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Three Ways I Maintain Fitness When Motivation Lags

November 3, 2018 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Do you ever find that the motivation is lagging to keep up with your workouts?

When motivation lags, I try really hard not to slide backwards with my fitness.

This time of year always does it to me. I’ve discovered it is a combination of things.

Partly because race season is in my rear view mirror and spring is feeling pretty far away.
Partly because rainy weather and cooler temperatures always seems to bring on a head cold.
And partly because of the dark mornings and darker evenings of short sunshine days.
Not to mention the time change and the havoc it reeks on my sleep patterns.

When Motivation Lags

Here are three ways that I have found work to help me to maintain my fitness, even when my motivation for the big workouts is lagging.

1) Walking – I try to look for the beauty in nature and go for a long walk several times a week during lunch time. While walking doesn’t necessarily raise my heart rate into cardio levels or more, getting the legs moving helps to burn some calories and release some stress. It doesn’t bother my ankles or require an immediate shower afterwards. I can bring the dog if I want. Even when motivation lags, I find I feel better when I get back from a good walk. While I like music when I run, a good audio book is my go to when I’m walking.

2) Soup – During this time of year, I fall back into old habits. At least a couple nights a week, I try to focus on vegetables for dinner. A good hearty soup that is patterned after the V-9 soup on Aladdin’s menu – one of my favorite restaurants in town. It has nine different vegetables in it and I make mine with what is in the refrigerator. My V-9 usually is comprised of cabbage, spinach, carrots, celery, onions, green/red/yellow peppers, brocolli, cauliflower, mushrooms and squash. I also refer to this as “zero point soup”, which a hold over from when I was working the Weight Watchers points and the vegetables became free. I try to skip potatoes. I find that soup also helps me get more water, since it’s not as hot, I’m not as thirsty, but I will get more liquid if I’ve got the soup. The trick is to keep the rice and pasta out of the soup. And don’t serve with a side of bread or chase it with a pile of popcorn. For best results, focus on the vegetables and don’t cook it to death. Mushy vegetables aren’t as yummy and you don’t want to cook the vitamins right out of them!

3) Basics – When motivation is lacking, it is tough to do strenuous exercise. And with sinus head cold, fore me it’s not even a good idea. That said, I don’t want to lose all of the fitness I’ve developed over the summer or the recovery I’ve made from the physical therapy exercises. To keep a certain level of fitness, I make sure that I do the prerequisite monster walks, heel raises, piriformis and calf foam rolling, walking bridges and a variety of other stretching/yoga type moves every single day with no excuses. Getting my basic routine out of the way every morning and evening will keep me from trouble when I’m ready to go to it again.

I know from my six plus years of maintaining my weight loss, that I can’t keep this up very long. Actually I could keep this up for a long time, but it won’t result in maintaining. It will result in a weight gain and a muscle loss.

Doing these three things do not net me the endorphins of a good workout or burn enough calories to stop the winter weight from creeping back on. But they help me hold things together until my head cold clears up and I can get myself through the disruption of my sleep pattern with the change over from daylight savings time.

Using these three tools gets me through a tough time without too much back sliding.

Soon, I’ll be back at the gym, lifting weights to build strength, working out with group exercise classes and sweating up a storm. But until I’m ready for that I’m focused on walking, soup and the basics.

How about you? How do you get through it when your mojo slips? Do you have a fallback routine that you use to adjust to the time change or when you have a head cold? Let me know! Either share publicly as a comment here or on our social media… or if you’re shy, just send me a private email Chris@becomingelli.com.

I’m looking forward to learning some new tactics and strategies from others in the Becoming Elli Community of fit women over 50. Thanks in advance. (or should I put TIA? I always have to look those initials up to remember what they mean. ha ha.) – Chris

Celebrating Milestones

October 27, 2018 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Shout out to all the Fit, Strong Women Over 50
Today I’m celebrating milestones. Have you ever heard the saying “You are what you eat”? Or the saying “You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with.”? Perhaps you’ve seen this saying about “watching your thoughts” shown on the cover of this notebook?

* photo courtesy Amazon from the Motivational Journal Lover

I know that for me, whatever I put my attention and intention on, will pop up all around me. It is on my radar and I begin to really embrace it.

As we prepare to celebrate the first anniversary of Becoming Elli, I am reminded of this concept.

Celebrating Milestones
Depending on when and how you measure our official beginning, we’ve almost reached the first yearly milestone since our Becoming Elli website went live to the full internet. It’s always fun to be celebrating milestones and going live is a big one!

It was about a year ago, when Jill McCauslin and I began forming the ideas for creating the Becoming Elli community as a website, podcast and private Facebook Group. Although we weren’t sure exactly what form it would take, we both knew we wanted it to focus on being fit and staying strong as we get older.

Jill and I both agreed that fit and strong are key qualities that we want to embrace in this endeavor and as we continue in the second half of our lives.

Creating Becoming Elli

Naming “it” was a bit of a challenge.

We also wanted to identify and combine the concepts of healthy living, being fit, and becoming strong with our “cohort.” While we wanted to identify our age group, we both felt that “Baby Boomers” wasn’t the right phrase. In the process of coming up with a name, we learned how many derogatory terms there are for “older” women.

Elli, the Norse Goddess of Old Age, seemed like the right fit for what we’re hoping to achieve because she was fit and strong.

The Becoming Elli website was developed during the fall of 2017. The first time I think we discussed it out loud with each other while we trained for the Akron half marathon, probably in late August. To start we began to write some blog posts and brainstorm about what to call it. We bought some podcasting gear and learned what it takes to put together plans for a podcast.

We wrote and published a few articles on the server before the website actually went public. Most of our early stories were about our 2017 races like the Cleveland Firecracker 10K, the Akron Half marathon and what we learned by training for it and running it.)

Our first podcast for “Fit Strong Women Over 50” took a while for us to figure out, record, find music, edit and launch. We switched hosting platforms shortly after the first one. It took a while to get it up and running. I think we’ll have an official milestone celebration of the podcast launch separately from the website launch.

Over all, what I think surprised and delighted me the very most, was the reaction, response and reception to the podcast by other women over 50! We found out we are on the right track!

During the past year of starting our podcast, I have learned so much through the podcasting process. It has been so interesting to interview personal trainers, exercise enthusiasts, nutrition experts, and so many women who are working to become and stay fit and strong as they navigate life’s ups and downs, and zigs and zags!

Building Community
During the past year we’ve also begun to build the community with our Facebook page and the private Facebook Group. This too has been a learning process with the ups and downs of using Facebook as a platform. We also started other social media platforms with Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. We’re still learning!

To me, “Becoming Elli” has been a great addition in my life.

It’s become more than a project, it’s a passion! I love the community and hearing from other women around the country and around the world. Through the Becoming Elli community, I find that I am learning more everyday about how to stay healthy, fit in exercise during busy times, eat right even when it’s difficult and develop mental resilience.

Today I am feeling full of gratitude. Celebrating milestones along the way is important. I especially want to make a point to say thanks to my friend Jill who is the co publisher of Becoming Elli. Believe me, without Jill this whole thing would still be a pipe dream.

And to all of our guests who have shared their stories on our website, in our podcasts and to the entire Becoming Elli Community: a very special THANK YOU to you too!!

(*affiliate link disclaimer: some links are to Amazon where a small portion of your purchase will help to offset costs associated with this website and podcast.)

Ten Tips for Fall Fitness

October 25, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 4 Comments

Here in Ohio, it’s finally becoming fall-like and so it’s time to think about fall fitness. The temperature has dropped and the leaves are finally starting to turn color. Autumn is a gorgeous time of year. Pumpkins are out on display, candy is on sale in the grocery store (yikes!), and there’s a sense of change in the air.

Fall Fitness

Fall is a favorite season for many people. It’s a good time to shake things up and rethink what we’re doing for our fitness.

Don’t eat the Halloween candy

I realize that Halloween is more of an American holiday but for many of us it’s the start of the holiday binge eating season. I enjoy participating in the holiday even though I have no children out trick-or-treating anymore. And yes, I give out candy. I’ve not turned into the crabby old woman who gives out toothpaste samples. However, I wait until almost the last minute to buy the candy because I hate having it in my house for too long a time. Candy is one of those things that if I start to sample it, I won’t stop.

Some people suggest buying candy that you dislike so you won’t be tempted to eat it. I guess that works but I‘m not fond of this idea. Probably because there’s little candy that I dislike.

Enjoy the Weather

Fall is often cooler temperatures, which makes outdoor activities more enjoyable. Running, hiking, and biking are all great things to enjoy when the temperatures are lower than the heat of the summer. The local park system by me holds an annual fall hiking spree. It’s great to see families out walking the different park trails.

Those of you who live in places with super-hot summers can begin to venture out of the air conditioning and begin to enjoy the outdoors again. If you live in a place where you move right into winter, start your snow activities now. Cross country skiing or snow shoeing are great activities.

Run a Race

There are a lot of races in the fall so consider signing up for a fun 5K. I’ve noticed that Halloween is a favorite race theme and many areas have a turkey trot race. Last year, Chris and I ran a local 5-mile turkey trot and then I ran another one while out of town.

Look around for something that appeals to you and sign up. You can of course walk a race too.

Dress in Layers

The temperature dropped enough here that when I went running last weekend, I had to break out the hat and gloves. I was glad to have them too. You don’t have to dress as warmly as you do if you decide to run in the winter but you still want to have layers on. It’s often chilly and then you begin to exercise and warm up and you may want to remove a layer.

It’s still important to wear clothes that wick next to your skin. You don’t want to trap moisture next to your body.

Rake Leaves

OK, my yard has about 60 trees on it so raking leaves at my house is not really a good time. But doing some of the leaf removal is great exercise. I look at yard work as a great chance to put on my headphones and listen to some podcasts. (Don’t forget to check out the latest episode of the Becoming Elli podcast!) Leaf raking is strenuous so be careful not to overdo it.

This is also the time to attack weeds for the last time and take down dead flower stems. I end up chopping down the peonies this time of year. Check with a gardening expert for advice on pruning shrubs and trees. Pruning in the fall can destroy next spring’s blooms.

Don’t become a couch potato

The fall is still the time when many TV series start the next season. We tend to begin to watch more TV as the days get shorter and the new episodes appear on the DVR. Don’t let this be the time that you just become a couch potato. Maybe do exercises during commercials or walk around your house while watching.

Light up the night

Because the days are shorter, you may end up doing things outside in the dark. I know I walk in my neightborhood in the evenings and sometimes go for a run even when it’s dark. Be careful, however. Make sure drivers can see you. Wear reflective clothing and maybe take a flashlight with you. I often have my phone with me and will turn on the flashlight option so that I’m visible in the dark.

If you’ve gone out bicycling, be sure that your bike has a light on it and reflectors. If you’re caught out after dark, you really want to be visible to others.

Play a Sport

Many sports start up in the fall for children. Soccer and football are two sports that often have a fall season. If you’re spectating, consider walking around while the kids play.

If you have family around, suggest a friendly game of soccer or tag football. You’ll be surprised how fun playing a sport can be.

I saw an ad recently for an indoor tennis court. If you’re a tennis player, that might be a great addition to the fall activities. It would probably be fun to take some tennis lessons too.

Return to the Gym

Many of us abandon the gym when the weather gets nice in the spring. Now that it’s cooling off, perhaps it’s time to return to the gym. Sign up for a class or maybe have a couple of personal training sessions.

Many rec departments start exercise classes in the fall. Check them out and sign up for something that sounds fun.

Begin to plan for winter and the next year

As you participate in these autumn fitness activities, I know your mind is going to turn to winter and then what you want to do next spring and summer. Someone said to me recently, “I can’t wait to get this last race over with so I can get back to the gym and lift. As Chris pointed out, winter becomes our strength season. Also, if you do races, many of the next year races have lower registration rates as we head into the last few months of the year.

Begin to think about what you hope to accomplish this winter and next year. This is a good time to reflect on what you achieved this year fitness-wise and to plan on the next set of goals. Don’t wait for the last minute to make resolutions. Have a plan.

Janet Palcko: Pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago

October 23, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 5 Comments

In the spring of 2018, Janet Palcko took the epic journey of her lifetime when she walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The Camino is a pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where it is said that the remains of Saint James the Apostle are buried.

In episode 20 of the Becoming Elli Podcast, Jill and Chris talk with Janet Palcko about her incredible journey. Janet hiked for at least 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) in about six weeks.

The Camino de Santiago is not just one route. Thousands of pilgrims left their homes throughout the Middle Ages and followed roads all across southern Europe. Those paths all come together like branches of a tree and arrive at Santiago. Today, thousands more people walk those same routes each year. Some walk for spiritual reasons, others for physical or adventure challenges. They are all considered Pilgrims along The Way.

Janet reminds us that people have been making this pilgrimage for several centuries and today’s pilgrims follow the path of earlier ones.

One of the longest and most traveled routes is the Camino Frances, so named for the starting point in Northwestern France. Janet started her hike in France, crossed over the Pyrenees and then hiked across all of northern Spain. She did this while carrying everything she needed in her backpack.

Janet describes the different places she saw and the variety of people she met. She tells how she managed to sleep along the way, eat meals, and enjoy her pilgrimage. She also shares how she trained for this trip of a lifetime and how she prepared for it.

Janet Palcko certainly embodies the Becoming Elli spirit. She’ll make you think that hiking for six weeks is a great idea and that we should all go on this pilgrimage.

You can check out the whole trip and over 600 photos at www.polarsteps.com. Create an account (I used my Facebook account for a quick and easy login) and then search for Janet Palcko. It’s definitely worth checking out. You can also install the polarsteps app on your phone and check it out that way.

Strengthening the Mind

October 20, 2018 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Becoming Elli is about women who are working on being fit and strong. On this website and on the podcasts for Becoming Elli, we spend a lot time talking about strengthening the body, but today I wanted to focus on strengthening the mind.

I thought I share some of the tools I use to get mentally stronger.

This year my personal New Year’s resolution was to build resilience and remember consistency over intensity. I feel both of these concepts apply to strengthening the mind.

Athletes know that mental preparation is as important as the physical preparation. It may even be more important. Perhaps you’ve heard fo the concept that “fatigue as an emotion“, identified by the world-famous South African sports and exercise scientist Tim Noakes. I try to tell myself that when I’m tired, but I still have trouble wrapping my brain around that one!

Last month, I was particularly delighted when Olympic Medalist and USA long-distance runner record holder Deena Kastor was the invited to be the elite ambassador for the Akron Marathon. She really focuses on strengthening her mind.

strengthening the mind with Deena Kastor at the Akron Marathon

Deena Kastor offers mental strengthening words of advice to me at the Akron Marathon Expo on the day before I ran the half marathon. “Chris – Dream Large! Deena Kastor”.

“My competitive days had a short window, but I could push my mind and strengthen my positivity for a lifetime.” – one of the many wonderful quotes from Deena Kastor.

Her book, Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory*, is filled with incredible thoughts and is very powerful.

“My competitive days had a short window, but I could push my mind and strengthen my positivity for a lifetime.”

It has many great examples of positive affirming thoughts.

Part of the way I try to strengthen the mind in my training plan is to do yoga. I say “try” because I’m not as consistent as I want to be. I find it interesting that it is easier to push myself to exercise my physical body more than it is to strengthen my mind with exercises that I know will provide more calmness and focus. I’m talking about the breathing exercises, meditation, yoga and being still to just listen.

Here are some of the ways and tools I use to strengthen my mind and improve my resilience:

Slow down and collect calm
Notice and feel my breathing
Develop a focus
Count my blessings
Celebrate success
Slow my heart rate
Relax my mind and let my thoughts come and go
Focus on what is good
Write a mental list for my gratitude journal
Remember which ever one I feed – (the story about the two wolves)
Recognize the strength of optimism
Spend time with nature
Do hard things, so I remember that I can overcome obstacles
Let go of the D words. Avoid the D-words that have the tendency to pull me DOWN. Words like: discouraged, disable, dysfunction, depressed, disease, and distraction
Focus on uplifting words: inspire, encourage, enable, empower, enlighten, invigorate, at ease
Re-read the Optimist creed, the Serenity Prayer about courage, acceptance and wisdom and go through the basic action plan of Just For Today.

Do you work on strengthening your mind as well as being strong in your body? How do you do it? What tools do you use? Do you use any of the tools that I do? What am I missing? Leave a comment below or use your phone to record a voice message and email it to me at Chris@becomingelli.com.

(*affiliate link disclaimer: some links are to Amazon where a small portion of your purchase will help to offset costs associated with this website and podcast.)

Pilates Reformer: Checking Out an Old Favorite

October 18, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

I spun the wheel at the Club Pilates booth at a local festival and won a free one-on-one lesson. After some back and forth, we got this session on the calendar and I went to check the new Pilates studio in town.

So, a quick review of the studio. Club Pilates is a chain that appears to be growing quickly. There are a number of new studios in my area and the one in my hometown just had its grand opening.

The new Club Pilates studio seems to be well equipped. There are lots of reformers in the class area. Each reformer also has a Bosu ball, TRX straps, and other equipment. The area is set up to handle multiple students in a class.

Because my session was an individual one, I had my session in the private area with a fancier reformer. I enjoyed the session a lot and it made me remember why I liked doing Pilates years ago. The staff was friendly and the instructor I had was very encouraging and great at explaining. I would definitely consider going again.

The only negatives that I could see was the pricing. It’s rather expensive and what stopped me from signing up was that the membership was by the month. So, you could buy four sessions a month on a recurring schedule but you couldn’t carry over any sessions. Since I tend to have to go out of town periodically, I don’t want to worry about not using Pilates sessions that I’ve paid for. I decided that if I want to return, I’ll just pay the drop-in fee.

Pilates is a workout that focuses on core strength. It is a whole body workout but the emphasis is on the core. I remember originally being told that Pilates is similar to yoga. Perhaps mat Pilates is similar in that you do some of the same poses. Pilates does have an emphasis on breath but it does not have the meditative side of yoga. In my individual session, we did do some balance work which is always a challenge to me. We did some planking on the Bosu ball too. According to the Club Pilates website,

Pilates creates a strong foundation of balance, strength, mobility and flexibility. The full-body, low-impact workouts offered at Club Pilates provide a high-impact challenge to the stabilizing muscles of the core.

I struggle with getting in core work so I think I might try to attend some Pilates Reformer classes again. I did leave there and call my gym to confirm that they still offer Pilates Reformer classes. They do and their price was lower so that’s probably my option.

If you’re wondering, a Pilates Reformer is a contraption that looks a bit like a bed frame with a sliding board and springs and pulleys. It’s intimidating to look at. Most Pilates instructors will help you figure out how to use a Reformer and once you get the hang of it, it’s not so scary.

Another option for Pilates is mat Pilates. This is more of a typical gym class where you do a great workout that really focuses on your core. This is obviously a less expensive way to do Pilates.

Let me know if you’re a Pilates pro or even a novice. This is an exercise that seems to go in and out of fashion but never completely goes away.

7 Ways to Improve Your Sleep

October 13, 2018 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

We all know that getting healthy isn’t just about eating right and exercising. Getting enough good quality sleep is important.

Personally, I feel like sleep deprivation is torture for me. I don’t know about you, but I’m always researching articles about how to improve your sleep. Some people can handle 4 -5 hours of sleep once in a while, but I can’t. I really need a solid 7 or 8 hours a night to feel right. I’m also the type of person who likes to wake up early, but not to stay up late.

I find that without enough sleep:

a sniffle turns into a cold
a cold turns into sick
annoyed turns into cranky
tired turns into exhausted
life just seems much harder
it’s hard to pay attention the next day
can’t remember things (like what I’m in the midst of doing)

Why is sleep so important? Whether we realize it or not, there is a lot going on during sleep.

The body relaxes, rebuilds and recovers. The brain goes into different states of sleep, for instance, a slow wave deep sleep or a Rapid Eye Movement sleep. Sleep also helps to wash out wastes in the brain.

The longest time scientifically recorded that anyone ever went without sleep is 11 days. Here is the link to the NPR article and podcast about Randy Gardner and his sleep science experiment. He recommends never trying to go without sleep on purpose like that because he has permanent sleep cycle damage.

Although I’ve never tried anything like that, I know that if I don’t get enough sleep the night before, my body wants more energy. It will send signals to my brain all day that makes me want to overeat to try to get more energy.

One night last winter, I stayed overnight in the hospital, when a family member needed me. I cat napped in the chair next to their bed. By morning, I realized this was a big mistake. I was completely wiped out of reserves, both physically and emotionally. It took me quite a while to get feeling back to regular again.

This won’t work for me because the lights are on, sleeping face down, and cold feet are sticking outside the covers. This would result in a sleepless toss-n-turn night for sure.

So how can we improve our sleep? I know for sure that I sleep better if I exercised in the morning. Even though some people find exercise at night to be easier, it’s too much stimulation for me.

Try these 7 ways to improve your sleep and wake up more refreshed

Quiet the hour before going to bed – Develop a nighttime routine during the last hour you are awake. Don’t do anything too strenuous or difficult — maybe something like take a warm bath, set out your clothes for the morning, and turn down the covers. Try to do things in the same order so that they become automatic. I like to get my bed ready with a rice bag so I’m not too hot, not too cold. I use rice bags at my feet when I go to sleep, but later I wake in the middle of the night to throw the covers off because I’m too warm.
Go to bed the same time every night – We all know that daylight savings time interferes with sleep. Falling back or springing ahead with the time change always messes up my normal rhythms. Did you read where in the spring, when clocks are moved ahead, a study showed the number of heart attacks increased significantly on the Monday after the time change? Although napping can mess up my sleep cycle, if I know I’m going to be out late and won’t be able to go to bed at my normal time, I find a nap is a good alternative. It’s best if I can catch a nap in early afternoon, but that’s sometimes difficult with my work schedule.
Set up the bed the way you like it – Arrange the pillows for your head, your body and maybe even your knees before you go to bed. Get the right sheets, blankets and covers that match your personal preferences. Use a mattress that is firm, soft or medium depending on your needs. Wear your favorite pajamas. In the morning, make your bed, so it’s ready to go the next night.
Wake up at the same time pretty much every day – It will train your body when to expect to get up. If you sleep in on the weekends or get up a whole lot earlier than usual, you need to give yourself extra time to get out of bed and to get ready. A consistent routine has been shown to improve sleep patterns.
Stop coffee or any caffeine at noon the day before – (I find chocolate affects me too, if I eat it later in the day.) Try not to eat anything a few hours before you go to bed. Drink large glass of water with dinner, but try not to drink too much right before bedtime, so you don’t have to get up in the night. Drinking alcohol is also known to interfere with staying asleep.
Control the light – Part of sleeping and waking is cued by light for natural circadian rhythms. I think that is one reason why it’s easier for me to sleep on a rainy day or in fall/winter compared to sunny days and spring/summer seasons. Some people find that black out curtains or a sleeping mask helps. I know that the light from screens don’t help, so try not to watch TV or look at your phone right before you go to bed.
Eliminate extra noise – It’s difficult to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings when there are different noises. Having quite white noise of a fan or very low volume of soothing sounds helps me to stay asleep. A TV playing in the other room or even voices talking outside can interrupt the all important deep sleep or REM sleep. Sometimes ear plugs can do the trick.

What do you do to get to sleep and stay asleep? Leave a comment below or send me an email at Chris@becomingelli.com.

How We Ran a Half Marathon

October 9, 2018 / Chris Brown / 5 Comments

In podcast episode number 19 of Becoming Elli, Jill and Chris discuss how they ran a half marathon. Today’s podcast covers before, during and after the 13.1 challenge.

In this podcast you’ll hear:

Our preparation:

Running plans leading up to it
The expo
Our cross training plans
Shoes
Practice fueling
KT tape

The actual race on Sept 29, 2018 in Akron:

The Course
Waterstations

What we did afterwards:

Fuel: Chocolate milk and banana
ice bath
What didn’t work

Are you planning a challenging race in the near future?

Let us know by sending an email to Jill@becomingelli.com or Chris@becomingelli.com so we can connect with you. Or join our Facebook Group.

It Started with a Treadmill Desk

October 6, 2018 / Chris Brown / 2 Comments

Last Saturday Jill and I ran just over 13 miles to complete the Akron half marathon. On Tuesday our podcast will reveal how we did it (before, during and after!)

This past week different people have made comments to me like “Wow, I can’t even run a mile.” or “I can’t imagine doing something like that.”

It really got me thinking about how I used to be one of “those” people. My BMI number was well over 30 and I couldn’t even walk without a lot of pain. I never would have imagined running at all, let alone a half marathon.

The experts say that it takes 4 to 6 months to prepare to run a half marathon.

It took me a lot longer.

In a few days, our Becoming Elli podcast will reveal what we did to prepare for the half marathon in the months leading up to it. Today, I thought I would write a little bit about how I gradually I worked up to even wanting to do something like this.

For me, it started years ago when I turned 50 years old. I realized I needed to do something drastic to regain my fitness and confidence in doing physical things. I knew I couldn’t rush into getting fit without giving up. It took me a long time to get out of shape, so I decided to take my time getting back into shape.

Believe me, my mindset didn’t go from “gotta lose weight” to “gotta run a half marathon” without many, many steps in between.

Even after losing a lot of weight, it took a long while before I was even thinking of running.

It started with a treadmill desk

One of the first things I did was set up an old treadmill in the computer room and begin walking while I worked on something. As a marketing consultant, I have a lot of work to complete on the computer.

Some people would rather watch videos or read a book. Either way, you don’t get a lot of cardio with a walking desk, but it is a great way to begin.

As you can see, this is a home made treadmill desk. These photos are from early 2009 when my walking desk was put together with an old computer, monitor and keyboard. I really didn’t know where this was going to take me, so I didn’t want to invest a whole lot of money into it.

Jill has also found that a walking desk on treadmill works during the times you have a lot of work and still need to move. If you are thinking of getting or creating a treadmill desk, maybe this will inspire you too.

My treadmill desk in 2009.

I found I could walk at 2 miles an hour on the treadmill, without losing balance. It is very very slow! I could write blog posts, edit videos, outline marketing plans and put in the hours needed to set up a social media program – and still burn a few calories by staying on my feet. But after three hours of working on the computer, I’d done six miles and found that I could get exercise without getting hurt.

Random thought… Does anyone else blame the obesity epidemic on the internet and computers? I don’t think it is just what you eat but how stationery the technology has made us as a society.

My first few races

The next stage of getting fit was walking 5k’s. I did four of them in the fall of 2009 and then my first turkey trot. I hadn’t realized that the turkey trot was actually 4 miles long. I was jogging by that point and was very happy to finish it in just under an hour.

Yes, by walking the 5ks and that turkey trot, I was often last in the race. But, I was doing it. I still think that by getting out there and doing it, I am beating everyone who is still sleeping or sitting on their couch.

Most of my efforts in 2010 revolved around losing weight, not exercise. And starting to just move, either walks outside – often with the dog – or on the treadmill when the weather didn’t cooperate.

Increasing exercise too fast can be a real problem for me. Too much and it really hurts. But bit by bit I gained confidence and by 2011 was doing some spinning classes at the gym. That led to riding my bike. It took quite a while before I was really comfortable on the bike.

Two half marathons in 2018
I never dreamed that I would have run two half marathons in 2018, Cleveland in May and Akron in September. While I am not at all fast, I am determined not to be discouraged! I don’t keep up with most of the other runners, but I am doing it. And to me, that is one of the keys to becoming fit and strong. I look at it as encouragement. It’s a fine line.

One important thing I have learned over these years is NOT to compare myself to other people. If they are stronger, faster and more fit, I will either be too motivated (and end up straining or hurting myself) or I will be too discouraged (and want to give up, thinking why bother!) Either way, it’s a nasty outcome.

On the other hand, having a plan and working it everyday makes sense to me. Having a rest day. Alternating strength training, running, cycling, yoga keeps me fit without working too much of a good thing. A combination of progressive, but challenging goals, together with recovery methods, is the right exercise recipe for me.

How about you? How did you get back in shape? Are you in recovery mode or challenge mode? What is your current challenge? What do you do for recovery? Leave a comment below or send me an email at Chris@becomingElli.com.

Review of The Obesity Code

October 4, 2018 / Jill McCauslin / 3 Comments

The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss by Jason Fung, MD answers a lot of questions we’ve all had about both weight loss and weight gain. It’s a well-written, easy-to-follow book that explains why so many of us are overweight or obese and why when we lose weight, we’re likely to regain what we’ve lost.

The Obesity Code begins with a look at the past few decades and how obesity has become an epidemic. Fung does a great job of explaining the science in terms that we can understand. I rarely felt like I needed to start skimming because I couldn’t understand.

Basically, according to Fung, we can pretty much pick a diet and we can work hard at losing weight and eventually we can take off the weight. Most of us then begin to slowly put the weight back on and sometimes put even more weight on. This is because our weight is really the result of hormones, especially insulin.

Because we’ve eaten so many simple carbs and processed foods and eat so many meals and snacks, many of us have become insulin resistant. That makes our bodies release more insulin and it’s insulin that makes us gain weight.

The Obesity Code covers why we’re so overweight and why “eating less and moving more” doesn’t work. Eating less makes us tired and often slows down our metabolism. Moving more makes us eat more. Basically, the body wants to weight what it wants to weight. Unfortunately, our unhealthy food choices makes our bodies want to be overweight.

Fung does come up with five basic steps of weight loss. This is not a diet book, however. It does not give you menus or recipes. Instead it discusses what to eat and what not to eat.

Interestingly, Dr. Fung points out that we all worry about what to eat but we don’t think much about when to eat. He says the advice to eat small meals every two or three hours is disastrous. Also, he dismisses the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. He says, if you’re hungry, eat when you get up. Otherwise, wait until you’re hungry.

He ends the book by discussing fasting as a way to reset your body’s set point for weight. There are various different ways of doing intermittent fasting and he covers most of them. I just recently wrote about intermittent fasting so was glad to read about it.

I thought The Obesity Code was fascinating. It’s easy to read and understand and really makes sense of the weight problems most of us deal with. I wished there was a bit more information about fasting in this book.

Because the book has been around for a couple years, there’s a lot of information online about it so you can find more advice on the fasting that way. Oh, and Timothy Hoakes wrote the foreword, which I thought was great.

The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss
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