The Walk, The Hike, The Journey

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I've had the blessing of being able to work from home for the past 20 years now...

I've always been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember, and truly believe I'm in the best industry on planet earth...Even more so now with the crypto elements integrated into my businesses.

However there is a downside to working form home, and basically SITTING for 20 years...

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318 lbs....

44 years old...

I'd say that's a slight concern.

And it's not that this is some kind of shock to me. I knew I have been overweight and out of shape basically my entire adult life. And the pounds just seem to stick around...I've done the diets, the magic potions, the juicing....Heck I even went 3 years without eating meat.

Nothing seemed to work because...Jongo needs to take his own advice...And stick to it!

Consistency...I wonder where I've heard that before....

And now it's crunch time because I'm starting to notice other health issues pop up...From always being tired, to sore feet and legs...I'm sure I'm borderline diabetic by now, if not now then soon...And have reached the end of the excuses.

So today, I decided to change some things in my life...

I'll be hunting for some good nutritious meal plans and sticking with it. I think that's the key to a lot of this, is finding something easy enough to follow but quick enough for me to prepare daily.

So if anyone has any recommendations, let me know ;)

But also....Walking!

This is something I really enjoy, and instead of me trying to become Mr. Olympia in a month or less...I thought, heck I live in an amazing part of Canada, where nature is in abundance...

Why not get off my lazy butt, at least 3-4 times a week and go for a walk.

Thankfully....I live about 5 minutes from a very nice park and decided to grab my hiking boots and take a little stroll...

Of course, I took pictures ;)

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This is the Ken Diamond Memorial Park in Glovertown, Newfoundland. A 3.6 km trail that goes over bogs, lakes, rocky cliffs and even into the woods...Such a cool place to go for a hike...

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It was a mostly cloudy day today, but warm. So off I went down the path...

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Bogs are everywhere in Newfoundland. And the park's trails goes over bog water and small lakes throughout the hike. Early spring, it's still pretty 'brown and grey' out there...

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One of the coolest aspects of this park is the work that the town did to create bridges and boardwalks across the bogs.

This was a covered bridge on the trail, a very nice feature of the hike!

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Half of the hike was over the bog...But as you can see...There's hills up ahead :)

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Speaking of half way....

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Getting closer to the woods and more bridges :)

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And into the woods we go....A slight climb but nothing that my 318 pounds couldn't conquer ;)

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And at the end of the 3.6 kms...One last bridge and small brook that I crossed over!

O.K. O.k.....I know 3.6 kms isn't that big a deal.

And most of you fit folks could do this in your sleep...But I plan on doing this hike multiple times a week going forward. And seeing my time and how long it takes for me to get around the entire trail.

What's cool about this park, is there are 'offshoot' trails as well, for larger climbs up the hills and a much more picturesque view as well...So we'll conquer that in my next journey.

I know this is a small step but I need it.

I've been putting my health on the back burner for far too long, and walking is something I enjoy. It's not massive physical activity, but I just need to get into the habits now...I'll worry about Mr. Olympia later!

And oh yeah....

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I'll be tracking my stats on @actifit

My account there is @jonolsonproject

Give it a follow if you wanna kick my butt if you see me slacking ;)



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34 comments
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Jon,

Wonderful job with deciding to do something about your health. I had the same problem. Working in IT for ~20 years or so. Sitting all the time. I hit 50 and it was like my body decided to just run slower. Sooo.... I started walking and changed what I ate.

I only began losing weight when I started walking daily.

As for food, my wife and I switched to a 95% vegetarian diet months back and that did wonders for my weight and energey level, and my "drive" in other areas too. 😉

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LOL That's the benefits for sure LOL

Yeah I think walking is something that will generate so big benefits for me for sure.

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I too have struggled with my weight my whole life. The thing that seems to work best for me is to eat a salad every evening before dinner and I also try to fast one day a week. Another big factor is salt intake. Try to limit it to 2000 mg per day. You will be surprised at the salt content in food if you start reading labels!

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Oh it's a killer for sure.

My wife has high blood pressure, so thankfully salt intake is at a minimum in this house.

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Indeed. Salt is in everything packaged. Everything.

I quit eating pre-packaged meals and my salt intake dropped for sure.

When we first switched to being vegetarian, my wife Tam wanted to learn some new vegan\vegetarian recipes for us.

She ordered for a while from a place called Purple Carrot, which delivers a chilled box of raw veggies, tofu, spices, etc. once a week. Each box is packed with enough stuff to cook 4 evening meals\dinners for 2-3 people, and they're all vegetarian meals.

That really turned my weight around. Even though I have gained some of it back, I am still leaner and feel healthier than I did when I ate whatever.

She saved up the recipes and now she goes to the grocer, buy the veggies herself, and cook the meals.

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I was always overweight as far as I remember and it was always a struggle.
Even doing sports which was my favorite subject in school, my other sport was eating too much lol
Through the years I always put others and goals first in front of myself ending up not giving proper care, plus not being consistent in diets and exercises.
Having David and stayed at home with him didn't help much later on in adding more pounds and when I decided to go back to work and already seeing some lower numbers, a pandemic decided to show up months later!
But I know these and many more are just excuses and it's up to me to change, but I always end up sabotaging myself after a couple of good weeks. Sleep deprivation and emotions influence a lot...

You were already a good influence and an inspiration so maybe and hopefully I will follow you on this!

This is the way!!

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Yeah and this past year hasn't been the easiest for anyone too...It all added up into getting us into funks and depressed.

I think being active will curb so much. I just need to make sure i keep building the habit!

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I have never really been overweight but I have heard many people with those issues.

The trial you are walking around seems like a good place to walk and there doesn't seem to be many people around. Honestly I like walking since it doesn't stress you out as much and I prefer not to run as much. I do feel like I am out of shape a bit but I blame the lockdowns.

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Yeah I was into jogging a few years ago but blew my knee out. So now it's low impact until I build back up...Walking in the woods, I love it lol

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How wonderful that you started the walking a right step in the right direction. I also am over weight last week start chair exercises with a couple of friends twice a week. The little bridges are cool to look at. Loved the pictures.

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Thanks Sheila...Figured if I share this with folks, it might inspire them to get active too :)

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That is awesome Jon.
You can do it. It is a stretch but you will get there.
I have faith in you.

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(Edited)

Crypto elements also play an important role in improving the business. This is also a good choice for you

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Beautiful pictures. This is the ideal place to do some exercice.

I could give you quite a lot of tips how to work on your weight and especially how to improve your general health. I've studied sport and nutrition at University and also coached my mom for about 20 years to deal with her diabetes.

The key is to change habits and the changes don't have to be too harsh. I'll write down some tips here ;-)

Break the pattern

We are often not aware of our eating habits. We tend to eat stuff between the meals without realizing it and then we concentrate our effort on the meals. The things between the meals are the worst because they generate continous blood sugar jumps that are followed by insuline increases. If these cycles are too frequent, your body will develop a resistence to insuline and this will generate diabetes.

Basically when you have insuline in your blood that is not used by the cells, your body gets the message: Burn the sugar in the blod but don't burn the fat reserves. This means that you will quickly get hungry and that your fat stocks will acumulate.

  • Eat three meals a day but don't eat anything in between
  • Start your meals with a salad or with vegetables. This will slow down the insuline response of the body and then it's not a problem to take a desert after the meal.
  • when drinking between meals, only drink stuff without sugar (water, tea, coffee without sugar)
  • avoid processed food. Whenever something is in a package it is often transformed. As a general rule, the more transformed food is, the bigger the insuline response will be in your body.
  • protect yourself when you shop. The best way to avoid eating junk food is to avoid buying it in the first place. Just by the good stuff :-)

How to exercice

  • When you exercice, you train your metabolisme. What you should aim at is to train your body to burn the fat in your body. The higher the effort the less your body will use the energy from fat and the more from sugar (glucose). It's therefore important to exercice not at a too intensive rate. Walking is perfect for that. When you walk make sure that you can always talk while you walk. Especially at the beginning, take some sugary snacks with you but just in case. Try to avoid to eat them. They are only there in case you can't do without anymore. You get best effects if you avoid to eat any sugar or carbonhydrates before and during the exercice. Also drink water. Like that you take the sugar sources away from your body and it's only choice is to start to burn fat as a energy ressource. You won't loose much weight like that but you will achieve something much more important. You will train your body to relearn how to work with energy from fat reserves.

A very good exercice to do:

  • When you get up in the morning only drink a glass of water. Take some energy bars with you in case. Go for a slow walk for about 30 minutes and just drink water on the way. During the night your body will have goten into fat burning cycle and it will stay there if it doesn't get any carbonhydrates. While walking slowly, your body will burn more fat and improve the metabolisme. It's possible that you might get some problems after 20 minutes. Just make sure to slow down and go through it. If it doesn't work. Eat an energy bar that you took with you:-)

Feel free to ask if you have questions. I believe I could write a book about this lol

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Great advice, Achim! I learned a lot here!

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I'm happy you found it helpful!

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Because this is such an awesome post, here is a BBH Tip for you. . Keep up the fantastic work

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That's some epic advice man. Wow, appreciate that very much.

Expect a few messages from me over the next few weeks LOL

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Don't hesitate if you need some help ;-)

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Lol I know what you mean by sitting too much. Nice pictures from the hike and it's always great to get those steps in.

There's a study in the International Journal Of Obesity and they found that walking 15,000 steps a day or standing for more than 7 hours per day meant no metabolic syndrome features. 15k is the new 10k.


Posted via proofofbrain.io

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15k lol geez i'm struggling to hit 5k LOL

Slow and steady!

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We gotta admit, we're in the age where we feel a bit odd here and there. So.. great on you for starting this journey! Look at that nature, such an envy. I've been lagging behind on my activity too. I cannot find any proper alibi to defend it. 🤦‍♀

I have to say, @actifit really motivated me a lot during those times I was very active. I was able to finish 10kms before 7am, almost every day. For a long time, my blog was posted through actifit (2 birds with one stone! lol). Then my fitbit broke and my phone doesn't capture my actifit steps properly so I lost the motivation. LOL.

Keeping active is a choice. And a choice we have to keep. I hope I find my motivation back soon.

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Thanks for the comments!

Yeah Actifit really helps me get fired up and on track...We'll see how I'm doing in a month from now LOL

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You can do this! YOU GOT IT!

Plus honestly those daily walks are a great way to just clear your mind, brainstorm up new ideas and remotivate yourself.

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LOL So true. Did that today too...Just allows me to think into things differently!

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Just signed into Actifit for the first time today. I also have health related complications due to being over weight and they were really bad when I was 329 pounds at just 5 foot 7 inches in height. High Cholesterol, Sky High Blood Pressure, depression, Diabetes, migraine headaches, more medications than I could manage. When I was able to get my weight below 275 lbs. all of that went away. Today I am 252 lbs. Hoping that Actifit will help me to develop a lifestyle that will normalize my body weight to a more comfortable 170 lbs. Will look you up 😃 BTW wow you live in an amazing area, those pictures were great thank you for sharing 😃

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Thanks for sharing that man. Yeah it's hard when you hear people say 'just get active' LOL

When you are overweight, getting up out of a chair can be a task...But slow and steady...We can do it!

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(Edited)

Nice Pics & interesting trail!

That's really cool @jongolson! I used actifit last year when I was walking on a daily basis, I still do but I don't walk daily and more do to feet problems. The winters are too harsh for me to walk but now that the whether is nice, I wanna get back out there but it's really hard and I can't get the 5000 activity points on actifit unless I walk a couple of miles each day. But I try to do extra sometimes just around the house and yard to try and make it and if I run errands those days are usually full of activity but I still have to do more to make the cut. It's hard sometimes but I'm trying.

As for the losing weight thing, I know what you mean. I knew you were a big man but I didn't think you were that big. I had a similar problem with weight causing issues for my knees and the only solution is losing weight. The funny thing about is I was only 185lbs. but when I got down to about 150 it helped a lot. I'm now back up a bit but my knees only bother me when its damp out.

As for dieting you have to find what works for you. I read a lot of diet books some years ago and found them very helpful in learning to eat healthy. One thing I always recommend to people when asked is to watch your carbohydrates, these are the breads, pastas, potatoes, and most starches.

Something else I learned was that it's not always what you eat but how you eat as well. Like don't eat 1 or 2 big meals a day, instead break down your meals into smaller ones. I used to buy things like nuts, chips (baked/kettle), small fruits (grapes/berries), carrot sticks, and other raw vegetables. I would break them down into sandwich baggies by the serving size and use them as meals or snacks. You accomplish 2 things by doing that, 1) you're eating healthier and 2) your changing your diet and eating habits.

You might get hungry at first, but that's just because your stomach has to adjust and it will. And one more thing, drink ONLY water.

Good luck!

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Thanks Charletta!

Yeah it's been way too long making myself more and more unhealthy. So I need to take responsibility and get moving :)

Actifit is helping for sure....I forgot to post my numbers yesterday LOL

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Yeah, that's how it is with actifit, once you get used to doing it, it'll become a habit.

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