“Fitz-ness Lagniappe”
A little something extra from Thea
A powerful love letter…
I’ve been permitted to share this meaningful letter with all women and parents. This is a common concern in our society.
The following is a powerful love letter from my daughter who works for an active outdoor company and travels the world. Negative body image is unfortunately such a huge part of our society. While I certainly was not the perfect parent by any means, I did make a conscious effort to not talk about weight or negative body image in our home, and I did try my best to lead by example. Today, as a trainer and health coach I deal with many eating disorders and body dysmorphia and it is prevalent in our society. We need to change the dialogue and not focus on weight, but on having a healthy body and mind. Pass it on…
Dear Mom,
I just want to say thank you for raising me in such a healthy home, I had no idea the impact this could have on the person I am and the trajectory of my life.
At least once a week I hear comments from women about their gaining weight during trips, eating too much, drinking too much, the calories, the comparison to other women, the need to do more to ‘earn’ their meals or desserts, and negative talks about their bodies. I realized what a blessing it is that these thoughts had rarely ever crossed my mind when they seemed to eat up so many others. My body ebbs and flows with my job and the seasonality of my life right now, but I love it in each and every season. I don’t know many people, women especially, who can say that. It comes down to the fact you and Dad set the example. You taught me how to fuel my body well with foods that made my body feel good and that it was okay to have sweets or a glass of wine. You taught me how to treat my body well by working out, stretching, walking, and moving every day. Some days that looks like a full workout and some days it looks like a walk. There was never a comment made in our house about anyone’s diet, weight, or any negative body talk at all. This alone set me up for success more than I could have ever imagined.
So yeah, it’s great that I love my body and can fuel and take care of it well, but it goes so much deeper than that. My mental health is better because I know how to eat well, cook well, and the importance of moving my body. I can have the dessert, the glass of wine, and give myself a rest day without making a negative comment to my friends or thinking hateful, guilty, or regretful things about myself. I can live a liberated and empowered life with happiness that is rooted in my health!
The way that we feel about ourselves is the foundation that our relationships are built on, and the quality of our relationships directly impacts the quality of our lives. Because I was raised in a home where it was so easy to love my body and love myself, I can show up for others in a completely different way. I can be a better partner, a better leader in my career, show up better for my friends and family, show up a kinder, more compassionate person to strangers, and have a light in me that I couldn’t shine without the very foundation of health and confidence in who I am. I am confident in who I am all because I was raised in a healthy home by a very strong, compassionate, and badass woman!
Be kind to yourself.
One of the main reasons I studied exercise physiology, psychology and kinesiology was because I have always been fascinated by what our bodies and minds can do - how we move, how we grow, how we learn, and how we evolve. We truly are astonishing creatures and need to pat ourselves on the back for all of the amazing things we CAN do!
As humans, we can be our own worst critic and too many times we beat ourselves up for what we CAN’T do. Negative self talk doesn’t help and is counterproductive. What if you turned that negative thought into something positive and thanked yourself for all of the CAN DOs?
No one has the perfect diet or exercise regimen and everyone slips and falls at times, whether you see it or not. The key is to get up, dust yourself off and move on; not beat yourself up. Quit comparing yourself to others. We are all beautifully unique just like our fingerprints; no two are the same. Learn to love yourself for all of your idiosyncrasies and celebrate your own unique body and mind.
Even small baby steps can lead to great progress. For each step forward, there are sometimes backwards steps or falls. Go with the flow and progress will continue.
Most importantly, we cannot take care of others or work effectively without taking care of ourselves first. The first step is to love yourself, appreciate your body and to have respect for both. Your body can do amazing things! Embrace it! Once your mindset changes, the possibilities are endless. You deserve to be kind to yourself and celebrate what your body CAN do! Be kind to others, but more importantly, be kind and forgiving to yourself. ❤️💪
Accountability chart👏
Give yourself 1 point for each category (up to 3 points for exercise)
✅ Give yourself 1 point for limiting or not having soda products (including diet). Working towards eliminating all together. Just because it doesn’t contain calories doesn’t mean it should be consumed.😜
✅ Eating 3-5 times per day helps to keep your blood sugar stabilized. Try to eat smaller meals off of smaller plates. If you’re still hungry, go back for more veggies. Snacks are fine as long as they aren’t highly processed. 🫐🍎
✅ Give yourself 1 point for making at least 1/2 of your plate vegetables. Think of lean proteins as your side and vegetables, fruits and whole grains as your main course. The more colors consumed the better. Try eating as many non-processed foods as possible. 🥦
✅ Give yourself 1 point for sitting down and savoring your found without any distractions and without rushing. Food is meant to be nourishing and enjoyed ❤️
✅ Give yourself 1 point for trying new fruits and vegetables or preparing them in a different way. Roasting vegetables really brings out a whole new flavor. Keep trying different flavors. The more colors, the more nutrients. 🌈
✅ Give yourself 1 point for brushing your teeth or popping a minty piece of gum in your mouth to cleanse your mouth and change the chemistry. You’re a lot less likely to want to eat more after that.
✅ Give yourself 1 point for not having an alcoholic beverage at all or 1 per day for females and 2 per day for males. 🍷*6oz wine, 1.5 oz liquor, 12 oz beer. Not only are you consuming empty calories, but consuming more than the limited is linked to heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.
✅ Give yourself 1 point for getting 7-9 hours of sleep. Restful sleep should be a priority. It’s hard to stay healthy without it. 😴
✅ Give yourself 1 point for 30 minutes of exercise, 2 points for 60 minutes and 3 points for 90 minutes. Studies show that It is better to move throughout the day than all in one bought. Keep your body moving each hour. ⛹️♀️🏊♀️🚴♂️🏋️♀️
✅ Give yourself 1 point for helping to decrease your stress level by meditation, venting to a friend, going for a walk, reading a book etc. 🧘🏼
✅ Give yourself 1 point for drinking 1/2 your body weight in oz. of water (ie 60oz per 120lbs.)
☀️Self care is so important - you can’t take care of others without taking care of yourself first. ❤️
“I don’t know what happened during Covid, but my body sure has changed!”
“You can’t out exercise a poor diet”
I’ve been a personal trainer for over 27 years and I still get the exact same questions and statements year after year that are sometimes a little like fingernails raking a chalkboard (a very long one)…
“I just want to get rid of my _______. belly fat, flabby arms, love handles, (fill-in-the-blank)”
“I should cut out ________, right? Fat, protein, carbs, alcohol, bread, sweets, (fill-in-the-blank)”
“I’m exercising so much more, why isn’t the weight coming off?”
“I ________, and lost weight, now all of the sudden all of my weight came back (plus some)!” Fasted, dieted, over-exercised (fill-in-the-blank)”
“You’re asking me to eat all of these veggies and legumes, where in the world am I going to get my protein?” [insert facepalm]
And my new favorite from this past year; “I don’t know what happened during Covid, but my body sure has changed!”
I try my very best to keep a smile on my face, take a deep breath, and talk about the importance of a healthy diet. Yet, I have found that the term “healthy diet” has different meanings for different people. For example, a healthy diet to some may be cutting out a food group entirely or trying a pre-packaged diet scheme, or even counting each calorie carefully. A healthy diet can be as simple as eating real food when you get hungry and not overindulging. A healthy diet can include ALL of the foods you love, but uses new small habits and tools so as not to overdo it. There’s no reason not to have that delicious slice of Maxie B’s birthday cake as long as you have the tools to pass on the tri-weekly office party Costco cake.
I certainly don’t claim to have the “perfect” diet and have certainly have had to make some big-time changes through the decades of my life. You can ask anyone from my past how horrendous my diet was as a teenager/college student; not a fresh fruit or veggie in sight.
As a trainer, I care deeply about each individual I work with and take it somewhat personally if I can’t find a way to change habits or help someone make healthier lifestyle choices. I’m constantly looking for new ideas and ways to help change perspective. For me, training in New Orleans was by far the most challenging place you can imagine, there is always an excuse to overindulge. Clients assume that because they are paying you, that they should be losing weight and building a body to rival that of David Beckham or Gisele. Apparently they didn’t think about the 2-3 hours spent with me each week doesn’t compare to the other 100 waking hours of sedentary indulgement.
I recently read the book, Foodist, which was suggested to me by one of my clients from New Orleans and she said when she read it she could hear my voice ;-) It pretty much details everything that I have been preaching about eating for years and written by a neuroscientist, Darya Pino Rose. I’m not a big diet book reader, but I do like to keep up with what is trending at the time to help my clients sift through mountains of information. I have found time and again that ANY diet works (in the short term), but what can you stick to for a lifetime? What can you stick to without yo-yoing? How can you make better habits? We can all find “diets” that we like and work for us at the time, but can you find a way of eating for the rest of your life? Shouldn’t quality matter more than quantity? There shouldn’t be a one-size fits all, because Lord knows we are all different shapes and sizes and should accept ourselves as such.
Why is everyone looking for the magic pill or the easy way out? I’ve never believed in supplements of any kind (unless of course needed for a deficiency). Why? Because I believe in REAL food, not “food” that comes in a package. Why not just learn to gradually eat real foods that help to nourish your body. Forming new habits takes a bit of work as does working on a new mindset, but it’s worth it! Food and exercise are truly medicine and if we could only make a few small habits at a time, most people would not need any type of medication (in pill form). Think about it, if you get outside and move in the sun, you’re getting your vitamin D, helping your heart, your mind and your soul. If you eat your fresh fruits, vegetables, and legumes you’re getting your vitamins, minerals, antioxidants (all of your “medications”).
Real food just makes you feel better. Twenty-five ingredient protein bars may give you a jolt of energy or suppress your appetite until the next meal, but what are you actually putting into your body? Why are we trying to suppress our appetites anyway? There’s nothing wrong with eating when you're hungry, if you choose the right fresh, real foods you’ll be super satisfied and feel so much better. There’s really no need to ever “diet” (my forbidden 4-letter word). Rather than teaching people how to eat pre-packaged convenience foods, wouldn’t it be easier and healthier in the long run to have 5 or so go-to easy recipes that were easy to prep, cook and clean that wouldn’t take any longer than running out to get fast food? Wouldn’t it be cheaper in the long run to eat well so that you wouldn’t have to be on a menagerie of pills to control everything as you get older? The answer to all of these questions lies in real, fresh, and nutrient dense food, you just have to give it a try!
A few of my favorite tips from Foodist were…
9 Surefire Ways to Sabotage Your Weight Loss
Rely on willpower
Forget the difference between temporary and permanent
Start a really hard workout regimen
Never learn to eat mindfully
Ignore how much you miss your favorite foods
Assume that what worked for someone else will work for you
Dramatically restrict your eating
Don’t find deeper purpose in what and why you eat
Pick a diet that is super inconvenient
10 Simple Ways to Eat Less Without Noticing
Use smaller plates
Serve yourself 20% less
Use taller glasses
Eat protein for breakfast
Eat three meals a day
Keep unhealthy snacks out of sight or out of the building
Chew thoroughly
Don’t eat from the package
Don’t eat in front of the TV
Don't pay attention to health claims
Tips to Eat More Slowly and Mindfully
Practice
Chew 25 times
Put down your fork
Drink
Feed yourself with your nondominant hand
Eat everything with chopsticks for a week
Take your first bite with your eyes closed
Eat with other slow eaters
Try to identify every ingredient in your meal
Use a plate
Sit at a table
Remove distractions
Eat in silence
Serve small portions
Have a conversation
Don’t eat when your starving
Dim the lights
Play mellow music
5 questions to help you make the right decision before letting loose
What else have you eaten today? This week?
Have you been to the gym?
Will you be drinking later
Are you trying to lose weight?
Is it worth it? Really?
NEAT ideas - nonexercise activity thermogenesis
A few ways to squeeze in the extra mile:
Take the stairs
Park farther away
Clean house
Choose activities, not passivities
Wear a pedometer
Carry all the groceries at once
Visit coworkers instead of emailing
Take the long way
Have walking meetings
10 tips for starting and sticking with exercise
Commit to consistency
Take baby steps
Pick an exercise that’s fun
Bring a friend, make it competitive
Join a sports team
Get a dog
Recharge with caffeine
Get into music, podcasts, and audiobooks
Buy some nice workout clothes, shoes, fitbit
Reward yourself
10 simple substitutions for making restaurant foods healthier
Mixed greens instead of iceberg or romaine lettuce
Fruit instead of toast
Salad instead of potatoes
Avocado instead of mayo
Cheese plate instead of dessert
Brown rice instead of white
Wine instead of cocktail
Beans instead of rice
Olive oil and vinegar instead of sugary dressing
Anything instead of American cheese
Lifestyle Habits of Centenarians
I have loved following Dan Buettner and his research over the past 15 years. His research on centenarians has fascinated me and I try to live as closely as possible to these habits, so that I too can live to be healthy and happy to a ripe old age of 113 ;-) Small changes in lifestyle habits contribute to huge benefits such as lowering healthcare costs, improved productivity, and most importantly higher quality of life.
Blue Zones Power 9: Lifestyle Habits of the World’s Healthiest, Longest-Lived People
1. Move Naturally
The world’s longest-lived people live in environments where they are constantly moving. They garden, walk to the places they need to be and move their bodies naturally.
2. Purpose
The Okinawans call it “Ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.” Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.
3. Down Shift
Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour. I am most like the Sardinians!
4. 80% Rule
“Hara hachi bu” – the Okinawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. People in the blue zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.
5. Plant Slant
Most people in these blue zones tend to eat mainly a plant-based diet. Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat—mostly pork—is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 3-4 oz., about the size of a deck of cards.
6. Wine @ 5
People in all blue zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday. Moderation is the key here.
7. Belong
Most centenarians belong to some faith-based community. Denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month or practicing spirituality will add 4-14 years of life expectancy. Community and being part of something larger than themselves, seems to make a big difference.
8. Loved Ones First
Successful centenarians in the blue zones put their families first. This means keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home (It lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too). They commit to a life partner (which can add up to 3 years of life expectancy) and invest in their children with time and love.
9. Right Tribe
The world’s longest lived people chose–or were born into–social circles that supported healthy behaviors, Okinawans created ”moais”–groups of five friends that committed to each other for life. Research from the Framingham Studies shows that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness are contagious. So the social networks of long-lived people have favorably shaped their health behaviors. This is where I give a shout-out to my tribe and village who have not only helped to raise our children, but have been there through thick and thin. We are truly blessed.
To live to age 100, you have to have won the genetic lottery. But most of us have the ability to make it well into our early 90’s and largely without chronic disease. By adopting a Blue Zones lifestyle the average person’s life expectancy could increase by 10-12 years. I keep telling my children they’d better look out, I plan to live a LONG time, but I plan to live healthily all along the way! I also plan to help my friends, family and clients do the same, so we can be in this together.
Importance of Balance Training
Importance of balance training
I would argue that balance training may be the number one most important thing to do when training your body and may be the number one thing neglected by most people. We need balance for EVERYTHING in our everyday lives. Children have great balance because they play tag, change direction, climb trees, run around, pivot, skip, jump etc. As we get older and may not be doing these things as frequently (though I would argue we should). It is so important that we add balance training to our repertoire. Whether I am working with 16 year olds or 86 year olds, I ALWAYS start out with a dynamic warmup that takes the body through its full range of motion and preps the body for activity. It is important for both athletes and non athletes alike.
Balancing is a complex skill that involves the brain, muscles, and parts of the inner ear. If you don't practice and maintain balance, the coordination between these three systems can deteriorate over time, making it harder for you to stay upright and maintain proper posture. Avoiding falls not only helps you avoid physical damage like broken hips; it also boosts confidence. With good balance, you should be able to intuitively adapt to practically any situation, without having to think about it.
Balance can strengthen your muscles, quickly increasing their power output. The more force they can exert, the faster you'll be able to sprint and the higher you'll be able to jump. Balance can help in practically any sport that requires short, sharp, and powerful movements, like boxing, and can help build all-around functional strength.
Activities to work on:
Standing with your weight on one leg and raising the other leg to the side or behind you
Putting your heel right in front of your toe, like walking a tightrope
Standing up and sitting down from a chair without using your hands
Walking while alternating knee lifts with each step
Doing tai chi or yoga
Using equipment, like a Bosu, which has an inflatable dome on top of a circular platform, which challenges your balance
Over time, you can improve your balance with these exercises by:
Holding the position for a longer amount of time
Adding movement to a pose
Closing your eyes
Letting go of your chair or other support
Heart Healthy Tips
5 key things you can do everyday to keep your heart in check…
1. Don’t sit for too long at one time.
No matter how much exercise you get, sitting for long periods of time can be bad for your heart health. If you have a sedentary job, get up each hour and walk and/or stretch a bit. Even just a few minutes will help your body and your mind!
2. Get enough sleep (7-8 hours)
Sleep is an essential part to keeping your heart healthy, so make it a priority. Researchers believe that sleeping too little causes disruptions in underlying health conditions including blood pressure and inflammation. If you don’t sleep enough, you may be at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease no matter your age or other health habits.
3. Practice good dental hygiene (brush and floss daily)
Bacteria in the mouth from gum disease can move into the bloodstream and cause an elevation in C-reactive protein, increasing your risk for heart disease. Your dental health is a good indicator of overall health, including your heart.
4. Eat healthy fats, NOT trans fats
Trans fats are industry-produced processed fats that add texture and flavor but have been known to increase your risk of developing heart disease. Our bodies need good fat, such as, nuts, avocados, olive oil, and fatty fish.
5. Avoid secondhand smoke
It’s no surprise to anyone that smoking is bad, but studies show that the risk of developing heart disease is about 25 to 30 percent higher for people who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work. And nonsmokers who have high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol have an even greater risk of developing heart disease when they’re exposed to secondhand smoke.
Thea’s Rainbow Caviar
My #1 heart healthy recipe. This delicious, high fiber rainbow can be easily kept in the fridge, eaten with chips, crackers, mini pepper scoops or as a delicious side dish.
INGREDIENTS:
2 15 oz cans black eyed peas, drained
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
1 cup red onion, minced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1-2 jalapeños, seeded and minced
5 garlic cloves
1/4-1/2 cup minced cilantro
3 scallions sliced thin
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
Juice of 1 lime
INSTRUCTIONS:
Add all ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with tortilla chips, on top of sandwiches or crostini, or as a side.
Strong and broken heart
There are people who walk into your life for a reason and ingrain themselves within you permanently. February is national heart month and it always makes me think of my friend, Amanda Patty. Each of my clients impact me in one way or another, but Amanda really left a full imprint on my heart. Amanda, a young 35 year old, called me out of the blue, back in 2013, and asked if I’d be available to work with her. She’d gotten my name from a previous client of mine who was a cardiologist. After reviewing her medical history questionnaire, along with the attached extra pages (yes, plural) of medical history, it was clear that Amanda had more red flags than the national weather service. I called our mutual friend, the cardiologist, to ask what in the world I was supposed to do with this individual born with a congenital heart defect, who had already undergone 8 open heart surgeries. She replied, “you’ve got this, y’all will get along great, just start slow.” In the beginning, I was overly cautious, constantly measuring her pulse, oxygen levels and blood pressure. I finally realized that Amanda knew exactly when she needed to take a break or when she didn’t feel right. In fact, there are very few people that I ever worked with who are as in tune to their body as she was.
We had much in common; our love of family, love for travel, community and helping others. Most importantly, we both loved to laugh together. Amanda was strong physically and really strong-minded and passionate about fighting the injustices of the world. She was never afraid to state her opinion and was always fiercely grounded in her thought process. Her parents, Dee and Seldon always challenged her to be the best she could be and believed in her every step of the way.
Amanda challenged me to think, I mean REALLY think, like out of the box. She was absolutely brilliant - an attorney, an accountant, an extraordinary volunteer, she was well traveled, as in she traveled to all 50 states, most of Europe and was looking forward to a trip to Australia. She would have kept us all straight during 2020, politically and health-wise.
Amanda was always looking to push herself into new dimensions; she was always training both physically and mentally. We were training for her first 5k and looking forward to walking it together. She was training for a trip to Australia with her fiance, but unfortunately, she never got to go.
After a long battle with heart complications, Amanda sadly passed away on October 18, 2016, but left a legacy. Many have heard me say the phrase “no excuses” and she is one of those reasons that I use that freely. Amanda made no excuses and really lived her life to the fullest as we all should. I miss her strength, passion, perseverance, integrity, determination, and most of all her smiling face and infectious laugh. I even miss hearing the tick of her artificial heart valve, that I would hear during our rare periods of silence. I am lucky to have had the privilege of working with her and the privilege of working with her adorable parents who started with me shortly after Amanda's death and are currently on hiatus due to Covid. They are both avid golfers, professional storytellers and jokesters (Amanda learned from the best). We still share so many stories and even more laughs. Amanda will continue to live through us all and I am certainly a better trainer and person because of her.
I love what I do.
Happy heart healthy month! Please take good care of yours!
~Thea
Book summary: No Sweat - Science of motivation, Michelle Segar, PhD
Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
-Mahatma Gandi
What sustains us, we sustain.
I have always been fascinated by what makes people tick and enjoy reading a lot about psychology. This was a great book on a research-based motivational program to achieve a lifetime of fitness. No Sweat is written for individuals looking for real and sustainable ways to feel better, live better, and become happier, healthier, and fit. It’s a pretty simple concept of taking any and every opportunity to move, in any way possible, at what-ever speed you like, for any amount of time. Do what makes you feel good; stop doing what makes you feel bad. It requires you to start on a journey to a new way of thinking about things. That requires the right map - or in this case, MAPS (meaning, awareness, permission, and strategy).
Takeaways:
Meaning - your meaning for exercise and eating right creates your relationship with your approach to health and wellness.
You develop your Meanings for things over your entire lifetime.
*If you want to change your relationship with being physically active and eating right, the starting place is understanding and changing your meaning of it.
Changing your Meaning for exercise can help you take ownership of it and feel more in control of your physical activity choices.
What does the word “exercise” mean to you? Does it have positive or negative connotations? Do you choose exercise for the wrong reasons? Is exercise a chore or a gift? How do you escape the vicious cycle of failure?
Awareness - Being physically active in ways that feel bad to you turns your Meaning into a “chore”.
How do I feel while I exercise?
Research shows that when you choose to make movement a regular part of your life for personally compelling reasons and choose to move in ways that feel good for you, you are more likely to stick with exercise and to maintain weight loss.
People tend to approach things that feel good and avoid things that feel bad.
Inactive time undermines cardiovascular and metabolic health and is as serious a health hazard as smoking.
You can accumulate exercise, do it at lower intensities, and count life-centered activities like housework and gardening. The key is just to remain as active as possible throughout the day.
It’s important to have realistic expectations.
An important step toward embracing movement in your life is to simply to become aware that your choices about how you move through your day are truly your choices.
“To be healthy” tends to be the Wrong Why for many people because it is too abstract and doesn’t provide the immediate feedback we need to keep striving toward it. People are more motivated by immediate results than future rewards.
Reward substitution - replacing a future reward with something positive that you can experience immediately - converts behavior from a chore into a gift you want to give yourself.
Permission - Giving yourself Permission to prioritize your own-selfcare is the key to make regular physical activity a reality.
The more energy you give to caring for yourself, the more energy you have to give to fuel what matters most in your life.
When you spend time in activities that are meaningful and generate positive emotions and experiences, it increases meaning, resilience and well-being.
Your self-care mindset (your deep-seated beliefs about your priorities and the value of self-care) can prevent you from believing that your own self-care and sense of well-being belong at the top of your priority list.
Caretakeitis - feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and fatalistic about the possibility of ever changing anything or having enough time - results from allowing your endless should tasks to take priority over your own self-care needs. Caretakitis keeps you depleted.
When you tune out everyday messages from your body and don’t take care of yourself in basic ways like getting enough sleep or exercising, you put yourself on a path of unhappiness, low productivity, and even serious physical and emotional issues.
Understand your own self-care hierarchy and what your foundational, non negotiable behavior is.
In order to integrate self-care into your life, it needs to feel compelling and play a meaningful role in your daily life. Try to consider your own self-care and well-being one of your top personal projects.
*If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else is going to do it for you.
“What sustains us, we sustain” - The sustainable cycle of self-care begins when you choose a self-care behavior to help you with being who you are and to fuel what matters most.
Strategy - If creating lifelong behavior is your goal, your focus should be on learning how physical activity can fit and stay in your busy life.
Feeling positive and energetic gives you more energy for what you care about most.
When your objective is to maintain consistent physical movement for a lifetime, you need to appreciate that you are in an actual learning process and become comfortable using Strategies that will help you find ways to be resilient and successful in the face of challenges.
Having a learning mindset and goals will lead you to intrinsic motivation, persistence, and resilience so you can better sustain your behavioral and well-being aims.
The Strategy of beginning with the end in mind asks you to take the long view. When you want to stick with something for life, you start asking different questions and looking for more in return.
Feeling positive and energetic gives you more energy for what you care most about.
Learning how to integrate physical activity within your daily life is a process that will help you develop the beliefs, insights, self-awareness, drive, personal responsibility and negotiation skills necessary for you to sustain a physically active life and enjoy living the fullest.
When your behavior aims to achieve something meaningful. You want to protect it from its challenges.
Become your own skilled self-care negotiator. 10 Negotiation strategies…
Give physical activity clout. Understand the specific value that movement brings to your daily life.
What type of physical activities will help you realize the benefits you want? When will you do them? For how long? Where?
Confront challenges, not roadblocks. Responding to each challenge mindfully, without added angst, provides valuable information about the sorts of things that can get in the way of maintaining your physical activity and how you can deal with them now and in the future.
Bring friends and family on board.
Use if-then planning. The specific back-up plan and alternatives you make helps you overcome the challenges that will arise in your plans.
Dance with your challenges, be flexible, and improvise.
Hesitate before you respond to a request.
Listen to your body’s messages. Forcing your body to do something its not up for sends the message “chore”. If you force yourself to exercise in ways that feel bad, you’ll likely choose not to move at all.
Learn the links between being physically active and the rest of your day. Identify the links between not moving and moving and how you feel. Notice how your choices influence your physical and mental states and how that further influences what matters most.
Evaluate and recalibrate with compassion and non-judgement. This allows you to celebrate your successes and become more mindful of what gets in your way so you can become skilled in preventing and overcoming these challenges.
~Thea
Fitz-ness Feature
The best part of being a trainer is the relationship you build over time with clients that become like family. I think it’s safe to say that personal trainers and their clients have a symbiotic relationship - each gets something purposeful and meaningful out of the relationship. Clients of course, get the personal attention they need and become stronger, more flexible, healthier in general, but they also have a place where, for that moment where they can let it all out mentally and talk about whatever may be on their mind, without judgement, knowing that it stays within the walls. As our saying goes” what's said in the Whine Cellar, stays in the Whine Cellar ” - kinda like Vegas only much different ;-)
For me, working with people like Sally makes what I do worthwhile. I love hearing funny stories and laughing about the idiosyncrasies in life, such as having daily “senior” moments and not being able to remember what we were even talking about after being distracted.
Sally Anderson (aka Sassy, Mustang Sally, Pal Sal) happened upon my door after learning from my cousin, her neighbor at the time, that I was a personal trainer. After 16 years Sally is still one of my most consistent clients. Her main concern was scoliosis which she has dealt with since adolescence. She shows up with a smile each morning to indoor class or virtual from home. She’s always quick witted, and ready to go physically and mentally; unless of course there is an exercise she’d prefer not to do, to which she says with a smirk, ”I’m not doing that; I think we should find something else”. Word has widely spread around to other Whine Cellar friends, and so it’s remained a joke as to whether they have to do something or not if Sally is there.
In all sincerity, Sally is truly one of a kind and loves her workout partners when we aren’t in the middle of a pandemic. We have a great group that celebrates birthdays together. Sally is a cerebral genius who loves crossword puzzles, reading, bridge and constantly educating herself. At 72 she still enjoys on-line classes and reading everyday.
What Sally has to say about the Whine Cellar:
“Thea has been responsive to my needs through these years; she has given me the capability to exercise in a way that alleviates the tension caused by scoliosis. Had I not found you I would be much less limber, much less able to move with ease.
I might add that having broken a hip last year, I was able to resume with Thea after 12 weeks. It was so wonderful to be moving again.”
Garbage Disposal Disease Prevention
Back in college, one of my many nicknames was “Garbage Disposal” since I could clean off any plate that was not fully eaten. It was a joke that I could out eat most football players and was still a “tiny little thing” with the metabolism of a jack rabbit. While in exercise physiology class at Ole Miss, I found out my cholesterol was close to 300 - I nearly fell out and had them check it again, but it was indeed accurate. I realized that even though I was super active, exercised regularly and a normal weight, the trash that I was putting into my body was taking a huge toll on my arteries at the age of 20. My doctor wanted to put me on medication for my cholesterol, but I wanted to see first if I could get it down on my own, by changing my eating habits and adding some fresh fruits and vegetables to my diet. Disease prevention quickly became a large part of my thought process.
After interning in cardiac rehab for 2 years, I quickly learned that I wanted to be on the preventative side of medicine to try to help people before they had their first heart attack or were heading down the wrong path health-wise. Many chronic diseases can be avoided simply by leading a healthier lifestyle. I continually try to take better care of myself and try to educate my clients on doing the same.
Over the years, I have witnessed many of my clients that have made the following changes to their lifestyle and have been able to come off of some medications and feel much better in general.
Here are some helpful prevention tips:
Make healthy food choices. Try to stick mostly to plant-based foods, with lean meats as your “side dish”. Try to avoid ultra-processed foods.
Exercise on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to be formal, just try to move more each day and keep from being sedentary.
Control your stress level. Exercise can be a great stress release, as is talking to a friend.
Get enough sleep. Adults should get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Avoid or limit sodas. Avoid or limit alcohol to no more than 1 a day for women and 2 for men.
If you are a smoker, quit. Smoking causes about 90% of all lung cancer deaths and 80% of COPD deaths and is associated with many other cancers and diseases.
Control your weight. If you are overweight, you can help prevent Type 2 diabetes by losing 5-7% of your body weight. Keep your BMI in the normal range.
Schedule annual check-ups and screenings with your physician. Get your cholesterol and blood pressure checked regularly and stay up to date on vaccinations.
In the upcoming months, these will each be highlighted in more detail.
Daily small changes can lead to a much healthier you! As I like to tell everyone; if this bologna sandwich, kit-kat, hotdog, french fry, pizza, processed food loving girl can make changes over time, you can too! I have been able to keep my cholesterol under control all of these years solely by changing my diet. I take care of myself now so my children won’t have to take care of me later ;-)
~Thea
Thankfulness ~ Adversity ~ Perspective
November lends itself to being a month for thankfulness. However, since March I’ve been finding all kinds of new, smaller things to be grateful for that have opened my eyes to even more. With Thanksgiving around the corner, there has been a lot of uncertainty. Sometimes when times change or things get hard, I find myself having to reach for gratitude in different places and it’s been fascinating to me what I’m finding.
I’m finding more little details that I may never have noticed - like “Phat Gus”, the neighborhood squirrel, that scampers from our roof to our neighbors’ at the same time each evening and meets his buddy in the tree to play chase; it’s become a funny activity to watch and good party trick, as he’s like clockwork. I've also noticed the tree in our cul-de-sac that we have exercised under everyday since March, I’ve watched it change not only by seasons, but by shape depending on the time of day and where I lay my mat - I get a different perspective from the same exact tree. And flowers, I’ve been a flower fanatic since March, always keeping fresh flowers around the house. My mom used to do the same thing and I’d roll my eyes thinking what a waste. Now I get it, they bring color, life and joy.
Of course, I’m always thankful for my amazing friends and family and truly know how very lucky I am to have such a strong group of individuals in my life. And the community that surrounds me: our fantastic neighborhood where we all look out for each other; my fabulous group of clients who have been strong pillars to me throughout the years; and finally, those who are no longer with me, but still part of my daily thoughts.
I’m thankful for strong and resilient kids in this world. I’ve heard a lot about our children being robbed of their “real” school year. But looking at it from a different perspective, they've actually gained integrity, independence, discipline, character, adaptability, adversity, and a brand new perspective and appreciation of life. Most importantly, they will have a super crazy story to tell their grandkids one day, which will certainly beat the one about walking to school, uphill both ways, in the snow, barefoot, that my dad used to tell.
Even though I don’t get to see everyone as much as I would like or in the way I would like, I’m thankful for technology. In a way, technology has brought us closer together (and in the same breath has also torn some apart). I’ve gotten to stay in touch with people from all over the country and check in with old friends and family on zoom calls. Just last week, we got to have a zoom call with some friends in Australia, which of course, wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago. Technology has also allowed me to reconnect with people for virtual workouts and cooking classes, which are new, creative ways for me to connect.
I’m thankful for differences in opinions and life. Even through politics, covid and these seemingly tough times, I am thankful for different perspectives and viewpoints because how boring would the world be if we were all the same? I just hope through all of this we can listen to others’ opinions and be both thankful for our differences and want to learn something new in order to grow.
Though Thanksgiving may look quite different for all of us this year, we still have so much to be thankful for in the little things in life. Challenge yourself to change perspectives, be grateful for the present moment and maybe even have a chance to make new traditions. I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving, no matter what it may look like this year!
I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes of thankfulness that are meaningful to me...
“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” ~Cicero
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” ~Epictetus
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” ~Eckhart Tolle
“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: It must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” ~William Faulkner
“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation and goodness” ~ Dalai Lama
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” ~John F. Kennedy
~Thea
Community and the Covid Crazies
As a personal trainer, I have primarily worked out of our home gym, the Whine Cellar, in our basement for the past 16 years. Once Greensboro was asked to shelter-in-place due to the coronavirus, I knew exercise, sunshine and the outdoors would be important for our mental and physical health. So I began outdoor, distanced workouts in our neighborhood. The purpose was to keep our sanity through camaraderie, laughter, and sunlight, while also helping our community. The classes offered each day were “free” to participants, as long as they donated back into our community in some way. My goal was also to keep some semblance of normalcy for the children, for our neighborhood doctors and for our morale as a community. It was a sliver of time in our day where we sweat, sang, smiled, laughed (sometimes cried), and took time to share stories and breathe. Some of the classes offered were: Sanity Stretch, Corona Core, Hood HiiT, Covid Camaraderie and Senior Sanity.
At the end of each class, each participant was asked what they were thankful for that day. It was amazing to hear the wide array of gratitude from all ages, but hands down, the number one answer that I received week after week was community. The beautiful spring weather was a close second, but everyone mentioned the importance of community when trying to maintain sanity during these very different times.
When I finally got back to work in the Whine Cellar, it was quickly determined that the outdoor classes must continue as well. In order to make my life a bit easier, I ran out and bought a little red wagon to hold all of my toys for these classes, hence, the Lil’ Red Wagon Krewe was born. Everyday it gets rolled out to our cul-de-sac and out come the jump ropes, balance domes, weights, resistance bands, agility rings and ladders, and of course, sanitizer!
As covid carried on (and on), my husband, Edmond, and I quickly realized our upcoming empty nesting adventure trips were to be canceled. Travel is such an integral component for our family to connect with different cultures, nature and the immense outdoors; we were in need of a sanctuary. The covid crazies got us good; in July, Edmond and I spontaneously bought a mountain house in Lake Toxaway, NC; something we said we’d never do. We fell so hard for this special area in NC many years ago, and have shared so many family memories. For years, I’ve had people ask me about doing health and wellness retreats and it dawned on me; what better place than the land of waterfalls and shear beauty.
So here we are; never in a million years did I ever think that I would ever have a website and be “advertising”; putting myself and business “out there”. But during these past 6 months, I’ve had plenty of time to contemplate, learn, grow and listen (and be told by my more mature and golden clients that it was time to join this century). What I continue to learn is the dire need for community and what better way to do it than through moving with your tribe, or even a wellness retreat where we get to share our passion for all things outdoors, healthy living and most importantly, a sense of community.
One more nugget I’ve learned is to never say, “never”, especially during the covid crazies! I hope you will enjoy this new Health & Fitz-ness website and I will get to share my passion with some of you. Stay healthy, stay positive, breathe and smile ;-)
~Thea