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Got Willpower?

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“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Is willpower finite?

Only if that’s the game you want to play. A study at Stanford University offers insight on how we might leverage the philosophical notion of willpower.

In research by long revered psychologist, Carol Dweck (et. al.), when viewed as deplete-able, willpower becomes an enigma, a ghostly version of its true depth. Stanford students who believed willpower was a limited resource procrastinated 35 percent more, ate junk food 24 percent more often, and performed poorly on concentration tests. This manifested in self talk such as, “If I just finish this one part of my work, I can take a TV break.” They were then less likely to go back to the work. The theory goes, if you feel a motivational well is going to run dry, panic builds and bad hording tactics ensue.

I can’t tell you how many people say to me, “I have no willpower,” when it comes to health. Indeed, I’ve also felt this lack of will, and yet I’ve accomplished heart wrenchingly difficult goals that, when I look back, astonish me. We all have.

In looking back, other people ask, “How did you make it through such-and-such?” My answer is always immediate and exact, “Sometimes you just put your head down and go. Had I known what was in store, I might not have done it, but it beat the alternative.”

This is what Ghandi meant by “Indomitable Will.” It is automatic when we are facing what matters most to us in life. How can we apply this will always, not just in desperate times that call for desperate measures (Thomas Paine)?

There is something to be said for the “Just do it” approach. We don’t like that it implies we all have the skills, tools, and knowledge to do what “it” takes in a safe and effective manner, which isn’t always the case. Those things being present and equal, however, “Just do it” does require us to cut through gratuitous drama or whining that allows us to play victim.

Dweck’s research gives power to the term resolve. When people say, “give yourself a break” it’s important to stop and sift out how much back patting you really need in order to go on. Yes, get up and stretch and get oxygen flowing again. Yes, stop and meditate to re-center your brain and heart rhythms when stress is overwhelming. Yes, vent and laugh with loved ones. These are all critical coping techniques and integral to success, but only as part of the big picture, not in lieu of it and only if you get back on the horse. Resolve to reach your goal with an indomitable will.

So, before you “break,” zoom out and look at the end product you desire (the goal you truly want and what’s most important to you) and ask, “Is what I’m doing now helping me get there?” If sloughing off, for its own sake is more important to you in that moment, so be it. No judgment. Just be clear that you are choosing a different PATH at that moment and you are deciding to put off achieving what you want. Again, no judgment, just clarity.

In some cases, veering happens — a small detour due to life’s interruptions. Making a plan to grab hold of your resolve again and re-point your focus is vital.

Oh, and here’s a quick tip that can help:

When you feel you’re about to veer (e.g that box of donuts is calling to you from the staff lounge), a study from University of Chicago says to clench your fists.  Seriously!  Drop temptation by tightening up your muscles and pushing the urge out of your soul.

Bottom line:

Will doesn’t leave us. Distractions overbear us with the nagging question, “is this really worth it?” Stop, clench and zoom! If your goal is what you truly want, the answer has to be “yes.” In which case, don’t take a break. Stretch, breathe, dig deep and carry on.

How do you keep your resolve? Let us know on the PATH Ahead!

Farmer’s Market Finds…

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If you are like most Americans, you struggle to eat enough fruits and vegetables. Consider the USDA’s new “ChooseMyPlate” image – half of your plate at every meal should consist of fruits and vegetables.

If there is ever a time to up your fruit and vegetable consumption it’s now, the start of summer.  Along with beautiful warm, sunny weather, summer brings an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. Don’t be concerned if you don’t have a Farmer’s Market nearby – this time of year, you can often find a great selection of fresh, local ingredients in your regular grocery store. To find out what’s in season in your part of the country, check out Epicurious’ Seasonal Ingredient Map.

And to help you along the PATH, for the next several weeks, we’ll be providing you with a couple of our “tried and true” recipe ideas and simple preparation tips.

This week’s ideas are inspired by two of our late spring / early summer favorites available now at our local farm stand: Arugula and Carrots.

Arugula salad

  • Toss a bunch of arugula greens with 1-2 teaspoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a few grinds of black pepper
  • Top with a couple shavings of parmesan cheese

Carrot and Chick Pea Salad

  • Drain and rinse 1 can of chick peas
  • Combine chick peas with 4-6 shredded carrots, ¼ diced red onion, 2 T. chopped fresh parsley and a couple ounces of crumbled feta cheese
  • Toss with red wine vinegar and oil dressing  and salt and pepper to taste

 

Sunny Skies

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In spite of torrential storms this spring, we’re still eeking toward summer and when the solar glare makes its way past the clouds, it seems stronger than ever.  I’ve already been caught by surprise twice this year without sunscreen and my skin is angry!

A little sun on the skin, for most of us, can be healthy.  Just 15 minutes will give you tens of thousands of IUs (international units) of Vitamin D which helps boost your immune system, strengthen your bones, manage weight, stave off colon, prostate and other cancers, and so much more.

Sunscreens, however, block UVB rays that allow your skin to synthesize Vitamin D in concert with the liver.  Since we only need 15 minutes of sun for this process, experts such as Dr. Mehmet Oz (Real Age and the Dr. Oz Show) and researchers at the National Institute of Health recommend minimal sun exposure to the legs, arms, or back…  BUT! Don’t forget to cover up after.

The CDC reminds us to “apply sunscreen approximately 30 minutes before being in the sun (for best results) so that it can be absorbed by the skin and is less likely to wash off when you perspire.” Dr. Oz’s Real Age collaborator, Dr. Michael Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic suggests stepping out on that directive 10-15 minutes early once a week.  That way you won’t forget to lather up and you’ll still soak up some D-producing UVBs. Continue reading “Sunny Skies”

A Cobra By Any Other Name

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We think this exercise is poorly named in that it scares people.  We say, don’t be scared by Cobra.  Cobra is friendly and fun.

Beginner Version - if you're very inflexible

In yoga the ancient Sanskrit name for this pose is “bhujangasana”, prounced “boo-jang-ah-sanna” which means serpent.  We like saying “boo-jang-anything”!  It’s sort of like “boo-yah!”

Which is cousin to “ba-da-bing” or “right on!”  Why do I mention all these celebratory notes?  Because this exercise makes you feel like celebrating!  It opens up the chest and neck while strengthening the thighs.  As an added bonus, this exercise also tightens up the hind quarters! It feels good and makes you look good.

More Advanced - Straight arms but my hips are off the floor - that's a no-no

Continue reading “A Cobra By Any Other Name”

A New Nutrition Icon is Unveiled!

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On Monday we said goodbye to the USDA Food Pyramid in wrapped anticipation of a new educational icon to guide our nutritional way.

Thursday MyPyramid.gov has become ChooseMyPlate.gov

USDA says Bye-bye Pyramid, Hello Plate

The unveiling is exciting!  Supporting one of our PATH mantras, “Good health has got to be the PATH of least resistance,” US Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, said, “We’re working to make healthy choices easy choices.”

How does the new plate image do that?

Continue reading “A New Nutrition Icon is Unveiled!”

A Different Kind of Thank You

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Happy Memorial Day.

My friend Fran posted the following quote on Facebook today…

Life shrinks and expands in proportion to one’s courage.  — Anais Nin.

Thank you to all those who have served our country, in all ways.  While there have been moments of conduct unbecoming, which have been eagerly promoted in the tabloids, by and large, we thrive in part because of the countless moments of quiet heroism across our land.

Not enough can be said to thank our troops.  I’ll leave that eloquence to those who know that world better than I.

I want to thank a different army serving our country today — the soon to be “In Memoriam” Food Guide Pyramid.

I want to thank state and federal government officials working in public health — from teachers to health commissioners.  Let’s be clear…  They don’t do it for the money or the glory.  This is a labor of love and their courage literally expands our lives.  Imagine your teeth without public health over the past 30 years.  Look at the anti-smoking revolution of the past three decades.  Look at what’s happening with farm-to-table efforts and the “eat local” movement.  It’s remarkable really.

This is what the pyramid could have looked like - Click on it to see the details

Yesterday I made fun of the USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid because of the politics that complicated the retiring icon and the sad reality that a new icon will be plagued by the same.  However, delve into the political background and you’ll see that everyone is doing their best.  It’s not because people are evil or behave badly (though sometimes this happens). It’s because we all want what’s best for our families, communities and country.  To be willing to take on the battle requires grace and stamina.

By the way, the Food Pyramid along with the 5-A-Day fruits and veggies campaigns were funded on less than $2 million.  Burger King and its contemporaries spend $26 BILLION a year to get our attention.  And yet public health still got through to us.  Is there anyone reading this who doesn’t know about the Food Pyramid?  A little bit goes a long way. (Read more in the recent NY Times post.)

Meeting everyone’s needs is impossible so, in public health, we seek the greatest good for the greatest number and work to sift out additional services for the outliers.  It’s a hefty battle and I salute those who face the bureaucracy, the public wrath, the powerful lobbyists (Monsanto, Beef and Dairy, you know who you are), the tabloids, the health-phobic culture, and the deeply frustrating reality of people’s poor health habits each day.

We can change the world for good and with minimal resources?  We could do it faster and better with all of us pulling for healthy choices and a healthy future. (Click here for the New Dietary Guidelines)

Indeed, our children depend on such acts.  If we do nothing, today’s children will be the first generation to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents.  Remember, the time is now.

A Quick Ode to Oprah’s Exit…

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What?  So, I cried.  So what?  Don’t judge.

Three thoughts she offered that summed up her 25-year show:

  1. She and her viewers made unprecedented strides to eradicate shame by letting people “get it out” and then being grateful for their courage.
  2. “There’s a difference between feeling you DESERVE happiness and actually feeling WORTHY of happiness.”  We are all worthy, the minute we walk into the room.  No one can create that sense within you, but you.
  3. Most human behavior can be explained by the need to be validated:  “I see you, I hear you and what you say matters to me.”

Diva.

She will forever be labeled so to me.  Whatever your feelings about her, you cannot deny that she gave voice to millions of women (and, eventually, men) who needed to be heard.

What her work has taught us about modern human suffering, and the twinkle of hope that WILL NOT be extinguished in spite of the darkness, changed the tenor of American society forever.  Forever better, forever heard, forever relieved of suffering.

Much has been made of the word “hope” thanks to Obama, and much has been done to malign and patronize this word, no thanks to cranky, disillusioned critics.  No amount of grumpiness can undermine the depth to which millions have enjoyed the true essence of the word, thanks to Oprah’s show.   In so doing, she helped open and ignite the souls of so many of the deeply wounded.  Hope indeed… and inspiration most often put into action.

I raise my glass to her as one of the premier cultural anthropologists of our time — sorry if that offends scientists with integrity, but you know you looked at culture in new ways as a result of her show.  Working in health education with countless people over 20 years, I’ve seen it time after time; people finding their best thinking and totally changing their course for the better because of the forum she put before us.

In short, Oprah fortifies one of our beloved mantras:  Other people matter.  Our gratitude for their contribution to our lives makes the world go around.

Thank you, Ms. O.  And thank you to your team (village).

Our Witty CDC Friends

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When was the last time you heard a public health official crack a joke?

Look no further than into last week when the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) published a blog on…  Wait for it…

The Zombie Apocalypse.

That’s right.  Oh, you’ve probably heard about it by now anyway, because the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post and countless others picked it up right away.  We’re keeping the gruesome fires burning, however, because we’re still in awe.

Those who use social media for good and are able to truly go viral are just plain crackerjack in our book!

I never thought I’d put the CDC in that category, as much as I love them.  Let’s face it… educating the world about prevention is like nailing jell-o to a tree (stole that from a plaque about parenting teenagers, but it’s fitting, no?).  Add in yawner subjects like rubella stacked up against Lady Gaga in the news and you’re out.

But wait!  Cut away to a hip CDC staffer who was tweeting about the nuclear crisis in Japan when someone asked if that could spark a Zombie outbreak (the cause of the epidemic in the 1964 classic horror film “Night of the Living Dead”).  Tweets went a bit wild and the CDC folks got wise.

Next thing you know, they post a blog about Zombies with the caveat, “…and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency.”

And, hey?  And HOW!

A typical CDC post gets 1,000 hits but this one got 40,000 by Tuesday and then crashed their server.  That must have really perked up the Zombie panic!  The server was refreshed and the hits keep coming.

Using pop culture to draw people’s attention to the value of the work they do, and, better yet, to saving lives… pure genius.

Zombie fanatics talk about the affliction as a virus.  The CDC would be first on the scene if such a thing could happen.  No one really gets that, the fact that CDC investigates and stops the spread of infectious diseases, among so many other great deeds (see the NY Times article summary).

Indeed they are unsung heroes, great warriors in the worldly shadows, protecting us from countless close calls.  Why don’t we hear more about it?  Because, panic is deadly — much more so than most diseases.  So they keep a low profile and snuff out perilous super-villain bugs as we unwittingly sip our morning coffee.  That has the unintended consequence of us under-valuing them; so much so that many want to cut funding to this wing of the CDC.

So what better way to help people see they are indispensable? Pop culture.

It’s risky, a bit like Orwell’s War of the Worlds; but the payoff has huge potential.

If we spent as much time and energy on a public health campaign as we do on our general elections, we’d be the healthiest people in history.  Imagine endless TV ads and lawn placards saying “Exercise Matters!  Get Off Your Duff!” or “Eat More Produce — Cure Cancer!”

Lately it seems there are a lot of attempts at fomenting panic about the end of the world, from literature to Hollywood to religion, that it makes sense to jump on this train in a mirrored wacky kind of way — “can’t beat ’em, join ’em”, or “meet them where they are” messaging really works.  If panic ensues, either because the seemingly crazy people were right after all, or because foment spirals into a War of the Worlds madness, the CDC has done a great job helping us prepare.  In fact, this may be all it takes to quell the panic that seems to be percolating; and that’s prevention at its best.  Tax dollars well spent.

I just love it when health education gets really smart by being whimsy and wacky on the surface, scientific underneath.  It’s a spoonful of sugar for the medicine, and a delicate dance done all too little.

Huge kudos to the Feds for breaking away from the stodgy persona with which they are so often sidled.

Let’s hope they can grab us with more.

Walkin’ The Talk!

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The PATH team literally walked the talk last week! And our feet felt it!

Five of us did a 5K race called the Corporate Cup Challenge.  The idea is to walk with your work pals to increase awareness around physical activity.  The race raises money for physical activity grants that are given to schools and other projects that promote healthy living throughout the land.

The best part was the pure fun of it!  So many people experiencing wellness THEIR way.  As for our way?  We walked and gabbed so fast it was over in a blink.   Next year we hope to increase our time while still laughing as much.

It was a gorgeous afternoon, after a soaking wet morning so that was a relief but I’m convinced rain wouldn’t have been able to plunder the fortress of fun we built along the way.  Buddies make all the difference.

Some of us hadn’t walked for a while and so there was much talk about blisters.

Mary Ellen (VP of Sales and Marketing) suggested a great regime.  As a former international event planner, having spent many hours on her feet in expensive, high heeled dress shoes, she has a ton of blister experience…

First, soak your feet in cool water for 10 minutes or so.

Next, do the following yoga stretch (here’s a vintage Olga picture to give you the low-down)…

This is an “inverted” pose which means it’s great for getting the blood flow back to the heart.  It’s an amazing stress management tool and relieves strain in your feet, back, calves and more.

To get into the pose, sit sideways to a wall and scooch your behind right up close to it.  Lie down on your side, knees bent (fetal position), and then rotate to your back (knees now up).  Walk your feet up the wall until your legs are as straight as is comfortable – a little bend in the knee is good.  A lot of bend means your hamstrings (back of the thighs) are tight and you can work on stretching them here while you rest and breath and let the blood flow.

You can use folded blankets to offer cushion and a little more lift or stretch in the lower back (lumbar region).  For added stretch, place the blanket at the top of the hip bones.

Walk the talk this week and rest those tootsies afterward!

See you on the PATH Ahead…

The Wellness Police – Part 2

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What’s a wellness lady to do?  What’s anyone to do?

To further emphasize my point, two days ago one our beloved coordinators told us she is joining a much revered program called VTrim (a highly researched and successful lifestyle and weight management program). Her doctor told her, “You shouldn’t do that program.  You just need gastric by-pass surgery.”  What?  She’s finally ready and wanting to take charge of her body again and her medical home instead suggests a complicated band-aid, thinly veiled as a magic bullet, fraught with risks, costs, and no attempt to fix the root cause in sight?  No wonder I run to the desert table.

So, seriously…  What’s a wellness lady to do?

The right thing.

Simple as that.

Honestly, I have been hiding in the ease of making others feel good.  We do this as parents and friends all too often.  As a result, indulgence is not longer exciting, but run of the mill and expected; and bad manners have run amuck.  We have lost our boundaries and no longer ask each other to stretch and grow with proud passion toward quality of life.  Instead of inspiring others, I’m left impotent, hosting a belly ache and a heaping serving of self-loathing when caught by a mirror.

I own my weight gain and doldrums, I realize.  I’m an adult and I make my own choices.  I do make a plea, however, to those who flaunt guilt and boast about it the minute Shevonne and I walk in the room…  Stop that!  Stop making it acceptable to dismiss people’s efforts to live healthy lives just because you’re not ready to change!  Stop I say!  New thinking (new will power or a new healthy choice) is oh so fragile.  Don’t ruin it for someone else because you’re afraid you don’t currently measure up.

As I say, Shevonne’s courage to call us out is worth applause.  Sometimes we really don’t measure up.  If we placate too much, we’ll never stride ahead.  (For details on Shevonne, see yesterday’s post: “Shhh, Here Come the Wellness Police).

We all must shift the norms, for crying out loud, or, no matter how hard we work at changing our individual habits, the world will not sustain our successes.  You cannot change a person and then put him or her back in the environment in which the original issues arose and expect a different outcome.  We all can and must change together.

French fries are just fine.  But not every day.  Not even every other day.  Maybe not even every week.  A treat is a treat, a rarity to savor.  And empathy means having boundaries while still being supportive.

It takes great effort to move a giant ship in a different direction and it doesn’t happen quickly.  Commitment, patience, optimism and each other are the keys to sustain change and true wellness over a lifetime.

So, Shevonne is learning to stay strong and resolute.  She’s learning to temper her message only enough so it provokes minimal guilt and widens people’s thinking – for example, baked sweet potato wedges are good for you every day and may curb the french fry food cravings.

Me?  I am learning to regain my balance and not hide behind niceties. I’m sticking to my core values and here to help you do the same.

I’m getting back on the horse and I need your help.  Next time you see us coming tell us how excited you are to see us live up to your expectations.  And by all means, I need you to expect me to strive for a better lives, turning the road less traveled into an easily accessible superhighway of healthy choices.

Tell us about a cultural norm you’d like to see us all support in your perfect wellness world?  What can we help you change so you can feel like wellness utopia is within your grasp?

Let us know on the PATH Ahead.