Becoming a Morning Person

From Becca Hamm, Summer Intern 2013

 

Every now and then, maybe sometimes more than we would like, we all need a little help to get motivated for the day. We’ve all heard the saying “The early bird gets the worm”, but are there really any advantages to getting a kick start to your day? Not only are there advantages, but a significant amount of scientific research supports the early riser routines, especially ones who incorporate exercise in the morning.

According to Dr. N.N. Khanna, Senior Interventional Cardiologist at Apollo Hospitals, due to the high secretion of catecholamines in the morning, which increase blood pressure and the likelihood of blood clotting, waking up early and working out can help reduce blood pressure, stress levels, and the risk of cardiac arrest and stoke. Dr. Sameer Srivastava, Associate Director of Non Invasive Cardiology, also states “People who work out in the morning are happy people, because morning workouts produce endorphins, which are stress busters”. It is also suggested that breathing exercises in the morning will help you stay relaxed and keep those stress levels down.

Not only has research found that earlier risers are more motivated and nicer to be around in the morning, they’re also happier, healthier, and more self-satisfied than others who tend to sleep in. Exercising may not always be an option in the morning, but here are a few tips to still help you get a jump start to your day! Pay attention to your five senses and become present as you awaken to enjoy yet another beautiful day!

The Moment You Wake Up: It starts from the second the alarm goes off. Instead of waking up to a constant beeping noise blaring in your ears, studies have found that a clock that gradually wakes you up with a softer tune or peaceful music, can help lower the heart rate and slowly wake you up.

Give Yourself a Pep Talk: Many of us dread the alarm clock in the morning because it reminds us of all the obligations we have for the day. Before you even get out of bed and start reminding yourself of all the things you have to do, rephrase it into what you get to do. Stay positive and look forward to what the day will bring!

Learn To Love The Sunshine: One of the most powerful things to force your body to awaken in the morning is the natural sunlight. Try to place your bed near a large window with thin blinds to slowly wake your body with the morning light. Take a few slow, deep breathes and be ready to conquer the day!

While You Get Ready: To help you get energized before you head out the door, use a citrus scent in a shampoo or soap, that has lemon, orange, or grapefruit. This will help being in touch with your senses and become more present.

Bring On The Protein: You already know what is going to be said next... “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” After sleeping all night, our metabolism and blood sugars are at its lowest, so be sure to fuel up your body! Think of a breakfast for champions meal and incorporate a protein along with colorful fruits, vegetables, and a whole grain into your morning.

Before Going To Bed: Have an hour before you go to bed be devoted to “unwind period”. Try to stay away from the electronics or another other obligations you might have for the next day to give your body a chance to slow down and enjoy a night of rest!

Healthy Eating Made Simple!

Program Intern, Kim Jobke, gives us insight on one of her favorite nutrition apps. Check out the post below!



Meal planning is often the first step in building a healthier diet. But, let’s face it, planning meals takes time, something we all could use more of! Add grocery shopping into the mix and eating healthy can take up a significant amount of your time. The good news is there are many websites available to help you eat healthy, and save time doing it. My favorite is a website called ZipList, where you cannot only plan your meals, but also create smart grocery lists and find deals at local grocery stores.

To get started, visit ziplist.com and create a free account and/or download the free app for your Smartphone. The account on the computer will automatically sync with the app on your phone. Once you have an account you can:

Find Recipes – Find thousands of recipes through ZipList’s recipe database, including those from popular food websites, add your own recipes, or “clip” and save recipes you find on the internet – try the recipes on our blog!

Create a Recipe Box – Save recipes in your recipe box for future use and sort by source, ingredient or cook time for faster meal planning.

Sync Meal Plans to Calendar – Sync the meal plans you create to your personal calendar on Google Calendar, iCalendar, or Outlook.

Generate Grocery Lists – Generate a grocery shopping list from your meal plan to make shopping less time consuming and cut down on unnecessary spending. You can even share your lists with others! Scan the barcode on items at the grocery store using your Smartphone to automatically add them to your list.

Find Deals and Get Coupons – ZipList will find local grocery store deals based on the items you buy and also send you coupons. Then, you can assign items to lists for purchase at specific stores based on the deals.

Try ZipList out today and comment to tell me what you think!

From an Intern's Perspective: A message from Jeff as an Intern

Today, I thought it'd be fun to revisit a post from Jeff Ford from when he was an intern in the "From an Intern's Perspective" series. This post discusses eating from bordem and not from hunger, and how to distinguish between the two. I've found myself in this situation a few times...

 

Boredom strikes … What do you do? Quick! Think! … Are you tying up the tennis shoes to hit the streets for a thermal walk or are you reaching into the freezer for a delicious indulgence?

We’ve all been there – victims of eating when were not hungry, so how can we avoid this appetite ambush? Underneath are 3 of the most common surefire signals to help you recognize when your head is doing the eating and not your stomach.

Sudden: Emotional eating (a.k.a. Head Hunger) always comes on suddenly. One second you’re watching your favorite television show and the next you’re craving something sweet. It’s really a spur of the moment kind of feeling that can be sparked or paired with any emotion.

 

Specific: According to psychologists, emotional eating cravings are usually very specific. People seem to desire that one particular comfort food and won’t be satisfied with just any type of chow, especially not fruits and vegetables.

 

Shameful: If you happened to eat by listening to the head, then there will usually be feelings of guilt and you’ll promise to make up for the eating in some other way. Feelings of guilt should never be left behind after a meal (we eat to live right?). So if you are bumming out and saying to yourself “Oh, I’ll skip a meal tomorrow to make up for it,” your hunger was certainly not physical.



Now that you know how to distinguish between emotional hunger and physical hunger, you may be thinking how can I not only recognize these signals, but overcome them.  The biggest thing for me personally is not keeping these so called “trigger or comfort foods” in the house.  Consequently, I do not keep ice cream in the apartment because I have realized that this is a food I can’t control. 

The good thing is I am not alone, ice cream happens to be the number one comfort food for Americans.  To put it simply, I like to think of the phrase “out of sight, out of stomach.”  By not making the frozen treat readily available and having viable substitutes, I am more apt to reach for an apple or a yogurt when I need a pick me up.

Here at Hilton Head Health, Dr. Beth Leermakers, our Wellness Counselor provides noteworthy lectures on Stress Eating and Overcoming Emotional Eating, which give our Guests a larger scope on this topic. Moreover, the H3 program has been proud to host specialty weeks featuring Johanna Smith-Ellis, a certified psychologist, whose experience has led her to be very knowledgeable on the subject. Since you may have missed them on your last visit, or have not yet stayed at H3, below is a quick glimpse to what I’ve picked up in lectures on how to evade emotional eating.

¨       Write down your trigger foods 

¨       Create a list of alternatives (Use the alphabet!)

¨       Find a comfort food that’s healthy  

¨       Go for a signature H3 thermal walk!   

¨       Call a friend or take a nap

¨       Check out some resources on emotional eating (*)

 

There are a few tricks that work for most people, but strive to find what is ideal for you personally. Remember, we all over eat sometimes and there is no reason to feel guilty about it! I am by no means an expert, thus I’ll leave you with a few resources to peruse at your leisure.

Nevertheless, keep in mind the 3 S’s to recognize head hunger, and think of this quote when the appetite ambush arises:

“If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution.”
~ Anonymous

 

Check it out:

WebMD; http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/emotional-eating-feeding-your-feelings

Mayo Clinic; http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/MH00025