by Ethan Johnson
May 3, 2007

My chosen 30-day tracking method for my workout regimen strikes me as Stalinist, if only because it requires me to refer to this most recent cycle as the "third 30-day cycle". At least it's not the 6th year of a 2-year plan. And chocolate rations are up! Again!

My goal for this cycle was to try to walk outdoors exclusively, and cease using the treadmill unless absolutely necessary. Frankly, the treadmill is a drudgery, and I didn't realize the extent of this until I crunched the numbers. Here's the scorecard for this most recent cycle (April 4 - May 3, 2007):

• # of treadmill sessions: Zero! (Even despite the horrible weather we're having lately. More on this later in the article.)
• YTD miles walked on treadmill: 41.6 (Feb 3 - Apr 3 2007)
• (Outdoor) Miles walked during most recent cycle: 59 (!!!!!)
• Weight loss/gain since Feb 3, 2007: -24 lbs (295 down to 271.)
• Starting/current hip width in inches (sometimes called the "Texas waistline"): 45.5/43 (Loss of 2.5 inches)
• Starting/current belly width in inches: 47/44.5 (loss of 2.5 inches)

As a reminder, I haven't radically altered my diet, and I am doing a fairly mild floor exercise three days a week for about 20 minutes per session. I still eat red meat, however by and large I don't eat "junk food" anymore. I had a cookie at the soccer game last week, which was as "bad" as I got during the 30-day cycle. That is, as junk food goes. I ate at Mooyah a few times but it's all about moderation, and ordering the smaller burger instead of the double. I have managed to remain fast-food free since 2/3. I don't care what they're serving, if it's fast food, I'm not eating there. I'll go so far as to call fast food fumes the second-hand smoke of 2007. May not be cancerous, but certainly annoying. (Mooyah makes all of their food fresh, and there is no drive-through, so I don't consider them to be "fast food".)

Oh, and I'm not obnoxiously loading up on whatever farce they're pushing at stores like Whole Foods. I have switched to high fiber bread (3g per slice) and that seems to be helping matters. I take a fairly mild multivitamin every day. ("Mild" in that it contains the RDV of various ingredients around 100% with some exceptions, as opposed to some ridiculous pills that contain 4667% of your RDV of molybdenum. Why??!! You're literally going to piss the rest away - sorry.)

So here's the deal, sedentary folk who are wondering if you should follow my lead: First, consult your doctor. I am so not responsible for you getting hurt because you thought this was going to be easy. My results are mine alone. Second, with doctor approval, I hope to show you that if you increase your daily physical activity to 30 minutes of walking, any way, any how, you're going to get results. Not dramatic TV results, but a critical eye will reveal that those TV results are trumped-up and sensational, putting it charitably. Simply starving yourself does not give you washboard abs. By the way, I know I repeat myself a lot with these updates but that goes to show that I can't stress these points enough. If you think you're beyond all hope and too heavy to move, I'm suggesting that you try and take the literal first step. Nothing is going to get better unless you commit to try.

Having lost nearly 25 lbs in 3 months, I'm feeling freer to do other things. I made a down payment on a bicycle, and when I pay it in full I'll be hitting the bike trail in addition to my daily walk. I walked to and from the local department store without a second thought. This may seem like no big deal to some people, but going from "sedantary" to walking around the neighborhood with minimal fuss - especially in freakin' Hell (Dallas) - qualifies as pretty major in my book... and the gains were modest. I won't be on TV anytime soon, that's for sure. Slow and steady wins the race, although let's not think that way, as a race suggests a finish line. There isn't any. Well, death is, I suppose. Whenever I hit a comfortable target weight (220?) then I'll be in maintenance mode. Which won't be a big deal since we're talking sustainable lifestyle changes, not faddish diets that come and go like the wind.

Speaking of wind, we had some scary storms blow through last night. Horizontal rains and winds in excess of 80 MPH. We sustained some fence damage, but walking around the neighborhood this morning I saw various uprooted or split trees, and lots of fence damage. I felt slightly better about having to repair our fence when I saw this:

Would be nice if our homeowners' association allowed chain-link instead of solid wood stockade fences. Welcome to Dallas.

The fourth 30-day cycle starts tomorrow. I'm going to add a "music" element to it, in the Greek style of Music (for the mind) and Gymnastic (for the body).

Finally, regarding the title of this article, I watched an episode of Frontline where the presenter investigated the diet industry, and committed to walking every day. He was using a pedometer, but it either broke or he lost it, and he opted not to replace it. He said in closing, "now I'm just a man who walks." Look at the modest but steady gains I've made over three months. Your personal results will not be the same as mine, so let's not call this the benchmark. None of this would have happened if I didn't commit to trying to exercise in 30-day blocks. There are days I am so not motivated to do any of this, but I force myself to honor my commitment. I don't have a fancy name for what I'm doing, or a book deal in the works. I "just" walk. Everything else follows from that.

If any of you who read this take me up on a 30-day exercise routine (however minor), let me know as I'm more than happy to be part of your support system (within reason). See you on the sidewalks! <EM>