Building Up By Listening Deeply

In Training

When you are in training for something, you are building up. It requires a balance between deeply respecting the place that you begin from and creating a bridge to get to the place where your goal is.

If you don't deeply respect the place that you begin from, you will not get to your goal, or, if you do, you will, by working against your body, get there without the balance and grace of working with your body.

When you are working with a grace and awareness of where your body is -now- the journey is different in really healthy and nourishing ways. You are loving yourself along the way, not just at the end after traumatizing the body into it.

Image: Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-19650-0017 / CC-BY-SA Courtesy of WikiMedia.org /http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-19650-0017,_Leipzig,_DHfK,_Stabhochsprung.jpg


Remember The Power of 12 Minutes.

When I listen to my body, sometimes 12 minutes is all it is up for. Sometimes it is where I begin. But also sometimes that happens in 5 minute increments. Also, some days, what I can do, no matter what I've built up to, can still be 12 minutes,  or 20 minute, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, 35 minutes, 40 minutes, 45 minutes. Wow. That may seem like a lot of possibilities. Good. A lot of possibilities helps me to pay attention to respecting what my body needs, as a minimum, or for what it is willing to stretch into today, and also for where is enough for today.

When I listen to my body, sometimes I need to take two or even three days off during the week. I usually aim for looking at Sundays and Wednesdays as my days off. If I need them, I take them. If I need a lighter day, I take a lighter day. If I am feeling strong and my body wants to move, I go for it. For me, Wednesdays and Sundays are days when I especially listen to the body for its needs for rest or restoration or breath.

(Also, if I've had a very busy day with already too much on my plate or a physically intense day, such as a house cleaning day, or a social day where I am going out river rafting or dancing, etc. that may be enough. If I check in with myself, and hear that I've done enough, I don't add my exercise routine in on top of that. I've done enough. I just did it differently.)

The beauty in this is that, when I listen to my body, when it needs to rest up or lighten up, (or trade off on other activities) and respect that, it gets stronger! I find that by respecting those signals, that I can soon be going further than I ever thought, sooner than I ever thought.

Now I know, establishing a routine IS important. But I believe deeply that a routine is best established slowly in a way that doesn't threaten the body.

I remember, years ago, landing in New York state in the middle of January and deciding to start jogging. I didn't warm up or prepare myself. I went out in sub-zero weather, ran for six miles, tore all my muscles and couldn't move for a week. That was the end of my brilliant new jogging routine. Fini! I burned out before I even got out of the gate.

I've done the same at the gym in the past: signed up, signed on, dragged myself to seven aerobic classes a week and then done nothing but come home and need extra calories and to sleep to recover. I'd simply depleted myself, used up all my calories until I was starved for fuel and too exhausted to do anything else but sleep.

We can add five minutes and establish that for two to four weeks and then, when it is easy and part of our daily routine to do that much, ask the body if it's ready to add five more minutes. I know five minutes at a time seems soooo slow. But it is a perfect way to begin. And it is a perfect way to add on and deepen. And it is respectful to the body.

Listening to the body, letting it guide you as to when it needs to lighten up or when it is ready to go further, higher, longer, stronger is the way to build that bridge so that the body is cooperating with your desire to get there too.

-bbffair

Lighting Up Again: New Beginnings in Exercise After Surgery

Well, once upon a time, I worked with Tracy Anderson's Metamorphosis (and my own healthy eating plan) for 30 days and lost about a bazillion inches and maybe twenty pounds. What a boot camp! Then I hurt myself.

So I regrouped, went back to simple, more respectful, light jogging 30 minutes a day mixed with relaxing 3 mile walks 3-5 times a week and two 20 minute Callanetics workouts a week. I continued  with my great healthy food: Yumm and good for you and great for a fit you. I continued to get into great healthy shape.

But then I got diagnosed with cancer. Oh no. Please. No.

I went on the scared-out-of-my-wits diet, i.e., I couldn't eat and I walked like crazy. I lost another ten to fifteen pounds from stress alone. I do not recommend this as a form of losing weight.

Blue Sky Bulb by Pixomar courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

 

But knowing I was heading back into/towards needing a strong base of health under me, ahead of my surgery, I resumed my once a week Callanetics workout and will add in the second one as I feel stronger. And on the morning of surgery, I jogged 30 minutes just to de-stress as much as I could ahead of my surgery. Yeah. I really did.

It is now four days since my surgery. I've been too tired to walk even. I tried it the day after surgery and my husband practically had to carry me home. But that was just 24 hours after major surgery. I decided sleep was what my body wanted and needed and I've been giving myself plenty of that. But today is my *Tuesday* for Callanetics (I normally like to work this Tuesdays and Saturdays, but have promised myself Tuesdays for now) and four days after surgery so I decided I could do this because it IS gentle enough for even post-surgery.

Afterwards, I felt good enough that I pulled out my new DVD of the new Callanetics cardio to try it out. I did it gently. It was very calming, very respectful, more of a Ballet workout with soothing piano music. It was *perfect* for me as I begin, again, to re-establish my healthy patterns for post-surgery and for pre-radiation treatment. Exercise and eating well will support me in this too.

I'll let you know how it feels over time, but for now, it is a movement forward for my health and my joie de vivre.

-bbffair

My Basic Food Plan

BASIC

My basic food plan is pretty simple. It consists of eating plenty of lean protein, fresh vegetables, and fruit. 

Fruit Juice starts my day.  I might add a protein (eggs, cottage cheese, almond milk, or whole milk in coffee, etc.) to that, but the fruit juice is a must for me. (Some people like a grain, but I am not a big breakfast girl myself.)

Protein is important at every meal, but especially at lunch and dinner. Do not skimp on protein.

(I prefer lean vegetarian protein alternated with lean seafood alternated with lean poultry or eggs, with an occasional indulgence into lean beef. Grass fed and hormone free.)

Fresh Vegetables should be a BIG part of lunch and dinner. I think they are best mixed between raw and steamed or sauteed. Go for colorful, beautiful, life-enriched vegetables.

Fruit as a snack (Think Apple!) or dessert is perfect!

Flavor. Flavor. Flavor. Think smart flavor. There is no such thing as a bad sauce or dip so long as you are smart about it, the ingredients are healthy, and you either keeping it low in calories or adjusted to your daily calorie intake. I love spicy sauces, herb sauces, soups, and healthy flavors to add a bit onto a vegie or to cook with along with my olive oil nonstick spray.  Healthy, good, whole foods should also mean yummy!  My motto:  Eating Right Should Be Delicious!

Lots of water. Lately, I have been in love with Cascade Ice, Organic Lemon Zest and Organic Lemon Lime, that I discovered in the health food section of my local store. (There are other flavors too.) They come in nice plastic bottles that look so fresh visually too and are easy to take with you. They make me feel like I am treating myself as well as quenching my thirst. There is something about pure sparkling lemon or lime waters that feels like a special indulgence and freshens the palate while quenching your thirst. I go walking with them. I keep them in my car for long drives. There are lots of ways to have water! Tea is also good. Some people (me!) LOVE their coffee, but it's not a substitute for water. Just remember that and then go ahead and enjoy it then, but keep it in perspective and count the calories you add to it (I like whole milk with my coffee in the morning!) and still drink your water!

If you are trying to lose weight or are watching it, count your calories. Know what your set-point is for burning.

For me, when I am fine with my weight and my daily exercise is pretty regular, I can eat like this and not worry about watching the calories. This is a healthy eating plan for me. I can occasionally go off it for an indulgence and no problemo. It carries me forward with life and vitality if it is my main program.

However, when I am trying to trim down, I know what I have to do. For me, to lose weight, (I am 5' 6-1/2"), that means, if I am doing my daily 30 minute cardio, I can eat between 1200 and 1700 calories a day ( I end up with a daily average around 1400-1500 usually) and still lose weight.  If I am unable to do the cardio (like this last week when I've had to work around a neck sprain/strain) I try to be more conscious of keeping the calories slightly lower (about 200 less a day) than when I am able to work out daily.

Note: that especially watching your calories before an "event" or "holiday" helps average an indulgence day out before it happens too.

Important: Eat when you are hungry, best at the first sign. Ask yourself: what am I hungry for?  If you keep a well-stocked kitchen and fridge (see my grocery lists) , it should be easy to go for the right hungry choices.

Eat as much as you need to feel satisfied, then stop. Not before you are satisfied, not beyond. Learn to recognize that point. For me, that sometimes means 2 ounces of protein is not enough. I need more protein in my diet to feel right, so maybe at that meal, I need 4 ounces or even 8 ounces. Or maybe more dark greens or a tomato finish. Learn to listen to your body. (So long as you are selecting from the basic good food groups (lean proteins, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruits - and all of these kinds of foods are good for you!), your body is asking for what it really needs to feel balanced and nourished. And if you give your body what it is clearly asking for, that it needs, it will begin to work with you more and more.

Tip: What I like to do is (and this comes naturally to me from listening to my body and my own hunger needs signals, knowing that some days I am really hungry and other days only so-so) alternate bigger calorie dinners with lower calorie dinners giving me satisfying eating experiences that still keep my average daily calorie count in the sweet spot. It really helps and makes you feel like you are never on a diet, but more like you have especially good days in between on-target days.

Hope this is helpful to any of you out there. Keeping to these principles has given me tremendous freedom and is, I believe, a nice way to eat healthy and delicious!

-bbffair