Welcome to fitness

As a very small woman, I've never found a bicycle that really fit me. So, several years ago, my husband and I decided to buy custom-built bikes.

When the beautiful little bike came, it felt amazing, as though I'd never ridden a bicycle before. But it was also difficult adjusting to a completely new way of riding. After a time, I got extremely frustrated.

The manager of the bike shop coached me, pep-talked me, got me through. "Think of yourself as an athlete," he said.

That threw me.

Athlete? Athletic? Those aren't words I use to describe myself. Never have. Yes, I did gymnastics, cheerleading, and dance as a kid, but even at the height of that, I wouldn't have used the word "athletic" to describe myself. In fact, sort of the opposite.

Several years later, here I am; I've just completed my aerobics instructor certification, and am starting my Pilates instructor training. I'm in better shape than I've been in...well, ever?

I still wouldn't call myself athletic. And why not? I don't even know. I suppose in positive terms, I think athletes are people who go to the Olympics. I'm definitely not that. And in negative terms, "athletes" were the mean jocks who made fun of me in school (and chose me last for their stupid dodge ball teams). Ugh.

Not that a particular word really matters. I'm a 48-year-old woman embarking on an exciting new journey, a journey that will hopefully raise my quality of living, as well as those around me.

When my Pilates teacher describes the women in my class, she calls us "movers." Yes, for whatever reason, that's a term I like. It's a term I can comfortably use for myself. Who knows why. Maybe it's a little softer, or more feminine. Maybe it's because the logical conclusion to the sentence, "I'm a mover" is "and a shaker."

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Winter Recess (A Diet Change Rebrand)

The beginning of the year, my husband and I do a "fast." For six weeks we take things out of our diet. Sugar and alcohol are always included and sometimes other things. The first year we did this, we were insanely ambitious: sugar, alcohol, dairy, most meat, all wheat, in fact anything that rhymed with "eat", particularly if it was brown, looked like the moon, or had been blanched. That's my memory at any rate, and no, it did not go well. (Lotsa cheats.) Subsequently, we've been more modest. And generally it has gone better. (I won't lie. There are still cheats.) At the end of this detox, sure, you go back to a retox. But each year (Is it ten years we've done it now?), you go back less. Your tastebuds actually change. You get more sensitive to sugar and stop wanting it so much. You start truly liking and desiring the things that are good for you. It's incredibly valuable. But it is a negation. We take things away. It's hard not to feel ...

Wellness reminders

If you spend much time with your body at all, you start collecting lots of things to work on—posture cues, breathing cues, relaxation stuff, well at least I have. In fact, I have so many little things to work on that it overwhelmes me to try and do them all. I end up doing none of them. So I decided to pick seven and just focus on a different one every day of the week. In time I think they'll become habitual and I can change to seven more. I printed my reminders on small pieces of paper and then made little holders (anything for a craft project!) for them. I change which reminder is in front every day. I sewed magnetic tape to the backs of the holders and a little loop at the top. This gives me a lot of flexibility where to put them. Right now I've hung the holders at the kitchen sink, by the bathroom mirror, and by my computer. I do think these little things should have a name. "Wellminders?" (wellness + reminder) "Wellfirmations?" (Wellness + affirma...

Setting your health goals

Setting goals helps you prioritize what to work on and can help give you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the year. But setting goals is hard. The standard advice is to make them SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. In general I agree with this. (Though what's the difference between attainable and realistic? Just asking.) I've been practicing goal setting for about five or six years now. And yes, I see it as a practice or skill. You're not that great at it the first couple of times, but you improve with repetition. You get better at figuring out what works for you — how many goals is realistic to shoot for in a year, how specific to be when you break down your big goals, how far in advance you can schedule little goals, what to do about changing your mind mid-year, etc, etc.... And, oh yea, the biggie: realizing that often what you want is intangible and hard to measure. For example, "I want to be happier." A wise goal but no...

Jill McGowan Pilates

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