10 Ways to Put the Lean in Clean!

By Brigette Polmar & Jenny Hein of SqueezeItIn.com

If a growing list of spring cleaning chores has you wondering how you’re going to make fitness fit, start seeing your to-do list as your own personal trainer with these 10 moves from SqueezeItIn.com and start putting the lean in clean.

1. Va-Va-Va Vacuum
   
   Why just vacuum when you can Va-Va-Va Vacuum?
   
   While doing this exercise, keep your abs squeezed in tight and continue to breathe. From a standing position extend vacuum out in front. Start on your right side and lunge your leg out in front of you. Make sure your front knee does not go past your toes while lunging. The knee of the back leg should go straight down toward the floor, but not touch the floor. Return to a standing position, switch legs, and repeat. Continue for 2 sets of 12--or until carpets are clean!

   Posted 3/18/2010  10:55:27 AM By:   : 109 comments   34,299 views

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Eat to Lose: Foods That Helped Me Shed 100+ Pounds*

By Beth Donovan (~INDYGIRL)

I always had viewed dieting as a punishment for being overweight. I don’t anymore. Dieting is a punishment to anyone who tries it because it is bound to fail eventually.

The nutrition part of losing weight for me this time has been more about what I do eat than what I don’t eat. I try to focus on eating healthy fruits, vegetables, grains, lean proteins, low fat organic dairy and healthy fats. By the time I get these foods in, I have less room for junk, so I always make sure to have something good for me before I indulge.

Discovering and adding healthy foods that you like into your diet can be fun and exciting. Even if you aren’t a cook, there are simple things to try that take only a few minutes to make that include very healthy fare. Here are some tips that have helped me lose more than 100 pounds using SparkPeople:

'Diabetes was My Wake-Up Call to Lose 100 Pounds'*

If you're a fan of the Dr. Oz show, you might recognize this SparkPeople member. Jill Knapp, aka Bluesky97. Though she's a very private SparkPeople member, Jill's amazing story is a secret no more. Now 42, she was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes a few years ago. That was her wake-up call. She lost 100 pounds, no longer takes medication for her diabetes and placed in the top six of the "Mrs. Idaho" beauty pageant.

In an episode that will air Thursday, March 4, Jill shares her secrets to weight loss and becomes a mentor to three other women trying to lose weight. In the mean time, we asked her to answer a few questions for the dailySpark.

dailySpark: Why did you decide to lose weight?

Jill Knapp: Unfortunately I had to hear "You have type 2 diabetes." I am hoping others will lose weight before they have to hear those words.

Think You're Too Big to Run? Think Again

Editor's note: SparkPeople member KARVY09 wrote this blog post last year, just a few months into her weight-loss plan. Since joining SparkPeople, she has taken up running and dropped from 279 pounds to 212 pounds--and she's still going. She received such positive feedback on her blog that we asked her to share it on the dailySpark.

I like to call myself the jiggly runner, the fast fatty! I love the looks of skinny people in the train station on the escalator, staring in amazement as I quickly bound up a flight of 50 steps!

I'm 256 pounds and 5'6", which is morbidly obese (9 more pounds lost and I will be merely "obese," hooray). Last week I ran a little over a mile on the treadmill. I'm signed up for my first "live" 5K in a little over a month, which I'm hoping to complete in an hour or less. I don't win medals for speed, but I do run longer and faster than many people that I know.

When people question me about Couch to 5K (C25K) and how a big girl like me can do it, they inevitably state:

"But I'm too fat to run! Maybe I'll try later when I lose some weight..."

I've been fat for an entire lifetime, but I'm not waiting until I lose weight to run. Running is going to help me shed these pounds. A coordinated running program keeps me on a tight schedule, and the 5K looming on the horizon is incentive enough to make me want to finish in style.

Avoiding Cookies at the Cleaners

By Robert J. Davis, Ph.D editor-in-chief, Everwell.com We’ve all heard the usual explanations for Americans’ expanding waistlines--everything from too many carbs to too little exercise. But might hardware stores and hair salons also be responsible? The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it may seem.

Virtually everywhere we go these days--pharmacies, bookstores, banks, airports, auto repair shops--there’s food. And much of it is in the form of high-calorie snacks like sodas, cookies, muffins and chips, all of which can be hard to resist.

A new study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, provides startling evidence of just how ubiquitous these temptations are. The researchers sent volunteers to visit more than 1,000 retail stores in 19 U.S. cities. They found that snack foods were available in 41 percent of businesses, often close to the cash register.

Some of the stores were places you’d expect to find food, such as pharmacies and gas stations. But many others were not. More than one in five furniture stores sold snacks, as did 16 percent of clothing stores, 54 percent of car dealerships, and 55 percent of home and garden stores.

Let’s assume you’re exposed twice per week to these temptations and succumb just 10 percent of the time, buying a snack containing 250 calories. The researchers calculated that this would add up to 2,600 extra calories a year. Keep doing this for several years, and before you know it, you’re packing on pounds.

Healthy Living Unites 3 Generations*

Editor's Note: Greg (KSIGMA1222) has lost 165 pounds with SparkPeople, and this father of three says his family's lives will never be the same. His daughters are growing up healthy and happy, thanks in part to his family's commitment to the SparkPeople philosophy of small steps to reach larger goals. He has also grown closer with his father, who has always been active.

By Greg Gaul (KSIGMA1222)

Since I started losing weight and shaping up, much in our lives has changed. The changes are small, but they're significant. We started walking to school and church more since both are only about half a mile away. We take more walks as a family and go to the park more. We go swimming more in the summer and are outside more in general and do not sit nearly as much as we use to and watch TV.

We keep healthier foods around encourage our children to try them. We are also teaching them serving sizes and when to know when they are full. To give an example, I think they are still working on their Halloween candy, one piece at a time! But I think a couple Christmas candy canes may have gotten mixed in there as well.

My kids learned to eat better almost from the start--my oldest was just turning 5 at the time I started. They learn to have a complete meal, they need to have a fruit, vegetable and an entrée and to eat all three meals plus snacks. They ask for snacks and know they need to eat all three foods on their plates and now prepare their fruit while we prepare dinner for them.

We do not eat out as much as we did before, so we are able to sit down at home as a family and have dinner together. I learned what my daughters like to eat and then how to work other foods in to get them to try and maybe like them--but not force them to eat them.

I lost the weight for myself so I could be more the father I wanted to be--rather than the one I talked about being and thought about being. I want to see them grow up and experience life. I went skiing with my dad for the first time last year, and it was amazing for me; I want to be able to do that with them. My dad is a very active man who was a runner when he was my age, and I have always aspired to be as much like him as I can. I want to give that to my kids as best I can and be there and able as long as possible.

4 Workouts for People with Limited Mobility

By Beth Donovan (~INDYGIRL)

Being disabled or having chronic pain or illness makes exercise difficult if not impossible. Some days I wake up and just want to stay under the covers in bed, where the pain is at its best level of control. That's no kind of life and led me to weighing 460 pounds.

After joining SparkPeople, I learned that short bouts of fitness add up. I started my fitness journey by going to my doctor/nurse practitioner, and they set me up with in-home physical therapy. There are plenty of physical therapy options depending on your insurance coverage. I've done pool exercise, mild gym exercise, total gym exercise, and table exercise. You should see your doctor or health-care professional before considering which option might be best for your disability. Together, you can decide whether you might be able to do some of the exercises at home.

If cost is a concern, it would definitely be cheaper to get a gym membership with a pool than to pay physical therapy bills. A few sessions might give you the basics and you could go from there. Some gyms have very well-trained water aerobics instructors, so do some research before signing any papers. Another way to save money is on the mild gym and table exercise area. A few sessions of therapy can give you the basics, and you can continue to exercise at home. Generally, physical therapists use equipment like exercise bands, stability balls, and very light weights. These sessions also use various standing poses and the table exercises use laying poses to help stretch the muscles. Physical therapy helps you gain strength, flexibility and endurance to go to the next level.

'I Carried the Olympic Torch!'

Editor's Note: Back in December, we shared the story of Alison Yakel (ALLEYCAT12380), who has been a SparkPeople member for a little more than a year, and she's lost 80 pounds and counting. Alison had signed up with a Coke promotional website and noticed a promo seeking torch bearers, and on Jan. 5, her dream came true. Now, with the Olympics starting today, we wanted to follow up on her story. Though she's quite humble about the experience, we think her story is an inspiring one!

By Alison Yakel (ALLEYCAT12380)

My Torch Run has come and gone, and it was an unbelievable run. It felt WAY too short--I never really realized how far 300 meters was (or I guess how short it was). I ran in the town of Ste. Anne, Manitoba, only 30 minutes from Winnipeg. There were six of us running in the town. One gentleman was running with the Olympic torch for the second time. The first time was back in 1988 in Brandon, Manitoba.

There were tons of pictures taken by family, friends, and many others before, during and after. It was interesting to see my husband running on the sidewalk, taking pictures and trying to get by people to get a few good shots of me running. It made me smile when I saw him doing that.

We were on the shuttle bus for a bit. I felt so out of place, compared to the others. The others had better stories than I did when they were selected. One was a full-time fireman in Winnipeg, a family man and also a volunteer fireman in a small town. Two others were high school students on a sports team, coaches on top of that, and one of them became in the top 15 athletes for ringette this past year. One person coached girls' hockey team and was a junior high school teacher. As I said, I felt out of place. They were chosen for a very good reason, with all the hard work they have done for their community. Me, I just entered a contest.

'I'm a Better Mom--and I Broke the Cycle of Obesity in My Family'

Editor's Note: Growing up in North Carolina, Brandy Blackburn (BBANGEL1214) ate doughnuts and cookies for breakfast. She was "the fat kid since kindergarten." Fried foods and sugary sodas were ubiquitous, and exercise wasn't a part of her life. After ballooning to more than 300 pounds by the time she graduated high school, she had let her weight get in the way of many aspects of her life--including her career path. Giving up her childhood dream of being a doctor ("Well, who wants to listen to a doctor who is morbidly obese," she thought.), she graduated college, got married and gave birth to her daughter, Melody, now 4. Her daughter was her wake-up call. Brandy, now 25, joined SparkPeople and lost 177 pounds--surpassing all her goals! She was such a successful member that we presented her story to People, and she was part of the magazine's most recent "Half Their Size" issue, as an example of our program's success.

Here, Brandy shares the story of how she lost weight, broke the cycle of obesity in her family, and is working to help stop childhood obesity and "be a voice for kids like me."

By Brandy Blackburn

I was going to ride a roller coaster with my husband, and I couldn't fit on the ride. I was horrified and I just kept thinking, "What if this had been Melody's first roller coaster ride?" She would be standing there watching me do the walk of shame back down the stairs. So that day I decided something had to change. She couldn't grow up like this.

When I was little, my doctor told my mom that we needed to get my weight under control. I didn't want to do it, and she didn't push it. I would much rather have been mad at my mom for a few months than have to go through everything I did with my weight for years.

As a parent, I now understand you don't want to hurt your children's feelings, but being a parent isn't easy, and it's our job to protect our kids even if it is something like their weight and bad eating habits. I know the habits I teach my daughter today are the ones she will teach my grandchildren because I had taught her my bad habits.

Overwhelmed by Starfish

Editor's Note: At the Spark Your Life Convention in Cincinnati this fall, we were lucky enough to hear from a panel of talented, inspiring and successful members. One member in particular stole our hearts. The video of her story, along with some of her best one-liners can be found here. She wanted to share this essay.

by Beth Donovan (~INDYGIRL)

So many times I’ve started the new year with hope and aspirations to really change my life for good this year. All it is going to take is some willpower and a can-do attitude until I’m on top of the world. It’s maybe a few weeks or months until I realize that a life overhaul is very strenuous and takes more energy than I can afford with the rest of life banging on the door. Family and job take priority and soon I find myself slacking on exercise and recharging my batteries on vending machine fare. Career, family, dealing with life and emotions all take over my best laid plans. I know I have to do something. So, sometimes… most times, I’ve done nothing.

What if it were hot and dry, and water were scarce? If I set a bowl outside, it would collect water from eventual rain. That bowl would be filled--it would be filled by lots of tiny raindrops. Raindrops are pretty small things, but they could make a big impact on someone’s thirst if collected.

The question is: “Do I want to set my bowl outside?”

Take Stock of Your Behaviors and Stay at a Healthy Weight, Naturally

by Susan Burke March, MS, RD, LD/N, CDE

We live in a time of huge portions, cheap food, and timesaving technology. We're burning fewer calories, sitting for hours at our desks, in front of computers, and in traffic. It's so easy to overeat and even best intentions get in the way of getting regular activity. This isn't an American problem—there's even a term that's been coined to describe the world-wide explosion of obesity and weight-related type 2 diabetes—"diabetesity." With barely enough time for our families and friends, how is it possible to take charge of our foods and work in activity?

We can take it one meal at a time, one food at a time, and one walk at a time, and one day at a time. We can make choices that work for us.

When you see a thin person, do you assume that they are that way "naturally"? Or, are they making smart choices most of the time, every day, so that their weight control becomes second nature? People who make mindful eating second nature may appear naturally thin, but they're paying attention to what they're eating—and how much they're eating, and when. They usually stop eating when they're full, although there are times when they may overeat—that's natural too. They eat what they want—but how much they eat is usually just enough.

Thin doesn't come from having a "skinny gene." Almost always, a thin person practices thin behaviors. For example, they consistently monitor their weight—not necessarily by stepping on the scale—they may use their favorite jeans or skirt to keep track of their waist size. (Weight is just a number on the scale, and won't measure your fitness, for example, a muscular person can have an "overweight" BMI (body mass index) and be extremely fit—see a professional wrestler or active basketball player). When the thin person gains unwanted inches, they take steps to reclaim their physique, not by "dieting," but instead by cutting back and adding in; eat fewer servings of bread or pasta, eat more fruits and vegetables—and add more activity. It's not magic—just consistency, with activity.

Overeating is a habit, a learned behavior, and becomes ingrained and expected. Large portions become 'normal' and we are constantly reminded that the larger size is a "bargain"; that "upgrading" your order saves money, and that for just a few cents, your order can be a "biggie." "All you can eat" has become "eat all you can." Fast food eaters consistently underestimate large or super-sized meals by 500 calories. Do that just once a week and you'll gain almost eight pounds a year.

What does it take to gain a pound…or lose one?

Stuff We Love: Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone

Editor's note: Two of our favorite fitness bloggers have teamed up in a regular health and fitness podcast, and we've invited them to tell you more about it.

Tired of the same old tunes when you're working out? Want some aural inspiration for your weight loss? Shauna Reid, author of The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl, has teamed up with Carla Birnberg of popular blog MizFit to create a kick butt health and fitness podcast called Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone.

SHAUNA: Last summer I was deep in mourning after Jillian Michael quit her weekly radio show. I'd downloaded every episode! She used to ramble about her life then take questions from callers from all over country--just ordinary people sharing their fitness triumphs and problems. Celebrities with amazing abs are quite inspiring... but everyday people making their dreams happen? That's real inspiration if you ask me.

I couldn't find a substitute podcast so I thought... why not start one myself? I loved the idea of making something for people to listen to while working out, or to distract them at work when the cookies are calling their name. I roped in Carla Birnberg to be my co-host. I was a longtime fan of her MizFit blog and knew from her video posts that she was a great talker with a vast knowledge of all things fitness.

The Four-Letter Word That Can End Mindless Eating Forever

by Marissa Beck, M.S., R.D.

Imagine this. You’re home after a grueling day at work. You kick off your shoes and drop your bags. Without hesitation, you walk into the kitchen and swing open the ‘fridge like Tarzan on a vine… Last night’s leftovers taste great. You should be enjoying yourself—maybe sit down and use a fork—but instead, you’re hunched over the counter dipping cold chicken into congealed rice, smacking your lips with every bite. Before you know it, you’ve already dug into the Halloween stash. Too bad those skittles were for the kids…

Mindless, robotic, munching—it happens to the best of us. You know what you should do, but sometimes you don’t listen to yourself. Luckily, there are some techniques that have been shown to curtail mindless eating before it gets scarier than the grisly trick-or-treaters.

HALT before the first bite

Stop yourself by say the word, “HALT!” Halt is an acronym that will help discover the reasons why you might be turning toward food. Halt stands for the following:

80 Pounds Gone, Now I'm Carrying the Olympic Torch

Alison Yakel (ALLEYCAT12380) has been a SparkPeople member for a little more than a year, and she's lost 80 pounds and counting.

For the past few months, the 29-year-old happily married store clerk from Manitoba, Canada, has been working out with one goal in mind: Carrying the Olympic torch.

Try Chef Meg's Island Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Hi, it's Chef Meg.

Wondering what to make for dinner? Here in Northern Kentucky, where I live, it's cold--without a ray of sunshine in sight. Still, that doesn't mean that we can't imagine we're someplace warmer.

My makeover of a user-submitted recipe, Island Chicken with Pineapple Salsa, combines lean grilled chicken with sweet and tangy tropical fruits for a healthy dinner that will transport you away from the cold, gray winter.

Watch the video now!