Dieting: Five Steps to Success aka There's No Easy Way Out

We’re two months into 2011 and I’m having the toughest time with my primary New Year’s resolution—the dreaded new year, new diet. About 38% of people set weight goals each year. Only 8% actually achieve their resolutions, weight related or otherwise.* Scary, but true.

Over the past couple of months several people have asked me how I shed my extra pounds. At my highest, I tipped the scale around 185; I stopped tracking my weight at that point. It took roughly a year and a half to shed around 50 pounds, but I did it and kept it off—for the most part—until now. Carrying the extra five to ten pounds of Thanksgiving-to-New Years’ weight is enough to make my clothes fit tight and make it hard to breathe again, which is my main motivation for losing weight and keeping it off. Then again, I have to admit that my five-year-old calling me “jelly belly” had a great deal to do with pushing me to get back into shape again.

Why beat around the bush? There’s no secret, super-fast short cut to losing weight. It takes hard work, exercise, and eating right. Exercise, I can do. Eating right, well, that’s another story.

What makes me qualified to talk about dieting? After all I’m not a fitness trainer, a celebrity, or getting paid to promote the latest fad. I’m a real person with real diet challenges just like most American moms out there. I don’t believe in fad diets or taking pills to shed weight. For me, dieting has to be a long term solution and one that I can maintain as part of my lifestyle as a working mom. A diet has to be realistic. If it promises that I’ll lose ten pounds in two weeks, I know that within four weeks I will have gained back the ten pounds and then some.

Everyone’s body is different. We need to find a solution that fits our individual needs. Start by consulting your doctor. Never EVER embark on a diet or exercise strategy without consulting a doctor or nutritionist first, unless you know without a doubt that you are already in optimum health. Our goal should be to get healthy, not kill ourselves in the process.

Thanks to two pregnancies and my annual hibernation / holiday binge, I’ve gained and lost a lot of weight through the years. My weight still fluctuates based on the time of year (e.g. more physical activity in summer versus winter). And I’m ok with that. It’s been a difficult notion to accept, but one that was essential for me to understand who I am and how my body works.

That said, I have five basic steps for dieting success.
1) Get Real: Set realistic goals i.e. “I want to lose 15 pounds in six months” not “I need to lose 15 pounds by next Friday.”
2) The Scale of Judgment: Don’t weigh yourself every day. Find out the best time of day to weigh yourself and do it once or twice a week. Watching your weight fluctuate day-to-day is a self-sabotaging diet killer.
3) Patience is a Virtue (& a Dieting Necessity): Be patient. Long-term diet success takes months and years. Don’t expect overnight results.
4) One Size Doesn’t Fit All: We are each unique, so don’t compare your diet success to your friends or celebrities.
5) Forgiveness: Every day is a new day and new opportunity to get back on track if you fall off of the diet caravan.

Like everything in life, it’s always easier said than done, but I’m hopefully determined. And that’s half the battle.

Stay tuned.

Resources:
* New Year’s Resolution Statistics: http://www.steveshapiro.com/2008/12/11/interesting-new-years-resolution-statistics/

Cancer

Less than 24 hours apart, two of my friends lost their mothers to cancer this week.

Over the years five of my family and friends died from cancer. Like many of you, I know countless others who have been touched by this horrible disease and have lost loved ones to it.

The statistics* are scary:
• In 2010, 1,529,560 Americans died from cancer.
• Nearly one of every four deaths is because of cancer.
• More than 1,500 people in the U.S. die from cancer every day.
• 28% of all new cases are attributed to prostate and breast cancers.
• 29% male / 26% female deaths in 2010 were due to lung and bronchus cancer.
• 10,700 new cases of childhood cancer were estimated in 2010. About 1,340 children aged 0 – 14 were expected to die from cancer last year.
• The probability that we will develop an invasive cancer in our lifetimes is estimated at 44% in men, 38% in women.
• A little good news: The survival rate is 68%, up from 50% 35 years ago.

Early diagnosis and treatment is best, but prevention helps too. The American Cancer Society recommends we maintain a healthy weight, have an active lifestyle, eat healthy (lots of fruits and veggies), and limit alcohol intake.

Let’s honor those who’ve lost their valiant battles to this deadly disease by making a commitment to take care of ourselves (i.e. stop smoking, eat right, wear sunscreen, go to the doctor [this is always the hardest], etc.). No more procrastination, the time for change is now. Cancer doesn’t wait. Why should we?

To K & J: May you find comfort in your family and friends and may happier memories carry you through this difficult time.

* Resources:
American Cancer Society
Cancer Facts & Figures 2010
Treatment & Support
Staying Healthy

The Problem with Healthcare

Who am I kidding? Healthcare is completely broken. Without a major overhaul, the fixes that the president presents and congress negotiates are merely band-aids on a fatally hemorrhaging wound. However, there is one healthcare problem which wouldn’t take an act of God to fix. It’s actually a rather simple issue to handle if anyone cared enough to do so.

What’s broken? Customer service.

Somewhere between seeing countless patients, running around a hospital, and haggling with insurance companies, medical office personnel have forgotten that every patient is also a customer.

We no longer have to fear being black listed in the medical community for stating our opinions a la Elaine from Seinfeld. Thanks to the internet and sites like Angie’s list, we can share our experiences anonymously and hopefully save other people from horrible encounters with difficult doctors and staff.

Due to a virus that circulated through my family this summer, I spent more time in doctors’ offices in the past two months for sick visits than I have over the past two decades. What we saw and experienced:

• Staff shopping on the internet
• Staff naming and discussing patient health issues in the patient’s absence
• Staff eating while speaking to patients over the phone and getting upset when they had to repeat themselves
• Staff speaking disrespectfully and rudely to patients
• Describing severe symptoms and being told the doctor’s earliest appointment is two days later
• Staff’s tone and choice of words were belittling.
• Doctors telling us what we’re feeling and not hearing what we’re saying
• Doctors not telling us our diagnosis, just prescribing medication without offering alternative options or discussing what we can do to ease our symptoms
• Being misdiagnosed
• Practices not having contingency plans to see sick patients when primary doctors are on vacation

I don’t care if the office staff is having a bad day or if the doctor is overbooked. Yes, they are real considerations, but when patients are seriously ill, they need attention. This is why we have doctors. It’s not like we’re at the doctor’s office every week. Most of us avoid the place like the plague. And, since our visits are so infrequent, if we happen to catch the medical staff on a bad day, chances are that impression will taint our overall opinion of the entire medical practice.

The repercussions? Word of mouth marketing spreads like wildfire. Most of us will likely vent about our bad experiences to our closest friends who will remember our stories. And, when they’re looking for new doctors, they’ll ask us about our “bad” doctors to make sure they don’t sign up with them. They in turn tell others. Based on personal experience, this is especially true when it comes to pediatrics.

I’m sure dealing with cranky people who are sick all day can wear on even the toughest employees in the medical field. However, showing an ounce of care and concern can go a long way and dial back the cranky scale on anyone. The fact is that medical practices are businesses. They provide services and care to their customers. The thing they often forget is the choice they make to be a Wal-Mart or Saks 5th Avenue in the medical field. What kind of quality healthcare do you want?

It’s important to note that not everyone we encountered was mean or inconsiderate. In fact, two bright spots were a nurse and lab technician whose bedside manners were thoughtful and kind despite the revolving door of patients circling around them.

A little professionalism and kindness can go a long way. Perhaps it’s something we should all keep in mind no matter where we work or what we do.

Check out what others are saying about your doctors:
http://www.doctor-report.net/
http://www.physicianreports.com/?yaid=pr
http://www.angieslist.com/angieslist/

Image: Stethoscope

The Sunny Side of Marketing

Honey Sunshine.

‘Happiness,’ ‘nature,’ ‘organic,’ and ‘health’ pop into mind.

After studying and working in marketing for almost a decade and a half, I’ve grown fairly jaded to brand messaging. Whether it’s coming from a noteworthy manufacturer or Washington’s political spin masters, successful marketing boils down to the people who can craft the most convincing message and sell it.

As a mom, I’m wary of the ads shoved down our kids’ throats in between cartoons, at the store, and even at school. If anyone is marketing anything to my kids, it should be me. Then again, when you have stubborn children, no amount of positive messaging will sway them.

Those of you with kids who are picky eaters know that getting kids to eat is all about presentation. The concepts ‘It’s good for you,’ ‘There are starving children in Africa,’ and ‘Just try it; you’ll like it’ are like super-glue on our kids’ lips the minute they’re uttered.

Honey Sunshine.

Two words spoken in an excited and energetic tone were all it took to get my four-year-old to try a healthy breakfast cereal. He knows honey is sweet and sunshine makes him happy. I didn’t have to explain what the food was, how it would benefit him, or why he couldn’t have cookies for breakfast instead. He even ended up asking for two extra bowlfuls of an adult cereal made from organic whole grains.

Honey Sunshine™ was able to do something I’ve been fighting four years to accomplish. They got my picky kid to eat without a fight.

Thanks, Kashi, for your brilliant marketing tactic. You just won yourself a repeat customer.

New Year, New Resolutions

It’s that time of year again. Another year has come to a close and another is off to a fresh start. Of course this new beginning inherently implies another round of resolutions—some which will be kept and some which will fall to the wayside. According to a 2008 study, only 8% of people who make resolutions actually achieve them each year.*

As with all good intentions, the thought is nice but if they lack follow-through, they’re rather worthless. All of my New Year’s resolutions are fabulous—until reality hits. Ideas are great, action is better. (Ask me for an update in six months. I just might resolve to never commit to another New Year’s resolution!)

We each have our challenges and things we’d like to change. I’m hoping that by writing mine down this year, I’ll feel more obligated to keeping them.

My top five resolutions are:
5) Eating healthy & exercise, exercise, exercise!
This should be the easiest resolution to keep since it was last year’s number one resolution and one of the only ones I’ve ever kept. Every day from Thanksgiving through New Years brought with it a hectic schedule. Smart food habits flew out of the window in favor of convenience and comfort. The hard part is re-adjusting to healthy living again. But I know I can do it and I will.

4) Keeping up with my blog
Last August when I launched the blog, I felt exhilarated. I kept up with it as best I could until November. The holiday season threw a wrench into all of my best laid plans and intentions. I vow to have at least one new blog post each month.

3) Perspective
Clarity often occurs out of necessity, not rational thinking. Goal #3 is to organize my needs and wants and make sure all of my choices are for the betterment of my #1 priorities—my family. So, here’s to a year of no more wardrobe shopping (sad sigh) or trips to Hawaii (double sad sigh), and paying off my bills.

2) Finding an agent and/or publisher
I love writing. While I don’t expect them to change the world, my novels are a creative outlet for me and provide me with a sense of accomplishment. I’ve always wanted to write. Unfortunately, I never considered the uphill battle that goes hand-in-hand with it. The publishing world is driven by luck and circumstance. There are so many variables in finding an agent and publisher that it’s impossible to plan for it other than to research agencies, submit your best work, and pray for a miracle. The whole process is daunting and disheartening, but I’m wholeheartedly setting my sights on the publishing world this year. And if I don’t find an agent or publisher by the end of December, at least I won’t be able to say that it was due to my lack of effort.

1) Spend more time with my kids
Easy to say, hard to do. Life gets in the way. Now matter how much I plan our time together, other obligations always present obstacles—work, cooking, cleaning, paying bills, running errands, volunteering at school, writing my books. The list is endless. Sometimes it’s not even another responsibility; it’s just sheer exhaustion. As much as I want to read to the kids or watch a movie with them at night, my body wants to pass out under a cozy blanket. Whether imposed upon us or self-imposed, daily demands often take priority over the most important people in our lives. Even if I break the other four resolutions, this one is a keeper for 2010.

We’re halfway into January and I’ve got my work cut out for me. How are your resolutions holding up?

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2010!

Source: * Stephen Shapiro's 24/7 Innovation
Baby New Year Image

The Numbers Game of a Weighty Issue

I have a love/hate relationship with food. I love to eat it but hate the weight gain that comes with it.

It’s ironic that over the past few months several people told me that I haven’t changed a bit since high school. I’ve gotta admit that makes me feel pretty good, but a lot has changed over the past thirteen years. Other than the obvious—marriage, kids, career—my appearance has fluctuated quite a bit, from pixie haircuts and burgundy colored hair to health issues complicated by increased weight.

I had always been muscular—thanks to dance classes and cheerleading. Plus my competitive streak had me rivaling the boys in my high school weight training gym classes.

Then I went to college. No more ballet. No more cheerleading. No more will to get to the gym for fear of being stared at and judged by the people who knew how to use the equipment.

By the time graduation rolled around, I had gained ten pounds. Within six months of that, I gained another eight. Still, I didn’t look bad. I looked half decent in my bathing suits—at least I didn’t feel like I’d blind anyone on the beach—and I wasn’t overly self-conscious.

Of course, all that changed after baby number one arrived. I lost all of the pregnancy weight except for the last ten pounds. Not bad considering I didn’t exercise. Then four years later, baby number two threw a cosmic imbalance into my teetering system.

I gained 40 plus pregnancy pounds (I stopped looking at the scale after I topped 185). Assuming I’d drop the weight just as easily as after baby number one, I was in for a rude awakening. Of the 40 plus pounds, I only lost about 15. My weight ebbed around 170 for about three years.

Though the weight bothered me, the number wasn’t what hurt. I was constantly exhausted. I couldn’t play with my kids outside for more than a few minutes because my asthma would kick in during spring and summer. And, I was generally miserable. For the first time in my life I actually felt fat. My legs were heavy. My butt dragged me down. My back hurt.

Irritated, I recalled my high school days and how I thought I was chunky back then. (Typical teenage self-confidence issues, I guess.) The days of the six-pack abs were long gone and I missed them. I considered exercising and dieting, but it seemed like such a long, painful road. It was easier to pop another Hershey's miniature and complain about the situation.

As I stated in yesterday’s blog, last September I spent five days devouring the Twilight book series. Having eaten virtually nothing during that time, I dropped ten pounds (Jeff fondly refers to this as the “Edward diet”). While I don’t recommend that crash course, it provided me with the impetus to get moving.

I decided I was going to take charge of my health and make a change. After all, no one else could do it for me. I alone controlled what went into my system and how to take care of it.

Brushing off the thick coating of dust covering my long unused exercise tapes, I popped them in and began exercising 15 minutes a day, three days a week. No it wasn’t enough to make a difference, but it was just the right amount to get me motivated to do more. Today, I exercise 30 – 75 minutes six days a week and I feel GREAT!
It’s been about 11 months since I started chiseling the soft mush that defined the ‘Andrea’ of the past seven years. While I still have a way to go, I’m proud of my progress having dropped from a size 14 to a 6. Not bad. Despite this success, I still have good weeks and bad weeks. It's a day-by-day effort. Sometimes cravings outweigh all sense of logical reason, but I wake up the next day with increased resolve to try again.

Truth be told, I don't want the body of a size 0 celebrity. It’s not about the numbers. It’s about how I feel. The fact that I can outrun my kids and keep up with their over charged, out-of-control energy is an accomplishment in my mind. I’ve rediscovered the joy of living life actively instead of having it lived for me by fear and a lack of will power.

Summer 2008 - weighing in around 170

Spring 2009 - weighing about 135