Crowdsourcing my health and well-being
Hello everyone, long time no blog. I know. There goes that resolution 
.
So, it’s 1 am, I’ve just flown back from Colorado, and I’m sick again. Got some head/sinus/chest cold thing at the drop of a hat. It seems like my health has been horrible for this entire year so far, and I’ve had enough. Every time I get healthy, it seems to be an unstable health that falls down at the first sign of weakness, either lack of sleep or excess of one sort or another – my youthful constitution has waned and now I am failing my health rolls much more frequently.
It’s officially 4/20, and while I haven’t partaken of the ritual sacrament, I’ve got a ‘holy’ thought that I’m willing to enact. Each month for the next year, I will poll you, my readers, for one thing that I can adopt as a healthy habit or one bad habit to break, to increase my overall health and well-being. I’ll collect up your suggestions, take the top 5 items, and put them on a poll which you will all then vote on. Given the assumption that the chosen behavior isn’t f*cking crazy, and that I am physically capable of doing it, I’ll try it for a month, and if it shows some positive affect in my life, I’ll keep it. I’ll give reports back on my progress, and you will collectively be my accountability coaches.
Is it a deal? Okay – starting now, I’ll collect up suggestions for the next 2 weeks, then post the top 5 suggestions on a poll for the next week after that, and I will announce the winner and start performing it 5/20.
Rules:
1) I’m an overweight, out of shape dude with very little proclivity to activity – don’t kill me out of the gate here. Give me achievable goals.
2) I’m not going to do anything that’s actually risky to my health, nor will I do anything that’s illegal, or likely to get my wife or my kids pissed at me.
3) It’s got to be something I can do in 30 minutes or less a day. I don’t have more time than that, realistically.
4) I don’t want to post my entire medical health history online for obvious reasons. If you have specific questions, please email me and I’ll reply.
5) The suggestion can be for physical, mental or spiritual health. I am taking the Chinese approach here.
If the winning suggestion is sane and reasonable, I’ll do it for a month without complaint, and I’ll report to the group the results along the way. Scout’s honor.
Okay folks – I’m putting my health in your hands here. Help me get from where I am now to a better, healthier me one year from today.
hello my friend
I saw your blog and I thought to put my two cents in.
When I was sick a lot one year I decided to take all the carbs and sugar off my diet . I did not only drop weight like crazy but I had no more head aches, no more dizziness, no cold because my immune system was stronger and therefore I took a walk EVERY DAY for 45 minutes without a problem.
Today I cannot do it again and I wish I could it was the best six months I had in my life health wise.
hugs
Dorit Israel
1. ride your bike places
2. instead of staying up late to get stuff done, get up early to get stuff done. Counterintuitive but it kind of works.
3. get enough rest. As a guy who also get sick too often, this is usually why. You seem like someone who thrives on doing a billion things, so pick the most important half-billion, and go to bed.
I’ll throw out a concurring thumbs up on Dorit’s suggestion – I did a no carbs/sugar diet back in ’95 and lost 75 pounds, but, as those of us who’ve lost weight can attest, *keeping it off* it the real challenge.
My suggestion goes in the sleep category. Nobody gets enough anymore, and you absolutely have to make it a priority. Science is now showing that sleep deprivation makes you gain and/or retain weight. I believe in Bedtime for Adults, and that means your kids have go to bed long before you do, and you *have to stick with it*. If it means fewer social engagements or booting out guests early, do it. If it means triaging your Tivo, do it. If it means putting down the damn book even when you’re at the best part, do it. If it means stopping mid-flow while you’re doing work for which you are being compensated, do it. Only exception: sex (go ahead and stay up for that – I’m not a total ogre). I could go on – you get the idea. After I made sleep a priority, I started waking up *before my alarm* which still blows my mind.(Annoying quality on the weekends, but whatever.) That’s my two cents.
I am a huge fan of bedtime for grownup. I’ve been getting 7 hours and going to bed at the same time consistently for the better part of a year and I feel much better all around. My grad student life meant that I was getting 5-6 most nights, and going to bed at a different time every night.
Also, I feel much better (less stressed, more energetic) when I get some exercise on a regular basis. Something as small as a 30 minute walk makes a huge difference to me – I’m now trying to get closer to an hour or cardio 3-4x per week, we’ll see how that works with the school & relationship schedule.
Hey Josh, long time no see. Hope you and the family are doing fantastic. In my experience anything you do needs to be sustainable. If it is something you start to flake on that’s ok, just try something else. Eventually you will find routines that work for you and your lifestyle. Don’t beat yourself up. Something that has worked for me started as more of a mid year/pre transplant resolution and has grown into a habit that I look forward to every day. I now live by a simple rule: If it is not pouring rain outside I get outside and do something physical. For me this has been mostly walking & hiking. Of course for you with the kiddies it could be playing catch, riding bikes etc. The possibilities are endless! So again, my idea is everyday it is not raining – get out and move. Even if it is a 5-10 minute walk around the block or up and down the street. Somedays that’s all it will be and that’s ok, other days it may be a 1-2 hour excursion. I can tell you that this consistency has been great for me mentally and physically. Cheers! Mark