New Lily

Vanity of Vanities…Do we Think Too Much about Our Bodies and How We Look?

This is a post I wrote a while ago, but I have been thinking about the subject matter again lately…What do you think, do we care too much about how we look?

woman's body imageMB900442449

Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes,… and all things are vanity…”Ecclesiastes 1:2.

“We can’t take them with us when we die.” This is something we might think of in terms of our material possessions, yet it also pertains to something else as well…our bodies. If we are fitness enthusiasts we tend to care about our bodies…maybe too much at times. Yet, in terms of the spiritual world, they are fleeting too. I think it is good, every so often, to contemplate vanity. Its counterpart, pride, is said to be the root of all of our sins, and is one of the Seven Capital Sins. We can fall prey to this sin when we place too much importance on our appearance. Let’s face it, one of the main reasons most of us exercise is because of the way it makes us look. Sure, there are plenty of other good reasons; health, wellness, mental and emotional well-being, and so on. We all know that exercise keeps us strong and healthy throughout all the stages of our life. But the bottom line is that for many of us, the main motivator for working out is our physical appearance. The definition of vanity is, “excessive pride in one’s appearance. Also… clinging to things without solidity and permanence (such as physical beauty)”.

[Read more…]

She Lost Almost 20 Pounds…And Kept it Off

Diana Sibley 1I wrote recently about long term weight loss, and Diana Sibley is an example of someone who has accomplished just that.  She lost almost 20 pounds over one year ago and has kept the weight off.  One of the amazing things  was that she was actually only trying to lose five!   I talked to Diana about her weight loss, how she did it, and why she is confident she will keep the weight off.  Her experience is probably not unlike many others’ experience…it came down to a decision, a commitment, and common sense.

9 Kid Fitness Year in Review

Typically I am not one to regularly look back over the past and reassess things for the future.  It always sounds good in theory, but in my world the reality is that I usually just plow ahead, hoping for change in areas that need it… and just as typically doing the same things with the same results.  However, I think this year calls for something different.  So I will try to view the last year, especially in terms of health and fitness, a little more analytically, to see if I can improve on things in 2013. My post today will look back…and tomorrow I will look ahead.  I updated my workouts this morning and took the time to really inspect last year’s fitness regimen.  There were a few things I noticed….some good, some not so good.  I’ll start with the good[Read more…]

Exercise After Baby…How Do We Do It?

Shannon working out at Pure Barre at 38 weeks!

A topic that many are interested in is how and when to get back to fitness after a pregnancy. Although getting back to fitness after each of my nine pregnancies was a priority for me, it changed as I had more children and as I got older. I talked to two women who both had a baby in the not-so-distant past and who are both already back to a full workout routine. I met Shannon at Pure Barre and was amazed as she continued to work out and look great throughout her pregnancy.  Ashley is a friend who also exercised throughout her eighth pregnancy…doing mostly P90X at her house.   I also weighed in on some of the questions…

1. How long ago did you give birth? Was it a C-section?
Ashley: My youngest is 4 months old.  Not a C-section.

Shannon:  I gave birth to my second son 14 weeks ago. I had a C-section due to complications from my first son’s delivery.

2. Did you exercise during your pregnancy? If so, did that help in terms of birth or recovery?
Ashley:  Yes, 5-6 days a week up until the week she was born.  It helped greatly in terms of energy during the pregnancy.  My labors have started to slow down (she is my 8th).  It’s hard to tell if it helped in terms of birth.  It certainly helped in terms of my health.  Her strip during labor was flawless … no way to know for sure if that is connected to a healthy mommy, but I have to think it factors in.  My recovery was very easy.  That is absolutely attributed to the exercise.  I’ve had non-exercising pregnancies and the recovery period is much longer. [Read more…]

One Cool Dude with One Cool Dog…(and an Exercise Philosophy to Go with It)

Eric’s cool dog, Cadence.

When I told my son (#4, Peter) the title for this post, he looked at me and said, “Mom…you’re not really going to say that.” I realize that the word “dude” has no business in this middle-aged mom’s vocabulary, but when you read about Eric Lane I think you will understand that it is a word that fits.  I’ll put up with the rolling eyes of my teenagers and say it anyway…Eric is one cool dude and he has one amazingly cool dog. [Read more…]

It’s the New Year, Stupid (and a Quote of the Week)

Quote of the Week:

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
or what’s a heaven for?

Robert Browning

With January 1st just around the corner, New Year’s resolutions are on my mind. I love resolutions.  Maybe it’s because I love the chance to start again, and I always think this time I’m gonna stick with it.  I realize not everyone feels the same way.  The other day while I was in a long line at Starbucks, I overheard a conversation between three people who all agreed that New Year’s resolutions are overrated, unrealistic, and just stupid, really. None of them were setting any resolutions for the new year, because they knew they would never keep them.  I thought about this as I left Starbucks and I decided I totally disagree. The point isn’t whether or not we keep our resolutions, but that we make them at all. [Read more…]

Me vs. Victoria’s Secret

Shame on us America. We have allowed Victoria’s Secret to dictate what is an attractive image of women. This occurred to me the other night when a commercial (for the Victoria’s Secret 2011 Holiday clothing line) came on at about 9:30 pm. (a time when many teenagers are watching TV). We are so inundated with sexual images that most of us don’t even recognize them immediately. When this ad began, it took me a second or two before I fully opened my eyes to what I was seeing. But when I came to my senses, I watched the end of the “holiday” commercial and was disgusted by the barely-clad women slinking around in lingerie saying, “Tell me you love me“, “Delight me” in an obviously sexually-intended manner. Why is this on prime time?! [Read more…]

My Marathon Training…Long Run Down

I’m one of those weird people who loves a good “run” story. Give it to me play by play and I won’t be the slightest bit bored. Ok, that’s not totally true….maybe a little bored, especially if you start at mile one and I know you went 18…then I might get a little nervous. But I can relate to the really bad runs and also the really good ones, and it’s great to know I’m not alone in the “runner’s analysis” that tends to happen after both. On Saturday I had a really good run, and so I’m going to gloat a little…mostly because they have been so lacking in my marathon training up to this point.
[Read more…]

Welcome Another Mother Runner!

Thank you to Another Mother Runner for profiling 9 Kid Fitness today! For those of you new to our site, Welcome! Thanks for visiting!

Another Mother Runner is the companion site to the book Run Like A Mother, and is an awesome source for all things running and mothering…and actually these mother runners are quite funny too! They show us how to gracefully (and sometimes not so gracefully) fit it all in.

For my 9 Kid Fitness readers, check it out!

Together We Are “16 Kid Fit”!

Sisters16 kids! That is how many children my sisters’ Susan, Elizabeth, and I have all together. When we get together, like we did last week when Elizabeth came to Charlotte to visit from California, it is nonstop fun for all of the cousins.

Athletics are a big part of all of our lives. Between the three families, we have quite a few sports covered…swimming, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and cross country to name a few. There is always some event to watch, and last week it was my nephew’s AAU basketball game…very exciting! But the real excitement was on my sister Susan’s driveway, where a different kind of intense basketball took place… the cousin rivalry variety! It was Thomas, David, and Ben versus Adam, Charlie and Peter, and it was a thrillling nail-biter that came down to the wire. [Read more…]