Category Archives: General Posts

Getting and Staying Healthy – Change It Up

Two days completed with my 90 day Body Beast weight training program (to build 10 lbs. muscle). I am sore this morning, accumulated from the two previous days workouts – Build:Chest/Tris and Build:Legs. It’s amazing that even though I’ve been working out hard for a long time, changing up your routine that provides a different focus gives your body something new to do, thus the soreness.

Doing body building coupled with truly focusing on my nutrition is a challenge. Counting macros, increasing calorie intake, and dedicating myself to eating clean for the duration of the 12-week program means more dedication than I’ve previously shown with other programs, and I have been dedicated. That means no extra snacking, no alcohol, no cheating – weekends included. It means changing the mindset from focusing on trying to cap calorie and fat intake thinking it’s all about staying thin/losing weight, to just focusing on eating the right balance of macros and eating enough calories to give my body fuel to grow muscle mass.

This has totally broken me weighing myself on the scale habit. I know over the next 60 days I’m going to gain weight/fat before I hit the final cutting stage to trim the fat. So I have no desire, other than at the normal 30-day check-in intervals, to weigh myself. I don’t even feel 1% draw to the scale.

I have loved the previous programs I’ve done, like P90X, a hugely challenging physical exercise program. But this is new territory for me, and I embrace it. I workout less than 1-hour per day (except when I throw in an extra routine here or there), and I’m eating healthy. I’m not getting any younger, and I am a firm believer in taking care of myself. I’m not a gym rat spending 1/2 my day in the gym – it’s just around an hour + time spent researching/thinking about nutrition.

If you want any advice on what you can do on your own to better you overall health, please message me. Although I have some fitness programs and a healthy meal replacement shake I can sell you, that’s ONLY if it fits you. There are all kinds of ways to get healthy – I’d love to help you.

Vacations – Your Workouts and Eating

Vacation. The time to “escape” from reality and have some fun. But alas, it can also break that nice little routine you may have going with your workouts and eating. So how do you prevent a vacation from a setback?

The answer may not appear simple. There are so many vacation scenario’s – an all inclusive cruise or resort; a trip to a major destination (Hawaii, Paris, The Caribbean, etc.); visit family; camping….and more. Each poses it’s own issues with regards to keeping up with your workout program, and more importantly can really throw curveballs at your nutrition (I was just in Oahu, Hawaii, and the food choices were wide and varied and all so tempting – and I think Hawaii has the best food of anywhere I’ve ever travelled to).

But there is a simple answer. That simple answer is: Think ahead and plan accordingly. Think about your particular trip and what’s available to you, and adjust your plan of attack accordingly.

Here’s a few thoughts on scenario’s I have experienced first hand:

On cruises, many ships have fitness facilities, so there is no problem getting in some sort of exercise. You can jog around the deck or on a track if the ship has one. Also, see the next paragraph for in room ideas. Regarding food, you can order off the menu and ask for less butter etc. Just portion control, and hold back on licking the plate clean if the portions are large, and indulge in a few bites of the delicious deserts instead of devouring the whole thing. I haven’t been to an all inclusive, but I assume it’s somewhat similar.

If you travel to a hotel with a kitchen, great. Make your own breakfast and lunches to save $$, and maybe even a dinner or two. Make something fancy – you’re on vacation. At restaurants, try to order smart. Request cooking in little or no butter, get dressing on the side, don’t get desert. Look for hotels with fitness facilities as many have them, even if they’re small. Buy a set of exercise bands for travelling. You can find discounts at local gyms if there are any. You can jog. If there’s a pool, swim laps for 1/2 hour. You can find simple routines on the internet to workout in your room – combinations of crunches, squats, lunges, burpees, jumping jacks, push ups with variations, mountain climbers, sprinting in place. These are all things that can be done in any room without equipment.

Camping is no different. When you treat yourself to a restaurant, there’s usually healthy alternatives for you. And cooking and camping go well together. Chicken, pork, fish. Salads and steamed veggies. As far as exercising, same as with hotels (minus the fitness facilities). You can bring bikes along. Maybe you’re into kayaking. In my case, I take my exercise mat, DVD’s, and my laptop along and workout at the campsite.

In short, there’s really no need to treat a vacation much differently then at home. Maybe you’re escaping work, or family issues – a vacation is about cleansing the mind. But with your own body, nothing should be different. Nutrition wise it may be more challenging if your only alternative are restaurants, so you just have to commit yourself to ordering healthy and maybe not finishing everything. Any supplements you take at home should come for the ride and be taken every day as you always do. Maybe you have to modify a protein shake if you use a blender, but with ice and water and a shaker cup you should be at a minimum good to go. There is always a way to workout wherever you are. It may not be your regular routine, but something is better than nothing.

 

Travel Is Wonderful But Family Trumps All

I love Hawaii. For the past two weeks I have soaked in the sights and sounds from a place many people only dream about coming to, paradise if you will. I appreciate swimming at Waikiki Beach while looking at Diamondhead. I love the drive up… the coastline with the ocean on one side with mountains on the other. I have loved the variations of food here. The different beaches and towns offer much to the senses. [cost of living is another story]

But all of that takes a back seat and is a distant second to what has been most special about being here. It’s about being with family. Crystal has been out here for almost three years, and over that time we get a week or two a couple of times a year to visit with her when she’s on leave, which is not nearly enough. When she’s come home to MA on leave, she stays with us but also visits other family members. But with us coming to her house here in HI, it’s been two weeks with us three being together. Crystal was kind enough to let us sleep in her bed while she sleeps on a decent air mattress (not nearly as comfortable as her own bed). We all sleep in the same room. And we all are 100% at ease, as this is the way it should be.

Being with a 28 year old grown woman with her own life, yet her wanting nothing more than to just be together with us, her parents, cannot be explained with words. The deep bond Denise and I have with our daughter (the same bond we have with our son Joshua and daughter-in-law Irina) is what it’s all about. It’s awesome being in Hawaii, but as Denise tells me (and I agree), that’s just a bonus but not important. If this was anywhere else not as “special” as Hawaii is, the feeling would be the same. It’s sad this trip is coming to a close, but we will be seeing Crystal again soon.

I love my family with all of my heart, and will cherish this trip forever.

jdc

Family – Integral To The Healthy Lifestyle

I love talking about fitness and nutrition. I truly want to help people find their own personal path to living a healthier life. It’s a good feeling to hear people talk about how their own body and/or inner feelings no longer make them feel down, and knowing that I in some way big or small have helped them along the way.

But sometimes, life gets in the way of me talking about fitness and nutrition. And this weekend, that “life” has been quite special thanks to family. I’ve said it many times, but the healthy lifestyle isn’t all about nutrition and exercise. It’s about living. It’s about grabbing a moment and cherishing it. It’s about knowing what is most important.

This weekend I spent some quality time with my son and daughter-in-law, my nephew and niece (by marriage) local to me, and my nephew (by marriage) and niece that came up from Florida to visit. I love them all dearly, and they each brought something that made the weekend so much more special, and something to always remember. I have a grandson who is nearly 4 years old now, but each of the aforementioned couples just recently had babies, and they all converged on my house. Words cannot describe how precious the grandsons and grand nephews are, and how I feel right now having this weekends memories with me for life.

Thank you SO much Joshua/Ira, J.C./Julianne, and John/Meagan for making my (and Denise’s) weekend something never to forget. DSC03402

Little Things To Do During The Day To Help Stay Fit

During the course of a day, you may or may not realize there are opportunities abound to grab a few reps of exercise to work your body. There are a variety of choices you can make to burn an extra calorie and activate your muscles for better long-term benefits. Of course it’s all about seizing the moment. I wouldn’t suggest to drop and do 10 push-ups in the middle of a meeting, or to jog around the parking lot in 95 degree weather in your suit (sweat, sticky clothes the rest of the day, and maybe even smell).

Here are some suggestions based on the various things I may do during the course of any given day to “add-on” to my regular healthy lifestyle routine. Some I may need to be in a more casual dress just in case I do sweat a bit. Any many of these I may repeat, and the number of reps isn’t fixed. These probably seem obvious to some, but it’s a matter of actually doing them instead of thinking about it. Just keep in mind that if you do exercise regularly, you don’t want to overwork a particular muscle group. For instance, if today was “ab day”, I may not do any extra ab work today or tomorrow (rest is vital for muscle recovery).

  • Don’t look for that parking space close to the entrance at the mall/store – just park and walk.
  • Drop and do those 10 push-ups in your office. Vary the type – narrow, wide, sphinx, etc.
  • You can squeeze in a few ab routines during the day – crunches, plank for a minute, leg raises, oblique raises, etc.
  • Do 30 squats and 30 lunges (each leg) – make it more interesting and grab something around you that weighs a few pounds (or is just plain heavy).
  • Do a wall squat for 60 seconds.
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator. If I’m going up several floors, I might jog up skipping a step.
          • Another stair routine – I’ll walk up stairs squatting down with each step to better engage the leg muscles.
  • Take a 10 minute walk during a break or at lunch. Walk at a faster pace to increase your heart rate.
  • I have a mini cycle under my desk – I may “bike” for 5 minutes while on the computer. I even saw a fitness band exerciser that attaches to an office chair.
  • Press your hands together and apply pressure to engage the chest muscles – hold for 30 seconds. Vary the position – in front of you, over your head, etc.

You can find many other examples of things you can do during the day. Here’s an article in the Washington Post:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/health/workout-at-work/. The Mayo Clinic has suggestions: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/office-exercise/SM00115

The above does not replace or act as a regular exercise routine, it augments it. But it’s these little movements and “extras” you can incorporate into your daily routine to help stay fit, have some fun, all which continually make you think of being active.