Tag Archives: exercise

Walking to Skinny–Convert Your Day to Walking!

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So, you think you don’t have time to walk, even just 15 minutes a day!  Well, thanks to Purdue University, there is a converter of every day activities and sports that can be converted from time alloted to the activities into steps.  Remember, that if you do more than 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day, you are doing great and on your way to skinny (as long as you eat a healthy balanced diet, based on the “rules.”  If you are eating starches, sugar, more than 6 fist-sized, low-fat proteins a day, more than 4 smalls servings of veggies and 2 small servings of fruit a day and going over the 50 to 100g of carbs per day limit–then you will have to step a lot more to lose that weight.

Here is the list:

CONVERT ACTIVITY INTO STEPS

Use this chart to convert activities that are not easily measured by a pedometer. Multiply the number of minutes you participated in the activity by the number indicated in the chart.  Use only the timed, converted steps for your step count. Do not also include the pedometer steps if you were wearing your pedometer while performing the activity.

PLEASE NOTE: Conversions are estimates; your actual steps may vary

Activities Steps/Minute* Activities Steps/Minute*
Aerobic dancing class 127 Mowing lawn 120
Aerobic fitness class 181 Painting (a room) 78
Aerobics, low impact 125 Pilates 91
Aerobics, step 153 Punching bag 180
Backpacking 181 Raking lawn/leaves 121
Badminton, casual 131 Racquetball, casual 181
Badminton, competitive 203 Racquetball, competitive 254
Ballet dancing 120 Rock climbing 244
Baseball 130 Rollerblading 156
Basketball, game 145 Rowing 147
Basketball, recreational 130 Rowing machine 212
Bicycling, easy pace 130 Rugby 303
Bicycling, moderate pace 170 Running, 12 – minute mile 178
Bicycling, vigorous pace 200 Running, 10 – minute mile 222
Billiards/pool 76 Running, 8 – minute mile 278
Bowling 71 Sailing, boat and board 91
Bowling on the Wii 61 Scrubbing floors 71
Boxing, non-competitive 131 Scuba Diving 203
Boxing, competitive 222 Shopping 70
Calisthenics 106 Shoveling snow 145
Canoeing 91 Skateboarding 102
Cheerleading 100 Skeeball 52
Children’s playground game 136 Skiing, light/moderate 109
Circuit training 199 Skiing, cross-country 114
Climbing, rock/mountain 270 Sledding 158
Cooking 61 Snowboarding 182
Croquet 76 Snowmobiling 106
Dancing, class 109 Snowshoeing 181
Dancing, salsa/country/swing 109 Soccer, recreational 181
Dancing, party 109 Soccer, competitive 145
Drill team 153 Softball 152
Electronic sports, Wii/PS3 91 Spinning 200
Elliptical trainer 203 Squash 348
Fencing 182 Stair climbing, machine 200
Firewood-carrying/chopping 60 Stair climbing, down stairs 71
Fishing 91 Stair climbing, up stairs 181
Football 199 Stretching 15
Frisbee 91 Surfing 91
Gardening 80 Swimming, backstroke 181
Golf, carrying clubs 109 Swimming, butterfly 272
Golf, powered cart 80 Swimming, freestyle 181
Grocery shopping 67 Swimming, leisure 174
Gymnastics 121 Swimming, treading water 116
Handball 348 Table tennis 120
Hiking 172 Tae Bo 250
Hiking, orienteering 232 Tae Kwon Do 290
Hockey, field and ice 240 Tai Chi 40
Home/auto repair 91 Tennis 200
Horseback riding 90 Trampoline 90
Horseshoes 71 Vacuuming 94
Housework, light 72 Volleyball 91
Ice skating, general 84 Walking, stroll 61
Ice skating, moderate 122 Walking, average 84
In-line skating 190 Washing a car 71
Jogging 181 Water aerobics 116
Judo & Karate 236 Water polo 303
Jumping rope, fast 300 Water skiing 145
Jumping rope, moderate 250 Waxing a car 80
Kayaking 152 Weight lifting 67
Kickball 212 Wrestling 145
Kickboxing 290 Yard work 89
Lacrosse 242 Yoga 45
Miniature golf 91
Mopping 60

* Steps/Minute equals steps per minute.

Use a pedometer to measure steps if you desire.

http://www.purdue.edu/walktothemoon/activities.html

What a great excuse to enjoy cleaning your house now!

vintage_cleaning_ad

Short Walks to Weight Loss

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Exercise Doesn’t Have to Be Intense or Long

I have met a lot of people who say that they have NO time to exercise.  They get up really early for work, work hard all day and then by the time they get home (with their long commute), then it is dark out, their kids need help with HW, they need to make dinner, etc.

But, here are my thoughts.  If you don’t exercise at all, you will wear down your immune system, metabolism, your mood, your libido and eventually–this will all affect your relationships with family, spouse and friendships.  You will be out of shape and have medical issues and this will also lead to mental health issues.

If you want to feel happy, feel good, you need to exercise to help with the production of serotonin, but you also have to eat right in order for serotonin to be produced properly.  If you eat bad foods and have a bacterial imbalance in your gut, then your serotonin will be off too!  I have noticed that people who don’t exercise, get sick more often, as well.

According to Livestrong, “Approximately 75 percent of this chemical is located in cells of the gut, where it regulates intestinal movements. The rest is synthesized in neurons of the brain; it’s here that serotonin influences mood. High levels are associated with an elevated mood while low levels are associated with depression. Though many neurotransmitters work in harmony to influence mood, serotonin is one of the most important. Its levels are influenced by external factors, such as sunlight, diet and exercise.”  http://www.livestrong.com/article/22590-effects-exercise-serotonin-levels/

So, if you want to control your intestinal issues, mental health, your heart, blood pressure and more–and live longer and be there for your family (the ones you are killing yourself for), you have to find time, 5 days a week for at LEAST 15 minutes a day.  You don’t have 15 minutes?

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Walk For 15 Minutes a Day

Some think to get the full benefit of a good workout, you need to be sweating for a full 30 minutes — or longer. But with so many people struggling to find a spare 30 minutes, researchers have begun to investigate if a shorter sweat session could be just as good.

A 2011 study found when compared to sedentary people, 15 minutes a day of activity, like brisk walking can add 3 years to life expectancy, according to Reuters.

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Kick It Up a Notch

Intense aerobic activity may double the years of life expectancy added by moderate exercise, according to a 2005 study.   Five days a week of walking for 30 minutes led to 1.3 to 1.5 additional years, The Washington Post reported, but intense exercise, like running half an hour five days a week, resulted in almost 4 extra years. 

So, instead of eating at your desk or out with people, WALK somewhere.   You can even walk to get your food or coffee, but walk.  If you can’t find this time at all when you are at home, then minimally, take 15 minutes a day for a brisk walk.  Do it at lunch or one of your breaks at work.

My sister-in-law wears a pedometer and she counts her steps in a day.  It is said that in order to be healthy,  you need to step around 12,000 steps a day or more.  This can be counted from just walking to your car, to your desk, to the bathroom, going around your house picking up toys.  It doesn’t have to be counted all at one time, in one place.
Here is a link to a site that will show you how walking helps you lose weight and how to keep track of it for your personal goals.  http://www.pbs.org/americaswalking/health/health20percentboost.html

Keep walking!  In fact, I am ending todays’ blog and going right to my elliptical for an hour.  But, I have done less time on it…..the idea is to do something!

I Was On Vacation, But I Experimented With Wheat and Made a Discovery…

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Sorry for my absence, Skinny-Rules readers.  I took a week off for my first vacation in years.  In fact, it was my first vacation since I lost weight and my bathing suits (which are customized to my old body) looked ridiculous on me.  I wore them and went to Arizona, hoping that the lady who made them would be there (Customized Swimsuits in Scottsdale), and sure enough–she was on vacation the SAME week as me.  So, I still never got measured for a new suit.  I am bummed.  Off the shelf ones just don’t do it for me because I like a suit to fit a certain way and the suits now just don’t do it for me.  I may have to go back soon to get this done!

However, it was nice to look decent in a suit for a change!

So, how did I manage my DIET LIFESTYLE on vacation for 6 days in a place that has the best Italian restaurant!?  I gave up wheat as a choice to limit carbohydrates and because I felt that wheat was causing me stomach bloat and big fat wheat belly.  So, I decided to experiment in Scottsdale a little bit.

1.  I exercised every day!  (One hour of elliptical and about 20 minutes of weights and Pilates)

2.  We utilized the room’s fridge, and I went to the local Trader Joes and stocked up on:

Lite String Cheese

small bags of almonds

Peanut Butter Power Crunch bars

strawberries

Lite Greek Yogurt

almond butter

turkey slices

diet soft drinks and water

3.  We ate breakfast at the Hotel Spa (breakfast package) and twice at local breakfast places.  I completely recommend eating at the Breakfast Club in Scottsdale.  So fun, nice and the food is amazing.

At breakfast:  I had veggies, eggs, bacon, sometimes a little bit of fruit with GOBS of coffee, where I discovered the French Press (will blog about that soon).

4.  Drank water all day long out in the sun, and brought snacks up to the pool and kept some in my locker.  At snack times, we ate things like the almonds, the protein bars, or I brought with us strawberries and yogurt.

5.  For lunch, we went out for a salad in the fridge from the night before, and put some turkey slices and/or cheese in the salad.  Again, had one of our snacks later too and then went out to dinner.

6. For dinner, we went to my favorite Italian place, Oreganos.  I couldn’t resist.  I had not had regular pasta (except the low carb kind) in almost two years.  I love this restaurant and their salads are great too.  So, we shared a large salad and we either split a small pizza with veggies on it or a Garlic Chicken Lasagna.  I did not eat the delicious looking garlic toast that came with it.  I would not be surprised to find out that the half of a small pizza or half of the lasagna was minimally about 50g of carbs for me.  I was careful the rest of the day and I did exercise my face off earlier, but I just knew that I was flirting with either putting on a pound or two on this trip or leaving about the same…but I took the chance and did it three days in a row.  I even had a Carbolite-type desert as a sixth protein some days and on my last night, our meal was a salad with chicken and then we had the Pizzookie, which is a large melted chocolate chip cookie in a deep dish pizza pan, with vanilla ice cream and chocolate chips on top.  It is decadent and I had not had one in 7 years.

I did enjoy my slight intentional derailment, although I tried to manage it with exercise and eating right the rest of the entire day and drinking tons of water and coffee.  But, I do think that I was right about how bad sugar and wheat is for my body (and everyone’s).  I went into this trip with a flat belly.  I do Pilates 4 days a week, I do yoga two times a week and I am on the elliptical around 4-5 hours a week.  My BMI is 20, so this is what my belly looked like by night 3 (and I only gained one pound on this trip and lost it as soon as I cleansed the day after I got home)…..

this is what my belly swelled to and took 24 hours or more to go down, until it got wheat again….

wheatbelly-001

 

this was what I looked like before I digested wheat products!

irishforday

I am happy to say that I look more like picture number two now, but mostly because it was a temporary eating thing….but this is exactly why I am now staying away from wheat products until maybe I go to Arizona, once in a blue moon.  If it makes my bowels distend like that, what else is it doing to my body?  (Number two became very irregular, and that also was painful).

So, I am back to my new normal of 6 proteins a day, two salads a day, two servings of fruits a day, four servings of veggies a day.  My body is thanking me and I have more energy too and the weight is stabilizing.

 

“I don’t have time to exercise!”

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How many times have I heard that excuse? I used to use it myself. But, at some point, i decided that i had to take care of my body. wherever i went, my body had to take me there. not finding the strength to fight fatigue and pain only made my health conditions worse, which led to a decay of my physical body, my spirit, my home and my relationships. putting out the energy helps your body to make more, better energy.

Also, if you wind up with the consequences of being heavy, that will make your life even more difficult, so exercise is a preventative measure. How do you think you would do with diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, gastric heartburn, clogged arteries, a stroke, death? Fix yourself before you can’t? If only James Gandolfini (Sopranos) took his weight and being out of shape more seriously. RIP.

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Starting is the hard part, so you need to start slow and easy. Don’t overdo it and then hate it. Just 15 minutes a day is a great start. it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I started with light stretching and yoga once a week, then twice a week, then added in a little walking the dogs daily, then added in Pilates too and after a few years, I was walking on an elliptical and doing Pilates and yoga. Now, I try to walk an hour on the elliptical at least 4 days a week and I am writing my blog on the elliptical right now.

I had to schedule exercise in just like a J-O-B and make it a part of my daily tasks…because if you don’t, the reverberation effect of that is that you will start to feel like is crap (and l started to look like crap too).

I have seen men (visual creatures) not attracted to their wives anymore when they get too big (and vice versa on the genders), despite the fact that the woman usually got bigger taking eating junk shortcuts throughout the day, quick snacks and not exercising….and doing too much around the house and for the kids– FOR the man.

It doesn’t matter, no matter how you cut it, exercise is a natural need for humans and it is better for your psyche, mental health, physical health and your self-esteem to exercise and maintain a healthy weight. Diet is important, as I write about how to do it almost every blog.

But today, we will go over ways to find 10 ways to find time to exercise:

1. Log off of Facebook. Get in and out. Don’t spend all day in there and don’t play those addictive games. You need to move! Just 15 minutes of weight-bearing exercises, walking around the house or in the yard, or doing an exercise DVD–just 15 minutes a day adds up to 7 hours a month. Set a timer because the Internet can suck hours out of your day before you know it.

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(I use my IPad on my elliptical and therefore, I get an hour of walking in and that is when I do all of my email and Facebook stuff!–even Words with Friends. I stop at that game though, no time. I choose real Pilates over Candy Crush.)

2. Learn to JUST SAY NO!  Seriously, stop doing so much. Someone wants you to drive them somewhere or needs to bend your bear over their relationship that they have discussed with you over and over and over again–STOP wasting precious ME time on that. Schedule your exercise if you have to and tell everyone, don’t bug me between 7 and 7:15 or more because I am tied up at that time. Put yourself first, because no one else will do it! Some of the NICEST people I know are the biggest and most out of shape because they are TOO nice and hardly ever put themselves first!

3. Number 2 leads to –PLAN OUT your day. Make your plans of what you will do for the day and make exercise part of the daily time schedule. Maybe doing it early helps, or maybe late after the kids have gotten home and your spouse is there to help. If you like to socialize. Instead of meeting a friend for lunch, meet them for a walk. Whatever works for you. I have all exercise planned on my Google calendar. Put it down on a calendar and therefore, you will feel more compelled to do it.

4. Record TV shows and watch with the commercials zoomed out and save time.  Also, condense…..if you are watching more TV than you have time for and you find you can’t exercise, you are not taking care of yourself. You are being sucked into the tube. Sometimes, I exercise in front of my shows–then I feel like I kill two birds with one stone.

5. Don’t waste time on hobbies and unimportant projects to distract you until your home chores, time with family and your exercise are done. Exercise first and if there is time left over, then organize your wrapping paper or whatever it is you think you have to do. Chances are that if you exercise first, you will have more energy later to organize things. Many people think that they will be too wiped out after a workout. That lasts a short time, but the endorphins actually rev you up. I get more done after I have worked out than without working out.

6. Don’t be a perfectionist. You don’t have to have your house perfect or your workout perfect to out in -15 minutes a day. Even 15 minutes of light vacuuming can burn 50 to 100 calories, so for heaven’s sake…move your body. Challenge yourself and get a pedometer for a few bucks, put it on you and try to get in around 12,000 steps a day. If you only get 8,000–that is fine, just get started.

Exercise is a journey, it is the experience of doing it, not the destination that you should focus on!

The first thing people ever see is you (YOUR PHYSICAL BODY).  Most people will not even see the inside of your house, so what is the urgency to make IT look perfect and not have time for doing the same to your body!?

7. You have too much housekeeping to do because you are a working mom? I hear that all of the time, but if you have money to go out to eat or drink, or have new cars or toys, then you need to budget it out to have a cleaning service come to your house at least twice a month and remove that burden of deep cleaning. You will gain 2 weeks worth of 15 minutes of exercise a day for not having to clean your tubs, toilets or sinks!

If you are super broke, then you need to ask for help. Tell your husband or wife that you need to work out and you need their help. Give your kids chores. I see way too many kids not doing anything, which will then lead to their laziness and weight gain too. Tell everyone, let’s all clean 15 minutes a day together. More will get done fast and you can all burn calories and fat. Four people at 15 minutes of clean up after dinner a day, five days a week equals 5 hours of cleaning the house each week.

8. Be more organized and find a place for everything so you don’t waste precious exercise time constantly looking for things that are misplaced. This also feels better mentally too.

9. Get up 15 minutes earlier to exercise.

10. Set out your workout clothes the night before to be ready and give you motivation to workout.

And say what you will, but nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels…but also, if you show love to yourself, it shows on the outside and your partner also sees it in more than a physical level. It shows up mentally and spiritually too. There is nothing sexy about a clean house, dinner on the table and a wife who has let herself go for those things to look good. So do average on the home and take that time for yourself physically. Because no one cares what level you are at on Candy Crush or WWF(are you addicted?) But, you won’t like clothes shopping or bikini season, when the time comes.

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Do I Do My Chores or Do I Exercise?

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I was faced with a tough decision yesterday.  I had a ton of chores to do and I am under stress to do them.  Do I give up my nightly exercise to do it?  What is one night?

Well, I decided to exercise because I had spent years neglecting myself, which is how I gained weight in the first place.  There will always be something to do, so why neglect myself any more?  I want to stay skinny and you can’t if you let yourself fall back on old bad habits.

You have to prioritize yourself.  You can have a nice car and a nice house.  You can have a nice Chanel bag….but what difference does it make if you look like crap?  Your body and the shape it is in says a lot about a person.  It says a lot about your sense of self-control, a sense of self-love and self-respect.  It is the FIRST thing that people notice about you.  They might never see your car or your house, but they will see YOU.  And how good does a nice expensive outfit look on a flabby person?  Not so good.  I can wear nice selections from Target in my skinny-toned body and they look better than some expensive outfit on a bigger, sloppy, untoned body.

There is weight prejudice out there.  People look at you and make assumptions based on your body.  I used to get asked if I was pregnant all of the time because the wheat products gave me girth and belly fat.  (I gave wheat up!)

If you spend a few extra minutes a day working on your body, it will pay off in dividends.  You will look better, feel better (mentally and physically), be healthier, your shopping for clothes will be easier and more fun, your partner might be happier with your look, you won’t get teased about your weight,  it is easier to get hired (there are studies about this), and you might get more appreciative (and sometimes jealous) looks from others.

And for you selfless types out there….remember this….on the planes, when the oxygen masks are released, what do they tell parents to do?  They say to put on the mask and breathe FIRST and THEN let your child breathe because if you pass out first, your kid has no one to help them.  If you get sick from being out of shape and large, who will be there for your family, friends or children if you fail?  You have to take care of yourself FIRST to be there for the family.  We have a friend who just died because he was so busy caring for his family and work and forgot to take care of himself.  He died at the age of 56 from a heart attack and left behind a widow and a 13-year-old girl.  I don’t want that to happen to me or anyone else.

So, I chose the exercise.  I felt better afterwards and my stress level lowered.  Exercise is great for stress.  It is a vicious cycle, you have stress and don’t feel like exercising, but if you exercised, you would feel less stress.  So, just do it and get that ball rolling.  And after you exercise, if you have time leftover, then do some chores.  You will do them feeling less guilty that you neglected yourself and you will have more energy too, believe it or not.

http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety
Exercise relieves stress

Squat Challenge

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It is all over the internet.  The 30 Day Squat Challenge.  I am on Day 5.  I will be doin 70 squats and I adding in bicep curls. I am using a stretchy band that I picked up from Target.  It is easy.  Try the challenge.  Takes a couple of  minutes a day, with rest periods in-between.  Might keep you motivated to keep eating right.  Keep motivated to get healthy and look good–and skinny!  Check out the chart.

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squat

Today: A Story on How Ignoring Your Body Ruins People’s Lives

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I moved to my house in the late nineties and one of the nicest men lived near us.  He is a USC social worker grad and then became a lawyer.  Had a child  with his really nice wife in their forties, after years of trying for a child.
Their cocker spaniels were the joy of their life before the girl was born…and even then, they love dogs.
Then, the mother decided to be stay at home and the second income was cut.  When the girl turned of school-age, they decided to sell and move to a district with a better known school system, despite the nearby schools being ribbon schools.  They incurred debt, with a house twice the size of the first one.
He bust his balls working.  To save money, he didn’t hire an assistant, but he should have.  He therefore, had no time for the gym, no time to eat right.  He was overweight and out of shape. Probably no time for doctors either.
His wife would call him to come home, but he was working late for money fears.  New cars, bigger house, kid medical problems, not hiring help.  Had to start working for a firm and not himself and got medical coverage there.
My husband was worried about him.
I am sad to say he died last night.  He was only 56.  The little girl will go to her prom and someday her wedding with no father there.  Truly sad.  Truly a nice man.
Please consider putting your health first.  Above STUFF, above work.  Life is truly short and if you don’t eat right or exercise, it truly will be short.
Saying a little prayer for the Marks family….

Happy Thanksgiving and a Thanksgiving Food/Exercise Match Up Chart

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I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Remember, it is about family and fun.  It doesn’t have to be about BAD food, it can be about good food.

3 helpful blogs to help you through the holiday food issues:

1. What I recommend to eat and what I will be eating.  https://skinny-rules.com/2012/11/12/delicious-substitutions-for-thanksgiving-dinner/

2. How not to pig out at Thanksgiving.  https://skinny-rules.com/2012/11/15/8waystohelpyourselffrompiggingoutatthanksgiving/

3. How people sabotage at holiday dinners.  https://skinny-rules.com/2012/11/14/holiday-sabotage/

BUT if you do pig out, here is a chart to help you exercise off that pie and whatever other carbliicous things you ate.

 

A thought… If you skipped the pie, the marshmellow/sweet potato casserole, the bread (roll and stuffing) and the cranberry sauce, you will save yourself almost half of the calories from your meal and most of the carbs.  Your pancreas will thank you too for not having to work so hard and send out so much insulin to deal with all of that sugar!

If there are no vegetables that aren’t smothered in cream, then eat those (or eat those and wipe away the breaded onion) and eat the turkey and maybe just a little of the potato and gravy and you will be doing a lot better.

Worse case scenario, I will not be eating pie unless it is made with Splenda, but if you do, only have half of a slice.  Bring it down to 30g of carbs vs. 60 or 70g grams with a big slice.  And you could  do some exericse to burn off some of those carbs!

Happy Gobble Gobble!