Fitness Friday: DietBet Musings

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While I've been off the blog wagon for a bit, I'm happy to say I've stayed firmly seated on the fitness wagon. Thanks are due, at least in some part, to my wild-hair decision to sign up for the Blogilates June DietBet.

What is a DietBet? Basically, it's dieting meets social media.  You sign up by contributing to the betting pot (in my case, it was a $25 buy-in), and the goal is to lose 4% of your body weight in 28 days.  If you achieve your goal, you're a winner.  Period.  Everyone who wins splits the pot even-Steven.

Since I was already on a lean-out kick, it seemed like good idea.  I won't lie, the lure of the $149,000 pot helped.

In some ways it did turn out to be a good idea.  Yes, I won.  So did a bunch of other people, which means my total payout was $44.69.  I did some great workouts.  I exercised some caloric discipline.

BUT . . .

I rediscovered why I didn't own a scale for the first eight years of my marriage.  My husband's only demand when we made our gift registry was that we could not get a scale.  And this was perfectly reasonable: he had seen me go from the (admittedly) chunky - over 170lb - happy, take-on-the-world girl he fell in love with, to an underweight, calorie-crunching, moody and insecure 117lb shadow of myself, all in the space of 18 months. (I'm 5'6" with a curvy build, if you were wondering.)

I was fortunate to recover on my own without professional help and hang on to the positives (in particular, a discovery of and love for fitness) while learning to measure my health by other standards.

All of this to say, I think DietBet has got a great thing going, and doing a DietBet could serve as a great way to kick off a longer-term weight loss campaign, or maybe light a fire to lose those last five pounds.

But because it is only scale-number based, it's something to be careful with.  My husband began noticing my scale-obsession at the end (and the week following - it was hard to break the weigh-every-day habit!).  My sister sent me a somewhat passive text that simply said:

I remember how it was when you were super obsessed about the scale . . .

(The unspoken P.S. to her comment was the reminder that she called me Skeletor during that same time.)

So for me, my DietBet experience will fall in the same category of some extreme roller coaster rides I've been on: glad to say I did it once, but never, ever will do it again!

P.S. If you're interested, here is Cassey's official Blogilates DietBet recap.

How do you measure your weight/health/fitness progress? 

A "Me" Moment

Nail color is Lady Muck by Butter London

The last three months have been an absolute blur!  My office move, which I honestly didn't think much of at the time, has marked the beginning of more success in two months than I experienced in four years of semi-independent practice.  And by success, I don't just mean business coming in the door, but the satisfaction and gratification I feel by using my education and experience to help families cope with aging and death.

It is wonderful.

And exhausting!

So, with the exception of a few rows of knitting here and there, and a few pages turned in front of bleary eyes late at night, my "me" time (such that it was in the first place) has dwindled to near nonexistence.  I'll admit (very sheepishly) that when I do find the odd minute to read a blog post or two, that I'm seeking diversion over deep thought.

The solution takes the form of stolen moments with my phone and YouTube.  And by "stolen" I mean "in the bathroom".  And by "YouTube" I mean, by and large, beauty tips.

You see, somewhere in the bustle of my days, it dawned on me that even though there's pretty much NO way the dress I was knitting for Mouse's first birthday will be done in time, and although there are more unfinished than finished books on my nightstand, I could eek out a couple extra minutes in the morning to make myself feel pretty.

All of which leads me to why I'm confessing this here: I can't be the only one who struggles for two or five "me" minutes a day!  And furthermore, I can't be the only one in need of a frivolous diversion.

So if you're inclined, hang with me.  I'm going to try to share some of my favorite finds (with my own experiences).

What do you do to pamper yourself when you need a quick pick-me-up?

Weekend Links: Mayday!

Another hectic week behind us!  Phew!  Here's hoping you get some breathing room and time for yourself this weekend.  If you do, here are some goodies I've managed to squeeze in over the past week.

For you:
My (totally unglamorous) photo this week is of my homemade turnip chips - big, surprising YUM! And easy!  Mine were made based on Heidi Swanson's recipe from Super Natural Every Day , which is pretty similar to this one, except with paprika sprinkled on after baking.  I was also pretty pleased at how well my cheap-o Kohl's mandoline performed!

I read these 26 Reasons Kids Are Pretty Much Just Tiny Drunk Adults one evening after Moose and I had a "disagreement".  The laughing helped me get over myself and be the mommy.

Not only am I scrambling to tone a bit and drop a little before the big black tie dinner next Saturday, I'm also floundering on what to wear.  I haven't been to a formal event (other than a wedding) since college (longer ago than I care to admit).  I needed some "special" make-up and didn't have time to get to the store sans kids so I took the plunge this week and tried out the Talk to an Artist feature at the Bobbi Brown website.  I was really pleased at the conversation and the color recommendations (including application tips).  I guess the true test will be how I look next Saturday . . .

For the kids:
I've been drooling over Alphabet Glue for probably a year now.  It's a gorgeous e-magazine of activities for book-loving families.  I'm just waiting for Moose to get a little bit older and stiller.  However, with the 25% off sale now through May 15, I just might go ahead and cave . . .

I think I mentioned last week that Mouse was starting to try some table food (thanks to some gentle suggestions from a baby-led-weaning-minded friend).  This is new ground to me, as I had to practically bribe Moose to make the switch from baby food to table food when he was about a year old.  These tips from Kim Corrigan-Oliver the Wean Green blog came along at the perfect time!

I loved this resource-rich post on yoga and kids from Modern Parents Messy Kids!  Moose is stuck in a yoga rut: we do his favorite bug yoga almost daily, but I really think, at 3.5 years, he's ready for (and could benefit from) more.  I'm really looking forward to trying some of the Cosmic Kids sequences with him this week.

Did you find any diamonds in the rough-of-life this week?  Do share!!

Fitness Friday: Senior Edition

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Other than my recent mention that I've been busy moving offices, I don't talk much (at all) about my day job in this space. But when I'm wearing my lawyer hat, I specialize in legal issues for seniors.  Which means that my web, magazine, and book reading on a given day really runs life's gamut - from the baby and kid tips and activities I stash away to use at home with my kids, to helpful advice for my elderly clients (and, more particularly, their families) to make life easier.

One of the senior living communities I work with on occasion published a great list of senior fitness tips last year that I've been passing on to some of my clients, and it inspired me to devote a Fitness Friday to those folks in our lives who are, perhaps, less mobile or more limited in the ways they can move, but still want and deserve to maintain their health.  So before you close your browser window, pause and think of someone you know who can no longer jog down the street or throw around dumbbells like they used to.  Now read on - maybe you'll find something you can pass along and give the gift of health to a senior in your life.

1. Water, water everywhere! Without exception, the gerontologists and physical therapists I meet with in the course of helping my clients agree: water exercise is one of the best, safest ways to retain a basic fitness level and stave off some age-related illnesses.  It is no-impact, and joint-friendly.  Many fitness facilities, YMCAs, and even community senior centers now offer organized water exercise classes.  And while I can't deliver a pool to your inbox, these activity descriptions are a good place to start if you can find a pool for your senior loved one.

2. Chair cardio - sit down and sweat! Although a lot of the fitness emphasis for the aging population is geared toward prevention of osteoporosis in women through strength training, cardiovascular health remains vitally important to both genders as they age.



BONUS for you: chair cardio is a great option for people of all ages as well when recovering from an injury or surgery.

3. Yoga - because you're never too old to get your OM on!  Yoga is great for its multiple benefits: some resistance training can be involved, along with stretching, relaxation, and even raising the heart rate.  Most of the seniors I work with are wheelchair bound, so even gentle traditional yoga on a mat won't work for them. This chair yoga is like a lot of the yoga I'm seeing taught in senior communities and at adult day care centers.



I'd love to hear how you help the seniors in your life stay active! Please share with me in the comments below!

Weekend Links - In Transition

Image credit: Antony

Note: if you read this post prior to June 3, 2013, you may have noticed a different image above.  I cam across the prior image of a cool Warrior III on a friend's Facebook page and used it here.  I have since learned that it was not credited correctly there, and after several attempts to credit it correctly here, decided the safer road was to return to using either my own images or ones I know are ok to use in this setting.  Apologies to any who were offended.

I'll admit that I haven't had much time for leisure in the past few weeks.  I am getting ready to move my law practice over the weekend to become truly independent after four years of semi-independence (yay!) and, needless to say, putting those plans in motion, plus the usual keeping up with the kids, has taken the vast majority of my energy!

But here are a few goodies I have managed to enjoy!

For You:
- If you happen to be in/near the ATL and need a bite to eat, check out this local Spring Dining Guide (one of the contributors is a friend of mine and I've yet to disagree with anything she said was try-worthy!).

- I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a fan of the Duchess of Cambridge a.k.a Kate Middleton.  These shoes at Target are a great CopyKate of the wedges she wore during the London Olympics.  I'm debating between the tan and black.

- Discovered a new-to-me YouTube trainer, Amanda Russell and have been enjoying her very effecient circuit-style workouts!

- This quick, easy, and non-toxic microwave clean really WORKED on a mess Daddy M made warming some soup without a cover!

- A delightfully fun, refreshingly honest adventure in cooking!

For the Kiddos:
- Moose has begun the "tell me a story" phase, and I'm loving it!  My sister discovered and ordered these Story Cubes for him - I can't wait for them to arrive!

- Fifty amazing tree house ideas!?  Yes, please!

- This Truffle Parmesan Mac & Cheese was supposed to be my quickie lunch the other day but ended up being Mouse's first table food.  I strongly suspect I've ruined her and the regular boxed stuff is out of the question now!

Happy Weekend to you!