Heart Attack at 90: The Hospital Dilemma

At 4 a.m. on an early Friday morning a few days ago, my 90 year-old mom woke up with chest pains. As instructed by her doctor, she took a nitroglycerin pill and waited for relief. After 15 minutes, she took a second nitro pill, and thankfully the pain began to subside. Later I asked her, on a scale of 1 to 10, what level did she estimate the pain to be and her answer was between 8 and 9. Knowing my mom as a stoic German, I knew she wasn't exaggerating and that her pain was pretty extreme.

Three years ago, she had a couple stents put in her heart and the doctors explained to her at that time that she had blockage in another artery, but they weren't able to put a stent in it. They showed her a picture of her heart and she could see exactly where the blockage was and still is. They warned her of the likelihood that she could suffer a heart attack from the remaining blockage. She suspects that is what happened, that she experienced a mild heart attack.

Like many people, particularly elderly people, she is determined not to go to the hospital unless she absolutely has to. She says if the pain became bad enough, she would go, but other than pain management, she knows there is nothing that can be done for her any more. She has literally had heart problems all her life. As a child she used to pass out for no reason and as an older adult has been under the watchful eye of a cardiologist for years.

She argues that, if she were to go to the hospital they would put her on morphine and oxygen and slap on a nitro patch. They'd hook her up to some machines, like an i.v and other monitors. They'd probably insert a catheter, just because. And then they would run a bunch of tests and suggest she have an angiogram, which she would refuse. They would wake her up every hour to take blood or check this or monitor that, which would rob her of the rest she needs.

At age 90, she has decided that she doesn't want to have any more tests done and she definitely won't have any more procedures done. She doesn't want any more stents, no angioplasty and says open heart surgery is out of the question. All four of her kids support her decision and agree that, at this point, she can recover better at home than in a hospital.

She slept almost all day that Friday, but she got up on Saturday morning, had a light breakfast and took a shower. She played with her cat, Holly, and watered her plants. She "puttered" around a little while, then laid back down and slept. She spent most of the day resting, but did get up and do a few things as well. She had no pain, but still had a sense of fullness and pressure in her chest and her left shoulder and arm were bothering her. Sunday, she spent a little more time up and about, but took it pretty easy and laid down frequently. Her shoulder and arm felt better, but she said she was still breathless and got winded easily. She sat outside on her deck in the sun and enjoyed some fresh air.

On Monday and Tuesday she said she's feeling pretty good. After you have experienced an 8 to 9 level of pain, it's all relative, I think. She still has some pain, but it is relieved with half of a pain pill. She gets outside and walks up and down her driveway, which is pretty long. She used to do 10 laps, but now admits that just one lap wears her out. She knows something has happened and that her body is not the same as it was, but she realizes she must keep going and I admire her determination.

Today is Wednesday and she has been checking into her long-term care policy to see what it covers and if it's time to consider assisted-living. Ironically she's probably still too healthy. My brother lives next door to her, so help is very close at hand. She has a device she wears like a necklace that has a button she can push any time if she needs help. In addition, if she falls and can't push the button, the device has a sensor that notifies the screening company, who will then call family members.


She has her ducks in a row, so to speak. She is trying to find a necklace to hold her nitro pills so they are always handy. It is so impressive the way she takes charge of the few things that remain in her control. I should start recording some of our conversations because they are filled with pearls of wisdom that I want to remember. Some of the things she says are just priceless. Things like, "I think I'm going to have to stop raking." She has always loved to rake and it has provided her with good exercise, but those days are over. She also said, " I'm not dying! I'm going to be fine. In my mind I can do anything!"


She has encouraged family members to continue with their lives and their plans. She doesn't want to inconvenience anyone or cause too much of a disruption in our lives. Always thinking of others. This incident happened right as Jack and I were planning a vacation. When I told her we were struggling with the thought of leaving her, not knowing for sure if she's okay, she responded in true fashion. "Oh heavens," she said. "Of course you should take your vacation. You and Jack work so hard and you need time away. You can't live your life in fear of what may or may not happen. I want you to take a big sigh of relief and book that trip. Mom's gonna be fine."

But back to the hospital dilemma, my family saw my dad die on July 27, 1988, in the hospital after heart surgery, hooked up to machines with a huge scar running down his chest and his legs. If my mom wants to avoid that scenario, we all can certainly understand why and we will all do our part to support that decision.

Listen to Your Doctor: Is that Good Advice?

Should you listen to your doctor if they advise you not to exercise? Is your physician giving you good advice when they tell you to skip the strength training? I've been wanting to write this article for awhile, but it sounds so controversial for me to suggest that anyone should not listen to their doctor that I have hesitated. I'm afraid I could go off on some kind of Dennis Miller rant, for those of you who remember him from Saturday Night Live. At the very least, I want you to have the facts and decide for yourself.

On more than one occasion, I've heard someone say that their doctor has advised them against exercising, particularly strength training. My first reaction is to wonder if their doctor really said that. How could a doctor be so irresponsible as to actually tell a patient not to exercise. Surely the person had heard incorrectly or perhaps they heard what they wanted to hear. It doesn't take much of an excuse for most people to avoid exercise and if their doctor said anything that slightly resembled skipping exercise, many people would grab a hold of that and not let go. When quizzing them further, however, it has become clear to me that some doctors are, in fact, advising patients not to exercise, for one reason or another.

Many doctors know shockingly little about exercise, muscles and the benefits of strength training. With all due respect to the medical community, because exercise is out of their scope of practice, they tend to downplay its importance. Many times, rather than prescribing exercise, they suggest rest or at most, recommend walking. The body is designed to move, though, so rarely is inactivity the healthier choice and walking is not enough to maintain muscle and strength. Sedentary lifestyles are the cause of numerous health problems. Perhaps one part of your body may need to be rested or perhaps your exercise program needs to be modified to accommodate illness or disease. Unlike doctors, personal trainers are experts at exercise, muscles and strength training and can easily adapt your program to fit your body's needs and help you safely maintain muscle and strength.

Refraining completely from exercise will simply result in muscular atrophy and wasting that can start a vicious downward spiral that includes weakness, lack of energy and weight gain. But I'm just a personal trainer, what do I know?

Online Personal Training: The Future of Fitness, Part 2

Online personal training is becoming popular as a valid choice in our busy, financially-strapped, high-tech society. Taking the personal training relationship from "in-person" to "on-line" has some advantages and benefits. Is online personal training right for you? It may not be the answer in every case, but it is worth considering if you are interested in hiring a personal trainer. Online personal training is affordable, effective and convenient. It can be the answer for people who are desperate to lose weight and get in better shape.


Affordability is the number one advantage of online personal training versus traditional in-person training. The cost of hiring a trainer for in-person sessions can be a luxury that many people legitimately cannot afford. Minimally, one hour, twice a week, with a trainer who charges a $40 an hour, will cost you almost $350 a month, and many trainers and clubs charge much more than that. That is just not in the budget for many people these days. I get that. My online personal training programs average around $49.99 per month.



Online personal training can be just as effective, if not more effective, at helping you lose weight and get in shape. Traditional in-person training usually involves spending just two or three hours a week with a personal trainer. The problem is, there are another 154 hours, or 22/7, left in the week for you to undo all the benefits of the two hours spent with the trainer. With the power of the Internet and mobile technology, as your online personal trainer, I can be in touch with you every day. Communicating is so easy with this program that I can "be with you," so to speak, 24 hours a day.

You can obtain lasting results by using online personal training because it teaches you self-reliance. Sometimes in-person training relationships can result in a client becoming dependent on the trainer. Unless the trainer is physically present, telling the client exactly what to do, the client won't exercise. This can ultimately become counter-productive because in the long-term, you need to be able to rely on you, not your trainer, to make you exercise. My online personal training program taps into and cultivates your independent spirit and therefore promotes lasting results.

For more information, click on www.wellnessengine.com/beckymillerfitness

Online Personal Training: The Future of Fitness

The Internet has transformed our world in unimaginable ways. Anything and everything you want to know is available to you in the click of a mouse. What if health and fitness were also available to you in the click of a mouse? What if you could have virtual access to your personal trainer via texts and emails 24/7? If we put the power of the Internet and the other gadgets in our high-tech world to work for us in our quest for health and fitness, we would have some powerful weapons in our arsenal. That's what my online personal training program offers you.

For a low monthly fee, you will receive weekly workout programs that are custom designed just for you and your unique needs. These workout programs will be prepared by me, personally. Depending on the type of package you purchase, accountability and nutritional guidance are also available. Most people need the accountability feature. Let's face it! We're too easy on ourselves, so we need to be accountable to someone else in order to be successful. After you complete your workouts, you will report back to me, giving me feedback so I can adjust your workout program accordingly.

Workout programs include strength training, cardiovascular conditioning and stretching assignments and are based on the equipment you have available and the amount of time you can devote to the program. In addition to workouts and accountability, you also receive lots of motivation, encouragement, guidance, tips and nagging! I'll be in your ear, so to speak, every day, helping you make healthy decisions and ensuring you reach your fitness goals.

Online personal training is the future of fitness. Wouldn't it be helpful if you were dragging-ass and thinking about skipping your workout, to receive a text message from your trainer with just the right words to motivate you or guilt you into making it your best workout ever? Or if you're about to indulge in some unhealthy food choice and you instead you send me a quick SOS text or email. In the future, you'll also be receiving access to my videos and podcasts. I'm also hoping to start Skyping as well!

So, help me take fitness into the 21st century. Check out my online personal training website by clicking here!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Death is Just an Excuse for Gaining Weight

I watch a lot of "reality" shows about weight loss, including "The Biggest Loser", "Heavy" and "I Used To Be Fat." Many times, the people trying to lose weight have some kind of breakdown which involves crying, yelling, revelations about past trauma and supposedly getting to the bottom of the reasons why that person got fat. Many times, the fat person has had a loved one die, which they claim led them to turn to food for comfort. I'm not sure I can buy that as an excuse for gaining weight. People have been dying since the beginning of man. Only in recent history has death become an excuse for weight gain.

The generation prior to The Baby Boomers, those born from approximately 1925 to 1946, were known as either The Lucky Few or The Silent Generation. Prior to that, the generation with birth dates from approximately 1900 to 1924, were known as either The Good Warriors or The G.I. Generation. Folks from these generations experienced just as much death as The Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, but obesity was not a consequence or an excuse.

When I think back on my childhood in the sixties, very, VERY few people were fat. So what's up? Why are people getting fat now because of death when death has been around forever? To me, blaming the death of a loved one for becoming obese is just another example of being a victim. Oh, poor me! My mom died. Or my dad died. Or my child died. Yes, it is sad. Of course the feelings of grief can be enormous and overwhelming, but it does not in any way justify eating mass quantities of food and gaining excessive amounts of fat. I've heard people say that food is their only friend. That's crazy-talk! Food is not a friend. It is simply fuel for the body. If food is their friend, why wasn't broccoli their best friend instead of pizza? Your dog or cat can be a friend, but you wouldn't eat them.

I know first hand the immensity of grief that comes with a loved one dying. My dad died in the hospital after undergoing open heart surgery many years ago and my oldest brother died suddenly, in his sleep, from a massive heart attack several years later. Neither was overweight, but both had heart disease. I felt totally lost after they died. For at least a year after their deaths, I could cry at the drop of a hat, so to speak. I'm sure during this time that I enjoyed eating chocolate. I love chocolate. When I am sad, chocolate tastes extra good and there may have been a few times when I would over-indulge. But.... That doesn't mean that I gorged myself on it or anything else. Nothing ever tastes as good as that first bite. It's all downhill after the first bite, but some people keep eating regardless. Besides, after having too much chocolate, I can definitely count on getting a headache and having my moods spiral out of control, so it didn't take many instances for me to realize it just wasn't worth it.

The bottom line is: I get what it means to want to take the sting out of grief. But turning to food will just keep you wallowing in that grief longer and years later, you will still be feeling the sting because of the weight you have gained. It leads to a downward spiral of turning to food, overeating, gaining weight, feeling bad, turning to food, overeating, gaining more weight, feeling worse, turning to food, gorging, becoming morbidly obese and diabetic, losing all self-esteem. All because you were trying to avoid feeling the pain of your loss.

Instead: Feel the grief. Don't try to avoid the feeling any longer. Feel it, sit with it awhile, cry, experience all of it. Only then will it eventually begin to subside When it does subside, you won't need to turn to food for comfort. You will have found true comfort. If you avoid feeling your grief, and stuff it away, your body will hold onto those feelings and crave some relief from it, causing you to make unhealthy choices.

Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!

Online Personal Training: The Future of Fitness

Do you want to hire a personal trainer, but can't find the right one?

Or can't afford one?

Do you need a fully customized workout program?

And some extra motivation and attention?

Do you want to use technology to get you in shape?

Would you like electronic access to your personal trainer and workout plans 24/7?

And mobile access? 

 Then you've come to the right place. As my client you'll have access to the workouts I design for you in a printed version that you can view from anywhere at anytime. You'll also be able to check your form through the exercise demos and track your weekly exercise routines. Just click a button and the tracking log will be sent directly to me. This is all possible through online training.

There are many benefits to training with me online. For those of you who currently train with me in-person, having access to my website will provide another great way to ensure your success. You'll have access to a huge exercise library so that if you every have any questions about how to do a move, you can just quickly look it up. You'll also be able to read valuable fitness articles and tips. Plus, you can send feedback about all of your workouts with one easy step and stay in daily contact with me, your trainer.

Training with me exclusively online also provides many, many benefits. I'll give you custom workout plans to follow that will show you exactly what you should be doing every week to ensure you are meeting your fitness goals. After your workout, simply complete the detailed workout log and I'll know exactly what you did, how it went and and questions you have. In addition, you can contact me anytime for questions and support. I'll be there for you to ensure your motivation.

Check out my website for pricing and more information!  http://wellnessengine.com/beckymillerfitness

The Other Half of Miller's Fitness - Meet Jack!

Introducing Jack - the other half of Miller's Fitness! I met my husband, Jack, in the gym. Where else? He was on the stair machine and I was in the weight room. Our story has been about fitness ever since. He manages the local gym and is also an ACE-certified personal trainer. To say that he is in great shape is an understatement. Yesterday he ran 4 miles at 6.5 miles per hour. His heart rate peaked at about 140 beats per minute. Thirty seconds after finishing, his heart rate had already dropped back down to 108 beats per minute. Did I mention that he is 57 years old and we live at altitude, about 8,500 feet above sea level? He can run circles around guys half his age and is "strong like bull", as he would say. He is 5' 10" and when we met in 1990, he weighed about 170 pounds. Now he is a svelte 150 and his body fat is in the low-teens.

We live in the mountains of Colorado and our primary source of heat is a woodstove. Every weekend Jack is outside gathering wood on our property. It's free heat, it cleans up our woods and he gets off on playing lumberjack. He'll march up with mountain with his chain saw in hand, find a dead tree that needs to come down and have at it with the chain saw. He cuts the dead tree into 6 -10 foot lengths and carries them back to the house, by hand, thrown over his shoulder. No ATV's here. He carries it all by hand, making 3 - 4 trips up and down, in all kinds of weather.

Last summer, the cedar siding on our house needed to be power-washed and re-stained. You know the rest. Of course, Jack power washed the whole house himself, then hand-brushed on the stain. He tried using a sprayer, but it just didn't do a good enough job for him. So he hand brushed the stain on the entire house. Doing the peak of the house was challenging, but he eventually got it all. I got queasy just watching him on top of the roof. He says the view up there is awesome. I'll take his word for it!

He says that exercise is his therapy. He has saved us thousands of dollars in psycho-therapy costs because he is a disciplined exerciser. He works out his angst and solves his problems while lifting weights and doing cardio. He motivates me and keeps me going when I don't feel like it. I have to stay in shape just to keep up with him! Fitness is the basis of our relationship. When I think of Jack in the years to come, I just have to smile. I envision a strong, yet wiry guy who will still be trying to play with chain saws.                   

7 Anti-Aging Goals: Be a 90-Year Old Rock Star!

I'm fascinated by the aging process. Some people age with strength and grace, while others become frail and bitter. Some maintain their health, but the majority succumb to disease and illness. Over the years, I've learned a few things from strength training my clients and observing friends and family as we age. People can be quick to criticize their own bodies and waste a lot of energy bitching and moaning about every little ache and pain. We take so much for granted about our own bodies, rather than appreciating the miraculous gift we were all given, free of charge, at birth.

But one day, unless we take care of our bodies, the abilities we now take for granted, will begin to disappear. We will begin to lose strength, vitality and mobility. So, in anticipation of my own golden years, I've set some goals for myself. My intention, and part of my 40-year experiment on myself, is to be able to do the following on my 90th birthday.

1.  Get up from the floor! Somewhere along the line, as people age, they lose the ability to get up from the floor. I can't imagine not being able to get up. If you fall and break your leg, that's one thing. But to just not be able to get up from the floor because of pure weakness is not acceptable to me.

2. Squat down and stand back up! As your leg muscles weaken and your knee joints become unhappy, you lose the ability to squat. Who cares, right? Well, that means you can't really see what's on the bottom shelf of the grocery store, you can't squat down to hug your grandkids, and you have lost some of your mobility.

3. Stand for hours! Most old people cannot stand for very long and they are actively looking for a place to sit down. Standing must be very painful or tiring for them. I'm on my feet a lot during the day, but I also sit a lot when I'm typing my pearls of wisdom. Not to be able to stand upright, for an hour, two hours, or as long as I want, is incomprehensible to me.

4  Walk quickly and take long strides! Due to weakness, lack of core strength and balance, as we age our stride gets slower and shorter. I've got short legs, so I practice keeping my stride long. Lunging, especially on the beach, is great for training a long stride.


5.  Stand on one foot! This is all about balance and core strength. When I'm 90, I want to be able to do the Tree Pose with confidence.

What the heck! I don't just want to be fit, I want to be a 90-year old ROCK STAR! Therefore, I'm going to set the bar high with the following:

6.  15# dumbbell bicep curls! Just for fun! How impressive would that be? At 90 years old and pumping out 15# dumbbell curls?

7.  Push-Ups - boy style of course! A 90-year old who can still do boy style push ups would simply ROCK!

These are the first seven things I want to be able to do 40 years from now. I can do them all easily, without thought, at age 50.  I won't take them for granted and, in spite of some aches and pains, I will always remember to be thankful for a healthy, strong body. I'll be less critical of the wrinkles staring back at me and more appreciative of having strong legs to propel me through life.

Let me know your goals! 

No Dessert? Ever? Jack and Jane's Secret

Jack LaLanne is now at the big gym in the sky. At 5'6", 150 pounds, sporting a 30" waist and bulging biceps, Jack was known as the Godfather of Fitness. He was fit long before being fit was cool. In 1936 he opened the nation's first health club and he designed many of the pieces of strength training equipment still used today. He believed in exercising every day and eating healthy at every meal. In fact, in 1929, he gave up eating dessert.

Jane Fonda graced the cover of USA Weekend and at 73 years old, she looks great. She says, "Nothing is more important as you age than staying physically active." At 5'8" and 121 pounds, she credits a super-healthy diet, plenty of exercise including strength training, eight to nine hours of sleep, sex and dancing for staying in shape. All good stuff! She eats "zero trans fats, zero partially hydrogenated oils, and no desserts, period."

I thought it was odd when I read that Jane Fonda had given up desserts. Then the next day, I read the same thing again regarding Jack LaLanne giving up desserts. Think about that. Imagine what it would be like to give up eating dessert forever. I'm not sure I could make that commitment and that seems discouraging. I aspire to live the healthiest life possible, but to eliminate all dessert seems to take some joy out of life. I've noticed that as I age, I'm forced to give up more and more things, but giving up dessert is crossing the line.

Does it sound like I'm a dessert junkie? Well, I'm really not. I gave up eating dessert when I was preparing for a fitness competition without any trouble. I guess I believe that everything is okay in moderation. Eating a dessert once a week is not unhealthy. On the other hand, eating large heavy desserts every day isn't good for your health. Eating one cookie isn't a problem. Eating the whole bag is a problem. It's all about balance.

Don't give up because you're not perfect. Don't throw your hands in the air and say, "Why bother?" You can still get in great shape and live a balanced life. Don't get discouraged by thinking that you must eat absolutely perfectly at every meal or you can't achieve health. I'm a living example of someone in great shape who still enjoys an occasional Snickers bar. And you can bet if I'm on a cruise ship, I'll be checking out the cheese cake and the ice cream bar.

That's not an excuse to go crazy with desserts. Remember, everything in moderation.

Tribute to Jack LaLanne, Godfather of Fitness

Fitness legend Jack LaLanne has passed away at age 96 from respiratory failure cause by pneumonia. According to the Wall Street Journal Blog, he used to say that he couldn't die because it would ruin his image. The ultimate goal, though, isn't to live forever. Instead it's to live a long, healthy, pain-free life and to ensure that the numbers or years allotted to you are of optimal quality. If you reach old age and you are sharp and active up until the very end, you've won the game, so to speak. 

One of the things that intrigued me the most was a quote in the New York Times.  “The doctors were against me — they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive.” Sad, but true. And it still goes on today. I hear stories all the time of doctor's telling their patients to "lay off the weights" or "stick to light cardio". Instead of encouraging exercise and strength training, their first response is usually the opposite.

Thanks Jack, for paving the way and for being a srength-training, weight-lifting pioneer. I'll keep your message alive.

Grocery Store: Friend or Foe?

As a personal trainer, I always recommend to my clients that they prepare their own meals and avoid eating out at restaurants. Of course that means going to the grocery store on a regular basis, usually once or twice a week to keep the pantry stocked with fresh foods. Going to the grocery store used to be a relatively painless undertaking.

Back in the day, grocery stores were mom and pop operations on the neighborhood corner. You could walk down the street and find everything you needed in a small store where everyone knew your name. These days the grocery shopping experience is something entirely different. Huge big-box warehouses stock aisle after aisle of pseudo-food, while giant parking lots hold all the cars. The corner store is likely to be a convenience store that is a giant junk food temptation.

Back in the day, I remember going to Fotia's, the local mom-and-pop corner store. It was probably smaller than the size of my house and the candy bars were kept behind the counter. I remember peering over the counter at the selection and then politely asking Mr. or Mrs. Fotia for the Hershey's bar and handing them a dime. Ah, the good old days!

Now when I make the trek to the grocery store, the first obstacle is the parking lot and hoping for a close-up spot, which is still about a half a football field away from the front door. No big deal in the summer, but in the winter where I live, it matters. As I walk in, I start putting my blinders on, so to speak, because as soon as I enter the big-box, I know my senses will be flooded with sweet temptations.

On the days when I'm on a mission to just get in and out of the grocery store quickly, I put my head down and ignore the candy display on my left and the pastries on my right. I don't look up to see the donuts approaching and I politely decline the offer of a free chocolate chip cookie from the guy in the bakery. I'll be cruising along and at the last second look up to see I'm about to crash into a display of something chocolate that has been cleverly placed in the center of the aisle so it's unavoidable.

I make it to the refrigerated section way in the back and as I reach for some organic milk, the rack of Snickers bars displayed by the milk was the last straw! Even with your head down and the best intentions, it's tough making it out of the grocery store without purchasing something unhealthy. Back in the day, you just needed to avoid the candy and chips aisle and you were home free. 

On the days when I take off the blinders and go on an investigative mission at the grocery store, I slow down and look at everything around me and marvel, or should I say cringe at all the junk that's being displayed at every turn. You are greeted at the end of every aisle, the middle of most aisles, definitely at the check out area with candy, candy and more candy. And don't forget the guy in the bakery pushing free cookies. When is enough enough? My teeth hurt looking at all of it.

On these trips, I take the time to examine the labels on food products so I can let my clients know the best choices. Not many people have the time or patience it takes to read the list of ingredients. There's no way that people like my 90-year old mom with poor eyesight can even begin to read them. I don't look at the calories or the grams of fat. I read the fine print where the truth is hidden - the list of ingredients. I can only take so much, though, and when Tom Jones smash hit, "What's New Pussycat" starts blaring overhead, I can't take it anymore and head for the door. 

Why do grocery stores have to be so huge and loud and obnoxious? Do we really need 50 types of salsa or 100 types of cereal to choose from? People are overwhelmed by the volume of choices. They don’t have the time to read the labels and compare them all, so they grab the first thing that catches their eye and hope for the best.

So friend or foe? My childhood grocery store, Fotia’s, was definitely a friend. The new big-box with the coffee shop, the juice bar, the sushi bar, the pizza bar, the Chinese food bar and the free cookies from the guy in the bakery, not so much.

Do You Want to Look 5 Pounds Lighter Instantly?

Do you want to look at least 5 pounds lighter instantly? Then stand up straight! I'm not kidding. Do what your mama told you and stand up straight! One of the things I learned while preparing to compete last year is that there is a lot of illusion involved in looking lean on stage and in photos. One of the first things you learn how to do is to stand up straight. By simply standing up straight, throwing your shoulders back, lifting your chest and exhaling deeply, you immediately lose 5 pounds. Next time you're walking through the mall or the grocery store, try it! It might feel weird at first. It's uncomfortable because you are so used to slumping and slouching. Standing up tall and straight is a sign of confidence and strength and it makes you look more youthful and slimmer. Maybe you slouch because you're tall, or you have a large chest, or you spend too much time at the computer or behind the wheel of your car. Maybe you slouch because you feel life is beating you down and it's a protective stance. Regardless, slouching makes you look heavier and older than you need to look. Try it and let me know what you think.

Are Your Tolerable? How will You Feel when You're 90?

“How are you today, mom?”  “I’m tolerable”, my 90 year-old mom replies, with a smile.  She doesn’t complain about all the aches and pains that accompany 90 years of living, but I can tell she’s stiff and hurts in a few places.  The best part is she keeps moving and keeps a positive attitude.  I wonder what I’ll be like at that age.  If I have to live to be that old, I’d like to be better than tolerable.  The definition of tolerable is “not too unpleasant or severe” or “moderately good, but not outstanding”.  Okay, I’d like to be at least reasonably pleasant or semi-outstanding.   

I wish she would have known years ago what we know now about strength training.  She would have been the first in line to lift some weights.  Her core would be so much stronger and she wouldn’t have lost 4 inches in height.  Her legs would be stronger so she could move about easier and not tire so quickly.  Her arms would be strong enough to continue doing her hair.  She recently bought a couple wigs because her arms are too weak to style her own hair anymore.  But the knowledge about strength training just wasn’t widely available back then. 

Even though she’s healthy, she poops out quickly and doesn’t have the strength to do the things she loves.  She used to love to travel.  She’s been to Hawaii numerous times, Alaska, Germany, Tahiti, as well as all over the U.S.  Her last trip was a few years ago when she treated the family to a Hawaiian cruise, but her traveling days are over now because it’s just too tiring for her.  She still lives alone, but my brother is right next door and checks in on her often.  Too often, according to my mom. 

What will you be like at the ripe old age of 90?  Will you be sprightly, full of life, vim and vigor?  Will you be energetic and active?  If you want the answers to these questions to be YES, know that the decisions you make today and the way you live your life today will determine how well you live tomorrow and into the future.  The stronger you become now, today, the better the quality of life you will enjoy for years to come.  Nourishing your body with the proper foods, today, and avoiding all the junk food that lurks around every corner will reap abundant benefits for the rest of your life.  Make the decision, today, to do yourself a huge favor, and strengthen your body.  Lift weights.  Grow some muscles. It will make a difference for years to come.  What will you be like at 90?  Tolerable?

Is Your Gym Too Hot? Too Cold? Mine is Just Right?

I love working out next to the wood stove!

It’s too hot!!    It’s too cold!!

The number one complaint that every gym owner hears is a tie between “It’s too hot in here” and “It’s too cold in here”.  One of the trickiest things for a gym to do is to maintain a constant temperature in a place filled with varying numbers of heat-producing people, at different times of the day, all of whom have different temperature comfort ranges, and all of whom are performing different types of exercises.  The people who crank on the cardio machines usually want it cool, while the folks lifting weights and stretching usually like it warmer.  If you are one of the people who “run hot”, there’s a good chance there’s someone else in the gym who “runs just as cold”.  Finding guidelines on the ideal gym temperature from an authoritative source is difficult and the blogs I’ve read were pretty entertaining, with many outspoken gym rats voting for hot vs. cold gyms.  My preliminary research shows the following recommendations for weight rooms and workplaces:

American College of Sports Medicine                                   68 – 72 degrees

National Strength & Conditioning Associates                      72 – 78 degrees

OSHA                                                                                        68 – 76 degrees

When gyms are kept below 68 degrees, the risk from injury increases due to the fact that cold muscles are more susceptible to pulls and strains.  If gyms are kept too hot, there’s a chance of members’ overheating. 

Keep in mind that what you’re wearing has a lot to do with how hot or cold you feel.  If you’re too cold, there are many light-weight exercise clothes that will keep you warm while working out.  If you’re too hot, don’t be wearing sweat pants to work out in!  There are some great new hi-tech fabrics that will cover you up, but keep you cool, while wicking moisture and sweat away from your skin.  Keep a sweat towel handy and remember, sweating is good for you.  Target has a great selection of both men’s and women’s fitness clothes that are hi-tech and reasonably priced.  

Personally, I like it hot! I work out in my home gym that is heated by a wood stove. Right now, it's about 75 degrees and for me that's about perfect. I hate cold gyms and I hate fans blowing cold air on me, especially if I'm sweating. That just makes me feel hot and sweaty, and cold and clammy, all at the same time.

So give the gym owners and managers a break. Stop complaining that it's too hot or too cold and just workout!

Do You Push Yourself Hard Enough? Or are You Wasting Your Time?

How often do you end your workout knowing that you pushed yourself to at least an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10?? Assuming you are healthy, not rehabbing an injury or recovering from illness, do you push yourself hard enough to challenge your muscles appropriately? I know first-hand that's a hard thing to do. If you train in a gym, there are a lot of distractions and potential interruptions to your workout. Wearing earphones can help let other people know that you are there to workout and not to chit-chat. The problem is that there are a lot of people in the gym who are looking for reasons to stall or avoid working out. They are more than anxious to strike up a conversation which can be counter-productive to your intensity. If you workout at home, it's pretty easy to let yourself slack off. There's nobody watching, nobody to impress, so it's easy to just go through the motions. At least in a gym setting, the energy of other people as well as desire to impress others may give you reason to push yourself harder. At home, by yourself, it's all you and your level of desire. If you workout in a class setting, the opposite can sometimes occur and people will push themselves too hard. I have heard of more people getting hurt in classes because they were trying to keep up with everyone else. In that situation you can easily twist an ankle, tweak a knee and cause an injury that will sideline you for weeks. So what's the answer? How do you make sure that you're not wasting your time and that you're getting the most out of every workout? How do you commit to making sure every workout is at least an 8 or above?

This is what works for me. I workout in my home gym, alone or with my husband. We have on our favorite music or sometimes we prefer to workout in quiet. I spend 5 minutes on the treadmill to warm-up my muscles, get the blood flowing and to just loosen everything up. Then I spend a few minutes on the foam roller to get a few knots out of my back. Next I hit the weights. I have a definite plan in my mind as to which exercises I'm going to do. If you don't have a plan, there's a good chance you'll waste time figuring it out. The lack of focus will lessen your intensity. I break my workouts down into a 5-day split:
Day 1: Quads, Hams, Calves, Abs, Cardio
Day 2: Chest, Shoulders, Tris
Day 3: Inner, Outer, Glutes, Cardio
Day 4: Back, Biceps, Abs, Cardio
Day 5: Rest
With this split, it ensures that I can keep my workouts to an hour or less and it allows me to focus on each muscle group deeply and challenge it effectively. I can always get myself sore. As I'm lifting, all motions are done in a slow, controller manner. I'm thinking about the muscles I'm working. I'm not thinking about what I need at the grocery store. The cell phone is definitely turned off. Let me repeat that - the cell phone is turned off. When I'm lifting, the rest of the world goes away and my mind is on my muscles. I'm assessing if the weight is the right amount. If not, I'll use the most precise form possible, do a few extra reps, and go up in weight the next set. I have a 30 second timer that I use to keep my rest periods short and keep me on schedule. My timer has made a huge difference in keeping me from slacking and pumping up my intensity. I constantly vary my workouts to keep my muscles guessing. I also have a few favorite exercises that I include because I enjoy doing them. I usually do 3 sets of 10, but sometimes I'll do 100-rep workouts, or the Body-For-Life style workouts. After the first set of 10, I like my intensity level to be around a 6, after the second set a 7 and after the third set, I want to be at an 8 or above. If I accomplish this, I know I've given myself a workout of sufficient intensity that I will get sore, my muscles will respond by growing and building.

As for cardio, sometimes I like doing a steady pace for 30 minutes. The pace for me on my own treadmill is between 3.5 - 4 mph. At 5'2", this pace has me doing a very fast walk to a slow jog. I like to close my eyes when I'm walking on the treadmill, but if I try to close them without holding on, I'll easily lose my balance. I know this goes against the grain, but sometimes I'll hold on lightly with a finger so I can close my eyes and just focus on my breath and meditate, so to speak. Other times I crank it up and do some interval training. This really makes the 30 minutes go by quickly and provides an intense workout. I'll warm up for a few minutes, then take it up to 4 mph for 30 seconds and take it back down for 30 seconds. Up to 4.5 mph, then down. Up to 5, then 5.5, then 6 mph. I'll do a few circuits and I'm definitely at an 8 or above by the end.

So this is what works for me. Some days it's harder to get going than others, but I always feel so much better when I've accomplished this daily goal. I'm a believer in self-reliance, so I try to be my own motivator and provide accountability to myself. I'm not always perfect, but like Vince Lombardi said, "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

Good Fat: Bad Fat

In the February, 2011 issue of the Reader's Digest, the headliner is "Eat This, Lose Weight: The New Science of Dieting." After reading it a couple times, all I can say is that I feel so sorry for anyone who is relying on advice from magazines and current literature for fitness and nutritional guidance. One source says, "turn left," while the other source says, "turn right." It must be so frustrating for people who are really trying to figure out how to eat.   The gist of the article is that:
1.  Fat isn't the enemy; easily digested carbs are. Okay, I can agree with that to a point.
2.  You don't get fat because you're overeating. You overeat because you've developed a disorder in the way your fat tissue is regulated. In other words, when you eat too many simple carbs, you raise your insulin levels. Insulin is the primary hormone that regulates fat tissue. Too much insulin causes your fat cells to lock up and not release any fat for energy. Without energy, you get hungry and overeat.
3. Diet's don't work. If you cut calories, you'll be hungry all the time - that's a given. I agree that diets don't work, but I don't agree that, in all cases, if you cut calories, you'll be hungry. all the time. Many people can afford to cut out quite a few calories and without risk of being hungry.
4.  It's impossible to count calories. If you take in just 20 extra calories a day, you will gain 20 pounds in a decade. I double-checked the math because I couldn't believe this was true. It is correct. So if you are eating 100 extra calories per day, you'll gain 100 pounds in 10 years? Wow! I'm going to have to give this topic some thought. That almost convinces me that there is definitely more to the weight-gain equation than simply calories consumed. I mean, 20 calories is nothing and it is impossible to count them that accurately, even with the great websites out there like MyPlate at Livestrong.com. 
5.  Exercising won't keep you thin. It will just make you more hungry. This is where I strongly disagree. It's never okay to tell people that they don't need to exercise or give them any additional reasons, excuses, not to do it. It's hard enough to get people off the couch without saying something irresponsible like this. Exercising properly will help you get thin and stay thin. Exercising, done properly, should inspire you to eat and re-fuel your muscles with healthy nutritional food. It doesn't compel you to eat something that will sabotage all your hard work. Clients have told me over and over throughout the years that they make healthier food choices when they are exercising regularly.
6.  Don't limit your fat. Bacon, cheese, heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, butter and oil are healthy for you. Here is an area where I have real mixed emotions. I've read "The Schwarzbein Principle" which offers similar beliefs. I can agree that we need a certain amount of fat in our diet and that it is even healthy. They say you won't overeat fat because it fills you up and satisfies your hunger. Somehow, though, I'm pretty sure that if you ate fast-food bacon cheeseburgers every day, even without the bun, you would hardly be thin or healthy.
7.  Say goodbye to pasta, bread and rice. These items cause your insulin levels to spike and, as mentioned above, cause fat to cling to your body. But what about healthy grains and fiber? Brown rice and whole grain breads are not simple carbs.
8.  Be Picky about Vegetables. Starchy vegetables are off-limits. I never discourage anyone from eating vegetables, starchy or not. I've really never heard of anyone overeating or getting fat from eating vegetables.
9.  Say No to Hidden Sugars. That means soda, cakes, candy, and fruit. Obviously, soda, cakes and candy are to be limited or eliminated. Fresh fruit, on the other hand, does contain sugar, but also contains everything your body needs to digest it, not store it. Of course you shouldn't eat apples all day long,and it might not a good idea to have a banana, an apple, a pear, some pineapple and berries all in the same day. I'm pretty sure your body wouldn't allow you to do that anyway, if you know what I mean. 
10.  Eat as Much as You Want. You don't have to use portion control. Just stop when you're full. Apparently, when you eat this way, your appetite will shrink and you'll feel like eating less. Once again, I'm not so sure. A lot of people have lost touch with their stomachs and have no idea if they're full. They see food on their plate and they keep eating until it's gone. It seems risky to give people permission to eat as much as they want. Stopping when you are full is using portion control, isn't it?

I'm as confused as the rest of you are when it comes to the topic of how to eat healthy. I agree that the low-fat diet fad has had the reverse effect and has contributed to the obesity of our society. Personally, I eat extremely healthy and still when I enter my food journal, my fat intake is usually around 35%. And I don't even eat bacon or mayonnaise! That fat comes from almonds, avocados, butter, peanut butter, cheese and chicken. It used to alarm me when I'd see my fat percentage inching up to 38 or 40%, but now I just pay more attention to how I feel. Even though calorie counting may not be perfectly accurate, it's still the best indicator we have of what we are consuming and I highly recommend it. It can give you some really interesting and surprising information about yourself.

Let me know what you think.

An Experiment in Aging: I Am My Own Guinea Pig!

Do you ever think about what you will be like when you're 70? How about 80? Or 90? My mom just turned 90, so it's only natural that I look at her and wonder what I'll be like at that age. My husbands parents are in their mid-to-late 80's and I know there are a lot of us in the same boat. I envision myself teaching aquatic strength training to all my little old white-haired friends when I'm that age. I want to be as strong, feisty and independent as I am today. Since I don't have kids, I sometimes wonder who will take care of me someday, the way I take care of my mom. Not that I would ever want to be taken care of, by my own kids, or anyone else for that matter. I was born on the 4th of July, so independence is my middle name. That's why I've decided to be a guinea pig in my own experiment. I want to know just how healthy I can be if I live to reach the age of 90. I'm not even sure I necessarily want to live that long. But if that is my destiny, then I want to do everything I can right now to give me the best chance of having the least amount of pain, and the most amount of strength and independence. That means I will be designing an exercise program for myself, including both strength and cardio, stretching every day, keeping a food journal, getting adequate sleep and keeping stress to a minimum. If I'm able to stick to this program, in other words, live a healthy lifestyle, for the next 40 years, just think what a rockin' 90-year old I will be. I'll be tracking my food at MyPlate at www.livestrong.com and blogging about this journey. Stay tuned for the next 40 years to see how it goes!

 

Loose-Leaf Green Tea: Great for Weight Loss and Optimal Health

It's below zero outside and I'm sitting next to the wood stove drinking green tea. I love all the Crystal Star loose-leaf teas found at HealthyHealing like their Green Tea Cleanser, Beautiful Skin Tea, Cleansing & Purifying Tea, Bloat Release Tea, Female Harmony Tea, Liver Cleanse Flushing Tea, Bladder Comfort Tea, and Stress Arrest Tea. They are formulated by Linda Page, ND, a naturopathic physician and master classic herbalist. Loose leaf teas are not ground up into a fine powder and contained in a tea bag. Instead loose leaf teas are uncontained and consist of recognizable parts of the tea plant, like the leaves, flower buds, dried fruits and other plant components. Because loose leaf tea isn't pulverized into dust, more of its essential oils are intact. That means it is more likely to provide all those great health benefits you have read about. Green tea is renowned for its remarkable weight loss and immune system support, and cancer-fighting polyphenols. There are several ways to steep loose leaf tea.You can put the tea in a tea ball or a spoon-like device and dunk it into your cup of hot water. For better circulation, use a difuser which sits in your cup or teapot. Ceramic diffusers are rumored to be better choices than metal because of the metal's oxidation into your tea. I use both. There are specially designed teapots with diffusers built right in. I love the ritual of making a cup or a pot of tea for myself. I add a few drops of orange-flavored stevia and there's nothing better on a cold, snowy day.

Watch out for Friday Nights!

Just got invited to go out to a local restaurant tonight for Mexican pizza and margaritas with several other couples. Sounds like fun, right? Then why am I hesitant? Probably because I'm not a fan of going out to eat. When I'm at a restaurant reading the menu I'm wondering where they got their beef and how it was raised. I check out the chicken entrees then remember the documentaries I've seen on chicken farms, so I switch to the vegetarian selections. As I reach for a tortilla chip I'm wondering whether it has any trans-fats in it. The biggest dilemma, though, is whether or not to drink. Sometimes the decision is easy. If my husband, Jack, is drinking, then I definitely won't because I believe in always having a designated driver. I'd rather not drink anyway because I don't like the empty calories. Even after just a couple drinks I feel sluggish the next day and its counterproductive to all my other goals. The problem is, when you aren't drinking, and everyone around you is, it can be isolating. It's much more fun to join in and have a few, chill out, relax and let your hair down. I've noticed that when I'm not drinking, and Jack is, he always wants to stay out longer than I do. He thanks me the next morning for dragging him home, but being the bad guy, or the good guy in this case, isn't much fun. I also have noticed that when I'm not drinking, other people aren't nearly as funny. Don't misunderstand. I haven't always been this way. Back in the day, I could drink with the best of them. I enjoyed the reality break it provided. But in my late-30's, the hangovers were starting to get way too intense and my drinking days were basically over. You can get away with being drunk in public when you're young, but not so much as you age. Have you ever watched a drunk middle-aged woman in public? It's not a pretty sight. I saw it first-hand once with a friend at a bar in Florida. She got so drunk she couldn't walk straight. She was dancing like a maniac, humping the guys on stage in the band and she refused to leave. I couldn't convince her she was acting like an idiot and I didn't want to be seen with her. Like I said, it wasn't pretty. I would never get that drunk anyway, but the point is that drunk middle-aged women, and men for that matter, can look pathetic and foolish. What's the big deal? I can just have one drink and then stop. I've tried that before with various degrees of success. It's weird how having just one drink totally affects my judgment. There's a real good chance that if I have one drink, I won't hesitate to order a second. Then, if it's been a bad day, who knows? A third could easily follow. So, it's best that I don't have even one. That means facing some peer pressure. Well-meaning friends that encourage you to drink just don't quite get it. But that's okay. I've never had a problem saying no. So, my advise to you is to watch out for Friday nights. We are all under stress and by Friday, it's so tempting to let loose and have a few drinks. I understand totally. But think it through and make a conscious decision on whether it's worth it or not. Personally; I'd rather wake up feeling good Saturday morning.

Fitness Magazines: Friend or Foe?

Over the years I have checked out my fair share of fitness magazines. I like to stay current and know what my clients and the general population is reading about in the fitness magazines. Do you want to know which ones I subscribe to? Would it surprise you to know that I don't subscribe to any of them? I have mixed emotions about fitness magazines. Some of them are better than others and I do find some of the photos and articles motivating. For me, at age 50, I have trouble taking fitness advise from someone in their 20's, so I look for articles written by and about my baby-boomer peers. Mostly, I look for the exercise ideas. Beyond that, I'm lucky if I find one or two things, that are really valuable. Many times what I read is just a bunch of fluff, like 7 Ways to Thinner Thighs, or Flat Abs Fast, Drop 2 Sizes in 4 Weeks, 10 Fat-Fighting Meals and 22 Ways to Sweat. Have you noticed that fitness magazine titles are big on using numbers in them. Like making a list and numbering each item is the way to get in shape. When I'm reading a fitness magazine, I don't care about makeup tips or sexual advice. Most of what they write about is the same old, same old. The fact is we all know how to get in shape. It's not rocket science. Exercise and eat right. People spend hours reading about what to do, how to do it and when to do it, but apparently they are not implementing any of the suggestions, because we as a society continue to grow bigger and bigger. Put down the magazines and go for a walk. Get your heart rate up and keep it there for 30 minutes. Lift some weights and challenge your muscles. Eat the good foods and skip the bad ones. You already know which is which. Keep your portion sizes under control, drink a lot of water and get adequate rest. That's about it, but every month fitness magazines try to think of new inventive ways to say the same things over again. Reading fitness magazines will not get you in shape. In fact, I wonder if they do they opposite. Like Baz Luhrmann's lyrics  to the song Wear Sunscreen, "Do not ready beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly." Maybe reading fitness magazine makes you feel fat. That's good if it motivates you to do something about it, but bad if it paralyzes you and makes you feel badly. Let me know what you think!

Update on Jack's Mom: Ways to Boost Cognitive Capacity

My husband and I spent a worrisome weekend after the dreaded phone call we received Saturday morning about his 85-year old mom being in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Turns out that her blood pressure was too low and she fainted. Nothing they can do for her. They didn't even keep her overnight. So it's good news, right? While waiting, we both had time to reflect. Jack had nervous energy to burn, so he was outside cutting down trees and hauling wood around our property. We know that some day soon, the news won't be so good and we'll be making an unexpected emergency trip back to PA. We suspect that she passes out on some level on a regular basis. She's simply not getting adequate blood flow to her brain after the stroke and because of the neuro-vascular blockages. Ironically, in my readings over the weekend, I stumbled upon an article in the recent Newsweek magazine titled, "Grow Your Mind: The Truth About How to Boost Your Brain's Performance," by Sharon Begley. In her quest to find effective ways to boost cognitive capacity, she debunks several theories and ultimately concluded that the holy grail of brain training is physical exercise. Exercises creates neurons in the brain, produces neurotransmitters and stimulates new synapses. Fitness training changes the molecular and cellular building blocks in the brain. Simply walking for 45 minutes a day, three times a week, improves memory and other brain functions. If you are at all concerned about keeping your mental faculties as sharp as possible, like I am, make the healthy choice today and get your body moving! Learn a lesson from people like Jack's mom, who have lost some of their mental capacity. Exercise now to reap the rewards later in life.

What will Your 80's and 90's be Like? Will you have a Good Quality of Life?

My husband got one of those dreaded phone calls this morning. His sister called to say that his 85-year old mom is in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. This morning she slumped over, passed out stone-cold in her chair. We are in Colorado and his mom is in Pennsylvania. As we wait for further news, I think back on his mom's health history. In the fall of 2002 she had a pretty bad stroke. We thought that would be the end of her. But she's a tough old bird, as my mom would say, and she survived. She's never been the same though. She's constantly dizzy and has neurovascular disease. Three years later, she broke her hip. We thought that would be the end of her. But needless to say, she survived. Again, she's never been the same. She has a lot of trouble getting around and moves extremely slowly. The human body has a remarkable capacity to keep going even after it has been traumatized. It was designed to live and strives for health. The problem is that while she did survive the stroke and the broken hip, the quality of her days is far less than optimal. We wonder how she feels about the quality of her life, but it's not a question we can ask her. This kind of incident always make me even more passionate in my efforts to do whatever I can, at age 50, to give me the best chance of having a meaningful quality of life if I reach my 80's and beyond. The things we choose to do now and the lifestyle we are living at this moment have a dramatic effect on how well we will age. Please join me in re-committing all our efforts to make healthy choices whenever possible.

Fast Food and Your Kids

I read an interesting article today that asks the question
Are Children Prey for Fast Food Companies? 


Researchers from Yale University did the largest study ever on the marketing of fast foods to kids. Not surprisingly, even though the fast food companies claim they pledge to protect children and that the industry is capable of policing itself, the study found otherwise. Results showed that the amount of marketing of fast foods to children is going up, not down, with kids seeing 3 to 5 television ads every day for fast food. And the foods that are being marketed directly at kids and teens do not meet nutritional guidelines. For instance, "only 12 of 3,039 possible kids' meal combinations meet nutrition criteria for preschoolers. Only 15 meet nutrition criteria for older children." Furthermore, "snacks and desserts often marketed directly to teens contain as many as 1,500 calories, which is five times more than the American Dietetic Association's recommendation of a 200- to 300-calorie snack for active teens."

It's easy for me, as a non-parent, to sit here and say that "If I had kids, I'd make sure they never ate fast food. I'd educate them on the harmful, cheap, disgusting ingredients and my kids would not eat that junk!" But with advertising aimed directly at kids, using psychological marketing tactics, do parents stand a chance against it? To some degree, of course they do. Little kids can't drive themselves to the local McDonald's or Burger King. So why should government get involved? Parents should be parents and just say no to their kids.

The other side says that we've waited long enough for fast food companies to police themselves, stop marketing to kids and improve the nutritional value of the menu. They say it is high time the government steps in and forces fast food companies to limit or eliminate their marketing to children. They argue that parents these days have enough to worry about without having to be the bad guy fighting against big corporations to protect their kids from sugar, salt and fat-laden food.

The only thing I know for sure is that is I had kids, I would not drive them to a fast food restaurant, no matter how much they whined. I would educate them, perhaps graphically, on all the reasons why fast food is bad for them. And then I would cross my fingers, say a prayer and fast-forward through all the fast food television commercials. Easy for me to say, right?

Why Should You Listen to Me?

With all the excellent trainers and awesome fitness advise that is available, why the heck should you listen to me? I'm not famous, yet. At 50 years old I can honestly say:

I have never been on a diet.
I love chocolate. I also love broccoli.
I'm not a tee-totaler, but I keep alcohol consumption to a minimum.
I don't care for wine. I prefer Coors Light or Jack Daniels and ginger ale.
I don't eat as much as I want - that's crazy talk!
I have never needed to lose weight.
I weigh less than I did in high school.
I wear a smaller size pants than I did in high school.
I still proudly wear a bikini.
I hope you don't think I'm bragging.
I have a unique perspective that might inspire you.
I don't spend hours and hours at the gym.
I exercise in my home gym about 3 - 4 hours a week.
I don't necessarily like lifting weights, but I like the results.
I like functional training that will keep me young and vital well into the future.
I am my own guinea pig.
I'm performing an experiment on myself to see just how healthy I can be at the age of 90.
I've never had children, but I admire and honor the women who do.
I love helping moms be good role models for their children.
I love helping baby-boomers get strong and stay strong.
I love inspiring young people to strive for life-long fitness.
I love proving to people that age is just a number.

Fitness Competitions: Natural or Not?

The event that I competed in was titled the Max Muscle Mile High "Natural" Figure Championships. The word "natural" refers to the fact that the bodybuilders are subject to drug and polygraph testing, but that's about it. From the extremely dark, four to five coats of fake tan, to the oiled skin, the fake eyelashes, the blue contact lens, the hair extensions, the stage makeup, the competition suit that had to be glued in place, and the 5" heels ---the word "natural" may be a stretch. Add to the equation the fact that the competitors generally stop drinking water a day or two before competing so they are dehydrated, which is not natural or healthy. The competitors diets run the gamut. Mine was balanced and nutritious until the last week when I started carb loading and carb depleting, which made me feel either weak or foggy, depending. And then contest day, I ate very little. After it was over I had to be careful not to stuff myself when I got home that night because I was so hungry. I went from 108 pounds and about 20% body fat in January to just 99 pounds and about 15% body fat in June. I really thought I would get hooked on doing fitness competitions, but the experience convinced me that I'm not cut out for it. I placed 2nd in the Novice Division, 5th in the Masters and 5th in the Open categories. I think if I were to compete again, I would do even better, maybe even come in 1st Place. Although I liked the motivation it gave me to eat perfectly and give it my all in my workouts, I really didn't like the competition itself. I had such a headache when I was on stage from being dehydrated and the bright lights made it so much worse. Being in a fitness competition, for me, felt anything but natural. It was so far out of my comfort zone, but I did it anyway just to challenge myself at a whole new level. So as this new year rolls around, I'm asking myself what can I do this year to take it up a notch again, but not go through the expense and unnaturalness of a fitness competition. I am definitely not one to do any kind of running race, so a marathon, triathlon or even a 5k is out of the question. I think certain bodies were made to run and certain bodies were not. If you don't have a runners body and you try to force it, especially at age 50, it will result in injury and I'm not up for that. So when I got the email about the  $100,000 Transformation Challenge at BodyBuilding.com   I signed up right away. Join with me! Watch my progress!

Start the New Year off Right - Right Now!

Every year I have people come see me who who have made the New Year's resolution to get in shape. You probably think I see them the first week of January, right? Surprisingly, I usually don't see them until mid-to-late January. Why is that? Well, it takes at least a week to recover from the holidays, then the kids go back to school, then somebody gets sick and then fill in the blank. These excuses are just that - excuses! Don't waste any more time thinking about getting in shape and just take that first step to do it. It is really so easy to get started. No more excuses. You don't have to join a gym. There are plenty of other ways in the 21st century to get in shape from the privacy of your own home. The vast majority of people who join a gym never go, so don't waste your money if you're not a gym person. That's okay. There are so many great online sources these days that are customized to help you get in shape. One of the best is Physiic, a website that offers live, interactive yoga, pilates, cardio and strength training classes. Let me repeat that - they have live, interactive classes. That means, as long as you have a webcam, the trainer can see and hear you and you can see and hear them, just as if you were in the same room. Don't have the time to workout? What could be quicker than a half-hour strength training workout right in your living room or office? Can't afford it? A half-hour class will cost you just $5. No more excuses! Check out my schedule at Becky's Physiic Schedule. Hope to see you in class SOON!

When Did the Choices Get So Hard?

"When did the choices get so hard?
So much more at stake...
Life gets mighty precious
When there's less of it to waste."


Bonnie Raitt's lyrics in "The Nick of Time" have been going through my head these days. It seems like everything is getting harder, the older I get. The choices are more difficult and come with bigger consequences. Since 9/11 and The Second Big Recession, it seems like there is so much more fear in my own life and in the lives of people everywhere. In my case, the fear of running out of time doesn't have anything to do with having children or finding a man. It has to do with running out of time to accomplish something great in my life coupled with the fear of never being financially secure. Will I ever reach a larger audience? Will I find my voice so I can use it to inspire millions? Will I run out of time with my song still inside me? Will I have a legacy? Is there any such thing as retirement or is that just an unrealistic fantasy?

Happy New Year! Healthy New Year!

1/1/11 It's a brand new year and now that the holidays are over, there are no more excuses. Now is the time to begin and/or resume a healthy lifestyle. Get the cookies and candy and cake and sweets out of the house. Get back on the no-excuses exercise program and make sure it includes strength training. If you are only doing cardio, you will never get the results you want. You must lift weights to get a tight, toned, healthy, strong physique.