Two Great Events

I had the good fortune to be invited to participate in two great events on Wednesday. The first was a retreat at Jackson's Mill that was an opportunity for women who are affiliated with West Virginia University Extension Service to participate in a program offered by WVU's National Center of Excellence in Women's Health. The retreat is better known as WOW - Women on Wellness. These two great organizations, Extension Service and NCEWH know that 85% of all health care decisions are made by women in the home and that changing the health and wellness of the State of West Virginia will begin with women. Most, though not all of the women attending the event were in the 60+ age range. I played a small part by teaching a brief balance training workshop. Good balance and fall prevention are crucial elements to keeping older West Virginians active and living independently. The first skill I taught was how to get up out of a chair. I have written about my passion for sharing this strategy before and have a video of the method posted on YouTube for anyone who is interested . Participants in the retreat had a number of workshops to choose from, so not all women attended every workshop. I was pleased to see that when we got together for lunch after the break out sessions, 3 of the participants from my workshop were already at work teaching women who had not attended how to get up from a chair safely and effectively. One woman told me she intends to take the information to her council meeting later this week. That's the power of West Virginia's women in action!

I have to mention how much fun it was to work and play with these women. The spirit at the retreat was infectious and I hated to leave to get on to my second commitment. Kudos to the Extension Service and the National Center of Excellence on Women's Health for their efforts to improve, not just the lives of women, but the lives of all West Virginians.

The second event I participated in was the Get Moving Night at Ridgedale Elementary School. Tama Waugaman, a friend who teaches buggies and babes fitness classes for young mothers and runs Total Transformations LLC, helped organize this event and asked if I would like to come and give people the opportunity to try Nordic Walking. The event ran from 4-7 PM and included many indoor and outdoor activities including a climbing wall, biking, soccer, yoga, Red Cross CPR demo, and dental hygiene interactive displays. Since the event happened during dinner time there was food available and the organizers decided that if the kids walked twice around the track they would get a stamp on their hand that allowed them to collect on a free dish of ice cream. Not a bad start on bringing home the message that activity and food are tied together. The climbing wall was incredibly popular with the kids, as was the booth where they could throw a ball to dunk the principal and coach in a big water tank! Many of the kids walked the track as well and there was much interest from the kids in trying out the Nordic Walking poles. As kids often do they were making up all kinds of games on their own using everything in the environment. There wasn't a lot of sitting around - at least not by the kids. I did notice that the parents were not as actively involved in the physical pursuits as their children were. It was in contrast to my morning at Jackson's Mill where all the women were trying Zumba, yoga, balance training, etc. Maybe people were tired after working all day, or maybe we loose some of our spirit of adventure during those years when we are busy with work and child rearing. If that is the case, I'm glad to know that we can get that spirit back in the second half of our lives. If you are a parent, I encourage you to play actively with your kids. Try new activities with them and don't be afraid to look silly while you are learning. Laughter and humility are good for the soul.

Thanks again to the people who put together these two great events. I was honored by the opportunity to participate in both and heartened to see people out, active, and enjoying life.

Weekend Recreation

Saturday morning, I headed out my front door on foot, down the hill, across the bridge and onward to the local farmer's market. In Morgantown, you have to get out early to take advantage of the market which only lasts from 8:30 - 12:00 on Saturday morning. I arrived at 9:30 and missed the opportunity to buy fresh filleted trout which I am told sold out in the first 20 minutes of the market! Next week, no second cup of coffee before heading out! Never mind, I bought plenty of other fresh locally produced foods, including salad greens, salsa, goat cheeses, goat meat(yes, you read that right!), pastured beef from highland cows (if you have never seen this breed you can find pictures on google), and chicken from free ranging chickens. I had hoped to get some turkey, but the farmer explained that it will be August before the turkeys are ready. It's also too early in the season for berries and there are only hydroponic tomatoes. I talked with each vendor about how the animals are raised and the produce grown and how their businesses are faring this year. I thanked them for their efforts to provide quality food. I mingled some with the other shoppers who were at their leisure as they perused the stalls and had some informal conversations and cooking lessons from people I had not had the pleasure to meet before this particular Saturday morning. I spent the entire contents of my wallet except for 56 cents. It was a lovely experience. Enough so that I didn't really mind the trudge back up the hill to my house with the bulging bags thrown over my shoulder.

After storing the purchases from the market I got in my car to take some toxic household waste (in my case an empty can from a sealant for our deck) to the once yearly collection of these "hard to know what to do with" materials. The site was busy with a steady stream of cars. As I drove along in the line I had the opportunity to talk with 5 different workers who were part of the process of collecting information, a small fee, and eventually the waste products. Everyone was unfailingly polite and good natured as they attended to their tasks. A sheriff's patrol car was posted at the entrance to the site to be sure that everyone was paying attention to the unusual amount of traffic on the somewhat quiet road. The deputy smiled at the drivers as he leaned up against his car in the spring sunshine.

As I drove away from the site towards home I passed by a car wash sponsored by a local Young Life group. These young people were spending their Saturday washing cars on a busy thoroughfare for free. Some of the kids were lining the street with posters, waving cars into the parking lot where they were set up. A lot of cars were taking advantage of the offer and the kids looked like they were having a good time engaged in their service work. There were lots of smiles and laughter and splashes. I smiled at the sight of teenagers having fun doing a task that I can only imagine would be classified as a chore at home. It reminded me of what I know to be the helpful spirit of Americans that is so often downplayed in our news coverage of National deficits and crises.

I was having a very good day. I had engaged in activities that took care of my health and well being,and the health and well being of my community. It was pleasant and restorative after a busy week of work to engage in these somewhat mundane acts in my community. It reminded me that health and well being are not all about exercise and discipline. They are about finding ways to be of service to others through your work and leisure activities and about doing it with an attitude that what you do and how you do it matters. It reminded me of a lesson in my first year of college when I was getting a degree in Physical Education and Recreation. The lecture was on the purpose of recreation, that it is literally supposed to recreate our spirit and strength to ready us for another week of work. I had that kind of day on Saturday and felt better for it.

Walk On!

It was sunny, if a bit chilly today, and my husband and I headed out for a long walk by the river. There is a well maintained rail trail that passes through our area and we headed for a section that is several miles outside of town. We spent a peaceful hour and a half walking, talking, and pointing out the wonders of nature to each other. It was good for the body, mind, heart and soul. Such a delightful and simple thing. This was the perfect walk for today!

Now on other days, I have other kinds of walks. Sometimes I want to challenge my heart and lungs and I walk where there are hills or staircases to climb. I tie a bandanna around my forehead to catch the sweat as I push myself forward, straining my legs as well as my heart and lungs. Those days I sometimes have to give myself a pep talk to get out the door for the walk, but ten minutes in I am committed and know I will see it through.

On yet other days, I grab my Nordic walking poles, my ipod loaded with a continuing education lecture, and I head for the rail trail for a steady, moderate intensity walk. Study and exercise all in one, multitasking at it's best!

And then there are the days when I am worried about family or business matters and I walk while I ruminate and problem solve, looking for a path of wisdom to emerge if I keep plodding forward. On those days the walk is a moving metaphor.

There was a walk last week, where I came to a spot on the trail that I remembered as the spot where I had to turn around when I first started walking in Morgantown in 2004. I was new in town and 70 pounds heavier than I am now. I was trying to get my health and fitness back and I had to start slowly. When I walked past that spot on the trail last week, I reviewed all the many times I have walked ( and yes, sometimes even run) that trail since that day and felt proud of the accomplishments that have come as I have continued to walk towards my future.

I don't ever recall going out for a walk and coming back wishing I hadn't gone. Such a simple and healthful pleasure. Have you been for a walk today?

I have a confession to make........I'm nervous about exposing myself with this blog. When people hear that I have lost 70 lbs and kept most of it off for 4 years they ask me how I did it. It makes me feel like a deer in the headlights. Will my answer be helpful to them, will it encourage or discourage them? And about that answer.......there is a lot that goes into it. The simple answer (you know the one - eat less, move more!) doesn't even begin to tell the story, though I suppose it is true that I eat less and move more than I used to, but the real story is in how I came to eat less and move more and that wasn't easy - it took years of attempts and failures to put together a strategy that worked for me. Maybe I am just a slow learner, but as I look around I think I am pretty average in this department - it's a lot harder to figure this out than those four words -- eat less, move more---convey.

Let me provide a little background. In 2004, I moved back to the United States with my husband and sons after living for 13 years in the Middle East. I was 60 lbs heavier than I am now, had metabolic syndrome, and was in pretty bad shape. I also had 46 years of dieting and exercise experience behind me that had obviously not led me to the promised land of health and wellness. I was then and am now pretty intelligent, so why couldn't I make this work. ( I remember saying to my husband once that I just didn't get why this was so diifficult for me - I had to work so hard at exercise and diet and was still fighting a loosing battle. Wonderful man that he is he replied that no one could expect to have it all, brains, compassion, kindness, talent, and a perfect physical body. My struggle with my body was just my particular challenge in life. You just have to love a man who can address your biggest flaw while saying so many nice things about you!)

When we moved back to the States so much change was happening in my life. We were living in a new town, buying a home for the first time, our oldest son was in college, and I was looking at going back to work after years of at home parenting and volunteering. My husband was hoping to retire in 10 years time and I would need to be providing a sufficient income by then. I decided that since I was enveloped in change I would make another attempt to recreate my body as well. I could not have predicted how well that would work out for me. I don't think I really believed it would work when I began and even after I had lost 55 lbs in about 7 months I didn't really think it would last, but it has.

I've learned many things about myself and my body. I have had to meet a number of challenges, both psychological and physical, but I can honestly tell you that today I feel better than I can ever remember feeling. I have more energy than when I was a teenager. I am passionate about nutrition, weight-loss, exercise, and the power of small changes to produce big results. Along the way I pursued some educational goals and became a certified personal trainer. I like working with people who are entering the second half of life (50+ years old) and I especially like working with those people who don't feel a part of the gym culture. (Not that there is anything wrong with working out in a gym - I do it myself from time to time.) I have a special affinity for those people who are a little afraid to try and are discouraged by their past experiences. I have walked in their shoes and I know what that is like.

On the cusp of a new year I've been counting my blessings and realizing how grateful I am to have had the help of those courageous bloggers who have sharpened my focus and caused me to be more reflective in the last several years. Their posts have taken me all kind of places in my quest for improved health and fitness. Now I am taking a step forward to give back by beginning my own blog in the hope that it will help someone else who is traveling the road to a better quality of life. I know that what works for me might not work for someone else, but it just might spark an idea for what will work or what might work and sometimes that makes all the difference.

One last thought for those of you who noticed that I used 3 different numbers for my weight loss. First, you get points for being attentive. Second, there is in fact an explanation. I did in fact lose a total of 70 lbs. After the first 55 I got a little scared and decided to see if I could hold my weight at that number for a year to be sure this wasn't a fluke. During that year while I was trying to maintain, I actually lost another 10 lbs. Then I started trying to lose a little more and it took lots of effort and I felt hungry and unhappy though I lost another 5 lbs. Sometime, I will blog about that - much was learned from that experience. As of today I am 60 lbs lighter than my heaviest weight and my body seems happy here - most days - I'm sure I will blog about that
slight ambiguity somewhere along the line too.