If you ask me (which many of you obviously haven't) what my life goal is, I am likely to reply, "Change the world" or, if I'm feeling particularly sassy, I might phrase the same end point as "Take over the world" (sound familiar to any of you Pinky and Brain fans?).
But, in all seriousness, that is my goal. The world that I live in has more disease that is almost completely preventable than ever before. One researcher stated it's not our eating or exercise patterns that are killing us....it's our decision making skills. Ouch!
But then here comes Seth Godin to tell us (and there's lots of research to back this statement up), "...most actions aren't decisions at all". We take actions to a large extent based on our personal and community culture.
If you are a person who doesn't like to exercise, it will be difficult to like exercising because it goes against what you believe your personal culture to be.
On the other hand, if you like exercising but your workout on a particular day feels TERRIBLE, you will still exercise the next day because exercise it a part of your personal culture -- it's no longer a decision you make, it's just who you are regardless of how it feels on any given day.
So what's Seth's advice for us? If we want to live healthier lives, we need to change our personal and community culture. Surrounding yourself with people making the changes and living the kind of life you are looking to create puts you smack dab into the middle of a culture that will support, encourage, and provide kicks in the pants when you need them and take you in the healthful directions you are looking to go.
It's that culture that will take you from "This is what I do" (whether that is exercise, eating cleaner, or sitting on your couch every evening and only taking breaks to walk to the fridge) to "This is who I am" (whether that is an Exerciser, a Clean Foodie, or a Couch Potato).
So....who are you? And who do you want to be? Better find a group of others that are the way you want to be and start hanging out with them. Change your culture, change your world.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The World is a Candy Store....no, seriously....think about it!
Please rethink your environment! Yoni Freedhoff is asking us to take a look at what we think is normal. It may be normal -- but is it helping us be healthy? Nope. Are you part of the solution? Or part of the problem???
Can't see the video? Click here!
Can't see the video? Click here!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
I love this!!! Thoughts on the idea "Strong is the new Skinny"
This whole post by Fit and Feminist was a positive reading experience for me! I am a firm believer in strength training and this post really resonated with me. Here's the take home:
We don’t need a new “skinny.” We don’t need a new beauty standard, nor do we need yet another physical ideal hanging over our every thought and move like a little black cloud of doom. What we need to do is change the paradigm so that we value our bodies for all of the amazing things they let us do. We need to expand our standards of beauty to recognize that beauty shows up in all kinds of bodies. And we need to get over this idea that the most important purpose we serve on is to be beautiful for other people. We have a right to have healthy bodies, to take up space, to have appetites, to cultivate our strengths in whatever form that may take. Our time on this planet is precious and we will never, ever get it back, so let’s stop squandering it in pursuit of meaningless ideals we will most likely never attain anyway. We deserve so much better than that.
Want to read the whole post? Click here!
HT to Weight Maven for pointing me in this direction!
We don’t need a new “skinny.” We don’t need a new beauty standard, nor do we need yet another physical ideal hanging over our every thought and move like a little black cloud of doom. What we need to do is change the paradigm so that we value our bodies for all of the amazing things they let us do. We need to expand our standards of beauty to recognize that beauty shows up in all kinds of bodies. And we need to get over this idea that the most important purpose we serve on is to be beautiful for other people. We have a right to have healthy bodies, to take up space, to have appetites, to cultivate our strengths in whatever form that may take. Our time on this planet is precious and we will never, ever get it back, so let’s stop squandering it in pursuit of meaningless ideals we will most likely never attain anyway. We deserve so much better than that.
Want to read the whole post? Click here!
HT to Weight Maven for pointing me in this direction!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
So you drink diet soda?
Y'all know I am fairly anti-diet soda. But here's some information based on research (not just my paranoia):
New studies on artificial sweeteners: a puzzle
New studies on artificial sweeteners: a puzzle
from Food Politics
FoodNavigator.com reports two new studies on artificial sweeteners.
The first report says that artificially sweetened sodas do not lead to increased sugar or calorie consumption.
The second report is about a study that links diet sodas to type 2 diabetes. In a study following 66,000 women for 14 years, it found both sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and artificially sweetened beverage consumption to be associated with increased type-2 diabetes risk.
How come? We still don’t know.
One thing seems pretty clear from such studies: diet drinks don’t appear to do much good for most people and aren’t any better for health than regular sodas.
Water, anyone?
Our study study does not provide evidence to suggest that a short-term consumption of DBs [diet beverages], compared with water, increases preferences for sweet foods and beverages.
If this result proves repeatable, it leaves open the question of why the prevalence of obesity has gone up in parallel with increasing consumption of diet sodas (which it has).
So how come diet sodas don’t seem to help people maintain weight, on average? We still don’t know.The second report is about a study that links diet sodas to type 2 diabetes. In a study following 66,000 women for 14 years, it found both sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and artificially sweetened beverage consumption to be associated with increased type-2 diabetes risk.
How come? We still don’t know.
One thing seems pretty clear from such studies: diet drinks don’t appear to do much good for most people and aren’t any better for health than regular sodas.
Water, anyone?
Thursday, May 2, 2013
I need you to watch this and tell me what you think!
Can't see the video? Click here!
(but then, don't forget to tell me what you think -- is this a more clear message than other PSA's you've seen? Did it provide you with food for thought that you hadn't considered before? Did the video offend you? Talk to me!)
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
What does being sedentary do for you?
There are always consequences to our actions (or in this case inaction).
Move less and you'll be able to move less. Move more and you'll be able to move more. This isn't about running a marathon -- it's about being able to live the kind of life you want to live.
Thanks to Frank for the graphic and Yoni for point me to it!
Thanks to Frank for the graphic and Yoni for point me to it!
Friday, April 19, 2013
Yoni's Making Sense Again....
Comfort. Health. Being the appropriate weight. How does it all fit together? Hmmmm.....
The past 60 years of dieting, both for health and for weight management, have certainly seen a great many different approaches and options. But the one shared commonality is that, for the vast majority of dieters, diets are short-lived, white-knuckled affairs that, regardless of their actual dietary edicts, can be fairly described as planned suffering. And therein lies the rub.
We're not particularly good as a species at perpetual and unnecessary suffering. And just as we have been celebrating and comforting with food since time immemorial, so too have we tended to avoid unnecessary suffering. Ultimately, when life inevitably throws a blindly restrictive dieter a curve ball, dietary suffering tends to fall by the wayside; and when life lets up, the tendency for most is not to pick it up again.
I sometimes think of blindly restrictive dieting like an icy cold lake on an unseasonably hot day. You work up the nerve to dive in and, after the initial shock wears off and numbness sets in, you splash around happily for a while. But once you climb out, the memory of that initial frigidity is enough to keep you warmly on dry land— diving back in is almost never an option.
So instead of adopting a blindly restrictive, icy-cold lake diet, my advice is for you to practice thoughtful reduction. It's not about whether or not a food or an indulgence is allowed; it's whether or not you feel it's worth it to you, where worth isn't determined solely by calories or content, but also by circumstance, desire and the human condition.
This is an excerpt from Yoni Freedhoff's article at Eat+Run (don't you just love that title for a health blog??). Interested in reading the rest? Click here!
The past 60 years of dieting, both for health and for weight management, have certainly seen a great many different approaches and options. But the one shared commonality is that, for the vast majority of dieters, diets are short-lived, white-knuckled affairs that, regardless of their actual dietary edicts, can be fairly described as planned suffering. And therein lies the rub.
We're not particularly good as a species at perpetual and unnecessary suffering. And just as we have been celebrating and comforting with food since time immemorial, so too have we tended to avoid unnecessary suffering. Ultimately, when life inevitably throws a blindly restrictive dieter a curve ball, dietary suffering tends to fall by the wayside; and when life lets up, the tendency for most is not to pick it up again.
I sometimes think of blindly restrictive dieting like an icy cold lake on an unseasonably hot day. You work up the nerve to dive in and, after the initial shock wears off and numbness sets in, you splash around happily for a while. But once you climb out, the memory of that initial frigidity is enough to keep you warmly on dry land— diving back in is almost never an option.
So instead of adopting a blindly restrictive, icy-cold lake diet, my advice is for you to practice thoughtful reduction. It's not about whether or not a food or an indulgence is allowed; it's whether or not you feel it's worth it to you, where worth isn't determined solely by calories or content, but also by circumstance, desire and the human condition.
This is an excerpt from Yoni Freedhoff's article at Eat+Run (don't you just love that title for a health blog??). Interested in reading the rest? Click here!
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Number 1 Skill for Weight Management
Today's post is from Yoni Freedhoff's column at Eat+Run. Enjoy!!
What do you think it is?
I'll start by telling you what it's not. It's not willpower, determination or motivation. It's not avoiding carbs or sugar or fats. And it's not cooking, hitting the gym or sticking to your plan.
No, the most important skill in weight management is learning how to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on with it. Whether it's the predictable—holidays, birthdays, anniversaries or vacations—or the unpredictable—illness, death, marital discord or injury—life has a bad habit of getting in the way of our best intentions. And mark my words, you're going to fall down.
So how do you maximize your chances of picking yourself back up? Unfortunately there's no app for that. Instead you're going to have to rely on these two simple strategies:
• First, you need to respect reality. The fact is, life happens. If you don't respect the fact that as a species we have comforted and celebrated with food since time immemorial, then the inevitable guilt, shame and frustration you're going to feel when you exercise your right as a human being to use food for purposes other than fuel may well lead you to throw in the towel.
Instead of being frustrated that your weight management or healthy living strategies are affected by reality, try to remember that your best efforts vary. The best you can do over the week of Passover or Easter is undoubtedly less healthful than the best you can do the week after. If your goal is your best, you'll never fall into the trap of repeatedly letting yourself down.
• Second, you need to like the life you're living while you're losing. This truism is perhaps the one most regularly forgotten by newly minted dieters. Ultimately, if you don't like the life you're living while you're losing, even if you lose a great deal, you're eventually going to head back toward the life you led before you lost weight.
Putting this in the perspective of reality, when life does up and offer you a reason to stray from your plan, it's going to be that much harder to get back into it if your plan was one you didn't enjoy in the first place. The more weight you'd like to permanently lose, the more of your life you'll need to permanently change. And because "permanent" is an awfully long time, truly the easiest way to evaluate the approach you've chosen for weight management or healthy living is to ask yourself: "Can I happily keep living this way?" If the answer's no, you need to find a new approach.
Put another way, the most important skill in weight management isn't a synonym of suffering, it's one of embracing imperfection, of rolling with life's pleasant and unpleasant punches; it smacks of reality, not reality TV.
The healthiest life that you can happily enjoy sometimes isn't going to be that healthy. Accepting that is weight management's most important skill.
The #1 Skill for Weight Management
What do you think it is?
I'll start by telling you what it's not. It's not willpower, determination or motivation. It's not avoiding carbs or sugar or fats. And it's not cooking, hitting the gym or sticking to your plan.
No, the most important skill in weight management is learning how to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on with it. Whether it's the predictable—holidays, birthdays, anniversaries or vacations—or the unpredictable—illness, death, marital discord or injury—life has a bad habit of getting in the way of our best intentions. And mark my words, you're going to fall down.
So how do you maximize your chances of picking yourself back up? Unfortunately there's no app for that. Instead you're going to have to rely on these two simple strategies:
• First, you need to respect reality. The fact is, life happens. If you don't respect the fact that as a species we have comforted and celebrated with food since time immemorial, then the inevitable guilt, shame and frustration you're going to feel when you exercise your right as a human being to use food for purposes other than fuel may well lead you to throw in the towel.
Instead of being frustrated that your weight management or healthy living strategies are affected by reality, try to remember that your best efforts vary. The best you can do over the week of Passover or Easter is undoubtedly less healthful than the best you can do the week after. If your goal is your best, you'll never fall into the trap of repeatedly letting yourself down.
• Second, you need to like the life you're living while you're losing. This truism is perhaps the one most regularly forgotten by newly minted dieters. Ultimately, if you don't like the life you're living while you're losing, even if you lose a great deal, you're eventually going to head back toward the life you led before you lost weight.
Putting this in the perspective of reality, when life does up and offer you a reason to stray from your plan, it's going to be that much harder to get back into it if your plan was one you didn't enjoy in the first place. The more weight you'd like to permanently lose, the more of your life you'll need to permanently change. And because "permanent" is an awfully long time, truly the easiest way to evaluate the approach you've chosen for weight management or healthy living is to ask yourself: "Can I happily keep living this way?" If the answer's no, you need to find a new approach.
Put another way, the most important skill in weight management isn't a synonym of suffering, it's one of embracing imperfection, of rolling with life's pleasant and unpleasant punches; it smacks of reality, not reality TV.
The healthiest life that you can happily enjoy sometimes isn't going to be that healthy. Accepting that is weight management's most important skill.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Love this Thought!
The next time you feel lonely, disconnected or unappreciated, consider that unlike many other maladies, this one hits everyone. And unlike other challenges, this one is easily overcome by realizing that you can cure the problem by connecting, appreciating and leading.
The minute we realize that the person sitting next to us needs us (and our tribe, our forward motion and the value we create), we're able to extinguish their aloneness as well as ours.
When you shine a light, both of you can see better.
--Seth Godin
The minute we realize that the person sitting next to us needs us (and our tribe, our forward motion and the value we create), we're able to extinguish their aloneness as well as ours.
When you shine a light, both of you can see better.
--Seth Godin
Monday, March 25, 2013
Can one small difference on a package make a difference in how you perceive the healthfulness of a food??
Think we're rational decision makers? Check out this post from Fooducate:
Take a look at the candy bars above. They are identical except for one small detail in their packaging. The front of pack calorie label is red on one wrapper, green on the other. Obviously there is no difference.
But in a study conducted on close to 100 students at Cornell University, in which they were shown just one of the wrappers, students tended to think that the green labeled candy bar was healthier than the red labeled one. Just another little marketing trick that will no doubt increase sales by a few millions of dollars…
By the way, the current packaging for Twix candy bar is below. Did you notice the color of the calorie information on the bottom left?
Take a look at the candy bars above. They are identical except for one small detail in their packaging. The front of pack calorie label is red on one wrapper, green on the other. Obviously there is no difference.
But in a study conducted on close to 100 students at Cornell University, in which they were shown just one of the wrappers, students tended to think that the green labeled candy bar was healthier than the red labeled one. Just another little marketing trick that will no doubt increase sales by a few millions of dollars…
By the way, the current packaging for Twix candy bar is below. Did you notice the color of the calorie information on the bottom left?
Friday, March 22, 2013
I'm mad and you should be too!
Earlier this week, a friend emailed me this report from WWMT:
"New report breaks down health rankings county by county"
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation just published a county by county health ranking. The report looked at things like rates of childhood poverty, rates of smoking, obesity levels, teen birth rates, access to physicians and dentists, rates of high school graduation and college attendance, access to healthy foods, levels of physical inactivity, and percentages of children living in single parent households.
All that being said, Kalamazoo County ended up coming in #46 out of 82 in Michigan! Really?! This is the best we can do?!
We have a GREAT county! Kalamazoo has 29 parks and linear trails (and perhaps more because this list may not be completely up to date), 6 county parks, numerous city parks, hundreds of miles of sidewalks and bike trails. Two fabulous hospitals (although you know I am more partial to one than the other ;) Dozens of professionals to help you create a healthy lifestyle. Educational opportunities...grocery stores...farmers markets...cooking lessons...an economy that is on the mend (household income is highly related to health outcomes).
But look at what RWJF was measuring:
To a great extent, we are in charge of our health. Sure, there are always those situations that crop up that we can't control -- but these WE CAN.
The fact that Kalamazoo (with its great small towns, festivals, fun city center, great music and arts scene, and I could go on....) is only 46th feels like a personal and professional failure to me! Kalamazoo county should be at the TOP of that list! There is no reason it can't be....
Except that you and I are going to need to get to work. We need to exercise, spend more time in our own kitchens, make use of the great opportunities for education, professional growth, and healthcare. We need to start taking care of ourselves if we want to improve the health outcomes for our next generation -- they are picking up our habits (both the good ones and the bad ones). We need to pull our friends and neighbors into our healthy causes -- get outside and play for goodness sake!
I don't like being 46th out of 82. That's C range -- and for any of you who know me, you know I am an overachiever A student and I love gold stars! There are no gold stars for any of us here :(
But we can get there -- both individually and as a community. We have a GREAT start and a lot of infrastructure in place to help us on the road to better health. We just need to make use of it.
So tell me: Are you with me? Are you ready to make health a greater priority in your life? Are you ready to "Love where you live" because it supports greater health? I am. Let's get started!!!
"New report breaks down health rankings county by county"
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation just published a county by county health ranking. The report looked at things like rates of childhood poverty, rates of smoking, obesity levels, teen birth rates, access to physicians and dentists, rates of high school graduation and college attendance, access to healthy foods, levels of physical inactivity, and percentages of children living in single parent households.
All that being said, Kalamazoo County ended up coming in #46 out of 82 in Michigan! Really?! This is the best we can do?!
We have a GREAT county! Kalamazoo has 29 parks and linear trails (and perhaps more because this list may not be completely up to date), 6 county parks, numerous city parks, hundreds of miles of sidewalks and bike trails. Two fabulous hospitals (although you know I am more partial to one than the other ;) Dozens of professionals to help you create a healthy lifestyle. Educational opportunities...grocery stores...farmers markets...cooking lessons...an economy that is on the mend (household income is highly related to health outcomes).
But look at what RWJF was measuring:
- Childhood Poverty
- Rates of smoking**
- Obesity levels**
- Teen birth rates**
- Access to healthcare professionals
- Education rates
- Access to healthy food
- Levels of inactivity**
- Single parent households
To a great extent, we are in charge of our health. Sure, there are always those situations that crop up that we can't control -- but these WE CAN.
The fact that Kalamazoo (with its great small towns, festivals, fun city center, great music and arts scene, and I could go on....) is only 46th feels like a personal and professional failure to me! Kalamazoo county should be at the TOP of that list! There is no reason it can't be....
Except that you and I are going to need to get to work. We need to exercise, spend more time in our own kitchens, make use of the great opportunities for education, professional growth, and healthcare. We need to start taking care of ourselves if we want to improve the health outcomes for our next generation -- they are picking up our habits (both the good ones and the bad ones). We need to pull our friends and neighbors into our healthy causes -- get outside and play for goodness sake!
I don't like being 46th out of 82. That's C range -- and for any of you who know me, you know I am an overachiever A student and I love gold stars! There are no gold stars for any of us here :(
But we can get there -- both individually and as a community. We have a GREAT start and a lot of infrastructure in place to help us on the road to better health. We just need to make use of it.
So tell me: Are you with me? Are you ready to make health a greater priority in your life? Are you ready to "Love where you live" because it supports greater health? I am. Let's get started!!!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Food for Thought...
With restaurants portioning out 3-4 times the amount we should be eating (honestly, when's the last time you ate 1/4 of whatever showed up on your plate??), here's a thought about eating out....
Once upon a time, not so long ago, people ate out for a reason. Maybe it was in celebration of an anniversary, a birthday or a promotion. Maybe it was out of necessity to seal the deal with an important prospective client. Or maybe it was the understandable consequence of travel. But one thing's for sure—we didn't used to eat out simply because we could. Eating out was special. --Yoni Freedhoff
Overeating (eating any time you are not actually PHYSICALLY hungry) once in a while is no big deal. Your body will work hard to stay the same weight -- which, in this scenario means it will ramp up your metabolism to burn off the extra calories you took in. However, because we overeat all the time (think about the afternoon soda you're drinking because your bored with the project you're working on), the body can't burn off all of the extra calories -- your body has no other choice but to store them.
There is another solution -- eat at home...as the rule, not the exception. Don't have time? I don't believe that. We have exactly as much time as we've ever had -- we just have different priorities. What are your priorities?
Once upon a time, not so long ago, people ate out for a reason. Maybe it was in celebration of an anniversary, a birthday or a promotion. Maybe it was out of necessity to seal the deal with an important prospective client. Or maybe it was the understandable consequence of travel. But one thing's for sure—we didn't used to eat out simply because we could. Eating out was special. --Yoni Freedhoff
Overeating (eating any time you are not actually PHYSICALLY hungry) once in a while is no big deal. Your body will work hard to stay the same weight -- which, in this scenario means it will ramp up your metabolism to burn off the extra calories you took in. However, because we overeat all the time (think about the afternoon soda you're drinking because your bored with the project you're working on), the body can't burn off all of the extra calories -- your body has no other choice but to store them.
There is another solution -- eat at home...as the rule, not the exception. Don't have time? I don't believe that. We have exactly as much time as we've ever had -- we just have different priorities. What are your priorities?
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Tony Schwartz talks about Mindfulness
Tony Schwartz, from the Energy Project, has a lot of ideas about productivity, creativity, and reenergizing our work. One of his keys? Mindfulness......
How to Be Mindful in an 'Unmanageable' World
It seemed fitting to me that Arianna described the challenges so many of us face in our work — and in our lives more broadly — by using the language of addiction. Her words rang especially true because I happen in the midst of reading a book by Bryan Robinson titled "Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics."
The addiction of our times is digital connection, instant gratification, and the cheap adrenalin high of constant busyness. The heartening news is that more and more leaders in big companies are beginning to recognize the insidious costs of moving so relentlessly and at such high speeds.
Wisdom 2.0 focused on technology — a primary driver of the increasing unmanageability of our lives. The conference was launched three years ago as a meeting between people from the meditation community and the tech world in Silicon Valley to discuss how to use technology more wisely.
Paradoxically, the most important solution I heard is to use technology less frequently, and more intentionally. Or, as Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT, put it in her talk: "There need to be places in our lives and in our organizations that are device-free zones."
Just below the surface of our shared compulsion to do ever more, ever faster, is a deep hunger to do less, more slowly. I saw proof of that a couple of weeks ago, when I wrote an article for The New York Times titled "Relax! You'll Be More Productive." It focused on the growing scientific evidence that when we build in more time for sleep, naps, breaks, and vacations, we become not just healthier and happier, but also more productive. The piece prompted an avalanche of response, much of it poignantly describing the sense of overwhelm people are feeling at work.
The search to find ways to deal with these issues was evident at Wisdom 2.0. Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology and strategy officer at Cisco, described in compelling detail the behaviors she's built into her life to take her out of rapid-fire analytical, "doing" mode. She meditates for 20 minutes every day. On the weekends, she paints and takes photographs. Even when she tweets, she often does so in haikus — as a way to put herself in a more creative mode.
Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, talked about how compassion has become a centerpiece of his management style. More specifically, he described how compassion requires slowing down and taking the time to truly listen to others. It means understanding where they're coming from, caring about the struggles they're facing, and the baggage they're carrying.
Bill Ford, the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, talked about the harrowing experience he went through when Ford nearly declared bankruptcy several years ago. Taking time to meditate each day was critical. "The practice of mindfulness kept me going during the darkest days," he said. He also took time each morning to "set an intention" to deal with whatever arose that day with a sense of compassion and kindness.
In my own life, I've found that both my productivity and my sense of well-being depend more than ever on building more time into the day to renew, reflect, and connect with others. Two such experiences at Wisdom 2.0 had to do with taking time to get away from the activity of the conference itself. The first was wandering over to a chill out room sponsored by Google, lying down on a mat next to several others doing the same thing, and taking a nap. When I got up 45 minutes later, I felt refreshed and able to fully reengage in the conference.
My second revelatory experience was a lunch I shared with two new friends who were also attending the conference. We ended up spending more than two hours together, free of digital interruptions, just talking, reflecting, laughing, and hanging out. How often do most of us take the time to truly connect with work colleagues — much less friends — and how much richer are we for it when we do return to our work?
Speed, distraction, and instant gratification are the enemies of nearly everything that matters most in our lives. Creating long-term value — for ourselves and for others — requires more authentic connection, reflection, and the courage to delay immediate gratification. That's wisdom in action.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Something to think about....
From Weight Maven's blog:
A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”
It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night, and day after day. Remember to put the glass down!
A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”
It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night, and day after day. Remember to put the glass down!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
He did it so well!
Get ready for a rant, Ladies and Gentlemen!! Normally, it would be me going off about our responsibility to the kids around us but Jamie Oliver did it so well, I decided to give you a break from reading and give you this TED talk to watch.
My favorite bits??
In the length of this video 4 Americans will die --- DIE because of the food they eat.
"The power of food has a primal place in our homes that binds us to the best bits of life."
"We spend our lives being paranoid about death, homicide, murder.....when heart disease, cancers, and stroke are BY FAR the biggest killers in America." And they are DIET RELATED diseases. YOU can do something about them. In fact, you do something about them EVERYDAY -- 220+ times a day you make choices that will either make you healthier.....or not.
But before I just transcribe all the bits of this video I like -- watch it. AND REMEMBER: it's not just about you. The choices you make today, as adults, are impacting EVERYONE around you. And they have the biggest impact on those most vulnerable -- the kids who are learning from your choices and values. What are you teaching them?
HT to Pete at Runblogger for point me in this direction!
My favorite bits??
In the length of this video 4 Americans will die --- DIE because of the food they eat.
"The power of food has a primal place in our homes that binds us to the best bits of life."
"We spend our lives being paranoid about death, homicide, murder.....when heart disease, cancers, and stroke are BY FAR the biggest killers in America." And they are DIET RELATED diseases. YOU can do something about them. In fact, you do something about them EVERYDAY -- 220+ times a day you make choices that will either make you healthier.....or not.
But before I just transcribe all the bits of this video I like -- watch it. AND REMEMBER: it's not just about you. The choices you make today, as adults, are impacting EVERYONE around you. And they have the biggest impact on those most vulnerable -- the kids who are learning from your choices and values. What are you teaching them?
HT to Pete at Runblogger for point me in this direction!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Normal
I've been thinking a lot about "normal" lately. If you were at my presentation last week at The Best Fitness Center in the World, you already know I talked about how our "normal" eating patterns are making us fat.
A couple weeks ago, I talked to a very interesting woman who is a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. She said this it is so "normal" to be on blood pressure medications and/or to have had a stent (or 4) that people do not make the connection that either of those things mean you have heart disease. Heart disease -- think about that! Heart disease in a large proportion of our population doesn't seem normal -- even though we are perfectly accepting of blood pressure meds (and yes, "just a water pill" counts, too) because it's "normal".
And here is another quote from Weight Maven:
Metabolically healthy people do not need to be on macronutrient restrictive diets. Metabolically dysfunctional people may need to follow restrictive diets, but their long-term goal should be to return the body to healthy metabolic function, and the primary way to do that is regular physical activity.
My contention is we've forgotten that moving is NORMAL. Sitting for hours on end is ABNORMAL (yes, I mean you! And only because I know what I do in a day....I work at an FC for goodness sake, I workout, and I keep a clean house....and I sit much more than I should! Research shows I'm not the only one!)
So you can tell yourself that you're active enough ... and if you're a triathlete training for an Iron Man, I will believe you. But if you're just about anyone else, maybe your kind of active but you could do with an additional boost to your activity levels (especially this time of year -- at least here in the Midwest).
Let's get back to Weight Maven's quote:
The goal of a "diet" and exercise should be to return your body to balance and health......not look better at the May wedding you have to attend. But that's not really how we look at weight, is it? And that, my friends, is why most of us return to our heavier-than-we-want-to-be selves once the wedding is done.
We looked great -- goal achieved -- back to our "normal" non-wedding selves.....and the weight. The weight comes back on because that is the "normal" we've chosen to put our energy into. We've chosen to believe we can be healthy without moving A LOT. We've chosen to believe that we can eat more than our body burns so the excess needs to be stored as fat -- and that nothing bad will come of it. We have created fantasies around our "normal" that many times turn into nightmares. Is this really the way you want to live? Which begs the question: What do you want to be normal for you?
A couple weeks ago, I talked to a very interesting woman who is a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. She said this it is so "normal" to be on blood pressure medications and/or to have had a stent (or 4) that people do not make the connection that either of those things mean you have heart disease. Heart disease -- think about that! Heart disease in a large proportion of our population doesn't seem normal -- even though we are perfectly accepting of blood pressure meds (and yes, "just a water pill" counts, too) because it's "normal".
And here is another quote from Weight Maven:
“If you’re inactive, you probably don’t need much in the way of carbs. But humans aren’t metabolically normal unless they’re active on a regular basis. So the healthy solution isn’t to go low-carb, it’s to increase activity level to the point where you need the carbs” (Amber at Go Kaleo)
The relationship between metabolic health and exercise is one primary focus of my blog here, so when someone else says so succinctly what I believe is an important and far too often completely and willfully ignored truth, I think it’s worth highlighting. …
Metabolically healthy people do not need to be on macronutrient restrictive diets. Metabolically dysfunctional people may need to follow restrictive diets, but their long-term goal should be to return the body to healthy metabolic function, and the primary way to do that is regular physical activity.
My contention is we've forgotten that moving is NORMAL. Sitting for hours on end is ABNORMAL (yes, I mean you! And only because I know what I do in a day....I work at an FC for goodness sake, I workout, and I keep a clean house....and I sit much more than I should! Research shows I'm not the only one!)
So you can tell yourself that you're active enough ... and if you're a triathlete training for an Iron Man, I will believe you. But if you're just about anyone else, maybe your kind of active but you could do with an additional boost to your activity levels (especially this time of year -- at least here in the Midwest).
Let's get back to Weight Maven's quote:
The goal of a "diet" and exercise should be to return your body to balance and health......not look better at the May wedding you have to attend. But that's not really how we look at weight, is it? And that, my friends, is why most of us return to our heavier-than-we-want-to-be selves once the wedding is done.
We looked great -- goal achieved -- back to our "normal" non-wedding selves.....and the weight. The weight comes back on because that is the "normal" we've chosen to put our energy into. We've chosen to believe we can be healthy without moving A LOT. We've chosen to believe that we can eat more than our body burns so the excess needs to be stored as fat -- and that nothing bad will come of it. We have created fantasies around our "normal" that many times turn into nightmares. Is this really the way you want to live? Which begs the question: What do you want to be normal for you?
Friday, February 1, 2013
Call to Action!
Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen:
What you do today matters! Just because we can't see the results of all of our actions, doesn't mean doesn't mean they don't exist!
How are you going to make the world a better place today?
(Can't see the video? Click here!)
Thanks, Erika!
What you do today matters! Just because we can't see the results of all of our actions, doesn't mean doesn't mean they don't exist!
How are you going to make the world a better place today?
(Can't see the video? Click here!)
Thanks, Erika!
You know this is right up my alley!!
What My Yoga Instructor Taught Me About Food
Over the past year or so, I've been frequenting a local hot yoga studio. It's one of the most intense workouts I've ever done, and I've developed a bit of an addiction to it. Hot yoga is basically a yoga class taught in a heated room—about 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Most newcomers (including myself!) can have a hard time getting used to this type of exercise, and it often takes a few weeks before they can make it through an entire session without needing a break.
Because of the combination of an elevated heart rate, focused breathing, and balancing poses, it's essential that you have laser focus on the task at hand—if you let your mind wander, you'll find yourself falling out of poses. One thing that helps is staying focused on the instructor's voice as she delivers pointers on perfecting the various poses, sprinkled with reminders on keeping your attention within and listening to your body. Maybe it's the heat getting to my brain, but I'm frequently inspired to apply these yoga mantras to the way I talk about food. Consider a few of my favorites:
"Always listen to your body." In yoga, you're encouraged to take breaks when needed, and to not judge others when they do the same. In fact, taking a break is celebrated because you're honoring your body's request. How might we eat differently if we always checked in with our body first? Think of all the times we eat without checking in—when we eat even though we're not actually hungry, or we eat beyond the point of being full, or we eat because it's fast, not because it's good. Think of the times we devour something "forbidden" because we plan to start dieting the next day. If you've gotten away from checking in with your body when it comes to eating, give yourself a few days to do just this one task: Focus on your internal cues of hunger, fullness, and desire for certain foods. See if it makes a difference in calming the chaos of your eating patterns.
"Keep your eyes on yourself." Humans are competitive, and we're constantly measuring ourselves against others. During a yoga session, if you focus on your neighbor, who's holding each pose to perfection, you're not focusing on your own body. This won't serve you because you won't be getting better at your own practice. I find that this also applies to how we eat. When we're so focused on what other people are eating, we have a harder time realizing what works for us, and we can't fine-tune our eating habits in a way that really improves our overall diet. Instead of trying to mimic that celebrity diet you read about, or live up to your friend who makes home-cooked meals for her family every night, turn your focus to the way you eat today, and adjust it to make it better. Small daily changes can make all the difference.
"Allow the practice to become a moving meditation." The more you do yoga, the more it becomes second nature—and your mind will shift into a meditative state while flowing through each pose. I like to think of cooking the same way. The more time you spend in the kitchen, the more it becomes a soothing introspective process. At first, your brain has to focus on learning the cooking basics (just as you have to learn various yoga poses). Once you're more comfortable in the kitchen, you can surrender to the process of dicing and sautéing, and allow it to take on a type of moving meditation. I find that spending time in my kitchen at the end of a busy day can be a great de-stressor, which ultimately helps my overall diet and my mood.
Namaste!
Because of the combination of an elevated heart rate, focused breathing, and balancing poses, it's essential that you have laser focus on the task at hand—if you let your mind wander, you'll find yourself falling out of poses. One thing that helps is staying focused on the instructor's voice as she delivers pointers on perfecting the various poses, sprinkled with reminders on keeping your attention within and listening to your body. Maybe it's the heat getting to my brain, but I'm frequently inspired to apply these yoga mantras to the way I talk about food. Consider a few of my favorites:
"Always listen to your body." In yoga, you're encouraged to take breaks when needed, and to not judge others when they do the same. In fact, taking a break is celebrated because you're honoring your body's request. How might we eat differently if we always checked in with our body first? Think of all the times we eat without checking in—when we eat even though we're not actually hungry, or we eat beyond the point of being full, or we eat because it's fast, not because it's good. Think of the times we devour something "forbidden" because we plan to start dieting the next day. If you've gotten away from checking in with your body when it comes to eating, give yourself a few days to do just this one task: Focus on your internal cues of hunger, fullness, and desire for certain foods. See if it makes a difference in calming the chaos of your eating patterns.
"Keep your eyes on yourself." Humans are competitive, and we're constantly measuring ourselves against others. During a yoga session, if you focus on your neighbor, who's holding each pose to perfection, you're not focusing on your own body. This won't serve you because you won't be getting better at your own practice. I find that this also applies to how we eat. When we're so focused on what other people are eating, we have a harder time realizing what works for us, and we can't fine-tune our eating habits in a way that really improves our overall diet. Instead of trying to mimic that celebrity diet you read about, or live up to your friend who makes home-cooked meals for her family every night, turn your focus to the way you eat today, and adjust it to make it better. Small daily changes can make all the difference.
"Allow the practice to become a moving meditation." The more you do yoga, the more it becomes second nature—and your mind will shift into a meditative state while flowing through each pose. I like to think of cooking the same way. The more time you spend in the kitchen, the more it becomes a soothing introspective process. At first, your brain has to focus on learning the cooking basics (just as you have to learn various yoga poses). Once you're more comfortable in the kitchen, you can surrender to the process of dicing and sautéing, and allow it to take on a type of moving meditation. I find that spending time in my kitchen at the end of a busy day can be a great de-stressor, which ultimately helps my overall diet and my mood.
Namaste!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Just in case you missed it today....
...on the Borgess Athletic Performance site, check out this amazingly beautiful short video!
If you can't see the video, click here to watch it on YouTube.
Now, I can guess what some of you are thinking! You're thinking that these images are amazing (did you see the bike riding down the narrow, narrow, elevated path?) and that's okay for other people but ....your not like that. You're not that coordinated. You're out of shape. You're too busy. You're.....whatever. That's garbage! So you haven't moved very much in a while -- so what?! Everyone has to start somewhere (or not start at all -- those are your ONLY options).
You can take this from a girl who didn't like to run -- and, in fact, never ran, if she could help it. That is until I tore my ACL, had to have reconstructive surgery, and my PT MADE me run.
Now I run. And I actually like it. (Even though I am pretty sure my gait is more akin to Forrest Gump than I am comfortable with)
Don't wait to be out of pain or in shape or less busy or more motivated to start moving. Walk. Zumba. Snowshoe. Stroll. Amble. Ride. Dance. Do whatever strikes you but don't wait -- because there will NEVER be a better time to start than today.
If you can't see the video, click here to watch it on YouTube.
Now, I can guess what some of you are thinking! You're thinking that these images are amazing (did you see the bike riding down the narrow, narrow, elevated path?) and that's okay for other people but ....your not like that. You're not that coordinated. You're out of shape. You're too busy. You're.....whatever. That's garbage! So you haven't moved very much in a while -- so what?! Everyone has to start somewhere (or not start at all -- those are your ONLY options).
You can take this from a girl who didn't like to run -- and, in fact, never ran, if she could help it. That is until I tore my ACL, had to have reconstructive surgery, and my PT MADE me run.
Now I run. And I actually like it. (Even though I am pretty sure my gait is more akin to Forrest Gump than I am comfortable with)
Don't wait to be out of pain or in shape or less busy or more motivated to start moving. Walk. Zumba. Snowshoe. Stroll. Amble. Ride. Dance. Do whatever strikes you but don't wait -- because there will NEVER be a better time to start than today.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Loved this thought and thought I'd share:
The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.
For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you."
- Neil deGrasse Tyson (via Jay Parkinson)
For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you."
- Neil deGrasse Tyson (via Jay Parkinson)
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Do you believe in Lindy?
This is a lovely post from Adam Bornstein from his blog Born Fitness entitled "Do you Believe in Lindy":
“Why do you work out so hard?”
I could hear the words coming from behind, but I wasn’t sure if they were directed at me.
“Hey, bro. Why do you work out so hard?
I stepped away from the trap bar, turned around, and acknowledged the trainer to my left. He was leaning against the wall, talking to me while looking up at the TV.
“You’re always in here working like crazy. Why do you do it?”
I looked at him with an emotionless face and told him, “Why not?” Not wanting to be interrupted, I let my one-word answer suffice and went back to my deadlifts.
I remember being frustrated that day. It’s the type of negativity that I try to limit, but I was irritated; I was surprised by the oddity of the question, and bothered that it was even asked at all.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so upset. Maybe my reaction was overblown. But the one thing that I now know is that I gave the wrong answer.
The Day It All Changed
I can’t tell you how difficult it’s been to write this blog, let alone put everything into context. But I feel an obligation to try.
I haven’t thought about that interaction with the trainer for about six months, but tonight it found its way into my head. It all started with an email I received from Chad, one of my online clients.
I was walking back to my office when I saw the message waiting for me. The subject read: “Thoughts and prayers for Lindy.”
I swallowed hard and was afraid to open the email. I had the same reaction as when I wake up in the dark of night convinced someone is in my house—an awkward mix of nervousness, anxiety, and fear.
Call it a gut feeling. Call it intuition. But I knew something was wrong.
It was just a day ago I was emailing Chad. He was on vacation with his wife Lindy, another one of my online clients. Lindy has a special charm. She’s the type of person that emails you videos of her baby Beren, and has goals like “Lose baby weight and survive the Zombie apocalypse.”
Chad and Lindy were on a ski vacation, and he was joking about how they’d gone a little lax on their diet because they figured all the calories they were burning on the slopes would even things out. I told him that it’s vacation and that he should enjoy.
Actually that was my last word, “Enjoy.”
I finally opened the email. Chad’s message started in the worst of ways: “I hate to bring you this awful news…”
Chad wanted my help. Lindy suffered a serious injury in a ski accident, and had multiple spinal fractures. She was life-flighted off the mountain for emergency surgery.
I read the words over and over, as my tears landed on my iPhone. It hit a little too close to home. I remember a similar message in the form of a call from my brother just a few years ago, letting me know that my father was taken by flight for life after a skiing accident.
I kept reading, only being able to process the important pieces.
“Odds are against her ever walking…”
“Or holding her baby…”
“I don’t know where we will go from here…”
When I was done, I sped home to hug my wife. I told her I loved her. And then I took my phone, wrote to Chad, gathered myself and filmed a video for Lindy.
The Importance of Strength
The video was short and simple. There’s not much you can say to someone when they are at the start of a new journey that will be tough and arduous. But that’s what I viewed it as; not an end or a beginning—just a new journey. A new challenge. And that’s what I wanted to share. My message ended with the most important reminder:
“You take care, you get better soon, and you stay strong.”
Strong. The word had new meaning now. For years I’ve seen how building physical strength can help improve mental and emotional strength. I’ve even documented how lifting weights changed my entire life, saved me from injury and doubt, and served as a beacon of hope for so many people in the darkest of times.
But now I believed that in this moment, few things were more important than strength. I was convinced that if Lindy stayed strong, that everything would be ok.
After thinking about it over and over again, I know that Lindy will be ok. I’ve already seen what she can do. How hard she works. And the type of incredible human being she is. The accident changes none of that. It only creates a new challenge.
I know that she will push on, fight, and create happiness. That’s just who she is. And she can do it because she’s strong. I’m not naïve. I know many challenges and hardships—physical, mental, and emotional—wait ahead. And while I don’t know what her future world looks like, I do believe that it will be ok as long as she continues to stays strong.
Why Do You Workout?
Two hours after I sent the video to Chad, I received his response:
“Lindy’s day is made. First goal identified: Holding [baby] Beren.”
I’m writing this now not because I wanted to share a private story, but because I want you to help Lindy build her strength.
One day ago Lindy was perfectly healthy and making the most of her life. She was active, doing what she wanted, and taking the most of her opportunities.
One day later, things have changed. But her spirit has not. Her desire has not. And a will to create the life she wants still burns within her.
That’s why I believe she will hold Beren. That’s why I believe in Lindy. She represents the mindset that I would wish upon everyone. No matter what: Do everything in your power to build the life you want.
I stayed up all night thinking about Lindy. Praying for her, and believing that she will hold her beautiful baby boy.
As I’ve tried to process everything that’s happened, the story with the trainer popped into my head. At first I was upset at myself for thinking about such a random event. It didn’t make sense. But I felt like my mind was trying to tell me something; a lesson that I could take forward and share.
Why do I train so hard?
The answer: I do it because I can.
It’s the same reason I love my wife, I love my family, and approach everything with an unbridled passion and optimism. I do it because I can.
I refuse to use Lindy as a cautionary tale. She is a story of motivation, inspiration, and strength. And that’s why I want your help.
Do you believe in Lindy?
If so, share this message with your friends. Comment on this post and share your thoughts. Spread the word on Twitter with the hashtag #BelieveInLindy. She is reading and listening. Let her know that you believe in her as much as she believes in herself.
My hope is that our strong belief—combined with her own strength—will help Lindy hold her son Beren. Why? Because she can.
Make it Count,
Born
“Why do you work out so hard?”
I could hear the words coming from behind, but I wasn’t sure if they were directed at me.
“Hey, bro. Why do you work out so hard?
I stepped away from the trap bar, turned around, and acknowledged the trainer to my left. He was leaning against the wall, talking to me while looking up at the TV.
“You’re always in here working like crazy. Why do you do it?”
I looked at him with an emotionless face and told him, “Why not?” Not wanting to be interrupted, I let my one-word answer suffice and went back to my deadlifts.
I remember being frustrated that day. It’s the type of negativity that I try to limit, but I was irritated; I was surprised by the oddity of the question, and bothered that it was even asked at all.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so upset. Maybe my reaction was overblown. But the one thing that I now know is that I gave the wrong answer.
The Day It All Changed
I can’t tell you how difficult it’s been to write this blog, let alone put everything into context. But I feel an obligation to try.
I haven’t thought about that interaction with the trainer for about six months, but tonight it found its way into my head. It all started with an email I received from Chad, one of my online clients.
I was walking back to my office when I saw the message waiting for me. The subject read: “Thoughts and prayers for Lindy.”
I swallowed hard and was afraid to open the email. I had the same reaction as when I wake up in the dark of night convinced someone is in my house—an awkward mix of nervousness, anxiety, and fear.
Call it a gut feeling. Call it intuition. But I knew something was wrong.
It was just a day ago I was emailing Chad. He was on vacation with his wife Lindy, another one of my online clients. Lindy has a special charm. She’s the type of person that emails you videos of her baby Beren, and has goals like “Lose baby weight and survive the Zombie apocalypse.”
Chad and Lindy were on a ski vacation, and he was joking about how they’d gone a little lax on their diet because they figured all the calories they were burning on the slopes would even things out. I told him that it’s vacation and that he should enjoy.
Actually that was my last word, “Enjoy.”
I finally opened the email. Chad’s message started in the worst of ways: “I hate to bring you this awful news…”
Chad wanted my help. Lindy suffered a serious injury in a ski accident, and had multiple spinal fractures. She was life-flighted off the mountain for emergency surgery.
I read the words over and over, as my tears landed on my iPhone. It hit a little too close to home. I remember a similar message in the form of a call from my brother just a few years ago, letting me know that my father was taken by flight for life after a skiing accident.
I kept reading, only being able to process the important pieces.
“Odds are against her ever walking…”
“Or holding her baby…”
“I don’t know where we will go from here…”
When I was done, I sped home to hug my wife. I told her I loved her. And then I took my phone, wrote to Chad, gathered myself and filmed a video for Lindy.
The Importance of Strength
The video was short and simple. There’s not much you can say to someone when they are at the start of a new journey that will be tough and arduous. But that’s what I viewed it as; not an end or a beginning—just a new journey. A new challenge. And that’s what I wanted to share. My message ended with the most important reminder:
“You take care, you get better soon, and you stay strong.”
Strong. The word had new meaning now. For years I’ve seen how building physical strength can help improve mental and emotional strength. I’ve even documented how lifting weights changed my entire life, saved me from injury and doubt, and served as a beacon of hope for so many people in the darkest of times.
But now I believed that in this moment, few things were more important than strength. I was convinced that if Lindy stayed strong, that everything would be ok.
After thinking about it over and over again, I know that Lindy will be ok. I’ve already seen what she can do. How hard she works. And the type of incredible human being she is. The accident changes none of that. It only creates a new challenge.
I know that she will push on, fight, and create happiness. That’s just who she is. And she can do it because she’s strong. I’m not naïve. I know many challenges and hardships—physical, mental, and emotional—wait ahead. And while I don’t know what her future world looks like, I do believe that it will be ok as long as she continues to stays strong.
Why Do You Workout?
Two hours after I sent the video to Chad, I received his response:
“Lindy’s day is made. First goal identified: Holding [baby] Beren.”
I’m writing this now not because I wanted to share a private story, but because I want you to help Lindy build her strength.
One day ago Lindy was perfectly healthy and making the most of her life. She was active, doing what she wanted, and taking the most of her opportunities.
One day later, things have changed. But her spirit has not. Her desire has not. And a will to create the life she wants still burns within her.
That’s why I believe she will hold Beren. That’s why I believe in Lindy. She represents the mindset that I would wish upon everyone. No matter what: Do everything in your power to build the life you want.
I stayed up all night thinking about Lindy. Praying for her, and believing that she will hold her beautiful baby boy.
As I’ve tried to process everything that’s happened, the story with the trainer popped into my head. At first I was upset at myself for thinking about such a random event. It didn’t make sense. But I felt like my mind was trying to tell me something; a lesson that I could take forward and share.
Why do I train so hard?
The answer: I do it because I can.
It’s the same reason I love my wife, I love my family, and approach everything with an unbridled passion and optimism. I do it because I can.
I refuse to use Lindy as a cautionary tale. She is a story of motivation, inspiration, and strength. And that’s why I want your help.
Do you believe in Lindy?
If so, share this message with your friends. Comment on this post and share your thoughts. Spread the word on Twitter with the hashtag #BelieveInLindy. She is reading and listening. Let her know that you believe in her as much as she believes in herself.
My hope is that our strong belief—combined with her own strength—will help Lindy hold her son Beren. Why? Because she can.
Make it Count,
Born
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Love Biggest Loser? Read this!
Just in case you DO know who Jillian Michaels is but DON'T know Yoni Freedhoff and in case you dream of what it would be like to be on The Biggest Loser (and note I said dream not have nightmares about...), read this:
(Bolding is mine for emphasis)
The Real Biggest Losers? The Show's Audience
Dear American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),
Last week, reinvigorated by some fresh young blood, season 14 of the prime-time weight loss extravaganza known as The Biggest Loser enjoyed its most watched premiere in its nine-year history. And when I say young blood I mean it, as this season marks the first time that The Biggest Loser has included children in the mix -- two 13-year-olds and one 16-year-old round out the cast.
While I personally find the show to be an emotionally and physically abusive, misinformative, horror show, it's clearly beloved and trusted by many -- that record premiere was reported to have been viewed by over 7-million people. And while my personal opinions shouldn't concern you, the peer-reviewed medical literature stemming from The Biggest Loser, as well as the AAP's implicit endorsement of the show, should.
Perhaps not surprisingly given what appears to be the overarching theme of the show -- that obesity is the individually controlled consequence of gluttony and laziness -- a study published in the journal Obesity this past May demonstrated that watching even a single episode of The Biggest Loser dramatically increased hateful weight bias among viewers -- an effect that was heightened among non-overweight viewers.
Given this season's causal billing as a "big, bold mission: to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic head-on," no doubt viewers are going to be looking to the teachings of The Biggest Loser to help with their children's struggles. Therefore along with being taught that obesity is treatable by means of incredible amounts of vomit-inducing exercise, severe dietary restriction, and never-ending servings of guilt and shame, the medical literature suggests viewers will also be taught that failure is an obese child's personal choice -- something that their bullies have been saying forever. Indeed increasing hateful weight bias is the last thing America's already over-bullied overweight children need as a recent study on bullying published in the journal Pediatrics found that the odds for being bullied for an overweight child were 63 per cent higher than their lighter peers.
The metabolic impact of The Biggest Loser's weight loss formula of exercising a minimum of 4 hours a day while enduring a highly restrictive diet has also been studied. Using indirect calorimetry and doubly labelled water researchers determined that by week 30 participants' metabolisms were decimated -- they had slowed by 504 more calories per day than would have been expected simply as a consequence of their losses. This led the study's authors to conclude (emphasis mine):
The fact that The Biggest Loser trainers have gone on record this year and formally reported that they won't yell at the show's children is a testament to the ugliness of the show as a whole. And regardless of how the children are treated, it doesn't change what seems to be the show's ultimate message: that happiness, self worth, success, and pride are wholly determined by the numbers on a scale and that people, now including children, who remain obese are lazy gluttons who just don't want it badly enough. As horrifying as that message is, more horrifying that it's being promoted under the AAP's own banner as the show has recruited Dr. Joanna Dolgoff as their pediatrician and new on-screen character. Reading her biography on NBC's The Biggest Loser page reveals just six words in that she's also an, "official spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics."
The biggest losers each and every season aren't in fact the contestants, they're the viewers. By watching The Biggest Loser and basing their devoted adoration only on the proverbial "after" pictures, but not the "after-after" pictures, viewers are being taught non-sustainable approaches to weight management that in turn the medical literature suggests promote hatred of those who struggle with their weight, and potentially of themselves.
That children are involved in the show this year will likely increase the number of children watching and in so doing increase already rampant school-based weight-related child bullying. It may well also lead young overweight or obese viewers to feel even more guilt, shame and self-loathing than they already feel which in turn might heighten their risks of developing body image and eating disorders. Truly, if guilt, shame or self-loathing were sufficient for weight loss the world would be skinny as those who struggle with their weight, especially children, have no shortage of those particularly painful emotions.
Please do the right thing. Speak up about The Biggest Loser. I would argue that it's poisoning an already sick nation and right now it would appear that you're in fact fully and officially on board.
Sincerely,
Yoni Freedhoff, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa
Faculty of Medicine
Medical Director, Bariatric Medical Institute
(Bolding is mine for emphasis)
The Real Biggest Losers? The Show's Audience
Dear American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),
Last week, reinvigorated by some fresh young blood, season 14 of the prime-time weight loss extravaganza known as The Biggest Loser enjoyed its most watched premiere in its nine-year history. And when I say young blood I mean it, as this season marks the first time that The Biggest Loser has included children in the mix -- two 13-year-olds and one 16-year-old round out the cast.
While I personally find the show to be an emotionally and physically abusive, misinformative, horror show, it's clearly beloved and trusted by many -- that record premiere was reported to have been viewed by over 7-million people. And while my personal opinions shouldn't concern you, the peer-reviewed medical literature stemming from The Biggest Loser, as well as the AAP's implicit endorsement of the show, should.
Perhaps not surprisingly given what appears to be the overarching theme of the show -- that obesity is the individually controlled consequence of gluttony and laziness -- a study published in the journal Obesity this past May demonstrated that watching even a single episode of The Biggest Loser dramatically increased hateful weight bias among viewers -- an effect that was heightened among non-overweight viewers.
Given this season's causal billing as a "big, bold mission: to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic head-on," no doubt viewers are going to be looking to the teachings of The Biggest Loser to help with their children's struggles. Therefore along with being taught that obesity is treatable by means of incredible amounts of vomit-inducing exercise, severe dietary restriction, and never-ending servings of guilt and shame, the medical literature suggests viewers will also be taught that failure is an obese child's personal choice -- something that their bullies have been saying forever. Indeed increasing hateful weight bias is the last thing America's already over-bullied overweight children need as a recent study on bullying published in the journal Pediatrics found that the odds for being bullied for an overweight child were 63 per cent higher than their lighter peers.
The metabolic impact of The Biggest Loser's weight loss formula of exercising a minimum of 4 hours a day while enduring a highly restrictive diet has also been studied. Using indirect calorimetry and doubly labelled water researchers determined that by week 30 participants' metabolisms were decimated -- they had slowed by 504 more calories per day than would have been expected simply as a consequence of their losses. This led the study's authors to conclude (emphasis mine):
"Unfortunately, fat free mass preservation did not prevent the slowing of metabolic rate during active weight loss, which may predispose to weight regain unless the participants maintain high levels of physical activity or significant caloric restriction."This finding may help to explain why according to the three Biggest Loser alumni I recently interviewed, 85-90 per cent of participants regain their weight, and where more often than not those who do sustain their losses have translated those losses into careers as personal trainers or motivational speakers.
The fact that The Biggest Loser trainers have gone on record this year and formally reported that they won't yell at the show's children is a testament to the ugliness of the show as a whole. And regardless of how the children are treated, it doesn't change what seems to be the show's ultimate message: that happiness, self worth, success, and pride are wholly determined by the numbers on a scale and that people, now including children, who remain obese are lazy gluttons who just don't want it badly enough. As horrifying as that message is, more horrifying that it's being promoted under the AAP's own banner as the show has recruited Dr. Joanna Dolgoff as their pediatrician and new on-screen character. Reading her biography on NBC's The Biggest Loser page reveals just six words in that she's also an, "official spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics."
The biggest losers each and every season aren't in fact the contestants, they're the viewers. By watching The Biggest Loser and basing their devoted adoration only on the proverbial "after" pictures, but not the "after-after" pictures, viewers are being taught non-sustainable approaches to weight management that in turn the medical literature suggests promote hatred of those who struggle with their weight, and potentially of themselves.
That children are involved in the show this year will likely increase the number of children watching and in so doing increase already rampant school-based weight-related child bullying. It may well also lead young overweight or obese viewers to feel even more guilt, shame and self-loathing than they already feel which in turn might heighten their risks of developing body image and eating disorders. Truly, if guilt, shame or self-loathing were sufficient for weight loss the world would be skinny as those who struggle with their weight, especially children, have no shortage of those particularly painful emotions.
Please do the right thing. Speak up about The Biggest Loser. I would argue that it's poisoning an already sick nation and right now it would appear that you're in fact fully and officially on board.
Sincerely,
Yoni Freedhoff, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa
Faculty of Medicine
Medical Director, Bariatric Medical Institute
Friday, January 11, 2013
How cool is this?!
Keep a Snake Plant in Your Bedroom to Improve the Air Quality While You Sleep
The Snake Plant, or Mother-in-Law's Tongue, is one of the most recommended plants for improving air quality. The optimal place to keep this relatively inexpensive and low-maintenance plant is the bedroom, because it converts CO2 into oxygen at night. In its roundup of the best cheap plants for improving indoor air quality, Wisebread notes that Mother-in-Law's Tongue is recommended by a NASA study (which lists at least a dozen air-improving plants) and researcher Kamal Meattle, who has shown us that just three common houseplants can improve indoor air.
Meattle says Mother-in-Law's Tongue is known as "the bedroom plant." While most plants take away oxygen at night, this one gives off oxygen at night. The plant also filters formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, toluene, and benzene from the air. Meattle recommends 6-8 waist-high plants per person for optimal output from this oxygen factory.
Check out Wise Bread's post for other inexpensive houseplants to improve the air in other areas of your home.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Love this quote!!
The winds of grace are blowing all the time. All you have to do is raise your sails. --Buddha
Love this thought! Hope it speaks to you, too!
Love this thought! Hope it speaks to you, too!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Walking
We may be getting smarter (jury's still out on that). Getting back to the basics is probably the best way to make our bodies work optimally. The other day I read a post by Michael Moore about walking. I'm not really any kind of Michael Moore fan but I have to say I agree with most of what he said this time.
Essentially, this Facebook post talks about the walking he started last March. He, according to the post, has walk everyday since he started. And unlike many of us, he's not doing it to be healthier or to lose weight -- he's just walking to walk because he's actually enjoying it. He asserts that health and weight loss may be a byproduct but the real benefits come from doing something we are designed to do....just walk.
And now for another endorsement for walking, author Wayne Curtis has authored this (it's not really a "quick read" but it may just change how you think about walking):
The Walking Tour Skipping StepsExploring the lost art of the in-depth walk.
When I walk down Dumaine, I’m often trailed by a half-dozen or so tourists, and I’m trying to tell them the story of the city. I volunteer for a nonprofit group, and once a month or so I lead architectural walking tours of the French Quarter. The tour lasts about two hours. Along the way, I try to offer up some small insights into the French Quarter and how it got that way. That Dumaine Street won’t cooperate with my narrative is an affront each and every time.
First we pass lovely Creole cottages from the 1820s, and then a proud 1788 raised wood-sided structure built in the French colonial style. Next door is a townhouse with an entrance characteristic of the mid-19th century. Just up the block is a house with flat roof that was typical of the 18th century Spanish period, showing up like a friend late for a party. Then next door is a pair of shotgun-style houses with millwork frippery dating to the second half of the 19th century. It’s as if the city had carted out houses for a yard sale, and just left them along the curb without any plot or plan.
I talk a minute or two about each, but I always feel that I’ve failed in my job. We’re all hardwired for a story with beginning, a middle, and an end, and here I’ve just spouted random, unconnected anecdotes about a grab-bag of different styles. For someone who grew up reading novels and book-length non-fiction, I feel like I’ve been reduced to tweeting the history of the French Quarter.
Modern life, of course, keeps getting more chopped, diced and disjointed. Nonfiction seems to be getting shorter and shorter (magazine editors no longer even apologize to writers for assigning “listicles” or “charticles”). And the long walk has gradually become disaggregated into a series of miniature marches, each now with its own purpose. Anything more than 140 characters or a few dozen steps begins to feel burdensome; we grow restless. The walking tour I lead clocks in at just under mile, and for some visitors that qualifies as adventure travel.
How much do Americans typically walk in a day? A study published in 2010 rigged up 1,136 Americans with pedometers, and concluded that we walk an average of 5,117 steps every day. (No surprise: that was significantly less than in other countries studied — both Australians and the Swiss walked around 9,600 steps daily, and the Japanese 7,100.)
It’s also widely assumed that we walk far less than our forebears, but that’s tough to prove — you won’t find much in the way of pedometer studies from the 19th century. But we can draw some conclusions from other information — like how many kids walk to school today versus the past. In the 19th century, of course, everyone walked to school, since buses didn’t exist and districts were designed to accommodate walking. By 1969 more than half of all school kids still walked to school. Today, it’s about 13 percent.
Another: A study of Old Order Amish in southern Canada in 2004 recruited nearly a hundred adults to wear pedometers for a week. This is a little like using pedometers in the 19th century; the Amish don’t have cars or tractors, and still get around in large part by foot and horse-drawn carriage. The average number of steps per day for Amish men, it turned out, came in at 18,425. For women it was 14,196 steps.
America was once the land of the long walk, at least if you didn’t have the means to ride a horse, or, starting around 1900, to drive a car. We walked and walked, and the process both learned and told our own stories and that of the land around us. Walking stitched together our nation with tight, durable seams, not like high-speed highways that render stitching that’s sloppy, loose, and easily undone. Undertaking a 10- or 15-mile mile walk was once something Americans might do routinely in an afternoon. No special note was made of it. In 1906, just as cars were coming into vogue, the nation was afflicted by a small outbreak of long-distance walking — multi-day walking races and long-distance walkers seemed to be tromping everywhere. A splenetic editorial in American Gymnasia magazine took a dim view of the attention being lavished on the long-distance walks. “It is simply another mark of the degree of physical degeneracy (is that too strong a term?) of the present day that long walks are uncommon enough to excite special attention — not 1,200 mile walks but even 50-mile trips. And for most of us ten miles is a distance to cover which we must use much effort, and having made it are quite sure to indulge in self-praise.”
That 5,000 steps we take each day translates into about two and a half miles every day, or 900 miles per year. That’s not insubstantial. But I’m pretty sure the quality of our walks has also changed — when we move by foot today — at least in my experience and what I hear from others — it always seem to involve brief, intense tromps motivated by a single purpose. We walk to the garage to get to the car. We walk from the mall parking lot to Best Buy. We walk from Gate 4 to Gate 22 in Terminal B.
Essentially, we tweet with our feet.
What do we lose by walking less, and breaking up our walks into Halloween-candy sized missions? We lose that opportunity to tightly stitch together our world. A long walk — it takes about three hours to walk 10 miles, and without breaking a sweat — gives us time with our thoughts, and establishes the right speed to appreciate the complexity of the world around us. It gives us time to plait the warp of random observations and the woof of random thought. We create a narrative and a place. Americans drive an average of 13,400 miles each year, or about 36 miles a day. The one time people spend long periods alone with their thoughts tends to be in a car — on long drives or stuck in traffic. But it’s not the same. In a car, we’re cocooned, isolated from a complex environment that can engage us.
And as traffic historian Tom Vanderbilt has noted, our highway system today essentially mimics “a toddler’s view of the world, a landscape of outsized, brightly colored objects and flashing lights” as we speed along “smooth, wide roads marked by enormous signs.” Heading down an on-ramp to merge onto a highway, it’s as if we’re entering a day care center for adults. We push on pedals and turn a big wheel. We communicate with others by blaring a horn that plays a single note, or by employing a hand signal that involves a single finger.
“‘The pedestrian mind doesn’t get very far in a day, but it has the opportunity to see where it is going,” noted a writer in the Saturday Review of Books. That was written in 1928, and even then — when the gulf between walking and driving was scarcely a gully — he could see the outlines of two differing ways of thinking: The walking mind and the driving mind. (“Vehicular minds move under some other power than themselves and hence grow flabby and become crowd minds, standardized and imitative.”)
On our tweet-length, mission-driven walks we remain cloistered in the sanctuary of our minds, focused on our immediate goal. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I’ve never an interesting thought walking from the outer edge of a parking lot to the entrance of a big box store. I’m too wrapped up in plotting my mission, figuring out how to get in and out as efficiently as possible.
Nicholas Carr in his 2010 book, The Shallows, suggested, essentially, that Google was making us stupid. He cited one researcher who noted, “the digital environment tends to encourage people to explore many topics extensively, but at a more superficial level.” Carr went on to add, “skimming is becoming our predominant mode of reading,” and we are adept at “non-linear reading.” We lose our capacity for “in-depth reading.”
We also seem to be losing our capacity for in-depth walking. Walking is now short-term scanning. Thoreau liked to spend four hours every day rambling, free of tasks and immediate goals. He lamented that his fellow townsmen would recall pleasant walks they’d taken a decade ago, but had “confined themselves to the highway ever since.” “The length of his walk uniformly made the length of his writing,” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote of his friend. “If shut up in the house, he did not write at all."
On the French Quarter walking tours, I always hope to build connections to a complex, fascinating past, sometimes ennobling, often troubling. I tell visitors on my walking tours to make sure they look down so they don’t stumble on the notoriously uneven walks, and look up so they don’t miss the notoriously elaborate ironwork, which is essentially 19th century architectural bling.
But I also urge them to linger at hidden, gated walkways that run between or beneath many French Quarter homes. These often lead to courtyards that are alive with banana trees and bougainvillea and traces of lives once lived. These are worlds invisible by car, and just as invisible to those on a project-driven mission.
“Walking… validates the reality of the past in the present,” wrote Allice Legat, a Canadian anthropologist, “and in doing so, continually re-establishes the relations between place, story and all the beings who use the locale.”
I’m gradually coming to terms with the chronological chaos of Dumaine Street. I’m letting go of the narrative I want to impose on the city. I’m now just hoping to slow things down, and let those walking with me build their own narrative and chronology from the small details along the way. • 21 December 2012
Wayne Curtis is a contributing editor at The Atlantic, and the author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in 10 Cocktails. He's currently working on a book about the history of walking in America. Find him at his website or follow him @waynecurtis.
Essentially, this Facebook post talks about the walking he started last March. He, according to the post, has walk everyday since he started. And unlike many of us, he's not doing it to be healthier or to lose weight -- he's just walking to walk because he's actually enjoying it. He asserts that health and weight loss may be a byproduct but the real benefits come from doing something we are designed to do....just walk.
And now for another endorsement for walking, author Wayne Curtis has authored this (it's not really a "quick read" but it may just change how you think about walking):
The Walking Tour Skipping StepsExploring the lost art of the in-depth walk.
When I walk down Dumaine, I’m often trailed by a half-dozen or so tourists, and I’m trying to tell them the story of the city. I volunteer for a nonprofit group, and once a month or so I lead architectural walking tours of the French Quarter. The tour lasts about two hours. Along the way, I try to offer up some small insights into the French Quarter and how it got that way. That Dumaine Street won’t cooperate with my narrative is an affront each and every time.
First we pass lovely Creole cottages from the 1820s, and then a proud 1788 raised wood-sided structure built in the French colonial style. Next door is a townhouse with an entrance characteristic of the mid-19th century. Just up the block is a house with flat roof that was typical of the 18th century Spanish period, showing up like a friend late for a party. Then next door is a pair of shotgun-style houses with millwork frippery dating to the second half of the 19th century. It’s as if the city had carted out houses for a yard sale, and just left them along the curb without any plot or plan.
I talk a minute or two about each, but I always feel that I’ve failed in my job. We’re all hardwired for a story with beginning, a middle, and an end, and here I’ve just spouted random, unconnected anecdotes about a grab-bag of different styles. For someone who grew up reading novels and book-length non-fiction, I feel like I’ve been reduced to tweeting the history of the French Quarter.
Modern life, of course, keeps getting more chopped, diced and disjointed. Nonfiction seems to be getting shorter and shorter (magazine editors no longer even apologize to writers for assigning “listicles” or “charticles”). And the long walk has gradually become disaggregated into a series of miniature marches, each now with its own purpose. Anything more than 140 characters or a few dozen steps begins to feel burdensome; we grow restless. The walking tour I lead clocks in at just under mile, and for some visitors that qualifies as adventure travel.
How much do Americans typically walk in a day? A study published in 2010 rigged up 1,136 Americans with pedometers, and concluded that we walk an average of 5,117 steps every day. (No surprise: that was significantly less than in other countries studied — both Australians and the Swiss walked around 9,600 steps daily, and the Japanese 7,100.)
It’s also widely assumed that we walk far less than our forebears, but that’s tough to prove — you won’t find much in the way of pedometer studies from the 19th century. But we can draw some conclusions from other information — like how many kids walk to school today versus the past. In the 19th century, of course, everyone walked to school, since buses didn’t exist and districts were designed to accommodate walking. By 1969 more than half of all school kids still walked to school. Today, it’s about 13 percent.
Another: A study of Old Order Amish in southern Canada in 2004 recruited nearly a hundred adults to wear pedometers for a week. This is a little like using pedometers in the 19th century; the Amish don’t have cars or tractors, and still get around in large part by foot and horse-drawn carriage. The average number of steps per day for Amish men, it turned out, came in at 18,425. For women it was 14,196 steps.
America was once the land of the long walk, at least if you didn’t have the means to ride a horse, or, starting around 1900, to drive a car. We walked and walked, and the process both learned and told our own stories and that of the land around us. Walking stitched together our nation with tight, durable seams, not like high-speed highways that render stitching that’s sloppy, loose, and easily undone. Undertaking a 10- or 15-mile mile walk was once something Americans might do routinely in an afternoon. No special note was made of it. In 1906, just as cars were coming into vogue, the nation was afflicted by a small outbreak of long-distance walking — multi-day walking races and long-distance walkers seemed to be tromping everywhere. A splenetic editorial in American Gymnasia magazine took a dim view of the attention being lavished on the long-distance walks. “It is simply another mark of the degree of physical degeneracy (is that too strong a term?) of the present day that long walks are uncommon enough to excite special attention — not 1,200 mile walks but even 50-mile trips. And for most of us ten miles is a distance to cover which we must use much effort, and having made it are quite sure to indulge in self-praise.”
That 5,000 steps we take each day translates into about two and a half miles every day, or 900 miles per year. That’s not insubstantial. But I’m pretty sure the quality of our walks has also changed — when we move by foot today — at least in my experience and what I hear from others — it always seem to involve brief, intense tromps motivated by a single purpose. We walk to the garage to get to the car. We walk from the mall parking lot to Best Buy. We walk from Gate 4 to Gate 22 in Terminal B.
Essentially, we tweet with our feet.
What do we lose by walking less, and breaking up our walks into Halloween-candy sized missions? We lose that opportunity to tightly stitch together our world. A long walk — it takes about three hours to walk 10 miles, and without breaking a sweat — gives us time with our thoughts, and establishes the right speed to appreciate the complexity of the world around us. It gives us time to plait the warp of random observations and the woof of random thought. We create a narrative and a place. Americans drive an average of 13,400 miles each year, or about 36 miles a day. The one time people spend long periods alone with their thoughts tends to be in a car — on long drives or stuck in traffic. But it’s not the same. In a car, we’re cocooned, isolated from a complex environment that can engage us.
And as traffic historian Tom Vanderbilt has noted, our highway system today essentially mimics “a toddler’s view of the world, a landscape of outsized, brightly colored objects and flashing lights” as we speed along “smooth, wide roads marked by enormous signs.” Heading down an on-ramp to merge onto a highway, it’s as if we’re entering a day care center for adults. We push on pedals and turn a big wheel. We communicate with others by blaring a horn that plays a single note, or by employing a hand signal that involves a single finger.
“‘The pedestrian mind doesn’t get very far in a day, but it has the opportunity to see where it is going,” noted a writer in the Saturday Review of Books. That was written in 1928, and even then — when the gulf between walking and driving was scarcely a gully — he could see the outlines of two differing ways of thinking: The walking mind and the driving mind. (“Vehicular minds move under some other power than themselves and hence grow flabby and become crowd minds, standardized and imitative.”)
On our tweet-length, mission-driven walks we remain cloistered in the sanctuary of our minds, focused on our immediate goal. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I’ve never an interesting thought walking from the outer edge of a parking lot to the entrance of a big box store. I’m too wrapped up in plotting my mission, figuring out how to get in and out as efficiently as possible.
Nicholas Carr in his 2010 book, The Shallows, suggested, essentially, that Google was making us stupid. He cited one researcher who noted, “the digital environment tends to encourage people to explore many topics extensively, but at a more superficial level.” Carr went on to add, “skimming is becoming our predominant mode of reading,” and we are adept at “non-linear reading.” We lose our capacity for “in-depth reading.”
We also seem to be losing our capacity for in-depth walking. Walking is now short-term scanning. Thoreau liked to spend four hours every day rambling, free of tasks and immediate goals. He lamented that his fellow townsmen would recall pleasant walks they’d taken a decade ago, but had “confined themselves to the highway ever since.” “The length of his walk uniformly made the length of his writing,” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote of his friend. “If shut up in the house, he did not write at all."
On the French Quarter walking tours, I always hope to build connections to a complex, fascinating past, sometimes ennobling, often troubling. I tell visitors on my walking tours to make sure they look down so they don’t stumble on the notoriously uneven walks, and look up so they don’t miss the notoriously elaborate ironwork, which is essentially 19th century architectural bling.
But I also urge them to linger at hidden, gated walkways that run between or beneath many French Quarter homes. These often lead to courtyards that are alive with banana trees and bougainvillea and traces of lives once lived. These are worlds invisible by car, and just as invisible to those on a project-driven mission.
“Walking… validates the reality of the past in the present,” wrote Allice Legat, a Canadian anthropologist, “and in doing so, continually re-establishes the relations between place, story and all the beings who use the locale.”
I’m gradually coming to terms with the chronological chaos of Dumaine Street. I’m letting go of the narrative I want to impose on the city. I’m now just hoping to slow things down, and let those walking with me build their own narrative and chronology from the small details along the way. • 21 December 2012
Wayne Curtis is a contributing editor at The Atlantic, and the author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in 10 Cocktails. He's currently working on a book about the history of walking in America. Find him at his website or follow him @waynecurtis.
I'm back
Hmmmm....so it's been a long while (actually, a little over a year) since I've posted anything here. Just to catch you up, I've put my Eating Coach blog on hiatus. After 1000 posts focusing almost exclusively on mindful eating, I started feeling like it was time to round out my offerings a little bit.
There is so much good and interesting information out there to help us all become healthier (my personal and professional goal!) that it started to feel just too confining to spend all that time focusing on just one ingredient in the recipe for better health. I hope you enjoy what you read here! I am happy to be back with all of you :)
--Kristi
There is so much good and interesting information out there to help us all become healthier (my personal and professional goal!) that it started to feel just too confining to spend all that time focusing on just one ingredient in the recipe for better health. I hope you enjoy what you read here! I am happy to be back with all of you :)
--Kristi
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