Shoes and The Old Ways: It's Fit Friday - Tips Tricks and Inspiration!

Hello Co-Warriors!

If you haven't already, please take a minute to read my PRT throw-down challenge posted yesterday. I am looking for some Warriors to join me in this fitness challenge that will finish up on July 31.

Find your "Sole-Mate"

How long has it been since you replaced your exercise shoes?  If your feet, ankles or knees are troubling you more than they used to, turn those shoes over and take a look.  Most running shoes will last about 500 miles as a benchmark. For some tips on determining if your shoes are worn out, I found this article by Mizuna helpful. If you aren't sure what to look for in a shoe, check out these tips by SparkPeople (How to Find Your Sole Mate!). I have already chosen my new shoes and will be hunting them down this weekend.

Good News for Mediterranean Diet Followers

We all know there is no magic to losing weight but some eating plans do seem to do the trick better than others. The Mediterranean diet is rich in fish, nuts, vegetable and fruits, as well as healthy oils. Web MD reported recently on yet another study that shows how helpful this traditional diet truly is. Our family is definitely moving closer to this way of eating but fish is still hard for me to incorporate. Lent is a good springboard for us as we eat fish every Friday and I think I will have a goal of moving to twice-a-week fish beginning Easter. Sometimes the old ways are the best!

Speaking of the Old Ways . . .

I found a very interesting to site for inspiration this week. It's called Old Ways.  Their mission is to "guide people to health through the old ways." This just suits me! It's a combination of "back to basics" and new spins on old favorites. My philosophy is to keep refining my eating and to allow myself to be inspired by other ways of improving health. This site had some wonderful recipes and help on two fronts: 1) Making clear the Mediterranean way of eating and, (2) African Heritage Health forums and recipes. Both of these are well suited to my family so we have several of these recipes and practices coming soon to our table. Have a look at for yourself and let me know your thoughts.

That's all for today folks! Have a fit Friday and a Work-Out (or Work-Outside!) Weekend.

Thank Goodness it's Friday! Tips, Tricks and Inspiration

I lost 5 lbs. this week. Normally that would be cause for celebration but it was the 5 pounds I gained the week before due to my weigh in falling in the few hours I had between two hospital stays. That said, I could honestly say that I was in my points range for the whole 3 weeks so far and I stayed on plan, even in the hospital. I will stay the course and see how I do this week.

Thank goodness it's Friday. I went back to work yesterday and while I did okay, I was beat when I got home. So I only have today and tomorrow morning and then some time to rest.

I have a simple tip for this week: Eat more watermelon! I read these fun facts about watermelon on Fooducate and realized my over-the-top love for this fruit is actually justified. I'ts a good source of Lycopene, and Vitamin C and it's a "filling food." The article offers some alternate serving suggestions at the end but to me using watermelon as an ingredient is akin to grinding up steak and using it as an ingredient. It's already perfect the way it is! I'm not too much of a purist though, a fat slice with a little cayenne and salt is the perfect snack.

You've tried logic, so now you want to know how to trick your teens into giving up sugary sodas. A new study had a surprising finding: If you label the soft drink cooler with the amount of exercise it will take to burn the calories from the soda, a lot fewer teens will choose the drink. Who knew teens were logical? Read the details in this brief article by The Salt on NPR.

While looking for something else, I stumbled across this government publication on the benefits of losing weight. If you have a metabolism like mine and weight loss comes slowly, it's helpful to have a little inspiration to keep working at it. Take a look at it and see which of the many benefits would mean the most to you right now.

I am focusing on small changes now. For instance, I am committed to journaling  my food, no matter what I eat. Knowing I will be logging it later helps me make a good choice in the moment. What small changes are impacting you right now? I want to hear from you!

Strong Start Day

So . . . it was quite a spring. I slogged through February and March, being sick most of the time and just feeling crummy but maintaining my weight despite the fact that I gave up exercise for all of March. Then I had a pre-Easter hospital stay in which I dropped a couple of pounds.Then April and May in which I tried to build up my stamina while adjusting to a new job and new medications. Finally I am "back to normal" in terms of feeling well and managing to lose weight through a little trick but being undisciplined in my eating.

To get through Easter, 5 family birthdays, Mother's and Father's Day, as well as a half dozen "eat out" ball tournaments and a new job, I've simply been eating whatever I want, but half as much as I want to - or would normally - eat, pretty much at every turn. The exception is fruit and vegetables which I eat in full portion.  So if I want a bowl of cereal, I take a tiny half-sized bowl. This is working if my goal is to lose weight. But my true goal is to be healthy . . . which I'd somehow lost sight of . . . so I am returning as of today to my "box."

It dawned on me recently that my inner core of true health has been slipping away. That health has already rescued me once this year, so I don't want to get sloppy about it. It was that core of good health that "saved" me during all my weeks of Afib so it's crazy to not be "minding" it now! As of today, I am also getting back to regular exercise. My cardiologist cleared me for exercise three weeks ago, but I've been scared it will put me back into Afib. But as he says, I've got to get on with my life. I have to start slowly, 15 minutes a day, so today is the day.

In all these months of struggling with having enough energy to do the minimum I needed to do for my family, one thing has become abundantly clear: losing weight, per se, is not what matters most to me. Living is what matters. Being healthy and strong matters. Seeing my kids to their future matters. Having my hubby at my side matters. Having a core of health to support me in the next crisis matters. Weight loss is the means to the ends, not an end in itself.

Happy Strong Start Monday!

Rainy Friday - Tips, Tricks and Inspiration!

Happy Friday!  I've missed a few of these installations lately because of hot dates with my hubby but on this rainy evening pre my Color Run 5k tomorrow, I am here to share some of the week's reading with you.

Here's a tip:  go for at least 5 days a week following health guidelines;  I was shocked to learn that most Americans have only 7 days a year where the meet the MyPlate guidelines.  So many of us are obese or overweight, and it is really sobering news to me.  Oh and did I mention that those who did manage to meet the guidelines usually ate more than 3 meals to get there? 

I think the big wake-up call is that MyPlate is a very simple concept and yet, people don't do it.  It is not enough to say "I'll eat moderately"; we need to put intention and action into it. 

 On a similar vein, let's not let ourselves be tricked by diet gimmicks.  Here 8 diet "rumors" are  unraveled.

Finally, for your weekend enjoyment, here is a little Bento inspiration - a cute piece from the BBC.


Now you should be all set for a fun and fit
weekend!

Why I Persevere

For the past 18 months or so, I've weighed pretty much the same.  I'm about 35 pounds down from where I started my weight loss journey in the fall of '09 and still have a good 60 pounds to lose, possibly more. 

During the past 18 months, I've stuck with my calorie ranges, I've exercised, I've had extremely limited times of going off plan and those times have been rare, indeed.  I've learned to take a holi-DAY and not a whole week or month off plan.  I've dealt with illness, visitors and schedule changes.  I've exercised as much as 10 hours a week and as little as 2.  I've had 3 visits to the internist to have my thyroid medicine levels checked.  I've adjusted what I eat, when I eat, how much I sleep, how I exercise, and everything else I can think of to adjust.  Still, I basically weigh the same.

You may wonder, then, why I persevere.  The answer is really quite simple: I persevere because I am worth it. 

I am 52 years old.  In this decade, I am setting the foundation for my old age.  I am worth having fresh produce in the house.  I am worth the time it takes to plan, shop for and prepare healthy meals.  I am worth setting aside enough time to exercise and to sleep.    I am worth a long and lively old age! 

I hang in there because in the past 2 years, I have reduced my health risk by 200%.  My triglycerides, cholesterol and blood pressure are fantastic. I eat more fiber than a rabbit. I am a stronger, fitter, healthier, happier person than I have ever been before.  I'm still not athletic, but I am certainly more capable and confident about sports and exercise than I ever was as a thin teen.

I persevere because I want to set a good example for my 5 children and because  I plan on getting a big bunch of grandkids out of them!  I persevere because those who know better should do better and I am one who knows better!   I keep on going because I do believe I will one day overcome whatever is blocking me now and I will achieve my goal.  I stick with it because I have learned so much  that I can never "unlearn."  I persevere because what I am learning is benefiting others.

I am worth it . . . and you are too.  Dream big but work hard too.  One day we will both get there.

Idling at the Top of the Hill

Weight loss is not a super highway.  It's more of a mountain track with detours, switchbacks and some uphill portions.  In the past 88 days, I have gained two pounds, yet I am still on the path.  I've fallen off a time or two, I've struggled with exercise, and I have been on track the vast majority of the time.  I know what it will take to speed up my loss and hit a big downhill stretch, and I have been idling at the top of that hill waiting for the right time.  School is mostly out as of today -- one child has 8 more days -- and the leisure that will afford gives me the opening to rev up my engines and refocus my energy on myself.

My goal for the summer is to get well below 200 pounds.  Keeping my calories low is not enough, I need to step up my exercise big time.  To maintain a high level of exercise, I am helped by keeping my intention firmly in place.

In no particular order, here are my motivations for getting back to my pre-1998 weight over the summer:

I already have greater ease of movement  and I want more of that!  More fun with the family!
I want to live a long and healthful life for the enjoyment of it.
I want to be in the family photos (as opposed editing myself out because I don't like my appearance).
I want to be proud of how I look.
I want to buy clothes I really like - to dress like myself.
I want to continue on my path to a long and healthy life.
I want to complete it because it is something I am doing for myself, a commandment I made -- my word to myself -- I want to honor and complete it.

To get there, I will:
Visualize myself reaching my goals every day
Step up my exercise to 6 hours per week
Stick to my eating plan 100% until I meet my goal

Wait, what's that sound?  It's me, revving my engines.  Tomorrow, I throw off the brakes.  Look out, world!!

Photo credit:  Graphics Fairy

Trip of a LIfetime

I have been on this weight loss journey a long time and sometimes I get really focused on the "long time" and forget about the journey.  I am finally losing again after a long plateau followed by a small slow regain of 15 pounds.  It is so easy and so tempting to be totally focused on the goal and forget that I am in the midst of a learning process.

I am learning how to eat for optimum health.  I am learning what "full" and "hungry" feel like -- things I'm pretty sure I did not know before.  I am learning how much exercise both my lifestyle and my 53-year-old frame can accommodate.  I am learning to turn to people for emotional support, not food.  (It never worked that well anyway).  I am learning that I am worth taking the time to care for myself.  Yep, it's true.

When I get to goal, I will still be on the journey.  I cannot then forget all that I've learned and return to thoughtless eating.  Instead, I am now building habits and practices I will maintain for a lifetime. I guess you could say this is the trip of a lifetime.  Might as well enjoy the scenery!

Putting it all on the Line

Welcome to my new weight loss blog. I am about two weeks into my latest (and last!) attempt to lose the excess 80 pounds I've been packing around for the last 13 years. You read that correctly -- it's eighty. But I haven't had it all for the whole 13 years; in point of fact, I put it on a pound at a time over the first 10 years and have spent the last three trying to get rid of it.

I am done "trying." This time, I am succeeding.

It's my life and my life is worth saving.

For the past three years, I've been doing lots of research about the relationship of weight to health, and on diets, metabolism and exercise. You could say I'm an "aspirant expert!" I will be sharing that learning in this forum, along with the things I see that are getting in my way and those that are helping.

In short, I'm eating the calories I will need to eat each day when I reach my goal weight; in other words, I am eating my maintenance calories now. I am exercising 4 hours a week in February and will be up to 6 hours by March. Once a week I will report my current weight, as well as how much I've lost each week.

I hope this blog will inspire both you and I to live healthier (and lighter) lives.

Current Weight: 238.8
Weight loss since last week: 2 pounds
Total weight loss this year: 4 pounds