Problem Solving:   Be honest with yourself.  Are you limiting your calories too much in the early hours?  Are you denying yourself fuel?   The Total Health Makeover doesn’t count calories.  Instead we focus on the quality of the food you eat.  As Marilu says, “Take care of the quality and the quantity will take care of itself.”

 Try loading up on nutrition.  Begin your day with fresh fruit.  If you find yourself in need of more food after an hour or so have some whole grains, or some lean protein.   Keep some walnuts or almonds in your desk drawer.  Stay hydrated through the day.  Sip on water all day.  Enjoy herbal tea during a break.  Try breaking your lunch down into two separate meals.  Save half for later in the day.  Smaller portions won’t weigh you down and the second small lunch will get you through the afternoon slump. 

Keep stoking the fire throughout the day and plan a healthy and filling evening meal.  (If you’re following our current class the meal planning is practically being done FOR you.)  Making a few small changes throughout the day can help you with both your short term and long term goals.

You don’t have to be a football fan to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday.  It’s a big day…especially for those of you in the Northeast where both teams are represented.   Super Bowl Parties are notorious for their food.  (What’s a Super Bowl Party if not a big spread?)

Like turkey on Thanksgiving  there are some foods that are just EXPECTED to be on the table today.  In fact it’s estimated that there will be 1.25 million pounds of hot wings consumed.  (What you just felt was the collective shudder of vegetarians and vegans everywhere.)

There will also be 9 million pizza deliveries.  (Tip well…the poor guy is missing the big game.) 

And 51.7 million cases of beer will be purchased in anticipation of tonight.

The good news?  The most common item found on the table on Super Bowl Sunday is a veggie platter.

The bad news?  It’s not enough to override the other choices. 

The average caloric intake from the party alone (not including other meals) is 1200.  This will include 50 grams of fat.

It’s no wonder that the sale of antacids is highest (up by 20%) on the Monday after Super Bowl.

Please consider opting for whole grain chips and crackers.  Choose hummus instead of dairy dips.  Make water easy to grab.  Guacamole and nuts are not low calorie foods but if you make the guacamole yourself and choose raw, unsalted cashews over a tin of mixed salted nuts you’ll be ahead of the game.

Football cupcakes are cute (overdone but cute) but a bowl of non dairy yogurt with fresh fruit and granola would be a welcome change.

It’s okay to indulge a little, and you should do that with no guilt.  But with a few healthy choices, good friends, and a few exciting plays, there’s no need to over indulge in order to have a good time.

If you made resolutions that you haven’t kept today is amnesty day.  Give yourself a break and forget about sweeping declarations.   When it comes to setting goals there is no deadline. Forward motion is really all that matters in your health journey. 

JUST KEEP ON MOVING !

Ten minutes to read. Ten minutes for a soothing eye mask or hand massage.  Ten minutes to write a note to a friend or take a walk around the block.  Ten minutes for prayer, meditation or playing an instrument.  Ten minutes to play with your pet,  have an unhurried conversation with your partner or child.  Do the thing you know will help you recharge.

The only rule is that it be something that you enjoy…not a catch-up task.

Norman Vincent Peale

Today make a conscious decision to change one thought, or one habit.  One small change can be a new, healthy, beginning!

The Total Health Makeover is a plan that enables you to live your life !!   It’s about TOTAL health and what’s healthier than sharing a meal with good friends?  Here are some tips to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle AND an active social calendar:

- Check out the restaurant’s menu on line and familiarize yourself with the dishes.

- Call ahead to ask about substitutions or to special order a vegetarian or vegan selection.  (This is surprisingly easy and especially helpful in banquet situations such as weddings and business functions.)

- Make no apologies.  Order what you want according to your own priorities.  It’s your life to live.

- In order to stay hydrated have two glasses of water for every alcoholic beverage.

- Ask for a take away container at the start of the meal.  Packing up half of an oversized serving will make you less tempted to finish it off .

- Check out the appetizers for healthy selections which, when paired with a salad, would be suitable as a meal.

- If there’s music hit the dance floor.  You’re not the only one there who hasn’t been professionally trained.  Move and have fun!

- Remember WHY you’re out.  You could always eat at home.  You’re there for the company so take your focus off the food and enjoy the conversation and the friendships.

Marilu Henner

Marilu has included GUSTO as one of the 10 basic steps of her program, because  it’s every bit as important as the other, seemingly more basic, steps.  Even if you aren’t where you want to be with your physical goals you can get through any situation with gusto.  And the added bonus is that it will ultimately improve your self image which will give you even more motivation to improve your health.

Begin today. 

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING !!

Everyone has it….it’s the extent to which you’re able to handle it that determines how much it will affect your life.  Determine how much of your anxiety is brought on by your own decision making, or scheduling practices.  Could you benefit from de-cluttering your office, from stepping off a committee, from allowing someone else to host the next holiday? 

Here are a few tips to help you keep life more manageable and keep stress off your doorstep:

EXERCISE…this burns off stress related chemicals and releases endorphins into our systems.  Thirty minutes of exercise provides immediate reduction in tension.

SAY NO…..at the very least don’t say yes right away.  We’re so eager to please that we often say yes without thinking .  Always take 24 to 36 hours to think about it before shouldering a new responsibility.  (Obviously this does NOT apply to helping someone in an emergency situation.)

GO SOAK…..take time for yourself in a hot bath, infused with baking soda, epsom salts, or geranium or lavender oils. Or treat yourself to a relaxing massage.

HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT…laughing is thought to increase the various measures of the immune system.  You’ve heard people say “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry”,  and it’s true as it’s an indicator of your ability to find humor in the ironies of life.  It’s the ultimate coping mechanism.

Marian Wright Edelman

(Sometimes it really IS all about you…or it should be.)