Kimberly Fitness

Getting Motivated to Exercise

Maybe it is old age setting in or the daily grind of life, but even for me, is is getting harder and harder to stay consistent with my exercise routine.  I can still remember, with a glimpse of my memory, what life was like many years ago when my entire day revolved around my exercise routine.  Exercising every day gave me purpose.  It gave me the feeling that I was working towards a goal and I was truly enjoying the journey, not just the destination.

I miss the feeling of my whole life revolving around my daily workout. When I was in college, I would workout at night after classes.  After college, I would go to the gym every morning before work. It was the highlight of my day and I stayed as long as my schedule allowed.  When I was at work during the day, I only thought of how great I felt from my morning workout and how much I looked forward to the next workout.  

I went to this real "dive" gym, but I loved it.  It was a an old factory building converted into a gym.  It was clean, but old and basic.  White paint over brick and cement walls (with blue strips), cement floors covered with indoor/outdoor carpet (that was full of stains), chalk on the floors and plenty of weight machines.  It was a real "man"ly kind of gym.  But for some reason, as un-pretty and "man"ly as it was, I always felt great when I was there.  In fact, I have spent the last 10 years of my life trying to get back the feeling that somehow has been lost along the road of life.    Ironically it has been replaced with "do I really have to exercise today?"  

Yet somehow, I still do it.  I still get myself on the treadmill, outside for a jog or in the living room for aerobics.  I do it more out of obligation than passion, these days, but I keep going.  Maybe it is like inertia and once you get started you just keep going out of habit.  Or maybe there is still a pilot light on somewhere deep within and I am foolish enough to believe that someday it may ignite once again.  

I was asked by someone recently, what keeps me going everyday.  My response was that I feel I have not yet accomplished what I need to accomplish in life and that feeling is what keeps me going.  Maybe this is the same reason I still get out and run; because I am still searching for that sense of accomplishment .  And although I am not as passionate as I once was, I still feel like I accomplished something after a good run. In fact, my whole outlook on life is better when I exercise regularly.  I feel better about my life, and better about who I am.

So my advice for those who can not seem to get motivated to exercise is to just do it once..tell yourself you are only going to do it once....and afterwards, think about whether or not you feel you accomplished something.  Then take that feeling to the next level and ask yourself if you want to feel that sense of accomplishment everyday.  Let that feeling of accomplishment be your spark and keep you motivated so that you can make exercise a regular part of your life.  

Forget Rachael Ray....Bring Back Betty!

I remember many years ago when Rachael Ray was this new personality who had a small 30-minute show on a channel most never watched.  Hard to believe she went from that to trying to be the next Oprah.  And like many celebrities, sometimes we liked them better when they weren't famous.  But this post isn't about how RR let fame swell her head, this post is about my frustration with all the Food Network stars and the millions they have raked in fooling the American public into thinking that you have to spend two hours a day cooking dinner and another hour trying to find ingredients you've never heard of before.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Food Network.  It is very entertaining.  But the problem as I see it, is that it has made cooking a form of entertainment rather than a regular part of our lives and this has negatively impacted our health.

I own four RR cookbooks and I have never cooked any of her meals in less than an hour, let alone 30 minutes.  The problem with these FN "stars" is that they do what they do from a chef's perspective.  One who knows about food and has time to cook it, after all, that is what they get paid to do.  But most of us living in the day-to-day world of work, home, kids and "taxi-cab mom" syndrome don't want to enter our home at 6pm and start slicing, chopping, pureeing and dicing over ten ingredients (not to mention the clean up of all the equipment needed to do so.)  We want quick, easy, fast and cheap...but healthy and tasty.

I own dozens of cookbooks, and the best one I own, the one I use almost everyday, is the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book written back in 1965.  It was handed down to me from my grandmother-in-law and I consider it the "Cookbook of All Cookbooks".  Why?  Because it covers all food groups in an organized matter, casseroles, meats, vegetables, grilling, fish, appetizers, etc... and all of the ingredients are simple ingredients that most of us are familiar with and often already have in the cupboard or refrigerator.  Another thing I like is that it has actually taught me how to cook, something I never learned growing up.  If you buy a ham and don't know how to cook it, you simply look it up. This book tells you haw to bake fish, chicken, pork chops, everything!  As long as I have a recipe picked out ahead of time, the prep is always easy.  

Granted, it is not all healthy and I have to make modifications, but they are easy modifications like substituting olive oil for butter or whole wheat bread crumbs for white bread crumbs. And I try to stay away from canned soups (they are usually high in sodium and highly processed), but there are recipes in this book for homemade sauces that are fast and easy, the old-fashioned way, milk, flour, salt and butter makes any cream sauce.  So you can use unbleached flour, low-fat butter and skim milk and you have a healthy cream sauce.   

For instance, a quick dinner could be baked fish, microwaved, steamed vegetables and a bag of frozen sweet potato fries.  To bake the fish, you simply place in glass pan, sprinkle with some olive oil and spice and bake.  Takes all of 30 seconds to prep!  I use a steamer for my veggies (I got mine from Pampered Chef and LOVE it, but there are other kinds out there).  I take a bag of frozen vegetables, place them in the steamer, add a splash of water, cover and microwave for 6-7 minutes.  Add some olive oil and garlic spice and Voila! done.  And how hard is it to open a bag of sweet potato fries from the freezer, place on greased foil (over a cookie sheet) and bake for 20 minutes.  Dinner doesn't have to be complicated.  In fact, the simpler the better.  It costs less, because you are not buying 10 different ingredients for one meal, it's healthier because you are eating natural foods, and it is faster to make.

So my suggestion is to ask grandma for her old cooking books, you may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Childrens' Health begins with Parents

I have a friend, a fellow nutritionist, who once worked for the UMASS Extension Program. For those who are unfamiliar, Extension Programs are state-run programs that aim to educate the public, especially school-aged children, about the importance of proper nutrition. My friend's job was to go to qualifying schools (ones that had at least 50% of students on some form of public assistance and/or food stamps) and teach the kids about healthy living. I thought her job to be a noble one, and one that is much needed in our society today. However, one day I asked her "Do you think you make a difference in their lives?" and she replied, "Not as much as I would like. I can tell them everything they need to know about good health, but in the end, it is their parent's who make all of the decisions. My hope is that when these children grow up, they will remember all that they learned and apply it to their lives once they can make decisions for themselves." It made me think of how children today, a vast majority of them, are not nutritionally balanced and they really have no control over that. Their health and well-being is the responsibility of their parents and what parents teach their kids, what rules they enforce, and the example they set is what really determines a child's health.

Most parents, of course, want what is best for their children. However, many parents are unsure of what is healthy and what is not and therefore need a little guidance. For example, most parents are unaware that a juice box can contain up to 8 teaspoons of sugar or that many studies are now confirming a connection between food dyes and hyperactivity.

Here is a list of suggestions to guide you in your efforts to create a healthier life for your children:

1.  Cut out the fast food (as much as possible, limit to once a week).  Buy healthy alternatives from the grocery store instead.  There are plenty of healthy versions of chicken nuggets, hot dogs and mac-n-cheese. 

2.  Drink low-fat or skim milk and water.  (children under the age of two need whole milk).  Stop drinking things like lemonade, punch and juice on a regular basis.  These are treats, not beverages you should be living on. And personally, I think there is no place for soda in a child's life. It is nothing more than chemicals and empty calories. The problem with consuming empty calories is that they fill you up leaving little room for foods that contain vital nutrients.

3.  Switch to whole foods.  Eat the basics, meat, dairy, grains, veggies and fruits.  Give them flavor by spicing them up.

4.  Cut out the boxed foods and switch to homemade. Box foods are full of chemicals, hydrogenated oils, MSG, and artificial substances.  If time is a factor, things like casseroles can be made a day ahead of time and you can cook them just before eating or you can freeze them and cook them later in the week.  Slow cookers are also a great way to make homemade foods fast and easy.  I know most of us parents are short on time and the idea of cooking something sounds overwhelming. But dinner doesn't have to be elaborate. Click here to read about cooking dinner fast, easy, and cheap!

5.  Prepare veggie sticks, like carrots and string beans, ahead of time and keep them ready to eat in the fridge.  Do the same with fruits.  Buy grapes, apples, clementines and other ready-to-eat fruits and go for those instead of the chips and crackers for snacks.

There is a saying, "Be the person whom you wish your children to become".  Set an example for them.  Make healthy living a family priority.  Your children's future, and your own, depend on it.