The Health and Fitness Truth Blog

In speaking with my clients trying to lose weight, it’s amazing how many of them work in offices where it’s standard fare to have an “Office Candy Dish”. Or, they keep dishes of candy in their homes for the “Unexpected Guest”. Through their food logs, I have found that some of my clients may be taking in 300-400 calories (or more!) from dipping into the candy dish throughout the day. You cannot lose weight taking in this amount of refined sugar! Worst of all, this is unconscious eating; unecessary, unsatisfying, numbing, habitual. This is dangerous territory for all of us, as many recent research studies have shown.

Happily, these studies have also shown that there are some small steps you can take to decrease your candy intake. Some examples are: put a cover on the candy dish, use opaque rather than clear bowls, and move the bowl away and out of sight from your desk. These steps can make a huge difference, cutting candy intake almost in half. However, personally, I just advocate getting rid of the dish entirely. Daily sweets are unnecessary, not healthy for us and can cause illness and disease, not to mention decreased work productivity. Someone has to step up to the plate and make the suggestion. Why not you? Let’s make the office candy dish a thing of the past!

This is the time of year when most of us reflect back on the past year and set goals for ourselves for the upcoming year. Many of these goals involve getting healthier-and that also means losing weight for a vast majority- especially after the mind numbing, overeating holiday season we have just experienced. New Year’s Resolutions have become somewhat of a joke- as research has shown that within 6 weeks, most of us have forgotten and forgone any attempts at sticking to our resolutions. One reason that we dump our resolutions so quickly is that we often make resolutions that are too binding, strict or impossible to keep, all based on unrealistic expectations of ourselves.

So- how do we set realistic goals that allow us to find success and stick-to-it-ness in 2006? I believe that the goals you set for yourself right now should be based on where you have come from last year. For example- if you are a non-exerciser, promising to exercise 6 days a week is too big a leap of faith. Start by resolving to exercise 3 days a week to start. Make that an absolute committment. It is doable for EVERYONE, regardless of busy lives and hectic work schedules. This committment can be kept throughout the year- or can be increased over time once you have stuck with the initial stage. And, if you are already exercising and have consistently exercised 3 days week, make your resolution to now exercise 4-5 days week.

Nutritionally, we tend to make the same mistakes.”I’m giving up sweets for the year” is a common resolution. But, this is overly binding for many of us, and once you give in to your inevitable cravings, you may feel like you have failed completely and thus give up on trying at all. Try this instead:
-If you eat sweets every day- commit to cutting out sweets every OTHER day. Try this step first- see if it is doable. Once you have succeeded here- THEN can you update your promise to yourself as you feel necessary.
-OR- if you usually have 3 cookies a day- first cut down to 2 cookies, then to 1 cookie. Take it step-by-step. OR, substitute a lower calorie sweet for your high calorie treat and begin that way. A fudgesicle at less than 100 calories is a fantastic change over a bowl of Haagen-Daz. And, while it may not taste exactly as good- it might be just enough to keep your resolutions intact!

If you are trying to lose weight- DO NOT EXPECT to lose more than 2 pounds a week It just isn’t possible. Nutritional programs like Jenny Craig or reality shows like The Biggest Loser highlight incredible weight loss which sets us up for false hopes. While it is true that in the first week of a severe diet, many people lose weight dramatically, any weight loss of greater than 3 pounds is due to water loss and muscle tissue wasting- not true fat loss.

Finally, weight loss and good health is ONLY achieved and sustained by a committment to exercise. There is absolutely no getting around this fact!

The holidays can be a stressful time if you are in the midst of an exercise and wellness regimen. We feel guilty if we indulge in food and drink at holiday parties, and exercise time can be pushed aside to squeeze in shopping and social obligations. Three small and simple tips may help you get through the season without too much guilt or too much straying from your wellness program.

• Something is better than nothing. If you find that you are busier than usual, you may not have time for your full daily workout. (Are you really busy- or is this just an excuse?) Do something anyway- even if it is only a few abdominal exercises or 15 minutes on the treadmill. This will keep exercise in your schedule and on your mind, and make it less likely that you will fall off the wagon completely.
• Think positive. Instead of making negative threats about what will happen if you don’t exercise, think positive about the benefits of each exercise session. Instead of “If I don’t exercise I am going to gain weight”, think “I will feel more energized and accomplished after my workout today”.
• Do not under eat during the day thinking you’ll save calories for the evening holiday party.

Research has proven that under eating during the day always leads to over eating at night. In fact, have a little something to quelch hunger prior to the party, and then you’ll head to the party with a clear mind, better able to make good choices.

Happy Holidays!

It is not a cliche to say that women may have a harder time than men trying to balance all aspects of their lives- work, play, friends and family- something has to give when we are trying to fit all of these things into our day. Women traditionally play a greater role in the running of the household than many men, and once you add on a full time job, a woman often feels stressed and overwhelmed by trying to do it all. And, of course, the guilt of remaining “a good mom and caretaker” does not allow women to let go of family responsibilities. But there is even one more complication to this equation- what about the woman herself? What happens to her needs- her self care?

I have noticed an alarming trend among the corporate women that I train. Many of them have sacrificed their own health and self care for their work and their families. A majority of clients I currently train are full time working women in their 40’s and 50’s. They have spent the last two decades climbing the corporate ladder and raising children at the same time. Meanwhile, their weight has ballooned to unhealthy levels, they have developed high blood pressure, and their stress levels are so great that they seek out food or alcohol for comfort and relaxation.

It’s time that we, together, as women, reclaim ourselves. Corporate women need to reevalute their priorities- realizing that neither work nor home benefits from an overstressed, unhealthy, overweight mom and employee. Exercise is the key to many of the health problems corporate women encounter- but, how do they find time to exercise?

It is essential that the woman set aside time specifically for exercise. Think of exercise like any other appointment you would make for yourself. Some suggestions that may help you:

• Gently tell your boss that you need to exercise to remain productive and healthy. Work with her to change your schedule to accomodate your exercise sessions. An extra 15 minutes for lunch to exercise, going in to work 1/2 hour later so you can exercise in the morning, or having lunch at your desk so you can leave early to exercise, all may help you better manage work and exercise.
• Try and exercise in the morning or at lunch- rather than late in the day when energy may be low. Many of my clients claim they can’t exercise at lunch because they do no want to get sweaty- but walking or weight training at lunch won’t do that generally- so that’s no excuse.
• Skip some of the extracurricular activities that you generally have viewed as necessities such as manicures, pedicures, facials and more and replace them with exercise sessions. While these are often lovely treats, once a month may be enough. I know many corporate women who have these services weekly, but then claim they don’t have time for exercise. Which is more important- your heart or your nails?
• Ask your husband to prepare dinner twice a week so that you can exercise when you first come home from work. My husband and I even alternate shopping duties by the week. This is one more time you can insert an exercise session instead of grocery shopping.
• ALWAYS exercise on weekends when you are not working. We tend to eat more on weekends as well- so an exercise session will do alot of good to negate overeating as well.

It was once said that if your life is so busy that you do not have time for exercise- then change your life, not your exericise. Without your health and self esteem, there is nothing else.

In past blogs, I’ve talked about the importance of having concrete, realistic goals to help you stay focused and motivated. I’m sure all of you keep these goals and dreams in your mind, and resurrect these thoughts as you search for motivation. But, keeping your dreams and goals alive only in your mind may not be enough to keep you on track, as our internal self dialogue of negative thoughts and feelings can often override the positive nature of our dreams and goals. Instead of just thinking about your goals, why not put these goals and dreams into words? Concrete writings that you can see and read over and over when you need the motivation!

A client of mine recently had this revelation, and decided to enhance her motivation by making a list of the disadvantages of not exercising, and the advantages of exercising. Her list included:

• Not exercising puts me at risk for diabetes and heart disease.
• Not exercising makes me feel overweight and weak.
• Not exercising will make losing weight harder.OR- in a more positive tone:
  Exercising makes me feel accomplished and energized
• Exercising helps my blood sugars and reduces my risk of heart disease.
• Exercising will help me lose excess weight and make me feel better about myself.

Another type of motivational writing is making a “Contract with Myself”. To do this, you must have very concrete ideas about your exercise goals, and what you need to do to achieve them. For example- if your goal is to lose excess weight, you must also know what types of exercise and how often to exercise to achieve these goals. THEN- create a written contract on which you write down -in your own words- what your goals are, including the specific actions you must take to achieve these goals. Thus, if we use weight loss as a model for this, you may write:

“I desire to lose the 20 pounds I gained from quitting smoking”
“I commit to losing this excess, unhealthy weight in the next 6 months” (this is realistic)
“I will lose this excess weight by”: (be specific)

• Walking 4 days a week for 45 minutes
• Strength training 2x a week for 30 minutes
• Meeting with my trainer 1x/month to assess change
• Keeping a food log on a daily basis for the next month to learn about my eating patterns.

Next, sign it and post it where you can see it on a daily basis! Supplement with exercise logging on a calendar and posted motivational sayings and you’ll be on your way!