Image courtesy of Ruud Hein (Flickr)
Anyone who’s been involved in organized or semi-organized raiding in an MMORPG is probably familiar with the concept of raid prep: making sure you’re ready to tackle a given objective. Do you have your potions, bandages, and ammo? Do you have a plan of attack (or, for the purists in the audience, have you studiously avoided one)? Is your equipment ready? Magic users, have you studied and read up on your spells today?
Have you, in short, told Illidan Stormrage to shove it?
The same approach can help you succeed in getting healthy, too.
There’s a certain school of thought that contends that weight loss (and muscle gain, if that’s what you’re after) begins in the kitchen. We’re hardly shy around these parts about encouraging healthy eating habits. However, how do you go about getting into those habits?
A great place to start is by taking the time to pre-prepare some of your food. I’m not talking about spending all afternoon whipping up a magnificent five-course repast. (A lot of folks enjoy cooking for its own sake, but that’s not what we’re after here.) Take a little while after you do your weekly grocery run to lay out the week’s lunches, or side dishes, and you can be 100% sure that they’re ready to go when you need them. Tupperware containers (or bento boxes) with pre-measured amounts of veggies, fruit, nuts, and even a little treat tucked inside are the perfect companion to a piece of grilled chicken or fish. Now that Autumn has arrived here in the northern hemisphere, soup can rejoin the menu, too.
Soup (and stew) is another great way to get a whole bunch of meals out of a single cooking session. Put the soup together, and while it cooks, you can assemble your side dishes and stick them in the fridge. If you’re feeling particularly froggy, you could sit down in front of a movie (or ballgame, or whatever Netflix just delivered) and whip up self-serve snack bags as well. As someone who doesn’t like to spend a ton of time in the kitchen, if I can double up on getting stuff done there, I’m all about it. Plus, I’m a huge fan of leftovers. The way the flavors blend in a big pot of soup is just added incentive.
So, you’ve got your trail rations laid in. Now, as far as hitting the trail itself is concerned, it makes sense to have an idea about how to make your way forward. Not merely forward, but upward. There’s a lot to be said about starting out easy and then beginning to challenge yourself. Everyone, whether it’s their first time going for a stroll, or someone trying to set a personal record after years of training, can look at where they are and want to get just a little bit better.
Tracking what you’ve done is a fantastic way to gauge your progress. You can look back and see how far you’ve come with a sense of pride and accomplishment. The journey of a thousand miles (or the walk to Mordor Seattle) begins with a single step.
Fitness is all about striving for self-improvement. “Last week, we cleared the whole dungeon, wipe-free, in 4:03. Let’s break 4:00 flat next time. Who’s got the carrot sticks?”
[meal planning link courtesy of @foodmedic]
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