The Movement Habit

No, this isn’t a blog about constipation though I do have recommendations for that too in case you’re interested!  This is a blog about the importance of integrating physical activity into our daily lives – small, casual movements as well as the regular intense exercise I’ve written about in prior posts.  I was dramatically reminded of this last week when I had the type of workday that has become atypical for me now, though it was my norm for many of my years in client- and supplier-side marketing research. 

One of my current health coaching clients is the management team of a manufacturing company in Kentucky.  They are a group of talented and interesting people, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to work with them on their health and wellness goals.  After doing an initial presentation for the group about a month ago, I began a series of four trips to the company to have individual hour-long sessions with each member of the team.  Last Tuesday I had a round of sessions scheduled, so I got on the road by 6am to get there by 8am, had six hour-long sessions with one half-hour break in the middle (which got truncated because we tended to run a bit over each hour), and then got in my car to drive nearly 2 hours back to Cincinnati.  As I started driving home that afternoon I realized I could barely keep my eyes open, and I caught myself drifting off the road more than once.  Remember, this was about 4:00 in the afternoon, not midnight, but I was nevertheless a danger to myself and others!  I stopped at Starbucks for a soy latte (my second of the day), cranked the radio, deepened my breathing to get more oxygen to my brain and extremities, and managed to make it home in one piece.  As I pulled into the garage, I recalled getting home from work or a business trip in the past (busy & stressful but not ACTIVE), and feeling the same type of exhaustion.  If I’d had a plan to work out or go to a yoga class that evening, there’s no way I would’ve done it -- I wanted to sit down with a glass of wine and do nothing! 

What was wrong with me?  I realized that the sum total of my physical movement during that whole day had been standing up and down a few times to greet each new client, and walking to and from the bathroom.  And that wasn’t enough.  Yet it had been the norm for me for years, and it is the norm for millions of people who work mainly at a computer or on a phone all day.  It was so startling to me because it’s no longer my norm, and I’m happy to report that individuals and companies are also getting the message about the importance of movement and the true danger of being sedentary.  I now know lots of people who stand at their desk at work or home, either all the time or intermittently; another client of mine has rigged up her treadmill below her standing-level desk.  If I’m out in downtown Cincinnati between 11am and 1pm I see numerous groups of coworkers taking lunchtime walks, not to mention those who are able to change clothes and take a yoga or pilates class or fit in a run during their workday! 

As for me, I consciously set up my home office to be “inconvenient” in small ways that end up encouraging frequent movement even during my work time; for example, whenever I print something I hike to the other end of the condo to the printer, and I keep various office supplies in several different desks to necessitate a short stroll to get an envelope & stamp, or my stapler & holepunch.  I also sit on an exercise ball at my desk and have realized that my file cabinet is a perfect height for standing computer work, as long as I set my laptop on a couple of September-issue fashion magazines, which are each over an inch thick as any fashionista knows! 

I encourage you to think about your daily routine and find ways to incorporate small movements as often as possible.  If you need more convincing, check out “Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?” published in the NYT last year (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html).  The article summarizes a variety of research on inactivity and introduces the concept of NEAT – Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis – that links small movements to major health benefits. 

A final note:  When I got home from the long coaching day described above, I did indeed sit down and my husband did pour me a glass of wine.  When I told him about how tired I’d become, he gave me a great idea which I will implement on my next company visit:  As each client comes in for their session I will turn them right around and we’ll go outside for at least a 15-minute walk to review their progress over the last couple weeks, then come back in for the rest of the session.  Here’s hoping for pleasant weather!!!

Life Is A Long Time - You Are Responsible for Making It A Healthy Time!

Joshua Rosenthal, founder of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where I received my Health Coach training, likes to say, "Life is a Long Time." He says it to encourage us to be patient with ourselves and to internalize the idea that there's time to do everything, but maybe not all at the same time!
 

I recently devoured a book called Younger Next Year - For Women, by Chris Crowley & Henry S. Lodge, M.D., and it provides another take on life expectancy and quality.  (Their original book was directed at men; I chose to read the subsequent female-oriented edition, and it is smart and insightful despite being written by two guys!)  Have you ever taken a quiz to predict your life expectancy based on your current age, gender, weight, and basic diet & health behaviors?  There’s a thorough one in the Younger Next Year books and a variety of other quizzes online, and I invite you to complete one of them.  You will (hopefully) find that you are likely to live to be 90+ years old.  Mr. Crowley and Dr. Lodge’s book is all about how to make that outcome more likely, and more importantly, to have a healthy and active life for as long as possible. 

Imagine a curve with time on the x-axis and health level on the y-axis.  Some of us are resigned to the idea that once we hit “middle age” (whatever that means these days… isn’t 60 the new 40?) we start to gradually decline – a downward curve until we die.  The authors of Younger Next Year argue that this does NOT have to be the case.  Our actions (and I do mean actions) influence the quality of our lives more than we realize, and we have the power to maintain our health and vibrancy well into our later years, so that our personal age X health chart can register health at a steady high level until we are well advanced in age, with a quick decline at the very end.  Isn’t that better for us and our loved ones, not to mention the healthcare system?

The key to healthy aging is to promote growth in the body & mind, not decay.  The authors argue that there really is no middle ground.  This is programmed into our genes from prehistoric times and is based on the earth’s seasonal cycles – we are either in spring/summer “growth” mode when we are energetic and active and our body is building muscle, or we are in fall/winter “decay” mode when we slow down and store fat preparing for food scarcity and a hard winter.  I’m sure you know where this is headed… today we have no food scarcity and we spend most of our time being sedentary, so our bodies move into constant storage/hibernation mode – in a word, decay. 

What to do?  The authors advocate EXERCISE, virtually every day, and including both moderate and high intensity workouts each week.  Exercise boosts your metabolism, it reduces stress, it improves your mood, and it is believed to offer protection against development of Alzheimer’s disease.  As you know, we recently got a puppy whose pictures are regularly featured in my newsletter and on Facebook.  My husband, Randy, spends hours each day training and briskly walking Foxy either on the beach in Hilton Head or here in Cincinnati.  He enjoys every outing with his dog – rain or shine, hot or cold – and he has lost weight and feels fit and energized.  And, as a bonus, we have a very well-trained dog!

It is critical to your health and well-being that you establish some sort of fitness routine, whether it involves a dog, a running or workout buddy, a spinning class schedule, a favorite yoga instructor or DVD, or any other vigorous activity.  The important thing is to do something physically intense nearly every day, for the rest of your life.  Your body, mind, and loved ones will thank you.

http://www.youngernextyear.com/

You and... You!

As any serious Sex And The City fan knows, the very last line in the TV series’ final episode includes Carrie’s voiceover saying… “The most exciting, challenging, and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself.”  Of course we’ve all heard this sentiment expressed with various words and in different contexts.  I looked on www.quotationspage.com and a wonderful version is attributed to Lucille Ball:  “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.  You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”  What a great combination of the spiritual and the practical!   

It’s interesting for me to write about self-love after my most recent blog was about how we are shaped by the people with whom we spend the most time.  I think that recognizing and understanding the interplay between these two critical dynamics – one directed inward and the other outward – is our life’s work. 

The more clients I work with in my health coaching practice, the more I believe that the real power of the process is that it empowers people to understand and accept themselves and because of that, to decide to take the best care of themselves that they can.  This self-love spreads to wanting to take care of family and friends and even to make larger-scale changes in the world, and this is the “Ripple Effect” described by Integrative Nutrition’s founder, Joshua Rosenthal (www.integrativenutrition.com/about). 

Before we get too carried away, though, here are some thoughts on ways to deepend your understanding and appreciation of yourself.  And by the way, I fully appreciate that sometimes life feels so busy and overwhelming that spending time on your relationship with yourself seems impossible and possibly irrelevant and silly.  That’s ok – just read on and file these ideas away, and pull them out when you do have a moment to breathe – it’ll happen!

Breathe (what a coincidence) – When we’re stressed it’s common for us to shorten our breath, tighten our muscles, and steel ourselves for whatever threat we’re facing – physical or emotional, real or perceived.  The truth is that we are much better able to cope and will start to connect with ourselves, by becoming aware of our breath.  Slow it down.  Close your eyes and breathe slowly through your nose.  Ideally, pause for a beat or two after you inhale, before exhaling slowly and smoothly.  Here’s a link to a recent Andrew Weil column describing several breathing techniques:  www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00521/three-breathing-exercises. 

Meditate – and I use that term loosely.  Conscious breathing is meditative.  Yoga can be meditative, as can walking or running outdoors, listening to or playing music, petting your dog or cat, hugging your partner or child, chopping vegetables, or doing anything else that slows you down and helps you to empty your mind of the chatter.  Here is a link to one of my other favorite sites, on meditation:  www.zenhabits.net/meditate. 

Listen and Watch – I’m talking about listening and watching your own mind.  Sit still and close your eyes.  What thoughts float by?  What songs pop into your head?  What images do you see?  What do you think it means?  This could be described as analysis of your waking dreams and can be fascinating. 

Dream (you knew this was coming) – Of course, tuning into your dreams is also a great way to get in touch with yourself and your unconscious.  Julia Cameron, author of books such as The Artist’s Way (www.juliacameronlive.com), advocates writing “Morning Pages” upon waking, to capture your dreams, thoughts and feelings while still in a semi-conscious state.

Remember – Allow yourself to think back to your past – to happy and sad and just regular times.  Give yourself permission to feel the feelings that come up, and begin to perceive patterns between your past and present.  My mom has been living on her own in Florida for 10 years now, and while she keeps herself busy with music, tutoring, and ushering, she also has a lot of unscheduled time.  She has told me that with more space and time in her life, it is amazing what she remembers about the past – and doubtless connects to her present.  My mom is not a big fan of the concept of “happiness,” true to her German and Norwegian roots, but she is a model of contentment.

Imagine – Take time to envision and plan for your future.  Intriguing research at Stanford and NYU has shown that those with greater ability to imagine their future selves (as measured by the location of brain activity) make better choices today – from flossing their teeth to saving for retirement.  They actually have greater financial assets and are more likely to own their own home than those less able to project themselves into the future.  There is evidence that this skill can be learned – another study showed that simply exposing research subjects to age-advanced pictures of themselves (the magic of Photoshop!) was related to their making longer-term decisions about how they’d spend an unexpected $1000, vs. those gazing at their current images (see link to New York Times article below). 

I’m sure you’re all thinking about how making good food & exercise choices today affects you positively now, and sets you up for a healthier and happier future too! 

“Bad Habits?  My Future Self Will Deal With That” www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/business/another-theory-on-why-bad-habits-are-hard-to-break-shortcuts.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bad%20habits%20february%2025&st=cse   

Who are your five??

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  Jim Rohn, the personal development guru who passed away in 2009, was quoted by Scott Dinsmore in a recent post on his inspiring site, www.liveyourlegend.net.   

I think this idea is thought-provoking from multiple angles and I encourage you to spend some time with it and ideally use it to proactively improve your life.  Here are some of my noodlings on this idea, which I believe to be extremely useful, even if I may quibble with it around the edges… 

So what’s the exact equation? 

Is it really 5 people, or could it be 4, 6 or 7?  Do they all have to be in your life right now or can past influencers count?  More broadly (and mathematically), what are the weights on each person (variable) in the equation and how do you account for time?  This relates to quality vs. quantity time – is it possible that someone you’re rarely with can impact you disproportionally?  I think that’s possible, but I believe Jim Roh’s points was that you do need to look at what you do and who you do it with EVERY DAY.  And can a country or company or other organization count as one of your influencers?  I believe the answer is YES.

Think about the following… Over time, people begin to resemble their spouses.  Sometimes there even seem to evolve similarities between people and their dogs!  This seems sort of funny, yet it’s true.  And why is there such positive power in the family dinner?  If “you are what you eat”, then this makes perfect sense.  People who eat the same food together become more similar.  Groups (races, nations, age cohorts, regions, etc.) with similar eating habits develop a culture, which consists of shared beliefs and behaviors.  I love that the founder of my nutrition school (Institute for Integrative Nutrition*), Joshua Rosenthal, says that when he goes to dinner with a friend he makes a point to let them order first, and then orders what they did so that their bodies & minds can be on the same wavelength from the food, and they can connect over – and as a result of – their shared meal.  More insidiously, you have probably read about the studies that demonstrate “clustering” of obesity – that your chances of becoming obese increase significantly if you have a friend who becomes obese during a given time interval.  Same goes for spouses or siblings.¹

Let’s take this sharing a step further.  Deepak Chopra, the famed M.D., neuroendocrinologist, and mind-body medicine expert who never fails to deliver mind-blowing research findings & ideas, has described human beings as verbs or processes, not nouns or structures.  We are constantly changing and evolving.  With every inhale, Dr. Chopra describes, we take on 10²² new atoms; the same goes for every exhale – that’s a lot of new atoms in, and a lot out!  Each time we breathe, we incorporate atoms from our surroundings into our bodies, and we exhale massive amounts as well.   Did you know that our breath is the most important detoxifying mechanism that our bodies have?  Not sweat, not elimination – breath!  Our bodies are incessantly regenerating.  This is an opportunity!  As Dr. Chopra asks:  “Who do you want your 2012 model to be?”

I hope you will take some time to think about your “5 people” (plus or minus!), evaluate your current situation, and make plans/set goals for modifying it if your situation doesn’t serve you.  And please remember that it’s reciprocal.  You are doubtless one of the 5 people for others in your life, and that’s a great privilege, a great opportunity, and also a great responsibility. 

*See www.IntegrativeNutrition.com  for more information

¹Christakis, Nicholas A., M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., and Fowler, James H, Ph. D. ”The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years.” New England Journal of Medicine. July 26, 2007. <http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa066082Special Article.>

K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Sweetie!

Did you know that our country’s agricultural system produces twice the calories that our population requires?  That sounds like a good thing, but the fact is that too many of those calories are provided by our ingenious food industry in unhealthy forms – refined and processed foods that are loaded with sugar and bad carbs.  With appealing advertising and abundant availability it’s easy to eat too many calories and yet be malnourished.  This can set up a vicious cycle – our bodies continue to need nutrients so we keep eating, yet the only thing we gain is weight.   

The bottom line is that it’s easy to eat healthfully if your diet is dominated by high quality whole foods – vegetables, fruits, lean protein, whole grains, and good fats.  When you do buy packaged foods, it’s important to read the ingredient list (not just the nutrition panel) and try to stick to products with just a few ingredients that you actually recognize.   I decided to call this post K.I.S.S. for Keep It Simple Sweetie – no need for insulting adjectives like “stupid” when we’re talking about taking care of yourself and those you love!  

A recent article in The Washington Post (see link below) does a great job of spotlighting food items that are marketed as healthy but are actually far from it.  Here is their list: 

Reduced-fat peanut butter:  This product typically has as many calories as regular peanut butter but also more sugar and other non-peanut ingredients to create a peanut butter-like texture.  The oil in peanuts provides nutrients, so stripping some of it out decreases the product’s nutritional value.  Your best option is to purchase natural peanut butter, which ideally includes only peanuts, or perhaps adds a little salt.   

Enhanced water:  Vitaminwater and similar beverages “are essentially sugary drinks with a vitamin pill.”  Zero-calorie water drinks are better, but the best choice is to drink plain water and to eat your vitamins in food form, not as reduced and isolated additives to other products. 

Energy bars:  Depending on the brand you buy, energy or meal replacement bars may contain some whole foods and provide protein and fiber, but they are usually high in sugar too.  My teenage sons love Clif bars and I like that they contain organic whole grains and have a pretty impressive fiber/protein profile, but I was dismayed to see that the #1 ingredient is organic cane sugar!  Organic, cane… it’s still sugar!  Again, read ingredient lists carefully and consider nuts & dried or fresh fruit for an energy boost. 

Multigrain foods:  Grain-based food products can be very confusing with all the healthy-sounding descriptors out there, but keep in mind that multigrain does not mean whole grain.  Multigrain just means multiple grains, but all may be refined and stripped of nutritional value.  Look for a whole grain as the first and preferably only grain in the ingredient list, noting that multiple whole grains are even better.   

Non-fried chips and crackers:  This is a tricky one, because Baked sounds healthier than Fried, doesn’t it?  In the case of chips and crackers that may not be the case.  As Walter Willett of Harvard’s School of Public Health notes, “Now that trans fats have been removed from most cooking oils, the healthiest part of potato chips is the fat.”  That’s because most chips and crackers are made from refined grains or starch, so their natural healthfulness is greatly reduced.  Look for whole grain crackers and chips made from whole grains (or vegetables, such as Terra Chips) and fried in healthy olive or canola oil.  Note that Sunchips are recognized as a decent option “so long as you keep to the one-ounce serving size.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/5-so-called-health-foods-you-should-avoid/2012/01/31/gIQA6E7vfR_story.html

The Importance of Being Persistent

One of my prior posts was about habits and it strikes me that they represent mindless persistence.  On the flipside, mindful persistence is a good thing in all areas of life, from raising children to maintaining relationships to succeeding at work to improving your health.

A weight-loss message that I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot lately is actually one that has been around for a long time and is very simple:  You have to expend more calories than you consume in order to lose weight.  Diet fads come and go and the bottom line is that most people will lose weight on most of them because they are cutting calories, and likely reducing processed foods and saturated fats to boot.  The key to losing weight on any diet is persistence, willpower, stick-to-it-ive-ness, or whatever you want to call it!  And after the weight is off, it’s important to establish a healthy maintenance diet heavy on vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and good fats.     

A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer summarizes all of this nicely and emphasizes the importance of accountability and support, too (see link to article below).  Accountability can be to yourself, by keeping track of everything you eat and weighing yourself frequently, so that you can act quickly if your weight loss stalls or you backslide.  “One of the major differences between the average-weight person and the overweight person is the ability to recover from overeating,” the article states.  Being accountable to someone else is also a powerful incentive and ideally includes getting support from that person, whether it’s a friend, family member, or health coach.  I try to provide holistic nutrition education, warm support and gentle accountability to help my health coaching clients reach their weight loss and other important wellness goals.   

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Eat less, Move more,” and while both suggestions are worthwhile, recent research has shown that they address different goals.  Persistently eating less is the most effective way to take pounds off, while establishing a regular exercise routine is particularly important for keeping those pounds off.  “Exercise is the single best predictor of who keeps weight off and who doesn’t,” the Inquirer article states.  Exercise revs up metabolism and improves overall health, and it helps people maintain muscle mass, which tends to decrease as we age.  And of course, a toned body looks and feels better too.   

So if you’re interested in losing some weight, find a diet that works for your body and lifestyle, stick with it, and develop an exercise routine that you love, and stick with that too.  You’ll be glad you did!   

www.philly.com/philly/health/20120221_New_science_can_help_guide_diets_and_exercise.html

It's National Almond Day!

I opened up my Smartbrief for Nutritionists newsletter (sign up for this and other Smartbriefs at www.smartbrief.com) this morning and discovered that February 16th is National Almond Day!  Now here's a food lobbying group I can support -- the Almond Board of California!  Here's a link to their website featuring all things almond:  www.almondboard.com/consumer/pages/default.aspx. 

Almonds are a great snack because they are natural and nutrient dense.  A one-ounce serving contains 160 calories, 6 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and 13 grams of good mono- and polyunsaturated fat (plus only 1 gram of saturated fat).  They contain no cholesterol and are a great source of vitamin E, calcium, magnesium and potassium.  If you buy unsalted almonds you will also enjoy their naturally sweet flavor and consume no sodium.  I like to buy raw organic almonds from Whole Foods. 

So what's a one-ounce serving?  Well, it is 23 almonds, and the website offers a variety of ways to measure them out besides counting.  (Remember the glamazon counting out almonds for her breakfast at the beginning of the movie, The Devil Wears Prada?)  A one-ounce serving fills a 1/4 cup measure or a shot glass, and it covers a 3" X 3" post-it note in a single layer!  The most fashionable method offered on the website, though, is to order a special almond tin, and these are really cute.  There are four different patterns, the price is only $1.87 each, and I ordered a whole bunch to use as health coaching client gifts.  The dimensions of the almond tins are 2 3/4" long, 2" wide, and 3/4" high, which is similar but not identical to an Altoids tin size (according to another Google search).  If anyone has an Altoids tin lying around and wants to let me know how many almonds fit into it, I'd greatly appreciate the info!

Beyond eating almonds on their own, I recommend you try almond milk, but get the unsweetened varieties from Silk or Trader Joe's or whichever brand you like, to avoid unnecessary sugar or artificial sweeteners or flavors.  Our cat, Raz, rejects dairy milk and soy milk, but meows if I don't give her a bit of almond milk in the morning! 

Almond butter is also wonderful if you like nut butters, and again try the natural creamy or crunchy versions.  Once you open your new jar of natural almond butter and stir it up once, keep it in the refrigerator and it will stay integrated.  Sprouted grain toast with almond butter, plus a sliced Honeycrisp apple, is my favorite at-home lunch these days.

Finally, here's a super-easy recipe that gets rave reviews every time I make it, most recently for a CAbi party.  It features edamame in addition to almonds, so it is really packed with great nutrition.

Edamame Almond Salad

1 (12-ounce) package frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 large red bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons almond oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Sea salt to garnish

Place edamame into a bowl.  Trim and seed bell pepper; slice into very thin strips, each about 1 1/2 inches long; add to edamame along with almonds.  In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and soy sauce.  Pour over salad and toss gently.  Garnish with a light sprinkling of sea salt, and serve. 

The Almond Board website includes tons of almond recipes too, for us all to try.  Let me know your favorite!

Girl Scout Cookies!

The topic for today was going to be recent research on decision fatigue and the implied best grocery shopping strategies.  However, I've been advised to keep my posts light and perhaps a little less academic, so this one's topic is Girl Scout Cookies!  Hey, it's still about decision making, right?  What are you going to do when your neighbor or coworker (or his/her adorable daughter) approaches you with their clipboard and hopeful smile? 

A Google search reveals that this year's cookies will begin to be available in late February in the Cincinnati area, so that explains the articles I've been seeing online about the Best and Worst nutritional choices when it comes to Girl Scout cookies. 

The article I'm referencing primarily is by the editors of EatingWell magazine (http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/best-38-worst-girl-scout-cookies-184400020.html).  This and other articles agree that the BEST nutritional choice is to select the Shortbread cookies, which are called Trefoils in certain locations.  These are best because a standard serving of 4 Shortbread cookies has 120 calories and 4.5 grams of total fat of which 2 grams are saturated.  This cookie also has a notably short ingredient list -- just 10 total ingredients, with sugar appearing only twice in the list. 

The cookie dishonored with the label of "least healthy choice" is the Caramel deLite, also called a Samoa in some locations.  This variety has a serving size of only 2 cookies, which deliver 140 calories, 7 grams of total fat (of which 6 grams are saturated), and an ingredient list that starts with sugar.  Caramel deLites also contain trans fats, though per serving they register under the threshold of 0.5 grams per serving, allowing them to be labeled as containing 0 grams. 

All of the other cookies are judged to fall within these two extremes based on their standard serving size, which, not coincidentally, has between 110 and 160 calories.  Well, here's a radical idea... How about disregarding the company's suggested serving size and relying more on the per-cookie stats?  The EatingWell rankings do take that into account in their rankings -- note that the winning Shortbreads allow four cookies per serving and the losing Caramel deLites only two.  However, think about what this means if you're willing to consider eating less than the suggested (standard-calorie-amount) serving?  Two Shortbreads only have 60 calories and 2.25 grams of fat.  Other contenders emerge:  two Savannah Smiles have only 56 calories and 1 gram of total fat; even decadent Thin Mints have 80 calories and 4 grams of fat if you eat only two. 

Try portion control!  Here's another example.  One of the perks of my nutrition program was that we all received a handful of counseling sessions from our own health coaches.  Mine was wonderful, encouraging me to try almond milk (instead of dairy or soy) and to include dark chocolate in my diet (70%+ cocoa, of course).  I began buying a brand called Endangered Species (http://chocolatebar.com/), specifically the Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Almonds.  This product is sold at Whole Foods and in Kroger's organic section.  It comes in individually wrapped pieces, with a serving size of four pieces (200 calories).  I swear I have never eaten more than two in any one day.  I break each one into four and savor each bit.  They have so much flavor that two pieces (really eight, the way I think about it!) are more than enough to satisfy.  It's quality over quantity.  Let me know how it works for you!

    

Turning Habits (Back) Into Choices

I’ve been struck by something that’s happened with the clients that have completed a six-month health coaching program with me.  When they started they had some food-related habits that they weren’t happy about – they knew these habits were counterproductive to their health and wellness, yet they felt somewhat powerless to change them.  At our final session together I reminded them of those habits and they said some version of “Wow, you’re right – I’d forgotten about that.  I can’t even imagine doing that now!” 

What this demonstrates is that bad habits are not immutable – under the right circumstances, they can be eliminated and ideally replaced with healthier ones.  It’s important to remember that what becomes a habit began as a choice, and this post is about understanding why habits develop and how to empower yourself to reverse the process and take back control. 
 

I’m talking about relatively benign, non-life-threatening habits here – snacking in front of the TV every night, relying on fast food treats on a regular basis, taking chocolate breaks every afternoon, or drinking several diet or regular soft drinks throughout the day.  Yet even these habits can seem powerful and hard to break when they become part of your routine.  The reason is that you’re probably not really eating for eating’s sake; rather, you’re eating to satisfy some other need that’s not being fully met in your life. 

 

The Health Coaching program I completed at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (www.IntegrativeNutrition.com) describes this as the difference between Primary and Secondary food.  Primary foods are the higher level needs we all have and there are four categories:  Relationship, Career, Physical Activity, and Spirituality.  The foods and beverages we eat and drink are Secondary foods.  When things are out of whack with an area of our Primary food – let’s say we’re bored or exceedingly stressed at work – we often try to make ourselves feel better with food; we take a jolt of caffeine or sugar for energy, or choose sweets or salty snacks to relax.  Why not?  It’s quick, easy, and momentarily seems to do the trick.  Except, of course, it doesn’t solve the underlying problem, and in fact creates its own problems including poor nutrition, weight gain, and negative energy spirals.  Secondary food can’t satisfy Primary food needs.   

What to do?  Here’s what we do in our health coaching sessions, and you can do this with a supportive friend or family member, or even with yourself:

1.       Shine a light – Review your most recent day or two, talking through each day’s ups and downs, the good choices and the not-so-good ones.  Identify the stress points and let the habits out of the closet!

2.       Analyze the situation – Dissect the situation around each habit you identify.  Answer the who, what, when, where, and how of the habit’s context. 

3.       Identify the Primary Food – Connect the feelings around the habit to one of the Primary Food dimensions, considering each one broadly.  For example, Career encompasses not only paid employment, but all types of work such as homemaking and volunteering, as well as education and finances.

4.       Consider alternatives – Spend some time thinking about the Primary Food issues you’ve identified and brainstorm healthier, more productive ways to address those needs.  These can be as close-in as taking a walk around the block in the afternoon instead of grabbing a snack, or more substantial, like asking for a promotion at work, or even considering an alternative career.

5.       Conduct an experiment – Mindfully decide to make a different choice when your habit situation comes up.  Pledge to make that different choice for one week and see how you feel!  Or, for larger-scale changes like a new career, build a realistic plan for yourself and execute it. 

6.       Be gentle and take it slow – Accept and appreciate yourself throughout this process.  Use success in one area to energize other aspects of your life by making more and more healthy choices.

Next time:  More about choices, including the concept of decision fatigue and its implications for healthy grocery shopping.

Don't Worry, Be Happy - With Fish Oil!

One of the reasons the nutrition program I recently completed (Institute for Integrative Nutrition at www.IntegrativeNutrition.com) was so great is because it exposed us to such a wide range of historical and current dietary theories, often presented by the founders themselves.  This enabled us to develop a healthy skepticism about claims or practices that seemed a bit too extreme, such as Breatharianism (no food or water needed -- just subsist on air and universal energy!).  It also enabled us to begin recognizing the threads of consistency that exist across so many dietary theories, even though the details may differ.

One of those commonalities is a recommendation to increase consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, by eating more fatty fish, walnuts, and hemp & flaxseeds, as well as by supplementing with high-quality fish oil.  The standard American diet (appropriately referred to as SAD) is rife with omega-6 fatty acids but greatly lacking in the omega-3 type with estimates as high as 99% of Americans being deficient in omega-3's.  Today's typical diet contains a ratio of 10-to-1 omega-6 vs. omega-3 fatty acids, compared to our ancestors' ratio of 2- or even 1-to-1.  Reasons for this shift include Americans' high consumption of processed & fast food, refined vegetable oils, and animal protein that has been degraded nutritionally by grain feeding and factory farming. 

Omega-3 deficiencies are linked to cardiovascular disease development, cancer, arthritis, and mental and emotional problems.  You may be aware that many scientists now believe that inflammation at the cellular level is the root cause of virtually all of our major health problems, and many diets now focus on reducing inflammation -- see Dr. Andrew Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid at http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02995/Dr-Weil-Anti-Inflammatory-Food-Pyramid.html for a great example to live by.  Dr. Oz of mainstream "Oprah" fame, Dr. Mark Hyman who advocates functional medicine, and many others are also on this bandwagon, fueled by Dr. Barry Sears, who originated the Zone Diet in the mid-90's.   

In fact, it was a recent blog by Dr. Barry Sears linking omega-3 deficiency to anxiety and depression (https://mail.google.com/mail/#label/Blog/135100e4d6de1863) that made me want to write about this topic today.  He cites studies that credit high-dose fish oil rich in EPA with remarkable results for depressive patients, as well as anxiety reduction among substance abusers.  As he writes, "It may be that depression and anxiety are simply two sides of the same coin of increased cellular inflammation in the brain.  Even for "normal" individuals, high dose EPA seems to make them happier and better able to handle stress." 

So what should you do?  Do an experiment!  Try eating more fatty fish, walnuts, and perhaps hemp and flaxseed.  Purchase a high quality fish oil supplement from Whole Foods or the organic section of your local grocery store.  Look for products that are molecularly distilled to be free of mercury, PCB, and other contaminants.  Two brands that qualify are Nordic Naturals and Spectrum Essentials (one variety of which also contains Vitamin D).  Take 1 to 4 grams (1000-4000 mg) per day and see how you feel.  The consensus is that there is no risk to taking high doses of fish oil, unless you are on anti-coagulation drugs or have a blood coagulation disorder.  In additional to yourself, give fish oil to your spouse, your children, your friends.  And let me know how it goes!   

Adventures in Parmesan

My husband and I recently took a trip to Saint Barthelemy in the French West Indies and one of the highlights of the trip was the food, which ranged from Very Good in even the most casual cafés and beach bars, to Exquisite in the fancier restaurants we visited for dinners.  St. Barts is a tiny gem of an island, about 16 square miles in area, located near St. Maarten and Anguilla a little further down than the U.S. and British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. 

I could go on and on about the stunning beaches, but I want to talk about the food, and the marvelous fact that despite eating very well and drinking wine at every dinner and most lunches (!), neither of us gained any weight during our 6-day trip.  How can that be?  We exercised a bit with a handful of 20-30 minute hikes to various beaches, but mainly we relaxed, read, sunned, strolled, and ate!  Upon reflection, our meals were invariably composed of fresh and mainly lighter foods, prepared expertly and served creatively in small portions.  For example, one day at a beach bar owned by the tennis player Yannick Noah and others, I had Gazpacho served in a Grolsch-like bottle and a Mahi “burger.”  Lunch at another beachside hotel was quinoa salad with crab and bell peppers served in an oversize martini glass, accompanied by smoked salmon and small slices of perfect French bread.   Reasonable portions and over-the-top flavors – a perfect combination!

The foodie pinnacle of the trip, though, was dinner at Le Gaiac, on the southeastern Toiny coast of St. Barths.  Housed in the swanky Le Toiny hotel, this restaurant features views of the voluminous black sky, moon & stars (we saw Venus that night, too), a beautiful infinity pool adjacent to the restaurant terrace, and the ocean and beach below.  One of Le Gaiac’s specialties is black truffle Parmesan spaghetti, and Randy ordered this as an appetizer.  We were startled when the waiter wheeled a cart to our tableside, featuring a tire-sized wheel of Parmesan.  He shaved some cheese from the inside of the wheel, tossed it with hot spaghetti and truffles, and then flamed it with vodka – very dramatic!  The Parmesan itself was unusually flavorful, almost white in color, and more crumbly in texture than what we’re used to getting in our grocery stores here.  We use quite a bit of parmesan for Caesar salads and other recipes and Randy was so intrigued by Le Gaiac’s cheese that he emailed the restaurant the Sunday after we returned to Cincinnati and received an immediate reply from the General Manager, Guy Lombard.  Mr. Lombard offered the following advice, which we are attempting to follow:

·         Be sure you’re buying Parmigiano Reggiano, not Grana Padana which is sometimes sold as Parmesan

·         Look for cheese that is creamy white and soft/crumbly, not yellow and hard

·         If it is packaged in plastic (as is typical), rewrap the cheese in parchment paper and secure with string or a rubber band to hold in the moisture; you may also film the cheese with oil to help keep it moist

·         Buy the largest piece that you can use in a reasonable amount of time, because it will hold moisture better than a smaller piece

As for serving, Guy wrote:  “I personally love Parmigiano served with a parmesan knife, salt flower crystals on and a pitch of White truffle oil, this served with a Pinot Noir.”  I looked up salt flower and he’s referring to Fleur de Sel, an artisanal finishing salt, to be served with the cheese along with a bit of truffle oil.  How elegant is that?  And how impressive that Mr. Lombard took the time to reply to us with so much information, advice, and the following invitation:  “If you are back in St. Barts, and if you want some of our wheel, just give me a ring; I will cut you a nice piece.  Happy Sunday!”  I hope to have the opportunity to return to St. Barts someday and take him up on his offer!

For more information on Fleur de Sel, see http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/si_gourmet_reference.asp and for more Parmesan info, see http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/departments/parmigiano-reggiano.php.  You will read about Whole Foods’ plan to set a new world record for breaking open the most wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano at one time – how WEIRD is that!?

Blog #1 - Healthy New Year!

This is my first blog.  I retired from a 20-year career in quantitative marketing research at the end of 2010 and have spent 2011 transitioning officially into the wellness industry, completing the Certified Health Coach program from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and working with a handful of initial clients to help them reach their health and wellness goals. 
I'm happy, my clients are happy, and I decided to start a blog to connect with other wellness-minded individuals and share what I hope will be useful information from the crowded and confusing world of nutrition.  I plan to post every week or so, conveying what I think is the most interesting and helpful information/insight/advice from the myriad food & cooking & nutrition & dieting sources that I see on a regular basis. 

Today's blog pulls from Eating Well.com -- a website and associated magazine that I highly recommend you check out.  One of their recent newsletters offered lists of foods to help you feel younger, sleep better, and be happier -- what could be better than that, especially at the beginning of a new year when we're all about making resolutions, setting goals, listing wishes, or whatever wording you prefer!  I thought I'd share the foods in each list and give a bit of background on them, and you can refer to EatingWell.com for more information and specific recipes. 

Recommending that you add certain foods into your diet illustrates one of the principles of my IIN program, which is called "Crowding Out."  The principle is that eating better doesn't have to be about deprivation, denial, or guilt related to the "bad" foods you're eating -- it is better if it's about adding good foods to your diet, seeing how you feel, and likely being happily surprised that you don't need those old foods so much anymore -- they are "crowded out" of your healthfully evolving diet. 

So here are the lists, and the good news is that you'll see some overlap across them.  Eating well doesn't have to be complicated; mainly it's some version of "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants," as Michael Pollan proposes in his book, In Defense of Food.  Again, if you want more information or recipes for the specific foods recommended, go to EatingWell.com.

7 Foods that help you feel younger:  Olive oil, Yogurt (plain, but you can adorn it with nuts & fruits!), Fish, Chocolate (look for 70%+ cocoa DARK chocolate), Nuts, Wine (especially red, in moderation), and Blueberries.  These foods contain one or more of the following:  Omega-3 fatty acids, Calcium, Good bacteria, Flavanols, and Antioxidants.

5 Foods that make you happier by boosting mood and fighting depression:  Coffee (keep it simple, we're not talking sweetened coffee drinks here), Salmon, Saffron, Carbs (whole grains, especially sprouted grains and non-wheat whole grains), and Chocolate.  These foods relate to mood-critical neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine and have in some cases been proven as effective as popular antidepressants. 

9 Foods that help you sleep better:  Fish (salmon, halibut, tuna), Jasmine rice, Tart cherry juice, Yogurt, Whole grains, Kale, Bananas, Chickpeas, and Fortified cereals.  These foods offer one or more of the following to help your body produce and regulate melatonin:  Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, or Magnesium. 

Note that Fish/Salmon and Whole Grains are on all three lists; Chocolate and Yogurt are each on two.  Just remember to keep your versions of these healthy foods clean, whole, and simply prepared to reap the greatest benefits from them.  Enjoy!

For more information about my Health Coaching program and background, please go to FirstDayWellness.com.  There you'll also have an opportunity to see testimonials from clients that have worked with me over the past several months, and to contact me.  I hope to hear from you soon!