Clean eating

On my way through the regular grocery store I look around realizing that everything up and down the isles is processed, so much crap.  I'm on my way to the meat isle for my dogs who eat a real food diet.  I haven't shopped in a regular grocery store forever; I can't even remember when I was in there for something other than meat for Luke and Elsa.  Big grocers have little organic food selection but isle after isle of stuff that we shouldn't eat. 

Yep, I'm one of those health food folks; I like to eat clean when I can.  Sure I have days when I eat things that I shouldn't eat but the better part of my diet is made up of good organic clean food. 
Clean eating is one of the "in" phrases these days.  But what does clean eating really mean?  It means eating real food that is not processed; lots of organic fruits and vegetables along with meat and whole grains.  Processing not only diminishes foods nutritional value but typically adds preservatives and other nasty things that we shouldn't be eating. 

I eat a lot of salads; at least one a day.  My salad is not filled with the empty crunch of iceberg lettuce; no, it has to be dark green with lots of other colors added for more nutrients.  I usually start with Arugula, a daily staple for me and if I can't find organic arugula, I'm pretty cranky.  Add a few organic figs, some organic pearl tomatoes (a favorite of mine), some avocado, cabbage, sunflower seeds, maybe some cashews, fresh picked orange segments from our tree with a side of barbequed wild scallops.  A meal fit for a king, or anyone who is wanting to eat clean. 

Your body needs fuel to run; the more usable nutrients that you put into it, the better.  Here is an article on nutrient density; another "in" term these days.  People who don't eat a healthy diet tend to look at "clean eaters" as those health food types; the people who eat all the green stuff.  But the old ideas of simply not eating to obtain a goal of "skinniness" is very outdated and frankly scary.  Strong, healthy and active is the new skinny; and the way to get there is to fuel your body with clean food and move.

Eating clean is more of a lifestyle choice; it's not a diet.  Choosing to eat clean is a wise decision; when you eat clean you give your body optimal nutrition.  The better you eat the better you feel; it's a win, win really.  Diet is not a word meaning to lose weight; it is simple the food that you fuel your body with.  You can be on many types of diet; and your diet is all about what you are fueling your body with. 

I recently watch part of an episode of extreme couponing.  They may get most of their food free but there was nothing in that cart that was worth eating.  I guess the old saying "you get what you pay for" applies.  Think before you eat, choose the premium blend of fuel; after all you only have this one body.  Be good to it. 

Just one step

I opened my eyes for a split second; as the woman prepared herself for lift.  Not a weight lift but a lift to get herself up on the first step of the sauna.  I was in my after workout Zen moment in the sauna; the five minutes I give myself to sweat a bit more and think about my life in general as I listened to Beyoncé.  The whole wooden structure shakes when someone hops up or down.  But this woman was only in preparation mode.  She was older but if she'd been lifting for all these years that I'd seen her at the gym, she could have hopped right up there.  It is after all just one step, but one step can seem like a mountain when you don't have great muscle tone.

Being strong is a wonderful thing.  What?  You don't want to look like a man?  Maybe turn into one of those women who look like a guy but are apparently still a woman?  Then don't take steroids.  Being physically strong enables you to do so much more in life.  It helps with your posture, your metabolism and so much more.  As we age we lose muscle tone, fact.  The only way to combat that loss is to gain.  How much you gain is all up to you.  If you are afraid of the idea of becoming a man because you are strong; and lift the 2 lb dumb bells on the rack, well not much is going to happen.   Many bags of groceries weight more than 2 lbs. 

To build strength you must call on your body to stand ready for a challenge.  Come on, you can do it.   When I am required to lift a 45lb dog up and down the stairs; I'm freaking happy that I lift weights and am strong.  Are you up for the challenge?  Of course, the only person you should be competing with in the gym is yourself.  I do it on a regular basis; as I stand looking at the wrack of iron I consider the next notch.  From 100lbs. to 110lbs for lat (latissimus dorsi ) pull downs is a huge step; but I've challenged  myself to pull 125 so I'm on my way.  With regular working out; building up your strength, it is amazing how you can get there. 

Challenge your muscles.  Legs are really strong; don't wimp out on them.  I'm at my max on the leg press now with 3/45lb plates on each side.  Challenge wisely, know your limits, but push.  To get stronger you must ask your muscles to lift heavier than what they are accustom to.  So when I see women lifting the 2 lb weights I want to take it out of their hand and replace it with a 5lb.  2 lbs.. is nothing for anyone, except maybe a baby.  Think about the things that you regularly pick up and move around and go heavier than those.  But don't go too heavy or lift what you see other people lifting until you are ready.  Lifting too heavy can result in injury or incredible muscle pain which may require more time to recover than you want. 

It doesn't take long to feel the difference.  Once you start to lift and get strong; you can get stronger.  Where you stop is entirely up to you.   But don't under estimate yourself; don't go for the 2 lb dumb bells.  Think about what you can lift already, before the challenge of getting stronger when you reach for a weight.  Test the weights and if you have and doubts, go lighter.  You can always add more. 

A week off

I just took nearly a week off of training; it felt great but was hard to do "in my head." Once you begin to see and feel results it can be very difficult to make the conscious decision to stop for a few days.  I was going on a long weekend getaway; I'd been working out hard, so I thought about it.  As I packed my bag I looked over at my gym shoes sitting on the floor.  To work out or not to; that was the question.  I'd been hitting it hard and I was feeling like I could use a break.  In one moment I made the decision, no working out.  I took Thursday - Tuesday off; completely off, no gym workouts at all.  But, I did do planks and I did run stairs.
Slipping in a little "get your blood rushing and heart pumping" can be all you need during a break.  

Taking a 5 day break is great for your body to rejuvenate is smart; especially when you've been hitting it hard.  It not only lets your body rest; but it lets your mind rest as well.  It is a good time to think about your workout routine and maybe switching it up a bit.  It most definitely gives you time to ponder on your diet.  With a lack of working out; your focus naturally goes to what you are putting into your body.  You don't want to not work out and pig out at the same time.  I watched what I ate; tried to keep it real as far as eating clean and kept my small portions in check.

I did a lot of wine tasting; being that my break was in wine country.  So I am sure that a few extra pounds accompanied me on the way home but I am not looking back with regret.  Nope, I'm looking back at the fabulous weekend that I had.  I am a firm believer in doing what makes you happy; and if that means eating great food and drinking amazing wine, then do it.  But do it in moderation.  I believe that if you deprive yourself from the things you love then you will tend to go down the "poor me" ramp.  Instead of up the "ya, I feel great for hitting the gym and eating great" one.  

I was back at the gym yesterday and my body most definitely thanked me for the rest.  I not only had more power but more motivation.   You can burn out on anything in life if you over do it.  That means working out as well.  I know a couple of people who over did it and now they don't do it at all anymore.  You have to be careful not to let that happen.  Working out and lifting is not a quick fix deal; it is a way of life, forever.  If you want to feel great always then you must exercise and keep the body you were given, strong and active.  If not you will turn to mush;  "use it or lose it" as they say.

Take a break, have some fun and forget the lifting for a couple of days.  It's good for you.  :)

Creating your own perfect you.

What do you want to look like?  Ever ask yourself that?  In a way we all do when we look into the mirror and see a reflection that we are not happy with.  How many times many times do we say "if only."  If only I was thinner, if only I was taller, if only I could walk up that hill without dying, if only I didn't bulge over my pants.  Well, the if onlys are ours to accept as is or get rid of.  We are the master of our own domain, us.  It takes a long time to realize that it is truly all up to us.  There is no magic pill, no person who is going to do all the work and no secret to health and fitness.  We have to do it.  But you know what?  When we do it, it feels great.  

Lifting is one of the fastest ways to create what you want.  Not what anyone else thinks you should look like; what you think you should look like.  Do you want to be the person that you see in the mirror or do you always want to say to yourself "that is not how I want to look?"  I went through it, I think that everyone does.  But health and fitness is much more than just looking good; it is more about feeling good.  You may start to lift in a small way; but you will soon start to feel stronger, able to do things that you once could not.  The snowball effect begins.

With weights, you can sculpt.  Want bigger arms?  A better butt?  Maybe you have those lovely flappers for triceps that you would like to get rid of?  What about your legs?  Want shapelier legs?  Who doesn't?  You can do all of this and more; there is no end to the self sculpting that you can do with weight lifting.  You can attack your problem areas or address any other part you want to address. 

The more lifting you do, the better you feel.  The better you feel, the more lifting you do.  Soon you start to be more concerned about making it to the gym or even exercising at home.  What you put into your mouth soon becomes a consideration.  Wow, you are feeling great.  Once you start to see and feel results, the rest comes easy.  Not the work, the work is hard but the drive is easy; you can see the results of your hard work and you deserve it.  

Being strong is a good thing.  Lifting weights will give you what you want and no more.  You lift what you want; you focus on what is important to you, no one else.  After all it is all about you, take care of you.   

The illusive pull up

Seeing that pull ups were easy, I asked if my son could climb these things.  Yep.  Something else to conquer for me maybe.  

"I cannot do pull ups," there I said it.  But I would imagine that most of you reading this cannot; albeit a few dynamite ladies.  The pull up has always been very difficult for me; even in my younger years I had a hard time getting two out.  So today I had an ah ha moment.  As I was doing my pull down exercises; both with a bar and rope grip I realized that if I cannot use at least 125 lbs, that I will never be doing a pull up.  A pull up requires us to pull our whole body (weight) up to a bar from a straight hang down position.  Hmmmmm, so I have to raise my pull down weight.  After several sets with 70, 80 and 90 lbs; I did 2 sets of 6 reps with 100.  I was impressed with myself and realize that the 125 lb mark will not be far off.

I came home and dove into a few articles that you might like to read.

Breaking muscle - women and pull ups. 

Huffington Post - women can't do pull ups.

Recently I hit a school yard with my daughter and son.  I tried to do a pull up and failed which I already knew  I would.  I then thought "what if I had to pull myself up somewhere?"  What if you had to save yourself by pulling YOU up to safety?  I mean a full pull up style pull; hanging in mid air and just pull yourself straight up.  Could you?  Not me, I could climb but the actual pull up is illusive.  So I have a new goal, I am doing pull ups somewhere in the future.  I'd like to do a couple but would be happy to be able to do one without dying.

Of course along with increasing my upper body strength; dropping weight will help.  The less I have to lift the better so I'm working on that as well.  Not easy but I'm determined.  :)

Where to start?

My Ice Tea, hmmmmm I think I'll have some.  

So you decided that you want to get strong, fit, healthy and in shape.  Where do you start?  It can be intimidating; but you really want to start...small.  Small is the way that you should start when you start lifting.  Diving in and lifting heavy weights will just end up causing injury.  So how can you start before you feel like you are ready to step into the gym; if you ever want to step into the gym that is.

How about lifting cans?  A jug of juice, bag of rice etc?  If you open up your pantry you will find many different things that you can lift.  I'd suggest something approximately 2 pounds to start with.  I know you are probably thinking, two pounds?  But do three sets of 12 repetitions and see how you feel the next day or day after that.  If you are totally fine with that then move up to 5 lbs.

Have a good look around your house and find something that you can lift.  I actually found an ice tea jug that would be amazing for a start up.  Once it's empty you can use water to add weight when you are ready.  How cool is that?  Your own free kettle weights for beginners.  A plastic jug with a comfortable handle to hold will work great.  Give it a wash out and then your off to the start of lifting.

How to do a proper bicep curl.  

So lets start with biceps and triceps.  Biceps are on the inside of your arm, triceps on the out.  Triceps are a very common weak spot in woman as we age.  You know that flapping wing thing that happens when you wave?  Yep, that.  We want to get rid of that by working out your triceps.  With just a little work you can quickly reduce those flappers and turn them into usable muscle.

Bent tricep extension - although this is proper extension form, I prefer to do mine one arm at a time.  You can also support yourself with one arm while doing the other.

If you happen to have a set of small weights at home, even better.  Or, you can also use exercise bands; they are great for lots of different things for a workout.  Getting stronger is made up of lots of building blocks.  You need to do everything nice and slow, precise and exact.  Don't be throwing the weights around willy nilly.  By slowing down an exercise you get the maximum benefit from the full range of motion.  Doing speedy fraction movements get you nothing, so why bother?

Measure your pain.  I am not a fan of working out to exhaustion and not being able to move the next day.  I like to feel like I've had a workout but not be in actual pain.  The old saying "no pain no gain," wrongo.  The slower you take to move up your weights, the less severe pain there will be.

Motivation, we all need it.

What motivates you?  Perhaps the idea of being able to do physical things that you couldn't do before?  Maybe wearing the jeans that have been sitting at the back of your closet for a couple of years?  Feeling better?  Whatever motivates you, use it.  Everyone needs motivation; now and again you just need a little kick start to get back at it.  A need for motivation can often be seen by a plateau.  You feel like you are working so hard but you've plateaued.  

Plateau - a period or state of little or no growth or decline. 

Motivation can come in many different forms.  Sometimes new workout gear is enough.  I have bought a new shirt or pants to work out in that have been just enough to get me excited about going to the gym; a little retail therapy can work wonders for your exercise regime.  Other times I just need motivation on the day of my workout.  You know those "I don't feel like working out," moments?  On those days I simply get dressed for the gym and then feel great that I'm going.  

You may need motivation to get started working out or to continue; whatever you need it for, find it.  If you are one of those people who are motivated by weight loss, get on the scale.  Just a pound or two can keep you going.  Maybe those pants that you couldn't fit into now fit; that is huge, don't underestimate the power of fitting into your clothes.

As far as lifting is concerned; improved strength, balance, posture, metabolism and general health should in themselves motivate.  I know that when I am faced with a physical challenge and concur it with ease because of my improved strength, I am motivated to continue.  Age alone often motivates me; I don't want to become a mushy, weak old person and I know that it won't happen by sitting on the couch.  

Everyone needs motivation; find yours.  Now go lift for life.