The average child in America eats in a restaurant 167 times per year! That’s more than three times per week. With piano lessons, tee ball practice, private tutoring, ballet class, and homework, it’s often easier for parents to hit the drive thru at the local fast food joint than it is for them [...]
Related StoresKids Meals–Not So Small After All
August 6th, 2008 — , Choices, eating, nutrition from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Strong Lifts 5X5 Update
August 2nd, 2008 — , Exercise from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Well, I’ve completed both workout A and workout B one time. Tomorrow morning I’ll finish week 1 up with another workout A. I haven’t really concentrated very much on the amount of weight I’m lifting so far. I’m just trying to work out the kinks in my form so that I know [...]
Related StoresThe Myth of Moderate Exercise
July 30th, 2008 — , Exercise, Research from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
30 minutes a day, right? Well, according to researcher John Jakicic at the University of Pittsburgh, it’s more like 55 minutes a day if you want to lose weight. In his paper from the July 28th issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. Jakicic “suggests that obese people would have to exercise at [...]
Related StoresNew Workout For Mac
July 28th, 2008 — , Exercise from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Ever since Megan’s school got out for the summer, I’ve struggled with making gym time a priority. It’s easy to go when you have to watch one kid, but two makes it really tough. However, last week I realized that I need to get my butt back in gear, so I got [...]
Related StoresFitness Health Network Roundup
July 25th, 2008 — , Ask the Readers, Daily Links from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
There’s been a couple of good posts this week by the guys in the fitness health network. All of us seem to be coming to grips with our weight loss plans. Here are a few of the entries that I found myself relating to this week.
I’ve found myself back in the gym lately, [...]
Chocolate Cake–Not JUST JD’s Vice
July 23rd, 2008 — , Behavior, Choices, eating from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Yesterday was my daughter’s “half birthday.” I don’t really know where the idea came from, but somehow she got it in her head that half birthdays are almost as important as whole birthdays. Being the manipulative 3 and 1/2 year old, she finagled her mother into bringing home a box of brownie mix–and [...]
Related StoresTogether Again
July 18th, 2008 — , Motivation, Progress from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Here are two more pictures of JD and me. The first one was back in December of 2007 and the second was taken on Tuesday night.
The picture from December looks painful to me. We both look sheepish and pale. I remember thinking that this picture was going up on the blog as [...]
Related StoresWant to Lose Weight? Use a Food Diary
July 16th, 2008 — , Motivation, News from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Whenever I’m really successful with losing weight—I mean consistently dropping 1-2 pounds per week for several months—I use a food diary. Usually, my food diary is one of the many choices online such as fitday or sparkpeople. If I’m not around a computer, I jot what I eat into my phone and then [...]
Related StoresWhat’s For Dinner?–Shrimp Tacos
July 14th, 2008 — , What's For Dinner? from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
On Friday, I wrote about some of my struggles with vegetables. But there ARE times when I find recipes that are truly packed with vegetables that I can’t get enough of. From time to time, I’m going to share a recipe that I make for my family. They have to be healthy, [...]
Related StoresFruits and Vegetables: Fresh, Frozen, or Canned?
July 11th, 2008 — , Choices, Food Hacks, eating from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
As a parental team, Pam and I try to provide our kids with a well rounded diet including a variety of fruits and vegetables. Fortunately, our kids tend to like vegetables more than most kids I have met. My current working theory on why this is so stems from the fact that Pam [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Fruits and Vegetables: Fresh, Frozen, or Canned?
Can Dieters and Non-dieters Coexist?
July 9th, 2008 — , Ask the Readers from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Way back in May, JD was warning about the consequences of trying too much at once. In both of our cases, trying too much at once is equivalent to maintaining the calorie deficit that we need to drop 1 pound per week AND exercising enough to increase our PHYSICAL fitness levels to where we [...]
Related StoresLetter From a Friend
July 4th, 2008 — , eating, nutrition from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Everyone who reads this blog knows that the majority of the struggles I face when trying to lose weight stem from my internal (and now external I guess) battles with food. I have a tendency to eat when I’m not hungry and to eat foods that aren’t good for me when I’m stressed out. [...]
Related StoresOn Feeling Fit
July 2nd, 2008 — , Introspection from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
On Sunday, Pam and I went down to Eugene to witness some people who epitomize fitness. The US Track and Field Olympic Trials were amazing to watch. What those athletes do with their bodies is absolutely mind boggling. Even as I’m starting to call myself fit, I know that I can’t perform [...]
Related StoresWhat 31 Pounds Looks Like
June 27th, 2008 — , Progress from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Last week when I posted my 30 pound milestone, a couple of people asked for some “before” and “after” pictures. Well for me, there is no “after,” but I’ll be happy to post some “before” and “during” pictures for those of you who would like to see what an extra 31 pounds on a [...]
Tough Sunday Morning Run
June 24th, 2008 — , Exercise from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
I took Pam’s new Garmin forerunner out for its first test run today. It was a tough run–5.1 miles on hilly terrain around my house–and I was longing for the Lazy River course about 10 minutes into it! When I came home, I told Pam that I thought I was destined to be [...]
Related Stores30 Pounds Down, 10 More (At Least) To Go
June 20th, 2008 — , Daily Links, Progress from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
This morning, I hit another magical 10 pound increment. Since November 1, I’ve managed to drop 30 pounds. That’s 31 weeks and 30 pounds for those of you counting. And even though I complain a lot, I really couldn’t be much happier. I’m fitter, lighter, and healthier than I was 8 [...]
Related StoresIt’s Hard To Be Healthy With Kids
June 19th, 2008 — , Real-Life, eating from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about kids and fitness so much lately. Maybe it’s because I spend the majority of my time either parenting, exercising, eating, or trying to find ways to get out of this darn writing funk that I’ve been in for so long.
Some may read this post and think [...]
It’s Hard To Raise Healthy Kids
June 18th, 2008 — , Administration, Exercise, Health from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
It’s no secret that Americans are fat. We like to eat and we live in a society where large amounts of food are readily available. During the 20th Century, the average weight of the college age male rose from 133 pounds to 166 pounds. When I graduated from college in 1996, I [...]
Related StoresMuscles: Use Them Or Lose Them
June 13th, 2008 — , Daily Links, Exercise from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
It seems that all the time spent running in May had some deleterious effects on my muscle strength. Early in May, I set a mileage goal and a weight training goal; I was only able to complete the mileage however. In fact, I think I only lifted 3 or 4 times in [...]
Related StoresVacations: I’ll Take The Bad With The Good
June 11th, 2008 — , Introspection, Real-Life from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Monday night, my wife told me that every diet I’ve ever failed has failed because of a vacation. And she’s right. I’ve often dieted ahead of vacations so that I could both look better on the beach AND not worry about food when I was on vacation. Then when the vacation ends, I don’t ever [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Vacations: I’ll Take The Bad With The Good
Post Exercise Recovery: Are We Doing It Right?
June 5th, 2008 — , Exercise, Research, nutrition from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
I’ve been working out consistently for almost 6 months now and I’m happy to report that I’ve been injury free for that time–knock on wood. I’ve been sore a lot, but so far I’ve avoided actual injuries. Back when I worked outside the home, I got most of my exercise on the basketball [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Post Exercise Recovery: Are We Doing It Right?
Mac’s May Fitness Report
June 2nd, 2008 — , Exercise, Progress from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
May was a great month for those of us at Get Fit Slowly. I guess I shouldn’t speak for JD, but from our recent conversations, we’re both very happy with how are fitness levels are progressing.
In a few short months I’ve gone from absolutely hating running to feeling like I’m missing something when I [...]
Up the Lazy River Post-Race Report (from Mac)
May 29th, 2008 — , Exercise, competition from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Sunday night, I didn’t sleep well at all. I had pre-race nervous dreams and I was asking myself if I knew what I was getting in to. I woke earlier than my alarm clock, around 4:30, but was able to fall soundly back to sleep by the time the alarm went of at [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Up the Lazy River Post-Race Report (from Mac)
Pre-Race Jitters
May 23rd, 2008 — , Exercise, competition from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
I can’t believe it. The guy who never wanted to run in an organized race is totally consumed by race day–and it’s still four days away! I’ve been chatting with JD about it, I’ve been probing my wife about it, I’ve been racking my brain about it–it’s all I can think about these [...]
10 Healthiest Chain Restaurants
May 21st, 2008 — , eating, nutrition from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
For dieters, eating out can be very stressful and frustrating. Nutritionally, you never know what you’re getting. But it’s even more difficult for those of us trying to cut back on calories; in most instances, we just have no idea how many calories are in the meals that we consume unless we [...]
Related StoresSo, You Say You’d Rather Be Fit?
May 20th, 2008 — , Choices, Exercise, Introspection, Research, eating from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Back in April, I asked you all if you’d rather be fit or thin. A lot of the responses suggested that they would rather be fit than thin.
Recently, I found two articles that say you better think twice about that.
The first article from CNN.com suggests that exercise can reduce a woman’s chances of developing obesity [...]
How To Lose Those Last Few Pounds
May 16th, 2008 — , Food Hacks, eating from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Recently, JD and I have had both successes and failures with our nutritional plans. Both of us have lost some weight since we’ve started, which means that we’ve had more successes. This is a great thing and many commenters have suggested that some day we’ll meet our target weights and find a whole [...]
Related StoresWhoa! Bessie–Slow Down And Think About It!
May 14th, 2008 — , Behavior, Introspection from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Life has a way of blindsiding me sometimes. Last week was great: I was down to 194 pounds, I lifted hard on Tuesday and Thursday, and I ran 21 miles between Monday and Thursday.
Then Friday evening rolled around and I knew I was in trouble. We ordered pizza (actually, I ordered pizza). [...]
Continue reading → Whoa! Bessie–Slow Down And Think About It!
Up The (Lazy) River Without A Paddle
May 9th, 2008 — , Exercise, Motivation from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
For years, I’ve expressed to my wife that I have absolutely no interest in running organized races. Well, I’ve changed my mind. I figured it would be good for me if I had some goals or something to train for. Thinking that it would be good for both of us, I asked JD if he [...]
Related StoresMac’s April Fitness Update
May 7th, 2008 — , Progress from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
A little late, but here it is anyway:
I lost seven pounds in the last seven weeks. Greenman would be happy!
2/19
3/20
5/6
Weight
207
201
194
BF%
27.5
24
?
Pounds of Fat
57
48
?
April was another solid month on the fitness front. I’m keeping really good records of the days that I exercise. I’m not logging reps and weights, but I am logging distances [...]
Related StoresActive Adult Living–Not As Bad As I Thought
May 5th, 2008 — , Real-Life from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Last week, we were out of town again. Just like with Hawaii, being out of my home element was difficult on the fitness and diet fronts. On Thursday after preschool, we jumped in the van and headed south to Pam’s parents house in Lincoln, CA.
I had a very active week: I played [...]
Continue reading → Active Adult Living–Not As Bad As I Thought
Old Bad Habits Never Die–They Just Get Better
April 30th, 2008 — , Behavior, Introspection from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
I came home from the driving range the other day and was greeted by my little girl as I jumped out of the truck. When I first saw the door open, I thought it was my wife so I hastily stowed my convenience mart snack in the back seat, climbed out of the cab and [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Old Bad Habits Never Die–They Just Get Better
Ask The Readers: What Gets You Off The Couch?
April 25th, 2008 — , Ask the Readers, Motivation, Workout Hacks from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
On Wednesday, I wrote about what motivates me to get out of the house and head for the gym. It seems that J.D. and I have done enough trash talking via email and IM to sufficiently motivate both of us for a while–at least in terms of exercising.
I recently read this article about pedometers–you [...]
Continue reading → Ask The Readers: What Gets You Off The Couch?
What Motivates Me To Get Fit
April 23rd, 2008 — , Behavior, Motivation from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Pam recently told me that Martha Stewart sometimes says, “Tidiness begets tidiness.” Last night, after the kids went to bed, we spent about 45 minutes cleaning up the house. Later on, I told Pam, “We made a good dent in the housework tonight, we should do that every night.” Maybe there’s something [...]
Related StoresUh-Oh: Sonic Comes To Salem
April 21st, 2008 — , Behavior, Choices, eating from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Ever since Pam and I moved to Oregon, we’ve been bombarded with advertising from Sonic: America’s Drive Thru. Their commercials are pretty funny, often depicting two people sitting in their car bantering back and forth about the food they’re eating. But what really makes me drool (literally) is the splash images of their [...]
Related StoresDaily Links: Gender Diet, Benefits Of Stretching, and NYC Calorie Rules
April 18th, 2008 — , Daily Links from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
But first a small update. It seems as if I might be over the hump. My mom’s here spending some time with us, meaning I have a little more free time than usual. So I’ve been running and going to the gym. Yesterday, I had an awesome workout–the kind that you [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Daily Links: Gender Diet, Benefits Of Stretching, and NYC Calorie Rules
Sometimes, Your Heroes Need Help Too
April 16th, 2008 — , Behavior, Exercise, Real-Life from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
I received this email from J.D. yesterday morning:
Yikes. I just got up. It’s my swimming day, but I do *not* feel like going. Is it wrong to skip a workout? I’m not sick — just lazy. I could always go for a run in the afternoon…
–j.d.
My first thought after reading this it was: “Why [...]
I’m Finally Somebody!
April 15th, 2008 — , silliness from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
If you’re going to send me junk mail, at least get my sex right! Since J.D. and I have started this lovely little venture, junk mail has at least doubled at my house. I thought this one was pretty funny, actually.
Related StoresWhich Is Better–Thinner Or Fitter?
April 11th, 2008 — , Ask the Readers, Exercise, eating from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Lately, much of our family’s dinner time conversation revolves around fitness and diet–shocking I know! I’ve previously discussed how I’m not a very good multitasker, so forgive me if this post seems repetitive. But I think it’s worth writing about again. During one recent dinner conversation, I was noting that I hadn’t [...]
Related StoresI Beat Stress Eating!
April 10th, 2008 — , Choices, Progress, eating from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Let me say it again, this time with feeling. I BEAT STRESS EATING! Have I mentioned before that I’m a stress eater? When things get tough, I head for the fridge. Well really, I head for the carb cupboard or the ice cream, but you get what I mean.
I’m having a [...]
Giving Back?—Not Yet
April 7th, 2008 — , Choices, News from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Every once in a while, I read something on the internet that both amazes me and makes me feel like I should be doing more for people other than myself. The other day, I found this article about a woman who likes to run AND likes to help others.
This article hit home for me [...]
Daily Links–Wellness Coaches And The Biggest Loser
April 4th, 2008 — , Daily Links from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
The New York Times recently published an interesting article about the growing popularity of wellness coaches.
Dr. CJ Fitness has blogged a series of articles about my current favorite TV show: The Biggest Loser. His three posts talk about reality TV Deception, behind the scenes of TBL, and some of TBL secrets. [...]
Continue reading → Daily Links–Wellness Coaches And The Biggest Loser
Getting Back To Basics–Back To The Gym
April 3rd, 2008 — , Exercise from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
Maybe it’s not shocking news to those of you who have exercised regularly for most of your lives. But I’ve just discovered something. Exercise is almost as addicting as lack of exercise. I used to hate exercise because it was hard, I never saw results, and there were a ton of [...]
Related StoresBill Would Make It Illegal To Feed The Obese
April 2nd, 2008 — , News from macdaddy @ Get Fit Slowly
The image above shows the percentage of obese individuals in America by state in 2006. Source=CDC. Click on the image for a bigger map.
I understand that obesity is a problem in the United States–just look at the above map or play the video below (please ignore the music, it was the only animation of [...]
Continue reading → Bill Would Make It Illegal To Feed The Obese