1qtr2007 - Not Just Talk! Newsletter

Table of Contents - 1qtr2007 - Not Just Talk! Newsletter

• Feature Article: Book Review - Mindless Eating, by Brian Wansink, Ph.D.
• Notable Quotables: Great Things I Didn't Say First
• Feature Article: Ask the Coach
• What's News at GottaGettaCoach!?
• GottaGettaBlog! Weblog Highlights

1qtr2007 - Book Review - Mindless Eating

Title: Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Should
Author: Brian Wansink, Ph.D.

"The average Person makes well over 200 decisions about food every day. Breakfast or no breakfast? Pop-Tart or bagel? Part of it or all of it? Kitchen or car?" So says the author, a Stanford Ph.D. and the director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. "Yet out of these 200-plus food decisions, most we cannot really explain."

"Traditional diet books focus on what dietitians and health practitioners know. This book focuses on what psychologists and marketeers know." As such, it's not a book about "dietary extremism." Rather, it's about "reengineering" your food environment so that it doesn't work against you - 200-plus times a day - without you even knowing it.

From the jacket sleeve: "Using ingenious, fun, and sometimes downright fiendishly clever experiments like the 'bottomless soup bowl,' Wansink takes us on a fascinating tour of the secret dynamics behind our dietary habits." Yes he does. And at the end of each chapter, he provides us with Reengineering Strategies to implement what we now know:

1. Reengineering Strategy #1: Think 20% - More or Less - For regular meals, dish out 20% less than you think you might want; for fruits and vegetables, think 20% more.
2. Reengineering Strategy #2: See All You Eat - See it before you eat it (when people "pre-plate" their food, they eat 14% less than when they take smaller amounts and go back for seconds or thirds); see it while you eat it (think popcorn and candy at the movie theatre).
3. Reengineering Strategy #3: Be Your Own Tablescaper - Mini-size your boxes and bowls (the bigger the package you pour from, the more you eat: 20% to 30% more for most people, so repackage your jumbo boxes into smaller Ziploc bags or Tupperware containers); become an illusionist (six ounces of goulash on an 8-inch plate is a nice-size serving, but six ounces on a 12-inch plate looks like a tiny appetizer).
4. Reengineering Strategy #4: Make Overeating a Hassle - Don't bring serving dishes to the table; de-convenience tempting foods (by putting them in the back of the fridge or cupboard); snack only on a plate (making it less convenient to serve, eat, and clean up after an impulse snack).
5. Reengineering Strategy #5: Create Distraction-Free Eating Scripts - Re script your diet danger zones (eg: chew a stick of gum after work rather than heading for the fridge); serve yourself before you snack (avoid eating out of the box, bag, or serving bowl).
6. Reengineering Strategy #6: Create Expectations That Make You a Better Cook - Fix the atmosphere when you fix the food (spend the last 15 minutes of prep time on "soft" and "nice" - soft lights, soft music, soft color, nice plates, nice tablecloth, nice glasses); enhance your description of "what's for dinner?" (add words like succulent, homemade, traditional, Cajun, and they'll like your food a whole lot more - and snack a whole lot less).
7. Reengineering Strategy #7: Make Comfort Foods More Comforting - Don't deprive yourself (just eat them in smaller amounts); rewire your comfort foods (from 'death by chocolate' sundaes to a smaller bowl of ice cream with fresh strawberries).
8. Reengineering Strategy #8: Crown yourself as the Official Gatekeeper - Don't use food to reward or punish; use the half-plate rule (half of your plate for proteins and starches; half of your plate for fruit and veggies); make serving sizes official (repackage single-servings in Baggies or Saran Wrap).
9. Reengineering Strategy #9: Portion-Size Me - Beware of the health halo (the better the food, the worse the extras: think Subway - some of their 'naked' sandwiches may be healthy, but not when you add the cheese and dressings, etc.); Beware of super-sizing (think McDonald's).

Wansink recommends you go through this list and pick three changes to focus on - no more; no less. More than three and it'll feel like a diet. Do that for 28 days and you'll be well on your way to making smarter eating mindless.

I recommend you pick up a copy of Mindless Eating.

1qtr2007 - Ask the Coach: Better Sleep

Question: Hey Coach! Sometimes I just can't seem to fall asleep at night. I toss and turn and keep reviewing things over and over again. Not surprisingly, when I finally do fall asleep it's too little too late. Suggestions?

Answer: Some people can fall asleep at the drop of a hat; others need more time to settle down before settling in for the night. Here are some things you may want to try. While they all may not work for you, quite likely some combination will serve their purpose of getting you into Zzz land that much sooner:

Getting Ready for Bed:

1. Stop drinking caffeinated coffee and soft drinks progressively earlier in the day until you find the latest time in the day that they affect your sleep. For some people, that's 6pm; for others, though, it can be as early as 12 noon.
2. Set your alarm clock 3-7 minutes fast. This 'space time' will help you 'fool' your subconscious into thinking you'll be getting up later than you really will be, which will make it easier to relax when getting into bed. Which would you rather see: an alarm going off at 5:57am or one that goes off at 6:03am? It's not about the extra six minutes; it's about the calming perception of not having to get up at 5-something in the morning!
3. Establish a bedtime ritual. Maybe it's quietly reading for 30-minutes. Maybe it's listening to some soothing music. It might be taking a shower. It might even be writing out your plans or ideas for the next day so you don't have to worry you'll forget them before morning. The key is to make this end-of-day ritual a routine part of your day - like brushing your teeth or turning on your alarm clock.

Waking up in the Morning:

1. Regarding alarm clocks, stop using the snooze button. It's one of the worst add-ons to one of the best inventions ever. Consider: the purpose of an alarm clock is what? To wake you up. And the purpose of the snooze button is what? To not wake you up! Wanna sleep a bit later? Fine. Set the alarm clock to ring or buzz or radio or cd later. But get in the habit of getting out of bed as soon as the alarm clock goes off. Make it a rule you abide by.
2. As soon as the alarm clock goes off, sit up and put your two feet on the floor. Then take a few deep breaths - breathe in for a 3-count; breathe out for a 4-count - put a smile on your face, and stand up.
3. Reviewing a list of affirmations you've prepared or things you're grateful for helps get your day off to a great start, as well.

Waking up in the Middle of the Night:

1. Keep a cup of water on your nightstand so if you wake up in the middle of the night you can take a sip or two and go back to bed not feeling so parched.
2. Here's another back-to-sleep technique - a variant of counting sheep: take a virtual tour of a house or apartment you used to lived in. Imagine yourself walking room by room and 'see' as much detail as you possibly can.
3. Keep a note pad (and pen) on your nightstand (I use 3x5 note cards) so you can write down what's bothering you, knowing that you don't have to think about it anymore until morning, when you can remind yourself about it by reading your note(s).
4. Remind yourself that the purpose of sleep is to rest your body as well as you mind. So if you can't seem to turn off your brain, consciously focus it on helping your body get the rest it needs. Systematically tense and relax each part of your body. Let your body feel the rejuvenate effects of stillness. Imagine it smiling back at you in appreciation for helping it recharge this way.
5. If all else fails, get out of bed. Better to be up and about really early than tossing and turning all night. You might find it to be a particularly productive time for you. And, it's likely that you'll be plenty-tired the next night.

Other ideas? Surely there are. Ask around to find out what other techniques people use. And if you've got a good one, post it here for others to benefit from.

Good? G'nite, then.

1qtr2007 - Notable Quotables: Great Things I Didn't Say First!

• Chrisopher Morley: “No man is lonely eating spaghetti; it requires so much attention.”
• Edmund Burke: “Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.”
• Dennis Miller: “You've got bad eating habits if you use a grocery cart in 7-Eleven okay?”
• Miss Piggy: "Never eat more than you can lift."
• William Blake: “Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.”
• Ellen Goodman: "Most people do not consider dawn to be an attractive experience - unless they are still up."
• Baltasar Gracian: "It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterward. "
• Charles M. Schultz: "Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?"Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."

1qtr2007 - New Product Offerings

I know you're busy. I also know that busy people often appreciate time-saving ideas to help them get more done. To that end, GottaGettaCoach! is pleased to announce these time-saving links to help you do better and enjoy life more:

• Simple Audiobooks - The #1 audiobook service on the web. Choose from over 22,000 titles and a variety of pricing plans. Rent. Buy. Download. Listen.
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• Magazine subscriptions - With 1,500 magazines to choose from, including the best titles, you can pick a few new magazines to enjoy and consolidate your subscriptions all in one place.
• Napoleon Hill's Science of Personal Achievement - This is my absolute favorite self-development audio series. Napoleon Hill devoted his life to studying the science of personal achievement, analyzing the success of more than 500 of the 20th Century’s greatest achievers. His exhaustive research proved that the essence of success lies within 17 simple principles that, when used together, serve as an infallible formula for achievement.

Check 'em out! And if you have some particular resources that you'd like to recommend, please let me know.

1qtr2007 - What's News at GottaGettaCoach!?

News and Highlights from last quarter:

• Crain's Chicago Business quotes Barry Zweibel as he answers, "How can I make holiday shopping less fatiguing?"
• Barry Zweibel is quoted in an article called, " Holiday Traditions" in the November/December 2006 issue of Desert Diamonds magazine.
• Barry Zweibel is interviewed about the value and benefits of life coaching for an upcoming article in Elite Magazine, "The Magazine of Fine Lifestyles."
• Auxis, Inc. retains GottaGettaCoach! for an executive coaching initiative.
• The Farmers Insurance Group retains GottaGettaCoach! for an executive coaching initiative.
• Barry Zweibel is interviewed about breaking bad habits for an article to be published in Columbia College's Echo Magazine.
• Barry Zweibel is interviewed by Pink Magazine for an article about “How to Deal with Bad Employees.”
• Effective Executive magazine publishes The Dangerous Allure of Trust, an article about why managers should NOT want their direct reports to trust them, by Barry Zweibel, in their October 2006 edition.
• information from the GGCI life coach page

1qtr2007 - GottaGettaBlog! Weblog Highlights

I've been using GottaGettaBlog! as a vehicle to capture news, notes, and musings about coaching, mentoring, and getting more from YOUR Untapped Potential - along with whatever other stuff I happen to find amusing and/or thought-provoking - since June of 2003.

Here are some snippets from some of last quarters posts:

... from October 2006

• People behave as they're incented to behave - That old axiom is true: People really do behave as they're incented to behave. It's just that sometimes we don't realize exactly how we are incenting them to behave. A quick and easy way to understand the real picture is by using a 2x2 Awareness Matrix ... more
• Leadership Move #4

... from November 2006

• Leadership Move #14
• Mmmm, Comfort Food - Survey time: What are your favorite Comfort Foods? C'mon, spill-the-beans, as it were. You don't have to be embarrassed - not all Comfort Foods are bad for you. Well, sure, 'junk' foods top the list, but there are some 'healthier' ones in the Top 10. Here they are, according to Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating, along with the percentages of them being cited as a very favorite ... more

... from December 2006

• A little (visual) help? According to an article in this month's New Scientist magazine: "Basketball vests (singlets) with electroluminescent displays that show a player's score, and number of fouls, are being trialed" ... called "TeamAwear" ... Call me crazy, but if it were up to me, I think I'd start a line of boss' work-clothes. Consider these "WorkAwear" possibilities ... more
• Who IS that in the mirror? Here's a question for you to enjoy answering: "What quality to you most like about yourself and why?" ... more

Your on-line comments at GottaGettaBlog! are both welcomed and encouraged. To receive weekly digests of new GottaGettaBlog! postings, update your subscription here.

1qtr2007 - Administrivia

This edition of Not Just Talk! was written and created by Barry Zweibel, executive coach, leadership consultant, and president of GottaGettaCoach!, Incorporated.

GGCI specializes in helping executives - and managers aspiring to leadership positions - to:

• think more strategically more of the time
• communicate more effectively, up, down, and across the organization
• better leverage their time, effort, and personnel resources
• adopt a more coach-like attitude with staff and vendor personnel
• be ready willing, and able to have difficult conversations, when needed
• drive key business results without being a jerk!

GGCI also provides life coaching and career coaching services to those looking to make good things happen sooner in their lives and careers.

For information on how GottaGettaCoach! can help you - or those in your organization - please contact Barry directly at 847.291.9735, info@ggci.com, or via www.ggci.com.

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