Friday, November 30, 2012

"You only get better with practice"

Haines' very own John Svenson said this to me once as I was weeble-wobbling around on the slack line outside his home. I love this statement because it motivates two dimensionally: With practice you will get better and you will only get better if you practice.
By now each of you should have the formation of a personal vision statement. This statement acts as a clear representation of your ideal self. The journey toward ideal is life long. By entering this community challenge you are one step closer to reaching the ideal version of you. Solidifying this vision will provide meaning to your shorter term goals. Behavioral change requires practice. You will have to work for it, give it time and put action behind it.
This week, the challenge is to use your journal (the one we provided or any other form you choose). Every morning you will look at your journal and read your intention for the week. Each night you will reflect on your day, specifically your intention. Try to make these reflections of successes and opportunities for growth.
At a past challenge we had Chorus Bishop talk with us about discipline and the three fundamental principles in Seibukan Jujutsu: Awareness, Assessment and Action.
Read more about it on this post "discipline who-likes-that-word"
Using this method, might prove helpful for learning self reflection in a productive manner.
Let's look at an example. Intention - This week I will run for 30 min 5 days per week. Reflection - I did not run today - I neglected to take clothes to work and it was cold and windy. My motivation to run was not strong enough to over come these pseudo excuses. It may be helpful to recruit a buddy to increase my accountability (Awareness and Assessment). Before bed tonight I will contact and make a commitment with one of my friends for a run date tomorrow. I will also pack my clothes tonight and put them by the door (Action).   

Journaling is a daily practice of getting to know our inner self. By truly recognizing and accepting our own strengths and weaknesses then we can begin to maximize and overcome. You only get better with practice.
Be Well and Fit!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Giving Thanks Yoga & Turkey Trot

Kick off Turkey Day the right Way!

Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2012
Yoga 8:30am and/or 5K Turkey Trot 9:45 am

Meet at the Haines School, $5.00 each activity
Kids under 12 Trot for FREE,  Yoga for ages 16 & up

Call 766- 6366 with questions.


Remember to write new intentions for the next week so you are moving towards your overall goals and see you at the next meeting on November 29th.

You can now comment on the blog without signing in first.  Just click on comments (either no comments or # of comments), type your comment and pick anonymous.  Your can sign your comment, if you want to, in the body of the comment.    

Happy Thanksgiving and hope to see you Thursday Morning.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Food as Medicine

Excerpt from Kari Natwick’s Wellness Radio Show presentation on 11-5-12. Kari provides Medical Nutrition Therapy; which is using food as medicine to treat or prevent a variety of diseases and medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, weight management, eating disorders, cancer or renal disease.
Along the lines of using food as medicine, let’s look at the role that nutrition and physical activity plays in disease prevention and management.   
We all have the power to prevent these all too common disease through changes in our lifestyle.  Managing or preventing chronic disease is hard work, but it can be done.  Managing or preventing chronic disease is all about lifestyle and making changes that not only reduce your risk of developing chronic diseases, but can improve your overall wellbeing.  Set small realistic goals to create a healthier lifestyle for yourself and your family.
Today I’m here to talk about a few ideas of things that everyone can do in order to prevent or manage chronic disease. 

1.      Eat Healthy

A healthy diet can help to protect you from heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.  So, what does it mean to eat healthy?   There are so many definitions of what a healthy diet means or can look like.  Never before, have there been so many fads and misinformation regarding nutrition, diet and their relationship to health.  So, I want to simplify this message.  Eat foods as close to their form in nature as possible.  This means, shopping the perimeter of your grocery store, buying more fruits and vegetables, decreasing processed foods such as anything that comes in a box, and though eating foods from “the store outside your door.”   A phrase coined by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium  and Chef Rob Kineen from Anchorage. 
We are so lucky to live in Alaska because we have a bounty of food right outside of our door that is good medicine and prevents disease.  Just to give you a couple of examples…
Foods such as salmon, black cod, and herring contain Omega 3 Fatty Acids.  Now, aggressive medical studies are showing that fish oils, including Omega-3, alters the production of an important group of biological compounds known as eicosanoids. These compounds affect blood pressure, blood clotting, inflammation, immune function and coronary spasms.
Scientists have known for years that Omega-3 offers heart-healthy benefits, including:
  • Helping to decrease blood lipids (cholesterol, LDL's, and triglycerides)
  • Increasing relaxation in larger arteries and blood vessels
  • Decreasing the inflammatory processes in blood vessels
The Omega-3 oils found have been linked to improvements in or prevention of certain kinds of cancer, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, arthritis, asthma, certain kinds of mental illness, depression and lupus.
The recommendation is that each of us consumes seafood twice a week, and if this seafood is Alaska Wild Salmon, or other seafood high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids, this will help you and your family to reduce the risk of disease.
Another example of health from the “store outside your door” is found in Alaska Blueberries and Cranberries.  These Alaskan berries have proven to have some of the highest antioxidant values, far superior to their domestic counterparts in the lower 48.  All blueberries contain powerful polyphenols a type of micronutrient that work as antioxidants to repair damaged cells in your body, helping to prevent cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. These antioxidants help our bodies to repair the damage that is done to them through activities such as smoking, poor diet, stress, and lack of physical activity. 
Another component to having a healthy diet that prevents disease is to eat more Fruits and Vegetables.  Again, the goal with making changes in your life is to start small.  If you currently eat only 1 fruit or vegetable per day, then try to eat two; Add fruit to your breakfast; add a vegetable to your lunch or dinner.  Just choose one small realistic and attainable goal.  If you currently consume the recommended number of fruits and vegetables, then make it a goal to add variety.  One example is to focus on fruits and vegetables that are varied in color.  In doing so, you will be consuming a variety of antioxidants and nutrients.  Try adding kale to your salads or soups, or adding sweet potatoes to your casseroles.
Cook together. Eat together. Make family meals a real priority as often as you can. Preparing food is a loving way to share time and bring generations together. Measuring, stirring, and chopping can be as comforting as other routine, everyday tasks. Kneading bread can be downright therapeutic. If you live alone, reach out to family, friends, or co-workers – and break bread together. Eat together at home, eat together at restaurants, eat together at work, and eat together at a picnic.
2.      Get out and move.  Be active.  People who don’t exercise and are overweight are at greatest risk for developing Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes.  Physical activity is anything, and I mean anything, that gets your body moving.  Start at a comfortable level, and once you get the hang of it, add a little more activity each time you exercise until you are active for 30 minutes per day. 

Haines has great options for classes to increase your level of physical activity.  If that doesn’t interest or work for you, then I encourage you to get out in nature and explore the beautiful trails and beaches of your communities.  If you aren’t able to do then, then just move more in your own house.  Take an extra trip up the stairs, or stand up and stretch during commercial breaks.

Another option that is available for most people is to walk.  Walking is good for your body, your brain, and your mood. When you find a few good walking buddies, it’s good for your social life too! Walking is fun, easy, and probably the cheapest workout on the planet. All you need is well fitting, comfortable walking shoes. Put on a pair - and start walking your way to health and happiness today!

If you have children, encourage your whole family to get outside and get active by going for a hike, snow shoe, walk or bike ride together.  The recommendation for children is to be active for 60 minutes per day, and the AAP recommends no more than 2 hours of television watching per day. 
Whatever your physical fitness level, again, it’s important to be realistic and to set small attainable goals for yourself and for your family.  Even 10 minutes of activity before work or before your evening dinner can have enormous benefits for your body, your stress level, and for preventing disease.  If you can’t fit in 30 consecutive minutes of physical activity every day, then break it up into 3 – 10 minute segments.  Doing so has proven to be enormously beneficial.
3.      Stop smoking or chewing tobacco
Most people associate cigarette smoking with breathing problems and lung cancer. But did you know that smoking is also a major cause of heart disease for men and women?
About 20% of all deaths from heart disease in the U.S. are directly related to cigarette smoking. That's because smoking is a major cause of coronary artery disease.
A person's risk of heart disease and heart attack greatly increases with the number of cigarettes he or she smokes. Smokers continue to increase their risk of heart attack the longer they smoke. People who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day have more than twice the risk of heart attack than nonsmokers.
 For help to quit smoking call 1-800-784-8669 (The Alaska’s tobacco Quit Line)

Friday, November 2, 2012

Your Vision Statement

Stephen Covey in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” says “Begin with the end in mind”.  So we began the Challenge writing our own personal vision statements.
Reading about the power of vision statements make them exciting and you realize it is a place to return when you get off track with what you want out of life.  You were given some excellent worksheets to help with the vision.  For those who did not attend but might be interested in writing a vision statement for yourselves here are some things to help with your reflections and get you started on your vision: 
What are 5 things you highly value in life?
In 30 sec what are the 3 most important goals in your life right now?
If given one million dollars to give away what would you do with it?
How would you like to spend the last 6 months of your life?
What have you always wanted to do but were to afraid to attempt?
What gives you the greatest feeling of purpose or importance?
List 5 personal strengths.
List 5 personal weaknesses.
A vision statement expresses what we will feel, hear, think, say and do as if we have reached the vision and should be written in the present tense.  Imagine the picture ~ what would you look and feel like at your ideal wellness?
There is no right or wrong way to write your vision unless it doesn’t reflect who you really want to be. 

What is the Well & Fit Community Challenge?

This might help explain what happens at the challenge and our expectations:

v  Attend class.  This 12 week session will be split into two 6 week sessions; 
                             
                              First Session ~ 11/1/12 to 12/13/12,
                              Break ~ 12/20/12 to 1/24/13
                                    Second Session ~ 1/31/13 to 03/07/13

v  Write three 12 week smart goals: 1. Physical Fitness Goal 2. Nutrition 3. Personal Growth.    

v  Write a one week smart intention each week to move you toward your 12 week goals. For example: I will eat one piece of fruit with breakfast.  

Ø  The intentions will be carried over each week. So that by the end of the challenge you have 12 personalized steps that you are working on, to take you closer to your overall goal of improved health and fitness.  For example:  Week 1. I will eat one piece of fruit for breakfast. Week 2. I will be on time to work. Week 3. I will run at least 20 steps of my 20 minute walk. This means week 3 you are actually eating a piece of fruit for breakfast, arriving on time to work and running 20 steps…

v  Be active at least 20 consecutive minutes daily.  This is above and beyond your usual daily activity. You will be given 3 programs for fitness that can be adapted to the individual. We expect you to do these as well. One of them will count as part of your 20 min the other two will be in addition to.

v  You will also be given focused nutrition information each week. We expect you will take this information and make specific adjustments to your normal nutritional habits.

v  Read the “Well & Fit Community Challenge Blog at www.hainesak.com, (under local blogs) ~ comments always welcome ~ this will earn you one extra ticket for the weekly drawing. 

v  If weight loss is a goal we encourage you to keep a daily log of your intake through a food tracker or nutrition journal. This can be simply writing each item down in the blank journal provided or using an online tracker.


Starting a New Challenge 11/1/12

We, Marnie Hartman and Pam Sloper, are back with a new challenge, with some exciting changes.  We are having a split session with a time between when you can really incorporate those new habits and then come back for some additional support or the next steps.  If you can’t make the first session you are still welcome to start the second session.  First session runs through 12/13/12 and the second 6- week session starts up on 1/31/13.  The $35 fee is good for the entire session and it all comes back to you.  We are meeting on Thursday evenings, 6 to 7 pm, at the Haines School Library. 
Wondering why you should participate in the Well & Fit Community Challenge?  
·          It is low cost!   Only $35 for the entire program and the money comes back to you in way of cash and prizes for participation and success.  
·          It’s more than just about losing weight – the goal is for holistic health in the six areas of wellness. 
·          It’s flexible – instead of being told what to do, each individual is given the tools to create their own unique challenge based on personal goals. This will encourage long term change.
·          It’s about teamwork – even though participants register as individuals, we will encourage you to use others participating in the challenge and recruit your friends, family and neighbors to support you!
·          You can win for yourself – in addition to feeling better and having more energy, you will have the opportunity to meet new people and win some cash.
·          It’s for you, for life! – Well & Fit Community Challenge will help you make lifelong changes that can add years to your life and enjoyment to those years.   
The concept behind this challenge is to “find your balance.” Using the traditional model of wellness, which incorporates social, intellectual, physical, spiritual, emotional and environmental wellness; look for areas in your life that could use more balance. Use the challenge to improve on these areas. Please keep in mind that this challenge is for you! You have succeeded even if you make small changes to improve just one area of wellness!