By Elizabeth Landau
CNN
Even in tough economic times, you may find yourself with a bit of cash to spare. You've been working hard, and you want to treat yourself. Should you spend it on an experience, such as a baseball game or concert, or a material object?
An experience may generate positive memories that outlast the allure of a new material possession. Psychological research suggests that, in the long run, experiences make people happier than possessions. That's in part because the initial joy of acquiring a new object, such as a new car, fades over time as people become accustomed to seeing it every day, experts said.
Experiences, on the other hand, continue to provide happiness through memories long after the event occurred. Ryan Howell, assistant professor of San Francisco University, presented his findings this week at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual meeting. The study looked at 154 people enrolled at San Francisco University with an average age of about 25. Participants answered questions about a recent purchase -- either material or experiential -- they personally made in the last three months with the intention of making themselves happy. While most people were generally happy with the purchase regardless of what it was, those who wrote about experiences tended to show a higher satisfaction at the time and after the experience had passed.
The most striking difference was in how participants said others around them reacted to either the purchased object or experience. Experiences led to more happiness in others than purchases did. A sense of relatedness to others -- getting closer to friends and family -- may be one of the reasons why experiences generate more happiness.
"When people spend money on life experiences, whether they also take someone with them or buy an extra ticket or whatever, most of our life experiences involve other individuals," Howell said. People were fulfilling their need for social bonding while having these experiences, he said.
Visit CNNhealth.com, your connection for better living.
Another reason for increased happiness in experiences, the researchers found, was that people felt a greater sense of vitality or "being alive" during the experience and in reflection, Howell said.
"As nice as your new computer is, it's not going to make you feel alive," he said. Most psychologists who study the phenomenon say people adapt to a new purchase in six to eight weeks, up to a maximum of three months, Howell said. That means the initial pleasure we get from a new possession generally fades in a matter of months. Howell's study builds on earlier work by Thomas Gilovich, professor and chairman of the psychology department at Cornell University. Gilovich and colleague Leaf Van Boven's seminal 2003 paper "To do or to have: That is the question" found similar results about possessions bringing less happiness than experiences.
Experts also point out that people are less self-conscious when comparing experiences than they are about possessions. It will probably bother you more that your friend's home theater is better than yours than if your friend saw more sights on her South Seas vacation, Gilovich said. Experiences form "powerful and important memories that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world," Gilovich said.
It's not just individuals who should be thinking about investing in experiences when making purchasing choices -- policy makers should also keep this reasoning in mind for their communities, he said. "If you create municipalities with more parks, bike trails, more hiking trails that make experiences easier, then I think you're going to have a happier population," he said. With Valentine's Day coming up, does this research mean you should give your honey a nice dinner or weekend getaway rather than a material present, such as a necklace or watch?
The issue of happiness conferred to others has been studied less, so the answer is unclear, experts said. While Howell would expect this principle of experiences over possessions to still apply, Gilovich agreed that it may, but also points out that the act of giving or receiving an object as a gift is an experience in itself. "Gifts of material possessions often become keepsakes and have sentimental value that increase with time, instead of diminishing like most material goods," Gilovich said.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Get Fit in 15 Minutes!
Feeling holi-dazed? Our fast firm-up will help you shed a size naturally in only one month. Do Workout A and Workout B on alternate days, six days a week. Happy honing!
By Caroline Bollinger
From the December 2008 Issue
Workout A: Sculpt all over in six moves
These multitasking toners leave no body part unfirmed—in only 15 minutes flat. Without resting between moves, do the indicated reps for each exercise, designed by fitness expert Sue Fleming, author of Fashionably Buff (Random House). Repeat the series. You'll need a set of 5-, 8- or 10-pound weights, depending on your strength, and a stability ball (select a size that lets you sit with knees bent at a 90-degree angle). Try this tune-up three times a week for the tight, trimmed physique you seek.
Workout B: Torch calories with cardio
Our lightning-quick drill can pack the same fat-burning punch as does biking or jogging for one hour, a new study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, finds. Perform four 30-second sprints on your favorite piece of cardio equipment or outside, then do easy movement (a recovery pace) for four minutes between bursts. Push yourself during the speed intervals. You may huff, you may puff—but your new bod will blow them all away. Go easy on the rest portion. Slog (translation: jog slowly), pedal at a snail's pace or walk. Do this workout three days a week and you'll look superfine in 2009.
Article from Self.com
By Caroline Bollinger
From the December 2008 Issue
Workout A: Sculpt all over in six moves
These multitasking toners leave no body part unfirmed—in only 15 minutes flat. Without resting between moves, do the indicated reps for each exercise, designed by fitness expert Sue Fleming, author of Fashionably Buff (Random House). Repeat the series. You'll need a set of 5-, 8- or 10-pound weights, depending on your strength, and a stability ball (select a size that lets you sit with knees bent at a 90-degree angle). Try this tune-up three times a week for the tight, trimmed physique you seek.
Workout B: Torch calories with cardio
Our lightning-quick drill can pack the same fat-burning punch as does biking or jogging for one hour, a new study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, finds. Perform four 30-second sprints on your favorite piece of cardio equipment or outside, then do easy movement (a recovery pace) for four minutes between bursts. Push yourself during the speed intervals. You may huff, you may puff—but your new bod will blow them all away. Go easy on the rest portion. Slog (translation: jog slowly), pedal at a snail's pace or walk. Do this workout three days a week and you'll look superfine in 2009.
Article from Self.com
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Yoga Is a Great Cross-Training Option for Athletes
Golf. Running. Swimming. Basketball. Football. Cycling. It's hard to find a sport for which yoga hasn't been suggested as a performance or injury-prevention aid. While there's not yet a whole lot of scientific research to quantify or qualify the benefits of yoga for athletes, it's easy to find sport-specific yoga DVDs, books, and testimonials from star athletes like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Sasha Cohen. (More common is research examining how yoga can help the elderly or people with diseases or disabilities.) So absent a pile of studies to thumb through, I thought it might be instructive to talk to a handful of experts about how yoga might spill over into the rest of your workout life. They said yoga:
Katherine Hobson
U.S. News & World Report
To read more of this story, click here.
Fitcorp is offering a 6 week Yoga/Pilates membership for only $150, click here for more information.
February 09, 2009 01:49 PM ET | Katherine Hobson | Permanent Link | Print
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Making Your New Year's Resolutions
Making Your Resolutions Work All Year Long
I love a new year. It almost seems like we can start all over, finally become that wonderful, productive, healthy, happy person we've always wanted to be. The trouble is, the enthusiasm to make changes, especially with exercise and diet, tends to fade once we realize we can't change everything overnight. If you want to make lasting changes, there are three things you can do to make your resolutions work all year long: Adjust your attitude, change your lifestyle and come up with a plan for success.
Adjust Your Attitude
If you have the wrong attitude about fitness, you're already setting yourself up for failure. Most people look at exercise as:
* Punishment for bad eating
* An obligation
* Painful
* Time consuming
* Impossible to sustain over a long period of time
* Boring
If any of these sound familiar, how long do you think you'll stick with your program? Nobody wants to do something painful, boring or obligatory. Before you throw yourself into weight loss, suss out your attitudes about exercise and figure out whether these attitudes are true or just lies you've been telling yourself for years. Then, try a different perspective and look at exercise as:
* A break from a stressful workday
* A way to boost energy and mood
* The only time you'll have to yourself all day
* A chance to get totally physical and let your mind rest
* A chance to reward your body for working so hard
* A way to improve your quality of life immediately
And here are some more key points about exercise that you must understand:
1. Willpower won't work. Willpower is for short-term success. Long-term success requires planning, discipline and finding ways to motivate yourself every day.
2. Motivation will not magically happen. What motivates you will change from day to day. You have to recommit to your goals each day, tweak them to fit changes in your lifestyle and attitude and find new ways to motivate yourself over the course of your life.
3. You will not always want to exercise and eat healthy. Even the most committed exerciser doesn't always want to do it. Know that you will have to work on it every day.
4. Diets don't work. Stop wasting your time following someone else's plan for you. Make your own plan based on realistic changes--if you can't follow your chosen diet for the rest of your life, you're wasting precious time.
Adjust Your Lifestyle
The facts about being overweight:
* You can't be overweight unless your lifestyle is set up to encourage it.
* You can't be overweight if you haven't allowed yourself to eat too much.
* You can't be overweight if you've made a daily schedule that doesn't allow time for exercise.
Never forget that losing weight and maintaining that weight loss is a lifetime prospect. You will never stop working to maintain your fitness and weight. So, before you start that same old diet or exercise program, ask yourself this question: Can I sustain this diet for the long term? Is this exercise program something I can do every day?
Once you recognize the gravity of permanently losing weight, you'll need to change your lifestyle to accommodate this goal.
* Figure out your bad habits. Keep a food/activity journal for an entire week. Do it without judgment or shame--you're simply trying to figure out what you're doing every day that may be hurting your weight loss goals.
* Replace those bad habits, one at a time, with different habits. Experts know that you can't break bad habits without forming new ones. If you take away your daily Egg McMuffin and don't replace it with something else you'll drift right back into the old McDonald's habit.
This may sound simplistic, and it is. Giving up something yummy for something healthy isn't easy. You have to change your environment to make it impossible to have or even want that Egg McMuffin. Get started with these ideas:
* Decide what you'll eat instead of fast food. Stock up on breakfast foods you like, keep meal replacement bars in the car or try healthy fruit shakes or smoothies.
* Eat before you get in the car so you won't be starving and, therefore, tempted to hit the drive thru.
* Change your driving route to work so you don't even pass by McDonald's.
* Don't carry cash in the car (even if you DO have the urge to indulge, you won't be able to), write down your weight loss goal and tape it to your steering wheel or your glove compartment so, when you're reaching for your wallet, you're immediately reminded your goals.
Your best chance at making your resolutions last is to make a plan for success. A few simple steps taken ahead of time can save you time and energy.
Make a Plan
You've figured out how to change your bad eating habits by replacing them with good ones and you've learned to create an environment that doesn't allow those bad habits to exist. Now, you need to make a plan for what you really want.
Set Your Goals
Write down specific goals you have (not just 'I want to lose weight.'). List everything, for example:
* How much weight you want to lose. Make sure the amount of weight you want to lose is reasonable for your height and frame. This Ideal Weight Calculator will give you a starting point for setting your goals.
* A target date to reach your goals. Make sure you've given yourself a reasonable time to reach that goal - (a safe bet would be to lose a pound a week)
* Why you want to lose this weight (i.e., I want to look good in a bathing suit for summer)
* What you think will happen if you reach your goal
* How you'll maintain your weight loss once you reach your goal (remember, it's a lifetime thing--even when you reach your goal, you can't quit!)
For more, check out Setting Realistic Fitness Goals or How to Set Weight Loss Goals to make sure you're setting goals you can really reach.
Set Up Your Program
To set up a good routine, you'll need to know the basics of a complete program. You're program will involve cardio, strength training and stretching.
Ensure Your Success
Success involves using every resource you have to keep you going. Do whatever it takes to be consistent including:
* Enlist all family members to get involved. If everyone eats healthy, you won't have to fight to avoid that bag of chips your spouse munches on every night
* Hire a personal trainer
* Get a friend to exercise with you
* Take time every week to schedule your exercise routines
* Keep a workout bag packed so you don't have to scramble for your gear
* Keep a fitness journal to track your workouts and progress
* Reward yourself often with massages, new clothes or a vacation
* Change your program every 6 weeks to avoid plateaus
* Re-visit your goals every six months and gauge your progress. If you're not reaching your goals, maybe you should change them to something more accessible
The important thing to remember is that losing weight requires that you change your lifestyle. You have to change the way you think about exercise and eating, change the way you schedule your day and how you prioritize your tasks. It's easy to lose a few pounds, but it's hard to keep them off for good. Being prepared for what's ahead is your first step in the right direction.
By Paige Waehner, About.com
Updated: December 9, 2008
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
I love a new year. It almost seems like we can start all over, finally become that wonderful, productive, healthy, happy person we've always wanted to be. The trouble is, the enthusiasm to make changes, especially with exercise and diet, tends to fade once we realize we can't change everything overnight. If you want to make lasting changes, there are three things you can do to make your resolutions work all year long: Adjust your attitude, change your lifestyle and come up with a plan for success.
Adjust Your Attitude
If you have the wrong attitude about fitness, you're already setting yourself up for failure. Most people look at exercise as:
* Punishment for bad eating
* An obligation
* Painful
* Time consuming
* Impossible to sustain over a long period of time
* Boring
If any of these sound familiar, how long do you think you'll stick with your program? Nobody wants to do something painful, boring or obligatory. Before you throw yourself into weight loss, suss out your attitudes about exercise and figure out whether these attitudes are true or just lies you've been telling yourself for years. Then, try a different perspective and look at exercise as:
* A break from a stressful workday
* A way to boost energy and mood
* The only time you'll have to yourself all day
* A chance to get totally physical and let your mind rest
* A chance to reward your body for working so hard
* A way to improve your quality of life immediately
And here are some more key points about exercise that you must understand:
1. Willpower won't work. Willpower is for short-term success. Long-term success requires planning, discipline and finding ways to motivate yourself every day.
2. Motivation will not magically happen. What motivates you will change from day to day. You have to recommit to your goals each day, tweak them to fit changes in your lifestyle and attitude and find new ways to motivate yourself over the course of your life.
3. You will not always want to exercise and eat healthy. Even the most committed exerciser doesn't always want to do it. Know that you will have to work on it every day.
4. Diets don't work. Stop wasting your time following someone else's plan for you. Make your own plan based on realistic changes--if you can't follow your chosen diet for the rest of your life, you're wasting precious time.
Adjust Your Lifestyle
The facts about being overweight:
* You can't be overweight unless your lifestyle is set up to encourage it.
* You can't be overweight if you haven't allowed yourself to eat too much.
* You can't be overweight if you've made a daily schedule that doesn't allow time for exercise.
Never forget that losing weight and maintaining that weight loss is a lifetime prospect. You will never stop working to maintain your fitness and weight. So, before you start that same old diet or exercise program, ask yourself this question: Can I sustain this diet for the long term? Is this exercise program something I can do every day?
Once you recognize the gravity of permanently losing weight, you'll need to change your lifestyle to accommodate this goal.
* Figure out your bad habits. Keep a food/activity journal for an entire week. Do it without judgment or shame--you're simply trying to figure out what you're doing every day that may be hurting your weight loss goals.
* Replace those bad habits, one at a time, with different habits. Experts know that you can't break bad habits without forming new ones. If you take away your daily Egg McMuffin and don't replace it with something else you'll drift right back into the old McDonald's habit.
This may sound simplistic, and it is. Giving up something yummy for something healthy isn't easy. You have to change your environment to make it impossible to have or even want that Egg McMuffin. Get started with these ideas:
* Decide what you'll eat instead of fast food. Stock up on breakfast foods you like, keep meal replacement bars in the car or try healthy fruit shakes or smoothies.
* Eat before you get in the car so you won't be starving and, therefore, tempted to hit the drive thru.
* Change your driving route to work so you don't even pass by McDonald's.
* Don't carry cash in the car (even if you DO have the urge to indulge, you won't be able to), write down your weight loss goal and tape it to your steering wheel or your glove compartment so, when you're reaching for your wallet, you're immediately reminded your goals.
Your best chance at making your resolutions last is to make a plan for success. A few simple steps taken ahead of time can save you time and energy.
Make a Plan
You've figured out how to change your bad eating habits by replacing them with good ones and you've learned to create an environment that doesn't allow those bad habits to exist. Now, you need to make a plan for what you really want.
Set Your Goals
Write down specific goals you have (not just 'I want to lose weight.'). List everything, for example:
* How much weight you want to lose. Make sure the amount of weight you want to lose is reasonable for your height and frame. This Ideal Weight Calculator will give you a starting point for setting your goals.
* A target date to reach your goals. Make sure you've given yourself a reasonable time to reach that goal - (a safe bet would be to lose a pound a week)
* Why you want to lose this weight (i.e., I want to look good in a bathing suit for summer)
* What you think will happen if you reach your goal
* How you'll maintain your weight loss once you reach your goal (remember, it's a lifetime thing--even when you reach your goal, you can't quit!)
For more, check out Setting Realistic Fitness Goals or How to Set Weight Loss Goals to make sure you're setting goals you can really reach.
Set Up Your Program
To set up a good routine, you'll need to know the basics of a complete program. You're program will involve cardio, strength training and stretching.
Ensure Your Success
Success involves using every resource you have to keep you going. Do whatever it takes to be consistent including:
* Enlist all family members to get involved. If everyone eats healthy, you won't have to fight to avoid that bag of chips your spouse munches on every night
* Hire a personal trainer
* Get a friend to exercise with you
* Take time every week to schedule your exercise routines
* Keep a workout bag packed so you don't have to scramble for your gear
* Keep a fitness journal to track your workouts and progress
* Reward yourself often with massages, new clothes or a vacation
* Change your program every 6 weeks to avoid plateaus
* Re-visit your goals every six months and gauge your progress. If you're not reaching your goals, maybe you should change them to something more accessible
The important thing to remember is that losing weight requires that you change your lifestyle. You have to change the way you think about exercise and eating, change the way you schedule your day and how you prioritize your tasks. It's easy to lose a few pounds, but it's hard to keep them off for good. Being prepared for what's ahead is your first step in the right direction.
By Paige Waehner, About.com
Updated: December 9, 2008
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Expert: Don't Allow Money Woes To Affect Health
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ― Worrying about your financial future can have a real impact on your state of mind. CBS station KYW-TV's medical reporter Stephanie Stahl has advice on how to deal with your anxiety.
With big swings in the market and high-profile bank closings, Americans are worried about the bottom line. The market is down, and anxiety is up.
"I would say at the end of my day, it's one more thing to keep me up at night," said Adrienne Marks.
"I don't have the time to make up the money. I can't recoup what I lost," lamented Betsy Williams. "I think I'll be working forever."
"It is more on my mind that it was before," said Anthony Foy.
With the news everywhere, and with President Bush warning we could experience a long and painful recession, it's hard to ignore.
Therapist Ruthy Kaiser said, "It's probably not an overstatement to say that people are in a state of panic."
That includes therapists like her.
"I, being human, called my financial advisor this morning and said, 'Do I need to panic?'" said Kaiser.
But Kaiser knows how to approach her anxiety.
First step: take what actions you can take. "Just sit down and look at the concrete things that can actually be done," said Kaiser.
Then find a way to deal with your anxiety. "Would it help to go for a walk or run? You've done the steps that need to be taken, so now what do you do with your anxiety?" said Kaiser.
Your stress over a troubled financial future can have a domino effect on your life. "It impacts marriages and families and individuals in every way, because people are frightened," said Kaiser.
Kaiser also told us it's important to recognize what you have to worry about today, because sometimes the big picture can be overwhelming.
CBS News Interactive: Healthwatch
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
With big swings in the market and high-profile bank closings, Americans are worried about the bottom line. The market is down, and anxiety is up.
"I would say at the end of my day, it's one more thing to keep me up at night," said Adrienne Marks.
"I don't have the time to make up the money. I can't recoup what I lost," lamented Betsy Williams. "I think I'll be working forever."
"It is more on my mind that it was before," said Anthony Foy.
With the news everywhere, and with President Bush warning we could experience a long and painful recession, it's hard to ignore.
Therapist Ruthy Kaiser said, "It's probably not an overstatement to say that people are in a state of panic."
That includes therapists like her.
"I, being human, called my financial advisor this morning and said, 'Do I need to panic?'" said Kaiser.
But Kaiser knows how to approach her anxiety.
First step: take what actions you can take. "Just sit down and look at the concrete things that can actually be done," said Kaiser.
Then find a way to deal with your anxiety. "Would it help to go for a walk or run? You've done the steps that need to be taken, so now what do you do with your anxiety?" said Kaiser.
Your stress over a troubled financial future can have a domino effect on your life. "It impacts marriages and families and individuals in every way, because people are frightened," said Kaiser.
Kaiser also told us it's important to recognize what you have to worry about today, because sometimes the big picture can be overwhelming.
CBS News Interactive: Healthwatch
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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