Best Lesson Learned from my Sister

My sister lives in Tucson with her family and they hike the Grand Canyon “for fun.”

Enthusiasts call hiking the Grand Canyon, “a bucket list adventure.” But who bucket lists in triple degree heat?

But when my sister, Shelley, began detailing how she and her husband, Brian, prep for a rim-to-rim Grand Canyon hike, my ears perked and here’s why.

Shelley and Brians’ strategy speaks volumes about how you and I can create a can’t-fail plan when losing weight and maintaining after 50.

Hear me out and this’ll make sense.

First, What is Rim-to-Rim?

Hiking the GC rim2rim means die-hards descend from one side of the GC, hike 10-miles in the basin, cross the raging Colorado River on a suspension bridge, and then trek up the other GC side.

Six months prior Shelley and Brian take prepping for the Ultimate Day super seriously. They live six hours from the GC, so they plan the hotel, break-in new shoes, practice hike a lot, and even practice what type of food they’ll eat when hot and tired.

Sister and hub practice hiking in the (blistering) Tucson heat because the bottom of the GC is like 105 to 107. (Thunk. That’s me falling over.)

So Why Do You And I Care About GC Strategy?

We’re not planning to hike the GC in six months or — like — ever. I get it. 

But how different would losing and maintaining after 50 be if we strategized to such an extent that success is practically assured?

Stealing Strategy From the Rim2Rimers.

Think about it, how can you and I possibly do something incredibly rigorous — losing and maintaining after 50 — if we don’t first acknowledge what we’re up against?

How different would losing and maintaining after 50 be if we strategized to such an extent that success is practically assured?

How to Prep for Ultra-Success:

In setting yourself up for your success, here are some examples of what I have in mind:

• In the beginning cleaning up your external world is key. Can you firmly ask your scarfer-partner to hide and/or keep his junk food at work? (One day — only not now — he can crunch Oreos on the couch and it won’t really bother you.) A cousin to this request: also ask that your partner not give you fancy treats on big holidays so no cake on Mother’s Day, no amazing chocolates at Christmas etc.
• Can you drive a different route to work so you don’t pass your favorite junk food stop?
• Can you study the nutrition count on every food item you put into your mouth pretty much forever? (Scott Adams – the Dilbert cartoonist – says he’s in the best shape of his life at age 64 because he educates himself on nutrition. I agree with him 100-percent. Pizza doesn’t look so awesome when you learn that a slice of Mellow Mushroom’s meat pizza is 530 calories, 27 g fat, 1,370 mg sodium, and 48 g carbs. And who stops at one slice?)
• Can you ask that amazing computer sitting behind your eyes for advice on making an enormous salad taste awesome vs. boring? For solid health eat a giant dinner plate-sized salad every single day. I’m not overstating. I eat a giant salad or veggie stir fry every day of the week.
• Can you write down everything you put into your mouth. . . forever? I’ve been doing this since 1997. It’s not hard or time consuming. It’s one of the pillars of losing and maintaining.

I’ve just suggested a few ways to set yourself up for lifelong success. Now it’s your turn: journal-write about your ideas that will work for your life.

The unvarnished truth.

Losing & maintaining after 50 is like hiking the Grand Canyon. Strategize like your life depends on it.

Because it does.

I’m always looking for new ideas — I’d love to hear the strategies you rely on!

And remember it’s not just your imagination. Health is hard!

♥, Wendy