Reposted from Feb. 2010, Liberation Wellness BlogIf you’ve been reading my blog at all, you probably know that exercise was never one of my favorite activities, aside from biking and hiking. These activities are still amongst my favorites, but here we are in the middle of winter when biking is out of the question, and hiking can be a bit challenging. This is the very season when many of us, including myself, put on a few too many pounds. As a matter of fact, it was about this time last year when I gained back the 10 pounds which had been lost the previous fall. This time around I knew winter would be the proving ground of the Liberation Diet. So how’s it going? Well, the holidays were difficult in that I was stagnant in my weight loss for about 6 weeks, even putting on 2 or 3 pounds. But these pounds were rather quickly lost again, much to the satisfaction of my adoring husband! The things which I have found to be the most important are these: eat fat, fat, and more fat! And keep moving. Yes, it is true that the more cream, the more butter, the more lard I eat, the more I lose. Amazing, isn’t it?! Delicious, too. I have even found lately that I can eat a slice of bread (just one), slathered in a thick layer of butter, without gaining an ounce! And my energy level? Through the roof! But the movement factor is critical, and so I wanted to share a few tips that I found to be most helpful. First, Moms, wear those babies! I still carry my 3 yo in my Ergo when working around the house and doing my dance/aerobics. She loves to be close to Momma, and I enjoy having her with me. Plus, it is like lifting weights continually. My little one is a lightweight, but when I add my ankle weights, it is an extra 30# added to the load, and workouts become even more effective! Another very important change which I have made this winter is to put my computer on an elevated surface, so that sitting is not an option. I have an IMac (best computer ever made, by the way!), which sits comfortably atop my buffet, but will soon have a new home on a tall work space in our bright and sunny great room. Like a lot of people, I spend more time on the computer than I would like to admit; it is how I run my household and my business, how I keep in touch with friends and family, my main source of learning, and the biggest source of sore (but no longer increasing) back side. So why stand for it?! With the computer raised to a comfortable height I can continually move while working! When writing, like now, I am listening to my favorite Pandora station, and I am managing to move; lunging, stretching, moving my hips. When reading or using Skype I can actually be jogging in place (Kevin, if I sometimes seem out of breath on a conference call, this is why . And I can easily break away to tend to children, help with a math problem, or break out in vigorous movement when a fun song comes on! The other thing which I now do is my fun Dancercize routine. A sweet son of mine made a cd for me of techno music-Eiffel 65, specifically. While this is something I never would have chosen to listen to in the past, I find it invigorating and so much fun! It is hard to keep still when there is a strong beat and happy tone. Meaningless and silly words, yes, but the music gets me moving! I strap on my ankle weights and grab 5# in each hand, and off I go for a 30-45 minute workout which leaves me feeling fantastic! Miss Emma is often on my back as mentioned before, but not usually for the duration; some movements are just a tad bit difficult with a big lump of giggles attached! You may find some other type of music invigorating, but whatever it may be, let it move you! I should warn you that this type of activity, while fun, can be very embarrassing when unexpected guests arrive, so make sure to maintain a sense of humour. One last thing; don’t let the cold and snow stop you from taking walks. Some of my most pleasant walks/runs have been on a crisp, cold winter’s night. Or day. We need lots of sunshine, and I find that not only do I feel better, but I lose better when I get plenty of sunshine. As many of you also experienced, we were blessed with about 4′ of snow recently. Soft, beautiful, heavy snow! While I don’t mind at all being snowed in, we had a real need to get our trapped eldest daughter onto a flight back home to her husband. My Man cleared the top of our nearly 1/2 mile long drive, but more needed to be done and I am the one in our household who needs to burn calories, definitely not him! So after shoveling a path from our porch to reach the snow-blown path to our parking area, then shoveling out the family van (largely hidden in snowdrifts), I took over with snow blowing the rest of the driveway. The hard part. The part where the drifts were waist-high (remember, I am tall). It was slow going, but I enjoyed the work and the sunshine, even the muscle aches which came a few days later (not too bad, actually). I would not mind at all doing it again… So you see, even though it is winter, I am moving. And losing weight-another 1 1/2# last week! I look forward to springtime, but am enjoying the lovely winter and not letting it get me down-literally. How about you? Are you lounging around, packing on the pounds, lamenting being confined due to the season? May I suggest that you get up, start moving, and get your body in shape? Be creative, and I know you will be pleased with what can happen!
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