Stay the Course: Be Fit for Life!

By Sheree Crute

Photo by Thinkstock

Congratulations to each and every NEA Fitness Challenge team member. If you've made it this far, you've faced down your favorite food cravings, triumphed over your inner couch potato, and are in better shape than you've been in years. If you've really been having fun, you may not even realize the Challenge began seven months ago, and there are now only four weeks (that's 30 exercise days) left before we announce the champs!

Before you start thinking about what your school's going to do with the prize money you may win, however, remember one thing. Every NEA Fitness Challenge participant has already won the most valuable prize possible—better health and a longer life. And that's a prize we're determined to help you keep. So, we're going to show you how to achieve your short-term goal—completing the Challenge at a level of fitness and weight loss that's your personal best. Then, we're going to give you a bonus—an expert prescription for being fit and fabulous at 40, 50, 60, and beyond.

First, there's the business of getting to that finish line. You're almost there. You and your team have sweat together, watched your waistlines together; you've probably even wept together over that midnight chocolate cheat! You've made a lot of progress, and now you just need to make that final sprint to the finish line. If you're finding it easy to stay motivated, that's great. If, however, you're hearing the siren call of your former sedentary existence, that's perfectly normal, too.

To keep those frustrating yearnings under control, "consistently reconnect with your higher purpose, your real reasons for joining the Challenge," says Marc-Simon Sagal, managing partner of the San Diego-based company, the Winning Mind. Sagal, who uses psychology to help everyone from members of the New York Rangers to the U.S. Army learn to perform at their best under pressure, explains that "holding onto those clearly defined objectives" can be an added boost.

Getting to the Finish Line

Here's how you can beat the blahs and beat the competition:

Commit on paper. "Write a letter to yourself," Sagal says, "and tell yourself how proud you are of what you've accomplished so far." Celebrate every pound lost and every mile walked. You deserve it!

Jazz it up. Beat boredom any way you can, says Sagal. Buy some funky new workout shoes. Try out the new salsa, Tae Bo, or Pilates class at the gym.

Don't get overwhelmed. If you can't handle the thought of walking 10 more miles, focus on short-term goals, Sagal advises. Pat yourself on the back for every two miles. Become engaged in the process and be happy with your accomplishments on any given day.

Find power in pain. "There's always pain and sacrifice associated with athletics," Sagal says. But rather than let the time pressures of getting to your workout, or your need to use a knee brace when you race walk, weigh you down, let that extra effort be your reward. "The amount you have to struggle is a measure of just how gigantic your achievements really are," he says.

Make allowances. "If you can't make the full daily walk, try a series of short cardiovascular workouts," suggests Challenge fitness advisor, C.B. Yelverton. Remember, any workout you do for at least 30 minutes will suffice, even if you need to divide it into three 10-minute intervals.

Take appropriate measures. If you don't seem to be losing weight fast enough, remember muscle weighs more that fat, says Yelverton. Measure your waist, hips, and thighs for a more accurate assessment of your fat loss. If your clothes are fitting better, then you're closer to your goal.

Talk to your team. "If you, or other team members, are having trouble staying with your workout, set up a team meeting and talk it out," advises Yelverton. "Figure out fresh ways to inspire each other. Even highly trained athletes lose momentum the longer they follow a specific program."

Start talking to yourself. "Positive self-talk or any affirmation that gets you going can help move you toward your goal," says Karlene Sugarman, a sports psychologist and author of Winning the Mental Way (Step Up Publishing, 1999).

Have faith. "Your mind definitely leads your body," Sugarman says. You absolutely have to believe you can drop another pound or make it another day around the track, or you just won't do it. See yourself as a winner!

Attention All Team Leaders It's almost time for the final NEA Fitness Challenge tally. To help us identify the winners, please give us an accurate team count of all the pounds and inches lost and miles walked or hours spent working out. We have just four weeks to go, so here's your countdown checklist. All team reports have to be in by April 30. Log on to www.neafitness.org and click on the "Tracking" icon at the top of the page to enter your team's results. On tally day, ask all of your team members to calculate their weight and measurements (instructions can be found on on the "Getting Started" page) first thing in the morning, before eating or exercising. To measure mileage walked or exercise time spent, use the logs you've been keeping during the Challenge. Pick a day and take a team photograph. Digital photos submitted via the Web site or via e-mail are preferred. Please submit your team photograph with your team's results. NOTE: If you participated in the Challenge without a team, tally your results according to the instructions above and submit them, letting us know you were competing as an individual. Remember, we must have your results in by Friday, April 30, 8 p.m., ET.

The Walking Challenge:
Crossing the Finish Line

This is the last stretch! Whether you've been walking, working out to your favorite exercise video, or lifting weights at the gym, you should see significant improvements in your overall fitness level.

Progress Check

Each participant will have a slightly different experience, but by April or May, you should be taking at least two 45- to 60-minute walks a week, and your shorter walks should be a minimum of 30 minutes. You should be able to comfortably do strenuous cardiovascular exercises 4 to 6 days a week because your body is much stronger and leaner.

If you were overweight, you should also have lost a minimum total of 10 inches (add up inches lost on your waist, lower abs, hips, and upper thighs) or a minimum of one pants or dress size. If you've lifted weights as well, you should have lost more than 10 inches total, and you should be able to manage a slightly (5 to 10 pounds) larger amount of weight during your routine.

Once the Challenge is over, don't rest too long on your laurels. You've worked too hard to become one again with the couch and the remote control. C.B. Yelverton offers advice on designing a fitness plan to take you across the finish line and prepare you for the ultimate challenge—staying fit for life.

Design Your Own Fitness Plan

Get at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night. It's the only way your muscles, mind, and immune system can recover.

Always do your cardio. Walk, run, hike, bike, swim, roller blade, ski, climb, or golf (no cart allowed) for a minimum of 20 minutes, three times a week. Increase time in 10-minute increments as you become more fit.

Strength train at least twice a week. Strengthen your muscles with weights, yoga, a body toning class, or a video a minimum of two times a week.

Stretch your body. Try yoga or tai chi. Mix it up to keep things interesting.

Walk, climb, and dance your way through life. Move more than you sit, and move whenever you can. Take the stairs and skip the elevator. Get off a stop early and walk from the subway; park the car further away from home or school. Stand and stretch when you're on the phone. Take a family walk after dinner. And move the TV next to your exercise bike or treadmill.

Food for Thought Challenge nutrition expert Molly Gee offers these tips for slimming down before your final weigh-in and for maintaining a healthy weight in years to come. Drop those last pounds fast: Cut back salt and sugar. They make you hold water. Focus on protein; give starchy, flour-filled carbs the boot. Fill up on fiber. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Try an apple before each meal. Studies show you'll lose more. Habits to keep: Never skip a meal—eat a small, low-fat, high-fiber or high-protein meal every four to five hours. Keep track of what you eat. Weigh yourself regularly. Make small changes; you'll see big rewards. Aim for realistic weight goals. Make healthy eating a permanent family affair. Enjoy favorite foods in measured portions. Don't deprive yourself of pleasure. Make fruits and vegetables the center of your diet. Read food labels. Go to www.FDA.gov to learn what the labels mean. Stay hydrated—drink six to eight glasses of water a day. Plan to manage high-calorie situations, like holidays and vacations. Go shopping and kiss your fat clothes goodbye. And, finally, make history. If you drop 30 pounds or more and keep it off for more than one year, join the National Weight Control Registry at 800-606-NWCR (6927). Your achievement may inspire millions.

The Nutrition Challenge:

Weighing In

You've done it! You've fought off the gastronomic temptations of the holiday season and pushed past your weight plateau. You've cleaned out your cabinets and refrigerator, tossed the fattening munchies, and replaced them with slimming snacks. As you approach your final Challenge weigh-in, you might be a little anxious about your results. Don't be. Each person sheds weight at his or her own pace for a number of reasons. Men lose weight a bit faster than women. People over 35 or 40 have slower metabolisms and may need a little more time, but with effort, everyone can shed excess pounds.

Progress Check

Here's how to measure your progress in late April or May. First, remember success is not measured by the pounds you've lost but in the overall changes in better food choices, so take stock. Are you eating less fat, more fruits and vegetables, and drinking water? If so, that's a triumph.

Consider your personal goal. How close are you to the target weight you selected at the beginning of the program? If you stuck to the program, you should have lost between two and four pounds per month. Even if you were healthy at the beginning of the program, you've lowered your risk of hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes if you've dropped at least 10 percent of your body weight.

Maintain Your Goal Weight

If you've reached your target weight, your maintenance calories may range from 1,500 to 2,300 calories depending on your age, activity, and gender. These calories are determined by trial and error because our bodies are constantly changing. To maintain your goal weight:

Start by adding in 100 calories per day for the first week, and carefully monitor your weight and maintain or increase your activity level. For example, if you were following a 1,200-calorie plan, try a 1,300-calorie plan for one week. Of course those additional calories should come from nutrient-rich foods.

Gradually increase calories until you're satisfied with the amount of food, and the weight on the scale is stable.

Going the Distance

The NEA Fitness Challenge has taught you better eating habits, helped you drop a few pounds, and even made you stronger, but competing is only part of your accomplishment. You're also training for a very special main event—a lifetime of healthy, high-energy living. So, don't even think about slowing down. "It's never too late to start getting in shape in life, but it's always too early to stop," says Robert Butler, M.D., president of the International Longevity Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. Butler and Pamela Peeke, M.D., M.P.H., author of Fight Fat After Forty (Penguin, 2001), offer this advice on staying healthy and strong for the rest of your days:

Use your natural gifts. "Take one-tenth of what it takes to teach and regroup for a constantly changing group of kids each day, and you've got what it takes to stay with a healthy living plan," Peeke says. Draw on that strength.

Get a grip. Decide right away that life's crises will not get in your way, Peeke recommends. "When something really bad happens, do you stop brushing your teeth or combing your hair? Of course you don't," she says. "So forget 'the dog ate my treadmill' excuse." Stick with your program.

Don't ever give up on you. "The greatest stresses in life come from unmet expectations," Peeke says. There's tremendous value in doing the best you can just for you. If you can't give 100 percent on any given day, shoot for 50 percent.

Forget early retirement. Some doctors say older people should be very cautious about activity. Nonsense, says Butler, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Why Survive? Being Old in America (Johns Hopkins Press, 2003). You can and should move your body and do a weight-bearing workout well past 80, as long as your health allows.

Stay strong. "A lot of the frailty of old age is actually sarcopenia, the loss of muscle as the body ages," Butler says. The condition, which really picks up speed in your 40s and 50s, robs you of posture and balance, and is as debilitating as osteoporosis, says Butler. Weight lifting is the only sure remedy. For a simple program, pick up: Weight Training for Dummies, by Suzanne Schlosberg (John Wiley & Sons, 1997 or Strength Training Past 50, by Wayne L. Westcott (Human Kinetics, 1997).

Depend on the basics. You can do all kinds of fun things to stay fit, but at a minimum, Butler and Peeke advise, walk 10,000 steps a day. Measure your strides with a reliable step counter (try Digiwalker).

Embrace the future. Forget the word "diet" and remember that exercise should be as much a part of each day as walking or sleeping. "This is not some Olympic event," says Peeke. This is your life!