Category: Motivation (Page 1 of 6)

Doing What You Can, When You Can

July 25, 2026 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Years ago, I was very inspired by Roni Noone, who was a weight-loss workout blogger and media creator. She still is a blogger. I started following her around 2008 or so. Then she grew her platform enormously through books, videos, conferences, and more. I even met her a couple of times at her “Fit Bloggin'” conferences in Maryland. She is still very active online, but I haven’t kept up with her.

One of the concepts she created and repeated often was “WYCWYC.” It means “Do What You Can When You Can.” It means to simply stop stressing so much about whatever you need to do that you can’t get it done and instead do what you can, when you can. It’s a practical approach to working out. She talked about it quite a bit in her vlogs (video blogs), and it really resonated with me.

Can’t make your regular gym routine because you’re out of town? Take a walk in a nearby park and do something that challenges you (like 10 squats after every half-mile). If that doesn’t seem challenging to you, then substitute another exercise that does.

My mind often wants to turn everything into an all-or-nothing choice.

Like writing an article for the Becoming Elli website. I haven’t written in months, and I used to write weekly or even more. Now I feel like I have to have some wonderful topic with profound insights in order to publish something.

Today I decided WYCWYC fits the bill. So here it is!

Overcoming Procrastination

I think WYCWYC breaks through my procrastination. I’ve heard that procrastination is a by-product of perfectionism. You know, if you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all. Something about it makes sense, although I’m the very first to say I am by no means a perfectionist. But maybe I feel like what I’m doing isn’t enough or isn’t good enough.

I think about when I really started exercising again when I turned 50 years old in 2007. Now you probably know, I tend to sweat a lot, even on a cold day. Back then, going to the gym while weighing more than 60 pounds more than I do right now, I felt like everyone was looking at me and judging me. At least I was severely judging myself. And doing even a little workout had me sweating… a lot.

It took me five years to lose the weight. Then I started working on getting stronger and doing more. Being consistent and finding things I loved really helped.

Years ago, I would take my dog for long walks on Saturdays, for miles and miles. Then that habit changed to riding my bike for miles and miles. I started running races.

Over the years, my life has changed, and so have my habits.

Now I try to walk a short walk every day. When I was walking my dog for miles and miles, I had a young dog. Now Peanut is 14½ and struggles to do a half-mile in 30 minutes.

I love to catch a line dancing class when I can. It’s not so much for the exercise but for the mental focus.

I have my favorite instructors for strength classes. They are the ones who go hard, but offer modifications for each of their exercises so I can continue to work out during the class even if I’m not able to do the main exercise.

It’s not all just about exercise. The WYCWYC principle works for eating right too. Prepping food a little bit at a time helps me. And I’ve learned that it doesn’t have to be fresh vegetables—even buying chopped frozen vegetables isn’t cheating. (Jill told me it is okay!)

WYCWYC works with all kinds of things: food swaps, weeding, laundry, vacuuming, getting rid of clutter, staying in touch with friends, and downsizing Christmas (and Halloween, Easter, etc.) decorations. It’s really help me to get through a mountain of paperwork that has a lot of baggage or bad feelings about.

Getting started is usually the hardest part of those “big” tasks. I have found that embracing WYCWYC takes the pressure off of starting and allows me to just do five-minute sessions and not feel bad or like a slacker. And it’s amazing how quickly those five-minute sessions can make a difference. It definitely adds up.

So I’m back writing a blog/article today. It’s just a short one, but that’s okay. I’m doing what I can when I can.

PS. Weird thing. In researching this article, I noticed that Roni just turned 50 (Happy Birthday!) This past Wednesday. Is that a sign? Maybe it’s time that I ask her on the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast as a guest. Let me know what you think.

Walking in Sunshine

April 16, 2024 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

I’m finding the motivation to walk again after the winter. It’s definitely related to all the sunshine and new flowers that are in bloom. The last few weeks I’ve had Peanut out on the trails and paved paths in the area quite frequently.

Although she’s around 12 years old, she’s lively and really enjoys the outdoors as much as I do. I find it’s a great way to get some additional exercise each day and being in nature really makes me in a good mood.

Spring has arrived in Ohio!

These are the first Dogwood flowers I’ve noticed. Higher temperatures have made them open earlier than usual!

Chris’ Three Focus Words for 2024 – Connection, Declutter, Yoga

January 27, 2024 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

For many years, Jill and I have selected 3 words to focus on for the year. We talked a bit about setting a focus for 2024 during our the end of the year podcast episode that was launched Dec 26, 2023 called Lessons Learned for Healthy Living with Chris and Jill.

My three focus words for 2024 are:

1) Connection
2) Declutter
3) Yoga

Connection
When I think of connection, it’s primarily connecting with friends but also a connection with what you call “loose acquaintances.” I consider loose acquaintances the people you see in everyday life at the store, the gym, in line at the bank, and around town. Some people call these “weak ties.” As more and more of my work becomes digital, it’s the loose acquaintances that seem to disappear.

I realized that’s many of the connections that I’ve really lost following all of the quarantine during the pandemic. During that time I really picked up some new habits of not leaving the house a lot, picking up my groceries ordered online, and just staying closer to my bubble of close relatives. That resulted in loosing some of my natural acquaintances with people. So much so, now when I do see someone, they go on and on about how long it’s been since they saw me. Maybe that doesn’t seem like a big deal,but I feel that I’m missing something.

The other part of connection is connecting my cue’s to my routines and strengthening the habits with rewards. I find habits very strong in my brain, so I’m intentionally trying to connect into good habits.

Declutter
This is an extension of what I’ve been doing for the last six months or so, especially throwing away broken items and giving away things I haven’t worn in a few years or used in a long while. Every day I try to throw away 7 items that have just been sitting around, in boxes, in the back of closets, stuck in the basement or other storage bins.

Funny thing I’ve noticed is that I fill up the space right away with something else. I guess because I’m so used to having the space filled. Now the items are more intentional. Or if they are not more intentional, I throw those away/give away or get rid of them more quickly.

Since my husband and I have lived in this house for more than three decades, it’s too easy to keep too much stuff that I don’t really like or need.

I find it very freeing to declutter. When I open up new areas of my life, it makes room, like a vacuum for new things, new experiences and hopefully, fun new adventures.

Yoga
I selected this word because I’m finding that I’m losing flexibility and balance as I age. My shoulders, back and hip joints feel a bit tighter and less mobile. That is not what I want.

Now that it’s the third week of January, my yoga practice has continued along very well (with the support of good habits!!) and I’m already noticing that my joints tendons and ligaments are moving smoother and getting stronger.

Arthritis is something that runs in my family, and although you can’t totally avoid it, doing movement, especially like a regular yoga practice, provides resistant to trouble.

Did you selected three words to focus on this year? Leave a message below or tag us on social media (@becomingelli).

Lessons Learned for Healthy Living with Chris and Jill

December 26, 2023 / Chris Brown / 2 Comments

#145 – Lessons Learned for Healthy Living with Chris and Jill

In episode 145, the hosts of Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast talk about the lessons they’ve learned for healthy living over the past six years. Chris and Jill also launch the 2024 Eating the Rainbow Challenge, while reflecting on 2023 and look forward to 2024.

In this episode we discuss:

Setting goals, milestones, changing focus, having a theme for the year, three words
Highlights from 2023 episodes and some of the things that the guests said that really resonated with us.
Six lessons learned during the 6 years of developing our Becoming Elli website, Facebook Group and Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast
Our 2024 challenge: Eating the Rainbow. What it is and tracking your results
What we like to throw together for dinner when running short of time.

Links:

Our Becoming Elli private Facebook group. Invite a friend to listen to the podcast, sign up for our group, we know that talking about things with a friend helps to improve sticking to goals
Sign up for the weekly newsletter to stay in touch.

Eat The Rainbow Challenge information and checklist download

Our Best Episodes of the 2023 Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast:

Reinventing Ourselves with Wendy Battles
Becoming Fit and Strong Using a Movement Practice with Diane Allen
Better Health and Wellness with Sarah Koszak
Anti-Cancer Strategies with Jeanette Evans
Amazing Female Athletes with Elizabeth Emery
New Goals and Dreams with Wendy Green
Control Your Own Health Care with Susan Salenger
Chiropractic Care with Dr. Danielle Peebles
Fluid Running with Jennifer Conroyd
Healthy Weight from Spices and Greens
Fit, Fierce, & Fabulous with Karín Feltman
Natural Remedies for Vibrant Health with Shivani Gupta
Ninja Warrior and Swimmer Ginny MacColl
Aging Youthfully with Joanna Bowen
Original Strength with Dani Almeyda
The Best Shape of Her Life with Laurie LeBlanc
Midlife Mastery with Linda Stephens
Eat and Flourish with Mary Beth Albright
Small Simple Changes with Hope Zvara
Food Confidence with Danielle Omar
Necessary Nutrition with Robin Allen
Wellness through Movement with Shebah Carfagna

Just click on any of these links to go to the show notes page to read about the episode and listen to the podcast.

Reinventing Ourselves with Wendy Battles

December 12, 2023 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

144 – Reinventing Ourselves with Wendy Battles

In episode 144, Jill and Chris talk with Wendy Battles,the host of the Reinvention Rebels podcast.

Wendy interviews women between the ages of 50-90, who have reinvented themselves later in life. From traveling solo around the world with a carry-on bag at 60, to running in global marathons at 71, to launching a modeling career at 72, these women are boldly making their dreams a priority and reality.

During the day, Wendy is a Cybersecurity Awareness expert at Yale University and by night she pursues her passion for celebrating, illuminating and elevating midlife and older women. At 58, Wendy is a Reinvention Rebel herself, having reinvented herself many times during her life including as a management consultant, voice actor, and health coach. Her most recent reinvention as a podcast host is by far her most rewarding.

In “Reinventing Ourselves with Wendy Battles” we discuss:

Her own reinvention journey and staying vibrant
The power of giving yourself permission
What she has learned about the art of living on purpose
The advantages of having your own dream team
Why looking at your accomplishments and being flexible helps you to explore new things
For those focusing on a new goal, how reinvention and goal setting work together
How to build mental resilience and improve mindset
How women at midlife and older who are taking on big adventures have in common
What she has learned while talking with women in their 50’s and beyond about pursuing a new passion

Links:

Website: https://reinventionrebels.com/
Instagram: @ReinventionRebels
Twitter: @RebelsReinvent
Facebook: Reinvention Rebels
LinkedIn: Wendy Battles

Ending the Year with a Goal

December 4, 2023 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

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 was fine but the after-race felt a bit lonely. I’m sure this race will be much more social.

This year has felt like a year without many fitness goals. Lots of thinking about what I’d like to be doing but because I didn’t have anything really set as a goal, I feel like not a lot happened.

I’ve been trying to run recently but it’s been intermittent. So, even though I’ve been running, I haven’t really concentrated on training for a run.

Over this past weekend I went out just to see if I could actually run a 5K. I took off on my normal trail and thought I’d run about 1.6 miles one way and then turn around and run back. That would get me the required distance and I’d be fairly close to home when I finished.

To my surprise, I was able to run the whole distance without having to stop. I confess that there were a couple of times that I had to stop to cross a street and I enjoyed those brief breaks. Why is there not more traffic when you want to stand and watch cars go by while you catch your breath? I felt good after the run. I wasn’t too tired and I wasn’t particularly sore. All good news.

It’s great to have a race on the calendar and to know that I have to get out to train a bit more if I want to run this race successfully.

I know I won’t run it as fast as I would have a few years ago but that’s ok. My goal is to get out there and do it.

Maybe this will motivate me to put more races on my calendar as we move into 2024. Making a commitment really does help me with my motivation and discipline.

Let me know if you’re ending the year with a goal. Or, if you’re planning on starting the new year with some goals.

Daily Habit Change with Colette Harris

July 12, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 110

In episode 110. Jill and Chris talk with Colette Harris about how she transformed her health and body with nutrition and lifestyle changes.

After she was diagnosed with Lipoedema and Fibromyalgia, Colette searched for recovery beyond pain medications. She made a series of daily habit changes over the course of several years to eliminate refined carbohydrates and sugar.

She tells about her experience in reducing inflammation, eliminating pain and finding a healthy lifestyle.

“Making small habit changes each day add up to BIG change.”

Colette is a health coach who lives in Lochwinnoch, Scotland and helps others with sugar detox and lifestyle transformations. She was in the U.S. Navy Reserves and enjoys traveling the world.

We discuss Daily Habit Change:

Lipoedema is not rare, 11% (predominately women) have it.
Genetic, thick legs, stress and hormone changes (puberty, pregnancy or menopause generally) bring it out.
How CBD oil helped with fibromyalgia pain
How she was able to detox from sugar with a 90 day program in 2020
What she eats now to maintain her health
Why detoxing in a community is more successful than trying to white knuckle it alone
It’s not just what you put in your body but also on your body.
Infrared sauna
Brown fat versus white fat.
Wim Hof breathing method
Vibration plate
Habits, discipline, motivation – it all takes much longer than 21 days and how little rewards (non food) work
Jon Gabriel meditation 10 minutes a day transformation
Freeze/Fawn response vs Fight/Flight or Rest/Digest

Daily Habit Change website: https://www.dailyhabitchange.com/

Ways to Get Started with Strength Training

March 31, 2022 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

One thing I’ve noticed in the Becoming Elli community is that many of us are looking for ways to get started with strength training. Many women who have joined the Becoming Elli Facebook group (it’s a private group and if you haven’t joined, please do so!) want to get started with strength training.

Most of us know how to do cardio exercises. We use the treadmill or the elliptical or we bicycle indoors and out.

If you listen to the Fit Strong Women over 50 Podcast, you know that we talk a lot about the importance of strength training for women as we age.

Why Strength Train?

We lose muscle more quickly than men and that loss begins earlier than we’d like to think about. Losing muscle makes it harder to keep our metabolism going at a good pace. It makes it harder to move. There are lots of reasons why we should be strength training, also called resistance training. We can go into those reasons in a different post.

There are lots of ways to do strength training, whether you belong to the gym or workout at home but we can all use some help in getting started. You can use weights such as dumb bells, kettle bells, and resistance bands. You can also use your own body weight doing things like squats, push ups, and lunges. Knowing what you can do is, of course, not the same as actually doing it.

Ways to Get Started with Strength Training

I’ve come up with a few ways to help get started with strength training.

Set Goals

Set goals with a timeline related to strength training. While long term goals are great, be sure to include some shorter term goals as well.

Perhaps your long term goal is to be able to do ten regular pushups. That’s a great goal but it may take you a while to get there so make some goals to hit on the way. Perhaps it’s to be able to do ten modified pushups. Then you can make a goal of being able to do one regular pushup. Finally, you hit that long term goal of ten regular pushups.

Invest in Yourself

I find spending money on something is a big motivator. If I pay for a training class, I’m much more likely to go. Perhaps you buy some new weight equipment to include in your home gym. Buying a kettlebell is sure a major investment. Or perhaps you pay to access a strength training app. Or you pay for personal training. Whatever it is, I think most of us do more when we’ve made a financial commitment to something.

Sure, people buy treadmills and gym memberships that they don’t use but I think if you combine the desire to get started with strength training with the financial commitment, you’re more likely to work at it.

Tell people what you’re doing

Tell friends and family member. Confide in your co-workers. If you’re open about wanting to get stronger, you’re more likely to get some support. It helps to tell people who also strength train or workout in some way. I remember telling my mother what I was doing and she really only walked. She told me I didn’t need to be doing this, that walking was enough. So telling your friend at your yoga class might be better.

Find support

Do you have friends who are also interested in strength training? If so, try to work out together. If that’s not possible, maybe try comparing workouts and giving each other ideas of things to try. Online communities, such as the private Facebook group for Becoming Elli, can be helpful. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, discussing with like-minded people can help.

If you’ve joined a gym, talk to the staff. There are people there who can show you how to do different exercises or how to use a piece of equipment. Take advantage of that resource.

Try to Improve

Look for ways to improve. I guess this might be related to goals but what I mean is, just be aware of your body and what you’re capable of doing. If last week, you could only carry two plastic bags of groceries, see if you can increase to three this week. If you can do biceps curls with 8 pound dumbbells, see if you can bump it up to 10 pounds.

Give It a Chance

Stay out of your head. Some of us start strength training say we don’t like it. The problem with that is we usually don’t want to do things that we dislike. If you work on having an open mind, you may realize after awhile that you’re actually enjoying yourself. Give it a fair trial. I really work on no longer saying, “I hate this” when doing squats.

Suggestions?

We know that strength training is important for us as we age so it’s important to figure out ways to get going with it.

What suggestions do you have? I would love to hear other ideas. Comment below if you have something to share.

What is Sustainable Fitness?

December 2, 2021 / Jill McCauslin / 3 Comments

I read a book a few years ago by a woman who was over 50 and lost a lot of weight. It was both her personal story and some advice on how to lose weight and develop some fitness. I didn’t remember a lot of the details but when I went back to the book recently, I realized that she said she lost 60 pounds in four months. Who knows if she actually did or not, though that seems extreme but I know it took me a long time to lose 60 pounds.

I had thought of her because I thought perhaps she’d be a good guest on the Fit Strong Women over 50 podcast. (You do listen to that, don’t you?!) We like to talk with women who have made a change in their lives and then manage to keep the weight off or to remain fit and strong. I can’t find her. The author of the book does not seem to be around. I Googled her, searched on Amazon, looked on Facebook, and just can’t find her. No big deal as far as the podcast goes but I don’t know if she is still at her ideal weight and is still working out or not. I’m now sort of curious.

Quick Fix Fitness

This got me to thinking. It’s hard to stick to a way of eating or of working out when your initial goal was to look good for a wedding or a reunion or any other one time event. Yes, you might reach your goal but after that event, what happens? Most of us slide right back into our old ways and we gain that weight back and lose that muscle we’d built.

I knew a man who lost over 100 pounds so that he could go on a rugged camping trip with his son. You had to be under a certain weight based on height to be allowed to participate in the event. He did it and he went on the trip. Immediately upon his return began to eat ice cream and candy again. You know what happened. He soon weighed more than when he started on that weight loss journey.

I think it’s more important to focus on long-term fitness or what I’ve seen called sustainable fitness.

What is sustainable fitness?

I’ve now read several articles about sustainable fitness. Basically, sustainable fitness is a long-term plan. It’s doing things that you can continue to do regularly and frequently.

It’s setting goals that get you through the long term.

For example, when Chris and I ran our second relay race in the Akron Marathon, we had a couple of team members drop out at the last minute. We scrambled around and found a couple of women who were willing to be on our team and were able to run the five or six miles.

I said to Chris, “that’s what I want to be able to do. I want to be the kind of runner that can run five or six miles without notice.”

So the goal of running the relay race was a short term goal and there’s nothing wrong with those. Unless, of course, you just stop once you reach that goal. Many of us do that. We run a marathon or half marathon or whatever distance we’ve selected and then once we accomplish it, we stop running.

The goal of being able to run five or six miles at any time is part of sustainable fitness.

My ability to run five or six miles has fluctuated since then but I’ve managed to be able to run something. Right now, I could certainly fill in on a relay team as long as nobody wanted me to be fast.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about fitness or food. The best way to approach either or both is to focus on what is sustainable. What can you do on a regular basis?

Let me know how you maintain your fitness or weight or general health.

Finding Inspirational Music for My Running Playlist

October 21, 2021 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

I often listen to music when I run by myself so I’ve created my running playlist on Spotify. I wrote about this in 2018 (wow, that seems so long ago!) and was just making the transition from playing music from a variety of sources to using Spotify. Now I just have my playlist and listen to that when I need some motivation or distraction or just a good beat to run with. I don’t usually listen to music when I’m running with someone or if I just want to listen to the sounds of nature.

I see that some of the songs that I mentioned in my earlier post are still on my playlist. Some of them I’ve forgotten about. Also, I said I was considering adding Lady Gaga to my playlist. I did that ages ago. Her music usually always has a strong beat.

Inspirational Music

There’s always music to listen to that keeps you moving. Figure out what song makes you want to dance when it plays and that’s a good candidate for your running playlist. Anything that makes you want to move can go into your playlist.

I find it helpful though to have songs that not only want to make me move but also inspire me to keep going. You know, songs that just motivate me.

There are a few songs on my playlist right now that have inspirational lyrics for when you’re slogging through a long run.

The first is I Run for Life by Melissa Etheridge. She obviously wrote it to promote breast cancer awareness and I can just see her singing this song before a Relay for Life event or some kind of fund raising race. I find it to be motivational.

The second is The Champion by Carrie Underwood and Ludacris. She wrote this for a Super Bowl but the lyrics really apply to anyone. The emphasis is on athletes but it works for me.

I think my favorite inspirational song is Hall of Fame by The Script, featuring will.i.am. It gets me moving and gives me something to think about while I’m running. The lyrics are inspirational and the music is great. I highly recommend this song.

My playlist is lengthy but these three songs stand out for being inspirational.

Finding Inspirational Music

You may ask how do you go about finding inspirational music. I ask around for advice on songs. I also read what people post for playlists and look for songs that I think I’ll like. This works for finding songs with a good beat.

Spotify and Pandora both have their own running playlists so I read through what they suggest and tag the ones that I want to add to my own playlist. This is a really easy way to add songs to the list.

One way that I’ve found to really find inspirational music is to listen to the soundtrack for videos for sporting events. For example, I watch some Youtube videos about triathlons and they always have inspiring music in the background. If you don’t recognize it, you can use Google to identify the music. I just ask Google, “what song is this?” and it usually identifies the song without problem.

Conclusion

I’m constantly adding songs to my playlist. I periodically go through and remove some but I don’t do this as often as I add to the list. So, the list gets pretty long. Fortunately if a song comes on that I don’t want to listen to, it’s easy to skip it and go on to the next.

Let me know what songs really motivate you. I’d love to add your recommendations to my playlist.