Don’t Micro Manage Your Fat Loss
If I tried to follow every single piece of advice related to diet or fitness I wouldn’t have time to live my life let alone improve it.
Picture: xmatt
As a rule I don’t believe any new piece of research until it’s stood the test of time, and even then there are no guarantees.
Governments and Health Authorities will tell you whatever they want you to believe and so called independent research is rarely that.
Newspapers and magazines will punt out whatever it takes to sell their particular brand of ‘entertainment’ and they don’t mind jumping on the fitness fad band wagon to fill some space. The media in general work to the same principle.
But time after time I see or hear that there’s another piece of evidence that refutes the last piece. My head is spinning and I’m tired of the hype.
I don’t know what the figures are and I’m not going to find out, but I reckon that sixty years ago there weren’t nearly so many fatties as there are today.
Sixty years ago I’m betting no one gave a stuff about super foods, they probably didn’t even know what they were. They didn’t have pro-biotic drinking yogurts and they couldn’t give a fat rats ass about low fat options and sugar substitutes.
They simply didn’t let piffling details get in the way of eating a balanced diet. Of course, they didn’t have the same level of access to the crap food that we eat now and they probably didn’t have money to throw away on food that went in one end and out of the other without being of value in between.
They ate modest portions of good food.
Why does it have to be any more complicated than that?
The amount of information available today, primarily on the internet, ends up being just another way to procrastinate by looking for cheats and shortcuts – saving 10 calories here and 15 calories there.
Instead of taking an hour to read all that crap, drag your ass out of the house and route march the thing down the road for just half an hour. While you’re doing that you won’t be able to shovel vast quantities of food into your cake hole and you might just kick start your metabolism.
It’s the overload of detail that’s sabotaging our efforts.
I mean, why do I need to eat a particular kind of food 30 minutes before a workout?
It’s just crazy and we all get caught up in it.
Look, I’m not saying that we don’t want to educate ourselves. Of course we do and it’s the right thing to do – it will ultimately help us make better choices. But if you’re looking to be fully clued up before you even start to do something about your weight and fitness, you’re going to be overweight for a lot longer than you want to be, when you could be getting fit and losing the fat right now. This exact minute!
I don’t exclude myself from any of this, I’m as apt to procrastinate as anyone else – and I do want to educate myself. But if like me, you find yourself deferring doing something about your fitness at the cost of actually doing something about your fitness you may have your priorities jumbled.
If I ever tell you I didn’t have time to exercise because I had to write a post for Blog To Fit, you have my full permission to give me a nasty Chinese burn.
So what’s the point of my rant?
The point is I’m not going to micro manage my diet. Not yet anyway. Not until my goals change and I go from modest aspirations of wanting to be lean, to being super mega ultra fit.
Beyond trying to find a roughly healthy balance and entering into a few challenges like dropping sugar from my tea (see the comments), I’m not going to worry too much. I’m just going to eat less and exercise more.
As they say, ‘The proof of the pudding, is in the eating’.
BTW I’m sorry that there are no pictures today. I decided I didn’t have time to exercise AND and get the pictures posted this morning, so I’ll get them posted in my daily update tomorrow.
Am I wrong about attitudes to nutition 60 years ago?
Are you secretly hoping to discover a cheat or a shortcut to your fitness goals?
Is your research hampering your efforts?
NOTE: We have another post for you today at Blog To Fit, just follow the link to catch Dave Fowler’s Daily Update
Want a bit of humor and motivation delivered via email every weekday? Subscribe to get each BlogToFit post delivered for free! Email not your thing? That’s okay, you can also subscribe via RSS – like all the cool kids do. It’s also free. Unless you really WANT to pay us.
12 Responses to “Don’t Micro Manage Your Fat Loss”
Comments
Read below or add a comment...
I think you’re spot on about eating habits 60 years ago.
Plus they weren’t as lazy as we have become. They walked everywhere, they did physical labour, they toiled.They didn’t have the convenicences we have now.
Having said that, they probably didn’t eat two lots of chocolate cake before noon.
[Reply]
David Fowler Reply:
December 11th, 2008 at 9:18 am
As I’m getting up so early I was thinking of catching and killing my own food. I think the energy I expend doing so will make up for the amount of cake I eat.
[Reply]
I count calories every once in a while to see about where I’m at. But I so agree with you Dave – micro managing can keep you from the important stuff like actually getting out to exercise.
Avlor’s last blog post..Wii Fit and Blog to Fit Update
[Reply]
David Fowler Reply:
December 11th, 2008 at 9:52 am
I with you there. I have to look at the calorie values of the stuff I’m eating from time to time, but I’m damned if I’m going to be weighing every last thing I eat. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying it’s not right for me.
When I wrote this I had myself in mind. Previous attempts saw me doing exactly what I described. And that’s why I feel I need to try a diferent approach.
David Fowler’s last blog post..A Fresh Blanket Of Snow
[Reply]
Hey Dave,
I agree completely with you. Kawasaki wrote a great book called the Art of the Start where he emphasizes the “get started doing something” attitude over the “let me plan every last detail before moving attitude because I’m secretly using this as an excuse not to move” attitude.
Honestly, I also don’t use the scale that much either. If you’re on a quest for fitness, you will be building muscle while dropping fat. This means that total weight may mask the real gains you are doing. The real questions you should be asking yourself are: how do my clothes fit? Do I have more energy? Is my heart rate lower?
More power to ya!
Dad
Dad’s last blog post..Great Recipe for a peace-filled life
[Reply]
David Fowler Reply:
December 11th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
That’s not actually a book I’ve read, but I’d love to get that on my reading list.
Funnily enough I’m not looking to build muscle at this point, only to maintain what I already have. I would love to get to a gym and lift weights because I recognise the value of building muscle for better fat burning potential. That said, the last time I tried that, I lost focus and found I plateaud (sp?) fairly often.
I’m conscious that I’m going the sub-optimal route here, and I’m aware that it’s not a particularly popular approach but I’m going to persist until either I’m successful or I admit defeat and get with the program.
Thanks man, I appreciate you cheering me on!
[Reply]
Dave,
I don’t go to the gym and lift weights. I do strength training exercises at home with my body weight or just dumbells. There’s this great book entitled From Scrawny to Brawny that got me into it.
I’m not looking to become an Arnold Terminator. My wife prefers the lean but cut look
. These simple exercises at home are perfect for me. They may also save you from having to go out in freezing 4 a.m. weather.
Anyway, just a suggestion. Everyone must figure out what works for them. You know, there’s more than one way to skin a cat…
Dad’s last blog post..Life’s challenges, the spirit of a dad and a candle burning bright
[Reply]
David Fowler Reply:
December 12th, 2008 at 8:17 am
That’s just the thing I’m trying to do. At the moment I’m just slowly building up to doing more i.e. more variation. Thanks for the book title!
I actually quite miss the gym, but always wondered whether I couldn’t progress beyond a certain stage because I hadn’t set the foundations with general all round fitness?
The running is just a morning kick start really. It’s neither Low Intensity Steady State nor High Intensity Interval Training, but it could easily be extended later to become either. Again, I’m just trying to set the foundations. I’m afraid I must continue to brave the cold mornings. Ouch!
I think the lean cut look is ultimately the thing to shoot becasue it’s sustainable. The muscled look is appealing but I don’t think it can easily be carried into the advancing years – not impossible – but maybe not as realistic?
[Reply]
NO PICTURES???!!!
Then can I make a request before you take them? Something in black would be nice!
Turf Dad’s last blog post..Wednesday Weigh In Week 2
[Reply]
David Fowler Reply:
December 12th, 2008 at 8:26 am
LMAO
Bikini or Underwear??
[Reply]
I could not finish my 36 laps today because I had to race to the “lavatory” I did finish 30 before I just had to get out…and now all day I have been feeling guilty about the mints I ate because I did not finish my workout…When the weather turns so cold I just seem to want to eat, and eat, and eat especially carbohydrates. It even has a name called “polar bearing”….on top of that I am on my third nights of meetings and behind on my writing…I fantasize about just curling up with a blanket and sitting by the fire and reading all afternoon…
I have to pack the roses after my meeting tonight because they are now saying 26′ and snowing for several days….my dvd-rw gave up, my cell phone crashed it’s software, and my guru techie is leaving for Denmark soon and I still don’t know how to moderate comments…
Too many odd things are piling up – as is for everyone this time of the year….
I am going to dream about how to make some modifications so that I can stay on track and get some rest…sleep is vital to weight loss
I have a fasting blood sugar test on Monday…it feels too hard at the moment
Thanks for all your support…I really need it right now
Patricia’s last blog post..The Queen of Preparation and an Awesome Mom
[Reply]
David Fowler Reply:
December 12th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Patricia,
You certainly know your onions when it comes to nutrition and what works best for you. It must leave you feeling confident that you’ll get through this.
30 laps represents the larger portion of your commitment and to all intents and purposes you got your exercise in. Donlt feel guilty, feel positive that you did what so many people either WILL NOT or CANNOT do. It was a successful outing!!
Like you, I’m running behind on most of my commitments but we’ll both persist and ensure we get the important things done first.
Keep a positive attitude for Monday. It’s such a short time to endure and the results of the test are important.
Keep at it. You’re doing so well.
[Reply]