Success!

Posted on April 7, 2011 | Comments Off

From Kristen:  I was having a very rough day and wanted to order pizza so badly. But then I saw my new pants had arrived in the mail. They looked too small, but they fit perfectly! I am now two sizes down and so happy. (I still want pizza…but this motivated me to resist.)

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Mirror, mirror on the wall. Is that me?

Posted on April 7, 2011 | 1 Comment
From Gerry:  When you look in the mirror, who do you see?

For most of my life, the answer to that question was no one … because my eyes were closed. It’s a great coping mechanism for someone like me who can only see flaws. I’d include a list of those flaws here but it’s long and depressing. Besides, I’m guessing many of you have a list of your own and don’t need to hear mine.

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Fight rising gas costs! Ride your bike

Posted on April 6, 2011 | 1 Comment

From Eileen: On the way to work this morning, I almost drove off the side of the road. Gas at $4.09 per gallon!  Boy, I knew it was going up, but there’s something about that $4 mark that makes it completely outrageous.

 Outrageous enough to do something about it? Outrageous enough to get me to stop driving everywhere?

 As the weather starts to get nicer, I am always gung-ho about getting outside in the fresh air .  I love to take walks in the nature center or take my bike for a spin in the forest preserve near my house. There’s something about being outside that really clears my head.

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Hate the pounds, but love the people!

Posted on April 1, 2011 | Comments Off

From Joe: Psychologist Norman R.F. Maier was a brilliant pioneer in his field: Technically creative and full of practical wisdom, his books and articles inspired several generations of students and practitioners.

 Maier sagely advised business executives to be simultaneously tough-minded and tender minded when they made decisions:

 “Be tough on the problems and the easy on the people!”

 Excellent shrewd advice for any leader to take!

 It’s also excellent advice for thinking about the problem of obesity.

 Tara Parker-Pope reports:

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Weighty commitment making her a little cranky

Posted on April 1, 2011 | 1 Comment

From Gerry:  When I was offered the opportunity to participate in the Fittest Loser Challenge and write about the experience, my co-workers were quick to offer suggestions on what to name my column. “The Whiniest Loser” was by far the biggest vote-getter. As they learned more about the rigors of the contest, I think they felt sorry for me and decided to opt for the kinder, gentler “Our Fittest Loser.”

Seven weeks in, I’m thinking they should have gone with their first instinct. I’m definitely whining now. I realize over the last several weeks, I’ve complained, pouted and told long-suffering tales of the travails of exercise, all with a hint of humor. Not today.

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Are there moral and political reasons for cutting calories?

Posted on March 31, 2011 | 1 Comment

From Joe:  Many of the adults that surrounded me as I grew up needed worldly reasons to supplement the religious motives that inclined them to fast during Lent. So, in addition to wanting to follow the rituals of their church, they framed Lent as a time for losing some pounds that would improve their health or their appearance when beach season finally arrived in Chicago.

 Food writer Mark Bittman talks about his new experience of fasting for moral values:

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Gadgets, apps and other good stuff

Posted on March 30, 2011 | 3 Comments

From Eileen:  Nothing gets me motivated more than a new exercise gadget. I hate to say it, but I love buying exercise stuff and, for some reason, this really works for me.

 Many years ago, I spent a lot of money on a treadmill and was worried sick that it would become a $2,600 dusty clothing rack. So I decided I would have to use it 1,300 times (at $2 per run) to make it worth my while. I kept track and, after about six years, I made it! I actually kept tabs on the number of times I hopped on board (a bit compulsive, I realize), but it really helped me keep going. And for $2 per use, it was worth it even if it eventually becomes a clothing rack. That’s my logic, anyway.

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Sleep Disorders, Stereotypes and Fitness

Posted on March 29, 2011 | 1 Comment

From Joe: Can your own stereotypes cause you to misunderstand your weight and fitness issues?

When the causal network of a medical disorder is poorly understood, social stereotypes readily come into action. Recently, for example, some Chicago sports commentators fretted that Bulls star Derrick Rose’s ulcers signaled that he had become too emotionally intense. The ulcers-are-caused-by-stress stereotype had gone into high gear. It took a few days for the relationship between ulcers and bacteria to make its way to the public.

Lifehacker Whitson Gordon reminds us that sleep deprivation – and, by implication, insomnia – can lead to heavier eating:

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Exercises you love to hate

Posted on March 28, 2011 | Comments Off

From Gerry:  This week the contestants are talking about the exercises they love and hate. I wouldn’t mind sharing the same thing, but I hesitate to put anything in writing because I fear my trainer Tony will use it against me. I said as much to him the other morning, but he swears my likes and dislikes are of no interest to him. He says he has a well-designed plan already laid out for me.

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Is your fitness regimen a pilgrimage?

Posted on March 24, 2011 | Comments Off

From Joe:  It’s possible to define a marathon as a bunch of people in their underwear running as fast as possible for 26 miles without giving proper attention to the bad things that can happen to them along the way. This way of looking at a marathon, taking the event literally, makes the runners look foolish. It makes the spectators too look foolish: They roar with primal excitement as the runners leave the start. Many of the spectators choke with emotion. Some are moved to tears. Same thing happens at Bulls and Bears games. Why the emotion?

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