I am a perfect example of how great the buddy system works. August 1, 2010, I signed a contract with my friend, Ann, in which we both committed to exercising at least five times a week. Some would say we were nuts -- actually drawing up a formal contract and each of us signing it. But it meant something to each of us, and it's a contract we have honored for eight months now.
I really have to be injured not to exercise. And even after spraining my ankle a few weeks ago, and pinching a nerve in my neck last week, last night -- the first night I have felt yoga-ready in weeks -- I headed back to class at Yoga4Everybody in Fairfiled. And I was back again at 7 a.m. today to take another class. This morning, as I relaxed during the last asana, Savasana, I realized I had started to cry. That was how happy I felt to be back at the studio. A year ago, if I had a crystal ball, I would have thought I had crossed over into some dark, weird place.
Exercising is a way of life for me, and Ann as well.
Wednesday morning, the topic of Weight Watchers was the importance of finding a diet buddy. There I sat, with Ann on my right, husband Jack on my left, and all I kept thinking was, "How lucky can I be?"
I have the support I need to lose weight, both at home and when I am away from home. I could call on either one of them to talk me down from eating a package of Twizzlers. And either one would be more than willing to help out, would not utter a word of judgment, and would urge me to make another choice.
As I was sitting there in my meeting, I thought to myself that it really is time for me to stop fooling around with my weight loss journey. It is time to get real, and to finally shed the pounds I want to lose. I'm not happy being the weight I am now, so why, for heaven's sake, don't I do something about it?
For some odd reason, something clicked deep inside me this week. I think I know what it was, but I need to think about it some more today. Hopefully I'll figure it out by tomorrow morning so I can put it to words.
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Mind over matter
Yesterday was a horrid day. If left to my own devices, I would have eaten everything in sight. I didn't. But I could have.
I HATE days like yesterday, when all I do is fight with myself. Good Val yells at bad Val, and then bad Val yells louder ('cause she can), and usually wins out.
On my drive home last night, I almost drove into one market for some Twizzlers. Instead, I decided to try the visualization technique I wrote about yesterday. As I was driving by market No. 1 -- and market No. 2 a mile away -- I was mentally eating my 30 Twizzlers sticks, one by one. At one point, I could almost taste the Twizzlers, probably because I have eaten so many of them in my lifetime the taste is firmly cemented in my mind.
After "eating" my Twizzler snack, I then started to tell myself that as soon as I got home, I would head for my meditation room for some grounding. I almost made a stop at the TV, but instead, headed upstairs and did some yoga and deep breathing. Around 7:30, I had calmed myself enough to eat a terrific dinner.
Yesterday was a success. But it also reinforced to me that I am so not over my demons. I know why they popped up yesterday; somehow, that doesn't make it any easier for me.
But I used two tricks I had learned, and they worked. Mind over matter. I pray today is better.
I HATE days like yesterday, when all I do is fight with myself. Good Val yells at bad Val, and then bad Val yells louder ('cause she can), and usually wins out.
On my drive home last night, I almost drove into one market for some Twizzlers. Instead, I decided to try the visualization technique I wrote about yesterday. As I was driving by market No. 1 -- and market No. 2 a mile away -- I was mentally eating my 30 Twizzlers sticks, one by one. At one point, I could almost taste the Twizzlers, probably because I have eaten so many of them in my lifetime the taste is firmly cemented in my mind.
After "eating" my Twizzler snack, I then started to tell myself that as soon as I got home, I would head for my meditation room for some grounding. I almost made a stop at the TV, but instead, headed upstairs and did some yoga and deep breathing. Around 7:30, I had calmed myself enough to eat a terrific dinner.
Yesterday was a success. But it also reinforced to me that I am so not over my demons. I know why they popped up yesterday; somehow, that doesn't make it any easier for me.
But I used two tricks I had learned, and they worked. Mind over matter. I pray today is better.
Friday, January 7, 2011
My journey
A year ago, if someone had told me I would be leaving my house at 4:30 to get to a yoga class at 5, I would have internally said, "Not me."
A year ago, if someone had told me that I would be making walking dates -- scheduling them as I would a hair, nail or doctor appointment -- I would have internally said, "Not me."
It's the word "internally" that is key here. I talked a good game. I even wrote words that I believed to be true, but I didn't really believe I would ever love exercise.
I always exercised -- in spurts -- and always hated it. I would start exercising like a mad women, and before long, I would pull a muscle, which meant I could not exercise for a few weeks, and those few weeks turned into months.
I always found yoga intimidating -- but intriguing. In July I decided to give it a try -- after I had written a yoga story for HealthyLife magazine. Yoga4Everybody in Fairfield offers a $30 introductory fee for a month that allows you to take as many classes as you want. For the first time in my life I started slowly, with two gentle yoga classes and one restorative yoga class a week. After the first class, I found as if I had come home. My yoga classes soon became permanent fixtures in my calendar.
Yoga is now a way of life for me, a practice I do daily, sometimes two or three times a day. Sometimes it's only meditation, sometimes it's breathing, and sometimes it's a class. Today was a monthly 2 1/2 hour morning Sadhana, an inspiring, magical, almost mystical mix of sitting meditation, postures, breath and chanting. It is part of Kundalini yoga, which has become my favorite way to find inner peace and strength.
And after Sadhana, I headed to the mall for an hour power walk with my exercise buddy, Ann. I looked at my watch at 8:30, laughed, and said to Ann, "Do you believe I have just done 3 1/2 hours of exercise." Our walks are a therpay of sorts. We work out all sorts of issues, talk about everything, and before we know it, an hour has flown by.
I always knew that to embrace anything, you have to love doing it. Yoga and walking are making me whole. They are helping me become strong. And along the way, I am becoming a much happier person.
A year ago, if someone had told me that I would be making walking dates -- scheduling them as I would a hair, nail or doctor appointment -- I would have internally said, "Not me."
It's the word "internally" that is key here. I talked a good game. I even wrote words that I believed to be true, but I didn't really believe I would ever love exercise.
I always exercised -- in spurts -- and always hated it. I would start exercising like a mad women, and before long, I would pull a muscle, which meant I could not exercise for a few weeks, and those few weeks turned into months.
I always found yoga intimidating -- but intriguing. In July I decided to give it a try -- after I had written a yoga story for HealthyLife magazine. Yoga4Everybody in Fairfield offers a $30 introductory fee for a month that allows you to take as many classes as you want. For the first time in my life I started slowly, with two gentle yoga classes and one restorative yoga class a week. After the first class, I found as if I had come home. My yoga classes soon became permanent fixtures in my calendar.
Yoga is now a way of life for me, a practice I do daily, sometimes two or three times a day. Sometimes it's only meditation, sometimes it's breathing, and sometimes it's a class. Today was a monthly 2 1/2 hour morning Sadhana, an inspiring, magical, almost mystical mix of sitting meditation, postures, breath and chanting. It is part of Kundalini yoga, which has become my favorite way to find inner peace and strength.
And after Sadhana, I headed to the mall for an hour power walk with my exercise buddy, Ann. I looked at my watch at 8:30, laughed, and said to Ann, "Do you believe I have just done 3 1/2 hours of exercise." Our walks are a therpay of sorts. We work out all sorts of issues, talk about everything, and before we know it, an hour has flown by.
I always knew that to embrace anything, you have to love doing it. Yoga and walking are making me whole. They are helping me become strong. And along the way, I am becoming a much happier person.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Forming a fitness habit
I love the title of this post, because that's how we should all view exercise, not as a chore, but as a fitness habit, something we do because we want to.
I wish I could say I came up with this headline, but the credit goes to Weight Watchers. It was this week's meeting theme, and it got me to really think about my love/hate relationship with exercise.
Weight Watchers makes this point: A long walk or a Zumba class is a good thing, but the real payoff comes with developing an active lifestyle. For years, I have been jealous of my two oldest kids, who make exercise a part of each day. For Caitlin, it's a long walk pushing a stroller with two kids and two Golden Retrievers for miles, up and down the hills of her town. She will also hit the gym at 5 a.m. for intense cardio and weights. For Tim, it's a daily run and time at the gym. Their days are not complete unless they spend a part of it engaged in exercise.
So here are some tips from Weight Watchers to make exercise part of your life. Most importantly: Take it one step at a time.
* Find a workout partner, who can add fun, encouragement and good advice. I did that on August 1, when I signed a contract -- yes, we wrote it out -- with my friend Ann to do at least 30 minutes of exercise five days each week. We meet four of those days and power walk on Fairfield's beach or the Trumbull mall, depending on time constraints and the weather.
* Listen to an MP3 player or watch television while you're exercising if you can.
* Keep your eye on the prize. Focus on how good you feel and how you are helping yourself, body and mind.
But how do you make exercise stick?
According to Weight Watchers, No. 1 is finding something you love to do. For me, that mission has finally been accomplished. Walking with Ann is not like exercise. We gab so much, before we know it, 45 minutes have passed and we've logged three miles. Certainly our pace does not set any records, but it gets our hearts pumping and our faces rosy with color.
I also discovered yoga, and the past few weeks have found the time to fit in five classes -- sometimes six -- each week. Yoga for me is not a chore. It is something I do to still my mind and stretch my body. I really cannot imagine living my life without it.
And the best thing of all: I feel terrific, sleep better, and am so much more focused than I have ever been in the past. I schedule my walks and yoga, and work the rest of my appointments around those times.
And I am no longer jealous of my kids. Thank God: I finally get it!
I wish I could say I came up with this headline, but the credit goes to Weight Watchers. It was this week's meeting theme, and it got me to really think about my love/hate relationship with exercise.
Weight Watchers makes this point: A long walk or a Zumba class is a good thing, but the real payoff comes with developing an active lifestyle. For years, I have been jealous of my two oldest kids, who make exercise a part of each day. For Caitlin, it's a long walk pushing a stroller with two kids and two Golden Retrievers for miles, up and down the hills of her town. She will also hit the gym at 5 a.m. for intense cardio and weights. For Tim, it's a daily run and time at the gym. Their days are not complete unless they spend a part of it engaged in exercise.
So here are some tips from Weight Watchers to make exercise part of your life. Most importantly: Take it one step at a time.
* Find a workout partner, who can add fun, encouragement and good advice. I did that on August 1, when I signed a contract -- yes, we wrote it out -- with my friend Ann to do at least 30 minutes of exercise five days each week. We meet four of those days and power walk on Fairfield's beach or the Trumbull mall, depending on time constraints and the weather.
* Listen to an MP3 player or watch television while you're exercising if you can.
* Keep your eye on the prize. Focus on how good you feel and how you are helping yourself, body and mind.
But how do you make exercise stick?
According to Weight Watchers, No. 1 is finding something you love to do. For me, that mission has finally been accomplished. Walking with Ann is not like exercise. We gab so much, before we know it, 45 minutes have passed and we've logged three miles. Certainly our pace does not set any records, but it gets our hearts pumping and our faces rosy with color.
I also discovered yoga, and the past few weeks have found the time to fit in five classes -- sometimes six -- each week. Yoga for me is not a chore. It is something I do to still my mind and stretch my body. I really cannot imagine living my life without it.
And the best thing of all: I feel terrific, sleep better, and am so much more focused than I have ever been in the past. I schedule my walks and yoga, and work the rest of my appointments around those times.
And I am no longer jealous of my kids. Thank God: I finally get it!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Whatever it takes
A simple piece of paper has changed my life.
The sheet of paper is a contract with my friend Ann. We have been walking every Saturday and Sunday for years, and although we have been diligent about making our walks, our schedules have often caused either one of us cancel. And if I wasn’t walking with Ann, chances are I wouldn’t be walking.
Not anymore: We have a year contract that states we will each walk at least five days a week, for at least 30 minutes a day. We are also giving up one treat one day each week -- for Ann, that's chocolate; for me, sugar, both natural and artificial. And every day, we have to check in with each other to say what we did for exercise. It's all about accountability -- both with each other -- but just as important, with ourselves.
We also left space for a reward at year's end: In my case, it will be a trip to Kripalu in Massachusetts, for a weekend of yoga and meditation. Ann loves pins, and she's already begun to shop for the one that will be her reward.
I admit that signing a contract with a friend might seem a bit weird, but both of us, typical Type A personalities and a tad competitive, have both somehow managed to find at least 30 minutes each day to exercise since we signed and dated our contracts.
For me, that means getting up really early in the morning. In the past, I would always set my alarm, but that can be reset in seconds and I was back in dreamland. Not anymore. If I'm not walking with Ann, then it's with Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds.
And on the days I take a yoga class -- which is now four -- I still manage to fit in a walk, although the yoga would more than cover the 30-minute requirement. Why? I'm beginning to really love the way exercising early in the day makes me feel. I have more energy, I handle stress so much better, and I am sleeping better at night.
Our contract states we have to exercise five days a week, but unless I am sick, I plan on getting in as much exercise as is possible daily. For the first time in years -- maybe even decades -- I can honestly say I am in control. In the past, I would either go on a diet and not exercise, or exercise and then eat more than my fill of food. The past few weeks, the stars have been in perfect alignment for me.
This is working for me. And to really lose weight AND keep it off, you have to find the road that works for you.
In my case, competition really is a good thing.
The sheet of paper is a contract with my friend Ann. We have been walking every Saturday and Sunday for years, and although we have been diligent about making our walks, our schedules have often caused either one of us cancel. And if I wasn’t walking with Ann, chances are I wouldn’t be walking.
Not anymore: We have a year contract that states we will each walk at least five days a week, for at least 30 minutes a day. We are also giving up one treat one day each week -- for Ann, that's chocolate; for me, sugar, both natural and artificial. And every day, we have to check in with each other to say what we did for exercise. It's all about accountability -- both with each other -- but just as important, with ourselves.
We also left space for a reward at year's end: In my case, it will be a trip to Kripalu in Massachusetts, for a weekend of yoga and meditation. Ann loves pins, and she's already begun to shop for the one that will be her reward.
I admit that signing a contract with a friend might seem a bit weird, but both of us, typical Type A personalities and a tad competitive, have both somehow managed to find at least 30 minutes each day to exercise since we signed and dated our contracts.
For me, that means getting up really early in the morning. In the past, I would always set my alarm, but that can be reset in seconds and I was back in dreamland. Not anymore. If I'm not walking with Ann, then it's with Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds.
And on the days I take a yoga class -- which is now four -- I still manage to fit in a walk, although the yoga would more than cover the 30-minute requirement. Why? I'm beginning to really love the way exercising early in the day makes me feel. I have more energy, I handle stress so much better, and I am sleeping better at night.
Our contract states we have to exercise five days a week, but unless I am sick, I plan on getting in as much exercise as is possible daily. For the first time in years -- maybe even decades -- I can honestly say I am in control. In the past, I would either go on a diet and not exercise, or exercise and then eat more than my fill of food. The past few weeks, the stars have been in perfect alignment for me.
This is working for me. And to really lose weight AND keep it off, you have to find the road that works for you.
In my case, competition really is a good thing.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Excuses, excuses
Has it really been three weeks since I posted? I could blame it on the computer virus that attacked my hard drive and left me without a computer for two weeks. Or that I had gotten out of the habit of posting each day, and did not make the time to post.
But those, like everything, are just excuses. There is no good reason why I have been ignoring my blog. And this morning, while I was doing my three-mile Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone and her posse, I decided I had to post, because I heard something last night that is too good not to pass on.
But first, I want to share some exciting news: I have actually been a very good diet girl since last I posted. I went back to Weight Watchers, have taken two yoga classes a week at Yoga4Everybody in Fairfield, and start my Saturdays at 7 a.m. at Penfield Beach doing Qi Gong and Tai Chi. And I walk at least 45 minutes a day.
But what I really wanted to share is something my Weight Watchers' leader Karen told us last night. The topic was uncontrollable eating -- when you cannot stuff enough food in your mouth in a certain period of time. Been there, hope to never do that again. But Karen said if you ever feel an attack coming on -- or if you ever find yourself reaching for something better left on the plate -- STOP, DROP and STROLL.
But those, like everything, are just excuses. There is no good reason why I have been ignoring my blog. And this morning, while I was doing my three-mile Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone and her posse, I decided I had to post, because I heard something last night that is too good not to pass on.
But first, I want to share some exciting news: I have actually been a very good diet girl since last I posted. I went back to Weight Watchers, have taken two yoga classes a week at Yoga4Everybody in Fairfield, and start my Saturdays at 7 a.m. at Penfield Beach doing Qi Gong and Tai Chi. And I walk at least 45 minutes a day.
But what I really wanted to share is something my Weight Watchers' leader Karen told us last night. The topic was uncontrollable eating -- when you cannot stuff enough food in your mouth in a certain period of time. Been there, hope to never do that again. But Karen said if you ever feel an attack coming on -- or if you ever find yourself reaching for something better left on the plate -- STOP, DROP and STROLL.
- STOP what you are doing
- DROP the food and
- STROLL away!!!!!!!!
Thank you Karen for your wise words -- and for giving me something short to write about today. Until tomorrow....
Monday, July 12, 2010
Alone time
Last week was a whirlwind, partially because of the July 4th holiday, but mostly because my computer died. And when that happened, all was not well with the world.
I wish it didn't set my world on such a tilt, but it did, and I decided I needed to do something nice for myself, so I signed up for some yoga classes at Yoga 4 Everybody in Fairfield. My first class was a gentle yoga class last Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., a time I find it difficult not to overeat. Not sure why, but after dinner is when all my best intentions go out the window.
I swear that gentle yoga class was life changing. My dead computer became just that -- a dead computer that is annoying, but something I can work around. I breathed deeply and stretched like I haven't stretched in years, and before I knew it, 75 minutes had passed and I was on my way home, looking forward to the next class I had signed up for -- restorative yoga on Friday afternoon, another bad time for me. Friday at 5 I am usually rewarding myself with my first glass of weekend wine. Again, another 75 minutes passed, and again, I was at peace with the world. Saturday morning at 7 I was at the beach, taking a class in Qi Gong and Tai Chi, and ever since, at least five times a day, I have been practicing the one pose our teacher asked us to perfect.
So I was amused when today's "meditation for weight loss" that I subscribe to, suggested I need to spend some time alone each day to develop an internal friendship with myself -- an important component of any weight loss journey.
It is something I really have not thought about before. But since Wednesday -- OK it's only been four days -- I am making better food choices because I want to, not because I feel I have to. And I am calmer, more centered, and really liking myself a whole lot better.
All this proves that an old dog really can learn new tricks. You just have to find the tricks that work. And of course, stick with them.
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