Getting Your Pilates Body Back After the Holidays

"Friends, children, lots of food and drink; Hey, I had a great time! Now I have to punish myself and start a strict regimen of diet and exercise. Maybe I should pay to join that weight loss group...."

I am so glad you had a great time! Reveling in the love and joy, overlooking little irritations, laughing your head off! I hope you did all that and more. But lets back up and think about our intentions going forward.

You may have put on some weight or reached a plateau. You know your pilates exercise and online workouts could improve. Some of you may have really overdone it...yeah.

Lets, right now, try and shift our thinking from being hard on ourselves to a feeling of compassion. You've given so much to others, worked so hard making friends and loved ones have a Merry Christmas. You are amazing. At a certain level, you know that. 

Holding those good feelings, you are ready to receive some wellness tips.

• Don't fast. A protein packed breakfast within 30 minutes of rising is the best way to start. Every day. Maximizing energy, staying mentally sharp, and moving toward your perfect weight, are only three in the long list of advantages of keeping blood sugar stable.
• If you've had too much to drink, don't lay around. Do your best to move (walk, run, play with the kids) and drink pure water. Take the best antioxidant supplement you can find several times during the day. Think of over-drinking as poisoning your body. It is.
• Don't over exercise. Your body is a finely tuned machine. Pushing any system beyond its limits, even with pilates classes will only set you back. -Especially if you are over 50.
• We are culturally programed to be consumers. The goal of that weight loss program is not to graduate you to independence. It also adds to the food obsession that made some of us fat in the first place. Lets go within and make independent decisions that grow our character toward lasting change.     

And feel good now.

Judy Farmer is an online pilates instructor offering over sixty different expert mat pilates classes and relevant wellness advice as an online membership at Great Pilates Now.

Visualize Your Perfect Body With Your Online Coach

I have never made a New Years resolution in my life. My will was so weak, I begin to feel guilt just thinking about it. Yet somehow, I’ve become one of the more disciplined and fit people I know.

How and when did this happen? I was never an exerciser. Not even in college. Yeah, I tried Jane Fonda at 6:00 am a few times. I made myself go jog during college; once. I bought Richard Simmons videos and tried to sweat to the oldies.

After number six came along, I was, lets just say, REALLY NEEDING SOMETHING. A friend encouraged me to try soccer. It was fun. I met lots of people and discovered my bladder wasn’t ..... but then some real magic began to happen for me.

I began to see myself as an athlete. I put on the uniform, visualized myself scoring goals, and started playing with women half my age. In my mind, I was buddies with Mia Hamm. I then began running regularly because I was an athlete. I taught myself Pilates because I was an athlete. I became self-motivated because I was an athlete. I became more confident because I was an athlete.

This new identity came from a strong vision. It was the vision that made me read hundreds of wellness and personal development books and get certifications.

Many women I teach buy equipment and start workout and diet programs because they have strong negative feelings about what they see in the mirror. Sadly, these people don’t tend to finish their resolution. This is because, for them, working out brings more self criticism, even loathing.

I believe that these negative thoughts toward their bodies brought the very fat or weakness they experience. Can you see how this cycle keeps them starting pilates classes without getting results?

Zig Ziglar tells a story of a 283 lb, unemployed, divorced man. With Zig’s coaching, this man developed such a strong vision of his ideal lean, healthy body that, when a little girl pointed him out as “that fat man”, he turned to see who she was referring to. Before long, he reached his ideal weight and income. I bet he found a nice lady to share his happiness with.

So really, take a moment...what is your vision of your perfect body right now? Are you at the beach in a bikini digging in the sand with your grandchildren? Are you bike-riding  on a breezy sumer day with your tan muscular legs and strong back? Are you laughing while making love with the lights on? Do you feel a drop of sweat slide down your cheek as you complete that 5K?

Hold that vision. Write it down and contemplate it daily. Feel good now and let the magic start.

Judy Farmer
Certified Pilates Coach and Wellness Instructor
Great Pilates Now

Staying Healthy on the Run with Your Online Coach

Oh YES.  We love that word during the holidays. "Can you come to my cookie party? Should I send cards to all of them? Do I shop for gifts for those less fortunate?"

If you're like most of the women I meet through pilates classes, the word "yes" adds a good bit more running in our schedules this time of year. Attendance at my pilates studio tends to go down during the holidays.

We need to create as many hours as we can in each day. Having mental clarity and energy creates time. So what are some ways that we can keep energy flowing naturally throughout the day?

Eating well while stabilizing our blood sugar can be difficult when we're in and out of the car, stores, and all the other giving that many of us do. Here are a few tips that can help.

Keep low glycemic snacks in the car, your purse, and in backpacks. I do not mean carrot sticks and fat free snack bars. GORP (good old raisins and peanuts) minus the M+Ms, nuts, even cheese sticks will stay fresh this time of year. You can boil and shell several eggs, sprinkle a little paprika or salt on them in a ziplock bag and there's your energy through the afternoon until dinner. Turkey jerky is a great satisfying snack. Very dark chocolate with some almonds can boost energy without boosting and crashing blood sugar. Invest in a nice large travel mug and get in the habit of filling it with some wonderful tea before leaving the house. You'll be less tempted to get highly sweetened drinks.

Be creative and make a plan. All these will will reduce cravings for the endless sweets we are exposed to this time of year. You will also feel a sense of peace in controlling your eating that many of you haven't felt in a while.

Have more energy. Enjoy the people around you. Accomplish more. What could make you feel better than that this holiday season?

Killer Fat

When we hear the word "diet" we often think about regimens, group meetings, and paying money. What we know is that eating is part of living every day for all of us. Why are those two pictures so different?

For the last two weeks we have been discussing ways of eating so as not to spike blood sugar. We used a glycemic index chart to begin to make sense of it. One of the comments on the film was that foods that are white and mushy create white and mushy around our middle. Biochemically, storing fat in the tummy is most often a symptom of insulin resistance. Lisa's story illustrated the point in our filmed discussion (found in the greatpilatesnow.com library) two weeks ago.

     " I was in my thirties and the fat-free craze was in. Up to that, my weight was fine but I thought 'maybe I should'. Then I quickly gained probably about 10 or 15 pounds, and for me that was a lot of weight. It probably took be about five or six years to loose that weight."

Why did this happen? When we reduce a food group in our diet, we naturally need to compensate for that. Taking away fat often means eating more carbohydrate. Consuming more carbohydrate without the fat which buffers its effect on our blood sugar, means we need more insulin to handle the eating pattern. The result is not just weight gain.

What Dr. Ray Strand calls "killer fat" is symptomatic of impending cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus (adult onset), and lots of inflammation in the body. What many scientists are agreeing on now is that insulin resistance is the true underlying cause of high blood pressure and rising levels of bad fat in the blood.

It's so much more than looking good ladies. Its about extending our healthy days on this planet. More days to tell people we love them. More days to write that book, feel sunshine and wet feet; to read, to create, to snuggle.

More days to feel good.

A Better Way to Manage a Meal

Since we now understand why a calorie is no longer a calorie, lets look at how to more effectively manage a meal.

Simply put Glycemic Index is a number ranking given to a food based on how quickly it causes blood sugar to rise. Anything with an index above 60 is to be avoided. Glycemic Load means finding out the sugar impact of a combination of foods, like a meal. The base for the ranking is glucose, which has a Glycemic Index of 100 and glycemic load of 10. The load is based on the complexity of a carbohydrate and its fiber, fat or protein content.

Low Glycemic Load foods are those foods with a value of 10 or below; medium Glycemic Load foods are those foods with a value from 11 up to 19; high Glycemic Load foods are foods with a value of 20+. Since foods that are low in Glycemic Load are typically fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and lean proteins, a low Glycemic diet is a healthy, balanced diet.

Fruit sugar has an index of 19 and a load of 2 (fruit juice is substantially higher). Table sugar has an index of 61 with a load of 6. Some foods will surprise you. a fresh peach has a glycemic index of 22 and load of 3. Mashed potatoes have an index of 92 and a load of 18! Happily this doesn't mean that you must never eat mashed taters again.

The combination of foods and order in which they are eaten can absolutely bring that number down. For example, If you have a meal of turkey, a small portion of mashed potatoes and a bigger portion of broccoli or squash, the mashed taters won't spike your blood sugar the way they will if eaten first or without other foods. This has to do with the level of fat, protein, and fiber in that combination. This is why I always suggest that you add a good fat or protein to your snack. Many people think that this will make them put on weight. On the contrary, if portions are kept small, you will be surprised at how satisfied you become after only a small snack. With a little practice, you will learn how to manage any party or food buffet that comes your way without binging or being distracted by the tired feeling of overeating and feel really good!

A Calorie is No Longer a Calorie

Many of us were raised counting calories. We bought calorie books and tried to calculate the amount on our plate only to find ourselves hungry shortly after the meal.

During the eighties new science began showing us that the method we were so comfortable with was becoming obsolete. Dr Jenkins' work published in the JAMA began to rock the diet world and flip the food pyramid. The great news is that we now know how to avoid weight and health problems better that our parents did, if we choose to use it.

For example we now understand that two foods with the same amount of calories my have very different effects on the body. A white bagel with fat free cream cheese and a caesar salad have the same amount of calories yet one will spike your blood sugar as quickly as a large candy bar. And that baked potato with fat free sour cream? Same as eating ice-cream. Want more? That fat free yogurt with fruit with that name brand tasty fat free health bar? Regarding the effect on blood sugar you may as well have a piece of apple pie for lunch.

Many of us are unknowingly eating this way several times a day, and becoming addicted to it. In his book, Healthy for Life, Dr. Ray Strand explains that when we become resistant to our own insulin "a calorie is no longer a calorie".  Let me put it in a simple way. Our pancreas was not made to put out insulin at the rate our eating demands it. Insulin is a storage hormone. As we over-produce it after eating, the calories that should be used for energy are converted to belly fat. Then the process begins over again with cravings and more stored fat.

For the next two weeks we will discuss glycemic index and glycemic load. We will learn to begin using this to maintain mental clarity, lasting energy, reduce cravings, and move toward your perfect weight for a lifetime!

Won't that feel good?

Apple or Pear?

Our body types indicate many things about us. Yes we do inherit some things from our parents. Have you ever been told something like, " You have big bones like your aunt Helen"?

If you've ever seen the international art exhibit "The Body", you will be happy to find that our bones as females don't vary much. In fact we are amazingly similar. After gaping at the muscles and bones (along with the connective tissue that resembles nothing short of chicken grizzle!) in this human gallery for over an hour, I became convinced that we are all sisters.

Under all the hair, skin, curves, or lack thereof, we are amazingly similar. When I teach pilates exercises, I see beyond the covering into the excellence of each woman's body.

There are two body types that concern me. One is the woman with extra belly fat. I'm not referring to the loss of curves that occurs after menopause. When someone who is otherwise thin seems to hold weight in their abdomen that is an indicator of metabolic syndrome or pre diabetes. When we take in high glycemic carbs, insulin is over produced to protect our bodies from literaly being poisoned by sugar. Insulin is a storage hormone. Simply put it causes us to store fat in the most easily accessible area of the body, the tummy. Learning to keep you blood sugar balanced, and avoid this problem, is what I discuss throughout the blog.

The other red flag of health is the excessively curvy woman. This is a sign that one is estrogen dominant. Two main reasons for this are, eating to many of the foods that contain hormones, and taking animal estrogen like "The Pill".  One of the best remedies other than diet change is a regular cardio program. Have you ever seen a curvy runner? Another good one is adding more fiber. Elimination at least twice a day allows estrogen to leave the body.                                    

Now feel even better.

Don't Just Dive In!

When I meet with people for the first time, they are excited and anxious to begin dietary changes. They are a little surprised when I tell them I'd like them to wait for our second meeting before they officially begin.

Why? Because successfully changing behavior for the long term requires paradigm shifts in your thinking. The way you choose to think dictates success or failure. We begin with imagining your ideal healthy body (Settle down and enjoy this!). We get a journal and write out our goals in terms of how we will feel, and in present tense. For example, "I am so happy to walk into Macy's and try a size ten! I am so proud to buy it!"

As we place ourselves in that feel-good state, we begin to believe we can do it. We then write out clear goals which are our own. We cannot accomplish someone else's goals for ourselves. Yes we may want our spouse to be proud of us but success depends on our ability to be true to ourselves.

Then write out your affirmations for health and place them on cards where you will see them; maybe your frig or bathroom mirror. You can even use photos of your vision for health. This really helps! Refer to them several times a day. You may write, "I enjoy my fast walk every day."

Write down the times of day or triggers that affect you and discuss them with family members if that is appropriate. Fantasize in present tense about your healthy body, what it can do, how you look. Imagine your Mother saying, "You're loosing too much weight. Are you alright?"

Now you are ready to begin. Your mind is ready for the journey. Weight loss is the outer result of inner change. Every successful day will build greater success into every other area of your life. And as a very great and humble man said, "Every failure is an opportunity to begin again."

What About Vitamins?

The question of whether or not to supplement no longer exists.

Various studies have proved that no matter how well one eats, human cells cannot receive enough of the nutrition they need to regenerate healthy without supplementation. Oxidative stress alone needs to be arrested in the body through taking much more plant nutrition than one could possibly eat daily. Overfarming, busy lifestyles, and our poor North American diet are only a few contributing factors. Degenerative deseases are being diagnosed years before our grandparents, despite many advancements in symptom treatment and surgical technique.

The question becomes, "What is the best way to supplement?"

Many people have begun using very tasty and beautiful bottled antioxidant drinks. While these are usually very good for arresting oxidative stress, and are sometimes fortified with a few other nutrients, they lack the essential minerals and trace minerals that cells need in an absorbable form.

Cells need minerals, trace minerals, antioxidants and a balance of good fats.  

The good news is that the science of cellular nutrition has advanced to include a dynamic optimum of what cells need. The "Blended Standard for Nutrituional Supplimentation" is the bar set for all multivitamin producers to reach. There are also a few great books out there that we can use when choosing a multivitamin. One of the best is "The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Suppliments" Consumer Edition.

Do you want to have a much better chance of beating the degeneration that has already begun in you body? Find the BEST cellular nutrition and take it every day. You will feel good!

Just Add Water

We've discussed how fat free eating has made many of us put on weight. We mentioned the fact that a carb only breakfast or skipping breakfast increases cravings. Now lets add water.

"Eight glasses a day. Yeah, I've heard that for years." you may be saying to yourself.

Here are some points that may help you to appreciate that tall cool bottle of clear stuff.

• Albert Einstein Award recipient and human cell expert Dr. Myron Wendtz tells us that drinking pure water is the most important action you can take to help your cells absorb nutrients function well.
• If you feel like eating. Just stop and slowly drink about six ounces of water. See if your urge goes away.
• Spark creativity and mental clarity by beginning to drink water (with your coffee!) first thing in the morning.
• Improve digestion, regularity, eyesight, skin health; the list goes on.

Some of us do better setting a schedule to pattern our water intake. If this is you, try drinking at least six ounces after using the restroom or when you leave your work station, or walk by your water source. Some of us do better watching the clock. Six ounces every two hours is a great pattern. Others don't like straight water. Teas, with low glycemic natural sweetners like Xylitol or Stevia are best. Add a little natural dark cherry or bluberry syrup to seltzer water for the feeling of a soft drink.

Reward yourself for accomplishing small tasks by giving your body this life source. Be thankful for it. Be proud of yourself for choosing it and feel good about water!

Prioritize your "to do" list.

"Healthy eating is just too complicated. As soon as I think I'm doing something right, I find out it could be done better."

When I give Nutrition Seminars, I see this common frustration in many people. My heart goes out to these people who get snippets of some new health information here and there and try to make sense of it all. I want to help you to make reasonable changes that you can live with here in the real world.

Living an anti-Inflamitory lifestyle has many components and can be comlicated. The good news is there are priorities. Like anything, focussing on the top priorities will will give you a sense of control and most of all create better overall health. This mantra will be repeated throughout the blogs and in several different ways:

Keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day.

I know some of you are already saying "What about controling cholesterol?"

The fact is that our cholesterol levels are primarily related to the amount of saturated fat and processed carbohydrates that we consume. Therefore stabolizing our blood sugar by avoiding these foods, as the priority will resolve both problems.

The best way to start is including protein in your breakfast. If you are one of those who doesn't eat breakfast, start doing it. Your body will thank you. Stabolizing your blood sugar at the beginning of the day improves mental clarity, stamina, and makes you feel good!

Shameless Eating

The next several entries will fall under everyone's ongoing challenge, eating to feel good.

We've all been there; pulling into a certain fast food restaurant, buying that candy, or that fashionable coffee, with the little voice of shame going through our mind. "I know I shouldn't eat this but it tastes so good."

I am here today to give you a break. You've been feeling bad about your cravings for too long. It's not that you don't have self control. It's not that you are made differently. Its what has happenned over the past 35 years in our North American diet.

Since colesteral problems began to surface back in the seventies, people have been recommended to eat less fat. We have been programed to believe that fat free is healthier. Attempting to remove this entire food group from our diet has caused many of us to replace it with high glycemic carbohydrates (white flour, potatoes, rice). This general replacement has caused us to spike (rapidly raise) our blood sugar several times a day, leading to often uncontrolable cravings that can make you feel very bad about yourself.

There is a way out! You don't have to keep repeating the same pattern and try to block out the shame.

During the next several weeks we will be addressing something called "anti-inflamitory  lifestyle". This is part of the new science of eating and is taught by my favorite health writers along with many others. I am not a doctor but have learned basic practical ways to quiet the cravings and live in the real world. And yes, move toward your perfect weight in a steady way and keep it off.

So lets upgrade our diet imperfectly day by day and feel good about it.

Pay Attention

Don't we sometimes become very functional?  Getting things done; moving from one task or conversation to another. Our schedule, our routine, our functions, can sometimes dull down our good feelings and positive energy. Thoughts can wander to places that bring us down or allow fears to creep in.

Stopping to take a notice of how we are feeling is a nifty habit. It can, if practiced regularly, really bring on that ideal feeling of the happier woman you want to be for more hours each day. Some people ask God to show them when their thoughts are going in a negative direction. In her book "The Secret" Rhonda Byrne asks "the universe" to give her a warning; some kind of sound, a siren, a bump, to remind her to move her thoughts toward what makes her feel good.

Many of us have been taught to ignore our feelings. This is what some of our parents learned from their own. They were doing what they thought was right. Because of this some of you may think this talk about feeling good is rediculous. What happens when we are taught this way is that we tend to look outside oursevles to attain happy joyful feelings. Starting inside is so much more lasting and less expensive!

If you're not in the habit, I challenge you to check in with yourself three times a day through the week. Let us know how it goes!

Why No Equipment?

You've probably read the explanation on the website. It says that although they are useful, props and fitness equipment  can become a distraction from consistancy. We've all purchased that great item which promises flatter abs, weight loss, and fun only to see it sit in the corner after a few weeks. Or "Oops, I forgot my theraband (or whatever)."

I want you to give yourself no excuses for missing your pilates work out. I know as well as you that little voice that says, "I can do it later."

Part of that voice actually comes from putting too much pressure on ourselves. Giving yourself choices based on real self care as you plan your day, allows you to set your schedule based on what you can choose rather than that pressured feeling  of what you "should" do.

Also, our western culture tends to place focus on objects outside the self. Notice that Yoga and Tai Chi offer no props while western fitness is often based more on the equipment and clothing than the body. Picture yourself exercising while holding a weight in your hand. This if fine but you tend to give a good chunk of your attention to the object taking some of your focus away from the real perfection within your body.

I want you to learn more and more about the way your body moves and feels. I want you to discover your body more with each class. Be "with" yourself as you move and feel good now.

The Platinum Rule

Who are the people in your life who always make you feel good? As you spend time with them, you expand with validation, joy, and love. Do you have people like that in your life?

Remember the Golden Rule? “Do unto others....” There’s a new one:  The Platinum Rule. It means relating so that everyone feels like their best self when they are with you. Masters at this leave you feeling like the little boy telling his parent about his home run.

If you are saying to yourself today, “ I don’t have people that give me that great sense of identity she is talking about.” 

Here is your perfect antidote: Begin practicing the Platinum rule yourself. You know, whatever we give away comes back to us.

I am sure many of you are practicing this as a lifestyle.  But sometimes when we identify a behavior and call it to mind, we reinforce it. The kind of lifestyle you can develop by practicing this will dazzle you! You will feel great love wherever you go. Let’s start today. Are you with me?

Create Time

Time is yours. Stop chasing it!

Really, if there’s one thing I just want to grab women and shake them about its time. 

Remember who’s writing this, single with seven kids... Now please try to take a moment. It could change your life.

There is a school of thought understood through quantum physics which has proven scientifically that the time line we live on is an illusion. That all time is actually in the now and is in a vertical line. Instead of past, present, and future, all things actually now, now, now.

Therefore not having time becomes our creation in our mind. Follow me here. Isn’t “now” really all we have? What I am saying is that since all choices and activities begin in your thoughts, you can, yes even you, can live more in-the-moment and add a feeling of unlimited time to your life. 

If that still doesn't make sense to you just start by telling yourself  "I have plenty of time to do everything I need to do today." "My choice of focus creates whatever I want right now." Focus on doing your very best with each task. Feel the peace as you flow through your day.

Why "Feel Good Now"?

Yes. You can allow yourself to take this moment and feel good.

Lets try it.

Think of someone you love. Remember a fantastic time when you were feeling free, joyful and grateful. Maybe it was a holiday, holding your newborn, kissing your husband. 

Now sustain that thought....

Did you know that when you do that you are actually bringing more good thoughts and feelings? That's why we enjoy telling stories with old friends. One thought gives memory to another, and another. Before  we know it we are laughing and feel like we are levitating like the man on "Mary Poppins"!

During the classes I encourage you to focus; to stay in the moment. We feel our body moving and become more aware. We only think of the beauty and magnificance in our bodies.  After a few weeks we feel significantly stronger and proud of our progress. Our thinking in this process is crucial to our success.

Rhonda Byrne, in her popular book, The Secret, says feeling good now is the fastest way to bring more good into your life. Having experienced that in natural life, I was so happy to see it in print. 

This theme is an amazingly simple way to make life better and better.

So feel good now.