Annoying Gym Sins

I love to go and play a game of squash - but have never really liked going to 'the gym'.

This list - which I so quickly plagarised from David Bruser's blog-  just put it so clearly what it is about a gym that is so annoying.  Thanks David.  I left number 6 intact as David wrote it just because I laughed so hard. It could have been the hubby he was talking about! :>))

After nearly two months of working out and observing my fellow exercisers, here is my list of top gym sins:

1) Squeaky sneakers. Doing four sets of 15 pushes, pulls or curls is monotonous work. It takes concentration and dedication to make it through that last 15. Your cheap, shrieking shoes disrupt my rhythm, and because I am OCD and need to do each set of 15 in a specific, fluid way, I have to reset to zero and begin again. And I blame your shoes.

2) Faintly singing along with your iPod music while jogging on the treadmill. Maybe you think the person labouring next to you will be impressed that you can sing and jog at the same time, or will dig your music choice. But let me assure you that it is breathy, often offkey and supremely uninteresting. (Turns out this annoying habit is a common gym sin.)

 

3) Excessive grunting. I know that earlier in this blog I made fun of a gym rat who grunts. It turns out I grunt a little, too, but only when I am in pain, at my limit and the muscles I am working feel like Jell-O shot through with Novocain. But grunting that trails off into a feminine sigh is indulgent and silly.

4) Cell phones on the treadmill. There's this dork who keeps his BlackBerry in the pocket of his retro three-stripe jogging pants. I think he wears them in an effort to appear street credible. But his Yorkville haircut, sheared at varying lengths near the top and mussed just so, says he is anything but. What could be so important that he can't wait until after his 20-minute jog? I don't know because I crank up my iPod when his phone rings.

5) The sweat-and-flee. Gym etiquette says that after using and sweating all over a machine you should wipe it down with your towel. But some exercisers leave the seat wet. It makes me gag. For such a situation, the gym provides a few communal towels, along with a pee-coloured solution in a spray bottle so you can sanitize the machine. But I don't go near the gym rags because they are nothing more than sopping clumps of cotton, mystery cleaner and the sweat of 20 other people.

 

6) The locker room poop. There are some guys who save their most significant bowel movements for the locker room toilet. Maybe they're only three weeks into living with a new girlfriend or just married, and want to shield their significant others from their rotten insides. I get that. But find somewhere else, like a Starbucks. Letting that odor mingle with the sweet smell of sweat and the tangy scent of deodorant of 10 other guys is criminal. There's one offender in particular I am thinking of, but as he is 6'4", generously tattooed and could eat a tree I wouldn't dare confront him.

False misleading information and Disco Diva

 Is this you?  Tired, Overweight, Lonely, Looking for love but afraid to go outside because of how you look? If it is keeping reading and learn how you can lose 40 lbs over the next two weeks with no effort on your part!  It's amazing! Its truly a miracle! I have at least 100 testamonials that this works!  Guaranteed or your money is refunded! Order Today! You can't wait another minute for this incredible offer!

I was just trying to think of the most common lures for people who want to lose some weight. The vast majority of people are really clueless when it comes to losing weight and spend billions of dollars every year on weight loss clubs, food, drinks, pills, equipment, etc.

But, this is not what the blog tonight is about.

I was reading an article posted on a womens health issue site and they had 100 things to do in order to lose weight. 

There really wasn't 100 tips because she had about every 10 bullets...'drink water, plenty of water'. So that would really only make the article have 91 actual tips. Does this count as misleading.

Some of the tips were pretty good, such as workout to music. 

Research has shown that you do longer exercise sessions and work harder while listening to upbeat music...audio books and mellow music actually slow down the intensity of your workouts. 

I was such a disco diva in my younger days and love when I go out for a power walk to put on my ipod with some really good dance music...I do get strange looks from drivers in the cars that pass me by as I am more prancing with arms going all over pumping to the beat than walking. They must think to themselves "oh that poor women, she must have some mental problems, don't stare children".

Want to lose weight...here it is...the real facts, like it or not. There is no magic pill, no overnight loss of 10 lbs, no special foods or pills...read on...

Over the years many of the machines and exercises advertised as abdominal miracle flattener or magical thigh reducer has actually turned out to be wrong or misleading.

Other ideas about cardio fat burning and the best time of day to work out are also misleading. Scientific research continues to tell us exercise alone will not reduce or enlarge the size any certain body part.

Commonly held ideas about weight loss, fat loss and fitness are: 

•    Spot reducing or spot enlarging?
•    It is better to work out in the morning?
•    Cardio fat burning ranges people strive to exercise within.

The idea behind spot reducing or spot enlarging is that by doing certain exercises to target a particular area of the body, you can effectively reduce or enlarge that area. There have been machines, gadgets and exercise routines created especially to reduce the abdomen or the thighs. Health clubs and fitness instructors teach classes focusing on particular "problem" body parts to reduce or enlarge. 

Despite all the attention to singular body part reducing or enlarging, there is no scientific evidence that an actual effect on fat loss can be possible using these techniques alone. You must burn 3,500 calories to expend one pound of fat. This is impossible to do with just abdominal exercises to reduce the fat in the abdominal area, or whatever body part you choose to try and work off extra fat in that area. The real bad news is when you do burn enough calories to shed 
fat; the fat may not come off where you want it. It comes off wherever your genes tell it to come off from first, and this might not be the body part you were working on. 
Several studies have shown this to be true. Group after group of trained and untrained subjects of all levels of fitness up to athletes have gone through rigorous training programs designed just to work abs, biceps, thighs and so on. Measurements are taken at the beginning of the study and training period and then again at the end of the period. Fat loss was sometimes noted, however, it was rarely at the site of a concentrated training regimen. 

It is a myth to say you burn more fat or calories by getting up earlier to exercise. Morning exercise routines do have advantages for some people. Those advantages might be: 

•     You get the work out done and can get through your day with more energy?
•     A morning routine helps some exercisers stick to their programs longer 
•     Some people like to do an exercise routine in the middle of the day and some in the evening and for different reasons. The body does have abiorhythm unique to each individual. Some people have more energy late in the day. Some people also have the luxury of doing an exercise routine whenever they want. Others have to perform exercise just whenever they can fit it into their schedule and that may not be until mid day or evening. The fact is morning exercisers do not burn extra fat or calories just by getting up earlier to exercise. 

As for the special cardio "fat-burning" range people strive to reach, the truth is you are always burning a percentage of total calories during any given activity as fat and there are always carb calories being burned as well. There is no range where you are burning just fat. The higher the intensity you work at, the more calories you will burn. Some of these calories will be fat; others will be in the form of carbohydrates that your muscles store for glycogen. At the end of all things, no matter what range you are in, if you burn 3,500 calories over time, you will lose one pound of fat. The actual number of calories you burn is not always displayed accurately on the cardio machines.

The actual number depends on:  Your age and/or body weight? Have you programmed the machine correctly? The machine should be properly calibrated? If the treadmill belt slips (as it can from repeated use unless it is properly maintained) the speed readout could be off, which throws off your calorie reading 

As a weight-loss mechanism, exercise alone will do it. Weight loss is all about expending more calories than you take in. If you achieve the deficit of 3,500 calories in one or two weeks, the result is the lossof one pound of body weight. It is extremely difficult to do this just by exercising alone. It takes a combination of expending more calories through daily activity and diet. Exercise is a component to weight and fat loss, but not the sole source, and that weight or fat loss is not guaranteed to come off in the areas you specify by a targeted abdominal exercise routine or a set of exercises just for reduction of the thighs. You may suffer through all those exercises and find that the fat and weight came off your "bosom area," and that was the only area you wanted to stay just as is for the moment at least. 

As with all advertisements and gimmicks, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true. You will see results if you just follow a sensible exercise and diet plan aimed toward healthy living and a longer life. Do the activities you like. Keep moving. In time, you and I will see the results we want.

 

This was the ad posted on a women's health web site. Come on - 1 lb of stomach fat every day...guess what causes this tremendous weight loss?  

Acai berry.

Acai is has been the trendy fad for weight loss for a few years now...here's what this wonder berry claims to do for you... Acai berries may assist with anything from relieving arthritis pain, to normalized blood sugar levels, to quicker recovery from injuries, to increased energy levels, to clearer complexions, to improved mental awareness, to helping users sleep better, to assisting with digestive functioning, to strengthening the

 immune system, to improving circulation, to battling cancer cells, to detoxifying the body.

Acai certainly comes across as one of those 'miracle ingredients' that are claimed to do virtually everything to benefit the human body. Unfortunately, this is hard to believe, plus the 1lb of stomach fat per day..what about fat on the rest of the body, it targets just the stomach fat?

While Acai berries are a simple and natural fruit product there does not appear to be any real clinical studies presented to support the claims made about this fruit.

Even the sites pushing the incredible claims of the product cover themselves pretty well...below are some questions and answers from the site that posted the advertisement above.

Q. So how much weight can I expect to lose? 

A. That's always the best question to ask! But it’s a difficult one to answer:

FIRST, you know it’s impossible for anyone to make a guarantee or promise of the exact amount of weight YOU WILL LOSE... that’s not how we work. Never have, never will... Nobody can ever promise you the amount of weight you will lose as a result of any weight loss plan – and if they do – you should run a million miles because they are NOT telling you the truth. Is this clear to you?

 GOOD! However having made this point – you should also be aware the potential to melt away enormous amounts of excess weight is definitely here! 

Q. What makes Acai Burn different to everything else I’ve tried which has failed?

A. The sad truth is the diet industry has been cheating honest, sincere Americans out of their money for years. That’s why despite the fact our country now has more gyms, potions, pills and prescription drugs than ever before, we are becoming a fatter and fatter nation every year. 

Notice I've avoided the topic of my weight loss in todays blog posting! I'll cover it tomorrow, but I have a feeling it's only about 1/2 lb this week...which after last night is okay with me. 

A loss of 1/2 is better than a gain of 1/2 lb!

Shun fats; get out and about for a healthy heart

This is a direct quote from yesterdays newspapers in Canada:

Shun fats; get out and about for a healthy heart

“Changes in the way people eat and exercise and improvements to health care could sharply reduce the death toll from heart attacks and strokes and save billions of dollars, a federal panel said Tuesday.

The Canadian Heart Health Strategy and Action Plan, a body set up two years ago to look at ways of tackling cardiovascular disease, the country's No. 1 killer, says it's time to fight back.

The action plan recommends that government spend $700 million over seven years in a comprehensive approach to the problem. The return, it said, would be a $22-billion savings in direct and indirect costs by 2020. 

It recommended new laws and regulations to promote healthy lifestyles; labeling rules to tell people how much fat and salt lies hidden in their food; new ways of delivering health care, and bans or tight limits on products such as trans fats.

It also calls for more education on healthy eating and exercise and changes to the way the health system deals with heart and stroke problems.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq welcomed the recommendations, but said in an email statement that she will need some time to review them.

"We are too fat, spend too much time in our cars and on our couches and don't eat enough healthy foods," Smith said.

By 2015, Smith hopes to see a 20 per cent drop in obesity among adults and a one-third cut in the number of obese children.” 

My comments: 

OMG why the 

hell does it take 6 years to see a drop in obesity rates, especially in children!  Why can this not be done immediately…we know what is making them fat, stop it now!

$700,000.00 over 7 years?  Why are we spending our tax dollars to get people who goggle fast food at a phenomenal rate – why aren’t we just taxing the heck out of fast food restaurants.  We do it with cigarettes and alcohol, why not fast food – it’s a killer obviously.

Why will it take ‘some time’ to review a document that took two years to put together about ‘we are too fat’, ‘we are too lazy’, ‘we are eating too much crap’.

OMG people, this is not rocket science. 

Times sure have changed…when I was young there was segregation still in Florida where I lived, when I was young our mothers cooked dinner almost every night and going out for dinner was a treat, when I was young we came home from school and dumped out books on the counter so we could quickly go outside and play with all the neighborhood friends, when I was young there was only ONE McDonalds in the entire area I lived.

NOW…we have a black president in the United States, blacks on the supreme court, a black female representative for the Queen in Canada, our mother no longer cook most meals and if they do that meal is most likely a processed food, kids today come home from school and sit in front of the TV or computer playing games, and the

re is a McDonalds almost every mile on the street and is inside airports, shopping malls, office complexes…EVERYWHERE IS FAST CONVENIENCE and TASTY FAT FOOD.

The change from segregation to president took 50 years, mothers from home to work force and processed food took less time – about 30 years.

So why will it take 6-10 yrs to get kids off their asses and parents from taking themselves and their children in fat ass making restaurants. 

Unless they are planning to allow the current crop of kids to grow up and continue being fat and it’s the next generation of kids they plan on attacking with the measly 100 million a year on advertizing.

$100,000.00 a year on a government campaign on obesity, while McDonalds alone spends close to $600,000.00 (that’s a big number) on just its corporate locations, the fruit and vegetable market spends a paltry $5,000,000.00 per year on advertising. McDonalds - the largest buyer of toys in the world.

How does a government campaign compete against all this to win our kids hearts…eat veggies kids it’s good for you?  “You parent’s aren’t home, they are at work, but kiddies go outside and play...don’t worry about the pervert in the gray van down the road watching you – just go outside”.

How about the government giving the funds to local municipalities to build some recreation complexes? 

I say tax them directly... NOT US.

 Tax them for the garbage they create in our landfill sites. Tax them for the increased health care costs that are incurred due to unhealthy food. Tax them for creating a false image to our children. Tax them for making me annoyed enough that I wrote a blog about this and wasted time out of my life doing so!

 

Resisting Food Advertising

Have you ever noticed that the foods advertised the most heavily also tend to have the highest calorie counts and lowest nutritional value? Promoting junk food and fast food is big business. Companies spend millions of dollars a year in an attempt to get you to choose their burger or chip over another brand. These highly advertised foods are plentiful, easy to get, inexpensive, and engineered to taste good.

Ironically, there is little advertising promoting the foods we should be eating — like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and beans and legumes. Bombarded with powerful advertising images saying that nutritionally poor foods are best, it's no wonder we're reaching for the wrong foods! Some have compared the effort of trying to eat healthy in modern society with trying to be a recovered alcoholic in a town with a bar on every block.

I find it ironic that our local TV studio has a program called Dr Barb and Losing the Fat, while Dr Barb is telling you how to feed your children and help them lose weight to stop childhood obesity....Dr Barb is in a weight category that is easily obese herself. 

Okay, no jumping all over me. I do realize that you can be overweight and still know the facts of nutrition and exercise...that you know those facts and still have problems with your own weight, as in my case. But people, this is television. How about role modelling! How about if Dr Barb actually did some of the exercises she had someone else show the children, how about if we actually see Dr Barb eating something healthy after she throws away some junk food.

Even when advertising and television get the right idea, they still don't get it right!

That is my rant for the day. 

Common sense makes you uncommon

If most of us managed our money like we managed our blogs we’d either be bankrupt or deep in debt. We certainly wouldn’t have any savings!

A scenario: you boot up the ‘compose’ screen of your blogging software, fidget a little while waiting for inspiration to strike, get a post idea, write it, format it, and hit publish, all in one go. Does this sound like your daily blogging routine?

There will be days, unfortunately, when this routine is interrupted: when inspiration doesn’t come, when words feel like they’re being scraped from the bottom of your skull, when the computer restarts itself and you lose everything, or when there’s a show on TV you just can’t tear yourself away from… That’s life, 

Except WHOPPEEE!!! 

I was down 2 lbs this week!

That's a total of 16 lbs since I started this on return from my trip to Ella's in early Dec.

Still in the Game!

I haven't had a weigh-in for over a week now and was quite surprised to see that I had actually lost two pounds.

That keeps me in the game...the weight loss game that is.

Check out his new fat lose pic...it's encouragaing.

I'm determined to prove to Ella that the 2 lbs is not just a loss from being sick the other day.

This is FAT, not rehashed food...............................................I hope.

On a different topic I have spoken in recent blogs about my cousin who has terminal cancer and I was visiting the past few days - well I just had an update earlier tonight and was told that she had anywhere between a few hours to 3 days.

I am so happy that I was able to fly down and see her. That I was able to give her a hug and kiss, and let her know she is loved.  Just sitting in the bedroom with her and including her in our conversation, watching her smile and responding when she was asked a question will stay with me. It is nice to remember someone with a smile on their face as your last image.

I hear that there is going to be a new pilot show on television, it's about Texan Vampires and thier quest to lose weight. It will be a battle of Queen Ella the fierce warrior Vampress against all!

Regulation of the diet industry, or better titled ‘How to Spot a Scam’.

Lose five pounds a week. Drop 30 pounds in 30 days. Natural weight loss without dieting.

If these claims sound too good to be true, that's because they are. Misleading weight-loss advertising is everywhere - magazines, radio, television, the Internet and supplement stores.

Claims that promise a fast track to weight loss with little or no effort prey on consumers' hopes - that this new program or formula is finally the answer.

The fact that the multibillion-dollar North American weight-loss industry is made up of far-fetched claims promising quick, easy results has prompted an editorial in this week's Canadian Medical Association Journal calling for regulation of commercial weight-loss programs.

The magic-bullet approach to losing weight won't go away unless weight-loss programs and providers are accredited to ensure quality. There are evidence-based treatment guidelines for safe and effective weight loss. In order to protect consumers from harm - and from being swindled - companies and individuals selling weight-loss services should meet set standards. Weight-loss products should also be subject to regulatory approval before they're available on store shelves.

People don't fail diets. Diets fail people. You need to make changes to your eating and exercise habits that work today, six months from now, and years down the road. Success at weight loss means maintaining that loss over the long term.

Other industries have to follow the guidelines for misleading or false advertising so why shouldn’t this industry also be held accountable.

The following red flags usually mean a program or product is too good to be true:

·         Quick! Easy! Miraculous! Quick, Dramatic, Miraculous results. Safe weight-loss plans promote a weight loss of about two pounds a week.

·         Guarantees "easy" weight loss. The only way to lose weight is to burn off more calories than you eat, a task that requires self-discipline.

·         Money Back Guarantee.  Even those companies willing to return your money know that very few people will bother to return the product.

·         Offers enticing testimonials and anecdotes. Testimonials are easy to get and are not based on scientific evidence - they are biased and unreliable.

UPDATE: I just finished posting this blog when I checked my emails and had this message which I felt was so appropriate to include in the blog.

"Good for you — you're ready to lose weight and eliminate false fat with my doctor-proven “Three Simple Steps to Thin!” —Susan Lark, M.D.

FREE Weight Loss tips, click here. 

(the link above kept taking me to the same page where you must give email and name info)

If you are a woman over 40, you are probably making a very common mistake in your efforts to lose weight. But if you make one simple change to correct it, you'll shed pounds quicker than you ever thought possible.

You see, once we hit 40, our body chemistry changes, and it becomes harder to digest certain foods. This change in digestion has a direct, and dramatic impact on your weight, causing inflammation that packs on pounds and pounds of what I refer to as "false fat"!

That's why you need diet advice designed especially for women over 40. I'm Susan Lark, M.D., and I put women's needs first. My weight loss approach takes into account the critical changes in body chemistry almost ALL women over 40 experience.

It's easy to get rid of false fat, if you know what foods trigger inflammation.

As far as I know, no "diet" has ever done this. You can lose extra pounds easily... and never regain them. It's so easy - get absolutely free my "Three Simple Steps to Thin" TODAY - and begin shedding unwanted pounds right away. Simply fill in the information and click below to go straight to your free tips.

You're going to love this!"

This is the type of advertising which I think is so shameful and costly to women who will shell out a lot of money for her diet.  I will need to search for more info on this diet and assertion.

It will be nice to get home

Today I met 3 of my cousins and their children (all in their thirties). There was 10 of us for lunch. We had gone to a seafood restaurant, and after throwing up this morning, the last thing I wanted was a fish sandwich or to even get the smell of shrimp.

I ordered a house salad, which was not very good - I had 3 bites and stopped eating.

After lunch we went to visit my cousin who is dying. It was great to see her and to be able to let her know she is loved and being thought about.

Dinner tonight was at the Ale House - I had the prime rib and only ate half of it.  My stomach is still feeling a little off.

I'm flying home tomorrow, to snow I understand.

I'm looking forward to getting home and back into my own routine.

It's been over a week since I've stepped onto a scale, so I'm not sure if I've lost weight, or stayed the same.  I'll know Thursday morning.

Up Comes the Sushi

I'm not sure if it was the sushi or just being here to see my cousin who is dying, but I had the worse lump in the middle of my chest last night and was feeling a little nauseous through the night.

This morning I still felt a little off and while in the bathroom started to feel nauseous again, so I did what anyone would do. I threw up!

I feel so much better now.

Wonder how many lbs I just lost?

The above line is meant as a joke - I am not about to start purging for weight loss!

It's 9:00 and I'm still lounging around in bed on the computer - guess I should get up and start the day... maybe I'll get outside for a walk.

Ella - did you get a chance to wear the pants with dangling sea shells?

Stone Slab Ice Cream - passed

I feel pretty good about today.

I am visiting my family down south and tonight my mother, her friend from Toronto and myself went for sushi. On the way into the restaurant I noticed a few doors down the stone slab ice cream store.

Have you ever had the ice cream from these places. It is so rich and decadent. 

So I had decided that I was going to have this one time treat..just a small one, in a cup.

By the time I finished the sushi I was full, so when the other two suggested we go for ice cream I asked them if they weren't full from sushi - we had shared a huge boat.  Both my mother and her friend said they were full, but they would still eat the ice cream.

But I was full, what was the point of eating more food...not hunger? 

Then it must be just a craving. 

Is this what I wanted to do?

No!!!

So we took a pass on the ice cream.

BUT, I am a little disappointed with a conversation with my cousin S. I was joking with her about our being heavy. She's had a few medical complications in her life and has gained a lot of weight. Cousin S has two very slim sisters - and a very slim mother, who is always extremely critical of S's lack of willpower to lose weight and is always mentioning it to her.

What is with well intentioned mothers - as if we don't know that we are overweight.

We are overweight not stupid and blind.

The reason I'm disappointed in myself is I know that you are supposed to think positively about yourself and not put yourself down. So why did I start making fun of the fact that we are the heavy ones of the family. I will have to think about that one!

This is not really a pleasure trip. 

My oldest cousin L is 61 yrs old and has terminal cancer.  Not living in the same country I only see my relatives about once a year, and I really wanted to come and see cousin L before it was too late.  

It's sad. 

We are supposed to be going over to L's house tomorrow, but she took a turn for the worse today and is now in constant hospice care at home. Hospice care only starts at the very end of life.

I'll call her in the morning and if she still feels like seeing us, then we will go.

What do you say to someone who is dying? 

Do you just go and sit with them, say nothing?

Is it okay to cry in front of them?

I will go and just be there for her, that is all I can do!

Maybe tomorrow I will feel like having some of the ice cream - but I feel strongly about myself and my ability to pass on these useless emotional crutches - I will need to try and visualize that scale with all the butter on it...do I really want it to start tipping back the other way. That ice cream is probably one full block of butter!

Time to go...long day tomorrow - meeting one cousin and her daughter for lunch in Ft Lauderdale, then going to see the sick cousin and her two sisters in North Miami and then going to another cousins for dinner at their place in South Miami Beach- and after all that we then come back to my brothers in Boca.

That's about it...pat on the back for skipping the ice cream.

Consistency and Motivation

Are you consistent because you’re motivated, or are you motivated because you’re consistent?

How do you use them together and what is this mysterious thing called motivation which other people seem to have in abundance?

Which comes first consistency or motivation? Consistency because with it you see the results you want.
What is the purpose of consistency…it gives you motivation.

There must be an end point though, i.e. “when I hit this goal I will change my routine”, or “I have a 10K race to train for”.  The end point can be cycled around to stay motivated.

If something is really important you will find a commitment.

Like brushing your teeth. You do it twice a day. Some days you do a better job than others, some days you just do it quickly and others you do every little tooth and then floss. Exercise is not even a daily commitment. Like brushing our teeth, some days you just quickly go through your routine and don’t do such a thorough job, you just don’t feel like putting in a full effort, but you still exercise.

Today’s commitment and motivation theme ties in with yesterdays positive self-talk.

I had a commitment last night to my curling team so I went, even though I wasn’t thrilled about going. After a great 2 ½ hr game we go into the lounge area where we eat and drink.  I had my usual soda water and noticed that someone had put a plate of potato chips on our table. Now anyone who knows me really well is aware that I consider, or did consider, potato chips as a major food group!  I thought about all the hard work I had been doing and how great I felt about the healthy eating and exercising…I took two of the chips and placed the plate far on the other side of the table. I felt no desire for the chips after that I was quite happy with the grapes and cheese.

Commitment today: I woke up and saw a blue sunny sky but the temp was not as mild as yesterday, yet I put on my hiking boots and grabbed my ipod and proceeded to do a 25 minute high intensity (for me it was high intensity) walk run session. The longest 60 second full out run just happened to take place when I was at the foot of the steepest hill…almost died on that one!

Feel great about doing this. Although, my foot which was broken last summer, hurts afterwards when I walk in my hiking boots. I think I need to go today and buy a new pair of hiking shoes which are lower and less weight than my boots.

This purchase will lead to a motivation….use them or waste the money!

Does this consistency and motivation work for you? Which comes first and how does it work for you?

Rewiring Your Mind

Do you say things such as "I think I look fat", "Nothing works", "Exercise is hard", or "my schedule is so busy"?

This is a type of hurtful self-talk that goes through your head and needs to be changed.

Positive self-talk goes more like this, "I am lean", "I always find time to exercise", or "losing fat comes easy to me" and "I always use proper food to fuel my metabolism".

In order to gain confidence you need to ingrain this positive self-talk into your subconscious.

Say these positive statements at least three times a day, over a 30 day period.

Don't use any negativity such as "yeah, like that will ever happen!"

Most negative self-talk comes from other people, from past comments we have heard during our lives and from when we were young.  "Oh don't wear that it makes you look a bit chunky", "doesn't she look slim, if you ate a bit less you could look like her", or "don't be so lazy, go outside and exercise".  Sometimes you hear parent's saying these things to their small children, other times it's the husband or girlfriend/boyfriend who makes such comments..sometimes a complete stranger walking by comments.

Learn to turn these negative comments around, "That is not like me..."

As an example, when you feel tired and slow say to yourself "that's not like me, I am fit and like to move and exercise".

Friends and family can be the worse source of negativity.

"One slice or pizza wont' kill you, it has cheese on it and that's healthy".

Don't tell them that you  are trying to lose weight and they won't make any sabotage comments. 

When they order pizza you can simply say "I don't feel like having pizza and I enjoy salad".

Weight loss takes effort and while you can't control outside sources and comments you can certainly control your own thoughts.  Just think when your mind brings up a negative thought, "Is this helping me or hurting me".

It took all my life to be what I am today. I know it will take at least 30 days to rewire and change my mindset.

Here are some of the statements I will use to rewire my brain, you can use these or others which suit your situation:

• I allow only positive words to enter my mind
• I fuel my body with proper nutrition to increase my metabolism and increase fat loss
• I always find time to exercise
• I enjoy exercise
• Exercise revitalizes me
• I always feel better after I exercise

I have printed these out and put them on the fridge - I will repeat them at least 3 times a day out loud.

I have read all about making written contracts and positive thinking, but I feel this small step may work best for me.

While thinking about all this stuff I realized that my brains rewiring to the negative side (is this like the dark side Luke) came when I stopped working. 

I remember being embarrassed about saying I didn't work and was a stay at home mom. My work so defined me. I loved my job and enjoyed the social interaction it provided.

The longer I stayed home and just took care of kids, the less I took care of myself ... especially after they started school. My life became wrapped up in theirs. I think my self-esteem took a downturn at this time.

Outside comments?...My husband once said I should not wear a certain pair of shorts...and I recall that was one of the last summers I felt like wearing shorts.

A little girl once passed me on the beach while in my bathing suit and commented to her mother about the heavy lady...that was one of the last summers I wore a bathing suit.

And I never realized how these outside comments controlled my thinking and life.

Okay, positive thoughts are the order of the day and it's time to go get ready for curling.

What a wonderful morning. The weather cooperated and was mild..in fact it was so mild I was too hot in my ski jacket and had to unzip the jacket and liner vest.

Cleo and I went up and down the hills kicking up the the mud as we walked - squatting and lunging as we went uphill.  

It's a good thing we live in a rural area and have some roads where there is no traffic because we would ever look stupid stopping half way up a hill and starting to do squats.

The only downfall - at this time of year when the snow is melting all over the roads and walking paths you are having to avoid the dog poop that was hidden by the snow.

I was supposed to be going to the squash club tonight, but after walking for over an hour this morning I've decided to hit the courts tomorrow instead.

I'm hoping that I can get onto a flight to Florida over the coming weekend. My cousin Louise has terminal cancer and I really want to see her before it's too late.  Her son is having a surprise party for her on Sat to celebrate her life.  He son said he has been to so many life celebrations after someone died, that he would like his mother to know how much everyone respects and loves her.  

My brother from Australia will be in Florida at the same time that I'm trying to get there and has already arranged to meet up with some of our other cousins.  

Louise is the oldest of all the cousins and will be the first one to die of our generation.

We all grew up very close and maintained friendships with each other, even though we all ended up living so far apart.

I am also going to lose my 'conscious' for a few days...Ella is going on a cruise for 4 days.  I am really thrilled for her because she has always looked fabulous to me, but even she works hard at keeping in shape and tries to lose a few pounds. Well, she fit into some 'small' pants that were in her closet hiding. Dangling sea-shells Ella? So, I'm really pleased for her and proud ... maybe it was the wii !

I hope tomorrow it is just as beautiful as today...I would skip the squash club for an outside walk with intervals.  

Keeping fingers crossed.

Weight, Body Fat and Water

In Dec I had replaced my old scale with a new digital one…all the bells and whistles. You know the type, it gives  your weight, body fat and water percentages. 

I don’t normally use these last two functions, but this week decided to see what fluctuations my body can go through within the week…so each day I recorded my weight, body fat and water content.

While following these numbers I was of course focusing on the fact that the weight was not budging.  Not an ounce.

Maybe my new scale was broken.

How could it stay within the ounce for an entire week, yet the fat and water measurements changed every time I would get off and on the scale.  Which some mornings became a ritual. Get on the scale, record the numbers then step off the scale: repeat procedure: repeat procedure again.

What did I learn from this exercise?

Squat!

My fat and water content changed by over 15% just stepping off and on a few times.  This morning my body fat ranged from 34% - 46%, water ranged from 31% - 41%.

I learned not to bother, or trust the fat and water feedback and the major lesson learned was that I was placing too much emphasis on the scale and to back off. In the future I will only step onto the scale Mondays for my weigh-in.

During all this stepping off and on the scale each morning I was feeling a little morose thinking I was not losing any weight, but this morning when I went downstairs to fill in my daily journal and flipped to last Monday to fill in the “End of Week” numbers I had in fact lost weight!

I lost 1.2 lbs this past week!

I even checked the prior weeks to ensure I hadn’t made a mistake, but each week has shown a gradual decrease of 0.4 – 1.5 lbs.

This is week 12^th since I started keeping my journal and find it really helps me keep track of where I’m going wrong…as if I don’t know…and how much I am working out…or not!

I can stop beating myself up now and continue staying on track. The weather is beautiful here today and the temperature has risen to almost 0C.  I really looking forward to nicer weather and being able to get back into my long walks to the river and through the forest trails.

It’s definitely an UP day!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good 

I finally got off my keezer and computer and went to the squash club. To my astonishment - I thought it would be empty - it was packed with kids. They are running a youth squash program on weekends.  I then thought I would take my ipod and climb onto a spin cycle and work out, but the spin room was jam packed with guys dressed in racing gear taking up all the bikes. As if I would have joined them anyhow. So, I went back downstairs and lumbered up onto a treadmill, set it up on it's steepest angle and walked for an hour uphill while bopping along to my music.

    
 

The Bad

 On the way home hubby called that a friend was staying over for dinner, so I ran into this fabulous bakery and bought a family sized tourtiere and before paying I noticed these massive apple pies. Now I am not a pie eater but hubby sure is and I thought this would be a great treat.

The Ugly

I ate the pie!      

                 

After all the good effort on the treadmill I ate that damn pie - and I don't like pie!

At least the whip topping I put on it was low calorie.  Did I forget to mention the whip topping in The Bad.

Must have slipped my mind.

I have not been eating a lot of calories - today was highest in the week at 1860 - but I have not been eating real meals and tending to fall back on protein shakes. I really need to stop drinking my calories but I do like my chocolate protein smoothies...especially while driving.