DON'T FALL OFF THE FITNESS CLIFF

I found this interesting article from SHAPE magazine.
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Don't Fall Off the Fitness Cliff!  by Alanna Nuñez 

We may have (sort of) managed to avoid falling off the fiscal cliff this year, but there's another cliff just ahead: the fitness one! With the start of the New Year, millions of Americans resolved to get—and stay—fit and healthy, but as February creeps along, that resolve wavers, little by little, until finally, many people throw in the towel altogether.
In fact, a study done by Gold's Gym shows that today, February 7, is the "Fitness Cliff." Although there's a steady decline in gym check-ins beginning on January 30, the biggest drop in gym sign-ins occur today, 38 days out from the New Year. 

"A lot of people have a mindset where they think, 'Well, I just went through this 30-day ordeal, and now it's not working,'" says Belisa Vranich, Psy.D., an author and clinical psychologist. "The psychological reasoning behind it is two-fold: Every year our world moves faster, so we assume that everything, including weight loss, will happen faster and faster. But with lifestyle changes, that's not how it works. In fact, because we're so surrounded by temptation, such as high-calorie foods, permanent changes often go really slowly. 

Although it can be frustrating when you're dieting and exercising to see the scale stubbornly refuse to budge, studies suggest that if you want to lose weight in the long term, slow, gradual weight loss is better than fast weight loss, Vranich says. "People often think they're going to have this motivation and see an incredible makeover. The fact is, if you're doing it right, the changes you see will be much more subtle."
If you feel you're about to fall off the weight-loss resolution bandwagon (or already have), first remember that you're not the only one! Then try these simple tips from Vranich to get back on track. 

1. Make yourself your No. 1 priority. "Women are often caregivers who put others' needs ahead of their own," Vranich says. "I had a client once who told me she spent a lot of time in the kitchen making sandwiches for her son and husband to take for lunch at work or school. I told her, 'They can make their own sandwiches. Take care of yourself.'" 

2. Find exercise you like. This is one of our favorite pieces of advice at SHAPE. If you hate spin class, don't go, but if you love salsa dancing, go as many times as you want, Vranich recommends. "Don't think you have to be crawling across the gym in pain to get in shape 

3. Give yourself a pep talk. Think about it in terms of love: "You love your body, so you want to fuel it right and treat it really well," Vranich says. "Take care of your body the way you'd take care of your kids. You need it to last a long time."

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ONE OF MY BIGGEST FEARS when I started exercising one year ago was that I would not integrate exercise into my daily routine. I had started exercising ten years ago and managed to lose the desire to work out each day and ultimately let nearly a decade pass before I started up again. Of course, that is ridiculous. It makes me feel good that I have successfully avoided falling off the FITNESS CLIFF this time.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY RESULTS...

Yesterday I offered some opinions on the primary results in New Hampshire.

DONALD TRUMP won with about the margin that polls predicted.

BERNIE SANDERS' VOTERS OVERWHELMED HILLARY CLINTON WITH A 20+ POINT MARGIN. This was precisely what the polls indicated would happen and it did.


I had predicted that Ted Cruz would come in second place. Although he didn't, his third place finish was impressive considering how little money and time was spent in New Hampshire. Here is a screen shot of my hotel television (Fox News) showing how much money was spent per vote received from 5 Republican candidates.  It appears that one does not and cannot buy victory these days.

I had predicted that Jeb Bush would not finish in the TOP FIVE... He did manage to do a bit better than I had predicted, although it each vote cost hime $1200.00!  Marco Rubio was apparently damaged by his ROBOTIC DEBATE PERFORMANCE this past Saturday.

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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
KELLOGGS - RAISIN BRAN	380	92	2	10	420	36
Quaker Oats - Instant Oatmeal Apples & Cinnamon	480	99	6	12	600	36
Sausage Patty, 3 patty	240	9	9	30	780	3
	1,100	200	17	52	1,800	75
L U N C H
HYVEE - HUGE SPINACH SALAD	750	0	0	0	0	0
Mcintosh - Apple, 3 medium apple	240	66	0	0	0	51
	990	66	0	0	0	51
D I N N E R
SUBWAY FOOTLONG FRESH FIT - 9-GRAIN WHEAT BREAD ROAST BEEF	640	90	10	48	1,400	14
Subway - Broccoli Cheddar Soup	180	16	11	5	990	3
Mcintosh - Apple, 2 medium apple	160	44	0	0	0	34
	980	150	21	53	2,390	51
S N A C K S
Hyvee - Yogurt Pretzels	280	40	10	2	0	24
Whole Cashews - Unsalted, 28 g	160	9	12	5	0	2
	440	49	22	7	0	26
Totals	3,510	465	60	112	4,190	203
Your Daily Goal	3,792	474	126	190	2,300	142
Remaining	282	9	66	78	-1,890	-61
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 1,862 extra calories from exercise today

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	Your Exercise Diary for:

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Elliptical Trainer	90	1,945
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-83
Daily Total / Goal	91 / 30	1,862 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	182 / 210	3,764 / 4,130

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total calories consumed 3510 calories

total calories burned (elliptical) 1945 calories

total net 1565 calories

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fitbit day 156

19929 steps
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GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Today, Thursday January 15, is DAY 23.   For twenty-three days I have broken my habit of eating at  McDonalds, Burger King, Panda Express, and White Castle.  For twenty-three days I have broken my habit of eating an unending river of snacks including Hershey Bars, M&M's, Hostess Ho-Ho's, Klondike Bars, Dunkin' Doughnuts, Nestles Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lays Potato Chips, and quite a few other unhealthy things.   (You understand, that it took some real 'effort' to balloon up to 309 lbs.  You just don't wake up one day 100 lbs overweight - you really have to 'work' at it!)

I have some GREAT EXPECTATIONS of GREAT SUCCESS in my quest to look healthy and more importantly to be healthier.   As much as I would like to snap my fingers and lose all my weight by tomorrow - it does not work that way.    My 'BIG' Ralph Lauren slacks which are waist size 48 and were too small, when I first fished them out of my closet two weeks ago,  have become loose.   It is ironic that these slacks which have been patiently awaiting the day when their owner could wear them again, may soon be packed off and donated as they will soon be too big for me.   It appears that their window of opportunity to be worn will last only three weeks. Good. Time to go shopping!

I must remember to manage my expectations with regard to the speed of my weight shedding.   I cannot expect to lose weight going forward as fast I have in the initial stages of my new lifestyle.

A friend posted this amusing New Yorker Magazine cartoon on her facebook page a couple of days ago.   I told her that I was going to use it for my blog.   This cartoon basically sums up the importance of having great expectations, but also emphasizes that the expectations should be reasonable.   I would like to lose one hundred pounds before next New Year's Eve.   I have two things going for me.  I only have to lose one hundred pounds not thirty-eight thousand pounds. New Year's Eve is nearly twelve months away.  I believe that I can manage my great expectations!

This morning started off well.  The treadmill at my hotel was out-of-order.  I hopped onto an elliptical machine for the first time in seven years.  This machine didn't power on.  I had no measurement of distance or calories burned or resistance level.   I know this.  I spent twenty minutes on it and it was a struggle.   Therefore it was a good workout.   My next goal is to start using an elliptical more often and increase the amount of time I can spend on it.   My all-inclusive Days Inn breakfast was two hard-boiled egg and one orange.  (Approximately 240 calories)

My next weigh-in will be early Saturday morning.   
I can't weight!  (<----- not a typo - just a minor attempt at humor)

New Yorker Cartoon by Kaamran Hafeez