The Body & Movement

Mindful Eating Challenge

Playing with my food.

After tracking the workouts of millions of people, a fitness app tracker claims most of us will fail at our New Year’s Resolutions on Jan 17th. That means we are mere days away from needing to think about a reboot. If you’ve already derailed from your workout routines or healthy eating goals, it’s not to late to press the reset button. (It’s never too late.) This is precisely why we hold the Mindful Eating Challenge every February. I tend to have derailed on all my good intentions around this time. Also, February is the shortest month of the year.

What does the Mindful Eating Challenge Entail?

That’s entirely up to you. You pick what your goal is…no sugar, a specific diet, less alcohol, no (pick a food or food category) Monday-Friday, eat a veggie at every meal, chew more, eat slower, drink more water. You pick what you think you need. Try to pick a manageable goal. Maybe even one that pushes you little. If you err, that’s okay…the goal is to notice and be mindful. How do you feel when you meet your goal? How do you feel […]

Mindful Eating ChallengeMaggie Downie2020-01-14T18:07:29-05:00

Butt Workouts

For optimal posture, we need a strong glute muscle!

Your gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in your body. A strong, healthy butt muscle is also important for upright posture, reducing lower back pain, and overall healthy movement. When we sit all day the glute max gets stretched out and often weakened. We need to incorporate butt workouts into our regular movement routine.

Here are some tips for working your butt workouts:

To Work the Glutes You Need the Abs!

Very often when we try to work that largest muscle in our backside, we end up really moving from the back and straining over time. When you start doing a butt workout, you want to make sure your abs are engaged to keep the back safe.

Notice What You Feel

When you start to do any traditional butt exercises, check in with your body. Do you feel the glutes doing the work? Do you feel the back doing the work? Are you unsure? What can you change to the movement in order to feel the glutes? Hint: try engaging your abs.

Small Movements

When your leg and torso are in a straight line, your glutes are already working. […]

Butt WorkoutsMaggie Downie2019-07-17T12:25:11-04:00

Pain in the Buttocks

Sciatica can be a pain in the buttocks —literally and figuratively. The sciatic nerve runs out multiple vertebra in the lower back and down both sides of your legs passing through the glutes (butt muscles). The compression and inflammation of the nerve at the spine can cause the pain in the glute and down the entire leg. In addition sometimes one of the muscles in your butt called the pyriformis can be adding to the pain. If you do the four stretch and you feel relief, you might have pyriformis syndrome.

How to do the Four Stretch:

Note: You can do both sides, but the side with the pain should get relief when crossed over.

Sit down on a firm chair.

Cross the leg with pain over the leg without so that the ankle rests just above the opposite knee

Sit up Tall.

Stay for 3-5 deep breaths.

Relax and Repeat Up to 5 times.

OPTIONAL: Hinge (do not round) forward slightly for […]

Pain in the ButtocksMaggie Downie2019-07-17T12:26:58-04:00

Body Shaming Yourself

Have you ever looked back at a picture of yourself from a few years ago and thought, “I looked good.” But you know that at the time you thought you weren’t good enough. The day of the picture you told yourself you had a bad hair day, thick arms, or weight to lose. We get caught up in body shaming ourselves in little ways, never really thinking we are good enough at the time.

Aside:

I selected the picture here at random. It’s from 2014 or earlier. This is an example of a picture that I see now and think I look fine, but at the time I thought I had all sorts of ways to improve myself. Now, when I catch myself thinking I don’t look good, I try to look at myself from the perspective of Maggie from five years from now. I’m pretty sure she’s thinking I look great.

Sharing What’s Good

Not long ago I read an article about how women meet up with friends and complain about themselves. They never show up and say, “I look great today,” or “I’m having a great hair day.” Part of that is societal. […]

Body Shaming YourselfMaggie Downie2019-07-29T10:51:59-04:00

Body Shaming

Me, Hiding My Fat

My gastroenterologist prescribed me a dietician for guidance doing the Low FODMAP’s diet to help with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). Normally, I would handle a diet plan myself, but I wanted to do it right, and every website seemed to differ on what low FODMAP’s meant. Also, I did not expect to wind up dealing with body shaming.

I made an appointment with a local dietician. It went terribly. Somewhat foolishly I made a follow-up appointment because I thought anyone could have a rough day. I didn’t want to judge someone based on one meeting. These are moments I look back on and get frustrated with myself. As I near forty, it’s time to learn that my time is valuable and I can usually trust my first impression. The woman was not having a difficult day; she is just not the right person to guide me in any direction.

Where Things Went Wrong

After listening to her story of Lyme disease and SIBO and how she saved herself, she put me on a scale and gave me the fat pinch test. I have not had a fat pinch test […]

Body ShamingMaggie Downie2019-07-10T17:01:21-04:00