Last week, I had the pleasure and thrill of attending an event where Joan Benoit Samuelson was speaking. Joan is a prolific runner who won the first women’s Olympic marathon in Los Angeles in 1985. She also won the Boston marathon twice – once in 1979 (before she graduated college) and again in 1986. She has set many records in her career. Getting to hear her speak and meet here was a highlight for me.

During Joan’s talk, she told a story about how, after having her first child, Nike wanted to shoot photos for a future ad campaign. The tagline of the ad was “There is no finish line.” This tagline struck a cord with me. It is so true! There is no real finish line in life. OK, I guess there is one true finish line – when we leave this earth and pass on to whatever is after.

The idea that there is no finish line changed how I look at a lot of things, and made some things make sense for me. We tend to focus on getting to a certain point – crossing the finish line of a race, our wedding day, the birth of a child, finishing school, reaching a goal weight. All of those things are finish lines, but life continues on after. There are more finish lines to come.

With the start of the new year, I’d like to encourage you to focus on your finish lines, or goals, for the year. But, while you are planning on successfully crossing each one, also think about what is next. Where will your next finish line be? And the one after that? And the one after that?

This story is aimed at the ladies. Guys, you can feel free to tune in to the next post/newsletter.

I know I missed National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), but this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Ladies, you’ve got to protect the girls. By “girls” I mean your breasts. As athletes, our breasts can really take a pounding. Research has shown that when we run or workout, they move in all sorts of directions, move independently of each other, and move at all sorts of speeds. If we do not have an excellent sports bra, our exercising may result in early sag because the tissue and ligaments that support and give the breasts shape have been damaged.

Bra shopping is one of my least favorite activities. but, when it comes time for a new sports bra, I take shopping for one very seriously. When shopping for a sports bra, grab a few that meet the impact level you need (yoga=low, running=high)  and head to the dressing room. When you put the bra on, be sure all of the breast tissue is in the cups. This may involve bending over as you put the bra on then standing up, using your hands to move the tissue into the cups, and making other adjustments. If all of the tissue will not fit into the cup (no bulging on the outside or inside) you need to go to a larger cup size.

After all the breast tissue is settled into the cups, start jumping around. Jog in place. Yes, I’m serious (I see you laughing out there). You want to see how much your girls move. If it fits, but doesn’t stabilize the girls, the bra isn’t doing the job it needs to. In my book, I want a bra where the girls only move a tiny bit or not at all. If they move more than that, that is not the bra for me. I keep trying bras on until I find one I like. This process can take a while. Once I find a bra I like, I stick with it. My current favorite is the Maia from Moving Comfort. However, you need to find a bra that works for you and your level of activity.

With a good fitting bra, you and your girls will be happy and perky for many years!

Last week, I talked about how the period from the beginning of October through New Year’s is a calorie and weight “Danger Zone.” This is also true for endurance and ultra-endurance athletes. Triathletes have finished their training and racing and are entering the off-season. They are ready to unwind and enjoy some time without the rigors of training. On the other hand, marathon and ultra-runners are starting to gear up. The fall marathon season starts in October and goes into the spring.

For those of us training for fall and spring marathons, it is really, really, really easy to use our training as a way to over-indulge in holiday foods. For those entering their off season, it is really, really easy for them to use the holiday foods as rewards for all of the hard training they have done over the past few months.

Endurance athletes have to watch the holiday season just like everyone else to avoid weight gain that negatively impact performance. Yes, maybe you did just run 18 or 20 miles. That doesn’t mean you can have a whole pumpkin pie! And, just because you did a Turkey Trot the morning of Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean you can eat like it is Thanksgiving day all weekend long. If you are in your off season, you do not want to gain extra weight over the holidays that you then have to work harder to get off the first couple of months of the year. If you are training, you don’t want to put on extra weight over the holidays you have to carry during your race or have to worry about losing before the race.

The trick I use is to only use the “I just did a (fill in the blank) workout. I get to eat (fill in the blank).” once a day on the day that is not race day. If you just ran a marathon, go ahead and celebrate that day, but follow the rule for the two following days. Starting on the third day, return to your normal eating. If you do a long workout, you can use the excuse once a day for a maximum of two of days. It is easy to eat as much or more calories than we burned off by telling ourselves it is OK to indulge because we worked out. And, yes, I deal with this, too.

As the Halloween candy starts to appear, remember to not use your workouts as an excuse to over-indulge. Yes, if you have a long or hard workout you can indulge some. You just can’t use it as an excuse to indulge all the time through the holidays.

This post was originally published in 2009. However, I think it is worth repeating. . . with a few minor changes.

October, November, and December are what I call The Danger Zone time of the year. Within these three months we encounter all sorts of eating challenges. October is the time of CANDY! Candy seems to appear just about everywhere – in offices, on desks, in kids’ backpacks. However, just because candy is around does NOT mean you have to eat it. A previous post had some tips for dealing with Halloween candy. I have two tactics to add this year. The first is to mentally label the Halloween as “not my food.” The candy is for other people, or the kids, or the trick-or-treaters. Every time you think of or see the candy, tell yourself “that’s not my food” and find something else to do. Second, if you do have more candy than you had planned, do not use that slip as an excuse to keep slipping the rest of the day (or week, or month). Recognize that you made a slip, but tell yourself, “that’s OK. I can make better choices the rest of the day that will help me stay on track.”

Once we’ve made it through Halloween, we are faced with Thanksgiving, then Holiday Parties, Christmas, Hannuka, Kawnza, New Years, etc. These holidays and parties are typically food-focused, family-focused and filled with stress. One way to make this year easier and less stressful is to start thinking now about how you will handle any food challenges that come your way.

For example, do you have a hard time (like me) staying away from buffets at parties? You can start thinking now and visualizing how you will deal with the buffets this year. Perhaps make a rule that first you will put fruits and vegetables on your plate then small bites of other items. Or, that you will only make one trip to the buffet. If alcohol is a challenge, make a rule that you will alternate each “beverage” with a glass of water. Do you over-eat at Thanksgiving dinner? Start visualizing how your plate will look this year – with half filled with fruits and vegetables, a quarter with protein, and a quarter with complex carbohydrates or starch (you can also review the Quarter Your Plate newsletter for more information on how to do this). And, don’t forget to visualize what your dessert plate will look like, too.

The last three months of the year do not have to be filled with scary food situation. You just need to plan ahead for how you will deal with them so you are prepared when they happen.

Have a healthy day!

This morning when the alarm went off at 4:30AM, I thought really hard about turning it off, rolling over, and going back to sleep until 6AM. I laid there arguing with myself. “You need to go workout.” “Yeah, but I”m tired.” “But, you need the workout.” “I know, but I could do it later. The bed is so comfortable. I’m so tired.” “No, you can’t. You need to go now! If you don’t go, you’ll regret it the rest of the day.” Back and forth for a few minutes. I finally got up and ended up having one of the best workouts I’ve had in a long time.

How many times do we have these arguments with ourselves? Why is it that we have this evil little voice that always argues against doing what we know we want to do to reach our goals? When we have these arguments, who wins? If that evil little voice wins, does that help you reach your goals? Usually not. Usually, that evil little voice sabotages your efforts.

If that evil little voice is actually a saboteur why do we even listen to it? The key is to know that you have control over that voice. You can tell it to be quiet, or if you need to be stronger – mentally yell at it to SHUT UP! and not listen to it anymore.

I’m going to challenge you in the next week to quiet that evil little voice. When it starts talking, just say “I’m not going to listen to you” and keep doing what you need to in order to reach your goals. Because, if you engage in the argument, who really wins?

The goal I’m working towards is running the New York Marathon on November 6, 2011. I am raising funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) for this race. One of the other reasons I tell myself to do my workouts is because I am blessed to have two arms, two legs, and a body that lets me run and workout. There are many, many people who want to be physically active and who have to use something artificial to make it happen – a prosthetic leg or legs, a hand-cycle. I’m thankful I have a body that is whole and allows me to run, bike, and swim. Thanks to all of you who have given so far to help me help these special athletes. If you would like to help the athletes sponsored by CAF, you can make a donation (of any amount) here.

Does it seem like just when you get your good habits rolling and into a routine, something happens and the bottom falls out? Everything goes off track. This happened to me a couple of weeks ago when my father was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital. We went in for a normal doctor appointment that resulted in him being admitted to the hospital for a couple of weeks. He lives away from me. I had gone to the appointment with my purse and cell phone (hence the lack of blog post and newsletter for the past couple of weeks). I ended up staying with him for a week, came home for a weekend then back for another week. This experience taught me a lot and was significantly different from prior times I have been with him when he was in the hospital (for planned reasons).  What I learned (or learned to practice) is that even though a lot was outside of my control, there were still BIG things I coI still had a lot of control and could use it to help my father, my family, and me to get through the past couple of weeks.

The biggest thing I learned is to focus on the areas I can control. One of these is, not surprisingly, food. Whenever the bottom falls out food tends to be one of the first things that becomes hard to control. However, we still do have control – at least some – over our food choices. Since all I had with me was my purse and its contents, I had to go shopping for clothes, toiletires, and food. I found a Super Target and was able to cover a lot of the bases. One thing I picked up was nuts in individual serving size packages. Nuts can be a great snack between meals. And, the single serving size packages can help keep you from eating too much compared to eating nuts out of a bag or can. They don’t require refrigeration, and I could keep them in the hospital room. I discovered my dad also likes nuts, and we ended up sharing a few of the bags.

I also ended up at the grocery store and picked up some cherries. Cherries are one of my favorite foods, and really qualify as a comfort food for me. I discovered that, in addition to nuts, my dad also likes cherries. I ended up back at the grocery story every day or every other day buying more cherries. With the nuts, the cherries gave me a couple of great snacks to keep in the hospital room so I didn’t have to rely on the vending machines. The other food choices were what I ate for meals. At each meal, I learned to make the best choice possible. I found that if I didn’t fuel myself right with my meals, I was not alert enough to be a good advocate for my dad.

The second major thing I could control was sleep. I did get a hotel room each week. I don’t know why hotels have to use these huge pillows. After the first nigh, I woke up with a horrible pain in my neck and one shoulder. Back to Target I went to get a pillow and pillow case that would work for me. This allowed me to sleep better, and again be a better advocate for my dad. I also learned when to tell him I needed to go at night and when the doctors made rounds so I could be there in the morning.

Now that he is out of the hospital and I am back home, I’m focusing on the things I can control again. I’m getting caught up at work and on sleep, as well as getting back in touch with everyone (including my blog and newsletter readers).

When the bottom falls out for you remember to look for those things that you can control and that will help you get through until you can get your feet back on solid ground. Food and sleep are usually two of the things that can seem very hard to control in these kinds of situations. However, look for ways to make it easier. Find a grocery store and stock up on foods you feel good about eating and that help fuel you. Look for ways to get better sleep. And remember, you can handle anything that comes your way (you have so far). You just handle it until you can get back into your routine, or establish a new one, and get your feet back on solid ground.

Many of my clients and friends struggle with the “I know what to do, I just don’t do it” syndrome. We know we should eat “better.”  However, when the waiter brings the dessert menu, or we are bored at home and head for the pantry, we just cannot seem to stop ourselves. I’ll admit that I often deal with this issue, too (as do many of my fellow dietitians).

I encourage you to spend some time thinking about why you do not do what you know you should. Is it fear? Fear of failure? Fear of success? Fear of change? Fear of the unknown? Fear relationships will change? Is it a lack of knowledge? Do you not truly believe you deserve to achieve your goals?

Take a few minutes of quiet time and try to pinpoint the underlying reason. Yes, it is easy to order that dessert and the dessert is yummy. But, if eating that dessert undermines your weight loss or weight maintenance goals why are you doing that? If it is a one-time or occasional choice that is one thing. If it is sabotaging your efforts, that is when you need to determine the deeper why to the behavior.

Once you know the reason you do not do what you know you should, you can work on understanding and addressing the issue. If it is a fear of failure why are you afraid to fail? We learn a lot when we fail. And, I do not know one person who has always succeeded in everything they did. Failure IS an option. Failure is inevitable when we challenge ourselves.

If you have failed in the past, why? Take those reasons and learn from them. Was it a lack of planning? Lack of support from family? Really dig into it and determine what happened. Then take those as lessons learned and plan to succeed this time. Each time something goes wrong, or you feel like you failed, look at the situation and determine what you would do differently next time.

It may take some time to dig down and find the reason why you do not do the thinks you know you should. Do not stop with “dessert tastes good.” Ask yourself, “what else?” and “why do I feel the need to do that?”

Once you have the deeper, underlying reason, then you can begin to address it and you WILL reach your goals.

I had knee surgery last June and my rehab has been slower than expected. I have an entry for the New York Marathon in November and have been thinking about starting my training. Last week the UPS man delivered a package of motivation – he delivered my New York Marathon “In Training” shirt. Time to train!

I found myself back on the treadmill this week. I started running at an easy pace for a few minutes then bumped the pace upa bit. After a few minutes I realized “this is uncomfortable.” Then I thought, “why am I doing this?” Followed quickly by “you could just stop you know. You’re uncomfortable. You’re breathing hard. You could just stop.”

Wow! Where did that come from? I had not had those thoughts in a L-O-N-G time. Honestly, those thoughts really surprised me because I had been looking forward to running. Rather than stopping, I took a mental step back and started analyzing the situation. I thought “yes, I’m uncomfortable, but it doesn’t really hurt. It feels different. I know I’ve worked harder than this before. And, since I’m just starting back it is not unreasonable for me to feel this way.” And, I kept going and finished the workout.

When we are in a new situation or getting back into something we have not done recently, we feel uncomfortable. When we feel uncomfortable it is really easy to just stop and avoid the situation. However, it is when we get into new situations - it is when we feel uncomfortable – that we have the greatest opportunity to grow. Often, the discomfort is really fear. Fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of (fill in the blank).  You have probably heard that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. When we lok at why we are fearful, we find there is no real reason for the feeling of fear.

When you feel uncomfortable or feel fear, take a step back and talk yourself through what is going on. Why are you feeling this way? Is it valid? Then, decide how you are going to move forward. Do you really need to stop? Or, is that just fear talking? Are you afraid of trying something new because you might fail? John Wooden said “failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” Don’t be afraid to fail. You can learn a lot when you fail.

Finishing a marathon (New York will be my fourth) is, in my opinion, 90% mental. Finishing, heck even starting, many things is 90% mental. So the next time your head starts telling you that you cannot do something. Stop and ask it why. Then, talk it through and think about why you CAN do it. As Mohandas K. Gandhi said, “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” I think I’ll be a marathoner again come November.

One of the only TV shows I keep up with is “The Biggest Loser.” I do not agree with everything, but am also inspired by how the contestants transform not only physically, but mentally. In an episode a couple of weeks ago, the contestants went home for two weeks. When they returned to the ranch, one of the contestants said that she learned that saying “no”  to food and other things that would not move her towards her goal was really saying “yes” to herself and her success.

That statement struck me as profound. What a mind shift! That attitude can enable all of us to stay on track towards our goals. When you come across something or someone who will not move you forward, you can say “no.” And, that “no” will help you move forward and reach your goal. That “no” is really a “yes” to yourself and your goals.

Are there things that you can say “no” to that really are a “yes?” I encourage you to look for those things that do not move your forward – food, eating opportunities, and people. Practice saying “yes” to yourself and “no” to those things that do not help you. 

What kinds of things can you say “no” to that really are saying “yes” to yourself?

Michelle May who wrote Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat has a great weekly newsletter. She starts last week’s newsletter with the question “How many rice cakes does it take to satisfy a craving for chocolate?” The answer. . . .”Five rice cakes. 7 baby carrots. 4 celery sticks. One orange. A container of light yogurt. And a Snickers(R) bar.” This really made me laugh! How many times do we crave a “bad” food but cannot satisfy that craving until we have it? Chocolate is one of the worst for this. Nothing seems to satisfy a chocolate craving other than . . . chocolate.

Since today is Valentine’s day, I thought was perfect to talk about chocolate. Many people label chocolate as a “bad” food. Why is chocolate bad? Has it committed a crime? I can just hear the headlines. . . .”Today at 6PM. A chocolate bar went on a rampage and forced 20 people to take a bite of itself! At this point, the police are labeling these as assults, but we are still waiting to hear on final charges from the District Attorney. The bar was not easily subdued. One officer called it ‘a really bad bar.’”

Chocolate, and other foods, are not inherently “bad.” They are only bad if we over eat it. Using this definition, any food could be “bad.” Rather than labeling foods as good/bad, why not make a conscious choice to eat and enjoy foods. It is Valentine’s day – a day for love and chocolate. Why not choose a piece of chocolate that you really want and choose to eat it. But, don’t just eat it, enjoy it. Focus on how it looks, smells, feels in your mouth, and tastes – eat it mindfully. If you eat it mindfully, it will be much more satisfying than if you eat it mindlessly – like when you are reading, watching TV or working on your computer. If you’ve chosen to eat something, why not take the time to really enjoy it.

I hope you have a great day and choose to enjoy some special food today, this week, this month.