Your Declaration!

by Kris Pitcher

I saw a declaration the other day which read, "I am the greatest Grandma in the world." You might have guessed it wrapped a license plate. This is one confident woman. It didn't read, greatest Grandma. It declared in the entire world. That's a lot of Grandma's.

I would imagine there would be a lot of competition for that position. Grandma's are by definition pretty great. Each of us is likely partial to our own. But what I loved about this was her unabashed way of shouting it out to the rest of us.

In general, we aren't too good at tooting our own horn. We are modest. We don't brag. We reject compliments. We even discredit praise. Why do we do that?

Our insecurities have chipped away at us over time and pushed down our ability to declare our greatness. Society tells us we shouldn't be boastful or conceded. But what's wrong with thinking we're good at something? Great even?

We should celebrate what we're good at and be able to accept a compliment about it. We should be able to declare it to the world. Certainly there is balance and grace involved. But there's nothing worse than trying to compliment someone who will not take it.

So what will you declare? What are you great at? What are you known for? How do you take compliments? I'd love to see more confident women sharing and supporting one another in greatness. You don't have to wrap your license plate with it...but let me hear your declaration!

Fall Back, Surviving Daylight Savings Time

by Kris Pitcher

I've lived in and visited places who "don't do" daylight savings time. This energy savings initiative began during WWI as the government looked for ways to help us turn the lights off.

Now each fall and spring we either fall back or spring forward. I never like having something taken away...but I do like having that hour returned for extra slumber, if even for just one night.

The truth is this "system" really affects us, it effects our circadian rhythms. It's no wonder people are a little grumbly and off for a day or so while they are trying to get on track. Our circadian rhythms are responses, changes, to light and darkness which follow a 24 hour cycle.

They are connected to our biological clocks. Nerve cells in the brain called suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN are considered our "master clock" and this is located in the hypothalamus (a word I've always liked).

Light is one of the main environmental factors  influencing our circadian rhythms which can change our sleep-wake patterns, our hormone release and body temperature among other things. For instance as it gets dark, our SCN releases melatonin signaling us to get drowsy.

So, it's not just you being grumbly and not wanting to get with the program of daylight savings time. You system is a little out of whack. But given a few days and a consistent wake-sleep pattern, your clock will reset too. And while it will soon be dark at 3:30 PM, we will eventually get used to shorter days.

Dear Diet - The Cheat

by Kris Pitcher

Dear Diet,

Listen, there are some things we need to be clear on. Things I thought you understood. You're getting all emotional on me and over stuff I thought we had clear. I'm in this for the long haul...so I'm just going to be honest with you.

I'm. Going. To. Cheat. That's right, we have an "open" relationship. You knew that going into this, so don't get all weird about it. What you and I have is special, and we are exclusive. But sometimes, I need more.

It isn't just about what I want. It's about what I need. You keep me where I need to be that's for sure. But I'm smart and my body gets used to what you and I are doing. I have to confuse my metabolism, heat things up! Don't make that face...it's just for an hour.

You can see it right there on the schedule. Every Saturday night. It's not like it's ALL DAY. It's just one meal. You can even watch me if you want to. I mean, I'm not going to do anything I wouldn't let you see. And Sunday morning, it's just you and me again...just like always.

Plus, you know this helps me stay with you, and only you, all week. This one hour away from you lets me know I'm normal, eat what ever I want and know I have something to look forward to. It's there to stoke my metabolism and heat me up just like I need.

I will always come back to you. You keep me sane, in control, and meeting my goals. This is just a part of us, and I'm reminding you that you need to accept the cheat for what it is. So, I'm excited about tonight...and I'm excited about what you and I will do all week long. We're a good team you and I.

Love,
Kris

Follow Your Spark

by Kris Pitcher

Sometimes the tinniest thing can cause a landslide. You tidy the magazines on the coffee table, then straighten the pillows on the couch and before you know it you've deep cleaned and rearranged the entire room.

It's that tiny spark of energy that ignites something in us. And I wonder do we have to find the thing, or the spark? We are taught to find the "thing". The thing that will fulfill our lives, bring us riches, make us famous...

But I wonder what we might make happen if we just went with the spark? The tiny bit of energy that draws us in a certain unintended direction.  See, the problem with our quest for the thing is some of us never find it. Or, it doesn't fulfill us, bring riches or make us famous. So we feel let down, and we lose sight of any spark at all.

If we turned it around and followed the spark, we might just fulfill our lives, and find our wealth - however that may be defined. Maybe your spark is telling you that you should be an interior designer. Or maybe it's telling you to follow some other dream. Sometimes I just wonder what the world would be like if we all lived our dreams instead of just dreaming them.

Maybe the next time you see the spark, feel the spark - that energy that makes you feel happy and excited - you should explore it. Consider it. Follow it. It might just lead you to your dreams.

Put Your Willpower to Rest

by Kris Pitcher

Did you ever put a text book under your pillow hoping to will the information into your brain through osmosis? If you did, and you're willing to admit it, I bet it wasn't yesterday. You're smarter now...and not because the book was under your pillow!

It's because you know it doesn't work like that. But it's about this time of year when we let the concept of willpower tiptoe back into our consciousness. The season of temptation has begun and we are in for a few months of marathon celebrations. So, what's the deal with willing things to happen?

There is no such thing as willpower. It's like the tooth fairy. It doesn't exist. (Don't worry, I'm not gonna touch Santa.) Here you think you've been weak, that other people have this special power you don't possess. The truth - they don't.

You have the same ability to stay on track as anyone else. The difference? And I'm honest with you when something is my opinion, this is my opinion. The difference is the people who can enact this "power" to stay on track have their values in front of them all the time.

Oh crap! Here we go with the values again. It's true, and it works. The problem with the idea of willpower, and you feeling like you've done something wrong, or bad because you can't "do" willpower is that your actions are not in alignment with your values.

You want to do the right things to stay on track. But you're not. This creates conflict and bad feelings. How do you fix it? Simple. Get clear on your values once again. Write them on a post it note, get yourself a bracelet that will remind you, put them on the refrigerator - whatever it takes to get them in front of you.

Then you simply do the things you need to do to stay on track with your values, or goals. You want to eat healthy through the holidays? Break it down. Stock the fridge, prep your food, pack your meals, take your cooler. Eat what you're supposed to eat. See how this works? There is no willpower involved. There is connection to your goals and values.

This holiday season you can put your willpower to rest once and for all. There's no need to feel bad about anything. No one has this special "power" because it doesn't exist. It's all about being connected to what you want and then doing what you need to get there. Now, take a deep breath and put it to rest.

The Post Contest Rebound

by Kris Pitcher

We've all woken up in a strange place with our hair crusted to our smeared lipstick wondering where we are. We've felt the crumbs under the weight of our body on unfamiliar sheets, heard a snore jerk us into crusty consciousness only to wonder...what happened last night?! Tripping over a pizza box with our shoes in one hand and our pants in the other. This is an UGLY situation!

And welcome to your rebound! OK, maybe I saw that in a movie. But you get the picture. Bad, bad things can happen once we reach a goal weight, or particularly after a competition. So, this one is for my competitor friends. Don't leave now though, read along. I'm about to pull out some science.

The period following the competition is an IDEAL time. We call it the rebound. And it is an anabolic opportunity. Given the right attention this is your chance to make your off-season into something really special.

Because your body is at a very low body fat level it is primed to make progress following competition state. When our body fat is low leptin is lowered. Leptin is a protein hormone that helps to regulate hunger and metabolism. When it's lowered it makes us hungry by an increased release of ghrelin (an amino acid & hormone that makes us hungry).

This situation makes you primed to store the nutrients you eat after your contest. And it's no wonder you are so hungry you would eat your own arm off. In addition, when our body fat is low, our insulin sensitivity is high - meaning less insulin is needed to escort the nutrients for use and storage.

So, the right hormones are making us hungry, and our insulin sensitivity is high. In this situation the premier destination for the nutrients is to our muscle cells vs. our fat cells. Our muscle cells need the nutrients. See the opportunity?

By eating more of what you ate pre-contest with the addition of variety of protein such as lean red meat, chicken, etc. and adding those essential good fats from nuts, avocados, and fatty fish along with moderate complex carbs you are giving your body exactly what it needs to grow. Also, the addition of extra calories stimulates your thyroid output which increases your metabolism, and restores your hormone production.

Couple this with maintaining a moderate amount of cardio, and working back up to lifting (like you did before you completely ran out of steam) and you are in the perfect anabolic opportunistic situation! Exciting!

Taking advantage of the rebound in this way fixes the fatigue on all of your systems from low calories and too many stimulants during your prep IN NO TIME. Your period will be back before you know it (or you're ready), and you'll be crying at that commercial where the dog is trying to protect his belongings with insurance. My point is your hormones will naturally restore by eating in this way.

Give yourself a day or two to eat without thinking about it. Get in those things you've been missing. Have the burger and shake. Eat what you want. Then get on program. Get your eating and workouts on track and fast. Schedule in one (or two) weekly metabolic boosting re-feed (cheat) meals. Not cheat days. A meal. When you are a competitor there is no being "off". You are always eating like a competitor. You are just eating more or less.

The alternative is where we started in a metaphoric way. Stuffing yourself with a landslide of garbage because you "deserve it". That garbage doesn't work for you, won't get you to your goals, fix your fatigue, or reset your metabolism. It will also make you really fat. That's the bad rebound where you wake up next to the guy with face tattoos. You don't want that.

Halloween Candy Public Service Announcement

by Kris Pitcher

The dentist really should consider peanut butter flavored polishing cream. Would you like mint or bubble gum? Really? How about peanut butter? Or something I would actually want to eat. I would love it if my mouth tasted like peanut butter for the residual hour following my cleaning.

As I enjoy the smooth clean surfaces of my freshly scraped teeth it makes me think of something I heard on the radio last night. I actually thought about it in the chair...but it's kind of hard to carry on a conversation with the hygienist.

Dentists recommend moderate Halloween candy consumption and recommend chocolate over sticky kinds of candy. They also recommend that candy be consumed in a supervised manner, and do not advocate unsupervised "grazing" of candy. Really.

We need a public service announcement for this?

Maybe we do. At least we've concluded that returning all your candy to the dentist in amnesty is not going to be very popular. So, a message worth sharing: moderation, supervision, quick melting.

Oh, and brush your teeth. Did I ever tell you that a Hot Tamale took one of my fillings out? True story. (I've never eaten one since.)