Have you ever actually stopped before eating to check in with your body to see if you are actually hungry? Chances are if you practice some mindfulness around your eating, you would discover that often we reach for food out of boredom, loneliness, anxiety, sadness, or a feeling of being under stress and overwhelmed. This is referred to as “emotional eating.” Because we “feel” with our gut as well as the rest of us, it can be easy to confuse emotions or other physical sensations with hunger. Wanting to Eat vs. Needing to Eat True hunger is general and non-specific. It can be an empty, growling stomach, lightheadedness, or irritability. Hunger comes and goes, often gradually. Cravings, on...
Have you ever heard of the tyranny of the urgent? It means that if you don’t have a plan, the matter that seems to be the most urgent at the time will get attention, at the exclusion of the others. Without a plan, your own health will always take a backseat to what seems to be the most important at the moment—and that could be as simple as a television show that you want to watch! Having a plan will keep less important things from creeping in and sabotaging your health. If you do not plan for fitness and health, it simply will not happen. This time, make a plan. Before you even start your new healthy lifestyle,...
How often do you hear someone say, “I had a great night’s sleep last night!” or “I feel refreshed and energetic!”? Probably not very often. Feeling sluggish seems to be the new normal. In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation, it is the new normal: most Americans are sleep-deprived. But not getting enough sleep may be causing more trouble for you than just that pesky drowsy feeling: it could be seriously harming your health. Why aren’t we sleeping? Centuries ago, it was common for people to sleep 8 to 9 hours each day. But now, only about 25% of Americans get 8 or more hours of sleep. The reasons we are not sleeping are many. We live...
If you have ever tried to ignore a box of doughnuts at work, you know how hard it is to keep your hands to yourself and walk on by. And once you walk on by, the battle isn’t over. Even if you are in a different room and down the hall, you can’t stop thinking about those doughnuts. Why is it so hard to resist something as small and seemingly innocent as a doughnut? It has to do with habit—and mind set.Hardwired habitsThe draw you feel from that doughnut goes way beyond just a mild interest: you are wired to want it, and resistance is hard. In his book, The End of Overeating, Dr. David Kessler MD explains the breakdown:When...
From weekend warriors to Ironman finishers, performance is directly tied to diet. If you want to train at the peak of your ability and recover quickly, you must be intentional about what you eat, taking care to feed your body what it needs. Trying to work out with a body that is starving for essential nutrients will end only in frustration; and frustration eats your momentum and resolve with a voracious appetite.Make the most of every minute you work out by fueling your body sensibly. Let’s look at the basics.Nutrition 101: the foundation The big three nutrients that you need to be concerned with are carbohydrates, protein and fat. An eating strategy that balances these three macro-nutrients will skyrocket your...
