Someone sees me doing something they perceive as ‘difficult’ regarding diet or exercise. They say something like, “I just don’t have the willpower to do that.”

Heres’ the truth. . .

I too, have little willpower.

Don’t set a chocolate dessert in my frig (or in front of my face) and expect me to NOT eat it! 

It will call to me all day & night! Even IF it is made with things I don’t ‘normally’ eat.

Don’t put salty foods in my face, especially when I’m being very active; the salty flavor calls to me too.

Don’t invite me to lunch at a good seafood restaurant unless I haven’t had seafood in a month. (My self-imposed limit because of contamination issues.)

Indeed, don’t ask me to find my riding gear at 7AM to get on my bike; especially if the sun isn’t shining!

But discipline & willpower are NOT the same thing.

Here’s how I parse the difference: Discipline makes willpower less necessary.

Here’s what I mean:

Discipline is an instant momentary decision that allows for simplicity in your life. It creates commitment & works by using your standards to create systems & goals. That creates routines and ultimately habits. 

Discipline allows you to accomplish more of your intentions and makes willpower unnecessary or less of an issue. . .MOST times. 

Daily Discipline gets you out of bed in the morning to work for someone ELSE so you can have a roof over your head & food in your kids’ stomachs.

Discipline and having long-term vision are also why you start that side gig, put your money in a 401k or buy insurance. We all know it COULD be easier in the immediacy of it all to NOT take those actions. When we CHOOSE discipline, life is easier. We all know that.

So, let’s bring it to personal care & self-care:

Discipline, in the moment, is what gets me out of bed when the alarm goes off & put on the clothes next to the bed. Then I get on my bike without really thinking about it.  The bed is far less likely to call me back. If I don’t have the clothes by the bedside, that’s just ONE additional thing that is required that will make it easier to stay in bed! When I’ve stopped my routine, for whatever reason, taking action before bed gets me back out there!

Similarly, discipline in the moment, when I’m shopping  (shopping when I’m NOT hungry helps) allows me to bypass the cookies, chips, and frozen desserts (even the non-dairy ones MOST of the time). This means those things aren’t in my frig or my cabinets and makes it far easier for me to not eat them. They don’t “call to me” in the middle of the night like the ice cream used to ‘back in the day.’

That also brings up a point. If you have a family that doesn’t conform to how you choose to eat or care for yourself, here’s a suggested adjustment:

Are they willing to CHOOSE to go without those favored foods for a few weeks to help their mom, dad or spouse who is trying to better themselves? If not, perhaps they need to buy that stuff themselves, not depend on you to do it. (Alternatively, if they are still young, it’s easier for you to make that choice for the family’s health.)

Here’s what I found, personally, when I started making these changes: After about 4-6 weeks, my desire for some but not all of those foods started to diminish.

Clients, like Lorna (who has given me permission to use her name & quote) have said things like “I don’t want to eat the things that aren’t good for me anymore.”

But recognize, likely your personal favorites will always be more difficult to say ‘no’ to.

For me, during that transition, I was able to say “no” to potato chips but not tortilla chips, or cheap cheddar cheese but not Havarti or Brie. Vanilla ice cream could go in the back of the freezer & I’d be fine; but not some rich Ben & Jerry’s or Haagen Dazs flavor. 

So, there was an initial period when I wouldn’t buy the stuff. If my family chose to buy it, hopefully, I didn’t see it. Then for a long period of time, when I shopped, if I bought dairy or chips for the family, I bought the things that weren’t my #1 items. It helped me move that line between discipline and willpower. 

And there’s magic in the way your body functions. You crave the things you’re used to eating. So as you stop eating them, your taste buds change and adapt. You stop wanting that stuff.

Now, I can attend a party with good Brie or Havarti and have little problem staying away from it as long as I’m not drinking. 

That discipline has become a habit and my physiology has changed because of it. That can happen to you as well.

Imagine the freedom of a life where your tastebuds rule your world just a little less. As a former cheese and ice cream-aholic. I can tell you: it’s very liberating.

So when it comes to discipline & willpower in self-care, examine it from the conversation of “how can I put SYSTEMS in place? How can I make it easier for me to do the things I know would be best for my future well-being? And how can make it harder to do those things that aren’t good for me?

What is one thing that you’re willing to put in place after reading this? Email me. I’d love to hear.

The post Successfully Evolve Your Self-Care: Discipline vs. Willpower appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

New discoveries on how to slow and even reverse aging.

The article on reversing aging, from experiments done on mice, sits in my inbox awaiting my attention.

Today I want to concentrate on the one on slowing aging.

The summary in Medical News Today put it this way:

“As a result of its proven ability to prevent and treat several chronic diseases at low cost, doctors have called exercise a drug-free “polypill” that can benefit nearly everyone.”

Now I’m sure this doesn’t really surprise you, or me. 

This is not to say that what you eat doesn’t matter. We intuitively know they go hand in hand. (Another topic for another time.) 

The article goes on to say that starting to exercise at any age can make a difference. 

Genetics plays a role in how long people live. But, all you need to do is look at the lifestyle of any 90+ year old you know and you will see your own future and your choices. 

I have the honor of having 4 such people in my life and 3 of the 4 are doing amazingly well. 

I will highlight my aunt & my uncle (both siblings of my mom) as 2 examples.

My Aunt Jeanie, caught the fitness bug back in the 60’s when Jack Lalane was on TV. By the time the 70’s came around, she had a gym membership that kept her fit most of her life. She will turn 93, if my calculations are correct, next month.

Though she no longer goes to the gym regularly, (knee replacements in her 80’s put a dampener on that,) she remains active. She still “works” (actually volunteers) several times a week at the performing arts center near her home. She also still lives independently.

Her older brother, my Uncle Irving, 18 months her senior, will turn 95 in June. Though he moved in with my cousin and his family a few years ago when his wife passed, he continued to work out at the gym and travel until Covid hit. He remains active and mentally fit as well.

Throughout their life, he and his wife continued playing tennis well into their 70’s. And although his wife has now passed, I have little doubt that it made a huge difference in her life as well. Normally a disease that strikes in the 45-55 year time span, she didn’t develop ALS until her late 70’s and almost made it to 80. 

On the other hand, a local friend who was inactive for much of her life and remained so suffers from extreme pain. Though she still has all her mental facilities, she has a life I would not wish on anyone. 

These people exemplify what the journals say and what we intuitively know. Those who remain active throughout life, for the most part, can bypass much of the pain and disability that appears to come with aging.

The article also explains that getting active even late in life can help build muscle and avoid falls and disability. 

So, what’s it going to be for you? To a large extent, the choice is yours.

The post How to Slow and Reverse Aging appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

Well, today, I’m giving you the 5 essential steps to make your efforts count.

Have you gained weight or been diagnosed with a chronic disease like diabetes,  high blood pressure, an auto-immune disorder or cancer?

Have you tried to make changes on your own but you can’t seem to get the traction to stick with it? Have you thought, ”It’s age, my metabolism, hormones, or (lack of) willpower.”?

While that last statement is partially true, it‘s almost like the opposite side of the “rose colored glasses” syndrome.
It’s that pessimistic view like waiting for the other shoe to drop. When that’s where you are, you can’t clearly see to discern what to do next.

And you’re likely not doing what you know (if you’re being really honest) works consistently or monitoring your actions here and now.

Recently, my client, Suzy (not her real name) shared her breakthrough:

“It wasn’t until I figured out that it was about (what) wellness (really meant to me) that I recommitted to change.” She told me.

She is now eating more whole food consistently and has lost 7 lbs after not being able to lose any weight for many months.

With this in mind, here are the 5 steps that can help you begin your journey:

1. Discern your goal:

What is the end-game? It needs to be bigger than fitting into the size 6 jeans sitting in the closet.
It needs to be more meaningful than what you will look like at the reunion.

What is that thing that you enjoy doing that you want to STILL be able to do . . . at age 80?!

Now I know I’m talking to some people that are only half that age. I’m asking anyway!

Expand your horizons and think about it.
Stark reality flash: You don’t get to choose when or how you’ll leave this earth.

Far too many people spend the last 5-15 years of life in pain and disabled. That could mean your kids changing your diapers or feeding you! How embarrassing!

But if you keep fit, eat right and exercise your brain, you’ll likely evade disability.
If you don’t want to think about life at 80 (or even 90!) that’s all the more reason to do it.

2. Discern your bigger why:

This is tied into but may not be directly related to #1 above.
Do you want to be able to go places & do things with the grandkids or great grandkids you don’t have yet?
What is that thing that, if you could do it then, would make the difference to you? Is it really about leaving ‘a legacy’ (money) to the kids & grandkids?

Or is it more about doing something meaningful while you’re still here? Travel? A humanitarian project? Something meaningful you could do WITH the grandkids or other family members? What is it that would speak to you on the deepest level?

You may need help to dig deep to discern these things. The answers to these questions don’t come easy. Continue to ponder these questions and expand your mind. The answers will come as you engage and define the questions better. A coaching conversation can help you discern your deepest desires.

Now that these first 2 questions are at least out there. . . you can look at some of the physical things that can begin to shift things.
The 3 things I’m going to mention are only a very basic starting point.

They each require long-term effort with constant monitoring to discern what’s working and what’s not. Then tweaking  and re-tweaking  to perfect the changes and keep progress going in the right direction. Again, where coaching can come in in a meaningful way.

3. Begin eating more whole food:

Fruits, veggies, grains, legumes. Whole food is the one thing that seems to be the common factor in areas of the world where people continue to live vibrantly as they age.

Whole food feeds both OUR bodies and our gut microbiome that makes most of the chemicals and hormones we need to thrive. Find some recipes here

4. Begin eating less animal products and processed foods:

How much change you have to make or how little you can get away with depends on many factors:
your age, current health status, genetics and more.

Often, if you’ve been diagnosed with a chronic condition, this change requires that you be extremely strict with it until you give your body a good chance to work at healing the problem.

You may be able to be less strict at some point in the future.

But you may need to look at it like dialing in the numbers of combination lock; (requiring that you be very exacting and strict) at least for now. Constant upgrading & tweaking to dial that last number in takes some work.

5. Move more:

With over 600 muscles in your body, it is designed for movement.

There is evidence to suggest that our hunter-gatherer ancestors spent as much as 16-20 hours per day hunting and gathering. They may have used up to 5,000 calories per day in the process. Compare this to your current lifestyle and you’ll see pretty plainly why we are so overweight.

But like everything else in life: recognize WHERE you are, SET your goal, and MOVE FORWARD each & every day.

Note that due to injuries and other issues you may have to adopt modified fitness goals, but you likely can do more than you think you can. (Be sure to check with your healthcare provider before starting).

So here you have a basic prescription for beginning to put some changes in place.

Keep asking the questions and keep digging to get to the important stuff.

It’s especially difficult to do this digging on your own. Until you discern the correct answers for you, you’re likely to continue to struggle.

Need some assistance? Set up a time to talk.

The post Wellness: The 5 Essential Steps to Make Your Efforts Count appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

But as is typical of reaching any long sought-after goal, now that I’m here, it doesn’t seem that incredible to me.

I know that  you and many others could do similar things by setting a goal, putting the pieces in place and working consistently toward it. (Sound familiar?)

And, like many goals in life, worthy goals spill over and bring more positive change to other areas of life as well.

So today, let’s outline a few things:

You don’t have to be (and I’m not) some great accomplished athlete.

     
Just acknowledge where you are in relation to where you understand that you need to be. But, where you need to be is not a finite point. It will evolve & adapt as you and your life do. 

When I left on this trip, I knew I wasn’t in as good shape as I had been when I toured a year ago or as I thought I should be.
The trip had also evolved and had at least 3 different iterations before I left

But here’s the thing: everything you do while working toward your goal is an intimate part of the process that helps you succeed.

What do I mean? It’s kind of like the ‘Just do it’ adage. The first days of my tour served to get me in shape for the rest of the tour. There was a certain minimum fitness that was necessary (for example, the ability to ride 25-40 miles/day).

But I didn’t need to have the capacity to accomplish the most difficult climbs at that point. I could compensate by slowing down, doing less miles in a day and even (heaven forbid) walking & pushing the bike if necessary (and it was at times).

Set your goal: Your goal should be specific and measurable. 

My goal was to ride my bicycle on EuroVelo 1 through the fjords of Norway to Nordkapp (AKA North Cape, the northernmost accessible point in Europe). 

Your goal can be as audacious or as matter-of-fact as you choose (or anything in between.) 

A marathon or some other ultra-event?  

Being able to hike or kayak with the grandkids?  

What is meaningful for you? It’s your goal, you choose it & you choose its meaning. 

For me, this trip represented the challenges of a lifetime. 

I chose a challenging goal because I understood that the physical challenge would require a concomitant mental-emotional challenge and that those challenges would make me stronger. 

And  those capacities would spill over into the rest of my life and business. 

What is a goal that is representative of the kind of thing you would like to be able to continue doing for the rest of your life? 

That’s where my goal started from. 

Pick something that will inspire you and propel you forward for this and for future goals.

Start your training: {In this article, I’m going to address only the fitness aspect. 

Other articles, elsewhere, will deal with other aspects (nutrition, mental-emotional attitude & more)}.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. 

Physical Aspect #1: 

Aerobic training: Back to the above; start where you are. 

I was recovering from the broken wrist I sustained in January. And I had  not kept in shape the way I wished I had. I knew I needed an interim goal to help get me back in shape in time for my trip.

So, I registered for the 50-mile ride that was part of the SLOBC WildFlower Century when a friend offered me a ticket a mere month before the event. That jolted me into shape. I knew I had to get on the trainer (I still wasn’t cleared by my surgeon yet to ride on the road).

So, starting where I was at. I began with a 30-minute stint on the trainer (basically like 30 minutes on a spin-bike; hardly a great accomplishment). I worked on increasing my time on the bike while also increasing the level of difficulty. I disciplined myself to increase the time of my workouts consistently and in a short time, was up over an hour daily. This may not seem like a lot for someone planning a tour where they will ride 4-8 hours daily. But, touring or doing a 50-mile event is less intense than pedaling your ass off for an hour-long spin class. So it was a great start. 

So, look at where you are today and where you need to be and increase in slow and steady increments. Consistency is the key. Have your doubts? If you ran ¼ mile today and then increased by ¼ mile every day, at the end of a month, you’d be running over 7 miles/day. Then the task of a marathon would no longer look so daunting. 

Add other fitness necessities: Stretching.

Stretching is an important aspect to incorporate so that you don’t injure yourself. Stretch more than just the muscles directly involved in your activity. For example, for cycling, you want to stretch all the muscles in the calves, thighs & hips, the shoulders and upper back. That’s what will help you  be comfortable riding for 3-7 hour stints. (Need more detail? Let’s talk)

More fitness necessities: Strength -training. 

It’s important to build strength capacity, not only in the muscles you use in an exercise but in related groups and in your core. Many activities use very specific muscle groups and this can lead to imbalances. Those imbalances can lead to injury if you don’t  strengthen. Strengthening the surrounding muscles helps you perform with more efficiency. It also keeps you from inappropriate muscle recruitment which could result in injury. 

More:  Balance exercises.

These may be less important for your goal, directly, but should be incorporated to keep you moving properly for the long-term. Falls can be one of the leading causes of hip fractures and other serious injury as we age. Balance exercises can go a long way toward keeping you able to live independently as you begin to age; whether you’re 45 or 85.

Ok. So you’ve set the goal, started working on stretching, strengthening, aerobics & balance. 

What’s next?

Continue to increase capacity, consult with specialists as needed.

Whether it’s help with a bike fit, shoes or other equipment; help with nutrition, a physical trainer, or a health coach; or help with rehab and recovery; a professional consult can be an important part of the process. 

If you’re not sure which professional you need, set up a time to talk with me. If it’s something I can help you with, I will. If not, I’ll likely have a referral suggestion that’ll get you the help you need.

It may be that someone to hold you accountable day-in and day-out is all you need. I can be that someone for you.

My goal is to help you stay well and do what you love for the rest of your life. I can help you function optimally now and at age 90.

In conclusion: Doing what you want, physically, at any age, is possible for most of us. We need only put the goal in place and discipline ourselves to work on it continually; just as we do with other goals in our life.

The post Do What You Love Till the Day You Die! appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

Today I’m going to address the parallels between your health and running your business.

My hope is that seeing the parallels here will help you begin to take better control of your health.

Broadly speaking, the two main things in both areas are to know where you’re starting and know where you’re going.

Yeah, pretty simple, in principle.

As I write this, I recognize the health realm is much easier for me than the business. Ha, that’s why I’m the health coach and there are several business coaches reading this. But I digress.

Know where you’re starting from. . . 
This requires measurement. Surprise, Surprise.

Measurements like: your weight (use a bathroom scale), your BMI (body mass index), or your percentage body fat. You’ll need your waist circumference for the body-fat calculator; another valuable parameter.

Other easy-to-do measurements include your resting heart rate and blood pressure.

Measure your heart rate before you get out of bed in the morning. Measure blood pressure after resting 10 minutes. Support your arm and keep it at heart height for the blood pressure measurement.

More measurements may include: fasting blood sugar, Hgb.A1C, Cholesterol and inflammatory markers. (A healthcare provider like myself or your primary care physician can help you determine and order the most appropriate tests.)

If you’re a business owner, you might liken these numbers to understanding your bottom line, both for your business and for your personal needs.

Further, as a business owner, you recognize the basic difference between (a) “I’m not losing money.” vs. (b) “I have breathing room, I can pay myself and am moving forward.”  

Determine where you are for your health: (a) or (b) above. Where are you within normal range? How do you feel? How much energy do you have? How are you sleeping?

If these are positive consider yourself at the (b) level. Simple enough. Does this make sense?

Know your goals:

Just like in business, you can and should have both short and long-term goals. 

. . .again, the parellels between your health and running your business.

What are yours?

Personally, my current short term (within 6 months) health goals are (1) to be below 20% body fat and (2) to increase my endurance enough to be ready for the long distance bicycling tour I plan to do in Europe when I can safely travel again.

As to ‘why’ below 20% body fat. . .if you’re wondering.
That’s simple. . .I’d rather carry things I need (like my laptop, so I can continue to run my coaching business!)  on my tour with the additional 5-8lbs. rather than carrying it on my body!

My long term goal is to remain mentally and physically fit till the day I die!

I say this recognizing that I may not be able to do long-distance bike touring at age 100. But I totally intend to be able to walk my dog on the beach or go for a 20-mile bike ride.
I also intend to have the mental and physical capability to cook for myself and those I love at 100.

I have my plan for the short term chunked down to daily and weekly activities and I know that these will continue to set me up for the long term. 

So what about you? Is it time to start thinking about both your short and long-term health goals?

Let me help you determine those short and long-term goals. Focus on the parallels between your health and running your business by setting up a (free) consultation today.

The post Your Health: Where Are You? Love Where You’re Going? appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.