I haven't kept up with this blog the way I meant to, nor have I kept up well with a number of the goals I listed. Yet, there have been improvements and I have not completely failed.
Some small things that have changed or held out:
- While my relationship with the gym can be on-again, off-again it has not broken apart.
- I stopped using the foam cups or single-use plastic thingies of tea. I do still use the break-room tea things sometimes but when I do I put it into my own tea strainer which will get 3-4 times as much tea out of it.
- I also brought a very large thing to keep water in to increase my water drinking.
- I have gotten my bike ready for use again.
- I am going out to walk during lunch in the sunlight most days rather than sitting at my desk.
- I am walking to a further away but faster train to/from work rather than taking the closer but slower trip most days. (in the end the trip time is the same)
- I often walk to the library during lunch, its at the outer reaches of my viable lunch-hour range so I only have a few minutes there but its cutting down my purchases of books/videos again and allowing me to order books that I wouldn't normally buy on things that will encourage helfullness and environmentalism in me.
Some things I've failed at:
- I really need to be more consistent with bringing my lunch.
- Consistent gym use and 'ramping it up'
- Drinking a little less
- Making any measurable improvements in weight/size or fitness
- Making any additional changes to reduce my impact.
- I'm still having binges where I eat far too much some evening and weekend days, the result is that I'm holding myself back.
Some things that are in my favor now with the warmer weather:
- No heating is being used, space heater never goes on
- I have fewer excuses not to use my bike for getting around
- Going out for a walk during lunch is more pleasant. Besides exercise I get chores done.
- The farmer's market next to work is starting to flesh out again. I love apples but I'm getting a little tired of them now.
- With summer come some good dates and events to use as goals.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Lunch Quickies: My resolution
I've let a lot slide since starting at this job. Its easy to justify all the little things that lead to all of the above problems.
easy to grab a plastic bowl and a plastic spoon for morning oatmeal that might be coming in single-serving packages. For lunch I might run out and grab a salad at whole foods, using a cardboard or plastic container and if I don't stop them they'd put it in a plastic bag and I'd grab a couple napkins and a plastic fork. If I bring lunch it might be in ziplock baggies or again, single use (though often not single serving -much as it may look it) packages. A snack might consist of a snack bar or nuts in their own packaging... and on it goes.
The quickest fix of course has been to bring in two mugs, I have a large one I keep filled with water and a little one I bring to get tea. Continuing on waste reduction, I just got myself what is perhaps one of the most blogged about items (who'd have thought it), which became famous through www.veganlunchbox.com a blog that I've read quite faithfully since its inception and has spawned a few knockoffs like www.veganlunchcast.com and many www.flickr.com posts (vegan and non). Yes, I did, I got a laptop lunchbox www.laptoplunchbox.com Previously I've used a lot of tupperware, particularly favoring ones with two sections but that can be incredibly bulky and with everything I carry slim is good, I also prefer to eat a lot of small meals so this lunchbox is right for me in that I can eat out of one container for a snack, one or two for a meal, the last for my last snack.. or however. As today is only my second day using it I will have to review it another time.
For breakfast I usually eat the same thing everyday, oatmeal, but that is because I love it. I buy oatmeal in bulk and keep a container of it at work with a bag of chocolate protein powder. With the right protein powder I can have a breakfast that has an equal amount of protein to carbs - though I find that more amusing than important, its easy to add a banana, raisins, cinnamon or whatever I feel like for variety so I'm content and while protein powder is pretty expensive, oatmeal in bulk is terribly cheap and the powder lasts me a very long time. I'm curious as to how much this costs me but it has to be cents a day. Much, much cheaper than a daily bagel. I still need to bring in a bowl to use for breakfast everyday but will start using the spoon from the lunchbox now.
Regardless of good intentions for lunch and breakfast it is preparation that is of course the biggest problem. There are many tricks for ensuring that there is healthy, cheap food ready to grab and go. My next several posts will focus on a few quick recipes, meal ideas and how to shop towards maximizing time, preparedness, fugality and health.
easy to grab a plastic bowl and a plastic spoon for morning oatmeal that might be coming in single-serving packages. For lunch I might run out and grab a salad at whole foods, using a cardboard or plastic container and if I don't stop them they'd put it in a plastic bag and I'd grab a couple napkins and a plastic fork. If I bring lunch it might be in ziplock baggies or again, single use (though often not single serving -much as it may look it) packages. A snack might consist of a snack bar or nuts in their own packaging... and on it goes.
The quickest fix of course has been to bring in two mugs, I have a large one I keep filled with water and a little one I bring to get tea. Continuing on waste reduction, I just got myself what is perhaps one of the most blogged about items (who'd have thought it), which became famous through www.veganlunchbox.com a blog that I've read quite faithfully since its inception and has spawned a few knockoffs like www.veganlunchcast.com and many www.flickr.com posts (vegan and non). Yes, I did, I got a laptop lunchbox www.laptoplunchbox.com Previously I've used a lot of tupperware, particularly favoring ones with two sections but that can be incredibly bulky and with everything I carry slim is good, I also prefer to eat a lot of small meals so this lunchbox is right for me in that I can eat out of one container for a snack, one or two for a meal, the last for my last snack.. or however. As today is only my second day using it I will have to review it another time.
For breakfast I usually eat the same thing everyday, oatmeal, but that is because I love it. I buy oatmeal in bulk and keep a container of it at work with a bag of chocolate protein powder. With the right protein powder I can have a breakfast that has an equal amount of protein to carbs - though I find that more amusing than important, its easy to add a banana, raisins, cinnamon or whatever I feel like for variety so I'm content and while protein powder is pretty expensive, oatmeal in bulk is terribly cheap and the powder lasts me a very long time. I'm curious as to how much this costs me but it has to be cents a day. Much, much cheaper than a daily bagel. I still need to bring in a bowl to use for breakfast everyday but will start using the spoon from the lunchbox now.
Regardless of good intentions for lunch and breakfast it is preparation that is of course the biggest problem. There are many tricks for ensuring that there is healthy, cheap food ready to grab and go. My next several posts will focus on a few quick recipes, meal ideas and how to shop towards maximizing time, preparedness, fugality and health.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Lunch Quickies : The Problem
Weekday lunch and breakfasts may be one of the easiest places to start reforming budget, diet and waste habits for most of us. These two meals are often pretty consistent when it comes to time, place and who we eat with, and they are meals that don't tend to rack up a lot in emotional importance the way weekend meals and dinners can for so many.
Yet weekday meals cost us a lot in waste, in unrealized money and calories. Its so easy to grab a bagel or run out at lunch for a $5 meal. So cheap, it won't hurt. Yet lets do a little math here
The Cost
52 weeks per year, 5 week days = 260 -11 holidays, 10 vacation days = 239 days at work each year, not counting sick days when you are probably no overeating or going out anyway... right?
239 * $5 meal each day = $1195 that I could spend elsewhere, and to be honest living in NYC I'm usually going to spend a bit more than $5 on lunch out and if I added on breakfast, or goodness, a latte in the morning it would be pretty easy to spend $10 or more over what a 'brown bag' lunch would have cost me. $2600, if I freed up $2600 in my budget I'd be on my way to Prague this spring and from listening to coworkers plan where to get lunch or what to have delivered, I can easily believe that many people do indeed spend at least this amount each year.
The Waste
Lunch particularly is a wastefull meal. Even if you bring from home you are probably using single serve items, heavily packaged foods, ziplock baggies, etc. If you eat at a cafeteria there are those plastic containers for salads, plastic forks, the pile of napkins everyone takes. If you eat fastfood... I don't even need to say it.
According to http://www.wastefreelunches.org/: it has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. Here are some more lunch waste facts: http://www.globalstewards.org/lunch.htm
I hardly believe that adults are any better, we are more hooked on convenience, mobile, unaccountable and simply eat more. I even have the impression that many people stay conscious about the health, expense and waste of their childs' meals while neglecting their own, but there is a lot that can be learned from childrens meals.
Health
Does it even need to be said? We know already how most fast food meals are loaded with calories, fat, chemicals and etc. We know that skipping meals is also unhealthy, causing people to eat more and less consciously later, encouraging the metabolism to slow down. We know that even healthy restaurant meals can be loaded with a lot more that we think they are and that restaurants have warped our perception of portion sizes. Even that salad bar can be a bit problematic because it is so easy to overdo it on dressings and high calorie/fat items.
The problem is of course, the same one it always is: time, planning.
I'll look at making changes in the next post.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
A place to start
When working towards change in your life it seems to me that it is important to figure out four basic things first, everything else comes from there and is more adaptable:
1. Where you are.
2. Where you want to be
3. Why you want to make this change.
4. Commitments
Let’s start with the body, with fitness.
1. Where you are:
Many people weigh themselves at the beginning of any diet (usually beginning an exercise routine is part of a diet it seems and I admit it is usually true for myself) but they should be doing so much more than that. For one it has been repeatedly shown that weight is a poor indicator of health, body fat and even size. It is easy and useful as an indicator of change, but there is so much more, and while I hated physical testing back in elementary school (president’s fitness) I find it kinda fun to figure these things out now.
So to start with the simply physical I write down:
-My weight
-My body fat percentage – there are many different methods of determining this, few are completely accurate. Do not beat yourself up about the number, instead pay attention to change over time, if you are using the same method consistently the change will be accurate even if the number itself is not perfect. You can ask your doctor to do a caliper test on you, get a home scale or check to see if your gym will test for you. There are also (quite inaccurate) online programs that will help you get an idea where it might be based on your weight and measurements. With this I also try to figure out how many pounds of lean mass I have, not only do I want to reduce my fat, but I want to build some muscle so I have a better metabolism and tighter figure (plus being able to take care of myself a bit)
-Measurements and clothing size – I write all of these down. This is what I’m usually really paying attention to anyway… and it changes fastest, often with very little change in weight … and it’s most satisfying.
Some people take before pictures… I don’t. Though its useful to note, I don’t think of any of this as before. This is something I do every now and then as a before and middle and ever on.
After taking care of the visible, I move on to figuring out how well my body is working. This is so, so useful, rather than stepping into workouts blind it gives a starting point and it allows me to create goals instead of just plodding away on some machine.
So to test:
Resting heart rate
Aerobic Capacity - VO2 Max
Strength tests
Flexibility tests
a. Your resting heart rate is how hard your heart has to work when you are, well, at rest. The fitter you are, the more efficient your body is and the slower your heart beats all the time. Your RHR is a good indicator of where you are: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/heart-rate.htm
After figuring that out, figure your maximum heart rate:
Maximum heart rate = 220 beats/min – your age in years
And now that you have your resting heart rate (RHR) and maximum heart rate (MHR) figure out your target. This is the range you want want to be in when you are doing cardio, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate#Training_zones
b. Next, test your VO2 Max – that is basically your oxygen consumption, ie. Your aerobic fitness. Improve this so that you don’t have to try to quiet your gasping walking up steps (and a whole host of other benefits). For an explanation of the incredibly simply walkport walk test see: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/rockport.htm and here is a handy-dandy calculator if you don’t want to do the math: http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/Rockport.html Another standard is a 12 minute run/walk. Simply cover as much distance as you can in 12 minutes, record the distance and your heart rate and calculate
c. Now for your muscular endurance – now if you are a girl and think you don’t need to weight train please go read the absolute ton of articles you can google that explain why you should and why you aren’t too likely to get ‘bulky’. I know for myself muscle is very hard to build, but it is extremely satisfying and has a lot of effect on my metabolism. So lets start with:
- Pushups, this is simple. For women you begin with weight on hands and knees and do as many pushups as you can, write down this number.
-Sit ups. Do as many as you can – these are proper sit ups not crunches.
-Squats. Again do as many as you can.
See: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/hometest.htm for instructions on each of these along with a scale so you can see how you compare. And where you want to be.
6. Don’t forget your flexibility. Being flexible will help you be more comfortable, it will help reduce injury… and fuck, its just sexy. You can use these tests: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/flex.htm or have your gym help you out. Me, I just do some stretching and figure out where I’m at. I already know that I have exceptional flexibility in my upper body and waist. My hips could use a little work though, not bad but just on the average to low average side.
Ok, now that that is done, one more thing. I’m going to write down some notes about how I feel. I mean if I’m sleeping ok, if I have enough energy, how am I waking in the morning, am I depressed, how stable is my life (ie. How much flexibility will my changes need to have, or should they be more set in stone), am I motivated, etc.
2. Where you want to be:
Ok, so I just did all these tests, marked down all these details about my body I need to figure out what I want. Its one thing to say ‘to be fitter, slimmer, etc.’ its another to have clear goals to aim for.
So first, the long term goals. Where I want to be (and when I get there, what I will maintain):
Ok, maybe a lot of it is vanity and I’m not looking to be an athlete but I intend to bring myself up to ‘above average’ on all fronts and then see from there. So, I take a look at all those tests and compare them to a scale of what is average (I believe the links I used have them, I also have it in a book but its easy to search for online, these are highly standardized tests). It is easy to find a goal for weight and body fat and I’m pretty reasonable when it comes to clothing size. I also know that not all of these goals will come along in a neat tidy little line, I will have to adjust, but for now it gives me something to aim at. I try to make a point of ensuring that these are achievable and healthy goals.
For long term goals I don’t bother with setting a date to have them done by. It might be good for some but I’d rather have goal dates for the smaller portions and just a vague idea of when.
The next step is to cut this up into easy chunks. Now I know I don’t have the patience to go too long without seeing something concrete. I also know that change takes time so I generally set my first goal date and reevaluation for 4-6 weeks away. In this time I feel comfortable planning 6-9 pounds lost and/or improving my fitness scores by a decent bit. Nothing extreme but noticeable so I pick a date and write down those goals, this ALWAYS includes at least one fitness goal and not just weight or size and I always make these concrete goals, not ‘I will lift more’ rather, ‘I will bench press’
So having fitness goals for my body, I need to make sure I’m clear about
3. Why you want to make this change:
It seems obvious, or at least like it would be the first thing you know, but I think it is now, after I know where my body is and have decided on my goals that it’s the right time to actually sit down and write a list of reasons because as I’ve been ruminating on what I want while figuring the rest out. I just list out as many as I can thinks of like:
-So I won’t feel the need to suppress heavy breathing going up stairs, there won’t be any
-Because I don’t want to buy bigger clothes, I’d rather spend the money having fun
-Because I want more energy
-etc.
-etc.
4. Commitments
Taking the above into account I can make a few commitments, action based things to get started on like ‘I will exercise xx times this month’, ‘I will walk any place that is less than xx miles away (or less than x subway stops)’, ‘I will …..
Now
Maybe you can’t do all that right now. Doesn’t matter, it’s a motivational step more than anything, do NOT allow yourself to wait until it is convenient to make changes. Skip to step 4 if you need and think of one or two little ways you can start today.
1. Where you are.
2. Where you want to be
3. Why you want to make this change.
4. Commitments
Let’s start with the body, with fitness.
1. Where you are:
Many people weigh themselves at the beginning of any diet (usually beginning an exercise routine is part of a diet it seems and I admit it is usually true for myself) but they should be doing so much more than that. For one it has been repeatedly shown that weight is a poor indicator of health, body fat and even size. It is easy and useful as an indicator of change, but there is so much more, and while I hated physical testing back in elementary school (president’s fitness) I find it kinda fun to figure these things out now.
So to start with the simply physical I write down:
-My weight
-My body fat percentage – there are many different methods of determining this, few are completely accurate. Do not beat yourself up about the number, instead pay attention to change over time, if you are using the same method consistently the change will be accurate even if the number itself is not perfect. You can ask your doctor to do a caliper test on you, get a home scale or check to see if your gym will test for you. There are also (quite inaccurate) online programs that will help you get an idea where it might be based on your weight and measurements. With this I also try to figure out how many pounds of lean mass I have, not only do I want to reduce my fat, but I want to build some muscle so I have a better metabolism and tighter figure (plus being able to take care of myself a bit)
-Measurements and clothing size – I write all of these down. This is what I’m usually really paying attention to anyway… and it changes fastest, often with very little change in weight … and it’s most satisfying.
Some people take before pictures… I don’t. Though its useful to note, I don’t think of any of this as before. This is something I do every now and then as a before and middle and ever on.
After taking care of the visible, I move on to figuring out how well my body is working. This is so, so useful, rather than stepping into workouts blind it gives a starting point and it allows me to create goals instead of just plodding away on some machine.
So to test:
Resting heart rate
Aerobic Capacity - VO2 Max
Strength tests
Flexibility tests
a. Your resting heart rate is how hard your heart has to work when you are, well, at rest. The fitter you are, the more efficient your body is and the slower your heart beats all the time. Your RHR is a good indicator of where you are: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/heart-rate.htm
After figuring that out, figure your maximum heart rate:
Maximum heart rate = 220 beats/min – your age in years
And now that you have your resting heart rate (RHR) and maximum heart rate (MHR) figure out your target. This is the range you want want to be in when you are doing cardio, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate#Training_zones
b. Next, test your VO2 Max – that is basically your oxygen consumption, ie. Your aerobic fitness. Improve this so that you don’t have to try to quiet your gasping walking up steps (and a whole host of other benefits). For an explanation of the incredibly simply walkport walk test see: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/rockport.htm and here is a handy-dandy calculator if you don’t want to do the math: http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/Rockport.html Another standard is a 12 minute run/walk. Simply cover as much distance as you can in 12 minutes, record the distance and your heart rate and calculate
c. Now for your muscular endurance – now if you are a girl and think you don’t need to weight train please go read the absolute ton of articles you can google that explain why you should and why you aren’t too likely to get ‘bulky’. I know for myself muscle is very hard to build, but it is extremely satisfying and has a lot of effect on my metabolism. So lets start with:
- Pushups, this is simple. For women you begin with weight on hands and knees and do as many pushups as you can, write down this number.
-Sit ups. Do as many as you can – these are proper sit ups not crunches.
-Squats. Again do as many as you can.
See: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/hometest.htm for instructions on each of these along with a scale so you can see how you compare. And where you want to be.
6. Don’t forget your flexibility. Being flexible will help you be more comfortable, it will help reduce injury… and fuck, its just sexy. You can use these tests: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/flex.htm or have your gym help you out. Me, I just do some stretching and figure out where I’m at. I already know that I have exceptional flexibility in my upper body and waist. My hips could use a little work though, not bad but just on the average to low average side.
Ok, now that that is done, one more thing. I’m going to write down some notes about how I feel. I mean if I’m sleeping ok, if I have enough energy, how am I waking in the morning, am I depressed, how stable is my life (ie. How much flexibility will my changes need to have, or should they be more set in stone), am I motivated, etc.
2. Where you want to be:
Ok, so I just did all these tests, marked down all these details about my body I need to figure out what I want. Its one thing to say ‘to be fitter, slimmer, etc.’ its another to have clear goals to aim for.
So first, the long term goals. Where I want to be (and when I get there, what I will maintain):
Ok, maybe a lot of it is vanity and I’m not looking to be an athlete but I intend to bring myself up to ‘above average’ on all fronts and then see from there. So, I take a look at all those tests and compare them to a scale of what is average (I believe the links I used have them, I also have it in a book but its easy to search for online, these are highly standardized tests). It is easy to find a goal for weight and body fat and I’m pretty reasonable when it comes to clothing size. I also know that not all of these goals will come along in a neat tidy little line, I will have to adjust, but for now it gives me something to aim at. I try to make a point of ensuring that these are achievable and healthy goals.
For long term goals I don’t bother with setting a date to have them done by. It might be good for some but I’d rather have goal dates for the smaller portions and just a vague idea of when.
The next step is to cut this up into easy chunks. Now I know I don’t have the patience to go too long without seeing something concrete. I also know that change takes time so I generally set my first goal date and reevaluation for 4-6 weeks away. In this time I feel comfortable planning 6-9 pounds lost and/or improving my fitness scores by a decent bit. Nothing extreme but noticeable so I pick a date and write down those goals, this ALWAYS includes at least one fitness goal and not just weight or size and I always make these concrete goals, not ‘I will lift more’ rather, ‘I will bench press
So having fitness goals for my body, I need to make sure I’m clear about
3. Why you want to make this change:
It seems obvious, or at least like it would be the first thing you know, but I think it is now, after I know where my body is and have decided on my goals that it’s the right time to actually sit down and write a list of reasons because as I’ve been ruminating on what I want while figuring the rest out. I just list out as many as I can thinks of like:
-So I won’t feel the need to suppress heavy breathing going up stairs, there won’t be any
-Because I don’t want to buy bigger clothes, I’d rather spend the money having fun
-Because I want more energy
-etc.
-etc.
4. Commitments
Taking the above into account I can make a few commitments, action based things to get started on like ‘I will exercise xx times this month’, ‘I will walk any place that is less than xx miles away (or less than x subway stops)’, ‘I will …..
Now
Maybe you can’t do all that right now. Doesn’t matter, it’s a motivational step more than anything, do NOT allow yourself to wait until it is convenient to make changes. Skip to step 4 if you need and think of one or two little ways you can start today.
How many earths do we need?
Check out this site:
http://www.ecofoot.org/
I was looking through the FAQ section and they link to a spreadsheet that is more detailed http://redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainabilityindicators/ef/ef_household_0203.xls
I might try to fill it in sometime and see what I can down a few notches.
For the simpler ecofoot scale I really guessed on a few things (I have no idea how big the house I live in is) it said I had a total footprint of 7 acres.
"IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.
IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 1.6 PLANETS. "
So, I'll have to look into bringing that down a bit, at least 3 acres worth, preferably more (to make up for all the others out there).
http://www.ecofoot.org/
I was looking through the FAQ section and they link to a spreadsheet that is more detailed http://redefiningprogress.org/programs/sustainabilityindicators/ef/ef_household_0203.xls
I might try to fill it in sometime and see what I can down a few notches.
For the simpler ecofoot scale I really guessed on a few things (I have no idea how big the house I live in is) it said I had a total footprint of 7 acres.
"IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.
IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 1.6 PLANETS. "
So, I'll have to look into bringing that down a bit, at least 3 acres worth, preferably more (to make up for all the others out there).
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