Whoops She Did It Again!

Thankfully, I am not talking about Britney Spears.....but I am talking about my trainer, Kathi.  Yesterday she changed it up yet again!  This time she had us doing isometric weight training.  Try these:

• pick up 2 - 7.5 lb weights (feel free to use heavier weights if you can!).  Raise your arms out into a T shape and count to 20 very slowly.  Follow that with 10 lateral raises at regular speed. 
• hold those same weights, with your arms bent at a 90 degree angle to the body pointing forward, palms up, then raise your arms slightly as though your were carrying a large serving platter away from your body.  Hold that position and count slowly to 20.  Follow that with 10 raises as you raise your arms overhead to a straight arm and return to the original position with your elbows at your waist, 90 degrees to the body, palms up through the entire move.
• do a forward lunge and hold it for a slow count of 10.  Do that 10 times alternating legs, followed by 10 regular alternating lunges.   

You can begin to get the picture.  Every movement was preceded by a slow isometric version of the regular move.  It was GREAT!  I always love an extra challenge.  This morning I can feel some of my muscles, so I am happy.

I must confess, as I was doing the lateral raises and my arms were out in a T shape, all I could think about was the Olympic gymnasts who hold that position between the rings.  I think they call it an iron cross.  Boy, am I a wimp compared to those folks!  Still, I am happy with my efforts, Olympic level or not!!!

I hope if you are on the east coast that you are out of harm's way with the impending storm!

Desire for everyone to be safe from life's storms. Dedication to try isometric weight lifting.   Discipline to hold it while counting slowly to 20.

Restructuring Is Good!

You have probably heard a great deal about how companies restructure for better efficiency and effectiveness.  How often do we look at our own routine and find a way to restructure for better results?

Well, I am doing just that this weekend.  In addition to "restructuring" my hair style (hence the updated photo), I am looking at my "normal" weekly schedule in an effort to find more calm and peace during my hectic days.  My typical day is to wake at 5:30, leave for the office at 6:30, then to try to leave the office in time to do an hour workout every evening (yoga, cardio and/or weight training) and be home before 7pm, shower, fix a light meal and then get in bed by 9:30 so I can get up and do it all over again.  By Friday eve, I am simply wiped out.

So, I am thinking about how to restructure my evenings.  When I feel the most stress is when I have to rush home to change and get to a class or a scheduled session with my trainer.  So I thought..... what if I could reduce my stress by having fewer weekday evening commitments?  I still want and need to exercise every day, that will not change.  So, I am going to go back to doing my own yoga with the help of a DVD set that Allen gave me for my birthday.  That way, I don't have to stress about either packing my yoga stuff into the car on Wednesday mornings or rushing home in time to change and get back out to the class.  Similarly, I am going to cut back to one session with my trainer per week on Saturday mornings.  For the mid-week session I am going to do a workout at home on my new Step 360, awesome cardio (which I need more of) and again eliminating the stress of needing to be "on time" for yet another appointment.

These changes will open up the possibility of increased calm and peace, while still allowing me to achieve my fitness goals.  I will let you know how it goes!

Desire to increase the calm.  Dedication to keep exercising.  Discipline to restructure and try something new.

The Beat Goes On.....

....and it is too bad, for sure.  This week, a friend of mine who is not even 30 yet, told me she is going to do a cleanse.  This young woman is a wonderful person, a professional, a yogi and a delight to be around.  I asked her what type of cleanse and why?  She said a friend of hers had lost 30 pounds in 60 days by using a product purchased on the internet for $200.  My friend is as slim as a reed and could possibly be under weight.  She definitely does not have any weight to drop.  We spoke about the dangers of not knowing what was in the "cleanse" product and of her not needing to adjust her weight.  She is convinced she needs to loose weight.

So, I say the beat goes on......another wonderful woman, a generation younger than I am, as she is struggling with her self-image, for no good apparent reason.   Let's all work towards a future that teaches girls to love and accept themselves.  Let's first begin with ourselves.  Let's be sure to shower ourselves with love, compassion, acceptance and healthy choices.  I don't mean that it is wrong to want to be at a lower healthier weight.  Many of us can gain health benefits by striving for a lower weight in a healthy way.  Let's just love and accept ourselves along the journey. 

Not to get all Gandi on you, or anything, but we have to be the change we want to see in the world.  I want my friend to look in the mirror and be in love with her amazing self.  So guess what, I go first and lead the way!  JOIN ME!!!

Desire to be in love with me.  Dedication to being a positive example in this world.  Discipline to focus on health and fitness every step of the way.

A New Year, A New Number

When I go to the gym today (right after posting this message to you), it will be the last day of being the age I am today.  Tomorrow when I climb onto my cardio machine of choice, I will enter a new number when the machine prompts me to enter my personal data (age and weight) to calculate the calorie burn.  For some reason, this ritual, above all others, sticks with me and makes me reflect on that passage of time.

I guess I don't have to enter it correctly, or at all for that matter.  But, in the end, it is just a number and one I am quite grateful for!  After all, according to Madame O (Oprah), I am just in my 30's!  Remember when she declared that 50 is the new 30?  Well, I am choosing to embrace that mentality! 

Our healthy journey should include time for reflection and the opportunity to frame our abundance in whatever way works for each of us.  So, in honor of my birthday this year, would you please pause and reflect on the abundance in your life and frame it in a way that makes you smile, dance and sing from your heart!  THANK YOU!  BEST PRESENT EVER!!!

Desire to smile, dance and sing.  Dedication to share life with loved ones. Discipline to practice frequent gratitude.

Welcome to NPM!

Can you believe it is October tomorrow?????  Krikey!  Where has 2012 gone????  Since tomorrow is Ocotber 1, I thought I would talk a little about NPM, known to many as National Patty Month!  My birthday is the 8th.  When we married, my hubbie said the 8th was National Patty Day....so sweet, no?  Then we discovered that one day is simply not enough, so it switched to National Patty Week and, over time, has evolved to be NPM!

Why the childish focus on my birthday, you might be asking?  Well, I am one of those rare women/people that embraces birthdays with a passion!  Simply put, I believe that having a birthday beats the crap out of not having a birthday! 

17 years ago I lost my BFF to breast cancer.  She made me promise, literally, to make a big deal about having my birthday, because she knew she was not going to have anymore.  Of course, it was wildly sad at the time, but now I honor Monica by making a big damn deal every year when October rolls around!

Clearly, aging is not for the faint of heart.  The challenge to be healthy only accelerates as the years fly by.  I once heard a comedian say that if you are over 50 (which I am) and you wake up in the morning and say that nothing hurts, you are either lying or you are dead!  Ha-ha.  (queue the drum rif in the background!) 

You need to keep monitoring caloric intake because our metabolism slows down.  You need to keep working out even more to combat the metabolism thing, even in the face of creaky joints.  You need to find ways to get a good night sleep and laugh in the face of menopause interupted sleep........and the challenges don't end there.  Nonetheless, I still LOVE my birthday. 

So during Ocotber, please join me in enjoying your workouts, eathing healthy to promote greater longevity and being good to yourself, because you are worth it!  We all are!!!!

Desire to celebrate my birthday.  Dedication to a healthy journey to generate more birthdays.  Discipline to celebrate my birthday with moderation.   

Brussel Sprouts on a Stick!!!

Brussel sprouts on a stick sounds like something deep fried at a county fair, right?  It brings to mind...corn dogs on a stick and all the other super unhealthy food that is inedible! 

Well, yesterday, my hubbie went to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things on our list.  In the produce section, they were selling fresh stalks of brussel sprouts that had not yet been harvested from the "stick" or stalk it grows on.  He brought me home 2 full stalks.  I was over the moon happy!!!

While he was in Trader Joe's, I was in Jimbo's, our local organic "health food" store.  Brussel sprouts were on my list because I wanted to roast them as snacks to watch today while I watch the Emmy arrivals (yes, I am back to eating very healthy to shed my vacation jelly belly!).  Jimbo's had brussel sprouts.........are you ready.......wait for it.......at $7.99 a pound!!!!!  So, needless to say, I did not buy them.  Too rich for  my blood!

Imagine my surprise when Allen said "I bought you a present!".  And imagine my subsequent delight when he presented me with 2 stalks of fresh brussel sprouts!  Hurray.  The real back story is that he does not like brussel sprouts, so much so, that when we married, I had to promise to love, honor cherish and promise to never bring brussel sprouts (or cauliflower) into the house. (His Mom used to murder brussel sprouts and cauliflower and he is not ready to let go of those food memories.)  Over the past 25 years, we have made great strides!  Now he is buying me brussel sprouts!  YOOOO-HOOOO!

As I type this post, I have 3 trays of veges roasting in the oven - brussel sprouts, onions and butternut squash.  Not only will I have great healthy munching for the Emmy arrivals show, I willl have yummy roasted veges to go with my dinner all week long!

Desire to snack while watching a favorite TV show. Dedication to preparing something nutritious.  Discipline to get right back on the healthy eating horse.

Lobstah, Lobstah, Lobstah - Get in My Belly!

I am posting from the front porch of the ocean front Beach House in Kennebunk, Maine.  It is a stunningly beautiful sunny day.  We walked into town and back, a five mile walk.  At least we had a little exercise!  We stopped for lunch and I had a cup of lobster stew which was just a milky broth loaded with lobster meat.  Then I had a lobster roll.  Ridiculously delicious!

I know I will have lots of vacation calories to work off, but this land of lobster is worth it!  It truly is something we cannot get at home!

Thank goodness for this perfect weather.  We will walk into town again for dinner, which will likely involve more lobster!  Monday we fly back to San Diego where I will embrace unlimited veges and lean protein again.  For now, I have two more days of vacation decadence to enjoy!  It has been an amazing 25th anniversary celebration.  We will not forget it!

Desire to be decadent on vacation.  Dedication to enjoying local fare.  Discipline to return to real life.