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I'm sure you've heard the saying, "a calorie is a calorie," and that when weight loss is the goal, you can probably loose weight on a 1,200 calorie/day diet whether it is 1,200 Twinkie calories or apple calories. At this point, you might be thinking, "Cool! I'll go on the Twinkie diet!"   Our bodies are smarter than that though, and I say, thank goodness. I know - I'm no fun at all :-). Last week at the grocery one of my kiddos held up a box of Twinkies and had the audacity to ask me to purchase them. I nearly burst a vessel in my forehead trying to restrain myself from smashing the box with......
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Being that it is summer, and there are vacations, kids home from school, camps, a lot of running around in circles...sometimes a workout is hard to knock out, even when intentions are high. When that happens, I have a 30-minute, total body workout that requires very little equipment, yet will leave you dripping in sweat. Wanna hear it? Here it is... You'll need:  a set of 10 or 12lb wts (lighter if you like), a resistance tube 5-10 minute warm up @ 40-50% max heart rate Set 1: 10-14 Burpees (also called pop squats) 3-way lunges w/ dumbbells: Start with weaker leg leading. Take one lunge forwa......
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Stumbled upon a few deals I'd like to pass along: 20% off planners! For all of you planners out there (you know who you are, planning each workout weeks in advance), get a head start on school year planning at MomAgenda. MomAgenda is offering 20% off small School Year books (use code: schoolyearsmom) Visit MomAgenda.com, offer expires 7.31.2011 *P.S. I LOVE MomAgenda planners. Seriously, love them - totally created by moms, for moms. Enough said. EatingWell magazine has a new book out: EatingWell 500-calorie Dinners for $22.45 (10% off the regular price). While you are planning workouts in you......
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Check out this video if you are unfamiliar with trigger point therapy... TPR Therapy, Ironman competitor Have you ever wished you could afford a personal masseuse? One who could come to your home, preferably daily, to help relieve you of the knots and muscle tightness that inevitably occur from daily workouts and, well, being a mom? In search of a solution to my IT band issues, I tried a chiropractor (not money well spent), stretching, massage therapy (therapist too gentle to release deep tissue), and my O.D. The O.D. provided the most valuable information: without proper biomechanics, the bod......
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The mysterious " fat burning zone " continues to confuse many gym-goers. The theory goes something like this: working out in a "zone" of intensity that is less intense for at least 20 minutes will burn more fat calories than calories from carbohydrate. Is this true? Yes and no, but mostly no. You actually burn more calories from fat right now, sitting still, reading this post, than you do on the treadmill. That is because in the resting state, the body burns a higher percentage of fat calories. As you crank up the exercise intensity, you burn a little less fat per calorie. However, it really c......
Apr

14

“Hello Diane,
The biggest key to my success has got to be the high degree of accountability I’ve placed upon myself. When I finally decided that it was time to lose weight and get fit, I told everyone I knew.”
Regards,  Murali

This recent comment really got me thinking…when only you know what your goals are, then the failure to achieve them falls completely on you, and if you tell no one, then does it even really count?

The study of human behavior as it relates to health choices has been studied to the N-th degree. Still, scientists and scholars don’t completely understand what enables one person to succeed at changing his/her health behavior and another to fall short, but many experts do agree that the role of “social support” is crucial to lasting health behavior change. In other words, don’t go it alone!

Without your cheerleaders, you will be less likely to succeed, plain and simple. The larger your support-network, the better. Your support group will keep you up when you feel down (and not to be negative, but there will be times when you will feel like giving up), they will remind you of your goal(s); hopefully will tell you that you can succeed; and will build up your self-esteem. Don’t include people in your support group who can’t fulfill these needs (and you know who these people are)!

When you’ve decided on your goal(s) for the year, tell your family, friends, neighbors, spouses and whoever will listen what your plans are and ask them to help support you along the way. You may even want to give them a copy of your written goals and ask them to check in with you regularly for a progress report. While this might seem a little scary (there is no going back once you’ve handed your list of goals to someone else), remember that a support system will help propel you forward rather than hold you back.

The support you receive could take many forms. Here is one example:

Problem: Your goal is to take a walk everyday, but the temptation to procrastinate because other items on your “to do” list, such as cleaning the house, seem more important.

Solution: Delegate. Perhaps hiring a sitter to watch the kids for an hour, or trading babysitting with a neighbor are other possible solutions. Get creative here – if your changes are to be lasting ones, there will be many obstacles to work around. Developing the confidence that you can navigate obstacles will go a long way toward improving your odds of success.

Your situation will be unique, so invest some time thinking through various obstacles you foresee, and make a list.

Now, having done that, how can you enlist the help of your support network to overcome these obstacles?

Do you have an obstacle that you were able to surmount, thanks to the help of your support network? Please share…I’d love to hear about it.

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