Athletes: Keep these 3 things in mind as you enter the holiday season!

As the holidays approach, I get a lot of nervous athletes in my office. Some worry about undesirable body comp changes, some worry that turning down decadent options will offend family members...and the list goes on. What can you do to calm your anxiety as the holidays creep up? Here are 3 key steps:

1. Right now, determine where you want to be - both physically and mentally - in the new year. What does that mean you need to do with your eating this month? Having a goal to commit to will make you much more successful when you approach the dessert table.

Lose the weight without the diet

With the new year still fresh in all of our minds, many of you may be using this time to drop some unwanted weight. Instead of turning to dieting, I challenge you to something more difficult at first but more enjoyable and sustainable in the long term: intuitive eating.
 

Intuitive eaters eat when they are hungry and stop when they feel satisfied. We all had that ability as small children. However, it is not too late to relearn! Intuitive eating is not based on deprivation, calorie counting or making foods forbidden. It is based on making eating pleasurable while paying better attention to the signals your mind and body is communicating. 

How to become an intuitive eater

 

1. Eat slowly. A general guideline is to let 20 minutes lapse from the time you start eating until you want to serve yourself more food. This is because it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you have eaten enough. Twenty minutes may seem like an eternity, but give it a try!

Tiny eating and exercise tricks for big weight loss

About this time of year, many of my athletes come into my office asking about dropping weight. Whether it is for health, performance or vanity reasons, a request to drop 5-15 pounds is common. Perhaps with the snow thawing and weather warming, your overall health and/or summer races are on your mind too. One thing I emphasize with my athletes is that weight loss is not easy. It takes commitment every day and throughout the day. However, there many tricks with respect to eating and exercising that will increase your chance of success.

Methods of Eating
1. Eat slowly. Commit to at least 10 minutes for a snack and 20 minutes for a meal (minimum). Chew your food thoroughly. Put the fork down and drink water between bites.
2. Eat with someone. Enjoy conversation; this will naturally slow your eating pace.
3. Cut food into small pieces. This creates the allusion of a greater volume of food, as well as - again- slows your eating pace.

Exercising the Body by Motivating the Mind

This week's blog was written by a guest blogger: Allison Brooks. On her down time between travels, she enjoys writing guest articles about the things she's passionate about, such as natural and nutritional therapies for everyday ailments. Enjoy!

Good health may be the most important thing but a traditional understanding of medicine and diet may often lead to more harm than good. Natural remedies for health are safer, cheaper and more effective. Natural health has a lot of options but some neglect the simple importance of exercising the mind and body.

Physical exercise is not just a way to lose weight, but the quickest way of achieving overall well-being. Many hospitals and rehab facilities promote the use of exercise, physically and mentally, to expedite healing and reduce stress. Since many cancers have harsh treatments, exercise, or other mind-body therapies are great ways to balance the body. Many patients have said they feel better about treatments when combined with exercise. Doctors hope the use of physical and mental exercise can prolong the survivability of cancers like pancreatic, mesothelioma, and late-stage breast cancers.

 
But as you know exercise should not be limited to the hospitals or people trying to get their high-school body back. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress, improve mood and overall well-being. However, before even moving the body, a lot of people need help getting their minds on board with physical exercise. Organized planning and daily task checking can help keep people active and lead them to accomplishing their goals.

When presented with the health benefits of exercise, motivation sets in. But sometimes after a day or a week the motivation dies down. Other daily chores and work issues can get in the way of exercise, which often mistakenly falls under the free-time category. By rearranging priorities people can ensure they fulfill their obligation to their mind and body by getting exercise, which in turn helps keep them active and motivated to complete their other tasks for the week.

A feeling of accomplishment will not only help with the current day’s motivation but will feed into the next. Keeping a calendar that is marked off for each day a goal is met will manifest patterns in the mind. If a big check mark is made in marker on a large calendar placed in a highly visible location, the mind will notice when a whole series of checks occurs and feel a great sense of achievement. Visual reminders like a calendar can help lead to re-prioritizing goals and ensuring that they are met.

Physical achievements can also help keep the mind motivated. Being able to increase the length of a run without getting winded or the amount of weights lifted in a set can fuel the drive needed to maintain a desire to exercise. Most importantly, the body when consistently exercised will feel healthier, more upbeat and recognize the changes. This can lead people to start changing other areas of their health, enjoying the benefits of natural remedies.

Thanks Allison!

Be Extraordinary,

RDKate