Stress Eating

Stressful Eating

The leaves are changing, it’s getting colder and the Holidays are just right around the corner! This is my favorite time of year; pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING, sweater weather, time with family and friends. And all the football you can handle!

But with the Holidays soon to be here there also comes with it STRESS! The stress of preparing for the end of the year, in-laws coming for Thanksgiving, for Mountain View Employee’s 4^th Quarter brings all sorts of daily stress into your life. And just the word “Christmas” only can bring a sense of alarm. Let’s face it for how wonderful this time of year is it can also be the most stressful!! And stress can be deadly when trying to lose or maintain your weight!

Many people turn to food when they are stressed. If that's you, learning new ways to handle your emotions is a must!

Experiment to find things that work for you

Some ideas:

•Get outside and enjoy nature.

•Torch stress (and calories) with a serious workout.

•Go shopping (although this may get you into a new kind of trouble)

•Do yoga to chill out.

•Connect with family or a friend.

•Find somebody who needs lifting up and serve in ways that you can.

•Clean House (or like my mom, do “spring cleaning” in November)

•Read a Book.

There are so many other ways to deal with the stress rather than turn to food, just find what it is that works for you and stick to it!

Don't go it alone.

Another tip when trying to lose or maintain weight during the Holidays is having support or a team behind you, not trying to do it all on your own! Whether it is a gym buddy or a walking buddy, a friend or family member that can offer you support or help keep you accountable!

Try teaming up with family, friends, or co-workers, keep checking in with that person every now and then. Stress can derail you from the goals that you have for yourself but when you have someone to support and cheer you on, you can accomplish anything! Vacations, holidays, and stressful life situations happen, and no one eats according to plan all the time. That's OK. The trick is to get back on course as soon as possible. Make it a learning experience, not a failure. Remember that you can move on from setbacks, and maintenance is a marathon, not a sprint!

Eat to 80% Full

Everyone knows what it feels like to be stuffed – take your favorite holidays and reminisce on what you ate, how much you ate and how you felt after you ate. Most people ate to where they had to unbutton a few buttons on their jeans or throw on some sweats just so they didn’t have to feel the tightness of their stomach protruding, this we’ll call 150% full.

We also know what it feels like to be hungry, this is 0% full.  So what we’ll want to focus for our “maintain no gain” challenge is to eat until we are 80% full.  Stop when you have a few bites left on your plate – no need to clean the plate or use a smaller plate.

Here are some helpful tips from PN’s lessons on how to measure 80% full:

1.     Take a bite.

2.     Stop.

3.     Take a breath.

4.     Check in with yourself. How do you feel? Pause to notice.

5.     If it feels like another bite is a good idea, take another bite. And repeat.

6.    If you feel like you might be around 80%, stop.

Try this experiment and see what works for you, in the beginning it may feel uncomfortable until you get the hang of it.  

        

Leaf it Behind

What an Amazing time to make the commitment to create change in your life. As we have entered fall we get to savor all that comes with it. The changing colors of the leaves from green to brilliant yellows, oranges and reds. The trees line our streets and litter our mountain sides with their new found glory and fill our hearts with a joy that only fall can bring.

Soon the colors start to fade and the winds change remove those brilliant leaves from their branches where they will dance on the air and rest gently on our streets and yards. This brings a different joy by the rustle of the leaves as they twist and twirl in the breeze and the crunch under our feet as we walk on them. Memories will flow as we rake the leaves into piles and watch children jump and play games in them. If we are wise, we will join the young ones and play in those piles. Our sense of smell is awakened with the moist leaves as we finish the fun and place them into bags or re-purpose them in our gardens.  Ahhh..can you sense the joy?!

All this change amazingly comes with such ease and without effort. The trees follow the seasons and allow change to take place, "knowing" the change has a purpose. The letting go allows them to have energy for the winter months and to recharge for the beautiful new growth that will take place in the spring. I don't recall the last time I wandered down a street and saw a tree having a tantrum about its changing colors or the letting go process. They just allow! They just release.

What an awesome example these beautiful pieces of nature are for us as we enter the season of joy, celebrations and renewal. Change happens!  We can choose to allow it to take place and transform us into our more improved selves or...we can fight it and remain our same uncomfortable, unhappy selves. The best part of this is...we get to choose! I say this year we take a look at the trees and really let it sink in what they are teaching us and choose ease. Choose transformation. Choose to release the parts of us that no longer serve us in positive ways.  Choose to dance!

As we make the decision to emulate the example of the trees I want to point out this little detail.  As the the tree experiences this great and beautiful change, one thing remains. Its trunk and branches!  The core of who the tree is! It still stands to face the winter winds and reminds us who it really is and that it lives for the coming renewal. This is no different for us as we allow the leaves that no longer serve us positively and weigh us down, to flutter away. As the leaves dance on the wind and settle to the ground, we at our core remain the same. Beautiful! Sometimes Shivering! Resilient! Bruised! Strong! Still Living! Feeding from our stores! Ready for change! Ready for renewal! Ready to show off our newly created beauty!

We celebrate you for committing to yourself and for joining the Maintain Don't Gain Challenge and invite you to be like the trees. Hang onto what really serves you well and be willing to release what doesn't. Maintain the positive to release the excess that weighs you down literally and gain the life you were meant to live.  This is more than about weight and trees...this about You and You are worth it!  Show off your colors, release, laugh, dance, and be free!


Jennifer Saunders
ButtinGear, Reiki Energy
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Intuitive Transformation Coach
Behavior Change Specialist
Everyday Super Hero

Slow Down!

Maintain, Don’t Gain CHALLENGE WEEK 1

Holiday season is approaching quickly and the Health & Fitness Team has created a “Maintain, Don’t Gain” challenge to help get you through the holidays without adding on those unwanted extra pounds. Stay tuned to the weekly blog for tips to help you through this 12 week challenge.

First thing is first! We had such a great turn out for the challenge weigh in on Friday, Sept 30, that we have extended the weigh in 1 more week! Aren’t able to make it in, or don’t live around the area, but still want to join the challenge? Just reach out to the Health & Fitness Team and we’ll make it possible!

Now, for the most important part, the tip of the week!


“SLOW DOWN”


Wait…what?! Slow down is the tip of the week? How is this supposed to help me not gain weight? Learning to eat slowly is one of the simplest, yet powerful things you can do to improve your overall health.

Did you know slowing down while eating can lead to better digestion, better hydration, easier weight loss or maintenance, and greater satisfaction with our meals? Meanwhile, eating quickly leads to poor digestion, increased weight gain, and lower satisfaction.

Think about it like this. Have you ever eaten a meal and, shortly after, regretted how much you ate? Felt bloated? Sick to your stomach? Just way to full? That’s me…everytime I eat at Olive Garden! Yummy chicken fettucine alfredo!

Did you know it takes about 20 minutes for our satiety mechanisms to kick in? In other words, the communication from our gut, to our brain, and back to our gut is slow. Because of this, if you eat quickly, you’re likely to eat far too much in the 20 minute time period before your brain finally says, “I’m content. You can stop eating now.”

So how do you know if you’ve eaten slowly enough? Or if you are full enough? Or still hungry?

To help you get a handle on this, here are some tips and cues from Precision Nutrition that will be extremely useful.


The “How You Should Feel” Timeline

     *Eating until SATISFIED, rather than eating until FULL*

Hour 0 Immediately after eating
     You’re probably still a little hungry. It will take roughly 15-20 minutes to get a sense of satisfaction from a meal. If you’re a fast eater, wait it out before you go for more.

Hour 1 One hour after finishing
     You should still feel satisfied with no desire to eat another meal.

Hour 2 Two hours after finishing
     You may start to feel a little hungry, like you could eat something, but the feeling isn’t overwhelming.

Hour 3 Three to four hours after finishing
     You should feel like it’s time for the next meal. Your hunger should be around a 7 or 8 out of a 10 (where 10 I the hungriest you’ve ever been), but may be more or less depending on when you exercises and what your daily physical activity level is.

Not really hungry yet? You may have had too much food at your previous meal.

Hour 4 More than four hours after finishing
     You’re quite hungry, like nothing is getting between you and the kitchen. You’re at 8 or 9 out of 10. This is when the “I’m so hungry I could eat anything” feeling appears.

Whether it’s the 4 hour mark or 7 hour mark, if you’ve let your hunger get to this point, you’re likely to make poor choices, eat quickly to get rid of the hunger sensation, and as a consequence, overeat.


In the end, this habit can be as simple as chewing each bite more, setting a timer, stopping just short of your usual intake, or setting reminders (post-it note, phone alarm, rubber band on your wrist). It could mean eating until full rather than overfull. Anything that takes you one step closer to slowing down while eating is improvement and progress!

For you learners out there, check out more details on eating slow, provided by Precision Nutrition at http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-slow-eating.

Need help and accountability? The HFA’s Spooky Special on Personal Training is still running through October 31. Check out some amazing deals and get the one-on-one attention you desire to help you succeed through the holidays. Email me, Hayley, at hearley@mvhospital.net for more details or call the HFA Team at 208-557-2823.

Until next time,
Hayley Earley, BS, CSCS, Pn1
Mountain View Health & Fitness Academy Supervisor
hearley@mvhospital.net
208.557.2823

Maintain, don't gain this holiday season.

Fall Fitness…..”The Challenge”

There are so many great things about fall. Pumpkin spice Latte’s. The cooler days make it much more comfortable to break a sweat outside than the hot months of summer. The fall colors are beautiful, and food for the spirit. Our kids are back in school giving parents some much needed free time. Fun fall sports get us outside to enjoy the season. Not to mention Halloween, Thanks giving, and Christmas are right around the corner. There is no better season if you ask me.

However, the holidays bring other challenges that distract us from our training and challenge our adherence to healthy dieting. Spending our evening running from one activity to another keeps us out of the kitchen and our food prep time suffers. The family and work parties that focus almost solely on food are too challenging for some, so they “take time off” from their fitness goals. The days get shorter; mornings are evenings are dark which makes us want to hibernate with the bears. All of these challenges usually mean that most people ring in the New Year with more than a few extra pounds, and have to start over as a New Year resolution.

This season HFA is offering our “maintain don’t gain challenge for 4^th quarter. We are starting early to get you on track and keep you on track through your holiday season so your fitness goals will not get hijacked by Santa’s elves.

We will be holding our kick off weigh in party on Friday September 30, 2017 between 6am-3pm where you can drop by the department and log your initial weight. Final weight in is on January 3, 2017 and everyone that maintains through the holidays will win!!

Then stay tuned for weekly emails, tips, and workouts every week that will help you enhance your season, not your waistline. For those of you that would like extra help, our “Spooky Special” also kicks off in October, with reduced rates on training packages used between now and December 31, 2016. Just remember that “spooky special” packages are limited, and yours must be purchased before October 31, 2016. CALL NOW at 208.557.2823 or email me at ghouston@mvhospital.net for more information.

AND just to get you started here is a Pumpkin Patch work out, so grab your Pumpkin (kettle bell) and get maintaining your mojo this season.

Pumpkin patch pump

25 Kettlebell  (KB) swings

25 KB squats

10 KB cleans right arm

10 KB lunges to the right

10 KB cleans left arm

10 KB lunges to the left

25 KB Squats

25 KB swings

Repeat 4 times….for your fastest time.

Happy fall Fitness!!

Weekends

Weekends can get the best of all of us especially when we are following a nutrition plan.  Why can’t we seem to treat the weekend like the weekdays.   Is there something different about following your nutrition and fitness on the weekend vs the weekdays?  You still have goals that you committed to during the week. Don’t blow it!  All your hard work during the week for what?  Nothing!

Follow your commitment into the weekend as you do during the week.  If you have parties, barbeques or family get togethers - just put those meals into your plan, just as you would during the week.  You created the routine during the week just don’t let it end when Friday night comes around.  Meal prep for those occasions so you don’t feel like you are being left out.  Get your training in early in the day so that you have the rest of the time to enjoy your family and friends.

Commit to what you say you are going to do and stick with it.  Stay focused to the path you envisioned and follow it.  Don’t do it half committed otherwise you will never reach your goals you set out to do. Manage your weekend otherwise it will manage you.

Fail To Plan - Plan to Fail

Vaseline...say what?!

Once upon a time in a land far far away, there was a newbie trail runner who was out frolicking through the forest enjoying the scenery, munching on gold fish and oranges and sipping a sweet hydration drink.  She was in heaven! Wild animals, beautiful flowers, sweet smells of nature and crazy runners, what could be better? Upon reaching an aid station that marked there was only 35 miles to go, more joy entered her heart. Did I mention crazy people?

While looking over the spread of sandwhiches, soups, salty things, sweet things, various drinks, electrolytes and the works, she noticed a large vat of vaseline with tongue depressors sticking out of it. Hmmm...I wonder what that could be for? Perplexed, she continued refueling. Suddenly she saw runners coming in and taking the tongue depressors with the goopy stuff and disappearing into the bushes. What?!  Then it hit her...insert record scratching sound here! She realized where the goopy stuff was being placed. Chaffing!! This would be an experience that would escape this newbie for a while but when it hit...oh boy...there was no question to what it was.

Chaffing happens!  Skin rubbing continually on clothing or other skin, especially when hot or sweaty will create the raw skin we call chaffing.  Skin gets red, raised, raw and burns. If it continues to rub for long enough the skin will become raw enough to bleed. Chaffing happens on any area where there is rubbing and is uncomfortable at the least and can be downright painful.  Most of us have seen the tale tell sign of blood spotted shirts on unlucky men who get nipple chaffing. Ouch! Some of you may have experienced it on your legs, arms, bum cheeks and groin areas. Yep, I can hear the amens and the feel the wincing of those of you who are part of this club.

So how do you prevent or lessen chaffing?  Great question. Luckily we live in a time when there are all kinds of products available to assist with this "oh so fun" part of running. Your options are many and include everything from band-aids to vaseline to glide sticks to specialized products.  Like anything, everyone has their favorites and are happy to tell you about them so you won't have to learn from sheer painful experience. Again, like anything, you get to test out and try the various products available and find what works for you.

Here are a few suggestions from Runners World Magazine on the subject:

PREVENT IT

Ditch cotton. It absorbs sweat and stays wet. Wear synthetic, wicking fabrics.
Go seamless, tagless. Seams and tags on a shirt or bra can cause irritation.
Get a proper fit. A too-snug sports bra can dig in; the excess material of a baggy shirt can rub you raw.

Protect your legs. Compression shorts can save your inner thighs from abrasions.

Cover ‘em up. Nipple protection is critical for guys. NipGuards andBand-Aids are common shields.
Get greasy. Apply lubricant to chafe-prone body parts. BodyGlide and petroleum jelly–based products are classic salves. When heading out for a long run, stash ChapStick or a travel-sized deodorant in a pocket.
Hydrate. “Drinking minimizes the salt concentration of sweat. Salt has a sandpaper effect on skin,” says Fayne Frey, M.D., a dermatologist in West Nyack, New York.
Moisturize. “Skin that’s well moisturized—apply lotion twice daily—is less prone to chafing,” Frey says.

TREAT IT
Wash up. Shower ASAP after running, keeping water lukewarm. Use antibacterial soap to ward off bacteria that can creep into exposed skin and cause problems like folliculitis, a skin condition that Santa Monica dermatologist Tanya Kormeili, M.D., says occurs in athletes.
Soothe it. Pat—don’t rub—skin dry and apply an ointment such as Desitin or A+D Zinc Oxide cream (diaper-rash creams containing zinc oxide are antibacterial).


Fade back to me. Get out there and run happy, frolick on the trails, take in nature and be chaffing free-er! We look forward to having you join us at the Stinkin Springs Sidewinder Preview on September 17th. We will meet at the Heise pizza parlor at 8:45am and caravan the the parking lot. Runners, walkers, joggers and run-walkers welcome. We will start at 9am at the trail head. See you soon!

Until Next time...Go BE Great!
Jennifer Saunders
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
ButtinGear, Intuitive Life Coach
Reiki Energy Therapy 
Behavior Change Specialist
Everyday Superhero