Choose Your Hard!

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Being unhealthy is hard!
Losing weight is hard!
Choose your HARD!

Let The Sun Shine In

A little bit of sun is good for us. Just 10 minutes of sunshine is all you need every day to boost your vitamin D – even on cloudy days. And a vitamin D deficiency can increase your risk of stroke by 80%, not to mention the possible risk of heart disease. So go outside and enjoy the sunlight for a few minutes this weekend.

Yoga Anyone?

Yoga is great for your sex life, in more ways than one

Walk This Way

Something that we do everyday without even giving it thought is one of the best exercises and best ways to lose weight. Yes, Divas, WALKING. We learned to walk as toddler with lots of determination. First we started crawling and once that was mastered then we moved up to the next level, walking. Of course walking did not come easy then. Some of us had lots of falls, unsteady knees, and then let’s not forget the “plop” we made on the floor as we got unsteady and fell. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I was a genius even at the toddler stage or so my mother tells the story. (I am sure I have shared that with you before, if not, I am telling you now). According to my mother, I never crawled. One day she sat me on the floor and I just got up and started to walk, just like that. No trial an error, no scrapes from the falling, none of that nonsense. I just mastered the skill right from the start.

Ok, let’s stop gabbing about me and my brilliance and get back to my intent for this blog. It is then no wonder that to this day, I find walking the favorite exercise out of everything that do for fitness. If you have been following my postings, you may recall that I have mentioned that I have a vast collection of exercise DVDs. Within my hoard, I have 18, (no I am not a pack rat) yes, 18 Leslie Sansone “in home walking” DVDs.

For those of you that have never heard of Leslie Sansone, she is the queen of walking, literally. She has created dozens of indoor walking exercise DVDs/videos. Some of the titles are Walk Away the Pounds, Walk Away Your Hips and Thighs, Walk Away Your Waistline and the list goes on and on. Leslie has DVDs geared towards teens and older adults as well. The DVDs can range from 1 mile up to 5 miles and come with chapters so you can do all the miles or chose to do only a few.

What the workouts consists of is marching, (walking in place) kicking, side steps, grapevines etc., all to the beat of music. She can make you work up a sweat with a 10 minute mile to some kick butt fast paced music. Leslie has even incorporated strength training in her workouts to help you build muscle with rubber resistance training. (OMG, please stop thinking that rubber resistance training is training to resist the use of condoms, don‘t make me laugh). You can choose Faith Walks as well with Christian music.

If you are interested in learning more about Leslie Sansone, check out her website. There you can find an array of her workouts and get to play clips from the DVDs, just to see what I am going on about. www.Amazon.com is also a great place to find her DVDs at great prices.

If you would rather walk outdoors, grab Fido or Twinkie, or whatever it is that you have named your pooch and take a walk. Researchers (here we go again with the people that get paid to do the cool jobs) have found that people that walk their dogs 20 minutes a day, lose an average of 14 pounds a year.

So whether you do in home walking or walk your pet (remember he needs exercise too) get up and walk. It is easy, you have already gotten over the learning curve, and one of the cheapest forms of exercise.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Warning, This Can Be Habit Forming

Up late, as usual, watching infomercials or as they call them these days “paid programming”. No, I don’t want the Colon Cleanse, I eat enough fiber, and no, I don’t want to buy a course to teach me how to sell on EBay, I do that already for free without your course thank you. But of course what always catches my eye are the exercise infomercials, oh sorry “paid programming”.

I sat through Slim in 6, Michael Thurmond’s Six Week Body Make Over and Kettleworx. They all were including, free of charge of course, a six week workout guide. I began to wonder why six weeks. Why not two, three or four weeks?

The idea behind the six weeks is that any activity, performed over and over and over again soon becomes a habit. Experts (how do I get on one of these expert panels, anyway?) have discovered that it takes six weeks of repetitive action to successfully form a habit. I guess this also applies to things that are bad for you so if I were you, I would not start any filthy repetitive activity that I don’t want to become a habit.

Now if you did not happen to be up late watching infomercials (damn, there I go again calling them infomercials) and did not get sucked into buying any of the fantastic exercise programs or the zero percent body fat models that were the “after” results of the program didn’t seal the deal for you to add another expense on your already close to maxed out credit card, then this means that you do not have the free six week workout guide that comes with said program.

Oh well, here is a trick, and I promise I don’t have many tricks in my magician’s hat anymore, but this trick is to take a regular calendar and choose a date that you want to begin your exercise program. Mark a BIG X on that date and an even BIGGER X on the date that is six weeks from that date. Make sure that you do your activity at least 3 times a week for the six weeks. Each week, mark that week off to show how much closer to your six week goal you are getting.

After you create your habit even if you take a break from it, you will find that picking it up again, is much easier than if you hadn’t established it at all, though taking a break from exercising I am not recommending (remember, you started this to become healthy not just to lose that stubborn ten pounds and then quit). This will be like riding a bike, even if your bike is buried in the garage under tons of crap, if you pull it out, you will get back on it and ride it like a pro.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Do The Split

Yeah, I know, you don’t have time to work out. I hear it all the time. I have to admit that I too have used that sentence and sometimes way too often in the past. I figured that I had to put in at least a full 30 minutes of body pounding, heart racing, and sweat drenching exercise to benefit from the exercise at all. Guess what, and this does not happen often, so mark this on your calendar people, for it may not come around again in a long time…I was wrong (I won’t repeat it either so I hope you got that)

While doing my research I came across a few articles that stated “short bouts of exercise throughout the day can have the same benefits as continuous workouts.” How come I never knew this before? Why didn’t the PE gym teacher, the one that we all suspected used Old Spice (the female gym teacher, you know the one, yeah her) not tell us that we did not have to spend the actual full gym period doing exerting ourselves? (I wonder if she still smells of Old Spice or upgraded to Axe.)

Ok, moving on. A study was done on non exercisers and people that either did the full 30 minutes or split their 30 minutes of exercise up in two 15 minutes sessions or three 10 minute sessions (you don’t need a calculator, it all ads up to 30 minutes, trust me). The results were that the only group that did not see a change in their weight loss or an increase in their endurance was the group that did nothing, yes the non exercisers.

So, stop saying that you don’t have time to exercise, do the split and split your 30 minutes a day up, you may be amazed at the results.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

She Can't Keep a Secret

Ok, I will admit it. I read the Hollywood gossip. I get in the especially long lines at the supermarket so that I can read at least the hottest tidbits from one of the most popular gossip rags ( I wont say the name but it starts with E and rhymes wirer) without having to actually buy the thing. I mean, I can’t buy my favorite cheeses and the gossip magazine as well, the Diet Diva must make sacrifices you know.

Until I go to the supermarket, I get my fix of gossip from the internet. I was reading www.dailymail.co.uk when I happened to stumble upon an article on this year’s Oscar sweetheart Kate Winslet. You remember Kate, the chick from Titanic who threw that diamond into the ocean and Leonardo had the hots for? Well, Kate has finally revealed the secret to her envious figure. She says she owes it all to just “20 minutes of Pilates a day”

When asked, Kate dismissed she engages in grueling exercise or “faddy” diets, she insists that Pilates done in her home to DVDs no less is the culprit for her knock out body.

Did you know that Pilates was developed and inspired by Joseph Pilates, a prisoner of war in the Second World War about 75 years ago? (you guessed that’s why it is called PILATES huh and not named after someone else huh; you are a genius) It is a non strenuous exercise that stretches the muscles of the body to make them more long and lean. I like it because what other exercise can you do that consist mostly of lying on your back? (come on, get your filthy mind out of the gutter for a few minutes please) Rather than building up muscle, Pilates is most effective at toning the muscles of the buttocks, stomach and thighs, the plight of most women alive.

If you live under a rock in some undiscovered country, and have never even heard of Pilates and want to discover what Pilates is all about, I suggest that you first pick up a DVD and check it out. There are tons of DVDs available on this exercise. There also may be some community centers in your neck of the woods that offer low cost classes, look into those options as well.

So if you are looking for a new change in your exercise routine, give Pilates a try, you just may like it. It will not result in bulky muscles, but will have you on the road to a long, sleek toned look and you may just be a rival for Kate.

What else do you have to do in 20 minutes?

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Stupid Cupid

Sigh. Here it is again, Valentine’s Day has made its arrival. Damn that diaper wearing cherub who has nothing to do all year but fly around shooting his poisoned arrows into the hearts of the pathetic and feeble. (Can you detect that I find folly in Valentine’s Day?). So it is very likely that your beloved will take you out for the obligatory meal that does not include a super size option or a pick up window.

Already you are salivating like Pavlov’s pup because you have been waiting for this day since January 1st, when you vowed that you would become a convert to a healthy lifestyle and a sensible way of eating. The cream sauced covered dishes are floating in your head like the objects you see in the balloon above the head of a cartoon character that has just gotten bonged on the head with a heavy object, most likely an anvil. But in the back of your head, like a piece of shredded wheat caught in between your teeth, (annoying but not enough to spend all day concerned over) you are a tad bit concerned with the progress or the lack there of that you have made so far this year in your diet.

The Diet Diva’s advise should you choose to accept it? Go out and enjoy your Valentine’s meal. Order what you like but remember to eat only half of what is on your plate. When the tuxedoed waiter (if you are lucky enough to go to this class of a restaurant) places your plate in front of you, immediately ask him for a take away container. Of course this may cause him to look at you like you have just grown the snake filled head of Medusa and have him whispering to the bus boys and size 2 hostess at the front entrance who looks like she never gets to take home any leftovers, but who gives a rat’s ass what they think?

My point is, if I shut up long enough to make it, is that you don’t have to forgo social functions or spend all your time eating lettuce leaves and washing it down with purified H2O, you can still enjoy yourself but do it sensibly, and besides, taking home the leftovers mean that you won’t be wondering what you will have for lunch the next day. Just image how green-eyed and inquisitive your co-workers will be when you whip out this fancy smanchy leftover meal for lunch instead of the normal dried up microwaved cardboard meal you normally chow down on at lunch time.

Happy Valentine’s Day Diet Divas

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Pssst...Diaries Are Not Just for Your Dirty Little Secrets

Hello Diet Divas,
One of the most successful tips for getting and staying healthy is to maintain a food and activity diary. I mean, most of us, at least those of us who want to look like we are organized, keep a schedule of the things we plan to do either on a daily, weekly or monthly in some sort of organizer (there are some anal retentive Divas that do it on an hourly basis…bless you if you can do this and may I add, you need to see a professional for this sickness)

Write down the foods you eat or plan to eat, the activity you plan to do (walking, running, which DVD workout, etc) and how much of it you will do as well as the goals you plan on reaching for that day, week or month.

If you do this on a daily basis, make sure you do it the night before, this way the next morning you will know exactly what your meals and activities are. If you think that doing it a week at a time is your choice, then I suggest that you draft your schedule every Sunday night.

Now, please don’t write down what you know that you can never accomplish, that is setting yourself up for failure right from the start. Your behavioral goals should be simple and something that can be accomplished with few major changes in your life; example- cutting out excessive use of salt or sugar, or whatever behavior you want to change to make your life a more healthy one. Small changes can lead to bigger changes later on. Write it down and make it happen! (kinda like the movie, Field of Dreams..build it and they will come)

Remember to list EVERYTHING you eat, even snacks (don't try to lie and say you don't have the snacks Diet Divas, you know you do and you have to list them.) At the end of he week, sit down and review the past week. You may be surprised at the stuff you consume and the foods you can eliminate from your diet. I betcha didn't know that by cutting just 100 calories per day from your diet, you can lose ten (10) pounds a year. Yes, this is true.

So Diet Divas, in addition to keeping your diaries of “dirty little secrets,” keep a FOOD and ACTIVIY DIARY as well, believe me, this is one diary you won’t mind if it falls into the wrong hands or your mother reading if she happens to be spending her vacation with you and decides she wants to give your bedroom a quick cleaning (can someone please tell me why moms feel the need to still use that cleaning line? We all know they simply want to snoop)

If any of the Diet Divas out there do this already please give me some feedback, if you plan on doing it or have any other suggestions to add, give me feedback as well, I welcome it.

TTFN (TA TA FOR NOW)
Diet Diva 4 Life

You Can Ring My Kettle Bell

I am a collector of exercise DVDs and Videos (don't know whey some people still refuse to put their workouts on DVDs, please get into the 21st century) I have such an assortment that if I chose to workout every day for a month, I would never do the same workout twice in that month. Recently I found a new workout called Kettlentics that I have found to be my workout staple of the moment. Kettlenetics uses a weight that is called a KETTLEBELL or KBELL that is used for the muscle shaping benefits of resistance training, "Kettlenetics is a totally unique, dance-inspired exercise program that swings, slims and sculpts your entire body strong and slender, with easy, flowing moves set to incredible, upbeat music, for fast and fun, total body slimming!"

Though it is dance inspired ( a Miami City Ballet dancer by the name of Michelle Khai is the leading the workouts) you don't have to have rhythm to do it, so if you have been known to step on your own feet while doing the twist, don't let that scare you off. It is just lots of flowing movements while holding the kbell which increases the resistance and in turn burns fat without giving you bulky muscles like Arnold back in the day when he was in Conan the Barbarian, when he was looking like beefcake (not beef jerky like he is beginning to look now.) You can purchase the kettlebell kit which includes DVDs from the Kettlenetics website or pick it up from Amazon for much less than what the official website sells it for, that is if you think that it will be something that you might be interested in adding to your collection to use (or to give you one more thing that you have to blow the dust off of when you are cleaning).

Almost forgot, since KETTLEBELL workouts are the new craze in fitness now, the ever popular company known as THE FIRM also has a kit on the market. Again, you can find it for cheaper on Amazon if you look.

I want to hear your feedback on it if you do give it a try. Take care for today Diet Divas.

TTFN (ta ta for now)

Diet Diva 4 Life

Happy New Year Diet Divas!

Ok Diet Divas, so I rang in the new year, you know, Auld Lang Zine, watching Dick Clark on television and wondering why the heck he was not home in bed resting like I was. Of course I rang in the new year just as I sent the old one out, with food being shoveled into my face. The meatballs, the seafood quiche, the kabobs, the bacon wrapped chicken bites, need I go on? With each bite I was saying to myself, “tomorrow brings a new me.” I was thinking that I was going to start my new year off w/a bang, blow the dust off my workout DVD collection do at least 3-4 workouts per week and eat a sensible assortment of grain, fruits and vegetables and let's not forget, load up on the vitamins and water.

Here we are into the second month, I have done maximum maybe 5 workouts, eaten less than sensibly and still have not taken the plastic off my brand new bottle of superwoman vitamins. Why pray tell me am I still wondering why I have a side body profile not unlike the famous Elmer Fudd in the Bugs Bunny cartoons?

Where are you on your quest for the new year?? Have you done better than me? Do you want so show off and tell everyone how much you have accomplished? Come on Divas, share..

Hope to hear from you soon

TTFN (ta ta for now)
Diet Diva 4 Life