Weight: 155.6
My sister and I decided to plan a long weekend getaway centered around physical activity. Going on this sort of vacation is one of the recommendations from Younger Next Year. Chris calls this type of trip a kedge. He recommends taking a kedge vacation every year to keep you motivated to exercise hard six days a week. Going outside and playing hard is a lot more fun if your body is strong.
Neither of us likes to fly, this is going to be a fairly quick trip, and we live 100s of miles apart; so I drew a 400 mile circle around both of our home towns, shaded in the section where they intersected and started looking for cool places to stay. Since Ruth lives in Michigan and I live in Kansas City, the options were limited! Most often, when one thinks of cool places to vacation, they don't think Illinois! But, Illinois it is. I found a cute little Bed and Breakfast that was converted from a schoolhouse in a town called Anne, Illinois. One of the first statements on their website was about storing our bikes for us, if we brought them. I was hooked. This had to be exactly what I was looking for. It turns out that the Inn is located between a couple of national forests and there is plenty of outdoor fun to be had, just a stone's throw away. After confirming with Ruth, I booked the inn.
Then I said, "Oh shit, what did I do? I haven't been on my bike for over 18 months. Crap. Does it still work? Crap. Really? I really have to get back on my bike? Well, I might as well get at it." So I brushed off the cobwebs, put the correct axle on the back wheel (it was still set up for my trainer), lubed the chain, put air in the tires, made sure I had a spare inner tube and pump on the bike, strapped on my helmet, and went for a bike ride. It was hard. I went 9 miles. That's all. It sounds kind of pathetic, doesn't it? I could have ridden further, but this was meant to be a test ride, to see how the bike was doing and to get my butt back in the saddle. The bike is fine, what an amazing machine. I was also fine, what an amazing machine! Actually, I love riding my bike. I finally talked Jack into buying a bike a couple of years ago, hoping this would be a sport we could enjoy together, but he does not like it. It makes him really anxious to ride on the street. I don't like riding on trails. It didn't work out very well. He might get back on his bike someday, but truly, if I'm going to ride regularly it will be without him, for the most part. That's OK, but up until a couple of years ago I was secretly hoping that he would love it as much as I do and it would become a joint activity. No such luck. We went on several bike rides together because I was convinced he would catch the bug, yet it didn't happen. After that I let my bike collect dust. It has now been removed from the mothballs.
It was incredibly hard to go up even the smallest of hills. I have a lot of work to do in the next 6 weeks. I have to get my legs and heart in half way decent shape. Chris was right. Planning this little getaway with Ruth is motivating me to exercise a little harder and it has added cycling back to my regimen. I'm glad. Cycling is one of the cardio exercises that I truly enjoy. It's not like running, which I do because I feel like I have to. I know running is really good for me, but I've never enjoyed it. I actually like riding my bike. I'm excited about this. It feels good be be back in the saddle.
I want to make a comment about "The Book." I have talked a lot about Younger Next Year over the last four years. It is the book that changed my life and I will always give it credit for that. Henry Lodge (Harry), one of the authors, is a doctor and he managed to explain to me exactly why I needed to exercise hard, six days a week, for the rest of my life. He said it in a way that I couldn't refute. After reading the book I could no longer pretend that it was OK not to exercise. His argument for exercise was convincing. I read the book at a time when I weighed about 230 pounds and didn't exercise at all. I didn't put sneakers on that day. I thought about it for six months first. Then I read it again. Before I got past the third chapter, the second time, I had my sneakers on and I have been exercising regularly ever since.
So, yes, the book changed my life. But there are things about the book that I don't like. I don't like Chris Crowley, the other author of the book, very much. Every now and then, he says something in just the right way to motivate me, but more often than not I find his words and tone a little insulting and offensive. I don't agree completely with Harry's recommendation on diet. I agree with his major premise which is, "Don't eat crap!" I agree with that completely. But he recommends "whole wheat" products and tells you to limit your consumption of beef. He prefers cheerios to a nice steak. He doesn't talk at all about the difference between a feed lot cow and grass fed, pasture raised cattle. While he gets it right when he says, "Don't eat crap!" he gets it wrong, in my opinion, when he recommends whole wheat products and non-fat dairy products over potatoes (he really trashes potatoes in the book) and some really decent forms of protein. I know from experience that we all need to experiment with what works best for us with regard to our diets, but I doubt that any of us benefits from eating cheerios. I think the best book out there with regard to figuring out what works for one's diet is, It Starts With Food. I like the way it recommends eliminating certain groups of food that are potential problem areas and adding them back, one at a time, after 30 days. It's your own personal experiment. You learn what works for you. On the other hand, the advice, "Don't eat crap!" works for everyone. No good is going to come from any food made on an assembly line and wrapped in cellophane. I am sure of that.
I recommend Younger Next Year to everyone and I give the book to anyone that I think will read it. Then, when I am reading the book again for the umpteenth time and I cringe at one of Chris' sexist sounding statements or sigh with frustration at Harry's food recommendations, I think about someone I just gave the book to and hope that they can get past these imperfections in the book and learn from it the way I did. The underlying message is solid and convincing. I'm sure I will read the book another dozen times before I die. Growth or decay? It's my choice. Exercise = growth. Lack of exercise = decay. It's an easy choice to make when it gets that basic. Growth or decay? I choose growth.
By the way, did you notice my weight, up there at the top of this post? I am getting close to my goal. I am sure I'll plateau this week, as that is the way my body works. I'll drop a couple of pounds, quickly, and then stay at that weight for a week or so. Then I'll very slowly lose a pound or so, then drop another pound or so overnight, and then flatten out again. I will never understand how or why it works that way, but that is the pattern, tried and true. It feels great to be within spitting distance of my goal weight! I organized my closet yesterday and finally got the sweaters and other winter clothes moved to the back bedroom closet and my summer clothes moved to my bedroom closet. I bought several pairs of shorts, pants, and skirts when I was at my fittest and was not able to wear any of them last summer because I was about 10 pounds too heavy. Yesterday, I tried them all on and they all fit!! Woo Hoo!! I am so excited. It feels wonderful to be just about where I want to be. I'll lose this last five pounds and I plan on keeping it off for the rest of my life. I have a plan for how to do that, but I need to get there first, and get there I will.
For now, I need to run. Not literally, today is a strength training day, but figuratively. I have a project I want to finish before Jack wakes up and I only have about another hour until that happens. (Maybe two, it depends on what time he went to bed last night.) Have a lovely Memorial Day!
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