‘Tis The Season! Goblins, Gobblers, Gatherings & the Gift of a Spare Tire.

October 28, 2010 By

As we enter the holiday season, many of us stress out about gaining excess weight. With all of the delicious meals & family gatherings filled with baked goods, how could one not be tempted? There are many ways to stay on track & even improve your fitness level before the New Year rolls around. This year let’s try to do things a little differently…No more punching extra holes in your belt, refuse to buy yet another pair of stretchy waisted pants to help with post-meal discomfort & win the battle of the bulge! If you’re looking to maintain or lose weight this Holiday Season, here’s a SMART PLAN you can refer to help you stay in shape & avoid the typical holiday weight gain.


Sweets

Meals

Alcohol & Agua

Rest

Training


Plan ahead

Light

Adjust your Attitude

Nutrition


Sweets: Sweets & treats are THE downfall of the Holiday Season. You can have them, but limit your sweets & treats to the actual holidays and days that being with “S”. Eat your sweets slowly & REALLY enjoy your treats. Savoring the flavors will cause you to slow down and be more conscious of what & how much you are eating. You can indulge, but remember to do so in MODERATION!

Meals: Eating 5-6 small meals a day instead of 2-3 large meals will help keep cravings and overeating at bay. Each meal should be between 200-300 calories and be rich in lean proteins, produce and whole grains.

Alcohol & Agua: Limit your alcohol consumption and increase your water intake. When drinking alcohol, try to make low-cal choices like wine or champagne and stay away from high calorie drinks like daiquiris. Also, drinking water or a low-cal non-alcoholic drink in between your alcoholic drinks will help reduce your calorie intake.

Rest: All of the running around we do during the Holidays can be exhausting. Make sure to get your 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Being rested will lead to you making better food and exercise choices and ensure you have the energy to keep up with all the holiday activities.

Training: Get in 30-60 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week. Exercising doesn’t mean being a “slave” to the gym. You can make it fun – take the kids outside & go sledding, snow shoe on hiking trails, have an old fashion snowball fight. Whatever it is, just get yourself moving.


Plan Ahead: Schedule workouts in your day planner & treat them like you would any other important appointment. Make a grocery list of good food choices for healthy meals so you won’t be tempted to buy “whatever is easy & in a box” at the store. Having a plan in place will make it easier to stick to your goals. If you know you are going to a big Holiday party on weekend, then you can plan out healthy meals and a workout schedule for the week so you won’t feel guilty splurging a bit at the party.

Light: As the amount of daylight decreases, so can our moods. The combination of the cold weather & the lack of sunshine can cause you get the winter blahs and want to snuggle up on the couch with some junk food until spring. Get outside and exercise or open up the shades on sunny days to let the rays in to increase your mood.

Adjust Your Attitude: Stop thinking “It’s the Holidays, it’s ok to put on a few pounds” and start thinking about how you can look HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS! You can stick to a healthy diet and moderate exercise program and still have fun. Eat healthy and exercise most days of the week and you can “cheat” without destroying your diet.

Nutrition: Make sure you are getting the right foods to keep your body healthy during the hectic Holiday Season. A diet full of colorful fruits and veggies, lean proteins and whole grains will give your body the nutrients that it needs to stave off sickness, give you energy for workouts and keep you up and running to all those Holiday Events.

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Fun, Fitness & Fundraising

October 23, 2010 By

The first race I ever ran was a charity 5K to raise money for a young girl who had cancer. I had never raced before and I had no idea what to or what to expect. I was freezing, my stomach was making crazy noises, I had bad case of nervous bladder and I couldn’t stop thinking about what my time would be. As I was waiting at the start line, a guy’s T-shirt caught my eye. The saying on the back of his shirt said “Running…Every Step I Take Is For Someone Who Can’t”. After reading that, the race had a completely different meaning to me. My race was no longer about how nervous I was feeling or how cold that morning was or what my time would be, but it was about a little girl who should have been running and jumping and living a healthy life instead of being in a wheelchair. Hundreds of people where doing something that she couldn’t so we (and God) could help ensure that some day she could again!

 

That race was 6 years ago and every time I’m having a difficult run or I have NO motivation to put my running shoes on, that saying pops into my head. Why am I trying to find any excuse not to run when there are so many people out there who would give anything in the world to be able to run? Too many of us take our health and fitness for granted. We make up excuses why we can’t workout, but if our ability to exercise were taken away tomorrow, we’d spend the rest of our lives wishing we could. Our health and fitness is a gift that can be taken away in a heartbeat.

 

Every year I try to do as many fitness based charity events as I can BECAUSE I can. Last month I was able to be a part of an amazing event that made its debut in the great state of Wisconsin – THE MS MUD RUN. On September 11th my teammates –Skirts In The Dirt – and I had the opportunity to use our fitness ability help raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. We ran through countless mud bogs, jumped over fire, climbed cargo nets and survived 70+ obstacles on a challenging 6 mile course. I had mud in places that I didn’t even know existed and I was pushed WAY out of my comfort zone, but I also laughed so hard that my stomach hurt and made memories with some incredible girls that will last a life time. It was a great event that gave all of us an unbelievable workout and raised over $250,000 for the MS Society.

 

Fitness and exercise doesn’t have to be all about running on a treadmill or pumping iron in the weight room. Make it fun, exciting and do it for a good cause. Get friends together and run a 5K for The Special Olympics, walk the 3 Day for Breast Cancer Awareness, join the Relay for Life. Pick a charity and get moving for it! Not only will you be getting a great workout, but you will be sweating for a good cause & making some great memories.

 

Team "Skirts In The Dirt" at the 2010 MS Mud Run. (Left to Right) Me, Mia, Rosalee, Tricia, Selena

 

“Our health always seems SO much more valuable after we lose it.” ~Unknown

 

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Age Is Just A Number

October 23, 2010 By

As a personal trainer & bootcamp instructor, I wear many different hats. Teacher. Motivator. Coach. Encourager. And maybe a few colorful names that my clients call me under their breath. But as a fitness pro, my favorite “job” that I do, by far, is the excuse buster. Insert a mental picture here of me wearing a leotard with a big EB on the front and my cape waiving in the breeze. I’ve heard them all: “I can’t workout because I’m too tired/busy/broke”, “I don’t have to exercise because I have an active job” (actual quote from someone with a desk job), “I am too out of shape to start a fitness program”. But the best one I’ve heard is “I’m too old to workout.” When I hear this one, I reach into my magic personal trainer bag & pull out my best excuse busting success story – the story of my parents. My parents are athletes. My parents are fitness fanatics. My parents inspire others to workout. AND my parents started working out seriously when they were in their 50’s.

My parents, Gabby & Kris Lubich, have always been active people. My dad never worked out (probably because he was too busy talking to the neighbors – hence the nickname Gabby), but my mom has always exercised in some way. I remember doing my first workout with my mom in our living room. I will not admit fully to it, but it might have been a Jane Fonda VHS and we may or may not have been wearing sweatbands and leg warmers. When they were in their 50’s, my parents became walkers. Every morning before work they’d go out for their 3 mile walk. Everyday – faithfully – despite what Mother Nature would throw at them. When walking wasn’t enough for them anymore, they transitioned into running. AND when recreational running wasn’t enough of a challenge for them, they started running competitively. They became “Weekend 5K Warriors”. If there was a 5K to be ran, they’d be there running it. Running became their passion and it showed. My dad Gabby is faster than men half his age and my mom leaves 30 year old men in the dust. It is rare when they don’t come in first in their age groups and they improve their times at almost every race.

My parents are a personal trainers dream! They are always striving to better themselves. While many people their age are sitting on the couch, taking their high cholesterol meds, accepting that the 50 pounds that they’ve put on since high school are there to stay, my parents are out there running to remain healthy & stay young. Is it a major shot to my ego when my mom looks at me like “is that all you got” during my bootcamp or when my dad leaves me in his dust when we go for a run? Heck no – I am proud of them! They inspire me to be just like them when I’m their age!

You can start exercising at any age. Age is just a number and don’t let that number define you. No matter what age you start working out, it will make a positive impact on your health. Don’t wait until you have a health problem and have to workout, start now before the problems arise.

 

My parents Kris & Gabby posing with their 1st Place hardware after a race.

 

 

“We don’t quit exercising because we grow old. We grow old because we stop exercising.” ~Dr. Kenneth Cooper


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