Trying to cope with self-destructive behavior.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

I met an old friend from my teaching days for dinner. We do this every couple of months just to catch up. She gets me up to date with Fieldstone Farm, the place Jim and I used to work and where I served as the Vocational Trainer for the high school students attending school there. She knows all about my background as a fitness trainer and this night, was interested in getting my help.

“John…I’ve got to get back on my diet and lose all the weight I’ve gained…which is over 70 pounds,” she said, explaining the diet low in refined sugar and carbs she used to follow. It didn’t sound like the greatest diet, but it had worked for her for over four years, but like so many of us, some stressful events occurred in her life…and food became the antidote. “I know I want to lose the weight and that I shouldn’t eat like I am…as I’m doing it. It’s like I’m trying to self-destruct.”

I hear the same story from Holly lately, too, and I’ve heard it hundreds of times over the years. In fact…it was me a little over a year ago when I began writing the blog and redefining my goals.

“Of course I’ll help you. You know I’m all about goal-setting and baselines so let’s get together on Tuesday and I’ll give you the step test and we’ll map out a short-term program for the next eight weeks to put you on the path. I think you ought to see my nutritionist friend about your wacky diet, too, and grab the book ‘You on a Diet’ and start reading. I think a lot of the issues you have with your eating issues are addressed in there and it will give you a better understanding of your self-destructive nature as well as some tools for dealing with them,” I said.

She’s a horse person and likes outdoor activity, though she has a elliptical machine and has used it with some success. “I still think you need to set some kind of goal to do something…kind of like how I set a trip to the Adirondacks and then need to be in shape to do the climbing. It gives you a deadline and I’ll map out the strategy to get you there. We’ll start with a fun hike in the Metroparks after I give you the step test on Tuesday. Bring some boots…it’ll be muddy, but that will make it a better workout,” I concluded.

For her, as for almost anyone, its about changing behavior…permanently. If you don’t…you revert. It will be a challenge for us both, but I’m looking forward to it.

I didn’t get in too much of a workout because of the dinner, though. Still, I managed a 45-minute hike before and when I got home to find that Holly was out walking, decided to try and meet up with her. The snow was beginning to fall and the wind was blowing hard. The sidewalks were already slippery. I headed in the reverse direction of our normal walk, figuring I’d find her heading my way somewhere along the path, but of course she’d chosen to go in an entirely different direction and we never crossed. I managed to add another 25 minutes to my walking time, which felt pretty good since I’d wolfed down two large, juicy pork chops and a sweet potato slathered in some kind of sweet buttered, topping for dinner. I could tell that I was likely to have a good workout the following morning too, since the snow was wet, sticky and supposedly coming in large quantities.

Hike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 75 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 250.