How do you become as passionate about your projects / your body as this young man is about China's environment?
More in our future posting series: "Inventing Inspiration"
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Now
"My trainer / nutrtionist told me to...."
New
"I am going to..."
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By now, you've caught on to your favorite grocery store's tricks of the trade: "loss leaders" (inexpensive but commonly used items that may lose money per unit placed at the rear of store), "end caps" (displays of goods at the isle ends), and, of course, "presentation islands" (free sample food displays ready for your "testing").
All strategies devised to encourage us to travel through the store in a pre-defined manner, "experiencing" as many isles as possible - and parting with just as much cash. But did you know that the perimeter of the store is where you will almost always find the healthiest foods? Vegetables, dairy goods, fresh fruits, protein...
But why? Because of the stacking, cooling, and irrigation (vegetable showers) requirements, the center store isles are inhospitable, inefficient, and expensive places to place fresh products.
Long, wide isles that don't require electricity, cooling, or water lines can be maximized with products that come in neatly stacking boxes or bags. And how many healthy foods can sit on a shelf in a reseal able bag for up to 24 months?
Few.....
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Our appetites are driven not by a need to satiate a feeling of hunger, but a sense of accomplishment. "I ate it all!"
New York Times: "Americans are downing close to 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish per capita per year (dairy and eggs are separate, and hardly insignificant), an increase of 50 pounds per person from 50 years ago. We each consume something like 110 grams of protein a day, about twice the federal government’s recommended allowance; of that, about 75 grams "
Full article here...
Let's invent a specific objective. A date and time:
By _____________________, 2008, I will be able to wear a size ____________, and am travel to _________________, to attend ___________________________ event.
Haute Couture evening gown by Chanel. More from Lagerfeld's Spring / Summer 08 collection here...
You know you're not eating normally if you find yourself at a drive thru window.
Processed, fried, heat lamp, grease, glazed, condiment, sugar, whip cream, mixed, fake. Gross.
There are no exceptions.
"I am in a hurry" / "It's on the way" / "I don't have enough time."
Plan ahead.
Have a "snack attack pack" in the car and waiting at all times: apple, almonds in a zip loc bag, protein shake, or a protein bar.
"I shouldn't eat this, but I'll make up for it with a little more cardio tomorrow..."
What's the ratio between nutrition and exercise in terms of weight loss benefit? What you eat (or don't eat) may be roughly 75% of the equation. Cardiovascular and exercise? Only 25%. It's unlikely that we can ever burn enough calories to offset poor nutritional choices.
Consider that 45 minutes of cardiovascular work burns only 600-700 calories. How quickly can we eat 600-700 calories? In ten minutes?
Since weight loss is a game of burning more calories than we consume, let's begin to take small steps toward limiting our daily caloric intake while maintaining 45 minutes of cardiovascular activity.
Bedrooms are for sleeping - not for "trying to fall asleep" amid various distractions.
Create a sleep-inducing environment by removing the television from the bedroom, (also closely controlling the climate, investing in a supportive mattress and pillows, comfortable bed-linens, window shades to block all light and eliminating anything that will distract you from sleeping).
"But I can't go to sleep at night?"
After 45 minutes of daily cardio and gradually adopting normal eating habits, sleeping on a regular schedule becomes easy.
Today, having a flat panel affixed to every wall is no more a sign of wealth than modern plumbing and a refrigerator. Remove it and mount on the wall in front of the home treadmill or elliptical.
Though disputed as historical myth, many contend that Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered his men to "burn the ships" upon invading Mexico. By doing so, he and his men had no way out, no exit strategy, and were left only to succeed.
Once engaged, failure was not an option.
Consider the internal wars you may have fought for some time now - might you succeed by finally making irreversible decisions?
Ever considered eating according to a schedule - no matter what? Going running without the money needed to catch a taxi or the subway back when you become tired? Donating your kitchen appliances and baking tools to charity so you can't engage in your favorite "hobby?"
We know our own weaknesses best. Protect you from yourself by doing something that can't be un-done.
●○○○○While the hotel speaks for itself, we wish someone would speak for the fitness facilities. Hidden three levels beneath the lobby (take the painfully slow elevator to the Spa), the best that can be said for this gym is its' proximity to great running in nearby Central Park (see map above).
Once signed in, you'll be underwhelmed to find a bare-bones selection of awkward, budget equipment cramped in a poorly lit, windowless, room not much larger than the average Delxue Terrace Suite. Too many of the wrong size dumb-bells and not enough of the most commonly used weights.
When it comes to selectorized tools, it appears as if a cunning Cybex rep unloaded every piece of rejected experimental equipment in the warehouse.
One upside: it's almost always empty.
Skip The Four Seasons' gym and walk across town to Equinox at Columbus Circle (Time Warner Center) or take a cab to Clay on West 14th.
Suggestions
- Someone at Toronto HQ needs to visit London's Brown's Hotel gym in Mayfair. Yes, similarly sized and subterranean - but soothingly designed with an edited selection of the most useful equipment and popular quantity of free weights.
- Update the lighting: the space currently feels more like an office supply storage closet.
- Spend $100,000 on decent treadmills / ellipticals / selectorized equipment.
- Differentiate the hotel from The Carlyle and St. Regis with a truly standout fitness facility that will be loved by your guests and attract an interesting mix of locals who can afford high non-guest memberships.
At Pace, we've transformed the quality of our life and quadrupled productivity with a daily scheduled afternoon siesta.
With proven benefits such as of accelerating weight loss, reducing appetite, increasing energy, reinvigorating mental capacity, reducing rates of cancer and heart disease, and bolstering younger looking skin, our power-nap has become non-negotiable.
Adopt this Top Secret and tell your PA to block out 2-3pm, hold all calls, and silence your iPhone.
Make a b-line for a bed (or chaise) and find two days where there was just one.
Think of caloric intake throughout the day as a slow, steady drip from an Intravenous Bag versus a massive "blood" transfusion of 2-3 huge meals.
Step 1: Rethink the concept of a "meal." Or do away with the word all together. We no longer live in an agrarian economy where waking up and consuming a 2,000 calorie breakfast is necessary. We no longer toil in the fields all day.
Step 2: Analyze your typical daily schedule and determine where and when and how you can consume 6-8 small "meals" between the time you awake and just past dinner.
- Breakfast
- Post Breakfast
- Pre Lunch
- Lunch
- Post Lunch
- Pre Dinner
- Dinner
- Post Dinner
Step 3: Rethink portion sizes. Now that you're eating more frequently, reduce portion sizes. Use smaller plates.
Step 4: Rethink what constitutes a "meal." An apple is now a meal. Almonds are now a meal.
Step 5: Eat S-L-O-W-L-Y....
Step 6: "Pre-Eat." Eat before you are hungry. Not when you are hungry. You will eat less and avoid disastrous hunger pangs that lead to binging and emotional cravings.
Step 7: Plan all eating: Anticipate your day, schedule (in your mind at least) when you will have time to eat 6-8 times daily.
Now
Wake up > Print Tickets > Drive > Security > Board > Land > Taxi > Hotel > Eat (Binge)
New
Wake up > Print Tickets > Protein Shake (200 Calories) > Drive > Apple (110 Calories) > Security > Purchase Water (0 Calories) > Board > Land > Taxi > Hotel > Eat (Won't Binge)
Never
Eat airline snacks. They are free, which means they are cheap, which means they are processed, which means they are likely high in sugars, carbohydrates, fats, etc.
Raw unsalted almonds are known appetite suppressants and are high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 Essential Oils.
Try Granny Smith for a combination of sweet, sour, and contrasting textures. Savor the apple by cutting it first.
Throw one in your purse or bag so it's there and waiting when hunger unexpectedly strikes. Buy and eat at least 7-10 weekly.
What are you eating now that you could replace with an apple as a snack? Can't replace overnight? Cut your junk food portion in half and eat the apple afterward. Then cut your junk food portion into quarters.....eights....sixteenths....no more.
At least 3L / day
- After coffee
- After breakfast
- During workout
- After workout
- Mid morning
- Lunch
- Mid afternoon
- Early Evening
- With Dinner
- While Watching TV
Add lemon. Add mint. Cold. Warm. Room temperature. Hate it at first. Keep drinking. Love it. Crave it.
Skin / Waist / Face.
The more you urinate, the better.
Coupled with an improving diet and exercise, you are flushing fat.
Rowing coaches and personal trainers always said that running outside in near-freezing temperatures was dangerous. Processing the heavier, frigid, air was a strain on my lungs and body. Somebody even told me that doing so increased the chance of a heart-attack.
With Atlanta's recent cold weather, I've been using that expert-wisdom as rational to "take today off," from my usual 45 minute run around residential Buckhead's back streets.
Thanks to the New York Times today, I need to rethink.
More after the jump...
"From: Suzanne McBride
Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2008 11:06 AM
To: Michael JensenCc: Michael Ferguson
Subject: A great day
I am having the best time trying on clothes I haven't been able to
wear for years!
Thank you! Thank you!
Suzanne
Sent from my iPhone"
