I recently resisted the temptation to buy Bethenny Frankel’s (yes, full disclosure I am a fan of Real Housewives of New York City) new book Naturally Thin: Unleash Your Skinnygirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting. Although I’m certainly ready to “unleash my skinny girl” I made myself a promise to stop buying fitness magazines and books until I actually started losing weight.

I love reading about health and fitness. For years, I’ve had subscriptions to Women’s Health, Runner’s World and Shape. I’m not even a runner, but I love reading about runners and the possibility that I may be one someday. I have countless weight-loss related books at home like: The Abs Diet for Women; Body for Life; Living Yoga; The Beck Diet Solution; along with various healthy eating cookbooks. The question I can’t seem to answer is why I don’t put any of the things I learn about in these books and magazines into practice? I think I read all this stuff wanting to discover some kind of quick fix, magic pill type remedy that will get my body into the shape I want without too much effort (ie: changing my diet or exerting myself through exercise).

I’m fooling myself (and will remain in a pants size that I’m not at all happy about) if I continue wishing for this magic fix. I know I have to change my current lifestyle to get the results I’m hoping to see with my body.

So I’m meeting with Dwayne, owner of Vertex Fitness, to get his expert opinion on what exactly I need to do to meet my weight loss/fitness goals. Am I scared? Absolutely. Am I intimidated that I don’t have what it takes to lose the weight?  Without a doubt.

Stay tuned for my next blog where I reveal the outcome of my conversation with Dwayne. Oh, changes are coming!

Parting Thought

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

There are women who can resist the breadbasket when they go out to dinner. There are women who can wear white jean and their butt actually looks fabulous in them. And there are women who wouldn’t dream of hitting their snooze button six (or more) times and sleeping through their morning workout.

Hi, my name is Tara and I’m none of the aforementioned women.

So let me give you a clearer picture of who I am. I am a woman who always has the best intentions. I go food shopping and stock my cart with healthy options for lunch. I’ll pack and bring the healthy lunch with me to work and then someone at the office passes around the menu for takeout and the unhealthy option wins out every time. (I feel sloth-like even writing it.) I’m the woman who brings workout clothes with her to work but always finds an excuse to bypass the gym for happy hour, a trek to the mall or a date with her couch because she’s had such a mentally-taxing day. I don’t wear skinny jeans; more like baggy-in-all-the-right-spots jeans. And I’ve never been delusional enough to even purchase white jeans. I’m still hoping to one day get into the white Capri pants I bought back in ’95 at a ridiculously cheap price at the Banana Republic outlet store. A girl can dream, right?

I believe though that I’m not a lost “healthy living” cause. I believe I can lose the weight that has been slowly creeping up on me the last three years since turning the big 3-0. Ok, so the weight started packing on a few years before then, but it helps to blame a milestone birthday for my increase on the scale. I believe that one day choosing exercise and the more healthy food choice will be as second nature as it is now saying “yes” to dessert.

My journey of healthy living starts with this blog (where I’ll divulge the good, the bad and the ugly of my battle with the bulge) and training at Vertex Fitness. And if all goes as planned I’ll be wearing those white Capri pants by the time the temps hit the 90s.

Parting Thought

(I’m a huge fan of being inspired so I’ll end every blog with a quote, a few words of wisdom/thoughts to ponder.)

If not now, when?

People are getting 25 % less sleep that they did a century ago. This isn’t just a matter of fatigue; it causes serious damage to the body. Sleep deprivation can alter levels of thyroid and stress level hormones, which play a part in everything from memory and immune system to the heart and metabolism.

Lack of sleep can lead to:

·      Weight Gain

·      Depression

·      High blood sugar levels and an increased risk of diabetes

·      Brain Damage

“10 steps to help give the body the sleep it craves”

1.     Sprinkle just washed sheets and pillowcases with lavender water and the iron them before making the bed. This sent is proven to promote relaxation.

2.     Hide the clock, so that its glow won’t disturb sleep and make sure there is no light coming from other sources including windows as this will seriously impair the body’s ability to produce melatonin.

3.     Choose the right pillow—neck pillows, which resemble a rectangle with a depression in the middle, can enhance the quality of sleep and reduce neck pain.

4.     Paint bedroom sage green, or another soothing color, which will provide a visual reminder of sleep.

5.     Exercise—helps our body’s transition between the phases of sleep more smoothly. Since exercise places physical stress on the body, the brain increases the amount of time we spend in deep sleep, the phase that during which our bodies repair themselves.

6.     Kick the dog or cat out of the bedroom—studies show they snore.

7.     Take a hot bath 90-120 minutes before bedtime; it increases core body temperature and when it abruptly drops it signals to the body that it’s time for sleep.

8.     Keep a notepad by the bedside --If you wake in the middle of the night with your mind going, you can transfer your to-do list on the page and go back to sleep unworried.

9.     Put heavier curtains over the windows—even the barely noticeable light from street lights, a full moon or the neighbor’s house can interfere with the circadian rhythm changes needed to fall asleep.

10.  Eat a handful of walnuts before bed —they are a great source of tryptophan, a sleep enhancing amino acid.