Here’s what I came up with:

• I’m not in bad health – My body mass index is around 23-24. My body fat is around 19%. There’s room for improvement, but I don’t have a major vice that is putting me into unhealthy weight/fat ranges.
• I have never smoked – If you smoke that should probably rise to the top of your biggest vice list.

However, I thought some more about the “room for improvement” that I’ve bolded above. I’d like to have six pack abs instead of just being physically pretty healthy. With that in mind, I realized my biggest vice is a Voltron of smaller ones. Put them together and they add up to one big, bad vice. Here they are:

• Nutrition – I like my steak. I even like a prime rib. It might be one of the worst foods for you. I also don’t like many vegetables. That includes some of the best ones for you like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.
• Exercise – While I have been extremely good at getting exercise in recently, I’ve had months and months where I abstained from exercise. Yes, I was simply living up to my name.
• Medicine – Doctors scare the hell out of me. Hospitals make me nauseous. I used to work as a pharmacy technician at a hospital for three years – each day I walked into work sick to my stomach. My fear of doctors prevents me from getting the regular check-ups and tests that I know I should have.

Let’s learn from each other. What is your biggest vice? Share in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Frosted_Peppercorn

Be Ben Franklin – healthy, wealthy, wise.

in an attempt cover both my health and money sites. Instead I decided to write two different ones (you can read the money one at: Lazy Man and Money).

Experience all life has to offer

That’s the reason to be healthy. It’s very hard to have positive experiences when you are sick, injured, or dead. It really is that simple.

It got me to thinking… how does one be healthy in New York City? I realize many walk or ride their bikes everywhere. That has to be a good start. However it seems like the deck is stacked against residents. The pizza is too tasty to pass up. The Chinese food is great. Don’t get me started on the cheese steaks. Beyond all that temptation, there’s the difficulty in shopping. One of my friends almost never has more than a ketchup bottle in his fridge. I would probably live the same way because I don’t see myself carrying a lot of food three or four blocks.

I’m going to double up on my workout today. Perhaps I really can turn back the clock and pretend this weekend did happen. In the end, I have to remember that one weekend doesn’t constitute an entire lifestyle – it’s fine to deviate from good health habits every now and again.

• I haven’t been to a concert in five years. At 31 am I too old for such a heavy metal band? If I think logically, there will surely be many people who are older, but going with a group that is 25 does make me feel older than I am.
• What do I do about the noise? I bought these earplugs for my wife to use at work. You’ll notice that they are pink and yellow. They will go in great contrast with the black that everyone will be wearing. I know I shouldn’t think about such things and just use the earplugs to save my hearing. However, there are times when I’m not comfortable in social situations and the combination of new friends, being the old guy, and wearing funny ear plugs will test me. I will use the ear plugs and be stronger for the experience.
• I wish my wife would go with me.  She’s a great comfort to me in social situations when I’m feeling uncomfortable panic attacks creep up. Unfortunately, she’ll be out of town. She also doesn’t like the heavy music that will be played there.

It should be an interesting experience. I hope my ears come back in tact.

When I had spare money, it meant that I could buy healthier foods. I could buy the boneless, skinless chicken breast and salads at McDonalds. However, I had no time to exercise. I would work 9 hours a day, come home, do some chores, spend some time with my wife, do some blogging, and go to sleep. The next day, I’d get up and do it all again.

Now that I have spare time, I am able to get some quality gym time in. That’s a significant health benefit. In fact, there are plenty of cheap ways to exercise that don’t require a gym. On the other side of the coin, now that I’m unemployed a McDonalds’ salad is a luxury that I’m cutting out. I’m more likely to grab a double cheeseburger. Today, I even bought generic “Ramen” noodles from Wal-Mart. It’s some of the least healthy food you can imagine – no protein, all complex carbs, high sodium (though I don’t use the whole sodium flavor packet).

There are some healthy cheap foods as well. I bought some very low cost beans – a very healthy food. I’ve also switched to ice water instead of Diet Coke. In the end, I think I’m better off now with exercise than I was before.