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?

A couple of weeks ago I was in San Diego for the American Dietetic Association (ADA) conference. Traveling, and conferences in particular, have always presented an eating challenge for me. However, this year I was determined to watch what I ate. Part of the problem at the ADA conference is the expo hall. Dietitians deal with food. This means the expo hall is FILLED WITH FOOD! And, in order to tell my clients about new products, I have to sample them. So, the ADA conference is not just an issue with eating while out of town, but managing sampling foods on the expo floor. I used a few strategies this year that I hope will help you manage your eating on the road, too.

Tip 1: Before you go, make a list of foods to have handy. If there are quick and easy meals or snacks you can put together without cooking, have a list of the items you need to make them with you. For example, I’ve started eating a few whole wheat crackers, a couple of wedges of Laughing Cow cheese, and some grapes for breakfast or dinner. Super easy and doesn’t require an oven. Add some peanut butter and you have a great snack of some peanut butter on the crackers. Also, plan for any food you need to support your training and working out. Do you need to pick up sports drink? What about your pre- and post-workout foods?

Tip 2: Find a grocery store. If you made a list before you left take it with you and get your hotel room stocked. If you don’t have a list, stop on the way in and make one so you can avoid impulse buys.

Tip 3: If you are going to drink alcoholic beverages, alternate them with water. This does two things. First, it slows down how fast you drink the alcoholic drinks (and the calories they contain). Second, it helps keep you hydrated since alcohol is dehydrating.

Tip 4: Use an appetizer as your entree. Most entrees in restaurants are 3+ servings. Rather than ordering an entree, order an appetizer to use as your entree. You can still order a salad (dressing on the side) or soup (broth-based) as your appetizer.

Tip 5: Order a  salad (dressing on the side) or soup (broth-based) as your appetizer then split an entree with someone else in your group. Most of us think that everyone at the table wants to indulge in a big meal, but in reality just about everyone at the table is probably conerned with managing their weight. One of your dining buddies may be very thankful for the opportunity to split and entree.

Tip 6: If you are eating alone and order an entree, get a to go box and put 1/2 to 2/3 of the entree in the to go box and set it off to the side. If you finish what is on your plate and wait a few minutes and are still hungry, you can retrieve some of the saved entree from the to go box. If not, you can leave the box behind. If you feel bad about leaving food behind, ask yourself if you’d rather have the extra weight on your body as a result of eating that food, or not. Personally, I’d rather leave the extra in the to go box than have it end up on my hips.

Tip 7: Often when traveling you may not know when food will be available. Either pack some snacks to take with you or pick some up at the store that you can keep in a briefcase, computer case, or purse. I like KIND bars, frut, and fig bars as options.

I hope these tips help you while you travel. If you have tips of your own, I’d love to hear them!

On another note – I’ll be moving the newsletter to MailChimp next week. The format will be a bit different. You shouldn’t have to do anything to move with me. If you have questions, please send me an email.

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.

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.

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?

Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it. - Newton’s First Law of Motion, translated from the Principia’s Latin

Believe it or not, Newton’s First Law of Motion can apply to our eating habits. We tend to continue in the same eating habits until something happens that changes them. For example, January 1 is a day that a lot of people start eating healthier – the new year caused them to change their eating habits for the better. For someone who is eating healthy, a loved one gets sick and has a stay in the hospital. They start trying to balance work, visiting the hospital, worry, family, sleep, etc. and healthy eating changes to driving through the fast food window for meals because that is all their is time for and they can’t think of anything else. The force of illness knocked them off their path.

These are two extreme examples. Even a little force impressed upon us can change our eating habits. You have healthy lunches planned for the week. Then, your boss calls and says that you are taking a prospective client out for lunch at the steakhouse – your favorite steakhouse. There is one of those forces to knock you off your path. Stepping on the scale and seeing a larger number than you’d thought can be a force impressed upon you to re-think how you have been eating.

My point is that we all get into habits of eating and we can get knocked off course fairly easily. This happens with all our self-care habits – working out, sleeping, eating well, meditating, taking personal time, etc. However, we can also use the First Law of Motion to our advantage. If you make one better choice like choosing a piece of fruit rather than the huge bagel and cream cheese, you are starting in motion to improve your eating. The next time you eat, that last choice sets you up to make the next one. The force that can change that path may be a sandwich or dessert you really want. But, you can choose to avoid that force and choose to stay on your path. And, if you make a less healthy choice, or one you regret, you get to get yourself back on the path you want at your next eating opportunity.

I’m a visual person. I see this as being on a path and all these balls hurling at me to knock me off of it. I can duck, jump and dodge the balls to stay on my path to a healthy life. As long as I stay on the path, things are good. If one of those balls knocks me off, I know I can get back on and keep going.

If you aren’t on the path you want to be on, what can you do to get on it? If you are but have gotten knocked off by some force, how can you get back on? If you are staying on your path, what tips, tricks, and hits can you share with others?

Hoping you have a great weekend and either get on, get back on, or stay on your path!

Note: The quote at the top came from about.com.

I went to the gym this morning – New Year’s Eve. There was only a handful of people there. What’s up with that? Isn’t the last workout of the year just as important as the first? Why not end the year on a positive note rather than just being glad it is over?

Let’s take a look back at 2010. What are you most proud of? What did you accomplish? What surprised you? What would you have liked to accomplish but did not? What goal did you not meet?

It is just as important to look at your successes as those things that didn’t work out as well. We tend to focus on the negative. But, looking at what went right, what we did well, allows us to give ourselves credit rather than always looking at what we didn’t do well.  It allows us to feel positive about ourselves and our accomplishments – which helps us accomplish more!

Looking at things you didn’t accomplish, take a minute and think about why. Was it because you didn’t plan to achieve it? Was it because of fear? Or, was the time just not right?

Now that we’ve taken stock of 2010, let’s look forward to 2011. What do you want to accomplish? What are you willing to do to accomplish those goals? I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. I’m a fan of setting goals any time of the year and planning how you are going to achieve those goals. Don’t set a goal unless you are also going to spend time planning how to achieve the goal and coming up with a reward for when you do achieve it. Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for failure. Here’s a tool to use:

My goal:

In order to achieve this goal, I’m going to:

1)  _______________ by _________(date)

2) _______________ by _________(date)

3) _______________ by _________(date)

Now, put those tasks and dates on your calendar. Finally, finish the following sentence:

When I achieve this goal, I will _______________________.

It is important to write down your goal, how you are going to get there, and how you will reward yourself. Those who have written goals are much more successful than those who do not.

You can start small – “I will eat breakfast three times this week.” Plan for that, and have a reward of, for example, buying yourself a new book when you’ve achieved it. Then, build on that success by planning another one. Each time you achieve one goal, you build your confidence that you can achieve another.

I wish you a 2011 filled with joy, friendship, love, and success. Now, it is up to you to set, plan for, and achieve your goals!

In this crazy busy season, it is important to take time to enjoy – no relish – each day. I can hear you saying “Enjoy! Relish! You are crazy! Too many things to do. Too much shopping, cooking, wrapping! I’m busy trying to keep all my relatives and kids from fighting! Enjoy the day?!?!??”

Yes, things are crazy and busy. But, there will only be ONE 2010 holiday season. I would suggest that you take a minute or two out of each day, sit down, take a deep breath, let it out slowly and clear your mind. Take a look around you and see what is going on. Do it as a third party observer – one outside the situations and hustle bustle. Find something to smile about – even if it is just that everyone will be gone in a couple of days.

This is also a time of special foods. Foods that we only get once a year. When you get one of those favorite dishes, take a minute and relish it mindfully. Look at it – take a snapshot in your mind. Smell it. When you put it in your mouth, notice the textures and how they change as you eat it. Think about all that went into making it and putting it on the table for you. Not just the making but all the way back to the production of the grain, chocolate, coffee, etc. Take your time relishing that food. You could turn this into a family affair. Have each person choose their favorite item and go around the table describing what they like most about it – and talk about how it looks, smells, feels as you cut it with your fork and in your mouth, how it tastes and how the taste changes. Rather than just shoveling in the food and not tasting it, have everyone slow for a minute and enjoy the bounty on the table.

You can do these things any time of year. Relish every day, every week, every month, every year. We only get each day once, why not relish it?

I wish you and yours a holiday season filled with love, joy, happiness, and fun!

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

I was looking for a quote with which to start the new year and this one seemed just right. One of my friends, Tom, used to host the “Annual New Year’s Resolution Bike Ride.” We would meet at his house about 9AM on January 1, ride a few miles (or more), then head back to his house for pancakes and chatting. Unfortunately, Tom moved to Canada and the ride stopped. However, since then I have been using January 1 to set the tone for the new year. I found this quote which explains why I’m usually up early:

Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to. ~Bill Vaughn

Like the “Best-est Gift” at Christmas, I like to start the new year in a way in which I’d like to spend the rest of the year – with a workout and a healthy meal. It is not a resolution really – it is a commitment to myself, my family, and my friends. If I commit to taking care of myself, I’ll be around to enjoy time with them. On that first page of the new book of Opportunity, I like to write in a workout and at least one healthy meal.

What do you want to write on that first page of your book of Opportunity? Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions to write down? Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of “New Year’s Resolutions” unless they are set like true goals. Otherwise, we just set ourselves up for failure. Dictionary.com states that a resolution is “the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.” Rather than resolving to something, why not commit to it? Commit is to do or perform. Committing to something is a lot stronger of a, um, commitment than resolving to do something – at least the way I read it. It seems harder to not follow through on a commitment than a resolution. Don’t make a commitment lightly – if you are going to make a commitment think it through and think through how you are going to make it a reality. If you really want to make a commitment, take a few minutes and think through the following questions. And, write your commitment down. It could be what you write on the first page(s) of your book of Opportunity. Those who write their commitments and goals down are much more successful in achieving them than those who do not. It also helps if you write the answers to all of these questions down to refer back to later.

Questions for setting a commitment:

1. What is it you are committing to?
2. Why is it important to you to make this commitment?
3. Have you tried this commitment before and not been successful?
4. If so, what caused you to not be successful? How will this time be different?
5. What will you need to do/change to succeed at this commitment? (For example, getting up earlier to workout, planning meals for the week on Sunday.)
6. How will you overcome obstacles that get in your way of achieving this commitment? (Seeking support from spouse/friends.)
7. Are there smaller commitments/goals you can set to help you achieve your overall goal? (For example, if you want to lose 20 pounds, break it into 5 pound increments.)
8. How will you celebrate succeeding at each commitment/goal?

Now that you’ve set yourself up to succeed, mentally make that commitment and read it at least once a day to keep it in your mind. If you are not ready to take the steps to make a whole-hearted commitment, that’s OK. Personally, if I’m not ready to do it, I wait until I am; I’d rather wait until I am ready than do it half-way.

I hope you and yours have a fun and safe New Year’s Eve. I also hope you’ll join me in writing something in your book of Opportunity to setup 2010 to be the best year yet.

I’m really good at setting high expectations and goals for myself, then being disappointed when I don’t reach them.  However, one thing I have learned is to celebrate when I do things right – even if it is something small.  Yeah, small – like choosing to have veggies over chips with my sandwich.

I think we often get caught up in thinking that if we don’t do everything “perfect” then all our hard work doesn’t count.  We want to eat “perfectly” then get upset about having that dessert – regardless of the fact that we ate all our target servings of fruits and vegetables for the day.  Well, rather than focusing on the negative, here’s what I suggest.  When you do something “right,” or something that moves your towards your goal, give yourself a pat on the back.  “I’m proud of myself for eating veggies with my sandwich rather than the Cheetos I really wanted.  Keep up the good work, girl!”  If you do something that doesn’t move you towards your goal, think about why you made that choice and what you would do differently.  Then, don’t dwell on it – move on!  The next time that choice comes up, think about what happened last time and what you said you’d do differently – and DO IT!

Life is too short to continually focus on the negative.  Take some time out and celebrate the positives!