Is It Hunger or Appetite?

Now that we’ve passed the halfway mark of our 10-week program, I checked in with our Get Fit! participants about how they are doing. Overall, I feel they have welcomed exercise into their lives – congratulations! Still, a lot of them are struggling with the eating part of the program. This is often a difficult change in one’s lifestyle, especially when there are summer holidays to celebrate and cookouts to attend.

Therefore, this week we talked about what triggers us to eat. Are we hungry or just bored and need something to do? Do we have the urge to eat while watching TV? Or, are we stressed and turn to food as comfort? Tips were shared about how to handle these urges especially when we truly are not hungry.

Take a look at this article, Is it Hunger or Appetite? and tell us what has helped you overcome these feelings. Please share, we’d like to know!

~Kim

Eating Healthy....Everyday

Like anyone, I enjoyed the festivities of the Fourth of July - going to parties and overindulging in food. I am curious how the Get Fit! group did over the holiday. Most of the participants are losing weight and enjoy their increased energy. Eating a little more is certainly okay, just as long as you stay active. Going for a brisk walk before a party or filling your plate with fruit and vegetables first, are good ways to maintain weight.

An important component of the Get Fit! program is healthy eating. Our dietitian will work with the group, focusing on Meal Planning. I’m a busy mom and know how hard it is to prepare meals that are fast and healthy. I found you need to be organized and prepare meals or part of the meal when you have time and not wait until 6:00pm to make the meal! Discussion will include how to simplify meals. Here are a few simple recipes that are heart healthy.

Do you have any favorite recipes to share?

~Kim

The challenges of goal setting

Coming up with Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely (SMART) goals is harder than you think. I'm trying to tie them to behavior changes that I want to achieve.

So here goes -

Drinking at least 6 glasses of water/day

Exercising 3 x week through Aug. 13

Averaging 8,000 steps a day by Aug. 13

Filling out an emotional eating sheet everytime I feel like going on a snack binge

Fitting in one bike ride per week

I have one more goal for this week - not gaining weight over vacation!

I am prepared. I stopped this morning at the Wellness Center to weigh in. My bike is going too - and I picked up extra audio books to make walks more entertaining. Susie Brueggeman, the Meriter dietitian and I talked about eating out strategies.

Off to Madeline Island!

Smartly Setting Your Goals

This week in class we will be focusing on how to set SMART goals. It’s easy to say in conversation “I want to lose weight” but to actually do it can be a challenge. By casually stating our goals, it is usually just a thought; but if we write down our goal and ways to achieve it, it will be more of a plan. And a plan with small achievable goals will be more attainable and not as overwhelming.

Each participant in class has goals they want to achieve and I will be working with them to develop a plan for success. This plan will not only help them to establish healthy habits for today, but maintain them for a lifetime.

~Kim

I finally got all 10,000 steps in a day - and it was the Jimmy Buffett concert at Alpine Valley that did it. We parked in the Green Lot and had quite an aerobic work out to and from the theatre. I seriously wondered how some of the other fans made it! Just shows fitness doesn't have to be all drudgery.

Weight loss continues - slow and steady. This is confirming that my eating wasn't so out of wack - but lack of activity was catching up with me. I'm now wearing a pair of pants that didn't fit a month ago. Also bested my 1,000 meter rowing time earlier in the day. Shaved 14 seconds off my first try!

Tonight we're going to talk about goals. Scheduling regular exercise into my weekly routine has to be one of mine.