- Shin Warm-up

Shin Warm-up
When you first start to walk you may experience a few aches here and there. The remedy is to keep walking! You’re using muscles that have not been used in this way before, and you just need a little time to adjust.

Here’s a shin warm-up tip that may work for you: Stand up and place your feet about 6 inches apart, roll up on your toes and hold for 3 seconds, then gently roll back down. Now, roll back onto your heels, hold for 3 seconds, then gently roll back down. Try this shin warm-up each way, 10 times both before and after you walk. Let me know if this helps. Get walking!

- Super Snacks

Ideal for mini-meals or anytime you want something wholesome to eat, here are some goodies to toss in your basket the next time you’re at the market. Keep your kitchen stocked with more wholesome foods like these, and you’ll start to reach for them over the potato chips. Some of these foods may are not low-fat or low in carbohydrates since I believe that portion control and moderation, not deprivation, is the key to eating nutritiously while managing ones weight. Munch on more of these super snacks and less candy, ice cream, cookies, cake etc… You’ll see and feel results soon enough.. and, get walking!

• Almonds


• Applesauce (unsweetened)


• Beans (all)


• Bagels (whole wheat)


• Baked potato chips


• Cashews


• Cereals (whole grain, low sugar)


• Chicken breast


• Cottage cheese (low-fat)


• English muffins (whole wheat)


• Hard boiled eggs


• Most fruits and vegetables


• Oatmeal


• Pasta (whole wheat or spinach)


• Peanut butter (low-fat)


• Popcorn (plain, microwavable)


• Pretzels


• Pumpkin seeds


• Raisins


• String cheese (low-fat)


• Sunflower seeds


• Tuna


• Turkey breast


• Wraps (whole wheat)


• Yogurt (low-fat)

- Don't Skip Walking Correctly or Breakfast!

Ayurveda nutrition tip of the day: You don’t have to completely skip eating the “junk foods” that you enjoy so much! Moderation is the key. Cut back on the amount of and frequent you eat your “junk foods“. Be patient with yourself and take baby steps. As the months go by your craving for “junk food” will lessen. Find "better" foods that can work as repalcements for your "junk foods". For example, rather than having four slices of pork bacon, have just two along with two slices of turkey bacon. Slowly wean yourself off the pork bacon by having less of it, and more turkey bacon each time. You'll be saying goodbye to pork bacon forever soon enough. If you try this, be sure to let me know how it goes.

On Wednesday some of the members of the walking group and myself headed out to walk despite the forecast for thunderstorms. We had a very nice time, and made it back to our cars well before the rain started. We discussed so many things I’ll try to recall a few: married life, first grade, desirable school districts when selling a house, local parks, gardening, what to wear, eat and do on a cruise, good sneakers for walking, and as the sky darkened and the thunder roared we spoke about how we should pick up our step in order not to get poured on! When you go for your walks try to step gently and smoothly. Don’t bounce your body or lock your knees. Step out onto your heel and roll your foot forward an onto your toes. Warm up for the walk by walking slowly at first for 10 minutes. Then, pick up the speed for the main walk. About 10 minutes to ending your walk, bring your pace back down to your warm up pace It’s truly refreshing and the regular walkers are seeing and feeing good results! If you’ve not already, I do hope you’ll consider joining us sometime. Get walking!

- Gotta Love Those Skinny Ectomorphs

Nutrition tip of the Day: Are you genuinely hungry or just bored from your last meal? Was it delicious or just blah? When you have a meal try to have some protein and some "good" fat, along with vegetables or fruit. Make sure your meals are well seasoned with natural herbs and spices so they are interesting and tasty! Finish up with a little something sweet and you'll be doing as many European cultures do. The majority of Europeans just don't have the weight/food issues we have here in America. If you give this a try I'd like to know how it works for you!

We broke out the air conditioners yesterday morning. A little friend was going to spend yesterday morning at our place playing with my son. We couldn’t put off the chore of lugging the air conditioners upstairs from the basement any longer. Now, that’s a workout! Well, good timing, uh? What a heat wave we’re having! Regardless of the hot weather a bunch of us from the walking group managed to walk on Monday night. Yes, we were hot, but compared to how hot it was during the day it almost felt cool during the walk. If it’s not too hot for you these days, and should you choose to take a walk this evening keep these tips in mind: Good posture is important, so keep your shoulders back and your head up. Imagine you’ve got a book on your head that you’re trying to balance. Watch where you’re going of course, but overall look up, not down at the ground. If you need to keep the sun, wind etc… out of your eyes bring along the sunglasses, and baseball cap so you can keep your chin up!

Happy to report that I’ve been planning ahead and having dinner before the walks, not after. Thus I have not been hungry after dinner since the late night Cheerios incident last week. See “ Ayurveda 101”. About an hour after dinner, having a hot cup of green or white tea for “dessert” seems to really hit the spot. If I still want something later, I go for my cup of warm milk with cinnamon. It does the trick. Have you ever tried this? I’d be interested to know how others deal with feeling hungry after dinner.

You know what group probably never feels hungry after dinner? The ectomorphs of the world. An ectomorph typically has little body fat, and they are small boned, lean, and often have a linear physique. See the ectomorph pictured here? They have a very difficult time gaining weight and muscle mass if they are able to gain any at all. Yes, with their zany fast metabolisms they eat as they please. Often their necks, arms and legs seem quite long because of how naturally thin they are. Typically, they “forget” to eat a meal. If you are an ectomorph don’t think you shouldn’t be out walking! You can enjoy the cardiovascular benefits of walking although you’re not looking to loose weight. So, ectomorphs of the world, get walking.

- Cherry Picking

Ayurveda nutrition tip of the day: Often a strong desire for a particular food means that you are not eating well over all. Cravings are not natural while being hungry in general is natural. The American Dietetic Association defines cravings as “… an intense periodic motivation aimed at gaining the craved substance… this urgent inner demand overrides all others, undermines reason, resolve and will … does not stop until satisfied.” If you crave often, you’ll do well to start introducing whole foods into your refrigerator. They are more natural, more wholesome and less processed.

Saturday afternoon proved to be ideal for a little cherry picking. We headed off to Milton and we managed to gather about 5 pounds in an hour. Then it was back home to get the stains out of our clothes! Poor planning on my part now leaves our family of three with a refrigerator full - really full of grapes, watermelon, apples, pears, oranges, strawberries, blueberries and now… cherries. I’d say this week we’ll be having fruit salad, fruit smoothes, fruit on whole wheat toast, frozen fruit with every meal and mini-meal. How are you doing with your fruits so far this summer? If you stock up at the market and they are at hand at home, you’re more likely eat them over cookies or potato chips etc… Are you incorporating a lot of fruit and vegetables into your meals? I’d love to hear about your progress.

- Walk 10,000 steps a day?

Nutrition tip of the day: Don't wait until your "starving" to eat. Try eating a "mini-meal" every three hours, and include protein in evey meal. Don't fall for traditional junk food "snacks". Don't buy in to the marketing. Choose a piece of fruit, berries, green leafy vegetables, low-fat cheese, milk and whole wheat bread. Chooose some "good" wholesome fats like avocados, walnuts, pecans and almonds. Ideally, you want to avoid becoming extremely hungry. Extream hunger leads to grabbing whatever food is quickly available, and you’re less likely to make the effort to choose something wholesome.

After the birth of my son in June of 2005, I found that I was easily fitting back into my prenatal jeans after only five months. My secret? Walking! I was up and out trekking from our then Hooker Avenue home over to Spratt Park five or six days each week, and it took an hour and a half roundtrip. Once my son started walking around 10 months he no longer wanted to sit in the stroller for an hour and a half, so my walking came to a halt as did my fitting into my jeans. Thus, came the inspiration for my local walking group! I want to get back into my jeans, and I wanted others to reap the benefits of walking as well. I’m not fitting into my jeans very well yet - but at least now I can get them up over my butt!

During our walks the members of the group chat and enjoy the outdoors in good company. We often laugh about how much mental work it is to drag ourselves out of the house to meet at 7pm. Refreshed, invigorated, mission accomplished, we feel like a million bucks after having completed the walk. Along with meeting interesting people, walking can also help improve ones self-esteem and body image. Oh, my son's birthday went great, and sorry to say I did little walking overall that day. Never the less, get walking.

- Happy Birthday!

Ayurveda tip of the day: Try eating your main/heaviest meal of the day in the afternoon. Have a light dinner and after a month you'll see your weight drop a bit. Along with this, be sure to have a protein mini-meal between 3pm - 4pm. to preempt the possible cravings for coffee, tea or sweets that tend to come around this time of day. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!

Well, my son turns two tomorrow. Here's photo of him having some fun with Dad. My husband and I were just thrilled when our son learned to fly. Thankfully, he comes back down to the earth when we call him. Tomorrow is also Nana and Poppie’s wedding anniversary. Nana and Poppie live in Virginia, and we’ve come to visit them for a few days. I did not walk yesterday or today because it is ridiculously hot here in Virginia. I have, however, managed to do a little running. Within minutes of our arrival, I ran from our air conditioned car to their air conditioned house. A few hours later, I ran from their air conditioned house back to our air conditioned car, drove to the air-conditioned super market, ran in, ran back to our air conditioned car, got back to their house and ran in. I stayed in the air conditioned house for the rest of the day. Does all that running count as a form of working out? About my flying son. Where has the time gone? This child has gotten so much taller the past two years… while his mama's tush has gotten so much broader.

I think back to the fit me of 2002. I was single, had a nice ride, a dream job, an awesome apartment in Westchester... Then everything changed. I met a great guy who happened to live in Poughkeepsie and my days of being single and ready to mingle ended. I stepped into the married with child word and it's been wonderful. Last Christmas I became rededicated to getting fit and staying fit. I wanted to see if others were interested in taking the journey with me, so enter The Poughkeepsie Area Walking Group! Since April I’ve been good about walking o a regular basis. I’ve not walked so far during my two days in Virginia. We’re going out to dinner to celebrate the birthday and anniversary, so maybe we can park the car far from the restaurant and get in some walking as a family. Hey, every little bit helps! Get walking.

- Ayurveda 101

Ayurveda: An ancient philosophy of eating wisely that originated in India over 5,000 years ago. The definition of Ayurveda can be lengthy, and its theories regarding maintaining a balance between fitness and nutrition are unique and can seem complex. However, my interpretation of Ayurveda is simply this: If you are willing to change your lifestyle by eating wisely and doing a from of exercise on a regular basis, then you will naturally maintain a normal weight. There is never a need to “diet” or to become consumed with counting calories or carbohydrates. How does one change their lifestyle? Start consuming more unprocessed foods along with as natural herbs, spices, teas and roots. Eventually you'll be rid of the craving for coffee, salt, sugar and many fat based foods. You’ll then start to select foods that are beneficial automatically. Of course, consult your physician prior to embarking upon any fitness or nutrition journey!

For example, last night I was absolutely famished around 10pm. I had finished dinner around 7:00pm, and generally I would have been fine until breakfast this morning. I tried having my usual cup of warm milk - but this time with a handful of Cheerios (okay, I had four handfuls... okay, five). I realized that I was stil hungry because I had gone on a group walk and didn’t get home until a little after 8pm. At that hour, I didn’t want to eat a regular portion of dinner so just had a half turkey sandwich and very few frozen vegetables. It clearly was not enough and it was poor planning on my part. Going to bed hungry is never a good idea either. You just wake up "starving" and possibly over eating at breakfast - that is if you can't get through the night without getting up at 2am to eat something.

Had I gone for my husbands ever present chocolate chip cookies to have with my milk, I would have gone to bed in a very different state of mind. Ideally, I would like to have nothing to eat after 7pm, but I always fail and enjoy a late cup of herbal tea or glass of milk. I don’t imagine I’ll ever break out of this habit. Are you an after 7pm eater? How about trying to go without food after 7pm for a week? If you succeed, please let me know how you feel in the mornings as a result. Walking along with choosing food wisely is making a huge difference as to how I look and feel. I’m not exactly where I would like to be.

I’m feeling great about how this journey is going along, and I’m excited about eventually reaching my goal. Attitude is paramount to staying on the road to understanding more about what it means to eat "well" and get fit. Without a little knowledge of fitness and nutrition, your probably just spinning your wheels going on diets and weight loss trends. Eating well and exercising properly has to become a way of life, not something outside of your life. When you know the basics like the back of your hand, you’ll have no doubt that you’ll eventually reach YOUR fitness goals. Get walking.