Cutting Your Cocktails

We are now officially halfway through the summer. Crazy! Personally, I'm happy the summer's nearing its end this year. New York has been an oven since May and I'm over it. Because of the near 100 degree heat and awful humidity, I haven't been running outside as much, the subways feel like a sauna, and just walking outside my front door has been a feat. To cool off, I've been meeting with friends and indulging in summer-time, alcoholic kind of beverages. It was so hot a couple Sundays ago that two girlfriends and I decided to stay in an air-conditioned restaurant and drink Bloody Mary's all afternoon. We didn't want to venture back out in the heat so we just continued to enjoy each other's company and let's face it, far too many calories with each additional drink. This is not the way to keep trim and healthy for swim suit season.

Drinking socially can become a slippery slide if you want to keep your waistline from expanding. As you continue to drink, the more your inhibitions drop and the less likely you are to turn down another drink when offered, especially if that drink happens to be some delicious summer concoction. In New York, cutting down alcohol consumption is super tough because social drinking has become a big part of life for everyone here. A lot of my clients have to meet with co-workers or clients of their own after work hours, and generally those meetings will happen over drinks. They find that their weight loss efforts are being slowed because of the additional calories they consume with each drink. Because I've been running into this issue myself lately, I've decided to follow these guidelines for now:

• Save cocktail indulgence for one day or perhaps two days a week.
• Keep my drinks as clean as possible by ordering something like a vodka soda, maybe with a splash of cranberry (to keep things festive and summery looking with a touch of pink color ;-)).
• Keep amount of drinks consumed to 2 drinks tops on nights I do indulge.
• Drink a seltzer or a water between drinks to slow alcohol intake.

If you are trying to cut calories and lose weight, cut your alcohol intake significantly or completely. A glass of wine can contain as many as 200 calories per glass and a summery cocktail (i.e. a margarita) might add up to 500 calories to your daily intake! The sugar content in these fun indulgences can become insane as well. It all adds up and slows your progress. Be mindful and Be Well!

Get it shakin', Eggs and Bacon!

I was just checking out my website and I noticed that it has been just over 10 days since I last posted a new blog entry. Eek! I know part of it has been lack of motivation and the other part has been pure laziness. These days in NYC, it's been beyond hot outside and I feel myself dragging and lacking energy. Today I woke up and thought, "ok, get it together! You might not know what you want to write about, but just start typing and at least write something." So here I am, writing and not exactly sure where to go from here...

You might feel the same way about your workouts from time to time as well. Somedays, it's hard to know where to begin and what exactly you should be doing in the gym that day. All you have to do is get started and go from there. Take it in simple steps:

Step One: Get your gym clothes on, especially your shoes (having your shoes on will give you that "get up and go" kind of feeling. If you're just hanging in your socks and easy to move in workout gear, you might be tempted to throw your feet up on the couch and get comfy). As simple as this seems, it's often the hardest step. Just finding that motivation to get started can be tough but once you begin, it's easier to keep going.

Step Two: Get to the gym. Again, a seemingly easy step but another tough hurdle. The couch can seem so inviting sometimes, can't it? I promise you that you'll feel so much better once you begin! Get moving!

Step Three: Jump on the treadmill, bike, or elliptical to warm up your body. Once you get your blood flowing and oxygen to your muscles, you will get in the groove and ready for whatever you want to do that day. Perhaps you'll stay on your cardio machine of choice for an extended period of time or maybe a simple five minute warm up will inspire you to lift weights or try a new class that the gym is offering that day.

Whatever it is, you got over the hump to just get started. Pushing yourself to make the effort can be tough, but once you've begun, you can only go up from there.

Hey! Lookie here! I've just finished writing my blog entry for the day! All it took was getting started. :-)

Be Well!

Wellness Defined

Lately, I've been thinking about what makes me happy in my life as far as wellness goes. Wellness is defined as "the quality of state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort." I also believe it to be the place where you land once you have balanced both health and fitness for yourself. Balance is the key to being happy and I've been thinking about what that balance is for me. I've been trying to define my own wellness while letting go of some of the "shoulds" in my life and adding more of the "wants." Sometimes, the two go hand in hand...If you want something, there are things you should do but you have to ask yourself, is it worth it for your own personal wellness?

What do I mean by that? Here's an example: I had a client ask me how he could look like the hard-bodied movie stars he saw on the covers of his favorite magazines. I told him that if he wanted that look, he would need to work out at least 5 days a week, follow a regimented diet, and cut out any alcohol he was currently consuming. He laughed in my face. With his workaholic kind of schedule, 5 days a week of exercise wasn't an option for him unless he cut back in the office (which, at this point in his career, he wasn't willing to do). Also, as an avid foodie and wine connoisseur, he didn't want to make the sacrifice of cutting out his frequent restaurant visits and nightly bottles of wine. In this instance, he should have taken my advice to get wanted, but he had to settle for balance instead. He would work out 3 days a week, enjoy his food and wine, and be proud of the trim body he could maintain, six-pack or not. That was his personal wellness.

Maybe your personal wellness is sacrificing simple pleasures like food and alcohol to maintain a cut figure. More power to you! Eat clean to look lean and mean. Maybe your personal wellness is making sure to exercise daily and eat whatever your heart desires (please don't eat fast food, though :-)). Define for yourself what is and don't let anyone else decide what that is for you.

As far as my own wellness goes...These days, I am living in a much more happening area of town and my social life is much more hoppin'. With my new lifestyle comes a little bit more alcohol and food consumption which equals more calorie intake. For now, I'm happy with this. I'm having fun and living my life. I work harder in the gym if possible and watch that I don't go overboard. If I do go overboard from time to time (overboard for me is maybe having that extra glass of wine when I don't need it or eating dessert when I've had enough to eat already), I'm not beating myself up over it. Again, maybe I'll do a little extra in the gym the next day to make up for it . Life is meant to be enjoyed and I'm trying my best to do just that...enjoy. I hope that you'll enjoy by your definition of enjoyment/wellness and Be Well.