Is Today THE Day?

 

Is Today THE Day?

THE Day…is it today, next Monday, January 1^st, or 6 months before that class reunion? As you may or may not know, my day came after a series of events.  It started with thinking that losing “baby weight” was probably out of the question as my baby turned 6 years old.  It continued with hearing health and wellness expert speak about health and wellness.  It hit me like a ton of bricks after my mother had a devastating stroke.  My day finally arrived that day.

Let’s think about your day. My first two cents comes in the form of me yelling in your ear “TODAY IS YOUR DAY!!”  Don’t make the mistake of waiting for some arbitrary day to start making those healthy choices.  When you wait for THE day-that day circled in red on your calendar- you begin what feels like a death march.  You do things like eat an entire cheesecake believing that it will be the last time you’ll taste that creamy goodness for the rest of your life.  You drink 3 margaritas telling yourself that after THE day you’ll be drinking water with lemon during your next girls’ night out.  I know some of you will have that ceremonial last supper that represents the end of all bad food choices by completely gorging yourselves. 

Don’t waste time. Try to remember that life is long…hopefully.  You didn’t develop your habits overnight.  They’ve come as a result of gradual changes over time.  It is this kind of change that is everlasting. Let’s get that pendulum swinging in the direction of health and wellness.  Start with thinking “both/and” versus “either/or”.  Instead of saying that pop or soda is the devil, drink a large glass of water before you grab that carbonated beverage.  You may or may not be thirsty enough to drink it.   Instead of passing that pizza up all together, have a hearty salad first and then have the pizza if you have room.  I guarantee you will not have as much room for the pizza as you would have if you jumped right in to that cheesy slice first.  Adding versus taking away always feels better to me and I’m guessing for you as well.  ANY change you make, no matter how small, is definitely worth doing.  This also goes for exercise or activity as well.  I have been there. Completely motivated, bordering on manic.  I’ve taken 2 exercise classes back to back or been over confident in the weight room.  The morning after is never a pretty thing.  Activity like that results in creative swearing, awkward hobbling, and usually a lot of over the counter pain relievers.  What I suggest is to just do more.  That’s right.  Just do more. I understand that it sounds a bit simplistic, but why does it have to be complicated?  If you are a couch potato – you know who you are – get up and walk for 10 minutes.  If that feels okay, then go ahead and walk for 15 minutes the next day or go for two 10 minute walks instead.  If you have been active in the past, take it up again, but start realistically.  If you used to work out 5 days a week, try starting with 2 or 3 days at first. 

These gradual changes apply to your family as well.  You know that the “others” in your household will rise up against you should you try to instill a slew of drastic changes.  Who needs that kind of additional drama?  Swearing off fast food all together may be impossible.  I know this is the case at my house.  I try desperately to plan ahead and not get caught in the drive-thru lane.  Alas, I’m not Wonder Woman and I’m okay with this reality.  We, as a family, eat very healthy about 80% of the time.  What’s that look like? No one in the house ever skips breakfast. We all pack lunch 4 out of 5 days during the week.  There are always 2 servings of vegetables or fruit with every meal.  Fruit bowls are full of apples, pears and bananas so we grab those first.  When we do get fast food we share fries instead of getting a box for each of us.  We drink water or milk.  When we have something that is not so good for us, we balance it by doing something that is good for us.  Good for us ideas can be a long family walk, a glass of milk and an apple with dessert, or making sure that we have extra veggies the next day.

You know where you are.  Now is the time to take yourself and your family forward.  These changes are meant to reward not punish. You all deserve a healthy and happy life. In the midst of all the chaos of life, take the time to make health and wellness a conscious part of your daily routine until it becomes routine.  As I think about my mother who didn’t take the time to make healthy lifestyle choices. I hope and strive for a different life for myself and my family.  Health and wellness may not be a priority until you don’t have it. Don’t take your health for granted because it may just be a day away from being something very different. 

Make today THE day!

Live Well,

Toni Kuhel

….Stressed?!? Part 3 – tah dah!!!

 

Wooooooo hoooooooooo!!!

Happy Friday everyone!!!!!! You made it! The weekend is almost here and I know you’ve earned every last second of it.  Not to burst your bubble but Monday will be here before you know it and with it may come a teeny weeny tiny bit of stress. Just sayin’.  If you’ve been following the last 2 blogs, you know we’ve been on a stress busting mission.  If you’ve missed the last 2 then scroll down to catch up.  Today is the last in this blog series ….thank goodness! I had a friend ask if I was especially stressed because I’d been blogging about it.  Nooooooo. Not especially, just normally stressed and that’s enough for me.  So here’s the last of my two cents on this subject….for now 🙂 .

•  Eat happy and be happy.  Dark chocolate, beer, red wine, coffee!!!!  Have I got your attention?  You can have these!! All things in moderation, but these treats can actually be good for you.  Oh happy day! 

 

First let’s get the stress inducing foods out of the way.  Things to avoid are foods laden with sugar and caffeine (soda/pop), as well as “white” foods (white bread, chips, white crackers etc).  These cause blood sugar spikes or adrenaline to rise which can put you on a roller coaster that you do not want to ride.  It makes sense. Your blood sugar and adrenaline level rises – with that increase in stress, your heart rate and breathing become rapid. NOT GOOD!  Your blood sugar and adrenaline level crashes and so do you. You feel sluggish, irritable, and tired. NOT GOOD! You think more of the same is going to get you “up” again only to come crashing down once more.  How crazy is that? If you haven’t recognized it yet, you’ve just experienced a dreaded mood swing.  Who the heck needs help having more of those? There is a time and a place for exceptions of course.  White bread toasted with marshmallow cream and peanut butter sandwiches are fine on a camping trip when your child can run that sugar high into the woods and crash in the tent.  This is not a good snack choice when you are headed off to school to sit still, pay attention, and stay awake to learn. You make the call.

 

Now we can move on to the Superfoods that are stress busting.  Superfood = broccoli, fatty fish (salmon etc.), garlic, high fiber food (beans, whole grain food etc), tea, tomatoes, olive oil, berries, soy, and nuts. All of those foods keep our bodies running smoothly.  Look for more blogs to come with ideas about how to fit more of these into your snacks and meals.  These foods are packed with anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals.  The high fiber in them keeps your blood sugar levels from rising and falling quickly.  If your body feels good it will help your mind feel good.  I know we could all use more feel good moments.

 

• Fake it ‘til you make it.  Smile.  Go ahead and smile.  It feels good.  Those days that it is hard to face the world are really tough.  Try to rethink whatever is weighing heavily on your mind and smile a bit.  What do you do when you approach someone who is smiling at you? It is human nature to smile back.  You don’t want to look like a loon. But a smile, even a small one, begets a smile.  It’s the kind of cycle you want to perpetuate.  Beware of the doom and gloom bunch because they will seek out a sad face and just tell you to hunker down because it’s going to be a bad day. Smiling when you don’t really feel like it is not going to work every day.  It will work on plenty of days.  I say, the more days that you are smiling on this earth, the better.  Just give it a go.  What do you have to lose…maybe a few frown lines?

 

• Shake your groove thang.  Get moving. It’s no great mystery that you feel good after you’ve gotten your blood pumping.  You don’t have to run a marathon to reap the rewards of exercise.  ANY exercise can be of benefit to you.  A good walk can do wonders to clear your head.  A fun spin class at the gym can get the sweat pouring and make you feel good because you’ve accomplished something.  A 30 minute yoga session can put you in your happy place and stretch the stress away.  Raking the leaves with your ipod jamming can shorten that list of things to do and get your heart going.  The world always looks a bit brighter to me after I break a sweat. Lots of people dread a workout, but I don’t know one person that doesn’t feel better afterwards.

 

As I said, our family is a work in progress when it comes to managing stress.  I fly off the handle WAY more than I ought to.  I obsess about things that are out of my control more often than I should.  I worry about what “they” will think as if it really matters.  Our kids are doing a bit more than they probably should be doing.  Alex is a touch more negative than he needs to be.  Admittedly, we are a bit of a disaster in this area of wellness.  Rethinking is our biggest challenge and we are facing it with a smile.  We are working on it.  What will you do?

Until next time….Live Well! –Toni Kuhel

….Stressed ?!? Part 2

Enough of us must be stressed if they made a button!

Yesterday I covered rethinking “it”(stressful situations). Stress is a huge problem for all of us and is the reason for this 3 part blog. Wouldn’t want to stress you out with 9 pages covering stress.  Here’s another little bite on stress reduction….

I try not to watch the news every day.  If you watch mindfully, you will notice that 99% of the content is negative, horrible, and just depressing.  This kind of input will give no one a reason to put on a happy face.  Unless you are the Secretary of the Treasury Department, you probably don’t need to know how bad the stock market is at 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm, and 10:00pm and again at those same hours in the morning.  I personally don’t need to know who did what to whom, what burned down where, and which celebrity is in rehab again.  Don’t worry.  The world will still be turning even though you aren’t tuning in to see how screwy it is.

 Laughter is the best medicine.  Everyone has a favorite comedy show. I have a few favorites that can give me a few chuckles and, on occasion, a good milk-through-the-nose belly laugh.  If you are lucky, you have a buddy or a group of buddies that shares your sense of humor.  They quote the same movies you do.  They’ve been there for all those embarrassing moments and never pass up a chance to relive them.  Dancing with my family, watching “The Office” and girls’ night out are my laugh factories.  Make time to have a good laugh.  It’s just as important as the other things you do for your health. Just anticipating a happy or funny event can be good for you.  It increases serotonin (“feel good” chemical) and decreases stress hormones. Sounds like a good deal to me. 

 

I try to keep my head filled with positive thoughts.  On any given night you will find at least 4 different kinds of reading material on my bedside table.  One on health and wellness (big surprise), another on food (I love food!), something about the positive thinking, and my guilty pleasure of a mindless, easy read.  Your collection might include something more intellectual, but try to make sure it’s something that feeds your mind in a positive way.  It should leave you in your happy place.  A gift you can give yourself is ending your day with only good thoughts in your mind.

 

Think about who is around you. Who do you choose to spend your precious time with? Everyone knows at least one “Negative Nellie”.  She is also known as “Debbie Downer”.  Who are you thinking of? This is the type of person that exhausts you just about every time you talk to him/her.  According to this person, everything is horrible, everyone is awful, nothing works, everything hurts, and blah blah blah.  This person wants to suck you into this thinking and wants you to agree that indeed the sky is falling.  Evaluate how you feel after talking to someone.  Are you smiling? Are you laughing? Are you crying or wanting to cry? Are you fed up? Do you want to crawl in a hole and die?  I figure life is way too short and my socializing time is way too limited to be spending time listening to the same woes all the time.  If you can turn the tide of the conversation then go ahead and do it.  If you can’t, then become “busy” and turn on your heel and walk away.  I am not saying you can’t be a good friend and listen when someone is in need.  You know the difference.  Be realistic and cut people some slack.  Anyone can have a bad day and wear the name tag that says Negative Nellie from time to time.  But, keep a look out for those chronic folks that seem to have it tattooed on their forehead.  These are those people who would complain, “The sun’s too bright, the sand is too hot, and oh yeah- I should be working “when they are on a vacation of a lifetime.  Avoid these people like the plague!  If you recognize yourself as one of these people, we have work to do. True, you can’t always choose who you work with or who is drawn to you.  You can choose not to get sucked into the negative vortex.  The pull is strong, but resist the urge to fall into the pit of despair uttering the words “You’re right, that is awful.”  Instead, seek out those people who put a spring in your step.  Find that positive person that smiles and compliments others.  Listen for the laughter and I bet you’ll find that “Suzy Sunshine” that is choosing to have a good day. THAT is who you want to spend your precious time with.  “Sunshine” is contagious. Don’t think I’m saying you need to find a manic person who is not grounded in reality. I’m just pointing out that there are positive minded people out there.  You really do become who you surround yourself with.  Remember how your mom didn’t want you running with the wrong crowd? There is much wisdom in that thinking. You don’t want to be running with the wrong crowd.  It’s just plain miserable and THAT is stressful.

Still not done yet…got a few more ways to battle stress.  Come back one more time for the last little bit. Come back after that because I’m sure I’ll have yet another story from my crazy life as you are coming to know it 🙂

Til tomorrow…Live Well! – Toni Kuhel

STRESSED? I’m not stressed. DO I LOOK STRESSED!?! Part 1

STRESSED? I’m not stressed. DO I LOOK STRESSED!?!   

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Slap, slap…snooze (9 minutes later) BEEP! BEEP! Slap, slap, CRASH (book, cup of water, glasses –off the table). My thought bubble: Omigosh is it time to get up? Is it Tuesday? Friday? What is stuck in the corner of my eye? Sadly, this is how most days start for me. I haven’t learned to put my stuff on the other side of my alarm clock. I cannot figure out what day it is for the first 10 minutes in the morning and, to top it all off, for some unknown reason there has been something in my eye EVERY morning of my life. It’s not exactly a stellar way to start the week but it is what it is. It is the calm before the storm. As soon as I shake the fog off my brain, I am off to the races. Because I wait too long to get going, I’m in a rush to catch up with the day. Argh!!! This is a stress I bring on myself. We all have stress that we bring on ourselves. My stress follows me throughout the day if I don’t get a grip and consciously work on minimizing it. What’s your stress? It’s probably a combination of a number of things-too much to do, not enough time, enough guilt to fill an ocean, and not having 2 nickels to rub together- among other things. My stream of consciousness/worry is as follows- bathing suit season is coming (in 9 months- but still it’s coming), homework, clutter, what did I just step in, traffic, noise, gotta change that light bulb, meetings, no clean underwear for the boys, time to go to Target for boys underwear, that guy has 17 items in this express line and I only have 2 packs of underwear, 112 urgent unread emails, 4 shows on the DVR, is that Evan’s lunch on the counter, when is that Pilates class, breathe ….Does any of this sound vaguely familiar? Life is crazy. There’s no denying it. NOW WHAT?!? Ummm…try that again…now what?

Expert suggestions: Break the cycle of stress.

• Reframe stressful situations

• Deep breathing – deep breath in for 7 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds, exhale for 7 seconds – let the stress leave you

• Avoid stress-triggering foods/ eat stress busting foods

• Laugh/smile

• exercise

Kuhel Family challenges: Sounds good but does not sound natural-AKA “Easier said than done.”

Kuhel solutions: Stress in your life might look like the stress in my life. Our lists of “things to do” seem to grow by leaps and bounds. If you are like me, you carry your life list mentally and your work list on paper/PDA. I’ve heard there are people that actually have lists and cross things off. I‘ve heard some of these same people actually put things on the list after they’ve already done them just so they can cross it off. Lists or no lists, these things are just the beginning of what can cause us stress because it makes us feel overloaded. Other stresses- things that happen to us. When someone is rude to you, is mean to you, hurtful, or worse does this to someone you love, you can be undeniably stressed. Stress is your body’s response to anything that makes you feel overloaded or threatened. It seems most of us are feeling overloaded or threatened most days. The Kuhels fall smack in the middle of that group. Our family is a work in progress in terms of managing our stress. This is how we are attempting to manage our bodies’ responses to things that make us feel stressed.

 • Rethink “it” – “It” is anything that you can interpret as causing you stress. These days there is a surplus of “it”. The economy, your family, work/ lack of work, relationships, and the daily grind can be very overwhelming if you let it become overwhelming. If you feel your heart rate or rate of breathing change, you are letting “it” stress you. You are going to have to change your mind set. Road rage is a concept that is foreign to me, but lucky me, I’ve been a passenger in a few cars with people that LOVE to rage. It’s a favorite past time for them I’m sure. We are talking throwing a full-on– steering wheel banging-fist shaking-red faced screaming – hissy fit! All this energy expended because the guy in front of us conducted a less than graceful merge. Now you don’t have to throw the described hissy fit to be experiencing stress. Merely letting it tick you off to the point that it puts you in a bad mood for a time can really negatively affect your health. You can choose how much you let it affect you. You can choose to believe that this driver sought you out and tried to make this untimely move with the sole purpose of getting in your way. You could also choose to believe this driver forgot to check his blind spot, doesn’t know how to drive, is nervous about merging, or just didn’t see you. Time for that above mentioned deep breathing. You could also choose not to give it another thought. You don’t have to be a genius to spot which choice could send your day into a downward spiral. Is it something worth getting upset about? Nooooo. What good is going to come of you freaking out? Nada, zip, nothing. The point is that you have a choice about how much you are going to allow something to affect your state of mind. My rethinking challenge comes into play when I think about my family. Some days I’m better at this than others and I’m not above sharing my experiences for the sake of making my point. My kids will forgive me someday. Certain days I feel like my house is going to crumble all around me. My twin boys will pound around the house like a herd of elephants screaming like savages. It’s enough to make me consider moving to a convent where I know they’ve got some kind of rule about keeping quiet. My instinct is to yell at them to stop so I can launch into a monologue about respecting the house, rant about how I can’t hear myself think, and question if they’ve been raised by a pack of wolves. On a good day I stop to hear if the screaming is happy. I also realize that we have wood floors, the boys are getting big and they haven’t walked at all since the day they learned to run. If no one is getting hurt and nothing is getting broken, does it really need to be quiet? Like I said, some days it is a “YES!” because I’m having a not so good day. I’m trying to see the big picture and work towards having more days when I can say that I have a house with kids so noise is part of the deal. This is an opportune time for some more of that deep breathing. I’m not saying you should let your kids run your household. What I am saying is that you might want to take moment to assess if it is something worth getting upset about. Pick your battles carefully because you can’t win them all. There are situations that are not as easy to rethink. Finances are often a huge stress. A chronic illness of a loved one can be all consuming. A marriage with increasing challenges can result in endless sleepless nights. For situations like these I can only offer what I do to cope…..

Clearly too much for one post so come back tomorrow to read more.

Toni’s Tip of the Day #3

 

Don’t snack out of the sack.                                  

I’ve been known to get nice and comfy with a bag of something salty and not-so-good for me.   I get in a zone and it’s more about muscle memory than it is about actually tasting what I’m eating.  It’s just too easy to keep going into the bag for more.  This goes for anything that is seemingly bottomless….candy dish, bag of chips, bowl of nuts….insert whatever snack speaks your name.  Do yourself a favor and pour out or count out a serving of your snack of choice.   Close it, put the bag/sack/can away and step away – far, far away.  This is not to say you can’t have another serving.  It just makes you take a minute to really decide if it’s worth getting up, rooting around in the cabinet, opening up the chip clip etc. etc. to have another serving.  This is opposite of when said snack is your date next to you on the couch, sitting on your desk, or teasing you on your table.  It becomes a mindless act with no pay off .  You didn’t enjoy it and you probably wouldn’t have missed it.  By “it” I mean the 5 extra servings of the snack of the day.  Mindless acts should be saved for your car driving itself home from work, folding laundry, and playing Bejeweled Blitz.  More blogs about what snacks are better, but for now – Enjoy your snack! Really, really, really enjoy it.  You may only need one serving this time.

Til next time – Live Well! – Toni Kuhel

Shake a Leg, a Tail Feather, Shake Something!

Shake a Leg, a Tail Feather, Shake Something!

What to avoid...

I just finished watching that show (thank goodness for my DVR) about all those people losing gobs weight at a ridiculous pace for a grand prize.  You know the show.  I’m watching them do some wacky things. They compete in physical challenges that take all day and work out for 8 to 10 gazillion hours a day. I’m also watching them TOTALLY lose it.  Yes, gaining and losing weight is definitely tied to our emotional baggage.  But I think I might be sobbing if I was doing what they were doing even if I was emotionally solid as a rock and completely baggage free. I am neither of these things. Losing weight and leading an active lifestyle does not have to be torturous.  I don’t think torture is going to get too many people on the fitness bandwagon.  Last time I checked, my kids weren’t big fans of exercise that makes you cry.  You are going to have to make activity (some people call it exercise) part of your daily life if you want to achieve optimal health.  EWWWW.  That sounds just awful to some people.  If we are going to be successful we have got to make this concept easier to swallow.  It’s possible to get moving in the right direction. We just have get moving!

Expert suggestions:

• Cardiovascular/Aerobic Exercise – 20 to 60 minutes/3 to 5 days a week 
• Strength -train 2 or 3 days a week.
• Stretching exercise at least 2 days a week.
• Three 10 minute “chunks” of exercise each day can be as beneficial to health as 30 minute workouts. (Woo Hoo!!!)

 

 

 

                                                                                                

Kuhel Family challenges: How can we fit this in our family schedule? How can we get this to apply to the kids? Can we make it fun?

 

Kuhel solutions: “Working out” does not have to involve a spandex ensemble, a rack of weights, an elliptical or a wall of mirrors.  I’m especially psyched about being able to leave the spandex out of the equation. We are an active family and we’ve worked hard to help our kids embrace the idea of activity /exercise.  Here’s what we do to get our bodies moving with smiles on our faces (most of the time).

• Make time. Before you slam the computer shut or yell “Yeah right!” take a breath and read on.  I know we are all burning the candle at both ends, stretching ourselves too thin and running around like chickens with our heads cut off.  I don’t want to beat a dead horse (couldn’t resist just one more cliché saying) but activity is important to our overall health.  Make the investment in yourself and your family.  I am now stepping off the soap box to clue you in on how we “make time”.  I’m not a work out – by –myself kinda gal.  I need people around me to motivate me.  Fear of looking like a slacker is quite motivating.  Also I suck my belly in a lot more so no one can shout “tighten those abs!” Clearly I cannot find this motivation in my bedroom or my basement so off to the gym I go.  My husband is similarly motivated by other guys on the basketball court.  He also prefers the treadmill at the gym because it is not located near the cat litter box (with our cat that doesn’t leave the basement) like our 15 year old treadmill is.  We schedule our gym times.  All of us schedule important things. No one says “I’ll go to work if I can squeeze it in” or “I’ll pick up the kids after choir practice if I’m not too tired.”  Schedule the time and keep your appointment with yourself. 

 

You have the time.  If you are reading this, then you have time.  I’m sure you spent some time emailing, Googeling, FBing, My Spacing, or blogging.  Reading my blog aside, those other things aren’t essential to your optimum health. Watching that show I was alluding to earlier can take up to 2 hours some weeks. That’s time.  Get up 10 to 30 minutes earlier. Watch one less TV show. Leave work  a bit earlier (gasp) a couple of days a week if you can swing it. Carpool to the kids activities so you don’t have to drive every time. If your life depended on it you would find the time for full-on work outs or “10 minute chunks”.  Guess what…it does.

 

• Make fitness fun. We have a dog, Wally.  He is fun!  The kids chase him in our back yard and vice versa.  He is a good reason for the kids to take a walk.  The three kids go together and we give one the poop bag, one the leash, and one the cell phone.  Discussing who gets the poop bag is an argument that is part of the routine of getting out the door, but they do eventually get out the door.  We’ve taken the walk as a family so the kids know a short route vs. a long route.  Whatever we have time for, that’s what route they take.  I’m not suggesting you get a dog (I vote for a cockapoo if you do get one-Wally is awesome!), but if you have one or some other walkable animal ( I saw a cat once) then get out and hit the bricks. 

 

Other outdoor activities that don’t involve poop bags are bike rides, discovering walking paths, obstacle course races around a playground, and my family’s favorite, “Clam man.”  It’s a game that my husband plays with the kids.  It’s really just tag only Alex is always “it” and he makes this very loud gurgle-like sound while waving outstretched arms.  Why it’s called “Clam man” is a tad twisted and definitely a story for another time.  The point is that when we were kids we all played out in the neighborhood until the streetlights came on at dusk or until someone’s parent whistled or yelled for them.  Kids don’t do that very often anymore.  Weather permitting, encourage your kids to put down the video game controls, step away from the computer and get out of the house.  Show them how to play “kick the can” or take up “Clam man”.

 

Winter is rough. Rain is rough. Those days we have to stay close to home can give us a case of cabin fever.  We all know what it’s like when the whole family is forced into togetherness.  After a while, the electronics and board games have lost their luster.  It’s definitely a sign you all have to get moving. 

An impromptu dance party can work up a definite sweat.  At our house Renee is a dancing queen, Evan and Jared are works in progress, Alex has 2 moves (maybe), and I think I can hold my own as a dusty dancing queen. Blast the tunes and dance like no one is watching!  Close the blinds to make sure.

 

Kids of all sizes love to build forts in the living room. Send the kids to all parts of the house to collect pillows, cushions and blankets. You are going to have put aside your OCD tendencies in the name of fun.  Just remember to have them help you refold blankets and put away everything at the end.  Just think about how much carrying, stretching and reaching will be happening. 

 

My family loves a challenge.  Contests are fun and easy to individualize to your family.  We set a timer for 1 minute and count how many sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks or jumping lunges each person can do.  Call it a mini-olympics and make sure you include things that everyone can do.  Give “medals” to participants.  Change it up by increasing or decreasing the time and by switching up the activities.  Keep track and see if anyone improves the next time.  You might catch someone practicing on their own to get better results.

 

• Build activity into what you are already doing. Everyone has mounds of laundry to do.  Pairing socks is a never-ending task.  I’ve enlisted my kids to do it and we’ve made it into a game.  I put an empty laundry basket on the other side of the room.  After they put together a pair of socks into a ball, they get to throw it and try to make it in the basket.  The trick is to make it far enough that they miss it a lot.  After each miss they have to go and get it and try again. You’d be amazed to see how many times they can make that trip.  They also don’t walk. EVER.  Running back and forth is a good expender of energy.

 

When putting away clean laundry, leave the baskets behind.  Go ahead and make your groups of piles and either do this yourself or have the kids do it.  Take one pile of laundry up at a time.  Strive for inefficiency.  That extra up and down the stairs could easily be one of your three 10 minute “chunks”. 

If any store, coffee shop, nail place, beauty salon, copy store, or restaurant is in walking distance of your home or work…you can see this one coming…go ahead and walk there. You’ll feel good about doing something for your health and you’ll save a few bucks on gas. 

 

Well these ideas are just a few of the things we do to keep our bodies moving.  These things along with the kids’ school gym time, wrestling club/cross country, and dance classes are ways we keep activity a part of our lives.  Now don’t think the Kuhels are always on the move.  We have been known to be a family of couch potatoes on movie night.  We also do not walk everywhere all the time.  Resist the urge to ram my car with your cart in the parking lot when you walked and I didn’t.  One thing I’d like to leave you with is that doing something every day is a good thing.  This is not an all or nothing proposition.  Do what you can, when you can.  Make it a priority for yourself and your family and it will soon become your lifestyle.

 

Till next time…live well! Toni Kuhel

Smiles anyone?

Wally - not so happy dog

Happy Face…not today 😮
It is CRAPPY outside today. The sky is the color of dirty socks and the rain is starting and stopping like it can’t make up its mind. I think I just want to crawl under the covers and stay in bed all day. Unfortunately this is sooooo not an option as there are kids to get off to school, laundry that needs to get started and definitely work to get to. It is almost more than I can handle to face the things I have to do, let alone the things I should do. It’s like a disease in the house as I sense everyone, even Wally the dog, seems to be dragging a bit today. I’ll be the first to say that, for the most part, I’m a pretty positive person. I’m typically happy for my health, food on the table and a roof over my head. Today is not one of my better moments. It’s probably day 3 of feeling less than stellar. No matter how hard I try, on these days it’s not easy to pull a happy face out of nowhere. A good attitude can go a long way to making a day go well, but this is not my destiny today. Now what? How can I possibly think about ways to be healthy and well when I can’t muster up the energy to match my socks!?!

 
I resist the urge to stay in bed and struggle down to the kitchen. I’m going to try to stack the deck in my favor by having breakfast. The only thing worse than being cranky in the morning, is being hungry and cranky. Two over-easy eggs, a piece of whole grain toast, a banana and a cup of coffee later and I start to feel slightly more human. The kids have stopped bickering long enough to have the same breakfast minus the coffee and only one egg for Renee. Everyone is out the door and we are off to trudge through our day. Now had we tried rushing out the door with a toaster pastry (you know the kind) wrapped in a napkin, I’m guessing our morning would’ve continued on the shaky route. I know I was able to think more clearly with a good breakfast to start. At the end of the day the kids came home with most of their stuff which means they paid attention long enough to bring home the right books. Evan came home with only ½ his gym uniform to wash but he would’ve forgotten the whole thing if he didn’t have breakfast. This is when I’m grateful for small things.

 
We are practicing the art of living on a tighter budget. Not fun. We all pack lunches on most days. After doing this for quite some time, our kids now prefer a packed lunch to school lunches. We were in a rut for a while when all the kids wanted was peanut butter and honey sandwiches. We filled in with a variety of veggies/fruit, cheese stick, whole grain crackers/pita chips/pretzels, a treat and a bottle of water. Fortunately they have now branched out to turkey, ham, and cheese sandwiches as well. I didn’t find the need to fight them about having pb and honey sandwiches every day because I need to pick my battles and this one was not worth fighting. We use whole grain bread and natural peanut butter so what’s there to fight about? It’s not crucial to use natural peanut butter, but do try to find one with the shortest list of ingredients that you can afford. If you are transitioning to whole grain bread, just put the white bread on top and the slice of whole grain on the bottom. Before long you won’t have to be sneaky, they’ll get used to the texture and look of it all.

 
Make sure you take the time to feed yourself as well as you feed your children. What good are you going to be to anyone fueled by a huge plate of greasy take out and a diet cola? Experience tells me a food coma is in the near future…what does your experience tell you? Along the same lines, surprisingly, is the all anemic salad lunch. This will not fuel you either. Misguided efforts at health sometimes result in suffering through skipping breakfast, grazing on an iceberg lettuce salad and dragging until you succumb to the drive-thru window because you are now STARVING!!! Lunch (and any meal or small snack) should always include a protein, good carbohydrate and a reasonable amount of fat. Blah blah blah…. Examples please. Salad is a good choice if done well. Be sure to use a dark leafy green as your base. Iceberg lettuce is for hamsters and rabbits. Try romaine, arugula, or spinach. Add protein in the form of hard boiled eggs, beans, diced chicken, ham, nuts. A reasonable amount of fat can be a bit of vinaigrette, cheese, or avocado. Take it easy on the dressing. You know it’s yummy, but don’t undo all your good intentions. Soup and ½ a sandwich is a great lunch. Steer clear of the cream based soups that look more like pudding than a soup. Broth based soups like minestrone, beef barley, or vegetable soup will fill you up just fine. Take a walk afterwards to get in a quick 10 minutes of activity and you’ll be ready to get through the last ½ of your work day. A walk gives me a chance to breath something different than “work air”, think about things other than “work thoughts”, and see things other than “work stuff.” I know I’m crankier without this mental and physical break. Don’t know if I’m ready for a full on smile yet, but I know I’m headed in the right direction.

 
Coming home I have a sea of faces greeting me at the door. One very excited dog and 3 kids that all need “MOM, mom, mom, mom” for one reason or another. I see Alex, my husband in the background with the “what’s for dinner honey?” face. On days like these I’ve got left-overs in the freezer or fridge or there is something in the crock pot. This makes my life less crazy and the family fed. The dog gets walked by someone- whoever needs it most. You get nominated in my house if you have a lousy attitude, are bouncing off the walls, or if you are annoying me. I have 4 real contenders today so all 3 kids are out the door with Wally wagging happily. Alex is helping me get dinner on the table in between answering those last pesky work emails of the day. We don’t always sit around the table for dinner but we do try to do it as often as possible. I won’t write about the food we had for dinner because there will be more blogs about that. After everyone sits at the table and stops asking for one more thing, stops complaining about who got what fork/plate/cup, and stops poking one another, it’s time to eat. It seems at this moment we take a collective breath. We take the time to be thankful. The moment is brief as dinner gets underway with chatter and constant interruption and the continuation of the disagreement that happened on the dog walking adventure. It is in this moment that I finally find that smile because although the weather is still crappy, we stacked the deck in our favor to have a day that was, in the end, worth smiling about. Eat well, move a bit, take a moment, and your crappy day doesn’t have to end up the way it started.

Live well!
Toni Kuhel

Toni’s Tip of the Day #2

Water…Drink more! There are many reasons why water is so good for you but that’s for blogs to come. Today’s tip is just to drink more water. Try drinking a glass/bottle before you reach for ANYTHING else to eat or drink. It’s not so hard. I’m not asking you to drink water in place of anything, just in addition to what you are having. Just try it….it won’t hurt and you’ll feel better having done something good for yourself. Encourage your family to do the same. It’s one small step in the right direction.  

Until next time – Live Well!  – Toni Kuhel

 

Eat This..Don’t Eat This…Wait, Eat This…No Don’t

Eat This..Don’t Eat This..Wait, Eat this..No Don’t
We are barraged daily with seemingly conflicting information on what’s good to eat and what’s not. Our kids are convinced that if their mom is cool they’ll serve that big bowl of sugary exciting goodness. Never mind that to be “part of a complete breakfast” that bowl of cereal needs to be followed by toast, juice, fruit, and another glass of milk . I don’t know about you or your kids, but mine just as soon stop eating after that bowl of 20 grams of sugar impersonating a “wholesome breakfast.” The kids are supposed to think that a meal will make you happy if it comes in a paper sack that also contains a toy that will surely end up in the garbage after you – the grown up- have gotten sick of accidently stepping on it 3 times a day.

As adults we are also targets of advertisers that say if you just eat this magic food to replace 2 meals each day you’ll lose “up to” some arbitrary number of pounds. That “up to” seems to sneak by in those commercials pretty quickly, but that number of pounds is repeated over and over, is underlined and in bold print. Also confusing is the number of fad diets. I think there is one for every fruit (grapefruit ring a bell?), vegetable (cabbage soup diet sound uncomfortably familiar?), and the many variations of restricting entire food groups while gorging on others. There is also the sea of nutritional information that comes in the form of books, magazines, TV spots, infomercials, and I guess I have to say blogs as well. What to do? What to think?

Expert suggestion: Eat a combination of good carbohydrates (AKA – carb), lean proteins, and healthy fats.

Kuhel Family challenges: How do we combine these things into food everyone will eat? How much of each? What about eating on the run?

Kuhel solutions: We stress to our kids that this is NOT a diet. It’s just how our family eats. To me, the word “diet” can sound temporary…something you stick to until you fit in your skinny jeans. I’m guilty. I bet you’re guilty too . Here’s how the Kuhel family eats and will be eating for life.
• Make sure there is something at each meal that each person in your family likes. Set yourself up for success. You may run into problems if you have lots of people in your family, but even so, there are some pretty safe bets. I’m Filipino so our family loves rice. I grew up on white rice, but we’ve made the switch to brown rice. My mother-in-law, Judy, had the brilliant idea of making ½ a batch of white rice combined with ½ a batch of brown rice. Eventually we just made the change and it wasn’t hard at all. Whole wheat pasta is always a hit at our house as well. My oldest son (by 40 minutes) Evan doesn’t like really cheesy food, while the rest of us could eat cheese by the fistful. I use some cheese in those dishes, but I put extra cheese on the table for those that want to add a “reasonable amount”. We’ve used the term “reasonable amount” when adding those tasty bits that are to be eaten in moderation. Renee, the princess, must have most sauces “on the side”. Alex is a good example, as am I, because we eat everything. I’m not suggesting you become a short-order cook. Make just one meal with at least one of each a good carb, lean protein, and vegetables prepared sparingly with healthy fat or topped with one. No one wants to see a plate with nothing they care to eat on it.

• Balance your plate (but not on your head). I use a 9” plate because it helps me to control my portions. My husband uses a regular dinner plate because he’s one of those “naturally thin” people (yes I live with one of “them”). The kids use either a divided plate or whatever isn’t dirty in the dishwasher. I taught my family to load their plates thoughtfully. Take your plate and fill half of it with as many vegetables as you can eat. The other half of your plate should be half lean protein and half good carb. Try not to heap. No seconds of anything except veggies until the rest is gone and only if you’re hungry. We are not enforcers of the clean plate club. That is definitely old school. The kids are encouraged to stop if they are full, but don’t ask for snacks later. This is only true for dinner because well timed healthy snacks are encouraged at our house throughout the earlier part of the day. My kids are notorious for having eyes bigger than their bellies so we’ve adopted a saying the boys learned at sleep away camp. “Take what you eat and eat what you take.” Don’t think for a moment that I don’t get moans and groans at the table. I’m not that lucky. If the vegetable is not a favorite, I tell the kids to eat it with the part of the meal they really like so that the whole bite will taste good to them. Green beans are a good example. I make sure that if green beans are making an appearance, they are dancing next to baked sweet potatoes with a “reasonable amount” of butter. Sweet potatoes have shared the fork with many a detested meal component. Whatever it takes.

• Try to plan ahead for your meals. I’m a huge fan of quick, easy, tasty meals. Even if I had an hour to cook dinner ( HA!), I don’t think I would do it (except for Thanksgiving at which point it’s just ridiculous). Listen to me! If you are heating your oven to bake skinless chicken breasts then bake a bunch and put the extra in the freezer or fridge. If you are browning lean ground turkey then go ahead and brown an extra pound and pull it before you add the sauce or the seasoning and put it aside for later in the week. If you are boiling water for pasta, boil 2 pots and bag the second batch with a bit of olive oil or it will be one big pasta ball. If you are roasting root vegetables then roast an extra pan and…PLEASE tell me you get it. You will be very happy on a busy night when you can whip up dinner in 10 minutes. No lie. Tuesday night is crazy at our house because after I get home from work the kids are crashing through the door (quite literally) starving for a snack, then it’s homework, fighting amongst the siblings, dinner and out the door by 5:45 for wrestling practice at 6:00 or whenever my boys can manage to stop talking long enough to put on their shoes and headgear. So, you do the math. I think that leaves 10 minutes for dinner prep. That’s a- reheat previously grilled steak bites, previously roasted sweet potatoes, and frozen peas- meal in 10 minutes flat! It’d be less if I had more than one microwave, but we can wait 10 minutes and so can you.

These changes send our kids positive messages about food. Every meal will have something I want to eat. A “normal” plate of food is balanced. Fast food doesn’t have to mean “fake” food. We can teach ourselves these lessons. If your family can adopt these changes, then you can rest assured that you will send them out into the world better prepared for a healthy life than you and I were. Your teen will likely still hit the mall with his friends and have a greasy slice of pizza and a cola, but it won’t be every day. But don’t be surprised if you see him at the food court munching on a chicken ceasar wrap with a “reasonable amount” of dressing on the side. Imagine the possibilities!

Till next time…live well! – Toni Kuhel

Toni’s Tip for Today #1

Walk the walk 🙂

Walk more! Take that shopping cart back to the store or to the cart thingy. Take the stairs not the elevator, escalator or gondola (if you are lucky enough to be some place that has one). Walk to run that errand that is just a tad too close to drive. Walk if it’s beautiful out- walk faster if it’s not so nice where you are. Those boots were made for walking so get out there and put some miles on them.

Unti next time – Live Well!
Toni Kuhel