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