Starting over....

Ok, the fudge is all gone, cookies, pastries, greasy leftovers etc. ALL GONE! I've hit the Walden Farms shelves, and the organic meats and veggies again to begin living how I should. My body will thank me......later.....
Still haven't gone running since before Christmas eve....maybe tomorrow. I AM fighting a cold. (excuse #1) and it gets dark so early (excuse #2) and no time with the kids outta school  (excuse #3)...  I've got to get better at just getting a workout over with and enjoying the results and noticing how puney my excuses are...

Ahhh Fudge!!! by Dawn Rhodes

 To say the fudge is a decadent incredible dessert is just not enough! I look forward to fudge for the holidays every year! My daughter decided to make it for her classmates this year and made several batches. One to be left at the house for us......or ME...in other words. My excuses to steal a piece or 2 or 3 a day are exhausting even to me so I won't bore you with any. Weakness is the only excuse that puts it on my hips!
I've kept up with Body Pump class once a week and cardio 2 to 3 times a week. Good, but not enough to even touch the calorie count consumed by my fudge addiction through the holidays. My plan is to coast through by not gaining any more until January 3rd. My magic date to give myself zero excuses and make plans 3x's a week to weight train and 3x's a week for cardio, shopping will NOT be included in my cardio either. ;-/ HOHOHO!! Merry Christmas and Happy Fudging!!

Running gives me dark circles (Connie Conaway)

After much prodding by Amy, I am writing my first post. 

Running....they, (you know those people), say that running is a sure fire way to get into shape.  I'm sure there are books and other loads of information available instructing the proper way to run.  I, however, am creating my own form of running to get me through this ever so busy holiday season.

Connie's Training includes;

Running all over town to find that perfect CHRISTmas gift for those I love.
Running in circles at the office because of this thing Amy is passionate about called Deadline!
Running to get my hands on that "doorbuster" item in the wee hours of Black Friday....not so much because I want it or know someone who will but because everyone else wants it so it MUST be good.
Running around the house decorating like a mad woman to create a CHRISTmas wonderland.
Running from parties to open houses to banquets to concerts to drama performances to parades to client appointments to....
Running thoughts in my mind making sure I have thought of everything I need to pull off another event.

So as you can see, I'm into this fitness thing!  The problem is, the only change I see in my body makeover is the dark circles under my eyes.  I think I need to think about running back to Woodcreek to pick back up on those body pump classes...

Confessions/Motivations - Amy Brocato Pearson

Confession: aside from a wonderful walk on the  Southside Trails at Rose Rudman park on Saturday morning (which is going to be a weekly thing, I LOVE it out there), I haven't done a whole heck of a lot.

Confession: Nelson Clyde gave us all a "Fit City" pass for the delicious luncheon catered by Rick's on the Square to celebrate the Tyler Morning Telegraph's Christmas party, but I still ate the bread pudding. I'm not sure my hips or heart registered that "pass." (but thanks anyway, Nelson).

And while at the Christmas party, I promised Dave Berry I'd blog about it. So here you go, Dave.

Motivation: Everyone promises that the more you exercise, the more energy you'll have. I vaguely remember this from the days when I couldn't go without exercise. I've kind of forgotten. But with my schedule and lifestyle, I need all the energy I can get.

Another motivation: Vanity, thy name is woman. The adorable little lace skirt I wore to all the parties last holiday season is a bit more, ahem, snug than it was last year. And I don't like that one single bit!!! :-)

Why BACON is good for you!... no, really!

Ok, I've got your attention, and now is the part where you expect me to pull a bait and switch, but not this time! That's the findings in an article in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition anyway. And with a name like that, you HAVE to trust that they would know. Anyway, 21 studies concerning the relationship between saturated-fat consumption, and heart disease, have shown that eating saturated fat (the reason we have avoided bacon in the past) seems to have no negative health effects! The only catch: You have to get enough polyunsaturated fat as well. The kind found in nuts and vegetable oils. Well this is a no-brainer! If that's all it takes to get the healthy stamp of approval for eating bacon, sign me up!
Ready for even more good news? Bacon fat is mostly a monounsaturated oil or, oleic acid. Know what else is? OLIVE OIL! And I'll bet you've been reading the healthy benefits about that lately too, huh? Bacon's saturated fat is converted by your body to oleic acid! (Yay!) The rest of bacon's fat is a "superhealthy" polyunsaturated fat!
Now these are TRULY reasons to celebrate.... for now, if you are a bacon lover. I say "for now" because we all know that in just a few years, new studies will once again rain on our parade just as they always do. We'll find out that it turns out that the grilled chicken we have all come to love as our "healthy" white meat contains polyisocyrinatic forms of hemoglo-bismol and that we should cease and desist eating it at all costs. Oprah will come out of retirement just to do a story on it. But, the bright side is, I'm guessing that given long enough, these "experts" (hopefully Paula Deen will be on the board by then) will discover that any recipe that starts with 4 sticks of butter, 1lb of sugar, 1lb of brown sugar, a dozen eggs, and a bag of chocolate-chips is exactly what our bodies have been lacking! Hey! I can dream, can't I?!
Oh and as far as my goals and working out are going... I've been playing volleyball (still of course), walking Rose Rudman, and hitting the weights (sporadically) at Woodcreek! I also take stairs when I have the option, park far away from the front door in parking lots, and still do my best to eat what I want in moderation. ;)
 That's all for now!

OK, here's my WHY... by Dave Berry

Why do I want to be fit?
Why, after years of paying too little attention to my health should I change my ways, eat better, get moving and lose the extra pounds that have crept up on me?
Why should YOU care about losing weight, eating healthier and becoming more active?
That's the question we're asking the people of East Texas to answer as part of our Fit City Challenge -- a community-wide initiative to raise awareness about the current epidemic of obesity in Tyler and the nation.
We've invested a lot of effort and newspaper space on stories about obesity, the problems associated with poor health and the benefits people realize when they strive for fitness and good health. (Check out our Fit City website at fitcitytyler.com and be sure and follow us on the Fit City Challenge Facebook page )
So, WHAT'S MY WHY?
It's fairly simple. I want to be active and energetic for as many good years as possible. You can't hike the Chisos Mountains if you have to lug around an extra thirty pounds in addition to your backpack and camera gear. And, how can I lead this diverse, wonderful coalition of people committed to making Tyler a Fit City if I'm not working as hard to be fit as they are? I need to practice what I preach.
WHAT'S YOUR WHY?
To look better? Feel better? Fit into your skinny jeans? To be a role model for your children?
I told you my WHY, now tell me yours.
-- dave

Baby It's (not) Cold Outside - By Amy Brocato Pearson

It was too pretty today to exercise inside, so I hit the Rose Rudman/Southside Trails for a brisk walk. Crunching the fall leaves was GREAT. Can anyone tell me exactly how long the trail is from Grande to the Loop?

And so it begins.....

Michael-
The holiday season is here so it's time to celebrate with... celery sticks? I think not!
Look, I'm all about healthy living... well, maybe not ALL about. I do have a weakness for Oreos. But, I do believe in approaching the eating thing like this: Everything In Moderation! And, I also believe that healthy eating CAN be good! Don't believe me? Just read some of the articles in Men's Health! They have some GREAT ideas for us carnivores, as well as the rabbits out there.
My goal is to eat BETTER now, add a little more muscle, and increase my vertical for volleyball. The eating part will be the most difficult. I love fried chicken and biscuits and gravy! I CAN eat healthy (grilled chicken, tilapia, right portions of red meat) but I, like most, just want to eat what tastes good and worry about the consequences later! The problems with that is, of course, the habits you develop. And I've developed some bad ones. My worst? I eat while watching TV. My best? I eat VERY slowly. Eating slow gives your body time to let you know that it's full so you end up eating less.
My breakfasts usually consist of one slice of bacon, two scrambled eggs (sometimes with an extra egg white thrown in on workout days) and one slice of pepperidge farms Oatmeal bread. The bacon and eggs provide fat and protein and the bread is VERY fiber rich which keeps you full longer.
Whew! That's a lot of words so that should get buy me a few days from the boss before I have to write again. :)

Come On Baby Light My Fire - By Amy Brocato Pearson

I'm glad to see my fellow team members took my nagging to heart (with some notable exceptions, ahem, Connie, Michael and Eric!). If cracking the whip a bit is what it takes to get us at least thinking about our year-long healthy living commitment, then so be it. :-) I appreciate having a fire lit under me by the encouragement of the rest of the team!

As fr me, I think I keep countering my exercise with some not-so-great eating choices. Chicken Minis at Chick Fil A yesterday morning (but hey, everyone knows that when you have breakfast with a girlfriend calories don't count!!!!). But I did get a workout in Wednesday afternoon. About 30 minutes of cardio (jogging...OK..glorified fast walking on an incline treadmill) and leg weights (hamstrings? I have hamstrings?).

I did better today (I say at 7:16 a.m.). Meeting a girlfriend for lunch, so it was scrambled egg whites and spinach for breakfast.

One thing that's gotten me this week is planning. Or lackthereof. I religiously make up the week's menus and do the grocery shopping on the weekends. But this week life got in the way. Two night time meetings. Basketball practice.  Christmas parade. I only cooked at home one night this week (healthy vegetarian meal, if that counts). Next week's not looking much better. Activities four out of five nights, including several holiday parties. Any suggestions??

Time to get moving ... by Dave Berry

OK, Amy, it's time.
Time for me to get serious about getting fit, time to get moving, time to make time in my life for fitness.
And, TIME -- it seems -- will be my biggest nemesis. 
As editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph, I find it terribly difficult to let go and leave the job behind -- even for a short time. Carving out "me time" has always been a challenge.
And the years are not working in my favor. Of the folks involved in the "Under Construction" project, I am undeniably the most chronologically challenged. As an early Baby Boomer, I should admit my project is less like new construction and better resembles a "This Old House" rehab.
I'm no fitness buff. I've never been a runner. I don't like the idea of sweating with a roomful of people. I don't like to cook. And I don't take care of myself like I should.
I think I'm pretty ordinary, pretty average.
So, WHY am I doing this?
Let's talk about that in the next post.

Two-a-days

So last night for dinner, I had Gnocci with butternut squash sauce, salad and two ground sirloin patties.  Don't think that captures the spirit of two-a-days but all-in-all it was a decent day for me for calorie intake.
Started this morning with two scrambled eggs, two peices of bacon, between two slices of bread with a peice of muenster cheese melted into the eggs.  My best estimate is it was 20 fat grams and around 550 calories. 
Bottom line: for a guy my size, 6'3.X" and 289 anything at or under 2,500 calories and 50 fat grams per day is a weight loss zone for me.  Plus, when I eat red meat I tend to lose more weight than with chicken or fish.  Go figure.  Something leafy for lunch is in my future.

Nelson Clyde

Did I hear Amy Pearson say it was "Come to Jesus" time?
Fine!
I'm turning myself in.  My epiphany of the week is that it all comes down to three essential food groups:  Pepperoni pizza, french fries, and bacon. 
These are the foods that represent the bane of my existence.
I have probably gained pounds and inches since this confounded project started but today I ate the salad bar at Jason's for lunch after a breakfast of Almonds and Craisins and a small almond snack around 11 a.m.
Last night I ate baked chicken with skin for dinner.  Probably too much dark meat but that's it.  It wasn't Elizabeth's fault.  She cooks healthy, eats healthy and exercises religiously.
So here I am folks.  Slugging it out with everybody else out there who eats religiously and exercises itinerantly.  Is it just me?  And no, I have not been to the gym enough in the event roll is being taken.  Sue me!

5 a.m.? - By Amy Brocato Pearson

On some mornings, notably the 30 degree, very dark ones, going to the gym at 5 a.m. is just too much.

In addition, I'm not a morning exerciser by nature. I hit my stride in the late afternoon. Yes, I know that exercising at 5 a.m. insures that life does not catch up to me (overwhelm me??) by the afternoon, but some mornings it's just not happening.

This morning I chose the extra hour of sleep over the workout, but BEFORE YOU BOO me, I'm going this afternoon at 4. Just had to make a childcare reservation and will bring my kids along with me! :-)

Now it's serious.....by Dawn Rhodes

When 'older' friends said it all changes when you hit 40, I never believed them. I just thought they got lazy. Well, I'm 40+ now and lazy isn't in my vocabulary, but exhaustion is! Waking up at 5, getting teenagers off to school, work 8 to 12 hour days depending on afterhour events, picking up kids 30 miles away at sporting events, then home to cook dinner, clean up and organize for the evening and start it all over....when can I fit in workouts? When I stepped on the scale and weighed 20 pounds more than my goal weight AND I was eating ok, and exercising on weekends or whenever I felt like it and the scale kept going up, I knew I had to get serious. With the opportunity to have East Texas as  my accountability partner, I feel I will accomplish great things out of sheer determination not to embarass myself.
I can work out on a Power Plate with Chet Timbs in a quick 10 minutes, Body Pump classes are tough but give quick results at Woodcreek Athletic Club and are offered several times a day, running Rose Rudman on nice weather days, work out at home on the exercise equipment I've collected over the years that are tucked away in David's office, and oh yea, I've got a rockin' cool Cannondale bicycle getting dusty. NO MORE EXCUSES!! If I have 30 minutes, 5x a week, I will fill it with good choices to get me to the goal I've set for myself. That's my commitment. Off to the races.....

Pressure from the Editor. By Shannon Dorsey

OK, now I have to explain the title.  Amy has asked that we all start blogging, which I agree we all need to do on a weekly basis.  So, Amy, this is for you because I am finally starting my blog.  I would have to say that starting a workout program can be hard to do because we all get so used to our daily routines and it is so much easier to go with the flow than to change it.  I have just gotten over the CRUD, as my doctor called it and I have missed two weeks of my beloved Body Pump class at Woodcreek, so when I get back into class it is going to kill me.  I do know that I will get back in this week and I will feel so much better because I ate a little too much at Thanksgiving.  So, everyone, it's back to the gym, back to eating healthy and drinking a lot of water.

Getting Started...sort of...By Amy Brocato Pearson

I admit it: I didn't want to make the first posting on our Under Construction blog.

But I'm the editor of IN Magazine, so people have this silly expectation that I'll take the lead on writing assignments. And I think everyone else involved in our year-long fitness challenge was waiting for me to post something before they jumped in (hint, hint to everyone else involved...jump in...)

Under Construction was the brainchild of Connie McAnally, fitness instructor extraordinaire and marketing director for Woodcreek Athletic in Tyler. She posed a challenge to a few of us at IN Magazine to adopt a healthier lifestyle, set goals for ourself and get in shape ove the next year. Great idea, right? Don't we all want to be healthier and happier? The catch was that we'd track our progress in the magazine.

Connie wanted us to be brutally honest.

That's what journalists do, right?

Nope. Couldn't do it.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't publish my weight in the magazine in the interest of journalistic integrity. You'll have to be happy with the "lost 3 pounds in a month" updates and a fabulous "after" picture next year. For the record, no one else is publishing their starting weights, either.

We amassed a group of like-minded individuals who wanted to get healthier, employees of the magazine, the Tyler Morning Telegraph and a few close friends and family members. We'd keep each other accountable.

We quickly discovered that accountability went something like this: "Have you been working out?"

"No, have you?"

IN MAGAZINE Sales Executive Dawn Rhodes and IN MAGAZINE Publications Manager Shannon Dorsey were out of the gate like trifecta champions.

The rest of us...not so much.

I started the challenge with a broken foot. That was a great excuse for a few weeks. It doesn't work any more, I'm healed.

I have been going to the gym three times a week now for...well, a couple of weeks. 5 a.m. comes MIGHTY early some days.

I'm currently not any closer to reaching my goal than I was when we started two months ago. Reality check! I will NOT appear in this magazine in a year's time looking and feeling exactly the same. It's time to be accountable.

Check back here for updates from all of our team members!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amy