Resolve to get fit while having fun

5;45 P.M. FRIDAY UPDATE: Organizers of Battle Ground’s Resolution Run and polar bear slide have announced that the event has been canceled due to this weekend’s snow and ice storm. Further details, including plans for participating in the event virtually, are available on the event’s webpage.

Calories love us more than we love them. Even when we’re ready to call off the affair, they just don’t let go.

Science has reassured us lately that taking off weight is harder than putting it on. (As if we didn’t know.) The slimming-down body resists in sneaky ways: As you reduce fat deposits, certain hormones trigger greater muscle efficiency while other hormones dramatically stoke up the appetite. So, even while your body is burning fewer calories and storing up more, your hungry gut urges you to overeat.

All of which is probably an evolutionary leftover from the times when calories were hard to come by and losing weight was an emergency. Those times have changed — now we’re floating in soda and french fries and other calorie-rich, nutritionally negligible foods — and our lifestyle is mostly sedentary. Bad combination.

According to an annually updated report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation called “The State of Obesity,” the childhood obesity rate “has leveled off” while the rapid rise in adult obesity “has started to slow.” That’s welcome news, but the overall trends remain alarming.

Which is no excuse not to try. Not only is getting fit the right thing to do, it’s also bolstered by community efforts to make it fun.

Run around Ridgefield

On Jan. 7, Ridgefield’s monthly First Saturday will feature physical activity from running to drumming. At 10 a.m., two different outings will launch from downtown’s Davis Park: an easy, 1-mile run/walk will head along the waterfront while a more challenging 3-mile route for runners will explore downtown as well as trails in nearby Abrams Park.

Local fitness businesses including Unleashed Fitness N.W., Tailored Fitness and Ray-O-Hope will offer stretching, body composition scans, Zumba and other exercise sessions every half-hour starting at 10:30 a.m. at Ridgefield Community Center.

Shannon Meade of Supporting Balance will present a more mental approach to wellness at 11 a.m. Her “Tweak Your Self-Talk” focuses on overcoming the internal messages of guilt, stress and inadequacy that can dominate and damage our lives.

Even the Opus School of Music is getting into the act. Rob Melton’s private music academy will host a “Planet Drum” circle at 1 p.m. If you enjoy banging on drums, you’ve already enjoyed the scientifically proven health benefits: drumming is a cardiovascular workout that lowers blood pressure, purges stress, boosts immunity, improves brain function and releases neurotransmitters called endorphins, which suppress pain and promote pleasure. Group drumming in particular has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety.

And if you’ve never experienced the vigorous joy of making noise with your hands, consider this your invitation. Opus will provide all the equipment. According to Melton, “Planet Drum” isn’t just rhythmic exercise — it’s a guided journey through drum patterns and traditional songs from all around the globe.

All of these sessions, held in the Ridgefield Community Center’s small room, are free. There will also be local vendors in the large room; they may charge for products and services.

Resolve to run?

If you resolved to remake your bod in 2017 — or even just to get a bit more active and lessen a love handle or two — Battle Ground’s Resolution Run would be a good way to start. There are 10K and 5K races, beginning at 10 a.m. and 10:05 a.m., followed by a single-K “cub run” that starts at 11:15 a.m.

All registrants get a finisher medal, race tech T-shirt, goodie bag, coat check and an after-party featuring a pancake breakfast with beer. No registrants are sentenced to the chilly Polar Bear Slide — an entirely voluntary experience in stripping down to your swimsuit, taking a running start and trying not to turn blue as you slip along wet, chilly plastic. After that, take an immediate dip in a hot tub provided by Arctic Spas. Human penguins are welcome to slide and dip, slide and dip to their hearts’ content.

Registration is $55 per person or $15 for the 1K.

CrossFit champions

But if you’d rather let unbelievable athletes do all the tough stuff — while you sit back and watch — check out the invitational CrossFit Fort Vancouver Championships, with 16 male and 16 female pairs as well as masters athletes competing in grueling events including pull-ups, “pistol” squats, burpees, weighted barbell lifts and barbell lunges.

The event is headed for the Clark County Events Center Jan. 6 through Jan. 8. Weekend passes for spectators are $33. There are limited one- or two-day passes, available at the door and for cash only, for $10 or $20.