Money Walker

Walk to Exercise Your Memory Muscle

2012-02-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

Feature Entry: Walk to Exercise Your Memory Muscle

Memory is a muscle? Yep, it’s true; moreover, like all muscles it can be improved by walking. According to neuroscientists at the University of California we can reduce Alzheimer’s risk by 25 percent by increasing physical activity from “low” to “moderate.” Oh, a another name for the memory muscle is .... your brain.

Other scientists agree. According to Art Kramer, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois, "If you do only one thing to keep your brain young, exercise." His findings support the theory that “Higher exercise levels can reduce dementia risk by 30 to 40 percent compared with low activity levels, and physically active people tend to maintain better cognition and memory than inactive people. They also have substantially lower rates of different forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.”

Here is how it seems to work. Walking helps your hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in memory formation. As you age, your hippocampus shrinks, leading to memory loss. Walking has been shown to reverse this process.

How much walking is needed for the prescription to work? Eric Larson, M.D., executive director of Group Health Research Institute in Seattle recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate activity. States Larson, "In our research as little as 15 minutes of regular exercise three times per week helped maintain the brain."

To see more tips for maintaining a healthy ageless brain check Beth Howard’s excellent article in the Feb/March 2012 issue of AARP The Magazine.

Money Walker

Today's Weight = 177.0 lbs.

Today's Money Find = $.81

Free Range Walking

2012-02-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

Free Range Walking

Today’s walk involved honoring a promise to one of my friends from the “brotherhood of the street.” I had promised to take him a “ground score.” We want say what, only that it had a $6.00 value, it was legal, and he needed it. Some information in the brotherhood is proprietary.

He sometimes stays with family in an address about two miles from the MoneyWalker’s house. The walk to his house sounded like a good diversion, so off I went without concern for my usual monetary hot spots; finding loose change was not a priority.

After depositing my gift, left subtly on his front porch, I found myself in an urban conclave. Streets were in disrepair and hardly used. Several houses have been vacant since Katrina and untouched. The curbs were littered with trash. In short,there was an apparent disregard for typical city norms.

And then, there they were, a full flock of chickens coming from a large grassy yard and then spread far up curbs along the street. There must have been 30 birds including two or three baby chickens. They were forging along the deserted street looking for bugs and grasshoppers without regard for anything but their next score. What was striking was their obvious level of contentment, and their beauty. Someone had decided to allow the chickens to freely follow their bliss, to go where nature leads. And there was a rooster or two that seemed to be standing guard. You could see them periodically glancing upward, perhaps looking for hawks or owls, or maybe an unleashed dog.

The urban chickens provided a brief epiphany. It reminded me that my highly purposeful walking episodes need not be so scripted; that a specific narrative need not be followed. On this walk, much like the free range chickens, I had been free to go where nature lead, to follow my bliss. It felt good. I could see now that my walks had become too predicable, that my walking narrative had become too narrow; that I was becoming bored.

So, I am adding "free range walking" to my motivation portfolio. Join me.

MoneyWalker

Current weight = 175.2 lbs

Money found on current walk = $.82 grubs

An App for Those That Need External Motivation

2012-01-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

Feature Entry: An App for Those That Need External Motivation

Here is what Carolyn See of the Washington Post said about law officer Sunderson: “He is still sick-in-love with Diane, who’s married again, and he’s a compendium of bad habits, but he walks every day and somehow keeps his life in balance.” It seems that many of us are a ‘compendium of bad habits.’

Another bad habit is related to exercise and the store front fitness centers in your neighborhood. January is their busiest time of the year for these usually worthy entrepreneurs. We gain weight, we repent, and then we join a fitness center. The centers charge a non-refundable minimum membership fee and a length-of-time contract, three months minimum due at signing. Joining is not the bad habit, regular attendance is. Too many people join, attend a time or two and then lose interest or motivation to continue. Then at the end of the year, we purchase new clothes, one or two sizes larger than the year before.

Want to change the cycle? Harvard behavioral economists may have the answer. Professor Sendhil Mullainathan teaches that people are more motivated by “immediate consequences than by future possibilities.” Two of his students moved from theory to practice and created a rapidly growing company based on an app that works off of their customers iSO phone (think iphone, ipad, ipod, and others). The company??? Gym Pact!

http://www.gym-pact.com/

Gym Pact works with local fitness centers. When you sign up, you make a commitment to exercise a certain amount of time. If you skip your workout, you get fined $5 a day. The money goes into a user’s pool and at the end of the week, surplus dollars are given to the people that honored their pact. When the exercisers checks in to their fitness center using their iSO phone, Gym Pact confirms your presence via the GPS. The money is handled through credit cards and PayPal. In their beta test, 90% met their pact requirements.

It is that simple: “When you sign up, you make a commitment to exercise a certain amount of time.” There are four simple steps: 1) join, 2) set your pact, 3) check in at your gym, and 4) get rewarded.

Somewhere, in some dimension, B.F. Skinner has a big smile on his face. Go ahead, check out the Gym Pact url listed above.

MoneyWalker

Photo by Richmond College Fitness Center

Refrigeration Door Wisdom for Weight Loss

2012-01-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

Feature Entry: Refrigeration Door Wisdom for Weight Loss

A nice lady well known to the MoneyWalkers has an interesting habit of creating and posting great advice on her refrigeration door; we will call her “G”. On a recent visit, we noticed this gem posted as if her teen daughters had provided a reminder note for her benefit. It read as follows:

Mom, remember…
• No sugar or alcohol on weekdays.
• Eat only fresh vegetables for smacks
• Select smaller portions during the regular meals
• Eat only whole grains

These are great pithy reminders and easy to remember. G is not forsaking sweets and a fine glass of wine; instead she is using these treats as rewards for healthy vigilance. She is not eliminated snacking. In fact she implies that snacks are important component of strategies for losing or maintaining weight loss. Eating snacks reduces hunger cues which often lead to eating sweet or over processed treats. The Moneywalker really enjoys raw carrots.

It takes discipline but G has learned to take smaller portions of her delicious entrees, and then eats more slowly so as to send a “filling” message to her appetite sensors. She doesn’t forgo breads and pastas but is careful to eat more digestible and less fattening whole grain varieties.

G is an exerciser, but as a busy mom, she knows that completing time consuming calorie burning exercise often is set aside so as to meet her obligations as a busy house of pre-teens and teens. She is correct; calorie management is a more efficient weight loss/maintenance tool than is aerobic exercise, although both are importance.

Want my pithy addition? What she said!

MoneyWalker

Weight Scale Data: 177.0 lbs
Money Found today: $1.47 with several “sweet” finds; very motivating

Altruistic Walking

2012-01-18T09:37:00.000-08:00

Altruistic Walking

The MoneyWalker is intrinsically motivated to sustain his walking habit because he has internalized and accepts the scientifically demonstrated values of walking e.g. weight management, emotional energy, avoidance of premature memory loss, cut the risk of heart disease, and reduce the chance of type 2 diabetes. There are more. However, walking is not necessarily a strong ally of intrinsic motivation. The steady routine can lead to boredom and walkers’ burn-out. One cure for walkers’ burn-out is altruistic walking, a fence straddler it turns out on the motivation internal/external continuum.

How so external motivation as a tenant of altruistic behavior? The research of Alberto Oliverio, a genetic and molecular biologist, leads him to believe that one of the important motives of altruism and moral judgments is grounded on the principle of reciprocity. In other words, we expect to be treated as we take care of other people. Neuroscientists including “evolutionary psychologists” are now able to probe deep into the brain lobes and learn much about behavior, much of it traced to evolutionary sources. Interestingly, the area of the brain that fires neurons during selfless behavior is the same area that fires during selfish behavior and with the same intensity and duration. For the ancients, success in the survival game might have been just as dependent on being a helper as being helped.

As a near daily walker, opportunities for altruism abound. For example, during a Christmas morning walk, the MoneyWalker found a Louisiana drivers license. It belonged to a Mario with an Hispanic surname and included his address. My first thought ran to selfishness; not my culture, dump the card. Then selfless behavior kicked in and I sought to find his telephone number from the address. No success. I then remembered that an Hispanic work crew had been renovating a building behind the curb where the license was found. Later, finding the crew at work, I stepped into the building and was greeted with coolness by one of the workers (not his culture group). Not deterred, “Do you know someone named Mario?” as I showed him the license. He exclaimed in a loud voice to one of his co-workers, the one that seemed to be the boss, “Mario, come here, look at this (In English obviously for my benefit.)” One look told me the license belonged to Mario. “Thank you, Thank you”, he repeated over and over; “You have made my Christmas!” And his joy helped make mine.

Now will someone help me find my cell phone, it must be out there somewhere!

Happy New Year everyone.

Remember the big four resolutions for weight lost: Weigh every day and journal the results; eat a healthy breakfast; walk 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day; and practice portion control.

The MoneyWalker

Recent money success: Found a $20 dollar bill during last Sunday’s walk. It, like all found money goes into the charity bag.

Recent weight gain/loss: Up two pounds from the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s holidays. In the words of Governor Perry—Opps!

The Joy of Christmas, The Joy of Walking

2011-12-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

Feature: The Joy of Christmas, The Joy of Walking

One of the MoneyWalker’s followers sent an off-list link to an article from the current issue of the Economist, perhaps the world’s finest news/commentary magazine. The article, “The Joy of Walking," discusses the moral, legal, and financial aspects of Walking in England, Europe, and the U.S. A few quotes follow:

• From “Song of the Open Road”, Walt Whitman wrote:

Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

• The modern traveler will approach the bridge across the river Wharfe with a different purpose. A sign at its foot heralds the start of the Dales Way, a 76-mile (122-kilometre) trek through some of the prettiest parts of England.

• The joys of walking have long inspired poets and writers. Some have spoken of the sense of freedom that comes from leaving the city behind; the delicious choices offered by forked paths that lead through deep woods or over hilltops.

• Walking seems to set the mind free for contemplation. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” The Welsh writer Lloyd Jones, who was inspired to produce his first novel by a 1,000-mile trek round his homeland, said that “The moving landscape provides an absorbing diversion which frees the mind and gives us a fresh viewpoint, and we’re most at ease with the world when we walk because everything is happening at a manageable pace.”

• Some politicians like the ability to ponder the great issues of state as they plod. William Gladstone, a Victorian prime minister and moralist, was an enthusiastic daily walker, opening a route up Mount Snowdon at the age of 83. While mired in the euro zone’s financial woes this year, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, chose to spend her summer holiday walking in the south Tyrol.

The MoneyWalker will allow the Economist’s commentary to speak for the “Joys of Walking.” He will comment on his own personal commentary on the “Joys of Christmas.”

• Sharing the food preparation with Ms. MoneyWalker on Christmas morning. Her roast turkey and pecan pie are unbelievably delicious. Ditto for her homemade cranberry sauce, cornbread dressing, and baked sweet potatoes. I pitch in with Paul Prudhome’s great Corn Maque Choux. It takes hours of prep time, but so worth it. The cooking is amplified with ample amounts of well “seasoned” eggnog and an appropriate amount of time under the mistletoe.

• Reading the Christmas story before blessing the food to the visiting MoneyWalker clan while keeping Christ in Christmas.

• Quality time with the grandchildren and watching them play with their toys.

• Listening to our church’s great choir and musicians perform the spiritual and classical songs of the season.

And then to combine the “Joys of Walking” with the “Joys of Christmas,” he will take a long walk at twilight to burn a few Christmas calories while enjoyed the neighborhood lights and decorations; and perhaps spotting a few loose coins.

Merry Christmas everyone! Keep Walking!

MoneyWalker

Today’s Weight = ????

Today’s Money find = $1.43

Dude, Don’t Stop Walking?

2011-12-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

Dude, Don’t Stop Walking?
‘Dude’ is one of those ubiquitous universal words currently in vogue. It is used in every possible corner of the globe, in every possible situation. “I aced my exam, Dude!” “Did you get that raise you were looking for at work, Dude?” Or, maybe it’s your nickname as in Jeff Bridge’s Dude Lebowski from the 1998 cult bowling film.

However, there are limits to its use. The Moneywalker is as engaged as the next person in the cultural life of our times including the slang that we use. Still, sometimes the “great unwashed” go too far. On a recent wedding trip to honor our nephew, Ms MoneyWalker and I checked into a 3.5 star Ft. Worth, TX hotel. After settling in, I approached the twenty-something at the front desk with a routine issue. His greeting, “How can I help you Dude?”

I wanted to reply “Did you say ‘Dude’? I’m old enough to be your grandfather, Dude!” It would have been a waste of time; I can hear his smart-back answer, “Whatever, Dude!” Way too subtle for him to understand not to use slang terms in discourse with people of older age brackets, of higher social status, or of greater responsibility. I like my daughter-in-law’s restraint. She only uses the word when she needs a pejorative put-down such as: “Dude, the line forms at the rear!”

As we approach the holidays and then New Year’s resolution time, these psycholinguistics lessons lead back to walking and weight control, how about a few “dude” reminders, but just for your own self-talk.

"Dude, have you stopped weighing?”
“Dude, is that your fourth glass of nutmeg?”
“Dude, your waist line is losing the battle!”
“Dude, don’t stop walking!”

MoneyWalker

Today’s Weight = 175.6 lbs.

Today’s coinage = $1.26

Game Day Walking

2011-12-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

Free lancers in the Quarter

Game Day Walking

What can regular walkers do to avoid the staleness that comes from the routine of sameness? The MoneyWalker has been walking five or six times a week for several years. Even the enjoyment that comes from finding money along the walking paths can lead to melancholy thoughts of “is that all there is?” One boredom buster is the special event walk.

Today’s walk into the New Orleans’ French Quarter qualifies. A Sunday visit to the French Quarter is always dynamic, especially on an NFL Game Day. What a treat watching Saints and Detroit Lions fans partying with their pre-game optimism.

Today’s walk was a “Nazarite Walk” meaning that is was a long disciplined walk where finding money was secondary to physical fitness and viewing the sights of the Quarter. Even without an NFL game, the 75 degree clear skies and the usual treats of the historic streets of Royal, Bourbon, Decatur, and Chartres assured the walk’s success.

Visual and auditory delights were bountiful. One photo opt was a latticed iron balcony covered with tropical vegetation and Saints paraphernalia. Royal Street was a Carnegie Hall rival with excellent musicians playing their harmonic notes for dollar tips. One nonchalant Saints fan parking his white 30 year old Lincoln Continental on Bourbon Street for no apparent reason other than to show off his “over-the-top” Saints tuxedo with black and gold shimmering sequins. There was a momentary traffic jam but no one seemed to mind. Of course the watering holes on Bourbon Street were jamming with mind numbing versions of “When the Saints go marching in.”

Game time! Can someone help me with some musical notes… ♭♮ ♯...I can faintly hear “When the Saints go Marching in" from the Super Dome.

MoneyWalker

Today’s Weight = 175.8 lbs
Today’s money find = $.44

What is a Walking Warrior?

2011-11-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

Drew Brees image by Fansedge

Feature Entry: What is a Walking Warrior?

EtcWarrior is a frequent poster to the MoneyWalker’s blog. A recent post stimulated an idea for three blogs: a speculation of the motive for combining etcetera and warrior as a user name, high-tech walking, and this blog – what is a walking warrior? The first two ideas will be in future blogs.

Don Flanagan borrowing a description of the French soldier Pierre Terrail Le Vieus while writing about one of Anthony Trollope’s characters provided a high standard for one worthy of being described as a “warrior”: “a 'preux chevalier sans peur and sans reproche,' a gallant knight [warrior] without fear and beyond reproach.” As a New Orleans Saints National Football League fan, the Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees comes to mind as a consummate warrior. As a person he is a model of selflessness, but on the field he takes no prisoners. Then when the game is over, he is first to congratulate the players on the opposite team for their great performance.

As a metaphor for excellence, the thinking activity from today’s walk led to the consideration of “warriors” from other disciplines, art forms, and professions. As a politician Winston Churchill came to mind. How could beat down England hold off the German juggernaut? In industry, is there a better example than Andrew Carnegie? Today we have Carnegie Mellon university; the incomparable Carnegie Hall in New York; dozens of city libraries, both building and holdings around the country; and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Carnegie was a warrior in the Drew Brees mold.

For pop music, I like Elton John, Bono, and Billy Joel. Take your pick for the warrior award, the MoneyWalker likes Billy Joel. In religion, most agree that the blessed Pope John XXIII and his Vatican II accomplishment might be the greatest warrior. Then there is Gandy, Martin Luther King, Billy Sunday, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and legions more. The MoneyWalker likes the Reverend Billy Graham. In literature, everyone has a favorite, for serious literature that is as readable today as when it was written in Victorian England, the MoneyWalker reads Joseph Conrad.

So what is a walking warrior? The MoneyWalker’s criteria includes the following categories: He or she is consistent, motivated, is a pedestrian, makes a difference in terms of the culture of walking, is safe, and walks for fitness. Rain or shine, in heat or cold, on vacation or at work, the walking warrior finds time for the walk. The warrior seeks a way to stay motivated over the long term. He or she walks as a lifestyle. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow the walking warrior will find to take a long walk. The walking warrior is a pedestrian walker forsaking the automobile when shopping needs can be met with a walk rather than a ride. He or she is a reflective walker and adds to the culture of walking by encouraging others to be walkers. The warrior not only walks for fitness but he or she finds ways to tell others of the benefits of walking by writing and verbally telling others of the merits of walking. In so doing, the warrior adds to the culture of walking. The walking warrior is a safe and considerate walker. There will be no accident due to careless risk taking by the walker. Drivers of cars, bikes, and trucks as well as other walkers hold the walking warrior in esteem for the walking etiquette followed. And finally the walking warrior walks for physical fitness keeping the body weight low and the self esteem high. My vote for the top walking warrior goes to the great Mark Twain.

Join the MoneyWalker, become a walking warrior.

MoneyWalker

Weight report: 175.8 lbs.

Money found during the last four walks: $8.31, $.89, $1.01, and $4.10

A New England Fall Foilage Walk

2011-11-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

Feature Entry: A New England Fall Foilage Walk

Vacation is a good time to get away from routine. Earlier this month, the MoneyWalker took a break from money walking and focused on the beauty found during an extended New England fall scenery walk during a trip to visit family. I wanted to see the fall foliage viewed through a walker’s perspective.

The walk gave rise to a new walking strategy – Google Map Walking. From previous experience in the area, several potential walking destinations were determined. Then by placing in the address of the departure point and the destination point, Google provided a walking map complete with number of miles, estimated walking time, and the street names of the route. If the mile count was too great or small, a different destination was considered until a match was found between the desired walk length and the designation.

After considering destinations ( a waterfall in Cannondale, the Allen Meadows Park, or Friends of Ambler Farm,) I selected Weston Township Library. They were having a “Friends of the Library” book sale. The distance was 2.6 miles one-way and produced an amazing walk. Given that my usual walk is about four miles, and because I became lost a few times (next time I will download the map rather than rely upon sketchy notes), the actual walk was about 6.5 miles. A 6.5 mile walk is a great way to use walking as an antidote for vacation overeating.

During the walk, a quote from Richard Schmidt from his book Motor Control and Learning came to mind: “When stimulus contacts memory.” Wilton, Connecticut provides remarkable venues with rambling lanes, streams, waterfalls, craggy outcroppings of rocks, resplendent homes, and of course trees of every size, shape and color. As the multiple varieties of stimuli slowly connected with one memory source after another, what occurred was a smorgasbord of delightful recalls from the best of previous walks and of being in the “now.” Moreover, I cannot overstate the value of walking to enhance the experience of seeing beauty up-close in New England’s fall foliage season.

And once more, Marcel Proust’s involuntary memory theories came to mind. The synaptic connections triggered uncontested “unintentional thoughts.” With no distractions presented by the urgency of others, the mind was free to explore thoughts and ideas of far reaching dimensions. In a guilt free state of mind and in the midst of nature’s beauty, such thoughts produced an incredible sense of happiness.

As for the book sale, four bargains including two Nancy Drew novels for my granddaughter, hardly was a burden during the equally lovely walk home.

MoneyWalker

Current Weight = 176.2 lbs

Money found on today’s walk = $.86

Walking in Paris and Walking Socks and Shoes

2011-11-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

Walking in Paris and Walking Socks and Shoes

Photo credit to Bing Photographs

This brief blog is a testimonial reported by Pat Coil, of Mentor, Ohio as listed on Travelzine, an on-line travel interest group sponsored by Yahoo. com.

We walked to the Arts bridge and saw all the padlocks on the
fence. We walked, walked, sat and met some people from
Canada and then walked some more and finally got to the RER
stop. Kathie Ann thought that the Dorsey was closer than
going back to the Notre Dame stop. She was wrong and got
blisters on her feet from the long walk.

On the next blog, the MoneyWalker will report the results of his New England vacation six mile walk that turned into an eight mile walk due to a few mistakes in following a Google walking map. Fortunately he was wearing top-of-the-line walking socks and walking shoes, thus no blisters or foot fatigue. When on vacation, be sure to pack and remember to wear walking socks and walking shoes.

MoneyWalker

Last weigh-in: 175 lbs. The significance of this weigh-in is that the MoneyWalker has just returned from a three-week sojourn with ample temptations for over-eating and avoiding exercise. The 175lbs was a wash, no weight added.

Money Found on Current Walk: $3.18 amplified by a crisp one dollar bill near a diner.

Event Walking: The Volksmarsch

2011-10-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Event Walking: The Volksmarsch

There are many ways to provide motivation for the sustaining of the walking habit. Walking with friends, seeking novel walking routes, walking your dog, and waist-line watching are familiar examples. Another effective method is “event walking.” Dozens of charities sponsor walks for fund raising including AIDS, Alzheimer, Animal Welfare, Arthritis, Autism, and Birth Defects. Others include Blindness, Cancer, cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes, Heart Disease, MS, and Obesity.

A different example of event walking involves joining a group that sponsors events for the simple pleasure of walking. An interesting group is the American Volkssport Association (AVA). Their web-site identifies more than 1870 self-guided walking and biking trails throughout the USA. A few clicks will identify their great trails to do at your own pace, any day of the year. Using their research will enable a walker to enjoy walks and bikes in national, state, and local parks and forests; or take in lovely countryside or charming small towns in your area. AVA has an interesting incentive system incorporating decorative patches or pins for your walking attire.

Volksmarching (from German Volksmarsch meaning "peoples' march") is a form of non-competitive fitness walking that developed in Europe. Participants typically walk 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) on an outdoor path. Volkssport participants enjoy recording distances and event participation in international record books. More of a social event than a 'HEALTHY OUTING" Participants often bring along a Boda bag filled with wine or Apfelcorn. Less frequently used terms are Volkswanderung and Volkswalk.

Vell, vought are you vaiting for? Find an event and start walking.

Money Walker

Journal Update:

Today’s body weight: 175.6 lbs, up from last entry
Money Found from last five walks: $11.14, $2.23 a walk

Paris in 6 hours! Vacation Walking

2011-10-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

Feature Entry: Six Hours in Paris and Vacation Walking

One of the MoneyWalker’s favorite internet groups is Travelzine sponsored by Yahoogroups. Members are travelers from all over the world and participate by posting and responding to questions by fellow travelers. Walking is often mentioned. One of my favorite threads dealt with the topic, “Paris in 6 hours!” The traveler is referring to a six hour layover and what can be done in the time frame. Of the several that responded, Sandy in Central Illinois, provided my favorite.

I know exactly what I'd do if I had only 6 hours in Paris.
I would head straight for the 6th arrondissement and have
lunch at the Cafe de Flore or Les Deux Magots, then a walk
in Jardin du Luxembourg, and back by way of Saint Sulpice
where I'd have a cup of tea or glass of wine at the Cafe de
la Marie, with a view of Saint Sulpice. Any leftover time I
would wander on the rue de Buci, maybe even walk or take Bus
#63 to Musee National du Moyen-Age (Musee Cluny).

Long vacation walks are a great way to experience a culture and combat the tendency to gain weight while travelling.

MoneyWalker

The Finifugal Walker and The Psychology of Finishing

2011-10-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

Feature Entry: The Finifugal Walker and The Psychology of Finishing

This blog will explore reasons why people drop out of a walking fitness program before meeting their health and weight loss goals; but first a note about Ammon Shea and his book, Reading the Oxford English Dictionary, one man, one year, 21,730 pages. Shea’s goal was to read all 21 volumes of the OED, nearly 22,000 pages of definitions. Daunting! His book about the experience, in part, elaborated on words that he found especially interesting including the word finifugal, an adjective meaning “shunning the end of anything.”

A quick look in scientific psychology as well as Google entries will confirm that many people are what Jim Willis in his book Snap Shots and Visions calls “idea” people; people that are motivated by the excitement of conceptualization of an idea but not actualization the work to complete the project. They can get started, do the all the preparation, push forward into action, but then can’t finish the job. The finifugal walker is a person that wants to lose weight, experience the well-fit benefits, buy the apparel, read the literature, consult with a physician, plan a walking weekly/monthly/yearly calendar based on time and distance, initiate a walking program, maintain it for a significant period and begin to experience the success of weight loss and a healthier feeling, but then inexplicably discontinues walking without fully reaching the envisaged goals.

Why? One reason is a feeling of failure. The MoneyWalker’s last three blogs explored the “yo-yo” problems associated with exercise and diet. The early thrill of losing weight must confront the yo-yo reality. Like the stock market, losing weight is an up and down experience. We must learn to control the binges, not be discouraged by them. Finifugal walkers often have bad mental habits; they can’t balance the thrill of victory with the agony of defeat. Smart mental habits utilize self-talk and support groups to stay on task.

The beginning walking/diet program nearly always results in dramatic weight loss especially for people highly overweight. But then even with fidelity to the walking/diet plan, a plateau occurs. The weight loss mysteriously stops. Moreover, the plateau often last for an extensive period of time. That is when disillusionment sets in and the walking and dieting are discontinued. The answer to disillusionment is perseverance. The performance curve for weight loss is nearly always follows an elongated reverse S shape; that is, rapid improvement at the beginning, followed by a lengthy plateau of no loss, but then with perseverance, the curve again reflects downward weight loss. To defeat the finifugal effect, persevere through the plateaus.

Another symptom of the finifugal walker is time management; we are just too busy to devote the time to extensive walking. We get started but then run out of time. Never mind that many of us find hours of time for leisure pursuits related to electronic devices. Related to time management is procrastination, we will get back to our walking tomorrow. Determination is intrinsic, but don’t be afraid to use both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation sources to stay on track.

The finifugal walker is sometimes a romantic. He or she sees the sculptured bodies on screen effortlessly working out sometimes with friends having a great time. They romanticize the walking bout and then realize that taking long walks is hard work and practicing smart eating habits require discipline. Well Yes! For a finifugal walker to become a lifelong walker, food denial and positive work habits must become a part of the psychic make-up.

Blogging about cardio vascular fitness and dieting can sometimes be such a bother. Who wants to read information that is counterpoint to the lovely sedentary strategies of leisure time? But the truth is that maintaining a healthy Body Mass Index requires coming to grips with the reality of the ultimate finifugal walking reality—We never finish! Yet in the end, when we all finish life’s timetable, those that suppressed their finifugal tendencies will have live longer and with a higher quality of life.

MoneyWalker

Beating the "Yo-Yo Diet," Final of a Three-Part Series

2011-10-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Feature: Beating the "Yo-Yo Diet," Final of a Three-Part Series

In our series on how to win the “Yo-Yo Diet” phenomenon we have learned from the theories of Erik Erickson to reduce the high end gains while increasing the low end losses. Each win at the extremes will provide the courage and experience to yo-yo your weight to a manageable sustainable level. We have drawn from the experiences of Reverend Ray Cannata that we can eat every day in a fancy restaurant and still lose weight. Pastor Cannata simply manages portion control (smaller portions), eliminates soft drinks, and follows an aggressive walking program.

Today’s blog features renowned cardiologist Dr. William Davis’s and his thoughts from his New York Times bestselling book Wheat Belly. In his book Davis presents evidence, both case study and empirical, that by eliminating wheat from our diets we can prevent fat storage, shrink unsightly bulges, and reverse myriad health problems including minor rashes and high blood sugar.

After witnessing over 2,000 patients regain their health after giving up wheat food products, Davis reached the disturbing conclusion that wheat is the single largest contributor to the nationwide obesity epidemic—and its elimination is key to dramatic weight loss and optimal health. Quoting Dr. Davis concerning what happens when people eliminate or radically reduce wheat from their diet:

Conservatively, I would estimate that 70% of people experience a substantial benefit beyond weight loss. It might be relief from a chronic rash like psoriasis, relief from struggles with airway and sinus health like asthma and chronic sinus infections, relief from gastrointestinal problems like acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome, or it might be relief from run-of-the-mill arthritis or inflammatory arthritis like rheumatoid. The range of conditions caused or worsened by this thing is nothing short of astounding.

To summarize, in order to win the “Yo-Yo” weight loss/weight regain cycle, the MoneyWalker’s plan is to win the "Yo-Yo Diet" downward cycle, engage a serious walking program, eliminate soft drinks, and radically reduce the amount of wheat products in your diet.

MoneyWalker

Weight Loss/gain from last blog = 174.6 lbs, no change

Money Found since last blog = $4.06 over 3 walks, $1.35 average

Eating in New Orleans and Beating the “Yo-Yo” Trap

2011-09-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Eating in New Orleans and Beating the “Yo-Yo” Trap

The last blog was the first of a series of how-to ideas related to defeating the Yo-Yo-like weight recycle problem. This blog will explain how Ray Cannata, a Presbyterian New Orleans minister broke the “Yo-Yo” cycle. Mr. Cannata accepted a call to move to New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina.

Rather than leave, he led a movement to recruit volunteer ministers and their flocks to vacation in New Orleans and help with gutting houses. This led to an unlikely quest for a person that has pride in his BMI (body mass index).

As the visitors asked, “Where are the good eating spots?”; he began a list of his favorites. In turn, someone challenged him to eat in all the restaurants in New Orleans. He took the challenge and is 719 and counting. The newspaper account related the following:

“Too much high-calorie hospitality could be a waistline hazard, of course, so Cannata always leaves a bite or two behind. Though he initially gained weight as he checked restaurants off his list, he’s since dropped the extra pounds by abstaining from soft drinks and giving up his car. As if Cannata didn’t already have enough on his plate, so to speak, he’s become a champion of the pedestrian-friendly New Urbanist ideals.”

The take-away from Reverend Cannata is eating smaller portions, avoiding soft drinks, and starting a walking program.

In our next blog, the MoneyWalker will discuss another tip for beating the “Yo-Yo” trap—too radically reduce or totally eliminate hybrid wheat products.

MoneyWalker

Weight = 174.2 “-“
Money found on today’s walk = $.68

“Yo-Yo” Dieting, Can This Cloud Have A Silver Lining

2011-09-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

"OMG!"

“Yo-Yo” Dieting, Can This Cloud Have A Silver Lining

The MoneyWalker is an NFL fan (professional football), specifically a New Orleans Saints fan. This past week-end watching the Saints defeat the Houston Texans was stressful. The final score, Saints 40, Texans 33 was a back and forth game with the Texans dominating for much of the game. Still Saints quarterback Drew Brees found a way to win. After the final knell down, the MoneyWalker went for a long walk.

Walking is great therapy for flushing out football-induced stress—win or lose.
During the walk, the success of Drew Brees reminded me of the developmental theories of Erik Erikson. Erikson believes that “crises” or “problems” play an important role in successful maturation and problem solving. Brees’s performance provide a “yo-yo” of emotions for Drew as well as his fans. His first interception was a “low” and then he threw a touchdown pass, a” high.” Then another interception, then a series of passes that resulted in several touchdowns and an eventual victory.

Erikson believes that Brees’s successful problem solving (touchdowns) could not have occurred without his negative past experiences. Brees like all of us learn to solve difficult problems with the successful solving of earlier less demanding problems. When we are successful, the event provides the courage and confidence to attempt even more difficult problems.

This brings us to “Yo-Yo” dieting or medically, “weight cycling.” Weight cycling is the repeated loss and regain of body weight. We diet, lose weight, and then gain it all back, often gaining back more than we lost.

Is there hope? Can we use the “Yo-Yo” concept to help resolve the goal of losing weight and keeping it off? The MoneyWalker thinks that we can use weight gain in an Erikson way. We can use the success of losing weight as a positive experience. Then when we regain weight we can teach ourselves to remember that we lost the weight once, we can do it again. The key is cognitive self-talk. Rather than succumb fully to binge eating, we can say “Slow down the eating. Go back to a strategy based on portion control and food choices. Get some exercise. Weight every day. Eat breakfast.” Make sure that each plateau of the Yo-Yo work for you, not against. On the next trip down, lose more weight than the last trip. On the next trip up, gain control so that the next weight gain is not as high as the previous gain. In this way, the success at both ends of the Yo-Yo trip will give you the courage and confidence to finally reach and maintain a healthy body weight. Yo-Yoing is not medically dangerous and the experience can provide a silver lining.

On our next blog we will present a case study of how a minister in New Orleans gained fame by eating at least one meal in more than 900 restaurants in New Orleans over a three year period and still lost weight. His tips will help you defeat the Yo-Yo effect.

MoneyWalker

Money found since last post = $6.02 over 4 walks, average $1.51 per walk

Weight since last report = 174.4 lbs, "-"

Celebrity walking

2011-09-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

Feature Entry: Celebrity Walkers and Other Thoughts

The MoneyWalker is not heavy in philosophical walking, but many are. I find this thought worthy of repeating: “I'm a walker on the edge of my perception.” This could mean that walking is a good time to sort out one’s personal reality. The quote was found on an interesting UK walking forum.

What is good about walking forums is the opportunity to find inspiration from the walks of others and to record your own insights. Wendy Bumgardner, author of Walking sponsored by NYT About.com sponsors a walking forum as one of her blog features.

Many celebrities are avid walkers. A few quotes follow:

Who: Laura Leighton, star of Melrose PlaceWhy she walks: "When I hit a fitness rut, I call a friend to meet me for a walk. It always helps to make exercising a social opportunity!"

Who: Campbell Brown, CNN anchorWhy she walks: "I used to go to the gym, but now I put Eli, my son, in his stroller, and we go power walking for an hour. When I skip it, I'm dragging all day."

Who: Art Garfunkel, singer/songwriterWhy he walks: "Walking is very primal. You begin to see how it works the body. It's wonderful for breathing, and it tones up the physical self." Garfunkel actually walked across America in the '80s and '90s, though he did it in pieces that wound up totaling more than 4,000 miles. It took him 14 years and 40 separate trips!

Who: Sarah Chalke, star of ScrubsWhy she walks: "I've always loved being in the fresh air. It's so therapeutic and relaxing and healing being outside. I like to go hiking with my dog, Lola. I walk wherever I can. I'll take it over driving any day!"

Who: Brooke Shields, actress/model/mom of twoWhy she walks: To reenergize when the life of a working mom wipes her out. "When I'm exhausted, exercise is the only thing that reinvigorates me. I'll make appointments with people to go hiking and meet them at the base of a hill."

Social walking, dog walking, fitness walking, charity walking are all excellent sources of finding motivation to sustain a healthy walking habit. For the MoneyWalker, I use all of these methods but have found that the thrill of finding money during my walks works best for me.

Not a walker? Today is a good day to begin. Who knows, maybe you will rub shoulders with Brad Pitt.

MoneyWalker

Today’s weight = 175.8 lbs, +
Money Found since last post = $27.70 or average of $2.52 over eleven walks

I’m a Supinator, What Are You?—Selecting the Walking Shoe

2011-09-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

Supination
Pronation

Feature Entry: I’m a Supinator, What Are You?—Selecting the Walking Shoe

The MoneyWalker logs about 25 miles a week which equates to 1300 miles a year. Even the best walking shoes need to be replaced ever 350 to 500 miles which means I change shoes after 4 months. Taking the shoes longer means that I am walking with “stretched” shoes that have lost their support and cushioning. I spend $100 for a jogging shoe, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS. These are top of the line and well worth the $300 a year expenditure. I tried less expensive models and experienced joint discomfort, ankle turns, poor balance, and occasional falls. When moving to my top line shoes, most of the problems disappeared and walking became more enjoyable.

Selecting the right shoes is an important consideration for the serious walker. Most experts on fitness and walking recommend shopping at specialty stores that cater to joggers and runners. The best running shoe is usually the best walking shoe. The specialty stores have experts that can help you determine the best shoe for your individual walking pattern.

When visiting the store, take a pair of your current walking shoes. More than price and comfort, selection decisions should be based on your walking pattern. Walkers will have one of three patterns—supination, pronation, or neutral. To determine my pattern, I examined the soles of my existing walking shoes. I noticed that the outside edge from heel to toe had excessive wear. Thus, I am a supinator which means that I underpronate and that I should buy “neutral” shoes with “curved lasts.” The shoe’s “last” refers to the form on which a shoe is constructed - resulting in the inside shape of the shoe. Lasts may be straight, curved or semi-curved.

If my shoe wear pattern had shown excessive wear on the inner side of the walking shoes, I would be considered an overpronator, or more simply a pronator. My shoes would tilt inward if I placed them on a flat surface. Pronators will require orthotic inserts or specially designed “motion control” shoes. The shoe last should be straight.

Finally, if my shoe soles revealed balanced wear, my gait category would have been considered neutral. To learn more about selecting the best fitting walking shoe for your gait category Google Wendy Bumgardner’s About.com walking blog entitled “Walking Shoe Wear Patterns.

MoneyWalker

Found Money Update since last post = $8.50 over four walks for $2.13 average per walk

Weight Gain/loss since last post = 175.2 lbs, up from last post.

Sugar, A Serotonin Buzz Killer

2011-08-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

Feature Entry: Sugar, A Serotonin Buzz Killer

In our last blog the so-called serotonin buzz was linked to the pleasure we brisk walkers receive when the stimulation from hard work triggers the brain to produce increased amounts of the hormone serotonin. The free flowing serotonin stimulates the production of endorphins, drug-like brain chemicals that in turn trigger opioid receptors creating a sensation of happiness.

The careful reader might also recall our fear that sugar might possible be a spoiler in this natural fairy tale. As it turns out, sugar, especially granulated sugar creates the same brain scenario as exercise. Worse, granulated sugar is essentially an “invasive species” to the brain's anatomy and physiology. Not until modern times has sugar been plentiful enough and affordable enough to be an abundant staple of our diet.

Have there been unintended consequences to the invasion? Yes, biochemists report that granulated sugar creates an artificial increase in serotonin in a way that causes the body to “down-regulate” its natural production and release of serotonin. Since serotonin is responsible for controlling mood and appetite, without serotonin a person becomes depressed. As if a person’s self is independent of his/her brain, a SOS is sent to the brain for help. The brain, now lazy in terms of serotonin production, responds back, “Give me sugar!” Self pops in a candy bar and swigs down a cola, and eureka, everyone is happy.

Unfortunately for those wishing to maintain a healthy BMI (body mass index), the unconscious dialogue between self and brain forges an emotional bond between happiness and sugar. Some become “serotonin addicts” and develop a dependency on an ever increasing level of serotonin in order to gain tranquility even at the risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and socially unacceptable weight gain.

Is there an antidote? Yes, return to the basics. Retrain your brain to secrete serotonin using what nature intended—aerobic exercise which includes walking and other forms of aerobic exercise. Remember the MoneyWalker’s five keys to weight loss and weight loss maintenance:

Weight every day
Eat a high fiber breakfast (no orange juice)
Walk 45 minutes or more a day
Practice portion control (eat smaller amounts), and
Journal what you eat

MoneyWalker

Journal Entry

Today’s weight = 173.0

Money Finds since last entry = $5.77 over four walks for $1.44 average.

Calisthenical Walking: Achieving a Serotonin Buzz Naturally

2011-08-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

Photo by Joe McGorty as depicted in a blog by guardian.co.uk

Feature Entry: Calisthenical Walking: Achieving a Serotonin Buzz Naturally

The MoneyWalker is having a great time reading Ammon Shea’s Reading the OED, one man, one year, 21,730 pages. Shea selects interesting words for brief comments. His selected word calisthenical is simply defined as “addicted to exercise.” Calisthenical walking is the second entry from Shea’s book.

Calisthenical walking can be likened to the so-called runner’s high or to achieving a “serotonin buzz.” Serotonin is the workhorse of a constellation of brain processes commonly known as the pleasure response. The short lesson--exercises such as running, jogging, and brisk walking trigger the secretion of serotonin which results in a feeling of euphoria.

now for the bad new, did someone whisper the word sugar? Yikes, could it be that sugar also stimulates the creation of a serotonin buzz? More about the interloper tomorrow?

MoneyWalker

Notes:
Found Money Update since last post = $36.23 over 16 walks for average of $2.26 per walk

Average weight over the 16 walks = 173.3 lbs.

Take a Walk and Simplify Your Life

2011-08-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Photo by Travelzine

Feature Entry: Take a Walk and Simplify Your Life

The first week of August is “Simplify Your Life Week.” Sometimes we aggravate our stress level by making things too complicated. The MoneyWalker is feeling too much stress because of all the junk in his basement. It is time for his semi-annual Friendship House Charity Garage Sale. Simplify, get rid of that junk.

When I’m overstressed, my coping behavior is weak. Stress causes me to as Anita Brookner says, “waste my emotional energy.” It seems that we humans are always trying to shape our emotional energy with money and the things it buys. I have a closet full of clothes but now I want a new sport jacket.

There can be negative consequences when we attempt to manage our emotional energy with money. Moreover, with the current national debt crises, making needless purchases can greatly add to our stress rather than reduce it.

What can we do to simplify a strategy to better manage our emotional energy? Eat rich foods? Take expensive vacations? Self medicate with pills and alcohol? Not if we want to simplify our life. The correct answer in a word—walk! Simplify--who needs those expensive fitness club fees and the over-hyped pageantry and pretense of the gym.

Journal Entry:

Today’s weight = 174.8

Money finds since last entry = $13.60, $2.27 average per walk.

MoneyWalker

If You’re 'Walk'en to New Orleans' You Need Walking Socks

2011-07-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Photo provided by Stock Photos and Images

Feature Entry: If You’re 'Walk'en to New Orleans' You Need Walking Socks

Walking while on vacation serves two historical antecedents. First, many vacationers want to sight see and walking is often the most convenient way to see the sights. Second, individuals tend to eat more while on vacation and walking is an important way to burn the extra calories.

The MoneyWalker follows several blogs and on-line interest groups, one being TheTravelzine@yahoogroups.com. A recent thread allowed discussion of the importance of good walking shoes including walking socks. Wrote Stef from Chicago:

Hello Gail and Fellow Walking Ziners:

Gail is correct, socks are “extremely” important. I have worn Thorlo's for at least 20 years. They come in many versions for all activities: walking, running, hiking, Tennis, etc. Thorlos may be a bit expensive, but boy are they fabulous! Once you
examine them for each sport you will understand the science behind the design
and structure each sock has for each exact sport or exercise.They are made in
Statesville, NC, and dedicated to the science of socks. http://www.thorlo.com/

Walk on!

Stef, in sunny sweltering Chicago

ChicagoAs it turns out, the MoneyWalker owns a pair of Thorlos and they are expensive. I found them to provide very good comfort but no more so than my Wigwams or high end Nikes. Still the resistance was too much, I opened Thorlo’s website to have a peek. I found a treasure of an information piece called “Why Walking Thorlos? More Protection…More Walking!” http://www.thorlo.com/ws6/why_thorlos.php?activity_id=12 A few of the highlights follow, the MoneyWalker's comments are in parentheses:

“More walking for us is more life.” (The more we walk, the longer we live.)

“Walking is not only the best exercise you can do, it’s what our bodies were ‘designed’ to do.” (Walking is a safe natural exercise.)

“Walking Thorlos (or any high end brand of walking socks) are designed to help protect your feet from the damaging forces of impact, shear and blistering when exercise walking.” (Quality walking socks helps protect joints.”

“During heel strike, when the heel makes contact with the ground the outer edge touches first. The muscles, tendons and ligaments of the foot relax, allowing the foot to flatten, to adapt itself to non-uniform surfaces, and to absorb the body's impact which is as much as 1-1/2 times the body's weight at normal walking speed.” (A proper functioning foot that fully relaxes at heel contact is important to prevent falls.)

“Given the significant range of motion through which the foot goes during walking and running, it is understandable that placing this dynamic appendage in the static environment of a shoe inherently limits the foot's functionality.” (Speaks to the importance of well engineered walking shoes and socks to mitigate the modern practice of wearing shoes rather than walking barefoot.)

Shearing, “Shearing forces occur when the metatarsal bones glide over layers of the plantar fat pads and skin that are not moving in the same direction as the bones. This creates a situation in which the fat pads become inflamed, and over time, degenerate.” (Well designed padded socks help prevent shearing, blistering, and fat pad degeneration.)

Moisture, “Moisture retained by socks inside the shoe softens the skin of the foot and makes it more vulnerable to blistering.” (A well engineered walking sock wicks moisture away from the foot.), and finally,

Plantar fat pad protection, “After the age of about 40, many people experience a loss of as much as 50% of the plantar fat pads that protect the bottom of the feet. This fat pad degradation is primarily the result of shearing forces from walking on smooth, unyielding man-made surfaces, and is exacerbated by poorly designed and poorly fitted shoes.” (Walking socks should provide textured padding to support the foot because of the wearing away effect of the aging process.)

As Stef said, “Walk on!” And if you are walking in the humidity of New Orleans, select a well padded socks that wick the moisture.

Journal Entry: Current weight and money found.

Current Weight = 174.2 lbs

Money found since last posting = $7.19, $1.44 average for five walks.

MoneyWalker

A Corporate Walking Program With Promise

2011-07-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Joan Lunden a member of the Walgreen's Walking Program Board of Consultants.

Feature Entry: A Corporate Walking Program With Promise

One of the MoneyWalker’s blessings is the freedom of non-dependence on prescription drugs, perhaps the result of a lifelong fitness program. But a minor skin cancer flare-up sent me to a neighborhood Walgreen prescription counter. While waiting, I noticed an announcement of a new program, “Walk with Walgreens.” It is a program that rewards you for walking. It allows the walker to log his/her progress and provides financial incentives for the bother. The program has a fun centered and goal setting focus.

Walgreen’s goal for the program is relatively simple: “To get more of us walking more steps, in more places than ever before.” Their corporate altruistic incentive is to help American to achieve a higher level of health and happiness and improve the environment in the process. Walgreen has put together an impressive list of advisors and not surprising goal setting is high on the list of their recommended motivation plan. Here is their basic instruction:”Just set a goal, then log your daily steps here (meaning your on-line Walgreen space). In no time at all, you’ll be receiving rewards and coupons from our partners for doing what you already do.” Their comprehensive motivation system also includes testimonials and walking tips from fellow walkers including celebrities.

The MoneyWalker has joined the Walgreen’s walking program and will provide updates in future blogs. Find out more by following

http://Walgreens.com/walking

Journal Entry: Current weight and money found

Current Weight = 173.2 lbs

Money found since last blog =$17.26 from nine walks, an average of $1.92 a walk

MoneyWalker

Phone APPS and Weight Loss

2011-07-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

The Iphone

Feature Entry: Phone Apps and Weight Loss

To understand this blog entry, you may need a brief crash course in social networking terminology. A smartphone is a personal computer that is contained in what formerly was a cell phone. An app is an application that you can download to your smartphone for a nominal amount of money and are often free. Since the smartphone was invented a couple of years ago, there are apps for everything imaginable including weight loss/weight maintenance assistance.

The National Weight Loss Control Registry of Brown University is making good use of the app for food tracking. The Registry has already established that by keeping a personal food consumption journal, your chances are doubled for weight-loss success.

Here is the rub. As my Anthony Trollope friend Dolly Longestaffe likes to say, “It is such a bother.” But food journaling need not be that difficult. It seems the behavior need not be connected to counting calories—just a quick notation of what has been consumed seems to do the trick.

However, with smartphone apps, you can have it all and avoid the excessive “bother.” Just download an app and it allows quick and painless logging of food and exercise information. A bonus of the app is that it also counts the calories and exercise expenditure. Moreover, the selected app gives immediate feedback as to your weight loss and calorie goals. Available apps include Lose It!, My fitness Pal, My Net Diary, Daily Burn, Calorie Counter by Fat Secret, and SparkPeoples app.

Most of these are free are cost just a few dollars a month. They are customizable and some will establish a daily calorie budget for you—how cool is that? Also, the apps help you establish a community forum for support and questions and most provide motivational testimonials (social networking.) My blogs are filled with comments concerning the value of “personal accountability.” The app lets you know if you are meeting your goals, and if not, why not.

It turns out that we lose weight differently. We all have a nutrient specific RDA—computer speak for recommended daily allowance. For those that like competition for motivation, the app provides an internal motivation device which helps the weight loser/weight maintainer focus on “beating” a personalized daily calorie goal or “outscoring” one’s RDA.

Apps have built-in help for setting your RDA. A general rule is to multiply your goal body weight by 10 for sedentary folks and by 12 if you exercise regularly (exercise 3 times a week); or by 14 if you exercise moderately three to five days a week; and by 16 if you exercise intensely five to seven days a week. Most apps help you with this by asking a series of intensity/frequency/intensity questions. Caution, many of the programs overestimate the calories burned, so experiment with your own exercise routine.

My factor is 16; thus my caloric goal is 2310 calories per day. So why was my morning weigh-in five pounds heavier than my weight goal? Simple according to the app, I am consuming more than my allotted RDA. Solution, up the exercise regiment or cut back on the calories. I guess this is bad news for those late evening raids of the ice cream bucket.

MoneyWalker

Advesperate Walking

2011-07-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

Credit photo to Markdanielowen.

Advesperate Walking

The MoneyWalker had just started reading Ammon Shea’s Reading the OED, one man, one, year, 21,730 pages. He has reduced the 1989 20 volumes Oxford English Dictionary to 250 pages of wit and intellectual wizardry. The first chapter appropriately enough is called “A.” Obviously to reduce 21,000+ OED pages into 250 pages requires careful selectivity. Shea features words that connected with his highly imaginative personality. In turn, the first of his words to connect with me was the word Advesperate (v)-- to approach evening. States Shea, “…when I am walking down the street and the light of day is about to change to the light of early evening, the word will flit through my mind, and I have a rush of joy from knowing how to name such an ephemeral moment."

Incidentally, Shea thinks we should enjoy knowing these words but does not necessarily recommend that we use them with our friends.

For the money walker, advesperate walking is just that, walking during that magical part of the day when the last light of daytime is giving over to the blue shades of evening. There is no better time to enjoy the dynamics of your neighborhood than in that special time between afternoon and evening. The commuter traffic is over, children are playing, neighbors are visiting on their front porches, and in the summer, mild breezes bring cooling comfort.

Advesperate walking is not a time for money searches, but it is a time for reflecting and just enjoying being outside. The MoneyWalker uses advesperate walking as a change of pace from his usual early morning stealth walks.

Give it a try.

Money found on this morning’s walk--$1.60

MoneyWalker

What's A Farthering?

2011-07-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

Portrait of the late Anna Massey, the British actress that recently died. Ms. Massey played Edith Hope from Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac. Massey also was featured in a BBC production of Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now. Both Brookner and Trollope are in the MoneyWalker's Hall of Fame for their frequent reference to characters that take long meaningful walks.

Featured Entry: What's A Farthering?

Next to super finds (fifty cents are more in one location); the Moneywalker enjoys finding ecological ground scores. Ecological ground scores are any item that has been thrown away or hopelessly lost but has value. If it can be recycled, repaired, or repurposed the item is lugged home, cleaned, repaired, and prepared for the MoneyWalkers’s semi-annual charity yard sale.

With admiring interest the MoneyWalker is happy to pass along the story of Kemila Slade of the New Bern, N.C. Pink Sapphire Ladies Club. While walking with fourteen other members of the Club for the purpose of picking up trash along Neuse Boulevard in New Bern, Slade spotted a farthing. A farthing is a now obsolete British coin, their lowest denomination and worth .25 of an old British penny. In the 13th century, a farthing had the strength to purchase a 2 pound loaf of bread. But due to 20th century inflation, the farthing became worthless and was officially declared no longer legal tender as of Dec. 31, 1960.

Ms. Slade’s farthing was minted in 1730. The farthing was not “uncirculated” but was in good condition. Experts speculate that someone accidently threw it away. It took Ms. Slade’s careful observation to resurrect the farthing from permanent obscurity. A non-profit North Carolina organization called Keep NC Beautiful sponsors a semi-annual “most unusual litter” contest. The Slade farthing won first place which included a $250 prize. Numismatists indicate that the coin is worth about ten bucks.

The take away is that walking is not only great for maintaining and building good health, by adding ecological walking to our motivation scheme; we can help our world be a better place.

MoneyWalker

No Fond Return of Love

2011-06-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

Feature Entry: "No Fond Return of Love!"

Gretchen Rubin in her Happiness Project blog ask a relevant question for those of us that walk in order to avoid gaining weight. Her question, “Are you a moderator or an abstainer?” Think chocolate chip cookies. She provides a simple test:

You’re a moderator if you…
-- find that occasional indulgence heightens your pleasure – and strengthens your resolve
-- get panicky at the thought of “never” getting or doing something

You’re an abstainer if you…
-- have trouble stopping something once you’ve started
-- aren’t tempted by things that you’ve decided are off-limits

The MoneyWalker is a moderator. Offer him a plate of chocolate chip cookies and he can easily eat only one. One of his best friends is an abstainer. If he has vowed off of sweets, he can say no to the chocolate chip cookies. But if he eats one, he will not stop until the plate is finished.

For me, I need a little something sweet after each meal. Gretchen believes that people losing weight or maintaining weight loss should be attuned to their own moderator/abstainer style. She quotes Dr. Samuel Johnson: “Abstinence is as easy to me as temperance would be difficult.” Johnson is an abstainer.

Rubin’s point is directed toward the person that is trying to give up some specific item—ice cream for example. She encourages us to be true to our personality type and not be drawn into someone else’s. If you know your style to be an abstainer and know that eating just one bite will lead to the devouring of the entire container—just abstain from ice cream. But if you know that you are a moderator and fear that you will be miserable without an occasional taste, then follow that style.

Either way, remember the big five secrets to weight loss/maintenance—weigh ever day, eat breakfast, exercise, journal your food, and practice portion control. If you are trying to lose weight, Barbara Pym is a prophet: neither ice cream or chocolate chip cookies will return you love.

MoneyWalker

Torpor Walking

2011-06-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Feature Entry: Torpor Walking

First a comment about torpor and its companion word sloth. Sloth and torpor are forces in the mind that drain vitality and limit effort. Synonyms include laziness, idleness, sluggishness, inactivity, indolence, apathy, and inertia. An antonym is liveliness. Sloth and torpor resembles mental and physical fatigue. The symptoms of each include discouragement, frustration, boredom, indifference, giving up hopelessness, and resistance for taking responsibility. What is different, sloth and torpor arise from a psychological attitude rather than physical or mental fatigue.

Torpor walking is an antidote for a torpor frame of mind. If you are listlessness and feel fatigued, you should practice torpor walking. If you feel sluggish and apathetic, a good brisk walk can assist you in breaking out of your sloth and torpor quandary. Seasoned walkers know that even when we are tired there is wisdom in pushing forward with the walk. That "pushing forward" even when you do not feel mentally or physically up to a walk is torpor walking. Experienced walkers know that a good brisk walk can help eliminate the effects of sloth and torpor mindfulness.

Ms MoneyWalker and I just returned from a 12 day vacation which included a seven day cruise. The vacation was preceded by several days of intense mental activity but little or no walking or exercising. The cruise featured formal dining for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with food choices that made portion control and calorie vigilance essentially impossible. As a result both of us returned to our home physically and psychologically exhausted and somewhat over weight.

Vacations and travel result in acute excitement and tension which is often expressed through the muscles. As a result, the traveler upon returning feels exhausted. Because the excitement masks the weariness, travelers are not aware of their weariness until they get home. For the MoneyWalker, the first morning involved a crisis encounter. Do I get up, put on the walking attire, and hit the streets; or, do I rationalize and declare a recovery period? The problem with resting involves habit strength. I feared the habit of inactivity.

The MoneyWalker returned to walking the first day. The muscles were stiff, there was no zoom in the stride, and the mind was it total rebellion. Those first two walks left me feeling anything but refurbished and rejuvenated. But after three days, the joys of the morning walk started to return. The walking was assisting me to renew a healthy state of energy and alertness. These first few walks were torpor walks—walks to restore vitality. The crisis was averted, the walking habit was reestablished.

As for the fatigue that comes from psychological sources such as discouragement, self-pity, complacency, and ideas of futility, the MoneyWalker is not immune. In fact, just before the vacation, the Moneywalkers lost a valued family member to diabetes. But when he experiences negative feelings, the antidote is the same; maintain a brisk walking regiment. From experience he knows that a torpor walk will help him to rediscover the wonderful sensation of liveliness.

MoneyWalker

Will Walking Make You Smart?

2011-05-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

Diane Keaton's Personal Library

Feature Entry: Will Walking Make You Smart?

It is probably true that bloggers enjoy reading the blogs of others. One of my favorites is Psyblog.com.uk. Their recent entry was “7 Simple Ways to Improve Your Memory Without Any Training” The key word is simple because most memory enhancers required quite amount of mental energy. We will not bore by describing the seven ways but a few of their labels include:

Write about your problems
Look at a natural scene
Say words aloud
Meditate
Predict that you will remember
Use your hands or other gestures while trying to remember something
Move your body up when recalling a positive thought and down for a negative

Now here is a clincher for improving your memory. According to Psyblog,”Probably the best way of improving your overall cognitive health is exercise. Studies regularly find that increasing aerobic fitness is particularly good for executive function and working memory.

Randomized controlled trials in Neuromolecular Medicine have shown that exercise improves cognitive function across the board and is superior to computer programs designed for brain training, drugs, nutritional supplements and meditation. Walking and other aerobic forms of exercise have been found to be particularly good at enhancing executive control processes including planning, recall, and working memory.

Psyblog also said that “Exercise is also thought to encourage the growth of new brain cells. In the past scientists always thought that neurogenesis - growing new brain cells - was impossible in humans. New studies, though, have shown that we can grow new brain cells.”

How about just resting on the couch—not good. Sedentary living leads to cognitive deterioration. So, want to live longer with a higher quality of life, start a walking program.

Now what was I saying?

Moneywalker

The Onus Is On Walkers

2011-05-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

May 10, 2011
Journal Entry: Weight = 171.0 pounds; Coinage = $1.91 (19 decas) 31 pennies, 1 nickel, 3 dimes, 5 quarters (two super finds defined as fifty cents or more in one location); Glass bottles = 4; Ground scores = 3.

Feature Entry: The Onus is on walkers (with apologies to Barry Pless, MD for stealing his title)On this afternoon’s walk, just in front of me, a pedestrian was screaming at a driver coming out of a drive-through of a Burger King. The driver ran over the pedestrian’s foot. The poor pedestrian was walking on a public sidewalk and the driver looking to dart into traffic never saw the poor fellow and ran over his foot. No serious damage was done so the screaming and naming calling was humorous.

Then just last week the Moneywalker saw this bumper sticker: “How is my walking?” At first I didn’t get it. Then when I saw the slogan was flanked by two mugs of beer I realized that it was satire poking fun at the ubiquitous signs on commercial carries that ask, “How is my Driving? Call 1-800-555-5555.”

Both episodes lead me to present the MoneyWalker’s guide to pedestrian safety. Good walkers are safe walkers. The list makes more sense if you remember that the driver of cars and trucks will always “blame the victim, the walker” if an accident happens. The list follows:

1. Prepare for the unexpected, only drivers have the right to assumptions.
2. Cars have the right of way at red lights and turning right on a red light even without stopping is their full privilege even if pedestrians are crossing the street.
3. Pedestrians must establish eye contact with drivers at intersections or when crossing the street; drivers need not be bothered.
4. Car drivers have the AT&T if not God given right to cell phone and text while driving.
5. Pedestrians must be mind readers; drivers are not required to think while driving.
6. Drivers have the right to drive with "declining eyesight, mobility, attention and reflexes"; pedestrians with the same maladies must stay home.
7. Drivers have a right to speed; pedestrians do not have the right to jay walk.
8. Pedestrians must hustle to cross the streets; cars are not expected to slow down.

The take away from this list is that drivers are equipped with a two thousand pound machine while pedestrians have only their fragile frame of delicate sinew and bones. It is not fair, but might makes right. Pedestrians cannot expect the law or common courtesy to provide protection. So, unless you are built like an elephant, you must utilize rely upon a super sensitive vigilance when walking the highways and byways of our cities, towns, and county lanes.

MoneyWalker

A Walker Faces Six Life-Style Health Tests

2011-05-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Photo by Walgreens

Feature Entry: A Walker Faces Six Life-Style Health Tests

In New Orleans, Walgreens drug stores dominate Rite Aid and CVS. On today’s walk, the MoneyWalker was greeted with a red and white motor van at the Walgreens across the street from his midcity home. Over the months, the Walgreen parking lot has provided countless coins. The sign read “Wellness Tour: Free screenings.”

It turns out, the van is part of a nationwide tour that features nine customized buses that travel across 48 states, visiting more than 3,000 communities. The 2011 tour is co-sponsored by the National Urban League. Find a tour near you by typing walgreens.com/tour.

The NUL/Walgreens Wellness Tour is delivering free health tests and health education to communities across the country with a special emphasis on diverse and underserved areas. Available free tests are worth over $100 per person, and no appointment is necessary. Tests include:

• Total Cholesterol Levels
• Blood Pressure
• Bone Density
• Glucose Levels
• Waist Circumference
• Body Mass Index

With the test being free, the MoneyWalker walked right in. After just a few minutes an agent reviewed the results. The MoneyWalker’s scores are on the left and his grade on the right.

• BP 115/79 mmHg Grade = Excellent
• Glucose 95 mg/dl Grade = Excellent
• Cholesterol 210 mg/dl Grade = Good
• Body Comp 29.0 % Grade = Good
• BMI 25.3 Grade = Good
• Waist 34” Grade = Excellent (but I inhaled)

Overall the MoneyWalker was proud of his results. Got to get that pesky BMI under control. What about you? Do you have the courage to take the tests; if so, what are you waiting for? Take the tests! They may save your life.

MoneyWalker

Discipline and Losing Weight

2011-03-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Photos from the blog of Henry James, March 31, 2010

Discipline and Losing Weight

The last blog featured the role of external motivation systems for weight loss. This blog demonstrates how intrinsic motivation can be used as a basis for losing weight.

Recently, Harry Chapman of Dallas, Texas was featured in the Times-Picayune, the MoneyWalker’s daily newspaper. Harry, always fitness conscious throughout his 30s, was shocked to realize by his late forties he had a 44 inch waist line. With the stress and responsibilities of his job, he lost time for exercise and was overeating. Moreover, all his life quality indicators were trending in the wrong direction.

First he determined to change his behavior by focusing on health rather than losing pounds. He opted for intrinsic motivation to develop a plan of action. He also sought encouragement from significant others. The plan was to exercise six days a week and follow a calorie restricted diet. Two years later he had lost 100 pounds.

Harry’s advice to is to take action with what you can do. For him it was swimming. He supports small realistic goals. Harry’s first goal was to move from lane 1 to lane 2. Lane 1 of his 50 meter pool was for the really slow swimmers. Harry could just make one length of the 50 meter pool when he started. With discipline and consistency he slowly moved up lanes until he reached lane five, the lane reserved for his club’s fastest swimmers. He now belongs to the Dallas Aquatic Masters Swim Club and competes with other masters. Says Harry, “Find a regiment and stick with it.”

Now the bad news, Harry warns that just because you are running, or walking, going to the gym, or swimming; and you are doing everything right in terms of exercise, there is no guarantee that you will lose weight. It is the “eating aspect” that is the most important, not the exercise he cautions. Harry’s final advice is biting but true: “The battle is at the table.” “You cannot work out enough to overcome overeating.“

MoneyWalker

Developing a Motivation System for Weight Loss and Exercise Continuance

2011-03-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Is this you on December 31, “I am going to lose 30 pounds next year and look great for my 25th high school reunion?” January 1, you make the resolution. On February 1 you lose five pounds, but on March 1, you have gained back seven.

If so, you need to examine your motivation system. Motivation to achieve difficult goals usually requires a “system” of reinforcement behaviors rather than just one end-all be-all motivation device. There are two sources of motivation—intrinsic and extrinsic. The drive connected to intrinsic motivation is “to be a better healthier person;” or, “responsible people keep their weight under control so as to look their best and avoid lifestyle diseases that come with being overweight, and I am a responsible person.” Examples of extrinsic drives are money, rewards, recognition, power, and even tokens.

When possible, we want to be motivated by intrinsic (internal rather than external) motivation, but it's not always possible to be internally motivated about everything. This is where extrinsic motivation becomes valuable. Good behaviors are often in competition with bad behavior. I can take my 4 mile walk or I can read on the couch. At the party, I can make healthy food choices or I can overeat foods with high sugar, salt, starch, or fat content. Motivation drives all those choices, both the good ones and bad ones. Also, good and bad motives are in competition for your will.

Motivation to behave a certain way is driven by how past behaviors have been reinforced. The reinforcement to overeat chocolate candy is because it tastes great. The reinforcement to restrict chocolate in your diet might come from wanting to maintain a recently gained weight loss goal. Or, by approving comments made by a significant other.

Motivation systems require a specific goal. The goal must be defined and what behaviors will be used to reach the goal. After the goal is set and the enabling behaviors determined, a series of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation schemes must be determined and linked together or nested. Also, the schemes will range from elaborate to simple. Especially the extrinsic rewards should be definable and tangible.

The MoneyWalker will illustrate how a motivation system works by using his own system as a working example. My new year’s goal was to be within what the American College of Sports Medicine defines as normal weight. My current weight is 173 pounds. For me, a normal weight is between 129 and 169 lbs. This number range was calculated using my height, weight, age, and gender and then placing the data into a Body Mass Index formula (BMI). My recommended BMI is between 19 and 25. Mine was 25.5 just into the “overweight” category. Thus, my specific goal is to lose four pounds.

Now that I have a specific goal, what set of behaviors am I going to use to lose the weight. The answer is to exercise regularly and practice portion control. My exercise of choice is one guaranteed to burn calories, a daily walk of four or five miles. Every mile burns 100 calories. Portion control means to eat smaller amount of foods known to cause fat storage—sugars, starches, and fats. I try to limit myself to 2200 hundred calories daily. With the exercise program, my net calorie for daily metabolism is between 1700 and 1800 calories. I should lose weight with that amount. I also will weight daily and record the weight in a journal. Although weight fluctuation is normal, upward trends aren’t. Daily weighing provides important trend data. Another behavior is to eat breakfast every day.

I have found that intrinsic motivation does not provide enough reinforcement to sustain my habit of daily walking. Also, feel-good strategies weren't helpful. Beautiful scenery didn’t work, variety of walks didn’t work, and walking with friends didn’t work--for me it was MoneyWalking. MoneyWalking is my name for finding money and other “valuable” objects while walking. Finding a piece of money on the ground is very powerful reinforcement. It supplies classic behavioral random variable reinforcement schedules. One never knows when, where, or how much money will be found during the walks. Also, MoneyWalking involves learning, the more you walk the more money you find. It is a matter of learning where people lose money.

Thus, MoneyWalking is the base of my motivation system, but many other types of motivation schemes are nested within the system. For example, I name the various types of money finds. My ventral striatum really fires hot and heavy when finding a scatter of pennies that someone just dumped on the ground. I call it a penny dump or a Benjamin dump (my son Benjamin tells me he just dumps his pennies on the curb when they accumulate in the console of his car).

Another technique is to count the money as it is found. My goal for each walk is to find one dollar are more. In the metric system “deci” means 1/10th. As I walk and find money, I keep count of the number of decis that are found. At the end of a walk, if I have found $1.29, I record 12 decis, one for every 1/10 of a dollar. While walking I am very aware of the number of decis and the fraction needed to make the next highest deci. In the above example I require just one more penny to earn another deci. Sometimes, I am tempted to add a few blocks to my walk just trying to close out the next higher deci level. Decis are like intermediate goals and serve as "tokens" I earn along the walk.

As mentioned above, daily weighing and recording the weight is nested into the system. I hate myself when today’s weight is higher than yesterday’s. Daily weighing is a great for self transparency. I weigh every morning, regardless of what splurge might have occurred the day before. A trending upward scale pattern is a grating reminder to cut back on the portions and monitor the choices.

Giving back to society is another form of external motivation nested into my system. I rehab, reuse, or repurpose hundreds of objects found during my walks. Then, ever six months, I conduct a MoneyWalker yard sale with all proceeds going to one of my favorite charities, the Baptist Friendship House for Abused Women and their Children or the University of New Orleans Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Lecture Series. Also, all the money found by the MoneyWalker is divided between these two charitable causes. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a worthy cause (and for some, the recognition that such giving bestows on the donor). “I can’t stop walking now, all those battered women and their children are counting on me.” is powerful self-talk.

In summary, if you are not meeting your weight loss goals, you might need to recalibrate your motivation system. Define your weight loss goal very specifically. Determine what behaviors you need to follow in order to reach your goal. Select a powerful base extrinsic motivation reward system, one that has the passion to sustain your behaviors. Combine your base motivator with secondary motivators to amplify the reinforcement. Be sure to include intrinsic motivation as a critical part of your system. Effective motivation systems are not easy to establish or follow. And worse, there are counterproductive motivation systems operating within you that compete for your willpower. Yet, a well conceived motivation system is a critical part of your weight loss and exercise program.

Remember, a happy walker is a regular walker.

MoneyWalker

Is Walking A Key To Happiness?

2011-03-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

Who knew, the Pope is a walker. Photo taken by Sammy Sabine at 2011 New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Feature Entry: Is Walking A Key To Happiness?

The MoneyWalker, like most bloggers, follows the blogs of others. This morning I tuned into Gretchen Rubin’s award winning “The Happiness Project.” Today she interviewed Piers Steel author of the book, The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done. Steel opines that “procrastination isn't tied to perfectionism or laziness, as many people believe, but rather to impulsivity. Impulsive people have trouble getting themselves to do things they don't want to do.” I suppose I can add impulsivity to initiative disorder as a reason to put off my morning walk.

Steel also promotes walking as a source of happiness. Gretchen asked Steel: “If you’re feeling blue, how do you give yourself a happiness boost?" Responds Steel: “

My strategy isn’t to pursue happiness as directly as others often do. It doesn’t work, at least for me, quite as well as I would wish. I’m more of an Aldous Huxley adherent, “Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.” So I seek accomplishment and meaning and through these activities I find satisfaction with my life. In a pinch, however, a really vigorous exercise routine dependably burns away gloom; sore muscles reacquaint you with your body and get you out of your head.”

Thus, to use Pers Steel’s strategy to experience happiness we should focus on tasks that involve accomplishment, meaning, satisfaction, and exercise.

Steel also shares the MoneyWalker’s propensity to repurpose, recycle, and rebuild objects that are broken or discarded. Rubin asked Steel: “What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier? Steel:

“Fixing or building things. I’m the type of guy who likes assembling IKEA furniture. Perhaps it acts as a counterpoint to the writing [one’s regular work] I do, but there is something wonderful about holding something physical in your hands and feeling the steady progress as an object reaches completion. Even better, when my five year old son’s Christmas gift, a train he adored, broke within a few weeks, he held back a tear as he placed his toy confidently in my hands. I’ve fixed so many over-loved toys in the past. A little disassembly, a bolt to keep the piston in place, and “good as new,” as he likes say when he gets it back."

So is walking a source of happiness? It is for the MoneyWalker. He is happy when the scales report a downward trend. He is happy when he experiences the sounds, sights, smells, and social flavors of his Mid-City neighborhood. He is happy by the maintenance of a relatively thin waist line. He is happy when finding loose change or objects discarded that are then repaired and recycled. He is happy when the physician announces glowing and positive results of the latest physical check-up.

But don't take the word of the MoneyWalker, ask the Pope, his photo says it all!

MoneyWalker

Walking and Barbara Pym--Journal Entries March 2 through March 7, 2011

2011-03-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

Photo features Barbara Pym from Goodreads

Walking and Barbara Pym--Journal Entries March 2 through March 7, 2011

Note: Some time ago, the MoneyWalker’s blogs changed formats so as to seperate "feature entries" from "journal entries." To add interest to the journal entries, I will now add walking quotes from my favorite authors. This one features the late Barbara Pym.

"The small things of life were often so much bigger than the great things . . . the trivial pleasure like cooking, one's home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard." from Less Than Angels

and

”Dulcie comes to the rescue with smelling salts. Dulcie becomes intrigued by the gorgeous, shaggy Aylwin. She researches him in the library, walks through his neighborhood, and goes so far as to attend a jumble sale at his mother-in-law’s house.” From No Fond Return of Love

March 2: Weight = 172.2 lbs.; Coinage = $2.42, 47 pennies, 8 nickels, 8 dimes, 3 quarters; Glass bottles = 4; Ground Scores = 8.

March 3: Weight = 172.0 lbs.; Coinage = $1.07, 42 pennies, 1 nickel, 6 dimes; Glass bottles = 2; Ground scores = 3.

March 5: Weight = 172.2 lbs.; Coinage = $3.59, 159 pennies, 4 nickels, 8 dimes, 4 quarters; Glass bottles = 3.

March 6: Weight = 172.6 lbs.; Coinage = $4.07, 82 pennies, 12 nickels, 19 dimes, 3 quarters; Glass bottles = 3; Ground scores = 6.

March 7: Weight = 172.8 lbs.; Coinage = $2.02, 97 pennies, 7 nickels, 7 dimes; Glass bottles = 14; Ground scores = 3.

MoneyWalker

Initiation Impairment

2011-03-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

Feature Entry: Initiation Impairment

Surely it is not the lack of motivation or my higher desire for sweet and fattening foods that is keeping me from reaching my Body Mass Index goal of 168 pounds. With great fanfare the MoneyWalker announced to the world on January 1st that he was going to lose 8 pounds and reach the elusive goal of a normal BMI for his height, age, and weight. But after two months, he still has a long way to go. I tell myself that I am adequately motivated to lose those last few pounds, but they won’t go away.

Now I am thinking I might have a medical disorder. While preparing for a blog on my anticipated “nested motivation systems” I found the existence of a new medical condition—initiation impairment. I think that is me. When I begin a carefully conceived intervention plan including the creation of a food journal, practicing portion control, selecting large portions of fruits and vegetables while avoiding starchy, sweet, and fatty foods, exercising daily using American College of Sports Medicine guideline; I just can’t seem to get started. So that must be it, I have Initiation impairment.

It must have happened that day many years ago when I knocked myself unconscious going for a spectacular racquet ball play. Instead, I tripped and suffered a concussion by hitting my head against the concrete wall. It must be a case of delayed onset of TBI or traumatic brain injury that is causing my problem. These days, all the former NFL football players seem to be talking about their TBIs with all their negative consequences. We can't blame them, they have initiation impairment.

Isn’t modern medicine wonderful! Until reading about Initiation impairment, I thought it was just my lazy attitude that was preventing me from reaching my weight loss goal. But not to worry, I am still going to write that blog about how to lose weight using nested motivation systems just as soon as I recover from this dreaded case of initiation impairment.

What excuse are you giving yourself for not keeping your New Year’s resolution to lose weight?

And what was the tip from the photo? Stop using excuses like initiation impairment and start consuming less calories than you are burning. It will cut a little of the belly fat away everyday.

MoneyWalker

Journal Entries and a Super Money Find

2011-02-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

Journal Entries: 2/15/11 to 2/26/11

Note, be sure to note super find on 2/19/11

Feb. 15: Weight = 173.4 lbs; Coinage = $.55, 25 pennies, 2 nickels, 2 dimes; Glass bottles = 6; Ground scores = 13.

Feb. 16: Wt. = 171. 8 lbs. (yea, year low weight); Coinage = $1.23, 53 pennies, 3 nickels, 3 dimes, 1 quarter; Glass bottles = 6; Ground scores = 6.

Feb. 17: Wt. = 172.6 lbs.; Coinage = $1.42, 37 pennies, 1 nickel, 5 dimes, 2 quarters; Glass bottles = 5.

Feb. 18: Wt. = 173.4 lbs; Coinage = $2.89, 89 pennies, 4 nickels, 13 dimes, 2 quarters; Glass bottles = 14; Ground scores = 4.

Feb. 19: Wt. = 173.0 lbs; Coinage/bills = $35.89 (found a twenty, a five, and 3 ones in a wad along a curb side), 119 pennies, 10 nickels, 12 dimes, 20 quarters (16 in a car wash detailers trash can); Ground scores = 8.

Feb. 20: Wt. =174.4 lbs; Coinage = $.56, 31 pennies, 3 nickels, 1 dime; Glass bottles = 6; Ground scores = 5.

Feb. 21: Wt. = 174.0 lbs.; Coinage = $.87, 57 pennies, 3 dimes; Glass bottles = 2; Ground score = 2. Note, also found was a 1976 French franc.

Feb. 23: Wt. = 174.2 lbs.; Coinage = $1.67, 92 pennies, 2 nickels, 4 dimes, 1 quarter.

Feb. 24: Wt. = 174.0 lbs.; Coinage = $1.69, 64 pennies, 1 nickel, 5 dimes, 2 quarters.

Feb. 25: Wt. = 173.4 lbs.; Coinage = $.75, 40 pennies including one wheat, 1 nickel, 3 dimes.

Feb. 26: Wt. = 173.2 lbs.; Coinage = $1.81, 76 pennies including one wheat, 5 nickels, 3 dimes, 2 quarters; Glass bottles = 4; Ground scores = 5.

Note: the MoneyWalker submitted $120 dollars to his two charities—The New Orleans Friendship House for Battered women and their children and to the University of New Orleans Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by the UNO Founders Day Club.

Happy Mardi Gras and happy money walking. Look for the next feature blog on “nested motivation” and examine your own method for staying motivated for losing and keeping off unwanted body weight through exercise.

MoneyWalker

“Police your Diabetes"

2011-02-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

Feature Entry: “Police your Diabetes”

Last month a very close acquaintance asked me to drive her for a first-time session with a gastro endocrinologist. It was the last in a long line of medical specialists that she had seen in the past few years. Because of type 2 diabetes she has received treatments for the following conditions:

Damage to her retina—she has lost one eye.

Damage to the kidneys—she only has 48% function and experiences serious water retention.

Damage to her nerves that control food digestion in the autonomic nervous system —she can eat very few foods and experiences chronic diarrhea.

Damage to her heart—she has atherosclerosis and has had a heart attack and received quadruple by-pass surgery.

Damage to the nerves and vascular system of her legs—she has gangrene and may lose her toes if not her feet.

I have known this fantastic lady for fifty years. Even with her many damaged bodily functions, she is mentally alert as ever. What a shame she has ignored the well known life-style causes that lead to and aggravate diabetes. As a registered nurse, she was well aware of the risks of high cholesterol, exercise avoidance, and an unhealthy diet.

We are starting to understand much more about the killing disease. Type 2 diabetes begins to develop as long as 13 years before diagnosis according to researchers reporting in Lancet, June 8, 2009. Authors of the study, “suggest that measures to stave off the disease include exercising more and eating healthier food. Practicing these habits might be more effective before this unstable period.” the authors conclude. Red wine in moderation also appears to have beneficial effects on HDL levels. Although some disagree, the authors recommended that beef consumption be limited to 3 oz. per day.

As for the cause of type 2 diabetes, Robert J Ferry, Jr. MD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, explains that Diabetes mellitus is a set of related diseases in which the body cannot regulate the amount of sugar (specifically, glucose) in the blood. Says Ferry,”Glucose in the blood gives you energy to perform daily activities, walk briskly, run for a bus, ride your bike, take an aerobic exercise class, and perform your day-to-day chores.”
Other important points include:

In a healthy person, the blood glucose level is regulated by several hormones, including insulin. Insulin is produced by the pancreas, a small organ between the stomach and liver. The pancreas secretes other important enzymes that help to digest food.

Insulin allows glucose to move from the blood into liver, muscle, and fat cells, where it is used for fuel.

People with diabetes either do not produce enough insulin (type 1 diabetes) or cannot use insulin properly (type 2 diabetes), or both (which occurs with several forms of diabetes.

In diabetes, glucose in the blood cannot move into cells, so it stays in the blood. This not only harms the cells that need the glucose for fuel, but also harms certain organs and tissues exposed to the high glucose levels.

Type 2 diabetes is usually controlled with diet, weight loss, exercise, and oral medications. Pre-diabetes increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and of heart disease or stroke. Pre-diabetes can typically be reversed without insulin or medication by losing a modest amount of weight and increasing your physical activity. This weight loss can prevent, or at least delay, the onset of type 2 diabetes.

There are alarming and somewhat ignored statistics about diabetes. About 17 million Americans, 6.2% of adults in North America, are believed to have diabetes. About one third of diabetic adults do not know they have diabetes. About 1 million new cases occur each year, and diabetes is the direct or indirect cause of at least 200,000 deaths each year.

What is worse, the incidence of diabetes is increasing rapidly. This increase is due to many factors, but the most significant are the increasing incidence of obesity and the prevalence of sedentary lifestyles.

The causes of adult diabetes are well known: high blood pressure, high blood triglyceride (fat) levels, high-fat diet, high alcohol intake, sedentary lifestyle, obesity or being overweight and genetics.

What should we walkers take away from this information? Same old excellent advice—follow a healthy diet so as to control blood sugar levels; do not smoke; and regularly exercise.

Like so many things, avoiding being a victim of diabetes and its horrible complication is in our hands, we must “police our behaviors.”

MoneyWalker

Cancers Hate a Healthy Body

2011-02-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Feature Blog: Cancers Hate a Healthy Body

In a recent blog, the MoneyWalker boasted that “cancers hate a healthy body!” The observation was based on my own anecdotal data in that I am a long term survivor of bouts with two different cancers—Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Prostate.

Both were discovered at Stage II, thus relatively early. The Lymphoma resulted in throat surgery to clear the base of tongue tumor from occluding breathing. Treatment required near toxic doses of chemotherapy and radiation. Friends were amazed at how quickly I returned to work and how well I looked.

Four years later and totally unrelated, prostate cancer was diagnosed. Using da Vinci robotic prostatectomy method, out went the Prostate. Again, doctors and friends expressed pleasant surprise at the speed of recovery and my high state of general health. Those remarks continue today.

But what about objective data, do exercisers have higher survival rates than non exercisers? Other than correlational studies with their inherent problems with cause and effect, few controlled studies exist.

Michael Feuerstein reported in his edited Handbook of Cancer Survivorship a 2006 Australian study which utilized 526 cases of individuals with colorectal cancer. Those who reported regular exercise prior to diagnoses had improved cancer-specific survival (73% 5-year survival) as compared to non exercisers (61% 5-year survival). Moreover, cancer-specific mortality was higher in those with higher body weight, percent body fat, and waist circumference; all factors that can be positively influenced by physical activity.

In a second study, 816 patients with Stage III colon cancer observed increases in recurrence-free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival in association with increasing volumes of physical activity. After controlling for extraneous medical and demographic variables, those exercising 18 MET-hours per week (equivalent to one hour of brisk walking 6 days a week), had a 49% chance of reduction in risk of recurrence or death compared to those with less than 3 MET-hours per week over a three year period following surgery and chemotherapy.

Harvard School of Public Health researcher Stacey A. Kenfeld presented research indicating that getting regular exercise reduces hormones associated with causing prostate cancer. Moreover, the mortality rate for men with prostate cancer who exercise is 12 percent less than men who do not. Examples of recommended exercise include three or more hours of jogging, swimming or biking per week. Walking four hours or more also has been shown to reduce prostate cancer risk.

Using Meta analysis to analyze the literature on exercise and cancer survival rates, Margaret L. McNeely and colleagues identified 14 studies from more than 300 that met strict criteria for research and statistical design standards. Cutting through McNeely’s esoteric findings, those that exercised before, during, and after diagnoses and treatment faired better than non exercises in terms of quality of life especially in terms of fighting fatigue. Although the trends were positive, there were not statistically significant differences in survival rates between the exercisers and non exercises.

In summary, in terms of cancer, while anecdotal evidence abounds, and while a limited number of studies support claims that exercisers recover faster, survive longer, and have a higher quality of life than non-exercisers, more and tighter controlled studies are needed.

So for now, you will have to trust the MoneyWalker, “Cancers hate a healthy body!” When diagnosed, if you are in good physical shape and a regular exerciser, your body will positively respond to the required treatment faster and more completely than if you were “out-of-shape” before treatment. Moreover, you will experience fewer of the negative side effects of chemo treatment, surgery, and radiation than those that have been non-exercisers.

MoneyWalker

Journal Entries and Rationalization

2011-02-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

Photo from Edge Hill University

Journal Entries and Rationalization

The MoneyWalker follows the blogs of several walkers including Roy Bayfield, a college professor at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancashire UK. He teaches Educational marketing and Brand development. His blog, “Walking Home to 50” chronicles his walks from the Northwest of England back to his boyhood home of Brighton. Besides his witty entries, he documents his walks with excellent photographs. In his recent blog he inadvertently provided one of the banes of walking for the purpose of losing weight—rationalization to overeat:

“I stayed the night in Horsham, a chilly experience - arriving in the dark, walking around wearing every layer I had with me to find the Malt Shovel, which turned out to be as nice a pub as I have ever been to. I had a pint of Surrey Pilgrim, figuring that I had earned it by walking through that county to arrive here in Sussex.” (Emphasis added.)

Sadly, the MoneyWalker uses this excuse to overeat all too often.

Journal Entries:

Feb 10, 2011: Weight = 174.0 lbs; Coinage = $.99, 29 pennies, 2 nickels, 1 dime, 2 quarters; Glass Bottles = 1; Ground Score = 1.

Feb 11: Weight = 173.0 lbs; Coinage = $.40, 25 pennies, 1 nickel, 1 dime.

Feb 12: Weight = 172.8 lbs.; Coinage = $1.10, 35 pennies, 3 nickels, 6 dimes.

Feb 13: Weight = 173.4 lbs.; Coinage = $3.40, 100 pennies (1 wheat)(one Canadian penny), 7 nickels, 8 dimes, 5 quarters; Glass bottles = 7; Ground Scores = 2.

Feb 14: Weight = 173.6 lbs.; Coinage = $3.95, 135 pennies, 8 nickels, 12 dimes, 4 quarters; Glass Bottles = 12; Ground Scores = 3.

Remember, you aren't required to eat the whole box of Valentine candy in one setting.

MoneyWalker

Journal Entry: February 9, 2011

2011-02-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

Journal Entry: February 9, 2011

Weight = 174.4 lbs.; Coinage = $1.02, 42 pennies, 1 dime, 2 quarters; Glass Bottles = 8; Ground Scores = 4.

Coming soon, a Feature Entry to be titled, "Cancers Hate a Healthy Body."

MoneyWalker

Journal Entry February 8, 2011: Street Smarts

2011-02-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

Journal Entry: Street Smarts
February 8, 2011

Weight = 175.2 lbs.; Coinage = $.83, 28 pennies, 2 nickels, 2 dimes, 1 qt.; Glass Bottles = 6; Ground Scores = 2.

Today’s Journal Entry is inspired by runner Kevin Castille who has formed "lofty ambitions while running ... he continues to shine while taking to the road." Times Picayune, Monday Feb. 7, 2011. Only two ground scores were brought home by the MoneyWalker as he “took the road” this morning. One was a good one. Earlier, he had found a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner at curb side because the back wheels had broken off. Otherwise this Consumer Report Best Buy ran perfectly. The ground score this morning was a pair of wheels mounted on an axle that was long enough to be fitted on the vacuum. With the wheels “repurposed” the vacuum is now ready for the forthcoming yard sale--price $5.00. Any takers?

To see the latest Feature Blog about how to practice Bricolage walking, that is finding and recycling or repurposing discarded items, check the following link:

http://moneywalker.blogspot.com/2011/02/bricolage-walker.html

MoneyWalker

Journal Entry 2/7/11: A Long Walk Home

2011-02-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

Photo by Gary Aurebach

Journal Entry: A Long Walk Home

Feb. 7, 2011: Weight = 175.6 lbs; Coinage = $2.00, 30 pennies, 2 nickels, 1 dime, 6 quarters (one super find of 2 quarters found on a hunch detour); Ground Scores = 15.

One find was a hard back book by Tom Hendrix titled If the Legends Fade about the journey of Te-lah-nay, an Oklahoma "healer" and her long walk back home to her ancestral origin of northwest Alabama. Episodes from her walk will be a "feature" in a future blog. The book was in a trash bin at a car wash.

Another find was a nearly new red California Innovation Reusable Thermal Grocery Tote. Amazon sells them for $29.99 and define it as "The perfect size thermal tote to take on a picnic, camping trip or grocery store. The tote is fashionable with comfortable carry handles. Its rugged exterior construction ensures a leak proof interior. Keep ice for up to 2 days!" It was curb side waiting for the garbage truck.

Reuse!

Repurpose!

Recycle!

MoneyWalker

Losing Weight While Gaining Substance

2011-02-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

Photo provided by off list follower (Jan)and a reprint of Millett's Gleanners. My take from the photo is that it represents the essence of the MoneyWalker's blog--exercising for fitness while gleanning the coins and treasures that others leave behind.

Journal Entries: Jan 16, 2010 through Feb. 6, 2011

Note: The MoneyWalker is starting a new posting practice. Starting with this post, he will write separate “journal” posts and “feature” posts. The journal posts will post current weight, coinage, glass bottles deposited in appropriate containers and off the street, and ground scores collected for recycling.

Jan. 16: Wt = 175.0 lbs; coinage = $1.66, 26 pennies, 4 nickels, 2 dimes, one dollar bill; glass bottles = 4; ground scores = 6.

Jan. 17: Wt = 175.0 lbs, coinage = $1.50, 50 pennies, 2 nickels, 4 dimes, 2 quarters; GB = 2; GS = 2.

Jan 18: wt = 176.0; coinage = $.69, 29 pennies, 1 nickel, 2 dimes, 1 qt; gb = 8; gs = 2.

Jan 20: wt = 176.0; coinage = $2.28, 83 pennies, 5 nickels, 7 dimes, 2 qts; gb = 8; gs = 5.

Jan 22: wt = 176.6; coinage = $1.17, 27 pennies, 3 nickels, 5 dimes, 1 qt; gb = 3; one international coin.

Jan 23: wt = 174.6 lbs; coinage = $.88, 33 pennies, 1 nickel, 5 dimes.

Jan 24: wt = 175.8; coinage = $1.16, 41 pennies, 4 nickels, 3 dimes, 1 qt; gb = 17; gs = 9.

Jan 28: wt = 174.6 lbs; Coinage = $1.34, 54 pennies, 4 nickels, 6 dimes.

Jan 29: wt = 174.6 lbs; coinage = $1.26, 26 pennies, 1 nickel, 2 dimes, 3 qts.

Jan, 30: wt = 174.4; coinage = $1.10, 35 pennies, 5 dimes, 1 qt.

Jan, 21: wt = 174.4 lbs; coinage = $1.27, 37 pennies, 2 nickels, 3 dimes, 2 qts.

Feb 1: wt = 174.4 lbs; coinage = $.95, 48 pennies, 2 nickels, 2 dimes, 1 qt.

Feb 2: coinage = $2.25, 100 pennies 1 nickel, 7 dimes, 2 qts.

Feb 3: coinage = $1.33, 23 pennies, 2 nickels, 3 dimes, 2 qts.; gb = 14.

Feb 5: coinage = $2.36, 66 pennies, 5 nickels, 12 dimes, 1 qt; gb = 6; gs = 10.

Feb 6: wt = 175.0 lbs; coinage = $1.38, 63 pennies, 4 nickels, 3 dimes, 1 qt.; gb = 4; gs = 6.

MoneyWalker

The Bricolage Walker

2011-02-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

Courtesy-of-Gansam-Architects-Partners-Perspective

Feature Entry: The Bricolage Walker

Our personal history can sometimes be a chronicle of what might have been. The MoneyWalker enjoys his money theme, but he could have been the BricolageWalker. A Bricolage walker is a person that makes good use of objects that are found while walking, things that everyday folks discard or leave behind.

This somewhat esoteric word is pronounced brē’ kō-lӓzh’, and means “something made or put together using whatever materials happen to be available. Bricolage is used in diverse and interesting contexts including management theory, literature, and recycling.

M. Afzalur Rahim in his “Current Topics in Management, Vol. 12, 2007 book suggested that bricolage behavior is an important aspect of creative problem solving: ““people facing difficult and uncertain situations use whatever resources they have at hand to reach their goals.” George de Mestral (an avid walker) invented Velcro after a long walk aggravated by cockleburs stuck in his trousers. While removing the burs he noticed how their hook like properties interacted with the threads of his pants. Eureka, Velcro was invented. And the Apollo 13 astronauts used duck tape, discarded paper and other articles to patch their troubled spacecraft to rescue themselves from the troubled moon flight.

In recycling, there are community bricolages. They bring together people of all ages to discuss and learn how to re-use unwanted items. There are bricolage competitions. Designers compete to see which can create the most useful or interest object from whatever materials are at hand. The featured photo was from the Korean YEOSU-EXPO SILO Recycling Competition.

In postmodern literature the bricolage technique has resulted in a new genre which uses bits and pieces of older writing methods to produce new literary styles; stream-of-consciousness writing for example. Old tools from realism, characterization, tidy plot lines, romanticism, etc. are used but in unconventional ways.

The bricolage walker is at heart an environmentalist. The walks are for fitness and weight control, but the motivation to sustain the walks over multiple months and years of walking is the anticipation of finding objects discarded or lost by others and then recycling or repurposing them. Claude Leví-Strauss defined bricolage materials as"… elements which can be defined by two criteria: they have had a use.... and they can be used again either for the same purpose or for a different one if they are at all diverted from their previous function."

Finding money remains supreme, but more and more, the MoneyWalker’s “excitement of the walk” is the anticipation of finding useful interesting recyclable objects. He stores the treasures in his large basement, recycles them or repurposes them at his leisure, and then conducts a yard sale of the objects with all profits going to the New Orleans Friendship House for abused women and their children.

If you thought Ms MoneyWalker had trouble with a husband obsessed with finding dirty bent coins, don’t even mention the basement.

MoneyWalker

postmodern literature,

SILO Recycling Competition for YEOSU-EXPO / G.Lab* by Gansam Architects & Partner

The Ventral Striatum Celebration Syndrome

2011-02-03T14:33:00.000-08:00

Photo from eScienceCommon of Emory University

Feature Entry: The Ventral Striatum Celebration Syndrome

The Ventral Striatum is part of the cerebral area of the human brain. It is wired to other parts that direct action to complete specific goals. Once the goal is achieved, the ventral striatum begins firing rapid bursts of electrical impulses as if in celebration of the accomplishment.

Specific goal directed behavior is labor intensive in terms of attention. Neuropsychologists use the word “controlled” rather than “automatic” to define this type of attention. Controlled attention is slow, demanding, serial, and volitional (can be turned on or off). It is mentally fatiguing as compared to automatic attention which is below the awareness level, fast and relatively pain free in terms effort.

The MoneyWalker uses the ventral striatum as a key aspect of a motivation system to persevere in the walking habit. Each 4 to 5 mile walk begins with a goal to find lost coins. Active controlled attention processes guide an active search for coins along curbs, in parking lots, coin dispensing machines, and dozens of other places where people lose coins. When a coin is found, a mental joy occurs. The ventral Striatum is leading a celebration in the brain. The feelings of celebration are highly reinforcing.

What follows next is a gift to the discerning neuroscientists that might chance upon this blog. I call it the ventral striatum celebration syndrome (VSCS). As stated, searching and finding a lost coin along curbs, streets, and other byways is attention demanding. The endless figure/ground combinations are loaded with false positive coin finds. Also, the constant scanning and sweeping of the human eye over block after block of terrain is moment by moment fruitless, but suddenly a coin registers on the foveal region of the retina. After quick confirmation, the ventral striatum leads a celebration of victory.

It is the victory celebration that presents the problem. After years of experiencing money finds, the MoneyWalker has learned that many times multiple coins are lost, not just one coin. What often happens is that the additional coins are not detected. If not careful, the finder will just walk away after the initial find leaving other coins in the general region undetected. It seems that the cerebral functions that control visual searching join the celebration and stop their vigilance for finding coins. The entire scan and search attention demanding process seems to say, “Mission accomplished, Miller time!” I am not sure how many coins I have left behind because of the syndrome. Now after a coin is find, I force the control processes to continue the search even when they want to party.

O.K. neuroscientists, go do your work. The MoneyWalker has done the heavy lifting; the research question has been framed. Get yourself a grant, collect the data, and get it published before someone beats you out. Need another rationale, what about cell phones and driving? I wonder what happens to a driver’s attention when the screen announces a long awaited important call. Could that accident inducing distraction be caused by the VSCS?

When that “accepted” letter from Attention, Perception & Psychophysics comes in the mail, the celebration inside your head is being conducted by your ventral striatum. And just try doing some other work during the party. Don’t forget to give the old MoneyWalker a plug.

MoneyWalker

Boléro Walking

2011-01-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

Feature Entry: Boléro Walking

The MoneyWalkers just attended the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s January 2011 “Pan-American Life Fiesta Sinfónica: Boléro.” Boléro is the masterpiece of Maurice Ravel. Bravo! Bravo! The MoneyWalker really wanted to add Ravel to his emerging MoneyWalkers’ Hall of Fame, but alas, I can’t find evidence that Ravel was a walker unless you count the walking from his apartment to the bordellos of Paris.

Ravel’s great composition first captivated my attention as the musical background for Blake Edward’s 1979 blockbuster movie starring Bo Derek and Dudley Moore. Who could forget Henry Mancini’s version of Boléro and Bo’s beach scenes with her corn row hair style.

So what is Boléro Walking? It borrows from the Boléro style: “…the insistent repetition of a single melody of slightly irregular phrasing..Its magic is almost childishly simple: repeating the melody, changing the instrumentation, gradually increasing the volume, and adding more instruments.” Boléro walking then is simple walking that varies the pace and rhythm of the walking style. As the walk continues, the walker varies the pace from slow to medium, and then to fast. As the pace increases, the arm and hip action is more pronounced and forceful. In this phase, the walker is nearly running and invites fatigue. Then the walker changes back to a slower pace and repeats the escalation.

If you are a discerning reader, Boléro Walking may sound similar to Fartlek Walking. If so, go to the head of the class. Fartlek is a Swedish term meaning 'speed play'. Says Graham Foster: “Walk for a while at a moderate pace, then at a brisk pace and then at a fast pace. Then drop back to a moderate pace (recovery period) to get your breath back before perhaps injecting either another period of brisk or fast pace.”

So what is the basic difference between Boléro Walking and Fartlek walking other than the awkward Swedish pronunciation? Boléro walking helps you to look like Bo Derek. Was Bo Swedish?

MoneyWalker

Journal Entries:

January 15, 2011: Weight = 174.6 lbs; Coinage =$2.40, 50 pennies (a six coin penny dump), 3 nickels, 5 dimes, 1 quarter, 1 one dollar bill; glass bottles = 5; ground scores =7.

1/13/2011: Weight = 177.0 lbs; 45 pennies, 3 nickels, 5 dimes, 2 quarters; glass bottles = 9; ground scores 7.

1/10/11: Weight = 177.4 lbs; Coinage = $1.52; glass bottles = 13; ground score = 4.

Discovering Unknown ‘Egdon Heaths’ During the Urban Walk

2011-01-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

Photo by John Allen

Feature Blog: Discovering Unknown ‘Egdon Heaths’ During the Urban Walk

A heath is a tract of uncultivated, open land with infertile soil covered with rough grasses, small bushes, and low growing evergreen plants known as heather. The Egdon Heath in Thomas Hardy’s classic The Return of the Native is so central to the plot that some literary critics consider it as a character rather than a plot device.

Heaths are not usually considered aesthetically worthy and Egdon Heath is no exception; but for Hardy, Egdon Heath became an acquired taste: “Men have oftener suffered from the mockery of a place too smiling for their reason than from the oppression of surroundings oversadly tinged. Haggard Egdon appealed to a subtler and scarcer instinct, to a more recently learnt emotion, than that which respond to the sort of beauty called charming and fair.”

One of the pleasures of extensive time periods away from one’s main abode is the increased opportunities for guilt-free walking and reading. At home, somehow our middle class value system is disturbed if we are not actively engaged in productive activity. But away from home as in the case of the MoneyWalkers since December 19, instincts can take a vacation away from such guilt ridden annoying thoughts.

On this morning’s walk, three situations aligned to define the content of this blog. One was a one-mile walk to a local coffee shop for a 30 minute session will Hardy’s classic book. Two, was a detour through an urban icon so large as to require two high rise parking garages and acres of ground-level parking—the end point for one of the D.C. Metro subway routes. And three, was the discovery of an urban heath.

What follows is the confluence. From our townhouse it is 300 yards to the Metro terminal. Always looking for coins, I checked the base of each of about 10 parking pay meters. Right off, a three quarter scatter at the base of one of the meters. On to the newspaper vending machines, about 20 in all; nothing, not even a stray penny. Then thru the walk-way over I-66 and another set of parking opportunities, this one with a row of six pay phone booths. Eureka, one of them yielded 2 quarters in the return. Then on to McDonalds for coffee and Hardy.

The main way was not the shortest way. The MoneyWalker played a hunch and cut through a townhouse complex only to dead-end at a bank that appeared to lead to a creek. A quick inspection revealed a trail that had promise. And there it was an urban heather. A meandering stream dividing scrubby trees and vines paralyzed by winter’s wrath. The trail held true and delivered me to within a few blocks of the McDonalds.

With the full attention necessary to read Hardy available, and with a senior discounted cup of decaf coffee, the next 30 minutes was used reading about Clym Yeobright’s return to Egdon Heath to pursue his dreams of romance and service to mankind.

For me the lesson was not to be afraid to get off of the familiar pathways, the ones that are “charming and fair.” To occasionally seek the heaths of the off-tracks is where I will find rich seasonings for my walks. Nearly ever urban area has hidden heaths, it is just a matter of being open to unpredictable kinetic experiences.

Oh yes, I found another quarter on the way back home.

MoneyWalker

Festina Lente – "Make Haste Slowly!"

2011-01-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Photo curtesy of Pamela B. Thomas

January 4, 2011
Feature Entry: Festina Lente – "Make Haste Slowly!"

Since December 19, 2010, the MoneyWalker has been in Vienna, VA, a tony suburb of Washington, D.C. Without a set of digital scales to provide daily accountability, I shudder to think what is facing me back in New Orleans, especially given all the rich food that has been available. Moreover, we have consumed three full meals a day for the duration.

We are in Vienna assisting our son and daughter-law with the birth of their new son, Paxton Tong Eason—grandchild number five. All are well and we will be returning to New Orleans soon.

Every day but one, the MoneyWalker did muster the gumption to take long walks, even during the snow storm that blew thru. Many of the walks did result in large coinage finds and interesting if not valuable ground scores. Because this is a very “green” city, few glass bottles were found on the streets and by-ways.

However, today’s five miler yielded only two pennies and a slightly scuffed baseball; but it was perhaps my favorite walk. As frequent readers know too well, motivation provides the most serious threat to my health/weight loss habit of taking daily 90 minute walks. I am just not that reflective in terms of using the walk to calibrate my emotional capital, and I find neighborhood scenery to become stale after just a few repetitious walks.

These musings bring me to today’s featured thought, Festina lente – "make haste slowly." As mentioned above, Vienna, VA is a beautiful small city nestled up against the Potomac River. On today’s walk, rather than zoom, I took a more leisurely pace. The goal was to walk to the Church Street Thrift Store, an old school charitable enterprise totally run by volunteer parishioners from the Vienna Presbyterian Church across the street, beautiful in its classic architecture, with cupola and white paint.

Along the way, I meandered off course and found old Vienna. The neighborhood featured large formal old homes with Victorian fronts, verandas, hidden gardens, and very spacious. These were millionaires' homes of yesterday when a million was worth something. Along one long street more than a dozen of these gems have been totally restored by today’s multi-millionaires.

The thrift store was a winner. I bought five music cassette tapes for .25, great for the long car ride back to New Orleans; a new Harley Davidson motorcycle cap (brand new, still had price tag) for .75; a paperback copy of The return of the Native, Chapter One has a great walking scene; a DVD starting George C. Scott in the movie Jane Eyre (3.00), probably not as good as Patton; also for $1.00 I found a well crafted hand carved mallard for my duck collection.

I then treated myself to a cup of decaf java in the trendy coffee shop across the street. In the management dictated thirty minutes of allotted reading time, I was able to get through several chapters of Hardy’s classic novel. But the 30 minutes was about all of the time I had for disciplined focusing anyway.

The MoneyWalker takes pride in being a “zoomer,” he is rarely passed by other pedestrians. Today, rookies were passing me left and right. But not to worry, exercise science has shown that weather you zoom a mile in 15 minutes, or saunter for 25 minutes, or even jog it in 9 minutes, the caloric count is all the same, about 100 calories a mile.

So if you want a new source of motivation for your walking habit, try Festina lente – "make haste slowly." It is a wonderful world out there. Sometimes it pays to slow down and enjoy it.

And Happy New Year!

MoneyWalker

New Year’s Resolution 2011: “Not to give in to the ‘new normal.’”

2010-12-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

Photo by Zed Nelson, shot at the Association for Overweight People

Feature Entry: New Year’s Resolution 2011: “Not to give in to the ‘new normal.’”

Andrew Perrin, sociology professor at U. of North Carolina, is concerned about grade inflation at America’s universities. Notes Perrin, the average grade point average (GPA) at UNC is now 3.21 as compared to 2.99 as recent as 1999. The GPA average in 1967 (the year the MoneyWalker graduated), the GPA average was 2.49. Moreover, in 2008, 82 percent of the UNC students in received a “B” or an “A.” Come on academia, not all of your students are excellent, don’t accept the ‘new normal.’

Bill Gross, investment banker for PIMCO’s Investment Outlook opines that America must accept slow sustained economic growth and high unemployment as the ‘new normal.’ Others suggest that in the so-called global economy, American workers can no longer compete and that the middle class must get use to a lower standard of living. Come on America, we must learn how to compete again, not accept the ‘new normal.’

The enigmatic Oprah Winfrey sometimes cheering on her overweight/obese audience and other times cautioning them about the dangers of Type II diabetes and being overweight is characteristic of pop cultures dilemma. Do we cheer and encourage the O/O to maintain a healthy self esteem and be proud of their body image or do we find ways to reverse the O/O epidemic.

From a health care perspective the data are frightening. According to Katherine Flegal as reported in JAMA, as of 2007/08 68% of Americans over 20 years of age were either obese or overweight, 34% for each designation. This is up 8% since 1999. The MoneyWalker entered “overweight and proud” in Google search and received 346,000 hits. We all should strive to maintain a healthy self-esteem but we should not lose sight of the health facts. Those in the O/O class are at serious risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, cancer, and other maladies. O/O is not healthy; it must not become the ‘new normal.’

And now for the MoneyWalker’s New Year’s resolution. I resolve to lose 6 lbs during the 2011 calendar year. Six lbs will lower my body mass index (BMI) from 25.8 to 24. The overweight range is 25-29.9 and obese range is 30 and greater. Everyone tells me I look great, just right, and even thin. But I know better, I am just over the limit and in the BMI overweight category. Sorry William James, author of this pessimistic thought: "How pleasant is the day when we give up striving to be young--or slender;" I will not accept a 36 inch waist line as the ‘new normal.’

MoneyWalker

A Walker’s Menagerie of Thoughts

2010-12-14T15:16:00.000-08:00

Feature entry: A Walker’s Menagerie of Thoughts

Tennessee Williams: Each Spring the literary aficionados of New Orleans sponsor the Tennessee Williams Festival which includes the French Quarter literary walking tour. If I can muster the entry fee, the MoneyWalker plans to take the tour this year. As for Tennessee Williams, he gave us the theme for this blog—his award winning classic, the Glass Menagerie. A few walking quotes from the play:

Laura: “I’ve just been out walking.”

Amanda: “Walking? Walking? In winter? Deliberately courting pneumonia in that light coat? Where did you walk to, Laura?”

The MoneyWalker’s Hall of Fame: For some time, I have wanted to start a MoneyWalker’s Hall of Fame. This blog initiates the process. First, there must be criteria for inclusion. The person must have left a legacy in categories such as sport, literature, politics, industrial leader, academics, religion, etc. Second, the MoneyWalker must have a contact with the recipient, figuratively or literally. The basic standard is that the recipient should be a walker. Also, the person must have influenced the habit of walking, quantity or quality. Finally the recipient should be an innovator and trend setter. A few early recipients include Anthony Trollop, Anita Brookner, Charles Dickens, Abraham Lincoln, William Hogarth, and Geoff Nicholson.

The Brotherhood of the Street: The MoneyWalker is just Bob in the Brotherhood. As an avid and frequent walker in MidCity New Orleans, you learn that many people live on the streets. By now, they know me and I know them. At first, I tried to ignore them. No go, they would not let me. A couple of walks ago, I heard Bob! Bob! Bob! Stealth walking out of the question, I veered to his voice. It was Ed wanting to show off to his female companion. After a bit of friendly banter, he said “Bob, what do you do?” “Until retiring, I was on the faculty at the University of New Orleans,” I said. “What did you teach?” he wanted to know. “My last several classes was statistics” I answered. “Really, I use to teach high school math.” Such is life of the members of the Brotherhood of the street. What happened to Ed and the others? -- Drugs, alcohol, prolonged unemployment, mental illness.

Well, three pieces do not really make a menagerie but we will add more “animals” to the collection another time.

MoneyWalker

MoneyWalker Journal Entries, Dec. 7, 2010 through Dec. 14, 2010

12-14: Weight = 176.0 lbs.; Coinage = $2.08, 28 pennies, 4 nickels, 6 dimes, 4 quarters (one international coin and one super find of $1.47 found in the folds of a discarded sofa); Glass bottles = 11; Ground scores = 2.

12-13: Weight = 176.0 lbs.; Coinage = $1.84, 74 pennies (one wheat), 2 nickels, 5 dimes, 2 quarters; 3 glass bottles, 11 ground scores including one slightly abused electric Hitachi miter saw (now works.)

12-12: Weight = 176.2 lbs.; Coinage = $.74, 34 pennies, 2 nickels, 3 dimes.

12-11: Weight = 173.6 lbs.; Coinage = $2.30 including 10 pennies, 6 dimes, 4 quarters (one super find of three quarters in a newspaper vending machine).

12-10: Weight = 175.2 lbs.; Coinage = $1.17, 27 pennies (included a 13 penny dump), 1 nickel, 6 dimes, 1 quarter; one ground score.

12- 9: Weight = 174.4 lbs.; Coinage = $1.78, 33 pennies, 2 dimes, 5 quarters; Glass bottles retrieved = 26.

How to Party Through the Holidays Without Gaining Weight

2010-12-06T10:22:00.000-08:00

Photo from "A Guide to Healthy Eating During the Holidays80."

Journal Entries, but first a note. To establish transparency of purpose, the MoneyWalker posts his current weight in each journal entry. My walking goal is weight management, to achieve a recommended Body Mass Index of 168 lbs. I am also a believer of the importance of external motivators to sustain the habit of walking for exercise over a life-time. Since I use the bizarre motivation method of finding money as my primary motivator, I post the amount of money found during the walks. By posting both my weight and money totals, I seek to provide an example for others that may share my goal of losing weight and keeping it off. Whether I succeed or fail, the blog entry tells the story. The MoneyWalker is fully aware of the importance of goal clarification and specific objectives. He is also aware that if there are those that follow this blog hoping to gain information if not inspiration for their own weight loss strategies, the MoneyWalker must follow the principle of transparency of purpose.

Dec. 1, 2010: Weight = 175.4 lbs.; Coinage = $1.95, 90 pennies, 7 nickels, 7 dimes; Ground scores = 4; Glass bottles = 8.

Dec. 2: Weight = 174.4 lbs.; Coinage = $.81, 51 pennies, 2 nickels, 2 dimes; GB = 3; GS = 5.

Dec. 3: Weight = 174.0 lbs.; Coinage = $.37, 12 pennies, 1 quarter.

Dec. 4: Weight = 174.0 lbs.; Coinage = $2.11, 56 pennies, 3 nickels, 4 dimes, 4 quarters; GB = 5; GS = 7.

Dec. 5: Weight = 175.0 lbs.; Coinage = $3.15, 185 pennies, 1 nickel, 6 dimes, 3 quarters.

Dec. 6: Weight = 175.6 lbs.; Coinage = $.74, GB = 7; GS = 5.

Feature Entry: How to Party Through the Holidays Without Gaining Weight

I like the wisdom of Molly Kimball, a registered dietitian and contributor to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Her recent article extolled the importance of strategic planning before attending the holiday party circuit. Before each party, she advises to negotiate your choices—to choose indulgences wisely. She says go for the lean proteins like turkey and ham and avoid the weight boosters such as high-calorie starches—think macaroni and cheese and scalloped potatoes. Make sure that sweets are really worth the calorie investment. Take a small bite and discreetly trash it if the taste is only adequate. If you drink, select no-calorie mixers rather that the pre-mixes.

She offered several pre-party strategies for the December and January months. Don’t starve yourself waiting for the big party. Instead eat several small snacks every four hours. Even if the weather is unfriendly or the busy schedule takes over, stay with your exercise program. A one hour moderate exercise program will burn 600 calories. Get a good night’s sleep. If not the hormone system will influence your body to feel hungry. She recommends that we weigh twice a week. The MoneyWalker prefers daily weighing for raw transparency. Then at parties, keep your focus on the people, not the food.

MoneyWalker

Paracletic Walking and Dieting—Discerning Together

2010-11-30T09:36:00.000-08:00

Photo from Gallery of Fine Art America

Feature Entry: Paracletic Walking and Dieting—Discerning Together

The MoneyWalker’s blog is in part, an attempt to practice paracletic walking and weight control. The ancient word paracletic is scriptural and is frequently called the Paracletic Canon, or discerning together. While the MoneyWalker prefers solo walking, he gains strength of purpose by sharing his walks with others. In his book “Practice Resurrection”, Eugene Peterson opines that we humans “...need heart to heart talks, soul to soul talks, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers to hear our confession, cry with us, encourage us, and hold us accountable.” By blogging about exercise, weight loss and maintenance, and the motivation to sustain these positive habits, the MoneyWalker is practicing paracletic cannon.

Paracletic walking as a topic occurred on a recent walk. On an earlier walk, I had found a full pack of Salem cigarettes, about a four dollar value. The moral dilemma followed, trash them or give them away. I opted to give them to one of the numerous “brotherhood of the street” members in the neighbourhood. The brother selected was right out of central casting—unshaved, matted hair, soiled clothes, etc. I knew he was a smoker from previous observations. I spotted him in his usual haunt, nodded our acquaintance, retrieved the Salems, and asked, “Would you like these?” He smiled, then shocked me with his response: “I can’t use that brand.”

We moved on with my mind trying to understand his incredible discernment. Then as often happens during walking, I quizzed myself as to why the word discernment popped into my mind to define his choice to refuse my gift. Why wasn’t this homeless and penniless person eager to accept this significant gift? It wasn’t his lack of perspicacity; it was his quick judgment and discrimination of brand that produced the descriptive “discernment.” And it was his use of words that triggered my several blocks of reflective thinking. When he said, “I can’t use that brand.” he indicated a sophistication of thought processing. Poverty or no, the gentleman obviously doesn’t like menthol cigarettes and possessed the language skills to clearly and succinctly communicate his position. For the MoneyWalker, another stereotype bit the dust.

Now, back to the theme of the blog—Paracletic Walking and weight control. The episode resulted in a thought journey that linked discernment to the strength that is gained when we discern together. The Holiday season is a landmine filled with tempting negative food choices and reasons to forgo exercise habits. But together, we can encourage one another to hold our resolve. When we post our temptations and admit our frailties of purpose, we are following Peterson’s advice to seek “soul to soul talks” with like minded travelers.

It is the holiday season; for walkers it is a time to discern the bad choices and opt for the good ones. It will be easier if we do it together.

MoneyWalker

Journal Entry Summaries November 16 through November 29, 2010 with seven reports included; averages and grand totals where appropriate for body weight, coinage found, glass bottles, and ground scores.

Weight Average: 174.5 lbs.
Coinage: $9.71 total
Coinage Average: $1.62
Total Pennies found: 295 Pennies Average: 42
Total Nickels found: 18 Nickels Average: 2.6
Total Dimes found: 27 Dimes Average: 3.9
Total Quarters found: 20 Quarters Average:2.9
Total Glass bottles: 66 Glass bottle Ave:11
Total Ground Scores: 24 Ground Score Ave: 6

MoneyWalker

Intrinsic Motivation Versus the Ventral Striatum; or Is Extrinsic Motivation Learned or Hardwired

2010-11-16T10:58:00.000-08:00

Photo from Desiderata and Motivational Photographs from nature.

Note: Journal Entries located at end of Blog.

Feature Entry: Intrinsic Motivation Versus the Ventral Striatum; or Is Extrinsic Motivation Learned or Hardwired

In the MoneyWalker’s last post, a question was raised about the permanent efficacy of extrinsic motivation. The question is especially relevant concerning positive eating and exercise activity in terms of overweight/obese children and youth.

Edward Deci (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991), a self-determination theorist, and his followers would vote no. Deci’s findings support methods that help students to self-motivate also known as intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation occurs when individuals internalize values based upon health benefits rather than expected rewards, social recognition, and money. Reward based motivation is labeled extrinsic motivation. Deci’s findings suggest that intrinsic motivation is superior because with extrinsic motivation, once the incentives are removed exercise is reduced; conversely, with intrinsic motivation the value of exercise and diet are internalized and are performed for their own value; thus, persevere as a life-long habit.

So what about the Cooper created FitnessGram? Is it based upon intrinsic or extrinsic motivation principles? By not giving a traditional “grade” to the six areas of fitness including Body Mass Index (BMI),it can construed as intrinsic. However, the green zone/red zone designation is easily converted to extrinsic motivation by perceptive students that quickly assign value to their zone location and compare their scores with others. Glory is a powerful extrinsic motivator, and gaining an optimal BMI green zone placement can result in enhanced peer standing by image conscious children and youth. Note the reaction of Nicole to Harriet Brown’s blog providing negative critique of the FitnessGram: “Wow, that is horrible. Do they have no idea about how vulnerable an 11-year-old girl is?”

But is Deci’s research the last word? Among many studies that refute Deci is Eisenberger et. al. (Psy Bulletin, 1999, vol 125 No. 6) which found that external rewards do not reduce "interest" in tasks for their own sake. Students that received rewards when compared to students taught with intrinsic motivation where not significantly different on reported “interest” on follow-up studies.

Both Eisenberger and Deci’s findings resonate with the MoneyWalker. Motivation for losing weight and keeping it off is hard work and both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is important for success. In fact the body seems to be hardwired to utilize both types of motivation. Recent neuroscience findings (Elger and Falk, Science Daily, Nov. 23, 2007) report a specific “reward center” in the brain, the Ventral Striatum. The Ventral Striatum reveals high activity when subjects successfully perform difficult attention demanding problems; more so if they receive a reward and even higher activity if competing successfully with others. The Ventral Striatum is the reward seat of extrinsic motivation, not intrinsic. It can be extrapolated that external rewards are necessary for tasks that are considered difficult to achieve, especially in the beginning stages of acquisition.

The MoneyWalker applauds the Cooper Institute and the Texas/Delaware adoptions. The plan by educating and rewarding positive exercise and nutrition behaviors is providing both intrinsic and extrinsic reinforcement to assist our youth to maintain healthy levels of fitness including BMI, both now and into their adulthood.

Budda has a point, but so does Elger and Falk.

MoneyWalker

Journal Entries

Nov. 15, 2010: Weight 175.6 lbs.: Coinage = $2.02, 42 pennies (one wheat), 3 nickels, 7 dimes, 3 quarters; 3 glass bottles; 2 ground scores (eight paperback books on the curb).

Nov. 14, 2010: Weight 176.0 Lbs.; Coinage = $2.88, 63 pennies, 8 nickels, 6 dimes, 5 quarters; 20 glass bottles, 4 ground scores.

Nov. 11, 2010: Weight 176.0 lbs.; Coinage = $3.10, 115 pennies, 6 nickels, 9 dimes, 3 quarters (one super find in the folds of a discarded lounger [1 quarter, 3 dimes, 1 nickel, 3 pennies] and one wheat penny); 20 glass bottles, 7 ground scores.

The FitnessGram and Childhood obesity

2010-11-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

Note: The MoneyWalker's journal entries are at the end of this blog.

Feature Entry: The FitnessGram and Childhood obesity

Recently the MoneyWalker was invited to a Past Presidents Reception sponsored by the Louisiana Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (LAHPERD). We had no agenda except small talk and past pleasures, but the informal conversation eventually led to two topics of interest for this blog. One was “exercise as medicine” and the other was childhood obesity. We eventually talked about what Louisiana schools could do to reverse what has become a national epidemic according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One solution was to adopt the well established FitnessGram, a product of the world-famous Cooper Aerobics Center of Dallas, Texas.

Two states, Texas and Delaware require that the physical fitness assessment tool be administered each year. In Texas, all 3rd through 12 grade students are administered the test and the results sent to parents. Students do not “pass” or “fail” the tests, rather they are evaluated against established standards denoting a healthy level of fitness including the body fat index, a measure that sends cautions for both anorexia and overweight/obesity.

Data from the mandated test indicate that 42 percent of Texas’s 4th graders are overweight and 36 percent of 11th graders were overweight. Other data point out that the Texas data reflects similar findings in most U.S. state. There are six sub-scales in the FitnessGram—aerobic capacity (the ability of the body to sustain long bouts of cardio respiratory work), body composition, muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.

One interesting finding from the Cooper researchers is the existence of a strong correlation between physical fitness and academic performance: “There is a direct correlation between a student's physical fitness and school performance. Data shows that students who were able to achieve a Healthy Fitness Zone in at least five out of six FITNESSGRAM tests scored higher academically and had fewer discipline problems in school.” However, caution should be followed before interpreting this data as causal. For example, we know that being overweight is also highly correlated with stress, anxiety, and lower self-esteem. These factors are also associated with academic performance. Perhaps it is a more positive self-image that is driving the better grades data.

Accompanying the FitnessGram sent to parents is the Cooper Fitness Activity Pyramid designed to resemble the popular CDC food pyramid. At the activity base is “lifestyle activity.” The second level is “aerobic activity” and “aerobic sports”; third is “muscular activity” and “flexibility activity”; and the apex is “rest.” Examples of lifestyle activity include walking, bicycling, playing active games, and work-active jobs. Aerobic activity examples include aerobic dance and running while aerobic sports include field sports such as football and soccer. Examples from the third level, muscular activity and flexibility activity, include gymnastics, weight lifting, stretching, and yoga. The rest level includes school work, home work, reading, computer games/TV/videos, eating, and sleep.

The levels are not value ordered. The Cooper pyramid is provided as a simple way to inform students and their parents of what activities promote a healthy lifestyle and that prevent problems associated with becoming overweight.

As might be expected, there has been pushback from parents and others concerning the Texas requirement. Harriet Brown’s popular blog, Brave Girl Eating, and the parent of a daughter diagnosed as anorexic suggest that an unintended consequence of the Texas law is to promote anorexia in school children. Others have warned that the test will damage the self-esteem of the children in that it amounts to a negative external motivator, fear of peer labeling and bullying to pressure school children to follow unproven “best practices” for maintaining or achieving health related physical fitness practices. Still others reported that schools should be spending scare resources on more academic pursuits.

The length of this blog is already beyond the MoneyWalker’s knowledge of how long a blog can hold the attention of his readers. A future blog will address the motivation issue. In the mean time, we applaud Louisiana’s effort to follow Texas’s lead in their effort to combat the rapidly growing problem of childhood and youth’s alarming propensity to be overweight.

MoneyWalker

Journal Entries: November 5, 2010 through November 10, 2010

Nov. 5: Weight = 175.8; Coinage = $2.09, 53 pennies, 2 nickels, 7 dimes, 3 quarters; 5 Glass bottles; 3 ground scores.

Nov. 6: weight = 173.6 lbs.; Coinage = $3.31, 56 pennies, 2 nickels, 9 dimes, 5 quarters (one super find and one wheat); ten glass bottles, 5 ground scores.

Nov. 7: Weight = 176.0 lbs.; Coinage = $6.17, 122 pennies, 17 nickels, 21 dimes, 8 quarters (two super finds including $1.75 in a newspaper coin return); one glass bottle; 8 ground scores.

Nov. 8: Weight – 175.2 lbs; Coinage = $4.52, 72 pennies, 9 nickels, 11 dimes, 9 quarters; four glass bottles; 3 ground scores (two more super finds).

Nov. 9: Weight = 174.4 lbs; Coinage = $3.95, 35 pennies, 2 nickels, 14 quarters (13 quarters provided by Jason at the Mid-City Car Wash as a donation to the Friendship House); 14 glass bottles.

Nov. 10: Weight = 174.0 lbs; Coinage = $2.10, 70 pennies, 3 nickels, 5 dimes, 3 quarters; 3 glass bottles; 5 ground scores.

Note, each of the six day reports above indicated a coinage total of $2.00 or more value, easily a MoneyWalker record.

MoneyWalker

Recidivism, Diet, and Exercise

2010-11-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Negative thinking or just contemplative?

Journal Entries, Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2010

October 27: Weight = 172.4 lbs.; Coinage = $.96, 11 pennies, 1 dime, 3 quarters; Glass bottles = 3; Ground Scores = 3.
October 28: Weight 173.2 lbs.; Coinage = $2.29, 94 pennies, 1 nickel, 13 dimes; GB = 6.

October 30: Weight = 175.2 lbs.; Coinage = $.48, 18 pennies, 1 nickel, 1 quarter; GS = 6; GB = 5. One interesting event was a movie set in Mid City NO. More than 50 trucks, technicians everywhere, busy action, and giant lighting equipment. I wonder which of the people where the stars and which movie was being shot. We have so many movies and television series shot in our fair city it is becoming known as Hollywood South.

October 31: Weight = 176.2; Coinage = $3.91 including one int. coin (100 Chile pesos), 81 pennies, 10 nickels, 11 dimes, 6 quarters; GB =10.

November 1: Weight = 176.0; Coinage = $1.89, 69 pennies, 2 dimes, 4 quarters; GB = 9; GS = 6.

November 2: Weight = 175.4 lbs.; Coinage = $1.39, 39 pennies, 4 nickels, 2 dimes, 2 quarters; GB = 6; GS =5. Today was a nice walk in the rain.

Feature Entry: Recidivism, Diet, and Exercise
There is no question; October was a disaster for the MoneyWalker in terms of exercise and diet adherence. The month contained three separate trips to see friends and relatives. Weighing ever day—forget about it. Healthy breakfasts, no way. Ninety minute zoom walks—are you kidding me. Portion control, how about raw gluttony. All my old bad habits bunched together in one wonderful guilt-free month of unrestrained eating and hardly any boring exercise. Now my waist line shows the result. Guilt and shame have returned with a vengeance.

My October was a working definition of recidivism. Here is how recidivism works. First, you develop a bad habit. We will call it overeating sweets and starchy carbohydrates. The result is weight gain and being overweight. Second, is a resolution to follow a diet and lose weight. The resolution works and a healthy BMI (body mass index) is obtained. Third, a long vacation is experienced followed by a calorie filled holiday, Halloween for instance. The good eating habits are broken and the lost pounds race back. That is how recidivism works.

Unfortunately for people like the MoneyWalker, losing weight is not just a matter of diet and portion control. It also involves a chain of behaviors including exercise, journaling portions, and daily weighing. With recidivism, all the positive behaviors are victims. Collectively the loss of adherence to healthy behaviors results in a vortex of shame and guilt that leads to more binge eating and denying.

Besides weigh gain, a dangerous side effect of diet/exercise recidivism is loss of self-esteem. Lowered self-esteem can then lead to anxiety which if not checked and if other stressors are also present can lead to depression. Stressors such as abuse, personal conflicts, illness, personal issues such as weight gain, death, and substance abuse can all pile up and lead to clinical depression. Clinical depression is serious and should be treated by professionals, but there are behaviors and techniques that can be used to combat regular depression and similar feelings including episodes of stress, unhappiness, sadness, or grief.

Clinical psychologists often use Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help their clients understand how to change negative thinking into more healthy feelings. All situations have positive as well as negative aspects. CBT utilizes a series of exercises that help the individual to identify the positive and eliminate the negative. CBT is not recommended for do-it-yourselfers, but a related skill, positive self-talk, is a doable. Positive self-talk is what the MoneyWalker calls “cognitive over ride,” a replacement of positive thoughts with negative thoughts." Elizabeth Scott, MS has provided several ways to practice positive self-talk.

Because self-talk can be both negative and positive, and because people with common depression focus on negative self talk, she recommends that we notice our patterns of negative thinking. She recommends that we keep a journal to jot down negative comments in order to summarize our feelings. Knowing our patterns can help us to practice thought-stopping. When the negative thoughts begin, we just say STOP!, and then replace the thoughts with positive thinking. Some use a rubber-band around their waist and pop it when the negative thinking begins.

It is not always possible to totally replace negative thoughts, but the self-talk can use milder wording. For example, we can substitute “pain” for “discomfort.” When walking and dealing with rude and dangerous drivers, instead of saying “I hate drivers that never yield to pedestrians, they make me so angry!!!” Instead we can say “ I don’t like rude drivers, they annoy me.”
Concerning healthy food choices, we can use positive self-talk to change negative selections to neutral or positive selections. At a party, we can use self-talk to select non-fattening foods and beverages. We can say, “This chocolate brownie will only give me a minute or two of pleasure, but I will feel depressed for hours; I will munch on these veggies instead.” And we can change self-limiting statements to questions. Instead of saying, “I can’t handle this temptation,” we can turn the episode into a question, “How can I handle this sugary food temptation?”

The MoneyWalker is giving positive self-talk a chance. I’m just going to over ride my desire for fattening foods and tell myself to eat healthy. Just follow my journal entry and watch those pounds fall away.
MoneyWalker

A Pfennig For Your Thoughts

2010-10-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

Photo of a dated German Pfennig
Journal Entries:

October 26, 2010: Weight = 176.6 lbs.; Coinage = $1.14, 39 pennies, 4 nickels, 3 dimes, 1 quarter; Glass bottles = 18; ground scores = 9.

October 25, 2010: Weight, not available; Coinage = $1.60, 20 pennies, 1 nickel, 1 dime, five quarters; 17 glass bottles, 7 ground scores.

October 20, 2010: Weight = 172.6 lbs.; Coinage = $.47, 12 pennies, 1 dime, 1 quarter; five glass bottles; five ground scores.

Feature Entry: A Pfennig For Your Thoughts

The MoneyWalker found a 5 pfennig on his daily walk this morning. The monetary symbol for this coin is .5 ₰. Before the Euro replaced them, the German pfennig was the designation for penny. Unlike the U.S. penny, the German penny had several values including the five penny or pfennig. The pfennig has been around since the 9th century and basically ended in 2002. My pfennig was dated 1970 and is in “good” condition. In uncirculated condition, a 1950 pfennig is worth four or five U.S. dollars.

Another thought involves my recent jump in pounds from 172.6 lbs. to 176.6 lbs in just six days. What happened? It is an old problem. Go on a long week-end with friends (Wednesday through Monday), eat uncontested large meals with fattening beverages, experience irregular BMs, and fail to exercise—that formula is easily worth a four pound weight gain in less than a week. My hunch is that the weight will come off easily as the MoneyWalkers settle back into normal habits of regular exercise and portion control. My theory is that if caught quickly, a sharp increase in gained pounds can be quickly shed with due diligence to diet and exercise.

Another thought deals with the joy of spending large amounts of time with special friends. We shared spirited conversations about sports, politics, religion, and esoteric academic topics, one being the rather recent depression therapy called “cognitive behavioral therapy” which will be a featured blog shortly. We will explore the use of self prescribed cognitive behavioral therapy for overcoming problems with the depression that comes from gaining weight and diet recidivism.

MoneyWalker

Green Walking, Turning Trash to Treasure, Part II

2010-10-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

The MoneyWalkers French Quarter style patio. Many of the fence boards were recycled as were all the patio bricks.

Journal Entries

Oct. 19: Weight = 173. Lbs; Coinage = $1.33, 18 pennies, 3 nickels, 5 dimes, 2; 7 glass bottles; 5 ground scores

Oct. 18; Weight = 174.6 lbs. (12 day excursion to NYC and DC with unchecked consumption); Coinage = $9.08, $5 dollar bill, 1 dollar bill, 88 pennies, 12 nickels, 11 dimes, 2 quarters; 11 glass bottles; 2 ground scores; one super find (2 quarters in a telephone return).

Oct. 7: Weight =172.8 lbs.; Coinage =$1.42, 42 pennies, 4 nickels, 3 dimes, 2 quarters; Glass bottles = 11; Ground scores = 2.

Oct. 6: Weight = 172.4 lbs.; Coinage = $2.08, 48 pennies, 7 nickels, 10 dimes, 1 quarter; ten glass bottle, two ground scores.

Oct. 5, 2010: Weight = 173. lbs; Coinage = $1.48, 37 pennies, 7 nickels, 5 dimes, 1 quarter; 6 glass bottles; ground score = 2.

Feature Entry: Green Walking, Turning Trash to Treasure, Part II

More and more, the MoneyWalker’s blog is reflecting the consciousness of the go-green movement. I walk to complete most shopping experiences if the destination is one mile or less. In our neighborhood that includes the bank, grocery store, dozens of restaurants, the post office, and the drug store. The practice avoids gasoline emissions, saves gasoline consumption, and contributes to the MoneyWalker’s weight loss maintenance strategy.

It is no secret that the MoneyWalker is motivated to maintain his walking practice by the chance of finding money. Pennies add up and finding nickels, dimes, and quarters scattered around the curbs and hotspots of Mid City New Orleans tickles the ventral striatum. But there is a new joy—finding and restoring other people’s trash. Turning “trash to treasure” is a hot topic in the going green movement. I call it the 3R method of sustainability--recycling, reusing, and repurposing.

Boring is the word to define all the types of items that have been found and recycled by the MoneyWalker. To test your stamina suffer through these: jewelry, books, office supplies and equipment, vacuum cleaners, weight lifting equipment, antique gum ball machine, floor lamps, book shelves, desk and credenza, and area carpets. Others include collectibles, TV table, coffee table, extension cords, jumper cables, oil paintings, art work, cleaning supplies, barbecue cookers, and clothes. Even more items include towels, baby strollers, tricycles, bicycles, tools, paint, lumber, bulletin boards, chandeliers, purses, beds, and gas cans.

Perhaps the most significant find occurred after Katrina. Many people with old houses with coal-burning fireplaces restored their homes and tore out the fireplaces to achieve a more modern look. The MoneyWalker retrieved the bricks, cleaned them, and created a “French Quarter” patio. More than 3,000 bricks were used in the project, bricks saved from the land fill.

One problem with the 3R method is distribution. How does the MoneyWalker deal with all that junk? First, he has a large storage area. Second, he is very handy and can repair most things. Third, he conducts a charity yard sale once a year to recycle the finds. He has also purchased “EBay for Dummies” and plans to sells his really good finds on EBay. All proceeds including coinage go to a local charity.

Walking while looking for money and other ground scores is a great one-two punch for weight loss and weight management and for going green. The more you walk, the more lbs. you lose and the more treasures you find to recycle, reuse, or repurpose the more you help sustain planet earth. Both contribute to personal meaning, an outstanding antidote to depression and stress.

MoneyWalker

Mark Twain, Walking and a Penny Saved

2010-10-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry: October 9, 2009: Coinage = $.03; ground scores =3.

Feature Entry: Mark Twain, Walking and a Penny Saved

Much of the country is celebrating Mark Twain’s 175th birthday. The MoneyWalkers are on a family visit/mini vacation and currently spending our time in Wilton, Connecticut. Today I walked to the Lady Fatima Catholic Thrift Store to service my bric-a-back habit. It is one of my favorites. Wilton is near Redding, CT, a former home of Mark Twain. The walk took me past the Wilton Heritage Museum which featured a one month only Mark Twain exhibit. Wasn’t it Mark Twain that said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Or, was that Ben Franklin?

Either way Mark Twain was a prolific creator and collector of aphorisms as well as a serious walker. A good blog that features Twain is Aphorisms and Aphorisms. One of my favorites from the list is:

“Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”

Twain took long walks, often ten miles or more. Solo walking was not his first choice. He sought out companion walkers, especially the Rev. J. H. Twichell. He playfully accused Twain of stealing his best sermon material for his humor and witty writing. Twain countered by explaining that Twichell would have no sermon ideas at at all if it wasn’t for the material pilfred from Twain’s mind during their walks.

If not Twichell, than it was someone else. Walking was the venue and talking was the game. From his book, A Tramp Abroad he wrote:

” Now, the true charm of pedestrianism does not lie in the walking, or in the scenery, but in the talking. The walking is good to time the movement of the tongue by, and to keep the blood and the brain stirred up and active; the scenery and the woodsy smells are good to bear in upon a man an unconscious and unobtrusive charm and solace to eye and soul and sense; but the supreme pleasure comes from the talk. It is no matter whether one talks wisdom or nonsense, the case is the same, the bulk of the enjoyment lies in the wagging of the gladsome jaw and the flapping of the sympathetic ear.”

The pictured medallion celebrates this idea.

As did Anthony Trollope, Mark Twain was fascinated by novelty walks into forbidden or unknown places:

"What is there that confers the noblest delight? What is that which swells a man's breast with pride above that which any other experience can bring to him? Discovery! To know that you are walking where none others have walked."

For those that want to know more about the culture of walking, be sure to follow the blog of Michael P. Garofalo, the Ways of Walking from which the above quote was taken.

The take away for weight watchers and those concerned about physical fitness is that whether your stroll, saunter, meander, hike, wander, or trek--the Mark Twain message from his 175th is to just walk be it solo or companion. The more the better.

Bobby

Green Walking, Turning Trash to Treasure: Part I

2010-10-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Photo from Green Diary, Your Guide to Sustainable Living

Journal Entries

Oct. 4, 2010: Weight = 172.8 lbs; Coinage = $1.05, 25 pennies, 2 nickels, 2 dimes, 2 quarters; Best finds = a three coin scatter, 2 nickels and 1 penny and a curb quarter; 6 glass bottles; ground score = 2.

Oct. 3: Coinage = $2.74, 104 pennies, 3 nickels, 13 dimes, 1 quarter (most from vacuum canisters); one glass bottle, one ground score.

Sept. 30: Coinage = $1.43, 43 pennies, 3 nickels, 6 dimes, 1 quarter; one glass bottle; three ground scores.

Sept. 29: Weight = 170.2 lbs; Coinage = $2.77, 107 pennies, 7 nickels, 11 dimes, 1 quarter; 4 glass bottles (about ½ from canisters; 2 ground scores.

Sept. 28: Weight = 172. Lbs; Coinage = $1.40, 30 pennies, 2 dimes, 4 quarters (one super find in a telephone return; 2 glass bottles, 1 ground score.

Feature Entry: Green Walking, Turning Trash to Treasure: Part I

For the MoneyWalker, the mission of walking is foremost about fitness and weight management. A close second is using the walking experience to be environmentally responsible. While taking a daily 90 minute early morning walk it is surprising how many objects people lose or throw away. The MoneyWalker has learned to retrieve items (referred to as “ground scores”, see above under Journal Entries) and then practice the 3R method of recycling. Kandance Graves of New Orleans’ Gambit Weekly defines 3R as recycling, reusing, and repurposing. The practice allows the MoneyWalker to turn “trash into treasures.”

Founded on a belief that “green matters” nearly every day a portion of my time is devoted to creating a new life for items that have been thrown out or discarded. Over time the practice contributes to a growing practice across the U.S. and indeed the world that leads to “sustainable living.” In Gambit’s current edition (response@gambitweekly.com volume 31, # 39 Sept. 28, 2010) Graves writes about several "reuse districts" of New Orleans. Their website provides sobering details of the environmental impact of waste being put in landfills and how garbage ends up in the ocean. Tips are provided for consumers about how they can repurpose various items rather than curb them for the garbage collectors.

In a future blog the MoneyWalker will explain specific ways that he and Ms MoneyWalker have utilized the 3R method to enrich our lives while practicing green. Also, the blog will explain how green walking has provided thousands of dollars for two of their favorite charitable groups.

MoneyWalker

Saturated Fat Part II

2010-09-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry Sept. 27, 2010: Weight = 172.8 lbs (weight up and Saints down, a bad combination); Coinage = $3.01, 81 pennies, 3 nickels, 8 dimes, 5 quarters; one glass bottle; two ground scores including a working toaster (it will need a few scrubs.)

Journal Entry Sept. 26, 2010: Weight = 172.0 lbs; Coinage = $1.33, 43 pennies, 1 nickel, six dimes, 1 quarter; 6 glass bottles; 2 ground scores.

Feature Entry: Saturated Fat Part II

The MoneyWalker is doing a series of posts concerning the role of fat within the diet of a person that is losing weight, maintaining weight, and/or seeking to prevent diseases. The last post featured one of the current counterpoint bariatric MDs that advocate diets low in carbohydrates and liberal with saturated fats allowed. In juxtaposition to his position were views that are more conventional. We continue the sparring in this entry.

Conventional Wisdom (CW): Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D. of Mayo Clinic: Unquestionably, an excess intake of saturated fat is linked to weight gain. This is because a fat gram contains more than twice the amount of calories as a protein gram – 9 calories versus 4 calories. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fat-grams/hq00671

Michael R. Eades, MD (Eades): Improved Liver: “Adding saturated fat to the diet has been shown in medical research to encourage the liver cells to dump their fat content. Clearing fat from the liver is the critical first step to calling a halt to middle-body fat storage.”

CW: Zeratsky of Mayo Clinic: The world of nutrition has long since known the link between dietary fat and weight gain. Unsaturated fat can be a trusted ally in the fight against weight loss. Understanding how it differs from saturated fat helps demystify the stigma of unsaturated fats – a stigma that should be reserved for its unhealthy cousin, saturated fats.

Eades: Saturated Fat facilitates healthy lungs: “For proper function, the airspaces of the lungs have to be coated with a thin layer of what’s called lung surfactant. The fat content of lung surfactant is 100 percent saturated fatty acids.”

CW: Center for Disease Control and the Food Pyramid: Of the seven guidelines from the food pyramid for healthy living is the admonition for “eating foods low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

Eades: Eliminating or severely limiting saturated fats impair Proper nerve signaling: “Certain saturated fats, particularly those found in butter, lard, coconut oil, and palm oil, function directly as signaling messengers that influence the metabolism, including such critical jobs as the appropriate release of insulin.”

CW: American Institute for Cancer Research: “When AICR's expert international panel reviewed all the scientific findings relating to fat and cancer, they found a pattern suggesting that diets high in animal fat and/or saturated fat possibly increase the risk of lung, colorectal, breast, uterine and prostate cancers. We also know that saturated fat contributes to cardiovascular disease risk.”

Eades: ” Strong immune system: Saturated fats found in butter and coconut oil (myristic acid and lauric acid) play key roles in immune health. Loss of sufficient saturated fatty acids in the white blood cells hampers their ability to recognize and destroy foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Human breast milk is quite rich in myristic and lauric acid, which have potent germ-killing ability. But the importance of the fats lives on beyond infancy; we need dietary replenishment of them throughout adulthood, middle age, and into seniority to keep the immune system vigilant against the development of cancerous cells as well as infectious invaders.
So how should we build our meals, with or without saturated fats. As one news network likes to brag, “Fair and balanced, you decide.” The MoneyWalker will weigh-in on the issue in a future blog.

MoneyWalker

“In this corner, weighing…” Eating Saturated Fat versus Prevailing Conventional Wisdom

2010-09-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry, Sept. 24, 2010: Weight = 172.6 lbs.; Coinage = $1.40, 30 pennies, 1 dime, 4 quarters (one supper find of two quarters in a telephone stand); 2 glass bottles; one ground score.

Journal Entry, Sept. 25, 2010: Weight = 172.0 lbs; Coinage $1.42, 42 pennies, 7 nickels, 4 dimes, 1 quarter: 4 glass bottles, 2 ground scores including a recyclable patch work quilt (even as I type it is the washer soaking after being carefully treated with a generous amount of Ms. MoneyWalker’s stain removal. She won’t be happy.)

Feature Entry: “In this corner, weighing…” Eating Saturated Fat versus Prevailing Conventional Wisdom

It is undoubtedly true that America has an obesity problem and that overeating and low exercise are the leading contributing factors. As for diet much has been written about the dangers of fat, especially saturated fat. Yet, all nutritionist agree that some fat in the diet is necessary for good health.

The MoneyWalker is often in counterpoint with those that provide conventional wisdom concerning so-called exercise and nutrition “best practices.” For the next few paragraphs, conventional experts will duke it out with a controversial bariatric expert, Michael R. Eades, MD.

Conventional Wisdom (CW): From Spark:”Our bodies expect us to eat balanced meals containing complex carbohydrates, protein, fruit and vegetables, healthy fat, and goodies every now and then.” Unhealthy fat is defined as saturated fat and trans fat.

Eades: You have no doubt heard the drumbeat of current medical thinking on fats: some fats are now good for you—olive oil and canola oil*—but others are bad for you—trans fats and all saturated fats. That’s an improvement from the old cry, but far from the truth.

CW: From the editors of EHow: Decrease your intake of saturated and trans fats, as these modified products can increase your risk of heart disease.

Eades: [I am not worried] that these foods will increase your risk of heart disease and raise your cholesterol. In fact, we encourage you to make these important fats a regular part of your healthy diet. Why? Because humans need them and [later I will provide a few reasons why.]

CW: Food Pyramid - Using the food pyramid, Food groups">From Science Encyclopedia, we recommend that individuals should be “eating foods low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.”
Eades: [I have no fear of] “fatty cuts of meat, chicken with the skin, bacon, eggs, butter, coconut oil, organic lard, and heavy cream in the plan.”

CW: From Science Encyclopedia: Some fats are worse than others. The intake of saturated fats should be limited because they raise blood cholesterol levels which increases the risk of heart disease. Saturated fats are primarily found in animal and dairy products, and coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils. Saturated fats should not contribute more than 10% of the daily calories.

Eades: Though you may not have heard of it on the front pages of your local newspaper, online news source, or local television or radio news program, saturated fat plays a couple of key roles in cardiovascular health. The addition of saturated fat to the diet reduces the levels of a substance called lipoprotein (a)—pronounced “lipoprotein little a” and abbreviated Lp(a)—that correlates strongly with risk for heart disease. Currently there are no medications to lower this substance and the only dietary means of lowering Lp(a) is eating saturated fat. Moreover, eating saturated (and other) fats also raises the level of HDL, the so-called good cholesterol. Lastly, research has shown that when women diet, those eating the greatest percentage of the total fat in their diets as saturated fat lose the most weight.

CW: Science Encyclopedia: Unsaturated fats are a healthier choice and include olive, peanut, canola, safflower, corn, sunflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils.

Eades: saturated fat is required for calcium to be effectively incorporated into bone? According to one of the foremost research experts in dietary fats and human health, Mary Enig, Ph.D., there’s a case to be made for having as much as 50 percent of the fats in your diet as saturated fats for this reason. That’s a far cry from the 7 to 10 percent suggested by mainstream institutions.

…To be continued.

MoneyWalker

Kōan Walking and Problem Solving

2010-09-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Theory of Relativity

Journal Entry, September one to September 17, 2010: Average coinage find for the last 17 days = $1.43; Average weight for last 17 days = 171.75 pounds.

Journal Entry, September 20, 2010: Weight = 172.2 lbs; Coinage = $2.33, 63 pennies (one wheat), 1 nickel, 9 dimes, 3 quarters (one super find in a parking lot consisting of 2 quarters, a nickel and two pennies); Glass bottles retrieved = 8; Ground Scores = 3 (one, a 25 cent gum ball machine that was promptly opened by picking the lock, retrieving the money (a total of one penny), cleaning all parts both inside and outside, painting the antique cast iron “carousel” base, and reassembling. The trophy now holds a featured spot in the MoneyWalker’s herrenzimmer.

Feature Entry: Kōan Walking and Problem Solving

A friend that knows well both the personality of the MoneyWalker and about the orthodoxy of what it means to be a Southern Baptist once remarked to me: “You are not a Southern Baptist but a Zen Baptist.” I thought of his remark after reading Gretchen Rubin’s blog about happiness . This link is to her recent comment about Pablo Picasso Paints Fakes? -- A Koan about Creativity. Being a Zen Baptist is not the same as being a Zen Buddhist so I had to look up the term “koan.”

A kōan (most in the West ignore the correct spelling) consists of a story, a question, or a statement whose understanding cannot be understood by rational thinking but is accessible through intuition. Zen Buddhists would use the word heart as in “accessible through the heart.” In Western thinking kōans are often reduced to mere riddles, puzzles, or meaningless statements. However, in Zen practice a kōan requires a thoughtful response. Kōans are used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy if not the futility of logical reasoning.” To a Zen Buddhist, “doubt is strength.”

Kōans are often presented as paradoxical poems or anecdotes in a question format. Yet there is no solution. A devout listener when presented the Kōan will meditate for meaning outside of logical thought processes. Kōan’s then, although not riddles, will initially appear as a riddle to the mind. In the case of Picasso, an art dealer asks him to authenticate a Picasso painting. Picasso said “It is a fake.” Later the art dealer returned with another painting. “It too is a fake,” said Picasso. Perplexed, the dealer replied, “But I was with you as you painted this very article.” In which Picasso replied, “I often paint fakes.” While this example is not a true Kōan, it is Kōan-like. This rather simple example for me relates to why 21 days have passed since my last blog. The blogs were all starting to feel redundant; whatever the title or theme of the blog, I felt as I had written it all before.

As for kōan walking, Robert Baker Aitken (aka, Roshi Aitken) in his book The Practice of Perfection: The Parameters from a Zen Buddhist Perspective, suggest that the practice of using kōans during meditation is to practice mindfulness, the practice of noticing what you are doing. He uses walking to illustrate his point. Walking, for efficiency, is below the awareness level and the very act is controlled by autonomic brain/body processes. Mindfulness for walking is the act of bringing the subconscious to consciousness—to be aware and noticing the "heel, foot, ball, toe action as you walk." To consciously process the feeling of all aspects of the walking behavior is kōan walking at its simplest. One may say, “So what?” Thus, a critical part of utilizing kōans for meditation is to practice mindfulness, to delve deeply into the obvious with questions that have no logical answers.

Kōan questioning is related to kōan problem solving. “So what, what?” is a kōan. As we walk, the mind must be occupied with something and often the mindfulness of that something takes the form of a problem. Kōan-like problem solving contains at least three stages according to John Tarrant in his blog essay “The Power of Koan Practice.” First, “contain the problem.” In the MoneyWalker’s current crisis of allowing three weeks to pass without writing a blog, containment meant getting back to the basics. Note the specificity of the above Journal entry. Recently, I had gotten away from what journals provide, a written history of the specifics of a practice, in this case walking for fitness and using the excitement of finding money and “ground scores” for external motivation to persevere. Thus, by being specific, I began the process of containing the problem.

Second, Tarrant would say, “focus upon it.” This entire blog about kōans is allowing me to focus on why I have lost the motivation to write two or three blogs a week about walking, health, and motivation. In truth, trying to contain the problem and focusing on a solution occurred weeks ago, even before my last blog of August 31st had been written. My focus has many prisms one of which is “Why I am writing a blog that contains, to me at least, such a cerebral requirement for something as straightforward as walking for health?” Don’t ask me, I’m still in focus mode.

Third, in Tarrant's tutorial is “allow its solution to emerge.” Tarrant says, “With a problem, listen to the mind’s conversation before trying to solve it.” A great turn of phrase is that thought to “listen to the mind’s conversation.” Kōan walking is a perfect time to listen to the mind’s conversation.

Well, it is well past time for the MoneyWalker to cut his losses and turn off the word processor. But before leaving, a great walk need not be a kōan walk, but when the MoneyWalker has a problem there is nothing better than taking a walk to contain the problem, focus on it, and let a solution present itself.

Perhaps kōan walking leads to good karma whatever that might mean

MoneyWalker

Six Proustian Strategies to Enhance the Walking Experience

2010-08-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

Photo: The Eyes of Marcel Proust

Journal Entry: Weight = 173.6 lbs; Coinage = $1.46

Feature Entry: Six Proustian Strategies to Enhance the Walking Experience

It is nearly impossible to read novels from the 19th and early 20th century without fully understanding the important role of walking in the everyday social and working life of the citizens of the times. Marcel Proust, the precursor of the modern novelists, also left his mark on modern psychology. What follows are six Proustian strategies to enhance the walking experience.

1. Pay attention to the experiences and sensations of the walk.
2. Live in the moment, not forwever wed to a “search for lost time.”
3. Embrace a free flowing stream of consciousness.
4. Be a servant of the walk, not its master.
5. Allow the visual flow of the now to involuntarily cue memories of the past.
6. Seek walking experiences, or during the walk, reframe previous experiences that lead to an eureka moment: ”I never saw the world in the same way afterwards.”

Or, just walk!

Bobby

A Katrina Walk Five Years Later

2010-08-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Mid-City New Orleans after the levees were breeched, photo provided by Michael Riege

Journal Entry: Weight = none taken, the co-ed baby shower (a boy) given by Ms MoneyWalker and daughter MoneyWalker for daughter-in-law MoneyWalker was to mammoth in terms of rich food-- couldn’t face the transparency; Coinage = $2.05; Ground Scores = 5 including an excellent pair of heavy duty battery jumper cables.

Feature Entry: A Katrina Walk Five Years Later

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Because of multiple breaches in New Orleans’s levee system, 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded. More than 1,500 people lost their lives in our city. The MoneyWalker’s residence had more than five feet of water on the ground floor. What made this flood even more costly was New Orleans’s unique topography, much of the city is below flood level. In normal times, we keep the waters pushed back with elaborate levees and electric pumps. When the levees failed and the electric infrastructure stopped working, there was no place for the water to go. So it stayed, just putrefying in our homes from September 1 until October 4, the first day we were allowed to return. Our first floor was surreal, a scene from a horror movie could not have been more sobering. It took that long for levee repairs and portable generators to pump out the water. The recall still brings tears as these words are being typed. Ms. MoneyWalker and I wheeled out more than a thousand wheel barrow loads of water logged possessions, many treasures of a lifetime. We were not able to return as residents until March more than six months later. That was the month that electricity was restored to our block.

All of the memories came back on this morning’s walk.

Katrina walks are somber.

MoneyWalker

Spiritual Walking

2010-08-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

Photo: (self)The Sicilian donkey is highly prized by some Catholic practitioners because of the "cross of Jesus" that appears down the back and across the shoulders. My neighbor paid $3,000 dollars for this champion donkey. Note: for this edition, the journal entries are at end of blog

Feature Entry: Spiritual Walking

After several years of walking for fitness and weight control and using the pleasure of finding money and other objects of value as external motivation, many friends, relatives, and blog followers report to me their walking motives and habits. Many report taking advantage of nature hiking to connect with their idea of the Supreme Creator. Similarly, several report that they meditate and pray while walking. More specifically, some seek Spiritual guidance for their problems. Some have actual conversations.

In the MoneyWalker’s bio sketch, he list “Fiddler on the Roof” as one of his three favorite movies. Most of us remember Tevye, the poor Jewish father of those beautiful daughters, the ones that kept breaking Tevye’s traditions if not his heart. Tevye walked from necessity and often used the time to talk to God, nearly always with sarcasm:

• [to God] Sometimes I wonder, when it gets too quiet up there, if you are thinking, "What kind of mischief can I play on my friend Tevye?"
• [to God] It may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. After all, with Your help, I'm starving to death. Oh, dear Lord. You made many poor people. I realize, of course, it's no shame to be poor... but it's no great honor either. So what would be so terrible... if I had a small fortune?
• [to God] I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?

The MoneyWalker has some of Tevye’s cynicism, but he can easily tear-up to this great Christian hymn: “Today I Walked Where Jesus Walked, I Felt His Presence There.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a poem with the same line but takes it further:

Today I walked where Jesus walked, today I walked where Job had walked,
Today I walked with Nephi, Today I walked where Abraham walked,
Today I believed I was nothing in their eyes, today they walked with me.

The MoneyWalker’s thoughts about Spiritual walking were stimulated by a request to be a guest Bible Study teacher last Sunday. The topic dealt with reconciliation of fractured relationships. This blog started out to be about the reconciliation of we dieters/exercisers with our January 1 resolutions. We will do it another time. In the mean time, if you have a fractured relationship with your resolution, practice or re-initiate the big four—weigh every day, eat a healthy breakfast, exercise, and be careful with food portions and selections.

Oh, don’t be afraid to ask for a little Divine intervention.

MoneyWalker

Journal Entry August 19, 2010: Weight = 170.0 lbs; Coinage = $.31. Alas, the Jefferson Davis Car Wash Vacuum mine is running dry. Still no locks. Maybe Jason has hired a new manager who keeps the vacuums clean and neat. Back to finding coins the old fashioned way with hard scans and clever hunches.

Journal Entry: August 18, 2010: Weight = 170.2 lbs.; Coinage = $.50; Observation = 12 school buses lined in a queue—summer vacation is over.

Journal Entry: August 17, 2010: Coinage = $1.11; Weight = 169.0 lbs. Observation = Undercover police raid that appeared to be a false alarm. The MoneyWalker passed right through the thrones of police on the street.

August 16: Weight = 170.0; Coinage = $.35

August 15: Weight = 170.2; Coinage = $4.90, quarters were found everywhere including a super find in a newspaper vending machine, four in the return slot; then in the next machine over, another quarter; then four more “curb quarters.”

The MoneyWalker finds a $1 Coin: The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005

2010-08-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry: 8-13-10: Weight = 172.8 lbs, $10.35 coinage including a John Q. Adams $1.00 coin. Source for the large find was a nice run of “curb quarters” on the way to Canal Blvd. Car Wash. Jason’s boys had just dumped their vacuum canisters in a way that led to easy access of the loot. Of course it was handled stealthy at 6:30 a.m.

Feature Entry: The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005

Who knew? Starting in 2007, the United States Mint issued four Presidential $1 coins which featured Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison. The Coin Act (PL 109-145) has as its purpose the revitalization of classic designs for US coins. Four presidents a year are being released in the order in which the Presidents served.

Until the MoneyWalker found the coin on this morning’s walk, the new coinage program had escaped me completely. The coin is striking, but one thing is disappointing. The coins use “edge-incused inscription” which means that the year of minting, the classic “E Pluribus Unum”, and “In God We Trust,” and the mint mark are on the edge rather that the face. Without a strong glass, the inscriptions can’t be read. Too bad!

There are other components of the act such as commemorative coins of the wives of the presidents. To read more:

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$1coin/?action=coinAct2005

Remember, it is not the coins but the calories!!

MoneyWalker

The Culture of Walking: Less Fat, More Lean

2010-08-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry: August 10,2010: Weight = 169.4 lbs; Coinage = $2.12 including two super finds in one walk (A super find is .50 or more in one location excluding car wash vacuum stations).

Feature Entry: The Culture of Walking: Less Fat, More Lean

Recently the MoneyWalker has been obsessed with discussions about fat and weight loss. In a forthcoming blog he will delve into the weighty issues (pun intended) of animal fat, trans fat, saturated fat, non-animal fat, artificial fat, non-saturated fat, fat grams and much much more. But not now! Instead, we will ramble on about the "lean" of walking; or, if you will, the culture of walking. Much of the content was inspired by Geoff Nicholson and his book The Lost Art Of Walking.

“A walk is never equally fascinating for its whole length.” The MoneyWalker usually takes 90 minute walks. In that period long stretches are uneventful but in 90 minutes the observant walker will witness amazing things. The same is true of finding money, long stretches often occur with nothing only to be followed with finds of multiple coins. One must be a "determined walker."

“I walk hard in the streets.” “You can’t walk as well when you get older.” “I’m very smart in the street.” The MoneyWalker still “zooms” when he walks, but not as fast or as “hard” as even one year ago. The big 70 is still a year or two away, but closing fast. As the years continue to mount, he is beginning to allow experience to compensate for reaction time in order to be safe on the street.

“Insouciance is certainly part of the perfect walk.” Whether one walks for pleasure, fitness, or in pursuit of ground scores, he or she must feel safe, unconcerned,and secure. Mostly the MoneyWalker feels safe about the walking environment, but there are times and situations that brings the hair on his neck in full lert. The solution, quickly move to safety.

Is walking a religious experience? “It may be pleasurable and worth doing, it may stop you from getting depressed, but in the end it’s just a walk. Why should you want it to be more?”

“When William Wordsworth was in the throes of composition he would stride up and down the garden path outside his home in Grasmere; walking and writing had for him become synonymous. And I do believe that there’s some fundamental connection between walking and writing.” The MoneyWalker’s attention during walking is usually divided between two things—searching for coins and semi-composing his next blog. In two plus weeks New Orleans will remember the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. My family found solace from these fine Wordsworth lines:

What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of Splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind. (Wordsworth, Ode: Intimations)

MoneyWalker

The Weight Loss Plateau: A Dissection of a Failed Blog

2010-08-05T14:20:00.001-07:00

Journal Entry: Weight = 168.6 lbs.; Coinage = $1.29.

Feature Entry: The Weight Loss Plateau: The dissection of a Failed Blog

The MoneyWalker has just pulled the plug on a failed blog. After spending several hours of research and writing (550 words), he called it quits. The topic attempted to compare a motor learning concept with a weight loss concept. In motor learning, early success when attempting to learn a novel task is often mistakenly called learning when in fact it is only the result of rearranging what has been previously learning from related or similar tasks. These latent learnings are followed by a painfully long plateau when little or no increase in performance can be plotted. The same with early weight loss success of individuals that begin a weight loss program. Initially there is great success as the lbs. seem to fall off as a result of a new more intense exercise program combined with portion control. But then even as the exercise regiment is continued and fidelity to portion control is maintained, the weight loss stops.

Two similar phenomena, but since we could not make a connection, the project was abandoned. Perhaps there is a latent component to weight loss having to do with water loss and interstitial and extrastitial liquids that comprise adipose tissue. Maybe the recently activated fat cells are easily disposed of whereas the "old hands" are resistant to being broken down just as brain cells are resistant to learning new programs if an already establish brain neuron can be retrofitted to do the trick. So in learning, if we aren't careful, we will confuse performance for learning. Similarly, when we begin a weight loss program, it might be that early in the program, we confuse weight loss with fat loss. These may be very different phenomenon.

Either way, plateaus in both tennis performance and losing weight are deal breakers. Patience with the process, a strong internal constitution, and a very effective external motivation scheme is needed to get past those pesky plateaus.

In the mean time Mr. MoneyWalker, just get over all the time spent in research trying to create a new theory of weight loss plateauing. For now, we will just settle on older ideas such as "starvation metabolism," "high metabolic efficiency," "set-point theory," "aberrant thyroid stimulation," or good old fashioned "pilot error" (the exerciser is cheating--not walking as much and not practicing portion control).

So if you hit a plateau with weight loss, keep walking, keep charting food intake, the body will eventually move off of the plateau and reward you with another stretch of happy days on the digital scales.

MoneyWalker

Ball Four, Baseball and Walking

2010-07-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry July 27, 2010: Weight = 171.0 lbs.; Coinage = $1.57; Glass bottles = 6; Ground scores = 4.

Feature Entry: Baseball and Walking

This past week-end, the MoneyWalker with his friend from Oxford, MS completed our annual trip to watch the Houston, Astros play baseball. The Astros lost the first game because the pitcher issued three straight “walks” in the fourth inning. Eventually three runs scored and the Astros never recovered.

What kind of a team sport has a rule that forces players to walk? In baseball, take four balls and the umpire makes the player walk to first base. Sometimes a team will intentionally walk a runner. But the so-called walk is just baseball jargon. The base runner “walks” to first base because he doesn’t have to run in order to be “safe.” Baseball also has something called a “walk off the field” base hit or home run.

What about football? Players get in trouble with the coach if they “walk back to the huddle,” or walk off the field when being substituted. But there is no rule either way; it is the coach that wants the player to show hustle and a good attitude. In basketball a player can “walk the ball” up the court, sometimes under the orders of the coach. It allows the game to be slowed down.

This week-end my friend and I did a lot of walking even though our hotel was just across the street from Minute Maid Park. It was my DNA that caused the problem. The hotel wanted $25 dollars a night, but there was a free and safe place to park just one-half mile away. My DNA has a huge dose of frugality hard wired into the system. I could not pay the $50 for the week-end.

Then it happened. While walking to retrieve the vehicle, the MoneyWalker spotted two one dollar bills wadded together along the curb. Later, several pennies were found, then a quarter, and then a dime. It was all good. The daily one-half mile walk taken several times both days provided walking continuation, and the poor Astros not only lost both games Friday and Saturday giving their fans angst, a few unlucky souls even lost their pocket money in a way that rewarded my effort.

Oh well, that's baseball.

MoneyWalker

A Charitable Dilemma

2010-07-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

Painting, 'Charity or The Indigent Family', 1865, provided by Fotosearch.

Journal Entry, 7-22-10: Weight = 171.2 lbs; Coinage = $2.17; Glass bottles = 10; Ground scores = 7 including a recyclable baby stroller.

Feature Entry: A Charitable Dilemma

Early on, the MoneyWalker felt a moral dilemma about what to do with the money that he found during his fitness walks. It seemed unsettling to find pleasure in another person’s loss. The feeling is silly but it was real and I resolved it by giving the found money to a local charity one that ministers to battered women and their children. Then as rescuing discarded objects became a part of the walking program, it was logical to sell them on E-bay or host a garage sale. The latter was opted for.

Daily walking presents numerous opportunities for good Samaritan behavior. Two examples include helping a person with need of a tire change, and finding then returning a lost cell phone. The recipients of the assistance always offer to help. Today was such a day. A cell phone was found, the battery was fresh, a number was called, and an owner located. He retrieved the phone with obvious appreciation and offered to assist me for my inconvenience (and for not making several long distance calls). I said, “You can pay it forward, or if you are inclined, I will accept a small donation to be given to my charity (the battered women).” He rolled off a $20 and a $5 and handed them. I said, "Just the five is ample.” But he insisted and we settled on the $20.

Now I feel like he was taken advantage of. It is a charitable dilemma!

MoneyWalker

The "Ground Score" Meets the Yard Sale

2010-07-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Photo curtesy of the "Yard Sale Addict"

Journal Entry July 19, 2010: Weight = 170.8 lbs; Coinage = $6.85; Ground Scores = 2.

Journal Entry July 18, 2010: Weight = 169.0 lbs; Coinage = $.58; Bottles retrieved = 2; Ground scores = 3.

Note: the MoneyWalker has taken a two week break from his walking and blogging, but he is back rested and resolved.

Feature Entry: The Ground Score Meets the Yard Sale

When preparing a feature blog about walking, finding money, or staying fit while losing weight, the MoneyWalker often uses Google to find inspiration. Today's blog is about hosting a yard sale to dispose of all the loot that has been drug home during the last year. I always use Google advanced and place walking in the first line and the subject of my inquiry in the second, in this case "yard sale". In the do not show, I placed the word "charity." As I thought, walking and yard sale supplied many hits. In addition to "causes" that involve both walking and yard sales to raise money, some neighborhoods combine to have multiple garage/yard sales and then ask people to walk the neighborhood as they shop. I liked the idea.

However, the purpose of my sale was to clear away the "ground scores" and donate the proceeds to my favorite charity, the New Orleans Baptist Friendship House. They minister to abused women and their children. This past Saturday, with Ms MoneyWalker's assistance, we sold more than $350 dollars of merchandise, most of it from repaired "ground scores." After advertising expenses we sent a check for $311 to the Friendship House. The letter of transmittal follows:

Bobby L. Eason, Ed.D.

Dr. Kay Bennett
Baptist Friendship House
813 Elysian Fields Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70117

July 19, 2010

Dear Dr. Bennett:

Enclosed is a check for $311.00 to be received as a donation to the Baptist Friendship House. The amount is the net amount from the “Friendship House” yard sale conducted this past Saturday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. The Lord blessed us with sunny weather and a slight breeze. A large sign indicated that all proceeds were to be donated to the Baptist Friendship House. Several donated their extra change from their purchases, one donated $10.

The yard sale was great fun. Everyone said our prices were very fair. So in addition to helping the friendship women and their children, we were able to inexpensively place excellent items into the hands of New Orleans citizens, many with needs of their own.

As indicated in an earlier letter, most of the items were found during the MoneyWalker’s fitness walks in the Mid-City area. When an item of interest was found discarded at the curb, and if it had perceived value, it was somehow retrieved and repaired if necessary. The yard sale featured filing cabinets, four office chairs, a bicycle, three kitchen chairs, a baby stroller, a wheel barrow two beds, lamps, clothes, two bar-b-q sets, architectural items, hardware, sporting equipment, a painting, a card table, and about forty containers of plants taken from our garden while thinning, and many more “ground scores.”

God bless the Friendship Ministry.

Sincerely,

Bobby L. Eason

The MoneyWalker

Musings of an Overheated Walker

2010-06-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

Feature Entry: Musings of an Overheated Walker

It is too darn hot! Tomorrow, Ms. MoneyWalker and I are heading to the cool Mountains of New Mexico, then on the our hometown and my 50th high school reunion.

The MoneyWalker stopped walking for one week to recover from a mild case of dehydration fatigue. I was walking without replenishing enough liquid. My past hydration strategy had always worked before, but not this year. Perhaps it is a combination of an aging body and an extra hot June in New Orleans. Remember, drink plenty of fluids before, during and after a long walk.

While walking this morning, three thoughts from the previous 24 hours competed for my blog think-moments that occur during walking. They were "self-sabotage," "create your own audience," and "ex cathedra." Even with Google, I never could develop a cogent thought for development so I patched these three ideas together just to break my week-long draught of not posting.

Self-sabotage--means giving yourself the opportunity to go off the plan, for a walker, to stop walking.

Create your own audience--a literary term, but for walkers, walking solo, for bloggers, building a following. The realization that no one really cares whether you walk or not, you must create your own will.

Ex cathedra--from the teachers chair, usually refers to the Pope of Rome and his power to enact an absolute dictate; for a solo walker, the power for you to plan, to provide the law of your walk--for you to control your own pace, distance, and thoughts. For the MoneyWalker, Ex cathedra is why I walk solo, or as we may say, "from the walker's chair."

As for journal entries, weight average for last two week = 171.4 lbs; Coinage averaged over $2 bucks a walk.

MoneyWalker

Hey Neuroscience, Can You Help Me With My Depression?

2010-06-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry: 6/16/10: Weight = 173.8 lbs; Coinage = $.26.

Feature Entry: Hey Neuroscience, Can You Help Me With My Depression?

With continuing nightmares of Katrina, now the oil blow-out in the gulf, the bad economy, a seemingly irresolvable Arizona border, and a sinking 401, is it any wonder that the MoneyWalker is in the ravages of depression.

But the cause is not any of those things. This morning, inexplicably the scales indicated a gain of 2 lbs and the walk coinage was an 18 month low—26 cents. Now those are causes for depression!

San Francisco neuroscientist Puterman, Lin, Blackburn, O’Donovan, Adler, and Epe have completed a study that suggest that vigorous physical exercise helps reduce the health related negative effects of chronic stress. They found that sedentary women between the age of 54 and 82 considered to be chronically psychologically stressed and that failed to exercise regularly developed DNA degeneration that is thought to lead to cardiovascular disease. In contrast, a matched group of chronically stressed women that exercised according to the CDC guidelines (75 minutes of exercise per week) did not experience DNA degeneration.

The authors concluded that, “Vigorous physical activity appears to protect those experiencing high stress by buffering its relationship with TL.” (TL is the abbreviation for telomere length. Telomeres are sections of DNA at the end of chromosomes. Without exercise the TLs were shorter and deformed in comparison with the exercise group.)

Whew, just knowing all that walking is providing a healthy buffer for my chronic stress so as to prevent cardiovascular disease and other life-style diseases helps the MoneyWalker to feel a whole lot better.

The MoneyWalker

Journal Entry: 6-15-10: Weight = 171.6 lbs; Coinage = $1.27
Journal Entry: 6-14-10: Weight = 171.2 lbs; Coinage = $1.97

Cheese Burger in Paradise

2010-06-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Bonus Feature: Cheese Burger in Paradise

O.K., O.K., The MoneyWalker will publish Buffett's "Cheese Burger in Paradise" lyrics, but be warned, the contents of this song may be hazardous to your health.

Cheese Burger In Paradise

Tried to amend my carnivorous habits
Made it nearly seventy days
Losin' weight without speed, eatin' sunflower seeds
Drinkin' lots of carrot juice and soakin' up rays

But at night I'd had these wonderful dreams
Some kind of sensuous treat
Not zuchinni, fettucini or bulghar wheat
But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat

Chorus:
Cheeseburger in paradise (paradise)
Heaven on earth with an onion slice (paradise)
Not too particular not too precise (paradise)
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise

Heard about the old time sailor men
They eat the same thing again and again
Warm beer and bread they said could raise the dead
Well it reminds me of the menu at a Holiday Inn

Times have changed for sailors these days
When I'm in port I get what I need
Not just Havanas or bananas or daiquiris
But that American creation on which I feed

Chorus:
Cheeseburger in paradise (paradise)
Medium rare with mustard 'be nice (paradise)
Heaven on earth with an onion slice (paradise)
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God Almighty which way do I steer for my

Chorus:
Cheeseburger in paradise (paradise)
Makin' the best of every virtue and vice (paradise)
Worth every damn bit of sacrifice (paradise)
To get a cheeseburger in paradise
To be a cheeseburger in paradise
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise

Bobby

One Way to Practice Portion Control

2010-06-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry, June 8, 2010: Weight = 169.8 lbs; Coinage = $3.15, 70 pennies, 8 nickels, 8 dimes, 5 quarters.

Journal Entry June 10, 2010: Weight = 169 lbs; Coinage = $4.00, 110 pennies, 9 nickels, 7 dimes, 3 quarters, a dollar bill.

Journal Entry June 11, 2010: Weight 168.6 lbs; Coinage = $1.65, 130 pennies, 1 nickel, 3 dimes. Note, the last three weight measures are all artificially low due to heavy water losses due to working outdoors--caution for both dehydradition and a false sense of weight loss.

Journal Entry June 12, 2010: Weight = 171.8 lbs; Coinage = $1.67, 87 pennies, 8 dimes.

Journal Entry June 13, 2010: Weight = 171.8 lbs; Coinage = $8.41, 201 pennies, 15 nickels, 25 dimes, 17 quarters (a big day for quarters and dimes from the car wash vaccums.)

Feature Entry:One Way to Practice Portion Control

In the MoneyWalker's last blog, the Brown Plan to becoming thin was featured and promised to provide additional information about how to practice portion control. Portion control means eating smaller portions and selecting foods that are both healthy and foster weight loss or weight maintenance. To assist with the task, I have lifted Laura Bofinger's "Easy Ways to Eat 5 Fruits and Veggies Each Day." from the professional blog provided by Spark People.

From Laura, "Our bodies crave fruits and vegetables more than just about any other food because we tend to get far fewer of them than we need. We often think we'd survive just fine on 2-3 servings a day – or less. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA both recommend at least 5 servings per day! What you’re missing could be the difference between just surviving and all out thriving.

With just a little thought and a tiny bit of effort in snack preparation, you can make these nutritious foods more convenient and accessible.

Tips and Tricks

• Add fruit to your cereal, oatmeal, waffles or pancakes at breakfast.
• Create your own yogurt flavors with plain yogurt and different combinations of fresh fruit.
• Snack on raw vegetables or fruits instead of chips or pretzels. Keep sugar snap peas, raisins or carrot sticks in your car, your office or your backpack.
• Use chunky salsa instead of thick, creamy snack dips.
• Drink 100% juice instead of addictive coffee, tea, or soda.
• Going out to lunch? Take a trip to the grocery salad bar. Use lots of dark green leaves and other vegetables instead of piling on all of the extras like eggs, bacon and cheese.
• Add frozen veggies to any pasta dish. It's an easy way to get in another serving of the good stuff.
• Keep fruits and vegetables in line of sight. Grapes, oranges, bananas, and apples make a colorful bowl arrangement on the table. If you see them, you will eat them.
• Dried fruit is just as portable as potato chips -- and less messy. It tastes especially good when added to basic trail mix.
• When cooking vegetables, makes 2-3 times more than you need and immdiately store the extra away for tomorrow. It'll save you time later on.
• Add your own beans and vegetables (tomatoes, spinach, peppers, cabbage) to canned and quick-serve soups.
• If you must have pizza, load on extra veggies and pineapple instead of fatty meats and extra cheese.
• Try berries, melons or dates for a naturally sweet dessert rather than the usual candy bar, cookie, or ice cream sandwich.
• Frozen fruit and veggies are nearly as healthy as the fresh stuff, and only take minutes to prepare.
• Combine fruit with your main meal courses. Raisins, apples and tangerine slices add sweet, crunchy variety to a salad. Apples complement pork, pineapple is great with fish, and orange slices are perfect with chicken.
Besides being packed full of nutrients, fruits and vegetables can also be quite filling. They may even ward off any empty calorie snacking that might follow! Don’t be discouraged by the recommended 5 servings a day. The guide below shows that one serving is less than what you might think.

One serving equals:
1 medium piece of fruit
1/2 cup fruit (raw, canned, or frozen)
1/2 cup cooked vegetables (canned or frozen)
1 cup raw vegetables
1/4 cup dried fruit
4-6 oz. of 100% juice (serving size depends on the type of juice)
1/2 cup cooked peas or beans"

As the blog is being written the radio began playing Jimmy Buffet's "Cheese Burger in Paradise." Note to Jimmy, eat too many cheese burgers and paradise is not where you will find yourself. Note to readers and self, eat more veggies and fruit and less cheese burgers if you want to lose weight.

Bobby

Using the Brown Plan To Get Thin

2010-06-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry, 6-4-10: Weight = 171.2 lbs; Coinage = $1.16, 46 pennies, 2 nickels, 1 dime, 2 quarters. One glass bottle. 3 ground scores. Best find, a quarter in a newspaper vender.

Journal Entry, 6-6-10: Weight = 174.0 lbs; Coinage = $5.06, 141 pennies, 16 nickels, 16 dimes, 5 quarters. Great day at the car wash.

Journal Entry, 6-7-10: Weight = 171.8 lbs; Coinage = $1.67, 87 pennies, 8 dimes; six glass bottles, 4 ground scores including a very nice chair.

Feature Entry: Using the Brown Plan To Get Thin

It is well known that America is a nation of successful dieters. Unfortunately nearly everyone gains the weight back and adds more. Thus, America is experiencing an obesity epidemic.

To better understand the problem, Rena Wing, Ph.D of Brown Medical School and James O. Hill, Ph.D. of U. of Colorado established the National Weight Control Registry to study long-term successful weight loss maintenance. They basically wanted to know what successful dieters do to keep their weight off. Established in 1994, the epidemiologists have tracked thousands of dieters. To be included in the Registry, each had to have loss at least 30 lbs and kept it off for one year or longer. Many have kept their weight off for decades.

Using different methods, ninety-eight percent of participants report that they modified their food intake. No surprise there. The MoneyWalker was pleased to learn that 94% increased their exercise activity with walking being the most frequent method cited. The exercisers averaged one hour a day of increased activity. For those keeping score, reduction of food intake and increase in physical activity are number one and two respectively in terms of behavior change.

But there are more behaviors that the group have in common. Seventy-eight percent eat breakfast every day; 75% weigh themselves at least once a week; and 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.

From the Registry’s website the MoneyWalker has extracted several testimonials.

Gary..a dramatic change in the volume and types of the foods that he was eating, and obtaining positive support from friends to help boost his self-image and improve his outlook on life. All of this translated to losing 75.5 pounds in 2001 and the ability to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle for the last 8 years. Today, Gary works out for an hour each day, eats a balanced, mostly organic diet, avoids fast food in its many forms, and cooks most of his own meals in his own kitchen.

Carolyn…“My exercise routine is simple. I walk. I park at the back of the parking lot at the office and walk during breaks and lunch. Also, when going to the mall, I park at the opposite end from my favorite store.” Carolyn has now lost more than 100 pounds and is feeling better than ever.

Sandra lost 100 pounds over the course of a year through a combination of portion control, food records, and regular exercise.

Drew..By gradually reducing my caloric intake and learning that being hungry before meals could actually be a good thing, I lost weight at a safe rate of about two to three pounds per week." Drew started to walk on a regular basis...

Charles…once he combined healthy eating and portion control, he lost 100 pounds. Now in his seventies, Charles exercises regularly and has been maintaining a healthy weight for over 16 years.

So how can we use the Brown Plan to get thin and stay thin (the MoneyWalker’s word usage, not theirs)? The answer if fourfold: 1) practice portion control, 2) increase exercise, 3) eat breakfast, and 4) weigh at least once a week. Each of the four core principles will be more completely developed as a future blog. In the mean time, get off the couch, turn off the TV, eat less food, take a 30 minute walk, eat breakfast, and weigh once a week.

MoneyWalker

Hogarthian Walking

2010-06-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry: June 2, 2010: Weight = 170.2 lbs.; Coinage = $2.93, 114 pennies (one wheat), 3 nickels, 5 dimes, 1 quarter, 1 dollar bill ( a paper find is always special); Glass bottles retrieved = 7; Ground Scores = 4.

Journal Entry: June 3, 2010: Weight = 172.6 lbs; Coinage = $1.39, 49 pennies, 4 nickels, 2 dimes, 2 quarters; Glass bottles = 6; Ground scores = 10; Best coinage find = a totally blackened quarter, a “step over” quarter, also a 5 peso coin.

Feature Entry: Hogarthian Walking

This morning during my walk Malick cried out Bob, Bob! He wanted to say hello. I had talked with him and two street companions on the day before. The three homeless men had talked about seeing me frequently walking the area and were curious about what I seemed to be doing. They could tell by my dress and determined look that I was not a typical walker in the neighborhood. I had met one of them before and he knew that I was a money walker.

The episode reminded me of William Hogarth(his "Beer Street" painting is featured above). About 250 years ago Hogarth, a noted painter and artist, walked the seedy streets of London and painted what he saw—usually impoverished men and women living in debauchery. New Orleans has always been a city with thin layers of wealthy and wretched communities existing side by side. Thus, as one walks in our city, one moves from opulence to Hogarthian-type low rent districts in a matter of minutes. In the Canadian Forum, a Hogarthian walk is interestingly described as follows: “You don't stand back and observe the city from a safe distance as you would with, say, Canaletto. You are swept along the alleyways, jostled from each side, forced to dodge the contents of an emptied piss-pot or to step over an inebriated harlot.”

There are places in New Orleans like that. The MoneyWalker avoids the ones known to be high crime areas. But an urban savanna is a full context of dwellings and situations, not just an oasis for the well educated. Not walking into the full range of neighborhoods is to completely miss the Hogarthian philosophy of walking. “One of William Hogarth’s consummate skills as an artist was his ability to make you feel part of his world.” New Orleans neighborhoods can be a seedy world? Many are places of indeterminacy, disorder, and confusion where lives are being played out in a way understood in no better way than by walking and reflecting on the sights, sounds, and smells of the neighborhoods.

The MoneyWalker is cautious and selective of the streets that are selected for walking, but if there is no reason to suspect that an area is inclined to support criminal behavior, he will allow his “psychogeographic” curiosity to direct his path; and, he thinks, better for it.

MoneyWalker

The Comfort of Routine

2010-06-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry, June 1, 2010: Weight = 171.2 lbs; Coinage = $1.56, 16 pennies ( 1 wheat, really beat up, but in my wheat jug anyway), 2 nickels, 3 dimes, 4 quarters (one super find, 2 quarters, a dime and a penny—found in an abandoned arm chair at the curb—lifted the seat cushion and there they were); Glass bottles = 4; Ground scores = 6 including a “cross” shaped tire tool, the type used to loosen and tighten the tires when changing.

Journal Entry, May 31, 2010: Coinage = $1.62, 97 pennies, 3 nickels, 5 dimes. (Late evening walk after returning from Memorial Day outing with family, thus no weight measurement); Ground scores = 6; Glass bottles = 5

Journal Entry, May 29, 2010: Weight = 169.6 lbs (yea, another dip into the coveted 160s); Coinage = $1.73, 73 pennies, 1 nickel, 7 dimes, 1 quarter; Glass bottles = 2; Ground scores = 5 including a lovely cheese tray.

Feature Entry: The Comfort of Routine

A lot is blogged concerning boredom as a threat to exercise, but much less about the “comfort of routine.” A Google inquiry delivered inspiration for the concept. Aimee Sicuro delightfully observed that there “is something to be said about the daily rituals that give us comfort.” That we often see our routines as little or insignificant but “its the little things that make certain days better than others.” Somewhat Proustian in feel, she enjoys “drinking out of my favorite extra tall coffee cup,” “a long sweaty run by the ocean,” and “fresh pasta with a marinara and basil.” She admits that there is a time for “shaking things up a bit,” but “the rhythm of routine sure feels good.” (The artistic image above is her creative expression and is from her web site.)

The MoneyWalker can’t possible capture the rhythm of his routine that involves a near daily 90 minute walk, but here goes. Up at six a.m., a quick weigh-in, a donning of walking attire, a cup of water, containers for ground scores snugly packed, visor and vest in place, then out to the streets. Which of his three curvilinear destinations will be followed is resolved before the exit door is reached. Each walk has its own routine—the beginning and a turn-around point, “money spots” interspersed, and long stretches of curbs in between. And then the return, a different path with different money spots before ending at the home place. Day in and day out variety comes from the slightly different paths that lead to the evasive treasures that may or may not be waiting at the hotspots. Yet, it is the routine that provides comfort, the freedom of consciousness to indulge itself in aimless wandering; or if chosen, active forceful thinking while engaged in the methodical rhythm of the daily walk while zooming for heart rate and scanning for coins.

Is there boredom with the endless repetitive walks? Sometimes, but the solution is so simple. All we must do is to call on the comfort of routine, always ready to be teased out and utilized.

MoneyWalker

The Culture of Walking: A Few Snippets From the Blog of Garth Poorman

2010-05-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry, May 24, 2010: Weight = 171.8 lbs; Coinage = $2.78, 178 pennies, 2 nickels, 4 dimes, 2 quarters; Ground Scores = 5.

Journal Entry, May 27, 2010: Weight – 172.2 lbs; Coinage = $2.05, 65 pennies, 5 nickels, 9 dimes, 1 quarter; Glass bottles = 5; Ground Scores = 4.

Journal Entry, May 28, 2010: Weight = 171.6 lbs; Coinage = $2.87, 62 pennies, 4 nickels, 7 dimes, 5 quarters; Glass bottles = 7; Best coinage find = 3 quarters in a newspaper vendor, a “super find.”

Feature Entry: The Culture of Walking: A Few Snippets From the Blog of Garth Poorman

Garth Poorman, (pictured above) at age 36 decided to walk 18 miles a day from West Hebron, NY to New Orleans, LA. He left August 29th, 2009 and arrived in New Orleans January 5th, 2010. His blog aptly named “poor man walking” was so named because he spent each night on the road as a guest of either strangers or slightly known friends of his family. What follows are a few of his comments. His blog address is http://www.poormanwalking.com/

** Follow your bliss!

** August 31 My first full day of walking had everything I was hoping for in this journey. It had amazing natural beauty, time for reflection…

** Because of you this trip was a rich tapestry of fun, learning, adventure and, most of all, the shared experience of human kindness.

** He (Forrest Church) challenged me to give myself the Present of Presence.

** Have Fun. Be Honest. Enjoy People.

** 3 pair of Therlos socks

** It is hard to not crack a smile in a sun shower.

** 18 miles a day. leave at 8am and walk for two hours straight. The first hour of that I walk in silence. I love the mornings - the crispness of the air, the sounds of the birds, my little corner of the world awakening - and I always find it invigorating to start the day just appreciating it all.

** At 9am I put on my headphones and fire up a podcast. Usually, its the Sports Guy Bill Simmons.

** After two hours, I always break. I find a bench or a stoop or a spot in the shade and I rest for 20-30 minutes. I take off my shoes and socks and wipe off the perspiration.

** I enjoy the morning. I endure the afternoon.

** It is a little scary to think of how heavily I rely on Google.

** [S]omething I feel is essential about the human spirit. (What he listens to on Ipod, reports about in his blog, or motivates his thinking while on the road)

Hope you enjoyed the excerpts. Happy Memorial Day.

The MoneyWalker

Gardening Versus Walking With An Aside About Dog Walking

2010-05-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Monet's home in Giverny France.

Journal Entry, May 18, 2010: Weight = 173.6 lbs; Coinage = $1.71, 66 pennies (one wheat), 3 nickels, 4 dimes, 2 quarters; Best coinage find = two quarters in a pay phone, a “super find” (.50 or more in one side, does not include car wash finds).

Journal Entry, May 19, 2010: Weight = 171.2 lbs; Coinage = $6.93, 133 pennies, 10 nickels, 26 dimes, 10 quarters (big day at two car washes).

Journal Entry, May 21, 2010: Weight = 172.6 lbs; Coinage = $.80, 55 pennies, 3 nickels, 2 dimes ( what happens when the car wash canisters have been “visited” by the competition).

Journal Entry, May 22, 2010: Weight 173.2 lbs; Coinage = $4.91, 96 pennies, 16 nickels, 24 dimes, 3 quarters (an asphalt nickel, my first).

Feature Entry: Gardening Versus Walking With An Aside About Dog Walking

May 20th (note the gap from journal entries) was gardening day, but not any gardening day, it was outdoor prep day for the huge weekend party for the MoneyWalker’s Bible study groups. We are the hosts. Ms MoneyWalker is agonizingly thorough counterbalanced by the MoneyWalker who is a worriless procrastinator. But two twisted ears notwithstanding, four hours of work later, the yard was stunning.

We attacked the task together and early. Upon entering the front yard, we encountered a dog walker. Her dog had just finished his business on our curb grass garden. Unobserved and without cue from us, the walker reached into her bag and fetched a rubber glove and a plastic bag. In it went. She looked up, we smiled, she smiled, “good mornings” all around, and away she went on a 3 mph pace. Using the caloric expenditure table and estimating her weight at 130 lbs and 40 minute walk duration , she would have burned about 150 calories.

Meanwhile the MoneyWalkers went to work—mowing (no self-propelled mower), edging, hand trimming, weeding, thinning, transplanting, sweeping, pruning, hand watering—and four hours later we called it a day. The only stoppage was two brief G2 Gatorade breaks (G2 is diet). Again using the caloric expenditure table: .032 x 40 minutes x 173 = 225 calories burned. Using the dog walker’s weight of 130, she would have burned 165 calories for forty minutes of gardening. Incidentally, the Consumer’s Report Health Newsletter reported that dog walking is ranked as the number one source of motivation for taking the daily walk.

Measuring caloric expenditure using the table developed by nutrition and exercise physiology scientists is relatively simple. The table lists most daily household tasks in one section and most recreational/sport/fitness exercises in a second. The first factor (see .032 above) is a measure of caloric effort per one minute of exercise. The weighting is based on METS or “metabolic equivalent of tasks.” See Bill Yates, M.D. in his blog, “Brain Posts, Commentary on Research in Clinical Neuroscience” for a good discussion of METs and Wii computer game technology. The formula for measuring caloric expenditure is as follows:

Cal/min/lbs

To calculate caloric expenditure, use the table to locate the physical activity and gain the caloric expenditure per minute of exercise for the specific activity. Multiply the caloric number by the number of minutes of the workout. Then multiply the previous product by your weight in pounds. Using the MoneyWalker’s pace of 4 mph and his weight of 173 and a walk of 90 minutes, calculate as follows:

.042 x 90 = 3.78
3.78 x 173 = 653.94 calories burned

Using the table to calculate the MoneyWalker’s caloric expenditure for their gardening labor, Ms. MoneyWalker first: .032 x 200 minutes x 118, Ms MoneyWalker burned 755 calories (note two 20 minute breaks were deducted from the 4 hours workout calculation.) The MoneyWalker ‘s calculation is .032 x 200 x 173 = 1107.2. It is obvious that the more one weights the more calories are burned.

Now the real challenge begins for the MoneyWalker. In seven hours, the party begins. How will the MoneyWalker deal with the temptations of all that wonderful food that will be served? Will he negate all of the effort and benefits of the gardening expenditure? Stay tuned for the answer.

MoneyWalker

The Obesity Debates, Part II

2010-05-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry May 17, 2010: Weight = 173.6 lbs.; Coinage = $5.58, 178 pennies, 11 nickels, 15 dimes, 7 quarters; Glass Bottles = 6; Ground Scores = 4; best coinage find = plentiful canisters at the car wash.

Journal Entry May 16, 2010: Weight = 171.8 lbs.; Coinage = $1.49, 34 pennies, 4 nickels, 2 dimes, 3 quarters; Glass bottles = 6; Ground Scores = 7 (a nice office chair and a desk lamp all to be recycled); Best coinage find = 2 telephone return coins , a “super find.”

Journal Entry Mary 15, 2010: Weight = 172.0 lbs.; Coinage = $2.03, 38 pennies (one wheat), 2 nickels, 3 dimes, 5 quarters; Glass bottles = 6; Ground scores = 5; Best coinage find = 2 quarters in a parking meter return slot, still another super find, two days in a row—very infrequent.

Feature Entry: The Obesity Debates, Part II

Marc Ambinder, a writer for Atlantic Magazine has defined two causal forces that are considered the leading explanations for the overweight/obesity “epidemic” that is racing through America; a condition that has been defined as contagious by researchers at the U. of Colorado. In the presence of other overeating, we are also inclined to overeat. Thomas Frieden, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reminds us of what we intuitively know, the two big causes of obesity is the one/two punch of reduced exercise and increased food consumption.

But the debate is about who is the blame. Caution, the blame forces are politically loaded with financial, psychological, and sociological implications. When discussing this issue, it easy to slip into politically incorrect observations and suggestions. In a parlor party, one group will blame the overweight for not being able to control their urge to overindulge, another will blame agribusiness for over marketing foods that are intentionally designed and dietetically engineered to hook consumers on foods loaded with salt, sugar, and transfat.

Serpentining through both camps is an argument for and against government control. Those for personal freedom argue that is the right of the individual to choose when and what is to be eaten. This group would also be resistant to placing limitations on agribusiness. Another group advocate taking a “tobacco solution” which means heavy state and federal taxes on foods that are linked to obesity. One suggestion is to place a penny tax on each ounce of sugar sweetened soft-drink sold.

And Hollywood actresses are known to fuel the fire. Oprah Winfrey has been forthcoming about her yo-yo fluctuations and her frankness has tended to “normalize the conversation." Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tyra Banks, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Simpson and Kelly Clarkson are stars with documented weight gains and have responded to news reports at times with indifference and defiance at others. Some obesity experts warn that when stars gain weight it sends the message that gaining weight is acceptable; others contend the opposite, that profiling Hollywood stars that have gained weight adds to the national crisis.

What can really address the problem other than self control? Several have advocating one or more of the follow solutions: 1) strategically labeled caloric information on all food sold by fast-food restaurants; 2) restrains and govt. control of food advertising; 3) more govt. research for new treatments for the ow/obese; 4) rewriting insurance policies that penalize the obese or reward the BMI compliers; 5) city banned trans-fats from restaurants; and 6) socially marketing of the importance of exercise and eating healthier both in schools and in the work force.

Other suggestions include 8) increasing subsidies for fruits and vegetables; 9) using zoning restrictions to keep fast-food restaurants away from schools; 10) “removing unhealthy foods from all schools, child-care and health-care facilities, and government institutions”; and 11)“completely eliminating” children’s exposure to food advertising on television.

These recommendations leaves the MoneyWalker wondering, whose responsibility is it to fix behavioral problems that are individual in nature but have financial implications for all of us? Ambinder asks a worthy question: “Would it be fair if the government induced health sanctions to combat obesity? Or should it be the responsibility of individuals and families?”

An on-line discussion group on Pandalous includes several well stated opinions concerning the debate. The MoneyWalker invites you to enter the debate on this site. Let us hear from you.

MoneyWalker

Obesity Debate

2010-05-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

May 9, 2010: Weight = 173.6 lbs; Coinage and Paper Money = $17.36, $11.26 in coins and $6 in paper money, a five and a one.

May 13, 2010: Weight = 175.0 lbs; Coinage = $3.74.

May 14, 2010: Weight = 173.2; Coinage = $2.03

Feature Entry: Obesity Debate

Marc Ambinder in the Atlantic Magazine has written a fact filled and sobering article about obesity and its cost to the American taxpayer. Obese Americans spend about 42 percent more on health care than so-called healthy weight people. Issues of personal freedom and the fact that obesity and improper diet are highly correlated with chronic diseases are the two factors that are driving the debate concerning obesity and health care cost. Ambinder indicates that chronic diseases account for three out of every four dollars spent on health care We all want our individual freedom, but is it fair that those of us that maintain our weight must help pay for high medical insurance to cover those that don’t?

On one side of the debate is a group that thinks that the obese lack the willpower to avoid overeating and gorging on fattening food. The other group blames the food industrial complex for creating and aggressively marketing so-called “hyperpalatable” foods, ones inexpensively processed that are sugary, or salty, and energy-dense. Some scientists believe that such foods change our brain chemistry with the results that make us overeat.

Should the government get more directly involved? In one sense, this writer is all for personal freedom and believes that overweight people with their self-indulgence and limited willpower are spoiling it for all of us. But another part of me sympathizes with those that believe that Americans are losing the calorie war because of environmental factors such as fast food, sedantary competition with physical activity, and unscrupulous advertising.

We can't all have six-pac abs, but in our next blog we will focus on what causes obesity and what we can do to address the issue. In the mean time hit the streets with a money walking program. With that and a few weights you will look like Joe Six Pac in no time.

MoneyWalker

Auditing for Blogger’s Fatigue

2010-05-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry, May 8, 2010: Weight = 172.4 lbs; Coinage =$6.39 (perhaps the biggest non-paper currency walk in the MoneyWalker’s two year legacy of money walking), 222 pennies (one wheat), 10 nickels, 23 dimes, 3 quarters; Glass bottles retrieved and placed in containers = 4; Ground scores = 10 including a very interesting hard back book written for children between 9 and 12, perfect for two of the MoneyWalker’s grandchildren; Best coinage find = more than 100 pennies at the back door of a detailing car wash. Because he knows of my charity, after removing paper and other debris from his vacuum, he dumps the loose change that settles at the bottom outside his back door.

Feature Entry: Auditing for Blogger’s Fatigue

Google’s researchers report that of all the blogs being written today, May 8, 2010, in three months 95% of the blogs will have become inactive and probably “dead.” For those of us that blog beyond the three month barrier, it is inevitable that we will doubt ourselves and our drive to sustain our blog. Thoughts that lead to doubt and impulses to quit are manifestations of Blogger’s Fatigue.

It is easy to speculate the causes for blogger’s fatigue. The research for this blog indicated that lack of traffic is the number one reason people discontinue their blog. Most can’t deal with the great ugly truth of the blog-a-sphere, for the mass majority of bloggers, conversation is nearly always one-way. How lonely! To avoid blog fatigue, the blogger must have a strong sense of “personal worth.” Of course, lack of time, loss of interest, and personal interruptions such as an illness are other reasons for withdrawing. And for those that blog for revenue, they are often disappointed in their return.

For any of us to sustain a blog we must perceive that our blog is successful. Because what is considered successful is relative. Operationally, a successful blog is one that provides sustained personal meaning to the person that is doing the blogging. For those that might be experiencing blogger fatigue and that are considering the discontinuation of their blog, it might be helpful to reflect on your blog. Such reflection might prove to be a Rx for your blog behavior and provide a helpful antidote for blogger’s fatigue.

In the same way that a medical Rx is based upon one or more examinations, we blogger’s must periodically examine our blog’s effectiveness. Blogging is not a simple process. Bloggers need information from feedback provided by followers to feed our will to continue. Without feedback, blogger fatigue will occur. If one’s blog is not being read, we must examine frequency. Infrequent blogging will turn away even the most interested readers. At least one expert believes that bloggers should have some presence two or three times weekly.

As we continue our audit we must consider style. Does our blog reflect our own personal touch, or does it look and read like many other blogs? Our readers want us to think and write in a way that reflects our courage to act with creativity. Notice that the expression “to think outside the box” was not used for the thought above. Since readers become tired of reading clichéd and overworked colloquialisms, our audit must examine writing style.

Also, a blog audit should inspect the blog’s niche. Is it too narrow? Too far-reaching? Who is our intended audience? If we are not getting the desired traffic, perhaps we need to refocus. However, we cannot know our traffic pattern by only using the comment section of our blog. Many people regularly read the MoneyWalker but never comment on line. Others follow the blog but are not listed as “followers.” Still if we are getting little or no extrinsic feedback, we must examine our niche and intended audience as a possible cause.

The motivation to sustain a blog is not the same as the motivation to begin a blog. At the beginning we want to communicate our message to the entire world. Later motivation is an internal one that is more interested in questions as “Have I done my best work?” “Is the information in this blog helping to make the world a better place?” As we audit our blog, the motivation that drives our efforts must be reexamined for relevancy anchored to the blog’s current reality.

Further, is our blog becoming stale? If so we need to seek new ideas. Our readers like novelty, but they also like familiar things presented in novel ways. When repeating simple truths central to the blog’s purpose, we should present our repeated messages in different ways.

In our audit, are we giving each topic or project the attention it deserves? Do we inform our blog with relevant and accurate research? Google and Wikipedia are easy to use, and their sources are usually accurate. If we are not gaining satisfaction from our entries, it is certain that our readers will not find them time worthy either.

Blogging fatigue will occur if we can’t find blog time. Blogging is a hobby and like all hobbies requires a time investment. As we audit, do we appreciate our hobby enough so as to make adequate time? Some report that to find time and to add freshness of thinking, they take on a partner or multiple partners.

Are we conducting adequate amounts of blog-a-sphere networking and socializing? We can’t gain followers if we are not willing to follow. We can’t expect comments to our blog ideas if we aren’t willing to comment about other’s ideas. Finally, how is the tone of our blog? Except for friends and relatives, our readers are neutral judges. They will favor us when we are brave, humble, courageous, committed and loving.

Blogging fatigue will happen to most of us. Conducting a self conducted audit might be the Rx needed to get us back on a track with even more success. I welcome your comments.

MoneyWalker

Fidelity and Walking for Fitness

2010-05-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry May 5, 2010: Weight = 171.2 lbs; Coinage = $5.20 135 pennies, 9 nickels, 14 dimes; 8 quarters; Glass bottles = 14; Ground scores = 2; Best coinage find = a super find, 4 quarters and a nickel; a super find is defined as any one find of 50 cents or more in any place but a car wash canister.

Journal Entry May 3, 2010: Weight = 173.4 lbs; Coinage = $2.23, 78 pennies, 2 nickels, 6 dimes, 3 quarters; Glass bottles = 2; Ground scores = 5 including a very good area 5x7 rug that will be cleaned and recycled in a forthcoming charity yard sale for the Friendship House, a ministry for battered women and their children. Best coinage find = 3 quarters in a newspaper vender, a super find. Note, finding fifty cents or more in one location is very rare, and this find was the second in one week.

Feature Entry: Fidelity and Walking for Fitness

Fitness blogger Hal Higdon drawing from the work of Mark Fenton, editor-at-large for Walking magazine. Higdon has drawn an interesting continuum to explain the reasons why people walk for exercise. On one end is the person that takes leisure walks to enjoy the outdoors and hope that the exercise will improve his/her health. On the other end is the race walker who is a “hip-swinging, elbow-pumping, glory-seeking individual” who trains to win a medal at a local walking race. In the middle is a class of walkers who seek health benefits that comes from an optimum level of physical fitness and weight control. This individual dresses like an athlete, not someone out for a stroll. It is the latter individual that defines the MoneyWalker’s purpose and motivation for walking. To remain true to this purpose, the concept of fidelity is a necessary component.

Fidelity is one of those rare English words capable of heavy lifting, of expressing clearly the obligation of a noble concept. In a sense, when one accepts the responsibility of being a fitness walker, there is an implied fidelity between the walker and the concept. Put in the time and weight control and a healthy fitness level will be forthcoming; slack off and expect weight gain, hypertension, and a host of other negative consequences. A successful fitness walker is one that retains a commitment to basic principles. A major threat to fitness walking fidelity is boredom. To be effective the pattern of frequency, duration, and intensity must be replicated over and over. There seems to be a limit to how walks can be varied to avoid the long term reality of boredom. Our word “hi-fi” comes from fidelity. When a copy of original music is recorded and the replay is of a high quality, it is hi-fi. Similar with the computer age term “wi-fi,” or wireless fidelity.

To better understand the importance of fidelity and fitness walking we may wish to draw upon the writing of Aristotle and his notion of friendship. Aristotle believed that friendship has three components: “Friends must enjoy each other's company, they must be useful to one another, and they must share a common commitment to the good.” Similarly, Cicero believed that friendship is based upon virtue which both creates and preserves friendship. “It depends upon harmony of interest, permanence, and fidelity.”

The ultimate manifestation of fidelity is the friendship of marriage. The pictured Irish Claddah ring is a traditional symbol of fidelity and love. The hands are for friendship, the heart is for love, and the crown is for loyalty.
The fidelity lesson for fitness walkers is to treat the habit in the same way you treat a friend. Feeling bored, take a walk. Busy, take a walk. Have sore muscles, take a walk. Raining outside, take a walk. Burned out, take a walk. Tempted to take a week off, take a walk. Fitness walkers that achieve life-long benefits from walking, treat walking in the same way they as they treat a lifetime friend or better a lifetime mate—with unending fidelity.

MoneyWalker

Cruise Walking

2010-05-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry: Weight = 175.2 lbs (2.2 lb slippage since last post, thank Carnival Cruise Lines); Coinage = $5.11, 171 pennies, 16 nickels, 16 dimes, 4 quarters; Glass bottles = 6; Ground scores = 6; Best coinage find = a quarter and dime behind a USA Newspaper stand lost behind a clump of grass; Best ground scores = a discarded designer bed ready to be slightly repaired and recycled.

Journal Entry: Cruise Walking

The MoneyWalkers just completed a five night cruise to the Western Caribbean. The highlight was walking the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Peninsula, one of the “new” seven wonders of the world. Of the hundreds of Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza is probably the best in terms of excavation and accessibility. While the officials no longer allow walking up the temple, there still remains ample opportunity for fitness walking along the lengthy walks in the park.

We do not recommend money walking during vacation exercise. Still the habit is strong, but Ms. MoneyWalker found our only coin, a penny on the first day. We do recommend maintaining an active exercise regiment and serious consideration for the importance of food discipline. The Carnival line, like most cruise companies prides itself in the quantity and quality of their food and beverage service. In addition to three formal meals a day, there are non-stop eating opportunities essentially 24-7. On the first day, we took the overview tour of the Triumph, the name of our ocean liner. The host, a funny Brit named “Chicken” indicated that on average, cruise guest averaged 1.5 to 2 lbs weight gain a day. His first stops were all food stations. To his credit, the second stops were the health spas and fitness gym. He also pointed to the jogging/walking track high above the bridge.

Sadly, a majority of the guests were either overweight or absolutely obese. The MoneyWalkers budgeted ample time for daily exercise. My regiment included a one hour daily walk on the fitness track. One mile equaled 11 laps and I logged 44 laps each day. It wasn’t enough; the MoneyWalkers both gained a modest amount of weight during the trip. In addition to the formal exercise and the ample amount of walking required by our shore excursions, we actively practiced portion control and judicious portion selection, often selecting the “spa” menu.

There are many joys inherent in taking a cruise vacation, but the trials and tribulations of a cruise are difficult for people wanting to hold the line on weight control. The buyer must beware.

The MoneyWalker

Green Steps

2010-04-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry: 4/18/10: Coinage = $.89, 30 pennies, 5 nickels, 4 dimes.

Journal Entry: 4/19/10: Coinage = $2.12, 72 pennies, 13 nickels, 5 dimes, 1 quarter.

Journal Entry: 4/21/10: Coinage = $1.11, 26 pennies, 1 nickel, 3 dimes, 2 quarters.

Journal Entry: 4/22/10: Weight = 172.2 lbs.; Coinage = 18 pennies (1 wheat), 4 dimes, 2 quarters; Glass bottles = 9; Ground scores = 8; Best find = 2 curb quarters

Feature Entry: Green Steps

Today is Earth Day. We money walkers can do our part by taking green steps. Green steps (The MoneyWalker must copyright this phrase) is a walking approach that allows us to leave the car in the garage and walk to the grocery store, or bank, or drug store, or anywhere within one mile of our residence. For most of us this is a 15 minute walk. If you must drive, park and walk the last 15 minutes to the establishment. Stay focused along the curbs and byways for those “ventral striatum” ticklers, the coins and trophies to be found along the way.

For example, my barber’s shop is in downtown New Orleans, about five miles from my house. Rather than using parking meters, I drive to within one mile of his shop and park in a free parking area. I then gain green steps as I walk to and from his shop. It is easy enough to drive within a block or two of his shop and use a parking meter which cost 3 quarters. While walking I check the curbs, and the newspaper and parking vending machines . Yesterday’s walk netted a dime and a quarter and a discarded baby stroller with a slightly damaged wheel. It was easily repaired and will be recycled.

By walking to conveniently located shops rather than driving, over a year’s time gallons and gallons of gasoline are saved thus reducing the MoneyWalker’s carbon print. Green step walking is not the same as fitness walking, but it burns calories and supplements the MoneyWalker’s weight maintenance strategy. It has become common for fitness experts to recommend 10,000 steps a day. But exercise physiologists, while endorsing the concept, have shown that weight loss requires even more steps, probably 12,000 for most of us.

As for Earth Day and going green, the MoneyWalker is not totally convinced of global warming as a threat to our environment, but going green is good stewardship either way. Experts are divided. But not Missouri congressman Emanuel Cleaver. He said on Wednesday that “it is ‘sinful’ for Americans to use the amount of fossil fuels they do…the Bible commands people to be good stewards of the Earth.” “The Sun and the Earth is the Lord’s,” he said. Yet Roy Spencer, PhD in his book The Great Global warming Blunder: how Mother Nature Fooled the World’s Top Climate Scientists (Encounter Books, 2010) is not sure of the scriptural or scientific data.

Either way, the MoneyWalker urges all of us to go green by taking green steps whenever we can. The benefits will speak for themselves.

MoneyWalker

Types of Walkers

2010-04-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry 4/16/10: Weight = 171.0 lbs; Coinage = $1.12, 27 pennies, 1 nickel, 3 dimes, 2 quarters; Glass bottles = 5; Ground Scores = 5; Best coinage find = .36 in a parking meter coin return slot.

Journal Entry 4/17/10: Weight = 172.2 lbs; Coinage = $3.91, 121 pennies, 7 nickels, 11 dimes, 3 quarters, 1 half-dollar; Glass bottles = 11; Ground scores = 6; Best Coinage finds = one half-dollar in a car-wash vacuum (what suction) the one-half dollar was only the second of this denomination in more than two years of money walking; a 61 penny-dump at a curb (seeing that many pennies just dumped along the curb shocked the ventral striatum of the MoneyWalker.)

Feature Entry: Types of Walkers

In our last blog we asked the question, “Do you have the DNA to be a MoneyWalker?” This idea came from Tamara Lowe and her trademarked “Motivation DNA.” Lowe’s reference to DNA was metaphorical; she meant Drive, Needs, and Awards. She divided the three factors into bipolar units. The continuum for drive is “Producer” on one end and “Connector” on the other. For needs, the continuum is “Stability” and “Variety.” Awards are differentiated by “Internal” and “External.” The MoneyWalker took her test and was rated a PVE, a producer that is motivated by variety and looks to external rewards for motivation. As for the motivation to be a walker, the expectation of finding lost money while powerful is not for everyone. In fact, very few even consider this “bizarre” source of motivation.

So what kinds or types of people are walkers? Geoff Nicholson in his highly readable book, The Lost Art of Walking (2008, Riverhead Books, NY) provides some clues:

1. The meanderer likes to walk round and about, somewhat aimlessly and avoids direct straight lines.
2. The Roman walker, walkers that walk straight and direct paths to their destination.
3. The set walker, a person that walks the same set pattern every day.
4. The array walker, the walker that has a long list of set walks and varies them according to his/her mood.
5. Pilgrimage walker I, the person that walks the paths of famous persons.
6. Pilgrimage walker II, the person that revisits his old neighborhoods and walks them as if on a pilgrimage.
7. The connoisseur walker, the person that seeks and finds interesting and stimulating walks that most people would not think of.
8. “Shot in the dark” walker, similar to the connoisseur walker, this walker goes to anywhere and everywhere, but not always successful with his/her instincts. Some of the walks are best forgotten.
9. The “marrow bone” walker also known as the masochistic walker takes walks that are so long and onerous as to eat into the marrow of the bone.
10. Nature walker enjoys leisurely strolls through picturesque venues.
11. Dog walker would not walk at all if it weren’t for the dog.
12. Group walker enjoys walking with groups of people.
13. Competitive walker competes in walking races
14. Philanthropic walker gains pledges for charities where donations are referenced to the number of miles walked.
15. Fitness walker is a person that walks for fitness and weight loss or weight maintenance.
16. Gym walker is found on the circular track of the gym but nowhere else.
17. The “peace of mind” walker seeks the exercise to sort out his/her world, for self knowledge.
18. The eccentric walker, often walking in strange clothing, seems to enjoy showing off his/her eccentricity.
19. The photographer walker seeks great photo shots.
20. City walker is a utilitarian; he/she walks to work, to shop, to the post office and other places to satisfy the utilitarian need to be at different places rather than one’s home.

These styles or types are not mutually exclusive. As a money walker, I relate to several of Nicholson’s topology. Also, there are dozens of other types that others might identify. Any takers?

What kind of walker are you?

Happy birthday Ms. MoneyWalker, a great source for exercise and nutrition modelling for the MoneyWalker. Looking good!

MoneyWalker

Do You Have the DNA To Be A Money Walker?

2010-04-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Journal entry 4/14/10: Weight = 172.2 lbs; Coinage = $3.47, 97 pennies, 8 nickels, 11 dimes, 4 quarters; Glass bottles retrieved = 6; Ground Scores = 7.

Journal entry 4/15/10: Weight = 171.2 lbs. (Weight loss tip, two evening meals in a row, eat homemade soup rather than regular dinners, delicious and low calorie); Coinage = $1.37, 37 pennies, 7 nickels, 4 dimes, one quarter; Best coinage find = a quarter left in a coin return machine.

Feature Entry: Do You Have the DNA To Be A Money Walker?

Ms. MoneyWalker and I attended a Peter and Tamara Lowe “Get Motivated” Business Seminar. Colin Powell, Laura Bush, Rudy Giuliani, the ubiquitous Zig Ziglar, the Saints Sean Peyton and Drew Brees, along with several financial gurus provided a full day of entertaining and interesting information about how to achieve important life time goals including financial. Perhaps the best speaker was the Co-sponsor Tamara Lowe and her trademarked Motivation DNA topic.

She provided the inspiration for this blog about how to determine if you have the DNA to be a MoneyWalker. According to Wikipedia, DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. I still remember reading about the exciting 1953 discovery by James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick (with others.) Our DNA is highly related to the type of personality that we possess.

We have established that walking is listed as the number one pastime of adults in the U.S. and in most developed countries. But there are all kinds of walkers, but only a few have the DNA to be a MoneyWalker. Take the MoneyWalker DNA Test to see if you have the genes to be a money walker.

MY FRIENDS WOULD MORE LIKELY TO DEFINE ME AS …

1. Yes or No: … “achievement oriented” rather than as a person that is “supportive oriented.”
2. Yes or No: … “externally oriented” rather than as an “intrinsic oriented” person.
3. Yes or No: … “too sure of myself” rather than a person that is “sure of myself.”
4. Yes or No: … “fast paced and intense” rather than as a person that is “unhurried/stable/peaceful.”
5. Yes or No: … a person that “prefers public recognition” rather than one that prefers “private recognition.”
6. Yes or No: … “improvises as problems come up” rather than a person that “prepares for unforeseen problems.”
7. Yes or No: … a person “that takes the lead” rather than preferring someone else “to take the lead.”
8. Yes or No: … “prefers work that leads to financial success” rather than “prefers work that leads to making a positive difference.”
9. Yes or No: … “hard driving” rather than “laid back.”
10. Yes or No: … “impulsive” rather than “disciplined.”

Interpreting the Results

If you answered yes to eight or more questions, you have the DNA to be a successful money walker.

If you answered yes to six or seven questions, it is possible that you have the DNA to begin a money walking habit, but in time you will find it difficulty to continue the practice in favor of other types of walking.

If you answered yes to four or five questions, you will be intrigued by the possibility, but probably do not have the DNA to pursue the idea.

If you answered yes to three or fewer, it is highly unlikely that you have the DNA to be a money walker.

As indicated, many of these ideas came from Tamara Lowe’s Motivation DNA test which is copyrighted. Also, this is a highly unscientific assessment instrument with only experiential validity inferred.

MoneyWalker

Having a Bullish Day on the Streets

2010-04-13T13:36:00.001-07:00

Journal Entry 4/13/10: Weight = 173.4 lbs: Coinage = $7.11 (One of the biggest money days ever for the MoneyWalker and one worthy of full explanation.)

 Mid morning 90 minute fitness walk = $.99, several dimes and one quarter from the curbs.
 Canisters from the Mid-City Car wash checked at end of fitness walk= $3.32
o Two one dollar bills from one canister ( Note: what is wrong with a person that vacuum’s his or her car and just allows two one dollar bills to be sucked into the great unknown, same with quarters, or any coin for that matter?)
o Two quarters and several dimes, nickels, and pennies were found in the seven total canisters including the one with the two one dollar bills.
 Walk to the grocery store = $2.65, all found in a money sorter coin return, 100 pennies (2 wheat), 16 dimes, 1 nickel. Quick, someone call 911, this has to be the same goof from the car wash.
 Walk to the drug store = $.02 penny scatter
 Drive to Sam’s Club = $.10 dime in the parking lot

Journal Entry 4/11/10: Weight = 174.2 lbs; Coinage = $3.26, 136 pennies, 7 nickels, 13 dimes, 1 quarter.

Journal Entry 4/8/10: Weight = 171.0; Coinage = $.85, 45 pennies, 1 nickel, 2 dimes, 1 quarter.

MoneyWalker