Health- Diet- Exercise ~~ 2022

[madrano]

I hadn't even thought about any issues with hand sanitizers! Yikes! I'm happy to say we ate sauerkraut tonight. I've never had or made my own but we like it quite a bit.

[Alias Reader]

Tamara wrote These two books have good..."

Thank you, Tamara, for the book recommendations. I will pass the titles on to my friend.

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "I hadn't even thought about any issues with hand sanitizers! Yikes! I'm happy to say we ate sauerkraut tonight. I've never had or made my own but we like it quite a bit."

Deb, it has to be sauerkraut that is made without vinegar. It's not the type typically put on a hot dog. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they sell it. It even looks different. I am not a fan of sauerkraut, and even I like the TJ kind.

You can see the container and ingredients here.
https://traderjoesrants.com/2019/08/1...

[madrano]

TJ's is the brand we like best, too. However, i wasn't aware of the non-vinegar issue. Just luck, i guess. Thanks for that info.

[Alias Reader]

[madrano]

Think back to your youth and even early adulthood. How many folks do you recall walking for exercise or even walking around?* We lived in the suburbs and i recall only one, a heart attack survivor, whose sage MD suggested that routine.

Today, same house, we cannot visit for even 5 minutes without seeing several walkers, seldom together, walking past. It's been a revolution i'm happy to be a part of.

Enjoy the day!

*Alias, having grown up in Brooklyn, you may have a different story about walkers.

[Alias Reader]

Deb, even today, people in NYC are walkers. Also growing up, jogging became the new thing. I don't drive, so I had to walk to stores, train stations, post office, libraries, bus stops etc.

[Rachel]

As a Manhattanite in my former life, I walked all over the place for fun. Who knew what fun and excitement could be right around the corner?

[Alias Reader]

Yes. There is so much so see in NYC, that you really are hardly aware of how much you are walking.

[madrano]

During my 4 month stay in NYC in '10, i purchased a pedometer. You are correct--you don't realize how much you've walked until you are home & check it out. It was neat.

Alias, i recall when jogging became a thing, too. It seemed to catch on faster than walking, probably because it was immediately visible. With walking, you never know if it's for exercise or to go buy a dozen doughnuts. LOL

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "During my 4 month stay in NYC in '10, .."

OMG. Please don't tell me that was 2010. Good Grief, where do the years go. :(

[madrano]

That stay was full of new experiences for me, so it seems much closer in time than it really is. This, despite all we've gone through since then. Time, such a puzzler.

[Alias Reader]

[Alias Reader]

[madrano]

Two more good quotes to keep in mind. Thank you.

[Alias Reader]

[madrano]

Happy National Fitness Day!

[Rachel]

Thanks for the heads up re fitness. It is so important to me.

[Alias Reader]

Me too, Rachel. 🤸‍♂️

[Alias Reader]

[madrano]

Perfect!

[Rachel]

Funny and true.

[Alias Reader]

[Rachel]

Thanks for sharing that quote it is brilliant.

[Alias Reader]

Thank you, Rachel. I am a huge fan of two books on habits.

My #1 fav is:
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
And this one is also very good.
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Additionaly, I listen to the Gretchen Rubin's Happier podcast. She has some interesting books on what she calls the 4 Tendencies. There is a free online quiz you can take. (see link below) I guess no one is 100% one tendency. However, I think it can be useful not only for yourself but to understand others. The quiz said I am an I'm an Upholder.

The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives

The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better

~~ The quiz
https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/

Rubin's Website
https://gretchenrubin.com/podcasts/

Here is podcast # 148
In the notes she gives some habit tips.
https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast-epi...

I'm working my way from podcast #1 onward.

[Rachel]

I am an upholder they said. For me commitments made to myself are very hard to let go of. Thankfully my obsessive habits are healthy.

[Alias Reader]

Rachel wrote: "I am an upholder they said. For me commitments made to myself are very hard to let go of. Thankfully my obsessive habits are healthy."

Interesting we both are upholders. Gretchen says that Upholders are rare.

[Rachel]

Wow. It is nice to be "special". For me being able to hold to my commitments did not start until I was 27 and quit smoking. I did not know before that time that I could set goals and count on myself to fulfill them. It was life changing for me.

[Alias Reader]

Well done on quitting smoking, Rachel. I know it can be difficult.

Unfortunately, my mom was a life long smoker and died of lung cancer.

[Alias Reader]

I came across this quote today and had to write it in my exercise/diet journal.

Preparation beats motivation any day !

[Rachel]

I like preparation.

[Alias Reader]

Me, too, Rachel !

Motivation is fickle friend. It comes and goes. Make it a habit by preparation.

I am not perfect by far. However, when it comes to eating a healthy diet and exercise, this works for me. It is easier to make excuses when something isn't a habit and I've not prepared for success in advance.

~ Have healthy foods in house.
~ Have gym clothes ready and gym bag packed
~ prep some foods for week or make enough for extra meals.
~ have homemade healthy soups in freezer
~ Keep track of my exercise. I record all gym machines I use at the gym on my phone then when home I check the box off on graph paper that I set up each month. It only takes a few minutes each day. It gives me a clear look at what I am doing, and where I need to improve. As they say, you can't know where you are going if you don't know where you are !
~ For exercise, don't break the streak works well for me. Then as the old Nike commercial said, I tell myself, Just Do It !

[madrano]

Impressive prep work, Alias. The first four points i employed while raising our children. It just kept us in line, so to speak, allowing for "off" days.

[Rachel]

Having healthy food in the house is so key. The worst thing is to come home hungry and try to satisfy the hunger with processed food. Being hungry is a natural part of being human. Smart is the person who is prepared for success.

[Alias Reader]

Rachel wrote:

Smart is the person who is prepared for success.

Perfect !

[Rachel]

Truth in advertising: for me healthy habits are a bit of a mania. Happy medium is not my sweet spot. I know I am in the minority but it can be almost as bad as unhealthy habits.

[Alias Reader]

We are so similar, Rachel. I try to go 100% in. Especially when it comes to exercise. I keep a journal of all the machines I use at the gym and I also make sure I do a minimum of 10K steps a day. I don't work out hard but I'm consistent.

Recently I unintentionally broke my daily minimum 10K step streak of around 640 days in a row. I had gone to see a Broadway play and out to dinner and I simply forgot by the time I got home. I had 8K that day. :( So I restarted. I'm now on day 39. If I can't get to the gym or outside for my steps I do online videos for the steps.

It can get crazy to get it in every day. But as James Clear says in Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, never miss two days in a row as that starts a new habit of not exercising.

[madrano]

Good advice. And congrats to you, Alias, for resuming right away. Knowing this is an easy path and actively working toward resuming are two different things and you conquered!

[Alias Reader]

Thanks, deb. It helps that I enjoy working out.

[Rachel]

Enjoyment definitely makes a habit easier to form. I tell newbies that if they can exercise for 6 months it will no longer be such hard work.

[madrano]

Nice. And after 6 months they should be feeling the benefits, which is encouragement enough.

[Rachel]

Enjoyment definitely makes a habit easier to form. I tell newbies that if they can exercise for 6 months it will no longer be such hard work."

It is just an issue of staying motivated to stick it out for that time.
I wonder why some people can and others try and cannot.

[madrano]

I suspect part of the answer is family tradition. It takes an added motivation to continue when you have been raised by people who were content, not really aspiring to better habits. This is only one part of it, of course.

[Rachel]

madrano wrote: "I suspect part of the answer is family tradition. It takes an added motivation to continue when you have been raised by people who were content, not really aspiring to better habits. This is only o..."

I get the added motivation part. My family's indoor spot was eating followed by reading. Somehow when I was in my 20s the running craze started and I went along with it. I don't run anymore but the habit stayed with me. In fact, I get cranky if I can't exercise.

[Alias Reader]

Rachel wrote: In fact, I get cranky if I can't exercise."

Me too ! I am a big gym rat.

[Rachel]

Alias Reader wrote: "Rachel wrote: In fact, I get cranky if I can't exercise."

Me too ! I am a big gym rat."

I was a gym rat until the pandemic, Then I started walking outside and working out at home and discovered I like it. Anything that gets a body moving is a good thing.

[Alias Reader]

I agree, Rachel. During the pandemic my YMCA dance teacher did Zoom classes and I did that as well as walking my daily 10K minimum.

[Rachel]

Alias Reader wrote: "I agree, Rachel. During the pandemic my YMCA dance teacher did Zoom classes and I did that as well as walking my daily 10K minimum."

I have been thinking about what you said the other day. Why is the expression gym rat? Why not gym horse or bird or something positive?

[Alias Reader]

LOL.... I don't know. Good question.

Google seems to think this is the reason.

The phrase “gym rats” may bring a certain strange image to mind — furry, four-legged critters scuttling around a gym floor, climbing on equipment and gnawing at weights. However, the fitness community has coined this term to imply something else: adrenaline-pumped gym-goers addicted to the satisfaction of exercising.

Is being a gym rat healthy?
Oftentimes, those who consider themselves "gym rats" are healthy and passionate about fitness, exercise, and their health, as well as the health of others. They want to look their best and are willing to put the time into taking care of themselves.

What does gym junkie mean?
Fitness Junkie (noun)– a person who has made working out a part of their daily lives and dedicates all their free time to working out and/or doing physical activities.


10 Signs You Might Be a True Gym Rat
https://www.tigerfitness.com/blogs/mo...

I think I would answer yes to a lot of these. :)

[madrano]

Good question & answer, Rachel and Alias. My sister lived in Holland in the '80s, right along a canal. She had scary stories about big tailed rats hiding in her curtains. However, i clearly recall she was fascinated by their gymnastic abilities. YUK!