Greetings from LIFESTYLE CHOICES!
OPEN HOUSE (save the date)!!!
Come join Gwen, Denise, and me for our Open House Thursday, February 10 from 5:30-7:30. Gwen and Denise are my colleagues and office mates and I’d love you to meet them! Gwen Brehm is a psychotherapist and Denise Cazes is an exercise physiologist/nutritionist. Mardi Gras will be our theme this year so come join our festivities! We’re conveniently located @ 17300 El Camino Real, Suite 107D (the corner of El Camino and Medical Center Blvd).
New Choices for the New Year
A new year is here. It’s time to review which goals I’ve met and where I need to improve. I love to see how much progress I’ve made from the previous year!
I’ve not always been so goal-oriented. What caused me to start setting them? I remember when I worked psychiatric nursing as an LVN in my early 20s; I learned various tools to grow emotionally. This opened up a new world for me. I had no idea there was another way to live other than just being on automatic pilot. A seed was planted in me at that point when I realized I could have a totally different life than I had ever known!
Going back to college marked the point when I started goal-setting. I went back to school after I was married with a family. What happened to propel me to go to school at this stage of life? College had not been a priority in my family and yet I wistfully thought about going just as many of my friends had.
Back in the late ‘70s, I recall talking to a lady at church one Sunday. She happened to be someone who was very well educated and I was impressed with her. I remember standing in the hallway when she asked me a profound question. Well it was actually a simple question which in retrospect turned out to be a profound moment for me. She inquired, “Vicki, if you want to go back to school, why don’t you take some night classes?” I thought about that and decided surely I could manage a couple of classes! You know how you remember specific events which make an impact in your life or that “Aha” moment? Don’t ask me why that question affected me that much at the time but it did. That “aha” moment made me see going to school was doable. It represented a huge goal.
I found I had a hunger for knowledge which I’d never had prior to college. It continues to this day. Because of school I had to reach other goals. Goals such as organizational skills were a necessity because I was juggling a family, going to classes, and studying after the kids were asleep. Budgeting was essential and there couldn’t be any “dropping and adding” courses as every penny had to count. In other words meeting smaller goals was imperative if I were going to reach my major objective of graduating from college.
Something else I learned in the process was what consequences I would have if I didn’t set goals. I no longer wanted life to just happen. In fact now I set lots of goals: financial, career, health, self growth, family, spiritual, pleasure. Then I practice. After all I’m trying to break longstanding habits which can take time to change. Patience!
People who set goals are able to reduce their stress and anxiety. NOW is the time to make a change. Can’t you see yourself this time next year having pride and satisfaction about your accomplishments? It’s time for a fresh start!
What’s the Big Deal about Processed Food?
Haven’t you wondered why processed food is often talked about as being so bad for you? I’ve finally found an article which actually makes sense in laymen’s terminology and it is shocking. “Shocking” is good for me because generally it takes something shocking for me to make a change. In the article The Truth about Your Weight Gain, David Zinczenko of Eat This Not That fame explains why fast food hamburger meat is not the same as the hamburger meat we cook at home (it’s a pretty gross story), premade guacamole dip can be less than 2 % avocado, turkey bacon is not 100% bird and has a higher sodium content than real bacon which can increase your blood pressure, and so on. Read it for yourself: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/truth-about-your-weight-gain.
A Fun, Short Video:
A friend of mine forwarded this video recently and I LOVED IT!! The premise is “fun can change behavior for the better” and this particular video (only 1:48 seconds) is addressing increasing exercising. People take the stairs instead of riding the escalator:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw
Simple and Present Update
For the many people who asked how my Thanksgiving went (November newsletter), it was better than I’d envisioned. Both of my sons (unsolicited and at different times) told me it was the best Thanksgiving ever! I’m filled with gratitude and love.