A Goal

What is it about setting a goal? I have written many goals down over the years with much promise to achieve each objective. It was not until recently that I began truly visualizing the outcome of a goal I set. How will it feel? How will it look? I envision my life with the wonderful new accomplishment. This really gives a goal movement. Something magical happens in the process. A transition from the statement you write on a piece of paper to something that exists in your thoughts and ultimately your reality. How empowering! How inspiring!

Eat Less. Move More.

I think this might single-handedly wipe out this country's economic crisis and obesity epidemic in one fell swoop! If every American pledged to eat just 10% less each day and walk 10% more (drive part of the way to work and walk the rest or walk to work instead of taking mass transit) it would be SIGNIFICANTLY more cost effective. Plus the caloric deficit would make weight loss inevitable. Is it really that simple?? Yes, I think so. Let's start a campaign!

Another Contraption

If I have to listen to one more commercial for a "fitness" device that slims your midline in just weeks I might actually put my fist through a wall. As an exercise physiologist the science to support those sweeping statements just isn't there. Yet, most of my clients admit that they have an ab roller, coaster, rocket, lounge or blaster stashed in some dark corner of their closet. The bottom line is people will always search for a quick fix! Sorry folks our bodies just don't work that way. Time, a little sweat, and a bit of work reign supreme. Here is an important tip: if the makers claim that the total pounds lost is more than the total weeks it takes then the total cost was NOT worth the investment. Kudos to your intentions. Your heart was in the right place. Keep your motivation up and your TV off and hit the gym for some sound advice.

The Wise Man

While I was training one of my clients this morning she made a striking comment. She humbly quoted a friend. "A wise man counts his blessings. A poor man counts his problems."

We grind through our days stressfully. We wonder when the economy will pick up and worry about mortgages, college funds, and basically just surviving. This adage is a bold pinch in the ribs. Here is a challenge! Take 5 minutes today and make a list. Title it: The Things That Make Me Happy. Jot down the simplicities in your life that make you smile. It should be easy and pleasurable. Post it somewhere and try to incorporate at least a handful each day and be grateful!

The morning

The solitude of a lonely man, the peacefulness of waves rolling over the shore and the sweet melody of a singing bird. At 6 o'clock in the morning there are few humans moving about this wonderful town of Wexford (Loch Garman), Ireland. Running against the backdrop of the countryside I realize how blessed I am to put one leg in front of the other and transport to another dimension yet feel so connected. I am lost in thoughts of my grandmother's home town; imagining what it used to be like here as I ground myself to the earth. The morning! There is nothing like a run in the morning!

Running in Dublin

So it was about 6am this morning and I ventured out for a run just like I do most days. This time I found myself maneuvering through the Quays and squares of the Temple Bar district in Dublin, Ireland. There is truly no better way to meet a city than running through her streets. The people, the pulse, the smell. I was instantly mesmerized by the old world charm and city grit that somehow seamlessly merged to create the quintessential European cosmopolitan. Thanks Dublin for a most warm and welcoming handshake!

The Myth about Exercise: BUSTED!

Time Magazine's recent cover article, Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin, is not the message to send to a nation with 60% of its population struggling with overfattness. The American College of Sports Medicine has swiftly responded in it's alway high brow scientific manner free of the pressure to report shocking headlines to sell itself. Exercise is an essential part of health, weight loss and maintenance. Over 50 years of research has earned compelling evidence to support this. The author of the Time Magazine article, John Cloud, has been a reporter for 12 years and does not appear to have ANY scientific title. His oversized blog account of personal weight loss trials has effectively served one purpose; shocking print media. He more than likely misquoted the one scientist he contacted for the piece. Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University, published a study in 2008 on the Effect of Calorie Restriction with or without Exercise on Body Composition and Fat Distribution. He concluded that "exercise plays an equivalent role to CR in terms of energy balance; however, it can also improve aerobic fitness, which has other important cardiovascular and metabolic implications." It is difficult to believe that he said "In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless," for Time.

As an exercise physiologist who has used exercise to manage disease, injury and weight for the last 12 years I'd like to leave folks with one anecdotal point. People find a way to reward themselves with food whether it was a good workout, good grades or good sex for that matter. I'd like to ask Mr. Cloud if he is the leading expert on deciphering between the psychological and physiological sensation of hunger. Years of research and collaboration from physical and psychological sciences and still have little understanding of how this works. I guess we need a degree in shock media and 12 years experience in irresponsible journalism!