The Healthy Bride

Last night was our last bride class of 2009.  Thanks to everyone who participated in our bridal fitness classes this year.  It was one of the best summers I can remember!  I think the classes only felt rain 2 times from April to September.  Wow, that is amazing. For the fall and winter, we are moving indoors.  We are starting a circuit training class next week – for anyone who is interested in joining.  It will run 10 weeks, with Brooke leading the class while I am away in November.

The transition to fall is often one that comes easy.  Big sweaters, leather boots, fancy wool hats and a bit slower pace of life feels welcome after the busy, full summer season.  Many of you were just married and the frenzy of planning your wedding and honeymoon is now behind you.

The fall can  mean “hearty (aka fatty) foods, Halloween candy and many lazy days watching movies on the couch.  How do we avoid falling into the low motivation behavior of fall?

Pick a goal that you feel passionate about.  Fall is a good time to join a class (already mentioned above, sorry) think about ski season (we are starting a ski-fit class in October) and how great it will feel to be in superb shape for skiing.  What about that winter beach get-away vacation in Hawaii or Mexico?  It will feel really good to cruise from your summer svelt to your winter bikini wonder-body!

Alternately, choose some small things you can do every day like the 50-50-50 (50 pushups, 50 sit ups, for 50 days), take only the stairs at work for the entire fall and winter months, kick candy for 30 days, promise to eat 9 friuts and veggies per day for the rest of the year, promise to do weight lifting 2 times per week for the rest of the year (I am signing on to this one), or ??????

What is your plan to navigate through the fall and into winter?  What is the most important items for you to commit to and include in your program for the remainder of 2009.  The sun is out again today, perhaps our fall motivation lapse will not happen this year?

Alexis sent me an email earlier this week asking how she can stay motivated to workout after her wedding.  I invited her back to class. She tried to get Alyssa to come, (Alyssa has also not worked out since her last Healthy Bride class) but she had food poisoning, so could not make it. Alexis came to class and had a fun workout.  She kept mentioning how much she prefers working out with other people.

I often hear that after the wedding, things are really hard.  There is the let-down from the event, the exhaustion from the months of planning and the need to just veg out for awhile.  I think taking time to do nothing is fine, as long as it does not last too long.

You guys work really hard in class, and my hope is that all the things you learned will stay with you.   So I feel that I need to do a little butt kicking to get you back out there. You have to start by thinking about what you like to do and who you like to do it with.  It’s doubly hard to exercise when you are doing something you don’t like.

Here are a few examples of others getting back out there.  Sometimes just hearing about what others are doing will help.

Shanya and Suzanna are a great example of two who have continued to be motivated past their nuptials.  I have seen them working out together in the park on several occasions.  It makes my heart sing to see them.  They have their bands and are doing all of the exercises they learned in the Bride class (and I am sure some they learned elsewhere), but the point is that they are there together.  I am not sure that they met in the bride class, but I think so. Great job you two, you are setting a great example for other brides looking for a way to stay motivated.

Tracy ran her first-ever half marathon last April and then told me that she was having a really hard time staying focused.  I tried to get her to sign up for another race and she just was not in the mood for that.  I then introduced her to Ann.  They became running buddies (they live 2 blocks away from each other) and soon enough had put their money down on the Victoria Half Marathon.  Hooray for running buddies (and workout buddies too) they really can help keep you motivated.

Alicia had Bradon in August and she is already back up to 6 miles.  She has a live-in babysitter (AJ dad of Bradon) and is determined to get back into shape for a race in November.  “I am getting back into the swing of things…  ran six miles the other day and have committed myself to the golden garden stairs once a week. I am surprisingly not that sore – it might be from carrying around the extra weight that now is gone.”  Go Alicia.

Shanna decided to become an iron triathlete.  She and her husband Scott train together, so it gives them a common focus.  I don’t think Shanna even owned a bike when she entered the half iron race last fall.  She went a long, long way from the Bride class to her half iron.  Of course, after finishing the half iron, she immediately signed up for a full Iron.  She is amazing!  Way to Go Shanna.

Karen joined The Healthy Goddess class on Saturday mornings at Phinney.  It’s a super fun class with Brooke as the instructor.  The group energy helps her get up early on Saturday mornings.

My wish for all of you is that your wedding is just one milestone is your quest for a lifestyle of health and fitness.  There is something very motivating about having those eyes on you at your wedding, but taking that momentum and rolling it forward to the “next big adventure” in your life will help you stay on track….from this day forward.

You may have read this article floating around the blogoshpere.  It’s a sad statement of how far some women will go to lose weight for her wedding.  My wish for all brides is that they choose to adopt a healthy lifestyle that allows them to be healthy, vibrant, and feel great from the inside out.  (1 stone = 14 pounds)

By ALASTAIR TAYLOR of the Sun (London)

BRIDE-TO-BE Samantha Clowe died after losing three stone (42 pounds) in 11 weeks – so she would not be fat for her wedding.

Samantha weighed 17st 6lbs (244lbs) when she got engaged, but embarked on a crash diet allowing just 500 calories a day to slim for the big event.

However, after she had shed more than a sixth of her weight, fiancé Andrew Smith returned home to find her collapsed on the landing.

Paramedics were unable to save the 34-year-old metallurgist, a Leeds inquest heard.

Samantha lived in the city and was said to be “fit and well”.

She had consulted her GP before starting the 500 calorie LighterLife diet, which involves eating “food packs” including soups, shakes and cereal bars. A woman her age needs 1,900 to 2,000 calories a day. Samantha’s mum Barbara told the inquest in a statement: “She said she wanted respect at work and didn’t want to be a fat bride.

“She was happy to go on the diet and I think wanted to surprise me by showing how much weight she’d lost.”

Home Office pathologist Dr Alfredo Walker said a post-mortem examination failed to establish a cause of death. He added: “But it may be related to her low calorie diet and weight loss.”

West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliff said it was “highly likely” the 5ft 9in Leeds University graduate died from cardiac arrhythmia, when the heart suddenly stops beating.

But he said it was impossible to establish whether her death was linked to the diet.

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Hinchliff said: “The evidence cannot point one way or the other as to whether her indulging in that diet in any way caused or contributed to her death.”

A LighterLife spokesman said: “We were very sad to hear the news of Samantha.

Engaged … tragic Samantha Clowe with fiancé Andrew Smith

Engaged … tragic Samantha Clowe with fiancé Andrew Smith

Ross Parry

“The coroner said she was clinically obese which increased the risk of cardiac death. It had been suggested there was a possible link to the diet, but the coroner said it was very difficult to make such a connection.

“LighterLife is a clinically monitored programme and has helped 150,000 people lose weight safely in the past 12 years.

“Samantha came to us weighing more than 17 stone. Although she lost three stone, her health may have already been compromised.”

Dr David Haslam, Chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: “Modern very low calorie diets are a safe and proven way to lose weight.

“Samantha’s death tragically shows the real dangers of being obese.” Her brother Daniel, 29, said he blamed himself for making her feel insecure about her weight when they were kids.

He said: “She was always big and unhappy with it, but I didn’t realise she would do something so drastic.

“She looked pale when I last saw her, but I never thought this would happen.”

In 2006, 25-year-old Londoner Matilda Callaghan died of suspected heart arrythmia after losing ten stone on the LighterLife diet.

Her inquest recorded an open verdict.

Original article

My friend Lynn is an amazing athlete.  She has been a volunteer climbing ranger on Mount Rainier for the past 5 or 6 years, rows at 5:30am most mornings, and is an amazing cyclist.

She spent last year in severe pain with a back problem that no one in the medical community could resolve. She had to quit doing most of the activities that make her happiest and replaced that time commitment with going to physical therapists, thoracic surgeons, acupuncturists, chiropractors, and finally a personal trainer. The one who helped her the most was a personal trainer. She just started strengthening around the problem and eventually; very slowly; she got better.

Fast forward to Summer of 2009. Lynn has been talking about riding her bike to Mount Rainier, climbing, then riding home. When she first started talking about doing this, it was a novel idea. Since then, I think a number of people have done it, so although not as big a splashy endeavor, it’s still an endeavor for most people. She recruited the group of friends she climbed Aconcagua with in 2007, and planned a full 5 days to really enjoy the trip. Eric, her boyfriend was along on the trip, and had big ideas for their summit day……

I received an email from Lynn after the trip saying: “Such a fun time. Just enough drama to make it interesting. And I have some crazy-good news to share next time we talk.”

As it turns out, the crazy good news was that Eric, her boyfriend, proposed on top of Mount Rainier!!!!!

She told me that he was suddenly down on a knee and she thought “oh, here we go, I am going to have to haul him down the mountain……” and then he asked her to marry him!!! Not at all what she was expecting, but an amazing moment on top of a mountain that has been such a huge part of her recent life. She, of course, said YES!

Upon their return to Camp Sherman there was a party with the rangers and others lucky enough to be at camp that day.

Congratulations to Eric and Lynn. They are trying to decide where to hold the ceremony. It will be tough to find a place all of her guests can reach because as they have proved, they like to make life events happen up high.