I just joined the 12WBT’ers J.

These are my pre season tasks.

Introduce: I am about to introduce myself on the forum. My user name is gray-nomad.

Get Real: Time to ‘get real’.  I am full on in my effort MOST days. I do not go far off track when I am, not fully focused. However, because I want to increase the effort I am putting in on developing fitness, I believe, that enlisting the assistance of this professional program will be highly motivational for me.

Set My Goals: I have set my goals. I plan to lose an average 2.5 kilo, every four weeks for as long as I need to.  I set a four-week goal at a time and will strive to not focus on weekly weigh in, as weekly is never a steady rate for me.

Gear Up: I have,  I just bought Michelle Bridges, ‘Crunch Time’, Cook Book and Exercise book and her Australian, calorie counter. I have and still regularly use my Wii Biggest Loser interactive fitness program for Wii and I just increased my efforts to the Intermediate level. 

Tell Someone:  Now I have enrolled in this program with Michelle Bridges as my trainer, I plan to tell everyone who is interested. J.  

Kitchen Makeover: I think even Michelle Bridges would be impressed with my kitchen, lol, o refined carbohydrates or processed foods in my place, my gains are whole grains, my nuts are raw and unsalted. My electronic scales sit on my bench top and I weigh portions to make sure I do not exceed calories.

Organize and Diarize: I made an effort today to pre plan to do my exercise as soon as I woke up and then to do a second session in the afternoon. I made the mistake, of not spending longer, on the warm up, I hurt my back. Nothing serious, I’ll still exercise tomorrow I will just go for a walk first then do the warm up exercises. Indigo our dog is going to LOVE my including a walk with her as a pre warm up routine. J. The only diet supplements. I should need to take will be my Blackmores, Calcium Plus and My Vitamin D 3 in the evening, because of my own diagnosed need for extra of these.

Measure Up:  I have already taken front and side view photos and waist measurements. This will give me a way to measure my achievements. I will add upper arm, thigh, and hips measurements to these.  I need to take my starting weight for the 12 WBT , here I have a dilemma. I get a different weight depending on what scales I weigh on. There is a 6-kilo difference, which scales are correct? I find travelling in caravans make scale measurement very unreliable.  I will use the higher measurement for the 12WBT,  because those are the scales I will take away in the caravan on tour with me. I have started a challenge with friends on the lower measurement. That will be confusing to my friends if I do not explain my scales measure differently.

 

I am having a lovely weekend, it is free of any commitments to others and appointments, just Reg, Indigo the dog, and me, doing exactly what we like, in our own time, keeping each other company and enjoying life.

With no commitments, just choosing what I wanted to do, I have chosen a quiet day with the TV on, watching parts of the Winter Olympic Games, blogging, creative writing, a few home chores, the laundry and healthy delicious meals for two, also my  full body workout, which I now feel lazy if I do not do.

It is three weeks since I began my new exercise routine, so I should be through the hard part, it should now be ‘habit’.

I have experimented to try to work out the ideal time plan that is going to allow me to fit in all my busy life activities, when we are travelling between locations. Today I feel I have found the time management formula, I will be able to make work and one that is compatible with the contradictions of my love of sedentary creative arts and my need to be an active, person so I have the fitness level and health I desire

I can see that my current exercise and eating plan is working for me and I know that for me exercise is an incredibly important part of my initial weight loss and latter on, weight management journey. Three years ago, I was unhealthy, morbidly obese and almost very sedentary. I will never be one to exercise for the love of exercise, I LOVE what exercise does for ME and I exercise because I have learned to respect and love myself.

I know for some people, the area in their life they are working on improving is the eating part, and they do not have a problem with being active, and here am I, with no desire whatever to eat chocolate or chips. How different are we?

Certainly, no one fitness plan suits us all. The basics of energy balance remain the same but just as some people clean the skin successfully with little more than water and others have a beauty parlour of brand loyal or assorted creams and lotions, there is no ‘one size fits all’, anything. That is why I always suggest, ‘ask for personal guidance from experts’, in anything your wanting to master.

I took a look, at forum topic about blackhead treatment, about two weeks ago. I left my own advice in there, knowing at the time, mine would not be the usual suggestions. That is just an example of how, what feels right for my face, and what feels right for me to do for my body, may not be a program that is manageable nor desirable, for another.

Each person does, what works, for them.  The only time we need question this, is if what we are doing is not working and then it becomes a case of not continuing to do the same thing we always did and expecting a different result. Sometimes we have to change from what is comfortable, to attain a goal we seek. Sometimes it is even fun to push outside of our comfort zone, try something new, increase activities, and discover, we are getting results after only three weeks as I have just doneJ.  It is fun, when we get to see some results.
 

Three weeks into my Biggest Loser, interactive full body work out training for the Wii at the begginer level and I am ready to restart at a higher level and I am seeing fantastic results.
I know the differences this week are due to the new exercises, as everything else, my diet, my incidental exercise routine, have remained the same.

Results are showing. Drum roll........I made up for a fluids weight gain last week.......a near unbelievable 5 kilo weight loss this week (I ONLY aim for 640 gram, I am not after fast, I Am after lasting excess fat loss( and I increased my exercise level and duration today, :-) I am reporting this to say 'hang in there' when the scales are crazy and show gains when you know you put in the effort, they are not as accurate as consistent effort is in showing the results, the scales are only 'a tool', not your judge and jury.

Yesterday I was noticing more muscle in my upper arms, this I want, as it will help fill up the area where I am losing excess fat. The other day when drying myself after a shower I saw muscles I had not seen before in my lower legs and lol, I often ‘feel’ the muscles in my butt these days so I know I am working these. The muscle development I am getting is subtle but considering it is only 21 days since I began my biggest loser interactive training workouts, you would think I was on hgh, the change seems so dramatic for me.

The thing that excites me the most is that I can do ‘the plank’ exercise, and the quad stretches, those were beyond my ability a month ago.  

J. Do not pop my bubbleJ, by reminding me I am still a work very much in progress, lol, I want to bask in the glow of having discovered a pair of little bud muscles on my upper arms tonight, J  and it is all, ‘home grown’ lol.

 

Eating nuts as part of a healthy and portion controlled eating plan is a natural way for humans to eat, so it makes a lot of sense that this readily available food should be good for us and the only secret to weight management, is to eat a healthy variety of all food groups, to suit our energy needs, and to move our bodies in a healthy way. 

One food item that continually presents itself as a great food for people if eaten in moderation is nuts and seeds. While they are not a fat burner supplement, it has been proven in research that people who regularly eat small quantities of nuts and seeds every day, tend to be slimmer than non-nut eaters.  

Nuts help to satiate "true hunger" much better than any oil, due to high fibre and nutrient levels. Eating the same calorie value as refined carbohydrates and you find yourself with food cravings and low blood sugar causing false hunger signals as your body tells you it is hungry when in fact it is starved of nutrition.

 Nuts and seeds also contain about 1/4 the calories of oil. This is important because most of us think of nuts as a high-calorie, high fat food. Remember that the objective of optimal nutrition is nutrient density, it is wrong to think that all oils and all carbohydrates are unhealthy. There are healthy oils and healthy carbohydrate s and we need the good oil and carbohydrates in our diet in order to maintain optimum health. When you consider the fat-soluble vitamins play a large part in maintaining the health of the respiratory and reproductive tract, you can see how unhealthy a very low fat diet is and it is the natural fats in plants rather than the solid animal based fats that are our healthy option.

Consumption of raw nuts daily reduces cholesterol and  the risk of heart disease, there is also a decrease in diabetes.

Nuts are a valuable source of protein, and because they grow, encased in hard shells, they are less likely to be, contaminated, with environmental poisons. 

My tip if you initially cannot resist overeating in quantity, when you purchase a large bag of fresh nuts, is to place these in mini, press seal bags in quantities of 8 to 20 nuts.  I find 8-10 nuts os a great snack with a piece of fruit or added to my rolled oats breakfast and 20 nuts with some vegetables makes a fast food lunch.  20 nuts, on hand, in your bag or in the car is a healthy meal, stand by, if you  are caught out when hunger hits and there is no healthy choice to buy or make, where you happen to be. It will satisfy until you can get home and add some vegetables to balance the meal, nutritionally. 

If the idea of vegetables does not appeal to you, have you tried a large grilled mushroom or Mixed vegetable salad or Microwave for 3 minutes bunch of asparagus, all served with sesame and sunflower seed sprinkle? Stir-fry in 1 teaspoon of olive oil, or steamed vegetables with nuts?

I am nuts about fresh raw, unsalted, wholesome nuts J

Research fererence:- Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health found three times as many people trying to lose weight were able to stick to a Mediterranean-style moderate-fat weight loss diet that included nuts, peanuts and peanut butter versus the traditionally recommended low-fat diet. (International Journal of Obesity, Oct. 5, 2001). 

When you see the words, best anti aging products, do you think about our thoughts and emotions? Positive thinking is positive healthy living and aging well, anti aging if you prefer. Me I am quite comfortable to age, in fact I am positively enjoying the experience and do not see it as something to prevent, just something to strive to do well.  Positive thinking can bring, good health. 

No matter what our belief structure, or chosen interpretation, or the name we choose to use to describe when we seek to think in positive ways,  we are generating healthy new cell growth within our body, destroying diseased cells, by strengthening our autoimmune system, when we think positively.

The Law of Attraction, Positive Mental Attitude or PMA for short, cockeyed optimism or Pollyanna behaviour, is all about dwelling on what is beautiful. This positive attitude has been the corner stone of most major belief systems, throughout time. Why?  Because it is a formula for a healthy happy life.

You do not often catch me quoting the Bible, but these works from Paul in his letter to the Philippians known as Philippians, Chapter 4 Verse 8, epitomise the best of positive mental attitude/law of attraction/ thinking and has given me strength through my adult life. Whatever your belief, these are great words of wisdom to live by and attract wellness into your life.

“Finally, brothers and sisters,  whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.”

 

The health benefits of positive thinking

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

§  Increased life span

§  Lower rates of depression

§  Lower levels of distress

§  Greater resistance to the common cold

§  Better psychological and physical well-being

§  Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease

§  Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body. It's also thought that positive and optimistic people live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and have reduced rates of smoking and alcohol consumption.

Our thinking and emotions are only one part of the holistic approach to healthy aging which is a term I personally prefer to the words, ‘anti aging’.

 

To achieve a goal, we have to BELIEVE that goal is possible.

We need to be able to visualise this goal for ourselves.

We need to be totally, focused on wanting it.

We need to believe in the benefits of achieving the goal.

Then it helps us achieve the goal, if we can, associating with others who have the same goal and are achieving or who have already achieved that goal.

My goal is similar to that of many of my friends, it is different in that there are few, age mid sixties women, within my circle of friends who are out there, kicking butt to get and stay fit. I know they exist; I just have not yet, surrounded myself with them and the clear image of them in my mind. I’m no quitter, they exist and I will find them.  Maybe you know someone like this, or like me, aspire to be a fit senior, I would love to hear from more seniors that are positive about fitness training and receive your comments. J. Thank you.

I watched the biggest loser ‘Dream Outfit’ episode and once again, I thought about the problem I have had of trying to visualise myself, almost in my mid sixties, at my perfect slim, body size. 

I have for a few years, been looking at slim and fit, senior women and I must admit; they are in the minority. I am trying to fix those positive images into my mind. I have a cut out from a magazine of a picture of a grey haired with some healthy happy laugh lines showing, (an image I can associate with), woman in her slender sized, gym outfit. This is on the wall where I see it every day.

I would love to have more of these positive images.  You can be sure I will not find slim gorgeous fit looking seniors, in the Ferrari adds, lol, they use sleek slender, young ladies whom I have long since stopped visualising myself as aspiring to be like, as the ‘prop’, with the car. Perhaps lol J, I need to look at the Ferrari parts adds. J lol.

I did find these: - images.  slim senior fit, woman, and these are the sort of images I am seeking, to help me believe that being a senior, being slim and being fit and healthy, is a real achievable goal.  I hope those images help you, also, gain a positive image in your mind, of senior fitness and help you BELIEVE, this can also be you, as I also need to work on believing it will be true for me.

For the image to illustrate the story, you are lol, J, ‘stuck with me’, as I do not have non copyright images of fit, slim healthy senior women I can show you.  One day I hope to change that. I hope to have many images of a slim senior, I can show~~~ME. J

 

Life has been a bit hectic for me this week and I missed out on two of my exercise sessions but the positive side was I DID succeed in getting to bed before midnight for six nights in a row, quite an achievement for me, so I have been looking after myself. :-). I did actually gain some weight so the cutting back on exercise had a negative effect.  I know not to panic, I know it is ‘life style’, not panic short sprint actions that will make the difference I want to happen in my life.  

It is often hard to maintain my focus on this and that is why I express, in my blog,  that I am seeking ‘balanced life’, not a yo-yo of being on or being off a diet. I keeps me focused and stops me going from one extreme, overeating and or under activity, to the opposite extreme, of deprivation or one food group denial dieting which is unhealthy for very long and unsustainable.

Yes I have friends who have chosen to lose weight this way, I DO wish them well, it just does not work as a healthy option for me, I want a lifetime of comfort around food, food pleasure, weight management, not dependence on a diet and being on a diet struggling with weight for the rest of my life.

I had planned to join in several start of February fitness slimming and challenges then other priorities that were very important to me took most of my time and I am only participating in a  simple one, with a group of friends.

Thinking about this, I know that this is the year when I ;learn how to incorporate a busy lifestyle of creative work with eating well and being active and fitness orientated plus having adequate sleep hours.

Today was a good start, I have visited both daughters and grandchildren, son in laws, four hours drive apart, managed time for a country walk, a fresh fruit and vegetable shop up, I am being creative now, working on my photos and writing and I may pack some art supplied for out next trip,  tonight.

I have also begun, to research more links to time and life management, as I know the secret to weight management for me is not in radical diets or extreme actions, it is as simple and as hard, as managing the lifestyle balance of doing all the things I love to do, gaining satisfaction from my life and not from a desire to overeat or seek out comfort foods of low nutrition.


I thought this was a fantastic article, in Kirstens Blog. 
Learning how to start jogging 
Just be careful not to slip in the snake oil and dodge the fake magic weight loss berries as you search the web with me for great helpful information :-) There is great information between the scams, if you keep in mind, you cannot buy weight loss, it 's about life management and we have to do it yourself, we will be safe from the hoax and the yo-yo forever.

Mushroooms have been one of my most successful weight management foods.

I love the large meaty flavoured mushrooms. I love that they are low calorie and one medium sized mushrooom, grilled or seared until brown in a hot pan over a teaspoon of oliv oil, become an excellent, healthy taste and texture substitued for a steak and they leave me feeling I have eaten a substantial hot meal, not just a 100 calorie snack.

Mushrooms are the great all rounder, useful vegetables in most people's shopping baskets.   Economy tip, I find Aldi stores the very best for use imediatelly sliced mushroonms and use with three days small button mushrooms. I prefer the fruit shop or IGA stores for the large meaty flavoried mushrooms.

Cup, button and Swiss brown. - Great for adding flavour to stews.

Chestnut:- Nutty flavour, firm texture.

Portabello - My snack meal favorite, its large size and meaty flavour makes it a great lunch, grill, BBQ, bake or pan heat sear it.

Enoki and Shimeji:- Asian delecacies that I have bought but I have not been able to get used to the flavour of, perhaps an aquared taste.  These are used raw or lightly cooked in soups and stiir fries.

Shitake:- Firm and meaty flavoured, used in  Asian dishes, I have enjoyed these.

Oyster:-These come in pink, yellow and grey.  As a child I harvested the yellow oyster mushrooms from a paddock, the mushroom collectors I was with called them continental mushrooms and they were very familiar with them.  My mum refused to allow me to eat them as she was only familiar with the common paddok or field mushroom that grows well after rain, in Victoria.  It was a wise move, many people are poisoned every year eating what they believe to be field mushrooms which are in fact poisonus toadstools.  If in doubt, throw it out.

Nutrition.

100 gram = 25 calories.
Vitamin B group, Vitamin D

Avoid slimey or shrivelled mushrooms, they should be firm and dry.

Store in brown paper bag in fridge and use withing a few days.

Musrooms are ideal for lightly cooked meals or eaten raw and can be added to almost any meal.


Vegetables in general and fruit in moderation are natures weight management tools.  Vegetables are low in fat and only avocado is high in fat and even that is highly beneficial in moderation I have up to 1/3 of an avocado as my oil serve for the day. All vegetables and fruit, contains fibre especially if you eat the skin and this is filling as well as healthy for the digestive tract.

Here is a list of great healthy eating vegetables, get to love them, use them generously, use the sweet versions like blueberries as lolly and sweet substitutes/ Remember that potatoes and corn are not fattening in themselves it is what you add to them that makes them fattening or in the case of potatoes, how you cook them.  These foods are our friends.

From 'Simply in Season'

• General Tips
• Apples
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac
• Celery
• Collards
• Corn
• Cranberries
• Cucumbers
• Edamame
• Edible flowers
• Eggplant
• Fennel
• Grapes
• Green beans
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Leeks
• Lettuce
• Melon
• Mesclun
• Mushrooms
• Okra
• Onions
• Parsnips
• Peaches
• Pears
• Peas
• Peppers
• Persimmons
• Potatoes
• Pumpkins
• Raspberries
• Rhubarb
• Rutabagas
• Spinach
• Summer squash
• Strawberries
• Swiss chard
• Sweet potatoes
• Tomatillos
• Tomatoes
• Turnips
• Wild greens
• Winter squash

I am promoring this package of two life coaching sessions, all proceeds go to the Hope From Ashes charity to assist those rebuilding their lives after the Toodyay Fires of December 2009

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Life-Coaching-Two-Sessions_W0QQitemZ300394611814QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Education_Learning?hash=item45f0ea0466


Two personal Life Coaching Sessions ( Each session 60 minutes)  Face to face or phone coaching - Phone Coaching costs are incurred by client -  SKYPE is an option.
 Life Coaching sessions at  Inner Rhythm with Sherry Davies- Selak has written for magazines and is a reiki Master Teacher and NLP Trainer

Just as there is fitness for the body there is also emotional/ mental fitness for the brain. Life coaching is just that. If you are feeling stuck and need help to move forward... Learn the things successful people do. Learning how to use precise language, clear thinking and relevant action, you can create the life you have always wanted. Get rid of limiting ideas and beliefs forever. Blow out negative emotions, self sabotage and procrastination.
Find out what it is you REALLY want.

Donated by Inner Rhythm

Hope from Ashes

The Hope From Ashes auction will run online starting on the date of the benefit concert with new items being put up daily over the next week.  This online auction will raise awareness and funds and give people the opportunity to contribute and help Toodyay people who are rebuilding after the fire.

We have tried to gather together a range of diverse and high quality items and services that in some way reflect the diversity and creativity of the Toodyay community. In finding a gift for yourself you will be giving to the Toodyay community and we hope the excitement and high energy of the auction will be uplifting and inspiring in its way.

The auction has the Hope From Ashes flavour celebrating and demonstrating the generosity, positivity and support that has flowed so readily for and within the Toodyay community.

As well as people from Perth many local Toodyay businesses and individuals have also contributed to the auction, some although deeply affected by the fires through loss of home or workplace. Artworks, craft items, trips away, fantastic meals and even life coaching sessions, massages, motoring items, clothing and collectors plates are just a few of the amazing items we can offer you. The list grows every day so “no napping” or you may miss a fabulous item…which is just what you need!

We hope you will enjoy the items on offer and we hope you have fun whilst you bid big as we pull together to raise much needed funds for the survivors of the Toodyay Bushfires.

If you wish to make a donation in person, please use the following Bendigo Bank details. Thank you.


Hope from Ashes
BSB: 633 000
Account: 139 064 364

I have just reopened the motivational fridge magnet section of the artslim website.  All the art work images are the the work of myself, Kathy Shell.  You can discover more about me as the artist, in my A Creative Life Blog, at http://www.kathy-shell.net web site and there are even more fridge magnets available through my women,words,works blog and http://www.fridgemagnetart.com website.

Postage for these motivational fridge magnets is free for any quantity for Australian clients and International clients only need to purchase four or more fridge magnets, to receive free shipping costs.

I would love to hear your own motivational quotes, if you would like to share them through the comment section, everyone will be able to enjoy them :-). Thanks.