Family & F.I.T. | Debbie Hatch

Here’s the truth:
Here’s the truth:
Here’s the truth:

Feb 25
Family & F.I.T. | Debbie Hatch
Here’s the truth:
Here’s the truth:
Here’s the truth:
Apr 15
Family & F.I.T. | Debbie Hatch
Repeat after me: “Motivation doesn’t come first. Action comes first. Motivation is the result of action.”
As much as I hated to leave JVB’s session, my next workshop was high intensity interval training with Elisabeth Akinwale.
Whew! Mountain climbers, burpees, squats, and v-ups, oh my. It was fantastic!! What are the benefits of HIIT? It’s quick (so you’re less likely to get bored), can improve your endurance, and 15 minutes of high intensity interval training can burn some major calories! High intensity means moving quickly, it doesn’t mean moving frantically. It means pushing yourself out of your comfort zone but it’s not the same as “no pain, no gain”. In fact, the quality of movement (your form) is very important because we can’t be fit if we don’t have a basic level of health and wellness.
We actually get a lot, mentally and physically, by pushing ourselves out of the comfort zone. We have to be willing to embrace being uncomfortable and know that that is what’s going to make us better.”
It seems the act of simply counting “calories in” vs “calories out” is a little more complicated than initially thought. What should we do? Just give up?
Dr.Kollias recommends being mindful of our body’s messages. She explained it this way, “When you go outside, you might look at the weather. You grab a jacket – or you don’t. When you get outside, you might find that you weren’t correct. You can either go back inside and grab a heavier coat, or take your jacket off. It’s the same with food. Eat mostly vegetables. Get some lean protein. Eat when you’re hungry but check in with your body. Are you full? Stop eating. The problem is that we frequently eating without thinking.” We eat ‘because it is time to eat’ or to make ourselves ‘feel better’. We eat because the food is on our plate. We eat standing up, or rushing around, and barely even take time to chew our food.
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I hope you enjoyed reading about these sessions. I definitely enjoyed attending them! Please let me know if you have questions or would like further information.
Apr 06
Family & F.I.T. | Debbie Hatch
The Russell Islands are comprised of two small islands, and several islets, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located just over 29 miles northwest of Guadalcanal. This was our first stop.
Travel Log: Day 5 Russell Islands
The anchor dropped at 0109. Man it was loud! I had a tough time getting back to sleep and we finally just gave up at 0340 and got out of bed. Upstairs I made coffee, journaled, and looked at dive books. Brent studied the SI map which read, “there are 4,000 species of fish and 400 variety of coral here. It is the amazon of the ocean not yet discovered by mainstream tourism.”
The first dive brief was scheduled for 0745. Everyone on deck was dressed in 3-5 mm wetsuits, some with hoods and gloves. They carried tons of stuff with them. One of the divers even had the equivalent of a purse hooked to the front of her BC. What to heck? Brent and I showed up in our bathing suits. We had nothing extra except the camera. “Are you guys diving?” Yes. “Are you getting dressed?” We are dressed. “You’re going like that?” Yes. Why?
What are you talking about? I’ll be fine without a wetsuit. Let me on the boat.
The water was 86 degrees at depth!! Over the course of the week I had a couple of stings and scraps but I dove in a bikini (and nothing more) every single day. It was perfect. Comically we both recovered gear from the divers who carried so much. I rescued one guys Go Pro when he jumped in and dropped it. Brent found one of the divers’ knives at depth. Simple. Easy. Utilitarian. That’s us 🙂
Dive #1: Kovilok Bay. 88 feet for 58 minutes. It was nice to be in the water but the dive itself was nothing to brag about. This was a check dive where the dive masters could make sure everyone was comfortable under the water, and informally assess everyone’s level.
Dive #2: Leru Cut. 92 feet for 52 minutes. This was beautiful. After the cut, there was a nice wall. It’s positively amazing just how sharply the coral falls in the deep blue! Rick says it’s thousands of feet deep here. Lots of sea fans with a light current. Some Christmas tree and soft corals but the highlite was large schools of barracuda and jack.
If you’d like the full effect, here’s a link to the above video.
Dive #3: Custom Cave. 66 feet for 69 minutes. Brent had a headache and sat this one out so I dove by myself after following Rick through the cave. The sun streaking down from above, casting shadows in the water, was beautiful. Great coral growth with TONS of fish! I loved the schools of silver sides – who are there one minute and then turn and seem to disappear, the next. As I began to swim up for my safety stop, I saw 3 very large bump head wrasse.
Dive #4: Mirror Pond. 69 feet for 32 minutes. We swam under the island and came up inside a cave pond. Brent and I were the last to surface and were, consequently, the furthest back. I spotted a salt water crocodile on top of the rocks. (We didn’t personally get video or pictures but this link will show you a nice video of what they look like). He was 6-8 feet long and only the two of us saw it. We were told that if we saw one in the water to stay submerged. They can’t see as well underwater as they can topside. I was also cautioned not to come up outside of certain areas (where our tenders would drive the crocodiles off) during night dives.
Later, Sam told me the crocs don’t grow very large because, “they have occasionally bitten a local spearfisherman, and/or children. The locals kill them.” Makes sense!
After the pond, we swam through some positively phenomenal coral gardens and along another steep wall. Schools of jacks and the other fish. Barracuda, parrot fish, pancake triggers, and carpet anemones. Everything was perfect until we got to a corner of the wall. The current REALLY picked up – without warning. It was so strong that I had grabbed onto a piece of coral and was still being ripped away. Brent decided we should surface. While we were the first back to the boat, shortly other divers started to come up. Not only had they been caught in the current (the strongest that Sam, the Bilikiki owner, has seen here) but several were also caught in a downdraft. That means you’re being sucked down – one lady went from 10 to 29 feet in the time it took her to take one breathe. Not fun.
After the last two dives, locals paddled out in hand-hewn canoes to sell us fresh fruit (pineapples, mango, watermelon) and vegetables (endive, green beans, greens and egg plant). Once at our boat, the men dropped the women off in our dive boats so that they could complete the trading.
In the meantime, the men and many of the children paddled back a little ways. THAT was amazing to see and it led to some great conversations as well. June (a 68 year old woman who was here with her husband – she snorkeled but doesn’t dive) and I talked about how little we really need to live and enjoy life. We talked about the locals and the fact that with their boats, families, very little money, and some food, they are happy. I won’t say it was life changing but it was most certainly life enhancing. The irony is how much money we (how much people DO) paid to get back to basics.
Everyone opted out of the night dive.
Mar 28
Debbie Hatch | Family & F.I.T.
Time is an illusion.
Before you shake your head, close this tab, and start thinking I’ve completely lost my mind, hear me out.
It’s such a weird thing, isn’t it? I have been back in the United States for four days. Four days…and yet it feels like four months! Part of that, no doubt, is working through an 18-hour time zone difference and three days of hormonal headaches but time is like that anyway.
When we’re waiting for something special, time seems to drag. We wait. We wish time away. We want it to be “that” day right now. When something special has happened, though; the day has finally come, and gone, time seems to race by without allowing so much as a moment for reflection! I clearly remember my children being two and four; I remember conversations we had and things we giggled about. Factually, they’re both in their thirties with children and lives of their own.
Tomorrow is too late and yesterday is gone.
That’s not just a euphemism.
It’s a reality. How many things have you planned to do “tomorrow” that you’ve never actually gotten around to doing? How many yesterdays have passed?
Getting shots before travel.
My transition to “real life” after my three week vacation has been difficult, at best. To be sure, it wasn’t you’re “traditional” vacation. Two of the three countries we visited are considered to be “third world”. Poverty and disease are real issues. The order of the day is survival – in the very real sense. I didn’t come back to the US thinking “Wow. We’re incredibly fortunate.” To be honest, I already knew that.
No. I came back thinking, “the amount of stuff we have, the amount of time we spend hustling for no reason, the amount of time we waste on stuff that doesn’t matter, and the amount of time we stress over pointless crap, is absolutely ridiculous.” I can see how going from vacation to these revelations could seem a big jump so maybe it’s best if I start at the beginning.
Travel Log: Days 1-3
We started by spending three days in Fiji, a small island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We didn’t visit the “real” Fiji though. We stayed at an Americanized resort on Denarau Island; we had internet, top-notch restaurants and amenities. The lesson didn’t start here but the story did. These are notes from my journal, as they were written originally.
“It’s so weird that after I shared pictures of Brent and I at the gym this morning, I received several messages telling me I should ‘just enjoy my vacation’. That I ‘shouldn’t worry about working out’.
When did enjoying vacation, life, or anything else for that matter, become synonymous with doing absolutely nothing? When did “having a good time” mean stuffing myself with food and drink while lounging in a lawn chair?
To be certain, many of our fellow travelers seem perfectly content in that mode: moving from their beds in the morning to sitting at breakfast. They didn’t even enjoy the short stroll along the ocean. Rather, they summoned the on-duty golf cart to pick them up and shuttle them about. After breakfast, it was back to the golf cart, back to the room to prepare for a full day of sitting in a chaise lounge by the pool; having food and drinks delivered chair-side. Dinner was provided via shuttle service and after sitting there, it was time to retire to their suites for television and bed.
I have zero judgment for these people. Zero. I mean that.
Gorgeous! But I have no desire to just sit here for 12 hours.
But that, to me, doesn’t sound like a good time. It sounds incredibly boring.
It’s odd to me that because I didn’t have a completely sedentary vacation, some assume I didn’t enjoy myself. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
In my typical day-to-day, I’m working. All day. I get up around 5 or 530 and go to bed around 1030 or 1100. I’m tired. When I’m working, bombarded with commitments, and stressed, at the end of the day it’s easy to feel like just collapsing. More often than I care to admit, I don’t want to (in fact, it feels like I can’t) think. I don’t want to do anything. I don’t want to talk to anyone. I just want to sit. Quietly.
During vacation, I’ve gotten up at 330 in the morning but I’ve also been in bed by 8. This has changed my interaction with the day entirely. I wake up full of energy. I have meditation time. That word’s been over-used and misunderstood for a very long time. Meditation is merely reflection. Quiet time. Thinking. I write during that time. (In fact, it’s 6 a.m. and I’ve already been up for 2 ½ hours).
Just before sunrise I walk the beach. Not power-walking. Just a casual, slow, relaxing stroll. Once Brent wakes up, we’ll walk just over a quarter mile to the small gym. We’ve been working out together for 20 minutes, walking back, and showering before we walk to breakfast.
We went scuba diving; walked a couple of miles to town for coffee and lunch each day; did stand-up paddle boarding. We read. We relaxed. Every evening, we walked the mile and a half from one end of the beach to the other, and back, while enjoying the sunset…and we napped. Brent in the air-conditioned room and me in the outdoor hammock. It was amazing to have that time and simply rest, caressed by warm ocean breezes. I ate…I had a little Fijian bread pudding for breakfast each day (in addition to fresh fruit, eggs and/or sliced turkey).
I didn’t deprive myself but…
I did reaffirm that when left to my natural devices – no commitments, no responsibility, no appointments, no time to be anywhere specific – my mind and body love to exercise. Not because I have to but because it feels good.”
Feb 08
Family & F.I.T. | Debbie Hatch
This is me “just fit” but not competing.
I believe there are four levels of fitness.
Unconditioned
Healthy
Fit, and
Competitor
Most of us, including myself, are thrilled to live at levels 2 or 3. No one wants to be unconditioned, in pain all the time, and immobile. Few care to do what is required in order to compete. I, personally, like competing. It’s fun. I love the ladies I’ve met while competing – several have become life-long friends. I love the atmosphere and the prep.
I hung out with friends. We met for meals. We hiked. We talked. We played cards. We walked. We snacked. I had wine, popcorn,
Notice half the red velvet cake is gone – before I got my lunch. I took the other half home with me.
pancakes, frozen yogurt, lots of coffee and good chocolate. I went to my favorite restaurant – and ate dessert before lunch! I didn’t diet but I wasn’t far from my normal either (choosing protein for each meal, eating until only 80% full, having a salad every day, and filling up on fresh fruits / veggies). I drank water every day.
Dec 30
Debbie Hatch | Family & F.I.T.
I simply had to share this video. It makes me feel like crying.
***PLEASE take 4 minutes to watch it.
This is something I believe in with my whole heart. I’ve written several blogs about it. Like this one. I’ve talked about it, even more. It’s what I’ve been trying to communicate with my “Why I Exercise” series and “do what you can with what you have available, where you are right now”, mantra.
You can check out the series here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/…
It’s the reason I became a trainer. I saw this in the nursing home. I see it in the airport – as the wheel chair boarding area gets bigger and bigger, filled with people unable to even walk down the jet bridge. I see it in the stores – as more people are utilizing scooters to get around. I see it in public whenever I sit and watch people. I see it when friends, family, and some of the people I went to school with, just give up, because “at our age” giving up is the appropriate thing to do.
Fitness shouldn’t be about fitting into a bathing suit or wearing a certain sized pair of pants. It’s not about seeing some random number on the scale. It’s not about an age. Sure, fitness is marketed toward young people. It’s focused on aesthetics. That’s why I’ve seen no fewer than a dozen detoxes and diet offerings in my newsfeed this morning alone. We can’t blame society though – we do this ourselves. Case in point: 87% of my paying clients are preparing for a bikini or figure competition. These are healthy, fit, people who already eat well and exercise. They are merely trying to take their physique to another level. Think about that for a second. 87% of the people who are seeking my help are already healthy.
I cry for the people who need to exercise, to improve their standard of living, but don’t. I am sad for the people who are losing mobility and strength every day, but do nothing about it. I am sad that Mike Vacanti is correct. “No one is paying attention to what matters.”
I am an advocate of fitness for, and sometimes in spite of, this crazy life! It is the messages I receive, like…
“I actually played with my grandchildren, outside, today. We had a blast!”
“I exercised for 10 minutes straight this morning – without stopping!”
“My insulin dosage has been cut in half.”
“I saved money on my insurance this year because all of my health markers improved.”
“I actually raked my own yard this year. I haven’t done that in a decade.”
and
“I didn’t have to hire anyone to get my wood in this fall. I was strong enough to do it myself.”
…That make me smile. It is these messages that keep me focused on my mission to help. This is real life. This is where I want to make a difference. “Staying stronger and maintaining lean tissue as you get older and keeping your diet on point will help you live better for the rest of your life.”
We are just a couple days away from New Year’s. This year, as you set goals, I would merely ask this: when it comes to health and fitness, please determine your long term goal. Your real reason for wanting to eat better, exercise, feel better…..and make it something more substantial than just weighing a certain amount of fitting into a specific size.
Your health and fitness is so much more important than that.
Dec 15
Debbie Hatch | Family & F.I.T.
I’m going to start this post but merely saying, “I have a question” and “I’d be very interested in your opinion.”
Yesterday, it was announced that Serena Williams has been named Sportsperson of the Year.
What a tremendous and well-earned accomplishment!
Serena is the first individual woman to receive the honor since 1983.
Oddly enough, this morning, though, it’s not her amazing tennis skills I’m reading about. It’s not the fact that this 34 year old woman went 53-3 in 2015 with five titles, including at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, that provides the primary focus.
No, this morning, all of the chatter is about the magazine cover.
It’s not about tennis.
It’s people complaining about Serena’s pose and her outfit.
Why is she not poised in an athletic stance, wearing a tennis skirt?
Well, it appears (I wasn’t in the room at the time and until I talk to her personally, or see an interviewer ask her the question on camera, I can’t confirm…and if either of those things happen, or I get more information, I will definitely share that.) that both were her choice. No surprise, really, considering that as a young girl, she wanted to be a wedding dress designer. And, like her sister (who already has her own line of activewear), Serena has future plans to launch herself into fashion after she retires from tennis.
In July, when Serena appeared on the cover of New York Magazaine happily she was “portrayed as the complex, multi-faceted human being she is—a woman who’s dominating multiple fields unapologetically.”
I adore those words! It’s Serena being Serena, unapologetically. We all have that right.
I actually had a similar discussion with some MMA fighters, not too long ago. My question was, “Why do the male fighters just show up in their fighting shorts but the women ‘have to’ (those were my words) come in wearing tiny little bikinis or flirty outfits, they would never fight in?”
The answer? “Because they want to. The fighters pick their weigh-in outfits.”
We’re so incensed about the way things “should be” that perhaps we’re over-the-top sensitive to how people are being portrayed.
I believe 100%!!!!! that we should all strive to feel comfortable and confident in our bodies – no matter how tall, short, fat, thin, muscular, or anything else we are. I agree that society has portrayed the female body to be little more than a sexual icon and we have a LONG way to go before our little boys and girls are on equal footing.
Yet (and, again, remember that I personally asked that same question not too long ago – so I’m not, at all, pointing fingers) here’s my question.
Who gets to decide how any of us should dress?
How we should pose…
Whether it’s “okay” to wear make-up in the gym or not…
How we “should” put ourselves out there…
I have a friend who has taken pictures of herself wearing nothing but paint. They are some of the most magnificent, powerful photos I have ever seen of the female body. On the other end of the spectrum, I had a woman say to me, personally, not too long ago, “Wow! Did you see that lady pumping gas? Her dress is a little short for her age, don’t you think? She shouldn’t be wearing that.” Excuse me?
Clearly – not okay! Most people would agree with me, there.
But we take a very strong, beautiful, professional female athlete and feel justified in dressing her the way we think she should dress?
Is there a difference here?
Dec 14
What if I told you that if you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re not doing a good job taking care of anyone else, either.
Sometimes I go to the gym, sometimes I go to my basement, sometimes I go to yoga, sometimes I go for a walk, but I DO keep that appointment – as stringently as I would if the appointment was with a client or my doctor.
Kindness & Self-Compassion Get you some!!
Dec 12
Debbie Hatch | Family & F.I.T.
I’m not a neuroscientist, and I don’t play one on the internet.
But I do love reading studies about, and learning as much as I can about, the brain.
That little 3-pound globule that holds residence inside our skull and runs everything we do.
It really interests me.
It makes me think. Literally, but also about the tool itself.
How does it develop? How does it work? How is it affected by trauma?
Specifically, I’ve been wondering how the brain is impacted by aging and whether or not, as we age, we can impact IT.
I mean, we’re getting older. Each of us. Every day.
I remember my children telling their friends, “My mom is 25!!!!!” Like it was amazing that humans could actually live that long. At one point, I remember thinking 30 was really old. I remember friends telling me, as I approached 40, “You’re going to have to start slowing down now.”
Maybe it was as a means to thumb my nose at all of that.
Maybe it was a staunch refusal to be a “statistic”.
Maybe it was a “mid-life crisis”.
Maybe it was merely that I finally reached a place in my life where I had more expendable time.
Whatever the reason, I actually started to become healthier in my 30s and 40s.
I quit smoking.
I quit partying to excess.
I started exercising: lifting weights, running 5Ks, 10Ks, and obstacle courses, boxing, and doing yoga despite an incredibly challenging travel schedule.
I competed in three figure competitions when I was 47, and two more when I was 50.
I’m not alone. A lot of people are getting healthier as they age.
Not just to move better.
Certainly not just to look better.
But to LIVE better.
We know – I mean there’s no debate about this, is there?
We all know that exercise and a decent diet are good for us, physically.
We know that the combination helps prevent excess weight gain, or maintain weight loss. It helps regulate blood pressure, decreases risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, and arthritis. Exercise improves mood and boosts energy.
What I want to focus on is something you might not know. I’ve been devouring books and research papers since I’ve been home for the last few weeks. I want to talk about the link between our brains, aging, and exercise.
Why should you care?
Because, like me, you’re fortunate enough to be getting older too!
Did you know that Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disease, is the most common cause of dementia – a very real concern as we age?
A lot of people like to joke about it but, if you’ve ever seen its real-life effects, you know it’s no joking matter. When I was 18 and 19, I worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant on the Alzheimer’s ward of a nursing home. It was – without question – one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.
To watch what that disease does, as it rips away memory, language, problem-solving and basic cognitive skills used in everyday activities, not only to the person with the illness, but to the entire family, is heart-wrenching.
Much (much, much) more study needs to be done, through epigenetics and the like, to determine causes and potential cures for Alzheimer’s. That said, per the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2015 Facts and Figures Report, there is a growing body of evidence that brain health is closely link to cardio-vascular health.
I don’t find that surprising.
Every organ, including the brain needs oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood to function optimally. It gets that from a healthy circulatory system.
That means, factors that protect our heart and blood vessels:
Physical activity
A diet lower in saturated fats
Eating more fruits and vegetables
Are the same things that protect the brain!
Research has proven that even moderate exercise, such as walking for 40 minutes three times a week, can combat decline in function associated with aging and increase performance on cognitive tasks.
Carl Cotman, the founding director of The Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia, concurs. “Exercise mobilizes the molecular machinery to improve brain health and cognition. It increases metabolism in the brain and generally makes brain cells healthier. It even helps clear out Alzheimer’s pathology in mouse models.”
Neuroscientists at Columbia University have provided evidence that “a structured exercise program increases neurogenesis – the birth and development of new nerve cells – in a memory hub of the brain.” Not only does exercise preserve our brains, it actually allows us to create new nerve cells!
Art Kramer, who ranks among the top 1% among researchers in Psychiatry and Psychology, and whose research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, focuses on the cognitive benefits of exercise, says, “There is certainly increasing research that suggest physical activity and exercise will protect your mind and brain throughout your lifetime. Not only is fitness a good way to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, but it also is a means to enhance memory decision making, and the brain circuits that underlie them.”
Although more research needs to be done, I am incredibly excited about the things we’re learning now. Physical activity and a healthier diet make a difference.
And, both of these are things within our control.
Dec 06
I think there are a couple of reasons for this. First, it can make people uncomfortable. If we’re doing what they “want” or “know” they should also be doing, it can be hard not to feel guilty.
Second, though, many times when we’re making these changes to work on ourselves, we complain. “Ugh. I have to go to the gym again today.” “You’re so lucky. I can’t eat that pizza…or cake…or whatever” Our family and friends don’t want to see us miserable. If you’re so unhappy, they wonder, “why do it at all?”
No one is “making you” do this. You’re making a choice. Stop complaining about it. Good for you!!!!!! You’ve made a great choice.
“Get in the right mentality. If you’re not mentally ready, you may not make it. I’ve quit more times than I could count because I wasn’t mentally ready for the change. You’re going to have bad days and you’re going to get off track. Don’t get discouraged and just keep pushing. We all have bad days, we’ve all gone off our nutrition plan. It’s not the end of the world, just pick right back up.”
Mindset Matters Most.
You have to want to do this for you.
Until you determine what is holding you back and how to deal with that, you are not going to make sustainable change. Until your reason for wanting to do something is bigger than your reason for not wanting to, you are not going to make sustainable change.
“Stop weighing yourself every day. The scale can in fact be your enemy. My weight goes up and I have to take my lifting belt in a notch. Go by how you look, feel and how things fit!”
“Don’t be intimidated being the only, or one of a few, females in the weight area.”