Training Wheels?

Well, round two of 6FIT has come to an end and it was another great run. I lost another pound and another couple of inches, but most importantly, I feel great!

First and foremost, I need to give a shout out to my cheering section.

I really have the most amazing husband. This man is behind me every step of the way, even when it means I'm squeezing exercise classes into our already insane schedule or getting the whole family up for an early morning walk on the weekends (extra points for exercising with "friends" on the weekends!). Every single day he asks what he can do to support me. How can he help me meet my goal? How can "we" get more points today? What's that other woman doing out in California and how can we smoke her this week? (Hi Kim!)

And my munchkins, William and Julia have been a total riot, living the 6FIT life right along with me. Telling the world about "hunt, gather, grow" week. Riding their bikes to the library instead of taking the car so Mom can jog along. "What's our food of the week, Mom?" "How many points do we get if we go for a walk?" "Do you get extra points if I sit on you while you do yoga?" "Are we beating that lady yet?"  Clearly the competitive spirit is present in our house.

As a former "loner" who has always wanted to do things on my own, this has been a very eye-opening experience. I know how to eat well. I know how to exercise. Why is this so darn difficult to do on my own?
The answer is, I still don't know. However, I'm a firm believer in doing what works, and being part of a supportive and health-minded community is definitely working.

After my first round of 6FIT, I was really on-track for about two weeks, and then I just started floundering around. I felt like I had lost all of my structure; no charts to fill in, no points to tally, no challenges to meet, etc.
This time around, I'm all over it! I've got my "app" to track my food and exercise (and connect with friends who are doing the same thing), I'm staying in touch with many other 6FITters and I'm scheduling exercise in advance for each week so I know I'll be taken care of even in the busiest of times. And let's face it-when is it NOT the busiest of times?
I'm considering this my "training wheels." Like when you first learn to ride a two-wheeler but you have to focus all of your energy on not falling off, you hardly notice the world around you. If you put the training wheels back on, you can enjoy the ride and still keep moving forward. That's me-moving forward!

I've also joined the virtual world and I'm hooked. I take real-time classes right in my living room via Skype after the kids go to bed or before they get up or sometimes they even join me. I can't believe I waited so long to try this out. 

People keep asking me what my favorite exercise class is and every time I think I have an answer, I try another class and can't make up my mind again.
Here's my rundown:

• For Cardio I love Zumba. Who wouldn't? You keep moving, have fun and "Shake it" when Maeve yells "Shake it!" I dance like crazy and, as long as I avoid the mirrors, I feel like I could be on MTV. Oops-really dating myself there, aren't I? Does MTV still exist?
• I'm also a big fan on Dinna's CardioKickFIT class. I love kickboxing and holy cow does Dinna make a girl work. Lots of intervals, lots of sets, big smiles and an all-around challenging class that wipes me out every time. I wish this was on the schedule more-it's in a tough time slot but totally worth it!
• I haven't tried BalletFIT Cardio yet but it looks like another fun and challenging class. I'm working up to this one.

And then there are the toning classes:

• Pilates with Resistance Tubing was my first favorite. Thank you Gina! I'm finally beginning to understand that you can stretch and be gentle on your body while also getting a great all-over toning workout. Who knew? It's the kind of class that flies by, leaves you relaxed and feeling settled in your body and, the next day, has your muscles reminding you that they did some serious work. 
• Then I tried BalletFIT and really enjoyed that one too. Barre work, center work, core work, hand weights, some cardio, stretching-this class has everything. Reminds me of my childhood dreams of tutus and toe shoes-embracing my inner-ballerina here!
• Then one morning I tried an early morning Mat Pilates class with Ali because I just couldn't fit anything else in that day. I haven't missed this class since. Talk about greeting the day. 45 minutes of all-over good feelings and more sweat than one would think in a class with no cardio.
• And not to leave out the west coast motivation-Kristin's Long and Lean class was my first experience with yoga. All these years I wondered how anyone could consider yoga a workout. My kids go through the poses in their sleep. I take it all back and apologize to all of you yogis and yoginis. Yoga is tough and I am a convert. I absolutely love this class! And I'm not as coordinated as I thought-enough said.
• And then Miss Lauren introduced me to BalletFIT Tone and Stretch one Saturday morning and it's now a regular part of my week. David and I have made this a weekly date and it's just the perfect way to start a weekend.  The studio is so beautiful and quiet in the morning and Lauren leads the class through some stretching, some basic barre work and lots of core and toning work. It's a slow paced class that's gentle on the body and always leaves me standing up a bit straighter and taller.
• And then there are Arms and Abs, and Legs Bums & Tums: These are a little harder to fit into my schedule but I squeeze them in whenever I can. Sometimes a break from cardio and a real focus on specific "problem areas" (I hate that phrase!) just feels so good. Small weights and lots of reps are starting to make a difference for me. I'm starting to see long lean muscles popping up everywhere. What a difference from the muscles I developed at the gym! I'm pretty sure those one-pound Pilates balls are programmed to get progressively heavier as the workout goes on...

What am I missing? Music Video Dance is still intimidating me but maybe I'll get over it. Alyssa is such a great teacher and they all look like they're having a total party. There are still a few other classes left for me to try and I think a new class was just added to the schedule.

What do all of you do to keep your health a top priority? How do you fit in regular exercise without letting other things fall off your plate?

Enjoy this gorgeous weather and keep moving!
~Mari-Chris

Are you ready for some football?

We got our game on 6FIT style here in the Russell house this weekend!

I'm pretty sure this would have looked quite different if it weren't for this challenge and "sugar-free Sunday" but we all enjoyed a feast and nobody felt deprived at all. My favorite moment? On the way to a concert here in Boston, my oldest daughter stopped by with her college friends to catch some of the game. Squeezed into our tiny TV room were all 5 of us plus 3 very tall college guys munching on celery sticks and homemade guacamole on organic blue corn chips. No junk food in sight. So satisfying!


And that wrapped up week 1 of the 6FIT challenge-the "water cleanse" week. We could eat whatever we wanted last week, but we could only drink water. The only exceptions were 1 small cup of coffee before noon and 1 glass of red wine at night (per Michael Pollan, of course). Not so hard really, although I missed coffee. Believe it or not, I actually had much more energy without the afternoon caffeine infusion but I have to admit that I just love drinking coffee-the taste, the texture, the smell, the whole experience. So I'm very happy to be enjoying my second cup of coffee as I type this, decaf of course. =)


And now on to week 2: "Real Foods" only. That means if I can't hunt it, gather it or grow it, I can't eat it.
For the most part, I'm not worried at all. We already eat pretty healthy around here. Giving up bread and crackers is the only challenge I anticipate. And the foods of the week are kale and tangerines/clementines, both of which I love! We get one "immunity" food and I'm definitely going with coffee! To make it a little more challenging I'm going to try to go completely decaf. I tried half-decaf this morning and boy did I get off to a slow start. We'll see how this goes. I may need a bit of encouragement on this one.


I also want to try some different classes this week. Last week I did Zumba with Maeve and CardioKickFIT with Dinna-I loved them both!
Already this week I tried BalletFIT for the first time. Very tough class but great energy and fun to remember the ballerina dreams of childhood. We actually did many of the same things I watch my 7-yr-old do in her classes, so I was feeling some pressure. Let's just say it was a humbling experience and leave it at that, shall we?


I know most people have a hate/hate relationship with Mondays but, for me, Tuesday is the weekly thorn in my side. I start off Monday mornings in high gear with a to-do list 2 pages long and 6 child-free hours to shred it. Even at my most productive I don't have a snowballs chance to get through the whole list, but hope springs eternal. Somewhere around 2:00 I start to panic because the kids will be home in less than an hour and when they walk through the door, productivity comes to a screeching halt. 

So now it's Tuesday and my little guy does not have school on Tuesdays. So much for the to-do list. Mostly, I spend Tuesdays in a state of anxiety about all of the things that I am NOT accomplishing. Pretty sad, huh?
In the spirit of DanceFIT and having a healthier mental state to go with my healthier body, I'm going to go build silly things and do puzzles with my William. Then maybe he can come do something super fun with Mommy...like folding laundry ;-)


Here's to healthy minds and bodies!
~M-C


PS Dear Tom Brady, please don't speak. You are much classier with your mouth closed. We still love you though. GO PATRIOTS!

Funny the things you learn...and RE-learn!

Things I've (re)learned so far on this 6FIT journey with DanceFIT studio:

• Water is good!
• Stretching is essential after exercise.
• The older you get, the more you need to stretch.
• Grapefruit is yummy!
• If you really pay attention, your body will actually tell you exactly what it needs.

I realize it is only day 3 but I feel like I'm already reaping the benefits of this program. I thought keeping hydrated was going to be my biggest challenge but, so far, it has been a breeze. It's almost like I've been dehydrated for so long and now my body is making up for lost time.

And then there's the exercise. I kicked off the program with a Monday night double-header; first an hour of Zumba with Maeve and then 45 minutes of Cardio kickFIT with Dinna. I'm not lying when I say that I had to crawl to the 6FIT kick-off meeting after the second class. Tuesday morning I was surprised that I was not sore at all. I felt a bit tight, but otherwise fine...until last night. By bedtime last night I could hardly climb the stairs. Every muscle in my legs and core had just decided to freeze and it was all I could do to crawl into bed. Now I know I haven't been keeping up with exercise much lately, but I'm no couch potato. This morning, when I still could hardly move, it dawned on me that I had not done much stretching after class on Monday. I used to call my husband "old man" when he insisted on endless stretching after our runs and he would always say "you'll understand someday." I guess that day is here. I definitely don't feel old, but apparently this body just doesn't bounce back like it used to and I can't expect it to keep performing for me without a bit of TLC. So, I stretched, and stretched, and stretched some more, and now my body is thanking me by functioning normally again. Phew! I did NOT want to have to cancel my class tonight. I almost forgot how much I love to Zumba!

As far as eating goes, I'm rocking this healthy thing. 

My son finally succeeded in giving me his cold (such a generous boy he is) and I've been pretty sick since Monday night. I've never really been a fan of grapefruit but this week it has been my best friend.

I just can't get enough citrus-hello vitamin C!

And without a second (third, fourth...) cup of coffee to get me through the afternoon, I've actually avoided that mid-afternoon zombie-time when all I want is a nap. Who knew? Okay, I knew, but old habits die hard.

Breaking the sugar cycle has certainly helped. I haven't had anything with added sugar since Saturday and I'm not craving it at all. 

All I'm craving is citrus fruit and more water. I guess my body knows what it needs. I just have to get better at listening.

So here's to listening to your body and taking care of yourself!

And check back in soon!

~Mari-Chris