Team Tugg fitness tip of the moment

I've been asked in a few messages (no, I'm not going to out you here) about fitness and bike riding and such. Being an average person here in the U.S., that for far too long took my health for granted, ate too much, got too large etc., had an extreme wake-up call and now do little things that are helping me get to where I want to be and stay there, I guess I do have a few ideas on the subject. 

For those who don't know the story about how Team Tugg came about, I may share that on a future post/note one day... but I digress.

So, while I was thinking about some of the answers to those question, I watched as a post from one of my friends, Chris, down in Austin scrolled across my feed with his fitness tip of the day. (BTW, Chris is awesome both at his work for a famous cancer-beating charity and with all the other things he does! Just sayin')

Of course! That's the answer! I could share with you - all my friends - various fitness tips for real people in the real world (since that's what most of the questions and thoughts alluded to in my messages, and since I am a real person in the real world too). SO, from time to time, I'm going to share a few fitness thoughts on here for you to have a go at, or at least think about. Let me know what you think!

Without further ado, here is the first installment of Team Tugg fitness tip of the moment:

Hopefully, we all know that loosing weight, no matter what program or diet plan you may go on, is only accomplished by burning more calories than you take in. No you don't need to buy a new book about dieting to help you do that, because I can sum them all up here with this formula: Eat right. Drink lots of water. Exercise an hour a day or more. Repeat 5-6 times a week. 

But, all that may not be as easy or as hard as it sounds. Let's start with some little things while keeping with the formula I just said. Start here - Take a hard, honest look at all you consume between 7 p.m. and sleep, think of it as your diet danger zone. As for eating right, we'll get to that later, but most people know what is good or bad for them. Sometimes you have to make choices.

One more thought about calories in this first, turning into a really long post about a fitness tip, about burning calories. If you don't enjoy something, it won't last, so here is a great way to see how many calories you burn doing various activities from work to exercise. Here's the details, plus many more exercise categories at the bottom of the page:http://calorielab.com/burned/?mo=se&gr=11&ti=Occupation&wt=150&un=lb&kg=68 —

DAY 905

DAY 905 pupdate on Tugg: 
Tugg and Ajaxx carried around their lists of New Year's resolutions everywhere they went today. Tugg was walking through the house and we heard him stop, make a mark on the paper in his paws and say, "CHECK! pawesome!" A little while later we heard Ajaxx outside, wearing a sweat band and getting ready to go for a jog. He stopped, pulled out his paper, made a check mark and said, "Pawesome! That's a check for that one, eh!"
A little later in the day, Tugg walked in to where we were and said, "This New Year's resolution stuff is pretty easy! I wuff how we made a list of things we want to accomplish, and we've already managed to check off almost everything! Isn't that pawesome?!"
Ajaxx, who was on the couch in his usual position with all four feet in the air, opened one eye and said, "Hey! I'm trying to get in my late afternoon nap here, eh! If I get this one and check it off, I will have all of my resolutions done before you! So, you have to be quiet, eh!"
Tugg took out his list, looked down it, tapped it with his pencil and said, "Would you look at that! There is a last minute addition on my list of resolutions! It says here that I am supposed to hold band practice during the late afternoon nap time! That wouldn't be good for sleeping, so I think I'll just practice the drums!"
1 photo today.

I've already done a whole lot of my New Year's resolutions! How many of yours have you done? Don't you just wuff New Year's!? I think New Year's is pawesome because it makes you set goals, and then you can see yourself make those goals! I've got some pretty big goals too, but I'll tell you more about them later! I wuff you! What are some of your goals!? You can do it! You can make your goals!

DAY 904

DAY 904 pupdate on Tugg: 
Tugg was busy in the kitchen and recruited the briards Bizzy and Ditto to help him out — Bizzy, as a natural detail oriented party planner, and Ditto as helper in whatever capacity necessary. Bizzy went to the dining room, and set the formal dining table, complete with place settings, silverware, and name placards of who was to sit where, for the New Year's Eve festivities.
Ditto carried in the cake that Tugg had just finished decorating and asked Bizzy where it should go. Bizzy pointed to the small table in the corner, next to the buffet and said, "On the cake table, of course!" So, Ditto pout the cake on the table.
A few minutes later, Ditto brought in the punch bowl and asked where it was to be placed. Bizzy sighed and said, "On the buffet! Really Ditto, you should know the answers to these questions!"
Ditto kept bringing in other necessary evening meal/party things and Bizzy directed each item to its "proper" place.
While Bizzy was checking on other arrangements, Tugg walked into the dining room, moved the cake from the cake table to the center of the dining table, the punch bowl to the cake table and put the carved turkey on the buffet.
We heard a loud "thud" and rushed to the dining room to see what had happened. Tugg said, "Well, Bizzy was busy being Bizzy and planning a very busy New Year's party atmosphere. I came in and re-aranged it the way I thought it should be, and she said it was HER party, since she is the planner, and I need to switch it all back. I told her I would when it was time for her party, but I want it arranged like this for the PRE-party. So then she said she was having a pre-pre party, and so I said I was having a pre-pre-pre party..."
Ajaxx walked through the dining room, sipping from a straw in a glass with a little umbrella in it, and said, "I think Bizzy fainted when Tugg finally said that he was having a pre-post-pre-pre-pre-post-pre-pre-post-pre-pre-pre-pre party, eh! I think that means one of the parties has started, because I have an umbrella in my drink!"
1 illustration today.

DAY 903

DAY 903 pupdate on Tugg: 
All was quiet in the house, which is a very unusual thing at Tugg's pink house. We thought we could almost hear the sound of writing. Not writing like typing away on a keyboard, but actual writing with a pencil on paper. So, we quietly walked down the hall toward the studio where the writing sound was coming from. In the studio, Tugg sat at his drawing desk, and Ajaxx sat at a small work table — each intensely thinking and writing.
Ajaxx saw us first and said, "We heard that we we are supposed to write down some kind of 'resolutions' for tomorrow night, eh! So, we're coming up with at least 10 each! See, I've already got numbers one through four covered! Number one, take more early afternoon naps!Number two, look cute and snuggle to mommy and daddy to get extra cookies! Number three, take more late morning naps! Number four, Take more late afternoon naps!"
Tugg stopped writing and said, "I've got a good start on mine too! Number one, figure out a way that Ajaxx can do more of my chores! Number two, make sure the plasma field is stable when recalibrating the graviton sieve phase generator! Number three, sneak extra cookies by looking cute and telling mommy and daddy that Ajaxx said I can have his! Number four, Help daddy train for riding across the country on his bicycle! Number five, let Ajaxx think something cool was his idea! See, I'm doing good too!"
3 photos/illustrations today.

My friends, Greg and Anita, have a T.O.A.S.T. (Tugg-On-A-Stick-Terrier), aka: the flat me, that lives with him and goes on adventures all over his city! AND, since Greg drives one of the buses in town, the flat me gets to see all kinds of cool things and talk to all kinds of people and people puppies! To get in the holiday mood, T.O.A.S.T. even wore a festive Santa Paws style hat! Here is T.O.A.S.T. in the window telling everyone Hello and Merry Christmas!

AND, in case you didn't see him, here's a closeup of T.O.A.S.T. (Tugg-On-A-Stick-Terrier)! Isn't he handsome!? If you ever rides Greg's bus, you have to tell him that you know me too! Then y'all can share stories! Wouldn't that be neat!? As a matter of fact, if you ever ride a bus, the next time you get on, I want you to smile at the driver and say, "I wuff Tugg!" If the driver smiles back and says, "Tugg wuffs you too!" you'll know that you are riding with a very cool bus driver!

I believe in you! I wuff you! Thanks for being my friend!

DAY 902

DAY 902 pupdate on Tugg: 
Tugg walked through the house wearing ski goggles and a Peruvian winter hat. When he got to where Ajaxx was napping on the couch, he gently shook Ajaxx until one eye opened. Tugg then handed Ajaxx a matching hat and goggles and whispered something to him. Ajaxx put on the hat and goggles and followed Tugg out the door.
Later, the two returned home, with a large delivery truck following behind. After directing the delivery driver to place all the boxes in the hallway and living room, Tugg and Ajaxx started opening the boxes one by one.
Ajaxx reached in and pulled out a blue, puffy-looking, rolled up sleeping bag, while Tugg pulled out a green one that looked more like a cocoon. Each wiggled their way into the respective sleeping bag and lay still for a few moments. Those two were tossed to the side, and two more sleeping bags of varying colors and thicknesses were tried out. This went on for a long while.
We finally asked what the two of them were doing, and Tugg said, "Well, it started off that we were going to get sleeping bags and go to the mountaineering school in the Himalayas, but then we heard that there are a bunch of people who don't have homes, and live out on the street! Some of them are even people puppies! So we went and got these sleeping bags to give them so they won't be so cold at night! And we're trying them out to make sure they are comfy!"
Ajaxx said, "Yeah, and each time we try one out, we can pretend we're at mountaineering school for a few minutes at a time, eh! That's almost the best of both worlds!"
1 photo today.

DAY 901

DAY 901 pupdate on Tugg: 
We heard the pitter patter of lots of little feet going down the hall, around the corner and up the stairs. We were sure some of the pitter patter was from the four-leggeds who live here and the fosters who are staying here, but some of the pitter patter also sounded like small two-legged visitors. So, we looked up the stairs, just as the door to Tugg's "Super Secret SuperHero Hideout" shut. We noticed the "boys only" sign was not hanging on the door, so we wondered what Tugg and Ajaxx were up too — with all the dogs and half of the neighborhood people puppies.
So, we crept up the stairs and cracked open the door. Sure enough the hideout was filled with all of the four-leggeds at our house, Mr. Ross, Woody, a few boy scouts, a few girl scouts, some members of a children's choir and some poepl in cycling gear. At the front of the room was Tugg and Ajaxx. Ajaxx was holding up two really big candy canes, and Tugg was animatedly talking.
Tugg said, "AND, did you know that the Grand Candy Cane will come and visit you if you've been good all year long?! Not only do you get presents from Santa Paws, BUT you also get big 'ol candy canes from the Grand Candy Cane! OK, who got candy canes from the Grand Candy Cane this year? Raise your paws!"
There was a little shuffling and a few raised their paws, but most didn't. Ajaxx put down the candy canes he was holding and sat on the sofa cushion on the floor. Tugg sighed and said, "Who has never heard the story of the Grand Candy Cane?!" A few paws went up.
Tugg smiled and started, "Good! Then let me tell you all about the Grand Candy Cane! You see, it all started many, many years ago in this little candy shop that was in a tiny town that was snowed in the day before Christmas..."
1 photo today.

Dream, Act, Plan, Believe and remember to Wuff it Forward!

DAY 900

DAY 900 pupdate on Tugg: 
Tugg was in his studio, and had his sewing machine out. Over in the corner, and we later found out filling the whole garage, were boxes of material Tugg had bought from a surplus auction. Ajaxx walked into the studio, saw the pile of blankets, parachutes and canvas, watched Tugg sewing for a few minutes, and curled up for a nap in the middle of it.
We had to run a few errands, and when we got home we noticed the entire house was draped with sewn together parachutes and blankets it what appeared to be a big tent.
Finding the door wasn't that hard, and we noticed that all of the inside also had fabric draped all around.
Tugg noticed we had come home and said, "How do you like my new and improved tent fort!? I was going to just make a little one, but then I got all this cool stuff, so I wanted to make a big one. And, since I didn't have any big tent poles, I just used the whole house! If I would have had big couch cushions, I could have used those too!"
Ajaxx, without opening his eyes said, "If there was a big couch with big couch cushions, I could take a really big nap, eh!"
1 photo today.

Never give up! You are great just the way you are! Always remember to wuff it forward!