Lifestyle Changes Day 8 – No Couch Potatoes Allowed

Agh. Today was really tough. I’m fighting some sinus junk and I”m not a happy camper right now. I’ve been saying this for over a year now, we really need to get Mother Nature a date with Father Time, she has been really cranky lately! Our weather has gone from one extreme to the other, and sometimes in a day! Last Sunday it was 70 here. Monday the high was ‘almost’ 40 with a wicked wind. See what I mean? It’s no wonder my head is full of goo.

I did start my day with my Quick & Easy Power Breakfast today. I was thinking, you can easily knock off 50 to 100 calories simply by using fewer slices of ham (I normally use 2) and leave off the cheese. Or use all egg whites rather than one whole and one white. You could do it on a sandwich thin and have it for lunch too.

I did walk about a mile today with my bestie. I think she was happy b/c I was slower and it was an easier pace. I made sure to include plenty of hot herb tea and chicken soup today. I encourage you if you’re not feeling well, do be sure and eat, even if you don’t feel like it, you have to keep up your strength, ya know. How is your body’s microscopic army supposed to fight the invaders w/o any fuel?

Ok, so, you know how important exercise is in this overall scheme, right? I’m going to share something that totally sounds counterintuitive, but it’s 100% true: when you exercise, you get more energy. I know, right? sounds kind of opposite of what you’d think, but when you get your metabolism up, you get energized. And when you build muscle mass, that’s even better b/c the muscle takes more energy to operate than the fat tissue

Another reason exercise is important, the disks, the cushions between your bones, don’t have their own blood supply and get their nutrition from movement. Have you ever been to a movie that’s oh, say, 2hrs +? You try to get up from your seat and you’re a bit slow, right? Yeah, me too. But once you get moving, you’re ok. Part of it is because the movement is what lubricates the joints. That includes your spine (there are 22 bones plus the disks between them) and your knees in particular, without movement, they get stiff, and actually can begin to compress and lose their springiness. Yes, that’s an actual word, I promise.

My challenge to you, the next time you say, ‘I can’t because I”m sore.’ get out there anyway and just do something for 10 minutes and I think you’ll find you will feel better. And then you can do 10 more minutes! Just remember to breathe and drink plenty of water! Oh, and another thing, find little ways to get more movement into your day. Example: when drying your hair (if you use a blow dryer), spread your feet just beyond shoulder-width, toes pointing out, squat down as far as you can comfortably, and come back up, squeezing your glutes at the top. It will help tighten your glutes as well as burn off a few more calories when you’d otherwise just be standing there. Or, when you’re in the kitchen, waiting for something in the microwave, do a few counter push ups. Stand far enough back from the counter that you have about a 50 degree angle between your body and the countertop when your hands are on the edge. Gently lower your body to the counter top and push yourself back up. If it’s too difficult, step closer in and try again. If at any point doing any of these exercises, you experience pain, stop what you’re doing. whoever said ‘no pain, no gain’ was a complete moron. No pain means you’re doing it correctly. Sore muscles after, well, that’s a different case altogether.

Alright my friends, let’s see how tomorrow goes, shall we? I hope I’m feeling better, this nose running, not being able to breathe stuff really sucks.

How is it going for you? If you’re playing along, do share how it’s working for you and what you’ve been successful with and what you’ve altered to work better for you.

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