Moving on to Chapter 6 of The Slight Edge, Olson gives us the 7 Slight Edge Principles.
- Show Up. Yes, it is the old Woody Allen joke that 90% of success is just showing up. In the fitness context this makes perfect sense. If you donât get outside, get to the gym, roll out your mat, etc. then you arenât doing anything. Your success is in the doing.
- Be Consistent. Showing up consistently is where the magic happens. Consistency yields results. Remember Olsonâs earlier admonition, everything easy to do is easy not to do. Consistently showing up practically guarantees your success. A lousy workout or crummy walk is infinitely better than the one that didnât happen. A month of lousy workouts will give you increased strength. A month of crummy walks makes you fitter.
- Have a good attitude. I confess I struggle with this one. Every time I finish a workout, I am genuinely pleased with myself. I accomplished something. I just feel good. But I donât always remember that when itâs time to get to it. Sometimes I just have a bad attitude and Iâm not about to screw a smile on my face.
Ever the pragmatist, Olson acknowledges the human condition. His first bit of advice is to take inventory of your blessings. Anyone who has used the 5 Minute Journal knows how to do this. Next, he advises to âembrace the funkâ using the Slight Edge principles. Embrace it as part of the process. It will be life altering.
- Be Committed for a Long Period of Time. Iâm not convinced this is anything more than a combination of the first two principles. This is where they inexorably lead when applied.
- Have Faith and a Burning Desire. This is self-explanatory. I think faith is a presupposition of principles 1, 2, and 4. There is no reason to consistently show up for a long time if you donât believe you will get results.
- Be Willing to Pay the Price. This isnât as Gogginsesque at it first sounds. Olsonâs point is, âIf you donât figure out something to be successful at, you have to be unsuccessful at it for the rest of your life.â Thatâs much deeper than it first appears. You get to define success in the realm of fitness.  My guess is, however you define success, you will avoid being unsuccessful i.e., overweight, suffering from osteoporosis, short of breath climbing a flight of stairs, diabetic, etc.
- Practice Slight Edge Integrity. What you do when no one is watching is Slight Edge integrity. âIt is also doing the thing you said you were going to do long after the mood you said it in has left you.â This, I think, is Gogginsesque. âIâm not finished when Iâm tired. Iâm finished when Iâm done.â That sums it up.
I made progress, I lost nearly six pounds in a week! Down 8.2 pounds since the start of July!
I do not recommend my technique.
I haven’t been on a scale in 4 months, I think I’m going to be surprised.
Did you fast for the entire week? You’d have to work out all day long to burn an extra 2,000 or so calories a day.
He had his ballbladder taken out.
Gallbladder. Different organ đ
But it did curtain my nutrient intake along with direct reduction of mass (not a lot, but every ounce adds up)
I saw that as soon as I hit POST and LOLd.
His prostate? Yikes!
No, Gall bladder. just off the liver, holds bile, gets infected sometimes.
Sorry life threw that at you. I admire your wry take on the upside of surgery.
Thanks.
And the same goes in the other direction. Get better.
Just laughing at the typo, U. ?
Are you going to turn it into a dice bag?
The average gall bladder is 2cm across.
Surely it stretches during the tanning process.
Holy fuck, 2cm across and 8.2 pounds? You had a depleted Uranium gallbladder? Far out!
No. I ended up stopping food consumption for multiple days with limited fluids. and when I restarted, it was strictly limited quantity. The weight of the gallbladder was not the primary driver of the change.
So the “transitioning” rumors are true?
Cybernetics.
Always up-to-date. I spent the first part of the week on the treadmill and Weider Machine. Then about Wed my hip began to bother, hurt so I took a couple days off. I get x-rays next Thursday and see the bone doc. I’m gonna cool it ’til then. Do some upper body and therapy exercises only.
Pain at night, can’t seem to find the right way to sleep, 2 pillows under my knees works for the first part o the night, then to 1, then none, but not getting the best sleep. Got some kind of incessant itch every where, side effects from the meds? From the protein drinks? From the supplements?
It could be at these are just associated with the healing process. Went to the PO for the first time in 4 months, used a walker.
Thanks for motivating me, Chafed.
I was literally told to “be lazy” for the next by my dermatologist after he finished stitching up my face from removing a basal cell carcinoma. As in, stay sedentary so the skin can knit together properly. So, my fitness routine this week is cut back on calories so I don’t gain body fat.
Sometimes you have to make unusual goals.
… next week …
Bacon covered veggies roasting in the oven. Health food.
I also went to the farmers market to restock on cashews. Yes, they were still slightly warm. ?
Bacon… *sniffles*
Still can’t have it yet.
What veggies in particular?
Brussel sprouts, onions, & red peppers. Some garlic too.
I dont know how long they gave you, but you may want to eschew greasy, fatty, food, for a bit.
/eyes leftover breakfast bacon
One month for fatty foods. And that includes cheese.
đ
I like cheese.
Get your palate calibrated for velveeta. Its like cheese- but it really isnt.
I ordered Glibunfit Pizzas. I should be good for the next two days.
Mandatory.
To my fellow low carbers – Tillamook sausage sticks are pretty good.
https://tcsjerky.com/products/simply-crafted-zero-sugar-sticks
Makes for a good snack or lazy breakfast meat.
For snacking Im a fan of Kroger Private Selection pepperoni, cubed cheddar, and peanuts.
Low-carb, high-fat, and a pile of salt. But then again, all that sodium is why I take blood pressure meds.
I tried this recently too: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B007K681H6/
I’d buy it again.
“beef flavor” may have been where they lost me
I eat those things by the handful when I’m out on the trails. 130+kcal/oz, and delicious even when you’ve been walking all day.
Low carb little ditty: jalapeno bites.
Parmesan shredded
Mild cheddar shredded
Bacon
jalapeños sliced
Cracked peper
Spray Alum foil. Spread little piles of parmesan around foil. Add little piles of cheddar on parmesan.
Sprinkle bacon on top of piles. Add sliced jalapeno to pile. Add cracked pepper to piles. Cook 350F for about 8-10 mins until bubbly. Let cool 3-5 until jalapeño bites slide right off foil with spatula.
Congratulations to everybody whoâs doing the thing. Keep doing it.
Itâs been cloudy and cool in the morning, so I ran in the mornings.
Diet was okay except Friday where I drank three beers and snarfed a burrito for lunch. I swear to god Those beers were hanging off my belly by 2pm. And then I snarfed baked potato and creme brûlée with dinner. So worth it, though.
My eye is getting better. Colors are normalizing, and the distortion field is getting smaller. Went to the doctor and got another injection into my eyeball. Itâs pretty gross. https://youtu.be/GsTJmymNJ4g
I think one of my neighbors gets regular eyeball injections for something, or used to. It sounds like no fun at all.
My Mom had to get those for about the last two years of her life, for macular degeneration. She… sort of got used to it.
Thanks to Mojeaux, Im going to try and use “ballbladder” in a sentence this week.
“I banged Jugsy so much before she left, my ballbladder is bruised. And she’ll need to get her stuff re-sleeved.”
“re-sleeved”
stainless? chrome moly?
Bone-in ham.
+ Nikasil coating
Salt Bath Carburization.
Between benefits*, birthdays, and baseball games, July so far has had a lot going on – a bit much for my taste – and I’ve allowed it to throw me off my fitness game. With any luck, I’m heading into a lull of non-fitness activities and can get back into my healthier diet & exercise regimen.
*The “musical fundraising event” kind, NOT the “friends with…” kind
In the process of lugging my mounted congas on or off the crowded stage at the benefit, a bolt or wingnut from the conga stand must have been digging into my forearm. Didn’t break the skin, but left a somewhat alarming dent for a little while. Still have a rather big & rather ugly yellow-green bruise a couple of inches above my wrist more than a week later. Hope it’s not a permanent change in that skin’s complexion. Then again, it might make an interesting conversation piece.
Yellow-green is a phase in the bruise cycle. It will clear.
A bruise like that should fade away completely. I have several lifetime scars now. They’re work-related, and kind of obvious. Some of them look like I self-harmed which I suppose gives people the wrong idea sometimes.
Sincere thanks for the reassurance, U & limey.
My life. I am the anti-Randian man.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rvNcrJnjynQT
?
From the women and children hit hardest file,
https://apnews.com/article/health-government-and-politics-shootings-violence-coronavirus-pandemic-bab192f9358aecd055c39971a60ab72c
Glib fit update: I am semi stable with being consistently inconsistent.
Some Wops make tortillas.
I eating healthy today. Had one English muffin with pb for breakfast.
I made chicken thigh red curry with carrots and peppers.
The rice is the only âbadâ thing in the meal. I really like white rice.
This will partially make up for the pulled pork, pirogi, and beer I drank yesterday.
I hit my target weight on July 1. Down another 2# since.
Mazel tov! đ
GlibFit.
https://archive.is/AW5KQ
I am thankful that you have this column every week, as it lights a fire under my butt to get a couple of workouts in every week. I don’t really pay attention to the gains, even though I record all of my efforts, but I know that it is something I need to do to stay out of the wheelchair as long as possible.
On a side note, I have set up an airgun shooting range in my basement, six yards and working up to ten meters, which is the Olympic distance. It doesn’t seem far, but those shooters measure their scores by how big one hole is. I am doing this in part because I love shooting, and in part due to not being able to do things like go upland hunting anymore. So, I am changing focus and working on pure accuracy. I have recently purchased a nice older target rifle to start out with, and I shall be joining an actual range here pretty soon, as I used to just head up to the woods to shoot. I am looking forward to this, as it does take quite a bit of physical effort, which is exasperated by my condition, as my body often acts spasmodically with massive twitches. So, extra challenge, but worth it.
Work it, bro, don’t stop, adapt,
Huzzah!
?
Airgun shooting : firearm shooting :: flying gliders : flying powered airplanes.
As in, it makes you a LOT better at the easier version.
And any post-apocalyptic survival cache that doesn’t contain a .22 spring pistol air rifle and ~10k pellets, is a cache that I don’t take real seriously…
Other than my trashed hip, I’m Glibfit af, OT, adult coloring books? yes, and they are cool, I got a Grimms fairytales book, and it’s full of Frazetta style characters, I like the 7 Dwarves. here’s my first try, 45 minutes, not perfect,
https://photos.app.goo.gl/t5CryoLuESTuq7hX9
Chafed, if you ever said to yourself – “If this article inspires just one fat fuck to do something…” then rest assured knowing that last weeks article was a success. I decided to quit using my bum ankle as an excuse, sure I can’t jog and even a long walk is right out but maybe, I thought, I can ride my bike? So, I dusted off the old Trek Sport 370, pumped up the tires and took a test spin around the driveway. Sure enough no ankle pain, off to the bike trail for a 6 mile ride, that’s not much but I didn’t want to over do it, and it was a good thing I didn’t as at the 5.5 mile mark the rear tire decided that this entire business of holding air at 100psi was a bunch of bullshit and it just wasn’t going to do that anymore. It wasn’t too bad, just a half mile bike push/limp/walk back to the car lot, my biggest concern was that every other person I passed on the trail would think I was injured and try to help me. Luckily only one person out of the 50 or so that I encountered noticed the grimacing gimp with the broke bike and asked if I was okay. I can’t say I achieved mush else this week after that but the bikes in the shop getting a much needed overhaul and when I get it back I intend to hit the trail every other day. It’s a start at least.
Good on ya Hype. 100psi? You are being hyperbolic right?
It’s a road bike, only granola eating hippies ride bikes with tires wider than their thumb.
I have a road bike and a trail bike. I do like granola, but no one is going to confuse me with a hippy.
I haven’t had granola since the 70’s. Maybe the 80’s.
God I hope so…
â Itâs a start at least.â
Thatâs all you need. Everyday it starts. https://youtu.be/6b2xsjosYcQ
Not low carb and I bet they are good, but the back ground noise in this place would make me kill myself.
ITALIA!!!
Fuck England.
Ive been going to the gym just about every weekday for a long time nowâa good workout in the AM almost guarantees me a good overall day. My problem is the weekends. Right now every Saturday and Sunday is filled with my girls softball games/tournaments. Much harder to stay disciplined when i dont have that morning workout moving me in the right direction. At home im good with my diet eating a ton of protein and saladsâat the fields youll find me stuffing my face with cheese fries and slushies.
âstuffing my face with cheese fries and slushiesâ
You should probably not do that.
Anyone else catch the moving story this morning on CBS Sunday Morning about the guy fighting ALS? He and his wife are lobbying Congress hard to ease the restrictions on terminal patients from taking experimental drugs that the FDA hasn’t approved. Good on them for forcefully speaking out – stories like this move the needle when watchers see exactly what the consequences are when government regulations hinder medical treatments. Ironically, the couple were Obama activists in New Hampshire, and worked for him as White House staffers.
Now maybe it was edited out of the story, but there was no mention that their Party has been responsible for most of those regulations which give the FDA the power to deny dying people experimental medicines.
What happened to the âright to tryâ bill that passed last year?
I’ve been good about the rowing machine every other day (45 minutes today) and eating pretty well when I’m home (vacation in CT for 5 days was another story)
I haven’t put batteries in the scale for several weeks so I’m not quite sure where I am but my cousin was in town yesterday – haven’t seen each other since Christmas 2019 – and I got an unprompted “holy shit, you look great”, which was nice.