Monday, June 10, 2013

Calling for Backup!



As with many things in life, some things are just easier when you have a partner.....or, at least, someone who can relate. The police know this, as do firefighters. Some things you just don't want to do alone.

You need backup!

I ran across this article from the 'Reboot With Joe' site and it, kind of, paralleled our experiences with the whole 'reboot' thing and trying to get fit.

Recently, I've taken a part time job and met a guy there who's about my age...maybe a year younger. We got to talking about health and I mentioned juicing. He told me that he has been looking into it and, almost at the same time, asked each other if we'd seen Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. I told him that my wife and I had been juicing and trying reboots for a few months now, and asked if his wife was juicing with him.

"No", he said, "she's content just sitting around and watching t.v." He sounded sad when he told me this and it was then that I really and truly appreciated that my soul-mate was also my 'get fit' partner.

Regardless of whether we fail or succeed....we'll be doing it together.

I'm betting, though, by supporting each other....we'll succeed :)

What's your support system like? Do you have one?

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Deep End.



In my opinion, eating healthy is just one part of the overall 'getting in shape' picture. To really maximize your weight loss potential you have to do.....yes, the dreaded "E" word.....exercise!

Now, a huge mistake in getting started with exercise is how we get started with exercise. By that, I mean, jumping with both feet first and winding up in over your head. When it comes to exercising, the difference between sinking and swimming is which end of the pool we hop into.

I can't tell you how many times I've made this mistake. I get all gung-ho about wanting to get in shape and jump into an exercise routine that is over my head for my current fitness level.

I always seem to do this and wind up getting discouraged because "it's too hard" or "I'm not seeing an results"....always after a couple of weeks, mind you. I'm guilty of 'fast food' thinking....wanting it NOW and not wanting to wait. 

In the back of my mind, I know that these things take time and nothing but some hard work and dedication to a routine are going to help me achieve my goals. So, with that in mind, I hit the Internet (not too hard, as not to leave a bruise) and started looking for simple exercise routines. Just something easy to start and help get me out of the computer chair. 

I wound up coming across the video below. The best thing is you don't need an expensive weight machine (even though we have one),any sort of cardio machine (which we have one of those, too), or even a lot of room to get a great workout. All she uses is a couple of small hand weights. I really think this is a great 'starter' routine and seems fairly low impact. 

(Disclaimer: Be careful how you do your crunches. The example in this video doesn't look quite right as it looks like she's bending her neck up, which you should never do when crunching.)

My only advice is, when starting, go every other day for the first few weeks....just to allow the body to adjust to the new strain you'll be putting on it.

Give it a look and see what you think:


I also wanted to share a tasty looking Summer Fruit Bake recipe from the Reboot With Joe website. I hope we can give this a try (hint, hint, Jackie!).

Looks simple enough, right?