The Fit Bohemian

Fitness Truths I've Learned - Part 1

2011-07-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

FITNESS TRUTHS I'VE LEARNED

PART ONE: THE BEGINNING

If dieting most of one's life qualifies one as an expert on the subject, well then, call me an expert! My adventure in self loathing started in eighth grade when I went on my first DIET. Adding up 1200 calories a day was advanced math for me. I learned to love Tab (remember THAT low calorie bug spray called a drink?) and to hate my hips. It was a love and hate that grew....or maybe I grew to love to hate things about my body. My legs were NEVER thin enough, my weight could NEVER go down enough (did I mention that I only weighed 107 pounds as a freshman in HS and STILL thought I was too big), and when I did the daily comparisons to EVERY other female I knew, I NEVER felt I measured up to their good looks or figures.

You'd think that this frame of mind would be a bad habit that I'd outgrow like nailbiting or nose picking (don't scrunch up your face like that, you KNOW you were a nose picker at one time just like the rest of us!!). But, instead of outgrowing this mental self mutilation, I seemed to cultivate it. The heavier and unattractiver (word creating here) I believed I was, the more I ate. Which, not so ironically just made me heavier! When I joined the Army, I started doing real physical activity for the first time in my life. It was difficult for the first couple of years, but I persevered and actually started really enjoying exercise and especially running. But it was still not enough. In my mind, I still wasn't thin enough. I decided to go on Slimfast to see if I could reach my goal of getting below 125 lbs. I decided to try Slimfast. I drank a Slimfast for breakfast, lunch and had a Lean Cuisine and bagel for dinner. On top of that, I upped my workouts: PT 3 times a week and taught or took aerobics a few times a week. I was devoted to the regime for 2 weeks! I got down to 117 lbs in my entire uniform (boots included). Surely, I was now content. Guess again!

"Well!", my mind raced, "If I can get to 117, I bet I could get to 115!" And with that....... Welcome Serene to Never Enough Airlines! Please be seated and keep your seatbelt fastened. Water and a refreshment selection of frustration, self condemnation and digital scales will be served when we reach cruising altitude." If I could get into a 7, how about a 5?! It just wouldn't stop! I COULDN'T STOP!

I'll skip enumerating the next couple of decades. Suffice it to say that with the birth of my four kids and all the changes that brought to my physical appearance AND hormones, I was building some serious frequent flyer miles on Never Enough Air! Unfortunately, they're only useable on select destinations such as "Your-still-fatsburg" and "Why-don't-your-legs-look-like-hersville" and the ever entertaining vacation destination "Tomorrow-I'm-REALLY-getting-serious-about-my-diet City". Again, enter one diet after another and all the while I'm working at either Jenny Craig, Nutri System or Inches Away. Nothing like being around even MORE women who are frustrated with how they look to encourage me to push through my dissatisfaction to severe angst!

Finally, with the illness and death of my mother 5 1/2 years ago, I woke up a bit out of my self flagellation fog. Here I was hand wringing over every morsel I put in my mouth and my sweet, YOUNG (56 years)mother was so ill and weak she looked like a concentration camp survivor. It was painful to see and it put my whole self involved weight obsession into perspective. She can't even eat, can't even keep food down and I'm worried about how many calories are in something! Can't you just see how ludicrous that is?! I could! And so finally I just said, "ENOUGH!" Over the next couple of years, there were some stressful events that happened in my life and I turned to exercise to turn OFF my brain....to metaphorically RUN or EXHAUST the hurt out of me. Working out was therapy. Therapy I very much needed. Over the past few years, that ol' dragon of "not good enough" still wants to rear it's head every now and then. Just when I think I've finally reached a point where I'm comfortable with my body and I don't have to be thinner, smaller or anything other than me, something will trigger that "Maybe I need to diet" button and I'll have to talk myself off the ledge.

Today, I'm in overall better shape than I've probably ever been. I eat healthy 80 - 85% time and slowly learning how to make that 90 - 95% of the time. As I write this, I know I'm qualified to share some things I've learned about fitness through my own personal experience AND working in the diet and fitness industry off and on for 20+ years. They're simple things. It's not rocket science after all, and much of it is just common sense. But what I've found is that how we view our bodies is not a cerebral reaction but rather a very emotional one. It's time, no it's actually PAST time to stop viewing our bodies as our personal nemeses. My body is not my enemy. It's the container that houses the very essence of who and what I am in my physical form. There IS a way to take care of it that has NOTHING to do with whipping it into shape or forcing it to behave a certain way. Hopefully with this series, you and your body can become friends!

Foster Care for Obese Kids?

2011-07-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Should the government intervene if your child is grossly overweight? Interesting question. Seems that there is a piece in Wednesday's Journal of American Medical Association that suggests just that. According to this article there are "roughly 2 million US children who are extremely obese". This is sad but not shocking. I mean, let's face it, it's become an American and European passtime to joke about how fat Americans are.

It's certainly a bad state of affairs when DSS would have to step in and take control of a home situation that has spawned an obese child. And from the numbers that they mention in this article, we're talking about a 400 lb 12 year old. Read that again.....FOUR. HUNDRED. POUNDS. That's alot of weight. For a prepubescent kid who has enough angsts without extra weight, I can only imagine how devestating it is to carry around this much weight. Physically, to be sure. But also, MENTALLY & EMOTIONALLY.

How do you feel about government intervention on this? Is it the parents' fault if a child is obese?

My thoughts are this: The issue of obesity in adults and children is a CULTURE issue. The American lifestyle is, let's face it, very sedentary and very fast food oriented. Until we make a major shift in how we live our lives, foster care, fad diets and exercise DVDs are simply band aids. Obesity is a symptom of a larger issue (no pun intended!). Even the kids that were cited successfully losing weight by being in foster care, lost weight through portion and quality control and physical activity. It's not rocket science, but it certainly IS a change in the way we live our lives.

As far as government getting involved, does it really have to go that far?

Put down the diet soda and back away very slowly.....

2011-06-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

I think, in fact, I really believe, I may be addicted to diet soda. I tend to use way too many artificial sweeteners anyway. Lemme count them up:

Coffee in am - 1-2 splendas
Coffee at work - 3 blue packets
Possible diet coke from sonic (route 44, of course!)
About 2 diet gingerales every evening
Evening coffee - 1-2 splendas

Man!!! That's alot of artificial stuff! I'm trying to eat healthier. I've eaten vegetables that I NEVER thought I would eat and avoid processed food. But look what I'm putting in my body!!! I can't tell you how I CRAVE diet soda. I can't stand regular soda, but I feel like sometimes I just HAVE to have a diet one.

Today, I came across this regarding a new study on diet sodas. This is one part that really got my attention:

"Researchers at the Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio tracked 474 people, all 65 to 74 years old, for nearly a decade, measuring the subjects' height, weight, waist circumference, and diet soft drink intake every 3.6 years. The waists of those who drank diet soft drinks grew 70 percent more than those who avoided the artificially sweetened stuff; people who drank two or more servings a day had waist-circumference increases that were five times larger than non-diet-soda consumers."

I've noticed over the last few years that my waist has grown. Now, I'm almost 45 so I know that some of this is a normal part of aging. But now I'm thinking that some of that waist thickening may actually be attributed to my overuse of sweetener. What's really interesting is that our bodies often treat sweeteners and sugar the same way....the sweet taste triggers the release of insulin which inhibits our ability to burn fat. (source)

If you read the article above, it even states that people who drink diet soda have a 41% increase in their chance of being overweight with every can of diet soda they drink. Now, my first response is, "How can that be? The calories aren't there." After thinking about it, I think what happens is we either "treat" ourselves to other goodies because we've been so "good" with our diet drinks. I've also noticed in myself that I eat more when I drink diet drinks. I often feel like I don't even want a hamburger if I can't have a diet soda with it. Diet soda seems to increase my appetite as opposed to when I drink water with a meal. I mean, pizza and WATER!? What fun is that? But as I'm swigging my diet drink, I can almost eat double of what I eat when I drink water.

Alright, so now I have this information; what do I do with it?

Is this really what we want to teach our kids?

2011-06-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

We hear alot about childhood obesity. Obviously it's an issue that needs to be addressed. But what do we really consider obese? In a culture that values extreme thin, can we really trust ourselves to look at our children and assess if they are truly overweight? And if they are, what is the best way to address that situation?

source

First of all, what is really overweight for a child? Personally, I loathe height/weight charts for ANYONE. I don't believe we need a chart to tell us how we feel, if we're healthy, if we're thin enough or even heavy enough. There's no template for the perfect body. We're all different. Sitting at Panera Bread Company this weekend, I found myself people watching and was hit by a silly notion. The average person has two legs, two arms, a torso, two eyes, two ears, a nose a mouth, and two feet. We basically all have the same parts. And yet, there are so many variations that the sum of those parts can come up with. You'd think that there would be a finite number of body types and that we would all have to fall into one category. But amazingly, if you putt 100 women with a "pear shape" body type in a room; they'd all look different. They may have similar body types, but they would look noticeably different from each other.

So, being that we're all so different; how can we possibly think that a chart (however scientifically formulated) could tell us what our body is supposed to look like or weigh? NOW, throw a child into that. A child who is still growing, approaching puberty, possibly in the middle of puberty, and going through incredible body changes. How in the world can we accurately say that many of these children are overweight? Is there really a weight that they SHOULD (don't you just hate that word?) weigh? I say, we really can't.

In fact, I don't think the problem is weight or body size at all; and I believe this to be the case even for adults. The excess weight is a symptom, NOT a diagnosis. The issue is inactivity and overeating nutrition starved food. So when dealing with a child and weight, do we really want to start talking numbers to them? Do we really want to focus their attention on the scale? How've we, as adults, done with that? Are American adults getting any thinner or are we tipping the dreaded scales more than ever before?

The solution then, is to get our kids MOVING daily and EATING well at least 80% of the time. Forget the weight, that will take care of itself. Don't even mention weight to them and for goodness sakes, please don't suggest to your child that they are getting too heavy. You may as just get them a gift certificate to the "Self Loathing and Low Self Esteem" store. They are not too heavy. But they may be too inactive. They may be making wrong food choices. THAT'S where the answer lies. Even mentioning their weight to them is far more dangerous to them than that actual weight. And here's why, it will be easier for our children to get active and shed pounds than it will be for them to overcome a negative self image once that seed has been planted. Ideas about ourselves formed in our brains are harder to lose than inches formed on our hips.

Ten Ways to Live Healthier and Happier!

2011-03-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

It seems to me sometimes that fitness is sooooo complicated. You have to eat this. Work out like this, not that. I think what happens is that we equate fitness with losing weight. They aren't necessarily the same. And while I may run the risk of giving the impression that I think NO ONE needs to lose, in my opinion, often it's not "weight loss" that people need; it's just to get healthy and gain healthier habits. The accompanying weight loss is just a by product of making healthy changes to your lifestyle.

Which brings me to the topic on hand today. What are some easy things that ANYONE can do to lead a healthier and happier life? What good is health if you're miserable, right? So I've come up with a short list of ten things that any of us can do to get on the right path. There's nothing scientific about them and honestly, no studies were done. But after over 20 years of working in the weight loss/health care/fitness industry and a lifetime of battling my own body image related demons (I kicked their butts!!!); I'm going to consider myself someone who knows what they're talking about. Put me on the stand and make me expert witness! Here we go.....

1. Get rid of your scale! - We get fixated on a number that really doesn’t mean anything. Ditch the scale! Most of the time, it’s not going to tell you what you want to hear anyway. It's not your friend! That number doesn't necessarily mean anything. Instead, measure your progress by how you feel and how your clothes fit.

2. Make small changes. – Don’t think you have to commit to exercising 2 hours 5 days a week. Or restrict your calories to 800 or some other outrageous number. Make small changes like giving up (or reducing) the amount of soda you drink. Drink 8 glasses of water. Forego having bread for a couple of meals a day. Small and smart changes add up and are easier to make a part of your lifestyle. One of my favorite sayings is, "Little and often fills the pot". This applies to so many things, even a healthy lifestyle. Small changes practiced often lead to healthy results.

3. Commit to make exercise part of your lifestyle. – You don’t have to kill yourself, just commit to do some physical activity every day. Commit to SWEAT every day. Even if it’s only for 20 minutes to start. Again, don't go NUTS! Don't try to do something that you're not going to be about to keep up with for a lifetime. Just commit to MOVE everyday...in some way...yoga, zumba, rumba or some other fun thing ending in "a"!

4. Change the voices in your head. – The voices in our heads tend to tell us a lot of negative stuff. Think about this: If someone came up and said to you even half of the stuff you say to yourself, you'd slap their face. You wouldn't let someone disrespect you and talk to you like you're nothing; so why do you disrespect and talk to yourself like that? Quit allowing those voices to say things to you that you wouldn’t allow anyone else to say to you! Make those voices talk nice and respectfully to you. Your body will respond in kind!

5. Listen to your body. – Really listen. Is it hungry? Feed it what it needs. Is it tired? Give it rest. Is it stressed? Help it relax. Listen to your body and get to know it. Your body and your brain don’t always agree. Most of the time, it’s your body that’s right! Your body can do more than what your brain says it can! Again, that's why we HAVE to feed our brain, right, positive, motivating, loving thoughts.

6. Sleep 7-8 hours a night. - Period. End of story. Our bodies need to rest and regenerate. We are complex machines that require a lot of energy just to move. Just to digest food. Our bodies need sleep as a time for it to perform routine maintenance. I hear you. "Serene, I just have too much to do. I just can't go to bed until this stuff is done." YES. YOU. CAN! That "to do" list that we cling to will still be there when you wake up.

7. Stay away from sugar. – There is nothing healthy that comes from sugar. It puts fat on us. It wreaks havoc on our moods. It prevents us from knowing what real hunger feels like. Cut down SIGNIFICANTLY on the amount of sugar you take it and you’ll see a HUGE change in your body AND how you feel. I'm not saying never have another sweet. But consider how much sugar you're having every day and then make ways to decrease that.

8. Incorporate strength training. – Muscles burn fat. Muscle is what spurs your metabolism. Build lean muscle and you are building a fat fighting furnace! It's okay to get off the treadmill. You won't blow up and get fat. Move rapidly through strength training moves and you'll still get the cardio benefit that you get from the treadmill.

9. Eat real food. – You want butter? Eat REAL butter. You want chocolate? Eat really GOOD chocolate. Sour cream? Don’t go fat free. The flavor that it loses from eliminating the fat is replaced by sugar and chemicals. Eat REAL food. You’ll find that it takes less to satisfy you and you’ll enjoy it sooooo much more. Often we binge on foods because we never feel satisfied. We're trying to feed our bodies with nutrition deprived foods and so our bodies keep wanting more. But, and this is where the listening to your body comes in, our bodies are asking for FOOD, not junk. We don't put water in our gas tank and expect our car to run. That's ridiculous, right? And yet, we put nutrient deficient food into our bodies and then want those bodies to perform. Doesn't work that way. Eat REAL. A good rule of thumb: most of what really feeds your body is along the perimeter of the grocery store. Dairy, fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs, etc...those are real foods and they aren't in the aisles. It's the processed and over sugared foods that are in the aisle shelves. Keep along the perimeter and you'll do fine!

10. Build relationships with those you love. – Oh, I could wax poetic about this for hours on end! There’s so much more to life than what size pants we wear, or if we look like a super model in our swimsuit. Build relationships with the people that you love. Live for them, NOT what you look at in the mirror. Your workouts and your body are not the end....they are the MEANS to an end. That end being that you live longer and stronger for and with the people you love! Something that we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

Why I Write

2011-03-02T05:34:00.000-08:00

Writing is cathartic for me. It helps me clarify and organize my thoughts. It helps me muddle through the melange of ideas and ideologies that fill my head. It puts me on the right track of why I espouse an opinion and what exactly that opinion is.

Sometimes, it can also feel like vomitting. Pardon me for being so blunt and coarse. I used to talk aloud to myself and thus "vomit" up all the thoughts and questions in my head. I thought that would always be a part of my life, this talking to myself. But maybe it's evidence of a better place I am in my life that talking aloud to myself has simply gone away. Like the person who you always seem to see in line at the grocery store and then one day you realize, "Hey wait, I haven't seen ..... in a while". My release from this self talk snuck up on me. That internal angst and fear that accompanied my life like a silent companion; just left surreptitiously one unknown evening.

I think it's because now I write. It's a compulsion. When I feel questions arise; when I find myself forming an absolulte on an idea; when I'm taking my stand; when I'm completely lost in confusion or see things that leave me wanting to scream at the injustice or weep for the hurt I'm seeing others deal with....then I HAVE to write. I have to sort it out - to GET it out.

Maybe that's the healthy part of the talking to self AND the writing. Because it IS getting it all out. My feelings are there. I mean, GOOD NIGHT, I feel like I'm immersed in them sometimes. So they have to get out of my brain, my heart, my conscience and on to something else. If I can make those thoughts visible, I can sort them out. I can deal with them. I can make sense of the jumble that is my brain sometimes. So even this morning, as I'm gearing up to start work and take care of the essential minutae of having a job; I found myself needing to write. If only to write about why I need to write....I just felt a little over flowing and needed to loosen the valve a bit.

My First Love!

2010-12-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

I feel great! I feel FABULOUS! I'm Leo DeCaprio in Titanic with my arms open wide proclaiming, "I'm king of the wooooooorld!" Why do I feel so euphoric? I'll tell you....I worked out at 4:30 this morning! I know that to many, this seems like a ridiculous time to come workout. Or you say, "Man, I wish I could get up that early, I just can't" But I have to tell you, it feels so great!

The workout feels wonderful in itself. But what really feels great is starting my day this way. I almost literally jumped out of bed (it's the only way I can do on a cold morning...there's no such thing as slowly letting go of the warmth of the covers. You just have to jump out of bed and get into workout clothes as quickly as possible). I quickly got dressed, my sweet husband started my car for me while I brushed my teeth and put in earrings. Then I was out the door and on my way to the gym!

Within about 40 minutes of waking up, I've got music blasting in my ears and my body moving! What an incredible way to start the day!?! I've got more energy right at this moment than I've had in a while at this same time of day. I don't have my workout "hanging over my head". It's done! Anything else exercise related that I do today is just a bonus! Words can barely express how liberating that alone feels. I'm not one of these that can consistently exercise in the afternoon. My good intentions get knocked out by the sucker punch of "Oh Man, I really don't feel like changing clothes and working out". It just seems like such a hassle and usually I already have a "to do list" of things that still need to be done at home for the day.

Another thing I love about that crazy early workout is that I don't feel like I'm taking anything away from anyone. The kids are still in bed. There's nothing else really that I'd get up at 4am for that wouuld make a difference in my day. Since getting married last year, I stopped the early workouts because it's so much harder getting out of bed when there's a warm snuggler laying beside you! I still have my warm snuggler, but I may have to resist the temptation to snuggle and get my early workouts in again. All I know is, today, I feel MAHVELOUS!!!!

Small Changes = Big Results......Update #1

2010-10-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

So, I'm on Day #3 of my Small Change Big Results mini series. On Sunday, my first day, I only got in about 44 ounces. I was literally, sitting on my couch at 8 pm watching a House marathon rapidly sucking down water from a VAT! Needless to say, topping off your bladder right before bedtime, is not necessarily a contestant in the "Best Idea" category!

Monday, now that was a different story! I drank a little over my 64 ounces and actually had no diet soda at all. My plan is that I'll not disallow diet pepsi, but I have to drink all my water first. As it turned out yesterday, I ran out of time to drink anything other than water. The bladder is coming under control and I had surprisingly more energy even by bedtime last night. I'll keep you posted. Drinking this much water is a habit that should last a lifetime, so I'm on my way!

Small Changes = Big Results......The Mini Series

2010-10-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love a good mini series? Well, I'm starting one minus Jane Seymour. By the way, the first mini series I ever saw was East of Eden and she was absolutely EVIL in that! I digress....I'm of the firm belief that small changes yield big results. Rather, small CONSISTENT changes yield big results. I think people fail with their exercise routine and fitness because they try to make humungous changes only to find that they just can't seem to stick to them. So they feel they have failed and failure just leads to a mentality of more failure. That's why we need to set ourselves up to succeed, even if it's just in small changes. The great pyramids weren't built with 5 large stones, but rather hundreds of smaller stones joined together. Our fit lives can be constructed the same way!

Each week, I'm going to focus on one small change. These often will be what I need to work on and I'll post updates throughout the week as to how well I'm doing that. Then, week by week, we'll continue adding on to our fit foundation! Sounds like it's fun and doable, eh? Now let's unveil this week's small change that will yield big results.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

DRINK AT LEAST 8 GLASSES OF WATER A DAY...THAT'S 64 OUNCES!

Now for the sake of keeping it real, are you really drinking 8 glasses of water a day? REALLY????? I didn't think so, but I'm not judging because I'm not getting my water in either. Here's why water is sooooo important to health and a healthy weight. Among other things, water flushes toxins from your system, helps in digestion, keeps you hydrated to fuel muscles and improve skin, and is essential in weight management. So....today's the day. THIS I VOW....head will not hit pillow until I have drank at least 8 glasses of water every day this week. Notice how I'm starting small? Who's with me?

Ignorance is not bliss...

2010-10-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

They say, "Ignorance is bliss"; but THEY are misinformed. And by the way, whenever I meet "They", I've got some words for "Them". THEY say alot of things and do alot of things and THEY seem to cover their tracks really well because we never know exactly who THEY are! Now let me just say again, ignorance is NOT bliss. In fact, ignorance may actually be dangerous.

We put food in our mouths everyday that we have no idea where it comes from. We have no idea how it's going to fuel or affect our bodies. We're under the impression that if you say grace over a bowl of chemicals, it will transubstantiate into carrots, spinach or possibly even acai berries.

There are just some things that my conscience won't allow me to eat. I mean, I tried to avoid finding out what was in some scrumptious foods, but the info slipped up on me before I could avert my eyes or cover my ears. Who knew that there are 813 calories in one Cinnabon cinnamon roll?!?! Or how about this? 48 grams of fat in a McDonald's Big Breakfast? And did you think, when you choose a taco saladfrom Taco Bell, that you were eating 790 calories and 1670 mg of sodium? It's a SALAD for goodness sake!! Just the name reaks of health and vitality>

Now I'm not just talking about calories and fat. What about chemicals? Our bodies are real, shouldn't our food be? Have you ever read the ingredient list on some of our foods? After the first couple of items, the rest aren't even pronounceable. I thought that when I ordered chicken nuggets at McDonalds that I'm basically getting chicken and a flour coating that is deep fried. Not great, but hey! I'm from the south, I can live with that. But what I can't live with is this. A chicken mcnugget has 38 ingredients and chicken is one of the least of them! Mcnuggets are about 56% corn or corn products. Look, as one voracious eater to another, I get it. I love food and sometimes, I can overlook something and munch away. But based on what I now know about these foods, I just can't in good conscience eat them. I know what you're thinking. "But Serene, Oh my gosh! I love me some Taco Salad!" My answer to you would be this: If smacking the elderly on the head was fun, my conscience STILL wouldn't allow me to do it! Now you know.......

2010-09-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

Actually, It's Doesn't have to Hurt So Bad...

No pain, no gain.... right? WRONG! Believe it or not, exercise is NOT supposed to hurt. Now I'm not saying that working out should tickle, because if it does, you DEFINITELY aren't doing something right! Buuuuutttt, I AM saying that there should NOT be pain involved.

Now, having said that, there IS a difference between pain and discomfort. Pain hurts! Period. When you're working out and you have a sharp pain anywhere, stop what you're doing. Don't stop working out, just stop what you're doing that is associated with the pain. Personally, I've experienced this with running. When I run, I start getting pain in my shins. Afterward, my hips HURT really bad. There is so much physical pain associated with running that for me, this tells me that running is probably not the best exercise for me.

On the other hand, when I get a really good walk in, I'm VERY uncomfortable. My heart pounds, my muscles stretch and get sore. By the time I'm done, I'm sore and stick a fork in my muscles, they're DONE! However, there's no pain involved. Discomfort? ABSOLUTELY! Pain? Absolutely NOT! I think it's important to make the distinction between pain and discomfort. I've seen people continue on through pain (not discomfort), only to have to have something iced, rested or at worst....replaced. By their very nature, aren't workouts supposed to be healthful and good for you? Yes? Then it defeats the purpose when we're working out to our detriment...to our "unhealth", if you will. Think of it this way, you're not giving up anything when you modify your workouts so that you don't hurt. But, if you don't modify and continue on exercising in pain, you risk giving up weeks or months of regular workouts. That's not something any of us want!

2010-09-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

A Very Alarming Find

I just read an article that states that by 2020 3 out of 4 Americans will be overweight. The article starts by saying that the world's wealthiest countries have an increasing overweight population.

The reason, according to the article is that food is cheaper now, particularly unhealthy food. It also blames eating out as another culprit. As we sit here in a recession, more and more people are gaining weight. I spoke with a woman last night who was lamenting the fact that since she lost her job she has really put on weight. She said that she gets bored at home and ends up eating. From there you can imagine the cycle. Weight gain begets frustration, which begets depression which begets further weight gain which transitions to more frustration, deeper depression and it just goes on.

There comes a time when we HAVE to take action. And let me tell you, the time is NOW. I keep saying it because I believe it with all my heart - Our prosperity is killing us! As Americans we are busy. Constantly busy. Too busy to cook a meal - so we are bombarded with pop n go frozen meals filled with chemicals and just plain funky stuff. Have you ever read how many ingredients are in frozen meatballs? It's a meatball for goodness sake! Yet, there's an ingredient list 3 inches long in microscopic letters just to lawfully list it on the package. We eat fast food almost more than we eat at home, and believe me; I've been the fast food QUEEN in the past. I never met a drive through I didn't like!~~love!~~But when I read that there are 30 ingredients in a chicken mcnugget, that got this girl's attention!

Now, on top of our eating habits, add to that our sedentary lifestyle. We drive around 5 minutes looking for a parking space so that we don't have to WHEEL our buggies back to our car. It's not like we're having to carry our purchases on our backs! We don't WALK anywhere. Everything in our lives is set up to make it convenient for us not to have to MOVE. Why? Because recession or not, we are a very wealthy country. Poverty, to most Americans, means that we have to get frozen pizza instead of Pizza Hut. We have more access to health care, doctors, hospitals, disease prevention and health education than most of the planet's population. And yet cancer is almost a plague in this country, heart disease is commonplace, and how many people do we all know on antidepressants?

We all know what the cure is. It's healthy diet and daily exercise. It really is just that simple. We are absolutely without excuse. It's obviously not a lack of information, burt rather motivation that is keeping us overweight. You can't flip channels at anytime and not hit an informercial on weight loss or exercise. Seems everybody has a "quick fix" for obesity. There is absolutely NO QUICK FIX. But there is something significantly scarier than changing our eating habits and getting out of our comfort zone. And that is DYING from an obesity related illness that is so preventable as to border on the ridiculous. We cling to our overeating and underexercising as if it's as part of our American way of life as baseball, apple pie and the American flag. We do have it made. We have jobs (or unemployment), homes, phones, computers, cars, and more cars. We also have an over abundance of time to try and figure out if our life is meaningful or if we're fulfilled when most of the world spends their day just trying to feed themselves. Maybe that's the great equalizer. We have the world's wealth, but we may also have the world's illness. And no matter what our increased mortality rate, that's not living.

2010-09-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

You can't take this too seriously

I think alot of us take our exercise pretty seriously. I mean, we're here. We're sweating. We're making things happen! But I keep going back to the fact that becoming and being fit is a lifelong endeavor - I don't have to make it happen all today! I'm working out in Mandy's (if you don't know her.....let me just say, that class can send a grown man weeping into the fetal position) class this morning and I thought I would puke. ALOT! It's okay....put my head between my knees, call it a yoga move and just keep going!

2010-09-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's a Family Affair

I've been talking alot lately about walking. Well this past week, I got my kids in on the action! A couple of years ago, I would take all 4 of my kids on a marathon walk of about 8 miles every other Sunday. The Barley's pizza treat at the end was the bribe to get them to agree. But actually, after a couple of times, they really started enjoying it. I think kids want to WANT to spend time with their family. And mine did when they saw that they actually had fun!

Bennie and I have been walking together since we were dating. It was one of the things the many things about him that I fell in love with. It was so great to have this sweet man in my life who had a great time just walking with me and I really believe it made us even closer. So now, we were all getting in on the action. Sonja is 17 and Dallas is 13, so I really was not expecting them to warm up to the idea of running up and down hills with their mom and stepdad. But guess what? They were actually excited!

Sooooo.....we start by walking about 10 minutes (after being lectured to by Sonja and Dallas about the importance of stretching) before heading up the hills. We had to head across the street to a subdivision that has not been built yet. There is an INTENSE vertical hill that is paved and that leads to a HUMONGOUS dirt hill that is even more vertical. That's the one I just run up as quickly as I can. I started running up that hill before Dallas and the next thing I know, that 13 year old throw rug is passing me at warp speed. Like it was NOTHING!

Heading up the first hill.

Dallas kicking our butts!

I'm feeling great about 2/3 of the way up the hill, but I swear, the other third, and I'm seriously burning! Dallas took it like it was nothing but a thing. Now, would you believe that this is the same kid who basically plays video games in his room in all of his spare time? The really cool thing about this was the confidence it put in all of us!

We made it! Believe it or not, we were STILL smiling!

Then it was time to come down. Who woulda thought that coming down would be so scary? The key is turning your foot horizontally and NOT running! We did this hill twice with some walking in between times.

This made Sonja a bit nervous.

So then we started heading back across the street to back down and up another hill. Now, THAT I could tell, got Dallas's attention!

This is after Dallas tried to race all of us down the hill.

During the walk, or rather workout, because this was really about doing the hills; we decided that we would try to all do this together a couple of times every week. I've found that with my kids, if they just get moving the eating takes care of itself. That's not to say that they don't still want junk food, but if we only keep decent stuff in the house, then at least I know that when they're at home, they're eating well. I also found that what they loved about doing this was that it was a challenge, and so they felt good about themselves for being able to do it. I'm discovering that challenging ourselves is absolutely key to sticking with exercise. But more about that in another post. That's worth expanding on!

And I leave you with the ever present pageant wave! This girl's going places!

2010-09-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

Some Ideas for Hills

Hills are our friends! I think that there is nothing that really cranks up your workout outside, whether it's running or walking, than hills. We all want to avoid them like the plague, but honestly, they work! When I am huffing and puffing up and down a hill, I can just picture the muscles in my legs tightening and shaping. I always think, "There is no way that this is NOT having an effect on me!"

No longer do I need to do these hills alone however. I now have my own personal trainer who is such a CUTIE PIE! How fun that my husband is kind of like my trainer. He had us backing down this ridiculous hill and then walking backwards UP the hill. We did if 5 times and then sprinted up the hill on the sixth time. My quads have filed a complaint with the labor board for mistreatment. I mean, my legs were SCREAMING!

Where's my six pack?! Oh! Bennie's got it!

We've gotten two of my kids into these walks now and I'll be talking more about that later. The gist of today is TAKE ON THE HILLS!

2010-09-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

Walk this way!

When I was in the Army, running was a requirement. Three days a week found us running at about 6:30 am, and we ran EVERYWHERE. In formation. Calling cadence. Not necessarily fun. To my great surprise, I actually got good at running. I ended up running with the fast group, there was only one other female in our company who could boast that. I got to be a running FOOL! After about 3 years, I even experienced the allusive runner's high. Yes it really does exist and MAN! I was FEELING it!

Fast forward 25 years, and 4 kids later. I swear my hips have widened by inches! Running just doesn't feel good to me like it used to. Admittedly, I also miss the camraderie among runners. They stick together, cheer each other on and good naturedly compete with fellow runners. I still want that! But now, it has to be through walking.

I'm not talking about strolling along and chit chatting. I'm talking about pounding the pavement, arms pumping, deep breath walking. I'm enjoying walking like I used to enjoy running. Headphones in, head downtown or to the park, or actually......anywhere! I've gotten amazing workouts from walking! But here's how I do it:

View from the hill in the cemetery...had the theme from Rocky playing on my ipod!

I MOVE! I'm sure that walkers can move as fast as some joggers, so I really get moving. Then I take on hills. Now, sometimes, I WILL run up hills...but I save that to the end. More on that later. The picture above is from the cemetery off of Main Street in Rutherfordton. It has an awesome hill off to the left and it never EVER gets easy!

Another view from the top of that hill! Cemeteries should be USED (but NOT abused!)

I absolutely make myself commit to at least an hour and then time after time I try to cover more ground in that same hour. At this point, I have to tell you, "Music is key!" The only way that I can get a good pace going is to have a great playlist on my ipod.

I think that this is what they call Central High Hill (or Central Aye Ill if you can get the accent!) Okay...imagine listening to Boogie Oogie Oogie by A Taste of Honey as you begin the vertical trudge. Cuz that's what was happening in my ears.

This is a slow, but loooonnnnggg uphill climb.

Now, I'm at the end of my walk, I'm tired and to be completely honest, I'm starting to smell myself. NOT pretty, but then exercise ISN'T necessarily pretty. I feel like I really need to finish strong. I mean leave my mark and let the walk leave it's mark on me. SO! I picked a short but completely vertical hill and ran up it and jogged down it five times without stopping. A word of warning. This absolutely cannot be done without amazing high energy music. Flirtin' with Disaster by Molly Hatchet might do the trick but I chose to go current, a little VH1 action. Intro Kesha and Tik Tok!!

That's five times.....sprinting up and jogging down. With Kesha screaming in my ear! LOVE IT!

Rutherfordton has been vedi vedi goot to meee!

And THAT'S one of my walking routes. Sooooo, while you may not see me running hither and yon, you will see me walking and if you listen closely, you'll hear me singing too! TOP OF MY LUNGS!

2010-08-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Step AWAY from the scale!

THE SCALE! One would almost think it's a knife or a gun for the fear it strikes in the heart of men and women! And yet, we return to it over and over again, imploring it to tell us what we want to hear. But it never does, does it? It disappoints almost without exception.

So why do we put ourselves through it? Are we really going to let a piece of metal with a spinner tell us if we are overweight, cute, attractive, worthy or deserving of happiness? The knee jerk response to this is, "Serene, don't be silly. Of course not! I don't take it that seriously." But if we're being completely honest, most of us really do give the scale that kind of power.

So many times in my life, I think I have LIVED on the scale. First thing in the morning...that gave me the best reading. After a meal....how much damage did I do? After going potty.....nuff said about that! Before bed......just in the hope it changed. Maybe my habits were an aberration, but from what I've seen not much of one. I see people at the gym weigh themselves coming in and going out. I've seen someone actually curse herself getting off the scale (and she has an ADORABLE figure!)

What does that number really mean? Absolutely nothing! It's a unit of measure that vacillates for any number of reasons, making it a completely unreliable measure of your fitness or body. Listen, if you're overweight, you know it because you see it and feel it. You don't need a scale to tell you so. Never once have I gotten on a scale thinking that I was skinny, just to be SHOCKED that I was in fact, overweight. No! When I was chunky, I KNEW I was and that number measure just added insult to injury. The scale serves no positive purpose.

"But Serene, how will I know how much I've lost?"

Why do you need to know? Are your clothes getting looser? Are you feeling good? THAT'S what you need to know....that will give you all the information you need about your weight. The only thing that scale is going to do is get you frustrated and stressed. OR on the other hand, it may give you a false sense of security. Let's say you drastically reduced your calories for a few days and you get on the scale and lo and behold, you've lost 3 pounds. That information only motivates you to continue unhealthy calorie levels. The three pound loss may make you feel secure that what you're doing to drop the pounds is good for you; when in reality it's NOT!

If you don't believe you're overweight, why would you let a scale tell you otherwise. I've said this many times and it's true. I have felt great about myself; feeling good and lookin' cute, only to step on the scale in confidence and step off in despair. And why? Because I let a number on the scale tell me about myself. In my opinion, scales should be tossed out and eradicated; an extinct,unhealthy and archaic contraption like corsets and sunlamps! You know how I know I'm right? There are no scales on Star Trek!

WHAT A WEEK!

2010-08-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

After taking a week off last week because I felt like poo, I came back stronger than ever this week! I started out on Monday working out with a couple of friends and we did upper body for about 45 minutes. WOW! I don't have the greatest strength in my arms....my legs....they were born big and strong; my arms on the other hand.....yeaaaaahhhhhh, not so much. Push ups absolutely KILL me! But I gave it my best shot.

My hero!

Then on to Yoga mid morning. That hour FLEW by! I have felt lately like I need to stretch out all these muscles I'm building and could certainly use some time to de-stress. Hence, I'm now taking Yoga on Monday mornings. It felt WONDERFUL! Relaxing, strengthening and lengthening all at once. I can see what Madonna is all excited about. So. Not so much challenging as much as relaxing. I was feeling so good, I decided to do an hour of power walking after work!

This "could" be me!

The great thing about walking is that I get to listen to my music. I was going UP the hills and DOWN the hills. It's been a while since I've been walking because it's been so stinking hot outside. But Monday it just felt great and so did I! By the end of the hour, I was drenched and stinky! I really felt like I was starting my week off strong.

Whew! All that and I'm just now getting to Tuesday! Tuesday morning I did a circuit training class with an instructor at the gym. She is 8 months pregnant and is a MACHINE! This is her seventh child and she's about 41 years old. Amazing! I was joking with her before class, that if she and I lived during mideval times; we'd be the peasant breeder stock. Tilling fields, dropping babies and carrying buckets of water on our heads!

Me and Stacey?

Wednesdays are always a little frightening. We do Robo Trainer Mandy's class. Basically, she walks in little, tight and smiling with her curly hair bouncing and you can just feel the love. 15 minutes later, I'm looking at the clock wondering how I can possibly make it another 45! We did kick boxing! I'm not talking about a few kicks on each side. I'm talking a kazillion kicks on each leg! By the end of the class, I could barely pick up my feet off the floor. Here's the thing about Mandy's classes. You know how the Bible says that God's word does not return void...it always produces and works good. Well, Mandy's workouts do not return void. I never doubt that when I do her class, I walking out of there with new muscle tone. OH! And the BEST thing happened in that class. I was working out and the entire front wall is mirror, so you can see what you're doing. As I'm doing my kicks and jacks, I notice my entire quadricep....OUTLINED! My quads are shy. They don't like to call attention to themselves. But lo and behold Wednesday, they were coming out of their shells!

Mandy = Robo Trainer!

Now, onto Thursday. TRX day! Forty minutes of TRX and kettlebells. Some of the simplest moves really get right into those muscles. Mandy had us use a 35 pound kettlebell and hold it down in front of our bodies. Then, we were to squat (with backside sticking out) straight down and put the bell down on the floor. Stand back up and then squat down again and pick up the bell. Stand up and then squat back down putting it on the floor again. Seems simple enough right? Well! That was really tough. I don't even know how to describe the TRX exercises. There were times when I felt like a Cirque de Soleil reject!

This was NOT me!

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I said to my husband was, "Oh my Gosh, there's not a muscle on my body that isn't SCREAMING!" Being the encourager, he said, "You know what helps soreness, don't you?"

"What?"

"A good workout!"

So, off to the gym to do the most challenging class of the week - total weight lifting! With every step, PAIN! I'm walking like a 106 year drunk woman and there I go, setting up my weights. The experience was almost weep worthy. We squatted till we could squat no more! We pushed, we lunged. We hinged, we popped. The end of the class, we're all looking at each other, shell shocked; but pride welling up inside that we could even complete the hour. As I sit here, the tips of my fingers the only part of me that isn't stiff, sore or painful; I'm not complaining. I pushed myself and if it doesn't feel the best in my body right now, my soul is soaring!

I'm an all star!!!!!

SOMETIMES FITNESS JUST LOOKS RIDICULOUS!

2010-07-27T05:42:00.001-07:00

I take a certain amount of pride in my ability to laugh at myself. There is a bit of ridiculousness interned in my DNA. Having said that, even I cringed when I saw these goober pictures of myself before my first bike ride a few weeks ago. I was giddy with anticipation of being a part of this avid group of peddlers (as seen in picture below).

How could I not be a great biker (or is it cyclist? - yes! Cyclist....biker would require a motor and lots of leather with a bit of fringe)? I mean, look at it. Don't I have a cyclist's thin sinewy legs?

Uh, no....that's not me on the left with the sunglasses. I'm the one on the right. Oh well, there goes that theory. But hey, I'm game any way. I have no problem flinging myself out of my comfort zone straight into the ridiculous. We biked 18 miles through the hills of Rutherford County. The first hill was downhill and it was TERRIFYING! Who knew wheels rotated rapidly downhill? Talk about white knuckling it! I did however have my crash plan figured out. I promised my bare legs that should a crash seem imminent I would quickly head for the grass on the side of the road.

Now let's talk about going uphill. Hmmmmm...my words fail me. There's pain. There's certainly discomfort in the ......ahem....sitting area. But most of all there is that nagging logical notion that it just makes more sense to get off the bike and PUSH it up the hill! Allow me to take a moment and pat myself on the back (why else should one take yoga, but to develop the flexibility to pat oneself on the back?). I stayed on that bike for the entire ride. I fought like Rambo on crack the urge to get off of the bike!

My dear friends stayed with me the entire time...taking turns going back to get me or encourage me. I love their soldier mentality...."No man left behind!". What an amazing adventure to be a part of this group of cycling cyborgs if only for one day. Yes, fitness can look and feel ridiculous. But that just means you're doing it right!

EUREKA!

2010-07-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

When I went on vacation a few weeks ago, I was lounging by the pool and checking out a VOGUE magazine. I do love my VOGUE! I came across a great article about interval training. It seemed absolutely revolutionary to me. Here is the gist of it:

According to the article and apparently other web sources, working out at a higher intensity for a shorter period of time, with small bouts of rest in between intervals, will actually provide a more fat burning workout. I have to tell you, 40 minutes on the eliptical 2 days a week and 1 hour on the eliptical once a week was a staple of my workouts for 2 about 2 years. I think I could do that with my eyes closed (okay, I realize, having typed that, closing my eyes during this is not that big of a deal, but you get it, right?). For me, this routine was like having a big fluffy recliner in my comfort zone - it was just too cozy to veer away from. But it also got tediously boring and when boredom sets in, your workouts have the proverbial hat in hand and headed out the door.

Then I come across this article that claims that this much shorter workout will give even better results in alot less time. It gave an example of warming up on your cardio machine of choice. Once you warm up for about 5 minutes, go full speed for one minute, then come down to moderate for one minute, then full speed for two minutes, then back down to moderate for one....then continue on this pattern for 3, 2, 1 minutes full speed with the one minute of rest in between each set. Of course, my first thought is, "This doesn't sound that tough. I could do that." The next morning, I get up and go workout at the hotel gym and figure I will give it a shot. What. A. Workout! WOW!

When I started on the one minute sprint, I was flying on the treadmill. I thought, "Oh yeah baby, I got this!" . Then, after a minute rest, here came the two minute sprint. O. Kaaaayyyyy. (clears throat) I'm feelin' this. That second minute was the longest minute ever! That got me thinking, "Oh no, how am I going to do the 3 minute stretch?" I only got about a minute and a half into the 3 minute sprint and I had to bring it down. From that point I just did one minute intervals. I was amazed at how tired and ridiculously sweaty I was.

When I got back home and came to workout at the gym, I have finally gotten myself to the point that I could do the entire intervals, but it's not easy. I feel like I have stumbled upon something that ohters may be very familiar with, but it's new and exciting to me. Now, when I go on my long walks, I try to make myself run at intervals (ex: run from one trashcan to the next and then walk to the next one and then run to the next and so on). I covered almost the same area that it would normally take me an hour and a half to cover in a little less than an hour, but I felt more worked out than when I have done my regular walk.

Alot of the fitness classes that I do are done with this same interval philosophy in mind and those have gotten me great results. I would challenge anyone to try this. I suggested this to my nineteen year old twin sons, who are very fit. They could not finish the entire circuit. It's so much harder than it seems, but again, what results!

PHYSICAL CHALLENGES - LIFE CHALLENGES

2010-06-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

In the middle of weight class this morning as I'm heaving and doing my best to do the overhead lifts and wishing I had put less weight on the bar; it occurred to me that these weights and challenges are really a metaphor for life. There have been countless times that I thought I would break under the load of a burden or problem, only to find that I was much stronger than I thought I was and getting stronger all the time.

Of course, during a workout, the temptation is always there to take it easy on yourself. I tell myself, "You're tired today, do less weight" or "I'm not that strong, I need to take it easy". And when I think about it; the temptation is there to do the same thing in life. The temptation to not take on challenges. To not attempt something unless we are absolutely sure that we can ace it with ease. But no strength is built by that. I have discovered my greatest gifts in the middle of adversity. That's the beauty of adversity.....it brings out in you what is naturally there but what has laid dormant unchallenged and unneeded.

Physical challenges always push me further than I thought I could go. After all, I'm 43 years old, I have 4 kids and let me tell you, those were some big babies. My nature wants to look for the easiest way to exercise, the grunt free route. However, that road leads no where. I don't get stronger. I don't see muscles. And frankly I miss that amazingly euphoric feeling of accomplishment.

In my mind, the physical and the mental go hand in hand. I'm convinced that our minds are the genesis for our lives, moods, routines, habits and more. So it seems so natural to tie in workouts that push and stretch us physically, with life circumstances that do the same for us mentally. The result of BOTH is strength!

REAL FITNESS

2010-04-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

Just musing this morning......real fitness goes beyond the physical spectrum. It is mental, emotional, social. My ongoing mission is to continue to stretch myself and improve my fitness in all areas.

I have had my workouts run by fear. Fear of getting off a particular machine because that machine brought me results. I would STAY on the eliptical, never deviating, because I was convinced that if I got off that and lifted weights or did a class instead, I would not be getting results. I reasoned that I was there at the gym to get results and to work myself out and I just KNEW that if I did any other exercise, my results would suffer. What an extremely unbalanced and unhealthy approach! Fear based workouts! Yeah, Serene, you got a winner there!

Now, I'm trying to take a much more balanced approach and incorporate all different types or exercises, not specifically limiting to cardio. I'm using our classes, yoga, kettlebells, and still walking long walks about once a week. And to be honest, it's like my brain can just relax. I'm getting better results, AND I'm not afraid of my workouts, or switching them up. It keeps me out of my comfort zone. I've said it before and from the core of my being I believe it, "We die in our comfort zones!"

JOYS OF GETTING OLDER

2010-03-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

My friend, Mary, is 62. You would never know it! Aside from the fact that she looks amazing, she has the most wonderful, youthful, vibrant attitude. She's been through losses and joys. She has told me that one of the ways that aging has changed her is that she worries less about what people think. Mary speaks her mind, always kindly, but she's not going to be giving herself an ulcer holding things in!

There is such a serenity in getting older. The challenges of life have weathered you, but not beaten you. Wisdom birthed of experience sets in. You realize that most times, things are neither as good as anticipated nor are they as bad as feared. My mother approached aging so graciously, stating that she earned every wrinkle and every laugh line. What is more beautiful than a face etched by years of belly laughs and smiles. At my wedding my daughter, Sonja, commented that the pastor's wife, Brenda, is so pretty. Sonja said, "She has the prettiest eyes that wrinkle a little when she smiles". Brenda has the most beautiful eyes and lines that bespeak of many smiles given out like greeting cards to loved ones and she is one of the most stunning women for it!

When I was just getting to know the man who is now my husband, he had just celebrated (well, HE really wasn't celebrating....at the time he was lamenting!) his 50th birthday. His nephew mentioned this to me and after that, whenever I saw him, I would tease him about being 50. "FIFTY! Wow! How does it feel to be a half. century. old?!" or "FIFTY. YEARS. OLD! Man! You must feel old!" At the time, it never even occured to me that he would be sensitive about that birthday, but after we started dating he confessed that turning 50 was a difficult birthday for him; but that my ragging him about it constantly just ragged that sensitivity to it right out of him! Really, it was my pleasure!

I know, I know, considering the alternative, aging is wonderful. But beyond that, the acknowledgement that "at least I'm still above ground", there's the wonder of growing older and what it brings out in us. I read an article this morning that quoted a UC Berkley professor, Dr. Guy Micco as lauding aging as a time of "greater acceptance of imperfections, not only in others, but in ourselves. Old age can be an opportunity for a calmer, kinder life."

Years ago, I cleaned house for a sweet older woman who had lost her husband a few years earlier. We were talking about praying, and in my youthful arrogant zeal, I went on and on about going to God about everyTHING that we need (well, really "want"). I spent waaaayyyy too much time "preaching" about how if we need a car, just ask God. If we need furniture, just ask God. I'll never forget her ever so kind response, "I've found that the longer I live, I hardly ask God for anything, but just thank Him so much for what He's given me". If that wisdom and serenity is a glimpse of what I can hope for as I continue to age, I can only say, "Bring it on!"

LITTLE AND OFTEN

2010-03-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite sayings is, "Little and often fills the pot". This is a truism for so many areas of our lives. Little frequent displays of affection make those special to you feel loved. Small handfuls of change frequently placed into a bedside jar, quickly add up to big bucks (think intrest on car loans!) Small changes that we make in our diet, can show amazing results. That's the gist of this article on 10 one minute diet changes that we can make that yield more energy and a spring in our step!

10 Weight Loss Tips

CARDIO OR CARDIEWWWWWWWW?!

2010-02-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

When I joined the Army, one of the things that I was the most nervous about was all the running. Oh how I dreaded that! And with good reason....we ran and ran and ran. We ran everywhere! You know what happens when you really run alot, you suck wind, you feel sick, your legs feel like noodles and you just know that you will throw up. On our first pass (actually, it was just a 2 hour pass in Basic Training), we got to go the little "shopette" and eat what we wanted. Of course the drill sergeants warned us not to pig out, but after 2 weeks of total control and eating only chow hall meals, none of us were really taking their advice. So off we go, filling up on chips, candy, and basically all kinds of garbage food. No sooner do we get back and line up for head count, then we are told to dress out for PT (Physical Training) and boy did they run us! Have you ever eaten a bag of Funyuns....my personal favorite.....a couple of Snicker bars and soda and then run 3 miles. Let's just say, sweat wasn't the only thing flying during that run! There was some serious hurling and I'm not talking the Olympic kind!

So knowing that vigorous cardio is essential to good health and weight loss, how do we make ourselves do something that so often, just ain't fun? I know there are runners out there who talk about the runners' high, but it took me 3 1/2 years of running in the Army before I ever experienced a moment of that. How do we bring that to where most of us live? Here are a few ideas:

Put it to music! I know I'm a broken record here (no pun intended); but music will motivate you when you want to quit and it will get your mind off the time. You can download music from itunes and if you need some song ideas; I've built up a great playlist from checking out the Time Life Music website. They give lists of songs on their collections and then I buy the songs from itunes! BRILLIANT!
Switch it up! Don't do the same thing every day or every workout. Maybe do the eliptical one day, the treadmill another......then another day, the bike. We all have our favorite machines, but sometimes we just get good at that machine, rather than improving our overall fitness. Take those muscles out of their comfort zone!
Don't do it all at once! Instead of doing 30 to 40 minutes straight of cardio, why not do 10 minute increment interspersed (is that a word?) with weights or machine work. For example...hop on the treadmill and really work it for 10 minutes, then hop off and do 3 sets of abs, don't rest!....then go back to the treadmill and do a high incline for 10 minutes....then back to sets for arms, back to treadmill....you get the idea. And you actually could switch it up in these increments!
Get outside! You don't have to do all your cardio inside. Grab the opportunity on a warm day and get that cardio in outside. Go for an extra long walk, bike ride, jog, whatever you enjoy doing. Just do it with gusto!

I'd love to hear any ideas that you may have. How do you keep cardio fun so that you'll stay consistent with it?