weight watchers – Weight Loss and Leadership

Five Habit Combos for Body and Soul

Today at our Weight Watchers meeting we talked about the idea of piggybacking to establish beneficial habits more quickly. Here is a simple example. You need to take medication each day which is an established habit. However, you want to also institute the beneficial habit of drinking sixty-four ounces of water. A way to establish the new habit it to place a water bottle next to your pill container. Presto! Now you have a ready-made container with the right amount of water next to your pill box. You need to wash down the pills and in so doing start on drinking the water you need for the day!

I established these habits in losing 150 pounds in just over a year. You can read more about that journey and the Power of Habit in this previous blog Fat to Fit Again! The Power of Habit. Now with the weight off my body, I turned to heal my soul. My physical transformation healed my body, but my soul was still suffering. I was still at times a curmudgeon and my peace of mind though better could still get rattled. So, I decided to piggyback some new soul habits with some of my firmly established body habits. Here are five of the body and soul habit combos that I do on a daily and weekly basis. My habits will have a Catholic Christian flavor, but you can adopt for your own faith practice.

New Saturday Texas Three Step. I wrote about my initial Texas two-step habit in this blog.The Saturday Texas Two Step! Two years ago, my parish established Saturday morning prayers (called Lauds in the Liturgy of the Hours) combined with Adoration on Saturday in the early morning. This led to my new and improved Texas three-step Saturday ritual. I get up on Saturday at 5 AM and exercise to get as close to my weight target as possible. I then go to my Church and pray for an hour to clear the weight off my soul. After praying (and sometimes Mass), I head to my WW meeting to share wellness ideas with my friends at the 9:30 WW Meeting. And in one fell swoop, I shed weight on body and soul and share fellowship to start the weekend off right!
Mike and Bike. I documented my love of cycling in these previous blogs. Peloton Pandemic Pandemonium, Don’t Stop Believing: A Weight Loss Journey in Three Intervals. Right up there with this love is my respect and admiration of Father Mike Schmitz. He was instrumental in my wellness journey both and body and soul. I started listening to his homilies after a Lenten retreat at our parish retreat and would exercise to his homilies while using the elliptical training. With the launch pf the Bible in the Year podcast, I have taken it to a whole new level with Mike and Bike. At least three times weekly, I put on a 20-minute scenic ride on the Peloton and turn off the sound. I then turn on the daily Bible in the Year podcast and listen to the Lord’s word while circumventing the pathways of Rome, Paris, or the Alps. With each Mike and Bike, I grow in the knowledge of the Lord’s plan for me and build my quads to boot! You can download the Bible in the Year podcast here Bible in a Year if you want to try it.
Marching with Mary. During the month of May, I participated in a fundraiser to raise money for the mental wellness of veterans and soldiers. The StopSoldierSuicide.org fundraiser called for me to March 50 miles during the month of May while carrying a 50 lbs. ruck. My 50+ year old body does not march fast with a 50 lbs. on his back. It was seriously cutting down on my prayer time. I therefore decided to add reciting a silent Rosary while marching. This Marching with Mary practice allowed me to add fifty prayers on each ruck march. In this way, I not only was able to raise money for Veterans, I could pray for them also.
Hinge and Hallow. One of the reasons I walked slow while marching with is weakness in one of my knees. To help this issue, I use a physical therapy application called Hinge Health https://www.hingehealth.com/. This application has a set of tailor-made exercises to help strengthen my knee. While I am doing my Hinge exercises, I listen to the Hallow mindfulness application https://hallow.com/ . This application is an excellent resource for all Catholics and includes everything from The Daily Miracle meditation to Gregorian Chants to books from doctors of the Church. This combination helps me fix my knee and my disposition all at the same time! Here is links to both of them
Exodus for soul (and body). The last body/soul combination is the one that launched it all. Two years ago, I participated with a group of men in my church in Exodus 90. This program is a is a ninety-day spiritual exercise for men based on three pillars: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity . Part of the ascetism practice is daily rigorous exercise, exclusion of alcohol and sweets, and days of fasting. It also includes daily prayer practice. It gave me the idea for the other four practices previously stated. I highly recommend it for all Catholic Men that need a wakeup call for both body and soul. Here is a link to there website https://exodus90.com/.

This fast-paced world can wear the body and the soul. Use the art of habit piggybacking to fight back and build a better you!

Waking Up to Your Why

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Each morning I wake up with a why in my heart and head; sometimes two! What is a why? A “why” is the motivation for taking on something difficult and the purpose for doing so. A why drives you forward even when you feel you can’t go on. Why’s are imperative to change a bad habit or get out of a rut.

I did not always have a why nearby. I did not have an overall cause or purpose from 2007 to 2014. I wandered without a why, for those seven years. In the process, I gained over 100 pounds, lost my drive, and in general was a bear to be around. The years of wandering without a why are described in this blog: Fit to Fat: Lessons Learned While Doubling My Weight

Then three things hit simultaneously at the end of 2014 that got me back on track. First, I learned that I had a serious health issue caused in part by my weight. Second, I received an invite to my 30^th West Point Reunion. Third, I received a discount to Weight Watchers (now WW) through my company. The three combined to develop that first why. I decided to lose weight and increase fitness to look presentable for my 30^th reunion and regain my health!

I was introduced to the power of “why” at Weight Watchers and have expanded my understanding through my own story and experience. Here are 4 things you need to implement your unique why.

1. Visualize Your Why. It is important to have a visual representation as to the outcome you want to obtain. A visual representation serves to remind you why you are making the change and helps to keep you motivated when times get tough. One way to do that is to create a Vision Board; a series of pictures and text snippets that visualize your goal.

Below you see the visual representation of my first “why” that I created at WW on the Hay House Vision Board app (located here Hay House Vision Board). I wanted to do two things as represented in this Vision Board: to lose weight to look decent for my reunion and to get healthy in memory of my parents. Pictures include my company from West Point, a picture of my parents, my WP graduation picture, a picture at near peak weight with a classmate, an image of my family, and me working out in support of my mission! I topped it all off with my class moto “For Excellence We Strive, 85”.

I looked at the Vision Board each day. It drove forward when times got tough. I looked at it after getting through TSA with my CPAP machine, so I could get good rest on a work trip. Or when hitting the hotel gym at 9 PM after work. Or when avoiding a beer and eating vegetables at the concierge lounge. Slowly but surely it kept my eye on the prize as I lost 100 lbs. before the reunion.

2. Adapt Your Why. Once you obtain one “why”, focus on another. Whys are not static. The excellence of today is the mediocrity of tomorrow. A new reason or mission can drive you on to greater things. Here are three of my subsequent “Why’s” to show you what I mean.

First, my reunion served to stoke two new motivations. Having lost 100 pounds, I wanted to lose the other 50+ lbs to achieve Lifetime designation on WW. Second, I wanted to do something to remember a fellow officer who was lost in Afghanistan by supporting returning Veterans. Combining the two, I created my second Why that led to the creation of the McEvoy Memorial Walk in support of the Merivis Foundation. I trained from August to Veterans Day in 2015 to walk 50 miles in one day in support of Merivis and the Young Marines of the Capital Area (read more here Go Big to Get Small – The Art of Improbable Goals ). In the process, this why drove me to my Lifetime weight goal and raised funding for these worthy organizations. Here is a YouTube clip on the walk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaaijB9ybX4

My next goal was to maintain my weight and support the children of St. Jude’s by becoming a Certified Spin Instructor and riding the entire 4-hour St. Jude’s Ride for a Reason. I talk about this motivation in the following blog Spinning is Winning! A Ride for A Reason.

Spinning helped me maintain my weight, diversify my exercise regime, help a worthy cause, and gain a new skill. Now I was ready to play it forward with my current Why.

My current why came about due to two events: a milestone birthday and the ongoing pandemic. Having been given so much, I wanted to pass it on to others. I came up with a new acronym for my Why – CRAFT. The acronym stands for Coach, Religious, Author, Friend, and Teacher. You can read more about CRAFT here 5 by 5, Rumination on a Milestone.

In simple terms, I wake up each day whether in this blog, my continued workouts, or wellness programs paying it forward. It is now my mission to teach others how to heal both their body and soul, especially during this difficult time. To impart what I have learned through example, stories, and wellness programs. Read about one such wellness program called Peloton Pandemic Pandemonium here .

3. Share your Why. When you determine your why, do not keep it to yourself. Share it with friends and family to help prod you on and keep you on track. The ability to share helps you immensely. I am grateful both to my WW Round Rock Saturday group and my sister in law Sheri and niece Rachel for creating Facebook groups. These communities allowed me to share my motivation and progress toward health. Live and share your why with friends to keep moving forward!

4. Wake Up with Your Why. I end with the beginning. Each day you can take concrete steps to wake up with your why. I accomplish this through journaling and meditation. I use the Kindness Journal (located here Kindness Journal) to help prompt me along to realizing my why.

Each day I record three “I am statements” to help me visualize my end goal. Here is a recent example in pursuit of my current why: “I am a devoted coach that passes on the lessons that have served me on my health journey to improve the lives of others”. I also visualize my favorite moment from the day before and list the thing that I will do today to help make the world better. The journal helps me focus on why I was put on this earth. Along with meditation in the form of prayer, I remain fixed and progressing towards my why.

In closing, do not wander and wallow in the unknown without a why. Instead, visualize your why with these four simple tricks and build a better future for yourself and others!

Let in Snow! 3 Tricks to Stay on Track Despite Travel Woes

2020-01-14Donald Grier1 Comment

Keeping on track with your weight loss journey is tough when traveling under the best circumstances. It can be doubly so when your plane is delayed or even cancelled on a Friday. But it does not have to be! You can stick to your healthy habits with these three tricks.

1. When it snows, find a Skywalk! Getting stuck overnight in a hotel because of a blizzard can curtail your weekend exercise routine. I do not know about you but walking on a treadmill just does not get it for me. I like my walks with some scenery and adventure. One way to switch it up if you can’t get outside is to find a mall or even an indoor Skywalk. Last weekend I was stuck in Des Moines, Iowa when my plane was cancelled. Luckily, I did not have to miss my Saturday Morning walk. I found an entry to the downtown Skywalk about a block away. After a brief bout with the sub-zero wind chill, I was soon walking and getting lost in the Skywalk. It was quite an adventure trying to find my way back through the maze of corridors. Also, felt a bit like Maxwell Smart with all the automatic opening doors. When I was finally done, I had five miles in, while braving the cold for only a few minutes.

2. Don’t stress, catch up on your rest! Missing your flight home due to weather can be stressful if you let it. But it also can be an opportunity to catch up on your rest. If you can’t get out of your hotel, catch up on your snooze time. Most of us are sleep deprived anyway and a few extra hours of rest can do wonders for your metabolism. On the flipside, overly worrying can lead to stress eating.

3. If your late, just meditate. You do not have to get caught up in the noise and bustle when stuck in an airport. Most airports have a chapel, lounge or quiet space where you can meditate or pray according to your practice to clear your head. Here is a guide that can help you out. https://www.sleepinginairports.net/

One of my favorite places is the chapel at DFW. But you can also find one of the gates that does not have a flight for an hour. For just type of these delays, I keep meditation applications Headspace, Calm, and the podcast Christian Meditation on my iPhone.

A plane delay or cancellation does not need to be a reason to go off the wagon. Use these three tips to keep on track when travel sets you back!

Coffee Cups Are Not Just for Coffee, Anymore!

2019-08-21Donald Grier

I have a secret weight loss weapon when traveling on the road – coffee cups. This wonderful tool is ubiquitous at hotels. Here are three simple weight loss hacks related to coffee cups:

The first is the obvious one – use it for coffee. Nothing gets the constitution working better than coffee. I drink one cup and you are ready for the rest room. But stop at one or two or you will have the opposite result since coffee is a diuretic. Also, if you are older like me and walking to the office you may not make it to the office a second time!
The perfect hard-boiled egg container. Almost as ubiquitous as coffee cups at the hotel breakfast counter are hard boiled eggs. They are a perfect source of protein and a great way to satisfy mid-morning snack or for lunch. A standard coffee cup can hold 3 large hard-boiled eggs. Place a lid on it and label it and now you have a ready-made free lunch to stick in the office refrigerator! See picture below of my friend adopting this new craze. Coffee cups can also serve as containers for the fresh fruit that is often set up on the breakfast buffet (don’t forget bananas and apples in your backpack). You could also use coffee cups for oatmeal. All three serve as wholesome snacks and lunch on the run. You also can save money if not on an expense account (or save your expense account to splurge on dinner!)
Larger cups for infused water. I love that a lot of hotels are now providing fruit infused water at the hotel. But I do not love the little dinky plastic cups with no lids. Answer – use coffee cups with lids and get 16 ounces of delicious water (to wipe away the effects of the second coffee).

There you have it. Coffee cups are not just for coffee anymore. Instead, they are a secret weight loss weapon for people on the go!

Listen to Learn and Lose!

2019-07-262019-08-23Donald Grier

Photo by jonas mohamadi from Pexels

Listen to Lose — Photo by **jonas mohamadi** from **Pexels**
Listen to Lose!

When people start on a weight-loss journey, they talk too much. They talk about the latest diet they are trying or the latest fitness craze that they are meaning to get to tomorrow. But talk is cheap. You need to listen to lose! Listen to your heart, listen to your body, and listen to others.

Listen to your heart. The you that you are meant to be is one heart beat away. So, listen what your heart is telling you to do. Do not turn to things that stress you out. The latest fitness craze does nothing if your heart is not in it. It just stresses you out and will cause you to stop when you are discouraged. Instead, do what you love. Also, be thankful for what you have. A thankful heart is a stress free, restful heart. Stress is often the reason for losing sleep and gaining weight. Lastly, strive for a goal that inspires you. Your heart needs to be in it to win it!
Listen to Your Body. Your body knows what it wants. That is the reason too many hamburgers and fries give you 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 is saying. You may think is saying I need sleep when in reality your body is saying I need to exercise and get energy, or I am dehydrated, and I need water.
Listen to Others. Some people are struggling as you are and may have caught on to something new that you have yet to discover. Others may have won their battle with weight and have inspiring stories and important teachings to tell. Also, when you have met your target, listen to others to pass on your lessons and to provide you with a reason to stay on track.

Like all things, you learn more through listening than talking. So close your mouth, open your ears to Listen, Learn and Lose!

5 Melodies to Melt the Pounds

2019-06-022019-08-23Donald Grier1 Comment

Counting calories, exercising, and mindfulness are all common tools for weight loss. But one critical tool that people sometimes fail to consider is music. The right song at the right time can drive through that last mile. It can take your mind away from the stress and away from late night refrigerator raids. Lastly, a timely tune can inspire you through the hardship, the self-loathing and to a new you.

Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels

I can testify to the power of music in curbing the calories and the negative thoughts. I could name 100’s of songs that kept me going in my 170 lbs. weight loss journey. More importantly, music has been instrumental in keeping the weight off.

Each person is different. My songs may not be your songs but here are my Top 5.

Theme from Rocky – This one is my favorite song for two scenarios. First, it is hard to stop going no matter how tired you are when you here the first note of the Rocky theme. Many times, I was on my last leg only to go another mile after hearing Rocky. Second, I have a food strategy based on the Rocky theme. The equivalent of an Apollo Creed, first round punch is my weekend eating habits. In my case, I tend to eat too many Smart Points (unhealthy calories for you not in WW) on Saturday after a long week and my Saturday weigh-in. I usually end up with very few weekly Smart Points by Sunday. That is when the first chime of the Rocky song comes into my head. The rest of the week I eat healthy, exercise and gain back some of the weekly Smart Points. The whole time that I am doing the Rocky strategy the tune is running in the back of my mind. If you want to use this strategy, here is a link to the Rocky Theme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=liPSTWdYiKs
Don’t Stop Believing, Journey – There were many reasons for me to give up when I first started losing weight. Tipping the scale at over 350 lbs. with sleep apnea and a heart condition to boot, it was hard to believe I would ever turn it around. Roadblocks and obstacles stood around every corner. But, that is when I would crank up Journey and run through the stirring chorus “Don’t stop believin’, Hold on to that feelin” . The feeling and dream that I held on to was I could again be healthy. NEVER stop believing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcjzHMhBtf0
One Thing Remains, Jesus Culture – This may be the least traditional weight loss song, but to me this is the most important. Self-hatred and fear were two things I had to overcome both in getting healthy and life in general. When you don’t know were to turn, you should seek love. To me, Jesus is love. And as the song goes “His love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me”. This has become my favorite song when facing the negative thoughts and fears running through my mind. I am forever grateful for our Life Teen Minister for introducing it to me. Another benefit of this song is I sing it so loud when it comes on that I am sure to drop a pound or two. For you have not had an opportunity to hear it, here is a link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ
Shake it Off, Taylor Swift – My cycling instructor Corey often mashes up songs with those of Taylor Swift to inspire us. He says that Taylor Swift goes with everything and he is right, especially when it comes to weight loss. Besides the song being so danceable that you must move, its lyrics are compelling. To paraphrase, if you have a bad day, instead of eating a bag of M&M’s just shake if off! I included a link just in case you were heading to the refrigerator now to drown your day! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM
YMCA, Village People – This is a no brainer. First, it talks about going to the gym! So, if you are thinking about staying on the couch, just turn this oldie up. Second, it is even more danceable than Shake It Off and it comes with its own choreographed dance moves! Last some of the lyrics resonate including the initial ones “Young man, there’s no need to feel down. I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground. I said, young man, ’cause you’re in a new town. There’s no need to be unhappy.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeADaAg0f_w

Get happy and lift yourself off the ground! Find your own songs or use these to melt the pounds and become healthy!

In Just Spring

2019-03-30Donald Grier

In Just-

Spring when the lame

middle-aged man

runs far and wee!

And the ground-beneath

is puddle-painful

From too-much running too-soon,

As the hobbled, middle-aged man

limps slow—ly far and wee!

The above is my take on e.e. cummings’ classic “In Just Spring” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47247/in-just after my first run in Spring. Everyone wants to get out and lose those 10 pounds of insulation gained during the Winter months. But before you go out and become the little lame woman or man, here are three rules to follow In Just Spring.

Take it Slow – It is always tempting to walk that extra mile or two when the weather gets warm and the bluebonnets are out. That is exactly what I, my wife, and our dog Boots attempted to do on the trails on Brushy Creek. Even with a stop at a sandwich shop for a quick bite, we ended up struggling to make it back to our car. We ended up dragging our 70 lbs., huffing Bernese Mountain dog the last few yards. We are still recovering!

The lesson learned is simple. Do not overdue it with the first flowers of spring. In the winter it is a struggle to get out and about (read how so in this blog https://weightlossleadership.com/2018/12/09/baby-its-cold-outside-but-exercise-anyway/ ). Now that the weather is more conducive to exercise don’t try to catch up all in one day. Take your time to slowly build up your miles, so you too don’t become the little lame woman or man (or dog!).

Do the essential – A corollary to the first rule is to focus on the essential. In his book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg Mckeown says that the key to success to health and life in general is to do “less but better”. When waking up after our winter fog, it is tempting to try everything at once to get fit. It is understandable, we are excited to get swimsuit ready for the summer. So we take up the latest diet, try a myriad of fitness fads, and buy the newest exercise equipment from Amazon. But it is better to focus of the essentials. Track the food you eat diligently, get plenty of sleep, and focus on the now. Don’t do everything! Do the essential well to enjoy the Spring and the new you.

Be in the Moment – The flowers are in bloom and the sun is out. It is time to focus on the now and enjoy the new life of Spring. One way to take it slow is to take in nature. Sit on a bench. Take a picture. Lie in the bluebonnets like Boots the dog! Clear your mind of anxiety and enjoy the blooming beauty all around you.

Follow these rules to avoid becoming the little lame, middle-aged woman or man. Spring into the season and a new you!

Change Your Environment, Change Your Life!

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The key to improving your health and losing weight is your environment. We in the 21^st century live in a toxic environment. Artificial food, false friends, and feelings of discontent lead to stress, weight gain and self-medication. To embark on a journey toward health, we need to put away the fast food, vitriol and anxiety of everyday living to embrace real food, real experiences, mindfulness and thankfulness.

Man in field of bluebonnets — 55 Bday Picture

I know I lived in that environment up until a few years back and experienced its negative consequences. With ready access to Quarter Pounders, Diet Cokes, and M&Ms, I doubled my size and diminished my disposition. These unhealthy eating practices were exacerbated by too much face time at work and Facebook for leisure. The result was an unhealthy, grumpy middle-aged man who could not walk around the block. Something had to change! Only when I started to change my environment did I change my life!

There were three aspects to my environment that I decided to change in January 2015. Weighing more than all but three of the heaviest players in the NFL with a goods deal less muscle tone and height, I had to take the following actions to change my environment and restore my hearth:

Changed my food environment. The first aspect that I set out to change was my pantry. There were several nemeses that I had to swap out. The first was Ice Cream. I was an absolute ice cream fanatic. So much so that I created an acronym for my Ice Cream addiction – ICR. This is how it is used. Once my kids could drive, I would call out – “Hey, Kyle can you go on an ICR. Get me a large M&M blizzard and get something for everyone else.” ICR if you have not figured out yet is Ice Cream Run and it supplemented the ice cream I already had in the freezer. In addition to Ice Cream, I kept a pantry well stocked of chips, peanut M&Ms, and a big 1-gallon plastic container of mixed nuts. All available for ready access whenever I became stressed. This had to change so I sought out alternatives.

I initially replaced my DQ Blizzard with Skinny Cow Ice Cream sandwiches and eventually Non-Fat Greek yogurt with Banana’s (I still stay away from Ice Cream totally since it is a trigger food). I replaced peanut M&M’s overtime with WW Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie flavored bars that are individually wrapped, the same calories of a two peanut M&M’s and less likely to gouge on by the cupful! I replaced chips with a crunchy, healthy alternative that absorbs Salsa just as well – Broccoli. I dealt with my Mixed Nut affliction in a similar way that I did Peanut M&Ms. I swapped out the tub full of Mixed Nuts from Costco with individual packets of smaller size that are less likely to gouge on in fits of stress eating. These and other food changes got me one third of the way to a better environment.

2. Changed my social and work environment. The next thing I needed to do was change up how I spent my time. During the day and into the early evening I was spending time locked to a desk in conference calls or directing my team. At night, I read the latest political debates late into the night on Facebook. Both resulted in too much work time and not enough downtime. Additionally, the constant diatribe of uncivility on social media was stressing me out. I could feel the cortisol racing through my veins as I dealt with the next work issue or latest political debate.

I decided to take two measures to change my social and work environment. First, I vowed to get up and move for 10 minutes each hour and to block out 1 hour for working out in the morning. Additionally, I vowed to leave no later than 7 PM unless the world was ending. At first, I thought these actions would detract from my work effort, but I was wrong. Instead, it fostered communication between my team and I and provided me with the respite to come up with better actions.

The second thing I did was make a determined effort to spend less time on social media and to spend that time on positive feeds. I accomplished this in two ways. I monitored and reduced my time reading social media. When I could not reduce it as much as I hoped, I decided to change my feeds and to listen to mindful podcasts. I actively sought out positive Facebook groups such as Spreading Positivity and liked their content. Over time, my Facebook feeds have changed because of this determined effort from politics to positive messages. Many of these serve as inspirations to my blogs! I have switched my environment from Trump to Tranquility!

3. Changed my internal environment. The most important environment to change to get healthy is the internal dialogue running through your head. The change in the social and work environment helped a lot in this endeavor, but I was still having negative thoughts. To counter them, I took up meditation and mindfulness. I have used the Headspace application as well as the Christian Meditation blog to get mind off the problems running in my head to the progress I am making in my heart!

Changing your environment is the first step to changing to the new you! I did it and so can you!

Baby It’s Cold Outside, But Exercise Anyway!

2018-12-092018-12-09Donald Grier2 Comments

Recently there has been a lot of controversy on the song “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. Now, I am not going to get into the controversy. No. Instead, I decided to use the melody, which I love so much, and make new lyrics that are appropriate for those losing weight!

Here is the song with the lyrics directly below:

I really should go play,
But it’s cold outside,
I got to get away,
But it’s cold outside,
I need to exercise,
So, I don’t get fat,
What do you think of that?
I have to go, go, go,
But my body says no, no, no,
I really should go and do my exercise,
But I despise,
The cold, the cold, the cold, THE COLD!

Most of us hate to exercise when it is cold outside. But it is a necessity if we are going to keep on our weight loss journey. So, how do you get your exercise in, when you don’t want to go out? Here are five tricks of the trade.

Bundle up and play! A key to good health is getting sun. So, the first thing is to layer up and get outdoors. Winter is a good time for high calorie burning especially if you are in Minnesota which I will be in a few weeks. So, layer up and have some fun with winter sports such as cross-country skiing, and sledding (as long as you are climbing up the hill after sledding down!) Take advantage of these great sports that are only available in the winter (or early spring and late autumn when you are in the frozen tundra up north).
Romp around in your romper! Those Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Jack LaLanne fans out there know the power of the romper. The founding father of exercise, Jack, and Abe Weisman, Tony Shaloub’s character on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel show us how it is done old school with simple calisthenics. Whether you are in the warmth you are home or in the Catskills as Abe, old school calisthenics can get your heart pumping. If you have YouTube,you might even want to one of Jack’s old TV routines shown here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4A3mdG5zbQ
Spin to win! Biking outside is not always available or inviting when the roads are slick. But you can always do inside cycling and learn from the best! Read my recent blog on the King of Cycling! https://weightlossleadership.com/2018/06/10/heroes-of-health-series-episode-2-corey-the-cycling-king/
Take your Dog for a walk! Some dogs are conditioned to walk in the cold. Boots, our Bernese Mountain Dog, gets way more active when its get’s colder. As you can see from his thick coat and bear like appearance, Boots loves the cold and can walk a lot further when it is 30 degrees than 100 degrees in Austin. So, take care of your body and take your dog on a walk to escape that pesky cat.
Dance fever. This last one comes from my daughter Kate the Great. When she gets done from a tough day teaching high school, she goes home, turns on the X-Box and “Just Dance”s. Whether with an X-box game or to some Venmo videos of Taylor Swift (I personally love “Shake it Off”, dancing is an excellent way to shake off the pounds!

These are just five ideas to keep in shape during the winter months. There are many more like chopping wood for your own fire or hot yoga, but these will suffice for now. Bottom line: Don’t get old, just because it is cold. Exercise and have fun!

Don’t Stop Believing: A Weight Loss Journey in Three Intervals

2018-10-142018-10-14Donald Grier2 Comments

Over the last few months, I have been training to be a Spin Instructor. The thought that I could be a spin instructor a few years back was unimaginable. Cresting at 358 lbs., I could not ride a bike for more than a few minutes without one of two things happening. Either I would throw out my back, or so much pressure would be applied to a certain area that it would become numb, worse yet.

Guy on Cycle — I am on the Edge of Glory

I only started to do spin after I had dropped some weight. Then, I fell in love with spinning. Part of it was the music, part of it was the exhilaration, but most of it was my instructor, Corey Ellis. You can read more about this hero of health in this blog. Heroes of Health Series, Episode 2 – Corey the Cycling King

I knew I had to go that extra step after finishing 4 hours of spinning during Lifetime Fitness St. Jude’s Fund Raiser – Ride for a Reason. I decided to get certified as a Spin Instructor. The added benefit is I get to be trained to Corey. See the picture of me, Corey, Kaisa, and another cyclist after the Race for the Cure.

lifetime

On October 20^th, I will get the chance to teach part of a Spin Class for the first time and I am totally stoked. I have come up with my Simple Set (a series of spinning intervals timed to a music) that speaks to both my weight loss journey and obstacles that we all need to overcome in life.

I have come up for a title and a subtitle for my Simple Set. The main title is For Excellence We Strive. The secondary title is called “Don’t Stop Believing, Even When You Are Living on A Prayer, Because You Could Be on The Edge of Glory” (a careful read will tell you the name of my songs!). Here is the meaning of the two titles.

The main title is “For Excellence We Strive” for two reasons. First, it is the motto for my class at West Point, the class of 85 (more later). The second reason is during the training, the cyclist will have three opportunities to strive for excellence only to be beat it in the next interval. Why? Because the excellence of today is the mediocrity of tomorrow. You must always strive for excellence, and when you achieve your goal, it is not time to revel and become complacent. No, it’s time to strap on your cycling shoes, clip in, and race to beat your previous best!

I will not repeat the second title but instead tell you why I picked the three songs:

Don’t Stop Believing – Journey. This first song represents the start of my weight loss journey and simulates climbing up a hill that slowly ascends. As you make the first few steps on the path to health, it is important not to stop believing you can do it. Even though the climb is getting harder after the first few moments of success, you need to keep pushing.
Living on a Prayer – Bon Jovi. This second song is prefect for the mid part of any weight loss journey. Three times in this song, you climb up as you pray that you overcome the next obstacle that is in your way. And three times, you reach the exhilaration as you find success; only to meet the next hill. I also picked this song because it has the lyric “Oh your half way there, oh Living on a Prayer”. I remember my half way there moment on my weight loss journey. It was at my 30^th West Point Reunion when I had lost one half of my weight goal (see picture below)

Picture of Classmates — Half Way There – West Point Reunion

Also, many times as I got stuck, I was Living on A Prayer. Praying that I would not give up. Praying that I could do it. Praying for a New Life!

On the Edge of Glory – Lady Gaga. I will not lie. I picked this last song as a tribute to Lady Gaga after seeing her performance on a “Star is Born”. But, then I realized how well it fit. Ask any Lifetime member of Wellness that Works (the organization formerly known as Weight Watchers) and they will tell you the last few pounds to your goal are the hardest. But it is essential not to stop when you are on the Edge of Glory. The song is perfect for this last set because during the verses you climb large hills but then at the end you feel the exhilaration of the chorus as you spin out at 110 RPMs!

So, there you have it. I am on the Edge of Glory and hopefully I will achieve it on October 20^th. If interested, message or text me when we solidify the exact time. It will be at Lifetime Fitness Austin (still trying to figure if it is North or South).