Just keep moving.... keep moving

Every once in a while I feel like calling it quits.  I am just so tired of waking up early, washing gym clothes, washing and drying my hair, rushing to get ready for another workout.  Sometimes I'm just tired of being happy and being positive or motivating others. Sometimes, I'm just tired.

But I'm an optimist, a fighter, hungry for happiness and always searching for whatever will put me back in that zone of happy energy.  I challenge tired days and fight off the desire to just sit and do nothing because I realize that in the end I will not feel any better if I stop moving.

Today, as I do every day, I woke up at 5:15 am.  My body is programed to wake up at this early hour to prepare for either a class or a run.  Yes, EVERY DAY, I wake up early and I have to decide within a few minutes, if I am going to get up and get moving or stay put and maybe, sleep a little more.  Well, I can decide all I want, once I wake up, I'm up and I can lay there all I want, I am now awake.

But today was a little different.  I woke up, stayed awake but did not move from my pillow for another hour.  I didn't have  to teach anything but I knew I had to run.  Not sure if my running buddy was going I got up and got ready, just in case.  Yes a little workout buddy pressure doing it's job.

At 6:30 am I ate a little honey... it's one of those little tricks recommended by Runner's World Magazine, meant to give you a little boost in energy without adding too many calories or fluids.  It works for a short 3-4 mile run.  I ran one mile with my Lab, Honey and felt sluggish, pushing harder than usual and not really going very fast.  I turned around and went home.  I just wasn't IN the run.  I ran two miles at nine minutes per mile.  While that may sound fast for a beginner, for me it was a little on the slow side, but worse than that, it was hard and I felt like I was dragging the entire time.

Despite feeling like I didn't want to run to begin with, actually felt more like I wanted to turn back after the first 1/4 mile and like I couldn't wait to finish the two miles, I realized that getting up and moving this morning was important for several reasons - #1 maintaining the momentum of a daily routine; #2 I felt energized;  # I did something...I kept moving.

Moral of the story -- it doesn't matter when you decide to exercise, do what works for you, pick a time and just go with it.  Do it enough and your body will get you out the door for you.  It becomes sort of an addiction, a GOOD habit you'll want to keep doing.

Just keep moving... know that you could either sit out or BE IN the game.  I chose IN!

Stay Well,









Common sense disclaimer:  Don't ever ignore your body's natural signals of illness and disease.  My tiredness wasn't disease, simply laziness, didn't want to go alone, boredom. Know when you're experiencing fatigue, exhaustion, and follow doctor's instructions to help you recover and get you back in the game.

Time for fitness after the holidays

New Year, New You!!!

OK, well, it's not that simple.  Ha! I wish! But for the new you part you actually have to do some work.  My goal just before the holidays is to make it through the events without gaining weight.  The only way to make this work is to exercise more than usual and TRY to make good food choices.

My problem wasn't the food ... those adult beverages can be worse than most meals!

Anyway, I took some time off in December to go visit family in the states... in many states.  Driving long distance with the kids usually means eating and drinking not so healthy foods.  Sure I could have made better choices but remember, we live in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and we don't have most of what you take for granted in the states so I gave in each and every time.

I ran twice, walked several times and drove for 10 days, at least 3 hours a day.  I put on a few pounds, nothing to cry about considering.

Now we're back on island and it's time to get back on track.  Knowing very well it would be a painful week, I hit the ground running.  My goal coming back was to do some type of activity every day for 7 days because once I'm on the road to a successful fitness routine there's no turning back.

Day 1-- Diving for one hour
Day 2--Spinning and Core work and Latin Dance Fit
Day 3--Total Body Conditioning (aka HIIT)
Day 4--Run 4 miles and Latin Dance Fit
Day 5--Total Body Conditioning
Day 6--Pilates
Day 7--Hiking the Ridgeline with the dog

Done! This is truly extreme and most of what I did I had to do because it's my job so my motivation was my desire to motivate others and lead my students on a path to healthy living.

What can you do? Starting from scratch? No problem... here are some tips to get you started:

1. Track/Journal - either use an online program such as MyFitnessPal.com (also available as an App) or use a notebook.  Write down your activity and food intake.  This is a helpful habit because you can see your strengths and weaknesses, therefore, helping you to make better choices.  It's motivating to see progress in writing.

2. Get Moving - Start exercising or increase whatever you're currently doing.  Walk further or faster, run, swim, bike, attend classes, get a buddy, share your goals with family and friends, dance... keep moving everyday and each week add resistance, time, or distance.

3.  Eat to fuel your body and not to feed your cravings.  Eating six meals a day keeps you energized and satisfied and keeps you from hitting those pesky, mid-afternoon, pitfalls.  When I say meals I don't mean 300-400 calorie meals... three meals should be your main meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and the other three should be snacks ( fruit, yogurt, pudding, vegetables, cottage cheese, etc...)

4. Get some rest and recover.  Your body and mind need rest.  Sleep well, sleep in, and allow your body time to recover.

5.  Stay hydrated.  I know juice, coffee, tea all contain water but you should just drink water and avoid the excess calories added with flavored drinks.  Just drink water.

I hope these come in handy but if you have other questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below.

Stay Well,

Running just because...

Last year I started running with some friend; friends who had participated in 1/2 marathons and marathons and others who had been running for what seemed like for ever.  I was intimidated and had they not pushed me and filled me with some much needed confidence, I would have given up before getting started.

I ran in my High School Track Team, I ran when I was in the Marines, and then I gave up running and started teaching fitness instead, using every possible excuse to NOT run.

In all honesty, I started running again after being in Guantanamo Bay and realizing that there were some things I needed to do differently, something about a bucket list I needed to begin checking off.  So I joined my friends and started running with them.  They were kind enough to run my pace and walk as needed; in return I pushed harder each time to avoid those stops or slow runs.

Together we ran what would be my first 1/2 Marathon.  The GTMO Girls 1/2, we called it.  It was amazing and I was addicted.  I continued running smaller races, 5Ks, 10Ks, 2 miles with the dog, a mile with my kids, etc.  I didn't have a reason to run, I ran just because.

My last hurdle in running was to run alone.  I really didn't like the idea.  I love to talk and having someone by my side to push me when I feel like giving up is a huge plus.  I love bonding with my friends as we run and share stories, ideas, and plans for the future of our children.  Recently, however, I realized I needed to go for a run, partly to train for the Marines Rockin' the Fence Line 1/2 Marathon and partly to prove to myself that I could run alone and that I would love it.

First run took me over some steep hills.  My Lab, Honey, and I ran 2 miles.  Second run, again with Honey 3 miles.  The feeling was definitely good.  I felt a sense of accomplishments but still did not feel like I jumped over the biggest hurdle.  After all, three miles is not really far and having ran 13.2 miles, three miles seems more like a warm up.

This past week Honey and I started running at 7 am and ended at 8 am.  I ran up some hills, by the waterfront, through some housing areas and as I ran I realized two things: First, I was pretty far from home and still needed to get back; Second, I felt great.  We made a few short stops through the neighborhoods to let Honey drink some water and cool off, but other than that we ran for an hour straight.

Me running, just because.... it was energizing, revitalizing, comforting.  It was a way for me to connect with me and the road.  I didn't have to talk to anyone, except honey, and I was able to just focus on how I felt and on living in the moment.

I never thought I'd be able to run anything more than a 5k.  I thank my friends, most of all, for believing in me more than I believed in myself. I'm excited for the next run, despite how I might feel in the hours leading up to it, in the end I feel happy and that, to me, is what it's all about!

Go for a run, walk if you need to but don't stop moving.

Stay well!

Terie

Getting rid of the fat deposits: Spot Reduction

I truly believe that most women and some men wish they could use one product or do one thing that would help them burn off the fat in one particular area of the body.

I know I do.

If I could do one thing to really tighten my core like it was back in my 20's, believe me I would do it and I would share it.  It would be a miracle.

Many of the people I train ask, "can you help me get rid of this?" as they grab their muffin top or saddlebags.  I say, "no I can't, sorry, however, I'm sure a little plastic surgery can take care of that."  Ha ha, real funny, no really can you?

OK, well actually I can help you better understand how your body works so that you can exercise and eat to lose weight, all over.  Spot reducing really only works with plastic surgery, nothing else will reduce just that one spot on your body.

I have done some research, for my own general knowledge of course, and found that wrapping myself up in a steam bag was a crazy way to lose weight because you really only lose water; that taking pills is pointless if you don't change how you eat; that walking 20 minutes a day IS a good way to START a program NOT a very efficient way to lose weight and keep it off; that if you don't change your eating habits any results you achieve on a diet WILL be temporary.

The key to being at a healthy weight and feeling energized is not in a bottle or in a temporary diet or in a "miracle" fitness machine (As Seen on TV).  It is really simple to reach your health and fitness goals:

Eat less junk food/empty calories;
Eat more fruits, vegetables, fiber, lean protein, and water;
Exercise more often always increasing either duration or resistance or both.

This seems so simple, so easy to follow... then why are we in such a battle with food?

I know for many people, controlling what they eat is half the battle.  Sometimes peer pressure has more to do with food consumption then anything else.  But most times it has to do with what you're eating.  If you eat foods that have a low nutritional value then you will be hungry all the time because you are not feeding your body what it needs. If you don't eat regularly throughout the day your blood sugar levels drop, you feel fatigued, tired and you will eventually eat the box your meal came in.  If you drink too much sugary drinks, eat fried foods, and choose to sit instead of exercising... well, you can guess the results of this action.

You HAVE to engage in cardiovascular activities such as swimming, running, biking, kayaking, speed walking, SPINNING, Zumba(r), Step Aerobics, or any other form of activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it elevated for at least 20-30 minutes.  You pick the activity and wear a heart rate monitor if you wish to see your numbers.

You HAVE to do resistance training or weight training. Don't worry girls, you CAN'T ever look like a man by working with weights.  You truly don't have what it takes to get muscles like that.  But you do want to occupy the space under your skin with LEAN muscle mass instead of fat, so, grab those weights and work the muscles until they are fatigued, then eat to fuel your body with the nutrition it will require to help you recover.

Forget about trying to go the easy way.  Those miracle diets, pills and machines don't work unless that's all you want to do for the rest of your life.  You don't have to give up the food you like to eat, you just have to eat in moderation and exercise to burn off the excess.

Ask me anything? Stay motivated!

Stay Well!

Terie

Water - how much should you drink

For ... EVER, I have heard, been told, and been telling others to drink at least 8 cups -  8 oz of water a day.    Seems  easy enough to do and healthy.  When you break it down into ounces per hour that amounts to about 4 ounces every hour for an average of 16 hours we spend awake.  So what's the big deal? Why can't we drink more than one or two glasses a day?

As with anything related to health, the requirements for what we need and want changes daily it seems.  I recently read an article in Woman's Day magazine that detailed the many ways we can stay hydrated and how to know if we are lacking fluids in our diet.  I am going to share some of the key points with you because I think it's important that we stay up to date with nutritional requirements and how to supplement what we are lacking.

From WD:  "You don't really need to drink eight glasses of water a day."  I've heard this before but that's where it ended.  I found it hard to believe that anyone would support  this statement because I do believe we all need a certain amount of fluids to maintain our bodies' homeostasis.  However, the article in WD goes on to say that "your needs fluctuate from day to day depending on your activities, what you eat and how often, and the weather." If you spend your day eating water based fruits and veggies you are less likely to need 64 ounces of water that day; if you go for  a long run and drink only two cups of water and eat foods with little water in them, you will notice a difference in the color of your urine -- lemonade color is good, apple juice color, not so good.

From WD: "Drinking coffee--or any caffeinated beverage--won't make you dehydrated." Thank Goodness because I like my morning coffee and I love drinking tea in the afternoon.  So the studies now say that caffeine makes you urinate but not more than water would so you're good.

From WD:  "Water alone isn't a weightloss aid." No, it's not. Just because you're drinking 64 oz a day doesn't mean you're suddenly going to start burning off the fat; however, drinking water can help you really determine if you're hungry, bored or actually thirsty.  Many times we confuse hunger for thirst so we eat.  Try drinking some water or tea before giving in to the undesireable hunger pangs.

In researching the health benefits of water I came across this article at the Mayo Clinic website, which pretty much sums it all up:


"Water is your body's principal chemical component and makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired."


As with anything else, everything in moderation.  An excess of water in the kidneys can lead to electrolyte imbalance.  Listen to your body, drink enough water to stay hydrated, keep your urine light in color. Drink between meals, before, during and after exercise. 


Make water your beverage of choice.


Stay Well!