One Healthy Blogger

The Missing 5 Days (23-27)

2008-07-28T14:36:00.000+08:00

Not a good Five days. Overate a lot. That's why I'm going to shoot baskets today.

Went to the gym twice in those days, though.

Day 22

2008-07-23T22:04:00.002+08:00

OH MAN. NOT GOOD.

Midnight Snack AGAIN. A piece of beef, two porkchops, around 3 cups of rice.

Two McDo Cheeseburgers, Chicken Joy, Large Fries, Peach mango pie.

A little Pork Adobo, vegetable soup.

NO GYM.

Basketball for 40 minutes.

:(

Day 21

2008-07-22T21:27:00.002+08:00

Man, I ate a lot today. I didn't really notice how it happened.. Hmn. I don't know if today was a good day or not. I KNOW I ate a lot, but I also feel like I didn't really overeat. Weird.

Santi's Hotdog with Rice for breakfast, then Santi's Hotdog with Rice for Lunch/Preworkout. I had a Beef Bowl post-workout, then for dinner, I had half a cup of rice, a piece of chicken, a piece of Spam, and one piece of bread.

The (KICKASS) Workout:

Squats:

10 x 30kg
10 x 30kg
10 x 35kg
8 x 40kg
8 x 40kg

Power Clean:

5 x 30kg
5 x 35kg
5 x 35kg
5 x 35kg
5 x 35kg

The Abs Workout, 30 reps each.

Increased weights
2HH

Day 20

2008-07-21T18:48:00.002+08:00

Had a midnight snack last night.. which amounted to a LOT of Spam and rice and a siopao. I know that's part of Day 19, but TECHNICALLY, it was all consumed today. (1am)

Anyway, I think I more than made up for it! Here's today:

Whey protein shake post-workout, then I had two small pieces of chicken adobo as a snack, then beef soup and a bite of fish for dinner. Totally cut the calories on that!

My workout was pretty good, too:

Incline DB Press:

12 x 35#
10 x 45#
8 x 50#
6 x 55#

Flat DB Press:

10 x 45#
8 x 50#
8 x 50#

One-Arm DB Row:

12 x 45#
10 x 50#
8 x 50#

Machine Pull-Down:

12 x 50#
10 x 55#
8 x 60#
6 x 65#

Tomorrow is power clean day AGAIN. Can't wait!

Day 19

2008-07-21T01:16:00.002+08:00

Sigh.

Beef Tapa and Rice x 2

Katsudon.

Basketball for 30 minutes.

Day 18

2008-07-20T15:07:00.001+08:00

Today was an average day. It wasn't good, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Subscribed to the "a calorie is a calorie" school of thought. I had two chicken joys and katsudon. That's it for the WHOLE day. At least I didn't pig out, right?

No exercise whatsoever today. Tomorrow, I'll try to get into the gym, but I'm doubting it. Let's see what happens.

Oh, I also had some AWESOMENESS today, courtesy of watching THE DARK KNIGHT. Batman is the BOMB. Did I ever mention how my dream physique was the Batman costume? I'm not talking about when it was still spandex, I mean when it was more like a bullet-proof vest. Huge chest and shoulders, and a super developed back. Think I'm actually making progress towards that.

Day 17

2008-07-18T23:21:00.002+08:00

Today wasn't so great, but not my worst day ever by any means! I had hotdogs and rice for breakfast, burger and nuggets from mcdo for post-workout and snack, spaghetti for dinner, and more hotdogs for a snack.

The workout today was pretty light, weight-wise.

Rear Lateral Raises:

10 x 15#
10 x 15#
10 x 15#

Basketball for 1 hour.

That's it. Tomorrow, no lifting again, but I'm going to stick to the diet (hopefully).

Day 16 WHAM BAM I AM THE MAN!

2008-07-17T21:58:00.002+08:00

Today was a really good day. For breakfast, I had Porkchop with Rice, then I had a whey protein shake post-workout. Snack was Porkchop with Rice again, then for dinner, I had some spaghetti. I've also been eating a lot of cheese singles. I find that it really helps me with my lifts. Oh, and I had an orange. I've been dying for some fruit, and I finally got it!

The big deal about today though, was the exercise! Gym was TOUGH!

Squats:

10 x 30kg
10 x 30kg
10 x 30kg

Power Clean:

5 x 30kg
5 x 30kg
5 x 30kg
5 x 30kg
5 x 30kg

And that's it. Outside the gym, though, I played a good hour of basketball. Crazy. I won, too.

I need more days like this.

Day 15 (I AM SO HARDCORE)

2008-07-16T19:26:00.002+08:00

Okay, not really. Hardcore day is tomorrow.

For breakfast, I had Pork Adobo and Rice, last night's leftovers. Then I had a post-workout Smoothie (strawberries, mangoes, and whey). Dinner was Beef Soup and a cup of rice.

Here's the good part: I worked OUT! I wanted to shock the system, so I lifted heavier than I usually do.

Incline DB Press:

12 x 35#
10 x 45#
8 x 50#
6 x 55#

Flat DB Press:

12 x 45#
10 x 50#
8 x 50#
6 x 55#

One-Arm DB Row:

12 x 45#
10 x 50#
8 x 50#

Machine Pull-Down:

12 x 50#
10 x 55#
8 x 60#
6 x 65#

Lower Back Machine:

15 x 20#
12 x 25#
10 x 30#
8 x 35#

Crunches (Knees Up), Crunches, Alternating Crunches, Flipper Kick, Leg Raises:

20 reps each exercise

Day 14

2008-07-16T19:22:00.002+08:00

Back on track. Had Salpicao and Rice for brunch, Yoshinoya Beef bowl for a snack, and Pork Adobo and rice for dinner.

No exercise at all. But no overeating as well. Small steps.

Eulogy for Marc's Healthy Diet Resolve (Day 12 and 13)

2008-07-15T22:10:00.003+08:00

On July 13, 2008, Marc's Healthy Diet Resolve died from complications of a lack of willpower. It had been struggling admirably against the temptations of fast food and the deep-fried, but eventually, it caved.

Ramifications were felt immediately, as Marc raised his blood sugar levels to unnecessary heights, binge-eating at every meal, from fast food chains to five star hotel deals. It is estimated that he had 6 burgers, 4 pieces of chicken, 16 hotdogs, 12 cups of rice for the funeral after-party, which went on until the 14th of July.

About a billion calories came to mourn the passing of Marc's Healthy Diet Resolve.

Day 11

2008-07-12T17:56:00.001+08:00

No weights again, but I did play basketball for 2 hours! My endurance isn't up to snuff, and I had a really lousy game. The food I used to fuel myself that day:

Pork Chop with Rice for breakfast.

Pork Chop with Rice for lunch.

Katsudon (Japanese Pork Chop with Rice) for dinner.

HH

Weighed myself. Also tried on some my old jeans. I fit into them!

Day 10

2008-07-10T23:26:00.004+08:00

Today started out with much promise. I had porkchops and rice AGAIN for brunch, and chicken and rice for my snack. THEN I had porkchop and rice for dinner.. then a HUGE burger. Folks brought it home from the hotel, so I ate it. So much for a great dieting day. Not so bad, though! Looking back, I've eaten with a lot more discipline these past 10 days than I have in a long time!

I gave myself a lifting break because my body really needs one, but I decided to shoot hoops, anyway. 40 minutes, 200 makes. Best time: 17 minutes for 100.

Tomorrow, I'm playing a real basketball game. I might do a back workout with squats tomorrow, I don't really know yet. Guess we'll see.

BTW, I'm really looking forward to seeing if the two explosiveness workouts will show any results in tomorrow's game. Squats and Clean and Jerk and Press for the win!

Day 9

2008-07-10T22:10:00.004+08:00

I had pork chop and rice for brunch, pork chop and rice post-workout, beef-stew for dinner, some chips, and some candy.

BUT I also had a kick-ass workout that's left me sore. Very sore. Clean and Jerk and Press, baby. It's the only way to go. The ultimate in explosiveness sports training.

Clean - Jerk - Press:

12 x 10kg
10 x 15kg
10 x 15kg
10 x 15kg

Rounded it all off with more shoulder exercises.. emphasis on the rear delts.

Rear - Lateral - Front DB Raise:

10 x 15# - 10 x 15# - 10 x 15#
10 x 15# - 10 x 15# - 10 x 15#
10 x 15# - 10 x 15# - 10 x 15#

And that's that.

I also shot hoops for around 30 minutes afterwards. Very cool.

My Ass Is Killing Me!

2008-07-09T11:33:00.001+08:00

Not only my ass, but my quads and hams! Even my back is tender.

Ah, the magic of squats!

Day 8

2008-07-08T21:38:00.003+08:00

Family did me in.

It was a pretty good day, had a Beef Bowl from Yoshinoya for pre-workout carbs, then a post-workout whey protein shake.

Heading home, drove through McDonald's and had a cheeseburger. For dinner, I got dragged to a Japanese restaurant with the folks, Sugi. Had a cup of rice, some tempura, some tofu.. not so bad, I guess. Could've been better, though.

Oh, and I had a small Jiminee pizza :( Like, a little larger than my hand.

Today's workout was INTENSE, though. The weight wasn't heavy, but the workload was.

Squats:

12 x 30kg
12 x 30kg
12 x 30kg

Incline DB press:

12 x 35#
12 x 45#
10 x 50#

Flat DB Press:

10 x 45#
10 x 45#
10 x 45#

One-Arm DB Row:

10 x 45#
10 x 45#
10 x 45#

Lower Back Machine:

15 x 15
12 x 20
10 x 25

All that squatting should take effect soon. I'm supposed to be squatting.. Friday again. Calves will have to wait til next week. Tomorrow I'm doing the clean and press workout. Gotta get explosive.

Day 7

2008-07-07T21:24:00.002+08:00

Stumbled AGAIN.

Squidballs and a cup of rice for brunch, THEN Chicken Joy and Burger Steak with two cups of rice got me through the rest of the day.

For dinner, I had avocados in milk.

Also shot some baskets* tonight.. 200 makes in 45 minutes. If that sounds like too little, that's because my hoop is way too small for the ball. I picked a really small hoop to force me to perfect my shot. (I averaged 28 points per game on 87% shooting during one league). :)

To answer your comments:

Totegirl: The ankle is at around 70%. I can probably play this week already, but my mobility is going to be severely hampered. Thanks for the concern! ;)

Oh, and the avocados are all chopped up and IN milk. Delish! They're pretty popular over here hehe.

Sally: Whenever I'm in a shooting slump, you know what I do? Keep shooting! And that's exactly what you should be doing! Go go go!

HH

Day 6

2008-07-06T22:46:00.002+08:00

Today was pretty.. average, I guess.

Didn't get much sleep. Shot some hoops over for the first time in a week.. around 30-45 minutes worth. Not much, but it's better than nothing, right?

When I got home, I had a small piece of fried pork and a cup of rice. Dinner was 3 pcs of chicken and a cup of rice from Reyes BBQ Casa. Oh, also had a 4 pack of chips A hoy.. 200 calories.

Then I did some abs work:

Crunches (Knees Up), Crunches, Alternating Crunches, Flipper Kick, Leg Raises:

20 reps each exercise

Plank Flex for 30 secs.

This day wasn't the best day, but it wasn't bad, either.

Day 5

2008-07-06T00:37:00.002+08:00

MESSED UP.

NO EXERCISE.

And get this:

Two cups of rice + four pieces of fried chicken.

Two slices of spam and two slices of bread.

One bowl of gyudon, one hotdog WITH bun, one slice Yellow Cab pizza.

:(

Tomorrow, I'm working out! And dieting.

Sigh. I guess it's not so bad. I intentionally didn't work out today. It's been a pretty heavy lifting week, and my body needed the break. The diet.. okay, THAT was bad.

Well, fall off the horse, get back on the sucker.

Day 4

2008-07-04T23:06:00.002+08:00

Breakfast was Pork Chop with rice, lunch/post-workout was a roast beef wrap, and dinner was another pork chop with rice.

Ooh, lots of avocados with milk AGAIN.

Workout was VERY chest-centered. Also did abs. Here's the complete routine:

Incline DB press:

12 x 35#
12 x 45#
10 x 50#
8 x 55#

Flat DB Press:

10 x 45#
8 x 50#
8 x 50#

One-arm DB Row:

3 x 10 x 45#

Assisted Dips:

10 @ 25
8 @ 20
8 @ 20

Crunches (Knees Up), Crunches, Alternating Crunches, Flipper Kick, Leg Raises:

20 reps each exercise

Plank Flex for 30 secs.

Stretched EVERYTHING.

I'm so proud! We went out, but I didn't eat ANYTHING!

Day 3

2008-07-03T22:59:00.004+08:00

Started with Pork Chops and a cup of rice. That's actually OK, since the chop was grilled, with nothing but salt.

Today's workout was pretty random:

Bench Press:

12 x 20kg
8 x 40kg

Incline DB Press:

3 x 12 x 45#

Machine Pull Down:

12 x 50#
12 x 60#

Machine Upper Back Row:

12 x 35#
12 x 40#

Lower Back Raise:

I forgot my numbers, but they were pretty low. Basically did this to get my back ready for next week, when I start dead lifting again. I would've done abs work, but DAMN. A few crunches and I was hurting.

Here's something new though, I did a LOT of leg stretching. I feel like I haven't had any flexibility in my legs lately. It's probably because I NEVER stretch after exercise. Yeah yeah, I'm 23 and abusing it.

Anyway, had some Katsudon from Teriyaki Boy post-workout, then a donut for a snack. Dinner was another Pork Chop and rice.

BTW

I ran into a model friend of mine. She was on her way to a go-see for a shoot, and was asking me to go with her, then out for lunch. Even out of shape as I am, maybe the old boy's still got it. *Bloated Head*.

OH, add a WHOLE LOT OF AVOCADOES in milk to today's menu. :P

Day 2

2008-07-02T21:43:00.002+08:00

It was pretty great to receive all those comments on yesterday's post! Keeps a guy motivated, if you know what I mean. Anyway, here's Day 2:

Had a REALLY unhealthy breakfast of Chicken Joy, which I will justify by saying I need the protein and it was better than skipping breakfast. Yes, I'm very happy fooling myself. :(

After that, I had my shoulders workout. I'm following a pretty basic routine that gets me out of the gym in 20 minutes; the emphasis is working out all three heads of the shoulder. It goes a little something like this:

Rear Delt Raise - Side Lateral Raise - Front Delt Raise:

12 x 10# - 12 x 10# - 12 x 10#
10 x 15# - 10 x 15# - 10 x 15#
10 x 15# - 10 x 15# - 10 x 15#

DB press:

3 x 10 x 40#

After that, I did a LOT of walking. As in, a LOT. More than I ever do in a day. That was three days' worth of walking right there. So after I was done, I had myself a snack..

Misono Beef from Tokyo Tokyo, a small restaurant chain over here. I also had two cups of white rice with it.. I would've had four, but self-restraint won out in the end! It was really bad, though. The beef was swimming in butter.

For dinner, I had a cup of rice and some chicken adobo. This is pretty blah.

I promise tomorrow's diet will be better!

Day 1

2008-07-01T22:53:00.002+08:00

Today was a pretty good day. I was able to workout, and I didn't eat TOO badly.

Since I sprained my ankle a few weeks back, I'm not up to doing any sort of activity that requires my legs, so.. that means no basketball, no squats, no deadlifts, and no plyometrics. Ah well, gotta make do with what we have.

Today's workout:

Incline DB press:

12 x 35#
10 x 45#
8 x 50#
8 x 50#

Flat DB press:

3 x 10 x 45#

Bent-Over DB row:

3 x 10 x 45#

Skipped breakfast (I know, I know), had a grilled chicken wrap pre-workout though. It sounds healthy, what with the chicken breast and the bell peppers, but I'm SURE there's something I shouldn't be eating in the sauce. Ah well, I'll be grocery shopping for chicken tenderloins tomorrow so I can start prepping my own food.

Had a post-workout whey protein shake.

Ate a lot of jackfruit. I have this thing about letting myself eat as much fruit as I want. Better than snacking on junk food.

Squidballs, a burger patty, and a cup of rice for dinner. Not so good, but it could've been worse. Like, four cups of rice worse.

I have no idea how many calories that all adds up to, but it's a huge improvement over last week's Mickey D's diet. Tomorrow is another day.

Guess Who's Back

2008-06-30T14:03:00.003+08:00

OK, I admit, I stopped blogging because I didn't really want to blog about all the unhealthy stuff I was stuffing down my face and all the exercising I wasn't doing. It was just too depressing to write. This of course led to a vicious cycle of eating more unhealthy stuff because of the depression, and exercising even less because of the low energy levels I got from eating all that unhealthy junk.

I'm basically back to square 1 right now. To be honest, though, it feels pretty good. Fresh starts can really do that to you. It's time to get serious about changing my lifestyle for the better.

Had some sort of epiphany over the past few weeks. Life is what you make it. I want to go through life healthy and looking good naked (ahem), and I can, if I work at it. Just like everybody can.

So here's a little challenge for all of you. Be healthy. Let's do it together. We'll be our own little support group. I'm going to go around looking for blogs to link up. Things are always easier when you're with friends. Let's all look, feel, and be healthy together.

A New Start

2008-02-16T18:50:00.002+08:00

Unhealthy and unhappy, and it's time for a change. I just got myself a few days' worth of chicken breasts, and I'm going on a detox. I'm long overdue for one, man. I'm pretty excited to try out a few marinades I've come across online. I'll let you know how those work out.

Oh, and I've recommitted to being HOT. I wonder if people reading this blog know that I'm not really obese by any account, and probably in better shape than most the population.

I haven't been able to work out or play basketball lately, but that's OK. It's just something I have to deal with. I'll just work it out with the diet.

I hope everyone's doing well with their own goals!

Why Weight Train?

2008-01-31T19:37:00.000+08:00

Here's the long-promised post on weight-training. I'm hoping that we already know most of what's going to be tackled here, but if not, then better late than never. :)

So WHY Weight Train?

Because it's healthy for you. Not only physically, but also psychologically. Let's start with the physical aspect of things:

Weight-training, if done correctly, will result in an increase in muscle mass. This has many benefits, one of which is an increase in the calories your body will burn. But that's the tip of the iceberg. Muscle also protects our joints and bones, cushioning impact far more effectively than fat will (think American football players and their traps). Also, more muscle will likely result in better performance in sports, or any other physical activity you will undertake.

Another benefit of weight-training, besides the muscle, is the effect it has on our bones. Weight-training will increase bone strength and density, which we can all use more of.

Of course, we have to mention how muscle looks so much better than fat. The less jiggling, the better, right? Besides the increased calorie consumption brought about by the muscles you're building, the ACT of weight-training is a very calorie-intense workout. The going rate for a 150lb. person is 200 calories per hour. Sure, you can probably burn twice that on the treadmill, but as soon as you stop running, you stop burning. With weight-training, you KEEP burning calories until way after you're finished.

Basically, these are the main physical benefits. I tried to present them in a way that would be easy to understand, and I hope I got through to you.

Next Post : I'm an Emotional Weight-Lifter

Too Busy Living Healthy

2008-01-29T20:36:00.000+08:00

OK, so that's not totally true. I was wondering if I had enough devoted readers to notice I hadn't been blogging lately to call me out on it. That honor goes to D, who just can't get enough of my totally cool entries.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I'd been way too busy to blog. I haven't been TOO busy to be healthy, though!

Here's a quick update on where I'm standing (besides the scale and in front of the mirror) health and fitness-wise.

I bomb at the no fast-food resolution.

That's pretty much the summation of my health and fitness sins right there. I've been exercising very regularly, with basketball at least once a week and weight training around thrice.

I've been sleeping better hours, and I finally got around to preparing my daily meals again. I have been fast-food free for two days now. Let's hope I keep it up.

That's enough for an update. I'll give you guys a real post tomorrow. I PROMISE.

Now drop the soda, and drink some water.

The Beauty Of Gyms

2008-01-14T12:12:00.000+08:00

I'm at the gym right now, after a LONG time of not going (I was playing a lot of basketball), and I have to say it feels great to be back. There's just something about working your muscles until you REALLY feel them that's so amazing. Sort of like connecting with your body; a fresh summer sunrise after a long night of cold and neglect. Does that make sense? Sorry, endorphins make me all poetic.

Anyway, things have been going pretty well on my side of the health and fitness spectrum. I've been playing a lot of basketball, having upped my weekly games to two a week, possibly three in these coming weeks.

The diet's been going pretty well, too, not counting the weekends, because, well.. I'll think of an excuse later.

I hope everyone's doing just as well as I am or even better, because that would be fantastic. Dio's been requesting a post on choosing the right gym, so I'll get right on that.

Peace and Love,

Marc

Want to Lose Weight? Lift Some!

2008-01-07T21:54:00.000+08:00

One question I get a lot is, "Marc, how did you lose so much weight?!"

To which I usually respond, "I didn't. I weigh around the same as the last time you saw me."

Then whomever I'm talking to will get this unbelieving look on their face and demand an explanation; one that I'm more than willing to give. The same one I'm going to give you right now.

So what DID you do?

I started lifting weights. That's pretty much it right there. Here are a few basic facts about our bodies, facts important that you know about.

Losing weight is all about Input-Output. If you take in more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight, and vice-versa.
Muscle burns more calories than fat. So between two men both weighing 150lbs, the one with more muscle will burn more calories than the one with less muscle, all other factors being the same.
You cannot turn fat into muscle, and vice-versa.

When I started working out, besides burning calories while exercising, I was also building more muscle. This "newly-acquired" muscle then let me burn more calories, so that I was continually burning them even when I was done working out. (2)

If I maintain my eating habits, that is to say, if I take in the same amount of calories as before, but I'm now burning MORE calories, then I would have succeeded in creating a CALORIC DEFICIT. That means I would in theory be burning more calories than I am consuming, resulting in weight loss. (1)

OK, I get that part, but you how can you weigh the same and look so different?

Here's another fact I forgot to mention:

4. Muscle weighs more than fat.

10 lbs of fat will be much more to look at than 10 lbs of muscle will. That's just how it is.

So for simplicity's sake, let's say I weigh a nice, round number of 150 lbs. Take 10 lbs of fat off me, then add 10 lbs of muscle. I'll weigh exactly the same, but I'll be looking like I've lost weight. (4)

There! A little basic information about how bodies work, and it's very easy to see how lifting weight can positively affect our goals of better health and fitness. But this is just the primer. I'll post a more in-depth article on it next time.

OK, I Slipped

2008-01-07T00:19:00.000+08:00

This weekend was terrible. Simply terrible. I overate. I made bad nutrition choices. I overate WITH bad nutrition choices. (Had to mention that. Overeating with vegetables isn't really so bad.)

So right now, I'm feeling low, and unmotivated, and fat, and like I want to order some KFC. What do I do? Pick myself up, dust myself off, and soldier on. Tomorrow's another day. Just because I messed up today doesn't mean I have to mess up tomorrow.

This happens to the best of us, I know. We eat so well for a week or two, then we let ourselves go and just pig out on all that heavenly, unhealthy stuff that blocks our arteries and makes our livers fat. But you know, it's not the end of the world. You've made the choice to get healthy, and you're doing what it takes, and that's what counts. Don't let a bad weekend or two discourage you.

The 10% Diet

2008-01-04T01:59:00.000+08:00

When people create a diet plan for themselves, I find that they're often doing way too much too soon. I'm not denying that some people just have the willpower to completely go 180 degrees and plunge into a diet of healthy food, but that's not how most of us are.

I used to have a real problem with my diet because I went from a fast food nut to eating 4 small STEAMED chicken breasts a day. I lost a lot of weight but I couldn't keep it up. It was just too extreme and too soon, and thinking about it now, completely unnecessary.

You've probably heard of the expression "Eat to live, don't live to eat." It's true that we shouldn't base our lives on eating, but let's face it. Food is a WONDERFUL thing. I love to eat! I love my junk food, my steaks, my fries, everything. It's all about moderation. That's where the 10% diet comes in.

I don't expect you to give up the foods you love, but if you're serious about making a change in your lifestyle, you've got to learn some self-control. The 10% diet states that you can eat as unhealthily as you want 10% of the time, but the other 90% of your diet MUST be strictly clean. So if you're eating 1,000 meals in a year, you get to have 100 unhealthy ones. That's not so bad, is it?

The way I figure it, if you feed your body the right way 90% of the time, you'll be alright. You'll be much better off than all the other people who give themselves a free fast food pass most ALL the time. Also, I'm hoping that you learn to lose your appetite for unhealthy food. It's certainly happened to some people I know. After eating clean for a few months, a lot of them couldn't even bear the thought of eating any other way.

So if you're going on a diet, and it's not working for you, try this one out. 10% of the food you love (which will probably kill you,) is better than 0% of it.

The Inevitable Goal-Setting

2008-01-02T22:58:00.000+08:00

So it's 2008 and I'm sure a lot of you making your health and fitness resolutions once again. Now the start of a new year isn't necessarily the best time to start getting healthier (because the best time is always NOW), but it does offer the advantage of being easy to remember.

The road to better health and fitness starts with setting the RIGHT goals. Most goals go unfulfilled, and when they ARE achieved, are found lacking. Here are some of my tips on goal-setting.

Your HEALTH should come first - Healthy cholesterol and sugar levels, safe blood pressure.. these things are much more important than being built like an underwear model. Trust me; if you achieve these things, the body you're looking for will follow.
Set REASONABLE goals - Change takes time. You won't run 10 miles if you're a complete beginner at distance running. You won't get a six-pack by next month if you're 20lbs overweight. Instead, focus on what you CAN do in the amount of time you have set for yourself. Limit your fast-food intake. Quit smoking. Set a goal that is doable.
GET OFF THE SCALE - The scale tells you how much you weigh, and nothing else. Losing weight doesn't necessarily mean you're getting healthier, or more fit.. it just means you weigh less. You could've lost water-weight, or even worse, muscle.
Find Help - It'll be a lot easier to stick to a goal if you're an entire group working towards it. When people are counting on each other, they have a certain sense of responsibility that keeps them on the right track. Find people with the same goals as you, and help each other achieve them.

That's pretty much everything I think you need to set the RIGHT goals that will lead you to better health and fitness. My personal goals for this year? Fast-food 12x a year maximum, and no more corn frosties.

Post-Holiday Detox

2007-12-31T17:00:00.001+08:00

OK, I don't mean detox after all the wonderful tasting junk you ate this Christmas season. The holiday I'm talking about is the rest of your life before this point. I'm sure if you think back, you'll find that you've probably made a LOT of bad health choices. Well, it's time to clean up you- excuse me, OUR acts.

Now, nobody can expect a total lifestyle change from you. That's for the fitness models, or the filthy rich who don't have jobs, or don't go to school. Small lifestyle changes, that's the key for us.

I think it'd be a great idea to list down 10 habits you have that are bad for your health, and try to be as specific as possible. Start with the really big ones, too. If 10 aren't enough, do 20. Here are mine:

Binge eating on fast food
Eating way too much of those cookies
Too many starchy foods
Not enough vegetables
Over-training
Eating too much in general
Sleeping way too late
Too many "holidays"

Well, I guess there aren't 10 in my list. I'm probably missing a LOT, but 8 IDENTIFIED bad habits are better than a hundred vague ones.

Now, pick one habit from your list you think would be easiest to fix. Got it? Now go fix it! My personal suggestion to you? If you're still drinking soda of ANY kind, drop it! Opt for water instead! Now go out there and get healthy!

Getting Started : After the Holidays

2007-12-26T22:56:00.000+08:00

Christmas has just passed, and I assume all of you made merry and stuffed your faces like crazy. I base that assumption solely on the fact that *I* made merry and stuffed *MY* face like crazy. I always just let myself go during holidays, because hey, what else are the holidays for?

But let's think about it for a moment. We've got birthdays, and Valentine's, and Easter, and weddings, and parties, and socials.. those can be considered holidays, too, right? And honestly, you do that, don't you? You declare those days as free-food days, where you're on the see-food diet. We haven't even talked about the days you get a raise, or receive a perfect exam score. Or just days when you feel like celebrating being alive.

All those days and holidays and free days, they take their toll. And I wish that the price to pay was just a few extra pounds on the scale, but there's infinitely more to it that that. We take in all that rich, oily food, loaded with unhealthy fats, and that can't be good for our bodies.

Is a few hours of gastronomic delight worth a lifetime of health problems? That's the question we need to be asking ourselves. If you were wondering, though, the answer is NO. No, it isn't.

I promise to post a Holiday Meal Survival Plan soon, so we can be a little healthier the next time we're on vacation.

The Warm-Up

2007-12-25T22:04:00.000+08:00

Hi, I'm Marc! Welcome to One Healthy Blogger! I created this blog to help me track my progress on the road to health and fitness (note that health comes first,) as well as to share whatever information I have on the matter with everybody.

Now I didn't graduate with a degree in Sports Science, or Nutrition; I didn't even take higher chemistry in college. I'm not a professional bodybuilder, nor am I a fitness instructor. I'm your ordinary, average guy, without six-pack abs, with demands on my time that will probably be similar to yours.

But that's why you should check this blog out every now and then. Everything I'll be doing to achieve my goals, you can, too. One Healthy Blogger is pretty much the everyday person's guide to getting healthier and achieving a higher level of fitness. Here's to a fulfilling journey to better health and fitness for all of us.