Bounce Back with Healthy Fuel

With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror, we now turn our attention to December and all that it brings.  Staying focused on your routine and keeping your schedule as normal as possible are great ways to approach this busy time.

Start the day off right with a healthy breakfast so that your body and mind are prepared for more good things to come.  Fuel the day with protein, healthy carbs and a healthy fat.  This will give you energy to do your work plus a little boost in case  someone walks in with donuts.  Speaking of those unexpected treats... decide if and when you are going to indulge, and then enjoy.  Every treat that comes your way, however, is not yours.  Some of this "found food" is worthy of you, while some is simply not.

Drink lots of water no matter the weather.  Staying hydrated so that your body works better is critical.  At home, set up a nice pitcher of spa water on your kitchen counter.  Every time you see it, take another drink.  You can add peeled cucumber and limes or lemons and oranges or mint leaves and cucumber--whatever you like.  It's fun to look at.  It's a twist on regular water.  It can remind you to drink more water.

Plan ahead for parties and pot lucks.  Decide in advance which parties are worth eating at.  This week I have three Christmas parties in a row.  Two of these parties I have been to before, and while they have great holiday foods at both, I can easily eat before I go and have seltzer water when I am there.  The other party--that's at a hotel with fun programming and a dessert reception and... I don't know what else, but that's where I am planning to try some new things.  As for pot lucks, if you don't have to go, then maybe you skip.  Not every gathering may be worthy of your time and effort.  In that case, bypass the pot luck/bad luck buffet and eat as you normally would.

Keep your activity going.  If you take a regular yoga class or walk with a friend, don't stop now.  Your body and mind will thank you for these precious breaks. 

Stocking the refrigerator with healthy foods, lots of cut up fruits and vegetables that are grab and go will help keep you on track.  Heavy holiday foods interfere with your digestion, energy and motivation.  Bounce back by eating your regular foods. 

Staying focused and on track is a challenge oftentimes, and at holiday time, the struggle is real.  You can be stronger than the struggle.  You can decide that even if today didn't go as well as you would have liked, you will bounce back by doing the next right thing.  The power is in the doing.  The power is in you. 

Self Care Aware

My recommendation and mantra for holiday time is be SELF CARE AWARE.  Repeat this to yourself as often as you need to so that you are aware of how you are feeling and doing.  For example, how hungry are you..how tired are you...how energized are you...how stressed are you?  And then, depending on your answers, respond to your body's signals and your mind's answers accordingly.  Slow down to notice.

This is the time of year with so much distraction, that it can be challenging to remember to slow down in the first place.  However, checking in with yourself is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.  By being self care aware, you can make good use of your coping skills, your self regulating skills and your self preservation skills.  This will lead to more peacefulness and more calm whether you are at the grocery store with a crowd of people checking their lists or whether you are in a frenzied mall where people are pushing and rushing, or even worse--you are bothered by your own thoughts about getting it all done in time. 

Can there be a nice balance between being social and engaging and just relaxing and enjoying?  For me, I can't relax until my holiday cards are done.  I love doing them, but this year--there is NO photo which is something I always have on my cards.  I am still not sure how I will resolve this.  Yet, I have decided I am not going to stress myself about it.  My baby girls are 21 and 18 at this point. 

It sounds like I have jumped straight to Christmas and forgotten Thanksgiving.  No, I have not.  I just realized that Christmas is about a month away, so I have a lot to do.  First things first--our November holiday of thanks, gratitude for health, happiness, our treasured friends and loving family, our pets...It's not all perfect, of course not.  (I can't tell you how many lies I have to stomach at my house.)  However, take your health away, and there is nothing.  Take your loved ones away, and there is grief.  Take your friendships away, and there is loneliness that no one deserves.  Take my Pippa away... oh don't even go there. 

The most precious gratitude is for what you have that cannot be bought.  Make a list of those things and be very appreciative...spend time with them and give them your full attention.  Be self care aware.  Enjoy doing it, after all you too are a gift. 

Try Something New If...

When things are going well, there's no real reason to make a change.  Just ride the wave!   But, when your routine starts getting boring, or your habits are not helping you anymore, it might be time to try something new.

Whether it's with your eating, your exercising, your hobbies or even your job--you can always pivot a little or a lot to get something more than what you have presently. 

This week in WW, we rolled out a program innovation, "MY WW" so that for the first time ever there are three healthy ways to work it.  If you are happy with what's happening now, however, stay where you are.  If you would like to explore another option, take a chance on you and see what results you get.

At the very least, remember that the best eating plan for you is the one that you can sustain over the long term.  Your healthy lifestyle is a long term commitment. 

You are never stuck.  Not in your eating.  Not in your mind.  Not in your relationships.  Not in your job.  Embrace something new this week, and take the best gamble ever--the one where you win no matter what.

Karen Coach Says: Self Preservation in a Ball of Bright Light

Karen Coach Says: Self Preservation in a Ball of Bright Light: This week I was thinking about how other people's negative energy can affect me.  I can get bothered if I am in a setting where someone ...

Self Preservation in a Ball of Bright Light

This week I was thinking about how other people's negative energy can affect me.  I can get bothered if I am in a setting where someone who has no self awareness starts chomping ice and spitting it in a cup, for example.  Yes, this happened in a yoga training I attended.  Last summer, I was in a qi gong training in Santa Cruz, and an odd woman kept moaning during class and coming in late and making a fuss and creating a nuisance.  I found this distracting.  Others said to me--don't let this bother you.  Of course, they were right.  But, for me, it is easier said than done.

Fast forward to this past weekend, my qi gong master, Lee Holden, was in town for a day of qi gong at a retreat space in Marine on St. Croix.  This was an incredible opportunity to learn more from him and to advance my own practice.  Lee is a 50 year old athletic California guy, father of three young girls, former soccer player from Berkeley who travels the world for his work and appears on big stages with the likes of Deepak Chopra.  He is often in intimate settings with lots of people who want something from him.  I asked him how he keeps other people's negative energy from getting to him.  He told me that he just releases other people's negative energy.  He doesn't let it get to him, on him, in his mind.  He said that when someone is bringing their neediness or dark energy to him, he imagines that there is the GRAND CANYON between him and them.  What a great image and what a great tip for us all.

Our world is full of people from all walks of life.  Who can know what people are grappling with from one moment to the next?  Compassion for them, yes, but self preservation for you.  Therefore, if you find yourself in awkward situations where someone is not being kind, not being self aware and bringing judgment or negative qi (qi is energy) to you, you might try envisioning yourself in a ball of bright light surrounded by good thoughts, positive images, self love and kindness.  And just imagine that this bright light coming from you can diminish any negative qi that might be floating around you.

This is my plan, and I am sharing it with you. 

Call it Recess

Moving the body is just as important as moving the mind.  When we were kids, we loved it.  It was play, and we had excess energy to burn, so it made a whole lot of sense.  As adults, it can feel very different when responsibilities and jobs and mortgages get in the way.

This is not ok, because the benefits of exercise are enormous.  Exercise is a great break for your mind.  Stepping away from all the cognitive "heavy lifting" that you do on your device makes you more productive when you return.  Exercise helps relieve stress.  Exercise gives us more body confidence and body positivity.  Exercise can lift the mood and regulate emotion.  Exercise is simply a part of a healthy lifestyle.  And, the good news is that it all counts.  Steps, washing the car, cleaning the house, raking leaves, dog walking, aqua aerobics, Walk 15, etc.  It also adds up.  Every ten minute burst is a boost in the right direction, so that by the end of the day you can add it all up and feel a sense of accomplishment. 

Why not make exercise feel like recess?  Why not call it recess?  When I teach yoga, I often tell my students that their yoga practice IS recess.  It's our fun time to be in our "play clothes" and move around in a group of like minded people.  It even sounds like recess.  If you can make it fun, you can look forward to it.  Then, you are much more likely to keep it up.

We are life long learners, and we can also be life long exercisers.  Define what that means for you, and commit to it.  Commit to yourself.  Make time for recess, and when the bell rings, you go have fun.

Puzzle Your Problems to Reset Goals

Goals are the reasons why we do things.  We want certain things like income and benefits, so we seek employment.  We go to work even when we feel less than optimal, because we are highly motivated to get paid, to support ourselves, our family, our lifestyle.  Even on those occasions when we aren't feeling 100% great about our job, we are always feeling 100% great about getting paid for doing our job.  

When it comes to other things, simpler things like house projects or going to the gym, we may have good intentions, but when it comes time to execute the plan, something unexpected can get in the way.  Maybe you don't feel great, so painting a bedroom is not going to happen this weekend.  Maybe you are especially stressed after work, and you forgot to pack your gym bag, so you go home instead and then get comfortable.   

We plan and set goals when we envision our very best selves taking over.  We are optimistic and forward thinking.  However, a lot can happen between the time you set your goal to the time you are supposed to act on your goal.  What often gets in the way is friction--unexpected obstacles.  The solution to this problem is to unravel the circumstances and consider exactly what got in the way.  Not trash talking to yourself is critical.  The more you focus on the fact that you didn't do what you set out to do--the worse you feel--the less motivated you are.  

I think one of the toughest truths to accept with goal setting is that it is harder to execute a plan than it is to make a plan.  Think about a goal of eating one slice of pizza when everyone else is indulging.  That's hard.  That goes against natural instincts--eat with the tribe--do what your friends are doing--be cohesive.  That piece of the puzzle doesn't fit or feel good.  The only way we can execute that plan is if we focus on what we want more instead of on what we want in the moment.  We must remember our "why" for what we are doing.  We also can't be too hungry, otherwise all bets are off when primal instincts take over.  We also have to have a strong plan to fill up on salad, eat the one slice of pizza and get away from the rest of the pizza.  Whew... that's a major feat.  

This week, take a look at one of your goals (eat less sugar, exercise three times a week, track daily, no snacking after dinner, etc.) and consider what is it that is making it so difficult to achieve.  Keep puzzling this through until you get to the honest answer.  That answer may be--I just don't feel like it.  Then, reconsider what a more achievable goal might look like instead.  A "Plan B" might be executed more often than a Plan A.  And that's A-OK.