Chris: I would love nothing more than for us both to do the 50 push-ups at the end of 50 days.

John: Aw, me too. I really want 50 push-ups.

C: At the end of a hundred days. Is it called 100 Days?

[100 Days intro]

J: [voice-over] Welcome back to 100 Days. So we're about halfway through this project in which my best friend Chris and I try to have a healthy midlife crisis. We've had our ups and downs so far; for instance, on Day 1, I threw up. And on Day 16, I was very pleased to come down off of this rock wall.

Chris and I have supported each other, enabled each other, and fought about pizza. I've bruised my tailbone and my pride, but we've also had lots of fun. So Chris joined me in the studio to chat about some of these highs and lows, and we talked about the project and how it's shaped our friendship.

J: How do you feel like this, uh, project has been for our friendship?

C: Uhhh, I feel like it's been great. I've always done physical activities with my friends, and that's something our friendship wasn't based as much on that as it was on other aspects of our life — our families, our neighbors, our sense of humor, um, our love of the book Abundance of Katherines.

J: [laughs]

C: It's almost like being on a team together. Like playing a team sport where we started the season, and we're halfway through the season, and you're just kind of, like, taking joys and the other person's successes as well.

J: Right.

C: Not just your own.

J: Yeah, I— definitely when we started out, I remember the first time you were doing the push-ups, I was like, "Oh man, Chris has done more push-ups than me." And now I'm just like, "Come on, Chris! get another push-up in!"

C: Right.

J: [voice-over] We also went through some of the moments where we surprised ourselves and each other.

J: I guess like the main thing that I've learned about Chris is that he has that ability to focus and, like, get it done, even when it's hard. And that's really impressive to me. We don't quit now. We might have to adapt an exercise to make it work for our bodies—

C: Right.

J: —or to make it work for our fitness levels, but we aren't quitting now, which is pretty awesome.

C: Yeah. The most impressed I've been with John far and away was when we did the boxing workout, because I recognized, like, how hard that was. And knowing where you were and where you've come from, I didn't think there was any way you were gonna be able to finish that. I didn't think there was gonna be any way you could get through 60 minutes of that intense of a workout. And there's no way you could have done that a few years ago.

J: No.

C: Or ten years ago, or when you were like 25 years old.

J: Or 30 days ago. The number one change that's gonna last in my life is that I like exercising, and it's good for me. Not just good for me physically, it's good for all facets of me.

J: [voice-over] And we reminisced about some of our favorite memories from the past 50 days in general.

J: The— the number one moment that Chris impressed me was when he got on roller skates for the first time since, like, middle school, and he just took off.

C: Well, I mean, I think the video will show that it wasn't that graceful.

J: I mean—

C: That it wasn't that smooth.

J: I think if we could do side-by-side comparison right—

C: Right.

J: —everyone will agree that, compared to me, you became a Naptown roller girl.

C: Ah, yeah.

J: [voice-over] And then we discussed our goals going forward. 

J: I want to do 50 push-ups in one minute. I have no other goals and expectations. All I want to do is 50 push-ups in a minute.

C: I'd like to somehow increase my pull-ups.

J: Yeah.

C: It's one thing I've struggled with my entire life.

J: You just have— I mean, you're a big, big dude.

C: I'm a— and handsome.

J: [voice-over] We also met with our psychologist, Erica Gallmeyer, who you might remember from a few weeks ago. We chatted with her in a little more detail about our progress. I really wanted help with my over-snacking problem, especially at night, so we talked about that quite a bit.

J: In that process of making progress, I have also seen, I guess, with different eyes, certain behaviors that I did before—

Erica: Okay.

J: —that I still do now, although to a— probably to a lesser extent.

C: Even when you're at my house on Sunday and you're eating chips, I noticed you weren't as aggre— you weren't as aggressive towards the bowl of chips as you normally are.

E: The idea is that you're not being perfect, but you're still making progress. It's about progress, not perfection.

C: Mm-hmm.

J: Right.

E: And I hear you saying that you're doing that, but I also hear you saying you're not completely happy with that, either.

J: Oh, I get so angry at myself when I don't have that self-control, or the discipline.

E: Mm-hmm.

J: It's basically like, you know, almost a form of the relationship that I have with the other compulsive behaviors that I have to do. 

E: Sure.

J: Like, part of it is this feeling of not being in control being so frustrating.

E: You said it. Absolutely. Yes.

J: [voice-over] She also wanted some more details about Chris's eating patterns.

C: I've found a pretty good balance with it, you know. During the week I'm really good about it, and then Friday and Saturday nights, I kind of...eat a little more normally. And if I eat poorly, I feel it the next day.

E: You feel gross. Yeah.

C: You know, your stomach is unsettled, and you're lethargic and you feel, like, the effects of that food.

E: Yeah. Yeah.

J: [voice-over] We talked about Chris and I's shared lack of interest in meditation.

C: I enjoy it, but I don't feel like I get a big relief or it slows me down or helps me focus in my day.

J: Well, I feel...

C: Maybe if I did it for longer.

J: ...like it is completely counterproductive, and way, way worse than just spending ten minutes working. 

E: Oh.

J: You know, there's this thought that you're gonna let the thoughts pass by like clouds in the sky, or like you're standing on the side of the road and the cars are going past and you just don't get in the cars of your thoughts or whatever.

E: Right. 

J: Which is a— that sounds lovely. I mean, that's a lovely idea. But that's completely impractical. I've never had a thought that I didn't get in the car with my entire life. But I would say that it heightens my anxiety much more often than it doesn't.

E: I will be completely honest with you, mindfulness and meditation, as I mentioned before, it is research-based, it is evidence-based, it does work. However, there are cases where it doesn't. Because you do get inside your own head, and you don't feel safe inside of your own head. 

J: Right.

E: It's not comfortable to be inside of your own head.

J: [voice-over] And Erica ended up giving me some really good advice for how to handle my mood in regards to eating.

E: So we're gonna do this thing, it's called 3-2-1. Alright? So, at the end of the day, we're gonna think of three things you did well, and maybe it is just "I didn't attack the bag of Doritos, like I would've before." You know? So three things you did well, two things you can improve on, and a goal for tomorrow. If you don't accomplish that goal, you move it to the next day. It's really not a big deal. But you're forcing yourself to point out the positives. Because I'm hearing Chris point out the positives in what you're doing, but I'm not hearing you necessarily point out all the positives that you're doing in terms of your diet.

J: Yeah.

E: And so I think this is a way that it's gonna force you to look at yourself in a positive way...not negative, it's sort of feedback, you know...and then a goal.

J: Okay.

J: [voice-over] So we now have about 50 days to go until our big 10K race. If you're interested in more details on that, please check out our GoFundMe page. Also, the crew has posed a new challenge to Chris and me: because we have not been tracking our food that well, it's now going to be a competition. Whoever has the lowest percentage of meal pictures taken by the end of the next 50 days has to do a solo workout with our toughest instructor yet, Suzana. [ominous music]

So I for one am suddenly highly motivated to engage in food tracking. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next time.

[outro music]

J: I've run in Chris's draft before, and it is a total draft. I mean, you can hide your whole body behind it.

C: Mm. It is.

J: So. Yeah.

C: It's like getting behind a semi.

J: [laughs] Yeah, exactly!

C: Getting behind a semi in your little Prius.

J: It's like being in the Peloton in the Tour de France. You never feel a bit of wind.