Where Do I Begin?

Walking and eating right are fundamental and serve as the gateway to more healthy habits.

Where Do I Begin?

My post from a few weeks back called This Is What I Do got a bunch of questions.

Thank you for reading and for asking! It means a lot as I put my heart into this newsletter.

I got one question a few times in different forms and so I'm going to address it in this post. Here is a composite:

Phil, 

You do a bunch of things and that’s great but I am just getting started trying to get healthy so where do I begin?

Thanks, Reader

Ok. There are only two things you need to do to begin getting healthy. 

1. Walking and 2. Eating Right

That’s it. End of post. TLDR or whatever. Read on only if you must…

I continue to use these two as my base everyday. If I get injured or have trouble sleeping, these are my resilience engines.

Here’s a riff on walking and eating right but first some preliminaries.

Key Preliminaries

1. Getting healthy is a progression. We can start at an elementary stage and slowly progress over time. 

This is a fantastic thing and true of most challenges in life, not just fitness.

Walking and eating right are gateway drugs to more rigorous movements, better rest, improved body composition. etc.

2. Everyone starts from a different place. This post might be too basic for some of you. Sorry y’all. I'll write about Creatine next week, I promise.

3. Know-How is key. People attempt things all the time and fail, not for a lack of effort, but because they do not have the right information. Here’s the right info.

Still, this might not work for you. Maybe you will still be searching for that thing that kicks you into gear. 

4. Intensity is a false God. It’s great and all, but really it's overrated. Doing healthy, non-intense things regularly and forever is really much better.

Walking and Eating Right: The Bread and the Butter

Pardon the sub-header here. There will not be bread. 🤣🤣🤣

These are the two things to start with that are fundamental and serve as the gateway to better fitness and more healthy habits that begin to click as you make walking and eating right habits.

If you were to adopt these two things alone and do nothing else, your energy would likely increase and your waistline would likely decrease.

1. Walking. 

Walking is the fundamental human movement and our bodies and spirits love when we do it. So,

• Go to a running store and have them help you find good shoes that fit well. 

• Begin walking almost everyday.

• 30 minutes is fine and more is fine too.

• Walk early in the day if you can or later but be selfish about it. It’s your time. 

• Your body is not subject to the laws of physics as the more energy you expend, the more energy you have. It's crazy.

• Take a day or two off when you are tired or achy. The path will still be there tomorrow.

• Put your phone in a pocket with a zipper if you have one and turn it to silent if you can. Your mind and spirit will love that and you might come to cherish this as your creative mind wanders too.

• If you have significant health issues, discuss this with your doctor before you begin.

• If you are morbidly obese, call Dr. Tro. He's probably registered in your state and he is the ax. 

2. Eat Right.

Caveat: If you are reading this and these foods are not your thing, please ignore. This is what works for me and some other people. Something different might work better for you.

These are the foods I mostly eat. Sometimes I eat other things but this is 90%. I have outlined them in more detail here. 

• Eggs

• Beef (mostly ground beef)

• Fish (mostly salmon but also tuna fish)

• Shrimp

• Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt

• Chicken

• Berries (Costco frozen blueberries primarily)

• Pork

• Veggies (Lots of broccoli, peppers, cauliflower, whatever…)

• Nuts

• Whey Protein in Milk (I use a frother to mix)

• Butter

• Olive and Avocado Oils

Eat these foods first and foremost. Every. Damn. Day.

Pay no attention to calories. Do not count them.

You will be amazed by how infrequently you feel bloated and how your body begins to change.

Couple other things - 

• Don't eat bread, cereal, cakes, pasta, rice or anything high in carbs. You don't really need them.

• Skip sauces that are loaded with sugar like BBQ sauce .

• Use spices more like Old Bay. 

• Limit alcohol.