The Benefits and How-tos of Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and not eating. I like to think of it as a strategy of when to eat versus a diet that imposes what to eat.

If you think about it, we’ve been fasting throughout evolution, from our hunter-gatherer days, long before refrigeration existed or food was available on demand.

I like the fact that the practice is simple and flexible. There’s nothing new to learn, no new foods to shop for, nothing to prep, no tracking of calories or macros required. It’s merely an experiment with my schedule, making adjustments in accordance with how I feel.

How to Stay Well in Changing Times

Once again, we’re undergoing a huge shift as we being to re-engage with the world, not just in terms of getting back into our social routines, but readjusting to the pace of change.

Author Ray Kurtzweil, who is the Director of Engineering at Google, has written about the acceleration of change, predicting a doubling of paradigm shift rate each decade. That’s a staggering rate of increase, translating to 20,000 years of technological advance in the 21st century instead of 100, based on his models.

How do we navigate these relentless seismic shifts? How can we fortify ourselves to manage the oncoming waves of change that will inevitably speed up as the years continue?

Thoughts on Re-emerging Post Pandemic

Are you starting to sense a bit of a shift? Last year at this time, the pandemic was taking hold and the future felt fearful and uncertain. Today, there’s hope of a return to some sense of normalcy.

But our next steps can feel tentative. A recent American Psychological Association survey found that 49 percent of adults feel uncomfortable about returning to in-person interaction when the pandemic ends. And 46% don’t feel comfortable returning to pre-pandemic life. Here are three themes along with a few suggestions to make your journey back into the world a little easier.

Turning Wellness Challenges Into Wins

Think back to the last time you arrived at a new place in mind, body or spirit. Perhaps you achieved a wellness milestone, started a new job or project, or made it through a life transition of some sort. Think about how good that felt. Now think back further. What prompted you to make the change? Most likely it was some sort of challenge, either an internal realization, like dissatisfaction, stagnation or a new desire, or there was an external event that prompted the action.

Challenges are not immovable objects. Everything shifts and changes over time – people, places, experiences, personal and professional situations. Here are a few ways to reframe your challenges as opportunities and create a path forward.

Creativity as a Wellness Practice

There are many activities we can do in the name of wellness. Along with good food, enjoyable movement and deep rest, I have found creative living to be an impactful, healthy addition. Creativity has been a lifeline. It’s what kept me feeling alive and optimistic while I navigated years of professional obligation and expectation. It was always there as a reminder of what felt true for me.

Incorporating creative expression into your life is a vital part of a holistic, healthy lifestyle. Having creative outlets allows us to express what we’re feeling and connect with the forgotten parts of ourselves, that is, who we are at our deepest levels. Creativity is a way of filtering experience. It isn’t something you need to do; it’s how you bring your life experience into your days.

How to Fall in Love with Your Exercise Routine

I’m going to let you off the hook right up front. You can stop doing the exercise you dread. If you want to stay healthy and fit as you age and get between the recommended 150 and 300 minutes of movement per week, I’ve got great news – there’s lots of ways to do it and have fun in the process.

Forcing yourself to do exercise you don’t enjoy will only last so long before your willpower gets depleted. Conversely, if your view of exercise is something that can release stress and be pleasurable, you’ll be more likely to do it. Once that endorphin release is experienced on regular basis, it will fuel the desire to do it again. The goal is to find an activity or group of activities that uplift and energize you mentally, physically and spiritually.

What Our Ancestors Can Teach Us About Healthy Eating

Much of what I learned about healthy eating came from my grandmother’s kitchen. My grandmother lived to be 96. And my great-grandmother, who emigrated from southern Italy through Ellis Island, lived to be 88. What was the secret to their longevity?

My grandmother knew where her food came from – even in a city of 8 million people. Long established relationships because she was born and lived within a one block radius her whole life. Her “healthy” eating patterns came out of necessity, not from being health-minded. She was grateful for what she had, spending a moment before she ate to be thankful for the food before her having lived through the Great Depression. Now that I think about it – this was mindful eating before there was such a label.

Deepening the Conversation Through Journaling

I usually journal in the morning. I use a hard-cover notebook with the pen clipped into the wire spiral that I keep on my bedside table. It’s not unusual for me to write a page or a paragraph at 5am while sipping my coffee and greeting the day. I always start my entries with the day, date and time in the upper right-hand corner of the page, take the first thought that bubbles up and begin writing. Inevitably, I wind up in a place very different from where I started.

Those unconscious leaps are gold for me. It’s what’s kept me going through the decades – to uncover fresh insights and learn something new about myself.

The Gift of Self-Care

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day in North America, the UK, France and Australia. There’s a joy in expressing affection for our significant other with some sort of token or celebration, or both. But kind words and sweet actions can extend beyond our one and only and it’s the perfect time to gift ourselves with the same love and thoughtfulness in the form of self-care.

Good self-care is having respect for our own well-being and happiness. It starts with recognizing where we can judge or be critical of ourselves, especially when negative thoughts or feelings arise, and choosing kindness. With practice, we find we can consistently choose more compassionate behavior. This can lead to making healthier choices for ourselves in mind, body and spirit. A great way to ensure we continuously find ways to recharge our batteries is to create a workable, flexible self-care plan.

Living a Mosaic Life

I recently had a conversation with Kristie McLean, a multi-media documentarian, coach and global advocate, who shared an alternative approach for those who may have felt frustrated by past, well-meaning career advice to “follow their passion.” Kristie recommends welcoming all interests into your work by exploring activities you enjoy and creating a value-aligned portfolio.

When she was creating her own portfolio many years ago and exploring themes running through her numerous passions, she asked herself this question: “Are there ways you can connect your passions in unusual and creative ways so you don’t walk around feeling splintered and fractured, but instead, make a beautiful mosaic of all these different things?”

What is Warrior Spirit?

I have a saying hanging in my office that reads: “The life you live is the lesson you teach.” It reminds me that in order to be a thought leader in the women’s wellness space, the words I write and speak matter. The actions I take matter. And the daily choices I make matter. They matter not only to me, but to those who give me the privilege of their attention as part of the Athena Wellness tribe, through reading my writing, listening to my podcast and being a student or client.

This doesn’t mean I have to get it right all the time. The people I’ve learned the most from, whether I’ve met them in person or studied them from afar, embodied the qualities I wanted to enhance in my own life. And I learned as much from their missteps as I did from their successes. Witnessing their growth gave me permission to expand my own inner horizons and possibilities. It’s a lifelong practice – one that honors my Warrior Spirit.

Holding the Empty Space

In the weeks leading up to 2021, every time I thought about the new year, the image that came to mind was of my opened hands, palms up, forming a cup. Curious. I had no idea what it meant, but it felt like a clue.

For decades I’ve been a bit of New Year’s resolutions devotee. I’ve made basic resolutions in my twenties and created elaborate goals and related milestones in my thirties. The last ten years have been more about heart-based intentions – deeper changes on how I wanted to live my life. Always actionable and measurable. But 2021 was proving to be more elusive.

Clearing the Way for the New Year

It had been on my list of “to dos” for way too long. You know those tasks that get transferred from one week to the next, then to the next month, the next season? For me, it was sorting through boxes from my last move. Sounds innocuous enough, but I moved into my home more than five years ago. Sigh…

What moved me forward? Watching the wildfires burn from Los Angeles to Seattle during this record-setting year. I felt a strange combination of fear for those evacuating and my friends who live in those states, awe at the destructive power of nature and reverence for those called to the front lines to combat and report on it.

And then I asked myself this question: “If you needed to quickly evacuate your home, what would you take?”

An Unusual Holiday Season

It was Thanksgiving in the U.S. a few days ago. For me, and I’m guessing for many of you, it was an unusual day. As someone who has celebrated with throngs of relatives my entire life, the quiet was a new experience. But a good day emerged out of the strangeness, one filled with reflection and gratitude.

During a long walk after a minimal but delicious midday holiday meal, I stumbled upon a realization that stopped me in my tracks. This year, with its volatile ups and downs, is no accident. This year is a bridge from where we were to where we’re going. This year is leading us toward new territory. This year is asking us to ready ourselves for the journey ahead. Pow! With that as the backdrop, I thought about the upcoming month. Here are the questions I posed and some musings on each.

The Pros and Cons of Fitness Tracking

For years, I have been a relentless fitness tracker. In the 1990s, I kept paper logs of my workouts and meals. In the 2000s, I graduated to looking up macros online for more precision. When wearables were introduced, I tracked my steps, my heart rate and the distance of my runs. Then apps became commonplace and I was in heaven – one place to keep all of my fitness metrics along with my goals and trending capabilities. Ultimately, fatigue hit.

Business metrics are a way of life in the corporate world and I lived by them for decades. They are still important to me as a business owner, but my daily activities are no longer ruled by incremental measurement. Perhaps this is why I put my fitness tracker and related tools away. Here’s what I learned…

“The Athena Principles” Key Takeaways (Tenth/Final in a Series)

Wellness transformation is like a slow-motion chain reaction. When you find ways to reconnect with yourself, you make better wellness choices to support the aim to live more wholeheartedly. That, in turn, leads to optimized well-being. Again and again, in the thousands of decisions you make each day, you will become more aligned with your deepest desires.

“The Athena Principles” Ongoing Learning Curriculums (Ninth in a Series)

Researchers have shown that learning can change our brain chemistry for the better by improving cognitive connections and adaptability to change. In addition, learning deepens our understanding of different subject matters, helping us to stay relevant and engaged.

Learning new things about interesting topics also fuels enthusiasm, especially if you build this learning into your everyday life. Daily learning keeps you curious and can lead you outside of your comfort zone (where the magic happens) to an overall richer, more creative life experience.

“The Athena Principles” Morning & Evening Routines (Eighth in a Series)

Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.” A great way to keep yourself aligned, on-track and engaged is to establish and follow a workable morning and evening routine. I haven’t met or read about someone I respect who doesn’t have some sort of daily routine, especially in wellness, sports or business. Once I understood that their lives were built deliberately, I began emulating their practices until I found a combination that worked well for me.

“The Athena Principles” Accountability – Principle 5 (Seventh in a Series)

The last of five Principles outlined in The Athena Principles, Simple Wellness Practices for Overworked Professionals is Accountability. Okay, I admit it, this isn’t the sexiest of the Principles. But I define accountability as a systematic way to check in with what you commit to accomplish, celebrate the wins, and compassionately adjust where needed. It’s also a powerful determinant of whether or not your wellness intentions will be realized.

“The Athena Principles” Growth Mindset – Principle 4 (Sixth in a Series)

The fourth of five Principles outlined in The Athena Principles, Simple Wellness Practices for Overworked Professionals is Growth Mindset. How the wellness journey is viewed determines one’s level of progress and enjoyment. When you adopt a growth mindset, you begin to focus on what is right in your life. The more you practice this mindset, the more you’ll being to experience challenges as opportunities that will, in turn, position you to move forward with more confidence and ease.

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