What?

Where are we going, you ask?

IT’S SUMMER TIME!!

Unlike last summer, this summer we are taking it off.  Why?  Because we are all about quality and not quantity. 

Every single one of us is up to our whazoo in projects and traveling and posting for us is becoming harder and harder.  Knowing this, it’s easier to cut this off before we get two weeks into the summer and there isn’t a post to be found with no explanation why.   So what does this mean for you?

Just like our last hiatus, if you are signed up on the blog, you will receive emails from me all summer long.  I have not sent any out for a while so you don’t have to sign up again.  You haven’t missed anything.  What’s sitting in my laptop now and going out in the next week or so is “Lean Going Leaner”.  It’s all about the pitfalls, what you need to know, how hard it is and answers to your questions.  That will take a week or two.  I will also cover a few other hot topics like Staying on Track–For Real.  If you have been eating clean for a while, you know that you can fall off the wagon for weeks at a time and not be able to get back on track and it can incredibly frustrating.  We’ll talk about what you can do to get around that and why it happens. 

We want to thank everyone who reads this blog all the time.  When we jumped into the blogging world we had no idea what to expect nor did we know what we were doing (ummm…and we still don’t!).  Almost two years later, our readership is up over 300% (WOW!) and our email list is up about 400%! We are blown away by your response to us.  Why?  Because we’re not your typical bloggers nor are we your typical company:

• We do not really advertise.  Yes, every so often we’ll tell you what’s coming, but we’re not all ‘in your face’ about it.
• You have no idea what we do.  And we’re kind of ok with that for now.  What you do know is that we love what we do.  We’re real.  And we know what we’re talking about.
• We are consistent.  We’re not a blog that showed up for 10 min and then disappeared.  We’ve been in this location and at Model Per4mance for 2 full years and I pray we have a few more left in us.
• We are low key.  What most of you do not realize (and why should you–read bullet #1) is that Jodiojo & Co. is a thriving company behind the scenes.  While all the world is shouting at you for your attention, we are quietly doing our thing one body at a time.  We will be a bit more flashy when we come back, but not by much.  I am so not the flashy type and I am deeply committed to our clients.  This means I am not trying to pull in a billion clients we cannot service just to say my numbers are up.  (I am SURE there is an internet marketer reading my blog right now CRINGEING over what I am saying.  I am supposed to tell you all kinds of things to make you *think* otherwise. *sigh*)  

So while we will miss you for the next 8 weeks or so, we are happy to take time off to renew our minds, relax and think about the next series or topic we’re going to talk about.  I will be honest with you and tell you that I do not know the format of Jodiojo when we return.  We have a bunch of ideas on the table and we are exploring them all.  If you have anything you would like to see, let us know!  We always want to know what you would like to have us chat about.

In the mean time, I have been doing a ton of consulting lately (funny how this happens) and I thought I would let you know what I do, what it entails and how much it costs.  If it is of interest to you, our contact info will be at the bottom of the post and you can get us at that email address.

I am always asked: “What am I doing wrong?”  “How could I do this better?”  “I want to be healthier, what do I change?”  “How do I take this to the next level” and so on.  Sometimes you just want to know that without having to invest in a full program.  You like what you’re doing and are not ready to change OR you cannot afford the commitment right now because it’s summer and that’s not in the budget OR you’re deciding whether I am serial killer masquerading as an internet guru who is going to run off with all your money so this is the safest way to check me out.  I understand the last one more than you can imagine.  But regardless your reason, what you are searching for is answers.  Things like:

• How much protein should I be getting?
• Am I doing enough?
• Am I doing too much?
• How many calories should I be eating?
• How do I go from lean to leaner?
• What supplements should I be taking?
• How do I incorporate running into my schedule?
• The weight is not coming off like it did before…why?  And how do I change that?
• How do I put my schedule for the week together?

I will answer these questions for you and more in two phone calls:

Phone Call #1:  30 minutes in length

Initially I will send you a questionnaire for you to fill out.  Tell me as much about you and what you’re doing as possible.  Email it back to me and I will call you at the time we agree upon.  During that call I will drill you like a bolt to a beam and get the real truth.  Ok, not really–but it sounded compelling.  I will actually get the details that I need to help you out and I will also get to know what your true goals are–there’s always more than what’s written;).  Then, I need about a week depending on what you have going on because I am going to be VERY detailed in my answer to you.  This is not a general plan or canned phone call.

Phone Call #2: 60 to 90 minutes in length

This phone call will be your life spoken back to you in an orderly and optimized format.  You will have all your questions answered and then some, a detailed schedule that you may change and solid, implementable recommendations.  Typically the call is 60 min in length, but I pad the time by 30 minutes because I am a yapper so I allot for that and I don’t want you to feel like the clock is ticking.  If you have questions–this call is the time to ask them.

What I will not and cannot do in the phone calls is give you custom programming.  I can, however, give you a sample program of some type if you want one or feel that it will help you in any way.  I also cannot give medical advice, I am not a doctor.  But I can tell you what questions to ask your doctor or tell you what specialist can help you more than another based on past experience. 

I am offering this special for the summer only while we disappear off the blogging radar.  Quantity is limited and this will fill up fast because it already has and I have not even advertised it!  Hop on it while you can.

SUMMER SUMMIT CONSULTATION PACKAGE:  $100

If you are interested or have any questions, hit me at jodi@trans4mationstation.com and I will get right back to you with either the questionnaire or answer to your question about this service.  If you would like this with Heather, let me know when you email.  She has a different set of pricing but I will put you in touch with her and you can go from there. 

Thank you again for making this blog awesome!  We had no idea that it would go this far and it has…  Thank you!!  Have an awesome summer and we will see in you September!

Summer has arrived, even though here in cloudy New England it’s hard to tell. So I thought it’d be a good time to revisit parts of a previous post on sun exposure and remind ya’ll about how it can damage and age your skin, facts about spf and sun protection recommendations.

Here is the quick version of how sun damage works. Short UVB radiation waves hit the epidermis (the upper portion of the skin) and cause the skin to tan and burn, which are both actually skin damage. The longer UVA rays penetrate further into the dermis (the mid-layer), causing not only a tan but also prematurely ages the skin by dissolving collagen and elastin (protein-based connective tissue that form the skin’s infrastructure and give it strength and resilience). UVB rays are much stronger than UVA radiation, however, UVA radiation is the larger danger for skin because the earth receives about 100 times as much UVA as UVB radiation.

Keeping the skin from aging prematurely is impossible with out protecting it from sun exposure. Besides moving into a cave and never leaving it, the only way to protect your skin from increased risk of cancer and premature aging is with sunscreens and blocks that offer protection from both UVA and UVB rays. Select a product w/ an appropriate SPF for your skin and one that lists ingredients that shield both UVA and UVB rays, indicating broad screen protection, and USE IT!

The sun protection factor, SPF, measures a product’s ability to protect the skin from UVB rays only. It quantifies the amount of time you can be in the sun wearing sunscreen before you are burned. This obviously depends on you. If you burn w/ in 10 minutes of being in the sun, then wearing an SPF of 15 will protect you for 15 times as long, or 150 minutes. SPF 30 is not exactly double the protection of SPF 15, but it’s close. Spf 2 blocks about 50% of UVB rays; spf 10 filters out about 85% of UVB rays; spf 15 stops about 95%; and spf 30 stops about 97%. An SPF that’s higher than 30 does not provide any more UV protection, it just offers more time that you can stay in the sun without burning. Choosing to wear a higher SPF product means that you still need to reapply after swimming or sweating to ensure continued protection.

In addition, a moisturizer w/ SPF 15 and a foundation make up with SPF 15 don’t add up to SPF 30. You still have just SPF 15; you’ve simply used more of it, which is a good thing. Also, the concentrations of sunscreen ingredients needed to reach the very high SPF (55+) available these days can be potentially irritating to your skin so beware if you have sensitive skin. There aren’t enough daylight hours to ever need one shot of so much sunscreen. It’s better to find a concentration that works for you and be diligent about reapplication.

Remember that SPF only refers to protection from UVB radiation. You’ll need to look for products that specifically list protection from UVA rays too.

A few more things to know about the sun and its affects on your skin …

* UVB radiation is the sun’s burning ray and has an immediate, harmful impact on skin. Damage from UVB rays takes place within the very first minute (yes, 60 seconds) of walking outside.

* Even on a cloudy or hazy day, the sun’s rays are present and impacting the skin.

* Regular clothing has an SPF of about 10.

* Surfaces such as water, sand, snow, cement, and grass reflect the rays from the ground to your skin giving you a double dose of exposure.

* UVB rays increase as the ozone layer is depleted, meaning more serious burns for unprotected skin.

* There is no risk of sunburn when you sit in a car or next to a window, because UVB rays can’t pass through glass, however UVA rays can.

* It’s best to apply sunscreen at least 15 to 20 minutes before sun exposure. This gives the sunscreen time to absorb and to spread over and into the uppermost layers of skin.

* In addition to using sunscreens, hang out in the shade and wear a hat when outside in the sun.

So I finally moved into my new house at the end of last week, thus my post hitting the blog today versus Monday.  (No internet.  The horror.) This new house is completely different from my last one in appearance.  It is a large just-built single family home versus a very-small circa 1979 townhouse.  The new house is a lovely brick and siding craftsman while my townhouse is faux stone and diagonal siding.  I could go on, but you get the idea—I’ve moved up a few notches with regard to the structure of the new house in comparison to the old one.  But you know what one of my concerns was when moving into this new house?  That it wouldn’t feel like home.   Our kinda sorta ugly-ish little townhouse was SO our home.  My husband and I proudly bought it 2 months before we married almost 10 years ago.  It was both of our very first house purchase and was to be our 3-year “starter home”.  Well, that is until my husband embarked on a 7-1/2 year school-a-thon…  Given the need for cash, and the fact that we didn’t produce offspring, it was a good (and cheap) place to be.  But it also felt good.  Being older, the house needed work.  With every little and big DIY project, the house became more and more infused with the essence of “us”.  That small-but-mighty place gave us shelter and forced a closeness between us.  (I mentioned it was small, right?  We were on top of each other all of the time, but it worked for us.)  It served well for 9-1/2 years and it was home.  Would the brand new never-lived-in dwelling feel the same?

She won’t win any beauty contests, but she’s ours.  (Yes, still.  But we have a great renter!)

Well, flash-forward to now, and I’m happy to say that the new house is VERY quickly feeling like home.  I’m sure some of that is because I’m unpacking and setting out our familiar items, as well as adding new things that we have carefully chosen together.  But then something occurred to me…  I’ve mentioned that some friends invited us to live with them for what turned out to be 6 weeks until we could close on the new house.  Well, their house feels like home too.  And when I go to see my mom in New Jersey, I’m home.  Heck, I feel right at home when I’m at work, come to think of it.  What I’ve realized lately is that the settled in and settled down thing is a feeling created by people and our relationships with them.  I’m so very fortunate to have friends who will give me a home for 6 weeks, not just a place to crash.  Same thing when I go visit family.  It’s not their actual houses, it’s THEM.  And my new house…  That sucker has been so filled with the love energy of me, my husband, and my friends over the last 6 months as we micro-managed its construction, it was home before I was handed the keys.  I’m sure that will only intensify as I now live just yards from those ultra-mega-host friends, my mom arrives tomorrow for a visit and can’t wait to help us nest, and my handy husband has a list of want-to-not-have-to projects to complete for the house in his new workshop.  (Can you say giddy as a schoolgirl?  Holy moly.  And I’m talking about him and his table saw, not me.) 

Us in early February when our house was just an idea.  We called it our “patch of dirt” for a while.

And here it is as of this morning.           

 View from the deck–our dog Brody’s fave place.

What does this have to do with fitness and wellness?  For me, everything.  The house next to us is in-process.  The foundation has been poured.  We’re on a hillside looking into the woods.  Without proper construction, that place would be a goner after just a few of the monsoons we’ve been having daily.  Similarly, the rock solid base of my life that has been created by amazing people who love me allows me to feel at home just about everywhere I am.  That is so liberating.  And healthy!  Kas will flip, but I’d say my training has been cut by ½ or more the last few weeks, in lieu of work, house stuff, fatigue, injury, or just-plain-don’t-feel-like-it syndrome.  But what’s happened more frequently is sitdown family meals with our friends, as well as time to get to know them better.  After all, friends are the family you create for yourself, right?  I’m ready to tighten up the diet and rock some new training with renewed vigor in July and all.  But I wouldn’t trade the last 6 weeks for anything because there is NO question in my mind that our friends have our backs 100%.  The feeling is mutual.  That too, is health-promoting.   

Not only is my friend Deidre cute (and you should see her hubba-hubba hubs too!), but she’s an amazing cook and a keeper of knowledge about EVERYTHING!  My husband and I are so very grateful for them in our lives, there are no words…  Well, except these that I saw on a card: “Without humor, life sucks; Without courage, life is hard; Without love, life is hopeless; Without friends like you, life is impossible…”

So, in the immortal words of Mr. Luther Vandross: “A house is not a hoooommme…”. But, happily, mine is.  Pretty much wherever my healthy heart is, is home too.  I wish you the same. 

Happy Summer, Everyone!

Back in the day I worked as a nutritionist for a company that allowed me to come in contact with a large amount of people on a monthly basis.  This was a good thing and a bad thing all at the same time.  How it was good was it allowed me to meet Heather Morgan. 

Respectfully known as our Monday blogger, Heather is best known to me as “a keeper”.  You know, ‘don’t-let-this-one-get-through-your-hands’…KEEP HER!  She is funny as heck but more importantly, she’s as smart as a whip.  We began our relationship as nutritionist/client but it didn’t take long for me to scoop her up as a nutritionist to work alongside me for the rest of the time.  At the time that I met Heather, she was a vegan and she was looking to take her body to a new level while staying a vegan.  With her expert knowledge of being a vegan and my vast experience dieting folks, we sculpted one hot body for the 2007 season.  The coolest thing that I learned during that time is that there are a ton of different kinds of vegetarians and only a few of them are “healthy”. 

Flash forward to a week ago, I was heading into my email when I ran across an article of the top ten weight loss myths that do not help you lose weight but actually make you fat.  Now I need to apologize for this because I did not get the article author and I am sorry for that and can no longer find the article.  It exists on Comcast.net somewhere I just have the title wrong or something.  But I want to be clear that the following list is not mine, nor am I trying to take credit for it, but I had to use it because it made me laugh so hard.  This list is so on point and I only know because my favorite guru, Heather, walked me through them all. 

This was myth number 8 on the list:

“Becoming a vegetarian will help me drop a size.”
Eliminating meat from your diet can result in great health benefits, but if you don’t follow a vegetarian diet properly, you could accidentally pack on pounds.

Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet, explains common vegetarian beginners’ mistakes that may cause weight gain. Vegetarian “types” to avoid becoming:

• Cheese-aholic vegetarians: They cut out meat from their diets and turn to cheese as a protein source. But cheese is a high-calorie, high-fat food and should be eaten in moderation.
• Faux-meat fixators: All they eat is boxes of frozen faux meats, such as soy chicken nuggets, vegetarian sausage links, and veggie bacon strips. These products are okay once in a while, but they are heavily processed and can have a lot of sodium, resulting in bloating and water retention.
• No-veggie vegetarians: A lot of vegetarians don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. They eat only grains, beans and veggie burgers, all of which can be high in calories.
• Same-meal-minus-the-meat vegetarians: These people eat the same meals they did before, but without the meat. If they’re not replacing the protein, they’ll probably have a ferocious appetite and may be missing out on essential nutrients.
• “Vegetarian” food label fans: These people find any recipe or packaging that contains the word “vegetarian” or “meatless” and then overeat that food. They often wind up taking in too much junk food. Be aware that the word “vegetarian” is not synonymous with “healthy” or “low calorie.”

Blatner recommends replacing meat with beans in recipes for an easy, healthy—and inexpensive—protein source. She advises new vegetarians—and those who want to dabble in a vegetarian diet—to start having fun with vegetarian recipes. “Find ones you like that you’re going to keep eating. Enjoy the journey of it.”

AWESOME!!

My favorite—because I get this one a lot—is the “Same-meal-minus-the-meat vegetarians”.  There is more to vegetarianism than just taking out meat.  You must put a whole lot more back in and you must be intentional about it. 

If you are any one of these folks above, hit us and let us help you.  Making a hot body and being a vegetarian do not go hand in hand and if you want it, you need to know what you’re doing.

In the mean time, I am going to call Miss Heather and get a good laugh because she honestly is one of the funniest people I know and I am so blessed to have her in my life.  And I can say that for all the ladies of Jodiojo and Co., actually.  Have a good week y’alls.

Since I shared the first half of my craziness with you last week, I thought I would share how the remainder of the back-and-forth-to-Vermont went.  Wednesday after work, which was supposed to be 5pm but turned out to be 6:45, I left for VT and arrived around 9:15.  I got in, fed the cat and went to bed.  I was up and at em early Thursday, but not to workout.  I wanted to run or hike with the dog, who I couldn’t pick up from doggy daycare until 7am (I start working between 7:30 and 8 so before work was out of the question).  So instead I slept in a bit and picked Rosco up at 7.  Unfortunately, right after that I had to work.

(Despite having to work, how nice is the view from where I was sitting?  This is right outside our living room window)

Finally at 4:30 pm I was able to get up from the computer and head outside.  The weather was beautiful.  Our workout started with a hike on the trails which quickly turned into a run.  It only took us about 20 minutes to run some of our trails and I was nowhere near done with my card.  Thus, enter my madness.  Our driveway is 1/2 mile predominately uphill (and dirt).  I hadn’t picked up the mail, which is at the bottom of the driveway, so decided I’d run down, grab the mail, and walk/run back up.  (There is a short spurt of the driveway which is only moderately steep but more flat, so for that portion, we ran).  Let me tell you, it takes about 12 minutes to go down and back, with going back up taking the majority of the time and by the time I reached the top, I was full on panting.  After we got the mail I decided we needed another go at it.

(Part of the driveway, although picture taken from the car)

Rosco and I ran down and hiked back up the driveway twice more.  The poor dog was so confused.  Each time I turned to go back down, he looked at me like I was crazy.  But he couldn’t not come with me.  However, each time, he trailed further and further behind me.  I think he figured why rush.  But by the time I got to the bottom, he would sprint down to me in time for us to go right back up.  Needless to say, after that workout, we were both pooped!  After our cardio I got in a short stretch/yoga and we were done.

As you might recall, I got in two heavy lifts earlier in the week, so my plan was to get in a hybrid-lift done, while in VT.  Enter Friday.  I made plans to go on a short hike with my neighbor at 7 am and so I got up at 5:30 for my hybrid lift.  For this lift I did a mix between the workout I wrote about here and Heather’s workout she wrote about here.  I did two rounds of the workout I wrote, except that I did the two following cycles, separated by jumping-jacks and done stick-of-butter style:

• 5 Squat Jumps
• 5 Squat Thrusts
• 5 Burpees
• 5 Squats

And

• 5 Push-Ups
• 5 Wood-Chops (each side)
• 5 DB OH Press
• 5 Lat Pull Downs (we do have a lat pull down at home)

For the second round, I reversed the order of each set such that I did 4 sets of the lat pull down and only one of the push-up.  (If you are confused, definitely check out the post I referenced above as it will all become clear).

After those two rounds, I did Heather’s workout, minus the abs.  Thus I did 1 round of her workout, rested 120 seconds and did the second round.  Needless to say, that kicked my butt!  I then got in 20 minutes of stretching and was ready for my hike by 7 am.

Rosco and I then met my neighbor and went for a 40 minute hike, although it was nice and leisurely.  However, while we take a leisurely hike, the dog runs up and down and through the woods and back to meet us and off again, so he got in his exercise.  After all this I was home by 7:45 and showered and eating breakfast in front of the computer by 8.

Saturday rolled around and friends of mine came up for a hike on the Appalachian Trail.  I had forgotten that the direction we were taking was a steady incline the entire way.  Because of that incline, an hour into our hike, we were panting!  Thankfully I carried a backpack with a bowl and water for Rosco (and it was nice and convenient for my water bottle too).  When it was all said and done, we hiked for about two and a half hours.  By the time we got back, both the dog and I were ready for a nap!

Sunday was my last day up in VT.  I was planning on doing cardio on the elliptical and then taking the dog for a hike.  But that would have been such a cop out as it was beautiful out and I had no excuse not to get outside.  I have all my lifting planned for this week while in Boston, so Sunday would either be a plyo or sprinting day or only cardio/yoga.  That is when it dawned on me, why not sprint up the steepest part of the driveway and get in sprint work, follow it with 2 runs up and down the driveway, then take the dog for a hike….and that is what we did.  If you have ever heard Jodi talk about sprinting uphill and how good it is for your backside, you have probably already sprinted uphill and know how hard it is.  After 9 sprints, twice up and down the driveway, Rosco and I got on the trails to finish up with a 20 minute hike.  We then went inside and I did a quick yoga stretch for about 20 minutes.

(The end of my sprint – and I gotta say, this picture doesn’t do the steepness justice)

And there you have it.  I am now back in Boston ready for a full normal week.  But to be honest, I really miss having such an outdoor playground right next to me.  2 years ago I never would have been able to spend so much time away from the gym.  But I’ve learned how to be creative and get in some amazing workouts anywhere.  Oh, did I mention what running/jogging downhill does for your quads?  And all the uphill hiking and sprinting makes for beautiful hamstrings and glutes.  So the next vacation your take, or the next time you are way and can’t get to the gym; I hope you can be creative and enjoy yourself instead of stressing out that you are not getting in your planned/traditional workout!

I had to use the old Marcia Brady line on Jodi last week: “Something suddenly came up…”, making it so that I couldn’t blog.  Really, several somethings have come up recently.  First, I’m in the middle of a move to a new residence—final walkthroughs, punchlists, a closing date that keeps changing.  It’s distracting, so say the least, but certainly exciting.  But, also, things have cranked up for me professionally.  Opportunities have been coming at me right and left—a good thing for sure!  But it’s forced me, in the midst of a very busy time in my personal life, to also have what is called in the South a “Come to Jesus” meeting (or two or three…) about what I want and what I can handle right now.  It’s a heck of a thing to be in position to pick and choose from wonderful opportunities.  Here are some things I’ve learned about myself in the process so far, several of which I didn’t realize until now:

1. If I even just have a thought, such as “I really miss using [x-skill]…”, an opportunity to do exactly whatever [x-skill] is will turn up.  Most likely out of nowhere.
2. I’m interested in just about everything.  A good thing and a bad thing during decision time.
3. Money is never THE driving factor, but it is A driving factor.  (Could be because 3 days from now I will own 2 homes.  haha)  That can be hard to admit when you’re a giver by nature.
4. I absolutely love what I do and want to be better at it.  Any new opportunity I accept must fit in with, and preferably enhance, what I currently spend the majority of my time doing versus encroach on it.
5. I’m pretty much at-capacity with my time now, so the One Woman Show needs to end its run.  I need help if I’m going to take on more.
6. Turns out I (thankfully) have enough integrity that, when offered something I really wanted to do, I had to say, “No, not right now at least”.  I owe it to some other irons I have in the fire to see if they heat up or cool off before I open door that would be hard to close, thereby potentially negatively affecting another professional or entity.  That was hard, but important.
7. I’m not good at snap decisions and I must agonize and talk over something with a minimum of 4 other people before I render a final verdict.  This annoys me about myself to no end, but I am a slave to this process.  It’s usually worth it, but, truth be told, quick decisiveness is a quality I find attractive in others.  Mostly because I have it in limited quantities and very few scenarios.

Why am I sharing this?  Because through opportunity knocking so much lately, I’ve been provided yet another opportunity to learn things about myself, and I’ve had what I’ve previously said and thought that I want out of life and career challenged enough to examine if that is still my truth.  I think these moments in time are very important gifts we get handed for our benefit and growth.

Since this is a blog largely themed with fitness and nutrition topics, we could apply that by highlighting the importance of stepping back and asking, “Does this style of eating and training work for me at this current time?  Am I busier/less busy?  Am I in need of different nutrients for the current state of my physiology?  Is it time to ramp up/back down training?”  We can examine ALL areas of life this way—relationships, jobs, the gamut.  As Dr. Phil often says, “How is that working for you?” when forcing a client to take a good hard look at their current strategies and paradigms.  No matter how the “head to the mountain” moment comes, nudging (shoving) us toward a figurative cave for contemplation on such matters, it’s always valuable.  Always.  And almost always uncomfortable to boot.  But if you train, you’re probably used to the whole concept of momentary discomfort that leads to greater things later on, right?

I’m still treading around in my current sea of opportunity.  With the impending move, the work catch up that will follow, plus a weeklong visit from my mom, I’ll be doing that for a little while longer as I check on those fire-irons, throw some proverbial poop against walls to see what sticks and what falls, and continue to visit the mountain cave through prayer and introspection.  But while things work themselves out, I’ll be sure to make time to paddle around in that sea, savoring the fact that I may very well be one of the most blessed people on the planet.

Anyone else find themselves in this place now or ever?   Share as you see fit.

Leave it to me to jack myself up. Just when you think it’s safe to go down your front steps.

You would think that I have the steepest, most dangerous steps you have ever seen because I am now the SECOND person to have broken their foot on my front steps. Not only did another person break their foot walking down my steps, but we both broke it in the same place. How wild is that?

So…*sigh* I begin my summer with a bum foot. I am not happy. I am in crisis mode right now. In a few hours I head out of the house to go to the ortho to find out my fate. This could be a very long summer.

Here are some of my options:

Mope.
Eat myself out of house and home.
Get mad and get even with my steps by feeding them ice cream. ?
Learn how to golf with my boot if they give me one.

Ok…all kidding aside, let’s be real about this now. When things like this happen we tend to do one of two things: 1) starve ourselves to death because we cannot exercise the same way as before or 2) eat the same and hope for the best. I am not going to do either of them and I suggest if crazy stuff like this happens to you, you don’t either. Instead, here are the things to keep in mind when your active days are cut short:

1. Do not forsake the cheat meal: I’m not sure why but this is the first place most folks go when something happens. Read my last few posts and you will know why this is a waste of your time. Not to mention that all work and no play made Jack a dull boy. Stop trying to punish yourself all the time. 
2. Do tighten up the diet: Now is not the time for the nibbles to creep in. There’s something about too much time on our hands that makes us a lean, mean, chewing machine. I’m not sure if we think that we will do our cardio through our jaws or what but it really doesn’t work—trust me. So the in between snacking and the little cheats here and there will have to go.
3. Do not stop eating starches altogether: But do limit them to a few days per week. When you are down for the count, you do not need all the energy provided by them but you may still have pseudo starches (not-so-starchy-starches). Having starches in a very small quantity only a few times per week will keep you sane in the brain and small in your stall.haha! Do something like every 3rd day or so have a serving and you will be content enough to hang in there for the long recovery.
4. Do not starve yourself: This is the time when folks start doing crazy, irrational things like eating once a day and so on. You can take off at least 1/3 the amount of food you would have normally eaten but that’s it. You still have muscle mass that needs to be fed so don’t starve it. You will naturally seem “smaller”, less defined as if you “lost your muscle”. You haven’t lost anything. As soon as you are back on it—no matter what the injury—your muscle memory will kick right in.

So I’m off to the doctor’s in an hour or so. Wish me luck. If anything, my heart aches for my kids because mommy was taking the summer off for them seeing as this will be the last summer before my oldest becomes a teenager and my youngest enters school “for real”. We had everything planned from hiking the White Mountains to “discovering” the state forests of Massachusetts. I’m super sad right now. Hopefully this will be a speedy thing and I can hobble through the mountains.

Love you all. I’ll keep you in the loop! See you next week!

My contribution to Jodiojo – the topics of beauty and style – is obviously very subjective. I totally get that. But with regard to the getting dressed how-to posts of the past several weeks, and prompted by the comment copied below, I wanted to say a few things.

First, all the advice and tips are based on the concept of creating, enhancing and bringing balance and symmetry to the body with clothing. In fact, it’s also what we strive to do for you through your training. A symmetrical, proportionate figure isn’t just my idea of beautiful, it’s actually yours too. “Humans have universal standards of beauty. It’s called the divine proportion or the golden ratio, which is based on pi (1.618), and it is found throughout nature, for instance leaves, seed arrangements and conch shells, as well as most of man’s greatest accomplishments, like the Pyramids, the Parthenon, the David, and the Mona Lisa. The omnipresence of the golden ration throughout the world creates a sense of balance, harmony and beauty in the designs we see every day. Pi is also the driving force in human attraction. Everyone prefers people whose face and body is symmetrical and follows this ratio.” We were all put together with a sense of beauty that’s based on symmetry, balance and proportion.

Second, I made the assumption that our readers already know my voice and that I am a do-it-your-way kind of person. For me, no matter what, what feels good on you is what is right for you. Period. I always strive to use language that is loving and gentle and give facts to support any advice. For example, for the topic of getting dressed – dark colors minimize, light colors enlarge, and so, if you have a very large chest AND WANT TO BRING BALANCE TO YOUR OVERALL LOOK, consider wearing dark solid colors (rather than bright prints) up top to draw the eye away from this area. However, for all I know, you may want to play up a large chest regardless of balance and symmetry, and in that case, do the opposite of what I said. I am utterly fine with that, and in fact, would not have it any other way.

I say all of this because someone commented on the post “Dressing Wide Hips and Thighs.” I’ve cut/pasted it below. Needless to say, he didn’t agree with my point of view. Read on.

I think women are being given wrong information by other women. if you want to look your best you must show of your best assets. And a womans hips are their most stunning assets for men. Do not hide your hips for crying out loud – “SHOW them”, flaunt them . Do not another hollywood product. Women are built designed to have large hips and that is exactly what attracts men to women. Its not large breats, its not your personality, its not your intelligence, its not your butt, it is how hide your hips are. Everything else are just pluses. Take a look at these beautiful women with wide hips
http://akorra.com/2010/10/01/amazing-women-with-wide-hips/

I love the part about how it’s not your breasts, butt, personality and especially not intelligence that attracts men to you. Well, duh. That’s a joke of course, but really, I’m all for a different opinion and actually appreciate the insight into men. (wink.)

Let me wrap this up.

Just to be clear, I would NEVER suggest that anyone, especially our readers, hide anything about their bodies or themselves. We are all worth so much more than what we look like. I personally have spent years working to get that notion through my thick skull. But it is fun to feel good about your appearance. So, please, always, always, do what feels right for you. Be you, love you, and rock your very best self all the time. It’s what I try to do and when it comes together just right, big hair and glitter nail polish, it’s awesome!

Sources:
You Being Beautiful by Michael F Roizen, MD and Mehmet C Oz, MD

It has been quite a busy few weeks for me and because of it, I am a little all over the place.  My parents took a trip to the Grand Canyon and are away for 10 days.  This is a very big deal because my father does not like to travel.  Usually my mother travels with her friends or sisters or me, but my father decided he wants to make an effort to travel with her; ergo, the trip to the Grand Canyon.  However, back in the good-old-days when we lived in Connecticut (where I am from) and only had cats, it was not difficult to get someone to feed the cats while away.  However, my parents now live in Vermont and have Bumba (my cat) and Rosco (our dog).  It is harder to get someone to come feed the cat and we have to put the dog in doggy daycare.  Not wanting the dog to be in daycare for 10 days or for the cat to be alone for 10 days, I agreed to go up to Vermont last Thursday evening through Sunday evening and then again this Wednesday evening through Sunday evening. 

With all of this travelling, my schedule has been completely off.  But, that doesn’t mean my training has suffered.  Through a hectic schedule, training is the one constant that keeps my sanity.  But, with all this travelling and back and forth, I cannot stick to the 4-week program I had scheduled.  So, I decided to let it go and enjoy these two weeks.  (Actually, it is more like the entire month of June because a week after my parents get back, my extended family will be up in Vermont and so I will head back up for a few days). 

While home in Vermont this past weekend I pulled out the workout Heather posted a few weeks ago.  It was the perfect workout to fit into our little home-gym.  We have a finished basement with an elliptical, dumbbells, yoga mats and some other things.  That workout was fabulous!  It was a nice hybrid just like the style I have been doing.  I also spent a lot of time doing yoga as I have not been able to get to a class recently.  Sadly enough Friday was the only sunny day and it rained all Saturday and Sunday.  Thankfully, Rosco and I got outside for a run on Friday and took advantage of the sun.  But man were we both bummed it rained the remainder of the weekend. 

I am now back in Boston for a few days and had to really think about my training for the week.  I decided to go back to a classic upper/lower lift for the three days I am here, as the dumbbells we have in Vermont do not go up as high as I’d like for a heavy lift.  After spending the past 6ish months training in a hybrid style (mix of plyos, sprints and lifting all together) it was refreshing to get in a straight lift.  Yesterday was upper body, for which I did in a push-pull super-set style. i.e. Overhead Press and Lat Puilldown, Chest Press and Bentover BB Row and so on.  What a great workout.  I really enjoyed it because I haven’t done a straight lift in a while.  In fact, I had become a bit snobby about my training and only wanted to do a hybrid-style.  That attitude is never good as all training styles have their importance.  So it was very nice to do and enjoy a more classic lift.  However, I know after a few weeks of this, I’d become very bored.  So don’t expect me to continue with a classic lift.  But for now, it serves its purpose. 

And that sums up my all-over-the-place life and training right now.  I’m planning on doing a hybrid lift up in Vermont when I get back up there and then, weather permitting, lots of hiking and trail running with Rosco.  I will also get in a lot of yoga as my body really needs it right now.  And other than that – I am flying by the seat of my pants; which is very uncharacteristic of me.  So the next time your schedule blows up and becomes a mess, let go of any preconceived plan you think you must stick to and roll with it.  Provided you continue to eat clean and get in and train in some way, shape, or form, you will come out on the other side of your hectic weeks in great shape.  I know that is my plan!

From what I am reading, half of the country right now is in a massive heat wave.  Ooooo, I LOVE IT!  I am telling you, I was meant to live on the equator.  If I could have beach front property ON the sun, I would.  Of course, I would wear sun block 2000 or Seanna and Heather would kick my behind and I would make sure to have plenty of chapstick for Amy, but I would be in my glory.  Make sure that you are staying hydrated while exercising in the sun.  And poo poo on you right now if you are insisting on working out in a gym right now because it’s hot (Amy).  It’s BEYOOOOOOtiful outside and after the snowpalooza winter we had–we’ve earned this!  Ok, onward and upward…

I am truly considering creating a webpage that puts all the things that women say on it so you never have to feel like it’s “just you”.  Things like:

• I know I sound crazy but…
• Am I the only person you’ve ever worked with who…
• I have to start on Monday.  Let me just get through this weekend and…
• I know you say that this happens when I (fill in blank), but I’m telling you, it works for me…
• I tried that before and it didn’t “work”…

and my favorite…

• I am an All or Nothing Kind of Person…

We are all unique; no two people are alike and you can truly rest on that.  I have worked with a ton of folks and I have yet to meet someone’s exact duplicate.  But as I say that I also have recognize how similar we are in our ways and especially so as women.  I have had some guys who say some of the things that women say but rarely.  For the most part, men take what you give them and do it.  Women, on the other hand, form a committee and ask 8 of their friends if this looks like something they should do even though none of them have ever found anything that “worked”.  Unreal.

This brings me to the next addition to our Disordered Eating series.  The things that we say and think about our diet habits are not very unique although I am sure you feel as if you are the only one that thinks the way that you do.  I have to let you in on a secret:  you are not.  There are some things that, as a nutritionist, I have come to expect:  every woman holds back at least one deceptive behavior that they do only to bring it out later as a trump card (”I know you said not to have… but I have been having it since…), every woman claims they disclose everything in their questionnaire but if you talk to them long enough you will find out that they secretly birthed 3 kids, had malaria and juggle on the weekends with bandits–scary, and lastly every woman starts your plan not by fully adopting it as hers but by slowly integrating the parts she agrees with.  My job is to find out what she agrees with as soon as possible to circumvent drama further down the road.  OY!  So let’s hop right to the things we say and I will keep this brief because for the most part, these are self explanatory.

“I know I sound crazy but…” always precedes some seriously disturbing information that although may make me pause–it still is not unique to you.  This is where our true disordered eating comes to the surface because you are about to convince me that something you do like spinning around before eating or using hot sauce on Cheerios somehow convinces your body to give up the pounds.  I need to make sure I say this right at this point: I am being funny in this post as I tell about ourselves as dieters, but I in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM make fun of you or judge you in any manner.  If I can get you to look at yourself in a light manner, I can possibly get you to ease up on yourself enough to help you.  Please hear my sincerity here.  Some of us are so serious about ourselves and how we are viewed, that we miss the forest for the trees in terms of moving into health.

“Am I the only person you have ever worked with who…” ate their young while dieting?  Nope.  And whatever else you can fill in the blank there is not unique to you.  I mean this when I say this, stop trying to hold on to your quirkiness as a means of saying ‘this is just you’.  That’s not true, that’s just a form of bondage that you are in full agreement with.  Silence is the enemy.  You keep it in and it will control you.  Unless you are eating grubs from your lawn as fiber, you are not doing anything I haven’t heard.  Really.

“I need to start on Monday.  Let me just get through this weekend and…” act like a jackass at your cousin’s wedding.  Ok.  But just know there is a cost to that.  Basicallly you have just convinced yourself that that is the only way it’s going to go down and anything else will not be effective.  My thing that I do to keep this one from creeping in is starting anything I do food wise on a Wed, Thurs or Fri.  Nip that sucker right in the bud because now if you start on a day other than Monday, you will actually begin to self sabotage to prove you were right.  The mind is a powerful bugger…

“I know you say that “this” happens when I (eat protein only, skip veggies, have a ton of shakes, etc) but I’m telling you it works for me…” Really?  I could be incredibly snarky here, massively sarcastic, beyond over the top in terms of examples but I’m not going to.  Instead I am going to simply say that deep down you know that what you are trying to convince me of is not true or you would not have hired us.  You are at the end of your rope and you are praying that you can change everything but this one behavior even though you know this one behavior is the crux of the issue. 

“I tried that before and it didn’t ‘work’…”  I call this the ultimate trump card.  When you say this to me, you are really saying, “You’re close Jo.  I’m not giving that up or going there again.  There’s history.”  This could be anything:  measuring food, tracking it, eating it in specific meals, cardio regimens–you name it.  What this really says is “I have had my hopes crushed doing that and I am not willing to make myself that vulnerable to you right now.  Sorry.”  I hear you.  Loud and clear.  Now get on that treadmill and track your food.  Ok, I’m not that heartless but we’re down for your cause so you are going to have to put that trump card away…

I will save my favorite one for next week because it’s a doozy.  EVERY woman thinks they are the only one who is all or none.  Umm….yeah…no.  But good try. 

As always, our passion for you is obvious.  Whatever we can do to make clean eating not only a reality for you all the time, but healthy in body AND mindset is our mission.  We love what we do, we love how you look and we love that you let us be a part of it with you.  Take care this week, note all your crazy habits and let us know of any you feel comfortable fessin’ up to below.  More to come!