Make Your Time Work

Working smarter, not harder. Exercise bike while
reading the homework I assigned for the next day.

If I had a dime for every time someone said to me, "I wish I could (fill in the blank), but I don't have the time," I could fund my current tuition with it. Most often the blank is the amount of reading I do. And usually the person saying this has things going on in his/her life that I wish I had more time for.

Everyone says "I don't have the time to..." about something at some point. The truth is, if it's important, you'll make the time. Our lives are easily filled with people, places, things (and that's a whole other conversation), so the only way anything fits in is if we place it there. Sounds impossible, doesn't it?

I've decided it's not always quite as impossible as we think. Going on a big trip to Israel this summer, I realized my husband and I needed to start exercising so we could handle the excessive walking the trip requires. But where the heck in my life of family, friendship, teacher, student, and church would I fit exercise?! But did I really have a choice?

There were some questions I had to ask myself. In my current season of life:
1. What do I HAVE to do?
2. What do I THINK I have to do?
3. What do I want to do?
4. What can I let go, cause I frankly don't care that much about it?

Everyone's answers will vary because it depends where you're at in life and your preferences. For example, spic 'n span cleaning of my house isn't even on my radar. If stuff is picked up and there's no obvious mold issue, we are good to go. However, I did notice two things in answering these questions that may apply more widely -  question #1 was a smaller list of items than I thought and question #2 was a larger list than it should be. And basically everything on lists #2&4, I can forget. Looking at my schedule, I placed the items from #1 and then fit around where I could items from #3. Yes, right now I do less of what I want than of what I have to, but I was able to fit in three hours of exercise every week!

And the big part to realize in all of this...if you still don't have time for something, then it's not as important to you as you thought right now. Life goes through seasons and things change. Don't give up on it, just put it aside for now. Quit stressing and keep your dimes!

Lift: The History of Fitness Culture

Source: Amazon.com

Lift: Fitness Culture, from Naked Greeks and Acrobats to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors, by Daniel Kunitz
Publisher: Harper Wave
Publication date: July 5. 2016
Category: Nonfiction
Source: I received a free copy of this galley from TLC Book Tours for consideration of a review.

With my new interest in exercise this year (I'm up to 20 lbs lost since January), I jumped at the chance to review a book on the history of exercise! In his new book Lift, out July 5, 2016, author Daniel Kunitz first seeks to answer the question why? Why do we exercise? Most of us are not athletes, we are not competing in events, we do not need to take exercise to the levels of dedication that we do. So why the push for exercise in our culture currently? While Kunitz admits there are those who use exercise in unhealthy ways (an addiction to the sense of euphoria or as control over one's body), he makes a couple points that most anyone who exercises regularly would give a standing ovation for.

First the obvious: "We are always either getting stronger or weaker; improving or decaying; learning or forgetting - and the athlete tries to right the ship daily."

The second is longer, but it's the one I like and think other fitness minded people would cheer: "It is this marshaling of habits that I call the practicing of life, of which athletic training is only one form. Practice regimes have evolved in many forms, from the ascetic life of religion to that of the military to artistic practice, acting, medicine, philosophy, and scholarship - all aim at some type of self-enhancement through training. But athletic practice holds special interest for us because it forms the basis for all other types that followed...While [other] regimes are all voluntary, we are born into the regime of the body...we are always practicing some sort of fitness regime, be it sitting or gymnastics...For once we progress beyond the limited goal of merely shaping our bodies, we stop acting as if we were machines with a single purpose and instead begin aspiring to expansive ideals. We begin practicing the artistry of the self."

"Born into the regime of the body..." indeed. It's interesting to note that this has always been the case for everyone and yet, over time, views and types of exercise have evolved. But like all advancement, we must stop to ask ourselves if bigger is necessarily better? And this is where Kunitz begins to explore the essentials of exercise and its place in humanity. From the ancient Greeks to the feminist movement of the past century, stopping everywhere in between, Kunitz explores and asks, What are the basics of exercise and why should we get back to them?

Well, you'll have to read Lift to find out. With Kunitz's humor and the topic of exercise this close to the Olympics, it's a book many people can appreciate and enjoy right now.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Daniel Kunitz

Daniel Kunitz has served as editor in chief of Modern Painters, as well as an editor at the Paris Review and Details, and has been a contributor to Vanity Fair, Harper’s Magazine, and New York. He is also an avid CrossFitter and weightlifter. He lives in New York City.

March Fitness Update

Here we are, the end of March, time for another fitness update. About mid-month I noticed that I had to keep pulling up my pants (the ones that were really tight when I started in January) and that my Fitbit strapped onto my wrist easily beyond the usual hole I used. I weigh myself once weekly, but have just now noticed the loss besides the scale reading. Between January and mid-March I've lost 12 pounds. 

In January a workout friend had said that within a couple months the difference would be noticeable to me and a few months past that, it would be noticeable to others. Figuring my pants and Fitbit were making it obvious to me at least, I took a picture to compare to my January picture. You don't necessarily see the changes in something when you look at it every day, so I was pretty impressed with what I saw reflected between the two pictures (January and March respectively).

Then life struck and I missed half a month of workouts. We are finishing off the process of closing on our new house renovation loan and I've spent evenings gathering paperwork and running it to the needed destinations or meeting contractors and consultants at the house for inspections. Which means it had to work around usual activities, some things were pushed to other nights/days, plus the kids' activities...and the workouts ended up sacrificed.

It sucks, but it showed me something worth realizing. Over Easter weekend, within two weeks of missing workouts, I found myself highly uncomfortable and in some pain...definitely in need of my chiropractor. Since I started in January, I've barely had to see my chiropractor and when I did, it wasn't because I was highly uncomfortable or in a whole lot of pain. The workouts were keeping my chiropractic needs in check.

Also, I discovered that because I wasn't working out, I struggled more with eating healthy. Knowing I sacrificed and sweated to workout kept me eating healthy because I didn't want it to all be a waste of time. Without the workouts I didn't feel I had as much of a reason to stick to the better eating choices. As of now, I gained back the two pounds I'd lost since the beginning of March.

Needless to say, my part of the legwork for the new house is done and the workouts are coming back full force. I'm ready to feel good again!

February Fitness Update

My Essentially Fit Living group - aka #EFL

(I'm tall one in the back center)

This post is going to be short, but I didn't want to discount what I've done for the month of February, just because some it is the same as January. So, the same parts first. I am still on board my exercise routine I started at the New Year. I enjoy it so much, that I kinda get mad when life gets in the way and I have to miss a workout. The group is supportive and the RIPPED program great! 

I'm still drinking way more water than I ever have and healthier snacks all around. I've found a balance between splurging and not. It must be working because I lost three more pounds in February, for a total of nine this year! Also, I've gained some Twitter and Instagram followers from the healthy living and workout world. Then I was asked to collaborate on a post about workplace health hacks with nuts.com, which was pretty cool. 

I'm still using my Fitbit, my highest step count being over 14,500 on each of the two days we moved from our house. On the other side, I've stopped counting calories and tracking my water. I figure if I'm mostly drinking water when I'm thirsty, then I'm good to stop tracking the amounts. Also, I was correct about my original need for counting calories. I learned pretty quickly what will have high and low calories and to look for sugar measurements. That, plus boosting my healthy snack intake, has allowed me to stop counting calories and continue to lose weight. Balance!

So, that's all I've got this month people! Not terribly exciting I guess, but nice to know I hung in there another month and this healthy living thing is going to stick this time. Not just another failed New Year's resolution. Bring it on March.

Workplace Health Hacks

As I've discussed on the blog previously, I've made an effort to better my health through better eating and exercise. The use of my Fitbit Charge HD deserves a tremendous amount of credit for my success in this because it actually shows me the results as they happen, hooking me immediately on my new routine.

However, one thing I've realized in using my Fitbit is that I do not move a whole lot during the school day. I walk into and out of the building obviously, but once in my classroom I walk the hallway and around my room very little. I tend to teach sitting on the top of a desk facing my class or standing. Knowing that movement of any kind helps in the achievement of health, I've been looking for ways to work my new healthy living into my workplace.

So when Nuts.com asked me if I'd like to spark a conversation on the blog about staying healthy at work, I was all for it. Nuts.com has a list of healthy snacks for different times, places, and needs. There's even a link there for Healthy Snacks for Work! After discussing some ideas about what I could do within the allowances of my workplace, they created this nifty graphic for me:

Some of these I already started doing last year and some I added this year. Last year was the first year in ten years I did not eat a single lunch from the cafeteria, packing lunch in hopes of somewhat healthier eating and saving money.This year I've improved upon that by not only packing my lunch, but consciously searching out truly healthy foods to pack, which ties into healthy snacking. Instead of boxes of snack cakes sitting in my desk drawer, I bring apples and peanut butter, mixed nuts, hard boiled eggs, string cheese, Greek yogurt, fruit, hummus wraps, and the list goes on. Because of vocal chord issues, my doctor told me to always have a non-carbonated drink at work (I'm a teacher - lots of talking and very little hydration have not been kind to me). so I switched out my PowerAde for water. The drop in my sugar in take and wallet out take made a huge difference!

Eating healthy is only half the battle though. I still needed that movement piece in my day. The only way to solve this was to purposely get up and move. Instead of saving errands for the end of the day or beginning of the next, I don't hesitate to run down the hall or downstairs at that moment since it means another flight of stairs and more steps. I try to walk around while teaching within my classroom a little more. Also instead of using the phone to call someone with a question, I walk to their room or office.

The eating is big and the movement may be minimal right now, but it's all improvement. Any improvement means I'm on the right track.

Any workplace health hacks you'd like to share readers? Thank you Nuts.com for sparking this conversation as I take my health journey!

January Fitness Update

The most fun thing about fitness for me so far is seeing my stats on my Fitbit. I get weekly reports in my email and the app keeps weekly tallies available to look back on. Since some have asked for updates, I figured I'd do just that. Here's my total progress for the month of January according to Fitbit:

Steps: 170,644

It is so strange how many steps/movements we make in a day. I never realized that by 8am, I've walked hundreds of, almost a thousand, steps.

 
Miles: 76.75

Whenever I think of counting mileage, it's been within one walking/running trip. But Fitbit counts all movement and puts it into a total mileage each day, adding those days into weeks, and the weeks into a month. Makes sense - I feel like I'm actually doing something now and it pushes me to walk whole miles at a time as well.

Calories Burned: 62,379

I'm still learning the whole calorie thing. I've been counting calories the entire month and really have a better grasp on which foods are better because of less calories, as well as which foods are better because of nutrients, some even despite the calories. I mean, I could eat a sleeve of crackers in one morning at work! But paying attention now, I see there are actually seven servings in one sleeve, which equals 560 calories! Not only is that as much as a regular meal should be, but they're not healthy calories either. I've also seen how exercise and general movement (or lack of) affect the calorie count. Again, my goal here is to make this a habit, changing my eating so much that I can stop counting calories because my main diet is healthy to begin with.

Flights of stairs: 134

Not a fan, winds me fast, but definitely good exercise. This is always the item that hits its target least. In the whole month, only twice have I reached the set goal of ten sets of stairs in one day. Second best was nine in a day.

Active Minutes: 789

These are minutes where your heart rate was at a fat burning level. It includes your exercise time, but only the minutes where your heart rate was up. For example, I walked across the local college campus one day and it registered as 12 active minutes. I would've loved to have this Fitbit when I was a full time student! I'd be rocking the steps and active minutes.

Days Exercised: 15 

The Fitbit automatically records exercise after a set number of minutes of continuous movement/heart rate. (I have mine set at ten, the lowest, but I never exercise for less than half an hour anyway). I like the automatic record because it gives a true look at where your heart rate was, length of actual active time, and actual calories burned. You can also enter your exercise manually, if you weren't wearing the Fitbit for example. I've found when I do PiYo (Pilates/Yoga), it doesn't always register the exercise because there's a lot of stretching, so I will enter those nights manually. Through my exercise routine, I've learned a little when I can afford to splurge on my eating! I try to save my splurges for outside my house, when I may have less control of the food available or want to eat out with friends. I'm proud to say I never dropped below three days of exercise the entire month. One week I worked out six nights and another four nights. At home I do T25 and at EFL (Essentially Fit Living, my exercise group) I do RIPPED (cardio and hand weights) and PiYo. I have my EFL group to thank for this goal being met. They make exercise an enjoyable, social event.

Weight Lost: 6 lbs.

Fitbit allows you to set a weight goal. It adjusts your allowance of calories per day based on the weight you want to lose and the length of time you want to lose it in. I kinda randomly set the weight I wanted to lose and gave myself six months. I really just want to fit back into my new jeans better, but figure that if I set the goal a little higher, it would make me work within a smaller set of calories, forcing me to learn healthy eating. (Yes, I need to manipulate myself. Yes, it works. I'm pretty stubborn once I commit to something.)

Water drank: 25,575 ml

Now this one is a real miracle. I don't know how my total compares to any of you, but this is amazing for me. I only met the goal of 1893 ml in a day once, but even if I drank one water bottle (500ml) a day I was doing well. I used to drink ZERO ml of water per day. Let's put it this way, I'm sure I drank water sometime, but I couldn't tell you when. There are two reasons for this. I'm addicted to carbonation and sugar (pop and sweet tea, people) and water tends to upset my empty stomach. So I've worked with it, figuring out that very cold water bothers my stomach more. Cool water isn't so bad, and with food is no problem at all. Also, I wasn't exercising previously and wow, do I drink water when I exercise. (I do eat a little before exercising to keep my stomach from getting funky from both the exercise and the water.) I've had almost nothing but water since January 2nd! Other than water, all I've had this month are two 12 oz servings of Pepsi, half a mug of hot black tea (no cream and sugar), and 6 oz of Almond Milk.

So, that's my January update! I'm so excited I've not given up once the whole month. And that I'm actually enjoying it. Funny thing is, the attitude may be contagious. In the past month my kids willingly ate broccoli, pesto, and Brussel sprouts and drank Almond Milk! I mean they ate them without whining or making faces and cleaned the plates. I have also been eating spinach, kale, hummus, and Greek yogurt. What healthiness can I get them to eat in February? 

Dispelling Exercise & Eating Myths

Every New Year's people see the blank slate of a new year and make resolutions. I decided a few years back to make life changes instead - to tackle things that would change who I am. Up til now those things have been working towards bettering me as a wife, mother, friend, Christian, etc. This year I visited my friend Tina on New Year's Day and ended up leaving with a physical life change that I really needed to do, but had been putting off. Some of the responses I've received from those around me have caught me off guard though, so I'd like to give voice to my side.

Besides my husband and my sister, the ladies in my new
work out group were very encouraging. They immediately
began sharing their experiences and answering my
questions about exercise and healthy eating.

My friend Tina mentioned a workout group she wanted to get back into, but had no one to go with her. The way she described it was really appealing and I told her I would gladly check it out. The next day, my husband went to buy a Fitbit with his gift cards and suggested I get one too because it would motivate me. Within three days of having the Fitbit and corresponding app, I was hooked. Seeing results in real time was quite motivating. By the end of the first week of January, I attended three work outs, worked out on my own at home (T25) a couple nights, and made changes to my eating. I am an unhealthy eater, but all I've done for now is cut the main culprits: junky snack foods and drinks other than water (which equals lots of calories and sugar). To make myself truly understand how much bad snacking I do, I decided to count calories on my Fitbit. It's amazing what I've learned about the calories in different foods and the equation between burning and consuming them. After one week of dedication, I've lost two pounds and am as ready as ever to keep it up.

Sounds good huh?! When I've mentioned a couple times over the past week that I am counting calories, I've had people actually laugh or make remarks.They aren't made with mean intentions, but hurtful nonetheless (and ironic as some have made their own goals). It also shuts down the conversation, not allowing me to talk about my new journey. But I also know why. I am tall, small chested, and not what people would call fat at all, although I have junk in the trunk, if you catch my drift. I have a pouch of a stomach that I can typically squeeze into my jeans, which hides it from my shirt front. I have no muscle mass either - my arms and legs jiggle where there should be some strength...I'm not that old! But since I don't make it a habit to parade around naked or scantily clad, no one would know this.

Realize, it's not being overall healthy that throws people off, but the idea of me counting calories, which naturally leads to weight loss. However, counting calories is what I need to do to discipline my eating habits, because I am not naturally motivated or knowledgeable enough to do so. It's a starting point only. I don't know where it will lead or how far I will go, I only know I want to make healthier decisions than I already am in my every day living. There are other reasons for this decision and I want to list them here in and effort to dispel the myth that some people (particularly those of my build) don't need to make certain eating and other lifestyle changes.

1. The jeans I bought in November are hard to get on. That sucks. I don't buy many pairs at a time, so I tend to get a couple really good pairs and stay with them. For some time I've consistently fluctuated between two sizes, keeping the currents in my closet and unused under my bed, switching as needed. I'm done. I want to wear the nice ones I bought. The only way to do this is to count those calories until I have better eating habits and can reliably resist or give in to temptation as needed without having to consult my Fitbit.  Counting calories is a starting point for better eating. 

2. My chiropractic health. I have had consistent problems with my shoulders, neck, and upper back for years. I go through months where I am at the chiropractor often and have even missed work due to pain. My chiropractor told me I needed to take up Yoga or something to strengthen my back and shoulders - we're talking muscle people! I didn't do so when he told me, but recently have noticed my back is getting weaker. After holding a baby for twenty minutes, my shoulder hurt the rest of the day. The day after babysitting, my body was so sore, it felt like I had worked out. I'm 36 - this is not good, especially since I can do something about it. Also, poor eating can affect how you feel overall. Not eating well, sitting around snacking, is not helping my overall feeling, making it harder to get myself enough energy to exercise and deal with the chiropractic pain. Besides, why waste all that exercise time by eating poorly?

3. I have a history of sleep problems. I typically go on five hours of sleep a night. Diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) at one point, there isn't much I've found I can do about it. If I nap or not, I still have trouble falling asleep at night and don't sleep well or for very long. So, it's good to nap if I feel tired, but that eats into time for other things. It's been five years since my anxiety issues have passed and yet I've found nothing to help my sleep get on track. Feeling better through exercise and healthy eating may be the trick. Although I slept an average of five hours a night last week, I had a couple 6 hour nights and a seven hour night.

4. Although I've gained 30 pounds of my current weight in the past six years, this whole thing is not about weight loss. Yes, I do need the few pounds gone to fit my clothes better, but other than that, this is about doing something good for myself. I am/have been involved in a few service groups and feel friendship means being a real part of someone's life. I will always do these things, but I need to make the time I need for a better me. Also, having my first child at age 19, it felt like child-rearing years would last forever. I enjoyed them, but with teenagers now, I've reached a point in life where they don't need me around all the time and I have the time and money to do things for me. For example, my husband and I want to go on the honeymoon we never had on or around our 20th Anniversary...that's four years away. So as soon as possible in the next six years, I plan on laying around on a beach in Hawaii, at a resort in Mexico, or on a Bahama-bound cruise boat...and bathing suits don't hide what your every day clothes do! If I'm going to do this, I'm going to look and feel great doing it!

5. My father is skinny. He buys shorts in the boys' department - size 14. When he and my mother have gone for physicals, his numbers have come back higher than hers in things like cholesterol and triglycerides. They call it "skinny fat." So, while I have (had) the metabolism and genes, if the inside isn't healthy, then your skinniness means nothing. 

6. It's important to be healthy, I've put it off long enough. Period.

So that's my goal and those are my reasons. I know I don't have to justify anything to anyone, but I think the point has to be made that we don't know everything going on in someone's life and why they are doing what they are doing. Exercise without healthy eating will not be a benefit and healthy eating won't truly benefit you without exercise. I know this rings true with others because we all need a level of health awareness in our lives, regardless of our body's build or current state of health. I've just finally hit the point where I need to do this.

The mindset itself is the biggest change.