The power of groups to motivate in diets and exercise
Are you participating in any organized group diet or exercise activity? Except for this little informal world of blogging, of course.
I haven’t, but I believe they have a lot of value. Some people need organized diets and methods of planning their nutrition. A lot of people also need the motivation of the group dynamic - the weekly weigh-in, the group walks a couple times each week.
Don’t think you have to do it alone. There are a lot of groups and organizations that can help. It doesn’t have to cost money, either - are there a couple friends at work that might want to meet before or after work and walk a couple days each week? Maybe during lunch?
I found a great path at my church last Wednesday when I was waiting for my daughter during her CCD class. It was beautiful and quiet. Will I see other parents there from time to time? Undoubtedly. Will I be open to seeing if they want to have a standing walking time during the kids’ class? I should be, but as I already revealed, I have some issues.
But, I’ll try.
Tags: diet, exercise, kidsHow do we diet during the holidays?
iVillage UK has some common sense diet tips. We all know a lot of these, but it doesn’t hurt to review from time to time, especially a few weeks into a diet when focus and discipline begin to wane:
- Plan Ahead (I’m not doing a good job with this.)
- Choose wisely
- Drink a glass of water
- Sugar free gum (I’ve not tried this - has anyone tried gum? Perhaps just to have that chewing sensation?)
- Stock up on dried fruits (You favorites?)
- Out of sight, out of mind
- Watch the alcohol
- Be ruthless
- Make your own
- Don’t waste calories
Really, these are great tips as you head into the holiday season - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all of those Christmas parties. Planning and discipline will be the key to getting all of us through this time.
Tags: diet, fitness, tipsDo dieting couples lose more weight?
WFTV in Orlando recently did a story about this. The premise is that couples provide support and accountability to each other. In the case of my wife and I, when we diet together we usually just cheat together, a sort of co-dependent thing. Doesn’t work for us. But, they provide some tips for dieting couples:
- Grocery shop together
- Re-think old recipes
- Don’t be afraid to eat other
- Don’t compete
- Make exercise fun
What is your experience? Except for Ellen, of course, with her beanpole husband… 
Tim is a good exercise boy
I’ve been a good boy the past few days - 1.5 miles on Monday, 1.1 miles on Tuesday 1.5 glorious miles on Wednesday.
I know I’m being good when I make my wife angry about my exercise :-). She wanted to go out to eat after my daughter’s soccer game Tuesday night, and I refused so I could walk.
Good Tim.
For me, exercise has to be a habit, part of my daily routine done at roughly the same time of day, every day. A couple times a week doesn’t work because I soon find myself negotiating ‘which’ days to exercise, and procrastinaing - “oh, I’ll do it tomorrow instead”. When I’ve lost my focus in the past, it’s always been because I was going through a busy period where I was forced to prioritize other activities. It’s the old law of physics: A body in motion tends to stay in motion; a body at rest tends to stay at rest.
I set the minimum threshold for my daily exercise of 20 minutes works. I usually do more, but making that commitment helps me focus on getting out the door. Good for week’s like this, where I’m actually doing 40 hrs of work like the rest of the world. It is one of only 2 weeks each year that I have to work like this, which is why the blogs have gotten short shrift the past few days. It’s also why I’m doing this.
But, I’m being a good boy as far as exercise goes. How about you?
Tags: exerciseDay 16/100
Walked 1.5 miles in 27 minutes.
No tag for this post.Weighing In
First, Lady Rose alerted everyone in the comments of a previous post about a post she was writing about a calendar from the National Institute of Heart & Lung Health. It looks really sharp, so check it out.
Second, my weigh-in sucked. No loss, no gain. I started well last week, but visited my parents over the weekend. Ate too much, and paid on the scale. Frustrating to be sure, because I was on a nice roll. But, I’m back in the swing of things, so I’ll be back on track soon.
Did any of you set any goals for your 100 days?
Tags: dietSelf-doubt, confidence, and the need to get over myself
Stacey sent my daughter and me a link to a great article at CNN (which I believe is republishing it from Oprah.com) titled Squash self-doubt, find your confidence.
For those of you that are not my cousin, Stacey is my wife.
Despite my seeming extroversion on the internet, I am actually quite introverted in real life. Almost paralyzingly so in social situations, but I can sometimes set it aside enough to participate in business situations. Unfortunately, my daughter is showing similar tendencies at school. She wasn’t always like this, but she was subjected in the past to some cruel children that taunted her about her weight - she is not fat, but she is always one of the biggest kids - and about her intellect (gifted). So, she withdraws in school situations.
For me, I’ve always been shy, but my weight has been a big factor in how I approach social situations as an adult, and I know I am not alone. Some have no problem with this, regardless of their size; a brother of mine is an extrovert and always the center of attention in every room in a positive way, even when he was 360 lbs.
The article I mentioned earlier is about the “spotlight effect” many people feel. In a recent study, it was determined that people typically feel about twice as much attention as they were actually receiving.
So, if you already feel insignificant, you can continue to do so knowing it is a fact.
For me, I am always uncomfortable exercising in public. I believe there is someone behind every curtain in every house laughing at the way my fat jiggles. I handle walking just fine, but when I get in decent-enough shape to start jogging, I typically wait until after sundown or find out-of-the-way, deserted roads to start. I hate gyms for the same reason, and this is one big reason why I don’t go regularly.
And public swimming? Fuhgeddaboutit.
So the task in front me is to get over myself. People I see in passing cars are as blind to me as I am to others when I’m driving. People in their homes are watching TV, not their windows. People passing me on the sidewalk are exercising also, and are worried about how THEY look, not how I look.
Tags: children, kidsFollow-up: Kimmer a fraud
Following up on my post from several weeks ago: Kimmer a fraud. Martin at Slamboard alerted folks that the story has made the news at KTLA in Los Angeles. His own blog was shown in the piece, and his material is obviously the primary source for the report. Go to http://ktla.trb.com/ - There’s a video screen on the main page that has navigation tabs. On the video screen tabs, click “news” and then 10/2 - KTLA Exclusive - Internet Diet Scam Exposed.
According to the report, there is a follow-up report coming on 10/3 about a class-action lawsuit being filed. Expect this follow-up on the web shortly.
Tags: diet, KimkinsHundred Day Head Start in Top 100 Health & Wellness Blogs
I was checking my stats package and followed an incoming link I didn’t recognize to find this site was listed in the Top 100 Health & Wellness Blogs at the Nursing Online Education Database website.
Cool! Talk about motivating someone to stick to their diet and exercise plan…
I also saw that Jenn is listed as well. Nice!
This list was difficult to cobble together, as there are so many health and wellness blogs listed on the Web. But, certain criteria were used to whittle the list down to the blogs that you can enjoy. To that end, each blog chosen had to include contact information. After all, you don’t want to take advice from someone who wants to remain anonymous, do you? Additionally, a sense of humor didn’t hurt the choices below. Losing weight, getting fit, and learning about diseases is serious enough - a laugh or two can provide some good medicine along the way.
Finally, these top blogs were chosen for their popularity among users as well as their successes - both as professionals and as individuals who have changed or who are publicly changing lifestyles and overcoming their diseases and disabilities.
Thanks to everyone for reading, linking, and participating.
Tags: diet, exercise, honorsYou make the call: To chafe or not to chafe
Monday evening, I was presented with a dilemma: All of my nice nylon, breathable walking shorts were dirty (thanks to our broke-down washer), and my choice was to do nothing and keep those baby-smooth inner thighs-
Hold on, I’ll wait while you swallow that little bit of throw-up in your mouth and try to picture ANYTHING else…
-or put on the cheap-ass Wal-Mart cotton shorts, knowing they would chafe me.
I went with chafing. I needed to walk last night more for consistency’s sake than anything else, and didn’t want to use the shorts as an excuse. Unfortunately, I hurt. A lot.
Was it worth the chance of missing the next day or two of workouts? Does the fact that it is early in the process of changing my behavior have any impact?
No tag for this post.