This blog is a collection of articles, updates and musings about my efforts to keep my body, mind and spirit healthy.<\/p>\n
The quote from George Sheehan<\/a> in the header reflects a lot of how I feel about health and fitness. I consider my own efforts toward improving my health to be experiments, from which I try to learn and improve my efforts.<\/p>\n My name is Anastasia Cheetham. Until early 2017, I was an engineer working with the Inclusive Design Research Centre<\/a> in Toronto<\/a>. I am now semi-retired. I spend much of my time turning wood<\/a>.<\/p>\n While I have no actual training<\/a> in exercise or nutrition (save basic university-level introductory anatomy and physiology), I am very interested in the topics, and I’ve tried to educate myself through reading, research, experience, etc. I think I’ve learned a few things:<\/p>\n About ten years ago (when I was in my early thirties), I was very overweight: 5\u20198″, 200lbs and about 42% body fat. I wasn’t always<\/em> fat \u2013 it was something that came on gradually. I think it started when I was in grad school trying to write my thesis. Weight gain can be insidious; it happens so slowly that it’s easy to turn a blind eye. You get used to what you see in the mirror, so you don’t notice how it’s changing.<\/p>\n Luckily, I did eventually notice, and even more luckily, I managed to do something about it: I lost 40 pounds \u2013 of fat. It took time, and it took work, but I did it: I lifted weights and tracked everything I ate, and the fat came off. And I’ve kept it off ever since.<\/p>\n It was a slow process: It took roughly a year to lose 40 lbs. That’s less than a pound a week. But I think that when you’re making what you want to be a permanent change, quick-and-dirty is not going to cut it.<\/p>\n So, while I may not be trained in any health or exercise sciences, I think I’ve passed the proficiency exam.<\/p>\n The picture in the header is of the first floor of my house, circa January, 2010. At the time of the picture, my partner and I were deep in the throes of a full tear-down-and-rebuild renovation. For me, the picture (like the quote) captures some of what I feel about health and fitness: We are all under construction our whole lives. We remain a work in progress, and I think that if we can remember that, it can change our approach to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" About this site This blog is a collection of articles, updates and musings about my efforts to keep my body, mind and spirit healthy. About the quote The quote from George Sheehan in the header reflects a lot of how … Continue reading About me<\/h3>\n
About the picture<\/h3>\n