Round is a shape!…Getting and staying healthy is a part of Prepping.

Hello my friend and welcome to today’s post. I can’t help but notice how many Preppers are in bad health and/or overweight…myself included!  So why is this and why do we allow ourselves to get this way?  We all know that it would be a bad thing when SHTF hits yet here we are.  In today’s post, we are going to discuss this and a few ways that we can overcome it.  Please grab a cup of coffee and have a seat while we visit.

At 6 feet and 280, I’m not exactly all muscle, but I wasn’t always like this. This has only happened in the last couple of years.  I seem to spend way too much time behind a computer and not enough exercising.  Yes I can admit it, somewhere along the way I got complacent and just stopped worrying about it and now I have realized that it is past time to do something about it.  Being overweight and out of shape is not going to be a good thing when SHTF hits and you have to run for your life.  It could even get you killed!  I guess I justified not worrying about it in the beginning by telling myself that I would have to lose weight when SHTF hits and food is rationed, so why worry about it now?  I have a feeling that I am not the only one that has fallen into this trap.

It is always easier to make excuses than to do the right thing, but the question is just how long will you allow yourself to be fooled by this thinking? You know that if you are overweight it is bad for your health in more ways than one.  You need to resolve now to start getting back into shape and yes; I know that round is a shape.  Unless you are planning to roll around on the ground like a ball however, then round is not a good shape. You need to be as lean and strong as you can, given your health conditions.  For me it started with a broken Pelvis, but it has finely healed and it is time for me to get off my butt and start exercising.  This is exactly what I am going to do. (Notice I didn’t say try?)

So where do you start when your shape is “Round”? Well, you start by talking to your Dr. and making sure that your heart and other organs are well enough for you to start exercising.  As we age, we tend to have more aches and pains; the trick is to push yourself to do it anyway.  Just remember that it is better to do it now than later when you have to do it all at once.  That would be really painful.  Ok so let’s say that you visited your Dr. and they have given you the OK to start exercising.  Where the heck do you start?  I am going to start by walking every morning as far as I can 3 times a week at a minimum.  I know from experience that this is a great way to lose that extra weight you are carrying around.  I have lost as much as 100 pounds before by just walking and watching what I eat.

So what do I mean by watching what I eat? Well, for a man my size, they say I need to keep my calorie intake below 2,500 calories.  That does me no good at all, instead I chose to follow a different standard. Let’s look at what I believe and know about weight loss.

1. One square inch of muscle weighs a lot more than one square inch of fat. Why is this important you may ask? Because when you first start walking or doing any type of exercise, you will build muscle so your weight may go up when your first start exercising, but will slowly start to drop as you burn the fat off.
2. If you want to lose weight and get rid of fat, why would you continue to put fat into it? I instead chose eat low-fat foods when possible. Now I didn’t say “No Fat” because your body needs a little to help keep things lubricated, or so I’m told. I have never been good at counting calories, so I do this. I start out by eating a little less each day of the regular foods I eat until I have reached the point that I am eating about ½ of what I was eating before. This seems to work well for me.
3. Once you have gotten to where you can walk 5 miles a day 3 times a week, add a little weight to your workout by carrying hand weights  or weight gloves with you when you walk and working out your arms at the same time. This will help you tone up the upper part of your body while you are walking and get your aerobic heart rate up. You can slowly increase their weight as you go, just don’t increase it too fast.

We have several friends who swear by the Bluetooth wristbands that track your steps, sleep, calories burned, etc. They sync with your phone, laptop or PC that have Bluetooth.  There are many brands and range in price.  Always check customer rating before you buy.  They run from $29.99 for the BOI Oled to the  $141.42 Fitbit Charge.  My wife has the $49.99 Garmin Vivofit and  loves it.  She can’t do a lot of walking to build to 5 miles due to her knees but she has steadily increased her steps to reach her 10,000 steps a day goal.  This may be something that you may want to consider.

As I work on this, I will try to keep you updated on my progress. I really need to be able to get back into my uniform!  I hope you will join me on this effort and start your own as well.  Being fit when SHTF hits will increase your chances of survival greatly and you will need every advantage you can get.  Well that is it for today, and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post.  Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared!

-The Sargent-