The "Shape" of "Oprah"

Happy New Year to all of you. I hope each and everyone of you have a wonderful start to 2009. Have you set those goals for 2009? I am waiting to hear what they might be.
I wanted to share with you a couple of interesting magazines that I purchased over the last couple of days. The first one is the January issue of O Magazine from Oprah Winfrey. If any of you have followed Oprah on her struggle to maintain her weight then this is the one copy you need to purchase. Oprah has unfortunately fallen off the weight loss and good health wagon and now has 40 pounds to lose. I found the article interesting because she states that the biggest problem is that she has taken herself off the list of things to do. She stated that she has put everything and everyone ahead of herself and is now staring at 40 extra pounds on her frame. If you have $5 to spare I would suggest you buy a copy of this magazine and just read pages 148 to 153. I found her statements on page 149 to be especially enlightening. Pick up a copy and read it.
Oprah's friend and trainer Bob Greene also has some wonderful information that he adds to the end of the article.
My point in mentioning this article is this...Oprah is like a bazillionaire and has enough resources to hire a cook, trainer and have the best equipment available in which to train. The only thing is Oprah has to do the work. She can't hire anyone to work-out for her. She has to keep herself on the list and eat right and exercise. She has to show up and make it count.
The second magazine that I purchased is from the publishers of Shape magazine. It is one of those special collectors edition magazines that stays on the shelf for a couple of months. I just found that it has a ton of useful information that you might find interesting and useful in your journey to get better health.
Show up and make it count!

Set Your Goals Lofty

I wanted to share my New Year's Goals with you in hopes that it might plant the seed for other's to follow. Those other's would be you my peeps. Here is a list of mine so far. I may add more and if needed I reserve the right to redefine success as the year progresses.

1. I want to be a better listener.
2. Be more kind to my beloved Joe.
3. Love my girls to pieces.
4. Bench press 135 pounds.
5. Run 3 miles in 30 minutes twice a week.
6. Ride my bike for at least 30 miles a week.
7. Continue my teammates training with Doug, Denny, Beau and Norma.

When thinking of setting goals or New's Year's Resolutions or dreams or whatever you may call them I think of the USA olympic swimmer Dara Torres age 41. I believe she was quoted as saying "Your dreams have no age limit"! I hope that you will think of her or anyone that inspires you in any way and set your goals. Set your goals lofty because you just might reach them!

I would love to know what goals you have set for 2009. Drop me an e-mail or give me a call or even send me a text (I am no longer in 1985...I can text now) and let me know what you have in mind. I will do whatever I can to help you achieve your health and fitness goals for 2009.

Show up and make it count!

Reward No Food

Another interesting conversation made this blog post come to mind. I was working out with Erin B. at our Keller facility. We were talking about weight loss, exercise, dieting, etc. She mentioned that she might be going to work full-time from 8 to 5. She is a wonderful nurse and currently works several night shifts a week and it has totally taken a toll on her weight loss and fitness efforts. She mentioned that she can't seem to get into a healthy routine with her eating due mainly to her schedule. She says that she is so tired from working the night shift that she finds herself rewarding herself with food. She thinks in her mind "Hey I work the night shift and it is hard to do that and I am tired therefore I am going to reward myself with this piece of cheesecake"! This made me think long and hard about the whole act of rewarding ourselves with food. Why do we do that?
Another example of this food for reward was with my training buddy Doug who by the way is looking RIPPED. He is trying desperately to clean up his eating. I bought him the book The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno and he is really making an effort to follow her guidelines. Unfortunately, to eat clean means that you have to really come clean. No soda, junk food or fast food. I received a text message from Doug stating that his "Veggies were screaming for ranch dressing". I texted him back and said "NO RANCH". He texted me back and said "I want the ranch because I deserve the ranch". You can see where this was going.
My challenge to you is this...no longer reward yourself with food. Just don't do it any longer. If you have had an awesome week and have got your required work-outs in and have eaten as healthy as possible then why not reward yourself with something else. My dear friend and training partner Runner Susan would most definitely enjoy new shoes. I would most definitely reward myself with additional training with Denny or something for my bike.
Give it a try by rewarding yourself with something other than food. From this point forward think of food as fuel and let that be the end of it. Let me know what you reward yourself with instead.
Show up and make it count!

She's Making A List and Checking It Twice

I had another conversation with my adult fitness client Kathy that led to the creation of this blog post. We were talking about all of the wonderful things that we had to eat on Thanksgiving day. I mentioned to Kathy that between meals that day I managed to skip out and ride my bike for 10 miles or so. Her question to me was how did I just leave and go ride my bike? I thought about it and thought that it seemed like a no brainer to get a work-out in that day especially since I had over indulged in the stuffing category. But then it occurred to me that some people would never dream of leaving a house full of family and friends to go and take a walk or jog. Some of my clients would never give themselves permission to take an hour and go do something good for their health. I will admit that I sometimes feel extremely guilty about the amount of time I put it to working out each day. I feel like I should be doing other things instead, but I always come back to the feeling of I have to keep myself on the LIST! I have to take that 60 minutes (sometimes more) or so and stay on the journey. I have to put the guilt aside and just do it!

I am asking you this season to...make your list and check it twice...and make for sure you are on it!

Show up and make it count!