Post Thanksgiving Review

Post Thanksgiving review starts with this quote, “The best laid plans of mice and men…”exercise

Cooking and Exercise

I had intended to try Rebecca J. Clark’s, author of The Checklist Diet suggestions for cooking and exercise.
  • Calf raises—whenever you're stirring something on the stove.
  • Side leg raises—while stirring/mixing away from the stove.
  • Stand on one leg—while washing your hands (don't forget to switch legs).
  • Arm circles—while waiting for the pot to boil.
  • Deep breathing—while chopping vegetables (in through the nose, pause, out through the mouth)
I’d also planned to play plenty of music and dance while I was cooking, but all I managed to do was a couple of calf raises. And the outdoor exercise I’d planned, never got off the ground. Of all… Read More

Holiday Weight Maintenance

savor Walnut trees turning color Tis the season when pounds start magically appearing. Exercising and maintaining my weight can be a challenge this time of year. My routine gets out of whack with guests to entertain and an abundance of food to eat. Suddenly, I’m not exercising regularly, overeating and not savoring my food or the holiday.   savor Cattle grazing under Mt. Shasta

New Traditions

This year in my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I am instituting some new traditions. Instead of vegging in front of the television the entire time, I will take a walk. If there’s snow, instead of cuddling up by the fire, I… Read More

New Exercise Routine

New Exercise Routine

exerciseIt’s fall, and while I absolutely love this time of year, it messes with my exercise routine. This is mostly due to the change in weather. When it’s raining or the wind is howling I don’t ride my bicycle outside, so I have to adjust my routine and ride the indoor bicycle. And some of the mountain biking trails I love get shut down because of weather. It doesn’t mean I can’t ride in the winter, it just means I have go to more winter friendly trails.

Shaking It Up

This changeup isn’t bad, it just means I have to readjust. It takes time for me to get in the groove with these changes. Instead of assuming I will… Read More

Setting Weight Loss Goals

I’ve talked a lot about setting weight loss goals, but I just realized my quest is not only about weight loss. It’s about developing a healthy lifestyle.

Goals

So what are my goals for developing a healthy lifestyle?goals
  • Look forward to exercising
  • Exercise with joy in my heart
  • Exercise because I love it
  • Stop obsessing about food
  • Eat when I’m hungry, stop when I’m full
  • Love the foods I eat and savor every bite
That’s a pretty hefty list when I look at it. And while I’ve made progress on every single item, there are days that exercise just feels like work, and all I think about is what’s in the pantry to eat.

Sticky Notes

I’m looking at the list of sticky notes I wrote last week when… Read More

Fall Meal Planning

meals Red moon I love fall. The crisp air in the morning, the cool afternoons to exercise without getting heat stroke, but most of all I love cooking again. It’s time for all those lovely fall meals. I’m ready for a change of pace, so this week is fall meals week.

Fall Meals

meals Chili and corn bread I kicked off my fall menu lineup with a pot of chili—the spicier the better for me. My recipe for chili is a mix of several recipes and I kind of toss everything into the pot.
  • ½ chopped onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic crushed
  • ½ chopped red or orange bell pepper
  • Turkey sausage 16 ounce package
  • 2… Read More

Mental Clutter=Weight Loss

Mental Clutter

I started to blog about mental clutter=weight loss, but my enthusiasm fizzled. Why? Because I feel fat! mental Image courtesy of Okolaa at FreeDigitalPhotos.net My scale is being Sheila (the name I give it when I don’t like what she says). Sheila says I’m several pounds heavier than I want to be. To add insult to injury, my loose jeans feel tight today, and that’s all I can focused on! No matter what I’m doing these thoughts are in the back of my mind circling like a pack of rabid dogs taunting me, tormenting me. It makes me want to jump on the old diet wheel and get rid of that excess weight before I can pile… Read More

Managing Sugar

Managing Sugar

Managing sugar is a hit and miss problem for me. In the past, the more I eat, the more I want. When I’m not eating it, I don’t crave it, but when I am, I want more. It’s been addictive for me and I craved it constantly. I managed it by avoiding sugar all together. sugarBut an interesting thing has happened since I’ve started my weight loss quest. Now that I no longer deprive myself of desserts and sugar because I’m on a “diet”, I find I don’t crave it like I used to. I know I can have it, so I don’t treat it like it’s taboo or that I have to be good on my “diet”… Read More

Setting Weight Loss Goals

Weight Loss Goals

I’ve always been a goal setter—from work to exercise to weight loss. I recently read a post by Diane Carbonell on are you focused on the right thing when losing weight. goals Crash mountain biking in Bend, Oregon. Good news the bike survived! Her blog was about goal setting, and it made me realize that setting a goal to just lose a certain amount of weight wasn’t enough to be successful. For me, it also included an attitude change. I was no longer just losing weight, but changing my lifestyle by eating when I was hungry, stopping when full and getting plenty of exercise—not just a set amount of exercise, and even challenging myself… Read More

Fighting the Obesity Epidemic

The Klutzy Athlete is out being her Klutzy self and rerunning a blog today.  Will be back soon with more nutrition and exercise. We have an obesity epidemic on our hands, and no one seems to know how to stop it. If you have a loved one who is obese, you’ve probably tried anything and everything to get them to lose weight. Guilt, shame, bribery, badgering, coercion, but nothing works, does it? So what do you do? obesity image courtesy of (c) Jason Stitt/123RF Having recently lost someone I loved to complications from obesity, I want to take on the obesity and knock it into outer space. It’s time we all start fighting. All out cage fighting. No more… Read More

Exercise Tips

exercise Doing Push-ups I’ve been following Rebecca J. Clark's 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge on Facebook, and it is loaded with fabulous exercise tips. Did you know that after just two weeks of being a couch potato you could lose 25 percent of your strength? That made me sit up and take notice, especially with winter on the way.

Exercise Tips

exercise Elbow Planks Rebecca said doing this circuit workout one to two times a week can maintain your strength.
  • Sit and stand from chair—20x
  • Jumping jacks—20-50x (if you can do 50, do 50)
  • Push-ups against the wall/counter/floor—15x
  • Step ups (up, up/down, down on step)—20 each leg
  • Elbow planks—hold as long… Read More