2009 November Archive at themojocoach.com

Archive for November, 2009

Mojo for the Holidays Contest

Published on November 18, 2009 in General. 10 Comments

Are you waiting for January 1st to begin your weight loss program?

Have you resigned yourself to the fact that you’re probably going to gain weight during the holiday season?

Yes, you’re about to enter the period of time where we tend to gain the most weight (and feel the most stress!) But, in one 30-minute, one-on-one Mojo Coach® Holiday Strategy Session I can give you a personalized plan to prevent holiday weight gain!

We will talk about everything from how to handle parties to how to deal with the well meaning “food pushers” you’ll be visiting with over the next few weeks! We’ll talk about preventing the physical, emotional and mental wear and tear the holidays can cause, strategies for cocktail parties, sit down dinners, what to bring, drink and even what to wear to prevent weight gain! (Remember, I’ve worked exclusively with hundreds of moms as a Registered Dietitian, Personal Trainer and Whole Health Coach for nearly 20 years and I’m going to give you everything that’s worked for them and we’ll find the perfect strategies that will work for YOU!)

Get a jump on some healthy habits now before you feel that overwhelmed, overextended and overstuffed feeling the holidays may bring! Then you can move into the New Year with a head start on your healthy resolutions.

If you want to guarantee your strategy session with me, you can sign up now for a 30 minute Mojo Coach® Holiday Strategy Session - that’s all we’ll need to strategize YOUR personal holiday survival plan for success. Besides getting a unique and specific plan based around your individual needs, challenges, obstacles, lifestyle and more, your $200 strategy session investment will include:

• A Complimentary copy of my book: The Lifestyle Fitness Program: A Six Part Plan So Every Mom Can Look, Feel and Live Her Best (recommended by Parenting Magazine)
• My Free Report: 10 Tips to Avoid Weight Gain from Mindless Munching!
• A Free subscription to my e-mail newsletter: Mojo Moments
• 52 weeks of tips and advice for getting your body, mind and spirit in shape!
• Access to resources, articles and more!

If you want to make sure you have everything you need in place to prevent weight gain, stress and overwhelm this holiday season, a limited number of spots are available for this unique type of coaching session. Secure your spot, give yourself a holiday gift (or have a special someone get this gift for you!) and get started right now.

AND, I’m offering 2 lucky women the chance to win one of these $200 value Mojo Coach® Holiday Strategy Sessions…for FREE!

To enter the contest, do one or more of the following things – multiple entries will be accepted (and encouraged!) So spread the mojo around and give yourself more chances to win! Encourage your friends to enter - the more the merrier! And couldn’t we all use a little extra mojo at this time of the year?

1) In the comments below, tell me the biggest challenges you face during the holidays.

2) Become a fan of The Mojo Coach on Facebook and write on the wall what your challenges are.

3) Tweet about the contest on Twitter and include the hashtag #GETMOJO. Here are a few sample tweets you can use:

• I entered to win a free session with @themojocoach http://www.TheMojoCoach.com/blog #getmojo

• No weight gain this holiday season with @themojococh http://www.TheMojoCoach.com/blog #getmojo

• I want to win a holiday strategy session with @themojocoach http://www.TheMojoCoach.com/blog #getmojo

4) Write about the contest on your own blog and link to this post.

Entries will be accepted starting NOW until midnight on Thanksgiving (November 26th). Winners will be chosen at random and will be contacted via e-mail on Monday, November 30th.

So get to work on your entries and spread the mojo all around the internet. I look forward to working with you to overcome those holiday challenges!

While you are here, get a jump start by entering your name and email in the sign up boxes at the top of the page (right under my picture). You’ll instantly start receiving:

• My Free Report: 10 Tips to Avoid Weight Gain from Mindless Munching!
• A Free subscription to my e-mail newsletter: Mojo Moments
• 52 weeks of tips and advice to get your body, mind and spirit in shape!
• Access to resources, articles and more!

If you are anxious to get started now you can sign up now for a Mojo Coach® Holiday Strategy Session, I promise it is worth every penny!. If you enter and win the contest, you will get an additional 30 minute follow-up session for FREE!! Signing up is easy, just click here and I’ll email you to set up the best date and time to plan YOUR strategy session ASAP!

For those entering for a chance to win your Mojo Coach® Holiday Strategy Session for FREE, good luck!

Your Perfect Workout

Published on November 16, 2009 in General. 0 Comments

Is there such thing as the “perfect workout”? There are an endless number of books, DVDs, websites and infomercials that offer the perfect plan to whip you into shape in record time.

Which one is really the perfect one?

What would your perfect workout be? Really, it would be the one that you enjoy and can commit to doing on a regular basis.

Is it a stroll in the park, taking a class, a rigorous hour of tennis, or using the stairmaster during your favorite TV show? Maybe it means focusing on your breath in a yoga class, stretching your muscles with pilates or running to your favorite songs. The choices go on for workouts that can benefit your body, mind and soul.

But many moms don’t exercise at all. In fact, the only exercise they’re getting is exercising their right not to exercise.

Now like many moms, let’s say you haven’t exercised in an embarrassingly long time. Your never-ending to-do list got the best of you and the only way you could get everything done was by cutting your own self care right off your list. So unfortunately, exercise was one of the things to go. At some point, you began to feel sluggish, lethargic and unfit. Maybe you noticed that your clothes weren’t fitting as well as they used to. You may have realized that while you used to sprint up the steps, now you’re huffing and puffing as you near the top. Whatever causes you to see that you need exercise in your life doesn’t matter, as long as you use that information to get going.

If this sounds like you, it’s time to find your perfect workout.

Even if you haven’t worked out in weeks, months, even years - you need to find something that you can enjoy. If you’re starting out from a long period of not exercising, it is also important that you begin at a level that’s just slightly more challenging than what you feel you can easily do. This way, you don’t scare yourself off from beginning and sticking with a new routine. It’s also a great way to build confidence in yourself.

By setting a goal that’s reasonable, then achieving that goal, you gain the confidence to keep trying. It’s an empowering feeling to take back the reins and know that your fitness, health and priorities are up to you.

You can always start with walking. You know how to do it, you don’t need to be exceptionally coordinated and all you need is a properly fitting pair of walking shoes. Just getting outside, looking at the changing leaves or noticing the beauty that surrounds you may be enough to keep you motivated to walk. If that’s not enough, you can bring an iPod or MP3 player to listen to your favorite music. There are also some great services which enable you to download walking workouts according to your workout level and needs. You can even download podcasts of programs you enjoy, recordings of audio books, or just use the quiet time as an opportunity to clear your head.

Another convenient option is to use exercise DVDs. There are so many options available that you are sure to find something that you enjoy. You can try starting out with easy workouts and then as you progress, move up to longer or more challenging choices. A great resource for exercise DVDs is Collage Video. This website includes video clips of each DVD and lots of detailed information about the different videos. You could also check out SwapADVD.com for a great source of (practically free) DVDs.

For moms of babies and toddlers, you might want to check out Stroller Strides. This is like an exercise club for moms where the stroller and your child are used as exercise equipment. This can be a great way to incorporate time with your kids, socializing with other moms, and exercise!

Once you have an idea of what kind of exercise makes sense for you, the next challenge is finding time to do it. You may work outside the home, have a newborn, or whatever. You can justify or make excuses for anything you don’t want to do. The idea is to find a way to get it done so you can feel good again.

If you work outside the home, you can have a gym bag packed and ready, and head to the gym before work or before you come home. If you feel guilty about taking extra time away from your kids, maybe realizing that the happier mom is, the better she is for everyone else is enough to change your mind. You can also try exercising during your lunch break, taking a short walking break every hour or find an exercise buddy you can walk with and be accountable to.

If you are at home with young children, there are some other strategies you may want to try. Get on that treadmill in your home, pop in that DVD or just tune into your local exercise channel. Just put your baby in an safe area nearby. Your baby may even get a real kick out of watching his or her mommy working out. If not, he or she can use the time to sleep, snack or play. If your children are a little older, give them a special activity that they only get to do while mommy works out. They’ll look forward to the activity while you get your workout in.

If you want to workout outside, there are great exercise joggers that allow you to walk, jog or run with your child safely strapped in. You can also wear your baby in a Baby Bjorn or baby backpack. This adds weighted resistance to your workout while taking away any excuse you may have! Your baby will also love the special time feeling close to you while getting some fresh air. Another option is to join a class for moms and their kids. If that doesn’t work for you, many health clubs offer babysitting for a small fee. Lastly, you can hire a babysitter or find a friend that is willing to take turns babysitting each others children so you can both make the time for much needed self care.

It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do something. The key is to find a way to incorporate exercise back into your life. If you do nothing now and exercise for fifteen minutes tomorrow, you’re moving in the right direction. What’s most important is that you give your body, mind and soul what they so rightfully deserve.

And as you begin to feel better about your body and your commitment to take better care of yourself, your body will gratefully respond by slowly getting back to being the finely tuned machine it is meant to be.

So take some time to think about how exercise can fit into your life, and take the first steps toward a new, healthy habit and a fit and happy you!

Suggestions? Comments? Ideas? Please leave a comment or send me a note! Spread that Mojo!!

Pounds or Pants? Measuring Weight-Loss Success

Published on November 9, 2009 in General. 1 Comment

How can you measure weight loss success?

Some of my clients like to measure pounds on the scale. Others like to use a tape measure to track body measurements. Others choose to be professionally tested using skin calipers or hydrostatic weighing. Still others use the fit of their clothes or the compliments they receive.

There are pros and cons for each of these methods, so it is important to understand them all in order to determine which one works best for you.

1) The Scale

It sure can be motivating when the needle moves to the left. But what if you are including some strength training in your exercise program and building muscle? Your weight may remain steady (or even go up) as the composition of your body changes. So you may be looking better, but the scale isn’t showing your success. This can be really frustrating!

Also, during weight loss, many of my clients reach a plateau. Your body isn’t a computer and may not lose weight with the kind of precision we’d like. You may not show a weight loss for a few weeks and then show a fairly dramatic loss all of a sudden. If you go by the numbers on the scale alone, you may become discouraged.

2) Tape Measure

The tape measure method can be very motivating or very discouraging, depending on who’s doing the measuring and the results you get. I’ve worked with moms who’ve been so unhappy with their bodies that the thought of taking measurements is nothing short of terrifying. Although it may serve as an effective benchmark, many moms find it a discouraging way to begin their program.

For some, seeing the cold hard “before” measurements can be more damaging than any later benefit of tracking progress. If you can handle the initial shock, tracking inches can be more motivating than tracking pounds because as you build muscle and reduce, you can see that the shape of your body is changing, even if the numbers on the scale don’t show the change.

If you do want to go the tape measure route, make sure that you take your measurements at the same time and same day from month to month. This will allow you to see progress and avoid measuring excess water retention due to PMS, etc. Measure your upper arm, upper thigh, waist, hip and bust. Try to be consistent about where you measure so that you can accurately see your hard work paying off.

3) High tech Body Fat Measurements (Calipers, Hydrostatic)

These technologies have the benefit of more accurately measuring the overall composition of your body. Watching as your body fat percentage goes down can be very motivating, even if your weight stays consistent.

However, both of these techniques, involve having a professional involved in the measurements, which is probably unrealistic for most people. Also, measurements using skin calipers also depend on the expertise and precision of the person doing the tests and can vary from expert to expert.

4) “Skinny” Jeans Test

Some moms feel that the best way to judge weight loss and fitness success is by noting how they fit and feel in their clothes. I always encourage my clients to find a specific pair of pants that they’re trying to fit into. It doesn’t matter if, when you start out, you can’t even get them past your knees. From week to week, on a consistent day of the week and time of day, try on the pants and notice how they fit. If they couldn’t go past your knees and now they do, that’s progress! If they’re over your knees and creeping up your thighs, good for you!

5) Compliment Test

Receiving a compliment can make your day. But choosing compliments as your success measure can be dangerous. You may not get all of the compliments that you deserve as many of the people in your life may be too preoccupied with other thoughts, or feel uncomfortable about commenting on your appearance. Many people feel that by noticing your smaller size, they are drawing attention to the fact that at one point you were heavier. Others may be jealous of your weight loss success.

The best person to try to impress is yourself. You know your body best and can recognize how it is changing as a result of your hard work. So choose a way to measure your success that’s unique and personal for you, but feel free to enjoy the compliments when they do come your way!

Consider which method makes the most sense for you, and which would be most motivating. Commit to one of these measures and take the time to track your success on a regular basis. The idea is to see the success and feel proud, inspired, and happy with your results.

If you have found an interesting way to track your progress toward a healthier you, please share your story with me. I love to learn from all of the fabulous Mojo Moms out there!!

Too many Treats?

Published on November 1, 2009 in General. 0 Comments

First, I hope you had a wonderfully fun Halloween and that your kids enjoyed dressing up and seeing all of their friends in costume. Now that the excitement has settled, you may be faced with a huge pile of candy and wondering what to do with it. Maybe you are thinking, “They’re kids, it can’t be THAT bad for them.”

Let me share some frightening statistics from the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity (a problem so large that it has its own Journal!)

Childhood obesity is the greatest health risk our kids face today
By the year 2010 (that’s next year) it is expected that 50% of all children will be overweight
This is the first generation where kids have a lower life expectancy than their parents

We’re spending billions of dollars on healthcare and our kids are unhealthier than ever. What’s going on here?

One thing that’s going on is that the average American child’s diet consists of one third junk food. Snacks, candy and other prepackaged foods, desserts filled with far and sugar make up a large portion of their daily intake. And I’m not just talking about special occasions like Halloween and Christmas. This is every day. All day.

The “food” that kids are eating is nutrient void but dense in calories. The lowest quality calories that you can find. These are the choices that are placed at a child’s eye level in the grocery store, and not by accident. Ads for these high-sugar, high-fat, low-nutrition foods air during your children’s favorite TV shows. The commercials for these foods are filled with bright colors, music, action and the promise of something special.

An additional issue is that, as a nation, we are suffering from “portion distortion”, and this includes our children. They are learning to super-size, and purchase “economy size” and “value sized” meals themselves. They are constantly being bombarded with unhealthy food choices and learning that “bigger is better.”

And then the problems of low-quality, high-volume eating are compounded by an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Think back to when you were a kid. Chances are you played outside with the neighborhood kids after school until it became dark. Kids today come home from school and many of them spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in front of the TV or a computer screen.

So here’s a troubling equation for you:

Sedentary Lifestyle + High Fat/High Sugar Foods + Huge Portions =

Overweight Kids

Now some kids have the opposite problem, instead of being sedentary, these kids have no down-time at all. They’re being shuffled from one activity to the next day in and day out. What are they eating during all of this “shuffle time”? For many moms, the easiest solution is either grabbing fast food to eat on the run, or grabbing some snacks for the kids to eat in the car. See where I’m going here?

In our well-meaning attempts to give the best to our children, we push the limits until the only possible way to get everything done is to cut corners. These corners frequently impact the food choices we make (for ourselves and our kids) when our lives become hectic and out of control.

So another bad news equation (we seem to be on a math kick!):

Overbooked Kids + Overstressed Moms + Convenience Foods = Overweight/Overstressed Kids

Let me give you an embarrassing example of overplanning gone horribly wrong.

Before I understood the importance of a sane lifestyle, downtime and reduced stress, I had my kids enrolled in anything I could sign up for. From the minute they finished school until the minute they were all sleeping, every minute was planned. We had to be at a game, practice, or event every evening, often doing homework in the car on the way. Very often I’d have at least one of my four children crying because they just wanted to be home playing.

One day, I grabbed some chicken nuggets to “feed” them during our shuffling. As we drove from one activity to the next, I started flinging chicken nuggets over my shoulder to my kids in the middle and back rows of my SUV. I was in a panic because we were running late, and the kids were crying because they were tired from all of the running around, and my aim was so bad that no one could “catch” their dinner as it flew past! When I finally took a moment to think about it, I cringed at my behavior.

That was my daughter’s last day of soccer practice. She doesn’t miss it and we haven’t veered back into that overplanned life since.

Take a look at how your lifestyle impacts your kids and see if it’s contributing to the development of unhealthy habits. Consider making changes that make healthy choices and a sane lifestyle part of the plan for everyone in the family. From stocking the snack cabinet with healthy choices, to making a plan to sit down as a family for a real dinner on a regular basis, to planning activities that get you all away from the TV for a few hours, you can make sure your kids start off on the right foot building a healthy lifestyle.

Do you have some examples of how you have worked to build healthier habits into your family routine? Any tips for keeping the holidays fun without an overload of treats? Please comment or drop me a note to share your thoughts - I always love to hear from you!