If there’s one thing that I do almost every day that helps support my physical and mental health it’s taking walks. Walks are perhaps the simplest form of exercise and one that most people can engage in, even as they move on to their later years. I’ve been exercising on a regular basis for decades but it’s only in the past few years that I’ve come to value the benefits of a vigorous walk. Many decades ago when I was a professional fitness trainer I was introduced to walking as a primary exercise (rather than just a warm up or cool down technique) via a program that was called Reebok Power Walk. It was something that Reebok was promoting to help sell their cross training fitness shoes and they sent people to gyms around the U.S. to advise the trainers on power walk workouts. At the time I can’t say I was immediately convinced but it was impressive how, with the right technique, a walk could translate into a strong cardiovascular workout.

Many years have passed since those days and I continued to favor things like running outside, running on a treadmill and using a stationary bike for my cardiovascular exercise. That started to change for me about eight years ago when on a brisk run in a hilly neighborhood I took a bad step and fell forward near the bottom of a hill. As my body launched forward during the fall I had an instant decision to make regarding impact. My hand or my face! I chose to put my hand out front to save my face (mostly as it turned out) and the result was a thick gash in the base of my palm. I was a mile from my apartment at the time but it was all up hill on the return. I found, of all things, a discarded Starbucks cup to press into my palm to stem the steady flow of blood. Gross I know, but any port in a storm! I cleaned and bandaged the wound at home but I knew that stitches were required and luckily my primary care doctor was able to see me on short notice and he cleaned and sewed my hand up. From that point forward I reassessed my desire to run outside. It was too painful to run for a few weeks till the hand healed so I began walking more for cardiovascular exercise.

Continue reading “My (Almost) Daily Walks Are Essential” →

A few years ago, after 25 years working in corporate America, I began to feel as though I could not shake the effects of stress off anymore. I can’t be sure if it’s the amount of stress I was dealing with, the type of stress, my age or all of the above. I just knew that I was handling stress differently than early in my career. The bottom line is that I didn’t feel myself handling stress well. Instead of a good night’s sleep or a three-day weekend, or even a week’s vacation, putting me back on level ground nothing seemed to shake the feeling inside of me that was at best unsettling and at worst nauseating when it came to performing my work duties. Since my tendency is to seek rational approaches to problems in my life I took some time to study the possible remedies to the situation rather than throwing up my hands in defeat and retreating to live in a trailer up in the mountains or something.

What I found both in my research and my personal experience in seeking remedies for my stress were common recommendations that ultimately don’t solve the issue of stress in the modern workplace, but rather act as window dressing so that corporations can assure themselves that they’re not working their employees into the ground. It seemed to me (and still does) that the priority in terms of corporate remedies for stress management lies in keeping employees productive to the level that modern employers expect from their employees. And modern employers expect a heck of a lot from their employees! Why shouldn’t they? Employees have more tools than ever, such as smartphones, laptops and nearly limitless access to internet connectivity, allowing them to do the bidding of their corporate employers at the office, at home, in transit and just about everywhere in between. Work life balance was a corporate buzz phrase in the early 2000s because that was the time when such technologies were ramping up and people felt the change in the pace of their work and their employer’s expectations. I’ve noticed that in recent years you don’t hear so much about work life balance anymore. I think that’s because employers, who for years touted work life balance as a reason why their companies were different (i.e. better) than other companies, have finally normalized a productivity all the time culture in which work is life.

Continue reading “Dealing With Corporate Job Related Stress” →

I recently heard a veterinarian comment that the ideal situation for a cat’s diet involves the cat being just a little bit hungry. With this approach a cat will stay closer to its ideal weight and avoid the pitfalls of gaining weight that lead to certain diseases and lack of mobility as the cats age. After making that comment the vet then added that it’s an approach that would help humans with their overall health as well. Basically what the vet was saying was to not feed the cat too much. Many cats gain weight as they age since their metabolism slows down and their humans associate a full tummy with a well taken care of cat. This turns into a vicious cycle where the cat becomes accustomed to more and more food as it burns less and less calories, ultimately leading to obesity. Hearing the veterinarian describe this I realized that the same exact things happens with humans as we age.

My own experience with weight as I’ve aged (currently mid-50s) reflects the challenges that many people have. My job is sedentary. I spend hours a day sitting and working at a computer. That certainly does no good for weight management. My job can be quite mentally stressful at times, which leads to what I call stress snacking, which is eating just to calm myself down. I work almost exclusively remotely from home these days, and while I mostly enjoy it I have settled into eating habits that aren’t serving me well. While I’m careful about what I eat and even what I have in the house available to eat I’ve gotten used to regular snacking that is adding unnecessary calories to my diet. Hence, while my weight is just a little over what it should be for my age and height I don’t feel comfortable at this weight. I know that I should be at least 5-10 pounds lighter. At least.

Continue reading “Eating Like A Cat” →

One of the most difficult aspects of this life journey for many people is keeping themselves fit and maintaining their weight as they age. I’ve experienced these difficulties myself for years. I went from a young man who seemingly couldn’t gain weight (no matter what I ate or how little I exercised) to a middle aged man struggling with a bursting mid-section and the inability to walk up a couple of flights of stairs without having to take deep breaths. Having once been a fitness trainer (as a man in my early 20s) who was paid to help other people overcome these challenges I thought that somehow I’d be immune from middle age weight gain and loss of cardiovascular ability. I was not.

Over the years I’ve taken action to keep my weight under control and stay in shape (as they say) in terms of cardiovascular ability. These things are important for a couple of great reasons. First, studies have shown that people who limit excess weight live longer and have fewer health problems. Second, improved cardiovascular ability contributes to an active and fulfilling quality of life. Neither of the prior reasons have anything to do with vanity. They’re practical aspects of life. Some people may simply think, “I don’t care about my weight or cardiovascular ability.” Because there are people who enjoy a sedentary lifestyle where they can eat what they want. That’s their right, but it’s also their funeral. What about the rest of us? Those who want to do their best to live a long and active life. There is a basic prescription that can move you in the right direction health wise and that’s what this post is about.

Disclaimer: What follows is not specific advice for anyone in terms of a diet and exercise plan. Consider it documentation of my experience. Always consult a physician or other health professional when making changes to your diet or exercise regimen.

Continue reading “Eat Less, Eat Better, Move More” →

Have you ever had one of those days, weeks or perhaps years where stress just seemed to build and you wondered when it would end or how you could turn things around? I have and this is something I’ve been thinking about writing about for awhile. I’m not a mental health expert and I’m not qualified to give mental health advice but I do know what my experiences have been like and I’d like to share them. The successes. The failures. And the still working on thems.

We hear a lot about mental health and that’s caused me to become a bit jaded about the subject because I’ve perceived (rightly or wrongly) that society approaches mental health as this thing, this blob that’s a one size fits all issue. I think the reason I feel that way is that so much advice related to mental health starts with, “Talk to someone.” I’ve no doubt that talking things out can help…at times…if it’s the right person…and the right situation. But finding the right person and right situation is not easy, especially if you lead a busy life and have responsibilities. Even then, I see talking as a band-aid that you have to keep replacing on a wound and the wound may or may not get better. It should also be recognized that if you’re in a position where you have to talk a lot every day as it is then more talking may not be so helpful.

Continue reading “Strategies For Managing Mental Health” →

Recently I’ve been working on one of my greatest personal challenges which happens to be in the arena of health and fitness. It’s one of my greatest challenges because it’s something that I’ve thought about for years, at times have worked on, but failed to make the progress I’ve hoped for. For years now I’ve lived at a body weight that I haven’t been comfortable with. While I have felt healthy and have been able to do many things that the average person my age can’t do physically I can see the stomach pushing out on my shirt in photos and I can feel pants and shirts I wore years ago getting tighter on me. To the point where I can’t wear some of those clothes any more. Well, I could wear them but it would look ridiculous. 😂

Up to now I have taken it as a victory that, although I’m unhappy where I’ve been physically, I have been able to stem the tide of weight gain and keep myself in reasonable physical shape. For many people that would probably be sufficient but I’ve had to be honest with myself and admit that I’m not a person who quietly resigns himself to mediocrity in other areas of my life. Our bodies are the only vessels that carry us through our existence so keeping mine fit is extremely important to me. That’s why four months ago I decided to make another run at getting my body weight under control.

Disclaimer: What follows is not specific advice for anyone in terms of a diet and exercise plan. Consider it documentation of my experience. Always consult a physician or other health professional when making changes to your diet or exercise regimen.

Continue reading “Losing 10 Pounds After Age 50” →