You’re Not So Crazy… Winter Surf(er)

• 2 • Live Well, Motivation

I took this photo after braving the first winter storm to walk down to the ocean and watch the waves crash in. My parents do this often during the Maine winters, but I’m not sure I’ve ever trudged through snow to get to the beach before now. (For obvious reasons, I mean, hello frostbite.)

It was pretty windy. It was pretty cold. It got so cold that my iphone shut off because of the low temperature just after I took this selfie.

I felt pretty crazy. Crazy in a good way!

Until today, when my mother spotted a surfer out catching waves in what I hope is THE BEST WETSUIT EVER because it was 20 degrees out.

The air temperature was so cold that the crashing waves sent a misty vapor up into the air… the clash of water and air temperatures hanging visibly on the horizon.

Cold Surfer 12

See the surfer over on the right? He’s about to catch that wave.

Cold Surfer 22c

Amazing.

I know that as winter hits, there are many legitimate reasons not to go do something outdoors that we love. I’m the first one to avoid icy sidewalks; no sense spraining an ankle on a winter run if you can access a treadmill or do an indoor class instead.

But…

Seeing this surfer reminds me that with the right winter gear, we can probably all get outside more than we do once the snow comes.

When I get outside in the cold, it makes me feel alive. And crazy in a good way. Once I get moving, I’m always (ok, usually) surprised by how warm I feel despite the brisk temperatures.

So exercise due caution… but get out there. Do what you love.

If this guy can surf in Maine when it’s 22 degrees out, I can throw my non-skid boots on and go for a brisk walk, or for a 3 mile run on the nicely paved sidewalks. I can cozy up in my hand-knit winter gear and help the kids make that snow man.

So crazy.
Cold Surfer 10c

 

2015 Is Almost Over – Have You Done This One Thing Due Dec. 31st?

• 4 • Live Well
I’m ending my 2015 visiting my home state of Maine!  It’s cold 🙁 I brought mittens 🙂

Nope… I’m not going to ask you if you’ve written your resolutions yet.

It’s almost the end of 2015… have you donated to your favorite charity this year? As the fiscal year draws to a close, it’s a good time to think about whether you’ve given as much as you’d like in 2015.

Where to Give: I wrote a blog post about Rich Roll’s podcast interview of William MacAskill on how to “Do Good Better”. MacAskill spoke beautifully about giving to charities that are the most effective in their outreach, and who use research backed approaches to measure their own efficacy so your money is put to good use. He recommends using the site GiveWell.org to help you find the best charities to donate money to.

How Much to Give: If worrying about how much to give is a barrier to giving at all, stop worrying! Send what you’re comfortable with, or come up with a plan to give next year and start picking out the charity or charities you’d like to donate to; it’ll be added incentive to save.

My Top Charity Pick This Year: …is not on the GiveWell.org list. BUT WAIT! I have a good reason. My favorite charity this year is NutritionFacts.org, which provides updates on the latest research in nutrition via short articles and videos. It’s completely nonprofit, it’s not influenced by corporations or product sponsorships, and it requires no membership and displays no ads. Our donation this year will be added to the many others that help the site with all the associated costs.

Why I feel NutritionFacts.org is effective giving: This site hits three major areas of interest. Human welfare, the environment and climate change, and animal suffering.

  • Human welfare: Good nutrition has been shown to prevent and even reverse heart disease, slow and even stop the rate of cancer growth, and significantly reduce people’s chances of suffering from many chronic illnesses. Seeing Dr. Greger’s video, Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death leaves no question that the information shared on NutritionFacts.org has the potential to save and improve lives. We could also more effectively feed the growing world population if we were able to divert some of the crops being used to feed livestock to feeding humans.
  • The Environment: I recently watched Cowspiracy, and was shocked and dismayed to learn that animal agriculture is one of the leading culprits in climate change and deforestation of rainforests. It takes a lot more energy to feed people animals than plants. Check out Cowspiracy’s great infographic on this here: http://www.cowspiracy.com/infographic. Since the healthiest diet is a whole foods, plant based diet, NutritionFacts.org may influence people to reduce their consumption of animal products and consequently benefit the planet.
  • Animal Suffering: You can watch some videos of what goes on in animal agriculture on the Mercy for Animals youtube channel, but I think this one’s pretty obvious. By eating plants, we reduce the suffering of animals. It’s not just animals who are killed for our food who suffer, the dairy and egg industry cause a lot of harm to innocent sentient beings.

I love that this nutrition information is now accessible to more people.

Dr. Greger’s new book, How Not To Die, begins many chapters with anecdotes about people who saw videos on his site, changed their diet in response to a disease diagnosis, and are living better lives (heck, some of them are lucky to BE alive) because of it.

I want the life-saving information about nutrition’s influence over our nation’s leading killers to continue to be available for free. It has saved people’s lives, and in the process, reduced their environmental impact and cruelty to animals. That’s a swell side effect.

I’m not saying you have to donate to NutritionFacts.org… but I am really excited to have found such an amazing charity that checks off so many boxes in terms of its potential to change this world for the better.

It’s accessible. It’s free. It’s life changing. It’s environmental. It’s evidence-based. It’s awesome.

But go out there and look for yourself. What do you see in this world that you’d like to help change? What has positively impacted your own life, that you’d like to share with someone else? What causes motivate you most?

One of the best parts about choosing a charity to donate to is realizing how many people there are out there trying to make the world a better place. It’s uplifting and inspirational.

Enjoy the rest of your year!

How Can You Make Good Habits Easier?

• 0 • Live Well

lifeishard

Life is hard.

The simplest of tasks, when sharing a day with several thousand other simple tasks, become pretty difficult to accomplish.

Yesterday I brainstormed some ideas for new habits in 2016, thinking about what their impact would be on my life in the short and long-term.

Today, I’m thinking about the “How Could I…” part of things. What are the prerequisites that would make desirable habits easier?

If I have trouble coming up with anything, I ask myself “Why Don’t I Already…” which leads to a problem I can then trouble shoot.

goalfixing

Looking at my “what if” habit list from yesterday, some of them are pretty easy fixes. If I want to eat fruit and nuts for snack, I need to keep them in the house and get in the habit of reaching for them instead of crackers. How can I make sure I keep them in the house? I could myself a “household staples” checklist that I go through before I leave for the grocery store, to help me take a quick inventory and populate the house with foods that support my healthy habits.

This “Why Don’t I Already” brainstorm also helped me move some of my “what if” habit ideas to a “maybe later” list.  For example, designating two hours a week for managing my calendar and meal plan should wait until my regular babysitter gets back from winter break. I can keep doing a five minute calendar check each morning while I drink coffee for now.

Here’s another good question to ask:

What will happen if I don’t start this habit?

If the existing system is good enough for now, maybe that habit, despite being “better” isn’t a priority over one that has a more direct impact on your health or well-being.

Happy “What If”-ing!*

*If your “what if”-ing is turning into “WTF-ing” maybe wait until after the holidays 🙂

What If? How Could Good Habits Change Your Life?

• 2 • Live Well
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What if I added berries to every breakfast?

The New Year always has me daydreaming about resolutions. Habits are particularly appealing, because as every runner knows, consistent small steps are the key to big transformations.

I’ve been thinking recently about some “what ifs…” in terms of choosing habits.

What if….

I ate some anti-oxidant packed berries with every breakfast?

I did ten push-ups every day before I got in the shower?

I added a 10 minute cycling warm-up to my running routine?

I added leafy greens to every sandwich or smoothie?

I took my kids for a trail walk at least once a week?

I picked the best photos of the week on Fridays and added them to a special folder?

I never went to bed until the laundry was folded?

Every week I took the boys to the library and had them pick one non-fiction book to read together?

I switched my condiment of choice to mustard instead of vegan mayo, and flavored vinegar instead of oil based salad dressing?

I designated two hours to manage my calendar and meal plans for the following week?

I ran with a friend or local running group once a week?

I regularly sat down with herbal tea and read to the boys for twenty minutes during afternoon snack?

I did lunges after emptying the dishwasher?

I never bought something without cleaning out the drawer it would go into first?

I ate fresh fruit, veggies, or nuts every day for snack?

Every time my kids wanted to show me something, I gave them my attention immediately, and then finished my original task?

I e-mailed, called, or met up with a good friend at least once a week?

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I don’t plan to attempt all, or even many of these things. But I like to sit and ask myself what would happen if I did. Which habits would have the largest positive impact on my day? My week? My long-term health and longevity? My relationships?

What little things can I do more consistently to improve different areas of my life, and which ones would be worth the time?

Some of these habits might actually save time; planning ahead can mean you’re able to buy all the birthday cards you need in one trip, instead of three, or grocery shop fewer times per week. Staying ahead of the laundry folding can reduce the time it takes to get dressed. Cleaning out a drawer before you go shopping could eliminate the need for the shopping trip, or make it easier to find and care for that item once you bring it home.

I love the time savers, or the small time investments with big pay-offs. Reading to the kids every day with a cup of tea? That’s fewer toys on the floor over the course of the day, a chance to connect and improve literacy skills and maybe even learn something new. AND it’s a cup of warm, comforting tea for me. Ultimate win! The hardest part is remembering to do it.

What are your “What Ifs?”

Dr. Greger’s Book “How Not to Die” is out!

• 2 • Live Well

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I love Dr. Michael Greger, the founder of NutritionFacts.org. His goal is to summarize the latest and most interesting in scientific research in brief videos and articles that are accessible to the average layperson.

He was recently featured on the Rich Roll podcast, and it was a great interview. Highlights included a frank discussion on the challenges associated with disease being profitable, and the similarities between the marketing tactics used by cigarette companies in the 1950s and those used by the meat, egg and dairy industries today. It was a candid and interesting conversation, and Dr. Greger has very logical, common sense explanations for why it takes so much time for public opinion to shift despite the massive body of evidence demonstrating the health benefits of plant-based diets.

Reductionist approach

Reductionism refers to looking at a small piece of something to better understand it. Many research studies are reductionist, for example, someone might design a research study that shows how a specific type of food impacts cholesterol levels. These studies can be really useful, but they need to be complemented by considering the existing body of evidence about that food.

For example, Dr. Greger speaks in the Rich Roll podcast about the number of studies done in the 1950s and 1960s that showed that cigarette smoking was good for your health, not negative, not even neutral, but GOOD. One of these studies showed that cigarette smoking decreased people’s risk of Parkinson’s disease. Sounds great, right? But we know that smoking isn’t good for us, because the decrease in risk for Parkinson’s is far outweighed by the increased risk of lung cancer, stroke, etc.

Dr. Greger explains that many of the studies getting media attention because they “show” that meat, eggs or dairy are healthy in some way aren’t being considered within the massive and overwhelming body of evidence that demonstrates that these are not healthy foods because they increase so many disease risks (cancer, heart disease, type two diabetes, etc) by such drastic amounts.

Considering individual research studies within the framework of existing evidence

Dr. Greger’s videos on NutritionFacts.org are largely reductionist in nature; that itself isn’t a problem, because they’re being considered within the existing body of evidence about these foods. When he shows a video about a recent study on the health benefits of a specific fruit or vegetable, he takes into consideration whether there’s existing knowledge of potential negative side effects that someone ought to factor in. For example, he cautions against too many antioxidant rich foods in the third trimester of pregnancy, shares information about the risk factors associated with too much turmeric for certain individuals.

Check out the Trailer for Dr. Greger’s new book, How Not To Die

I’ve purchased his book on Kindle, and look forward to having a night to dive into it!

I continue to be grateful that I was exposed to the benefits of plant-based eating at an age where it’s preventative for myself and my immediate family.

Live well!