SB3 Healthy Living BLOG
DO YOU HAVE A SASHA FIERCE INSIDE YOU? Fake it till you make it! - 5/3/2023\
“I AM an athlete. I AM a healthy eater. I AM a fitness nut. I AM a future healthy senior adult.” Can you say these things as they are true? YES YOU CAN- and it will help bring you closer to your goals. How?
PRETEND THAT YOU ALREADY ARE THESE THINGS. Yes! If it is too hard to be someone TRYING to eat healthier, then try pretending in your head that you ARE that healthy eater - what would they buy at the grocery store? What would they order out?
This is the concept of “fake it till you make it.” This is another concept referenced in ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear. Imagining you are the successful version of what you are working towards can give you inner strength and confidence that you might lack otherwise.
Beyonce famously created a persona named Sasha Fierce. She would slide into this pretend character’s mental state to latch onto a high level of confidence, style and strength that she felt her own timid character was lacking. Later, she said she “killed” the Sasha Fierce persona once she had gained her own self-confidence and personal style and no longer felt she needed a “pretend” support.
Giving in to fear holds so many of us back from potential! Fear of failure - fear of inadequacy - fear of being an impostor - fear of looking silly. Sometimes just reframing ourselves in a positive light and allowing for a new, confident, capable side of us to shine is just what you need to push forward.
This can also be effective at changing our mood or how we perceive an experience as noted in a 2021 article by Daniel Fryer M.Sc, MBSCH “How "Fake It 'Till You Make It" Really Is a Thing”. If you can visualize being happy about a situation - even a tiny bit - and repeat that over and over in that situation, you actually can change your true emotions about it.
Should you go full George Santos pretending you are someone else? NO. But when the going is tough towards wellness, and you don’t feel like saying no to fast food, doing some exercise or going to bed earlier with some unwinding time - perhaps you can create a temporary “you” persona who even enjoys these things until the rest of you is more used to these changes and it is easier!
I believe you - and your inner power persona - can do it :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! - 5/3/2023
“Fifty is the new thirty!” So… 52 is like 32, right? Hmm… Age really IS just a number - if you keep up with that number! At 52 I’m no spring chicken, I get it. But I also know that by taking good care of myself I can still do all the things I want to do- for the most part, just like decades before! As I said - shingles shot/colonoscopy/hormonal blood work/good sleep/little alcohol/Fish Oil supplements - among my must, along with NMN and Resveratrol that I also take as supplements.
One thing to realize - healthy aging is POSSIBLE but does take EFFORT. You DO have to “be responsible for yourself. You DO have to educate yourself on how to stay in shape. You DO have to try- because you and your happiness are worth it! Every birthday you have is not something to be feared - it is to be celebrated and enjoyed!!
What you DON’T have to do is make a healthy plan all alone. There are many resources available online and in places like gyms and health clubs. Here are some places I’m loving these days:
-Sydney Cummings Houdyshell - YouTube daily workouts (she does them too!) and her Sydney Squad for nutrition, health tips, etc.
-Podcasts: Andrew Huberman, Peter Attia The Drive, The Doctor’s Pharmacy/Dr. Hyman, Hidden Brain, Unshakeable Health
-Apps: MyFitnessPal (lots of stuff - will do a whole review on this soon! Food trackers, challenges, exercise regimens (some just in the paid version) LOVE IT
-Nutrition Action magazine from Center for Science in the Public Interest
-Insta: @trainwithjoan @peterattiamd @biolayne @so_this_is_50 @joelfreemanfitness @sydneycummings_ @hubermanlab
Curate your online feed to SUPPORT a healthy lifestyle!
And also - working with a coach for support, structure and accountability may be what you need - even for just a few months. My coaches have helped me and now I’m happy to help others get away from a path to medication and poor health to a plan for how to enjoy these wonderful years to come.
If you are ready… click the LINK IN BIO for a quick interest form to fill out and I’ll reach out to you!
PROCESSED FOODS - 4/6/2023
My background includes an MBA and work in Marketing at a leading Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) company. I didn't work in food product marketing, but I do understand how they function and what drives them. Simply put, many companies that make/process/produce food will follow the letter of the law as prescribed but not go out of their way to make a product that is any healthier for you than required by law. Example: the use of colors like Red #3 that other markets (Europe) have deemed unsafe for human consumption - click to read more. They include ingredients that serve their purpose in preservation, artificial flavor and color. YOU can help take action to get these ingredients out of foods by signing a petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest- click here for the link.
The marketing of food products is designed to make the items seem healthy or make consumers feel "smart" for buying them, when in reality they are much unhealthier than if the consumers just ate a diet of actual unprocessed foods. The rise of "convenience foods" over the past several decades corresponds well with the rise in obesity and metabolic diseases like high blood pressure and Type-2 diabetes. Click here to read about the effects of ultra processed food in leading to obesity. Click here to find an article from the American Medical Association about what doctors wish patients would know about ultraprocessed food.
Instead of focusing on the documented downsides of processed - and "ultra-processed" foods - it is uplifting to see all the documented benefits from giving your NATURAL body the NATURAL foods that it is pre-programmed to process and use to fuel your life. Click here to read more about the benefits of eating REAL food.
One area I'm especially concerned about is the amount of processed food that kids and teens eat. I taught elementary and middle school (still help out subbing in the schools now) and all day long, the majority of the snacks the kids eat are anything but what would help them in their growth and development. Flamin' Hot Cheetos - Takis - Doritos - energy drinks - these are the norm that kids are consuming. The deleterious effects on their brain health, hormones, skin etc. cannot help the students' school performance. As well, the high salt and sugar in many of these snacks adds an addictive element that will shape their eating taste in the future. Click here to read about how they are affected by these foods and what alternatives parents can help offer.
I'll add as well that I was very disappointed at the Superbowl to see the long list of celebrities - many of them celebrity athletes - who received big paydays by endorsing fattening, nutrient-empty chips and sugar-laden soda drinks. Click here for the Frito Lay ad with Eli and Payton Manning, Terry Bradshaw and many others. Click here to read a Fast Company article that gets into the Frito Lay Superbowl campaign and the future of snack marketing - including highlighting the number of American farmers who are supported by the sales of these snacks.
HAVING SAID ALL THIS - I get it. We are human and this is the way our society eats!! I don't claim that you have to be 100% perfect at nutrition and avoid all processed foods to still be overall healthy. However, the more you know about what you put in your body, the more you can choose without always being manipulated by food companies and marketers. You have the power to choose!