CLEAN - Alejandro Junger, M.D.

I read Clean by Junger last week.

There is so much good information in this book that I would love to recommend it to everyone... but it is very hard to navigate through the detail.

I like Martha Beck's style of, "If you want to skip to the plan, go to Chapter XX. then come back and start reading from the beginning."

With Clean "The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal itself" it isn't until page 149 that he finally starts giving details about what the plan is, and what to do.

All the 148 pages leading up to that are trying to convince you that you live in a toxic environment, explaining how toxins are stored and removed from your body, what different popular fasts do to your body, and his own path to better health. Fascinating, but I would recommend getting the book and skipping to 149.

You want to know what the plan is, and if it is going to ask you to do crazy, dumb, gross stuff -- or if it seems reasonable. Now, I know over the past 6 years my reasonable meter has under gone huge shifts; but this plan seems very reasonable (even to my husband).

This book inspired me to eat from the "Elimination Diet" -- by which I mean eliminating foods that are hard to digest or cause allergic reactions. The elimination diet is a terrible name for something so simple. In a book on cleansing the word elimination has an entirely different connotation.

I have started eating mainly the foods on the "Yes" list and skipping most of the foods no the "No" list.

The biggest changes for me was a break from wheat - in all it's lovely forms, and dairy - even in my morning coffee. (of course, he recommend skipping coffee for the 21 day cleanse, but I am not going there. I love Coffee, and it and it's good friend Chocolate are a part of my life that I am not giving up. Though, I won't say never.

Page 151 of the book has the Yes - Include these Foods, No - Exclude these Foods list.

He then outlines a program that is meant to be followed for 21 days. If you could only manage 7 days -- you'd still get some benefits. Page 160 is where he finally gives instructions.

Alejandro Junger is a cardiologist; but he is more interested in sparking the body's ability to heal itself than spending his life preforming emergency surgery. He has a great perspective on what we should be doing to improve our health.

Page 115 has his explanation of what Cleansing Is. -- I like that he talks about the importance of providing your body with the right nutrients -- so you can actually draw the toxins out of your body and he runs through the spectrum of cleansing on pages 128-132.

So, though I highly recommend the content of this book -- it is not organized in a way that someone who said, "yes, I'm in, I'll try it, tell me what to do" would be able to navigate to. So this is your cheat sheet for the key pages.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Focus on Food

The last two weeks I have been focused on the "you are what you eat" part of the weight loss equation.

For breakfast Monday through Friday I am drinking an Odwalla Super Food. The green one that looks like it won't taste very good, but it does.

For lunch, I am eating Amy's Organic soups, any of the following varieties: Black Bean Soup, Low Fat Minestrone, Low Fat Split Pea, Butternut Squash, and a Veggie Lentil soup. The whole can is 2 servings, these varieties are less than 350 calories for the whole can.

For dinner, I eat whatever my wonderful husband has dreamed up. Last night was a large green salad with carrots, about 6 oz of beef, mashed potatoes, and this beyond amazing onion sauce that was like a more intense version of onion soup. Yum!

My body is responding well to this eating plan. After two weeks I am seeing a difference. The last time I stepped on a scale was last weekend, and I had lost 5 pounds. It is cheap, easy, and satisfying. And some day soon, I will get sick of it. I won't be able to reach for the bottle of Odwalla without feeling some inner - "ugh". At that point -- I will need to find something else that is under 300 calories for breakfast that will give me lots of good nutrients in an easy to consume package. Maybe in the form of an apple and some spinach with hummus. But for now, I'm enjoying my simple Super Food Breakfast and Soup Lunch and I'm enjoying this honeymoon phase.

Next week, I will probably add a few quick sessions at the gym doing the Cerqua style ONE Rep. Where one bicep curl done in super slow motion could take 90 seconds from start to finish, and get deeper into the muscle than 30 reps at a normal pace.

Jennifer

90 Second Fitness, Week 1 Day 1

Today I made it back to the gym after a few weeks of recovery.
This break was triggered by 2 weeks of cold, and then just some extra recovery.

Last night I got my gym clothes together and thought about what I wanted to accomplish today.

I had re-read Pete Cerqua's 90 Second Fitness, and decided that would be a fun study.

The Wall Sit is one of my favorite exercises (because it really makes a huge impact).
I wanted to do what he recommends and take that concept into the gym.

There were 9 guys upstairs on the weights racing through their reps with various degrees of attention/form.

I did one rep in slow motion pressing 90 lbs on the leg press. That one rep, held for 10 seconds at 2" intervals took more effort than the faster sets of eight I had been building up to. The lateral pull down with 70 lbs was challenging, but not impossible. 70 lb seated cable row also really just got into the muscle and took every ounce of focus.

I got out of the gym in about 20 minutes, and I feel good about heading to the gym tomorrow and playing it by ear.

Jennifer

High Intensity Interval Training - McMaster Study

This morning I was re-reading 90-Second Fitness. I took a break to check email and stumbled upon a health/weight loss article and came across this familiar sounding tip:

30 Second Exercise Trick

"Now you can work out less - and get more fit. A recent study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, showed that about a half-hour of sprint cycling (alternating speeds by pedaling quickly for 30 seconds and then at a slow pace for four minutes) is as effective as an hour and a half of moderate pedaling. The key is the series of 30-second power bursts."

I tracked down the study -- which was conducted 6 years ago (I guess that is recent in the big scheme of things)... The key that they aren't quoting in the "30-second power bursts" health tip is that resistance level and heart rate are really crucial. It's not just pedaling fast for 30 seconds, it is fast with lots of resistance. Think intense, almost to the point of vomiting. What they found was that the "Resting muscle glycogen concentration increased (P <>

The two week study was conducted in 6 session 30 minute sessions with four minutes of slow to no movement and several 30 second super intense bursts, for a total of 15 minutes of super intense "bursts" over the course of 2 weeks, with 24 hours of rest between sessions.

Here is a link to the McMaster Study: http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/98/6/1985?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=mcmaster&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

I rarely read the actual study that gets extrapolated and condensed to a little "weight loss fact".

The next one I'd like to track down involves incline treadmills. I read that walking at a 15% incline burns 150% more calories than walking on a flat surface. That was in the November/December 2008 issue of Fitness Magazine. I looked and no source was listed.

Week 5 - Day 6 of Treadmill - 60 minutes of Cardio Go Giants!

Watched the first four innings of Giants vs Phillies tonight.
First 30 minutes, Stairmill 2.5 miles level 8 fat burning mode 300 calories burned.
Followed by 30 minutes of Elliptical 35% resistance 350 calories burned.

Planning to get to the gym again tomorrow.
It was nice having something to watch and letting this one be a bit of autopilot.

Jen

Week 5 - Day 5 of Treadmill - 45 minutes of Cardio + Weights

I warmed up 10% incline treadmill for 5 minutes, then upstairs to the free weights.

I started out with 10lb weights running through the chest/arms section of the Cindy Crawford "Next Challenge" DVD. I've done it so many times I could see it in my mind. At the cross over arm barrel presses 10lbs was too heavy, so I switched to 8lbs and ran through the whole thing from the top.

Then I did a few sets of 10 lb Tricep extensions.

I pressed 90lbs on the leg press machine x 3 sets of 10. Almost didn't make it through the last one, so I think I was just right on the intensity. (During the rest period I did bicep hammer curls).

Then, remembered a combo a personal trainer showed me of dead lift 25lb barbell then squat and stand lifting the 25lb weight over my head and then returning to deadlift x 10, then did another 10 with 30 lb weights then down stairs to the elliptical. I went 30 minutes, then finished up on the bike. It felt good. Ready to take tomorrow off. Friday is a rest day. Finish up Week 6 on Saturday.

Jennifer

Week 5 - Day 4 of 6 Treadmill - 60 minutes of Cardio

Stairmill x 30 minutes
Over the course of 1,800 seconds - you have the opportunity to innovate.
I started doing this yesterday. Instead of walking head on up the stairs, I crossed my feet over stepping to the far left with my right foot, and to the far right with my left foot. It did require paying more attention, so as not to fall off the stairmill... but it was definitely using muscles that don't usually get called into action -- and that is a big part of what I am trying to do. Waking up and using muscles that haven't been developed.

In addition, I was going through 30 second bouts of taking every other step and changing the speed (level) to keep my heart rate up and me on my toes.

Then, 16 minutes on the treadmill. Never did get into a groove there, but did enjoy my last 14 minutes on the bike before calling it a day.

Tomorrow may be a day of rest, or if I wake up and feel like I have the energy, it will be Day 5.
Jen

Week 5 - Day 3 of 6 Treadmill - 90 minutes of Cardio

Today I woke up at 4:47, before my alarm and made it to the gym before 6

Stairmill - 30 minutes at level 8, listening to Stan Ridgeway

Treadmill - 30 minutes -- the first 10 at 1.4 mph standing sideways and side stepping, then 20 minutes at 3 mph, practically dancing to the music. Divynals, Belly, and a Robyn Hitchcock.

Elliptical - 30 minutes, 10mph on low incline, and 4.5 on high incline - random hills at 6 - 8 resistance

And I loved every minute of it.
Jen

Week 5 - Day 2 of 6 Treadmill - 45 minutes of Cardio + High Rep Weights

Today I hit a wall (in my mind)

5 minutes of treadmill at 3 mph, then Day 2 Of Harley Pasternak's 5-Factor Fitness
I did:
50 Dumbbell Single Arm Rows - with 5 pound weights -- too light
50 Stiff Legged Dumbell Deadlifts with 10 pound weights -- also too light
50 Dumbbell Single Arm Row - with 10 pound weights -- a little too light, but better
50 Stiff Legged Dumbell Deadlifts with 20 pound weights -- because of all the reps, this was ok
50 Dumbbell Lateral Flexion/Extensions with 20 pound weights -- I feel this one tonight in my abs

Then I fell apart over the cardio...
10 minutes on the Arc Trainer
10 minutes on the Elliptical
10 minutes on the Treadmill, at the calibration mechanism broke
10 minutes on the Bike and I was through - out of steam, nothing left to give

Some days are like that. So, I reserve the right to take tomorrow as a rest day, or if I wake up early and feel like going for it, I'll give it a shot.

I did eat Rolled Oats this morning, with about 12 cranberries and 8 walnuts with hot water steeped in a hot cup. It was very filling. I had a few small (10 almond) snacks at 11 and 4, and a great lunch - a garnish size serving of pork with lots of acorn squash and white beans for lunch and a acorn squash, spinach, sweet potato and pork dinner with a large green salad. My compliments to the chef! -- some how despite all that I did manage to find a cookie at lunch. Darn you temptation! But, I did enjoy every bite so there's that.

Hoping for a better tomorrow,
Jennifer

Week 5 - Day 1 of 6 Treadmill - 60 minutes of Cardio + High Rep Weights

Kicked off Week 5 with a 5 minute Cardio warm-up (Walking 15% incline 3 mph)
Then, used Harley Pasternak's 5 Factor Fitness Monday as inspiration and did
Chest Dumbell Fly - on a bench -- much better than at home on the floor! I hurt myself the last time I was following his plan (he doesn't give specifics on which weights to use, and I over did it)... so I was super cautious and used 5lb weights since I was following the 2x30 reps warm up.
Then did 60 Dumbell Tap Squats with 10lb weights. I got to 50 and then started counting backwards from 10 to 1, because I couldn't bring myself to think 51,52,53...
Then I did Upper-Body Crunches x 60 and 40 Reverse Crunches

Then I started my 60 minutes of Cardio.
I did Stairmill for 30 minutes, I got 15 minutes in on level 12 listening to Polly Jean Harvey's Uh Huh Her. Then, I was covered in sweat and breathless, so I switched to level 8. I ended up at my 144 floors, but I was doing lots of little variations. I would take every other step, standing tall. Then I would hop one foot and then step the other foot on the same step so I was really putting all my weight and strength into the first jump. Then just walking one step at a time.

I headed to the climbing treadmill next, it was a very clunky machine I made it 5 minutes and then I just couldn't do it.

I jumped on the treadmill 5 more minutes. Again, just couldn't go another step. So I headed over to the bikes. I rode 6 miles listening to PodRunner "windup" at 130 bpm. I did all of this in shorts. Shorter shorts than I have worn in public in more than a decade, maybe two. And it felt great. All this cardio and strength training is working to transform the shape of my body, and I feel taller, leaner, stronger, and more confident.

So much of the time at the gym could just be on autopilot. And if that is what I was doing, at the end of it, I wouldn't look that different than I did four weeks ago. It is by tuning into the workout, pushing yourself to do your best -- but not so hard that you burn yourself out or get hurt. Hanging in there for the "golden rep" as Lee Labrada has referred to it.

Ready to face Day 2 tomorrow
Jennifer

Week 4 - Day 6 of 6 - 60 minutes of Cardio and Weights

Stair Mill 30 Minutes, 144 floors
Elliptical 30 Minutes 3 miles
Total calories burned somewhere around 700.
Upstairs - Weights
Lat Pull Downs - 70lbs x 8 , 55lbs x 10, 4olbs x 20
Cable Rows - 70lbs x 10, 20 lbs x 20
Rope Handle Tricep-Press Downs 20lbs x 3 sets of 20

Recap - Week 4 was a great change of pace.
I enjoyed breaking up the cardio into 30 minute blocks back to back with different activities.
I am ready for tomorrow's day of rest, and then will kick off Week 5 on Sunday -- what form that will take is to be determined, but I think it may be a repeat of this week's theme.

Have a great weekend!
Jennifer

Week 4 - Day 5 of 6 - 90 minutes of Cardio

30 Minutes Stair Master Stair Mill level 10, fat burner mode, with some bouts of level 8,12, and 14 - 143 floors

30 Minutes of Elliptical random mode, read Allure magazine September 2010 issue
Interesting article on weight loss, the program costs $25,000 so the details were very vague.

30 Minutes of Cycling - just for the joy of it. between 85 - 100 rpm

Ready for tomorrow to finish out Week 4 injury free.

Week 4 - Day 4 of 6 - 60 minutes of cardio and Weights

Wednesday 30 minutes of Stair Mill Fat Burning Mode Level 10.
Followed by 30 minutes of 15% incline on treadmill with four or five 60 second bursts of running at 5.0 mph

Weights
Lateral Pull downs 3x10 descending 65,60,55 lbs
Cable Rows 3x10 descending 70,55,40 lbs
Leg Press 3x10 at 140lbs for all three sets

Debbie Reynold's leg lifts x 100 each side. Hearing the Doing it Debbie's Way big band soundtrack in my head the whole time. That is the biggest reason I am tempted to replace my broken VCR. I doubt it's out on DVD.

Week 4 - Day 3 of 6 - 90 minutes of cardio

Tuesday - woke up early and made it to the gym before 6am.

30 Minutes on Arc elliptical trainer at 20% incline and 50% resistance
30 Minutes of 3 miles an hour walking on treadmill at 15% incline
30 Minutes of elliptical trainer - alternating 4 minutes backward, 4 minutes forward

Over 1000 Calories burned
Ran out of charge on my iPod
Amazed at how time passes even when it doesn't feel like it, and 60 minutes 6 days a week is making a difference.

Join Me!
Jennifer

Week 4 - Day 2 of 6 Stair Master Treadmill and Weights

Monday I logged 60 minutes of Cardio -- but I couldn't face the treadmill for the 20th workout, at least not first.

So I continued on my theme of mixing things up:
30 minutes Stair Mill Stair Master - level 10, fat burner mode, 144 floors - 3 miles. 330 calories burned

30 minutes Treadmill 1.5 miles, side steps, grapevine 300 calories burned

Downstairs - Debbie Reynold's leg lifts x 100 per leg

Upstairs - Weights

Leg Press x 3 sets of 10 - 90lbs

Lateral Pull Downs x 3 sets of 10, 60,55,50 lbs descending

Cable Rows x 3 sets of 10, 60,55,50 lbs descending

Week 4 - Day 1 of 6 Mixing things up

Saturday morning I headed to the gym. I wasn't hurting from Friday's 6 mile walk so I climbed the stairs to the treadmills and surveyed the main room. I headed to the cross trainer, it is a cross between a stair climber and an elliptical trainer. I looked for a picture of one, and quickly learned there are hundreds of similarly named machines -- so I will pay more attention next time I go to the Antioch gym.
I spent 30 minutes "climbing" at 50% resistance and between 50% and 100% incline.
Then, because I was doing something new and didn't want to push it too hard, I switched over to treadmill for another 30 minutes, then I did my strength training routine in the weight room.

700 calories burned and 10,000 + steps in 60 minutes of cardio

Sunday was a day of rest, looking forward to picking up where I left off tomorrow.
Jennifer

Week 3 - Recap 27.55 miles walked, 5,800 calories burned

I woke up before 5 this morning and headed to Emeryville. I got to the gym by 6:15 and got on the treadmill. I listened to the Prevention Advanced Interval for a warm up and then switched to Podrunner's Ziggurat. I walked for 99 minutes. I don't know at what point I fully committed to walking as long as the time on the machine would allow. When it gets to 99 minutes, it starts counting down and then shuts off and goes into workout recap mode. Of course, nothing was stopping me from re-starting -- but I was happy to get to that milestone.

Today wasn't my fastest, or steepest incline. I went for 30 minutes at 15% incline, then went down to 5% and then made a pattern on the display that was one step higher for every line. It's the kind of thing that my mind can really get distracted by -- which is what I was counting on to be able to keep going. Because I wasn't going super fast, I went over 6 miles.

This has been a big week -- to recap:
Saturday - 4 miles 800 calories burned
Sunday - 4.5 miles 1000 calories burned
Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - 5 miles 1000 calories burned
Wednesday - 4 miles 1000 calories burned
Thursday - 4 miles 1000 calories burned
Friday - 6 miles 1000 calories burned

Total for Week 3:
27.55 miles walked
5,800 calories burned

Seriously considering going to the gym tomorrow morning, if my legs will allow me to. If they are too tight and sore, I may just do something else. Sleep in, rest, or find a new activity... I am ready for Week 4 of the Treadmill Experiment whatever it may hold.

Jennifer

Week 3 - Day 5 of 6 Treadmill - 1000+ calories burned

Today was great.

I got up at 4:50 am and was on the road by 5:15 -- and then, traffic. Ah, fellow travelars on the road out of Antioch -- please sleep in tomorrow so I can high tale it out of here!

Made it to the gym near my work and got on the treadmill. You know the drill. 15% incline, and go! I was walking at a brisk pace and tried out the Prevention Magazine Interval Training free iTunes download. Awful music, but compelling to have someone saying, "Okay now the music is going to speed up for the first 60 second high speed interval." and then, "Only 15 seconds to go!". The first interval I ran at 4.5 miles, second interval 5.0, and third interval briefly ran at 6.0 then slowed back down to 5.5. What I love about this is 1) you can do almost anything for 60 seconds... and 2) if 5.0 feels fast, and you go 6.0, suddenly 5.5 doesn't feel so bad.

I listened to Podrunner "Dark Designs" also free on iTunes, and then at 600 calories burned hit stop and went upstairs to the weights. I love the weight room upstairs at Emeryville InShape. It is a brick building with exposed brick, high ceilings and skylights. There are windows on three sides, and you can see the sun rise over the train station. There were four guys upstairs lifting weights and they left me alone. I went to the Lat Pull down and did drop sets. 15 reps at 55lbs, then 15 at 50 lbs (the first one at 60 by mistake - ouch) and then 20 reps at 45. Then took a quick rest and did the same weight /reps Rowing. It felt good. Then, over to the leg press and it was already set at 90 lbs, and I haven't done those in a while, so I just stuck with that 10 x 3 sets.
Then back to the treadmill for another 400 calories brisk walking.

At the end of that I felt good. Not exhausted just awake and strong.

Tomorrow I will wrap up day 6 of 6 and then will kick off Week 4 on Saturday.
Jennifer

Week 3 - Day 4 of 6 Treadmill - 1000+ calories burned

Today was a battle.

After the first 30 minutes I was thinking, hang in there till an hour or 600 calories whichever comes first.

I was out of energy and feeling worn out.

Then as I got to an hour and 795 calories burned I jumped onto a new machine and did another 205 calories to get me to 1000 and then I stopped. I went about 4 miles. It wasn't easy but I slowed the pace down and I knew if I kept going I'd get there eventually, and I did.

Some days are harder than others. That's okay. Each day is it's own fresh start. Tomorrow I may wake up and find the strength to go another 1000, or I may just take a rest day and regroup.

Jennifer

Week 3 Day 3 of 6 Treadmill - 1000+ calories burned 5 miles

I woke up at 5:20 this morning and contemplated whether or not to go back to sleep.
This little voice rang in my ears, "Get Up!" I didn't need more prompting.
I dressed in my gym clothes and headed out the door.

I stayed on the treadmill for 70 minutes walking at 4.4 miles per hour. I didn't even think that was possible. Nothing like slowly building up endurance to stretch your comfort zone, I was sure I could have kept walking at 4.5 or 4.6 -- but I want to take it easily, gently and not get hurt (again).

I set the incline at Max 15% and watched the Star Track lap red blinkie light move slowly around the oval track. I can count to 11 before it goes to the next blinkie light.

I took two steps per second and that equates to 14,000 steps.

At the end of it, I felt good but was left thinking about how the Star Track Calories burned is about 200 calories different than the other Treadmill at the gym. The other one uses a weight calculation. I looked briefly for a good calories burned calculator. Wow, there is a huge range of calculators, probably best to take that little number with a grain of salt.

That said, if it motivates you to walk longer because you want to see a four digit Calorie Burned number, then who cares how precise it is. You walked a little more because of it, and that can't hurt.

One way I was able to keep up the fast pace was listening to a new Podcast I discovered on iTunes. It's called Podrunner. I listened to Staring At The Sun and part of The Engines of Distraction. They are free. They are 140 and 180 bpm and they wander and meander. I felt like I was at a giant rave, in my mind. It was really easy to lose track of time, even as I counted the seconds.

Jennifer

Week 3 - Day 2 of 6 Treadmill - 1000+ calories burned 4.55 miles

Woke up this morning, slipped into gym clothes and stole from the house before the kids were awake.

I set the Treadmill incline 15% 4.0 miles per hour for the whole hour, at the end of the hour I had burned over 900 calories so I sped up and increased the "cool down" time and waited until I saw the 1000 calories burned milestone.

One question that occupies my mind is what is more appealing to me than whatever food I may find tempting? The answer lately is a dream vacation. I don't know if not spending money on edible treats would make that dream easier to achieve, but it is a decision that can make me reflect upon what I really want, and if it isn't always a cookie, that's a good thing.

Listened to New Moon and Eclipse Soundtracks. Craving some new music though, well, not necessarily new -- just different. I don't own any Police, Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Joy Division, and my budget for music right now is null. It won't always be like this.
Maybe a CD Mix Lending Library could be arranged?

This afternoon it will be hot out here so I am planning on taking the kids back to the pool. They are water babies, just like me.

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Jennifer

Week 3 - Day 1 of 6 Treadmill - 805 calories burned 4 miles

Today I got to 600 calories burned and kept going.
For most of the hour I was walking at 4.0 miles per hour. Once I hit an hour, I was so close to finishing the 4th mile I set that as a short term goal and kept going.

Over the course of an hour a lot of random thoughts can go through your head. I am really enjoying this time first thing in the morning where I am walking and just letting my mind wander.

Last night I had a terrible nightmare. 1st I dreamed a bunch of people who had lost their houses to foreclosure came and took over our house... and then somewhere in trying to navigate that Eric and I realized we'd been away from the children for over two hours, and we raced back to the house to check on them. I woke up with a flood of adrenaline, terrified out of my mind. I was able to relax and fall back asleep quickly. In the past I would have tried to replay the dream to work out a happy ending. This time instead I just repeated gently over and over again to myself. Somehow that word was just what I needed to hear and I fell back into a really restful fearless sleep.

Somewhere on the treadmill at about 40 minutes in I felt a muscle twinge. I slowed down the treadmill a bit and took really deliberate careful steps. I focused on how I felt, knowing that if I needed to stop, I would have to just to protect myself. After a minute I felt fine. Instead of continuing at the slower pace, I accelerated back to 4.0 and finished strong - and pain-free.

It would have been really easy to stay at the slower pace and worry that I was going to get hurt, but instead I focused on how I was feeling in the moment and didn't let the fear get in the driver seat.

I got home and Caitlin was tucked in on the couch watching her favorite cartoon "Horseland". I fed her the cereal and then gave her a peach. She then requested another peach, an apple, and orange, applesauce, and a pickle. I told her to wait and let the food settle a little first. She was really enjoying me sharing food with her, so I need to give her my full attention so she doesn't equate love and attention with food.
Gotta Go!

Jennifer
Jennifer

Week 2 - Day 6 of 6 Treadmill

Yesterday I did my 600 calories/60 minutes

Today, I walked at 4 miles an hour for an hour, and burned 750 calories.

Then today at lunch I walked over to Emeryville Market with a friend and we split a Medium Mocha Freddo. I did the calorie calculation and the 378 calorie drink, split into two cups minus the 1.5 miles we walked (approx 100 calories per mile on flat incline) -- the treat was less than 40 calories.

I printed the draft of my weight loss book tonight, and am working on layout.
Somewhere around 100 pages the toner ran out, so I have about half of it to work with -- but that is more than enough to edit.

The past two weeks of this walking 6 days a week plan has been wonderful. I am definitely going for Week 3 starting this Saturday. Tomorrow I will take a day off.

At the end of my 750 calories burned walk I did go upstairs and do some rows and lat pull downs. It felt great.

Jennifer

You're Hired!

I wanted to find a picture that would capture what waking up in the morning could be like at it's best. If I were staying at the resort pictured to the right, I'd wake up in the morning happy to be alive.

Most mornings I wake up before the sun and I know if I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling and said, "Do I feel like going to work today?" I'd probably find the answer would be no more often than not. It's not that I don't love my job -- it's just getting out of a nice warm bed can be less appealing than sleeping in.

I don't ask myself if I feel like going to work because I know most days I would be able to think of at least one hundred things I'd rather do among them "sleeping in, staying in bed, reading a book, playing with the kids, hanging out with my husband, going to the beach, going for a walk, going shopping..." and on and on. I don't give myself the option not to get up, get out of bed and go to work. It used to be called having a work ethic. Maybe you've heard of it?

Maybe you do this too. If you do have to get out of bed every morning like it or not and do something, then I know you can change your habits in the kitchen, regarding snacking, eating out, and going to the gym.

How do I know this about you?

Well, if you have a job, then you know how to find things you enjoy about working and hopefully you show up happy to be where you are, you do the stuff you need to do, and you'll do it today, and you'll do it again tomorrow. If the drive to earn a salary and have money is one that motivates you to go to work, if you have to pay the bills or if you stay home and raise children, if you have to watch the kids; then you understand that there are some choices that aren't really choices.

If you want to hire yourself to take on a new million dollar project called, how to do less and have more happiness, be healthier, look better, and live longer... then guess what "You're Hired!"

Yes, that is right, why not hire yourself to be your own best friend? Decide that there are a few things you are doing that aren't helpful to your longer term goal of being healthier and happier. This is your personal performance review. You're great. You're amazing. We think you are doing a great job... but you aren't taking wonderful care of yourself and that needs to change. I like Debbie Reynold's, "It doesn't matter how good you look, you can always look better, you can always feel better." as she starts her "Doing it Debbie's Way" exercise video (yes video before the invention of DVDs).

So, hire yourself and come up with some short term goals.

There are a lot of different goals you could have regarding your health and/or weight-loss. Think about what motivates you and start collecting a second income -- called health, beauty, happiness, and longevity. And it is TAX FREE!! Gotta love that.

Jennifer

You Were Born Thin!

I have been looking for images that inspire me. I find that the better I feel, the less stressed I am, and the less likely I am to think eating too much is tempting. It's not -- eating when I am full just sounds unappealing -- but this is something I am working like a muscle. Instead of pumping iron, I am collecting positive thoughts, feelings, and images.
I had this flash a while ago -- we were all born to be in good shape. I have a belief that we are all born to be a healthy weight. I believe we all have the innate ability to maintain a healthy weight. I think if anyone who is currently skinny had to deal with everything you have dealt with in your life, and ate all the foods you do, they would weigh roughly what you weigh now.

Whether or not this hypothesis is true, what would it get you to imagine that it is? Would it mean that you could start seeing yourself as someone who has the ability to change your life? I think you can. I know I did.

I believe you can lose the weight you want to lose. I believe you can make more loving choices and increase the amount of pleasure and joy in your life.

Week 2 - Day 4 of 6 Treadmill

Another 3 miles, another 600 calories burned this morning.

I was on the treadmill that shows laps, I did 12 laps. I was going a little faster than yesterday and feeling good about what I was doing. Boredom could be a danger to this program, but by changing the music I am listening to, how fast I am going and racing myself, seeing how long I can run at 5 miles an hour before I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest keeps me on my toes.

This afternoon at the office I served pie and ice cream to about 50 co-workers. I had asked the group I am part of that hosted the event to bring some apples too -- which they did! I had an apple and skipped all the pie, ice cream. I noticed my serving sizes were smaller than the servings of the other people who were serving. I didn't think badly of anyone that wanted the pie, didn't raise my eyebrows and say "are you sure you want apple and pumpkin, and ice cream, and whip cream..." The point was to offer a "treat" on an otherwise uneventful Tuesday. It was nice that the treat was expanded to include apples, and I did hear a few people comment that they liked that option.

This reminds me of some great party advice I heard on Beyond Diet podcast. When you go to a party, if everyone is walking around with a glass in their hand, grab a cup and get some water. People don't care if you're not drinking alcohol, but there is a lot of pressure to have people participate. "Are you sure I can't offer you something to drink?" Also, if you are going to a party, a sneaky trick Keith Kline has is to make a low calorie healthy dish and bring it. That way when everyone else is loading up their plates, you aren't sitting off in a corner not eating.

Looking forward to tomorrow for Day 5 of 6.

You may wonder why Wednesday is Day 5... well, no matter what day you start your exercise routine you can call that Day 1.

Is today your Day One?
Jennifer

Week 2 - Day 3 of 6 Treadmill

This morning my son Christopher woke up at 6:30 and chirped, "Mommy, look the sun is up! It's Good Morning Time!" and proceeded to bring me a stack of books to read to him.

I didn't make it to the gym first thing, and spent a nice leisurely morning at home. (Vacation Day). This evening I headed to the gym and accomplished Day 3 Week 2 of Treadmill 15% incline. I went over 2.5 miles and burned over 600 calories.

It felt great, and I finished running at 4.5 miles an hour keeping time to Billy Joel's My Life which was playing on the gym sound system.

Falling In Love

Love is essential.

I don't have to know you to know that what you want, deep down is to be happy. What you want, deep down is to look the best you can look, pain free and enjoyably. We all want that.

Falling in love isn't about making a plan to only eat dessert on the weekends, or promising to never eat your favorite foods again. Instead, finding things to say yes to things that are new and good should be your daily goal.

When you decide to marry someone - one of the biggest questions you have to answer is, "Can I imagine spending the rest of my life with this person?" often answered romantically as, "I can't imagine my life without you."

Over and over again I had read of people falling in love with exercise. I thought of them as weirdos like those people who intentionally eat tofu. What you are really falling in love with isn't the time you are spending in the gym – as much as the way it makes you feel over the course of the day. On days where I exercise I am in a better mood all day, no matter what unfolds. We were made to move and though our lives now don't generally require us to do a lot of walking, running, jumping – that is what our bodies are designed to do. I could give you a can opener and ask you to hammer a nail into a wall. You could either beat the heck out of the nail or tell me you'd like a better tool. If I recommend walking on a treadmill, and you hate treadmills – don't get on one. What do you prefer to do? This is all about you – what you want, what you prefer.

You may say you prefer to sit on the couch and do nothing. Well, what if you did something crazy like use a tiny size serving bowl and if you are going to snack in front of the TV you only serve yourself 4 chips at a time? And then you walk to the kitchen to get 4 more during the commercial. You make a game of it. If at the end of it you got up 20 more times than you would have and eat 10 less chips, you've done better than you would have. Raise the bar higher tomorrow but celebrate your victory today. It isn't all or nothing when it comes to losing weight. It's just doing better more often than not.

The less you are willing to do anything the more just doing a little something could start to open the door. For people that feel completely stuck, there is hope. I have been there. I felt totally hopeless, yet despite feeling like there was nothing I could do, miraculously I was able to escape to health and happiness. I have a truckload of good tricks up my sleeve and I am sharing all of them.

Saying "I do" to a diet that forces you to do things you can't commit to for the rest of your life is like marrying someone you're not crazy about. It may work for a while, but it's not going to work out. Thinking of a diet as a temporary thing that you do until you reach a goal may make it possible to say "yes" to all kinds of unappealing things for the short term, but it is nearly impossible to condemn yourself to saying yes to a lifetime of pain and discomfort. Although, ironically, if you aren't at your healthy weight you are inadvertently saying yes to just that.

By intentionally inching your behavior toward better and better choices, you gradually begin to think, feel and behave like a healthier happier person. If you have a lot of motivation to make bigger changes, you'll make faster progress. But maybe you are just at the butterfly stage, the tiny flap of the wing that will eventually spawn the tsunami. Take head unwanted pounds, your days are numbered. This body is going to transform before your very eyes. Growing muscles and shedding fat and becoming lighter and happier.

Give yourself credit for everything you do that is better for you to reinforce that you are making new choices and improving your health - every day.

Making the process of losing weight about finding greater happiness means you are falling in love with yourself. Loving yourself is a wonderful thing. It isn't vain or selfish. If you don't love yourself, you are not able to give love to others. We are meant to live loving happy lives. The happier we are, the more happiness we can share. When I am feeling happy, it is easier for me to give my husband, my children, my family, friends, and strangers on the street more kindness. Being centered in a healthy happy way makes life easier. This better feeling can happen now, and does not need to wait until you are at the "perfect" weight.

Week 2 - Day 2 of 6 Treadmill - chance encounter with a woman in a wheel chair changed my outlook this morning

Woke up at 7 and headed to the gym.
I walked 2.69 miles and burned 630 calories.

Breakfast - Coffee with whole milk, and some of Eric's homemade whole wheat bread (with cinnamon, cardamon, and raisin) with an amazing scramble: eggs, shredded zucchini, peas, spinach, and lentils... and a little bacon.

Now planning to head to Alameda this afternoon for a walk around Crab Cove and to take the kids to the playground.

Tomorrow I am taking the day off work and planning to go to the gym before starting the rest of my day.

Today I listened to Bob Dylan, Cake, Go-Go's, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Elastica, Depeche Mode, White Stripes and Chris Isaak. The four televisions in the "ladies only" workout room were tuned to Lifetime Drama, Joel Osteen, and two crummy news channels. I did listen to Joel (christian evangelist) for about 10 minutes. He spent the whole time talking about the farmer who sowed good seeds but had an enemy plant weeds in his field. He was trying to explain the concept of keeping faith when bad things happen to good people. I don't know if he has figured out for himself that no matter what happens in life, you have a choice about how to think and feel about it. When I had reached my limit of having an incredibly basic concept explained about 10 different ways, I hoped the rest of his audience got it, and I switched back to music.

Moments later a woman in a wheel chair glided into the workout room. She obviously knew her way around and had her routine down, she got the free weights from the rack and started doing her exercise routine. I had been looking at the time display on my "Lifecycle" machine and I had twenty minutes left to walk and was feeling like maybe the 60 minutes/600 calories plan should be re-thought. I had been getting bored on the treadmill. There is nothing like imagining what it would be like to be confined to a wheel chair to make you remember what a joy it is to walk. I finished my routine strong and with a smile. No sense in being ungrateful for the opportunity to walk and get into better shape.

Jen

Week 2 - Day 1 of 6 Treadmill

Woke up at 5:50 and headed to the gym. In Shape Gym has many locations and I have one at the bottom of the hill and one near my work.

I prefer the upstairs at the work gym, it usually has low music and sometimes the two TVs aren't even turned on.

Today I set the pace at 2.5 miles and started re-reading Karen Andes' "A Woman's Book Of Strength" Karen Andes' book is categorized as "Fitness/Spirituality". I was trying to figure out if she still co-owns Gold's Gym. I couldn't find that answer but I did find this nice quote, "The reason I call the dumbbell a spiritual tool," says Andes, "is it makes us stronger through resistance training. We meet resistance in many areas of life -- work, marriage, even traffic jams. By facing resistance physically, you learn to deal with it otherwise. You can flow to it gracefully and not dread it or fight it. In doing so, you learn much more about yourself."

After 3 chapters, I ran for a little while at 4 miles an hour, and then finished my 600 calorie workout by walking at 3.5 miles an hour.

Day 1: An hour, 600+ calories, 2.39 miles, and off to a great start for the day.
Jen

Ready for tomorrow Kick Off Week 2

Today was my day off the treadmill.

I stopped at Lafayette Peet's for a cup of coffee on my way into the office.
I had looked up the calorie content of the Petite Lemon Curd Scone (140 calories 50% from fat with 3 grams of protein) and compared it to the Lemon Poppyseed Muffin (280 calories, but less fat and had 11 grams of protein).

I renewed an old weight-loss trick of mine. I ordered the Lemon Poppyseed Muffin and as I was walking to my car past a trash can, I tossed the bottom half away. I don't feel bad about wasting it -- the alternative was my eating the whole thing, and that wouldn't help anybody.

Now I had effortlessly created a 140 calorie treat with more protein than the alternative on the menu.

The point of sharing this is not just to prove that I my brain is not normal, but rather, or additionally -- that saying yes to something you want isn't a Yes or No, Good or Bad choice. There is a large gray area between Good and Bad and that is where change happens. Lasting change is unfolding, developing, growing, evolving and isn't happening in one big burst where you say, "No more pastries, ever!" Because even if you do succeed in saying no to the lifetime of pastry opportunities, which can be a very long arduous task (if you like pastries)... you will feel the sacrifice of the saying no, and will most likely use that to justify saying yes to something else later in the day. That is what I have observed most of us behaving day to day.

Tomorrow I start Day 1 of 6 Week 2 Treadmill Experiment.
I have my gym clothes laid out and tomorrow I'll get up before the kids and head to the gym. I'll listen to some music and walk for an hour 15% incline somewhere between 2 and 5 miles an hour. Then, home for a morning cup of coffee ready to greet the new day.

Jen

Day 6 of 6 - Week 1 of Treadmill Experiment

To recap the week -- I have been walking on a treadmill an hour a day for 6 out of the last 7 days. I have burned a total of 3600 calories, and walked between 2 - 3 miles a day, so at least 12 miles more than I would have walked if I wasn't doing this.

I'm walking because I am sick of being so close to my next goal line. I have been working on a plan to do something consistently. Many of my recent attempts got derailed by injury. To learn from my mistakes, instead of running, I am walking. To see bigger impact faster I am extending how far I am walking to I see some real benefits. In 6 days I've lost 5 pounds. From what I have studied, some of the weight I have lost this week is fat, and probably mostly water, and who knows maybe some muscle too.

I have noticed differences in how I feel just after exercise and over the course of the day. I don't know why it is, maybe because I haven't felt super exerted, I am less likely to crash. This cascades to keep me from thinking I need to eat something to keep from crashing. I am less hungry in the evening. It is easier to pass on unhealthy options, in part because looking at a calorie burn counter is something that moves in slow motion. It takes me anywhere from 1 to 8 steps to burn a calorie depending on how fast I am walking/running.

The fact that I can see real results in the first week, makes the commitment to Week 2 easy. So, next week I am going to repeat Week 1. Sticking with the Treadmill at 15% for another 6 days.

I will plan to do 6 days in a row, and know if something dumb happens like oversleeping I can still salvage victory for the week.

I have been working out in the morning, on weekends sneaking out to the gym before the kids wake up (leaving Eric in charge as usual) and on workdays getting out the door and onto the road by 6 so I have an hour to work out before work.

Working out in the morning is best for me, because once I finish, I feel more alert. I also feel happier, stronger, and walking on flat ground feels like I am floating.

If you are interested in making a plan to work out Saturday through Thursday 60 minutes may be too much if you haven't been active. Try 10, 15 or 20 minutes and see how it feels to make a commitment to yourself for your health that you can easily stick to 6 days in a row. And if you blow a day or 2, it's still 5 or 4 more days than you would have done -- so you have nothing to lose.

What type of exercise would you like to do every day?

Jen

Treadmill Day 5 of 6 plus Strength Training

Today was awesome! Got to the gym by 6:45, incline Treadmill at max 15% for 60 minutes. I went over 3 miles and did run a little at 4.5 miles an hour. Then, I had a little time left to lift some weights. Lateral Pull Downs 3 sets of 15 reps at 55 lbs, and then Seated Cable Row, at this point I had been exercising over an hour, so I set the weight at 40 and did 3 sets of 20.

Most of the walking today was really a hybrid march. There is a difference when you lift your feet up. I haven't had cable in a few years, so without Style Channel I never randomly stumble upon models walking down the runway, but I have noticed that they do kind of pick their feet up and stomp down the walk (or at least that was a style about 6 years ago).

At 9:45 I finally realized I should eat something. I grabbed a power boost smoothie at Jamba Juice (en-route to a meeting). I only drank 1/2 of the "Sixteen" which is their small. I must be allergic to a pesticide they spray on berries. I thought it was just Blackberries and Raspberries, but I started having the same reaction with the Strawberries, so I am pretty much out of options at Jamba - which isn't a bad thing. If I could completely re-invent their menu to have actual good choices without sugary juice it would be so much fun.

Lunch was chicken breast (skinless) with roasted onion, carrot, sweet potato, and green beans and lettuce. Complements to the chef. I didn't marry a chef on purpose, I just totally lucked out.

Jen

Treadmill - Day 4 of 6 picking up speed/distance

Yesterday I overslept. I must have turned the alarm off, but I have no conscious memory of that. When I looked at the clock I knew I had blown my perfect 6 days in a row.

I briefly contemplated calling in sick, but quickly ruled that out. Although perfection can be a heady temptation.

This morning I was back on track. I woke up and got on the road by 5:45 and made it to the gym by 7:00.

I put on a great mix of music to keep me moving:
Indigo Girls - Dairy Queen, this song is great for warming up.
Simon & Garfunkel - A Hazy Shade of Winter -- it was so fast and relentless I listened to it twice, getting up to walking at 3.5 miles an hour.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand - great for a good strong stride
The Amps - Empty Glasses - which always cracks me up "where's my waitress? where's my other shoe..."
I was so happy and before I knew it an hour had gone by -- and I wasn't treading along or tuning out. I was focusing on getting the most out of each step. It is amazing how just simply paying attention can change something boring and tedious into an adventure/joy.

I walked/ran over 3 miles and burned over 600 calories, and am planning for Day 5 tomorrow.

What music do you like to listen to when you work out?
Post a comment and share some inspiration!
Jen

Treadmill - Day 3 of 6 Hills of Connemara

I had been walking about 35 minutes, starting out at a brisk pace with some Huckleberry Party songs. It is hard to walk slowly to the happy child geared tunes. Plus, you feel immature and so walking fast on a 15% incline at 3.5 miles an hour doesn't feel daunting.

Then, I listened to a little of the Rachel Gichert interview again. I realize I misquoted her, because her reason to not run is that running tears down muscle and burns lots of calories. Well, that could be a good thing. But, I like the idea of walking at 3 - 3.5 miles for an hour. I feel like I am less likely to hurt myself and more likely to stick with it.

Then I put on Shilelagh Law again. The Hills of Connemara is a great song. I think I would need to record a video of what I did next, because it is very difficult to describe. If you were standing in place and you have any experience in ballet you'd be doing something that I've seen in the New York Ballet Workout DVD. But, on the treadmill you have to be careful because when you place your foot down and pick your other leg up to gracefully kick it up as you're moving. Probably dangerous if you aren't focused but I was fully intent on the combination of music and how I was moving to it. Music can have a profound impact on the quality of my workout. I am thankful for having so much great music at my fingertips. I can remember when I would have had a walkman and how inflexible that could be to my mood. Although, I have logged many hours over my life listening to mix tapes.

Shilelagh Law's CD is available on CD Baby -- the one I've been wearing a hole in is 1&9

Happy Sunday,
Jennifer

7% Body Fat - Treadmill - Shilelagh Law

Planning to get up tomorrow and head to gym for Day 3 of my current kick.

This one was inspired by listening to Rachel Gichert interviewed by nutritionist Keith Klein. Rachel spent 45 minutes talking through what she does to get into shape. She just earned her Pro Card taking 1st in her class at the 2010 USA Fitness Competition. Now, I know for sure I would never like to get down to 7% body fat -- yikes. There are pictures of her on the Beyond Diet website. That isn't my dream shape by any stretch of the imagination -- but she does know how to sculpt her body. Rachel answered all Keith's questions about through her exercise routine and it inspired me to re-think cardio.

Her cardio routine is 6.5 hours a week. Give or take a few hours. She doesn't run because she is trying not to build muscles in her quadriceps. That got my attention. She walks at 2 miles an hour for an hour 6 days a week. She also does 500 lunges in one day once a week to burn out her quadriceps so they won't grow. I highly recommend listening to her interview -- it's free on Itunes search podcast, Beyond Diet.

So Friday morning I got up and headed to the gym. I set the treadmill incline at 15 (which is the maximum) and then started out at a little over 2 miles an hour. I walked until I had burned 600 calories (just under an hour). I felt great all day.

Then, today, I got up and headed to the gym and did the same thing in a little less time by listening to some Shilelagh Law and my workout mix (Bob Dylan's Things Have Changed, White Stripes Little Room, Go Go's Get Up and Go, and Throwing Muses Fish) 600 calories burned and again, that feeling I've accomplished something. Glowing health and strength.

600 x 6 = is a nice round 3600 -- which is right around that magic 3500 calories number. Eating 3500 calories less (or burning 3500 calories more) over the course of a week translates to about a pound of fat lost. So here goes plan #29 for this year as I try to beat these last ten pounds into submission. And I know this time will be the charm.
1) Discipline
2) Commitment
3) Determination
If I have the will to yield three things as I know I can, I will achieve my goal.

Jen

Don't Tell Yourself You Can't Have Something

I don't know how many times I will need to learn this simple truth: "Don't tell yourself you can't have something." At the moment you say something is off-limits you've declared war. It's the worst kind of war too -- an internal civil war. When you approach changing your behavior by pitting what you know intellectually against what you feel emotionally you create a battle in your mind. This struggle leaves you feeling depressed and destroyed and is the reason why deciding you want to change can be so hard, that you don't even want to try.

Focusing on what you can't have doesn't work for a couple of simple reasons.

1) To be able to not do something, you have to think about it.
We are not able to accomplish the following mental feat. Don't picture a purple elephant with green stripes. To be able to understand what you are being asked not to do, you first have to create the image. If I hadn't asked you not to think of a purple elephant -- odds are almost everyone reading this would have been able to not think of the elephant. Even if you're a huge elephant fan, you probably don't often have herds of purple elephants with green stripes running across pink fluffy clouds in your mind. Uh oh, now you're seeing hundreds of purple elephants, do they have wings too?

When we embark on a new diet we usually flip to the "Don't Have" list to see if there is something on it that we can't live without -- at least that is my modus operandi when skimming diet books. Please don't say no chocolate, wine, or bacon. Whew, ok.

2) Focusing on not having something, is only hard if it is something you really want.
We typically don't waste time saying, "Ok, whatever you do, don't eat celery." If we did, can you imagine how much we'd start sneaking into the fridge to grab a stalk of celery? Right now, I can imagine the taste of the celery and the way it crunches when I chew it. While I am sure I could develop a Don't Eat list that would include all the healthy foods that I really wish you would incorporate into your daily list -- the idea is, if it wasn't something you really wanted, it wouldn't be a big deal. Just like, not thinking of purple elephants wasn't a big struggle because you don't love spending hours thinking about them. Shoo elephants, shoo... You don't spend time thinking about how to avoid eating celery because you don't feel like it would be hard to do. You're already not thinking about eating crunchy delicious celery, so the idea of not going to the store and buying some pre-cut sticks isn't a big hardship. If however you were someone who loves chocolate and I asked you not to eat any -- you'd suddenly have this strong reaction somewhere deep inside that would rebel against me.

So, you need to stop thinking your choices are between Good and Evil. Chocolate and No Chocolate. What if the choice was a million dollars or a piece of chocolate? How hard would it be to resist the piece of chocolate? On a scale of 1 to 10, less than zero. Hello Fellow Millionaires! And I'm not suggesting you couldn't buy a million dollars worth of chocolate if you chose the million dollars.

Every choice you make can be that much of a no-brainer. What if you decide that instead of saying no to chocolate ever again, that instead sometimes you are just trying to expand your imagination to say yes to something better than chocolate? And, as hard as it may be to imagine that there are things you could say yes to that would be better than chocolate -- we already have the million dollar example. What else could be better than chocolate? Well, really -- a lot of things. So make it easy on yourself and stop saying no to things you "shouldn't" have -- and seek out the things you'd rather say YES!! to.

Jennifer

5-Factor Fitness

Week 3 of Harley Pasternak's 5-Factor Fitness
I had never done super sets (20 reps x 4 sets) of a single exercise before

Harley's plan is 25 minutes of exercise 5 days a week
Monday, Tuesday
Wednesday REST
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Sunday REST

The 25 minutes are broken out as
5 minutes cardio
5 minutes super set #1 ONE OF THESE(chest fly, row, chest press, shoulder press, bicep curl)
5 minutes super set #2 ONE OF THESE(squats, deadlifts, lunges, triceps pullover, triceps curl)
5 minutes super set #3 ONE OF THESE(upper body crunch, lateral extension, lower body cruch, upper body twist, double crunch)
5 minutes cardio

What I love about it.
Getting up at 5:15 and heading to work by 6 knowing I did something good for myself
Results -- working intensely shows results faster than I've seen before
Getting smaller, stronger, and feeling amazing.

I recommend checking out the book, I borrowed it from the library and then bought a used copy because I think he has really great instructions for how to continue to tweak the weights and length of rests to keep pushing your body to the next level.
I added Cindy Crawford's Next Challenge this morning as my warm up and did 38 minutes instead of 25.

Secret to Success
I have been writing down my plan for tomorrow at the end of the day
Really simple, the exercises and the number of reps/sets, what I plan to eat and when I am going to wake up. It works, I get up and go start my workout music mix. Fish by Throwing Muses is a great song to lift weights to.

Be Healthy, Happy, and Strong
Jennifer

Temptation - Under the Microscope

Or, how I pulled a beer from the fridge, and then decided I'd prefer to have a glass of ice water with a little lemon.

Tonight I stepped into the kitchen to make my son Christopher a sandwich. I opened the fridge and there it was -- the last beer. Alaskan Amber one of my current favorites.

I pulled the beer from the fridge and set about making the sandwich. Then I started thinking about my plan to go to the gym tomorrow morning. The first ten minutes of my workout would burn off the calories from the beer -- but would I even feel like going?

I love going to the gym on mornings when I wake up before my alarm, get dressed in my gym clothes and head straight to the gym near my work. My gym clothes are neatly laid out for tomorrow.

I brought Christopher his sandwich and then returned to the kitchen. There next to the ice cold beer was a bowl of lemons, and I picked one up, remembering how refreshing the lime water I'd made earlier this week after reading One Body One Life again. I stuck the beer back in the fridge and filled my 5th anniversary water glass.

Then I started thinking about temptation. What is tempting about working against myself? Does having a beer sound more appealing to me than becoming my most fit and healthiest? Especially when I am so close to being where I want to be...

What if the temptation to be in great shape starts calling to me and in those moments where I am confronted with stuff I used to think of as treats, I just see it as detours to my goal and impediments to my happiness? The more I look at "treats" that way, the less appealing they would be. The less "tempted" I would be to do things that sabotage me. The easier it would be to make the last 10 pounds be the easiest and most enjoyable.

Looking at my near empty water glass, and getting ready to grab a refill.

Salute,
Jennifer

The Kind Of Person Who...

Would you like to be the kind of person who is naturally slender. The kind of person who enjoys exercise and looks forward to 30 minutes of exercise as part of their daily ritual? All the things you wish could come easily and naturally to you are the things you want to start believing in.

Visualization is a word I used to shy away from.

But when I was little I lived in the world of imagining what I wanted my life to be like.

As we get older we stop saying, "When I grow up I want to be..."

So, I invite you to spend a few minutes day dreaming about what your life would be like if it were a little bit better than it is now. Maybe, nothing would be different but you'd feel more at peace with yourself. Maybe, you'd be ten pounds lighter or able to lift 50 pounds more easily.

Whatever those things are that you want, imagine yourself already having them. What if you had already figured out how to make it happen? Not focusing on how you did it -- just knowing that you did. Then, what if you can think of something that person would have done to get there.

This week, I am thinking about: every other day treats. I did the no treats for 10 days, and I made it 6 days... and then, well... you know how it goes.

So, now I am thinking one day at a time. If I did really well on one day, and good on the next, and then really well the day after that -- over the course of a year I'd see a lot of improvement.

Just an idea. It might not work. But if it does, then I will be that much closer to living the life of my dreams in the best shape of my life. And that is worth the exercise in seeing if I can indeed make my dreams come true easily and enjoyably.

Happily ever after isn't a passive thing -- it is a conscious choice and a way of being in the world.

Jennifer

Sonoma Diet - Day Six

99% of the reason I picked up the Sonoma Diet book was to "get back on track"
Over the past few months, all kinds of exceptionally stressful things came my way. The biggest one by far being a death in my family. The scale started to creep up, and I really didn't care. At first.

Then, when the scale hit 160 and I was now back to the point of saying, "I've lost 95 lbs and kept it off", instead of my "I've lost over 100 pounds..." I crossed the line I had drawn in the sand.

I reached out for all kind of resources to get me back on track -- and I did them all to varying degrees of "perfection".

The past week on the Sonoma Diet has been awesome.

I love what I am eating for breakfast. I love how it sets me up to feel strong, sharp, alert for my morning.

Breakfast - 1 slice of dry whole grain toast, 1-2 scrambled egg(s) depending on how hungry I am -- every day this week. Yesterday Eric added 1/2 an avocado which was delicious.

I love what I am eating for lunch. I love how it sets me up to feel strong, sharp, alert for my afternoon.

Lunch -- mainly chicken breast (curried, grilled, roasted, and a la soup) skinless, with veggies (salad) and a little whole grain.


I love what I am eating for dinner. I love how it sets me up to feel strong, sharp, alert for my evening as I settle in to being home with my family and then allows me to relax let go, and get great sleep waking up feeling alert and excited about my day (and stepping on the scale and seeing a number that reflects my good choices).

Dinner (see lunch)

The biggest changes in what I am doing is 1) no alcohol. 2) no sugar 3) no white flour 4) no fruit 5) no eating after dinner.

For ten days. At the end of the ten days I can start adding red wine, and fruit. That sounds really enjoyable to me.

The scale was back down to 153 this morning. So I have officially lost over 100 pounds. Today begins Day Six of my eating plan and it is going to be that much easier and enjoyable to savor knowing it works and I can do it.

Jennifer

5 Star Choices

Piece of Cake
Rate with Stars 1 - 5
1) How delicious it looks
2) How delicious it tastes

If you gave the cake 10 stars -- 5 for looks and 5 for how delicious you imagine it will tastes -- you'd eat the cake, right?

5 star choices is about asking more questions to get a better rating of the actual number of stars.

Example
I have a goal of wanting to live a long happy healthy enjoyable wonderful life full of good experiences.

Decision to eat a piece of cake should not be a choice between 2 things
1) Eat the cake
2) Don't eat the cake

Should not be a choice between these other 2 things
1) Desire to eat the cake
2) Desire to be thin

If all I am doing is choosing between two things, in almost every scenario I can think of -- I eat the cake. If it looks delicious, and it is delicious and I like eating delicious things, of course I would eat the cake. I'd be silly not to.

Deciding to eat the cake if it has 10 stars, 5 for looks and 5 for taste is a no-brainer.

If I add a third point value
Rate the cake on it's ability to help me reach my weight loss goal --
If I give it a 1, it is still 11 out of 15 possible points, and I eat the cake.

If I add yet another criteria -- a fourth point value
Rate the cake on it's ability to satisfy my hunger --
If I give it a 1, it is still 12 out of 20 possible points, and I eat the cake.

If I add yet another criteria -- a fifth point value
Rate the cake on it's ability to help me live a long and healthy life --
If I give it a 1, out of 25 possible points -- I now have a total of 13 out of 25

If I add yet another criteria -- a sixth point value
Am I hungry? If I'm not hungry then I am looking at 14 out of 30 points and there are finally more reasons to skip the cake then to eat it.

In the heat of the moment, someone offers you a piece of cake and it makes your mouth water, and the smell of the cake is sugary, buttery, chocolately --whatever your favorite treat//pleasure seeking identifiers. The higher it rates on the looks & perceived deliciousness scale the more likely you are to "indulge".

If I told you, "It isn't really an indulgence to eat something with empty calories." I am suggesting that your ability to rate the cake a perfect 10 is not real.

It is really by applying all 6 of the 5 star questions that you have a chance to really rank whether you want to indulge or not.

If you want to lose weight -- then there are certain foods that aren't going to help you do that. Sugar, Flour (if it's not whole grain whole wheat) are two of the top least helpful foods on the list. If I gave foods 5 stars on their ability to help you lose weight you'd see lot of pictures of vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains. If I added a section of 4 star foods you'd see more starchy vegetables added and less sweet fruits. Then 3 star foods would include all other vegetables and fruits and 2 star choices would be non-processed foods found in nature and 1 star would be every thing else. It could be a really huge book containing countless variations of foods either as individual ingredients or as meals -- but you probably already have the ability to rank foods based on the information I provided above.

The problem is if you are choosing "Eat the Cake/Don't Eat the Cake" and it has 10 out of 15 points it takes a lot of willpower to be able to pass up the cake. If you are evaluating the cake as 14 out of 30 then you may feel in control and happy with your choice. Maybe you need it to be 15 out of 35, 16 out of 40, 17 out of 45, 18 out of 50 to finally get to the point where your decision not to eat the cake feels so good to you that you'd prefer to skip it. If you need to add four more criteria to make it a much more compelling no-brainer kind of choice then add four more questions.

If I add yet another criteria -- a seventh point value
Is cake my favorite treat? If I prefer something else to this indulgence then I am looking at 15 out of 35 points and there are even more reasons to skip the cake then to eat it.

If I add yet another criteria -- an eighth point value
Am I interested in exercising 1 minute for every calorie? If I'm not interested in torturing myself like a hampster on a wheel to burn this off, then I am looking at 16 out of 40 points and there are even more reasons to skip the cake then to eat it.

If I add yet another criteria -- a ninth point value
Would I like to carry this on my body all year? If I'm not wanting to see this "treat" on my belly, bum, thighs, chin, or arms then I am looking at 17 out of 45 points and there are even more reasons to skip the cake then to eat it.

If I add yet another criteria -- a tenth point value
What question would you ask yourself to push it over the edge? If you answer this with 1 out of 5 stars then you are looking at 18 out of 50 points and there are more than enough reasons to skip the cake then to eat it.

Each of these questions gives you POWER
Each of these questions can increase your HAPPINESS
You are able to be the expert on when you want to lose weight.
When you do want to lose weight -- then use this tool as one more tool in your tool kit for being able to easily and enjoyably lose weight.

It only takes a moment to assign 1 number
Think about it.

Is the cake a 1 or 50 on the scale?

Well, you know it is generally going to be an 18 out of 50 best case scenario. That means you are able to say it gets 5 for looks and 5 for taste. That means, if you look at it and want a reason to say no you have 32 reasons to say no, and only 18 to say yes. If that gives you space to really grow and treat your body better to be able to cross the finish line to your goal -- that is awesome. It's ok to eat the cake. It's ok to decide you'd rather not lose weight. But if you are miserable where you are and you are struggling; I want you to be able to have a happier healthier easier path. I want you to live a long healthy happy life. I want you to help make the world a happier more loving kind place to live in. I believe that means we make better choices than always mindlessly saying yes to the cake. We make better choices than punishing ourselves and saying I can't have the cake. What if we don't even want the cake? What if we'd rather have something else? Maybe a walk on the beach with my son, where I can easily run along the surf with him is a million times more "delicious" to me than a bite of left over birthday cake someone has left sitting out in the lunch room. Maybe celebrating another year is about treating ourselves really well, being loving, and not eating a bunch of empty calories loaded with things that aren't going to help us extend our lives and well being.

What if just being able to say No sometimes because that is what we have learned to prefer gives us the POWER to be able to choose and create our HAPPIEST life?

Bon Appetit!
Jennifer

Stuffed - Stuff Management in the 21st century.

Stuff, in and of itself is a good thing.
You and I and everything in our universe is made up of stuff.

Quote about Stuff from The Tempest,
"We are such stuff/As dreams are made on" Shakespeare

Quote about Stuff from the film The Maltese Falcon:
"The stuff that dreams are made of." Humphrey Bogart

We stuff the turkey,and then we stuff ourselves - every Thanksgiving
We get to the point where we have too much stuff - Yard Sale!

I typed in "Stuffed" in google search and was offered a choice between Teddy Bears at Target and Dictionary Definitions. Even the dictionary definition offered a header section with sponsored links.

Stuffed - sponsored links - Teddy Bears with Photo - Add a Favorite Photo to a Stuffed Teddy Bear - stuffed animals - Find stuffed animals Online, Free Shipping $50 on 100,000 items Wholesale Stuffed Animals - Shop Lions, Tigers, Bears & More! Free Shipping on Orders $349 and Up.

If I had gotten up out of my chair, grabbed my dictionary I would have avoided this whole world of information I hadn't been seeking -- but part of what I am thinking about this morning is all about all that extra stuff we get bombarded with at almost every waking moment we are connected with the outside world (via internet, tv, radio, our phones, the stores we shop at the things in our cupboards and hanging on our walls.)

We are made up of and surrounded by stuff.

One man's trash is another man's treasure -- but at the end of it all, it is all just "stuff".


I passed over the sponsor's kind opportunities to consume and went straight to the choice I had been searching for. Warning -- just like the word itself, the definition of the word stuff is incredibly broad.

Free Dictionary Definition of the word Stuff:
stuff  (stf)
n.
1. The material out of which something is made or formed; substance.
2. The essential substance or elements; essence: "We are such stuff/As dreams are made on" (Shakespeare).
3. Informal
a. Unspecified material: Put that stuff over there.
b. Household or personal articles considered as a group.
c. Worthless objects.
4. Slang Specific talk or actions: Don't give me that stuff about being tired.
5. Sports
a. The control a player has over a ball, especially to give it spin, english, curve, or speed.
b. The spin, english, curve, or speed imparted to a ball: "where we could watch the stuff, mainly curves, that the pitchers were putting on the ball" (James Henry Gray).
6. Basketball A dunk shot.
7. Special capability: The team really showed its stuff and won the championship.
8. Chiefly British Woven material, especially woolens.
9. Slang Money; cash.
10. Slang A drug, especially one that is illegal or habit-forming.
v. stuffed, stuff·ing, stuffs
v.tr.
1.
a. To pack (a container) tightly; cram: stuff a Christmas stocking.
b. To block (a passage); plug: stuff a crack with caulking.
c. Basketball To block (a shot or an opponent who is shooting), especially before the ball leaves the shooter's hands.
2.
a. To place forcefully into a container or space; thrust: stuffed laundry into the bag.
b. Sports To shoot (a ball or puck) forcefully into the goal from close range.
c. Basketball To dunk (the ball).
3.
a. To fill with an appropriate stuffing: stuff a pillow.
b. To fill (an animal skin) to restore its natural form for mounting or display.
4. To cram with food.
5. To fill (the mind): His head is stuffed with silly notions.
6. To put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
7. To apply a preservative and softening agent to (leather).
v.intr.
To overeat; gorge.
Idioms:
stuff it Vulgar Slang
Used as an intensive to express extreme anger, frustration, or disgust.
stuff (one's) face Slang
To eat greedily.



Our bodies are formed by a complicated symphony of our thoughts and actions. According to quantum physicists we are literally made up of what we are around, as matter is not the solid material we see, the things I surround myself with become part of me. Deepak Chopra addresses this idea beautifully in his book Perfect Weight. Obviously in addition to the more out there concept that I may be made up of parts of every person who lives and who has ever lived on this planet -- I am also made up of what I have eaten and what I have drunk. I am made up of what I have not eaten and what I haven't drunk as well.

Every choice I make over the course of today has an impact on what I will look like tomorrow. When I look in the mirror dark circles under my eyes would reflect my stress or lack of sleep. If the scale goes up I may be reminded of what I have been eating lately beyond what I needed for the amount of energy I expended. If I am building muscles, my muscles are made up of the water I have drunk, and the weight I have lifted. My form during the workout, the weight of the weight, the amount of time I spent all work together to create my physical body, and my mental well being.

In the 21st century, in the United States of America, and in "developed" countries around the world we are faced with an epidemic of over consumption.

We are stuffed. Our minds are stuffed. Our bodies are stuffed. Our houses are stuffed. Our computers are stuffed. Our lives are stuffed.

Stuff Management in the 21st century.

Your Body
•Become a Pleasure Seeker - Stop eating and drinking stuff that doesn't maximize your pleasure
•Become more like an Athlete - Stop being a Couch Potato

Your Mind
•Be able to distinguish between Wants and Needs -Stop buying "stuff"
•Be clutter-free --Stop buying stuff to stuff your stuff in
-- sorry Container Store, there is something wrong with a world where you are needed!

Your Spirit
•Be able to disconnect from the outside world
Stop getting bombarded with stuff - take a break from information overload
•Be loving, love-able, and love yourself and others

And now, it is time to go make some coffee!
Jennifer

Sonoma Diet - Day Two

I am always on the lookout for the next good idea. This one crossed my path a few months ago and I was in the midst of the Eat To Live olive oil is evil phase of my weight loss journey. Now that I have landed in a more main stream territory, I was happy to read the Sonoma Diet book again.

I have paraphrased it for coffee room conversations this week.

No, it isn't the drink lots of wine diet -- although that did make me crack a smile.

This plan is almost exactly like Eat Clean diet (lifestyle) without the eating every three hours.

Here's what it looked like Monday and Tuesday
Breakfast - scrambled egg and slice of whole grain toast
Lunch - hearty home made chicken soup
Dinner - bed of lettuce with curry chicken and rice
Tuesday is a lot like Monday but I reversed the lunch and dinner.

So far I am feeling really good.
By really good, I mean my energy is steady and I am not feeling food deprived.

The first 10 days of the plan are without fruit, alcohol and starchy veggies. No processed foods are part of the plan even after 10 days.

Simple, enjoyable and the scale is doing that thing it does when you shake up your system.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Re-Directing Your Original Desire - A parenting trick

This morning after reading a bunch of books with my daughter Caitlin, she reminded me she needs to eat. "Mommy, I'm hungry. Can I have some cheese monkeys?" (that is Eric's code for cheese puffs, the most processed food we have in the house.)

I said, "Caitlin, let's have some fruit salad!"

"No Mommy, I want cheese monkeys."

I opened the fridge and pulled out the bowl of fruit salad, then said, "Hey Caitlin, what if we have some fruit salad in a beautiful glass dish?"

"Ooh, ok Mommy."

As I filled her dish, she stood on her tip toes. "Grapes, lots of grapes!" so instead of the junk food she had what I preferred she have.

Our inner desire is a lot like my three year old. We want what we want. But when presented with an alternative we can be swayed, and sometimes putting it in a pretty dish can make the difference.

Eat Well,
Jennifer

Back On Track

Today I got up at 5:40 and slipped into my gym clothes. Packed my work clothes in a bag and hightailed it out of Antioch before the morning gridlock.

I stopped in Lafayette at the grocery store. I skipped Peet's to save time and temptation. At the grocery store I didn't use a basket, so I was limited to what I could carry. I got Blueberries, Romaine Lettuce, Broccoli and Carrots, an Apple an Avocado, and a can of Butternut Squash Soup (200 calories) by Amy's Organic. With healthy food in toe made it through the tunnel and into the gym lot just after 7.

Elliptical machine for 30 minutes, went 6 miles an hour, walked 3 miles and burned 400 calories.

Then oatmeal for breakfast with handful of blueberries.

An apple for a snack around 10.

Lunch was 6" Veggie Delight from Subway (yes to all veggies on whole wheat no to cheese, dressings etc) I added 1/2 the avocado and a splash of balsamic vinegar (5 calories) with a bowl of soup.

Dinner was amazing - salad with cucumbers and homemade stew with carrots, onion, tomato, celery, and red meat -- which I needed because I hadn't had enough protein. (thank you Eric, you are amazing)

Then I had a banana and a few small squares of dark chocolate for dessert.

Feel like I had a good day full of lots of healthy choices...thought I'd share and see if anyone else is trying to get re-motivated.

Already planning on walking at the gym tomorrow and have my gym clothes in the dryer ready for round 2.

Jen

Joy of Healthy Eating

Life is easier when we make good choices without having to think about it too hard.

Trying to lose weight by thinking about all the things to do or not do to reach your goal is a full time job.

Over the past few weeks, I have unplugged a bit -- and I am finding that my cravings have been evolving toward healthier choices. Yes, I still crave ice cream and cookies, but more often I am craving fresh fruit and veggies.

This shift toward thinking about building these good choices into my day is making my life easier.

On the exercise front, I have started working on a variation of the Wall Sit, but I rest one foot on my knee, so I am doing a one leg version. It is good to search for new ways to challenge yourself as you grow.

Overnight Success

It never fails when I am on a diet, I wake up and it is like Christmas morning, I head to the bathroom and step on the scale. If the number is lower, I feel a rush of good feelings to be able to continue on my quest another day. If the scale goes up, and I am feeling really motivated, I will make a resolution to try that much harder the next day.

If you want to wake up tomorrow morning healthier and thinner than you are at this very moment -- you can -- and in fact -- only you can.

No one else can do this for you.

Each day, you get to make a million different decisions (whether you want to or not). Each day is a gift and you get to think about what you like, what you don't like, what you love, what you enjoy, when you want to, what you want to -- it is just one non stop blur or action (or non-action) throughout the day. You choose if you want to turn on the TV, what show you want to watch. You choose if you feel well enough to go to work, where you work and what you do there.

You choose what you eat and drink.

Having fed two children, I know that even from the youngest age we make decisions about what to eat. A child that isn't hungry will turn their head away or refuse to eat. Children in high chairs usually end up with more food on the floor than in their mouths if it isn't something they like or are hungry for.

You eat what you want to eat, when you want to eat it -- and you drink what you want to drink, when you want to drink it. You may not realize you are making these choices, but you are -- and with that knowledge you begin to have the power to make better choices.



Before
If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see, you can look imagine you are looking at your before picture.

After
Then with loving eyes, you can see all the things that you like that will be there when you are slimmer. Your smile, the way you crinkle your eyes when you smile. Smile and you instantly look better.

Now
Look in the mirror, and see yourself as you are now, and know that that is changing before your eyes. Know that the best part of you is already there. Not hidden away, but there right on the surface. It shows it's face to the world through your emotions. Showing people pictures of smiling vs. non-smiling people -- the smiling people always look better to me, no matter which one was thinner. It isn't about being thin as much as it is about being healthy and happy. That is my wish for you.
Jennifer

You Are at Your Goal Weight

If you don't weigh exactly what you say your goal weight is -- let me offer this point of view.

You are at your goal weight. You currently weigh exactly what you want to. If that is out of alignment with the number you would like to see on the scale, then that means that your goal needs some strengthening. What you weigh now, is exactly what you wanted to weigh.

Every bite of food and every step you took is what led you to where you are now.

This isn't bad news -- it means you can achieve what you want. If you aren't happy with where you are -- then together we can start moving in a new slimmer direction.

How I am going go be thinner next week

I am going to become my best friend. I am going to grab the magic remote control, and learn how to harness the amazing power of my brain to achieve my goals.

1st - I am going to define my dream goal. I am going to raise the bar on what it is I want. The clearer I make this picture, the sooner I will be able to achieve my goal.
2nd - I am going to make my best plan
3rd - I am going to try my best to follow my plan
4th - I am going to fail.

Yes, no matter how brilliant my plan is, no matter how well defined my goal, something is going to happen to get in my way. That is inevitable. That is why I'm not already where I want to be.

But that is ok -- because I have another chance to redefine my goal and revise my plan.

Simple Truth
If my success outnumber my failures, I will reach my goal.
The more my success outweighs my failures, the faster I will reach my goal.

Why I want to be thin -- now

Being healthy, strong, fit, increasing my longevity and endurance are among a few of the reasons I wanted to be thin. I wanted to be able to set a good example for my daughter in particular. I wanted to be able to shop at regular clothing stores. I wanted to be a small / medium and not a large / XL.
I went from wearing a size 22 to a size 6, and this past week, when they didn't have the dress I wanted in my size, I actually did get into an extra small without ripping the seams.

What are some reasons you want to weigh less than you weigh now?

What price would you put on being able to go to the store and just buy it now? If you could go to the "I'm instantly thin" store, buy a pill go to the loo and then walk out of the stall at your goal weight -- what would that be worth?

If instead of being able to pop the magic pill, you just had to do less of things that aren't good for you and more of things that are good for you -- why wouldn't you do that? Well, there are a million reasons, and most of mine contained sugar, salt and fat.

Why I'm not thin -- yet

First, let me say -- as you read this post -- if this isn't your story -- if there are things you totally can't relate to, that is a good thing.

I am giving specifics here, because sometimes it is easier for people to know what is wrong, what they don't agree with, what isn't true than what is. Use the voices you hear in your head that tell you your truths and write them down if you can. I think it is helpful for you to think about what reasons you tell yourself you aren't thin.

Well, I didn't know it at the time -- at the time I weighed 254 lbs I thought I wasn't thin because I had a slow metabolism. I thought, it's no fair, I watch what I eat -- I exercise, and yet -- for some mysterious reason I am not thin. I would eat exactly what my thin friends would eat -- and they'd stay thin and I'd stay heavy. I would get a caesar salad, without croutons, and dressing on the side. I'd leave the butter off my bread -- but I was making so many decadent choices every day, I was really just keeping myself from gaining more and more weight more rapidly. The more I weighed, the more energy it took to walk a few blocks. It is like pushing a rock up hill, only the rock keeps getting heavier and heavier, and the hill just keeps growing. Eventually you realize you are never going to get to the top of the hill, so you try to make peace with yourself.

Ultimately, I wasn't thin because I was eating more calories than I was burning over the course of a week, and at my best I was maintaining the weight and at my worst when I was making the least good choices, I was gaining weight.

But why I wasn't thin, was directly connected to what I was eating / drinking, and what I was doing.

I was spending several hours every evening either hanging out with friends drinking cocktails and beer, or sitting at home doing the same watching T.V.

My farthest daily walk was about three blocks -- from the parking space to the restaurant where I'd get lunch and from my house to the bar / liquor store. Pretty much every where I went was by car, and so reading magazine articles that instructed me to park further away really didn't help me estimate how long a long walk is. If you are walking a few blocks, that isn't a long walk. It's not that parking further away from the store is a bad idea -- but if you are wondering why you aren't thin, and you feel like you do everything you read in magazines and books and none of it works, then I think you may be helped by this truth. If you are walking less than a mile, you aren't walking very far.

Better Choices, Better Results

I think to be successful at weight loss you need to have a clear goal, and the ability to make better choices than you have recently been making.

I think that you can make choices to help you reach your goal -- and I would like to offer my love and support to you as you continue on your journey.

It is easier to slide down a hill than it is to climb up it.

If you have been struggling with losing weight, then I would like to hand you a magic pill that will help you lose weight easily and effortlessly. Then we can all go eat cake and ice cream and go play at the playground.

Maybe someday we will be able to alter our bodies to be able to eat whatever we want in any quantity and lose weight -- but would that make us healthy, powerful, and in control? I won't argue that it would come in handy to have some magic -- but the effort involved in losing weight is really 99% in the mind -- and that is a battle I know everyone can win.

I don't know who you are, how much you weigh, what you eat, how food makes you feel, or what you would like to weigh.

If you are drawn to a blog on weight loss, then I can imagine you want to lose weight and that you would like to have someone help you. I think you probably are aware of what you eat -- I think you could easily list your favorite foods, and I think you may know what challenges you face when you try to lose weight.

So what is stopping you?
Post a comment, or send me an email at thinnerdesire@blogspot.com and I will write a post to try to answer your specific challenge.