The Big E Word -- Exercise

 I think exercise is like the ocean tide- we do it waves. Sometimes we're on a roll and we get into our swimming or our walk with a friend or a great exercise class- and then "life happens" and we washout (get out of the routine).
     Then we catch another wave- and come back with something else.
     Yet, we are not as consistent as those ocean waves... Sometimes it takes us weeks or months to catch another exercise routine.
     What I've learned from my training is that YOU are the EXPERT in YOU. I can tell you that I get up at 7 AM and I put on my exercise clothes (Because if I don't do it in the morning, it's really tough to fit it in.) I can tell you a story about my one of my exercise members who dislikes exercise; she rolls out of bed and puts on a zumba video before she has time to talk herself out of it. Yet, the best story for you is YOUR story.

• When did you have your best experience with exercise?
• Who did you walk with?
• What class did you take?
• What would make it enjoyable again?

     In order to catch your "wave" you might do well to think back about when exercise was working for you and figure out how to re-capture that success.
     MAKING TIME FOR EXERCISE- only YOU can figure that one out. I could make suggestions from here until tomorrow, but none of my advice would mean as much as you picking your ideal time and giving it a go.
     So get going! Take a couple of minutes to think about it- what's your best story with exercise? Remember how good you felt when you were consistently exercising? Would you like to recapture that powerful feeling by committing to something now? And after you recommit, perhaps think of a back up plan when you can't have your number one activity choice. How will you track this commitment?
     Coach yourself into being as consistent as the ocean. Your body will thank you. You'll have more energy! And it certainly will boost your weight-loss efforts and feeling of overall wellness.
     So- what's your best story with exercise? What's the next chapter?

2012 - The Year to Believe

There are years that ask questions and years that answer. - Zora Neale Hurston

It's January 1st and we all know what that means...Resolutions that we commit to then forget about as soon as something else gets in the way...I started thinking about resolutions and did some research on resolutions and found a few that we don't always think about but I think I will give them a try this year...I would love to hear your resolutions.

Read Simple Abundance - A Daybook of Comfort and Joy.  This is one of my New Year's Resolutions.  I bought this book a couple of years ago and I have decided this is the year that I will read the book and actually do the exercises.

It's kind of prophetic that the last paragraph in today's entry encourages the reader is to begin this year by believing, Believe in yourself to make your dreams come true.  Weight Watchers new advertising promotion is Believe.  If you haven't seen the new ads, don't worry they will be flooding the market very soon!!  I do like premise because as most of you know I am always saying it is all about you and believing in yourself that you can do it.

Prioritize Sleep - I used to laugh and tell people that I would sleep when I was dead, then a doctor told me I had breast cancer and after six months of treatment I kind of wished I was dead or at least knew I felt pretty close to it. While I sleep much better than I used to I could still work on this resolution.  This year I resolve to try to get at least seven hours of sleep a night.  It will not only help my long term health but it will also help keep me younger.  I will work on the things that keep me up at night and begin creating a quiet place to rest my head.

Use Vacation Days - yes, Steve and I are retired, but I think we sometimes get so busy that we feel like we are back working full time.  This year I want to do the things that are important to me, I want to have more dates with Steve, more time with our grand children and I want to make that happen.  If it means letting go of some of the other "volunteer" jobs we have then I am willing to make that happen.

Remember to Breathe - sounds simple, does hard.  How often are we all wrapped up in the craziness that is our lives that we forget to stop and breathe.  I will practice breathing.  When things get tough or stressful, I will stop, I will take a deep breath and center myself. I found Dr. Weil's website on breathing, he recommends three different breathing exercises to help relieve stress.  Check them out if you are of a mind.

Do 10 Minutes of Yoga a day - Yoga helps with your balance, it helps your mind, it helps your body and yet so many of us don't think we could ever do yoga.  Don't think, oh great, now I need to add one more thing to my life.  Start with 10 minutes, check out this website for poses that are pretty simple to do.  Steve is so surprised at how a little bit of yoga has given him so much more balance.

Bike or walk to work one day a week - Given where we live this might be tough to do to get to Weight Watchers in Placerville, but I do teach an exercise class three days a week, maybe one of those days I will will the mile and a half to the lodge to teach my class.  Classes start this Wednesday so I shall walk one of those days.

Do One Thing A Week Only Because I Want To - I will do one thing a week for me, whether it is a girl's date with my daughter, an afternoon hike in the mountains with Steve or sharing a cup of coffee with a friend I haven't seen lately.  I will get a manicure if I want to or I will sit in the sunshine and read a book, I will do these things because I want to, not because I have to or because it is expected of me.  I will take care of myself.

Until Thursday

Carol

Weight Loss and Cheating

At our last meeting we discussed the "Weigh-In" and how we react to the number on the scale.  I'm not going to review the meeting here, but rather focus on one aspect: when you have a weight LOSS:


Many members want to go and CELEBRATE a loss on the scale. How do they do that? Some folks like to take the rest of the day "off" from their weight loss efforts- and eat something outrageous, since they have a whole week till the next officialweigh-in. 

One member who lost 5 pounds last week had planned to do just that! She was mentally planning her trip to the bakery to "celebrate" until she heard our Goldilocks and the 3 Weigh-Ins story. (Goldilocks celebrated her big weight loss by eating the "whole cake, including the roses!")

Every day and every bite adds up. It all counts. The over-eating you do on your weigh-in day actually affects the whole week and the next weigh-in. 

Who are you cheating? Not your DIET! You are cheating yourself.  Put that on your plate and chew on it.

Monday, Mondays

The phone rang last night and two hours later Steve was off of the phone so we decided to have a deli plate...laughing cow cheese, wasa crackers, dill pickles and sliced deli ham...so much for the shrimp....
But I kept on track and didn't go over so that is a good thing.

Today - "Let's get the yards cleaned up for the winter!" So I had breakfast, (yogurt, bran, olive oil, blueberries, blackberries and coffee!!) and headed for the great outdoors.  Six hours later all of the yards are cleaned and I got 23 activity points!!!  Not bad..Shrimp, rice and corn for dinner tonight!!

Going to try to get a run in tomorrow morning before we have to go to search and rescue school!!

Pictures to follow!!!

Carol

One Magical Week

Okay, so I haven't been blogging lately, it seems life was getting in the way and now I have challenged all of you to take the one magical week Weight Watchers Challenge, I thought maybe it was time for me to start blogging again and this will be my one week diary of how it can work...

Friday - went very well, I tracked and stayed within my points plus, I ran and counted my activity points plus and was pleased that I stayed within reason...



Saturday - always a tough day, we start the day out at 5:30 but I did make good choices, I chose to eat greek yogurt in the morning before I left and I got a coffee at Starbucks (yes it was a non-fat, skinny vanilla latte) but that was it...then we made our way to William Pond for the run.  I ran three miles (felt great) and enjoyed pancakes and sausage at the breakfast.  Needless to say the activity didn't really cancel out the food. So I was over my daily points plus target by lunch!  Dinner was barbecue chicken and potato salad and wine (thank goodness for the 49 extra Weekly PointsPlus!)

Sunday - an egg omelet (made with egg beaters) saved my day.  Steve is making Weight Watchers Cajun shrimp for dinner...check back tomorrow for the final count!!!

Until Thursday,

Carol

Summer Fun

Summer Fun!

Just came home from Safeway and read the coupon they gave me when I checked out. "Stock up on Summer Fun! Get $4 off when you spend $12 on ice cream." (Dreyers, Nestles, Haagen-Dazs, even Skinny Cow!) Hmm. Summer Fun = Ice cream.Well, that may be true for kiddies but not for us folks who need to lose or maintain our weight.

Summer Fun is fitting into smaller sizes, being comfortable removing our coats (you know what I mean here) and feeling good about ourselves when we wake up each day. Summer Fun is taking a walk in the sunshine, barbecuing Power Foods, Shakespeare in the Park and enjoying the Blue Angels.

Summer Fun should not =  food unless that Summer Fun Food is cherries, peaches, fresh corn on the cob, and asparagus! This is another mindset adjustment that can make for long term weight maintenance success.

We had this meeting topic in July: Fun without Food. I was happy to share this meeting topic because we all think about getting together with others by going to lunch, or meeting at a restaurant.

When my husband was in the corporate world, he often turned a lunch invitation into a walking date instead. Corporate lunches can be devastating to the waist line. Walking dates are one of the best ways to socialize without food.

We should strive to be creative and move the focus OFF of food and ON to alternative fun activities such as bowling, a trip to the zoo, exploring a museum or taking a hike.  Shift your priorities off of your stomach and let your legs do the walking.  Start thinking creatively about all of the ways you can socialize without food being the main focus.  CAN you do it?  WILL you do it?.  What have you got to lose?

She's Back - Honoring our selves and our Hunger!!!!

Am I Hungry?

Good Morning All...

Last week was a tough week...I think I over did it!! (Surprise, Surprise) and began getting an infection in my foot.  Needless to say I stayed low for the week and am much better this week.

This week's topic is about honoring hunger...When do we eat?  Are we really hungry?

There are many reason why people tend to eat:  Their bodies may need food, they may go by the clock, sitting down for meals on schedule whether their stomach is rumbling or not; or they may eat in response to emotions-not just sadness but also stress, boredome, anxiety, even happiness.  But eating for one of the latter reasons can easily lead to overeating.

This week we are going to learn to listen more carefully for our body's hunger signals, track them and honor them.

Here's some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you ever eat just because the clock says it's mealtime?
• Are you stuck in a three-meal-a-day run?
• Have you ever eaten at a certain time just because it was convenient?
• When have you found yourself at the fridge for reasons other than hunger?
• What happens when you ignore hunger signals?
• Even when you are full do you remember what our mothers and grandmothers said "Finish everything on your plate!"

So often I remember hearing that when I was growing up so I thought I had to always finish everything on my plate.  I would eat until everything was gone and then I would feel so stuffed I couldn't sleep or move...When I joined Weight Watchers I found ways to erase those old tapes and eat until I was satisfied and be okay with leaving food on the table.  I can take a bite of something and be done with it, and if I am not hungry and I can "No Thank-you" and not feel guilty about turning down food.

I realized that most of my eating was in my head and not really in my stomach.  I honor my hunger when I am really hungry, but I also think about what is going on.  Am I really hungry or does the clock say it is time to eat.

Take this simple test:

When I am hungry I feel ______________
When I am satisfied I feel _____________
When I am full I feel _________________

Now compare it to what the experts say:

Hungry:  Classic hungry symptoms include a rumbling stomach, decreased energy and mental distraction.
Satisfied - When you've eaten enough your brain knows it.  You're neither too hungry nor too full, but somewhere in the middle, just right.
Full: If you override the signals that you've had enough and keep eating, you feel full.  It's uncomfortable, like your stomach is about to burst.

Before Weight Watcher's I think I owned stock in Tums.  But my brain didn't get it.  At night I would eat, I would get ready for bed and I would grab a handful of Tums.  I couldn't understand why my stomach hurt every night, maybe I had an ulcer, maybe I was just stressed.  This past week I cleaned out our medicine cabinet and realized we had a full bottle of Tums that had expired.  I look back now and realize that it was the overeating that caused my stomach to hurt and I didn't have an ulcer!!!  Amazing what hindsight can show you!!!

I have a poem for you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I read it...

How do I know when to eat?

Do I go by the clock
Or when I see my favorite treat
Sometimes I eat, when I'm feeling down
And sometimes I eat in secret, when no one's around
I often eat when I have the time,
Or when my schedule, allows me to dine.
It is not very often though
That I listen to my hunger signals for a yes or a no.
I would do much on better on my weight loss plan
If I eat when my body needs fuel,
And not just because I can!

Enjoy your week and I look forward to seeing you on Thursday if you can make it to the meeting!!!

Carol