Think Forward

My holistic fitness regimen is about more than balanced nutrition and a consistent exercise program. It is also about forward thinking.

James Hetfield rocks out Sandman on my MP3 as I scrub oatmeal left behind in breakfast bowls in my sink. The creativity center in my brain kicks up a notch. The same thing happens when I vacuum or mow the lawn to U2, Foo Fighters or Katy Perry. Music and household chores mix to produce grandiose ideas for the future. The ideas with merit are ferreted out, analyzed, and placed on the roadmap for my life plan. Forward thinking helps me keep faith in my purpose, helps me survive daily challenges, and helps me stay sane. It is central to continued optimism and the positive groove I strive to maintain each day.

Live in the Moment

Last week, I watched Piers Morgan’s interview with Oprah on CNN.One of the most engaging, memorable sound bites was when Oprah talked about living in the moment. She talked about being able to thoroughly enjoy the dialogue with Morgan because she was focused specifically on life in that particular moment; not about the past and not about the future. Oprah identified living in the moment as one of her greatest life achievements.

I have been thinking about this portion of the interview for more than a week. Living in the moment is an ability to aspire to. But, is this a reality anyone can really achieve? Can anyone truly filter out — completely — all past reflections and forward thinking while doing something else at any given moment, consistently?

As I write this post, I am living in the moment; focused on the task at hand. I am also thinking about near-future events. My daughter has religious education after school. I have to pick her up from school in 45 minutes, which means I am watching the clock and preparing to wake my son from his nap. 

But, I believe Oprah’s challenge was to savor each living moment we have; because our past is just that; and the future is an unknown. Anything could happen. The irony of my reflections is that a girlfriend and I discussed this very issue on a night out with our husbands a couple Saturdays ago. We attended a Pistons’ game and were nicely surprised to witness a win against the Sacramento Kings. As we drove home from Auburn Hills, the roads were slushy and snow flurried across the windshield. It was a cold, dark night. All of us expressed how anxious we were for spring. My girlfriend agreed, but noted we were wishing our lives away. By thinking forward to March and April we were not allowing ourselves to truly enjoy what we had. 

She was so right. The fun, cozy night began with a delicious Mexican meal at Miguel's Catina in Rochester, Mich. Our good times continued with coffee at Caribou and then the Pistons’ game with fantastic seats in Section 102, Row E complements of a charitable organization I made a donation to in November. The four of us had it all; and we still do even in arctic-like Shelby Township, Mich.

Sleep It Off

There is something to be said for the twilight hours. The house is quiet. My children, husband and dog all slumber. But, I relish uninterrupted peace. Requests for fruit snacks, Handy Manny, and PBJs are silenced for a blissful 10 hours. It is time just for me. I write, listen to Pink Floyd, watch CNN, chat with FB friends, read, or scan the latest news online. Before two shakes of a lamb’s tail, it is 1:30 am. My wake-up alarm goes off at 6:00 am. Crap! I cannot turn back the clock. All I can hope for is one steaming-hot, venti-size coffee before walking my daughter to the bus stop at 8:00 a.m.

This growing trend of too-little-sleep is catching up with me. The signs are everywhere. Last night, I sloughed through my 30-minute elliptical workout at a turtle-slow pace of 7-8 mph. Before the holidays I blasted through at about 10-11 mph. Next, I have less discipline resisting unhealthy food choices. The unhealthy food choices add to my feelings of fatigue and lethargy. Also, I am experiencing greater challenges recalling names, slight schedule changes, and minor action items. Finally, my children, husband and dog are not fans of my crankitude.

Clearly, I need to add more sleep as a resolution for 2011. More sleep means more energy to build and maintain a strong body with stamina to play with my children, ice skate and party like crazy on Super Bowl Sunday. I also have a more wakeful mind with the ability to better remember names of new friends, information requests and commitments. Finally, more sleep is a healthier spirit because I am a more attentive and active wife, mom, sister, cousin, niece, aunt, in-law, classroom volunteer, friend, neighbor, global thinker, advocate, writer, music lover, moviegoer, reader, student, and Detroit Red Wings fan.

Jump Rope for Heart

A PE teacher at my daughter’s school is leading students to participate in a Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser. The American Heart Association event raises money for vital heart and stroke research as well as local patient care. Students will jump rope in their gym classes. In addition to helping people live longer, healthier lives, the Jump Rope event also teaches the importance of regular physical activity and community service.

Like many, I have lost a number of family members and friends to heart disease and stroke. Make a donation to Jump Rope for Heart in my daughter's name.

Her school will qualify for gift certificates for free physical education equipment based on the amount raised. Each student who raises a minimum of $40 will be invited to participate in a free, after-school Bonus Gym class.

To donate, click here.

Consumers Beware: Read Food Labels

This week a post at The Sweet Beet enlightened me about a food choice that was not so healthy. Occasionally, I buy those veggie stick snacks. While they are a tasty option, I learned it is no better than a bag of potato chips or Doritos. The post is titled, 13 “Health Foods” That Aren’t.

It is important to read and understand nutrition labels on the foods you buy. Otherwise, you run the risk of making purchases that undermine your goal to live and eat healthy. As you have read, this happens to me. To minimize unintentional bad choices, I buy all-natural as much as my budget allows. I prefer to know what I am feeding my body, my family and my dinner guests. My research for this post also included talking with a  friend who has a son with allergies to many foods — including peanuts — and substances. She directed me to the following Youtube video from the Healthy Child Healthy World. I realize I have much to learn about food ingredients as well as other substances my family and I are exposed to everyday; and I consider myself to be informed about green matters.

Another reason I read nutrition labels is to control portion sizes. In combination with a food scale, nutrition labels are helpful in knowing “how much” is in one serving of the foods I select to eat. I don’t consider this dangerous or obsessive because I am not successful at eye-balling my portion sizes. This is especially true when I portion breakfast cereal, ice cream, yogurt, pasta, rice, or cookies. Portion size knowledge keeps treats I love in my diet such as Hershey's special dark chocolate bars. Half a bar equals just 90 calories, 6g fat, and 10.5g sugar.

Want a funny story about food label mishaps? One night after completing my workout, I decided to watch Fight Club. Before starting the film, I popped one mini-bag of Act II popcorn. The packaging on the box promotes each mini-bag as having just 100 calories. As it popped, the smell made my stomach rumble. I examined the nutrition label a bit more closely than I did at the store. The serving information read one cup popped. There were six cups in the bag, which meant I was about to consume 600 calories for one mini-bag of popcorn. Talk about a showstopper. Wistfully, I measured one cup from the six I popped and e-mailed Conagra Foods, the company responsible for making ACT II. Come to find out the serving information on the box was printed incorrectly. Instead of being printed one cup popped, it should have read one BAG popped. What the cuss? I never purchased Act II popcorn again.

Two Points

It is 11:35 p.m. on day 12 of 2011. I am getting my groove on with Rob Zombie's Dragula. This song always invokes visions of roller hockey or soccer mayhem. One vision is of me breezing past the opposition and scoring the winning roller hockey goal. The other is of playing soccer in the pouring rain somewhere in Germany with my girlfriends against a pack of mean girls. It is a gray, mucked-up scene with mud-streaked body parts, drenched soccer shorts, cleats, and gnarly hair.

As day 13 of 2011 begins, I am thinking about Exercise Help: Gym Phobic?, a healthy-living post I read at The Huffington Post this week. It talks about why some people avoid working out at the gym. What I concluded are two points.

Point 1: Do What Works for You. Many of my friends maintain early-morning exercise sessions. This means waking up well before dawn to complete exercise before work and/or parenting. Early-morning time slots do not work for me. I am not an early-morning person. Making it fully dressed — with hair and makeup done — for breakfast duty at 6:30 a.m. is early enough for me. My preferred workout time is 9:00 p.m. because my children are in bed. Night-time workouts serve as my way to de-stress. Plus, there are minimal interruptions for food/drink requests and no distractions from Zhu Zhu Pet battles. I am consistent with keeping this appointment because it works for me.

As for the gym vs. home, I prefer home or the great outdoors. In the winter I love my home gym. It is equipped with an elliptical machine, weight machines, free weights, jump ropes, exercise balls, resistance bands, a superb audio system, and a projection screen system for my Biggest Loser DVD sessions. I also go outdoors to ice skate, sled, or cross-country ski. In the spring and summer, I play tennis, walk, run, roller blade and cycle. My friend and sometimes fitness partner, Lisa prefers fitness classes at the gym. The company of others — especially a 70-plus classmate — motivates Lisa to push herself harder. She also runs, walks and works at weekly Weight Watchers meetings. All of this works for her.

Fitness classes are great because there are some forms of exercise (Zumba, Pilates, Yoga, and Martial Arts) that I want to learn that would be challenging or boring for me to do alone at home. Plus, I like to get out of the house — periodically — and leave my husband in charge of the children.

Point 2: Stick With It. Last night, a long-time friend blogged about how she kept to her fitness regimen despite having a hard day at the office. Her post kept me off the couch, too. My friend attends her Zumba and Pilates classes because they are fun. I stick with my Biggest Loser DVDs because I enjoy the routines. When I need variation, I switch to interval training and watch Joy Behar's show, take a karate class, or walk to U2 on my MP3. If you missed your session, do not break into a sweat. Just do it tomorrow. Don't burn yourself out. Everyone needs a break. I usually take at least one day off a week.

On Friday, I am trying something new. Stoney Creek Metro Park has snow shoe rentals. I have always wanted to do this. There is plenty of snow out there. So, why not?

Break Away

Monday, January 3 marked my family’s return to normal-mode. For two weeks we broke away from 6:00 a.m. wake-up calls, quick-oats breakfasts, bus stop runs, homework, and workplace politics.

During the weeks surrounding the holidays, my husband and I were successful in giving our family a great mix of fun, family and relaxation. Fun was traveling to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. We splashed in the water park, went on magic quests and spent quality time with our children and friends. Family time was spent gathering at my sister's home in Ann Arbor for some pre-holiday cheer. We celebrated Christmas Eve with a scrumptious meal at home with my parents. On New Year’s Day we took my mother-in-law to brunch at her favorite restaurant and played with Yogi, her Shih-Tzu. Relaxation-mode kicked in on Christmas Day. We sloughed around in pajamas, hunted for treasures from Santa, played with our toys, and reflected on the holiday. We stayed home on New Year’s Eve, too.

In between all the fun, family and relaxation we re-organized the kitchen and basement to prepare for a new year. The clean-up of these two spaces enabled us to jump-start healthy living resolutions on day one of 2011.

Breaking away from routine is a necessary respite I take several times throughout the year. It re-charges my energy, enables me to gain perspective and re-sets my focus on achieving goals.