by IcennaEmach | Jan 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
Lifestyle change is about progress not perfection. Today is the 15th day of a 6 -week journey on the path to feeling good, looking good, and performing great at any age. We begin the 3rd week of our trip by exploring today’s mind connection- progress not perfection. But pause for a moment before continuing and ask yourself these 3 questions –
+What cardiovascular exercises have I engaged in this week?
+What muscular strength training exercises have I begun?
+What stretching exercises have I incorporated into my day?
Congratulations to those of you who are actively following
by putting healthy living into action! You are doing well!
Get Focused Review your commitment to the following powerful instigators of lifestyle change. Use a 1 to 5 rating with 1 being a low level of commitment and 5 a high level.
Tally each category.
Use the following to assess your commitment to changing your lifestyle behaviors –
n
Total of 20 – 25 Signifies a high level of commitment to lifestyle change. I am confident you will improve nicely on your own. If you feel the need for technical training, have fitness questions that need addressed, or if you believe you are ready for huge gains in physical fitness and energy levels, then seek out a health coach/trainer. Motivation can wane so seeking a trainer/coach is always an option if needed.
Total of 15 – 19 Indicates you have potential for making some improvements on your own, but should consider a health professional if a minimum score of 20 is not obtained within 3 weeks.
You are motivated but too little for big changes to occur. Often people whose motivation is at this level tend to vacillate between seeking the help of a professional and not seeking help. When opting for the latter, discouragement abounds and feelings of a failure often cause further inaction. Hiring a professional is an option to be considered sooner rather than later.
Total of 14 or Under Signifies a lack of motivation. Do not despair. Often an experienced coach will help you work through finding motivation. While it is true that only you can do the work, similar to many important tasks in life, the support of a trained professional can make the difference between success and failure. So if you lack commitment, if you lack motivation, consider continuing along the road to lifestyle changes by enlisting the aid of a trusted coach/trainer
Rate Yourself In Each Area Use movement as inspiration – Rating 1 – 5
Think progress not perfection – Rating 1 – 5
Focus on what really matters in weight loss Rating 1- 5
Weigh Yourself Daily Rating 1 – 5
Live Joyfully While Getting Fit 1 – 5
Total _______________
Be reflective. Be frank with yourself. Rate yourself now before focusing on this week’s mind connection number two.
Progress not Perfection Too often we expect perfection when seeking to lose weight.
“I’m going to lose weight. It’s going to be all or nothing. I do nothing halfway and this includes weight loss!”
These people typically fail. Complicating matters, this approach is often used as an excuse to stop trying to lose weight and get healthy.
“I’m a capable person. If I’m going to do this, it will be with gusto – exercising 2 hours a day and eating nothing but clean food. That’s just the way I am!”
Heroic? Questionable.
Perfectionism need not be used as an excuse for not persevering through lifestyle changes. We all fail in fully living up to our own ideal expectations. Those that assess and adapt their behaviors without judging too harshly will do well. Weight loss is not about being perfect. A persevering mindset is what matters.
This Week’s Plan/Review Assess your commitment, and act on plan by using the rating chart above. Continue designing a plan implementing the three types of activity; cardiovascular, muscular strength/endurance, and stretching. Remember, this is simply a beginning. There’s no hurry to figure things perfectly. You will figure it out as you go along. Most importantly, assess and revise -have fun-and eat less. I’ll see you back here soon.
by IcennaEmach | Sep 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
The NYC metropolitan museum of art has an exhibit on how movies affect our reality. I have not seen it yet, but can only imagine that it has to do with how our realities are shaped by what we see, and in turn how we interpret these realities into our own lives.
Recently it seems, within the past couple of years, many people have chosen to read or watch the news in small doses. For many of them the thinking in favor of limiting news time is based on the idea that too much negativity inhibits positive emotions. Similarly, many people believe positive awareness creates positive emotions. I am embarrassed to admit that in the past, I have disregarded this type of thinking and instead opted for a more unyielding stance that no one can alter my emotions except myself. I think some people today have a similar stance. Unfortunately for us, such a rigid state of mind puts one at a severe disadvantage in our social everyday lives of work and play.
Emotions Are Affected by Environment
I’m glad to say, I’ve since softened my position on this “positive psychology stuff.” And, I might add, it comes at a good time because even though scientists have known for many decades that emotions are affected by our environments, it is now common place thinking to pay attention to how we can alter a healthier state of mind through positive thinking, and brain rewiring. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not referring to the Pollyanna personality where one may get run over by a truck and instantly see the positive points of being flattened by tons of metal. I’m referring mainly to what the scientists are now saying about how we can rewire our brain circuits to alter a multitude of habits that we would like to change. As of lately with books like The BrainThat Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D. and Perception, Memory and Emotion:Frontiers in Neuroscience edited by T. Ono, health professionals, including myself, are taking the brain circuit behavior change theory much more seriously.
In my case, I’ve used it not only on myself successfully, and continue to use it to replace non beneficial behaviors with added new healthful behaviors, but on people that I coach in creating more healthful meaningful lives. In fact, I feel so strongly about the use of it that it has formed the basis of my coaching. I no longer shun the idea of positive psychology as a gimmicky self help approach, but instead believe that the strength of positive thinking, because of it’s scientific proven credibility, is an approach that is going to gain momentum in the world of healthy living and healthy aging for many years to come.
Positive Psychology is Not Just Positive Thinking
Many people think that users of positive psychology simply add positive words to their vocabulary, and eliminate negativity in their environments to invoke behavior change. Perhaps this is why positive psychology advocates have often gotten a bad rap. Positive psychology like many concepts is part of a much broader manner of being. It may start out as simply changing thoughts from the negative to the positive, such as replacing the words,” I cannot pass up a donut at the office because everyone is eating them” to, ” I can pass up this donut at the office because I have the capacity to say no.” In actuality, the use of positive psychology is constantly evolving as the person is able to handle more difficult challenges. Such is the case with one of my clients who has made huge strides in weight loss. He is at a standstill. He is intuitive enough to know what is getting in his way of continuing to lose weight, but isn’t taking the leap to the next level. A positive approach to this as a health coach is to be patient and stay with him as he figures it out. Everyone learns differently and at different paces. The best approach is not to offer advice such as what a spouse or family member might try to offer, but to offer an ear and inspiration. Too often we may think we are helping by offering advice, but positive psychology is not about telling the person what to do. He knows what to do. In situations, such as with my current client who is at a weight loss stand still, letting him figure it out in a positive approach environment is central to continued progress. Positive approaches might include filling the gaps of information that he may not be aware of, but more often include approaches that get his brain thinking on another level that includes more right brained creative thinking and less analytical left brain thinking. For example, as will be the case with my current client, helping him connect with people that are similar in age and whom have succeeded in similar circumstances may be all he needs to move on to the next weight loss level. Inspiration within a positive and non judgemental context is often all that is necessary to help people continue to thrive with their healthy lifestyle efforts!
One Additional Note
The very nature of rewiring our brain circuits is not a quick fix plan. I like that it is a more sophisticated, long lasting, and intelligent way of changing ourselves, our habits, and our brain structures. I believe, that in the next five years, the idea of rewiring our neuropathways through progressive behavior changes to better our lives, is going to stand apart from all of the quick fix diet, lifestyle, and exercise gurus that we’ve been inundated with in the last twenty five years. The editors of USA Today wrote that 2008, is the “Year of Living Smart.” Can we envision that living smart in 2010 will include this more savvy positive approach to healthy living and healthy aging.
by IcennaEmach | Jan 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
”The main reason diets fail, and health, fitness, and wellness goals are not achieved, is that our mental discipline weakens in an attempt to lose weight and become fit in a small span of time. Ironically, we consider ourselves weak willed and undisciplined when our dieting and exercise goals fail.” K. Miller
As a Health/Fitness coach and trainer in the St. Augustine, Florida area for over 10 years, I’ve seen many health trends come and go. Until a year or two ago, I received many exercise and health related questions from people seeking to obtain the “single” best approach to health. For example, “What is the best exercise?” “What is the best food?” “What is the best abdominal exercise?” And Etc. To most of us today, even novice exercisers, these questions appear narrow in scope and too basic for real health change to occur.
With the New Year here, this is a good time to summarize health observations. Specifically, I’ve noticed an ever increasing number of people gaining a better sense of what it means to be healthy and fit. They, it appears, are taking a broader and less superficial view than in previous years of what it means to be healthy and well.
There are many health observations that I could write about, but the three featured below were chosen because they represent an awareness that transcends superficial fitness practices and provide a hopefulness that I believe is necessary for real health change to occur.
Observations
1. We Use a Multi Tiered Approach to Health. People are savvy in what they require from a competent trainer. Years ago, a trainer needed only to be competent in putting a client through a vigorous routine without getting him or her injured. Today, this approach is fast disappearing. Trainers today must have an awareness and appreciation for engaging their clients in a more holistic approach to health, wellness, and fitness in order to keep up with the increased needs of their client base.
2. We Understand Exercise Cannot be Used to Mitigate Poor Eating Habits. The new attitude today is, ” I worked out hard today, let’s not mess things up by eating poorly.” People have adapted this new attitude because they are looking at food not merely as calories to be burned through exercise, but nutrition to be gained through proper eating habits.
3. We Realize The Best Exercises Are The Ones We Actually Do. There are certainly best approaches to take as it relates to a well balanced fitness program. It should include various aspects of fitness from cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, to flexibility, balance, and body composition. And, they should include the more wellness oriented aspects of health, such as stress reduction, nutritional needs, and relationships with friends and family. However, if we are not ready to tackle the full demands of what it means to be healthy and well, then pick one exercise and do it well.
It’s amazing how focusing on one activity can change the heart and mind of an individual. In my earlier days of training clients, I used this singular approach successfully by putting one through an intense, but manageable workout with the hope that their minds would become open to engaging in other aspects of health and wellness. It’s still a great approach, and can be used as the basis of jump starting any lifestyle change! Try it yourself and drop me an e-mail at [email protected] letting me know how you are doing.
by IcennaEmach | Sep 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
“We are not only what we read, we are how we read,” says Maryanne Wolf, a developmental Psychologists at Tufts University and the author of Proust and the Squid: The story and Science of the Reading Brain. Wolf contends that the style of reading promoted by the Internet puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else and that we may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged shortly after the printing press came into play. When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction remains largely disengaged.”
Google, and other search engines thrive on loads of information. Of course it has its pros and cons. As a writer, it is a godsend. I can get research, get quotes and not have to sift through any books or go to the library. The downside is that I have slithered down that superficial road of just finding information, but not really interpreting it or making the mental connections that are necessary for thoughtful reading to occur.
The point is that we may be heading down that same superficial road with diet and exercise. We are, I believe, heading deeper and deeper down that road of trying to be healthy by educating ourselves incessantly with internet health information. Something is missing. It seems to me that we may be confusing the very act of reading health information with actually implementing the health information. Writing in the July issue of Atlantic, Nicholas Carr relates how the London Scholar Group from the University College in London has been studying the behaviors of internet users and that what they found was that people using the sites exhibited a “form of skimming activity,” hopping from one source to another and rarely returning to one source they’ve already visited.
Are we receiving a lot of information, but processing it the same way we are reading it – by skimming? Ironically diet and exercise for good health and wellness calls for just the opposite. We need to design a plan and stick with it. We tweak it only after we have sustained an effort for a considerable amount of time, and additionally have assessed it for it’s worthiness in helping us to achieve our health goals.
It’s ironic, as we get increased information on diet and exercise, we get more of the health problems associated with obesity. The state in which I live, Florida, one news station reports, is the most obese state in the nation. Do we need to consider that there may be a direct correlation between our style of reading health information and the future of our wellness?
Our Wealth is in Our Health
Kim Miller
by IcennaEmach | Jul 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
It seems savvy consumers of health products are refusing to buy into plans and products that “easily and quickly” produce results. The use of short lived exercise plans, questionable exercise gadgets, over the counter remedies, and “super-powered” diet foods are becoming outdated thinking methods for health and wellness aficionados.
Wellness Coaches For Better Health
Within the past 3 years, savvy consumers have engaged the help of wellness coaches to attain not only better health, but a better sense of what it means to be healthy.
I am encouraged daily as I see people gain a new found perspective of what it means to be well. In my own work with training and coaching clients, many gain an understanding and appreciation for the needed sensibility that comes from progressing one’s lifestyle in a slow, deliberate, and focused manner.
Wellness Coaching For Long Lasting Behavior Changes
Wellness coaching is a newly emerging profession that focuses on developing a partnership with individuals who are interested in improving their health status in order to enjoy a more vital and vigorous lifestyle. It has its roots in the findings of behavior scientists who have shown that one-to-one coaching is among the most effective approaches to helping people make and sustain improvements in their lives. A coach enables change by focusing on the client’s stated needs, values, vision, and personal goals in order to bring about his or her physical and mental best
Certified Wellness coaches must have a background of expertise in one of the health fields and as a result often are quite diverse within their field of wellness. Some of these fields are: Registered nurses, health educators, personal trainers, nutritionist, lifestyle coaches, physical therapists and most recently medical doctors.
A coach is dedicated to their client’s success and implements various collaborative strategies to enable the client to achieve more than what he could on his own. Sometimes a coach is a sounding board, often times a mentor, and at other times a challenger holding one accountable to the goals they are looking to achieve.
Rooted in Positive Psychology
An important benefit coaches offer is helping the client envision what is doable. They are solidly rooted in the practice of positive psychology to facilitate the best possible outcome for their client’s total health and well being.
Coaches For a Variety of Lifestyle Benefits
Clients hire wellness coaches to help them obtain a variety of lifestyle benefits such as lowering blood pressure, monitoring weight loss, lowering blood sugar and cholesterol, improving bone density, training for a long distance run, or simply balancing ones lifestyle more efficiently. With Internet and cellular phone technology coaching can be done from anywhere on the globe.
Our Wealth is in Our Health,
Kim Miller
