3 miles never came so easy

I just got back from a 3 mile run. Not my first one, but the easiest. I'm amazed. 13 years ago I couldn't run a mile in under 18 minutes. 1 year ago I couldn't run 2.5 miles without taking walk breaks. A month and a half ago, I had never even run 3 consecutive miles. I'm amazed because anything really is possible. And it's true, some days are just easier than others. Last week my friend Vanessa and I attempted 3 miles and I remember crying out "I just want a glass of wine..." I made it with at stretch break half way through, begrudgingly. Tonight was great though, I actually enjoyed running for the first time :)

Cardio Max 750

This is the view from the bottom of the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. Step 0 of 750.

I've lived in this area for almost a year now, and it wasn't until a week ago that I finally took the time to stop and see what the fuss was about. On mornings and weekends I see people walking around this hill, that seems like nothing more than big mound of dirt in the middle of the Culver City industrial section. Looks can be deceiving! What I discovered instead is a great trail that zig zags a mile up the mountain accompanied by several sets of gigantic stone steps leading up to a gorgeous view of the Los Angeles basin.

The first time I decided to hike up the trail, you know get a lay of the land. I saw people taking on the stairs with purpose and vigor--each person on her own personal mission of conquest. "Some day soon, I too will take the stairs" I thought to myself. That some day was this past Sunday friends.
I came prepared, with my iPod, bottle of water, and my kick ass lulu lemon yoga pants. Your average gym stairmaster has nothing on the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook incline. If you decide to take on these stairs, do not be fooled by the droves of senior citizens and small children ascending and descending with few breaks. Trust me, they've probably been doing this for a while. About a quarter of the way up I realized that the genius of this kind of exercise activity is that there's no way I can quit in the middle. Take a break yes, but to actually stop, I have to either finish going up to the top to the resting point, or make my way back down to the car, which is just embarrassing (and no easy feat either, since the steps are about 1-1.5 feet high). Damn it. That means I have to keep climbing. At the last segment I thought about how painful and demoralizing it would be if I fell down those 700 steps behind me. Meanwhile a sprightly man with an infant strapped in on his chest doubled past me. WTF? I'm in good shape too! Finally it was my pride that drove me to the top--to complete the task. Total time to climb the stairs, including breaks? 12 minutes and 53 seconds. I was so high on my sense of accomplishment of making it to the top at all, I didn't have the heart to do it again. I went down on the trail with my legs wobbling. All in all it was a great challenge. And I will be back, to try for two reps.

Earth Gym

No time for the gym? Forgot your ipod? Have no fear...Earth Gym is here! What is Earth Gym you ask? Earth Gym is your body and your present surroundings, wherever you are. I got the phrase from my first Weight Watchers leader ten years ago. Since I began losing weight I've had to embrace the idea that working out is not limited to the gym. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to watch Project Runway while I'm on the elliptical machine, but the gym is not the be all and end all to fitness. It's a finite place, with limited hours (even 24 hour fitness closes sometimes), and unless you're in the right frame of mind, the thought of getting into your car to go to the gym, or having to change in the locker room, or waiting in line for a treadmill is just enough to keep you from exercising all together.
Earth Gym is a fluid concept.  If park my car on the fourth floor instead of driving in circles looking for a spot on the first floor, I automatically get a mini work out in before I drive home. Even if I don't want to do it because I'm tired. I have to get to my car.  Earth Gym transforms the inconvenience of having to walk up four flights of stairs into an opportunity to burn more calories. It's that simple! Earth Gym can even happen in your own home. Why shouldn't you  do 10 squats while you're brushing your teeth? Or waiting for water to boil? Earth Gym is always open.

Great Free Yoga Workout

If you have 30 minutes and enjoy yoga, you should try this workout I found on youtube. It's called Weight Loss Yoga The instructions are pretty clear and the poses are simple. The flow moves at a steady pace so I definitely broke a sweat, and it touches on all of the major muscle groups. The video is broken into four segments, but if you sign into youtube (you can use a gmail account) you can create a playlist so the video plays continuously. Let me know what you think!

Accountability

Weight loss and exercise is a private matter. If I want to change the way my body looks, no one needs to know about it except for me, right? Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Too strong? Okay, hear me out. One of my classmates and I are kindred spirits when it comes to having a decades long tumultuous relationship with healthy eating. We quickly discovered that we both had the tendency to talk about our eating habits out loud, and before long we gave each other carte blanche to talk about all things health/food/exercise related. It turns out not everyone wants to talk about that stuff...weird, huh? Today my friend and I upped our impromptu chats to a weekly 20 minute meeting. We outlined our fitness and eating plans for the week, and challenged each other to be as specific as possible. It's amazing how differently I pursue my goals when I know that someone else is going to ask me about them.

My health is a personal concern, but in order for me to take it seriously, I have to include other people. Are you this way too? It's hard for me to do the things that I want to do or need to do sometimes even when I know it's for my own good. I realized this about myself when I started living alone. Basic housekeeping tasks that I thought came naturally to me, like washing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom, fell to the wayside when no one else was around to notice. Many formal weight loss programs are based on this premise of accountability--Weight Watchers for one. It's a proven fact that people who commit to losing weight in group contexts are more likely to sustain lifestyle changes over time. So even if you don't want to pay for service or join an official group, consider finding a designated person who is willing to hold you accountable and help you hash out the details of your plan. Even if that person is in another part of the world, and you only check in via facebook once a month, don't go it alone!

Something is better than nothing

One of the most daunting things about being healthy is that there is always something you could be doing better. Drink more water, get the heart rate pumping 4-5 times a week, eat less red meat, take a multi-vitamin, have meaningful human interactions, etc, etc.  We make thousands of choices every day--and so it follows that being healthy doesn't boil down to just one make it or break it decision. I sometimes get caught up in the all or nothing mentality, "since I veered down the wrong aisle at the supermarket (unintentionally of course) and bought the box of soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies, I absolutely have to eat them all now..." or "rehearsal went over and I won't get 45 minutes in at the gym...looks like I won't be working out today." Thinking this way is silly. We all need to stop it.  Any step in the right direction is progress. Twenty minutes of exercise is better than no minutes. Five minutes of exercise is better than no minutes! And the same is true for food. Eating 4 cookies IS better than eating 5. You get the idea! So instead of trying to do a billion things all at once,  try just focusing on one thing at a time. When I feel overwhelmed, or like my efforts aren't getting me anywhere, I pick one thing that I know I can focus on for the week. This week? Ten push ups before bed every night. If all else goes awry, my arms will be 70 push ups stronger come next Saturday.

If you're like me...

then you think about being healthy A LOT. You have to make a conscious decision every day to eat the right foods, and exercise. Deep down you want to take care of yourself--even if you don't always act that way.

Some people are naturally thin. They only eat when they're hungry. They love going on long runs. They don't need a pep talk before going into a social situation where food is involved. I am not one of those people. And perhaps neither are you. At least not yet :)

This blog is for people who need to think, talk, share, cry and laugh about what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle in order to make it happen.