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Archives for December 2019

Yoga tadasana asana #1pose1day1year

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I have made a commitment to do one yoga pose, each day (six days per week), for one year. Holding myself accountable by writing about it on  my twitter feed (@smarton_health, #1pose1day1year). I need to work on flexibility and balance. One loses balance/flexibility with every decade of aging. Lack of balance contributes to falls in old age. Definitely a concern especially if one lives alone. Let’s not use that life alert button shall we? Yoga seems to be the ticket for working on these things.

I’m drawn to Ashtanga because it’s vigorous movement and gives you great cardio. Sadly, it’s contraindicated for me. I’m fragile and tend to get injured. A lot. Iyengar style with its emphasis on precision and correctness and holding poses to build strength is probably what I need. All that and there are remedial variations for those of us with issues.

I’ve practiced yoga intermittently and half-assedly for almost two decades. I’m 48. The earlier I get consistent, the better I’ll be when I’m (with luck) in my 90s. I think consistency is better than volume when it comes to adding a new habit into my life. So I challenged myself last fall to doing one single sun salutation six days per week for a year. I did pretty well in 2019. Many months with consistent runs of 4 times per week or more. Quite a few stretches of 6 times per week. I never hit perfection on my goals. That’s ok. It’s called practice for a reason.  I track stuff to keep myself honest. A sticky note on a calendar for each day I do a thing motivates me. I can give myself credit whenever I practice a habit. Looking back on a calendar full of gold stars feels awesome. I’m such a first grader.

This year I have chosen tadasana — mountain pose — for my daily practice. My posture absolutely sucks. I have some serious structural imbalances. Changing how you hold yourself after a lifetime of keeping your body in a certain position will likely take the rest of your life. And it means some poses will be extra challenging and uncomfortable, perhaps painful. One should never hold oneself in pain! The FBI calls it a clue that you should be doing a remedial pose or an easier variation.

Asanas (Sanskrit for pose) are also a form of spiritual work. I recall reading some guru who said that an entire yoga practice can be contained in tadasana. There is pranayama (breathing practice) involved as well as meditation while holding the pose. The guru meant the “entire practice” in a physical sense. The pose works on every muscle.

Today I did the work. I held it for a full minute. I’m impatient and want to get on with it so I can get my tick on the tracker and move on to starting work for the day. Launching the coaching practices is constantly in my thoughts and my resistant mind provides excuses like “you should be working on priorities” and “this is boring I have better and more exciting things to do.”

But my aches and pains remind me that yoga is necessary and non-negotiable in my day. We’ll see how successful I am in keeping that commitment to self-care in 2020.

 

Start here: Five fundamental nutrition habits

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One of the biggest reasons people seek out health and wellness coaching is weight loss. Everybody has their own unique needs and preferences. I don’t subscribe to any particular way of eating (ps. I hate the word diet). I do recommend that everybody get familiar with five fundamental nutrition habits before considering any other changes in what and how you eat.  I also recommend only adding one new habit to your life at a time. The more you add, the more difficult it is to sustain lasting change.

Many people have lost weight by using these five habits alone. No other changes! Myself included. I have been consistently using them for about a year and I lost about five pounds. There are good reason that each habit works. These practices increase the amount of nutrients you absorb from your food. They decrease the amount of food you eat due to better satiety. They increase the density of nutrition in your meals. And, they allow you to take a break and focus on self-care. These habits are so beneficial they promote them heavily at Precision Nutrition – the school where I earned my nutrition coaching credential.  I practice these habits. Not perfectly. Just because they are simple habits, doesn’t mean they are easy.

Five fundamental nutrition habits

  1. Eat only when you’re hungry. When you make a habit of overeating you can disrupt how your body manages hunger signals. The interplay between obesity and the appetite hormones ghrelin and leptin is complicated. It can become a negative cycle that keeps you heavier.
  2. Eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for those satiety signals to reach your brain and for your brain to let you know you’re full. By eating slowly you give your body the time it needs to communicate clearly. You end up eating less. Less fuel in equals less chance of excess.
  3. Chew your food thoroughly. Not only does this help you eat more slowly, it improves nutrient absorption. Your saliva contains amylase, a digestive enzyme which break downs carbohydrates. Creating a “bolus” makes it easier for your stomach acids to further break down the food with pepsin (for protein) and lipase (for fat). When the “chyme” created by your stomach goes through your gut, the nutrients are absorbed by your intestines. When those food particles are smaller, that process goes better.
  4. Eat until you’re 80% full. Your stomach needs some room to do its work properly. Feeling stuffed is uncomfortable anyway. You should feel like eating any more would make you feel that discomfort. You know you’ve hit the sweet spot if you don’t get hungry again for a few hours. If you don’t hit the spot you can always eat a snack.
  5. Eat protein and vegetables at each meal, practicing balance and portion control. It really helps if you have the major nutrients at each meal. Protein and fat really do help with feeling fuller longer. The right amount of carbohydrate provides volume to stretch your stomach which in turn makes your brain perceive fullness. The “right amount” of each is very individual. Fortunately, your body has the perfect measurement tools. A cupped hand equals a carbohydrate serving. Your thumb is the size of a fat serving and your palm is the size of a protein serving. Smaller people (usually women) should start with 1 serving of each at a meal. Larger people should have two servings. If you are very active, you can have more servings. With trial and error you’ll figure out the number of servings that keeps you satisfied and provides you with enough energy.

That’s it. Really! My own personal problem spot is chewing. I hate the feel of bolus in my mouth. If I wanted baby food or soup I’d eat it right? I have to remind myself that better nutrient absorption equals better mood as I manage bipolar. The role of nutrients in my chronic condition is a longer post for another day.

It took me many weeks of working with each habit to successfully integrate them into my day-to-day. Give yourself credit for every meal or snack where you make even the smallest bit of progress. Be kind to yourself.

 

Cinnamon roll bread pudding

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I recently had to go to a pot luck brunch. I’m always at a loss for things to bring. I need (a) quick (b) easy and (c) easily transportable in a give-away foil casserole pan. I decided to go with a bread pudding. This is a favorite of mine during the holidays. I traditionally make it for my family on Christmas morning. It’s a good way to use up the remaining breadcrumbs from making stuffing. It’s dead-simple (bread! sugar! eggs! flavorings!). You can take a basic bread pudding and get creative with flavors. I serve mine with hard sauce made with orange peel, allspice, maple and RUM. Because booze and brunch go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Hard sauce is a type of compound butter. You mix the goodies into softened butter and chill it into molds.  You melt the “sauce” on the warm bread pudding and the result is brunch nirvana. Plus, the presentation impresses the f*ck out of people.

I decided to do things a bit differently for the brunch. I used this cinnamon roll bread pudding recipe by Tastes of Lizzy T. It’s basically a standard bread pudding except one substitutes chunks of cinnamon roll dough for the bread cubes. I wish I’d taken pictures of it because it came out beautifully. It was the hit of the buffet table.

It’s a holiday treat. So I follow my holiday treat practices. And, I leave the stuff at other people’s houses to reinforce sticking to a reasonable amount. If it’s in my house, it’s in my mouth. I’ll probably share my Christmas morning bread pudding and get some actual process pictures to show how this common recipe is made. I’m already dreaming about my traditional breakfast.

Holiday wellness practices

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I have a few traditions that I practice to keep myself feeling healthy during holidays. I take my family on an early morning walk on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years day, I limit alcohol, and I indulge in treats with some caveats.

‘Tis the season for stress, overeating, and skipping regular exercise. Health coaches aren’t immune. I’ve not been sticking to my regular way of eating lately. I usually don’t do much sugar or processed carbs. I don’t think there is anything wrong with them in moderation. My mood takes a big hit whenever I overdo it. My anxiety will spike withing 24-36 hours of eating too much of that stuff for me. That’s me. Your mileage is going to vary. I encourage everybody to make a note of how they feel right after eating something they don’t usually consume then check in with themselves 12, 24, and 36 hours later. Ask yourself, “how is that food working for me?” For me? Not so good. I’m feeling sluggish and my baseline mood has become a bit sad and grumpy with a case of the worries. I didn’t practice my treat caveats.

  1. Allow myself to eat guilt free. There’s no good or bad food. There are good and better times to eat them. I eat a well balanced meal and include my treat as a dessert. The protein, carb, and good fat in the meal ensure that my treat is satisfying. It also means my insulin will spike less from the sugar.
  2. Choose only my very favorite things. Thanksgiving included several pies, a lemon cake, cookies, and even more cookies. I had to choose between my fave pecan pie and tasting the gluten free lemon cake my friend baked.
  3. Choose only “one thing” at each meal where you choose to indulge. I suck at making choices sometimes. I split the difference and had a half-slice of pie and half-slice of cake. At brunch I had the french toast casserole instead of toast for my carb.
  4. Portion control. Monitor your serving size. Give yourself 20 minutes before having seconds. Seconds should still be serving-sized.
  5. Use some low-alcohol consumption tips: choose less caloric options (maybe a glass of wine instead of that egg nog?, a sugar free mixer?), alternate alcoholic drinks with water or a mocktail (sparkling water with a splash of cranberry and a slice of orange for garnish looks pretty in a highball glass)
  6. Carry on carrying on.  Don’t compensate for any extra calories you consume. One or two meals don’t make or break you. It’s what you do day after day after day that impacts how you feel and whether your clothes fit. Use some creativity to carve out time to stick to your regular exercise routing. I like to use Amazon Prime and avoid the crowds. Time I save shopping equals more time for the gym.
  7. Bring side dishes to the event. A salad, a vegetable platter, a sugar free desert allow you to fill up with nutrient density and avoid the richer stuff.

Little things add up. Doing a group activity with friends and family takes the focus off of food and on to sharing time with loved ones. Creating some healthy traditions can help you continue feeling well over the holiday

 

Waiting list

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My early adopter coaching test group is full! I have a limited number of waiting list spots for the soft rollout of laurajsmart.health. Wait listers will get a coaching package at a significant discount for beta testing the business systems after the “go live” date.  You can add yourself to the sign up list at http://bit.ly/laurajsmarthealth. I will be sending you an email update on the soft launch about once per week.

Counting down to official launch

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As you can see, the blog is underway in soft rollout mode. The plan is to get the graphic design and web development on track, using the Genesis framework. For now, the look and feel is using a template called writee. It’s tempting to mess around with the configuration and make it look all nice and stuff. Because that’s fun. What really needs to happen is outsourcing the cosmetics to others. Time is money and the focus has to be on the money making activities. The news feed needs to be on track for a January/February marketing blitz. Subscribers want to see an archive of regular posts to feel confident in subscribing. There are tons of posts in draft mode and they need to be trickled out on a regular schedule.

Content creators need to create content.

Other stuff still in process: legal paperwork, program development, individual coaching, sales calls, course development, photo shoot.

Living the dream people, I’m living the dream.