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.