Flip Flop or Growth?

Most days, the news headlines display a quote from one of our current political candidates and espouse how the person is contradicting themselves, a previous vote or an earlier position. The headline and the story is designed to arouse our sense of injustice and prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Mr. or Ms. Candidate cannot be trusted and how they are very likely to *gasp* change their mind at some point.

Goodness, I hope so. I contend there are few of us, if any, who would maintain the same feelings about everything we've ever encountered for our entire lifetimes (think back to one or two boy- or girl- friends who seemed oh so perfect at the time). I, honestly, am embarrassed by some of the things I once thought to be steadfastly true. Fast food isn't so bad. Low-fat milk is the best choice. The FDA and USDA protect our food sources. And, trust me, there are more juicy ones on my list, as well...

I think the point of life is to learn and grow and adapt as we go along. Our information, maturity, environment and feelings change over time. There isn't anything wrong with this. From my humble perspective, this is called growth and is exactly what we are supposed to do in life.

I think we should celebrate our elected officials for changing their minds, for being open to new ideas and new thinking. I think instead of hiding from it, they should tell us why, what else they learned and what changed in them that made them change their minds. When did we become so sad that we consider growth and new ideas a flip flop?

Tragic.

Thank you, Irene.

The power in my home went out in the middle of the night on Saturday. I'm not exactly sure what time but would guess somewhere around 1 AM. I managed a reasonably good night of sleep despite the howling winds and rain blowing on the side of the house it never really blows on.

There still wasn't power when I woke Sunday morning. And we remained without power until 1 PM this afternoon - this is now Thursday. This is, by far, the longest I've ever gone without electricity in my world and I must say I learned a few valuable lessons.

Lesson 1: Wishing for Something Different is Futile
For the first 36 hours or so, I would wander around telling the power to come back on. As if it could hear me and as if my pleas would make any difference. It made me feel powerful, for a time, and then it made me feel desperate. I stopped asking it to return.

Lesson 2: Ingenuity (or desperation) is the Mother of Invention
I was able to boil water for coffee as I have a gas stove and simply lit the stove with a lighter. I did not, however, grind any coffee beans in preparation. Sunday morning. No power. Rainy and damp. Whole coffee beans mocking me. I wanted my coffee. After a few moments of pondering, I got a Ziploc bag and my Grandma's old rolling pin which I'd kept for the memories. A towel on the counter and a bit of good whacking and I had myself some crushed coffee beans. It was, perhaps, the best cup of coffee ever.

Lesson 3: Habits are Hard to Break, Unless they're Pointless
I knew the lights wouldn't work and I knew turning the faucets wouldn't produce any water. And yet, time and time again, I would flip a switch or turn a knob and nothing. It took until sometime on Wednesday for me to not do so 100% of the time. I was improving and wonder how much longer it would have taken for me to give up the habit completely.

Lesson 4: Silence is Golden
A few short hours into Sunday morning and slowly the din of generators began to fill the neighborhood. I had one, but since I was spending my time willing the power to come back on (and was convinced it would work), I didn't bother dragging my generator out until late Sunday (or more accurately asked my son to do so for me). By then, I figured the refrigerator could use some juice before everything spoiled and, quite honestly, I wanted to charge my mobile phone, laptop and air card (yes, this wasn't the slumming version of blackouts, I'll fully admit). I went to bed with my generator humming on the rear deck and the slightly less loud humming of the generators from my neighbors. And it quickly and firmly drove me crazy. I turned mine off and went back to bed, resigned to tossing some food and convinced that sleep was more important than a few bottles of condiments, some cheese and some kale. I did throw away the food, gave the fridge and freezer the best cleaning ever, used the generator sparingly throughout the day to charge my electronics (and grind my coffee beans) and had a much more peaceful existence.

Lesson 5: Change is Freedom
Relatively quickly, I established a new order. Have old water cooler bottles filled at the fire station for flushing toilets and washing dishes. Take the dog for a long walk in the morning. Go to bed with the darkness. Read by candelight. Keep up with only the critical work tasks and do the many things normally left undone in our busy lives. I cleaned out closets. I sorted books. I went to have a massage (mostly for the shower afterwards). Made some phone calls. Created piles and piles of things to donate to charity.

I think, perhaps, we get so caught up by what usually see that we forget about our ability to see things differently. I had a "plan" for my week which was carried away with the winds and rain of Irene. I had my routines which were replaced with only the truly necessary things. And, gratefully, I had room to live a different life for a few days.

Thank you, Irene. You opened my eyes in all the darkness you brought.

Surrender

Sometimes, we humans spend an awful lot of time, energy and money making sure things don't change. This is true in each of us, this is true for organizations and this is true in politics. Maintaining the status quo consumes, I say, at least 50% of our total contribution to the world.

After awhile, you learn change is inevitable. Life moves, things happen and events turn out very differently than one would have ever imagined. Read the newspaper... there are dozens of instances of this going on right now.

My New Spring Resolution question for you this evening is what status quo are you holding onto right now? Are you investing part of each day working to keep something just as it is now? Do you plot, plan and strategize so your world won't look different in a few weeks, months or years?

Make a note of one thing you're holding onto. Then make a few notes about how your life would be different if the change you're working so hard to prevent actually happened. Note the really bad things and find at least one good thing. This is a great exercise just before bed... could be excellent fodder for your dreams.

Happy pondering and good night!

Spring Resolve

Did you make any New Year's Resolutions at the start of 2011? Are you still following them? If not don't feel bad, most other people aren't either. Do a quick poll of the people around you. See?

Why do we do this to ourselves year after year? Peer pressure is my best guess. In truth, starting some new project in the depths of winter is not really a good idea. If you're a student of TCM you'll know what I'm talking about. If you're not familiar, here is an excerpt from a blog I wrote at the end of 2009:

"Let us observe together what happens in the season of winter. It is cold so we want to stay inside. The sun rises late and sets early. It is really dark at night, so our bodies want to sleep more. Many of nature's creatures are now hibernating. If not full-time hibernation, at least their activity is much reduced and they spend more time sleeping and resting. More time being quiet, more time getting ready for the Spring. Nature's animals are not going to leave the warmth of their winter den to go out and start a new exercise program on January 1st. Nature's plants are not going to start to bloom on the first of the year just so they can be in better shape or more beautiful for the summer season. Nature gets it. Nature's animals and plants understand winter is a time for rest, hibernation, reflection, stillness, patience and for simply not yet knowing what the Spring will bring."

So there. Feel better now? Excellent, now let's get to it! Contrary to what the calendar says, Spring is beginning. The groundhog says so and if you're in tune with nature, you've noticed the sunlight looks a bit different, brighter if you will. Now is the time to plan your new projects and your New Spring Resolutions for 2011. Today is February 10 and we have 18 days until the 1st of March.

I will devote the rest of the month's blog posts to helping you plan your New Spring Resolutions. Our goal is to help you create a plan which you will start on March 1, 2011.  Your first assignment is to sleep. For the next four days, I want you to get more sleep. Enjoy the last bits of hibernation, the darkness of the nights and the late sunrises. Go to bed early. Sleep in late. Ideally? Go to sleep with the sunset and get up with the sunrise (and I recognize that is near impossible for the vast majority of us, but you get the idea).

Check back tomorrow. You'll have a mini-assignment for the weekend as well.

Eat (at home).

My friend Bill wrote to me a few weeks back and asked how I was doing on my own quest to lose 10 pounds. Back in October, the numbers on the scale had crept up a bit too much and I began writing about my own experience to lose 10 pounds. After a month or so, my 10pound updates were consumed by other blog writing and, quite honestly, I didn't know if anyone was reading or if my observations were actually serving anyone else. I don't blog for me and in the absence of feedback or support to continue telling my story, I stopped. Thank you, Bill, for letting me know you did read and for taking the time to send me a note to check in on my progress!

Since my last update (11/15 at 127 pounds), we've had the holiday season and traveling and 2011 started off with more travel and many more meetings. Last week for example, nearly every meal was at a restaurant for lunch and dinner meetings on top of which I had a nasty cough so didn't do any cardio work for fear I'd cough up a lung. The scale on Sunday morning was 133. I grumbled about the house for a little while. It is so frustrating to make progress and then go in the opposite direction. Grrrrrr.

Since Sunday evening, I've prepared every meal for myself. The scale this morning? 130. I've lost 1 pound a day for three days in a row. I'm eating whatever I want, including having wine with dinner. Granted, when I made my Move.Eat.Be. plan for the week, the foods I chose were healthy. I concocted kale and white bean casseroles in my new little Le Creuset pots (I love them!) with a side salad and bread (yes, I'm eating bread!). Last night was poached salmon with tomato and green onion sauce (cooked in 2 TBS of butter), side salad, a left-over mini casserole and more bread. Tonight is roast chicken with root vegetables. Lunches are leftovers or salad greens with hummus, mushrooms and avocado. Breakfast is (usually always) banana, blueberries (frozen, wild, organic), other fresh fruit as available, topped with ground flaxseed and accompanied by almonds. I had a cookie last night. And, I've done a workout each morning and am following along to most of our 10-to Workday Workout program.

The moral of this story? Eat at home! It is much less expensive. It is much better for you. And, honest, it does not take that much time to cook dinner. Please don't be freaked out by the cooking shows and the celebrity chefs who use 10 pans, 20 bowls and claim you can cook like them in 30 minutes (sure you can, if there is a crew prepping for you and cleaning up after you).

Take the poached salmon. It literally took me 20 minutes from start to table like so:

1. Turn oven to 350⁰
2. Put water on to boil
3. Slice green onions and salmon filet into 1" wide serving pieces (sprinkle with salt and pepper)
4. Put mini-casseroles in oven to reheat
5. Make a salad dressing (olive oil, balsamic, dijon mustard, pepper, salt, thyme)
6. Stage sauce ingredients (grape tomatos, 2 TBS butter, sliced green onions, salt, pepper) near stovetop
7. Put salmon into boiling water (cooks in 10 minutes for 1" inch think slices)
8. Slice bread and pour some olive oil into a dish with freshly ground pepper
9. Put plates on counter. Set the table. Pour wine.
10. Heat butter in skillet
11. Poor a wee bit of salad dressing into bag of salad greens. Shake.
12. Put tomatoes in skillet with butter, cook for 2 minutes, add green onions. Cook for 2 more minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
13. Take salmon out of water
14. Plate (salmon with sauce on top next to salad). Slices of lemon. 
15. Retrieve casseroles from oven
16. Carry to table
17. Sit. Eat. Enjoy.
18. Cleanup took less than 10 minutes, including hand-washing the cookware.

Going out to eat is one of my very favorite things to do. But, until we can implement The Real Food Label in our restaurants, it is very difficult to understand what is really in the food we eat when we're out. And, I fear the additives and quality of the food when eating out (there are very few organic restaurants) has a negative impact on my ability to avoid weight gain. I'm amazed by how three days of eating at home has made such a big difference. Do yourself, and your scale, a favor.... create a Move.Eat.Be. plan each week and explore the rewards from your own cooking. 

Make a List

Do you have a goal? A dream? A wish? Of course you do. Wishing is something humans do very well. How well you wish is another matter altogether. Do you want a new house? A different job? To find your one true love? Do you want to make a difference in this world?

Spend some time over the upcoming weekend writing down your dreams. Then write down 10 things you will do this year to get closer to each of your dreams. A simple task. A very powerful exercise.

Hunger, Poverty and the Environment

I had the pleasure of attending the 15th Annual State of the World Symposium today to hear the discussion about "Innovations that Nourish the Planet." This fabulous book profiles several innovative food and agriculture projects happening in sub-Saharan Africa and includes ideas on how to spread these to other areas of the world. If you want some inspiration and hope, get this book.

David Beckman of Bread for the World spoke about how poverty, hunger and the environment are related. Hungry people without the resources to acquire food will exploit the environment to feed themselves and their families. And, I don't blame them.

I continue to be struck by the irony of, and curious about the ability to solve, the hunger and obesity problem. I would further Mr. Beckman's idea with the contention that poverty, obesity and the environment are also related. The poor have less access to whole, natural, organic foods which are, generally speaking, more expensive. The poor also spend a larger percentage of their time working so they have less time to prepare meals at home and therefore consume a larger portion of processed and fast foods. And, food stuffs with a larger negative impact on our environment (heavily treated crops and processed foods replete with chemical additives) comprise the majority of the food the overweight and obese consume.

The simplest ideas are always, always best. The Innovations that Nourish the Planet contains many simple ideas working in Africa that I think could also serve both the hungry and overweight in the US. We have a great deal to learn from each other. And, we have the opportunity to thrive if we embrace our global food village.

When Small Isn't Good Enough

Here at Cybercise, we stand on the idea that making small, positive changes is a great way to improve your health for the long-term. Odds, statistics and experience show too drastic a change and attempting too much, too soon most often results in failure. Start small, stick with it and over time you'll see improvement.

And, what about those times when small isn't good enough? They happen...

Example #1: Blockbuster. The fine people who created Blockbuster had a really terrific idea that revolutionized the way we watch movies. The model was perfect and Blockbuster was very successful. And then, along comes Netflix. Sure, Blockbuster started making small changes. They tweaked their model. And they sat in corporate conference rooms too afraid to make the big change and do something dramatic. Why? Big change is uncomfortable and scary. I get it; I understand. And as time went on, those people in corporate conference rooms sat around  only making small changes just long enough while their idea died and the company went bankrupt.

Example #2: Company X. The very safe, stable and predictable Medicare market Company X has operated in for the last 40 years is about to drastically change. The market changed a little about 5 years ago and Company X made a few small changes and survived the little shake. Since that time, they've continued to make a few small changes even though they know, without a shadow of a doubt, the big shake is coming. The market is about to change dramatically and where there were 20+ Company X's there will now only be 5 or 6. What is Company X doing? They are sitting in corporate conference rooms making small changes, doing little things piecemeal at a time. Why? Sticking your neck out there and being a leader is scary. Change is uncomfortable. My prediction? They'll be gone. They might as well turn the lights off now and go home.

Example #3: My father was a smoker. He knew he should quit (just as all smokers know they should quit). Sure he'd cut down now and again, he moved to the light version,  but he didn't quit (granted this was 20+ years ago so the evidence was a bit less clear then). He had his first heart attack at 39. We nearly lost him. Guess what? He quit smoking. Never had another. He was lucky to be alive. He made the big change and is still alive today.

The point? Small changes are good and small changes do make all of the difference. And, if you are overweight, or diabetic, or a smoker, or have pre-hypertension, or you don't exercise, maybe now is the time for the big change. The only big change you really need to make is to finally and resolutely decide to do something different.

Don't sit in your living room and be afraid. Yes, it will be uncomfortable and it is scary. You can start the big change with small changes but be really clear with yourself that you're going to do something really different. Why? Because the only thing you really have to fear is waiting too long and not having a chance.

Micro Choices, Macro Wellness

Ask any woman and she'll confirm... the small things matter most. An unexpected love note from her partner, flowers for no reason, a hug from her child, and a call from a long-lost friend just to say hello. We know this and yet we forget in the part of life that matters most: our own health.

Weight-loss doesn't come from the latest blockbuster diet. A firm, toned body could come from hours each day in the gym, but who has the time? And true happiness doesn't come from the perfect spouse or the perfect kids or the perfect job or perfectly stuffed bank account. All of life happens in the little moments. Moment by moment, day after day. Same goes for our health and wellness.

Women, in particular, have an incredible ability to do just about anything for a short period of time. Stay up all night to make cupcakes for the class party? Work hours and hours of overtime to finish a project? Put aside our own chores to help a sick friend? Easy. We've all been there and done such things happily.

Unfortunately, we treat our own bodies and own health the same way. A few days of fast food because we're busy? A crash diet before our high school reunion? Skipping breakfast to get to work early? Missing a workout due to a lunch meeting? Missing another workout due to a PTA meeting? Missing another workout because we're exhausted? We've all been there and done those things, too.

I think if we can begin to think of our own health and our path to wellness in the small moments, we can be successful for the long term. Each and every day, do one new small thing for your health. To mimic the popular book series...

DO THIS	NOT THAT
Stairs	Elevator
Green Tea	Second cup of coffee
Water	Soda
Greens	Fries
Yoga	Cookies
Beans	Red Meat
Walk	Television
Naked	Salad Dressing
Read	Television
Strength Training	Bone Loss Drug
Real, Whole	Processed
Cook	Eat Out

Come on, ladies. We know it is the small things that matter to us the most. Matter to yourself most and do a small thing each day, moment by moment.

Label. The Newest Generation.

The design keeps improving! In case you haven't been following along, we're on a quest to design a new front of package label for our food. The whole thing started with the ridiculous commercial on TV that says one serving of Manwich has a full serving of vegetables. Then talk started about how to rebrand High Fructose Corn Syrup so we wouldn't be aware of what is in our food. The idea really blossomed at HealthCampDC 2010 a few weeks ago with some terrific thought leaders in health and wellness. Then a trip to the United Kingdom further refined the idea (am I the only one who loves going to grocery stores in other countries???).

Today, I'm happy to unveil the latest generation of our front of package food label!

Front of Package Food Label © 2010 Cybercise®

Now, we have this lovely little color-coded bar which helps consumers choose food based on an easy system of red, yellow and green. The idea is simple... choose products with mostly green and avoid products with mostly yellow and red. It is universal. It is easy to understand. It is clear.

What a revolution! The simplest ideas are always the best.

Cold Feet?

What do you when you notice your feet are cold? Some people put on socks. Some people go to the Internet to search for a disease which lists cold feet as a symptom.

The sock people will, in many cases, get warm feet. The Internet people will cause themselves a great deal of worry and upset.

If your body is telling you something is wrong, perhaps you could look inside to find a solution. If you don't find anything there, perhaps you could look at your environment. And then maybe take a look at the choices you make.

Perhaps, many of the things we look to "experts" to cure could be fixed (with much less hassle) by paying more attention to what we do and what we don't do. We could do ourselves, and each other, a huge favor by simply being aware of the choices we make and making different ones when the first choices don't work for us any longer. Could health be so simple? Perhaps so.

Change is Hard

Congresswoman Barbara Lee spoke to a small gathering at Tai Sophia Institute today. She spoke about health reform and the work still to be done. She spoke about her work with the Congressional Black Caucus. She spoke about politics and how changing the status quo is difficult. She was gracious enough to take questions from the audience near the end of her time and was asked how she remains hopeful in the light of what are sometimes seemingly insurmountable issues (the war in Afghanistan and energy policy, in particular). Her answer was simple and brilliant. She said change is hard and each one of us has to get up each day and be hopeful. And she said with hope, we can make the changes we need for the better.

If you are working to improve your health, be encouraged and inspired by Congresswoman Lee's words. Change is hard. Stay, hopeful and each day, at each moment, know you can choose hard and choose change.

We believe in you.