On guard

We're a little over a week past the Go Red for Women luncheon and about three weeks from the end of the Better U challenge. Since my first appointment with Dr. Branyas in mid-December, I've been watching what I eat and adding exercise to my normal routine.

Even so, I find that healthy eating and exercise is not automatic to me yet. I still have to be on my guard.

My husband hurt his leg over two weeks ago and has been unable to get around very easily. So the lion's share of the housework, kid-toting, grocery shopping, etc. has fallen to me. He doesn't sleep well, which means I don't sleep well.

All that can add up to an "I don't want to" attitude about my healthy lifestyle habits. To be honest, I've given in to that attitude a few times over the past few weeks. While sitting on the couch still seems to be my default setting, overriding that setting is much easier than it was when I started the Better U challenge.

So this morning, when my hind end, my hips and my thighs (that would definitely include my lower thighs) were aching from Saturday's workout with Kyle at LifeTime Fitness, I stuck my fingers in my ears and shouted "lalalalalala, I can't hear you" and put on my workout clothes anyway.

I took the kids to school and headed for the gym. After 45 minutes on the elliptical, I felt better -- emotionally and physically. Who knew the key to dispensing muscle pain is to work through it?! To me, the victory is not just getting myself to the gym, but also recognizing that I have to stay vigilant about staying on the road to a better me.



Amy Magan

Get'cha head in the game

We've been at this Better U challenge for almost two months now and one thing is clearer to me now than it ever has been before: Choosing to be heart healthy doesn't start in the gym or at the grocery store. It starts in my head.

I wasn't oblivious to the fact that my health was spiraling out of control -- I had plenty of prescriptions to prove it. But for some reason, maybe for several reasons, I was content to just live with that.

I joined Weight Watchers with a friend in mid-September and pretty much played around for two or three months -- losing and gaining with no real commitment to what I'd signed on for.

I'll admit that being selected for the Better U challenge was an ego boost and the thought of stepping out in front of hundreds of people at a luncheon and fashion show was certainly a motivating factor. But really, I didn't get my head in the game until I met with Dr. Branyas and she was so encouraging and so convincing that even starting out small could make a huge difference in my health.

That doesn't mean that it hasn't been a struggle from time to time. Recently, I went a whole week without setting foot in the gym. I let my head convince me that I had other things to do, that it was too snowy to drive, that "I'll go tomorrow."

And it's not always negative things that mess with my head. Sometimes my success is a limiting factor. I think to myself "I can have that brownie because people are telling me how good I look!" So I just have to set goals and keep those in front of me.

I set a goal to lose 20 pounds from the time I first met with Dr. Branyas until the luncheon. One little game I play with myself at the gym is to use the locker marked with the number that matches that weight -- a visual reminder of where I want to be. And if that locker is not available (curses!), then I use the locker that is the total number of pounds I want to lose when all is said and done.

Today -- 8 days from the big day -- I'm 4 pounds from my initial goal. Not too bad. When I told Kyle that this morning, I told him I thought I could at least get close. Maybe within two pounds. He challenged me to not think "close."

"Just do it," he said. "Cardio, every day. Watch what you're eating. Do it."

In other words, "get my head in the game."