Get Fit Like Fido

On the heels of my post about traveling with dogs, came an email request from Priscilla at DogVacay.  DogVacay is a wonderful resource to connect dog owners & dog lovers to others who provide doggie daycare and boarding services. Click HERE to find out how it works. Priscilla asked me to contribute a blog post about exercise. I will pause while my mother and friends loyal readers stop laughing.


Here's the thing: I loathe-despise-hate exercise. But it's not really exercise I hate, it's other people's ideas and expectations of what exercise should be that I'm not a fan of. The last gym I signed up for was so that I could take classes--yoga, Body Flow & even Body Pump. Why did I want to take those classes?  Because they're FUN. EnJOYable. They make my body feel good. What did the sales rep do after asking me what I was looking for in a gym?  The first place he took me to was the sweaty-beefcake section of the gym where the 'roiding dudes were pumping iron. LOUD music pounded all around. This was not the yoga I was seeking. The last place we went was the secluded yoga rooms upstairs.

Years ago, when I first met Bruce Lipton, he said in his seminar, "You wanna know the secret of life?"  We all leaned in. "Movement," he loud-whispered. So that's what I'm a fan of: movement that my makes my body feel good. Everybody has some sort of movement that is suited to their body. For those who like the excitement and intensity of a gym, I say go for it! If that's what gets you motivated and jazzed, do it.

Taking a cue from dogs, in addition to the infographic below, what do dogs do? They play. What is play? Something that you enjoy and is fun to you. Gyms are fun to some people. My mother loves nothing more than to work out at the gym. She was bored stiff when I took her to a gentle chair yoga class. She didn't even break a sweat; that's not exercise (to her). Other people like being a member of a team, like joining a soft ball league. I have friends who wouldn't trade in their running shoes for anything! The key is to find what energizes you.

I didn't renew my contract to that gym. I found my ideal exercise place at Inlight Yoga. While I enjoyed the yoga classes at the gym, I wore ear plugs to dampen the loud music in the gym as I arrived, and also because all the instructors wore headsets so that the very large classes could hear their instructions. The great thing about a dedicated yoga studio is the peaceful and serene atmosphere. This is not to say that I don't break a sweat, because a round of 8 sun salutations will do that! But I have found my place in the exercise world that includes stretching, strengthening, and even a bit of cardio.

One of the values of exercise is that it's the only "pump" for the lymphatic system, which is crucial to having a healthy immune system. There are twisting yoga stretches that "wring out" the lymphatics. I always know it's working when I see students darting to the bathroom after a pose! A few weeks ago, I got a Vibefit which is a great way to stimulate the lymphatic system. 10 minutes a day, I'm loving it!

So this is my "exercise routine" I was asked about:

• Walks down to the lake with Bingo and walking my labyrinth, pretty much everyday, several times a day.
• Yoga classes ideally twice a week, but sometimes only once.
• Vibefit

As far as "cooling down" from exercising, I have a cup of tea. Or I take a shower. Really, I'm not into pain or sweating. My advice, if I'm giving it, is to do like dogs do and play. Find something your body enjoys doing and do it. The best exercise is the one you'll do. And if you want some structure & fun ideas, do this:

P.S. Some people will decide to exercise when they have a birthday that ends in "0" or they decide they need to get healthier. Or, as someone wrote to John Morgan, they "woke up fat." Whatever the motivation, work with your body, and find out what works for you. Make it something that you'll enJOY.

Funny Friday: Convo with Mum

Hurricane Earl Convo
Me: Are you keeping track of the hurricane?
Mum: Oh, that's just on the east coast.
Me: You do know we live on the east coast.
Mum: Well, when I think of coast, I think of the actual coast.
Me:
Mum: Like the ocean.
Me:
Mum: Like in North Carolina.
Me: Well we're spozed to be in for some rain.
Mum: Oh!
Me: Time to fill the bath tub with water.
Mum: Do you have fans?
Me: Fans?
Mum: You know. In case the power goes out.
Me: Um . . .
Mum: You'll be very hot without the AC.
Me: But if the power goes out, how would fans help? They need electricity.
Mum: [laughter]

Yoga Convo
Let me preface this by saying that Mum has always been v. active & athletic. She goes to the gym & "pumps iron" regularly. Not to mention that last Saturday she was participating in a black belt promotion. But when she told me she was going to try a new yoga class at the gym . . . well,  yoga is a bit . . . sedate. But she promised to call after class with a report.

Mum: I just cahn't tie my body into a pretzel. It just won't go where it's supposed to go.
Me: Yeah, I was wondering how you'd like it.
Mum: Well, I can do the standing things. The warrior pose, that's all right. But I don't like getting on the floor.
Me: The floor?
Mum: Yes, you know. Lying on my back, trying to do the archy things.
Me: The archy things.
Mum: Yes. But I must say, for something that goes so slowly, you really feel like you've had a workout. My legs just won't bend that way.

And yes, she's going back for another class.

My Weight Loss Story

In yesterday's post I promised more about my weight loss. One of my sisters, known in our family as The Tactless One, said to me at Xmas, "What have you lost? Like 60 pounds?" I don't know because I didn't weigh myself. I think it's about 40 or 50 pounds, but I hadn't been on a scale so I don't know what my start weight was and it's prolly more. I just went on pant size. So I started from the stretchy-XL's (size 18-ish, I think) and v. gradually moved down to size 10.

Here are the components to returning my body to balance:

MOVEMENT:
When I was younger I took ballet, aerobics, etc. Then I became v. ill with debilitating migraines for a few years. It was a long road back to health and wellness. Thanks to getting Brimhalled, along with acupuncture from my husband, I am back among the living. However, during that time, I had stopped all activity because it was just exhausting. I walked my labyrinth, which was the extent of my exercise.

Lack of movement + hormonal imbalance + yummy cheesecake + STRESS = weight gain.

I was never a gym rat and even tho I had memberships, I never went. Yeah, I was one of those. Now you couldn't pay me to go to a gym: the noise, the bright lights, the sweaty people, the smells...Eeewww! But as Bruce Lipton says, Movement is life. So it was a matter of finding my kind of movement. And then I discovered YOGA. Like Columbus discovered America, but still. THANK GOD.

Have you ever met Yoga People? People used to assume I was into yoga years before I was because I meditate. But I never got the Yoga Thing--those people with their yoga mats on vacation. They get that LOOK when they talk about yoga--you know, the Yoga Trance.

And THEN I went to Yoga East. And I got it. I'm one of those people now! What I appreciate about yoga is that it goes beyond physical exercise and works on all levels of the body-mind-spirit. MY kinda exercise! I'm more flexible than I ever was even when I was dancing, I'm stronger and have more stamina. Yoga helped not just with the physical exercise part, but it REALLY helped with all the stress I was under at the time. I remember Sharon Cameron was leading a particular pose and as I was holding it, I was thinking, I love you SO MUCH. Um, except that I said it out loud. Oops. But it was so true. If you're ever on Kent Island in Maryland, GO! You will be WELCOMED with open arms by everyone there.

MIND/BODY/HYPNOSIS
I continued listening to my CD every night with the intention of being conscious of what my body wants to eat, and how it wants to exercise. I focused on being healthy, vital, and energetic.

FOOD,NUTRITION, ETC.
Whenever anyone asks about "diet," Dr. Brimhall recommends The Schwarzbein Principle. My chiro-friend Catherine does as well for helping balancing hormones, people with diabetes, and women going through menopause. Dr. Schwarzbein helps patients reverse their diabetes and they also lose weight in the process. So it's a great resource and it was one of my influences.

I have a rule for myself that I won't eat anything I don't love. I never ate fast food to begin with and I don't drink sodas. It's not real food to me and it warps the taste buds. However, my weakness was pasta and pizza and donuts and cheesecake and ice cream. We have Celiac's disease in my family. It's the inability to digest gluten (found in wheat, barley, rye). While I tested negative for it (YAY, me!) the doctor said I have an extreme allergy to wheat. So if I get a stray bread crumb, I'll be OK (unlike a Celiac). But often with food allergies, you crave the very thing you're allergic to. If I cared enough, I could get it Brimhalled with their allergy elimination technique (which I would definitely do if it were life-threatening). But I thought I'd try wheat-elimination for a month and see if I noticed any difference. I felt so much more energetic and I wasn't so bloated and I dropped a pant size. Plus, I didn't have cravings. And I noticed that once I stopped eating wheat, I also stopped eating sugar (as in donuts, ice cream, etc).

Another thing I gave up (and this is a running joke in my family) : coffee. Are you drinking coffee, not drinking coffee, what? is the standard question I get when anyone's brewing. I drink tea, with a bit of honey, and organic milk.

Here's what I do eat:

• lots of vegetables, and raw for the most part in the warmer months.
• Beans. I like to sprout them and then they go in a salad, soup, stirfry. V. yummy. I've got some mystery beans from an Indian grocery that are AWESOME! But you can sprout any kind: lentils, black beans, etc.
• Hummus--great with veggies, on salad, with rice.
• I'm not a strict vegetarian, I'll eat Alaskan salmon (NOT farm-raised) & sardines for those essential fatty acids we all need.
• Nuts. I make my own trail mix with nuts, gogi berries, etc. from The Apple Cottage.
• For carbs: sweet potatoes, rice and plantains (SO yummy)!
• Oils: I use mostly olive oil and coconut oil (especially for cooking). There's some misinformation about coconut oil, but you can read more info on the benefits here. I also use it on steamed veggies.
• Total Green is an AWESOME green drink that Dr. Brimhall created. You have to get it through a Brimhall doc or someone who uses Nutriwest neutriceuticals. Packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, etc., it can be used as a meal replacement. I don't like breakfast, so I make a shake. In the summer time I make a smoothie with frozen fruit. I also buy rip bananas and cut them into pieces and freeze them. They give an ice-cream consistency to it and make it v. yummy. In the wintertime, I don't like cold things, so I just mix it with water. Yes, it's that good--to me, at least! I always travel with it so that if there's nothing to eat at a restaurant, at least I have trail mix and Total Green. And especially if I'm at a Brimhall seminar with Dr. Doesn't-Give-Breaks, I can keep my blood sugar stable.
• For sweets: trail mix, fresh fruit, bananas, and I LOVE plantains. I boil them and mash them like potatoes and add a bit of cocunut butter.
• In the winter time I like warm foods and hot tea and I LOVE soup. So I make lentil soup & pumpkin soup & veggie soup, etc. I've also done a bit of GF baking. When it first got cold, I started eating oatmeal (a no-no for Celiacs, but I seemed to be OK with it) except that I went up a pant size in a month. So I stopped eating it. For hot cereal I eat cream of rice occasionally. YUM. But mostly I just have Total Green in the a.m.
• In addition to food, I take my Nutriwest supplements as prescribed by the docs. These have been part of what gave me my life back when I was so ill, and I continue to take enzymes, probiotics, and a multi-vitamin.

So that's basically what I did to lose the weight and how I maintain it. It took about a year. I will look for some good chubby-before and now-after photos for another post. One last note: There are all sorts of reasons we gain weight, and I was not limited to one. There was a huge emotional component that I dealt with and that I am sparing you from. Suffice to say, one of the reasons we crave sweets is when we are missing other sweet things in our lives. In addition, I am hard-pressed to think of many women I know who don't have some sort of body-image issue. It is not limited to weight-gain, either. One of the keys is to stop the battle with yourself and accept where and who you are right now. And give up the idea that there is a perfect size or shape or age. Cut yourself some slack. To paraphrase a song: If you can't have the body you'd love, then love the one you're in. Right now. LTS: Life's too short to struggle. And if you want some help with that, go check out John Morgan's I Love My Body. Ah, because now, at the age of 43, I really do.