http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/home.aspxFit for Our Livesen-usCopyright 2013, WROR-FMWed, 19 Jun 2013 10:24:34 GMTMon, 10 Jun 2013 20:39:47 GMT1http://emmisinteractive.comIt used to be that a convenience store had a small refrigerated section for dairy products, soda and sandwiches. Now the typical convenience store has a full wall (if not two) of just refrigerated items, the vast majority of which are drinks. Take out the water and soda and you have a dizzying selection of “energy” drinks (not to be confused with sport drinks used to rehydrate the body). As I have gotten older and my job continually has me sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours each day, my energy level has definitely seemed to dip compared to how I felt in my 20s. I’ve always been a moderate coffee drinker and that has certainly helped, but I have often been drawn toward the colorful and flashy cans of the energy drinks that have flooded the market in the past 10 years in particular. The manufacturers of ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10555518lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10555518Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:39:47 GMTWow. What a month. I had intended to write about energy drinks this month—the good, the bad and the unsafe—but that can wait until May. This month I will write instead about the resilience that Boston showed after the historical and tragic week of the Boston Marathon. I recently read a business article that advised women in particular to “Develop resilience and ‘true grit.’ Be strong enough to do what is right.” I dedicate this blog to the entire Boston community this month, where we had to prove in body, mind and spirit what resilience and true grit are really all about: rising to the challenge in the face of adversity, and coming together to ultimately overcome it. It was a tough week in our city as we dealt with the senseless tragedy that took the lives of four of our people and injured 176 others. The “Boston Strong” mantra ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10534382lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10534382Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:05:16 GMTMost of us have an mp3 player we listen to when we work out, whether we’re walking, running, at the gym, cleaning the house or, more recently, shoveling snow. But there are others of us who don’t listen to music at all during our workouts, either we don’t think of it or simply choose silence instead of a pounding beat to urge us on. Music as a motivator was the topic of an interesting article in Runner’s World magazine a few years ago, where scientific evidence suggested different benefits from different types of music. But there were also benefits to no music as well, and in fact some people find music distracting to the natural flow of thoughts they experience when they work out. Another article pointed out that some of us are “associators” when we work out, which means we prefer to tune into to what we are doing ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10515701lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10515701Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:19:28 GMTTired of wondering what to eat next? Or tired of complicated diet plans that tell you what to eat? For those of us watching our weight, it’s a constant chore of making decisions and, most importantly, making the right decisions several times a day. For myself, the less I think about food the better. The more decisions I have to make, the greater my chances are at making the wrong choices at least some of the time. And if I’m making those decisions while I’m actually hungry? Forget it, all bets are off—chances are I’ll just eat what I want, and that most likely won’t be a salad. So less thinking means sticking to a list of the best foods available and making sure I include several of them in my meals every day. Then if I overeat, I am overeating on the best foods, not the worst. Here are ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10502824lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10502824Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:40:52 GMTThe last blog I posted was back in July when I was nose deep in work and completely out of balance. I was involved in an aggressively-paced project that demanded my full attention and left me running on empty but going a mile a minute. Exercise took a back seat, as did all the other activities I have come to enjoy that keep me active and healthy throughout the year. Ironically but on purpose, that last blog was about managing stress in our lives. While it was certainly a stressful time for me, I also knew it was necessary in order to achieve a couple of professional goals I had laid out for myself. And most importantly, I knew it was temporary—I just needed to get through it. I did get through it and accomplished the goals I had wanted, and have no regrets. However, I’d make some different choices ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10486772lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10486772Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:18:07 GMTSo here it is, summer, which tends to be a more relaxed time of the year. Most people have vacations planned, or at least some long weekends. It’s not the holiday season, it’s not the start or end of a school semester, it’s usually slower at the workplace, we tend to be outside more, and the sun shines more frequently. And yet, so many people still feel stressed out. Feelings of acute stress are caused by our natural instinct to protect ourselves against some direct threat. We have an involuntary “fight or flight” reaction that helps us to survive. It is what enabled our primitive ancestors to flee from predators or fight for their next meal, and it is what provokes us to jump out of the path of a speeding car or become argumentative when we are insulted. But what about the non-acute stress that can affect our daily ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10400973lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10400973Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:56:54 GMTIn Part One, we looked at the sources and reasons for certain types of stress. Now we will look at practical tips and tricks for preventing, managing and eventually reducing (or maybe even eliminating!) stress in our daily lives. How nice it would be to sit down after dinner without a long “to do” list still rattling around our heads, or sleeping through the night without waking up thinking about a particular situation or person. Reducing our level of stress will lead to better sleep, better nutrition, more satisfaction with our lives and a much higher level of happiness on a daily basis. Let’s cut right to the chase with tips on reducing the level of stress we feel. 1. Avoid overscheduling and set realistic goals. Practice doing “enough” without doing too much. And be sure to schedule down time into your busy schedule for fun or relaxation. 2. Prepare ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10407928lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10407928Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:55:50 GMTBet you thought they were the same thing, didn’t you?  Fortunately, they’re not.  One is way easier than the other and can actually feel good because it’s reinforced by practice, paving the way for new healthy habits. The difference between discipline and willpower is that discipline is about following a set of rules, whereas willpower is about choosing one thing over the other. They are both about making a choice, but discipline gives you a structured approach that helps you make the choice you want to make, whereas willpower relies on your gut will to try to force that choice through. Rules aren’t the same thing as willpower. Willpower pits the force of reinforcing stimuli against your determination to resist, a clash of titans that can become very uncomfortable. -  Dr. David Kessler, The End of Overeating   I don’t know about you, but when I am hungry, that peanut ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10303244lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10303244Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:48:02 GMTSummer is vacation time for many of us. I just got back from my vacation - 2 weeks in 5 different European countries, sampling all kinds of delicious food and subsequently gaining a healthy 5 pounds. I am now consumed with trying to take off those pounds while making mental notes on what I could have done differently. One of the things I was looking forward to during my vacation was trying different desserts in those countries, particularly my all-time favorite: cookies. I did indeed try many new things and way too much of some of them. But I learned that there is nothing in the world like crisp, pure butter Scottish shortbread or a warm Linzer torte from a Salzburg bakery. So while I enjoyed these new foods immensely, I have some plans for myself for next time so I don’t have to pay a price for this enjoyment....http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10396533lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10396533Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:24:12 GMTIn 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto developed a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that 20% of the people owned 80% of the wealth. He began to apply this equation to various parts of his life and discovered it to be valid in many. For example, he noticed that 80% of his garden peas were produced by 20% of the peapods. This came to be known as Pareto's Principle, or the 80/20 Rule. The 80/20 Rule has since been applied to all kinds of things, with fairly accurate results. The 80/20 Rule basically means that roughly 80% of the results come from 20% of the activities that cause them. The reason this rule is so useful is that it encourages us to focus on the 20% of what we are doing that actually works, and stop doing anything that isn't directly and ...http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10289014lbateman@runningforourlives.org (Leanne Bateman)http://www.wror.com/Blog/Leanne/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10289014Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:18:22 GMT