Monday, February 23, 2009

UCLA Study on Friendship Among Women

It's so important to keep your girlfriends. This study is working to prove that theory.

http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/gender/tendfend.html

A new goal of mine is to do at least one thing with one girlfriend each month. I know that's not a lot but it's definitely attainable and realistic to my lifestyle.

Monday, February 16, 2009

I Need Rules


I've always been a pretty good rule follower (although my parents might disagree) most of my life. I don't typically like breaking rules as I know I wouldn't enjoy the consequences. Maybe a better way to put it is I like guidelines. I am a great follower if I have a good template.

That being said I have to admit I've really enjoyed the rules/guidelines I've set for myself over the past 14 months. Take the sweet per week guideline, I found that I would eat a sweet at least once a day. For some reason my body thought it needed a donut or swiss cake roll after every meal; even breakfast sometimes! Now that I have my one sweet per week guideline in place I have boundaries for eating. Over the past couple of years I've really gotten to know myself (through the process of putting on 50 pounds during pregnancy and then taking it off). I wouldn't have traded gaining those pounds for anything (it was a lot of fun when I was doing it) because it's helped me gain a new perspective on how I want to finish out my life. I know it sounds drastic and crazy to talk about living a certain way forever (and I am well aware that things change) but I really think I need guidelines like the one sweet per week or one race per month so I can stay the course.

It's always encouraged in my sessions with clients or training classes to keep trying new things if one way doesn't work. I'm well aware of all the different methodologies to lose weight. I think I tried about every single one of them after Jax was born. I just wanted the dang weight off! In time and with sticking the course and moving from one methodology to another, I found a winner. Just for fun, here's all the things I've tried that just didn't work long-term for me. However this list doesn't mean you shouldn't try it, it just means I can't live the rest of my life doing these things. Staying strong with one sweet a week it is for Mandy.

1. Calorie Counting: Although I encourage clients to do this to get the weight off it's not something I visualize (or want to visualize) myself doing for the rest of my life. I think it's a great short term (6 monthish) thing to do in order to get the pounds off quickly and to see success in a short amount of time in order to want to continue the journey of health and fitness.

2. Frozen Meals: While it was a quick and easy thing to do the sodium content is ridiculous. Not to mention they start tasting like cardboard.

3. Cardio Overload: I would run 6 days per week with very little strength training. I thought if it felt like I was killing myself most days I had to be doing great things for my body. I like cardio so don't get me wrong but I can no longer stand running on a treadmill than nails on a chalkboard. Its too BORING. I can't envision myself doing that most days of a week for the rest of my life. I need variety. Besides, it hurts my knees when I do it too often. Not to mention I love the curves intense strength training gives and the feeling of being strong.

4. Not enough Breakfast: I love love my morning shake. I've been drinking it for around 7 years now and can't imagine my life without it. However, I need more than 100 calories in the morning. The shake for breakfast and shake for lunch with a little snack in between just doesn't work for me. At the end of the day I was STARVING. All I seemed to want was a big gigantic pizza or something with at least 2000 calories followed by something sweet. I just can't do the end of the day eating/beginning of the day starvation as I'm too weak at night to follow through. It seems to take a huge amount of will power (none of which I have) to overcome caloric deprivation at night. Now I eat much, much more for breakfast and have an even bigger lunch this way dinner is no biggie for me.

5. "Healthy" Deserts: Oh this was me, I'd buy the smart ones key lime cheesecakes or the chocolate chip sundae and think I was being good. The only catch was one treat wasn't nearly enough (thank goodness they put 2 in the box). So I'd polish off a couple of boxes in a days time. I can't do it, it's my crazy cycle. Honestly I view chocolate and sweets like an alcoholic would view alcohol. I can't even have the first bite without wanting the whole thing and then some. The one sweet a week plan works because I can eat whatever sweet I want (and however big) and I know that's it (remember-I need guidelines). I guess I'm like an alcoholic who can have one drink a week. Not everyone can do the little here, little there approach but it seems to do the trick. I view it as my reward for passing up every other little sweet throughout the week. I can really indulge guilt-free that way.

Those are the 5 main "weight loss" techniques I've played with over the past two years. Although I firmly believe there are two different phases in weight management: 1) weight loss phase (get the dang weight off!) and 2) weight maintenance phase (keep the dang weight off!). The list above aren't bad ways to lose weight but just ones that I couldn't keep up with forever. Therefore I needed to create new ways of maintaining the progress I'd made.

Maybe one sweet a week isn't for you because maybe you aren't a sweet person, maybe it's chips or something salty or maybe it's pop? Whatever the case it seems to be very effective if we can target ONE (not two or three, but just one) of our vices and work it out of our life through a significant period of time (so give it at least 3 or 4 months of success before moving onto another vice).

Always look for new ideas at becoming or staying healthy. Never give up your quest. Most all of the battle is finding what works for you.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Do it right. Do it once.

Let's think about this backwards. When we gain weight it's typically not all in one week. If we gain weight in a week it's nothing so significant that we can't manage. The weight slides on over the course of at least several months when we're least paying attention. One week of eating poorly doesn't change our body much (otherwise we wouldn't keep doing it). It's the accumulation of many weeks and months.

Keeping that perspective in mind, why in the world would we ever realistically expect to lose much weight in a week? I think it's the worldly influence of instant gratification. Every single person I know that's lost a bunch of weight in a short amount of time ultimately ends up putting back on more weight than they lost.

One way I find to get over this short term fix for weight loss is to look at a person that's healthy and has always been healthy. Most of the time for me it's taking someone in their 40's or 50's that has always had a grip on their weight. The type of person that's had control over the course of their lifetime. I ask-what do their habits typically consist of? Normally it's good eating combined with priority appointments at the gym each week. They do this over and over and over again. Being healthy isn't rocket science, it's taking control of your energy output and input. If that balance can be attained and maintained, weight loss and health will come as a natural side-effect.

This whole blog entry was manifested earlier today during yoga class. We were working on spinal balance pose and then a progression from there.

I began with my right arm and left leg extended as in the picture. Then our option was to take hold of our left foot with our right hand, making a circle with our limbs. The first time I tried this I rushed everything. I grabbed my foot into my hand and opened my hips pressing for the end result of a huge hip-opener stretch and controlled balance posture. There wasn't much control along the way and not much of a stretch either; it was a forced movement. I made my end result pose arrive so fast but with no foundation, just a quick movement. I lost my balance immediately and had to start all over. Frustrating. I knew at that moment of tension that I moved too fast through the movement and decided to slow down for the other side-my second try. As we moved to the right leg extended with the left arm out I purposely grounded my hand and knee into the floor and then methodically found my foot with my hand. I firmly bonded them together. Then, every so incredibly slowly I began to open my hips with such control that I have no idea where it came from. I made it to the top of the pose and held it strongly for what seemed to be forever.

The difference for me was night and day and made me realize that so many times in life we insist on rushing through everything. Only to get the end result the easiest, most pain-free way possible. If we get to it that way, we've cheated and chances are it won't last (just like my first attempt at balance today). Then we have to start over from scratch and arg! does that stink. Doing it right is true victory in the end. However, remember that most often it takes a couple times doing it wrong to get us to the point of where we want to do it right.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Scale the Strat Missouri

Who: We need around 10 people to help us out with this project
What: We're going to support Michelle who's actually participating in the official Scale the Stat in Las Vegas. Our goal is to complete as many steps as we can together as a group.
When: Saturday, February 21st
Time: Sign up for a 30 minute time slot anytime between 8am and 11am
Where: Liberty Community Center Stair Steppers
Why: Scale the Strat benefits the American Lung Association. If you are interested in donating please let us know as we're working towards getting donations for Michelle.
Cost: Nothing for Liberty Community Center Members. If you aren't a member there is a fee ($7.25-residents, $9.00-non-residents).
Additional Information: We understand many of you might not be an expert stair-stepper and maybe 30 minutes on the machine is too much. There is no time commitment as we'll take any steps you can do. This isn't a competition to see who can get the most steps but rather to see how many we can all do as a combined group in support of Michelle.

Please email me at froehlich.mandy@hotmail.com to sign up for a time slot or have questions.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Journey to the Goal

Why is it that when I make a goal I think it will be this perfect path, similiar to my up arrow? However, every single time my journey looks something like the squiggly line I drew above on paint. I do seem to make my goal, eventually but I don't ever arrive quite how I expect. I think with any goal or growth plan life somehow always intervenes to cause a stumble. I like this quote:

"Life is like a journey and the destination is who we become."


Since we're nearing the end of the 5th week in 2009, and the yearly resolution to change some certain aspect of ourselves has slowly diminished into something we can't figure out why we would have ever wanted work so hard at changing in the first place, I felt this an appropriate time to talk about the journey. Some random thoughts dedicated to the journey of who we dream to become:

1. Do we stray when it gets too inconvenient or hard?
2. Straying from a goal isn't our ability to reason to the nth degree.
3. Pace. Follow the path to the finish line at our own pace. STOP looking to see how others are doing.
4. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. If we do this, we'll get there.
5. Think about the finish line. Focus on the person we want to become.

#5 gets me. Think about the person we want to become. This is saying, what are the characteristics we want to possess and how do we get there? Start at the end and work backwards. So when I'm 80 years old __________ is the type of person I want to be. Maybe it can't be described in words or maybe it could be summed up in a list, either way figure it out and go for it. But know the road is long and curvy. The destination is there but the journey will most likely be a long one.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Our Mindset: Lose it NOW!

In many different scenarios recently I've been reminded about how long term weight loss really happens. It's so easy to get sucked into the media and infomercials that market for the quick fix. However that's really not how it happens most often. Or as a trainer how we professionals want it to happen (as we know it probably won't stay off). I've explained over and over that weight loss is our body's reaction to the exercise and food we put into it. Depending on the person the reaction can take a couple of days or a couple of weeks or even months.

My recent experience has been a huge reminder of my own theory. Eight weeks ago on December 1st, 2008 I decided to limit my unhealthy/indulgence sweets to once per week. I did really well (if I don't say so myself) all through December. It was a huge change for me, going from an unhealthy sweet most days of the week to just once. Throughout all of December I didn't lose a pound. I thought for sure the big sweet change would give me some umph to losing the last couple of pounds I'd been dreaming of taking off. It didn't happen. However, my goal wasn't short term and I wasn't doing the one sweet a week thing for weight loss (although secretly I was hoping it would be a natural side effect). I knew I'd be sticking with this goal for all of 2009 and most likely the rest of my life (as I've found it to be very manageble). Fast forward to today. I've lost a total of around 6 pounds since the end of December. It took my body a whole entire month to realize the difference in what I was feeding it. My sweet intake is all that's changed in my daily diet so that small of a change might take a bit longer to register on the scale. Remember the more dramatic the behavior change the more dramatic the weight loss change.

In addition to my personal life journey over the last couple of months, Jillian Michaels sent me an email containing this testimony today. I think it's something everyone needs to read as it's so easy to get discouraged if we don't see something change really fast.

"Many of us are losing between one and two pounds, and we all sound the same... just one pound but its okay since I'm heading in the right direction, wish it were more, only 2, etc. What I want to say is that the one and two pound losses are AWESOME!!! They are not something to just 'accept' or 'wish that it were better... Slow and steady wins this race people! And we need to be HAPPY with those 1 and 2 pound losses... no not just happy, but HAPPY!!
I think when we see those HUGE losses on The Biggest Loser, we think that we should be pulling bigger numbers ourselves, but NONE of us are able to work out, sleep, eat, work out, eat, sleep, and work out some more. We are living in the real world with families, jobs, and activities. It is not an excuse! But getting one really good workout in per day, eating healthy, and working at obtaining a doable calorie deficit that you can be happy with and make a new healthy habit, is something to be proud of... remember, a 1,000 calorie deficit each day for one week equals 2 pounds and the end of the week. So those 1 and 2 pounders have to be celebrated. I am guilty of it myself... 'just 1 lb, but I at least it is in the right direction'... instead it should be 'YIPPY!! I lost ANOTHER pound this week!!'

A half pound, 1 lb, 2 lbs are success, and so anyone who achieves these smaller losses in a weeks time are successful too! I just want us to celebrate being a success — no matter how small the loss may be.

So CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who lost pounds this week... keep up the good work and pat yourself on the back — yes, even if it were a pound, do it! Pat yourself on the back and tell yourself that YOU are a success!!" –fit4deb


So my STRONG suggestion you might ask? Think of ONE thing that you're doing to your body (either eating or exercise-wise) and focus on phasing that ONE thing out of your life or just limiting it or increasing it to a manageable state. Think to yourself, can I do this for the rest of my life? If you can answer yes to that question then you'll know its the right time to make the change or at least begin working towards the change. A million small tiny baby steps make big huge things much easier to swallow.