fitness

As Denyse and Pharaoh can attest, running like crazy around a grassy field is the best thing ever. :)

Dan Buettner, writer for National Geographic, and a team studied communities around the world where a higher percentage of people lived to older ages, even into their 100s. In this TED video, Dan describes three communities they found where folks both grow older and grow older better. He refers to the talk as "How to Live Past 100+", but really it's about how to better your chances of a longer, healthier life -- more years and better ones.

At the end, he outlines the nine common elements they distilled from studying the Nuoro Province in Sardinia, Okinawa, and Loma Linda, right down the road here in Southern California.

The big do's:

1. Move Naturally -- physical activity every day, but not in gyms.
2. Right Outlook -- downshifting intensity during the day, sense of purpose.
3. Eat Wisely -- wine, plants (legumes, nuts, leafy greens), some meat, but don't overeat.
4. Connect -- belong in your family, friends, tribe.

Fascinating talk. I was worried it was going to be a bit snake oily, but it wound up being quite interesting.

2.65 miles almost without a hitch. As usual with rides after a long layoff, it's always what you don't think about -- knee was fine, it was the quads and forearms complaining. :)

Only knee twinge was getting up out of the saddle to pedal, so that will take a bit longer to heal up. I imagine getting those particular knee muscles built back up will help.

Felt good to breathe again, too.

Thanks to the knee injury, I haven't been bicycling much since May. In fact, checking the log, there's been a grand total of 2.32 miles over two trips. Whee!

So, once I had the knee surgery on October 1st, I resolved to get on a bike in a month, barring some unforeseen delayed healing or re-injury.

And here it is, November 1st.

My knee is a lot better. The fourth week of healing seemed to really do the trick, and I hardly notice going up and down stairs. Crouching and kneeling are still a challenge, particularly the former as I found out while repairing our dryer yesterday. But the vast majority of the time, it's a lot better. Say, having to ice it once or twice a day rather than every hour. :)

(Now that I've been off non-Ibuprofen pain meds for the knee for about a week, my back has begun acting up, no longer "masked" I suppose by the medication. So I have to watch that as well.)

Anyway, all that in mind, I think it's going to be a good test today with the bicycle. I am not going to push it. I have a two-mile round trip plotted out, with the idea that I can turn back at the half-way mark if I feel any pain.

A recent article in the LA Times -- "Low-fat diet not tops for weight loss, study finds" -- covers a study showing that low-fat diets are the worst for weight-loss, compared to low-carb and a Mediterranean diet.

The average weight loss in all three diet plans was small, and participants regained some of their pounds before the two-year study was over. Atkins dieters lost an average of 12 pounds; those on the Mediterranean regimen -- which included nuts, fish and olive oil -- shed an average of 10 pounds; and people assigned to the low-fat program lost an average of 7.3 pounds.

Whatever the nutritional issues with a low-carb diet (the study was sponsored by the low-carb-pushing Atkins Foundation, so keep that in mind), the real key to all this is a reasonable caloric intake, nutritionally sensible (i.e. not eliminating any of the macronutrients from your diet), accompanied by exercise. You know, the usual. ;)

That's the last cigarette I ever smoked, which happened five years ago today.

I'm happy to say the cravings don't happen any more, but there is the occasional moment where I'm aware that I would have headed outside back in the day. Also, every once in a while, I find myself reaching toward my pocket for a Zippo lighter that hasn't been there since 2003. Given that I smoked some 17 years, it probably will take a while longer for that to fade. :)

I don't miss smoking, something that is proved every day when I don't wheeze my lungs out going up stairs or on long walks or bicycle rides. Oxygen is good. Carbon monoxide, not so much.

The 600 other ingredients and harmful health effects, not so much either.

More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. (CDC)

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