5 Weight Loss Habits I Ditched and 6 I Adopted

I was overweight for most of my adult life. After years of habitual dieting, I worked myself into the obese category. Way to go, Cammy!

At some point, I parsed a clue and realized that the customs and habits of "dieting" really weren't working so well for me, and I decided to ditch them. See if any of these habits look familiar to you:

Habit #1 - Changing Everything at Once
I've blogged about this before but it's worth repeating. If I woke up one morning to a to-do list that included painting the house, cleaning out all my closets (*shudder*), washing my car, balancing my checkbook, mowing the lawn, and repaving the driveway, I'd run for the hills. Why I ever thought I could one day wake up and completely overhaul when, what, and how much I ate, add in an hour of heavy exercise, and magically erase all stress from my life with a snap of my fingers, is beyond me.And yet, I did just that. Over and over again. I overcomplicated the process in a big way, and I got bigger as a result.

New habit: Incremental changes. I think of it in terms of layering, or shifting. Smooth and steady progress, with a small jolt or two for kicks and giggles.

Habit #2 - Focusing on weight-based goals only. Y'all know my thoughts on this! But let's go for a refresher in case anyone new is dropping in. I'll be brief(ish). I can't control my weight; it's as simple as that. I can eat healthy, healthy, healthy and gain two pounds. I can sneak in a few treats and lose a pound. Throw in an extra workout, and stay the same. The scale makes no sense sometimes. My previous inability to understand that was frustrating, demoralizing, and ruinous.

New habit: Focus on action-based goals. Ah, these are the goals I have almost 100%.control over. Staying within my calorie range or accomplishing my 6-times-a-week exercise schedule is up to me. It's my choice whether I'll have grilled chicken or fried, one ounce of chocolate or one bar, a 2-mile walk or 3, and so on. Weight loss or maintenance follows eventually, even though it does lag behind sometimes.

Habit #3 - Setting impossible standards.
I swear, I am a reasonably intelligent person. Smart enough to know that a square peg and a round hole are a mismatch, anyway. Yet time and time again, I tried to force myself to eat foods I didn't like (some I loathed), day in and day out. Anyone who was on one of the early Weight Watchers plans will remember the days when you had to eat liver once a week. *pause for gag reflex to subside*  As weeks of joyless meals passed, I would eventually have something "forbidden", thus breaking my "perfect record."

New habit: Eat foods I enjoy in healthy portions. By no longer trying to follow other people's diets, I've  eliminated the pursuit of perfection, a race I was never going to win no matter how hard I tried.

Habit #4 - Hoping for Success, Looking for Trouble
While there's certainly merit in being aware of potential stumbling blocks, I spent more time worrying about the possibility of failing than I did enjoying my successes. What happened was that small blips were magnified far beyond their importance (with zero credit for even trying), and eventually all I saw were the failures.

New habit: Be on the lookout for successes, and celebrate the small victories every bit as loudly as the greater ones. When troubles arise (and they WILL), look for the reasons for the problem and temporarily move the bar lower, or try something new, but always keep the primary focus on what's going right.

Habit #5 - Being So Serious About It All
I'm a person who likes to laugh. A lot. If I'm not finding the world around me to be entertaining enough, I'll make up reasons to give myself a giggle.  But "dieting" is Serious Business, with no room for fun and games, right? It's not possible to--dare I say it?--enjoy the process of learning about myself, trying new things (even when the results are comical), and discovering what I'm capable (and incapable, sometimes) of accomplishing. Yeah, right: Total Bullshit, if you'll excuse the expression. But that was pretty much my approach in years past. Fun and happiness could wait until I was "at goal".

New Habit: If It's Not Fun, Find a Way to Make it Fun! After all, this a life-transforming endeavor, and there is joy in every single moment! Do a face plant while trying to do a stability ball push-up? Laugh 'til you pee! Getting bored with the same old, same old? Invent something fun, like Cake Day, to push you forward. (Yeah, that's what it was, a motivational tool, NOT just a reason to eat cake.)  My point is that life is so very good, and we deserve to enjoy it NOW, rightthisveryminute, not at some (potentially) far-off time in the future.

I have one new habit that I'd never tried with previous weight loss attempts:
New Habit #6: Find a group of warm, witty, and wise folks with whom to share the process. Whether it's an in-person group like Weight Watchers, etc. or an online community like Sparkpeople, seek out a group of similarly-minded people focused on helping each other succeed. My choice: BLOGGERS ROCK! :)

As I've said before, I don't truly consider my previous, unsuccessful attempts to be complete failures. They might not have worked, but they did serve the invaluable purpose of showing me what didn't work. It was by linking all of those together and developing a new way of approaching the same issues that I dropped the 100 pounds.

Now, some of my new habits might not work for you, us being different people and all, but if you're struggling, I encourage you to take a look at what habits or processes you're repeating today that have proven not to work for you in the past. Can you think of a way that you could turn those habits into something with a greater chance of working? Wouldn't it be worth trying?

You might even get a giggle out of it.

For those of you who are on a strong path of finding your way, were there habits or methods you had to jettison to get here?

As alway, thank you for reading. I hope you found something useful!

Finding (and Keeping) the Mysterious Mr. Will Power, Pt 2/2

Yaay! You came back! With my yammering on about willpower yesterday, I was afraid you'd all go looking for sales on shoe laces. :)

Awesome, awesome comments yesterday! Whether you've found your path to willpower, are almost there, or are tippy-toeing along enjoying the view, your input is truly appreciated. Not to mention, oh-so-very-necessary. As we've long established in this community, what works for one doesn't always work for another. Seeing a variety of perspectives in one place is always helpful.

With that said, what follows is what worked for ME in moving from the perception of willpower as self-denial to a more successful viewpoint of willpower as self-control. If it reads like a bunch of hooey to you, that's fair enough. But if you're struggling and looking for a new approach to unleashing your willpower, I hope you'll give some or all of these actions a try:

1. Commit to doing something. Anything. Too often we get so caught up in contemplating our situation that we never get around to acting on it. Maybe we're a little scared of failing, or maybe we're hesitant about what might be the best way to proceed, or maybe it's something else entirely. Whatever the stumbling block, we spend our time thinking and not doing. So the first thing we need to do to even have a need for willpower is to commit to doing something. We can always tweak it as we go along.

2. Be realistic. I'll also toss in 'be honest' with this one. I've rambled on and on here about the need for reasonable, actionable goals, so I'll save you the repetition. If we're looking to change the way we think, eat, and move, we need to have a realistic and honest view of how we live our lives. Some things we might want to change within a specific time will require miracles, not just willpower. As a small example, if you have an hour a day of "spare time", three days a week, then it's going to be difficult to achieve a goal of six one-hour workouts each week. Why not set a goal of 45-60 minute workouts 3 days a week, and do that consistently until life presents you with more free time? (Oh, and honesty comes into play here if you're lumping tv watching or naps into the time outside "spare time.")

3. Put on your positivity glasses. As I wrote yesterday, I had a lot of spinning-wheel years operating under the belief that willpower meant self-denial (can't have this, have to do that), and that didn't work so well for me. My focus was on what I was giving up, not what I was getting. Duh. As I began to see and feel the changes in my body, I was able to shift my view of this endeavor as a series of exchanges: By replacing the majority of the unhealthy foods I was eating with more wholesome, nutritious fare, and spending more time moving and less time sitting, I would gain more energy and a more positive experience. That allowed for a wee bit of wiggle room for splurges, as needed, but kept the major focus on the positive results of a healthier lifestyle. It's what still keeps me "returning to center."

4.Expect problems. I'm not saying that we should go looking for trouble, but life does love to throw us curve balls. Knowing that they'll occur and having a back-up, or even a "muddle-through", plan will go a long way to ensuring that you'll get right back on track. Headed to a family reunion? Rehearse your answers to Aunt Mabel, who insists that you have another one of her award-winning quaudruple-chocolate muffins. Got a run planned for tomorrow a.m.? Decide today what you'll do if an early morning thunderstorm washes out those plans. Expecting roadblocks and having strategies in place to plow through them will limit the number of detours you take and increase your confidence in your abilities.

5. Practice, practice, practice. Way back in 1915, psychologist Edward Boyd Barrett suggested a series of will-building exercises (p.165) that on the surface seem trivial (e.g. to write "I will train my will" 50 times, to count and recount the same ten items for five minutes, etc.) but when practiced with consistency, strengthen our will and enable us to successfully take on more difficult challenges. (Note: I'm still reading this book, which is available in PDF or ebook format at no cost from Google in the link above, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.) The idea is to start small and grow.

6. Keep it up! Momentum is a powerful force, and you'll find your confidence growing as you pile up the successes in building self-control. Boyd Barrett likens it to compound interest on a savings account. Success builds on top of previous success.

So there you have it. Just a few tips for building up your self-control and giving you the confidence you need to move forward, presented in my own rambling, somewhat chaotic way. Today, I'll blame it on paint fumes. :)

Have anything to add? Chime in! Not what you wanted to know? Sing out!

As always, thanks for stopping by. I do appreciate you!

{On a personal note: I'm behind on reading due to a bit of hectivity (hectic activity) on the homefront. I'll be catching up later today and this evening. I'm counting on you all to provide a nice break time from my to-do list, and I'll thank you in advance for it!:))

Finding (and Keeping) the Mysterious Mr. Will Power, Pt 1

I'm not sure how it happens, but it seems as though I frequently fall into conversations about weight loss with random strangers. I'm sitting or standing there minding my own business (or pretending to), and suddenly this person I've never met before knows I lost 100 pounds. It's not like I'm wearing a sign or running into buildings shouting it at the top of lungs. Not since the first month at goal, anyway. :)

Whatever creates this discussion and the subsequent disclosure on my part, the response is almost always the same, some variation of: "I'd love to lose some weight, but I just don't have any will power."

My response to my BFF-of-the-moment is almost always the same, too. Something along these lines: "I thought I didn't have any willpower either, but what I learned is that I had it; I just didn't understand it. It took some work, but I finally figured it out."

That's the point at which their eyes glaze over, and they scoot their chairs away or notice that there's a big sale on shoe laces in the next aisle. Note to self: Find an alternate word for "work."

Willpower isn't some inborn talent we're gifted with at birth. It's more a skill that we can develop and grow, and that does require some work. To a large extent, though, it's not hard work and well worth the effort. And the payback is ENORMOUS!

So why do we find this Mr. Will Power to be so elusive? Maybe because we don't understand it?

In days gone by, if you had asked me to draw a picture of willpower, I would have sketched my round self standing in front of a mountain of chocolate with my arms crossed and a little cartoon balloon saying, "NO! I DON'T WANT IT!"   Title: Willpower=self-denial!

Cut to a 100 pounds later, and my drawing would show my thinner, fitter self walking away from that mountain of chocolate with a tiny piece of yummy goodness clutched in her fingers. The cartoon balloon would say, "I'll come back some other time. This is enough for now." Title?

Willpower=self-control!

It only took me 15 years or so (maybe longer) to figure out the self-denial vs. self-control distinction for myself, and it may make zero sense to anyone else but me. That's A-OK by me; I'm not known for making a whole lot of sense. :) But in the event you're interested in how I moved from point A (failed self-denial) to point B (somewhat successful self-control, if I do say so myself), I'll cover it in my next post.

Meanwhile, your thoughts so far are welcome and appreciated. Agree? Disagree? Just trying to distract yourself from a snack attack?

Some Friday Topic Hoppin'

Greetings from the tiredest person you know. This home remodeling biz will definitely take the wind out of your sails. Having paid someone to paint both bathrooms, with less than remarkable results, I've decided to tackle the next paint project myself. They're two itsy bitsy rooms (guest/exercise room and home office)--what could go wrong? Next week should be fun. :)

In some good-Cammy news, I received the lab results from my recent doctor visit! I'm sharing them here as a measure of my success:

Results	Factor	Goal
168	Total Cholesterol	Less than 200 mg/dL
101	LDL ("Bad") Cholesterol	LDL cholesterol goals vary.
		Less than 100 is Optimal
		100 to 129 is Near Optimal/Above Optimal
		130 to 159 is Borderline High
		160 to 189 is High
		190 is Very High
55	HDL (“Good”) Cholesterol	50 or higher
58	Triglycerides	150
120/80	Blood Pressure	120/80
76	Fasting Glucose	100

I am quite pleased, especially with that "good" cholesterol number. It was 30 last year.

I am also pleased with my snazzy table and sincerely hope it displays properly in your browser. I used a nifty little online app called Tableizer, which requires only that you copy/paste your spreadsheet contents into a little box. Then, presto! They generate the code. FOR FREE! Next, I'll learn how to align it properly. :)

Oh, and in the event you're like me and didn't understand why total cholesterol didn't equal HDL + LDL, you have to add in 1/5 of the total triglycerides. I've checked this off my to-do of "learn something new every day."

Okay, on to starred links from my reader:

From Lifescript Health Bistro: Women: Critical Tips to Recognize a Heart Attack or Stroke

From MakeUseOf: A review of a new app - BetterMe: Self-Improvement with Anonymous Feedback

From Healthy Theory, a post on one of my favorite topics: Napping Does a Body (and Mind) Good

And with that, I'm ready for the weekend. Nothing going on here but work, work, work. Unfortunately, the two rooms I've decided to paint contain all my computers and related peripherals, books, office supplies, files, and exercise equipment. And that all has to be relocated somewhere else in this house.

So unless you can give me a good reason why not, I'll expect you all here tomorrow a.m. at 10:00. How 'bout it? What have you got going on this weekend that's somehow more important than helping me move heavy crap a few things from room to room?

Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy it! :)

Look Who's Talking: Measures of Success

In our first edition of Look Who's Talking, a new series in which I ask a smattering of bloggers the same question, we focused on exercise. This time out, we're talking about success and how we measure it.

Question: Many of us are conditioned to measure success in scale numbers or tape measure results, which is fine, but I've learned (after quite a few misfires) that there are many other measures of success. How do you measure your personal success with respect to health and fitness?

Let's see what our stellar (and I do mean stellar) group of panelists have to say, and then the rest of us can chime in.

Jody, from Truth to Being Fit is wild about fitness and (much to my delight) frequently shares from her vast store of exercise knowledge. Asked how she measures her success, Jody said:

This is a somewhat complicated question for me. Although I do weigh myself every day & try to stay at a certain weight within say 3 pounds AND I do prefer to fit into a certain size of clothes, I think my biggest measure of success is what I see in the mirror AND what I am able to accomplish in terms of goals for myself in the gym which is where I do most of my workouts. Both are important & without my clothes fitting test, I don't know if I would be sure about the scale. Being pretty muscular, the scale is not as good measure for me compared to how my clothes fit. Are they getting too tight to zip for too many days & are they so tight that is is uncomfortable .. I need to address that asap. I have a pair of jeans that I check this too!

In terms of the mirror, I do tend to be pretty hard on myself so I try to see a fit 52 year old that has done the best I can each day. This tags on to my accomplishments in the gym & with my workouts. I have goals each time I work out & as long as I put my all into it, it is a win for me. The fact that I push myself like a person that is 25 years my junior, that I can keep up with my grandkids, that I don't let age be a factor.. to me, that is a success in my book.

Yes, I like the scale to say a certain thing & yes, I use a pair of jeans to make sure I stay within a certain size BUT my biggest measure of success is how much I can do for my age, how I challenge myself to be better & that I just keep trying to improve and stay fit & healthy no matter what my age is or will be. I want to be that 75 year old that is still pounding the weights! If I stay fit, take care of myself, eat healthy.. hopefully that leads to a healthy & full life as I get older. There is no reason why we can't keep doing as long as possible! Healthy body, healthy mind. That is the goal!

Karen, from Waisting Time, has only been blogging for a couple of months, but I (for one) am very glad she started. Like many of us, Karen is a reformed yo-yo dieter and is well on her way to a healthy, fit life--for good! When I asked how she measures success, Karen replied:

When I am doing things right I feel physically and emotionally better, physically and emotionally stronger. I have more energy. I like myself more. I'm happier.

Beyond that are the NSVs, non-scale victories, that I learned to focus on from the fabulous gals on 3fatchicks. It might be as obvious as fitting into pants that used to be too small. But I also try to focus on the little things that let me know I am making progress. Like: eating more vegetables; planning several days worth of meals; having a horribly frustrating computer problem and realizing that it did not drive me to eat. And then there are the exercise advances, for example, this week I added short jogging intervals on the treadmill and only got sore quads from it the first time:)

These little achievements help me stay motivated and give me a sense of accomplishment and progress. Especially when the scale is stuck (or moving in the wrong direction).

Lori, from Finding Radiance,is an amazing success story, having gone from 250 pounds to running a triathlon last year! Now committed to a lifestyle that includes healthy foods and regular exercise, Lori responded to the question with this:

There are a lot of ways that I measure personal success. The scale used to be important to me,particularly when I was first starting to lose, which is normal. What I began to realize, though, was that the scale did not tell the whole truth. When I began strength training, the scale burbled up a little, but tape measurements went down. That helped keep me positive that changes were still happening. It's just way too easy to get focused on a number on the scale and base one's self worth on that.

I also measure success based on what I do. Last year was a year of fitness for me. I did several 5K races, a sprint triathlon, and a duathlon, plus I complete the New Rules of Lifting for Women book. It doesn't matter what place I came in for those races, either. Just doing them was a success. Looking back to photos of me at 250 pounds, it's almost hard to believe I used to be that person. Every finish line I cross, every mile I bike, and every barbell squat I do emphasize that success is not defined by what I weigh or how old I am. These things make me feel very powerful and confident. It also makes me strive to do more. Being more healthy and fit in my 40s than I was in my 20s is success to me!

Lynn Haraldson-Bering blogs at Lynn's Weigh - The Journey Continues, where she inspires us all with tales of life at maintenance. After losing an astounding 170 pounds, Lynn has kept it off for three years! (I sure hope I'm still here and in maintenance at the three year mark!) Curious about how Lynn measures success? Read on:

I’m continually fascinated by what my body is able to do. I remember the first time I went walking for exercise. It was April 2006. I’d already lost 120 pounds, but I could barely do four laps around the track. Still, every week I added a lap and increased my speed. Within six few months I was walking a 5K in 38 minutes. Then in 2007, my husband wanted to buy me a bike when I reached goal. I was like, Me? Biking? But I started out with 8 miles, then 10, and now I can do 20. And I love it! Last fall I took on hiking, and this winter went on a few hikes in the snow. Again, I looked at my body and thought, Damn, Skippy…you really can rock the fitness! I hope this doesn’t sound too vain, but when I’m by myself I flex my muscles in the mirror. That I have definition and contoured arms still amazes me. I feel like a little kid on Christmas when I strength train! LOL

Hmmm, anyone noticing a pattern here? :) Four impressive women, each with a different approach to weight loss and/or maintenance, but one common thread: the scale doesn't tell the whole story! There are many more indicators of your (our) success!

*applause, applause* Thank you, Jody, Karen, Lori, and Lynn, for sharing your successes (and why wouldn't you? They're astounding!) and inspiring us with your stories! I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels a huge debt of gratitude to you!

And now for the rest of us--how do YOU measure your success?

My answer: I didn't even know my weight for the first four months into this thing. I focused entirely on eating better foods than I had been and increasing my endurance with exercise. By doing that, I learned to use many of the same measures described above: the fit of my clothes and how energetic I feel, how many miles or minutes I walk or ride, how many reps and at what weights, how many splurges I've had (that should probably be "how few splurges" *g*), etc. After a while I did begin to weigh myself regularly, but by then I already had built a habit of tracking multiple successes, so that when one doesn't "measure up", something else will!

Thanks again to our lovely panelists...and thank you ALL for playing along!

By Request: Doing Nothing, Almost Explained

After my post yesterday, several of you asked about the concept of "doing nothing." (If you missed it, I first mentioned it in my quasi-book review of Martha Beck's The Joy Diet last week.) What follows is my interpretation of Martha Beck's suggestion to "Do nothing for 15 minutes every day."

I once read a quote attributed to Dr. Stephen Covey that went something like, "A ladder leaning against the wrong wall will only get us to the wrong place faster." We get so caught up in doing every day that we sometimes lose sight of what's truly important to us. The purpose of the daily exercise of doing nothing is to filter through our thoughts and feelings, to tap into the core of who we are what matters most to us.

The only hard-and-fast rule for doing nothing is that you have to remove yourself from the distractions of your life. It may mean that, for fifteen minutes, you have to leave your house, or lock your bedroom door, or sit in your car in the parking lot at work. Let anyone and everyone know that you are off limits and assure them that they will possibly survive it. Then walk away.

The next step is to find inner stillness. Martha Beck suggests either stilling our bodies, or if that feels too restrictive, then to engage in some sort of repetitive motion (walking, jogging, etc.) that requires no conscious thought. [Note: The motion thing doesn't always work so well for me, as I'm sure the startled driver I stepped in front of will agree. It does work well on the treadmill or the elliptical, though. And also while washing dishes, oddly enough.]

As we enter this zone of inner stillness, we should begin to observe the thoughts flitting through our minds, almost like watching them on television. Or, if you have a big life, perhaps a movie theater screen. Ms. Beck suggests visualizing these thoughts on a ticker tape or waterfall or some other moving instrument. {My thoughts ride past on bicycles. :)) Let them go by without judgment, assigning a name or short phrase to each as it passes through.

And that's the point of it all: we're letting these thoughts pass through. We acknowledge the emotion or feeling they create, but we don't let them take root or even find a resting place. Not for these fifteen minutes.

The final component of the exercise is to find our "happy place," a memory of a time when we felt at peace. (If you don't have one, make one up for yourself.) Recalling these times during our observations is relaxing and reminds us that even during times of stress or turmoil, the good things in the Universe are still with us.

It took me a few days to get into the flow of it and to understand the intent behind each of the actions and how they work as a whole together. At first, my thoughts went along these lines:
-I'm tired.
-No, you're lazy.
-Now, I'm being judgmental.
-I'm doing this wrong.
-Oh look! That woman should NOT be wearing that shirt with those pants.

After a few days, it became the intended stream of consciousness stuff:
-Not having a job scares me.{fear}
-The sun feels warm. {gratitude}
-I wonder why I'm so sleepy.{curiosity}
...and so on.

I became more aware of patterns, which is how I figured out I was feeling more anxiety than normal last week. When fear, worry, and nervous appeared multiple times in one day, I kind of took that as a clue. I'm quick that way. :)

I'm sure I've muddled this layman's explanation of doing nothing, and I may not interpret it as Martha Beck intended. You're probably better off reading the book and figuring out a way that works for you. That said, I'll be happy to return to the comments and mop up any muddy water. :)

Chime in with whatever you're thinking, or be on your happy, contemplative way! :)
Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

My First Lent, My Way

As an unaffiliated (or non-denominational, if you wish) Christian, I've never observed Lent. Many of my friends do, however, and in past years, I've simply nodded to show my attentiveness as they described what they intended to abstain from during the countdown to Easter. Chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, bread, and other such foods were the usual victims, but sometimes activities or perceived bad habits made the hit list: the snooze alarm, unnecessary spending, smoking, watching television, etc. All very interesting, but never enough to lure me into the observance of it.

Easter, on the other hand, has always been one of my favorite holidays. There are spiritual reasons, which I won't go into, but there are also mental and physical components to this holiday for me, probably because it's so handily observed in Spring, when my mind and body are beyond ready to be rid of the winter doldrums. Whatever the reason, I always feel more energized and alive around this time of year.

If you've read here for any length of time, you know that I like to shake things up now and then, to toss something new into the mix. Some things "take", some things don't. The joy is in the trying. And that's why I've decided to observe Lent this year, for the first time in my life.

As I understand it there are three general areas of focus in Lent: prayer, sacrifice, and charity/almsgiving. I've got the prayer/meditation thing covered, which leaves abstinence and charity.

You're probably on the edge of your seats now, wondering just what I plan to give up, aren't you? Well, if you guessed anything food-related, guess again! :) Now that I've cleaned up my daily diet, there's not much to sacrifice without giving up a nutritional component. Not a road I care to travel.

No, I've decided to go another route. When I think about some of my daily practices and habits, along with the ways I want to grow, I've chosen three Lenten-ish sacrifices (I chose three because it's such a big deal number in Christianity):

1) Reading fiction - I don't consider any reading to be time wasted, but I've been spending an inordinate amount of time with my nose buried in a cozy mystery or silly romance novel. I have a shelf full of unread non-fiction books, all obtained with the purpose of enriching my mind and/or spirit. For the next six weeks or so, I'll direct all of reading time to these books and the stack of unread magazines that have accumulated since the beginning of the year. In addition to a recharged inner self, I'll also accomplish a bit of decluttering. A two-fer sacrifice, if you will.

2) Free Cell - I have a healthy practice of using a few minutes of Free Cell play as a reward for getting some task accomplished. Finished my workout? Cool down with a few games of Free Cell. Complete a somewhat difficult item on my to-do list? Two games! Or I'll use it as a distraction from nighttime snacking urges. No problem there, and much healthier than large amounts of popcorn or chocolate. Lately, though, I've noticed that I'll head over to Free Cell when I want to avoid doing something difficult. I recognize it now as a form of fear, a way of hiding from risk, and it's NOT healthy. Taking away Free Cell as an option will give me more time to spend on more enriching pursuits. More on that in a minute.

3) 40 Personal Items & 40 Books - I've been blessed to live a life of abundance, and I'm grateful for that. I'm also embarrassed about the amount of stuff I have. While I've been made progress in ridding myself of some of it, I still have things I don't use, need, or love. In addition, my bookshelves are spilling over again, and many of those books will never be opened again. I've set up two boxes in my office and for the next six(ish) weeks, I'll be filling them with 40 unused items from my house and 40 books from my shelves. The purpose of this sacrifice is two-fold: to rid myself of unnecessary clutter and to put some useful-to-someone-else items back into circulation via a charitable donation.

Speaking of charity, for that component of Lent, I'll be attending a weekly series of Lenten lectures at a nearby church. They caught my attention with this title: Just Eating: Practicing Our Faith at the Table. Some of the topics look very interesting:
A Call to Action - changing our lives with faith in action steps, making our eating just, our bodies healthy & energizing our spirits to serve others.
On Nutrition - food as fuel, how our choices make a huge difference in our energy & our health as we make caring for our body a priority.
Food & Community - creating community with food, the importance of gathering at table and the power it has to nourish our bodies and souls.
Food & Environment - food and our environment, awareness of local cuisine and how to build ties between farmers, food artisans and community.
Food & Hunger - the problem of hunger in the Mid-South. Needs in our community can inform our actions & inspire us to examine our lifestyle.

I expect this series to be personally enriching and also to educate me on how I might better serve my community.

(Any Memphis people plan to attend? Give me a shout! The church is on Quince, just West of Kirby Parkway. There's a Starbucks around the corner that would be perfect for a meet-up! No pastries allowed. Not where I can reach them, anyway. :))

So this is my version of Lent. I'm sure to be breaking some sort of rules, but I don't particularly care. I'll be pushing aside some things (panicky note to self: fiction=temporary) to allow time and space for building a better me, both on the inside and on the outside, to the community at large. That seems to be the purpose of Lent, within my limited understanding of it. And who knows? If it works well, I may create a Supplemental Lent to follow it. :)

Feel free to chime in with your own Lenten intentions. Or not. I know it's a highly personal thing. :)

Whatever your beliefs, I wish you peace...

Book Rec: The Joy Diet by Martha Beck

I fell in love with The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life in the introduction. (I love when that happens.)

The Joy Diet isn't about eating or exercising, despite the title. Author Martha Beck (if you haven't read her other books, you may know her from Oprah) uses the term "diet" in reference to a way of living, how we think and behave. About dieting, she says:

"[If] you're looking for ways to shed that potbelly or firm your buttocks, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. As far as I'm concerned, your belly and buttocks are absolutely magnificent right now, not that I want you to send me photographs."

Who can not love an author who thinks her (the reader's) butt and belly look magnificent? Maybe she was just sucking up, I don't know, but she had my attention. A few paragraphs later, she had my complete and eternal adoration:

"No matter what complex thing you're learning, from playing the piano to solving calculus equations, the trick is to break the necessary actions down into trivial-seeming behaviors, then practice these behaviors until you can do each one half-asleep, while watching television with one eye and your children with the other."

At the time I first read this book, which was early last year, I had just spent two of the best years of my life (so far!) realizing and learning to practice incremental changes. It's the "Tippy Toe" part of The Tippy Toe Diet, and several of the ten behaviors described are ones I had already adopted for myself. What this book did for me was to remind me of the importance of each and every one, and in several cases, to enlighten me as to why exactly they had worked. It also made me wish I had known about this book when it was first published in 2003.

The Joy Diet's ten "menu items", as listed in the book's jacket:

• Nothing: Do nothing for fifteen minutes a day. Stop mindlessly chasing goals and figure out which goals are worth going after.
• Truth: Create a moment of truth to help you unmask what you’re hiding—from others and from yourself.
• Desire: Identify, articulate, and explore at least one of your heart’s desires—and learn how to let yourself want what you want.
• Creativity: Learn six new ways to develop at least one new idea to help you obtain your heart’s desire.
• Risk: Take one baby step toward reaching your goal. The only rule is it has to scare the pants off you.
• Treats: Give yourself a treat for every risk you take and two treats just because you’re you. No exceptions. No excuses.
• Play: Take a moment to remember your real life’s work and differentiate it from the games you play to achieve it. Then play wholeheartedly.
• Laughter: Laugh at least thirty times a day. Props encouraged.
• Connection: Use your Joy Diet skills to interact with someone who matters to you.
• Feasting: Enjoy at least three square feasts a day, with or without food

It's all fairly simple and fundamental advice, presented in Martha Beck's funny and uniquely down-to-earth (and sometimes appropriately snarky!) way. The Joy Diet may not be a "diet book" (it's a life book), and I hadn't read the book during my weight loss phase, almost every behavior discussed is an area I addressed in order to get to a 100-pound loss. Now that I've read the book, I'm using all of these behaviors as I try to transition to the world of the self-employed. I don't know how much progress I'm making, but I'm enjoying the experience immensely, and that's the only way to fly!

Do you recognize any of these behaviors among those you've incorporated into your healthier way of living? See any that intrigue you? Motivate you?

The link below takes you to my Amazon store, if you're so inclined (and thank you if you are), but I suspect you can find this book at most bookstores or even your local libary. Whatever your choice, I do hope you'll find it somewhere and enjoy it as much as I did.

Blogging with My Heart

I’m asking a special favor of you today. It will only take a minute. Literally.

For just one minute, I’d like you to sit back, close your eyes, and think about all of the influential women in your life, past and present, those who have loved you, taken care of you, taught you, supported you, and inspired you throughout your life. Let your mind's eye see their images: the wisdom and compassion in their expressions, the laugh lines around their eyes, the joyful glow that lights from within. Think about the powerful effect these women had on your life and what your life might have been like without their positive influence. (Guys? You are not exempt. Get to it!)

One minute. Sixty little seconds. Go on, I’ll wait…

…If you’re like me, that minute of reflection overflowed with influential women: mothers and grandmothers, sisters, daughters, beloved aunts, teachers, doctors, friends, co-workers, mentors, and maybe even women we don’t know, like athletes and actresses, writers and musicians.  Bloggers even!   (And yes, I do mean YOU!)  We are all richly blessed by the positive influence of women.

The reason I asked you to join me in this one-minute exercise was not only to honor these amazing women, but to also point out something you may not know: In that single minute of reflection, a woman in the U.S. died from cardiovascular disease. A woman who, no doubt, would be counted as someone else's life-changer.. Mother, sister, mentor, friend--she made a difference in someone's life. And now she's gone, one of the 450,000 women--about one every minute--who die each year from heart disease.It's a sobering statistic, to say the least.

This statistical woman now joins the influential women in my life, and they're ALL why I'm joining the American Heart Association and fitlosophy, inc. in encouraging you to...

Go Red and Go Red For Women are trademarks of AHA. The Red Dress Design is a trademark of U.S. DHHS.

When you consider the following stats from the Go Red for Women organization, it only makes sense:

• As mentioned earlier, cardiovascular disease kills approximately 450,000 women each year, about one every minute.
• While 1 in 30 American women die of breast cancer, about 1 in 3 die from cardiovascular disease.
• More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.
• Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.
• Only 1 in 5 women believe that heart disease is her greatest health threat.
• Heart disease is largely preventable. In fact, 80 percent of cardiac events in women may be prevented if women make the right choices for their hearts, involving diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking.

What do you get out of it?

• Research shows that women who “Go Red” are more likely to make healthy choices.
  
• More than one-third have lost weight.
• Nearly 55 percent have increased their exercise.
• Six out of ten have changed their diets.
• More than 40 percent have checked their cholesterol levels.
• One third have talked with their doctors about developing heart health plans. 

Almost anyone who's reading here is in search of a healthier life. We're making wiser food choices, we're exercising, and we're learning to take better care of ourselves every day. So why not add a little spark to that fire and take yet another minute to explore the Go Red site and check out the available information and programs?

And then share it with every woman you know. YOU can be the difference in someone else's life!

I'd be honored if you wanted to give a shout-out to any of the influential women in your life--either here, or on your blogs. And maybe give a nudge to your readers to check out the Go Red for Women campaign for themselves.

We CAN make a difference!

Personal note: This post is dedicated to my friend, Kathleen, who died last year of complications of diabetes and heart disease, at the too-young age of 59.

Fight Those Moody Blues with Food

One of the common threads these days among the blogs I read is that many of us are just about up to here with winter and are counting the days/hours/minutes until it's over. As the progression of gray, dismal days extends, our spirits tumble lower and lower and lower.

And then this happens:

If you haven't already figured it out, these are NOT the answer. Trust me. I tried Girl Scout Cookie Winter-Blues Therapy for years, and while it provides a temporary boost, it's not particularly helpful in the overall scheme of things.

That's not to say there are no foods that will help combat the moody blues. Quite the opposite, in fact, and by following a few eensy, teensy guidelines, we can use food to change that blues-y beat to something much easier (not to mention more fun) to dance to:

Fill up with fruits and veggies - Loaded with nutrients and antioxidants, fruits and veggies influence all our bodies' systems and improve overall energy levels. We just feel better when we eat them. (Seriously. I'm munching on an apple now, and I'm actually humming. In February.)

Boost your Vitamin B12 and folic acid - Known to prevent mood disorders and reduce symptoms of depression, these two nutrients are easy to add to the winter menu. B12 is found in meats, poultry, fish, and dairy. Folic acid is found in greens and beans. Think: leafy green salad topped with grilled chicken and black beans. Or a nice bowl of chili with beans (or taco soup), topped with a smidge of melted cheese. Or how about a spinach omelet? The possibilities are endless.

Seek out selenium - This critical mineral boosts both mood and mental performance. Lucky for us, it's found in lots of tasty places: beans & legumes, lean meats, dairy, and nuts and seeds. In fact, ONE brazil nut has twice the RDA of selenium. Who knew?

Get your daily dose of Vitamin D - The best source of Vitamin D is the sun, but when it's in short supply (see: February), we can supplement our diets with cheese, egg yolks, and fatty fishes like tuna, mackerel, and salmon. These are all good sources of Vitamin D and will help fight off those nasty mood swings.

Opt for Omega 3s - Our little fishy friends are loaded with Omega 3 fatty acids, which reduce the symptoms of depression. Tuna, salmon, herring (ick!), and sardines are good sources of Omega 3s.

Splurge on an itsy bit of chocolate - A small serving of chocolate boosts our brain endorphins and give us a sense of well-being. This is definitely NOT a case in which "if one works, two (or twelve) must be better." A 1-oz. serving is plenty for these purposes.

So. Those are the foods that we should seek out. It follows naturally that there are foods we'd be better off avoiding or limiting: caffeine, sugar, saturated fat, and alcohol, which have all shown to have negative effects on mood and/or sleep patterns.

In addition to choosing mood-boosting foods, and limiting mood-depleting ones, exercise and proper rest will go a long, long way in improving our mental outlook and enabling us to hang on until warmer weather arrives.

Your turn! Are you pining for Spring? How are you fighting off the winter blues? Do tell. Please. :)

~

For now, I'm off to boost my mood with a trip to the hair stylist!

Happy Healthy Hearts

February is American Heart Month and National Heart Month in the U.K. and Canada. It's a great time to learn about or recommit yourself to heart healthy strategies. I blogged about Heart Month on this date last year. Check it out to learn more about heart disease, especially as it affects women. (Note: As far as I can tell, the HEART for Women Act is still stuck in some Senate committee and has not been passed.

Friday, February 5, is National Wear Red Day (February 11th in Australia. Show your support for women's heart health--Go Red! Get your co-workers to do the same. My office did it last year, and it was soooo energizing to see how many people--women and men--showed their support. You can see me in my red finery by clicking here.

In New Zealand Annual Appeal Week will be held February 8-14th. I'm not sure exactly what that is, but it sounds like a fund-raiser to me. So if you're in NZ, give early and/or often! :)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

In other news, my heart is very happy today! Lots of reasons, but not the least of which can be found at #11 on my List of 10 Things That Make Me Happy. If you recall from the aforelinked post, I had entered Chocolate-Covered Katie's Vitamix Giveaway and in a burst of positivity (and general silliness), added it to the list of happy-inducers at the last minute. Well, guess what?

I won!

Yeps, out of the gazillion people who entered, my name was chosen. (Bless you, Katie! and thanks to all of you who cheered!) After years of pining, I will soon be the proud owner of a Vitamix 5200.

And with fresh strawberry season just around the corner...

Be still, my heart.

Wait! I don't mean that literally. My heart should keep on pumping like it's supposed to, only happier and healthier. :)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Wishing you all. a heart-healthy and heart-happy February!

Product Review: Habit Changer

In mid-December I was contacted by the folks at Habit Changer, asking if I'd take one of their 42-day programs for a complimentary test spin (the only compensation offered or received) and then blog about it--whether my "experience was positive or not."  That seemed fair enough to me!

Habit Changer is a web-based application that uses the concepts of cognitive behavior therapy and (get ready for a new vocabulary word) neuroplasticity to help participants recognize current beliefs and behaviors and replace them with a different perspective.If you're like me, you may be unfamiliar with the term, neuroplasticity (please tell me I'm not the only one), but you're not unfamiliar with the tenets of it. At its most basic level, it's the brain's ability to "re-wire" itself, based on the input it's receiving. Many of us have been doing that for years, but on the opposite side of the field: negative messages resulting in unhealthy behaviors. The old "garbage in, garbage out" dynamic, or as I blogged about some time ago, seeing what we believe. Habit Changer uses a system of positive messages and activities to help users jump-start a reversal of that negative pattern.

The four most popular programs offered are Losing Weight, Stop Stressing, Money & You, and Feeding Your Kids, but there are several other programs offered as well. Most cost $19.95 (last time I checked), but the Feeding Your Kids program is F-R-E-E for parents.

I chose Losing Weight 2 for my test drive. It's designed for those who are at goal weight or who have been at goal weight at least once, and it's supposed to make the process of staying at goal weight easier. I'm all for that!

Each morning I receive a Habit Changer "lesson" on a specific topic, along with a daily challenge. Later in the day, I receive a reinforcing email reminder. I also opted to receive a text message reminder. And as if that's not enough, the system allows for custom messaging, a way of sending yourself reminders in the language that you know will keep you on track. My custom message is simple: What have you done today? ( I have a post-it note on my monitor that asks the same question.) If I get off track or am tempted to blow off planned exercise, these few words should get my thoughts redirected. Or at least, questioned. :)

I'm on day 36 of the 42-day program, and while many of the topics are things I already know and do, each concept was something I had to learn over the past three years. It would've been nice to have this tool to guide my progress. And some topics are nice little reminders or wake-up calls for things I could spend a little time on. Take today, for example.

The Day 36 message was titled "Slim" and really hit home for me. It encouraged me to stop thinking of myself as someone who will always think of myself as having a weight problem and to focus on thinking of myself as "slim."  They suggested these two actions:

* If you have reached or approached your target weight, tell yourself out loud at least once some variant of "I am slim".
* At the same time, visualize how the lines of your body now fit well with what your body was designed to be. Visualize yourself in your mind and think, That's about what it's supposed to be. I am a slim person. And I always will be. That reality is now me.

They ended the daily message with this perspective reminder:

If you are thinking: I'm afraid to promise myself that I'll always be slim. What if I fail, and my weight climbs again?
Try this instead: If I have reached my goal weight at least once, and I am this far into the program, I already know enough that minor setbacks won't change my long-term outcome.

I have no idea how Habit Changer knew that those fears creep into my thinking from time to time, but I've spent today reminding myself frequently that "I am fit" and "I am in control". And just as I was ordering my lunch today, I received a text message on my phone that said: "Now that you know you are in control, doesn't it feel good?" Since I had ordered a turkey sandwich, I was able to give myself a mental backpack and affirm that yes, control does feel pretty darned good.

And you can rest assured that the timing of today's message recap will arrive about the same time as my evening snack. I can't ever catch a break. :)

As I near the end of this particular program, I can honestly say that I haven't seen a single negative about it. The Habit Changer program is well-organized, with easy-to-follow concepts that are, in my opinion, all concepts crucial to building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The application is easy to use and adapt to personal needs. I would have considered it money well spent if I had purchased the program. (Remember: I don't get paid to say that.)

And the best news is that there's no high fructose corn syrup!

As I was typing my custom email message above, I couldn't help but wonder what would YOU choose for your custom message? What words would help you maintain your healthy focus or get you turned around again on those days when LIFE happens?

The Ones Left Behind (and a Giveaway opp)

I have that super savvy Sagan to thank for this topic. You're probably aware that Sagan is in the middle of a month-long raw food challenge. In her post today, Sagan revealed the non-raw foods at the top of her list at the end of this challenge. 

Now, I've never done a raw food challenge and am not likely to attempt one in this lifetime, but Sagan's post made me realize that I have a similar parallel in the conversion to healthier eating three years ago.

Most of you probably know that I didn't lose my weight by following a specific eating plan. I kind of made mine up as I went along, starting simply by developing a habit of eating 5-7 fruit and veggie servings per day, then focusing on lean meats, and then whole grains, and so on. I also allowed one splurge item each week (a serving of non-whole wheat bread OR a slice of pizza OR some other deviation from the norm that left me within my calorie count for that day.) If I followed that plan, I  promised myself ONE monthly splurge meal.

This plan worked for me (still does!), and I actually had a lot of fun with it. As thoughts of foods that hadn't made the cut came to mind, I could evaluate them for potential splurge meals and determine if they were "splurge-worthy." (Seinfeld fans will recognize the appropriation.) At one point, I had six months worth of meals set in my mind. After that, I think the new healthier way of eating had taken hold and I didn't think about many of those foods anymore. Not very often, anyway. Reading Sagan's post today, I realized that there are many foods I simply walked away from three years ago.

Here's a random sampling of foods I used to eat regularly but apparently have left behind:
:

Hostess cupcakes (chocolate or orange)
Little Debbie snack cakes
Rotel cheese dip
Ritz crackers
Peanut butter pie
Multiple slices of pizza with extra cheese
Tater tots
Pizza Rolls (the commercial kind. I do make some at home using wonton wrappers. Thanks, Roni.)
Regular potato chips
Honey-roasted peanuts


Those are just a few, and there are many other foods that I've had very, very sparingly over the past 3 years: french fries (4-5x), pancakes (2x), fried catfish (2x, both times as monthly splurge meals), fried chicken (once), and biscuits (4-5x, always when traveling for some reason).

Everything else I've managed to work into the plan, even if in very limited portions. :)

Foods I've significantly added in include dates, black beans, broccoli, green peppers, spinach (but still only in green smoothies), PB2, hummus, olive oil, pure pumpkin, yogurt, and soy milk. Oh, and air-popped popcorn. 'Cause this girl does love to snack! :)


I'm curious what foods other people have "left behind" in their quest for healthier eating. What foods do you now eat regularly that you rarely, or never ate before?

And speaking of snacking (and I was earlier), the kind folks at Special K have offered one lucky US-reader a Special K Resolution Party Pack, including their new  Special K Fruit Crisps, some cereal, a protein bar, an assortment of protein drinks, and some granola cereal.

Special K also provided me with one for taste testing, and I've sampled a couple of items. I opted for the protein bar one day when the tile guys were "finishing up soon" and my lunch was overdue. Another day, I tried one of the fruit crisps. I found both of them to be quite tasty and satisfying for their immediate purpose. I'll be trying the other products in little servings here and there, due to the ingredients lists, which include sugar and other things that are no longer part of my every day (or every week) repertoire.

If you live in the U.S., and you'd like a chance to win your own Special K Party Pack and make your own informed observation, or if you've tried the products and would love to get your hands on more, just let me know in the comments! I'll draw the lucky winner's name on Thursday morning, 6 a.m.-ish US Central.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The other night, during the first of my two at-home Pilates workouts, I was feeling frustrated with some of the movements, so frustrated that I was thisclose to hitting eject and going for the Rodney Yee instead. Out of the blue, this quote from Les Brown popped into my mind:

You've always heard, "Practice makes perfect." Well, there is no such thing as perfection. Practice makes improvement.

I'm not sure where this notion that I should be able to pop in the DVD and just be able to do all the movements perfectly came from. There's not a single exercise I do that I do perfectly. That's one of the things that makes exercising fun! Yes, it's frustrating, and sometimes embarrassing, to struggle through what seem to be basic exercises. We see other people knocking out push-ups left and right, and an image of ourselves as we fumble through three pitiful ones (pardon author's biographical intrusion) comes to mind, and our spirits and self-esteem tumble.

The trick, I learned after a few months, is to know that where we are now is just the starting point. If we view it as that--a starting point--the pursuit of improvement becomes fun. Joyful, even. One day we're doing three push-ups (and doing them badly), two weeks later we've upped our number to five, a month after that we're doing ten pushups and then another ten after a brief rest. We're improving! The joy and pride in that can't be measured.

Just as with exercise, building and maintaining that positive viewpoint takes a little practice. Two things help me most:

1. Keeping a log of my progress - From time to time, I revisit my exercise calendar from 2007. The one entry always guaranteed to make me smile is the entry that marks the first time I walked a full hour. It has an exclamation point! :) Seeing the miles or reps add up, knowing that you're progressing even when you aren't where you want to be is incredibly motivating.
2. Having a sense of humor - Finding the 'funny' in any situation or event helps. The other night,  I attempted some sort of Pilates maneuver that required I hold my arms and legs in the air, rock onto my back, and then propel myself forward until I was balanced once again with arms and legs off the floor. I could do the initial balancing, and I could rock back just fine. The problem (and hilarity) came in when I tried to stop the forward movement and balance myself.  I would rock too far forward and in trying to regain the balanced position, I'd end up rocking back again. After the first three attempts, an image of me as an old-fashioned rocking horse came to mind, and I was overcome with giggles. Seriously, I had to freeze the DVD until I could compose myself. Once I restarted, I began to see progress (of sorts) on the sixth repition. (On my second workout, I was able to (sort of) do this move by the third rep.)

Focusing on improvement rather than perfection builds confidence and self-esteem. It creates a sense of purpose and building toward something, as opposed to reaching for some future ideal that may or may not exist.

Mantra: There is no such thing as perfection.

Your turn. Do you get caught up in the chase for perfection? Or are you able to take the "bird's eye view" and see the bigger picture? Any tips for the rest of us?

Guilty Pleasures

Do you have any guilty pleasures? Those things you feel you probably shouldn't enjoy quite as much as you do, either because they're not necessarily the healthiest choice or financially wise?

I have lots of guilty pleasures--some food related, some not. Here's a sampling:
- Sugar free Jello Pudding (Yogurt is healthier, but face it: it's not Jello pudding)
- Sugar-free Fudgesicles (These frosty treasures helped get me through my first summer of eating less and the subsequent Little Debbie withdrawal pangs.)
- Blue Diamond Pecan Nut Thins (These are a new pleasure and are a tasty-but-not-nutrition-wrecking stand-in  for my once-beloved Ritz Crackers. These are made with rice flour and are gluten free. I wish they were calorie free and grew on a tree in my backyard.)
- Daydreaming/Taking time out of a busy day to just sit and let my thoughts wander where they will. (Some time spent in this pursuit is quite healthy.  It's possible that, on occasion, I mightmaybecouldbe spending too much dreaming.)
- Spending several hours in a bookstore, preferably one with a café. 
- Having a pastry or cookie from aforementioned bookstore café.
- Having a manicure/pedicure. (If it's followed by a trip to the bookstore, that's even more pleasurable.)
- Reading blogs instead of doing things on my to-do list.


Before I began adopting healthier eating habits and focusing on living life more richly, I don't think I ever considered this notion of guilty pleasures. I simply did what I wanted, when and where I wanted. While that may lead to a satisfied life, there's not a lot of joy in it.

Now that I'm more aware of my actions, I do recognize these guilty pleasures when they occur and take a moment to experience the joy in them and to be grateful. And sometimes, to caution myself against getting too accustomed to doing them! Life needs variety and a little bit of spice to keep it interesting, but too much of a good thing...well, it's just not healthy.

If you're wondering why I'm on this topic, I'm sorry to report that I have no answer. It's just what's on my mind, for some reason.

And I really am curious as to your guilty pleasures. Are they recently uncovered pleasures, or things you have long enjoyed?  C'mon, dish! :)

For Whom the Scale Tolls

A friend asked me yesterday why I still blog about weight loss, given that I've reached my goal range. She seemed surprised that I'd bother. Obviously, she doesn't comrephend the dynamics of the fitness/weight loss blogging community.

As I mentioned the other day, online support and interaction has been (and still is) instrumental in keeping me on target. I can share my triumphs and my...well, let's be polite and call them less-than-triumphant moments, knowing that someone will understand. Some will have lived it, while others may not have had that exact experience, but they'll still "get it". And even if they don't, they'll still offer a suggestion or helpful hint, or maybe just a few kind words.

The other side of the equation is what happens when I visit other blogs. Any struggles I'm experiencing (real or imagined) evaporate when Betty Blogger reports yet another plateau week, or Bobby Blogger (no relation) posts that he's bored during his workout and requests suggestions for good MP3s for working out. Instead of heading for the pantry for more almonds, I read back through Betty's blog, looking for any clues as to why she might be plateau-ing and then brainstorm possible solutions while I'm on the treadmill. I forward Bobby a list of my workout faves and then spend a few minutes scoping out more tunes for my auditory arsenal. Later, when Betty breaks her plateau or Bobby's workout enthusiasm level picks up, I feel victorious (and relieved) right along with them. They succeeded, which meant I succeeded. One for all and all for one, etc. and amen.

What got me on this weird (even for me) little tangent was the sad experience of cleaning out my RSS feeds last night. So many people whose lives intersected with ours, and one day--poof! They just disappear from the blogosphere. No explanation, no farewell; they're just gone. It leaves me wondering if their lives became too hectic to blog (most of us know what THAT feels like), or if they fell off the fitness wagon? Egads, maybe they were run over by the wagon! We just don't know, and that leaves me sad and wondering.


I'm reminded of this quote from poet John Donne, which better describes my sentiments (and in fewer words):

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee...

No doubt, he is getting quite the workout from turning in his grave over my abuse of his sentiment, but it fits my whacko thought train.


So, this is my round-about way of asking you to please stick around. We will celebrate during the good times and commiserate/pontificate through the not-so-good. If you don't want to blog about your troubles, reach out another way (email, twitter DM, whatever it takes), or take a break if you need it. But please don't let giving up and walking away be on your list of options!

As for me, I intend to be the oldest living fitness/weight loss blogger someday. I'll be posting tips on how to use your walking stick with the treadmill or how to work in a few planks while on your bedpan. Okay, maybe not. :)

But I'll still be here, and I hope you'll be here, too!

Before I go, reminder to join in the fun and sign up for my version of the Progresso Soup Contest and Giveaway. Deadline is tonight (midnight US Central)!

Online Helpers for Your Fitness/Weight Loss Journey

When I'm handing out credit in my own weight loss successes, I always include the power of the internet in the list of contributors. Having these "go-to" places to find answers (or questions) when I needed them, not to mention support and inspiration, was (IS) a huge factor in my progress. HUGE! 

With the coming of the new year, I'm suspecting we'll have some new-to-the-community folks dropping by, and I thought now might be a good time to share some of my favorite resources. These first two resources are probably the "huge-est" contributors:

Sparkpeople  has been used by 6 million people in 150 countries. Personalized eating plans, calorie and exercise tracking, health and fitness information, recipes, exercise demonstrations and videos, interactive forums for virtually every interest group. You can do as much or as little of it as you want. No requirements, no pressure. Best of all, no $$$. It's all free.

The Healthy You Challenge  gave me access to some of the most motivated and motivational health and fitness bloggers out there. Provided by the gracious Diana, a.k.a. ScaleJunkie, the HYC is an index of bloggers all pursuing the same goals--better health and fitness. As the commercial says, PRICELESS. I honestly can't imagine where I'd be right now without this network.

A few other "go-to" sites for me:

Cooking (as viewed by the non-cook):
AllRecipes's Healthy Cooking section - lots of fresh ingredients and nutritionally rich recipes here.

Green Lite Bites - Healthy recipes and tips from Roni, of Roni's Weigh . Her young son helps with many recipes, so be prepared for rampant use of sprinkles. :)

HungryGirl - You've probably seen the cookbooks at your bookstore. If you're transitioning from a junkfood-filled existence to healthier eating, you might find some of these recipes useful. Long-term, they're probably not the healthiest way to eat (lots of processed foods like Splenda), but face it: sometimes a girl/guy just wants something a little bit decadent.

IAteAPie - "Diet" food reviews.

Exercise:
Virtual Fitness Trainer - information and exercise instructions.

Oxygen Magazine's Training Tips - For me, it's a little too much focus on how we should look rather than feel, but that's probably just me being cranky. The exercises are generally good.

Others:
The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin's recounting of her path to happiness may help you find your own way. She's just released a book of the same title, available from Amazon or other book retailers.

lifehacker - Thouands of tips for making life more manageable. 

zenhabits - Too commercial for me these days, but the archives are full of excellent articles on living a simpler life, many by guest bloggers from across the spectrum.

I didn't include personal pages because I have (at last count) over 100 of those in my reader. If you're new to the community, you can start with the HYC, as mentioned above, or check out my side bar for my (currently not updated) list of favorite bloggers, or click on the links of other folks responding to this post. When you find something you want to comment on, don't be shy--jump right in! I haven't met a blogger yet who didn't welcome new commenters! (Heck, some of us stand up and do a cheer when someone new shows up! Or maybe that's just me?)

Those are just a few of my "go to" online resources.  What are your favorites? Any tips for those who might be new to this fitness community of bloggers?

Why Wait? Take One Small Step TODAY

I've talked with a few people this week who commented that they were going to get their "programs" in gear on...you guessed it: Monday! My response? Why wait?  Why not start TODAY?

"Well, we have this party on Saturday night?"
So? I do, too, but that doesn't affect TODAY.

"I haven't been to the grocery store yet."
So? Neither have I, but that doesn't mean I have to pick up a double-stuffed pizza with extra cheese on the way home. Not when there's a Subway next door to the pizza place.

"It's supposed to rain, but Monday is forecast to be sunny."
So? You never heard of a sit-up? Squats? Lunges? All indoor activities..

"We still have all this Christmas candy in the house."
So? You have a freezer. Use it.

Okay, so that last one was me talking to myself in the mirror.  But you get my point.

We always have obstacles in our way. Life doles them out by the barrelful. We have to deal with them. One by one is usually the most effective way, and after all, ya gotta start somewhere.

Why not take TODAY to knock out just one of those obstacles?

Why not take TODAY to change just one little thing that you're doing right now? Oh wait, I already blogged about that way back when in this post.

Why wait until {insert some date in near future here} when you can take a baby step or two TODAY?

Don't wait. Start TODAY, if only in a small way. Consider it a warm-up, a prelude to more small steps to follow. Let the momentum build.

If nothing else, you'll be ahead of the crowd on Monday. :)

/sermonette

Happy New Year and Fresh Start!

 The beginning is the most important part of the work. ~Plato

DVD Reviews: Yoga for Beginners & 30 Day Shred

I've never been much for exercise DVDs, but in my quest for different types of workouts while avoiding the gym, I decided to use part of a Christmas gift card to give a couple of DVDs a try.

First up: Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners (link to my Amazon account, but on sale at Target this week for $11.99) A yoga-instructing friend had expressed a profound adoration of Rodney Yee early in her yoga practice, so I thought this might be a good choice. I'm not disappointed. The DVD contains two routines: a series of morning poses for energy and an evening routine for relaxation and rejuvenation. More importantly to me, it contains a separate segment focused solely on poses--their purpose, the correct positions, common mistakes, etc. Everything a klutzy girl needs!

I'm going to seriously work at developing an almost-every-day practice, but at minimum, I'll work through some of the poses each day. This DVD will definitely get some use.

My second DVD choice was based solely on blogger community popularity. I bought it despite the fact that I'm not a huge Jillian Michaels fan (keep your tomatoes; it's nothing personal!)  The DVD I'm referring to is, of course, Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred.(link to my Amazon account, but on sale at Target this week for $8.00) If you're one of the 12 bloggers who hasn't tried this DVD, I'll dish: It's based on a 3-2-1 formula, which is 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of ab work. Repeated several times, in circuit fashion. There are also active stretches to warm-up and stretchy stretches to cool down. All together, it's a little less than 30 minutes for each workout. There are three total, and within each there are demos for a beginner and a more experienced exerciser. (Note: in all honesty, even the beginner level would've been too difficult for me 100 pounds ago.)

So far, I've only tried one workout and wasn't able to fully execute it. My workouts normally consist of heavier weights with fewer reps, which meant I wasn't able to do all the reps with the weights I have. (I went to fail on each circuit, then tossed the weights on the bed and continued the exercises in proper form, sans weights.) I'm also accustomed to 30-60 second recoveries between sets. Not having those recoveries was tough, but that may have been because of the too-heavy weights. I'll try again with lesser weights. (I'm thinking I'll fill a couple of empty water bottles with sand and see how that works. Or I'll cave in and buy some lighter weights at Target. They're also on sale this week.)

Another problem I had was with the cardio portion of the workout. It has a lot of jumping about and for the girl who has leftover belly flab, jumping about is very uncomfortable. And not in a good way. I'll have to figure out a workaround for that. It's do-able.

The bottom line is that I didn't hate this DVD. In fact, even in the one partial workout, I liked most of the exercises (yaaay! squat punches!)  It's a good workout and due to the lack of recovery periods, it's a quick workout. If I have the proper equipment, it might be just the ticket on days when I need to save a few minutes.

So there you have it. I haven't fallen in love with exercise DVDs, but I'm not sorry I bought either of these. One will get ongoing use and the other will be a good fill-in during the cold dreary days of winter when the long, 20-yard sprint from the car to the gym door is too much to bear.

Your opinions on these or other exercise DVDs are always welcome and greatly appreciated!

~

Just Say Yes!

The nice folks at skirt sent me a 2010 calendar. (I have no idea why, but it was very kind of them. Thank you, skirt! people!) I was idly flipping through it this morning, pretending for just a minute that I don't have a to-do list a mile long, and this lovely bit of prose jumped out at me.

Let each finish line be a fresh start.
Let there always be one more race to be run...
one more rung to reach...
the next novel waiting to be written...
a career change to be dared...
a higher mountain to climb...
Unexpected Love waiting to walk into your life...
dance steps to be learned...
the most daring adventure still to plan...
another painting waiting on the palette.

Let every safe harbor be a place to rest up, not rest on your laurels,
before you set off again for unknown jeopardy and joy.
Broken heart? Turn it into a happy beginning.
Layoffs looming? Start working your resume.
Empty nest? Try your own wings.
Sign up for Yes! instead of hanging on to yesterday.
Yes! to the blind date, the scary new job in another city, the next level of yoga.

Ready, Set, Yes!

You see why I'm so happy with the skirt! people.

I've had so many changes in my life over the past few years, but most of them were positive, largely because I learned to say Yes! to life, every single day. To give myself permission to be successful, to change, to grow. I plan to do it again next year, too, and I hope you'll join me. Paraphrasing from the calendar this time: We might flop or we might fly, but we might as well try.

Skirt! also sent me a pen, on which I just noticed this quote: Set your alarm for good times.

Oh yes, 2010 is going to be one awesome year!

For now, I'm going to say Yes! to a 30-minute nap! The to-do list will still be there when I wake up. :)

Here Kitty, Kitty: Unleash the Tiger Within You

In April, my last month working for The Company, blogger Pamela Slim released her book Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur. Given the timing of the release with my corporate departure, I took it as a sign that this was a path I should explore and ordered the book. As promised, it provided solid transitional advice, and I've enjoyed reading it. That some of that advice applies beautifully to any life transition was a delightful and unexpected bonus.

Take, for example, the section titled "Find Your Inner Tiger." Ms. Slim describes the inner tiger as "the life force that propels us toward an active, open, engaging, healthy, and fulfilling life." She believes it's with us at birth, but for myriad reasons, this inner tiger gets squished by life. (She described it more profoundly than "squished.")

Surely, I'm not alone in seeing how this inner tiger could be useful in achieving a healthier self. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and declare that without my own inner tiger roaring in my ear (even if I didn't know at the time that that's what it was), I surely would have never lost 100 pounds.

So where's the catnip, right? According to Ms. Slim, whose suggestions are in bold type below, these are the steps:

Acknowledge that it is there. That seems simple enough, but when you've been through the try-and-fail cycle a few dozen times, it's hard to believe that unrelenting desire is still within in. We become more like the old tiger at the zoo, the one sprawled out in the corner of his cage, merely watching the pedestrian protein walk by. Somewhere within us, though, is that fiercely cunning and menacing tiger, ever prowling for the first opportunity to attack. You may sometimes feel that you don't have it in you, that you're past it, but somewhere inside you, it's there. You want to attack life, not just survive it. Say hello to your inner tiger.

Pay attention to your body If I've learned nothing else in the past two years, I've learned that my body is the Western Union of my existence. Whether I'm stressed or bored or not eating properly (or any combination of the above), my body sends me the signals I need to take care of myself. It lets me know when it would benefit from a brisk walk or an early night to bed or a green vegetable or three. I just have to pay attention to it.

Stop with the mind-numbing substances. Excessive amounts of alcohol, caffeine, or chocolate mask our ability to make wise decisions. When we eliminate the excess from our lives, we have greater clarity. Makes it so much easier to find that tiger.

Agree to take action. Oh yeah, action. I tried wishing away 100 pounds, but it didn't work so well. Results required that I actually do something to achieve them. That something didn't have to be big (and usually wasn't in my early days), but I did have to commit to doing something every single day to move along the path to a healthier me. Nothing makes that inner tiger roar like action, lemme tell ya. Once it gets a taste, it only wants more!

Own up to your lies. Once I removed the arrow from the middle of my forehead after reading this, I didn't need long to realize that what I thought was reality was nothing more than a pack of comforting lies I told myself.

• Yes, my job was stressful and left me feeling drained at the end of the day. But not so drained that I couldn't pick up a fork or open a bag of chips or drive to the corner store for a couple of Little Debbie Swiss Rolls.
• Yes, my on-the-go life was hectic and made "fast food" the most logical option on many days. But did that mean I had to order the chicken strips, waffle fries, and brownie at Chick-fil-A when the grilled chicken salad was right there on the menu?
• And sure, my family and friends do love to celebrate almost every special occasion with a hearty meal. How did that explain the other 350+ days each year that I overate?

Lies, all lies I told myself to explain why it was impossible to lose weight. Lies that kept that inner tiger behind bars and in the corner for far too many years.

But that was before. I believe Pamela Slim is on to something with this inner tiger business, especially the part about each of us having one within us. It's there, it's powerful, and it's ready to be unleashed! My greatest wish for each of you is that you find it and that you let it out of the cage, but as I learned, wishes aren't actions and that's why I wrote this post. :)

Make any sense? Are you keeping your inner tiger in chains or behind bars? Any ideas for the actions you'll take to unleash it?

~

I See Things

I had a wonderful pondering time this morning, mostly thinking about my future, both long-term and immediate. By immediate, I mean the weekend ahead. I'm a big believer in visualizing myself being positive and energetic and active and all the things I want to be in life. That way, I'll recognize them as they happen. :)

Anyway, as I sat pondering, the cautionary words of a former co-worker popped into mind:

"There's a mighty big difference between a vision and a hallucination."

Wise words, indeed, and it made me think about what I envision when I see myself being successful (by my own definition of successful).

Hallucination: I exercise two hours a day, 6 days a week, always giving 200% to my workouts.

Vision: I exercise 5-6 days per week, 30-60 minutes per day, giving 100% of my energy that day to my workouts.


Hallucination: I am at goal weight always. If my weight goes up, I increase my workouts to four hours a day.

Vision: My weight fluctuate but usually stays within 2-3 pounds of goal. When my weight goes up and stays up, I evaluate my nutrition AND my exercise to see if either needs to be improved.


Hallucination: I never eat chocolate.

Vision: I eat chocolate fairly regularly, but in tiny portions 98.521% of the time, excluding major holidays and vacations. (I consider a Hershey's Kiss to be an example of "tiny." Two is semi-tiny. More than that is a splurge.)


Well, you see what I'm getting at. All too often, we define our success by over-reaching measures that may not be attainable, much less sustainable. Weight fluctuates, schedules get crowded, and if we're lucky, LIFE happens. I'd much rather experience it than hide from it inside a set of rigid expectations. I want to live a vibrant life, healthy AND happy, and part of that is being available for it.

I'm not suggesting that we "lower the bar." It's good to have high standards for our behavior, especially regarding health and fitness. It's equally important that we be mindful of life unfolding around us and incorporate it into our visions of a successful future. And the future is beginning right now.

If you're still reading, I thank you. This was one of those mornings I needed to give myself a little preaching, and I appreciate your indulgence. If you got anything out if, all the better. :)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Calling All Cookies

It's no secret that I love cookies. Chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal--I've honestly never met a cookie I didn't like. If I could, I would have cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...and for between-meal snacks as well. Sure, I would probably experience a few wee health problems, and it's possible I might have to buy all new clothes, but I'd be walking around in a sugar-filled daze and probably wouldn't notice. If I could walk at all, that is.

Oh wait. I already did that. Or a lesser variation of it, anyway, and it wasn't quite the blissful life one would imagine. It's a sad fact of lie that eating cookies is fun, but life after eating too many cookies is not. ::despondency::

During the holiday season, especially, I seek out the middle ground and enjoy a few cookies while keeping an eye on the health effects of their consumption. To date, I've avoided buying packages of cookies, relying instead on the office potlucks or single-cookie bakery purchases. I certainly haven't tried baking them.

But that's about to change. This year, I am actually going to bake some Christmas cookies. (Yes, me.) I have decided that the combination of being in charge of the ingredients AND giving away the majority of the output will keep this from being a complete disaster, nutrition-wise. Given my lack of culinary skills, results may be thrown away rather than given away. As long as I don't eat all of them, I don't care.

To assist me, I bought a good cookie book yesterday, The Cookie and Biscuit Bible (on the clearance rack at Borders for $4.99.) One of the things I like about it is the explanatory chapter on the different types of flours, sugars, and chocolate. Knowing the purpose of ingredients will help me make substitutions, if I choose. I also like that the recipes make a small number of cookies and that most call for whole ingredients only. (Ironically, processed foods don't occur in any quantity until the chapter on "healthy cookies.")

I've also been seeking out healthier recipes online. So far I've found a few promising sites:

Eating Well

Belly Bytes

All Homemade Cookies

There's also Hungry Girl, which has some interesting ideas, but relies a little too much on processed ingredients for my purposes. Still, it's a better option than some.

I would *l*o*v*e* to know your favorite healthier cookie recipes or your favorite healthy recipe websites or books. Or all of the above. Please share!

If this works out nicely, and I think it will, I'll probably continue trying new recipes next year. Maybe, a different cookie each month. As long as I can freeze them in individual servings and give away the excess, I should be okay.

And if it doesn't work out so well, I can still buy the single-serve at the bakery. :)