Posted on by Midlife Made Easier

When Your Motivation to Exercise Weans: Four Tips to Get You to Your Wellness Finish Line

 

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Last year, no matter how many times I repeated the Nike chant, “just do it,” I found it very difficult to maintain a regular workout routine. The truth of the matter was that I allowed everything to get in the way, and it showed not only in the tightness of my dress slacks but in my attitude. I was mean. If anyone is reading this and you were a victim of my wrath. I am so sorry.
Exercise is not only the way that I keep off the pounds, but it is also my way of managing my mental health. So, I realized that I had to stop waiting to be motivated and make it as much a part of my daily routine as brushing my teeth and putting on lip gloss. I would never leave home without doing either one of those things.
Now, maybe you are having the same problem; it’s so easy to lose your motivation, especially during the winter months. Unless you are training for the Olympics, who wouldn’t rather stay in bed snuggled under your favorite blanket than venture out to the gym in the dark and cold. Motivation is not enough to keep you moving; when it disappears, so can all the dreams you had of getting in shape and taking control of your health.
To combat this from happening, you must make working out a habit. According to Sandy Joy Weston, author of the My 30 Day Reset Journal, “the secret is repetition plus consistent time and cues because the brain creates neuronal connections when you do something, and with each repetition, the connections get stronger and the action takes less effort”.
How long will it take for you to make exercise a habit? According to a study conducted at London University, it could take an average of two months.
The following four tips will help you to work towards making exercise a habit and help you to get back on the treadmill or in that yoga class and moving forward towards your wellness goals.
Tip 1: Don’t beat yourself up: we spend so much time telling ourselves that we are bad people for not working out, this negative self-talk is not going to help you to get back on track. Be kind to yourself! Take into consideration where you are physically and emotionally and create your plan. Tell yourself that it is going to be okay. Pick your start date and start. On a side note, your start date is arbitrary; a Friday works just as well as Monday.

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Tip 2: Reward yourself, while exercise is a reward within itself, it helps to have some shiny bobble to look forward to at the end of your workout week. I made a list of things I want to add to my spring wardrobe; to earn them, I am committed to working out for two weeks to get each item. When I try to talk myself out of working out, I just looked at my list and laced up my sneakers.
Tip 3: Find an accountability partner: I cannot stress enough how important it is to find a workout buddy. My friend Lisa and I have resumed our twice-weekly spin cycle classes, and it has been great. Because we keep each other accountable, and in six weeks we have only missed one class because I had to work. A workout buddy is a great way to strengthen friendships and reduce your waistline.
Tip 4: Make your workout fun- if you don’t like running, cycling, or swimming, then don’t do it, choose a belly dance class or Zumba. Pick an activity that will bring some joy into your life. If you enjoy the class, the instructor, and your fellow participants, this will all work together to keep you coming back.
As midlife women, we know that working out is the best way to lose weight, boost our energy, and manage our mindsets. But, knowing something is good for us, and doing it consistently does not always work hand in hand. Making exercise a habit will take the stress out of moving your body regularly and get you to this segment of your wellness finish line.

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Posted on by Midlife Made Easier

Is Your Weight Holding Your Life Hostage

Download Your free guide here Beating the Midlife Slump 10 Strategies to Boost Your Self-Confidence, Self-Care, and Self-Love

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How many of you have said, the moment I lose this weight, I will plan my dream vacation.  I am going to get some new sexy underwear.  I am going to get a new hair cut or get rid of this soul-sucking relationship.  “When I lose weight, I will get my teeth whitened.”  I was working with a woman who told me she was waiting to get her teeth whitened until she lost the weight.

Today I want to talk to you about not waiting until you reach that magical number on the scale and begin to live your life. I want to share with you three ways that you can start living your life right now!

Stay Present:  You have to start loving where you are right now, stop warring with your body and learn to love it just the way it is rolls and all.  Do not dwell on your past or on the future.  You cannot change the past, and your future depends on what steps you take today.  When the negative self-talk begins, counter it with this exercise. 

  • Close your eyes-be still-take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your nose (three times)
  • Continue breathing, and on each exhale repeat to yourself, I am enough just the way I am. (Three times)
  • Repeat until you have quieted your spirit or calmed your nerves

Do this regularly, this mindfulness tool will help you to reign in those negative thoughts and begin the work of repairing your mindset.  Until we treat ourselves with love and respect regardless of our dress size, no one else will. 

Go shopping now:  Get out of that worn sweat suit, black yoga pants, and hot polyester outfits.  Dress the body you have, I thought buying clothes that fit me was a sign of weakness.  I was telling myself that I would never lose the weight and I felt uneasy about dressing my new curves.  Then I caught my reflection in my full-length mirror as I was leaving home one day.  Who is that? I almost asked myself, dressed in an oversized gray t-shirt and a pair of black stretch pants.  This was my daily uniform.  I felt sad and depressed, and it showed in the way I carried myself and my interaction with everyone I encountered, I went out that day and purchased some new clothes. 

Dressing my new curves gave me more confidence.  I felt polished, and it ended the overwhelm I felt each morning when I went into my closet, trying to find something to wear.

[A capsule wardrobe is] a practice of editing your wardrobe down to your favorite clothes (clothes that fit your lifestyle + body right now), remixing them regularly, and shopping less often and more intentionally.

My advice is to create a capsule wardrobe.  Shop for a few essential pieces that you can mix and match.  I purchased four pairs of knit slacks in black, burgundy, gray, and navy.  Four knit skirts in the same colors with a nice wide elastic band.   I stayed away from buttons and zippers.  Opting for wide bands are best because they prevent the top of your clothing from rolling down under your belly.  Then I purchased 8 pretty tops, a couple of cardigans, two blazers, and a denim jacket.  With these pieces, I could dress up or play it casually.  Now, I had a wardrobe to take through the seasons and help me to feel comfortable and pretty.  I wore these pieces until I lost the weight.  It was a wonderful experience, and my weight loss journey much easier.

     Finally, start doing the things you love; do not be afraid to go out to dinner just plan.  Buy those tickets to see your favorite band, each week you should be doing something fun.  Make fun Friday a reality, stop living vicariously through the IG photos of family and friends, and start posting your own.  The truth is we don’t know what tomorrow holds, so live your life each day as though it was your last.  Smile, and be happy!

You are beautiful at your present weight.  Losing weight may give you more confidence in the short-run, but if you do not heal your mindset and say present in your life, the weight is going to come back, and you will be back on that diet merry-go-round of self-defeating, negative self-talk which leads to self-loathing and comfort eating.  You deserve more than that.

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Five Tips on Finding a Gym You’ll Love and Use This Year!

I know it’s the middle of January, but, Happy New Year, my sister, I know that 2020 is going to be a fantastic year for us, as we grow spiritually, heal emotionally, and get physically fit.  Like millions of midlife women across the land, you have probably decided that it is time for you to revisit the idea of regular exercise.  I don’t have to tell you the benefits of regular exercise especially for women over 40, but my momma/coaching instincts are kicking in, and I want to make sure that you understand that putting in the physical work now could save you from not just weight gain but brittle bones, compromised immune systems, loss of energy, Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease.

But, how do you find a gym that you will love enough to use three times per week after the excitement of the New Year has subsided.  You know, there are so many weight loss programs, new and exciting exercise equipment like the Peloton bike, but the hard truth is that as a country we are more out of shape today than any time in our history.

My own quest for the perfect gym in 2019 had me feeling like Goldilocks.  The first gym was close to home but didn’t have the classes I loved or a pool.  The second gym had classes and a pool, but the yoga classes were more like physical fitness classes instead of the quiet meditative qualities I love in yoga, plus I wanted a gym that offered more fun networking events.  That led me to my third gym, it had the classes I love, a pool, and fun networking events.  But again, the yoga classes felt like I was in a middle school gym class.  So, you guessed it, I joined a yoga studio.   By the end of 2019, I had four fitness memberships.  Thankfully, they have all ended.  But I want to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes.

Here five tips that will help you find a gym that you will love or at least one that you will visit as much in July as you will in January:

  1. First, pick a gym that is close to home.  That way, whether you rock your workout at 5 a.m. or 5 p.m.  You will not have to drive more than 15-20 minutes out of your way to workout.  So, check out the gyms in your local area. Make sure that it has ample parking, and ample lighting, if you are going before the sun, comes out.  You don’t want to give yourself any reasons for not actually parking your car and walking into the building.
  2. Check your budget:  It’s always exciting to start something new, even a new workout routine, the pull of getting our bodies ready for the beach are undeniable.  But, make sure that the monthly fees fit in your household budget.  Read the contract and check for additional cancellation fees.  Nothing puts a damper in your motivation to workout than worrying about how you are going to pay the monthly fees.  Also, if your gyms fees are being automatically withdrawn, check your bank statement to make sure that you are only being charged the amount on your contract.
  3. Pick a gym that has activities you love:   If you just want to work out on the treadmill, the bike, or elliptical and lift weights, a gym like Planet Fitness could be all that you need.   I enjoyed my membership at Planet Fitness, they have enough machines and weight equipment that even during peak times you could probably get in an out within an hour.  But I also needed my weekly yoga fix, so I then had to join a yoga studio.  My advice is to look for a gym that has everything you need for a complete fitness routine.   If you enjoy aerobics or yoga classes, then look for a gym that has a regular line up of those classes.  Visit a couple of classes to get a feel for the instructor, and then choose the class you love, make a commitment to yourself to attend that class every week.  Put it on your schedule, lock it in, make it a non-negotiable use of your time.
  4. Partner with an accountability partner: most gyms have personal trainers who will help you to get back into the groove after a long fitness hiatus, but they will also act as your accountability partner, helping you get the most out of your visit each week.  Some personal trainers will even give you a call if you miss a week.  You can also grab a friend and pinkie swear to help keep each other motivated and engaged throughout the year. 
  5. Check out the culture: Every gym, like every workplace, has its own culture.  Find one that is right for you.  To do so, ask yourself the following questions, do you want a gym where you can work out and attend social activities?  Do you want a gym that is oriented more towards accommodating the needs of families? Do you want that is oriented more towards adults and children persona non grata?  

The bottom line is that you need to find a gym that is close to home, affordable, has the equipment and classes you need for a complete fitness routine.  You will need an accountability partner to help keep you going to the gym when your motivation starts to disappear, and you want to make sure that the culture of the gym is one that fits your personality and your needs at this time in your life.

There are 168 hours in a week.  We owe it to ourselves to take 150 minutes a week to get our minds and bodies in tip-top shape.  Let’s face it, you may not always enjoy working out, but exercising regularly will help you enjoy your life and increase your gratitude level.   I promise!

Posted on by Midlife Made Easier

What is Prediabetes? Three Lifestyle Changes You Can Implement Now to Help You Fight Back!

What is prediabetes? How can you delay or prevent a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis? I must admit that I had no idea there was such a thing as prediabetes, also called borderline diabetes. Until that fateful day in my doctor’s office when she informed me that I was prediabetic. I thought this was going to be a routine checkup and blood draw, but it proved to be otherwise. I was devastated. First, because I had always thought of myself as a healthy person who took pride in the way I treated my body. Secondly, because I saw firsthand the devastating results of having Type 2 Diabetes first by watching mom’s daily battles with the disease, and then losing a beautiful neighbor who passed away due to complications from the disease. I knew what laid ahead in my future if I didn’t get my prediabetes under control which could include daily insulin injections.

Today’s post is for informational purposes only; it is not a substitute for you seeing a medical professional and getting a complete checkup.

In today’s post, I want to break down for you precisely what is prediabetes and provide you with three pretty easy lifestyle changes you can make to protect yourself from a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis. These are the same lifestyle changes I made to get healthier, and I still practice all three of them today. According to the CDC, 100 million people in the US are prediabetic or Type 2 Diabetic.  “Diabetes could become the new epidemic of the 21st century, if we continue living a sedentary lifestyle and partaking of poor diets 50 percent of Americans could be prediabetic or Type 2 Diabetic by the year 2020,” Dr. Sanjay Gupta The sad thing is that this disease can be prevented or controlled by making simple lifestyle changes.

To give you a complete picture of the disease, let’s breakdown the different types of diabetes:

Today we are talking about prediabetes. If you are prediabetic, that means that your blood sugar or glucose levels is higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetic. A prediabetic person has trouble processing enough insulin to control blood sugar after eating. To diagnosis you, your doctor will perform one of these three blood tests.

Fasting plasma glucose test: If your doctor selects this test, you are asked to refrain from eating and drinking for eight hours before taking the test. If normal, your blood sugar will register less than 100; you are considered in the prediabetic range if your blood sugar is 100-125 and diabetic if your blood sugar is 126 or higher.

Hemoglobin A1C or Average Blood Sugar Test: This test will provide your doctor with a history of your blood sugar levels over the past three months. Your doctor can use this test to determine if you are prediabetic or if you have diabetes. Also, if you have diabetes, this test will help to determine if your diabetes is under control. If your test results show a blood sugar level of 5.6% or less, you are in the normal range. If prediabetic, your blood sugar will be 5.7% to 6.4%, and if you have diabetes, your blood sugar will measure 6.5% and above. This test may be repeated if you have another condition such as anemia or liver disease.

Oral Glucose Test: This test has two parts. First, you will take the fasting glucose test, and then you will be given a sugary solution after a two-hour waiting period your blood will be drawn. Normal results will show a blood sugar level of less than 140 after the second test. If you are prediabetic, your blood sugar level will range between 140-199 after the second test. If you have diabetes, your blood sugar will be 200 or higher after the second test.

While getting a prediabetic diagnosis can be scary, research has shown that by implementing these three lifestyle changes, controlling your weight, exercising regularly, and improving your nutrition, you could delay or prevent the onset of Type 2 Diabetes. So, let’s look at each one of these tools. 

Controlling your Weight:  The CDC research study found that when prediabetics reduced their weight by as little as 5% to 7%, they were able to delay or prevent the onset of Type 2 Diabetes. Don’t try something drastic like going on a liquid diet or telling yourself you will never eat a cupcake again, those tactics don’t work, and you could end up regaining more weight than you lost. Start by keeping a food journal and making one small change a week. For instance, if you have a large coke or coffee every morning, start with 16 ounces of lemon water and medium coffee or Coke. When you are ready, increase to 24 ounces of lemon water and a small coffee. The lemon water will promote hydration, it’s a good source of vitamin C, it supports weight loss and improves your skin. Reducing your Coke or coffee size will help you to cut calories without that feeling that you are missing something.

Incorporate Exercise into Your Daily Life: Your exercise plan does not have to be daunting, take it from someone who always overdid it and ended up sore and disillusioned. You can start with just 30 minutes of heart-pumping activity, try cycling, swimming, running, or a brisk walk after dinner. If you are currently sedentary, please see your doctor before starting a new exercise program.

Get Your Nutrition in Check:

When planning your meals include lean protein, non-starchy vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, or steam cabbage and carrots. Consider cooking more at home and take leftovers for lunch. If you cook at home, you will know exactly how the meal was prepared and all the ingredients that went into it.

Prediabetes can be controlled by making simple lifestyle changes that include weight control, exercise, and eating more nutritious whole foods. If you need help making these changes reach out to me, I completed the Prediabetes certification program Prevent T2 created by the CDC. I can tell you this program is fantastic if you would like more information to shoot me an email at info@reneereid.net The important thing is that you decide to make the change today. This decision is not something you can put off until next Monday.

Please share this post with a family or friend who could use this information; there is nothing more powerful than women helping women.

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