According to a recent article by Peter Bregman in the Harvard Business Review, motivation isn’t the problem - it’s following through on what motivates us. He goes on to explain that motivation is mental, but follow-through is taking specific, practical steps to reach our goals. We’re most likely highly motivated to eat more fruit and vegetables, exercise more often, drink less alcohol, or get more sleep on a regular basis. We know why these changes are important and we relish the results expected from making these changes. But we stink at follow-through.

Breman suggests that a first step toward following through on  motivation is stop thinking so much. Stop letting your mind dictate your actions, and instead set a specific, realistic, practical goal:  I’m going to add one vegetable to my lunch today. I’m going to go for a walk tomorrow at lunch.

To truly ramp up the follow-through, Breman recommends these strategies:
-  Write down exactly what you’re going to do, one step at a time.
-  Get support and increase accountability by letting other people know your goals. Even better, enlist their help:  ask a friend to walk with you first thing in the morning or let your husband know you plan to go to sleep 15 minutes earlier.
-  Keep track of your follow-through by noting on a calendar the days you meet your goal.
-  Once you set a specific goal, don’t let your mind get in the way. Ignore the voice in your head that whines you’re too tired to get up 10 minutes early to go for a walk, or that pleads it wants to eat dessert, not broccoli.

Remind yourself often that you’re highly motivated to make healthy changes, and that you’re taking steps to put those goals into practice.

2011 Shires marathon training group

Are you ready to train for a marathon? Join our training group for the 2012 Shires marathon on May 20, 2012 from Bennington to Manchester VT. Group training will start November 12th for any woman who has been running 3-4 miles a minimum of 3 times per week for at least 6 months. I provide a complete marathon training plan, information on gear, nutrition, hydration, stretching, and strength training. We’ll run together every other weekend on the course, gradually increasing your mileage so you feel confident about covering the 26.2 mile course on race day. Interested? Contact me at lynn@lynngrieger.com

Many people have bought into the thinking that daily exercise of 30-60 minutes is all it takes to improve our health and maintain a healthy body weight. Unfortunately, there’s growing evidence that the time we spend sitting is at least as important as the time we spend doing purposeful exercise.

I’ll be honest with you. Even though exercise is a part of my day, the rest of the time I’m primarily sitting. In fact, I’m sitting right now as I type! The challenge is to figure out how to decrease sitting time, and instead stand or walk around. Here are some ideas to get you started thinking about changing your enviornment and decreasing your sitting time:

-  Stand up whenever you talk on the phone. Even better, walk around while you’re on the phone, even if it’s walking in place.
-  Put your computer on a stand, or adjust the height of your desk so that you can stand while working.
-  Put a treadmill or stationary bike in your office, and use these whenever you’re on the phone or reading. Even better, rig up a desk so that you can walk on the treadmill or ride the stationary bike while working on your computer!
-  Place a treadmill or stationary bike in front of your TV. If you don’t have room for both a treadmill and a couch - get rid of the couch!
- Plan activities your entire family can enjoy. Instead of watching TV together, go outside and kick a soccer ball, rake leaves, or take a walk. When bad weather keeps you inside, play Twister or games on the Wii to keep moving.
- Instead of meeting friends for coffee, go for a walk, ride bikes together, or go snow-shoeing through the park.

Here’s the challenge:  decrease your sitting time by 30 minutes every day this week. Next week, aim to decrease sitting time by 1 hour per day, every day. Give yourself at least 6 weeks to make these new, active non-sitting habits part of your daily life and you’ll have more energy and feel great.

Definitely!

Mike and I are currently on a week-long bicycle/barge tour in the Netherlands. We sleep on the barge at night, and during the day ride hybrid bicycles 30-40 miles to our next destination. A local tour guide plans out the route, with stops along the way to learn about historical sites.

Not only are we biking every day, but we’re also enjoying 3 daily meals of healthy food:  dense whole grain breads, fresh fruit, and seasonal vegetables. There’s no snacking unless we choose to indulge in a pastry or ice cream during one of our stops, and our primary beverage is water.

We’re having a wonderful time learning about the Netherlands, interacting with the 20 other people in our tour group, and traveling along the fantastic Dutch bike lanes. Read more about our trip on the Highlights of Holland page on my website - and start planning your next vacation to include exericse!

There are typically three types of exercise goals:

• exercise to improve health, such as reduce risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, or improve blood sugar levels.
• exercise for weight loss
• training for a competitive event, such as running a 5K race or riding your bike in a 40 mile charity event.

First, decide WHY you want to exercise. Be as specific as possible:

• I want to exercise so that I can wear a smaller dress size.
• I want to exercise so that I don’t run out of breath playing with my grandchildren.
• I want to exercise so that I decrease my risk of developing heart disease.
• I want to run the Maple Leaf 5K in September.

Next, figure out how much and what type of exercise you need to meet this goal. The American College of Sports Medicine publishes the latest exercise guidelines. If your goals are related to your health, talk with your physician about the most appropriate exercise program for you. Even 10-15 minutes of activity every day does wonders in improving health. If you need help developing an exercise program, contact me at lynn@lynngrieger.com for individual coaching.

Once you know why exercise is important to you, and the type of exercise program that will help you reach this goal, it’s time to gradually integrate exercise into your daily routine. Start slowly and over time tweak your exercise program until you reach your ultimate goal.  Exercise not only will improve your health and help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, it’s also a fun activity you can share with family, and a great way to meet new friends!

The bottom line for success at races is your time. Did you set a new PR (personal record)? Did you place in the top 3 in your age group? Maybe you placed in the top 3 overall and won a very cool prize. Were you faster than last year?

Everything revolves around the time.

Yesterday I competed in the Vermont Sun Triathlon in Brandon, VT. I was one of those folks who compulsively started my watch at the exact moment the starter yelled “Go!”. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I stopped my watch and looked at my time.

I felt really good during this tri. Unline other years, the swim went really well. No panic, no swallowed water, no bumping into other swimmers. I rode the bike leg with great intensity, focusing on keeping my cadence high and hydrating. My legs felt strong as I started the run. Usually my leg muscles are tired and complain bitterly about being asked to run after biking for 14 miles, but yesterday they cooperated completely. I’m the fastest on the run part of tris, and as I passed people I told them how great they looked, commented on the beautiful course, and focused on catching the next person in front of me. I even sprinted at the finish!

Overall, it was a fantastic race for me - but what about my time? When I checked the race results today, I was listed as “DNF” - did not finish. Wait - I finished! My husband and several women from the Green Mountain Girls tri group saw me finish! How do I know how I did without an official time?

Jerrod Rushton, the unflappable and superb race director of the tri responded immediately to my panicked email. Within 2 hours, my official race results were posted. Elation on feeling great after the race settled into doom:  I was slower than last year. Racers live by the clock, and the clock doesn’t lie:  I’m getting slower even though I felt great and pushed myself hard.

After a few deep breaths and some thought, I came upon this revelation:  so what? What difference does it really make if my 2011 tri finish was slower than the 2010 time? I had a ton of fun, smiling the entire way (well, maybe not during the swim because it’s hard to smile with your face in the water). I pushed myself during each of the three tri legs and worked at what felt like a high intensity. My husband even told me I looked fantastic at the finish, and he’s seen me completely wiped out and feeling horrible at the end of many races.

Maybe the true test of a great race isn’t the finish time, but rather the process and the event itself.

Perhaps this revelation applies to other goals in our life:
-  Does it really matter how much weight we lose each week in a weight loss program if we’re feeling good and meeting our exercise and food choice goals?
-  At the end of a busy work day, should I judge my performance based on the number of items I crossed off my to-do list, or on the quality of the work I produced and the satisfaction of my clients?
-  Do I rate myself on the quality of my housekeeping (sadly lacking) or on having a comfortable and welcoming home?
-  Should I look back at all the mistakes I made raising our children, or be content that they’re productive, responsible, happy young adults?

I bet each of you can add to this list. What I learned from this tri is that the experience is even more important than the outcome. I may not have finished as fast as last year, but I had a whole lot of fun and gained great satisfaction from the event. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep setting goals to increase my speed, to improve my work habits, or become a better mom, wife, and friend. I’ll just make sure to take time to stop, breathe deeply, and enjoy the experience.

It seems that throwing any type of food - or even beverage (deep-fried Kool-Aid has made its debut) - into the deep-fryer is the perfect recipe for culinary success at the fair. Some even make an attempt at being somewhat healthy by containing vegetables:  hot dogs wrapped in zucchini, dipped in batter and deep-fried.

I wonder if fairs will be required to post nutrition information for all of their foods? Do you think anyone would pay attention to the fact that one deep-fried Twinkie contains 360 calories and 43% of your total daily fat allotment? Or that ONE deep-fried Oreo cookie has 130 calories and 9 grams of fat?

As a child, I always looked forward to going to the county fair. We would walk all day, looking at the rabbits, sheep, and cows the 4-H kids worked so hard to raise and show. The carnival rides were a favorite treat, and we always tried our luck at the various games. Eating was a minor part of the whole experience, and we counted ourselves lucky if we were treated to cotton candy. After going on all the rides, our stomachs were too queasy for anything else!

I wonder what kinds of exotic food choices folks at the fair could invent without using a deep-fryer?

This is from Michelle May, MD, author of “Am I Hungry?” a wonderful book that teaches mindful eating instead of dieting. We often don’t realize how much food is a part of the fabric of our lives, and how entwined food is with everything we do throughout our days.

What are your thoughts after watching this short video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM49NfMus20&feature=youtu.be

Growing up, my entire family ate breakfast. I continued the same practice with our kids, encouraging everyone to sit down together and eat breakfast. Even when their lives became hectic and busy in high school, they still ate breakfast before leaving for school. Now they’re in college living in an apartment, and most of the time they eat breakfast. Developing healthy habits early can lead to a lifetime of good eating!

I have three favorite breakfasts right now:
1.  On mornings I’m heading out first-thing for exercise, I eat a mini-bagel with a smear of peanut butter and a big glass of water.
2.  2 hard-boiled eggs, a slice of whole grain toast topped with 50% reduced fat Cabot cheddar cheese, and a piece of fruit (yesterday a clementine) plus a big glass of water.
3.  Greek yogurt mixed with cut-up fruit (clementine and pear this morning), a handful of chopped walnuts, and another  handful of Kashi Go-Lean cereal. I let this sit for 20 minutes while I do some morning exercises so the cereal becomes soft. My version of muesli!

What’s your favorite breakfast?

Why do we care about SoFAS? Fats that are solid at room temperature - think stick margarine, solid Crisco, and animal fat - contain saturated fat which contributes to heart disease. Replace solid fats with liquid oils and you’ll not only consume less harmful sat fats, you’ll also increase the healthy poly- and mononsaturated fats that help protect your heart.

You may think identifying foods high in added sugars is easy - think again. The food label doesn’t differentiate between sugars that naturally occur in foods such as fruit and milk or sugars that are added to foods like cookies and cakes. Here’s my tip:  if the food doesn’t come in a box or can, it probably has no added sugars.

We get most of our added sugars from sweetened beverages, everything from soda to fruit drinks to sports drinks. Make it simple and drink plain water. Water doesn’t taste sweet, because it doesn’t need to be. We don’t drink water for the taste, we drink it to satisfy our thirst. If you want a sweet taste, eat a piece of fruit.

Tell your family you’re throwing out the SoFAS and see what reaction you get!