If you’re new to a class at my studio, the instructor moves people around so she can keep an eye on you! Yesterday in class we reviewed all the ways it was possible to “cheat” on some of the moves before we did them - so we didn’t cheat.
I get frustrated with those folks as well, abasket. There are no shortcuts. Smile and nod.
^^^Loved the post about yoga class. It’s so true. If you set your mat up in the front of the room, you set the bar higher. I recently started moving up to the front or in the middle of the room. It makes a difference.
Michael–thanks for the synopsis of the research.
Off to power class and dog walk–it’s 12 degrees today. Yikes!
Article on weight and health from a different perspective. Ignore the promotional aspects of the article. The concepts regarding the impact of being overweight come from a different perspective than what you normally see in the news.
http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/reasons-to-lose-weight
Thought provoking?
Ok, read that article MK (and then I HAVE to get back to work!!)…very thought provoking! The ones I can most relate to are knees, sleep, food taste - ALL true for me and things that I truly had lightbulb moments about during my wellness journey. My family has a history of knee problems, I remember being heavier and feeling “twinges” of knee pain - no more. I find that I don’t sleep as well - or am not as ready for sleep - on the nights I did not have good, substantial exercise throughout the day. And absolutely, food started to taste better - even vegetables (which I actually love more than fruit) once I paid attention and made more conscience decisions about what I put in my mouth. This holds true recently. Christmas cookies? Sometimes I don’t even know if I TASTE them - we shove them in our mouth and think about the next one. One cookie (or any other food item) savored? Much more enjoyable.
Health at any size is something that drives me insane. That really strikes a nerve with me.
Me too sabaray. There are elements of political correctness driven fictions to the “health at any size” camp that are very misleading. “Body shaming” is never right, is inappropriate and is counterproductive on every level but there is a fraud being foisted as a reaction to our equally misleading cultural pressures to be “thin” that is adverse to basic health and well being. And it’s being used by many as a rationalization for not making healthy lifestyle changes. The extremists on both ends of this debate are performing a real disservice to many.
Good article. Before I lost the 40-50 lbs i had sleep apnea. I don’t have it anymore.
Fitbit to unveil new “smart watch” to rival Apple:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/01/05/fitbit-takes-apple-smartwatch/78300470/
“If you’re new to a class at my studio, the instructor moves people around so she can keep an eye on you! Yesterday in class we reviewed all the ways it was possible to “cheat” on some of the moves before we did them - so we didn’t cheat.”
One of the yoga teachers in my studio is just one of those really kind people. Most of us there have been there a while and know the drill, but there are always newbies who struggle, feel embarrassed, etc. and you can see them start to “deflate.” One thing she does at times is - she says - turn around (and so we are facing out the window, versus facing the mirror) and then we’ll do the next set of moves. You can tell it helps to “un-embarrass” the people who are staring at their reflection in the mirror and feel ashamed, etc. I don’t know, it’s just really a kind thing to do.
Re data tracking (and I am loving how my Fitbit synchs with Mindbody, all my classes, my Weight Watchers, etc.) …
Does anyone track sleep? I track it just as part of the Fitbit (or more accurately I let the Fitbit track it, I don’t actually punch when I’m going to sleep). A few nights ago, I slept for 8 hours and 10 minutes and I woke up naturally and I swear, I felt like a new woman. It made me think - maybe I should set goals for myself regarding sleep. This would mean being in bed by 9 pm if I want to get up at 5 am to work out, and it means no late-night surfing of the Internet or CC 
But I wonder if that should be a part of overall fitness / health management for 2016 as well, esp now that I won’t have middle-of-the-night clients or pressing deadlines, yay! Thoughts??
Good articles and resources here! That new FitBit won’t have GPS though, right? To me, I would rather just have my Garmin GPS watch for running and my fitbit and regular dress watch for my daily activities.
3.1 miles in 25 degrees this morning. That’s cold! It’s sunny, though (well, at 6am it wasn’t that sunny, but it was clear).
I agree- getting weight off is simply a really good thing you can do for your health. It REALLY helps with running, too- both injury avoidance and speed. I have some friends who train and train, but are carrying a good 20-30 extra pounds and can’t understand why it is hard for them to improve their race times. Not everyone cares about that, but they do. It’s hard to say- get rid of some weight. I recognize how difficult it is to lose the weight, but many of us here are good testament to the fact that it certainly CAN be done.
I look at my sleep cycles on Fitbit - I consistently (in the last few months I’ve had it) sleep an average of 7.5 hours nightly a week. But that’s most mornings getting up to a set alarm (cause most days I have to) but I feel that leaves me with the right amount of sleep for me.
For me, to go to sleep I have to be ready to sleep. So I don’t think I could tell myself - “go to bed an hour earlier” - and then be ready to sleep.
If you have trouble sleeping, then I might say look at your sleep ROUTINE. What are you eating before bed? What are you reading (often they recommend no surfing in bed, before bed)??? Do you do better falling asleep alone or with someone else already in the bed? (this may seem silly but H and I totally go to bed on our own - and I find I fall asleep better if he is not there initially - which often happens).
Great points, abasket, that pre-sleep activites could be interfering with sleep. I try to avoid blue screens before going to bed because I know they mess us my sleep (easier said than done). Sadly, I have to get my body into the bed at the same time as Mr. because Mr. feels lonely (nevermind that he falls asleep when his head hits the pillows, and I stay awake for another hour or so).
Did my pushups, fed the family, and we are off for a hike.
Sleep is a problem area for me but I don’t know that tracking my sleep cycles would help. I think I already obsess over enough!
I am trying to do a better job with race planning this year. I ran one last year and it was a miserable result - then the whole year just spiraled. I am tentatively thinking of a 10-miler in March, a half in early June and mid August and then a marathon in either October or November. I am guaranteed my MCM entry this year and something tells me I will regret it if I don’t do it.
I got 3.5 miles in before the rain arrived this morning. I could see it coming, it made me run faster!
Beautiful video, MnK! Just about everyone in it looks more graceful–long and lean I guess (not that I’d want to wear that hemline again, or cinch the waist, or feel obliged to sport the heels and polished hair and hats–but the more formal lines are elegant!).
I also appreciate the article. All good reasons to keep weight off once it’s off. My feet certainly feel much better when I’m lighter.
Speaking of feet, and footwear, and impending cold and snowy climes, I dug out my favorite old, old boots–actually S2 got them down from the top closet shelf–and he said, “Mom, you’d better take a look at this” in the voice of doom. My, my, but the soles of my boots were pulling off, and brittle, rendering the boots useless. Looks like I’m going north, without the appropriate footwear. 
I have borrowed a heavy coat from a neighbor, after a good laugh over its unstylish, dated shoulder pads. Floridians are not meant to travel north in January, I think.
I ran 4 miles this morning when it was about 60 lovely degrees, and I’ll do some more walking to get over the 5.5 miles for the 2016 goal. Must add in the planks and little upper body weights.
Where do you go PlantMom? Minnesota? Do they have snow right now??? Many places in the midwest do not!
I’ve been monitoring sleep since I got my new Fitbit charge about 3 weeks ago. I’m surprised how interested I am in the data. I get more sleep than I thought I did (except for those night when I got under 4 hours). I don’t wake up to an alarm, and usually the earlier I go to sleep the earlier I wake up – so while in theory I’d like to get more hours of sleep it looks as if my body is happy with what I get.
Some really yummy looking high protein breakfast recipes - many perfect for just one (I know I’m often just making breakfast for me)
http://wordpress.livestrong.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/LS_18_recipes_FINAL.pdf?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=reengage_f>>>>>>
Those look fantastic, thanks so much!
We have snow in Northern Michigan, I went XC skiing today. Not much though and we just started. The snow was great but I am sore tonight. I used muscles I hadn’t in a while. Hopefully I sleep well tonight.
Since we haven’t had much snow Plantmom, even if you don’t have any boots you should be able to pick up a pair when you get to where you are going. I’m pretty lazy, most of the time I don’t put my boots on unless I have to tramp around somewhere they haven’t cleared the snow. Most everything here is cleared, but it can be icy. Just be careful.