Find Some Summer Joy!

While I realize we aren’t still in the season of raising children there is still something magical about school letting out and the beginning of summer. I want you to think about some things you loved about summer as a child. Are there any that would still bring you joy?

-       Go to a local farmer’s market and buy some fresh produce- perhaps something you don’t usually cook

-       Sit on the porch and watch a summer thunder storm

-       Eat a popsicle, ice-cream cone, or snow cone (even better if you buy it from the ice-cream man) or drink a Slurpee

-       Walk barefoot in the grass

-       Have a tall glass of lemonade (Chick ‘filet sells their yummy diet lemonade by the gallon)

-       Go for a swim at the beach, lake, community pool, private pool

-       Sleep in

-       Lay somewhere cozy and read a good book

-       Roller skate or roller blade

-       Go for a bike ride

-       Go to the library and pick up a good book or audio book and begin!

-       Build a sand castle

-       Go on a picnic

-       Make the best ice cream sandwich ever (on your sugar day of course) I like gourmet ice-cream and home made cookies

-       Wash your car

-       Grab a blanket spread it out on the grass and cloud watch

-       Make a cute card and mail it to a friend

-       Take a nap under a shade tree (have a hammock? Even better!)

-       Play with water balloons

-       Soak in the bathtub with bubbles or essential oils added

-       Bury someone in the sand

-       Take at least one lovely photo each day

-       Go fishing

-       Swap a favorite book with a friend and read it (yes my summer memories are largely centered on reading!)

-       Sketch your pet

-       Paint your toe nails

-       Buy a new cute pair of flip flops

-       Watch the sunset

-       Grill (or get hubby to do it) your dinner

-       Go on a swing

-       Skip stones at a lake

-       Go to this summer’s blockbuster movie

-       Give your pet a bath outside

-       Go to a baseball game

-       Hula hoop (yes they still sell those)

-       Create some sidewalk chalk art

-       Organize your summer sandals and clothes

I know this challenge is a bit of an echo of last week’s but I guess I want to end our round of Wellness competition reminding you that there is joy in life THAT IS NOT EDIBLE. I think one of the reasons many of us comfort or self-medicate with food is that life is so rushed and pressure filled and stressful. It can seem much faster and easier to grab a chocolate muffin than to organize another method of quick joy getting. But I honestly believe that if we reach out for some of the joys of our childhood and fit them into our busy lives we can fill our souls so that we don’t feel a hunger there that can lead to unhealthy habits.

YOUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK IS TWO PART. FIRST, TO FIND ONE SUMMER JOY TO PARTICIPATE IN EACH DAY THIS WEEK TO EARN YOUR DAILY BONUS POINTS . It does not have to be something from this list, but find some way each day to fit some summer joy into your day.  THE SECOND THING YOU NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO EARN YOUR 35 BONUS POINTS FOR THE WEEK IS TO MAKE YOUR SUMMER PLAN FOR EXERCISE. EXERCISE DOES NOT END WHEN OUR COMPETITION ENDS SO MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR ENTIRE SUMMER. DECIDE HOW YOU WILL CONTINUE TO EXERCISE THROUGH THE SUMMER MONTHS (take into account the change in weather, possible changes in your responsibilities or schedule etc.) AND POST IT ON THIS BLOG OR E-MAIL IT TO ME. 

Happy Summer ladies!

-        

Give stress the slip!

         Sometime ago I was watching an episode of the Biggest Loser. In this particular episode the 2 teams had participated in a physical challenge and the prize for the winning team was to get to watch a video from their loved ones at home. As you know if you watch the program, the contestants are gone from home for several weeks and even months and they yearn for that contact and support from loved ones. On this episode the losing team was led by Trainer Bob and as he met with them to talk about their disappointment in losing the challenge he said “OK get up. Let’s go walk it off.” And off they went on a taxing hike. For some reason that scene really struck me. What an amazing thing it would be if you could build that response within yourself. I dented my car, one of my children is in a difficult situation, things are going poorly at work, someone I care about really let me down, money is tight and I feel the STRESS, STRESS, STRESS of what I’m suffering. And what is my response to this stress? To head outside for a strenuous walk!

Last week my house was full of workmen as we are just in the beginning baby steps of a renovation that will take several months. Already I slipped into comforting myself with Cape Cod reduced fat potato chips (Note if you have not tried them DON’T EVER!) I realized I was once again attempting to alleviate my stress with food. Basically it’s a poor effort at self-medicating.

         And so our challenge for the week beginning May 16, will be to search out and discover healthy activities you can use as a remedy when you are feeling an overload of stress. And to earn the daily points you will perform some type of de-stressing activity each day. 

Here is a list of just a few ideas. I hope that as you discover others you will add them in the comment section so we can all give them a try:

1. Run a bath and add some bubbles or a few drops of essential oil, such as lavender, to soothe aching muscles and relax your spirit.

2. Drink a cup of herbal tea or cocoa. Even in warm weather these can relax.

3. Breathe in evenly through your nose, letting your abdomen expand. Breathe out slowly and evenly through your mouth, taking about twice as long as you did to inhale.

4. Mix together salt and olive oil; rub into your feet and rinse well for a natural foot scrub. Follow with a massage. (By the way I got a very cool electric foot massager from my daughters for mothers day so that is one of my new distressing tools!)

5. Take some time to laugh. Laughter can make you happier – and healthier. Watch a favorite comedy t.v. show or movie or listen to Brian Regan or Jim Gaffigan on Netflix (My personal favorites.)

6. Seek out some water. Go to the beach, community pool, lake. Soak up some sun and enjoy the water.

7. Take the time to do something you enjoy, whether it’s reading a magazine or calling a friend. 

8. Take a lunch break; don’t just keep working while you scarf down a bagel with cheese at your desk. Read a novel, take a walk or try a new restaurant.

9. Play your favorite music and sing out loud and maybe even dance a bit.

10. Get back on track for our wellness competition. If you are behind in reporting your points, make your most honest guess and enter them. If you have fallen off track in recording on Myfitnesspal.com start today entering your daily exercise and eating.

11. Enjoy something yummy and healthy. I have been making popsicles out of whole juices. Buy the ingredients and make something you love and savor each bite.

12.Have a list of motivational sayings that inspire and strengthen your resolve. Use affirmations daily to help you feel good about yourself and your mission to lose weight.

I would also like to recommend to you a book that I have very much enjoyed. 50 ways to soothe yourself without food!

P.S. For those of you that are still raising your family, you have the responsibility to teach your children healthy responses to stress. Additionally you should make an effort to teach them healthy ways to celebrate accomplishments. My dietician daughter commented to me recently that instead of always heading to the

ice-cream parlor to celebrate a child’s accomplishment it would be so much healthier to go for a family bike hike, play a board game together, go for a swim, put on the music and dance!!

Put a lime in the coconut and drink it all up...

One of the responsibilities of healthy living is to have the tests and check ups required to maintain one's health. Our challenge for the week beginning May 16 is:

1.   Read this entire post

2.     Make a list of the check-ups that you should have this year according to these or your physician’s guide-lines.

3.     Set target dates to participate in these check-ups.

4.     Actually schedule at least one check up and when the date arrives follow through and attend it (It is OK if the date to attend does not fall within this week. Schedule it sometime this week and attend it when it arrives to earn the bonus points).

5.     Note: If you are all up to date on all of your check ups give yourself a cheer and claim all 35 points without having to do anything.

6.   If you do not have health insurance or have a high co-pay and cannot afford the test at this time you are welcome to schedule the test far enough out that you have time to save the needed funds.

Here’s the guidelines:

Dental cleaning and exam every 6 months.

Eye exam every 2 years/ after age 45 check for glaucoma every year if you have something that needs closer monitering

Blood pressure screening every 2 years

Pelvic Exam and Pap Smear every 2 years.  If over age 30 only every 3 years 

Cholesterol screening every 5 years for women over 40 

Colon Cancer Screening for women over 50

◦ A stool test done every year.

◦ Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years along with a stool guaiac test.

◦ Colonoscopy every 10 years.

◦ Double-contrast barium enema every 5 years.

◦ Computed tomographic colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years.

◦ People with risk factors for colon cancer such as ulcerative colitis, a personal or family history of colorectal cancer, or a history of large colorectal adenomas must get first colons-copy by age 50 and then re-checks as advised

Physical Exam every 1-5 years

Breast Exams

Women may do a monthly breast self-exam

Women should contact their doctor immediately if they notice a change in their breasts, whether or not they do self exams.

A health care provider should do a complete breast exam every year.

Women over age 40 should have a mammogram done every 1-2 years, depending on their risk factors, to check for breast cancer.

Eating Mindfully...

Those who know me personally, know I have a terrible habit of inhaling my food. I always use the excuse that my dad was a fireman before microwave ovens were invented, so we all learned to eat quickly in case the fire alarm rang- but truth is there really is no excuse for eating at supersonic speed.

You’ve guessed it. This week’s challenge involves becoming aware of that reflexive urge to plow through your meal like Cookie Monster on a shortbread bender. Resist it. Leave the fork on the table. Chew slowly. Stop talking. Tune in to the texture of the food, savor the flavor, smell the aroma rising from the steam, look carefully at the bright color and the beautiful shape.

Continue this way throughout the course of a meal, and you’ll experience the eye-opening pleasure of a practice known as mindful eating.

Mindful eating is about experiencing food more intensely — especially the pleasure of it. You can eat a cheeseburger mindfully, if you wish. You might enjoy it a lot more. Or you might decide, halfway through, that your body has had enough. Or that it really needs some salad.

Dr. Jan Chozen Bays, a pediatrician and meditation teacher in Oregon and the author of “Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food said, ” “I think the fundamental problem is that we go unconscious when we eat.”

That’s why mindful eating is becoming more important. We need to be coming back to ourselves and saying: ‘Does my body need this? Why am I eating this? Is it just because I’m so sad and stressed out?’ ”

The point is focus on the act of eating, as opposed to eating and talking, eating and watching TV, or eating and watching TV and gossiping on the phone while Tweeting and updating one’s Facebook status.

Some experts have claimed “As we practice this regularly, we become aware that we don’t need to eat as much. Whereas when people just gulp down food, they can eat a lot and do not feel full.”

How do we begin? Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re not supposed to be able to switch on your mindfulness button and be able to do it 100 percent. It’s a practice you keep working toward.

Few places in America are as frantically abuzz with activity as the Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., but when Thich Nhat Hanh dropped by for a day of mindfulness in September, hundreds of employees showed up.

Part of the event was devoted to eating thoughtfully in silence, and the practice was so well received that an hourlong wordless vegan lunch is now a monthly observance on the Google campus.

“Interestingly enough, a lot of the participants are the engineers, which pleases us very much,” said Olivia Wu, an executive chef at the company. “I think it quiets the mind. I think there is a real sense of feeling restored so that they can go back to the crazy pace that they came from.”

To help in your personal quest to eat more mindfully here are some tips:

 1. Chew Your Food More

Chewing is probably the simplest and most effective way to develop the habit of eating mindfully. Extra chewing results in less overall food intake.

25 chews per bite is recommended, but likely anything over 20 chews will provide a benefit. The most important part is that you choose a number and count your chews until you reach it. The number itself is less consequential.

To help myself remember to chew thoroughly you might want to use a smart phone app such as Reminders! to ping a few minutes before your usual mealtimes with a simple Chew 25 Times reminder.

2. Feed yourself with your non-dominant hand

Making things more difficult is a great way to force yourself to pay attention to what you’re doing. One simple way to do this is to force yourself to eat with your non-dominant hand.

3. Eat every thing with chopsticks for a week

Even if you grew up with chopsticks as your primary utensil, you’ve probably never used them to eat a sandwich or a bag of chips.

I once heard a story about a local tech company that asked a bunch of their employees to use chopsticks exclusively for a week as a mindfulness exercise. Although weight loss was not the goal, everyone in the office lost weight and several reported life changing realizations as a result of the project.

One person dropped his morning bagel habit when he realized that the chopsticks prevented him from experiencing the part of the ritual that he enjoyed the most. Apparently the taste of the bagel was not as appealing as the act of ripping it apart with his hands. Once he realized that actually eating the bagel wasn’t important to him he decided to give it up.

4. Put your fork down between each bite

Putting your fork down between bites of food is an excellent complement to the chewing habit. The act of setting your fork down forces you to focus on chewing your food rather than letting yourself mindlessly pick at your plate for your next bite. It also encourages you to slow down and attend more to the taste of your food, instead of just shoveling it down your throat as quickly as possible.

5. Take your first bite with your eyes closed

An experiment was held in a restaurant where the entire dining experience, including being seated at the table, occurred in the pitch dark. The idea was to focus exclusively on the experience of eating, without the distraction of vision.

While eating all of your meals in the dark, or even with your eyes closed, is not very practical, taking the time to taste your first bite with your full attention can help you eat the rest of your meal more mindfully. Focus on all the flavors in your mouth and how they interact, as well as the smells and textures. This will help you both appreciate your food and eat more slowly.

6. Try to identify every ingredient in your meal

Trying to taste and identify all the different ingredients in your meal is another great way to focus on the present moment and eat more mindfully. This is particularly fun at restaurants, when you didn’t make the food yourself. An added bonus of this technique is it may also help you become more creative in the kitchen.

7. Put your food on a plate

It may sound obvious, but eating out of a bag is not a very mindful practice. Get in the habit of placing even small snacks and desserts on a plate before you eat them. This will force you to acknowledge exactly what and how much you will be eating.

8. Sit at a table

Once your food is on a plate, you may as well go the extra mile to sit at a table. Formalizing your dining experience can help draw your attention to your food and your eating habits.

9. Eat in Silence

Put away your phone, turn off the t.v. Any sensation that you experience outside of taste and smell while you’re eating can distract you and make mindful eating more difficult.

While going through an entire meal in pure silence may be a bit much for most of us, designating the first 3-5 minutes of a meal for quiet and mindful practice can be an effective strategy.

YOUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MAY 9 IS TO TRY AT LEAST ONE OF THE ABOVE TECHNIQUES AND MAKE A REAL EFFORT TO EAT MORE MINDFULLY FOR AT LEAST ONE MEAL EACH DAY IN ORDER TO EARN YOUR DAILY BONUS POINTS.