Here are the first few pages of From Couch Potato to Baked Potato...

Copyright © 1998 by Jon Dald

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.

The following trademarks appear within this book: Timex, Polar, McDonalds, Wendy's, Mr. Submarine, A&W, Pizza Hut, Beano, Hershey's Kiss, Haagen Dazs

Published in 1998 by:

JLD & Associates Box 74032 260 Guelph Street Georgetown, Ontario, CANADA L7G 5L1

1st printing August 1998

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Dald, Jon, 1960- From Couch Potato to Baked Potato : the tools and knowledge needed to take control and lead a more active lifestyle

Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-9683246-0-6

1. Physical Fitness. 2. Health. 3. Middle aged persons-- Health and hygiene. I. Title

RA776.D35 1998 613'.0434 C98-900433-3

Although the author has exhaustively researched all the sources to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. Readers should use their own judgment and/or consult a health care professional before undergoing any lifestyle change programme.

All the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cover Painting "The Country 10KM" by London, Ontario artist Dennis Kalichuk. The image is available as a signed limited edition print. For information call (519) 453-8375.

Printed in Canada

Acknowledgments

This book could never have been completed without the help of some terrific people. While all mistakes contained herein are my own, I would like to acknowledge the guidance and wisdom shared by the professionals listed on the cover of this book. I would also like to thank my wife, Kelly, for all her help throughout this project. She bears the cross of having to live with the synthesis of the four characters you are about to meet.

There have been many individuals along the way who have served as excellent role models. These include all the people I know who live and lead a healthy lifestyle. I am particularly indebted to my friends affiliated with the Georgetown Runners who always motivate me to give my best. Dedication

To my father Gerald

1927-1980

Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

- Dylan Thomas

Table of Contents

PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
GOO! GLORIOUS! GOO !
THE HISTORICAL BASIS FOR YOUR PROBLEM (BLAME MOM!)

In addition to the above chapters previewed here, the book contains the following:

Preface

Jon Dald began his working career over ten years ago. Since then, he has started a family and worked within the pharmaceutical industry. For the first half of his career, he was a self-confessed couch potato. In the last few years, through reading, talking with experts and a lot of hard work, he has learned to manage the "couch" component of his life. He still enjoys the finer things life has to offer but he does so on his own terms. Jon regularly competes in marathons, trail runs, relay races, 10K's and 5K's. He also enjoys skiing (cross country and downhill), tennis, golf, hiking and fishing.

Jon's approach to his subject is not as an expert but as a person with a great deal of accumulated knowledge who has "been there" and understands just how tough it is to change. The story line introduces you to a few characters who may be similar to you or someone you know. Through their experiences, you can learn how to improve your physical fitness level and to enjoy a more balanced lifestyle.

While Mr. Dald has extensively researched the contents of this book, it has not been written as a replacement for sound medical advice. It is always advisable to discuss a new exercise programme or dietary change with your health care practitioner. Readers should use their own good judgment when considering lifestyle changes.

Introduction

Five years ago, I sat in my doctor's office depressed. I was in my early thirties, overweight, suffering from heart palpitations, shortness of breath and reduced energy levels. My work was interesting but quite stressful. What kind of an example was I to my children? I felt like I was on a one-way ticket to an early heart attack. How the heck did I get myself into this mess?

Basically there are two types of people; those who eat to live and those who live to eat. I happen to be one of the ones who live to eat. I love good food! Always have, always will. I needed to find a way to balance my lifestyle so I could continue to enjoy the finer things life has to offer without sacrificing my health.

Over the last five years, I have spent a great deal of time gathering together the tools and the knowledge to bring about fundamental lifestyle changes. In the past, I had tried diets and I had tried exercise. None of them seemed to work for me. Ultimately, I learned that they do not work on their own; diet and exercise needed to be worked slowly into my existing lifestyle. This slow change allowed me to adapt my lifestyle to a level where I feel a genuine balance between diet, exercise and what I call "goo". If you hope to lead a more active lifestyle and improve your eating habits, you need the knowledge and the tools to begin the change. While knowledge and tools are important, real change begins with you.

Goo! Glorious! Goo !

Goo is a great thing. Make no mistake about it. Goo represents a lot of fun and decadent things in life. Goo is beer and a hotdog at a ball game, a cheeseburger in paradise, death by chocolate, fine wine, not so fine wine, single malt scotch, a jelly doughnut. Goo is being a couch potato, watching the game instead of walking the dog, sunbathing and hundreds of other things that are just plain.... enjoyable! A more healthy lifestyle should not eliminate the goo from your life. The purpose is to put it in perspective and give you the tools to deal with it on your own terms.

Why do we need yet another book that is probably going to suggest a cross between puritanical living and Spartan physical fitness as a cure-all for Western civilization? The answer to this lies in the enjoyable nature of Goo. We can recognize the good but we also have to recognize the bad. (Ah... grasshopper, there is great wisdom here.) Sex can be good and bad. Drugs can be good and bad. Rock and Roll can be good and bad. We want to be able to enjoy the myriad of pleasures associated with the Goo lifestyle however we don't want to pay the price for a life of dominated by Goo.

Goo is a term which can mean different things to different people. A 250 pound man may look at his 400 pound brother and figure the 400 pounder is full of goo while he sees himself as "much less gooey". Conversely, a trim, 120 pound woman may see herself as gooey based on her perceived ideal image of self. Goo is a relative term that will mean what you want it to mean.

You need the knowledge to take control of your personal level of goo and set for yourself the goals toward which you are prepared to work. There is an ideal weight range for you. We want to identify this and find ways to stay within this range. Very simply, this comes from either diet or exercise. It is my belief, borne out by some good studies, that diet is far more difficult to change than activity level although diet can and will change if you have the correct knowledge base and a sufficient activity level.

One thing we do not want to do is to overly focus on your weight. People who are out-of-shape obsess about their weight. People who are in shape rarely think about their weight. The emphasis in this book is to get you to the point where you are in shape and you know you are in shape, and therefore, you do not give your weight a second thought. This may sound heretical to you. Bear with me and let's see if we can change your mind.

The Historical Basis for Your Problem (Blame Mom!)

As a society, North Americans have poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. Chances are your grandparents and certainly your great-grandparents had a much more active lifestyle and a much different diet than we enjoy today. We have it considerably easier with TV, frozen dinners, VCR's, microwave popcorn, movies, hot dogs, cars and public transit. Many of us work in knowledge-based industries rather than physical labour. In short, we eat more and exercise less than we should.

Our grandparents lived near their work; chances are they walked there. Their work almost certainly had a more physical component to it. Many of us live in the suburbs, commute for a good chunk of our day, eat out often and are stressed out half the time. Combine these grim realities with the fact some of us have young families making their demands on our time and you can see why it may not be popular to start nit-picking about the little bit of goo in your life. It is always tempting to say, "Leave me alone. I'm not breaking any laws. Go bother someone else!".

Many of our parents and grandparents grew up in the Great Depression of the 1930's and World War II. This had a dramatic effect on them. Through this period there were food shortages, rationing and other hardships. Many foods we now take for granted were just not available the way they are today.

For many of these people the good times of the 1950's and beyond meant never having to sacrifice again. I know people who view butter as a luxury which was denied them for much of their childhood. They want the best for their children and have taught them butter is good for them. It is not necessarily that good for anyone. It is almost pure fat. Used sparingly it can be a way to add some fat and taste to our food. Butter used excessively can be the source of many unwanted pounds.

The same philosophy built up the meat and potatoes generation. Millions of us were raised with a roast on Sunday, heavy desserts and baked goods throughout the week. I'm the first to admit that this old style home-cooking is great! It is also killing us! Many of us learned to "finish everything on your plate". This wisdom comes from a generation who were reared by people who knew hardship, lean years, depression, rationing and, in some cases, famine. How does their reality compare with the lifestyle we enjoy today as Canadians? It doesn't. Today most people can feed themselves for a week on the money they earn in a few hours. This reality demands a eating strategy to match our circumstances not our parents'.

Our parents were influenced by very real events in their lives and they adapted to these events. We now have very real events in our life showing that poor eating habits are shortening our lives and contributing to debilitating illnesses which rob us of the quality of life we should be able to enjoy. If we are going to adapt, we have to do so now. Changing now ensures you can enjoy the benefits later in life. It is not going to be any easier to change a month, year or decade from now so let's get on with it, shall we? It is never too late to change and reap the advantages of a healthier lifestyle. You are holding the knowledge in your hands. Take advantage of it!

Chances are, if you bought this book, you may have enjoyed an active lifestyle in the past. In high school you may have played on a school team. You may not consider yourself an "athlete" but you have, at some point in your life, enjoyed physical activity. Through your early twenties, it was easy to join a league and play your favorite sport. You were young, single, just starting out in a career; hey, you even had time for some aerobic exercise a few times a week plus a little bit of time in the weight room. This kept you looking and feeling pretty good. Right?

OK, here is the first of many little secrets I will be sharing with you. Listen carefully.... ALL TWENTY SOMETHINGS LOOK GOOD! The older you get the more you will understand this unalienable truth. Heck, it wouldn't have mattered if you exercised or not through your twenties; you still would have looked great. The fact is that you aren't twenty and tomorrow you will be even further from it than you are today. Twenty somethings don't buy this type of book. They are too busy setting the lifestyle patterns which will necessitate their buying it ten years from now. (Please don't tell them about this book yet as they are an important part of my retirement plan!)

Ex-jocks may have a tougher time dealing with their reduced physical ability as they get older. As a child, teenager and young adult, they never had any problems with physical fitness. It came naturally. They may have even garnered a considerable amount of self-esteem and self-image from their role as a jock. As their lifestyle choices start to catch up with them, it may be very tough for these people to admit that they do not have all the answers. Often it is easier to take on the ex-jock, tough-talking, sport-watching, couch potato stereotype than to actually deal with the issues and do something about their deteriorating condition. To these people I say: "Get over it! Dig down and try to find some of that resolve you once had to be an athlete and start doing something." The fact you are reading this book is more important than watching the Superbowl. Congratulations on making the right move!

Jon Dald JLD, ©1998