The Value in Listening

I love not talking sometimes. I enjoy working on projects or researching with the lack of talking or conversations with other people.  No email, no texting, no facebook, no communication with others whatsoever.  The lack of distraction is pleasant and meditative for me.  I’m left with my thoughts, or lack thereof.  In this state, my head becomes clear and ideas that were hiding in the deep dark corners of my brain come forward and are revealed.

When Austin asked me what my dream job is I thought about it for a moment and replied that first there would need to be a device that records my thoughts.  That way I wouldn’t have to type or speak what I was thinking.  A lot of times there is a loss of thought or a loss in translation that happened when putting my thoughts into words.  What I think in my head just isn't as great as what my fingers types on my computer.  

One thing I enjoy about my current job is that I don’t have to speak very much.  I can just be and listen to my client.  That's why I love health coaching so much!  I get to listen to people and hear about their wins and struggles with nutrition and being healthy.  I can just be and listen to them.  And often in that awkward silence is when clients get into what’s really going on.  They go deeper into their struggles and find the root cause of their health issue or emotional eating.  This is where the healing starts.  It’s pretty freakin cool!  Of course there is talking on my part in health coaching however, a big part of what I do is listen.  

I’ve found that I have always been a listener.  Growing up I would sit and listen to a friend who is dealing with a difficult situation without interrupting or judgment.  This was often due to me not knowing how to respond to their situation, or my politeness in not wanting to interrupt a person while they were talking.  This gave them the space to be heard, to speak their thoughts, and to work through their issues.  Through this I learned that oftentimes when we are silent and just listen, the person we are listening to is able to figure out their own solution to their problem.  They just need to space to speak their mind and verbalize their thoughts.  How great is that!  

When was the last time someone sat and just listened to you?  With no judgment, no favoritism, with a neutral view?  This can be difficult to find or experience.  If you need a listener, I am here for you. To listen to your struggles and challenges when it comes to your health and lifestyle without judgment, and from a neutral standpoint.  The value of listening is amazing and can be truly healing.

Here Come the Holidays...There Goes my Waistline

The holiday season is upon us once again, and it’s time to celebrate with family and friends. Unfortunately, for many it also becomes a time for over-eating and weight gain.  I know many people struggle with this, including me, so I am putting together Healthy Holiday Tips for a nutrition talk that I am doing next week to a group of fabulous women.  I’m so excited about helping these ladies enjoy the holidays without over indulging or feeling guilty, that I’d like to share a few of my tips here with you!  The holidays don't have to mean weight gain. Focus on a healthy balance of food, activity, and fun.  By implementing a few simple tips that I am going to share with you, you can stay healthy through the holiday season.

Healthy Holiday Tips

1.  Eat regular meals!  Skipping meals can lead to overeating.

• Eat before you go to holiday parties.  Eat a healthy meal or snack with protein, veggies, and healthy fat.  This way, you’ll only be tempted to lightly graze on the goodies on the buffet table. 
• Bring a healthy snack choice to the party, such as a veggie platter, fruit salad, or your favorite vegetable dish, so you’re guaranteed to have a healthy option. 
• Eat a protein packed breakfast. Set yourself up for success by getting a healthy dose of protein in the morning, as this has been shown to prevent overeating later in the day.

2.  No guilt!  Enjoy your favorite holiday dishes in moderation. 

• Pumpkin pie, eggnog, and stuffing only come once a year.  Enjoy a piece of pumpkin pie and a small helping of stuffing.
• Choose your indulgences wisely.  Instead of wasting calories on foods that you can have any time of year, pick items that are truly special and unique to the season, like your mother’s sweet potato pudding. 
• If you overeat at one meal go light on the next. It takes 500 calories per day (or 3,500 calories per week) above your normal/maintenance consumption to gain one pound. It is impossible to gain weight from one piece of pie!
• Be realistic.  Don’t attempt to lose weight during the holiday season, but to maintain. 

3.  Celebrate the season in non-food ways.  Often times the holidays are associated with food, beverages, and treats.  Take the focus off food and remember the reason for the season, to be with family and friends.

• Enjoy company: Plan group activities with family and friends that aren’t all about food. Walk on the beach or in the park with the family, hike with friends, or take time to decorate with your special someone. 
• Turn candy and cookie making time into non-edible projects like making wreaths, dough art decorations, or creating a floral centerpiece.  Try serving a holiday meal to the community, playing games or going on a walking tour of decorated homes.

These are just a few of my Healthy Holiday tips that I will be sharing at my nutrition talk next week.  I am getting excited to share this information with the ladies.  If you’d like to learn more about staying healthy during the holidays, or would like to know more about my nutrition talks, send me a message and we can set up a time to chat.  Your first consultation is absolutely free!

To Do

Those of you who know me personally know that I have many jobs.  I am first and foremost a health and nutrition coach where I work one-on-one with clients to help them find what foods work best for them, and help build healthy eating and lifestyle habits into their lives.  I am writing nutrition articles for a subscription based website that is going to be launched for the New Year, and am a monthly guest blogger on athleticmommies.com.  I will be starting to work on a nutrition guide and meal plan for a personal trainer.  I also tutor elementary students in math and reading, and nanny for two different families.  Add on to that planning an international trip for my boyfriend and me while he is in Mississippi.  Needless to say, I am pretty much juggling multiple knives while riding a unicycle backwards balancing on a tight rope…or at least this is what it feels like at times.    

There are times when I have all of my “things to do” running around in my brain, like second graders let loose for recess, running around and screaming with no order what so ever.  This is majorly overwhelming for me and I start to get nervous and anxious.  I start freaking out that I have too much to do with not enough time to do it.  I stress myself out and think there is no way I will get everything done. 

So, what do I do to help me through the stress and the mess?  I write a “to do” list.  I take five minutes to sit down and write everything down that I need to do.  Then I prioritize the list and start with the most important thing first.  And guess what happens?  I realize that I don’t really have that much to do, and that my list, when written down, looks totally doable. 

When everything I need to do is swimming around in my head it is chaotic and seems like so much more verses being written down on a sticky note or two.  It’s like your room when nothing is put away, laundry is on the ground, bags are scattered, and the bed isn’t made.  It seems like you have a lot of stuff and your actual living space in your room seems small.  But put away your laundry, organize your bags, and make your bed and your bedroom is streamlined and organized.  Now it seems like you have less stuff and much more space in your room.

By organizing my “to do” list and writing it out, I am able to simplify what I have to do and the task at hand is a lot easier.  And it feels so good to cross off something completed from your “to do” list!

The next time you find yourself disgruntled at the amount of things you have to do, write them down on a list. Prioritize them, and then start crossing them off. 

CrossFit Zen

Okay, it sounds like an oxymoron, I know, but this is the philosophy of my approach to CrossFit I have created for myself.  CrossFit is known to be very intense and intimidating, where beefy specimens throw around ridiculous amounts of weight and are highly competitive with one another.  Well, this may be true for some CrossFit affiliates, and it could possibly be true for the CrossFit box I attend.  However, I have decided to create my own approach to CrossFit.  I love the workouts, the personal attention, and the community that come along with CrossFit.  All I have to do is show up and I see friendly faces and they tell me what to do.  And since I love it so much, I want to be able to participate for as long as I possibly can.  Like all healthy relationships in life: everything in moderation.

I have changed my approach to CrossFit over the years.  I started in January of 2012 with my two good friends, Mary and Anna.  We would have a blast learning the new movements, laughing at our lack of knowledge, and celebrating a 25# PR for our overhead squat!

At the time, I was also running and paddling so I had a lot of other activities that I partook in, and would frequent the box about two times a week.

Flash forward to January 2013 where after cursing my last marathon and telling myself, “I’d rather be crossfitting” for 26 miles, my participation in running faded, and I started attending CrossFit more frequently.  This is when I drank the cool aid, folks.  You’re probably thinking, “I was right!  CrossFit is a cult.”  Not so fast.

I was deep into CrossFit and was sad on my rest days when I didn’t make an appearance at the box.  I was recording lift weights and WOD times and attempting to increase my PRs.  I joined the Barbell Club where we worked on strength and power lifting.  I had a group of people I would train with and compete with.  Along with heavy lifting and constant high-intensity competition came aches and pains, and I started getting pain in my wrists and shoulders.  I was always comparing my workout score or my lift weights to other people.  And after a while, this exciting, encouraging, and enjoyable became a place where I would walk out unhappy and frustrated with myself.  Why was this happening?  I used to love this place.  It would give me so much joy and I would leave in good spirits.

When I took a look, I noticed that I was not following my intentions of why I love CrossFit.  I didn’t join CrossFit to be super competitive or to be an elite athlete.  No, I joined because I enjoyed the workouts, I loved the community, and I got stronger doing it.  A total win-win!  I had gotten caught up in the competition of it all and started comparing myself to other members.  It’s not fun to compare yourself to other people, and in fact, it can be down right miserable. 

So, I took a step back and looked at why I enjoy CrossFit.  I revisited my intentions and the reasons why I joined in the first place.  I love the way I feel when I am done.  I love how strong it has made me, and consequently I feel stronger in general.  I love the unpredictability of the workouts.  You go in not knowing what movements you are going to do that day.  I love the community and encouragement other members give each other.  In my intentions, there was nothing about lifting a certain amount of weight over my head or getting a sub 6-minute Fran time. 

Now, my current approach to CrossFit is what I call Zen CrossFit.  I workout for myself and remember my intentions.  I don’t lift as much weight as I used to, and that’s okay.  Because I’d rather be CrossFitting when I’m 70 with light weights than CrossFitting until I’m 40 with heavy weights and having to stop because of injuries.  I’ll pass on the injuries, please.  Before class I will check in with my body and see what it feels like.  Does it want to do more cardio or more lifting, and I will set my weight accordingly.  I don’t compare myself to anyone!  People’s scores from previous classes are up on the board for people to see, and I just ignore them for the most part.  Sometimes I will reference to see what someone comparable to me did if I am unsure of what weight to use.  But for the most part I just look and see who has been in for the day.  I stay present with the workout and focus on form and technique, concentrating on the specific movement I am doing at the time rather than watching other people and seeing what round they are on, or if I am ahead of them. 

This approach has been working out in my favor!  I am enjoying CrossFit again, I am sans injuries, and I feel positive, energetic and confident when I am done.  My body feels lighter, and I can recover quicker from workouts.

So, when it comes to working out, find a form of exercise that you love to do, stay present, remember your intentions, and don’t compare yourself to others.