The Denim Diaries by Kami Gray

My best friend has really long legs and she walks nearly twice as fast as me. We walk all over Portland…almost every day that’s not raining. We mostly walk for the sake of walking (as in getting exercise), but sometimes we walk to our favorite vintage and resale shops.

The Gilded Closet is our new fave for resale.  

Sari Gueron Design

I found the adorable dress to the right (by designer, Sara Gueron) the last time I shopped there. It’s so last year and I so don’t care! And it looks nothing like that on me! It’s much longer for one thing…talk about long legs! Walking with my best friend can create some big problems for me…Big as in big blisters. Last Friday, we walked six miles and I will let the picture below illustrate how that went for me…Ouch!

Walking is a low impact exercise and when combined with strength training (weights, balls, and bands) and stretching (yoga and pliates), is a great way to get in shape, stay in shape, and get from here to there, but maybe I need to be more careful with my choice of walking partners! Anyone else have any walking injuries they’d like to share or tips on how to get that nasty stain removed?

I participate quite frequently in the iVillage “Losing Weight” Message Boards. I offer a little advice here and there, but the best part is the reinforcement that we’re all in this together. We all have the same struggles and I think it’s awesome that people (in this case mostly women wanting to lose weight) are so supportive of one another!  Not trying to be overly sappy here, but it’s heart-warming! Brianne, AKA cl-bribug13, is our community leader. She’s like the mom of the group. She offers endless encouragement and I’ve never seen one discussion that she didn’t participate in and moreover, say something thoughtful and uplifting.

I keep seeing participants on the message boards talking over and over about these Leslie Sansone DVDs! I’d never even heard of them! For those of you who visit my blog regularly, you know that I love to walk! LOVE IT! I walk all over Portland. I walk to the grocery store, the denim shop, the wine bar, and sometimes Powell’s Bookstore to see if my books are flying off the shelves! Yes, I’m stalking Powell’s and I have the photos to prove it!

I asked Brianne, our fearless Community Leader on ivillage.com to chime in about these DVD’s. Here’s what she had to say:
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Hi Kami.

I own the following three Leslie Sansone Walk At Home DVDs:

LESLIE SANSONE: Walk at Home - Walk Away Your Waistline! With 1, 2 and 3 Mile Markers (Walk Belt Included)

LESLIE SANSONE- Walk Away the Pounds - Express Super Challenge

LESLIE SANSONE: Walk Away the Pounds - Power Mile

All of them are great cardio workouts. Very easy to do, Leslie has a room full of people doing the walking with her. The moves can be done in one place, or if you have the room, she breaks out into back and forth and side to side moves for that extra burst of cardio. It definitely gets your heart rate up but it’s amazing at how easy the moves are. If you are older or have disabilities that may keep you from full mobility, you can still do the walking very easily.

All of her DVDs consist of the same 4 basic moves. The DVDs that have “props”, such as the stretch band or walking belt, throw in a little extra something for more upper body workouts and toning. At the beginning of each DVD, Leslie reviews the 4 basic moves that the videos consist of. If you can walk in place, walk side to side, lift your legs in front of you and lift your knees in the air, then you can do any Leslie DVDs.

Leslie herself is very upbeat (without being the “annoying cheerleader” as I like to describe and she’s fun. She gives you encouragement as you go, and she praises you for working out. She’s very inspiring and she makes you want to workout with her again and again. At each mile she celebrates but keeps right on going! You don’t even realize you’ve walked a mile .. or 2 or 3 … because the time just flies by so quickly. Without running or jogging you’ve walked so far in such little time, it’s really amazing.

Brianne

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There you have it. Thanks Brianne! The reviews on Amazon are great too! There are plenty of used DVD options on Amazon so these don’t need to break the bank. Let me know if you’ve had success with these DVDs too!

One of my favorite things to say (and do!) is “MOVE MORE.” Apparently, James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic concurs…According to a post on USAtoday.com, Dr. Levine “believes people need to increase their NEAT, or non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which accounts for much of your movement and therefore caloric expenditure. These are activities such as walking to lunch, pacing while on the phone, cleaning the house, cooking, climbing stairs, standing while you talk to a friend, folding laundry. It doesn’t include the calories you burn during intense exercise: jogging, aerobics or power walking.”

I talk about this in my book! I don’t use fancy terms or doctor-speak…I call it moving more. Here’s an excerpt from The Denim Diet in Kami-language on how to burn more calories called, “I Like the Way You Move.”

My good friend and co-worker, John J. Campbell (Director of Photography), is finally out of the ICU and recovering from open heart surgery. His friends and family are grateful he’s mending well and should be good as new…We’ve all been sending you are good thoughts, wishes, and prayers John! Can’t wait to have you back in full force behind the camera!

Before I share with you Dr. Oz’s Tips To Keep Your Heart Healthy (I’m not even going to attempt to say it better than Oz who is a Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Columbia University, director of Cardiovascular Institute at Columbia Presbyterian, directs the Heart Assist Device Program and is the founder of the Complimentary Medicine Program), I’d like to brag a little about my good friend John!

John was the cinematographer on Director Gus Van Sant’s, My Own Private Idaho and Even Cowgirls get the Blues. His credits are a mile-long including features, shorts, and TV commercials (which is where I met John…I think it was for some wart removal product…very glamorous!). He and I decided over a year ago that we should try our hand at still photography so John conceptualized three photo shoots; each one with a different theme. I fleshed out his ideas in the way of art direction and wardrobe styling (hair was styled by Lindsey Avenetti and makeup by Jennifer Gill). It was a team effort, but John’s beautiful photography deserves a great deal of the credit. Click on the links to view our collaboration for “A Tribute to Calvin Klein,” “Dante Rossetti,”, and “In The Mood for Love.” Feel better John! We love you and miss you!

So as promised…your heart healthy tips…Thanks to Dr. Oz (as reprinted on Associated Content):

1. Go out and play. You are better off being in good shape and fat than thin and in bad shape. There’s no pill or diet that can substitute for the health benefits of exercise. Don’t starve yourself, but eat well and get moving, doing whatever kind of exercise is fun for you. Go for a bike ride with your spouse, or play basketball with your kids. You’ll look and feel better, and your heart will thank you.

2. Watch your waistline. Despite the advice above, where your fat lands is key. Abdominal fat is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome, which dramatically increases the risk of heart disease. So do sit-ups and keep your waist measurement less than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women.

3. Have sex. Sexual activity can provide exercise and emotional bonding, perhaps explaining why one study shows that having orgasms at least 100 times a year (that’s twice a week) is associated with longevity. On the other hand, sexual dysfunction can be a signal of heart disease. Like a dipstick, erections of the penis reflect the vascular health of a man’s heart, so trouble in that department may mean it’s time to see your doctor.

4. Go nuts. Rich in healthy fats, nuts are great to snack on and very filling, so you don’t feel compelled to eat as much junk.

5. Relieve the pressure. Emotional stress causes physical stress. Avoid traffic jams, for example, which studies show are associated with heart attacks. Relaxation techniques keep the heart healthy. Yoga and meditation are great, but even simple stress-reduction techniques can work. Try counting to 10 and taking yourself outside the situation, as if just observing it. Stress can also raise your blood pressure, and studies show that people with the lowest blood pressure have the fewest heart attacks. What we once thought was normal may be way too high for heart health. While we don’t know yet how low is low enough, if you have heart-disease risk factors and your blood pressure is 130/80 or higher, see your doctor.

Thanks for the great tips Dr. Oz! BTW…that was the first (and possibly the last) time I’ve mentioned S-E-X on my blog!

I recently discovered a blog by Mark Salinas called HEALTHY LIVING TODAY. He blogs about a variety of topics including nutrition, weight management, and exercise. One of his blog categories is called CHALLENGE. These remind me of warmups we used to do in P.E. Class in junior high and high school. They’re perfect for those days when you’re stuck at home or you only have 15-20 minutes to exercise and want to get the most out of it. His most recent post called, The Twenty Minute Challenge, involves running in place, jump squats, and wall sits. Check out his other posts called, Feel The Burn Again, Thaw Out Challenge, and Stair Challenge. I challenge you to take on Mark’s challenges and get a move on even when you don’t have tons of time!

It’s an icy, cold day in Portland, Oregon. Venturing out is not such a great idea. I tried yesterday and slipped three times before heading back home. Best to stay indoors right? Maybe not. I went to a small dinner party last night in my condo building and while we were playing Cranium, I downed about eight tollhouse cookies! And French vanilla ice cream! Totally uncharacteristic of me, but I must say, those cookies were goooooood!

No big deal…I’ll get a good workout in today and monitor my food intake more carefully over the next few days and all will be forgiven. Then I learned that my Jazzercise studio is closed today due to bad weather and may remain closed all week since the forecast is more cold weather. Darn! I can’t get out and walk either because of the icy streets.

I’m not totally helpless though. My building has tons of stairs and there are always pushups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks and dancing around the house to 80s tunes to get my heart rate up. I’ll burn those cookies off…maybe not all in one day, but they won’t get the best of me. If you slip up, make a plan, and then execute your plan. If you make it fun and involve Duran Duran, Madonna, and Bananarama, you’re bound to be successful.

I started going to Jazzercise in the early eighties. Let’s get the obvious curiosity out of the way…YES! I wore a thong leotard!  And often with white stirrup tights…sorry no pictures that captured that fine moment, but let’s just say it’s a good thing I was only sixteen. Click here for this HIGHLY entertaining look at Jazzercise back then.

Since then, Jazzercise has changed a ton…more like evolved. Click here to see a preview of Jazzercise today on their latest commercial. I’ve seen these gals in person when they visited my hometown Jazzercise studio in Portland, Oregon and they are seriously buff!

I’ve been Jazzercising for some time now. Jazzercise is what helped me lose the baby weight after both my son and daughter were born.  There are times when I’ve dropped out temporarily to try something else like biking, walking, being a workaholic, or laying on my couch, but I always find my way back because it’s a killer exercise.  The folks who run Jazzercise and go to Jazzercise are ridiculously nice, friendly, and welcoming people too. Even though it’s a great workout, it’s also fun and not at all an intimidating atmosphere. It takes an hour out of your day and you might make a few new pals to have coffee or tea with afterwards.  Click here to find a class near you. Do it!

A post on Diet-blog.com got me thinking…

If you’re anything like me, traditional exercise routines like daily visits to the gym, running four miles five times a week, or swimming laps at the Y, do not work. I get bored easily. I make an effort to walk a lot, bike around town, take the stairs, park my car as far away as possible from my target destination, move quickly, dance around the house while I’m doing chores, and take a yoga class every so often. It probably adds up to roughly thirty minutes a day of getting my move on. I also stretch and do weight-bearing exercises while waiting for my coffee to heat up, the computer to boot up, the bathtub to fill up, and so on. The US Department of Health and Human Services just updated their exercise guidelines and my “just move more and incorporate what works for you into your exercise routine” seems to have the approval of the government. The new guidelines presented suggested “activity that could be easily incorporated into daily routines such as bike-riding or vigorous walking.”

That works for me…what works for you?

Who doesn’t want to be a kid again? At least sometimes? Like when you’re paying bills or getting your first mammogram or listening to your kids argue in the backseat of the family car?  My book publicist Kim has the perfect cure to beat the blues that come with adult responsibility…Go Skipping! 

Her website iskip.com outlines the many physical and mental benefits that come from getting your skip on. Did you that skipping is great exercise? According to Kim’s website, skipping burns twice as many calories as walking and is easier on your joints than running. Plus, since it’s a joy-based activity, it lifts your spirit. Kim says that when you least feel like skipping, that’s when you need it the most. Even ten steps will get your mood going in the opposite direction.

If you think you’d feel silly skipping, that’s the point! Being less serious and more silly is good for you. Grab a couple friends and try it out. Looks like Kim and her friends are having plenty of silly fun skipping all over San Francisco. If you get really into it, you might enjoy “Extreme Skipping.” Check out this video on Kim’s blog, iskip.blogspot.com.