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H E A L T H & W E L L N E SS
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J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5
Lauren, Nick and Perry Day
On Work, Parenting,
and the Notion
of 10,000 Hours
Lauren M. Kraemer, MPH
Extension Family and Community
Health Faculty Oregon State
University/Wasco and Hood River
County Extension
The first week in January marks
my one year anniversary of mother-
hood and my four-year anniversary
as an Extension Agent. Almost a
year ago, my son entered the world
in his own speedy way, two weeks
early on the day I was supposed to
have my annual review. I figure its
good luck to give birth on the day
you are being evaluated for job
performance; I don’t think my boss
had ever received such a bizarre
phone call to explain why I
would not be showing up for our
meeting...“Yes, I’m in labor!”
As I approach this momentous
occasion, I can’t help but think
about the learning curve I have
experienced as a new parent and
the many ways it has been similar
to the learning curve I experienced
when first starting this job, though
arguably my job has given me far
fewer sleepless nights. When I
began my job as an extension
agent, many colleagues told me
it was years before they felt
comfortable with their jobs or had a
sense of mastery of all the tasks,
responsibilities, ins and outs.
Hearing this the first few times left
me aghast; I had never been with a
job more than a year (thanks to
college, AmeriCorps, and grad
school). I couldn’t fathom having
to spend several years just learning
a job before I would actually
feel like I was good at it. More
experienced parents might see the
similarities between parenthood
and work again.
In work and school, when one
puts in effort and time, there is a
positive feedback loop. Good
grades, positive reviews, awards,
and promotions follow when you
work hard. As a parent, you can
work harder than you ever have, on
less sleep than you experienced
during every finals week of your life
combined, and still get bad reviews
from your "new boss." I’ll admit,
this was the greatest challenge of
early motherhood. No matter what
I did, there was still an infant
screaming at me. The negative
feedback loop is not something
I was prepared for and it is
something I still struggle with.
In his book, Outliers, Malcolm
Gladwell touts the notion that true
mastery is achieved after 10,000
hours of practice. He cites great
musicians like the Beatles or skilled
violinists and champion chess
players who become experts once
they have put in roughly five years
of work on their chosen task. When
I consider this in light of my jobs as
an extension agent and a mother
I’m not sure whether to feel relief or
desperation. I’ve got one more year
to go before I reach 10,000 hours
on this job…and another four
before I have some sense of
mastery as a parent. I’ve heard that
each stage of parenting prepares
you for the next so that one needn’t
worry about potty training before it
becomes necessary. But in my
experience, by the time I’ve figured
out a pattern with my son, he’s
moved on to something else so the
pattern no longer holds and we’re
back to square one trying to figure
out sleep habits, eating, or other
new skills. I wonder what it will feel
like to be parenting a five-year-old.
Will there be a sense of expertise
in my role as mother?
This is the time of year when I
normally write about healthy eating
during the holidays or sticking to a
New Year’s resolution. These are
usually short-term endeavors; the
unhealthy eating temptations of
huge Thanksgiving meals,
Christmas cookies, and continuous
snacking at holiday parties lasts
only a few weeks. Most resolutions
don’t last much longer, having gone
the way of the egg nog by the time
Super Bowl Sunday rolls around—
nowhere to be found.
What if we were to shift the
notion of short-term healthy holiday
eating and lifestyle change goals
(like those made in resolutions) to
that of achieving mastery over the
course of many years? Would it
give us more permission to fail and
get back up again, knowing that we
had 10,000 hours to accomplish
our goals? In the nutrition classes
that I teach in the community, I
talk with students about long-term
lifestyle changes that can be
maintained. Making slow, deliberate
shifts over time that are sustainable
as opposed to the fad diets that
might cause dramatic weight
loss but the pounds come
right back within a few weeks.
Lengthening the feedback loop can
be frustrating. We want immediate
results—whether with weight loss,
performance reviews at work, or
parenting. If you are prone to set
and then abandon resolutions or
yo-yo diet, seeking the quick fixes
from the latest fads, I challenge you
to take the long game approach.
Look at wellness and your health
as something to master over the
course of the next several years.
What might the state of your health
be if you put 10,000 hours of effort
into exercise, healthy eating, and
mindfulness?
As many parents will note, the
more rushed you are with a child,
the slower they seem to move.
When you slow down a bit, get
down on their level, and prompt
them with a few warnings before
shifting gears (“five more minutes
and then it’s time to go,” “please
put your pajamas on—bedtime is in
20 minutes”), things go much more
smoothly. Exercise this same
patience with yourself as you strive
for a healthy lifestyle. Provide
yourself with prompts about the
changes you are making (“each
week I will add five minutes more
to my exercise routine,” “I will work
up to 10,000 steps per day by
April”). Develop your own positive
feedback loop to encourage
continued efforts; we all love
rewards. And if you stumble,
don’t begrudge the misstep, keep
going. Envision yourself as a child
learning to walk—it doesn’t
happen overnight or without the
intermediate steps of crawling,
scaling, and balance along with
lots of bumps on the head.
I wish you good health in the
New Year—it is a work in progress.
Fast-food resolution:
Transform junk food image
NEW YORK (AP) — Fast-food chains have a New Year’s resolution:
Drop the junk.
As people express distaste for food they think is overly processed,
McDonald’s, Taco Bell and other chains are trying to shed their
reputation for serving reheated meals that are loaded with chemicals.
That includes rethinking the use of artificial preservatives and other
ingredients customers find objectionable.
“This demand for fresh and real is on the rise,” said Greg Creed,
CEO of Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut.
During the presentation for analysts and investors last month, Creed
said the company needs to be more transparent about ingredients and
use fewer preservatives.
Recasting fast-food as “fresh” and “real” will be tricky, in large part
because it’s so universally regarded as cheap and greasy. Another
problem is that terms like “fresh,” “real,” and “healthy” have nebulous
meanings, making it hard for companies to pin down how to approach
transformation.
One way chains are looking to redefine themselves is by purging
Take care of your smile.
recipes of chemicals people might find unappetizing. Already, packaged
food and beverage companies have reformulated products to remove
such ingredients, even while standing by their safety. PepsiCo, for
instance, said it would remove brominated vegetable oil from Gatorade
after a petition by a teenager noted it isn’t approved for use in some
markets overseas.
And fast-food chains are indicating they want to jump on the “clean
label” trend too:
— Last month, McDonald’s USA President Mike Andres outlined
improvements the company is working on, including the simplification of
ingredient labels. Without providing details, he said to expect some
changes in early 2015.
— Carl’s Jr. last month introduced an “all-natural” burger with no
added hormones, antibiotics or steroids. “We are obviously looking at
other products on our menu to see which ones can be made all natural
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as well,” said Brad Haley, the chain’s chief marketing officer.
It’s not clear how far fast-food companies will go in reformulating
recipes. But the nation’s biggest chains are facing growing competition.
In the latest quarter, customer visits to traditional fast-food hamburger
chains declined 3 percent from a year ago, according to market
researcher NPD Group. Fast-casual chains — which are seen as a step
up from traditional fast-food — saw visits rise 8 percent.