Happy 2016. The first week of the new year is a time for resetting your mind and body. You have a clean slate to work with. Don’t worry about the past, focus on the now and future.
Last week, I discussed resolutions and refocusing on a smaller more attainable goal that will ebb and flow with your life. Let’s re-assess how your week went. Did your goal seem to fit into your day to day routine or not? If it fit well and you were able to adjust accordingly to life’s challenges then keep up the good work. If not, then let’s go back to the drawing board. What needs to change or be more flexible in order for success to happen? Perhaps this goal is still a good one, but you’re overthinking it and stopping yourself with negative thoughts. Take a moment right now in the middle of this column to stop and jot down on paper, phone, or computer anything that comes to mind, positive and negative. It might even make you feel relieved to have it out of your head. Now that you had a week to test a few things out, you might have come up with a few questions or researched a few topics about fitness, healthy eating, or even purchased a new product or two to assist in this new habit you have committed to. Besides executing the plan you have made for yourself, now what should you do to keep on moving forward. Ask a friend or family member to join you. Support is huge! Having another person to chat with, hang with, and even be active with can be a factor that contributes to success and enjoyment. You are going to have ups and downs, guaranteed. Find someone or a few people that you can use for support. We are not perfect at everything we do the first time. Having a solid base to come to for support during those rough patches can be the difference between quitting and persevering. Start a journal. Do not over think this one. Journaling can provide a great escape, support system, and feedback tool for everybody. You can write whatever you want, maybe it is more emotional, a spot to empty all the to-dos that are stuck up in your head, or a place to write your daily activity and progressions you have made. Use it as a way to start fresh every night, morning, or mid-day. You may be surprised at how useful little changes and additions will become once you start utilizing them. Remember that you are not alone in pursuing a goal. Goals may be different from person to person but with support, reflection, and positive thought you can achieve anything.
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Every now and again I like to have a very busy, let loose kind of a weekend. This past weekend was one of them. Tim and I took a super quick trip to New Orleans, LA to visit some of his friends. It was so much fun getting out of the mountains to a warmer, brighter city with great food and bustling atmosphere. I miss it, sometimes!
When I got home on Sunday evening I felt tired, gross, and seriously lazy. This morning I decided to commit to eating clean, whole foods for the rest of the week. That's right. Nothing from a box and nothing pre-made. I am allowing myself 2 cheat meals but that is it. Condiments are not allowed unless I make them myself, which might happen. I have done this many times in the past. Sometimes for a few days and other times for an entire month. No matter how long I commit, I always feel better by the end and end up learning something about my body and food. I invite you all to join in. It is only a 7 day commitment and this is the season that we need a challenge the most. Who is in? Well it is official. The holiday season is here and it begins with Thanksgiving and Black Friday and moves into Cyber Monday, sending holiday cards, buying gifts, and the list goes on and on. As we move into December you may have more holiday parties and family get-togethers to attend as well. All of these extra events and tasks can add a lot of stress to your day and cause sleepless nights. How can we continue to move forward with everything we have to do and feel our best when it seems like a never-ending pile of stuff. I am not going to sugar-coat it. Life can be tough and hard to juggle at times. Let’s accept that and move forward with a plan of action. Here are some things that help me stay on task and motivated when I am feeling overwhelmed.
Sleep. It is one huge factor in how well my day is going to go. If I get my 7-8 hours I am a happy camper and my day seems to go by without any major hiccups. Even if their might be struggles, my ability to manage the stress and chaos of the day does not seem to overwhelm. I deal with it and move on. On days that I had 6 hours or less, watch out I may explode. OK maybe not the dramatic, but little things seem to really get to me. Even though I know they are not a big deal and life will be fine. Getting plenty of sleep at night is an important time for your body to recover from the day’s activities and reset your mind for the next day. Get those ZZZZs and you might start feeling better. Activity. When my schedule becomes crammed with things to do sometimes I forget about my workout. I get all caught up in everything else that I end up coming dead last. This is terrible. Because without me, none of these things would be completed. I prioritize my list of things to do and physical activity happens to be number one or two. I schedule it earlier in my day to complete it and get it out of the way or maybe I sign up for a class or plan a workout date with a friend. I feel so much better knowing that it is done and I can move forward and not have a lingering thought in the back of my mind. Write it down. Keeping a journal is something that I enjoy doing for many reasons, but I like to visually be able to see what needs to be done. It flows out of my head and onto paper therefore it does not float around in my head all day disrupting me. On the list I like to give each task a deadline of when it absolutely must be completed and I stick to it. I feels good to check it off once complete, too! Learning to say “no”. This is a very hard thing for me. I want to help out, contribute, and attend functions that I am invited to in order to support my friends, colleagues, or the community. I find that I am always saying “yes, I will do this” or “yes, I will attend that”, and then I feel like I am being pulled in too many directions. Sometimes you need to say no and saying no does not mean that you do not care. Saying no means that you have another higher priority task that needs your attention. I have learned that saying no is ok and at times makes me feel better even though it is hard to do. You are not always going to be able to be there for everything or do everything and accepting that is important. Above all commit to placing yourself higher on your priority list. Take the time to care for yourself first and then take care of those closest to you. As my mom says, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Halloween is upon us and with this holiday comes the temptations of candy. Now, if you have children, of course there will be trick or treating and then a large pile of candy. This candy just sits there in its bowl or bag staring at you. “Eat Me!” You might allow yourself to have one piece of candy, but then you grab another and another and another. Do not fall into this trap. Here are some strategies for avoiding the excess sugar and treats this Halloween.
If you plan to hand out candy Halloween night, then sitting around the house with a bowl of your favorite candy in tow is a recipe for disaster. My suggestion is to buy candy that you do not like. I love chocolate, therefore I usually by nerds or a sweet candy because I don’t really care to eat it. If your workplace has turned into a daily candy jar, I suggest a few solutions to manage your desires. Eat one piece of candy. Yep eat it, but just one. Now don’t just eat it in a mindless passing of a co-worker’s desk. Stop and take a moment to savor it at your desk or after you eat lunch. Think about how good it tastes and also how it makes you feel afterwards. Taking a moment to acknowledge how it made you feel could give you the energy to resist more treats later. If that jar is still sitting there on a desk or in the break room, ask your co-workers to hide it or if you can place it somewhere else. Out of sight, out of mind. What is fantastic about this is that when you pass by or take a break you do not see the candy, which equals no temptation. If those do not work and the cravings are building perhaps you are hungry. Truly hungry for real food and the candy is just easy. Take a moment and manage your hunger. Eat real food first. Have healthier meals and snacks available with you all the time: work, home and on the go. That way when your hunger strikes you do not reach for the quick and easy candy. Apples, string cheeses, and nuts are fantastic options and travel well. Still having trouble? Try chewing gum. That little piece of gum could be just the thing to prevent you from snatching a treat randomly between meals. When I have a nice clean, minty fresh mouth I do not want to ruin it with a Reese’s peanut butter cup. Now your kids’ candy can be a difficult situation. Of course, the kiddos want to eat it all and in one sitting. Do they really need to eat all of it? Go through the candy with them and pick out the candy they do not want and get rid of it. Give it to another kid who did not get any or very little candy or toss it out. Throwing it away might seem extreme, but if that helps you and your family make healthier decisions then do it. Think of Halloween as an opening of the flood gates to the holiday season. Stores begin to fill with holiday decorations and ads accumulate in your email inbox with “big deals.” Don’t wait until Thanksgiving to begin thinking of your plan of attack. Creating or changing to a few more healthier eating habits is going to help in prevent you from overeating, indulging too often and leaving you feeling beaten down. Start now and make a plan for how you want to deal with hunger and cravings. As always, enjoy the food you eat; it is fuel for your body and mind. We are what we eat. Literally! I love fall. It is a wonderful time of year to celebrate and embrace change in our lives and nature. Just as the trees begin to transform with orange, red, yellow leaves and the weather cools down a bit, we also start to prepare ourselves. Harvesting the rest of your garden, preparing wood for the winter, or pulling the sweaters out for easier access on cool mornings. Perhaps you have started changing your eating habits from berries and greens to squashes and pumpkins, or at least pumpkin flavored everything.
Eating seasonal fruits and vegetables is a wonderful way to add variety to your diet, enjoy the bounty of your garden, and save a little money on groceries because in-season produce is generally cheaper. If that is not reason enough for you to go buy and make some of these food items, then let’s discuss other reasons why they are good for you. Squash includes many varieties, including spaghetti squash, pumpkins, butternut squash, acorn squash and on and on. They include a huge amount of vitamin A, as well as significant amounts of vitamins C, E, B6, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, and folate. In terms of minerals, squash contain magnesium, potassium, manganese, copper, phosphorous, calcium, and iron. Apples are a super convenient food. Just grab and go. Even though you can buy apples all year long, they are best from September to November. There are many varieties of apples and eating the entire apple provides a good source of vitamin-C and beta-carotene, B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, thiamin, and pyridoxine, rich in antioxidant phyto-nutrients flavonoids and polyphenolics, and the fruit is rich in dietary fiber. Brussels sprouts are a member of the cabbage family and grow on a stalk about 1-2 inches in size. They contain excellent levels of vitamin C and vitamin K, with more moderate amounts of B vitamins, such as folic acid and vitamin B6. These little guys are not just for holiday meals. I personally love to saute them with bacon and garlic as a side dish. There are many more fruits and veggies that I could share with you but now let’s get cooking. I included recipes for each food item we discussed above. Remember to enjoy all foods in moderation. Happy cooking and baking. Pumpkin Spice Cookies: Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat baking sheets with cooking spray. Whisk 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 1tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp allspice and ¼ tsp nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk 2 eggs, ¾ cup brown sugar (or ⅓ cup Stevia), ¾ cup pumpkin puree, ¼ cup oil and ¼ cup molasses in a second bowl until well combined. Stir the wet ingredients and 1 cup raisins into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Drop the batter by level tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1-2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until firm to the touch and lightly golden on top, 10 to 12 minutes. Beet & Apple Salad: Toss 2 thinly sliced apples, 4 thinly sliced celery stalks (with leaves) and 1 minced shallot in a bowl with the juice of 1 lemon. Peel 1 beet, then slice into matchsticks and add to the bowl. Toss in 1 tsp sugar, 3 tbsp chopped walnuts, 3 tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper. Let stand 10 minutes. Roasted Brussels sprouts and grapes: Heat oven to 375° F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss 1 ½ Brussels sprouts and 1 lb. grapes with the 3 tbsp oil, 2 sliced garlic cloves, ½ tbsp thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Turn the Brussels sprouts cut-side down and roast until golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Tis the season for squashes and pumpkins galore. This time of year I like to incorporate more squashes into my diet. Butternut squash and pumpkins are my favorite, therefore I wanted to share some of my favorite recipes that I use this time of year. I love to find new recipes online and lately these have been my favorites. Get cooking and savor good, comfy food! Spicy Butternut Squash SoupINGREDIENTS
PREPARATION Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut squash in half and seed. Place the halves on a baking sheet, cut-side down. Bake until tender when pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Scoop out flesh when cool enough to handle. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion and carrot and stir to coat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the squash flesh, cumin, chipotle to taste and cloves. Add broth and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or a regular blender (in batches) until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with a drizzle of yogurt and sprinkle of chives (or parsley). Crustless Pumpkin PieINGREDIENTS
PREPARATION Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut pie pumpkin in half and seed. Place the halves on a baking sheet, cut-side down. Bake until tender when pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Scoop out flesh when cool enough to handle. Coat a 9”-round pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together the pumpkin, milk, yogurt, Splenda, and Truvia. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate, and bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes, or until the center barely jiggles when gently shaken. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack, and chill at least 2 hours before serving. Spaghetti Squash Lasagna w/ BroccoliniINGREDIENTS
PREPARATION Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 450°F. Place squash cut-side down in a microwave-safe dish; add 2 tablespoons water. Microwave, uncovered, on High until the flesh is tender, about 10 minutes. Alternatively, place squash halves cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in a 400°F oven until the squash is tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add broccolini, garlic and red pepper (if using); cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add water and cook, stirring, until the broccolini is tender, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl. Use a fork to scrape the squash from the shells into the bowl. Place the shells in a broiler-safe baking pan or on a baking sheet. Stir 3/4 cup mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into the squash mixture. Divide it between the shells; top with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake on the lower rack for 10 minutes. Move to the upper rack, turn the broiler to high and broil, watching carefully, until the cheese starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Habits. We all have our own habits and have learned these habits during our lives. Something new may have been introduced to us and that new thing or behavior satisfied a craving, which made you feel good. When we continue to repeat this new learned behavior over and over it becomes a habit. By now, I am guessing that you have thought of a habit or two that you would like to change.
The real question is, “How do I change a negative habit to a healthier habit.” Being a personal trainer for over 8 years, I immediately think of many people who try every year to make a bunch of new habits all at once, also known as a New Year Resolution. There is a reason why people struggle with following through with a New Year resolution. Trying to change multiple areas of your life all at once is a lot of work, which is why you may succeed for a while but eventually it comes to a crashing halt. Then how? How does change happen? First things first, what habit would you like to change? Write out on paper a specific goal, then write a list of negative behaviors, and finally pick one of them that you would like to focus on changing. Let’s say that my negative habit is eating a sweet dessert after lunch and dinner. The overall goal may be to lose weight, but for now we will focus on the dessert. Now let’s try some new behaviors. You sit down to eat your lunch and afterwards you feel the urge for something sweet. Instead of your normal dessert, try putting a mint in your mouth and immediately get up and move away from where you were eating or go for a quick walk around the block. How did you feel after the new behavior? Did you still crave something sweet? If you felt satisfied with the new behavior continue to repeat this pattern every time you eat or as often as possible. If the newly implemented behavior still leaves you craving for sweet desserts, then try something else. Changing a habit is a learning experience. It takes time for your mind and body to adjust. Sometimes the process is quick and easy while other habits can be more challenging and take a longer commitment. Don’t give up after your first attempt. Find friends, co-workers, or family members that are also looking to make a change and provide each other with encouragement |
This is me, Liz. I am an, instructor, personal trainer, exercise physiologist, dog-mom, loving wife, little sister, coolest-aunt ever, and now blogger living in Libby, Montana.
Welcome to my blog! This blog follows my life and my interests in fitness, adventure, food, and healthy living. The Girls, Katy & Madi, and I. We have spent a lot of time together the past few years. I appreciate them for their quirks and how they love me unconditionally. They help me appreciate the small, simple things in life. Archives
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DiclaimerThis is a personal blog created and maintained by Liz Whalen. My blog posts document my life and sometimes highlight the food I eat and workouts I perform. I do not have professional medical training, nor am I a registered dietician. I am an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist, while the content you see on my blog aims to bring you along on my health & wellness journey. The published information may not be right for you and should not be viewed as guidelines in any way. Seek counsel from a medical doctor when looking to incorporate or change your physical activity and/or dietary habits.
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