With that out of the way, I’ve decided I need to do something to get in better shape. Getting a better body has never really been a goal of mine, as I’m more or less happy as I am. However, health is important to me, and it’s obvious that I’m not in the shape I used to be in. I can’t even finish a mile nonstop anymore, when I used to be able to do 1.5 back in middle school. So, I’ve decided to start running again. Nothing complicated, because I don’t have the patience for complicated programs or buying equipment. Just running got me in shape in middle school, so I imagine it should have similar (though possibly slower) results now.

At first, I decided I was just going to run the approximately two mile block around where I live. Run as much as I can, then walk until I can run again, rinse and repeat. You can probably guess what happened. I jogged for 6 minutes (about seven tenths of a mile), then promptly burned out. I spent the majority of the rest of the “run” walking, with a couple more short bursts of running. That’s not really going to cut it if I want to get better.

So I went back to a site I’d heard about before called Couch to 5k and took another look at their running program that is supposed to get one from a couch potato to running about 5 km (4.8 really, 3 miles), by running for time or distance. It starts out with short jogs followed by slightly longer walks, and looks like it’s meant to get you to build up endurance sustainably by keeping you at a relatively continuous pace despite the breaks. Takes about the same amount of time to finish a run, and I don’t feel so achy at the end. I’d call this a win. Also gets progressively harder as you go, as expected, until you’re running continuously for 30 minutes or 3 miles at the end. I’m actually not sure if I’ll stick with it the whole way or try to branch of later on, but it looks solid and for now I plan to try and just stick with it. Nine weeks seems like a really short time to get up to a 3 mile run, as that would be way more fit than I’ve ever been, in terms of endurance running.

I’ve also looked at proper breathing a bit, because let’s face it, I’ve always been a huffing and puffing machine when I run, even when I was in relatively good shape. It always felt like a matter of willpower and pushing through the discomfort to keep going with the way I was breathing. I’ve always found it hard to breathe properly while running, but I plan to give it another try. Here’s the military fitness article I’m using for now to judge if I’m about right on breathing. Looks similar to most advice I’ve read about it, so I’ll go with that for now. I’m also going to try breathing more like this during the day, so it becomes more natural to me for when I’m exercising.

I’ve decided I’m not going to worry about changing my diet for now. I eat relatively healthy lunches and dinners (though probably a touch on the salty side, I love my salt), mediocre breakfasts, and some less healthy snacks through the day. I might look at diet later, but for now, the lack of exercise is the big thing that needs fixing, so I plan to go with that first.

So, what’s a soda lover to do? Make your own! You may not be able to get all the flavors you’re used to, but you should be able to find something you like. You only need two things to do it too: some carbonated water and a fruit juice that doesn’t use corn syrup. Sticking with 100% juice is probably healthiest, though if I’m making soda I usually worry about flavor first after being sure there’s no corn syrup in the drink. I like using martini and margarita mixers as they usually have enough flavor to still have some kick after being diluted. I just dilute them with carbonated water to make soda instead of the relevant alcoholic drink.

The high quality mixers usually have fruit juices and cane sugar rather than corn syrup, and they are completely worth the extra dollar or two. With juices, it might be worth picking up a concentrated fruit juice to mix with the tonic water, though it also might be harder to find a concentrate that doesn’t use corn syrup. If you prefer fresher juices, by all means stick with those, as they’re likely healthier anyway, and the trick is to try to make it as healthy as possible.

If you really want to stick with more familiar flavors, you can probably find some recipes floating around the internet, then just substitute healthier alternatives, most notably table sugar for corn syrup. You can also leave out all the food coloring not already in your ingredients if you go this route. While not appreciably healthier, it at least kicks some of the stuff out.

Still, I prefer making my own flavors from juices and heartily recommend you try it out. They have more tang to them than colas do, and they’re as simple as mixing tonic water with juice or a mixer of some kind until you have the taste you want.

In any case, if you’re a soda lover or just looking to try something new, I hope this gives you some ideas. Happy mixing.

I used to have a very hard time falling asleep. I could spend hours laying in bed not sleeping. Sometimes, I just wasn’t tired. Other times, my mind just didn’t want to stop thinking. And when I was younger, it was truly annoying having a bedtime, because the fact was, I was not going to sleep anytime soon.

Eventually, I decided I wasn’t going to strictly abide by a bedtime anymore. Certainly, I would head to my room at the appropriate time and be appropriately quiet. But I got a feel for what volume the TV could be on without anyone hearing outside my room. I listened for when my parents went to bed so I could turn my light on and read. Then, I would play video games, read, and watch TV until I couldn’t hold my eyes open anymore. Then, it was an easy matter to fall asleep. My body just didn’t want to be awake anymore, so it was going to sleep whether I liked it or not.

I liked it way better than trying to sleep on my own. So, for me, the first step was simply to stop trying to sleep when I wasn’t tired. But it wasn’t the end. After all, becoming exhausted in order to fall asleep does get old after awhile, and  doesn’t lend itself well to the scheduled lives most people lead. I still had to wake up for school after all.

However, staying awake until I couldn’t anymore had another effect. After falling asleep quickly and easily for a long time, I learned what happens when I go to sleep. Not in a way I can explain, but rather I could observe how I felt going from awake to asleep as I kept just sleeping easily after staying awake for far too long. After seeing how that worked, I eventually learned to just do it whenever I become tired and wanted to sleep. Now, when ever I feel tired and would like to sleep, it’s a simple matter to lay down, close my eyes, and shut down within a few minutes. It’s not perfect mind you. I still get overly stressed and start thinking too much sometimes when I’d rather just  get some shut eye. But most of the time, it really is just time to lay down and go to sleep.

So, in short form, if you want to try this:

1) Start staying awake until staying awake is a struggle.
2) Lay down, get comfy, and go to sleep quickly due to being extremely tired.
3) Eventually, after many repetitions of steps one and two, learn to put yourself to sleep by noticing how you go to sleep quickly when extremely tired. This should happen subconsciously.

Naturally, sleep deprivation is considered a bad idea in the medical community, so it would be wise to consult a medical professional first. I wouldn’t expect something horribly bad to come of this so long as you’re smart about knowing your limits (protip: don’t drive after being awake for 24 hours straight), but getting a professional opinion on the matter can’t hurt and could possibly help a lot. It could also catch any issues that might be specific to you if you have any health complications that too little sleep might adversely effect.

For some extreme examples of what I mean, check out these examples of all natural items.

-100% all natural hemlock.
-100% all natural mercury.
-100% all natural cyanide.

Notice something about all three of these all natural items? All of them can potentially kill you. Obviously, no natural supplements are going to use these particular items. However, I’m sure you see my point that natural doesn’t necessarily mean safe. So don’t just assume something is safe because it’s natural, do some research to see what you’re getting and what it does to people. Depending on what you’re looking for, it may also be wise to consult your doctor first. Then, once you’ve done your research, if the product you’re looking at still looks like a good fit for you, go ahead and pick some up to give it a try.

I want to talk about another reason we need better health care, one that might even get through to those who have oodles of money and don’t want to “subsidize everyone else’s health care.” Because this reason effects them too.

Remember the outbreak of swine flu we had recently? Remember how it wasn’t a big deal, but many people seemed to think it would be? Well, what happens when we have a real epidemic?

Under our current system, those who can afford it get preventative treatment, whether it be a shot, some kind of medication, or some other way to prevent the disease. Those who can’t afford it will go to the emergency room after they get sick. Guess what happens then? The disease spreads like wildfire, because it has plenty of carriers who simply couldn’t afford preventative treatments. And then it’s more likely to infect those who could afford preventative treatments, because said treatments aren’t usually 100% effective, especially when they’re new treatments, or general treatments for a variety of illnesses. Which means, by letting the poor get sick, the rich are also more likely to be sick, because more carriers of disease means that there are more chances for everyone to get infected.

Now, if we had universal or inexpensive health care, we’d see something different. Yes, some people would still get sick. But, with everyone getting preventative medicine, fewer people would get sick, which will leave fewer chances for the disease to spread. This is good for everyone, not just the people who have health care who otherwise wouldn’t.

Basically, the point I’m trying to make is that no matter who you are, it is in your best interest that everyone have access to affordable health care. Because really, your health will be affected by the health of everyone around you, and the people they’re around as well. So, even if you don’t believe health care is a human right, at least bear in mind that by denying a segment of the population health care, you’re putting yourself at greater risk too.