Author: Chris Brown (Page 41 of 41)

Maintaining Weight Loss – Consistency Over Intensity

February 10, 2018 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

During the winter months, it can be difficult to stay the course for maintaining weight loss. Long dark nights. Cold blustery weather.

We are almost six weeks into New Year’s Resolutions and I find that I need a reminder about what I promised myself.

Maintaining weight loss. Developing muscle strength. Cultivating good eating habits.

Already this year I’ve not been to the gym on a regular basis as much as I intended. Maybe two days a week instead of my usual four or five.

Generally I go skiing down the slopes at a nearby resort during the winter months. This year I haven’t been outside as much as I’ve wanted to, partly due to sub freezing weather the early part of January. Then I’ve also been dealing with an unexpected schedule, requiring me to be out of town and away from home. Consistent eating habits are more of a challenge when I’m away.

I am reminded that fitness is not a race. The ocean smooths large rocks into tiny grains of sand by consistently waves washing in and out.

My big goal this year is to stay consistent with exercise and healthy eating habits. I know that this will help me with maintaining my weight loss.

Consistency Over Intensity

For 2018, I’ve picked a phrase that I want to focus on: Consistency Over Intensity. It kinda follows that mantra of many marathon runners – just put one foot in front of the other.

I think about this when I push snow around on the driveway. Shoveling some snow has helped me get steps when I really hadn’t expected to get some. I talked about that in our recent podcast episode 2. When my son was in high school, it became his job to shovel the snow on the walks and the drive. When he went away to college I returned to snow removal duties. The result was one of the rude reminders of being out of shape. By consistently getting my steps, challenging myself and going to the gym to get exercise, I’m now able to easily spend 30 minutes clearing the snow, without any problem.

I was reminded of consistency over intensity when I read a post in Weighty Matters from a Canadian doctor who writes about the food industry. “And I tell people, day in and day out, that if they’re curious about how they’re doing, the answer to that question isn’t how much they weigh, how much they’ve lost, how their clothing fits, how they feel physically, or how they feel mentally. Rather I tell them that if they want to know how they’re doing, they have to reflect on what they’re actually doing…”

Going skiing is fun. It requires a lot of gear. Fitting into those same pair of ski pants is one indication that I’m maintaining my weight loss.

We all know it is so important to stay mobile, flexible, strong and fit. Lately I have been especially reminded of that when I’ve had recent unexpected challenges of caring for a relative. By keeping myself healthy, fit and strong, I’m able to be there to help others.

Having a “go-to” exercise routine helps replace that dragged out feeling of tiredness with the powerful feel good hormones that are released after exercising – dopamine and endorphins. This keeps me coming back for more.

Being more fit and strong just feels good. It allows me to do things that I find really difficult. I guess that’s called a feeling of self-confidence, but it’s not exactly that.

Consistent change = Positive Progress

I find that too much intensity leaves me feeling a bit overwhelmed. All or nothing dieting. Over the top exercise. Too many rules and changes. I simply won’t stick with it if the plan is too drastic. I need to stay the course. Keep on keeping on.

Sometimes consistency feels boring. I’m tempted to switch out with something “not so good.” Just this once. Special occasion. (Why does it sometimes seem that there is a special occasion more often than a regular day?) Birthdays, holidays, happy times, sad times. Friday night TGIF. Sunday Funday. Stressed-out-Monday. It’s easy to make exceptions, isn’t it?

I know in my heart that consistency is the key to maintaining a weight loss. Intensity comes and goes. Heck, I know that too much intensity can easily lead to injury. And if I’m not consistent with my recovery strategies I can end up having a problem.

Motivation wanes. Huge goals overwhelm, but I know when I have a good step-by-step plan, that I can do consistently, I can reach goals that I never thought possible. For instance, back 10 years ago, I never would have dreamed that I could have run a half marathon or bike 150 mile in a weekend.

I’ve come to realize that the way to make it work is to get a good plan and work it.

At one point I liked the phrase “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I helped me to dig in, knuckle down and do something I was struggling with. I’m not exactly sure when my brain started completing that saying with my own “yeah, right out the door!” Some how the cynical side of my self talk popped in. It probably when was I was digging too deep, white knuckling too hard and finding that my consistency was replaced with too much intensity.

I have several strategies (or maybe they are actually tactics) for maintaining weight loss that have worked pretty well for me in the six plus years that I’ve managed to keep the weight off. And since I’ve become an exercise lover (athlete?) I’ve found that recovery and pacing are part of my training too. I’m working on an article to share with you in the future. More about that at another time.

Now it’s your turn. Tell me:

What do you do consistently to help you to get fit and strong? Or stay fit and strong? Are you working on your New Years Resolution consistently?
What is your motivation for maintaining weight loss?
Remember that song “Keep on Keeping On”? What phrase or mantra is in your head that you repeat over to yourself?

Chris and Jill are the hosts of the Becoming Elli Podcast.

Meet The Hosts of the Becoming Elli Podcast – Episode #2

February 2, 2018 / Chris Brown / 9 Comments

Episode number 2 of the Becoming Elli podcast introduces Chris Brown and Jill McCauslin, the hosts and publishers of Becoming Elli – where women over 50 inspire each other to become fit and strong.

This episode gives a short background on the hosts and provides an idea of what the Becoming Elli podcast, website and community will focus on. It also includes ideas on how to find workout friends.

In episode #2 Meet the Hosts of the Becoming Elli Podcast we discuss:

How we got inspired to create Becoming Elli
Why is it called Becoming Elli
Why becoming part of a fitness community makes such a big difference
Why we feel it’s important to develop a community of like-minded
How we are working toward becoming fit and strong
How we changed our attitudes towards food, exercise and being active
Tips Segment: How to meet other people to workout with

Links mentioned in this episode:

Strava.com – a website and an app for “athletes” who run and bike. Through an app on your phone you can become friends with other people and cheer them on with comments and “kudos”.
FitBit.com – a website and an app to track steps, calories used and work-outs. Uses wearable technology (zip or watch synced with your phone.)
MeetUp.com – a website that helps people in the same area with similar interests find each other (No, it’s not a dating app!)
Becoming Elli Facebook group – We are considering creating a closed Facebook group where the Becoming Elli community can meet to inspire each other and share info. Please email us with your thoughts or leave a comment below.Thanks for listening!

We’re participating in the Weekly Wrap to tie in with other fitness sites:

Linking up with the Weekly Wrap sponsored by Holly and Wendy.

Healthy Chili on a Chilly Day

February 1, 2018 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

I love a warm bowl of chili on a chilly day when the weather is beyond brisk and down right cold. Here’s my quick and easy go-to chili recipe that I find is both tasty and healthy. I like to use grass fed beef, it has little grease and tastes better to me. I love this on days when the temperature is below freezing outside!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion – diced (or chunked)
1 sweet red pepper – diced (or chunked)
1/4 pound of beef
1 (15 oz) can of kidney beans – drained & rinsed
1 can of water (I use the kidney bean can as the measuring can)
1 can of Ro*tel diced tomatoes with chopped green chilies
1 shake of cinnamon

Heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the onion. I like to use a deep frying pan so I can make the entire chili using only one pan. (Less to clean up later.) Stir the onions lightly until almost translucent. (I think that is called saute, right?) Add red pepper for another minute or two. Remove both and put in small bowl. Sometimes I make the onions and peppers small, but other times when I make it, I like chunks of veggies. So it ends up more like a chili stew.

Brown the ground beef. Separate it as you cook it on medium heat. Add the onions and peppers back into the pan. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and add to beef mixture. Add a can of water. Add diced tomatoes.

Simmer. Add a shake or two of cinnamon to taste. That’s my *secret* ingredient. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes to let the favors mix together. I like to have it with some shredded cheddar cheese on top or over a small bowl of whole grain spaghetti. (I use the same bowl that I put the onions and peppers in while the ground beef was browning.)

If you like it a little more spicy, you can add some chili powder. Some people like to saute some garlic before they brown the meat. If your meat has a lot of fat, you may want to drain before adding in the onions and peppers. Or you might want more or less water. Or add some tomato sauce.

Adding more vegetables makes it more bulky and more healthy in my opinion. Ive been known to microwave sliced carrots and celery to add. Or stir in some spinach for more nutrition.

Everyone I talk with about chili has their own favorite recipe or ingredient for making a delicious bowl of chili. What’s yours?

Book Review: The Power of Habit

January 25, 2018 / Chris Brown / 4 Comments

I recently read a book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. And I have been able to change some habits! The book explores how habits work. The author studied how businesses change the habits of their employees as well as how everyday people lose weight, keep it off and start consistently exercising.

My big “ah-ha” with this book was to learn to change the thing I do right before the action. I found this description of the book on Amazon:

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.

The book explains the 3 parts of the habit. Each habit has a cue, a routine and a reward. The key is understanding the pattern before trying to adjust the outcomes. It starts with the cue. The cue might be the time of day or a situation. The phone rings. Stuck in a traffic jam. An argument with a family member. The 3 pm slump.

Then, almost automatically the habit moves into the routine. And finally there is the reward.

Here’s an example:

I’m half-heartedly watching football on TV and a food commercial comes on (something like pizza or fast food.) That’s the cue.
Suddenly I am “hungry.” Then next thing you know, the routine starts: I walk into the kitchen and look in the refrigerator for something yummy.
What’s the reward? “Mmmm” the craving is satisfied with a momentary good taste on the tongue. (And later followed by the “grrr, I did it again” feeling, but somehow that doesn’t link into the cue-routine-reward habit.)

If you think about it, we all do actions with a series of steps. Making coffee, driving a car, taking a shower, grocery shopping, reading Facebook. I learned from this book, if you can breakdown and understand the cue, routine and reward of your habit, you have a chance at modifying any habit that you currently do. Making my New Year’s resolution into a cue, routine, reward type activity that comes naturally and almost automatic, has helped me to redirect myself without too much thought or decision. In fact, I’ve found that there are a lot of good things that I can do, somewhat unconsciously.

Redirect the Habit

After examining some of my habits, here’s an example of one of them where I have been pretty successful at making the redirect:

Following the cue of a commercial with a yummy cheese-dripping pizza shown during a break in the action of a football game on TV, I will still go over to he fridge and peak in. But now I have placed a pile of fresh veggies (carrots, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts whatever is on sale/in season) front and center. Instead of grabbing something “yummy” to eat, I changed the routine. I pull out the vegetables and chop them up. Then, even if I don’t eat them right now, I’ve got stuff ready for salad toppings or a soup. And sometimes, just the act of looking in the fridge, pulling the veggies out and chopping them, satisfies my craving for that food I saw on TV that unconsciously sent me to the fridge to begin with. I don’t know why it feels satisfying (the reward.) But it does. Usually halfway thru chopping, I have forgotten all about the dripping cheese from that pizza commercial because I’m focused on not chopping my fingers as I’m slicing the onion. And I’m thinking about what kind of salad or soup to make and should I add some protein.

Chopping veggies is very satisfying to me. I feel like I accomplished something, the movements are somewhat unconscious and the results are good.

Is there a habit that you are trying to change or redirect? What is your cue, routine and reward? Leave us a message below about your success or challenge with changing it.

Interview with Personal Trainer Maria Stadelman – Becoming Elli Podcast Episode 01

January 7, 2018 / Chris Brown / 6 Comments

In this first episode of the Becoming Elli podcast, we talk with personal trainer Maria Stadelman. Maria has worked with many women over 50. She says that more women of this age are becoming interested in learning how to “lift heavy weights.”

We talk about exercises, healthy eating, and staying motivated. Furthermore, we discuss:

Why weightlifting after the age 50 is so important for women over 50.
Practical reasons why this makes sense
“Must have exercises” to help you get the most out of your limited time
How to multi-task while exercising. (Yes, you can learn something new while improving your fitness at the same time!)
How to change your mindset about exercise
What is “HIIT”?
What is the minimum amount of time needed to get any benefit from exercise?
How many exercises are needed as a minimum to begin to see a difference?
What common mistakes to avoid when exercising? (And as a result, stay healthy!)
Ways to address different muscle groups and stay motivated
Why she feels eating pasta and carbs – “eating Italian” in moderation consequently keeps you satisfied

Maria’s credentials:

Bachelor Degree in Exercise Physiology from Ohio University
Certified by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
Personal trainer
Athlete – soccer player, marathon runner, triathlete

Please listen to the inaugural Becoming Elli podcast. We’d love to hear from you. You can leave a comment for us here on the Becoming Elli website or on our Becoming Elli Facebook Page.

Adding Protein to Salads

January 4, 2018 / Chris Brown / 2 Comments

I love salads, but find that I am hungry just a few hours after eating a huge salad if I don’t have some protein in them. Grilled chicken is my “go to” for adding protein when I eat out at a restaurant, but at home, when I’m cutting vegetables for a salad, I try to find other ways to add some protein.

One easy way is to add some beans.

I call this Cucumber and Kidney Bean Salad a protein salad because I added a 15 oz can of drained kidney beans. There are only 6 ingredients – with one “surprise” ingredient in the dressing that I bet you haven’t tried lately.

Protein salad with celery, cucumbers and kidney beans.

Salad:
Cucumber – sliced and quartered
Celery – sliced and chopped
Kidney Beans – can, drained and rinsed, pat dry

Dressing:
Cider vinegar
Olive oil
Chia seeds

I like to buy the cans of kidney beans that are low sodium. If you have the time, buying kidney beans in a bag, then soaking them overnight also provides a much lower sodium content. One of my favorite food tracking apps, My Fitness Pal, says there are 7 grams of protein in one cup of kidney beans and about 25 grams of protein in the entire can. That is a little more than the 4 oz. of protein in the grilled chicken I usually add to a salad, but lots more fiber!

Don’t get me wrong, I still love a grilled chicken breast added to my salad, but if I don’t have the time, adding beans is easy!

Secret Ingredient

Chia seeds are those little circle spots you can plainly see on the celery and cucumber. They can be considered a super food because of the nutritional value, providing healthy omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, protein and antioxidants. Supposedly the chia seeds help reduce food cravings, help you to stay hydrated and remain satiated. Hey, I’m all for that! Some people think that they have a nutty flavor, but they don’t have much taste to me.

One ounce of dry chia seeds provides 4.7 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber! One ounce is about 2 Tablespoons, which to me is a lot. This salad has only one Tablespoon of chia seeds, to help boost up the nutrition in this protein salad by 2.5 grams of protein.

The texture of chia seeds is a little different. After they get wet with the dressing, a little gel forms around them. It’s different than many of the foods I generally eat so I feel like it is a treat.

When I tell people about adding chia seeds, inevitably someone starts singing the chia pet song from that fad commercial a few years ago. “Cha Cha Cha Chia!” Maybe I should rename this salad!

Grabbing a Quick Walk

December 20, 2017 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

This time of year I often feel the stress of not enough time. With only 5 days until Christmas, it feels like a count down for all the things I have to get done. Taking time exercise seems harder to squeeze in when there is so much to do — parties, gifts, decorating and reconnecting with family and friends.

Even when there is “NO TIME”, I am trying squeeze in some fresh air and a walk. I’m trying to get a little exercise at every opportunity. By getting a few more steps in and keeping my metabolism burning, I’m trying not to end up gaining weight during the month of December!

After I mailed a package to my sister at the local post office tonight after work, I took the opportunity for a quick walk around the pond at the park across the street.

It didn’t take long, but definitely left me feeling energized. Maybe it was the cold air? I don’t know, but I find that getting out and taking a quick walk makes a good difference in how I feel.

Starting to See Results from the Strength Building Season

December 9, 2017 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Now that we’re well into December, I’m thinking about what I’ve been able to accomplish this past year… and what I’d like to focus on for the new year!

I’m really thrilled that I was able to train for the 13.1 half marathon and finish it feeling good about myself.

As usual, my first thought for a new year resolution is to lose weight. But actually, it’s not the number on the scale I’m interested in as much as what it represents. Yes, I’d like to weigh less but I’m more interested in converting some of the fat or water weight into strong lean muscle.

I wrote a little bit about “strength building season” recently. For the past month I’ve focused on lifting weights two or three days a week. Not tons of weight. And not tons of time. But consistently lifting two or three days a week.

One nice difference, I’ve started to get more confidence. One way I know is that I’m doing fewer laps around the track every other weight, to psyche myself up.

This morning when I did my usual Saturday morning workout group exercise class at the gym, I really noticed the difference in my strength!

Using weights during the workout felt “easy”… even though I’d gone up 2 pounds,

from my usual 6 pounds to the 8 pound weights. Some of the moves where I really noticed it:

Reverse lunges with a hammer curl. Sweet. Trying NOT to swing the weights, but intentionally lift and slowly lower, to get the max muscle effect.
Side lunge reach down, then up, stand on one leg then push press the weight over head. Sweet. Balance on left foot seems so much easier to me than on the right.
Even the reverse crunch with feet out and then knees to chest seemed much easier because of the leg raise machine I’ve been working on.

Last spring and summer when I was doing those same moves, I was using 5 pound weights and they seemed heavy enough that I was getting a good work out.

It feels good to progress. I wonder what I’ll notice by mid-January? Any one else focusing on gaining muscle (instead of focusing on losing weight?)