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Fitness 2012 — how’s it going?

Many people — perhaps you, too — set fitness goals for 2012.

If you are like most people, your dieting and workout regimen started out great! You were enthusiastic, eager to shed those pounds and unveil a new, thinner you.

The first few pounds came off easily as your body got used to the initial shock of decreased calories and increased movement. But after the 4th day, you’d plateaued, and all this hunger and exercise didn’t seem worth it any more. Then the weekend arrived and your friends were all going out for pizza and beer….

And here you are.

That’s okay!

You have not failed … yet.

Taking the weekend off is fine. The problem many people have is getting back into the fitness program on Monday. Back on the diet. Back into the exercise.

Being fit is not easy, it takes effort, sticking to a program.  We’re adults, we can do that, right?

  • Have you decided that you need to get off that blood pressure medication? Then you need to get fit!
  • Have you decided that you are sick of being out of breath after one flight of stairs? Then you need to get fit!
  • Have you decided that carrying around those extra pounds makes you look like a fat tub of goo? Then you need to get fit!

You had already come to one of the above — or another more personal to you — conclusions only a few days ago. Was your resolve so weak that here we are 7 days later and now you are thinking, “Well, really, it’s okay for me to be fat / have high blood pressure / gasp for air / [insert your own challenge here]”? I’m guessing you are not thinking that.

So get back on it.

If you stick with it, you can create a new, fit lifestyle for yourself, a lifestyle where it’s weird if you have dessert after a meal, where it’s odd if you skip a workout, where it’s strange if you eat that whole pizza by yourself.

You can create a lifestyle where you feel good about the way you look and feel. As they say, ain’t nothing to it but to do it.

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People get way too hung up on age

I just read a status update on Facebook about someone being (jokingly) upset that someone else had exposed her age.

This is actually quite a common reaction among people — especially women for some reason — but why is it even a factor in our way of thinking?

There are only a few ages we really need to care about in the United States.

  • 5-years-old – Start school
  • 16-years-old – Get a driver’s license
  • 18-years-old – Vote
  • 21-years-old – Legally drink alcohol

That’s about it.

Outside those ages — except maybe 50-years-old, when it’s time to start getting colonoscopies (yikes!), and 40-years-old for women and mammograms — nothing else matters.

So why are we so obsessed with age?

This obsession can paralyze us, because, yes, as we get older, we do seem to have more medical problems. The problem is that we just tend to accept this fact: Older = More Medical Problems.

  • Of course I have high blood pressure. I am old! (That was me.)
  • Of course I am overweight. I am old! (That was me.)
  • Of course I have type 2 diabetes. I am old! (That was almost me.)

ENOUGH!

Stop using “old” as an excuse. Your body may not be as resilient at it used to be, and you may need to take it a little easier — at least at first — but you can still push it.

Even if you can’t move very well, put down the donuts and ice cream and start eating right. Turn the damn tv off and get some steps in.

I tell you this stuff, because that was me! I was at the point where I knew I needed to get into better shape, but I thought I was just too old.

I was not too old to get fit and neither are you.

Yes, as we hang around this planet longer, something is bound to creep up on us. But it’s time to stop worrying about what you can’t help, and start doing something about what you can — and stop worrying about your age already!

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What is your fitness plan for 2012? Here’s mine.

Okay, so this is all about me, but it’s my blog, right? I can’t very well write about you.

But here’s the thing: I’m no uber-muscular gym rat; I’m no triathlete. I’m just a regular guy who wants to be fit, so my hope is that you can take the things that I do in my life and apply them to yours.

My fitness quest continues into 2012 — it’s going on 5 years now — and while I have surely come a long way, I still have a long way to go. I am pretty sure, for example, that I could lose 15 pounds and feel good about it.

Those are some tough pounds, though, those last 15.

The first 45 pounds were not so hard for me to lose, pretty much diet only, and not an overly rigid one to maintain it.

The next 15 were more difficult, but I managed to lose ’em with exercise.

But these last 15, wow, tough. I’ve been trying to lose them for a year and a half now. Admittedly, I haven’t been trying that hard, because, as I said, I’m no fitness fanatic. So, the time has come to give it a real go, but not at the whole 15 (which maybe should even be 20 — I dunno).

I’m going to shoot for 10 pounds. On June 30, 2012, I would like to weigh 10 pounds less than I do right now, and, because maintaining the weight loss is key, on December 31, 2012, I would like to weigh the same as I did on June 30. Or less would be okay, too.

Ultimately, I really only want to lose fat, not muscle, and weight measures both, right?

I feel comfortable, however, using weight to quantify my goal, because I know that because I’ll be working out my entire body, the vast majority of the weight I lose will be fat. If I do put on some muscle, well, that’s all the more fat I’ll need to lose to reach the goal.

Okay, so now that I have a goal, how do I plan to reach it?

The plan will have to involve calorie restriction and exercise. Of course. There are no magic potions or formulas and liposuction is just too expensive and downright gross, not to mention that when it’s over, your body is now in an unnatural state, so I don’t like the idea of it.

HOW MANY CALORIES DO WE NEED?

There is a really nice calculator right here to let you know about how many calories you need every day to maintain your current weight.

A good rule of thumb is to subtract 500 from that if you want to lose weight.

NUTRITION

I’m going to shoot for around 2000 calories a day comprising 50% protein, 30% carbs, and 20% fat. That will mean a lot of fish and chicken breasts for the protein and a good supply of vegetables and fruit for the carbs. The fat will primarily come from meats, nuts and seeds, egg yolks, and avocados.

I will minimize

  • Any foods that were created to satisfy a sweet tooth. I banished all these foods from my diet almost two years ago and have not turned back, so this part will be easy for me.
  • Grains, such as wheat, corn, oats, and rice. I’ve gone entirely without these “foods” for 6 months, so this should be okay for me. I currently only have maybe 15-20% of the grain intake I used to, so this should not be too hard for me.
  • Fatty foods in general, and fatty dairy products specifically. I truly believe there is something about dairy fat that allows my body to store it more easily than other fats. When I go through my periods of massive brie consumption — I do love me some brie — I gain weight. This may simply be a too-many-calories thing, but suffice to say that I’ll be leaving full-fat cheeses off my shopping lists. 2% is fine. Fat-free yogurt is fine.

I will maximize

  • Lean proteins like fish, chicken breasts, and egg whites. I am glad that I have figured out good ways to prepare and eat chicken breast — which I don’t really care for — because fish is too expensive for me to eat it all the time. I’ll also throw a few turkey burgers into the mix.
  • Raw and frozen vegetables and fruit. Mostly vegetables, because the fruit carbs add up quickly. The fruits will primarily be frozen berries consumed as part of a protein smoothie or in fat-free yogurt.
  • Sugar-free protein powders. I started using protein powder supplements when I first went on a 50/30/20 diet. It’s very difficult to eat that much protein, so a supplement is a must for me.

I will also document everything I eat in a series of spreadsheets, one per day. I have found that this is the only accurate way to track my food intake. Without writing it all down, too many little food items — the kind that often add up to big calories — fall through the cracks.

I also have a small food scale that I’ll use to accurately measure portions.

Is the 50/30/20 diet necessary? Probably not. 40/40/20 or 40/30/30 would be okay, too, as long as the calories are right. But I’m shooting for 50/30/20, so if I fall a bit short on protein, I’m still within what I consider acceptable levels.

EXERCISE

I’m going to start the year with a round of good old Insanity with Shaun T. I have a lot of new yoga DVDs, too, so I will be sprinkling those in.

That will last through January and February and on into March.

At that point I will be really itching to start P90X2, so, after a week of yoga, I’ll do that program.

That should take me all the way through June. On June 30, I’ll do my weigh-in to see if I reached my goal of losing 10 pounds, and decide where to go from there.

The way I document my workouts, btw, is in my Google calendar. I set up a separate calendar for Workouts, then I just add my workouts as I complete them. This is also a must for me, because I like to know what I’ve done to get where I am, and, yeah, it’s hard to remember day-to-day, what I’ve done. Not as necessary when participating in an organized program like Insanity or P90X2, but I’ll put the workouts in there anyway to stay in the habit.

DO YOU HAVE FITNESS GOALS FOR 2012?

If you’d like to join me this year, like my Facebook page, and I’ll let you know when I blog, as well as send out little motivators every so often. Our goals don’t need to mesh, nor do our fitness plans, but perhaps within our little community, we can help each other keep going.

If you’d like to order Insanity or P90X2 or any other Beachbody product, email me about it or order it yourself through my Team Beachbody page. It costs you nothing extra, and, yeah, I do get a little kickback when you order through me. Hey, I gotta fund my fitness DVD and equipment habit somehow!

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RECIPE: World’s Best Green Chile Stew

Green Chile Stew
The World’s Best Green Chile Stew

One of my favorite things in the world is a big bowl of green chile stew. It’s hearty, hot, and spicy, and, if you make it using my recipe, it’s delicious!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1.5 lbs ground turkey, or your favorite meat or meat substitute
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • salt to taste
  • Around 20 (or more) roasted, peeled, and chopped New Mexico green chiles or a container (or two) of frozen Bueno green chile (see note below)
  • 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 32oz chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • 4 medium potatoes (I use Butter Golds, if I can find ’em), peeled
  • 1 large (27oz) can of pinto beans (I use Bush’s Best)

NOTE: I don’t know the real name for New Mexico green chiles. In New Mexico we just called ’em “green chiles”, so… that might be their real name. They are the green peppers that are anywhere from 4 to 8 inches long (and longer). See the photo below. Anaheim peppers are similar, but I hear they are not as hot. Anyway, when green chiles are allowed to stay on the vine to ripen, they turn red and people often make ristras of the dried peppers to hang as decorations. You can also make an excellent red chile sauce from the dried red chiles.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. If you bought raw green chiles, you should prep them according to the instructions below the recipe in the section called “Roasting Green Chiles”. NOTE: You can use them immediately after roasting, but they will be hot and hard to peel. It’s best to roast them in advance, so you can roast, bag, and freeze them. Then when they are thawed, the skin falls right off.
  2. Heat a large pot — I use a 5-Quart Lodge cast iron Dutch oven — and add the ground turkey. Mix it up with a spatula to the size of ground meat chunks you like. I prefer pretty small chunks. If your diet is plant-based, you can also use your favorite vegan meat substitute — I like Impossible Burger for a stew — or just completely skip the meat.
  3. About halfway through cooking the ground meat, add the onion and salt to the pot. Stir to mix in the onion.
  4. Add the chopped green chiles. Stir to mix them in.
  5. When the onions are cooked to translucent, stir in the garlic powder.
  6. Add the chicken broth and stir.
  7. Cut 3 of the potatoes into fairly large pieces, 8 to 10 per potato. Cut one of the potatoes into small pieces. (The smaller pieces will disintegrate as you cook, thickening the stew.)
  8. Stir the potatoes in and bring the stew to a boil
  9. Once the stew is boiling, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, stirring every 10 or 15 minutes.
  10. Stir in the can of pinto beans, including the liquid.
  11. Bring the stew back to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for another 30 to 60 minutes.
  12. Add more salt or broth, if you think it’s needed. I like my stew to have a hearty, but somewhat soupy, consistency.
Bueno Green Chile
Good stuff, but I prefer “Hot”

Of course, if you like, you can substitute ground pork or beef or chicken or whatever. You can use beef broth or vegetable stock. Make it how you like it, but with this basic recipe, you’ll have a good start on greatness.

If you can’t find fresh roasted green chiles or don’t want to roast your own, Bueno sells frozen containers of green chile at grocery stores around the southern United States. Those are a great substitute that I use without reservation. Do not, however, use the canned green chiles (I know Old El Paso sells them), unless you are desperate.

You may want to serve your green chile stew with some crusty bread or warm, fresh flour tortillas. I don’t, because I try to stay away from too many carbs, but I can vouch that a crusty white bread with a layer of unsalted butter is superb with this dish.

You can also dress the stew with cheese, avocado, fresh tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream, corn tortilla strips, or anything else that sounds good.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

ROASTING GREEN CHILES

If have been around chile roasters, you know they use a tool that is essentially a mesh  40-gallon steel drum. There is a huge propane fire below the drum. Once the chiles, usually a bushel at a time, are placed into the drum, the roaster turns a handle that spins the drum around, running the chiles over and over and over the fire, until they are nice and black. Then they are put into a large plastic bag to sweat. This makes the removal of the skins very easy, even easier if the chiles are first frozen and thawed.

New Mexico Green Chiles
New Mexico Green Chiles (fresh)

If you are roasting your chiles for this recipe at home, you can do them on your grill or your gas stovetop burners. (Unless, of course, you want your own tabletop chile roaster — hey, I’ve considered it. The aroma of roasting green chiles just so great!) Grilling is surely easier, because you can do more at once and not have to worry about any mess. The idea is to get the skins blistered and blackened.

Once you have blackened the skins, put the chiles into a plastic bag, allow them to cool a bit, and then freeze them. The freezing is great for prepping the chiles ahead of time, plus it really makes the blistered chile skins come off very easily.

When you are ready to use the chiles, thaw them. Cut off the stems, remove the skin, and remove the seeds. Do not do this under running water, because that will dilute the flavor of the chiles. Just lightly scrape off the seeds and skin on your cutting board. It’s okay if a bit of the skin or a few seeds are left behind. In fact, in the photo above of my stew, that black piece at the top left is a bit of chile skin.

After the chiles are peeled and seeded, chop them up, and they are ready for use in your stew!

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New Year’s fitness resolution?

The new year is almost upon us, and many of us will make resolutions to lose weight, get into better shape.

And … many of us will never follow through on them.

Oh, sure, we’ll get some new running shoes and hit the road or treadmill on January 2nd, but things will come up, or running will be too difficult, or we’ll get injured, or … and that will be the end of that.

Oh, sure, we’ll buy 30 — no, 60 — days of a mail order diet plan, and we’ll stick to it the first few days, but that will become inconvenient, or the meals won’t taste that good, or, dammit we’re hungry … and that will be the end of that.

What is it about humans that we form these great plans to do things we know we should do, but then, at the first sign of adversity or inconvenience, we give up?

How do we continue to live with ourselves after we’ve let ourselves down like that? Here we are, still 30 or 40 or 60 or 80 or 100 pounds overweight with high blood pressure and no breath after walking up a flight of steps. We know what we need to do … but we don’t do it. What the hell is wrong with us?

I can only speak for myself, and for me the answer was that I felt I was just too old to get fit.

Heck, when I was in my early 20s and my pants got a little tight, I could go on a low-carb diet and lose weight fast. No exercise, pounds melted off.

As I got older, my body reacted slower to changes I made. I didn’t see results as fast, so I quickly lost interest in what I was doing. Whatever it was — diet, exercise program — it obviously did not work, and it did not work because I was too old. Look around? How many men 40-plus-year-old men are in shape? Something happens as we age, I reasoned, that makes it impossible to get fit.

Well, maybe not impossible with a little help, but I wonder how many copies of Tony Horton or Shaun T or Chalene exercise programs have been ordered, but only little, if ever, used. Do you have one … somewhere?

Part of the problem may be that we have no great incentive, because we have not had the significant emotional experience that helps keep us on track.

We have not had the heart attack or the divorce or the diabetes diagnosis that makes our health and fitness issues more real to us. We’re not perfect, but we’re okay, and, well, those chocolate cake donuts from Dunkin do taste pretty good.

Another piece of the problem is that we often set our sights too high.

Sure, we want to lose 50 pounds, but why do we do that to ourselves? 50 is great as a long-term goal, but for the short term, it is impossible. Why not start with 10 pounds, or an inch and a half off the waist, some number that is more manageable? Once we accomplish that, then move on to the next 10 pounds or inch-and-a-half.

My personal quest for fitness has taken a slow road. I lost a lot of weight with diet and a little walking. Then I added more walking along with some pushups, pullups, and crunches. Then I got into P90X, and from there into Insanity. Now I do workouts from both those programs, plus some I made up myself, and yoga.

I’ve been at it for more than four years now, and I still have a way to go to reach my final fitness goals, but I am not too discouraged.

After all, I’ve seen great results in body shape, my blood tests show severely reduced levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides, and my blood pressure is normal after many years of being way too high. I am on no longer on medications of any kind. I may never reach my final fitness goals, but those kinds of results keep me going.

How about you? What kind of results will keep you going?

It’s another new year. How about this year we make our fitness resolutions, as usual, set long-term but also short-term results-oriented goals, and then commit ourselves to reaching them. This approach should lead us to greater success, and, as the saying goes, nothing breeds success like success.