Currently: Thinking about Colleges, Hybrid cars, Rest & Food

It's Monday and I'm back home. I went to the National PTA Convention this weekend and my daughters tagged along with me. Yes, it takes special kids to come along to a convention and actually attend some of the sessions.  During the convention, I was the featured blogger for the Family Reading Challenge launch and our family inspiration videos were posted.

Along the way, we stopped by Wake Forest University for a college tour (how did we get to this point already?!)  When I was in high school, I didn't do any college visits, I fully picked my school site-unseen.  Nowadays, however, college visits are expected and encouraged - and lots of them. I know folks who have visited ten, fifteen and more colleges with their soon-to-be-grad.  I don't think we'll do that many, we'll have to find a reasonable number.  If you've got a high schooler or recent grad, how many college visits did you all go on?

I drove a Ford Fusion hybrid for the trip.  Somewhere around 400 miles into the trip, the "E" light finally came on, I pulled over to fill up and with about 11 gallons, $30-some it was full and ready for another 500 miles.  Wow!  I usually drive an SUV (because we have to fit a family of six) so you can imagine the comparative cost and gas-savings.  I've got a while until my next car purchase, but this hybrid movement is something to think about.

When we checked in the hotel, I recalled again, my desire to one day check in to a hotel with no agenda but to get my full money's worth of the room rate. I want to sleep late in the comfy bed under the overstuffed comforters, have lunch on the pool deck, sip a drink during Happy Hour at the bar, sit on my room balcony reading a book.  Generally, I'm at a hotel for a convention or on vacation. Obviously, a convention schedule is crazy packed. And vacation, sometime is not as leisurely as we expect because we've got to get to the thing today before the lines get long.  One of these days, I'm going to stay in a hotel for no reason at all.

I'm recommitting to my workout plan that has sadly fallen to the wayside for no real apparent reason. But after a few days of grits, biscuits and sweet tea, I need to get back on it.  (More on what to eat in Charlotte coming up in separate post.)

I'm ready to cook. After a few days away, it's time to clean out the fridge and cook a meal, gather around the table with my full family and catch up.  Admittedly, it may take a few days for all that to come together with swim practice, PTA meetings, and basketball practice, but we'll get there.

What are you currently up to?

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Currently... Establishing Priorities & Slowing Down

It’s the second week of January.  And while we're usually thinking about how to do more and more, I've started thinking about how to focus on my priorities and maybe slow down while doing so.  Just a little bit.  For now, I’m getting the week started on this rainy, freezing rain, school two-hour delay (again) being a little more mindful.

Drinking coffee from a bowl instead of a mug. Last week, the kids and I treated ourselves to Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar. They had s’mores and the 80’s chocolate milkshakes, I had a Mexican Hot Chocolate. It’s spiced up with chili, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper - plus the obvious fact that it’s also hot, it amps up the spiciness. I like spicy, but I felt like I needed some cake or something to go along with it to balance the spiciness.

Chocolate treats from Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar

Anyway – it was served in a funky little tear-drop shaped bowl, their Hug Mug.  To imagine it – cup your hands together like you’re holding water – that’s the shape of the mug.  It felt so cozy. Since then, I’ve been drinking my coffee at home in a bowl, too. In addition to being warm, another thing I discovered – it makes you slow down. I usually scroll through emails, Twitter and Facebook with coffee mug in one hand. Can’t do that with a bowl. It makes you slow down and not multi-task everything.

My coffee bowl and cranberry cornbread from a recipe I found while decluttering.

Still decluttering.  I’ve made a good dent in my cooking magazines and found some good recipes along the way. Last week I made a delicious cranberry cornbread on the snow day.  And the empty organizing containers are piling up in my office. Empty because I was holding onto so much stuff, when I finally went through it, I realized I didn’t really need all that stuff.  It’s a process, but I'm definitely starting to feel a little lighter.

Planning our menu for the week – starting with the freezer.  Somehow my freezer is packed but each day I’m wondering what we’re going to have for dinner. When I can see some more light in there again, I’ll go shopping again.  Until then, I’ll be defrosting and cooking.  And probably throwing out some food that has been in there way too long.  Cleaning out the freezer is a good way to start out the year. Planning meals is a good way to stick to a a healthy eating plan.

Making time for my workout.  My husband is good with his schedule – everyday he works out. Me? I get the kids off to school then decide – workout or check email and Facebook?  The fit of my jeans is a tattletale on which I generally choose. So, I’m trying to get better at putting my workout – and me – first as a priority. As a sniggling reminder, I get dressed in my workout clothes so that eventually I either will go run and exercise or admit that I did not.  I’ve got my sneakers sitting right next to me as I write.

Making time to read.  I’m squeezing it into my waiting time, as well as allowing myself the downtime to read, rather than completing other stuff or flipping through social media doing nothing. I make sure I’ve got my book in my purse when I leave the house, read a page here and there while waiting. Right now, I’m trying to finish Americanah which I’ve been carrying around for an embarrassing long time, even if it is a long book.

1st book of the new year - finishing up "Americanah"

And of course, I’m still just piddlin’.

Have a good week!

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5 Reasons to Encourage Girls about Diet and Exercise

Girls aren’t supposed to want to be pretty and attractive. At least that’s the new message that seems to be out.  There's a hashtag movement to shy away from telling our girls that they are pretty, only smart - but why not both?  There’s a social message that we don't want our girls to think that exercising is for our own self-image, but only strictly to be healthy and because we enjoy it. More girl-focused campaigns are trying to downplay the truth of wanting to look good and be attractive.  And yes, as a woman and mom of three beautiful girls, I get that there's a lot of over-sexualization in girl-targeted ads and media and clothing; trust me, I struggle with that when clothes shopping, pushing my girls past the make-up counter and push-up bras in the junior sections.  But part of teaching them to walk past all of that superficial-ness and not be too grown, is to teach them to love their own image.

I workout, in a good week, three to four times.  Running, swimming, weightlifting, playing tennis – some combination of those.  And in a real good week, I limit the amount of ice cream and chocolate cake I eat to only 1 or 2 servings.  Like most women, I have a goal weight and a preferred dress size.

This all goes hand-in-hand, doesn’t it?  Exercise, diet, body size. Along with body image and satisfaction with that image. It's an important balance, aligning a workout schedule, a proper diet, and a reasonable desired body image.

So, it's not a secret that I workout and sometimes watch what I eat, partly (mainly) because of self-image. My daughters (and my son, too) know that I try to balance all of this to look how I want to look, or at least something close to it.  And here's why I've never really thought of this as something to deny because there’s a few things I want my kids to understand.

Physical fitness and good health is a choice. Exercise is something that fits into a lifestyle, it’s not just about going to the gym at a scheduled time to jump around, especially for children.  We can decide to sit on the couch and watch TV for 10 hours a day or go out and ride bikes or run around with the dog and be active.  It’s a choice and that choice will affect your health.

Your diet is a choice. And I don’t mean diet as in the all-grapefruit kind of diet, but “diet” in the sense of everything you eat.  We can eat pizza and fries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days a week (not good) or for one meal of the week, balanced with a salad and fruit, and other healthy meals.  We can’t eat ice cream three times every day, but we can enjoy a sweet scoop on a Saturday afternoon.  We can always enjoy the good things in life.

You should love who you are and what you look like.  There is nothing wrong with looking at yourself in the mirror and liking what you see.  There is also nothing wrong with wanting to be a better you and figuring out how to be that better self.  With proper nurturing and encouragement, that can result into healthier eating and exercise rather than quick weight-reduction tactics, starving oneself, and artificial beauty.  Maybe it will translate into appreciating their intelligence and talents, building their confidence.  We want our children to love their own natural selves.

You have some control over your life and your health.  Granted, there are some health-issues that we have no control over.  But the complications of being over-weight and not having a proper diet – that is within our own decision making power.  Along with that, hopefully the kids will begin to understand that who they are as people is also up to them – how they act, how they present themselves, what they become.  They have to decide who they want to be and be proud of that person.

It’s all about balance and moderation. Yes, you can exercise too little, as well as too much. You can overeat, undereat, consume the proper amount of calories but they might not be all “healthy.” It’s not about being rail thin to show off your ribs, but being a good correlation of height (which you can’t control) and weight (which you can) and eventually, age.  Like a lot of things in life, you have to find the proper balance of “enough” and moderate your intake and output.

And I will admit, it is a fine line between making children conscious of a healthy body size and being overly concerned about it, but that’s all part of the learning process – for all of us.

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Pack Your Bags: Work-out on the Go

Moms, answer this question:
I do not workout regularly because:

A – gym membership is too expensive

B – I’m too busy

C – my kids are too busy

D - I don’t know what exercises to do

E – all of the above

If you answered this question at all, keep on reading.

Motherhood is a wonderful thing, but keeping up with kids and eating birthday cake every weekend and the leftover French fries can be a challenge for any fitness and weight-maintenance goals.  With four kids, I’ve gone through that many cycles of weight-gain and loss, complete with diets (Flat Belly, South Beach, yeah – all of that) and exercise.  As the kids have gotten increasingly busy with their own activities, it’s harder to find time to workout.   I’ve figured out that I can use the time I spend waiting around for them to fit in some exercise.  I run around the track while they are at swim practice, hit tennis balls during basketball practice, run around the neighborhood during play rehearsal.  I mix in some light strength-training with hand-weights, too.  It’s my “mommy workout”.

After the birth of one of my kids, I found Valerie, a personal trainer who was also a mom, and she helped me to get back to a shape other than round.  This wasn’t on the Oprah/Beyonce level, she didn’t move into my house and bring a personal chef or anything like that.  We met for an hour once a week and she helped me come up with a workout plan I could maintain on my own.  I asked her to share some tips for fitting in a workout while shuttling kids to their activities and watching them at the playground.

Top gym bag must-haves so you can workout anywhere

There are things you can do while shuttling kids that will keep you fit, maximize your time, and reduce any I should’ve worked out guilt.  One of the best things you can do is to keep a gym bag in your car at all times.  In addition to the gym bag - water, towels, sports bra, and fitness shoes - I want to give you some of my favorite must-haves that won’t weigh your bag down and might even bring some new life to your workouts. 

As you can see, I have a variety of items in my bag; they don’t take up a lot of space but they play a vital role in my fitness.  Here goes from left to right.

• Jump rope - This handy piece of fitness equipment is light yet very effective for an intense workout.  Studies show that 15 minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to 30 minutes of walking.  The beauty of jumping rope is you can do it just about anywhere.  The next time you take the kids to the park try jumping rope; even if you can only jump five minutes at a time (in-between the swing, slide, you know the drill), before you know it you’ll be at your 15-minute goal.  I use and highly recommend the Buddy Lee jump rope. 
• iPod – Studies show that music can make the difference in your workout.  The better the beat, the more likely you’ll workout at a higher intensity.  Be sure to have several workout tracks to go with your various workouts: intense, moderate, and cool down with stretching. 
• Notebook – Tracking your workouts is good for several reasons.  First, it gives you feedback of your progress and second, it can help you vary your workouts to prevent boredom.  I track different workouts and use my notebook to make sure I’m reaching my goals.  However, you use it, make it a habit to update to see your workout patterns and you’ll see better results.
• Skincare stuff – Tom’s Deodorant, Arnica Gel, and Neutrogena SPF 70 sunscreen.  I don’t recommend antiperspirants when you exercise since sweating helps rid the body of toxins - I personally don’t want to prevent toxin release.  Arnica Gel is my go-to gel for after workout soreness or bruising (I bruise very easily, it’s in the genes).  It goes without saying that you need a sunscreen of 30 SPF of higher.  It’s helpful to wear a hat and sunglasses too.

I'll come back tomorrow with Valerie's tips for exercises to do on the go.  In the meantime - pack your gym bag for a great workout!

Valerie Merriweather is the founder and Chief Exercise Officer of Fitwell Training Solutions in Silver Spring, Maryland.  As a busy mom of four, Valerie is passionate about helping women find their fitness niche in the midst of hectic schedules and family responsibilities.  She shares her insight at her blog, Curling Iron for Your Body Not Just Your Hair as well as Fitness at Any Age where she serves as a Discovery Health Fitness expert.  Valerie is a regular contributing writer for her community newsletter, Northwood News and leads the highly successful Fitwell Personal Boot Camp at Forest Knolls Elementary School.  She is a sought after consultant and speaker on the topics on health and wellness for busy moms and teaches seminars on how to make healthy living a reality for families.

For more health and fitness tips connect with Valerie on Facebook or on Twitter at #vmerriweather.