Hiring a personal trainer is a great way to help yourself achieve your fitness goals. The trainer can educate, motivate, encourage and correct you, and nothing will guarantee you actually get your workout in like a paid appointment. Here's how to get the most out of hiring a trainer:
1) Hire a qualified trainer who jives with your goals and personality. Your trainer should have a certification accredited by the NCCA like the ACE, NESTA, NASM, ACSM, NCSA, etc. Find out if your trainer is certified and do some research on their specific cert - there are a lot of cheap, fast and poor-quality certifications out there. Ask the trainer what kinds of clients they specialize in. If you want to lose 100 pounds and have diabetes and bad knees and your trainer specializes in fitness models, you may not be a good match. See if your trainer offers a free consultation and make use of it if so. At the least you should be able to try out a few sessions before committing to anything long term. Sometimes even a very good trainer might not be the right one for you. Trust your gut.
2) Be honest. We can't help you get the results you want if we're not aware of your full situation. If your trainer asks how you ate this week, don't say "fine" when you had a two-day binge. We can help you problem solve these issues, but we can't help when we don't know what's going on. We also need to know your health issues, even if they're embarrassing, including things like pregnancy even before you might tell everyone else you know.
3) Follow advice and do your homework. Why pay a professional to plan for you when you have no intention of following through?
4) Arrive on time and ready to work. If the trainer is coming to your home, be dressed and ready with the area cleared and distractions minimized. This will give you the best use of your time and make the trainer feel their time is valued, making them more willing to work hard to get you the results you're looking for.
5) Respect your trainer's time. Don't make a habit of rescheduling at the drop of a hat and at the last minute. If you respect our time, we will go out of our way to help you.
6) Ask questions. If you don't understand something, let us know so we can explain.
7) Minimize whining. You can vent, and most trainers will not even be offended by a little swearing, but if it's a constant litany of stalling and complaining, neither of us will have an opportunity to enjoy the session.
8) Communicate. If you are in pain (actual pain, not muscle fatique), feel that something might be dangerous for you to do, or are about to pass out, let us know so we can help. Most trainers are pretty good at picking up on nonverbal cues, but we're not telepathic.
9) Remember we are not therapists. Most trainers love to get to know their clients and it's part of our job to help you problem solve health and fitness issues. But we aren't qualified to help with your relationship, job or kid woes and most of the time if you try to tell us all about these, you're stalling on doing the exercise that you're paying for. If you really need help with these types of issues, many trainers can refer you to good doctors or therapists.
10) Have a positive attitude or at least be open to having a positive experience. If you're focused on how much you hate exercise or how angry you are about whatever else happened in your day, your workout will never be as good as when you applied yourself in a positive way. Leave your bad attitude at the door, remind yourself that this is a way of taking care of yourself, breathe deep and enjoy!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Do it anyway.
To all my clients and friends who want to get in shape but can never find the time, I’m going to call you out right now. I’m talking to myself here, too.
This is not about guilt or feeling bad about yourself. It's about moving forward.
The time will never be just right. There will always be a party or a birthday or a work deadline or a mother visiting or a sick child. Life is never static and your schedule will not suddenly stand still for a magic hour for you to get your run in. If you truly want to exercise, you will make time.
You brush your teeth every day, right? Here’s the thing: exercise is so vital to our health and quality of life that we need to think of it like basic hygiene. Your goals for exercise don’t matter here, though it helps to have a reason that resonates with you. I’m not telling you that you need to lose lots of weight or become a crazy muscle machine or run a marathon. All of us need regular exercise, preferably on a daily basis, whether we’re doing it to look our best, feel our best, perform our best or just to be able to keep living and functioning. Your goals will determine the time you spend being active – even a little bit will improve general and mental health and help ease problems like diabetes and high blood pressure and reduce the risk of a variety of cancers.
There are lots of resources out there to help you find some exercise you don’t hate, to connect with others to make it more fun, to motivate yourself by tracking and to develop step by step plans for specific goals that ignite some spark of passion in you. That’s not what this entry is about.
The bottom line is this: unless your excuse not to exercise on a given day is something that would prevent you from brushing your teeth or showering if you needed one, do it anyway. I don’t care if it’s 5 minutes of stretching or 20 minutes of strength training or a half hour on the treadmill – whatever scheduling snafu has messed up your plans, go to plan B and do it anyway. I don’t care if you’re not in the right headspace or don’t feel like it – the only way you’re ever going to start feeling like it is if it’s habit and you’ve done it enough times that it starts to feel good (which will happen), so do it anyway. I do care if you’re injured, but if your ankle’s sprained you can always get in the pool or on a bike or at the very least do some stretching, so come up with an alternative and do –something- anyway. I do care if you have an exercise addiction or eating disorder and need to tone it down, but that’s not most of us. Most of us need to stop talking ourselves out of being active and start talking ourselves into it.
How long have you been “trying” to get it together and develop a regular exercise habit? How much of that trying has entailed waiting for the “perfect time”, waiting to “feel better”, waiting to have “enough energy”, waiting until you have “more time”, waiting until the house is clean or you can afford a gym membership or your kids are old enough to entertain themselves or your back stops hurting or your divorce is final? How much of your life do you want to waste with “trying” when you can and should be “doing”?
Anything can be worked around if we really want to do it. Ask any athlete who’s lost a limb and kept doing their sport. There are a million stories out there of people who rose above every challenge to come out better, stronger, happier people who have achieved amazing things. Chances are, in comparison to some of those stories, your challenges are not so very large after all. So figure out what your goals really are, stop trying to be anyone you’re really not (like a marathoner if you really just hate running and would rather go golfing), and ditch the excuses. You’re smart. You’re resourceful. There is someone in your life who cares enough to help you if you need it, and if not, you can pay or barter for someone to care. You’ve gotten this far in life and even if you feel like a kicked dog right now, you can take control of your body and your health, and it doesn’t have to be as big a bloody deal as most people make it. In the time you’ve spent listing the reasons why you can’t exercise, you probably could have taken a walk around the block.
So take the initiative. Stop fighting so hard against yourself. Take a deep breath and decide today, and every day, to accept all the challenges and excuses and inconveniences and feelings, figure out what you CAN do, and despite all the reasons you might not, do it anyway!
This is not about guilt or feeling bad about yourself. It's about moving forward.
The time will never be just right. There will always be a party or a birthday or a work deadline or a mother visiting or a sick child. Life is never static and your schedule will not suddenly stand still for a magic hour for you to get your run in. If you truly want to exercise, you will make time.
You brush your teeth every day, right? Here’s the thing: exercise is so vital to our health and quality of life that we need to think of it like basic hygiene. Your goals for exercise don’t matter here, though it helps to have a reason that resonates with you. I’m not telling you that you need to lose lots of weight or become a crazy muscle machine or run a marathon. All of us need regular exercise, preferably on a daily basis, whether we’re doing it to look our best, feel our best, perform our best or just to be able to keep living and functioning. Your goals will determine the time you spend being active – even a little bit will improve general and mental health and help ease problems like diabetes and high blood pressure and reduce the risk of a variety of cancers.
There are lots of resources out there to help you find some exercise you don’t hate, to connect with others to make it more fun, to motivate yourself by tracking and to develop step by step plans for specific goals that ignite some spark of passion in you. That’s not what this entry is about.
The bottom line is this: unless your excuse not to exercise on a given day is something that would prevent you from brushing your teeth or showering if you needed one, do it anyway. I don’t care if it’s 5 minutes of stretching or 20 minutes of strength training or a half hour on the treadmill – whatever scheduling snafu has messed up your plans, go to plan B and do it anyway. I don’t care if you’re not in the right headspace or don’t feel like it – the only way you’re ever going to start feeling like it is if it’s habit and you’ve done it enough times that it starts to feel good (which will happen), so do it anyway. I do care if you’re injured, but if your ankle’s sprained you can always get in the pool or on a bike or at the very least do some stretching, so come up with an alternative and do –something- anyway. I do care if you have an exercise addiction or eating disorder and need to tone it down, but that’s not most of us. Most of us need to stop talking ourselves out of being active and start talking ourselves into it.
How long have you been “trying” to get it together and develop a regular exercise habit? How much of that trying has entailed waiting for the “perfect time”, waiting to “feel better”, waiting to have “enough energy”, waiting until you have “more time”, waiting until the house is clean or you can afford a gym membership or your kids are old enough to entertain themselves or your back stops hurting or your divorce is final? How much of your life do you want to waste with “trying” when you can and should be “doing”?
Anything can be worked around if we really want to do it. Ask any athlete who’s lost a limb and kept doing their sport. There are a million stories out there of people who rose above every challenge to come out better, stronger, happier people who have achieved amazing things. Chances are, in comparison to some of those stories, your challenges are not so very large after all. So figure out what your goals really are, stop trying to be anyone you’re really not (like a marathoner if you really just hate running and would rather go golfing), and ditch the excuses. You’re smart. You’re resourceful. There is someone in your life who cares enough to help you if you need it, and if not, you can pay or barter for someone to care. You’ve gotten this far in life and even if you feel like a kicked dog right now, you can take control of your body and your health, and it doesn’t have to be as big a bloody deal as most people make it. In the time you’ve spent listing the reasons why you can’t exercise, you probably could have taken a walk around the block.
So take the initiative. Stop fighting so hard against yourself. Take a deep breath and decide today, and every day, to accept all the challenges and excuses and inconveniences and feelings, figure out what you CAN do, and despite all the reasons you might not, do it anyway!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Housekeeping, Habit Forming, and Small, Easy Steps
I am a terrible housekeeper. I make no apologies for it; I live (technically) alone with my dog, and the dog doesn’t care. I accepted years ago that my home would never be as pristine as my mother kept our house while I was growing up, WHILE working a full-time job no less. Her standards were much higher than mine when it came to acceptable living space conditions. However, I have since also realized that I enjoy being in neat, organized and non-filthy surroundings. Living in squalor is stressful and I don’t particularly like it. Unfortunately, with my hatred of cleaning and my general lack of time, squalor tends to be the state of my apartment much of the time.
In an attempt to help me fix this problem, the boyfriend (who only sort of lives here) suggested that when I can’t stand the mess anymore but can’t fathom cleaning the entire apartment, I set the microwave timer for 20 minutes, clean for that 20 minutes, and stop at the end. He’ll clean for 20 minutes too if he happens to be here when this happens. Then, we repeat daily or every other day, and soon the living space is far more tolerable and functional. (Ideally, this will become a regular habit, and I will never have to be frustrated by the mess in my living space again!)
I have found this works astonishingly well. When I just start on cleaning instead of ruminating over reasons why I don’t want to, it goes pretty quickly and I’m always impressed by what I can get done during that time. It’s not overwhelming because I only have to do it for 20 minutes, not until EVERYTHING is clean. (I would be working forever!!!)
I think we can apply this trick to nearly anything we want to make a habit of. Of course you knew I was getting there… including exercise! If you hate to exercise but don’t like the state your body’s in and know you need to do something about it, don’t start planning the diet of all diets, and decide you’ll jog for hours every day until you weigh exactly what you think you should weigh. Doing that instantly overwhelms us and makes us reaaaally not want to do it. Even bound and determined as you are that first day, by a week at most you’ll most likely have slacked off and decided you just can’t stand it so you will go back to doing nothing, until you are upset by the state of your body again, and the cycle continues.
Try the 20 minute trick. If you’re a rank beginner or REALLY despise exercise, try setting the timer, turning on the tv and just marching in place at first. It’s better than nothing, and it’s something manageable.
We all so often forget that not everything we do has to be perfect. A multi-billion-dollar diet and weight-loss industry is doing its best through marketing to make us feel out of control and overwhelmed so we will buy their products, which doesn't help. We all would do well to take a deep breath and start where we are, with what we have. Imperfect as our efforts might be, they are better than the paralysis of doing nothing because we are afraid to start.
In an attempt to help me fix this problem, the boyfriend (who only sort of lives here) suggested that when I can’t stand the mess anymore but can’t fathom cleaning the entire apartment, I set the microwave timer for 20 minutes, clean for that 20 minutes, and stop at the end. He’ll clean for 20 minutes too if he happens to be here when this happens. Then, we repeat daily or every other day, and soon the living space is far more tolerable and functional. (Ideally, this will become a regular habit, and I will never have to be frustrated by the mess in my living space again!)
I have found this works astonishingly well. When I just start on cleaning instead of ruminating over reasons why I don’t want to, it goes pretty quickly and I’m always impressed by what I can get done during that time. It’s not overwhelming because I only have to do it for 20 minutes, not until EVERYTHING is clean. (I would be working forever!!!)
I think we can apply this trick to nearly anything we want to make a habit of. Of course you knew I was getting there… including exercise! If you hate to exercise but don’t like the state your body’s in and know you need to do something about it, don’t start planning the diet of all diets, and decide you’ll jog for hours every day until you weigh exactly what you think you should weigh. Doing that instantly overwhelms us and makes us reaaaally not want to do it. Even bound and determined as you are that first day, by a week at most you’ll most likely have slacked off and decided you just can’t stand it so you will go back to doing nothing, until you are upset by the state of your body again, and the cycle continues.
Try the 20 minute trick. If you’re a rank beginner or REALLY despise exercise, try setting the timer, turning on the tv and just marching in place at first. It’s better than nothing, and it’s something manageable.
We all so often forget that not everything we do has to be perfect. A multi-billion-dollar diet and weight-loss industry is doing its best through marketing to make us feel out of control and overwhelmed so we will buy their products, which doesn't help. We all would do well to take a deep breath and start where we are, with what we have. Imperfect as our efforts might be, they are better than the paralysis of doing nothing because we are afraid to start.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Toning Shoes - yep, they're a scam. :(
I actually own a pair of Skechers Shape-Ups. They cost me $89, which is the most I've ever paid for a pair of shoes. I knew right from the start that it was a dumb idea, but I found the super-cute Mary-Jane style ones that would be easy to step in and out of for karate classes, were very comfortable, and well, I knew better, but what if there really was some weird fitness voodoo involved that would actually allow the shoes to deliver on their promises of a better backside?
Many, many women I know have been seduced by these promises, and some of them have been inspired by the shoes to walk more, which gets them results! Good for them, sincerely. I won't rain on anyone's parade if they're convinced the shoes are the key. But if anyone's still on the fence, tempted by the ads of every shoe company that's jumped on the toning bandwagon in the last year, here is one article from the American Council on Exercise, which investigates new exercise gimmicks and reports on their efficacy and safety. There are others like it; feel free to Google.
The basic problem is that the body adapts to slight challenges like those posed by the toning shoes very quickly. The shoes are supposed to slightly increase the motion of each step and create a balance challenge that the leg muscles need to adjust to, and adjust they do! I was a tiny bit sore the first time I walked with the shoes, and never again. My body had learned to walk with this new challenge, the muscles quickly adapted, and that was that. No further change occurs because the body, in general, wants to stay the way it is. Changing takes resources and the body is an efficient machine. In order to create change in the body, it must be continually challenged. That's why slow, prolonged exercise produces very little in terms of weight-loss. While it may make us healthier overall and decrease our risk for heart disease and diabetes, significant weight loss will not occur with this type of slow, repetitive exercise unless food intake changes drastically as well. We now know that techniques such as interval training and concepts such as muscle confusion are much more effective in producing significant weight loss than strapping ourselves onto a treadmill and walking for hours at a time.
So anyway, consider spending your money on a good cross-training or running shoe and mixing up your workouts (perhaps a session or two with a personal trainer?). Toning shoes aren't magic, unfortunately, and unless you want to spend a ton on what is otherwise a cheap most-purpose tennis shoe, you're probably better off passing.
Many, many women I know have been seduced by these promises, and some of them have been inspired by the shoes to walk more, which gets them results! Good for them, sincerely. I won't rain on anyone's parade if they're convinced the shoes are the key. But if anyone's still on the fence, tempted by the ads of every shoe company that's jumped on the toning bandwagon in the last year, here is one article from the American Council on Exercise, which investigates new exercise gimmicks and reports on their efficacy and safety. There are others like it; feel free to Google.
The basic problem is that the body adapts to slight challenges like those posed by the toning shoes very quickly. The shoes are supposed to slightly increase the motion of each step and create a balance challenge that the leg muscles need to adjust to, and adjust they do! I was a tiny bit sore the first time I walked with the shoes, and never again. My body had learned to walk with this new challenge, the muscles quickly adapted, and that was that. No further change occurs because the body, in general, wants to stay the way it is. Changing takes resources and the body is an efficient machine. In order to create change in the body, it must be continually challenged. That's why slow, prolonged exercise produces very little in terms of weight-loss. While it may make us healthier overall and decrease our risk for heart disease and diabetes, significant weight loss will not occur with this type of slow, repetitive exercise unless food intake changes drastically as well. We now know that techniques such as interval training and concepts such as muscle confusion are much more effective in producing significant weight loss than strapping ourselves onto a treadmill and walking for hours at a time.
So anyway, consider spending your money on a good cross-training or running shoe and mixing up your workouts (perhaps a session or two with a personal trainer?). Toning shoes aren't magic, unfortunately, and unless you want to spend a ton on what is otherwise a cheap most-purpose tennis shoe, you're probably better off passing.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
How to handle Thanksgiving...
without feeling bloated, guilty, and unhappy:
*****
Thanksgiving can be a bad time for anyone watching what they eat, and anyone with "food issues". I know - I used to have more than my fair share.
But with some planning, an open mind and some self-compassion, we can enjoy the holiday without overindulging and regrets.
First, remember that this is a holiday and if we choose to, it's ok to indulge a bit. That doesn't mean announcing "screw it" and gorging on leftovers all week, but it does mean if I really like mashed potatos and it's something I usually avoid, I can have a reasonable sized portion of mashed potatos!
In planning ahead, try to envision the foods you really enjoy versus the foods you tend to eat "just because they're there" or because beloved Aunt Millie would be devastated if you didn't. Choose to eat reasonable portions of the foods you will truly enjoy, and savor them. Just say no to the stuff you don't actually care if you have to wait until next year to eat again.
Families get together for Thanksgiving, and families tend to trot out all their craziness at holidays. If you're feeling nervous because of an old feud with your mom, or you're dreading the political fights between Uncle Fred and Grandpa or really don't want to listen to the constant backstabbing from your sister-in-law, acknowledge these fears and discomforts, if only to yourself. You might journal about them or confide in a friend outside the family who won't be personally involved in the situation (just make sure it's not someone who will spread it as gossip). Regardless, commit to yourself that you won't use food as a crutch to deal with these painful or annoying situations. Do your best to avoid the situations you know will crop up and try to spend the most time around the people whose company you *do* enjoy. When you find yourself wanting to chew just for a way to keep your mind off the problem, take a deep breath and remind yourself that this will not actually help. See if you can do some creative problem solving. You might even get brave enough to speak up and tell whomever that while they're family and you love them, you'd rather not listen to their opinions about the fact that you're 35 and unmarried. Or whatever.
Try not to arrive to the family get-together starving. Some people try to "save up" all their calories by eating nothing before dinner. Unfortunately, this will just muck up your metabolism and ensure than you binge on all the goodies. In the grand scheme of things one day of this behavior all year is not an enormous deal, but it's not terribly comfortable physically or mentally. Instead of starving / binging, try eating small portions of balanced foods before the big meal - get a little protein and some good carbs (examples are yogurt, whole wheat toast with peanut butter or an apple with some string cheese). That way, when you are faced with the feast, you can make wise and yummy choices instead of gong into vaccuum-cleaner mode.
Try to get some exercise early in the day if you can. This not only offsets the calories you're about to consume, but it will put you in a better state of mind; more able to stave off stress and remain positive. This, too, will help you make healthier choices at dinner. Don't try to overdo it and run 5 miles when you normally can't run one - be realistic. But do something that gets your heart pumping and your breathing faster.
There are the traditonal tips and tricks that do help: wear fitted clothes instead of sweats so you're more conscious of how much you're consuming and when you start to feel uncomfortably full. Stay physically as far away from the food as possible (unless you're actually sitting down to dinner) so you're not constantly tempted to keep refilling your plate. Drink plenty of water throughout the day - it's not only good for you, but it will help you not to consume quite as much.
If you have any control over the cooking of the meal, you can try some healthier versions of the traditional fare - mix some mashed cauliflour wih the potatos, use a little honey instead of covering the sweet potatos with marshmallow fluff, and choose smaller pies instead of giant ones with extra-huge pieces, pumpkin instead of the calorie-dense pecan.
When it comes to leftovers, if you're in charge of cooking, try not to produce many. That means careful planning, not trying to guilt your family into eating more than they really want. Maybe a 15-pound turkey would be sufficient instead of a 20-pounder. Maybe you only really need half the mashed potatos you usually make, because there's always a ton left. If you like having leftovers and are savvy enough to be wise with them and eat them slowly over the next week, go for it. But try not to produce so much that you and everyone else is faced with a frige full of tempting goodies in large quantities for the next week. If you're not the cook and are asked to take home leftovers, take only what you know you can happily use without feeling bad about it. Know that half a pie is going to be hard to resist? Take only a piece, or don't take it home at all.
Finally, recognize that you're a human being, deserve to indulge once in awhile, and forgive yourself for whatever imagined wrongs you may think you've committed over the holiday. Beating ourselves up only inevitably leads to more binging as we continue to comfort ourselves with extra food. Don't give in to the viscious cycle. Commit to doing what is good for you physically, mentally and emotionally - which means providing yourself with balance.
Good luck, everyone, and happy Thanksgiving!
*****
Thanksgiving can be a bad time for anyone watching what they eat, and anyone with "food issues". I know - I used to have more than my fair share.
But with some planning, an open mind and some self-compassion, we can enjoy the holiday without overindulging and regrets.
First, remember that this is a holiday and if we choose to, it's ok to indulge a bit. That doesn't mean announcing "screw it" and gorging on leftovers all week, but it does mean if I really like mashed potatos and it's something I usually avoid, I can have a reasonable sized portion of mashed potatos!
In planning ahead, try to envision the foods you really enjoy versus the foods you tend to eat "just because they're there" or because beloved Aunt Millie would be devastated if you didn't. Choose to eat reasonable portions of the foods you will truly enjoy, and savor them. Just say no to the stuff you don't actually care if you have to wait until next year to eat again.
Families get together for Thanksgiving, and families tend to trot out all their craziness at holidays. If you're feeling nervous because of an old feud with your mom, or you're dreading the political fights between Uncle Fred and Grandpa or really don't want to listen to the constant backstabbing from your sister-in-law, acknowledge these fears and discomforts, if only to yourself. You might journal about them or confide in a friend outside the family who won't be personally involved in the situation (just make sure it's not someone who will spread it as gossip). Regardless, commit to yourself that you won't use food as a crutch to deal with these painful or annoying situations. Do your best to avoid the situations you know will crop up and try to spend the most time around the people whose company you *do* enjoy. When you find yourself wanting to chew just for a way to keep your mind off the problem, take a deep breath and remind yourself that this will not actually help. See if you can do some creative problem solving. You might even get brave enough to speak up and tell whomever that while they're family and you love them, you'd rather not listen to their opinions about the fact that you're 35 and unmarried. Or whatever.
Try not to arrive to the family get-together starving. Some people try to "save up" all their calories by eating nothing before dinner. Unfortunately, this will just muck up your metabolism and ensure than you binge on all the goodies. In the grand scheme of things one day of this behavior all year is not an enormous deal, but it's not terribly comfortable physically or mentally. Instead of starving / binging, try eating small portions of balanced foods before the big meal - get a little protein and some good carbs (examples are yogurt, whole wheat toast with peanut butter or an apple with some string cheese). That way, when you are faced with the feast, you can make wise and yummy choices instead of gong into vaccuum-cleaner mode.
Try to get some exercise early in the day if you can. This not only offsets the calories you're about to consume, but it will put you in a better state of mind; more able to stave off stress and remain positive. This, too, will help you make healthier choices at dinner. Don't try to overdo it and run 5 miles when you normally can't run one - be realistic. But do something that gets your heart pumping and your breathing faster.
There are the traditonal tips and tricks that do help: wear fitted clothes instead of sweats so you're more conscious of how much you're consuming and when you start to feel uncomfortably full. Stay physically as far away from the food as possible (unless you're actually sitting down to dinner) so you're not constantly tempted to keep refilling your plate. Drink plenty of water throughout the day - it's not only good for you, but it will help you not to consume quite as much.
If you have any control over the cooking of the meal, you can try some healthier versions of the traditional fare - mix some mashed cauliflour wih the potatos, use a little honey instead of covering the sweet potatos with marshmallow fluff, and choose smaller pies instead of giant ones with extra-huge pieces, pumpkin instead of the calorie-dense pecan.
When it comes to leftovers, if you're in charge of cooking, try not to produce many. That means careful planning, not trying to guilt your family into eating more than they really want. Maybe a 15-pound turkey would be sufficient instead of a 20-pounder. Maybe you only really need half the mashed potatos you usually make, because there's always a ton left. If you like having leftovers and are savvy enough to be wise with them and eat them slowly over the next week, go for it. But try not to produce so much that you and everyone else is faced with a frige full of tempting goodies in large quantities for the next week. If you're not the cook and are asked to take home leftovers, take only what you know you can happily use without feeling bad about it. Know that half a pie is going to be hard to resist? Take only a piece, or don't take it home at all.
Finally, recognize that you're a human being, deserve to indulge once in awhile, and forgive yourself for whatever imagined wrongs you may think you've committed over the holiday. Beating ourselves up only inevitably leads to more binging as we continue to comfort ourselves with extra food. Don't give in to the viscious cycle. Commit to doing what is good for you physically, mentally and emotionally - which means providing yourself with balance.
Good luck, everyone, and happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
My Nutrition Philosophy
My nutrition philosophy seems like an odd mix at first, but I think it is one of the best ways to eat for a sustainable, healthy and delicious lifestyle.
Two systems inspire my philosophy. The first, and the one I think it is important to start with, is called Intuitive Eating (see www.IntuitiveEating.org to learn more). According to Intuitive Eating, there are no forbidden foods except any that make you feel physically sick, those that are medically contraindicated for you, and those that you hate eating. This philosophy requires that you discard all conventional thinking about "good" and "bad" food. It requires that you trust yourself and your body to know what your physical needs are and to fill them. Once you are used to trust and acceptance of your own wants and needs in the context of food, and separating these from judgments and unrelated emotional states, you'll begin to be able to feed yourself as you need to be fed for health, enjoyment and satiety (fullness).
The second system that inspires my nutrition philosophy is the Clean Eating Diet (http://www.eatcleandiet.com for more information). Despite its name, which is unfortunate, it's not really a diet. It's more like a set of preferences for eating. It advocates eating every 2-3 hours to avoid spikes in hunger that lead to ravenous eating and out-of-balance blood sugar and hormones. It recommends avoiding over-processed foods, white flour and sugar, chemicals and artificial sweeteners. The most useful concept, in my opinion, is that of planning ahead and packing a cooler full of healthy and tasty foods for use throughout the day. This way there's no snack attack at 3pm leading to stale candy bars from the vending machine that make you feel physically and emotionally crappy, leading to more unhealthful eating that continues to make you feel crappy physically and emotionally.
I do recommend reading more about both systems. The most important concept running through both is thinking of good nutrition as a permanent change, not a temporary "diet" that's miserable and to be ended as soon as a goal is reached (or when you can no longer stand it). Numerous studies have proven that dieting in cycles does not work when the dieter eventually returns to previous ways of eating. Any weight lost is put back on, and then some, causing feelings of hopelessness and low self-esteem while being hard on the body.
No one likes dieting. It means eating less than you want, feeling hungry, cutting out foods you take pleasure in. Good nutrition as a lifestyle does not mean dieting. It means making consistent good choices that outweigh occasional "bad" choices. It means accepting your individual needs and preferences, and accepting the shape and weight your body naturally settles into at the peak of health. That does not mean you have to accept being obese - this is not a healthy state for the body to be in. It does mean that if you're at your healthiest weight and still have big hips (like me) that you don't try to diet yourself down to skin and bones chasing the "perfect body" image you have in your head.
Changing your lifestyle when it comes to food means eating enough but not too much, making good decisions most of the time and eating for both health and enjoyment. It means that you aren't caught up in the endless deprive / binge cycle. It takes awhile to perfect the eating habits that work best for you - and that's ok, because you literally have the rest of your life to figure it out.
Following is a list of my most recommended behaviors when it comes to eating for health, vitality and optimum body composition (which for many, means weight loss and maintenance). Try them and embrace what works for you. You can try one or more at a time. Don't try to do everything right away. Small steps lead to sustainable change and a better outcome than allowing yourself to become overwhelmed with too many changes at once.
1) Keep a food diary. Carry it with you throughout the day rather than trying to remember everything at night. You can use your smartphone if you hate using paper. Or your computer. Or whatever works for you. Record the date, time, what you ate, quantity, and if you like, calories, fat, or whatever other nutrition info you want to keep track of. Record on a scale of 1-10 how hungry / full you were before you ate and immediately after. Then, record any observations or feelings you have when you eat. I.e. "I was starving because I hadn't eaten for 6 hours" or "I was ticked off and wanted something to crunch on." Look over what you've written at the end of each day and figure out how you can improve your eating experience. If you're eating emotionally, figure out what you need to do to get those needs met without using food as a crutch. If you're not planning well and it's leading to binges, figure out how you can do better. Learn what works and what doesn't. Keep the diary for as long as you want, but for at least 2 weeks.
2) Get a small cooler (but not too small!). In the morning before you leave the house, or the night before if your mornings are hectic, fill the cooler with meals and snacks that you will eat throughout the day. Every week, think about what you want to eat that week, make a shopping list, and get what you need so you have tasty, convenient things to put in your cooler each day.
3) Eat breakfast, and eat often enough that you don't feel famished at any point in the day. Some nutritionists recommend eating 5 or 6 times a day and some people are put off by this. Try not to go more than 4 hours without eating something - going longer makes the metabolism sluggish. Think of it like a fire - you want it to burn hot and steady. That means putting a couple logs on as often as needed, not a bunch of logs on first and the waiting for it to die down before adding more.
4) Drink water throughout the day and aim for at least 64 oz. It keeps you feeling more satisfied, boosts metabolism, flushes out toxins and keeps everything lubed and running smoothly.
5) Each time you eat, try to get some protein, some healthy fat (unsaturated) and some healthy carbohydrates (whole grains and veggies rather than refined sugars and flours and items made with them). Ideally, the balance throughout the day should be approximately 20% protein, 20-30% healthy fats and 50-60% healthy carbohydrates.
6) When you are tempted to eat something you know is not nutritious for your body, ask yourself why you want it and how you will feel after you eat it. If you decide to eat it, check in with yourself often to see if you've had enough instead of automatically eating however much you have available.
7) Practice self-forgiveness. Don't freak out if you eat things you don't intend to. Learn what you can from the situation and move on. Ruminating and self-blame only leads to further poor eating choices.
8) As much as possible, shift to whole grains, brown or jasmine rice, veggies and small, waxy potatoes (instead of big, floury potatoes) as carbohydrate sources. If you don't like these things at first, try mixing them - i.e. half brown rice with half white rice. Shift to healthier fat sources by cooking with olive and canola oil and olive or canola oil based cooking spray and avoiding hydrogenated oils in your margarine peanut butter and other foods (this stuff turns to trans fat in your body which wreaks havoc on your arteries). Overall, avoid packaged cookies, cakes and snacks as these tend to contain lots of white flour, sugar, hydrogenated oils and salt. (Once in awhile is ok... just not every day).
9) Don't go crazy on the salt. Much of our food has salt in it to begin with. Adding more at the table doesn't help. Start with shaking a little less if the idea makes you shudder.
10) Try to build your social life on experiences other than food. Most gatherings involve a meal, snacks, cocktails, etc. Start planning events that center less on food and more on fun (even active!) activities.
I hope these help you start to consider your eating habits and how they can be improved without feeling you have to go on a deprivation diet. For more info, besides the websites above, here are some good resources on creating positive change in your food choices for life:
The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno
Overcoming Overeating by Hirschmann & Munter
Intuitive Eating by Tribole & Resch
Two systems inspire my philosophy. The first, and the one I think it is important to start with, is called Intuitive Eating (see www.IntuitiveEating.org to learn more). According to Intuitive Eating, there are no forbidden foods except any that make you feel physically sick, those that are medically contraindicated for you, and those that you hate eating. This philosophy requires that you discard all conventional thinking about "good" and "bad" food. It requires that you trust yourself and your body to know what your physical needs are and to fill them. Once you are used to trust and acceptance of your own wants and needs in the context of food, and separating these from judgments and unrelated emotional states, you'll begin to be able to feed yourself as you need to be fed for health, enjoyment and satiety (fullness).
The second system that inspires my nutrition philosophy is the Clean Eating Diet (http://www.eatcleandiet.com for more information). Despite its name, which is unfortunate, it's not really a diet. It's more like a set of preferences for eating. It advocates eating every 2-3 hours to avoid spikes in hunger that lead to ravenous eating and out-of-balance blood sugar and hormones. It recommends avoiding over-processed foods, white flour and sugar, chemicals and artificial sweeteners. The most useful concept, in my opinion, is that of planning ahead and packing a cooler full of healthy and tasty foods for use throughout the day. This way there's no snack attack at 3pm leading to stale candy bars from the vending machine that make you feel physically and emotionally crappy, leading to more unhealthful eating that continues to make you feel crappy physically and emotionally.
I do recommend reading more about both systems. The most important concept running through both is thinking of good nutrition as a permanent change, not a temporary "diet" that's miserable and to be ended as soon as a goal is reached (or when you can no longer stand it). Numerous studies have proven that dieting in cycles does not work when the dieter eventually returns to previous ways of eating. Any weight lost is put back on, and then some, causing feelings of hopelessness and low self-esteem while being hard on the body.
No one likes dieting. It means eating less than you want, feeling hungry, cutting out foods you take pleasure in. Good nutrition as a lifestyle does not mean dieting. It means making consistent good choices that outweigh occasional "bad" choices. It means accepting your individual needs and preferences, and accepting the shape and weight your body naturally settles into at the peak of health. That does not mean you have to accept being obese - this is not a healthy state for the body to be in. It does mean that if you're at your healthiest weight and still have big hips (like me) that you don't try to diet yourself down to skin and bones chasing the "perfect body" image you have in your head.
Changing your lifestyle when it comes to food means eating enough but not too much, making good decisions most of the time and eating for both health and enjoyment. It means that you aren't caught up in the endless deprive / binge cycle. It takes awhile to perfect the eating habits that work best for you - and that's ok, because you literally have the rest of your life to figure it out.
Following is a list of my most recommended behaviors when it comes to eating for health, vitality and optimum body composition (which for many, means weight loss and maintenance). Try them and embrace what works for you. You can try one or more at a time. Don't try to do everything right away. Small steps lead to sustainable change and a better outcome than allowing yourself to become overwhelmed with too many changes at once.
1) Keep a food diary. Carry it with you throughout the day rather than trying to remember everything at night. You can use your smartphone if you hate using paper. Or your computer. Or whatever works for you. Record the date, time, what you ate, quantity, and if you like, calories, fat, or whatever other nutrition info you want to keep track of. Record on a scale of 1-10 how hungry / full you were before you ate and immediately after. Then, record any observations or feelings you have when you eat. I.e. "I was starving because I hadn't eaten for 6 hours" or "I was ticked off and wanted something to crunch on." Look over what you've written at the end of each day and figure out how you can improve your eating experience. If you're eating emotionally, figure out what you need to do to get those needs met without using food as a crutch. If you're not planning well and it's leading to binges, figure out how you can do better. Learn what works and what doesn't. Keep the diary for as long as you want, but for at least 2 weeks.
2) Get a small cooler (but not too small!). In the morning before you leave the house, or the night before if your mornings are hectic, fill the cooler with meals and snacks that you will eat throughout the day. Every week, think about what you want to eat that week, make a shopping list, and get what you need so you have tasty, convenient things to put in your cooler each day.
3) Eat breakfast, and eat often enough that you don't feel famished at any point in the day. Some nutritionists recommend eating 5 or 6 times a day and some people are put off by this. Try not to go more than 4 hours without eating something - going longer makes the metabolism sluggish. Think of it like a fire - you want it to burn hot and steady. That means putting a couple logs on as often as needed, not a bunch of logs on first and the waiting for it to die down before adding more.
4) Drink water throughout the day and aim for at least 64 oz. It keeps you feeling more satisfied, boosts metabolism, flushes out toxins and keeps everything lubed and running smoothly.
5) Each time you eat, try to get some protein, some healthy fat (unsaturated) and some healthy carbohydrates (whole grains and veggies rather than refined sugars and flours and items made with them). Ideally, the balance throughout the day should be approximately 20% protein, 20-30% healthy fats and 50-60% healthy carbohydrates.
6) When you are tempted to eat something you know is not nutritious for your body, ask yourself why you want it and how you will feel after you eat it. If you decide to eat it, check in with yourself often to see if you've had enough instead of automatically eating however much you have available.
7) Practice self-forgiveness. Don't freak out if you eat things you don't intend to. Learn what you can from the situation and move on. Ruminating and self-blame only leads to further poor eating choices.
8) As much as possible, shift to whole grains, brown or jasmine rice, veggies and small, waxy potatoes (instead of big, floury potatoes) as carbohydrate sources. If you don't like these things at first, try mixing them - i.e. half brown rice with half white rice. Shift to healthier fat sources by cooking with olive and canola oil and olive or canola oil based cooking spray and avoiding hydrogenated oils in your margarine peanut butter and other foods (this stuff turns to trans fat in your body which wreaks havoc on your arteries). Overall, avoid packaged cookies, cakes and snacks as these tend to contain lots of white flour, sugar, hydrogenated oils and salt. (Once in awhile is ok... just not every day).
9) Don't go crazy on the salt. Much of our food has salt in it to begin with. Adding more at the table doesn't help. Start with shaking a little less if the idea makes you shudder.
10) Try to build your social life on experiences other than food. Most gatherings involve a meal, snacks, cocktails, etc. Start planning events that center less on food and more on fun (even active!) activities.
I hope these help you start to consider your eating habits and how they can be improved without feeling you have to go on a deprivation diet. For more info, besides the websites above, here are some good resources on creating positive change in your food choices for life:
The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno
Overcoming Overeating by Hirschmann & Munter
Intuitive Eating by Tribole & Resch
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Exercising while sick
I have a troublesome autumn cold right now. Thanks, Doug. :P
I started taking zinc lozenges as soon as it started, and I think it's less severe than if I hadn't. The thing I haven't had a chance to do is go for a good run.
I remember reading an article by a health expert who said he swears by exercise to help him ward off colds. Our bodies sometimes respond to illness by raising our temperatures to kill germs: this is what a fever is. Exercise does the same thing, and if we do it early enough it's before the body has to resort to such drastic measures on its own.
I've always noticed that when I run with a respiratory illness, my airways tend to be clearer than if I don't. I think it's because the body responds to the increased exertion by laying off the mucous production to keep the airways clear and able to process lots of oxygen.
The thing to not do is overexert while sick - don't go for great new heights or anything. The body needs its resources to fend off infection and it can't do that when exhausted. But working up a good sweat if you're generally fit anyway can't hurt, and often helps.
Never exercise with a fever, though. At that point raising the body temperature further can be harmful. And make sure to drink even more fluids than normal before, during and after exercise while ill. This helps the body flush itself of germs.
As for me, I'm going to go for a good run, now. :)
I started taking zinc lozenges as soon as it started, and I think it's less severe than if I hadn't. The thing I haven't had a chance to do is go for a good run.
I remember reading an article by a health expert who said he swears by exercise to help him ward off colds. Our bodies sometimes respond to illness by raising our temperatures to kill germs: this is what a fever is. Exercise does the same thing, and if we do it early enough it's before the body has to resort to such drastic measures on its own.
I've always noticed that when I run with a respiratory illness, my airways tend to be clearer than if I don't. I think it's because the body responds to the increased exertion by laying off the mucous production to keep the airways clear and able to process lots of oxygen.
The thing to not do is overexert while sick - don't go for great new heights or anything. The body needs its resources to fend off infection and it can't do that when exhausted. But working up a good sweat if you're generally fit anyway can't hurt, and often helps.
Never exercise with a fever, though. At that point raising the body temperature further can be harmful. And make sure to drink even more fluids than normal before, during and after exercise while ill. This helps the body flush itself of germs.
As for me, I'm going to go for a good run, now. :)
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