I remember when I was first training to be an aerobics instructor, one of my mentors was an incredible woman named, Sharon Garrett. She was (and is) one of the best instructors I have ever met, infinitely creative and tough! She really made sure we got a fantastic workout.

And I remember thinking 19 years ago when I was 24, “Wow, good for her. I hope I’m still teaching when I’m her age” as if she was lucky to still be alive and walking the earth.

And just how old do you think she was? I don’t know for sure, but she was probably in her 40s.

When you are young, it’s so easy to believe that 30 is ancient, let alone 40 or 50. If you hit 60, you’ve got more than one foot in the grave.

But as I progressed through my 30s, and now my 40s, I still feel the same as I did when I was in my 20s.

I don’t feel like I’m slowing down…I’m only getting better.

With the exception of my waistline.

I’ve heard from many readers that this is the number one most common challenge that you face…fighting off the dreaded middle age creep.

You gain a pound here or there when you are younger because you are on vacation and having a great time, and it’s not so hard to lose it when you get back to reality.

But now that you are older, your metabolism slows down which means you’re not burning as many calories as before. Which means you can’t eat the same amount of food that you used to without facing some consequences.

The solution?

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution and there is definitely no “quick fix.”

To lose those “few extra pounds,” especially the ones around your middle, it’s going to take a new mindset.

Here are 3 tips to get you started…

#1: Stop eating when you are satisfied instead of eating until you are full: It’s easy to put yourself on autopilot when you eat, downing the same “extra value meal” you could eat 10 years ago. You consume a lot of unnecessary calories when you eat until you’re stuffed. And remember, most portion sizes in restaurants are out of control.

Check out this slide show for a fun way to measure portion sizes: http://is.gd/7bmRyJ

And if you eat the recommended portion size and you are still hungry, keep eating!

#2: Break a sweat: You need to get strenuous instead of moderate exercise if you want to lose weight. Instead of just being for fun when you were a kid, realize that exercise now has a purpose. I know you might not even enjoy exercise. So work out harder for a shorter period of time while knowing the purpose of what you’re doing. This will help boost your metabolism which means you will end up burning more calories when you are sitting on your butt.

For an interesting article on the benefits of strenuous vs moderate exercise, visit: http://is.gd/gbDT8n

#3: Sometimes sleep is overrated: Losing weight is hard work. (Let’s not sugar coat it.) If it were easy, you would have already done it and you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Losing weight takes advance planning and it takes up time in your schedule.

Don’t think you have time to workout? Try waking up an hour earlier three days a week. Chances are that substituting exercise for sleep will actually boost your energy level. Of course, if feel you are already getting the bare minimum, just try it for one day a week. See how it works and then add in another day when you are ready.

I could talk a lot more about energy levels throughout the day, the effects of caffeine and sugar on your energy level, etc. but that’s it for today.

Rock on…

Kim

In case you don’t remember me, I used to email you tips about how to be a successful small business owner and particularly how to save time and make more money by using membership sites, or what I liked to call, Profitable Communities.

But it’s been a long time since I emailed you or led any classes on that stuff and you might be wondering why.

Well the honest truth is that I was in a really bad relationship and that’s something that’s tough to admit.

No, it’s not my relationship with my husband. (He’s great!)

It was my relationship with my business.

Have you ever been in a relationship that looks good from the outside but feels not so great behind the scenes? It’s not fun.

Everyone around you thinks you’ve got it made and that you must be so happy. So it’s hard to admit when you just don’t have that lovin’ feeling anymore.

Maybe you hint to your friends and family that things aren’t that great and they try to talk you out of it by pointing out that you’ve got a good thing going and you should be thrilled, and you can’t just walk out now.

Seriously, that’s what was going on with my business and that’s the kind of feedback I received from my trusted colleagues and advisors. I just didn’t love it anymore and I started to feel like I was putting so much time and effort in to keep alive a relationship that just didn’t make me feel good anymore.

So I did one of the hardest (and liberating) things I have ever done…I left.

It’s been tough and exhilarating at the same time. There was period of mourning but now I’m free and clear.

And the good news is, I’m in a new relationship with a business that I love, one that accepts me for who I am and lets me be completely myself. The result is that I’m having way more fun and I’m producing better work than ever before.

But, this business has nothing to do with entrepreneurship, getting more clients, or how to make money.

In fact, it’s almost as far away from making money as you can get.

You might not be interested in this new business at all.

And that’s totally OK with me.

Just know that I am going to bring 100% of myself to this business and that I have always been about supporting you to live a better life.

I’ll be in touch again soon to let you know about my new relationship.

And if this struck a chord with you in any way and/or you want to let me know what’s going on with you, leave a comment below and reach out.

It’s been a long time.

To living well & enjoying life,

Kim Nishida

You might be wondering, “Geez, did this woman actually train for this event? Why was she so unprepared?”

But that’s the perplexing thing–I did train. In fact, less than a month before the marathon, I ran 24 miles without the benefit of aid stations and cheering sections and I felt fine. I was barely sore the next day!

And because I had so carefully carbo-loaded, I wasn’t bonking as I had done on my 22 mile training run back in October. I had enough fuel in my body.

I really do blame that descent on the backside of Diamond Head. In the pale grey light just before dawn, it looked deceptively shallow. And now I was paying for it.

And here was Diamond Head Road once more, looming in the distance. It wasn’t going uphill that I feared, but heading down really worried me. At least I had the consolation of knowing that, once at the bottom, the finish line would only be a mile away.

Buoyed by his encouragement, I managed to get back on track. As I ran down Kahala Avenue, past the multi-million dollar homes, I began to bribe myself with all sorts of rewards (mostly food) if only I could finish the race. At one point, I jogged past a house whose inhabitants set up tables out front with cups. They yelled out, “Free beer!” The guys I was running near and I managed a weak laugh. One of them said, “I wish!” I thought it was a joke. Turns out that my brother, who was a few miles behind me, verified that they weren’t lying. Not only were they handing out Dixie cups of beer, people were taking them up on their offer and empty cups littered the ground.

Only 3 miles left, but it seemed more like 100.

Here I am in the white tank top, with my best smile of the moment.

At the turn around point, I started to feel them…my quads. Just a little tight at first and then actual pain as I began the return trip towards Honolulu against a slight headwind. Tip sheets had advised against taking the run down Diamond Head road too quickly and I thought I had played it conservatively. But by Mile 18 I was having serious doubts about even finishing. The pounding that my legs took on the way downhill had done its damage and the end was no where in sight. I had to stop looking at the faces of the runners going in the opposite direction towards Hawaii Kai because so many of them revealed the pain and dismay that I was feeling inside. Thank goodness I had my mp3 player to console me with soothing tunes, picked to keep me calm.

Still with more than 8 miles left to go and a reunion with Diamond Head looming ahead of me, my giddy dreams of running a sub-4 marathon flew out the window.

Please, I prayed, let me finish.

Best of all is a man my brother saw who ran the entire marathon in traditional Hawaiian garb, carrying a huge wooden paddle, and barefoot. I never saw him, but he must have passed me at some point because I saw his picture in the paper the next morning along with his finishing time. He beat me by five minutes. Hmm, maybe next time I’ll have to try training barefoot…

On December 11th, she said to me, “Remember, when you get to Mile 13 say to yourself, ‘Only 13 miles left to run.’”

I replied, “You mean say, ‘Hey, this is great…only 13 miles left!’ instead of ‘Ohmigod, I still have 13 miles left!’ right?”

“That’s it. You’re ready.”

By the time I caught a glimpse of the the Mile 13 marker, I had run around Diamond Head, seem the sun rise from Kahala, and cheered for the women who led the race and were already coming back from the turnaround point in Hawaii Kai.

Even so, I said to myself, “Wow, only 13 miles left!”

And I actually meant it.

At Mile 3 I noticed people suddenly veering to either the left or the right. And for the first time I saw one of the Aid Stations that would sustain me for the next few hours. A rulebook had advised moving to the last table of the aid stations to get water and to keep moving. This was easier said than done as it was still dark and bodies moved in a random fashion. Discarded paper cups littered the ground along with a considerable amount of spilt water. (The women’s defending champion would fall navigating through an aid station and finish the race in second place, bloody and bruised.)

I got in and out of the first station rather awkwardly but safe and felt a boost of energy from the cold water. These stations popped up every 2 miles or so and I began to search for them on the horizon just so I could have an excuse to walk a few yards while sipping water or the Japanese sports drink they handed out, Amino Value. Later stations also had my favorite ammenity: huge sponges soaked in trashcans filled with ice water. What a blessing those were! I also saw dip sticks with a glob of Vaseline at some stations for those experiencing the chafing that comes from too many hours spent doing such a repetitive motion.

Literally 1000s of volunteers stood along the route at these aid stations and they always had an encouraging word. The race could not happen without them.

Pretty chaotic but no time to panic and no use wasting energy getting annoyed.

I did enjoy running through the normally hustling city streets of downtown Honolulu with not a car in sight. And massive amount of the Christmas lights glowed from every building as if to light our way.

As we walked towards the starting line, which at this point we couldn’t even see, we heard the deep, resounding throb of someone beating enormous taiko drums. My brother looked at me and said, “Kind of sounds like the drums of doom.” Indeed it felt a bit like we were inching towards Mount Doom in the Land of Mordor.

Then as we rapidly moved forward, still at a walk, I saw two huge towers (Two Towers?) erected at the starting line. From the top of one of the towers, a tiny Japanese woman was waving and yelling into a microphone, something in Japanese. (Remember, over 60% of the runners are from Japan.) I realized the woman was Mizuki Noguchi, winner of the women’s marathon at the Olympics in Athens. Two nights ago we had seen her get mobbed like a rock star at the marathon luau. Her bodyguards had to whisk her away. What an inspiration to hear her encouraging us.

Someone else with a microphone said, “Safe journey, everyone” just before we crossed the starting line and began to run.

We were on our way.