by Dan | Jul 29, 2018 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
It takes a lot of work, and continued determination to get out there every day, or at least most days of the week, and exercise. There are definitely some days that are easier than others, and then other days, you wonder how you ever got it done. Thankfully, those really tough days are less than the good days. The same goes for the weather conditions. Some days are good, some days are bad! You need to pick and choose, and may need to alter what your initial plan was, or where you were planning to exercise, but it does not need to be avoided. Just altered!
Some days start out sunny, and then we get caught in the rain. Or even other days, it is raining from the start. I don’t mind a light rain, but not heavy rain. We certainly should not be outside exercising if it is lightening out. You make the best of it, and try to keep smiling. Think of it as a new adventure. Most people are not going to be tough enough to go exercise under adverse conditions. These moments only strengthen your drive, your determination…your passion!
There is always a bright side. Is it always easy to see? No! Do you have to work at trying to find it sometimes? Yes! It is there…just keep looking.
Your attitude is the driving force. This picture is a good example. We are outside running, and some of us had gotten done already, and waiting for the rest of our group to get in. Here comes Jill, Patricia, and Amanda, running together in the rain, smiling and laughing! They were making the most of that particular situation. Either find the good in it, and enjoy, and be continuously miserable, and wallow in our own self pity. You decide. Your attitude decides!
Here we were out running on of our Wednesday evening runs, and the rain quit, and out came the rainbow. Talk about a boost of motivation with this. We were following the rainbow, and looking to have a good run. Look for the good in everything. I know, there are days when you wonder how. We all have stress in our lives, deadlines, pressures, stress…but again, our attitude decides on how we will handle it. Will we handle it, or will it handle us? Some days it can go both ways. We are still human. We make mistakes. We get angry, frustrated, and depressed. You keep pushing. You keep working. You keep striving. Never give up! There will be good days and bad days, but we decide which days are what.
Sometimes the calm after a storm allows us to reflect on this. We then can see better with those reflections on how things really are. Yes, there are demands, but if you concentrate, take it on full force, you can get through them. Just like exercise. Take if on full force, and you will get through them, and you will be able to reap the rewards that come with it. Confidence! Stamina! Stress Relief! Courage! Fortitude! All of these then can contribute to our passion in life. We need to find our passion, and to live our life. By finding our passion we can then feel good at the end of the day, and also look forward to the next day.
You need to work at it. You need to want it. You have to earn it! It is there just waiting for us to take on. Be determined! What is your purpose in this life? What are your desires? Only you can answer that. We all have a passion. Now go get it! Take it on, and don’t hold back. And remember, there will be good days, and bad days…but the good days will far outweigh the bad! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3945
by kelsey | Jul 25, 2018 | Diet, Goals, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
There are no doubts about it….weight loss is tough….but even tougher is maintaining that weight loss. Many people who lose weight slip back into their old ways and gain weight back. This yo-yo dieting or weight cycling results in a variety of issues including poor self esteem, lack of motivation, binge eating, etc. I like to compare this cycle to being stuck in a revolving door like you’d find at a hotel…you just keep going around and around and can’t seem to get out! To help you put a stop to weight cycling, follow these tips:
•Change your mindset: No one ever wants to go on a “diet” and being a diet is never any fun, so ditch the word. Diet usually has a time period to it, so instead think of this has a lifestyle improvement. Think of healthy eating as a lifelong commitment, not a short period of time. Fad diets never work as you can’t live that way forever, so instead focus on a well-balanced nutrition plan that incorporates whole foods and portion control.
•Get adequate sleep: sleep is often overlooked in the equation to success as we tend to put a large amount of focus on food and activity….but in reality, getting adequate sleep is just as important as your exercise and nutrition. You need to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep/night to allow your body to reset and repair itself. Lack of sleep or poor sleep habits typically result in poor eating habits, increasing cravings for junk foods, and a higher BMI.
•Destress: stress can cause an increase in the hormone cortisol and when this hormone is increased, you may experience a greater desire for junk foods or unhealthy foods. Examine your stress levels and think critically about ways you could improve the stress in your life. You may consider journaling, yoga, or meditation to help you. Engaging in regular activity also helps reduce stress as it gives your body natural endorphins that aid in mood boosting.
•Practice mindful eating: Slow the eating process down and think critically about your hunger and fullness factors. Think of food as fuel and you want to choose healthy foods to provide your body with the appropriate nutrients and energy. When we think of food as “good” or “bad” it tends to make us want those bad foods even more, so instead change your mindset about food and work on portion control and feeling confident about your decisions.
I don’t expect these tips to happen overnight, but I do encourage you to examine your life and look at each part of the equation to help you stop the weight cycling and get on a path of healthy living for the long run! If you want help getting on track with a plan that fits you and your lifestyle that you can stick with long-term, please contact me and/or consider signing up for our STRIVE 2 Survive wellness program this fall!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Jul 22, 2018 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
Don’t you wish everything in life was great, exciting, and worth jumping up and down about? Unfortunately, that may not always be the case. It doesn’t mean you sit and dwell on some of those bad circumstances. What are you going to do about them? They are part of your life. Are you just going to try and ignore them, or will you learn from them? The choice is yours. You can either be crabby and angry, and figure out how you can improve from them. We all have days when nothing seems to go right. But, we also have those days when nothing can go wrong! What was the reason for this? I would venture to say our attitude had a lot to do with our interpretation of that day. We decide how we are going to cope with it.
Last week, many of us here in Watertown did the Kampeska Mini Triathlon. Here we all are getting our instructions before the event was to start. Wouldn’t it be great if we had instructions on what was all going to happen in our lives that day? On one hand, our lives would be a lot more structured, planned, and maybe even boring. But life does not come with an instruction manual. Most of the time we are flying by the seat of our pants. There may be things that come up during the day we were not planning on, and we have to adapt to it, and figure out how we are going to handle it. Life is an adventure. This is also what makes life exciting. We don’t know what the future holds. It is a continuous adventure.
Granted, there are times when the days can be stormy. We don’t know what is going to blow our way. Thankfully, many of those times “go past us quickly”. Who knows, that same storm may look terrible one minute, and then next minute, have a totally different outlook.
The stormy looking clouds, and this picture were both while I was on the same walk. One minute I am thinking I better be turning around, and the next minute, they drift apart, and have a whole different look. This cluster of black clouds developed after those other “marshmallow” ones disappeared. To me, it looks like a group of birds with their wings spread out taking flight…taking flight on a new adventure. That is what can happen for us. Ride the storm out, and see what comes behind it, giving us a brighter outlook.
We all have those moments when we wonder why we do certain things. Why do we try to take care of ourselves, and try to work on doing more exercise? It is work! Are the rewards what we want them to be? I say yes! But, sometimes that realization may take a little longer to come to some days!
All of a sudden, things start clicking! We are in a groove, feeling good, doing things we enjoy to do. We are enjoying life! We start to see things differently. We appreciate things, and people, more!
Here is this same area of the lake the following morning after the above storm. Things are clearing up, we may even see reflections of where our life is going. We see things in a totally different way! These are the times that life rewards us. This is why we want to be around longer. This is why we need to take care of ourselves. This is why we need to strive to survive!
We need to be ready for anything. The Kampeska Half Marathon was yesterday. The finish line was at City Park, and the start was at Lunkers. We had to get that 3/4 mile to the start. People were piling into a few cars to get there. Keven drove us, but the car was packed. Sarah sat on my lap, and Amanda was crammed into the far back. We needed to adjust to the situation, and get to the point where the race was going to begin. Where today was going to begin for us. We laughed and joked on the way over. Now we will have another moment to laugh about later. Memories! Life! I can’t wait for the next moment! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3938
by Dan | Jul 15, 2018 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
The 34th Annual Hyvee mini Triathlon (“Tri”) at Lake Kampeska took place yesterday. It starts off as a 1/4 mile swim along the shore, then biking 14 miles around the lake, and finishing with a 5k run. It is a fun time, and a lot of people, friends, from the run club were there. Many other friends were also there. You are all there for the same reason: to challenge yourself, see what you can do, and then also to support and cheer each other on! You truly never know what you are capable of doing in life until you give it a “Tri”!
Here Sarah is getting her station ready prior to the race. There is a central station where you have to enter and get ready to take off for the next portion of the race. You have to plan this as well as the clock is still going the whole time during these transitions stations as well.
The girls, and guys, were showing off prior to the race. A lot of us do our training together, and our competing together. But it really is not about the competition. It is about the time you spend together getting ready, encouraging each other, laughing with each other…just spending time together!
Steve and Sally were coming out of the water at the same time. This was the first time for Sally doing this event. They basically did the triathlon together. No worries about time, just about the challenge of being involved, and doing it, and getting in some exercise. Everybody thinks that they cannot do this, until they give it a “tri”. What are you waiting for? You have no idea what you are capable of until you “tri”. Our biggest obstacle with exercise, and with things in life in general, tends to be affected more by what is between our ears than any physical limitation we may have. That is why the support from your friends is so important!
Exactly! Support your friends, and they will support you! The same goes for your spouse. Always be there for them as well!
In the process, you can also show off what you got, flex that power, pride! You spent time training, and getting ready. More important though, a lot of discussions and laughing has occurred during this process as well. Keep this going the day of the event also! If you are too serious with it, you will do worse because you are missing the whole point of being involved in the first place! Work on becoming great!
Set your sights high and reach for the sky! Don’t let your own doubts get in the way. Rely on your friends, and give it a “tri”! The finish line for that particular day will be in your sights. But, it is only the finish for that day. It truly can become the start for many more adventures and events in the future. Enjoy the ride! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3931
by Dan | Jul 8, 2018 | Exercise, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, Wellness/Health
When I first started to see how long I could keep going with my consecutive exercise streak, I had no idea where it would take me. I was striving to see if I could maintain if for a year. I had no idea it would still be going yet…over 10 1/2 years, and counting. Some days though, it can be a real challenge to get out. Some of you may think this would be easy by now, but it is still an ongoing challenge. Trying to fit it in my daily schedule, with all of life’s twists and turns, can make it more challenging. Believe me, there are days when I don’t want to exercise. I could come up with many excuses to not go out. But, as time has taught me, I feel much better after I do. I need that stress reliever. I need that time to unwind, and either use it to get ready for the day ahead, or try and decompress from everything that life threw at me that day. “Uff Da” sums it up!
There are multiple things in life that pull at you for your time. You have to make the priorities and decide what is best for you.
There are always deadlines, pressures of work, and demands of people for your time. There are always hills to climb. But you have to face them. What do you do when you encounter this in your day? How do you handle the pressure of it all? Do you have any secrets to share with the rest of us? I would really like to hear from you! I certainly don’t have all the answers. I am trying to push myself, not to be better than anybody else, but to be better than I used to be. I only need to prove that to myself, and nobody else. Hopefully, over the long term, this will help me to be around a lot longer to spend more time with my family and friends. But you have to make if fun, or you won’t continue with it.
Sometimes I like to run, or walk, or bike, by myself. It gives me some time to clear my head, and think. The only one pushing me is me! I don’t have to wait to hear somebody else tell me advice, or try to expect an answer of help from someone else. I just need some time for me to process all this. Then there are those days when I really enjoy working out, or exercising with other people. What challenges are they facing? Maybe they have some advice or suggestions for me, or vice versa! I enjoy hearing how everyone else handles things in their life. We all have challenges, and we all work at them in different ways. How we go about it is individual to each of us. There are no two of us alike. We are unique to ourselves, and we have to figure those things out.
It sure makes it nice on those days when you are not by yourself, to have someone reliable to confide in, to bounce things off, to vent with, to exercise with! We all need those social times together to support each other, but we also need some of that alone time, to think and process things. Why do we do the things we do? The challenges we create really are of our own making. Turn them into a positive thing, and not another pressure of life. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to keep exercising everyday. I wonder what really is this proving. Then, after walking, or running, with time to process, I realize I am still doing this for me. I am the one benefiting by this. I am the one setting the tone for me. If maybe this helps get somebody else moving, and taking care of themselves, then great! If anybody has any ideas of what works for them to help get them motivated to exercise, please tell me! I always am willing to listen. If it works for you, then maybe it can work to help somebody else too. As individuals, we alone do not have all of the answers. As I wrote about several weeks ago, we all need to keep learning. But, we can also help teach each other things too. We all have something to offer, and we all have the ability to learn. Just do it! I can’t wait to hear ideas from you, so please, fill me in, and then I can help pass them on to. Some days I need help staying motivated as well to “keep my streak alive too”! We all need to help to keep moving!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3924
by Dan | Jul 1, 2018 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Life brings all kinds of challenges, some good, some bad. The same can go for the results. Life is like a roller coaster, with a lot of ups and downs, but there are always new experiences to be had. When the kids were little, we always had them with us when we would go to races. They were either spectators, or participants, but they were always with us. These pictures of them with their special made T-shirts were always a hit for me. I would come running by, and they would be cheering and yelling, and their shirts cheering me on: “Go Dad Go”. These are memories I will always cherish.
Now that they are older, I thought things would get easier to deal with. Wrong! As they get bigger, the problems get bigger. Sarah and I always worry about them. No matter what, they are still our “little kids”. Now that they are all 21 or older, we worry as to whether on not we did a good enough job raising them. We hope they appreciate what we did for them, and provided for them. But, we also want them to know how hard you have to work for the things you have. Nobody is going to just hand it to you. You have to earn it. We always were active, and wanted them to be active with us. You have to learn to take care of yourselves, and not rely on somebody else to do it for you. One of my daughters just texted me this week saying: “Ugh! This adulting is so stressful!” Yes it is!
We took them to our marathons that I was in, and tried to make it a vacation for all of us! I needed my personal cheerleaders with me!
We taught them young how important it is to keep active, and they continued with this as they grew up, whether running or swimming!
Our vacations included trips where we would go hiking, and exploring, and get to see things we would not have seen otherwise. We had fun doing it to! We did this as a family!
Last year we had them all back at the same time, and with boyfriends and finacees too! If you are going to be a part of this family, you will have to be active with us. We all were getting ready to do the Hump Day 5k run!
One thing will always be. I may be a doctor, and Sarah may be a doctor, but the biggest thing we want to be remembered for when we are gone is that we were a good Mom and Dad! That is what I would be most proud of. We may not have always done things right. After all, it did not come with an instruction manual. We had to learn this on the fly. We did the best we could, and hopefully it will pay off for them. That does not mean you quit worrying about them. When school struggles get tough, or work issues get tough, or just life in general gets tough, I hope they all know we are there for them. We love you guys! We want you to be successful. We want you to be healthy! We want you to be happy! Just like the back of your shirts told me at those races you were cheering me on with:
We love you too!
Keep moving everybody! Enjoy all that life brings you, the ups and downs, and learn from them!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3917
