The Health and Fitness Truth Blog

I went out to dinner this week with some women friends whom I haven’t seen in awhile. I was looking forward to the social time, but also looking forward to a nice  big, fresh salad with lots of great stuff in it. My day had been hurried, and my food choices not the most “wholesome”, so I was really craving that salad.

When we arrived at the restaurant and I announced my choice for dinner- a wave of disappointment swept over the faces of my friends. “A salad?” they questioned, “Come on, you’ re out to dinner, live a little!” Well, I actually thought I was living a little! Salads always taste so much better when someone else does the work, and how could I pass up candied pecans, chicken and pears with gorgonzola cheese? Despite their disappointment, I still had the salad and it was fabulous. But, it got me to thinking, why do women try and “sabotage” each other’s efforts to eat healthy?

I have come across this phenomenon many times- of lesser and greater degrees- the most damaging being the nachos, french fries and chocolate cake extravaganza. That’s not to say that I expect myself and others to be martyrs or neurotic food nazis- but why can’t a big salad bring as much pleasure as nachos? I think it’s because somehow people get used to thinking that dinners out are a time to splurge- to gorge- to overeat. However, we all go out enough nowadays that this shouldn’t be the case. I certainly can understand if someone only goes out once every few months, but… every week? There’s a subconscious thought when we go out to dinner that “I deserve this”  (but, we ignore the fact that overeating is not a”reward” but a punishment). And, lastly we want others to overeat with us because seeing others eat healthy while we are gorging on cheese fries makes us feel guilty, and with good reason.  Many of the foods served in massive quantities at restaurants these days are just plain bad for you! Let’s join together and stop trying to convince each other to overeat- or overdrink for that matter- because it’s really a self-destructive behavior, and God knows we women need to support each other in this quest to love ourselves and eat healthy. So, make a pact with your friends today- healthy eating is achievable even when out to dinner! And, eating a salad for dinner leaves room to share a piece of chocolate cake!

New Year’s has come and gone and I for one am glad! It marks the end of the gluttony of the holiday season, and the beginning of a great time to “restart” and recharge. Many of us will make health and fitness resolutions this time of year, but will those resolutions really stick? Historically speaking, research tells us no: that 60% of us will forget about our exercise plans by April. Can we beat this sad statistic? I believe we can, but only if we work on our internal “mindset” BEFORE we begin to work on outside physical changes.

We all have an internal tape that plays constantly, often negative words we have heard as a child, or words created and echoed by past failures or setbacks. We must change this negative mindset into a positive one- we must “spin” things in a way to convince ourselves that we are strong, we can override a bad day, even a bad week, with healthy choices, and that exercise and eating well are a joy, not a burden.

For example:

• If your internal tape says “I’m so tired, I do not have energy to exercise” spin this to “I’m a bit fatigued from my day, but exercise will make me feel energized. I can’t wait to get on my treadmill!”
• If your internal tape says “I only have 20 minutes to exercise, It’s not worth it” change that tape to say “I’m going to use these 20 minutes to get a little exercise in- something is better than nothing! I’ll feel so much better afterward!”
• If your internal tape says “I must go on a diet, I can’t be trusted to make choices for myself” change that tape to “I am looking forward to learning to eat well and trust myself. I don’t need to deprive myself. No one is perfect. If I can make small changes every day, this will make a big difference.”
• If your internal tape says “I hate salads, what I really want is French fries!” change that mindset to “Salad is really healthy for me, and I need my vegetables. French fries won’t give me the healthy vitamins and minerals I need today.”

Exercise adherence and nutritional success is 80% mental. What separates those who succeed and those who fail, are those who do the “internal” work first. Start today- make a list of all the negative things you may usually say to yourself, and change them to positive thoughts. Keep that list near and read and repeat the mantra when needed. It makes a huge difference!

Winter is upon us, and this has been a particularly wicked winter for ice and snow. Perhaps you have already had some falls or slips, or near misses, if you are lucky? While this seems like a hazard of the season, it is not a foregone conclusion. With some consistency and dedication, you could improve your balance and stability within just several weeks of time!

When most of us think of fitness, we may not think of balance as something we can train, but rest assured, it is very trainable! Balance can be improved with simple practice and some core stability training.

For example: Take a few minutes every day to practice standing on one leg. Challenge yourself- if you start with only 10 seconds- continue to practice until you reach 20 seconds, or 30 seconds. Once you can stand on one leg for 30 seconds or more, try doing this with your eyes closed. This is quite a challenge! For the next stage, I recommend practicing standing on unstable surfaces such as an “airex pad”, or inflatable disc, but using a pillow from your home will work just as well. These techniques will “fire up” your neuromuscular system, and begin to get your muscles thinking and reacting more easily to unstable surfaces- whether they are a pillow, or the ice in your driveway.

Supplement this balance work with some core training such as bridges for your glutes, “Birddog” for you spinal muscles and plank holds for your abdominal and back muscles. I also recommend training the lateral hip muscles- which are important stabilizers for the hip joint and for balance. Something as simple as standing side leg lifts can work, as well as the “clamshell” exercise- a side lying exercise, sometimes using an exercise band, in which you rotate the hip open like a “clamshell”.

Lack of balance is a major risk factor for falls, fractures and serious injuries. Just think, if you start training your balance today, by the end of January your risk of falls and injuries will be much less! If this is not an essential reason to exercise, I don’t know what is!

I was thinking the other day about why and how exercise adherence- the motivation to keep going- is so challenging for so many. Why do we get started but then back off? Why is it so hard to begin an exercise program, and so easy to stop? Of course our lives get in the way, we lose focus, don’t see results, or maybe just can’t handle the stress of keeping up with it. No matter which of these reasons affect your ability to maintain an exercise regimen, I realized that sticking with the program is alot like swinging on a swingset.

• When you first sit on a swing and begin the process of getting the swing moving, it takes ALOT of hard work. You must pump your legs and pull with your arms very hard to get the swing going. But, you know the effort will be worth it once the swing finds momentum.
• Once the swing finds momentum, just like your exercise program and the results you want to achieve, less work is needed to maintain the swing’s movement. Now it’s fun- a little pumping, a little pulling- but mostly the swing just keeps going higher and higher.
• THEN!! At some point, you get really high- and maybe you get scared of the results or the commitment to the results. OR, you take the swing’s momentum for granted- you lose focus, you stop putting in even the most minimal effort. Now, the swing slows down, as, without your effort, even momentum cannot keep the swing going. Soon, you are near a standstill, almost back where you started. Is the ride over?
• NO!! … If you can just keep even the smallest motion still going, you don’t have to start again from full stop. Swing your legs, pull with your arms- momentum is just a minor effort away! Now you’ve got it- and next ride, you’ll remember not to lose focus, to keep putting effort in even if it feels like things are getting easy. And, if you get too high, you can always slow down- but never stop completely. It’s just too hard to get going again.

Happy Holidays! If you are like me, you are feeling a little overfull and under-exercised. Naturally, this period of heavy eating and celebrating sets us up for thinking about our New Year’s Resolutions, many of which will center around exercising and losing weight. Unfortunately, statistics show that by April, most of us will have discarded our resolutions and sunk back into old unhealthy habits.

Through years of working in fitness, a big lesson I have learned is to make your fitness resolutions simple and doable. Many people make the mistake of trying to resolve to do too much too soon and hence burnout quickly. Instead of a resolution such as I am going to eat right, give up sweets, exercise every day and lose weight, try shooting for just one of those promises, and START SMALL.

If you are a non-exerciser, I suggest that you start here first. Exercise has so many positive effects on the physical, mental and emotional body, that it can be a tremendous jumpstart to other improvements in your life. Commit to beginning a simple exercise program three times a week. Shoot for 20 minutes of cardio such as walking, biking, jogging or using a cardio machine, depending on your likes and baseline fitness level. Three times a week is doable and will create feelings of success and self-efficacy, and thus you will want to move ahead eventually. Or, if you are currently just doing cardio workouts, add twice weekly strength training workouts. Choose 8-10 exercises that target ALL major muscle groups (not just the parts you don’t like!) and begin with 1 or two sets only, depending on your baseline fitness. You do not have to commit to daily weight training, or hours in the gym. Weight training can produce great results with just two sessions a week of 30-45 minutes- as long as you are working hard and targeting the correct muscle groups. Small steps such as these can last a life time, and isn’t this what it is all about?