Choose You Blog

“You know ‘we’ get skin cancer too.”

The above quote was one of the latest ones shared by my grandmother. I was one of my first visits to see her after several weekends of doing any and everything in the sun. She hugged me and said, “You’re getting awfully brown out there.” She was definitely right…You see, I am a summertime sun junkie.

Bringing us to the next part of the conversation. My Granny turned to me and said, “I know you better be wearing sunscreen. I always wear it because I do not want any cancer. You know ‘we’ get skin cancer too.” My eyes shifted and I stammered a bit because I knew what she was saying and agreed but wasn’t acting like it. Unless I plan to be outside for more than 5 hours and/or it’s a 90+ degree day, I don’t use sunscreen.

While statistics show that melanoma is 10 times more common in whites than in African Americans, that doesn’t mean that I should behave like I’m exempt from this condition.  So, I promised my Granny that I would start breaking out the sunscreen and giving my body a break now and then from the sun exposure. To help me with this process, I’ve purchased lotions and face moisturizers that contain sunscreen so that I don’t have an added step, especially on a daily basis.

Tomorrow night is my Granny’s birthday dinner and I’m super sure that she will be asking me about the sunscreen and sun issue. Luckily, I will be able to tell her that I’m getting smarter about protecting my skin and my health. And, I think that is one of the best birthday gifts that I could ever give her.

My eight year old has a guide to good health. She says, “People who are healthy live a long life.”

Being healthy, making healthy choices aka Choosing You, according to her means:

• exercise
• eat healthy foods such as vegetables and fruit
• taking care of your body such as washing hands, brushing teeth, taking baths, and putting on lotion
• wear sunblock so you don’t get sunburned
• go to sleep on time so you don’t wake up in the morning all cranky and tired

That’s it, she says, the golden ticket to being healthy.

Grown-ups make it more complicated, she said, “I’m only eight, I don’t know everything about being healthy.”

But she does, apparently. She said all of this to me as she skipped out the door to go swimming, after a day of running around. She ate pot roast and vegetables for dinner, slept well last night, and woke up with energy this morning.

Granted, she is young, and young is often/usually/almost always the very best health tonic. And when you’re young and feeling good, it’s so easy to do the right health thing, or at least not suffer such harsh consequences if you don’t. So maybe the very hardest part of Choosing You is accepting the bygones of youth. So maybe the very hardest part is realizing you can’t just get away with it all anymore, and this means to keep up with what you once did means making really good health choices.

I’m not above admitting feeling a little resentful about that. I used to be able to get away with a lot. I miss that. I miss being skinny without trying, eating anything I wanted. These days the old adage “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips” is suddenly, painfully too true. I miss laying down in bed and going to sleep, only to awaken, refreshed, with the sun. These days it takes a lot to calm my mind, and hormone shifts disrupt my sleep.

But feeling good is worth it to me. So maybe in this case, the mother learns from the child, who learned from the mother, who needs to follow her own lessons. It’s that important to me for my child, so it must be that important for me.

Regardless of how committed we are to a particular diet or healthy eating program, we always have to leave room for occasional guilty pleasures.  Try to focus on the “pleasure” part a guilty pleasures.  If you’re going to over indulge, at least enjoy every moment and savor every bite of your indulgence.

Here are some tips to help you avoid overeating and the guilt that often follows…

- Understand that food is not your enemy, it’s fueling your body and allowing you to survive.

- Attempt to enjoy all of your meals.  This is much easier if you choose a healthy diet plan that is based on foods you already enjoy.  For instance, if you don’t like to eat meat, don’t choose the Atkins Diet.

- Avoid diet plans that leave you feeling deprived and hungry.  You are less likely to fall off of your healthy eating plan if you’re not hungry all the time.  For more on this check out my BlogHer post What Is Your Eating Style.

- Try to maintain a positive attitude toward yourself and your diet.  Stop any negative self talk.  If you walk by a mirror, don’t tell yourself you look fat.  Also see my post Healthy Eating: Evaluating Your Success, Not Failure.

- Acknowledge all the times when you’ve done well.  Focus on all the times you have passed on a dessert, or drove by the fast food joint rather than go in.  Give yourself credit for your healthy eating successes, and don’t be too hard on yourself when you lapse.

- Attempt to figure out what your overeating “triggers” are, and then avoid them.  Here is more on food triggers by That’s Fit.

- Reducing stress in your life can help you avoid emotional eating.  For more on emotional eating check out my BlogHer post Your Mood and Food.

When it comes right down to it, guilt is just a perception not a fact.  It really is all in your head…No one is walking past you projecting guilt upon you for overeating, you are projecting the guilt upon yourself, and you can stop.  Negative emotions (such as guilt) only add to your desire to overeat.  Take your diet one day at a time…Every day you wake up is another opportunity to make healthy food choices, and leave any guilt behind.

*Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

Note: This is a series post I wrote for my blog, about some intense training I’ve been doing to prepare for my first competitive running race, which is tonight.  This is part two of the series, and you can read part one here. 

My dad and I started off for Vail Saturday morning.  We got to the trail head for Gore Lake by late morning.  It was already 90+ degrees.  We were going to try to get about a mile away from the lake, spend the night, hike to the lake on Sunday morning, and then head back.  We both are pretty good hikers, so this didn’t seem overly ambitious.  My dad had hiked this before, and had done just fine.  Except it had been in the fall, when it had been much cooler.

The hike started out right away uphill- there was no shade, and there were a ton of rocks.  I could feel the heat from the rocks radiating back on to the trail- and on to us.  It felt like I was in an oven baking.  I’ve never weighed my backpack, but it is probably about 20-25 pounds.  My dad’s is heavier, and it seemed like after that first climb, we were both already tired.  In hindsight that should have been a clue- it was too hot.  Here is a picture of me with some wildflowers- about a mile into the hike.  It was one of the few places along the trail with shade.   

We kept hiking, and it just seemed to get hotter and hotter.  There was no breeze either.  The sun was so intense, and the air was hot, heavy, and humid.  I commented to my dad, it felt like we were in a jungle.  We had already drank our water, and we stopped so we could filter some more from the river.  We took off our backpacks, and my shirt was soaked.  It was like I had just taken it out of the washer. 

We drank some more water, and my dad said it wasn’t too much farther to a meadow where we could stop for the day.  There were not any other places to stop and camp- it was all pretty steep terrain, so we figured we could go until we got to the meadow.   

We hiked another mile- in the heat and sun, and there was no meadow.  I felt exhausted.  It was hard to think, and it was just so hot.  I told my dad the bike ride the day before had seemed easy compared to how I was feeling on this hike.  My dad said he was getting some cramps in his legs, and he couldn’t quite remember how much further it was to the meadow.  I had my dad drink the rest of the water we had until we could get close to the creek again.  My dad got the map out, and it looked like we were really close to where this meadow was supposed to be.  We had hiked 4 miles.  My dad said the cramps in his legs were going away, and now we had to find some more water, so we kept going.

We came out of the bend we were in, and below us was the creek, and what looked like some places where we could stop.  I told my dad I was done- I didn’t care about the meadow- I just wanted to stop for the day, and he agreed.  We hiked another half mile or so down, and stopped at the creek to get some more water.  I started shivering- even though it was still hot and sunny out.  I had just read about heat exhaustion, and remembered some of the symptoms were chills and muscle cramps.

We couldn’t seem to drink enough water, and we were dehydrated.  My dad decided to go scout around and see if there was any place we could camp- we were in a marshy grassy field- the ground was all swampy.  So I stayed with our gear and drank more water.  I was sitting with my shoes and socks off, my lightweight jacket on, shivering, but also very hot. I was also exhausted.  I was fighting not falling asleep.   It was the weirdest feeling.   Here’s a picture I took of the creek:

My dad returned half an hour later, and said he had found a great camping spot.  It was a quarter mile away, in trees-which meant shade.  It was right near the creek too, so we’d have water.  If could have ran, I would have but I suddenly felt beyond exhausted.  My chills had stopped though, and my dad didn’t have any more cramping.  We made it over to the campsite and it was gorgeous!  It overlooked the creek, and there was a small waterfall. 

We put up the tent, and drank some more water.  I told my dad I couldn’t keep my eyes open any more, and was going to lie down.  He said he was feeling better, and he’d get things organized.  I was asleep it seemed the moment I laid down.  I woke up an hour later, and we ate dinner. I was still exhausted and decided to go to bed.  I think it was around 8PM.  I haven’t gone to bed that early since I was a kid.

I woke up around 2AM, and got out of the tent and looked at the stars.  It was clear, cool, and with the sound of the creek right behind me, it was so pretty, calm, and peaceful.  I was feeling better, but knew we both had some heat exhaustion.   

We woke up early, ate breakfast, and started to pack up.  It was actually cool and it felt so nice after the previous day.  I took this picture of my dad:

We started back- right back into the sun which was already hot.  We didn’t make the same mistake twice though.  We stopped every 15 minutes and drank a little bit of water.  We passed a few hikers who had said it had been 104 in Denver the day before and it had reached 95 in Vail.  The sun is so much more intense at the altitude we were at- it was no wonder we had difficulties.

The last mile of the hike back was killer.  We had finished our water, and we were up too steep to get to the creek.  The first half mile was all up hill.  There was no shade at all, the sun was blazing, and it was all rocks to our side- holding and reflecting the heat back on us.  That last mile seemed like 10.  My shirt was dripping with sweat and the heat was so thick and heavy.  For a few minutes, I really wondered if I could keep going.  It was physically the hardest thing I have ever done, to keep putting my feet in front of each other to keep moving. 

I looked at my Garmin, which said we had about half a mile to go, and then the Garmin died.  I don’t really remember what happened next, except, we finally were off the trail, and made it back to the car!  I don’t think I have ever been so happy a backpacking trip was over.

My dad looked as exhausted as I felt.  We stopped and got some food, water, and some chocolate milk before driving back to Denver.  When we got back, we were both feeling much better, but still drained.  It took me until Tuesday night to really feel better. 

It was kind of nerve wracking how fast the heat exhaustion happened.  My dad and I are both pretty cautious hikers- we don’t take a lot of chances, but we clearly shouldn’t have hiked that far with it being so hot out.  I’m just glad we were near water most of the time and were able to recover quickly.  My dad said it best- the next time it is 90+ degrees in the mountains he’s not going hiking- he’s going to the pool. 

The last few days I have thought about my race, and the workouts I’ve done.  I won’t know until tonight if the heat exhaustion will factor into my running, but I don’t think it will.  If anything, I believe it has given me more confidence and a mental edge.

I was preparing for this race as being very difficult, but after this past week, it doesn’t seem like it will be as challenging.  I’ve trained extremely hard for this race.  I was talking to one of my friends this week about the race and training and he asked me why I push myself so hard.  During the bike ride up the hills, and on that God-awful hot hike, I kept thinking one thing: last year at this time, I was so sick some days I could not get out of bed.  I told my friend it is hard, but it is also a gift. I push myself because I can. 

Tonight I’m pushing myself with running.  So many people have told me I’m crazy for running a sprinting race in July in the heat!     But it reminds me I can.  When I line up at the start line, when I hit the half way mark, and when I cross the finish line, in my first competitve race, it’s because I can.

This summer, Environmental Working Group released a scathing report about sunblock and sent out a lot of screaming emails to me (and other subscribers) about ingredients and lack of efficacy. They also sent out tons of press releases, which the salivating media repeated in generous, gory detail. The general gist, and talk about town, was that maybe it wasn’t worth it to wear sunscreen. This happened right when I was dealing with a skin cancer diagnosis. I was very frustrated that the take away most people took was that sunscreen was more dangerous than going bare skinned in the sun. I didn’t hide the fact that I didn’t like EWG’s methods, as much as their information was relevant.

But now EWG has used new media and technology to make something really productive out of their information: an iPhone app!

It’s no secret how much I love my iPhone and consider it the best technology ever. Like everyone else, I have my favorite apps, which I use liberally. I’m adding the EWG sunscreen app to that list. I may not have liked the tone and delivery of the original message, but I do really care about the message. I do believe it’s important to not only use sunscreen but to use sunscreen that’s safe and effective. I was totally overwhelmed by the information and report on EWG’s Web site, though. When I last went shopping for sunscreen, I found myself dawdling in the aisle, confused. I normally like brands like Aveeno and Neutrogena, but I didn’t remember those being on the OKAY list. Coppertone, which I don’t normally buy, was, but were all of them okay, or not? In frustration, I took a stab and bought a Coppertone, which luckily was okay when I got home and checked.

I wish I’d had the iPhone app then!

“The new App can bring EWG’s Sunscreen Guide with you when shopping for sun-protective essentials this summer season,” said EWG’s Senior VP for Research, Jane Houlihan. “Our research-based guide is the only resource available to the consumer who is searching for the safest, most effective sun block products, and with the new iPhone App, you can review and purchase products from just about anywhere.”

It’s really clean and simple. You can view by Best, which is subdivided into recommended, caution, and avoid ratings. You can also Search “Find Your Sunscreen” and check if what you have is okay, and where it falls in the rating. For example, I checked and all of my Aveeno, including the Baby product sunscreen, is rated a 7, which means Avoid. The app also includes a “Top Sun Safety Tips” that is short enough to read in one screen. It does includes recommendations to wear sunscreen, although it doesn’t discuss times to try to avoid direct sun. It does, however, also include chemicals (ingredients) to avoid, and ingredients that work.

I suggest this app, it’s useful and it’s free.

If you don’t have an iPhone, I suggest that too.

Note: This was not a sponsored or solicited post.

With apologies in advance for joking about something that’s not funny.

My son was hounding me for months to take better care of my health; and if you’ve followed my posts on Choose You,  you know I’ve been trying.  Less chocolate.   Less stress.   More exercise.

I could be the last person on the planet who hasn’t tried Zumba;  and a few weeks ago I officially vowed to go.

Who knew the universe would conspire against me by cancelling the class?

I figured it could be a sign; but I gave Zumba another chance a few weeks later,  when my friend  invited me to come to a class at the fitness club where she belongs.

This time  I actually went.  And I actually liked it.

So a few days ago I  went back again— by myself— to consider joining her gym.   Got all the information and membership forms; and while I was there,  I took my second Zumba class.

I knew Daniel would be glad that he managed to light a fire under me.

Only then the universe did it for real.

I took that Zumba class Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m.   12 hours later the gym burned down.

I doubt that’s what they mean by “Go for the burn”…..

We as women work much like a computer.

On the surface it may appear that we’re focused on one task, but if you could see the workings of our brains (like a cartoon bubble over our heads), you’d see a million other tasks running in the background.

We’re making lists, lining up our calendars, worrying about what our kids will wear to school tomorrow, solving a problem we’re having at work, thinking about the people we need to call back and trying to figure out where we’re going to vacation this year.  Most of the time we can multi-process without fail–all while running the concession stand for our kids’ little league.

But every once in a while our computers crash.

Add one small process to the heap and it all comes tumbling down.  Literally.

This is the newest fashion accessory I’m sporting for the summer thanks to a distracted brain.

There is a limit to how much we can do, and if we don’t listen to the small clues our body gives us it will send us a message we can’t ignore.

I’ve been trying to be more mindful of staying in the present and giving myself a break (pun intended) since my fall.  Some things will just have to wait.  I hope people will understand and if not, oh well.  They’re not the ones having to get their husband to fasten their bra.

When she has two good hands, Amie Adams blogs here every Sunday and on her own blog MammaLoves.

For the past few weeks I’ve been swimming regularly, and using some basic water fitness equipment that I picked up at my local pool supply story. I bought an aqua fitness jog belt, water resistant barbells, and water ankle weights.

This is the first time in years that I’ve been feeling good about exercising. Not only am I having fun, but it’s something I can enjoy with my daughter too.

Is it possible to get a good workout in your swimming pool?  Yes.

Swimming and exercising in a pool is not only beneficial for your body, but it’s fun too. And when it’s too hot for your regular exercise routine, swimming is just the thing to keep you cool while still burning calories. For years I’ve been frustrated because I could never find a workout that didn’t exacerbate one of my many chronic health problems. But doctors have always recommend swimming, and now I am finally going to give it a try.

Here are a few swimming and aqua fitness facts…

• Simply treading water for an hour can burn the same amount of calories in a Snickers bar (272 calories).
• Swimming laps (freestyle) or an hour of doing the breaststroke can burn as many calories as in a McDonald’s Big Mac with Cheese (680 calories).
• You could even try water jogging and burn the equivalent of two Starbucks Grande Caffe Lattes (544 calories).

Unlike other exercise regimens, swimming is something just about all of us can do. It’s low impact, easy on your back, and great for rehabbing after joint surgeries. Even with asthma and chronic fatigue syndrome, all of my doctors recommend swimming for the cardiac health benefits.

Here are some great videos that explain the different types of water workouts you can do with (or without) additional equipment.  [I was unable to attach the videos here, please go to my personal blog - Aqua Fitness:  How To Get A Great Workout In The Pool].

*Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

So I’ll confess…I was watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey reruns, yes, the Country Club episode, with a horrified fascination and also, a sort of empathy and relief. Relief? Yes, relief. Why? Because Teresa, who recently had had a baby, had jello-belly. Yes, a baby bump, still, more than 6 days post-baby. She’s a small build, thin woman who otherwise looks better than most mothers of four on a good day. So, fair enough, you know, to think that this privileged woman who pampers herself into $11 million in debt would not suffer that same jiggly abdomen the rest of us had for…err, a while. But she is. And we get to see it, and in that, I am relieved.

Every time I see something about a celebrity new mom, she’s always in skinny jeans with not a sign of jello in her belly. The reporter always kindly asks how she does it, be so fit after birth. There is often a hair toss and a laugh and a hand flick then, “I just make healthy choices!” (or that’s what I hear)

LIAR! HA!

You starved yourself and had a trainer in three times a day and worked your rear (or belly) off so you could pretend that being that beautiful just happened, like Cinderella perking up out of bed, with butterflies floating around her head, birds singing a song just for her.

This is work. This is hard, hard work and tough choices. Being healthy and fit in a time of easy unhealthy choices and huge demands on your time from many sources…it’s hard. It takes work, and we will never look like anything other than a healthy version of ourselves, which may never match what we see in front of us.

Yesterday I was in a sort of fugue of exhaustion and stress, juggling a full day of work and two bored kids stuck at home with, allegedly, nothing to do. So I let them bake. Then my sweet tooth took over and I forced my kids to tithe me one mini muffin (blueberry cheesecake) each. Oh it was good. Too good.

Last week I traveled to Charleston. There are a lot of good seafood restaurants in lovely waterside locations, and I visited them. Oh yes I did. I had crab cakes at dinner. Tuna tacos at lunch. Shrimp wrap another lunch. I nearly felt guilty. I couldn’t even pretend I was making healthy, low fat, low cal choices. That was real butter, friends.

But I wasn’t sorry. It was worth it, and I don’t eat that way all the time. So I was willing to really let go and enjoy myself and the delicious food in front of me.

Sometimes, choosing me means choosing to not deny and sacrifice all the time.

Read the rest of this entry »

…..I avoid the mall so I don’t have to buy see this:

or this:

But then I go to the framer’s:

And the dry cleaner…….

 Really, be honest—what would you pick up here—a lint roll (er) or a Tootsie roll?

 And worst of all…..

…..the dermatologist.  And they used to tell us chocolate gave us pimples….

 Honest,  I’ve been trying most of the time to give it up.

 So what I want to know…..is this a conspiracy ?

 Why do people insist on giving out free chocolate?

When the going gets tough…..it’s tough to go anywhere!