Goals

Family Health: A New Normal

2020 has been quite the surprise! We’ve spent what seems like half the year inside due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What has not been a surprise is the need to update the Healthy People Initiative. Every ten years the US government develops objectives to move the country towards better health which is collectively called the Health People Initiative. Some of the objectives are related to nutrition and physical activity. The Healthy People Initiative 2030 also includes new objectives for Health-Related Quality of Life & Well-Being which includes physical, mental, emotional, and social functioning which highlights a focus on optimal health or what I like to call whole-person health.

According to the latest results and supporting data, although adults are moving more and reporting a better quality of life, none of the objectives were met towards healthful diets and healthy weight. In addition, the objectives for adolescents participating in physical activity were not met. As the country seeks out a new normal, there is no better time to focus on family health. Below are some habits you can incorporate into your family routine as a new normal.

Get creative and have at home gym class where everyone gets involved. Inquire about access to physical activity in childcare settings and ensure access to physical activity for children at home.
Reduce television viewing and computer usage to improve cognitive skills and the ability to concentrate and pay attention.
Craft most of your meals at home. Foods eaten away from home often have more calories and lower nutritional quality than foods prepared at home.

Mindful Eating During Stay at Home Orders

Although some stay at home orders due to COVID-19 are being lifted, most people will still find themselves spending a significant amount of time at home. Since we are at home, the temptation to eat out or on the run is minimized. Because we are unable to maintain our regular lifestyles, this is a good time to practice healthy habits such as mindful eating.

What is mindful eating? It is a technique that promotes weight loss and reduced binge eating. As a practice, it is thinking about your food before, during, and after consumption. Practicing mindful eating can help you gain control of your eating habits and feel better overall. Here are some easy ideas on how to start.

– Listen to your body: eat when your body tells you to eat and stop eating when you are full

– Consider where your food comes from

– Eat foods that are nutritionally healthy

– When eating, only focus on eating

– Reflect on how you feel after you eat

For more information about mindful eating, check out Mindful Eating: The Art of Presence While You Eat. If this something you would like to incorporate but need help, let JLH Wellness help you through a health coaching experience.

Meditation: Your New and Improved Mental Health Practice

There are various forms of meditation with different objectives: a time for quiet or a time for prayer. No matter the objective, all forms of meditation share at least one outcome. Meditation elicits relaxation and calmness which can improve your health by reducing stress. Here are a few ways to conduct your own meditation session.

Breathe deeply – Focus on your breathing and concentrate on feeling and listening as you inhale and exhale. Breathe deeply and slowly.

Scan your body – Focus your attention on different parts of your body. Become aware of any pain, tension, or relaxation throughout your body. You can add in breathing exercises and imagine breathing relaxation into different parts of your body.

Repeat a mantra – Find or create your own mantra. It can be religious or secular.

Walk and meditate – Slow down your walking pace and focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Do not focus on a destination.

Engage in prayer – Prayer is the best known and most widely practiced example of meditation. You can pray using your own words or read prayers written by others.

Read and reflect – Read poems or sacred texts and take a few moments to quietly reflect on their meaning. You can also listen to music or spoken words. You can write your reflections in a journal or discuss them with a friend or spiritual leader.

Focus your love and gratitude – Close your eyes and focus your attention on feelings of love, compassion, and gratitude.

If you are a beginner who may struggle sitting still, a meditation session can be held in a minimum of one minute. As you continue to practice this time can increase and you should see improvements in your stress levels and self-awareness. If you have already started a meditation practice, hopefully the list above provides you a way to enhance your session. Happy Meditation!

The Diet Challenge: East vs West

Are you a true westerner looking for a way to change your diet? Leave the western diet behind and head over to the Mediterranean.

Some of our favorite western diet food items have doubled and sometimes tripled in calories over the past 20 years. Cheeseburgers, once 330 calories, are now 590 calories. In the 90s, you could get French fries that were 210 calories; today those French fries cost a whopping 610 calories. Aside from the calorie count, the western diet mostly consists of red meat, dairy products, processed and artificially sweetened foods, and salt. The Mediterranean diet is quite the opposite. The diet consists of a high amount of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nut and seeds, and olive oil. They even throw wine! Thinking about changing yet ? This diet is considered one of the healthy eating plans supported by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the World Health Organization. People who subscribe to the Mediterranean Diet are one step closer to reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet provides some food for thought if you are considering a new way to address nutrition.

Women and Weights

Are you one of the women afraid to lift weights? There are several reasons women have for not lifting weights. Some women don’t want to get bulky, while others don’t have time or prefer cardio. During Women’s History Month and beyond, I want to make sure you are a woman that can live a full life and make history.

Weight training has many benefits that can help a woman live a long life. Some of those benefits include enhanced muscle tone, boosted metabolism, and a reduced chance of injury. The muscles gained through strength training also help to burn more calories, which helps with weight loss. A study, using data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Nurses’ Health Study II, has even shown that strength training through resistance exercise, yoga, etc. can lower the risk of diabetes.

In case you didn’t know, once most women hit menopause, they begin to lose bone mass rapidly. Great habits, such as weightlifting, while you are younger can help prevent this. Starting while younger will help slow the rate of loss and possibly reverse it.

So, what are you waiting on? Get started now! You can become a Wonder Woman and join the Strong Women Accountability Group (S.W.A.G.) challenge for help getting started or encouragement to get back to it.

Something New Sautéed Kale and Chickpeas

It’s March and we are slowly working our way off the winter soups. If you’re looking for a nutrient rich dish, sautéed kale and chickpeas could be your something new. Kale is super rich in vitamin A, K, and C. 26% of the daily value (DV) of manganese. This is very helpful for women as manganese is essential for bone health in addition to the well-known vitamin D and magnesium. Chickpeas are rich in protein, folate, fiber, and iron just to name a few. They are good for those with diabetes (help prevent blood surges), heart disease (interfere with the body’s absorption of cholesterol) and obesity (make you feel full). Try it this month and let me know what you think!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of garlic

1/3 cup of olive oil

1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 cups of kale (more if you desire)

1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

Salt, black pepper, and red pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in saucepan or skillet. Add the garlic and cook until it starts turning brown.
Stir in the lemon juice.
Slowly add some kale, about 1 cup. Mix it up and let it wilt down a little and add the remaining kale. Cook the kale for about 10-15 or until it softens.
Add the chickpeas and seasonings. Cook for approximately 5 more minutes.
Serve!

The S.W.A.G. Challenge

I’m calling all women that are looking to get stronger to join the Strong Women Accountability Group Challenge (S.W.A.G.). You can have the desire to be physically stronger or stronger in adhering to the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. This is a virtual challenge but you will be provided with the tools to succeed. These tools include

-an initial assessment
-weekly encouragement
-weekly workouts
-nutritional guidance
-private webinar
-private virtual team connection
-a prize for the challenge winners

Check it out!

Matters of the Heart

It’s month two into your new year, new you plan. Some may have jump started their efforts, but it’s quite possible that others have not for various reasons. Whatever position you’re in you are not alone! If you’re well on your way that is great! If you’re not remember changing behavior is hard to do. This is particularly true when you’re trying to make lifestyle changes. When trying to make those types of changes you should have a will and a way. An article in Psychology Today indicated that the will is your why and the way is defined as the how. Sometimes people lose focus on why they are trying to change. It’s also possible that the “why” isn’t strong enough for one to commit to the change. You may have had a plan that didn’t quite work out once you got started. If you have fallen off the new year, new you wagon, you can get back on. Assess your will and your way and ensure your goals are SMART goals.

Become a New You in 2020

At the beginning of a new year most people look towards a fresh start. Some commemorate this fresh start by making new year resolutions or setting new goals. These goals are often related to health, finances, time management – just to name a few. The running joke is that by the end of March, most people don’t remember what those goals were or the last time they looked at them. But there are a few steps you can take to develop a healthy lifestyle for many years to come; to become a new you in 2020 and beyond.

One of the first steps towards becoming the new you is to understand the “why” of your goals/resolutions. Failing to accomplish goals often comes from not really thinking about the “why”. For example, losing 20 pounds may be your goal however your reason may be because you want to fit into a certain size. Or maybe you want to stop taking medications. Maybe you want to feel better physically and emotionally. Knowing the “why” is one of the most important steps you can take because it will help you recalibrate if you get off track.

After understanding your “why”, the next step is to make SMART goals. What do SMART goals look like? SMART goals represent goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based. To develop SMART goals ask yourself the 5 W’s: why, who, what, where, and when. You already know your why so next, determine who will help or support you while you work towards your goals. After that, write out what you want to accomplish. If you have several goals write them all out, then decide which goal or goals to focus on first. When thinking about your what, also determine what you need to accomplish your goals. Are there are certain skills or expertise you need to attain the goals? Once you know the why, determine the who, and narrow-down the what, be sure to decide where you may need to go or not go to achieve your goals. Finally, choose when you will work on your goals based on your schedule and patterns.

Now that your goals are very specific ensure they can be accomplished in measurable increments by developing milestones for your goals. Accomplishing these milestones offers opportunities to reward yourself on your success and helps with self-encouragement. Setting milestones for your goals also helps you consider if the goals are currently attainable. If you want to eat healthier do you know what that means or what that looks like? If you don’t know, what resources do you need to make this goal attainable? If you are not eating vegetables consistently it could be very difficult to change from a regular western diet to a vegetarian diet. It may be more realistic to start by eating 1 more vegetable serving over the next 2 weeks. Once that milestone is reached, you could increase your vegetable intake biweekly. To ensure your goals are SMART you want to have them time-based meaning have a deadline for accomplishing the goal.

The last step to becoming the new you is to get started and stick to it! Research has indicated it takes 66 days to develop a habit, not a month. That sounds like a lot of opportunities to get it wrong and miss some milestones. Let’s be honest, it is! YOU WILL make mistakes. YOU WILL miss some milestones! But don’t sit in your failure. Keeping going! These 66 opportunities give you enough time to ride that wave up and down until your goal becomes a success and forms into a habit that can change your lifestyle.

Changing is hard but it can be done. Hopefully your new goals for the year are meant to change your lifestyle and not just a moment in time. Setting SMART goals gives you the structure to be successful in making lifestyle changes. If you find setting goals and sticking to them to be too difficult, seek out help. Now go make 2020 the year of a New You!