Today I celebrated hitting the 70 pound weight loss mark in my heart health journey! In my most optomistic hopes I did not think I would ever reach this milestone! In fact, the last time I saw this weight on my scale was before I became pregnant for my second daughter...and she will be 30 in November!! I have moved from the morbidly obese (how I hated that phrase) to obese, to overweight categories. I am beginning to believe that I can go the distance - only 15 pounds to go and I will be in a normal weight range (haven't seen that since 1979)!!
The downside is all this loose skin! I have flabby arms (mom calls it the "french" arms), flabby thighs, and I'm not even going to try to describe my abdomen. Last week I took action to try to battle the situation. I signed up with a personal trainer, Amy Williams, to begin to develope a routine that will tighten and strengthen. Although it is unlikely that exercize will completely solve the problem, it will help.
I should point out that my gym routine usually involves all cardio with some stretching and situps at the end. I really don't like doing weights and floor exercises..so I need to change my mindset!
Amy and I concentrated on my triceps and abdomen for my first set of workouts. For triceps, I have a series of sets that involve few reps but heavy weights. I am not very strong so I find them very challenging. Amy told me to go three days between the workouts to give the arms the ability to recover. I have done the workout twice and I am tracking them on a new sheet I created in my fitbit program. The ab exercises are more traditional, but challenging as well. I could really feel them the next day. Once again, the series of sets that I have been given are to be done only every three days.
I have changed my gym routine to incorporate the weight and floor exercises. It means doing no more than 30 minutes of cardio and lengthening my workout by 15-20 minutes. It means I have to rush a bit more to get to work in the morning. Feeling a bit more toned will be worth the effort!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Joggin the Noggin event : Keeping an eye on the Finish Line
Yesterday, over 150 women, and about a half dozen men, gathered at QVCC for a Follow the Fifty event that was called "Joggin the Noggin"! The agenda was a presentation by Division 1 Athletic alumna Monique Wolanin on the four "P"s of walking/running: Pre-warm up, Position, Pace, and Post -stretching; a brisk one mile walk/run, and a program on nutrition and its effect on good health.
The speakers were very good and the program was a lot of fun. I felt completely reassurred that I was doing all the right things and that gave me renewed enthusiasm and commitment. I have to say, however that the most poignant part of the day for me was during the one mile run.
I can now run a mile and felt confident that I would be up to the challenge for the course. I took my position beside two of my QVCC co-workers who are also FTF models. The course was explained to us, spotters were at each 1/4 mile mark, and the signal was given to start. We all started with a slow jog using the position info that we were given. We hit the 1/4 mile mark when I noticed that one of my co-worker was breathing shallow and fast. I wanted to keep running, but I also wanted to help my friend. So I told her we were going to walk a bit so our breathing can recover. Our other co-worker stopped too saying "we are going to do this together". For the remainder of the course, we alternated jogging slow and walking. We kept encouraging each other and before you knew it we had hit the mile marker. The instructors told us since that we could do the 1/4 loop again - AND WE DID!
What was so incredible was watching all of my FTF "sisters" along the route. Some were jogging, some were walking briskly, and others were slower in the back of the pack. Everyone had a smile! It wasn't important to anyone who was running, jogging, walking, or at a snails pace because we were all moving in the right direction and we were all keeping an eye on the finish line. This is true of yesterday's event and it is true as we move towards our goal of heart health. Some are off and running, others are struggling but courageously continue to move in the direction of the finish line. And no matter how fast or slow, we are cheering each other on, shouting encouragement, and taking each others hand to "do this together!" I plan to reach the finish line, and I will be in wonderful company when I do!!!
The speakers were very good and the program was a lot of fun. I felt completely reassurred that I was doing all the right things and that gave me renewed enthusiasm and commitment. I have to say, however that the most poignant part of the day for me was during the one mile run.
I can now run a mile and felt confident that I would be up to the challenge for the course. I took my position beside two of my QVCC co-workers who are also FTF models. The course was explained to us, spotters were at each 1/4 mile mark, and the signal was given to start. We all started with a slow jog using the position info that we were given. We hit the 1/4 mile mark when I noticed that one of my co-worker was breathing shallow and fast. I wanted to keep running, but I also wanted to help my friend. So I told her we were going to walk a bit so our breathing can recover. Our other co-worker stopped too saying "we are going to do this together". For the remainder of the course, we alternated jogging slow and walking. We kept encouraging each other and before you knew it we had hit the mile marker. The instructors told us since that we could do the 1/4 loop again - AND WE DID!
What was so incredible was watching all of my FTF "sisters" along the route. Some were jogging, some were walking briskly, and others were slower in the back of the pack. Everyone had a smile! It wasn't important to anyone who was running, jogging, walking, or at a snails pace because we were all moving in the right direction and we were all keeping an eye on the finish line. This is true of yesterday's event and it is true as we move towards our goal of heart health. Some are off and running, others are struggling but courageously continue to move in the direction of the finish line. And no matter how fast or slow, we are cheering each other on, shouting encouragement, and taking each others hand to "do this together!" I plan to reach the finish line, and I will be in wonderful company when I do!!!
Monday, May 21, 2012
It's all in the "View"!
Everyone who knows me is aware of my great love of Rotary! I have been a Rotary member since April 1994, and I have witnessed first hand the good that this organization does in the community, in our state, and around the world. Not only have I had the opportunity to serve my club, the Putnam, CT club as a past president, I am also very privaleged to serve the district as the assistant governor for area 5.
This past weekend was a great celebration in the form of the Annual Rotary District 7890 Conference that was held this year in Plymouth, MA. Dear friends Gary and Karen Osbrey worked tirelessly all year planning for this big event! There were checklists for everything, several trips to Plymouth during the year to make sure all the details were right, and finally spending the entire time at the conference working on the schedule each and every minute. And the hard work paid off with one of the best conferences ever! It was the first year that I convinced my husband to join me, and he such a great time that I don't think I'll have trouble convincing him to join me in the future!
On Saturday morning, after enjoying an evening feast dining on 16th century fare at the Plimouth Plantation, I woke early. George was still asleep so I decided that I was going to go for a brisk morning walk. I got into my gym clothes and sneakers, grabbed my ipod, and headed out the door. The morning was magnificant - sunny with a cool breeze off the water of the bay! I headed out towards the bay and found a walk/bike path that parallelled the beach and water. As my ipod played upbeat walking music, I began to jog. Now you need to know that I have not jogged in years!! It is always such a chore to jog on the treadmill and if I do it is only for two minute intervals. Here I was maintaining a slow jog without feeling that same exhaustion! How can that be?
I think it might be the "view"! I was focused on the beauty of the water, the lovely homes along the waterfront, the people walking dogs or biking along the path. I forgot to get involved in all that self talk about how horrible it is to jog! When I returned to my room, my fitbit registered 3.22 miles! Not a huge jog/walk, but not bad either! After the morning Plenary session at the conference, we had the whole afternoon to ourselves, so George and I went out and enjoyed Plymouth! We walked over five miles seeing the "rock", touring the Mayflower II, doing some shopping, walking along the river in the park, and breathing in the fresh air and sunshine!!
Saturday was the most active day ever recorded on my fitbit, and it didn't feel like it at all! I believe that it is because I was enjoying the view and finding a way to make a healthy activity less of a chore and more of an adventure! Now if only I could have that beach scene at my gym...........hmmmm.
This past weekend was a great celebration in the form of the Annual Rotary District 7890 Conference that was held this year in Plymouth, MA. Dear friends Gary and Karen Osbrey worked tirelessly all year planning for this big event! There were checklists for everything, several trips to Plymouth during the year to make sure all the details were right, and finally spending the entire time at the conference working on the schedule each and every minute. And the hard work paid off with one of the best conferences ever! It was the first year that I convinced my husband to join me, and he such a great time that I don't think I'll have trouble convincing him to join me in the future!
On Saturday morning, after enjoying an evening feast dining on 16th century fare at the Plimouth Plantation, I woke early. George was still asleep so I decided that I was going to go for a brisk morning walk. I got into my gym clothes and sneakers, grabbed my ipod, and headed out the door. The morning was magnificant - sunny with a cool breeze off the water of the bay! I headed out towards the bay and found a walk/bike path that parallelled the beach and water. As my ipod played upbeat walking music, I began to jog. Now you need to know that I have not jogged in years!! It is always such a chore to jog on the treadmill and if I do it is only for two minute intervals. Here I was maintaining a slow jog without feeling that same exhaustion! How can that be?
I think it might be the "view"! I was focused on the beauty of the water, the lovely homes along the waterfront, the people walking dogs or biking along the path. I forgot to get involved in all that self talk about how horrible it is to jog! When I returned to my room, my fitbit registered 3.22 miles! Not a huge jog/walk, but not bad either! After the morning Plenary session at the conference, we had the whole afternoon to ourselves, so George and I went out and enjoyed Plymouth! We walked over five miles seeing the "rock", touring the Mayflower II, doing some shopping, walking along the river in the park, and breathing in the fresh air and sunshine!!
Saturday was the most active day ever recorded on my fitbit, and it didn't feel like it at all! I believe that it is because I was enjoying the view and finding a way to make a healthy activity less of a chore and more of an adventure! Now if only I could have that beach scene at my gym...........hmmmm.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Patience is a Virtue
When I left work after 4:30 on Thursday, I was completely spent. I had a full day at the college and was ready to go home, greet my hubby, and then meet our daughter Kristen in Putnam for dinner.
There was a huge construction project on Route 101- they were chopping up the road to resurface as far as the eye could see. Traffic was one lane only and my side had been stopped, but all I could see was a long stretch of lane with the other filled with trucks, bobcats, and equipment. It was at least ten minutes (maybe five but it felt like ten) before I could see cars coming down the lane in the other direction. It took another few minutes for those vehicles (I counted 28) to pass us and for our line to begin moving along.
I was the second car in line. As the cars piled up behind me, I began to feel impatient. I began to think, "What the heck are these workers doing still here at a time when people are trying to get home from work?". Then I looked behind. Some people were beginning to do three point turns to go back and find another route. Others were poking their heads out of the windows, or making gestures. I guess that as a society we are very impatient people. When we get impatient, we want to turn around and find an easier way because "waiting" is hard. As annoyed as I was, I just sat and waited!!
How does this relate to the Follow the Fifty Journey? Well, I believe that one of our worst enemies is impatience. We want to get healthy; we want to lose weight; we want our blood pressure to go down, or our blood sugars to be normal, ect.. We start off like I did when I left the college on Thurday afternoon - ready to get to our destinations and relax. The last thing we want is to be stopped in traffic, or have and obstacle put in our way! We have to learn to be patient. Our bad health habits did not happen overnight, and they won't go away any quicker. It is a process. We have to wait out the bad parts, be persistent, and then continue on our way.
Those people who decided to turn around and not wait out the traffic line probably took longer to get to their destination than if they had sat out the time in line. They may have decided not to go to the destination that they intended and sought out a different place. We do this to ourselves all the time. We turn around and look for something easier. We backtrack. We lose patience.
I hope that my FTF sisters can keep in line, heading for their destinations, and be patient when they hit "constuction", so that we will all arrive at our goal in December together!
There was a huge construction project on Route 101- they were chopping up the road to resurface as far as the eye could see. Traffic was one lane only and my side had been stopped, but all I could see was a long stretch of lane with the other filled with trucks, bobcats, and equipment. It was at least ten minutes (maybe five but it felt like ten) before I could see cars coming down the lane in the other direction. It took another few minutes for those vehicles (I counted 28) to pass us and for our line to begin moving along.
I was the second car in line. As the cars piled up behind me, I began to feel impatient. I began to think, "What the heck are these workers doing still here at a time when people are trying to get home from work?". Then I looked behind. Some people were beginning to do three point turns to go back and find another route. Others were poking their heads out of the windows, or making gestures. I guess that as a society we are very impatient people. When we get impatient, we want to turn around and find an easier way because "waiting" is hard. As annoyed as I was, I just sat and waited!!
How does this relate to the Follow the Fifty Journey? Well, I believe that one of our worst enemies is impatience. We want to get healthy; we want to lose weight; we want our blood pressure to go down, or our blood sugars to be normal, ect.. We start off like I did when I left the college on Thurday afternoon - ready to get to our destinations and relax. The last thing we want is to be stopped in traffic, or have and obstacle put in our way! We have to learn to be patient. Our bad health habits did not happen overnight, and they won't go away any quicker. It is a process. We have to wait out the bad parts, be persistent, and then continue on our way.
Those people who decided to turn around and not wait out the traffic line probably took longer to get to their destination than if they had sat out the time in line. They may have decided not to go to the destination that they intended and sought out a different place. We do this to ourselves all the time. We turn around and look for something easier. We backtrack. We lose patience.
I hope that my FTF sisters can keep in line, heading for their destinations, and be patient when they hit "constuction", so that we will all arrive at our goal in December together!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Divine women, divine intervention!
I can't even begin to express in words the magic that happened in the Tourtellotte Memorial High School building in Thompson last night. One hundred seventy one women, members of the FTF sisterhood, gathered for the program "Fitness at any Age" sponsored by TEEG. To see the sea of red and white shirts filling the auditorium was so inspiring and uplifting. There was an hour of time before the program to connect with old friends and new friends and talk about how we were doing, what we were doing, and inviting each other to join walks and other activities.
The speakers, were incredible, talking about exercise and movement. The activity was fun (although I did take an aleve before I went to bed LOL), and the information sheets, stress ball, and exercise bands will prove useful over the next few months. At the end of the evening, that ran almost an hour beyond its original schedule - and hardly anyone left - we had the beautiful, energetic, and inspiring Linda Collangelo share her excitement in ways that only Linda can deliver! It was a night of laughing, leaping, and learning!
I couldn't believe that I won two of the raffle prizes! I NEVER win raffles! One of the prizes was a $25.00 gift certificate to my gym. Amy Williams was one of the speakers (she was incredible by the way) and she works for Midtown Fitness as a personal trainer and instructor. She congratulated me and asked me if I needed directions to the gym. Funny lady. But that was when the idea struck me! I am going to use this $25.00 gift certificate to help pay for three sessions with Amy at the gym. I did this five years ago when I first joined, but honestly didn't make the most of it. Now is the time. As I have lost weight I have noticed that (how to put this delicately) I have more skin than body and I am hoping that I can tighten some of it up! I am sure Amy will put me on an intensive program to do that!
I am a believer that things happen for a reason. I think that the raffle prize was really a gift from above to inspire and challenge me to do new things. I'll let you know how it goes!
The speakers, were incredible, talking about exercise and movement. The activity was fun (although I did take an aleve before I went to bed LOL), and the information sheets, stress ball, and exercise bands will prove useful over the next few months. At the end of the evening, that ran almost an hour beyond its original schedule - and hardly anyone left - we had the beautiful, energetic, and inspiring Linda Collangelo share her excitement in ways that only Linda can deliver! It was a night of laughing, leaping, and learning!
I couldn't believe that I won two of the raffle prizes! I NEVER win raffles! One of the prizes was a $25.00 gift certificate to my gym. Amy Williams was one of the speakers (she was incredible by the way) and she works for Midtown Fitness as a personal trainer and instructor. She congratulated me and asked me if I needed directions to the gym. Funny lady. But that was when the idea struck me! I am going to use this $25.00 gift certificate to help pay for three sessions with Amy at the gym. I did this five years ago when I first joined, but honestly didn't make the most of it. Now is the time. As I have lost weight I have noticed that (how to put this delicately) I have more skin than body and I am hoping that I can tighten some of it up! I am sure Amy will put me on an intensive program to do that!
I am a believer that things happen for a reason. I think that the raffle prize was really a gift from above to inspire and challenge me to do new things. I'll let you know how it goes!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Have "FITBIT" will travel!
As I have stated, my daughter Kristen is my FTF coach but my husband George is my biggest cheerleader! He surprised me a little over a week ago with a little contraption called a Fitbit. The Fitbit is a very small clip that electronically records your fitness goals each day and then wirelessly reports them back to your computer! Men and women can clip it onto their slacks, a pant or shirt pocket, and women can (as recommended by the manufacturer) clip it to a bra.
The fitbit tells you the time, serves as a stopwatch, measures your sleep/wake patterns, tells you how many steps you climb, the number of steps that you take, the total number of miles you walk each day, and the number of calories that you are burning. The fitbit summarizes your daily activity; it resets itself at midnight each day. When I log into the fitbit "dashboard" on the computer, I can also graph my progress, add weight and fitness activities, and use their food log. I can also set goals and it will measure how well I do each week towards achieving them. It is a pretty amazing piece of technology that is no bigger than my pinkie. (For more information go to www.fitbit.com )
So where I go, my fitbit goes, and it has been pretty amazing. After my first week, I logged into the dashboard to see the results: Steps: 56,298 (Goal 70,000 per week so I made 80%); Stairs: 74 floors climbed ( 106% of my goal of 70); Miles: 26.83 miles (Goal of 35 miles per week- I accomplished 77%). I burned between 1750 and 2300 calories per day. And I lost 1.2 pounds. Not a bad first week!
There is a saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Now that I have this amazing gadget, I know exactly how many steps I am making towards my heart health journey!!!! Thanks, George!
The fitbit tells you the time, serves as a stopwatch, measures your sleep/wake patterns, tells you how many steps you climb, the number of steps that you take, the total number of miles you walk each day, and the number of calories that you are burning. The fitbit summarizes your daily activity; it resets itself at midnight each day. When I log into the fitbit "dashboard" on the computer, I can also graph my progress, add weight and fitness activities, and use their food log. I can also set goals and it will measure how well I do each week towards achieving them. It is a pretty amazing piece of technology that is no bigger than my pinkie. (For more information go to www.fitbit.com )
So where I go, my fitbit goes, and it has been pretty amazing. After my first week, I logged into the dashboard to see the results: Steps: 56,298 (Goal 70,000 per week so I made 80%); Stairs: 74 floors climbed ( 106% of my goal of 70); Miles: 26.83 miles (Goal of 35 miles per week- I accomplished 77%). I burned between 1750 and 2300 calories per day. And I lost 1.2 pounds. Not a bad first week!
There is a saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Now that I have this amazing gadget, I know exactly how many steps I am making towards my heart health journey!!!! Thanks, George!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Week Four or "How much can one person fit into seven days?".
It is 8:20 p.m. on Friday night. I am sitting at my keyboard with a decaf tea wondering how to summarize the past week. Like last week, I knew that this one would be filled with many obligations and more that a little stress. And like last week, I survived with a little help from my friends!!
Last weekend was pretty pleasant. I started with a two mile walk with my teammate Sue and her daughter/coach Rachel. We walked around Roseland Park on a spectacular spring day, passing people with children in the park, kids riding bikes, couples walking along the lake, and parents watching their sons and daughters playing little league and t-ball. I could have easily walked another two miles, but both Sue and I had other obligations. I did some more gardening and did up a sketch of the addition to our back deck for George to bring to the town hall for a building permit. Sunday brought some showers, and then rain. I spent time with my beautiful daughter- and coach - Kristen. We saw Linda Collangelo and Laura Crosetti at the 99 Restaurant and I was reminded of the incredible sisterhood that has been formed in Northeaster CT! I had the salmon with roasted veggies for lunch! I relaxed in the evening with my hubby! It was all good!
Monday I hit the floor running at 4:45 a.m. After a trip to the gym I began a week of non-stop activity. After a long workday, I had a meeting of my committee for the Arc Capital campaign and a walk through at the banquet facility we are using. Started Tuesday at the gym and at the college I made final preparations with vendors and the college facilities folks for our two day "Open Air Fair" at the college; the Open Air Fair began on Wednesday along with SGA elections (and all the crazy stuff around that). I not only vompleted a good workout at the gym, but I also had physical therapy for my shoulder in the afternoon. No gym on Thursday morning as I attended the Rotary District Assembly in West Springfield beginning at 7:30 a.m.. I left Springfield at noon, travelled back to the college, wrapped up the "Open Air Fair" at the college in the afternoon, and then headed for the Kick off for the Community phase of the ARC Capital Campaign that same evening. Missed the gym again Friday because I was up at the crack of dawn to get to WINY radio for 7 as part of the Anti-Drinking and Driving campaign for NECASA. The Putnam Police and EMS personnel turned a car on its roof in front of the station and we put NECASA Executive Director, Bob Brex inside where he would stay until we raised money for programming to be provided to teens during prom season. I left WINY after doing some air time and spent the remainder of Friday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford where the "Heroes for Hire" job and training fair was held for CT veterans! It was crazy and tiring, but now that it is over I realize it was also filled with accomplishment and purpose!
I usually get so caught up in the craziness of weeks that are busy like this that I forget to take care of myself. Not so long ago I would be catching meals on the run, or eating whatever was available just because it was there - or convenient. I've always been a stress eater, and a week like this should have put me over the edge. It didn't! Why?
The answer, I believe, is because one of the things that I added to my busy lifestyle is a huge commitment to myself. Why is it, as women, we usually take care of everything and everyone but don't put ourselves on that top priority list? What changed is that there are 180 plus women who have made themselves and each other a priority for the next few months. In order to take care of them and cheer them on, I have to take care of myself. It is a commitment and promise that we made to each other, and I keep promises and commitments.
So, to the models, their coaches, my teammates, my coach, and my cheerleaders - and all the beautiful women of the Follow the Fifty movement - thank you! I had a lot to fit into seven days this week... but left room to take care of myself as well!
Last weekend was pretty pleasant. I started with a two mile walk with my teammate Sue and her daughter/coach Rachel. We walked around Roseland Park on a spectacular spring day, passing people with children in the park, kids riding bikes, couples walking along the lake, and parents watching their sons and daughters playing little league and t-ball. I could have easily walked another two miles, but both Sue and I had other obligations. I did some more gardening and did up a sketch of the addition to our back deck for George to bring to the town hall for a building permit. Sunday brought some showers, and then rain. I spent time with my beautiful daughter- and coach - Kristen. We saw Linda Collangelo and Laura Crosetti at the 99 Restaurant and I was reminded of the incredible sisterhood that has been formed in Northeaster CT! I had the salmon with roasted veggies for lunch! I relaxed in the evening with my hubby! It was all good!
Monday I hit the floor running at 4:45 a.m. After a trip to the gym I began a week of non-stop activity. After a long workday, I had a meeting of my committee for the Arc Capital campaign and a walk through at the banquet facility we are using. Started Tuesday at the gym and at the college I made final preparations with vendors and the college facilities folks for our two day "Open Air Fair" at the college; the Open Air Fair began on Wednesday along with SGA elections (and all the crazy stuff around that). I not only vompleted a good workout at the gym, but I also had physical therapy for my shoulder in the afternoon. No gym on Thursday morning as I attended the Rotary District Assembly in West Springfield beginning at 7:30 a.m.. I left Springfield at noon, travelled back to the college, wrapped up the "Open Air Fair" at the college in the afternoon, and then headed for the Kick off for the Community phase of the ARC Capital Campaign that same evening. Missed the gym again Friday because I was up at the crack of dawn to get to WINY radio for 7 as part of the Anti-Drinking and Driving campaign for NECASA. The Putnam Police and EMS personnel turned a car on its roof in front of the station and we put NECASA Executive Director, Bob Brex inside where he would stay until we raised money for programming to be provided to teens during prom season. I left WINY after doing some air time and spent the remainder of Friday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford where the "Heroes for Hire" job and training fair was held for CT veterans! It was crazy and tiring, but now that it is over I realize it was also filled with accomplishment and purpose!
I usually get so caught up in the craziness of weeks that are busy like this that I forget to take care of myself. Not so long ago I would be catching meals on the run, or eating whatever was available just because it was there - or convenient. I've always been a stress eater, and a week like this should have put me over the edge. It didn't! Why?
The answer, I believe, is because one of the things that I added to my busy lifestyle is a huge commitment to myself. Why is it, as women, we usually take care of everything and everyone but don't put ourselves on that top priority list? What changed is that there are 180 plus women who have made themselves and each other a priority for the next few months. In order to take care of them and cheer them on, I have to take care of myself. It is a commitment and promise that we made to each other, and I keep promises and commitments.
So, to the models, their coaches, my teammates, my coach, and my cheerleaders - and all the beautiful women of the Follow the Fifty movement - thank you! I had a lot to fit into seven days this week... but left room to take care of myself as well!
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