How to Stay Productive Leading into Winter
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About the Show
On this episode, Chuck Gaidica is joined by Ann Marie Wakula, certified personal trainer and macro nutrition coach. Together, they discuss how we can navigate colder months to keep our bodies active when all one might feel like doing is sitting on the couch.
In this episode of A Healthier Michigan Podcast, we explore:
- Setting small, realistic goals to maintain an active routine and healthy habits
- Finding ways to incorporate movement throughout the day, even in small amounts
- Trying new winter activities and sports to stay motivated
- Prioritizing sleep, nutrition, and self-care to support overall wellness
- Developing a balanced plan and schedule to stay consistent with healthy behaviors
Transcript
Chuck Gaidica:
Are you struggling to stay productive as winter looms? This is A Healthier Michigan podcast, episode 169. Coming up, we discuss how to beat the seasonal slump and stay energized. Welcome to A Healthier Michigan podcast. It's a podcast dedicated to navigating how we can improve our health and well-being through small, healthy habits that we can start implementing right now. I'm your host, Chuck Gaidica, and every other week we'll sit down with a certified expert. We discuss topics that cover nutrition and fitness and much more.
Are you struggling to stay productive as winter looms? This is A Healthier Michigan podcast, episode 169. Coming up, we discuss how to beat the seasonal slump and stay energized. Welcome to A Healthier Michigan podcast. It's a podcast dedicated to navigating how we can improve our health and well-being through small, healthy habits that we can start implementing right now. I'm your host, Chuck Gaidica, and every other week we'll sit down with a certified expert. We discuss topics that cover nutrition and fitness and much more.
And on this episode, we're diving into how we can navigate the colder months. You know well, I'm already part of the flannel panel here. They're coming. They're here. How do we do that? How do we keep our bodies active when we might be feeling like we just want to sit on the couch and just stay warm. With me today, a certified personal trainer, macro nutrition coach, Ann Marie Wakula. Good to see you again.
Ann Marie Wakula:
Good to see you too. Great to be back.
Chuck Gaidica:
Thanks. We're headed into this time. We get some bursts of warm air. It can happen into November and beyond, but we're going to focus on winter. How does this idea of winter season coming on us impact our overall well-being and the most common challenges that people face?
Ann Marie Wakula:
Absolutely, so many ways. I mean, first of all, it gets darker earlier, so that's bringing a little lower motivation, lower energy levels. Our mood starts to dip as the sunlight decreases throughout the day. I don't know, hopefully at some point we stay the same time for the whole year. Wouldn't that be great? Have a little bit more sunlight. And when that starts to happen, decreased physical activity comes right along with it.
Chuck Gaidica:
What's interesting too is you look at the summer, when you are out, even if it's just a light active walk, bike ride, you're getting sunshine, which kind of helps with that vitamin D thing. And here in Michigan, once the clouds set in, it's like we're here through March in the gray, kind of on and off.
Ann Marie Wakula:
And that makes you not really want to go outside as much. You turn to comfort food. You are just simply not motivated. So I see it happen every year, even to myself. I have to implement some different things in my daily routine to help stay motivated and active.
Chuck Gaidica:
So you're using the word motivate a lot, and I suspect that a good part of that is self-motivation, but we can also look to those influencers in the house. If we've got a spouse or a kid, well, if you have kids, you've got kids, you're active by default. Right?
Ann Marie Wakula:
Right. I was just speaking with someone the other day who was having a hard time getting her steps in, and I said, "You know what? You're watching your child at practice, why don't you get up and move around too?" And she was like, "Oh my gosh, I never even thought about that." So if our kids are being active, one way to stay active is to do it while we're watching them at dance class or soccer practice or football practice. Getting up and moving a little bit more instead of... You can still be active and watch them, but you can move around too, right?
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, we've gone through that with the whole work at home phase because you can take a call, maybe not a Zoom call, that's not as easy, but you can make or take a call and you can walk around the house. You could walk outside. I mean, you can walk with somebody for a meeting. I mean, there are some ways to get that non-essential exercise you're talking about.
Ann Marie Wakula:
Yes. That exercise is so important because it burns calories that you're not really thinking about. You don't have to put it into an active workout. You're just moving around and that also burns calories. So walking around the house while you're on a phone, maybe even getting a little treadmill, they have those walking pads now that are very inexpensive, cost-effective and you can walk on them while you're on a Zoom call. I've seen it done for sure.
Chuck Gaidica:
I don't know if we're getting ahead of ourselves, but this idea of motivation comes before we actually get up and start moving, or it should, I guess. So before you begin something, you've got to start it. So let's talk about that idea of staying motivated now through the winter season and even beyond, even when the weather gets nicer, we get those bursts of blue sky and sunshine. How do we motivate ourselves?
Ann Marie Wakula:
Well, what I see so often is as daylight starts to decrease, activity starts to decrease, then we eat those comfort foods. So this starts the cycle. Then as we're moving into the holidays, I hear, "I'm going to start after the first of the year." And you've lost so much time in between now and January 1st, and the amount of waking and unhealthy habits that come along with that could be really detrimental and set you back from what you feel like you're ready to start after the first of the year starting from now. So the first thing that I find so important is to set those goals. We've talked about goals before. Setting a small realistic goal, really thinking, what can I do?
Or how do I maintain this active routine that I'm currently doing? Now that it's sunny and I'm getting outside more, how can I maintain that throughout the winter time? If you're active in the summertime and you're following a very healthy diet, the second that you start to become less active and introduce more calories, that's when you start to see that excess weight come on. So less activity, bad diet equals recipe for disaster. So thinking to yourself, where can I fit in this extra time? Maybe these evening hours where it's daylight longer, and that's when you're walking, where can I find that time and piece it in throughout the course of my day?
Chuck Gaidica:
I have to admit to you, Ann Marie, that this is a time of the year where I've thought of myself as a squirrel. I know it happens. I know that my getting out kind of decreases, and I don't know about my eating habits changing, but I just kind of know. It's like I'm storing up nuts for the winter, right? It's like I kind of feel like, "Oh, I better increase something. I better increase the steps. I better start doing something else different because I know thyself and I know what's going to happen if I don't self-motivate here." I am going to be a squirrel and just sit back and gather all the tomato soup and some grilled cheeses because it's just chilly outside.
Ann Marie Wakula:
All the good stuff. Couple that with less activity. And there we go, right? So setting a small goal, looking at the time throughout the course of the day, when can I set in these little workouts? Maybe you're bringing in more workout equipment into your home, whether it's dumbbells or resistance bands, but I've seen people use jugs of water and soup cans. If you don't want to bring all of that excess equipment into your home, you don't have to. So starting with a goal is definitely very important. And looking at your day, looking at your calendar, looking at your week ahead and figuring out where you're going to put it in.
And then I also like to create a little reward system for yourself. So once you start getting into these little habits, treating yourself to something, maybe it's a new piece of fitness gear, maybe you're going to take yourself out to the movies on Friday. I don't know, whatever it may be. Whatever it could be, whatever it might be, keeps you kind of motivated. "If I achieve X, that I'm going to reward myself with Y."
Chuck Gaidica:
No, I like that too, because it does break the monotony, especially if we are in the throes of winter, because it can become a thing where we just hunker down and we're not going out. And so I think that idea of breaking the wall and getting out as a reward is some brilliance there. And this idea of motivation is often tied to our moods, right?
Ann Marie Wakula:
Absolutely. If you're feeling like you're in a bit of a slump, it is hard to keep going. So even changing up your routine, that could be a really great way to stay motivated. If you've never tried yoga or Pilates or winter sports like ice skating or skiing, now might be the time to incorporate that. Maybe that's a reward for yourself. "If I'm walking so many times a week, then I'm going to try something new to reward myself on Friday."
Chuck Gaidica:
You would be so proud of me. Our daughter helped to put together a wellness fair out in Ann Arbor.
Ann Marie Wakula:
Really?
Chuck Gaidica:
Yep. And so I go out to support the team because she was helping, and she's also a yoga instructor and just got certified to do this new thing with, not chair yoga, but it's almost like fabric or something that's-
Ann Marie Wakula:
Aerial yoga.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yes, aerial yoga. It's kind of like Cirque du Soleil meets yoga.
Ann Marie Wakula:
So cool.
Chuck Gaidica:
So they had this big thing hanging, and I got in it and I started to go upside down.
Ann Marie Wakula:
Did you do it?
Chuck Gaidica:
I mean as best that I could without people really busting a gut laughing. But I did it enough where I thought, "You know, I could do this. I could kind of get into this because it was relaxing." I wasn't doing anything strenuous. I actually turned the thing into kind of a hammock, just kind of laid in there. But it was one of those things where I got a moment of my own motivation of a thumbs up like, "You know what? I'm not as dumb as I look. I can actually do this."
Ann Marie Wakula:
You can.
Chuck Gaidica:
I just want to encourage everybody who sees something new, winter is probably a good time to try that, whether it's getting out in the winter weather or whatever it is. Just try it. Make sure you're not going to hurt yourself, which I knew because I had professionals around me making sure I didn't do something really stupid, but it was just a really great feeling that I tried something that was nowhere near in my comfort zone.
Ann Marie Wakula:
That's such a great point. It's very motivating, and you felt so accomplished like you could do it. You were stronger than you thought you were, and that sets you up for a lot of other activities that you may not otherwise try. Or maybe you may go back to aerial yoga. That's very cool. Lots of core. That's a total body workout, very challenging.
Chuck Gaidica:
We're talking about the idea of mood, and that extends kind of sideways into the idea of mental wellbeing and even physical wellbeing. It's part of the same wheel. Getting in a routine is probably helpful, whether you're using a food tracker for your food. I mean doing something where you actually are doing it every other day, whatever your routine is. That's probably a helpful thing too, as we get through winter.
Ann Marie Wakula:
Yes, it is. Absolutely. And personally, for myself, I schedule my workouts at a time where I know I have nothing else going on, and that's first thing in the morning before my entire family wakes up. So not everybody's a morning person. I totally understand that. But if you are the kind of person where the day gets away from you and you're constantly thinking about, "I need to go on my walk," or "I have to go for my workout." And then all of a sudden you get home, you're making dinner, gets busy with kids, next thing you know you're just tired and done. That happens all the time.
So sometimes you kind of need to sacrifice a little bit if it's really important to you. There are no excuses. I believe that. So if it's really important to you, it may be an early morning walk, an early morning routine that you want to get into. Just try it. And it doesn't have to be every day. And the next thing you know may really enjoy it, and then you start to do it more often.
Chuck Gaidica:
And making that work for your schedule or your daily activities is really critical. I take the dogs out for a walk or they take me for a walk about the same time every morning. And there are a number of moms and dads that walk their kids to the part of our block where the school bus comes. And there's a mom that I've seen, walks two of her kids, and she always wears brightly colored tennis shoes. That's why I see her from a distance, but I know it's this person. I turn sometimes and she disappears.
Well, this morning I saw for the first time what her routine must be is she walks past our house and then disappears because she goes for her morning jog. Once the kids are on the bus, that's the way she must have figured out exactly what you're talking about. "This is the time I've got before the day gets busy, the kids are back." And I thought, "Well, that's brilliant. That makes a lot of sense."
Ann Marie Wakula:
When you start to miss that time too, say that she had an appointment or something where she couldn't go on that jog, you just don't feel like your day's right. When you start to get in that routine, all of a sudden it kind of feels like something's off about today. I didn't get my morning workout in or my morning jog. So if you can get past those first maybe three, four weeks, honestly, it takes some time to get into a routine and a habit. But if you can get past that, then you start to miss... If you miss it, you miss it.
Chuck Gaidica:
Right. And winter, are you a winter sports person? Do you get into the outdoor part? Because I'm talking like summer was a big thing. Winter's not. But in Michigan, of course, winter is a huge deal.
Ann Marie Wakula:
So I'll be a hundred percent honest. I think I told you this before. Once it goes under 65 degrees, I'll be on my walking pad in my home. But that's what works for me. And I will work out from home, or I'll get up in the morning and I will go to the gym because I have an accountability buddy, which is another really important component for me to stay motivated. But that is the extent of it. But I highly recommend outdoor activities to other people that enjoy the cooler weather. It's a great, great workout, skiing and... What were you doing? What did you tell me earlier? You had the snowshoes.
Chuck Gaidica:
I've got some high-tech snowshoes. I've done that mostly up north Michigan because the snow is deeper because you go through it. You don't think you're going to go through it, but you still go through a significant amount of snow.
Ann Marie Wakula:
Cross country.
Chuck Gaidica:
Cross country. I am not a downhill skier. My family never really... We didn't grow up with it. Our boys got into it. Of the five kids, they were into snowboarding and a little downhill skiing. So God love them. I mean, I'll get a guy and I'll pay him to go downhill for me. I'm not getting close. It's not going to happen. But I do enjoy getting out and I will have fun with it probably now.
I've always had fun with our own kids, but probably now I enjoy more and probably do get some of that non-essential exercise, watching grandkids, taking them for sled rides, pushing them down the neighborhood. Neighborhood has kind of got a hill you can find when snow is hard. So that's to me, my kind of getting out and having fun, sure to goofing around with the dogs, but all that is activity, right? It's all-
Ann Marie Wakula:
It's all activity. It's all activity. It's all good. My son, actually, he mentioned to me last week, "I want to join the ski club." That means I'll be going to Pine Knob to ski. Well, I won't be skiing with him, but I'll set him up for lessons, and I can either choose to sit inside and drink hot chocolate, or I can get out there and do a little cross country, which I've never tried. And I'm not opposed to trying it because I have to practice what I preach too. So instead of sitting there while he's doing his weekly skiing, I'm going to give that a little try.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, that's good. That's good. I mean, you're so physically fit. You would probably do it with great aplomb. You would just be perfect at fitting right into it. For me, I'm sort of like, I don't know. I don't want people to laugh.
Ann Marie Wakula:
I know it'll be pizza, pizza, pizza all the way down. Let's be honest. You're not good at everything.
Chuck Gaidica:
So part of what you do, not just for yourself and self-motivating, but as a personal trainer and a nutritionist, you help people create a plan, right? A wellness plan. And you can focus on your physical health during winter, but what are the other key elements? If you're really looking for a plan of how people can help balance all of the above effectively.
Ann Marie Wakula:
So going back to square one, figuring out what your goal is, what is your overall goal? Do you currently walk 30 minutes and you want to keep that consistent throughout the winter? Do you want to try something new? What is it? Do you want to start lifting weights a couple of days a week? What is your goal? Or is it more of, I want to lose five pounds by the end of December, not gain five pounds? So everybody has an idea of what the goal is. And I think a lot of us become... We kind of freeze up because it feels so big that you don't know where to get started, and then you never get started. So you just write down the goal. What's my goal number one? And then creating that schedule and sticking to it. And maybe you're offering some variety into that schedule.
So it could be a Monday, Wednesday, Friday thing with two strength training workouts, and then maybe you're walking at your child's practice on another day, but figuring out where in your schedule, getting out the calendar, writing into the schedule, where can I achieve this or where can I set some time for myself? A lot of times we do so much for other people that we don't stick... We don't have time for ourselves. We don't put that into the schedule. And it's very, very important because if we're not functioning on all cylinders, nobody else around us is. So making sure that we're taking care of ourselves.
Chuck Gaidica:
And you said something really important there too, about five pounds by the end of December. You didn't say 50 pounds. So part of a smart goal is that A, smart is achievable. I mean, be realistic. What can you really achieve? Because if you set the bar too high, well then when you get there and it didn't work, it's like, "Wah, wah, wah." Just be realistic, right? I mean, it's okay.
Ann Marie Wakula:
I don't personally focusing so much on scale weight as I do consistency. I think consistency is much harder to achieve than pounds on the scale. I don't know if that translates well, but a lot of time when I start something new, even when I start looking at my diet a little bit more. A week goes by and it feels like I've been doing it for six months, and I'm like, "Why haven't I lost a pound?" You know what I mean? And then you fall out of the routine. Making it bigger than the scale thinking, long-term health, what is this doing for me 20 years down from the road instead of in this immediate month or six months, makes it so much worthwhile because it does take time. So patience. Patience and consistency.
That's something that needs to be reminded. Constant reminder to my clients, please just be consistent. It will come. You may not realize it on the scale, but you're getting stronger. You're building more muscle, you're becoming a healthier person, and you're preventing long-term disease by doing these things. So creating a balanced plan, planning your workouts, getting them into the calendar, even down to preparing looking at nutrition, which you don't talk too much about, but getting rid of all of those comfort foods. Nobody needs them. I have a lot of people that have children and they're like, "But I have to have the cookies and then Doritos and the Cheez-Its, because those are their snacks." Well, they don't really need them either.
And if they're not there, and you've got different options to choose from. Healthier options, fruits, vegetables, a little bit of that 80/20 balance, and they're not immediately in front of you, then you're not going to grab for them. So get them out of the house. Prepare a more nutrient-rich meal plan. Maybe you're doing a little bit of prep throughout the week, maybe you're doing a lot of Costco runs and getting lots of freezer foods and more healthy already prepared foods. Those are all available. I was just at Costco yesterday doing a big meal prep and plan for myself. And then prioritizing sleep and recovery. That's another really big component of staying motivated, feeling good.
You're not going to want to be consistent and motivated if you're not getting a good night's sleep, which is seven to eight hours, by the way.
Chuck Gaidica:
I've never been an eight-hour guy, but I know what you mean. Because if you're not getting that sleep or you have sleep apnea or kids or you've got a dog that needs to get up, whatever it is. If you're not managing that well, it does impact the rest of your day. It really does.
Ann Marie Wakula:
It really does. So those are probably my top few tips that really do help people get into more of a routine, really being very scheduled, parking further away to get those walking steps in when you're at the grocery store, even if the weather's not so fantastic. Don't drive around for 20 minutes looking for the best parking spot. Get a little further back. All those little things add up. They really do.
Chuck Gaidica:
Taking the stairs.
Ann Marie Wakula:
For those of us that have a step tracker, those little things add up.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, any final takeaway? You've given us so much great stuff to focus on, which is really well-balanced. I mean, it's really part of a whole plan.
Ann Marie Wakula:
It is. It's part of a whole plan. Being consistent is the most important thing. Even if it's just 10 minutes a day. During the winter, it's so easy to fall into a sedentary routine. But daily movement makes a huge difference in both the physical and mental aspect of health. So it could be a quick core workout for 10 minutes, a quick walk outside or inside or around your house, maybe even a good stretch. We don't stretch enough. We don't take enough time to really breathe and feel connected with our bodies. So staying active, even in small amounts, builds all that momentum and creates habits that last not only till December, but long-term.
And this will set up a really solid foundation. So by spring, you're feeling stronger, you have more energy, you're ready to tackle bigger goals because now we have more daylight hours and the weather's getting warmer. So just making your routine enjoyable, sustainable, something to look forward to rather than a chore, is what's really important and will help you develop some really strong habits this winter.
Chuck Gaidica:
Great stuff. Well, it's good to see you. I'll look forward to seeing you on the ski hill sometime soon.
Ann Marie Wakula:
Oh geez. I'm letting you know.
Chuck Gaidica:
I'll wave. You could wave back because I won't be on it either.
Ann Marie Wakula:
Oh, gosh. We'll get hot chocolate.
Chuck Gaidica:
All right, we'll do that. All right. Take good care of yourself. Thanks.
Ann Marie Wakula:
You too.
Chuck Gaidica:
Ann Marie Wakula, who's a personal trainer, macro nutrition coach. Good to have her with us again. And we want to thank you for listening to A Healthier Michigan podcast, brought to you by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. If you like our show and you want to know more, check us out online. That's a good place to go, ahealthiermichigan.org/podcast. You can go there or you can leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcast or Spotify. You can always follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or X. And you can get new episodes, old episodes on your smartphone or tablets. And don't forget, you can subscribe to us as well on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our YouTube channel, or just use your favorite podcast app. I'm Chuck Gaidica. Be well.
