Why Weight?

Why strength train?--because it can change your body, mind, and life. I know it did mine.

Never did I believe that I would be doing deadlifts and hanging abs and loving every minute of it. Never did I imagine that I would be instructing others to do the same and loving every minute of it.

But two years ago, at the age of 43, I joined a gym and fell in love with strength training. Lifting weights made me feel strong, fit, in control. It also helped me to lose 25 pounds and to fit in a size smaller than I did years ago even though I weighed 5 pounds less. (pound for pound, muscle is more compact than fat and therefore takes up less space in your jeans).

There are many benefits to strength training including:

Weight loss and maintenence--

The key to long-lasting weight loss and maintenence lies in changing your body composition.

The way to change your body composition is through eating a healthy diet, performing cardio workouts, and (I believe most importantly) strength training. Why?

--As you age you lose up to 1/2 lb of lean muscle mass every year--that adds up! In fact, the average adult loses 5-7 lbs of lean muscle every decade. Even if you maintain your weight your lean body weight declines and your body fat increases.

--When you lose weight strictly by cutting calories (especially drastically) and soley relying on cardio workouts for calorie loss, you are losing a good deal of lean muscle mass along with the fat.

--Since lean muscle burns more calories than fat, your metabolism will be lower than it was to begin with. You may weigh less but you will also have to eat less calories to maintain that new weight!

As an added bonus, your body continues to burn a higher percentage of fat calories for many hours after you finish your strength training routine. Not true for long-endurance type cardio workouts (though aerobic workouts are necessary for healthy heart and more).

Strength training also--

• adds muscle which raises your metobolic rate--even at rest
• strengthens your bones--reduces your risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures/breaks
• protects and supports your joints
• improves your muscular endurance
• reduces your risk of injuries
• improves coordination & balance
• improves your confidence & self-esteem
• improves your strength and energy to keep up with life's demands
• improves your posture
• enhances your cardio workouts by allowing you to increase the intensity and duration
• More importantly, according to the CDC, it reduces signs and symptoms of numerous diseases including arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, back pain, and depression!

Of course there are "superficial" benefits to strength training which I certainly won't discount. Looking better in a tank top or little black dress or fitting into your old favorite pair of jeans are important to your self-esteem and state-of-mind. In fact, for once in my life, I finally blame the clothes and not my body when, in a dressing room, I try something on and it looks awful on me.

I believe the question is not, "why strength train" but "why-am-I not?"

You don't have to join a gym, though for me I lack the discipline and motivation to work out at home. I also like the energy, the social aspect, the equipment, and the guidance that's available to me, that the gym setting provides.

There are many options that can give you a great home workout including utilizing resistence bands, body-weight workouts such as push ups and squats, exercise videos, dumbbells and more.

As I mentioned in a previous post, your body may have developed muscle imbalances that you might not be aware of. Poor body mechanics can lead to injury and should be addressed before beginning a more strenuous routine (true even for cardio workouts). I suggest getting medical approval before beginning any fitness routine. Secondly, I recommend hiring a knowledgable personal trainer (or someone with simlar qualifications) to perform a movement/overall fitness assessment and to develop a personalized routine incorporating corrective exercise (if deemed necessary).

Be sure to start slowly and progress gradually. Your body (including muscles, tendons and ligaments) needs time to adapt to the new movements and demands being placed on it.

Following is a link to an article that offers some great suggestions on getting started:

http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/a/weight101.htm

Remember, any journey begins the with a first step. I imagine you are reading this because you want to improve your health and fitness. Take that first step. The effort you put in will be worth it. You are worth it.

Be strong. Be confident. Be fit. Be your best.

Hugs,

Joanne

Emotional Rescue

Never will I forget a story my mother once told me. When I was growing up my father (who is a wonderful, wonderful man in all other ways) was a yeller. After dealing with difficult co-workers all day in a noisy factory, performing what I imagine to be an un-fulfilling job (my father is an extremely intelligent man but came from a home life that didn't offer him many opportunities), he would come home stressed and tired. And he would yell. Often. Loudly. On a certain day my mother just couldn't take it and left the house to take a walk. She headed towards a nearby drugstore intent on purchasing a candy bar to soothe her nerves. As she entered the store she realized what she was doing, stopped and said to herself "I am not going to let that man make me fat." She turned around and continued on her walk.

My mother is a strong woman, physically and emotionally. At 79 years of age she still cleans houses twice a week. She has the emotional control that I long for. She can separate eating from emotions--oh how I envy her.

How often have you reached out for food as a comfort, a self-medication for what ails you. Stop and think--are you eating to feed and strengthen your body?--or your soul?

If eating, overeating, or eating the wrong foods, wasn't fulfilling a desire or emotional need of some sort you probably wouldn't have a problem reaching for a bowl of brussels sprouts rather than ice cream.

I truly believe that our societies' struggle with weight loss is largely tied to emotional issues with the balance coming from physiological issues such as hormones, disease, medications that cause weight gain, etc.

Argument: I just like food--the taste, the texture, everything about it--I just enjoy good food. Think about it, what is it about eating these foods that are fattening, sugar-laden, most-likely unhealthy in some way? It gives you pleasure. What is pleasure-it's an emotion. For the short time that you are savoring the food in your mouth you enjoy a moment of pleasure--guilty pleasure as it might be.

Why am I shoving potato chips with dip into my mouth at the party--why not carrot sticks? Is it to feed my hunger? Why when I enter a restaurant intent on ordering a healthy meal, do I instead order the eggplant parmesan, smother my bread with butter, and laden my otherwise healthy salad with gorgonzola. I do it because it tastes good and for a short while will make me feel good. I had a long day. I worked hard. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I deserve it.

I believe a good example of emotional eating tied to the struggle with weight can be seen in Oprah's story. She has every resource available to her to aid in a healthy lifestyle including a personal chef and personal trainer at her disposal. Help is available to her round the clock. Yet she still struggles with her weight. Another example is Kirsty Alley who, in the limelight boasted about and lost a tremendous amount of weight on Jenny Craig but regained it in record time.

What is stopping them both from permanent, sustained weight loss? I believe that both Oprah and Kirsty have deep-rooted obsessions with food stemming from emotional issues that need to be addressed and healed. Until then, food for them, may always be an addiction that cannot be controlled.

I am not talking about weight loss for the sake of fitting into a size 2 pair of jeans. Being thin won't make you happy, trust me in that. But being overweight or obese can lead to hypertension, hyperlipidemia, degenerative arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, certain cancers, back pain and more. Maintaining a healthy weight through a regular exercise and a healthy diet is key to avoiding many of these issues which can lead to a decreased quality of life.

Sometimes these changes can be made on your own. Here is a great article from MayoClinic.com on emotional eating that offers some good suggestions on taking control--

You only have one life, one body, one mind. Try to take care of them the best you can. You deserve it.

Be strong. Be confident. Be fit. Be your best.

Hugs,

Joanne

Brain Freeze

As I struggle to write my post on rounded shoulder, forward head posture (I know, I know, you just can't wait!) my brain keeps freezing up and I find I need to write it in bits and pieces. Narrative writing comes so much easier for me. The technical information, though I can explain it verbally, is so hard for me to get down on "paper."

So in the meantime, it's more baby steps...

Baby Step: Don't compare!

Yourself to others--Everyone is fighting their own demons and battles. Things come easy to no-one, even if it looks that way on the outside. What is important is you--give yourself a break. You are making a move towards a healthier you.

I once had a friend tell me that I was the calmest, most "normal" person she knew and she wished she was more like me. I almost dropped. In my mind I was wierd and internally every day was a struggle to overcome depressive thoughts and anxiety (docs call it a chemical imbalance--I call it suck). I certainly wasn't calm in my mind. But here she was admiring me, thinking that I had it altogether.

No one is perfect. Don't expect yourself to be.

Baby Step: Set Goals!

Both long term and short term--Make them challenging but attainable. Start with small steps that work towards a larger defined goal. Reaching a goal, no matter how small, will motivate you to keep going. Record them in a journal and make notes when you reach a goal or make notes on why you didn't to help you strategize to prevent a similar setback.

When you achieve the long term goal--don't stop there. Always working towards a goal gives you purpose.

Currently my long term goal is to heal my body and my mind. Each morning I try to set a goal for the day whether it be going the full day without negative self-talk or fully completing my rehabilition exercise routine or having a really good day nutritionally to give my body the tools it needs to heal. This helps me to feel some control over my issues and not get discouraged.

Baby Step: Reward!

Yourself for a job well done--Whether it be reaching a goal or passing on that cookie, find a way to reward yourself. It can be putting a $1.00 in a jar for each achievement (and buying yourself something nice when you reach a larger goal), downloading a new song or having a latte--skim of course :)--when you reach smaller ones. Dangle that carrot in front of your nose (you can eat it when you're done!) and be sure to follow through on your promise to yourself when the goal is met.

The house is waking up around me and I need to get the day going. I am headed to NY for a few days to attend a Corrective Exercise workshop. I am so excited (but nervous) and I hope to have a lot of good information to share (when I can unlock my brain).

I hope you have the best of days.

Hugs,

Joanne

Be Strong. Be Confident. Be Fit. Be Your Best.