National Publicity for Meatless Monday

NPR's Allison Aubrey presented a good story today about Sid Lerner and his involvement in the Meatless Monday movement. Check it out.

Fitness File: Allies & Saboteurs

In a previous post, I talked about motivation and willpower as fluctuating internal forces that we need to watch out for when trying to stay true to a fitness regimen. What I didn't delve into were the external forces . . . and some of them are so close to home, they might as well be internal! Our friends, family, and significant others play large roles in our lives. Even the most independent thinkers amongst us, those of us who think we have wills of iron, are influenced by them. Sometimes that's a good thing . . . and, other times? Not so much. For instance, . . . as I've made efforts to get back into shape, my husband has been very supportive, trying to stock our refrigerator with healthy options for meals and snacks, cooking healthier dinners, toiling away in the back yard trying to put together the bikes we purchased, and even going for a run now and then himself. Most days, he shows great solidarity and is my best ally. However, some days, he fights me over things that seem like no-brainers to me, like portions. For instance- yes, an Italian red sauce is a healthy choice . . . but not when you have it on 1/2 pound of pasta, topped with a blizzard of grated Parmesan cheese, and accompanied by 1/2 a loaf of buttery garlic bread.

And I can't claim to be faultless in the diet-and-fitness support department. We each bring different strengths and weaknesses to the table (sorry, pun intended). Matt's portions may be out of proportion, but I'm a sucker when it comes to using "bad" foods as rewards or treats. For instance, Matt really loves Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby but can never find it in our local grocery stores. I know we're trying to eat healthier, but when I saw it in the store the other day, I "couldn't help" but buy a pint, weakly justifying it by equating the purchase with showing my husband some TLC. So, yes, I've become "the pot calling the kettle black." I mean, if buying your husband a pint of Chubby Hubby isn't being a diet saboteur, I don't know what is. One might also ask what I was doing browsing in the ice cream section in the first place when I "stumbled" upon it . . . .

Fitness File: 1st Steps

I'm happy with my life and myself. I'm not obsessed with scales, dress sizes, the mirror, or counting calories (despite my tongue-in-cheek April post), but I decided I'd had one too many consecutive days (months?!) of feeling lethargic, out-of-shape, and unhappy about how my clothes were fitting me, . . . so I strapped on a sports bra, laced up my sneakers, and went for a run today.

OMG . . . There's nothing more defeating than that first foray back into the world of fitness. You've finally scraped together enough motivation to actually do something about your sad situation only to find out Things Are Worse Than You Thought! I ran. Slowly. For barely 20 minutes. When I finished, I was completely out of breath, my face was flush with every ounce of blood in my body, I had to fight the urge to regurgitate breakfast, and there wasn't a muscle in my body that wasn't screaming (even though, yes, I did stretch).

The obvious challenge I have ahead of me is whipping my butt back into healthier shape. What I need to admit to myself, though, is that the mental component of that challenge is going to be just as difficult as the physical component. I was bean-pole skinny throughout my childhood, adolescence, and much of my young adult life, and I ran track all through high school, so there's a part of my brain that has this notion that running and getting back into shape should be easy for me. This, of course, is the same part of my brain that has conveniently forgotten that my high school track-running days were 16 years ago.

I had done a good job back in 2006 of learning how to eat better (thanks to Weight Watchers), but I fell off the wagon and never got back on. Now, my plan is to combine the good eating habits I learned at WW with a much more regular exercise routine. And to keep myself accountable to this new mission I've set for myself, I'm going to try to keep track of how I'm doing on this blog.

I'm starting out from the standpoint that this should be a life change, something ongoing, so I'm not going to set a weight or dress size goal like I did with WW. I'm just going to judge my success by how I feel and work at maintaining good habits indefinitely. So, you can expect "Fitness File" to be a regularly occurring post from here on out.

Counting Calories

Yes, I’m going to wipe my finger along the inside of the entire bowl of my Weight Watchers Smart One frozen meal to get every last bit of cream sauce. You see, I’ve already counted the calories. There’s no escaping! They’re MINE!