Don't Put All Your Resolutions In One Basket

Let’s start off the year being frank. As much as the New Year can seem like a natural time to turn over a new leaf, a lot of resolution making is reactionary. Many of us have been traveling, spending time with family and relaxing a bit more and at a certain point you don’t feel that good. What do you when you’re feeling blah or worse? Something drastic of course. And drastic doesn’t last. Then we’re back to blah with a dash of failure or frustration, not a recipe for a healthy year ahead.

 I am pro-resolution but with a few important criteria.

• First, think of the areas in your life that need a tweaking. Make a list of those key subjects. In the coming week, fill in specifics under each heading.
• Make sure most items on your list are completely realistic
• However one or two of your goals should make you a little nervous.  

Carolyn introduced me to a campaign called Commitment Day. In 30+ cities across the country people will run a 5K to show their commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Whatever it is, do something today that exemplifies your commitment. As their website says, "this isn't a resolution this is a revolution of you".

Maybe some of the resolutions on my list or Carolyn’s will spark some ideas….

Fear facing

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt

I have been hush, hush about my  “makes me nervous” goal but earlier this year my book proposal was shopped around. After many “we loved it but will pass” the good news is that I have a publisher and the goal is to have the finished book completed in March.  This time next year you should be able to purchase my (first) book. This has been a long time coming. And not to worry, there's jitters ahead writing and putting it out there isn't comfortable but I'm excited.

Aid For Others (not in love with term “giving back”)

Early in 2012, Team Foodtrainers participated in Cycle for Survival. This fall, I went to the White House with a fantastic group of dietitians to support Let’s Move and organized a special night, with help from talented friends, to raise money for the Food Bank of NYC for Sandy relief efforts. In 2013, I plan to continue to support Let’s Move. What makes me most proud is that my children are starting to understand the need to lend a hand. I cannot lie, they weren’t jumping for joy to make packages for the firefighters after Sandy but they did it and I’ll nudge them to keep doing more. I find nothing gets me out of my head more than shifting the focus to others.

Family Resolutions

I was emailing with a friend who works at Pirate’s Booty and she mentioned the concept of family resolutions. I love this idea. One thing I’m a stickler for is table manners. Nora Ephron said in I Feel Bad About My Neck that one job of parents is to teach children, and I’m paraphrasing, which fork is the salad fork. If I can raise kids who put their napkins on their lap, without constant reminders, and don’t repulse others with their utensil “skills” I’d feel a degree of success. And after Sandy and the droughts and all the crazy weather of 2012, we have take global warming more seriously. As a family, we can start with being better with our reusable super market bags.

Fitness

For the first time in years I don’t have the race bug; it’s not my focus right now. I want to get myself out there skiing more, we’re in Vermont each weekend and it’s easy for me to lag behind and write, snowshoe or cook. This year I vow to occasionally leave the kitchen messy and just go. I have a silly fitness goal too. Where I take spinning classes there’s a “torque board” that rates your performance. You have a choice whether to be included and I have, until now, chosen not to participate. Oh and my achy body needs foam rolling. This will be the year of the foam roller.

Blog

While I love pushing the envelope with posts, I also love you pushing back. I now post twice a week and feel this way you have time to read and comment. Keep the comments coming in 2013; I look forward to many interesting food and weight-related healthy debates. A bunch of you have emailed asking about the Cooking Homework feature. I will bring that back. Carolyn mentioned that in 2012 she spent more time in the kitchen, it 2013 she hopes to get more experimental. I could use a little freestyle cooking too.

In a recent NYT article, Seinfeld mentioned he's constantly tweaking his material; I feel that way with habits and goals but  it’s so easy to get bogged down in a routine. I was reminded this year how important travel is to reshuffle the deck and remove distractions. 2012 included a fishing and snorkeling trip to Belize, skiing in Jackson Hole and camping and biking in Yellowstone and the Tetons. Carolyn listed “make weekends more into weekends” to relax and turn off the phone. Whether it’s at home or away, we all need to find a way to really unwind and unplug and I realize as I sit on my computer staring at the snowy trees that’s hypocritical…that’s what the resolutions are for.

What’s on your list? What goal or resolution makes you a little uneasy? Which habit do you feel you can be more consistent with/that makes you feel your best? Any fitness or family resolutions? Can’t wait to hear.

13 is my lucky number and though I have no knowledge where numerology is concerned. I’m excited for the year ahead.

One Year

Jennifer Lee Photography

If you knew that you would die today

If you saw the face of God and Love

Would you change?

Would you change?

Tracy Chapman

A year ago I was at work seeing clients, doing all that mundane/ just another day stuff when an email took my breath away. Jen had passed. Despite knowing she was so ill for so long, I was speechless. I sat staring at a photo of her on my screen and studied her smile but couldn’t smile. Two days later, I kneeled next to a friend and stared at another screen broadcasting Jen's memorial. You see there wasn’t room left in the main area of the funeral chapel. I wrote a post trying to make some sense of things, vowing to carry on more Jen-like.

Am I fearless?

Jen's platform was fearlessness and she embodied it. In May, I was running in a race. Iit didn’t go well and knew I could do better. After discussing how things went with a running coach I work with,  it seemed that as fatigue set in, I grew concerned. As my body started to ache, I pulled back. He corrected me and said that part of racing was noting the pain and pushing through it. For him, he assumed that the last half of any race wouldn’t be fun. I have a Scott Jurek shirt that says, “pain only hurts” it reminds me of this. This isn’t about masochism but noting the challenge and persisting anyway. Work in progress.

Am I enjoying the silliness?

Jen was the first person to spot my name in In Style, Life and Style or any other magazine. We joked she was my PR person. Jen was silly; if you didn’t know her you can see it in her videos. On Wednesday, her best friend organized a movie night. A bunch of us went to see Magic Mike. The movie was terrible, except for some eye candy, but after some crazy rain and hail, it seemed to honor Jen. I can be serious at times. I am a natural over thinker, silly is important. Silly is a pain reliever.

Am I supporting Cycle?

Cycle for Survival was Jen’s baby. It was just so fitting that Jen’s journey wasn’t just about Jen. It seems every week we hear of someone we know being diagnosed with some sort of cancer or having some sort of surgery or treatment. Monday, on my way to work, with Jen’s “anniversary” looming I received another email; the dates for Cycle 2013 were announced. Many members of our Foodtrainers team emailed immediately “I’m in”. Last year, we did a dance video for every thousand dollars we raised, what will we do this year?

I don’t know if it’s possible to live each day as if it was your last. I know I need reminders. I need reminders to see beyond myself and my stressors, I need reminders to be fearless (or less fearful) and I need reminders to be silly. It would be so much easier if my teacher was still here. 

Do you? Where do you find yourself fearful? Are you more inclined naturally to be silly or serious? If you knew that you would die today, would you change?

Monday Motivation: Eat and Run

Last Tuesday, on the eve of National Running Day (I’ll admit this wasn’t marked on my calendar) Marc and I went to an event for the launch of Scott Jurek’s book Eat and Run. There was a five-mile run before the lecture that we opted out of. Many people did not and as we took our seats in the Society for Ethical Culture, I noted both the lack of air conditioning and the smell of runners. Somehow when you run the smell doesn’t bother you as much. I apologize to all the people I’ve shared subway cars with after races; I totally get it.

My main motivation in attending this talk was the “eating” portion of this book. Scott Jurek is an ultrmarathon champion and also vegan. Marc on the other hand loves hearing about any sports-related challenge. He enjoys Real Sports in HBO, watching the Kona Ironman and basically anything ESPN has to offer. The moderator of the talk was Christopher McDougall, the author of Born to Run. It was difficult to hear (or see) much that went on but I took note when Jurek spoke of running “for the love of it without the promise of reward.” For example, we were told a group of those attending ran 32 miles around the perimeter of Manhattan, the morning of the event, for fun.  I left intrigued with a copy of Eat and Run.

What the lecture lacked the book makes up for.  This isn’t just a book about a guy who runs long distances; it’s a great story. Jurek grew up with a mother with MS and a demanding, unsympathetic father. Sports were in many ways an escape and you see the roots of his mental toughness. Jurek describes the key to his success  “I had a talent for gaining speed when others gave ground, I realized that no matter how much something hurt, I could gut it out.” The book is filled with stories, advice and great quotes:

My favorite, which reminds me of fearless Jen,

Always do what you are afraid to do.
Bernard Shaw

The best dietary advice I found was Jurek’s thoughts on adopting a plant-based diet. “To my delight (and, I admit, surprise), subtracting some things from my diet actually allowed me to expand the number of foods I ate and to discover incredible and delicious new foods.”  Whether gluten free, vegan or raw, people fixate on living without certain things when the key is you can make food interesting from whatever your given choices.

Jurek’s most common pre-race food is almond butter on sprouted bread. I’m happy to say many Foodtrainers’ athletes also favor this (some choosing gluten free bread).  Jurek aims for 300 calories an hour during races but not just calories, good calories (I wish Runner’s World would take note). And there’s no mention of pasta parties and bagels. Jurek eats bean burritos, as I mentioned sprouted bread, quinoa and brown rice.

Jurek started out very much a carnivore but notes

The better I ate, the better I felt. Since going vegan, I had lost the layer of fat-the layer that came with eating the cookies and cakes and Twinkies and cheese pizza that so many omnivores and even vegetarians gulp down.

He mentions recovering better from workouts, increased energy and concentration improved. I think this is a testament not only to veganism but the power of nutrition for performance in sports and life.

I love the sound of this smoothie:

Green Power Drink

(2, 20-ounce servings)

2 bananas

1 cup frozen mango or pineapple chunks

4 cups water

2 teaspoons spirulina powder

1 teaspoon miso

Blend and drink 20-30 ounces 15-45 minutes before a run.

* I would suggest can also drink post run perhaps with vegan protein

Spirulina is an algae said to have been carried into battle by Aztec warriors, also a performance enhancer for long-distance runners, weight loss aid and immune booster. I like the pineapple here, contains a pain-relieving enzyme bromelin. The miso is interesting presumably used for its sodium content.

The only soy I recommend is fermented, as it’s generally easier to digest. Jurek points out something I didn’t know, that miso, tempeh and sprouted tofu also have less phytoestrogen content than other soy. These plant estrogens can function like estrogen.  In terms of new ingredients espoused in the book, I’m looking forward to experimenting with adzuki beans and epazote.

I love to run and eat well and Jurek articulates the joy that can come from each of these pursuits.  More than anything though, I was left with realizing that the greatest tool we all possess isn’t physical strength or a Vitamix (and you know I love my Vitamix).  It’s our inner dialogue and knowing that you can get a second, third or fourth “wind” if you’re willing to gut it out.

We focus on something external to motivate us, but we need to remember that it’s the process of reaching for that prize, not the prize itself-that can bring us peace and joy.
Do you run? Have you ever contemplated an ultramarathon? Do you eat soy? What is it that you are afraid to do?

Clare Veronica Walsh was Fearless Too

I was wasting time on Twitter Monday, while my boys finished skiing. Many of the people I follow were tweeting about a Clare Walsh. I’ve never met Clare Walsh but learned that she was a teacher at Soul Cycle, in her early twenties and passed away on Christmas Day.  Details were scant and I’m still not sure why I found myself searching for them. Perhaps it would help to have an explanation for someone young and seemingly healthy dying. One thing was clear this Clare Walsh was special.  Though clearly beautiful, many expressed that her inner beauty was remarkable.

In my weird hunt for information about this beautiful person I had never met, I came across a stirring tribute on a blog called Stilettos on Sullivan. Caitlin described a Clare that was full of energy and adept at motivating others. And then in talking about how Clare lived her life, she called her “fearless” and commented that she wanted to be more fearless like Clare. For those of you who read my blog regularly you’ll recall fearlessness was my friend Jen Goodman Linn's platform. Her website was youfearless.com. I made this connection and continued along. In remembering her beloved teacher, Caitlin advises us not to take anything for granted and to “dance your ass off everyday.” I got goose bumps. Whenever I am blue I watch Jen’s Happy To Be 40 video which you must watch if you haven't already.

The fearlessness, the ability to inspire others, the spinning (Jen you’ll recall started Cycle for Survival) and the dancing…you may say coincidence but I think it’s more than that. I think Jen and Clare are dancing together and it’s up to those of us who are here to dance our asses off everyday.
What are you fearful of? How can you envision being more fearless? When is the last time you danced?