Stick To It Tip #5

To make the most of your workouts, start with your most difficult exercise so you can get it over with and move on to some of your favorites. Typically, these exercises are our least favorite because they highlight a weak area so they are challenging both physically and mentally. Once you get through these the rest of the routine will seem easy.

Consider Substitution

When doing my food diary I noticed a few items that I may need to monitor if I want to keep my girlish figure. As I mentioned in another post, I tend to like refined carbohydrates because of my sweet tooth. Rather than eat my home-made candy (sorry, it was easy to make and delicious) I will try some of the in-season fruit such as pears, apples (baked with cinnamon) and grapes. I don't need to substitute every time but if I start now it will be easier as time goes on. Luckily, when I do splurge, I maintain portion control. Another area for substitution is crackers, chips, and other snacks made with trans fat. Again, I don't normally eat potato chips (reduced fat by the way) or tortilla chips but when I have a craving for that type of crunch, I have replaced my chips with toasted pita bread (wheat not white) and that works well. Obviously, there are some foods that just can't be replaced, such as pecan pie with vanilla ice cream, but I plan when and how much I am going to eat. Life is to be enjoyed and can be in moderation. It is when we go to excess that trouble begins.

Sleep Is Important

Although I have measured my exercise and nutrition, I haven't forgotten another important factor in pursuing a healthy lifestyle--sleep. Not getting enough sleep prevents your body from recovering adequately from hard training and also lowers hormones levels. This in turn increases your desire to eat and lowers your metabolism. So I am working on getting 8 hours of sleep a night. By going to bed and getting up at the same time each night, I am training my body rhythms to expect to sleep. I have also developed a bedtime ritual which prepares my body for sleep--no alcohol, brushing my teeth, and finally a small amount of stretching and I hit the sack. Additionally, I have tried to make my bedroom as dark and quiet as possible for the best quality sleep. I will monitor my strategy and see how it works. If you can't seem to get 8 hours work on going to bed 30 minutes earlier each week until your reach 8 hours and see what difference it will make.

Exercising With An Injury

Once you start living a healthy lifestyle, there are always obstacles to maintenance. A few days ago I woke up with blood in my eye (probably a broken blood vessel). This seemingly small injury had an impact on my workout routine. Just to play it safe, I called the ophthalmologist for an appointment (in a few days) and asked what precautions, if any, I should take. They stated I should probably keep my workouts to a lower intensity until I was seen. Again, this could lead me to stop working out altogether until I go to the doctor. Rather than stopping, I just reworked my routine to a lower intensity---I took my cardio down a notch or two, changed my strength training from free weights to machines (to eliminate head below waist movements) and eliminated my yoga class and replaced it with appropriate stretching exercises. These are "plan B" strategies and you should have plenty of them for just such occasions. I am sure after my appointment tomorrow, I will get a clean bill of health and can go back to my usual routine. But for today, a leisurely 3 mile walk with do.

What Gets Measured Gets Managed

Even though I don't see one of my possible 2009 goals as losing weight, I do envision a need for data about how to maintain my weight. Again, I can use a number of calculators that appear online to determine the number of calories I need to maintain my weight and the nutritional make-up for my diet. Based on my weight, age, gender and activity level the following are suggestions for my daily needs:

To maintain my weight I need to consume 1923 calories daily
The recommended distribution is 288 grams carbohydrate, 48 grams protein, and 64 grams of fat.
The recommended daily amounts of key vitamins and minerals are 2400 mg sodium, 1200 mg calcium, 200 mg cholesterol, 10 mcg vitamin d, 75 mg vitamin c, 8 mg iron, 400 mcg folate, and 2.4 mcg B12

Remember these are guidelines and are not necessarily specific to my situation. I can use this information with other data to come up with a plan unique to me.

If you need additional support in assessing your dietary and exercise quality or if you are pressed for time, go to www.mypyramidtracker.gov. This tool will help to identify strengths and weaknesses you may miss. You only need to put in one representative day for the assessment.