Sunday Story…Exercise Control part 3

It’s the end of February and your New Year’s goals have gone by the way side. The gym was too hard or maybe you didn’t get the results you wanted. Your work out buddy bailed on you. You missed a day then 2 then a week. You just can’t seem to get a jump start to get going again.

Similar to your nutritional situation you need to set yourself up for success. Working out 7 days a week is not a sustainable plan. On the other hand, having a plan is absolutely necessary.

Control your Movement

Commit to moving. Buy one of those step counter things (fit bit or a pedometer) and commit to a certain number of steps every day. Start low. Add some every day until you are getting 10,000+ a day.

Park your car at the far end of the parking garage. Every. Time.

Take the stairs. It may only be one flight on day one but it’s the stairs.

Hire a trainer. A professional (like me or one of us here at Odyssey!) who will assess you and get a program to build your strength, endurance, and fitness.

Set a timer every 15 minutes for you to get up from your chair and move for 5 minutes or more.

Get a buddy who will walk or go to class or at least keep you accountable.

Commit to doing something outside every weekend for a few minutes then more every weekend.

Set realistic goals. I don’t work out 7 days a week and neither should you. But I do move every day and so should you.

Understand that your results are dependent upon how hard you work not how long. 60 minutes of unintentional movement will never beat 15 minutes of intentional hardcore sweat dripping heart pounding training to burn excess calories and fat.
Muscle takes up less space than fat. Get strong by doing squats. Just in the air then with weight. You will get stronger, guaranteed. And stronger people are harder to kill!

All the BMI and average weight tables mean nothing if you aren’t fit and healthy. This is a lifestyle, a way of living not a short term fix. You are doing this for yourself, not me, not your spouse but for you.

Eating healthy is fun. Living in a body that moves well is fun. Being fit is a way of being not a chore or a duty. Long term change can easily take place 1 degree at a time…after all when water goes from 211 to 212 degrees it becomes steam and steam can power a 5 ton locomotive engine…see it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRDNLTMaZqo

Get Fit…Body, Mind, Soul. If you want personal attention…call me at 775-338-2412

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

Sunday Story…Exercise Control part 2

Last we started discussing how to achieve success when we are moving to a more healthful relationship with food and eating. Let’s be honest…food isn’t just fuel. Food is all tied up for many of with our emotions and how we relate to our food choices. Food is often like a comfortable pair of slippers we put on in certain situations. Sometimes we are stressed and we eat. We are bored and we eat. We are sick and we eat. Food comforts us, give us nutrition and is all tied up with our various emotional and mental states.

Last week we had tips and ideas to help control the various environments we find in our everyday life. This week is about some of the environments many of us find ourselves in that are out of our direct control. These are the places that make it very difficult to hold to our commitment to healthy eating. Here is what to do:
When Eating Out or Social Dining:
Eat something light before you get there. Don’t arrive hungry.
Eat Low calorie but filling food like crudités vegetables (skip the ranch, thank you).
Eat a very small portion of the food you like
Wait 20 minutes between filling your plate, that way you can make sure you eyes aren’t bigger than your stomach
Drink alcohol in very limited quantity. Have a soda with a squeeze of lime or lemon.
When Eating in a Restaurant:
Order a la carte and order exactly what you want.
Skip the bread on the table…ask for it to be removed if possible. If not possible order a vegetable tray or salad for an appetizer
Share your high calorie dish
If you must eat dessert share it with the other 2 or 3 people at the table
Pack up the food you want to take home before you start. Ask for a doggie bag first and portion the food out you are going to eat now.
Get the sauces and dressings on the side and use your fork to dip before each bite.
At a friend’s house:
Offer to bring food that will serve your needs. Healthy is always welcome at any table.
Keep your portions small and load up your plate with green things
Avoid the snack table. Grazing will not help you…make a plate and sit down and eat it.
At Home:
Find Cookbooks that make healthy eating fun. There are lots of them.
Experiment with different international cuisines…there are many fun choices out there and most of them are not difficult to prepare.
Keep lots of choices on hand to avoid mindless snacking…hard boiled eggs, carrots, and broccoli are all easy to grab and go.
Holidays:
Be mindful about eating…see all of the above ideas.
Allow yourself to indulge once a day…guilt free and with full enjoyment
Eat regularly…don’t save up for the feast

These last two posts about sum up the changes that will help you make long lasting meaningful shifts in your behavior. These changes will make the trek to healthful eating and living much easier and less tedious. Eating healthy does not have to be hard or unpleasant. It can and should be fun and delicious.

Next…exercise and attitude!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey@gmail.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

Sunday Story…Exercise Control

So we are still on the change train. How do we change, how do we insure success when we want to change? If we are talking about our nutritional challenges (and that is where we started) there are several places we need to be watchful of.

Once we have moved toward a more healthful outlook that includes knowledge of nutrition and exercise there are several key factors in success. Internal motivation is always going to be more effective in the long run. This is why challenges are not long term success strategies…too often the motivation is externally driven. Internal motivation such as better health, increased energy, self esteem improvement, and more personal control will all improve your ability to be successful in your life long quest to be more fit. You must believe in yourself, and believe you can do this.

Here are some concrete ideas to help you on your way:

Control Your Home Environment

Sit down and eat. Don’t eat standing over the counter, while watching TV or on the computer. Be mindful in your eating practice.
Don’t buy food that tempts you to eat the wrong thing…out of sight, out of mind!
Keep healthy choices prepared and available all the time.

Control Your Work Environment

Get rid of the “treats” hiding in your desk!
Bring healthy snacks from home if you must eat at your desk.
Take a walk instead of hitting the break room where the cookie stash is.
Make sure you eat when you are supposed to…not eating will only create desire and then the poor choices will be easier to make.
On special occasions bring your own food or pick one thing to eat and enjoy that ONE thing. Be that guy or girl!

Control Your Mealtime

Plate your food. In other words put what you are going to eat on a plate and put the plate on the table not the entre serving dish.
Put a palm sized portion of meat (protein) and a palm sized portion of starch on your plate and then cover the rest of it with vegetables. And that is your palm not a King Kong palm. You do not need to eat a 16oz. porterhouse steak!
Use smaller dishes to fool yourself into thinking your plate is full.
Limit yourself to eating what you put on your plate. It’s a habit.

Every Day

Trade mindless eating with another activity. If you snack while watching a certain thing on TV or at a certain time, go for a walk instead, or pick a new activity. We all watch too much TV anyway!
If a craving strikes, wait 20 minutes to see if it passes.
Drink a large glass of water before eating.
Always have a bottle of water to drink all day. Thirst is often interpreted as hunger.
Quit adding calorie rich add ons to your food like salad dressings!

Shopping

Do not shop hungry or tired
Make a list, check it twice and then stick to it
Read the labels. Make a different choice if the item appears to be a chemical sh*# storm. Remember real food doesn’t need a nutritional label!

Food Preparation

If you must taste test use a very very small spoon.
Fix only what you will eat or if you are making enough to eat later, portion that out and put it in containers as you go.

Eating

Be mindful
Put your fork or spoon down between bites and chew your food thoroughly before you cut the next bite.
Cut smaller pieces and cut it as you go, not all at once (you aren’t 4 anymore!)
Stop eating and rest to allow the food to settle

There is more to this…next week!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

Sunday story…Change

Is hard. Change is uncomfortable. Change is a process. It is often said that when the pleasure of something new is greater than the pain of staying the same you will change. Change is a process not an event. Let me repeat that…Change is a process. It is something that takes time to happen. It doesn’t happen just one time, like running a marathon or doing a 30 day challenge.

According to many experts there are 5 stages of change. Each stage prepares you for the next one so skipping one will often lead to setbacks on your way to permanent shifts in behavior.

1. Precontemplation…in other words you aren’t even thinking about change yet. You are avoiding even reading or talking or thinking about the unhealthy behavior. At some point you will sense that the unhealthy behavior is not serving you on your way to important goals you may have, like living to see your grandchildren grow up. This will lead you to:
2. Contemplation…your thoughts have turned to weighing the pros and cons of change. If I quit eating CRAP I will have to give up Friday night pizza night and my kids love that. At some point you will shift your rationalizations from why you can’t to HOW you can, i.e. we can still go to pizza and I will order a healthy choice. This brings you to:
3. Preparation…where you are making steps to change. Buying healthy cook books, looking up web sites with the kinds of food that will support your healthy choices are a couple of examples of this. It is here that you will create an action plan with goals that are achievable and realistic. At this point you are ready for:
4. Action…change is made here. You have stopped the previous behavior and have moved into the new behavior. If you are cutting out sugar (a good place to start by the way) you are learning to drink your coffee black and living without cookies. You are using strategies to help you get through the difficult times. You are asking for and receiving support from friends and family. Your self talk is there to support your change. You can see the pleasure of change is outweighing the pain of the status quo. At the point of about 6 months you will be on the last step:
5. Maintenance…where you are integrating the change into your everyday life. You are avoiding triggers that may create a relapse into old habits and behaviors. You assimilation of your new habits and activities still requires vigilance and conscious effort.

This is why the 30 day challenge should die. This road to permanent and long lasting change requires real long term effort and planning. If you want to change you can. The process is simple. It isn’t easy but it will be worth it. Begin with the end in mind…Who will you be? What will your life look like when you are eating real food in amounts that serve your body with proper nutrients? Real food is not deprivation. Real food is fun and healthy and nutritious and very tasty. You should never feel bad or guilty about eating well.

Next week: more on change!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com