Challenge - 3 Liters a Day! It works.

I've heard my often mom say, "drink before you are thirsty."
She’s right-- this is true!

Last fall, I was looking for a way to drink more water and snack less when I stumbled upon the following article about drinking three liters of water a day. To give you an idea, a liter is the size of one of those Poland Spring sparkling bottles or large Perrier bottles. Most water bottles are either .5 or .75 liters.

At first, I thought this technique was a gimmick, but as I read further, I figured I should try and experience it for myself. Water is an essential nutrient for our bodies and we are technically made up of 75% water so how could it hurt to try it? So, how did I accomplish this feat?

- I bought a glass liter bottle from Whole Foods and after finishing the contents, I kept refilling at work throughout the day.
- Every time I felt like snacking, I took a sip of water.
- Every time I got up from my desk, I took a sip of water.
- I took a few gulps before lunch and had a sip between every few bites of lunch.
- I set a goal of drinking one liter by 11:00, then another by 3pm, and the last liter within the last couple hours of work.

If I didn't finish, it wasn't terrible since I knew I had at least a glass before work and would have another when I arrived home. However, I didn't bank on this pre and post work water routine just in case I ended up drinking less away from work. So I always tried to drink three full liters of water while at work.

Results? Other than going to the bathroom more (which actually was great for mini stretches throughout the day), I felt more hydrated and never thirsty. I didn't snack as much as I usually did and I ate slower at lunch. I also noticed that my skin appeared clearer and I found my overall ability to think was better. I also realized there were times I was snacking that in actuality were cravings due to dehydration (any degree of thirst).

If drinking water is an "effort" for you or you don't like the "taste" (or lack thereof), then I suggest the following:
 - Slowly incorporate water into your day. Have the refillable bottle by your desk. Set yourself up for success with the appropriate tools; as you would with any project at work.
- Order water in addition to your usual restaurant drink or in lieu of it. Try doing this at one meal per day for two weeks. Increase to two meals once you notice it’s a habit or after a month.
- For those who need more oomph in their water, try sparkling either flavored, plain or with lime, lemon, or cucumber. If flavored water is the only way you’ll down a glass, then your taste buds are too accustomed to sweet, salty drinks and you may need to train your body to enjoy the replenishment satisfaction vs the taste.
- DO NOT: use those chemical taste enhancers – drops, packet additives, etc. Try natural additives as much as possible or sparkling water. 

Also, set a finite duration to the challenge. That way, you won’t feel stuck by it if the notion of a permanent change is interfering with the implementation of the challenge. During the process, you may find the benefits outweigh the previous aversions to drinking water and the habit will become natural.


Try it! What have you got to loose?

Choose a Challenge Over a Resolution!

As I write this while eating my veggie, quinoa and tofu salad (in lieu of a stuffed bread with savory chicken) and a raisin pecan roll (vs. a sweet roll dessert), I realize that in essence, I have embarked on the "New Year's Resolutions" slowly but without much thought. Why? Because I didn't set any resolutions. Instead I set a challenge. The word “challenge” versus the word “resolution” triggers different mindsets, which in turn, triggers different behaviors.

1) A “resolution” can have a negative impact on your psyche. It implies that for the last year, you have been doing something "bad" that needs to be changed. It falls along the lines of resolving to be better. A a result, you deny yourself of a food, an activity, or a behavior. For me denial means wanting the denied thing more. This immediately sets you up for failure if you don't meet your “resolution”.
2) A “challenge” implies that you are strong, determined, and wanting to positively make a change that will improve your skills, your health and your mental well-being or whatever you want to "improve". A challenge invokes a sense of competition (achieving), and it also restores trust in oneself.

Which sounds more positive and encouraging?
"Resolve to eat less sweets." "Resolve to not sit so much."  -- or --
"Challenge yourself to eat less sweets." "Challenge yourself to take a 20 minute walk every day."

When achieved, challenges feel more rewarding. This mindset is used a lot in physical goal making to motivate and persevere. Challenge yourself to workout outside of your comfort zone. Push yourself through the pain. Don't you feel more empowered when you achieve your challenge?

I consciously wasn't thinking about reducing sugar and eating a salad. I simply thought that I needed this for my body. I challenged myself to feed myself more nutritious, re-energizing food. I also chose to do it slowly with substitutions. Not cold turkey.

My next challenge is the Three Liter a Day Challenge. - the next challenge I will designate to meet my sustainable health goals.

Set Your Day up for Success; Not a Crash

During our flights returning from Thanksgiving Holiday, I learned why I focus so much on eating a nutrient dense breakfast. It's true. Breakfast sets your mood, mindset and physical capabilities for the rest of the day and it can also affect your cravings and nutritional needs for the day.

In-flight scenario:

My husband and I were upgraded to first class on the first of our morning flights, so we had expected breakfast. Our choices that morning were omelet or raisin bran. I found those to be an interesting juxtaposition of options that I would equate to a California Pinot Noir and box wine. Of course everyone before us chose the omelet and they ran out by the time they served us, so we were left with raisin bran. Since I’m pregnant, protein is even more of a concern, but it was especially important after eating only raisin bran for breakfast. Calorie wise, it was dense, but nutrient-wise, it was lacking since it was primarily simple carbs and sugars. As you can see in the picture below, we were also served yogurt that was fruit-filled and syrupy. In fact, the only thing served to us that morning that didn’t spike our sugar levels extraordinarily was the lactose free milk. After landing and during our layover, we went to have "lunch" of a split salad with some chicken However, since I overate bread, I wasn't that hungry so I didn’t eat much despite it being a source of protein. I just figured I’d eat later. We ended up at the Skyclub and the temptation to “snack” heightened. I munched on some hummus, veggies, crackers, some tasteless barley mix, but I continued to pick. We ended up not getting dinner thinking that we'll eat some KIND bars on the plane followed by something light at home. As a result, I was moody, indecisive, and couldn't focus on the work I had intended to during our three-hour layover. 

On our second flight that day, my husband was upgraded to first class and at that point, the sugar and simple carb spikes hit me. I actually got upset that he got to sit in first class because he would get a "meal" while I would have peanuts thrown at me. At that point, I knew we wouldn’t really eat at home. I was irrational and if I can recall in my sugar high, gluten high haze, at home I think I had some peanut butter as a form of protein on sprouted bread and a glass of milk and then I went to bed. I was exhausted because deficient in nutrients and quality food.malnourished.

Results of not setting yourself up for the day:
Irrational thinking.
Lack of energy.
Inability to focus.
Desire to munch on non-nutrient rich items to satisfy a craving you can't place.
Putting off a "real" meal because you don't let yourself get hungry

How to offset? 

Simple = EAT some form of a breakfast in the morning AND make sure that breakfast has a mixture of protein, carbs, and fat. Fat is especially important in protein sources that are not animal based (e.g. when eating yogurt, choose a plain variety with fat in it). Eggs are wonderful protein rich sources that are easy to make in the morning and good for those who want a lighter breakfast. They are versatile and typically inexpensive. Although I harp on quality, if in a pinch, eggs are the safer of the animal based proteins to eat.

So just as they used to say eat your "Wheaties"...I say eat your protein (e.g., beans, eggs, tofu, ...whatever gives you the energy)!

Conquer the Holiday Work Party, Snacks & Lunches

I recently asked a group of girlfriends what their biggest holiday stressor was. Other than the usual weight gain and rush, several said feeling guilty that they couldn't get it all done weighed most heavily on their minds. From eating properly, to gift giving, to decorating and even family time, why do we feel this need to overachieve during the holidays?

How can we regain the control we feel we have lost over the holiday parties and break room snack deluge? I secretly do love the fact that the holiday season brings more occasions to indulge in, but I always regret it later. How do I avoid all the break-room goodies from leftover lunches, to cookie swaps and extra gift basket packages? How can I overcome the battle of will power?  

Is this your typical work day during the holidays?

You wake up groggy from the impromptu happy hour in which you consumed 3 glasses of wine and too much chocolate peppermint bark to then inhale some hummus and crackers for dinner once you got home because it was too late to “cook”. You drink 2 cups of coffee and eat fruit for breakfast since you want to eat “light” to save room for the upcoming holiday party in the afternoon. You end up around 11:00am especially since you only had fruit (sugar) for breakfast. To stave off the crash, head to the break room to see if there are some leftover goodies. To your delight, there are some shortbread cookies (a gift from a vendor) strategically placed by the coffee dispenser. You nibble. Then you say to yourself “that was it, I won’t do that again”. You return to work and decide to eat a lighter lunch since the office holiday party is at 3pm. Since you didn’t pack a lunch, you have to buy this “lighter” meal and you make three more passes by the break room even though you usually don't visit it that much. At 2:00, you drink one more cup of coffee to curb the blood sugar drop and to get through the final hour of work before the party. You show up at the holiday party hungrier than expected and eat more than your of share of cheese, nuts, crackers, bacon wrapped shrimp, meatballs, tea sandwiches and pretty much anything that passes , all the while consuming a couple of glasses of wine...cause "It’s the Holidays!!". 

Why did this happen? Here are several reasons why and ways to counteract, thus conquering the work holiday party, lunch and break-room deluge. 

• Not prepared - have healthy food alternatives available so when your blood sugar drops, you don't succumb to the dessert. Pack high fiber fruit (apples & pears), protein based, low sugar bars such as Kind, Mojo or other nut based bars. Nuts are always a great desk staple. Rice cakes or baby carrots if the urge for a sweet, with peanut butter or hummus.
• Tired and cravings - Sleep is essential. See the recent article on how lack of sleep leads to the inability to feel full and thus causes weight gain. Sleep helps you stay focused and even want to be healthy.
• Choice - Choose when and where you want to indulge. Choose between the break room snack and the cookie at lunch. Choose to have that one cup of coffee in the morning and an herbal tea in the afternoon. Relying on your ability to stay true to your choices will increase your confidence in yourself.
• Lack of holiday red and green - my mom always said, "If nothing else eat your salad.” Regardless of how you eat the rest of the day, make sure you eat that green, rainbow salad. Green salads are filled with vitamins and nutrients and they will satiate cravings more than you realize.
• Deciding – Keep the 5 D’s in mind for giving into those cravings: distract, delay, distance, determine and decide. 
• Hunger - Don't save all of your caloric consumption for that one-time event since you will likely indulge more than you normally would. Denying your body the calories earlier in the day only to offset in the evening may not be such a “strategic” move after all.  It could lead to even more calories consumed-- ones that are emptier with high sugar, deficient nutrients, refined carbs, and high fructose corn syrup. 
• Water - drink A LOT. More than you realize. Water satiates, staves off hunger and replenishes the body.... You need it. Don't deny your body water.
• Lack of natural energy vs. caffeinated energy. Caffeine increases the ups and downs of your mood and energy. These spikes tire your hormones and make you feel tired! Try decreasing the reliance on caffeine since those crashes often lead to sugar cravings.

Conquering work holiday parties lies in understanding why we are making the choices we are and trying to satisfy ourselves in other ways. Take the time to look deeper into your indulgences and see if they aren’t food motivated. Do they stem from a deficiency in other areas (i.e., career, emotional contentment, love and even boredom)?

More on that later...it’s time to enjoy the holidays!

Maintaining Wellness During the Holidays Step #4: Sleep & Self-Care. No One Can Do It ALL, So Why Should You?

"I'll sleep when I'm dead" is a common phrase that many use to justify moving at 110 mph. Many people wear lack of sleep like a badge or use it as an acceptable excuse for their mistakes. It often justifies that extra cup of coffee or that afternoon cookie, which leads to the cycle of spiking and plummeting energy. Do some people enjoy the high and adrenaline rush of no sleep? Sure. In my twenties I found that I enjoyed the thrill of going out late, getting up after only six hours of sleep, having that jolt of caffeine and a sugary breakfast to propel myself through the day, crash in mid-afternoon, to then wake myself back up with alcohol or more caffeine, rinse and repeat. However, that takes a toll on the body and especially the adrenals (insert article). As we age, we may not continue this exact ritual, but we continue the pendulum swings of energy that's similar to those younger years. Staying up late shopping online, socializing at a holiday party and finishing work are all "adult" excuses for staying up late. After just five hours of sleep, we rise early to either hit the gym or race to work. We have that jolt of caffeine to propel ourselves through the work day (one that often includes spikes of tempting break room treats). That leads us to then crave that 3pm caffeine or sugar fix, followed by working late or post-work drinks and/or shopping. We then race home with no time for dinner to slug down whatever is available or we stay up late trying to be healthy by preparing homemade food. What is sacrificed? Sleep.

After a good night's sleep how do you feel? I usually feel refreshed, alert, focused, able to remember what I thought about the last five minutes and energized throughout the day without crashes.  Quality sleep is essential for optimal health. The effects of insufficient sleep on your health range from damage to restorative bodily activities (e.g., tissue repair, muscle development), decreasing memory capabilities and cognitive function and a weakened immune system. Lack of sleep damages hormone regulation such as appetite control, which ultimately can lead to weight gain. Isn’t that what we are most adamantly fighting against during the holidays anyway? Check out Mind Body Green’s article on how lack of sleep can be connected to weight gain. 

The combination of shortened days and the need to squeeze more hours into the day often force us to sacrifice sleep despite the biological urge to hibernate in the winter months. If you make the alternative choice to sleep regularly or more than you normally would during the holidays, you've accepted to prioritize your body. How do you get more sleep? Here are some quick tips:

• Go to bed at same time every night 90% of the time. I like to attempt a regular bedtime Sunday - Thursday give or take 15-20 minutes. Friday and Saturday, I try to go to bed within an hour of my weekday schedule. I know from experience that this is difficult. So try it for one week and see how it makes you feel. Maybe that 6am alarm won't seem so jarring on Monday morning if you had kept a more regular sleeping schedule over the weekend. 

• Don't eat at least an hour before bed and if you’ve had a larger dinner, make sure it's 2-3 hours. Eating before bed disrupts your sleep cycle especially if you don't have a well-oiled digestive system to digest food quickly and absorb the nutrients. 

• Reduce sugar and alcohol from snacks and drinks in the evening. Sugar raises your blood insulin levels and from experience, I have found it adds to morning grogginess.

•  Don't focus on electrical devices before bed. This means no email checking, phone looking, texting or online article reading. Try talking with a friend, meditating, or reading an actual book. All of these will reduce the high speed pace in the mind that often keeps racing despite lights off.

• Try going to bed earlier in the winter & getting up with the sun. Again, we are still mammals at the end of the day and often the daylight is when we naturally wake.

• Reduce caffeine - we drink it to increase our ability to speed through the day. Caffeine increases adrenaline and depending on the individual can take anywhere from an hour to a few hours to completely leave your system. Avoid caffeine after lunchtime and try to reduce the amount to decrease your overall anxiety level. This will help your body wind down faster.

•  Exercise- exercise increases homeostasis and the body's ability to regulate all functions. This includes sleep. Try a light meditative, yoga practice in the evening or wear yourself out at an afternoon class so that by the time the evening rolls around, your body is ready and desiring restorative sleep.

The combination of shortened days and the need to squeeze more hours into the day often force us to sacrifice sleep despite the biological urge to hibernate in the winter months. If you make the alternative choice to sleep regularly or more than you normally would during the holidays, you've accepted to prioritize your body. How do you get more sleep? Here are some quick tips. 

In closing, I’d like to mention self-care and taking time for you. Return to those choices to ensure you are working at your optimal level to provide your best self to others. Often we, especially women, put our needs furthest down on the priority list. The effect is often that holiday meltdown of tears, caddy comments, weight gain, and less sleep leading to why we love yet bemoan the holidays. Self-care includes more sleep, not racing around, leaving time to spend on yourself whether it's taking a bath or walk, saying "no" to a party, trying a yoga class vs perfecting that dessert decoration and anything that rejuvenates your body, mind and soul. So I challenge you this holiday season to give the gift of maintaining your wellness by making alternative choices. Although you may not achieve them all, you may find you will enjoy what you choose and those around you will get to enjoy the best version of you.

Maintaining Wellness During the Holidays Step #3: Alternatives to Make Your Wellness Choices Easier

Do you feel you are relegated to the same holiday options for meals, gifts, cards and so on? Every year do you encounter the same issues of weight gain, holiday rush stress, dealing with in-law expectations, and too many social engagements crammed into the week and weekend? Some of us can disconnect and not succumb to the holiday brainwashing, while others bemoan it but love it all the same, and some of us embrace it with enthusiasm; rolling up the sleeves to dive right in the day after Thanksgiving, if not before. For the love and hate group, there are ways to address the holidays by recognizing the alternatives and then embracing them.

Consider this list of alternatives for three areas that effect everyone:

• Encroaching social events: What to make? Will it taste good? How to not go frazzled? If bringing a dish, it’s less stressful to rely on a repertoire of menu items to choose from that includes appetizers, mains and desserts. This relieves the last minute stress of finding the perfect potluck dish to bring or even serve. Remember to have a variety to choose from and pick dishes that fit individuals with different tastes. My husband and I recently moved, which initiated a process of uploading all of my recipes to soft copy form. However, in the midst of this practice, I ended up losing some recipes and when the time came for a pre-Thanksgiving potluck with desserts I was at a loss. This was an unusual situation for me since desserts are my specialty and I am rarely at  a loss. I learned that an easily accessible repertoire of desserts is best for preventing last minute crises, shopping and kitchen snafus. I have a cake, cookie, chocolate, easy, low cost, "wow", & healthy dessert on my list-- all of which I have tried and know will bring a smile to the guests’ faces. Without this alternative, I spend hours picking out the recipe and mulling over which to choose, then I spend the whole day beforehand trying to ensure I get the right ingredients to make it effortlessly and perfectly. Although potluck events culminate in the December time frame, the best way to prepare is to space out your calendar and prioritize. You can't attend them all without sacrificing your sanity.
• Holiday feasts – Want alternatives to those heavy laden holiday items? Want to conquer the holiday feast without damaging your waistline or energy?  Try bringing healthy alternatives such as dips, spelt/corn or even quinoa based chips as a gluten free alternative. Bring marinated veggies, whole grain based sides and lean meat entrees. Check out recipe ideas here - I'll be adding holiday ones shortly. For desserts, focus on quality and not super sugary items. Clean food (whole, unprocessed) is digested more easily and provides more satisfaction. Everyone loves nuts! Bring a roasted, unsalted mix. When attending that big holiday feast or if you have two of them, don't skip your earlier meals, have a salad instead, eat moderately throughout the day and don’t go to the feast ravenous.  Drink water mainly and if drinking alcohol alternate with water for every drink. I find sparkling water or club soda with two limes is quite crisp and helpful in quenching the need for a refreshing alternative beverage. Leave space on your plate between items as this ensures you don't over pile. If you have several options for a food type (e.g., potatoes) try a golf ball size of each dish or choose one and have a larger portion if it’s a favorite. Remember the holidays are about indulging, but as Andrea Beaman puts it.... it's a "day" not a holi-week and an excuse to go hog-wild.
• Dealing with in-laws –Who do I visit? Will I anger anyone? Choose the in-laws you will visit. Have that discussion sooner than later with the appropriate individuals. Increase your energy by prioritizing your time and bandwidth. It's not a personal affront to the family member to not spend time with them if the trade-off is to be less chaotic, more centered and less frazzled. Explain how spreading yourself too thin doesn't benefit anyone and leads to scattered conversations, rushing off to next gathering, resentment and a lack of focus on the individual at the time. Set aside time to spend with this family member on another holiday or day. The Thanksgiving holiday is short enough without having to deal with travel delays and traffic. You will have more energy if you build in the time for rest and repose.
• Chewing - Yes, I said chewing. Chewing has several benefits for digestion, even for regulating your intake of food. Aside from ensuring your food is in smaller pieces for easier digestion, chewing also slows down your eating process. Have you ever tried to chew a piece of food 20 times? Try it especially with meat and see what happens. Check out my guest writer's (DahliMama) realizations after chewing her food several times. For the holidays this is a good practice to slow the ingestion of delightful goodies. Chew slowly making sure you taste every bite. Savor the cookie. Don't chew and talk. Eat as though you will only get one time to try this savory goodie. This tactic also reinforces why I focus on quality food vs fat free, devoid of flavor, artificially enhanced food because the higher quality food creates a greater ability to savor the bites. One alternative to help offset holiday party binging is to chew your food, don't talk while eating (that’s rude) and really enjoy what you are eating. This also stops you from inhaling the inferior quality or items you just don't prefer to chew.

What all of these choices do is provide you the control and power to engage in the holidays at your speed, putting your needs in the driver's seat.  Most importantly, taking control of your choices will provide you with a renewed sense of energy mentally and physically. As we all know, energy is key for the marathon that is the holidays, which leads me to the last step in maintaining wellness during the holidays: sleep and self-care.

Maintaining Wellness During the Holidays Step #2: Choices Are In YOUR Control!

In my last piece, I provided a general overview of maintaining wellness during the holidays and discussed the first step: identifying the impediments to maintaining wellness. Step 2 to maintaining wellness is choices. Why? Because maintenance is within your control and your choices dictate how you encounter, decide, and determine what your next move is. Some people like to say, "this is out of my control" and therefore relinquish themselves from the guilt associated with consciously choosing to ignore or stick to our goals. Saying “it’s out of my control” helps us rationalize the situation and relieve ourselves of fault. So first ask yourself, do you really want to be in this position? If so, enjoy and accept the holidays as a wave rushing over you. But please don’t expect sympathy from others when you say you can't control yourself.

This time of year, we often ask ourselves, “what choices do I have?” So many distractions related to the holiday season feel like obligations. They take form in happy hour invites after a stressful work day, stuck in rush hour racing to finish last minute shopping, debating whether to take that 6pm gym class, trying to appease both sides of the family, obsessing over the "perfect" holiday card, passing by the work break room for the 5^th time “unintentionally”, the list goes on an on. Basically, choices exist whenever you take an action that creates a situation for a decision. Ultimately these are all choices within your control-- no one is forcing you to compete with holiday shoppers, giving you ultimatums about the holiday parties or forcing you to walk by the cookie laden break room.

All of these activities involve a choice on your part. When you find that you are stressed about certain decisions, consider the following:

1. What is the benefit if I say “yes”?
2. What is the con if I say “no”?
3. Are the results/repercussions worth the enjoyment/immediate gratification that I will gain now
4. What’s the worst that could happen if I chose to say yes (this relates especially to the family holiday conflict)?

Referring to the impediments mentioned in my last blog – let’s address quickly the choice in each of the examples below.

• Winter weather deters the motivation to exercise. – Choose to do it less to reduce the pressure. Work out with a buddy or sign up for a paid class to increase accountability. Find an alternate exercise that you will enjoy. After all, working out is supposed to be fun.
• Daylight savings – Shift your productive hours to daylight hours. Allocate two nights per week to going out in the evening (or whatever time frame that will fit your schedule).
• More sleep. We need it. It’s winter.  Choose to sleep more or not. If choosing less sleep, realize the repercussions. Check out this recent article from MindBodyGreen on impediments to weight loss with reduced sleep.
• Encroaching social events – choose those that fit within your schedule to allow you to reach your goals. Weigh the effects if you do or don’t go. Put yourself first. Make a rule – one party during the week and one on the weekend. Leave time to restore.
• Competition to be the “hostess with the mostess” for holiday get-togethers. The choice here is to be true to yourself and not be defined by others’ perceptions. Choose what is within your means & focus on it. Perfect it. Figure out what you will do the best and make it work for you. You will be surprised at how the authenticity will lead to an even better than expected result.
• Competition between families – If the dual family holiday takes it toll on you, then communicate that to your family. Holidays are supposed to be about giving, understanding and loving; not guilt tripping when one doesn’t attend an event or family gathering. Your rested self is a lot more attentive, focused and enjoyable when not pulled in several directions. Choose the number of family gatherings you can accomplish without overwhelming yourself.  Your family will appreciate the un-devoted attention you provide. Then next year, choose the other family.
•  Drink, eat, be merry – understand when you make a choice to have not, you will have another time. Choose that glass of wine here & not there. Choose to have one dessert as there will be plenty more another time. Choose to pig out because at another party you won’t. It’s within your control.
• Coworkers & vacation times –Choice at work is difficult since that is one area outside of your immediate and sole control. However, choose to not to be like others and cram too much in. Communicate farther in advance. Preface emails and requests with reminders of the impending holidays. Manage the expectations. Then accept that it will get more hectic as we get closer to Christmas.
• Traffic –choose a different route, a different time. Maybe early morning, lunchtime or first thing Saturday morning. Shop online. Or make DIY gifts. Put a reminder in your calendar during the summer to scope out gifts. Or try another alternative to gifts, which leads me to Stage 3: alternatives-- understanding alternatives can assist with accomplishing and having choices.