Fitness
Taking a Break to Focus on My Health
This was going to be a goodbye post, but a couple of people whose opinions I respect have convinced me to make it a “so long for a while” post.
Why I need a break
I love food and I love writing about food. I the former too much and the latter helps me justify acting on the former. I truly enjoy finding and trying a new restaurant and sampling its food, and when I do that, it’s really easy for the writer in me to enable to food lover in me to try an extra dish, or dessert when I really don’t need it. I also enjoy frequenting my favorite restaurants, as much for the relationships I have formed with the owners or employees as I do the excellent food they serve. For me, eating out is as much about enjoying the experience and atmosphere as it is the food, and I like the smiles I get when I walk into a place as a regular.
But the simple truth is that I’m a big guy - no, I’m a fat guy, and I’m tired of it. I need to lose a lot of weight and work on getting more fit. I can’t do that if I keep eating out 5-6 nights per week and indulging my Southern hankering for fried foods and lots of beef.
For now, I need to focus on losing weight, exercising more, and eating the right kinds of foods in reasonable quantities, and two of those would be difficult, and history suggests impossible for me, if I keep eating out and blogging about it.
I’ve been asked if I might want to blog about my efforts to lose weight, and the meals and products I’ll be trying along the way. My response to that is no, at least not until I’ve made enough progress to prove to myself that I’m writing about something successful, not another failed attempt to lose weight.
So Long, Not Goodbye
For now, this is so long. Once I’ve made more progress and once I’ve proven to myself that I can balance my passion for writing about food with my real need to stop indulging my love to eat that food, I’ll return to being the Geek Food Critic. Until then, I’m going to be the Geek Weight Loss Trainee.
A Random List of Great Places to Eat
In no particular order, I’ll list some of my favorites, and my reviews if I’ve posted them.
It’s All So Yummy - Sandwiches, Soup, and Ice Cream in Knoxville
Mario’s Pizza & Grill - Pizza, Sandwiches, and More in Knoxville
Forte’s on the Square - Pasta and More in Crossville
McNamara’s Irish Pub - Irish Food in Nashville
Blackhorse Pub & Brewery - Burgers, Pizza, and More in Knoxville
Long’s Drug Store - Lunch Counter, Tater Tots, Milkshakes and More in Knoxville
Little Joe’s - Pizza and Pasta in Knoxville
Champy’s - Fried Chicken and Hot Tamales in Chattanooga
Fitness-Walking Study
One of the things I really enjoy about working at a university is feeling like I’m connected in some way, and often supporting, education and research through my work in IT. Sometimes, however, I get the chance to actually actively participate in education by taking a class or, as is the case right now, in research by volunteering to be part of a research study.
Several weeks ago I volunteered to take part in a research study with the goal of determining the impacts on weight and health of regular short walks during the work day. I met the initial age and activity requirements, and went through an initial screening to make sure I didn’t have any health problems that would make participating in the study dangerous for me. I was weighed and measured, including having my body fat measured in a claustrophobia-inducing device called a Bod Pod. After that, the folks in the Kinesiology department had me walk on a treadmill for a heart-rate / fitness test. I also had some blood work done at a local lab company. All of this was to establish a baseline set of data for me.
After going through all that, I was randomly selected to be in the group of participants who would wait an extra 8 weeks before beginning the active portion of the study. Since the other folks began taking extra short walks immediately, I guess that makes me part of the control group.
But today I completed my second fitness test and received my equipment for participating in the study. The equipment includes a Fitbit Zip to measure my steps, which is kinda funny because I already wear a Fitbit One of my own. I also have to keep a log of the time I arrive at work, the time I leave work, and the times I remove the Fitbit.
I have also been provided with a watch that is configured to remind me with an alarm once every hour between the hours of 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM to get up and take a walk. I’m not planning on wearing the watch, since I haven’t worn a watch for over 20 years - I’ll just keep it next to my monitors on my desk at the office.
Since the focus of this study is to determine the positive health benefits, if any, of taking regular short walks during the work day, I’ve been encouraged to walk for 5 minutes per hour, but no longer. The researcher I’ve been working with said they have plenty of data on the benefits of walking for 10 minutes or longer, but they’re trying to see if frequent short walks people could incorporate into tiny breaks can be helpful too.
I’m really looking forward to being part of this study, and also to using it to kickstart my own focus on fitness and being healthier. Given how often I eat out each week, working in more frequent exercise is a good idea.