In December of 2016, the extremely popular FIRE writer, Mr. Money Mustache, published an article entitled, ‘Staying Fit With No Gym in Sight.’ Typical of his bluntly phrased snark, it opens with the following line. ‘If you look around on the streets, you might get the impression that it is really, really difficult to stay in shape beyond the age of 30.’ In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, ‘It’s funny because it’s true.’ Certainly no more so than in Homer’s case.

The general thrust of the article is that fitness ought to be an integrated part of one’s life and one certainly does not need a gym to attain any level of fitness. Quite the opposite actually. Pete then goes on to offer a brief, but solid primer on the general principles of fitness as well as a number of exercise ideas and closes with some suggested reading.

When this article was published I happened to be somewhere slightly shy of the 2-year mark from my planned retirement. While I was already aware of the points that were being made and wasn’t necessarily a stranger to fitness, what struck me most or, rather, piqued my motivating interest was thinking about the possibilities to vastly improve my physical and mental health once I stopped working and forever unshackled myself from my current lifestyle.

As regular readers know, my former life as a Fortune 500 executive had me traveling across the country on a weekly basis with my, predominately sedentary, time squandered in planes, hotels and boardrooms. The intensity of my position and the 60+ hour workweeks had, at this point, reeked an alarming cumulative toll upon my body and mind.

While I managed to walk at least 2 miles each day with about 6 hours of other physical activity on the weekend, my health was still at an all time low. Fortunately, the genetic lottery has always kept me reasonably thin, but at this point my suits were getting tight, my upper body muscles had become ill defined and there was most certainly some flab hideously jiggling about when I vigorously jumped up and down. Sadly, I had allowed the rich food served at business dinners and all that goddamned sitting to get the better of me. Left unchecked, a few more years on this glide path and I would, unquestionably, transform into a pathetic a sack of oatmeal like so many others around me.

As if the physical manifestation of my lifestyle was not enough, I was also experiencing other adverse side effects including severe, stress-induced night terrors. Cruelly, while I remained completely oblivious to these, it was Ms. Fate who suffered the fitful slumber and sleepless nights as I shrieked like some berserk banshee that thrashed and writhed until the early hours near dawn.

Other unsavory indicators presented themselves in the form of my annual blood panels and physical checkups. My lipid panel was still frightful, though had improved markedly since I began taking statin a few years prior. My blood pressure, which had remained low, was subject to massive spikes born by work-related stress, sleeplessness and all that rot.

My lifestyle was, literally, slowly and inexorably killing me.

The commitment I made to myself the day I read the article was that I’d ramp up my exercise as much as I could and change my diet while I was still working to get a bit of a head start. The other commitment was that once I was no longer working, I would embrace the lifestyle that I so very much desired. One characterized by a high level of physical fitness, a consistently sensible diet and high doses of tranquility. And once I stopped working, that was precisely the life I chose and pursued.

Salads, Kayaks & Weights

I have always agreed with Mr. Money Mustache’s notion of integrating fitness into your daily life. Now that I had the time, it was much easier to achieve. For example, I immediately let my gardener go and did the 2 hours per week of yard work myself. I would walk as much as possible for retail excursions. I did all of the painting, handyman tasks and all our home sale prep myself. It’s always baffled me why anyone who owns a home would ever pay for a gym membership, particularly if you hire out maid or landscaping services. Whatever.

I then began to spend nearly 4 hours per day outdoors engaged in all manner of non-domestic exercise including the daily walk, kayaking, hiking, strength and cardio training, etc. And on it went. Each and every day until the initial year had passed. Obviously, I could optically verify the retreat of the dreaded flab and the returning definition in my muscles. However, I was very interested to see what the annual blood panels and checkup would yield.

Sure enough, and for the first time in my entire life, all of my lipid levels were in the normal range. That was huge for me. Even better – every other of the seemingly zillion health metrics I was tested for showed marked, and in some cases, substantial improvement. It was clear, that there were very positive, very beneficial aspects to my new lifestyle.

By this time, I had started Fates On Fire and thought this would be another one of my experiments like my ‘Total Blackout,’ ‘Big Bookworm,’ or, most recently, ‘Working Muse‘ Projects. That said, one year and, in particular, one test could simply be a fluke. There needed to be more time. So, I figured I’d wait another year and see what occurred.

Like other elements of our life, things really intensified once I moved to the rural hamlet here in Neverwhere, WA. It’s an amazing outdoor paradise where one can conceivably stay active every waking hour throughout the year. The challenge for the outdoors enthusiast is what activity to choose on any given day. On top of that, having a new home and living on 25 acres comes with all manner of physical-based chores.

I am now, generally, out of doors 6 hours per day what with chores, projects around the place and all my outdoor activities. Like I did during the 1st year of retirement in So. Cal, we continue to cook every meal at home and I have been eating a much more clean and healthy diet than those dark days of endless business dinners. Furthermore, the benefit of the psychological arbitrage I experience in the new environment has provided me with a high degree of mental health, peaceful slumber and an infinite reduction of overall stress.

Earlier this week, I received the results of my annual blood panel and checkup and guess what? Yep, all the metrics are still where they were a year ago and a few improved incrementally. My clothes fit looser, my muscles are visibly defined and, best of all, there is zero flab to jiggle when I jump up and down.

That said, I do not possess a Mustashian-level of hubris that would allow me to be photographed shirtless while I am working out with glistening muscles on full display, nor the temerity to publish such a picture in my article (as was the case in MMM’s post), so you’re just going to have to take my word for it.

All levity aside, I am proud that this quasi ‘Total Fitness Project’ of mine has been a success. The personal challenge is to continue to maintain or, even, improve the results year after year after year. It’s nice to actually be living a lifestyle that is improving the quality and duration of my life rather than one that is quietly killing me each day.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you ever changed your lifestyle to improve your health? Are you working and maintain a healthy lifestyle? How do you make it happen? If not, what are some of your aspirations to perhaps change that? In any event, I’d love to hear from you.

10 Replies to “PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MUSTACHE IS!

  1. Q-FI

    It’s great your health has improved Mr. Fate and that you have a new more active lifestyle. I too am operating under the assumption that a lot of stress and angst will slip away once I can finally leave the corporate world behind.

    Watching this pandemic is probably surreal for you. I bet you think back since you traveled so much how it would have affected you if you had still been working. And you were a beast, all those time zone changes weekly destroy your body and peace of mind.

    I’ve mentioned before my own health has been a slow frustrating waiting game. I was on a tear with Spartan races pre-pandemic until my foot injury. Unfortunately, I’m still in the healing process, so I’ve been robbed of my greatest stress reliever during the pandemic. But, so goes life. Eventually the day will come when I’m all healthy and back at it.

    But your post sums up a very valid point. Integrate health improvements as soon and often as you can.

    • Mr. Fate

      Thanks Q-FI. Yeah, it was the travel that caused many of the issues. There’s a reason pilot’s are only allowed limited time in the air. I traveled this past week to So. Cal. (post coming soon) and even though it was easy since everything was comparatively deserted, I was reminded how truly grateful I am that I don’t do that anymore. Hahaha!

      Not to worry, that foot will heal soon and you’ll be back at it. Even more so once you stop working altogether!

  2. Katie Camel

    Great job on reducing those labs and making major life changes! Like you, MMM, and so many others, I agree our jobs are generally not conducive to good health, including my job as a hospital nurse. I commend you on your effort! I wish more of my patients would do the same. Unfortunately, too many won’t.

    I’m a big fan of the gym, or I was until COVID shut it down. Living in a condo makes it impossible to do the cardio I want. Since a treadmill is a no go, I bought a trampoline/rebounder. It was great until my neighbors complained. I love to run and happily run outside, but not in the freezing cold or rain.

    • Mr. Fate

      Thanks Katie. Yeah, it’s been rewarding as well as fun getting in prime shape. I love the trampoline/rebounder story, but sorry that did not work out though. Hopefully, your gym will open up soon. Have you checked out body-weight strength or HIIT routines? Those are what I do mostly for strength and cardio and they are killer and you can do them at home, no problem. Might be an option for when the chilly weather comes around.

  3. Dave @ Accidental FIRE

    Congrats to you dude. Office jobs that involve sitting all day under artificial light are so damn bad for your health. It’s one of the big reasons I went part time.

    I keep getting fitter and fitter every year and much of that is because I’m spending less time at work. I’ve never belonged to a gym – ever. I do 100% of my activities outside whether it be cycling, running, climbing, kayaking, hiking, or sometimes just dragging a tire around the park. It works. I feel amazing and routinely destroy the cocky 20-somethings that dare challenge me in one of these sports. And I’m not gifted genetically.

    Health is everything, and being FI let’s me concentrate on it. Keep at it!

    • Mr. Fate

      Thanks Dave. You prove the point as well so congrats back at ya. Life is, indeed, a gym, so get out there! Dragging the tire around the park – now that is freaking awesome!

  4. freddy smidlap

    i agree the best fitness maintenance is built into day to day activities like chores. for me my fitness really ebbs and flows. the work gym being closed for covid has really hurt because i could get a lot done in about 25 minutes a day on the treadmill. that was all i needed to stay fit in only 5 days/week with a good semi-intense 3 miles. my 2 big barriers are vacations and my diet. i tend to get very sedentary on a week off away from home. i must miss the routine and have to figure that one out. the diet is not so much what i eat, which is real food but high calorie. it’s more about when i consume the calories. i eat usually once a day near the end of the day and then straight to bed. it’s not doing me any favors but it’s been this way a long time. metabolism momentum is real and hard to turn around once you’re a slug for a few weeks!

    congrats on the fitness level and those health stats. retirement has been good to you clearly.

    • Mr. Fate

      Thanks Freddy. I, too, will confess that I was a once a day eater for most of my life and it was in the evening prior to bed like you. It was fine when I was younger, but got me when I hit my 40s for sure. It was tough for me to get in the habit of eating smaller meals, particularly breakfast. Now, Ms. Fate gives me grief for eating all the eggs and fruit. Hahaha. Hope you can get some time in to walk each day, even if it’s not on the treadmill. I started my 2 miles a day minimum walking about 6 years ago and it made such a huge difference.

  5. Adam @ Brewing FIRE

    When people say, “my job is killing me,” it can be quite literal. Congrats on your health improvement. I have a step tracker, and I always find it amusing that I am substantially more active on days that I’m not encumbered by work. I maintain a level of activity that I’m mostly satisfied with, but I am really looking forward to leaving the office permanently, because I know it will result in a healthier life for me.

    • Mr. Fate

      Hey Adam and thanks for the comment. Yeah, I loved what I did for a living, but not necessarily the lifestyle. After nearly 20 years it exacted a pretty gnarly toll as you read. The whole sitting in an office thing is a killer long-term. I’m here to tell you that your health will certainly improve once you downshift or leave the office permanently. In the meantime, keep those steps going!

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