Our Manifesto
So, what have I learned that I can share with others about weight loss and staying fit and healthy?
It is not one thing. There is no silver bullet. But it was and is a host of conditions, cognitive shifts and altering my many poor behaviours. While there are goals, there are, will be and always new goals. It is a never ending journey. It requires diligence and discipline, with some flexibility. And I will be frank and open about a few things below, because I found that if you are interested in fixing yourself you need to learn to be honest with yourself. I will also add that I am in a fairly privileged position in my life to do this, and I appreciate that others do and may not have the means and energy to consider what I am stating below. But whatever your path, you need to adopt a systematic and strategic approach, and be patient - the payoffs are never immediate.
Let’s get on with the manifesto…
Food
Have a food and meal prep strategy. Consider your diet and the food you love and how you can craft a healthy meal a day. Integral to this is having a well stocked pantry.
Learn to cook. Seriously. Make an effort. It’s a lifesaver. Learn what goes into dishes. You know why take out/home delivery tastes good? It has a ton of salt, sugar and fat. At least take control of one to two meals a day and snacks. It actually does not take much if you plan. And having a food buddy can help. If all else fails, there is YouTube and tons of recipe sites.
Whatever comes in the house gets eaten. So consider what breaches the home envelope carefully.
Shop your pantry and fridge first. You’d be surprised what you have on hand! This also helps reduce food waste, helps you stay on budget and inspires creativity.
Optimize your protein intake. You can only metabolize so much in a day.
Reduce the sugar. Use natural sugar substitutes where possible.
Consider your carbs. All carbs are not created equal. Natural, unprocessed carbs are preferable. Cut refined wheat products.
Cut deep-fried foods.
Reduce dairy products. (Some products are fine, eg., yogurt is a healthy choice.)
Fresh & Local: Make an effort to go to the farmers’ market; and eat as much fresh and local produce as possible. Understand where your food comes from.
Read the Label. A lot of packaged and prepared foods have a ton of hidden sugar, salt, saturated fats, and ultra-processed ingredients.
Food is a pillar of healthy relationships. Have a regular dinner with family and friends. And invite new people to the table. Make meal prep a social activity whenever possible.
Health & Wellness
Have an Advanced Care Directive. What does this have to do with health and well-being? Surprisingly, a lot. We are mortal. Completing this document helped me understand and plan for all events that could lead to my death. In doing so, I realized that many of these events were inevitable at some time in the future, but some can happen at any time. I immediately grasped that whatever time I had until any such event it was up to me how I wanted to live my life, and it helped me reframe how I can focus on the quality of my life. I began to prioritize my health, the things I wanted to do while I was alive, the fitness level I needed to maintain to do those things, and make compromises on wealth accumulation to give myself the time and resources to pursue this path. Completing this document was liberating and granted me focus on my quality of life.
Become a personal health activist. Well-being is intensely political. There are many folks who want you to be dependent on your car, eat a ton of crap and medicate yourself with pharmaceuticals. Spoiler alert: Keeping an unhealthy population in debt and tied to their screens is incredibly profitable. I suspect that senior execs selling advertising or as a fast food brand manager would rarely ingest the items they peddle. Also, oil executives want to keep you in your car, commuting to the suburbs and using as much plastic as possible - their livelihood depends on these consumption patterns. Getting on your bicycle is an act of defiance and defending the collective rights of community well-being. I set goals to avoid pharmaceuticals wherever possible, live/work and telecommute in areas with good services (yes, it costs more but the savings are in your sanity and pocket book), drive as little as possible, get involved in actions that promote collective well-being, and to keep conversations on this going. Learn to advocate for yourself. And while I know my stance on international travel could be considered hypocritical, I do practise many principles of slow travel.
Proactive versus reactive. Preparing for the worst takes a lot of effort and thought. But should anything happen, you’ll be in a better place to tackle the challenge. If not, in reacting you will start from Point Zero.
Set small goals, regular goals and open-ended goals. Goals come in a variety of flavours. Embrace them. Keep a checklist.
Have a long term vision for what you want to be doing at 80, and start today working towards what you want to be doing then, what you want to achieve and how you want to look. It’s a handy organizing principle for your life.
Get off your ass. We sit too much, stare at too many screens, so just getting up and going for a walk will do wonders for your mental health and well-being.
Know your health numbers. Understand what you are doing well and need to keep doing. Understand what you need to work on, and work towards improving.
Consider your household ecosystem. If you live with someone or with a family, you cannot embark on a health journey alone. Everyone in the house needs to be considered as part of an entire household health, wellness and food ecosystem. It helps if everyone is in on it and part of a mutually supportive system.
Reduce alcohol consumption. Another point of hypocrisy, but the truth is that I drink very little. I always stipulate quality over quantity, and in a social setting as a good strategy to maintain a healthy relationship with alcohol.
Learn how to exercise. Like, really learn how to exercise properly. Understanding body position and proper technique makes exercise more productive and rewarding. The investment is worth it.
Proprioception. Learn this word and what it means. It’s your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location - i.e., know where your body is in space, that your nervous system is working properly with your muscle/skeletal system functioning correctly, AND the brain is receiving and managing that feedback. It is a little thing, but so important in living a long and healthy life.
Stretch & Roll. I have a foam roller and use it almost daily. That combined with stretching helps me improve my mobility and flexibility, stimulates my endocrine system and prepares me for rigorous exercise.
A little bit every day. I can’t stress this enough. Even just taking a daily walk does wonders for maintaining a reasonable fitness level. It is easier to keep going than to exercise and practise these principles in fits and starts.
Consider your personal pleasure. Life is about small pleasures - food, getting together with friends, having a regular/healthy sex life, new and novel experiences - so consider them within the context of your overall health and wellness management and goals.
Adopt a minimalist lifestyle. Seriously, how much stuff do you need? Refraining from consumerism and focusing on experiences does wonders for the soul.
Sacrifice & budget accordingly. Nothing that is worth it comes easily. Your health and wellness is everything. It is a power bank for life. Invest and make the effort accordingly.
Learn to be yourself; find & maintain your voice. Always a work in progress, but helps me stay on the path for constant improvement and personal growth (even after 60!).