Kicking the Habit

Hi! It’s Be Fit Dave again. I thought this week I would target all of you smokers on Be Fit past & present.

Quitting smoking will be the most difficult thing I will ever do in my lifetime. I have heard it said that nicotine is more addictive than drugs such as heroin or crack cocaine. I have no proof either way on that, but I'll believe them, having been a smoker.

I started smoking when I was about 16 years old. At first it was only occasional, then it turned into an obsessive addiction. If I was bored I smoked, if I was angry I smoked, if I was out of breath I smoked - to catch my breath - how stupid is that one?! I smoked after every meal, with every cup of coffee. Every phone call required a cigarette… you name the activity, there was most definitely a cigarette involved.

I tried to quit smoking many times and sometimes it lasted a while, sometimes only a matter of hours. The longest run, I think, was 3 months. That was when I joined the MGH smoking cessation classes or groups they have. Back then it was totally free. Now it is a nominal fee that includes the patches, gum etc.

Back when I took part in Be Fit they were running a pilot group of smokers that wanted to quit. So, the third week they started a smoking cessation component. We would meet once a week before rallies and breakouts. We would discuss our pros and cons about smoking and strategies to quit smoking and stay quit. I quit for about 5 weeks through this. After the 5th week I got fed up with all the changes I was making (eating healthy, exercising AND quitting!) and decided I could work on quitting smoking again later.

I tried about 7 times over the summer to quit. I finally quit on October 7, 2006. I have not had a cigarette since 10/07/06 at about 12:30 AM. It's been very hard to resist the temptation to smoke, but I have tried and succeeded. When the going gets tough I just go for a walk or do some form of exercise - and breathing through it; more easily - is a reminder of why I quit and why I don't want to ever smoke again. Plus, since I quit I only pay $24 a week for patches instead of $50 a week on cigs. That's a savings of $26 a week. So far I have saved $260, well on my way to a new wardrobe in the spring!

I can't wear my patch at night, because of the vivid dreams. So I take it off at bedtime and leave it at the bedside and reapply in the AM, as I go to the gym before my 3-11 shift, I apply new patch after gym.

I am now able to run at 5MPH on the treadmill for at least 10 minutes before I have to come back down to my comfort zone of 4MPH. When I was smoking I couldn't walk 4MPH for more than 2 minutes before I had to cut down to 3MPH. Every week I try adding .5MPH and see how long I can go. My short-term goal is to run 7MPH for 20 minutes before having to cut down. I figure that's a 5K race in about half an hour, another short-term goal of mine, although 20 minutes would be great.

I know that it's hard to change everything in 10 weeks, but trust me if you try to quit smoking you'll be better off in the long run. If you need any encouragement or support, I'll try to be there for you. You can always reach me through Kate or Erin, or through the Be Fit blog. I check it daily!

Good luck to all who try to quit smoking, nothing but success to you.

DGM

Changing Your Eating Habits - Dave's Be Fit Survivor Perspective

Hi there! It's Dave again. I thought I would write about my struggle to change my eating habits and how tough it can be, especially during the holiday season.

When I started Be Fit, I think the hardest part for me was changing my eating habits. It was tough to give up all that good food I SO enjoyed at the time. Before I started Be Fit, I would either eat a Bacon cheeseburger and fries, or a couple slices of pizza, daily. I would also eat some fattening desserts, especially Tapioca.

My 1st 2 weeks in Be Fit, I held on to my desserts and an occasional couple of slices of pizza. I soon realized that, although I was losing weight, it could be better if I started to eat the right way.

In week 3, I started eating healthier and started using new vocabulary such as: calories, saturated fat, fiber both soluble and insoluble etc. I noticed a difference in weight loss and energy levels when I started to eat properly. As the weeks went by I noticed more and more energy and I felt tired a lot less than before. My cholesterol levels dropped and raised, bad and good respectively.

Every week I would keep meticulous records of what I had eaten and sent them to the nutritionist, who would make recommendations as to how I could improve my eating habits. Soon www.calking.com became one of my favorite web sites and McDonald's drifted out of my life.

Now I try to cook once a week and cook several meals to freeze, that way when I want "fast food" all I have to do is take it from freezer to microwave to table.

Do I still eat "naughty" foods?? Of course I do, I'm not perfect. Now, though, I will sample my partner's dessert or have a fraction of what I used to have just to try something sweet.

Avoiding the bad stuff is very difficult at my house, as I live with a junk food junkie and that's all he ever eats. Whenever I get in the mood to join him and go on a binge I just remember where I was 7 months ago and where I want to be in 6 months and usually that's enough to keep me honest.

Holidays, though, are tough. I just had my Christmas party last week. I knew that there would be tons of food that I should not be eating. I went to the gym after working 7-3 and then went to the cafeteria for a Be Fit meal. By the time I got to the party, I was too full to even think of making poor choices.

At family affairs I always make sure to make something that I can enjoy. I'll make some veggies and dip (light dip) of course, some fruit etc. I will always try the "naughty" foods, but mainly I am eating stuff that is good for me and filling up on water in the mean time. I also go for a walk if it becomes too much to handle. There is always someone to walk with at any given moment.

Food is one of the hardest things I'll change in my lifetime. I am a serious food addict and have to be very careful, because that one bite could easily turn into having the whole thing in one sitting. Food is also something we need to survive, so I can't just avoid it altogether.

Another thing to avoid is too much alcohol. Alcohol just turns into sugars, which turn into fat :-(

I know, it’s sad huh. I'm not saying to never drink again, but to limit it to a couple of drinks and try to stick to red wine - after all red wine is supposed to be good for us - for the time being any way.

I know how difficult all this Be Fit stuff can be, changing your activity level(s), your eating habits, finding time for the meetings and rally's etc... Trust me though, as someone who has gone through it and struggled with some of it, if you work it right it will work for you. The changes are amazing and you'll soon realize that you are not on a diet, but that you have changed your way of life and how you live it. It is, after all, a way of life not a diet.

What You Need to Know about Group Fitness Activities from Sandy Connor, Be Fit Trainer

Group Fitness Classes make for a great workout! As a participant in any group fitness activity, there are a few important things you should be aware of:

1. If you are a beginner; progress gradually. An injury and/or extreme discomfort are your body’s way of reminding you not to overdo it. Make sure there are rest days in your workout schedule, giving your body time to repair and recover.

2. In your aerobic activities; don’t try to compete with others. Workout at a pace that is personally challenging for you.

3. Wear proper footwear! If you workout several times a week, your footwear should be changed every 3 months, even though it may look new. The best shoes for any type of impact-related activity will provide support, cushioning and shock absorption.

4. Whether you are an experienced exercise enthusiast or a beginner; you should always begin your workout with a warm-up, consisting of rhythmic movements and light stretching for the muscles you are preparing to use.

End your workout with the deeper, static stretches which are only appropriate after your muscles have been completely warmed up.

For a listing of CCRP's group fitness schedule visit, www.clubsatcrp.com

Meeting My Trainer (Steve) for The First Time - Dave's Be Fit Survivor Perspective

Meeting my trainer for the first time was a nerve-racking experience for me, especially since I never really lifted weights and my trainer was Steve. I assumed he would expect me to be lifting like him. When we had our first meeting with Steve, my workout buddy Lexi and I were a bit nervous. We had actually been dreading it for a week because he was so well developed and we worried that we would look like wimps in front of him.

Let me tell you… all the worrying was for nothing. Steve was THE nicest guy. He led us down a path of physical fitness very slowly. Our first workout, however, I'll admit, killed us. We couldn't even lift our hands to our mouth to eat; we almost had to chase our food to get it to our mouths! As the weeks went by though we were able to recover more quickly from these workouts.

As each week passed, Steve would teach us a new workout, which would keep us from getting bored as we went through Be Fit and beyond. Steve also taught us that you should switch things up every once in a while, because your body gets used to routine. I liken it to work – we adapt to our job to the point we can do it more efficiently in less time - our bodies do the same with workouts; they will learn to do "the routine" while burning less energy. He told us that we should either change up our routines or switch the order in which the exercises are done.

Another important thing we learned is that, although it your body will change, it won't happen overnight, it requires time. It took time to put all the weight on, or become out of shape, so it will take time for the pounds to melt away and the muscle to shine through again.

As for me, I never really lifted weights before. I always did the lifecycle or circuit machines and although they are a bit challenging, they are not as challenging as free weights. Not to say that people shouldn't use machines, they are a great way to learn proper posture and mechanics of each exercise.

Steve broke us in on the weights in the back room as well. This was a room I was absolutely trying to avoid, as the people who are usually there are struggling to lift some huge amounts of weight. I was struggling with 25 pounds back there! (I should tell you that the bar alone weighs about 45 lbs.) In this room, I felt the "burn" of lifting much more than with anything else. Unfortunately, my workout partner doesn't like this area, so we rarely go anymore. This is a room I would like to get back into though. Maybe I'll treat myself to a personal training session and do a total body workout back there.

Steve really got us motivated just by being himself. He is a great trainer and someone to look up to at the gym. I wish I could say that I am aspiring to be like him, but he's just a little too bulky for me. I wouldn't mind being just half of him though.

I must say, that all the trainers at the gym have something different to offer and if you could befriend some participants on opposing teams, it would be in your best interest for after the 10-week program. Then you could all get together and workout and teach each other some new routines using the different things you learned from your trainers. You could double what you know about the gym!

On another note, I hear a lot of people complaining about cardio when I'm at CCRP… what a hassle and pain in the butt it is. A little tip – MUSIC! I personally hate doing cardio but if I put on my IPOD and close my eyes or something, I can imagine that I am not on the treadmill or elliptical machine but rather I am in the middle of a dance club getting down with my bad self!

Meet Butch, a Be Fit SURVIVOR

I'm Butch Norris, a driver for the Transporation Department.

I came to Be Fit and I weighed 252 pounds. I had grown tired of seeing myself proceed myself before I went in the door of any store. You know, what I'm talking about... you walk by a window and you see your stomach get there before the rest of you. I got tired of that. I made a good Santa Claus… that was good… but…

When I came to Be Fit they gave me the tools - that’s all they can do - they give you the tools and they teach you how to use those tools and it’s like any other program, like quitting smoking, like quitting drinking, anything else… and if you don’t apply those tools you’re not going to get anything out of it.

Be Fit gave me the tools and I put them to work. They pushed me; they gave me all the support I needed. And I worked real hard at it. I’ve lost 57lbs. It’s a way of life. They changed my way of life. They changed my way of living.

I took the guidelines… I do my own cooking. I use the proportions that they show on the charts. They tell you that you can have so much of this and so much of that. And I treat myself; I don’t deprive myself. I’ll take those treats but only occasionally. I don’t sit there and eat a half of a pizza pie now; I have a slice, maybe two. But if I have two I’ll go out and workout twice as hard. What I put in is what calories I burn off. And I have a bad job, I sit-down all day long. But I can’t use it an excuse. I got tired of using excuses. The whole thing ended up being, I got sick and tired of being sick and tired.

When I entered Be Fit I was talking a Priolsec OTC once a day, everyday of the week. Two weeks after the program started I stopped needing it and I have yet to take a Priolosec OTC and I have yet to take an antacid.

Be Fit works; only if YOU want it to work.

After 9 weeks in the program I had lost 36 pounds, 3-inches off my waist, 3 inches off my hips and 4% of my body fat. My blood pressure used to be 130 over 70, now it’s 110 over 80. Be Fit works.

Yes I feel good. I feel good about myself. I feel good inside. And it’s thanks to the Be Fit program.

I’ve continued in the program. I walk 3 miles a day now in 45-minutes with 2 bad knees. So you can’t use knees as an excuse either. I’m 65 years old so you can’t use age for an excuse either.

I’m here to tell you. If you want it - apply yourself to the program. I did it. You can do it!

Meet Dave, A Be Fit SURVIVOR

Hi, my name is Dave, and I’ve been a Be Fit survivor for 6+ months now. Let me tell you a little about myself.

I’ve been working at MGH for almost 4 years. I’ve been a member of CCRP for the entire time. I believe I used the gym for about 4 months last year then gave up, because I wasn't seeing the results I wanted to see in the time frame I wanted to see them.

In March of '06 I joined a Be Fit team and that was the beginning of a wonderful transformation in more ways than one. Through Be Fit, I learned that diet is, of course, just as important as exercise. When I started Be Fit, I weighed 291 lbs and was 34% fat with a 51 inch waist and 53" hips. During the 10-week program I utilized my trainer once a week, faithfully, which was a tremendous help, as it gave me at least 8 different routines to do to keep me from getting bored.

Also during this program I made my first attempt at quitting smoking, which lasted approximately 4 weeks, not too bad considering I was changing my eating and exercise habits at the same time.

At the end of 10 weeks I had lost about 25 lbs, and approx. 6" off my waist and 7" from my hips. I felt that I had a "pool worthy" body and went to the pool at CCRP for my first time this past summer.

After the pool closed, I fell off the wagon for a little bit of time and started back to the gym in October and have been going strong ever since - whether at CCRP, at my partner's gym, or at the outdoor workout station on Memorial Drive in Cambridge by Magazine beach - a wonderful place to get a good outdoor workout on a nice day when I just don't want to be indoors.

I no longer weigh myself; I go by how my clothes feel on my body. I don't weigh myself due to the fact that muscle weighs more than fat - fact not myth - thank goodness for that one, and the scale never really moved. I workout at least 6 times a week doing 40-minutes of cardio and alternating between an upper and lower body strength training regimen. So I have lost a lot of fat and gained a lot of muscle.

I just got back from a long weekend in P-Town, celebrating my partner's 40th b'day, and I got up at 6 AM everyday there and went for a jog and then to the gym they have down there for $5 a day. I tried very hard to eat right, and when it wasn't possible I cut the portions down quite a bit, so as to not take in many calories, a new word in my vocabulary. I also ate a huge salad before every meal to limit my bad caloric intake. When I went out to "party" I would limit myself to 2 drinks, as booze is very high in calories :-(

By the way, I quit smoking on October 7, 2006 and to date have not had even one cigarette, and that was my final step toward getting fit. Since quitting smoking I feel so much more energized, and feel I could run more than the 50 yards I used to be able to, which is good. My next step is to train for the Boston Marathon in 2008, that is my goal and my challenge to myself.

The whole idea behind getting fit is to remember to show up FOR YOURSELF!!!! We show up to work everyday for our boss and colleagues, home for our families and where ever else for whom ever else, don't forget to show up FOR YOURSELF, the most important person in your life.

Good luck to all Be Fitters, past, present and future. If you ever need a workout partner I'm at the gym at about 12 or 12:30 most days.

Cooking Light - Chewy Chocolate-Cherry Cookies

Last night I tried this cookie recipe that I found in a Cooking Light magazine last year. I checked with Dana Brennan (who also finds the great recipes we highlight on the Be Fit home page) and she said, "you could recommend using 1/4 cup egg beater in substitute for the egg and light butter instead of butter if you wanted to make it lighter but it looks light to begin with."

Here it is for you to try. Enjoy! Be Fit Kristie

Chewy Chocolate-Cherry Cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4.5 ounces)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup of butter softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2/3 cup dried tart cherries
3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stirring with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg, beat well. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Fold in cherries and chocolate chips.
Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or just until set. Remove from oven, cook on pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Yield: 30 cookies (serving size 1 cookie)

CALORIES 80 (30% from fat); FAT 2.7 (sat 1.3g, mono 1.1g, poly 0.1g): PROTEIN 1.1g: CARB 13.4g; FIBER 0.8g: CHOL 12mg; IRON 0.4mg; SODIUM 56mg; CALC 10mg

Do you have a light recipe you want to share? Post yours to this blog; first click below on “comments.” You will be taken to another page; just type your comment in the space provided then click the “login and publish” button.

You Aren’t a Garbage Can

You might think that because I am part of Be Fit (Be Fit Kirstie is Erin Marley) that I’d be super motivated to be a shining star of example by eating right, exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

That’s not the case. I am an emotional eater. Working out is the last thing I want to do when I’ve worked all day at the gym. I love ice cream, cookies, pizza, Chinese food, cheese burgers and not only do I eat them, but up until a few months ago I ate them in excess.

What changed?

I was sitting in on a Be Fit breakout session. Stacey was talking about dining out. She was explaining how people sometimes feel the need to over-eat what’s left on their plates because they feel guilty throwing it away when they hear the little voice in their head saying, “people in X,Y, Z countries are starving.” She went on to liken eating when you’re full to treating yourself like a garbage can and suddenly something hit me. And it stayed with me all day. I started to look at my life and my habits and the way they were making me feel and I suddenly “saw the light,” so to speak.

A lot of times people set out to do something and it takes a few times to “take,” if you will. It happens a lot with lifestyle changes. They are the hardest things to change. Sometimes you start trying to change because you know you should but your heart isn’t in it and you’re not totally ready.

I am one of these people and I wanted to share with other Be Fitters who might be the same way. For me, it was seeing the mental image of the way I was treating myself.

What about the rest of you? If you had a “eureka” moment that turned you around, please share it, we’d love to hear from you!

Be Fit. Eat Healthy. It’s Your Choice.