motivation

Getting Active

Getting Active

For those who aren’t following me on Facebook, I’ve taken on the challenge of participating in the Pole, Pedal, Paddle next April. It’s a six part event. My part of the event is the five mile run and the half mile sprint.

I have NEVER been a runner. I plod along at a pace that’s hard to distinguish between walking and running, but I decided I could do this. Since I started running in May, I have gone from a 15

exercise Walking the dogs at sunset

minute mile to last week a 9:35 mile.

Some of you might think I’ve always been committed to exercise, but that’s not true. It’s really only been in the last 10… Read More

Exercise Through Injury

IMG_1214 One of several bruises from fall Exercise, exercise, exercise. I know I sound like a broken record, but in the last 10 days I’ve come to realize just how critical exercise is, especially after an injury. Ten days ago, I took a tumble off my bike that resulted in several bruises plus some bruised ribs. The first three days I did almost no movement. By the fourth day, I knew I needed to do something, but movement caused pain, and I resisted. The reality was, even though there are definite limitations with bruised ribs, there are forms of movement that can be done. And once I started moving, I felt better and started to heal faster.

Exercise While… Read More

Grit—What is it and do I have it?

Definition of Grit

Grit, according to Merriam-Webster means firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. So, you’re probably wondering why I’m giving you the definition of grit. There is a method to my madness. I just got tuned into Freakonomics Radio, a podcast that I highly recommend. The first show I listened to talked about grit and how gritty people become great in anything from spelling bees to athletics or (my addition here) weight loss. What they’ve discovered is years of hard work and practice are more of a factor than natural talent. grit 5K PPP Race

Exercise and Grit

The subject fascinated me especially since I am undertaking a huge challenge, a five… Read More

Pole, Pedal, Paddle

  This past weekend the 40th annual Pole, Pedal, Paddle (PPP) event was held in Bend, Oregon. This was the first time I had attended. PPP 5K PPP Race

The PPP

The PPP is a race that can be done individually, with teams or pairs. It starts at Mt. Bachelor where you either downhill or snowboard to the Nordic skiing site. At the end of the downhill, you either handoff to a team mate or do an 8K cross country ski, then handoff or bike 22 miles down Mt. Bachelor where you handoff or run 5 miles to the kayak, canoe or paddle board site. You PPP Kayak… Read More

Eating Challenges

Eating Challenges

I wish I knew why some eating challenges were harder for me than others. I’m still struggling with eat when I’m hungry and savor my food. I have a feeling these will be a life long issues for me. Currently, I have to make a conscious effort to think before I eat and take the time to enjoy each bite.eating Before we moved everything was clicking away and flowing smoothly, but the move and still being in temporary housing has disrupted my eating habits. And getting them back in place is taking longer than I anticipated. I have made progress since I blogged last week. More often I am eating when I’m hungry. I do well until late… Read More

Starting Again

startingWeight loss seems to be one of those things I was always starting again until I wasn’t. For most of my adult life I was always on a diet, just finished a diet or starting again.

Losing Stubborn Pounds

startingThis all changed when I read The Checklist Diet by Rebecca Clark two years ago. Suddenly I was dropping off pounds I hadn’t been able to budge for several years. I was afraid I’d hit that over 40 group who just couldn’t lose weight, but when I followed two simple, yet incredibly hard steps the weight fell off—eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. Read More

Putting Action into Words

Putting action into words

I’ll bet lots and lots of people made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight or get fit. Certainly a worthwhile goal, but I’m tweaking my New Years resolution this year after reading a blog by Diane wordsCarbonell, author of 150 Pounds Gone Forever. She recently blogged about New Years Resolutions. She’s not a fan of them, and instead of making one, she suggests making your words match your actions. Last week I blogged that the Klutzy Athlete had lived up to her name by being klutzy and spraining her ankle. This week I’ve been struggling with a painful ankle and ice baths. I’m not sure which is worse, the injury or… Read More

New Exercise Routine

New Exercise Routine

exerciseIt’s fall, and while I absolutely love this time of year, it messes with my exercise routine. This is mostly due to the change in weather. When it’s raining or the wind is howling I don’t ride my bicycle outside, so I have to adjust my routine and ride the indoor bicycle. And some of the mountain biking trails I love get shut down because of weather. It doesn’t mean I can’t ride in the winter, it just means I have go to more winter friendly trails.

Shaking It Up

This changeup isn’t bad, it just means I have to readjust. It takes time for me to get in the groove with these changes. Instead of assuming I will… Read More

Setting Weight Loss Goals

Weight Loss Goals

I’ve always been a goal setter—from work to exercise to weight loss. I recently read a post by Diane Carbonell on are you focused on the right thing when losing weight. goals Crash mountain biking in Bend, Oregon. Good news the bike survived! Her blog was about goal setting, and it made me realize that setting a goal to just lose a certain amount of weight wasn’t enough to be successful. For me, it also included an attitude change. I was no longer just losing weight, but changing my lifestyle by eating when I was hungry, stopping when full and getting plenty of exercise—not just a set amount of exercise, and even challenging myself… Read More

Fighting the Obesity Epidemic

The Klutzy Athlete is out being her Klutzy self and rerunning a blog today.  Will be back soon with more nutrition and exercise. We have an obesity epidemic on our hands, and no one seems to know how to stop it. If you have a loved one who is obese, you’ve probably tried anything and everything to get them to lose weight. Guilt, shame, bribery, badgering, coercion, but nothing works, does it? So what do you do? obesity image courtesy of (c) Jason Stitt/123RF Having recently lost someone I loved to complications from obesity, I want to take on the obesity and knock it into outer space. It’s time we all start fighting. All out cage fighting. No more… Read More