Gossip! - Did You Hear The News?

by Kris Pitcher

Engaging in a little office/gym/friendly gossip is harmless right? It makes the time pass with a little excitement and creates a bit of juicy energy to the day! Think again gossip girl...

When news turns critical, judgmental and demeaning your gossip has become harmful. Negative energy gets you negative energy and putting someone else down to make yourself feel better is, juvenile. Worse even, it's considered bullying.

Think about even your best friends - together - in a pack. Girls night out can turn ugly in a hurry. Jokes to embarrass or humiliate someone. Whispering behind a cupped hand and piercing eyes. The name calling, and the rumor spreading. She did what?!

And even when you know better, it's difficult not to get sucked in by the ring leader. You might feel powerless against her, or at least you don't want her to turn on you - so you quietly go along...laughing at what's-her-name with the junk in her trunk!

If we look at what we're doing here it's scary. The alienation, ostracism, the deliberate and calculated exclusions...the rumors we're spreading about one another. All in the name of the popularity game. It's not harmless fun, it's not in jest, it's not just because we've had a few. It's mean, and catty.

Breaking away from the pack is easy. You can destroy gossip by ignoring it. Simply don't pass it on, don't engage in it. Let the person know you're not interested in hearing it. Call them out and let them know you doubt that's true, and if it were...we should support her.

Gossip is a form of bullying. We really should support one another rather than tearing each other down. It starts with each of us supporting one another. Did you hear? Share the good stuff, forget the gossip!

 

Healthy Cocktails!

by Kris Pitcher

As barbecue season heats up, so do social opportunities to throw back a few. This along with a funny conversation with a new friend, and Bliss reader, resurrects a topic we need to talk about again. Alcohol.

"You should write about healthy cocktails." She suggested. I tried not to choke on the chicken that had gone up my sinuses from laughing as she said this with complete sincerity. It's true, I shouldn't have conversations while I'm eating. 

She's right, there is a scale of choices from worst to less than worse. But healthy? This is a stretch for me. Now, I realize people are going to indulge in alcohol. 

I understand that the masses are not going to strike it from their menu...even though it doesn't help them meet their weight loss goals. Let's go back to the science of why it impedes our progress. 

Alcohol has definite direct effects on your body - it contains seven calories per gram. These are empty calories meaning they don't provide your body with any essential nutritional value. It effects your metabolism, causing fat to be stored instead of being used as an energy source. 

Alcohol reduces the blood flow to your muscles, causing weakness and deterioration. It reduces testosterone in the blood and increases conversion of testosterone into estrogen, causing increased fat storage and fluid retention - this is a big issue for men. Women's estrogen level increases, increasing our fat storage and fluid retention. Feeling puffy? 

It creates imbalances in your liver causing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), fatty liver and hyperlipidemia (build-up of fats in your blood stream). Need more? Alcohol cuts off the supply of oxygen to the brain, resulting in a "blackout" caused by a lack of oxygen supply to the brain killing tens of thousands of brain cells.

What about sleep? Many women like to have a glass of wine before bed to wind down. It actually causes increased fatigue and physical stress to the body disturbing the sequence and duration of sleep and altering the time it takes to fall asleep. It's counter productive.

Alcohol inhibits nutrient absorption, both short term by shutting down your metabolism (your body has to deal with the alcohol) and long term by damaging the cells lining the stomach and intestines - making it difficult to transport nutrients. The short term shut down causes all that food you've eaten to be stored as fat. For later.

What's the bottom line. If you choose to drink, do it moderately. Always have a big glass of water for every one alcoholic beverage you have. And don't be surprised when it slows down your weight loss goals, it's counter productive. 

I don't expect people to do what I do - I'm an athlete and alcohol just doesn't fit into my plan. Having said that, I'm not going to sugar coat this issue for you like the rim of that fancy lemon drop. Ultimately, the choice isn't mine. Last call, it's yours.

Presence Of Mind - Success Made Simple!

by Kris Pitcher

I recently had the opportunity to hear a presentation by a scholar who said, "We may not be able to choose how we feel, but we can choose how we act."

His statement sent me diving into my giant purse for my tiny notebook where I jot down big ideas. While he was speaking about a very different topic, his statement is something I think about a lot and is quite relevant to success with weight management.

Weight management is only slightly about food. Barely. If it were, it would be easy. We'd just do the math, and eat the right nutrients at the right time of day, in the right quantities and we'd all be height-weight proportionate. Done.

Our struggles with weight are rarely about food. They are about our feelings. Moreover, about our choices in actions regarding our feelings. So his statement is something I believe very strongly in. We may not be able to choose how we feel but we can choose how we act. Let's look at that.

Feelings are individual, associated with memories, and emotions. Powerful and undeniable, we have a right to our feelings. There's no changing that. It's helpful if we can recognize them prior to acting on them. This is true for any situation, not just around our food choices.

The reality is we can recognize our feelings. We can assess their appropriateness in a situation. In many cases, we can take a deep breath and gain perspective around our feelings. This is our opportunity to look at our options. It's our time to consider our choices, before we act.

We can recognize our feelings, look at our options, and choose an action congruent with our goals. This is where our success is built. It's built in choosing how we act, how we eat - in emotional situations.

When we break it down in this way, it kind of is simple. We just have to give ourselves the presence of mind to make choices. Be present for yourself. The success is yours!

  

Wait Five Minutes - You're Fine!

by Kris Pitcher

A few years back, front load washing machines became very popular. Boasting larger load capacity, gentler action - due to no center agitating arm, and various other attributes which made this type of machine superior.

Now, in order to "keep up with the Jone's" you must have this wonderful front load washing machine. But an unmatched set is not acceptable, so with it comes the matching dryer. Designer colors would set your laundry room apart from your neighbor, such that your "laundry expression" would really take on your personality.

As you can imagine these machines are very expensive. They require a special floor stand which brings the machine loading area up to a height where you're not constantly stooped over while laundering. Additional price tag there. So all in all - quite an investment. But well worth it to have the very best in home fashion and function wouldn't you say?

Well, I'll be darned if advertisements on the radio right now aren't pushing the top load washing machine as the best thing ever! All of a sudden the top load machine is the thing to have. This switch in trends makes me think of a few things...

First, I am thankful every time I pull a load of clean clothes out of my washing machine. Every. Time. I realize not everyone has a washing machine. I actually feel grateful every time. And when I pull that same load out of the dryer! Magic!

It also makes me think about wanting what you have not having what you want. This philosophy extends to every aspect of our lives. It specifically extends to how we see ourselves, our bodies, and how we love and treat ourselves as a result. Want what you have. Love yourself right now, and care for yourself. The rest will come as a result of what you do because of that.

My final thought about the washing machine, is trends come and go. If we just wait five minutes (or maybe five years) trends change. Sometimes things come along that seem like the "next wonderful thing we MUST have/get/do/be!" The reality is, we are fine just how we are. Wait five minutes. Take another look...you're fine just how you are!

Are You Undoing Your Deficit?

by Kris Pitcher

I'm in full contest prep mode. Yes, this means the "d" word. I'm dieting. It might look confusing because I'm eating a lot of food. Every 2 hours or so, there she goes again...another meal! People are starting to notice too.

In just a few weeks, I'm leaner looking. And with the sun contemplating showing itself the arms have come out from cover, exposing themselves in all their glory. Sure, everyone wants these arms...but no one seems to want to eat all this food?!

"There she is again," I hear at the microwave at work. "with her chicken and what is that?" I look into my Pyrex container, "Broccoli." I confess.

I've also increased my cardio recently. And I'll tell you what. I can feel my metabolism kick into gear! As I whined about feeling hungry, my trainer-husband (yes, I am lucky) reminded me of something I felt compelled to pass along.

"Your hunger level actually exceeds the demand your increased cardio places on your system." Translation: you haven't burned as many calories as you would eat if you fed your hunger.

This is SO important. It's important because as we increase our activity, our metabolism goes up. That's good. But we do ourselves a disservice by literally feeding into that. We don't ever allow the deficit. IT'S OK TO FEEL A LITTLE HUNGRY!

"You can have a shake until your next meal." He said. I marched right out of the kitchen with my chin up like a champion. (I think he knows me well enough to know I'll do the opposite.) I wasn't about to undo my deficit!

If you're taking two steps forward and one step back each week, stop and get honest about your plan. Are you undoing your deficit?

Go For It! Get Moving!

by Kris Pitcher

Arms crossed I stood looking out my office window. I squinted to see if it was raining yet or not. The wind had picked up and the clouds were threatening. Then a car passed...no wipers. I'm going for it, I thought.

I laced up, grabbed my umbrella, my windbreaker and my i-pod and I was out the door. By the time I rounded the walkway heading off campus, the raindrops were coming. I can out-walk these drops, I thought.

The path along the river started out sparse but quickly filled with groups of day campers, walkers, runners and cyclists. Having such a wet season has the river swollen past it's banks and raging through our city. THAT'S loud water, I thought.

The rain was faster than my walk, and up went my umbrella. I could smell the earth, and the colors were in bloom all around me. Nearly finished, I could feel the water had soaked my slacks. I'm glad I wore black slacks, I thought.

And as I settled back into my office...the sun began to shine. My walks are not epic. My thoughts are not earth shattering. But spending 45 minutes outside, regardless of the weather, seeing and smelling the world, and smiling at passers-by is a remarkably recharging way to spend my lunch.

How did you spend your lunch? At your computer again? I think you should lace up and get moving for a few minutes. Get outside, even if you don't have a river to walk by.

I'm not waiting for spring, or summer...or anything - I'm just going for it!

Economize Your Workout

by Kris Pitcher

The number one complaint from people is they don't have time to exercise. I can appreciate that. Time is a commodity we could all use more of. Others complain their workouts take too long. I've got some ideas about economizing your workouts.

Economizing your workouts begins with a solid plan. By combining the right muscle groups together and then selecting the best exercises for those, you're on your way to maximizing your time. Efficiency takes planning, this goes for your workouts too. You can't wing economy.

If you're a busy person, a six day split isn't going to work for you. Something a bit more simplified might need to do the trick. You also might not be able to commit to 45 minutes of cardio in one session. Break it up into two sessions of 25 minutes during the day when you can sneak away. These things help to make the best of the time you have.

The next step is what happens once you're at the gym. The key to success here is to leave your i-V phone or crackberry in the locker. I see more phone use than lifting in the weight room lately. I can assure you facebook will still be there when you're done. Your email can wait the 45 minutes it takes to do your routine. And unless there is an actual emergency, no one needs to get a hold of you. This is your time.

We all have the same 24 hours in the day - the same 7 days in the week. How we use and allocate our time depends on what we value. If we value watching TV, we can spend four hours between the time we get home from work and when we go to bed watching. Or, we can allocate that time for other things we say are important to us.

Your workout can take you a lot of time, if you have it. But it doesn't have to. Find ways to fit it in and then economize what you do by focusing on the workout. Multi-tasking takes away from what you're trying to accomplish.

We all have the same amount of time. How are you using yours?