On the road again

Business travel. I'm at it again. And with two trips under my belt in the past three weeks, I've been reminded of the toll it can take: a thrown-off routine messes with your digestive system; weird schedules and foreign beds, however comfortable, mess with sleep; and flying causes dehydration.

Oh, and it's easy to eat like shit, booze it up and forgo exercise when on the road, which makes the bad situation worse. I know this because, despite my health coach status, I've been there.

But if you don't want to use travel as an excuse to be bad, airports, hotels and a bunch of health-inspired app developers are making it easier to overcome or at least keep in check many of the negative side effects of a road warrior life. Planning on your part is of course also required. Ok, so how to? Three tips:

Tip One: EXERCISE

Exercise kills multiple travel-related birds with one stone: it stimulates the digestive system, helps you sleep better (if done early enough in the day), naturally encourages you to drink water and generally begets good.

I actually love to exercise on the road: a new environment makes the minutes fly by, and if you're a parent... bonus! You don't have to worry about who's watching your kids or one of them waking to interrupt your yoga routine seven minutes in. Here are some tips and strategies to get you inspired:

• When setting hotel preferences or just researching on your own, put a good gym at the top of your list. Boutique hotels are typically best if you can afford them because the gyms are new and often oddly empty.
• If you're a runner, download the mapmyrun app, select nearby routes and you can peruse multiple routes other runners have logged. Most concierges also have maps outlining good, safe routes. I frequented Minneapolis a few years ago and always opted to rent a car so I could drive to any of the city's lakes for an early morning run as a gym alternative on a nice day. And staying at the Westin in San Francisco a couple weeks ago, I was invited via voicemail to a 3-mile guest run for 6am the following morning. I didn't participate as it's a city I already know well, but would have otherwise. Wouldn't be surprised if other hotels are running similar programs. 
• In a crappy area and a crappy hotel? Don't make it worse by skipping your workout. Or maybe you only have 20 minutes to spare. Or you don't feel like leaving your room. Whatever the reason, download the 7-minute workout and Sworkit (invest the $.99 for Pro) apps. Both offer routines you can do anywhere using only your body weight, but the latter offers tons of different workout options including strength training, cardio and yoga. Both will have you sweating and out of breath within 20 minutes, though you can choose to go longer. Perfect for the hotel room; shoes aren't even necessary if they're too bulky for the carry-on.
• Another option is Yogaglo, which has become a weekly staple for me at home and is equally as wonderful on the road. Tons of classes to choose from online for only $18/month. And I'd say the "glo" part is as much about spiritual stimulation as it is about my kind of "glo": sweat.
• Lastly, check out what Philadelphia and some other airports are doing. I would personally feel like an ass in my work clothes on an elliptical machine at the gate area but hey, maybe it will become a thing.

Yes, I know. Workout clothes take up space in the bag. Lame excuse, but if it's yours, then book yourself at a Westin, which provides workout gear for a nominal fee in case you "forget" yours.

Tip Two: SNACK STRATEGICALLY

If one or more of your normal meal times is being interrupted, you can still avoid "just grabbing anything" or finding yourself being pulled by your nose to Auntie Annie's by planning ahead. When traveling, making a bad food decision in a pinch tends to have longer-term effects than when at home because you're putting an already-compromised digestive system at even more of a disadvantage.

Many airports have stepped up their food-offerings game in recent years: I could actually eat happily for a week at JetBlue's JFK terminal and certainly for a day at Delta's LGA terminal. I was just at American's LGA terminal, however, and I was crying for a decent breakfast. I had not planned, and breakfast ended up consisting of coffee and a banana: enough to get me to a very early lunch once we'd landed, but I could have been better prepared.

While I think our snacking behaviors have gotten out of hand, snacking strategically while traveling really helps. You could obviously pack some Tupperware with whole grains and salad-like things in your carry-on, but that may sound like a lot of work (it does even to me.) Throw some snacks like unsalted nuts (sodium contributes to dehydration), smush-resistant and temperature-agnostic fruits like apples and oranges, a LaraBar, brown rice cakes, etc. into your bag, and eat them along with lots of water (see below) and you can carry yourself to your next meal with minor suffering.

Tip Three: DRINK LOTS OF WATER

Planes and their stale, re-circulated air dehydrate us, yet how many of us end up drinking LESS water than normal when we fly? Indeed, the forces are against us: can't bring water through security, a bottle costs $500 in the terminal and having to constantly pee on a plane sucks. But we know all of this, so we can work around it. Here's how:

• If money is a concern, or if you want to be green, bring a re-usable water bottle in your carry-on and drink as much as possible before arriving at the airport.
• Have the flight attendant fill the bottle (as often as possible) rather than the dinky plastic cup that always threatens to ruin your computer anyway.
• Request an aisle seat to avoid making enemies out of your seatmate, and think about using the bathroom as a way to break up the trip rather than an inconvenience.
• Again, if money is a concern or being green a priority, let that re-usable bottle remain your number one companion for the duration of your trip (like it already is in the office... right?) or simply have a store-bought bottle with you at all times.

All that said, if keeping your body healthy on the road isn't a big enough motivator, then consider these tips to keep your brain healthy. Especially if you're on a business trip, you need that brain in tip-top shape. It's nearly 75% water, so hydration is key. Eating like shit makes you sleepy, and a sleepy brain isn't terribly sharp. And exercise stimulates endorphins to help you maintain a positive outlook, invaluable in a business context. If this seems like biting off more than you can chew, start small with water, and go from there.

If you have other health-related travel strategies to share, would love to hear them!

Eating For Energy

With the world becoming more interested in nutrition, the number of new "healthy" products on the market is ballooning. Food marketers see one peer company's success in a new area and then rush to it like five-year-olds to a soccer ball, hoping to get their own piece of the pie. So we end up with 15 versions of pretty much the same thing, not having the time or enough interest to investigate what the best version is. Or if there is a best version at all. But we buy and eat, thinking we're doing the right thing for ourselves and our families.

While preparing for my recent "Eating for Optimum Energy" workshop and training for the Brooklyn Half Marathon, I became even more aware of the exorbitant number of energy drinks and bars on the market. Yes, the number of people running races has grown over the past several years and exercise is touted more and more by experts as a disease-figher, but the companies selling these "energy-producing" food products aren't making their millions from exercise enthusiasts.

Look around. Women and men rush to work with Chocolate Chip Cliff Bars in hand. Teenagers walk down the street with brightly-colored Gatorades. Kids sit in strollers eating chocolate-dipped granola bars and sipping Vitamin Waters. There's something very wrong with this picture.

To say these bars and drinks give you energy is not false: ANY food gives you energy. But the kind of energy varies tremendously. The food referenced above is laden with sugar, and sugar gives you instant energy. This is appropriate for someone about to do a hard workout, run a race or play in a game. Need a pick-me-up at half-time? Sure, drink some Powerade and eat a Luna bar (though does anyone else wonder where the orange slices and water from the good old '80s went?) and then go play hard again for an hour. But how about the office worker who makes this her daily breakfast regimen and then goes in sits in meetings for 10 hours? She's likely intermittently tired and hungry throughout the day, unknowingly strapping herself into an energy roller-coaster ride each morning.

Because these foods and drinks are associated with healthy activities, they enjoy the guise of being healthy. They are not. Because these foods and drinks give athletes energy before and during intense activity, they are assumed to produce the kind of energy needed on a regular basis. They do not.

So then how to eat for energy? The sustained and balanced kind of energy that most of us need to make it happily through our typical, harried days? I've boiled it down to five things:

1. Drink water. One of the leading causes of a lack of energy is dehydration. Our bodies are up to 60% water. Our brains and hearts are 75% and our lungs are 83% water! Think about those figures and then ask yourself if you're drinking enough - enough to keep that water fresh and ensure your organs are working at optimal levels. Rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces a day. Your pee should be a very pale yellow.

2. Eat breakfast and make it good. Many say breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day. Maybe, maybe not; some people can't stomach a lot in the morning. But it's definitely the most important. As the first thing you put in your body every morning, it sets the tone, both physically and mentally. My two favorite breakfasts are Quinoa Granola with almond milk and Almond Butter & "Jelly" Green Smoothies. Never am I hungry before lunchtime. And when you eat a good breakfast, you're much more inclined to continue on a healthy track for the rest of the day: good begets good.

3. Replace processed foods with whole foods. Whole foods provide complete nutrition, no additives necessary. And nature has beautifully designed them to provide us with balanced energy. Many processed foods tout whole ingredients, but be a food detective and check out their sister ingredients. Added sugar is almost a given (often in disguise), along with lots of other unpronounceable things our ancestors never consumed. They typically give us a jolt that leads to a crash, which we respond to by eating more sugar-laden foods to pick us back up quickly. This cycle is a great money-maker for Big Food and Pharma, not so great for obesity and diabetes rates.

4. Avoid dieting. 98% of diets fail. Why? Because they're unsustainable, most requiring deprivation and a significant reduction in calories. At some point, willpower stops working. Stop thinking about how much you're eating and focus on what you're eating. Real, whole food is delicious and makes you feel so good - slowly introduce more of it and you'll naturally begin to crowd out the not-so-good food-like stuff that's leading to your "need" to diet in the first place. 

5. Keep a journal. I'm not talking about a food journal where you write down everything you eat in a day. That's torture. I'm talking about spending a few minutes each night writing down how you felt during the day, what your mood was and how your energy levels were. Were they different at different times of the day? What do you want to do differently tomorrow and what do you want to repeat? You'll start to see how eating patterns correspond to energy levels and mood and you can make changes based on what you learn. If this is all written, you'll have a harder time ignoring it!

Overwhelmed? Just start with water and go from there. There's no better energy drink around. And for a healthy energy bar, go for Lara. A number of them have no added sugar whatsoever and very few ingredients. Frank's favorite is banana bread: almonds, dates, bananas. That's it. And that's how it should be.

How Supermarkets Get Us To Buy More

I've written in previous posts about the concept of "crowding out." If you eat or do more of a good thing, you will naturally eat or do less of a bad thing. There is only so much room in your stomach, time in your day, etc. Think:

- drink more water and you'll drink less soda
- eat more veggies and fruits and you'll have less room for dessert
- read more and you'll have less time for TV

The concept works pretty well across all aspects of life. But there is at least one place it does not.

Think about where you enter your supermarket. Most likely, you head right into the produce section. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as Charles Duhigg points out in his book (my new favorite!) The Power Of Habit, since "fruits and vegetables bruise easily at the bottom of a shopping cart; logically they should be situated by the registers, so they come at the end of a trip."

But he goes on to explain the logic: these companies have figured out that we actually end up buying more junk in the middle aisles if we've loaded up on produce at the beginning. It's like we're subconsciously rewarding ourselves for a job well done.

You've undoubtedly heard you shouldn't go to the market hungry, and you should always go with a list rather than winging it. Those two things are supposed to keep you on task. But now there's a third to remember. No matter where that entrance dumps you, make it a habit to head to the middle aisles first. Load up on the produce last. You'll end up with a healthier cart, fewer mushed bananas, and some extra bucks to go spend elsewhere!

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"

This quote has been attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, yet similar statements were logged as much as 100+ years before. Regardless of where or from whom it came, I love it.

I'm not usually a quote sort of person. I've mostly thought of them as a lazy way to express the way you feel. I used to roll my eyes at colleagues who had dozens of quotes pasted all over their door, desk and walls. But then I recently came across this quote in a magazine and I can't get it out of my head. And I hope that 1. those colleagues never caught my eye-rolling and 2. if they did, I was unable to make them feel inferior in any sort of way, because they refused to let me.

We've all been made to feel inferior. And it starts at way too early an age. Reading this quote reminded me of the same advice my mother always gave to me when I went crying to her as a little girl after being hurt by another:

"Don't let them make you feel that way."

I didn't understood what she meant back then - how could I change the way someone made me feel? It was her kiss and hug that always got me through the pain. At almost 40, I get it now, at least intellectually. Admittedly, it can still be hard to practice, especially in this competitive world. Sad as it may be, in some environments, it seems as though making others look or feel inferior is key to climbing the ladder, or at the very least hanging on to your rung. And so we may from time to time find our mental selves right back on that elementary school playground.

What we often don't realize is how much these scenarios affect us, and not just psychologically. They affect us physically. A co-worker or boss makes you feel inferior, insecure, stupid - what happens? Do you lose your appetite? Drown yourself in ice cream? Toss and turn at night? Sleep the whole morning away? Maybe your reactions aren't as severe, but that might be even more dangerous if the debilitating effects build up, unacknowledged, over time. I have many clients who, once we work together through issues in a relationship or at work, immediately lose the weight they've been struggling with, free themselves of the chronic digestive issues, eliminate the reflux, etc. Mind and body are intertwined.

Does this sound familiar to you at all? Do you feel as though someone other than you might be in control of your mind or body? Remind yourself they're only able to do so with your consent, and then rescind it.

Could it be that simple? Think about it. Pretty empowering right?

Do As I Say [ ? ] As I Do

We've all heard the saying from our own parents, and if you're a parent yourself, you've undoubtedly said it as well: Do as I say, NOT as I do!

But while I've said it before (in fact, just last night when Frank said "Jesus Christ!" in frustration over a broken toy), it's not fair. If we want our children to behave in a certain way, we need to behave that way as well. Though it often doesn't feel like they're listening, deep down we know our kids watch how we act, speak and treat the world around us incredibly closely. And they naturally emulate us.

If we expect something out of them, we better be showing them the way:

Do as I say, AND as I do!

And vs not: a small but incredibly significant and meaningful difference. And as it relates to health, we would do our children a real service to formally and permanently revise this well-known phrase.

Why?

Well, according to the AHA, roughly one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963. Among children today, obesity is causing a broad range of health problems that previously weren’t seen until adulthood. These include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol levels. The saddest part of these statistics, and why we need to be more serious about how we behave in front of our kids, is the role that we as parents are playing in them. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services, if you're overweight or obese, your child's chances of following the same fate are between 25 to 50 percent. And if the child's other parent is also overweight, the chances shoot up to 75 percent. We work so hard to give our kids the best possible chance for success, and yet many of us seem to be giving them the best possible chance for chronic illness.

If you need more to ponder, consider the psychological effects of childhood obesity: low self-esteem, negative body image and depression. To think this psychological suffering is caused mostly by preventable physical issues is all the more depressing. But here's the encouraging part! These physical issues and therefore their psychological brethren are also REVERSIBLE.

If we were forced every day to say to our kids "do as I say, and as I do," how might we change our behavior around food and exercise?

CVS Also Sells Doritos

Will they be pulling those off the shelves as well?

I've been debating about writing this post ever since the news came out that CVS will no longer sell cigarettes come October. While I find it insane that it took until 2014 for a company that claims it's in healthcare to make this decision, I must applaud the move nonetheless, and desperately hope it will inspire other companies to follow suit. It's true that this move is only going to cost them a small percentage of revenue, but it's still billions of dollars - not an insignificant decision at all. So part of me wanted to let the good roll, and not point out that if it wants to continue calling itself a healthcare company, CVS should take a look at its other aisles as well.

But then I happened upon the latest obesity reports and I couldn't help myself.

Last year, I wrote an encouraging post about America's health trajectory - we were enjoying a two-year pattern (if you can call two years a pattern) of obesity rate declines in 2011 and 2012. The Pollyanna in me fully expected to see the trend continue into 2013, but unfortunately, we went in the opposite direction and are now at an all-time high of 27.2%. 27.2%?!

Tobacco has long been recognized as a killer: this latest report from the World Health Organization cites it as responsible for 33% of cancer cases in the U.S.  But guess what? Bad diet, obesity and physical inactivity rings in as a close second at 28%, and I can only imagine these figures are going to flip-flop at some point as smoking rates have steadily declined for decades - and obesity rates have steadily inclined. Have you looked at the food CVS sells lately? Chips, soda and candy make up the vast majority. Yes, cigarettes cause alarming amounts of cancer. But too much of these foods do too, in increasing amounts. In fact, new cancer cases worldwide are expected to skyrocket over the next two decades from 14 million in 2012 to over 22 million - all while smoking, the current leading cause of cancer, will likely decline. Ponder that for a bit.

I eat Doritos from time to time. I eat candy from time to time. I'm not writing this to tell everyone to swear off this stuff forever. (For my perspective on moderation, refer back to my 90/10 post.) But if CVS is truly serious about positioning itself as a health care company, and not just looking for a jump in brand equity measures, then it should put its money where its mouth is and do a full store inventory.

"Class-Made" Guacamole: No Better Brand Around

One of the things I love about having quit my corporate job is being able to get more involved in my kids' schools. I'm not doing as much as I could, but it's a thousand percent more than I did last year.

I am co-chair of PS321's Green & Healthy Committee, and January is Green & Healthy month! So we had a big party last week for which I created and ran a Nutrition Booth that was wayyyyy more popular than expected given my competition: a dance party, yoga and dance classes, an obstacle course, etc., and... a gelato (made of, err, natural, wholesome ingredients) workshop!

The kids loved playing my "Guess How Much Sugar!" game where they matched cups of varying amounts of sugar with the right product. I also had them be food detectives by asking them to find the differences between two kinds of ketchup, applesauce, peanut butter and cereal. What fun it was to hear an 8-year-old saying, "Mom! NEVER buy this kind of applesauce again! It has high fructose corn syrup in it!" I also overheard a mom looking at my "Did You Know?" section saying to her kid, "Wow, look at that. Broccoli stalks have more calcium and vitamin D than the flowers! We'll have to start throwing them into our stir-fry's." With all that under my belt, I was pretty confident making guacamole with Frank and his 24 first-grader classmates yesterday was going to be a hit.

We all sat and chatted for a bit: What had they learned during Green & Healthy month? Had they tried any new fruits and vegetables? Did they notice how good it feels to be green and healthy? I told them we'd be making guacamole; most had tried it before. I told them I was proud of them as I'd not touched an avocado until my 20's (true story.) Most of them knew an avocado is technically a fruit. (Did you?) I talked to them about the other ingredients - we kept it simple with lime, cilantro and salt but we discussed additional options like red onions, jalepeno peppers and tomatoes, all of which they were happy to be leaving out! I showed them how to easily open an avocado and remove the pit. I showed them how to start the process of growing their very own avocado tree! See here for yourself. (Frank and I agreed to babysit for ours at home and share the progress with the class every couple of weeks.)

And then the madness began!

They broke out into tables, each with a bowl, a masher and a spoon. Each kid got a half an avocado whose flesh they were responsible for scooping out. Each got a quarter of a lime whose juice they were responsible for squeezing out. I went around and sprinkled salt and cilantro in each of the bowls. They mashed and stirred, mashed and stirred. Giggles all around. I handed out carrots and (organic whole grain :)) tortilla chips and they devoured everything.

Only two out of 25 didn't try it. One spooned left-overs into her lunch container. Another literally licked the bowl (unsanitary, but a compliment nonetheless!) Here's what they had to say:

"It's better than store-bought!"
"It's better than a restaurant's!"
"It's better because it costs less!"
"It's better because you know the ingredients!"
"It's CLASS-MADE GUACAMOLE!"


Class-Made Guacamole. There's no better brand around. Try it with your kid's class!

Class-Made Guacamole 
(serves 25 hungry first-graders)

Ingredients:
the flesh of 12 avocados
the juice of 6 limes
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt, to taste

Directions:
1. Scoop out the flesh of each of the avocados into a bowl. MASH.
2. Squirt out the juice of 6 limes into the mashed avocado.
3. Sprinkle the cilantro on top. Mix with a spoon.
4. Add in a little salt at a time, stirring and tasting until desired.

Serve with carrots and whole grain tortilla chips and proudly watch them devour it all.