Last week, I met this woman, socially. I don’t remember how we got on to the conversation, but she said, “I don’t like vegetables. I don’t eat them. I don’t eat fruit or seafood. I like meat and potatoes. And dessert! ” It’s not the first time I’ve heard an adult say ‘I don’t like veggies’. And sadly, I don’t think it will be the last. I usually don’t know how to respond to this. What I wanted to say is, “You’re freakin’ 60 years old! You’re not 5! Grow up & eat a freakin’ carrot! Pshaw!” It drives me nuts! Because, One – There are so many awesome, delicious veggies out there & so many ways to prepare them that are fantastic! And Two – How does this happen? How does a person grow into an adult and choose not to eat vegetables? They say that kids need exposure Read More . . .
What did I learn from a crazy kettlebell challenge?
Just last week I challenged myself to do an ungodly number of kettlebell swings for 8 straight days. Why on earth would I want to do that, and what would I learn? I don’t even think I was thinking about what I would learn. I was only wondering, ‘Can I do that?’ But I learned a LOT! I learned about my strength, how my body works, and also how a small shift in mindset can make a HUGE difference in my motivation. Why It all started innocently enough, I guess. I was getting up from the kitchen table quickly. I wasn’t watching where I was moving, and I kicked the kitchen table with my little toe. OUCH! But I brushed it off – how many times have you jammed your toe into something without consequence? Not that I’m totally clumsy, but it happens, and it hurts, and I forget Read More . . .
Get Over Your Motivation Problems – 3 steps
Yesterday when I woke, I drank my liquid wake up potion, and headed to my workout room to get that started. It was supposed to be a simple workout – one that I had done before & it would be over in 30 minutes. But yesterday the weight felt heavier than it usually does. My body didn’t move as well as it usually does. My push-ups and planks were harder. Everything just seemed so difficult. For some, this could have been permission to stop because I just didn’t ‘feel it’. I think that most people believe that we have to be motivated to exercise. Like every day I get up, jump out of bed with a smile on my face, and greet the day with a Tony the Tiger, “I Feel GGGRRRRRREEEAAT! I’m going to do lift weights with my TEETH!” Yeah – no. That doesn’t happen. I don’t even know Read More . . .
Is doing something better than doing nothing?
I don’t have time to do a full workout, so I’m just going to skip it. Does this sound familiar? I know that there was a time in my exercising life that I had this mindset: “Well, I can’t do the workout that I’m supposed to do, so why do it at all?” And so I get it. You want to be all in. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to doing it, it’s not worth doing. But here’s the thing: This mindset is holding you back. Because exercise doesn’t work that way. Health doesn’t work that way. Consistency is the true contributor to progress when it comes to exercise, eating, and your goals. I posted this on FaceBook the other day: Many folks feel that they need to be ‘on’ all the time, or follow their plan perfectly to get results. Yes, you do need to be ‘on’, Read More . . .
Your Health isn’t a Priority? That’s OK.
You’ve seen the memes on the Internet, or heard the phrases: “What’s your excuse?” Or heard the phrase, “if it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” I actually like this second quote – and not because of the judgement that’s implied with it, but rather the truth that it conveys. We all have priorities. A list from 1-100. And we can’t do everything. On our list of priorities, we all have the same things: family, partner relationship, travel, money, career, health, and self-care, to name a few. They’re just in different orders. My list is in a different order than your list. Only one thing can occupy that top spot. Only one thing can occupy the second, and so on. As a health coach, I would love for everyone’s list to have ‘health’ as their #1 priority. But the truth is that it Read More . . .
Why the rules are bullsh*t
Do you have rules around your eating habits? They might be something like, “I can only eat sugar on the weekend.” Or “Bananas are loaded with calories and starch. So, I can’t eat bananas.” Whatever they are, do they help you? Or do they hinder you? I think most people create these rules because the grey area of our food can become so… GREY. H*ll! I don’t even know if there IS any black or white when it comes to food anymore! With all the media hype, and misinterpreted studies, something that you would think should be intuitive is now confusing. There’s so much fear and uncertainty when it comes to our food. What’s good for us? What’s not? And once we’re in that grey zone of ‘Eat these foods in moderation’, how do we know where we are in that moderation scale? How do we know when we’re slipping? If Read More . . .
What’s in Your Perfect Day?
One of the exercises that I have my Health Coaching clients do in their first habit is to describe their perfect day. I love hearing what folks love to do: spend time with their families (or not ;), pampering, what their favorite meal is, activities, what makes them feel good, and what their priorities are. And it got me thinking about what elements I would need to have a perfect day everyday. Sure! There are always things that we don’t want to do: chores, conflict, maybe errands, and things like that. But what key elements would be present in order for the day to be pretty close to perfect? How can you construct your life so that it’s pretty darn close to perfect? I came up with four elements that I can add in to any day to have a pretty awesome experience. I’ve tagged it #TAGY Treats – Everyday needs to have a treat in it. Read More . . .
What do elephants and cancer have to do with my fat-loss journey?
In thinking about how the cancer had destroyed my mom’s body, it occurred to me that in order to avoid this disease, I needed to prepare my body so that it would be able to fight off any disease that it might encounter. Not only did I need to get down to a healthy weight, but I also needed to eat better quality of foods, become active, and well, become a responsible adult. Read More . . .
How to dump crappy habits
Anyone who says that the issue of obesity, weight management and fitness is all about knowing what is/is not good for you, or about willpower is over-simplifying the problem, and hasn’t fully grasped the gravity of the issue. It is a hugely complex issue because it all starts in the brain, and the brain is a hugely complex organism. We all do things that we know don’t serve us in our goals, and yet, we often find ourselves powerless to change. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about eating habits, spending money, smoking, or some other habit that we want to change. In Kelly McGonigal’s audio program, The Neuroscience of Change, she talks about our destructive habits. Destructive habits are things that we do that either don’t serve us any longer, or are getting in the way of things we do want in our lives. It could be smoking, eating Read More . . .
Am I NOT setting a good example?
Everyone has a “thing”. Right? Gary & my “thing” is pizza and red wine. It all started 15 years ago, this Valentines Day. I was still living in Chicago, but I was already planning on moving to Austin, and we were house hunting. His mom had given him a bread maker for Christmas, I think we had attempted making pizza on a sheet pan, but I recall, it was that Valentines Day that I bought him the pizza stone set. At the time, I was still working in high tech. I was about three years into my own fitness journey, but no where near thinking that it might become part of my future. I think it was at that time that we started having pizza on Saturday nights – or at least, it became a tradition to have pizza on Valentines Day, for sure. Our pizza making journey is almost as winding Read More . . .