Loving Simplicity...

What comes to mind when you think about simplicity? Do you value simplicity in your life, or does your life feel hectic and rushed? Simplicity is something I've come to appreciate more and more in recent years. This morning in my reading I came across a description of daily activities that I really enjoyed; it was "eat, sleep, play, and exercise." But not just any "eating, sleeping, playing, and exercising" will do - it must be simple.

Eating simply means eating clean! Eat foods that you can recognize the ingredients. I promise you, it takes much less prep in the kitchen than you can imagine, and you feel so much better for eating this way. This has a trickle down effect for making your grocery list simpler too.

Sleeping simply means going to bed at a reasonable hour so you can get at least 8 hours sleep. You'll certainly appreciate this in the morning!

Playing simply means do things you enjoy with people you love and enjoy spending time with. Make sure you have some quality "down time" to enjoy the world around you.

Exercising simply means get moving! (You can check out some of my previous blog posts for exercise ideas if you need help getting started with a routine.) Believe me, if you're eating and sleeping better, you'll have plenty of energy for working out. This can double as "play time" if you do it with your spouse, friends, or family.

Sometimes all we need to alleviate stress is to say "no" to the wrong things and "yes" to the right things. So go "eat, sleep, play, and exercise" and live simply, enjoying life and those around you on the way!

Food, Survival, and Thriving

"All businesses must be mindful of how operating costs affect the bottom line, and food companies may be under a greater burden than most, since American grocery shoppers and fast-food eaters have become deeply attached to the idea of inexpensive food. The amount we pay for our food has declined dramatically over the last six decades, from 20.5 percent of disposable income in 1950 to now 9.8 percent." (Pandora's Lunchbox, Melanie Warner, p.6)

I have begun reading Pandora's Lunchbox this week, and when I read the above statement towards the beginning of the book, I did a double-take and read it again. Then again, and then one more time just for good measure. I had been assuming that spending more on groceries was a new struggle we had due to our fast paced culture, inflation, food shortages - any number of factors really. What I realized even more in my reading this week was how our culture has shifted to come firmly behind the idea that food should be cheap and easy all the time, and that spending more money on food must mean there is a problem.

I am not a stranger to researching and learning how the fast-food industry has changed our cultural expectations for meals, having read books such as Fast Food Nation, among many others. Nor am I a stranger to understanding the role of processed food and preservatives in disease causation, and the role of exercise and nutrition for disease prevention, having paid handsomely to be able to have the title of "Master of Science" appear behind my name as an Exercise Physiologist. But what I had never thought of before was that perhaps my expectations for the amount of money I spent on food were unrealistic. 

My husband and I spend approximately 20% of our annual income on groceries in our attempt to have quality nutrition at every meal. We have continued to do this even though we now live on 1/2 the income we did when we were first married. I had always thought this was in part due to the fact that groceries were "just so expensive," and often felt frustrated about spending so much money on quality foods. But now, after reading further in Pandora's Lunchbox, it appears that even as recently as six decades ago, spending 20% of your annual income on food was considered normal.

Hmmm... Now I don't feel as bad...

And really, if you think about it, doesn't this make sense? Why do we want our food sources to be "cheap" and "inexpensive" when that is the main thing that keeps us alive? If food is cheap and inexpensive all the time, it means that it's been mass produced, processed, chemically altered, and not real food in the same sense that a chicken breast or a sweet potato is a real (and recognizable) food.

So now...I'm going to keep moving forward with my same convictions and purchasing real, quality food, but this time without any frustration associated with doing so. My hope in writing this particular entry is to encourage you to do the same, and feel good about buying the quality food that you need to survive. 

No, not just survive, but thrive in your health, and feel better than you ever have before!

Wellness and Worry

Do any of you ever struggle with worrying? I know I certainly do at times! Although there are many ways of working through that struggle, I have found recently that the food I eat affects how I handle worrisome thoughts. I know that sounds really weird right?!! Yet it is very true.

As part of a treatment plan for a medical condition I have, my doctor encouraged me to cut out wheat, dairy, and sugar, which I begrudgingly did at first. Not fun, but I did it. She also told me that I was hypoglycemic, which was news to me! If you don't know what hypoglycemia is, it means that blood sugar can dip too low throughout the day. To combat this, it is important to eat every couple of hours, making sure to get a good combo of healthy protein, fat, and veggies at each snack.

The more I ate this way, carefully following all my doctor's instructions, I realized I was able to think more clearly than I had in years. As a result, when I faced a temptation to worry about something, I was able to clearly identify what was causing my worry, and whether it was something I even needed to be concerned about. Additionally, I could clearly remember things I had committed to memory to help relieve worrisome thoughts; things like Scripture verses, proverbs, or quotes. I could think pretty clearly to also pray at the time of worry - these were all things that I struggled to remember to do previous to drastically changing my eating habits.

It was quite the revelation that what I was eating and the timing of meals throughout my day could have such a profound effect on spiritual and mental clarity. As I was realizing and reflecting on these things that had changed in me, I came across an article that affirmed the things I was seeing (Alternative Approaches to Dealing with Anxiety). It discussed (among other options) how diet can affect anxiety, and how cutting out refined carbs and sugar, preservatives, and artificial colorings and flavors can relieve anxiety. The author even mentioned how hyper- or hypoglycemia can increase anxiety in us!

So why do I bring this all up? If worry is a stressor for you, the way you eat may be a way to help relieve some of what you feel! You might just be amazed how simple changes can have complex and long term benefits for your health.

Fitting in Your Fitness

Did you know that exercising in 10 minute increments throughout the day can be just as effective for your cardiovascular health as if you did 30 minutes all at once? If you didn't, that's okay - alot of people don't realize that.  It's helpful information to know, though, if you have trouble fitting a workout into your day because of your schedule.

You can take 10 minutes in the morning and incorporate some calisthenics, 10 minutes in your lunch break to power walk at work, and 10 minutes in the evenings to round out your day with a few strength exercises and stretches. Don't let your schedule be the thing that holds you back from healthy habits right now. Be willing to try some different things so you can work around your schedule.

For instance, I might try something like this on a busy day:

AM (10 minutes): jog in place (1 min), high knees (1 min), butt kicks (1 min), burpees (1 min), jump squats (1 min), repeat all.

Lunch (10 minutes): keep my tennis shoes in my office, head out for the last 10 minutes of lunch for some walking around the building.

PM (10 minutes): jog in place (1 min), lunges (30 seconds each leg), push-ups (1 min), squats (1 min), triceps dips (1 min), calf raises (1 min), plank (1 min), double leg hamstring stretch (1 min), quadriceps stretch (15 seconds each leg), calf stretch (15 seconds each leg), shoulder stretch (15 seconds each arm), triceps stretch (15 seconds each arm).

Voila! There you go - exercises on a busy day! If your fitness level is not at the place where push-ups and burpees are possible, don't worry, you can still exercise! Try walking 3 times per day, 10 minutes each time, then stretch before you go to bed. Just keep in mind that it is never too late to get fit!

Fueled up, Ready to go!

Just a few thoughts pre-workout: Have you ever wondered why sometimes you feel great when you exercise and sometimes you feel horrible, even though it's the same workout you did last week? Why do you sometimes know in advance that it's going to be a "bad workout day"? Aside from mental sluggishness, why do you just sometimes not feel like exercising? These things can be so frustrating when we are trying our hardest to maintain a quality exercise routine!

Although there can be a variety of answers to these questions, two very common ones are lack of quality sleep at night and not eating the right things to fuel you up for your workout. To tackle the first observation, I know this can be tricky with those of us who really tend to be night owls, but a consistent bedtime is a good thing. Actually, it's a great thing! Sleep helps your body detox and rest up for the next day's activities. If you can get between 7-8 hours a night, it helps your metabolism and energy levels tremendously. You might also check out your pillow and mattress to see if they are the culprits behind any neck and back pain, or excessive tightness in the shoulders. If so, you may need an upgrade. No one really wants to cheap out on a quality pillow and mattress if we think about it; I mean, we spend one-third of our life sleeping!!

Food can be another trigger for lackluster exercise sessions. One of the most common things I saw as a trainer was not eating enough of the right things leading up to the exercise session to support the level of activity that was going to ensue. A good pre-workout snack would be a handful of fruit (like grapes) or maybe half an apple 20-30 minutes before exercise to provide a little burst of energy from the natural sugar in it. An excellent post-workout snack would juicing your greens; one of my faves is juicing cucumber, kale, lime, cilantro, and half an orange. Helps refuel your energy, plus fills you full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Of course, starting with a good breakfast is the first step to having a great workout later in the day. It's always good to have a little protein and good fat in your breakfast to help you feel full and energetic. My new favorite in the morning is to cook half a bell pepper, 2 slices of turkey (organic, nitrite free), half an avocado, 1 clove garlic, a little bit of salsa, and voila! Deliciousness that is so satisfying!! A good rule of thumb is if you feel low on energy, take a look at what you've been eating recently; if you see alot of refined carbohydrates, too little clean protein, and too few veggies, well...that just might be the issue! Try making a few positive changes here and there and see if you don't start to feel fueled up and ready to go for your workouts!

How to Hit a Curve Ball

We all know that life can throw you some curve balls, shake things up a bit, and just cause general change where it would be most inopportune! This is the fact of life -- it never stops changing. As much as we like to think we have a routine that is well under control, the simple truth is that we lack much more control over our day than we'd like to admit. When life brings challenges along and upsets the apple cart, how do we handle things that were part of our daily schedule when everything was "going according to plan?"

I tend to be a type A personality, and those who know me well would heartily agree. This also means I'm an "all or nothing" type of girl. So as far as nutrition, exercise, and stress go, I'm either all the way in or all the way out.  I don't have cheat days [singular], it's a cheat week that turns in to a cheat month. I can usually keep this part of my personality in order when life doesn't get in the way too much, and don't usually have the need for "cheating" in my healthy lifestyle. Several months ago, though, life threw a curve ball in the midst of a very calculated life decision that my husband and I made.

• Pursue a doctorate...wonderful right? Yes, it is quite wonderful!! My hubby and I decided after many years of thinking through the process that he should pursue his doctorate, and we are still very excited he's doing this!

• We move...we moved from Nebraska to Texas (which is home), which was so exciting, but anyone who has moved knows it is physically and emotionally taxing in so many ways.

• Look for jobs...oi! If this doesn't stress you out, maybe you should be my new best friend!

• Start Ph.d....Woohoo! Finally made it to start day, but so much work to get there.

I have just bullet-ed out the last 6 months of my life, so it does all look very nice and neat, but it definitely has been anything but that. In the process of emotional and physical stressors, exercise went on the back-burner, and good nutrition was minimally kept up (not to mention an array of other challenges that are outside the scope of an exercise and nutrition blog!).  As a result, my quality of life decreased, mainly because I did not have the energy to do things that I loved. With my "all-or-nothing" mentality, I began to lie to myself and say things like...

"I only have 2 days to work out this week, so why even bother?"         

"I don't have time to exercise" (I did, miraculously, have time to sneak in 30 minutes of TV, phew!)

"I don't have time to make a lunch with alot of veggies in it for work."

When, really, as an Exercise Physiologist, I knew better. I had to learn [re-learn] to take my health on a day by day basis and make time to do things (like exercise and eat my veggies) even when I didn't feel like it. I had to examine my choices, and choose to exercise instead of, say, watching television in the evenings. I also had to choose to say "no" to obligations that I knew would increase my stress level, but not edify me or my husband. I know this doesn't sound terribly exciting, but it is pretty effective.

I heard a man (Jay Martin) say one time that "If you don't learn how to hit a curve ball in life, you won't be able to make it to the Big Leagues." In my case, learning to balance exercise, nutrition and stress when life is changing and moving around me in a way that is not conducive to health, is a game-changer. If I want to make it to the "Big Leagues" and encourage others in their daily struggles in these same areas, I have to learn how to play the game and manage it in my own life.

I share these things with you because I want you to know that you are not alone in this sort of struggle with maintaining health. There is not enough education about how to make the right choices to make up for simply acting on the right choices for your health everyday. My encouragement to you is this -- try everyday; make an effort. Sometimes you'll hit the ball out of the park, and other days it's a struggle. But the reward is in knowing you're moving forward in your journey.