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Trainer Sue Newsletter Weekly Inspiration
November 22, 2010
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Greetings!
Please make sure you check the schedule below for changes this week. Don't miss Highbanks on Saturday at 11:00 AM before the game!
I hope you have an active, healthy Thanksgiving.
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Schedule ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Monday |
11/22 |
10:30 AM
7:00 PM |
Group Strength (week 2)
Circuit Training | |
Tuesday |
11/23 | | | |
Wednesday |
11/24 |
10:30 AM
**6:00 PM |
Group Strength (week 2)
**Pre Holiday Circuit Training
(no HIIT this week) | |
Thursday |
11/25 | | Closed | |
Friday |
11/26 |
10:30 AM |
Pilates (week 1) | |
Saturday |
11/27 |
11:00 AM |
Highbanks |
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Motivation
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This is an email that I received from a client this week that I think we can all relate to. She allowed me to share it with you:
"I know that I can get stressed out (who doesn't) by all that I have to accomplish in any given week, or any given weekend really. It's so very easy to abandon healthy habits because it's just one more thing you have to do. I still struggle with this but what I am quickly realizing is that when I "wake up" on the other side of having abandoned what is good for me (exercise, eating well, etc.) I don't feel good. My belly aches. I have wicked intestinal issues. And I don't look good. My skin is puffy. I have bags under my eyes. I could just chalk it up to being over 40, but if I do that then I'm not being honest with myself. When I go "off program" I'm like a computer who's been feed bad code: garbage in. garbage out. I'm suffering from that very thing this morning. I had a BAD weekend. I mean BAD. From Saturday evening through Sunday I was on a sodium binge, did NO exercise and I awoke to a scary swollen-looking face this morning. I'm trying really hard not to beat myself up too much over this (as I am prone to do) and move through the day making better choices. I had a healthy breakfast. I had a healthy snack. I have to eat out for lunch and dinner, but already made my choices for tasty, healthy items so there's no need to look at the menu later. And I've had a ton of water already. I can't yet erase what i did to myself this weekend but I rejoice in the fact that I AM making better choices today. And I hope my face will soon respond to the change in my programming direction!"
I'm sure that most of us know what she is going through. What happens that causes us to go "off program"? I believe the answer lies in our defaults. When I have had a long day and am exhausted, the last thing I want to do is work. Thinking about and getting organized to prepare something healthy feels like work. So my automatic tendency is to reach into my brain for my list of default easy meals. My default meals are pizza, Mexican food, Chinese food take out, any fast food value meal, chips and dip, Pop Tarts or mac 'n cheese. I didn't exactly choose these as my defaults, they are just what I gravitated towards before I had any idea about nutrition. These are the foods I ate when I first lived on my own. It's all I knew, it was easy and cheap. It's not very healthy though, and it's high in fat, sugar and salt which leads to weight gain over the years. Yet, when I am hanging out at home wiped out after a long week, it's the easiest thing to get. I know I like it, I know where to get it, I don't have to think about it. Because I don't want to have to think about it. Tonight I made whole wheat pasta marinara with turkey sausage and lots of veggies. Enough for the week. When I get home at 8:00 Monday evening too tired to think about food choices, I can walk to the fridge, take out the container, scoop it into a bowl and microwave it for three minutes. A new item on my default list for the week! Since I make it often, I know the ingredients I need at Kroger so that doesn't require extra thought either. And it tastes amazing. If I add one new item to my arsenal of healthy, easy, don't need to think about it at all choices a week, pretty soon I have so many items to choose from I will never get bored. If I get sick of something, make way for something new. Do this consistently and pretty soon you have a whole new set of default items. You've created or chosen them so they are the stuff you like. But you've made these choices now with your health and nutrition in mind, not the old criteria you used when you were 22.
From her follow up email:
"I have successfully made it through three days of better eating, and I AM in a much better state of mind about my fitness. Onward I go!" If living a healthy life seems like another project that you just don't have time or energy for, I understand that. Keep it simple. Make a list of five meals under 500 calories that you can have ready without any thought or time or energy. That will be a good place to start.
Now get moving.
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Coaching Moment
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What are your default don't-have-to-think-about meals? Are they healthy and within your calories? How do you feel later? Do you believe you can make don't-have-to-think-about healthy choices?
Believe!
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Client Corner
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Day 1:  "Like always the holidays are here and I am dealing with all the stuff my neighbor sends over that she bakes every weekend. Last weekend she baked pumpkin bread and I ate it the entire week. This weekend she made a pumpkin roll and pumpkin pie and she sent them over to me too. She makes lots of these items and just about every weekend sends something over. I cut the pumpkin roll into 2 pieces and froze them, but they are screaming at me to take out of the freezer! The pumpkin pie...well I had a piece last night and my plans are to send it home with my son tomorrow night, but I know that I will be having a piece of that tonight. I just want to scream at her...why do you do this, we are all trying to lose weight!!!!!!!!!!! Here it is Monday and a new week and I always tell myself I am going to be so good this week.." (If you want these treats, then eat them with enjoyment and do not beat yourself up during or after. If you do not want to eat them, then throw them in the trash. Or better yet tell her no more treats, please. It makes it too hard to stay within your calories. It is when you tell yourself not to, but do it anyway that wears away at how you feel about yourself until there's nothing left. Decide on your strategy now for the holidays and stick with it. Your life depends on it. This is not about a size or a number. It's about your health and your life. -Sue)
Same person Day 2: "I threw the pumpkin pie and pumpkin roll away!! It felt so good to beat the heck out of the pumpkin roll with a meat tenderizer :) As I beat it I was yelling at it..lol!!!"
Day 3: "I just wanted to let you know I talked to my neighbor and asked her if she could not send over things when she bakes. I just explained that if its in the house I really can't say no to it and I will do all the eating. She didn't seem that happy and she even told me that the pumpkin pie was fat free and I told her I just need to stay away from all that sugar, she of course told me that as long as I just have a little bit everyday I would be ok...grrrr but I explained I need to stay away from it. Then my husband comes home and I told him what I did and he was mad at me, because he could have taken it to his work. Why can't people just be happy that I was strong enough to say "NO"? It's been 2 days and I have watched everything I have eaten and it feels good! Even if they can't be proud of me...I'm proud of me." (Your grandkids are going to be SO grateful that you got healthy. I am proud of you. -Sue)
"Sometimes I get so bored with food. I remember three years ago when I thought of it as fuel and I'd plan for what I needed to get me through a day. Now I am so apathetic about it. My friend is doing Weight Watchers and she is eating the exact same breakfast and lunch every day because then she knows she has those meals down. The thought of that makes me want to cry of boredom. But it reminded me that I used to have an arsenal of food and so I'm trying to remember what that was. Last night you talked about how hard maintenance is and don't I know it. When I lost all that weight before, I relied on you and the gym to do it (well me too but I didn't give myself enough credit). So now, I'm going to attempt to put it all on me and try and interject some of the home exercising we do at training into my own life. We currently do not belong to a gym (to save some money) and I'm kinda thinking maybe I don't need one. I just have to do what I already know how to do. (speaking of I just turned down a walking taco that they are making here at work today- basically you pour taco meat, cheese and salsa into a bag of fritos and enjoy). Thanks again for making room for me and helping me get my head screwed back on right!" (Walking taco is new to me. Good job passing on it. -Sue)
"Oh Sue! How i hesitate to tell you how awesome the brand new interval training class was last night for fear that EVERYONE is going to want to join us. Seriously! The class rocked. I felt great afterwards, and the exercises were challenging without being over-the-top (which is usually your gentle way). Thank you for introducing interval training into my repertoire of workouts! Consider me hooked."
"I must tell you that I walked all over Germany and Hungary without a moments hesitation or rest. It was wonderful to feel so well. Back never hurt. Thank you, thank you."
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| Food
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The best thing I heard about Thanksgiving this week was from a client who attends Weight Watchers meetings. The group leader reminded them it's just a meal. Not a free pass to overeat all weekend.
Pasta with Turkey Sausage
 Spray a large non-stick pan. Heat up garlic and chopped onions. (I buy chopped garlic in the jar so it's easy.)
Add lots of chopped zucchini, squash, red peppers, mushrooms.
Add 6 oz. sliced turkey sausage. (I used Eckrich pre-sliced - easy!)
Add a jar of your favorite marinara sauce. I use low sodium. Add black pepper and parmesan cheese. Simmer.
Pour over cooked whole grain pasta.
High fiber, high protein, high nutrition, low calorie. Reheats in 3 minutes.
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| Walking Group
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Highbanks this Saturday at 11:00 AM. We meet in the Nature Center parking lot.
A gentle reminder that every holiday calorie consumed is stored unless you burn it off.
600 - 800 calories burned in a little over an hour!! One of the best workouts available. Don't miss it.
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| Quick Links...
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| Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email: TrainerSue@hotmail.com
phone: (614) 439-6096
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