Facebook Moratorium

The social network connection

I often wonder why I spend so much time creating my online presence using social media tools such as Facebook. There are a few reasons that I use Facebook professionally. It is a great tool for staying connected with my colleagues and keeping on top of cutting edge news in my field. It also serves as a valuable resource for getting my message out to my clients, although I question if I'm really reaching my ideal client. It's difficult to tell the impact that I'm having without getting feedback in the form of comments. I carefully look for information to post to help others make positive diet and fitness changes and have only once been made aware of the value of this work to my audience. It is important to me to stay connected with my audience but difficult to to so when I wonder if I even have an audience.

Social media is a time sink. Facebook and Twitter eat up time that I should spend doing other things to grow my business. There already is enough to keep us tethered to our computers without the addition of Facebook and Twitter. In the back of my mind I think that I should spend more time in endeavors that will make money rather than posting free information for an invisible audience.

To make matters worse, I have been gaining weight lately despite exercising regularly. I can't help but think that all this sitting behind a computer is a bad thing for humans in general. My recent weight gain has spurred me into action. I have decided to impose a moratorium on Facebook and Twitter for the next week. Every time that I think about checking my social media accounts I will do ten jumping jacks and ten push-ups instead. One of the purposes of my social media existence is to inspire others to improve their lifestyle. I can think of no better place to start doing this than with myself. The calories we burn when we exercise are a small fraction of what we burn in a whole day. Our goal should be to pursue activity all day long. So whenever I have the urge to post an article, picture of food, recipe or any other tidbit that I find interesting, I will be active instead. I wonder how many jumping jacks and push-ups I will complete in a week. I'm sure that I will be doing quite a few of them. Social media has become a big part of my professional life in the past couple of years.

I will return to sharing information on Facebook and Twitter after a week, but I will incorporate my new habit of activity before every interaction. I encourage everyone else to attach some form of physical activity to your more sedentary pursuits.

To Health!

What are some of your impressions about social media?

My 500-Calorie Bowl of Cereal

I admit that I don't always eat breakfast immediately upon waking up in the morning and sometimes I wait until I've finished my early morning workout. I eat breakfast every day, but I'm often not hungry first thing in the morning. One or two hours after waking up, when hunger kicks in, I look forward to eating a healthy and satisfying breakfast.

With the release of the new Dietary Guidelines a week ago, I've been paying particular attention to the recommendation to make half of my plate fruits and vegetables. Dietitians have been recommending this for years. Half of all the foods that we eat in a day should be fruits and vegetables. Breakfast is a great place to eat a full serving (or two) of fruit. It's also a great place to eat whole grains and satisfy the Dietary Guideline to make half of our grains whole.

How do you pick a healthy breakfast cereal? I choose a whole grain cereal, either cooked or dry. The first ingredients listed on the package should say "whole" and the list should not be excessively long or contain unrecognizable ingredients. I also look at fiber and sugar. I don't always choose the highest fiber cereal because sometimes it comes with too much sugar. Currently, I'm eating Cascadian Farm Organic Multigrain Squares. Three-quarters of a cup has 2 grams of dietary fiber and 4 grams of sugar. I eat about one and a quarter cups which is 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of sugar. The calories listed on a cereal box are the last thing that I look at. I find that many of the low calorie breakfast cereals are anemic; they don't provide much nutrition and can leave you hungry an hour later. I'd much rather eat a cereal with substance, and for a cereal to have substance, it must have some calories.

To my bowl of cereal, I add a hefty portion of fruit. I easily add more than a cup of fruit. I'm trying to fill half of the bowl with fruit. I add my own fruit rather than choose a cereal with fruit-like pieces that may or may not be real fruit. All this fruit provides me with a bounty of antioxidants, nutrients and fiber, and it fills me up. I top off my cereal with a scant quarter cup of nuts for added nutrients, fiber and protein and a full cup of milk (I prefer soy milk) for more protein.

My 500-calorie bowl of cereal sufficiently fuels my morning activities and meets my nutritional needs.  I'm not hungry again until lunch, at which time I'm ready for my 500-calorie leftovers!  

Small Changes for a Healthy New Year

Start with small achievable goals

Another year has begun. It’s a good time to start a diet and exercise program, many of us think. We have to be ready to do more than think. Like getting married or starting a family, there is no perfect time to begin a health regimen. What’s most important is to have the resolve to make small changes in your lifestyle that will be far-reaching over the long run, and to stay the course. Change too many undesirable habits at once, and you could end up abandoning your efforts altogether.


The changes that you make must have significant value to you. It is not enough to just want to lose weight, exercise more or eat healthier. There needs to be some type of internal motivation that drives you to achieve these goals. Take the time and explore why it is important for you to make these changes, and then start making (and mastering) one small change at a time.  The following is a list of lifestyle changes that current research has shown will benefit your health, from promoting weight loss to decreasing the risk of cancer. Some you may already do; others you may need to work on. Take it one small step at a time.

Eat Breakfast. It’s the best way to control your weight. Start the morning with whole grain cereal. Breakfast is a great place to get fiber in your diet. Look for cereals where the first ingredient listed on the label is a whole grain, like oatmeal or whole wheat. Add berries or other fruit and a full cup of low fat milk.

Exercise. Give up the excuses; you have to do it to stay healthy. Sixty to ninety minutes of daily exercise is recommended to promote weight loss and maintenance. If you can’t meet these recommendations don’t be discouraged, any movement helps.

Eat Low Fat Dairy. The jury is still out on whether low fat dairy can promote weight loss, but dairy is important for other reasons. The calcium that it provides can stave off osteoporosis and has been linked to improving blood pressure. Recent studies have shown that men who consume low fat dairy regularly have a reduced risk for developing type 2 diabetes and gout. Women that get plenty of calcium and vitamin D may have a reduced likelihood of developing PMS. Get 2 to 3 servings daily of milk, yogurt or low fat cheese.

Add Vitamin D. It promotes the absorption of calcium and is very important for bone health. It may also improve muscle strength, reducing the risk of crippling falls in the elderly. Vitamin D has also been shown to reduce the risk of developing the most aggressive form of prostate cancer. It may be difficult to get enough vitamin D from your diet. If you live in the northern half of the country, your skin isn’t making any vitamin D from October through March. Vitamin D supplementation is recommended for most people, but the amount of supplementation is still being debated. Supplementing with 1,000 to 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily is considered safe, however some people may require more. The rest of the year, expose some skin (arms and legs) without sunscreen to the sun for 20 to 30 minutes. People with darker skin may require up to six times more sun exposure.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables. The evidence is mounting, if you don’t eat enough of it, you’re at a health disadvantage. From arthritis to weight loss, fruits and vegetables have been shown to improve health. No wonder the dietary guidelines increased the daily servings. Eat the rainbow. Five to thirteen daily servings are recommended.

Eat More Dark Leafy Greens. Some vegetables are better than others. This is where Popeye was right. Spinach and other colorful greens may help prevent cataracts, stroke, and the cognitive decline associated with aging (and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease). This is one of the biggest changes that most people need to make in their diets.

Choose Healthy Fats. Switch from saturated animal fats and trans fats to monounsaturated and polyunsaturated vegetable oils. All fats have about 120 calories per tablespoon, so don’t add vegetable oil, but replace unhealthy fats with it. Olive oil is good, but so is canola oil. Minimize fats from dairy and meats by choosing lower fat varieties.

Eat More Fish. It’s the easiest way to get those omega-3 fats that are so good for us. Plan a fish meal twice a week (yes, tuna fish sandwiches count, but fried fish is a no-no). Omega-3 fats are good for your heart, immune function, and your brain (those who eat fish twice a week show less mental impairment with age). They have also been shown to fight inflammation, which benefits your joints too.

Hydrate. The first thing you should do in the morning and the last thing you should do before bed are to drink 1-2 cups of water. Sip water all day long and eat foods with high water content such as cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, soup, apples, and oranges (you get the picture). Being well hydrated will also help you look your best.

Get An Extra Hour of Sleep Each Night. Sleep is when your body repairs the physiological damage done each day. Most of us burn the candle at both ends and then trudge through the day feeling like a zombie, going from one cup of coffee to the next. A good night’s rest will help us look and feel our best and can help our weight loss efforts too.

During the next few weeks, I will discuss each of these recommendations in more detail. I will provide more practical tips and recipes that can help you make 2011 an incredibly healthy year!