How to get a Bikini Body. Buy a bikini. Put it on your body. Have a nice day. Is it really that simple? I sure think it should be. If I see one more ad telling me I need to: Get bikini ready. Get my body back. Uncover my abs. Gain the confidence to go to the beach. Work those summer shorts. Defy gravity. Age in reverse. Sweat my fat into submission. Lose those love-handles. And a million other ways the beauty and fitness industry remind us every day that without their products we should probably hide our hideous bodies inside until the snow starts to fly... I am going to scream. Which means I am going to be screaming a lot. Because it seems that every where I turn someone is telling me that my body is not swimsuit worthy. Did you see this blog? You may cry but it is totally worth it.
The Older Americans Act (OAA), originally enacted in 1965, supports home and community-based services, such as meals-on-wheels and other nutrition programs, in-home services, transportation, legal services, elder abuse prevention and caregivers support. These programs help seniors stay as independent as possible in their homes and communities. In addition, OAA services help seniors avoid hospitalization and nursing home care. As a result federal and state funds that otherwise would be spent on such care are saved.
Congress is currently considering its reauthorization. Access to preventative care, including fitness related activities are on the table. This is one we need to get done!
Why?
And it's not just fitness pros who think so! Check out what Forbes magazine has to say about why this is a biggie and why it's taking far to long to sign on the dotted line.
And then...
Urge congress to get it done and to include access to fitness services as a pivotal piece of the puzzle that keeps this nation strong and healthy.
I know some of you are in the 'made up holiday designed to boost the greeting card, flower and chocolate industries' camp. And I have had those years myself.
This year however, I am in. I am buying it whole hog.
Not buying cards, not buying candy or dousing anything in chocolate. I am buying the 'heart' of the holiday.
Becoming a woman in my mid-forties has changed the way I think about health. I firmly believe it is my duty to my myself, my family and my community to care for myself. And that means care for my heart.
"Great news" you say? How are those things that contribute to those monstrous killers great news?
Take a look at the list again.
How many of those things are completely outside our control. Smoking is an easy one. Who decides whether or not we light up? (I'm not saying it's easy to quit once we've started. My dear friend Liz just hit the 6-week no cigarettes mark and is still pretty mad about it. Go Lizard!) But ultimately it is ours to decide. Who makes us stand up out of that chair every hour to mitigate the horrid effects sitting has on our blood pressure? Well, for me it's an app I have on my phone that reminds me, but it's my legs that make it happen!
Even when you consider genetic predispositions and environmental factors, the bottom line is, most of those nasty risk factors are lifestyle related things that we alone are responsible for.
Powerful.
Wonderful.
Scary.
So, when I think about what to give myself and the people I love this year for Valentine's Day I am thinking about hearts. The ones responsible for pumping life sustaining oxygen and nutrients around our bodies.
Here's my plan:
Washing and cutting up fruit for my kiddos Valentine's celebrations at school today
Heart thumping beats on a playlist for a morning dance party to kick the day off tomorrow
Hand written notes to my closest friends and family about telling them I am so glad they are on this planet and thanking them for all they do to stay healthy so I can continue to enjoy their company. Okay, so the handwritten part my be dreaming. I hope they won't mind phone calls and texts. I promise they will be heart-felt all the same.
And, last but not least, a long, hot shower before a full 8 hours of sleep. I hope ;-)
I know there is a lot to learn out there about how best to take care of ourselves. But really it comes down to moving, eating well, and resting. So for Valentine's Day this year think about all the ways you might instigate a little of any or all of those FREE (okay food costs money but you gotta eat) gifts in the lives of those you love.
Seems strange given that i try to get people up out of their chairs for a living. Ironic.
So I'm working on it. Have a timer on my desk top, one on my phone and am starting to develop the internal one I wish we all had.
And I started doing this thing where I pretend I'm starting to learn to walk all over again. Play a few minutes a day like a baby and call it part of my workout. I am in love!
Not that there aren't days, weeks and months that I forget this and have to practice my best motivational techniques in the mirror to get myself up and at 'em. But, I like the gym, am addicted to group exercise classes of all kinds and will take a brisk walk around the lake over doing the dishes any day. As a fitness professional I feel extremely blessed that exercise is a part of my regular life (although some days there is a decided emphasis on reading and leaning about exercise instead of the actual doing of any!)
Even with the bonus professional need to workout in addition to my other 'Whys' there are lots of days I struggle to make the time to get the exercise I need. Would I love to spend an hour at my favorite studio every day being inspired to sweat and smile by my favorite instructors?
You bet!
And of course that is not on the agenda everyday. Some days not even the 20 minutes (40 if you count mopping up the sweat after) it takes to get a comprehensive at-home workout is realistic. So do i just skip it on those days. No way! I may not get a full body sweat going but rarely does a day go by when I don't find a way to fit in at least a tiny dose of exercise.
One of my favs is the shopping bag curl. It embarrasses my kids for sure but I never apologize and just smile at the stares from other shoppers in the parking lot. I breathe deep, tuck my bottom rib under, roll my shoulders back and go for it all the way to the car.
And you can too!
And there are a ton of other ways to fit some fitness into your daily life!
Stand up every time your phone rings.
Do calf raises any time you have to stand in line.
Press your hands up under the table during a meeting like you're trying to lift it up.
Kegel at every stop light (or clench those cheeks, not the ones on your face)
Lunge around the playground while your kid plays
Press down on the pew at church like you are trying to lift your bottom off the seat
Do jumping jacks while you wait for someone to answer the phone
High knee raises make the coffee brew faster. Just saying.
Stand on one foot while you brush your teeth.
No handed get-ups during commercials.
I could go on and on and I bet you could too. All you have to do is decide to do it! And don't apologize. Be proud of your commitment to wellness. You never know who you might inspire.
The holidays are a perfect time to focus on fitness.
Really.
The whole over-eating, not exercising thing this time of year is a little bogus. In fact, I'm pretty sure the health club industry pumps the media full of stories about how easy it is to get fat between Halloween and New Year's so their clubs will be bursting with clients January 1.
Okay, not really, but come on!
TV, radio, magazines and social media are flooded this time of year with in-your-face articles and products designed to help keep you from putting on pounds, avoid the flu, reduce holiday stress, maintain your sanity while shopping, keep the peace with family, and deal with a all whole host of other terrifying things we are told to expect this time of year. Read or watch enough and you'll probably think you are doomed to gain weight, get sick, and be so stressed out it will take a miracle to eek even a minimal amount of enjoyment from the season let alone come through flying high with great health and happiness.
Why should that be? Maybe it's just like those other bits of negative self-talk, like "I can't control my eating after 9PM" and "Exercise is so hard" or "I wish I looked better in my jeans". Okay, that
last one is totally valid.
Let's think about some of the things we usually do to stay healthy:
Exercise
Eat well
Stay hydrated
Wash our hands
Get good sleep
Spend time with people we like
Pop culture tells us that the holidays are a stressful time filled with overeating, over drinking, long 'to-do' lists and crammed calendars. A terrible time to try and get or stay well. It's true, we add things to our calendar during the holidays, but our schedules are full year long. We have stress in our lives daily and somehow we find time to do the things we commit to do for our health.
There is NO reason for that to change during this time of year. Maybe we don't prioritize a full hour of sweatiness our normal 4 times a week. And I know more than a few of us will choose to stay up late and enjoy family and friends over our full 8 hours of shut-eye. Does that mean we have to ditch the whole list?
Absolutely not.
Let's ditch that negative message "the holidays are a terrible time to stay fit" instead and try this list:
Exercise, even 2 minutes of blood pumping squeezed in on the stairs at the mall.
Eat even better that usual. Including a few holiday treats. The ones you really love. And don't apologize to anyone for saying 'no thank-you' to the ones your co-workers pile onto the break-room table because they needed them out of their houses. And pile the rest of your plate high with naked veggies and lean proteins (I promise you can find them if you look hard enough) at the holiday party
Drink water. That one is pretty easy.
Wash your hands. Hey look, another easy one!
Sleep when you can. Even if it means those Facebook statuses go un-'liked'.
Make and keep dates with people that make you feel good about yourself. Spending time with friends and family members that support your healthy choices and are living the kind of fitness life you aspire to will help you remember that fitness can be on everyone's holiday list.
We can do this! Keep making good choices and giving your beautiful body what it needs and we'll finish off this year feeling great.
Wishing you wellness this holiday season and always!
