Good Body Buddies

So do you stress during the holidays? Maybe not all the time, but maybe just before you are hosting a party? Or buying gifts? Don't skip exercise! No matter how busy, and how frantic your life gets during this busy, busy time get some exercise in your day. Exercise is one the absolute BEST stress reduction techniques. Getting that heart rate up, pouring on a little sweat will help you feel better physically and emotionally. Right now, today, the sun is shining so going outside and getting some vitamin D the old fashioned way is a great way to exercise and reduce stress, too. Cold, yucky weather? Hit the gym or hit the living room! Use your jump-rope, play one of those exercise DVDs you own, or run up and down your stairs.

I was stressing, just before Thanksgiving, about cleaning the house, preparing for overnight guests, buying food, prepping food, all that stuff, and thought I was too busy to exercise. So one morning I just said, enough! I'm exercising! And I felt so much better! It let me let off some steam, by strengthening my muscles, my attitude relaxed and everything about my perspective improved.

So don't let all the work of the holidays get you down, jump up and exercise! Got sunshine! Go outside and enjoy it. I'll see you soon, and hopefully you will be fit and happy!

So I have bad news tomorrow. Tomorrow is June 30 and that is the goal date I set for myself to have lost 20 pounds (since January). I will not have lost 20 pounds by tomorrow. However, I have lost 9 pounds.

So was my goal unreasonable? No, not really. What went wrong? I ate too much! I also am tweaking thyroid. It might need a little more tweaking.

So does this mean I give up? Absolutely not! It means I re-evaluate, re-dedicate and re-try.

Summertime is my big challenge, due to wonderful fruit coming out of my garden (my raspberries are on right now). I need to eat them without the ice cream, etc. I have been trying more to eat them with yogurt and other ways and they’re still wonderful and delicious!

Friends of mine are having a pool party mid-July. I will shoot for 4 more pounds by then.

So doing the math, that only leaves 7 more pounds to hit my overall 20 pound goal! I should be able to knock that off by end of October! Okay! That’s all do-able. I will check in with my Wii Mii more often, chart my progress and watch what I eat and drink. I’m moving TONS more - between exercise with Kate, golfing and gardening. So I will watch what goes into my mouth.

Moral of the story? Deadlines might come and go, but we need to keep moving in a positive direction. I don’t feel awful about missing this deadline. I actually feel pretty good! So that’s good news. The weight will keep coming off! Then you can have a better chance of seeing those rock-hard abs! Right now they are disguised under the fat covering them!

Let me know how you have dealt with deadlines and goals, missing them or hitting them!

 

So my Mom lives with us, here in our home, along with my husband and 15 year old daughter (her horse, two dogs and a cat). My birthday is in July, Mom's birthday is in August. So we talked about it, and bought a Wii Fit (we already have the Wii unit). I just brought it home Tuesday and we have had so much fun with it! Mom and I have made our "Mii" (the cartoon character you use to do stuff on the Wii) and have registered and set goals. Kate came over and put herself on it too.

It helps you keep track of your activities, besides just what you do on the Wii and tracks your BMI, weight and balance. I don't like the age it gave me (six years older than I am) but that's okay, the YOU docs gave me 8 years younger and their questionnaire was more indepth. So all 4 of our little "Mii"s are lined up in the Plaza - my daughter's nice and thin, mine's the chunkiest and Mom's is looking pretty average weight. We can pick our "Mii" and go do activities: Yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance games. There's bio-feedback on several of them, so it helps you adjust your movements accordingly.

Now I need to learn how to add Georgia's "Mii" and my friend in Spokane. I guess you can create a whole community of "Mii"s to share scores and activities with. I will also try and photograph our "Mii"s to add here, so you can see them.

I've heard lots of good things from people who have this and use this. My friend with MS says the Wii Fit's exercises are similar to the ones that Physical Therapy had her doing. Someone I just talked to is actually doing Wii Fit at her Physical Therapy appointments! Another woman I heard about, bought one to use, during her long, dark, cold winters in upper Alaska and lost 40 pounds! I can see how it really works on balance and posture.

It's funny how a commitment to a goal, to a silly electronic cartoon character has become a real commitment to my physical goals. It actually has made me more mindful of what I eat! After all, I'm accountable now, to that goofy, cartoon Wii board that talks to me! I say, whatever works! Plus, if it's fun, why not? So June 17 is our first goal date (lose 2 pounds in 2 weeks). I will let you know if Mom and I hit it.

Last night Sophie joined us and gave us some hoolahoop tips: stand on one foot to catch another hoolahoop. She jumped on during Mom's "Mii" workout and upped Mom's score. It was fun to watch. Nice to have a cross-generational activity where we all had fun!

Someone asked if we have two balance boards. No, right now it's just the one. Not sure we need two yet. Definitely need to move where it is set up if we get two.

If you don't have one, but have a friend who has one, see if you can go play. You just might get your exercise buddy, through the Wii network! Let me know if you do this already and how it's working for you.

I too, remember a smaller time in my life. Not that I expect to get to the same size, weight, shape I was in my teens or twenties. But I am going to shrink the fat and build the muscle. That will definitely be an improvement!

 I’m doing it for health. I want my heart to be healthy to keep pumping effectively for a long time. 

 I’m doing to for pain prevention. I want my muscles to be strong enough to carry me and allow me to carry stuff without pain and agony. Not that I have that, but I could. I have a degenerated disc, in my neck, that has given me pain. I will write about my experience with pain, separately. But having muscles in shape helps prevent a lot of pain for me.

 I’m doing it for vanity. There. I’ve admitted it. I hate being invisible. I hate being “every woman” and not special. I hate that people don’t recognize me, even from just four years ago! At my 30 year high school reunion my classmates were so flattering, telling me, “Oh, you haven’t changed a bit! You still look the same!”. Of course, I knew they were being nice and lying, but the fact they could recognize me was a plus. I weighted about 15 pounds less then, than I do now. Only four years ago. As I have gained weight and gotten older, I have become invisible. Not that I want to be a head-turner, or anything like that, but bumping into me? Really? You can’t see me? Then the other thing people say, “Oh yes, I know you - where do I know you from?” And we don’t know each other. Or “Yes, we’ve met, a long time ago.” and we haven’t. Now my memory is definitely not perfect, but I look like “everyone” now! Not me, the individual, but everyone. At least every middle-aged white woman everyone has ever met! Getting more in shape may or may not change that, but I bet it will.

 I’m doing it to enjoy the activities I love even more. I love to snow ski. I need to be in better shape to do that more and enjoy it longer in the day. I bought a ski package for next winter that I want to be smokin’ down the hill, over and over again! I need to get in better physical condition to do that. I love hiking, too. I go slow right now. Maybe I can pick up the pace a bit, as I improve my conditioning. I love to golf. Maybe instead of just 9 holes, I could play 18 holes. Don’t know that I want to. I love to golf for the social aspect, and definitely NOT to keep score or compete. I used to be an awesome water-skiier. I’m thinking about trying it again this summer. I need more strength to pull that off (and pull me out of the water). Being smaller would help, too. Less to pull out!

 I’m doing it for longevity and mobility into old age. That about says it. When I live a long life, I want to enjoy it and not complain about it.