Archive for the 'Healthy Families' Category
October 26th, 2008, 1:40 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
You’ll pay a steep price when you respond to eonomic / financial (or any other source of) stress with overeating and inactivity. You’ll likely see a decrease in your energy and productivity and an increase in the cost of healthcare and incidentals like new clothing. But enough doom and gloom. By becoming more aware of your reactions, you can choose to respond in more effective (and economical) ways.
Here are a dozen ways to keep from having to loosen your belt while you tighten it:
1. If you’re facing a financial (or any other) challenge, use it as an opportunity to reassess your priorities. Isn’t your health your most valuable asset?
2. Practice mindful eating; you’ll eat less by enjoying it more. For more on mindful eating, see my article “Leave the Stuffing for the Turkey” http://amihungry.com/pdf/newsletter-11-07.pdf
3. Treat yourself to small quantities of high quality foods; for example savor one square of imported chocolate instead of scarfing a whole bag of a bargain brand.
4. Learn to cook or teach someone else how to. It costs less and it’s a great way to spend time with your family passing on valuable skills to your kids. (Shameless Plug: You may be interested in my daughter’s brand new cookbook called Veggie Teens at www.VeggieTeensCookbook.com.)
5. Try new healthy recipes. Surf the Internet for recipes for ethnic foods, use of new ingredients, or new ways to prepare familiar foods.
6. Don’t skimp on healthful ingredients.
- Fruits and Veggies: Buy in season; shop farmer’s markets; join a co-op; grow your own; buy frozen; add plenty to soups, stews and pastas to stretch your meal and your nutrients.
- Whole Grains: Buy brown rice, oatmeal, cereals and other whole grain products in bulk or economy sizes. Shop for whole grain breads at bakery outlet stores and club stores (bread freezes well).
- Low Fat Dairy: Buy generic/store brands or buy name brands on sale; buy economy size yogurt and transfer to single portion containers as needed; shred your own cheese.
- Lean Protein: Experiment with a variety of dried beans and lentils; buy lean cuts of meat on sale and freeze for later.
7. Take your lunch to work. You’ll save money and calories.
8. Entertain at home; light candles, put on beautiful music, and use your best dishes. Follow dinner with a long walk, a great DVD, or game night.
9. When you eat out, share meals or take half home for a second meal. Most restaurant serving sizes are large enough to make every meal two-for-the-price-of-one.
10. Maintain or start a balanced fitness program. It’s a great stress reliever and will increase your energy and improve your outlook.
11. Exercise doesn’t have to be expensive. A few ideas: walk with friends, bring your dusty exercise equipment in from the garage, check out fitness DVDs from the library, or take a yoga class at a community center.
12. Instead of reaching for food, build your inventory of other coping strategies such as journaling, talking, reading, playing music, painting, praying, and meditating.
You may not be able to control economic inflation – but you can prevent your own!
Copyright 2008 Michelle May MD
Posted in: Head Hunger • Healthy Attitudes • Healthy Families • Mindful Eating • Economy and weight • effects of economy on weight • How the economy affects food choices | Post a Comment »
October 23rd, 2008, 6:36 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
These challenging economic times may affect more than just your bottom line. If you’re not mindful about your eating and physical activity, losses in your net worth will translate into gains in your pants size. Here are a dozen ways that tightening your belt could cause you to loosen it.
1. As prices rise, you may be more tempted to go for the bargains, for example:
- Ordering the super meal deal and saying yes to upsizing.
- Purchasing the large, economy packages, forgoing the more expensive smaller sizes and portion-controlled packaging.
2. On a limited budget you may choose quantity over quality, for example:
- Going to the all-you-can-eat buffet instead of that cute little bistro that serves small portions.
- Buying mac ‘n cheese on special instead of fresh fruits and veggies.
3. Compared to many other forms of entertainment, eating is less expensive.
4. As it becomes more difficult to afford luxuries like a new car, a bigger home or fancy vacations, you may turn to an excess amount of food to experience a sense of abundance.
5. Being distracted by money worries can lead to mindless munching.
6. You may turn to food to soothe stress, anxiety and uncertainty.
7. Your body may store fat more easily when you’re under stress.
8. Loss of control in one area of your life may cause you to feel out of control in other areas, such as your eating or exercise patterns.
9. Financial stress may trigger memories of prior food scarcity. For example:
- Perhaps there was a lot of competition for food in your family when you were a kid.
- Your family’s lack of money meant you really did need to clean your plate.
10. Worry can keep you up at night. Inadequate sleep can contribute to weight gain in several ways:
- Physiological changes occur that lead to more efficient fat storage
- When you’re tired you may reach for food as a quick pick-me-up
- You may not handle stress as well, leading to overeating to cope
11. You may give up exercise time to work a few more hours.
12. You may give up your gym membership or personal trainer to save a few dollars—a big mistake if exercise was helping you manage stress and your weight.
In my next post I’ll give you 12 ways you can keep from having to loosen your belt while you tighten it.
Posted in: Healthy Attitudes • Healthy Families • Mindful Eating • Economy and weight • effect of the economy on weight • How the economy affects food choices | 1 Comment »
October 15th, 2008, 1:23 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
This morning I did a keynote for a Childhood Obesity Conference at the Mesa Convention Center. One of the great thing about it was meeting people that are truly engaged and passionate about addressing the obesity problem in innovative ways in Arizona.
Here’s one innovative resource I think you’ll love: www.SpacesToPlay.org, a great website that provides links to play spaces throughout Maricopa County. Listings include parks, public golf courses, skateparks, dog parks, basketball courts, ball fields, tennis, swimming…well you get the idea.
Each listing includes maps, details, amenities - just about anything you need to know to play in Maricopa County. So what are you sitting around for???
Posted in: Active Lifestyle • Healthy Families • Healthy Travel Tips • recreation in Phoenix | Post a Comment »
August 29th, 2008, 11:07 am by Michelle May, M.D.
Like many of you, during August I tuned in nightly to watch Olympians compete on the world stage. As incredible as the events were, the stories of athletes who made personal sacrifices to train every day or who overcame daunting challenge to represent their countries inspired me most.
It didn’t motivate me to hurdle my dining room chairs or do a handstand from my roof into my pool. (I don’t usually dwell on limitations but there are just some things this 45 year old body was never meant to do.) Instead, the athletes’ accomplishments represented the daily to-do’s I sometimes slog through as well as the larger goals that I’ve set for my life.
I’d like to share a few great quotes from past Olympians and some of the take-home lessons I can apply each day (even without setting up a balance beam in my family room):
Change your Thoughts to Change your Results
“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” -Scott Hamilton, figure skater
Realize that what you believe and think causes you to feel a certain way, which causes you to do certain things, which ultimately leads to specific results. In other words, your thoughts are self-fulfilling prophecies. Of course, your results usually reinforce your beliefs and thoughts, resulting in either a positive feedback loop or a vicious cycle. If you’ve taken an Am I Hungry? workshop, this will look familiar: Thoughts > Feelings > Actions > Results.
If you don’t like your results, become aware of what you’ve been thinking. With practice, you can change your thoughts about eating, physical activity, and anything else, to get the results you desire.
Mistakes are Just Lessons
“The worst thing is to be paralyzed by fear. It’s better to fall trying. Then you learn what to do so you don’t fall again.” -Brian Boitano, figure skater
Every mistake brings you one step closer to being an expert by discovering what’s most effective for you. Just do the best you can and learn from what didn’t work.
Advance the Ball
“Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve ever done before.” -Bonnie Blair, speed skater
Don’t get trapped into thinking you have to do something perfectly and nothing else will do. I like the football analogy of “advancing the ball.” Rarely is a football game won on 80 yard passes. Instead, think in terms of advancing down the field a few yards and first downs at a time. When the window of opportunity to reach your goal opens up, you’ll have the momentum and be in position to score.
Consistency and Repetition Win
“To be an Olympian you only have to work out twice; when you want to and when you don’t.” –Darn, I couldn’t find the name of the athlete that said this! Please post the answer (with a source) as a comment below.
Practice, practice, practice. Consistency and repetition are the keys to energizing new behaviors. Baby steps that you’re willing to practice consistently will help you gradually rewire what feels good to you. Encourage yourself to move forward toward your goals every day.
I’d love to hear your favorite Olympic quotes and how they inspired you too!
Copyright 2008 Michelle May, M.D.
(This is an excerpt from my monthly E-Newsletter; to read more, visit http://www.amihungry.com/enews.shtml.)
Posted in: Active Lifestyle • Healthy Attitudes • Healthy Families • Uncategorized • exercise motivation • inspirational fitness quotes • Olympic quotes | 4 Comments »
August 23rd, 2008, 8:30 am by Michelle May, M.D.
A new study called Prevention for a Healthier America by the Trust for America’s Health showed that investments in disease prevention yeilds significant savings. This is an important report for communities and corporations deciding where to invest their limited resources. The bottom line: What is the return on investment (ROI) for increasing physical activity and eating healthier?
Even if you’re not a city planner or CEO, you still have to decide whether investing in getting healthier is worth your precious resources - your time, attention, money, and energy. If you already have a healthy lifestyle, I can safely assume that you’ve seen a significant pay-off which is why you continue to invest regularly. If you don’t, maybe it’s time to measure the ROI.
As the CEO of your body, approach this like any important investment decision. Take out a piece of paper and title it ”Getting More Active,” “Eating Healthier,” or some other decision you’ve been contemplating. Make two columns: “Costs” and “Benefits” and write down everything you can think of that may impact your decision and try to quantify them in measurable terms. You should even put a dollar amount on the value of your time.
For example, let’s say you’re considering whether to invest in a new exercise program. Your lists might look like this:
Costs
New tennis shoes = $60
4 hours a week - $40/hr = $160 per week
Less time to spend with family = priceless
New clothes when I lose weight = $500
Benefits
Get off blood pressure medicine = $80 per month
Increased energy and productivity (est. 1 hr/day) = $280 a week
Live longer = priceless
In this analysis, the cost of lost time spent with family as a result of the time spent exercising could be a deal breaker so you’ll need to address it up front. Possible solutions could include getting up earlier, exercising during the lunch hour, or including the kids in the activities - which of course will pay huge dividends in the long run. Bottom line: Exercise appears to be a good investment.
You are the CEO of yourself. Do your job!
Michelle May MD
More weight management articles: http://www.amihungry.com/weight-management-articles.shtml
Copyright Michelle May MD. For permission to reprint go to http://www.amihungry.com/.
Posted in: Active Lifestyle • Healthy Attitudes • Healthy Families • Uncategorized • benefits of exercise • Prevention for a Healthier America • ROI on exercise • Trust for America's Health | Post a Comment »
August 18th, 2008, 1:55 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that 51% of overweight and 32% of obese people had mostly normal blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and blood sugar - all risk factors for heart disease, while nearly 24% of normal weight individuals had two or more of these risk factors. Those with normal weight but two or more risk factors were more likely to be older, less active, and have a larger waist circumference.
What are the take-home messages?
It’s possible to be overweight and have a low risk for heart disease.
- This can be interpreted in a couple of ways: 1) Some people are just genetically lucky and 2) A healthy diet and exercise are important no matter what you weigh.
- Therefore, since you can’t do much about your gene pool, eat healthy and exercise no matter what your jean size!
It’s possible to be a normal weight but have risk factors for heart disease.
- In other words, don’t assume you get a free pass just because you still fit in your jeans.
- See your family doctor and find out your personal risk profile. Be sure to have your waist circumference measured too. (Waist circumference may be a better measure than just BMI).
- Follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly so your insides are as healthy as your outsides might look.
Here’s to breaking more stereotypes!
Michelle May MD
http://www.amihungry.com/
Posted in: Active Lifestyle • Healthy Families • Nutrition for Non-Dieters • BMI • diet • exercise • risk for heart disease • Waist circumference | Post a Comment »
August 8th, 2008, 4:18 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
In my last post I talked about the Why bother? Affect that often occurs when exercise advice is too far from a person’s current reality. One reader mentioned how helpful a pedometer had been for becoming more active.
A pedometer is a fun way to measure your activity level throughout the day, both during routine activities and while exercising. It is a small device that is worn on your waist to measure the number of steps you take making it easy to set realistic goals for yourself. It’s really motivating to see those steps add up—and see your energy level rise as your fitness improves.
How do you use a pedometer?
- Wear your pedometer on your waist, attached to your belt, skirt or pants (even your underclothes as long as it fits snugly against your body.)
- Place it in line with the seam of your slacks or over the center of your kneecap, parallel to the ground. It will not give accurate readings if it is tilted to one side.
- Try it out in different positions along the waist; count the number of steps you take and compare that to what the pedometer actually reads.
- Put your pedometer on when you first get up and wear it all day long.
- At the end of the day, record the number of steps you took then press the reset button to return the step counts back to “0” for the next day.
One Step at a Time
- Get an idea of your baseline activity level by recording the number of steps you take without changing your normal routine.
- Once you know your baseline, set specific goals for increasing the number of steps you take each day or week. You can pick a number or a percent increase to shoot for.
- Watch the steps add up when you pace while you talk on the phone, walk a flight of stairs, skip a half hour TV program and walk the dog (add about 2000 steps!), stroll instead of sit at the airport, park further, or window shop with friends instead of sitting to talk.
- Of course not all activities can be counted in steps (for example, swimming or yoga) but they still count toward your fitness.
I think you’ll find that using a pedometer for simple, accurate feedback will motivate you to take a few more steps in the right direction.
Posted in: Active Lifestyle • Healthy Families • Uncategorized • increasing activity • Pedometers • step counters | Post a Comment »
July 16th, 2008, 2:28 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
While we were in Australia visiting my sister-in-law, I had the opportunity to observe her twin ten month old boys and three year old daughter. Here I am at a restaurant entertaining one of the twins who’d lost interest in eating once he was full:
The children affirmed my belief that the solution to resolving our weight problems is to go back to eating like we did when we were kids. Here are five things they did consistently:
- They only ate when they were hungry. On the occasion when they were eating simply for fun (a taste of mum’s scone), one or two bites was plenty.
- They stopped when they were full - even when mum tried to coax them into eating more.
- They only ate what they liked - and they liked a surprising variety of foods. How much less food would adults eat if we skipped the so-so stuff?
- They used up their energy playing, exploring, and growing. TV was just too boring to hold their attention compared to learning new things.
- When they were tired, they slept.
We’re making weight management too hard! It’s time to get back to the basics.
Michelle
Posted in: Healthy Attitudes • Healthy Families • Intuitive Eating • Uncategorized • feeding children • hunger • Intuitive Eating | 4 Comments »
July 8th, 2008, 7:18 am by Michelle May, M.D.
(If this is your first visit to my blog, you’ll find posts about practical, non-diet weight management. Throughout July I’m participating in a Blogathon with a dozen or so other great bloggers. This post is a continuation of Food Lovers’ tips based on my family’s recent travels.)
To get to our next stop, Brisbane, Australia, we flew from Kansas City to Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, then on to Brisbane. That was 24 hours of travel and four airports. I had packed a baggie of nuts and dried cranberries but we never needed them.
We ate at a deli-style restaurant near our hotel before we went to Kansas City International. It was a good bet that we’d have more options and spend less money. We ordered salads and sandwiches but decided to skip the tempting cookies knowing there would be lots of opportunities for treats ahead.
We arrived at LAX with six hours and one more meal before our next flight. We walked from the domestic to the international terminals then around the terminal and through all the shops until we felt hungry. We would be doing a lot of sitting once we boarded our plane so there was no point to sitting at the gate.
Our flight wasn’t until 10pm and we knew that we would be served “dinner” a couple of hours after take-off. Planning ahead, we decide that a small veggie pizza was the perfect light meal a couple of hours before our overnight flight. Besides, when traveling, we try to get our vegetables in wherever we can.
Once on our Air New Zealand flight, we settled in to watch a movie. Each passenger has their own console and we thought it was funny that between the four of us, we chose four completely different movies. No wonder it’s so hard to decide what to get from the movie store at home!
“Dinner” was served at midnight which was actually 6 pm at our destination. Although I wouldn’t usually eat in the middle of the night, this midnight snack helped us begin the process of resetting our internal clocks to our new time zone. Already a little bit hungry and knowing breakfast was at least eight hours away, we ate a surprisingly decent airline meal served with a complimentary glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Even the tortellini, the vegetarian entrée we requested for Elyse when we made our reservations, was pretty good.
The hot (ok, warm) breakfast was a welcome end to a fitful and uncomfortable night’s sleep. (Sorry; I don’t have any good tips for sleeping sitting up.) Our breakfast hinted at the differences in eating habits of other countries; it would have been unusual to find beans, mushrooms, and tomatoes for breakfast in the U.S.
We arrived in Auckland at 6am for a short layover before our flight to Brisbane which, not unexpectedly, served breakfast again. The muffin and generic fruit came at the perfect time, over three hours since our last “breakfast” but it felt like we were simply eating our way around the world.
Food Lovers’ Travel Tips: Eating while traveling presents two challenges on opposite ends of the spectrum – not enough food or too much. Be sure to check with the airlines to find out what meals (if any) are included so you can adjust what and how much you eat before you take-off. Plan ahead by keeping nonperishable healthy snacks on hand. Nuts, dried fruit, granola or protein bars, whole grain crackers, and single pack tuna all work well for long flights, unexpected layovers or unappealing airline food. Don’t bother carrying chips, candy and other snack foods; they’ll just call your name to be eaten even when you’re not hungry.
Posted in: Healthy Families • Healthy Travel Tips • eating at airports • travel tips to prevent weight gain • Weight management while traveling | 2 Comments »
July 7th, 2008, 1:53 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
As Stanly pointed out, although my son Tyler seems to effortlessly eat exactly what he needs, most of the rest of us need to conscioulsy override or work with our Clean Plate tendencies. For example, at Jack Stacks, Owen and I decided to split a platter that included smaller portions of several of their most popular meats and side dishes. When it came we found it hard to believe that one person could eat it all but the waiter insisted they do!
You’ve probably heard lots of advice about cutting back on portion sizes; the tips section below outlines some specific strategies for doing just that. However, my best advice is to shift away from thinking about portions in terms of calories (an external measure that can result in feelings of deprivation) to thinking about them in terms of how you’ll feel (an internal measure that results in positive feelings).
In other words, it’s not about being good, it’s about feeling good. How many times have you ruined a fabulous meal by eating so much that you felt stuffed and miserable afterward?
I love to share meals with my husband, my daughter, or my friends. I call it “co-ordering and co-eating.” The meal is more of a shared experience; we get more variety and just the right amount of food, usually for less money. And the big bonus is that we feel comfortable and energetic when we’re through.
Food Lovers’ Restaurant Tip: Portion sizes at many restaurants are large enough for two – think of it as “Two for the price of one.” You can share an appetizer or a salad and split an entrée; you can order two entrees and have some left to take home; or you can share an entrée and a dessert. If you don’t want to share with someone, get your to-go container before you start eating and put some aside for another meal. You’ll get to enjoy it all over again!
Posted in: Healthy Families • Healthy Travel Tips • Intuitive Eating • Mindful Eating • Uncategorized • dealing with large portion sizes at restaurants • portion control • portion distortion | 1 Comment »
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