The average Thanksgiving gorging alone won’t set you back any more than a romp through a bucket of cinnamon rolls on Christmas Day. — “The real problems arise in the days, hours, and minutes leading up to the task, and the minutes, hours, and days, after. It all comes down to preparation. Attention to detail. Redundancies. Redundancies. And redundancies.” That is one of the many beautiful quotes from David Fincher’s most recent film…

Lots of people traveling this holiday season means lots of sitting. And sitting means stiff. — Anne Lamott is famous for saying, “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friend.” Well, Anne Lamott is famous for saying many things, but that’s a good one that applies…

After four quick and one-sided arguments, I’m almost always good to go, and whatever meaningless desire passes. — Once doesn’t work. Not for me, anyway. And not for even one of my seven dogs. Twice? Not really, no. And not usually three times, either. For me, it’s four. Four is the sweet spot. That’s how many times I have to tell myself “no” before I actually listen. …

A willingness to challenge your body when no one tells you that you have to changes you beyond the physical. — Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung said, “life really does begin at forty. Up until then, you are just doing research.” The same goes for fitness. Sure, you can do some pretty spectacularly fit things well before your forties. And yes, most professional athletes start heading to the commentator’s table long…

It’s stacking one quality habit atop another, never giving up the search, and never thinking you’ve got it dialed in. — Darkness never frightened me. Neither did whatever lives under the bed, the creepy neighbor next door, or scary movies at midnight. Growing up; now that terrified me. Or at least I thought it did. Now I know it wasn’t growing up I feared; it was getting old. And not…

Plan to enjoy. Then, and most importantly, plan when your off-season ends. — Blaming myself was the easy part. It felt good, like taking off wet socks after trudging through the rain. I became addicted. Addicted to misery, that is. To blame. To making myself feel bad enough to stop caring because what’s the point of trying if you can’t be perfect? …

The solution, of course, isn’t treating those knees like fragile Christmas Tree ornaments just itching to burst. — I started eating the same thing every day when I was 19. That was 23 years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Back then, it was a simple rotation of white fish and broccoli, and eggs with ground beef. Nothing fancy. Every few years, I get the…

If I’m trying to lose fat and am already in a calorie deficit, fasted workouts are often subpar. — I’ve been experimenting with food for more than two decades. Sounds weird. It’s like saying I’m addicted to food — everyone has to eat, so everyone is addicted. Similarly, everyone eats, so everyone experiments. More concisely, I’ve been recording my meals since I was 18 years old, and I’m…

Fitness must improve life. Otherwise, it isn’t fitness. It’s a distraction. — It has to matter. Fitness can’t just be about counteracting day-to-day life; each workout little more than a box to check. Fitness must improve life. Otherwise, it isn’t fitness. It’s a distraction. That’s why we’re always talking about “gains.” Maybe that’s bigger biceps and slimmer waists; cool. But fitness…