# 82 - Try Harder

When you're exercising and eating right for a year, and folks are telling you that you look lovely, you might feel a little over confident. "I do enough to be healthy." "I try hard enough."
But last night at the Efrat Women's Health Center, exercise instructor Lainie Richler told us it's time to try harder. "If your exercise comfort level is at a 6, it's time to push more and try harder. Push yourself to an 8."
Now, you tell me, who wants to push to an 8? Who wants to pant from exertion or work so hard that you can't talk? Well, not me.
But you know what? I want to be healthy, and healthier. So, I'm willing to try.
After Lainie's try-harder speech, I did pick it up. I raised my knees higher. I jumped a little higher. I raised my hands a little faster. I started flinging beads of sweat around the room. That kind of made me feel happy, although whoever received a little bead was probably not so thrilled.
It's hard to bring up the exercise level when you're alone, but I am determined to listen to Lainie. I'll try to walk faster on the treadmill, and put more sincere energy into my Zumba classes and our exercise sessions.
I'll keep you posted.

Photo by FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

# 81 - Breaking Down Barriers

We all have barriers to being healthy and losing weight. A barrier is a kind of wall that seems to stand in the way of our good health goal.

My biggest barrier is eating late at night.
It used to be worse. I used to stay up until 1, 2 or 3 AM every night working. Now I do my best to go to sleep in the 12s. But that's still pretty late, and by 10:30 PM, I usually head to the kitchen for a snack.
Worse than that, when I come home from rehearsal for one of my theater productions (I'm on stage very soon in Esther and the Secrets in the King's Court), I am starving. It could be 10 PM, but I get the just-practiced-all-night-hungries.
To make matters worse, usually I walk through the door and my husband and/or daughter are also in the kitchen - chatting, munching, warming up some yummy food.
So, who wouldn't want to join in the fun together time?
I discussed this barrier last week at the Efrat Women's Health Center, and from my description, our nutritionist Judy Kizer charted out my barrier and how to overcome it. [That's the diagram above left. Sorry that it's on its side. It won't straighten out....Strange.]
Try to follow on the chart above.
* My goal is NOT to eat late at night. Why do I do it? Social pressure (everyone is sitting and shmoozing and noshing together), or I am famished after a good work out, or I'm working late and that makes me hungry.
Here are some solutions that Judy and social worker Alizah Shapiro helped me come up with.
* Don't miss socializing with the family, but CHANGE the location. "Tell everyone, let's sit in the living room", or "The weather is so beautiful, let's sit on the porch." That will get me out of the kitchen.
* If you can't change location, then I have to keep my hands busy. Sitting at the table for a long time makes it very easy to keep reaching for nuts or pretzels or any other food. So, Judy and Alizah suggested that I keep my hands busy - do my nails, write a shopping list, even doodle. I have to reach for a pen, not a piece of pizza.
* I'm up late and I'm hungry. Am I really hungry? Many times when people start yawning and feel the "tired-s" overcoming them, it's a drink of water they need, not a meal. So, next time it's late and I feel hungry, I'm going to get a drink before I reach for a plate.
It won't be easy for me. That's why it's a barrier. :), but I'm going to try to cut out night eating. I'll let you know how it goes.