Meet Lacie, Walkingspree blogger

Lacie will be joining the panel of Walkingspree bloggers each week for a Wednesday post.

Lacie Lyons (Consumer Participant)

My given name is Lacie Lyons, though 11 years ago my name changed… to Mom! So chose which you prefer.

A busy self-employed single mom of two “tweens” and volunteer, I use my sense of humor to keep it all in check.

My children will tell people that I am just a kid, always playing, that all people are kids, just some people forget how to play. Playing with my kids has been such a great reward for me in recent years, learning to ice skate last year, learning to hula hoop with them this year, because when my eldest was born I was unable to even climb two flights of stairs. Realizing I wasn’t able to play with my son, I set on a journey to change my life!

Even though I was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis earlier this year I have kept at it, my stubbornness showing, and am 16 weeks away from participating in the Honolulu Marathon in December (hey, who could say no to Hawaii in December?)

My pedometer is there with me every step of the way (oh yes, pun intended). In the beginning I was forgetting to put my pedometer on in the morning, and since I often walk first thing before even a coffee, the pedometer got left on the dresser. No more!! I put it on and it stays on, even at night, so its there to catch my first stumbly steps out the door in the morning.

The pedometer has become such a focal point in the family that my sons asked for their own so that they can compete with me… wow, they get a lot of steps at recess and lunch break at school while I am sitting in my office!

Join me on my journey, laugh with me, learn from my stumbles and let’s see how many steps I can get in Hawaii! (I estimate 72,000 for marathon day)

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I Love Walkingspree! video contest & Walkingspree Bloggers

What do you love most about Walkingspree? Is it the pedometer, or the challenges or competitions?

Or is it the opportunity to get and give support to other members? Maybe it’s watching your progress on Step Tracker or watching your pants get smaller and smaller!

Whatever it is, tell us all about it in a video love letter. Be creative, serious, or zany and just have fun!

Post your video on our Facebook page, or upload them on YouTube and email us a link with your contact information to success@walkingspree.com. Your video could win you a $50 iTunes card or Gift card (your preference)! Walkingspree will be taking submissions until September 1st.

Walkingspree Bloggers

And now we want to introduce you to one of our new Walkingspree panel bloggers. Every Wednesday, bloggers from different programs will be sharing their experience with all of you on this blog. We hope you’ll be inspired by them and will share your journey with them. Please feel free to ask them questions or make comments on their blog posts in the comments section of their blog post.

Welcome Rene’ Brown, CNO employee.

My name is P. Rene’ Brown…just call me Rene’.
Maybe one day I’ll tell you about the “P” – maybe.
I am the mother of one son and I have two grand children who are the apples of my eyes.
One boy who’s five…I’m sorry – “almost six” ;o) and just lost his first tooth and my grand daughter just had her fourth birthday.

I’m a grand mom at heart and although I am going to be 50 in February 2012, I refuse to be a “50’s” grand mom.

When I take my grands to the play ground I actually play with them. I jump on the swings, encourage them to climb trees, run through the sprinkles on hot days, and work on upper body strength by doing pull ups on the monkey bars. – Okay, the monkey bar part – I do my best.

I love adults, but am not too fond of “grown” folks. They are too grown for me. Among other things that I won’t mention here, they are too grown to have a gut wrenching laugh, too grown to play and too grown to have silly fun. One of my most sincere prayers is that God make me (my heart) like a child at play. HE hasn’t disappointed me yet.

I love my church – St. Paul’s at 10th and Wallace in Philadelphia – and minister in music by singing on the Inspirational and Women’s choirs and yes, I wear my pedometer at church – under my robe or when robes are not required – I clip it to my secret place…Shhhh. But I don’t go anywhere without my pedometer.

Even my mother loves my pedometer and asks about my step count everyday. As a work at home on-line professor she doesn’t get out of the house as much as she used to. You know the drill – go down stairs, make a pot of coffee, and sit at your desk for six or seven hours. My pedometer really made my mother take a look at how sedentary her physical activity has become and has actually made her get out a take a walk or two during the day. Once my car needed to be serviced and I planned to drive to the service center, walk home, then walked back to get it when the work was completed. When I realized I forgot my pedometer, I drove back home to get it. Hey, that walk yielded 15,000 steps…and I wasn’t about to waste all those steps. Okay – I’m obsessed – I admit it!

I have a ton of interesting walk stories to tell you – catch up with me on my blog and by any means necessary keep…CLOCKIN’ THOSE STEPS.

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Eat Smart! Is it too expensive to eat healthy?

A recent study grabbed the news headlines by stating that consumers would have to spend hundreds of dollars more a year to meet the news U.S. nutritional guidelines.

But the news reports missed the point of the study, that education needs to go hand-in-hand with guidelines, and that eating patterns have to change.

University of Washington researchers surveyed about 1,200 adults about their diet and nutrition. They then calculated a diet that met the nutritional guidelines by increasing the foods they were already eating. They did not suggest alternative foods. For example, diets that include apricots as a source of potassium (100g per serving), would be more expensive than one that included bananas which have about 425g of potassium.

Bottom line, don't use this report as an excuse for not eating healthy.

But if eating healthy and saving on your grocery bill is a concern,
consider these tips when planning your next shopping trip:

• Plan a week's worth of menus. Plan your breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack.
• Plan your meals around produce that is in season.
• Buy only the amount of produce you plan to eat over the next week.
• Consider inexpensive protein sources, such as beans or cottage cheese.
• Select store brands and buy canned and frozen food in bulk when they are on sale.
• Take inventory of the food you have at home. Buy only what you need and what you plan to eat.
• Don't buy all of your food at the grocery store. Sometimes food items like milk, bread and eggs can be cheaper at stories like Target, gasoline stations and convenience stories. Shop around.

You must have a few tips of your own. Share them on our Facebook page, or post them in the comment section of our member blog.

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Move Smart! 5 Tips to Help You Reach Your Step Goals

If you are having a bit of trouble reaching your step goals, try these time-tested strategies to keep you on track.

Set a Specific Goal: Saying that you are going to walk more and get healthier is great, but to be a true goal it needs to be SMART, specific, measurable, adjustable, realistic and time based. Determine your daily step goal and go for it. Once you reach that goal, increase it a bit and go for it again.

Use Your Pedometer: Not only is your pedometer an accurate way to track your steps and monitor your progress, it is also an excellent motivator. Knowing you have X number of steps to go might be the motivation you need to get moving. Who knows, it might motivate you to get in an extra 1,000 steps over your goal!

Keep a Record: Your Walkingspree account makes this easy. Review your daily step count and monitor your progress on your Step Tracker. Make sure you upload your steps frequently; say once or twice a week or even daily, to help you keep on track.

Make Time: Set a specific time to do your walking. It will help you develop a routine and thus help you achieve your daily step goals. Put it at the top of your “To Do” list and don’t let other priorities be an excuse not to walk. Remember, you are priority No. 1.

Get a Buddy, Be a Buddy: Participants who walk with a buddy walk farther. It is a great way to get and give support, and push for “one more time around the block”. Invite a buddy through the Walkingspree system and send them a buddy gift for a friendly challenge.

Do you have a tip that works for you? Share your success idea in the comment section below.

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Eat Smart! Weight Loss Studies Look at Eating Habits

Two interesting studies came across our desks this week. Definitely food for thought.

Study I: Limiting food choices may help with weight loss

What do you think would happen if you ate mac-n-cheese for five straight days? Gain a ton of weight, right? Well, maybe not. Here’s why.

Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo found that people lose interest in food that they eat over and over again, and end up eating less food.

The study had obese and non-obese women eat either a macaroni-and-cheese meal every day for five days, or one mac-n-cheese meal a week for five weeks. The group that ate mac-n-cheese every day averaged 100 fewer calories a day by the end of the week, whether they were obese or not. The other group averaged 30 more calories per day over their five week period.

Hmmmm.

Study II: Listen to your mother; chew your food

Participants who chewed their food 40 times vs. the typical 15 times, ate about 12 percent fewer calories, regardless of their weight.

In a study of 28 obese and normal-weight young men, researchers found higher levels of CCK, a hormone associated with reduced appetite, and lower levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, when the subjects chewed their food 40 times.

Mathematically, a 12 percent reduction in calories would result in a weight loss of about 25 pounds in a year. But of course, a typical diet includes foods that do not require chewing (like milk, soups, ice cream, etc.) and it may be hard to chew food for more than twice the normal 15 times. But chewing longer may be a useful tool in your weight management kit.

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