9 on the 9th
October 9, 2008
Nicole McDonald over at Table Scraps (http://tablescrapnic72.blogspot.com/2008/09/10-on-10th.html) wrote something of a Jerry McGuire-like manifesto recently challenging her readers to step up in the area of health. Specifically, her challenge was for her readers to…
- Commit to improving your health over the next 10 months. Whatever that means to you.
- Commit to posting on your blog/website/Facebook on the 10th of each month; share 10 tips/insights/experiences/celebrations/points of gratitude from the month. [I have multiple conflicts on the 10th, so I will be posting 9 on the 9th]
- Commit to giving encouragement, accepting encouragement from others, and doing this journey together.
As someone who has always found physical health as a challenge, Nicole’s blog was a sufficient kick in the posterior and a motivator to get going again on this journey. So, here are my nine tips/insights/experiences/celebrations/points of gratitude for the month related to personal health…
1) One of the best things that I did this month was to sit down with Tom Trout (new principal at Nickels Intermediate School) to talk about his approach to health. Tom is a physical specimen with something like .09% body fat. He is a runner – he proposed marriage at the finish line of the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii. He is just a great guy. He and I had a great talk about good foods and bad foods and how to get started on the exercise journey.
By the way…Tom shared a great recipe with me that we will enjoy at the McCallum house often (is that weird that two guys exchanged a recipe?).
Here it is at number two…
One Boboli crust (or comparable)
Spread a little olive oil on the crust and sprinkle with Italian Seasoning.
Spread one can of diced or crushed Italian style tomatoes over the crust.
Spread one can of rinsed and drained black beans over tomatoes Spread one package of frozen chopped spinach (de-frosted with water squeezed out of it) over beans Spread your favorite cheese over that….we like feta and mozzarella.
Bake at 450 for about 15-20 minutes.
We usually have a salad with this pizza, which is usually plenty for the 4 of us.
3) I started walking/jogging/crawling…I actually find myself in something of a training mode as I plan on running in the Detroit Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day.
4) I stopped eating after 8pm. Snacks used to rule the day…I no longer snack that late at night.
5) I started ordering healthier options in restaurants (except for yesterday’s lunch that I had with Dan Takens – it looked much like the pic in the link – that one was not a healthy option at all).
6) I stopped using this phrase, “I don’t like to exercise or eat healthy things.”
7) I started praying about it…it may sound odd coming from a pastor but I made it a matter of prayer and reflection.
I stopped eating mindlessly – far too often I would eat when I wasn’t hungry at all and that is not good.
9) I started going to bed earlier…less awake time = less time to think of things to eat and also to fresher mornings
