Two of the things I am now a part of are the Saturday Family Workouts and The Kid’s Run and Wonderfest.

The Saturday Family Workouts are every Saturday morning in Hampton Park. I went to my first Saturday Family Workout just to take some pictures for the website, but before I knew it, I had joined the workout too. It was fun to see the kids who had come out to participate. A few of them had brought their parents along for the workout, too.  Aside from having a fun workout in a beautiful place, I also saw a great connection between the kids and the other volunteers.

The Kid’s Run and Wonderfest took place the day before the Cooper River Bridge Run.  Other Louie’s Kids volunteers and I were on hand to help with the registration and packet pick-up. I can’t describe the level of excitement that was in Hampton Park that day, and I’m not sure these pictures can do it justice either!

I am happy that I have joined in with such a great group. It’s exciting to continue to learn about all of the other ways that Louie’s Kids is making a difference in the lives of children and families all over our community. Some other events coming up are Little Chef Big Chef, Run Buddies, and of course the Saturday Family Workouts in Hampton Park (at the fountain, 9 am -10:30 am).   Plus, I’m sure it will be time for another Slim Down the South Celebrity Softball Game before we know it!

If you want to get involved too, here’s how.

Join us for the fifth Little Chef Big Chef Fundraiser at the SC Aquarium in downtown Charleston, SC. June 13, 2013 from 7:00 to 9:00pm.

It was a damp and chilly start to an amazing day. Despite the bitter cold morning air, Louie’s Kids Volunteers came out to support the Cooper River Bridge Run/Kids Run and Wonderfest on Friday, April 5th at Hampton Park, downtown.

Jumping right into the duties of preparing for the runners, volunteers stuffed colorful race bags with race towels, coloring books and USB tags filled with local coupons which were free to each registered runner. Runners could also purchase a Kids Run t-shirt, but the most popular item of the day was the colorful blue and white “flare hair” which was free to any runner or race fan in the park.

Hang on tight!

As the day warmed up, families came out to the annual event in droves, and volunteers helped thousands of runners register and prepare for the one mile track around the park. Prior to the race, families enjoyed many free activities including face painting, jump castles, a climbing wall, an obstacle course, a mechanical bull and a mobile gaming theatre offering active games for all ages. Sponsors provided free food as well as a free toy for each kid who came out to the park.

At the end of the day, the kids were happy but tired.  Volunteers worked quickly to clean up the park, pack up the toys and congratulate each other on a job well done. You too can join the movement and volunteer with Louie’s Kids to help fight the childhood obesity epidemic. Click the VOLUNTEER button and take the first step to changing the life of a child in need.

We’re excited to announce we’re starting another Run Buddies program! East Cooper Montessori School in Mt. Pleasant, SC for 6th – 8th graders

Wednesdays / Fridays beginning March 27th, 2013 from 3:15 – 5:15 pm

14 week training for the Lean & Green 5K June 1st

We are looking for volunteers who like to run! This is great community service hours for the high school track runner.

Laura@louieskids.org for details and information or info@louieskids.org to volunteer!

I have great news to share with you this week! I made it across the finish line of the Big 5k Walk for Charity! It was my first time ever walking a marathon this long, and it was a major challenge both physically, and mentally. The fear of not making it was overwhelming. I like to win – who doesn’t?  So, often when you are not sure how things will turn out, sometimes you just don’t even want to try. But in this case I had made a commitment to help raise money for a great cause for kids — and this is what got me up at 6 am on a Saturday morning.

I just want you to know that even if you are scared to try something like this,  YOU CAN DO IT if you try.  When the race started, I saw people in wheel chairs, people with artificial legs, small kids, and people with all types of “abilities” and challenges. The wonderful lady that I walked with (she and her mom) has a muscular issue she has had since a young age and she did it!

When we came to one point where we could see the finish line and could have easily “cut” through and made it very easy — they looked at me and said, “Lori, you know if you are too tired we can cut over and finish now … it’s up to you.”   I turned and saw a big party going on and heard the music and saw all the people who had already finished.  Then I turned to look at the very long road ahead of us.  I closed my eyes and thought about it for a long minute.  Something inside me said “Do it right, Lori” and I told them, “I am NOT a cheater, so we need to do it the right way!  Let’s go!  Let’s finish this marathon if it takes us all day.”

Well, it took us longer than everyone else, and we ended up being the last ones to cross the finish line!  It was a bit embarassing, but everyone was cheering us on along the way, and when we got to the end, they took our pictures, and we were all very happy to have done it!

I  want you to know that if you push yourself hard enough, you can do things you never thought possible. You can do a marathon, you can skate, swim, hike and be active no matter what size you are. Just be gentle with yourself and go at your own pace.

Until the next blog… yours truly, Lori Bell!

Louis shares his thoughts about childhood obesity, the SNAP program, school lunches, and parent responsibility.

Listen to his entire interview here.

On Saturday, March 16, I am walking a 5K event in support of youTHink and the Zimmer Children’s Museum!   Yes, I am going to walk in a real Marathon, because I really believe in supporting the great work being done to create a special museum just for KIDS (of all ages, of course).

So, my part is to get people to sponsor me  (which I have done–that was the easy part) and then make the long walk.  The challenge now is actually DOING IT!  I have been working out and exercising as often as I can. Some days when I feel tired, I remind myself that I have to get moving so that I can build up my stamina. Yesterday, I rode a bike for 20 minutes and that was all I had time for.   But at least I did SOMETHING — and I felt GREAT afterwards!

I will let you know how my “Big Walk” goes, kids!   Wish me luck.  And please remember:  No matter how tired you think you are, you can always do 20 minutes of exercise to get your blood flowing.    You can rest well after that!

Hugs from your “Walk-Buddy,”   Lori Bell, in Sunny Southern California

I have to admit that I have been so busy and so focussed on  my upcoming half marathon (in 2 days) that I completely forgot about these PB diaries.

It’s Interesting how that happened to me.   I talk to my patients about cravings, about staying in the moment, and about drinking water and distracting yourself by doing something else for at least 10 minutes.  I tell them that a true craving typically passes in that time and you forget about it.  So, in essence I think that what happened with me this week is that I was busy, I was distracted, PB was not on my mind.  Rather, running and staying healthy was.  I must be honest, though.  One day I was a bit stressed and for a few seconds the thought, “Oh I wish I had just a spoonful of PB!” did cross my mind, but instead I went for a brisk walk.  I usually go for a run at those times, but I was  not home and didn’t have my running shoes with me. But any physical activity does the job.  Actually, now that I think of it,  I thought one other time  about PB this week and how I couldn’t have it right then. This time was after my long run last Saturday. I tend to make myself a great brunch with lots of protein and nutrients after my long runs.  Then a few hours later, I may want a snack, usually an apple with PB.  When that time came last Saturday, I thought about having the snack and then that thought quickly left.  Looking back now at the events of the past week and my behaviors and reactions, I see that I changed my automatic actions.  As I tell my patients, change takes time, but eventually we will develop new automatic thoughts and behaviors, if we train ourselves to do so.

So, as I mentioned in 2 days is another half marathon in the books for me and when this PB challenge started I mentioned that I would not eat PB until after this race weekend. I have realized a lot in the past 4 weeks and one is that I do NOT NEED PB. Another thing I realized is that there are certain foods that I do not eat all of the time, but when I do eat them I truly love them and enjoy them to the max. I wonder if PB is going to be one of those foods for me. I thought about not having it in my apartment and only having it when I am out, like special occasions (i.e. self-serve fro yo place). Just kidding on the special occasions, but that is how I am with steak, but honestly I am not sure what I will do yet. I am going to wait and see. BUT, I do know where I will have PB for the first time again. There is this great little café in the village in NYC called the PB&CO. I am sure some of you have seen their PB in stores. I have only been once with some of my closest girlfriends years ago, because of course we all love PB. So, when this is over I have plans to go with a few other people. I can picture myself now. If any of you have seen me eat steak (the rare times that I do) or sushi, specifically the Mamamia roll at my favorite sushi place, it will be quite similar. Expect me to be fully focused, my eyes closed, no talking allowed, and fully enjoying it—if that is not mindful eating, I don’t know what is! I have to go and get my green attire together for my half marathon, so until next time……the PB diaries continue.

Like other weeks so far, this week was also not difficult, but I have noticed something which reminded me of something I talk to my patients about often and that is that potentially difficult situations can, and do, arise. Perhaps because Life Happens, as I always say. We could potentially experience difficult situations all of the time, but we can do something about it to make them not as challenging and/or not a problem. I always work with patients on anticipating difficult situations and problem solving how to plan for those situations. If you don’t anticipate a difficult situation and don’t plan how you will conquer it then it can be quite overwhelming. I am sure you have had a difficult situation that you did not plan for and you stood there feeling kind of lost. I could use several examples for this, but I will give you a simple one that I assisted a patient in coming up with a plan for. She was a pre-op patient and she had to be on a liquid protein diet, but she had plans to go to an all day concert outside with friends where you are not allowed to bring outside food in. Now if we didn’t discuss this and come up with a plan, she may have brought her shakes and then found out they were not allowed in, or even worse, she would have not thought about it, gone to the concert and had either a choice to not eat all day or to eat the food they have (typically not healthy). Luckily we came up with a good plan and it worked.

Now back to my PB Diaries, so in addition to loving PB I also love fro Yo (frozen yogurt) and there are these great new places that keep popping up where you serve your own fro yo and toppings. One of my favorites is 16 Handles. Prior to this week and starting my PB Challenge I have not been to a fro yo place- partly just because, and partly because I knew that every time I go I have a tradition. The thing is that I actually do not like PB flavored fro yo, so I knew that would not be tempting, but I have this tradition (partly thanks to my mom) for putting melted PB on my fro yo. Since I typically eat very healthy, when I eat fro yo I allow myself to splurge with the toppings and of course I top it off with the melted PB. This week I went to 16 Handles and I went knowing I would have this potential “difficult situation” ahead of me, but I went remembering my goals. So, I got my fro yo, I got my toppings, and there I was standing in the line waiting to pay with the syrups (including PB sauce) right in front of me. I briefly noticed I glanced in their direction (not picking them up and looking at them, but just glanced). I then glanced away, paid and that was that. I thought I was not going to enjoy it as much without the melted PB, but I did. I tasted the flavors more. Did I miss the PB? Maybe a little, but did I NEED the PB? Absolutely NOT! So that is that….The PB challenge continues to be a success.

Stay tuned for more, including how I plan to have PB for the first time since this challenge started, in just a few weeks!

Do you have a potentially challenging situation you would like to discuss and get advice on? Do you have a similar situation where you anticipated the situation, planned for it, and was successful, or how you could do it differently next time? Share your story!

Greetings kids -young and old!

This was an amazing week, where I pushed my own limits and exercised several days in a row. For some die hards, this might not seem like a big deal, but for me, it was. I normally take a day off in between working out at the gym, but this week, I went three times in three days and worked out on the bike, the elliptical (killer) and did some weights as well. 
 
I had to talk myself into pushing my body and every time I stopped to rest, it became a question whether to stop or to keep going. But I kept going! I wanted to see the minutes add up to what I programmed into the machine! I want to win at one thing that I CAN CONTROL — and that is putting my energy into keeping that machine going. At one point I was watching the TV at the gym, and there were athletes skiing on a white, icy mountain — so I pretended that I WAS SKIING! I have never done it because of my weight, but I have secretly wished that I could really do it. So, at the gym I let myself imagine I was there and skiing the mountain! It kept me going for a few more minutes until I finished my session! 
 
I realize that at every turn in life, there are choices … whether sitting at a table with lots of food choices or working out at the gym. I decide what to do. What is it inside our brains (or my brain) that makes the decision in that moment? I can not pinpoint it, but it has to do with “motivation” … and the “drive” to accomplish something. I want to do better, to feel better, to be able to do the physical things that I have secretly wanted to do.

Keeping that picture in my mind is what keeps me going in the right direction. 
 
Have a great week. Let’s Stay MOTIVATED together! 
 
Love, Lori Bell