Tools for Tracking Success

...and for increasing awareness/mindfulness ;)

Here are some free online tools to help improve daily awareness of your health and wellness, starting with my favorite so far:

Map My Run http://www.mapmyrun.com/

This is my favorite website for tracking my daily calorie intake, protein intake, workouts and for checking out how my friends on MapMyRun are doing as well. Their "My Nutrition" page is the most fun. It calculates how many calories you should be eating on a given day based off of your weight, age, gender and activity level. Then you just punch in what you've eaten and how many calories you've burned during the course of the day and it tells you how many more you should eat. And the best part: It's free!

Here are some more options:

Livestrong

http://www.livestrong.com/

Fat Secret

http://www.fatsecret.com/

CaloriCount

http://caloriecount.about.com/?utm_medium=redirect&utm_source=direct&utm_campaign=caloriecountcom

If you know of any others, post them as a comment or email them my way. :D

CNN Interview with Rich Roll, Ultraman
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/08/living/fat-dad-to-fit-dad/index.html


It's Not Too Late!
 The Story of One Man's Journey to Incredible Fitness

(CNN) -- The night before he turned 40, Rich Roll had what he calls a "moment of clarity." Overweight and out of shape, Roll had to stop to catch his breath while walking up the stairs of his Southern California home. Roll, now a father of four, feared he was close to a heart attack.

That low point prompted the entertainment attorney and former college swimmer to lose weight and get healthy. Roll not only followed through on his promise to himself and his family, he transformed his body and his life. He adopted a vegan or plant-based diet and six months later, with almost no experience, entered the extreme endurance event known as Ultraman.

Ultraman is like a super-size triathlon. It's a three-day race covering 320 miles on the big island of Hawaii, including a 10-kilometer ocean swim, more than 260 miles by bike and a double marathon run.

Not only did Roll finish the race, he placed 11th overall. He went on to compete in more endurance events, including EPIC5, finishing five Ironmans on five Hawaiian islands in less than a week. His accomplishments have attracted international attention and praise. In 2009, Men's Fitness magazine named Roll one of the "25 Fittest Men in the World."

Roll is telling his amazing and inspirational story in the new book "Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself." He's encouraging everyone, especially middle-aged fathers, to improve their diet, fitness and long-term health.

He took time out of his busy schedule to talk to CNN this week. The following is an edited transcript:

CNN: Just about five years ago, you turned yourself into one of the fittest men on the planet. How are you doing today at age 45?

Rich Roll: I feel fantastic and I continue to learn and refine and try to do it better. Like most people, my life is busy, and recently with the book I haven't been able to train as regularly as I've become accustomed to over the past several years. So when I'm not on my schedule the way I like to be, then I don't feel as good. But in the balance of things looking back from 5½ years ago to where I am now, it's nothing short of remarkable. If anything I am more a believer than I ever have been in the program that I talk about in the book and have every intention of continuing on this path. At the time, five years ago, all I wanted to do was lose a little weight and feel better. I had no idea it would lead to the life that I'm leading now. It's crazy.

CNN: Between your family, your job and training, what's a typical day like for you?

Roll: My schedule is different every day. Often it's dictated by what the kids have going on and what their activities happen to be so I take a tip from that. It's very fluid. I try not to be too strict every day because then I get frustrated when things don't work out the way I want them to. So I try to remain open.

Generally, I get up early, I take my kids to school; then I try to squeeze in a training session, then I get some work done, then I try to squeeze another training session in. I'll pick my kids up from school. I'll work for another couple of hours. I'll have dinner with my kids, and quite often I work late into the night.

See Dr. Sanjay Gupta interview Rich Roll in 2010

CNN: What does it take to make such a major lifestyle change? Is it a question of willpower?

Roll: I think it's a little bit more than that. I think the important thing to bear in mind, that's been incredibly helpful to me in many instances in my life, is to remember that mood follows action. I think it's very easy to say I'll get to that when I feel better or when I'm in the right mood, then I'll do that, or when the universe aligns and everything is perfect, then I'll dust off that dream, but it never happens. The action has to come first. You have to take the action before you know where it's going to lead you without knowing the outcome and irrespective of your mind-set or how you feel at the time.

That's key and the other thing is to emphasize the importance of those dreams we all have because life is short, and there's no time like the present to set them in motion. My hope is that people can see through the extreme endurance event aspect of the book and realize that's purely intended as metaphor. Not everyone who reads my book will want to do Ultraman or become 100% vegan, but I hope it serves as inspiration for whatever that thing is you've had in the back of your mind that you always wanted to do. There is a way and a means to breathe life into those things if you're willing to prioritize it in a way you haven't done before.

CNN: What advice would you give to those inspired after reading your book?

Roll: The biggest thing is to not overcomplicate it and just start. You don't have to have the whole thing mapped out. You don't have to know where it's going to lead you. You shouldn't get caught up in the results of it. You just need to begin and embrace the journey and be open to where it's going to lead you.

CNN: How do you maintain a balance and find time for it all?

Roll: Balance is very difficult. It's something I'm always chasing and pursuing. I'm always trying to get that recipe, that chemistry perfect, but the truth is you can't do everything every day so something's got to give.

I'm not a professional athlete; nobody's paying me to race. I don't make any money doing it. I've made a little bit of money writing the book but not enough to support my family, so I have to work just like everybody else. When I'm training then, I'm not earning so I have to be reasonable about the whole thing. I'm just like every other dad in that regard.

CNN: You've accomplished so much in the past five years, but what's your next goal?

Roll: Certainly I want to continue to push my body and see what it's capable of in an athletic concept. I love doing that, and I will continue to look for athletic challenges. That will be something I will always do, but I would say that my priorities have shifted a little bit. Now my focus and what's most important to me professionally is spreading a healthy message. I want to help inspire people through the book or get them to make healthier choices about their eating.

I'm hoping the book will create a platform for me to be able to go around the country and speak to groups and kids at schools or corporations and get people eating better. Being able to have a positive impact on somebody's health, there's nothing better than that. It's extremely gratifying. So my hope and my aspiration is to be able to play a small role in trying to create a healthier America.

The Power of Awareness

 

Is it possible to improve or maintain your health without awareness? Even if we have incorporated healthy habits into our daily lives and have learned as much as we can from the information available to us through scientific studies, when it comes down to it, only you are there to make sure that you make the right choices. That is, unless you are 5 years old and are lucky enough to have parents who teach you what those right choices are :) 

 

It may seem like an overwhelmingly large and complicated task to make sure that every day we incorporate healthy food and drinks into our diet, avoid the unhealthy food and drinks, make time for a 10-minute walk at least, and make sure that we get at least 8 hours of rest per night. OK, it is large and complicated but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. We can start by just being aware of what our daily patterns are right now, this week. Keeping a food journal or a workout journal is very helpful (I'll post some useful websites for that on a separate post) as is using a pedometer to find out how many steps you take during the day. If we take some time each day to think about how the day went, what we did well and what we'd like to change or improve on, then this task not only seems achievable but can also be very rewarding. The good news is that by bringing ourselves to account each day, we also have to give ourselves credit for the things that we do right!

 

Here are some of the quotes that were studied at the last Health Devotional on Saturday, June 30th. You might have seen one or two quotes before but the more I search for themes, the more I find them to be overlapping. Please feel free to send me your comments, suggestions, and questions! :)

O SON OF SPIRIT! I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.

- Baha’u’llah, Hidden Words, Arabic #13

O MY FRIEND! Thou art the daystar of the heavens of My holiness, let not the defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor. Rend asunder the veil of heedlessness, that from behind the clouds thou mayest emerge resplendent and array all things with the apparel of life.

-  Baha’u’llah, Hidden Words, Persian # 73

 “…the mind and the spirit of man are cognizant of the conditions and states of the members and component parts of the body, and are aware of all the physical sensations; in the same way, they are aware of their power, of their feelings, and of their spiritual conditions. This is the knowledge of being which man realizes and perceives, for the spirit surrounds the body and is aware of its sensations and powers. This knowledge is not the outcome of effort and study. It is an existing thing; it is an absolute gift.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, pp.157

GLORY be to Thee, O God! Thou art the God Who hath existed before all things, Who will exist after all things and will last beyond all things. Thou art the God Who knoweth all things, and is supreme over all things. Thou art the God Who dealeth mercifully with all things, Who judgeth between all things and Whose vision embraceth all things. Thou art God my Lord, Thou art aware of my position, Thou dost witness my inner and outer being.

- The Bab  Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 217

“O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being. O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.

O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  Bahai Prayers, pp. 152

“As this physical frame is the throne of the inner temple, whatever occurs to the former is felt by the latter. In reality that which takes delight in joy or is saddened by pain is the inner temple of the body, not the body itself. Since this physical body is the throne whereon the inner temple is established, God hath ordained that the body be preserved to the extent possible, so that nothing that causeth repugnance may be experienced. The inner temple beholdeth its physical frame, which is its throne. Thus, if the latter is accorded respect, it is as if the former is the recipient. The converse is likewise true.”

- The Bab  Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 95

"You should not neglect your health, but consider it the means which enables you to serve. It - the body - is like a horse which carries the personality and spirit, and as such should be well cared for so it can do its work! You should certainly safeguard your nerves, and force yourself to take time, and not only for prayer and meditation, but for real rest and relaxation."

-       Shoghi Effendi  Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual, 23 November 1947

“ Look inwards and not at others, not others’ opposition nor what they did or failed to do,but in oneself should be sought things done, things left undone.”

-       Dhammapada, Verse 50 (Buddhist Teachings)

“Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday…. Guard against idleness and sloth, and cling unto that which profiteth mankind, whether young or old, whether high or low.”

-       Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah (LAWḤ-I-HIKMAT - Tablet of Wisdom) pp. 138

 

“Be calm, be strong, be grateful, and become a lamp full of light, that the darkness of sorrows be annihilated, and the sun of everlasting joy arise from the dawning place of heart and soul, shining brightly.”

-       ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha  11 pp. 405

 

“Let no one imagine that these words imply that man should not be thorough and careful in his undertakings. God has endowed man with intelligence so that he may safeguard and protect himself. Therefore, he must provide and surround himself with all that scientific skill can produce. He must deliberate, thoughtful and thorough in his purposes, build the best ship and provide the most experienced captain; yet, withal, let him rely upon God and consider God as the one Keeper.”

-       ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Promulgation of Universal Peace  pp. 48

“Those who are beyond the dualities that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings, and who are free from all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme. Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.”

-       Bhagavad Gita, Verses 5.25-5.26