Holy crap! I workout everyday.I do strength training and cardio but my weight either doesn't change or it just keeps going up. What gives?

How many times have trainers/instructors heard those phrases? Answer: each and every day.

Exercise is, of course,very important but it isn't the only component to a healthy weight and body. People forget about (or don't want to think about) the nutritional aspect of fitness.

The equation is simple people, calories in vs. calories out. If you want to lose weight, you need to ingest less calories than you burn off. Plain & simple. Move more, eat less.

Well, for us baby boomers (people born between the years 1946-1964), thats tough. We were always reminded by our parents that they grew up during the great depression and you need to eat everything on your plate. There was also the starving children in Ethiopia or China or wherever. By the way, don't get all huffy with me, I do take starving peoples anywhere very seriously. But these are the ideas we grew up with.

We ate everything we could when we were kids 'cuz we never sat still.  So now we don't move as much as we did as kids, we go to the gym or whatever to get some exercise for about an hour. We don't get recess at work, right? Ahhhh, the real world, LIFE. But we still have that way of finishing everything on the plate mentality. It's a hard one to break. Believe me,I know.

I remember living with my mom when I first moved out to Tucson before I found a place of my own. I was a bit larger than the average fitness bear and Mom reminded me of that issue repeatedly. BUT! She would cook 6 chicken breasts and a load of potatoes and then say to me, " Oh, why don't you finish these chicken & potatoes so we don't have to have left-overs?" Say what? "NO."  We'd actually get into a little battle about it.

First of all, it was just the 2 of us so why so much food? Second, I don't want that much food at 1 time. 3rd, what the hell is wrong with left-overs?

I had finally gotten to the point of eating to satisfied rather than stuffed & uncomfortable. That was tough. Some people say to just eat 1/2 of whats on your plate and that works for some but I would prefer to just put that 1/2 amount only on my plate so I don't see it.

I'm not a big fan of diets, especially since I got interrupted while writing the word 1 day and looked down to see "die-t." Wow! I try to eat very well nutritionally but still have difficulty dropping these annoying lb"s.

I don't just sit around eating bon-bons all day but what gives? somehow my doc thinks I'm still getting too much sugar in my diet which, according to him, stops the fat burning process so he suggested I try a more Paleo type way of eating for awhile. No grains, no starchy carbs and very little fruit. AAAGGGGHHHHHHH!

I'll give it a try though. I doubt that I'm going to go full out with this though but I will do a lot towards this end. We'll just have to wait & see how this goes. I would love to drop a bunch of #'s bedore my vacation with sis. as well as for my own happiness and well being.

Wish me luck and I'll keep ya'll posted on my progress. I've got a lot of salad makings, a lot of meat in the fridge and put the bread in the outside fridge. I've made a pot roast yesterday and will take some of that to work today.

Have a safe 4th of July everyone. Celebrate love!

Keep dancing and peace out

Monsoon season is here. Temps are gonna be in the triple digits now for some time. We Tucsonans have quickly become spoiled to the milder than usual temps we've had this year so far. I know, the rest of the country has been through hell this year. Well, ours has arrived, hell that is. It's expected to hit 107 degrees by Wednesday. Holy crap thats HOT!

Of course I'll be out at the pool teaching during the worst of it almost every day. I'm doing my level best to not get so dark this year but I'm already quite the brown berry right now. I wear a wet shirt out there and I put sunscreen on my face before going out there but it doesn't keep me from gaining a boatload of color.

People laugh at me when I tell them how dark I can get. They just don't believe it until they see me at the end of the summer. Now, don't get me wrong here, I'm not ashamed of being dark, it's just crazy and not so good for my skin. I'm no spring chicken anymore ya know. I am lucky to have olive skin so I really don't burn but it still isn't good for ya, ya know.

It gets so hot here in Tucson that you actually see those air waves when you go outside. I thought that that was just what happened to film or a photo effect but nope, it's for real.

I also see a lot of people suffering from de-hydration this time of the year. Trust me, if you've never seen a person go into de-hydration, you don't want to. It's scarey. For both of you. Luckily, it's an easy fix but you have to re-hydrate slowly. I have seen it  happen once and I don't wish it on anyone, ever.

The body begins to shut down all non-essential body parts, such as the limbs, to keep blood & oxygen going to the brain and you go into a full body cramp. If you've had a cramp you know how painful that is. Now imagine your whole body in 1. It's terrifying.

Some of the symptoms of de-hydration include nausea, sweating, dizzyness/light-headedness, minimal urine output, rapid breathing, cool extremities, dry mouth, fatigue, urine turns a dark yellow, can seem to be delirious or become unconscious, muscle cramps, constipation (Yikes!), skin elasticity loss, lack of tears along with dry mucous membranes, you feel "parched."

However, the last one the feeling of being parched will, typically, mean that you're already in de-hydration.

Some of those aforementioned symptoms may be caused by other issues as well but if any of these are left without some sort of attention, it could lead to heat stroke and death so pay attention to your body.

Stay hydrated! We've all heard that we should ingest 8 glasses of 8oz. of water each and every day. BUT, if you exercise or do manual type labor, you need to increase that consumption. If you exercise over 60 minutes, you should consume 7-10 oz. of water every 10-20 minutes of  exercise.

 
I keep saying water, yes, because its the best to replenish your bodys' supply. We're not made of sports drink, coffee or soda but are made up of about 70% WATER!

Now, don't get me wrong, I do drink coffee, I do drink lemonade, I do drink an occasional soda but what we really need is water. 

I didn't like drinking just plain water for the longest time, actually, most of my life . But having moved to the hottest place I could find  (not really but I don't care much for Phoenix!) I needed to change my habits and now drink lots of water every day along with my coffee. I keep a bottle of water by my bed every night and always have my water pitcher filled in readiness.

Don't forget your animals here either. They don't have the ability to sweat as we humans do and need to have plenty of fresh water at the ready for them to lap up. I have 3 bowls for them. 2 inside and 1 outside. And... please ... don't leave them or your kids locked up in the car.

Stay well, well hydrated and healthy, keep dancing.

Peace