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If you never seem to have enough time to exercise, perhaps hours and minutes aren’t the issue. Instead, examine why you want to work out regularly. If your reasons aren’t truly important to you, then you are unlikely to make the changes in your schedule to allow the time you need.

The key word is passion, says APOGEE life coach Staci Rosenberg. “Lack of passion and uncertainty about what it is you want—those two things combined lead to lack of success.” says Rosenberg.

For example, you might consider that exercise is a route to a shapely body, especially at this time of year when bathing suit season is right around the corner. But if you never put on a suit, then it may be hard to truly care about how you look in this year’s bikini. Likewise, it would be hard to make time to train for a marathon when you don’t have one on your schedule.

Instead, dig deep to discover what it is you truly desire. “Ask yourself: what will this mean to me? You have to identify the personal meaning for you—through writing or dialogue with another person,” says Rosenberg. Look at the other benefits you get from exercise: People who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep better than those who don’t. Exercise is also as effective as antidepressants in lifting mood and can help you moderate stress. Those benefits may be more meaningful to you.

Then, says Rosenberg, create a personal statement that includes your passion and the steps you will take to attain it. Here’s how.

1. Connect your goal to your passion. Create a statment; here’s a sample: “When I exercise regularly, I sleep better and can handle stress during the day.”
2. Identify the specific steps to get to your goal. “I go to Zumba class on Monday and Wednesday; cardio on Thursday; and take a long walk on Sunday.”
3. Put your goal statement in front of you. You might write it on a sticky note and put it on the visor of your car or make it the wallpaper on your cellphone, Blackberry or laptop—put it wherever you will see it several times a day. Then it gets absorbed, Rosenberg says.

Of course, you may want to make time for more than exercise: Painting, writing, reading, playing a sport, hiking, traveling, or playing music may be your passion. “When people make time for something they really love, it affects their entire life,” says Rosenberg. Inserting passion into your life creates balance and makes every hour of every day more enjoyable.

Get more tips from APOGEE life coaches at our upcoming open houses: March 25 in White Plains and March 31 in Bedford Hills.

Here comes Thanksgiving, with its mega-portions of planning, shopping, chopping and travel mixed with heaping helpings of friends and family. A wonderful holiday, but handling everything—and everyone—can be stressful, too. There are ways to dial down the stress levels: Physical exercise is one. Remembering happy events is another—specifically, keeping a gratitude journal. Writing just a sentence or two about what you are grateful for is proven to boost your mood and outlook—and could even help you fight off colds and flu.

The health benefits of expressing thanks have been studied extensively. “Research confirms what many spiritual traditions tell us: regularly expressing gratitude increases well-being,” says APOGEE’s integrative health advisor, Woodson Merrell, M.D. As an integrative doctor, Merrell considers the emotional, spiritual, dietary, environmental, and lifestyle influences that can affect health and healing. “A sense of well-being has been found to positively affect good health and immune function,” says Merrell. “Well-being enhances the release of antibodies responsible for fighting off viruses and improves important markers of cardiovascular health.”

The key is to identify and write down one thing you’re thankful for, whether it’s the fact that a grocery store clerk was helpful, your brother has offered to bring dessert to Thanksgiving or just the fact that the sun is shining and warm. Write your gratitude statements anytime and anywhere that’s convenient: on the back of your shopping list, or in your calendar or send them to yourself via e-mail. It’s best if you don’t analyze why you’re thankful—just acknowledge it.

We’re thankful for this opportunity to spread the word about simple actions that can make people feel good. We’ll post more messages about the healing power of gratitude this week. Feel free to write your gratitude statements as comments on this blog or Facebook page, or via Twitter.

Learn more ways to turn on the calm in your life in our Unwind workshops, starting in January 2011.

By Jennifer Vagios, RD, APOGEE’s Dietitian

Many APOGEE members ask me how to include more vegetables in their diet. Here’s one way: I make a quick and nutritious dinner using spaghetti squash instead of pasta.

In local farmer’s markets right now you’ll find a colorful spectrum of winter squash, including spaghetti squash. Yellow, smooth, and cylindrical, it’s what’s on the inside that makes this squash so versatile: When cooked, the flesh separates into long, tender strands, perfect for topping with your favorite traditional pasta sauce.

How to prepare spaghetti squash: Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds out, then place both halves cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the squash. When done, flip it over and pull out the strands with a fork.

I top the cooked squash with my favorite tomato sauce and, for protein, vegetarian meatballs. Like grain-based pasta, spaghetti squash is a good source of carbohydrates, but because it’s a veggie, it also contains fiber, Vitamin B6, potassium, and Vitamin C.

Westchester County has many good farmer’s markets; this site may list one near you.

By Jennifer Vagios, RD, APOGEE’s Dietitian

Food is all around us—gigantic muffins at the coffee shop, neverending office snacks, tempting commercials during your favorite TV programs. It’s no wonder that we often eat when we’re not truly “hungry.” But research has shown that “intuitive eating”—tuning into your hunger cues rather than things like emotions, food availability, social environment and eating in front of the television—is better than dieting when it comes to losing and maintaining weight.

Do you eat when you’re truly hungry? Here are some some tips to help you start eating intuitively:

·    Keep a log of when, what and how you feel when you eat (don’t forget the piece of chocolate at 3 pm because you were “bored!”). Start rating your hunger level on a scale of 1 to 10. If you typically eat when the numbers are low then that is a sign that you may not be eating when you’re actually hungry.

·    If you often find yourself munching on something while watching television, take note of that action and behavior and replace it with something else; for example, only allow yourself to eat while at the table, and not “out of a bag!”

·    When co-workers bring donuts/sweets/fast food to the office and you’ve already eaten a meal within a few hours, it’s likely you’re not hungry. To avoid this situation you can either have a pre-planned healthy snack available such as yogurt with fruit, and/or find a way to avoid the food and situation all together.

·    Keeping “trigger” foods out of the house is one easy step to avoiding eating when you’re emotional, stressed and/or bored. Once you’ve taken notice of your own personal eating style you will be more able to handle these situations. If you typically eat when you’re emotional, find an alternative other than food such as yoga, going for a walk, reading a book, calling a friend!

·    Think long-term: Every healthful choice you make contributes to a healthy future. It’s like a bank account. Along the way, you’re bound to make some choices that aren’t so great, but don’t judge yourself harshly. Part of being healthy is keeping things, including food, in perspective.

In your quest for wellness and personal fulfillment, we at APOGEE encourage you to dream—BIG. But, sometimes the path is uncertain, and you need a guide along the way. That’s why we’ve recently added Life Coaching to the wellness services available to members.

Today, having a life coach is as commonplace as having a personal trainer. “Sometimes you feel like you’re stagnating or having difficulty setting your priorities,” says Staci Rosenberg, LMSW, CEC, APOGEE’s Life Coach. “We can help you see all the possibilities for the future and help make them happen…now.”

How Does Life Coaching Work?
Typically, you and your coach identify your objectives and the obstacles that get in the way of achieving them. In order to do this, it’s important to take an honest look at yourself and your life and decide what is and isn’t working—from why you can’t commit to a relationship to what direction to take when your career is at a crossroads. These preliminary steps of self-assessment are some of the most important ones you’ll take on your journey toward successfully attaining your goals.

Staci’s approach is action- and solution-orientated, and focuses on the future. She will help you create a road map to help you succeed. Together, you design a realistic plan of action with homework assignments and check-in periods between sessions. At your meetings, you chart your progress, discuss any new challenges and benefit from the input of a professional with a more objective perspective.

“It’s amazing how asking a few simple questions can put someone whose life has de-railed back on track.” Staci says. “My mission is for my clients to become the best version of themselves.” That’s APOGEE’s mission, as well.

Staci’s Life Coaching services are available in 1- and 3-session packages. To get started, she’s offering free 30-minute consultations. Appointments can be scheduled with APOGEE’s Wellness Concierge or Reception staff by calling 914.644.8884.