Small change #15: Exercise for 5 minutes

Yesterday I had lunch with my family, among them my uncle Rube.  Rube is in his late 80s, and in swell shape, but he broke his femur a few months back and needs to do exercises every day.  He knows he should, but he doesn’t want to do them (just like the rest of us).

I told him he should commit to doing them every day, but just for five minutes.  If he didn’t want to do more, he could move on with his day.  He told me he has plenty of time.  I told him time isn’t the problem, it’s that he has mental resistance to doing the exercise, but most of us don’t have a problem with just five minutes if we know we can then abandon the effort.    Just the thought of only having to do a little seemed less onerous to him.

Every night since I was about 17, I have done stomach crunches for 5 minutes.  I got in the habit after a stint at a fat farm my 103-lb. grandmother schlepped me to in a less-than-subtle nudge about my weight.  Pretty much every night, I do 60 repetitions of 3 different stomach exercises.  It takes 5 minutes.  Sometimes I do a little stretching and lift some light weights, but I have committed to that one thing.  And it’s been…a LOT of years since.

Set a kitchen timer for five minutes and lift a little weight, do a few push ups, jumping jacks, jump rope…whatever moves you.  Every day.

Rube told me he’s going to give that a try.  

Small change #14: Buy and/or make a new food

Do your best old lady voice: What’s all this I’m hearing about kale?  What is this here Quinoa (KEEN-wah)?  How do you make an eggplant anyway?  

Buy a little, do a little online search for a recipe or how to make it and give it a go as a side dish with dinner.  You might discover something you couldn’t believe!  You’ll also round out your diet with balanced, healthy foods.

I was asked recently by a lady in her 60s how to cook fresh broccoli as I was adding some to a bag.  I was so happy she asked! (You can boil it for 2-3 minutes, but I prefer to make a shallow pool of water in a wide skillet, put the lid half on and let it steam for a few minutes.  Add a little grated parmesan over the top for serious yum.)

A couple of years ago a kid from school was visiting and wondered if she could taste vanilla soy milk.  It was what she said: “I could have gone MY WHOLE LIFE and not had this!”  Tasting one new food made her realize the importance of new experiences.  And she was all of 9 years old at the time.

 

Small Change #13: Walk the walk (and the dog and the kid and the coworker)

Walk around the block at work or at home.    It takes about 15 minutes if you really move it like you’ve got somewhere to be.  

Are you really busy, and when you get home you know it will be too chaotic? Walk around the block after work or take a quick break.  Make it part of your lunch hour.  Grab a co worker and make him or her do it too.  Or strap an iSomething to your head and pop some tags or admit you knew he was trouble when he walked in or whatever.  Walking will burn off steam and get your bod ready for dinner.

 Or go home and grab that dog and those kids and make them go around the block and find out about their day.  (The dog will always say, “It was good!  It was good!  Wee!  You’re home and we’re walking!  Awesome!”)

It’s 15 minutes that will improve your mental state and leave your cells hungry.  Which means you will respond to insulin better.  Which means you will have lower cholesterol and lower risk of diabetes (or better glucose control if you already have diabetes).  A pretty good bargain for the time investment, I’d say.

Small change #12: Give away some small change

How about some small change for someone else?

A couple of weeks ago a Boy Scout troop came by with some grocery bags with a little note asking if we could fill the bag with a few groceries to help people seeking help through MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity).

I filled the bag with chili, beans, Trader Joe’s version of Cheerios, and a couple of kinds of pasta.  I spent about $10.

Why not buy 1-2 staples for food pantry near you or send a check for the equivalent, remembering that even $5 every so often helps a lot. 

Small change #11 Split dessert the selfish way

When we dine out and the server delivers dessert in the form of 1/4 of a pie, we have a tendency to abdicate responsibility (“I didn’t put that on the plate, I’m just the lucky recipient!”) for our ability to finish whatever is put in front of us.  In fact, this is part of the reason many people enjoy dining in restaurants.

It’s probably a good idea to split dessert.  The caveat: Never share a plate. That thing where they deliver the enormous slab of cake and 4 forks inevitably leads to an eating contest to get the delicate sliver at the tip, then the icing off the back…you get the picture.

Ask for your own plate, or to have the thing pre-split.  Tell the server you aren’t good at sharing.  They always seem to believe me when I say it..

If your partner eats like a raptor and goes after yours, you can always stab at them a little with your fork.

What?  You are eating with someone on some diet who doesn’t want dessert or is just not really human and doesn’t have a sweet tooth?  Don’t forgo dessert because of them.  Order dessert and have it split with half in a to-go container.  Then you get more tomorrow! If, while you enjoy, you notice sad-doggy looks, they will not be coming from you.

Always leave a good tip for a server who goes the extra mile.  They’ll be thrilled to help you get that torte into a to go container next time…

Small change #10: Find out how many calories you need in a day

Once in a while I’m asked how many calories a person needs in a day.

It depends on the person’s height, weight, gender, age and activity level.

All of which you can enter right here to find out the answer quickly, along with how much you should eat in a day if you were being a perfect angel.  Click Create profile, and you will be prompted with boxes for the above information before the site will calculate your caloric needs.  If you want a quick estimate without considering exercise or the factors above, look here.

Even if you’re feeling a little less heaven-sent, this will give you guidance.  Moderation in all things, even perfection!

Small change #9: One less sugary drink

If you don’t drink sugary drinks, don’t walk away just yet.  What about the sugar in your coffee or tea or iced tea?  Not you?  Okay, now you can walk away.

If you drink sugary drinks — Gatorade, Frappuccinos, etc.  this would be one of the easiest things you could do to lose weight and become healthier.

I’ve had students who drink 5 sugary drinks a day.  To them I say: Make it 4.  Maybe work down to 1 a day over time.

If you drink coffee and you add cream and sugar each time, it adds up.  And don’t EVER use that powdery creamer crap — it’s got trans fat that will raise your LDL cholesterol and lower your HDL cholesterol.  It’s rubbish.  It will hurt your heart.  You’re better off with cream.

Have one coffee a day with all that crap loaded in, and after that, pace yourself.  A little artificial sweetener and a bare minimum of cream for the rest, and cut down wherever possible.

Drink water.  By the time you register thirst, you’re already a little dehydrated.  Try out herbal teas and let them cool a little so you have a little flavor in your water.  Give a few berries a light squeeze, then throw them into your water and it helps also.

Gatorade is for athletes working out over an hour doing vigorous exercise.  It isn’t for watching the game.  Also, it tastes like blue sweat, so what is all that?!

Be mindful of the sugary stuff.  Split a frappuccino with a friend (bring a cup with you do this — save money too!).  If you do more than one a day (forehead slap), drink half and put the other half in the fridge for later.  Do what you can to cut back and you will see that you are less hungry because your insulin levels won’t spike through the ceiling, then crash down leaving you starving.

DO eat something to make up for the sugar when you cut back.  I don’t mean just lettuce either.  A few nuts, a yogurt if you haven’t head one already (provided that it’s Greek and less sugary over all — less than 16 g) — these will keep you fuller longer than a Coke or a Slurpee.