Lost 100

How to Be Fit Without Joining a Gym!

Local gym memberships can range from $20/month to well over $200/month.  But if money is tight, does that mean you have to resign yourself to a life without fitness?  No way sister!  Here are some fitness tips to liven up your gym-free life!

First, make every attempt to lead an active lifestyle.   Things like:  parking as far away as possible, walking to the train, taking the stairs, doing your own yard work & gardening really add up. 

For moms of young kids, do you ever find yourself in awe of their energy, their core strength (monkey bars anyone?) & that exercise is fun for them?  Well, maybe it’s time to join the kids!  

• Run around in the yard or the park with the kids—set up races, play tag, do an obstacle course.  We have a play park at Flood Hill in South Orange is perfect for an obstacle course—I saw a nanny build up a full-on sweat chasing her 5-year-old charge one day.
• If you have a wee one, wearing that baby will not only give you that special closeness, but also give you the opportunity to work on your core muscles/fitness.
• Dance with your kids—kids love to dance & they don’t care if you can’t carry a beat to save your life—so pull down the shades and kick up your heels!
• Baby yoga…there are DVD’s, books, etc. on how to do yoga with your newborn.

For the real fitness buffs out there who are looking for something with a bit more substance:

• Walk/run at a local park.  We have a (land) reservation with a traffic-free loop, its 2 miles.  Or you can add the 2nd loop for a 5K route.  Sick of that, but like the scenery?  Try alternating a cardio segment (jumping, galloping, skipping, side shuffle) with a leg exercise (walking lunges, walking squats, side step with a band) with an upper body exercise (on a long route bands work best).
•  Up for a challenge?  Run/ sprint up a big hill 10 times.  In between try jogging around the area or doing some calisthenics.
•  Have cable?  There is a whole collection of FREE exercise videos for different fitness levels ‘On Demand’.
•  For a small investment you can create your own super duper mommy workout in the privacy of your own home that you can do several times a week.  You’ll need a step (ie. Step aerobics), an exercise ball, hand weights (choose 5, 8, 10, 12, or 15 lbs), and a clock with a second hand.  You’ll do each of these sets 3 times before moving to the next set: 

1.  30, 45, or 60 seconds of step ups (up and down on the step as fast as possible, change lead foot half way); 12 lunges with each leg; tri-cep kick backs; 20 hand-offs with the ball (lay flat on your back with the ball between your outstretched legs—pass the ball between your hands and your feet, ‘crunching up’).
2. 30, 45, or 60 seconds of side step downs (straddle the step, start with both feet on the step, and hop down with one foot on each side); 12 squats with bi-cep curl & shoulder press (this is a GREAT move, 3 exercises in 1!); using step 12 reps of 1 arm rows (for your lats/back); 30 second plank (for your abs).
3. 30, 45, or 60 seconds of jump rope/ jump ups (onto the step)/ climbers (in a plank alternate pulling legs in) or skaters (jumping from side-to-side like a speed skater); lay on step 12 reps flies (for the chest); plie squats (legs wide stance with toes pointed out); bicycle abs 30

*You can design any program—the key is to do 1 segment each of cardio, upper body, lower body, & core!
 Main muscles to hit:  
• Legs:  quads (front of thighs), hamstrings (back of thighs), glutes (butt), calves, inner/outer thigh 
• Chest/Back/ Shoulders
• Arms: Bi-ceps, Tri-ceps
• CORE—abdominals (top, bottom, obliques/sides, lower back)

The best indicator of a successful fitness program is one that you do regularly.  So don’t set unrealistic or unachievable goals for yourself.  How much exercise do you need?  Current CDC guidelines recommend:  adults “should get 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle group.”   In addition, research shows that having a workout buddy (spouse, friend, partner) will make you 60% more likely to stick to your routine.  So find a buddy.  Chances are someone out there is looking for a buddy too!

CNN'S FIT NATION SUMMIT: RACHAEL RAY SPEAKS; CHILDHOOD OBESITY, ACCESS TO FRESH PRODUCE

More on my experience at CNN's Fit Nation Summit. Here's the video clip of the entire Rachael Ray interview. What really stuck out to me was the need for ALL people to have ACCESS to healthy FRESH PRODUCE. Think about it. I am very blessed that our family can afford fresh produce at the grocery store each week, but for millions of Americans this is not reality. Frozen veggies, or even whatever the food pantry has on hand in canned food are their only healthy options. WHY?! The farm industry is too heavily subsidized in some areas and not in others. Why not take money away from corn and soybeans (most of which goes to make items with 'high fructose corn syrup' instead of actually getting fresh corn/soybeans to market). When we look at the rate of obesity it's much higher in lower income communities...and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the causal relationship between lack of funds for food (and perhaps a generational issue that has been passed down) and ever-expanding waistlines! And don't even get me started on the joke that is the school lunch...pizza boat? steak-ums? OH PLEASE! If you can't learn it from home, and you can't learn it from school what do we expect low income kids to do...hmmmm...that's just it, WE DON'T CARE! (Unless of course we have to raise taxes to pay for indigent medical care, then I can just hear the peanut gallery railing about 'fat. lazy, poor' people needing to 'pull themselves up from their bootstraps'....all the while counting the money in their portfolios because their mutual fund is highly invested in the corn industry!!!!!!).

DON'T BE *OUT TO LUNCH* WHEN YOU'RE ON YOUR LUNCH BREAK!

Once upon a time the little brown bag was invented (no, not Bloomingdales' little brown bag--I'm talking lunch bags). 1950's housewives dutifully packed a healthy lunch with a sandwich, apple, etc. Then the lunch box was invented and children of the 70's filled the school cafeteria trying to out-cool one another with their Star Wars lunch boxes. Most moms packed a healthy lunch, but there was always that one kid you tried to trade with--"please I'll give you everything my mom packed for me if I can just have ONE, just ONE of your ho-hoes!" So begins the love affair with lunch. No matter what, what the other guy has is more appealing than what you have.

Sure, at 9AM after you've finished your coffee with skim milk and your sensible bowl of Kashi with berries you know for certain you will walk into the company cafeteria and buy a salad. Naked. NO! You aren't going to be naked and eating the salad, the salad will be without dressing, thus "naked." You walk into the company cafeteria and 9AM was apparently a fantasy world, because you smell it, you see it, and the 5'11" size 4 beauty in the stunning wrap around dress has her plate piled full of it. Certainly if she can eat it, you can too, right?!

Eating a healthy lunch is infinitely more difficult when you have to eat out everyday (little background--for nearly anyone in a big city like NYC this is reality-- I think I know 4 people who ever pack a lunch in NYC; sure when I was living Cincinnati or Savannah or Knoxville or pretty much anywhere else I packed--never have I done it in the big city...it's just not done). You see you have a few issues to deal with:

a. Boredom--how many salads can one eat? Okay, okay, sure there are people who love salads--most of those people are like my hubby, whose salad has more calories than a Big Mac.
b. The Office Waif--she is so sneaky, sly, mean, and we love to hate her--the girl without the eating disorder who just eats and eats and eats and never gains weight--she guzzles Stella's after work, she drinks the Venti (no, not tall, and not grande either--we're talking super-sized freak) Frappacino with extra whipped cream, she eats a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll for breakfast everyday--we see her do it and stay a "less than zero" and think we can too. Newsflash--she is an alien...she was secretly sent here by the makers of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig as a way to drum up business. Seriously--spill a drink on her at the bar one day, she'll short circuit--I swear....come on, I double-dog dare you!
c. The company cafeteria--it's just a location. Really, it is. But walking into that location between the hours of 11:30 and 2:30 can strike fear in the heart of any dieter healthy eater! There are smells that subconsciously beckon you, and the sights (ie. presentation of the food) that are so stimulating.
d. The "anti-tourist/I belong here and I'll prove it" mindset--if you have ever lived in NYC you completely understand this; if you haven't you think this sounds ridiculous (and that is pretty much because it does). Sure there are Subway fast food joints, and Applebee's and both have healthy options, but see "A" and then try to find a co-worker who's willing to attend one of the places (see "D").

Solutions:

1. See if the company cafeteria has a weekly menu that is available the week before, if possible, find out if they provide nutritional information. Then you can plan out what you're going to eat before you get there. Plus you'll know it's "Indian Day" and you can plan to avoid the cafeteria because you're a sucker for Chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati Rice, extra Naan and a side of Samosas (um, not that I know anybody like this...).
2. Have a standard set of 5-7 meals that you know are healthy and you can get when you're will power is shot.
3. Find a lunch partner who is a healthy eater. This is where I would recommend that you avoid anyone you have heard of nicknamed things like 'the cleaner' 'hoss' 'meat' 'meatball' etc.
4. Find a lunch partner who is not "Susie I'm-so-perfect-and-trying-to-help-you-diet"--this is the one that likes to comment on every food choice you make and points out how perfectly perfect she is. Avoid her--head straight to meathead's table, you're much better off! Seriously, with a friend like this, who needs enemies? Eating should be an enjoyable, social occasion. After all, if you wanted criticism you would just have lunch with your mother, right?!
5. Buy your lunch before you get to work, most Bodega's are open for breakfast and have many of the lunch foods already prepared. That way you are buying the food when you are not actively hungry (this is sound advice for grocery shopping as well).
6. Make lunch your "big meal" of the day and eat a smaller dinner (just don't plan to do this and then eat the big dinner anyway, duh!).

Meal Ideas (beyond the standard salad):
1. Japanese: sushi, edamame
2. Mexican: 1/2 burrito, 2 oz. chicken, black beans, 1/4 c. brown rice, spinach, sprinkle of low-fat cheese, loaded with salsa (hold the sour cream, guacamole and pretty much everything else).
3. Tilapia with 1/2 c. brown rice and 1 c. steamed veggies.
4. Panini: Opt for fresh made where you can choose your ingredients, avoid cheese--try a small amount of chicken with some marinara sauce.
5. Egg-white omelet: Again, avoid cheese, but load up on onions, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, etc. If you are a sucker for "breakfast for lunch" and are a fan of the 'breakfast meat'--remember Canadian bacon--best choice, Ham, 2nd best, followed by low-fat sausage, bacon, standard sausage.
6. Pizza: Limit to one slice and opt for something with a whole-wheat crust, with lots of veggies (eggplant, onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, etc.).
7. Italian: Eggplant (make sure it's not breaded and fried) parmesan (ask for lite/no cheese).
8. Falafel: Yummy and reasonably healthy and great for a budget conscious too.
9. Salmon: Loaded with omega-3's this is a great choice once a week for lunch (opt for pacific or wild caught salmon, avoid farmed).
10. Burger: Turkey burger, Buffalo burger, Veggie burger, Ostrich burger (avoid mayo, eat only 1/2 the bun, eat with a fork and knife, top with favorite veggies).
11. Soup: Gazpacho soup, White bean soup, Minestrone soup, Chili with lots of veggies
12. Middle-eastern: hummus with carrots (try to limit the flat bread--you can quickly eat up a ton of carb calories).
13. Greek: Lamb kabobs with lots of veggies.
14. Yogurt, apple, granola, & celery sticks (with a touch of peanut/soy/almond butter).
15. Sandwich: opt for lots of fresh veggies, limit cheese to one slice, limit lunch meats to small portions--obviously turkey is a better choice than ham which is a better choice than braunswagger which is better than bologna (did I need to tell you that, though?!).

***Be aware of the food you *drink*--don't blow all your calories on Jamba juices, frappacinos, and "vitamin" water

Please, share your thoughts and ideas too!

WORKOUT REVIEW: FREE ON YOUR TV!

So, you've thought about joining a gym but maybe you're nervous or embarrassed or on a budget or have small children and the gym doesn't offer childcare.

Last week one of kids was sick, so I couldn't make it the gym one day and over the weekend hubby ended up working and our plan to take the kids to the park and swap off while we each did our respective workouts obviously didn't happen (Argh!). What did I do? I turned on the TV.

"NO-NO-NO!"--I hear you all screaming.

Relax! It was "good" TV. Exercise TV. Our cable network (Comcast) has free "on-demand" programs. If you have cable you probably have this too. I plan to explore some of the programs over the next weeks and giving you the skinny (pun intended).

On Saturday I did a Jillian Michaels workout, I'm going to do that another one today and write about it tomorrow. I know I was a bit frustrated because I had a hard time following and keeping up (even with the chic doing the "basic" moves) and I workout all the time and was a college athlete. This made me think, how does someone who is just started out going to feel--could this end up being a disincentive, and leave one unmotivated and uninspired? Maybe, maybe not. But if you know ahead of time workouts that work for your activity level and abilities then you can choose appropriately!

So, that's the idea--hopefully once every week or two I'll feature a different workout video (starting with the ones Comcast has for FREE & the few I have owned and GULP haven't opened yet).

Happy Wednesday!