Bittersweet Farewell

This is a bittersweet blog for me as today is my last day at Weiss Communications. I am leaving my current position after almost five years to enter the world of non-profit event planning full time. While my new adventure is incredibly exciting, it will be hard to leave such a great team, great product and great company behind me. I’m extremely thankful for the people who I have gotten to know over the last five years and for the experiences I have had. It has truly been an incredible journey and I know that I am a blessed person.

Obviously the stress of a major life change has caused me to lose focus on the task at hand- a healthier life. The work begins anew now as I rededicate myself to healthy eating, exercising and a full journey to a healthier life. I hope you all will continue your journey as well. For me, it never is an easy one. The road is full of tons of pot holes, pit falls and other road blocks. However, no matter how hard the journey is, it truly is one worth taking.

My advice to you:
- Take to take one day at a time.
- Never give up.
- Be kind to yourself.
- Always find the strength and goodness within.
- Remember that healthy living is a journey!

I wish you all a journey full of health, love, laughter and joy!

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by Lindsay Eichelman

*Lindsay's new position will be the American Liver Foundation Heartland Division's Events Manager. If you wish to contact Lindsay, leichelman@liverfoundation.org

Biggest Loser Part II

So in case you all missed the memo- the Biggest Loser just started up with another new season. Season eight to be exact. If you have been following my blog for awhile now- you know how obsessed I am with this show! It really is incredible.

At first glance some would think this show is embarrassing, somewhat morbid and almost kind of gross. The contestants continue to be more and more obese and the stakes for these contestants are obviously higher as their health is in serious danger as the seasons chug along. But I promise you, watch an episode and you’ll be hooked. It is by far the most honest and inspiring reality show out there.

As we embark on a new season with 16 new contestants to get to know over the coming weeks, I’m just excited that my Tuesday night inspiration is back! With that inspiration comes a new Biggest Loser Challenge with some friends and family as well. I’m thankful to have the Biggest Loser as another tool to put in my toolbox on the road to a healthier lifestyle. While the new contestants vow to make a change, I am joining them! Thanks to NBC for putting out such an inspiring show. I hope you will all tune in on Tuesdays and let me know what you think as the season progresses!

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by Lindsay Eichelman

Again - After falling off, I’m hopping back on the fitness wagon

Alright people.

Totally painfully honest moment coming in five... four... three... two...

I’ve failed.

AGAIN.

Now before I start on the never-ending cycle of beating myself up, I’ve already decided that I’m doing something about it. Again. So stick with me through the negative stuff...

I’ve started a little trend with myself: become unhappy with the way I look, get motivated, lose the weight, get in better shape, love the way I look and feel, slack off, gain weight, get out of shape, get mad at myself, beat myself up, gain more weight, become unhappy with the way I look and repeat.

Sound familiar to anyone else? I feel like a broken record, so I know I sound like one.
Once again, I’m back to “repeat” on this cycle. I’ve gained back all the weight I lost on my little Biggest Loser challenge, and I couldn’t be angrier with myself. I had been completely ignoring the scale the last few months because I was too busy enjoying my summer, but after my recent trip with the Dream Makeover finalists I realized I needed to get it together.

So once again, I’m starting over. I’m hoping this is the last time I have to confess this. Again.

I’m remembering my new mantra to simply keep at it. Hopefully, that mantra tied with a few goals will start me on my way... AGAIN.

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by Lindsay Eichelman

All In The Family Why do all family functions seem to revolve around food?

I started out just thinking it was me. Surely I was the only one who has a family that loves to eat as much as my family does. Surely I was the only one whose every family function somehow revolves around food. Right?

Wrong. Oh-so-very wrong!!

Why is it that so many families find it necessary to bond over food? I swear every fun family I know loves to eat and has a bulk of memories centered on some type of eating activity!

For one close friend, it’s huge family dinners at the lake complete with meat on the grill and delicious desserts. For another, it’s making homemade ravioli and indulging in a huge Italian feast. And don’t even get me started on all the favorite “mom” recipes I have for each and every one of my best friends.

Now, I don’t want to act like food is some sort of enemy. Obviously we all need food to survive. However, for people like me who can’t seem to get it together when there are full-fat, yummy family recipes in sight, food is my ultimate mortal enemy.
This was all brought to my attention the other day when I was talking with my grandfather. He and my grandmother are taking a few months off from the Florida heat and are home visiting. Last week I was visiting with them on a random weeknight, and when I told him it was time for dinner, he rolled his eyes and said, “That’s all we ever do around here: eat and sleep.”

Of course this made me laugh out loud at the time, but the more I thought about it, he is totally right! In fact, I’m having them over to my place for dinner tonight!
Sure, we have family traditions that don’t center on food, but the bulk of my family activities somehow involve eating. It’s no wonder America is overweight! We are all satisfied by good family comfort food and awesome family traditions revolving around it.

As we round out summer and head toward the season that makes us all want to hibernate, I challenge you to start some family traditions that don’t center on eating and food. Don’t lose touch with the ones that do –– or mom’s secret family recipes –– but remember that we need to show our families how much we love them. Healthy living will keep them all around a lot longer, and we all should take care in treating each other to that gift sometimes too.

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by Lindsay Eichelman

Consider Yourself Reminded Healthy lifestyle battle soldiers on with simple mantra

I had the awesome opportunity to head to the spa at French Lick Resort last week with the 2009 Indianapolis Woman Dream Makeover finalists. It was a wonderful day of pampering full of new friendships and lots of laughs. These ladies all have an incredible story and are delightful to be around. I wish we could highlight each of them! Luckily, our Dream Team tries every year to provide some things to pamper all of the finalists, and French Lick leads the way in that effort.

On multiple occasions, a few of the finalists commented on how great they thought I looked. I had to stop myself from saying out loud, “Who … me?” To be honest, I’ve had a rough go of the healthy living stuff this summer. Lots of summer events, vacations and other things have led me to pack on a few of the pounds that I had previously taken off. Finally, one of the finalists made a comment, and I came clean with her about how much I’ve yo-yoed over the last six months or so. Her simple reply was, “Well, keep at it!”

How simply that sums it all up! While I don’t want to battle my weight my whole life, leading a healthy lifestyle is a lifetime commitment that will have its ups and downs. After seeing those ladies last week, I’ve rededicated myself to keeping at it.

Consider yourself reminded that this journey is not always an easy one but one that is important to leading long, happy and fulfilled lives. Keep at it!

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by Lindsay Eichelman

You Are What You Eat

I was having a conversation with a co-worker the other day that really made me think. He was celebrating a birthday and being a lover of sweet things, everyone decided it was a fantastic idea to bring him every kind of treat under the sun for his birthday celebration.

Delicious cake? Check.

Decadent chocolate? Check.

Scrumptious cookies? Check.

It really was a smorgasbord of delicious things.

I knew we all had a huge problem when this lover of sweets looked at me and said, “Even though this stuff is so delicious, it really does make me feel like crap when I eat it.”

And there it was: the plain, ugly truth. You really are what you eat! Although those delectable things tasted so good going down, eating too much bad-for-you food really does make you feel bad, both physically and emotionally. For me, not only does it sometimes literally make me sick, but I also figure out a way to thoroughly beat myself up mentally and emotionally for indulging so much. The temporary high you receive from tasting something delicious is far outweighed by the awful feelings you have when you overindulge.

The next time one of those delicious treats is presented to me, I’m going to try and remember that you really are what you eat. A taste of sweetness can’t do anything but make you sweeter. Overindulging, though, can have quite a sour aftermath.

In other news, I’m really trying to get back on track after a few weeks of concert hopping, birthday parties and all-around celebrating the end of summer.

Overindulgence was a definite. Good luck to you as you continue on the healthy living journey and enjoy these last few days of a beautiful summer! Where has the time gone?

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by Lindsay Eichelman

Journaling Your Innermost … Food Choices? Writing down what you eat can be extremely helpful

Food journaling is an important tool in understanding your eating habits. Personally, it’s not only important in helping me understand my eating, but it also holds me accountable to what I put in my mouth. Poor choices happen less frequently when I know I actually have to own up and write it down! This has been a very helpful tool to me for quite some time. A co-worker recently encouraged me to share this helpful tool with my loyal readers. (So Breyanna –– this one is for you!)

Food journals can be as complex or as simple as you want, but some helpful things to include in any food journal include the following.

> Food that was consumed including beverages. This is obviously self-explanatory.

> Various types of nutritional information. Like I said, these journals can be as simple or as complex as you wish. I loosely follow the Weight Watchers program, so in my journal I keep track of my Weight Watchers point values and calories. In the past, I’ve kept track of protein grams as well. There are many other types of nutritional information that can be tracked based on what goals you have.

> Time of day that food was eaten. This is helpful in beginning to understand your metabolism and how often you need to eat to have your body run at its best. Personally, I keep track of the time of day simply to be sure that I’m eating every couple of hours.

> Mood when eating. I don’t personally do this but have heard that it is helpful in deciphering emotional eating.

> Exercise/physical activity. I include all my exercise in my food journal to better keep track of what I’m accomplishing at the gym.

Lindsay’s Sample Food Log (Wednesday)

5 A.M.
- 48 minutes on elliptical (including four-minute warmup and four-minute cooldown)
- 4.88 miles/510 calories
- Ab routine
6:30 A.M.
- Omelet with Eggbeaters, low-fat cheese, green peppers and onions –– 4 points/233 calories
- Coffee –– 0 points/12 calories
9 A.M.
- Almonds –– 4 points/160 calories
11 A.M.
- Turkey, Laughing Cow cheese, green pepper and onion on sandwich thin –– 3 points/193 calories
- Grapes –– 1 point/110 calories
1 P.M.
- Hard-boiled egg –– 2 points/100 calories
3 P.M.
- ½ cup of 1-percent cottage cheese –– 2 points/80 calories
6 P.M.
- Tilapia fillet –– 2 points/100 calories
- Broccoli –– 0 points/30 calories
- Sweet potatoes with olive oil and parmesan cheese –– 5 points/310 calories
7:30 PM
- Weight Watchers ice cream bar –– 1 point/110 calories

Throughout day
- 128 ounces water

Total: 24 WW points/1,438 calories

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by Lindsay Eichelman