Stacie Angel

 

“Could this be the one?”

No, I wasn’t reminiscing about early dates with my husband, this is what I was thinking driving in to work today.  “Could this be the one I’ve been waiting for?  A diet I can stick with?” A new diet approach was being discussed on Doctor Radio (Sirrus XM 81).  Perhaps it is too soon to post this because my fitness-basics-devoted husband may still be reading my blogs, he’s not a fan of my quest to find the “easy way” to loose weight and stay in shape.  But I have to admit that as they were discussing The 5:2 Diet Book, I was instantly intrigued.  Who wouldn’t be excited with a subtitle like The Part-Time Diet With Life-Changing Results?

Since January 2, I’ve started and stopped my New Year’s Resolution several times.  Even with my 40^th birthday looming in less than two months, I can’t find the motivation to lose those annoying five…okay, 7…pounds that are lingering after a really fun Summer 2012.  Methods that worked 10 years ago when I was preparing for my 30^th simply require more dedication than I can muster these days.

So, I can’t help but think that two days of watching what I eat and five days of “feasting” could be the inspiration I’ve been waiting for.  It totally fits my current fitness motto, “Minimal Effort/Maximum Results.”  I wonder if wine is part of the feast?  I’ll let you know, I ordered the book the minute I pulled off the highway.

Even though I’ve had numerous failed weight loss attempts this year, I have been successful with one thing.  Surprisingly, it is a TRAINER’S TIP and it fits my fitness motto.  I have been able to stick with INTERVAL CARDIO TRAINING.  It’s cardio for those of us who hate cardio.  Here’s the idea, you spend 30 minutes on the treadmill.   Of those 30 minutes, you spend about 5 minutes warming up at a nice, easy pace, 20 minutes of intervals, and 5 minutes in a relaxing cool-down mode.  During each interval you increase your speed every minute for five minutes.  Don’t start too fast because you won’t make it to minute five.  This is not an easy workout.  Sometimes minimal means the shortest possible amount of time but with maximum effort.  So while the fifth minute is torture, it saves me from spending 30 more minutes on the treadmill and actually produces better results.  I’m all about efficiency.

So could this be the answer?  The key to being forty, fit and fabulous?  Part-time dieting and high intensity cardio bouts?  I can’t wait to find out.

 

Today, like many days, someone heard that my husband is a personal trainer.  “Wow,” she says.  “You’re really lucky.  Does he train you?”

I can tell from the look in her eye that she is picturing me enjoying invigorating early morning work-out sessions.  She sees my husband leading me through an intense series of exercises, praising my effort, gently pointing out a break in form.  She imagines that afterward we sit down to a breakfast of egg whites and spinach and green tea.  We plan our meals for the day and how we’ll squeeze in some lunchtime cardio.  Then, with food journals in hand, we head out to take on the day.

If that were reality, I might actually be as fit as my husband’s clients.

Unfortunately, my husband leaves first thing in the morning to train other people’s spouses.  I am left to face the treadmill on my own.  On a good day, I can muster the motivation to put in a couple miles of interval training before going through a series of upper body exercises.  On a bad day, I sit on the floor sipping coffee and watching The Real Housewives between sets of crunches.

“Better than nothing,” I tell myself as I fold my work-out clothes and put them back on the shelf.  No need to wash them when I haven’t come close to breaking a sweat.

But despite my often uninspired work-out efforts, I have been able to maintain a reasonable level of fitness…especially considering my age, my motherhood, my sometimes sedentary job and particular fondness for wine.  Somehow, maybe my husband has “trained” me.  But it is not the way you might think.

Living with a health professional creates a focus on fitness probably not found in all households.  Being married to my husband, with his intense passion for his work, probably elevates that focus.  So I do learn from the programs he has made for his clients.  I do learn, sometimes begrudgingly, from the comments he makes about the meals I create.  And having a mini-gym in my home has made working-out, if not easier, at least more accessible.

So this is my blog, my journal, my lessons from my life as The Wife of someone who lives a really fit life.