In This Issue:

What’s In Your May Basket?
Gardening for Nutrition, Fitness and Your Soul
Declutter Your Space AND Your Life!
Losing Weight during the Recession
ND Dietetic Convention Highlights

What’s in your May Basket?

Do you remember the tradition of making May Baskets and taking them to the homes of friends and family, ringing the doorbell, then running away to see if they could catch you?  I remember spending time as a child making May baskets out of wallpaper swatches, carefully choosing colors and designs for the cone-shaped baskets, carefully gluing or stapling the ends so that no candy could leak out the bottom, then adding a flat handle for carrying.  Filling the May basket with candy was so fun, giggling in anticipation of watching that surprised look opening the door at the sound of a ringing bell before the chase began!

I don’t know if children still continue this tradition, and if they do, I would doubt that the baskets are made of wallpaper swatches.  These traditions were so important because they emphasized spending time to honor friends and family, yet they cost very little.   Maybe one of the blessings of this harsh economy is an opportunity to reflect on the things that money CAN’T buy?  Maybe this is a chance for us to stay home and be with each other instead of being on the go all the time? Maybe it is true that Less is More? 
What is in YOUR May basket?  Can you dig deep into your childhood to find the things that you did as a child that were free that enriched relationships and made life grand?  I think of things like running through the sprinkler, lying on the grass and making dandelion necklaces or whistles out of reeds, playing Starlight, Moonlight and Ante –I – Over….. writing love letters but never mailing them…telling ghost stories on the back steps…. reading books under the shade trees in the back yard…… Okay, now it’s your turn…. what comes to YOUR mind? 
Bev

Gardening for Nutrition, Fitness and Soul

I guess it takes Michelle Obama planting a garden on the White House lawn to inspire others to consider the thought of digging up some soil to grow produce.  Then I salute her!   She brings a fresh look to the thought of planting, weeding, and reaping the benefits of home-grown vegetables.  Not only can this benefit the pocketbook, but body, mind and spirit, too.  Consider these benefits of gardening:

• An hour of gardening burns approximately 200-300 calories an hour. (But that doesn’t necessarily give you license to eat whatever you want….) 
• Gardening uses all muscle groups.
• Many people find weeding the garden relaxing and even “therapeutic”, thus stress-reducing.

To make gardening relaxing, and not taxing, be sure to stretch before you start, use your legs instead of your back when bending, and take breaks so that you don’t over-do.  Take time to truly stop and smell the roses, even if they haven’t bloomed yet!

Declutter Your Space AND Your Life!

This past winter I conducted 2 coaching groups on Decluttering: More Than Cleaning out Closets through the University of North Dakota OLLI program (for people 50 and better.)  Oh, my, did this group declutter… not just “stuff”, but bad habits, items on their schedules, commitments they no longer needed, and even computer addictions! You see, the definition of clutter is “any obsolete object, space, commitment, or behavior that weighs you down, distracts you or depletes your energy… anything that no longer serves you.”  This definition is from Julie Morgenstern, who authored the book we use with the class, When Organizing Isn’t Enough: SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life.  We use the book as a foundation for setting weekly intentions and holding each other accountable for cleaning out the clutter in our lives.   This was very effective, and we had a lot of great discussions, group support and empowered attitudes in the process.  I am still receiving correspondence from participants who are still decluttering and feeling victory from having more space in their homes AND their lives. For info on the June OLLI Decluttering class, go to www.olli.und.edu

Losing Weight during the Recession

There are 2 ways to look at any situation: positively or negatively.  Some people think the recession is a terrible time to lose weight because they can’t afford the health club membership anymore or those “expensive” fruits and vegetables.  Me?  I see it as a great time to lose weight and improve health.  And the reasons are paramount.  The healthier you are, the less money you will spend on out-of –pocket medical payments, lost work time, and over the counter remedies.  The more time you spend at the health club, the less time you will spend being sedentary, which is one of the leading causes of obesity.  Here are 2 key things you can do:

• Instead of giving up the health club membership, how about cutting down on costly entertainment that brings calories with it, such as movies (with buttered popcorn), sporting events (i.e. Dome Dogs) shopping with power lunch attached, etc.  And make the health club membership worth your while by using it at least every other day.  Take the family there.  Spending the afternoon in the pool with the kids is a great way to connect while getting physical activity. 
• Instead of cutting down on fruits and vegetables when shopping, how about having more meatless meals?  Meat is the most costly part of any grocery bill.  (By the way, the USDA reports that the average fruit and vegetable serving costs only 25 cents.)
• Buy fruit and vegetables when they are in season.  This is also when they taste the best.  Consider buying frozen produce also.   The quality is great since it was harvested when fresh, yet is often cheaper than fresh produce. And even when fruits and vegetables increase in price, you still get the most bang for your buck compared to chips, pop and candy!  

Another weight issue is when people automatically lose weight in the summertime and gain it back every winter.    Others stay the same every summer but the weight keeps creeping up in the winter.  Are you in one of these two camps?

If so, perhaps I can assist you.  For the people in the first camp, wouldn’t you like to show up next summer already at the weight you like instead of coming off your annual yo-yo of “up in the winter, down in the summer?”  For people in the second camp, wouldn’t it be nice to not have to buy bigger clothes every summer?

As a dietitian and a coach, I have learned one thing from my clientele over the years.  It isn’t just about eating and exercise, although those two factors are certainly important.  We need to get to the heart of the issue, whether that is stress, emotions, long-ingrained habits, or other factors.  Through coaching conversations we will come up with a customized action plan that will get you on the path to permanent weight loss.

North Dakota Dietetic Convention Highlights

I presented at the North Dakota State Dietetic Convention in Fargo on April 17-18.  I was honored to speak on none other than the topic of… you guessed it… coaching!  I encouraged my peers to consider adding coaching credentials to their “already LRD” since coaching helps our clients to be more successful. 
I attend this convention every year, and always come away charged up with new energy and knowledge.  I get the energy from seeing colleagues from across the state as well as meeting new ones.  I make a point to meet dietetic students because I love their enthusiasm and enjoy hearing about their unfolding futures.

From years of going to conventions, I don’t take too many notes about content anymore.  What I do, though is keep an action list of what I’m going to do with the information I gleaned.  I will share with you here how I do that.

First I will present the knowledge piece I gained from my favorite presentations, and then I will share my action plan.  Consider doing this the next time you attend a meeting.  It makes the meeting more interesting and when you come home you aren’t burdened with piles of notes and papers… just your little Action List! 

If you would like a free consultation, please contact me bev@mycoachbev.com or

701-610-9529. 

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