Ed. note: Here’s a little exercise story about a young man named Metroknow. Why his parents chose that name is beyond anyone’s recollection, but that’s not really integral to the story.

When I watch my soon-to-be four year old, like millions of parents before me I marvel at his sheer level of energy. He plays hard, laughs hard, cries hard, and sleeps hard. In my case I seem to have replaced all of those items with “work” hard. But, I’m getting back to playing a little too.

I grew up playing just about every sport I could get into, though rarely in an organized league. While I went through long periods of constant football, soccer, basketball, and some baseball, I really excelled at competitive volleyball into adulthood. As an adult, my somewhat regular exercise was either biking, running, or pickup games of basketball on weekends.

I was also an avid skateboarder from my early teens to my late twenties, and I have the knees to prove it. Throw in some skiing and snowboarding, and you have several years worth of the orthopaedic surgeon’s yacht payment.

At some point I got out of the habit of finding fun ways to exercise, and life times laziness plus a love of food equals about 5-10 lbs a year gained, multiplied by 7 years. Not pretty.

Why I hated running…for a while

In my thirties, realizing what was happening, I started getting back into running, or so I thought. When I was younger, distance running was much easier (to which I hear a collective, “DUH” arising…). But in my thirties, things like my knees started to make odd creaking and popping noises, my lungs seemed to have atrophied, and my ankles were prone to give out from time to time. What was happening to me? Was I being poisoned?

When it came to running, things were particularly frustrating. I was constantly trying to improve my time on my little course around the neighborhood, hoping for weight loss results. While I found it was beneficial mentally to get out, I saw absolutely ZERO results in weight loss. Why?

Looking back, there were obviously two parts of the problem:
1. I hadn’t changed my eating habits
2. I wasn’t doing it enough

I know it sounds simple, but the truth is when it came to exercise I was doing just enough….to hate it. I was running for only about 30 minutes or so, including warm-up and cool-down time. I was getting my heart rate up for what I considered long periods within that 30 minutes - but realistically? That was probably a sustained heart rate of 85% for about 7 minutes or so.

That is not going to yield a climber’s physique any time soon.

When I returned from my “run” (which I say with that ultra-annoying two-fingered “quotes” gesture), I was completely out of breath, convinced that I was exhausted, and ready to sit down and eat something good because I had earned it.

Let me just pause and say this: If you are not seeing a stadium full of little red flags waiving like a television pan shot at the coming Olympic games, then I think you may have a lot in common with me way back when.

So what changed? In short, I decided to participate in a charity training event to run a 1/2 marathon. To be frank, while I really was supportive of the cause (and I did raise my $2000 pledge), what I really wanted was some guidance on what I was doing wrong. And it worked. I was introduced to the walk/run technique, which ultimately allowed me to run 13.1 miles without dying. Though I felt like it was a close call by the end.

Do you have something you’d like to share with the class?

Basically I learned that a) If you don’t exercise enough, you won’t see results for many months, if at all and you will HATE it, and b) Injury is the enemy, so take it slow. That is what I did; even at 75 lbs overweight, I was able to complete the 1/2 marathon. Of course, my knees resented me and reminded me of my lack of consideration to them for many months after, but they seem to be a little more agreeable now.

All of that taught me half of the equation: If I want to see real fitness results, I need to exercise for longer than one half hour three times a week. While there may be some intensive programs out there that advocate abs and hind-quarters like titanium in 5 minutes or less, that is really not what I’m interested in. Wait. That came out wrong. What I mean is, my fitness goals are simply to improve my health, not to be the butt stand-in for Brad Pitt.

In the mean time, I am gaining mastery of the second half of the equation: My diet. Eating real food in moderation really does work. 26 lbs lost so far this year. The problem is, while I do feel better, and the weight is slowly coming off, I do not feel strong. I am not sleeping as well as I would like (a lifelong problem), and things jiggle when I walk that I would like to make stop.

That, and each day that goes by, my son is getting faster. I can’t let him beat me just yet - I have to have a LITTLE dignity, don’t I?

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I’ve had a bit of an accident.

Somehow, I have stumbled into an exercise routine. It’s like a tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and fell into a state-of-the-art elliptical training machine. I would like to say that I’m exercising because my tremendous force of will has caused me to make changes for the better, but the truth is that it has kind of just happened.

There could be worse things.

I’ve also started annoying the muscles in my arms, catching them completely by surprise (you’ll find out how at the end of this post - but in case you didn’t notice, the picture might be a gigantic clue).

As regular readers of Almost Fit know, I spend an awful lot of time talking about how I want to exercise regularly. I have posted numerous questions on sites all over the place asking for methods of finding inspiration to get out the door, and for quite some time I would feel enthused for the evening, but for some reason I wasn’t making it out the door the next morning.

Eating my own Dog Food

In software (and many other industries, actually) we have this concept of “eating your own dog food”, or various politically incorrect flavors (pun intended) of that idea. Essentially it means that you use the things you create. Pretty soon you hate the broken bits so much that you feel absolutely compelled to fix the dang thing (unless you work for the Microsoft Office team - in that case you just assume it is a character flaw of everyone who doesn’t like the way it works, and return to your insular pedantic bubble).

In my recent article on 20 ways to kill the fast food habit (which had 375,000 page views on Fox News BTW!), the first tip was very simple: Start small. So small, in fact, that it is impossible to fail. Well apparently I need to start reading what I’m writing (or eating that dog food), because that little technique had eluded me for the one thing I know I need to do more than anything else right now - Exercise.

That appears to have changed.

My exercise routine, or, “Slowly he turned…step by step…”

While I wasn’t paying attention, it seems that I have started walking regularly - not for the fitness mind you, but with the goal of mental clarity. I am in a big transition right now with moving away from my day job to pursue online projects like Almost Fit, and I know that exercise has to be part of that picture. In the past, exercise has always opened my view of things in unexpected ways, and I need that right now.

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been walking every other morning, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. My longest walk was 5 miles on a busy two-lane country road near our house that made me sense that for the love of my wife, kids, and all things sacred I ought to find a different route.

[RANT WARNING: At the risk of offending a few readers…A little sidenote to Oregon drivers? Despite your much publicized pride in your driving ability, everywhere else in the country, it is common courtesy to move over just a tad when you see a 250 lb. father of two walking on the shoulder of the road (with the exception of Texas, where I don’t think it is required to move over for anything, unless you’re actually trying to hit it (D’oh - there goes my Texas readership…)). In my entire walk, not a single Oregon driver even so much as moved a foot over to give me a little breathing room. Think of it this way: you do NOT want to run into a 250 lb. sack of anything, much less a disgruntled unemployed writer (oxymoron?). All you gain is a HUGE horseshoe-shaped dent in your front end, and an earful of whining from an annoyingly witty chatterbox. </RANT>]

Now I know that this is still in the “not quite enough” realm, but it is a start. I think the key is I’m viewing it as just the beginning of reaching for bigger goals. Rather than being in a big hurry to run a marathon, I’m starting small, and hoping to build on those successes.

I must be doing something right

In the midst of writing this post, along came this article in my inbox this morning:

How To Go From Sedentary to Running in 5 easy steps

This is yet another exceptional piece from Leo at ZenHabits.net, who is off this week enjoying a second honeymoon with his wife. The great thing? I am exactly in the middle of step 1, and I didn’t even know it until I read this post. This gives me a roadmap to follow, and that is what I intend to do.

The other thing that has happened with exercise is J.D. at Get Fit Slowly has started a revolution of sorts - the 100 Push-up Challenge, which has folks coming out of the woodwork to give it a shot. I’ve started this week as well, so we’ll see how things turn out. If you want to know more about the challenge, definitely check out the 100 push-ups site.

My arms are already irritated with me, but I’m ignoring them. It’s tough love.

–

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This post is Thursday’s Real Food Resource, which is a weekly spotlight on books, sites, and relevant media that helps you to identify what real food is. If you enjoy this article, please consider receiving Almost Fit in your inbox. Thanks.

“Vegetarian? Carnivorous? Onmivorous? Low-Fat? High-Fat? Are you confused about how to eat for optimal health?”

So reads the back panel on this week’s Real Food resource: The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet and Cookbook, by Rachel Albert-Matesz and Don Matesz. Through a mutual friend, (Thanks K.!), I was recently put in touch with Chef Rachel by email to find out more about how she is addressing these questions on health. She was gracious enough to send her book to see what we think.

Put simply, this book should be required reading.

The Garden of Eating is an extensive volume of well-documented research (rooted in the essential work of Weston A. Price), reasonable and compelling conclusions, ultra-practical suggestions, and phenomenal recipes, all presented in a writing style that is both inviting and accessible.

Many of the book’s ideas feel like the next logical steps for some of the fundamentally important resources that I already have. In other words, where books like Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon are quintessential in understanding the human diet and our impact on the world around us, The Garden of Eating demonstrates a mastery of these concepts while taking each one to a completely new and practical level. The Garden of Eating is filled with direct answers to the questions that most of us have when we start to really think about our diet, lists in the margin that simplify shopping intelligently, and simple but powerful suggestions on how to eat well without going bankrupt.

How to shop for just about everything

One of my favorite features of this book is the method the authors use to break down food choices. Where some of my other top-shelf reads include useful conceptual information, The Garden of Eating connects the dots on how to immediately put that information into action. Read the rest of this entry »

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This is part three of the series, “How I quit eating fast food”. If you enjoy this post, please consider receiving AlmostFit articles in your inbox. Thanks.

In parts one and two of this series, I described how I’ve quit eating fast food using 3 basic steps: Educating myself, Deciding to quit, and Acting on my convictions. In this final part of the series I’m describing the actions I’ve used to successfully break the fast food habit.

20 tactics to kill the fast food habit

1. Start out with a ridiculously simple goal - So simple that you can’t fail. Leo Babauta’s book, Zen To Done, (an excellent book by the way), highlights this concept. If you start out excessively simple, you can build on that success to reach your goals over time. Here’s an example: I first realized that soda, regular or otherwise, is bad for me for one specific reason: in the end, even diet soda simply perpetuated my desire for the stuff. I realized that I could easily give up soda if I wanted to - it never tastes the same at a fast food place anyway, and I always drink too much of it. It was simple and attainable. And the more I did it, the more “power” to change that I felt.

2. Treat the decision to quit fast food as a habit, not a lifelong commitment. The idea is to make it your habit to seek out real food, at the expense of spending time and money on fast food. It doesn’t need to be a lifelong political position. You want healthful choices to become second nature. That way when you do give into that impulse desire, which you likely will at some point in the future, you will not have “failed”. Take it slow, and be proud of your many small accomplishments that will lead to a bigger success of building a healthy habit of eating.

3. Make yourself as publicly accountable as possible. Blog about it. Tell your friends that you are doing it. Use that concept of peer pressure to your advantage by putting pressure on yourself to stick to it. Everyone you know should be shocked if they see you walking out with a weighted paper sack with an ever-expanding grease spot on the bottom where the fries are trying to dig their way to freedom.

4. Don’t buy into the “healthy alternatives” concept that fast food is trying to sell to you. This is basic marketing 101, and is one of the greatest “dupes” since the famous Roman campaign for the healthfulness of lead cups (OK I made that up - but it sounds plausible). The basic idea is to find any way possible to get customers into the store. That is the hardest part. Once customers are in, add-ons are the name of the game. Want that salad? Bundle it with a cheaply sweetened fruit cup and a large diet soda.

“And ya know, since it’s better for you, well, it is going to cost a little more. But that is the price you’ll have to pay for a “healthy” choice. . .”

Sound Fishy? It should. It is malarkey.

Let me put it to you this way: Using basic common sense - If Add-ons and upselling didn’t work, no one would bother to do it.The truth is, IT WORKS. The answer? Don’t enter in the first place.

5. Don’t enter in the first place. This deserves repeating (See the previous tip to understand why). This is hard to do, without question. It may take a while before you can make that a habit, but think of it this way: If you suffered from an addiction to alcohol, does common sense say it’s your best move to buy your groceries at the liquor store? It is common sense, no matter how we try to rationalize it. Believe me - I’ve tried.

6. Reduce your exposure to fast food advertising. This is going to sound crazy, but if you watch less commercial TV, you will be less inclined to eat fast food. Why? Again, common sense. Big Industry pays hundreds of millions of dollars a year trying to find ways of convincing you in a 30-second spot that eating their new sandwich will change your life for good, forever. And their tactics simply work. If you are exposed less, you will be influenced less. Exposed to more - influenced more.

That said, does that mean I have to give up watching Top Chef? I don’t think so. If you want to see who gets voted off the island this week, go for it - but DVR it if you have the option, and then skip the commercials. Of course, if you want to go hardcore, just give up TV altogether. It’s almost guaranteed you will be less influenced if you reduce your exposure.

Want scientific proof? It’s simple: Corporations are all out for one thing: MONEY. If gigantic ad campaigns, which mean repeated exposure, didn’t actually work, do you think they would spend their money on it? Trust THEIR money-making science - they truly do know exactly what they’re doing.

7. Be a cheapskate. Don’t confuse quantity with value, throwing your money away because it is sold to you as a “good deal”. Fast food depends on the idea that you will be foolish enough to believe that a big pile of garbage has more value than a little pile of quality food. Stick with the quality food. Learn to cook. Make enough for leftovers. Lather, rinse, repeat.

One other thing on being cheap as a method of motivation: Remember that when you eat a pile of junk food for $5.00, the one thing you are NOT getting is decent nutrition. Nutritional deficit may be the single greatest cause of all classically Western diseases. So in the end, you’re going to pay for it anyway. And in the mean time, the fast food CEO will be using his $18,000,000 dollar salary to eat excessively well at your expense. Read the rest of this entry »

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This is the second part in the series, “How I quit eating fast food”. If you think it might help others, please consider sharing it via Digg, StumbleUpon, or your favorite social media tools. Thanks. And don’t forget to check out part 3, “20 tactics to kill the fast food habit“.

“Just because it’s toxic doesn’t mean it’s not tasty.” - MastersInTheMaking.com

As I made clear in part 1, I think it’s fair to say that I have an issue or two with my lifelong personified compadre, Fast Food. That’s not to say that it’s my ONLY issue (oh and by the way, speaking of issues, a big “thanks” to the coiners of that ubiquitous ’80s phrase, “global thermonuclear war” for ruining my trust in humanity - Nice work), but in my opinion the fast food hang-up really does have the possibility of killing me in a hurried, greasy fashion.

And if I have one rule in life, it is that when I go, I do not want my mournful passing to be in any way associated with Grease. And thus why I am neither an auto mechanic nor John Travolta.

Further, to prevent a future experience that includes balloon-like medical devices being inserted near my nether-regions in an emergency effort to clear out my brittle arteries, I have quit frequenting fast food restaurants since the beginning of the year.

How am I doing it, considering I seem to get the hankerin’ for Kentucky Fried Chicken every few months as if there is some sort of time-release chicken nugget flavored tablet wedged somewhere in my right parietal cortex?

If you read nothing else, read this

In my opinion, there are very few things in life that you can give up permanently. Does fast food in all of it’s forms fit that category for me for all Eternity? I can’t say - I don’t wear that cologne. But for right now, I have decided to exclude it from my diet altogether (both fast food AND cologne) to allow myself to create the HABIT of eating better.

For me, the only way that I can do this is to say no to fast food completely. Who knows; at some point fast food may become “real food”…But from my vantage point today, I highly doubt it. For now, I’ve decided it doesn’t fit the current picture of my life.

In other words, giving up fast food is a reasonable goal for me, today. Where you draw your own line is, well, your own business.

How to quit eating fast food

There are three parts to this process for me: Educate, Decide, and Act. Read the rest of this entry »

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Editor’s note: This post is this week’s Friday Fit recipe. The idea is to try “real food” recipes that can be prepared on the weekend. Of course, each recipe can also be prepared during the week (that’s when I’m trying it), but with the hectic schedules of most, a recipe might be easier to try on the weekend when work is generally less of a factor. If you enjoy this article, please consider subscribing to my feed. Thanks.

With the school year coming to a close, we had the end of the year picnic last weekend complete with a parachute, hula hoops, and a pot luck lunch spread. In addition to being a great time for the kids, one of the best things about such events is to see the variety in familial food culture. Our instructions were to bring a dish to share, and to bring our own plates, glasses, and utensils, so as to cut down on the waste. It was a great plan, and left very little to clean up.

In our case, we brought sandwiches using some of my freshly made loaves of bread (Can you make artisan bread like this? In only 5 minutes?). Other offerings included Asian noodles, enchiladas, and pizza, all of which quickly disappeared. There were simply too many good things to try, but by the end it was very clear that the quinoa salad in particular was a huge favorite.

Quinoa - the often forgotten grain

In a recent blog post by Lisa over at Iowa Avenue (What is Quinoa?), quinoa was featured as a great alternative to some of the grains most of us are more familiar with. Quinoa is a popular gluten-free alternative for folks that are sensitive to wheat, and has a better nutritional profile than many of the more common grains.

Here’s a quote from Lisa’s article that really got my attention:

“Health bonus: Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete food. This means it takes less quinoa protein to meet one’s needs than wheat protein. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten free and considered easy to digest.”

Lisa’s post at Iowa Avenue is an excellent primer on the benefits of quinoa and it’s history. It also includes a great Minestrone recipe. Well worth a visit.

Friday Fit Recipe #10: Gluten-free Summer Quinoa Salad

This recipe is a customized version of the salad we had at the picnic. Thanks to our friends C. and W. for the great recipe - it went particularly well with a salad made with organic greens from our garden, a light vinaigrette, and a roasted free range chicken, which was our dinner last night. It was excellent.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked red quinoa
2 cups water
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, diced
1 cup artichoke hearts
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons of capers, to taste

Caramelized onions:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 thinly sliced red onion

Basic vinaigrette dressing:
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, with zest
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Preparation

Bring the quinoa and water to boil. When the water boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the water is absorbed, approximately 10 minutes. When cooked, quinoa has a texture similar to perfectly cooked pasta, or rice. Strain and rinse well under cold water.

While the quinoa is cooking, in a skillet heat olive oil over medium heat and saute the onions until transparent.

Prepare the vinaigrette by combining the ingredients and whisking.

In a large salad bowl, toss all of the ingredients together, including caramelized onions and the vinaigrette.

To Serve

Serve cold or at room temperature. With very little to spoil, this would make an excellent accompaniment on a picnic. Couple this salad with fresh greens, chicken or fish for protein, and your wine of choice, and you have an excellent, healthy meal.

Options

The original recipe did not include the artichoke hearts, but we found that it was a very flavorful addition.

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“64 oz. soda? Does it come with a chance to win Boardwalk? Well then hit me Brutha!” - Metroknow, 26 lbs heavier

About 6 months ago, I completely quit eating fast food. For me, this was no minor feat. In the first part of this two-part series, I’ll tell you about my relationship (yes, relationship) with fast food. In part two, I’ll tell you exactly how I’m doing it, and how you can too.

I am definitely a card-carrying member of the fast food generation. I don’t know how many times I have made the decision on the size of a combo at McDonald’s based on which of the larger sizes included the most “extra” Monopoly game pieces, which generally led to winning - you guessed it - MORE fast food. I never won that extra-heavy Hummer with the dual 40 gallon fuel tanks.

Why do did I like Fast Food?

Like it or not, here’s the truth: fast food sells - in a BIG way. For me, here’s why:

1. Availability. In many parts of the country, we are simply overrun with fast food and junk food options. In L.A. suburbs, Portland suburbs, and most small towns, when you drive through the business district it looks like this: McDonalds, dry cleaners, cellular phone store, Jack-in-the-Box, stereo store, Starbucks, Taco Bell, KFC, cheap shoe store, Burger King, Wal-Mart, and then McDonalds again.

Repeat that cycle every 4-6 blocks, throw in an Olive Garden, a gas station, and a few 99-cent stores, and you have a drive across America that repeats itself like a Politician stumping from town to town, from sea to plastic-bag-filled shining sea.

Yes, fast food and dry cleaners are everywhere. And I’m not sure which one is more toxic. Someone oughta’ just get it over with and combine dry cleaners and fast food joints. After all, their prices are comparable, which leads me to… Read the rest of this entry »

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This week I’ve been working on tuning the look, feel, and direction of Almost Fit - The new design is not ready for prime time yet, but it’s getting there. As part of this process, I’ve been looking through my posts, analyzing the areas of focus that seem to really interest people, and trying to approximate the shape of Almost Fit in the coming months. I’ve had some reasonably successful articles, a couple of big hits, and in truth, some real dogs.

Hibernating, possibly catatonic dogs.

With that in mind, I’m going to share both the good and the bad - but there’s a catch - A little question or two for the readers of this site:

What would you like to see covered on Almost Fit? Which articles do you find most interesting? Which entries bore you to tears? Go ahead - be brutal.

Here are a few ideas to get you started. I’m going with a margarita theme today, as the sun is out after weeks of gloom, and I’m feeling like kicking back on the deck with a salt-rimmed glass and a pitcher of goodness.

The high fructose corn syrup “a little better than sleeping pills” margarita articles

11 ways to lose weight using good table manners: Personally I kind of liked this article. From the comments, I was fairly alone in that opinion.

30 days to form a new habit? On the moon, maybe: I didn’t think this was too bad, but it was definitely a sleeper if the comments are any indication…What do you think?

The House Margarita with the cheap tequila articles

23 benefits of eating real food in moderation: I enjoyed writing this one, and the facts still hold true.

33 tips on how to lose weight without dieting: This article stimulated a fair amount of discussion here and elsewhere, which was great.

The Cadillac Margarita with the Patron Reposado articles

Can you make artisan bread like this? In only 5 minutes? This article is by far my most read. It was picked up by Reuters among other sources, and is far and away my most widely distributed.

Did Cereal make me fat? You decide: I think this is one of my better pieces, though it is not read nearly as much as I would have thought. I think it’s a problem with the title. What do you think?

The French tradition - Give us our daily baguette: This may be my favorite article, as I got to indulge my love of Paris even if only for a few paragraphs.

—

I just wanted to take a moment to thank the readers of Almost Fit. So far this process has been thoroughly enjoyable. In particular, I’ve met “virtually” so many interesting, passionate, and intelligent people all working toward a similar goal. If you have suggestions on articles you’d like to see, or improvements, I’d love to hear your suggestions. Please feel free to leave them in the comments, or contact me via my contact page.

Thank you again.

Metroknow

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Welcome to Almost Fit. If you’ve just arrived from GetFitSlowly, an extra welcome to you as well. Almost Fit is about one thing: Improving health by eating real food in moderation. No low fat this or low carb that, just healthful eating with weight loss being a satisfying side effect. If you enjoy Almost Fit, please consider subscribing. Have a poke around and let me know what you think. Thanks.

Have you ever wondered why it seems that the French can get away with eating everything we’re told not to eat, and still live 3 years longer on average, without exercising more than we do, taking 6 week vacations, and 2 hour lunches?

I’ve written a guest post this morning for the good guys over at GetFitSlowly.com. I mentioned their site briefly yesterday as one of my inspirations for Almost Fit, so it was really exciting when J.D. agreed to post one of my pieces.

If you have a few minutes, check the article out: Food, Drink, and Decadence: How the French Stay Thin.

If you haven’t already, you should also become a regular there if you are at all interested in improving your health. J.D. also writes GetRichSlowly, which is tremendously successful not only because the advice there is so sound, but his well-rendered honesty always shines through. He talks about his successes, failures, interests, and frustrations with great candor. Well worth adding to your RSS feed. Both are in my top 10 daily reads.

Thanks guys!

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This post is Thursday’s Real Food Resource, which is a weekly spotlight on books, sites, and relevant media that helps you to identify what real food is. If you enjoy this article, please consider subscribing to Almost Fit. Thanks.

Every once in a while I stumble across an entirely new, personally unexplored pocket of the Internet that really inspires me. I don’t know why I’m surprised by the discovery, but each time I find an unexplored corner of the Web, I feel like I’ve landed in a new self-contained community filled with thousands of original and interesting perspectives that no one from my tribe has ever seen. Yes, its geeky, but it’s not unlike what I might imagine exploring new galaxies would be like, if I were, you know, to geek out (assuming of course, that we are not…..Alone…..[cue the doom music]…..).

Not that I ever have that mental picture of myself, in a space suit, or anything.

I will admit, however, that in my mind I visualize myself exploring tide pools filled with strange and interesting things.

When I started Almost Fit my inspiration began with a combination of physically local blogs (which I still read) and a handful of widely scattered favorites. The Portland locals included Get Fit Slowly, Portland Food and Drink, and Kevin Allman’s blog for just plain great writing (although Kevin has since moved from Portland to his hometown on the Gulf Coast). My wider net of favorites at the time included Orangette, ZenHabits, and the Sartorialist, among many others, most of which I still read voraciously. Over time, that list has of course