Sharing is Caring...Do you care?

Okay, I am going public! How much more public can you go than a blog, you ask? Well, I have only mentioned in passing to a few people that I started this blog. I really didn't want to admit that I spend so much time thinking about how I look, weight, etc. Well, the truth is that you have two choices after 40: you can care about your weight or not. If you do, unfortunately, you have to be mindful of what you eat and how active you are. If you don't, eat what you want and wear elastic waistbands. I was recently at a comedy show with a very funny lady preforming (http://www.pattyross.com/). She joked that she was 50 and had basically given up. She got tired just thinking about all the mind games she played with herself about her appearance. She didn't have the energy any more, didn't give a crap, and was now happily wearing elastic waistbands. As I was laughing, I was torn inside: Did she really not care? Would I be too tired to care when I turn 50? Even now I find it exhausting and find myself devoting way too much time to examining what I eat, workout plans, etc. It's such a catch 22: When I do devote the time to all of that, I feel really great. When I pretend it's not important, and I fall off the weight management/healthy bus, I feel awful. I should say I feel bad. Which brings me to my next point. In our society (and it others) women are always describing a diet slip as being bad. I hate that. Men absolutely do not call themselves bad if they eat too many chocolate chip cookies. They just are not programmed that way, either internally or socially. But, in defense of the feeling bad description, if I eat unhealthily, I do feel bad physically. That is what we should be focusing on-the not caring for our bodies that make us feel lethargic, etc., and not that we were naughty. I think this is a very important distinction.



Change your thinking...



So, getting back to that comedienne, I do think she cared. She had a hip hairstyle and nice makeup. I think that we all have to change the way we think about fitness and nutrition. To stay in shape, we don't have to deprive ourselves of everything we love. Just have smaller portions. You would be amazed that once you start doing this, your stomach will actually be full with the smaller portion. I've noticed that if I eat a lot, then I feel hungrier the next day, like I stretched my stomach and need to fill it again. If I eat less for a day or two, then if I listen to my body, I get fuller faster. As for fitness, I used to think that if I didn't do "official" workouts, then I wasn't really burning the calories I needed to. Well, remember, just like every calorie you eat counts, every calorie you burn counts too. I realize now, you don't have to do 40 minutes, 5 days a week of repetitious, exhausting, and boring workouts. Yes, do the cardio/fat blasting workouts 2 or 3 times a week for 40 minutes. Just vary them. When you are on the treadmill, skip for a few minutes, then run, then walk up the incline. It will be much more bearable and fun that way. With any workout you do, try to vary it to make it fun. On the other days when you don't have an "official" workout planned, try in some way to work up a sweat. This can be done by vigorously cleaning, (sweeping for 30 minutes burns 100 calories), but I think the most rewarding, is to play with your kids! It's fun, and at the same time you are developing a closer bond with them. So, lately I have been jumping on the trampoline with them, not just watching. I have been playing hide and seek, tag (makes you run!), kickball, hopscotch. I have been doing this in an experimental way to see what my weight would do considering I haven't been exercising as much lately. Guess what? Although I felt I haven't been controlling my portions enough, I have not gained any weight, and in fact, am on the lower side of my range. Awesome! Today I am going rollerblading while my girls ride their bikes and scooter.



Have you tried...



Covergirl Simply Ageless foundation with Olay Regenerist? Ellen Degeneris (is it Ellen Degenerist :) is the spokeswoman. Olay Regenerist has been the recipient of many awards in the beauty magazine contests. When I run out of my present foundation, I am going to try it. If any of you have tried it, please write in! Or, if you have found a anti aging product that really works for you, please pass it! Sharing is caring, after all.

Think About This:

"Today decides tomorrow". I just love that quote. It says so much so efficiently. For a woman trying to maintain her health and figure, it means this: Whatever you do or eat today will effect how you feel tomorrow and the coming days. If you stick to your plan by exercising and eating right, by not falling into old habits, you are certainly going to improve your tomorrow. It may seem obvious, but if it is so obvious, why do so many of us have such a hard time sticking to the rules of good health and well being? It would be wonderful if there was a pill you could take to make you feel as good as you do when you wake up after a day of following the rules. You feel WONDERFUL, your stomach might feel a bit flatter, your state of mine, just so positive. Now imagine the other scenario: you ate and drank way too much yesterday. While you were doing it you knew it wasn't the right choice, but somehow you could not stop yourself. Now what is the feeling the next day? Remorse, shame, guilt. It is one of the worst feelings ever. I think we all know which feeling we prefer, and since there is no pill that REALLY will make you fantastic over the long term, we should really keep in our mind the "Today decides tomorrow" mantra. I certainly have been trying to do that, and it has been working. Making the right choices for yourself empowers you, and empowerment in this area of your life opens up a lot other doors. Think about it.....

Tips for you:

I think I have mentioned I bought Garnier Nutrisse Eye Gel Roller and wasn't that impressed. Then I read in Prevention Magazine (my new favorite-although secretly I feel I am too young to read it, in actuality, I'm not!) that sticking your eye creams or gels in the fridge helps them to reduce puffiness better due to the cold. Makes total sense, why didn't I think of that! I will report back in this works or not.

SOMETHING I DID THINK OF, but also read in Prevention concerns your workouts and levels of intensity. It makes perfect sense, but perhaps you had not thought of this: Think of your car. You use less gas while you are on the highway at a higher, consistent speed. You use more gas when you are city driving, constantly stopping and going, speeding up and slowing down. Did you make the connection with your body? Same idea. So you should stop and start, and vary your workouts. If you are running on the treadmill, start at a moderate pace, then after about 8 minutes, increase the grade and walk up a steep hill at a moderate pace for another 8 minutes, repeat. Then maybe run up the hill for a shorter time at the next interval. If your going to be working out for a set amount of time, you want every minute to count as much as it can. Get some great music, and get going!

That's all the wisdom I have to impart right now. I leave you with this: Have a great holiday weekend, eat what you want, but in moderation. If you do, you'll wake up happy!