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February 15th 2010

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The Science of Self Monitoring

The Science of Self-Monitoring
Did you know that over two centuries ago, Benjamin Franklin used detailed grids to measure his progress toward the 13 goals he had set for himself? He believed this logging process deepened his self-understanding and enhanced his efforts to modify his behavior.

Today, many accomplished people use the same technique in their efforts to achieve more and perform better. Re-search confirms that recording aspects of behavior and progress toward goals—a process psychologists call self-monitoring—enhances success in making a variety of life changes. When combined with goal setting and other behavioral-change techniques, self-monitoring is a simple but powerful tool.
How can you use self-monitoring tech-niques to accomplish your exercise and healthy-living goals? Use these tips below from Stephen J. Kraus, PhD, a success scientist and author of Psychological Foun-dations of Success: A Harvard-Trained Scientist Separates the Science of Success From Self-Help Snake Oil (Next Level Science 2003).

Why Self-Monitoring Works
Self-monitoring helps you avoid the “all-or-nothing” thinking that can often lead to the “snow-ball effect” (suffering a minor setback, considering yourself a “failure” and letting that small lapse snowball into a major relapse and a total collapse). Furthermore, self-monitoring tends to counteract people’s natural tendency to overlook pro-gress, as when dieters focus on times they broke their diets, while minimizing all their successes.
Self-monitoring also facilitates “course corrections.” For example, if you record progress toward eating and exercise goals, you may learn that you are suffering from “weekend snowballs”—making solid progress during the week, but letting minor slips snowball into periods of inactivity and overeating on weekends. Armed with this knowledge, you can then make “course corrections”: On weekends, you can redouble your efforts to exercise and perhaps decide to cook healthy meals at home rather than eat out.

Tips for Success
You will be more motivated and comply better with an exercise regimen if you begin by tracking progress on controllable behaviors, such as workout length and intensity, rather than physiological “outcome measures,” such as changes in weight, blood pressure, body fat or medication needs. You can’t wake up in the morning and say, “I will lose weight today.” But you can say, “I will go to the gym today” or “I will eat vegetables four times today.”
Another way to make self-monitoring successful is to use a spreadsheet to create visually compelling charts and graphs of your data. Put the data in front of you in a comprehensible, inspiring format. Most people find steadily increasing lines that reflect improved strength and conditioning or minutes exercised far more motivating and understandable than rows of numbers.

Motivation to Improve
When you are performing well, self-monitoring gives you the small, satisfying reward of re-cording progress and giving yourself a “good grade.” When you are struggling, giving yourself a “bad grade” is a gentle but thought-provoking reminder that encourages you to evaluate alternative strategies. If you do give yourself a “bad grade,” however, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, develop a strategy to help meet your goal. For example, if you skip your workout one day because of obligations at work or home, you can develop a strategy that will help you stick to the regime. That strategy might be waking up an hour earlier in the morning to do the exercise or writing the workout in your appointment book and honoring it as you would a business meeting.

IDEA Fitness Journal, Volume 2, Number 1
January 2005
© 2005 by IDEA Health & Fitness Inc. All rights reserved

Recipe of the Week

Vegetable Bake with Grilled Chicken

Vegetable Bake with Grilled Chicken

4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
400g pumpkin, cubed
2 carrots, cut in chunks
2 potatoes, cubed
1 red onion, cut into wedges
2 ripe tomatoes, quartered
2 slices wholegrain bread
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
40g (2 tablespoons) Flora pro-activ spread
400g skinless chicken breast fillets, grilled or barbecued

Preparation Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 40 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Place all vegetables in a large ovenproof dish, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes.

2. Place bread, garlic, parsley, pine nuts and Flora pro-activ into a food processor and pulse until a crumbly mixture is formed.

3. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over the vegetables and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with grilled or barbecued chicken.

Quotes of The Week!
	“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” Johann von Goethe “Just go out there and do what you've got to do.” Martina Navratilova

Passport to Health and Fitness
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Collect Your Gifts: When we receive your referrals, we'll send you a thank you gift to let you know how much we sincerely appreciate the trust you have placed in us by referring a friend, associate or family member. With every referral you will also be entered into a drawing for our Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly travel get away prizes.

Simply click here or log on to www.ftpassport.com to enter your friends and family members to receive a complimentary introductory session and free gift when they com in for their session. Passports are also available in the studio, for you convenience.

Skipping Meals Not a Good Weight-Loss Strategy

Skipping meals is discouraged as a weight-loss strategy. Although it might seem that cutting out a whole meal’s worth of calories would lead to weight loss, studies show that this strategy rarely works.

Most people who skip a meal and its 300 to 600 calories usually increase how much they eat at other meals in the day by at least the same amount of calories. These people, like others who come to a meal overly hungry, tend to eat rapidly, which makes it difficult for them to sense when they’ve had enough.

People who skip meals may also snack more. Although the snacks might be small in size, they can add up to a substantial number of calories and replace the calories missed at a meal.

Furthermore, even if you manage to keep a low daily total of calories for a few days by skipping meals, weight loss requires reduced calorie consumption over an extended period of time. Meal-skipping that leads to considerable under-eating for a few days often results in more days of overeating.

Source: “Nutrition Wise” by Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, American Institute for Cancer Research, www.aicr.org.

10 Tips to Better Balance

When we’re young, we generally take our balancing skills for granted. As we get older, however, we find that our balance (the ability to sense where our bodies are positioned and adjust muscle tension to maintain alignment) isn’t what it used to be. The consequences of losing our ability to balance are significant. Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults. Every year, 30 to 50 percent of people over age 65 sustain a fall; many never recover completely. Even less serious falls can result in physical adaptations (i.e., becoming less active, moving more slowly) that negatively impact the quality of life.

While some effects of aging--such as impaired vision, reduced reflex speed and decreased sensitivity of skin receptors--can impair balance and coordination, poor balance is not inevitable. Many physically fit older adults practice the same balance exercises as recovery strategies as younger adults and, as a result, are generally better at controlling their balance than their inactive peers.

How can you maintain good balancing skills? San Diego physical therapist Deborah Ellison, PT, an expert in functional exercise design, offers these tips and balance exercises:

1. Improve Your Cardiovascular Fitness. Improvements in this area will contribute to better gait, cardiovascular health, weight control, motor control, self-confidence and other factors that impact and strengthen your balance.

2. Practice Single-Leg Standing, or Yoga Balancing Postures. Start by standing on a solid floor and then progress to working on a thick carpet or soft foam surface. Also do side-to-side movements, such as side-to-side step touches or small squats, moving to the right or left. To add more challenge, use a wobble board (a device used by physical therapists that consists of a circular board on an unstable base), curbs, stairs or inclines.

3. Try Tai Chi, Qi Gong (Chi Kung) or Hatha Yoga Classes. These offer gradual and consistent balance exercises and training.

4. Practice Shifting Your Weight From Side to Side. If you stand on two digital scales, one under each foot, you will be able to tell how much weight is on each side.

5. Practice Walking Faster and Stepping Over Objects in Your Path. This will help improve speed and decrease hesitancy.

6. Improve Your Flexibility. Take stretching classes and learn how to do a stretching routine at home. Stretching exercises help increase your range of motion, particularly at the shoulder, torso, hip and ankle. Using a fitness ball will contribute to better pelvic mobility .

7. Improve Overall Strength. Lower-leg strength is particularly important for walking, maintaining dynamic balance and preventing falls. With the aid of a fitness professional, develop a complete strength program that will help you both reduce falls and recover from them.

8. Build Your Self-Confidence. Fitness programs increase your confidence and decrease your fear and apprehension about falling, thereby reducing your overall muscle tension. Develop your skills and your confidence by doing drills in which you negotiate curbs and stairs, and walk along a taped line while carrying cups of water.

9. Consult Your Physician. In some cases, custom-made orthotics (devices worn inside shoes) can help with balance. Also, your doctor will know if any medication you are taking may be affecting your balance.

10. Look for Professionals and Programs That Specifically Address Balance. As the population ages, balance exercises and training is becoming a more common component of fitness programs and services offered by personal trainers and physical therapists. Find a program that works for you.

Staying Grounded
Keep safety in mind as you practice balance exercises and training. Make sure walls, chairs or other objects are nearby to use for support, and do not practice balance exercises that are too challenging for you without the help of a professional.

No single factor is responsible for balance loss, Ellison notes, so it is important to participate in an integrated physical activity program that includes cardiovascular fitness, strength training, flexibility workouts, coordination work and balance exercises. In general, doing cross training and trying new activities--even simple ones, such as biking--will help you maintain your physical abilities as you age.

© 2010 by IDEA Health & Fitness Inc

Brookfield 262.780.6350 | Delafield 262.646.5444 | Wauwatosa 414.453.9800 | Woodbury, MN 651.436.8137