New Year's Day is known as the proverbial changing point for people all over the world.
People often say things like "I'll exercise more, eat better, get out of debt, etc..." during that time of year. Unfortunately many of us end up giving up on those goals after a couple of months in to the year.
This cycle can create a lot of pressure and anxiety that can actually be counter productive to your goals. In fact, some of you may have promised yourself that 2014 was going to be the year you changed your life for the better however, you may find yourself frustrated and not making the progress you hoped for.
It is now March and some of you view those New Year's resolutions as a distant memory in the rear view mirror. Maybe this year has become a roller coaster of problem after problem, which has taken your mind off of those goals.
This writing is about getting a heads start on next year, or reviving what you set your heart to just a short three months ago. Take the pressure off and start now! Seems counter intuitive? Doesn't starting cause pressure? I have found that putting lots of weight on a calendar day such as January 1st puts far more pressure. Besides no one is talking about New Year's Resolutions now, so you can take the slow and steady approach and change your life without the pressure.
Don't wait until the next New Year's Eve to decide to start changing your life! Start today! You will find that starting now will give you a head start for the next New Year's Eve.
Last year I had several of those "start now" moments. When this past 2014 New Year's came around I had no pressure because I felt that I was already accomplishing my goals and seeing results. It was a good feeling!
Here is a brief glimpse into that journey of how I used Non-New Year's resolutions to change my life.
Quick disclaimer: None of this is meant to brag, or give you the illusion that I got it all together. I still have several unfulfilled goals that I am working on and know that I still have a long, long way to go in this journey called life.
My health in 2012/2013 was not good. Now I was not super unhealthy, at least not from the surface view. I wasn't terribly overweight, but was definitely not ideal. I was around 213 at 6'1". I seemed to be healthy to most, but my blood work told a different story.
In September 2012 my blood work showed that I had relatively high Triglycerides (188), low HDL (40). This is a pretty bad ratio of Triglycerides to HDL (4.7) of one of the critical markers of Cardio Vascular health. Remember
HDL is the good Cholesterol that you want to be higher. My complete Cholesterol to HDL ratio at that time was 5.0, which was also out of the desired range.
In February 2013 my father passed away suddenly, which rocked my world in a very bad way. I thought he was a model of good health for his age. He always kept a busy schedule as a pastor. He was a full-time missionary in Haiti, where the medical care is not anywhere near the care we enjoy in the United States, or other modern countries. He had asthma, which ended up being the root cause that led to his "early" home going to heaven. He is very much missed by all who knew him.
After he passed away and due to some other stressful things I was dealing with at work and home, I was basically becoming a mess. In April of 2013 when I saw my doctor, my HDL was now lower (37); My total ratio of cholesterol and HDL was now 5.1, which is also a less than ideal ratio to have. I was starting to experience bouts of anxiety and was feeling very aware that I was having some health problems that I needed to address. At that doctor's appointment I was prescribed statin and anxiety medication. I was feeling pretty low at this point. I inherently knew I wanted to change my health, but I really didn't know what to do, or even where to start.
I eventually did what I found has served me well in other areas of life. I started reading and learning! Note that I didn't say doing.....at least not yet.
I figured that if I want to make progress, I have to first learn about the most effective approach to maximize my outcomes and results. I listened to a
Ted talk by a guy named Tim Ferriss and liked his approach. He had a minimalist, unconventional approach that struck a cord with me. I eventually reserved his book
"The 4-Hour Body" from the library (who says you got to spend a lot of money! Full disclosure, I did end up buying some of his books later) in late May 2013. When I read the science in his book, learned more about his bio-hacking approach, and the simple, inexpensive meals and strategies, I was sold.
I went all in on his Slow-Carbohydrate Diet in June 2013 and started cutting sugar and simple carbohydrates out of my diet (except for the cheat day of course). As time went on, I started craving less and less sugar and my cheat days started pretty much going away.
I lost around 30 pounds, had my body fat percentage drop from the 20+% down to the low 10-13% range. I wasn't taking any of the medicine prescribed to me at this point and I was feeling very good. I also was listening to
Dave Asprey's podcast (Bulletproofexecutive radio) around the same time and starting drinking
Bulletproof coffee, which is coffee with grass-fed butter and MCT oil in it. It gives you calories and good fat with your coffee, which helps with hunger and improved mental clarity. Between losing the weight/fat, and resetting my sleep schedule after I started the BP Coffee, I was feeling much, much better.
It was now November 1, 2013 and my friend and co-worker mentioned that he was signing up for a Half-Marathon that would take place on March 1, 2014. He said the first people to sign up would get significant discounts on the registration costs. The catch was you had to sign up that same day by noon. Here I was, around 11:30am, about a 1/2 hour away from making a pretty bold decision on something that I just heard about. I wasn't a runner! There was a part of me that said I have to think about this more and I definitely have to train more, before making a crazy decision like this! If you read one of my older posts 2 months prior to the time of this decision
On the risk of sinking vs the value of swimming. In that post I wrote about making these type of decisions. If you listen to the audio I recorded on that, I even talked about running. Nothing like writing about something to motivate you to practice what you preach!
At 12:00pm that same day, I signed up for the Half-Marathon.
It only cost me $17, but I knew it would cost me much more time and commitment to be able to do it. To give context, I never even ran an official 5k and now I had a Half-Marathon on the calendar, what the heck was I thinking?!
I learned that sometimes you got to just put something that seems unreachable on the calendar, so you can be motivated to train and work towards it. Most of us limit ourselves from reaching our full potential due to our own limitations that we place on our lives. The more you stretch your limits, the more you grow.
Fast forward. Obviously I started running, I really didn't have a choice as I put the goal out there to anyone who would listen. I found this gave me great accountability towards the goal. Putting something like that on the calendar is a great motivation! I was running more than I ever had before. I was also doing more reading, research and YouTube video watching (You know YouTube that very technical and scholarly source!) all on the subject of running. I happened to stumble upon this
Chi-running technique. I got that book from the library too. Please never use money as an excuse, there are plenty of free/low cost options out there! I read the book I got from the library and started working on my running form.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I have always had bad knees. I got surgery on one of my knees when I was in the 6th grade and always accepted my knee problems as a fact of life when I played basketball, soccer and other sports. Learning proper running form was critical to overcoming the knee pain problem. I don't know about you, but just working through the pain isn't enjoyable to me! With the newly learned techniques, running was actually becoming enjoyable!
I worked on my technique, talked to people with experience in running and I ran. I continued to apply what I was learning, kept improving my nutrition and health leading up to my race on March 1, 2014.
In February 2014, I had an annual check-up appointment with my doctor. They asked if I was still taking my medicine. I told them I wasn't taking it anymore and that I was improving my health through exercise and nutrition. At this point I was indirectly scolded by my nurse on heredity, and how some people just have to take the blood pressure medicine and that it has nothing to do with nutritional and exercise choices. I say indirectly as she mentioned her brother who she described as a "health nut". She said her brother told her and the rest of their family he wouldn't follow the same health path of everyone else in their family (sounds like he's a pretty smart guy to me!). I consider myself a
noticer, but it didn't take much skill to read between the lines of her tirade, even though overall I think she is a nice lady who I've talked to over my years going to this doctor. She said there was nothing nutrition or exercise could fix, again indirectly, but definitely directed towards me (I might need to find a new doctor, or his nurse may want to measure her opinions a little wiser).
On March 1, 2014, I finished the Half-Marathon strong. We ran the first 8 miles with a comfortable Pace group then we ran harder and faster the final 5 miles of the race. It felt good to pass people who were burnt out towards the end of the race. We actually sprinted at the end and crossed the finish line very strong. I am on the left. I was very happy with my results!
So back to the beginning of this. What goals do you want to achieve? Are you waiting for the next New Year's to come around before you start working on that goal? What resolutions have you already given up on 3 months into 2014?
Don't wait for New Year's, Start now with a Non-New Year's Resolution!
Listen to a podcast, read a book, change your diet, pay off your debt, work towards that promotion. I am now thinking about doing a full marathon either before New Year's or right after.
Whatever it is you want to do now is the time to start!
Here is a
list of some of the main Podcasts, books, people, etc. that I have been listening to during this journey. Hope these resources help you like they did me!
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