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Every day someone tells me how they satisfy their emotions with food. When they’re under stress they grab chocolate; when they’re bored they munch on chips; when they’re tired they reach for the ice cream; and when they’re lonely cookies are their favorite friend.

My response is often to encourage them to ask this question:  Am I hungry? If I’m not physically hungry, what is it that I truly need?

There are several great books on the market to help you figure out how to effectively deal with emotions without using food. One of my favorite authors is Michelle May, MD, at www.amihungry.com. I love her books and her insight into how we’ve learned over the years to use food to satisfy our emotions.

If you’re trying to solve this puzzle, here is something to guide you along your way from Michelle:

When I’m hungry, I eat what I love.
When I’m bored, I do something I love.
When I’m lonely, I connect with someone I love.
When I feel sad, I remember that I am loved.

If you’ve worked through this on your own, please let us know some tips that you found especially helpful.

Have you ever set a goal, worked really hard, but fell short of your expectations?

The women in our 2009 Training for More group experienced this first hand this year. On race day the end of April, the weather was hot and humid, to protect the participants the race director did not time the race, and everyone went slower than expected. We were ready for snow, but not temperatures in the high 80’s.

Fern and Patty (in the photo with me above) decided they wanted to bring closure to their goal of running a fast half-marathon this Spring. Patty found a half-marathon in Utica, NY, only a 3-hour drive. We rearranged our schedules, drove to Utica, and completed the goal. Everything fell into place:  the weather was cool, the race was well-organized, the course was beautiful (and flat), and the volunteers were enthusiastic.

Fern and Patty smashed their goals and had an awesome race. They took a disappointing situation and turned it around, putting their goal of a fast Spring marathon behind them. We did it together, the same way we trained throughout the Winter.

Lessons learned:
-  things don’t always work out the way we want
-  there are always alternatives to consider
-  disappointments can be overcome
-  setting goals with friends makes the entire experience more fun

What goals are you working toward? How can you turn a disappointment into a victory?

We all know we’re supposed to eat lots of fruits and veggies, right? But did you know that the color of the foods you eat has a big impact on your health? That’s because different colors of foods contain various phytochemicals and antioxidants - beneficial chemicals produced by plants that give us a huge health benefit.

Here’s a wonderful video that beautifully showcases the variety of colors of foods available to us. Caution:  do NOT watch this if you’re hungry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjHItEhvSGk

Is healthy food expensive? Is it possible to spend less money, and still choose healthy foods?

These questions are on everyone’s mind today as we figure out ways to save money. But who wants to sacrifice good health?

Check out these 9 often overlooked ways to save money at the grocery store - without scrimping on taste or health:  http://www.foodandhealth.com/cheapshop.pdf

What are your favorite ways to spend less on healthy food? Let’s share!

The More half-marathon didn’t end up to be the race we planned on.  

Temperatures in NYC were in the 70’s early on race morning, and climbed to almost 90 before noon. When the 43 women in my training group arrived in Central Park at 7am, the race directors had already cancelled the marathon portion of the races. The half-marathon was still on, but it wasn’t timed. The race director encouraged everyone walking, or who couldn’t finish the 13.1 miles in 3 hours, to do just one loop - about 7 miles - of the 2 loop course.

The weather is obviously beyond our control. We trained in below freezing weather when the roads were covered in snow and our eyelashes froze. We ran and walked in the rain. We wore face masks, 2 layers of gloves, Yak Trax, and long underwear to get in our miles. We never planned on one of the hottest days of the Spring - and we hadn’t trained in hot weather.

We were disappointed, but no one gave up. We started off at a slow pace, drank water and Gatorade at every rest stop, searched out the shady spots of the course, and encouraged each other to do our best. We can’t control the weather, but we CAN control our attitude.

I’m proud of the women in the Training for More group who stuck together through cold weather and steaming humidity. Each and every one put out her best effort that day, and while the day didn’t turn out as planned, we all met the challenge. 15 weeks of training came down to one hot morning in NYC’s Central Park. Just like every other training session, we laced up our shoes, stretched our legs, and started out for the day:  together.