6 Month Fitness Project

My Olive Oil Experiment 2

I made another batch of my super bread, a variation on the first batch, and ate it often with olive oil drizzled over it plus a sprinkling of dried basil and shredded Parmesan cheese. It continued to have the same good effects that I experienced earlier.

However, I think I kind of overdid it, maybe eating more olive oil than my body wanted. So, I've  been off the olive oil experiment for about a week. But, I'm about to make more of the bread that seems to be a good vehicle for it, and I'm getting a desire for more of the oil too. I'll be more temperate in the amount of oil I eat this time, and report on the continuing experiment.

According to an article on the How Stuff Works web site:

"Research indicates that replacing other types of fats with monounsaturated fats, especially olive oil, helps people lose weight without additional food restriction or physical activity (although doing so would further increase weight-loss!). A number of studies showed that when people substituted MUFA-rich olive oil for saturated fat, they ate less food and either maintained their weight or lost weight. Several other studies indicate that monounsaturated fat enhances the body's breakdown of stored fat."

And, an item on Web MD states:

"...one study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that a Mediterranean-style diet containing olive oil helped with weight loss. In this study, one group limited fat intake to 20% of calories and a second group followed a Mediterranean-style diet with about 35% of calories from fats in olive oil, nuts, and other natural foods. Both diets were very low-calorie (1,200 calories a day), and both groups initially lost weight (11 pounds in six months). But after 18 months, the Mediterranean-style group kept their weight off, while the low-fat group had begun to regain the lost pounds. The Mediterranean-style group reported it was easier to stick with the plan because they didn't feel like they were dieting; they could sauté vegetables, use full-fat salad dressing, and curb cravings between meals by snacking on nuts."

The Better Health Channel:

"Research has also found that olive oil may influence body fat distribution, with less fat stored around the stomach."

Days 24-34

During the past ten days I've exercised most days. Some days walking almost two miles, some days one mile plus, and when it's been raining I've ridden the airdyne exercise bike. Some days I've used the bike and walked too.

My going to bed time is still erratic.

I've eaten healthfully, drinking lots of water.

I'm glad I'm making this a six month project, finding finding I'm going up and down in my adherence to fitness activities, and making corrections when I get a bit off course.

Days 22, 23

Walked two miles, airdyne biked, ate well, still not going to bed early enough. Bummer.

Picking a Yoga Studio

If you're planning on giving yoga a try I suggest giving more than one yoga studio a try before making any decisions. There are many variations of yoga and each studio has a different style. I've found that yoga studios tend to be much more soothing and true to traditional yoga than the type of yoga class you will find at your local gym. This is because a yoga studio is built around practicing yoga, whereas the gym needs to be more utilitarian for multiple purposes. Here are a few things to consider:

- Location: the closer the studio is to your home, the more likely you are to attend regularly.

- Atmosphere: if there's hard core throbbing music in the next room, chances are you are not going to get the full benefit of your yoga session.

- Instructors: the instructors should be experienced, well trained and have a personality you are comfortable with. The last point is important, there is a certain amount of trust involved with yoga and if you don't like your instructor you just won't do as well with the class.

- Class times: many studios have classes throughout the day and are easy to fit into your schedule.

- Cost: in my area typical classes are between $8 - $12 per session, they may be more or less depending where you live.

- Class size: avoid classes that are packed to the gills with students, it's too uncomfortable to move and make the most of your practice. Smaller class sizes tend to allow the instructor to give more hands-on personal instruction.

Hope this is all helpful, next time I'll talk about what to expect during a yoga class.

Ann Teliczan

http://www.anntopia.com

Days 20, 21

I've been exercising, but not as much as I want to. The snow is off the sidewalks again, and this should be the last of it for the time the project will last. I've been doing some dancing to recorded music, and airdyne exercise bicycling. Tomorrow I intend to walk outdoors, probably two miles of it.

Now I want to work on shifting my regular bed time to an earlier hour because I think that will help me fit my intended exercise into my daylight hours better, and also make my mealtimes more regular. It's surprisingly difficult for me to make that shift. I thought it would be easy, but it hasn't been.

Maybe part of why people have difficulty getting fit is that there are a lot of pieces to the project that they don't realize are a part of it, like regular meals, regular bedtime, and other items, even things like clutter in their home or in their TV viewing or online browsing could be getting in the way of their fitness producing actions.

My Olive Oil Experiment: 1

A few days ago I was reading reviews of books on Amazon and came across one (not sure which one it was now, but I'll try to find it and add the info in a future post) that encouraged readers to eat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil each night before going to bed. It gave several reasons that sounded good, if true, and they said they had research to back it up.

Although I had no intention of trying to swallow a tablespoon of olive oil, I thought I'd try upping my olive oil intake by pouring it on a slice of the super nutritious bread I'd baked a day or so before, and sprinkling a bit of grated parmesan on top, plus a bit of dried basil, just like one gets in some restaurants as a dip for the bread.

It tasted so good that I ate that instead of a sandwich for lunch, and for a before bed snack for about three or four days. I seemed to have a real craving for it, and felt better than I'd felt for some time. Today I ate the last two pieces of bread for lunch, with lots of olive oil, maybe more than I needed. It sort of satisfied the craving and left me wanting to counteract it with some grape juice or a raw carrot.

I felt lighter, and though I avoid weighing often, I was curious to see if I had lost some weight, so weighed myself, and I weighed two or three pounds less than before. And, I think that it has been a mood elevator for me too, just feel more together, more smooth and happy. That doesn't actually describe the difference very well, but the best I can do right now.

This evening, having eaten all the bread I'd made, and having had my fill of olive oil for today anyway, I decided to go to the grocery store and look around since I'd not been to the big one nearby for quite awhile. I wandered the aisles for quite awhile, began getting hungry, filling my cart with things that
appealed to me at the time, including some fresh asparagus, a couple of dessert items, and a bar of chocolate from Germany that I thought I'd taste test.

Well, after I got home I cooked and ate the asparagus. It was delicious. Then I ate an Amy's
burrito, and it was good, and a bit more nutritious food, not much more though. I still wanted to test taste the chocolate, and take a few bites of the other sweet things, just to see how they tasted.

But, I couldn't stand to eat them. I managed a small helping of one thing, and only two bites of another, and could not bear to eat the chocolate bar after the first couple of bites.

I can only attribute this to my olive oil and bread eating for the past few days. Someone else had written about a similar experience with eating more olive oil. They said it satisfied their appetite and they found themselves eating considerably less other foods. I not only ate quite a bit less, but just could not stand to eat the sweet foods. I could have eaten more vegetables or fruits, but the sugary things....ugh!.

Very interesting. I'm going to bake some more of that good bread, and continue my olive oil experiment. I'll be sharing more on what I discover from my own experience, and also my research.

Day 19

It's supposed to be Spring where I live, but there is a considerable amount of new snow sitting on the sidewalk this evening, so no walk outdoors. I did ride the airdyne bike, and it felt good. Also did most of the other things that are in my fitness program at this point, and think I'll even get to bed earlier than usual. I feel successful.

Tomorrow, I hope to do even better.

Reminders/Talismans

There are lots of ways to remind yourself that fitness is your objective, and/or to do some of the fitness creating activities you've chosen to be a part of your own fitness project for these six months.

You can create your own reminder silicone wrist band/bracelet at several web locations, including:

Wristbands Now

Band-Together

A search on Google for silicone wristbands will give you many more choices, not all of them with low minimum orders however.

At CafePress you can create your own reminder or search among the creations of others who offer their own designs on CafePress' many products.

Then there is Zazzle, similar to CafePress.

Ralph Strauch has created a series of wooden ornaments that can be used as reminder objects. You can see them, along with his other creations at his web site.

Amazon.com has a deck of fitness cards, with exercises on each one.

And, guest author Ann Teliczan has gift items on her own CafePress store site featuring her HybridArt images that can be chosen as a visual representation of your personal fitness aims and goals.

Any object can be used as a reminder or talisman for your project, or for parts of it. It's fun to look for things to use this way. You might go to a shopping mall or import store like World Market or Pier 1, or a Dollar Store, or card shop and look for designs or objects that could serve you as a reminder and inspiration.

Days 13-18 Time Off

I haven't posted for five days. Just didn't do it, though I did do my fitness actions, somewhat to a fair amount. I drank the water, got exercise, and ate pretty well.

But I did not write here, and really, I didn't go full steam ahead on my other fitness project objectives.

I thought about it a lot though, about not writing the daily journal entries and also about sort of taking a mini break from the project. And the more I thought about it the more I thought it is a good thing to do, to have a time out from the project occasionally. To expect to do that, not look at it as "falling off the wagon" or as making a mistake or misstep, but as a natural ebb and flow of attention to a project. Any other project does not have to be a 100 percent of the time effort with no days off. This one doesn't have to be that way either.

Though I was a bit uncomfortable doing it, I think it's really a good thing, to have some spaces in the project for letting it go for a day or a few, to take a break, have a little vacation. Then, when one is ready, go back to it, pick it up, and continue on for the rest of the six months.

This is a project, not a forced march, not an ordeal, not a marathon, just a nice project to do because you love you enough to get fit. And since I love me, I'm continuing the project, and writing about it.

Guest Post: Yoga, What a Deal

Yoga has been the most rewarding form of exercise that I've found. It makes me stronger, mentally and physically while increasing my flexibility. I feel like I'm getting the most for my efforts because of this. The most surprising thing I noticed about yoga is how important improving my flexibility has been for me. When I was younger, I was pretty proud of being able to put both my feet behind my head... that is until a bratty neighborhood kid pushed me over when I was showing off.

I always took this flexibility for granted until I went to yoga about five years ago and realized how stiff I was. I was having low back pain and my physical therapist recommended it. In two weeks Yoga cleared up what massages and physical therapy couldn't even touch after months of treatment. Once I was better I quit going, until I started having problems again.

This year I took a different approach, I started attending yoga class regularly even though I felt fine. In fact, last month I bought an unlimited monthly membership and started attending class several times a week. I noticed a huge difference in how happy I was, how much stress I felt and how well I slept at night. Next time I post, I'll give you some tips on how to get started.

Ann Teliczan