Fall Challenge Week 1

This week the topic of the meeting has to do with the little things. How the little steps, the little victories can make a big difference.

That inspires me to start a Fall Challenge that will take us from now to January! Now that Lose for Good is all done, we need something else to tweak our motivation a little bit right? Here's what I'm thinking:

For this week: Find, each day, one way you can move a little more in your day to day activities and do it.

For example:

If Tuesday is grocery shopping day:

• Park further from the door,
• Bring your bags up the stairs one at the time instead of 2 or 3 (or 4) at a time,
• Add steps by your shopping by going from one end to the other in the store,
• Carry a 5 lbs of potatoes while shopping (watch your back on that one!),

If Wednesday is laundry day:

• Walk your clothes to the laundromat instead of taking the car,
• Fold and put away the clothes one piece at a time instead of stacking them up,
• Walk around while the machines are running instead of sitting around,

Any daily activity can burn additional calories if you think about it a little bit. You can turn up the music and dance while cleaning. You can take the dog on an extra long walk instead of just going around the block. There are so many possibilities!

So that's your challenge this week: Find ways to burn more calories in your little daily routine.

Please feel free to post suggestions in the comments!

On goes the music! I got some cleaning to do!!!!

Getting a good night sleep

How much sleep do you get on average each night? Is it enough for you? I'm asking because it is different for all of us; some people need their 8 hours of shut eye, others can function with 4 hours (how I'll never know!). Having suffered from insomnia most of my life, I thought it would be an interesting subject to look into: What can we do to get a good night sleep?

If your insomnia gets out of hand see a specialist! Chronic lack of sleep can have drastic consequences on your physical and mental health. This is nothing to play around with. For most of us though, lack of sleep comes in waves, and a few simple things can help significantly. I've tried to put together a little summary of what we can do to help ourselves.

1- Set a daily routine

Your internal clock regulates sleep based on cues it receives throughout the day. When you wake up, when you eat, when you nap, when you go to bed, etc. Setting a regular routine of when you do all of those things helps the body get conditioned to it, then it's ready to eat at meal time and to sleep at sleep time. Obviously we can't always be on time to the minute, but in general terms, you want to "keep regular hours" whatever is regular for you.

2- Mind the light

When light fades, the body produces melatonin, an hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. During active daylight you want to get as much light as you can, preferably natural light. That inhibits the production of melatonin which makes you more awake.

When night falls, the body needs to produce melatonin to induce sleep. Because of that it is important to reduce light exposure in the hour (or more) before bed time. That includes TV, computers, video games and other "back lit devices". Ideally, you want to avoid looking directly at any of those light sources before bedtime. For the same reason, you want to keep your bedroom as free of light as possible and use the lowest light possible if you need to get up at night.

3- Make your bedroom a sanctuary

Not only you want your bedroom to be dark at night, but you want it to be a peaceful place focused on calm and rest. Clutter can be very stressful so you want to keep your room clutter free. You also want to un clutter your mind! You bed should be a place for sleep (and sex but lets not go there) not a home theater, a snack bar, a video game station of even worse an office! Look around your bedroom and determine the "feel" of the room. Does it encourage peace and rest? It should! Note that studies are showing that a room on the cool side is better for sleep, that's pretty easy in SF about 360 days out of the year! HA!

4- Don't oversleep

Ok, so you didn't sleep last night, so you took a long night during the afternoon, and another one after dinner. Now it's 2 am and you've been staring at the clock for hours. Sounds familiar? A power nap can be a savior. Shutting down for 15-20 minutes can recharge your batteries for hours. Too much napping will simply re-energize you too much, and then you can't sleep during the night. That's fine one day, but long term you end up breaking your sleep routine. As we saw in #1, a routine keeps your internal clock timed right. Mess with your routine too much and that internal clock ends up having a nervous breakdown! ;op

5- Avoid energy boosters before bed

Working out, playing video games, watching a stressful movie, those are all things that can bring up the energy level (or anxiety level). This makes it more difficult to wind down enough to sleep.

Another way to boost the energy that we sometimes forget about is scents! Some scents tends to wake you up: Peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, mint certainly come to mind. Other scents tend to slow us down and help us relax: lavender, chamomile, cypress. Knowing this, take a look at your beauty ritual and see what scents are in the products that you use. I have two completely different body washes and lotions for day use and evening use. One encourages me to wake up and feel energized, the other one calms me down and relax me.

6- Mind the distractions

I have no kids, but I do have 2 cats and a dog. What does that have to do with sleep you ask? Grace, my dog, use to sleep with us, cute right? Well the problem is that she would wake me up several times per night by moving around, growling at the neighbors, snoring (I am not kidding!) I had to ban her from the bed. For the same reason, I stopped petting the cats in the bed, they would decide it was petting time in the middle of the night. I can't ban them from the bed, but they know not to bother me when I'm sleeping now. Too bad my husband hasn't learned to show his authority! He he he

There are tons of other distractions that can keep you awake: a dripping faucet, a clock that ticks loudly, noise on the street. If you can't shut it all off, try white noises. I have an alarm clock that has several "natural white noises" like waves, the wind, and such things. The good thing about it is that it also has a sleep setting so it shuts off by itself after 90 minutes. You can also buy cds with such white noises.

7- Bedtime rituals

Beyond having a daily routine, you can set up a few bedtime rituals that tell body and mind that it's time to shut off:

• Read a book (or an E reader that isn't back-lit) by soft light.
• Take a warm bath (mind the scents).
• Engage in a low key hobby.
• Get everything ready to go for tomorrow.
• Practice relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, meditation.

I want to reiterate: if you have chronic insomnia, before you self medicate, seek help. Talk to your doctor, there are specialists out there who can help you solve this.

For most of us though, like anything else, getting your beauty sleep is just about thinking about it a little and making a few simple adjustments. The rewards are many, if you sleep enough you have the energy to do everything you need to get through your day, stay on plan, and enjoy yourself over it all. Sleep well my friends!

Sources:

http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleep_tips.htm

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/health/tips-to-fall-asleep-0409

Looking good to get fit!

Wednesday at the evening meeting we were joking about people getting all made up to go to the gym. I rarely do any people watching at the gym, I have too much to think about to bother, but I have to admit that when I see someone walk in with 2 inches of make up and a push up bra to work out, I fail to take them seriously. Really? Working out is the goal here? Really?

This being said, I spend a fortune in workout apparel. I do. I shop bargains for my work clothes, for my every day clothes, but will not cut back on my workout clothes. I make sure that the WO pants and top I’m wearing flatter my behind and show off my shoulders and upper back while hiding my tummy. It’s my shameful little secret (well, not anymore) I’m vain and like to look good as I’m enjoying torturing myself.

Apparently I’m not the only one! Carol Sorgen in her article The right exercise clothes can improve your workout –and your attitude, asserts that wearing and outfit that makes us feel good about ourselves goes a long way to making us feel motivated and confident. It stands to reason don’t you think? In a gym full of mirror, having an outfit that fits right and looks good will make us want to go. On the other hand, an oversized T-shirt and shorts that makes us look 15 lbs heavier, and gets caught in a machine every time we turn around might prove to be a lot less motivating.

What is flattering varies with body shapes and personal preferences, but as a general rule Sorgen suggest black shorts, a sport bra and a colored top for women; and all black for men. The trick, as always, is to play with your strength, and hide your concerns. I like my arms and shoulders, so I tend to chose racer back tops, but you’ll never see me work out in a mid-drift top. If arms aren’t your favorite part of your body, see about short sleeve tops. Same goes for any part of your body you want to accentuate or take the attention away from.

Looks aren’t everything though; comfort and function are an essential concern while shopping for workout apparel. Obviously, the type of activity you practice will dictate your choices. Biking in a swimsuit might get you some interesting looks (though honestly, it’s San Francisco, we’ve seen everything and anything! HA!) and running in flip flops is as ridiculous as it is dangerous. So once you chose a specific activity with specific need, you want to take that into account. There are a few things to keep in mind no matter what activity you practice though, here’s a few:

Seasons

If you practice outdoor activities, you want to dress appropriately for the seasons. San Francisco has 2 seasons: Fog, and rain. If you take your activity outside of the Bay Area, you might encounter some significant seasonal changes:

Summer: In the heat of summer (don’t laugh!) you want to dress accordingly. Lighter colors help reflect the heat and tend to keep you cooler. Synthetic fabrics wick the heat and the sweat away from you. They also tend to dry faster than cotton. It’s always a good idea to have a hat, sunglasses and sun block. You want to get healthy and fit, not deep fried.

Winter: In the cold of winter layers are your friends! You want to be able to take off layers while you are working hard, and put them back on when you slow down (or get into a wind gust). Do not forget to cover the extremities: fingers and ears sometimes get numb in the cold, and we don’t really realize how cold they really are until we are miles away from any heat sources (believe me, I know what I’m talking about here!). In windy and rainy condition, a good waterproof wind breaker can be a savior.

If you are in snow country, you also need to protect yourself from the sun. You won’t feel the heat, because it’s cold, but the UV rays are still doing their thing. Hat, sun block, sunglasses are essentials when spending hours in the highly reflective snow.

Fabrics

The best fabrics are the ones that let air circulate through wicking the heat away from your body, and dry the fastest. Synthetic fabrics tend to be the best choice. Polyester, Nylon and Spandex (Lycra) and/or any combination of them are the way to go. Cotton is light, but absorbs the heat and the sweat and quickly become uncomfortable so go for blends and you can get the best of both worlds.

Please stay away from denim (way too heavy and uncomfortable), rubber/plastic based clothing (no comments, at least none that are appropriate and/or remotely professional sounding HA!) and anything that will constrict your movement, dig into your skin, or chafes.

Mind the unseen:

Socks can make a difference. You don’t have to have the super duper last edition of the Lance Amstrong socks at 75$/pair. You do want to think about what socks you are wearing when you work out, even more if you are doing a long workout on your feet (running, walking, hiking, skating). A pair of socks with acrylic in the blend, will keep your feet dry. Think about the feel and the fit of the socks also. That can go a long way toward making your workout (and the following day) a lot more enjoyable.

Sport bra: As the girl who has always been the “busty friend”, I sure understand the challenge of finding a well fitting, comfortable and supportive sport bra. Nobody wants to work out with a widely bouncing uni-boob. It’s as unflattering as it is uncomfortable. For the longest time I also would never be able to find a bra in my cup size that wouldn’t have straps that were a foot too long for me, very frustrating! The key for me: everything must be adjustable!

The right sport bra for you is out there, and it is absolutely worth the effort to find it. In terms of comfort, you want to have the right fabrics; again synthetic fabrics will keep you dry and cool and keep chafing to a minimal. Wide straps are a must if you are busty to avoid undue strain on your shoulders. You want support (that’s the whole point isn’t it?), for comfort and safety, and if you are like me, you want to look good without having to wear 2 (or 3) bras one over another.

Because I’m vain, and want to draw the attention away from my tummy, I’m a big fan of under wire bras. A good quality under wire sport bra that fits you well will not hurt, but it takes some shopping. My go to sport bra is the Powerback under wire from Champion, but not everybody like it. Really the idea is to go to a store, and try bras on, do a few jumping jacks, move around, jump a little, and if the girls are still where they are supposed to be, you are comfortable and nothing is scratching in weird places, you are on the right track.

Men: I’m not very knowledgeable in men’s underwear, so all I will say is that running a marathon wearing a pair of loose boxers might not be in your best interest. A little research and a shopping spree might go a long way toward making your life easier.

Where to put your money

I’m not in any way saying that you should spend a fortune on work out clothes. A decently fitting t-shirt and a pair of work out pants that are comfortable and not too loose are perfectly fine. That are however things on which you do want to maybe spend a little more because they are work it: a good pair of shoes, a good sport bra for busty women, a decent pair of work out pants if your hips are not at their best, a pair of swimming goggles if you are going to swim lap regularly (nothing like you goggle filling up every time you make a turn ARG!).

Think about it this way: If you feel good about how you look, you feel more positive, when you feel positive, you have more energy, having more energy makes you work out better, a better work out burns more calories, burning more calories make you lose weight faster, losing weight faster make you feel good about yourself, if you feel good about yourself, you look better, if you feel good about how you look, you feel more positive, when you feel positive, you have more energy…

It’s a mind game my friends, totally is!!

Sources:

http://www.better-exercise-fitness-for-life.com/exercise-fitness-clothing.html

http://www.essortment.com/guide-workout-clothing-women-49372.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55673

I live in the Richmond District, a few blocks from Golden Gate Park. I love walking/running in the park, having picnics, reading under the trees, but I had not realized how much stuff is going on in there! Isn't it funny that we sometimes fail to see what's right in front of us? This week is going to be beautiful, the sun is out FINALLY! Why don't we head to the Park and see what's out there?

Golf

Ok, I played golf 1 time in my life, took 86 hits to do a 9 hole. Lets just say that it's not my thing. If it is your thing though, did you know there's a 9 hole golf course at the western end of the Park? You can rent equipment and everything! It works on a first come first serve basis, so no need to call ahead or anything!

Volley Ball

There is the Monday Volley Ball at Kezar Pavilion on Mondays (7pm-9pm, $2) but have you thought about taking it outside? Sharon Field is a great place for it (and for many other things). Gather your buds and head for the South-west end of the park.

Of course, with a net with good anchors (it's windy out there! Don't let your net fly away!), Ocean Beach is always neat for beach volleyball. With the wind, the sun and the waves, what can be better really?

Baseball

There's always the choice of playing at Sharon Field, or other big open areas in the Park, but Big Rec Ball Field at 7th Avenue and Lincoln is THE place to play some ball. Bring your own equipment and to make sure you can have the spot, make reservations by calling 831-5510.

Remember that you don't want to park near the field, but rather on the street, and be careful for kids while driving around there!

Basketball

There's always indoor at the Kezar Pavilion but if you want to shoot some hoops in the sun, what about the playground at the Panhandle? The playground is between Stanyan and Masonic, and is fairly easy access with public transportation!

Dancing

I've posted about this before. Lindy in the Park is there, free every week and fun!!

Walking, Running, Biking

The Golden Gate Park counts a massive amount of trails, paths, paved and not paved. It's a beautiful setting,  most of it is sheltered from the wind and mostly flat! It's the perfect place to get moving, without being overwhelmed with traffic, noise, fuel smells and whatever else that sometimes makes exploring the city a little less fun.

Be Safe

Sadly things do happen in the Park. You want to be safe and aware of your surroundings. Things like reflecting clothing and staying in the paths can go a long way toward protecting you from the drivers who use the Park as a commute short cut.

If walking/running at night, stay on the well traveled, well lighted paths. I like to wear only 1 of my headphones, that way I can still hear the music AND hear what's happening around me.

Golden Gate Park (along with Ocean Beach) is my favorite part of San Francisco. There is always something to do, if only sitting down and listening to the wind in the trees, and things to see. The museums, the gardens, the pedal boats at Stow Lake (hilarious! They sink one every other week!), the Windmill (they repaired it!!).

Just go in there and enjoy yourselves!


For more information go to: http://www.golden-gate-park.com/

Keep your weight down, and your behind up!

Since we are trying to lose weight, or maintain our weight after a weight loss, we often put a lot of focus on cardio when it comes to our choices of activity. It makes sense after all, cardio burns more calories, earns more Activity PointsPlus, so evidently we tend to deduce that it's a better choice to make it to our goal weight in a hurry and stay there. Cardio absolutely has its place in a healthy lifestyle, but so does resistance training!

Resistance training by itself burns less calories since it is less taxing on the cardiovascular system, but it certainly has definite advantage when it comes to reaching our goals. Studies show that building more muscle mass speeds up your metabolism (at rest even, the more muscles you have, the faster your metabolism) so that your body will burn more calories while you are doing nothing! Resistance training also makes you look better, at any weight, by helping you maintain a better posture, and help us fight off the effects of time and gravity on the body.

You can do all sort of resistance training: Yoga, pilates, core training, anything really that makes you work your muscles until they are too tired to go on. My first choice when it comes to resistance training is, by far, lifting weights. I've talked about it before, but I still see members, generally women, who are intimidated by the idea of pumping iron. There are so many myths and misinformation about weight training, here are the main ones debunked:

http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/womensfitnesstopics/a/womenmyths.htm

The Weight Watchers website has some good articles about weight training:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=32301&sc=3046

Free weights or machines?

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=11501&sc=128

Here's a few article from my go to website about weight training (www.stumptuous.com) that might help you get started. Those are from Krista's website and her language/humor is particular, still the information she gives is very helpful and interesting! I have learned a lot from her, even if her site really is geared toward women, I think anybody can learn a lot from her.

Still have weight to lose? Look up this article:

http://www.stumptuous.com/no-fat-chicks

Think you're too old to lift weight? You are NOT!

http://www.stumptuous.com/old-broads-the-golden-years-of-pumping-iron

Here you can find other articles she has written over the years for people who are just getting started:

http://www.stumptuous.com/category/starting

Yes weight training burns less calories while you are doing it than a cardio work out would, but it increase the calories you burn at rest, it helps fight off bone mass loss over the year, and it makes life easier (I can open my own jars thank you!). This is all very good and pretty, but honestly to me the biggest advantage of resistance training is that it significally slows down the effect of gravity on the body.

I do want to be healthy, of course, but here's what I'm really pumping iron for: To keep my weight down... and my behind up where it belongs!

Setting up a new routine!

Ah September in San Francisco! The worst of the tourists go home, the sun comes out (well, hopefully), the kids are back in school, and the vacations are done for the most part.

With most of the distractions out of the way, it's the perfect time to set a new routine. The Good Health Guidelines tells us that we should move at moderate intensity most days of the week and that is for health, not necessarily to lose weight. It might be a good idea to aim toward a little more than that.

In theory that sounds beautiful, but in practice sometimes it's not that easy to achieve. Playing taxi driver for the kids, work meetings, house work, emails, homework, everything seems to get in the way. That's where setting a routine becomes extremely helpful. If you do the same thing, at the same time everyday, it becomes almost automatic. We don't forget to brush our teeth before bed because we do it every night, so if we don't something is missing. Getting your work out in can become as natural to you as brushing your teeth before bed is, if you stick to your routine long enough.

There's a few things to consider when setting up your routine:

What do I want to do?

It's a good idea to have a basic work out (or a basic activity) that you will do regularly. You can add to it on the days that you have more time, or when you are feeling bored, but the basic routine makes it easier to build a work out in which you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time. It is also a time saver on those week when you don't have time to be overly creative. You just go and do it, without having to think about it too much.

When do I want to move?

That's the big question! Are you a morning person? Can you work out after work? What about a Lunch time work out? There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The best answer is the answer that works the best for you. If the thought of getting up early in the morning gives you nightmares, then maybe you want to think about stopping by the gym on your way home after work. If you hit a wall every day at 4:30 and body and mind just stops functioning, an after work work out might not be ideal.

What can I realistically commit to do?

You are far better to start small and build up your routine than to commit to a huge work out 7 days/week and feel like a failure 4 days into it because you couldn't keep up. Depending on the kind of activity you decide to practice, and the intensity of each work out, you might want to start with 2 or 3 work out per week, and then add to that when you are ready.


The bottom line is that you want to be very honest with yourself and realistic about your expectations. Nobody goes from couch potato to  athlete overnight. None of us, I think, is getting ready for the next Olympics, the old adage of "No pain, no gain" does not apply to us (or to anybody else anymore for that matter). So set up a challenging but realistic routine and see where you can go from there. Take your time, and of course enjoy yourself!

Renew, Rev up, Re-energize your routine!

Some of us are just getting started with our activity routine, but some of us have been at it for a while, and are eager to renew, rev up, and re-energize our work out routine. We talked a little bit about that with the "Get Unstuck" meeting this last week, but maybe it's worth looking at a little more closely.

How do you know if it's time to renew, rev up and re-energize your routine? Hopefully this might help you give it another look:

Renew: Is your activity routine very, well, routine? Do you ever feel like you are in an endless cycle of "Get up, get dressed, hit the machine (pavement, bike, whatever) take a shower, get on with your day"? Has the fun leaked out of your routine?

Rev up: Are your work outs easy? Have you stopped coming home, or going back to work, feeling like "Woah, I really worked it"? Did you have a fitness goal set and now see that you have stopped seeing significant results? When you first started, you improved almost with every workout, now months later you've been at the same distance/intensity/duration/weights for weeks.

Re-energize: Have you sort of forgotten why you are doing this? You are working out because you are working out, but the driving force behind somehow has lessened. You know what to do, how to do it, but you've sort of forgotten why?

OK, now what? If any of these sounds about right to you, that's ok, we've all been there! The solutions really are simple:

Diversify your routine: You don't have to reinvent the wheel every week. Make a list of a few activities that you would like to try and see how you can incorporate them to your routine. If you are a member in a gym, add a class to your week. If your week is very booked up, add a weekend activity; a hike, a bike ride, go kayaking on the bay, go climb the stairs with Michael on the 11th! Bring some friends, you can have fun and burn calories at the same time!

Increase Duration/Intensity: For your work out to be effective, it has to be challenging. That doesn't mean that you have to work until you fall apart, but that you have to come out of it feeling like your muscles are tired.

There's only 2 ways to make your work out challenging: Add time, or boost up the intensity. If the time constrain is a big issue, you want to add weights, add inclination, increase the resistance on the machine so that your body has to work harder to do the same work. If you have a little more time, or if you can't add intensity because of physical issues, then you want to make your work out a little longer. Either ways will add the number of calories burned, and force your body to improve with each workout.

Be wary of over-training! You want to rev up your work outs progressively and listen to your body. If you added weights and your forms are suffering, back up and lower your weights a little, you're lifting too heavy. If you added 2 miles to your run, and your ankle (or knee, or back) are suddenly hurting, take a break and start with a smaller distance, you might have overdone it.

Here's information about over-training: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/overtrn.htm

Find a motivator: This might be the simplest and yet most difficult part of this, figuring out what it is that makes it worth the effort for you. You need to sit down and really think hard about why it is worth it to you to get up in the morning and work out. What are you working for? Are you training for a race? Running away from a medical condition? Looking forward to wearing a sexy pair of jeans or a swimsuit and feeling great in it? Or are you trying to build up the stamina to keep up with the kids?

Whatever the motivator is for you (and it is as personal as it can get) it has to be powerful enough for you to be willing to work for it. Yes working out can be fun, but nobody I have ever met is enthusiastic about working out every time they hit the gym, or go out for a run. Your motivator is what is going to make you go ahead and do it on the mornings (or whenever in he day you work out) when you really don't wanna.