by IcennaEmach | Nov 15, 2010 | Uncategorized
A reader writes, “How can I maintain a healthful lifestyle while traveling and socializing during the holidays.
This is a good question because it recognizes that maintaining a healthful way of life is more easily accomplished when we are at home in an established routine.
Because travel and increased social engagemnets places us in high-risk situations for continuing our healthful lifestyles, we need to recognize, identify, and practice a new set of skills in what is often a less regimented or more busily structured environment, as is the case with holiday travel and busy social calendar schedules.
What to Do?
Think about the health goals you want to maintain while traveling. Examples may be weight maintenance, cardiovascular conditioning, strength training routine maintenance, or simply active rest and relaxation. Also, if this time of year means increased social engagements,(and well it should) involving lots of food,fun, and frivolity than think about how you want to feel physically and mentally at the end of the holiday season. Ask yourself what will be needed to maintain a healthful way of life while still enjoying all the festivities of the season.
Action Steps:
1. Seven days prior, write one or two health goals you want to maintain while traveling/socializing. Keep it in a visible area and read it daily to reinforce mentally.
2. Five days prior, visualize what your days will look like while traveling/socializing and envision yourself accomplishing your written health goals in the location that you will be at. For example, if traveling visualize yourself after a spa treatment having a healthy light dinner to finish your day. Or, if you will be busy out socializing on Christmas eve night, visualize yourself paying more attention to, and enjoying your family and friends during the festivities instead of the rich foods and desserts.
3. Four days prior, mentally strategize any barriers that may occur in preventing you from accomplishing health goals while traveling/socializing. For example, if you know your mother in law is always tempting you with fat laden entrees and desserts, devise a strategy of how you will handle the situation. Have a little fun with it, and know that often humor is a great way of softening most mother in laws food temptations. You’ll be fine, I know.
4. Three days prior, write down possible goal barriers, as well as alternative strategies you will implement if barriers arise.
5. Two days prior, if traveling, pack what is necessary to accomplish health goals. Such items may include appropriate clothing for activity and projected weather, telephone numbers of fitness centers/spas; restaurant and grocery store locations as well as telephone numbers. Include other pertinent details that organize your time efficiently while traveling.
6. One day prior, mentally rehearse accomplishing health goals and overcoming all barriers that may arise. See yourself adjusting to new strategies in travel setting.
7. Day of travel , place written health goals and barrier strategies in visible area at destination. Read daily for awareness.
8. While traveling/socializing, use positive self-talk as tool to gain control of negative and defeatist attitudes.
9. Daily, remind yourself you are practicing skills that may be easy to implement at home, but a little more challenging while on vacation or outside of your usual social settings. Reward yourself for making good choices. You deserve it. And, rewards are a great way of helping us to change the neurological structures in our brains, further increasing our abilities to make healthy changes a lifestyle. This can be you. I am confident.
10. Daily, take solace in the fact that implementation of good healthful habits becomes easy, and by changing old neurological pathways now, better positions you for a high quality life as you progress through the ages.
Perspectives in Accomplishing Health Goals:
> Stay Organized and Thoughtful.
We tend to think that others are more disciplined in integrating healthy behaviors, but in reality, they are just more organized and thoughtful. Have a plan and tell yourself that you are in training for a new skill. As you improve at organizing yourself and projecting possible barriers, the newly learned skills will come naturally, and keeping healthy while you travel/engage in increased social activities that are centered around food will become a habit that is simple and part of an integrated healthy lifestyle that is envied by all!
> Stay Focused.
It is easy to rationalize unhealthful behaviors while traveling, especially while on vacation. Recognize this type of thought process as destructive, and replace those thoughts with visualizing those people you admire who have mastered healthy skills. Know that it is within your reach to enjoy travel/increased social activity while maintaining your health. Others are doing it and so can you.
> Stay Honest. Certain events while traveling during the holidays are out of our control. You should recognize these events as beyond your control. This is no time to indulge in self-berating behaviors. Conversely, many events are within our control, and directly correlated to the decisions that we make. Select choices that empower you to reach your health goals while traveling.
Maintaining a healthful lifestyle during the holiday requires pre planning. People that integrate healthy living practices daily regardless of life’s variety of activities such as traveling during the holidays, often feel better and look better. This is you! Enjoy the holidays. Have fun. Be good to yourself. You deserve it! Best to you!
by IcennaEmach | Nov 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
A small part of the brain influences the most complex functions of the body; much like a small health implementation influences the life quality of a human being. I’d like to take complete credit for this thoughtful sentence but the truth is that it was inspired by an advertisement I saw recently in the New York Times Style Magazine. I simply changed the analogy.
Here’s why I like this type of thinking when it comes to inspiring our own healthy lives. Twelve years ago, when I moved from Cleveland, Ohio to St. Augustine, Florida, I purchased an item for the bedroom which was supposed to make my life a little easier, more carefree, and provide more time saving opportunities so that I may enjoy my life more fully, more productively, and in a more meaningful manner. After all, I was going to be living in the sunshine state where people thoroughly enjoyed each second, each minute, and each hour of every day.
So what was the item I bought 12 years ago that was going help me live a healthier, happy, productive, and more meaningful life? A bed comforter. Hard to believe. I know. In Cleveland, Ohio I would wake up each morning, floss my teeth, brush my teeth, wash my face, then make the bed. It took me about 6 minutes to floss, brush, and wash my face, but about 7 or 8 minutes to make the bed. My thinking at the time of the comforter purchase was that I would fling out of bed, floss my teeth, brush my teeth, wash my face and finish my routine by tossing the comforter over the sheets in 2 seconds flat. Isn’t that how all healthy, happy, productive people in Florida wake up?
As the years went by I began to reflect, as I often do, on how I can make my life even better. I read a book called Flow – The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In one of the opening chapters the author states the following,” The most important step in emancipating oneself from social controls is the ability to find rewards in the events of each moment.” You would have to read the book to fully understand the intent of the author, but simply taking his one statement I began to think about daily habits in my life that brought me great pleasure. Making the bed was one of them. I realized this simple daily act helped to center my day by allowing me to have pleasure in a simple task that required no real brain or physical prowess powers.
Somewhere along the way between Cleveland, Ohio and St. Augustine, Florida I started believing there is little value in the chores and rituals of daily living. How it happened I am not sure, but I can surmise that I allowed society’s value of “using time wisely by always being productive and living life to the fullest” to shape my life. It didn’t occur to me until a few years ago that there is much to be gained in simple rituals of daily living. Yes, it did take a few more minutes to make the bed instead of flinging a comforter on it, but I enjoyed the acts of making up the bed in an unhurried manner. In my mind there was much to be gained in the solace of making the perfect wrinkle free bed
I suspect there are many people who enjoy similar ritualistic acts. To those of you that enjoy the simple rituals of daily living, I say continue. You are doing well! Society at large may call us simplistic and unproductive, but it is only one part of our being. In fact, I find that I am more engaged, more energetic, more creative, healthier, happier and by far more satisfied when I am determining what is important to my health and well being. Here’s my question to you, what seemingly small health implementation can you begin, that will in turn, positively influence your life quality today? Think about it and if you get a chance, let me know. I’d love to hear.
by IcennaEmach | Oct 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
The other day, I met a person who called me on the telephone because of an article I had written in Old City Life magazine. Because of her health background we had much in common. We decided to meet to chat. Although I know her intention was to have a conversation with someone of like mind, we ended up conversing extensively about a nutritional supplement and weight loss product she has been endorsing for over 18 years.
My intent in blogging today is not to sell you a weight loss/nutritional product, but to admit a brief momentary lapse in judgement. Consider it a confessional if you would like!
Most of my adult life it seems I’ve been preparing for what I am doing now. I won’t go into the details, but let me say that it is a long held belief of mine that most weight loss products do not change behaviors. Yes, without a doubt they can enhance behaviors by bringing about a healthier vision of what one’s life may look and feel like in a healthy fit body. These products can center us so we feel motivated to do the healthier behaviors such as moving more and eating less. The problem is that such products are short lived. They transport us superficially to a healthier lifestyle, and quickly erode our confidence in our abilities to lose weight and feel fit because the vision that many products promise is not ingrained in our own minds. And the reason it is not ingrained in our minds is because we really haven’t done the work to become successful at weight loss and healthy living.
We gain confidence in our abilities when we do the work and no product can do that for us. A product can aid us, but what likely occurs is that the product eventually takes center stage as we get more and more de-motivated to do the hard work of exercise and clean eating.
So where is this lapse in thinking? I realized I was getting curious to the possibilities of how this product may better help my clients lose weight. I’ve been through this countless times before with other product sellers and endorsers and most often I would listen politely, but yet know I was not going to endorse their product nor be a part of the business in referring my clients.
Something was different this day. While I believe that the reason many people eventually fail in their weight loss and other health goals is they have not achieved a healthy, slow, patient, and consistent behavior change process that allows the brain to adjust to its new neural pathway patterns and brain map. I none-the-less began to consider whether this product might indeed work. For some reason this product description had me believing that, “Yes, maybe I can use this successfully with my clients, and help them speed up their weight loss!” Everything I believed in such as progressive, incremental behavior change, training the mind to train the body, and changing lifestyles in the context of joyful living dissipated. If I can be nearly convinced of the seeming possibilities of a weight loss product, then how can I expect to change people into lifestyle behavior advocates?
Many product sellers and endorsers have great intentions, however where I see us dividing is in the process of how to arrive at a healthy, fit, happy, life.
Since I’ve written this I’ve forgiven myself for the lapse in my usual behavioral style and positive living thinking methods. And although I have much in common with various product endorsers and sellers who aim to assist people with weight loss, and healthier lifestyles, what we don’t have in common is the approach used to facilitate a healthy, happy, fit, lean and meaningful life. I believe that ultimately many weight loss products have the opposite effect. They, similar to an aspirin, or other analgesics, treat the symptom rather than the cause and eventually erode one’s spirit and ability to do the work of being a healthy, happy, confident person.
by IcennaEmach | Oct 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
Think about this. Women with breast cancer are not just surviving but thriving. Although it has only been about 5 years since strength training for women with breast cancer has been encouraged by their physicians, many breast cancer women have taken the position that strength training, exercise, and mindful practices are paramount to their overall recovery and health status for many reasons beyond the physical strength benefits.
The Real Beauty of Strength Training For Women With breast Cancer
As a wellness coach, it’s often difficult to compartmentalize the effects that strength training has on a single aspect of the body. It’s true. Evidence does suggest that a twice weekly comprehensive strength training program can increase the body’s bone mineral mass approximately 5 – 9% depending on the program duration. And, it is also true that a female may gain as much as 4- 9 pounds of muscle mass in a comprehensive 2 day a week strength program depending on the program duration and age of the exerciser. But the real beauty of what strength training can do for women with newly diagnosed and treated breast cancer lies in the multitude of life quality issues that can be managed more comprehensively and more astutely, and perhaps most importantly through their own initiatives.
Mind Body Connection as Restorative Benefit
While working with one breast cancer survivor in the weight room at Serenata Beach Club, she tells me her tendencies for fatigue, anxiety, depression, and weight gain have been greatly diminished since training in the gym. I think to myself, and wonder how many other breast cancer survivors and patients from years past could have benefitted from such sage advice as using exercise to benefit not only the physical body, but the mind body connection so commonly recognized today as a necessary restorative benefit to those with various cancers and diseases.
Survivors and Patients Using Exercise as Agent For Real Change
Many breast cancer survivors and patients in our communities have been using weight training and aerobic exercise as powerful agents for change. They are smartly aware that the advantages of exercise are amazingly powerful because the benefits extend beyond the physical realm, such as increased strength, increased bone density, decreased body weight, and better health numbers in general, “but they help me,” as one 7 year cancer client says, “live more graciously and moment by moment.” Another says that, “Exercise and the powerful feeling I get from lifting weights reinvented my life. I am more confident. I am more in the moment each day. And I am more grateful due in great part to feeling strong and in control of my life. It’s been a long time, but I am far better physically without a doubt. Mentally, I have made leaps and bounds.”And yet another newly diagnosed and treated survivor says, “I’m the same person, but I know more about myself and life. I see things differently, but in a good way.” And years ago I recall a client that aptly stated something similar to this, “When I work out, not only do I reap the rewards physically, but I feel I am extending my will to not just survive but to thrive.” She says, “I was not put on this earth to merely survive, which sometimes you can feel that way with this, but I have to feel alive, and movement does that for me.”
Survivors Leading the Way
Perhaps what I have learned best from my breast cancer survivor clients is the understanding that breast cancer is about moving forward in a way that they may control important variables of their own healthy lives. It often includes becoming stronger by working out, lifting weights, engaging in cardiovascular exercise, as well as eating healthful foods. But more importantly, it seems the variables they control are the heightened sense of the mind- body- spirit connection that is becoming a prevalent desired state of being today for many of us. Many participate not just in weight training and cardiovascular training, but in meditation, spiritual, and self awareness practices. It occurs to me often that many of our cancer survivors here in the Jacksonville area are leading the way to this heightened sense of being that many of strive us for. Their diligence and persistence in coming out of this disease with a clearer vision and understanding of what’s important in life is admirable.
Congratulations to our many breast cancer survivors. You have figured it out and it appears you are doing a fine job in leading the way for the rest of us in gaining a more satisfying, engaging, and simpler life that is created when engendering more mindful, integrated, healthful living practices.
by IcennaEmach | Oct 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
Successful, healthy aging has three important components –
1. Low probability of disease or disability;
2. High cognitive and physical function capacity;
3. Active engagement with life.
Healthy aging requires extending ourselves in 5 key areas of fitness.
Cardiovascular Heart Fitness
Muscular Strength
Muscular Endurance
Flexibility
Body Composition.
There are additional areas not traditionally considered part of physical fitness like balance training and mental training but that will be for a later topic.
Keep in mind these are general guidelines but they will give you a bases of understanding. Remember, implementation will be key. As you’ve read before in my blogs you can get all the facts you need in books, magazines and the internet, but establishing a way to implement good health habits is an absolute must for healthy aging. For now, review the basics below and we’ll build from there.
Cardiovascular Fitness• A minimum workout or exercise period of 20 -30 minutes, four days a week.
• The heart rate should reach a minimum of 70% its safe peak. A commonly used formula for determining the safe heart rate peak is 220 minus age multiplied by 0.70 = HR minimum. To illustrate, for a 71 year old minimum the safe heart rate peak is 104 beats per minute (220 -71 = 149 X 0.70 or 104) while exercising the heart. People on beta blockers will not use this formula and instead will learn perceived exertion techniques.
• Exercise must use leg muscles and be continuous motion to be considered cardiovascular in nature. Ex. walking, biking, stair climbing, jogging, elliptical trainer, cross country skiing.
Muscular Strength• How much your upper body can lift for one repetition.
• How much your lower body can lift for one repetition.
For now, if you have not been training, do not try this one repetition maximum as injury is likely. That can come later after you have been training however there are rules that apply to this one depending on our ages.
Muscular Endurance
• How many repetitions your upper body can lift in one minute.
• How many repetitions your lower body can lift in one minute.
Flexibility•
The range of motion one has in such areas as the hamstrings (back of legs), upper and lower back areas, shoulders, hips, neck, and quadriceps ( front of thigh.)
Body Composition
• Being at a weight that is comfortable for the individual given his or her lifestyle needs. It would include being at a weight that does not contribute to elevated blood sugars, lack of energy, cardiovascular risks, osteoarthritis, and other increased body fat health issues.
• Also includes having a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is considered within normal range. A BMI of 18.5 to 25 indicates optimal weight; a BMI lower than 18.5 suggests the person is underweight while a number above 25 would indicate an overweight condition.
Note: The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a widely used measurement for calculating the body composition of relatively sedentary individuals with an average body composition. There are a number of BMI calculators on the internet. The formula for determining BME is to take one’s weight in pounds multiplied by 703 and then divide that product by one’s height in inches squared. To illustrate: 5 foot 10 inch man (70 inches tall) weighing 170 pounds would have a BMI of (170 X 703) / (70 X 70) or 119,510/4,900 = 24.39
In upcoming posts we’ll get started on making sense of each category as it applies to our ages, current health conditions, and most importantly healthy aging. In the meantime, if you have any questions related to your own health fitness plan, just shoot me an e-mail and I will be happy to conjure up the best answer I have. I’ll look forward to it!
