Motivation (it’s what comes before you act) often confused with GOALS.

(I seem to be on a blogging binge this week…can’t image why!?!?! -insert sarcasm)

The following is re-posted from the healthy living site my sister-in-law and I have been working on since the first of this year.

Motivation (lack there of) is such a common excuse for not getting fit and healthy that I thought the following should be repeated. I sent this content out as an email way back in January. Also, as I have been preparing for the Boston Marathon (this Monday!), I have struggled to control my diet the last couple of weeks. You could say I have lacked the motivation, which seems preposterous, because, what bigger motivation can there be for a runner than running the Boston Marathon! The fact is that it’s a lack of setting up motivators that has led my diet to be less than a runners’ ideal. The consequence? Feeling bloated and marshmallow-y at the starting line.

What is motivation, anyway? 

Again and again people lament about not being able to find the motivation to do the things they want to do, or think they should be doing.

People often say things like, “I want to exercise more, but I’m just not motivated” or “I need to lose 10 pounds but I don’t have any motivation”.

Embedded in those thoughts and statements is the idea that motivation is this enigmatic thing, that it is either a quality that resides within a person, or it is some ephemeral entity that visits people and pushes them along.

I am happy to share with you that motivation is neither of these things. Motivation is simply something in your environment that evokes a particular response. For example, a whistling tea-kettle motivates you to turn off the stove. Being hungry (or your stomach growling) motivates you to find something to eat.

What’s great about knowing this is that now you can set-up your environment so that you take action toward your goals! A lot of people who want to lose weight put pictures of models and celebrities in places where they will often see them. I very much caution against this practice! I equally caution against placing your own “before” pictures on the fridge to stop you from reaching for snacks. Don’t put things around your environment that might lead you to criticize yourself, or make you feel like your goals are too big to conquer. That is the opposite of motivation.

Instead, put signals in your environment that remind you of the progress you are making, and that make you feel great about whatever stage in the journey you are at now.

For example, I may not be a 3-hour marathoner now, but that is my goal. So within my line of sight when I wake up in the morning is a collage of race bibs and photos from my best races so far. If I wake up and am having a hard time getting out of bed to go for a training run, that collage reminds me of how far I have already come, from running a 10 minute mile to under 7. That usually lifts my spirits, gets me excited about running, and before I can think anymore I am out of bed and lacing up my trainers. That, is motivation. A signal in my environment saying to me, “you can do it, go on, do it!”

Another common (misguided) practice in motivation is buying or keeping clothes that are too small. If your jeans don’t fit, or your clothes are uncomfortable, go get ones that fit! Buy clothing that makes you feel good, that feels good on you, and that you are not self-conscious about! Respect your body, LOVE your body. A great side-effect of this practice, rather than punishing your size 12 body with size 6 jeans, is that your overall stress level will be lower, because you aren’t constantly uncomfortable or thinking about how you need to lose weight. If you are less stressed, you’ll make better choices, and likely eat healthier, or less, or both. That is motivation!

Now, go on, set yourself up for success!

*Annabelle

For more healthy living tips, recipes, and exercise programs check out AT: Your Life !

WIAW – attempts at self-management

I stepped away from posting for about 10 days because I was overwhlemed and needed to scale back on self-imposed obligations for bit. I am happy to say it worked, I feel like Annabelle again, and after 9 terrible training runs in a row, I ran a fantastic 10-miler last night. Phew. Hopefully tonight’s Yasso-800′s are kind as well.

WIAW seems a great way to ease back in. Again, I really hate tracking food or calories, keeping a food log, or taking pictures of everything I eat. It just creates anxiety. I do really enjoy, however, operating on a theme (like Coffee WIAW, or esthetic WIAW).

Welcome to What-I-Ate-Wednesday: The Self-Management Edition: Here are a few things I did/made/prepared to help myself stay healthy this past week.

I was out of town for work last week and tried to avoid eating fast -food. I was in a town that is made up of mostly farm land, so there were a lot of options besides the typical McDonalds-KFC-Pizza Hut Triad. I did hit a Panera Bread for lunch, twice, and found (after 90 minutes of wandering around and getting lost) Sushi for dinner one night.

I packed my staples for the hotel, and managed to not feel off-track :

Yes, there is babyfood in there.

The other night (back home and in my normal routine) I was really exhausted and feeling a little bit sour-stomached. I made a bowl of cream-of-wheat with a large helping of blueberries, and some honey and cinnamon. It’s was very soothing and sent me right to sleep. This is one of my favorite snacks/meals and I can’t believe I hadn’t had it for months! I am going to pack some in April to make at the hotel in Boston (yes, I am already making my food list for that trip).

Would you like some cereal with those Blueberries?

We are still working in a sort of professional refugee camp, makeshift offices, shared spaces, and controlled chaos from the office break-in a few weeks ago. A natural side effect of this is that there seems to be more frequent trips to Starbucks and snacky offereings. To keep myself from over doing it, I made a giant “gorp” bin to last all week.

Yum...random assortment of options that leave me better off than donuts.

Speaking of donuts, in celebration of Fat Tuesday (I guess…) someone brought donuts from a local Polish bakery into work. I knew if I watched everyone else eat them and didn’t have one, I would just eat a lot of crap later on. We only have so much self-control to exercise in a day. So I had one, and it went down just fine!

Incidentally, I hit the donut lottery: chocolate cream!

*Annabelle

List making is not always self-managing: A tip.

I have been at my new job just long enough now that each day, the more I get done, the more items I have to add to my To-Do List. It’s as if each accomplished task generates two additional tasks. To be frank, if I am doing my job right, this is the way things should go.

The problems with this phenomena are as follows:

Sometimes things arise that take neccessary priority and so the list isn’t touched for hours, or the whole day.

Sometimes, the list is so long, that many things get completed and crossed off, while other, equally important things are obscured, and forgotten.

Sometimes, just having the list gives the impression that things have been completed, and distractibility rises as production drops off.

And often, even though things are being crossed off the To-Do list, it keeps growing and so the list goes from one sheet, to two, to three, to four…and then just the sight of it becomes so aversive that it’s overwhelming and it gets hard to know where to begin!

I was at this point on Thursday when a co-worker came into my office, and caught site of my 4 sheets long To-Do list. She gave me a tip that has already proved very useful, and effective.

At the end of the day take the items you did not finish and move them to the end of the list with a star next to them. That way things that are done are out of sight, the list is shorter, and you know which items have been carried over (or put off).

Each time an item gets moved it gets an additional star next to it.

If an item has three stars, then it’s likely you have been avoiding it. So just get it done!

I immediately tested out this technique and it colsolidated my list that day from four sheets to two! I snapped out of my overwhelmed stupor and got a few more things ticked off by the end of the day.

It’s true that by the end of Friday my list had grown up to 3 sheets, but now I felt a much higher level of control over it, and I will continue to use this method.

I am not sure who coined this strategy (said co-worked learned it at a seminar or workshop of which I don’t know the name), but I have to say, paired with a count-down timer and some salient reinforcers, it’s a behavior analyst’s dream!

Go do more!

*AB

What I learned this week.

The week was a struggle. My training sessions have all gone reasonably well (have you noticed that when someone has a concrete athletic goal, they are no longer “workouts” but rather, “training sessions”?). But I am in a rut of cynicism that I can’t seem to shake, and almost everything I hear seems offensive. Minor, annoying events seem to be overwhelmingly frequent, for example: A huge dog jumped me (jumped ON me) during my run yesterday, and when the owner did absolutely nothing (not even eye contact, let alone pulling out a leash for Cujo), I fumed for like 10 minutes. I like most dogs far more than I like most humans, but I am not going to grab the collar of a dog I do not know to wrangle him for an insolent owner.

I have been wanting to get another dog (I know 3 dogs in a 1 bedroom apartment in the middle of a major city would be irresponsible). I’d love a large breed dog that I can run with. My Shih-Tzu’s are great sprinters, but on even walks that go longer than 20 minutes they form a rebel resistance, laying down and refusing to move.

On the look out for any more Cujo attacks.

When I am in a stubbornly sour mood, I find the way out is often through recognizing that out of ALL experiences, and passages of time, come lessons. So I am hereby going to start a weekly blog tradition of posting “What I learned this week”, every week. (Probably on Fridays, so I can do training re-caps on Sundays)

What I Learned This Week

1)

A tablespoon (OK, many a teeny bit more) of peanut (or almond) butter mixed in with oatmeal (+raisins and cinnamon) is really, really, satisfying. Another win for nut butters!

I got the idea from a post on Fitblogger (click to go to the article).

 

I think I will try adding sliced banana, and a glass of OJ, which will make the most perfect post-run, pre-work breakfast!

2) (warning: overshare coming!)

Even if you know something is a culture-bound phenomenon, does not mean you won’t still fall prey to it. (either I really hate my life, which I don’t think I do, or I had serious PMS this past week). Alright, I know I am going to get questions about this so I will just expand here: I was in a shitastic mood from the moment I woke up last Sunday morning, until ,well, unknown (still pretty grumpy). Although there are several circumstantial reasons why this might be (all very mundane, I promise) when my period arrived yesterday, which is always a surprise because apparently using a calendar is not one of my strong suits, I was like “Eureka, my pissy attitude and rude comments directed toward those I love and adore are totally and irrevocably justified!”.  No, my moodiness is an appropriate response to stress and frustration, and thusly I need to be accountable.

3) (which is really an extension of number 2)

The next person who I hear say “man, you’re in bad mood, are you having your period?” will get punched (seriously, that’s annoying AND sexist).

Screw you. Love, AB

4)

Don’t rush the plan, enjoy the pace. My 8-miler yesterday felt effortless. No, not effortless, it felt just right, a perfect fit. My running base going into training even this far out from Boston, was much larger than when I trained for Portland in 2010 (by larger I mean more consistent), and so I have had recurring impulses to sneak in extra mileage. But I am steadfastly committed to the 10% rule this time around, I WILL NOT increase my mileage from any given week to the the next, by more than 10% (ok maybe as much as 15%, but that’s the design of the cities fault, not mine). The reward for such diligence? Gloriously enjoyable long runs!

5) (actual, measurable wisdom gained)

WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE. I gave that one all-caps because it’s revolutionary, seriously. This started on Wednesday when one of my coworkers and I were chatting about finance and she said “it doesn’t really matter HOW MUCH money you make, it’s how you MANAGE it”. The woman is a genius. I realize this might be common knowledge. But I am a financial simpleton, a blank slate, clueless, and in debt (under water, as they say). I began using a free personal finance service about a month ago so that I could obtain a factual baseline of how my money is coming in, going out, and to see how and how long I am going to be living with my school loans hoisted on my shoulders. I have been slaving away at it, but felt like I was making zero progress. After the conversation above, I realized that even though it seemed like I was making data-based decisions, I wasn’t. So, I spent a few hours on the phone and have found (so far) $90 worth of monthly savings. Living within your means, working with what you have, does not mean just going to Starbucks fewer times a week, and acknowledging the difference between “wants” and “needs”, it means pulling the trigger on excesses you are allowing other people to control. The savings I found came from asking for credit card fee’s to be changed, downgrading television service (I don’t have much free time anyway), and re-allocating how I divvy out entertainment costs. My goal is to find another $200 in savings, which will officially put me as “working with what I have” or as a financial advisor would probably say “living within my means”.

When it comes to training, working with what you have is also relevant, and #4 (above) is really pointing right at it. If you don’t have the base for a 40 mile week, don’t aim for one!

The concept of working with what you have is one I also apply daily in my work. I do it from the ground up and so never really thought about it in a concrete way. I help service and care providers figure out what skills they, and the individuals they serve have to work with, and how they can shape those things to meet larger outcome goals. It’s a beautiful thing. (toot-toot, that’s my horn)

Have you heard of this website? It might save my life and financial soul: Mint.com

Did you learn anything this week? Over-shares are always welcome

Training update tomorrow,

-AB

Week One: Totals and inferences. Lesson One: Interpreting your data.

Tracking Sheet, on the fridge so I don't forget, lasts a month so I am encouraged to keep tracking (don't want to waste my past efforts)

Let’s start with the raw numbers, shall we?

• Average Calories (kcals) eaten per day: 2,615
• Average Calories burned during exercise per day: 544
• Change in weight (lbs) Monday to Monday:  -1.5
• Largest fluctuation in 24hrs: 2
• Distance between heaviest and lightest weights: 3.5
• Change (one week) in body fat %:  -.2

A one pound loss of fat would equal a loss of 0.25% body fat (based on my starting total body weight and percentage of body fat). So it is reasonable to conclude that MOST, if not all of the weight lost this past week was fat and not water or muscle. This is a very nice thing. In fact, it’s ideal. I don’t necessarily want to lose “weight” but I do want to change my body composition to one that is more athletic and thus will perform better. So if next week the scale said my weight was the same, but my fat % was less, then I would have gained lean mass (erm…muscle), and that rocks! (I am not measuring my waist etc. but if I were you’d likely see a change there in such a case)

Here is how to calculate these figures:

1. Weigh yourself
2. Find out your body fat %. If you don’t have a scale or other device that will do this, ask at your gym. You can likely ask a trainer to do it for you. If they are smart and looking to gain clientele, they will do it for free.  (of course, you need to do this weekly, or monthly, so you may want to just purchase a device)
3. Calculate how many pounds of your total weight are fat. Take your total body weight and multiply it by the percentage of body fat (don’t forget to move the decimal place).  For example, if you weigh 150lbs and your body fat % is 42: 150 x .42 = 63
4. Further divided that 63 pounds of body fat to see how much weight equates to 1%. Same formula. 63 x 0.1 = 6.3  For every 6.3 pounds you lose, that’s 1% of body fat, gone….or vice verse.
5. Shift your focus from losing pounds overall to shifting your percentages from body fat to lean body mass….   we’ll discuss this further in the future.
6. Check my math….I failed algebra twice in school (seriously).

You may have noticed that I eat a lot. I do, it’s no secret, and I do not to feel bad about it. I am not setting a goal to reduce my calorie intake at this point because I lost body fat this week while eating around 2,800 calories most days. Also, I am aware from past experience that when I set a low calorie target I develop a pattern of binge eating and exercise purging, which is very unhealthy and borderline pathological, and I have plenty of pathology to go around, with an eating disorder. That said, based on the data from this week, there is a clear positive relationship between how many calories I eat, and my weight the next morning.

You may be wondering how it is possible that a woman who is (a little over) 5’5″ and of an average physique could possibly lose weight while eating so much! Well, I don’t know, but here are some things that could be affecting my composition (only more data collection will tell):

• I lift weights, and I like to lift heavy
• I watch my heart rate, and set in-session targets, every time I do cardio
• My daily calorie intake is cyclical (I think….we’ll need a couple more weeks of counts to be sure), every 3rd day my intake is at or below 2,000 calories
• my data collection might be drifting. For the first half of the week I measured and counted everything, meticulously, and calibrated the calorie counter (but still tried to over, rather than under, estimate figures). The second half I was not as diligent (but still recorded in real-time). So, the counts for the last 3.5 days might be inflated. But maybe not, no way to know for sure.
• I have lymphocytic colitis. So, um, well, I poop a lot. And my body has an immune response to many types of foods, so I reckon there are times when things like fat and protein are not processed at all.
• I am always hungry! I realized that this week, I really don’t often eat when I am not hungry…I am just very often hungry.

Interpreting your data

All of the information from my tracking sheet is also recorded in an excel sheet and graphed on my computer. It is A LOT easier to see trends, cycles, and changes in graphical form than by staring at a long list of numbers. Also, you can break things up in several different ways to see relationships between you variables.

**As soon as I can figure out how to convert my graphs to image files (times failed to date: 14) I will post them to really help you see what I mean.**

This first week on the graphs will mostly serve as a baseline, but I can see that many of my variables seem to be cyclical, how much I eat, how many calories I burn, my weight…I am looking to see, in the next week if there is a visible relationship between how much I eat and how much I burn via exercise. Also, it will be interesting to see if, as I get stronger, whether I burn more or fewer calories per session.

A few interesting findings from tracking my heart-rate

1. I always burn fewer calories during exercise when  I workout first thing in the morning versus at any other time. ( I am NOT a morning person, it takes me for-EV-er to wake up and be alert….my boyfriend thinks it’s hilarious, and probably annoying too, how little sense I make before 8am)
2. When I do my resistance training after cardio I burn more calories (in session) than when I lift first. It is unclear whether this is because I am more warmed up and thus lift better/harder, or if it is an effect of “afterburn“.  I am a skeptic of afterburn theory. I will definitely be looking into this more.
3. Setting calorie burn, and target heart-rate goals for a workout really helps with motivation to keep going in the face of boredom, stress, or general malaise.

Where to go from here

At this point you have your plan (as discussed in my last post), you have which measures to track, and you have some data (yay!). The next step is to keep tracking and keep working. Look at your data and if anything (depending on your goals) is going in the wrong direction (not completing workouts, weight going up rather than down etc) make a change (calorie goals, increase in exercise duration and so on) and put a note on your tracking sheet that you made a change on that day.

Good luck!

AB

Plans and Contingency plans: seat-belting yourself into the healthy and fit wagon.

Reinforcement is great, and can be effective to increase how often you workout or make good food choices. But arranging your environment for success is about more than consequences (rewards, punishment, results), it involves antecedent interventions. What’s that? Planning, my friends, planning. In other words take time to set yourself up for success and the rewards will follow naturally.

This post is a long one, so here are the steps to planning and sticking to a successful health and fitness plan. I will be covering some points very briefly, others with more depth. Mostly using myself as an example.

1. List your goals
2. Outline your current obstacles as well as motivators
3. Figure out how much time per day and days per weeks you have to workout, grocery shop, and prepare food
4. Create a workout schedule
5. Create the workouts (or ask a fitness professional to help you)
6. Take baseline measures
7. Self-monitor as you go
8. Adjust the plan based on how you perform/stick to it
9. If you fade or fall off, look at what went wrong and pick it right back up
10. Repeat your measurements periodically
11. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I spent some time last weekend creating a 9 week plan for myself. I have spent sufficient time grieving over bowing out of Boston, and am ready to set my eyes on being able to run happily through the summer. I made a short list of my fitness and healthy living goals and then looked at them through the figurative lens I would use when developing a plan for a client. The end result is a 9 week plan of resistance training, cardio workouts, dietary goals and guidelines, measurable variables, and contingency plans for when things don’t work or I fall off the wagon.

I have some baseline measures for comparison and will share weekly updates here for those of you who decide you might want to follow along with a similar plan. Within those updates I will report any data-based decisions I make, what I am measuring, and how I measure it.

Below, I will outline my 9 week plan, please let me know if you want to join in on the challenge, I would love to compare our data collection effort to further illustrate the importance of selecting the best variables for YOU, as an individual!

Laying out an individualized plan, that is doable, capitalizes on your strengths and preferences, and will give you the results you want is not an easy thing to do. It is important to begin your plan based on where you are currently, your current health concerns, fitness level, schedule, energy level, and motivations MUST be taken into account. This takes experience, insight, and a candid look at yourself. It is totally doable, but it really needs to be done right.

In fact, even if you have hired a personal trainer this may not be a service they provide. Not really. Because it takes time, attention, and it needs to be updated frequently. That said, it IS a service you should feel totally comfortable requesting of your trainer, and if they cannot provide it to your satisfaction: hire a new trainer. I realize this may sound harsh, but I have worked a lot as a trainer, so I can say it.

If you ask your personal trainer to make a plan for you to follow outside of session, please be prepared to compensate them for the time they spend working on  your plans and analyzing your data and progress. That does not mean handing them a wad of cash under the table. Please keep things legitimate and professional, perhaps by suggesting that you use one of your sessions, bi-weekly (or whatever suits your needs), to write, edit, and review your program and progress. If your trainer is a real cracker-jack they will be able to work these tasks right into your normal appointments.

Here is my plan for the next 9 weeks. I am including the rationale behind many of my choices and other tips to help you in your own planning.

I will doing my resistance training via a split schedule. That means that each day of the week is assigned a different muscle group. I do not recommend jumping into a split schedule regimen if you have not been resistance training consistently 2 or 3 times per week for the past 3 months. If you do not have a resistance training foundation currently and want to start, begin with 2 or 3 sessions per week of circuit training or split upper and lower body workouts.

Split Weeks 1-4

• Monday: Shoulders/Abs, Cardio 30-60 mins
• Tuesday: Chest/Biceps, Cardio 60 mins
• Wednesday: Abs and Flexibility, Spin (instructor) 50mins
• Thursday: Legs, Cardio 30-45 mins (easy)
• Friday: Back/Triceps
• Saturday: Rest or Pool workout (e.g. water jogging or lap swimming)
• Sunday: Spin and Body Blast (instructor), Flexibility

Each day in the split has an assigned workout. They all have between 6 and 10 exercises, and I am not performing the workouts as circuits, but rather each exercise on it’s own (typically 15, 12, and 10 reps) so that I can work more accurately and effectivelyto exhaustion and build muscle and strength while in the weight room. The endurance will come because I have bunches of cardio scheduled as well. Each resistance workout should take between 30 and 40 minutes to complete.

It’s really not as complicated as this might seem. I simply repeat the same workout every Monday, Tuesday and so on, for 4 weeks. Each workout has a “card”, I haven’t laminated (yup, I have a laminator, I love crafts!) my split cards yet so here is a picture of a “workout card” I made for a friend ages ago:

Custom made, discrete, and reusable.

Week 5: Based on past experience with working out on a split schedule I will most likely struggle to get through the workouts on week 4. I should be stronger, but will probably be bored with the routine. So week 5 is meant to be a vacation from the super-structured routine. It will also be a step-back or recovery week.  The workouts are as of yet to be determined but the main focus is to have fun!  Here’s the basic structure:

• Monday: 45 mins Step mill & Fun core workout
• Tuesday: Rest, Flexibility training
• Wednesday: Spin (instructor)
• Thursday: Swim 2,000 yds  :)
• Friday: Rest, Flexibility Training
• Saturday: Total body circuit training: 60 mins
• Sunday: Spin and Blast (instructor)

Split Weeks 6-9

• Monday: Back/Abs, 60 mins Cardio
• Tuesday: Chest, 60 mins Cardio
• Wednesday: Spin (instructor), Legs
• Thursday: Flexibility, Swim or Rest
• Friday: Shoulders/Abs, 60 mins Cardio
• Saturday: Biceps/Triceps
• Sunday: Spin, Blast (instructor)

This is much like the first four weeks but with a different distribution. The workouts are made already, but depending on how I feel and how my progress is going they may be tweaked. Also, I hope to be use running as most of my cardio for weeks 6-9.

I have a chart to check off each day what I have accomplished (Printed at the start of each week and slapped up on the fridge). I am wearing my hear rate monitor during all workouts and record in an excel chart (and an iPad app that I am playing with) how many calories I burn through exercise each day.

Date	Resistance	Cardio	Weight	Calories
3/21/11
3/22/11
3/23/11
3/24/11
3/25/11
3/26/11
3/27/11

Baseline (comparison) Measures

This Monday morning before working out I recorded my:

• Weight
• Body fat %
• Muscle %

I kept a complete food log Monday and Tuesday that will serve as baseline for my average calorie intake per day. I likely will not record my food every day over the next nine weeks. For two reasons 1)  calories BURNED is a far more accurate measure because it is from my HR monitor based on my performance and my metrics 2) in order to keep the calorie count calibrated it is tedious and time consuming.

In retrospect, I wish I had performed some 1 minute timings of several exercises, a heart rate recovery test, and a timed challenge workout to provide some comparison measures for fitness. Time permitting I will do the timings tomorrow before my schedule workout. Then, if I have the energy on Saturday I will do the challenge workout.

Ongoing measures:

Resistance training: I am not keeping track of exactly how many reps and at what weights I do the exercises each day. That said, I will typically follow the prescribed 3 sets (15,12, and 10 reps) of each exercise. The tedious nature of recording every weight I use and any extra or missed reps takes away from the overall enjoyment and flow of workouts, so I won’t be doing it. Additionally, to do so post-workout is likely inaccurate. For the most part I (and you) remember what weight I use one week to the next and will progress pretty intuitively.

Body Weight: I am weighing myself every morning (at least, that’s the plan). No, I would not recommend this to anyone else, it’s overkill and not necessarily meaningful. I am doing it to follow the fluctuations associated with having colitis (I have seen my weight go up or down 6lbs over the course of a day because of responses to food). Additionally, tracking the eb and flow of weight will make a great looking graph to share, I suspect.

Fat and Muscle Percentages: I will be measuring these (with my awesome scale), each week on Monday morning to monitor whether any weight loss or gain is due to a change in body composition rather than hydration/dehydration or inflammation.

Fitness measures: The tests I mentioned above (that I have yet to collect baseline for), will be repeated at the start of week 5, and at the conclusion of week 9.

Nutrition: I don’t have a real concrete plan here. I don’t have any faith in the fidelity of calorie counting and to be honest don’t subscribe to the law of thermodynamics when it comes to training. AND my focus here isn’t totally on weight loss, but rather, on fitness and improving athletic performance. I will be setting weekly nutrition goals based on how my digestive system, energy levels, sleeping patterns, and mood are. For now, I am keeping a food log with calories to illustrate my point about accuracy and reliability.

Caloric Expenditure: I will wear a HR monitor for all (hopefully) workouts, both resistance and cardio, and record calories burned via exercise each day. Should my weight change, I will change the settings on the monitor to reflect it (for accuracy of calorie burn).

The Contingency Plan

Please forgive my confusing terminology here. I don’t mean a plan of contingencies (if I do this, then I get this, or this happens), I mean a backup plan for when/if I “fall off the wagon”.

I like to think of a fitness plan a little bit in the way you would plan a persons recovery from addiction (no, I am not saying we are all food or laziness addicts). What I mean is a plan for relapse. In this case relapse equates to anything that leads to missing workouts and/or not recording data (as outlined above). These things could be stress, boredom, eating poorly, not sleeping enough or anything else that knocks me (or you) off the plan.

So what to do if workouts are missed. This is why I am keeping the tracking sheet (checklist) on the fridge. If I miss one or even three days of scheduled workouts, the plan just shifts down and I continue to do the “cards” in order. Clearly, this will get confusing and hard to manage if I miss a lot of workouts. If more than 3 workouts are missed for 2 or more weeks in a row, then that is cause to review the plan and revise, because it was likely not realistic.

The beauty of keeping all this data is that you can then make, say it with me: data based decisions! That means that if the plan isn’t working it will be visibly reflected in the data, and you can adjust your plans to get things going back in the right direction.

Still with me? If you have read this far then I have confidence that you have what it takes to plan, self-monitor, adjust, and succeed!

To recap, here are the steps to creating and sticking with a fitness regimen:

1. List your goals
2. Outline your current obstacles as well as motivators
3. Figure out how much time per day and days per weeks you have to workout, grocery shop, and prepare food
4. Create a workout schedule
5. Create the workouts (or ask a fitness professional to help you)
6. Take baseline measures
7. Self-monitor as you go
8. Adjust the plan based on how you perform/stick to it
9. If you fade or fall off, look at what went wrong and pick it right back up
10. Repeat your measurements periodically
11. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I look forward to hearing some of your goals, plans, and outcomes!!!

-AB

Where art thou motivation? (how to get off your ass)

We all are. Even if you don't know it. (shirt from zazzle.com)

As emails have begun coming in with topic suggestions, a few themes are becoming visible. First up: motivation.

If you are having a hard time getting started on a workout program, a healthier diet, or simply in making progress toward any goal check out the different types of motivation ruts and ways to stir up some action below.

The curse of the can’t get started

What is motivation anyway? I believe, strongly, that motivation is a product of action and not the other way around.

Did you ever notice that when your schedule is wide open, you get nothing done. Why is that? It might be because you think, “hey, I have tons of free time, so  I will just relax for a while”. In other words, you sit around and rely on the mood to strike you to get up and be productive.

Conversely, during those times when you have several appointments or deadlines, or a long to-do list, you seem to manage to get your dishes done too and you make it to the gym for a class or to lift weights. In other words, you already up and moving so you might as well keep going. Behavior is like dominoes.

Does that sounds familiar to you?

Given the example above, you remain inactive until something makes you take action.

Enter: Behavioral momentum , you probably have a good sense of what it is just by its name. It’s not much different from its physics counterpart. Something in motion stays in motion until something stops it. Behavioral momentum is also a technique used by behavior analysts, teachers, coaches, and parents. You’ve probably employed it yourself without even knowing it. When someone is noncompliant, you ask them to do something that you are sure they will do, you repeat this a few times and then ask them to do what you really wanted them to do in the first place, and chances are they do! (for my behaviorist readers. Yes: Hi-P, Low-P)

Remember tired old sitcom bit of two people fighting? One says “yes” and the other says “no”, they do this rapidly back and forth until the first switches what they say to “no” and in response the other person says “yes”, to which person one inevitably shrieks “ha!” and the duped one says “heeeey! you tricked me!” — I think it is fair to consider this behavioral momentum.

Need a starting point? Do you have between 10 and 30 minutes right now? Try one of my minimalist workouts and see if it gets you motivated to do more!

Perhaps you notice something is missing from this section so far: you ARE really busy, and you can’t seem to get started toward your health, fitness, and personal goals. Well sure, we’ve all been there. You’re in a routine, and it seems like there is no time for anything else to be added. Or you are too tired to add more (we’ll address this topic in a future post). Remember the second part of the definition of “momentum”: an object will stay in motion until something gets in the way (yes, I can rephrase laws of physics).

Interrupt your routine. Make it small and enjoyable and you’ll likely find that the time and energy is there. Want to start going to the gym after work? Have a friend meet you there, not just any friend, a friend who you really enjoy being around, one that you laugh with, one that you have wanted to catch up with for a while. Set the duration of your workout short, just 15mins to start.

Momentus Interruptus

You were doing really well, you were making progress and feeling great. Then you went on vacation, or got sick, or got bored with your workouts or recipes or piano sonatas. Or perhaps you feel as though you aren’t making progress or enough progress an give up.

Now you want back in, but you feel stuck. You lack the motivation. If you were keeping a training log/journal, or were charting your progress or routines, then the solution is right there! Take a look at those records, be your own inspiration. Very often people are making progress but haven’t revisited their goals is so long that they don’t even notice how far they have come.

Here is an example I came across this week. A girl wrote into Oxygen Magazine, she said they were “frauds” and that she was going to burn her clean eating book and all their magazines because in the past 11 months she has lost only 84 pounds. I don’t know about you, but I think that kind of progress is amazing, and moreover, it is proof that what she is doing is working! I also understand her frustration, based on other information she provided she still has a way to go to reach her final goal, and is disappointment by some of the unintended side-effects of weight loss (i.e. the routine, loose skin).

If you have your training records, or are working on a project (like a quilt, or writing), and your interruption has been brief, look at where you fell off pace and see if you can achieve a level just below that today, and just keep going.

If you don’t have records, no worries, be your own competition. Challenge yourself to start today, and whatever you do, do more tomorrow, and more than that the next day. Set a few milestones and when you achieve them reap a reward!

If you are tired of the gym, not making the progress you want, or your training (or work toward some other personal goal) was interrupted, make some smaller goals and get some momentum back (yup, back to the dominoes). Start really small, and reward yourself! As you accomplish small goals, move on to bigger or longer term goals. Repeat each goal as many times as you need to, and don’t punish yourself for backsliding, it’s OK to move back from step 4 to step 1 if that’s what keeps you moving.

Here is an example of a hierarchy of my personal workout goals (and reinforcers) when I was recently having a visit from Captain Colitis, which typically lasts between 48hrs and 2 weeks.

1. Focus on each minute of a workout class (mini-mini goals), tell the instructor I might leave early. (watch 1 hr of junk on my DVR, guilt free)
2. Workout at 75% for 20 mins (= eat something awesome)
3. Complete 8 high intensity intervals within a 45-60min cardio workout (= usually I feel so good I don’t need a contrived reinforcer)
4. Complete a personal strength workout after a spin class (where I am the instructor) (=Staaaaaarbucks coffee)
5. Complete 2-4 strength sessions in one week (= buy a new fitness magazine)
6. Stay on track for a month (= buy an item at Lululemon, or register for a road race)

My priority list gets stuck on repeat at number 3!

If this describes you, then you may fall into the “I am so busy, I have no time to exercise/cook/shop healthy/practice my violin/weed my garden…” When your commitments do not allow you the time to take care of yourself, this may be a case of altered reality.

If you like lists like I do you probably have tried to come up with “priotirites” You know, like:

1. family
2. work
3. workout every day
4. friends
5. practice guitar (or whatever)
6. etc….

Here is the problem with a list like this, it is not realistic! At 2pm, when you have a 4pm presentation deadline set by your boss, your number one priority is probably not your kids….and that is OK, stop worrying about them and focus 100% on that presentation!

If one of your top priorities is to run 5 miles everyday, but you have been working overtime, have a cold, and have no healthy food in the house, it is totally acceptable to slide food shopping and a nap into the number 1 or 2 priority slot.

Here is a suggestion on how to do that: write a list of your 5, 10, or 15 priorities. Cut then out (strips). Then, each night before bed, lay then out in the order that is appropriate for the next day. Don’t be afraid to re-prioritize once the day gets going!

Be realistic and focus on what you are doing. I am not a fan of multitasking, for me, I know it slows me down and I get nothing completed. If I make a list of priorities based on that day, how I feel, and what my commitments are, then focus on one thing at a time, I get a lot more done!

There are certainly more motivation road blocks to cover. I think I will give procrastination it’s one post . So please, comment, email me (annabellewinters@me.com), and let me know: what do you do to stay motivated? What inspires you do set goals and go after them?

Go on – get focused!

–AB

Do you really save money and get the same results working out at home?

Trying to look tough in front of my "essential equipment". Did I pull it off?

Like so many things in life, the answer to this question is not the same for everyone, and probably not even the same for one person at different times in their life. Before I break it down for you, here is my situation (feel free to scroll down to the how-to):

I am extremely fortunate to teach group exercise classes for a really nice, small chain of gyms, and thus, enjoy a free membership! Only once in my life have I paid for a membership and it was such an awful, drawn-out, and painful experience when I moved and had to cancel that I have made it a goal to always obtain gym access via sweat (and my charming personality, of course) rather than cash. Also, over the last year I have been slowly building a collection of equipment for my own home gym:

not shown: Bosu ball, jump rope, Pilates ring, foam roller, HR monitor, and countdown timer

So far my total investment is at about $650, and I hope to get a few more pieces (a snazzier heart-rate monitor and heavier dumbells) in the coming months. If I were paying for a membership to the gym I work at I would spend double that, annually.  I am currently doing some “research” and “beta testing” on how to reliably measure exercise efforts and different ways to use ABA to increase exercise quantity and quality, so I have many of my classmates currently working out in my living room each week. My apartment is not very big so my furniture is in a constant state of unrest.

My living room when the gym is "closed". My coaches Lucy and Penny lounging.

Here is how I think you should decide whether to

1. Build a home gym and cancel your gym membership.
2. Keep just a gym membership
3. Keep the membership and select a few “essential” pieces of equipment to have at home.
4. Alternatives to both

1. Cancel your membership and build a home gym

Are you a runner or cyclist and routinely workout, outside, 2 – 4 times per week? Do you also only go to the gym twice a week or less? If your answer to these questions is yes, then you may save between $800 and $1,500 (depending on your gym and what equipment you choose to buy) a year by working out more at home.

Take a month to record your gym-going activities. If you find your sessions at the gym are under an hour you can probably do you strength training and cross training at home.

If you are not an outdoor athlete, how many times have you been to the gym in the last month? If your answer is less than 4, you may be donating money to your gym rather than paying for a service and access to equipment. If your membership costs less than $60 per month, than you are likely “breaking even”, by that I mean that the cost of your membership, and the cost if you were to pay-per-visit is either very close to your membership or less. In this situation I suggest that over the next week you start a list, jot down the things that keep you from going to the gym, and see if those same things would prevent you from working out at home. If you need help with this, send me an email, I can help, I have charts.

If you find you aren’t using your gym membership AND you do not enjoy running, cycling, rollerblading, or some other outdoor activity that is readily available make a list (yup, I LOVE lists), of activities you enjoy. These can be class formats, basic movements (example: reverse lunges are my favorite leg move), sports, games and so on. No rules to this list. From the list you will begin to shape a picture what who at-home equipment or facility access might be appropriate for you.

CASE STUDY 1: My brother is a cycling stud in southern California, with a 4 yr old son and a demanding work schedule (due to talent and trade). He wasn’t making it to the gym very often so he looked for alternatives, initially he just got a trainer for his bike so he could cycle at home or during poor weather, but alas, cross training calls! Here is how he describes his home set-up “2 bedroom house 1150sq/ft. Plus detached one room “guest shed.” Initially I thought we had limited space for a set of adjustable dumbbells and bench. But for approx $50 more ($500) I was able to get a folding cable system, designed to fold into the corner of the room. When folded in sticks out 38″ along the walls and 31″ from the corner (triangle altitude).”

My brother has the cutest trainer in the universe!

He plans to add a pull-up bar and a few other small pieces of gear, still, he’ll be saving about $500 a year over his previous gym membership.

CASE STUDY 2: A graduate student. Translation: on a budget. This girl knows what exercise she enjoys but currently cannot afford membership to a gym that offers the level of quality she wants, so she pops her bicycle on a trainer and has a collection of yoga essentials. If she wants to workout with friends or at a gym there is certainly always the option of a day-pass of a free guest pass (from a friend with a membership). Her living space is small and she has the logistics figured out.

you can almost always find used trainers on eBay or Craigslist for anywhere from $50 to $250

Out of the way, but in sight so motivation stays active!

2. Keep just your gym membership

Is going to the gym part of your daily routine? Do you go to the gym more than 3 times per week? Do you have friends that go to the gym with you or are you friendly with other members and/or staff? Do you regularly attend the same classes? Are there group instructors you really like at your gym? Is there more you like than dislike about your gym? (go ahead, make a list, I dare you) Do you often invite people to your gym? Do you mention your gym, classes, instructors, services, or facility equipment on average at least once per day?

If you can answer yes to most of these questions then, well, you probably are not reading this post. But if you are, then stick with it! You and your gym are a good fit! If you are looking to save money and think you have the dedication to work out regularly at home, I would suggest making it a goal to workout out at home (body weight routines etc.) every other day for 3 weeks. If you do that, then maybe you would like a home gym and occasional visits to the real deal. But I suspect you’ll miss the environment and social culture of your gym. If you are really concerned with the cost of your membership (hard times, I get it) then look at other expenses and parts of your life. A few dollars saved here and there each week (eat at home, not out!) will quickly grow to cover your membership. Investing in the things that keep you active are worth it!

3. Keep the membership and select a few “essential” pieces of equipment to have at home.

Sometimes, the gym isn’t enough, and sometimes you just don’t feel like going there. Someday, when I have the space and the extra money (because I am totally a snob when it comes to this particular point) I will purchase a treadmill for my home. Large equipment like that isn’t really my point here, though.

Here is a sample list of what I mean by essential equipment (each is linked for your window shopping needs):

• foam roller
• resistant bands
• heart rate monitor
• yoga mat
• stability ball (or bosu)
• kettlebell
• jump rope

If you were to collect all or just some of these items you could complete a satisfying workout at home. Additionally, if you are like me, and many other people, you often forget, or don’t want, to stretch at the gym. Or also like myself and many others, perhaps you are a bit tightness and injury prone. Several of the items on the list above are fantastic ways to supplement the work you do at the gym, either as therapy, cross-training, or simply as way to sit calmly with yourself and work out some tension.

Additionally, if you are a regular gym-goer (3+ times per week), having some basic equipment at home will help you to stave off frustration during busier weeks when you find yourself too tired to make it to a class or the weight room. Heck, you can even have a glass of wine while using the foam roller (I won’t tell). Similarly, during those times when you get out of sync with your fitness routine, if you have a kettlebell or a jumprope, you can perform a quick interval workout in the time it might normally take you to navigate the locker room or wait for your turn on the cardio equipment during peak gym hours.

CASE STUDY 3: One of my girlfriends is an avid cyclist and a competitor. She does indeed have a gym membership but she also has a cycling coach and belongs to a team/training group. Being totally head over heels in love with cycling , and as a goal-oriented person she has a tucked away set up at home to make sure she can always get her training time in.

Told you she has a coach

4. Alternatives to the gym

In the first section of this discussion I suggested making a list of active things you like to do. Chances are, for many of the things on that list there are clubs or other types of organizations devoted to just that thing.

For example, if you enjoy swimming, chose your gym because it has a pool, and typically only use the pool, then you may want to consider ditching the gym and joining a masters swim team . Nearly every city has more than one, and it is rarely ever required that you posses any great talent for swimming. All you need is to enjoy it. For what is likely the same or less monthly fee than your gym membership you will get coaching, a practice schedule and people to workout with. There are similar teams and training groups for running, cycling, hiking, rock climbing, tennis, walking, and many more activities.

Boutique style facilities are becoming more and more popular. That is, store front personal training gyms, small yoga studios, and an array of new group class formats offered in store front settings. Explore your area, ask people what they are doing. Most of these places will offer a free class or session for new customers. Don’t be afraid to try new things!

Can you get the same results at home as at the gym?

Absolutely, yes. Unless you are hoping to win the next Arnold Classic. And only if you actually do it (workout and eat healthy).

Final things to consider

Go ahead, let out a sigh. Here are some more things to think about as you plan where to invest your time, money, and energy in order to become fitter and healthier:

• What are your fitness goals?
• What health considerations do you have?
• What do you love/hate about the gym?
• Will you work out alone?
• Do you work out hard/controlled enough on your own?
• What is your budget (monthly, yearly, upfront)?
• Is your current set up working?

The minimum you need to successfully be fit and healthy: YOU.

Check back later in the week for some sample workouts where the only thing needed is your body!

-AB

The goals are the same, the discouragement is new.

I have a pretty serious case of tendonitis in my right foot. I had xray on Friday upon arriving in California to visit my family. A stress fracture cannot be ruled out without another xray in ten days or so.

I likely won’t be able to run for 2 weeks. Which means I probably wasted $200 on the Boston Bound program (but hopefully not!). The doctor said to try running when I am pain free for most of the day. He advised me to go back to training at 50% then build by 10% each week. That’s the golden rule for training anyway, so I get that. Any activity that hurts, don’t do. Pretty common sense. Makes me wonder why I bothered to go to a doctor at all.

I was so upset about the injury that I didn’t bother working out at all, and arrived home feeling out of shape, beaten up, and fairly self-pittying. My plan for today was to wake up with that behind me and my focus back on my goals and each step that I need to complete to get there.

Step one for today was to workout for 2 hours. After 30 minutes on the bike, and 2 sets of a lower body circuit my thoughts were focused on the list of things I need to have done for school, how messy my apartment is, and from there it was like a flood-gate of all the things that are a source of anxiety right now.

I managed to finish a third circuit then felt so on the verge of screaming that I stopped. In my experience if I begin to feel angry whilst working out, I will likely get injury. Some people get a great workout if they are angry and need stress relief, not me, I totally fall apart.

The next thing that happens to me when stress snowballs is that I become paralyzed. This usually means that nothing will get done and I slip further from my goals, which in turn creates more stress.

I feel fairly confident in stating that many people experience either this cycle or one very similar. Here is what I do. I stop, take a breath and make a list. Yes, it’s a to-do list, and it is in order of priority. However, I rarely complete them in the order listed, and sometimes I do two things at once (or toggle back and forth). The important thing is that it makes the cascade of stressors smaller and manageable. Each time I cross a task off the list, I get to take a break or some other reinforcer of choice (often the reward I chose is to do something on the “if there is extra time” list).

1. Thesis Edits
2. Check and update client charts and graphs
3. Finish reading for tonight class (only 1 article to go)
4. Email remote clients to check and update self-monitoring and accountability programs
5. Finalize training appointments for the rest of the week
6. Meet with classmate to do final prep. for our presentation tonight
7. Upload articles for translational class (I present in 2 weeks on ABA in fitness!!!)
8. Finish new playlist for tomorrows 6am Spin class

If there is any time left:

• sweep floors
• do a load of laundry
• sew 2 quilt squares
• work out for another 45-60 minutes
• groom the dogs

This Saturday the Boston Bound group is doing a 17-miler in Barrington (hills!). I have been really looking forward to it, and these training runs are the reason I signed up, I really doubt I will be able to run even a mile by then. My foot hurts just sitting here, but, I will keep stretching, icing, and compressing and hope for a (very) quick recovery.

I hope you’re having a successful week!

-AB

 

A slump and how my favorite training tools usually come to my rescue. (but maybe not this time?)

Here is a weird thing that I do, and I wonder if anyone else does: when I am having a bad day/week/month, I look for confirmation that things are indeed shitty, or that I really have slipped out of momentum toward my goal(s).

Too vague? Let me explain. I am really struggling with being tired, and really moody this week. I didn’t enjoy running on Monday or Tuesday. Partly, I think, because I have not been able to run outside in nearly two weeks, and I am tired of the recirculating air in the gym, and the bizarre (off balance) feeling of the treadmill belt under my feet, and the feeling that people are watching me run. (also, as with other women, I experience this pretty much every month)

I felt my motivation waning yesturday and was looking forward to my first group run with the Boston Bound program. Then, I got out of work 20mins late which meant I wouldn’t make it to Piper’s Alley in time to catch the group, plus the wind chill was between -15 and -20, so it’s possible the run was cancelled anyway. I had a headache that was going on 48hrs so rather than go run at the gym, I went to petsmart with Jorge and bought toys for the dogs (they turn 2 today), then went home.

Having an unplanned day off of running made me feel even worse. Next, I overate, and this made my headache worsen. I went to bed with enough time to get about 7 hrs of sleep, then got up do a few little things. Then went back to bed and played with my iPad for an hour. It was really hard to get up this morning, and the first thing I did was step on the scale. I was a pound and a half heavier than I was for my “weigh-in” on Sunday morning.

One of my instructors at school this morning was talking about how we frame things and that determines a lot of how we behave. That is, we each have rules about ourselves, and we say those rules to ourselves, and then behave in a way that conforms to those rules. Here is an example from me:

Rule: when I don’t get enough sleep I feel crappy, eat crappy, make bad decisions, and don’t get things done.

SO: I am tired so I don’t even bother to pack my lunch and dinner (based on the rule above). I am tired so I don’t even bother to try to get certain projects done (based on the rule above), I play “plants vs. zombies” in bed for a hour because I am already so tired who cares if I get 5 not 6 hrs of sleep.

That was my day yesterday, and when you look at it in this way it illuminates exactly how ridiculuous I was/am being, and shows how much control you really have over how you feel. If I had packed my food, stuck to my to-do lists, and just gone to bed properly, I probably would have gotten up feeling back on track today.

The point my instructor at school was making (we were actually talking about one of my clients, but I, or anyone, could really benefit from this) was that if you identify what the rules are that you have for yourself, then you can break them. Once you have broken a rule, you will see that everything is just fine, great even, and that your rule was not an accurate representation of reality.

My point in the opening of this post, is that I KNEW my weight would be up. Of course it would, I had a whole bunch of extra food in my gut from the night before, I hadn’t used the bathroom yet, and I barely broke a sweat in spin class yesterday. Even though I knew it would be up, I weighed myself at a time I typically wouldn’t, as if looking for support (a rule maybe) for feeling like crap. as if looking for something to make me feel worse. Looking for excuses.

My charts and graphs offer additional support for the rule theory.  On my mileage comparison you can very clearly see that while training for the Portland Marathon I also hit a wall in week 7 (this week), my total mileage was only 23! I had logged 24 already this week. Also, you can see that although I skipped a planned run yesterday I have only had 1 day off of running in the last 8, which is probably too much!

This is evidence that I need to practice “practicing what I preach”. I may be great at self-monitoring, but I clearly need to work on my self-management!

I went to the gym this afternoon planning to run 8 miles on the treadmill. My right foot started to hurt at about mile 6. At 7.25 I had to stop. It felt like someone had dropped a boulder on my foot! I hobbled home, and am elevating it now. I am afraid to get in the shower, it hurts to put weight on it. I am really scared I hurt myself for real. I also just ate a TON of graham crackers…something I know disagree’s with my stomach…there I go following false rules again. Junk food will not heal my foot, hydration, ice, and anti-inflammatory medicine might help, but have I done that? Nope.

In an effort to snap out of this cycle I would like to share some of my favorite training tools with you:

• The 2010 Boston Marathon on my DVR ( I like watching it while I am on my Spin bike)
• My spin bike (in the living room)
• Yoga Straps and Night splints (to stave off planters fasciitis and achilles tendonitis)
• Coffee: to get things moving
• Immodium: to slow those things down
• The “Stuff You Should Know” podcast
• “This American Life” podcast
• Runners World Pace Calculator
• Excel and Numbers for iPad
• 
  http://www.gmap-pedometer.
  com
• Stuff: contrived reinforcers  - lululemon, Fitness Magazines such as runner’s world or M&F Hers, books by runners and other athletes.
• Nike+ Sportband (I hope I can upgrade to a GPS enabled device soon)
• Apple sauce that comes in a tube/pouch (I can’t stomach the sports gels)
• 100% Fruit Juice!  (any kind will do, especially if cut with fizzy water)

What things support your training? How do you get out of a slump?

If you want more information on Relational Frame Theory or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (the rule stuff I was talking about) here are some resources:

http://contextualpsychology.org/act

http://www.ironshrink.com/articles.php?artID=071227_what_is_relational_frame_theory_one

http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/090208p36.shtml

-AB