Balancing Cortisol for Weight Loss and Health

Some have called it the “master” of all hormones. Others curse it for its ability to wreak havoc on our body’s fragile endocrine balance. In spite of the mixed opinions one thing is certain: cortisol is a powerful hormone necessary for life. But if its level is not optimal in your body, your health could suffer.

What is Cortisol?

The hormone cortisol is produced in the adrenal glands and is primarily responsible for regulating blood sugar, helping to metabolize fats, protein and carbohydrates and assisting in managing our stress response. We all have times of stress in our lives, and cortisol helps us to function during these times.

When the stress goes up, cortisol kicks in and delivers help. We get a quick burst of energy, our memory sharpens, our immunity increases, and our sensitivity to pain decreases. These are all important and natural functions of cortisol and ensure that we are able to weather the curve balls that life throws at us.

However, if the stress doesn’t let up, neither does the cortisol. Unfortunately, what is healthy in small bursts becomes dangerous over the long term. If you have persistent stress in your life, then you have cortisol levels that are out of balance: your body makes so much cortisol that it detrimentally affects your health. This leads to adrenal fatigue.

When you have prolonged, high levels of cortisol in your bloodstream

• you will crave foods that are high in carbs (like cake and cookies), 
• you will gain weight in your abdominal area (which increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes), and 
• you will have trouble sleeping

Cortisol and the Circadian Rhythm

Our bodies produce different chemicals during the day and night that control our sleep, energy and mood. The natural rhythm of this cycle is known as the Circadian Rhythm, and cortisol is a key player.

Under normal circumstances, your body produces cortisol in amounts largely determined by the clock. Levels tend to be higher in morning—triggered by the emerging daylight--giving you a boost of energy to jumpstart your day.

As the day wears on, cortisol levels should drop, helping to prepare you for a good night’s sleep. Likewise, Melatonin (another hormone that affects your energy and sleep habits) levels should be lower in the morning but as the daylight fades, they should increase, helping you to begin relaxing and preparing for sleep.

However, if you are under constant stress or if your adrenal glands are not functioning properly, your cortisol level may not drop off during the day. Instead, it may actually rise and stay at a dangerously high level. By the time bedtime rolls around, you will not feel sleepy. You will feel “tired but wired,” and be unable to relax and fall asleep.

Reset Your Circadian Clock

If you suspect that your natural, circadian rhythm is disrupted, don’t despair. There are several things you can do to reset your clock so you can start sleeping better at night and waking up more refreshed in the morning.

Try the following tips:

• Reduce stress. Easier said than done, I know. But many times our stress levels are correlated to our response to stressful situations. Learning how to cope with stress more effectively may be all it takes to balance your cortisol.
• Be consistent. Going to bed and getting at the same time each day will help to regulate your circadian rhythm. Practice this habit to slowly coax your body into a schedule.
• Use light wisely. Since your circadian rhythm is partially controlled by light, darken your room well when you go to bed, and flood it with light when it is time to get up. Try using a full spectrum light in the mornings.
• Avoid naps. If your circadian clock is off, you may find that you get very sleepy in the afternoon. However, taking a nap may make it more difficult to fall asleep at night. Try to resist naps.
• Eat most of your calories early. If you can eat the bulk of your daily calories earlier in the day as opposed to later in the day, you may find that you can recalibrate your circadian rhythms more easily.

How Hormones Affect Your Energy and Weight

Are willpower and self-control the real solution to low energy and high weight?

Maybe not.  It might be your powerful hormones.

And we’re not just talking about sex hormones here; we’re talking about the hormones that directly affect your blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite. Things that control your energy and weight.

Let’s go over a few of the critical links between your hormones, and how they affect your energy and weight. The links may be stronger than you think.

What are hormones?

Having healthy, happy hormones is all around the “health waves” these days.

And for good reason! Your hormones are part of the master control system of your entire body.
Hormones are compounds made by one part of the body that are used to communicate with another part. For example, insulin is made in the pancreas. When your blood sugar gets too high, insulin is released into the bloodstream. Then, it goes to your muscles and other cells to tell them to absorb that sugar out of the blood (and if there is still too much blood sugar, it signals to store it as fat).

Your hormones control not only your blood sugar, but also your metabolism and appetite (plus a host of other things). And you probably know that having healthy blood sugar, metabolism and appetite is a foundation for your optimal energy and weight.

So, how can your hormones get out of whack to zap your energy and pile up the pounds?

Common Hormonal Imbalances

In optimal health, your hormones would work great, and you’d have ample energy and be a good healthy weight.

But often there are problems with this whole setup. One common issue is that there may be too much or too little hormone released to have the desired effect. This is known as hypo- or hyper- “hormone” (i.e. hypo- or hyperthyroidism).

Another common issue is that, even if the right amount of hormone is released, the cells they communicate with can start ignoring them. This is known as hormone “resistance” (i.e. insulin resistance).

As you can imagine, if your hormones have such critical jobs, including controlling blood sugar, metabolism and appetite, they can cause issues with your energy and weight.

Hormones & Energy

Your metabolism is key for controlling your energy. Metabolism itself is basically how much energy (calories) you burn. One of the main players of this is...you guessed it! Your thyroid hormones.

Your thyroid releases hormones that affect the metabolism of all the cells in your body. If it’s too low and your metabolism goes down (hypothyroid), you may feel cold, hungry and tired. If it’s too high and your metabolism is too fast (hyperthyroid), you may feel hot, jittery and lose weight.

What you want is an ideal metabolism, ideal energy use, ideal temperature, and an ideal weight. Your thyroid hormones are the master controller here.

Hormones & Weight

Your weight may be controlled by hormones more than you think! Insulin controls your blood sugar, and whether that sugar is going to be stored as fat or not. And when your blood sugar is too low, you may start craving sugar and carbs.

You also have hormones that control your appetite! How hungry and how full you feel are controlled by the hormones ghrelin & leptin. When those get out of whack, you may find yourself wanting to eat because your body thinks you’re hungry and not satisfied...even if that’s not true.

And craving food (especially sugary ones) and not feeling full are going to be huge drives for you to eat more. Even if your body doesn’t truly need it, the hormonal signals tell you that you do.
And don’t forget that stress hormone cortisol. When it’s too high for too long, it tells your body to store fat. And not just any fat - belly fat!

What You Can Do

Your body is very complex and uses hormones to control a substantial number of functions. They control your blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite, among others. And these directly affect how much energy you feel, how much you weigh, and even where your body fat is stored.

Here are a few “hormone stabilizing” tips that might help you with your energy and weight:

• Get regular exercise to use up excess blood sugar before your insulin has your body store it as fat
• Try stress-relieving activities like deep breathing, meditation or even coloring to reduce your (belly-fat inducing) cortisol
• Support your thyroid with iodine-containing sea vegetables, fish, legumes, or even an egg
• Balance your blood sugar with extra fiber from raspberries, avocados, or flax seeds
• Reduce blood sugar spikes by replacing your juice or soda with fruit-infused water

If you need some support with your energy levels and/or weight, contact me (your wellness coach) for a free strategy session to see how I can help you.

REFERENCES

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/fast-weight-loss-changes-hunger-hormones
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-thyroid
https://authoritynutrition.com/9-fixes-for-weight-hormones/

3 Fruits That Can Help With Weight Loss

When you start a weight loss journey, one of the first things you will probably do is look to your diet and make changes. When you do this, you may think of removing foods, but you may overlook the importance of adding certain foods. There are certain fruits that can help you drop weight and reach the goals you have a little faster. The major benefit of adding many of these fruits is the ability to have as much of them as you would like without taking on too many unnecessary or empty calories.

Watermelon

Watermelon is a go to for weight loss. There are a few reasons why. The first is the hydration benefit of the fruit. It is over 90 percent water. This means that you are keeping yourself hydrated while delivering the second benefit that watermelon has to offer to your body, amino acids. This combination comes in at less than 40 calories per serving. This means you are getting nutrients, vitamins, hydration, and a filling bowl of fruit at very little cost to your weight. In fact, you are releasing the hydration into your body which helps move toxins out. This means that the toxins are no longer stored and neither are any blocks that may be preventing you from dropping weight.

Apples

It may surprise you to find out that apples can help you drop unwanted weight. Apples also do have a high content of water and can be a good hydration option. Apples also help boost your metabolism and help to regulate your hormones and your blood sugar. Therefore, it is used as part of a cinnamon and apple infused water for people who are trying to drop weight quickly. Apples can be added to juices as well as to water infusions. They are also available in most areas year-round.

Bananas

If you are looking for a fruit that helps you drop weight, but can also give you a post workout energy boost then your answer is bananas. They pack energy into just a bit over 100 calories. They are quick to eat, easy to carry with you, and they can also help with inflammation. Inflammation can prevent you from dropping weight since it can retain water and can cause pain in the joints and blockages in your system, especially your digestive tract. Keep that in mind when you grab your next banana for a post workout boost.

These are only three of the fruits that can help you with weight loss and how they can help. You can also consider superfoods mixed with these fruits, having these fruits as juices, and keeping some dried fruits on hand as well. This will help give you quick on the go snacks and ensure you are getting as many fruits as you can during the day.

How to Lose Weight with Kettlebells

Kettlebell training has many different advantages and lets you train your body from different angles and in a far more functional range of motion.  But what’s great about the kettlebell is how versatile it is as a tool and how it allows you to develop your fitness and health in numerous ways.

If you want to build bodybuilder-type muscle, then you can do so by using single joint isolation movements and heavy resistance.  This will create muscle fiber tears, flood your muscles with metabolites and generally help you to encourage more growth.  At the same time though, you can also use a kettlebell to lose weight and it happens to be particularly well suited to that goal.  Let’s look at how you might do that.

The Exercises

The great thing about the kettlebell is that it allows you to perform resistance cardio.  This means you are doing cardiovascular training that increases your heart rate and helps you to burn fat.  At the same time though, you are also lifting weight, which protects your muscle from breakdown and increases the challenge, thereby increasing the amount of calories burned and the amount of effort involved.  The kettlebell also allows you to train on the spot and without a lot of tools. Unlike running, you can enjoy kettlebell training anywhere and anytime.

To get the very most of this, you can combine the kettlebell with the HIIT modality.  HIIT is ‘high intensity interval training’ – a form of exercise that challenges you to alternate between brief bursts of high intensity exertion and shorter periods of relatively steady-state exercise.  For example, you might perform the kettlebell swing for 1 minute and then rest for 30 seconds before going again.  The kettlebell swing is an ideal movement for resistance cardio that involves swinging the kettlebell between your legs and then straight back up in the air using a slight hip thrust movement to provide the forward momentum.

The Diet

To lose weight, kettlebell training must be combined with the right type of diet, one that is relatively low in calories.  The objective is to burn more calories in a day than you consume.  So, if you normally burn 2,000 calories and consume 2,200 calories, you can increase that burn to 2,400 doing kettlebell training and you can then reduce the amount you eat to 2,100 calories.  Now you’re losing 300 calories every day!

Try to eat more protein and you will support more muscle growth while reducing fat storage.  Combine this with 4 workouts a week, lasting about 20 minutes each, and you should start to see the results you’re looking for using just this one tool and one movement.

Remember though, weight loss is only achievable if you change your entire lifestyle and habits.  It is not enough to simply add in an exercise and forget about it!  Walk more, spend less time in front of the TV and reduce unhealthy snacks.

5 Tips to Improve Mobility with Arthritis

For many people, especially older adults, arthritis is a debilitating illness. Arthritis causes increased inflammation around the joint that can lead to immobility and pain.

While there are conventional medical treatments that are available for people with arthritis, many wonder what can be done along with medication to help improve mobility with their arthritis. In fact, there are many natural methods to help manage pain and improve mobility.

Below are five different alternative therapies and treatments that can help you manage your daily arthritis symptoms and mobility issues.

Hydrotherapy

WebMD recommends hydrotherapy as a form of exercise for those with arthritis. The hydrotherapy pool tends to be warmer than a traditional swimming pool. With hydrotherapy, participants can get all of the benefits of regular exercise without any of the impact on joints.

This may be especially beneficial to those with arthritis because the joints are particularly affected. Having an option for exercise that has zero impact on the joints can increase mobility as well as range of motion. Many times hydrotherapy is considered a form of physical therapy and may be covered by insurance.

Range of Motion Exercises

Many sufferers of arthritis keep the affected joints in a tightened position to alleviate pain. Unfortunately, this has the unintended side effect of increasing pain because it shortens ligaments and muscles around the affected joint. This means that instead of decreasing pain over the long-term keeping the joints in a tightened position will actually increase pain.

The Cleveland Clinic recommends all arthritis sufferers participate in range of motion exercises. The range of motion exercises typically includes stretching and extending the joints to their full ability. Some range of motion programs may include yoga or tai chi.

Lose Weight

Because arthritis causes pain and immobility many sufferers of arthritis have excess weight. The excess weight increases pressure and damage on the joints. The increased pressure and damage on the joints increases pain which causes decreased mobility. It becomes a never ending cycle of increased pain and decreased mobility.

The Mayo Clinic recommends that if you have arthritis, you maintain a healthy body weight. If you’re currently overweight and have a difficult time moving a healthy body weight can be maintained through proper diet.

A meeting with a dietitian can help you start a healthy diet if you are not sure where to begin. The dietitian or nutritionist may also have ideas on foods that can help decrease inflammation in the body and reduce pain from your arthritis.

Hot and Cold Therapy

One of the benefits of hot and cold therapy is that it can be done at home. Another benefit is that it is very inexpensive. Heating pads and ice packs are easy to have on hand and don’t cost a lot of money. Healthline suggests that arthritis sufferers try alternating hot and cold therapy to affected joints to decrease pain.

You may find that some days cold therapy works the best on your arthritic joints while other days a heating pad may be better. Having both on hand to use is going to be the best way to ensure that this therapy is effective at increasing your mobility and decreasing your pain.

Massage

The Arthritis Foundation notes that one of the most beneficial treatments for mobility in arthritis patients is massage. Massage can help increase range of motion simply by relieving tension on stiff muscles and ligaments that surround the arthritic joints.

The Arthritis Foundation also says that the best types of massage for people with arthritis are either deep tissue massage or Swedish massage. If you are having a high amount of pain deep tissue massage may be difficult to tolerate because of how deep into the muscle massage therapist will go. Either way, massage therapy is an easily accessible treatment to help increase your range of motion when you have arthritis.

While arthritis will not go away no matter how well you take care of your body, you can manage your symptoms and stop the progression of the disease. If you combine medication with these holistic approaches to treatment, you are sure to have a happier and pain-free life.

Reflections of 2016

I don't know about you but this year flew by fast!  So much went on around the world it's hard to think what to cover in this post....

2016 in Review

 

Accomplishments

• Group Exercise Instructor and Wellness Coach certifications
• Soft launch of the Brand New Me Wellness Coaching Programs
• Announcing the launch of Fit Indy Parties 
• Hired on at the Baxter YMCA as a Wellness Coach on Wednesday nights (stop by and say hi!)
• Purchased a tablet and laptop
• Enjoyed Fitbloggin'
• Walked in The Great Pumpkin Run

Challenges

• Finding the elusive first paying client (the only goal I did NOT accomplish this year)
• Gaining back ~30 lbs
• Making the decision to quit Beachbody since I had no clients 

 

Looking Ahead to 2017

 

Theme

For 2017 my focus is on relationships.  According to Jennifer Dunham's Happiness Quiz I crave improved relationships, with both family and friends.  There are two aspects of this for me.

1. Heart Happiness (aka romantic love):  Greater relationship satisfaction, feeling Benny is there for me.
2. Family/Friend Happiness:  The fundamental need to belong.

Relationships with potential and actual clients will also come into play.

Goals

 

Business

I shared my main business goals on Instagram during The Recharge Challenge.

Success for me would be completing these goals next year plus any others that come along. A possible reward for me reaching these goals is hiring a VA to do the stuff I don't like or am not good at in my business. #TheRechargeChallenge @risingtidesociety #success #TheFitpreneurLife #goals #goalsetting #BrandNewMe #FitIndy #LAWRTW #longandwindingroad #longandwindingroadtowellness #WellnessCoach #rewards #progressnotperfection

A photo posted by Cassandra Schmigotzki (@longandwindingroadtowellness) on Dec 15, 2016 at 11:30am PST

To work on these goals I could use your help.  Please share this little video clip with your networks.

Now that the presents are bought for everyone else it's time to invest in something for yourself. I'm looking for 5 women in the US aged 40-60, who are looking to kick off the new year on a journey to discover their brand new healthier selves. 

Please complete this form to schedule a Wellness Strategy Session.  Together we can find your path through exercise, healthy eating, personal development, and self care.

Personal

At my physical earlier this month my doctor said he's OK with my weight being up but my clothes are too tight.  So one of my goals is to lose the ~30 lbs I've gained back.

As you may or may not know Benny doesn't work and hasn't since he came here from Germany to marry me.  He tried to run a flea market type shop early on in the marriage but that failed miserably.  He has not tried to work or find employment since and, as far as I can tell, has no legitimate reason why.  On top of that Benny's not supportive of this whole coaching business, thinking it's a fad and not my passion/purpose, telling me I have to quit.  This has created much tension that occasionally bubbles to the surface, greatly decreasing my heart happiness.

Normally for improving heart happiness Jennifer recommends things like

• Hug your spouse when they get home every day.
• Go to bed together each night at the same time, even if you aren’t tired.
• Set aside 10 minutes each day to simply sit and have a conversation with your spouse.
• When you feel angry at your partner, practice the habit of breathing and counting to 10 before speaking. 
• Actively replace critical comments with supportive, loving words.
  

Some of the things she has recommended for me:

• Start happy every morning.  What the heck does this mean?  Starting out your day with a positive attitude sets the tone of the rest of your day.  So while you brush your teeth or shower, set your intention for the day.
• Create a safety net.  A safety net is used so you can bounce back faster when negativity or difficult situations arise throughout your day.  I call this your “Recovery Plan”.  You can re-program negative thoughts by actively thinking ahead of time of how you will react. 
  By reacting differently to and handling the situation with your planned reaction it will deflate the situation before it turns negative. So plan ahead to all the things your hubby might say when you ask him to do something and attempt a different reaction.
• Learn a new language.  I don’t mean that you will literally go learn German, Spanish, or Russian.  The language you need to learn is what you tell yourself.  Nine times out of ten, we tell ourselves things that just aren’t true.  We only speak them to ourselves because it’s been a habit for too long.
• Every night, while you brush your teeth or put your PJs on, practice appreciation.  While writing down gratitude or appreciation is suggested, it’s not necessary.  So long as you make it part of your happiness practice as part of your nightly routine, you will end happy.
• Plan 1x per month do a day trip 

Family & Friends Happiness is the necessity for people to belong and feel happy together. We don't have any local friends to hang out with since the Bible study I was involved in disbanded.  I did sign up for my first book club but am waiting to find out where it'll be held before I commit.

Examples of what to do to improve family & friends happiness:

• Leave a note for a loved one to surprise them each week.
• Smile and give direct eye contact when talking to your family and friends.
• Make a habit of thanking someone with a hand written card as soon as possible after they give you a gift or do something for you.
• Choose to stay in regular contact with your family/friends and to see them frequently. 
• Create special traditions that involve your friends or include them in family

How was 2016 for you?  What are some of your goals for 2017?

Takeaways from FitBloggin'

My story is a little different from others' I've read.  This was my first conference as an attendee but not from working all or part of one.  I've volunteered for various large scale events like the 2001 World Police and Fire Games as the Language Services Coordinator (that was a disaster and chaos rolled up in one for me on top of being pregnant).  For my event management certificate I helped to organize and run the 2005 P.L.A.N.T.S. conference for the Indiana Nursery and Landscape Association.

I started out Thursday night literally dragging Benny to the Registration & Reception at Scotty's Brewhouse.  He was such a Grumpy Gus about the whole situation we only stayed an hour.  The room we were in was a little small for the crowd but since people were coming and going it worked out OK.

Friday

Friday and Saturday morning I got up at my normal weekday time (6 AM) to get dressed and finish stuffing my bag to last me the whole day.  I ordered an Uber, but apparently selected the wrong one as a huge SUV came to pick me up Friday.  Oh well, it's was cheaper and less of a hassle than parking downtown!

Although I often have yogurt as my breakfast I was surprised to find that was the only option.  Those doing the workouts need WAY more protein and good carbs than that would offer.  Because of that I was glad that I opted out of doing the workouts on Friday.  (I'd switched my current Thursday rest day with Friday to allow me to chill.)

First up was the workout with Valerie Waters and her Valslides (writing that makes me think of Jem and the Holograms for some reason LOL).  I'd never watched an entire workout before but that hour went by fast!  I think having something like the Valsides would make it much easier to do exercises like mountain climbers (which I suck at).

Lisa said that we as a wellness community need to defy the stereotypes of what it means to be fit. As an example you see a plus size instructor is leading a workout do you bail questioning what you could possibly learn from someone so big? You just missed the chance to gain knowledge and experience from someone who lost half their weight or more. She has had an incredible journey and is stronger and healthier than ever; she just can't wait to help everyone she comes in contact with!

Like myself Lisa also recommends piecing different strategies together to find your path. There is no one size fits all method to healthy living. It's trial and error until you find what works for your body, and even then there will be further tweaks along the way.

Some other takeaways from Lisa

• It's never too late to change.
• Think about what's happening along the way, how to get there, and enjoy the journey.
• It's our goal to move our audiences to improve their lives.
• You can't inspire others unless you're inspired.

The panel of Dawn, Martinus, and Tyler discussed different ways for our messages to be powerful, tailored to our audiences, and motivating. No matter what we're talking about we must remain authentic to our selves.  In doing this it ensures the message we're writing about is consistent with our personal lives.

Some other takeaways from the panel:

• Sharing your story, not leaving out the struggles, makes you more human to your audience.
• Always have a clear call to action and a goal for how you want your audience to feel or respond to your message. (Martinus wants people to cry!) Never forget the way you make them feel.
• You must understand your audience and their level of knowledge on the topic.
• Living a healthy lifestyle is a "you change"; you must value yourself to make the change.

Sworkit is an app that you can customize your workout. (There's a free and a paid version as well as one for kids.)  You select what type of workout you want to do and how long you have to do it.  BOOM, now you have a workout no matter where you are!  This app is one that gives you a heads up of the next exercise so you can see whether or not it's something you can do at this stage of your journey.  I like these types of advance notices.

My plan was to head down to Food Truck Friday afterwards (since I've never gone) but after I stopped at the ATM I decided to grab Qdoba to go.  On the way there I got myself turned around (since I'm used to approaching the area from the east side instead of the west).  It was good to get some quiet solitude over lunch.

I took so many notes from Dr. Pamela that I could probably have her talk as a post unto itself! There are physiological, emotional, and mental factors contributing to the baggage we all carry. The top physiological factors are insulin and leptin resistance, adrenal insufficiency, excess toxicity, imbalanced reproductive hormones, malabsorption and/or food allergies, and under treated or untreated thyroid imbalances.

Emotional baggage effects all aspects of life because emotions are carried by all cells. Nobody is 100% together! Isn't that great to hear?

Emotional wounds live in the unconscious mind. The subconscious remembers everything at a cellular level. It's goal is to protect us.

There are several indicators that emotional baggage is preventing you from progressing in your journey. Examples include:

• Bad habits that you can't get rid of
• Doing what's right but not seeing progress
• Destroying your own success so others stop celebrating with you
• Believe you'll reach your goals but it won't last
• Lose and regain weight repeatedly
• Recognizing your tendency to destroy the good in your life but don't know how to change

There are also barriers we put up blocking success.

• Not identifying your WHY for this journey
• Setting unrealistic goals
• No reward system for when you reach your goals
• No true plan for your path
• The belief that the goal is the end
• The belief that positive changes don't last

Dr. Pamela also noted that impersonal why's weren't really good. You need to go deeper than just because the doctor so. Yes, it'll get him off your back but what does reaching your goal REALLY mean to you?

It stunk that Southwest prevented Elizabeth from making it to Indy but we still made the most of it!  The Zephyr crew set up a Skype call so that she could still speak with us.  Elizabeth did a great job even though she couldn't see us!

Did you sign up for your social media accounts without reading the terms and conditions - your contract with the network? I know I do; it's just too much to go through! There's probably so much stuff I'm doing wrong or missing out on but I can't bring myself to read them.

Everything we create is copyrighted. How it can be used by the other party is spelled out in the contract.

• Right to make copies, sell copies, or sell all rights to the creation.
• Right to make derivatives of the work - i.e. tweeting highlights
• Right to public performance of the art

If you are under a work for hire contract YOU DO NOT OWN WHAT YOU CREATE! Everything produced belongs to the other party. I'm not sure how this would be a beneficial contract to entertain.

At the evening reception I tried two of Oliver Winery's Orchard Stand wines - mango and strawberry.  Now, I don't care for beer (it's too sour) and wine is just MEH but these two had great flavor!  I enjoyed mango a bit more than the strawberry.  Now to convince Benny to get this instead of champagne for NYE!

Once the day was over Benny and Austin picked me up a few blocks away and we headed home for a quiet evening (I still cooked dinner).

I'd tried the Jaybird Reign activity band we got but it ceased functioning. They sent me another one but it too died. Austin told me he wanted new earbuds so I agreed to swap the band for a pair. I'm currently awaiting the exchange instructions.

 Saturday

I woke up not feeling too well but took some meds and pulled up my big girl panties to make it through the day.

The Saturday morning session with Life Time Fitness was my only workout of the weekend.  They really had us kicking and punching up a storm the first half!  I kept having to run back for some water.  The second half was strength training, partly with the resistance band above.  This band made things uber tough!

These discussions were pretty similar. David and Angela did great jobs leading the groups!

Some takeaways:

• We aren't broken, our environment is.
• We were designed for feast or famine. There's an overabundance of food so as a society we feast too much.
• When you find yourself talking down about you put a loved one in front of your mind. Ask yourself if you'd say those things to your loved one.

A group of us headed over to Café Patachou for lunch. I'd never eaten there before. I almost panicked looking at the menu - all those egg dishes and I'm not a fan! In the end it was a toss up between the salmon bagel and the spinach salad. I ate the salad less strawberries.

This was my first time seeing Zumba, more than little clips. Margo and Nellie took turns leading the crowd through a fantastic set of moves. With my lack of coordination I'd probably would have been running into everyone!

Kristin has been through a lot but through adversity she has evolved into something bigger. During her talk she told us about how she got into a great working relationship with Deepak Chopra. I too wouldn't have believed that it was real.

Why ILLUMINATE?

• Imagine success and ignite possibilities.
• Let go of the things you can't control.
• Liquidity - be flexible and don't be fixated on one idea.
• Unbounded Potential - be in touch with your core being, your pure self.
• Moment - be present, making yourself available for that golden opportunity.
• Illuminate - become the light that attracts what you need.
• Nurture - practice self care to avoid burnout.
• Align - examine what success looks like and train you thoughts to stay aligned.
• Transparency is the portal to abundance. Be truthful with yourself. What's restricting your truth? Allow yourself to be vulnerable.
• Evolve - become a student of life. Just because someone is popular doesn't mean they'll impact you the most. We don't evolve because we're afraid to ask.

We can't be the change until we change ourselves!

Steve led a lively talk on adjusting your mindset to achieve your goals. By this time I was hoping the second dose of meds would kick in but it never happened. I think I may have missed a lot of what he had to say because of that.

Some takeaways:

• Saying "I can't" gives away your power.
• Major Manipulators - perfectionism, shame, guilt, anxiety, financial stress, jobs, fulfillment, grief, situational avoidance, pattern paralysis, body image, people pleasing, performance, low self-esteem, hormonal imbalance, poor guy health, fatigue
• Small micro changes lead to lasting goals.
• Be accountable for goal behaviors instead of outcomes.
• Realize what you've done right on your journey instead of focusing on getting it ALL right.

FitBloggin' wrapped up with Brooke's session on being in check with our emotional health, focusing on the areas of contentment, good relationships, self appreciation, and stress management.

Contentment

• Find satisfaction in the moment, accepting the way things are. Be present.
• Practice mindfulness and awareness without judgement. Find a sense of balance.
• Take responsibility for your emotions.
• When you find yourself going negative, recognize it and redirect to something uplifting.

Good Relationships

• You're the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. (I find this scary with all the drama at work!)
• Reflect kindness.
• Boundaries are essential.
• You have to put in the work to make things work.
• In communicating, mirror (summarize) what they say, validate that what is said makes sense (even if it only makes sense to them), empathize with them by guessing their emotions, and eliminate "but" and replace it with "and".
• Best of all, have fun and laugh!

Self Appreciation

• Support yourself and know who you are.
• Know your strengths. Focus on them instead of your weaknesses.
• Know your personality.
• Know your thoughts.
• Know your values.

Stress Management

• Worrying is a waste of time and energy. QUIT IT!
• Practice physical energy habits such as deep breathing, eating food for fuel, staying hydrated, exercising, and sleeping.
• Practice emotional energy habits such as crying, smiling, having a support team, laughing, meditating, being mindful, adult coloring, scheduling priorities, and complete silence (think sensory deprivation chamber).

Did you notice any recurring themes between the speakers?

Where will FitBloggin' be next year? I'm hoping that they decide on another Midwestern city, maybe Columbus, Ohio. That way I can crash with family the weekend.

Goal

There were no changes in measurements when Benny checked me Monday night. I weighed in last night down 1.6 lbs, surpassing my goal weight! I'm now in Maintenance for six weeks before reaching Lifetime at Weight Watchers. The aim is to stay in the 138-142 lb weight range. I now have an 6 extra points a day to eat....no idea what else I WANT to eat.  What did you add to your daily food intake when you hit maintenance?

 

 

Weight Maintenance

 

So how do you succeed in maintenance? The little booklet they provide when you reach goal gives 5 simple steps.

1. Enjoy your extra food each day. (As long as you don't go overboard, you'll be OK.)
2. Continue exploring ways to make the Plan work for you.
3. Continue attending meetings and weighing in regularly.
4. Keep (or start) moving!
5. Look forward to Lifetime Membership.

Week of Workouts

 

Thursday was cardio and abs.

 

Friday I worked my back.

 

Week 7 wrapped up Saturday working my shoulders.

 

 

Monday I worked my chest.

 

Tuesday was lightheaded leg day.

 

Combo headache this morning so I made it a rest day.  (Delayed onset headache from PT maybe.)

 

Physical Therapy Week 1

 

Tuesday's physical therapy session focused on evaluating me for positional vertigo. Everything looked OK and I passed all the tests. Nothing brought on vertigo. My left eye did have a delay in catching up with my right eye. Not really sure what that means or if there's anything to do about it.

Today's session the PT manipulated the muscles at the base of my skull and jaw.  The little bit of pressure she applied at the base of my skull took my headache away relatively quickly.  I know I clench my jaw sometimes but never thought my muscles there would be so tight!  She also stretched my neck out several times to balance everything out.  At the end she had me lay there with a heated neck wrap.  That felt good but more because IT'S FREEZING OUT!

No clue how much the physical therapy is going to cost me.  I'm sure if Benny saw the pricing he would say quit now.  I really wish the medical and insurance professions were more transparent in pricing so you can better plan for things.

 

 

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Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

I weighed in last night down 2 lbs, just .4 lbs away from goal! Here's to ringing in the first weigh in for 2015 at goal.

Week of Workouts

 

I didn't actually get to working my arms Christmas Eve.  I was too busy with wrapping and packing. I guess you can say I got an abs workout instead LOL

Christmas morning I got in the arms workout before Austin opened presents. 

Friday was cardio and abs in the morning. We took a little bit of a stroll through German Village in the afternoon.

Saturday I worked my back.

Week 6 wrapped up Sunday working my shoulders.

 

Everything was back on schedule Monday working my chest.

Yesterday was leg day.

This morning I worked my arms.

Physical Therapy

 

My doctor and I believe my headaches stem from the neck and shoulders area so he referred me to physical therapy. I met with a PT Tuesday morning. She found many tight and tender spots in the whole region. I was sent home with six exercises to do every day.

 

At some point I brought up vertigo.  The PT said it could also have something to do with everything going on in my neck and shoulder region. I'd said that very thing to the doctor back in January with my last episode!  The PT ended up transferring me to another who happens to specialize in treating vertigo. So I'm hoping that this physical therapy takes care of both problems!

2015 Goals

Well, I didn't meet many of my 2014 Goals but I'd like to keep some of them for next year.  The first few listed below are the carry-overs. I'll continue to add/update my goals throughout the year.

1. Sell or donate the clothes that are too big for me now.  (I gave my mom the 1X/16s but the rest need to go somewhere.)
2. Meet new people (in person not just online).
3. Partner with some places to host fit clubs.
4. Make a social media schedule and stick to it so I'm not always on.
5. Start making money with the Beachbody business to cover my expenses.  (I made a little bit this year but that didn't cover anything.)
6. Have $100 per week additional spending money.
7. Have at least 2 blog posts every week.  (Need more guest posters!)
8. Increase monthly page views.
9. Continue working on improving my overall health.
10. Find personal development programs that pique my interest (and keep it!).
11. Successfully maintain my goal weight.
12. Take a vacation somewhere warm.
13. Visit the eye doctor and get new glasses.
14. Obtain group fitness and wellness coaching certification from NETA.

What is one thing you know you want to accomplish in the new year?

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Merry Christmas

I popped into Weight Watchers while we were out last night and weighed in up 1.2 lbs. First time since starting this journey that I didn't go to a meeting so I felt a little weird at first but shrugged it off quickly. There's only so many hours in a day so you must do what you can when you can!

The other day I actually remembered to take a picture of the two chest straps I've used for my HRM.  My original one fit M-XXL and my new one fits XS-S.  Didn't realize a bit of the old one got cut off.

Week of Workouts

Thursday I stuck it to the cardio and abs workout.

Friday I worked my back.

I wrapped up week 5 on Saturday working my shoulders.

Monday I was back to the grind working my chest. Burned a little more this week than last but my heart rate stays low since most of this workout I'm on my back.

Yesterday I had a great burn with leg day!

This morning I worked my arms.

Plumbing Chaos Leading into Christmas

For a while whenever I do laundry a horrible stench comes out of the shower in the master bath.  We've just been closing the bathroom door with the fan on so it doesn't permeate the bedroom.  This last week water started coming up in the kitchen sink.  So I called our home warranty company to get a plumber out.

It had been 8 business hours (how long they have to get someone to contact us) and no plumber called me.  I double checked with the warranty company but they hadn't found anyone yet so I called the company that repaired the spigot on the back side of the house during the blizzard this past January.  They came out Friday afternoon and determined there was a clog between the laundry and sink but the smell was due to the remodel (before he house was put on the market) failing to install a p trap to prevent sewer gases from entering the house.

There was a lot of miscommunication between the warranty company and the plumbers.  Monday we got it all situated, or so I thought.  Apparently warranty doesn't pay until the company faxes proof we've paid our deductible, which is about 2-3 hours later.  The plumber requires payment at the time of service so that doesn't work for them.  So now I'm back to square one waiting on the warranty company to locate someone.

Of course this happens right before we're supposed to head to Ohio to visit my family for Christmas.  (By the time you're reading this post we'll have already been on the road.)  So my only choice would be to wash all our clothes at a Laundromat before leaving.  Last night it was chaos with picking up the rental, weighing in, and shopping. Couldn't decide what to get my grandmother (who has Alzheimer's) and forgot a cousin!

This morning was frantic wrapping and packing along with last minute shopping.

I hope you all have a better Christmas week than we have had!

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BeastMode with Fish Oil

I weighed in last night down 2.4 lbs.  I went ahead and decided to make 140 lbs my official goal weight so the Weight Watchers leader updated everything in the system.  Hopefully I'll hit it at weigh in next week but at least by January 6th, so I would be starting 2015 in maintenance mode.

Week of Workouts

Thursday looks to be Cardio and Abs for these 5 weeks of the bulk phase.

Friday I worked my back.  I only had to use the resistance band for one exercise.

Saturday I worked my shoulders in the morning.  In the afternoon I sorted through my clothes to pull out the right size to give to my mom.

I began week 5 Monday working my chest again.

Tuesday was leg day.

This morning I worked my arms.  Benny hadn't gone to bed so when I was done he asked why I was walking funny.  It's because of yesterday!


Provitamaxx Omega-3 Fish Oil Review + Giveaway

I was surprised to find a fish oil with a natural lemon flavoring but it's so light it's barely noticeable.  I haven't experienced a fishy aftertaste either with Provitamaxx Omega-3 Fish Oil.  Perhaps it has something to do with this being in the triglyceride form.  All I know is I don't smell anything each time I open the bottle.

The health benefits of omega-3 fish oil are widely researched and documented.  Some areas that benefit are:

• heart health
• joint function
• circulation
• immune function
• healthy inflammatory levels
• eye health and function
• positive mood
• learning and memory
• normal brain and nerve cell function

The triglyceride form ensures maximum absorption of omega-3s, allowing you to experience the full health benefits.  The pills are gluten-free and contain no GMOs.  They are also certified by a Third Party Lab to be free of mercury, PCBs and any other toxins.  

Provitamaxx Omega-3 Fish Oil is produced using only sustainable fishing methods and is dolphin-safe.  The manufacturing process utilizes 100% green, carbon-neutral technology.

Provitamaxx Omega-3 Fish Oil is currently only available for purchase on Amazon. 

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