The nicest veterans in Schenectady, I thought, the kindest and funniest ones, the ones who hated war the most, we’re the ones who’d really fought.

- Kurt Vonnegut Jr

It was the best place to be, thought Wilbur, this warm delicioius cellar, with the garrulous geese, the changing seasons, the heat of the sun, the passage of swallows, the nearness of rats, the sameness of sheep, the love of spiders, the smell of manure, and the glory of everything.

– EB White

A very wise man, with many useful outlooks on life (my Grandpa Tom) told me that “if you want to be a winner, hang out with winners”. This statement is so simple and true, that I’ve carried it with me most of my life. When I was younger it helped me define my social ethics and have the confidence to stay out of the wrong crowds. Instead, I saw the people I admired, looked up to, loved… the people who I thought were “winning” at life, and that’s who I hung out with. And to this day it effects my decisions and is something I always enjoy passing on. So, thanks Grandpa for just one of many pearls.

My first act in this whole “gettin’ healthy” thing was to set a routine for exercise. I read somewhere that the way to get a routine cemented into your life is to start with setting a specific time, and doing something really easy.

So for the past six weeks I’ve dedicated myself to a modest morning workout. Nothing fancy or intense, just something simple that doesn’t cause dread and instead I’ve began to look forward to.

Here it is:

• wake, eat (yogurt, low sodium V8, fruit)
• put on some music
• a few mins of stretching
• a couple mins of jumping jacks
• an increasing amount of sit-ups (when I started this it was 10, now I’m up to 30)
• a couple more mins of jumping jacks
• push-ups, hopefully an increasing amount (I started with 10, I’m still doing 10)
• more stretching
• more jumping jacks
• black coffee, make myself pretty, read/share the news, off to work

After 37 years of just eating what I want and being as active (or inactive) as I want, it’s time to start paying attention. I’ve been lucky in that my metabolism has almost left me pretty trim. But 10 years ago I quit smoking, got married, and gained 30 (alright 50, but who’s counting) pounds over night. Combined with my job where I mostly sit in front of a computer all day, I don’t have the most athletic physique.

I’m motivating myself to eat right and get more active with a few thoughts:

• My daughter – When you have a kid, your life clock resets and you really do realize how short the time is. I want to be able to get out and do things for her and with her for as long as possible.
• Skiing – After the fire I replaced my skis and just looking at them has me inspired to get in shape for the upcoming ski season.
• Family in general – My wife faces a similar situation as I, and teaming up I know we’ll have a better chance.
• Life in general – Come on, you only get one!

So, for starters I’ve joined MyFitnessPal so that I can begin tracking calories and exercise. This app I use mostly for the UPC scanning utility that lets me scan a food product to see all it’s details. It works great on my phone and laptop. I’ve already learned that I basically starve myself of certain decent foods during the day, eat a mediocre dinner, and then binge on foods high in the wrong kind of calories. For example, two pillsbury cinnamon rolls have as many calories as a proper balanced dinner with protein and vegetables. So my first lessons have been simply about basic nutrition. This post helped a lot.

At the same time that I’m starting to learn how to eat right and how many calories to get into my body, I’m re-learning how to get pleasure out of exercise. I’ve played sports basically from age zero through age 16, at which point intellectual pursuits took over. So now I’m working to harness what drives me to be active–competition and fun–in the kinds of activities I can do any day in a rainforest. Suggestions welcome!

And lastly, I’m putting it out there. This is why I’ve restarted this blog and embedded my ticker in the header. There’s a certain liberation in this, and of course a certain accountability that comes from transparency.