good things

Who Wants a DirectLife monitor?

These people do! The entries for the DirectLife activity monitor giveaway have begun to roll in, and I will be posting/linking to them here. So excited!

Christine wants more accountability, especially during an upcoming transitional time in her life.
Mercade wants a better calorie burn for her workouts, and wants the honesty of a coach. I can relate to that!
Jen is asking for help after finding out she was making a difference in one of her student’s lives.
Karen wants to know about her activity, and she really wants a coach like coach Jen! Plus, she lives in a country where the DL is not available. 😦
Ashley has made some good eating changes with Weight Watchers, but knows that increased activity will make an even bigger difference. See her video!
Mandy needs to get off the couch and to feel that she is worth it! Yes she is!
Jeremy blogged AND he recorded a video. He’s funny. AND compelling. They’re ALL compelling!
Melissa has a terrible cold and is a coach potato and she really really wants to win!
Cassie’s job has been forcing her to sit so much she doesn’t even have bathroom breaks! Ack!
Cindy left her entry as a comment:

I would love to have a DirectLife monitor because it sounds like a tool that truly would help me get healthy. This year I had a wake up call. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Number one thing I need to do is manage the diabetes by diet and exercise. I have lost 35 pounds since June. But I still have a long ways to go. You may ask what makes me think I will be successful this time. Well in August my son, who is 11, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Along with this he also has epilepsy, tourette syndrome, and learning disabilties. So my wake up call is I need to be on this earth as long as I can so that I can assist him into adulthood. I am 52 years old, and I have to make a change. My son needs me. So, please consider me for a DirectLife monitor —Cindy

Emily sent me an email entry, and I’m posting it here.

I was in my best physical shape during high school (last century), and one reason is because I was on sports teams where I had a coach who motivated me daily, whether it was through threats of extra laps in the pool, or encouraging me through charting the progress of my race times. After going to college, I thought I could be my own coach. But the older I get, the more realistic I am, and realize things are much harder on my own, whereas with others, even the seemingly impossible is doable (like cleaning my garage, or getting through graduate school).

I’m thankful for the community and the coaching I already receive from my WW group and leader (Susan/Foodie!), as it’s helped me commit to sticking to the road to health no matter how long and winding that road is. What with all the detours I’ve taken already, I know one thing that will help me stay on course all the more is the DirectLife Activity Monitor. As a graduate student, I’m on a limited (translation: non-existent) budget, and so visiting a personal trainer at a gym isn’t something I can even consider. I’ve experienced some success with a pedometer in the past, but what really excites me is that I can wear this while swimming (!!!). Also, a year’s worth of coaching is something I sorely need, because there’s no fudging here and there, since someone else is looking at my numbers and holding me accountable in a way I know I can’t trust myself to do! With the Activity Monitor, I hope to work towards my goals, starting with running a mile without stopping, and working towards completing a women’s triathlon before I’m 35.

Lastly, in what may come across as an attempt at shameless flattery, but doesn’t make it less true, if Susan uses a DirectLife Activity Monitor, loves it and recommends it, then I want to try it too! Seriously, I’ve been inspired by her commitment to health, and come away from every WW meeting and blog entry challenged and excited to continue on this road, and the activity monitor is something I wanted to try, but due to my aforementioned budget (or lack thereof!), I I know I can’t on my own. So, when I read about the giveaway, I promptly crossed my fingers and thought, “This is my chance!”

Colleen wrote in an email:

1-I’m a fitness instructor. It would be so cool to wear it and report on my progress to the members I teach at the YMCA here in Eugene, OR.

2-I “removed” 70lbs using WW and now have come back to the program after being gone for 1.5 yrs. I have tried various ways to track my food and activity, but when you teach aerobics and Pilates for a living, it is really hard to calculate what is your daily “job” activity points vs. what is your actual above and beyond activity points. By that I mean, on some days I teach and am more energetic or sub for another teacher. On those days I think I burn more calories. On other days, I teach but don’t sub for anyone, so is it really a workout since it’s my job? Should I be burning more calories doing something in addition to teaching? The body is smart and I think it knows what it’s doing. I always have trouble tracking activity points, therefore deciding whether I should eat them. By working out a baseline with the monitor, I would be able to set some goals to increase or change my activity.

3-Health and wellness are my passion. I am always spending money on shoes, trainings (which run from $100-$500), clothes, books, etc. It would be awesome to get something for free that I would use to better my personal health, but that I could share with others (well not let them borrow it or anything!) but talk about it, let them see how it works, etc. It is such a great price point compared to the bodybugg that I think people could and would purchase one if they knew what it could do for them.

4-If I don’t win, I’ll still luv ya on twitter! J Thanks for keeping us updated on Twitter about the new plan. Your enthusiasm is contagious! — Colleen

Wow. These are all so compelling! I am not sure how I am going to choose.

November 26, 2010 7

It’s the Food, Stupid!

Okay, I shouldn’t be calling myself Stupid. But nor should I be shocked or surprised to return from my little vacation (less than a week!) to stare at a brand-new, unwelcome number on the scale. I was so glad to be all active, and get in runs and hikes and shredding and such, but on the food arena? Not so good.

And the “food part” is really more than half the equation. Some say it is 70%. It’s definitely at least 50%. Food intake and activity are BOTH important. But last week I was being so focused on my activity, I sorta (no, not sorta) turned a blind eye to my food intake. Because it was sooooooooo good.

You know we all engage in some kind of weird magical or wishful thinking when it comes to food. It doesn’t count if… you’re standing up. Or if it’s after midnight. Or you’re wearing a blindfold. For me, I tend to discount my intake if it’s beautiful, expensive, gourmet or lovingly homemade food. I “know” that fast food or junk food can be excessive or whatever, but … what if it’s Chez Panisse? Or some other amazingly wonderful place? I tend to turn a blind eye.

We went to an area that has an incredible bounty of amazing food. It’s the home of Cowgirl Creamery and oysters and and and… we ate at amazing restaurant after amazing restaurant. Then when we were sick of eating out, our friends came up to visit us and brought a crazy array of homemade and bought goods and we had an insanely delicious feast. Juniorette has turned into the world’s most awesome baker and she brought (I am not kidding) the Best Scones I Have Ever Eaten In My Life, plus some beautiful pecan shortbread. Neither of which I could (or wanted to) resist. But here I am now.

It’s the tracking. If I had tracked all that luscious food (which I obviously did not) I would have woken up very quickly to the reality that I was going over my points in every which way. But I am back now. I’m home. I’m back on track and trying to not turn blind eyes anymore.

I don’t regret it. I enjoyed every single morsel. But I think if I had it to do over, I would’ve been just…a little…more… mindful.

insanely good homemade roast beef sandwich (I had mine openfaced)

November 23, 2010 4

DirectLife Activity Monitor GIVEAWAY! (including coaching!)

So you know I am pretty much in love with my DirectLife activity monitor as well as the awesome individual coaching I receive from Coach Jen. She has encouraged me, nudged me, checked up on me, and helped me to keep up with my activity goals. And I know that it has made a huge difference in my health and weight-maintenance life.

Well, the DirectLife folks are pleased that I’m pleased. And they have offered a free activity monitor including a year’s worth of individual coaching to one of my lucky blog readers!!

This is, hands down, the best giveaway I have ever had the opportunity to participate in. It’s HUGE, people! You think a box of ice cream is cool? Well, how about a year of Coach Jen (or one of her colleagues) and the best little piece of jewelry you can own???

Here’s how it will work. This prize is worth so very much more than a random comment. It’s going to take a little effort. This is what you need to do to be considered for this awesome prize.

Follow DirectLife (@directlife) on Twitter, and tell them, “I want to win an activity monitor from @foodiemcbody because…” (finish in 140 characters)
Visit the DirectLife website and determine if you think it really is a good fit for you. I don’t want to gift this item to anyone who is going to put it in their sock drawer and forget about it.
Then you have TWO ways to convince ME. You can record a 2-minute video, or if you are camera shy, write a 250-word blog post on WHY you think a DirectLife activity monitor with coaching will improve your health and life, and why we should choose you. Things you might include: Have you ever tried an activity gadget before? Why do you want this one? How do you intend to reach your daily activity goals?
Link to this post on your blog and/or your Facebook page.
Post a link to your video or your blog post in a comment HERE. If you do not have a blog, you can email your 250-word statement to foodiemcbody AT hot mail dot com.
ANYONE IN THE WORLD is eligible to win this prize! No geographical restrictions! How cool is that.
Deadline: Monday, December 6^th, 2010 at midnight PST. I will review all entries after I get back from Las Vegas.

November 22, 2010 35

Mister McBody, Meet Jillian!

So we are on vacation. Not where we thought we were going to be on vacation, but a lovely getaway nonetheless. It turned out to be a road trip instead of a plane trip, thanks to $&*#! American Airlines. More on that elsewhere. Anyway, there was some rain in the forecast and Mr. McBody expressed some concern that instead of going to a hotel or resort, we are renting a private house without a fitness center. He definitely likes his fitness center, his machines. Whatever will we do?

Never fear! I tossed a couple pairs of hand weights, a foam roller and medicine ball into the car. This is the joy of car travel – you can take ANYthing with you! (I also brought a big bag of books, all the shoes I own and a ton of other stuff I would not have brought on the plane) Plus about 4 Jillian Michaels DVDs, including the 30 Day Shred, which has kicked my butt and made me happy on numerous occasions.

I went for a 4.75 mile walk in the cool rain yesterday morning. My DirectLife told me that this was pretty good, but only 70% of my daily target. Hmm. Who knew. Running is a much more efficient calorie-burner than walking. (duh) I knew I’d have to do something else.

I started in to bugging him around 2pm. He hemmed and hawed. Finally he set me up with a deal: If I would listen to a 20 minute podcast about WWII and the Great Depression (did you know he is a MASSIVE and I mean MASSIVE history geek?), then he would do the 30 Day Shred with me. OK. DEAL.

I listened to the podcast. It was pretty good, and not the greatest hardship in the world, since in some parallel universe, I happen to be writing a historical novel set during WWII. So it was helpful, kinda.

The moment had come! But we are staying in a super fancy rental home with a space-age entertainment center, a cabinet full of electronic equipment that says DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING OR YOU WILL BE CHARGED $100, and a remote control with 500 buttons on it. We got the DVD into the player and could not for the life of us get it past the menu where you have to choose which workout. We wrestled with the remote for about half an hour, which burned about 20 calories.

Then we came upon the brilliant idea that we could play it on our laptop. Voila!!

He was a trooper. He said he’d go for Level 2. I was like, YEAH Mister! Jillian started it up and from then on there was not much conversation. But he hung in there, I hung in there (with 8 lb weights!) and we had a KILLER workout that left us both sweating rivers. It was excellent.

He was way impressed! On the way to dinner, he said (several times) “I’m really glad we did that! I feel great!” So yay. Maybe tomorrow (today?) we will try the Yoga one. He also expressed amazement that she did not humiliate us during the workout. Haha.

So go Jillian, you’ve got another convert! and maybe I have an at-home exercise buddy.

November 20, 2010 7

The Best Run of My Life

Today was, hands down, the best run I have ever had in my life. It was amazing for so many reasons and I will outline them here:

I did not have any distance or time goals. I just told myself that I was going to run as long as I felt like running. I ended up running for 5.44 miles, and 1 hour and 20 minutes. Just the fact that I would voluntarily want to run that long, sort of blows all the neurons out of my brain.
I did have a mini-goal of keeping an average pace of 15 minute mile or less, accounting for any walk breaks. My final average was 14:48. Yay! My middle miles were in the 12-13 pace range (yay) and my beginning and endings were around 16. I can totally live with this.
Nothing hurt during this run. NOTHING. Not even my jankety old ankle. Not even my flat-as-pancake feet. Nothing.
It was actually relaxing. It actually felt really, really good.
I ran past the most beautiful scenery ever. It made my heart feel good to run around the perimeter of Cesar Chavez Park.
The weather was perfect. It started out cool and I was happy to have my snuggy sweatshirt on. It ended up warm and I felt nice and toasty.
Every single song on my iPod made me feel so happy and felt perfectly related to my run. I love running to “Don’t Fear the Reaper” (for obvious reasons?) and “Friend of the Devil” (…set out running but I take my time, the friend of the devil is a friend of mine…) But the song that always gets me is the Fray’s “You Found Me.” This song is my perfect running tempo and the lyrics just choke me up. Who found who? I found myself. Why’d I have to wait this long? I do not know.

Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

Next: at the EXACT same moment I needed to pee, what appeared right in front of me? A Port-O-Potty. See? A perfect run.

I was really almost in tears when I finished this run. I looked at my Runkeeper. I just kept staring at it. And couldn’t stop saying to myself, you just ran 5.5 miles, ALONE, not as part of a race event, not with any friends, not for any reason except that you wanted to. And it felt good.

LOOK AT YOU, you 51 year old diabetic person! LOOK AT YOU!!!!!
Happy.

November 18, 2010 17

Coach Jen Rocks. That is All.

Email I got from Coach Jen from DirectLife after I wrote to her explaining my recent big dip in activity, the day that I burned more activity AT work than the day I worked out, and my 9 mile run that resulted in a 202% activity burst on Sunday…

This is why I love her! Enough said? THIS is worth the price of the little plastic necklace, and more!!! (bold emphasis mine)

Hi there super star,

That run really was off the charts – nicely done!

I love that you appreciate the nudging. It was really to check in with
you because you seem to be really on top of your health and routine
and self, so it was a bit of a surprise to see your activity decrease.
I now know that you have been working a lot, which all makes sense.
Susan, I think it’s always important to recognize that life has its
ebbs and flows and that the best thing to do is to ride with the wave.
It is always ok to write to me to let me know that you are having a
tough time balancing things, or that you know you are headed into a
heavy couple of weeks of work, and that realistically it’ll be tough
to hit the target. We can adjust it. Or, if you are happy hitting 5 of
the 6 lights to get 100%, there is no need to actually change the
target and you can just mentally adjust what you are aiming for.

Now this is not an opportunity to slack off and take a break. What it
is, is recognizing where you are at, what is realistic for you and
being ok with that. The reason that I am writing this is because I
want you to also recognize that you don’t have to be pedal to the
metal all the time, especially because this can lead to burn out.

Also, you learned a great lesson that day that you were super active
at work and got in more activity than a day that you actually worked
out. In the future, if you know that you won’t be able to fit in a
workout, how can you recreate that sort of day so that you keep up
your activity levels?

As always, it is great to hear from you and I wish you a fantastic day
and some great activity/rest and well deserved relaxations days ahead
of you.

Jen

November 16, 2010 4

Hop, hop, brrrr! Blue Bunny Ice Cream GIVEAWAY!

I was fortunate enough to be contacted recently by the nice bunnies at Blue Bunny Ice Cream. They offered me a sampling of their no-sugar-added frozen yummies to try, given that I have diabetes. Isn’t that nice of them??

I received a giant styrofoam box a few days ago, and there were three packages of ice cream packed in dry ice. Woo! The fun we had with that! Juniorette remarked that the sound of dry ice melting “is comforting, like mermaids talking underwater.” My little poet.

And then came the ice cream. It had arrived on an evening when I’d already had my allotment of dessert goodness, so I didn’t try it. But Juniorette and my mom did. First thing they noticed is that ice cream packed in dry ice is as hard as diamonds.

They could not bite it. They blew on it to try and thaw it out.

They put it in the microwave for a few seconds, and it got holes in it. But they still gave it the thumbs up.

I waited three more days for it to temper in the freezer. Good plan. Today I took out the three boxes and had a sample of each.

My favorite was the simple, old-fashioned, chocolate ice cream. I don’t often eat chocolate ice cream because I am more a fan of vanilla or coffee (Blue Bunny? Do you have any of that lying around??). I thought this was really good chocolate ice cream: VERY chocolatey, and it didn’t taste nonsugarish weird. I give it a good two thumbs up.

I also got these two kinds of ice cream bars: the Fudge Lite bars and the Krunch Lites. I liked the Krunch Lites very much because I’m pretty much a fan of anything krunchy. The Fudge Lite Bars were pretty good, but out of the three, my least favorite. But I’m not a big fan of the original Fudsicle either, so.

Have you tried Blue Bunny’s no-sugar-added ice cream before? If not, or even if you have, here’s your chance to win some of them. The good folks over at Blue Bunny have offered to send a box of frozen treats out to one of my readers! Woo Hoo!! Here are the details for how you can enter:

Mandatory entry – Leave a comment about your favorite ice cream flavor OR your favorite bunny.
Additional entry if you “like” the Blue Bunny Facebook page and post the following comment on their wall: “I just entered to win some Blue Bunny ice cream at http://www.foodfoodbodybody.wordpress.com.”
Additional entry for following Blue Bunny on Twitter and tweeting about the giveaway using the following text: “Enter to win some no-sugar-added ice cream from @Blue_Bunny & @foodiemcbody! http://www.foodfoodbodybody.wordpress.com”
Additional entry if you follow me on Twitter (@foodiemcbody) and “like” my Facebook page.

There is a total of 4 possible entries per person for this giveaway. Please leave a separate comment for each entry method you use. The deadline for entry is 9pm PT on Monday, November 15th. A winner will be selected using random.org. The winner will be notified via email, but I will also post the selected winner here on the blog. If the selected winner does not respond (I will need your address so that Blue Bunny can send you the big box!) within 24 hours, an alternate winner will be selected using random.org.

Good luck, bunnies!

——————————

And the winner is…. according to Random.org…. (drum roll please!)

….. Brandie! Congratulations, Brandie, now please DM me at @foodiemcbody with your address, and I’ll notify Blue Bunny! And remember… LET IT THAW in your freezer for 24 hours before tasting! (I somehow did not see that note in the box! – LOL!)

November 12, 2010 33

Nonscale Victory: Running Shirtless

It’s really good and important to take note of NSV (non-scale victories) when the scale is not feeling particularly victorious. I had one today.

I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear. But what happened this morning is that I left the house prepared for super chilly weather. It was like 50 degrees up by our house. Mr McB and I decided to check out a new (to us) route where he could bike and I could run and we could meet up and wave at each other and all that. I was very excited!

So we drove down there and WHOA it was easily 20+degrees warmer at the trail. I was wearing a hot, long sleeved t-shirt (that I usually wear cross- country SKIING or in super cold weather) plus a hoodie sweatshirt. I knew it was going to be awfully uncomfortable. Then I realized my pockets in the sweatshirt (my only pockets) were super shallow and this meant that my keys and phone were going to fall out.

My chivalrous spouse offered to let me have HIS jacket with the nice zippered pockets. He was just wearing a T-shirt so he didn’t need the jacket. But I could not deal with the long-sleeved shirt PLUS the jacket. Right then I decided to strip off the shirt. In the parking lot. I was like, it’s okay! I’m in my sports bra! And then I zipped up the jacket.

My plan was to run 6 miles, or to see if I could get anywhere in that range with a combo of run/walk. It is just now dawning on me (ha ha ha) that this Las Vegas half marathon is like five weeks away! and I better see what’s what. I wasn’t putting a lot of pressure on myself, and keep saying it’s fine if I walk it all, but I don’t WANT to walk it all because it’ll just take too damn long. I’m hoping for maybe a 50-50 ratio, and… getting in around the 3 hour range? I have no idea.

So I take off at a fast walk. After a couple of songs I felt nice and warmed up and started running. By the time I got to 2.5 miles, I felt like I was running with a soggy X-ray vest on my back. It was just sooooooo uncomfortable. And I decided to whip off the jacket and RUN IN MY BRA.

Now, I know people run in sports bras ALL THE TIME. But not me. I mean, I have always been way envious of those sports-bra type runners with the 6 pack abs (no, I have NO pack, or a one pack, or maybe a mini-keg). And I wasn’t actually baring my belly. I wrapped the jacket around my waist, and I pulled my pants up past my navel, quite dorkily, so that there was maybe two inches of skin exposed. But STILL. I was RUNNING IN MY BRA.

La la la! It felt really breezy and free and wonderful. The sun felt awesome on my skin and it was just great. And I felt pretty sure that I was not offending myself or any passersby.

It was an incredibly gorgeous, clear sunny day and I was running by the bay feeling just ecstatic. Until a couple things. 1. I realized I (don’t hit me! I KNOW!) forgot to bring water. AGAIN. FAIL.

2. I really, really, really had to use a restroom. Like really badly.

So my six-mile run got cut to five miles and the last 1/4 mile I was DYING of discomfort. (Shout out to Karen, whose recommendation of John Mellencamp’s “Human Wheels” literally kept me going instead of writhing about on the ground) I luckily did found a public restroom but then I needed to text Mr. McB to come rescue me. I was exhausted. But I was happy. I’d run at least five miles (maybe more? maybe close to six?) and it had really been great up until the bathroom moment.

I took a picture of my sweaty self in the parking lot. Feeling pretty pleased.

Viva Las Vegas!

PS. And just because of this post and the “Exposed” one below, NO it does not mean I’m going to be showing up in a bikini anytime soon. This is the end of taking my clothes off online!

October 31, 2010 20

Exposed: A Half Century, Plus One

I’ve been eyeing Miche’s “Exposed” movement at Eating Journey for over a year now, with not a little bit of awe and trepidation. And I kept thinking, well, that’s nice for THEM to do, but *I* would never…

And then the one-year anniversary rolled around. And all manner of people were hopping on and Exposing themselves. And I thought, well, if not now, WHEN?

I don’t think I’m really going to be getting much better. I’m 51 years old and I don’t think things are going to be getting a whole heck of a lot prettier ten or fifteen years from now. I think I look better , and I know I FEEL better, now than I did when I was 48. And it’s not about looking perfect (Um, I mean that’s the POINT). It’s about loving our bodies for what they are, and what they have done for us.

I took these pictures with my iPhone. I’m not happy with the quality of the angles. The camera and the mirror combo made my legs look like weird misshapen pegs. But here I go. I’m exposed. I did it. And I was gonna do it in my undiepants, but I’m in dire need of some bikini wax and I really didn’t want to go and expose THAT. So.

Thanks, body. Thanks for waiting for me to get my act together so belatedly. Thanks for shocking me with your resiliency, after all I put you through. oxoxo.