Exercising... Why?

Take this simple test. Sit down on the floor with your legs criss-cross applesauce (or, when I was a kid in less politically correct days, "Indian style").

Now stand. Don't worry about speed and stand with as little help as you can (whether from using your hands, another person, a wall, or furniture).

How'd you do?

I'll tell you how I did... three weeks ago, I had to use one hand to push myself off the floor and it was as graceless as a beached whale. Tonight, I'm happy to say, although I had to rock back and forth once to get momentum, but I got up, hands and help free.

If you can get to standing without using your hands or getting other help, you are statistically likely to live longer than those who couldn't.

Wow.

This simple test reveals everything about your current strength, flexibility, and coordination. In a research group, those who could rise using just one hand or with no help at all were in the top 25% for musculoskeletal fitness. The higher your fitness, the longer you're likely to live.

I read about this test in The Exercise Cure: A Doctor's All-Natural Prescription for Better Health and Longer Life, by Jordan D Metzl, MD.

He points to a recent study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine that showed that physical activity increases longevity. Men gain aproximately 2.6 hours of life per 1 hour of moderate activity; women gain -- get this!!-- 5.6 hours of life for every hour of moderate activity. The numbers increase for vigorous activity.

In it, Metzl argues that low fitness is the single strongest predictor of death, even more powerful than obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking! He also calls exercise "the weight-loss drug millions have been waiting for." He also cites a number of other benefits, including boosting your immune system.

He recommends exercising 7 days a week, arguing that "human bodies are designed for every day use." He postulates that there's really no reason that we can't find 30 minutes to weight train, jog, bike ride, swim, play ultimate frisbee, or take a brisk walk with Fido.

The book then discusses various issues, including addiction, depression, cognition problems, fatigue, sleep apnea, cardiopulmonary problems, and asthma, and exercises and fitness strategies to combat those problems.

Until now I've had this vague idea about getting more fit. Through reading this book and working on this blog (which has forced me to start looking into different aspects of fitness, I've developed specific goals.

The more I read about regular exercise and how it benefits us, the more I'm motivated to get off the couch and start moving. (And to think I used to say that exercise is the root of all evil!)

On the blog's facebook page, I frequently post items I see about quick workouts and ways to incorporate exercise into daily life. Check these out with me, and let me know what works for you!

So although I may have eaten out a few times (and thus, probably over ate) this past weekend, I made sure I exercised at least 30 minutes every day. Might not be perfect progress, but I'll take the small victories when I find them.

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Biking on the B&A Trail

The goal of the ride!

The recent warm weather in Maryland enticed me to try out my new bike. Since I hadn't ridden a bike for 20 years (at least -- where did that time fly to?), we decided to start with small goals. A comfortable 2.5 mile ride to -- get this, a coffee shop along the scenic Baltimore & Annapolis (B&A) Trail purported to sell the most delicious breakfast harvest cookies (sounds healthy, doesn't it?), and back.

A venture into my neighborhood right after purchasing the bike revealed that biking up hills was harder than other bikers made it seem. I made it less than a mile away from the house and I was huffing and puffing, out of breath, and frankly a little depressed. So I was nervous last Saturday morning: could I even do a 5 mile ride?


Middle-aged, unfit women everywhere should rejoice! "Granny gear" makes it all possible! And, had I understood how to properly shift the first time I'd taken my bike out, I probably would have been fine. I think the more than 8 hours I've spent since then climbing 18 to 20 flights of stairs a day have probably helped my fitness some. (In fact, my muscle-to-fat ratio has greatly improved!)


We started at convenient parking at Earleigh Heights (mile marker 7.0) on the B&A. When we came to the coffee shop at mile marker 5.5 we decided to keep on going a while longer. The day was absolutely gorgeous and it just felt so great to be outside in warm, sunny weather. We continued another mile or two further along the trail, turning around at a maintenance station, and heading back to the coffee shop for what we thought was a well-earned cookie and a skim latte.

So my worries about being able to keep up with my friend were for naught, although I suspect she probably went slower than her norm. The trail for the most part is dead flat -- the inclines are slight at their worst, so a good trail to start biking on.


When we returned to the parking lot I was no where near as tired as I felt I should be, so we decided to continue to enjoy the day by heading back to Downs Memorial Park, also in Anne Arundel County, to bike the perimeter trail -- a good 5-mile addition to our earlier ride.

Plans for tomorrow? Hit the bike trails again, this time a more ambitious 14-mile there and back ride up to Pennsylvania on the NCR Trail.

Both the B&A Trail and the NCR Trail are former railroad rights of way. If you're interested in exploring rails to trails in the mid-Atlantic region, I recommend adding these to your library.

The first is Hiking, Cycling & Canoeing in Maryland, by Bryan MacKay (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008). This family-oriented guide is divided into three parts, each concentrating on hiking and walking, biking, or canoeing (and kayaking). It provides detailed information about the length of and what to expect along the walks or rides, the difficulty, and how to get there.

The second is Rail-Trails Mid-Atlantic The Official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Guidebook (Wilderness Press, 2007). This guide covers rail trails in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington DC, providing a short description, mileage, end points, directions to access the trails, and a "roughness index." There also are Rail-Trails Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York (2011) and
Rail-Trails Southeast: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee (2006).

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Meditating

Last week's slip up and my waning enthusiasm has caused me to re-assess. And to examine -- what can I do to help myself on this journey?

So I think this journey may start taking an unexpected route: I first envisioned it as purely a journey to physical fitness, but I think that's naive. So here I am, exploring mediation. Oprah, Dr Oz, and myriad others have discussed on their shows the benefits of meditation, even on the beneficial links between mediation, a healthy mind, and weight loss.

What prompted me to start exploring mediation was a one-page article I came across in Prevention magazine. I was caught by the title: "The Easiest Way to a Flat Belly," accompanied by a woman lying on the floor. Hell yeah! If I can lay on the floor and get a flat belly, then I'll start now!!

No, oops. The article was about yoga (yeah, I'm trying that too). But the article asserted that "when you're calm, you produce less of the hormone cortisol, a leading cause of abdominal fat."

Wow.

All the times I've been so stressed at work or at home, and not just stressed, but also stress eating, I've been building adominal fat. :(

Another article from Prevention says that practicing mediation can help me learn how my emotions influence my cravings. Then, the theory goes, once I figure out what's behind my cravings, I'm empowered to change the behavior. (We'll see about that.)

Even the venerable WeightWatchers weighed in on the subject. An article on the WW website notes that in recent years, meditation has gone mainstream (which is probably why I'm even considering it). Meditation is also recommended as a stress-reducing technique by hospitals and doctors across the country, and meditation's myriad benefits include reduced blood pressure, healthier arteries and an enhanced sense of well-being. With all these benefits going for it, the WW website posits, meditation is an ideal tool for relaxation and self-discovery on the way to your weight goal.

As he explained in the WeightWatchers article, what happens on the physical level is what Herbert Benson, MD, the Harvard doctor who initiated meditation studies in the 1970s, calls the "Relaxation Response." He discovered that during meditation, brain waves shift into a state similar to -- and sometimes more relaxed than -- sleep. This level of relaxation lowers the amount of stress hormones that can contribute to pain and illness. (That would be the cortisol that the Prevention article introduced me to.)

Here's the healthier mind part: meditation can also create a foundation for healthier thinking and feeling. "When you meditate, all the junk comes up, all the clutter," says one expert. "The negative body images come up, the desires for certain foods come up, and the emotions that are attached to those desires come up. The more they surface, the more you can put them in your mental recycle bin and start with a clean slate."

I'm not a very meditative kinda gal. So I'm not really sure how to get started. I continued exploring online resources.

“Everyone can meditate,” says Sarah McLean, a meditation teacher in Sedona, Arizona, and author of Soul Centered: Transform Your Life in 8 Weeks With Meditation. “Any activity can become a meditative experience if you’re really present in the moment and engage your senses.”

Any activity, huh? I like to walk. How about walking? 

PsychologyToday blogger Dr Kelly McGonigal suggests a 10-minute walking meditation involving 1 minute of paying attention to each of the following:

1. the feeling of your body walking,
2. the feeling of your breath, 
3. the sensations of air or wind on your skin, 
4. what you can hear, and 
5. what you can see.

McGonigal recommends following this with 5 minutes of open awareness where you allow anything you can observe/sense to rise up into your awareness. Don't go looking for things to hear, see, feel etc. Just let whatever rises up into your awareness to do that and be naturally replaced by something else whenever that happens. During the open awareness portion, if your attention drifts to what you're going to make for dinner or that issue at work you're dealing with, return to one of the points of focus to re-engage your attention.

Finally, McGonigal suggests adapting these instructions however you want. Make your practice your own. You're in charge! For example, do a walking meditation in which you focus on one of the above points of focus for 3 minutes and then do 3 minutes of open awareness.

If walking mediation isn't for you, cheer up. There are many types of meditation. WeightWatchers recommends finding one that resonates with your beliefs (there are even Christian oriented mediation groups), and make sure your instructor (if you're choosing to go that route) has plenty of experience. In the meantime, you can try the following:

1. Sit straight in a comfortable, quiet place.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Relax your muscles.
4. Pay attention to your slow and natural breathing.
5. When distracting thoughts occur — and they will — simply notice them and gently bring your attention back to the breath. You may have to do this often at first.
6. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.
7. Try to practice once or twice daily. With time, meditation will "bring a sense of relaxation, of coming to peace.

I'm struck by how simple meditation can be. Here’re some additional suggestions I found (on the Internet, of course) on how to meditate with a technique tailored to your personality:

• Light a candle. Sit three feet from a flame at eye level,  
  
  and watch it closely for five to 10 minutes. Continue to bring your attention back to the flame every time you notice your focus starting to drift away. 
• Try savoring each bite. Focus on a small morsel, such as a raisin, strawberry, or nut, and notice its shape, size, color, texture, and scent. Place it on your tongue, enjoying the flavor and keeping it in your mouth for as long as you can, at least 20 seconds. Chew slowly. Turning your focus inward and concentrating on sensations such as taste and smell, eating can feel like a new, exciting experience.
• Find a mantra. Sometimes your mind just needs a place to rest. Repeating calming words can give your mind that opportunity to chill. Find a quiet place and sit with your back straight but not rigid. Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes, and repeat words that will help settle—rather than stimulate—your mind. Try saying “Let” on an inhale and “go” on an exhale, either out loud or silently to yourself.

A search on U-tube uncovers several guided meditations geared toward weight loss. I'm still evaluating whether this is an approach that'll work for me -- although I'm definitely trying some of the techniques described above.

Zenhabits.net offers the following tips to get started:

1. Start with the breath. Breathing deep slows the heart rate, relaxes the muscles, focuses the mind and is an ideal way to begin practice.
2. Stretch first. Stretching loosens the muscles and tendons allowing you to sit (or lie) more comfortably. Additionally, stretching starts the process of “going inward” and brings added attention to the body.
3. Notice frustration creep up on you. This is very common for beginners as we think “hey, what am I doing here” or “why can’t I just quiet my mind already.” When this happens, really focus in on your breath and let the frustrated feelings go.
4. Experiment. Although many of us think of effective meditation as a Yogi sitting cross-legged beneath a tree, beginners should be more experimental and try different types of meditation. Try sitting, lying, eyes open, eyes closed, etc.
5. Feel your body parts. A great practice for beginning meditators is to take notice of the body when a meditative state starts to take hold. Once the mind quiets, put all your attention to the feet and then slowly move your way up the body (include your internal organs). This is very healthy and an indicator that you are on the right path.
6. Pick a specific room in your home to meditate. Make sure it is not the same room where you do work, exercise, or sleep. Place candles and other spiritual paraphernalia in the room to help you feel at ease.
7. Read a book (or two) on meditation. Preferably an instructional guide AND one that describes the benefits of deep meditative states. This will get you motivated. John Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go, There You Are is terrific for beginners.
8. Commit for the long haul. Meditation is a life-long practice, and you will benefit most by NOT examining the results of your daily practice. Just do the best you can every day, and then let it go!
9. Generate moments of awareness during the day. Finding your breath and “being present” while not in formal practice is a wonderful way to evolve your meditation habits. 
   
10. Make sure you will not be disturbed. One of the biggest mistakes is not ensuring peaceful practice conditions. If you have it in the back of your mind that the phone might ring, your kids might wake, or your coffee pot might whistle or your beagle will want to go out, then you will not be able to attain a state of deep relaxation.
11. Use a candle. Meditating with eyes closed can be challenging for a beginner. Lighting a candle and using it as your point of focus allows you to strengthen your attention with a visual cue. This can be very powerful.
12. Be Grateful at the end. Once your practice is through, spend 2-3 minutes feeling appreciative of the opportunity to practice and your mind’s ability to focus.

So with all this info I've just learned about meditation in mind, I'm going to start a 30-day meditation project, geared toward weight loss and fitness, to get myself started. As I try this, I'll devote a paragraph or two, or maybe even a whole blog, to the progress I'm making and what I'm noticing as a result.

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Struggling

I have lost another pound, for a total of 10 pounds since the weight loss challenge began and my journey to the land of fit started.

I celebrated by eating a donut.

That was perhaps not the best way to celebrate (oh, but it was soooo good). Donuts are my favorite food group...

The initial enthusiasm and motivation is wearing thin a bit -- it's no longer carrying myself, despite the fact I wore a blouse that 10 pounds ago had been too tight. I'm finding myself sitting on the couch more in the evenings, doing less of the exercises while watching the Olympics. I do miss the Olympics -- all those young, fit men and women. Motivation right there on my TV every night, in the snowboard slopestyle, the cross country skiers, the figure skaters...

I'm gonna have to start digging deep to stick with this. It's too early in this for these new ways to become habit. And my old habits are pulling hard on me!

One thing I know -- is that I can't let that donut (which was really, very very good) derail this whole effort.

Did I mention the four donut holes?

So I slipped up twice.

I'm going to have to think about this. I know I shouldn't dwell on these mistakes. So this is the last mention of that donut and those four donut holes, which were really, exquisitely good.

One thing I did correctly was that I went ahead and exercised anyway. So what if I slipped up a bit? My stairclimbing partner and I did even more flights of stairs today. Twenty-two flights, in fact. And we stepped it up a bit -- we did these 22 flights FASTER than we'd climbed the initial 18 flights. That's a victory to celebrate! (We also climbed several sets of three flights, vice the sets of two stairs we were doing the first week of stair climbing.)

And tonight I ate a healthy dinner. Lots of cabbage. Some meat.

I'm recommitting to this effort -- I don't want to plateau here. I don't want to give up at 207. I do want to be healthy and fit. I want to ride my bike down the C&O Canal towpath and laugh about it.

I think to help keep myself on the straight and narrow, I'm going to start keeping a food log. And while I'm at it, I'm going to keep an exercise log as well. There are phone apps for this, and after I finish writing this entry, I'm going to start figuring out which one works best for me. Or I may go old-fashioned, and just find a little pocket notebook.

And tomorrow morning I've got a full day planned: riding my new bike in the morning and then bringing the beagles for a long walk in the afternoon. In between and following, healthy meal choices.

One meal at a time!

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Choosing a Bike

One of the reasons why I started this fitness journey is so that I can eventually bike the entire length of the C&O Canal, all 184 miles of it, in a four-day journey.

But other than riding bikes at various resorts, I've not been on a bicycle, and not seriously ridden, for more than 20 years. My old road bike had been given away years ago. If I wanted to do this, I was going to start over.

I asked a friend who bikes a lot, but bikes in the kinds of places I want to -- paved or gravel paths, mostly flat -- for advice. Mountain biking reeks of hills and dales and for now, that's too daunting to consider. Road bikes seem to imply an interest in going on a century rides. And sharing the roads with angry and aggressive drivers who have the law of tonage on their side frankly scares me. Nope, it's bike paths and rails-to-trails for me. She recommended a hybrid. I started doing some research, first about hybrids. Then I began considering a comfort bike, given my age, fitness level, and some chronic problems (lower back pain and a pinched nerve).

A little research uncovered three bikes to consider within my price range (less than $500 for the bike itself, and no more than $650 with accessories, such as a rack, a bag, bell, helmet, etc.):

The Trek Pure Lowstep

I'd already named the bike: I was going to call it the Mint Julep.

The Trek Verv I

The Electra Townie

I couldn't find a local bike shop that carried the Trek Pure Lowstep. That was a shame, because of course, that's the one I had decided I really wanted. It seems like a cross between the Verve hybrid and the Electra Townie. The reviews I'd read about it were all positive.

So I was back to considering two bikes: I figured I'd make up my mind when I test rode them. Although several bike shops offered these two bikes, on a warm day last week that foreshadowed the arrival of spring, I headed for the one where the employees didn't dismiss my desire to try the Townie out of hand: Mt. Airy Bikes.

I felt cramped on the Verve -- there didn't seem to be enough room between the seat and the handle bars. That was a first impression. The second impression was that the seat hurt, but they said that's easily changed.

Then I tried the Townie. And suddenly, I felt like a little girl again, riding in the street in front of my house. I liked that I could stand flat-footed while still seated -- that would be good for my photography (especially for my other blog). I also like the position of the handle bars, and the crank-forward design for pedaling. I decided to take it on a longer test ride, and the bike shop suggested a 1.5 mile loop. I headed off and encountered my first walk of shame! Just out of sight of the bike shop, I started walking the bike up the hill. At the top I got back on and continued the test ride, and began falling in love.

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to ride a bike! And even the late winter scenery looked really nice, since for once I wasn't seeing it from inside a car.

Another customer at the bike shop commented as I rode back in that my smile couldn't be bigger. Bike sold!

The rest of the story is: of course, I took the bike out for a quick spin the next morning. My home sits at the top of a big hill. I zoomed down that (I felt a little out of control -- I'm hoping that comfort with speed will develop). Then I hit the flat part and began pedaling. I shifted to a lower speed. Then I hit a slight incline -- one I barely notice when walking or driving. It was 40 degrees out at 7 a.m. that Sunday morning. My thighs started aching. I started wheezing in the cold air (note to self: please bring your inhaler next time!!). Barely a mile away from the house and I suddenly realize how hard (and fun) this was going to be.

The good news is, I'm already planning some bike-riding adventures, for both blogs!

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Reviewing "Diet Foods"

I've begun food shopping differently since I've started this journey, so today I'm trying something a little different: I'm going to "review" some frozen meals I've bought lately and some snacks I found at Target.

I'm always on the look out for snacks that can replace the snacks I'm really addicted to -- you know, the high fat, high calorie, highly sweetened yummy yums that have made me look the way I do today. Since starting the journey, I've primarily snacked on nuts (handy in those 100-calorie packs and Greek yogurt, well as "fresh" veggies (baby carrots, snap peas) and fruit (bananas, pears, pineapple fruit cups), and the occasional Hersey's kiss. I'm always looking for ways to insert a vegetable into my routine, so when I saw freeze-dried vegetables at Target the other day, I grabbed one of each: green peas, sweet corn, and salted edamame.

The bags all proclaim, vaguely, that it counts as either 1 or 1.5 vegetable servings  -- I guess referring to the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables (I guess -- there's no way to know for sure). The benefit of eating fresh fruits and vegetables are the nutrients. I'm not a nutritionist, and my internet research only yielded the vague statement that "Fresh fruits and vegetables contain a vast array of essential vitamins and minerals, and portions of these nutrients are not lost in the freeze-drying process." Therefore, I really don't know whether the benefits of these freeze dried veggie snacks are worth the calories, and whether these are more or less empty calories (not sure if the fiber and protein offset that). I guess that's determined by whether eating a serving of these might substitute for a more useless snack, such as cookies or candy (although really, there is no substitute for chocolate).

I tried all three. Let's start with the freeze-dried green peas. First of all, you have to love peas to even want to try these (I do). The taste is pretty similar to what a serving of peas from a frozen package would taste like. There's no sodium in these, and they are just slightly sweet -- maybe even sweet enough to satisfy a craving for something sweet.

1 serving

For an almost 3/4 cup serving, there's just 110 calories, 7 g fiber (so a nice way to add some fiber to your diet) and 7 g protein, and by eating these you've supposedly eaten a 1.5 vegetable/serving. There's zero sodium, zero saturated fat, and zero trans fat.

1 serving, in a snack-sized bag

The texture takes some getting used to at first -- the peas are very light and flakey almost, and then crunch quite satisfyingly. Overall, I enjoyed eating the freeze-dried peas, and I'll probably be adding these as an option, maybe as a mid-afternoon snack or as a supplement to lunch. (I should probably clarify that I pretty much eat all I want of fruits and vegetables, but that approach may not work with the freeze-dried version.)

On to the sweet corn. The freeze-dried sweet corn was delicious! Not as good as eating fresh corn on the cob, of course, but then, there's also not the butter or salt that I'd add to the corn on the cob either. The freeze-dried corn is definitely sweeter than the freeze-dried peas, so might go a long way to taking the edge off of a sweet craving. But be forewarned: this won't satisfy a hungering for popcorn.

The freeze-dried corn is 120 calories for a 3/4 cup serving, and can count as 1 vegetable serving. There's zero sodium, zero trans fat, and almost zero (0.5 g) saturated fat. The corn provides only 3 g fiber -- not as much as either the edamame or peas, and just 4 g protein. For the calories, the peas are a better choice. However, this would be an interesting and colorful addition to a healthy salad.

1 serving freeze-dried sweet corn

The texture of the corn was okay -- soft enough to easily eat, but still crunchy. There isn't anything hard about this corn -- easy to crush between your fingers. I almost felt like I needed to get a fork or spoon -- it felt odd to eat these with my fingers.

The freeze-dried salted edamame was interesting. I like edamame in small quantities, so perhaps a whole serving of the stuff is a bit much for me, personally.

The edamame, like the corn, is 120 calories for a 1/2 cup serving -- less bulk, but more satisfying, because that 1/2 cup serving also includes 12 g protein, although a disappointing 4 g fiber. Also like the corn, it only promises to count as 1 serving of vegetable. The downside to this one is that it also contains a whopping 220 mg sodium, which doesn't seem like much, but in a time where we're being advised to reduce sodium in our diets, finding a source for another healthy serving of it isn't going to help out. The freeze-dried edamame also contains 1 g saturated fat, but 0 g trans fat.

Like the corn, I think I might add it to salads, to add interest and texture. (I build salads haphazardly, throwing in left-over veggies, hard-boiled eggs if I have those on hand, canned beans, nuts or seeds (including chia seeds), and often mixing in fruit like blueberries or strawberries, if I have those available.)

So give these a try, if they tempt you after reading this, and let me know what you think!

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Setting Goals

To be honest, I didn't have very specific goals when I started the weight loss challenge at the end of January, and this blog a week or so later. I vaguely wanted my clothes to fit better and not wince whenever I looked in the mirror. And hey, if I can somehow "get more energy" that would be great, too.

Then I started the blog and took a hard look at myself in the photo I included on the first blog entry. Yikes!

But still I couldn't quantify any goals, until all of a sudden, last Friday morning after weighing in and losing 2 pounds, despite some slip ups on the diet side, I knew what I wanted. I think, looking back, that why I realized at that time what my real goals are was because I was feeling good about myself and this whole effort -- I knew I could do it!

It gelled during a conversation with a friend who's also participating in the weight loss challenge at work.

She was feeling a bit discouraged because she hasn't lost very much yet, and we got to discussing via texting how well we'd done that week, which led to what goals we had. I thought a minute, then texted: First I want to get down to 190 by June, then 160 by December.

She responded: I'm aiming to drop 10 lbs by June.

But pounds and ounces are almost meaningless to me. What does being that weight DO for me? I wasn't satisfied with the goals I'd just set. I thought some more, and then texted: But I'm really aiming to be able to walk up 12 flights of stairs in one go, go on a 6-mile strenuous hike easily; and lift 55 lbs without struggling. Those are my real goals.

What she said next summed it all up, and as I then told her, wrote this blog for me. She said: I'm really beginning to see that the key is writing it down and sharing our goals, because it really holds us accountable. I'm back on track.

So do that. Figure out what it is you really want out of this effort. Better fitting clothes? More energy? The ability to walk all day without pooping out? To run that 5k race next September? Whatever -- just set your goal. Write it down in a notebook somewhere, as a promise to yourself (I'm writing it here in this blog). In fact, I'd love to hear what your goal is!

I know it's not so simple as that. We have to back up our goals with action. If I want to walk up 12 flights of stairs in one go, then I start at 2 flights per set (last week) and build up to it (this week I'm able to do two sets of 3 flights, followed by sets of 2 flights). But at least it helps if you know where you want to be. Then it's just a matter of figuring out how to get there. Hard work in the future, to be sure. But the pathway there makes sense, now you know where you're going.

Based on my goals, I know the basics of my plan: I need to start some weight training (hey, I can start with those resistance bands). Cardio's important, for stamina and endurance. And that stair climbing I started last week? That'll have to continue.

We'll see how this goal setting works.

(I apologize in advance to my sister, who had asked me, when starting this blog, to please not be perky and too optimistic. She wants me to keep this real. I'm trying!)

I'd love to hear what your goals are -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Climbing Stairs

My friend inadvertently helped me understand one of the best ways to seek better fitness: find partners.

Not just one, but several.

My husband is my weight-lifting partner. Kimberly is my stair-climbing partner. Barb is my dog-walking, day-tripping, and bike-riding partner. Plus I have a whole dieting support network of my weight loss challenge team (which includes my husband and Barb) plus several other colleagues (participating on competing teams) who also are trying to lose weight and become better fit. There are several friends, including my sister, who share good low-fat or healthful recipes and other healthy living tips with me, so in a way, they're partners too.

In the opening blog in this series I mentioned the terrible feeling of climbing two flights of stairs and arriving at the top feeling winded and defeated. Now I feel like I've conquered the stairs, although I still have a long way to go. On Tuesday, I accepted Kimberly's invitation to climb the stairs with her, with some hesitation (because oh-my-god I can barely get up two flights of stairs, how in heck am I going to make it up all 12 flights?). I surprised myself -- we climbed 18 flights. And it was -- no, not exactly easy -- but very doable.

I wouldn't have believed it if you'd told me Tuesday morning that I would climb 18 flights of stairs that day.

Here's how we did it: We started on the 2nd floor for

 no other reason than that's the floor my office is on. We climbed two flights, then briskly walked around the building to catch our breath, then climbed two more flights... rinse and repeat. We did that all the way up to the 12th floor, then turned around and walked down to the basement. At that point, my legs were beginning to feel like jello, so we decided to walk up a flight, then walk around the floor, walk up another flight, etc. And we did that until the 7th floor.

I'm not a big fan of sweating -- especially not in my work outfits (dress pants and a pretty top), but it was worth it. It took close to 40 minutes, during which I could feel my heart pounding. (I was late to meeting Kimberly, so I had to race from my office to the agreed-upon meeting place, which in effect served as an excellent leg-stretching aerobic warm-up (I am so trying not to imagine what I looked like as I strode down the hallway). On the way back, I tried to stretch out my tired legs and took long strides, but slower, to cool down.

I suggested we next stair-climb on Thursday, but she challenged me: "Why not tomorrow?" Ummmm..... really I had no answer for this. Why not? So we did, even though my calves ached. And we climbed again on Thursday. And again today...  Instead of every other day, we've agreed to try to do this every day we're at work.

Which was good, because honestly, I was worried about this week's weigh-in. Valentine's Day weekend, several snow days, and a birthday dinner later, and I suddenly realized I'd consumed almost half a pizza, too much Chinese take-out, some chocolates (damn those Hersey's kisses!) and birthday cake and ice-cream. Uh oh!! What happened to that diet? (Any one of those things and no problem. All in the space of four days? That's a problem.) I needed the exercise boost to help regain my fitness/diet initiative and steady my wavering resolve (that chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream was amazingly delicious!). The new number is 209.2. (I'm trying not to think of how many more pounds I would have lost without all that indulging.)

There's room for improvement, although even after a couple of days doing this, I find myself better able to move up those stairs. Do more consecutive flights of stairs, climb them faster, climb more... That'll come, I feel confident. Next week we're aiming for three flights of stairs at a time. In time, I'll build up to Barb's ability to climb six flights at a time.

So in addition to discovering I could climb 18 flights of steps, I discovered something else: having a partner to prod and challenge me helped. It went faster because we chatted along the way. And I did more because I didn't want to totally cop out on my friend.

Finally, when I got back to my office Tuesday, my office-mate offered me a slice of very tempting peanut-butter cake, in celebration of another colleague's birthday.

After 18 floors, I simply wasn't interested (although I did say happy birthday to the colleague).

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Winter Walking

My two blogs are converging here and so some, but not all, of the content will be similar for those who follow my blog on day trips in the mid-Atlantic region (MidAtlanticdaytrips. blogspot.com); in fact, it was the blog about Winter Walking that planted the idea for the Journey to the Land of Fit blog. This blog is about winter walking and the benefits of walking in cold weather.

Nothing compares to the crisp, clean air of winter and the magnificent view of a snowy landscape -- sometimes offering quite a nice surprise from the scenes you are more used to.

A couple of weeks ago, a warmer than usual day beckoned the beagles and I outside. There are those who preach the outdoor winter gospel, but I am an admitted fair-weather wimp. However, I've been reading up on the benefits of winter walking, and I've learned that outdoor walking in cold air benefits your bones, mood and waistline.

First of all -- there're our emotions. Many of us get slightly depressed in the winter -- the shorter days, more time spent indoors; those who suffer this more severely have what's now referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. According to an article by Martin Downs, MPH on WebMD, although winter depression remains a mystery to scientists who study it, it's characterized by acute sensitivity to light, or the lack of it. Many studies have shown that people with seasonal affective disorder feel better after exposure to bright light. According to WebMD, timing is important as well. It's not only a matter of getting light, but also getting it at the right time.

Researchers are still trying to figure out the contributors to SAD. Many things, including brain chemicals, ions in the air, and genetics seem to be involved. Some believe SAD is due to a "phase-shift" of the circadian rhythm. The wall clock may tell you it's time to get up and start your day, but your body's internal clock says you should be resting.

Ice still floated on the bay, and offered a view of the bay I'd never seen before.

Winter walking isn't a cure -- I'm not claiming that. All I'm suggesting is that it can help us beat those winter doldrums. (If you believe you suffer from SAD, please consult with your physican for real medical advice.) Sunlight and just being outdoors can do wonders for lifting your mood. Studies have shown that women who took a brisk, outdoor walk for 20 minutes daily had better mood, higher self-esteem and an improved sense of well-being at the end of the eight-week study. Even on cloudy and overcast days, your mood can benefit from exposure to sunlight. A deficiency in Vitamin D has been linked to an increase in headaches in the fall and winter. Midday light, especially, provides Vitamin D to help boost your limbic system, the emotional center of the brain. And there is something so healing about connecting with nature, even if it’s covered in snow.

If you have dogs, winter walks helps keep them from going stir crazy from being cooped up in the house. I have beagles -- and have learned that a tired beagle is a happy beagle, and tired beagles make for a happier me.

Winter walking has an added benefit. According to an article published in The Washington Post (by Bahar Gholipour and Live Science, Published: January 27; http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/cold-air-may-help-you-lose-weight-by-making-your-body-burn-calories-to-keep-warm/2014/01/27/c1e75170-8462-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html) cold air may help me lose the pounds. The article asserts that regular exposure to mildly cold air may help people lose weight by increasing the amount of energy their bodies have to expend to keep their core temperature up. In fact, researchers are starting to believe that our ability to control the temperature may be partly responsible for America's increased obesity rates.

In other words, warm, cozy offices and homes may not be ideal places for those who want to lose weight. In fact, being able to control the ambient temperature might be partly responsible for the rise in obesity rates in industrial societies.

In fact, walking in a winter wonderland can help you burn calories and make up for some of that recent holiday excess. Outdoor walking through the park or around the neighborhood on a cold day won’t burn any more calories than walking on a warm summer day, but walking in snow will. You expend more energy because it’s harder to move your feet in the snow, and you lift your legs a little higher. I tried this after last week's winter storm -- I walked where the sidewalks SHOULD have been, had they all been shoveled. After just 1 mile, I was tired. Another mile later and I was uber grateful for the comfort of my couch. I curled up with a cold glass of water and enjoyed being a couch potato for a while.

Winter walking can keep your old bones strong. Like bears, people tend to hibernate during the winter and, as a result, get too little sunlight. That's too bad for bones. Sun exposure triggers vitamin D production in the skin, and bones need the “sunshine vitamin” to make the body absorb bone-strengthening calcium properly. Not getting outside during winter months slows down production and decreases the body’s store of vitamin D. Going for a winter walk and getting 15 minutes of sun on your face and hands two to three times per week should suffice for getting enough sun for vitamin D production.

Whether the weather is warm or slightly frosted, most hiking trails remain open. And as I discover on walks on two consecutive weekend days on two different local trails, the squirrels and birds still frolic. We saw evidence of fox (paw prints in the snow) and other furry woodland creatures. We also saw a flock of red-breasted robins, which I thought unusual (not that I know much about birds).

Any trip into the outdoors, even a day hike or a gentle walk, requires keeping an eye on the weather forecast. If there's a storm coming, then wait, unless you go prepared for every contingency.The tips below aren't meant for the serious winter weather hiker -- or anything more than a mile or two walk on a day almost guaranteed to be pleasant.

• Always check the weather and trail conditions;
• Prepare for the worst conditions;
• Dress according to the weather; 
• Dress in layers that you can peel off or layer back on;
• Don't forget a hat and gloves -- if it gets too warm to wear, you can always shove them into a pocket! 

So wave to me when you see me walking! (I'll probably have a beagle or two with me!)

Originally I'd thought I could generate enough material for three-times a week fitness blog. I'm not so sure, so for now, I'm aiming for two-times a week: Tuesdays and Sundays.

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Taking Inventory

Preparation is going to be essential to my success on this journey. Yeah, I know, I've already started, but I think I need to figure out what I've got, what I'll need, what I'm going to do with what I've got, and what my goals are. I'd like to focus on what I have already (minus the bicycle that's already a planned but future purchase) and see whether I can make beneficial use of these items.

So, taking inventory of items I've already got in the house that could help:

• 4 resistance bands, 3 still in the original package (can't remember when I bought them but now I'm glad I have them.)
• 1 yoga DVD (not dusty); 1 pilates DVD, dusty 
  
• 1 stair-stepper, dusty
• 1 recumbent stationary bike, primarily used as temporary clothes hanger so not dirty, but not used overmuch either
• 12 flights of stairs at work
• 1 gym membership at work
• 3 slightly different-looking resistance bands, not in original packaging. I dimly recall trying these once, after I read the article "The $10 Weight Loss Trick," published in the June 2002 Good Housekeeping. I know this because the article is still neatly folded up in the mesh bag that conveniently holds the resistance bands, which are dusty
• assorted pairs of dumbbells in weights ranging from 5 to 15 pounds,very dusty
• 211 pounds (going in the right direction) (I usually weigh myself Friday mornings at work; however, because of the winter weather, this was Wednesday's weight)
• 3 dogs that enjoy long walks

I'd purchased the dumbbells during the 2 years I actually went to the gym three or four times a week and started weight training, successfully I might add, until I injured my:

• right rotator cuff (shoveling snow); 
• knees (squats in a squat machine with pretty heavy weights -- I was squatting 160  pounds and >500 pounds in leg press); and 
• back (those squats again). 

That experience proved to me I could really enjoy the pursuit of fitness -- I loved it when one day at Home Depot I swung a 55 pound bucket of ice melt into the car like it was nothing -- but the injuries I incurred was the start of my theory that exercise is the root of all evil. (This theory further reinforced when a friend of mine broke her knee cap jumping up and down off a stool -- she's a cross fit queen, actually -- she's in her late 30s but looks like she's 20...) The knee and back injuries are resolved, although currently I'm still dealing with a  pinched neck nerve and my right arm hurts as if the rotator cuff is still damaged, although my doc and physical therapist believe it's the result of the pinched nerve (for which they put my head into traction and forcibly stretched my neck, not unlike the rack of the days of torture gone by. Who says that torture is no longer condoned?) 

I believe I'll be most successful if I increase my fitness by incorporating it into my daily life, by making it routine. But no one -- least of all me -- will stick to a routine that's not fun and rewarding -- so I'm going to start with what I already enjoy doing. I have the tools already -- plus a gym membership. There are no more excuses!

I am going to eat the fitness elephant one bite at a time. Incremental changes are the way to go, a strategy suggested by a Washington Post article my sister sent to me in January (http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/12-months-to-a-fitter-you/2013/12/31/2d74abf8-7244-11e3-8def-a33011492df2_story.html). The article provides a monthly calendar of ways to add activity for overall fitness, and it's worth a read.

Goal 1: start light weight training -- for toning, versus strength training, since that's how I hurt myself the last time. I'm going to start with the resistance bands and do some of the leg exercises until I consult with my physical therapist about upper body exercises (I really don't want to exacerbate any injury to my right shoulder/upper arm). These I can do while watching TV -- so hoooray, I get to keep my TV-watching hobby, just not always from the couch! I will keep a log of the exercises I do, how many sets and reps. What worked well for me before was doing three sets of 20 reps. With a light weight, it'll invoke muscle burn (but not pain), and I can gradually increase the weight as my muscles become stronger. The plan is to do the toning routine every other day. At some point I'll swap out the resistance bands for the dumbbells.

Goal 2: More challenging with winter weather and fair-weather beagles, but worth committing to is giving the beagles a good walk every evening -- and by good I mean walking briskly two miles or more. A tired beagle is a happy beagle -- so it's good for them as well as me. Plus, it'll help us all keep our sanity -- a bored beagle is a beagle looking for trouble, and although not the brightest breed out there, they're smart enough to find trouble, every time. Because I'm not a runner, never have been, walking is my exercise of choice, for now. Since I was a young teenager I enjoyed leashing up a dog and going for a long walk. On days when it's unlikely I'll be able to fit in a walk after work, I'll walk at work, on a route that is just shy of two miles. There are many benefits of walking outside during the winter, which I'll explore in Sunday's post.

As I proceed along this journey, I'll keep tabs on and report back about what's working and what's not, what I stick with and what just isn't making sense for me. 

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit

Starting

I feel like such a cliche. I am a middle-aged woman, considered to be medically obese. My species runs wild through the malls and grocery stores and byways of middle-class, suburbia America.

When I look into the mirror I see reflected back a conglomerate image of me from younger years, with a little bit of homecoming teen queen thrown in for good measure -- I see the ideal me, the me I could be (or could have been -- I think I'm a few years older now). When I accidentally catch a glimpse of myself unawares, it's always a shock. Is that really me? I once dropped a glass, shattering it, when I caught of glimpse of my naked backside in a mirror.

So it's time to do something about this. I joined a weight loss challenge at work with some friends and colleagues on 27 January. My first weigh in was 217.2. I am just over 5'6". Ten years ago when I weighed only (ha - only!!) 180 lbs, my former mother-in-law looked down her thin nose at me. Since then I've ditched the negative former in-laws and ex-husband, but gained nearly 55 pounds (during the divorce my weight dived down to 165). I'd love to weigh 165 again. Hells bells, I'd love to weigh 180 lbs again! I'm on my way: last Friday I weighed in at 212.6.

I haven't chosen a diet (not sure I need to) and I haven't started counting calories. I simply cut out the cookies and the second helpings.

I have two sons of my own, who live with me, and two stepsons, who no longer don't. Two beagles and a hound mix. A husband I love (but who's also overweight). Oh -- and I have loads of dusty exercise equipment!

I exercise almost not at all, but that's about to change. As of this morning, I can climb two flights of stairs and arrive winded. I work in a building with 12 floors (if I start from the basement). So one of my goals in the next 6 months is to walk all the way up.

Last year I decided I wanted to hike or bike ride the entire length of the C&O Canal in Maryland. And because I still want to do this 8 months later, I'm purchasing a bike and returning to a hobby of 20+ years ago to do just that. But I can't at this weight and fitness level -- if I want to do this, things will have to change.

So why this blog, where there are so many others similar?

The reason is entirely personal: blog = weight-loss aid. I find writing a blog motivating (see my other blog: MidAtlanticDaytrips.blogspot.com). I find I do things because I can write about them. So if I blog about my journey to the Land of Fit maybe I'll follow through a little more on the diet and exercise.

I'd love it if you join the journey, share your tips and experiences and successes with me and anyone else who's reading along. Regardless, I'm throwing my fitness life "out there," for all to read about. I'm committing to this for about 6 months and then I'll evaluate. Have I made any progress? Do I have any readers? Along the journey I'll share tips I've learned and the pitfalls I've encountered, and anything else that seems interesting and worth including in the blog.

To get started, here's my "before" photo.

I must confess. I took one look at this photo and leashed up a beagle to take him for a brisk 20-minute walk. He enjoyed it, and I got a little exercise in the late afternoon winter sun.

I've started!

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

Look for Journey to the Land of Fit on Facebook: facebook.com/JourneytotheLandofFit