We have an elliptical machine that sits, ever at the ready.  It is a nicely designed machine.  Big, heavy, smooth running, with all of the electronic bells and whistles on it.  It monitors your heart rate, provides no impact cardio, the works..........I hate it.     I used to run frequently on a treadmill, partly because of the area in which I had to run, and the time of day (before dawn).  It wasn't my favorite, but is was, at least.........RUNNING.  It wore out after a thousand miles, and we replaced it with this new elliptical trainer. 

     I can't quite articulate it, but something about this thing bothers me.  It feels like artificial exercise.  Running is often termed as an exercise involving "impact".  Indeed it is if you persist in wearing "running shoes".  They keep you pounding along, heel-toe, heel-toe, heel-toe until the impact causes an injury, even through all of that rubber and gel.  Run barefoot, or in huaraches with no built up padding, and you quickly learn to run without impact, particularly on your heels. 

     You won't run barefoot for long and persist in heel-striking.  Your body self-corrects, your gait gets springier, and you run the way you were designed to run.  "Born to Run", the best seller, is aptly named.  We were, in fact, born to do just that.  It sets us apart.  You hear about "runner's high".  Part endorphins, part doing what nature designed you to do.  Do it without wearing "heel stompers", and you may be lucky enough to realize that it is one of the most enjoyable activities that you can do in order to stay healthy.

What I really need to know about fitness/diet/exercise/perseverance, I learned during 12 weeks of what, at that time, seemed like pure Hell.  USMC Boot Camp is a true "controlled environment".  You sleep, eat, run, jump, relieve yourself, you name it..........when you are told to.  At 19, most people (myself included) are or were undisciplined.  That gets fixed really quickly with 3 combat veteran Drill Instructors screaming in your face.  You run until you are tired......then you run some more..........then you run until you feel like you will drop.......then you keep running.  You then get to do an obstacle course, then sit in a classroom and try to stay awake.  You're up before dawn.  You sleep like never before.  You eat a lot during your meals.....you get no "snacks".  You don't have a couch to sit on or a TV to watch.  The upshot is that you are working hard, sleeping well, and eating plenty.  Your body responds.  I went in at what I thought was a relatively good weight for me.  I came out 15 lbs lighter, much faster and stronger.  Not everyone needs to go to Boot Camp, but you can approximate the results.  Remember the three important factors.  Work hard.....plenty of exercise.........sleep well (made easier by the exercise, I've found)........eat PLENTY of good food.  Skip the "snacks".  You don't need 'em.  Be patient.  Keep at it.......Don't set an artificial date to "achieve your desired results"  That sets up a time in your mind at which you will want to return to your old behaviors.  If you change to this lifestyle, You will get results!  Go for it.

Our culture seems to revolve around the consumption of food.  Every event, from birthdays to victories in major wars is celebrated with food.  From our hunter-gatherer origins, the acquisition of nourishment has had such a high priority that we are hard-wired to seek fuel for our bodies.  In some places in the world, and in some circumstances, this drive is still working as it did for our ancestors.  In most of modern society, however, and particularly in the West, the food drive coupled with a nearly unlimited supply has resulted in myriad health problems.  We are taught, from infancy, to enjoy food.  Everyone enjoys food, and that's not the bad part.  The difficulty occurs when you make the leap from enjoyment OF food to getting your enjoyment FROM food.  The term "comfort food" is synonymous with, for the most part, food that is high in calories, sugar, salt, fat, or some combination thereof.  It is extremely difficult to leap back across the chasm from using food to make you feel good to using food to make you feel nourished.  There are no magic answers here, but we are, I think, at least on the right track to getting back control of our bodies so they can be naturally healthy.

Looked at some "diet supplements".  One thing that they seem to have in common is a little statement, usually in fine print, to the effect of "combined with a sensible diet and exercise".   Well.................DUH!   If you take some type of herbs, fine.  If you are doing it to "lose weight", you might just keep the $20, $30, $40 in your pocket and cut right to the "sensible diet and exercise" part.   I am not mentioning these things by name because I don't want to get into a big fight about this, but I'm really annoyed at the money that people waste everyday buying these things in the quest for the "magic bullet".     There is no magic bullet.  Your body just works in a particular way.  If you take a $40 a bottle herb and eat like a horse while you sit on your couch, you will continue to gain weight.  If you take the same pill and eat fewer calories per day than you burn, you will drop some weight.  The problem is, you'll also drop $40.  Don't fall into the trap.  The diet industry makes incredible amounts of money each year by preying on people's desire to be fit and healthy.  That was the reason that I started these postings.  Get in touch with what your body needs.  If you give it a chance, it will self-regulate, provided you are healthy.  Ease off on the caloric intake, ramp up the physical movement.....just a bit at a time, and you'll see results.   In this economic situation in our country, you don't need to buy a magic pill in order to eat a little less.   Even if such things DID work, do you want to be dependent upon some type of pill for the rest of your life in order to keep your weight down?  I don't think so.   Is it easy?  Nope.  But it is a simple equation.   Output of energy must exceed intake of food in order to lose some of your fat stores.

This is all about simple things that work and don't cost a lot of money.  Sounds OK so far?  Thought so.  That's what you'll find here.  If it doesn't make sense to me, or is expensive, you won't see it here.

     I've had a long battle to control my weight. I'm doing ok with it, and want you to as well.  There are limitless plans and diets, pills, powders, etc. that offer the ultimate solution to weight control, but they mostly have one thing in common.  You're gonna pay somebody something for them.  What I do, (and that's all I'm saying here) is what I call Targeted Calorie Eating.

First of all, you need to make sure you're in good health before you go monkeying around with your diet/exercise, so be sure to talk to your Dr. before making any major changes, particularly if you have any health problems in the first place.

That being said, I looked around and came up with a rough figure that, with average movement during the day, you probably need about 13 times your body weight in calories during a day to approximately maintain your existing weight.  This isn't a scientific formula here, just something that sorta works for me.  For example, I currently weigh about 181 lbs.  181x13=2353.  That's kind of a rough number that I target to maintain that weight.  If I expend extra energy during a day, I give myself a bit more leeway.  I use 1 mile running @100 extra calorie allotment.  I also add that for about 1 hour general yard work, etc.  It's just rough, so you can play with it to see what works for you.  If you are at, for example, 181, and you want to go to, let's say, 175, you need to look at your calories needed to maintain 175 (175x13=2275), so you need to run a little bit of a calorie deficit.  If you set your weight goals in small increments like that, you don't make yourself crazy or walk around hungry all the time.  The difference between the two is only about 75 calories.  That's about 3/4 of an average banana, so we're not talking big sacrifices here.  You can achieve a calorie deficit in two ways: Eat a little less or Move around a little more.

      I've found that it helps me to keep a log of all caloric intake.   Particularly when you are just starting to pay attention to such things, it helps.  Things like salad dressings, butter, catsup, etc.  really sneak up on you, calorie-wise, and can bump your daily caloric intake way up before you realize it.  Keeping a log of everything you eat really helps give you perspective on what you actually consume during a day.  There is a calorie gadget on this blog that you can use, or you can use Caloriecount.about.com.  It gives you a lot of information and keeps track over time of info that you put in, if you want a history for reference.