cbritewell’s BodyBlog

For everyone else who have relocated, this is nothing new. Being relatively new to the fitness set, I’d become pretty entrenched at the gym in the other ‘hood. Really state-of-the-art, with all the bells and whistles to manage (and monitor) your productivity on the net, if you wanted.  Add to that the synergy of a familiar workout community - folks who know your goals, keep you focused, and poke you in the ribs when you slack off the gym visits.  What’s not to love!

Then came the time to move, and in addition to changing addresses, banks and stuff there was the selection of the gym (the latter being rich with excuses to abandon the routine!)  I had no idea how dependent I had become upon familiar surroundings, and my ‘fellow sufferers’ in the former location.  Like the world came to an end!  ‘pretty pathetic, huh?

The fact is, I’m not blessed with the focus to do all this at home like so many on the BB site - ‘kudos to y’all, by the way.  I confess - I do real well with the thumbs up now and then, a tip occasionally on proper use of equipment, and that rare but welcome comment like "Hey - are you losing weight?"  And those things don’t happen overnight.

At this writing, I sing the praises of members of this community who didn’t give me a pass, just because I moved.  They’re all working toward goals of their own, but still take the time for the encouraging word I ain’t getting in the new digs.  All things come with time, so for the moment the game plan is to simply show up, even if the new place isn’t as spacious, trendy, and high-tech.  Oh, and did I mention nutrition?  That seemed to fall in to place more naturally as I’m faithful to the workout routine, as well.

‘long and short of it is - I’m no longer the new kid in town, so this is kind of the public question to myself - "What have you done for me lately?"  oh, and thanks, guys, for nagging - I hope I can continue to take it as well as I dish it out !

 The only real problem with ‘falling off the wagon’ as it relates to my fitness regimen is staying that way.  Slipping back to old habits can be defeating; so the best defense is to brush off and get the heck back with the program.  I’ve most appreciated the element of accountability with others on the site - checking in, gettin’ in my business about routine and nutrition, and of course a thumbs up when my sets ‘n reps are where they need to be.  There’s a wealth of wisdom and experience with folks on here.

  This is especially true with a bud on here whom I refer to as the ‘ Fitness Nazi ‘.  He’s made the hard choices and buckled down to the discipline.  Photos don’t lie - it’s produced good results for him, and he’s generous to share with me and others on the site.  So it’s back to the gym at o’dark-thirty tomorrow before work.  We’re looking at a two-week, bite-sized window here for some modest results and to jump-start the routine.  ‘let you know how it goes !

 OK, so I’m a gadget fanatic.  There are plenty of ‘old-schoolers’ who can tolerate the stationary bike for a half hour or more staring only into the digital counter.  Hats off to whoever thought to add the flat panel video monitor, to distract us during the workout.  But now I’m singing the praises of new equipment at our gym that receives your login, records the productivity of the workout, and sends it to a spiffy online account where you can view, manipulate, and graph your sweat . . how cool is that!?

  For those of us in to the whole digital world, this adds a touch of tech.  But when it comes right down to it, it’s still the ‘buckle-down-and-do-the-work’ discipline.  Adding bells and whistles does not a six-pack make.  So that’s where I am - the glitter of the gadgets fades, and I’m back where I started - the weights aren’t going to lift themselves (and that twinkie before bed can probably stay on the shelf indefinitely!)

My hat’s off to those who have mastered nutrition, even when traveling for work.  At best, it’s a challenge when the day-to-day is routine; with travel basically home to gym to work and back home.  Meals are planned and otherwise mapped out according to familiar eateries and with ‘workout-friendly’ menus.  The routine goes out the window when unexpected travel happens for some of us.  It’s almost as if I have license to grab ‘whatever’ because I’m on the road.

I’m not saying it can’t be done.  I know lots of people have to travel great distances every day to make a living and have learned how to stay within bounds of good nutrition.  The first thing that has to go is the lazy habit of auto-pilot cruising in to fast food places to satisfy hunger with a burger ‘n fries.  ‘Fact is - even sit down trendy national chain restaurants have menus fraught with fat, cholesterol and empty calories.  It’s encouraging to note the preferences of a growing healthy demographic are causing a welcome shift in what’s available away from home.

Innkeepers, too, offer healthy alternatives to donuts, waffles and syrup in their complimentary breakfasts.  I was pleased on my last trip for instance to find outmeal and fresh fruit among items in the buffet.  Even the hard boiled eggs are ok; just lose the yolks!  Beyond that, I observe the smart traveler also packs survival items as they hit the road:  apples, organges, bananas, peanuts, instant oatmeal, and protein shakes.  Throw in even a low-end fitness room with a bike and free weights, and there’s no excuse for taking a step back in work out progress at home.  Great in theory - let’s see if I take my own advice as I prepare to hit the road again!

   I’m going to stay away from the scales for a while.  I’m getting to the gym four to five times a week.  And for the most part I’m eating like I should - five to six times a day, but the scale’s ‘flat-lined’.  I thought for sure I’d have dropped a few lubs, anyway.  Depressing.

    Fortunately I got a bud at the gym who explained, while the weight’s not dropping, it appears I’m having success converting fat to muscle.  I have to say, clothes are fitting more loosely!  Big payoff was the other day as I rummaged around in the guest room closet where ‘the forgotten clothes’ go to die.  In there was a pair of jeans that got banished because I grew out of ‘em.  They’re two sizes down from what’s been my staple wardrobe for years.  So I thought ‘What the heck?!’

   Slap the dog! They’re now off the bench, and back in the game.  (and yeah, I got ‘em snapped without cutting off my circulation!) I can’t tell you how good that felt.  The next stop was a full-length mirror in the master bed and  DANG! Was that me?  Needless to say, I’ve received a dose of self-induced motivation so bring on the baby carrots ‘n celery sticks.  I’m back to the gym tomorrow morning at o’dark-thirty!

Ok, so in this first-ever blog entry, my approach formerly to trim-down was the salad ‘n starve routine.  ‘Intuitively’ that seemed the way to go.  Amazing what a few hours among fitness bloggers will teach you.  Who knew the key was actually eating, and doing it six times a day!?  I get it.

The discipline of dragging this carcass to the gym four to five times a week is no longer a biggie.  And I’ve actually seen how that couples with good eating habits and kicks it in to high gear.  I can actually have the patience of Job day-long.  I’ll be the one at a business lunch having a salad, small portion of protein and lots of water.  But that absolute worst time is in the evening, just before bed.  If there’s a Frito in the house, it’s picnic time!  Making my ‘balancing act’ work is going to involve breaking that cycle (habit) of hunger so late in the evening when metabolism slows to a crawl and stores most everything away as fat.  stay tuned . . .   this has changed!

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