I woke up at 5 a.m. today and it took me about 15 minutes to roll out of bed.  I couldn’t find my work out clothes and my throat was dry.  I was about to go back to bed when I remembered that I can’t give up so easily so I looked some more and finally got dressed.  As I was standing on the treadmill I thought to myself why not just run 10 minutes and stretch?  I was about to start walking when I felt like a ninny so I sped up to my usual running time.

Eight minutes, nine minutes, nine and thirty seconds… I couldn’t keep my eyes from going back to the timer; it was as if a vicious compulsion kept my eyes darting back and forth from the timer to the morning news time display.  And you can imagine which option is more scintillating: morning news or treadmill timer?  Too bad the treadmill doesn’t come with cable. I really need to get audio books on my iTouch.

 Well I made it until 16 minutes. I jumped off as soon as I stopped it and headed to the weight room for some more torture.  I managed to put in 200 crunches on that ridiculously fun looking bouncy ball and I headed out the door as soon as my 20 minutes were up.

This weather makes me feel like holing up in bed with hot tea and snacks- plenty of snacks.  So I guess I should feel good about getting out of bed to work out.  Maybe by posting here I will feel guilty if I don’t?

Feel free to share your work out tips and regimes.

Happy Sweating!

Day 13

A study found that people who have dogs are often more successful at staying fit than those people who don’t have a dog. Luckily for me, I own two dogs. Both are rescued cairn terriers and only 4 months apart. They are less than two years old so needless to say that are full of energy.

Today, we decided to do something different – play indoor baseball. Unfortunately, the winter can get brutal and outdoor activities are not really an option. Walks are shorter and being indoor all day can get pretty boring for all of us. I work from home and the dogs just wait for me to have some free time. So playing ball seemed like a perfect 10 minute break because it gives us a little workout during the day.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness commended a new report called Cargiving in the U.S. 2009, which revealed new information on the nearly one-in-three American adults who serve as a family caregiver.

The study offers a national profile of people who care for adults, the elderly, and children with special needs through interviews of 1,480 randomly chosen caregivers. It follows the same format as similar studies that were conducted in 1997 and 2004, but this is the first time caregivers of children and adults over the age of 18 were surveyed.

The report echoes the findings of NAMI’s own depression survey and schizophrenia survey, which include the perspective of caregivers for people living with these serious mental illnesses. All these reports suggest that caregivers face daily stresses that can impact their own health and other relationships. For example, NAMI’s depression survey, released in November, found that while almost one-half (48 percent) of caregivers for people with depression have been diagnosed with depression themselves, only about 25 percent were engaged in treatment at the time of the survey.

“We know from our own studies that caregivers make significant sacrifices to care for their loved ones living with mental illness,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, NAMI executive director. “The findings of this new report will help us anticipate the needs of caregivers so that we can improve NAMI’s education and support programs.”

NAMI offers a variety of peer education and support programs, including those specifically for caregivers. Family-to-Family is a free, twelve-week course for family caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained family members and more than 115,000 family members have graduated from this national program. The course is also available in Spanish.

NAMI Basics is an education program for parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained teachers who are the parent or other caregivers of individuals who developed the symptoms of mental illness prior to the age of 13 years.

If you are finding yourself overly stressed with caring for a loved one, especially one that suffers a mental illness, then Home Instead Senior Care is here for you. There is no doubt that your loved one requires extra care, so why not let Home Instead take the load of your shoulders so you can take care of other concerns in your life? The NAMI is clearly here to help you and your family with problems like the above study found. Home Instead is here to make sure that stress never meets you by taking extra special care of your loved ones, all while they live at home.
Home Instead Senior Care will provide outstanding caregivers to help your loved one with personal care, incidental travel, companionship, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and even meal preparation. To learn more, call 248-203-2273 or visit www.homeinstead.com. Home Instead Senior Care is the world’s trusted source of in-home non-commercial personal care and companionship for seniors. Each franchise is independently owned and operated. And remember, to us, it’s personal.

SOURCE: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174618.php

The National Alliance on Mental Illness commended a new report called Cargiving in the U.S. 2009, which revealed new information on the nearly one-in-three American adults who serve as a family caregiver.

The study offers a national profile of people who care for adults, the elderly, and children with special needs through interviews of 1,480 randomly chosen caregivers. It follows the same format as similar studies that were conducted in 1997 and 2004, but this is the first time caregivers of children and adults over the age of 18 were surveyed.

The report echoes the findings of NAMI’s own depression survey and schizophrenia survey, which include the perspective of caregivers for people living with these serious mental illnesses. All these reports suggest that caregivers face daily stresses that can impact their own health and other relationships. For example, NAMI’s depression survey, released in November, found that while almost one-half (48 percent) of caregivers for people with depression have been diagnosed with depression themselves, only about 25 percent were engaged in treatment at the time of the survey.

“We know from our own studies that caregivers make significant sacrifices to care for their loved ones living with mental illness,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, NAMI executive director. “The findings of this new report will help us anticipate the needs of caregivers so that we can improve NAMI’s education and support programs.”

NAMI offers a variety of peer education and support programs, including those specifically for caregivers. Family-to-Family is a free, twelve-week course for family caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained family members and more than 115,000 family members have graduated from this national program. The course is also available in Spanish.

NAMI Basics is an education program for parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained teachers who are the parent or other caregivers of individuals who developed the symptoms of mental illness prior to the age of 13 years.

If you are finding yourself overly stressed with caring for a loved one, especially one that suffers a mental illness, then Home Instead Senior Care is here for you. There is no doubt that your loved one requires extra care, so why not let Home Instead take the load of your shoulders so you can take care of other concerns in your life? The NAMI is clearly here to help you and your family with problems like the above study found. Home Instead is here to make sure that stress never meets you by taking extra special care of your loved ones, all while they live at home.
Home Instead Senior Care will provide outstanding caregivers to help your loved one with personal care, incidental travel, companionship, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and even meal preparation. To learn more, call 248-203-2273 or visit www.homeinstead.com. Home Instead Senior Care is the world’s trusted source of in-home non-commercial personal care and companionship for seniors. Each franchise is independently owned and operated. And remember, to us, it’s personal.

SOURCE: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174618.php

So here is my daily dose of exercise- give or take a few.

I wake up at 5 a.m. and go down to our gym and run 20 minutes.  It’s harder to run right after you woke up because your body is still half asleep so I only recommend it if there is absolutely no other time you can squeeze it in (my case); otherwise I would suggest waiting until you are fully awake after your morning routine. 

When I started running again in a regular basis I only ran 3 times a week for 20 minutes and averaged 10 minutes a mile which I though was pretty darn good for a self-professed running-hater.  I hated running with a passion. I mean what is so pleasant about sweating, feeling old and tired, your body swollen and sore, your muscles tangled with all sorts of weird bumps that hurt when you touch them.  Okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit but you get the point- most of us agree running sucks. 

So I suggest finding a running buddy or someone who is also running and will motivate you to keep going- or at least make you feel guilty when you don’t go.  That person for me is M, he makes me feel like a pansy when I don’t run and although I dislike him at the moment (I’m not above swearing at him in my head while he runs ahead of me when we run up Grand Ave.) I appreciate that it works. 

Now I run 20 minutes 6-7 times a week and average 7:30/7:45 a mile which is a big improvement.  I have also learned to not hate it as much and actually like it sometimes- weird!  Sometimes when I’m running outside I feel so free and relaxed that I spread my arms and run around like an airplane.. Don’t knock it until you try it. 

The point is that although I may still feel disdain for running, nothing beats all the benefits that I have felt in my body and daily routine since I started.  When I get to work I feel like I can take on anything; I feel alert, motivated and very awake.  I don’t worry about my weight because I am burning those extra 350 calories every morning.  I don’t crave candy or frosted treats; instead I crave apples, bananas, and hearty healthy vegetables.  It’s amazing! 

I should market running as the latest drug, or crazy super healthy berry like the Acai berry fad- I would make millions…

If you absolutely feel like you can’t  run anytime soon then you should walk.  I walk most days (when M doesn’t give me a ride) to the bus which is 0.4 miles, we take the A Dash to 1st./Central and walk to their school which is 0.3 mi away.  I drop them off and walk to work 0.6 miles.  That’s 1.3 miles of walking that you don’t even notice.  In the afternoon I walk back to the school and repeat the process in reverse which gives me more than 2 1/2 miles a day in walking.  When I feel like taking my time we walk home from the school.  We walk more and get to chat while we look at the shops and restaurants on Spring St., Broadway, and 7th St. 

The lesson here is that you can sneak in exercising throughout your day.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator even if it’s only for a couple of flights.  If you’re craving something you shouldn’t eat, go for a walk and when you get back if you’re still craving it then go ahead and indulge but after your heart rate speeds up- your body will probably decline that Snickers bar. 

So there you are, simple things for simple beginnings.  Eat less, exercise more.  Calories Burned – Calories Eaten = Whether you lose, gain or stay at the same weight!

For those of you who are my loyal readers, I think you have read about my post where I wrote about my so called plan “Make Me Hot”. If this is your first time reading my blog or you missed the post Plan Make Me Hot, click here. Read that before reading the rest of this post okay?

After I wrote that post, a lot of things came up and I just couldn’t find the time to actually work out and really lose some calories / fat or whatever. Sure, I did a lot of dancing which I should say, rather vigorous and did make me sweat but somehow, we all know that’s not enough. Then, the fact that I eat a lot and I don’t really eat healthy food didn’t help in keeping me in shape, huh?

And yeah, I did go for a jog for a few times and trust me that when I say “few”, really, it’s “few”.

So, today, after crying to some remarks made by a certain someone whose name shall remain a secret, I finally did my cardio workout. Yeah, as usual, it felt great. I was totally in ecstasy. Well, of course, it was a torture as well since I had not done it in a while. And some moves were quite tiring. But hey, that’s exercise, right?

But then, I managed to do everything without leaving a single step though I did make some mistakes here and there when the moves were unfamiliar and too fast, for me. In the end, during the cool down session, the “great feeling” started to kick in and I said to myself; why in the world didn’t you start earlier? you could have lost probably 1-2kg/s doing this. grrr

Well, whatever it is, too late to regret this and that, so, to make this blog slightly more interesting, here are some pictures I took without really having any point or whatsoever.

I did everything except strength

oh yes. burn fat fast please.

staying fit. ha-ha.

Yeah. Those are some pictures. I know, no point but I just felt like taking pictures, so I thought, why not.

Anyway, my day started officially at 11:00am today. I had a late breakfast or an early lunch, whichever way you want. I ate a healthy lamb burger with tomatoes and salad and of course, onions. It’s healthy because I used the lamb patty with doesn’t have MSG or preservatives and all that crap.

Then, I went online and decided to clean up my room. Finally, about time! It was in such a huge mess! The floor was dusty, the bed was most of the time unmade. There were unnecessary stuffs on my daybed, on my chair, the magazines were unorganized, everything basically except for my closet because I took care of that a few weeks ago

So, I changed into my “maid outfit” and started to sort things out. Reorganized my books, put aside the papers that are not being used to be recycled later, vacuumed the floor and even polished my not so white table to a white table all over again! Oh yes baby, my table looks so brand new now. And did I mention that I had never thought of polishing the damn table ever since I moved here? Oh yes, it’s true. But it’s okay, I did just now and the table looks so nice

And, I managed to clear my daybed which used to have my bags and files and books and what not on it. And it’s very RARE that you could see it clean and clear but now, IT IS! Hooray!! Me likey Here are some pictures;

sob. i ♥ my table.

the now clear daybed!

Ohhhhh. I know my curtains suck. They suck so bad that… that… thattttttt, I don’t know okay? They just do.

my think-nothing corner

This corner used to be in a mess. If you saw the before picture, I think you would understand. Too bad, silly old Fanah forgot to take a picture BEFORE I organized it all back. Sheesh.

And my soft toys are increasing in number. I have to get a bigger basket to hold them in!! Shall buy one soon, no worries loves.

Then, I finished everything at around 5:20pm. And that’s when I started my workout and now boohoo I am hungry. What a genius. I mean, you lose fat and then you have to eat. But of course, it’s not good to starve yourself (though I do it sometimes) but now, I shall eat but not over-eat, okay? Wish me luck and hope I have the strongest will ever to keep myself from gobbling everything during dinnertime!

I don’t know what to do tonight. Don’t really have any plans. I am just worried that I won’t be able to go out that often anymore because Mama will have to use the car often now that the school is going to start again very soon. Gahhh. I hate the fact that my Myvi is already gone for almost 1 month++ and I seriously want my car back. It’s been such a torture not having a car, okay!?

Breathe in. Breathe out. Calm down.

I am off to have my dinner and then, take my shower. May blog again tonight, but then again, maybe not.

xoxo, Fanah.

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With the holidays upon us we are exposed to everything from large holiday dinners to cookie filled office parties. It is almost impossible to stick to a regular fitness routine and healthy eating plan. We would all like to be able to enjoy family feasts and holiday celebrations without worrying about expanding our waistline and jeopardizing our physical fitness

One of the biggest problems during the holidays is portion control, we all tend to treat the holidays as a vacation from eating well. Overeating isn’t the only problem during holiday dinners, eating unhealthy foods and baked goods may be just as damaging to your fitness level as eating too much. It is important to make smart choices when it comes to eating this holiday season.

Tips for Eating Healthy & Staying Fit this Holiday Season:

• Portion food ahead of time

  Instead of eating 1 HUGE meal, space it out over three or four smaller meals that you can enjoy throughout the day, this is more beneficial for your metabolism.Use smaller plates, you can enjoy any food item or dish, but having it in smaller portions will help you to eat less.

• Eat Slower

  Studies have shown that this alone can help reduce your calorie intake tremendously, as you will get full faster if you give your food time to settle in your stomach. You will also enjoy your food more and be able to digest it better.

• Drink a lot of water

  This will cause you to eat less and help your body digest the foods you eat better.

• Substitute fatty foods for not-so fatty foods

  Skip the Gravy and any High-Calorie dressings, go for a light vinaigrette or extra virgin olive oil instead

  Skip the egg nog and have water instead

  Make a lower-fat pumpkin pie, using an egg substitute, light cream or a low-fat evaporated milk in the recipe, for a low-fat pie crust, a homemade recipe without shortening may be the solution.

  Prepare a fruit or vegetable platter as an appetizer before the main course.

  Eating healthy snacks before the big meal will help you eat less during the Holiday Dinner and ensure you are still maintaining a balanced diet.

  Eat fruit or Veggies instead of chips and salsa, broccoli & low-fat ranch, carrots, cranberries, etc.

• Exercise More: It is important to keep your muscles working to burn fat

  Take a walk with the family or walk around the mall

  Ride a bicycle

  Go dancing with friends

Today on the LifeSpace Community we highlighted some great links on topics including Breaking Habits, Tips to Stay Fit, Holistic Yoga, Marathons and Simplicity in Training.

It is Health and Fitness Wednesday in the LifeSpace Community and we are happy to share the best links of the day with you right here.

6 Steps to Breaking Bad Habits

This is an interesting and important topic.  We all have a bad habit worth breaking somewhere in our lives, whether in the areas of health, nutrition, fitness or some other area of life.  This article discusses the origin of the habit and the process to break it.

Community: Nutrition, Mind Body

5 Simple But Overlooked Tips to Stay Fit

If your having a hard time getting into shape or are simply slipping back into bad old habits it can be refreshing to have a look over the basics again. Some things are so simple but often overlooked in the face of more advanced options. Master the simple stuff then move on…

Community: Exercise, Nutrition

7 Yoga Poses to Relieve Cold and Flu Symptoms

If you are one of the unlucky ones during cold and flu season, consider trying these yoga poses to help alleviate cold and flu symptoms.  I gave them a try when I was feeling a flu coming on and they actually helped feel a little better.

Community: Mind Body

Are you Ready to Choose a Marathon?  Great Marathon Map.

If you are considering running a marathon and feel ready to commit to a 15-20 week training program (which LifeSpace will provide you starting in December), you should start looking for potential races and get yourself signed up.  Novice runners should probably pick a race 4-5 months from when they want to start training. And hey, why not consider one in a different city or state?  Use this map to find the races available to your in the date ranges you are looking for all across the US.

Community: Mind Body

Camel Jumping. A Return to Simplicity in Training

You have to check out this video and article.  A great message about training in an increasingly sophisticated and complex world over the backdrop of the camel jumping championship in a Yemen village.  They talk about just going back to basics. If you want to run, you better run.  If you want to jump camels, you better jump.  Maybe we can ease up on the certified trainers, sophisticated equipment and complex strategies for just a bit.

Community: Exercise, Just For Fun

Follow LifeSpace:We Daily:

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LifeSpaceLLC (Great Content All Day)
LifeSpace Community Blog: http://blog.LifeSpace.com (Daily Recap Posted Noon each Day)
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/LifeSpace (Daily Recap Posted Noon each Day)

LifeSpace.com: http://www.LifeSpace.com (Great Content All Day, Coming October, 2009)

First woman to hit 101m Freediving.  Ah, if I were to take  on an extreme passion this would be the one.  I’d prefer it just be me, water and mostly skin, but ya can’t I think, I think it’s too cold at depth.  Yo no se.

We have all heard them, and let’s face it; most of us have used them: the excuses of why we don’t have time, confidence, or ability to exercise. Well, it’s time to hand in that crutch called illogical reasoning. If you think about it, the people out there doing 3 triathlons a year or running 2 marathons every 6 months are some of the busiest business people and parents we know. Scott Fisher, contributing writer for Fitness over Forty provides solutions to some of these excuses so common among adults:

 1. You cannot afford a gym membership

      Who ever said you had to be inside a big gym or fitness club to exercise? Run or walk around the block, ride your bike, or hey kill two birds with one stone and ride your bike when running errands instead of driving -  not only are you saving  your health, but the environment too!

 2. You feel embarrassed going to the gym because of your skill level or physical appearance.

      Again, there are plenty of alternatives to the gym: fitness videos, especially cardio, aerobics, yoga, and pilates videos come in all levels of intensity. If you can afford one, a home gym machine is a good alternative also. Try finding a lightly used one in the classifieds section of your local paper or on Craigslist.com.

 3. You are afraid of injuring yourself or spurring a critical medical issue.

      These are substantial concerns, but no reason to avoid working out. There are precautions you can take to ensure that you choose the best exercise routine for your body. Most importantly, consult your doctor. No matter what your medical issue is they should be able to provide you with solutions that will allow you to remain active.

 4. The most popular: you do not have the time.

      The trick to this one is to make fitness over forty a priority. Feel fatigued in the morning or after you get home from work? Think back to your high school health class days – what did your teachers (and Scott Fisher) always say? “Exercise can increase your energy levels and help you perform better the rest of the day.”

So get out there and get moving!  You’ll feel better than ever once you start making fitness a priority.

HOW TO EXERCISE

There are three stages of intensity when working out:

• Stage 1: not sweating and breathing normal
• Stage 2: sweating but breathing normal
• Stage 3: sweating and panting

To get the most fitness benefit out of your exercise plan, you should be at Stage 2 when doing cardio aerobic activities. This is where you are sweating (feel sweat on the back of your neck, not just your forehead) but breathing normally (you should be able to talk in complete short sentences).

Find a buddy to help keep you motivated and to be sure to mix up your exercise routine to avoid monotony… before you know it, you’ll be halfway to your goal of increased physical fitness.

ABC of Yoga have written an article explaining that yoga is the perfect activity for seniors to stay fit and relax. They have also provided a basic yoga session for seniors to follow.

Growing Old is the stage when you have more time for yourself, your family, for leisure, recreation and relaxation. However, it is also the time when you are more susceptible to some ailments that are linked to old age like Arthritis, rheumatism, incontinence, and High Blood Pressure. This raises the need for the seniors to stay fit and healthy during this age. Though the degeneration of the body also set some limits to the types of exercises they can do. This leads to the practice of milder forms of exercise such as jogging, brisk walking, and even Yoga.

Yoga is a form of exercise that adapts to your needs and abilities that it can be done even by Senior Citizens and Pregnant Women, and deals with your whole being. It makes your body fitter, the mind calmer and more relaxed. Yoga is also beneficial in the prevention and control of common health and emotional problems that is linked with Old Age. It helps you in becoming more in touch with yourself and your body enabling you to accept who you are and the state you are in which creates a positive approach in life.

Some Yoga Asanas are designed to normalise your blood pressure and balance the Nervous System and are essential in the prevention of heart ailments and problems in the nervous system. The Breathing Techniques can make you feel refreshed and cleanses the air passages which can help prevent respiratory ailments. In practicing Yoga, know your body and respect its limits. Do not push yourself too hard in a pose. Yoga can only be effective if you practice it properly. The harder you try, the more you expose yourself to injury. Do not put more stress to your already stressed out body. Remember that Yoga aims to quiet the mind as you exercise the body. If you feel pain, stop what you are doing.

ABC of Yoga have provided a basic yoga session for seniors to follow. You do not have to do all the poses, stop when you already feel tired.

Getting fit and staying fit is easier than ever. Those of us 40 and over remember when home videos changed fitness forever. It made fitness accessible for everyone.

With Youtube every kind of workout you can imagine is available and FREE. Youtube videos are excessively long at 8 minutes so workouts are literally 1 to 8 minutes. Can ya handle it??

The workouts today are designed to maximize effort, energy and movement so that you get the most out of each repetition you do.  The optimum equipment these days… your own body weight or a simple resistance weight.   If you can’t keep yourself entertained with what’s on the market for under $50, you are simply too hard to please.

I’ve provided a short list of the best workout tools out there, most of which would fit in a lovely little basket in your living room.   Throw a decorative blanket on top and no one would know your gym is next to the couch.  Machines are for heavyweights and a heavyweight I am not.  At forty though, I want to be strong when I need to be.

Variety of fitness outlets:

Pilates Studio

Yoga Studio

(In New York & LA) Ballet, Tap, Jazz Studio’s for adults (I wish we had more of those in Houston)

Meditative Dance Fitness Studio (ie. NIA Moves)

Gymnasiums (trampolines and tumbling, rings mats and horses)

Basketball Centers and Courts

Soccer Clubs for Adults

Softball/Baseball Teams

Boxing Gyms

Martial Arts Clubs of every kind

Tai Chi Classes

Rugby Clubs

Tennis

Golf

Public Running, Hiking and Biking Trails and Social and Training Groups

Rock Climbing Gyms

Swimming Pools

The Gym

All of these are accessible in your neighborhood. For each of these, yes, you have to leave the house. But what if you can’t fit in that trip to the gym?

Optimizing Equipment – If you have these pieces of equipment at home, you’d never have to hit the gym. Kettle bells, exercise ball, elastic bands, hand weights, a medicine ball, a good jump rope and an exercise trampoline for cardio. I’m sure there are others, but, these will provide a lot for an average person.

Online workouts. There are online workouts in every style. You can be trained by a Russian Kettle Bell master, yikes, a personal trainer from Seattle or a Muay Thai instructor from the Phillipines. In twenty minutes you can be trained by 12 different personal trainers. You can customize your own personal fitness program with a Youtube and Google search. Amazing.

Here are some of my favorites. I just play around with them, but as I do, I have a huge variety of little exercises I can do for a minute or two anywhere, or as a part of a workout (which I’ll be honest, I rarely do).

Kim Strother has some amazing home workouts. She’s very creative with home equipment and maximizes the results of very simple moves.

Here is a 6 minute ab workout from Craig Valentine, TurbulenceTraining.com – Stabilization Training

– Great home or gym workout.

I love Steve Cotter. Here is a complete introduction to a Bear Walk and a Bear Crawl. There are all kinds of Animal Style workouts, like the Alligator Crawl and the Duck Walk. You can find a complete list of animal style movements on Joe Gigantino’s Training Blog. Steve uses kettle bells in the workout. The online videos for kettle bell workouts are infinite. From girly slenderizing to monster lifting, you’ll find a ton of variety and exactly what you are looking with simple searches.

Travel Workouts. This is a good women’s travel workout tool. Kim Strother, again, really creative use of an exercise band which you can easily travel with and at least get some curls, lifts and butt slimming reps in very quickly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmEdQ8v3-DQ

The trampoline is awesome because anyone can use it, do the same exact movements and get whatever level of results you are looking for. The intensity is based on your choices of movement and your input. I chose this brilliant petite Pakistani/Salsa Diva Multilingual Girlfriend example because the demo is good and she’s adorable. The trampoline is fun and the results are great. I’ve seen hard core muscly men do this same exact workout. You can find those videos on Youtube as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq3GNLo3l8s

Jumping rope. Again, great for traveling. The guys guide with a nice training demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9DPme8v6kc and Debbie Savage, the Aussie Jump rope Magician: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHZZEdSdnOQ

Online fitness blogs: You will find a new workout EVERY day at Joe Gigantino’s Workout.com on Twitter @JoeGigantino

After experiencing chronic dizziness for years now, and to my disappointment, I’ve had to leave the sit-ups and vigorous exercise behind.

Even though I’m not always up to exercising I do like this routine I found on YouTube (and no it’s not me in the clip), it requires no lying on the floor or jerky head motions.

Of course only undertake exercise that you or your doctor feels that you are able to do!

“There’s a lot of advice that I could give but what works for one person might not work for another. I just exercise regularly and try to eat healthy,” Kellan Lutz tells Social Life magazine when asked to give some tips on how to stay fit just like him. “There’s no method to my madness. High protein meals are important and I love eggs and chicken so I try to eat that almost every day that I can,” he adds.

Besides, “I love fruits so I always have fruit in my kitchen to snack on. I would suggest finding some sort of cardio that you enjoy. I hate running so for me it’s swimming,” the Emmett Cullen of Twilight continues revealing. “Stay as active as possible and don’t just sit in front of the television; do push ups or sit ups during the commercials. Even a little hard work goes a long way.”

Kellan is looking quite healthy in these photos. He hosted a Fourth of July party with girlfriend AnnaLynne McCord from 90210. So jealous.

Do you like exercising in a group or team?  If so, join a sports team at school like basketball, baseball or soccer.  You community might have a little league r a city team you could play on.  Teams need all kinds of players.  You don’t have to be the best, just be willing to do your best.  Try T-ball or a dance class!

Would you rather do something by yourself?  If so, take up a sport where you don’t have to play with a team.  Try gymnastics or spring board diving.  Go to your local YM/YWCA and see what they offer.  You might like trampoline or judo.  You never know until you try!

If you do find a sport you like, stick with it.  As well as helping you stay fit, they are a whole lot of fun.  You may make friends, and you’ll learn some useful skills. 

What Now?

If you’re not as fitLes as you want to be, keep working.  You’ll get there.  if you think you’re fit, this is no time to stop.  Your body is changing all the time, and if you stop taking care of it,  your body will slowly become less and less fit.  So what are you sitting there reading for?  Get up and GET FIT!

My virtual quest for 100 miles (and more) continued today (don’t worry – I don’t go to the gym daily so you won’t get daily updates on this project)…

3 miles on the elliptical (in 30 minutes) and 3 miles on the bike (in 15 minutes) – - plus floor work which I’m not counting today because that would mean looking up my chart!  ha ha ha

Yesterday’s total – 34.5

Today’s Total – 40.5

Well, let’s make that 34.5 miles!  I went to my dance class tonight and worked up quite a sweat.  I’ve been taking a jazz-exercise-fun class at my daughter’s dance studio for a while now (think it’s been about 1.5 years) but haven’t been for a looong time – like six or seven weeks I think. But made it tonight!  And had just as much fun as always.  Worked my butt off.  Had to work my brain off as well to learn two new dances, but it was a good challenge. 

I think I earned my miles tonight   My husband is wondering if 5 miles is too much to give an hour long class.  I equated it to doing the elliptical for one hour (as that’s how many miles I do in one hour).  So I think it is fair – thoughts???  It’s not like it ‘really matters’ right?  It’s just for fun and a good cause!

So, in my effort to make 100 miles (in honour of PD’s 100 Mile Bike ride or 5 or 10 K walk Run in October for The Dempsey Challenge) I have come up with the following chart:

Fitness Class – Worth 5 Miles

30 minutes of Wii Fit – Worth 1 miles

Running/Walking/Cycling/Time on the Elliptical – it counts in miles

20 minutes of weights/floor exercises – worth 1 mile

1. Have regular mealtimes and know your portion sizes. Learn to set specific meal times, and allot portion sizes in advance.  For most people, grazing to perceived fullness doesn’t work.

2. If you like to feel satisfied, opt for high-volume, low-cal foods. These will fill you up and give you the satisfaction of munching on something, without sacrificing your goals.  Salads, veggies, legumes and fruits are your tools that will help you achieve this.

3. Never skimp on food quality.  Buy the best food you can afford. This doesn’t mean buying exorbitantly overpriced gourmet goodies, but spend a little extra for quality.  Loading the shopping trolley with sugar-laden, fat-filled junk just to ensure you’ve got more to take home doesn’t make sense.  Australians still spend the least on food as a percentage than most industrialized counties.  High quality food is an investment, not a cost. (Photo by Miles_78)

Akrom from Uzbekistan says that to maintain top performance, keep your lunch lo-carb. Instead of bread and pasta, eat meat. (Photo by Miles_78)

(This is our second post by Lochi Horner.  You’ll be familiar with him if you attended our last event. Instead of writing about inbox, GTD and productivity-managment, he’s posting on increasing your productivity by eating the right stuff.  He’s grown an award winning Personal Training business, is head lecturer at the Victorian Fitness Institute, and trains professional atheletes, so he knows what it means to be a professional and a business leader.  This is his second post.)

NO! not that oil! although sitting on a couple of barrels of black oil can be very empowering (doesn’t hurt ), but i am talking about the oil that we eat every single day. as insignificant as it seems, deleting it from our diet just sucks the life out of the activity of eating (or enjoying eating, let’s say).

first you can kiss goodbye everything fried or deep fried. (that alone deletes the most important element of the food pyramid: FRENCH FRIES ).

second, you can never eat lebanese meals because they are all based on oil whether used at the beginning of the casserole, or after plating (which is usually the case with the lebanese mezza; for some reasons lebanese restaurants like to garnish food with gallons and gallons of olive oil.

third, the hidden oil: byebye  pizza, pasta (and company), burgers, croissants, manakish….. and let’s not mention chocolate and sweets, because they contain BUTTER, which is even worse than oil!

that would leave you with salads YOU THINK! 

“that’s ok i can have a nice bowl of salad whenever i want, wherever i go”, well think again! first, we have the restaurants that bring you the salad already soaked in the dressing. you don’t know how much oil has been dumped in there, so you pass. (some of these already made salads can contain more than 1500 calories alone, almost the equivalent of a cheeseburger ). your second choice is not to order it with the dressing, but just some lemon juice on the side. 

“THERE, that’s it! it’s settled. i will enjoy a nice salad with no dressing on.”

WRONG AGAIN! have you ever tasted a salad with no dressing (u know, the proper one) it’s pretty much like eating cardboard!!!! so there you go. the morale of the story, and i promise there is one, please APPRECIATE oil, people (at least those who are not following a diet, or those annoying ones who can eat whatever they want and somehow manage to stay fit :@ )

no hard feelings though!