Vacationing's a Bit Different

If you're like me, there's been a lot of things in my life that I've wanted to do, but have yet to do them.Many of those things, for me at least, required a certain amount of physical activity, and before I just wasn't able to do it.It wasn't a matter of want, but more a matter of can't. Now that I've lost 130 lbs or so, my options are a little different.


We currently have some of our great friends from Texas here on vacation for a few days, and we ventured into North Georgia for a few days.In the course of 3 days, I:

Canoed at Unicoi State Park

Paddleboated at Unicoi State Park

Swam (in a pool, not the lake)

Played putt-putt golf (I know, not that physically taxing, but a year ago, I would have made an excuse NOT to do it)

Tubed down the Chattahoochee

Went to a water park

Shot some hoops

Hiked up and down 1,099 stairs and then around 2 different rim trails at Tallulah Gorge State Park

Went rock climbing

Whew!We were busy!But I had a blast doing all of these things.The next thing on my list is white water rafting.


You may be thinking to yourself, "I'm happy for you.Glad you had so much fun."


One short year ago, I could NOT have done this.Okay, I probably could have played putt-putt, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it.


Maybe you're someone that wants to do these kind of things, but right now, you are physically incapable of doing them. Don't give up!Even some small changes can make new activities become accessible to you.


You may not be ready to go rock climbing next week, but maybe you could go canoeing next month!

Saturday...One of the Seven Best Days of the Week

Saturdays are wonderful for many reasons.  Let me enumerate some of them.

1. Saturdays are officially part of the standard weekend package.
2. Lots of fun things happen on Saturdays.
3. Saturday inspired one of the greatest songs of all times.
4. Saturday did not inspire a song by Rebecca Black.
5. Saturday is a great day to get active!

Get active?  What do you mean?  Let me give you some ideas.

• Take a walk
• Take a stroll
• Take a jog
• Take a...you get the idea
• Go for a swim
• Go rock climbing (Google it...I bet there's somewhere near you to do that)
• Clean the house
• Clean the yard
• Play basketball
• Play tennis
• Play...again, you get the idea
• Lift some weights
• Work in your garden (garden required)
• Go hiking

Of course, there are a million things you can do to be active.  Unfortunately, there are a million excuses not to be.  I won't list them here.  You're welcome.

Let me know what your favorite way to be active on a Saturday is.  Time to get moving!

Podcast Coming!

Today was an exciting day!  We recorded the first ever "1 Meal - 1 Workout" podcast, hosted by Element Opie Productions.  Since today was our first recording, we just laid the groundwork for the future:  who am I?  who is Mark Cockrell (my co-host), what is "1 Meal - 1 Workout"? 


Expect to see it published and ready for download (or subscription) sometime around the 1st of July!

So How Does One Get Really Fat?

"So how does one get REALLY fat?"


This was the question posed to me a while back by one of my close friends.  I had just officially past the "100 lbs lost" mark, and we were discussing health in general.


"I mean, as you got bigger and had to buy bigger clothes didn't you realize there's a problem?"


Of course.  But it's a little more complex than that.


When you're fat you don't like to go clothes shopping. At least I didn't.  It's not an enjoyable experience to be confronted with the reality of your situation.  For me, it would usually go like this. 


I would put off clothes shopping as long as possible.  As I gained weight, my clothes would do their best to accommodate me.  Shirts would get stretched out, buttons on pants would loosen...or pop off.  You get the picture.


Eventually I would be forced to shop.  Either because I literally did not have enough clothes to make it through the week, or I had a wedding or other event coming up.  When I ultimately made it to the store, I'd find out that I crept up a size...or two.  Each time, one step at a time, I progressed down that unhealthy path.  44 inch pants turned into 46s...2X shirts to 3X...


The problem is that by the time you're at the Big & Tall Store trying to buy pants, you can't just say, "Hey!  Whoa!!  Hold the phone!  I believe that I may have gained some weight.  I'm not buying any clothes today.  I'm going to go lose some weight and THEN come back and buy some clothes."  You're at the store, you need the clothes or you wouldn't be there, so you buy the clothes that fit.


Lather, rinse, repeat. It's a vicious cycle. In my case, this was perpetuated by an incorrect body image. 


Most of the time when people think about weight issues and body image, they think about bulimia or anorexia: people that see themselves as fat when they really aren't. Mine was the opposite.  It wasn't really that I was in denial, per se, but every time that I saw a picture of myself, I was surprised at how fat I was.  In my mind's eye, my body image was such that I saw myself 75-100 lbs lighter than I actually was.


So how DOES one get really fat?


Simple.  Avoid buying clothes as long as possible so that you aren't confronted with the weight you've gained in any quantifiable way.


That's what I did, and it worked for years!  By the way...I don't recommend it.  If you find yourself in this cycle, don't wait for the next time you're forced to by clothes to find out the bad news.  Start making little changes today, so that the next time you have to buy new clothes, you get to go down a size...or two!

Running 4 My Life Spotlighted

Hey everyone!  Piedmont Healthcare continues to support me in my goals to be healthy, and encouraging others to do the same.  One of the Piedmont entities, Piedmont Medical Care Corporation, featured the Running 4 My Life 5K from April in their June newsletter.  Check it out below!  Thanks Piedmont!

Quick Question

Are you 50 lbs or more overweight? Ready to make a change? 

I'm looking for a couple of people that are willing to be my "test group". I want to take some of the things I've learned over the last year that have helped me lose weight, and see if they are applicable in other's lives. 

There's a bit more to it than that, but if you are interested in finding out more, send me an email and I'll get you the details.


1meal1workout@gmail.com


Thanks!