Exercise

I’m Walking on Sunshine – and don’t it feel good!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 by Kris | Leave a comment

My husband and I decided to go West for a week where we hoped the sun would be plentiful (it’s been missing a lot recently in Michigan), and the sites would be many. Upon deciding to visit the Grand Canyon I knew there would be a lot of walking and I wanted to know how much walking I could actually do when it wasn’t a “required exercise time” for me.

So I put on a pedometer and we walked and walked and walked taking in the vast, expansive landscape and appreciated the sunny, crisp cool air as we hiked along enjoying each others company.

To my surprise we walked just a little over 12,000 steps. I was amazed, partly because it seemed so effortless and partly that would explain why my legs felt the way they did! I don’t have the high elevation issues at home, nor do I tend to walk up hill so much as we did but it was by far one of the most beautiful walks of my life.

Well I was delighted to find out that walking 10,000 steps is the approximate equivalent of walking 5 miles but I have to admit I don‘t know how someone figured that out, or what is considered “the best“ or “the right“ amount of steps you should do everyday. I did however find the following information that you might find helpful:

Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke has been studying pedometer walking and released an opinion in the January, 2004 issue of “Sports Medicine.”

Based on the best evidence as of the end of 2003, Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke recommends the following:

Classification of pedometer-determined physical activity in healthy adults:
1) Under 5000 steps/day may be used as a “sedentary lifestyle index”
2) 5,000-7,499 steps/day is typical of daily activity excluding sports/exercise and might be considered “low active.”
3) 7,500-9,999 likely includes some exercise or walking (and/or a job that requires more walking) and might be considered “somewhat active.”
4) 10,000 steps/day indicates the point that should be used to classify individuals as “active”.
5) Individuals who take more than 12,500 steps/day are likely to be classified as “highly active”.

I was inspired by the amount of activity that we did and there’s just something about being out in the fresh air that seems so revitalizing. So after a night of resting up we’re off to do more exploring over in Nevada (primarily Las Vegas), and I KNOW you can do a lot of walking around there – my goal, is over 12,000 steps a day! Even when I get back home. What is your goal?

LOST: High Energy Metabolism – If Found, Please Call

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 by Kris | Leave a comment

A friend asked the pertinent question the other day – where has my metabolism gone? I thought that was a fair question, especially when you hit a certain age!

As I shared with you recently, I just found out my thyroid is not fully functioning and I’ve been struggling with a slow (very slow metabolism). But we all know that as we get older our metabolism slows down too, and there are ways of stoking the fire again so our ‘internal fire’ burns more efficiently. But it can get extremely frustrating when you feel that you’re doing all the right things – such as changing your diet and exercise – and yet you’re always sputtering and fluttering along. Nothing seems to change.

The flip side of that is you know you’re not doing everything you should – such as changing your diet and exercise – and you’re just struggling to get through some days because of stress and life circumstances. And then there’s always ‘health issues’ that can cause your metabolism to slow (or stop).

Weirdly enough our metabolism can get stuck whether we’re really trying (and nothing is happening with the scale), or life is so stressful and you’re not doing anything about your weight situation. So I thought it might be helpful to look at what metabolism is and what it does (health line.com).

Metabolism is simply how many calories you burn in a day. Your Resting Metabolism makes up the majority of your total metabolism.

Total metabolism for the day is made up of:
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): the number of calories it takes to keep your body going without any movement (brain function, heart, lungs, muscle, etc)
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): the number of calories that your body actually burns digesting food
Physical Activity (PA): the number of calories you burn moving around all day during your normal activities
Thermic Effect of Exercise (TEE): the number of calories you burn doing planned exercise

Most people’s total metabolism each day is about 1800-2200 for women and 2200-2600 for men. The more you move, the higher your metabolism.

Factors that influence metabolism:
Gender: Men tend to have a faster metabolism (burn more calories) than women. Ladies, do you think this isn’t fair? What do men have more of than women?
Muscle Mass: The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn all day long. Muscle is metabolically active 24 hours per day. If you have more muscle, you will burn more calories while you sit at your computer reading these blogs, drive in your car, and most importantly, you will burn more calories while you sleep. How awesome is that?
Age: The number one reason people’s metabolism slows as they age……..they lose muscle.
Heredity: Some people are just genetically gifted with a faster metabolism than others. They can eat a lot more calories than most people and not gain weight. If you are one of these people, thank your parents for good genes!

5 Ways to Keep Up with Your Exercise Plan

Friday, May 6, 2011 by Kris | Leave a comment

Do you struggle with making exercise a priority? I do! Sometimes it is VERY HARD to get motivated when the weather isn’t quite right, the gym is “out of your way,” or you’re just not feeling particularly healthy.

If you’ve ever have one of those days (or many of those days) where you are just feeling stuck and can’t quite make exercise a priority, here are some ideas:

1. Start small and be realistic. Don’t set off on a 25 mile walk without building up to it. Your exercise goals should be small and realistic so you can have success at attaining something positive.

2. This goes hand in hand with the previous mentioned but be specific with your exercise plan. Know what days you will exercise and for how long: “Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 20 minute walks” and build up to more as your strength and stamina improve.

Don’t forget to change things up. Instead of walking three times a week, mix it up with riding bikes or taking a once-a-week exercise class.

3. An exercise buddy can help you be more accountable to an exercise plan. Some people need that. Make sure that your exercise partner is reliable and encouraging and this could actually be a fun time to get together.

4. Keep track of your progress. It can be as simple as putting a small letter and number, like W30 (for walking 30 minutes), or B15 (for biking 15 minutes) on the calendar on the days you exercised. Then at the end of the month, take a look back at all the days you accomplished your exercise plan.

Also, don’t forget those deliberate walks you take at work for your lunch time or break time – it all adds up!

5. Exercise can get a little….well, quite frankly, boring for all of us. Find a way to make exercise more inspiring and engaging for you by listening to music, or watching tv, or even reading while you‘re working out.

Spring into Exercise!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 by Kris | Leave a comment

Spring always seems like a good time to reset our thinking about exercise. Probably because of longer days of light (yea) and nicer weather (double yea), it’s a natural thing to start thinking of those days of wearing shorts, short-sleeved shirts and maybe a sundress or two.

In case you haven’t noticed, in the world of health and fitness, goal setting is very important. And there’s good reason for that. So whether you just want to relieve stress or truly get your body back in tip top shape, have a goal in mind. Decide how long you can exercise, and how many days a week, and be realistic about your goal.

In working with people through the years with their weight loss goals, I remind them that you shouldn’t put down a goal of exercising 5 times a week if you really can’t.

The goal is to SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS. If you can only set aside time (this week) to exercise 2 times for one hour, then for this week work on attaining that particular goal.

Some other helpful hints are to find a friend or a co-worker who can go to the gym with you or on a couple power walks with you. Having someone exercise with you can motivate you and help you to commitment to your workouts.

Also, find several activities that you like to do, and change up your exercise routines when you feel yourself getting bored with the same old thing. Mix it up with Kickboxing classes, long walks, biking, yoga – lots of different activities!

3 Reasons to Exercise and Fight Stress

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 by Kris | Leave a comment

I recently had the opportunity to have some time off and I had a list of work-related “Things to Do” and a Kick-Butt Attitude in which to accomplish everything. At the beginning of the week I rubbed my hands together in excitement about all the tasks I was going to conquer, and I had a game plan about how I was going to plow my way through each thing.

Then the first day came and went and I didn’t quite get to everything I wanted to. I tried reminding myself of the importance of being flexible, and maybe I needed to start my week of tasks the next day. But the next day was starting out the same way! Whoa. I had to take a step back when I realized that my shoulders were up to my ear lobes all the time and I was carrying around a slight headache.

Stress was building and my joy of time spent doing the things I needed and wanted to do was slowly dwindling. I had to start taking my own advice that I dole out to others and distress. For me that means MOVING because MOVING helps me think differently. Information given by the Mayo Clinic tells us that exercise increases your overall health and your sense of well-being, which puts more pep in your step every day. (I needed some pep in my step for sure).

Exercise also has some direct stress-busting benefits:

1. It pumps up your endorphins: Physical activity helps to bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Although this function is often referred to as a runner’s high, a rousing game of tennis or a nature hike also can contribute to this same feeling.

2. It’s meditation in motion: After a fast-paced game of racquetball or several laps in the pool, you’ll often find that you’ve forgotten the day’s irritations and concentrated only on your body’s movements. As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you remain clam and clear in everything that you do.

3. It improves your mood: Regular exercise can increase self-confidence and lower the symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety. Exercise also can improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression and anxiety. All this can east your stress levels and give you a sense of command over your body and your life.

So I started walking. I started going to exercise classes everyday at the gym. I started moving. In spite of a very cloudy and chilly week, I got in front of my stress and gained control. Did I accomplish EVERYTHING that I wanted to? NO, but the time off made me recognize the value of friendships, the importance of time spent with family members, and that my work will always be there (in fact it multiplies at times) but nothing is more important than taking care of yourself first.

Healing Benefits of Sunshine!

Monday, April 11, 2011 by Kris | Leave a comment

I’m wondering how many people are feeling the effects of yesterdays 80 degree weather day here in good ol’ West Michigan. And by “effects” I mean aching body’s and sunburn faces from all the activity and warm gorgeous sun that graced us all day long.

What a welcome change from a long, dull winter – it always is. I saw faces in the neighborhood for the first time since last Fall. I saw houses with the windows wide open. I saw bikers on the roadways. Lots of bikers. There were people walking their dogs. And people in their convertibles, with their hair whipping wildly in the wind. I saw motorcyle riders, and lots of people golfing.

The sunshine seems to bring instant psychological reprieve for those of you who struggle with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). The sunshine brightens moods of people who deal with depression, it can lift the spirits of those who feel at their lowest. Sunshine is also an important source of vitamin D – and for those of you who struggle with low levels of vitamin D (like myself), you know how that effects your energy and motivation.

There is something very healing about sunshine. I can’t describe it but I know that internally you feel what you see around you externally. Everything seems brighter. Cheerier. And you feel you can conquer things differently. Sunshine makes you want to move, and exercise releases chemicals in the brain – you know, those “feel good chemicals” that help you physically and mentally.

So today may be a lot “cooler” than it was yesterday – and that’s okay. For right now, I can live on the thoughts that better days are a comin’ and until they get here I can enjoy the day I’ve been given to me today. Sunshine or not. Although I prefer SUN!

4 Ways to Look at Your Exercise Equipment!

Sunday, March 20, 2011 by Kris | 1 Comment

Thought you’d get a kick out of this!
Hope you have a healthy, successful, Thinking Thin week.

5 Ways Women Can Stop Obsessing About Their Body

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 by Kris | Leave a comment

How many times per day do you say something negative to yourself about yourself? My guess is….many. And apparently you are not alone. I think that is something we all deal with. In fact, I think we do it so often and it feels so subtle that it doesn’t seem like a big deal.

As women, we can be very hard on ourselves. We point out every wobbling underarm, fat thigh, and pudgy gut to our brains continuously, and those thoughts about our body can come at the oddest times….although usually in front of a mirror as we’re getting out of the shower, or getting dressed in the morning, or sitting at a social event where other seemingly glamorous thinner women are.

I don’t know if you saw it or not but Glamour recently did a survey with over 300 women where they found 97% of women have negative body-thoughts – women had 13 negative body thoughts daily. That’s brutal. To ourselves.

One of the reasons we do that is they suggest that we’ve actually trained ourselves to think this way. As someone who has an interest in the psychology of our brain and behavior, I would agree with this. We wire our brains with the thoughts we give it, and we are capable of rewiring our hard-drive.

Dr. Ann Kearney Cooke (who helped Glamour design the survey) says “Neuroscience has shown that whatever you focus on shapes your brain. If you’re constantly thinking negative thoughts about your body, that neural pathway becomes stronger – and those thoughts become habitual…”

So here are 5 ways to rewire your brain so you can stop obsessing about yourself and accept where you are at on this day:

#1 – Flip the script. You know that script in your brain that you play over and over again? Create new neural pathways with thoughts that affirm and support how and why you feel good about your body.

#2 – Exercise….because it does more than make you feel better physically. Exercising releases chemicals in our brains and can make you feel better mentally and emotionally. Which helps cut down on the harsh thoughts we feed ourselves.

#3 – Visualize a big red stop sign, and every time you have a negative thought – scream STOP in your head. Break the unhealthy cycle with a statement, even one as simple as STOP or any other word or phrase that will refocus your thought patterns.

#4 – Appreciate You…right where you’re at. Your body is amazing, what it is capable of and what it does needs to be valued. Do you still want to lose 12 pounds or 57 pounds, probably, but just accept yourself where you are at on this day. Judge your body on how it functions and the health of it, not what it looks like.

#5 – Enjoy your food. Yep, you read that right. Be mindful of what you’re eating. Enjoy the eating experience (odd concept, right), make conscious healthy choices instead of what I call “stupid eating.” Be a deliberate eater. Slow down. Slow your inner spirit down and enjoy the journey. Give your body what it deserves!

Are You Joyfully Exercising?

Thursday, February 17, 2011 by Kris | Leave a comment

This is a one minute video – it’s so joyful to watch you can’t help but bob your head and wave your shoulders. This is exactly what the Zumba class looks like where I go. There’s just a few people in the class that actually look like they know what they’re doing….but that’s not the point. It is a-maz-ing how much sweating you can do. For some of you who don’t like to sweat, just think of it as joyfully moving your body.

Weight Loss Boot Camp

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 by Kris | 1 Comment

When you think of Boot Camp, you typically think of the Military where brave men and women go through a grueling period of breaking down the old person and building up a new dedicated, motivated and improved person.

Starting a new healthy way of living often feels that way – grueling – many times feeling like you take two steps forward and one (?) step back.

And yet, to be honest, there is a grieving period of sorts when you realize that you’re done with the old person and you now want a new kind of person.

It’s scary to let go of what you know – even though the behavior or habit is not good for you.

But ask anyone who has ever gone through Boot Camp how many times they wanted to quit, how many times they thought they can’t do it one more time, one more minute. Then, over time, there’s something that rises up within them and in spite of really hard physically taxing days, their mindset starts to change.

Losing weight will take a new frame of mind in order for you to see results.

This reminds me of what a really interesting, helpful book has to say about the way we think. This book is full of wisdom and common sense and in it, it reminds us to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Transformation means to change the nature, function or condition of; to change markedly the appearance or form of .

So the power of our thoughts and how we think are critical to the outcome we want.

The body cleanse, the fat burning pills, the power drinks, or the “diet of the moment” will not produce long lasting results. You’re waisting your money. Weight loss starts with our thinking.

Your new ‘diet’ (AKA your new way of eating) and your new behaviors and habits (AKA a healthy way of living) are something that you have to choose to work at every day.

The Drill Sergeant is YOU – unless you can visualize me screaming in your ear to “Suck it up and put down that extra handful of (fill in the blank), now drop and give me 10!!”

Boot Camp Beliefs:

1. Tackle one goal at a time, create one new habit, but start.
Sometimes you can think too long about doing something, and never do it because you know it will take discipline and mindful thinking (scary stuff).
I encourage you to start disciplining yourself by doing one thing and doing it
repeatedly. Just one thing.
2. If you make a food mistake, stop, regroup, start over again.
You choose the thinking. You choose the behavior. If you blow it, acknowledge
it and move on but don‘t deliberately keep “blowing it” all day. You choose.
3. Find a Drill Sergeant that you can be accountable to.
Some of you can be very disciplined, and some of you can’t be. Join a blog (“ahem“ Thinkingthinlifestyle.com), join a group, join a friend or two – if you know that will work for you. Then look up the definition of accountable!
4. You can be transformed by the renewing of your mind.