What have you achieved?

It is common, especially in a weight loss challenge, to measure success in terms of weight lost. But I encourage you to take a step back and recognize the other improvements and accomplishments you have made. Have you improved your endurance, or become more efficient at a particular exercise? Have you gotten better about going to the gym consistently? Are you bringing healthier snacks to work, or eating a good breakfast before you leave?

These victories are important to recognize because as you progress into your new lifestyle changes, the going will inevitably get tough. Recognizing what you have already accomplished can be a powerful motivator, and will help you get through those difficult days. Oftentimes, it may even be more beneficial to redirect your focus from losing weight to continuing these little feats throughout the day (some people may refer to this as Breaking It Down). And you may be pleasantly surprised the next time you step on the scale.

I have two challenges for you this week:

1)      Send us an email describing what accomplishments you have made (besides weight loss) thus far in the challenge. (worth one entry)

2)      In light of using this opportunity to improve overall fitness, let’s take this week to focus on consistency on some fundamental movements. Every day this week, complete:

a.       30 Squats (weight in heels, knees behind toes, thighs reaching parallel to the ground)

b.      10 Push-ups (May go from knees, BUT must go all the way to chest touching ground; core tight, body straight)

c.       2 Plank holds to failure (On elbows, core tight, don’t forget to breathe!)

These are very basic movements that build a foundation for more complex exercises. They are also all fantastic for improving your day-to-day functional movement. So make sure you have good form, and if you would like some help making sure you are doing them correctly PLEASE come ask! There’s nothing worse than doing 210 squats and then realizing you did them wrong. Well, maybe….. but it’s definitely on the list!

Let us know if you have any questions.

How about a "quickie"?

How about a quickie?

            If you are among the world of busy people, and looking for quick, fast, and healthy nutrition options, then you are not alone.

            During my busiest of days, when I am scheduled for hours without a break, my go-to “quickie” is a Super Shake. My current recipe is pretty basic, but I like the way it tastes and it works great to keep me fueled through a busy day when I don’t have the option to sit down and eat.

                Current go-to Super Shake recipe:

                        -10 ounces water

                        -2 large handfuls of spinach

                        -1 cup of frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries)

                        -1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

                        -1 TBSP Barlean’s Fish Oil

            *Check out Precision Nutrition’s “Super Shake Guide” for direction into how to create your own Super Shake.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/super-shake-creation-infographic?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=PromotedPost&utm_campaign=SuperShake

Break it Down!

So...you wanna lose weight, run a 5k, run a marathon, lift heavier weight, be a better friend, quit smoking, eat more veggies and the list goes on. As we sit back and review our lives and get brainy ideas of what we would like to have or accomplish, we see the end goal but are not always sure how to actually get there. This thought can become very heavy, weigh us down and keep us planted in our tracks. Which then adds "proof" to our already long standing belief of, "I'm a failure and this will never happen for me. I'm destined to remain like this the rest of my life." Sound familiar to anyone?

Today let's talk about breaking that big picture down into do-able chunks.  Start by listing what things  you are currently already doing to get you to your outcome.  Then, create a list of what habits will be necessary to add into your life in order for your outcome to happen.  Lastly, you can also create a list of things you may want to eliminate.  I am All about building on strengths and encourage the first list to come first!  I am also about adding in more "good" things rather than taking away things that will put us farther into "I have to Sacrifice" mode. My belief says that when we add more good we are automatically more motivated to start eliminating the "less good" things that keep us from our desired outcomes.

Now that you have your lists, or whatever you want to call them, let's take a look at one or two items where we can break it down. (every time I write break it down, I see MC Hammer and his hammer pants and the song pops into my head.  Yep, there it is is yours now too.  Sweet!) There!  We just added one thing into the plan of reaching your desired outcome...FUN!  Ok, enough dancing for now and back to business.

Take the item(s) you've chosen and let's get them really simple. You wanna eat more veggies...start by adding one baby carrot. Totally simple and easy to do.  Now create a trigger to assist you in getting that baby carrot eaten.  The trigger can be a meal.  For example, with dinner...eat one baby carrot.  Or...after each meal...eat a baby carrot. After you eat the baby carrot do a fist pump and say, "I Am Awesome!"  The cool part of this is...it may seem silly at first to say I Am Awesome, but before you know it...you actually believe You Are Awesome.   As you do this, you will build the habit and more than likely, find the motivation to eat a few baby carrots after each meal.  How cool is that?!  You can go from eating 3 baby carrots a day to eating 20 a day.  Shazam...carrot eating conquered!  Motivation to do more comes as you create the little successes and feel the power behind them. Oh how I Love to Celebrate Wins!!

Wanna do more push-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc? Here is a funny example I read from the creator of Tiny Habits. He wanted to do more push-ups, so...every time he went to the bathroom he would do 2 push-ups.  He went from doing approx 10/day to 60ish/day.  How would that change things for you?  Remember to wash your hands!  :)

The Break it Down into simple, do-able steps can be done with anything. How do you eat an elephant? You guessed it, one tiny bite at a time. The next question is, "why would you want too?" The "Why" is another good  question to ask yourself about your desired outcomes.  So...decide on your desired outcome, create your lists, choose one or two things and...Break it Down.  Insert dancing here!  Have fun with this!  I am aware this is the nutshell version, so...if you would like some assistance with this fun project, contact us at Mountain View Hospital's Health and Fitness Academy.

Until Next Time...
Go Be Great!

Jennifer Saunders
BS,  ButtinGear Trail Running
Ace Certified Personal Trainer
Reiki Energy Therapy
Intuitive Life Coach

NEW YEAR.....Resolutions???

What is your unresolution?

It is finally 2015 and I have been hearing a lot of negative talk this year about resolutions. It has been common to hear “I am not having resolutions this year,” when that age old question is asked. It got me to thinking why? Are we not interested in setting goals for ourselves anymore? Is the pressure of aiming for something bigger/harder/better than our current situation too much to handle? OR have we lost faith in the process that must happen to make the changes?

I do not believe this to be true. I do not know one contributing member of society that is without goals for themselves. If we were to create a driven scale, there would be a wide range of levels of motivation, but most have something they want or something they want to be better at.

Americans spend $60 billion dollars a year in search of fitness and/or weight loss. The industry has been growing at an astounding rate the last few decades. In spite of all of this, Americans continue to become less healthy and present with more health issues at earlier and earlier ages. Are we seeing an anti-fitness movement? Will it soon be stylish to buck the fitness system and refuse to be a member at the gym, or order green vegetables with your dinner? Are we tired of all of the media and warped Ideals of what we should look like? Maybe it is time to stop focusing on the “appearance” of fitness and start looking at what we can do when we are fit.

My challenge to you this month is to find something new. Something exciting, that you have never done before. Skiing, Snowshoes, or a mountain you haven’t climbed yet. Your mountain can be real or metaphorical it just needs to be a little scary and a little more than you think your capable of. Find your local climbing gym and take a starter class, or enroll in your local community colleges pottery class. Get yourself out of the house and into the world we live in. I guarantee if you do this you will not need resolutions, but you might find yourself brave enough to make some.

Lite'N Up Challenge: Week 2

Picky Portions

            It’s that time of year again. New Year’s Resolutions are in full swing. People are re-focused. People are striving for change.

            If you’re striving for nutritional changes, here are a few tips to get you jump started in the right direction…

**Be picky with your portions**

            2 common ways that can help you re-focus and become aware of your portion sizes…

1.      Precision Nutrition recommendations

a.       Need:        Ability to count to 2 and your own hand

b.      Here’s how it works:

                                                                          i.      Your palm determines your protein portions.

                                                                        ii.      Your fist determines your veggie portions.

                                                                      iii.      Your cupped hand determines your carb portions.

                                                                      iv.      Your thumb determines your heart healthy fat portions.
                                   v.    Males aim for 1-2 portions of each at each eating opportunity. Females aim for 1 portion of each at each eating opportunity.

                                                                    

2.      Calorie Counting App

a.       Objective:  Determine number of calories needed to maintain your current weight. Create a deficit through exercise and reduce and/or make better nutritional choices to facilitate weight loss. -250 calories per day is an estimated 0.5 pound weight loss per week. -500 calories per day is an estimated 1 pound weight loss per week.

b.      Need:        MyFitnessPal app or something similar

c.       Here’s how it works:

                                                                          i.      Log on and create your account by entering the information it asks for.

                                                                        ii.      Set your goals which will then give you the amount of calories that particular app recommends.

                                                                      iii.      Most apps will automatically set up the percentage of Carbs, Protein, and Fat it thinks you should have. Sometimes that may not be the best breakdown for your body type.

1.      Example:

a.       Ectomorphic: Naturally thin with skinny limbs. Wants to gain muscle and size, especially in limbs and maintain bodyweight during strength during high volume/endurance exercise.

                                                                                                                                                  i.      Protein: 25%

                                                                                                                                                ii.      Carbohydrate: 55%

                                                                                                                                              iii.      Fat: 20%

b.      Mesomorphic: Naturally muscular and athletic. Wants to continue to build muscle mass while maintaining low body fat percentage and support athletic performance.

                                                                                                                                                  i.      Protein: 30%

                                                                                                                                                ii.      Carbohydrate: 40%

                                                                                                                                              iii.      Fat: 30%

c.       Endomorphic: Naturally broad and thick. Wants to lose body fat especially in central region (abdominal, lower back).

                                                                                                                                                  i.      Protein: 35%

                                                                                                                                                ii.      Carbohydrate: 25%

                                                                                                                                              iii.      Fat: 40%

2.      You can modify the percentages manually if you’d like or based on your trainer’s recommendations.

                                                                      iv.      START TRACKING!

1.      The more honest and consistent you are with your tracking, the better you will be able to determine what is working and what is not.

The trainers at HFA are knowledgeable regarding both methods as well as possible others. If you have questions, we would love to help you! Just let us know how.

(208) 557-2823

Hayley (hjones@mvhospital.net)

Gretchen (ghouston@mvhospital.net)

Jennifer (jsaunders@mvhospital.net)

Greg (geinerson@mvhospital.net)

Lite'N-up Challenge: Week 1

In “Lite” of the weight-loss challenge at HFA beginning next week, I am proposing an exercise challenge to get you going in the right direction.

GOAL: Complete a different type of moderate to intense cardio exercise each day for 15 minutes, 6 days in a row.

As an example:

MONDAY: Run/walk 2 miles

TUESDAY: Row 3000 Meters

WEDNESDAY: Bike Sprints - 15 sec ON/15 sec OFF

THURSDAY:  Elliptical

FRIDAY: Swim laps in the pool

SATURDAY: Walk/Jog stair laps

Make sure to get your heart rate up…. the increased response of your metabolism will last around 24 hours as your body recovers, meaning an increase in calories burned throughout your day. Doing this for six days in a row is a great way to start your weight loss challenge.

Let me know how you do!

Where I found Christmas

Wow!  I am in a bit of denial that Christmas is actually here and the New Year soon upon us!! I am in awe at how quickly this past year has flown by and would guess many of you feel the same. So lets round this out with a little Christmas/New Year sentiment.

Last Tuesday I found myself sitting in the funeral of my Great Uncle Roy. I was feeling a bit bummed because I would be unable to sing with my mom, sisters and an aunt, due to being sick. As I sat and listened to his family members speak of Roy and his life, I shed a few tears at his kindness and the loss that his family was feeling. Then...I was struck in a way I was so not expecting, and had this thought pop into my head..."I just found Christmas at a funeral!"

I found Christmas at a funeral. Who would guess such a thing. However, as I sat and viewed the beautiful flowers, friends and family members and listened to the speakers, my heart was deeply touched.  I quickly realized that this is what Christmas was all about, even though the circumstances were sad in that very moment.

Christmas is about the gathering of family and friends to celebrate the birth and life of a man who changed the lives of many.  He touched those who he came in contact with and left them changed forever. This funeral had the same tones.  Family and friends gathering to celebrate and honor the life of a man they loved, who changed their lives for the better and who will forever be remembered in the hearts of many.

Christmas at a funeral.  Hmmm!  My heart was changed as I sat and listened and evaluated my own life and how I could emulate these things more through my words and deeds.  How will my family and friends remember me and am I giving them something...anything...to celebrate when I am gone? Will my life be a gift to those I come in contact with and will I leave them better because they knew me? These are powerful questions we can all ask ourselves as we move into the new year.

As Christmas is celebrated and passes we will look towards the New Year and make those ever important resolutions.  I propose that as you do so, you take some quiet moments to evaluate what is really important and valuable in your life. Is loosing the weight, getting in shape, achieving the goal, or crossing the finish line going to really mean anything if you haven't fostered the relationships to share those accomplishments with?

I challenge you to spend more time with your kids, date your spouse or significant other, write the love notes, do the kind deeds, make new friends, reconnect with old friends, take time to breath and appreciate what is around you and so on.  Include these types of things in your resolutions and see how your life improves for the better and see your other resolutions will taste even sweeter.  Go ahead...I dare you!  Be courageous!  Jump in the ring and get a little dirty and resolve to add the things that really matter back into your life.  You might just be surprised where and when, you too,

will find Christmas!

Wishing you a very merry and Beautiful Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Until next time - Go BE Great!

Jennifer Saunders
ButtinGear
BS, ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Reiki Energy Therapy
Intuitive Life Coach