Colors of change

Wow!  How did we get here so fast? I can hardly believe that it is my turn again for the blog post and that another month has quickly flown by. I also find myself wondering what profound words or ah-ha moment from a fun experience will find its way out of my head, through my fingers and to the screen. Your guess is as good as mine at this particular moment in time.

Hmmm...this is me thinking. :)  What to share?  Whhaaat tooo shaaarre?  My really cold camping trip? Making the decision to go to Peru? Running in the mountains with the changing leaves. How I decided what to cook for dinner?  Hmmm,,,

Let's go with the running among leaves.  Ya, great idea Jen and much more exciting than what to cook for dinner.

So last week in preparation for my upcoming 50 miler, (yes I said 50 miles and yes, all done at one time), a friend and I went to the Upper Palisades Lake trails that turns into the Waterfall Canyon Trail.  Our objective was to get approx. 25 miles or 8 plus hours of run/walking on our feet.  Ok, that was my objective. I think hers was to survive the day and have fun doing it as she will be part of my crew on race day.

The morning was crisp, cool and was looking like it would present a gorgeous day on the trails.  I could hardly wait to get going. We were an hour behind schedule, to which I was practicing my "Go With The Flow" mantra so as to not ruin a perfectly amazing day and to take in whatever came our way.  Honestly, I was hoping one thing that wouldn't come our way was a bear as I'm not sure how my mantra would have worked then.

The trails were soft and spotted with puddles from the recent rains. They were also littered with the beautiful leaves that had fallen from the trees preparing for winter dormancy. Running the trails with all the colorful trees lining our way made this run even more spectacular and brings me to what I am actually wanting to say to you.

The trees are making amazing changes and letting go in a way that most of us look forward to and are eager to leave our homes and take long drives to go and observe. These changes are slow and take time to really have the colors pop in magnificent displays that delight all who observe them. They take place naturally and seemingly with ease. As I was running the trails I want you to know, I never heard one tree crying out at the changes it was making so that it could more easily survive the winter and conserve energy. I saw no weeping and wailing or nashing of teeth as the leaves were released from their perspective branches to float on the breeze and find a new purpose on the mountain trails.

I, for one, am ever grateful for the changing of the trees and the beauty they brought to my run. I am grateful for the reminder that change is part of the circle of life and growth and that it is better to "Go With The Flow" and not fight it but rather gently observe and let it happen and bring us to new purposes. We may not even be aware of how these changes will bring beauty to our lives or the lives of those who we interact with.

What changes are you experiencing in your life at the current moment as we prepare for the changing of the seasons?  Are you willing to observe and let change happen with ease or are you bound and determined to do it kicking and screaming?  I can assure you my run would have been a completely different experience if I had seen those trees having tantrums.  I can also assure that when I choose to just let change happen and be the peaceful observer, my runs, and my life are much more pleasant and beautiful and meaning comes faster.

So, take a hike, observe change and breath in the beauty, both inside and outside of you. If health and fitness are a part of those changes, we would be happy to assist you in finding your
flow and letting those colors dazzle. No need for tantrums, stretch out those limbs and give us a call at 557-2823.

Until Next Time...Go BE Great!

Jennifer J. Saunders
BS-SLP
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
ButtinGear, Reiki Energy
Life Untethered -Intuitive Life Coach

MOTIVATION......Why do some people have it, and some people do not?



How Determined are YOU???



Self-Determination Theory

What determines your goal –directed behavior? Have you ever just felt un-motivated? Do you hear yourself give a lengthy list of excuses to your friends and family as to why it is not possible for you to succeed at your goals? The SDT; or self-determination theory has become a popular area of study in the exercise science departments across the nation. The relationship with our own fitness has become the war to rage in the 21^st century. As I talk to other fitness and health professionals in our area it is clear that no matter how educated or experienced we are if we lack the ability to motivate a client (or patient) to change our knowledge is useless. We cannot share the skills it takes to live a long and healthy life with those still on the couch.

What is your means of motivation? There are three types of motivation. Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from within. That means that you are driven to meet a goal or milestone internally. This is the best kind of motivation and is the most likely to be sustained over long periods of time. External Motivation is motivation that comes separate of you. When the boss wants it done in one particular way, or if your spouse would like you to lose weight. Do your parents expect a certain type of behavior from you?  External motivation is much less effective, but not nearly as ineffective as amotivation. Amotivation is the complete lack of motivation, so many of us find ourselves in this state more often than we would like to admit. Stressful lifestyles, busy schedules, and lack of real rest are often the excuses I hear from clients. They verbalize the desire for certain results from their training, but lack the ability to find the right kind of motivation.

How do you find motivation? There are many ways to find motivation, and most of us will have to find many ways to motivate ourselves to meet even one goal.  Weight loss clients rebound back to their heavier weights every day. Why? Because once they reach their goal weight if they cannot focus on a new goal that will keep them there, it is far too easy to fall back into the old habits. Knowing what drives you to success can make or break any lifestyle change. Some of the best “self-motivators” I have worked with will constantly shift their focus to new and more challenging goals. If you can do 10 push-ups, set the goal to do 20 without resting in the next 30 days. If you are running 3 miles a day and your fitness level has plateaued. Set new pace goals to get faster, or register for a 10k in 2 months. If you are a fierce competitor, there are many clubs or groups out there with very competitive people who will push you to greatness, if not just so you don’t finish dead last.

My September challenge for you is to find a quiet place once a week to meditate. Listen to music, pray, or just listen to the world around you. Ask yourself what you really want, what makes you happy, who makes your life easier. Set realistic 30 day goals and get to work. It is time to add your own changes to this season. Mirror the leaves and find your beautiful colors.

Labels

Labels

According to Livestrong.com

All packaged foods come with a nutrition label meant to provide you with the information necessary to know exactly what you're eating. Understanding what's in the foods you eat helps you make healthier choices. Checking food labels also makes it easy for you to compare the nutrient content of different options. A healthy diet is crucial throughout your lifetime and paying attention to nutrition labels is a good step toward improving your overall diet. Learning how to read food labels will also help you become aware of “deceptive” advertising on food packing.

Let’s Learn How To Read Labels!

            Thank you to http://www.healthtrek.org/for-teens/4-labeling-nutrition for the awesome visuals!

The first place you should look at when trying to read a label is the serving size. Serving size gives you a point of reference, and the entire label is based on that amount. If you had 1 cup of macaroni and cheese you would have 250 calories. If you had 2 cups you would have to times every nutritional value on the label by two. That would equal 500 calories.

The second place you should pay attention to is the calories per serving and calories from fat. A calorie is a measurement of energy. If you ate one serving of this macaroni and cheese

you would be getting 250 units of energy.

You can check out the Dietary Reference Sheet to see how many calories you should be consuming each day. The recommended number of calories depends on your age, gender and activity level. As you can see on this label, there are 250 calories in one serving and of those 250, 110 come from the fat in the product. Fat is a nutrient that contains calories, and from the amount of fat in one serving a person would get 110 calories.

The third and fourth places for your attention are the nutrients. Number 3 shows you the nutrients that you should try and limit (fat, cholesterol and sodium). Number 4 shows you the nutrients that you should get enough of each day (fiber, vitamins and minerals).

This last part of the label is the most confusing for most people. This section tells you about the percentages to the right of the label and what is called "Percent Daily Value." Percent Daily Value, or % DV, is based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet. The % DV helps you quickly tell if it is considered low or high in specific nutrients. Anything 5% or less is considered low; anything 20% or higher is considered high. Take a look at the % DV for fat for one serving. It's 18%. That means if you ate one serving you would have had 18 percent of the total recommended fat for the day. If you had two servings of the macaroni and cheese (2 cups) you would have 36% of your daily value of fat. Here is what that looks like in math.

Remember, based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet:

1 cup of macaroni and cheese = 18% Daily Value of Fat
If you start the day with 100%, eating 1 cup of mac and cheese at
18% would leave you with 82% fat.

2 cups of macaroni and cheese = 36% Daily Value of Fat
If you start the day with 100%, eating 2 cups of mac and cheese at
36% would leave you with 64% fat.

The next thing you should be mindful of when reading the nutrition label is the footnote at the bottom. This portion of the label is the same on all labels. It gives general guidelines, not information specific to the product. You can use the footnote as a reference when deciding if the item you are about to eat is a good choice for you.

Get Smart About Labels

There are clear warning signs on some labels advising moderation or avoidance. These warnings, unfortunately, will often accompany snacks that are super tasty, irresistible, scrumptious, dipped in chocolate — you name it! Other labels will seem to glow like green traffic lights, letting you know the snack in question is an intelligent choice. You can get crazy and have two, you're getting a good Percent Daily Value of protein, vitamin A or C, calcium or iron.

The important thing is to get comfortable with reading food labels. You should have a clear idea of how to read a serving size from a package and what the food pyramid shows as the recommended serving size. Paying attention to labels is of prime importance for a successful Health Trek.

Until next time,
Hayley Jones, BS, CSCS, Pn1
hjones@mvhospital.net