[quote=cristobal.griffin]Here’s another tip that has helped many people. I practice a type of healing work that utilizes the wisdom of Chinese Medicine.
Our biggest meal of the day should be breakfast. Eating a huge dinner is much less important. The rule of thumb is "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper".
My teacher shared with me that he has never seen an obese person who ate in this way. When coupled with moderation and good exercise, it’s a sure winning strategy for greater health
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I meant to comment on this…I believe there is some truth to this. In my case, I was having trouble getting to work and not being hungry, let alone getting to lunch, after eating a sizeable breakfast. My nutritionist looked at what I was eating for breakfast and told me to eat more…and to add snacks in there as well. After just a week, I am now able to make it to work and to and through lunch without being hungry. Now I need to work on dinner. I don’t think we need to eat less…we just need to eat right.
HA! We are finding the same thing here - the more food we grow - the better in shape we get…what gives?
Personally, I enjoy riding our bikes into rown 12 miles…its the ride back that kills me!
EGP
You go, Chris! Very inspiring! -Both your getting into shape AND showing iit is possible to regain balance in one’s life!
Thanks for sharing,
pinecarr
Hi there,I was about to make the same point about utilitarian exercise but you beat me to it. You’ve certainly got the right idea!
Exercise has always been an important part of my life, but it also used to be a bit of a pain sometimes when trying to fit it in around family, work, friends and other commitments. Then we became a one car family instead of two and I started riding my bike to work and everywhere else I needed to go (when not with wife and kids). Never again have I had that nagging feeling that I really should do some exercise on any given day. It’s baked into my routine, making valuable use of previously wasted travel time. Another happy benefit is it also saves me several thousand dollars a year in transport costs.
One other very important point about getting in shape that a lot of people overlook is sleep. It’s the third pillar of good health after diet and exercise. Particularly, taking naps when needed. A 20 minute afternoon nap makes a huge difference to general wellbeing, alertness and frame of mind. I’ve been napping since my mid-twenties and swear by it. I encourage everyone to google the benefits of napping and investigate. It’s also kind of fun working a nap into your regular work day without your colleagues being aware that you’re doing it. Meeting rooms and park benches are ideal 
M.
I am in the early stages of my own effort to lose weight and improve my health, and your sharing with us is indeed inspiring. My wife is way ahead of me (in a renewed focus on fitness), and has "scheduled" me for two weeknight workout nights… so your note is yet another push in the right direction.
My own weakness is indeed alcohol, in the form of good wine. Although I don’t presently plan to give it up… I need to drastically curtail my wine drinking and limit it to special occasions/meals. I love good wine, and one of my prep’s is to make sure my basement wine cooler cabinet is full : ) That being said, I find that when I do drink… my ability to inhibit my own tendency to overeat is completely lost, so I eat the evening away, on top of the extra calories from wine.
Although I could really use to lose about the same amount of weight Chris has… at least… I have never completely lost my connection to exercise, in part because I own one of these, in the basement, set up in front of a TV;
http://www.concept2.com/us/indoorrowers/
Although not cheap, I love my rower… made in VT, smooth of action, a full body workout, and non-impact for older bodies like mine. Best to all here on CM.com … where we take a full mind and body approach to preparing for a non-linear future.
Excellent job to Chris and to everyone taking on this task- its a huge challenge and even small successes are to be acknowledged and congratulated! Cheers! (the non-wine-glass-tipping kind)
I’ve been pondering something for a long time and I’ve considered starting a thread about it but haven’t gotten around to it… it seems to be somewhat on course with this post. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions- please, do tell!
I’m in my late 20s and have worked since college in corporate logistics (oddly, I have BAs in Sociology & Political Science). Logistics pays great but I’m miserable and I’m pretty sure with Peak Oil - my job might not be here in 5-10 years. I’ve been thinking hard and researching what jobs/careers will even be alive/available (keeping in mind our objectives here). I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to healthcare and local labor services that can’t be exported. Living in a small rural midwest town (11,000 population, 50,000 county population), there’s already a few CSAs and greenhouses around. Plenty of small grocers, farmers markets, tree/yard services. The largest employers around here are production (ag equip/window/lighting) factories and local governments. (My employer is actually in another state- I work from home, that’s a long story). I’ve looked alot into grad school programs like Sustainable Agriculture, Community Development, Energy & Sustainability… but I’m very leery to get back into student loan debt right now- these programs average around $25k. I’ve racked my brain for weeks now and I’ve hit a wall. I couldn’t be a nurse-- don’t have the stomach for it. And I don’t really support the direction of healthcare anyways (take a pill rather than get off your butt)… the only thing I can come up with is some sort of Nutrition Consultant or something along those lines, considering the obesity epidemic (we also have a large adolecent population here~ around 30%). I have no professional/educational experience in health/food science/nutrition either though so again- I’d have to go back to school, grrr. I’ve always been focused on healthy food and a healthy lifestyle- I know I do a lot better than most people around here, but I’m pretty sure they won’t pay me based on that. 
Anyone have any other ideas/thoughts/suggestions on nutrition/fitness as a viable career in the future? For other career paths or the thought of going back to school at this point? Please feel free to private message me- I don’t mean to take this off-topic. Thanks guys!
Don’t go "back" to school. Move forward… create your own business. Look online for a business known as Arganica. And use this as a model for a business in your area… lots of potential there.TD
Congrats Chris.
Sorry to hear about you having to give up the spirits (for a while at least).
I have also drops some weight however, my doctor has informed me that cheese and scotch is not really a diet and could prove to be unhealthy.
I just want to share, along the lines of this thread, I never thought I’d be living like this a couple years ago but I grew all the food I could this summer in my little backyard; potatoes, corn, tomatoes, squash, greens, etc., enough for the whole year. Shoveled and wheelbarrowed many yards of compost and hoed down weeds all by hand, plus taking care of the chickens, planting trees, etc… It was a ton of hard work that makes you appreciate how easy it is just to go to the supermarket. It meant some late nights outside with a headlamp sometimes, but what is so cool is I get to eat the best quality freshest food and as much as I want just to keep the weight on. My biggest challenge to health is getting enough sleep; it’s important as one poster noted above. Makes one also appreciate cheap energy; only because of that can I be an ultra endurance athlete, keep a regular professional job, and all my DIY projects too. A future potential world with less abundant cheap energy requiring more labor into our work and life sustaining activities is what I am imagining and preparing for, but could actually be a higher quality life if we can embrace it.
[quote=carolynraye]Anyone have any other ideas/thoughts/suggestions on nutrition/fitness as a viable career in the future? For other career paths or the thought of going back to school at this point? Please feel free to private message me- I don’t mean to take this off-topic. Thanks guys!
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Everyone, I mean EVERYONE is interested in going into fitness, nutrition, massage, yaddayaddayadda. We have more massage therapists, personal trainers, and nutritionist wannabes in our small town than Wall Street and Washington have crooks. The vast majority of them are struggling and since they are multiplying like bunnies reproduce (since the local university and two massage schools in the area are cranking them out as fast as they can rake in the misspent tuitions), their future is becoming increasingly less promising. I joke with my wife that we have become so self indulgent and so dependent as a culture that pretty soon, half the population will consist of these folks scrambling over one another for the increasingly slim chance to provide service to the other half of the population. These are all discretionary, non-essential occupations and have peaked and are in a downhill decline. I’d definitely take a pass.
Very cool, Chris. Good luck with your changes.Weight has never been a problem for me but chronic illness and slow decrepitude have really had an impact. After doing strenuous martial arts 30 years ago but nothing since, I started a basic tai chi class last week and realized how out of shape I am. I would suggest tai chi for anyone interested in gradually improving their balance, coordination, and concentration, especially if you’re over 60 and not able to jump into a physically strenuous activity without risking injury.
CS
Congratulations Chris,you sure walk the walk.
But I hear Vladamir Putin is upset by the serious competition!
Thanks for everything
Declan
Chris
I think your efforts are a real inspiration. I keep having this song going through my head since reading your post (this is the '80’s woman’s version of a "new attitude") from Patti LaBelle
Aerotics are no longer a part of my life
but walking more, keeping a sensible veg diet and minimizing alcohol are… Exercise in whatever form one can do is really vital, I realize that more and more as time goes on.
Congratulations
Denise
Hi all CM people.
Check out:
Please check out his presentation of LCHF on YouTube
/Fredrik
Although a little off topic from what we normally discuss here at CM.com, I enjoyed your entry Chris. Well done. As a bit of a fanatic and amateur natural bodybuilder, I can attest to the fact that there are no secrets whatsoever to getting in shape. Proper diet and exercise on a consistent basis is the only formula. I am often asked "what I eat" or "what is my secret" and when I respond that there is no secret people sometimes think I’m hiding the ball. I worked out quite a bit and ate "OK" for years, but when I was about 37 I turned it up a few notches with a much healthier diet and more intense exercise.
The one thing that I would add to what you say is this: you cannot exercise "when you find the time" or when the mood strikes or when you are able to fit it in. It has to become a priority and a regular part of your routine, like brushing teeth or taking out the garbage. And you don’t have to "like it" either. That’s why they call it a work out. For me it’s kind of like a job. I do it because I have to.
There’s nothing like a mid-life crisis or a financial crisis for inspiration.
Pictures of me this July, one day before winning the 40-and-over category for the main natural bodybuilding competition in my state (steroid tested!) for the second year in a row.
You are the man! Thanks for piling on the inspiration…
Don’t know if you’d be interested in becoming an exercise trainer. Look at t-tapp.com for a wonderful exercise. They do have trainers, but it’s a "your own business" thing. Look up Charlotte Siems on youtube for a testimonial on how well it works. She is a trainer now & is starting up her own small business.
Hello Chris,
I find it absolutely wonderfull and inspiring that you took it upon you to write down such a personal story. And for all the right reasons. It will certainly help people to get out of their comfort zone and take the much needed steps for the future.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Ingeborg (the Netherlands)
Losing weight is good for you and your physic. Being a VERY senior citizen, riding a bike is not something I can do because my knees and other joints do not permit this. I do go to the YMCA and swim on a regular basis. A most important item in losing weight for me was the DR. AMEN diet. You can google this diet and it really is not a diet, but a different choice of what you eat. It is not difficult to follow his suggestions, just a change of diet. If you are a SAM’S club member, look for the Medjool Dates in the fresh produce area. These are great and do not require refrigeration. If you are still working, you could take a zip lock back of them to work with you for snacks. Also, Pistachios are available in 3 pound bags. Stachios are high in fibre, low in carbs.
Chris,
This post is a true gift and has inspired me to change some habits and create some new ones.
Thanks so much for your insights.
Toodles,
Joanne.