KEEPING UP THE NEW YEAR HIGH (Part II)

Guest Author: Ann Seelye, Health and Wellness Specialist


If you made thoughtful New Year's resolutions and it's now March and you feel yourself starting to slide, the good news is that it doesn't need to happen.

Something can be learned from the New Year. It's that time when anything seems possible. You are focused clearly on what you want. And you know what? That's the most important piece of all! Because I, or any good fitness professional, can help you with the details, but the "why you want to do it" has to come from you and a strong, initial commitment.

The definition of commitment that I like is this: "The ability to carry through with a worthy decision, even when the emotion or excitement of making that decision has passed." Think about it. It's easy to get excited about starting a fitness program and dream about all the possibilities, but eventually the alarm clock goes off and you have to put on your workout shoes and do it.

What will get you out of bed instead of hitting the snooze button? Can you see it? Create a vision of where you want your health and fitness to be at the end of 2009 . . . Or even this summer! If you begin to lament about working out, conjure up that vision. Because otherwise, what's the point? If you have no vision, exercise is just exercise. Having that clarity of vision is important. How do you want to feel? What do you want to look like? (And be reasonable given your genetics, body type, age, and what's possible in one year).

Secondly, set SMART goals. You can reset or clarify your goals right now if you want or need to. Resolutions and goals can be set any time. SMART goals are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable or Relevant, and Time-based. New Year's resolutions tend to be for a whole year which is too long a time frame. By breaking it down into much smaller steps, either weekly or monthly or for a 3 month period, which you can measure and achieve, you are much more likely to experience success. This leads to higher self-esteem and a greater chance that you'll keep going for the next week or month and be one of those who continue for 6 months or more in keeping your resolutions. An example of a SMART goal is: "My intention is to do aerobic exercise 3 times a week for 35 minutes for one month." Then keep a log or write on your calendar what you do so you are measuring.

Try each month to come up with one new habit to make (or break) that takes you closer to your vision. Or come up with one more small step you can take. Keeping up the New Year high requires a why and SMART goal setting to fulfill your vision. What's YOUR vision?


For further ideas on this topic or any exercise related topics Ann Seelye is available for consultation. Ann is a freelance health and fitness writer and speaker in the Boston area. She gives talks at companies, health clubs, and via teleclassses. She is certified as a Personal Trainer, Alexander Teacher, Master Fitness by Phone(R) Coach, as well as an Intuitive Eating Coach. Ann sees clients at Healthworks Fitness Centers, in a studio in Brookline and via telephone coaching and classes. She can be reached at 617-739-4704 or fitbyphone@aol.com.

KEEPING UP THE NEW YEAR HIGH (Part I)

Guest Author: Ann Seelye, Health and Wellness Specialist

It usually starts around February, sometimes as late as March. Has it started for you yet? "I can't exercise today because I have to go into the office early . . . my son has a dentist appointment . . . it's too dark outside . . . " Bottom line, the New Year euphoria wears off. Did you make New Year's resolutions related to exercise, eating, getting healthier and losing weight? Have you set the same resolutions other years?

What is the problem with not meeting your resolutions? Maybe there's no problem, but if your resolution was meaningful to you, it's probably something you really want to do; something you believe will improve your quality of life. For example, if you're facing a health challenge, a new, more active lifestyle might be of great benefit to you. Often people feel hopeless about their ability to make meaningful changes and their self-esteem goes down. They feel depressed and this affects their quality of life, their relationships, and their work.

About 40-45% of people in the United States make New Year's resolutions and of that group about 40% make resolutions to get more exercise. Some research has shown that after the first week 75% are still maintaining their resolution, after two weeks 71%, after two months 64% and after six months 46%. So while the number drops off quite a bit, that's still 46% of those maintaining the new behaviors they committed to. But what about the other 54% who didn't keep their resolutions?

Some of the reasons people don't keep their resolutions are they set unrealistic goals, such as, "I'm going to exercise 6 days a week all year." They set too many goals: "I'm going to get organized, lose 50 pounds and eat healthily this year." They make their goals unclear, like "I'm going to get more fit."

Some people think it's the thing to do New Year's Eve so they make resolutions off the top of their head without any real thought behind it or intention to commit. Also, some people state their resolutions in absolutes such as, "I'm never going to eat cookies again. I'm always going to exercise on Monday, Wednesday and Friday." So some of the problem is in the goal setting itself. Do you recognize any of these tendencies in your resolutions?

However, if you made thoughtful resolutions and you feel yourself starting to slide, the good news is that it doesn't have to happen . . . (Learn more in Part II next month!)


For further ideas on this topic or any exercise related topics Ann Seelye is available for consultation. Ann Richmond Seelye is a freelance health and fitness writer and speaker in the Boston, Massachusetts area. She gives talks at companies, health clubs and via teleclasses. She is certified as a Personal Trainer, Alexander Teacher, Master Fitness By Phone(R) Coach, as well as an Intuitive Eating Coach. Ann sees clients at Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women, in a studio in Brookline and via telephone coaching and classes. She can be reached at 617-739-4704 or fitbyphone@aol.com.

ARE YOU SICK OF BEING SICK?

You can use a quick, easy self-care technique called Immunics that I have found to be very effective in combating flu, colds, viruses, and other illnesses.

"Immunics is a portable, instantaneous weapon that everyone can carry around with them and everyone can do it . . . it kills viruses in around five minutes, and you can kill them in your car while you're driving to work. People pick it up in about 15 minutes . . . A minimal ability is the ability to stop flu from happening to you." - Bayard Barnes, Immunics founder

You can heal yourself! Learn more at www.immunics.org.

PLEASE FACE MONEY CONFLICTS IN YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS BEFOREHAND! (Part II)

Guest Author: Shel Miller Ph.D.


It is a necessary loss to take care to plan responsibly and talk easily and openly about how to manage expenditures before crunch time. Partnership means strategically fashioning a fair, balanced, mutually reciprocal teamwork - a team wherein you respectfully support one another.

Certainly it is worth reviewing differing attitudes about earning, spending, and budgeting money. Ask each other about conscious expectations and about role models. Hopefully partners will even access some of the heretofore hidden images from the past, stored in their brains.

Variations in how partners approach the size of their diamond engagement ring and wedding reception or the decor of your offices reflect the differing messages about money that each received from parents and extended family. Some lessons were intentionally transmitted. Other teachings were by example, including the unintended lessons.

For example, was money meant to be spent or saved, used freely for luxuries or just necessities, to be hidden or spent conspicuously? There may have been confusion between the resources of love and money. For money is often the only "nurturing" that some (e.g. workaholic) parents are able to give their spouse or children.

Feeling inferior and competitive with friends of higher socioeconomic status may cause conflict with a spouse or business partner taught to be prudent with resources. How would you feel about pressure to buy the marital or company car that represents an announcement of status? These dynamics may need to be teased out and negotiated with the assistance of a coach in addition to your accountant and attorney.


Wouldn't it be easier to explore these possibilities collaboratively while first falling in love, choosing your co-executive, or developing your business and marketing plans?


Dr. Shel J. Miller is an Executive, Family and Divorce coach. As the Keep-It-Together Expert, his mission is to lift spirits by restoring hope and peace in relationships that are struggling. He does this through Family Event Coaching and working as a Child Specialist with Collaborative Attorneys and a Parent Coordinator post litigation. His website is http://www.shelmiller.com/ and he may be reached at 617-731-9174 or ShelMiller@rcn.com.


NOW AVAILABLE: PARKING SPACES (SUBCOMPACT OR SMALLER) FOR RENT ON NAPLES RD., BROOKLINE. CALL SHEL AT THE NUMBER ABOVE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

STRESS-FREE HOLIDAY GIFT

EASY RELAXING MEDITATION (CD) with Joan Hardy MS, MSPT

Would you like to

~ feel calmer?
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Meditation can help! You can learn to meditate with the step-by-step instructions on this CD and how to apply what you've learned to your daily life.

In just a few minutes, you can begin to experience relaxation and a greater sense of well-being.

This is meditation for everyone - clearly presented and not connected to any specific spiritual tradition. (65 minutes)

Joan Hardy MS, MSPT is a physical therapist, health educator, and long-time meditator. At her practice in Brookline, Massachusetts she offers therapeutic massage, energy work, posture/flexibility assessment, and home/office workspace assessment. She can be reached at 617-738-8222.

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Please enclose your check or money order payable to Joan Hardy. (Sorry, no credit cards). Refunds are available only for items that arrive in damaged condition. Payment and order form may be sent to Joan Hardy, 48 Dwight St., Suite 6, Brookline, MA 02446. Please call 617-738-8222 with any questions.

LESS SLUMBER = MORE POUNDS ?

Two new studies suggest that not getting enough sleep can increase blood levels of ghrelin, a hunger-stimulating hormone. Ghrelin, in turn, triggers a decrease in the levels of the hormone leptin. Leptin is believed to help control appetite by sending messages to the brain that there is no need for more food. The result? Increased cravings for high calorie, high carbohydrate foods.

Subjects in the two studies slept less than five hours each night. Their blood levels of ghrelin increased and leptin decreased. People who slept the least gained the most weight. Furthermore, they had a higher ratio of body fat. When study subjects received adequate rest, blood levels of the two hormones returned to normal.

So . . . be sure to get your forty winks! (And seek professional assistance for sleep difficulties.)

PLEASE FACE MONEY CONFLICTS IN YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS BEFOREHAND! (Part I)

Guest Author: Shel Miller Ph.D.


You really need to stay objective and thinking with your head as much as heart from the beginning of any partnership. For a sense of financial well being it behooves you to learn a partner's idiosyncratic reactions to earning, sharing, and investing money. Your partner's relationship to money, even if raised by the same (e.g. siblings in a business) or similar parents will be different. So you must understand that difference, rather than becoming a resistant victim of that discrepancy.

Marriage is thought of as that developmental step that says, "We're grown up." Yet it is divorce, for many couples, that provides the trigger that requires responsible adult behavior. Separation challenges one to grow: to understand tax law, to plan for asset accumulation and preservation, and to implement a rational budget without which there will be no viable life strategy for the future.

Some people avoid creating a budget. So stress heightens when attorneys ask for financials. In business, some grow too fast or while significant in size never get around to creating a board to oversee its mission, its changing challenges, or even the way one rewards talent or downsizes staff. Unresolved differences could eventually lead to divorce or business dissolution, which taxes the heart and pocketbook simultaneously.

Life is a series of necessary and potential losses and gains. Some occur as a result of nature (illness, death, accident, or childbirth) and others due to circumstances (job loss, stock plummets, bankruptcy, promotions, or lottery success). Strategic planning either in the boardroom or bedroom takes time away from doing business or having fun. Rather than take away that precious time now, such planning gets postponed.


So, will you select the loss of time now or a much bigger and even more painful monetary loss later? (Part II to follow in 2009!)



Dr. Shel J. Miller is an Executive, Family, and Divorce coach. As the Keep-It-Together Expert, his mission is to lift spirits by restoring hope and peace in relationships that are struggling. He does this through Family Event Coaching and working as a Child Specialist with Collaborative Attorneys and a Parent Coordinator post litigation. His website is http://www.shelmiller.com/ and he may be reached at 617-731-9174 or ShelMiller@rcn.com