Friday, February 26, 2010

Book 3: Find Your Strongest Life

I'll be honest, this was a quick read for me. I skimmed a lot of the book but took notes on the major ideas that caught my eye.
1. As women age, they get sadder. As men age, they get happier. Interesting and probably true.
2. Multi-tasking is no good. Research shows that our IQ drops 10 points when doing two things at once. Yeah, totally true.
3. Life is full of choices. Buckingham suggests that more choices don't equal more happiness. In fact he states that more choices bring more stress. Oh man does it ever. I can't even pick out a loaf of bread without almost breaking into hives from the stress of a decision. I over-analyze things though which is definitely related to the stress.
4. Signs of a strong life: being successful (sure but we've gotta have our struggles too), looking forward to tomorrow (absolutely), growing and learning no matter our age (love this one; NEVER stop gathering and processing information), having our needs fulfilled (sure) and being optimistic (hello-majorly).
5. Strengths are those activities that make us feel strong. Our weaknesses are those activities that make us feel weak. Duh. That makes sense but when I really think about it it's so true. I feel alive when I do things that make me feel strong but I also know doing things that are a weakness will build character and become easier with time.

Gosh there were about a hundred more items that I liked in this book but I'll end with this:
A strong woman isn't what we do, it's what we feel.

Yes, a good read and would recommend it!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Motivation Monday: Ebb and Flow

Realize motivation is not a constant thing. It's not always around. It comes and goes and comes and goes again, just like the waves of a tide. If we can only grasp that motivation will leave and know it doesn't do so permanently. Search for strength during that time. Be aware that it's gone. Understand that exercise and eating right may not the easiest when motivation leaves. When motivation is on vacation, these things help me get through:

1. Focus on one goal. For me it's usually to stop eating after 7pm.
2. Stomp out negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. I catch myself when I begin thinking negatively and tell myself that it doesn't accomplish anything. That type of thinking only brings me down. So I usually recognize it and figure out how I can turn the situation into a productive/positive one.
3. Find inspiration. Lately that's been tuning into the Winter Olympics. Gosh it's darn amazing what these athletes can do.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Obesogens: Can chemicals make you fat?

Very interesting. The author of The New American Diet, Stephen Perrine, discusses how chemicals can alter our hormones and can cause us to gain weight. VERY interesting!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Motivation Monday: Choice

It's all about choices. Each day there are many decisions to be made. That's really what it boils down to. Everything is our choice; our car, our house, our spouse, our job, our hobbies, our meals, how we spend our money, how much debt we have, the list could go on and on. The point can be summed up....

“It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.” -Anthony Robbins

Friday, February 12, 2010

Habits

Bad habits WILL catch up with us.

When they catch up with us....do we have the strength to change?

Monday, February 8, 2010

Motivation Monday: Rest.

Work Hard. Play Hard. That's always been my motto. I'll put in the sweat, the hours and all that goes into working hard only to enjoy something completely relaxing to balance it all out. A massage, pedicure, bath, tropical vacation, or just reading a book by the fire are what I consider relaxation at it's finest. Our bodies need to be nurtured. This would include a balance between stress (working so hard we are dripping with sweat) and sweetness (absolutely nothing).

Think a lot about creating your balance between work and relaxation. If weight loss is the goal, try to put in 4 days of exercise combined with an intense focus of mindful eating. It's easy to focus on too much exercise and not enough rest and nutrition. I promise if this balance isn't achieved the end result is usually no real results and frustration. Because we put in so much time on the treadmill, sweat and intensity in exercise when nothing changes on the scale we feel defeated. Killing yourself day in and day out won't last long. It's not good for your body and it's not any fun either. Let's be real about it, smart about it and long-term about it.

Lastly, and I can't stress this enough, the rest/rebuild cycle on the cellular level is so important in combination with getting the proper nutrients that will actually aid in repair.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Race 2...Check!

I promise to begin wearing at least a little bit of make-up and do something in between showing up at the race and rolling out of bed. Gosh it's getting bad!

The groundhog run. It's such a special race because I've done it 3 years in a row. There's just something epic about running in a climate control cave with thouseands of people in the middle of January.

I'm so proud of my clients who joined me this year: Johnna (well, we ran it together last year), Jen, and Sheila (Johnna's friend who's recently joined in the fun of participating in races), and laura and renee (who we couldn't find after the race to join us for a picture.

Race 2 down...8 to go!

Why not in KC?

Why can't we have a nice ride too?

Monday, February 1, 2010

Motivation Monday: Hungry or HUNGRY?

Can you tell the difference between emotional and belly hunger? If you're confused or maybe you think you've got it figured out but still slip up here's some hints on what to watch.

Emotional Hunger
-Hunger comes on quickly; it' like an on/off switch.
-We're open to suggestion. (example: a coworker says she's leaving to get a brownie. All of a sudden a brownie sounds very good)
-Hunger increases with certain feelings such as stress.
-It becomes difficult to think through options. The feeling of hunger is so intense it's hard to care what other options are until after eating.
-The hunger initiates mindless behavior. Like popping skit.tles without even tasting them.
-The feeling that guilt will set in after the meal is over before the meal begins. Then that reality comes true with lots of guilty feelings after the meal.

Belly Hunger
-The need for food gradually increases; such as the time between breakfast and lunch.
-Distinct physiological symptoms such as a rumbling stomach occurs.
-We quit eating when full.
-The option to wait a while befor eating can be achieved versus the need to eat at every inkling of hunger.
-Hunger is in no way associated with guilt. Eating has to happen and there's no hard feelings about it.

Keep these cues in mind the next time hunger sets in!