So, here on Day 20 of my 100-day health and fitness journey,.

I thought I'd pause to look back, answer some questions, offer some encouragement, and make a couple confessions. . So these first three weeks have been really interesting because my whole life I've thought of my body as a kind of antagonist in the story of myself like it's the thing that holds me back-- the burden I have to lug around so that I can think and feel.

I've never really been somebody who revels in my senses. To be honest, much of my lie I've kind of hated my body, which is probably why for years I knowingly punished it by smoking cigarettes, but that's another story. And it's only in the past ten years or so that I've begun to understand that my body is not the enemy of my self, but part of it.

And although it might not be immediately obvious to look at me, I've been a somewhat active person for years now, like before 100 Days started, I could, for instance, run 3 or 4 miles comfortably. So even from the start, I wasn't, like, going from spending all day on the couch to these hour-long workouts with Laura, although, it was still a significant jump in activity level. I mention this because when this whole thing started, Dr.

Aaron Carol specifically told me that you get almost all of the proven health benefits to exercise from 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per day, 5 days a week. Now in the first 20 days, Chris and I have done somewhat more than that, usually 60 minutes per day and often at a high intensity because when we started this, I discovered almost immediately that. I like working out, especially to the point of exhaustion: It makes me happy.

Now, that's a very particular experience, and I don't know if it will be your experience, but to me there are lots of benefits to these hour long exercise routines, most notably: mental health benefits. Also, it's important to remember that Chris and I are exercising under the guidance of professionals. Laura has a master's degree and over 15 years of experience doing this, and we both had a full battery of medical tests including cardiac stress tests before starting, so please bear that in mind.

Our hope here is that seeing me - a person who, you know, does not appear to be a paragon of physical fitness - growing in strength and fitness will help other people who may think that their bodies aren't suited to exercise. But I do want to underscore again that you can get almost all of the proven health benefits of exercise from 30 minutes of moderate activity per day, 5 days a week. That means doubles tennis, rock climbing, brisk walking, bike riding- whatever works for you.

So in my case, not rock climbing. And the resources you can find over at the community tab or in the dooblydoo below will also introduce you to exercise routines that are challenging, but not necessarily exhausting. But there are also other benefits to exercise - at least for me; Mental health benefits especially, which I'll get into in a future episode.

But also it's nice to feel stronger and to be able to carry my son up the stairs or play soccer with my daughter without getting tired. And although it's only been twenty days, my body does feel different but more importantly for me, my relationship to my body feels different. And then there's my relationship with food which is ... hard Exercise is challenging for one hour a day and I feel awesome afterwards food is challenging all day, everyday.

We'll get into this much more as the show continues, but the goal here is long-term sustainable change, and twenty days in is far too soon to declare victory or defeat. One question I've seen a lot in comments -- and by the way, please keep the questions coming; we'll address as many as we can in future episodes-- is what you really need to do to get started. Like, I was obsessed with preparation before 100 Days.

I bought all these dumbbells and workout shirts and shorts with advanced sweat wicking technology and fancy shoes and five different fitness trackers and quite a lot of US Quidditch headbands. I'll discuss my vehement hatred for fitness trackers in a future episode, but almost all of that preparation was, in retrospect, kind of a needless expense. Some people swear by expensive workout clothes and I'm not here to tell you what works for you, but for me, I find that plain cotton t-shirts cause me less chafing, and that I can sweat through any material so it doesn't really matter.

Dumbbells are great, but you don't need them. Like, Todd Beattie, the guy from the obstacle course who can do that one-legged Pistol Squat told me that he got fit using only body weight exercises, lunges, and push-ups, and the like. The two things I am very grateful for: Good shoes and US Quidditch headbands.

On the shoe front, if you're going to run or walk a lot, it really helps to go to a shoe store where an expert can get you the right pair of shoes for your gait. And if you sweat as much as I do, headbands keep the sweat out of your eyes and glasses and, plus, they look awesome. Mostly what you need to get started is your body:.

Not a perfect body, or a dream body, or the body you want to have, but yours. It may take time to find an activity you enjoy or to get good enough at it to enjoy it, and I'll happily admit that exercise isn't for everyone. But I've discovered, to my surprise in the last twenty days, that regular exercise is for me, and I would encourage you to at least try to get out there and get moving.

By the way, if you're in the market for a 100% cotton t-shirt, this one is available for pre-order now at DFTBA.com. It's f ing majestic. Thanks for watching, and for all of your encouragement.

Again, please keep the questions coming. I'll see you on day twenty-three. *Rock music playing* *The song is still playing*.