Thursday, March 22, 2012

Inspire, motivate each other! A cycle that pays forward and back!

Inspiration sometimes comes from the ether and sometimes from a more tangible source. This morning, after an early morning call of nature, I thought I'd check my Twitter timeline briefly before returning to sleep. There Mr. Ken Mogi, a noted scholar/author here in Japan was extolling the virtues of walking for health and fitness, specifically in Tokyo. He remarked how one could see the city as a pedestrian in a much different perspective. His series of tweets inspired me to add my own experiences in the hope that they will inspire someone else to embark upon the journey to health, fitness and esthetic enjoyment of their surroundings.
Generally I am not much on self promotion, nor am I one to boast of accomplishments unless under the influence of strong drink. But for the sake of providing inspiration to others let me regale you with my personal achievements over the last year and a half.
I it was around my birthday and I was teaching a group of students before they went to a job that required them to be toughened up before they got there. My son was jogging with them in the early morning and I would cycle along to supervise and motivate the stragglers. After they graduated my birthday arrived and I took stock of my physical situation and decided, I couldn't stop aging and all the ills that attend it, but I could stop being a fat slob. I hate not being able to buy clothes without going to "big boy" shops and such. Having experienced "diets" before and the inevitable rebound that results when you go off the same, I felt the lifestyle modification was the only solution. 
I'm a big fan of the baseball player Ichiro Suzuki. One of the 3 best all-round players I have ever seen. I noticed that he is constantly stretching. In the field, before batting, he's always limbering up, keeping his muscles warm. So stretching became part of my routine. Upon waking, before getting out of bed I stretched; before walking I stretched; you name it, I stretched! It became a habit. Inspiration Ichiro!
Basic physics tells us that to generate heat you need fuel. Fat is stored up fuel and you need to use it to generate heat; the trick is to burn the food you intake everyday plus some of the stored fat. To accomplish this you have to move weight over distance to generate sweat. In fact any movement of the body results in thermogenesis, the production of heat. So to stimulate thermogenesis I began a 30 minute a day, weather reasonable, walking program. My goal was to lose 18 kilograms, or just under 40 pounds. Thankfully a mild winter permitted me to walk on a regular basis, averaging 20 days a month. I ate mainly traditional Japanese food and cut out sweets and alcohol completely for many months. The weight came off rather rapidly and I was happy until I got a new Tanita bathroom scale that told the sad tale; I had not only lost fat, but I also lost lots of muscle.
I did research on the web and discovered that muscle loss is insidious after age 30. You don't notice you are losing it because you are gaining fat that hides the muscle loss. Well, the line in the sand had to be redrawn. To rebuild muscle mass I started using one of my son's kettlebells and 2 kilo hand-weights. So in addition to stretching in bed before getting up I added a hand-weight routine. Getting off the computer 3 or 4 times a day and doing weight resistant exercises became a new part of my routine. 
After a while the weather improved and I added early morning, first light of day, cycling to my schedule, when the crazy wind of this peninsula allowed. Cycling was what really helped me persevere. Just as walking the same route everyday got boring I started on my bicycle and discovered absolutely beautiful scenery in the area. The solitude and coolness of the morning rides really gave me more energy throughout the whole day.
This all leads us back to thermogenesis. Not everyone has the kind of freedom of schedule that I have. Not everyone wants to or can go to bed a 9 PM in order to go train at 5 AM. If you do a web search for NEAT among the results you will find a reference to "non-exercise activity thermogenesis". This is good news for those who have busy schedules. NEAT is what keeps young people thin. They aren't exercising, but they are always moving, fidgeting, in motion. They have their metabolisms cranked up to full tilt boogie band speed every waking minute. Even while they sleep their metabolism is burning calories for growth. 
My post is well too long already and if you are still with me I thank you. Read up on NEAT and figure out how it can work for you. Also use the web to help you modify your lifestyle. "If nothing changes you'll get the same result", to quote Ichiro Suzuki.
By the way I did lose the 40 pounds and in the interest of full disclosure some of it has returned. I'll not bore you with excuses, but the determination is still there and the weather is better. All you need is someone or something to inspire you. Thank you Mr. Ken Mogi for today's inspiration