Check The Map And Find Out
I’m sure the Pilgrims and Indians (gasp! I said that horribly politically incorrect word) didn’t know that the feast tradition they started all those years ago would be embraced by a nation far into the future. I’m also sure they didn’t realize that nation would celebrate with food every other day of the year too, in such a big way that their ancestors (us) would be battling an obesity problem.
I thought that since we are headed into the biggest eating holiday of the year, I would show you which parts of the country will be needing to work out the most in 2009! See whether you live in a fat State, or a *f.a.t. State by clicking here.
Whether you are traveling across this great country over the next few days to celebrate, or just staying where you are, check back for some healthy Fit After Thirty turkey recipes for your post-holiday leftovers!
Stay Fit After Thirty "Down There"
We women talk a lot about training our bodies and keeping our muscles toned, and for the most part, these conversations are limited to which butt exercises are working to give us a booty we’re proud of, or how we’re keeping our abs toned, or our triceps from going grandma on us. But we almost never talk about the muscles we can’t see - our Gynecological Goddesses.
Ironically, the muscles that are not on display often get ignored in our fitness routines, yet they play such a vital role in the functions that affect our overall sense of well being as women! Hello! Sex. Controlling your bladder. Important things, right?
Any muscles that can keep you from peeing your pants and also give you more and better orgasms are not muscles you want to ignore, ladies! In fact, they deserve to be high on your fitness priority list every week, if not every day! I’m talking about your pelvic floor muscles. These are the muscles that take a beating through childbirth, and the ones you use to stop the flow of urine mid-stream. They must be trained with the same dedication you have toward your pecs and glutes!
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The 5 Beverages To Avoid To Stay Fit After Thirty!
A few years ago, I worked with a woman who insisted she must have thyroid problems because she couldn’t lose weight despite the fact that she did 30 minutes of cardio every night, and kept tabs on every morsel of food she put in her body. The operative word in that sentence is food. As she plucked yet another carrot stick from her zip lock baggy between slurps from her oversized frozen Starbucks concoction, I suggested she give up her daily liquid addiction for three weeks and see what happens to her excess lbs.
It’s easy to discount the calories in something we consume with a straw, because our mind associates chewing with appetite and satiety, and satiety is naturally linked with energy consumption in the form of calories, which translates to weight gain and/or loss. Drinking the calories almost convinces us they don’t exist. Sadly, a lot of the beverages that make up a regular part of the American diet not only have more fat and calories than the average fast food chain sandwich, but have less nutrients than those same sandwiches.
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Fit After Thirty Motto: Boring Is As Boring Does!
You may be surprised to know that boredom is one of the main reasons people don’t keep up with their exercise routine. Yes, laziness, and time constraints are two other common reasons, but boredom is a big one too, and it’s so easy to solve.
Fitness is like sex within a marriage. Sometimes you just have to mix things up a little bit to keep it interesting and exciting! Just like with sex, if it’s fun, you’ll want to keep doing it, but if it feels like a chore (does that really happen?), then you’ll stop doing it. In my opinion, fitness never has to get boring. When making fitness fun, think NEW. New challenges, new methods, new people, and new workout gear!
Here are my top ten suggestions for more making fitness fun:
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Fit After Thirty Healthy Insights
A few years ago I met a guy who was much younger than me, and for whatever reason, he was convinced that I was the girl for him. (I wanted to believe it was my uncanny resemblance to Cindy Crawford, but it could have been my unwillingness to live in reality that he liked).
Anyway, as nice, cute and giving as he was, every time we were on a date, I felt like I was with a boy and not a man, and I just didn’t feel the chemistry. I kept thinking that if I continued spending time with him, my feelings of attraction would grow. After all, as a person, he had a lot of qualities that were appealing to me, so I really wanted to like him in that way. But after a handful of dates, I couldn’t do it anymore. I know you’re wondering what that has to do with cauliflower, so I’ll tell you.
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A Fit After Thirty Stocking Stuffer Alert!
Looking cute while working out just got a little easier, girls! Remember the old days when your only choice for keeping your hair off your face and the sweat out of your eyes during a workout was a John Wayne-like bandana or the Olivia Newton John terry cloth number? (Let’s get physical, physical. Let me hear your body talk. Your body talk!) The good news is, I’m getting ready to share with you a little secret about how to also get your head to talk right along with your body during those workouts!
Headbands have gone through a revolution. They had an uprising against ugly and won big time! You can see evidence of their victory in my new discovery. They’re the latest recipient of my award for products that help us live my motto: play like a boy, but look like a girl while you’re doing it!
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Suzy's Top 11 Fit After Thirty Playlist
After losing yet another iPod on yet another airplane a couple weeks ago, I had to borrow a friend’s Shuffle for my run the other day. This was a good idea in theory, except that I ended up spending most of the run fast forwarding through the crappy rappy and the crappy sappy (rap and country) to get to the intermittent good song. “Good song” being any song that suited my musical tastes while also being motivating, inspiring and otherwise keeping me pepped for my run.
It got me thinking about just how important music can be to the workout process. Therefore, I thought I’d share with you a playlist with eleven (ten is so boring) of my favorite tunes for running with. I promise you, these will fire you up, and by the end, you will get that last push you need to finish strong!
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Runningskirts.com Athletic Skirt
Even after I recommended that everyone buy a running skirt in my I’m Too Sexy For My Running skirt article, I was still not sure I wanted to take my love public by going for a “real run” in one. So when Runningskirts.com sent us a running skirt to review, and Michelle volunteered, (see her review soon) I thought, phew. I’m off the hook. Until I realized the running skirt was only one of their skirt offerings. There was still the athletic skirt to review!
So, not only did I have to go running in this thing, I had to do other forms of exercise, as that is what it is designed for. I wondered if I’d be embarrassed wearing it. I thought about waiting until dark to run so no one would see me in it. Not because it’s not cute. It is. But I’m still not used to the concept of a skirt for sport.
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Learn to be *f.a.t. In Times Of Stress
The economy is in the shitter and all of your investments have gone to hell. I feel your pain, sister. But this is not the time to turn to every comfort food known to man to make yourself feel better. Well, actually, if there ever were a time to feel justified in doing it, it would be now, but let’s not go there.
You will create an even bigger crisis for yourself in the way of weight gain, sluggish energy, and the inevitable self hatred that will come three months from now when you realize that although your 401K has dwindled to nothing, the rest of you has become more inflated than the cost of every food item you plowed through to get it that way.
Which brings up another point. Since food is so expensive these days, don’t go eating more of it than you need to just because you’re depressed. Easier said than done, I know. Believe me, there are many Ben and Jerry’s skeletons in this girl’s closet!
If emotional eating is a problem for you, you are not alone. Emotional eating is one of the main reasons so many women struggle to lose weight, even though they may be exercising regularly!
If you’d like to understand more clearly, your relationship with food, and how your emotions may be affecting your food choices and eating tendencies, I’ve got the tool for you! Psychology Today has an Eating Disorders and Emotional Eating Test that will asses your eating habits. It takes about 35 minutes to take, and when you are done, you will get a personalized interpretation of your score. Now, put down the donuts and go take it!
A Fit After Thirty Strategy For Maintaining Weight
You would think that because I run a health and fitness blog, it means I don’t have trouble with motivation to get to the gym, or willpower to avoid bad foods. Not so. Cold weather hits and it’s already dark by dinner, the couch and big fuzzy blanket look much more inviting than the treadmill. Winter makes comfort foods more appealing.
Let’s be realistic. There are also going to be times when life gets so busy, that your daily duties interfere with fitness, or when time factors prevent us from cooking all the low fat meals we’d like. The trick to getting through these spells without having to buy bigger jeans when they’ve ended, is to avoid slipping up on both fronts at the same time.
It sounds simple enough, but think about how many times we’ve done the opposite. We aren’t doing our cardio so suddenly we figure all is lost, why not throw the baby out with the bath water and eat four pizzas this week?
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