Celebrity Weight Loss Week: Inspirational Mo'Nique

This week's theme is celebrity weight loss...successes, inspirations, and thought-provoking. There has been so much in the news lately about this topic...we can definitely learn from all of it!

Comedian Mo'Nique was on both the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Ellen DeGeneres Show last week. She was promoting her new movie, Precious, but another big topic was her recent weight loss success. Seeing the clip from the movie and then her in real life now you couldn't NOT see the difference.

The reason I find Mo'Nique to be a weight loss inspiration is her attitude. She was very happy with her appearance at 262 pounds...she say a "big sex kitten" when she looked in the mirror. Her husband gave her the health wakeup call however. He loved her as she was...and was concerned for her health...so he said to her 262 was too much, adding, "I want you around forever."

She could have gotten pissed off, taken this comment to mean he didn't really love her, or didn't find her attractive...she could have chosen to allow his comment to alter her perception of herself as a big sex kitten. She chose instead to hear the love in his words, and to do something about it. She is still an ample woman...a big and beautiful woman...who is now considerably healthier.

Mo'Nique took some flack from some of her fans...they liked her large. I love that she looks them in the eye (albeit through the camera lens) and asks them if they would like her dead!

We can all take a cue from this weight loss inspiration...be comfortable in our body, no matter our size. See the beauty that we all have in us, and still go for improved health.

Congratulations Mo'Nique. Not only are you a funny woman, now you are a healthy role-model for others...thanks, from the bottom of my healthy heart!

Celebrity Weight Loss Week continues tomorrow...with more lessons we can learn from a "larger-than-life" star!

Waking Up Muscles I Didn't Know I Had

I just got back from a visit with my mom...it was her 80th birthday. It was a nice visit and the weather was gorgeous...which since we had just received a foot of snow at home was really relished!

While I was there I joined her for a "stretch and tone" exercise class that she goes to on Mondays. It was great to see my mom with her workout buddies...and they all welcomed me to the class...socializing was strictly before and after the class though...during it they were all business. I was anticipating that this class would be a breeze...after all, I'm only 51 and the class is filled with seniors.

Well, did I learn a thing or two! First it reinforced that I am not a dancer...never have been, probably never will be. I laughed at myself, as I tried to coordinate my hands and legs...and that was the warm up! Fortunately for me, the rest of the class was much easier for the dance-challenged!

Shirley, the instructor, warned the "new members" of the class to take it easy...that she would be waking up muscles that we didn't know we had...and that if we tried to keep up with her we would feel it either the next day or day after.

She worked our shoulders and hips in gentle ways--but for an hour--I kept up with her no problem...but she was right...by Tuesday evening my hips were aching. Turns out I found a couple muscles that I had not been using.

Does this mean that I've been exercising wrong? No. It just means that I may not have been mixing it up as much as I thought I had. The big advantage to changing up your routine is that you move different muscles.

So, take a cue from me...when you try something new, take it easy...even easier than you think you need to. Then see how you feel over the next few days. If you don't hurt, then you can step it up! Get variety into your workout routine so you use and strengthen all your muscles.

Finding a sore area means that you are making it stronger, so it isn't a bad thing as long as you don't over do it is so much you quit working out altogether! If you stick with your 15-20 minute workouts every day you are much less apt to overdo it...but if you do then take it easy and really stretch the sore areas for the next couple of days.

Weight Loss Tip: Feel LIFE

I have fought my emotions for a large part of my life.

I thought I was unique, but I have learned that lots of people are uncomfortable with emotions.

We have emotions...that is part of being human. And we are taught early on not to express them...or not to express certain emotions...at least in public.

Little boys are taught not to cry. Little girls are taught not to be angry. Stereotypes of course...but you get the picture. We are pretty much taught to try to keep it calm all our lives. Like that is possible!

We are hushed if we get too excited, perked up if we are too quiet. We are soothed if we are upset.

We are made to feel like our emotions are wrong...or bad...or by extension we are wrong or bad.

Our emotions aren't good or bad...they just are. We were given emotions for some reason...so I'm sure they serve a purpose. I don't have to enjoy the roller coaster that I sometimes feel, but it does seem that I have to take the ride from time to time.

I used to try to squelch my emotions. I thought I could control my feelings...love, hate, fear. All I did was keep them at bay temporarily. When they got really big I ate to feel better. Trouble was I had to eat more and more just to get by...not to feel good...just to not feel bad.

That did not work out well for me. I wound up fat. Really fat. Then I still felt bad...and I was fat.

That is when I decided I had to make a change. I started to allow myself to actually feel life. I started to feel joy...to actually seek it out. I stopped to watch a sunrise and feel the peace that rose in my heart--joining the sky on it's journey across the sky.

I found little things that brought me pleasure...the details in a flower, the tenacity of a bug, the shifting shapes in the clouds through my window, the sun on my cheek.

I also began to allow myself to feel some sadness, some disappointment...without eating...without drowning it.

What surprised me is the sadness was short-lived. It might have been more intense without a pint of Ben & Jerry's numbing effect, but it lived and died quickly...no longer held captive by the sugar it did not have to linger. And I didn't add to the disappointment...by adding my regrets about what I ate to the mix.

Life happens. We cannot truly appreciate the joys if we never experience any lows. Do I wish people to be unhappy? For as brief a moment as possible. In order to do that, you have to feel it and let it go.

Stop self-medicating your life away. You will have more joy...and you will lose weight, too!

Do You Know Where Your Children's Candy Is?

Have you staked claim to your children's Halloween candy score? Are you doing it "for their own good?"

Did you buy only candy you hate so you won't eat it? Or did you buy your favorites and secretly hope no one comes to the door to take it away?

Did you buy an extra bag..."just in case"...and did you already eat it?

Heck, did you buy your "Halloween" candy back in September and have to replenish the supply two or three times already.

I've been there, done that...well, except for the kids...I don't have kids so I couldn't even use them as an excuse for having candy on hand!

This year is different. I won't be in town for Halloween, so I didn't buy any candy for trick-or-treaters. Let's face it...we don't really have many in our neighborhood...maybe 3 last year...so what's the point.

However, I did buy candy for me. Not because it is Halloween...because I wanted some. I bought a really good dark chocolate coated treat. And I let myself eat it all.

You know what? I still have some left!

By giving myself permission to 1) buy it, 2) buy something I really like and 3) to actually eat it, all the "naughtiness" is gone! So I had a couple bites and really enjoyed it and put the rest away.

Will I eat the rest...oh, I'm sure I will...but the point isn't that I don't or won't eat chocolate...it is that I CAN and still be healthy.

This change in mindset has been the key to my weight loss success. I have declared that no food is off-limits, thereby taking away the power of the food to suck me down the sugar abyss. It no longer calls my name. Oh, I hear a whisper now and then, but like any "normal, thin person" (words I NEVER thought I would be able to say in reference to myself) I can enjoy some of my favorites now and then...without being a slave to it! Hurray!

You can choose to continue raiding your kid's stash...you can mete out their treats while you secretly eat your favorites...and you can feel bad about all that...or you can decide, like I did that you are going to give yourself permission to enjoy whatever foods you want...

Nope, this isn't a trick. The real treat is that you CAN have weight loss success...and enjoy your favorite foods--and still look your kids' in the eye!

Oh My Aching...Weight Loss Tips

Do you have any body parts that ache once in a while? How about most of the time? How about all the time?

Truth is, if you are extremely overweight you probably do. And if you don't (yet) then you will, unless you do something about it. Consider losing weight as a way to improve your health...and have fewer aches and pains.

So while you are working on your health and fitness, be sure you take care of your body.

I had 3 knee surgeries, so those are obviously issues for me. Knees are a common pain spot for overweight people. No wonder. There is a lot of pressure placed on these joints. Painful feet are also a common complaint. With painful knees and/or feet it can seem like a challenge to exercise, but there are options that won't stress your joints.

Of course swimming is one option...but a lot of people who are overweight are shy about appearing in public in a swimming suit. While I encourage you to go to a pool, I know not everyone will.

Why are swimming pools great places to exercise? The water is buoyant, so you feel lighter, there is less pressure on those aching joints. The water also provides resistance against your movement...so even if you can't swim, you can get a really good work out in a pool just by walking in the water. Check out your local pools...they may have classes in water aerobics, water walking, or swimming...and some will even have special classes for the obese. Pools with these special classes may offer them at times when the pool is closed to the regular public. If you can't find a program like that in your area and it sounds like something you'd be interested in, contact your pool manager and ask about the possibility.

But you don't have to get all wet to get gentle exercises in...isometric exercises are another option that is easy on the joints while building muscle. If you missed it, earlier this week I got some great tips from a personal trainer on isometric exercises

I also had problems with my back...hmmm, do I think that maybe the extra weight I was carrying in front might have had a little to do with that? I sure do...and do exercises to strengthen my abs may help, but they don't reduce the stomach. Yes, your abdomen is your back's back, so making it stronger will help your back, but you also want to stretch your back. The best tip for an aching back that makes you want to not exercise...keep moving! Even if you have to move while laying on your bed or sitting on the couch. Start wherever you are. Every little bit that you move will help.

Look, it is never too late to lose weight and gain health. You can't be too old. You can't be too heavy. You don't have to exercise like a fiend...it is small changes that yield big results over time.

While you are making these changes, take care of yourself. Take care of your feet. Stretch. Take warm showers and baths. Get massages once in a while. Your body is working hard just carrying you around...be kind to it. You want to prevent injury...that is one of the biggest reasons to take things slow if you haven't been working out in a while. Injuries will keep you out for a long time and can really set you back...so start small.

And on days when you just don't feel like exercising at all...just do 1 minute. If you are doing okay after that then do one more. Even if you only do a couple 1 minutes exercise "breaks" scattered throughout the day...if you are doing a few more minutes than you did before then you are taking steps in the right direction!

Weight Loss Success Tip: Stretch It Out

"Stretch It Out" is a great over all mantra for weight loss success. It can be applied to lots of different circumstances.

Muscles--stretch it out...okay, them out, but you get the idea. Stretching is really important. It is what enables us to remain flexible...or regain flexibility that we have lost. Gentle stretching works your muscles and lubricates your joints--and just plain feels good!

Meals--stretch it out...okay, again, them...instead of racing through our meals, we will have better digestion and feel more satisfied if we stretch the meal out over a longer period of time. Rather than cramming food down in 5 minutes, try to take 10. Then go for 15. This is an area I am still working on, but slowing down does help.

Food intake--stretch it out (finally an "it"!) over more mini meals. Dieters often think they are "saving calories" by skipping meals. Truth is, most people eat more if they skip meals. On the other hand, if you eat 4-6 mini-meals instead of the normal 3 meals, you can actually take in more calories and still lose weight! That's a nice bonus!

Pleasure--stretch it out--definitely! The more pleasure we experience in our lives...the more joy we have...the better we feel physically. When we feel better we enjoy life more...and when we are enjoying life we are less apt to try to fill the void with empty calories!

Treats--stretch it out--when you want to have a treat, because after all, there are no forbidden foods, take your time. Savor the flavors and textures. Let it melt on your tongue. The more thoroughly we enjoy these treats, the more satisfying they are and the smaller quantities we feel we "need"...enjoy them and don't beat yourself up about it!

Whether you are talking about food or muscles, "stretch it out" is a good phrase to remember. Take your time, enjoy life, and stretch it out...for your health and weight loss success!

Weight Loss Success Tip: No Fat No Stick Secret

Here's a hot cooking tip--

Prevent foods from sticking in the pan Chef Tal Ronnen suggests using salt! No fat, no cholesterol...but what do you expect from the vegan chef recently seen on the Oprah Winfrey Show--

OH WAIT! Chef Tal DOES use fat! Just vegan fats!

You can get some of Chef Tal's recipes by going to Oprah.com. He has created a 21 day cleanse to help get rid of the "gunk" (don't you love when I talk technical?) from your body.

Chef Tal has also written a cook book, The Conscious Chef, filled with ways that you can eat in a healthy way, using vegetable based foods that taste like chicken, pork and beef! If you are looking for a gift for yourself, your family, or your favorite foodies...this is the cookbook to get!

No, you don't have to become a vegan to lose weight...but eating "closer to the earth" is good for our bodies, and for the earth!