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Is your waistband feeling a bit tight after Thanksgiving? Feeling a little heavier and sluggish? This week you may want to plan to add a few extra minutes to your cardio workouts and some extra sets to your weight training regimen. I know I took in a little (ok, a lot) more fuel than my body needs- blame it on the coconut pie (why blame myself?)- and now I must put in some extra exercise to burn additional calories. Or, I can get disgusted witho myself when alll of my favorite winter clothes are suffocating me. (I've been good at that.) Best approach? I say work it off now before the 2-3 pounds from last week turns into 6-8 pounds by New Years.
If you are already in a workout routine kick it up a notch and get the most out of your time at exercise classs or the gym. If you are not engaging in regular exercise, this is a great time to start- a time when weight gain may be inevitable with holiday parties, or extra glasses of vino with good friends is starting up in full swing. Make a commitment to exercise when you can, and if you miss a few sessions, jump right back into it. Thirty minutes a day 3 times a week is enough to bring on changes. Do more when you can. You may just get hooked! Start today by going for a walk. Walk ten minutes in one direction and then walk back. There! Twenty minutes. Done. The more you do, the more you can do!  Excerpt from Get Fit To Go: Motivation to Exercise and Get Healthy!
Keep Pounds at Bay While Socializing Dining out with friends or attending social and holiday functions is a reason to eat, drink and be merry. Who can resist? With extra food onsumption and late hours spent socializing we may be taking in excessive amounts of calories and exercising less. Think of all of those extra calories we consume while we absentmindedly munch on chips as we chat with friends and loved ones. Fill up on salads and raw veggies before trying the other foods. You will curb your appetite with healthier foods and eat less of the fattening fare. Can’t resist the gourmet delights? You’re only human. Limit your quantity. If you are drinking alcoholic beverages try those that are less fattening, such as white wine and light beers. Most caterers understand dietary concerns. When ordering a meal or planning your own affair ask for lighter foods. The meals can still be delicious and filling without being fattening and unhealthy. Save the calories for dessert, if that’s your pleasure. Weddings, social events and holiday parties are not everyday affairs. The sights and smells of delicious foods are tempting. Bingeing will only lead to weight gain and discouragement. Have the strawberry shortcake, if you can’t resist, and make up for it by eating lighter for a few days before and after a fattening event. Making your list and checking it twice? Giving the gift of health is priceless!
Have you or someone on your gift list been told by a doctor that you need to lose weight and exercise because you have, or are at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or another chronic illness? "Get Fit To Go" is practical, sensible, and easy to read. Gaining weight year after year and not feeling much like the person you used to be? Nip it in the bud! Add energy and quality to your life into middle age and the golden years, improve your self esteem, and reduce the need for medications for illness which can be prevented by lifestyle changes. You can do it! I will help you. One of the many things that makes this book different from others is that I include my web address in my book and am available to answer readers personal questions about health and wellness. Also available on Amazon with Super Saver Shipping AND available on KINDLE. There are limited quantities of DISCOUNTED copies available on author's site http://www.fittogohealthandfitness.com/get-fit-to-go--the-book-buy-your-copy-here.html  On November 17 The American Cancer Society is marking the 36th Great American Smokeout by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to quit smoking on that day.
In my book Get Fit To Go, I wrote about my own battle with quitting cigarettes. It is a reprint that I wrote as a newspaper columnist the week my mom died from lung cancer. Interestingly it was also the very last article I wrote for the paper as a weekly columnist. In some way I think my mom was using her power in heaven to move me along in my career. I plunged headfirst into nursing school!) Here is the article: Join the Unhooked Generation - Kick the Habit with a Fix of Exercise Ironically, the last article I wrote in my regular four year column was dedicated to my mom, as seen in the byline: This article is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Veronica O'Reilly, who passed away on April 25 from complications of lung cancer. ... Those of you, who smoke, please don’t ditch me here. Hang in with me. I write this with love in my heart. To prove that I understand the powerful urge to smoke I am coming clean and outing myself. I was a smoker, and it was my love of physical activity that inspired me to quit for good. Physical Activity Can Make It Easier To Quit Smoking Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among both men and women. According to the American Cancer Society smoking causes about 87% of lung cancer deaths.* Smoking is the cause of a host of other diseases, including emphysema, heart disease and vascular disease. Quitting at any age can lower your risk of developing lung cancer, even if you have smoked for many years. Quitting is not easy. Nicotine, the drug fond in tobacco, is highly addictive. The habit is so powerful that after experiencing the loss of a loved one from emphysema or lung cancer, some people still cannot kick the habit. Even if they want to, and know they need to. The best advice is never to start smoking, but for those who already smoke, quitting is one of the hardest habits a person will ever need to break. Ask anyone who has nicotine fits between smokes, or has ever tried to quit. In fact, ask me. In an effort to convince others to quit and prevent young people from starting, I share my personal experience with smoking cessation. I know how difficult it is. I started smoking when cigarettes were fifty cents a pack and teenagers were permitted to purchase cigarettes in a grocery store. Television commercials glamorized smoking, and hunky mustached men on horseback on billboards made it ‘too cool’ not to smoke. I smoked for a few years and during that period in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s I had many bouts with bronchitis. I quit several times- only to reconstruct broken cigarettes that I crumpled during my vows never to smoke again. I urge smokers not to give up- keep quitting until you have quit for good. Mark Twain said, “Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it a thousand times” It was physical fitness that helped me make the best decision of my life- giving up cigarettes. I have not had bronchitis since. I was a young woman of twenty six and came home from work to find the elevator in my Manhattan high-rise out of order. Forced to climb the twenty five flights of stairs to my apartment, I stopped every couple of flights to catch my breath I needed no further convincing, as I always loved physical activity and was astounded by the proof of my limited pulmonary function. I quit for good and took up running. I replaced a bad habit with a good one. The natural high that comes from completing a workout also kept cravings at bay. I also found it impossible to smoke if I was jogging or shooting hoops. One day the cravings went away forever. Instead of nicotine I craved exercise and oxygen in my lungs. I did not gain weight as a result of breaking the smoking habit. Exercise kept my metabolism up and my waistline down. As little as 30 minutes of exercise a day will help fight the urge to smoke, and help you to build physical strength and endurance. You can add years to your life, and quality to those years. The American Cancer Society offers the following tips to help you stop smoking: · When you decide to quit- do not smoke. This means at all- not even one puff. · Keep active- try walking, exercising or doing other activities or hobbies. · Drink lots of water and juices. · Begin using nicotine replacement if that is your choice. · Attend stop-smoking class or start following a self-help plan. · Avoid situations where the urge to smoke is strong. · Reduce or avoid alcohol. · Think about changing your routine. Use a different route to work. Drink tea instead of coffee. Eat breakfast in a different place or eat different foods. * These statistics and guidelines were posted on the ACS website at the time this original article was written in April, 2007. Every action starts with a thought. Why not use the next couple of weeks to start thinking about your plan to quit? Visit The American Cancer Society http://bit.ly/bRpUzN for valuale smoking cessation tips to help you put your plan into action. |
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