I’m an Omnivore

You don’t have to set goals to be on a diet. Maybe you’re already where you want to be and just don’t want to slide. But if you do have physical goals, diet and exercise can help you achieve them. Do you want more energy? Do you want to be able to run a marathon? How about go up a flight of stairs without getting winded? The time is going to pass whether or not you set goals. When I think of that, I am reminded that setting goals is not only worthwhile, but that not setting goals is a waste, unless, of course, you’re perfectly content in every way.

I want to explain what my goals are. Trust me. I’m not where I want to be right now. These are my three goals:

• Lose fat
• Gain muscle
• Increase endurance

Except for the endurance part, it’s pretty generic. I’ve realized that I have almost no endurance. I’ve never been able to run a mile in under nine minutes. I can’t do aerobic exercise for very long without getting cramps. A few days ago, I couldn’t even jog on a treadmill for fifteen minutes. This might not bother some people, but I know that I won’t be satisfied with this little endurance.

Losing fat is an almost universal goal. Who doesn’t want to lose a few pounds of fat? A while back, I didn’t tell myself I wanted to lose fat, but instead that I wanted to “lose weight.” Big mistake. There are a lot of different kinds of weight: muscle, fat, glycogen, and water. Fluctuations in weight are normal. When you think about it, weight is only an indicator of other things and it’s a pretty poor indicator. In addition, BMI(body mass index), which is based solely on weight and height, is a useless guideline for most people. So instead, I recommend not relying on weight as a marker for success. There are many other tools for measurements. I’ve been looking at body fat calipers online and I think I have found a fairly cheap solution.

Why muscle gain? While there are a lot of advantages to being muscular, I want to do it largely for the aesthetics. Ever hear of the quarter life crisis? Well, I think I’m going through it right now. We only live once, right? Now, someone might supply this piece of wisdom as a reason to do something incredibly stupid or as an excuse to eat something you’ll regret later. Hey, you only live once. But I flipped that on its head. I am twenty years old. I’ll only get one chance to be this young. You know, after the age of thirty five, people start losing muscle mass at an alarming rate. I want to look good and feel good about myself now because I’ll only get one chance.

That explains my three goals, but I’m not done. As they are, these goals aren’t going to get much accomplished. They are way too general. How will I know when I’ve accomplished them? For that to happen, I have to refine these goals. First, there needs to be a date by which they should be completed. These goals should also be testable. There should either be a test or measurement I can perform. When I figure out what my body fat percentage is I am going to give myself a month to lower it. For example the goal might look like this: “Have less than 10% body fat by August 1st.” Now I will be able to see if I met the goal. Having a form of measurement is crucial. Otherwise, you can never truly feel good about accomplishing your goal. Without a completion date, it’s very easy to do nothing. I’ll outline my goals more specifically when I get my own form of measurement, body fat calipers.