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.

Is Christie Too Fat To Be President?

Barbara Walters interviewed New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for her "10 Most Fascinating People" Special. I find it rather fascinating that Barbara is this doing these specials but I digress. I’ll admit, I didn’t watch the special but during the interview Barbara did it. She asked the Governor if he was too fat to run for president.

In the commentary I read/watched and by that I mean the ladies of The View rehashing this, Whoopie, and I love Whoopie mentioned Christie could be a heart attack risk. She expressed that people care about his health. If health were really what people cared about they’d be looking at all candidates genetic predispositions and blood work. Our health risk is not purely determined by our weight; it’s just that weight is easier to see. Nobody was aware that President Clinton had a quadruple bypass hiding beneath his skin. Clinton’s “issues” were hidden, at least for a time. I’ve had too many overweight clients told by their companies “we’re worried about you” and some genuinely are. However, many corporations and even family members are also worried by what the obese person’s weight may say about them.

In the interview Christie cited his around the clock work during Hurricane Sandy as proof of his conditioning. It was during Sandy that many were impressed by Christie perhaps even familiarizing themselves with him for the first time. However, I recall press conferences with Christie hunched over the podium, almost hanging on it. He seemed fatigued and worn. Can we make the assumption this is because of his weight? Christie cannot plead the fit but fat card; in 2011 he was hospitalized for asthma.

I have very mixed feelings about all of this. I’d be omitting how I truly feel if, politics aside, I didn’t think of Christie as a potential president with some concern. As someone who champions wellness and fitness, part of me would wonder what Christie, a 300-pound president, would say to the nation and others as we struggle with an obesity epidemic. And as I type that, I can see the counter argument. We have to be careful that we don’t adhere to a narrow, conventional image for our leaders. There was a time when it seemed to be the president you had to be slim and white and male. Thank goodness we have seen that white isn’t a prerequisite. Maybe accepting someone obese is another way of knocking stereotypes down. Although weight isn’t exactly the same thing as race or gender, weight is technically within our control, which makes it tricky.

With Walters, Christie acknowledged that weight was his Achilles heel. Barbara Walters then really crossed over into stupid question land when she asked the governor “why?” We all have flaws and asking some who drinks or yells why they do it shows ignorance. Perhaps, if I let my optimistic side have a crack at this Christie running would shine a light on weight and work and many important (and some stupid) questions along the way.
Do you think weight, when obese, plays a role in politics? What about other professions? Do you think Walter was justified in asking the original question?

And since we're talking politics, I thought I'd include these. A group of RDs supporting Let's Move were in DC in the fall. We're still trying...

The "Garden" is beautiful, any private citizen can request a tour... 

View of The White House from the garden.

The calm before the storm

OK garden tour over, time for lunch.

Carolyn, Ashley and I wish I, cheating photo from before our visit

Overweight Folks in Ads: Helping or Selling?

Nathan Sorrel, 12 years old

Yesterday I did a segment for Today. During the taping I was asked the inevitable “so what numbers are we talking about when it comes to weight in this country”.  I mentioned that two thirds of adults were overweight or obese however I don’t focus on these figures. The statistics and obesity anxiety or weight terror- alert doesn’t help. So what does?

A study from the Rudd Center at Yale University concluded two things were helpful when it came to messaging about weight or eating. We tend to respond to messaging that’s supportive and information that encourages a specific behavior. The Let’s Move campaign is a great example of keeping it positive (and not preachy) and providing relevant resources.

How about advertisers? Yesterday’s segment focused on a front page USA Today article about the trend in casting overweight people in ads. While inclusivity is always good, I think we have to look at the motivation. Are the ads designed to sell products? To stir up controversy? Or to help foster change?  Some of these ads have caused quite a ruckus.

Take this add from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. An overweight mother and daughter are in the grocery store. The mother places unhealthy items in her cart and the daughter, with a mini cart, does the same. Let’s just say this didn’t sit well with many people including Lindy West on Jezebel (wish I had her with me for the napkin girls incident). I think Blue Cross could’ve made the same point saying “we’ve all been there and we don’t always set the best example for our kids.” Today you can change that and show a mother and child reading a label or making better market selections.

The Nike ad, that ran during the Olympics, was another example cited by USA today.

Nike shows an overweight boy jogging. The narration tells us greatness isn’t reserved for a select few, we are all capable of it. When I see it I smell a conference rooms of ad execs saying “we can’t sell shoes to a select few” it feels calculated. My kids had a different reaction. One of my boys said “it says never give up.” When the video finished the collage of other videos/ads displayed on the screen. My younger son said “the boy running in the commercial was big, none of those people are big.” He then said, “but in the world lots of people are big.” In his eight-year-old terms he could see this was unusual. However, regardless of its intensions it was supportive in its messaging and specific in its explicit message (to exercise). It also appeals to both overweight and non overweight...good for sales and health at the same time.

From years of counseling clients, a couple of things are clear. First, people know what to eat. They know what they “should” eat. Second, shame and guilt isn’t the answer. We all have an abundance of negativity swirling about in our heads when it comes to weight and food. To enact change, we have to go about things differently. We have to give people something they don’t already have.

What’s your reaction to more overweight people in ads? Do you think it’s inclusive or patronizing? And what about the parent’s? Should the parents let their children me the face of childhood obesity?

Mrs Obama: Let's Move to Shake Shack

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Michelle Obama aka FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States though perhaps I am the only person who didn’t know this acronym) paid a visit to the new Washington D.C. Shake Shack. I learned of this through twitter and the sentiment among my colleagues, many of whom are nutritionists, was generally supportive. “She’s human.” “She doesn’t eat that way all the time” and my personal fingernails-on-a chalkboard expression “everything in moderation” were just a few of the reactions I recall.  The Independent even ran a story “Michelle Obama eats burger nutritionists approve.” Wait a minute, I'm a nutritionist and I don't approve.

Let’s Move!

Michelle Obama’s major initiative is childhood obesity. Her campaign Let’s Move!  Is about helping children and families live healthier lives. In their own words they’re:

Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools. Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping kids become more physically active.

What about Shake Shack is in line with this mission? If her platform was smoking, would we be ok with her having a cigarette once in a while?  As President Obama focuses on the economy many articles have pointed fingers at his spending.

I asked a couple of my favorite nutritionists a few questions about this (mostly to see if I was overreacting). Keri Glassman said “this was overindulging in a very public manner when she is spending the majority of her time in public promoting good health!" Andy Bellatti admitted “frankly, I’m much more concerned with the policies Michelle Obama supports than what she puts in her mouth. That said, I don’t see why her Shake Shack visit needs to be applauded. It reeks of “oh don’t worry folks, she’s not one of those ‘tofu’ crazies. See, she loves burgers and fries just like you.”

You don’t see burgers and fries on the Let’s Move food and nutrition page, you see this

Moderation

One of the tweeters told me repeatedly that healthy eating was all about BVM. BVM, BVM- what was he talking about? BMW? No, BVM. This, it seems, stands for Balance, Variety and Moderation.  I’m sorry; Mrs. Obama had a ShackBurger, fries, a chocolate shake and Diet Coke to wash it all down. Over 1500 calories or a day’s worth. My verdict? Immoderate. Keri Glassman said it well “A home made, perhaps grass-fed burger – fine. Even a "bite" of someone’s fast food is fine. But a total no holds barred indulgence in fast food - not fine! Andy added, “just like “natural” there is no tangible definition of “moderation.”

Trust Me, I’m not Perfect (but I am a snob)

In the course of the twitter “debate” one in the “BVM” camp said to me “we can’t eat perfectly all the time, #FLOTUS showed us all foods fit.” I don’t think Americans or obese children need a FLOTUS path paved to fast food, they are “fitting” it in just fine.  How about this- all foods don’t need to fit. I know it’s a nutty suggestion but what about suggesting a month without fast food and soda? Or if that’s unrealistic, have Michelle Obama go to a fast food restaurant and order small fries (her favorite) and a salad? Or post a recipe on the White House website for baked French fries.

I don’t eat fast food because I think about where my food comes from and how it’s made. I documented my last experience with fast food, in a blizzard on the Interstate with 2 screaming children. It wasn’t pretty and I’m still shocked we weren’t pursued by Alka- Seltzer for a commercial-yuck.

For the record Keri said “I do not eat fast food and do not bring my kids.” Andy, when asked if he eats fast food, replied “every day! It takes me 45 seconds to make a smoothie, 60 seconds to make a green juice, 15 seconds to grab a handful of almonds and about 2 minutes to toast bread and top it with avocado, arugula, balsamic and lemon juice.”

I can only imagine the number of hits the Shake Shack website received and the number of Shackburgers sold after Ms. Obama’s visit. I wish she had “moved” in a healthier direction.

Are you supportive of, disappointed by or indifferent to Ms. Obama’s burger? Do you feel experts should practice what they preach? Do you eat fast food? Do you believe in Moderation?