Getting Fit and Staying There...

"Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will 

sooner or later have to find time for illness."  ~Edward Stanley

I have worked out, on and off, for my entire life. As a kid, I took tons of dance, ice skating, and swimming lessons. In high school, I swam varsity. During college, I took advantage of my PE electives to learn how to fence and a few other things. Once done with college, I joined a gym. In my late 20's and through my 30's, I did Jazzercise. In my 40's, I was back in the gym, but fell off because I was "too busy." In my 50's, I started out sluggish, but then started doing more and felt good. Then I got injured. For almost 6 years, I suffered from plantar fasciitis, and then from achilles tendinitis. I did everything I was told to do to help cure it. I lost weight, I worked with a physical therapist, I rested, I stretched, I rolled a tennis ball, I did everything short of cortisone injections (and I was considering those). Nothing helped.

What ended up healing everything and helping was not giving up. I got moving and I kept moving. I stayed alert to my body signals of "ok, you're done." but I didn't give up and I didn't stop. I modified. I modified more. I didn't do some moves and substituted other moves, but I kept moving. I believe this has made all of the difference. Today I have a rare ache in the ankle, and stretching usually takes care of it right away. I will admit, I'm mighty cautious about what I do! If a move hurts, I find an alternative. I don't "push through" as I would have earlier in life.

I think we need to find ways to keep moving, no matter what age we are. It's too easy to let our sedentary lifestyles take over, and too easy to convince ourselves that we "don't have time" to workout, around commuting, work, family, and other obligations. It's a big lie, and it needs to stop! Moving your body is so so important. There is something in our bodies called "synovial fluid." Not to get super scientific, but synovial fluid makes the joints slide and move easily. It's like oil in a car engine, and it's super important. I think it's gotten all to easy to say that it hurts to exercise, and it's become an easy way out. I also believe that there is something for everyone. Everyone can find some way to move their body and preserve their mobility.

I believe that there's more to the whole moving thing than just doing something. Three things leap to mind in regard to exercise for me: find something you enjoy,find a way of eating that can be a lifestyle rather than a bandaid, and support your body with superfoods and great supplements.

Do something you enjoy
For me, I have always loved dancing. I do not like to run. Ever. It's no secret that I'm a Beachbody coach and that I love the Beachbody on Demand program. I think I've mentioned it enough so everyone knows. My favorite workouts are Cize, 21 Day Fix, Shift Shop, Country Heat, Rockin' Body, Focus T25, and Turbo Jam. Crazy, right? These are all high intensity programs, BUT, by listening to my body and modifying what I need to, I am able to successfully do them, and have fun, while taking care of myself.

Eating is a lifestyle not a bandaid
I'm allergic to the word diet. You say diet, I shut down. Having said that, making a lifestyle change is a positive, meaning that you are making a choice to make a new, healthier habit that will sustain your body and enable you to grow and do more. (Should that say shrink and do more? LOL) Anyhow, I don't approach my food as a problem to be solved, or as something I'm going to do for a little while and then stop doing. This is my life. I only have ONE body. I have to decide to make better choices, and stick to them. I am not perfect, but every day I start the day with an agreement with myself that I will feed my body nutritious, healthy food that will help me go through my day successfully and healthily. I view my food as fuel. Instead of focusing on what I can't have, I focus on all of the amazing things I CAN have! Instead of a sweet breakfast treat in the morning, I might have a small bowl of grapes or a banana. I know that both are good for me and provide solid nutrition.

On the same topic, I try not to leave meals to chance. Here are a few of my tips on that.
If we eat out, I try to look at the menu ahead of time and figure out a few choices. I used to pick one thing and then, once I got to the place, look at the menu and get all out of sorts because I didn't really *want* that one thing. However, now I pick a couple of options, and then make my final choice once I'm live and in person. See the difference? Instead of buttonholing myself into a very tight corner, I give myself some space and room to make a final choice, so it doesn't feel uncomfortable or forced.

During the week, I take my lunch to work. Every. single. day. I used to take it 4 days a week and eat out on the 5th day, but I decided, one week that I'd rather just bring my lunch every day. I enjoy my lunches. They are delicious and healthy! I meal prep on Sunday, making 5 lunches, in containers that I can grab in the morning and take with me. It takes away yet another danger zone, and it's a simple and happy habit.

Support your body with Superfoods and great nutrition
For breakfast, I almost always have my Shakeology superfood dense nutrient-packed shake, with a banana, ice, almond milk and whatever else I toss in, like spinach. I get an extra serving of veggies in before 8 am! That's on top of the fact that the Shakeology is so chockful of healthy superfoods. I love it!!

I also shop for the best produce I can afford. I try to buy organic, but don't always, because sometimes it's just not feasible. On Sunday, when I make my lunches, I will often cook extra vegetables so that there are no excuses during the week for not having them. This has helped me stay on track more than once, but that's a post for another day!

For now, keep going. If you aren't working out, please start. If you need help or guidance with workouts, I'm here to help and happy to assist. I'm down over 33 lbs and over 25 inches so far this year, with no end in sight! I'm getting stronger and more fit every day. I have a lifetime of athletics behind me and a world of experience with food that I'm willing to share!

I'm starting to tag my workouts #fitnfabover55 on Facebook, join me, ok?

-- Have a wonderful day!

Tips for Holiday Survival

We are rapidly heading into the part of the year where best intentions get sidelined, "food-centric" holidays are abundant, the days get shorter, we want to go into hibernate mode, and generally, priorities can get skewed. In preparation for that, I thought I would share what I do. I plan. No, seriously. I plan. I start NOW, thinking about "holiday survival".

1. Think it through. What do I need to do differently. How will I get through different scenarios. For instance, what would REALLY happen if I pulled out my yellow container on Thanksgiving? (that's a really humorous thought, right? but, when everyone KNOWS how hard you have worked all year, what do you think they would really do? Probably nothing. in fact, they might want to do the same thing!)  Loosely, here's what I do. I think through parties or family functions. Can we bring a veggie tray? Can I eat beforehand? Can I have a shake and then make a really small plate of just my very favorite things? You don't need to get obsessive on this, but at least think about it. Don't just go in blindly, assuming that it will all be fine, because that's a recipe for disaster. Think it through, decide where your boundaries are, and stick to them.

2. Keep it to yourself. I don't tell anyone (except my husband) about any of this planning, by the way. The WORST mistake ever was admitting, on a holiday, at a family dinner, that I was planning to stick to my diet. It then became almost a challenge to everyone to offer me things that I wouldn't normally eat. "Can you have this?" "are you sure you don't want this?" "oh, this is my favorite, I thought it was yours, right?" Instead, I just take small portions of the things I want, that fit in with my plan, which I did up front, before the event, and I enjoy my day, within my own rules.

3. Bring what you can eat. If you are a person who really enjoys dessert but wants to stick to your program, bring a dessert you can eat. In fact, be warned, bring lots. People will want to eat it and will actually gravitate toward it. I typically will bring a crustless pumpkin pie, which I actually make in individual ramekins, as well as a couple of other things, to be sure there's enough. Apple pie can be a great addition, because you can make it fairly healthy, right? By bringing my own desserts, and making sure I get some, I am not denying myself. I'm still able to eat and enjoy.

4. Remember that it is just ONE meal. I think the holidays get blown up into a food fest. There's certain things that are only "in focus" around the holidays, like huge platters of cookies, egg nog, pies and other desserts, boxes of chocolate and other treats. It can become a sort of landmine if you are eating mindfully and trying not to sabotage what you've worked so hard for all year. Instead of succumbing to all those foods, I try to remember that, for instance, Thanksgiving dinner is ONE meal. Just one. It's not an opportunity to eat all the things. I don't eat all day long, I eat very carefully all day, then I enjoy my turkey dinner, then I'm right back onto my eating plan. I just am. It is important to me, so I make it important. I don't just throw all my hard work to the wind. That's only disappointing me. If I know we will have a huge meal, (like Thanksgiving), I will eat a sparce breakfast and plan a sparce dinner. (our Thanksgiving meal, for instance, is usually around 3, so it replaces lunch...)

5. Work it out. Yesterday, on Facebook, I already saw a post where someone was asking "are you planning to workout on Thanksgiving and Christmas?" Really? What makes those days different? If you enjoy your workouts and are having good results, why would you stop? Why not actually make it a little easier on yourself by doing your workout first thing in the morning so that you have given your body some kindness and attention and can eat without thinking about how much you have to do to burn off all that food. (which doesn't even work!) It's just another day! I plan to do a workout in the morning, and actually, might add some yoga in the evening, to smooth it all out.

6. Enjoy the day. The purpose of holidays isn't food. It's not. The food is not supposed to be the driving factor of everything. It has, over time, become the focal point, which is wrong. The focal point of holidays is being together. Sharing gratitude and love with family and friends.
If you follow even 3 or 4 of these tips, I think you will find that you enjoy your holidays more. I know I do, because I know that I will finish the holiday season happy, healthy, and ahead of the game, not having gained a bunch of senseless weight because I ate my way through them. :)

-Have a fabulous day, and I hope these tips help you in the holiday season!

60 Day Checkin (Beachbody)

Well, it's been 60 days since I started to seriously focus and track on my fitness with Beachbody on Demand. Here's what happened:

I am beyond excited about these results and completely committed to continuing on. I signed up to be a Beachbody Coach (www.beachbodycoach.com/septemberradecki )so that I can focus on helping other people achieve their goals too! As I have matured (read reached an age over 55) I find that there are less resources for us. Less resources that tell you it's okay to modify, it's okay to take a rest day if you need it, and it's okay to listen to your body! It's NOT okay to make a goal of eating clean and throw it out the window. It's NOT okay to make a goal of working out six days a week and chuck it out the window every time your friends want to do something. Just like everything else in life, I feel like we need to commit to ourselves. My workouts are sacred. They are as important as getting up in the morning and being to work on time, and getting to bed on time at night. They are what I do.

I am getting lots of questions at work about the "shakes" I make every day for either my morning or afternoon snack, so I'm going to address that here. I drink a Shakeology every single day. Some days it replaces my breakfast and other days it's a snack, but I do drink one every day. I do it because I love shakeology! SInce I started drinking it in July, I have had stronger workouts, more energy, fewer cravings, better sleep, and my hair, skin and nails are growing like crazy! Why? Because Shakeology isn't your standard "protein shake". It is actually a dense nutrition shake, chock full of superfoods. If you eat clean, this is the shake you want. Below is a sheet that tells about one of my favorites, Chocolate Vegan.

If you read those ingredients, you will see so so so many super beneficial superfoods, from maca to goji to spirulina to maitako mushrooms to reishi mushrooms to moringa and more. There is NO added sugar. None. 9 grams of sugar in a serving, which naturally occurs in the ingredients, making this a great choice. It does have Stevia, but that's also a plant, and a healthy one at that.

At first, I just went along with the shakeology drinking, but after a week or so, I noticed that I felt different. I don't feel sluggish anymore as the day goes by and as I said before, my hair, skin, and nails are all acting like I have superpowers.

If you know me, you know I'm a clean eater. I don't eat a lot of junk. I'm dairy free and gluten free and I am fiercely protective of that because when I don't eat that way, I suffer from ill side effects that I'm not sharing, but it's not pretty! I have continued this while doing Beachbody workouts, and it has served me well.

I'm working out 6 days a week, most of the time. Occasionally, on Sunday mornings, I will do a yoga run through for a 7th day, because it feels good, but for the most part, Sundays are my rest day. On the other days, I usually pick a 30 minute workout. For me, working out in the afternoon is better. It keeps my stress level down in the morning and it is actually when I have almost always worked out. I was driving home the other day thinking about it. When I was in high school, I swam on the wim team. We practiced in the afternoon. Later, I would go to Jazzercise in the evenings. For the past 4 years, I have done DDPYoga, mostly in the afternoons. So it makes sense that I do my Beachbody workouts in the afternoon/early evening. Once in a while, on the weekend, I'll knock out my workout in the morning, but not always, and it does always feel weird!

I guess that's it for now. I just wanted to do my 60 day checkin and follow up on what exactly I'm doing. Right now, Beachbody is running a special where for $160 you get a whole year of Beachbody on Demand Access, a month of Shakeology in any of the amazing flavors (I use the vegan because of my gliten and dairy issue), and the 21 day fix portion containers (which are epic!). For $99, you can forgo the containers and the Shakeology and only get the year of access to Beachbody on Demand.

Make sure you choose me as your coach, because I'd be thrilled to help you work toward your health goals!!! www.beachbodycoach.com/septemberradecki

Push Through and Shine

Have you done something where, at the start, you were completely overwhelmed and totally unsure if you could really do it?
What was it? Climbing Half Dome? Painting a room? Cleaning a closet? Driving 1000 miles? Ice skating backwards? Meeting someone new? Arriving late at a party? Doing your first 5k? Running your first marathon?
So what happened? Did you do it? I bet you did. I bet you totally overcame your uncertainties and totally did whatever it was. I bet you did. You know why? Human spirit. We WANT to set goals and kick them in the teeth. We want to better ourselves. We want to have rooms that have pretty walls. We want to learn new things. While we might not want to GO to the party, there is usually some reward in going, such as being there for the host or hostess, seeing an old friend you haven't seen in a while, meeting someone who you have wanted to meet, or even watching the glee on your child's face because they wanted to come so much.
What makes working out different? How is starting a fitness journey any scarier than any of the other things I mentioned? You know what? It's not!! It's time to own it and believe in yourself.
I hear people tell me all the time , "I'm too out of shape to do that" or the worst of all "I'm too old to do that..." Nope. You aren't. I'm not saying that your comments are not valid. I'm not saying that at all. Your comments are valid to you and that's your truth. What I AM saying, is that you can change the stories you tell yourself and change your life. You CAN do almost anything you set your mind to do.
Let me tell you a funny story. When I was 25, I bought my first home, an upstairs condo. It was really a sweet condo, with a large living room that had 6 foot vaulted ceilings. I loved it. My first husband moved in with me, about 9 months before we got married. He was a strong guy, a welder, and firmly believed that he should do the heavy lifting and the hard stuff, because it was too much for me. We were always at odds over this, because I'm actually a pretty competent human being at solving problems and figuring out how to do what I want or need to do! One day, he was off helping his Dad with something across town. We had talked about rearranging the furniture in the living room for weeks, but not done anything. We had this one piece of furniture that was super heavy. Seriously. It weighed a metric ton. I don't even remember what it was, but I DO remember it was very heavy. By the time he came home, I had moved everything. He walked in the door and just stood there. Then he looked at me and asked who came to help. I told him that I had done it myself. He didn't believe me. I literally ended up having to demonstrate my method for moving furniture. Looking back now, I'm sure he had to fight back laughter, but I did what I wanted to do and got it done. (If you know me and have worked out with me at all, you know I'm what they call a quad centric athlete. My legs are super strong. my upper body, not as much. I had seated myself on the floor and moved furniture using my legs to push it. It was incredibly hard, and would not have been a good idea with anything tall, but I don't think I moved anything tall! LOL)  This is a great example of "you can do anything!"
When I started doing Beachbody workouts, I couldn't hardly keep up with the workouts. They were hard! I actually started with a Shaun T. weeklong challenge. I didn't realize until later that it probably wasn't at my level. By the time I realized, I was halfway through the week and in love with it. I was modifying things and marching in place when I was overwhelmed, and just kept going like the Energizer Bunny.

This quote, by Arthur Boorman is a guiding light for me. It says it all. If you don't know who Arthur is, do a google search. Arthur is probably the most determined guy ever. He was injured as a paratrooper, used walking canes, started doing DDPYoga, and now can run! Really. I encourage you to read his story, print this quote out, and paste it in places where you see it all the time, as a reminder. YOU CAN DO IT! Keep pressing forward, keep trying. You will get there.
On 7/10, I officially started my Beachbody journey. That was 49 days ago.  I joined a challenge group and signed up for Beachbody on Demand and started drinking Shakeology every single day. In that time, I've worked out on 43 of those days. Pretty amazing if you ask me! I'm NOT a girl who likes to get sweaty, honest. But, I AM a girl who is focused and determined. I've set a goal to get rid of all of my extra weight and live the rest of my life in a healthy, happy way, that doesn't include being overweight and out of shape. I've also lost over 10 inches and 8 pounds. I've dropped from a 2X to an XL in tops and I've dropped a size in bottoms. However, the biggest change is that I look forward to my workout time, and I MAKE time to do it. It is important to me. I matter. Taking care of me, taking care of my physical needs is something that I tend to put aside as soon as something goes wrong, but you know what? There will always be something. Always. If I am not the best version of me I can be, how can I help anyone else? That's the key. Instead of looking at this as only for me, I'm looking outward at the impact of my changes. Living my life to it's fullest is SO important to me. We are going to Hawaii in November. For the last couple of years, when I've flown anywhere, I was on the verge of asking for a seatbelt extender. This year, I've flown twice and each time, I've been able to tighten the seatbelt a little more. I have wanted to learn to paddleboard since I started seeing people doing it in Hawaii. I have decided I'm going to learn while we are there.
If any of this resonates with you, or makes you feel like you want to talk more, please reach out. Call me, text me, send me a message on Facebook. Whatever it takes. If you are in need of a new way of working out because of an injury or because of age or anything else, please reach out. I'm here, I'm more than willing to help, and I will either have answers or know where to get them!!!  Let's do this thing together!!!!
- Have a beautiful day!

P.S. I'm still doing Weight Watchers and still loving it! :)

Hello, is it me you're looking for?

Yes, I'm breathing, alive, and back to my blog. It has been a wild time for the past 15 months or so. I hesitate to say things are calming down, so instead, I'll just say that I've adjusted to the changes, and I'm getting my act together and rejoining humanity!

For about 5 years, I suffered with really bad plantar fascia issues, and then, for the past 2.5,  achilles tendinitis. I was "sort" of healed by the time I went to the DDP Yoga retreat in October of 2015, but not all the way. Life went a bit crazy and I ended up making a conscious choice to stay off my mat for a while and give my achilles time to heal. The doctor told me it would take 6-9 months to fully recover. I'm pleased to say that everything finally feels like an almost normal person. I'm building back up on everything, and so far, so good. I am currently getting into a schedule of going to the gym 3 times a week and doing DDPYoga or restorative yoga a couple of days a week.

In January, I joined Weight Watchers, as well. I needed accountability. I am still gluten free and dairy free, but have put a WW wrapper on all of that with my tracking and limiting how much I eat. It's working. I've lost 12.2 lbs since I started on 1/3, which isn't a lot, but the scale is moving in the right direction and my jeans are too big. I'm good with all of that. If you look at my DDPYoga friendly recipe page, I'll be adding more recipes soon. I have a few new tricks that are yummy and friendly. There are some that might have a bit of gluten, because of ingredients, so be aware. For now, look at these amazing donuts I made a few weeks ago! They are 3 smartpoints each and stuffed with protein and goodness!


In other news!!! I'm excited to share that I am now a Soul Restoration Certified Instructor with Brave Girls Club. If you know me at all, you know that I love the Brave Girls Club organization and I really believe in the work that Melody Ross started. It felt so natural to sign up to become an instructor. I went to Boise for a week in March, and got all of my training. I've spent the last 6 weeks since organizing myself, getting my website started, business cards, and other planning. For right now, my plan is to offer one on one Soul Restoration classes. My time is pretty tight, so doing it this way will give my students the best attention. I'm really jazzed and have at least 3 students lined up. I just need to lock down final details and go for it!!!  If you are interested in learning more, look at the new page on my blog, Restorative Hearts Soul Restoration Workshops for more information. You can also, as always, reach out to me directly to ask! Here's a photo of me with my classmates in Boise toward the end of class. It was a whirlwind week!


I guess that's about it for today. Make it an awesome day and be kind to each other! I promise to be back soon!

DDP Yoga for Life - Food Planning for Success

I get a lot of questions about food. The majority are about “what about when you go out? What about lunches?” So I decided to do a blog post about my personal planning. While your mileage may vary, I’m hoping that some of what I do will help you in your own weight loss journey.

By day, I work in an Engineering environment. We plan our work and work our plan. (Well, that’s what we are “supposed” to do, right? Anyone who knows Engineers knows that this can be nebulous.) Nonetheless, I apply this to my eating as well. To track our needed groceries, we use an application called Our Groceries. It is on both iPhone and Android. It allows you to have multiple lists, for different kinds of stores, and we use it for everything. We have a list for the “regular” grocery store, as well as a list for Whole Foods, and another local market called New Leaf. The list is kept up to date by all members of the family, all the time. If you use the last of something, you’re responsible for either adding to the list or telling my husband, the List Master about using the last of it.

By Friday afternoon, I try to decide what I want to eat next week, and adding to our weekly grocery list, as we usually shop either on Saturday or Sunday. I know what I need and I know what I have. If I’m unsure, I check. I personally don’t write anything down as far as what I’m going to make, because usually I make a lot of something and just eat it every day, but you could also do that.

 For me, Sunday afternoon is the perfect time for food prep for the week. I’m relaxed, I have some time, and I spend a bit of time cooking some of the things I know I’ll need. Typically, this includes a large batch of quinoa. I’ve been making 1 cup dry, but this week, I realized I need a bit more, so I’m going to up it to 1.5 cups of dry. Once it’s done and cooled, I usually put it into one large container. I may also chop and roast a big batch of mixed veggies. If I want some special veggie burgers, now is the time that those get made. I then wrap each one individually and place them into a large freezer bag and freeze them. I find that they thaw mostly by lunch if taken out at 6 in the morning. At this point, I have a skeleton of food for the week, at least for lunch. I’m pretty much set. For my evening meals, I fix those each day without much issue.

Weekday Breakfasts and Lunches
Each evening, as I’m making my dinner, I make my breakfast for the next day and I make my lunch. My lunch is usually a quinoa bowl. I take a container and put in 1 cup of cooked quinoa, various frozen vegetables, adding to about 2 cups, and a sprinkling of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. I pop it into the fridge in one particular spot and that saves me 5 minutes in the morning. For breakfast, I have to admit, I have an addiction. Power pudding. I just LOVE it. It gives me energy that lasts from 6 am to 12! SO awesome. I make it by adding 1 T. chia seeds, 1 T. hemp hearts, 1/3 cup raw whole organic oats, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, and 1 scoop of a protein powder. In addition, sometimes I’ll add organic butterscotch flavoring (Frontier makes it), or I might add a spoonful of decaf coffee (one of my favorites!). I mix this all together, and put it in the fridge for the next morning.

Eating Out 
I don’t know about you, but it used to be that eating out was really difficult. Since going plant-based, it’s actually quite a bit easier, I’m not sure why, but anyhow, these planning steps help no matter what you eat!

First of all, if I know ahead of time, like when we have lunches at work, that I’m going to a particular restaurant, I look at the menu and I find things that fit in with my food plans, and my food lifestyle. I go in “armed”. I know what I can have, and I stick to it. For me, taking the guessing out of going out saves me from sitting there agonizing and trying to decide if I’m going to stick to my plan or “bend the rules” to fit what will almost fit. Yea, that’s a slippery slope, right?

If I don’t know ahead of time, and can’t look at the menu, I look first to see if they offer gluten free choices. If yes, then I look at those and find one that fits my needs. If they don’t have anything that fits my needs, or if I don’t like the looks of things, then I go back to the salads, and I find a main course salad that works. (I’ve been known to go to our local sandwich shop, Togo’s, and order an Asian Chicken Salad with no chicken! They look at me oddly, but in reality it’s a pretty good salad. I also don’t use their dressing the majority of the time, because while the salad has 180 calories, the dressing has 380!!!) This pretty much works everywhere.

If the menu looks completely off the wall, like a Chinese restaurant, Thai restaurant or some such, because of sauces and stuff, I just take the hit, order something vegetarian, enjoy the meal, and then adjust calories for the remainder of the day to account for it. Oh, one more thing, about bread. Restaurants almost always slap a basket of bread and butter on the table. My husband knows that the minute it’s there, I’m moving it. I move it to an area where it isn’t right in my face. I don’t eat that stuff, so why put it where it is tempting me. I also always order water to drink and ask for lemon in it.

In my opinion, life is all about choices. I am constantly making choices about my health and well being. With regard to food. I do the very best I can to make nutrient dense food choices that fit within my caloric parameters (yes, I'm a rabid food diary fan, myfitnesspal 1RadChick is me).

DDP Yoga Review from the Trenches

After over a year of posts about DDP Yoga, and all of my experiences, I decided it was time to write an honest-to- goodness review of the program, because I realized I haven’t actually put it all together that way before!

If you are new to my blog or haven’t heard about DDP Yoga before, this is for you! DDP Yoga is a program designed by WCW 3 time World Champion wrestler, Diamond Dallas Page. (Yes, DDP is Diamond Dallas Page, not Diet Doctor Pepper as a few of my friends thought at first!) It’s a zero impact series of workouts based on traditional yoga moves that are amped up and shaken up to make them more intense and use more muscles. The program originally started out as a rehabilitation for DDP as he got injured in wrestling but then evolved into a crazy cool workout that can literally be done by anyone. The most famous and poignant example of what you can do with DDP Yoga (as well as being living proof of the fact that the program is phenomenal) is Arthur Boorman. Take a look at this video. Arthur’s Transformation. When I saw Arthur’s video, I had heard about DDP Yoga from a friend who pretty much pushed and dared me to try it. I was sedentary at the time, and had pretty much given up ever getting back in shape. I watched the video and thought “what if”…  Then I went to the website and tried the free workouts (I’ll tell you more later), and the “what if” voice got louder! I could do some of it. Not all of it, but some of it, which made me realize the rest would come. I bought it and have never looked back!

It sounds too good to be true, right? That’s what I thought! Honestly? Like any other program, DDP Yoga is what you make of it. If you put in the work, you will lose weight, gain an incredible amount of strength, flexibility and muscle tone. I’m literally awestruck by how well I’ve done on the program. When I started, I decided to keep a log of my workouts. The first week, I did 52 minutes total. I lost weight. Then, as I learned the moves, my body became more flexible, and I got into a routine, following the beginner schedule in the book, I ramped up. By the end of the first month, I had lost 7 pounds and 7.5 inches. I was stunned. Happily stunned, but stunned nonetheless. My weight loss slowed, as I replaced fat with muscle, but my body continued (and still continues!) to morph and change. My waist has slimmed and overall I am longer and leaner than I have been since my swimming days! That’s all the great stuff, right, now you want the dirt. I know you do. It’s really hard for me to find anything negative about this program. I guess working out alone can be a negative because you don’t get the feedback you would get in a class with a live instructor, but even that, at this point, isn’t really an issue, as DDP has added certification for instructors, so there are numerous instructors offering online classes that you can join. Some are free, for those who are working on their certifications, while others, who are already certified, charge. Another negative is that it’s still delivered on DVD, because it means I have to bring my laptop when I travel. That is also being addressed, because there will be a DDP Yoga app later in the year.

I’m sure your next thought is, can I really do this. You CAN! Honest. Really. ANYONE can do this program. If you listen to DDP, he tells you to modify and adapt the program to what you can do. Remember what I said earlier. In the first week I did 52 minutes. That’s not in one workout, that’s total for the week! I modified like you would not believe! I had to, I couldn’t DO much of what was being done. I wasn’t strong enough. As I’ve progressed, in each workout, there have been moves that I couldn’t do yet, and there are still moves I have to modify, even in some of the easier workouts, but it’s all good. I’m moving, I am activating muscles, and healing my body. After watching Arthur’s video and seeing people who have debilitating injuries, I have to say I’m not sure there isn’t anyone who wouldn’t benefit from DDP Yoga. I will say this, if you are looking for a calm, peaceful, quiet, spiritual workout, with serene music and water rushing gently down a stream in the back ground, this is NOT the workout for you! This is intense, high energy, supercharged hard work with great results if you put in the work!

Are you convinced? What more can I tell you? I bet you want to know more about my loss, right? I’ve been doing this for 13 ½ months, and I’m down 42 pounds and almost 40 inches. Has it been steady loss? Not really, but it has always been moving in the right direction, so it’s all good! You get what you put into this program, like any other program, and I’ve had a couple of injuries that slowed me down.

DDP himself has helped me on my journey. I had a 4 month plateau. He reviewed my food logs, had me on DDPYoga radio, and he and Stacey Morris (an amazingly successful DDP Yoga participant with a loss of over 180 lbs!) guided me in changing my food some and encouraged me to take a hard look at what I was eating and how. Their guidance resulted in a 3.8 pound loss in 3 weeks. I’m forever grateful for their support. It wasn’t the easiest part of my journey, but it was amazing that people who barely know me reached out in such a wonderful show of support.

On top of everything else, there is a HUGE community family of supportive DDP Yoga warriors who are always willing to accept newcomers and help them on their journey! There is a great community on www.teamddpyoga.com and various Facebook groups that also are willing to help folks. If you, like me, are tired of squeezing into airplane and movie theatre seats, huffing and puffing to cross a room, struggling to find clothes that fit, and not having general mobility and quality of life, it’s time to Own Your Life and join the DDP Yoga Revolution!

Make sure you come back often and check on my progress, because I usually do an update around the 22^nd of the month! This month’s should be epic. I can hardly wait!

DDP Yoga Update and a Bit about Labels

First, a quick update. Last Wednesday when I was on the radio show , I was at 270. As of this morning, even with a weekend away, too much champagne, (but sticking to my food!) I’m at 268. Change is good. Here’s a graph showing my loss over the past 90 days and why I have reached out.  

No one should lose that slowly! LOL We will see how it goes and what I need to shake up next!

So let’s talk about labels. Labels on food. They are there, they are filled with lies and crap and you need to know how to wade through the crap to find out the truth.

First off, this mostly applies to the US as other countries have different guidelines for labels. We are, unfortunately, provided with marketing crap and not a lot of good stuff. Why? Well, one, because we tolerate it, and two, because people buy crap and like it!

For instance, my friend Kristin bought this milk. She said it reads lactose free so it’s ok for dairy free, right?

Look at it. Technically, yes it’s okay for dairy free, but what the heck is “lactase enzyme” ?

When you buy food, read the INGREDIENTS. I often don’t even bother with the nutrition panel because it doesn’t tell me what is IN the product. I want to know what is used to make the product, I don’t want all that gobbledygook!!

Here’s another example. For the past 6 months, I have leaned on KIND bars as a crutch. A way to avoid the candy machine. A few weeks ago, I stopped. About 10 months ago, I had some protein bars in the my drawer and shared a photo of one with my accountability partner. He replied, “nice candy bar.” I was shocked to instantly realize he was right. It was a candy bar. Then, I got lulled into KIND bars. They are whole nuts, you can see the nuts!!! Yum!!! And so good. Gooey and chewy and…. Wait. Stop. Hold on. Read the ingredients. Here it is:

The cold, hard facts, for me, at least, these are not dairy free (milk powder), and they contain honey AND sugar AND glucose (yes, that’s SUGAR!). Holy moly. Good bye  sweet KIND bar, see ya when I want candy. ;)

Please understand, these are MY truths. For ME, where *I* am in my journey, these products don’t fit. They contain too much added sugar. 5 grams doesn’t seem like a lot, but considering the 15 grams of fat (mostly good fat) but way too much sugar for this girl!

I really encourage you to read labels. Read the ingredients, don’t read the nutrition panel, at least not until you have read the ingredients and know what you’re getting into!

One last tip, a tip that I learned a really long time ago, from a brilliant food combiner. When you go shopping, if you stick to the outer perimeter of the store, you will probably find every single thing you need to eat healthy, whole real food. Honest. Try it sometime! (I will say that the Nob Hill in my area obviously knows this because they put hot fudge right with the ice cream, cheaters!) J

Make it a great day!

DDPRadio and Me: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

As I think the whole world knows, I do a program called DDP Yoga. It is a very intense, challenging, and amazing program that combines yoga, rehabilitation moves, and dynamic resistance into a series of workouts that make your body lean, mean, and healthy. I started my journey in June of 2013. I was unhealthy, overweight, unhappy, and miserable. I got out of breath walking across the room to the bathroom. I was killing myself, slowly.

Fast forward!

A couple of months ago, I was forced to admit that I was injured. My Achilles on my left foot was so sore that I was limping. I kept buying different shoes, spending lots of money, thinking I could “fix” it. I went to Physical Therapy and got help. I found out that even though I have been doing DDP Yoga like a crazy woman (5 workouts a week, about 300 minutes a week), my hips were weak, my glutes were lazy (don’t go there, that’s my favorite joke -  I have a lazy butt), and I had injured my Achilles because I pushed through instead of working to strengthen these core muscles. Now, don’t mistake this as me saying I don’t work my core! I do Red Hot Core, which I dare anyone not to sweat through, but, my OTHER muscles were compensating. So I got hurt. I reached out to DDP. He emailed me back some suggestions and it opened a dialog. We got to talking about food, and I ended up agreeing to join an accountability group he had started.

At this point, I had already been logging my food on My Fitness Pal for over a month (username 1RadChick, hit me up with a friend request!). I had dialed in my calories, was watching what I ate, and had just decided to try eating plant based. I joined and started sharing my food each day. Every day, we share our food logs. It’s been eye opening for me, seeing how different everyone eats, and knowing that everyone is succeeding. At this point, my weight loss has been very slow (in my eyes). I’ve lost 39.6 lbs in 13 months. Yup, it’s a great loss, but for me, looking at some of the folks doing this program, I’m losing at the pace of a snail or slower. I was frustrated, but I am not willing to do drastic crazy diet measures to lose. I want to lose in a manner that is sustainable and healthy and fits me for the rest of my life. I have spent a lot of energy repairing my metabolism from yoyo dieting, taking diet pills, eating Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, and just plain starvation. I am done with all that now. As the kids say “This shit just got real!”

Earlier this week, I popped a quick message to the accountability group saying “I’m so frustrated, WHY am I not losing??!” DDP himself replied, asking me for 5 days of food diaries and a few other questions. I sent him what he wanted. When I looked at the diaries, I saw 2 entries that were not my finest choices, but I shrugged because I knew the background and I knew that they were *still within my calories and my vegan lifestyle.* I had managed to keep legal even with challenges, so I just sent them off. A day or so later, he reached out again and asked me to appear on DDP Radio. I said “Yes, as long as you promise not to Diamond Cut me on the air.” He agreed.

Wednesday night I called in. I was on the line as they played that amazing opening music. My accountability partner, Mark Furniss was on Facebook chatting with me, living it with me, and asked me if I had my heart monitor on. We laughed about that for a couple. Now I wish I *had* worn it! LOL

The first thing DDP said, after we went through formalities of my short bio, was “So September, you had Ice cream…. Really? You think ice cream is something you can eat on a diet? And gluten free pancakes?” I don’t really know much of what he said after that, because, those were my only 2 bad choices in 5 days and I literally lost it. In MY head, I was now a food shamed failure. I heard my biggest mentor call me out and thought I had failed completely. Obviously, that was NOT the intent or the reality but that was MY reality. Fortunately, I had a notebook handy, and I managed to jot down ideas that came from him and from Stacey Morris on how to improve things and get the weight loss hopefully moving. Everyone was as baffled as I am (and as my doctor is) as to why I’m not losing more quickly. The call out on the bad foods? It was just meant to jostle me into remembering I’m trying to lose weight… not maintain. (I get that now, then not so much!) I was on for almost 20 minutes! It was crazy amazing. And at the end, they asked me to come back. And I really will!

After the show, I sat and cried. For 3 hours. I remember thinking “Its not worth it. I don’t care. I’m quitting.” Mark Furniss is a totally amazing accountability partner. He is in Ireland, 8 hours away, and had a new baby born to he and Susan last Thursday. He stayed up with me, for almost an hour after the show, (that’s like 3 am his time!), and talked me down. He made me understand what had REALLY happened, versus what I heard. I also talked to John NS, Christina Russell, and Liz Collins. I have the most amazing people surrounding me on this journey, I really do. Mike Mullins also reached out. Just crazy caring! I railed at all of them, lashing out in anger, pissed off at the world, and knowing that I eat more cleanly than most of the people in my life and who I associate with online. Dammit I own my food, it doesn’t own me! I kept reiterating my frustration and man, it’s a good thing DDP wasn’t in the room because I might have Diamond Cut HIM before he could calm me down! :D Yep, really, ask Christina.

Thursday morning I woke up and logged onto my computer. I had several messages waiting for me, congratulating me on being on DDPRadio and telling me how awesome I was. Wait, what? Awesome? What? Becky Curtis-Parker caught me and told me I had done great. Jennifer Singletary commiserated with how I felt but said I did really well. I started to blossom a little tiny bit. But I was still really angry with DDP. I wrote him a long email. I told him I felt ambushed, hurt, frustrated. I hit send, (rewrote that sucker 5 times), talked a bit more to Becky and she said no no no! Send him a “read me first”… and talked me back to reality. So I did. He wrote back, apologizing profusely because of course he never meant to hurt me. He is proud of what I’ve accomplished but wants me to have even more success. He was using me as an example. And he was thrilled to get my Read Me First (although he got it after he started replying!)

By mid day Thursday, I had started to regroup, and open back up and get back to living life at 90%. I was exhausted though. Really exhausted--Mentally and physically.  I left work a bit early, went home and did my workout. It didn’t go well, and I didn’t really finish, but I did it, and it counted. I ate right all day, and felt good about all of it. I also exchanged emails with Stacey Morris and got clarification on some of what was said that was confusing to me. On the show they told me to eat no more than 27 grams of sugar a day. Well, I didn’t hear “added grams”, so I was trying to figure out how the heck you can only eat 27 grams when a freaking banana has 14. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t live on bananas, but after going many many years with them being on a “never eat” list, I’m not cutting them out ever again! So Mark worked with me a bit too, ironing out my food, and providing input on it. It was a good day.

This morning I weighed. And burst out laughing. Honestly. I am down 1.2 pounds this week. Really. I’m .4 away from 40 pounds. And this after whining that I wasn’t losing. My weight hasn’t budged by even a pound for almost 4 weeks, and now today, bam! Down.

So today, I sat down and really looked at My Fitness Pal. I looked at my goals and I decided to re-examine them. I made some adjustments. Are they going to be easy adjustments? I guess it will depend on the day. Are they crazy? No. Are they difficult? Again, it will depend on the day. Can I do it? Hell yes. Do I want to? Hell yes!  I’ve also agreed to a 2 week challenge of not eating complex carbs at dinner. (That’s what I am doing, no complex carbs. The whole challenge is no carbs, just veggies and protein.) Last night I had a protein shake with some tofu added for a bit of extra protein and some amazing roasted veggies.

In short, I got this. And. I am so SO very grateful to DDP for everything he does. He is an amazing human being, and I only hope I can be half the person he is. Thank you for being there, listening, pushing me to be more, and knowing I can be more. It really means a whole lot. More than you could possibly know. I am also grateful to Mark Furniss (http://heroddpyoga.blogspot.com) for being the most supportive (and yet realistic) accountability partner ever. Lastly grateful to the Team DDP Yoga folks who reached out and pulled me back to reality and made me see perspectives other than my own. My apologies to everyone I lashed out at, life happens, thank you for caring enough to stick with me through it. J

If you want to know more about my plant-based eating experience, which started as a 40 day experiment and has taken on a life of its own because I feel amazing, I have a facebook group set up here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/323525631145417/

Costco Gems for PlantStrong DDP Yoga

I was thinking about all the foods I find at Costco that are organic, plant based and healthy and realized it was probably a great idea for a blog post. If you don’t have a Costco, I’m really sorry, but you might check out Sam’s Club—I do not have a Sam’s Club so I’m unable to provide comparisons.

This will be in no particular order, but I’ll try to keep it simple.

Veggies

I hit this area really hard. I try to get as much as I can. I also DO waste a bit, sometimes, but I’m working on getting better at that. It still comes up to a savings, even if I waste a bit.

Baby Romaine Lettuce
Chopped Romaine
Mixed greens (sometimes, not my favorite!)
Spinach
Red Bell Peppers
Baby Peppers
Hearts of Celery
Broccoli
Cauliflower (sometimes)
Corn on the cob
A huge bag of mixed baby Kale, baby chard, and baby spinach (green juice base!)
English cucumbers (don’t buy the babies, they go bad MUCH too fast!)
Baby Portabella mushrooms (a big container, I use some in salads and add a ton to marinara sauce to up the veggies!)
Zucchini – sometimes they have it, sometimes they don’t. hit or miss
fresh fruit – I don’t always buy this, because frankly, the Costco fruit seems to go bad fast for me. If I see a good deal on berries, I might buy them, because I can use those fairly quickly, but I don’t eat tons of fruit so not always a wise buy.

Grocery Items

Costco has recently added a ton of organic things, many of which I really like, so its an adventure to determine what I want. You do have to be careful, because just because something is organic doesn’t mean it’s healthy! (Like the 10 different kinds of snack chips!)

Brown Rice, in bowls (I eat one of these for breakfast!)
Quinoa in a huge bag
Qia cereal (this stuff is awesome sprinkled over anything or by itself!)
Quinoa and Brown Rice with Garlic (I think that’s the name. they are precooked microwavable bags, so handy!)
Orgain Organic Chocolate Protein Powder  (Plant based protein powder, and SO amazingly delicious!
Almond Milk (shelf stable!)
Nuts – raw almonds mostly, but sometimes I’ll get sprouted pumpkin seeds or sprouted sunflower seeds
Rickland Farm Trail Mix – I keep this stuff in my desk and dole out a ¼ cup portion on days when I just need a little snack. I’ve also been known to throw a bit onto my salad!
If you like cereals, there are several that are super good like the Cherries and Berries or Indigo Morning, both are decent choices.
Brown Rice (bags! I think I’ve even seen Brown Basmati)
Beans (Garbanzo, black, kidney-cans or bags, but the bags are humongous!)
Nut Butter – check, because I have seen both almond butter and peanut butter without extra ingredients)
Coconut Oil (I don’t use a lot but it’s nice to have and the price is amazing)

Refrigerated Foods

So, there’s not a lot I get here, and some of these things I don’t always buy, but there are some that are staples.

Silk Almond Milk (we all drink it, no more cow milk in our house)
Hummus (there’s this 3 pack of hummus that is SO good!)

Frozen Foods

Berries (strawberries, mixed berries, blueberries-for smoothies)
Pineapple (I use this in my kale smoothie to make it better)
Veggies (mixed veggies, good to have on hand to toss into brown rice for extra veggies)
Veggie burgers  (I love the Don Lee Farms, and Costco often has those. Sometimes they have meatballs too. As an aside, my favorite way to eat them is slathered with Grey Poupon, I swear it tastes like a corn dog!)

I guess this is a pretty long list! I’m sure there are other items of interest at Costco, but these are my “go to” items at the moment.

 –Enjoy!

DDP Yoga, Checkin Time! - Fine Tuning

As I think just about everyone knows by now, I'm coming up on my one year anniversary next month (6/22!). Over this past month, I've been doing some fine tuning to my food and exercise, trying to get things dialed in a bit better. My accountability partner has been pushing a bit toward that (thanks, Mark!), and I decided to get with it. 

First, let's talk about food. I eat clean. I have eaten clean for so long that I don't really have to even think much about it. Having said that, my week is often full of "food landmines." Times when I have to make choices. I *usually* make good choices, but not always. We will call that the "human factor." 

A while back, I blogged about food diaries. I mentioned that I use SparkPeople. Well, this week, with some dietary adjustments (I'll come back to those), I decided to move over to www.myfitnesspal.com (I am 1RadChick over there if you want to "friend" me.) I think I'll do a comparison review this week about the 2 sites, they are different in a couple of ways.

This past week, I've recorded everything I ate on myfitnesspal, and it's gone well. Mark suggested some food changes, which I have incorporated, and I'm feeling great. I had eliminated most of the sugar from my diet, but I think there must have still been some lingering, because at the start of the week, I did have some detox going on. I wasn't feeling my best, and my workouts were lackluster, to me. Now, though, I'm back, full on, and feeling much stronger, actually!

So what exactly have I changed about my food? Here's the rundown.

1. Carbs are first thing in the morning, breakfast, a lot of them. I am eating about 1-1.25 cups of cooked brown rice. At Mark's suggestion, I've added a cup of cooked veggies. For me, because mornings are not a relaxing time, I am using frozen mixed veggies from Costco. It's great! I toss a cup of veggies in the microwave for 2 minutes, take it out, heat up my rice, slap the two together, and, then, the weird part. You ready? I add a teaspoon of mayo. Yup, don't blink, mayo. I personally use veganaise, the grapeseed oil version, and love it. I also add a dash of Himalayan pink sea salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Yum! Weird, off the wall breakfast, but yep, it works.

2. Lunch is a really, really big salad. Tons of mixed lettuces, baby kale, and spinach. To that, I add 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1/2 an English cucumber, some chopped green onion, celery, diced carrots, and mushrooms. I add 1 tablespoon of dressing, for me, readymade is easier at work, so I go with Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar, which is pretty clean. Sometimes I make my own but that's my go to. In addition, I have a protein. This week it has been the most delicious Greek Turkey Burgers (Recipe in separate post.) I'm weird, I guess. I made these and I haven't had a single one hot! I have cut the patty into cubes and dumped it into my salad.

3. Dinner is a protein and a metric ton of veggies. I'm so full after all of this that I can't even think about anything else. I guess it's not actually a metric ton but I've upped my veggies. I've eaten 8-10 servings of veggies a day for the past 10 years or so, but now it's probably up to 20.

Let's talk about this week in workouts. I worked out on Monday with Mark on Skype, doing the Level One workout. It was.... not my best, but I did it and it's all good. I have worked out everyday except 1 day, which is what I try to do, most weeks. After talking to Liz Collins about my hamstrings being tight, she told me about a traditional yoga workout for tight hamstrings. I have added this into my routine, one day a week, and honestly, it's helping, AND, it is adding to my confidence. I surprised myself during my first runthrough, being able to do a move that was one of those "wait, what?" moves. It was pretty funny, actually. I followed the instructor, and all of a sudden, I realized I was doing it and burst into a fit of giggles. So yes, still going strong on the DDP Yoga front, and working on making the most of my workouts and accepting my body as it is instead of letting my Type A personality define that I have to be the best. I AM the best. I am the best me. I will always work on being the best me, and, at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

That's all for now. Make it a great day!

Recipe, Greek Spinach-Turkey Burgers

A friend at work, who has had great success with Weight Watchers, gave me this recipe. I tried it out and I have to say, these burgers are totally addicting. I LOVE them! I will have to admit, I haven't had one hot yet, I ate the entire batch cold, on my salad. :) She didn't tell me the original source, but here is the recipe.

Greek Spinach-Turkey Burgers

Makes 4 (I make 6, they are BIG! You need to adjust the calories)
PER SERVING (1/4th of recipe, 1 patty): 203 calories, 8g fat, 420mg sodium, 3g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g sugars, 29g protein -- PointsPlus® value 5*

Ingredients:
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. chopped garlic
4 cups chopped spinach leaves
1 lb. raw lean ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled fat-free feta cheese (I used a non-cow milk feta, and it wasn't fat free)
Optional: large lettuce leaves, sliced onion, sliced tomato

Directions:
Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add onion and garlic and, stirring often, cook until softened, about 4 minutes.

Add spinach to the skillet with onion and garlic. Stirring often, cook until spinach has wilted and excess moisture has evaporated, 3 - 5 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat. Once cool enough to handle, carefully blot away any excess moisture from the onion-spinach mixture with paper towels. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine turkey, egg whites, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Using your hands, mix well. Add cooked veggies and feta cheese to the bowl. Using your hands, mix until uniform.

Evenly divide turkey mixture and firmly form into four patties. (Cover and refrigerate if not cooking immediately.)

Bring a grill (or skillet or grill pan) sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add patties, cover, and cook for 5 - 8 minutes per side, until cooked through. If using a skillet or grill pan, work in batches, removing skillet or pan from heat between batches to re-spray. (And don't worry if your lid isn't a perfect fit when covering!)

Eat your patties with a knife and fork or, if you like, wrap them up in some lettuce leaves with onion and tomato. Enjoy!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS (or 6 if you are me!)
These are so so awesome. You will love them, I promise!

DDP Yoga - Food Diaries, why bother?

For several years, I have been a member of Spark People, a website for health and fitness that includes trackers for Food and Exercise. When I first used it, I was doing Weight Watchers and had to track every single thing I ate. I did it for a really long time, like a year or so, before finally giving up, because it was too much work I was too lazy to do it.

Two years ago, I started using Spark People again, to track my food, after a visit to a new doctor who asked me questions about what I ate, how much, etc. I have a weight problem, so this is a standard question at the start of a visit. I answered candidly, and he asked me if I kept a food diary. I told him I hadn’t for about a year and he told me I should start again. He also really opened my eyes to a lot of interesting ideas about food. He asked me to be open and watch a couple of movies. One was Forks Over Knives. The other was Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. I watched these two movies and I was intrigued. I started to really focus on the kinds of foods I was eating and, even more than how much, I started to focus on eating clean and healthy and eating more of a plant-based diet. I didn’t do anything drastic, like completely quit eating meat, but I did start to incorporate some plant-based days into my diet. After about 5 months of doing this and of regular exercise and working with a trainer, I lost about 25 pounds. During this time, I also had some major life events, so I was unable to continue with the gym, my food habits slid a bit and I regained the weight. (Again, admitting I was too lazy to keep the diary, honestly!)

I’m telling you this background because I think it’s important. It’s important to recognize where you came from and know where you want to go. It’s important to understand what drives you, and know how to “fall down right” and be able to get back up and on with your life.

When I started doing DDP Yoga last June, I decided to restart my food diary.I also rewatched Forks Over knives. I started paying attention to what I ate, when I ate, how much the food was processed, and I started incorporating plant based food days again. After about 4 months, I stopped the diary, thinking I “had this under control” and I didn’t really need the diary. At this point, I was losing fairly well, and had lost 28 lbs and 37 inches.

If you track me at all on Facebook, here, or on TeamDDP Yoga, you know that I have lost 28 lbs and 37 inches. Ahem. Note the date today. It is not November! I haven’t lost since I stopped keeping the food diary. Why? Well, here’s the deal.

My accountability partner, Mark Furniss, kind of clued in one day to the fact that I was always sore, always whining about something hurting. He asked me what I’d eaten. I gave him a recap and he immediately told me to add more protein. At first I balked, but then I realized I hadn’t been keeping the food diary. Hmmmm. 

So I started the food diary again. I faithfully filled in everything I ate. I also added protein shakes. In watching the food diary for a couple of days, I realized that even though I eat clean, healthy, whole real foods, I don’t often get as much protein as I need. I remembered back to working out with the trainer, and her telling me to eat more protein. I remembered my husband making me TWO turkey burgers for dinner, along with my veggies. So, I decided to add in the protein shakes. I have one mid morning, I personally love Garden of Life RAW Protein, which is plant-based and pretty darn yum. (It’s also dairy free, which is important to me!) I have it with almond milk, right after my coffee at work. Since I have added it, I’ve felt stronger, my workouts have been more consistent and, finally, the scale is inching toward moving. (I have lost a pound that had crept back on when I increased the intensity of my workouts.)

My personal feeling is that no matter what you choose for a diet, an important part of self-accountability is maintaining a food diary. A food diary forces you to write down every single thing you eat or drink. Therefore, you kind of stop when you might have splurged on something you wouldn’t normally eat if you know that you have to write it down. It will be there in black and white. For me, that right there is enough to make me stop!

In closing, I challenge you to start a food diary! Join Spark People, or join another site that has them, and track everything you eat and drink. Heck track your workouts too. See where it takes you, see how you feel, see if you are really feeding your body what it needs. Personally, I think I had underestimated the needs of my body when doing DDP Yoga. Sure, I was feeding it, and feeding it good food, but I was still starving it, which was affecting my loss. If you don’t eat enough food, your body can get into starvation mode. At that point, it will hang onto everything you eat, whether it needs it or not, because it’s worried that you won’t feed it again. Yea, it sounds crazy, and that’s a simplistic view of it, but basically, that’s what happens. Don’t go there. Track your food, eat clean, eat as many veggies as possible, and be sure you are eating to a level that your body can sustain a workout and recover quickly from it. If you are feeling crazy tired, crazy sore, and not feeling energized and amazing, look at your food. Is it in balance? Are you getting enough water? Check it out. #ownyourlife

If you want to learn more about DDP Yoga, please reach out to me, or click on the link at the right of the page. (Yes, it is an affiliate link, and yes, I get a small amount of money if you buy it through that link. No, that's not the reason I'm telling you to check it out.)

If you want to be my friend on SparkPeople, look for 1RadChick. I'm actually one of the Admins for the DDP Yoga team there. (A group which isn't too active, but will be at some point!)

Is it really willpower?

I get a lot of comments telling me I have great willpower. I am often confused by them. I don’t consider myself to have great willpower. In an effort to resolve my confusion, I looked up willpower, and came up with words like dedication, determination, commitment, tenacity.  

I guess I DO have this. I have committed to doing the work to make my life the best it can be and improve my health and well being. Is it rocket science? Nope.

I am striving to make good choices, especially in regard to food and my DDP Yoga workouts.

First, food. I am not a rockstar with food. Clearly, I’m not. If I were, I wouldn’t have weight to lose, and I’d be one of those people who just goes through life, eating to live. I love food. Really. Food is wonderfully enticing and fun and delicious. But, I have committed to a choice of health and well being, so I have to negotiate food with that thought in mind. Is it easy? Heck no. But it IS rewarding.  It is gratifying to, each and every day, at bedtime, look back on the day and recognize all of the good food choices I’ve made through the day. Do I make bad choices? Of course. I’m human.

But, in the spirit of “living life at 90%” I try to keep the majority of my food in the realm of REAL food. I don’t eat much processed food, I eat a ton of veggies, and I keep my focus on the things I CAN have, rather than the ones I can’t. I don’t find substitutes for my old way of eating. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if I had continued to eat those foods, so it seems like it’s a smarter use of my ability to choose to find new foods and new good eating habits that serve my lifestyle, rather than bending my new lifestyle to fit my old way of eating. A great example of this is bread. I’m gluten free (for the most part, again 90%, still a work in progress.) Let’s be real, gluten free bread? Not tasty. Not worth it to me. Some people like it, find good brands, and continue to eat bread. Me? Not so much. I’m SO much happier having a nice burger with a lettuce wrap or even eating it with a knife and fork. Do I miss the bread? No, I think I actually enjoy the burger better without the bun, because I really taste all of the flavors. I will admit that I miss toast a bit once in a while, but I am thriving on whole grains, like steel cut oatmeal or oat groats, muesli, and homemade lowfat granola. I am loving my food, eating well, and not ingesting all kinds of ick.

Second, about my DDP Yoga workouts. I post and tweet them. I do it because it gives me accountability. It is a choice to do the workouts and put in the work, and I keep myself accountable by posting on Facebook and Twitter.  Sure, I have an accountability partner, and he’s awesome, but face it, he’s 6,000 miles away, what’s he going to do really do if I decide to go off the rails? He can’t control me, I have to do this for me, and I have to make a choice that I want to improve my health and quality of life. It’s all on me. He is merely there to guide me and try to remind me that I made a great choice and need to stick with it.

I get questions about working out alone, asking how I stay motivated. Have you seen my pictures? Yea, that. That’s how I stay motivated. In the shower, in the morning, soaping up my arm, seeing the muscles ripple and realizing that *I* am doing that, I’m shaping my body into something beautiful in about 30 minutes a day. Am I perfect with my workouts? Nope. There are days where I am lazy, days where I start and am too tired or too whatever, and I stop early. But, when I do that, I hold myself accountable and make sure that the next workout, I finish what I started.

The way I see it, I have THIS life, this ONE precious life. I have this limited time to do the best I can for my body and to thank it for all that it does for me, every day. I want to be that 80 year old woman, on the beach, doing yoga. When I was a kid, I spent my summers at the beach. The woman who took care of me disappeared at 5:30 am every day. One morning I snuck out and followed her. She went to the beach and it was the most beautiful thing ever. She did half an hour of yoga… and she did it every single day. At the time, I had no idea what it was.  I just knew that Olga was beautiful and what she was doing was important to her. She lived to be 97! She took care of herself.

So, yes, I guess I do have willpower. But it’s not magic. It’s just good, clean hard work, determination, and commitment. Like anything else, if you commit to do something, you will succeed. I had a friend who used to tell me “do what you say, say what you do”. I’ve never forgotten those words, and find that they are good guidance in almost every part of life.

Own your life!

Quinoa & Brown Rice Salad in a Jar

I started a new job a couple of weeks ago, and there isn't much nearby for good, clean food. This past week I faked it fairly well, but I knew I needed to come up with a solid solution for eating clean.  I had seen a website with salads-in-a-jar and thought those might be interesting, so I decided that this weekend, I was going to pursue more and find out.

I found The Yummy Life and her blog had four different versions of a quinoa salad in a jar. I went foraging in the kitchen and found I had just about everything to make the Mediterranean version, sort of, so that's what I made!

I had some organic precooked quinoa and brown rice with garlic that we had purchased at Costco, so I used that instead of cooking normal quinoa because, um, yea, I don't know where I put the raw quinoa, but it's very safe. :)  I figured out that the recipe called for 1/2 cup of quinoa and this packet had just about 2 cups so that meant I could make 4 jars, which is perfect, because, one day this week, I am going to leave the building and go explore at lunch.  I also didn't have Greek olives, but for some reason, we have 70-11 cans of pitted black olives so I used some of those that I chopped up. I also didn't have roasted red peppers, but I had a gorgeous raw red bell pepper, so I used that. I also didn't use puny pint size jars, I love spinach so I used quart jars and packed in a lot of spinach instead of the 1-2 cups she used. Yum!

Here's a link to the recipes: The Yummy Life

Oh, and one more thing. I didn't have ground chia seeds, but I did have whole ones, and I had this little OXO spice grinder that I was given many years ago for Christmas by a dear friend. Mine has a glass jar. Apparently they now come with acrylic jars. Anyhow, I found that I could dial down the grinder and grind my whole chia seeds! So happy. :)

Here's a photo of my Mediterranean Salads chillin' in the fridge, ready for me to grab and go in the morning. I hope they taste as good as they look!

If you decide to give these a try, let me know. I will report back on how they taste. Have a fabulous day!

DDP Yoga and Accountability

I've been doing DDP Yoga since June of 2013. For the first couple of months, I relied on support strictly from the www.Teamddpyoga.com chatroom, which is amazing, by the way, and a MUST visit often if you are doing the program. But, although I was committed, I was on my own, a little fish in a huge ocean of workouts and movements that were unfamiliar.

At some point in August, Mark Furniss reached out to me and said "I think you need an accountability partner, don't you?" I kind of hesitated, because, to be honest, Mark is usually in "beast mode" with his workouts, and he has had incredible progress. But, because I knew he was right, I said yes. I am here to tell you, it was a great decision.
Why do you need an accountability partner and what do they "do"?  Anyone who has ever done a home based program, be it a way of eating or an exercise program knows that, after a while, it's like being in a plastic bubble or a vacuum. Sure, you go through the moves, but there's no one to turn to when you falter on a move, need advice on form, need a bit of encouragement, or need a kick in the ass. (Yes, there, I said it, and we both know it's true!) Now, don't get me wrong, an accountability partner can't *make* you do your workout, but, they can encourage you and remind you that you always feel better after your workout, making it something you then WANT to do rather than something you think you NEED to do. Needing to do something isn't fun. Wanting to do it is fun. Right? (you know I'm right, just admit it.) Mark has told me so many times, "Darlin' if that workout isn't fun why are you doing it?" At first, I was kind of put off by that, thinking it wasn't the most supportive of comments, but as time has passed, I've realized he's right. There's something about DDP Yoga that is FUN. For me, it's trying to get my body to do things that it says "Um, no, I don't think so." to. It's about learning to control my breathing and watching the muscles transform and become strong. This morning I did Red Hot Core. It's about 12 minutes of agony ab work. Twelve minutes is short, right? Yea. Right. Well, this morning about minutes in, Dallas was talking about putting your hands by your sides, and instead I put my hands on my abs. I don't know why, I just did. I did a crunch with them there and I literally stopped in my tracks. I wish you could feel the rock hard abs I have going on underneath the layer of fat that is slowly melting away. Wow! I was floored and thrilled. I can't wait to tell Mark later. :) (and anyone else on the planet who will sit still long enough to listen!)

There are other kinds of accountability as well. The Team DDP Yoga site is a great example. You can go there and post in a forum and get almost instantaneous help, OR, you can visit the chat room and meet other people just like you and get great support and help. I am a regular, so you might see me there! I have some friends in there who help keep me accountable as well. For instance, there is one fellow yogi, John NS, who has nicknamed me "Futz." He calls me that because he has come to know that if he sees me at a particular time of day, in the chat room, chances are I'm avoiding my workout by finding something else to do. He regularly calls me on it, asking how my workout is going and then kicking me out of the room if I say "Uh, not done yet." It's awesome and much appreciated.

On the flip side, the rewards of being someone's accountability partner are plentiful. Mark has days where he's hell bent on doing every single DDP Yoga workout, and other days where he pushes too hard and suddenly all goes flat. When that happens, I remind him that he finished the workout, it's past, and there's another one tomorrow. Being supportive feels good. It feels like I'm giving back. It's a good feeling.

I think accountability is critical on a program like DDP Yoga, because it's way too easy to let it become a chore, and it's way to easy to find something else to do. So, if you are doing DDP Yoga and you don't have an accountability partner, find one! Go to the Team DDP Yoga site and post in the forums or visit the chat room and ask. Someone is bound to be in the same boat as you, whether they know it or not!

Own your life and make it a great day!

ddp yoga and motivation

In June of 2013, I started doing DDP Yoga. That was 8 months ago. Eight long months. In that time, I've trained hard and worked hard to teach my body new things, ways of moving it has never done and I've aligned my thinking to match up. DDP has a video that he encourages new folks to watch. You can find it here: Living Life at 90%. The password is ddp (all lower case).

I'm writing this blog post because I am listening to people around me make excuses. I'm listening to people say things like "well, I can't do that by myself, I need someone to push me" or "I don't know how you find time to do this." These kinds of comments have really gotten me thinking. I started by watching Living Life at 90% again, and then I talked to a few friends who, like me, are committed to this program. You know what came out? I don't FIND time to work out, I MAKE time to work out. Do I like working out alone? Yes, I kind of do. Know why? I am completely focused on me and my workout. I'm not having to stop and wait for someone to catch up, I'm not fighting to keep up with some 20 year old instructor who has no idea what it's like to be making a 53 year old body pretend to be Gumby. Instead, I'm able to pause the DVD, catch my breath, get a drink of water, mop the gallon of sweat off my mat, and restart.

Am I perfect at making time? Am I perfect at working out alone? Heck no. But, I am owning my life and I am proving to myself just how far I can go and how much I can do. With every workout I do, it's one step toward being healthier and happier. I've reduced by 28 pounds and 37 inches. That's a whole lot! Sometimes I catch myself comparing myself to some of my friends who are doing this program, and losing a ton of weight. I look at them and think I haven't lost much, but go ahead and lift 28 pounds and let me know how heavy it is, because for me? 28 pounds is very heavy. Look at a yardstick, look at that 36 inches. I've lost one of those!

So what am I saying, exactly? I am saying that motivation comes from within. You can't expect a video to motivated you to the point where it makes you check in and do your program.  It's not fair to expect a teacher to do that either, right? When you sign up for a class, like an aerobics class, the teacher doesn't call you and make sure you are coming. You paid your money, it's your job to make sure you spend wisely and actually show up. I think it's the same with this program-- you have to show up.

You have to motivate yourself to do the work. We all know that there's no such thing as a free lunch. There's no such thing as a program that will do the work for you. You have to commit and you have to show up and do the work. Is it easy? Nope. Is it impossible? Nope. Is it fun? Heck yea! As DDP says constantly during the workouts, "there's always someplace to go". This means that no matter how long you've done DDP Yoga, there is always a way to modify a position or move to make it more challenging.

After 8 months, there are still things I can't do yet. (Notice the yet, I'm not saying I'll never do them, I'm just saying that, right now, these things are not easy for me, and I am still learning.) Also, there are days when my heart rate just doesn't behave. Days when I have no balance. Days when I don't want to work out. But you know what? My accountability partner, Mark Furniss has taught me that on the days that I don't want to work out, those are the most important days, because, typically, those are the days when you have the best workout.

So, in closing, I want to challenge you. If you are one of those people who purchased DDP Yoga and you haven't even opened it yet, or if you are one of those people who did one or two workouts and thought "holy cow, this is hard, this guy is crazy." Get those DVDs out and commit to do a month's worth. A solid 30 days. Then tell me how you feel. I can just about guarantee that you will have lost inches, pounds, and gained confidence and strength. I find that with each workout I do, I gain a bit of flexibility or refine a movement a bit more. Really, it happens that fast. If it can happen that fast for me, it can for you too. What do you say? Leave me a comment and let me know when you're starting, ok?  You can do this. OWN YOUR LIFE!

how DDP Yoga has changed the way I think...

First off, Happy New Year!

Many of you know that for the past 6 months, I have been doing DDP Yoga. During that time, I have had a lot of success with the program, losing over 25 lbs and more than 35 inches. I won’t lie, it isn’t easy. But, it is possible. It is possible for anyone.

Whenever I share how much I’ve lost and how long I've been doing this, people ask me how I stay motivated. I have been thinking about that a lot. How *do* I stay motivated? I realized that the answer is easy and complicated all at once.

I take one day at a time, one workout at a time, sometimes one move at a time, and even, in some of the more difficult workouts, one minute at a time. I accept my actions for what they are. Every time I move, I am taking a step toward better health, flexibility, and overall well being. For me, that’s the goal. Losing weight? It will come, with dedication, determination, and a whole lot of focus.

“Comparing yoga to DDP Yoga is like comparing a bicycle to a Harley-Davidson.  They both have two sets of wheels, but that’s where the similarities end.” 

-Diamond Dallas Page

When I started doing DDP Yoga, in June of 2013, I did a grand total of 52 minutes in the first week. 52 minutes. A whole 7 days and that’s all I did. But, that was 52 minutes MORE than I did the week before. It was a win. When I started, in that first week, I took my photos. I “cheated” for the leg stretch photo, seen below. I held onto the wall, and lifted my leg, then flailed wildly, laughing because I really thought I was going to fall. And I did fall. More than once. I struggled with all of the photos, actually… it was really hard. It was hard to look at myself and face what I’d created. It was hard to acknowledge that I had not taken good care of myself. I felt like a failure. I had failed my body. My one and only precious body. But you know, I had to stop thinking that way and pick myself up, take the photos and move forward. I had my husband take the photos. THAT was the hardest thing ever. Then, because I survived that, I decided to post them, publicly for all the world to see. What if they helped someone? Just one person. What if.

Here’s a progression photo, showing that Day 1 photo, along with each month since. THIS is motivating. Looking and SEEING how much more flexible I am is enough motivation to prove to me that this program works. It’s shaping me into a whole other person. Yes!

Because of a chance encounter with someone on the team ddp yoga site, I started a google doc with my minutes and workouts. I kept it through the whole 6 months, in fact. I didn’t really look at it much, as far as comparing what I was doing to what I’d done, until a couple of weeks ago. I really looked at it. That’s when I realized that I did 52 minutes that first week. Now, on average, I do over 200 minutes a week! Really. Insane, right? I actually try to do more than that, and some weeks I am closer to 300 minutes, but with the holidays and other factors, it’s been closer to 200 lately, so we’ll stick with that.

Right there, what I just listed, that’s motivation. That’s how I stay motivated. Well, that and I hang out on the Team DDP Yoga site and have people I am accountable to, both there and on Facebook. I know that, if I were on this journey in my own little house, in my own little world, with no outside influence, and no contact with anyone else on a similar journey, that I would roll up my yoga mat and let it sit in the corner as a good intention that never came to fruition. But, because I’ve built up a network, a clan, a tribe of people who support me and share this portion of my life journey, I’m eliminating weight and inches and building a body that I can be proud of. Every day, I make it a point to compliment myself on some part of my body. It used to be that I’d like my hair, my eyes, or once my ears. (Not kidding.) Now, I’m reaching a point where, on a regular basis, I catch sight of my arms in the mirror and stop and think “wow! those are some nice looking arms.” The other day, I actually looked at my leg, flexed it and thought “yes, that’s how I want my calf to look.” HUGE stuff. Really huge. For me. Maybe not for someone else, but for me? Really big. I’m waiting for the day when I decide I like my behind. (Hey at least I’ve stopped calling it my “caboose.”) :)

Oh yes, and I eat whole, real food. At the moment, I am dairy free. Eventually, I will also be gluten free, but that's another post for another day. :)

Until then, you will find me, 5 of 7 days at least, on my mat, doing whatever Diamond Dallas Page tells me to do, and striving to do each move better than I did it the previous time.

How about you?

Want more information?
DDP Yoga