At the risk of looking foolish in your mental images ...

I try to incorporate exercise into my whole day. While I cook, clean, and even brush my teeth, I keep my tummy tight, with a healthy posture through my back and shoulders. When I'm standing still, I do mini leg lifts, or rise up and down on my toes. Is that too dorky? Here's one of my favorite ab strengthening exercises: I stand straight, with my belly tight. Then I lean to the side (like you would if you were playing "I'm a Little Teapot"), but lean from the waist, so your hips stay in the same place, and your upper body bends over. As I lean over, I inhale through my nose, and then, exhaling with exertion, I rise back up straight, using only my ab muscles to lift my body. Does that make sense? Don't make me post a video of myself doing it! :)

I don't know how much of a difference this actually makes in my overall health, but it feels good, and when I feel like my body is "tight," I'm less likely to eat poorly. Just a thought.

Running!

Comment from John on my last post:

I always hated running. I would finally commit, head out, and run some randomly selected distance. Inevitably, I would feel horrible for the next couple of days.

Finally, it dawned on me that maybe I needed to be smart about it. That's when I found Couch to 5K on-line. By the end of the 9 weeks, I was running 3 miles, 3 times a week and I loved it. I felt accomplished, capable, in-shape etc. I went on to run a half-marathon later.

I am a big believer in exercise plans. People tend to believe they are stronger and more fit than they really are. Whatever exercise you pick, work into it slowly and it'll work better.

Me Gusta Mueve, Mueve

Most of my posts so far have been about food choices, but another important key to health and fitness is exercise (oh, and sleep is the other element to health and fitness, but since I'm up way too late writing this, maybe I'm not the best person to talk!).

About 10 years ago, when I still wasn't exercising regularly, I had a doctor comment to me that, in order to thrive, our bodies require: food, water, sleep, and exercise. It was a sort of epiphany moment for me, since I'd always considered exercise optional, like a hobby.

Sports: hated them.
Aerobics: someone else's hobby. Not mine.
Walking: only if I didn't have a car.
Dancing: I liked that, but it was just a casual hobby.
Running: makes my head and lungs hurt. John swears it gets better with practice.
Swimming: No, thanks.
Biking: mmm... maybe.

After I had babv #1, my dear friend and fitness buddy Lucy encouraged me to come try out her "hobby": a dance aerobics class at the gym. I was extremely skeptical, but after trying it a few times, and thinking about it a lot, I finally did it! Within a couple of months, I was in the best shape of my life.

Joining a gym is generally a big commitment. And not a cheap one. Lucy taught me that our health is an investment. I can either invest the time, money, and effort on exercise now, or spend it later on medical care.

The trick with exercise is to find something you genuinely enjoy, and then schedule time for it. Make a standing appointment with your exercise of choice, and do everything you can to keep it. (I'm such a hypocrite with this one, by the way! I'm working on it...)

After baby #2, I joined Curves and actually quit several months later. It wasn't the kind of workout I needed or enjoyed, but I know a lot of people I met there swore by it (in other words, try it, if it's something that appeals to you).

After that, I bought several Firm videos, and those are actually pretty good. However, I personally can't exercise at home. My kids interrupt me, I see dirty dishes I "should" be washing, etc. etc. For me, I need a complete change of scenery, with other people cheering me on, challenging me to do just a few more sit-ups! But that's just me. My friend Caryn works out at home every morning, super early, and that works for her (so in other words, try it before making a commitment to a gym).

I love the gym. I love the friends I make there. I love how it challenges me to do just a little more. I love how I feel when I come home. It's my way of pampering myself with time away from my kids and housework. Love it.

I would easily put my decision to join the gym six years ago in the top 5 best decisions in my life.

That said, it might not be your thing. What is your thing? What has worked for you in the past? What appeals to you now?

¿Te Gusta Mueve, Mueve?

Temptations and Successes

I did it! No cheesecake or pumpkin bread for me yesterday. However, there is still more of both left (guess what you're having for lunch today, Jenna and Alisa!)...

None for me! Thanks for all your fabulous support!

Sugar Confessions

I consumed way too much sugar (yet again) this past weekend. argh.

We still have chocolate chip pumpkin bread and pumpkin cheesecake in our fridge. Now, I want you all to listen to me:

I. am. NOT. going. to. eat. any. (more.) of. it.

I am saving myself for fudge. Do you hear???

Telling someone a goal like this has always helped me to have better restraint. Anything you'd like to publicly state that you won't eat today?

My Fitness Pal

I don't count calories, or track what I eat in any way. I'm too lazy, and not obsessed with losing weight enough. Probably more lazy than anything.

My Fitness Pal is a tool I found that makes it easier for me to track what I'm eating. I tried it almost two years ago, and was very interested to see that I only really went over my suggested calorie intake on days that I ate treats of any kind.

My suggestion? Track what you eat for a couple of days. You might be surprised by what you're eating. It has helped me make better food choices.

Anti-Perfectionism

Several people have commented to me that this is the worst time of year to be off sweets. I say that this is the best time of year to go off sweets, because there are so many to partake of!

Flylady talks a lot about perfectionism and how it literally cripples us. For example, say your house looks like a post-tornado/war/toddler-zone. You know that you'll need an hour of uninterrupted time, not to mention mental and physical energy, to get everything cleaned up. Because you don't have the time or energy to tackle it all right then, what do you do?

Nothing? I have often thrown in the towel in moments like these, because I know I can't make my house "perfect" right then. If I can't do it all, why do anything? Why even start if I can't finish?

Flylady's point is that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Wouldn't five minutes be better than nothing? This all-or-nothing-perfectionism revelation has changed the way I think about a lot of things.

That's how I look at being off sugar during the holidays, too. Refusing even just a little sugar is better than nothing, right? So what if you can't do it "perfectly" sugar-free! Wouldn't it be better to only consume 2,000 calories worth of fudge this holiday season, rather than 5,000? ☺

For me, eliminating sweets completely makes me feel bitter and rebellious. I don't want to give them up for life. But I do want to cut way, way down. For lots of reasons. For the rest of my life, I will probably be "off" sugar, but still enjoying them a little now and then.

Sugar Hierarchy

My comfort food of choice is sugar. Salty things don't tempt me, but sugar? That's my vice. Whenever I throw myself a piti-party because I'm tired, or my kids are cranky, or I'm feeling busy or stressed, etc., I turn to sugar because "I want/deserve/earned/need a treat." But not just any treat, it has to be worth-it-yummy. And I put a lot of thought into what's considered "worth-it."

For me, there's a sugar hierarchy, from stuff like Smarties and jelly beans at the very yucky bottom, to packaged cookies, then ice cream, pies, and candy bars as you go up. At the top are things like homemade ooey-gooey brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Finally, above it all, as if it's floating in the air, with a glowing halo of light around it, is plain, chocolate fudge. No nuts necessary, forget the frill, just give it to me plain. Mmm...

In a weird way, thinking about it this way helps me choose to not eat any sweets at all. Because if I'm going to splurge (and suffer the "fluffy" consequences), then I want it to be the tastiest thing ever, and that's nothing I can buy on a feeling-pitiful-impulse. It has to be homemade (which can't be impulsive). Or fudge. And lucky for me, you can't get fudge from a drive-thru.

What's your vice? Can you replace it with something less impulsively-accessible?

Thanksgiving Blues

So, you know how I went off sugar? Yeah. I didn't do so well over Thanksgiving. My mom made two pumpkin rolls! And I made pumpkin and blackberry pies! And my friend made pecan cheesecake pie! The fork practically shoveled itself into my mouth.

And after all was said and eaten, I felt "fluffy" again. argh.

So this is my thinking: sure, it tasted good while it was in my mouth, and even for a few minutes afterwards, but eventually, the taste goes away, and all you're left with are the calories. And yes, the pies and pumpkin rolls were yummy, but not that yummy. Not worth-it-yummy, for sure.

I'm back off sugar, and feeling less fluffy, now that I don't have any treats in the house.