May 27, 2017

Airports and Kids

Look, I get it. I have four kids – all grown now – so I’ve been though the tykes phase with them. I’ve traveled with them and know how hard it can be.

As I write this, I’m on a plane with a mom by herself and two little ones. She’s having a tough time. They’re not quiet :/ I think grandpa is up in first class. The mom is doing the best she can, and I definitely sympathize.

But – can I have a word with you parents?

Having junior learn to carry his own bag (even if it’s a rollerbag) at 2-3 years old in a crowded airport is fraught with issues. They don’t know how to look out for other people, and up to a certain age can’t reasonably be expected to do so.

I may be getting curmudgeonly. Sorry for that. But please think about the folks around you, as well as the safety of your children. Thanks in advance.
May 22, 2017

Some Airport Walking Particulars

Last week, I posted about Airport Walking. Here are some additional tips and curiosities from my Airport Walks.

TSA and Security: Man, for the first few months of doing this, I was ABSOLUTELY SURE that TSA was watching me, and ready to stop me after I walk by the same place the fifth, sixth, seventh, etc. time. That started over four years ago, and I have yet to be stopped. But there will be that first time. And it will be weird. But I’ll be able to say, “Hey, I’m TheWalkingGuy, have you heard about me?” And they’ll say “Uhm, NO”, but I’ll point them here, and then maybe we’ll get more interesting comments about other airport walkers. Or not.

Be Considerate: The worst thing you can do for those around you and your fellow Airport Walkers is be rude. Don’t push around people. Don’t roll over people’s toes (it happens sometimes – just be careful). Watch out for kids – and parents of those kids, could you please keep a closer eye on them as well? Please.

Surfaces: Floors are the best. Carpets are the worst. Mixing between the two? Even WORSE. And gross old carpets? I think you get the picture. I’m grateful no airports have that shag rug we had in my house in the 1970’s. Oh boy.

Walking in a limited space: When I need to take a call for work, I try to find an out of the way place where I can stow my bag (but keep an eye on it). I then walk in a circuit very close by. Yep, it looks a little strange, but it’s for a purpose. And sometimes traffic patterns change – be aware and adjust if necessary.

People staring: It doesn’t happen that much. But when it does, so what? I know what I’m doing. And it works – I’m getting those steps in.

May 15, 2017

Walking in Airports

Yep. I get many steps in at the airport.

Why in the world would you want to do this? Drag that bag all over the place. Ugh.

Well, I’ll tell you.

(1) I travel alot. ALOT. I need to do this wherever I can.

(2) I have the time. I’m not a walk-up-to-the-plane-as-the-door-closes kind of guy. I’m not completely paranoid either, but I do usually end up with 20-30 minutes of buffer. So I’d rather use the time.

(3) I’m trying to work in activity wherever I can – this is just one place and time where I can work this in.

(4) It’s also nice to get some activity in before you’ll be stuck in a flying metal tube for hours.

(5) Some airports are actually nice to walk in. Others, not so much. I’ll be posting specifics on my aiport observations in the near future.

Dragging the bag around is definitely a pain. But it’s worth it for the benefit of some activity. And it makes having a good rollerbag that can also hold my laptop bag a valuable asset in Airport Walking.

BTW, I wrote this post on a plane, after getting some serious steps in before the flight from DCA 🙂

No, I don’t plan to be doing any Airport Running any time soon. I like to avoid that. See item #2 above.
May 14, 2017

Walking, Running, and Everything Else

So, this is TheWalkingGuy.

And I am doing alot of walking.

But I have been doing some running lately, and I kinda like it.

I never saw myself as a Runner. And when I was very heavy and just getting re-started on being active in 2013, I knew that I had to be very careful of excessive wear and tear on my feet, ankles, knees, and hips. Walking made alot of sense – low impact, doesn’t require special equipment, so I went with it.

As I’ve gotten my weight back down, it’s been nice to be able to do more. I’ll probably always look to walking as my primary form of exercise.

Walking is so easy to fit in your life. You don’t need much equipment – that’s a key requirement for me. And you can do so many other things while you walk: walk and talk to friends, talk on the phone, listen to books, listen to podcasts, even draft future entries for TheWalkingGuy. (Yes, I walk and type. There will be a future entry on Safety in which I plan to chastise myself for this).

But you do need to do more – carefully, as you’re able. I didn’t start running until I was down to a much lower weight. I also started slow – first running intervals, then a mile at a time, then two miles, etc. I have worked up to 5k, but only a couple, and I only run at all about twice per week. I started to look for local 5k races, but as I thought more about it, I don’t need to spend money on them or be on their schedule, especially when I can just go run 5k when I want to. (Which I did this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day here today!)

Working in strength training is good too. The weight loss program I took made this clear and offered supplementary exercise classes. The more muscle groups you get involved, the more weight you’ll be able to burn. I’ve been using an app called the Seven Minute Workout that has a great variety of exercises for core, upper body, lower body, and more.

Then there is just plain mixing it up. Walking is great, but variety is good too. This is one of the reasons I really dislike treadmills – they’re too boring and repetitive. I personally like walking outside as my base form of activity, and supplementing with these other things.

There’s much more to say here. But ultimately, you have to find what works for you. So – take a walk and find what DOES work for you!
May 12, 2017

The Last Four Years (not a political post)

Today, I hit a significant weight loss goal. And I’m going to use this as the main event to start putting significant effort back into TheWalkingGuy.

So with this “reboot” of TWG, here’s a summary of my last four years.

Starting in February 2013, I lost alot of weight. It was awesome. It was preceded by years and years of trying and failing to lose weight. I found strength and motivation that I had not had before, and I lost 158 lbs in about 9 months. WOW.

Then, a few things happened (not all of equal impact, but all significant):
  • I lost my mother to lung cancer, preceded by months of her health declining – and I am so thankful she did get to see me lose that weight the first time
  • I started a very challenging job – more stressful than average, with lots of travel
  • I encountered other significant challenges in life – and I’ll leave out those details, because I know all of you reading each have your own Significant Challenges

I almost gave up, got lazy, got off track – I’m not really sure how to characterize it. The net result was that I started gaining the weight back, eventually gaining back about half of what I had lost (approx. 80 lbs).

I never stopped walking, although I did lighten up and became less consistent. The big problem was that I went off track with my eating. Tracking my food is a leading indicator for me – if I stop tracking, I get off track (pun completely intended).

(BTW, I understand that this is TWG. But it’s not just about walking – it’s about eating and more as well. If I called this TheEatingGuy, that would just sound… weird).

So, I tried to restart several times. I tried the Inova Medical Weight Loss program again, albeit unsuccessfully. It wasn’t a problem with the plan (it’s a great program and was very helpful to me in 2013); because of travel for work, the weekly meetings didn’t fit my schedule. I realized that I needed to do this myself.

Throughout 2015 and 2016, I realized I was avoiding my annual physical because I knew that would be bad news – I’m sure this pushed me to get back on track. There is a particular very persistent receptionist at my doc who JUST WOULDN’T STOP CALLING. And when I didn’t call back, she would CALL MY WIFE. And that was all actually very very helpful.

Finally, in late 2016, I made up my mind to recommit to my weight loss leading up to New Year’s weekend 2017. I’m not sure what the final straw was, but the planets just lined up again, similar to Feb 2013. (Please note that I use that phrase “planets lined up” in the astrophysical sense – an extra pull of gravity due to the alignment of planets. I’m not 100% clear on the science behind this, but it sounds really cool. I am clearly not an astrophysicist, nor do I play one on television).

Once I was back on track in earnest, I finally scheduled that annual physical – 2+ years late – and it went well 🙂

In January 2017, I went back to a low-carb, low-cal regimen, consuming about 1500-2000 calories/day (keeping closer to 1500), limiting my carbs to fruits and vegetables (raw and cooked). I have been “informed” by Paleo plans, especially Whole30, but I can’t say I’ve been strictly following any particular plan.

I have really reduced dairy as well. That was not a goal, but it hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. I still love dairy :/

Oh yeah – and I’ve been walking ALOT.

Since making those changes in January 2017, I’ve managed to lose almost 60 lbs. I just hit the goal of 250 lbs that I set in January, and I am very motivated to keep going.

Lessons learned:

(0) Don’t ever give up. Ever. (Yes, this is the 0th entry in this list).

(1) I’m still learning how to manage weight (in particular, eating) through life adversity. It’s a skill I need to continue to develop. And those adversities are not accidental – they are all with purpose. More on that in future posts.

(2) Even when you fall off the wagon, getting back on will always reap benefits. I feel so much better this year. This time, I want to stay down and not have to lose it all over again. STAY DOWN.

I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I know many people appreciated and were encouraged by my stories in 2013, so I’m hoping to do more with this in 2017 and beyond. I’d like to create a place where people can share stories, helpful hints, etc. There is much to be gained by a community pooling ideas together here.

So – let’s get back to walk. That’s where I’m heading right now 🙂

Yours truly,
TWG
December 26, 2013

Breakfast

I am a breakfast meeting guy.

There is nothing like getting up and sharing a hearty meal with a good friend.

Except when you want to walk to breakfast and it’s 30F out.

Christmas was wonderful and we had a great couple of days, but there wasn’t enough activity and there was wayyyyy too much food. So I forced myself down the street on foot today.

I’m glad I did it, but I am waiting for it to get a few degrees warmer before I head back home…

December 24, 2013

Walking in Winter

It’s been too long since my last post. Lots of challenges lately.

First, my day job has been quite busy and stressful. That has cut in to my exercise time, which is ironic because exercise really helps manage the stress. When things are busy, I need to amp up the walking even more. Lesson learned.

Next, there is the weather. As it gets colder, it’s just harder to get outside. So I’ve spent more time on the treadmill. It’s better than nothing, but I do miss getting outside. I have been trying to make the best of it by doing more reading on the treadmill – that’s been good.

We did have a stretch of a few great days here in NoVA with temps in the 60s, and I definitely took advantage of that. But we’re back to normal on that front: 30F this morning as I walked to meet a friend for coffee. And I’m still at the coffee shop typing this, letting it warm up just a little more before I head back home.

It is Christmas Eve, and all negatives aside, I absolutely love this time of year. All the kids are home – there is simply nothing like hearing the banter among them. Great to have them around, even if only for a short time.

And on Christmas, while I try to keep up my walking, it’s interesting – humbling – to think about Mary and Joseph having to walk from place to place. They were told there’s no room for them, on the verge of bringing their son into the human race, not fully realizing the significance of the days and years to come for them. I walk for exercise and go home to a very warm comfortable house; they walked because that’s just how they got from place to place. And they were turned away.

I’m so comfortable. Jesus left his father’s home – the ultimate comfort and glory – to experience walking through life among us, with us, as one of us. Thank you God for your son’s walk among us. And that walk continues today.