FIT MAMA DEE

Hi! This is Carisa’s mom, Dee. I am a mother of 6 children ranging from 13-25, and a grandmother of 2 beautiful grand-children. You may have seen them on Carisa’s blog a time or two. I am excited that I could share with you a little bit about my fitness ups and downs over the last 46 years.

I have always been small and petite, but don’t let that fool you. That doesn’t always mean a person is in good shape. In my youth, I was active and danced, so I really didn’t have to worry about my weight. But, later after I got married and started having children, I realized that health and fitness needed to be an important part of my life. Getting off that post-pregnancy weight can be difficult, especially after babies 4, 5, and 6.

During my pregnancy years and while I had small children at home, I did a lot of my exercising in my living room floor in front of the TV with an aerobics video. Sometimes I would find a walking partner and go for early morning walks with a friend before my husband left for work, so I could leave the kids. It was difficult sometimes to find time to exercise every day with small children.

My husband is also adamant that we stay in shape. We want to be active into our retirement years, and feel that keeping our bodies in shape is the only way to do it. His passion is weight lifting—mine not so much. But, we have found that it is something that we can do together in our own home. We have a home gym with adequate weights for both of us. So, to keep the osteoporosis away for me, and for him to build strong muscles to keep the teenage boys away from our daughters, we lift together on a regular basis. We also love to ride our tandem bike together. One of our favorite things to do when we travel around the world is to rent bikes and see the sights by bike.

It wasn’t until my early thirties, that I found my passion: running. At first, I got involved in running 5Ks. I was so proud of myself that I could run that far. Then, I decided to push it to 10Ks. After a while, I wondered to myself if I could run a marathon. I decided to enter the lottery for the St. George Marathon. Surprisingly, I got in. So at age 40, I started training for my first marathon.

One of the reasons that I enjoy running is that it gives me time to think. I love getting out early in the morning all by myself, and I will put on a little running music on my phone or ipod, and then I will just take off and let my mind ponder over the things that are important to me at the time. I also found, as my children got older, that they sometimes would run with me. It is fun to run with your children and chat with them. However, as I get older and slower, they seem to get older and faster. I don’t always keep up with them. It has been fun over the years to run 5ks, 10ks, and half marathons with my children. I even have done a Ragnar with my husband.

Unfortunately, after my first marathon—which by the way, was very painful, I went back to school to work on my Masters and PhD. Once again, I found it very difficult to find time to do everything. I really had to organize myself and plan my exercise times.  I also found that my metabolism was slowing down, and gaining weight was a lot easier to do than before. Healthy eating has also become very critical for me.

Now that I am finished with my PhD and working, I decided to sign myself up for another marathon. Once again, I put my name in the lottery for the St George marathon. And yes, I got in a second time. This time however, I conned some family members to run with me. My brother, daughter, and son along with his girlfriend are going to be running with me!  I am looking forward to the pain.

Here are some tips that I have found have helped me over the years.

Tip #1: Have a goal that you are working towards. Once I started running and would sign myself up for a race. It gave me the motivation to get out and run on the days when I didn’t really want to do it. Also, let family members know your goals, so they can help you keep them.

Tip #2: Exercise early in the day. Make a plan before you go to bed on when you are going to get up and what you are going to do for your exercise that day. If I leave it to the end of the day, it never gets done. Also, I find that on the mornings that I exercise, I have more energy throughout the day.

Tip #3: Do it anyway. There are some days I get up and I really don’t feel like exercising. Maybe I have planned to run 6 miles that day. But, I really don’t feel like it. It’s on those days I will say to myself. “OK, let’s start with 3 and see how you feel.” I find that after mile 3, I have the renewed energy to keep going.

Tip #4: Be aware of what you are putting into your body. I am not saying that you have to count every calorie, but educate yourself on how to read labels and know what you are putting into your body. Also be aware of how many calories per day you should be eating given your size, age, and weight—it was an eye opener for me.

Tip #5: Live an active lifestyle. Find things that you like to do together as a family. Ride your bike with your husband. Go disc golfing as a family. Go on hikes together.

Tip #6: Have access to the right equipment and clothing. Build your own home gym, or join a gym. Having the right equipment makes all the difference. If you are a runner, the right shoes are a must.

Tip # 7: Treat yourself when you are good. Buy a new exercise outfit, when you have reached an exercise goal. Treat yourself to a small goodie, when you have been extra good on your diet.

I have to admit, that I have not always exercised on a regular basis. And of course, there are days when I eat things that I shouldn’t. But, here are some of the benefits that I have seen through out my life from regular exercise and taking care of myself.

• I do know that when I do eat right and exercise on a regular basis, I am healthier and happier.

• I truly see how staying in shape has helped me to be able to keep up with my children as they have grown into their teenage years.

• I see women who are my age, but not in shape, and they act and feel a lot older than I do. I hope that I can keep this up even into my 80s.

I wish you the best of luck in your fitness endeavors. Remember that you don’t have to be a super athlete, to be in shape and to feel good about yourself. Just take it one day at a time. The Lord is only going to give you one body in this life. Take care of it.

                                                                                   -Dee

My mom has always been an inspiration to me. When I was young, I resisted exercising with her at times, but running with her is also one of my favorite things to do! I'm so impressed that she's gearing up to run her second marathon in the next couple months. Go MOM!!!

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