Did you read the title of this post and have this response? “Say what?” I’m not sure I agree with the brand naming for this product, but I like the product itself, so I honestly don’t care what they call it.

After my brother’s death, I gained some of my weight back. I’m not proud of that, but a variety of things occurred to help me pack on the pounds. And for the record, I never returned to the “overweight” category, but I got darn close. So, how did I start combating that? I decided to give myself the goal of running a 1K. For runners that probably sounds lame, but after 4 heart attacks and several visits to the ER for anaphylaxis, I think I have to be extremely cautious about this goal. On the other hand I needed a goal that would force me to change up my treadmill routine. I’m now up to 5 minutes of running. That, again, sounds lame, but if you also know I haven’t run since high school, then maybe it’s understandable that 5 minutes of running is monumental.

Today we tackle general questions and tips I have encountered on my journey to a healthier me. And yes, this will be my last “dissertation” on fitness for a while. You can all breathe a sigh of relief now.

1. What if I keep getting arthritis or I have a huge blister on my foot? Won’t that keep me from losing weight by not being able to exercise? Take 2 Aleve or some other pain reliever about 30 minutes before your workout and I bet the arthritis goes away. If you have a headache, chances are that your body is telling you that you need some hydration (aka water) or a sports drink (G2 to the rescue!), so try that first. They make moleskin for blisters plus hydrocolloid bandages. You can even cut the moleskin to precisely fit the blistered area. This stuff works great and is what got me through 3 days of walking 60 miles for the Susan G. Komen organization. Don’t let this stuff deter you from exercising. Let’s be honest–all these little excuses are just your way of whining your way out of a workout. How did I know this? Cuz I’ve used them, too. 🙂
2. If the problem is more severe than some minor aches and pains, that is your body’s way of saying you need to alternate or slow down your workouts. On days where the feet can’t take the pounding anymore, I do yoga. Yoga helps my arthritis go away and helps me sleep! A lot of yoga poses can be done in a sitting position, as well. Don’t like yoga? Do sit-ups while you’re watching your favorite program or while listening to calming music. Other low-impact exercises also work. They may actually improve your weight loss ratio because you’re really varying your workouts!
3. If you are having SEVERE pain or have a bad cold, STOP exercising altogether until you have this investigated by a professional and are cleared by them. This is a WARNING that you are either overdoing it or your body needs to rest! Take some vitamins to help your body recover from your illness or condition, but only take those that your health professional recommends. Drink lots of water. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap. Clean that treadmill (particularly if it’s used by multiple people!). In other words take care of you!
4. What if I don’t like walking? Then, pick some form of exercise that works for you: yoga, using your game system exercise equipment and games, bicycling, dancing, etc. This is YOUR exercise routine–make it work for YOU! Just keep trying things until you find what works for you. If you need to, get a buddy to work out with you, so you’re accountable to someone. (I would pick someone who is roughly at the same fitness level as you or someone who is not too competitive or judgmental.) If necessary, hire a personal trainer for a month or two…to learn how to work out more effectively and to motivate yourself. Find what works and stick with it and change it up when it’s no longer working! You might enjoy walking or running outdoors more than that treadmill, so maybe just a change of environment will do the trick!
5. Reward yourself when you meet a goal. Goals keep me motivated, so do make small goals for yourself. The first one may be to just work out one day this week for 30 minutes and that’s okay! Reward yourself with things you like, but NON-FOOD ones. My favorites? New, cute, expensive (well, at least on sale!) workout clothes! Why? Because I actually want to wear them and I look stupid wearing them elsewhere. Maybe it’s getting a new haircut. Maybe, for you, it’s a piece of exercise equipment or subscribing to some service that helps you track your fitness journey. Even though I just hit my ultimate goal weight, I still have new goals for myself! And thus…new rewards!
6. Invest in good sox and shoes. It’s pretty hard to do this fitness thing for very long if you’re using inferior equipment and gear. You’ll minimize blisters if you wear really cushiony (Sure that’s a word!) sox. You’ll have fewer injuries or arthritis if you wear really good shoes (Go to a sports gear store and have them advise you on this!). You may pay out the wazoo (whatever a wazoo is) for this stuff initially, but it will probably last longer and prevent doctor bills. That’s just good common sense!
7. Don’t compare your journey with others’ journeys. This is really, really hard for me to do, mainly because I sometimes want to have the same achievements and goals as others. There is nothing wrong with getting new goal ideas and tips from others, but don’t let that creep into making you feel bad about your own journey! Pat yourself on the back when you reach your own goals and enjoy those moments big-time!
8. Change one thing each week. Research shows that it’s really, really hard to change bad habits. So, don’t try all of this at once. Make a list of everything you feel you need to change on the fitness front and pick out the smallest, easiest change on that list. Make that your first change. Small successes make you more motivated to change more things! When you’ve got that first one “under control,” look at the next easiest change and work on that one next. I bet, in a year, you will be amazed at how different your lifestyle is!
9. My scale is my friend. No, really. My scale merely gives me feedback about where I am on my fitness journey. Nothing else! It does not define me! It’s a number ONLY. You will still be wonderful you tomorrow whether you gained weight today or lost it or stayed exactly the same. So, use that number on the scale to help you adjust your workouts and eating plan accordingly. Do NOT become punitive about this–just adjust stuff and see if it helps or not.

Tomorrow’s Post: Pomp Romp…

You might also like: You 3.0: Questions & Tips, Part II, You 3.0: Questions & Tips, Part I, You 3.0: MIP Exercise Plan, You 3.0: MIP Eating Plan, You 3.0: Mindset, Part III

Last Friday I discussed how to keep your exercise routine going even if you couldn’t do what I do. Today I tackle some diet-related questions I often get:

1. Lean Cuisine-eating taught me something vitally important: portion control. The portion sizes in our country are ridiculous! Some of them could feed an entire 3rd world country. Basically, Lean Cuisine taught me that portion sizes above the size of my fist are too, too big for one meal. So, I stopped eating for two (particularly since I haven’t been pregnant for 19 years).  I suggest doing the Lean Cuisine end of the MIP eating plan for at least a month so you can stop eating for two, also. Then, if that’s driving you crazy, you can branch out to other ways of eating, knowing how small the portion sizes really should be.

2. What if I have more to lose than 34 lbs? What if one Lean Cuisine doesn’t fill me up? Believe it or not, this is really the same question. People who have more than 20% of their current body weight to lose probably have bigger appetites and actually need more calories initially. So, be nice to yourself and eat 2 Lean Cuisines! I’m not coming over to your house to scold you if you deviate from my little eating plan…trust me. Make this work for you. However, before you consume the 2nd one, let me ask you to try these little tricks first:

• Wait 20 minutes. Often, I get my “full” feeling around this time. So, try to be patient and keep your hands busy during this time by playing music, playing a game, or doing a craft.
• Drink a 12 oz. glass of water. Often, I mistake a hungry stomach for a thirsty stomach!
• Eat an Atkins bar for “dessert.” The Atkins bars are probably fewer calories than the 2nd Lean Cuisine and thus, the weight comes off faster. Do not get the Advantage bars–get the Endulge bars, which really taste yummy.

3. What if I can’t handle Lean Cuisines anymore? Remember–this is your eating plan, not mine. And yes, from time to time, I get tired of Lean Cuisines. (However, there are even Lean Cuisines sandwiches, pizzas, and salads now, so you probably won’t get tired of them easily. Plus, they taste pretty darn good for “diet food.”) Here’s how I survive when tired of them:

• Eat a can of soup. I prefer an entire can of Campbell’s Chunky soup. Even some of their really high calorie versions are still under 400 calories per can! I like this option in the wintertime, when I really need something to warm my stomach or when I feel a cold coming on. New research shows that people who eat soup lose more weight than those who don’t.
• Choose pre-sized menu plans. This will most likely require some cooking, but if you don’t mind the cooking, you’ll probably love the cheap nature of these plans (plus some even have shopping lists to make it easier for you at the store!). My DMIL (Darling Mother-in-Law) sent me a link to one and I have personally explored the other one, which is recommended by Dave Ramsey of Financial Peace University:
  • Emeals.com
  • Eatingwell.com
• Use smaller plates in your china cabinet. The problem with our current dinner plates is that, again, they are way too big for what we should be eating. So get out saucers (yes, saucers–you probably aren’t using them anyway) or very small salad plates. If you have small bowls, that will work, too.
• Use your fists! Judge portion sizes when you’re at a restaurant by how big your fist is. If it’s bigger than your fist, ask the server for a “to-go” box and remove the amount that is larger than your fist immediately. Guess what? You now have lunch (and maybe dinner!) for tomorrow. You can go to two fist sizes for veggies. This same formula works for when you are cooking for yourself and have more than just one portion available.

4. Are there certain foods I should avoid? Yes. The ones you can’t “downsize” on your own to make them the right-sized portion. Other than that, anything goes. Even junk food can be “down-sized.” I only get out one handful of chips at a time and put them in a small bowl. I put away the chip bag and take the bowl away from the kitchen. I eat my bowl-ful and wait for 20 minutes. If I’m still craving chips, I get myself another bowl-ful. I’m usually too lazy and too guilty to go back for a 3rd bowl! The same can go for chocolate or anything else you crave. I like things that are individually wrapped or are “wrapped” by Mother Nature. (Bananas come with their own banana peel!) That’s natural portion control without you even having to think about it! One note: A huge bag of chips labeled “Family Size” is not individually-wrapped. It says Family Size for a reason–it’s meant for your entire family. I don’t care if you’re pregnant with 6 bambinos, step away from the bag. The same goes for a box of low-cal cookies. They’re only low-cal if you stop eating the entire box in one “binge session.” The bottom-line for me was that if I told myself I couldn’t have it, I instantly craved it even more! So, I allowed myself a little to get rid of that craving and just tried to think strategically about how I could fool myself into thinking I had had a treat!

5. What if I blow it one day? There is no such thing. That’s all in your head. Why? Because you’re going to eat right for the rest of your life. If you eat right for the rest of your life, then one day is a teeny, teeny fraction of all the days in your life. So, it’s probably not going to keep you from reaching your goal weight.  Just do something now to correct for it and that now does not include starving yourself for the next 3 days. That will actually slow down your weight loss process! When I blow it, I crank up my workout a little higher that day or the next day and try to eat better from that point onward. But I don’t stress about blowing it. Why? Because stress is also counterproductive to my ability to lose weight (plus, it can bring on a heart attack for me!). So, forgive yourself and move on.

Don’t miss on Friday: You 3.0, Questions & Tips, Part III…

Tomorrow’s Post: I feel a trend coming on…

You might also like: You 3.0: Questions & Tips, Part I, You 3.0: MIP Exercise Plan, You 3.0: MIP Eating Plan, You 3.0: Mindset, Part III, You 3.0: Mindset, Part II

Hopefully, by now, you have started your journey to better health.  If so, congratulations to you! Even if you’re not seeing results yet, you deserve congratulations for not being complacent and actually changing your habits. The hardest part is getting started, so kudos to you!

But, how does one sustain such a start, over time? That’s the biggest part of my journey–learning how to do this practically for the rest of your life without feeling deprived. And yes, I think I finally get how to do this now…I still have lots to learn, I’m sure, but I’ve been doing this for about 3 years now and I don’t plan on going back. So, here are the lessons I’ve picked up along the way, plus questions people ask me frequently:

So what do you do if you can’t exercise 99 minutes a day for whatever reason? Do at least 15 minutes of walking at one time. Park at the edge of every parking lot you encounter. Walk during your lunch hour (You can probably do 45 minutes right there!). Make yourself do household chores for 99 minutes each day. Mow the lawn with a walking mower. Play something other than video games with children or grandchildren (preferably your own, but you could babysit someone else’s, if need be!). Walk up and down the stairs when going to upper floors in office buildings, etc.

What do you do if walking isn’t your thing? I recommend yoga. In fact I recommend yoga even if you ARE walking. It will keep the arthritis and other aches and pains down to a dull roar and actually help your walking routine. And yoga can be done anywhere, anytime for just a few minutes a day. It’s amazing how quickly you start to sweat while doing yoga, too! And that meditation part is optional as far as I’m concerned! And you don’t have to look beautiful doing these poses. Do them in a closet, if need be.

Other tips for getting yourself in the groove:

• Plug in that iPod and listen to your favorite music! My daughter listens to Pandora’s comedy channel while running and at least she’s laughing periodically while she’s panting away around a track!
• Give yourself a goal. The DSL‘s parents just recently set the goal to run their very first 5K in honor of their 25th anniversary and actually beat that goal by several months doing a “Couch to 5K” running program via a free phone app. “Mom” even had to figure out how to do that while dealing with asthma. If she can do it, so can you!
• Do something helpful for someone else. Sometimes the motivation we need is to help out those who cannot help themselves. I got started with the walking thing when my dearest friend came down with Stage IV breast cancer. I decided to do the Komen for the Cure 3 Day Walk, which consists of walking 60 miles in 3 days. The 3 day site has a training plan for couch potatoes like me and I used it! Because of my friend, I kept huffing and puffing my way through the training program until I could do the walk.
• Put yourself first in this one area of your life. If you are unhealthy, chances are you’re not going to be able to adequately care for those you love when they have a crisis in their own lives. So, working on your own health is actually the most selfless thing you can do for them.
• Learn a new skill. Some folks take dance lessons to get fit and have a blast while doing it. Some learn to cycle or do kickboxing. Whatever floats your boat!
• Make it a priority! Other things come after your workout. My workaholic hubby manages to get up before dawn each day and finishes his workout about the time I get up. But, at least he doesn’t have to worry about making time for it that way. I prefer to do mine last thing at night for the same reason.
• Break it up! Do 15 minutes before you get ready for work. Go to work. Do 45 minutes during the lunch hour. Work some more. Walk 15 more minutes after work. Go home. Get some household work done and help the family. Do 15 minutes after everyone else is in bed. Guess what? You just did a 90 minute workout without it disturbing your life that much! And research says that it makes no difference if you do it all at once or broken up like this!
• Tell yourself it’s your patriotic duty. The reality is that if we don’t get healthy as a nation, this will actually affect our ability to compete among the other countries of the world one day because of the amount of money that will have to be spent on health care, etc. Don’t believe me? Watch “The Weight of the Nation” series by HBO.

Don’t miss next Wednesday: You 3.0: Questions & Tips, Part II…

Tomorrow’s Post: Back-a-whaty-it?

You might also like: You 3.0: Mindset, Part I, You 3.0: Mindset, Part II, You 3.0: Mindset, Part III, You 3.0: MIP Eating Plan, You 3.0: MIP Exercise Plan…

The other harsh reality about being healthy and fit is that you most likely will not keep off the weight you’ve lost unless you exercise regularly. Regularly does not mean every 6 months, whether you need to or not. Sorry to burst your bubble on that one.

So, what is the story on exercise accoring to research findings and the experts? Regularly means you have to exercise most days of the week. That’s a bare minimum of 4 days a week for at least 30 minutes a day. However, that’s the MINIMUM for MAINTAINING your current weight. If you want to actually lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than you currently are eating and you exercise a MINIMUM of 45 minutes per day at least FIVE days a week. If you are middle-aged or even age-proficient (my personally favorite way of saying that someone is no longer a spring chicken), guess what? It gets worse (just like everything about aging). Because our metabolisms tend to slow down with the aging process, we actually have to exercise a MINIMUM of 60 to 75 minutes per day at least FIVE days a week  to see some actual weight loss. Yes, this just stinks…big time. But, we really don’t get a choice on this one, so we just have to put on our big guy or girl panties and deal with it!

So, here’s how I do it with a really busy schedule:

1. Buy a good treadmill. Did you know that, if you get a doctor’s note stating that you need to exercise for your health, you can write off the treadmill sales tax on your income tax? Yep, it’s true.

2. Resist the urge to use your treadmill as an extra place to hang your laundry.

3. Put treadmill where you will have to trip over it….regularly. That doesn’t mean your junk room, your closet, your basement or your garage. I think the most effective place for it is right in front of your refrigerator door.

4. Get addicted to some series on TV or to a really good book.

5. Mount a cool TV near that really irritating treadmill.

6. Put on some really cool (You interpret cool the way you want to–I prefer both meanings.), really comfy exercise clothing.

7. Get a G2 (That’s gatorade for Hefty bag-sized people like me).

8. Get an old towel.

9. Take the G2, the old towel and possibly that great book to the treadmill.

10. Get on the treadmill. Yes, you actually have to get on it to begin losing weight. (Yes, I think it’s unfair, too.) Stop whining.

11. Start the treadmill. If it’s been a while since your last workout, you may need to actually read the instructions for this part. (I personally believe this is why many men still have their beer bellies.)

12. Increase the speed of the treadmill one “notch” at each commercial break or scene change. If reading, increase it at the end of each page, section or chapter. Try not to fall off the treadmill each time you do this.

13. Stay on that treadmill until you’re reaching for that towel or G2 like your life depended on it. For me this happens at the 50 minute mark. Why? Because I exercise for 99 minutes per day 5 to 7 days per week. Yes, you read that right. And yes, I worked up to this, starting with 30 minutes in the beginning. And I’m in my mid-fifties. Stop whining.

14. Slow that treadmill down about 90% of the way through your workout, gradually.

15. Get off the treadmill when snails can crawl faster than your walking speed.

16. Collapse on the floor and let the dog or cat lick the sweat off of you. Easier than getting in the shower–trust me. But, when you recover next week, you might want to wash off the dog slime in the shower. Then, clean the dog slime off the shower walls. That’s part of the workout.

17.  Repeat each day and vary the walking routine. (Most treadmills come with a variety of walking workouts.)

You better be reading this while on your treadmill. 😉 Yes, the treadmill has to be moving…and so do you. Stop whining.

Don’t miss on Friday: You 3.0: Tips and Tricks

Tomorrow’s Post: The last person to ever encounter Morrie…

You might also like: You 3.0: Mindset, Part I; You 3.0: Mindset, Part II; You 3.0: Mindset, Part III; You 3.0: MIP Eating Plan

On Wednesday I started discussing what I have learned from my 2 year journey to losing weight. At the time I started I was well overweight by most objective standards. Today I am at a healthy weight with a 15 lb. cushion (and that’s the way I like it!). Many have asked how I did it and to me, the most important part was changing how I think about me, my weight, my fitness and my eating habits. As much as you may hate me saying this, it really is a battle of the mind first and foremost. If you choose to think that you can diet for a specific period of time and then binge afterwards, you might as well just forego the whole diet thing altogether. I asked you to consider 5 questions on Wednesday…to thoroughly examine how and why you eat, how and why you do or don’t exercise and who you are as a person. Everyone is different and my path to fitness and health will most likely be different than your path. But, these questions helped me identify what would and would not work for me and I hope they do the same for you:

1. When do I tend to overeat? I am a mid-afternoon and late evening snacker. This is my big battleground.  At first I tried not to eat after 7 pm. Total failure! So, I have to have foods I like on hand that don’t contain too many calories for those snack attacks late at night. I had to experiment to find foods that quelled the “hungries!”
2. Why do I overeat? In my case, it’s usually because I’m watching TV or I’m bored or tired. It’s essential that you understand why you do this. Do you eat when you feel sad? Do you eat when you’re angry or frustrated? Then, be ready to combat this head on, with some coping strategies. It’s probably better for you to punch your pillow or cry it out or hop on a treadmill than to eat yourself into a heart attack or diabetes. The pillow, your red, blotchy swollen face, and your tired, aching body will recover—your heart and metabolism may not. If you’re trying to squelch a memory of a bad childhood trauma, then you may need a professional to help you figure this stuff out.
3. Do I like to exercise in the morning or at night or at noon? When do you have the most energy to exercise? The PH is an “early bird” and gets his workout in before I even get up in the morning! I, on the other hand, prefer to work out in the “dark of night.” I sleep better doing it late at night (This defies research, folks. I’m just weird!) and I have more energy then, since I’m a night owl. The PH just shakes his head at this pattern of mine. It’s okay—I groan and roll over in my bed when he gets up at o’ dark thirty for his little pattern.)
4. Do I like to exercise alone or do I need an accountability buddy? Most studies will say that working out with someone usually works better.  Again, I defy research here. I find that it’s hard to find someone with the same fitness level and the willingness to put up with all the idiosyncrasies of my health adventures that often invade my workouts. So, I work out alone, on my enclosed porch, where I can wear really stupid combinations of t-shirts, leggings, shorts, sox and tennies without being critiqued by the fitness fashion police.
5. Do I like working out outdoors or indoors? While I usually enjoy my outdoor workouts, I hate taking a flashlight with me to work out at night and many areas where I would do this are not safe for a female alone at night. So, I usually work out indoors. The lighting in my neighborhood is still sparse and we have “varmints” in our neighborhood that are just as nocturnal as I am. Remember: I like to work out alone—in a “No Varmint” zone.
6. Do I have any health conditions or changes in my general health that should be monitored by a doctor while I work out and change my diet? If so, be smart and check with that doctor first before making major changes. I agree—it’s a pain, but then dying from a too-kamikaze workout is usually rather painful, too. I think you should opt for the doctor-inflicted pain myself.

Don’t miss You 3.0: Mindset, Part III next Wednesday, May 14th!

Tomorrow’s Post: MaryAnn is a songwriter???

You might also like: You 3.0: Mindset, Part I, Lessons Learned from Visiting Sam Moon for the First Time, Absolutely, & It’s All About the Splash

On the day when the Lord was handing out athletic genes, I must have been in the “facilities” because I have zero hand-to-eye coordination and a limited ability to do just about anything else requiring physical ability.  However, as a child, I was blessed with two much older brothers and in an effort to keep me from continually annoying them, they were endlessly running from me and I was endlessly chasing them.  The result:  MaryAnn, despite being vertically-challenged, was a pretty okay runner.  In fact, I’m a bit like Seabiscuit on a track.  Put a runner in front of me and I am bent on beating them.  I may not come in first, but I will probably be right behind the winner of the race.

I used to like running.  It felt like freedom to me.  But, then something good happened.  Isn’t that always the way?  The good stuff in our lives often takes away something else that is also good.  My “something good” was I had children. And guess what happened when running after I had children??? Let’s not go there. It’s not for polite conversation.  Let’s just say it was embarrassing.

So, I got lazy and only walked.  But, thanks to modern medical technology, I can now run again.  Unfortunately, someone forgot to give my 50-something body the memo.  Once you stop running, your body has this very nasty way of vehemently making you pay for ever lifting your feet off soil ever again. So, today I only briefly run…this is even more embarrassing than why I didn’t run.  Thus, I confine my poor excuse for running to my treadmill.  I think it’s safe to say that I am “running away” from “running.”  Fortunately, my Bible tells me I didn’t invent such a trait.  It’s been around for centuries:

Exhibit A:  Jacob.  When you lie to your dad, leave for a long time.  And I mean leave.

Exhibit B:  Moses.  When you kill a fellow countryman, leave for a long time and marry a foreigner.

Exhibit C:  David:  When you tick off the leader of your country, head for the nearest cave.

Exhibit D:  Jonah:  I’d hide in the belly of a fish, too, if God told me to tell an entire city to get their act together…not exactly a way to get yourself elected mayor.

Exhibit E:  Peter:  Okay. So, he didn’t run away literally.  But, would you call lying about your relationship with the savior of the world a resume-builder for founding and leading a church?

The reality is, that doing what God asks you to do, is often a dangerous, difficult, demanding task.  And what do we do? We run…and run…and run…away. It’s so human to do so.  Unfortunately, when we run away, we often miss some very important things:

1. That God is with us.  He knows where the finish line is and how happy we are going to be when we reach it.

2. That God is for us. When we stumble, He will be there with his encouragements, if we are quiet and wise enough to hear Him.

3. That God is before us.  He will point the way (even if He has to hit me “upside the head” to alert me to it).

4.  That God is beyond us.  He can see much more than our immediate and often, limited, perspective.

5.  That God is by us.  He actually takes the time to run with us and beside us, knowing that the journey is much easier with “back-up.”

So, today I’m going to try to do a little running (literally and figuratively) and hope that I can get out of that belly (and quit feeding my own…Grr.) and do a little more of what God would have me do.  How about you?

“Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.  Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.  So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.”  —I Cor. 9: 24-26, NRSV

“Write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.” Habakkuk 2: 2, NRSV

See you at the finish line. 🙂

Tomorrow’s Post: March Madness Poetry…c’mon, you knew it was coming!