Marching Forth: Small Steps Take You the Farthest

My favorite day of the year will be in here in a week - March Fourth!  It is the only date on the calendar that is a command.  Move forward.  Get moving.  March Forth.

By now, for a majority of people, their New Year's Resolutions have fallen to the wayside (Only 8% of people who make a resolution actually keep it.).  Why is that?  I feel it is because a lot of people set completely unrealistic goals for themselves.   They set goals that are too big.

Over the past year I have become involved in several Quality Improvement projects at work.  In fact, I'm proud to say that my Team has won awards for our projects.  What I have observed about why our projects have done well is that we focus on making small changes.  When those small changes are completed successfully, we end up with big results overtime.  These big results have great impact changing the lives of the people whom we are serving.  Groups that have taken HUGE leaps looking for BIG results often fall short because the jump is too big - the project is too complicated, too difficult or unable to be maintained.

Can I pause to brag?  Here are a few members of my Team
from Community LIFE when we won the 2016
UPMC President's Award for Quality Improvement.

The same idea can apply to our lives.  When we set a small goal and achieve it successfully we are encouraged to set another small goal.  When we accomplish that one successfully we are pumped up even more and are ready to aim at conquering another goal.  This can go on and on until we see a BIG change in our lives.  Someone who aims for a big result right away is going to get frustrated or bored and give-up.  

~Lao Tzu

Marching Forth.  You can't start marching until you take that first step.  You can't make a change in your life until you decide to make that first change - Not drinking pop this week.  Skipping your morning smoke break this morning.  Walking around the block one time today.  When you achieve that, you march on to your next goal.  Or if you don't achieve it you forgive yourself and try again.

If I was able to have two of me and we stood side by side at the starting line of a 5k race and one of me took off sprinting while the other me took off at my normal pace, who do you think is going to finish the race first?  The me who took off at my normal pace.  You know why?  Because the me who took off sprinting is going to tire out quickly and either end of walking or collapsing on the side because I'm too tired to finish.  Small steps.  Moving forward one at a time at a pace that is appropriate for me.  Those small steps will get me a lot farther than the person who leaps from the starting line.

New Year's is long gone.  The re-birth and freshness of Spring is right around the corner.  This is the perfect time to decide to make a healthy change in your life.  I started seven years ago simply by running from one mailbox to the next on my suburban neighborhood street (that tells you how small my goals initially were - 50 feet!).  

Over the next five days, I'm going to share with you five ideas of way that you can March Forth and kick-start a journey of marching right into a healthier life.  You can do it,  You can achieve your health goals - one step at a time.

Dinner Party Potatoes

I spend my days with about 80 senior citizens managing an Adult Day Health Center.  One of my favorite things to do is to sit and talk with them.  They have some of the best life stories.  Each one unique and with a lesson to share.

I've been spending time with one lady who was a housewife most of her life.  In the 1960's and 70's, her husband was a businessman and he would often entertain co-workers or clients in their home.  I can tell from the expression on her face that she loved being the hostess at those dinner parties.  She describes to me in great detail the meals that she would prepare and how her guests would love them.  Most of the recipes she recites from memory.

One dish she talks about often are her Dinner Party Potatoes.  I relate them to the Cheezy Potatoes that I often make.  The difference is that her recipe contains fresh ingredients.  Instead of frozen hashbrowns, she boiled ten potatoes and then shredded them.  Instead of canned soup and sour cream, she used cream.

I decided to write down her recipe and make her Dinner Party Potatoes for my family today.  They were so good!  I could tell such a difference in the texture and taste.  My family enjoyed them, too.  Surprisingly, it didn't take much more time to make these potatoes.  It did take me longer to prepare them, but they cooked for a shorter period of time so it evened itself out.  I'm not an expert to say which potatoes are "better for you," but I've always thought that fresher is better.  I'll definitely be making these again!  And I can't wait to see what dish she tells me about next!

Dinner Party Potatoes

Dinner Party Potatoes

    

Ingredients:

10 potatoes

1 small onion

salt & pepper, to taste

1/2 stick butter

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 pint half & half cream

    

Directions:

Boil the potatoes with the skin on until soft (about 20 minutes)

Let the potatoes cool until you can handle them easily.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Remove the potato skins, optional

Shred the potatoes

Dice the onion, add to the potatoes

Add 1 cup of the cheese to the potatoes

Season with salt & pepper to taste

Place the potato mixture in a greased 9X13 pan

Cut the butter into cubes and place on top of the potatoes

Cover with the remaining cheese

Pour the half & half over the potatoes

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes

   

ENJOY!!

I Know Me

Over the past several days I have found myself repeatedly saying "I know me."

I know that as soon as I sit down in the evening I am going to fall asleep.

I know that if I eat one Swedish Fish and I am sitting near an open bag of Swedish Fish, I am going to have a difficult time controlling myself.

I know that if I tell my friend Amy that I will be at Zumba and she is going to be at Zumba then I'm going to show up at Zumba regardless of how tired I am.

I know that when I am feeling grouchy, my best move is to lock myself in my room for awhile because otherwise - watch out family!

It recently dawned on me the power in that statement.  I KNOW ME.  When I pause long enough to remember that, I am way more successful at making healthy and positive life choices.  When I don't, I am more likely to make poor choices.  I also don't pay attention to what is going on around me and think it is fair to say that I don't enjoy life as much.

Let me dive a little deeper to help explain that.

Zumba.  Here is what I know - I know that by 7PM I am exhausted.  I've been up since 5AM, I've spent the day literally locked in a room with my staff and 30 people with Dementia.  I've carpooled my kids around town, cooked dinner and done about 10 other random things.  By 7PM it sounds like the best idea in the world to put on my PJ's, sit on the couch and fall asleep. However, I also know that I feel healthier, less stressed and more energized when I include exercise into my day.  I know that I love to dance and that I love the Zumba class I attend.  And most of all I know that I love hanging out with my friend Amy whom I don't get to see as often as I'd like.  So, I KNOW that if I make plans to meet Amy at Zumba than I am going to show up at Zumba.  SUCCESS!

Let's look at one more:

Swedish Fish.  Here is what I know - I know that I LOVE Swedish Fish and can easily eat an entire bag by myself.  I know that because I've done it before.  I also know that I am a mindless eater.  If there are snacks in front of me I'm going to eat and eat and eat without giving a second thought to how much I am eating.  I know that if I eat one I'm going to crave more and that I have trouble controlling myself when there is an open bag within reach; therefore, I am thinking of nothing else but how much I want another fish.  I know that my days at work are very busy and my best strategy to eating lunch is to pack lots of healthy snacks that I can grab throughout the day - apple slices, carrot sticks, string cheese, pretzels.  Yesterday at work I walked into a meeting to find piles of candy, including bags of Swedish Fish, in the middle of the table - a great strategy to boost the mood in a late Friday afternoon meeting.  However, for me, I knew that I had not done a good job packing my lunch that day and therefore had not eaten and would not be able to eat until after the meeting.  I knew that if I sat near the Swedish Fish it would all be over.  My mind would be focused solely on those fish and I would most likely end up eating a lot of Swedish Fish.  So, I made the conscious choice to sit at that far end of the table in the seat farthest away from the pile of candy.  SUCCESS!  I sat through the meeting focused on the subject at hand and didn't madly consume the entire pile of candy.

That sounds so complicated, but the thought process takes only a few seconds.  What has stuck out at me over these past few days is that the process is taking less and less time.  I used to wrestle with these thoughts and struggle to make the healthy choice.  Now, I am still aware that I am making the choice, but it is much easier and feels more natural.  Trust me, there have been many times that I have either made a poor choice without giving it any thought or still made a poor choice after thinking about what I was doing, but I forgive myself and try again the next day.

Do you know you?  Do you know what triggers a poor choice or what areas of your life you need to really think about what you are doing before you do it?  It will feel difficult and unnatural at first to make yourself pause before you act, but overtime habits and cravings can change.  I'm proof of that!

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Don't Give Up! 3 Tips to Keeping Your New Year's Resolution

It's about this time of the year that people start bailing on their New Year's Resolutions.  In fact, according to the University of Scranton's research, only 8% of people who make a resolution actually keep it.  Before you throw out your goal, your hopes, your dreams for a new and different year, take a second to read this . . .

I started every year as one of the 92% who never keep their resolutions.  The new year would kick-off and I'd feel motivated and enthusiastic.  This was the year that I was going to make drastic changes in my life.  Eat healthier.  Lose weight.  Help others.  Get organized.  Make my bed everyday.  Never yell at my kids again.  By the end of January real life would creep in and I'd stumble and then fall flat on my face.  Forget that resolution!  I'd be mad at myself for a few days, but then life would go on and I'd forget about any desire to improve myself.

The streak ended in 2010.  That year I was one of those 8%.  I kept my New Year's Resolution and my life would never be the same.  I resolved to complete a 5k.  Coming from someone who had never run even the shortest of distances that was a pretty daring goal to set.  Amazingly, on April 10, 2010 I completed my first 5k.  Since then I have set and kept my New Year's Resolutions every year.  How does that happen?  I do three simple things.

1. I set SMART Resolutions.  

My resolutions were always vague and unrealistic.  I will be healthier this year!  What exactly does that mean?  I will not yell at my kids this year.  Really?  You don't think they're going to push you to your limits at least once in the next 12 hours let alone 12 months?  I will lose 50 pounds this year.  Is that possible?  Yes - for some people.  But I know myself.  The minute the scale shows a gain I will feel defeated and bow out.  

In 2010, my resolution was a SMART one.  I will run a 5k this year.  It's specific.  You can read that sentence and know exactly what I'm aiming to do with no explanation.  It's measurable.  I either complete 3.1 miles or I don't.  It's achievable.  3.1 miles isn't that far (Though at the time it felt like I was asking myself to run around the world!).  I could accomplish that without killing myself.  It's realistic.  Looking at my life at the time and the training needed to achieve this goal, I felt that I could handle it.  I also had several friends who ran and were great examples to me that I could do this.  It's timely.  I had one year to complete it.  Or once I picked a race - until April 10th.  

2. I Share my Resolutions with others.

Sharing your Resolutions with others allows them to cheer you on when times get tough, celebrate with you and hold you accountable.  When I keep things to myself, negative self-talk fills my mind. "You can't do this."  "You're crazy."  "You know you're going to fail."  I have a small group of trusted friends and family whom I share EVERYTHING with about my resolutions.  They've listened to me whine.  They've jumped up and down with me to celebrate victories.  They've caught me sneaking into the Break Room tip toeing towards the vending machines and called me out on it, 

Back in 2010, I told everyone - and I mean EVERYONE - about my goal of completing a 5k.  That is actually what kept me going.  There were several times during my training that I wanted to quit and one key moment when the race first started that I was ready to head to the car.  Each time I thought of how many people I had told (Why had I posted my goal on Facebook?!?) and how embarrassing it would be to have to say that I quit.  

3. I Stick to it even when I fall.

This is probably the MOST important.  No one is perfect.  Life is not always fair.  There are going to be mountains to climb and valleys to cross.  When I mess up or miss a step, the key is for me to pick myself up and keep going.  Even if that means going back and starting again.  

When I was training for that first 5k, I had a string of three weeks when I couldn't get the training in on Tuesdays.  I was ready to give up.  My mom asked me why I would quit after already putting so much time and heart into training.  The only answer I could come up with was the missing check marks on the paper.  I had messed up "the plan" and now I was off schedule.  When my mom pointed out the ridiculousness of quitting because of a few missing check marks, I knew that couldn't quit.  Who really cares that I had missed three Tuesdays?  No one!

So what if you didn't reach 10,000 steps for the past two days.  Your child was sick.  You had a big report to complete at work.  That doesn't justify quitting.

So you ate an entire pizza after a really bad day.  What happened to you really stinks and deserved a pity party, but now you start fresh and get back on track with that clean eating.

So you paid your gas bill a day late.  Hey, everything else has been paid on time and you are doing a great job.  Next month, you'll get that bill paid on time.

Whenever we stumble there is a key moment when we literally ask ourselves - am I going to quit or am I going to stick to it?  The easy answer is to say I quit and fall back into old habits.  The hard answer.  The brave answer.  The smart answer is to push on.

So here we are nearing the end of January.  Did you tell yourself this year would be different and have found that it's not?  Have you been struggling to keep your resolution and have been thinking of giving up?  Maybe you never even made one because, "Why bother?  You know you won't keep it."

It's never too late to set a goal.  January 1 is only a date on the calendar.  You can make a New Year's Resolution on January 1st, January 22nd or even May 3rd.  It's all about you and how you want to live your life.  What decisions do you want to make?  How do you feel about your life right now?  If you want to change than you can do that starting today.

If you are ready to give up, I urge you to hang in there.  Look at your resolution.  Is it SMART?  If not - you can adjust it.  Have you shared your goal with anyone?  If not, call or text someone right now and ask for support.  Do you need to dig in your heels and stick to it even if you've already fallen?  You can do it!!

It's been seven years since I first kept my New Year's Resolution.  I still make a couple every year and I still follow these three steps.  If I can do it, I know that you can, too!

An ALPHABET WORKOUT for my Kids

I have to confess that my taking a few weeks off of nagging . . . I mean encouraging . . . my kids to exercise while they got used to the school year has turned into four months.  That's horrible.  I could add that I received a promotion at work which required more of my time and energy.  And my daughter has been swamped with homework (I have to point out my immense pride in her academics!) literally spending hours each night sitting at her desk.  Oh yeah - and then there were the holidays.

No.  None of those are good excuses.  But it happened and now we will move on.

That is much easier said than done when you are talking about my fourteen year-old.  I just know that she is going to end up being a hostage negotiator or a defense attorney.  She has the ability to debate and negotiate until I am ready to rip my hair out.  These past few weeks I have started strong with my quest to get her to join me at that gym, but have ended up throwing my hands in the air and heading out the door with my son in tow eager to continue training for the upcoming tennis season, leaving my daughter at home to lay in bed or sit at her desk.

Not tonight.  I came prepared for the battle with something I knew (ok - hoped) would be easy, quick and fun enough to make her want to give it a try.

I presented her with an ABC Workout.  I took the alphabet and assigned each letter an activity (I made this one easy enough that I knew she could complete it without too much trouble taking into consideration that she hadn't seriously exercised in several months.).  All we had to do was spell our names, middle names included.  Easy???  Absolutely!

After putting our dinner in the oven, the three of us put on an extra layer and headed out to our backyard on this 40 degree January evening.  I grabbed the equipment we have in the house - a set of five and eight pound weights, our 10 pound kettlebell and a jumprope - for us to use, but we could have easily done this with no equipment at all.

And . . . .

We had a great time!  It only took us 20 minutes to each spell our name.  I broke a bit of a sweat, but not much.  The important thing to me was that my daughter completed it and enjoyed it.  We all laughed as we realized that my son ended up doing a TON of jumping jacks and that running up to the top of the driveway in the dark is kind of scary.

ABC Workout!

When we were done, my daughter commented that I should leave her the sheet with the exercises and she could do it on her own.  She then rattled off the names of her favorite musicians and bands whom she could do the workout to spell their names.  YES!!!

The great thing about this workout is that you can adapt it to fit the fitness level and age of your kids (or you!) making it as hard or easy as you want.  And you can easily change it up by assigning the exercises to different letters or spelling out different words or sentences.  In the future, I'll suggest that my kids and I spell out more than just one thing or use this workout in conjunction with something else like running.

Here is the list that we used tonight (but I can't stress enough that you can use whatever exercises YOU want!):

A = 15 kettlebell swings               N = 20 jumping jacks
B = 10 squats                                O = 10 squats
C = 10 lunges (5 per leg)              P = 20 high knees (10 per knee)
D = 20 high knees (10 per knee)  Q = 15 kettlebell swings
E = 12 bicep curls                         R = 12 bicep curls
F = 12 shoulder presses                S = 12 shoulder presses
G = 12 tricep presses                    T = 12 tricep presses
H = 10 mountain climbers            U = 10 mountain climbers
I = 20 weighted ab twists              V = 20 weighted ab twists
J = Run up & down the driveway W = 20 jumping jacks
K = 20 jumping jacks                   X = 20 jumping jacks
L = 20 jump ropes                        Y = 30 second wall sit
M = 30 second plank                    Z = 10 squats

Hopefully this is the first night of getting my daughter moving again.  I always say that the hard part about exercising isn't starting - it's starting again (and sometimes again and again).  This time I plan to make getting back on track as easy as ABC!

OH NO! I Chose the COUCH!!

On Tuesday night as I pulled into my driveway with my sunroof open and windows down, I took a deep breath.  Ahhhh . . . fresh crisp fall air!  This would be a great evening to take a walk after dinner.  The leaves were in the midst of changing colors.  Temperatures were perfect for a light sweatshirt.  Rain was expected over the next few days.  An absolutely perfect evening to get out and enjoy my favorite season.

Plus, our schedule had been busy and I had not exercised in several days.  I knew that exercise had been getting put on the back burner more often, but tonight was the night I was putting it back in front!

After dinner, my son and husband were watching their favorite comedy on TV.  I sat down on the couch next to my husband and joined them in cracking up.  Slowly, I snuggled deeper into the couch leaning against my husband and tucking myself under the comfort of his arm.

Looking back I remember thinking about that walk I wanted to take, but even though I was laughing and enjoying the TV show I had begun to get a little drowsy.  When the channel was changed from the comedy to a sporting event, my eyes became heavy and I drifted off to sleep.  An hour later my husband woke me up and I stumbled through my evening routine before falling into bed.  I was so tired,

The next morning the importance of what had happened the night before hit me hard.  I had chosen the couch!  Without much of a second thought, I made the choice to sit on the couch and not exercise.  There wasn't a second of wrestling with the idea.  Not a single mental exchange of should I or shouldn't I.  I just did it.  I sat on that couch for the entire evening.

Who cares?  Right?  So I enjoyed an evening of watching TV and laughing with my son and husband.  There's nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, for me, this is a problem.  An eye-opening, earth shaking, life jolting problem.

For several years I wanted to do nothing else but sit on the couch.  My time was focused on getting everything done that needed to be done so that I could sit on the couch.  Many times things went undone because I was sitting on the couch staring at the TV or sleeping.

I fought a fierce internal battle to train myself to think before I sat down.  Instead of mindlessly collapsing onto the couch, I began to make physical activity a priority.  I had to make myself pause and make the conscious choice to change my clothes and get out the door for a run or trip to the gym.  Over a few years time, I got to the point where I didn't have to pause.  It wasn't necessarily a conscious choice  - I just did it.  Heading out the door for a run or to the gym became a natural part of my day.

Life has been busy these past few months.  I knew that I was not exercising as often as I had been.  But I was still thinking about it, still including it in my plans.  Until Tuesday.  The idea of getting up and going for that walk had passed through my mind, but I turned it down without a second thought.  I was so upset with myself!

Thursday evening rolled around and I made plans to meet my friend Amy at Zumba.  I was pumped and ready to go.  I said good-bye to my son as he headed out the door to go to the high school volleyball game.  Then, my husband and daughter left for my daughter's piano lesson.  Suddenly I realized that I was in the house all alone and I had 40 minutes until I need to leave.  This rarely happens.  I grabbed the TV remote and was about to plop myself down on the couch when I remembered Tuesday night.  I knew that if I sat down on the couch that I would fall asleep and have zero desire to get back up.  So I put the remote back down, cranked up some crazy 80's tunes and spent the next forty minutes moving around the house.  I did everything I could think of to prevent myself from sitting down.  I even read the paper standing up!  Forty minutes later I was out the door and headed to Zumba!

Accountability got me out the door!

When I saw my friend Amy I threw my arms around her.  Part of what made the decision to not sit down so easy was knowing that she would be waiting for me at class.  I'm incredibly thankful for how she holds me accountable when it comes to many aspects of my life - exercise is just one!  

The other reason I was determined to not sit on the couch was that I had worked hard to change my life and make healthy choices.  I am determined that this life style change will be forever.  It is so easy to fall back into old habits and I don't want that to happen to me.

The good news from this experience is that I recognize the problem.  I'm standing at the top of a slippery slope and I need to back away.  Life is not going to slow down anytime soon.  My challenge is continuing to make healthy choices which include fitting exercise into my life.

This journey continues . . .

My Phone will Show You - I Worked my Plan!

One of my dad's favorite pieces of advice for his daughters and grandchildren is

Plan your Work and Work your Plan.

 

Very wise advice that I try to follow.  At the beginning of every season, I take time to think about what I want to accomplish and set goals for myself and my family.  They're not always serious goals like trying a new healthy recipe or exercising three times a week.  Often it's that I want to try a certain restaurant, make 'Smores at least one time or check out a new Putt Putt course.  I make a plan for myself so that time passes with few regrets of things that I wanted to accomplish or experience and don't. 

 

At 2:30AM this morning I was awake and consumed with guilt and worry.  Summer 2016 is pretty much over.  Had this summer been fun enough?  Active Enough?  Memorable enough?  My kids are getting older and I often feel as if they are slipping through my fingers.  Time with them is becoming more and more precious.  Was I honoring that time and making the most of it?  Had I "worked my plan" this summer?

 

While taking my last walk on the beach this morning capturing a beautiful sunrise, I realized that I held the answer to those questions that had been nagging me all night in my hand.  My phone!  All I had to do was look through the hundreds of moments I captured over the summer.

 

My first picture of the summer - Celebrating JJ's birthday with
Fortune Star and Putt Putt

 

Creating fun memories watching both the Pittsburgh Penguins and
the Cleveland Cavs win Championships!

 

Making sure both kids were out and about with friends and not
spending the entire summer in their rooms on their phones.

Professional Goal Met - My Team received Community LIFE's Inaugural
Excellence in Quality Award!
 

 

Going to Hidden Valley (I never made it there last summer!)
 and spending time with my family.

The last picture taken on my phone this morning.
A beautiful sunrise over Ocean Isle Beach, NC
To me this symbolizes my continued efforts to exercise regularly -
I got up every morning of vacation and walked 2 miles!

 

I'd say that is proof to me that I worked my plan.  Our summer was fun, active and memorable.  No regrets here! 

One more day on the beach and then it will be time to begin planning the next season and putting that plan to work.  My Dad always gives good advice.