How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time....
I was watching some big red ants in my yard as they all methodically delivered one big grain of sand from wherever they were digging underground out past the edge of their entrance.  Just an endless stream coming and going, and with each trip, one more grain of sand per ant was removed from the tunnel.  That's how life is - sometimes you can't even perceive any progress, as it is so tiny and incremental.  But you are making a difference, and one day you will actually be able to see the difference.  I've been hammering away at my body every day - just a few sit-ups and push-ups - but every night.  Started at twenty a day, and have slowly crept up to sixty a day.  Its a living hell, if you don't like to do calisthenics (like me), but like those ants one day I will be able to see progress.  Right now its so slight its not really looking like much.  But if I keep it up - every day without fail - I'll eventually be able to see the difference.  And that's why I hate exercise;  I want it NOW, daddy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

So I'm a 1/4 Irish every day, but 100% today!  Which means, well, not much really.  I might enjoy a Guiness or some other really bad-for-me beverage.  That's the problem with life - you pretty much know exactly when what you are doing isn't exactly healthy for you.  But its only a day.  Go for it!  You need to blow off steam once and awhile.  Health and fitness are more a lifestyle thing than a knee-jerk occasional burst of guilt-induced exercise.  Well it should be.  If you take smaller steps and make better diet and exercise choices a natural part of your day you will benefit in the long run.  Just be aware of the things that are counterproductive, and avoid them when you can.  No need to be a party pooper tho.  A little indulgence can go a long way in your mental health!  And happy people live longer!

You Can't Cheat Reality

My friend Martin and his family came to visit me last year.  Martin gets up every morning and goes for a run.  Consequently, he has the body of a guy who gets up every morning and goes on a run.  See how that works?  It takes nothing short of a lot of hard work and exercise to look like someone who works hard and exercises.  I hate both working hard and exercising, but do it anyway.  I want to look like a guy who knocks out a hundred pushups and sit ups a day.  You know, those guys like Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman, who at age seventy two could still kick your ass.  But I was never a Marine, nor inclined to be that self-disciplined, so this is hard for me.  I am however quite tenacious, so I am slowly upping my increments - I'm up to a solid fifty push ups and sit ups each and every day, so hoping I actually look pretty good by age 72.

Shivering Burns Calories

You can burn up to 400 calories an hour shivering!  Fuck that - I'm wearing a wet suit.