“It’s gettin’ it’s gettin’ it’s gettin’ kinda heavy. I’ve got the power.” ~Snap

You find yourself sitting there, a box of cookies in your lap, an empty bag of chips at your feet, a gallon of ice cream half gone. And you wonder, “What happened to my desire to lose weight? What happened to me?”

You might ask yourself where you went wrong, how you cracked, or how you ended up on this eating binge. “Why didn’t I say no?” you question. “Why couldn’t I just walk away? Why wasn’t I stronger?”

The reason, simply and honestly, is that you didn’t want to be strong…because perhaps you no longer believe in your own strength.

Sometimes we let life beat us down. Our day-to-day activities take away much of what is intrinsically “us” at the core. It is our core that is vibrant, strong, healthy, full of life, love and passion. Sometimes our core beings get buried, though, and we forget who we are, and mostly – how strong we are.

So take a moment to look back at your life. Think of all the things you DID do. Maybe you’ve survived a serious childhood illness, lost a beloved pet, overcome your first heartbreak, aced a test you thought you’d fail, or finished college while working full-time. Maybe you’ve experienced a firing or a layoff, carried and borne children, gone through an ugly divorce, lost a parent or a spouse, received an unexpected promotion, walked away from a car accident, or found your soul mate. Possibly you’ve excelled at a sport, learned a new hobby, survived a surgery, or cried with happiness at your child’s graduation.

Grab that little moment and reflect on your loves and losses. Maybe even make a list of what you’ve overcome and what you’ve accomplished. Then look at the cookies – directly into their beady, evil (yummy) chocolate chip eyes – and ask yourself, “I did all of that and I can’t do this? I can’t say ‘no, not right now?’ I can’t lose weight? Really???”

Answer that question to yourself. If you can remember the feelings of empowerment or the relief after surviving something traumatic you will realize that you can say no…that you really are as strong and capable now as you were then.

And you’ve got the power again, baby. Game on.

Onward and forward.

~Helen

The answer is no, at least according to a Time Magazine article published last week, Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin. In fact, it is their thought that exercise might even make it harder for you to lose that excess weight.

Could this possibly be true?

As someone who has lost 80 pounds and gone from a size 20 to a size 4 by exercising and making moderate changes to her diet, I can confidently state “not very likely.”

Why would Time Magazine makes those claims if they are not accurate? Because study results are always open to interpretation – and because we are talking about that very article right now. Buzz is good for business. That’s why.

When I first read the article on why exercise will not help with weight loss, I did so with an open mind. I analyzed the studies presented, examined the facts, and listened to the experts. Putting my own bias about the many obvious benefits of exercise aside, I found the article itself had many biases against exercise.

Dr. Timothy Church, chair in Health Wisdom at LSU, and quoted in the Time article, has since stated, via the American College  of Sports Medicine, that his “professional opinions were misrepresented,” and adds, “Exercise and diet go together. Weight management is most successful when careful attention is given to both physical activity and proper nutrition (ACSM, 2009).” ACSM has also released their own opinion on the subject in a press release dated August 7, 2009.

Your Self-Control Is Getting Weaker…

Despite article claims that exercise increases hunger (which it can, for a bit), or that people feel justified to eat more if they’ve exercised (it certainly happens), the oddest assertion is that your self control weakens the more you use it. In essence, the author seems to be telling us that if we use our self-control to make ourselves exercise, we won’t have any will power left later to control what we put in our mouths.

The Examiner looked at that statement, and the underlying study, and found that [the author] “…mistakenly misinterprets two psychologists who claim that “self-control operates like a muscle or strength… [a] limited resource that is depleted afterward (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000).  Cloud states that “will power, like a muscle, weakens each day after you use it.”  First, muscle actually gets stronger after continual use, which is a basic, fundamental concept in exercise physiology.   Cloud also misrepresents Muraven and Baumeister’s will-power model.  Although the authors say that self-control is reduced under stress, Cloud interprets this as after a person goes for a run, s/he will eat a pizza rather than a salad.  However, once again, he fails to see the bigger picture. In their review, Muraven and Baumeister recognize  that “not only does self-control show short-term fatigue effects like a muscle does, it also shows long-term improvement, just as a muscle gets stronger through exercise.  In other words, there is a long-term effect of gaining strength with practice.”

In other words, when you first start using your self control, it may be weak. But with continued and regular use, it will grow in strength. Sounds just like a muscle, huh?

The Flip Side

To learn some positives about exercise and how it can improve your life and health, Fitness has put together 10 benefits of exercise for you to review. Don’t cancel that gym membership quite yet…

(written for One More Set – a health and fitness blog)

Yes, that’s correct. You actually heard a woman say that she loves her thighs.

My thighs are not particularly attractive: They are neither long nor thin nor tan. In fact, they are kind of short, bulky and pale. So why do I love them?

Through literally thick and thin, my legs have done their job. They have climbed to the top of the Acropolis in Greece; splashed in the fjords of Norway; walked on the beaches of Thailand. They have taken me 100 miles by bicycle from Irvine to San Diego, run a 5k in Temecula, and ridden up Mt. Palomar. These very same legs have rocked babies to sleep, walked children to school and held kids up in the air in a game of “airplane.” As a personal trainer, they have shown clients how good it feels to move, and as a Spinning instructor they have led full classes on endorphin-elevating adventures.

My thighs have seen a lot. They have been very overweight, where at times they would blister on the insides from rubbing together. They have been very thin, where light could actually be seen in between them. Now they are in the middle. Neither thin nor fat, but rather sturdy and muscular.

I never feel as great as when I’m wearing bike shorts, mounting a bicycle, feet secured in familiar clipless pedals, thighs ready for action. I’m sure I don’t actually look as fabulous as I feel in those bike shorts, but I don’t really care – I am strong, capable, and very happy.

Sometimes I wish I had long, lean legs – sure. The kind of legs that turn mens’ heads. But then I remember that turning mens’ heads does not make me feel empowered, that wearing a miniskirt well does not release endorphins, and that no amount of tanning will get me up the side of a mountain on a bicycle.

My thighs have given me freedom. They have taken me interesting places and more adventures lie ahead. There are many foreign beaches to comb and ancient ruins to scale.

So even if I cannot turns mens’ heads by the length and beauty of my legs, maybe I can turn their heads by leg pressing their trucks. After all, that would be memorable. And creating memories are what my legs do.

I love my thighs.

(by Helen Ryan. Written for LA’s the Place)

Most things I know about life I learned in Spin class.

It’s true.

The stationary bike has been my teacher, and I have spent hundreds of hours learning from it.

Four years ago when I saw my first Spin bike it seemed like…just a bike. Made of cold metal with an unwelcoming seat, it did not look very comfortable. I felt physically awkward: I was very overweight and out of shape in a room full of really fit people. I wanted to leave, to run as fast and far as I could, but did not want to be seen as chickening out.

The first half hour was hell. My behind was numb, my legs were shaky and my heart was pounding. But then I felt something inside. A little spark that ignited a part of me…a part I thought was long gone. That spark re-ignited my pilot light and eventually changed – and saved – my life.

Continue reading at LA’s the Place…

We were not very close, my father and I. Sure we were cordial. Polite. Even friendly. But consistently superficial – shallow, even. Always joking, always laughing, but never really talking. Communication was neither of our strong points. We were the comedians – the happy makers – the King and Princess of rose-colored glasses. So that day in the doctor’s office was no different. Until the squeeze. The squeeze that finally broke the dam.

It was March of 2003. I was sitting with my father in an exam room, waiting for the results of the CT scan for his back pain. We were in uncomfortable chairs, bored, making meaningless small talk. The PA walked in, took his seat, and without any preamble or warning matter-of-factly looked at us both and stated that my father had cancer – and it had spread throughout his body.

We sat there in shocked silence. Strong. Stoic. Expressionless mannequins, side-by-side. Our world was shattering around us, yet we were both fighting to maintain our neutrality, to show no feelings. Two emotionally-stunted human beings. Then quite unexpectedly I felt my right arm go up as I reached out smoothly and silently, grabbed my father’s hand – and squeezed.

In that instant, that one simple touch, that one simple connection of skin against skin, communicated what I had never been able to actually voice: I love you Dad.

He died five months later.

Touch provides comfort. Touch reassures. Touch helps physical and mental growth. Most of all, touch communicates, as I learned that fateful day.

In a world where we’ve been bombarded by the term “sexual harassment,” everyone is afraid of touch. Unless you are in a sexual relationship, have small children, or even pets, touch is persona non grata. And yet – yet – it is probably the most important part of life.

At the IDEA fitness conference in July of 2007, Life Fitness founder Augie Nieto, now confined to a wheelchair due to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) spoke as a keynote presenter. His speech was infused with humor and insight. Possibly his most poignant point was about touch. He stated that touch is his most basic need now, the one thing he craves. And he made it clear that we need to touch people in wheelchairs, because they really need the interaction and the reassurance that it provides. He received a standing ovation.

Touch is magic. In people of all ages, it reduces stress, increases seratonin levels, releases oxytocin, and reduces cortisol levels in the body. Studies on infants and children link touch directly to healthy physical development. And yet we don’t do enough of it.

Don’t be afraid to reach out. Don’t be afraid to hug. Let’s not have society dictate an existence that forces us further apart from each other. We waste too much time in front of televisions, computers and in cars. We can be with people and yet feel alone and lonely. And if we are not careful we will wither away.

If you have kids, pets or are getting some “action” – maybe you have enough. But for the rest of us, or the handicapped, or the elderly, touch is probably fairly non-existent.

We are all aware of what touching is appropriate and what’s not. Let’s not fear so much. Reach out – hug – pat someone on the arm or the back. If someone is sad, hold their hand. If someone needs your arms, have them ready. It’s not hard. And it will make a difference – to all of us.

Pass it on.