Baby Steps

I know I've talked about this before, but it has become a common thread in my discussions with many people at work. American culture supports the "all or nothing" attitude at about the same level as we support eating at McDonalds and drinking diet soda (read: a lot). We work too much, put too much value on "stuff," and we really beat ourselves up when we don't meet our self-imposed standards.

Here's a typical convo for me with a client:

Me: Tell me about your wellness.

Client: Well, I'd like to work out more. I used to be in really good shape when I was 37. I went to the gym 4 times a week and ran a 10K, and it was really great. I ate healthy and just felt really good about myself. But now I don't have time---I have kids and work full time and coach basketball. So I don't know how to fit the gym into my schedule.

Do you see what I see in that?

The person has an image in his/her head regarding the definition of what it means to be well (exercise 4 times a week, be able to run a 10k, and eat healthy). Because she/he can't do exactly that right now, she/he does nothing. Saying I wish, I wish, I wish or I should, I should, I should.....doesn't do anything. It just sets the image of "what you are not" more into stone.

It's the "If I can't have what I want then I don't want anything" attitude, and that goes right along with the all or nothing mindset and desire for instant gratification. I'm not saying we do this on purpose. I believe it's generally subconscious. This week, I've talked 6 people through the process of understanding that just because an option (going to the gym once a week) does not fit your ultimate definition of what being well requires (going to the gym 4 times a week), doesn't mean it doesn't count. In fact, it counts more than if you jumped right into working out 4 times a week. If your lifestyle doesn't support having the time to be at the gym that much, you won't be able to maintain the habit. But if you can fit in once a week, you are better able to stick with it. Over time, you can add little bits of health here or there and make it a cumulative progression.

Sure, it might take longer to lose 40 pounds if you're focusing on small pieces at a time instead of going all out on a diet. But if all those healthy changes are strategically fit into your life little by little, it doesn't feel so much like work and you have the potential to make a real lifetime-lasting change.

Do the Right Thing

I had a particularly challenging email to respond to last night from a student who is doing terribly in my class. He isn't fulfilling the requirements, and he wrote me a nasty email about the way I'm doing my job, blaming me for his poor grade. I tactfully and respectfully responded, cc'd my faculty manager, and let him know that although I am perfectly willing to give him an "A" in the class if he does the work, he has to DO THE WORK. Of course, I still felt bad to call him out and "let him have it" in that way, but in reality, we do all have to take responsibility for ourselves. Blame isn't productive, and it usually just causes more problems. I emailed someone I trust to ask her opinion about the email and how I responded. Her response:

"You know, I just sat our student workers down and told them to cut the crap --- lots of people want their jobs if they don't want to be serious .... I explained that we do them no favors when we allow behavior that will not be accepted in the workforce ... so bottom line I think you did the right thing .... and as Obama is saying, every citizen has to take responsibility for him/herself --- AND as far as I am concerned the only question we have to answer with yes for EVERYTHING we do is 'was it the right thing to do?' "

So, maybe when you find yourself in one of those gray areas in life---What to say? What to do? Who to blame? Instead of pointing fingers and getting mad, look at yourself first.

Are you doing the right thing for your life, job, wellness, the world? If not, that's ok, but it's something to work on.

Cheap and Easy.....and Addictive

In 2008, McDonalds boasted a net profit for the full year totaling 4.3 billion dollars, compared with 2.3 billion in 2007. In this tanking economy, the fast food giant certainly came out on top. I’m not saying I am surprised or don’t understand. In fact, I like Shamrock Shakes and cheeseburgers just as much as (or more than) the next guy. The problem is that we have enough problems making fresh produce and healthy foods available and desirable to all Americans even without the economic crisis. With the crisis, we’re sliding backwards because it is cheaper and easier to eat out than to make dinner at home.

I can tell you how many calories are in a cheeseburger, a milkshake, fries, etc. But the problem with McDonalds is that it’s not just about the calorically dense, nutritionally void foods. It’s about the bad things in the food that cause higher risk for disease. Eaten once in a while, a cheeseburger won’t kill you. Consuming this type of food on a regular basis is a different story. Pair that burger with a Diet Coke and you’re all set!

In 2003, I went through a particularly stressful time, and I often opted to drive through McDonalds instead of making dinner. I cannot describe to you how comforting this was to me. McDonalds cheeseburgers still make me temporarily happy when I’m not. I didn’t stick with this habit for too long, but I do feel slightly guilty that I got my mom started as well. She had essentially never eaten at McDonalds---but I still have visions of the two of us picnicking on Matthew’s bedroom floor with cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes (her sans the milkshake if she couldn’t dig a Lactaid pill out of her purse---although I’m not sure there’s actually dairy in a McD’s shake!). Around that time, Mom (Susan) was working two nights a week at the Lake Street Plaza Theatres, and every time she worked, she and the other girls would run across the street and get food from McDonalds.

Fast forward a year and a half---Susan was working out daily and in great shape, and also eating either a cheeseburger or a breakfast sandwich from McD’s every single day. She began to notice that if she didn’t have it by 7pm, she would have a headache. This went on for more than 6 months, and even when she scaled back, she still never lost the craving for that delicious little crack-like burger. In fact, when I asked her if I could tell this story, she said she has been trying to stay away from there, but still thinks it could be a once-a-week indulgence (and if you know Susan, you know she is more of the "eat to live" rather than "live to eat" type).

What in McDonald’s food is so addictive? Is it the “edible” grade beef parts? The plastic-y cheese food? The mold-resistant bun? I’m not really sure, but the point is that it is actually addictive. Have you seen the movie SuperSize Me? If not, I highly recommend it. It’s a documentary—but it’s not boring, I promise. Of course, it’s not natural for a person to eat only at McDonalds, but the results of Morgan Spurlock’s experiment can be viewed as a sort of fast-forward on the real-life consequences of eating this food regularly. Check it out. http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/super_size_me.php

True, I love the McDonalds cheeseburger in all its chemically artificial goodness. But lately, I eat one about once a year. The bottom line is that making economic decisions that sacrifice your health and well-being is widely accepted in our culture. I don’t have an answer about how to change this at a cultural level---but I know if you choose to make a difference in your own habits, you can improve your health and still not break the bank. How to do this is another story, but I’ll provide ideas for that soon.

Something's Gotta Give...

I don't really have a story to tell today. I'm taking a break from grading papers, and contemplating my plan for managing my workload over the next 6 months (have you done this lately?----It can be fun....or scary).

Time Management is a sort of generic name for how you fit things into your day and get done what you need to get done. When I was teaching at Keuka last year, we had a unit on time management that had all these great tools for students to be organized and get their work done on time. For some reason, even armed with all this strategic paraphernalia.....many kids still attempted to turn things in late (even after I told them I don't accept late work---sorry, in the real world you have to meet deadlines even if you stayed up too late playing Guitar Hero!).

That situation was not much different than in real life. Most of us have an idea about what it takes to be productive and get things done. Sometimes we still don't do it that well, and some of us don't ever do it well. I've spoken to quite a few people this week at RIT who really are that busy. They aren't making excuses--they really have too many things going on to fit everything into a day. Interestingly, when I'm talking to people about their "issues" I often find myself relating to them. My current state of busy-ness results in me doing enough work every night to keep my head above water the next day---and my semi-panic feeling now is that I need to work something out so I can still get to the gym without feeling guilty or staying up till 2am. The gym would be the easiest thing to cut out, and the most disappointing to let go (I love-hate the gym, but that's another story).

What are some things you do to manage your time (or not)? Do you make lists? Print your calendar? Sleep? Complain? Procrastinate? Procrastinating is often one of those things you can use the "do it not wanting to" strategy for. Acknowledge the things on your list that are not desirable---but then do them and cross them off (and if you do something you had forgotten to put on the list, add it and then cross it off just because it feels good!).

I don't have specific advice for how to manage your time because different things work for different people. I know there are people out there who are much busier than I am. The only thing to do when you can't change your life-load is to change your perspective on it. If you do manage your time well, you will feel better and less stressed at the end of the day. Don't obsess if you couldn't go to the gym today---just go tomorrow! Things do not change just by feeling badly about them, and feeling badly snowballs into feeling badly some more.

Back to work!

Girl Cheese

I used to babysit for two kids, Daniel (4) and Elizabeth (6), while I was living in Ithaca. These two kids were so adorable I always thought they should have been in the trendy Gap sweater ads from that era (2000). They were also very smart children. Their dad worked at Cornell and their mom worked at a local school. This family was what my friends and I called "granola crunchy" people. They weren't hippies (then), but they were conscious of healthy personal and (I'm sure) environmental choices. Daniel and Elizabeth thought organic yogurt was dessert!

One night, while babysitting, the kids had a friend (maybe a cousin?) over. He was a little wild child, and it threw my little darlings for a loop. They were normally very calm (one day I asked them what they wanted to do, and they chose to listen to a book on cd---Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh). On the evening of their visiting cousin, Daniel took on the cousin's characteristics and I let them run around and be messy boys for a bit so Elizabeth and I could chat at the kitchen table (one of my favorite pasttimes). We talked about school, and friends, and other 6-year old things.

Elizabeth told me a story about how she used to always be very confused when her mom made grilled cheese and gave it to Daniel. She said she always thought it was actually called "girl cheese" and she was worried that Daniel shouldn't have it because he was a boy. But, she reassured me, she had figured it out and knew it was ok. How did she figure it out?

She cared about her brother. She worried. Then she asked.

The part many of us don't do is ASK. We have a snippet of information (maybe misperceived), and then we begin to worry about it. So, we create a snowball effect of worst case scenarios and outcomes in our minds. Take a moment the next time you're in a situation like this. Then find out who would know the real story, and ask them.

Save the stress for something real :)

Vitamin D

It's winter----freezing cold, snowy, and dark in many parts of the country. What do you do differently to maintain your health and wellness throughout the winter?

I hope you didn't say nothing :)

If you did, think about Vitamin D for a moment to demonstrate that you might need to make some adjustments at this time of year. This fat soluble vitamin is important for organ health, calcium and phospherous absorption (and re-absorption), supports healthy thyroid function, and protects against tumors.
"Vitamin D malnutrition may also be linked to an increased susceptibility to several chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, tuberculosis, cancer, periodontal disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, seasonal affective disorder, peripheral artery disease, and several autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes. There is an association between low vitamin D levels and Parkinson's disease, but whether Parkinson's causes low vitamin D levels, or whether low vitamin D levels play a role in the pathogensis of Parkinson's disease has not been established (Wikipedia)."

Did you know there are very few dietary sources of Vitamin D? It is found naturally in fatty fish, such as salmon, and mostly in fortified foods, such as milks, yogurts, and cereals. Most of our Vitamin D intake occurs through sun exposure---and at this time of year, that is almost non-existent for many of us.

What is the solution?
-You could go tanning---but if you do, it should be a recommendation from your doctor, meaning your Vit D levels are so low it's worth the risk.
-You can eat more fortified foods (check labels)
-You can take a supplement
-If your mood is negatively affected by reduced Vitamin D, you can use a Happy Light (full-spectrum)--just note that its important research the brand you buy as the industry is not closely regulated (but can be kind of expensive).

More...

Fear less, hope more;
Eat less, chew more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less, say more;
Love more, and all good things will be yours.

- Swedish Proverb