Monday, December 31, 2007

Getting ready for 2008

Here it is, New Year's Eve. I'm on vacation in Colorado, with limited internet, so I haven't been able to post until now.

Anyway, a number of people have expressed interest in participating in this mutual support blog. I'm excited to have people to share with.

As for me, I want to make sure I keep up my own program of exercise and nutrition (and also weight loss) in 2008, and joining with others will help me stay on track. In addition, I feel I've learned some things in 2007 and would like to share them. I know some of you have made progress in 2007, too, and you also might have tips to share.

Today, I'm thinking about how we could proceed. What suggestions do you have? How can we support each other?

For starters, I'll blog a few times, starting on January 1st (I hope), to give my take on a few topics. I'll ask for feedback and comments. Hopefully, that will get the ball rolling and we can go from there.

Maybe some of you will contribute your knowledge and enthusiasm for exericise and nutrition by guest blogging, too.

Here are my questions. Please reply via comments on the blog.

1)Sit back and close your eyes for a moment and imagine this is December 31, 2008. What dreams (or concrete goals) would you like to be able to say you've made come true by then? Since life is organic, sometimes things aren't discrete -- they're linked and just flow. Thus, goals don't have to be about nutrition and exercise, but it would be good to tell us how they connect to nutrition and exercise. And remember, we can take things in baby steps, one day at a time, one minute at a time. The grandiose often doesn't work.

2)On December 31, 2008, if you've met your goals or made these dreams come true, what will your life be like then? What changes do you see?

3)What specific challenges do you face right now?

I'll post my own answers to these questions. I'm looking forward to see what others have to say.

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE! Here's to less sedentariness (is that a word?) to good, healthy nutrition, and to healthy and happy weight!

Rita

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Ready, set -- for 2008

Hi, I'm Rita. Thanks for stopping by.

Do you want to incease your exercise and eat more healthfully in 2008? Have you promised yourself you'll lose weight? If your answers are yes, you're in the right place.

I've started this blog to support goals for exercise and healthy eating.

For umpteen New Years, I've made a list of goals. Every list included goals for exercise, diet, and weight loss. Finally, I've acheived a bit of success.

I'm now exercising regularly. I'm eating less saturated fat, and more vegetables and fruits. I've lost twenty-five pounds. (I still have quite a bit more to lose.)

My success is partly due to a study conducted by Stanford University Medical School. The purpose of the study was to find out whether computer-generated phone calls could help people exercise. The Stanford computer called me, and I reported the time I spent exercising. After a year in the study, I was consistently meeting my exercise goals.

Recently, results were made public, and an article by the AP was picked up by the international press.

Here's a link to the article. There's even a picture of me.



I never thought the AP article would be picked up by hundreds of newspapers and media websites across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and in far-flung places like Spain, Italy, and China. The explosion of this article made me think I have something to offer to others who are on the exercise and diet path, striving to advance toward better health (and, yes, better looks, too.)

So, I've started this blog--to help get myself and others off the couch. And, to help us when we're at the table.

I hope you'll join me in this experiment, sharing challenges and successes with each other. Please post your comments and tips. Working together, I'm sure we can help each other succeed.

Please understand I'm not an expert. I'm an ordinary person who wants to stay on the path of exercise and healthy eating, a person who wants to join with others. What a great feeling that will be!

For the next few days, I'll make some more preliminary postings. On January 1st and after, I'll get more specific.

One request before we start: please, please, check with your doctor before beginning any exercise or diet regimen.

Yours for vibrant health and the good life,

Rita Horiguchi