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Monthly Archives: August 2016

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Why Do You Diet and Exercise?

The CDC, as recently as last year, reported that 71% of American adults are classified as either overweight or obese.  Boston Medical Center states that 45 million Americans go on a diet in any given year.  Annual fitness industry data suggests many of these people also join a gym, take exercise classes or purchase fitness equipment.  It isn’t a stretch, therefore, to state that most Americans would like to lose weight and most of these people will try diets and exercise at least once in their lives in order to achieve weight loss.

ScaleDespite the availability of diet and exercise offerings and the willingness of people to adopt them, the numbers of the overweight and obese don’t budge.  This isn’t new.  The rise in American waistlines began post World War II and has accelerated exponentially each decade since the 1980s.  In the meantime, there has been no shortage of nutrition and exercise studies and an ever-changing, ever-increasing body of information and products released to the public, from both government and private entities, lecturing us on what we should and shouldn’t eat and whatever we’re doing for exercise isn’t enough.

After over 50 years of this, it’s high time to admit it isn’t working.  It’s time to change the focus and change the solution.  The focus should not be weight or body image, it should be health and quality of life.  The solution should not be a narrow-minded list of good-foods vs bad-foods or a constant monitoring of every morsel ingested.  Neither should the solution be an obsessive count of every step taken or every calorie burned.

perfect body adI have offered my version of a path to health and improved quality life – a fit and happier life – through my Small Steps plan.  But, I am not a one-woman movement.  There are many of us out here who have uncovered the weight-loss myths for ourselves and who are committed to spreading the word.  We are a movement of liberation.  Liberating people from the perfect body lie, the diets, the rules, the counting, the shame and the agony of pushing your physical and emotional limits for something or someone other than your own well-being.

Yet, I’m aware my reach is small and sometimes a reader may need to hear what I’m saying in a different way, coming from a different perspective to be able to really understand it and take it to heart.

So, I’m giving a shout-out today to one of my favorite sites, the health section of Refinery29, which has bloggers who are living and preaching the philosophy of the Small Steps program, albeit under their own monikers.

  • Read Sophie Kreitzberg’s compelling “Weight Watchers Led to My Eating Disorder – Here’s Why” to understand why diets not only don’t work but are inherently unhealthy.
  • Don’t miss Kelsey Miller’s description of her “Rational Fitness” term to understand why exercising for the goal of weight-loss instead of health sets us up for unhappiness and failure. Kelsey has her own recurring column at Refinery29 entitled “The Anti-Diet Experiment” that is chock full of intelligent, funny and meticulously researched articles.

If you’ve come out of the dark side of diets, fad workouts and the quest for skinny and into the light of fitness and health, don’t stand on the sidelines.  We need an increasing army of voices and role models to counter the unhealthy body-image-centric messages from the entertainment industry, marketing campaigns, social media and an all-too-large chunk of the fitness industry.  We have to do it for the health of society as a whole but, most especially, for women, who are most targeted by the false messages, and the most vulnerable among us: our girls.

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The Best Workout Playlist

I know what you’re thinking.  You’re expecting a list of super fast-paced songs, perhaps a top-ten type of survey.  But, that’s not exactly what this post is about.

Workout MusicMusic taste is subjective.  What gets my juices flowing isn’t necessarily what will get you to slog through a tough workout.  So, while various fitness publications may put out top workout playlist picks annually, if you’re over the age of 35, like me, you may not recognize 50% of the songs on them.  Most of us can’t get amped up to workout to a song we’ve never heard before.  These published lists may be interesting to peruse, but they’re not practical suggestions for everyone.  But there are some parameters we can follow when selecting music that can enhance the quality of our workouts.

The key is to work with your collection of purchased music or favorite streaming channel whether it be classical, jazz, 60s rock, 70s disco, 80s pop or a mix of different genres from different eras.  The more of a connection you have to the music you play during a workout, the more likely it can provide the motivation and push to make it more enjoyable and productive.  The important thing is to select the right type of songs from your collection to match your workouts.

Many studies have shown that listening to fast-paced music during a cardiovascular workout correlates with faster times, longer distances and an overall better quality workout when compared to working out to slower paced music or no music at all.  Select your fastest-paced songs to accompany cardio workouts like walking, running, cycling or rowing where the quality is measured in distance or speed.

If you’re doing strength-training, it’s helpful to break up the monotony that can sometimes set in when performing several repetitions of an exercise at a time.  I find that a variety of music types works best.  Mix fast-paced rap with rock ballads, for example.  Add some of your all-time favorite songs that might not have quite the right beat for your cardio workouts.

When we think of yoga and other flexibility and balanced-based workouts, we tend to think of New Age music.  But you don’t have to stick to that genre if you don’t want to.  Select music that makes you feel nostalgic or introspective.  This will help you control your breathing, stay focused and self-aware.  Music that brings you back to a time when you felt happy, carefree and safe will help you to relax into the movement and get the most out of your flexibility training.

80s MusicIf you’re curious about my playlists, let’s just say I’m child of the 80s.  I know no one who can rival the collection of 80s tunes I’ve amassed – over 500 songs, thus far.  But my playlists don’t consist of songs only from the favorite decade of my youth.  I’m always adding Top 40 songs that I like, particularly if they have a great workout beat.  Some of my favorite contemporary artists for workouts include Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, Lady Gaga and OneRepublic.  I’m constantly updating my workout playlists, swapping out one song for another to keep them fresh and new, even if a lot of the songs in them are old.

Get the most out of all your workouts by making the most of the music you already own and love.

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We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

Gymnastics Team

Gymnastics Team

The 2016 Summer Olympics are in full swing in Rio.  As with any Olympics, there are lots of fascinating statistics and stories coming out of Brazil daily.  But, there’s one statistic that is of particular interest to me and, I think, bodes well for the future well-being of girls in the United States.  This summer the U.S. has the largest female contingent in the history of the Olympics.  And, for the second time, the U.S. is represented by more female athletes than male athletes.

Basketball Team

Basketball Team

Gone are the norms of my mom’s generation that told us it’s unladylike to sweat, that healthy competition was a man’s endeavor, physical strength an unnecessary achievement and that muscles detract from physical beauty.  Girls are learning from the women representing our country in Rio that these old rules are myths.

Further, female Olympians are proving that physical strength and fitness come in all shapes and sizes.  That girls who aspire to be Olympians don’t have to be born with a physique perfect for only gymnastics or figure skating.

Swim Relay Team

Swim Relay Team

What’s remarkable when looking at pictures of these women is that, while they all have fitness, physical strength and endurance in common, their outward physical appearances run the gamut.  But none of them resembles the 5′ 10″ and 110 lbs frame of the typical runway or magazine model.

Soccer Team

Soccer Team

The young women in the Olympics today are teaching our girls that it’s good to have dreams but they’re not achieved by sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone to wave a wand.  They’re learning from example that achieving goals takes commitment, hard work and persistence.  They’re learning that failures and defeats are a part of realizing one’s dream and the only real obstacles any of us face are the ones we place on ourselves.  That all of these things build character and make us better human beings.

Track and Field

Track and Field

These, of course, are lessons Olympians have taught young people for generations.  What’s new this year is the U.S. female athletes are teaching our girls that physical strength and endurance are cool.  That there is no activity that’s off limits.  And that there is no one height, weight, bone structure or skin, hair or eye color that makes one woman stronger, more capable or more attractive than another.  In short, anyone can be fit and being fit is beautiful.

This is huge.  We have a long way to go in the realm of body image issues in this country.  But, thanks in no small part to the U.S. Olympic women, we sure have come a long way.

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Fit and Fabulous Vacations

View from the Cliff Walk, Newport, RI

View from the Cliff Walk, Newport, RI

A fleeting month left until Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer.  It’s high time for my annual reminder to take fitness with you on vacation.  Here’s what that means:

Don’t: force yourself to stay on a strict diet and keep the same workout schedule.

Do: sample the local cuisine in moderation and explore your destination through movement – whether that be by pedals, paddles, oars, boards or propulsion by your own arms and legs.

Looking at the Prudential at sunset from Cambridge, July 4th

The Prudential Tower at sunset taken from Cambridge, July 4th

This year, my family experienced an extra-long weekend to celebrate the 4th of July where the quest for independence began – Boston, Massachusetts.  We explored a lot of the city on foot from investigating parts of the Freedom Trail to by-passing crowded subways following a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.  The seafood was divine and our favorite family dinner was an authentic Italian feast at La Famiglia Giorgio’s in the North End, Boston’s version of Little Italy.

And, we just returned from a week in Newport, RI.  I jogged along the Cliff Walk, the whole family spent hours on our feet touring five Guilded Age mansions in two days and we topped it off with a day at the beach boogie boarding and jumping waves on a picture-perfect day.

Enjoyed this view with my Del's frozen lemonade, Newport, RI

Enjoyed this view with my Del’s frozen lemonade, Newport, RI

At The Mooring, with an ocean view, we noshed on an appetizer of just-plucked-from-the-sea oysters and entrees of scallops and cod served with locally sourced sides of fresh sweet corn, kale and tomatoes.  Delicious!  A trip to Rhode Island isn’t complete without hunting down a Del’s frozen lemonade truck.  Shaved ice that resembles the texture of snow with freshly squeezed lemon juice, so fresh there are bits of lemon hiding throughout, with a touch of sweetness.  There’s nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day.

Remember, there’s no better way to explore a new place than from outside a motorized vehicle and no better way to learn about the culture and rhythm of its people than to sample its native, fresh cuisine.  Take this philosophy with you on your next vacation to make it fit and fabulous.

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Small Step for August: Summer Reset

Last month, I gave you a summer-long assignment for your Small Step.  If you missed it, you can click here to read it.  That means that this month is simply a reminder to keep plugging on: reflect upon what’s working and what isn’t, revamp your goals and strategies, and renew your commitment to fitness.

To help you accomplish this, I’ve linked to some previous posts that provide strategies to make your quest for fitness a success:

Find Your Inspiration

Find Your Inspiration

Take advantage of vacations and lazy, hazy days to put you – your health and fitness – first.  Making yourself a priority is one of the most loving things you can do for the people you love.

If you’re new to the Small Steps series, you can read about the philosophy and strategies of the series here.  Know the Small Steps strategies don’t need to be done in any particular order and are independent of one another.  So, you can begin the series with this post, continue throughout the rest of the year and pick up what you missed next year.

Previous Small Steps posts: January’s Portion Control, February’s Plan Ahead, March’s Accentuate the Positives, Eliminate the Negatives, April’s Substitutions, May’s Go Old School, June’s +1, July’s Reflect, Revamp & Renew.

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