Day 3 Holiday Challenge

Today's Objective: Practice Hunger Tolerance

As we looked at spontaneous exercise yesterday, today we look at another practice that involves intentionally choosing something hard over something easy. The concept of hunger tolerance is especially known by great spiritual traditions, such as our own, that practice fasting. Hunger tolerance is being able to endure the relatively small amount of discomfort you get from being hungry.

The purpose of this exercise is to help us endure cravings. There is a difference between real hunger and cravings. Real hunger is your body's reaction to not having the right amount of nutrition at a given moment. It is the body telling you, "I need something to eat soon, or I'm going to start to get the energy somewhere else" (i.e., your fat and muscle stores). A craving is an obsession of the mind over a particular food that for the moment will satisfy a desire, but might not necessarily fit what is nutritional, that is, good for your body. The difficult thing is when you have cravings while you are hungry.

Practicing hunger tolerance can help us differentiate between what is a craving and what is real hunger. As we progress in developing our food plans, we will need to decide what is the right amount of food at a given time, and practice abstaining from food between those times. It's those moments when we have cravings, or those periods around the times we should eat that we want to endure the relatively small amount of discomfort this may cause.

"Relative" is the key to this. Chances are the "pain" you feel when having a craving is very little relative to the pain you've endured from an injury, or the great emotional pain of losing something or someone whom you cherish. You may also think about the hunger of a third world orphan, and the small amount of "hunger" you feel now.

To practice hunger tolerance, choose one meal, either lunch or dinner (you need the energy of breakfast), and skip it. Make sure this meal you are skipping isn't around the time you exercise today. (If at any time you feel light headed, eat or drink something with carbs. Fruit or fruit juice is a good choice). This is not supposed to be a regular thing, it is only a practice in feeling what it is like to be hungry, and perhaps enduring some cravings along the way.

If again this is not advisable by your doctor because of some medical condition, please do not stray from your meal plan. But, if like most Catholics, you have been accustomed to a fast before, also take the time to remember the souls in purgatory while you practice this hunger tolerance.

Write down your experience of how the hunger went, and any craving you might have had. Recall the amount of difficulty or pain you felt, and perhaps compare it to other levels of difficulty or pain. Next, decide if you can go without those extras between meals. Come the holidays, you're going to need to know how to stave off cravings. You will be able to because you know that even the pain of a little hunger is able to be overcome.

Day 2 Holiday Challenge

Today's objective: Practice spontaneous exercise

We may have our workout routines set, or we may not. This is a good place to get those extra steps in or even just to start to move. The concept of spontaneous exercise is like practicing hunger tolerance (a tip for another day): it is the conscious decision to perform a harder activity than an easier one. 

Easier to take the elevator? Take the stairs! Easy to drive just a mile down the road, when you're not punching the clock? Walk (or bike). Easy just to walk back to your car? Jog! Easy just to wait in line tapping your shoes at the checkout counter? Do some calf raises, push-up on your shopping cart! Easy to stare at your computer screen for hours in the cubicle? Use your break to run around a bit, or buy one of those chair cycles or standing computer desks. Skip the embarrassment, you are helping yourself get to your goal! 

If you have a Fitbit or another fitness tracker or pedometer, give yourself a step goal for the day. Chances are your scheduled workout won't get you to a number like 10,000 or 12,500. You're going to have to practice spontaneous exercise to get there. 

Like the idea of eating smaller meals throughout the day, practicing spontaneous exercise throughout the day can help to steady and even improve our metabolism. So choose the harder road, not the easy one. Besides, being spontaneous is fun! 

Day 1 Holiday Challenge

I will be posting daily updates with helpful hints until the final weigh in day on January 9th, 2015.

Weight Maintenance or Loss is based on the simple idea of calories in/calories out!

Today's objective: 

Find out how much your body needs for calories on a normal day. 

This is known as your basal metabolic rate, and it is key to the science of weight loss. If we are to conquer emotional or binge eating during this season (or any season, for that matter), we need to know how many calories our body burns in a day without any effort of our own.

This is best done at the doctor's office with a tool which measures your breath over a period of time. But if you do not have the ability to get this checked, a simple online calculator can estimate this for you. Mayo Clinic offers one here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/calorie-calculator/itt-20084939

Knowing this number is important for two reasons: 1. It tells us the number of calories we must consume to maintain our weight, and 2. It allows us to adjust this number based on our diet and exercise so as to lose or gain weight. 

Those of you concerned with maintenance need only shoot for maintaining this number. Those of you who want to lose weight need only subtract from this number by diet and exercise. Those of you who will, like the majority of Americans, gain weight over the season, will eat in excess of this number over the holidays. 

How do we track our calorie intake and output? Using a fitness app like myfitnesspal helps this. You can search and barcode scan from the largest social media database for the nutritional info of thousands of food choices. You also have the ability on this app to input your exercise routines. There is cross app capability, so that this can easily be done with a Fitbit or your favorite gps running app. It also syncs with Apple's new health app. 

Some helpful things to know:

It is dangerous to consume too few calories. If you have a health condition, this can also complicate things. If you have any concerns, consult your doctor or nutritionist. 

1 pound of fat = 3500 calories. If you want to lose 1 lb a week, which is a normal and healthy goal (most nutritionists advise 1-2lbs a week is healthiest), all you need to do is subtract from your basal metabolic rate just 500 calories a day by diet or exercise. 

Generally the average diet is 2000 calories a day. Subtracting just 500 calories from this without any exercise should in theory mean that if you eat 1500 calories a day, and your basal metabolic rate is 2000, then you will lose a pound a week without picking up a dumbbell or hitting that treadmill. 

Similarly, if you changed nothing in your diet, and burned 500 calories a day with exercise (easily done in an hour at the gym), you would experience the same results. Most people find that a combination of diet and exercise makes for the best results. 

Building muscle helps your overall metabolism and makes your body and heart stronger and healthier. In this model, just a 1700 calorie diet with 300 calories burned in exercise a day will yield better results in the long run than just diet or exercise alone. 

In theory, those of you who want to eat in excess, and take off the calories in the gym, can achieve success. Just know that the exchange for food calories and gym time can be eye opening. Just google it! Also, don't be upset if you go the route of strict exercise to curb the gain, because building muscle means water retention and a denser body mass. Eating too much salt can also contribute to water retention and normal fluctuations of body weight from day to day of 1-2 pounds.

With all of this said, figure out that basal metabolic rate, and then make a plan for what will work for you. Then get tracking! 

Holiday Challenge

Last year during my time working out at the Rochester Athletic Club, I entered the holiday weight loss challenge there. I lost a total of 32 lbs over the holidays from the middle of November to the beginning of January. I won the challenge and a $50 gift certificate, which let me get my first massage.

(January 9, 2014, 407.9lbs)

What was helpful in accomplishing this was not only the fact that I was in a rehab center and dedicated already to losing weight, but having the specific goal of maintaining my weight loss initiatives over the particularly hard season of the holidays. Everyone is concerned with the massive amounts of food, drink, and the number of occasions that we are invited to or have to put on for our friends and family. The goal is not to put on those pounds!

Since I can't provide the check ins, the gym, and the personal training, what I can do is provide all the tips that I will use during this upcoming holiday season, check in with how I am doing, and try to motivate you followers as much as possible so that we together will not gain the average 1-5lbs that we normally gain during this special time of the year.

Step 1: Weigh In.
This is the hardest part. Facing the music. For me, I'm already on the journey, and I'm not so shocked at the number. I weigh in today as 289.4lbs.

Step 2: Create a goal. For most of us, it will be maintenance. Let's not gain a pound! For me, since I'm on a 10 pound goal a month, I would like to be ambitious and try for the 275 mark by the New Year. Final weigh in for me will be Friday, January 9th, 2015.

Step 3: Start making small changes before Thanksgiving. Start to get your plan together, start to hit the gym now. If you haven't signed up for myfitnesspal, think about that.

Step 4: Keep following this blog for daily tips.

I welcome all our OLSH/St Jude family and all followers of the blog to partake in this initiative. Feel free to let me know how you're doing on by messaging on Facebook page, email frryan2011@gmail.com, or friend me on myfitnesspal: frryan 

***As is always recommended, please check with your doctor before beginning any diet or exercise plan. If you are pregnant or suffer from an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia, please follow your doctor or psychologist's expert opinion. I am only blogging about what works for me.

So good, so good, so good!

I shared in my twelve step meeting this morning how I went out with a band after their awesome gig a couple days ago. I was a little hesitant going to a Chinese restaurant late at night. Chinese happens to be one of my binge foods. I could eat and eat and eat. It's so good, so good, so good. 

Luckily people knew what I was about, and also it had been a religious event in which I just had an amazing encounter with my higher power. I felt confident that I could keep to my calorie count for the day, log the food I was going to have and not overeat.

I did just that. But even then, it was difficult seeing the mounds of food, the food left over, watch normal eaters go to town and then lose interest. As I smelled the food, I was reminded of the bags of Chinese I used to consume, the pain of the stress that used to drive me to it, the obsession of the mind that it used to be. I get great as other people took home the left overs. 

The next couple of days have been an interesting reminder that even if the obsession might be handled, the allergy of the body is still there. Even though it fit into my calorie count, it seems that I've plateaued in weight loss this week. My body said, yea, I used to crave this food, and now I want more, and darn it, why aren't you giving me more? I've felt very sluggish. Just more of the realization that some foods just aren't good for me, even if they may be ok for others. It's not that I will never have Chinese food again, or that I can't be invited to one of these restaurants, but I have to be more discerning of the type of food I'm eating. And that will be a huge sacrifice! Because isn't it so good, so good, so good? 

Abstinence in food addiction is described as abstaining from the destructive eating behaviors and from all individual binge foods. All I know is that nothing tastes as good as abstinence feels. 

Selfish selflessness

One of the things friends of the addicted seem to miss from time to time is the great lengths the addict must go to to take care of themselves. It often can be mistaken as a vain sort of selfishness. There is a certain selfish component to the work of recovery, because recovery is for the addict. The changed effects will come in time to friends, family, and beyond, but while the addict is in recovery, it's all about the addict. 

Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not. While the person is going through a life changing recovery experience, it's important to not intentionally hurt others on the way, but failing to recognize the patterns that got the addict to where they were in the first place and failing to address the need for a positive way to cope with the stressors of life will only lead to relapse and further isolation from friends. 

It is a holy prospect to be a person for others, a selfless person, a giving person. It is also an ancient dictum that one can't give what one doesn't have. If there is no positive and healthy way to recharge from an addiction triggering event, then there is only the substance to go, since it is easy, gives immediate pleasure, satifsfies the craving for the moment, and and promises to be there when the next trigger comes. The addict forgets the worthy calling of selflessness, and replaces any real human connection with an object. The addict might even make others their objects, rather than subjects to be served and loved. 

What is needed is a certain amount of self-love in order to serve others in love. If  one loves oneself, one can love others. The visible form that this takes can look like selfishness from the outside at times. Taking time for heathy ways of distressing: going to the gym, getting a massage, vacationing at a beach, setting aside a set prayer time, having a nice evening out with friends...these are sometimes necessary components of good recovery. 

When those in professions that serve others, as in my case being a clergy member, begin to take care of themselves, they may face a small amount of criticism from time to time, but at the end of the day they are happier and better able to serve with joy. When that person is an addict, it's all the more important that time is given for this emotional, psychological, spiritual, ans physical recharge. 

So, to those seeking some good advice today, treat yourself with something other than the addictive substance. Reawaken your senses, clear your mind, relax! You have permission to take care of yourself. Forget what others may say, this is important for your recovery! You will be more available for others because you love yourself. 

Memento Mori

Memento Mori, remember your death. This is the classical idea of keeping in mind the fleeting nature of life, the vanities which accompany it, and the responsibility we have to make use of what is given to us while we have it. In the lives of addicts it can be summoned by thinking of the lowest point we've hit, the "rock bottom", or the impending death which will occur if we keep on the current path of substance abuse.

For Christians, the month of November is marked with this sort of character of mortal remembrance, not only because of the nature of the season as the leaves fall and the cold of approaching winter starts to sneak in, but because we begin to pray for the souls of our faithful departed. November 1st, All Saints Day, and November 2nd, All Soul's Day, recall both the eternal destination we share and the brevity of our life here on earth. We remember our beloved dead, and we pray that they enjoy the peace of the kingdom. We remember, by our faith and hope in the paschal mystery, that we have a responsibility to act out of that same faith for the good of our brothers and sisters, so as to merit an everlasting share with the saints in Christ. We remember our Lord's call to do unto the least of his brethren what we would do unto him. We prepare ourselves for selfless acts of caring during this cold season, and give thanks for the many blessings that are bestowed upon us.

I am so blessed to have hit 170lbs of loss since last October! This is indeed a great reminder of the personal sacrifice that is needed to attain victory. It is not without struggles and moments like what is mentioned above. Two weeks ago while on retreat I began to feel what I suspected was a bad case of indigestion. Since it was accompanied by a certain weakness and lightheadedness, I began to feel anxious about it. Nevertheless I continued to workout daily, experiencing minor discomfort. By last Thursday when the pain was peaking, and knowing I had a heart condition, I decided that I needed to get checked out. I waited one more day before I went into the hospital. My sister drove me to the ER late on Halloween night.

I am very grateful to a brother priest for coming out at midnight to anoint me. He is an example of that selfless caring that is expected of us. Although I knew I was in the Lord's hands, I spent the rest of the night anxious to know if my heart was ok from all the efforts of diet and exercise. I couldn't help but think to myself, "this is only because of two things: the damage you did to yourself in gaining all the weight, and perhaps you are overworking your body now." I was beating myself up on two fronts. Luckily the antics of Halloween at the ER made for some fun comical relief. I think I laughed with my sister so much the training nurses thought I was having several heart issues. All was made well when the doctors determined I had a normal EKG, I had no blood clots, and there was no life threatening danger. Thank God!

It's those moments where you think your life may be in danger, though, that put things into perspective. Am I right with God? Am I doing what I need to do for myself? Will I be able to keep doing what I am doing to be healthy? I don't know what I would do if I had to stop exercising! Until I have a cardiac stress test on Tuesday, I probably won't be 100% assured of this. But then, none of us are 100% sure we are going to make it through the day. We know not the day nor the hour!

I got the courage to go to the gym last night and try out the elliptical again. I just did a half an hour, and it felt good to be up there. I still have the chest discomfort, and I'm more and more convinced it's a gastrointestinal issue. I said my weekend Masses with a renewed sense of confidence. God is definitely in control of this. I need to remember that I have to resign myself to his will. None of us have complete power over our own lives. All I've found is that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.