Denise Austin's Swimming Tip

Go Swimming Indoors!

Did you know you don't need a pool or ocean to go swimming? "Swimming" is one of my favorite Pilates exercise moves because it really works your core, arms, shoulders, legs, and chest — it's essentially a total-body workout! All you need is a mat or other comfortable, firm surface on which to "swim"!

To start, lie on your stomach with your arms extended over your head. Press through your fingertips and toes to create length in your spine. Then exhale and raise your right arm and left leg a few inches off the floor. Lower your right arm and left leg slightly and raise your left arm and right leg, keeping all four limbs off the ground. Then alternate your arms and legs as if you were swimming! It's easy, and it's really effective for toning your arms, legs, and backside.

Kind of sounds like fun! I might just give it a try later.

Back on Board

OK, vacation is over.

Time to get back with the program!

I actually made pretty good choices while I was gone. No fried food. Everything was grilled or broiled. Problem was I ate late and I didn't eat my four small meals and the plates were too big. It was breakfast after my walk and then hours until a light lunch and then a big dinner. Just before bedtime.

So, sunburn (fluid retention), a few extra adult beverages, and the items noted above added a few pounds to the frame to this past week. But not to despair. I got back on the wagon today. Light breakfast, light lunch, exercise, and a salad plate for dinner. Granted dinner was Italian with garlic bread, but still... I ate less than I did at Olive Garden last week.

Vacations are nice. Very much needed to keep your spirit in shape. But real life does come calling and we must answer the door.

So if you, like me, occasionally take a break from your program don't let it derail your overall progress. I just had to look at myself in the mirror this morning and go back to doing what I know works best for me.

And by the way, I did wear the two-piece suits on the beach. Figured who cared - I wasn't going to see those people again anyway and my family had already been warned. But no, there aren't any pictures. Some things don't actually need to be documented for posterity.

Blogging from the Beach

Exercising in Florida is pretty cool! I took a 2 mile walk down the beach today. Saw one guy doing his yoga. This was about 6:30 in the morning (my body clock does not take a vacation so I was up at 5:30 as usual) and I thought to myself how wonderfully peaceful that must be. Yoga with the waves in the background. Morning sun and peaceful silence.

Hopefully I won't indulge too much this week. I finally broke through my slump and 5 of the last 7 days have been decreases on the scales. Finally happy with my numbers again.

Taking a vacation doesn't necessarily mean a vacation from doing what you know you should. Yes I may eat a little more but I'm also getting more exercise. I've walked the beach a couple of times and then up to the room and back and so forth. So I'm trying to do the right stuff.

And "stuffed" is how I feel after dinner at the Olive Garden!

Everything in moderation.

Change

ALL CHANGE INVOLVES leaving behind something known in order to move toward the new and unknown. It means releasing the way things were in order to embrace the way things are and the way things will be. … Understanding our past is important, but our lives are meant to be lived in the present and into the future.

- Leigh Harrison
Birthed in Prayer: Pregnancy as a Spiritual Journey

From p. 53 of Birthed in Prayer by Kim Barker, Linda de Meillon, Leigh Harrison. Copyright © 2008 by the authors. Published by Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore

This was my devotional lesson this morning, but I felt like it would really apply here as well. Change is what we're all doing. Changing our habits. Changing the foods we eat or the ways in which we prepare them. And letting go is hard. We get comfortable and comfortable is easy. But we have to let go of the things that aren't good for us and make those changes. And one of the keys, at least to me, is understanding our pasts to improve our futures. Nothing exists in isolation. I didn't just wake up one day overweight. I woke up one day, realized and accepted it and decided to do something about it, but the problem had been growing for quite some time.

Anyway, I liked the passage. Hope you do as well.

Now go have a great day!

Good news!

For those who may have missed my Facebook post the other day: I have dropped my cholesterol level from 202 to 180 in the last year. Yea!

I did find it amusing that my 40ish and over friends all commented postively. I got more comments on that than a lot of others. My younger friends were all probably thinking "and?????".

They'll learn.

Recipes - continued

From Denise Austin this morning:


The recipe here is for four pepperoni pita pizzas, but you can double - heck, triple! - this very easily. To round this out for a full lunch - more than a snack, less than a supper - add a lettuce salad or some cut-up veggies and a low-fat dressing for a dip. The best part is that the kids can even afford to have seconds! (But not you!)

Pepperoni Pita Pizza

Ingredients

2 whole-wheat pitas (6" diameter)
1 cup pizza sauce
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 oz. sliced turkey pepperoni (about 32 rounds)
¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers
4 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Split the pitas in half to form circles.
Place the pita halves on two baking sheets. Spread ¼ cup pizza sauce on each pita half to within a half inch of the edge. Sprinkle each half with ¼ cup mozzarella. Arrange pepperoni slices on top of the cheese. Sprinkle each pizza with 1 tablespoon peppers and top with 1 teaspoon Parmesan.
Drizzle the oil over the pizzas.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Remove to serving plates and cut into quarters.
Makes 4 pizzas

Per pizza: 241 calories, 27 g carbohydrates, 13 g protein, 9 g total fat, 16 mg cholesterol, 4 g dietary fiber, 704 mg sodium

Thought for the Day

This is today's quote on my calendar. It is not credited to anyone.


"Love yourself. Cherish your developing strengths and capabilities."

I thought it fitting for our journeys.

Have a great day!

Words Have No Calories

and it's a good thing because I may have to eat some.

I realize some of you will think this is silly. I may, also, in a week or so.

I previously stated after seeing Valerie Bertinelli on People Magazine in a bikini that, while she looked awesome, I just thought that after a certain age women shouldn't wear one.

I might have been wrong. We're all going to the beach in a couple of weeks and I was looking through my swimsuit drawer. I cleaned it out not too long ago but I kept a few two-piece suits. Not really thinking I'd actually wear them but they were still in good shape.

I tried them on this morning.

I have to say I was not displeased with what I saw in the mirror. Not perfect by any stretch, but not horrible either.

So I asked my husband if I would embarrass him if I wore them. He is brutally honest and won't just tell me what I want to hear - believe me! (I will also ask my sister when we're together since she is also honest.)

Billy said it wouldn't embarrass him but he is also the one who called me out for the whole "too old for a bikini" thing. It was pointed out that I no longer felt the same because I now had the body to do it.

And in a sense, he has a point.

Like I said, the body isn't perfect. There is still work to be finished. But there was a definite boost and a sense of pride when I looked in the mirror. Now these are not teeny tiny skimpy bikinis. I'd say they are modest two-pieces. If that isn't an oxymoron. So I don't think I'm trying to look like a teenager or anything. But I have worked hard and have achieved a major accomplishment and that can be celebrated, right?

And hey, Helen Mirren is rocking a two-piece at 60 so maybe 43 isn't too old, yet.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

Maureen McCormack is the latest celebrity to announce a major backslide. In last weeks' People Magazine she talked about losing 34 pounds while appearing on Celebrity Fit Club only to have regained 43.

My first thought, and I don't think I'm too far off base, was that she didn't do it for the right reasons. I could be wrong. I'm sure she did want to lose the weight but she wasn't really committed to making the lifestyle changes that go with it. She participated, possibly, for the attention and notoriety and a chance to get back in the spotlight.

Now, she has also recently admitted to past life of drug use and such so I applaud her for kicking those habits. It also says to me that when she is ready to tackle the weight problem, REALLY tackle it, she has a wonderful chance at success since she has proven herself in the past.

I wish her luck.

As I do all of us as we work towards our goals, or maintaining them once we reach them. If you really get your head in the game and approach this quest mentally first and then physically, I feel certain you will get there.

Now, go have a great day!

Update

Sorry, it has been a while. My June 30th deadlines are quickly approaching and I haven't had a spare minute lately!

I will finish my 30 day challenge tomorrow. I haven't lost any weight or broken through my slump - yet - but I can tell that my body is more toned. I should have taken measurements before I started but didn't think about it.

I did a little shopping lately and actually bought sizes that I honestly never thought I'd wear again. And was perfectly happy in that knowledge. I was able to wear some 4s and 6/6 petites this week. That's a long way from pushing out of a 12.

I try not to get caught up in the numbers. The day I was shopping I was also wearing pants that were a size 10 and the tank top was a large so sizes don't mean much and I don't get put much stock in the labels. BUT - it is pretty cool and it gives you a bit of a mental lift to actually see those sizes go down.

And I've always said that losing weight and getting healthy is actually mostly mental.

Hope everyone is having a great day and working towards those goals! I'd love to hear about your progress.