Best Of
Re: Intuitive Eating Much?
@Kemper Sosa - I am so glad you shared this! Thanks so much for the tag :)
Like @Sawyer Paull-Baird mentioned, it sounds like @Rachel Egelhof is describing Intuitive Eating or the non-diet approach, which as you know, @Mary Balog & I are huge believers in. So happy that this is helping you in your food journey Rachel!
This is a concept that is based in creating more awareness in how & why we eat as well as what we are eating. It is shifting from external cues to internal cues. Or what I like to call our inner wisdom.
External cues to eat would include diet plans or prescriptions, calories goals, time on the clock, or social pressure. Whereas internal cues would be our hunger and fullness levels, our taste preferences, and our bodies nutritional needs.
This type of eating helps us to get what our body truly needs because we are tuning into these biological ways that our body communicates with us to let us know when we are in need of fuel & when we have had enough. Something that we are born knowing how to do & over time lose the ability to tap into due to the "diet-focused" culture we live in.
Ways that we could start taking action on this type of eating starting TODAY would include:
- Start checkin in with your hunger before, half way through, & at the end of your meal. Notice if you are physically hungry, comfortable & satisfied, or slightly over full. This skill gets easier with time & practice & can be a highly valuable tool to determine when, what, and how much to eat.
- Take the time to slow down & appreciate your food. May sound silly to some... but this is shown to help prepare your body for physical digestion & metabolization efficiently. It also gives you the time to raise awareness as to where your hunger is truly at.
- Choose foods you actually enjoy! If you are craving the salty pretzels for a snack, but try to grab the sweet fruit instead, your body is likely not going to be satisfied. So you end up seeking more & more food until your body gets that fix. May have been easier to listen to that craving from the start right?
- Remind yourself that there is no "good" or "bad" foods. Food holds no morality & every food can serves a purpose. So take this ideology out of your language and focus on the nutrient-density of foods.
There are sooo many more ways that we can start to incorporate Intuitive Eating principles into our eating. I hope this helps some & if it resonates with you & you want to hear more, I would love to dive deeper with you!!
Bella
Bella Diaz
Re: Coronavirus - How are you feeling?
As a business owner, I've been following this very closely. Certainly making sure I understand this inside and out is something I feel is my responsibility as the CEO of AFS. So how have I been feeling? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared and anxious at points. There is a lot of uncertainty, and you can't seem to great the "unbiased" answers as to what's going on even from the CDC in some cases. So, some fear, some anxiety, but yet, some excitement and hope (I'll explain).
My brain, like every human brain (I think), jumps to worse case scenario and problem-solving right away whenever any threat comes up. You immediately start to think the world is going to fall apart around you. I've worked hard over the years on accepting what I can't control (and accepting I'm going to have thoughts and emotions that are sparked by anxiety and fear). I've also worked on defusing (an ACT concept) and also staying in the present moment. In doing so, I've started to develop a more objective and optimistic view of things.
So why excitement and hope over some thing that is so potentially catastrophic? Because when you step back from your anxious thoughts and fearful emotions and observe them for a second you realize you have a choice about the story you choose to tell yourself. I could tell myself the story that this is the "end of the world as we know it" (cue REM for those of you who are of age), or I could tell myself there is great potential and opportunity in a moment of adversity and struggle like this. The latter story is the one I'm choosing to tell myself. I'm choosing to tell myself this is a chance to learn how to make AFS a safer, cleaner environment. I'm choosing to tell myself this is a way for AFS to come up with ways to serve our clients differently. I'm choosing to tell myself this is a different way to teach my college class (at U of M, that as of today at 3:30pm I was told will be online for the rest of the semester). I'm even choosing the believe this global pandemic will cause our country and world, that is so divisive and divided to come together to solve a huge problem. In short, I have hope, immense hope. I have the immense hope the human beings, when their backs are against the wall will fight and will persist. Now you can tell me this attitude is pollyannish and I need to "get real" or "wake up." That I'm not telling myself a true story. The reality is I don't care about truth in the stories I tell myself. We tell ourselves stories all the time that are only true because we believe them to be true, not because they're actually true. What I care about is contextual functionalism (another ACT term), or put another way, I care about what is workable and helpful in my life. Thinking we're doomed and we're never going to get through (the thoughts of fear and anxiety), albeit normal don't actually help me live the life I want to live. The alternative story of excitement and hope does the opposite. It informs my thoughts and it drives my actions in a positive direction.
So, how do I feel - excited and hopeful...most of the time. At other times I feel anxious and scared and uncertain, and that's okay, those are normal human thoughts and emotions.
How do you really feel? Are you like me, with mixed thoughts and emotions? Are they more positive or more negative? One thing I do know is your feelings are yours and however you feel it's right. So please share. I can promise you that you'll feel better after. I know I do after writing this.
Mike Stack
Re: Introductions thread. Introduce yourself here.
Hey Fam!
I'm Alyssa Romig and I've been with AFS for a little over 5 years! I actually started cleaning the Ann Arbor facility and within months I transitioned into childcare and the front desk. My job responsibilities have changed so much over the years but now I'm mostly doing HR and operational things behind the scenes. If you've ever wondered who's in that SUV AFS car at your facility, it's me! 🤗
Although I'm on the "business-side" of AFS, my education background is actually in Kinesiology! I graduated with a B.S. in Movement Science from the University of Michigan, where I was also on the varsity women's rowing team! #RowBlue Prior to rowing, I was heavily involved with sports starting at age 4----soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball, and track & field. I did it all and some might consider me highly competitive. Seriously though, my family euchre games can get intense. 😂
On a personal note, I married my high school sweetheart of 10 years in 2017 and we currently live on the west side of Ann Arbor. Outside of work, you can catch me playing in some type of sports league , doing a DIY house project, or cheering on the wolverines.
I look forward to connecting with more of you on this platform!
Alyssa Romig
Focus on Fitness- Going Beyond Body Composition
Every day we are bombarded with images of celebrities, models etc. with a “perfect” physique. Reality TV shows such as “The Biggest Loser” also help create outrageous expectations in their viewers’ minds. Because of this societal pressure, many of us have attached unrealistic body image standards to our sense of self-worth.
The purpose of this blog is to help explain the differences between “fitness” and “fatness”. I urge readers to approach their fitness program with a healthy understanding of both sides of the coin and to recognize their own fitness improvements, in addition to any body composition changes.
Fitness Independent of Body Composition
Research shows that fitness levels can improve largely independent of body composition…
·In an eight-year study of men aged 30 to 80, men who were fit but overweight (as judged by cardiovascular tests) were two times less likely to die than men who were lean but not fit. The researchers found no difference in mortality rates between the fit versus overweight groups, and the fit versus normal weight groups! The take-home message is staying fit through exercise decreases the risk of all-cause mortality REGARDLESS of excess fat storage.
·In a 2011 study, it was found that increasing cardiorespiratory fitness resulted in significant reductions in all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease… again REGARDLESS of BMI.
The Catch
Because there has to be a catch, right? Well, sort of, but not exactly.
The point that I am trying to make here is not that body composition doesn’t matter, but that it is not the ONLY thing that matters.
If you are exercising and maintaining your weight, you will still achieve immense health benefits, and this is something you should be proud of. However, this does not mean that you should throw body composition out the window completely and not care about it. These same studies also showed that if weight is not maintained, but GAINED, you will typically also lose fitness. In fact, in the previously mentioned 2011 study, those individuals who gained 10 to 20 pounds over adulthood showed significantly lower levels of fitness and increased mortality risk. Thus, there appears to be a benefit to at least ensuring weight maintenance whether losing weight is a goal or not.
Additionally, most of these studies compare people at a “healthy” body composition to people that are “overweight” (as categorized by BMI). For these two groups, indeed there likely is little to no difference in health for people performing the same exercise routine. However, for those who fall closer to the “obese” category (BMI greater than 30), this does not hold true.
Essentially, there is a cut-off where a certain degree of excess fat begins to affect fitness, and this cut-off seems to be at relatively higher levels of body fat.
Take Home Message
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having body composition goals. The large majority of adults exercise to look good, in addition to being healthy.
However, it is important to sit back and look at the big picture when assessing your fitness results. If the pounds are not dropping as much, or as fast as you desire, realize that this doesn’t mean that you are not gaining anything from your hard work exercising!
Additionally, if watching nutrition and exercising regularly is not resulting in weight loss, take comfort in knowing that just avoiding weight gain through adulthood significantly reduces your health risk and mortality risk later in life!
Having body composition goals is great, but do not allow yourself to become so wrapped up in dropping a few pounds on the scale that you lose sight of all of the other health benefits derived from exercise. Additionally, it is important to have realistic goals for ourselves and avoid falling into the “comparison trap” when digesting social or popular media content. The worst thing that can happen is to become so worried about body composition goals, that not living up to your own (perhaps unrealistic) expectations for your body composition leads to a loss of motivation, and eventually falling off of your exercise routine!
AFS Education
Intuitive Eating Much?
@Rachel Egelhof, thanks for sharing such a powerful message with me. I felt is was appropriate to post an excerpt below for the community. @Bella Diaz and @Mary Balog, do either of you have any advice on how to take initial action with this behavior?
Kemper Sosa
Re: Self Love on Valentines Day
I will be at work all day tomorrow, but I will find 20 minutes to meditate, because I need it and haven't done it in a while!
Tricia Nault
Self Love on Valentines Day
Valentines day is known for our celebration of our significant others and loved ones in our lives. But the most essential love is the love you have for yourself. I would like to challenge anyone who wants to join, to dedicate them-self to do one thing (big or small) only for YOURSELF tomorrow. Let's all get some valuable self-care! Pledge yourself below in the comments or on your own :)
For me, I love to read fiction novels...usually involving a dragon. But I haven't allowed myself to sit down and start one in a few years. So, tomorrow while I drink my morning cup of coffee I will start reading Game Of Thrones.
Brook Adams
Reputable Health & Fitness Resources
AFS Family-
Scouring the internet for reliable information of any kind can be quite the ordeal. This holds especially true in health and fitness where claims are often made with disregard for scientific validity... and more concern for personal gain than human wellness.
In an effort to reduce the "noise" that comes with a Google search on the internet, we would encourage people to use the following resources when looking for reliable health and fitness information. Certainly there are tons of other good resources out there, however to keep things simple, we are going to stick to 1-3 resources per topic.
So, check out the links below, bookmark them, and use them instead of Google the next time you're looking to get a question answered.. (or ask anyone on our team and we can always help too 😉)
Nutrition:
Tons of great articles on nutrition, lifestyle, goal setting, and more. Precision Nutrition offers a balanced and nuanced stance on many complex nutritional topics.
A great resource for summary of evidence and research on dietary supplements, as well as general nutritional information. Very science-based.
Resistance Exercise:
This is a great resource for all things weight lifting in nature. Bret Contreras is an extremely smart guy who has his PhD in sports science, and has earned a reputation for distributing evidence based information on weight training.
Another great resource for all things strength training related. Greg Nukols is a world class powerlifter who is also working on his PhD in exercise science, and is also well known in the fitness community as someone who strives to share research backed, reliable information.
Orthopedic Issues/Injury:
From the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, this is a great resource on various orthopedic issues, both in general, and in regards to exercise recommendations.
Yoga & Mindfulness
Insight Timer has both the above website and mobile app that has a lot of free, as well as paid, resources, guided meditations, and more.
Yoga w/ Adriene (Youtube channel)
A great resource for guided yoga videos for all experience levels, and various needs (ie. for low back pain, etc.).
This post is still under construction and more topics/resources will be added with time such as endurance exercise, yoga, mindfulness and potentially more.
AFS Education
You are MORE THAN.
AFS RH had so much fun at the first ever sweat crawl! Many many thanks to @Nate Langley , @Jared Freeman @Mikayla Ollila for helping in manifesting this incredible event!!
I just wanted to share with you all part of the theme for the day and so that we can continue to support each other on this journey of being MORE THAN.
Comment below your thoughts and perhaps share what MORE THAN means to you.
. . .
you are MORE THAN
a body
a parent
a caretaker
an employee
you are MORE THAN being
flawless
in control of your food
on point with your exercise routine
perfect with your financials
you are MORE THAN what can be seen
who you are is
the you without distractions.
in the quiet of your own mind . . .
this is where you connect with
your true self.
where you find the wisdom that’s always been within you.
my hope for you is that you continue to find a deep breath.
my hope for you is that you slow down.
my hope for you is that you find the teachings in the discomfort.
& you really get to know you.
not the you the world tells you to be.
step forward into the unknown with compassion, curiosity & wonder.
greet yourself with kind eyes.
don’t look to anyone else for your worthiness or sense of belonging.
honor each moment in its entirety.
choose feeling over being numb + distracted.
understand that in this very second you have nothing to change.
you don’t need to be more of something.
you don’t need to be less of something.
you are MORE THAN enough.
we are MORE THAN just a gym.
we are MORE THAN together. 💙
. . .
Eileen McNally
Re: Sleep (you probably aren't getting enough of it)
Me: *cracks knuckles* aiight, here we go 😜
We've talked about this, Em, but sleep issues have followed me my whole life! As a kid I would go to my parents and say I couldn't sleep and they'd go, "Oh, we know why you can't sleep....you're up walkin' around!" Hilarious 🙄😆 My sleep was the worst my junior year of college, and not due to the schoolwork! I used to be up all night, getting 1-2 hours, just laying in bed desperate for sleep. I'd take benadryl every few hours, melatonin, etc. and nothing would change. I'd cry over it a lot. It's taken quite a few years for me to be able to figure out what makes sleep possible for someone like me, and I feel like I've tried everything under the sun haha so hopefully all my trial and error has taught me something ;) I've mentioned what I'm about to put below on the No Cave November post, but I'll go into slightly more detail here since, y'know, actual sleep post haha
- For sure, far and above anything, a weighted blanket has helped me the most. I actually got interested in weighted blanket for my anxiety, but now I take it anywhere I know I'm going to sleep: home, hotels, nights at Grammy's, etc. Lugging around 15 lbs of blanket will always be worth the extra quality sleep I get. It's not that I sleep longer (though I'm sure sometimes I do!) but that my sleep is so much better. The weight keeps me from thrashing around like a wild animal, it's comforting without being heavy, and in general I feel very...swaddled. I don't know what brand I have as it was a gift, but this one here has been highly recommended to me by veteran users and some versions have a "cooling" factor if you're worried about getting hot. For the record, I don't have a cooling blanket and I need the temp to be like, -20 degrees when I sleep haha but I've never had a problem w getting hot!
- Second most important thing is that I don't use my bed for anything other than sleep. In college, my bed was my dinner table, my watching-TV area, where I had existential crises (haha), etc. I'm fairly certain that was a huge reason I had the kind of trouble I had. These days, I only use my bed for sleep. I didn't think this would have the kind of effect it has had, but when Clint and I get into bed and he wants to chat, I can't because sleep overcomes me so fast. It does work!
- Never underestimate rituals. The more behaviors you can associate with sleep, the better. There's a lotion I use on my hands only before bed, I wear similar type pajamas every night, A white noise machine I only turn on at bedtime, lavender or eucalyptus scents (sometimes essential oils, sometimes pillow mist, sometimes candles) and of course your more common rituals: brushing teeth, washing your face, etc. I'd say my routine takes...30 minutes or so? It really helps ease my brain from the frantic and fast thoughts of the day to the slower, more controlled thoughts of the night. Like you mentioned, bedtime meditation would be a really great asset to any bedtime ritual!
- Lately I've been having issues staying asleep instead of falling asleep, so I've started to track 10 minutes of trying to fall asleep. If I'm not back asleep by then, I get up and go into the living room to read under some soft light for 20 min or so. I get too anxious and stressed by the time I'm wasting not sleeping, so allowing myself a setting away from the bed makes me miss it, and the gentle activity of reading isn't enough to get me wired but it is enough to get me tired. Sometimes instead of reading I do stretches, which I've found is really helpful when I'm having a toss-and-turn night.
- My last resort is always a new place to sleep. When nothing is working, I sleep on the couch. It's not ideal, obviously, but sometimes I get too restless to make the bed work. The change in location can really help!
Corinne Albrecht