Hunger

Hunger is the scourge of weight loss. Are you hungry, or facing and emotional or habitual need to eat.

If you ate within the last few hours, chances are your body is not asking for fuel. Are you depressed? Are you sad? Are you missing something in your life? These are all questions to ask. What about habitual eating? I used to be in the habit of getting a carbonated drink at 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM. This was halfway between breakfast and lunch, and half way between lunch and going home. I was not thirst, I just had a habit. I needed to break this habit.

Will power helps, but lets give you a few more tools to use.

Water: You are mostly made up of it anyhow. Drink it. This helps to keep your stomach full. It keeps you hydrated and everything flowing smoothly inside. Yes you do go to the restroom more. What happens when you pee? You are getting ride of the waste products that your body does not need. Hey, what a great idea!

Keep good food handy: I like to keep bags of fresh fruit or vegetables close at hand. This is easy to do if you are on shore duty. At sea, well this is not so easy. Do not use the vending machine as a substitute. This could be an opportunity to talk with your CoC about having fresh fruits and veggies available between galley hours.

Eat often: Eating every few hours prevents hunger. Need I say more? Just be sure to eat natural foods, not junk.

Exercise: I’ve found that going for a walk, a run, hitting the gym, or play a sport makes me forget that I was hungry. In other words, I really was not hungry.

Try to work these 4 extra tools into your fitness plan and see how it can help you lose weight.

Don’t wait for the New Year!

New Years resolutions. Every gym in the country is trying to get you to set one to start exercising on January 1st. Why wait? What is so significant about January 1st? Waiting until then is nothing more than an artificial mental barrier. This barrier was set up in our heads while we were children. It is a sales gimmick. We watched our parents make New Years resolutions. People ask “What is your New Years resolution?” Of course, where there is demand, Entrepreneurs will provide the supply. Undoubtedly, you have see offers of this supply on TV for fitness equipment, gym memberships, and diet pills.

You don’t have to wait to start exercising, start now.

Easy Snacks

One of the challenges many people have is staying away from snacks. Here is a healthy alternative, veggie bags. Go to the store and grab your favorite veggies. Clean and cut them. Now, get some sandwich bags and fill them up. Keep them cool and handy in he fridge. Now, you have something to much on that is quick to get to. For those of you who eat six times a day, consider grabbing two bags on your way to work. Have on before lunch and another before heading home. The fiber in the veggies will help you to fill full. Also, you will not get any nasty chemicals in your system or lab created food additives.

Exercise: Bench Press

Come on guys. You know you like this one. It is the ultimate status of your manhood. It is the question that is always asked. "How much can you bench?" Well, a bench press does no good if you do it wrong. As a matter of fact, this on can seriously injure you.

A few things to consider for the bench press:

• Use a spotter.
• Keep you head, torso, and hips on the bench and your feet on the ground.
• Keep in control. Jerks do nothing but tear muscles. Smooth flowing motion develops muscle.
• Lower the bar to just above your nipples.
• Raise it but do not lock your elbows.

Exercise: Dumbbell Deadlift

This is simply a squat using dumbbells. This exercise develops your middle traps, lower back, gluteals, and hamstrings. Say what??? I mean it gives you muscular legs, and strong back, and keeps you butt from sagging.

To do this:

• Place two dumbbells shoulder width apart on the floor.
• Squat down and grab the dumbbells.
• Stand up and slowly lower the weights.
• Do not lock you knees and pause while standing.
• Keep a smooth, non jerking motion.

Exercising with Injury

I’ve been off the exercise band wagon for a few months now. I over trained my knee getting ready for Command Fitness Leader school in August and as of mid November, I’m still on the side lines. Healing is taking much longer than I expected. So, how do I stay in shape?

Over the past few months I’ve been so ticked off and worried about this injury that I’ve back off way too much on staying fit. My fear has been that this may turn into a permanent injury if I aggravate it too much and end my active lifestyle. Well, after 4 months, it is time to do something.

My doctor has cleared my for swimming and any other cardio activity that does not aggravate my knee. Obviously the first step is to see your doctor and follow their advise. I took an inventory of what I am capable of doing for short periods of time and I’ve come up with this list:
· Swimming
· Cycling
· Elliptical
· Stair climber

OK, cardio is now solved. As for strength, I’m going to take that one one day at a time. Obviously most all upper body activities should be OK with exception to any that requires me to carry weight or flex my knees. As for lower body, I’ll try various exercises to see what causes discomfort and which ones do not.

Once the doctor says go for it, create a plan that will not impede the recovery process. I did not do this a few years back. Because of the permanent injury caused by my ignorance, my arms are not several inches smaller then what they once were. Staying down for the last few months was the best option for me. Now it is time to start slowly getting back in shape.

Triathlon...Do you dare???

What the (insert explicative here) are they thinking? 2.6 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and then a full marathon. I'm watching the Ironman Championships in Kona. Interesting, a major sponsor is Navy Special Forces. So, do you dare? Triathlon is a very fast growing sport for th recreational athlet. You can find triathlons of all distances. The Ironman is the extreme.

Photos by: Bakke-Svensson/Ironman.

Care to try it out? Running is the easiest to train for. You need shoes and a road. OK, Swimming. A gym membership usally helps but if you live on a lake, no problem. The most expensive is the cycling. You need a bike. Please do not go out and buy a carbon fibre Lance Armstrong special. At the smaller races, you will see people on mountain bikes. Use what you have, buy later if you continue.

Here is an opportunity to raise physical awareness at your commands. Hold a triathlon. OK, maybe its the dead of winter. Most bases have a pool at the fitness center. Usually there are bikes and treadmills. Use your imagination.

Here is a link about the 6 sailors who completed the 2008 Ironman.