isn’t the solution to a slim waistline. It’s like a multivitamin: It won’t give you everything you need, but as a supplement, it can fill in some missing gaps.

Hooray for anxiety!

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Daylight Savings Time Sucks #time #DST #circadian

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Yeah, you’ve heard it all before, but now you’re hearing from someone who used to swear by daylight savings time (“DST”). In fact, I wanted the United States to switch over to DST permanently. I heard scientists claiming that it’s bad for you, but like any American, I rejected the science. I didn’t want an evening commute to be dark.

I was an idiot.

As I discussed about a year ago, I purchased a home with window treatments that let sunlight in even when they’re closed. The result has been that I wake up earlier, and the sunlight is far less jarring on the brain than an alarm clock regardless of how soft the alarm is. Humans, and every other living organism, evolved around the sun, not around alarm clocks, developing circadian rhythms (i.e., “physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle”).

It’s far easier to get up in the morning, and I have far more energy even after putting on a lot of my bad weight again. I also easily fall to sleep most nights, which is something that has been elusive nearly my entire life. This despite always using my cell phone when going to bed. Daylight savings time screws that up. Now I rely on an alarm to get to the gym on time, and if I had to be to work before 9 am, I’d still be in that jam.

So, DST is stupid.

So is America for having it.

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Waking Up #health #fitness #gym

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Last Friday, I mentioned that I’m finally headed back to the gym. Despite the difficulty of doing so, there’s one thing working in my favor. My body is naturally waking up every morning at least 80 minutes earlier than necessary to get me to work on time. I don’t even sleep in on the weekends. I noted that there’s a reason for this.

I’m a very private person, but in an odd way. Much of what you might think should be private, I have no problem sharing, while things you routinely blab about, I keep to myself. Still, one thing that exemplifies my privacy kick that will come as no surprise is that I always keep my shades drawn. In my last residence, this meant that the sun never made it through. Last January, I bought a house, and the — what do you call them? — window treatments keep prying eyes at bay but allow the sunlight through.

Poop.

Well, by now you should all know the meme. Sunlight impacts your sleep cycle. It wakes you up more gradually than a jarring alarm clock. I arguably don’t need an alarm clock, but if I rely on it to wake up, it makes getting out of bed far more difficult. Sunlight really works better.

If you’re having trouble getting up in the morning, consider different coverings for your windows. It really works.

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Getting Back to the Gym #health #fitness #gym

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I’ve occasionally spoken about my massive change in health (for the better).

Unedited photo, 2018.

Once I was where I needed to be, I relaxed my dietary restrictions (though I can still say it’s been over five years since I’ve had a soda). I wound up having my first surgery in 2020, and the pandemic shut down all the gyms. Combined with my relaxed diet, the net result was that I fell off the fitness wagon. I’ve since put on far more weight than I wanted, and I haven’t been to the gym in over two months.

This came up yesterday with a coworker. She asked why I haven’t been to the gym in so long. I told her that when I was a kid, I loved going to the top of the Empire State Building, Sears Tower, etc. Unsurprisingly, I always wanted to go to the top of the Washington Monument but never did. Why? Because I lived here. The Washington Monument would always be there tomorrow, so I could put it off another day. And another. And another.

Now I’m less than a week from my 54th birthday, and I’ve still never been to the top of the Washington Monument. The problem is that it’s too easy. When something is too easy, it can be exceptionally hard. That’s what’s happened to my workouts. I bought a home in January and cancelled my gym membership because my HOA comes with a gym. The gym is less than 1/2 mile from my home, is open from 4 am to midnight every day, and is already paid through my dues. I can go there any time I want.

So I never do.

I hope to say that, this morning, all of that changed when I finally got back into the gym.

Proof!

I don’t have to get up until about 7:50 am every morning to get to work on time, but I’ve been waking up at 6 or 6:30 am without the help of an alarm. (There’s a reason for that.) That gives me at least 80 minutes to get to the gym and do something, so that’s what I’m going to start doing.

I hope.

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The Key to a Healthy Change #health #fitness

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I’ve occasionally spoken about my massive change in health (for the better). However, I never really told you my secret. Here’s the secret.

I did all of these but one. There’s no way I’m getting 8 hours of sleep a night.

Cops don’t read blogs, right?

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