Easing Brain Fatigue

When I was in fifth grade, I remember having a really hard time on a math problem. Not to toot my own horn, but I was a really good math student, so the difficulty was enormously frustrating to me! And probably came as a bit of a surprise to my teacher, who finally told me to take a walk outside for a bit and then come back and give it another try. (Importantly, my school was surrounded by woods.) So I did. Math problem solved.

Now check out this article from the New York Times, Easing Brain Fatigue With a Walk in the Park. 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/easing-brain-fatigue-with-a-walk-in-the-park/?smid=pl-share

As the article acknowledges, the findings from the referenced study are not necessarily rocket science, but they’re interesting nonetheless to me at least, for two core reasons:

1.     Forget a walk on city streets vs a park, nowadays the most popular way to ease brain fatigue is going on that “Starbucks run.” So even if it’s not rocket science, it certainly makes you think twice.

2.     Strolling through a leafy park eases brain fatigue much like eating your way through a leafy meal eases body and organ fatigue. The cat is out of the bag! Green is good. Really, really good.

So what if you don’t have access to a leafy park on a regular basis? No excuses. Yoga is a wonderful way to ease brain fatigue as well. Do it on your own if you know what you’re doing, or try out http://www.yogaglo.com/ for a two week free trial ($18/month thereafter if you want to join.) Tons of online classes ranging from 15 minutes to two hours that you can do anywhere, anytime. Or think about meditation too. Nope, doesn’t have to be weird. Do this breathing exercise to start: breathe in through the nose for four seconds, hold your breath for five seconds, breathe out through your mouth for six seconds. Do it ten times in the morning and ten times at night. Or anytime during the day you need to ease the mind.

Thinking About Doing A Cleanse?

Think about this old Chinese proverb:

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Growing up, I don’t remember anyone walking around with a glass of water in their hand all day long. I don’t remember brown rice. Salad meant iceberg lettuce. And yet, all statistics prove that we were way healthier. Healthier five years ago than we are now. Healthier ten years ago than we were five. Healthier fifteen years ago than we were 10. And on and on. There are lots of points of view about why.

But according to the most recent Gallup poll on the subject, we may finally be plateau-ing, with 2012 obesity statistics remaining stable compared with 2011.

A 26.2% (ironic that this is the number of miles in a marathon) obesity rate is nothing to celebrate about, but if it turns out it’s the peak, I’ll take it. And as a health coach, I have confidence it will be. Because unlike the “fat is bad!” propaganda that spread in the 90’s and the “carbs are bad!” mantra of the ‘00s (both of which have turned out to be false and unsustainable), the health discussions of late are more intelligent debates than black and white proclamations. And it has forced us to think, research and experiment for ourselves rather than react like robots.

Organic or not?
When did high fructose corn syrup creep into the ingredient lists of 80% of the foods in my kitchen?
What do I think about having vending machines in my kid’s elementary school?
What is quinoa anyway? And am I pronouncing that right?

Asking ourselves questions like these, rather than following the latest magic bullet formula, leads to more sustainable changes in our own diets and those of our families.

It seems we might finally be teaching ourselves to fish, folks!

So when I decided I was going to take the plunge and do a cleanse, I followed this philosophy. Which meant that a program designed simply to flush toxins out of the body to wipe the slate clean (think juice cleanse) wouldn’t cut it. It could easily justify resuming bad eating habits after completion. After all, “I can just do another cleanse.”

So I opted for a different kind. For seven days, I cut out gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol and caffeine. No, I don’t have celiac disease, I’m not lactose intolerant, I don’t have type 2 diabetes, I’m not an alcoholic and I’m not addicted to caffeine. And because of all of that, I’ll likely never cut out any of those things for good. But it was only seven days, so I was game. And it as it turns out, I was never hungry. I never felt deprived. I even attended a client dinner without experiencing any eye-rolling. But the best part? I had to experiment. Which means I had to learn new stuff. And as I slowly introduce those no-no cleanse foods back into my diet, I’m modifying here and there based on what I learned… teaching myself how to fish. It’s actually a whole lot of fun. Try it.

The “fishing” bug seems to have worn off on my family, too. Though the jury may still be out as to whether or not that’s a good thing. :)

My Beloved Boston Marathon

One of my greatest, greatest childhood memories was watching the Boston Marathon. 

When I was little and watching all of those people racing by, it never crossed my mind that I'd actually be one of them some day. I was simply happy as a clam handing out oranges and water. My sisters and I would compete to see how many runners would take ours. I distinctly remember one man dodging other runners to come to the sideline and take a cup of water from me. He smiled at me and said, "Thank you, Peaches!" I beamed back, giddy with excitement. It was enough to have a marathon runner take my cup, but to be verbally acknowledged!! It likely took all his breath to muster those three words on Heartbreak Hill. He wanted me to feel even more special than I already did, and he succeeded. Perhaps he knew he was planting a seed. I repaid the favor twenty years later right around that same spot to a little girl. Because that's what this race is about. It's an amalgamation of lots and lots and lots of wonderful things.

The Boston Marathon is about people realizing lifelong dreams; it's about total pride - in yourself or your friend or spouse or mom or dad or sister or brother or kid or grandmother or uncle or next door neighbor or the eighty-year-old man you don't know but you know just by looking at him he will finish the race no matter how long it takes; it's about everyone knowing who "the father pushing his son in a wheelchair" is, and digesting that infectious smile on the son's face; it's not just about donating money, but donating your sweat and determination to inspire others to give too; it's about patriotism and freedom. It is thousands upon thousands of people of all shapes and sizes and ages and colors coming together as one. It gives anyone who participates, in any way they want to or can, a natural high so seldom achieved. It is the pinnacle of health: physical, emotional and spiritual. 

So I have to believe, because to feel any other way would be just too painful to bear, that something with a soul as grand as the Boston Marathon will not ever be destroyed. May it please be so.

The 90/10 Rule: Could a little bit of bad be the thing that keeps you good?

If you’ve ever worked in a business environment, you’ve heard about the 80/20 rule. Essentially, that 20% of something is always responsible for 80% of the results. It’s actually pretty interesting to think how many ways this rule can be applied.

BUT, that’s not what we’re talking about here. And I only took you down that little digression because I don’t want you to confuse it with what I am here to talk about, which is The 90/10 Rule. J

How many of us has been on a diet in our lifetime? You know a really depressing statistic? Only roughly 2% of those who go on diets stick with them long-term. That’s a way more miserable statistic than the percentage that successfully quit smoking or drugs, believe it or not. Why? Why is it so hard to stick to a diet?

Because diets tend to deny us whatever it is we love most. And whatever it is we love most, because we can’t have it, is on our minds then 24/7. It permeates to a point where we absolutely cannot stand it anymore, and we “cheat.” (This isn’t just psychological, by the way. It’s physiological. For more on that point, you absolutely must read Dr. Robert Lustig’s new book, Fat Chance.) And then we say, oh screw it, I’ve cheated already so why not cheat some more. And then and then and then. At least that was my experience through my teenage years and 20’s before I wised up!

One of the reasons for this seemingly never-ending cycle for a lot of folks is that their diet food tastes like “diet food.” And eating well really shouldn’t taste bad. Quite the contrary. But I’d argue a bigger contributing factor is that diets are far too restrictive. “I can’t have that” is a terrible thing to have to say to yourself all the time.  And it has the tendency to backfire with a vengeance!

So the 90/10 diet rule is this: eat the good stuff 90% of the time. And then eat whatever you want 10% of the time. So having what you love isn’t a cheat, it’s a treat. A little bit of bad to keep you mostly good. How’s that for a diet recipe? Try it!

Your body is your home! Make it the best place it can be.

Miss you, Dad

We came back from Disney World this weekend. And the magic is alive as ever! That wave from Ariel, the pride in having ridden on not just one but FOUR different roller coasters, the giraffes who came within ten yards of us.

I hadn't been there in 28 years. When I was 10, my dad took me - just him and me. He had felt guilty that the only other time I'd been was when I was two (my older sisters were at their Disney prime) and I hadn't remembered a thing. He wanted me to have Disney memories, and he succeeded. They all came back immediately. The thrill of the Speedway, braving Space Mountain, and of course being permitted more helpings of ice cream than a scrawny young girl can physically stomach anywhere other than the Magic Kingdom. Those memories made me beam, and then they made me sad.

My dad died of liver cancer just over two years ago. He was only 70. My mom raised me and my sisters to be healthy, but she wasn't able to influence him. He drank too much. He ate too much. He didn't exercise. We were always bothered by it, but I never thought it would take his life so early. Even when he was diagnosed and then after he died, I didn't make the connection with lifestyle. Cancer, in my mind, was something that happened to us rather than us happening to it. Had I known then what I know now, I firmly believe I could have helped him live longer. It seems so obvious that what we put into our bodies every day would be the primary culprit of any health issues we suffer. Yet so few of us truly grasp that.

There were countless numbers of grandparents at Disney watching their grandkids experience utter joy flying high above the trees, meeting characters, getting their faces painted in dazzling glitter. But too many of them were forced to watch from afar. They were sitting on scooters. And eating an ice cream cone while doing it. And that's what killed me.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge anyone an ice cream cone from time to time, and especially not at Disney. But I cannot get the images of those people out of my head. They had this amazing gift of being able to "experience the magic" with their grandkids my dad will never have. I just wonder if they knew what they were doing could be what prevents them from experiencing that magic again? Despite my dad being a very smart man, I really don't think he did.

Miss you, Dad.