Things I'm learning from CHLI

Wow, what a way to clear my head and think straight. Exercise, who'd have thought it. It makes me wonder why jocks aren't more self-reflective. Perhaps it is because they are fixated on winning and ore not in it for the "high".
It is really interesting to be the focus of attention. I don't think I have ever before had such concentrated attention. There is not only instruction about how to do things that will enhance my well-being, physical as well as psychological, but a key factor for me has also been something I will have to call permission. Heretofore, I have to admit that concentrating on myself has been something I have not done thinking that I was behaving "selffishly." And I don't think that anyone really equates selfishness with something positive. But if we turn that around a bit, and look at it from a different angle, taking good care of oneself can be quite generous It makes me better able to do the things that I do for my family. It makes me a more alert and aware citizen who is better equipped to handle emergencies, and is not a drag on the economy because I need more services. Good health and good cheer is contagious, just as unhappiness and depression are. So isn't it better to pass on the positive rather than the negative?
So I want to list here some of the positives that I have noticed about myself now that I am getting exercise and eating better. First, I am happy to report that I have lost 5 pounds since April 2 when I had my first resting metabolic rate. Not too bad. Also, I have added afternoon exercise to my routine, something I had never thought I could "fit into " my day. That was one of the things that Suzi and I spoke about, that by calendaring time for my needs, I was putting myself on the list. I have spent a lifetime fitting my needs into whatever time was left over, and we all know that there is never any time left over. Those little Kaizen steps really work.
By now, I have met with Sherri, my personal trainer, and have started stretching at home. I really did not realize how tight some of my muscles were and that this was the reason for alot of my stiffness and not just age encroaching. It is good to see that there are remedies, not that the body doesn't age, because it certainly does, and things wear out, but we can keep limber in the face of it. And we don't have to emit that grunt when we get out of the car or up off the couch. It just isn't so much of an effort anymore.
Also, people who have been home for a while, or should I not generalize about that and just say that since I have been working at home rather than going out to an office, I got a bit too comfortable at home, to the point of becomming a bit leery of new experiences. It was becomming too big an effort to try something new, or go someplace unfamiliar. Oh sure, I would say "sure, I'll come" and then as I was getting dressed to go, I would hear myself whining in my head about wanting to stay home, and not have to bother to put my best foot forward, or put my foot into unfamiliar waters. I wonder if it is the fear of being judged and found wanting.
I always tell my daughters to get dressed and made up so that you are so satisfied with your appearence that you can forget about it and focus on the new people you are meeting and the new situation you are being introduced to. Good advice ? It always seemed so, but I know that when you don't feel your best, it's hard to get to that place. Now that I am taking off some of the weight, even a small amount so that my clothes fit more comfortably, it's easier to take that advice from myself. Now that I am more comfortable walking and standing up straight, I feel like I present a more confident person in the world.
Also, I referred a couple of days ago to being more alert. It's probably all that fresh oxygenated blood to the brain thats making me better. It's also a few other things: knowing that I can accomplish great things a small step at a time, even though I have done that sometimes in my life, knowing that it is an actual method of getting things accomplished that is tried and true is comforting.
Another valuable lesson that is a mental shift is from the nutrition part of the program. If we are trying to lose weight and sticking to a 1500 calorie diet for example, eating an extra cookie for example doesn't make us weak and shouldn't muske us feel as if we've "blown it". That too often leads to further blowing it. If we've had an extra, that may make that day a maintenance day, rather than a losing day. It doesn't make it a "bad" day, or me a bad person or a weak person or a loser, it just means that I went over the limit for weight loss, and stepped for a moment into the maintenance area, so if I want to continue to lose, I have to step back. I hope that this makes sense to you, that I have explained it adequately, because it have made a huge difference for me. It has meant that I am not either ON THE PROGRAM or OFF THE PROGRAM, but that I am on the program with a small deviation for today, and tomorrow ( or the next meal or whatever)I will still be on the program-- not that I was off the program, or wagon, and have to fight to get back on. I AM on, and I will be on, and I can step away for a moment, and step right back.

getting to know me

Well folks and frogs, I have been getting reacquainted with my body over the last week. I feel as if we had been estranged from each other for ---well, let's say for a very long time now. I have been walking with Lucy in the morning for several years now, and I actually did it the Kaizen way, by first walking from the place where we played to the trash can to dispose of --well you know. Then when they moved the trash can, I walked a bit further to get there. Then when they took the can away altogether, at first I got in the car and held the bag out the window and drove around the park to another trash can, but after a while I began to think about adding the trashcan to our walk and so on, until I was walking the whole mile course around the park. Some days I would try to walk again in the afternoon, but found it either too hot, or too late by the time I got around it it, so I really didn't do it all that often. Even when I began to go to the nutritionist, I did'nt add much exercise to the mix, just started eating less.
But with the winning of Project Transformation, I made myself an oath to really dive into this with all four feet--remember, frogs have four feet. So I have followed the regimen of going to the gym and doing only cardio walking on the treadmill for that week for 20 minutes and the first day I was really bored. But the next day I had kind of figured out the treadmill and liked it a bit better, and I felt stronger and better, and b y Friday, I was feeling even better. I have to admit I took the weekend off, there was some of that apprehension that I had initially, about walking into something new. I know that there would be a lot more people around on the weekend and I wasn't really ready for that yet.
Yesterday, Monday I began a new week. As I am still learning how to go about this and fitting it into my life, I didn't make provisions for a light lunch, and ended up getting overly hungry and then eating potato chips. But I learned that I have to figure in some food. I am amazed at how good I feel just adding that extra 20 minutes of walking and how strong and energetic I feel. All those endorphins rushing around in my system. I am getting so much done at home too. I am doing things that have been on my "to do " list for ever, except now they are checked off. I am sleeping better and more soundly and I feel great.
Now, here is the kicker and why I wrote today. I also feel more mentally alert. I guess it is all that extra circulation that is bringing more blood to my brain. I have to recommend what I am doing to you. To feel physically stronger and mentally alert. What a combo! Of course there is still a long way to go, and I have yet to meet with my personal trainer. I will be meeting with her every week, and I suppose adding and varying my workout. Today is a pretty gloomy day, but Lucy and I walked, then I came home, cleaned the kitchen, did the laundry, and broke up the boxes that need to go into recycling and have been sitting out on the side of the house for weeks. I will spend some time brushing up on my language lessons that I have let languish, then a light lunch and off to the gym. I can see how this becomes addictive. How can it not when I feel so good. I think that it is the good feelings that are so addictive. I want to talk to the rest of the group and find out if they are feeling the same things. I think that maybe you had to have been estranged from your body for a while to feel this euphoria at reunification.
I wish I could explain more adequately how I feel. I didn't even realize how divorced I was from my physical self. It was like being a crab that changes containers as they grow. As I changed clothing sizes, the real me was left behind and I am finding myself. Not that the sizes have changed yet, it;s only the second week, but I feel as if I am on the road home.

Beginning the Transformation.

Well, the transformation is beginning. As I told you, first I had to get over that "first day of kindergarten" apprehension, and then I just had to get started. So, after Tuesday's adventure, I actually went into the gym and did what the trainer had asked me to do--20 minutes of cardio walking. Having never used a treadmill, I needed some instruction, and the first day was done a bit gingerly, but by yesterday, I was really into it. I not only increased speed, but used the incline as well, and got into my peak rate. First day barely made it into the cardio part of the chart, yesterday, I got through cardio to peak rate. I think that a lot of it has to do with comfort, and taking things a step at a time, the Kaizen way as I have learned. Years ago, when I had lost that first large block of weight, I didn't know that I was doing Kaizen, but I was. First I used to walk to the rubbish can near the car to discard Lucy's stuff, then when they moved the can, I walked over to where they had moved it, and after a few weeks of that being comfortable, I thought, why not bypass this can walk to the further one, and so on until I was walking the whole mile course at the park without even thinking about it. I used to think that the one mile I walked in the morning was all I could manage, but now that I am taking on more exercise, I can see that if I do it gradfually, I realize that I can do that and more.
Now I have to admit that the reward of working out in such delightful surroundings is that luxurious extra benefit that makes it so very appealing. It is wonderful to have all of the amenities right there. There is the cardio theater--the TV that is hooked up to the treadmill and other machines, that makes the time fly by--the iced towels for after the workout and the clean fluffy white towels that are there for comfort and drying off, the ice water, the friendly smiling faces checking to see if you need anything, and the ultra luxurious locker room. It is a pleasure to shower and clean up and be ready to face wherever you have to go afterward, instead of red faced and sweaty.
Today I am scheduled for my first spa treatment, a massage, and I am really looking forward to it. I think that what I am learning here, and possibly the most valuable lesson that I might learn through this is that there is nothing selfish or bad about taking good care of myself. By doing so I will be better able to take care of the other important people in my life. I already feel stronger and more vital. And I've only done two cardio workouts! Think how it will be to really be strong and healthy. I might be unstoppable. It is really a new concept for me that I am deserving in any way, and that I may be served as I try to serve others.
So the Transformation is really beginning. Not only the physical, but the mental as well and in the final analysis, it's all mental, isn't it? It's what makes us say yes to getting up and going to the gym, it's what makes us realize that we really don't need that second helping of food, it's what makes us say no to being over committed when what we really may need is some down-time. It may become (if we are determined and lucky) a realization that that cookie that want is really just a substitute for an extra hour of sleep that we really need, or that ice cream we are craving is the substitute for that hug that we really needed when we were feeling a little down and didn't realize that people really cannot read our minds so we have to ask for one.
I really look forward to getting together with my cohort group to see if they too are making a mental transformation, or if, being probably the eldest among them, I tend to reflect and cogitate more.
Well, I am off to my day. I have not thought about using the gym on the weekends, the the tought as entered my mind. It it Kaizen working? Now that I have done this comfortably, I can add something? I don't know but I like it. So here's to that change. That princess's tiara is out there 6 months away, and I can see it shining. It's like grabbing for the brass ring on a merry-go-round. I never dared take the risk to lean that far out of my comfort zone. But I am leaning out there now. I'll let you know what happens. There is a blessing in my culture, "May you go form strength to strength". I feel as if I am doing that now. Come with me.

Learning Kaizen

Today was a really interesting day. After the long day I spent on Friday at the CHLI having a physical and multiple consultations--the nutritionist, the fitness lady, the lifestyle lady, and very interestingly, the healer--I finished reading the book that came with our fitness kits called One Small Step can Change Your Life. It is the philosophy of Kaizen, a Japanese technique of achieving great and lasting success through small steady steps. The whole point is that when we undertake to do something that is a great change, or something that deviates from what we are used to, our fight or flight response may kick in, or underlying fears can keep us from making the change. So, for example, if your doctor tells you to get some exercise, and you decide to start running five miles, you end up sore and stop. But if you just got up off the couch and started marching in place every time a commercial came on TV, or parked a bit further away from the office, or took the stairs instead of the elevator, it might become a habit, or you might feel some good effects from it and want to continue to do that and perhaps a bit more. If you perhaps wanted to improve your relationship with your spouse, you could go on a second honeymoon, but when you returned to the rat race, things might fall back into the same groove of being too busy to notice each other, or to welcome a phone call, or to say something nice. But if you looked for small ways to make changes, like giving an unexpected hug, or saying something nice, or inquiring about something that is important to the other person, good feeling that are engendered might be the beginning a new and more positive feelings. Same goes for the people at work, and other social activities. I have to tell you that I was just so impressed with this book, and I actually put the method to work today. I was supposed to start at the gym yesterday, but had to attend a funeral that because of distance and other things, became an all day affair. So I was going to go and start today, but I was a little apprehensive. I know the layout of the spa, but I was a bit uncertain of the fitness center. I know that they weren't connected, on different floors and all, and didn't know the locker situation. So I avoided going by doing lots of housework. Good exercise too, but I was using it to avoid doing what I ostensibly wanted to do. I realized that I was apprehensive about a new 'strange' place.
There was to be a gathering of the eight of us on this program to come and hear Dr. Maurer speak, and then to have our "before" pictures taken. So I decided not to pack my fitness bag, not to go for a workout today, but rather to just go and scope out the place. To see where I will put my stuff, where everything is, how I will go about using the facility and get the "feel" of it. I just walked around. I met a lady in the locker room who showed me around, and showed me how to use the lockers. And voila! I was at once comfortable. I will go tomorrow, and not feel like a fish out of water. So, I have learned that the brain is programmed to resist change, But that by taking small steps, I can rewire my nervous system and get the job done. As I take on new behaviors, in small increments, and make progress, like I did today, I can move on to the next. Of course, not all things can be overcome in a day, but as you do small things, or ask small questions, or think more positively about what you do, you can make the next step more feasible, or more enjoyable, or even more possible.
I am going to close with an example Bob gave this evening, and you will see how your thinking can change. He said what if he asked someone out, and she said no, she had to floss. If he walked away thinking of himself as a failure, that she probably thought he was a drip, too old or too fat or too gray he would feel terrible and might find the next girl he was interested in impossible to talk to. But if he patted himself on the back for asking, for taking the risk, for making the effort, he would not feel rejected, but proud that he had stepped out and made an effort.
Oh, I am so excited. There are going to be so many things to learn about in this process. Not only to be healthier and more fit, but to think in healthier and better ways that will add life to our years, while we are hopefully adding years to our lives. The group is really nice and I am looking forward to getting to know all of them. Tomorrow, on to the Gym!!!

Getting started: Day of consultations

I am poised and ready to begin my Personal Transformation from frog into princess now that I have spent a whole day being examined, Reiki'd, and treated to consultations about nutrition, fitness, life/work balance and motivation, not to mention a delicious lunch. Being in such beautiful surroundings and treated as if you are already a princess deserving of all of this attention and pampering is quite an experience. One that is all new to me. Sometimes I really enjoy it, and sometimes I have to admit that I am a bit intimidated. Dr. Barr, who did my physical was just so nice, and so attentive as if everything I said was important to hom and to me. It is the way all doctors should be, but simply do not have the time to be. Everyone else I deal with at the CHLI is equally nice, from the receptionists onward. Even the lady who served my lunch at the pool was sweet and helpful. ♠
People are really helpful and friendly and interested in my well-being. I can't even begin to imagine how tired they are at the end of the day, even though the surroundings are beautiful-- an exquisite vista from every window, luxurious seating groups and furnishings and every detail that has been attended to. I have been given the OK to move ahead on my program and now I will consult my schedule to see what the next big programmatic highlight is. We will finally come to gether as a group for pictures and a class on Tuesday night at 6pm on a book that we were given to read called The Kaizen Way. It is about using the philosophy of taking one step at a time in order to accomplish big change. Sometimes when we contemplate large changes, they are so overwhelming that it throws us into a state of fear. But if we deconstruct it down to manageable and no-so-scarey steps, put it in the form of simple questions that the brain then can think about and provide answers to, because the brain will rise to the bait of a puzzle, then we can accomplish more. I am really looking forward to meeting and getting to know the other people who will be on the journey with me. I hope that we will be friends and that we will be able to help each other along the way.
To take you through the day with me, first I had a cardio gram and spirometry (measure of lung function), then a very complete history and physical. The medical facility there at the CHLI is amazing. It seems to be very self contained, with its own digital mammography, MRI, many consulting rooms, and rooms for specialized consults. Later in the morning, after I met with my nutritionist, I cam back to the medical facility to meet with their Healer and hypnotherapist. After talking for a while, she brought me to a quiet room, darkened and heated, with soft music. She explained that she was going to pass hands over various parts of my body where she would clear the way. It is as if several past surgeries had created blockages, and by working this way, she was able to open up the way for healing. It was wonderful and relaxing. I look forward to seeing her again and doing some hypnotherapy as well.
Nutrition is the door which opened up this process for me. Paulette, my nutritionist, gave me a chart to keep, but the most important thing is how to view your eating patterns. If you take your weight and multiply by 10, that is the number of calories you need for maintenance of your weight. If you want to lose, then you would take your desired weight, multiply by ten, and take in only that number of calories. The deficit from your actual weight maintenance to your desired weight maintenance is how you will lose the weight. Add in exercise, in other words, calorie burning activity, and it adds to the deficit and the amount of weight you will lose. But the real kicker was, the chart she wanted me to keep and how to keep it. For each day, you record either a dash (meaning a good diet day), an 0 (meaning you may have added a cookie, or a treat or some other overage) or an X (meaning a binge day). If you look at the chart, it is easy to see graphically that you are being OK most days, with a binge now and then, but the real gem for me was that having a treat does not make a bad day, (or me a bad person), it just may be a maintenance day, rather than a day that the deficit will mean a weight loss. What I really want to pass on to you is the concept that have something out of the parameters of your diet, what ever that may be is a day that you are maintaining rather than losing. It will take two diet days to make up for a binge day, but remembering that one cooking, or one cupcake, or a few chips does not a disaster make, so you don't have to just throw the whole day away. Stick with the diet day, even if you have stepped out of bounds for a minute. After all the whole game is not lost when the volley ball goes out of bounds once. You just move on to the next serve. So keep that in mind. It was a real revelation to me. I have lots of other tips and interesting things I have learned to pass on, but for another blog. I hope you are well and learning too.