Carole Carson

Making Time for Creative Play for Kids of All Ages

In our increasingly technological age, children have access to a wide range of digital “toys”—from iPod to Xbox. These high-tech gadgets provide great entertainment, but we shouldn’t forget that a healthy dose of good old-fashioned playtime stimulates our children in ways that video games can’t.

According to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics unstructured play helps children to develop problem-solving skills, as well as build strong bodies. Kenneth R. Ginsburg, author of the report, writes: “It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them... As they master their world, play helps children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resiliency they will need to face future challenges.”

“Children are the future,” as the popular saying goes. They are society’s future leaders and our greatest investment. It’s good to know we can help shape their destinies, and ours, by encouraging old-fashioned fun and games.

And no matter your age, why not join your child in play? You’ll be delighted to rediscover the child that continues to live inside you, just waiting to be invited to have some fun and play.

For helpful playtime ideas, visit the RealAge Web site.

Make Pasta a Little Healthier

Some of us love pasta yet want to lose surplus pounds. The good news is that we don’t have to give up pasta entirely as long as we focus on reasonable portions and prepare healthier versions. Here are four tips:

• Use whole grain pastas

• Add vegetables (peppers, onions or mushrooms)

• Choose lean sources of protein (chicken or tuna)

• Create your own low-calorie sauces

A simple tomato sauce can be made from chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and spices. An easy non-tomato sauce can be made from a little olive oil, pureed red peppers and seasonings. And pasta alfredo can also be made with yogurt in place of sour cream. As Julia Child used to say, “Bon appétit!”

Photo courtesy of Zsuzsanna Kilian

Want to Be Happy? Or Happier? Take Five!

Marshall and Kelly Goldsmith, management consultants, completed a survey of 3,000 people to obtain insight into what makes people happy and gives meaning to their lives both at home and at work.

Those surveyed included well-educated managers, entrepreneurs and professionals, almost equally divided between men and women.

Five recommendations emerged from the study:

1. Watch less television. Television viewing may entertain,

but it doesn’t increase satisfaction or meaning.

2. Don’t waste time surfing the Web. Spending time on the

Internet robs individuals of happiness and purpose.

3. Do as few chores as you can (however you define chores).

4. Spend time exercising and socialize with people you

love.

5. Keep yourself challenged.

The first three statements are negatively proscriptive; that is, they tell us what not to do. Don’t waste time watching television, surfing the Web or performing routine chores. The last two suggestions are positively proscriptive; that is, they tell us how to spend our time. Exercise and socialize with those we love and work on challenging tasks.

The survey results may not surprise you, although you might have noticed, as I did, that there is no recommendation for spending time on spiritual growth, meditation or reflection. Setting the spiritual dimension aside, the results affirm what we know instinctively—that our days are numbered and that we need to allocate our day-to-day moments in meaningful ways.

Marshall Goldsmith is an executive coach and the author of Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It. Kelly Goldsmith is an assistant professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Avoid Three Traps to Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions

Can you make long-term behavioral changes? Can you realistically expect to follow through on your resolutions?

Yes, say the experts. Resolutions need not go in one year and out the other. According to one poll, one-third of those who made resolutions in 2008 failed to achieve them, yet two-thirds kept their resolutions for part of the year.

Those who failed to accomplish any of their resolutions did so primarily because they never found the right time to begin. People fail to realize that “action precedes motivation, not the other way around,” according to Hinda Dubin, MD, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “Instead of waiting for inspiration to act on your goals, you need to take action first, and inspiration will follow.”

If you’ve taken the first steps, the odds are already in your favor. Like a general preparing for battle, you’ve listed your resolutions and are ready to begin. You’ve developed a plan and organized your resources. You’ve clearly defined your goals and established dates by when they will be reached. You’ve identified the specific steps to take, created a system to self-monitor your progress and enrolled a partner who will hold you accountable.

So far, so good. The next challenge is to thrive (not simply survive) while living in the gap—the space between the comfort of your old habits and your new, more healthful ways. You must occupy this space after you’ve decided to eat healthfully and exercise each day but before the scale shows the effect of your new choices.

Living in the gap is an admitted challenge. Yet counselor L. Lexie Tyus, LISW, considers the gap “our most creative space.” Use it, she says, to pause, recollect and reconnect with the plan and purpose for your life. Tyus is persuaded that the gap holds promise of untold blessings and creative opportunities.

To realize the promise and reward that come from achieving your fitness goals, however, you must avoid three traps:

• Perfectionism: An A+ on resolution compliance is not required for success—a C or higher is a passing grade. If you fall down, get up, dust yourself off and continue. Persistence pays off. Chances are you didn’t acquire those surplus pounds in a few days, and you won’t lose them in the first week either. Woody Allen reminds us that 80 percent of success involves showing up. Learn from setbacks and keep showing up. Ignore the voice that says “I can hardly do anything I put my mind to” and replace the message with “I can do anything hard that I put my mind to.”

• Postponement: Don’t ignore the opportunities embedded in each day or discount a single day of your life while you’re living in the gap. Although you haven’t reached your ultimate goals, you can still be happy, joyful and present in the moment. Because happiness is contagious, surround yourself with upbeat friends who share your fitness goals. Besides keeping you smiling, friends will help you get back on track when you veer off. Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do. Measure and celebrate each step in the journey to fitness.

• Predictability: Don’t assume that the enthusiasm that triggered your resolutions will remain constant or that you won’t encounter obstacles, such as an injury or a health problem. As you look into the future, the notion that your body, circumstances and environment are not changing is an illusion. Anticipate roadblocks and develop coping strategies. For example, how will you sustain your enthusiasm? Do you need to set up a daily e-mail reminder? Do you need to join a group or a weight-loss program? As you begin losing weight, will you need to reduce your calories or medications? Success will require that you adapt to changing circumstances.

Time is a finite resource. Don’t waste it imprisoned by unhealthful habits. The New Year represents your next best chance to realize your fitness dreams. Embrace the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned about your body and your health. When you deal with obstacles and successfully move toward your goals in 2010, you’ll find the rewards astonishing.

Discovering the Athlete Within

When I undertook the task of re-inventing myself as a fit person, I had no idea what was involved. No high-minded principles guided me, nor did I adopt any particular program. Nor were my motives practical, for example, to improve my health.

Quite the opposite, my motives were shallow--I looked in the mirror and was too vain to accept the pudgy reflection. Only retrospectively can I figure out what happened.

First, I made an unconditional decision to change my lifestyle permanently. Second, I got help--from professionals (a personal trainer and lifestyle counselor) as well as from family and friends.

Next, I managed my thinking, especially about food. Instead of being grim, I explored new ways of cooking, challenging myself to eat well within caloric limitations.

The last step was discovering my latent athleticism. Somewhere along the exercise path, I stopped exercising to achieve its by-products--improved health, more energy, lower weight and a shapely figure. Instead, I just wanted to get better.

Practicing yoga, I wanted to improve my form. Working with weights, I wanted increased strength. Playing tennis, I wanted more consistency and an effective serve. Before I knew it, I was "in training."

Drs. Harvey Simon and Steven Levisohn, in their book The Athlete Within, say that "all of you can become athletes. Each of you has surprising potentials; most of you will never be sports stars, but all of you can greatly extend your horizons through careful planning and diligent training."

Initially, I was self-conscious in tennis clinics where many students were half my age. But the lure of becoming an athlete was irresistible--I surrendered. Today, instead of having to exercise, I have to limit activity so my body can rest, especially when I have a sports injury, like the back pain that's currently plaguing me. Taking a longer perspective, I reassure myself that I'll be back on the courts in a few weeks and more ambitious than ever.

Imagine my delight when I read that Clarence Chaffee, the tennis coach at Williams College, did not begin competing nationally until age 70. Since then, he's collected 48 national Super Senior' tennis titles. Or Albert Gordon, a well-known businessman and philanthropist, who entered his first marathon at 80, at which time he completed the difficult London Marathon in an excellent 6 hours and 30 minutes.

I'm not aiming this high, but I do want to become the best tennis player, gym-rat and yoga student I can be, independent of external recognition. Seeing the improvement in my athleticism, after 40 years of being out of shape, is its own reward.

Drs. Simon and Levisohn confirm, "If you exercise regularly and develop your potentials to their fullest, you will be a true athlete, even if you never win a race or compete on center court."

Lest you think you don't have time to exercise, as I once did, listen to Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby, 1873, who observed, "Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness."

His perspective is confirmed by medical research coming at us from all directions. The way we live accounts in large part for how long we will live and how well we will live. The good news is that we are free to make choices about the way we live. Even better, if we've made poor lifestyle choices in the past, we're free to make adjustments today. If it isn't too late, our bodies will respond magnificently. Best of all, there's an athlete residing in each of us just waiting to come out and play.

What is Your Dangerous Idea?

What do you believe but cannot prove? What is your dangerous idea? What are you optimistic about?

These intriguing questions are the subjects of books whose author, John Brockman, challenges our thinking about almost everything. Each is a collection of essays from some of the smartest people on the planet. When exposed to the innovative thinking in the essays, I remind myself that ideas once considered radical, even heretical, in one century are widely accepted in the next. If nothing else, reading the essays stretches my imagination.

So what’s my dangerously radical idea?

My idea is that just as obesity is contagious, so is getting and staying fit. Becoming fit can be a fun-filled, lifelong adventure. I cannot prove this idea, although I can offer evidence in support of it.

When I chronicled my own fitness and weight-loss efforts and told the stories of others who had undertaken similar efforts, residents in our small community took notice.

When I issued an invitation in the local newspaper to join a weight-loss program, over 1,000 people showed up. Each week attendance grew, until we had over 200 teams. We lost nearly 4 tons in 8 weeks. From my perspective, that phenomenon demonstrated the truth of my idea.

Our local experiment triggered the next question: Will this idea spread? The increasing number of community weight-loss programs springing up across the country is a good sign.

According to an article by Michael Shermer in the September 2007 issue of Scientific American, several elements are needed for a movement or an idea to gain acceptance:

1. The idea takes a stand for something, not against something, and is based on a positive assertion.

2. The idea uses an intelligent, rational approach to tackle myths and raises consciousness and awareness.

3. The idea embraces the uniqueness of self and others, and it requires us to respect each other.

4. The idea encourages exploration, experimentation and a sense of adventure.

If I look at my idea for these characteristics, I think it passes the test.

First, my idea does not argue against obesity, poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles; rather, it asserts that getting fit can be fun, educational and enjoyable.

Second, my idea challenges the myth that losing weight involves dieting, deprivation and boring exercise—all requiring heroic amounts of willpower and discipline. It also challenges the myth that weight is inevitably regained. Instead, my idea is based on rational decisions about what and how much healthy, satisfying food to eat each day and how many hours to devote each week to fun-filled exercise.

Third, my idea acknowledges that the path to fitness is unique for every person, depending upon his or her age, size and time of life. Given that “one size does not fit all,” my idea requires respect for others’ choices.

And fourth, my idea asserts that the pursuit of fitness involves exploring new foods, experimenting with different exercises and learning new, healthful habits. The journey to fitness is a personal adventure.

Is my idea taking hold? I don’t know. But what I do know is that I’m having lots of fun promoting fitness and hope that more people will adopt the radical idea that getting fit is contagious and fun! (539)

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Dubbed “An Apostle for Fitness” by the Wall Street Journal, Carole Carson is the author of From Fat to Fit: Turn Yourself into a Weapon of Mass Reduction, which chronicles her own 62-pound weight loss and the Nevada County Meltdown. Visit www.fromfat2fit.com for more information.

How to Know If You’re Ready to Lose Weight and Get Fit

Seven years ago, I stepped on the bathroom scale—and it broke. In that instant, I made an irrevocable decision to get fit and remodel my body by losing weight. I remember the moment as if it were yesterday. The incident was a decisive turning point: I took the fork out of my mouth, and I took a fork in the road instead.

In retrospect, the internal discussion (or should I say argument) I’d been having with myself during the prior months was coming to a head. I liked my self-indulgences and didn’t want to give them up. At the same time, I knew I needed to make positive changes because my appearance was making me miserable. The broken scale didn’t trigger my transformation; rather, it crystallized my need to change in such a way that I couldn’t return to my old habits.

If I could bottle the process by which a person irrevocably commits to make positive changes (such as lose weight, stop smoking or give up alcohol), I would indeed be a rich person. Although I can’t patent the formula, I can tell you what the ingredients are so you can tell if you are ready to get fit and remodel your body.

First, your current habits and lifestyle are hurting and distressing you. Maybe you feel bad when you have to move up a size because your clothes no longer fit or when you accidentally catch a glance of yourself in the mirror. Maybe your extra girth is causing medical problems that threaten the quality of your life or require drugs that stretch the family budget. Maybe you feel sad when you can’t take your grandchild for a walk because your joints hurt from carrying a spare tire around your middle. Maybe you’ve lost self-respect because you are unable to manage your impulses and say no to yourself. Whatever the reason, you are unhappy with the status quo.

Second, the pleasure you derive from your current habits is greatly outweighed by the pain and suffering you experience by being out of shape and overweight. The nightly raiding of the refrigerator, while satisfying in the moment, is causing you to suffer when you step on the bathroom scale or the waistband on your pants feels like a vise around your middle every time you sit down. The second and third helpings of food at the supper table make you feel lethargic, bloated and out of control. You have begun to realize that the price you pay for your indulgences is too high for the pleasure you derive from them.

Third, you realize that adopting healthier habits will lead not to a grim life of deprivation but rather to a life that is richer, more meaningful, more productive and more satisfying. You will enjoy the food you carefully choose more than you ever enjoyed your mindless eating. You will add far more joy and satisfaction to your daily life than you give up. Instead of being ashamed of how you look, you will enjoy the experience of being in your body. And you will appreciate the simple gift of life your body represents.

There you have them. Insofar as I can tell, these three conditions, when present, can propel you into beginning your own fitness remodeling project. Are you ready? If the answer is yes, start making the positive changes today.

Are You NEAT Enough to Stay Trim?

If you think I am talking about tidiness, you’re wrong. NEAT refers to Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

That’s a mouthful. To understand the concept, think about it this way. You’re sitting in a chair, watching television—a sedentary state. The effort of sitting upright burns about five extra calories an hour compared to the calories you would burn if you were sleeping. Or you walk briskly for one mile and burn 100 calories. This activity is exercise. Everything else is NEAT.

NEAT is important because it significantly influences whether we gain weight or stay trim and fit, according to research conducted by James Levine, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Levine confirmed that people who spend their waking hours sitting weigh more than people who move around. His conclusion? Living in a chair-based environment can result in obesity.

Unfortunately, the chair-based environment is everywhere. We may sit at a table to eat breakfast, sit in a car or bus on our way to work and sit during our workday. We may sit during lunch and sit driving home, only to sit before the television with a remote control in hand. On the weekend, we may sit through a movie, ride a lawn mower or snow blower or sit in a car as we pick up fast food at a drive-through. For some people, 23 out of 24 waking hours are spent sitting or sleeping.

Dr. Levine has a visionary plan to create more opportunities for NEAT that will get us moving and keep us fit and trim. He’s designing dynamic environments for offices where work stations are mounted on treadmills. Instead of meeting in rooms with tables and chairs, employees conduct meetings while walking on specially designed parallel tracks. Walking side by side, the employees conduct business while engaging in exercise.

Dr. Levine is also continuing an educational drive to make people aware of how much they sit and suggest ways they can introduce more movement into their lives. Walking, shopping and moving around for any reason shouldn’t be underestimated, according to Dr. Levine.

After thinking about the implications of his research, I appreciate the layout of my home even more. I live in a two-story house, so I am constantly running up and down stairs. In addition, my office is located outside the house over the garage. If I’m working in my office and want to throw in a load of laundry, I have to walk down a flight of stairs, walk upstairs to get the laundry, back downstairs to the washing machine and then back upstairs to my office. To accomplish my task, I am forced to move by the different levels.

Besides appreciating the layout of my home, I welcome Dr. Levine’s development of the NEAT concept for a distinctly female reason. His research gives me another excuse, in addition to retail therapy, to go shopping.

Unite Your Fitness Team and Win the Battle of the Bulge

For many years, I viewed my inability to lose weight and get fit as a personal failure. Each day I would wake up and gingerly step on the bathroom scale. An impossibly high number would appear, followed immediately by distress over my weight.

Each day I began with good intentions and a willingness to continue, even in the face of repeated defeats. And each night I ended the day with the same ritual: I would promise myself that tomorrow would be better; tomorrow would be a new day.

After what seemed to be about the ten-thousandth time of going down the same tunnel and finding no cheese, I finally realized that perhaps I needed some help. So I reached out and created two kinds of fitness teams—a team of healthcare professionals and a team of supporters.

The first person I put on my healthcare team was my physician, followed by a physical therapist, who helped me figure out what exercises I could safely perform with a torn hamstring. A personal trainer in my local gym supervised my initial workouts to make sure I didn’t reinjure myself. I also consulted with my cardiologist, who reduced my medication following the weight loss.

The coordinator for the local hospital wellness center, Debbie Wagner, RN, helped address questions about nutrition, the kinds of exercises I should undertake and the psychological impact of making such dramatic lifestyle changes.

I first recruited my husband, Dick, to be on my cheerleading team. Then I added my best friend, Dale, who shared an interest in exercise and nutrition. Next, I added my offspring and a close neighbor. Before long, I had surrounded myself with people who, besides cheering me on, were also committed to become more fit.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that the outcome from this effort was different than the outcomes from my prior ten thousand or so attempts.

In retrospect, I realized I was smart enough to apply the same skills that had helped me in my career to my pursuit of fitness. That is, I created a company called Fit Carole. As the CEO, I defined my mission—to lose weight, become fit and adopt permanent, healthy lifestyle habits.

Then I recruited team members to help me realize my goals.

Of course, I relied on myself to set priorities and measure results. But as important as my tasks were, I couldn’t have succeeded without the support of my team.

I urge others who are beginning their fitness journey to create their own team. You may be one of those exceptional people who can achieve their dreams on their own; the rest of us mortals, however, need each other. United we succeed. Go team, go!

What Is the Relationship between Lifestyle and Medical Problems?

As coach for the AARP Fat 2 Fit online community, I ask experts to share their insight on issues involving fitness. One such expert is Dr. Maxine Barish-Wreden, the comedical director of the Sutter Downtown Integrative Health program in Sacramento, California.

 

I asked Dr. Max (as her patients call her), “What is the relationship between lifestyle and the medical problems your patients come to you for?” Her answer follows:

 

As a practicing internist, I see many patients in my office who are dealing with medical symptoms and diseases that are the result of unhealthy lifestyle choices—poor nutritional intake, excessive caloric intake, sedentary lifestyles, tobacco abuse, chronic stress, ongoing unhappiness and social isolation.

Over time, these choices have led to a costly epidemic of many chronic medical conditions, including obesity, heart and vascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia, arthritis and cancer. The good news is that the human body has a phenomenal capacity to heal, even after many years of poor self-care.

 

When we clean up our diets by eating less meat and more plant-based foods; when we exercise, cut calories and lose weight; and when we slow down and savor our lives more, we give ourselves the opportunity to heal, and our bodies often respond miraculously. It's never too late to begin. Healing is yours when you focus your intention, attention and action on what you want for yourself.

 

As her comments convey, Dr. Max strongly believes in the capacity of the human body, psyche and spirit to heal, given the appropriate environment. Through treatment of her patients and through her writing, Dr. Max guides and informs individuals on the positive effects of lifestyle choices—including nutrition and exercise—on health and wellness.

 

Maxine Barish-Wreden, MD

 

Dr. Maxine Barish-Wreden is the coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Secrets of Longevity and also coauthors a syndicated newspaper column with her medical partner, Dr. Kay Judge. Dr. Max holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from the University of Maryland and graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She has a long-term interest in complementary medicine, particularly the mind-body-spirit connection.