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We want to be like Elli because she was the Norse Goddess of Aging who beat Thor in a wrestling match. We want to be like Elli, fit and strong as we age
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Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast

Northeast Ohio

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Author: Jill McCauslin

Becoming Elli / Articles posted by Jill McCauslin (Page 2)
Benefits of Squats

The Benefits of Squats

November 5, 2024
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Building Muscle, Fit and Strong, Work Outs

I know there are benefits to doing squats. I end up doing a lot of squats though I don’t really enjoy them. They’re just not a fun exercise, at least I don’t think so.  I find them to be challenging and it’s hard to see progress. If you’re lifting weights, you can tell when you’re getting stronger but that isn’t as evident with squats. So why do squats? One of the biggest advantages of squats is their ability to build lower body strength. Strong legs are essential for everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs, and lifting objects. Squats not only build muscle but also increase functional strength, which translates to better performance in sports and day-to-day tasks. Additionally, squats help strengthen your core muscles, which improves...

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Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium

Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium

October 28, 2024
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Fit and Strong, Food and Drink

My doctor told me to make sure I’m eating enough calcium to keep my bones strong. There may have been some grumbling because I’ve been trying to make sure I eat enough protein and fiber and now I have to think about calcium. I know I can use supplements but I’ve heard concerns about heart health from calcium supplements. When I discussed this with my doctor, she recommended that I try to get as much calcium through my food as I can. When I think about calcium, I think about dairy products like milk and yogurt and that king of dairy snacks, cottage cheese. However, if you are vegan, lactose-intolerant, or simply looking to diversify your sources of calcium, you need to find some nondairy options. What are...

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Looking Back at Our Veggie Challenges

Looking Back at Our Veggie Challenges

September 12, 2024
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Fit and Strong, Veggie Challenge

Chris recently posted about how eating more vegetables helps her maintain her weight and included some information about roasting zucchini. For some reason that made me think about some of our earlier posts about vegetables so I decided it was time for looking back at our veggie challenges. If you enter Veggie Challenge in the search field, a lot of entries come up. Scrolling through the search results, I realized we have a lot of great ideas on how to get more vegetables onto our plates. I found a recipe for a kohlrabi slaw that I made in 2019. Five years ago so I guess that’s why I forgot all about this dish but it sounds good. I need to make it again. It’s basically kohlrabi and...

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Joy of Walking Two Dogs

Joy of Walking Two Dogs

March 19, 2024
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Fit and Strong

This week I’m discovering the joy of walking TWO dogs. I think we’re all agreed that walking a dog gives you more steps but let me tell you about walking two of them. My grand-dog Stella is spending the week with Penny and me. They enjoy spending time together, which makes visiting a lot easier on all of us. Neither Penny nor Stella has great leash manners. Penny is now a 50-pound dog and Stella is 75 pounds and strong. Both dogs, in fact, are strong. Because walking both at once is a tremendous challenge, I tend to walk one dog and then the other. If they were easier to walk together, we could go to some parks for a good long hike. Unfortunately, because I can...

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Adjusting soup on the fly

Adjusting soup on the fly

March 5, 2024
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Fit and Strong, Food and Drink

What do I mean by adjusting soup on the fly? Good question. I made a pot of vegetarian chili in the Instant Pot the other day and had it for dinner. It was not my best attempt at soup or chili. I think I put too much broth in. It was not as thick as I expect chili to be. Maybe it was because I didn’t add any meat but I’m pretty sure I’ve made vegetarian chili before and it was fine. I ate a bowl of the chili and stuck the remainders in the refrigerator. Then the next day I made a pot roast for a family dinner. I made it in the Instant Pot as well. Basically the pot roast consisted of chuck roast (beef), potatoes...

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Ending the Year with a Goal

Ending the Year with a Goal

December 4, 2023
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5K, Fit and Strong, Motivation, Running

Here it is, early December of 2023, and I’m thinking about ending the year with a goal. People usually focus on setting goals for the new year and I’m sure I’ll do that too but I thought it would be best to set a goal for the end of the year. That way I can end the year strong and move into the new year feeling like I can do more. I signed up for a local 5K being held in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve day, i.e., December 31. I haven’t run a race since the Towpath half marathon I ran in October 2021. That’s over two years ago, which seems like a really long time. We were still following pandemic protocols so the race...

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Building Strength at the Gym

Building Strength at the Gym

November 7, 2023
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Building Muscle, Fit and Strong

I think it’s time for an update on how I’m doing building strength at the gym. In early September, I resumed going to my gym. I wrote a post about deciding to return to my gym and what I was doing. It’s now early November so a two month check in is a good idea, I think. I’ve been working with a trainer twice a week. I decided that it was worth it to me to spend the money on personal training because it forces me to actually go and do a full workout. I know that when I’m left to  my own resources, I tend to think, “oh that’s good enough” and don’t do the extra set or knock off before doing all of the...

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What are prebiotics?

What Are Prebiotics?

October 12, 2023
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Fit and Strong, Food and Drink

What are prebiotics? How are they different from probiotics? We hear about both but it’s not always clear how they differ. Probiotics introduce microorganisms into the gut. Many people take probiotic supplements, but you can also eat things like fermented foods to introduce “good” bacteria into your system. I wrote a blog post a while ago about the value of probiotic foods. The purpose of probiotics is to add certain bacteria into our systems. Prebiotics serve a related but different function. They provide food for the microorganisms we’re trying to encourage to be in our system. Prebiotics are basically the food that bacteria eat to help them flourish and proliferate. If you're taking probiotics, making sure you eat prebiotics might help those bacteria you're introducing into your...

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Returning to the Gym

Returning to the Gym

October 2, 2023
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Fit and Strong, Fitness

I’ve returning to the gym that I’ve belong to for years after trying out some new gyms over the summer. It was interesting to see what was available to me and I didn’t get to check out as many as I intended. I may still go to some of the gyms that are further from my house just to see what they have to offer. I decided that my gym was still a good option for me. It’s close to my house. I can drive there in five minutes. When I returned, it was good to be welcomed by people. Having people know your name has some value. (Of course, if you go to any gym, eventually they know your name.) I decided to try some different...

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Tracking Food with Cronometer

Tracking Food with Cronometer

September 21, 2023
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Fit and Strong, Food and Drink, Product Review

I wrote about tracking food in the very early days of the Becoming Elli website. I wrote a blogpost entitled Counting Calories or Eat Less and Move More.  At that time, I was using SparkPeople for tracking my food. I stuck with that app because I had a large body of data in it. I had created recipes and lots of favorites. It was easy to use. Five years later, I'm now tracking food with Cronometer. Unfortunately, SparkPeople closed its doors for food logging. It changed its focus and no longer provided a free tool for tracking food. Within the past year, I tried logging food on the Fitbit app. It was ok but I definitely prefer tracking food with Cronometer. Some of the reasons why I prefer...

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Becoming Elli is for women over the age of 50 who are focused on healthy living and getting fit. We discuss fitness, nutrition, and ways to age gracefully. Our mission is the same as our podcast: to become (and stay) Fit Strong Women Over 50.

Chris Brown & Jill McCauslin

BecomingElli @ gmail.com

Northeast Ohio

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