Surviving the Winter Blues

You thought maybe the groundhog was right, that maybe Spring was right around the corner.  However, your snow shovel has been as active as ever.  Do you have this secret fear that sunny days and balmy breezes will never make it back to your climate?

The more snow and cold a person experiences during the winter time, the more likely he or she is going to experience "winter blues."  Assuming a trip to the tropics is out of the question, what can you do to keep yourself going a few months more?

• Move.  Not move away, but move your body.  The last thing you probably want to do is exercise, but it is the best thing for your tired body.  Even a little bit of weak sunshine and a short walk to get the blood flowing can loosen up those cobwebs. 
• Heat it up.  Heat of any kind will help.  Hot drinks, roaring fires, saunas, hot tubs... Warm your body and soul.
• Turn up the lights.  Even if you don't have an official Seasonal Affective Disorder diagnosis, light therapy helps with alertness and mood.  Keep bright lights on in the rooms you spend the most time in, including your office. 
• Catch a rainbow.  Brightness also comes in colors.  Be sure to have color in your wardrobe every day.  Consider using some down time at home to paint or redecorate a room.  Fresh flowers, even some inexpensive daisies or carnations, can make Spring seem much closer.
• Do it differently. Variety really is the spice of life.  Get out of the house and try a new restaurant. Take a class or learn a new skill or hobby. Take a different route to work or plan a weekend getaway. 
• Be positive.  Read inspiring stories.  Turn off the evening news.  Post favorite motivational quotes in your bedroom or office.  Spring, with all its promise, will come.  
• Use your imagination.  Watch movies about tropical places or read books about a desert locale.  Somehow, it tricks your mind into thinking you're in a warm place. 

The way our minds and bodies react to less sunlight in the winter may be beyond our control.  However, we have the power to manipulate our environment to make wintertime life more than survival mode.   

Free stress solutions I

Do you find yourself tied to your desk all day long? More phone calls to return, more emails to craft, more industry trend reading to do, more work, more responsibilities, more “to do” lists and less time to accomplish it all. What do you do when work’s got you down?

Lately, I’m finding people running around like crazy. They go from work to home, to driving the kids around and taking care of the family, to cooking dinner and doing the laundry. I hear them say there’s no time to slow down because companies are down-sizing so work comes first. Putting in overtime, bringing work home, working on weekends all seem to be today’s reality. Does this sound familiar? What does one do when the thought of taking on one more project sends you over the edge?

Here are some ideas to get you through to the next moment:

1. Breathe. Stop what you are doing and take several deep breaths. On the inhale, hold for a moment, then slowly release your breath. Breathing deeply will help give you clarity, focus and a moment of peace.

2. Listen to music you like. Maybe it’s a quick beat or perhaps it’s a slow, romantic tune – music helps distract you from the hectic pace and puts you in a different frame of mind.

3. Unless you’re driving or doing something requiring intense focus, close your eyes and meditate for a few minutes. If you’re not into meditation, try a visualization exercise. Take a few deep breaths and imagine yourself in a beautiful, peaceful place far away. Maybe you are on a hammock on a warm sunny beach or perhaps you find yourself skiing down a cool mountaintop. Take a vacation from your present reality and visualize another calming environment.

4. Take a walk or move around. Any form of exercise from walking and jogging to doing neck rolls, push up’s or leg lifts will stimulate blood flow and help relieve stress. A walk around the building and moving your body is a great way to break the pattern of going from one task to the next.

5. Get out in nature. Being outdoors in nature is a cure-all for me! Even if it’s just getting a moment of fresh air, taking yourself outside of the confined office space will change your entire perspective and allow you to interrupt the build -up of stress.

More stress solutions next week!

Coaching for fitness and weight loss I

Do you need help losing weight? Have you tried almost every diet plan out there only to have failed again? For many people, the challenge of losing weight or implementing a healthier lifestyle is not due to a lack of information about WHAT TO DO for weight loss but rather WHAT THEY ARE NOT DOING. It is the lack of consistency and the inability to find, adhere to, and follow a good action plan that fits their lifestyle.


We all know that to improve our cardiovascular health, improve endurance, increase muscle tone, and lose weight effectively, we need to get more exercise, eat less, and make wiser food choices.  We also need to stop engaging in potentially self-destructive behaviors that threaten our health, such as binge eating and smoking.  Despite knowing these basic facts, however, many of us struggle to get on a balanced weight loss program and stick to it. Trying to do it on our own, we fail.  We need the right kinds of support, tools, and resources.

Hiring a weight loss coach can help you identify what situations trigger your unhealthy behavior and help you identify ways to avoid them. A coach can also assist you to replace "bad" behaviors with "good" behaviors.

Coaches will work with you to come up with solutions and strategies to assist you in your weight loss goals, which may include steps to:

• Work with a personal fitness trainer
• Hire a nutritionist
• Join an exercise group/gym
• Find activities you enjoy to make getting healthy more fun
• Research clubs, groups, studios, etc. that will keep you interested and engaged in life
• Discuss and identify issues that keep you "stuck"
• Keep a food journal so you can see how you eat and identify patterns
• Learn more about healthy eating habits and vitamin supplements
• Drink more water and cut down on high-calorie drinks

....and numerous other strategies that are discussed jointly between you and your coach.