Weight Watchers Round Rock

Flexibility and Senior Fitness for Longevity

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A few weeks back, in the last edition of the Change Well newsletter and podcast (located at this link), I discussed my intent to focus on training for the Senior Fitness Test.  The Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department developed the program that I just started doing.  It is called Fitness Reaching Older Gen’s (FROG) and focuses on flexibility, which is critical to everyone, especially older ones like me with creaky joints.  But first, a few stories about how I realized I needed to focus on this program.

Entering my senior year has been an eye-opening experience regarding fitness. In my middle years, I focused on endurance, strength, and cycling. Increasingly, however, I’ve realized that flexibility and mobility are just as—if not more—essential for maintaining independence and longevity.

That realization didn’t come quickly. At 55, I was in complete denial of aging. In what I thought was a hilarious act of rebellion, I staged a ritualistic burning of my AARP card application on YouTube. Unfortunately, the part I cut from the video was even funnier—and almost fatal. The card caught fire rapidly, and when I rushed for water to douse the flames, the pan I grabbed had oil residue. Suddenly, I wasn’t just rejecting aging; I was nearly burning the house! Not great for my health, nor the well-being of those around me. (Although, let’s be honest, that video would have gone viral.)

The Importance of Senior Fitness

Aging doesn’t have to mean losing function or freedom. Staying active well into our later years can reduce the risk of falls, improve balance, and enhance our overall quality of life. However, I have found that I can no longer do the half marathons of my youth. Instead, I need to focus on flexibility and mobility.

Stretching and mobility exercises are key to keeping joints healthy and preventing stiffness.  Even though I do not like stretching, I have found that I need it.  I have a gimpy knee and want to stop being the little, lame middle-aged man this spring.  Here is a poem (with all due respect to e.e Cummings) I wrote a few Springs ago while running on Town Lake. Here is the link to the original blog post.

In Just-

Spring   , when the stiff

middle-aged man

shambles far and wee!

And the ground-beneath

is puddle-painful

From too much running too soon,

As the hobbled, Senior man

limps slow—ly far and wee!

Staying Functional with the Senior Fitness Test

So how will I avoid being the lame little senior man this year? I am starting this Saturday, March 1st, by taking the Senior Fitness test to gauge my fitness.  The Senior Fitness Test (also called the Fullerton Functional Test) is designed to gauge physical function in older adults and includes:

  • Chair Stand Test: Measures lower-body strength and endurance.
  • Arm Curl Test: Assesses upper-body strength.
  • Two-Minute Step Test: Evaluates aerobic endurance.
  • Chair Sit-and-Reach Test: Tests lower-body flexibility.
  • Back Scratch Test: Checks upper-body flexibility.
  • 8-Foot Up-and-Go Test: Measures agility and balance.

The link to the test and expected scores can be found at The Senior Fitness Test.  I will need to improve on the Chair Stand Test, chair sit-and-reach test, and the back scratch test.   I will let you know next week how much I need to improve. 

After getting my initial score, I will set up a weekly routine based on the Southwest Nebraska Public Health FROG manual exercises at the FROG Manual link. In two weeks, I will post my routine on my blog websites.

How I Finally Embraced My Age (Thanks, Boots!)

In addition to my FROG training, I intend to switch up my fitness routine this year by doing more Step Aerobics by Paul Eugene.  I accidentally ran across his engaging and fun fitness, low-impact exercises.   My dog, Boots, was howling at thunder like it was the apocalypse at 3 AM on a stormy night. I finally calmed him down, but I could not get back to sleep.  So, I did what any rational person would do at 3 AM: I did aerobics with Paul Eugene.

Wait, what? That doesn’t sound logical.  Well, I wasn’t about to compose an entire album of dog lullabies. Since I was up anyway, and it was a weigh-in day for WW, I figured I might as well move. But I wasn’t ready for high-intensity training, so I did something I swore I’d never do—I watched a senior fitness video by Paul on YouTube (check out his channel at this link).

And you know what? It was amazing! I had avoided senior-based workouts, thinking they’d be boring or ineffective. But Paul Eugene’s videos were energizing, fun, and at the right level for a great workout.

How to Improve Flexibility and Stay Active

Maintaining flexibility doesn’t require a drastic lifestyle change. A few small, consistent habits can make a big difference:

  1. Daily Stretching: Incorporate simple stretches for the hamstrings, shoulders, and back.  This recent blog post discussed the importance of stretching and sleeping.
  2. Low-impact aerobics: These low-impact exercises improve flexibility, balance, and mental clarity.
  3. Strength Training with a Focus on Range of Motion: Lifting weights through a full range of motion keeps joints mobile.
  4. Hydration and Nutrition: Staying hydrated and eating anti-inflammatory foods can help maintain joint health.

Final Thoughts

If you’re in your 50s, 60s, or beyond, don’t be like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.  Loosen your joints by stretching, and keep the muscles lubricated by drinking plenty of water.  And if you ever find yourself up at 3 AM with a panicked dog? Well, you know what to do.

Five December Tips for Reducing Stress This Holiday Season

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Five Wellness Tips to Make It Through December

The Delight and Difficulties of December

I love the holidays in December, but the month can be full of stress for recovering food addicts like me.  The cookies, candies, and cakes that are a fixture of Christmas and other December holidays can make it hard to stay on track with your weight maintenance.

December can also be stressful for mental wellness, especially for those who recently lost loved ones. It can also be lonely for those away from family and friends.

Shopping, preparing for the company, and closing out work before departing for the holidays can also cause stress. When the kids were younger, my wife and I left work and rushed around frantically, trying to get the last Furby or the latest Pokémon game. Equally stressful was Christmas Day, when we showed the kids how to get Pikachu through the cave in the game we had just bought.

Despite all of this, I love Christmas. I look forward to the holidays each year, but I often worry if I will make it through December with my fitness and sanity intact.

Image of song parody video - If we make it through Christmas and December with the holiday stress we will be fine.
If We Make It Through December with Our Wellness intact.

It is Like a Country Song

It is like that old Merle Haggard song, “If We Make It Through December.”  Here’s a new chorus and verse of my devising.  You can hear me sing it on the latest version by clicking this link to the Change Well Podcast or view it on our YouTube video here

If we make it through December,

Everything is going to be all right, I know,

It’s a stressful time in winter,

And I shiver when I see the falling snow.

If we make it through December,

Got plans to exercise when it comes summertime,

Maybe even do a burpee,

 If we make it through December, we’ll be fine.

Got stuck here down at the office,

My boss wanted me to do some extra things,

Got so stressed by the late departure,

I went out and got some onion rings.

I don’t mean to gain weight in December,

It’s meant to be the happy time of year,  

But that lady just took the last Furby,

So I went to the bar, and I had a beer.

I apologize to Merle’s legacy. The original song, If We Make It Through December, can be read about by clicking here. 

However, the sentiment is true. Making it through December is challenging for those who are watching their wellness. Here are five tips to help you stay on track this holiday season.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say No This December

The season is not only the time of giving but also the time for just saying no. I know it’s difficult when grandma comes to you with her latest treat and says you must eat – you’re getting too thin. But you know that’s not the case, and you have already eaten three treats. So, as hard as it is to say no to grandma, you need to keep your weight under control.

How do you say no to grandma? Well, it won’t go well if you don’t practice. You need to say no diplomatically. For example, tell her that her fruitcake was so good that you only needed one piece.

Finally, you need to set boundaries with your family and friends. This is especially important if you are an introvert. Your uncle George may want to talk to you for the first hour, but when he rambles on for the second hour, politely step away and take a walk. Everyone needs their space.

Don’t Wait Until Summertime to Exercise

I know it is hard to exercise when it is cold out. Finding the extra time during this busy season to keep up your regular exercise routine is tricky. But you must exercise and do not wait until summer comes and the weather changes.

Finding an indoor venue is the best way to exercise when cold out. There is always a way to exercise inside, even in the coldest places like Des Moines, IA. I once exercised in Des Moines when it was ten below zero and a Blizzard by walking in their heated skyway at 6:00 AM. You can read more about this by clicking this link.

Another way to exercise during the holiday season is to gamify shopping. See how fast you can run down the aisles with your shopping cart and get the groceries or presents you need. I once did this in 10 minutes with two kids in a shopping cart, and they loved it. We called the game Crazy Cart.

One last thing that’ll make exercising easier during this holiday season is working out with a friend. This lets you catch up before the festivities and get your sweat on. You can read more tips in our previous blog

Work Can Wait This December

Another person you must say no to is your boss, which is problematic. When they come up to you with a last-second request, you must remember that they probably will not recall that you did this for them one month later. But your child will remember the Christmas concert you missed their whole life. I know this from experience working throughout the holidays on several proposals.

Tell your boss up front your expectations for time-off. Plan with them the time that you will need to take off. Also, work with them to prioritize tasks to hit quarterly targets while reducing time away from family and friends. In my experience, most bosses will work with you if you do this forthrightly and diplomatically.

The Best Gifts Do Not Need to Be the Hottest Gift

My mom had a great observation on Christmas gifts, especially for little children.  She said you could get the best toy, but toddlers usually play with the bow on the package. 

You do not need to stand in line for an hour or be stressed that Amazon will not deliver the hot toy on time.  How much fun is a Tickle-Me Elmo after you tickled it a few times? And trust me, a Furby can get downright annoying with its gibberish and constant need to be fed.

The best presents I received during childhood were thoughtful surprises, many made by hand. The one I remember the most is a chemistry set my parents got me without asking.  I was no Young Sheldon, but my parents knew I loved academics.  I completed every experiment in that kit.

Remember The Reason for the Season

Holidays are meant for fellowship, family, and celebrating something higher than ourselves. My family celebrates Christmas each year, when Jesus, the light that came into the world, was born. Other faiths have Festivals of Light, including Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanza, to name some. This joy is to be shared among friends, family, and neighbors! 

The light of these holidays may seem a bit dimmer this year.  We struggle to find peace with the ongoing conflicts in the world.  Don’t give in to the stress of the holiday season and the world. 

The best way to stay on track this December is to be thankful and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.   Say a prayer for someone in need.  Donate to charity.  Most of all, we should honor the light that has come into the world with peace, giving, and kindness.

In closing, here is a poem I wrote on the meaning of Christmas.

God and man intertwined,
He chose us and left Heaven behind,
To dwell on Earth and bring death to sin,
This is when our true life begins.So, today, when you open boxes, bows,
Think of the gift where all time flows,
God seeking us, come down from Above,
In the heart of a babe, overflowing with love

Six Amazing Tracking Tips for Weightloss and Wellness

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Last week’s blog was a little out there even for me.  I enjoyed tying the ideas and lives of Winston Churchill and David Bowie about purposeful change together.  If you have not already, you should listen, even to hear me imitate the musical chameleon, Bowie.  But for today’s podcast, I decided to reel it back into a topic a little less out there, a little more meat and potatoes!   That is the importance of tracking your wellness journey, whether it be the meat and potatoes you consume, the steps you walk, or those moments of serendipity that bring you happiness each day!

Some in the wellness industry give tracking a bad name. Some firms even want you to buy prepackaged foods, mixes, and pills so you can avoid what they consider the mundane practice of tracking. Buy our food, lose weight, and leave the monitoring to us! Do our specific exercise routine and watch your muscles grow and your stomach shrink. Better yet, take this pill or shot, and you don’t have to exercise or watch what you eat. 

Let me debunk these claims of the wellness industry.   First and foremost, people like to choose their food and want variety. You should feel liberated in your food choices, not restricted.  Also, what you gain in convenience from prepacked food, you lose in knowing how to eat nutritionally for your body type.  Lastly, when you run out of money for the next shot or order of prepacked food, you have no habits to fall back on and gain weight.  Trust me.  I am the guy who tried every prepackaged diet and exercise routine until I went old-school and decided to take matters into my own hands.

Today, I track the food I eat, my daily exercise routines, and even the beneficial habits I want to adopt and the bad habits I want to limit. It may seem like a lot of work, but trust me, it’s worth it.  Like a science experiment, you must track all variables in your wellness journey. And just like in business, you can only improve what you track. This is not just a personal journey but a proven method that I urge you to consider for your wellness journey.  

The human body is one of the most complicated organisms on the planet.  New things are discovered daily despite being the most studied topic since the existence of science.  Also, no two people are exactly alike.  What works for one person may not work for you.  Therefore, owning your wellness and tracking your habits and the outcomes they produce is essential. 

For ten years, I have tracked my activity, food intake, habits, mindfulness, and sense of well-being. The result? I lost half my body weight, eliminated sleep apnea, improved my disposition, and became more fit.    Here are some recommendations for those of you initiating a tracking habit.

1.  Track everything you eat or drink. 

The best way to lose weight is to track what you eat.  You will better understand portion control and the trigger foods you need to avoid by consciously tracking your food intake.  You use this and weekly weight tracking to determine what works and what foods to avoid.  That way, you can focus on what works rather than trying everything that doesn’t! 

2. Track before you attack. 

The first rule is always to figure out what you will have before departing.  Most restaurants now post nutritional values on menus on their website.  Read the menu, pick your menu items, and record the calories before departing.  Like a good soldier, never eat without a good plan of attack. This preparation gives you a sense of control and confidence in your choices.

3. Indulge but count.  

You can indulge a bit on vacation or a celebration.  While on Vacation, I shared a few desserts with my wife for the first time in a long time.  But I also carefully tracked everything I ate to know I was in striking distance for the week.  By monitoring and not attacking the buffet line, I could enjoy some of the colonial recipes and comfort foods in Virginia on a recent vacation in a controlled manner.  I was able to indulge and avoid the bulge!

4.  Gamification.

Tracking your food, habits, and activities can become mundane, so make a game of it.  I use the Fitbit application and the WW application to track food activity.  In the WW application, I try to get a blue dot award (staying in a recommended point zone) five days a week.  By striving for the Blue Dot, I had fun and learned different approaches to balance activity and food intake.  Likewise, I have step contests with my friends on the Fitbit application and engage in friendly banter and competition.

5. Listen to Your Body and Record Your Well-Being. 

Your body knows what it wants.  That is the reason too many hamburgers and fries cause you to indigestion.    Feed your body with the good stuff.  Choose vegetables and fruit over candy and sugar.  Remember, just like listening to someone, you must listen to your body closely to understand what it says.  Then, record your well-being and compare it to your activity, habits, and food intake. You may think your body is saying I need sleep when, in reality, your body is saying I need to exercise and get energy, or I am dehydrated and need water. 

6.  Three Applications that Help You Track.  

Here are three applications that have helped me track.

WW application.   I am amazed at this application and consider it one of the best mobile applications I have ever used.  This is coming from a guy who built applications for a living.  The best feature is its tracking application, which allows you to scan food bar codes and track the WW points that you use.  It also has a Connect feature that will enable you to connect to other people on the Weight Watchers journey.  In addition, it has a feature that allows you to reach a Weight Watcher employee any time of the day through instant messaging to answer questions and provide inspiration.  This feature once prevented me from eating a seemingly healthy wrap, which was half my allotted food intake!  This application has a monthly subscription, but it is worth it if you want to lose weight.  My Fitness Pal is an alternative free application, but I like WW’s features.

Fitbit is a fantastic application and tool. I use it daily to track my exercise, measure my heart rate and sleep, and participate in competitions with my friends. I no longer have a watch; instead, I wear my Fitbit as a watch. It also has a feature to track the number of glasses of water I drink daily, another critical element of weight loss. One of my most prized possessions from Fitbit is the 100,000-step Olympian Sandal for walking 50 miles daily. 

Happyfeed is a simple but powerful application! Each day, it reminds you to log three things you are happy about. This helps you think of the good stuff and not get depressed. The app also has a feature that allows you to add pictures and look at history.

Streaks allows you to set repeating habits and track them daily. Establishing habits and tracking them is vital in achieving goals related to weight loss and other areas. Some of my habits that help with weight loss are journaling for 15 minutes daily, writing a blog weekly, and praying daily.

In closing, you need to track to keep on track and change well.  You can only change what you measure, and by tracking, you better know what habits you need to change.

Five Summer Time Tricks To Stay Fit

Don Grier

Summer officially starts tomorrow, June 20, but the heat index has already crept into the 100s in Austin for a few days.   If you want to continue to Change Well with physical activity, we all need a few tricks to stay cool when it is hot.  Here are a few techniques I use to keep active during the doldrums of August. 

1. Sunrise, Sunset.  They say the early bird catches the worm.  But I say the early walker catches the cool breeze. (ok, make that a warm breeze in Texas).  The good news for those working is that the sun rises earlier and sets later in the summer.  That means you don’t need to search for a flashlight to take your walk before or after work.  I always use the early and late sun to walk before or after work (or both).  This way, I catch the morning sunrise or glorious sunset when the temperature is less hot.  You rejuvenate yourself before a busy day or decompress after a stressful one.  Nothing soothes stress better than birdsong carried on a cool morning breeze or seeing the sun touch down over a shimmering pond.   To change up the lyrics a bit from a song from Fiddler on the Roof:

Sunrise, Sunset,
Sunrise, Sunset,
Avoid the heat of day,
Cool breezes fade after the morning,
Turning into a stifling haze.

Sunrise, Sunset,
Sunrise, Sunset,
Wait until the evening comes,
Take a walk with the moon and birdsong,
That way, you can walk extra-long.

2.  Stay Cool In The Pool. Playing in the pool is one way to exercise and avoid heat exhaustion. But what if you are not Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky?  I am assuredly not a great swimmer.  I did not know how to swim until I was a plebe at West Point and never got out of the rock squad (those who sink like a rock).  I still do not know how I passed with a C- since I nearly drowned during the timed swim.   

You can engage in activities in the pool other than swimming, even if you’re not in the best shape.  The one that helped me when I was first beginning my weight loss journey was water aerobics. Weighing in at 350+, I entered the pool because it was the only thing I could do without my joints protesting.  Once I overcame my initial self-consciousness of being the youngest in the class, I found that water aerobics provided a fantastic workout. The best part was that I didn’t need to be overly coordinated.  It was my first step in reclaiming my fitness, and it’s still a reliable exercise option when the weather gets hot. 

For all the young parents out there, playing with your children in the pool is not just a way to beat the heat but also a fun way to stay in shape.  When my oldest daughter was learning to swim (not from me, the Rock, but from classes), we used to have a blast playing a game called Butterfly.  I would lift her and toss her in the pool, singing, “Butterfly, butterfly, how high can you fly?”.  She would then swim 15 feet back to me and respond upon return, “Over the trees and meadows!”.   We sometimes repeated that for about 20 minutes. This is how she learned how to swim, and I got my weightlifting done. The bottom line is to be creative when staying cool in the pool and enjoying precious moments with your children.

3.  Drink and Know Things. One of my favorite lines from Game of Thrones is when Tyrian says, “I drink, and I know things.”   I even have a T-shirt with that saying. This is good advice for the summer as long as, unlike Tyrian, you drink water instead of wine and know when to stop and stay hydrated.  You may be saying that advice is obvious.  I might agree.  But here is something that is not as obvious.  You can drink a lot of water and not remain hydrated.  Here is what I mean.

I went on a Kennedy Walk (50 miles in one day) during a hot day. I kept stopping at water stations along the way and became waterlogged. However, around mile marker 35, my muscles cramped up terribly, and I became woozy.  Then I realized that I had not been taking enough electrolytes and had sweated out most of the salt in my body.  I stumbled to a nearby store and was crestfallen when they ran out of Gatorade.  Luckily, they had some jars of pickles.  So I ate some pickles and drank pickle juice and got better.  The story’s moral is that staying hydrated means also watching your electrolytes.  So drink electrolytes with your water, or you’ll be in a pickle.  Ok, that was corny even for me!

4.  Buddy Up.  I usually walk alone to listen to the latest David Baldacci book.  But in the summer, I know enough to buddy up when hiking.  First, it will keep you motivated.  But more importantly, you can watch out for one another.

If I have to exercise in the heat, I try to find a friend to come with me.  This advice has saved me on several occasions directly and probably a lot more indirectly.  Here is an example.   I enlisted my youngest daughter to come with me on a walk one early fall day.  Even though the place we were walking in was wooded, we unfortunately got a bit lost.  Plus, the temperature, which was supposed to be in the low eighties, jumped into the nineties (never trust a weather report).  We finally found our way out, but it would have been scary if I had been alone in the woods in the heat. 

5.  Switch it up with indoor activities.  Lastly, summer is an excellent time to switch up with some indoor activities.  My go-to exercise will always be hiking in nature.  However, it is time to try something indoors when it is 110 in the shade.   Summer, for me, is an excellent time to take on a new Peloton exercise series or to catch up with some low-impact on YouTube with Paul Eugene. Also, if I want to go on a walk, I can always catch up with the latest stores at the mall or what is happening at Costco.

These are five ways to beat the Summer heat and keep your fitness progressing.  Other recommendations include wearing sunscreen and head covering outdoors, bringing a wet towel to cool off, or, better yet, taking a cool shower after working out.  Lastly, do not forget about your pets when you take them outside.  The first rule of “Sunrise, Sunset” is essential for a dog’s paws.   So take them out before the sidewalk gets too hot.  Remember these rules so you can continue to change well, even in the summer heat!