A "Participaction" blast from the past

A few days ago Eddy asked me if I remembered the old claymation Participaction commercials from the 1970s.  I sure do.  Here's one I found that parallels Dr. A.'s exercise wisdom. There's no magic.  Just eat less, move more and you'll turn fatness to fitness.  Do any of my Canadian friends remember this?

Great exercise advice from my trusted MD

On Friday I had a very good, long chat about exercise during an appointment with Dr. A., my trusted MD.  We talked about the generally good idea of adding extra steps to our day when we can, especially if our typical day is a very busy one.  As for an actual exercise routine for me, he suggests I start slow and do what I can, eventually working up to 60 minutes per day, every day.  (This is the same good advice that sweet Kare recently gave me here on the blog – thanks honey!)

Dr. A. recommends doing several, different activities for exercise and here’s why.  Many people pick one main thing they do for exercise.  Let’s use running as an example.  Running is great, but if you twist an ankle and don’t run for a couple of days you lose the momentum of regular exercise and can easily slip back into an inactive lifestyle.   The same thing can be said for a swimmer with a sore shoulder, or a walker with sore feet, or a tennis player with sore knees.  You see what he’s saying, right?

So, using Dr. A’s wisdom, I will mix up my cardio workout every day, thereby giving myself options so I have something to do no matter what hurts.   And let’s face it, once you’re over 40, as I am, stuff hurts more than it used to.  So every Sunday I’ll write seven daily activities on my calendar, never doing the same thing two days in a row.   I’ll start by doing what I can and soon I’ll be able to do a little bit more.  Eventually I’ll be walking Logan for one hour on a Monday, using the gym’s elliptical while watching GLEE on a Tuesday, taking a spin class on a Wednesday, swimming 1000m on a Thursday, “sweating to the oldies” on a Friday (I still have the series on VHS!), playing tennis on a Saturday and riding bikes with Eddy and Coby on a Sunday.  The idea of achieving a week like this motivates me.  It will feel so darn good.

I have a lot of love and support in my home and in my immediate family, but let me give a shout out to a few of my blogger friends who have also been especially supportive over the past few months.   KAGS, my dear friend since our early teens, this year I was inspired when you faced your own fear (the 5K.)  Your steadfast encouragement means the world to me and I’m forever grateful.  I think you know exactly how much I adore you.  Trish, who I know only via our blogs, you’ve been giving me new ways to look at food and eating and you’ve made a difference.  Thank you.  Kare, my sweet Ru-friend, your own success is such a motivation and I so appreciate the tips you give me.  I’m listening to you.  Melissa, another blog buddy, you have great advice, too (and your baby daughter is so adorable.)   Hank, my fellow Canadian, you’re doing great, keep it up!  Debbie, my newest blogger friend, thank you for your candid blog.  Sandy, sweetpotato goddess, I thank you for always filling me with positive energy here and in person.  To everyone who has ever left a comment and anyone else who pops by quietly, thanks for reading! 

Friday Confessional: Sore knees

My poor knees.  Some days they are so sore.  I can't blame them.  They've been supporting a great deal of bulk for over two decades.  I’ve damaged my knees, it’s my own damn fault and when I think about it too much I fell angry.  The damage started in high school when I played competitive volleyball, but most of the wear-and-tear is the result of two decades of obesity.  Obviously extra weight means extra stress on knees, but exactly how much more stress?  I did a big of googling and found that losing just 10 pounds reduces the force on knees by 30 to 60 pounds.  So every time I walk my knees are feeling 3 to 6 times my body weight.  Ouch!  No wonder they’re always complaining. 

This won't stop me from reaching my exercise goals.  I discussed exercise with Dr. A., my trusted MD, and he had some good advice.  I’ll share his wisdom with you on Monday.

Friday Confessional (on Monday): Exercise avoidance

What keeps me from starting and sticking to an exercise routine?  I need to exercise, I want to exercise but when it comes to actually doing it, I fail.   I was so excited to join the Canada Games Complex, but last week I did not go once.  It’s not fear.  I’m not ashamed to walk my big body into a gym full of fit folks.   Ack.  What is this?  Is it laziness?  I hate to think of myself as lazy.  But am I?  Has my sedentary lifestyle become so ingrained that laziness feels normal to me?  I know that once I start I will feel energized and addicted and I’ll look forward to regular exercise.  I know this.  So then I should just.....start. 

Goals for the weeks of January 24 and 31, 2011

We did it!  We joined the gym.  I’m going to ease myself back into exercising for the next few weeks and, soon, regular workouts will become a natural part of my life.  Eddy and I are both excited about this.  He’s jumping in with both feet and heading to the gym a few times per week right from the get go.  He’s in much better shape than I, though, so my goals for the next couple of weeks look more like this:

Goal for the week of January 24, 2011:  Go to the gym 1x

That’s all.  Just get in there and start.

Goal for the week of January 31, 2011: Go to the gym 2x

Easing in.  That’s the way I’m going to make this my newest good habit.

Friday Confessional: The shameful fast food one

Friday confessionals are tough to write.  They’re embarrassing and sometimes agonizing and I’ve been avoiding them for a few weeks.  If you’re wondering why I do it at all, here’s a link to my first Friday confessional. 

Today I will recall my painful fast food past.  I visited drive thru windows way, way too often.  No, really.  Way too often.  This is the confessional I’ve been avoiding most of all.  Even my husband doesn’t know how often I would do it.  During the work week I would eat some sort of fast food nearly every day.  On particularly busy days I’d drive thru for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Sometimes (no, let’s be brutally honest, it was more than sometimes, it was many times) I would order more than one meal.   And even though I wouldn’t want two drinks, I’d order two drinks (usually white milk and diet coke...I know, right?  Diet coke) so the drive thru people wouldn’t know the whole order was just for me.   Am I really telling you this stuff?  Crap.  I am.  This is one hell of a shameful admission.

 I know there are other obese people out there who are doing the same thing.  The drive through is so easy.  So anonymous.  You drive up; speak to the friendly, faceless voice; order your meal (or meals); drive to the window; smile as if you’re not up to something; take the food; find and hiding place and secretly pig-out.   The garbage would go into a public trash can wherever I was eating.  Hide the evidence.  Nobody...NObody...knows (until now) that I did this. 

When I think about it now I feel sick.   It was so much food.  So much bad, greasy, fattening, mega-calorie food.  I can never, ever, ever go back to that.  Never!!

Fast food has changed a great deal since McDonalds first opened in my town in the 70s.  Portion sizes are way out of control.  What they now serve as medium fries and medium soda is the same (or larger?) than large fries and sodas of my childhood.  And the large sodas?  Have you seen the size of them? Who needs that much sugary soda in one sitting?  It’s crazy.  (For the record, I don’t enjoy regular soda.  It’s too syrupy-tasting for me.) 

But, on the other hand, and to their benefit, fast food chains have also recognized the wants and needs of waistline watchers and added healthier choices to their menus.  

For example, at McDonalds:  

One chicken fajita (which I order now and love) is only 200 calories and 5g of fat.  One grilled (not crispy) spicy buffalo chicken snack wrap (also a personal favourite) is 220 calories and 7g of fat.  Not bad, right?  Especially when you compare it to the big mac with 540 calories and 29g of fat or the angus burger with cheese and bacon which has a whopping 770 calories and 45g of fat!

At Wendys:

The two items I ordered most often at Wendy’s were the spicy chicken sandwich (450 calories, 16g of fat)  or the double baconator (hang on for this one) with 990 calories and 63g of fat!   Far better choices include the ultimate chicken grill sandwich (which is delicious!) with 360 calories and 7g of fat, a sour cream and chives baked potato with 350 calories and 6g of fat or a small chilli with 220 calories and 7g of fat. 

So fast food can be done.  The restaurants’ websites have nutritional information so you can plan your meal before you go.  

Do I still go to fast food restaurants?  I have a nine year old son, so yes.  However I know what I’m ordering before we walk in (or drive thru) and I order without even looking at or being tempted by the mouth-watering photos on the menu.  Actually, it’s interesting how, now, the photos are so much less appealing now that I understand what I’m eating. 

Goal update: The Complex membership

We went to register for our gym membership at Canada Games Complex on Saturday.  Unfortunately, we got there at 3:30 and the registration desk closed at 3.  (We didn't know!!) We still went in, though.  Ed worked out on the bike and treadmill while Coby and I went to play in the pool.  We'll head back this week to officially sign up for our memberships.  So my goal for this week remains the same, sign up for a gym membership and start going.

Wednesday Weigh-In: Lost the Christmas Five

Remember that five pounds I gained over the holidays?  It’s one week later and they’re gonzo.   

This week I learned a great lesson.  In the past if I was on a “diet” I would tell myself to enjoy the holidays then get back on track in the New Year, but afterwards the weight gain (even though I expected it) would dishearten me and I’d give up.  This year I told myself, very strictly, that I would not give in to discouragement.  I enjoyed the holidays in every way (see aforementioned 5 pound gain), but then dropped the extra weight in just one week.  I did it!  Surprisingly, it wasn’t even too hard.  I went back to eating leaner food in regular portions.   I also had a couple of glasses of wine and two chocolate chip cookies during the week, but the weight still came off.   Real life.  I needn’t sacrifice.  Eat a cookie one day, don’t eat a cookie the next, just like my regular sized friends would do. 

And that’s a great tip if you, fellow blogger, are trying to lose weight, too.  Study your regular sized friends and do what they do. 

Overweight women feel humiliated every day?

Working in radio, Eddy gets his hands on all sorts of stories from around the world, including lifestyle stories like one he told me about yesterday.  He said a recent survey showed that overweight women feel humiliated at least five times per day.  Humiliated.   Five times each day.  This makes me so sad.  They feel humiliated several times per day because of weight.  Is this how most overweight people feel?  I’ve had low moments (see any Friday confessional), but most days I feel happy and confident in spite of my weight.  I'm fat.  I'm aware it's true.  But, it doesn’t make me a bad person.  It makes me overweight.  That’s all.  I’d feel a great deal worse if someone said, “She’s stupid.”  Overweight seems much easier to fix than stupidity.

Here’s a link to the story.

I’m curious to know what others think.  If you struggle with weight, would you use a word as strong as humiliated to describe how you feel?  And do you feel humiliated as many as five times each day?