After 50-pound weight loss, mom shares her strategy for family fitness

Posted in Mom Stuff
by Lorain County Moms

Lisa Keys-Blair set out to lose weight to help herself.

Fifty pounds later, the 42-year-old Frisco, Texas, mother of two, whose diet and fitness regimen is being featured in the May issue of Fitness magazine, has helped her whole family.

“What’s great is my kids see me exercise and they exercise,” Keys-Blair says. “I get my exercise DVD out and they get their weights out and do push-ups and jumping jacks. My son likes to do boxing and running, too.”

Pam O’Brien, executive editor of Fitness, explains why Lisa is an inspiration: “Thanks to a few simple changes, she lives an active lifestyle and feels better than ever. There is no better success story than that.”

Lisa’s weight problems began almost seven years ago with the birth of her daughter, Finley. As Lisa added pounds, her cholesterol level soared dangerously — a concern because of her family history of heart problems. Medication got the cholesterol level under control for a while, and diet and exercise helped her get off the medication.

But in 2006, when her son, Garrison, was born, her weight shot up. Afraid she would be put on medication again, she asked her doctor whether she could have eight weeks to change her ways before having her cholesterol tested.

She reduced her portion sizes, added fruits and vegetables to every meal and worked her way up from barely walking on the treadmill to running a 5K. Two months and 10 pounds later, her cholesterol level was in a healthy range.

But she was all the more determined to keep going, because she found she had a cheering squad in her kids, who were watching and copying her every move.

“My son says, ‘Mommy, let’s do some exercise!’ and how can I say no to a 3-year-old? So I pop in the video, and he only does it for five minutes while I’m stuck for the whole time. But I feel healthier than I have in a long time.”

In a year she lost 50 pounds. And she has kept the weight off by sticking to her routine. She participates in organized runs monthly, always picking a charity event to keep her motivated.

The family has gotten healthier, too. They’ve all changed the way they eat, dropping fried food in favor of grilled, and white flour in favor of whole-wheat. Skinless chicken breasts with vegetables are a staple, and she has reduced the red meat in their diet by mixing ground turkey with ground beef when she makes hamburgers.

They keep their blender busy, making homemade hummus from chickpeas and smoothies with fresh fruit.

She packs school lunches with fruit and lean meat for her daughter and uses mustard rather than mayonnaise. The kids eat fast food only once every couple of weeks (as opposed to three or four times a week as they once did), but they don’t complain.

“We do eat pizza, but we get the superthin-crust kind you can bake at home, and we put onions and spinach and mushrooms on it.”

But what the kids like best are the fresh strawberries, apples and grapes she keeps on hand for munchies. She also makes her own 100-calorie snack packs with baked Cheez-Its, pretzels and Cheerios.

Even her husband, Garriet Blair, 39, who has always exercised and never had a weight problem, got on board after he had a high cholesterol reading, finally giving up the ice cream and cookies he likes so much.

She feels that her biggest reward may be countering the propensity for high cholesterol that her kids may be inheriting from both sides of the family.

Not to mention the pride her children express.

“My daughter says stuff all the time like, ‘You’re thinner than you used to be, Mom.’ And every time someone comes to the door, my son will go get the magazine and say, ‘My mom is in the magazine!’ He’s so excited.”

LEARNING FROM LISA

Don’t have time to exercise and eat right? Check out Lisa Keys-Blair’s top tips for busy moms:

— Eat fruits and vegetables with every meal; it will help fill you up, especially if you’re used to bigger portions. Keep healthy snacks like fresh fruit and homemade 100-calorie packs handy.

— You don’t need to do your exercise all at once; if you stretch or do Pilates for five minutes at a time, several times a day, it will add up. Lunges as you head to answer the door can help, too. Encourage the kids to participate.

— Instead of going out for lunch, take a run and refuel with a turkey sandwich. Opt for whole-wheat bread and mustard instead of mayonnaise.

— Collect recipes for healthy, low-calorie meals with easily found ingredients that you can make at home. Find a good exercise video for bad-weather days.

— If you find a story about someone like you — a normal person doing normal things — who inspires you, tear it out and tape it to your mirror for motivation.

—By Nancy Churnin, The Dallas Morning News

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