Courtesy Valethekid CC -by -sa

This is the last and final post of the Steps to Health series. No doubt, I will be sharing more tips in the coming future. However, I feel it is a good idea to end up this series with the idea that you are not alone in this world. And I am going to show you why that is so great for your dieting… Oops, I mean, our dieting…

Ask

When I was designing the mindmap you’ll see below, I thought I was developing some cool idea. Right now I feel it is pretty obvious. However, it is worth to repeat it, if only for its importance. Make no mistake, if you are dieting for more than a few pounds, you need help. It is a question of being humble enough to seek advice and learn. That’s the big advantage of children at learning: they trust what their parents say.

So seek:

1. A nutritionist, or a doctor specialized in nutrition. Do not consider yourself an expert just because you have browsed a dozen websites on nutrition or you have read a book or two. A nutritionist can help you getting started, provides accountability -you don’t want to fail before other people- and many bits of advice and information from somebody who has seen many people getting fit, for years.

2. A trainer. You don’t need to go to a gym if you know what you have to do and why. But, unless you are an expert at sports -and I don’t mean by watching it on TV- you need instruction. If you lack time, make time at least to go for a couple of months. Get the best gym you can pay, one that has instructors worthy of that name. Make your time -and money- count. Learn, learn as much as you can, ask, concentrate on what you are doing, forget about socializing. Then, if you find you really don’t have the time for the gym, once you have learned, you can train  on your own, almost anywhere. Just check this excellent Zen Habits post.
3. A Chef. For whatever is worth on this world, cook yourself or get somebody who knows cook for you. I confess I believe in slow living: the slow food and the slow family movements seems just right for me. I don’t want to retire early, I want to be happy and proud of what I do. And I want to be happy with my eating. You bet, I want. And if you are to diet you need to be happy with what you are doing and the only way to do that is by eating real food. Ever heard of bento? That’s Japanese for a lunch box, and it’s not just for kids (though it is ultra-cute for kids). Typically they cook their bento as they prepare breakfast -the Japanese do have to maximize their time- and then they are carried to school -no school cafeterias there- and work. And guess what? It is a very healthy country.

So please, learn to cook, or just try eating a real raw carrot, you’ll discover why rabbits love them. Convenience food is neither for your health nor your money.

Give

This is not so obvious, yet it is true. Helping people has helped me. This blog has been on of the things that have kept me motivated with my habits and my diet. And it’s not just the guilt (”hey Miguel,” I tell to myself, “you can’t eat that and then appear as the great diet master before the world”), which it’s a great motivator; but also the fact that I need to test what works and what does not work so well, and why. It keeps me motivating at finding new ways and to improve the ones I already know.

You don’t need to blog about it, but you have friends, family, perhaps kids who will benefit if you are available to give advice -just don’t push it, there is nothing a fat person hates so much as unasked advice on how to diet, there is a bombardment of adverts every single day. But do help, be there, you will be the first one to benefit. Trust me, when they see the new you, they will ask.

Have you completed it? Do you have it on paper? If not, please, print it now, and have it close to you. Please, do trust me. It is essential that you do if you want to profit from this post.

• No? Then, please, go to the second post in this series now and give yourself twenty minutes to fulfill the instructions. A quarter of an hour was enough for middle school students, so it should be enough for you too. Just stick to the essentials.
• Yes?  Then, please print your project now. (Yes, I know, I’m repeating myself, but it is critical that you do). Congratulations, you have almost completed the project. There is only one  more thing I will ask you to do. Don’t worry, it’s so easy even a baby could do this part. So hold your breath and click on the link below, I will tell you how your dreams will become true.

Now, this is what I want you to do with your project:

A paper ball

Yes, a paper ball. Go grab that project you worked so hard on and turn it into a paper ball. I mean it. Have no mercy. Accept no surrender, no compromise, turn the wishes of your heart into a paper ball now.

I know how you are feeling, but trust me. That’s what life is going to do with your utopias: your perfect dreams for you and those you love will fail. When you try to achieve your best you will always fail, to some point. And if you don’t, somebody will let you down. Or worse, you will let somebody down. We all have those days in which  we feel as hopeless as that crumbled paper. We are almost begging for somebody to throw us to the bin. We feel like trash.

But do you know what?

The human soul is not made out of paper but of cloth. Do you remember being a little kid trying to scribble something in a handkerchief? I do, and it was frustrating because it is hard to write on a handkerchief. You have to write once and again with a ballpen or a pencil. You are tempted to give up. With time and a little asking you learn that ballpens are not the tools for the job. You need specific skills that you have to learn, but finally you got something beautiful and durable.

A crumbled paper ball may be fit for the bin; a wrinkled handkerchief goes to the ironing board. Five minutes later, under the hot, tough iron, it would be as new.

Next time you feel like a crumble paper ball, remember that you are a handkerchief. It took your family, your friends, your teachers and a whole life of efforts to make you the person you are. But from now on, whenever you feel like trash, give your dreams a little ironing and do never give up.

If you have liked this activity, please share it with your kids, you’ll see faces… ^_^ And if they get angry you can always blame me.

Courtesy Le Petit Pouilallier CC -by -sa

There are many reasons that make you fail at dieting. Acting as if it were an easy achievement is one of them. We tend to think it is just changing a few behaviours. And that is exactly why dieting is so hard. We humans follow habits to a script and good or bad, habits are hard to break; especially in the long term.

My advice? Take your time and plan what you are going to do.

1.- False Goals

When you diet what you have in mind? Let me start by what it should not be: to become somebody who you are not and who you are not supposed to be.

That actor, that pop singer, that top model are indeed beautiful. But you are not them, nor are supposed to be. Do not become a slave of a dress or suit. Do not become a slave of a supposedly perfect person, not without make up, that is.

2.- Goals.

Instead there are better goals for you to follow. That’s you, but an improved you, the one you are supposed to be. Not the one you were ten years ago, that’s history; but the one you can become today.

Consider yourself a nut. I mean a real nut, one of those you dig on the ground. Given time and care, what do you get? A tree. If you allow yourself enough time and do what you have to do, you will transform for the better.

It takes time; it is not easy, but it can be done.

Dieting is about happiness too. And I don’t mean about future happiness when you get it just perfect. I mean happiness from day one.  For happiness you can trust the child you once were, the kid you are still under so many capes of adulthood.

Do not trust the advertisements. A sorry excuse for a hamburger will  not taste better than a carrot. Convenience food just pales before an apprentice cook. You can eat well and enjoy it, as I already said in a previous post.

Your third goal is to be healthy. For that let me tell you absolutely nothing. Go see a doctor, one who knows you and can give you advice. Remember that the goal is the You 2.0; not to become anybody else.

3 A lifelong accomplishment built every day.

I told you and it’s true that short term diets do not work. Except, maybe, if we are speaking about a few pounds that you just caught on Christmas. But I mean more than a few pounds.

I told you that, however, that long term accomplishment is built every single day. You became fat just the same. A bit every day, over a long time. Have you watched those movies? I mean those you see the typical fatty eating gross. They eat so much you end up relieved you are not like that character.

But, and here lies the truth, the actor did not probably get fat like that. He did by over eating a bit too much every day and by exercising a bit too few. Do the math. If you gain four pounds a year, how would you be in ten years? And you don’t need to eat like a teenager defense football player to earn four pounds a year.

You are fat because an habit we have to replace with a better habit. And how we do that? In essence it is nothing but a project that can be scheduled and measured, just like any other project. If you know how to use a planner, then please include health as a main goal in your planner and develop the tasks you need to the project done.

For that I can recommend you three books, of which, make no mistake I am affiliated. One is David Allen’s Getting Things Done and the other is Leo’s Babauta from Zen Habits, Zen to Done. Last but not least, todoodlist.

Personally, I prefer David Allen’s GTD to be truthful, for it is, I believe, more comprehensive; but there are many people who consider Zen to Done easier to apply and it may be right for you if you have a not overly stressful schedule.

As for todoodlist, it is a series of tricks that can be applied to any productivity system, as I told you in a previous review of mine.

In short, we have learned:

1. Try to be your best, not somebody else.
2. You can be happy and diet too.
3. Let your doctor tell you what being healthy means for you, not a blog post, including this one.
4. Treat your diet and your new life as a project that you need to complete. It is a task that can be accomplish it, if you learn how.

So, why don’t you begin today?

Courtesy Fromoldbooks.org

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, aliens and dogs, behold my best post ever. And you know what? It is not my best post because of my, er, questionable writing skills. Nor because I have had the best idea since the antibiotics. No, it will be because of you.

That’s right. I am going to propose you an activity. If you complete it trusting my every word you will remember it forever. It might not change your life, but it will make you understand how you can change it.

Ready?

For this project you will need:

• a piece of paper.
• a pencil or a pen; preferably both.
• an eraser.
• crayons or other art supplies.
• anything that would inspire your mind: photographs, poems. If you are stuck for ideas, you might try these great suggestions from Alex Blackwell.
• mindmapping software such as freemind
• or art software such as the gimp or even an oekaki website.

Alternatively, but only if drawing is very inconvenient for you, write, type or record your ideas in tape or as mp3.

The golden rule.

“God makes three requests of his children: Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have, now”

African-American Proverb quotes

Whatever method you use, please give your very best. My poor students thought that their marks depended on it ;). I cannot use that incentive on you but I can ask you to trust me. The more you give to this project, the more you will reap.

Don’t be mean on yourself; but neither be too critic. I want you to try to achieve the best. I don’t really care about the execution; the only thing that matters here is your intent. Just try to do your best.

The project itself.

Imagine what kind of person you want to become. As you imagine, put it on paper (or on your computer).

1. Start by goals that are easy to achieve in the short term.
2. Goals that are easy to achieve in the long term.
3. Goals that are hard to achieve in the short term.
4. Goals that are hard to achieve in the long term.
5. Ultimate goals.
6. If achieve those goals, what kind of person you would become?
7. Revise: is that the kind or person you want to become? If not, fix some goals until you are happy with the intended result. Often, we follow projects that are leading us nowhere. And that’s why this part of the project is critical.

Put your soul.

However you complete this project, it is very important that you put your heart, mind and soul in it. Do you feel like using poetry? Then do. A mindmap? Serve yourself. A haiku? Be my guest. The chief thing is to keep your spirit running towards the dream that your heart wishes. Remember, your intent must be to put into that paper (or file) the very best of you.

Share this project with your kids.

I tell you again this project worked very well with kids when I taught. Children are both interested in what kind of person they will become and if they can indeed achieve their dreams or if they will face failure.

A timed project.

How much time you should spend on this one? I suggest at least fifteen minutes but not more than one hour or so. When you are done, come back here by January the second, 2009. Have your project handy, you will need it.

Sing up.

Last, but not least, no matter how early or late you find this post, please sign up by adding a comment. That will help you to make a commitment. Mine is that I will answer to each and every comment and provide any help or clarification you need.

That’s all chaps,

I can’t tell much more because I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

Boy I am excited. Soon enough, I will be posting my best article ever. How do I know that? I am going to share an activity that rocked high school teenagers. I used it with middle schoolers too, with the same great success. I even used it with adults in my church. It was a success every time.

The timing is critical. You know that the new year is when we are bombarded with new projects, new objectives and good intentions. We’d love to keep these, don’t we?

I will be sharing how to not ever give up.

So I am asking you to spread the word. I promise I will not let you nor your friends down. I will share stuff that works. Guaranteed. And no, I will not be asking you for money or to buy anything. But I will be asking you something, and that’s a little work. Nothing tough, I mean middle graders could complete it in a quarter of an hour. Still, you will have to do follow the instructions. I cannot stress it enough. Just reading will not do the trick.

So again, please share. Tell your mom, tell your friend, your kids and your cat. This is a very small blog and it would be a pity that one of my best ideas goes missing.

Just wait.

Courtesy Jan Et CC -by -sa

I have feared it for a long time. I am disabled and sooner or later somebody was going to notice. Maybe you have already noticed. Maybe you are noticing right now. So, it’s  OK, I have to admit that my disability is that I am not a native speaker of the English language living in Spain.

So what?

So many of the daily bits of life you are so familiar with are alien to me. My opportunities to practice the language will always be more limited and often need special dedication. It’s obvious: I just cannot be as good as a native.

That is exactly the situation of people with disabilities; given the same effort and training there are some areas in which they just cannot be as good as other people without that disability.

So why do I write in English?

Because I like it. I was prepared to give reasons to show it is not for money or fame, but boy, that’s evident enough. I love writing in Spanish too, and often I write the same article or story on both languages. Sometimes I do the first version in English, sometimes Spanish take the lead. And I never translate myself; rather I re-write. It’s more fun that why.

Should I stop?

A person who uses a wheelchair has little choice but to live. Nazis may disagree, but I’m glad when Nazis disagree with me. But, me? I could choose not to write in English. Spanish is a well known enough language, prevalent in many nations around the world. So, am I wasting my time?

No way. Should a boy not be a carpenter only because there are better carpenters? Should a girl stop playing football only because there are better players? There were better poets than the one who composed the American anthem (or the French one ), but they did have a moment of splendor. Didn’t they?

If you need glasses, wear them.

I can’t be as good in English as most of my readers, but I have my wheelchairs. There’s something cool called the dictionary; and something cooler called the internet. There are also spell checkers, which  detect most of my mistakes. There are even scripts that will determine the readibility of your text. (By the way the Flesh Kinkaid score of this post is 4.6).

I am so old I can only preside Mass

Those words were from a priest I lived with. My reply? “Don Whoeverhewas, I am older because  I can’t even preside Mass”.  We all have different capabilities, so let’s concentrate on what we can do and be happy.

Please,

If you have a dream, follow it. If your children have a dream, encourage them. Just be realistic, if your boy is in a wheelchair he is not going to win the Olympics, but that’s why God gave us the para-Olympics. If you want to run, but you are just a normal person, run the best you can.

Nobody, not even yourself, has the right to demand anything more,

Cortesy Fromoldbooks.org

Yesterday as now,

Poor, our Hidden Prince is born,

Is one soul waiting?

May this haiku serve as a way to wish you Merry Christmas and bring a message that love is the merrier if shared. Ah, just below these lines you will see a great message by the wonderful staff of Love’s Bridge. Read it to learn the work they do for homeless children in Siberia and how you can help them. Don’t miss the opportunity; last time God was born in a manger.

After this long while I continue this series on health and dieting on Christmas’ eve. Am I optimistic or something? Maybe I am. In any case just let me tell you that there is no need to be a fanatic, nor to end up in hospital for a too huge a dinner.

So let’s proceed with the series.

Give your best and don’t worry about the short term

Let me tell you a story of a lost notebook. I am a fan of paper notebooks, specially of Moleskine and Miquel Rius brands if anybody cares. On notebooks is where I draft most of my fiction writing both in English in Spanish. Call me a romantic, but I love the flow of the ink from an old fashioned pen on an old fashioned notebook.

I was writing Call It Freedom, my online English novel, on one of such notebooks. Unfortunately, it got lost somewhere in Tenerife, my parents’ island. A disaster? No way; just a delay. Most of the story was still fresh on my mind, so I took the opportunity to re-write it. I hated to do revisions, but losing the original is a very powerful motivator.

And do you know what? It was fun. I felt freed, I could edit without some absurd fear of being a traitor to myself.

In any case there was no reason to ditch the story. Even today I know my writing is far from perfect, specially in English. But, that’s not a reason to stop doing something I love. And please, don’t ask me why I love to write in English. That’s the beauty of irrationality, as Miles Crane from Fraser could have said.

Ups and downs.

If you go on dieting for any extended period of time you will have your ups and downs. I know nobody who diets perfectly for months or years. And you want to diet for life. You will have bad weeks in which you will not lose a gram or horror! put on a couple of pounds. And you know most of them you can’t blame on your body.

You will get too lazy at times to wake up in the mornings to run, or feel too tempted, or be under too much stress to stop using food as a stress killer. Now, you need to be able to counter those, and you will be. But it takes time. Meanwhile you will have bad days and bad weeks. So?

So learn and keep on. Just like me and my lost notebook. Even if you have got back every pound you lost, you have achieved something. Now you know you can lose weight. Now you know you can be healthier. So just go on, see what went wrong and fix it. Is your character weak? That can be fixed. You don’t know how to fight stress? So learn. There are books, there are specialists, there are other people who are going through all of this. Don’t be silly and use them.

Kaizen

Do you know you can make a small improvement in your diet today? Yes today, even if it’s Christmas. You can be easy on your poor belly, and you will be happier in the long run.

But in any ordinary day, you can make a small ordinary improvement. Pause for a second a think about what you can do about improving your dieting. It can be as simple as placing carrots in your fruit bowl, conveniently peeled, ready to be snatched instead of some sandwich. (And trust me good carrots are yummy. If you don’t like them, you have not found the right kind of carrot, or maybe you should go organic).

The carrot is just an example I personally use. Another could be to use champignons to thick for your sauces or… maybe learning some trick to control stress or…

Focus in one thing in one day. Make a little improvement and make it consistent. That’s the basis of Kaizen. If you make a mistake, you are human. Accept it, go on, improve, and in the long run, you will succeed.