Sick!

I've been sick with laryngitis and an upper respiratory infection this week.  How did the luncheon go?

--Amie

Travelling and exercising...

I was in Chicago on business for 2 days, and managed to exercise both days in the gym at the hotel. 30 minutes + on the elliptical both days plus steps, free weights, treadmill. Hope it helps! It pays to fit those sneakers and workout clothes in the suitcase, and my fanny pack with my earbuds. Hope to workout at Will2Lose again Thursday or Friday!

Yesterday I attended my first spin class!! I loved it!!
The instructor was wonderful and explained to us newcomers each step of the way.  Very encouraging and an awesome workout!!
I can't wait to get to my next class!!

Never thought I could do it

Ran my first 1/2 mile on the treadmill - yeah me! I never could have done that at home - I needed Will2Lose, Norma, and all you gals to believe in me - thank you! cya all manana:))

Nutrition

Learned some new things in our class last night, and reinforced many things I already knew.  Need to be more conscious of fat and sodium.  I think we all should be keeping food journals.  It helps me tremendously.  You don't realize everything you put into your mouth until you write it down.

Off to a body sculpting class with Norma tonight, can't wait!!!

Week 2: Reduce Your Risk Factors

Start with the Facts – What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You

Every woman has strengths and weaknesses. When talking heart health, weaknesses are known as risk factors. Risk factors are a variety of conditions or behaviors that increase your chance of developing heart disease and stroke. Some risk factors you have no control of like:

• Age
• Race
• Family history

Others, you can control by choosing to make changes to your lifestyle. For example: 

• High blood pressure
• Smoking
• High cholesterol
• Physical inactivity
• Obesity or being overweight
• Diabetes

Knowing your risk factors is an important step in shaping up your heart. To learn your risk, just get your most recent numbers (cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, weight) and then plug them into the Go Red Heart Checkup. It will tell you your 10 year risk of developing heart disease and identify your risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

Will2Lose classes are great! Think Protien 2...

Really enjoying Will2Lose! Have tried the yoga, yogalates, cardio yoga, body sculpt and spin classes. All were great exercise. The Floor workout, and detox sauna are great too. I was at work until after 6pm tonight with last minute travel changes since my flights to Chicago were cancelled,  so I missed the nutrition class, looking forward to a debrief from a BetterU buddy next time I see one of y'all at Will2Lose. June was sweet to offer to make a copy of the packet 4me.

I've been trying to stick to a diet filled with proteins and fruit, meat and yogurt and cheese and hard boiled eggs. It's helping, and I have more energy!

Have a great week all!

Nutrition meeting at WP Hospital

Got lots of info at our Heart Healthy Lifestyle Seminar today.

Okay.... I think I finally blogged!!!

Hi Everyone....

I'm hoping that you are finally able to see my blog... I'm a little technilogically challenged but I think it's there!!
I have enjoyed seeing Florence and Jody at the gym and it's really nice connecting with people that have the same goal in mind.
I'm very excited to be attending the Go Red For Woman Luncheon on Thursday.  If you haven't been before.... it's a GREAT day!!

Hope to see everyone soon...........

Week 1 .... let's go!! :)

Well.... I have to say I am very excited for the week ahead!!! We had our meeting on Saturday and Norma, you were wonderful!!!! I am totally motivated and have loved going to Will2Lose on Saturday and Sunday!!

I was late for the spin class on Sunday and wasn't able to get in but did the elyptical and some other exercises.  Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night at WPH to hear about the nutrition portion.

Enjoy the Oscars!!!

Today's meeting

Great turnout for our meeting at W2L. There are point sheets for us: weekly assignments where we can accumulate points. The sheets are in folders behind the front desk. So when you do that extra 20 mins on the elliptical, just tell personnel behind the desk to add it to your points sheet.

There's a meeting on Monday at 5:30 pm at White Plains Hospital in the auditorium.

Can't believe I did it!

I did 5 minutes on that Jacob's Ladder device this morning.  No, I couldn't do it all in one shot, but spread it out over the course of about 15 minutes with some weights and stepping. 

And, I proved that I could get to W2L at 5:30 am.  Woo hoo! 

See everyone tomorrow.

Amie

Feeling Good

Feeling sore, but feeling good!  Excited about the gym. The trainers and everyone that works at Will2Lose have been so helpful and supportive. Trying out different classes to see which ones work for me.  Zumba last night was tough, but I just kept moving.

See you all Saturday.

Happy Bday to Us!

Our group is one week old today, and I feel Young! For the first time in years, I did not wake up hating myself. I'm thinking that my "after" picture might actually look different from my "before" picture in 12 weeks:)) I nibbled on my chopped salad all day in the car, as I ran through my appointments, and woke up with a strange feeling this morning - I'm hungry. How Normal! Have a great day everybody:)

Hello My Red Hot Ladies.
Almost all of you have come to Will2Lose..YAY!  I know the rest have set up your appointments. Remember we have a meeting this Saturday at 12:30. No more then 45 min long. It will be informative and motivational.  I will answer any questions you might have.
See you at the club.

Good Morning!

Up early for a busy day, and first order of business is to chop my salad so that I can stick to feeling GR8! Hey - check this out - I flavor plain nf Greek yogurt with a little salad dressing - now I can drown my salad, with adding a whole lotta calories:))

I'm off...

Had my fitness assessment today!  Katie was great-very encouraging.  Feel really good right now! 

My first obstacle: My husband has gone down to Baltimore to be with his dad, who is having surgery today.  I have a almost-14 month old and no one to watch him so that I can go to W2L.  Grrrr...

Had my first visit with Norma.  She is great.  Went through the program and did all my exercises.  Thought I would be hurting today but I feel great.  Can't wait to go back!!

Week One of BetterU

Just the Facts – 1 in 3 Odds for Heart Disease, 2 Women Will live, 1 Will Die

Think about two women in your life that are important to you – friends, family members, or co-workers. Odds are that out of the three of you, one will develop some form of heart disease in the course of your life. Even scarier is that this disease can kill you! Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 killers of women, killing nearly twice as many women as all forms of cancer.

You probably know how to take care of your outer body and to manage your weight, but taking care of your inner body may seem more difficult. It's a misconception that adopting a "healthy lifestyle" takes too much time. While it's easy to say that tomorrow is a better time to start, it's up to you to choose to start changing now. Heart and blood vessel problems happen as we age, but if you can stay healthy until you turn 50, your chances of developing heart disease drastically decrease.

Over 12 weeks with the Better U program, you will learn your personal risk of heart disease and stroke and small changes you can make to live a stronger, longer life. Knowing what you need to do is not enough. Choose to start incorporating new, healthier behaviors into your life today.

Focus on Your Goals
Research shows that women who set goals are far more successful in changing their physical activity and eating behaviors. Following the SMART principles of goal setting you can improve your chances of success
even more.

Specific. Your goals should clearly state what you want to accomplish and by when.

Measurable. A SMART goal can be measured. "Two days this week I will ride my bike for 20 minutes."

Appropriate. Make sure your goals are right for you. For example, if you are already exercising regularly,
focus on decreasing saturated fats.

Realistic. A goal that is not realistic will never be attained. So why set it? Select a goal that is realistic for
you.

Time frame. Short-term goals are the building blocks for long-term goals. Focus on the specific things you
will work on each week.

Think simple — and remember that lifestyle changes don't have to be drastic. Then pair your short-term
goals with a reward. For example:

Goal No. 1: This week, I'll find 30 minutes in my day every day to be physically active.
Reward: Go see a movie on Saturday with my best friend.

Goal No. 2: By the end of the week, I'll read two new articles about the benefits of eating healthy.
Reward: Treat myself to a new package of herbal bath salts and read a magazine while soaking in the
tub.

first day at the gym

Yesterday was my first day with Norma.  Realized that I may be very strong mentally but not as strong physically as I would like to be.  Goal - strength.  Looking foward to seeing everyone on Saturday! 

No gym today for me

So I used my elliptical at home, and did planks and crunches, per our fearless leader Norma! yikes - I wish the eating sitting around was the hard part, and that this was the easy part - oh well - it is nice to have the same goal with a bunch of great gals~!

My nemesis: Jacob's Ladder

I don't know that I will ever enjoy this Jacob ladder machine. And here is also a picture of my new friend Keith who I hope to see the next time at W2L.

One step at a time...

Walked/jogged a mile on the treadmill this morning at home...between speed 3.5 and 4. Switched to Greek yogurt and berries for breakfast rather than cereal. Trying for higher protein, lower carbs, thanks to the chat in the detox sauna with the ladies at the gym yesterday. One step at a time....

Muscles a little sore from yoga yesterday, but not bad, can still exercise so it's all good :) I presume this will work itself out as I do yoga more.

Planning to attend a class tonight, either body sculpting or spin...fun! Hope to see a BetterU buddy there! :)

Take AHA with you when food shopping

Good morning awesome women!  Take us with you to the grocery store:  Please click here for healthy shopping tips!  Have a great week.  You've got this!

Yoga and workout! Motivating and fun!

Had a great time today doing Yoga for an hour, then a mile on the treadmill, steps and weights with a BetterU buddy. Then detoxed in the Sauna, it was very relaxing. Met some expert Will2Losers who clued us in to Vito's diet tips, including no fruit (yikes!) except berries at breakfast, since fruit has sugar. Even tomatoes have sugar, hadn't thought of that before. They suggested protein - including hardboiled egg snacks - as much as possible. Had steak and acorn squash for dinner, homemade veggie soup, gave up wine for lent so that keeps the calories down too. I felt so good, relaxed, motivated, after working out! Hope to go to another class Monday night.

Sunday yoga!

What a great class, made even greater when a BU member walked in. We worked out together and got to know each other, and I left the gym this morning Inspired. Made egg salad with Greek yogurt instead of mayo, and did the same with a turnip cabbage slaw - all delish. My family is perfectly happy to add their own mayo if they need to, and I can stick to my program.

Hard habits to break

I'm heading down to a yoga class at W2L this morning - gosh this is hard - it's the little habits that are so hard to break. like playing Mommy to my husband - I'd rather make his egg sandwich and doodle around taking care of him this morning, than take care of myself. So I'm leaving him a note about cereal and then I'm off with a swig of OJ and a healthy breakfast bar. Funny how it's easy to substitute greek yogurt for mayo, but it's the people habits that are hard for me to change. If Apple Farm is open on my way home, I might buy myself some delicious berries to celebrate my yoga success!

First day at Will2Lose! Fun!

Hi all, Had my first meeting with Norma our personal trainer today at Will2Lose. It was Fun, and I feel great! Did the treadmill (she moved me from speed 3 to 4 and it's a better workout), elliptical, free weights, steps, stairs, spinning, yoga, stretching. I'm looking forward to going to the 8:30am Yoga class Sunday morning. She is careful to make sure we push ourselves while being sensitive to any medical/joint/back issues we have. We are in for a great ride! :) Saw one of us there too!

Abundance!

Ladeez:)) I went to the gym, and Norma is soooo awesome. She's on our side! She ran through the whole routine with me - it's a little of everything - treadmill, jacob's ladder, free weights, machines, crunches. It's a Challenge to Change:)) I think the hardest part of this journey is going to be saying no the social things that come up, and sticking to my workout schedule. I tend to drop everything when it comes to "going out", and I realize that I will be taking myself out for the next 12 weeks - out to the gym!

what have I gotten myself into?

I lost my mom way too soon.  She died at the age of 68 from a heart attack.  As I attended today's kick-off, I was a little unsure of what I had gotten myself into. But, today, I publicly stated that I am ready to take control of my own well being!  Mom, this one's for you!

Introducing the 2013 Westchester BetterU Participants!

Welcome and congratulations to the new participants in the Westchester BetterU Program, sponsored by White Plains Hospital! These lovely ladies will embark on a 12-week journey to heart health by changing simple lifestyle behaviors like eating healthier, exercising more and quitting smoking.

They will join seminars at White Plains Hospital and benefit from expert training at Will2Lose gym in Scarsdale.

Participants will share their stories, challenges and successes in the BetterU program through this blog.

Bookmark this page for updates as these wonderful women share their experiences during BetterU!

Pictured from left to right:

Amie Getis, Beth Bruederlein, Maria DelVecchio, Barbara Cerf, Janice Barnes, Florence Husdon, Jody Stokhamer, Kiuu Fuller, Monica Valdivieso, June Burke, Peggy Nau, Beth Curley and Carol Washington.

Not pictured: Lina Petriello & Patricia Eisemann

Day One!

What a great meeting, and a great opportunity! I intend to celebrate my 60th birthday in June with a heartful of Joy. No more self-pity for me:) Just got in, and called Will2Lose - booked my appointment with Norma for 3PM tomorrow - off to Target to buy workout clothes!

Welcome BetterU Participants!

We're so happy to announce today at 1pm the Westchester BetterU participants who will take a 12-week journey toward heart health with us and program sponsor, White Plains Hospital! We'll have photos and the names later!

Can't think of a better day to talk about women taking care of their hearts! Happy Valentine's Day!

Seeing Red

It's Sunday and I have had a chance to read my BetterU guide and Sundays are *my* day to focus on the weekly goals and take stock.

This week my plan is to P-L-A-N. That's my first SMART goal.  Second goal is to exercise 4x or more and goal #3 is to drink more water and get up to 3liters each day.

I already belong to a local gym and reacqainted myself with the rowing class this morning.  Tomorrow, I will go to W2L for yoga and to meet up with Norma.

There is a new obstacle : my FIL is in the hospital and my DH is saying he needs to be ready to travel. That means I lose out on him watching Jonathan while I go to a gym so I need to focus on efforts to make my home gym a reality.

Okay,  so it's time to get my groceries.

Excited for BetterU and BetterME :)

Looking forward to getting started with BetterU tomorrow to make a Better, healthier, happier me :)

The night before............

I look forward to meeting the new "me" - changing my habits so that I have energy for myself, and inspiration for others.