Committing to Decisions You Will Complete with Confidence

We are inundated with a million choices, and have so many tools at our fingertips these days it's almost too much.  It's rare to just pick up the phone as ask a question, we would rather look it up on the internet. When I have a question about my business or my twins, I often times go to online forums. Last week we talked about making a strategic health plan to give you the steps to move forward to reach your goals.  But what if you are having a hard time just deciding what to do first?  Do you start with diet, fitness, mindset??  It's all important.  Rather than getting caught up in the details, it is often best to sit quietly and ask yourself what your body needs now.  No should's, no guilt, simply "what does my body need now to help me feel more calm, confident, and in control?"

Once you have let yourself listen, it's time to get some information and then start the decision making process.  A wise person once told me to seek out 2-3 people in my life that I can reach out to at a moments notice to get advice from when making a decision.  They aren't making the decisions for us, they are simply there to remind us of the why behind the decision, help give us experience gleaned from their own lives, and to help us weigh out the options in black and white.  A third party beyond our heart and mind can often times make a world of difference!  That's where a caring trainer or health coach can really help.

Once you have reached out to a reliable and trustworthy sage, and you have narrowed down your options to exactly what you want to do, there is a simple three step process:

1) Put your decision in writing in clear and descriptive terms.  For instance, if you say I am going to go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursday morning, narrow it down even more to what time, what you do to prepare yourself to get there, and what you will do once you get there!

2) Put a date on it.   It is super easy to say, I am going to clean out the car....and then it keeps getting put off (and please do not look at mine!).  When you put a date to something it creates a deadline, and the sense of urgency becomes much more palpable.

3) Go public.  This is where the conversation and conversion begins.  When we talk about what we are going to do we have to both get excited about it, defend it, or wiggle our way through it until we become more comfortable with our intentions.  In the talking we convert our thoughts  into words which then move us into action.  Talk with as many people as you can, post it on facebook, or join a like-minded community.

We love to support people in their decision making process.  Not only do we do this on a daily basis in our coaching, but we also offer quarterly Nutrition and Lifestyle Programs to give you the nudge to the three steps above with a community of people who are doing it with you!  Challenging yourself is tough, but it is much better when you have some buddies who can support you through it!  Check out our upcoming 21 Day Wellness Reboot and Detox for more information on getting involved with a tribe of life-changers!  We start May 4th, 2013!

Strategic Planning for Health Success

It's nice to be successful at the things we put time into, right?  We create plans for travel, plans for our education, plans for our career or our businesses, but we often think our health is a byproduct of doing a few things here and there when we finally get around to it. Not so.

Leaving your health to chance is disaster.  The best way to have success at living a healthy life is by planning for it!  We love to set SMART (specific, measurable, applicable, realistic, and timely) goals here at Restoration Fitness, but if you don't have a plan for how you can make step by step progress toward achieving that goal, the likelihood of you getting there is pretty slim.

So here are some steps to help you start the process of planning you health!

1) Get a clear vision of what health means to you.  Why is being healthy important to you?  What is the purpose of doing things that support your health?  What do you hope to be able to do by focusing on your health?  What will your daily life look and feel like when you have your health in check?

2) Find an inspiring quote or phrase.  This is sort of like choosing a mission statement.  Something that wakes you up and reminds you of why you have committed to your goal and vision.  Mine has always been "I am the Bomb".  It's just a little mantra, but it has helped me countless times when I was in the dumps and didn't want to do what I said I would do.

3) Pick a date.  When you set a goal, we obviously expect it to be timely.   But even more importantly, we want you to know how you are going to celebrate your acheivement one you have reached your goal.  Get specific and then put reminders all over the place of that date.

4) Work your way back.  Once you have a date, you can start walking backwards to set smaller steps for the tangible things that need to be done to get you there.  For instance, say you want to eat 5 vegetables a day in the next month.  Well, every week you just need to add about 1 extra serving a day.  What are the strategies that you will need to implement:  getting to the grocery store, keeping fruits and veggies on hand at all times, ways to improve their pizzazz so you won't get bored of them, people who can support you, etc.

5) For bigger goals, especially as it concerns the bigger vision of your health picture, start with 1-year goals and then break it down into 3 month and 1 month goals.  REview your strategies and objectives on a weekly basis and then commit to what that means for how you need to structure your day to day life.

This stuff really works! It is exactly how running coaches plan their training programs for the year.  They look at each race and work their way back in intensity and mileage.  Here's a sample 5k Run/Walk Guide to help you get your steps in motion for your next race this summer!!  Enjoy!!

Using your strengths to lighten up

Getting lighter to find strength    

There are those of you who hear "getting lighter" and automatically assume that means getting thinner.  What I am addressing may mean losing a few pounds, but what usually really needs to be examined is where a person needs to shed the should's, the ought to's, the excuses, the guilt, the self-condemnation, the comparisons, the perfectionism, and the not good enough's.  How can a person find their strength when all they can think about is how they aren't measuring up?

It's amazing how much energy we can spend lugging around extra baggage about what we should look like, what we should be eating, or the disappointment we can have about our lack of self-discipline.   What is interesting to me is how much we hang on to the negative because we think it will push us to do more, eat better, or act more disciplined. In the end, research shows that we are much more likely to follow through and act when we are motivated through our strengths, rather than focusing on our fears.

I used the picture of Carl from the Pixar movie "Up" to remind us that sometimes we can feel like we are just hanging on when circumstances spin us out of control.  The awesome thing about Carl, is that he takes charge by doing the thing he said he would always do- no matter how he had to do it.  Along the way he makes friends, he grieves his lost wife, and he finds himself again.  His story is a lot like all of ours.  We all have a choice to take control over what we eat, how we move, and how we think about ourselves.

It isn't always easy to take the risk to believe that by dropping your "baggage" (those things that hold you back or weigh you down) you can lighten up enough to laugh at yourself, ask for help, or finally start fighting for what you want most in life.  We get stronger not by avoiding struggles- our struggles develop our strengths.   We get lighter by realizing we are not alone, we have immense purpose and meaning, and that we have the power to change ourselves.

What will you do to lighten up and start your journey toward growing stronger?

7 Steps to Fit without the Fuss

It might be easy to assume that fit people are just born that way.  I mean, some people are just born smarter than others, right?  While we may all have a genetic predisposition to like certain things, that doesn't give us license to stop learning or being active. My cousin is a bookworm.  She would rather spend her days sitting on the couch with a cup of tea and a great book than do just about anything else.  And as much as I love reading, if I were given the choice to do anything, I will almost always choose a run or a hike outside.

Of course we do what we enjoy and what makes us happy.  So for those who have a hard time getting up and out the door (and perhaps getting their nose out of a book), here are some tips from the research for what makes fit people stay fit.  There's some facts here that may surprise you!

1. Make exercise a non-negotiable part of your routine. Working out in the morning has been shown to improve exercise consistency, even though multiple studies show that working out between 4 and 5 in the afternoon is physiologically the best time break a sweat (it is when our body temp is highest).
2. Workout with a friend, hire a trainer, or join a class.  Statistics have shown that individuals that work out with a partner have a higher probability of reaching their personal fitness goals.  Consistency, motivation, and long-term commitment increases when you work out with a buddy!
3. Pair your workout with an audio book, a podcast, or a youtube video.  I haven't found any research on this one, but I have many clients and have even found for myself that I am much more motivated to go out when I know I have something engaging to listen to!
4. Have a plan.  Even for when you go on vacation or get sick. Just because your daily routing is different, that doesn't mean you have to give up your exercise.  The general rule of thumb for illness is that if your symptoms are from the neck up, then it's OK to try a moderate workout.  However, if your symptoms are from the neck down, take a day or two off.  This isn't foolproof, however, and research done int he '90's points to the fact that those who regularly get moderate exercise will have half the days of illness as their sedentary counterparts.  Stick to your program by doing something that is much lower in intensity from your normal routine unless you clearly feel worse after 10 minutes of movement.
5. Move for the sake of moving.  In 1986 Eric Ravussin studied 177 subjects who were confined to a 10x 12 foot respiratory chamber where everything was controlled except for how much the subjects were allowed to move around.  Those who were more spontaneously active burned as much as 2300 calories in a 24 hour period!
6. Find a great motivator.  Most people think they are working out to stay trim and lean, but there are a million other benefits for activity.  Improved cardiovascular function, improved sleep, decreased stress, improved patience.  Did you know that a new study from the Journal of Labor Research shows that fit people make 9% more money than those who don't exercise?
7. Work out on an empty stomach.  Belgian researchers have recently discovered that the study group who exercised before eating, despite eating a horrible, weight gain-inducing diet, did not gain weight. Not only that, but the group's insulin sensitivity remained high and the bad diet did not make the group insulin resistant.   Just another reason to get that workout in in the morning!

I like the idea of fidgeting and simply choosing a little different time of day to exercise on an empty stomach having such a large positive effect!

Top 5 Tips for Wise & Warm Winter Workouts

After spending everyday out in any kind of weather including rain, wind, snow, or sleet, I can tell you from experience that wearing the right gear is crucial for success.  Running has always been, and continues to be my drug of choice to give me energy, calm me down, bring me peace, or lift my confidence.  It beckons me from a deep place, even if on the surface I may not feel like getting out the door.  I like to think it's sort of like cleaning the house.  Nobody really wants to do it when they are thinking about it, but once they get started it feels so good to have a clean environment, they can't believe they waited so long to just get it done.  When it's cold outside, it can be even harder to get motivated to get out the door.  Well, from one hooked outdoor enthusiast to another, here's my top 5 list for wisely staying warm for your outdoor workouts: 1) Always dress in layers.  My favorite is a pair of light leggings and a long-sleeved wicking underlayer top, a vest, and light wind pants and a water resistant jacket.  The layers help to trap in heat while the clothes that contact your skin help to keep the sweat moving through the material rather than sitting and collecting in the fabric.

2) Keep a hat and gloves handy.  Even if you don't end up needing these, they are light enough to stow away in a pocket.  I like to start out in those cheap cotton gloves and a cap that covers my ears.  I typically go for cotton, but there are some great synthetic brands that have more grip to keep the hat down around your ears that are great too.  In the end, as long as it covers your ears, no matter how tight it is, you will likely be fine.  For colder days, choose a heavier thickness hat with tighter grip and mittens.

3) Use a mask.  Not like one from the hospital, but I guess that would do.  I have used anything from a tied up scarf, a neck warmer sleeve, to an actual ski mask.  I've always liked the cotton neck warmer the best because you can always just give it a little spin and you have a new dry spot to breathe into!

4) Drink water.  On colder days it sometimes doesn't seem like drinking water is as necessary as the hot days, but it is just as important, if not more important, to keep your body hydrated to maintain a stable body temperature.  I like drinking luke warm water when I can find it.

5) Don't stop.  Even if you are just waiting for the light to change, keep moving.  You want to keep the blood pumping to your extremities and keep the muscles active so you don't stiffen up.  If you have to stop, use the time to stretch your calves, quads or hamstrings to keep your body in some motion.

In the big picture, there have only been a few times over the course of thousands of outings that I have ever regretted getting out in the cold to workout.  In fact, most of the time I feel so much better that I did.  Just like cleaning up my house!

What the diff between Semi-Private's and Classes?

When a person says, "fitness class" it's easy to picture a Jane Fonda type scene with spandex, steps, and tiny weights.  We thought it might be good to clarify what we think our classes have to offer you, and how they differ from our semi-private and private sessions.  Of course, you're welcome to wear whatever you like to any of our offerings, just as long as you know where you fit in! Classes: Right now we call these "Fitness Fire" classes.  They are a high-intensity, circuit-style, total-body workout that combines cardio with weights.  It's what many people in the fitness world call Metabolic Conditioning.  Every now and then we shake it up and go for time or highest amount of reps on a series of exercises which is more about Metabolic Density Conditioning, but overall, it is meant to crank up your metabolism by working the muscular and cardiovascular system together.  This type of workout is likely not going to get you to load your body for building maximum strength, but it will help with building some muscle endurance, and potentially some speed. The thing that makes our classes different, is that our average class size is only 6 people.  That means we can treat each class more like a group personal training session by adjusting exercises to fit each persons unique needs.  Have an injury or a funky shoulder...we can accommodate that!

Semi-private Sessions: These are what we call fitness coaching sessions.  The best part about these is that we get to directly address your goals and your body's unique movement patterns to help you maximize your strength and function.  We incorporate a specific program design to include dynamic warm-up and stretching to correct your tight areas and activate your weak spots.  We also use a variety of methods to strengthen your body in all planes of movement.  The best part about these workouts is that these are what build muscle and improve your overall physique the most!  We love semi-privates because 2-3 people can work out together for greater inspiration and accountability while saving a ton of money compared to personal training.  We like to call it  "buddy strength training".

Private sessions: These include all of what the semi-privates offer, only its you and trainer only.  That means you get the full attention and conversation to maximize your coaching to troubleshoot, motivate and keep you accountable during your sessions.  The only downside, is they are nearly double the price of a semi-private session.  So  if money is not a barrier for you, and you like your trainer all to yourself, then by all means...personal training is a great choice.

We also offer nutrition services and wellness coaching to help you with your nutrition and lifestyle needs.  But that's the lo down on the current activity at the gym!

Own It To Get Fit: How to take responsibility for your health

Yesterday at the gym, I overheard a woman telling her trainer about how she didn't stick to her food goal because her husband had left something out on the counter.  Before the complete sentence was even out of this clients mouth, the trainer curtly said, "That's crap.  You decided to eat it and that's that, so I don't want to hear about how it is someone else's fault."  Oooo SNAP!  Talk about cutting to the chase. Something in me hurt for the client who had received no grace, and another part of me was like, right on trainer...you tell her! There's no doubt we all have a million excuses...

"I didn't have time today";

"I don't know what to do"';

"I have no money to get the right help";

"My family eats too much tempting food and keeps it around the house";

"I don't like to sweat"

I have heard them all.  And they all have a legitimate reason behind them.  But if you look at what is really important to you.  The Big Why behind what is driving you to get healthier or lose weight, all the excuses typically pale in comparison.  Self-discipline is a learned trait and one that I feel we have to keep mastering over the course of our lives.  Most things don't come naturally or easily until we practice them.  And that takes self-discipline.  When I was a kid I loved to play the piano, but I hated piano lessons.  Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't practiced enough or maybe it was just that I didn't like it because it made be accountable to how much self-discipline I had committed to since the last lesson.  Now that I am a grown up, I wish I would have stuck with the lessons longer despite my annoyance with them.  Most likely you have something you wish you would have stuck with longer too.  Studying more, finishing a project, getting in exercise more regularly, staying away from wine a little more.  It all boils down to owning up to what you say you want and what you are willing to take action about to really make the necessary changes.

There are so many things that can help you get more disciplined beyond simply mustering up more will-power.  Here are a few ideas:"

1) Get very clear about your Big Why.  When you have a specific reason for why you are doing something, rather than "it would be nice if" then you will find that you naturally want to complete the tasks to get there more.  That's why people have more success losing weight or exercising consistently when they have a class reunion or a wedding coming up.

2) Make a specific plan.  when you are wishy washy to begin with because you don't set parameters on what it is you are really committing to, then it is even harder to follow through.  Your intentions should be specific, measurable, applicable to your end goal, realistic for the time and resources you currently contain, and timely so they can actually be accomplished within a reasonable time-frame.

3) Enlist help.  Talk to a friend, hire a coach or trainer, start writing a blog or posting regularly to an app like My Fitness Pal.  In fact, you can get all sorts of ideas for how to get help from apps to keep your goals (one of my other favorites is "Lift") in the most recent news article that features me (Nicole) and the 9 Top Health and Fitness Apps to Help You Stick To Your New Years Goals.

4) Give yourself a bit of wiggle room.  I am not saying to give in to not doing what you said you would do, simply that we can't always be perfect all the time.  With that said, you may do best to aim for 90%.  That's what we teach our clients here with there nutrition and exercise goals and it is so much better than feeling like just because you missed a day that you are a now a failure.

5) Do it anyway.  If there is nothing else to fall back on, do it simply because you said you would, and the time it takes to just get it in is much less than the time you will spend beating yourself up because you didn't do it.  Taking responsibility in anything means you fess up to the fact that it is up to you to make things right.  At the end of the day, even when you have a great community to fall back on, you are the one who has to take action.

Don't let destructive thinking or a day or even a week of missing your target derail your entire process.  Simply re-evaluate, and get back on the horse!  You can do this!!

How to Revive your Health with Inner Wisdom

No matter where you are on this roller coaster ride we call life, we all have times when we need a revival.  Whether it is a revival of hope, motivation, dreams, relationships, action, or anything else, one thing is certain, life can chew us up and spit us out so quickly that we hardly have time to react. It isn’t always a violent process, in fact most of the time we slowly let complacency creep in without realizing our actions have slipped away from our control. In the end, no matter how we get blindsided by disappointment, defeat, loss, or a change of direction, we always have a choice to make.  Will we get back up and try again, will we find a new way, or will we wallow in our self-pity or negativity until is steals our heart away? I recently had a client contact me who has finally found a resource who has helped her overcome her hormonal imbalances.  She is finally losing weight and feeling more like herself, but it took 2 year and a lot of searching and persistence to find the right fit for her needs.  I tell you this story to encourage you that no matter what you are going through, there is a solution out there for you.  There are thousands of different diets and different types of exercise programs out there, and the solution ultimately lies within you to find what makes you feel best.

As I watch my boys grow, it amazes how their little bodies just know what they need.  They cry when they are hungry, they figure out how to roll over, to crawl and to stand up while hanging on for dear life to the edge of the couch.  I didn’t teach them this.  They just know.  My challenge for you is to take some time this year to sit back and listen to your body.  Just because we are over a year old, it doesn’t mean our body has stopped communicating with us.  We have simply allowed too many distractions to get in the way.  Intuitively, many of us know what our body really needs, we are just choosing to ignore it.

Most likely it won’t be any flash of lightning or shocking feedback.  More rest, more vegetables, more water, more movement could all be the answers your body needs, but only your body can tell you.  You can try every diet and exercise program in the world, but until you really start to appreciate your body for the miracle it is and respect its voice, you won’t sustain results for long!

Looking to revive your health?  We are offering a 21 day fitness and nutrition challenge that will now be starting this Monday the 14^th!  Most of what this challenge will provide is the accountability to follow through with what your body is telling you to do to already!

Why 2013 is going to be your healthiest year yet

If you didn't know it yet, this year is going to be your fittest ever.  Don't believe me?  Well, suit yourself.  No, seriously, we all survived the end of the world, so what have we got to lose?! Honestly, there's no reason you can't make this your year to focus on getting fit and staying that way. Living a healthy lifestyle, after all, is all about setting an intention and preparing the details of your life with the expectation that you will fulfill your intention. There are more fitness trends and weight loss help sites and tools than ever before- which can make you crazy, but in the end can actually  help you stick to your guns when it comes to completing an exercise program and eating more healthful. My top 5 fitness apps and sites right now are: Myfitnesspal

LoseIt

Nike+ Run

Couch to 5k

Gymboss Interval Timer

For a more exhaustive list of growing trends in the fitness tech industry, check out  this article.

According to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Americans spent an estimated $30 billion a year in 1992 on all types of diet programs and products, including diet foods and drinks.

Marketdata, a market research firm that has tracked diet products and programs since 1989 releases its findings in its biennial study: "The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market." which in its 2007 study estimates the size of the U.S. weight loss market at$55 billion. It is now estimated to have reached over $60 Billion. (statistics recovered from the worldometer site for weight loss)  Unfortunately, we are also inundated with tasty food, high stress lifestyles, and mixed media messages that keep us from really developing a healthy way of living longterm.  It's not shocking to anyone that it is getting harder and harder to weed through the information on health while having the energy and motivation to stick with a fitness and nutrition regimen that is actually getting positive results.

Let me weed through the mountains of information and latest fads and give you the low down on what studies show really works if you are going to start a plan that gets results...and stick to it:

1) Eat breakfast.  Pack in the protein for a great way to start the day with leveling your blood sugar.  We suggest no less than 20 grams of protein at this meal.

2) Get accountability.  Whatever you choose, do it often and don't let up.  Get a trainer, join an online forum, hook up with weight watchers, call a friend.

3) Track it.  Not only does having a plan help, but tracking your plan is even better.  Keep a log of your food and workouts so you can track what works and what doesn't.  You'll also be less like,y to have that second or third cookie if you have to write it down!

4) Move.  Sounds obvious, but the little things add up.  Fidget, take the stairs, carry your groceries to the far parking space, and of course get regular workouts.  People who keep weight off walk an average of 11,500 steps a day.  Consider getting a pedometer and see what you can do!  Without exercise, you may lose some weight, but you likely won't keep it off.

5) Monitor your portions and your plate.  Although calorie counting has lost some of its bang, you still need to eat in moderation and get in quality foods that fuel your body for energy, muscle building, and repair.  Choose a ton of veggies, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and fruits.

Some of these tips come from the National Weight Control Registry, which tracks about 6,000 people who have, on average, lost 70 pounds and kept it off for seven years, but mostly it is stuff that we tell our clients all the time...and the stuff that we have seen work too.

Restoration Fitness has a vision to help empower others by giving them a strong body and soul.  We are starting our 2013 Fitness Revival challenge Mondy, January 7th.  Its a 21 day challenge where you will compete with yourself to see how much you improve on 4 fitness measures, completing daily workouts, and tracking your nutrition.  All the stuff that will help you succeed!  Join us, and you could win a free massage or facial too!!

Sugar plum fairies-Can You Avoid the Sugar?

Unless you are a ballerina, this post is likely for you.  The sugar plum fairy  is one of the most coveted roles in the Nutcracker, so I can see how a ballerina would die to be a sugarplum.  But for the rest of us, the sugar is just plain tempting.  This past week I asked people what they were most looking forward to this holiday, and 505 of people polled said holiday cookies.  No kidding.  The holidays are already stressful enough, but when you add a sugar overload to the mix, things can get out of control quick. To keep your sweet tooth at bay and yet still give yourself the chance to enjoy some treats, here's a few tips:

1) Understand that sugar is a drug.  In fact all food is a drug, but in the case of sugar, your body responds similarly to when it absorbs crack.  You get an enormous high and a huge let down.  And the darn stuff is addicting- that's why it is so hard to only have one!

2)  Speaking of only having one.  Take your time and choose the 1-2 treats you really want and savor them.  Put them on a special plate, sit down and pay attention to what you are eating.  Chew slowly and take a couple sips of water in between bites.

3) Have a back-up plan.  Bring your own munchies to snack on like gum or popcorn to make sure you have a little go-to distraction should you really be tempted.

4)  Enlist a buddy. At the start of the day, tell a friend your plan and make sure they have a "code word" to make sure you know they are on the lookout and trying to help you step away from the cookies.

5) Keep a picture of yourself in you mind of the strongest version of you.  The idea is to help embody the you you want to be rather than the temptation to eat something you ultimately don't want or need.

Seem too hard.  Well, I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to the holidays, a few extra workouts make up the difference for those extra cookies in the end.  However, when I go into the day with a game plan, I always eat less than I would without one.  Give it a try!

Holiday Games for Family Fitness

When I was growing up, my favorite thing about Christmas was the Santa presents.  Somehow, Santa always had a special stash of gift in red tissue paper that had our very own name signed on the package in silver magic glitter.  I loved the magic of it all, opening the presents with my family in our jammies listening to Christmas music.  We had a few other things we did over the years, one of which was to deliver holiday cinnamon rolls to our neighbors, piping hot from the oven.  Now that I am a new mother, my mind is beginning to dream of the traditions that we will create for our little boys.  Because I am an active person at heart, and love the idea of creating a family experience of movement and fun, it makes sense to offer you some ideas to get you own family up and moving this holiday season.  After all, the holidays don't have to be all about external gifts, they can be about the gift of life and health too!

1) Create a scavenger hunt for each day of Advent or the Hanukkah calendar.   Hide a little gift or a clue to the meaning of the season that can be read aloud.  You could even create different hiding spots for each person of the family.  Whoever finds that name will have to stop everyone from their searching and exclaim in a loud voice what they love most about that person.

2) Snowball fights.  With the warmer temps this year, we may not get the real fluffy white snow, but you can make your own snowball fight by piling up the couch pillows on two sides of a room and making your own snowballs with plastic Ziploc bags filled with marshmallows.  Or make your own indoor mini-snowmen out of lots of cotton balls.

3) Create a Neighborhood gift walk:  'Tis the season for giving, and what better way to get to know your neighbors than to spread the cheer with a special little treat.  Have your kids get involved with making a fruit basket, or a smoothie kit with protein powder, cocoa, almond butter and bananas and have then help you walk the neighborhood to deliver the gifts.  Or perhaps you could do a door to door campaign to collect can food items and then deliver them to your local food bank as a way of giving back to the community.

4) Play Charades.  This is an all time classic fun game that is sure to get lots of laughs and get people up moving around as then try to get others to guess their challenge.  Here's a great explanation of how to play charades for kids to play too.

5) Stocking relays.  When we think of stockings, we think of those hung on the mantle to be filled with little goodies, but in this relay game, we re-purpose stockings for a way to challenge a fun relay with the family and/or friends.  First, create an open area to run/move.  Then place a 4-8 small items (you'll need 2 of each of these for 2 stockings)  in each stocking for the two different teams to use during the relay.  Line up the participants into two teams behind the stockings.  Have each team start at the same time and select one of the items out of the stocking.  Each time a participant is up, they may not have the same item as the person next to them, but each team will have the same items to get through before they are finished with the relay.  Some great ideas might be balancing a small gift on the head while getting down to a cone and back; balancing a cotton ball on a spoon with the spoon handle in the mouth while going down to cone and back; bouncing or rolling a golf ball on the floor with one hand down to the cone and back; putting on a shirt and shorts while walking down the cone, and taking them off while walking back from the cone; walking blindfolded while your team tells you how to get to the cone and back.  You will have to either instruct your teams on how to use each item before the game starts, or for an even bigger challenge, have instructions on each item and the team has to figure it out with each item.  It's up to you!  This one is a ton of fun!!

No matter what you choose, it is the intention of playing and having a ball letting loose.  The holidays are all about kids, why not act like a kid yourself?!  And if you haven't already done so, take a moment to get your own free Holiday Survival Guide to help you make the most of this holiday by keeping you health a priority.

If you have more ideas or things your family does for fun, we would love to hear them.  Add your ideas to the list by commenting below.

Holiday of Alcohol or an Alcohol Holiday?

Alcohol is a trademark of celebration, especially around the holidays, but what would it mean to take an Alcohol Holiday? Alcohol weight gain is a real thing, and although it feels good to sip our favorite alcoholic beverages with friends and family, let's take a look at what it's costing you, and how you can reduce alcohol side effects. When you drink alcohol around 2 to 8 percent is lost through urine, sweat, or breathing. The other 92 to 98 percent is metabolized by your body. The body uses 3 enzymes to break down alcohol to acetate.  The problem with drinking too much alcohol, among many reasons, is that alcohol metabolism produces excess amounts of NADH (a by-product of metabolism). This excess of NADH can lead to acidosis from lactic acid build-up and hypoglycemia from lack of glucose synthesis. It can also lead to weight gain, fatty liver, and heart attack.  There's even a something called the Holiday Heart Syndrome which is related to effect that heavy short term drinking has on the heart to create an irregular heartbeat.  In fact, according to a recent study in Circulation, “The number of cardiac deaths is higher on Dec. 25 than on any other day of the year, second highest on Dec. 26, and third highest on Jan. 1.”   In this research, Kloner (an LA Cardiologist)  found one-third more coronary artery disease deaths in December and January than in June through September during a 12-year period.

What about all the hype around the benefits of Resveratrol, the compound found in the skins of grapes that is supposed to help our hearts?  Well, while it's true that Resveratrol can help reduce inflammation and be generally beneficial, we tend to hear this and use it as an excuse to over indulge.  In actuality, women over the age of 35 are not very good at detoxifying alcohol from the liver.  And men aren't that great at it either.  Beyond three glasses of wine a week, the Nurses Health Study shows that estrogen becomes elevated in women.

Alcohol also seems to disrupt our ability to get a good nights sleep and to maintain a health weight.  Not only does alcohol pack a ton of empty calories, it messes with our insulin and metabolism...both of which also play into our ability to sleep well.

So how are alcohol and metabolism related?

Well, a number of studies over the last 5 years seem to link alcohol consumption to insulin sensitivity. In one example, a large study from the Graduate School of Medical Science at Kyushu University demonstrated that regular consumption of alcohol was associated with decreased insulin sensitivity.  As it concerns weight loss, insulin resistance definitely predisposes you towards weight gain. This is the first way that alcohol and weight loss seem to be connected.

Secondly, as most of us know,  alcohol tends to make us more hungry.  In 2005 the European Journal of Endocrinology did a study that showed a  connection to alcohol intake and ghrelin inhibition. Ghrelin is our main hormone involved in hunger signaling and satiation.  Clearly, it’s more challenging to lose weight when you overeat...often at nighttime.

Finally,  since alcohol does not need to go into the small intestine to yield any energy, as do fats or carbohydrates, alcohol is instead absorbed through the stomach lining directly into the blood where it sits waiting for the liver to convert it into acetate.  This conversion of alcohol to acetate inhibits lipolysis, or fat burning.

And for sleep? The May 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research highlights a study that shows that "alcohol increases self-reported sleepiness and disrupted sleep quality more in women than men.  In fact, sleep was more disturbed the second part of the night."  Other studies have shown the correlation between reduced REM sleep and increased intake of alcohol.  With less sleep, we have an increase in Ghrelin and are therefore more hungry.

So what are we supposed to do?  Throw our arms up and make a toast, or take an alcohol holiday??

Your Holiday Alcohol Strategy to Stay Fit and Lean: 1.Take alpha lipoic acid when you drink.  ALA mimicks insulin and will help shuttle carbs into glycogen instead of store them as fat by limiting the insulin response.

2. Limit your carb  intake while drinking.  Stick to protein and lean veggies.  More than anything, avoid eating processed carbs and fats together.

3. Eat a hearty meal of lean meat or high fiber veggies abou 30 minutes to an hour before you drink.  The body will be spending energy digesting this meal rather than quickly processing the alcohol, so the body will not have such a jolting impact from the alcohol.

3. Drink plenty of water with your alcohol to avoid dehydration and reduce overall alcohol intake.

4. Plan to stick with no more than three alcoholic beverages per week.  I know, I know...this is tough.

5. Take an Alcohol Holiday. Instead, choose sparkling water or hot tea and sit back and enjoy the season.   Instead, choose sparkling water or hot tea and sit back and enjoy the season.  Without alcohol side effects you will be much more engaged and in control of your mood anyway!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 medium-sized banana
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (with the cream from a can)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (we like Sun Warrior Vegan Vanilla)
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup crushed ice

This is a great alternative to eating pie this year.  You can get your yummy pie taste without all the added sugar!

Get it together, really.

It's been one of those days.  You know, where you start off feeling like you are conquering the world, and then one thing leads to another, and all of the sudden you wanna hide under a rock and stay there for a few days because you can't get your sh*t together.

Or so it seems.

You spill your coffee all over your shoes, you forget your phone, you lose your keys, you get a call from the sitter that she needs to leave early, you have an 'emergency' at work, you're out of cash and they don't take credit, you burn dinner...or all of the above.

Suffice it to say, we have all had those days where everything seems off.  The bad news is that some of us see these days as tragic failures on

our part and we require 2-3 days beyond them to recover our self-esteem.  What's worse, is that many of you aren't getting your act together when it comes to your health, your activity, and/or your nutrition.  Unfortunately it is all too easy to let workouts and eating right slip by the wayside when we have a bad day and then use our lack of discipline or planning to be one more reason to beat ourselves us.  I know because I have done it at least a thousand times.  And I finally got sick of it.  I'd say the reason I stay healthy is more to keep my self-esteem up than it is any other reason.  I hate wasting time beating myself up for something that I could avoid if I would just do what IO say I want to do.

What do you want to do for your health that just isn't getting done?

Is it because you "still have to get the rest of your life figured out"?  Well, guess what, life is moving on whether you are or not, so you might as well MOVE with it!

If you know what you need to do and you just aren't getting to it, here's some ideas to get you moving (and stop procrastinating):

1. Declare your plans publicly: send out an e-mail, call 3-4 friends, post it on facebook.  There is power in announcing your plans to the world.  it makes it more official, gives you inspiration- and a great reason to keep going- you can't lose face in front of your friends!
2. Put a date on when you will complete your goal and declare that publicly too: Putting a date on something helps you to know how to work backwards to get it done.
3. Structure your calendar around what you want to get done, even if it means moving a few things around or getting help.
4. Make up your mind that you won't let yourself go another week without getting through as much that needs to be completed as possible.
5. Get an accountability buddy or Coach.  I can't tell you how much having a coach has changed my life.  We offer wellness coaching that can help anyone stay on task and focus in on what needs to be done so you can free yourself from the guilt trips and excuses.

Your greatest motivator is going to be your passion for why this is so important to you in the first place.  For an added push, consider writing your goal over your mirror, save it as a screen saver, write it on your hand every morning...whatever you need to do to keep the task at the top of your mind and inspiring you to live with urgency around getting it done.  In the end, what matters most, isn't always that you got the goal or get the task done, it's that spent your time with focus and intention to do the things that matter most.  And that's getting it together all by itself!

Six Steps to Curbing your Carb Cravings

It's no shocker we eat a lot of sugar in this country.  According to the American Heart Association, the average four to eight-year-old eats 21 teaspoons of sugar a day, but they should only eat three to four teaspoons.  The average adult eats about the same amount, 22 tsp., which is also about 5 times the limit amount of added sugar recommended for adult men and women.  I doubt any of us adults actually thinks that the sugar we consume is good for us, and yet we do little to manage our intake- particularly during times of stress. In Julia Ross's book, The Diet Cure, she writes, "many clients have told me that they got hooked the very first time they got a high from ice cream, sodas, or cookies.  Personally, I think of refined sugar as a drug.  When white sugar was first introduced to Europe int he 16th century, it was kept under lock and key, because of its potency.  It was worth its weight in silver and they even called it "Crack"!  Just because sugar is legal, cheap, and easily available doesn't mean that it isn't destructive."

The author goes on to say that "if you eat sweets a lot...you will exhaust your adrenals eventually.  This is true if you diet a lot too, because your blood glucose is always low when you diet.  Dieting is a big strain on the adrenals.  There is no greater strain that impending death, which is what the adrenals perceive starvation dieting to be.  But Any extreme or prolonged stress will overtax them. "

So how do we combat our desire to eat sweets, especially when we can't complete avoid stress and we are constantly bombarded with opportunities to eat sugar?

1) Manage your stress as best as you can with communication and scheduling:  When we talk about our problems that can't eat us up inside- so we won't use food to stuff our emotions down.  When we schedule our lives, we have less stress in the first place and can anticipate our needs.

2) Stop dieting:  Eating a lower calorie diet may seem like a good idea in the first place, but we can only survive on fewer calories if we are getting a TON of nutritional density out of the calories we eat.  Most of us need to eat at least 1200-2000 calories a day minimum to meet our daily needs.  Anything less puts our body into a starvation setting and increases our desire for quick sugary carbs.

3) Eat a protein or a fiber with your carbs:  Eating a protein or a high fiber food (like veggies or whole grain brown rice) slows down the rate of the sugar absorption so we don't have such a big surge in insulin release to handle the processing of the high sugar intake.  When we absorb the energy we eat more slowly we are less likely to have large swings in our blood sugar- we stay more stable, and therefore have less cravings.  Ideally you should be getting 30-35 grams of fiber a day.  Use a supplement if you needed...we love UltraFiber Plus.

4) Add these 2 amino acids to your day: Adding two 500 mg capsules or L-Glutamine three times a day between meals improves your brain chemistry by balancing out the energy the brain needs.  Taking 50-100mg or less of 5HTP 2-3 times a day increases our natural serotonin levels so we feel more emotional stability and self-confidence.

5) Get your sleep:  Carbohydrates and sugar are purely an energy source, like the gas you put in your car.  When you are low on energy, you crave more quick fuel...like sugar and carbs.  Boost your energy by getting your Zzzz's.

6) Remove the tempting food from  your environment: If it isn't there to eat, you won't be able to eat it.  Pack your kitchen full of veggies, fruits, and lean meats instead.  When a craving comes along, do your best to eat a little protein and wait about 10 minutes.  The amino acids in the protein should help the craving subside.  This trick works especially well for those of you who feel you cannot remove all tempting foods because of kids in the house.

You may not have to give up all your sugar...just do your best to cut back at every opportunity you can!

Heating Up Your Workouts When the Weather Turns Cold

OK.  The easy answer here is to simply tell you to bundle up, tough it out, get outside and do what you always do.  Which is a great suggestion.  However, here's a few ways to kick it up a notch:

1. Find some hills or (even a mountain) and walk or jog up as fast as  you can.  Stop every 10 minutes to take some pictures of the beautiful snow.  Or...drag your sled along and enjoy the ride back down!
2. Revive your playlist.  Nothing gets a person going more than a good ol' beat.  Here's a great top 50 song list from 2011.
3. Try something new.  Your body has to work harder to try something it has never done.  Find a new class, pull out that dusty workout video, find some great short workouts on YouTube, or perhaps test out some of your kids stuff in the garage!
4. Use big movements that combine upper and lower body:  When you perform and activity with both your upper and your lower body, one that we call "complex" it increases the demand on both your muscular and cardiovascular system.  Things like a squat to an overhead press or a Lunge with a Bicep curl are great choice.
5. Insert Power or Plyometric exercises into your circuit:  Moving with high speed and force- especially when you have to get the weight of your body off the ground, requires a ton of energy and w ill get your heart  pumping and your muscles burning!  We love squat jumps, lump jumps, and bounding up the stairs!
6. Turn up the sex appeal.  This one may be a little out there for some of you- but rather than thinking of your workout as a way to stay slim, think of it as a way to help you feel more sexy.  Dance a little, shake that booty, sing in the mirror, belly dance- heck...try a little pole dancing.  You aren't on candid camera, so let it loose!

Most importantly , get your body up and do it.  It's easy to use a snow day as an excuse- but why not reframe the cold temps as the perfect reason to turn up the heat on your exercise routine!

Rolling with the bumps in the road to health

I recently attended a business meeting with the Crankset group, and this analogy was brought up to explain the best way to look at our path to greatness in life.  Too often we give up or get disappointed because we don't see the clear road ahead and we feel like all we do is come up against challenges rather than success.  We think our journey to success should be a straight upward line of accomplishments. What's interesting is that if we think about it realistically, every successful undertaking looks more like a winding mountain stream than a straight flat road.  Imagine the drop of water that starts at the peak which has to create a path around rocks, tree stumps, cliffs, mud, ponds, hills, and valleys.  Although it is headed downhill, and will end up in the ocean just like the rest of the water from the top, it has it's own journey to take to get there.  What we have to assume is that although the road may have bumps and hurdles, if we focus on our purpose and passion and set our life on a course based on strong values that we prioritize, we will make our way to our own ocean of success.  Health may not always be a given, but we do have a choice to decide how we will live in the given moment.  Will you choose to find the way to an optimistic attitude, to gather a great support system, and allow yourself to be pushed while giving yourself grace or will you shut down and stay put in your pain?

The choice is yours.

Take courage and get help.  Find confidence in knowing you will find what you need when you ask.  Be willing to connect and share your story.  After all, road trips are always more fun with a friend.

Panko Crusted Pork Cutlets

Ingredients:

4 1/2 inch thick pork cutlets (remove fat with paring knife, I also like to pound mine with a mallet to get equal thickness)

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 cup (gluten free) panko bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper

1 egg

2 swigs of olive oil (coat bottom of pan)

- Lightly beat egg in a shallow bowl

- Combine panko bread crumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, parsly, salt and pepper together in another shallow bowl (you can get creative with seasonings here)

- Dip pork cutlets in egg then coat with panko mixture, press down until fully covered

- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, until olive oil is shimmering

- Pan fry pork cutlets on each side about 5 minutres until golden brown and cooked through

Yet another, super easy, super yummy recipe! Hope you love these as much as my family does. We ate these with green beans and sweet potato last night. Enjoy!

Is snacking really that good for you?

I read an interesting post this week about a mom who has had it with constantly being asked to bring snacks for her kids' every event.  While it's true we typically advocate snacking, it made me wonder if it really is appropriate for everyone out there.  This lady writer had a point.  We never had the vending machines and food on every corner like we do today- and I distinctly remember my parents telling me not to eat too much in the afternoon or I would spoil my dinner. So I took a look into the research and found only 2 studied reasons that would have us closing our lips to those scrumptious snacks:

First, a recent study examined the impact of a snack consumed after a standard lunch but before the subjects became hungry. The researchers fed subjects a snack (400 kcal) at various times after a 1300-kcal lunch when they were not hungry. The snack neither reduced the amount of food consumed at the dinner meal nor increased the time before the subjects requested their dinner meal.  Therefore, snacking when you are aren't hungry may only add to your total caloric consumption without adequately changing our total daily input in the end.

Second, it would appear that we are less likely to need the smaller more frequent meals when we eat a lower glycemic loaded meal than a higher one.  A high glycemic meal would be anything that causes a sharp rise in insulin, so things like refined carbohydrates and sugar.  IN other words, when we make better choices with our meals by eating foods high in fiber, healthy fat, and protein, we automatically reduce our need for snacks because our body takes longer to digest these foods, and therefore doesn't need the frequent snacking to keep up it's metabolism.

That said, there are so many studies supporting the use of snacking for so many beneficial reasons, it seems ridiculous not to have a snack or 2 a day as long as you are aware of your total intake over the course of the day and adjust your portions accordingly.  Here's some of the many studied benefits to snacking a couple times a day:

• Weight maintenance: One study used NHANES data to determine associations between snacking frequency and overweight/abdominal obesity. The study found inverse relationships between snacking frequency and mean body weight, BMI, the percentile of BMI-for-age, and waist circumference among participating adolescents. In this same study, prevalence for over-weight/obesity and the occurrence of abdominal obesity decreased as snacking frequency and energy consumed from snacks increased.
• Weight Loss: Hunger is more intense before meals than before snacks. The satiety ratio was quantified and found to be higher for snacks than meals.
• Sustained energy: Eating a morning snack can help offset the effect of a small breakfast (although getting a big breakfast is preferred!)
• Improves diet quality: When we aren't starving we make better choices.
• Helps manage Diabetes
• Assists in raising healthy eaters
• Prevents pre-term deliveries in pregnancy

Overall the verdict is still out, but more often than not, eating small snacks is a good choice.  Especially when that choice includes veggies, fruits, and healthy fats.

Here's a list of 100 healthy snacks under 100 calories to get you packing those yummy snacks!

The secret to simplicity

Isn't it ridiculous that in this day and age when we have countless things to make our life simpler, we are found pulling our hair out at how complicated things have become?  There's always another app to download, another blog to read (thanks for reading this one!), another friend's facebook post to comment on, another book to read, another workout or recipe to try.  With the accessibility of so many resources and information, it's wonder we ever get anything done! What's missing is our ability to live simply.  It's just too darn easy to let life pile up and to try to do it all.  Our church has put out a challenge over the past couple of years to simplify with the goal in mind that we get back to what matters most:authentic relationships, both with ourselves, God and others.  Here's a peek at our Commit to Simplify action items.  See if you can find one this week to commit to and start to make changes.  Even if it means reaching out (and getting vulnerable) to get some help to make it happen:

1. Commit to making a real budget (You earn money, so spend it in ways that matter)
2. Commit to de-cluttering your life (Your mind, home, car, relationships, time...)
3. Commit to taking a time inventory (168 hrs/week.  Are you spending them wisely?)
4. Commit to nature (get out- find ways to be in nature daily)
5. Commit to developing a habit of giving things away (consider those in need and how you can help)
6. Commit to enjoying things without owning them (find freedom in the simple things- less is more)
7. Commit to the environment and God's creation (reduce, reuse, recycle every opportunity you get)
8. Commit to practicing delayed gratification (no impulse buying. is it needed? is there money?)
9. Commit to a spiritual time with God each day. (slow down enough to pray, worship, consider God)
10. Commit to increasing your compassion for others.  (find ways to serve those who have less)

If you are anything like me, meals are something that you have to plan in order to simplify your life, rather than scrambling at the last minute to figure out what's for dinner.  In order to meal plan consistently you have to be realistic about how much time you are willing to give to meal prep.  Many families choose to cook for a day and freeze bigger entree's for the month, others rely on providers like Back to Basics Kitchen in west Lafayette to have meals on hand without having to do much prep at all.  Whatever your solution, you must get into a routine, or it will never happen!

Get ideas for meal planning and cook ahead recipes: Once a Month Mom Once a month cooking world Real food for real people Free printable grocery lists Relish: Weekly menu plans