Change is in the Air!

Whether you're in the Northern or Southern Hemispheres, change is in the air! If you're north of the equator, Happy Autumn! If you're south, Happy Spring! (I know. I'm a week late. Chalk it off to the change of seasons!)

The changes of season can be a time of change for us, as well. While change can be challenging, or even difficult, it can also be good for us.

Let's consider the change of the seasons. As the earth orbits the sun, it wobbles on its axis. It's a gentle wobble, fortunately for all of us, but it still makes the sun seem to move north and south of the equator. Seasonal changes can seem sudden, like the cooler fall days that just popped into my neighborhood, practically overnight. Most often, however, change is more subtle.

Say you go on a diet and lose twenty pounds. Maybe it came off quickly. Maybe it took a while. Either way, you hit your goal weight and you think, "Aha! I'm there! I can relax now!" "One cookie won't hurt." "Yes, thank you, I'd love seconds."

Sure, you won't put on twenty pounds overnight (unless you have a serious medical condition beyond the scope of this blog). However slow it may be, however, once you stop your diet, the scales may start to creep upward again. A subtle change. Soon you may be back where you were before, or even worse than when you started.

That's the problem with diets. As I stated in my last post, the entire dieting mindset is based on its being temporary. Something with an end-date.

What you need is a life-style change. A program that will give you tips on how to change what you're doing now, so that you can live your life at a healthy weight.

The Bodē plan from VEMMA is just such a plan. Not only is it simple & easy, but you get smartphone support with its award-winning app that will message you when it's time to eat, give you recipes, exercises, and the best vitamin and mineral combo in the business. With the great nutrition you'll be getting, not only will your weight improve, but you'll get more energy for living!

What about it, then? Are you ready for some positive change in your life? Check out the Bodē products today!

Why Diets Fail

How many diets have you been on since you were old enough to know what a "diet" is? If you're like me, you may not remember. Diet fads come and go like leaves on deciduous trees. And with them, the weight. It goes, and then, when you quit the diet, it comes back. And usually the pounds bring their friends.

First off, the modern definition of "diet" is inaccurate. A diet can consist of anything and everything we eat. Calling a program to lose weight a "diet" is restricting the term, and gives us a "temporary" mindset. That is, we think, Okay, this is only temporary. I can do this for a short time and lose the weight and then I can go back to eating all my favorite foods again. Thinking like that is sure to sabotage any long-term weight loss and maintenance goal.

What put us into the overweight category? If you're like me, it was probably a lack of portion control. It's so good---maybe I'll have just one more... And one after that, and another one, and then, surprise! The package is empty.

Another thing that can tip the scales in the wrong direction is a sedentary lifestyle. Believe it or not, standing in one place all day has the same effect as sitting at a desk. My last work-outside-the-home job had me standing for hours, and I put on something like thirty pounds. I was drinking lots of sugary coffees and sodas to give myself enough energy to get through the day. To compound that, I wasn't getting nearly enough exercise. Who had time? It was always (a) get up early & get ready for work, (b) grab breakfast, (c) get to work, (d) get through the day until break or lunch and grab something high-calorie to see me through until the next break, (e) have a highly caffeinated beverage to give me enough energy to get through the rest of the day until quitting time, (f) run any errands, (g) go home for a meal and try to get enough rest to tackle the next day. And on Sundays, in addition to church, sometimes store meetings had me getting there at 6 AM before opening, and then heading to church afterward for my organ-playing job.

Did I have time to exercise? No. Did I need exercise? Oh, yes. Badly. I also didn't need all that excess sugar and caffeine from artificial and non-organic sources.

If you're currently in a sedentary lifestyle, as I was, you can't expect the weight to stay off when it comes off, unless you keep restricting your caloric intake. And, even if you do keep the calories down, a lack of exercise makes it much harder for your body to burn the calories that you take in. As we get older, once past that golden age of development, our bodies begin to lose muscle, unless we stress them on a regular basis. By stress, I mean exercise.

Exercise comes in different flavors:

• weight-bearing, such as hand weights, weight machines, barbells, push-ups, etc.
• aerobic, which increases heart rate and lung capacity and includes such activities as walking, running, calisthenics and jumping rope, to name a few 
• stretching, like Praise Moves,  Pilates, etc.
• deep muscle movement, like Callanetics or Chicometrics 

Each one of these is good, but the best course is to mix types of exercise. Try to do weight-bearing exercise 2 or 3 days a week, but never two days in a row. Lifting weights makes tiny tears in the muscle, and taking a day in between lets the tears heal, which strengthens the muscle. If you're a woman, don't worry about developing a Popeye or Mr. America physique. Unless you're taking steroids, it won't happen. 

Walking can be done every day, as can stretching, because unless done at a frenetic pace, they're gentle. Aim for at least 30 minutes at least 3 days a week. Those 30 can be broken down into increments of 5. Note that if you do, you won't get as good an aerobic result, but it will still increase your metabolism.

Deep muscle movements, like lifting weights, should be done only every other day, to let the muscles recuperate.

Whatever exercise you do will be beneficial, and aid in your journey to wellness! As always, be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

For a complete weight loss/maintenance program, complete with recipes and an award-winning phone app, visit Bode. 

Staying Positive

Sometimes our biggest challenge in getting or staying in shape is just keeping a positive attitude. It's easy to keep going when things are going your way. When it gets hard, however, staying positive becomes more difficult. It's also when you need it the most!

What keeps you focused on your goals? Your health & well-being? Fitting into a smaller size? Being able to "be there" for your family & loved ones?

It's so easy to lose track when everything else is clamoring for your attention. And, once you stop paying attention, those sneaky pounds can come right back! It's happened to me. It can happen to you.

I know it's hard to stay focused and positive with so many terrible things happening around the world. Hearing someone say "keep a positive attitude" when you are distraught over a loved one in a war zone, or in the midst of a terrible wildfire, or challenged by tornadoes or hurricanes, can be like a slap in the face. You may feel insulted or angry.

I don't mean to do that to you, truly. If you're facing monumental challenges, feel free to ignore me. Give those challenges to God and come back to my blog when things are better. I'm praying for you.

If you're just in a slump, however, I'm here to cheer you on. Just because we get into a slump doesn't mean we have to stay there. Just because we lose our dietary focus and put on a few pounds doesn't mean they have to stay with us forever. We CAN lose them again. We just have to make that decision, for our health!

I'm deciding to do better again. How about you?

Setting Goals

Achieving what you want is much easier if you know what you want. Sure, you may know that you'd like to lose ten pounds, but unless you set a time constraint, you may not have the motivation to carry out your plan. And you need a plan!

Okay. Say you have ten pounds to lose. (It may be more or less.) You need a realistic time goal in which to lose them. Don't decide you need to lose ten pounds overnight. The only way you can do that is with liposuction, and that doesn't work in the long term. If you want to lose ten pounds and keep them off, you need to decide what to do about it.

You've heard this before, I'm sure, that two pounds a week is a reasonable amount of weight to lose and keep off. Any faster than that is not healthful, and the weight will probably come back, with interest. At two pounds a week, ten pounds will take you five weeks to lose.

"Five weeks!" I can hear you screaming. "I want these pounds gone now!"

Well, of course you do. But you want them to stay gone, don't you? There's no point to lose ten pounds only to gain them back.

Furthermore, when you lose weight in an unhealthful manner, most often you aren't losing fat. You're losing muscle. Muscle is what helps burn fat and keeps your metabolism revved. When you lose that, what you gain back won't be muscle. You'll gain fat. And fat takes up more space than muscle does, so you'll lose definition as well.

So, set a reasonable time goal. And don't just diet. Change small things. Get really good nutrition, such as supplementing with Vemma products. Start exercising. The more muscle you build, the better your metabolism will be. Aerobics will increase your stamina. Strength-training will add healthy, lean muscle. Flexibility training will keep you limber and ease joint strain.

Lastly, remember, if you need to lose weight, you probably didn't gain it overnight. Don't expect to lose it overnight, either. Losing weight should just be part of your goal. Your main goal should be getting healthy!