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The opposite of misery isn’t happiness, it’s gratitude. Mark Mason Gratitude is a funny thing, a thing that lives and breathes differently for each of us. If we have not suffered illness or injury, we may undervalue health. If we have not lived in poverty, we might underestimate wealth. If we have not experienced loss or watched a child grow, we may never fully appreciate time. And those are the three greatest buckets, aren't they? Health, Wealth, and Time. (Credit to author Bill Perkins) So let me ask you, what gratitude buckets are you filling? If you are not prioritizing your TIME, no amount of wealth will bring you joy. If you are not sharing in your WEALTH, time will hold little meaning. But most importantly, if you are not investing in your HEALTH, neither time or wealth will save you. The beauty of life is, you can make a change whenever you wish. So I ask again, what are you grateful for this season? My 3 A’s to maintain your Summer Physique: Look, we all know as the days get shorter, colder, and more gray… our recreational activity levels tend to decline, and we move less. Our biology wants to hang onto extra padding for the cold winter months ahead, and potential food scarcity. Except there is a large problem in our modern world: food is not scarce for most of us, and the foods we tend to be surrounded by this time of year are hyper-palatable, pleasure foods that reward our brains with a high sugar-fat or salt-fat ratio, and very difficult to stop eating. These foods tend to be high in calorie, but low in nutrient density. Comfort foods, holiday meals, office parties, more holiday meals, leftovers and desserts filling our kitchens. And we wonder how that magical “winter weight” appears. It really is a recipe for disaster. One weekend or a few days here and there? No problem. But we’re talking from mid-October through the New Year. If you want to avoid this trap, and jump off the viscous hamster wheel of winter weight gain and spring weight loss, it takes a plan. ✅ AWARENESS. As the fall season arrives, be mindful and realistic about the amount of food you ate through the summer when movement was constant, and recreational activities abounded. Understand your body does not require as much food, be mindful, and eat moderately. ✅ ACTION: Take action in one of two ways. You may dial in the amount of food you currently eat. Try cutting out the extra snacks you freely ate when your movement was much higher. Halve the amount of alcohol or desserts you partake in. Only eat to 80% full at most meals, never leaving the table “stuffed.” You may also make a conscious effort to keep moving. Track your steps to keep your daily movement high. Schedule in walk breaks, make plans with friends to workout, hike, or walk each day. Keep up with your fitness in the gym, don’t skimp on weight training! Make movement easy by placing a treadmill, bike or rower in front of your favorite Netflix show (hint: save your favorite show for only those times you are moving!) ✅ ACCOUNTABILITY: Without any guardrails or boundaries, it’s hard to know where you stand. As the saying goes “You can’t manage, what you don’t measure.” Create a way to hold yourself accountable with portion sizes, treats, snacks, and parties. Manage your food quality and intake the way you manage your finances, or that big project at work. Use a tracking app, a checklist in the kitchen, a notes app on your phone, eat off smaller plates, keep the palatable high-calorie foods out of the house, and out of sight. Use the 80/20 rule throughout your week. Don’t rely on discipline. This is not the way your brain works around food.
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