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Is it possible to have fun on vacation and maintain your fitness level?

Definitely!

Mike and I are currently on a week-long bicycle/barge tour in the Netherlands. We sleep on the barge at night, and during the day ride hybrid bicycles 30-40 miles to our next destination. A local tour guide plans out the route, with stops along the way to learn about historical sites.

Not only are we biking every day, but we’re also enjoying 3 daily meals of healthy food:  dense whole grain breads, fresh fruit, and seasonal vegetables. There’s no snacking unless we choose to indulge in a pastry or ice cream during one of our stops, and our primary beverage is water.

We’re having a wonderful time learning about the Netherlands, interacting with the 20 other people in our tour group, and traveling along the fantastic Dutch bike lanes. Read more about our trip on the Highlights of Holland page on my website - and start planning your next vacation to include exericse!

Most of the time when I meet with clients, they tell me that they want to be more active, or to exercise more often. These are broad, undefined goals which actually are extremely difficult to reach. If we don’t know exactly how much exercise, or what type of exercise we want in our life, how will we know when we’ve reached that goal? Even more important:  why is exericse important to you?

There are typically three types of exercise goals:

• exercise to improve health, such as reduce risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, or improve blood sugar levels.
• exercise for weight loss
• training for a competitive event, such as running a 5K race or riding your bike in a 40 mile charity event.

First, decide WHY you want to exercise. Be as specific as possible:

• I want to exercise so that I can wear a smaller dress size.
• I want to exercise so that I don’t run out of breath playing with my grandchildren.
• I want to exercise so that I decrease my risk of developing heart disease.
• I want to run the Maple Leaf 5K in September.

Next, figure out how much and what type of exercise you need to meet this goal. The American College of Sports Medicine publishes the latest exercise guidelines. If your goals are related to your health, talk with your physician about the most appropriate exercise program for you. Even 10-15 minutes of activity every day does wonders in improving health. If you need help developing an exercise program, contact me at lynn@lynngrieger.com for individual coaching.

Once you know why exercise is important to you, and the type of exercise program that will help you reach this goal, it’s time to gradually integrate exercise into your daily routine. Start slowly and over time tweak your exercise program until you reach your ultimate goal.  Exercise not only will improve your health and help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, it’s also a fun activity you can share with family, and a great way to meet new friends!

Go to any road race, triathlon, or other competitive event where the results are based on speed. At the start of the race, just about everyone has their finger poised over their sports watch, ready to start their timer at the exact second the race officially starts. As people cross the finish line, they throw up their arms in jubilation - and then immediately stop their timer.

The bottom line for success at races is your time. Did you set a new PR (personal record)? Did you place in the top 3 in your age group? Maybe you placed in the top 3 overall and won a very cool prize. Were you faster than last year?

Everything revolves around the time.

Yesterday I competed in the Vermont Sun Triathlon in Brandon, VT. I was one of those folks who compulsively started my watch at the exact moment the starter yelled “Go!”. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I stopped my watch and looked at my time.

I felt really good during this tri. Unline other years, the swim went really well. No panic, no swallowed water, no bumping into other swimmers. I rode the bike leg with great intensity, focusing on keeping my cadence high and hydrating. My legs felt strong as I started the run. Usually my leg muscles are tired and complain bitterly about being asked to run after biking for 14 miles, but yesterday they cooperated completely. I’m the fastest on the run part of tris, and as I passed people I told them how great they looked, commented on the beautiful course, and focused on catching the next person in front of me. I even sprinted at the finish!

Overall, it was a fantastic race for me - but what about my time? When I checked the race results today, I was listed as “DNF” - did not finish. Wait - I finished! My husband and several women from the Green Mountain Girls tri group saw me finish! How do I know how I did without an official time?

Jerrod Rushton, the unflappable and superb race director of the tri responded immediately to my panicked email. Within 2 hours, my official race results were posted. Elation on feeling great after the race settled into doom:  I was slower than last year. Racers live by the clock, and the clock doesn’t lie:  I’m getting slower even though I felt great and pushed myself hard.

After a few deep breaths and some thought, I came upon this revelation:  so what? What difference does it really make if my 2011 tri finish was slower than the 2010 time? I had a ton of fun, smiling the entire way (well, maybe not during the swim because it’s hard to smile with your face in the water). I pushed myself during each of the three tri legs and worked at what felt like a high intensity. My husband even told me I looked fantastic at the finish, and he’s seen me completely wiped out and feeling horrible at the end of many races.

Maybe the true test of a great race isn’t the finish time, but rather the process and the event itself.

Perhaps this revelation applies to other goals in our life:
-  Does it really matter how much weight we lose each week in a weight loss program if we’re feeling good and meeting our exercise and food choice goals?
-  At the end of a busy work day, should I judge my performance based on the number of items I crossed off my to-do list, or on the quality of the work I produced and the satisfaction of my clients?
-  Do I rate myself on the quality of my housekeeping (sadly lacking) or on having a comfortable and welcoming home?
-  Should I look back at all the mistakes I made raising our children, or be content that they’re productive, responsible, happy young adults?

I bet each of you can add to this list. What I learned from this tri is that the experience is even more important than the outcome. I may not have finished as fast as last year, but I had a whole lot of fun and gained great satisfaction from the event. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep setting goals to increase my speed, to improve my work habits, or become a better mom, wife, and friend. I’ll just make sure to take time to stop, breathe deeply, and enjoy the experience.

If you thought that fried Oreos or fried Twinkies were a bit over the top even for food at summertime fairs where excess seems to be the rule, read this article:  http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2011-06-23-fried-kool-aid_n.htm

It seems that throwing any type of food - or even beverage (deep-fried Kool-Aid has made its debut) - into the deep-fryer is the perfect recipe for culinary success at the fair. Some even make an attempt at being somewhat healthy by containing vegetables:  hot dogs wrapped in zucchini, dipped in batter and deep-fried.

I wonder if fairs will be required to post nutrition information for all of their foods? Do you think anyone would pay attention to the fact that one deep-fried Twinkie contains 360 calories and 43% of your total daily fat allotment? Or that ONE deep-fried Oreo cookie has 130 calories and 9 grams of fat?

As a child, I always looked forward to going to the county fair. We would walk all day, looking at the rabbits, sheep, and cows the 4-H kids worked so hard to raise and show. The carnival rides were a favorite treat, and we always tried our luck at the various games. Eating was a minor part of the whole experience, and we counted ourselves lucky if we were treated to cotton candy. After going on all the rides, our stomachs were too queasy for anything else!

I wonder what kinds of exotic food choices folks at the fair could invent without using a deep-fryer?

I love this quote:  food is the background music of our lives.

This is from Michelle May, MD, author of “Am I Hungry?” a wonderful book that teaches mindful eating instead of dieting. We often don’t realize how much food is a part of the fabric of our lives, and how entwined food is with everything we do throughout our days.

What are your thoughts after watching this short video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM49NfMus20&feature=youtu.be

Kids Eat Right is a national program aimed at improving the nutrition - and health - of our kids. In order for our kids to learn to choose and enjoy healthy foods, parents need to model health eating themselves. There’s a wealth of useful and practical information at the Kids Eat Right website. I particularly like this recent article by Dayle Hayes, MS, RD, LD on making time for breakfast:  http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=6442462528

Growing up, my entire family ate breakfast. I continued the same practice with our kids, encouraging everyone to sit down together and eat breakfast. Even when their lives became hectic and busy in high school, they still ate breakfast before leaving for school. Now they’re in college living in an apartment, and most of the time they eat breakfast. Developing healthy habits early can lead to a lifetime of good eating!

I have three favorite breakfasts right now:
1.  On mornings I’m heading out first-thing for exercise, I eat a mini-bagel with a smear of peanut butter and a big glass of water.
2.  2 hard-boiled eggs, a slice of whole grain toast topped with 50% reduced fat Cabot cheddar cheese, and a piece of fruit (yesterday a clementine) plus a big glass of water.
3.  Greek yogurt mixed with cut-up fruit (clementine and pear this morning), a handful of chopped walnuts, and another  handful of Kashi Go-Lean cereal. I let this sit for 20 minutes while I do some morning exercises so the cereal becomes soft. My version of muesli!

What’s your favorite breakfast?

SoFAS aren’t couches, and let’s hope they’re not found in your living room. SoFAS stands for “solid fats and added sugars”.

Why do we care about SoFAS? Fats that are solid at room temperature - think stick margarine, solid Crisco, and animal fat - contain saturated fat which contributes to heart disease. Replace solid fats with liquid oils and you’ll not only consume less harmful sat fats, you’ll also increase the healthy poly- and mononsaturated fats that help protect your heart.

You may think identifying foods high in added sugars is easy - think again. The food label doesn’t differentiate between sugars that naturally occur in foods such as fruit and milk or sugars that are added to foods like cookies and cakes. Here’s my tip:  if the food doesn’t come in a box or can, it probably has no added sugars.

We get most of our added sugars from sweetened beverages, everything from soda to fruit drinks to sports drinks. Make it simple and drink plain water. Water doesn’t taste sweet, because it doesn’t need to be. We don’t drink water for the taste, we drink it to satisfy our thirst. If you want a sweet taste, eat a piece of fruit.

Tell your family you’re throwing out the SoFAS and see what reaction you get!

I’m thrilled to lead a 3-part wellness series with the Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning in Manchester, VT. Join me for one session, or all three! more info

First session February 23rd, 3-4:30pm at the Israel Congregation.
Topic:  Creating Health and Wellness in a Hectic World.
Learn about the individual components of wellness and work toward developing your own personal wellness vision that clearly describes what you want wellness to look and feel like in your life.

Second session March 2nd, 3-4:30pm at the Israel Congregation.
Topic:  Why Do I Eat? How to Choose Healthy Foods in a Toxic Food Environment. We’ll discuss national guidelines for good nutrition and healthy eating, plus talk about how to put these guidelines into practice in your life. Learn simple and effective ways to improve your eating habits without spending hours in the kitchen, and how to manage stress without food.

Third session March 9th, 3-4:30pm at the Israel Congregation
Topic:  Our Bodies are Made for Movement:  Get off the couch! Learn about the national guidelines for exercise, and how to fit movement into your daily life. We’ll also talk about how optimum sleep and a positive outlook set the stage for a healthy, balanced, energetic and vigorous life.

If the thought of parsnips, beets, and kale makes you turn up your nose, think again. Cooking Light just came out with 25 fantastic recipes that utilize winter veggies.

Several of my clients tell me that they just don’t enjoy eating cold vegetable salads during the winter. Who can blame them when it’s freezing outside? The beauty of these vegetable recipes is that they’re hot, nourishing, comforting, delicious - and really easy to prepare. They’re all perfect for leftovers, which helps make healthy eating much easier for busy families.

My personal favorites? Lentil soup and roasted vegetables. Try out some of these recipes or share your personal favorites.

After walking around Washington DC on a cold and windy day recently, my husband and I stopped to enjoy some hot chocolate. The menu board not only listed the sizes (small, medium, large) and cost of the hot chocolate options - it also listed the calories. A small hot chocolate has 350 calories, and the large has 600 calories - I bet you can guess which one I chose!

What size beverage do you typically choose? If you’re drinking something with calories, go for the smaller size. If you’re drinking water - opt for the large, or even supersize. Save calories throughout the day, and they add up. Plus those calories in beverages come from added sugar or added fat, and we can certainly do without either of them.