This blog is for and about the Webster family. Each of us want to make choices every day that will result in optimal health and fitness. We represent different generations and different places in life - from empty-nesters to young families to students. Our health goals are as varied as we are, but we want to have a common place to post our progress and our challenges. We will be accountable to each other - to provide support, design incentives, share information we come across, and in general cheer each other on and celebrate our steps toward fitness! If anyone happens upon this blog and is inspired to be more fit and healthy that is icing on the cake. So here we go!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Kathy - Still Here

I was a bit surprised to see that is has been over a week since I last posted.  I am still here, still pursuing fitness, still taking the beast for daily tromps, still struggling to be regular with KB workouts. We had family visit over the holiday weekend and Uncle David and I had a fascinating discussion about motivation and such things (so interesting that I put 2 heaping tablespoons of baking soda in the French Vanilla Silk creamer instead of clear jel - nastiness!).  He has read a lot about fitness and motivation and I sincerely hope he shares some of his knowledge with us.  I am going to do a KB workout after I finish posting.  I want to do a workout...I need to do a workout.  Now I really need to call it something other than a workout - any suggestions?

In other news - we are going to the dogs. Two puppies are arriving next week!  More beasts to tromp with!  Should be interesting.  I am trying not to recall the many sleepless nights we had with #1 beast....

Will keep you posted!  Pursue your dreams!  Reach your goals!  (Zen Habits is a good blog for setting goals, motivation and the like).

Tyler - Week Three Results

Hi guys, just checking in with week three's results. I'm a bit late this week due to a lot of general lazing around over Memorial Day weekend. First I'd like, to answer a couple questions I was asked about last week's post. So far, this diet has been producing pretty steady results for me so I don't see any reason to stop until I reach my goal weight. After that I will probably go back to eating regularly but I'm strongly considering doing a Slow-Carb month each year. Based on my experience so far, that should be more than enough to remove any extra pounds I put on during the rest of the year. Sophie is not doing this diet with me, though she has expressed interest in doing the exercise portion. Her main reason for not wanting to do the diet is that she doesn't like beans, which are . . . a bit of a staple on this eating plan. For the meals we eat together we have been having dishes that meet a couple of my categories for example--protein and veggies--and then I can have something on the side or ones where I can leave something out and have a complete meal. For example, we had haystacks the other day from which I simply subtracted the chips. To answer Mom's question, I do have specific exercises that I do. I do Glute Bridges for 20 reps, Flying Dog for 15 reps a side and Two-Hand Kettlebell Swings for 50 reps. This workout happens 3 times a week and takes around 5 minutes for 15 minutes of exercise a week or 1 hour total per month. As you have probably noticed, the exercises target the posterior train, which contains many of the largest muscles in the body and which is involved with a lot of daily activity movements.

This week I lost an additional pound for a grand total of 10 pounds so far. I'm not terribly concerned about the low number this week since I was moving past one of my usual sticking points. During my previous episodes of both gaining weight and losing weight I've noticed that my body has some weights that it just really enjoys being. I'll hit one of these weights and stick there for a while before progressing either lower or higher depending on which way I'm trending. So I'm actually very happy to have passed one of those sticking points with a one pound weight loss rather than plateuing there for a month. The next sticking point I know of is 7 pounds away so my numbers should rebound this week. 

Monday, May 23, 2011

Kathy - Great Info

Okay, so the title of this may be a bit selfish...it IS great info.  For me.  And probably for the rest of you also.  I found it on Josh Hillis's web site.  It is his response to a woman who asked him if his advice worked for old people. (As in over 40 - I am assuming that it also works for ancient people, as in over 50.  I do need to mention however, that J.Hillis called 50 the new 25.  Does this bias me in favor of his information?  Yes, yes it does).

Anyway, here is the information I have deemed great:  ( Keep reading, the best part is The Rules of the Fat Loss Game.)

RE: Age - it's not about what's possible.  You can get any results you want.  It's just a matter of how much time and energy you are willing to commit to it.  Across the board though, people find with these workouts it takes less time than they thought it would.

In fact, I find that it's not necessarily getting older that makes it harder, but more like increased responsibility and increased demands on time.  And those tend to show up the older we get.  So it becomes more important to plan and be efficient.

Ultimately, what you've got is what you've got.  Some people have injuries.  Some people have diabetes.  Some people have slower metabolisms.  Some people have bad habits.  There are a million factors that could make it easier or harder.  Regardless, the rules of the game are the same: We need a good workout, and we need to make changes in the food.

The worst case scenario I've ever seen was that a person's circumstances made getting results slower.  But the rules of the game never changed - smart changes in food over time, and a good workout.  That's it.

So what I'm getting at is that you can totally lose that 40+lbs.  At the fastest you could do it in is 20 weeks.  At the slowest, probably 16 months (if you went really slow).  But there's no question that you can do it.

Mostly it's not that it's HARD.  It's just a matter of getting real about what it takes.  And really accurate about food.  In 8 years of doing this, not one client I've ever had really ate as well as they thought they did.  EVERYONE is shocked the first time they actually keep a food journal.

None of this is easy.  But I would urge you to keep it simple.  The simpler you can keep the game of fat loss, the better it'll go for you.

THE RULES OF THE FAT LOSS GAME

1.) You have to get real about your food.  Write it all down.  If you aren't writing it down, you aren't in the game.
2.) Review your food log.  See what is working.  See what isn't working.  Look for where you might need to plan more, cook more, or add a new habit.  Make one positive change each week.  Never make more than one change.
3.) You want to get stronger in pushing, pulling, squatting, and hip hinging.  Sometimes lift heavier weight.  Sometimes lift more reps.
4.) You have to work on quality of movement so you don't get hurt.  Especially if you are over 30.  That may be stretching.  It may be dynamic joint mobility.  It may be studying form and doing one "workout" per week where you just focus on doing each movement better.
5.) Have phases of training where you really kick ass (for 6-12 weeks), and have phases of training where your workouts are chill.  Sr. RKC Dan John calls these "Bus Bench Workouts" and "Park Bench Workouts" - one kind of workout you're going somewhere, and the other you're feeding the squirrels and watching the clouds go by.  To get results long term, you need both.

WHAT YOUR RESULTS ARE TELLING YOU

1.) Scale weight = QUANTITY of Food.  Nothing else.  If the scale isn't moving, you are eating too much.  Too much.  There is nothing else to it.  Your workouts don't even effect the scale much.  Let me repeat: For the scale to go down, you must eat less. 
2.) Body fat percentage = Quality of Food + How Strong You Are.  If you are losing weight, but your body fat percentage is still up, A.K.A. - "I still look like crap out by the pool", you need to look at quality of food, and if you are getting stronger in your workouts.
Keep it simple, play by the rules, and hit all of your goals!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Tyler - Week Two Results

Hi guys, my second week on the Slow-Carb Diet has produced an additional weight loss of 2 pounds. I've lost a total of 9 pounds so far, which puts me at an average of 4.5 pounds a week. I did have a couple of lapses this week. On Monday a friend invited Sophie and I over to his place for Indian food, a meal that naturally included rice (which I'm not supposed to have) and naan (another no-no). Then on Thursday Alex was in town and we went to lunch at Araya's together (yes it's very healthy food but, you know, more rice). This week I intend to hew a bit closer to what I'm supposed to be eating. I have tasty, tasty kidney beans in the slow cooker as I type. This week I will also be beginning the recommended exercise program. For the past two weeks I've been engaging in little to no deliberate exercise, mainly because I wanted to see what the diet would do on its own. Now I'm kickin' it up a notch. We'll see how the next two weeks go.

Oh, and to answer the question Mom asked - no, I don't get hungry on this diet. I think I'm actually feeling less hungry throughout the week because I'm eating breakfast. There are a few time during the week when, due to the vagaries of my schedule, I can't eat for 5.5-6 hours. I get hungry then, but I would regardless of what I ate.  

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Brooke- Inspired

Thank you for the post about Amanda! What an inspiration. I'm not sure how I would do 1200 calories a day with a family. She just had herself and her husband to "do food" for. I guess if I was truly ready I could do it. 

I have been wanting to post about a recent encounter with an inspiring woman. I was in church Sabbath of Mother's Day weekend and Pastor Dan was giving out flowers to the different women in church (who has the youngest baby, who has the most children, etc.) One of the things he mentioned was women who had run a marathon and a handful of women stood. Then he started whittling them down by age. The last woman standing was Gladys, age 92. I was awed!! She looked no older than in her early 70's to me. I was so impressed I came home and googled her. (My mother taught me that) The search came up with an article from KITV.com about the Honolulu Marathon in December 2010.
Gladys "Glady" Burrill, 92, the oldest woman to enter the Honolulu Marathon finished the race Sunday in 9 hours, 53 minutes and 16 seconds.

Read more: http://www.kitv.com/news/26112808/detail.html#ixzz1Mfz5i8mH
I think it's incredible! I want to look like that when I'm in my 90's! Just think how healthy her body is for her to be able to run a marathon at 92! Pure, delightful, inspiration!
I love to run and I have looked at the upcoming 5ks here in Medford and think I might just have to sign up for one and start training! Last summer I did the couch to 5k training program. I got up to 2.5miles. Garrett loves going with me in his stroller. He might just be a great running partner. I just have to figure out where to fit it in the schedule. Or invest in a double jogging stroller that I could take Chandlar in too and then we could run while Chad is asleep during the cooler part of the day. Might be a bit harder with summer coming and no school to occupy Emery's time. Any ideas?? The school has a track that I could run on and the boys could play in the middle in the grass. Running shoes would be a good investment as well. I purchased an inexpensive pair last summer but they were not great, gave me nasty blisters.
Katie, I know you have asked me to run at an event with you sometime in the future I would like to do that too.
So family what do you think?
Oh and points-  2 hours of exercise = 10 points  and 6 days of H2O= 6 so 16 for me this week
Running total =51 (I went back and totalled up the hours of exercise and water so Mom didn't have to)

Monday, May 16, 2011

Katie- Up to no good...

Mondays are rough for me. The day begins around 4 am after not much sleep the night before because I try to put off the work week as much as possible ie fight sleep Sunday night. So yes, up at 4 am, 2 hour drive and then 8 muck-mouth marines. By the time the work day is over, so am I. I drank water today but I also had some Starbucks (bad carmel macchiato BAD)
I did make it to the grocery store and picked out healthy choices for the week.. ingredients for green smoothies, a quinoa salad and a chickpea salad. YUM! Looking forward to trying it all.
I did enjoy Amanda's weight lose story. Its amazing for her to able to go from a 10/12 (where I am right now) to 4/6 (where I have NEVER been). That calorie counter website she listed sounded helpful.. so for the next 4 days I want to try to count my calories as well as 1 hour of cardio plus my dvds.

Also I don't understand how I can feel exhausted ALL day and then am not able to sleep early OR at my bedtime.. ideas?
Happy Health Fam!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Kathy - Inspiring Story

I stumbled across an inspiring weigh-loss story - just love it when I come across them unexpectedly!  To read this story for yourself go to KevinandAmanda.com.  On the side bar click on weigh loss story.  I am impressed that she was successful without any special equipment or program.  She had some good ideas and resources.

In other news:  50/50 weekend.  FL , the beast and I hiked up to the falls on the Slick Rock trail on Friday evening - we parked quite a ways down the road from the trail head so it was a decent bit of exercise.  Sabbath afternoon we went up the north highway and hiked through a rather marshy valley (scene of many cross-country skiing adventures in winter) and on a logging road - nice hike for about an hour - very lovely and springlike.  Sunday - oops.  Here it is 8:30 in the evening and the most exercise I have gotten is going up and down stairs a few times.  It has been a very rainy day - not even a tromp for the beast...

A new week of fitness possibility awaits us.  I like Katie's idea of finding something good to do for our bodies every day - such a fun, positive way to think about fitness.  Let's be very good to our bodies this week! 

Friday, May 13, 2011

Tyler - First Week's Results

So I started the Slow-Carb diet on Friday. I'm supposed to have one free day a week and I wanted my free day to be Saturday. Since it didn't make sense to do one day of the diet and then have a free day, I elected to have my first week be a long week. I've been going for eight days straight now and am very much looking forward to my free day tomorrow.

I didn't get much in the way of exercise this week, maybe an hour total. This was mainly because I spent a lot of time getting my meals figured out. Though I didn't exercise as much as I normally do, I was extremely successful at sticking strictly to the diet. I've lost seven pounds over the last eight days, so I guess things are going okay. Now that I have a better handle on the food situation I'll try to get in more workouts this coming week. Wish me luck as I continue this experiment!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Kathy - Just Right!

I have returned from visiting the Katie sector of the family - we had plenty of relaxing time, but we also got in a 1-mile park walk and a 3 mile hike to an oasis.  The highlight of the hike was seeing a desert tortoise! 

On the trip back I purchased a 20 lb kettlebell and took it for a test run this evening.  Loved it!  The 15 lb was getting just too easy and the 25 lb was a challenge to swing.  The 20 lb felt like a work out, but I was able to do the entire routine with it.  Lauren Brooks, the KB instructor on my DVD has a blog on her website, "On the Edge Fitness".  There is a great story posted by one her long-distance clients complete with before and after photos.  It was very inspiring!  I would love to visit Lauren Brooks' fitness center and work out with her!

On the tromp front, I think I have warm weather phobia.  We have had such a bitterly cold spring that I cannot wrap my mind around the concept of warm weather.  When the Beast and I started out this evening the wind was blowing so I put a fleece jacket on over my shirt and wore another jacket (not my ski jacket fortunately) over that.  I soon discovered that there is a big difference between a cold wind and a not-so-cold wind.  Had to shuck the jacket then rolled up the sleeves of the fleece jacket, and sweated my way through the tromp.  Loved the sunshine!  The mountains were spectacular!  The Beast was happy to have me back - at least she smiled at me a lot.  Must admit that I slowed down and enjoyed the experience a bit this evening. 

I have been lazy about posting our combined total points - anyone want to take a guess before I do?

Don't give up - it is so worth it to feel strong and healthy!  (Jean shopping turned out to be a positive experience too...!)

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

My Weird Breakfast

So, on Friday I started the slow-carb diet from the book 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. It's actually a bit odd how this came about. I was on my way to pick up an order of contacts when I thought something along the lines of "hey, while I'm over here near Third Place Books I should see if they have the 4 Hour Body book." What's odd is that I really have no idea where that thought came from. I'd heard about the book in passing several months ago, but I honestly can't think of anything that happened that day that would have made me think of it. So Wednesday I got the book, Thursday I read through the weight loss section, Friday I started the diet. Now, on this diet you eat three things: protein, beans and vegetables and you have those with every meal. Because I had clinic all day on Thursday I started with very little preparation. Here's what I had for breakfast on Friday:

Protein: leftover easter eggs. Beans: plain kidney beans I threw in the slow cooker overnight. Vegetables: cucumber and carrots. Not bad overall, but the beans were a little bland.

Lunch was better.
Protein: hard-boiled eggs. Beans: Spicey Indian daal (lentils). Veggies: Cucumber.

Dinner was best.
Protein: scrambled eggs with salsa. Beans: Kidney beans with Daiya vegan cheese and salsa. Veggies: Celery.

I've got a good stash off hard-boiled eggs now, as well as some curtido made for my veggies. I made lentil soup and I'm doing some chili this afternoon. I have three more days to go until my first free day and two days until I weigh in for the week. I'll let you guys know how it goes.



Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Katie-Facing Frustration

Hello one and all,
So if you guys remember, my goal was to lose 10 lbs before Mother Dearest's visit. She is arriving tomorrow night and I have lost a whopping... 2 lbs.. thats right, 2! I can't say that I'm not fiercely disappointed, but it won't help anything to get upset about it and eat my way to happiness.
So since I didn't reach my goal, no summer wardrobe shopping spree.. sad. BUT I am going to revamp my WORKOUT wardrobe. Maybe I'll be more motivated to go for a run in some cute running shorts.
I will have to count up my pts from last week but I know I at least got 6 H2O points.
Just remember a little bit everyday helps so much in the long run. I need to shift my focus from simply losing lbs and instead concentrate on what GOOD things I can do for my body today.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Brooke-Points?

I know I got in 5 days of water. I was not feeling well Sabbath and spent all day in bed. I did do weeding and went for a bike ride with the boys Friday but I'm not sure that was quite an hour. So no points for exercise.

That really is about all that is going on with me. Better luck this week?

Monday, May 2, 2011

Kathy - Going Heavier - Groan!

That groan is what you hear every time I move my shoulders.  My 15 lb KB was seeming a bit light - so I had FL pick up a heavier one for me last Friday.  Unfortunately he couldn't find a 20 lb one, he brought home a bright orange, 25 lb one.  Did it make a difference in my KB workout?  As in, could I finish it?!  I had to switch back and forth between the 2 weights depending on the given exercise move.

Tonight was a night off - had an evening commitment, so didn't get any exercise in.  Did get an hour in yesterday with a KB workout and a tromp.

Points earned last week:  31.  Had five hour of exercise and 6 good days of water. Am afraid to count points for weight lost because I find it too easily, but am enjoying the enhance amount of exercise - the jury is still out on the enhanced amount of KB weight.

How many points did the rest of you earn last week?