New Year's Resolutions

I resolve to lose weight and become a faster runner.  To eat healthier and get better quality sleep.  To help old ladies cross the road.  To end hunger and spread peace.  To,… to,.. OMG how am I ever going to do all of this?!?

I'm not really a New Year's resolution type of guy.  When I crossed the 160lb level and had to start wearing the next size larger jeans, I vowed to lose weight and today am closer to 165.  That's still in the "healthy weight" range on the BMI charts, but the trend is in the wrong direction.

But my company shuts down over the holidays and that gives me a chance to reflect on what my goals are and what's working and what's not.  Obviously whatever I'm doing to lose weight is in the "not" category.  Actually, I'm not sure quite sure how the weight is supposed to come off, as I vowed to lose weight and then kept right on with my usual eating and exercise habits.

In truth, I have tried to cut back on my calorie intake, but the results were not as expected.  I expected to be hungry and perhaps a bit tired.  If only it were that easy.  When in calorie deficit, my body prefers to do a good imitation of fibromyalgia combined with depression.   As a result, everything hurts and any activity that might result in a single extra calorie being burned seems pointless.

It's also true that "lose weight" and "become a faster runner" are at odds with each other.  Building muscle generally requires a caloric surplus and hard running.  Even with the calorie surplus, all the hard running will lead to joint and muscle pain and a temporary diminishment of enthusiasm for, well, everything.  Running hard while in calorie deficit is just asking for trouble.

It's quite the quandary without any easy answers.  My latest experiment was limiting myself to only two slices of pepperoni pizza, then getting up from in front of the TV and organizing my sock drawer.  That's not the sexy answer that will sell a diet book, but it is an incremental change that seems to work in reality.  As a bonus, I can now spend more time running and less time looking for a matching pair of socks.