| Are you brisk and bouncy, fit and trim, firmly | | | | thin gals who lay around the pool and never |
| muscled, and radiating with energy? Can you snap | | | | entered the water, and not eating anything for |
| off push-ups and sit-ups like nobody's business? | | | | most of the day. And now Bill was getting fat, |
| How about your kids? I thought so. | | | | too! Does any of this sound familiar? A Prayer |
| Yes, some of you reading this are farmers and | | | | Answered While I wasn't exactly in despair - |
| ranchers. Others are heavily involved in demanding | | | | more like a state of discouraged resignation - I did |
| physical sports. | | | | pray that God would show me a way out of this |
| But if homeschoolers are like the rest of the U.S. | | | | pit. Face it, when you're that overweight, just plain |
| population, a good solid (and I do mean "solid"!) 50 | | | | living is tough. I was experiencing scary heart |
| percent of us are overweight, with almost half of | | | | pains, had no energy, and couldn't even bend over |
| these being really overweight. | | | | to tie my shoes. Plus, I had gained back all the |
| It's not that we sit around eating like pigs all day. | | | | weight I lost on the Atkins diet, since now I had |
| It just sort of crept up on us, as we sat around | | | | no idea what I was supposed to eat any more. |
| our air-conditioned houses, trailers, or apartments | | | | This is the state I was in when I saw Body for |
| on our teeny-to-nonexistent patches of land. | | | | Life at the bookstore. I was drawn by the |
| When your suburb is designed without sidewalks, | | | | before-and-after photos on the cover. But then, |
| it's tough to go for a walk. | | | | we've all seen diet scams with before-and-after |
| When your city park becomes the favorite | | | | photos. I did, however, pick up the book and start |
| hangout of muggers, you'd better be able to run | | | | browsing. What the author, Bill Phillips, said seemed |
| fast if you plan to jog! And, whatever your | | | | to make a lot of sense. I knew for a fact that |
| environment, if you have babies and toddlers, | | | | what he said didn't work, didn't work. It was clear |
| getting out to the health club or even out for a | | | | this was not a scam, so I bought the book. |
| walk around the block can be nigh impossible. | | | | Just like most of you, I have never read "muscle" |
| Let me tell you my personal story and see if you | | | | magazines. So this was all new to me. Basically, Bill |
| can relate. | | | | Phillips stated that for what he calls a physique |
| How I Got Fat I was a slim toddler, then a fat | | | | "transformation" (making yourself over into what |
| child. | | | | you'd like to look like), you need these ingredients: |
| The private school I attended for four years | | | | Cardiovascular exercise (walking, biking, etc.) |
| specialized in starchy food and gloppy desserts, | | | | Weight training (now this was something I'd never |
| but the real bane of my young existence was the | | | | done!) Supplementation (more on this later) A |
| "you must clean your plate" rule. | | | | controlled diet (no strange recipes: he gives simple |
| This all changed in eighth grade of public school, | | | | directions in his book) Six small meals a day - it |
| when a boy I had a crush on made a comment | | | | turns out that the surest way to gain weight is to |
| about what I looked like in orange stretch pants. | | | | starve yourself all day and eat a big dinner Lots |
| (Something about "the moon rising over the | | | | of water to drink (I recommend spring water, |
| mountains" . . .) This motivated me to lose a lot | | | | preferably brought to your door in huge bottles, |
| of weight quickly. I ate nothing but oranges and | | | | not distilled) A new attitude about the possibility of |
| hard-boiled eggs (I had heard they both consume | | | | not being a physical wreck the rest of your life |
| more energy to digest than they give back), | | | | This was it. I was sick and tired of being sick and |
| drank lots of water, and spent hours every day | | | | tired - and rather scared, if the truth be known, |
| progressing as quickly as I could through the | | | | that I would not be around long enough to teach |
| levels of The Royal Canadian Exercise Plan for | | | | my kids everything they needed to know. So, |
| Physical Fitness. | | | | abandoning our usual frugal policy, we went out |
| I kept up a similar regimen - not quite a | | | | and bought an expensive exercise bike, a |
| starvation diet, but close - adding more low-cal | | | | not-terribly-expensive exercise station from |
| types of food and eschewing all sugary and | | | | Sears, a weight bench, and some dumbbells. (Bill |
| carbohydrate foods, all through college and into | | | | Phillips claims you really only need the bench and |
| my early marriage. I kept up the exercise plan, | | | | dumbbells, but since some of the exercises in the |
| too. | | | | back of his book required leg-extension and |
| When I started having children, my eating pattern | | | | pull-down stations, I didn't want to mess up my |
| changed. Suddenly I was making my own | | | | chances.) So far, my husband Bill has lost 50 |
| whole-wheat bread, followed by such healthy | | | | pounds, and my children Joseph and Sarah lost 30 |
| goodies as soy-wheat pancakes, homemade | | | | pounds very quickly, while I've only lost 27 pounds |
| yogurt, lentil soup, and so forth. The | | | | in six months. |
| More-With-Less Cookbook was my guide, which | | | | However, unlike every ineffectual exercise and |
| helped, since we couldn't afford "meat" protein | | | | diet program I've tried in the last 15 years, I have |
| most of the time. | | | | actually gained muscle strength and tone. Heart |
| I still exercised in the morning, and I still had a | | | | pangs and insomnia went away. Most importantly, |
| figure - for the first five kids. | | | | I now understand how fitness works . . . |
| Then, computers entered my life. Cue sounds of | | | | and I'm still losing body fat! Next issue, I'll share |
| ominous mood music: "Dum, dum, de dum . . ." So | | | | with you what I've learned about exercise |
| did projects with deadlines. More ominous theme | | | | equipment, muscle development, and the best |
| music: "De DUM de DUM . . ." To make a long | | | | way for children of different ages to exercise. |
| story short, we bought into the "high fiber" diet, | | | | For now, I want to start by helping you moms |
| started eating occasional junk food to keep | | | | and dads. First, you need a copy of Body for Life. |
| energy high during all-nighters, experienced the | | | | There's a reason this book is now a New York |
| stresses of starting and running our own business, | | | | Times best-seller! We sell it for $26 plus $3 |
| made a habit of skipping breakfast and | | | | shipping (1-800-346-6322, www.home-school.com). |
| sometimes lunch to get more work done . . . | | | | The book gives all the diet and exercise details, |
| And I ballooned like crazy. | | | | plus shares Bill's philosophy and many inspiring |
| At 180 pounds, I joined my first health club. | | | | stories. Bill Phillips' company, EAS (1-800-297-9776, |
| At 200 pounds, I joined my second health club | | | | www.eas.com) also sponsors 12-week fitness |
| and we signed up for the neighborhood swimming | | | | transformation challenges with great prizes. If you |
| pool. | | | | enter, he'll send you a free video with the |
| At 220 pounds, I sweated through mile walks | | | | experiences of previous winners and you'll get a |
| every day as well as trying to keep up at the | | | | 20% discount on the supplements his company |
| health club. | | | | sells. We've tried supplements from other |
| At 275 pounds, I discovered the Atkins Diet, and | | | | companies, and still prefer Myoplex Lite (for |
| lost 35 pounds. Ecstasy! Until I discovered that a | | | | weight loss) or Myoplex Deluxe (for muscle gain), |
| pre-existing gallstone problem had become so | | | | both available from EAS. |
| severe I could no longer use this diet. | | | | You can get fancier with additional supplements, |
| Now here I was. A professional dieter, with a | | | | but these are fine to start. |
| resistant metabolism. The only diet that had | | | | The point is, do start. Do it now! Your kids need |
| worked for me in 15 years was no longer an | | | | you. |
| option. I was exercising ten times as much as the | | | | |