1500 Days to Freedom

Think different and escape the rat race.

Ask The Readers: Resolution Solutions?

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First, we must get down to contest business! Last week, I announced that I’m giving away three Wahl shavers. All you had to do was write a Haiku. I brought in guest judge Physician on FIRE (aka Poet Laureate of the Frozen North) to judge your submissions. Here are the winners per Dr. Haiku:

Grand prize (Wahl Elite Pro): HeatherH

My spouse pays 30
For each head and beard shaving
Save him from himself

Joe C. wins a Wahl Color Pro:

I’m silly looking
Stylists can’t work miracles
Pay for a cut? No.

And so does Phoenix:

Zip, whir, goes the blade,
Up the back is one long line
A reverse mohaw

And, because I’m a nice guy (and really because I enjoy fart jokes), I’m giving Missy one too:

Husband is balding
And is constantly farting
Consolation prize?

Fun Money

Last week, I asked what you thought of my idea of a Fun Money Account. This is a separate pile of money for silliness like vacations, dinosaur expenses and toys like this:

Picture credit: Vision Times

That device is a OneWheel, a fancy, self-balancing electric skateboard. I first saw one on the beach in Florida. A senior-citizen, wearing nothing but shorts, was carving up loose sand on the beach. I had to have it.

I’ve been trying to come up with a reason to blow the $1,300 on one, but so far, nothing. It would be purely for fun. Even worse, I bike or walk mostly now, so this toy would have an adverse effect on my health. Plus, I’d probably break my neck or something. Also: $1,300.

Potential health issues aside, if I let my fun money account grow, maybe I’ll pull the trigger on this thing someday.

Enough about me and my silly wants. Here is what you had so say about Fun Money accounts:

Nearly Fit Mom’s fun money account didn’t work:

I don’t have a fun money account. I used to and guess what happens to fun money? It gets spent. It didn’t matter if I put $20 a month in it or $200, if it was there, lets spend it! I’m still working for the man at this point so I want to keep a little more conscious thought behind spending money than how my brain processes a fun money account.

Reader Margie:

Fun money accounts don’t serve frugality at my house. They serve my marriage. We discuss our major purchases in depth. We are financially responsible. We watch our spending.

Mr. Tako had my favorite comment:

Mrs. Tako and I have had fun money accounts for decades now. It’s also a really important part of why we’re still married. She gets to spend her fun money however she wants. It gives us a sense of independence and financial autonomy without fear of criticism or argument.

If she wants to spend her fun money on a fancy hair cut — so be it! Likewise, I can spend my fun money however I want

Agreed! The Mrs. can have her fancy haircuts and I’ll have my ridiculous skateboard. Someday. Done.

Resolution Solutions?

I rarely make resolutions, but this year I did. And amazingly, I’ve stuck to most of them. The most important one is finally getting really fit. I wasn’t in bad health, but for a while, I had an oversized gut:

I’m sorry. No one needs to see this first thing on Monday morning. Oof.

And by “a while,” I mean two decades. I topped out a couple of years ago over 180. My skinny frame didn’t wear it well.

But a couple of days ago, I weighed in at 157.6. While this is almost a 2 decade low, I’m still a bit too heavy:

  • Fat %: 16.6,
  • Body mass index: 22.1

However, I’m getting close. I started the year at about 163 and need to get down to somewhere around 150. So far, so good. But it isn’t always simple either.

It’s easy to sprint to the health club on January 1st and join the hordes when resolutions are fresh and your enthusiasm is at level 11. Do most feel the same on March 1st? No.

How about you?

Have you stayed on track? Why or why not?

How do you stoke your internal fire?

Is the OneWheel insane or brilliant? Will it be the end of me as Done by Forty has suggested?

Join the 10s who have signed up already!

Subscribing will improve your life in incredible ways*.

*Only if your life is pretty bad to begin with.

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Comments

  1. Ever since that tweet, I’ve been checking out those things.

    But that thing literally will kill me, so I’m looking at the low tech option: the $20 skateboard on Craigslist.

    I’ve been trying to keep my alcohol consumption down to two beers a day, only when hanging out with friends or on a date, and no more than four a week. It hasn’t got my weight down to 150 yet though. Great progress on your goals, friend.
    Done by Forty recently posted…Who Wants a Fight With No Referee?My Profile

    • You’re still a working stiff. And, one with a baby!

      I don’t suggest putting off your health until you’re done with work, but if your life plays out anything like mine, having all of that extra time will help with fitness. My weight maxed out at the same time our first kid was a baby.

    • Skateboarding is good exercise. My heat rate is well over 135 bpm for my skate sesssions.
      Get wrist guards!. Killer 187 Pros are good.

      Learn to ride bowls. It’s like surfing.

      Get a full set of pads if you want to learn that.

      After you get your kit, skating is free.

  3. Nice job with your weigh so far. You’re half way there.
    My goal this year is 125 lbs. I know that’s low, but I’m short so it’ll work.
    It’s been going pretty well so far. In February, I lost 3 pounds even with skipping the gym.
    Intermittent fasting is working. I suspect the weight loss will slow down now that I’m back to the gym.
    It’s harder to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time.
    Keep at it.

    • “It’s harder to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time.”

      Is it even possible? I didn’t think so, but if you figure it out, tell me your secrets!

      I’m working on weight loss first, but still lifting weights too. I don’t expect to put on much muscle because I’m creating caloric deficits, but I don’t want to lose the habit.

  4. Wait a minute, are you shirtless but wearing a hat in that photo? Congrats on the 20+ lb weight drop, no easy feat. Ever since the Segway came out I have wanted one of those things but not only are they expensive, I fear that they are now really nerdy and outdated compared to the cool hipster looking One Wheel. My fitness resolution has been to get to orange shirt in Muay Thai Kickboxing. It is an awesome core workout and has really helped my flexibility too so far. Side, side goal is that I’ve always wanted to have some secret self defense moves if some guy jumps me in a dark alley. I am mostly on track, but have missed a couple of weeks to illness and travel, which always sets back the progress a bit.
    Life Outside The Maze recently posted…$150 Trip To The RainforestMy Profile

    • “Wait a minute, are you shirtless but wearing a hat in that photo?”

      Haha, yep.

      “Side, side goal is that I’ve always wanted to have some secret self-defense moves if some guy jumps me in a dark alley.”

      There goes my plan to jump you on our next snowshoeing trip…
      Mr. 1500 Days recently posted…Ask The Readers: Resolution Solutions?My Profile

    • For your side side goal- keep up the practice, you can do kicks and shadow boxing at home when you are up for it- working out will actually help decongest your nose. Just keep the shadowboxing to 1-minute intervals- and set goals like “20 kicks today of x type” and then increase the next week. Martial arts is about muscle memory.

  5. Wow, great job on the weight loss Carl! I’ve got a few “dad pounds” that I’m trying to lose too, but sadly haven’t been *quite* that successful.

    About the self balancing skateboard — I think this would be a great opportunity to build one yourself. The self balancing electronics aren’t all that hard, and the rest of the electronics wouldn’t be any different than a DIY electric longboard.

    You could probably make one for less than $500. Might be a fun project.
    Mr. Tako recently posted…Is The Internet Causing The World To Become More Faddish?My Profile

  6. I’m still tracking my health and fitness goals for the year. Current active streak is 47 days in a row above 20,000 steps and 66 days above 15k. My weight is trending down. I’ve lost about ten pounds of mostly fat since the beginning of the year. 25 lbs to go. Gotta keep grinding it out!

  7. I would pass on the wheel. It will take away from walking or biking time.

    I don’t buy anything that will deduct from walking or regular biking. I like the idea of an electric bike, but it will reduce my amount of non-electric biking.

    Hard pass.

    • Good advice! I probably won’t actually buy this thing, but it’s fun to think about.

      Electric bike: It hasn’t replaced regular biking for me, but has replaced car trips. I can get places so much faster with the assist, commuting on it is often equivalent to a car of faster if I can take a trail and avoid traffic signals.

      • We live where the weather sucks. I haven’t had a scenario where I can’t regular bike.

        I commute (when not snowed) in on my regular bike, so I don’t know when I would electric bike.

        I guess you could average 20+ mph instead of 15 mph. I just leave earlier.

        I do like electric bikes in general and would love to go down to a one car family. Someday.

        • “We live where the weather sucks. I haven’t had a scenario where I can’t regular bike.”

          “I just leave earlier.”

          I just did bike-to-work day last month and it was 3 outside. The issue isn’t the weather, it’s time. If I’ve got to pick kids up from school or manage some other kid-related activity (which is daily now), I just don’t have the time to go 30 miles on a conventional bike (Longmont to Boulder and back). These situations are where the ebike saves my ass. When the baby birds leave the nest or the Mrs. stops working, it will be different.

    • I have to say I really enjoy my electric bike. I also live on the side of a mountain…and my parents live in a volcano. A mother-effing volcano (it’s dormant…but that doesn’t sound as fun)….so the electric pedal assist really helps. Maybe I’m being a pansy-my neighbor has a road bike and bikes down to Haleiwa and back up to Wahiawa. Which is up a volcano. (we are actually between volcanoes…again…dormant). He’s in demonstrably better shape than I.
      Going downhill is really fun, though.
      Cathleen Cooks Stuff recently posted…2 roads to FI: save more vs make moreMy Profile

  8. Set your weight as a monthly goal, and you get to measure your success/failure every month rather than just at a single point throughout the year.

    Let’s face it, 150 is a target number, so if you set that as your goal, even if you work your butt off and get it, what likely happens then? It starts going back up. Which is bad, because technically you reached your goal and can check it off your list, but realistically you wouldn’t end up there.

    What I did was look at my weight at the end of last year (162). I dropped one pound per month until I hit my target goal of 155. So January was 161, February was 160, until July where I target 155 and the same every month thereafter. Say I hit 155 in July, then I mark that as accomplished, but if I’m back at 158 in December, then I don’t get credit for that month.

    Bottom line, I think the key for goals like that is to make yourself accountable the entire way through.

    • “Bottom line, I think the key for goals like that is to make yourself accountable the entire way through.”

      So, I have a weekly weigh-in which seems enough to smooth out fluctuations. Also, I structured my goal in an unconventional way. With the crappy weather, it’s harder to be outside and be active (lose weight!). If I can get down to 150 by 5/1, that’s about when it gets nice here, so it should be easier to maintain.

  9. i wouldn’t say i had a particular goal or resolution but i’ve been in the gym almost every single work day this year. i’ve been doing it while maintaining the same cruddy lifestyle outside work and by some miracle of consistency i keep getting faster. i don’t run on the weekends right now in the buffalo snow and didn’t run on vacation at mardi gras last week either. even with that i ran 3 miles in under 20 minutes last week. keep at it and the results come i guess.
    freddy smidlap recently posted…Travel: Mardi Gras in NOLA. Day 2 – Real Food and Dog BitesMy Profile

  10. Pretty sure that thing will be the death of you, And any unfortunate person nearby. What is wrong with a regular skateboard?! They can equally cause “bodacious carving” and “death”. But with less chance of electrical fires. Other options: unicycle, roller blades, just jump off a moving vehicle. Or see if one is for sale on Craigslist, if you really must have it. And when you discover its not as fun as you though it was, or you break you neck, Mrs. 1500 can sell it for what you bought it for. There’s fun money. But you may as well get it to stretch as far as possible, right?
    Cathleen Cooks Stuff recently posted…2 roads to FI: save more vs make moreMy Profile

  11. I’ll be a voice of dissent: my neighbor got a OneWheel XR last April and he has been LOVING IT. Our ‘hood is perfect for one of those; it’s between a ten and twenty minute walk from here to the breweries and everything, so he can get there first and snag us a table. He loads up his kids’ folding scooters in a backpack and boards off to pick them up after school, then they all roll back home.

    I feel only slight temptation, and the four-figure price tag is adequate discouragement. But it looks like an absolute blast.

  12. Yes I have been looking at those as well as the boosted boards electric skateboards can’t decide which one I want to risk my life on yet.