On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

I know, I know, all this talk about New Year's resolutions can get redundant. I personally shy away from making these resolutions because the statistics show a majority of us don't keep them - and we fail at them within a very short time of January 1!!! However, seeing as how it's a part of our culture, and a new year can indeed trigger hopeful thoughts -thoughts of new beginnings, new roads to travel, new habits to start, a year with no mistakes in it yet - it's worth discussing.

So...if you're choosing to make a resolution for 2008, plan for it. Wanting to get back into size 8 jeans, without a plan, won't magically happen. Just because you wish it, and make it a resolution, won't make it happen!!! In fact, the word resolution means: the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose. And the word resolution comes from the word resolve, which means: to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something).

There you have - you cannot just state that you will do something about your health for your resolution...you have to come to an earnest decision about it, be resolute in your mind about it, have a firmness of purpose, and determine to do it! That's a tall order - but very doable with the right attitude and planning!

If you've read my other posts, you know I'm a proponent of a very simple philosophy - change one poor food habit and increase your activity (exercise) daily and voila - weight loss and better health will ensue. (See my October 31, 2007 post for more detail.) It's the simple math of decreased calories plus increased activity equals weight loss. And as you begin to conquer this little bit, you'll be encouraged to conquer more!

Now, with that in mind, make your plan TODAY. It's Dec. 27, 2007. You have four days left till January 1. Use these four days to "get your ducks in a row." Gird up your mind - strengthen your mind in what your purpose is. If you've pinpointed a weak food habit - take care of that this week. Purge your pantry or refrigerator of it. Or go out and buy the better food that you're determing to introduce into your daily routine. Figure out now what kind of activity you're going to engage in...will it be walking? A videotape? An elliptical machine? Swimming? Whatever you've chosen, have everything in place and ready to go - including a realistic idea of when you can do this activity in the midst of your busy schedule and the proper clothing or footwear to do it. Gather the support and help of your family - now. Let them know that one hour a day is going to be set aside for your exercise - no compromise on it. It's not only for your own health, but for their utlimate good as well! And inform them of the food habit you intend to change - and how you're going to go about it. (Example: Under no conditions do bags of chips enter our house, or I will no longer eat after 7 p.m. so please be respectful of me and don't flaunt food in front of me after that time, or I am going to eat at least one fruit a day, so please leave one fruit in the fridge at all times for me, etc.) Plan your "work" and work you plan!

You CAN make these changes in your life lasting and permanent - you don't have to end up one of the statistics - one of those many resolutioners who are back to their old ways by January 15! If you've planned and determined how to proceed with your goal, and you've been very realistic with the steps and expectations - success is the direct result. And don't forget to attend to your WHOLE health - body, mind and spirit! You are more than skin deep...

Here comes 2008 - Bring it on!

Health of Body, Mind, and Spirit!

So, it's that time of year again...just a week from January 1 and the dreaded New Year's Resolution. I'm sure there's been polls given to sample the percentage of the population that lists losing weight as the number one resolution. And I'm sure the percentage is high! That tells me two things. One, we're an obese population. Two, we are extremely focused on how our bodies look - our outward "beauty."

My counsel to my 18-year-old son? Find a woman who is beautiful on the inside first. It's not that outward beauty and inward beauty are mutually exclusive...but they CAN be! We can all list some Hollywood beauties whose lives are a mess, they appear selfish and rude, and they accomplish no "good" with their status. Their beauty is skin deep. There are other women in Hollywood who are dropdead gorgeous AND generous, kind, and responsible human beings. Each of us has the potential to both, neither, or one or the other!

So let's do something different this year - let's focus on the HEALTH of our whole being! Not just on being skinny or getting into size 8 jeans! Let's focus on the beauty of who we are as God's creations...not just as physical beings, but as emotional and spiritual beings as well. Your health goals for your body will be much easier to accomplish when you're attentive to your faith and the wellness of your mind. Notice how when one is out of kilter, it has a trickle down effect on the others...

So decide that THIS year, you will make efforts to be healthy in body, mind, and spirit. Yes, plan to exercise and choose healthier foods. Go for it. But also determine to give forgiveness and receive forgiveness, join a Bible study group, or join a local ministry to reach out to others beyond yourself. And if depression or negativity plague your mind, share that struggle with someone close to you and ask for their assistance in helping you improve in those areas. You might need to seek medical attention. Attending to your body and spirit may very well improve the wellness of your mind!

By all means, make this a year to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit. Get beyond seeing yourself as skin deep and dig to the core of who you are - your health and wellness are worth it!

Overcoming Emotional Eating

It's Christmastime again, and for as much as the Prince of Peace came to bestow peace, we can feel an unusual amount of stress during this time of year! And if you're already prone to being an emotional eater, well hang on, because the next few weeks can be a time for immense overeating, causing even more stress. Or not!

According to Joy Bauer in a 12/6/07 post at TODAYShow.com, emotional eating is when emotions drive you to eat instead of hunger, usually to banish negative emotions. The triggers for emotional eating can vary: "stress, anxiety, sadness, boredom, anger, loneliness, relationship problems, and poor self-esteem." When these emotions form your eating habits instead of your stomach, it obviously leads to overeating, weight gain, poor health, and usually....guilt. Bauer lists six strategies one can use to overcome emotional eating. This will be work, indeed. But definitely not impossible! You are not a victim ... there are choices you can make and plans you can set in place. Plan your work and work your plan for this holiday season...start today!

Joy Bauer's Six Strategies:

1. Learn to recognize your hunger before you automatically pop something into your mouth. Rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being ravenous and 5 being full. Make every effort to avoid eating when you’re a 4 or a 5.

2. Find alternatives to eating. Prepare a list of activities that are personally appealing and handy. Perhaps go for a walk, call a friend, listen to nostalgic music (anything that brings you back to a happy time), take a hot shower or bath, clean your house, polish your nails, surf the Internet, schedule outstanding appointments, watch something on TiVo, clean your purse, organize your closet, look through a photo album, etc.

3. Keep a food journal. Logging your food will help to identify your toughest time frames. It will also make you accountable, so perhaps you’ll be less apt to reach for unnecessary food.

4. Three-food interference. Make the commitment to first eat three specific healthy foods before starting on comfort foods (i.e., an apple, handful of baby carrots and a nonfat yogurt). If after that, you still want to continue with your comfort foods, give yourself permission. However, most of the time, the three foods are enough to stop you from moving on.

5. Exercise regularly. Daily exercise relieves stress and puts you in a positive mindset, which provides greater strength to pass on the unhealthy fare.

6. Get enough sleep. Research shows that sleep deprivation can increase hunger by decreasing leptin levels, the appetite-regulating hormone that signals fullness. Furthermore, with adequate sleep, you’ll be less tired and have more resolve to fight off the urge to grab foods for comfort.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22127030/

Mindless Eating - Tips for the Holidays

Yes, we've all done it. Sitting in front of a TV, at a party, at our desks in midafternoon, even at the dinner table while conversing with friends and family... mindless eating. It's not necessarily a mealtime, or even snacktime. It's just that the food is there, or we're bored, or we're socializing. And somehow, we pop in an extra 500 calories or more into our gaping mouths without a thought.

It's easy to hit 400 calories per meal. By time you have a lean piece of meat, some fruit and salad, and a whole-grain bread, you've reached it. So three meals a day at 400 calories each is already 1200 calories. Add two snacks of 100 calories each, and you're at a common dieting goal of 1400 calories per day. Now, throw some mindless eating into the equation, and that diet is suddenly in dire straits!

It is my hope to accomplish two things with this blog: The first is to give you information that will arm you with knowledge about health and fitness. The second is to actually encourage you to act upon that knowledge to revolutionize your health.

In that light, here is a Web site that has some wonderful tips to avoid mindless eating - especially during this holiday season. Plan NOW to avoid the season of overindulgence!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21826056/?GT1=10547

Post Thanksgiving Blues

Here we are ... the Saturday after Thursday's food fest. Yes, Thanksgiving is over and so is Halloween ... we're on the home stretch to Christmas and New Year's! How did you do so far? Are you sitting at the kitchen table today feeling downcast and sick to your stomach from overindulgence? If so, fear not! It's never too late to pick yourself up and change directions. I mean that! I'm proof in the pudding.

Let's forget the past few weeks and focus on the next five weeks. The weeks ahead have no mistakes in them yet. They are like clay at this point - ready to be molded and shaped the way you want. That's right ... they way YOU want. Only you can determine what you will eat and what you will do in the days ahead. The past is done, you can't change it now. But the future is open with wonderful opportunities! So ... sit down today and make a game plan for yourself. Get as detailed as your personality needs. For some, that means you only need the ideas in your head and you'll act on those. For others, you'll need to physically write down foods that you'll choose to eat, meal plans, and even time slots for exercise with a list of which exercises you'll do. How detailed you get in your plans is an individual thing - however, a game plan, regardless of it's physical formation, is essential to achieving success in health and fitness!

One thing you could try: Game plan what you will NOT eat in the coming weeks. You see, we all have poor nutrition habits of some sort. Pick one and determine to avoid it for these five weeks. That way, you'll have conquered something that's already been an issue for you instead of trying to come up with something new to do in a nutrition regime. It might be eliminating soda, or eating after 7:00 p.m., or eating more than one dessert, or snacking on junk between meals, etc. YOU know yourself.

After you've game planned the one poor nutrition habit you can eliminate these next five weeks, game plan an activity that you will commit to for these five weeks. Do you have an exercise tape you like? How about a stationary bike or treadmill? Is your climate temperate enough that you could fit in a daily walk? You will be amazed at how much holiday stress you alleviate when you've got your body moving - it increases serotonin levels which is the chemical that boosts your "happy" mood. And don't forget, you can ALWAYS incorporate smart choices into your daily life...taking stairs instead of elevator, take a parking spot at the back of the lot, getting that "thing" from across the room instead of asking your child to do it, etc.!

The one thing that will revolutionize your body shape the most is boosting your metabolism. Your metabolism is the level at which your body burns calories, and the more efficient your metabolism, the better it burns those dawg-gone calories you eat! Click on this Web site to see some great tips to revving up your metabolism: http://body.aol.com/diet/basics/metabolism-boost

It is my wish for you that you see hope for your health in these food-crazed weeks leading to Christmas and New Year's. Remember, you can't change the past, but you can certainly change the future!

Outstanding Beginner's Plan

Here's a beauty of an exercise plan if I've ever seen one! It's for those of you who are real beginners to the whole exercise concept and wonder: Just HOW do I begin exercising? This plan is from Runner's World (see Web link below) and it's a very nonthreatening program to get yourself running.

First, you may wonder why I keep bringing up running? Good question! It's because in my own personal experience, running was the ONLY exercise that made a difference in my actual body shape. It not only helped me lose weight, but it reshaped and toned my body, as well as boosted my metabolism! That said, I'm sure running isn't the magical exercise. What's "magical" is finding an exercise for you that is INTENSE. At least more intense than what you're currently used to! You need to amp up your effort and work your body. That truly is the way to rev your metabolism, burn fat, and build muscle! Diet alone won't do it. A stroll through the park won't either! So find that "magical" sport - it could be swimming, power walking, an intense exercise/cardio video, rowing, bicycling.....you get the idea.

Here is the beginner program for jogging (and walking), called the 30/30 Plan, according to Runner's World:

1. You will exercise 30 minutes for the first 30 days. Walk out your door and walk 15 minutes one direction and then turn and walk 15 minutes back to where you started. (This is where I will modify their plan: exercise 30 minutes the way the program tells you - but ADD another 30 minutes of walking - or some other movement - to the program after you've finished their routine. Aim for a whole hour of exercise a day if you want to really rev metabolism and change body shape).

2. For the first 10 minutes of your workout: Absolutely no running! Only walking. For the last 5 minutes of your workout: Absolutely no running! Only walking.

3. During the middle 15 minutes of your workout: You're free to jog or run - just as long as you do it easily and don't push yourself. During these middle 15 minutes: Jog for 30 seconds, then walk until you feel recovered, jog 30 seconds again, walk until recovered, and so on. Jog, walk, jog, walk....

4. Once this has become comfortable, adapt a consistent 30/30 pattern: 30 seconds jogging, 30 seconds walking, 30 seconds jogging, 30 seconds walking, and so on.

5. If you follow this 30/30 pattern for 30 days, (and train continuously every day), you can complete this stage in a month. If you follow this routine, you will be able to cover between one and two miles walking and jogging. You are now ready to progress to the next stage.

Listen to your body. Everyone is different in their ability to adapt to exercise. You might find this routine is too slow in progressing and want to amp it up more. Go ahead! Or it may suit you perfectly as is - stick to it! Either way, you're working your way toward health!

http://body.aol.com/fitness/running/beginner-workout

Fight Global Warming AND Weight? It's a Win-Win!

According to an Associated Press article by Seth Borenstein, there might just be a link between America's obesity epidemic and global warming! Experts suggest that people can fight them both by cutting calories and carbon dioxide simultaneously.

The article states: "Get out of your car and walk or bike half an hour a day instead of driving. And while you're at it, eat less red meat. That's how Americans can simultaneously save the planet and their health, say doctors and climate scientists."

Although unlikely to happen, the payoffs could be huge. One calculation indicates that if all Americans between the ages of 10 and 74 walked a half hour a day in place of driving, annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, the chief greenhouse gas, would be cut by 64 MILLION tons. That translates into about 6.5 BILLION gallons of gasoline saved and Americans would shed more than 3 BILLION pounds overall!!! Now those are big numbers!

According to Dr. Howard Frumkin, director of the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Environmental Health, "A simple intervention like walking to school is a climate change intervention, an obesity intervention, a diabetes intervention, a safety intervention." Wow, that's called getting some bang for your buck!

The CDC is considering promoting the "co-benefits" of attacking global warming and obesity-related illnesses through everyday exercise (such simple things as walking to school or work).

For my family, walking to school or work is out of the question, as it is for many Americans. For those of us who live in rural areas, there is no mass transportation we can tap into, and a ten-mile walk to school or work is not feasible. At least not practical for most. (However, I do have a friend who rides his bike nine miles to and from work each way during the summer months - his workplace has showers available for its employees!) So changing our daily activities to make an impact on our health AND environment might be: commute to work with neighbors - walk to the neighbor's house to catch the ride; once in town for shopping, park in one place in a plaza and walk to all the stores instead of getting in and out of the car to drive short distances; buy in bulk to save on trips to town, and then store food in basements - where retrieving items takes effort by climbing stairs, etc.; or get permission from school districts to have a central bus stop for the children instead of stopping at each individual driveway - children can walk to the central bus stop within a reasonable distance.

Need any more incentives to improve your health? Get creative today!

10 Ways to Cancer Prevention: NEW RESEARCH

The World Cancer Research Fund just released its expansive 2007 Expert Report which gathered incredible findings correlating cancer to diet, physical activity and weight. The research on cancer prevention included over 100 researchers and institutions worldwide.

A key finding in this report was the link between body fat and cancer! Fighting cancer includes maintaining a healthy weight.

Here are the top 10 ways according to the research to engage in cancer prevention. After losing my mother and sister to cancer, if there's anything within my control to fight this insidious disease, I'll do it!
How about you?!

1. Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.

2. Be physically active daily for at least 30 minutes.

3. Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar and fat, or low in fiber).

4. Eat more variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans.

5. Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.

6. If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women a day.

7. Limit consumption of salty foods and food processed with salt/sodium.

8. Don't use supplements to protect against cancer, opt for a balanced diet.

9. It's best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for up to 6 months.

10. After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.

http://www.wcrf-uk.org/research_science/recommendations.lasso

Let's Face It

If you're serious about turning your life around, about getting healthy, reshaping your body, and taking responsibility for your life and health, then you need to have a realistic view of what it will take.

The cold hard facts are that it WILL be hard and take lots of work. There is no miracle diet pill that will reverse a lifetime of poor choices. There is no miracle diet where you can "eat everything you love and still lose weight" and have it last. Until you understand that, and embrace the work involved, you won't succeed. Here are the realities to reshaping your body and taking control of your health....you CAN do it!!!

1. Let's face it, you need to get your body moving in a big way to see any visible change in your shape. Taking a 1/2 hour stroll three days a week is good, better than nothing, but it WON'T produce a drastic change in your shape. To actually build muscle and burn fat, it will take exercising about an hour a day, in a very aerobic way (you should be working out hard enough that you can still talk to someone near you, but you don't want to because of the exertion). This scares people who aren't used to exercise. But there's really nothing to fear....remember: You can build up slowly! Start with an hour of exercise a day - but make the exertion level heavy for only as long as you think you can take it, then back off until you feel you can amp it up again. But keep to an hour no matter what. Before long, you'll be finding you can keep that exertion level up longer and longer for that hour. And as you build muscle, you will begin to rev up your metabolism - you'll be amazed at how much better your body burns fat!

2. Let's face it, you will need to sacrifice and change what you're used to eating. Yes, that daily chocolate bar or bag of chips is NOT a good thing! Eating those batch of freshmade chocolate chip cookies dipped in whole milk in front of your favorite nightly TV show is NOT a good thing! Munching weekly on fried chicken from the local KFC is NOT a good thing! This is not healthy for you, nor are they positive habits. You WILL have to "give up" some poor habits - but instead of looking at it as "giving up", look at it as "learning better!" Look at it as moving in a more positive direction! Look at it as taking control of your life! You will have to make some hard evaluations here - some honest assessments. Again, you can start slow here, taking some baby steps. Change ONE poor nutrition habit. Get that down well, then begin changing another poor habit. You'll be amazed at how strong you feel when you conquer your desires and when you notice your desires change over time! Fresh fruit suddenly becomes something you crave instead of a Snickers bar. A fresh salad hits the spot over a greasy burger. Yes, that does happen - but not by chance. It takes chipping away at your weaknesses and at your lifetime of poor choices little by little. But IT'S TOTALLY POSSIBLE AND IT'S ALL UP TO YOU!

If you acknowledge that reshaping your body and taking control of your health is going to be work, and you're ready to embrace the effort and control it will take, CONGRATULATIONS! Your success is virtually guaranteed with that attitude! You are ready for the adventure of your life. Get mark, get set, GO!

True Beauty

We Americans sometimes have a very warped sense of beauty. My friend, Vreni, from Switzerland taught me this - not by her words, but by her actions.

When I met Vreni, she was here for a two-year stay because of a temporary work assignment her husband, Peter, accepted here in the States. Having no English language skills, she packed up her four children and some of their belongings, and bravely crossed the Atlantic for an adventure. And oh, how blessed I was, to be included in her experience!

Vreni is one of the most brave, strong, and loving women I have ever met. But she's no striking European "beauty." She's athletic and in shape with boundless creative energy. Her youngest daughter is a Down syndrome child and Vreni never tires of the constant training, teaching, and caring for this little girl. I guess you could say Vreni is "plain." She doesn't pluck her eyebrows, spend time with designer hair styles and cuts, color her hair, wear much makeup, or bother with looking trendy with the latest fashions. It's not that she doesn't appreciate outward beauty or the use of cosmetics and fashion to enhance looks, but it's not her focus. She's beautifully plain - her life is consumed with more vital concerns.

Vreni once told me that what she noticed most in our culture was not only how overweight the population seemed, but that we seemed obsessed with "fixing" ourselves superficially. In other words, instead of taking care of the body and being active and healthy, working on ourselves from the INSIDE OUT, we spent lots of money on fixing our ourselves from the OUTSIDE IN (botox, liposuction, makeup, designer-label clothes, fad diets). She knew that a healthy body on the inside reflected on the outside!

European women tend to eat much less processed food than us, they understand moderation much better, and while they can be some of the most glamorous women in the world, they exude beauty from their health. You see, Vreni focuses on internal beauty - not the outward adornment and trappings, but the inner strength of health and character.

Being of sturdy health is important and evident in how she feeds her family and in the activities her family enjoys. Bikes are used as transportation everywhere and for "holidays," they spend their time skiing, hiking, mountain climbing. They enjoy the beauty of nature, fresh air, and handgrown gardens. Breakfast is muesli and fruit. Lunch is the bigger meal of the day, usually filled with vegetables, some fresh bread, fresh fruit, and lean meat. Supper is their light meal, sometimes consisting only of whole-grain bread and cheese. That's it! Their desserts are not nearly as sweet as ours, but delicious nonetheless. Food doesn't consume their thoughts. They seem to have a grip on eating to live, not living to eat, yet still enjoying food and the company with which they break bread.

In the midst of exhibiting a healthy body on the inside, Vreni displayed another inner beauty: character...hard work, kind-heartedness, and honesty. Not once in Vreni's two years here did she become influenced by the ads bombarding her all the way from billboards to TV: "Diet your way to being thin AND beautiful, botox and liposuction your way to a flawless physique, happiness is found in physical appearances, beauty is skin deep." No. She stayed true to understanding the big picture of a woman's beauty: her love for her family, her care and concern for their health as well as her own, her loyalty to her friends, her faithfulness to her loved ones, her talents and skills.

And what Vreni gave to me in her gift of friendship, was her encouragement to me as a woman! She wasn't put off by my outward appearance. She never made me feel uncomfortable with my weight, but she made me look at a new side to eating healthy and becoming more active. And she didn't condemn me for my choice in using makeup or fashion to try to look "beautiful," because she understood that I wasn't finding value in myself through it, just enjoying how I looked with it. But she didn't just let me be... she always focused and appreciated on who I was as a person. She complimented my parenting, my family, my new skills in knitting, my cooking, my intelligence, my faith, all while encouraging me in an active lifestyle and healthier eating by her example. She knew me. Inside. And that is the greatest gift of all. She gave me a balanced perspective of myself. Yes, I was overweight - and for health reasons (NOT beauty) - she showed me that I needed to attend to that. But more than anything, I needed a balanced perspective about myself - and one that was not skin deep. I needed to reject my culture's idea of beauty, and instead embrace a strong and beautiful inner body - in health and character.

So in your quest for weightloss, keep your perspective untainted and clear. Do not define yourself by this culture's definition of beauty! Instead, focus on the inside out, pursuing the beauty of health and character!!

12 Ways to Boost Your Will Power!

There WILL be times when will power isn't enough to keep you on the straight and narrow. We all know that - we've all experienced it. It's that incredibly overwhelming, spine-tingling desire for chocolate or sweets that suddenly grips you as you come upon a Dunkin Donuts store, causing you to cut off the person beside you in your manic attempt to cross two lanes of traffic to make the entrance to the eatery...as if this is the only chance to eat chocolate you will ever have again in your life! Or the way you convince yourself that you deserve a night off of exercise because your boss yelled at you in front of your co-workers, your teen spilled soda on the keyboard of the brand-new computer, you had a flat tire on your way to little Katie's soccer practice, and Fido had trouble controlling his canine functions all day. So before "life happens", here's some tips to help boost your will power in advance:

1. If by chance you cave, and eat that candy bar or skip that workout, it DOES NOT mean you've failed and have ruined everything. All it means is that you've been reminded you are human and you've had a bad day. The next day is a new day with no mistakes in it yet! Dust yourself off and start fresh again. Just try to control the thought: "Well, I've already eaten two donuts tonight, what's three more going to hurt?"

2. When you're not sure you're feeling hungry but you feel like putting something in your mouth, try drinking a glass of water first. We are terrible at keeping ourselves hydrated, and we mistake hunger for thirst. Wait 10 minutes after the drink to see if you still feel hungry.

3. Try brushing your teeth when you feel a craving. That fresh minty breath doesn't go well with a bag of chips!

4. The earlier in the day you get in the habit of exercising, the less likely you'll find reasons to postpone and cancel the workout! And try always to have something you can fall back on when there's inclement weather - an exercise DVD, a stationary bicycle, a treadmill, etc. Remember, better health isn't all about just changing diet - it's about exercise (moving your body more), too. This can't be stressed enough!

5. When you're unpacking groceries, cut up the raw vegetables and wash the fruit before you even put them in the fridge. You'll be more apt to snack on cucumbers, carrots, grapes, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc. if they're handy and ready for when your cravings strike. I never put a watermelon or cantaloupe in my fridge until I've cut it up. I just have made it a habit to cut them up in bite-size pieces and place them in a storage container before they see the light inside my fridge! And with today's marketing, you can purchase precut veggies and fruits for those of you who wouldn't spend the time to prepare these fresh items for snacks.

6. Don't skip breakfast. I'll say it again. Don't skip breakfast! We've all heard that before, but it's true....you will want more later if you starve now. And you'll be more likely to reach for something quick and unhealthy to satisfy that hunger once it hits. By the way, coffee does not constitute breakfast! And fried hash browns and cinnamon rolls would not be a healthy choice - delicious yes, healthy, no! I'm usually not hungry in the morning, but I force myself to eat a fruit (usually a banana) and sometimes some healthy grain, like Bran Flakes or oatmeal. It's not a lot either - not a heaping bowlful - just a 1/2 cup or so to make sure I'm getting fiber, which will help me feel full longer and provides me with wonderful nutrients to fuel my body. And pleeeeeease, don't load up on sugary cereal, either. You will end up hungry in no time and have not given yourself the proper fuel to get through the bulk of the morning!

7. Drink water, and lots of it! Don't just save drinking water to avoid a craving. Drink throughout the day! Morning till night. Eight 8 oz. glasses of water is the recommended amount. It's not much if you space it throughout the day. I like to buy bottled water in the ginormous size and sip on it all day long. Then you have the goal right in front of you without counting individual glasses of H2O. This will help curb your appetite, flush impurities from your body, and even improve your skin! Look at that - an anti-aging formula right out of your sink!

8. Place your workout clothes next to the bed. You'll be less tempted to skip that workout if all you have to do is roll out of the bed right into your sneakers and slip on your clothes then and there.

9. Better yet, partner up for your exercise! My friend Tina and I would run every morning together at 6:00 while we were in college. We'd be done by 6:30 and be the first ones in the eating hall. Yes, you read that right....college girls getting up at 5:45 a.m. to hit the pavement by 6:00 a.m.! You see, we planned that on purpose. If I knew she was getting up at that ungodly hour to exercise for me, then I had better well get my buns out of bed and not keep her waiting. And she felt the same responsibility toward me. I'll tell you what - there were many a morning that burrowing under my covers would have been my choice - but knowing Tina was down the hall getting her running clothes on when my alarm went off made me get my rear in gear!

10. Pick only two things to change about your health at once. Stick to changing only one poor nutrition habit and only one thing for increasing your activity level, until you get those two things under control. Once you've conquered those two goals, you can make two more, so on and so forth. These can be as simple as "I will not eat after 7:00" and "I will park in the farthest parking lot at work," to "I will not eat products with white flour" and "I will walk 45 minutes six days a week. " The range of goals will depend on your current state of health - remember, these are individual goals, but the end result is the same - healthier bodies!!!

11. Try eating several small meals throughout the day instead of three large ones. If you keep your blood-sugar level constant throughout the day, you'll be less apt to binge. And you keep it constant by eating proper foods every few hours (sugar only wreaks havoc with this level). Proper foods would be lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and whole grains. It might look like this: 7:00am (banana and wholegrain cereal) 10:00am (a slice of low-fat cheese and a few multigrain crackers) 1:00pm (some baked chicken slices thrown in a salad chockfull of different veggies - spinach, lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, onions - some sunflower seeds, and a small apple) 3:00pm (a small yogurt - Stonyfield is my fave because you can buy it at your local grocery store and it has the least amount of sugar and no artificial sugars - and toss some walnuts or almonds in it) 6:00 pm (a lean protein - fish, chicken, turkey, soy - steamed veggies, broccoli anyone? and some wild rice).

12. If you do eat traditional meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), then make lunch your larger meal! If you make a mistake and eat too much earlier in the day, you still have the rest of the day to counter it with more activity. But if you binge in the evening, you'll just go to bed and wake up feeling "hippy" - literally.

You CAN do this!!! Understand your weaknesses and temptations, and confront and conquer them with well-laid! You will fall once in a while, but have the courage to get back up and try, try again.

The choices you make today determine your tomorrow!

Knowledge is Power, Right?

I was once told that there's a key difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is simply being in the possession of information. Wisdom on the other hand, is not only having knowledge, but then acting upon that knowledge (information) to do the right thing. Wouldn't it make sense then that the opposite of wisdom is foolishness....having knowledge but refusing to act upon it or refusing to do the right thing with the information given?

Swallow that for a minute (it'll be the most nutritious thing you do today)! I hate to go against current trends, but I disagree with the notion that knowledge is power. Simply knowing something isn't enough! It's what you DO with that information that's powerful! I know many individuals who hold high degrees and yet they seem to make very foolish decisions in life. So knowledge per se hasn't done anything for them, other than maybe put them in a higher pay bracket at work! But it's the individuals (and not necessarily those with higher degrees!) who take knowledge and apply it that seem to benefit the most. So I think a more accurate statement is "Knowledge that is followed through with correct action is power." How's that?!

Okay, so what does this have to do with diet, fitness, health, etc.? Well, let me list a few statistics to arm you with, um, knowledge.....

1. "An unhealthy diet and physical inactivity can increase your chances of getting heart disease, cancer, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, breathing problems, arthritis, gallbladder disease, and osteoarthritis." (women'shealth.gov)

2. "Being overweight or obese accounts for 20% of all cancer deaths among women and 14% among men, notes the American Cancer Society. Plus, losing excess pounds reduces the body's production of female hormones, which may protect against breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Even if you're not technically overweight, gaining just 10 pounds after the age of 30 increases your risk of developing breast, pancreatic, and cervical, among other cancers." (AOLbody)

2. "For most women, carrying extra weight around their waists (larger than 35 inches) raises health risks like heart disease, diabetes, or cancer more than carrying extra weight around the hips or thighs. Obesity can also affect medical care. Too much fat can obscure imaging tests, like X-rays, CT scans, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). For example, in an ultrasound, the beam may not be able get through layers of fat to get an image of a person’s appendix, gallbladder, or kidneys. Too much body fat can make it harder for a doctor to make a medical diagnosis and treat a patient." (women'shealth.gov)

3. Of women in the U.S. 20 years old and older, over 64 million are overweight and over 34 million are obese. Body mass index (BMI) measures obesity based on weight and height with relation to body fat. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. (women'shealth.gov)

4. In 2005, the leading cause of death among women was heart disease (28.6%) and cancer (21.6%) according to Women's Health USA.

5. "Nearly twice as many U.S. adults are obese compared to Europeans, a key factor leading Americans to suffer more often from cancer, diabetes and other chronic ailments." (Reuters Health 10/2/07)

6. "Treatment of these and other chronic diseases adds between $100 billion and $150 billion to the annual health care tab in the United States. The United States spends significantly more per capita than any European country on health care, about $2 trillion annually, or 16 percent of the gross domestic product." (Reuters Health 10/2/07)

7. There is no one cause for type 2 diabetes, but it seems to run in families, and most people who get type 2 diabetes are overweight. (women'shealth.gov)

8. You can reduce your risk (of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, etc.) by eating heart-healthy foods, getting regular exercise, keeping a healthy weight, and quitting smoking. (women'shealth.gov)

Which would you rather be: wise or foolish? You now have some knowledge about women's health.......what will you DO with this knowledge???

Strong Mind Leads to Strong Body!

My theory is that the first battle of weight loss and fitness is waged in the mind. Once you've conquered the mind - at least overpowered it to work for you instead of against you - then your body naturally follows. Hence, in my last post (Oct. 4, 2007), I shared with you the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt. Dick subjected himself to rigorous physical training in order to provide a dream-come-true experience for his handicapped son, Rick. This man wasn't a runner, and I don't think he really even knew how to swim. But for the sake of his son, he took the challenge of training for races, later for marathons, and then unbelievably, ironman competitions. He had to gird his mind to force his body to comply with such training; if his mind wasn't fully engaged in it, he wouldn't have succeeded!

Well lo and behold, my newspaper published a story today about the "true grit" of a local U.S. soldier who was severely injured in Iraq in September 2006, and finally returned home a few weeks ago. The incredible part of Rick Yarosh's story is not the explosion that burned and scarred his face so terribly that his nose and ears are gone, or that he rolled into contaminated water to put out his fire only to have the bacteria in the water cause cholera and skin fungus, or that his shattered right leg had to be amputated below the knee, or his hands are mutilated, or even that he's had to be away from family and friends while in Texas at a military hospital and rehabilitation for a year. No, the absolutely incredible and beautiful part of this story is this man's attitude, his strength of mind to focus on his little improvements and what he can do, instead of on the long, long difficult road ahead of him and the things he can't do. It's absolutely awe inspiring.

So once again, I'm providing a link to a story of another human being who has overcome overwhelming circumstances. And my point? To remind you that whatever problem you're facing, the battle to beating it begins in the mind! We can relate this idea to health and fitness. Once you dig down deep inside you and find a reason for WHY you should pursue better health, then conviction grabs hold and you've got half the battle won. The next step is to then move your body in an "amped up" way from what you are used to - and not leisurely for just a few days a week! Commit to 45 minutes to one hour at least five days a week! You might as well face the music now - changing your shape and health is going to be hard work. If you can accept that, then you're on the road to progress. Last, change one poor nutrition habit - and there you go, take baby steps forward toward your goal. Focus on how you're improving and not on the long road ahead of you!

Can't Get Much More Inspiration Than This!

All of us need inspiration to pursue our goals at one time or another. To achieve better health, it takes commitment, hard work, discipline, and desire. After looking at these two videos, I think you'll agree that you can't find something much more inspiring than this. This is a true love story between a father and a son...a father who gives his entire self to helping his handicapped son reach his goals. The first video is a little over five minutes and the second is a little over four. If this video makes you want to grab life today, commit to something difficult, and gives you courage, then it will be the best 10 minutes you've spent this year! In your moments of weakness, remember: Anything is possible!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPSUrR3ipQc&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gm7XwtIJdM

Get off the sidelines and live life! You CAN!

Life's Not a Dress Rehearsal

I don't know who originally said this, but this came through on an e-mail today and it's definitely worth repeating:

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. Live and savor every moment...life is not a dress rehearsal.

Life is not a dress rehearsal. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Got that? Such a simple statement but so profound. How many of you watch others live life (on television, in movies, in books) instead of living it yourself! How many of you wish and wish and wish for better health, to be more in shape so you have the energy and stamina to actually go out and do the things that look like fun, but don't have the courage to step out and make the changes necessary to get your wish? (By the way, wishing hard enough won't make it happen - YOU have to make it happen!)

It's possible! Yes, it is. Don't play the victim anymore. Refuse to listen to lies that hold you back from accomplishing your health goals. For some reason, we have this mentality that we can only pursue better health if we're 100% sure that we won't fail, or slip here and there. If we think we can't be perfect at our pursuit of weight loss and fitness, then we don't even try in the first place! We don't see that little steps are just as important as giant leaps!

Picture this: Getting anywhere takes placing one foot in front of the other. Sometimes we have to back track before we can go forward again. Sometimes we stand still in place and regroup. But then we march forward again. And each march forward puts us closer to our destination.

Pursuing your health goal not only starts with this kind of a journey, but it ends up being a lifelong journey. Now don't let that scare you! That's not a bad thing; it's a beautiful thing! I have come to terms with the fact that until the day I die, there will not be an "Aha, I've done it, I've arrived, I've now reached my health goal and I'm done!" You see, choosing to eat healthy, choosing to exercise, choosing to LIVE my life instead of watch others live it is a daily decision. Daily. And you know what? That's a blessing. As I look at individuals who struggle with handicaps and illness, I realize what a blessing and opportunity I have to be able to use my two good legs, and two good arms, and healthy heart and muscles. Let me be a good steward of them (see my 8/28/07 post)! And for those individuals struggling with handicaps or illness, being in the best possible health you can be in is even more vital.

Life is not a dress rehearsal. This is the real show. Now go live it!

Lose a Jeans Size in Four Weeks???!!!

I just found a site for those who want more structure in their quest to drop a jeans size...and a support group to boot. I tend to be more of a loner, and I need flexibility. But there are those who thrive on a community of fellow fitness hounds and who desire a list of "to dos". If that fits you, check out this Web site sponsored by Fitness Magazine. It's a national challenge to lose a jeans size in four weeks.

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/ycdi/?psrc=fitycdihp

I ask you to remember one thing: Pleeeeease keep more focused on your overall health than on the number on your jean's tag. Go ahead and glean from the site ways in which you can incorporate healthier choices into your everyday life. Exercise must be one of your priorities as well as healthier food choices. (Don't let the idea of exercise intimidate you - just start moving your body every day in a manner that's "amped" up from what you're used to!) And maybe this challenge is just what you need to jump start your motivation for change.....

And again - You CAN do it! :-)

Lies, Lies, and More Lies!

Admit it, you're lied to several times a day, if not a hundred! And by who? Yourself! Yes, that's right, and even worse, you listen to those lies and eat them right up - pun intended!

Here are just five lies we tell ourselves which discourage us from reaching our health goals, or from even stepping out in faith to start the journey in the first place! Once you realize you've been lied to, you can then step out in truth! And from this day forth, see if you can pinpoint other lies as they pop into your mind...

1. LIE: You really can't do this. Who are you kidding? You've tried a zillion diets before. You're just too fat, too beyond help. You just need to live this way.

TRUTH: You CAN do this. If you've ruled out health issues (thyroid, pituitary tumors, etc.), then it's possible to achieve weight loss, but even more importantly, it's possible to achieve better health! Here's a scientific fact:
decreased calories (better nutrition) + increased exercise = weight loss (better health).
Follow the formula and you're a winner!

2. LIE: I just want to lose some weight so all I have to worry about is restricting my food.

TRUTH: The reality is you can choose to only restrict your food intake and not necessarily make more nutritious choices, and choose not to implement exercise into your life. And you might lose some weight. But two things will occur: You won't keep the weight off (it'll come back, and usually with a vengeance!) AND you haven't improved your health. To be truly healthier, there should be an increase in your cardiovascular endurance; a building and strengthening of muscle; and good nutrition pouring into your body to feed it efficiently, to regulate your blood sugar levels, to give it a wide array of minerals and vitamins, and to provide the types of foods which will benefit your digestive system.

3. LIE: I tried to watch what I eat and I even moved my tush for three weeks, only to lose a measly 1 pound. It's just not worth it.

TRUTH: ANYTIME you do something healthy, it's worth it!!! Whether you see the pounds come off or not, you're better off exercising and eating healthier foods than if you didn't!! You strengthen your heart, build muscle, and build endurance. It's a win, win. If you have this attitude, you won't lean toward discouragement over slow weight loss because your focus will be overall health, and not just numbers on the scale! Eventually, you'll retrain your metabolism and you will lose weight on your journey to better health. Just persevere!

4. LIE: I'm not that bad. Sure, I'm bummed I can't fit into my favorite jeans, but it's okay.

TRUTH: While that may be the truth for some of you, for the majority of us, it's just an excuse to put off hard work. And deep down, we are very bothered and sad that we've let ourselves get into this state. Honestly, but realistically, assess how you feel about your overall health and weight. It seems as if we were young and fairly in shape and then BAM, one day we woke up, and found ourselves 30, 40, 50 + pounds heavier than in our youth! Just like that! But it wasn't overnight; it was ever so insidiously gradual like the frog in the boiling water. We became acclimated to each 5- and 10-pound gain, until we're where we are today. Change IS hard. Exercise IS hard. Modifying what we love to eat IS hard. Yes, yes, and yes. But don't focus on what's hard and run from it. Focus on what's right and good for you, and then do it!

5. LIE: I'll just start buying low-fat, sugar-substitute foods to achieve weight loss.

TRUTH: Yes, those things can help you get over hurdles if you find you will cheat if you can't have something sweet, etc. However, in the long run, if we're talking health - those things don't constitute nutritional food - and you have slyly found a way to get your cake and eat it too! However, it won't work. You haven't changed your mind or your body to focus on nutrition and health - you've only tried to fool it by "substituting" one bad thing for a lesser bad thing. Please don't forget the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, low-fat dairy, grains, legumes, and even water! And I'm not talking artificially flavored water either! Just pure, plain, refreshing water. Don't get caught up in the "diet" mentality where you're filling your body with artificial sugars and flavorings just so you can say you're eating low-fat and "no sugar"! Permanent weight loss and better health will occur when you're willing to put value on nutrition and exercise.

Go ahead. Grab hold of the truth, reject the lies, and start your journey toward health today!

Plan Ahead: How to Stay on Track During the Holidays!

The holidays are looming ahead, and we all know what that means..... FOOD FEST! EAT TILL YOU BUST! Believe it or not, it all starts sooner than Thanksgiving...it starts so innocently with Halloween. You know... that innocuous pillowcase bag of goodies that Johnny brings home from trick or treat? Before you can even tuck little Johnny into bed after his sugar high, his goodies turn into your temptation's worst nightmare! You hear screaming coming from the bag: "Chooooocalllllllate here! Choooooocallllllate - free for the taking!" And suddenly, you have an out-of-body experience as you hear yourself telling Johnny not to worry about his bag, "I'll put it in a good and safe place for you so nobody gets into it. " You can almost hear yourself cackle with laughter like the 10-year-old witch who came knocking at your door earlier in the evening! Of lesser significance, but equally tempting, are the bowls of candy corn and chocolates your skinny co-worker places next to your computer this time of year, let alone the treats you need to make for Johnny's third-grade class!

Only a few weeks later is Thanksgiving. Yep, cooking and baking and baking and cooking - and a little, or a lot, of test-tasting along the way! Apple pies, pecan pies, pumpkin bars, carrot cake, zucchini bread, sugar cut-out cookies... (by the way, some of the listed desserts contain fruits and vegetables - they do NOT constitute a healthy serving of either!!!!!) The actual day is filled with indulgence - gorging yourself until you sit at the table with the button to your pants undone. Of course, sitting around the table visiting isn't exercise. So it's a double whammy. And if you have friends and relatives who travel a distance to your home, then you will spend the next few days continually preparing yummy treats for your guests, with the visiting revolving around eating, LOTS!

Lo and behold, the Christmas season pounces upon us immediately after Thanksgiving. Not only is the day itself another feast-laden event, but the weeks leading to it are inundated with Christmas dinner parties, work parties, Christmas baking, Christmas cookie exchanges, co-workers being generous with their homemade concoctions, cocktail parties, etc. etc. etc.

Let's top it all off with New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - just to plunge the knife in a little deeper and give it a twist! The average person gains 10 pounds during the holiday season. Ten pounds! That's a whole dress size!

The POSITIVE part of all this - is it doesn't have to be this way!!!!! You can stop the holiday-binge cycle that you're used to. We've all done it. It's part of American holiday tradition! Food, food, and more food. Sit and watch football, sit and visit, sit and eat. But you can start NEW traditions. A new way of celebrating holidays. And the beautiful thing about that? You can start teaching your children, by example, a better, healthier way to manage the holiday season!

You may be thinking, "Gee whiz, it's only the end of September and we're talking holidays already?" But remember, this battle for a healthier you is waged in the mind first. Take the time NOW to plan, to organize, and prepare yourself for the season that will be here before you can say, "Snickers!" With that, let's get down to the nuts and bolts. What exactly can you do to arm yourself against this holiday onslaught??? Here's some fab Web sites with great ideas:

http://www.netwellness.org/healthtopics/diet/nutribyte2003dec.cfm

http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/holiday_eating_tips.html

http://www.thedietchannel.com/Holiday-Eating-How-To-Avoid-Gaining-Weight-During-The-Holidays.htm

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Fall is here in my part of the world. The nights are cold, hoodie sweatshirts are perfect attire for the day, crackling bonfires light the weekends, and the leaves are holding their annual colorfest. So as I see this change in season, it reminds me that winter is around the corner. And with winter, the dreaded New Year's Eve resolution.

I HATE New Year's Eve resolutions! I understand the rationale....a new beginning, a new chance to start over, a new outlook on life. I've held several of my own. Aside from the statistics that show the majority of us don't stick with those resolutions (including myself!), I think there's something to be said for NOT feeling forced to make a change in our lives just because everyone else is! Hopefully, we should act upon changing when the need is there - not wait for a particular time of the year to fit it in!

That said, don't put off tomorrow what can be done today! If you've been feeling the need to change your fitness and health habits, do it NOW. Don't wait for January 1. There truly IS no time like the present. Start slow - don't conquer the world in one day - but by all means, start! Quit beating yourself up for your past mistakes, for making past decisions that put you where you are today, and instead, grab hold of today and tomorrow. Choose today to continue living the way you have in the past, or make a course correction and grab hold of a different future.

My father used to say that I could have the "world by it's tail." That I could "do anything I wanted." To an extent, some of that is true. So why not grab hold of the true part?! Yes, we all make daily decisions. So take those daily decisions you make, in particular those having to do with your fitness and health, and begin to make different ones - better ones. Again, you don't have to conquer this mountain at once. Mt. Everest is climbed by putting one foot in front of the other. Choose ONE thing today that you will change in your lifestyle choices, and DO it. Do it that way today, tomorrow, and the next. Think simple things: Take the stairs instead of elevator. Park farther away in the parking lot; don't waste 10 minutes circling for that close spot when you could walk for only two minutes from a further spot. Don't put food in your mouth after 7 p.m.....not even popcorn or cereal! Drink an extra glass of water than what you're used to. Pack a bag of carrots in your lunch. Walk 30 minutes. Hide the remote or better yet, give it to a neighbor for a set amount of time for safe keeping, but tell them not to give it to you, even when you come begging with a plate of brownies as a bribe! And when you feel you've made your one change well enough over a bit of time, pick the next modification you can make. On and on it goes, until over time, you realize that you have indeed kept to a "resolution." Remember, slow and steady wins the race!

One other word of encouragement: Try picking one "food/nutrition" habit and one "exercise/get your body in motion" habit to modify. That way, you'll work on both aspects of health (nutrition and exercise) to produce a healthier YOU.

START TODAY!

Run a 5K??? YES! You Can!!

Depending on your current fitness level, running a 5K may sound insurmountable. The important thing is to honestly assess your potential and plan accordingly. If you've been leading a sedentary lifestyle, and you're 25 + pounds overweight, your immediate goal will have a softer edge. The goal might be to start walking 20 minutes a day. After a few weeks, increase to 30 minutes and so forth. Keep doing that, and you WILL get to the point where running a 5K is totally possible!!! For those of you who have been moderately active, running a 5k is a goal you can reach for right now. No more waiting. No more excuses! What I think about is the feeling I'll have after I complete such a goal: confidence, achievement, success. Great, great feelings. But for most of us, we wonder how do we go from walking a few days a week to actually competing in a 5K race? Well, there's LOTS of information on the Web to help you. I want to start equipping you find the information you'll need to motivate yourself, to encourage yourself, and to give you ideas into the health world that you never thought about before!

This first Web site is great! It's all about how to train and get yourself to the point that you're fully capable of running in a 5K race:

http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/runningarticlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100166036

This second link is a "running" Web site - with loads and loads of great information! But it doesn't just discuss running itself.....there are tabs to click for info on "motivation", "nutrition & weightloss", and "training" among a few.

http://www.runnersworld.com/0,7118,,00.html

Go ahead, I dare you. Take the plunge. Get more knowledge about what you can do to get healthier in both nutrition and exercise, and then DO IT. Give yourself the knowledge you need to succeed. You can do it!!!

Thoughtlife Leads to Action!

Okay, here we go again....let's repeat something worth repeating: Getting healthy begins in the mind! Your body will follow whatever your mind tells it to do. And it's not just with exercise or eating healthier, either. Refraining from using your credit card, biting your tongue before someone bites you back, or writing those thank-you cards from last Christmas....all these things CAN be done. But it's a matter of WILL they be done. Will your mind play the game of convincing you why you shouldn't, or can't do such things? If so, you've got the battle of the mind going on. You act upon your thoughtlife. Let me say that again: YOU ACT UPON YOUR THOUGHTLIFE. Therefore, where do you allow your thoughts to go? You're not a victim! You can give into certain thoughts, or fight them. So in honor of that idea, I thought it would help to make a list of ways to motivate yourself to exercise and strive for health. Please refer back to this over, and over, and over as needed.

You CAN do it! Hit this link to read about some great ideas (keep in mind this article is geared toward men, but the principles listed can be applied to all).

http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100169435&GT1=10412

Need Motivation?

If you're looking at this blog, you've shown that you have an interest in your health...and most likely, this isn't the first time a "weightloss" article has caught your eye. Maybe you've struggled for years with trying to lose weight. Maybe you're prone to those magazines in the grocery aisle that claim "Lose 20 lbs This Week Without Giving Up Your Faves". If so, let me encourage you.

First, congratulations on acknowledging you need to do something different in your life as far as your health goes. Being aware of a problem is the first step toward solving it!

Second, you need to begin evaluating exactly what your problem is! And it's easy here to gloss over reality. "But I exercise every day for 30 minutes"....except for when I'm too tired to do it one day, or the babysitter fell through so I couldn't do it today, or I started my period yesterday so I skipped it... You get the picture. We generalize and tell ourselves that our eating habits aren't that bad or that we indeed move our bodies. But if you're overweight, outside of some health issue such as a thyroid condition, then you probably aren't being totally honest with the reality of your daily habits. So, if you're painfully honest with yourself, do you have a problem with eating before bed, or eating too much fast food, or drinking three sodas a day, or eating mostly processed foods - rarely fresh or raw foods, or eating until you're stuffed, or choosing portion sizes fit for a king, or eating all your kids' leftovers for fear of "waste not, want not", or driving in a parking lot for 15 minutes waiting for a close parking spot, or waiting for an elevator for five minutes when stairs would only take two, or finding after dinner, you mostly enjoy your remote control for company until bed? Be brutally honest here. So what if the answer doesn't cast you in the best light? YOU'RE the only one asking the question, so YOU'RE the only one who needs to know the answer! But it's imperative you evaluate yourself....you can't make improvements if you don't know where to improve!

Third, resist the "easy" way out. Those advertisements promising weightloss while still being able to eat all your favorite foods... C'mon, you're not that gullible are you??? Or ads telling you to take one pill a day and watch the fat melt off? Let's engage the brain. There is an order to our human bodies, a logical, scientific way our bodies operate. Here's a formula: Decreased calories + exercise/movement = weightloss. OR: Change one poor eating habit + exercise/movement = better health. Simple. It's not a glitzy slogan and it involves self-discipline, so it's a hard sell. But it's truth. Don't lie to yourself any more. Be willing to embrace truth, and once you've discovered truth, act upon it. You didn't get in your unhealthy state overnight - and you're not going to get your health back overnight. Be patient, but be true to yourself.

Fourth, let me encourage you to focus on the big picture. Don't be deceived into the tunnel vision of the weightloss mentality. Set your sights and your goal on improving your health! If you're only concerned about weightloss, you'll load up on diet sodas and eat processed "nonfat" cookies, and be tempted to skip exercise since you're eating "nonfat" foods, etc. If you focus on health, you'll begin to be discerning in what you choose to put in your mouth....you might pass on a diet soda in lieu of a water. You might choose whole-wheat toast instead of white. A big bowl of strawberries might suffice for dessert instead of "nonfat, low-sugar" ice cream. AND, you'll still realize the value of moving your body (exercise) since that is part of the equation to a stronger, healthier body.

Fifth, you CAN do this. Every year, there are thousands of women who begin to take control of their health and change their lives for the better. They say no to lying to themselves about the reality of their daily habits and they begin to show respect for themselves by caring for their bodies. The impetus for change is different for each woman - but something clicks within that causes the desire and motivation to make a lasting change. For me, it was my mother's and sister's death. For you, it might be not being able to keep up or play with your children, maybe your children's friends have made comments about their mommy, maybe you're beginning to experience health problems and realize it's because of choices you've made in the past, or maybe it's as simple as seeing age taking it's toll on an out-of-shape body. Again, the reasons will vary, but you need to dig down deep within yourself and find the reason why it is worth making this effort toward a lasting change. If you have to, write it down, post it on the mirror in the bathroom, or on your scale. Remind yourself as often as necessary WHY you need to better your health...

Respect yourself! You are valuable and worth the effort!!!!!

Be a Good Steward of Your Body

What does being a good steward of anything mean? It means taking care of, being responsible for, the well-being of what is in one's charge. To be a good steward of one's finances means handling one's money/spending wisely and responsibly. So to be a good steward of one's body, means taking care of one's health and well-being to the best of one's ability.

We've been blessed with life. And every decision we make affects our lives. Whether we choose to smoke, drink, drive drunk, overeat, work too much, sleep too little, etc. Likewise, we have choices like eating moderately, exercising, being active, saying no to drugs, balancing our work life, etc. Choices. You reap what you sow. A farmer who plants pumpkin seeds does not grow apple trees. Someone who eats too much, eats junk food, and isn't very active, will reap a body that is out of shape, heavier, and unhealthy in the long run. Only you can be the steward of your body. And you can choose to be a good steward or a poor steward.

If you're discouraged by your weight and shape, ask yourself what kind of steward you have been! And be honest with yourself. It is NEVER too late to change. You can make little modifications to your lifestyle that make you a better steward of your body... you don't have to start with being the best. As you get better at making smart choices in taking care of yourself, you'll be encouraged to continue improving your stewardship!

Remember: You reap what you sow........

Why "Just Move It?"

Why is this blog titled "Just Move It?" Well, if you read about me, you know that I'm a 40-something mother of six. Yes, I've struggled with being overweight and out of shape. Five of those children were born in seven years, with the last one born a little over three years later. That'll do a number on a body! I oughtta know!

I was in track in high school and I jogged throughout college to stay in shape. But once I had my babies, jogging again just didn't materialize. I walked. I joined clubs and took part in classes. I did a few videos. But the last 10 pounds of each pregnancy's weight gain stuck like glue on a preschooler's finger! Yuck. And my appetite grew as well. How do you turn down those last delectable, salty fries your child just can't seem to finish? Times six? Or those ice cream cones that just need a little cleaning up? "Here honey, let Mommy just lick it a bit to clean it up for you. We wouldn't want it melting all down your face, now would we?" Oh yeah, the weight stuck.

I remember distinctly one day crying over my weight. Of course, that was after I had eaten a Snickers bar and then immediately regretted it. My husband came up with some words of wisdom: Either learn to be happy with the way you are and get on with living, or change your life and do something about your weight. Humpf, like I wasn't trying to do something about it?! What about all the walks in the neighborhood? The stupid diet foods in the freezer? And my stash of cookies and Little Debbies hidden in the pantry's top shelf in the back behind the tea tray? Ooops, busted.

Still more years went by with the same woes and complaints. And as I saw fit women, I consoled myself with thoughts of, "Well, she hasn't had SIX children." Or, "But she's not pushing 40." Or, "Sure, if I had all the money in the world to hire a trainer I could be fit, too." Or finally, "Let them try taking care of a household of eight, homeschool, deal with three teenagers, and keep a professional part-time job and see if they could fit in time or energy for any significant exercise!"

Finally, it took two tragedies in my family to wake me up to the significance of my overweight state and the fact that if I didn't do something to change it NOW, I would only be in further ill health as I got older. The first was when my sister succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 43. Younger than I am today. It made me look at reality. My grandmother died in her 30's from breast cancer, as did my aunt, and now it was my sister's turn in her early 40's. Hmmmm. You'd think I'd have changed my habits right then and there. A little bit, yes, but significantly? No. Seven years later my mother passed away from lung cancer. Okay. Wake up call again. This time it took. My mother was a petite woman. Only 4'11", maybe 5'0", and about 100 lbs soaking wet. But she wasn't healthy. She drank too much coffee, smoked, and while she was active when younger, she didn't exercise. Good lesson for my daughters: Just because you're thin DOES NOT mean you're healthy! And our goal should be HEALTH. And as I watched my father have to care for her the last decade of her life, I realized that if I continued in poor health, MY husband would be having to take care of me at a time when we should be enjoying the grandchildren and the slow pace of life!

Then and there, at my mother's funeral, I made a decision. You see, the battle begins in the mind. Think about anything that is difficult in life. Any temptation, any weakness, any decision to do something. The mind has the power to say, "Yes, go for it, you can do it." Or, "What are you thinking? You've lived like this happily enough. It's just too much work to change."

So I evaluated how I had failed in my health after having children and decided to change only two things. That would be doable. It's too hard to stick to something when you have 10 or 20 items you need to totally revamp in your life. First, I would change just one poor nutrition habit. I chose to cut out white flour to the best that I could. I'm such a sugarholic that if I told myself I couldn't have sugar, I would just binge and want it all the more (see, the battle is in the mind)! But cutting out white flour didn't just mean desserts (think about pastries, cakes, Little Debbies, etc.) but it also meant changing to whole-wheat or multi-grain pastas, breads, crackers, etc. Secondly, I would exercise one hour a day for at least six days a week (I gave myself a three-month reevaluation goal). But I had to amp up what I was used to. I had been walking for years and years without any noticeable change to my shape. That's when I decided to jog again. Sure, I could only jog five minutes when I started this crazy plan of mine, and so I would have to walk the remaining 55 minutes. But within three months, I was jogging five, six, eight miles a day. I just increased little bit by little bit - with the clock being my friend. Get that hour in no matter what. Once I was increasing my mileage, I was easily going over the hour, sometimes jogging and walking for 1 1/2 hours! I am now 30 pounds lighter and have kept the weight off for over a year. And remember, this wasn't about losing weight as much as about getting fit, getting healthy. That's why I joined the exercise with the nutrition! And after all this, I think a large part of the transformation of my shape was from just moving this tush in an intense enough way that I worked up a sweat and got my heart pumping for a significant amount of time every day. Hence, "Just Move It!"