I truly believe that the reason most people give up on losing weight is because they feel deprived. They link they will never get to eat lasagna or a cheeseburger ever again. That feeling of deprivation, not allowing yourself to do something, not knowing how to balance it all is exactly why diets fail. What are the first three letters in diet? D-I-E... and if you have been on a diet you feel like you are going to die! So, I am here to tell you that you don't have to give up lasagna forever. You can have your cheeseburger or that chocolate chip cookie, but you can't have those things every day if you want to be healthy.
So how do you balance it to achieve your weight loss goals? First you need to really look at what you are eating right now. Are you eating every 3-4 hours? Do you really know how much food you are putting in your body at each meal? Most people overeat, drastically overeat. Being healthy, eating well and losing weight involves learning. It doesn't have to be rocket science learning, but you have to take the time to learn about what you are putting in your mouth if you want to be successful. You have to learn about how much food YOUR body needs to lose weight versus maintaining your weight. So how do you do that?
The best approach is to food journal. It is very simple and you can learn so much about your habits and how to figure out what foods keep you feeling satisfied longer than others. Your food journal should include the time you eat, the amount of the food - preferably in weight as it is more accurate, the food description, and the calories. There are great websites out there to help you learn the calories of the food. Most people that think they are eating 400 calories at dinner are usually eating closer to 600 because they are not accurately weighing and measuring their food! Write it all down, keep a running total and see where you are at for the day. The best food journals also include how you felt. At the end of the day write down if you felt satisfied, if you had cravings, if you felt tired. These are great tools to look back and see what foods may be causing these feelings.
Your food journal is also important because it can become your menu plan! Scan through your journal and pick out the days that you kept your calories in check and felt satisfied, and use those days to create your own little menu plan! Yes this takes a little bit of work each day, but if you write it down as you eat it, it only takes a few seconds. Do not wait until the end of the day to think back on what you ate, that will never be accurate and it means you didn't measure your food! Do it as you go and you will be so thankful you did!
So how to do you get to eat lasagna and cheeseburgers? Well, after you get a handle on how to eat the right portion sizes and within the correct calorie range for your body, you can start to incorporate healthier versions of lasagna or your other favorite foods into your menu plan once in awhile. I don't have lasagna every day, actually probably only once or twice a year! But I use whole wheat noodles, ground turkey and low fat cheese. It is delicious, but I also know that a small portion is 400 calories so I have a very large salad with it to help me feel full. I don't put the pan on the table, I leave it at the stove, dish up the plates and don't go back for seconds. For cheeseburgers I use 1/2 and 1/2 ground beef and ground turkey. This cuts the calories and the fat in half! Either go without the bun or use the light whole wheat buns that are less than 100 calories. Skip the french fries or make your own by slicing up sweet potatoes, rinse them, toss them in a small amount of egg whites and seasoning and bake at 425. The light coating of egg whites gets them nice and crispy without frying them. So you can have some indulgences, just try to make them a little healthier than you would have before!
Want to know how many calories you need? Google it as there are many great resources to help you calculate it based on your body. Want help with all of this? I offer fitness assessments at my home studio in St. Michael, MN for only $40 for an hour. Email me for more information!
So here is to eating healthy and having your lasagna too!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Eating for Weight Loss... then what?
Eating for weight loss is not the same as eating to maintain your weight. And you have to learn how to do both in order to be successful with your weight loss journey and to keep it off. The reason most diets fail is that they do not teach you what you need to do after the diet. I don't like the word diet, but lets face it, anytime to reduce your calorie intake, limit what you eat, reduce your portion sizes, you really are dieting. It's changing your mindset of how you look at the process that will either make you successful or not. Stop thinking of it as a diet and think of it as the beginning of your new journey to a healthier you!
When you embark on a weight loss journey you need to decide how you are going to approach it. Are you going to slowly change one thing at a time? Or are you going to dive in and make drastic changes? It completely depends on you, your personality, and your lifestyle as to which route you should take. I have many clients that choose to work on their breakfast eating habits first, then work on healthy snacks, then work on healthy lunch choices, etc. Slowly making each change over the course of a week or so and then adding something new to change. Some of my clients decide to just jump in to an all or nothing approach, and that works too, as long as they choose to learn along the way about what they are eating, what their body needs, how to boost their metabolism, and more. It is the learning part that makes someone successful in their weight loss journey. Those who decide that they really want to understand WHAT they should eat, HOW OFTEN, and WHY are the ones that keep it off forever.
Now that you have decided to lose weight, and you have either chosen to make small changes or to jump in head first, you will be reducing your caloric intake in order for the pounds to come off. Are you going to measure and weigh your foods so that you learn what your portion sizes should look like? Or are you going to rely on a weight loss system to do all the calculating for you? Again, either approach can work, it is what you decide will work best for you. You have to reduce your calories, increase your activity level and learn how to increase your metabolism to make your body a fat-burning machine to lose weight. And if you decide to rely on a program like shakes or pre-made meals, you still need to learn what to do after you reach your goal weight!
Now lets quickly talk about weight ... the pounds that are going to shed off of your body. I think it is important to realize that I am not just talking about the scale, I am talking about the fat on your body. The measurement of fat that you have on your body is a much more accurate measurement of your health than what the scale says. Get your body fat measured! You may be shocked at what your body fat measurement is and what a powerful piece of information it is to have for motivation! If you don't know where to go to get it measured, ask me, I can do it! :)
If you have 8-10 pounds to lose, you can typically lose it within a month, with dedication. So plan out your weight loss based on 8-10 pounds a month. It is easier to calculate using pounds than body fat percentage. Embark on your journey to eat whole foods, not packaged, reduce your intake of packaged, refined and low nutrient foods, and think simple. Think of fish and vegetables, chicken and salad, stir fry, pork chops and pea pods, etc. There are so many varieties of vegetables and fruits out there to never get bored creating new combinations of roasted or stir-fried vegetables! Think of foods that grew in the ground, were living, and have few ingredients. The simpler the food the better it is for you!
Time has flown by and you have lost the weight, so now what? Well, most people fail in their journey to keep their weight off because they go back to what they were doing before... which obviously didn't work in the first place so why would you do that again?!?! NO, you don't do that. You keep doing what you were doing during your weight loss mode of eating healthy and wholesome foods, but now you get to eat more of them. Instead of 6 ounces of chicken, have 8 ounces and more vegetables. Have some fruit for dessert. Have a larger snack during the day. But not too much more!!! Or you may choose to not work out as often as you were during your weight loss mode. You need to find the balance where you can add in more foods without starting to gain weight back. It is a process, but if you take the time to learn what your body really needs, it is well worth the investment of that time. Using a journal is a great way to keep track of what works for your body too! To look back at a week of journaling and see your notes that you felt full and lost 2 pounds that week, well do that week again if you still have weight to loose. If you look back over a week of journaling and notice that you gained 2 pounds that week, review what you did differently that week and learn from it!
Also keep in mind that it takes 90 days to make something a habit. So a new pattern of eating, making healthy food choices, eating frequently, and all of the stuff you start doing the first 30 days you have to keep up for at least 90 days for your mind and your body to create a habit of it. You will also find that after 90 days (usually only 30 days for most people, but 90 days for sure) you will discover that you no longer crave sugar and simple carbohydrates. Your cravings will be gone, your energy level will be increased and you will feel better than you have ever in your life. Why wouldn't you want to spend 30-90 days doing that?
If you want more information on wellness consultations, body fat measurement and how to create your own 30 day program please let me know! laura@fitnesswithlaura.com
My next entry will be about what eating healthy and having balance in your life means, as you are probably thinking: Does this mean I never get lasagna again? Does this mean I don't get chocolate again? I will answer that next!
When you embark on a weight loss journey you need to decide how you are going to approach it. Are you going to slowly change one thing at a time? Or are you going to dive in and make drastic changes? It completely depends on you, your personality, and your lifestyle as to which route you should take. I have many clients that choose to work on their breakfast eating habits first, then work on healthy snacks, then work on healthy lunch choices, etc. Slowly making each change over the course of a week or so and then adding something new to change. Some of my clients decide to just jump in to an all or nothing approach, and that works too, as long as they choose to learn along the way about what they are eating, what their body needs, how to boost their metabolism, and more. It is the learning part that makes someone successful in their weight loss journey. Those who decide that they really want to understand WHAT they should eat, HOW OFTEN, and WHY are the ones that keep it off forever.
Now that you have decided to lose weight, and you have either chosen to make small changes or to jump in head first, you will be reducing your caloric intake in order for the pounds to come off. Are you going to measure and weigh your foods so that you learn what your portion sizes should look like? Or are you going to rely on a weight loss system to do all the calculating for you? Again, either approach can work, it is what you decide will work best for you. You have to reduce your calories, increase your activity level and learn how to increase your metabolism to make your body a fat-burning machine to lose weight. And if you decide to rely on a program like shakes or pre-made meals, you still need to learn what to do after you reach your goal weight!
Now lets quickly talk about weight ... the pounds that are going to shed off of your body. I think it is important to realize that I am not just talking about the scale, I am talking about the fat on your body. The measurement of fat that you have on your body is a much more accurate measurement of your health than what the scale says. Get your body fat measured! You may be shocked at what your body fat measurement is and what a powerful piece of information it is to have for motivation! If you don't know where to go to get it measured, ask me, I can do it! :)
If you have 8-10 pounds to lose, you can typically lose it within a month, with dedication. So plan out your weight loss based on 8-10 pounds a month. It is easier to calculate using pounds than body fat percentage. Embark on your journey to eat whole foods, not packaged, reduce your intake of packaged, refined and low nutrient foods, and think simple. Think of fish and vegetables, chicken and salad, stir fry, pork chops and pea pods, etc. There are so many varieties of vegetables and fruits out there to never get bored creating new combinations of roasted or stir-fried vegetables! Think of foods that grew in the ground, were living, and have few ingredients. The simpler the food the better it is for you!
Time has flown by and you have lost the weight, so now what? Well, most people fail in their journey to keep their weight off because they go back to what they were doing before... which obviously didn't work in the first place so why would you do that again?!?! NO, you don't do that. You keep doing what you were doing during your weight loss mode of eating healthy and wholesome foods, but now you get to eat more of them. Instead of 6 ounces of chicken, have 8 ounces and more vegetables. Have some fruit for dessert. Have a larger snack during the day. But not too much more!!! Or you may choose to not work out as often as you were during your weight loss mode. You need to find the balance where you can add in more foods without starting to gain weight back. It is a process, but if you take the time to learn what your body really needs, it is well worth the investment of that time. Using a journal is a great way to keep track of what works for your body too! To look back at a week of journaling and see your notes that you felt full and lost 2 pounds that week, well do that week again if you still have weight to loose. If you look back over a week of journaling and notice that you gained 2 pounds that week, review what you did differently that week and learn from it!
Also keep in mind that it takes 90 days to make something a habit. So a new pattern of eating, making healthy food choices, eating frequently, and all of the stuff you start doing the first 30 days you have to keep up for at least 90 days for your mind and your body to create a habit of it. You will also find that after 90 days (usually only 30 days for most people, but 90 days for sure) you will discover that you no longer crave sugar and simple carbohydrates. Your cravings will be gone, your energy level will be increased and you will feel better than you have ever in your life. Why wouldn't you want to spend 30-90 days doing that?
If you want more information on wellness consultations, body fat measurement and how to create your own 30 day program please let me know! laura@fitnesswithlaura.com
My next entry will be about what eating healthy and having balance in your life means, as you are probably thinking: Does this mean I never get lasagna again? Does this mean I don't get chocolate again? I will answer that next!
Monday, March 17, 2014
My advice, take it or leave it.
Who am I that I should dare to give advice to you? I am simply fighting the same battle that most women fight with their weight, food choices and their self esteem. I am not perfect, I never will be, nor do I strive to be. But I do have experience, first hand, with losing huge amounts of weight and then gaining some of it back. I also understand the frustrations of fluctuating in weight and falling off and getting back on the wagon over and over again. So I get it, I really do.
The advice I feel like offering to you today isn't just about weight loss it is more about what the difference is between dieting and a lifestyle. I used to diet all the time, they call it yo-yo dieting. I would lose weight and then gain some back, then lose again, gain some back again, and it was this constant battle. Now I still do this, it's somewhat normal, but the amount that I gain back is so much less and I am learning to balance it out. That is the advice I want to give you, how to make it a lifestyle so that you can reach your goals and STAY THERE.
Losing weight it by far the hardest part. No doubt about it. And only those people who really truly commit to it, have a support system, learn about how to do it properly AND learn how to maintain it will succeed. That last part is the most important part. LEARN HOW TO MAINTAIN your weight loss, maintain your new weight. How do you do that? I hope to teach you through my strategy and experience.
As you are losing weight, whether that be through a program of some kind or through your own decision to eat smaller portions, healthier foods, and add in some exercise, you are undoubtedly consuming less calories than you are used to consuming. At some point people typically go back to what they were doing before and expect their scale to stay at their lower weight, and that will never happen. Your body weighs less now and it needs less food to maintain and sustain that new weight. If you did things the right way and added lean mass to your body (muscle) then you get to eat a little more because your body will burn more calories at rest with more lean mass on it. Yipppeee!!! But the trick is learning to go from that reduced caloric intake you were on while losing weight to figuring out how to eat to maintain your weight, without having to continually go back on a "diet".... this is exactly why diets fail!
I have learned that I am someone who will never be able to eat 3-5 meals a day and maintain my weight... I am just not that person. Now stick with me and let me explain! I still eat 3-5 times a day, just not MEALS. I know that I cannot make good choices that many times a day, I know that my portions get out of control and I am not good at it. That is just a reality of who I am. So I rely on nutrient rich meal replacements to get me through the day with the right amount of calories. To maintain my weight there are many days that I will eat breakfast (egg white omelet usually) but when I don't have time I grab a shake or a meal replacement bar and I know the exact calories and that it is loaded with the correct balance of nutrients my body needs. Let me show you the difference with an example:
Weight Loss Daily Intake: Weight Maintenance Daily Intake:
Breakfast Shake (240 cal) omelet or Shake (~240 cal)
Snack 100 cal whole food snack fiber bar (~120 cal)
Lunch Shake or Meal Replacement Bar (240 cal) salad and Shake (~400 cal)
Snack 100 cal whole food snack fiber bar or other bar (~120 cal)
Dinner chicken, veggies (300-400 cal) chicken, veggies (~300 - 400 cal)
Snack 100 cal whole food snack apple or banana (~100 cal)
Total Cal: 1080-1180 calories 1280-1380
To maintain my weight I know that I have to eat around 1280-1380 calories, that is based on my age, my weight and my activity level. But I also fluctuate those calories throughout the week. I will typically eat like shown on the right 5 days a week and eat like the left (weight loss intake) about twice a week. Why? This allows me to add in a few glasses of wine or beer and still stay within my calories to maintain my weight! If I know we will be going out to dinner one night during the week, and we are going somewhere that I know I am going to eat a high amount of calories, I will eat like shown on the left 4 times a week and then like the right 3 times a week to allow me more eating out calories! It is about finding the balance that works for your body! I know this works for me and for most of my clients.
So what products do I use for my shakes and bars? This has been a battle! I have searched for over a decade for shakes, bars and snacks that have the best ingredients available without artificial sweeteners, without GMOs, without toxins - pesticides and antibiotics used on the food sources, without preservatives and all those other ingredients that are scientifically tied to cancer and other illnesses. I have researched so many products out there, and I have been frustrated. I also wanted things that taste good, crazy right?!? Then in November my path crossed with a distributor of Isagenix and I couldn't believe I had finally found it. Isagenix created shakes, bars, and snack foods that are filled with super foods, NO SOY, 99% lactose free and low in sugar. I could go on and on, but those of you that want more info, just get in touch with me and I would be happy to point you in the direction and give you the guidance to explore that further.
Just remember that losing weight is always the hardest part, but you can do it! Keep in mind that at the end of that road is also going to a new journey, a journey of learning the balance for your body to stay at that weight. Don't give up on it, YOU CAN DO IT. Anything can be done with the right frame of mind, the right coaching, the right support and the right attitude! Get in touch with me if you need some of that.
The advice I feel like offering to you today isn't just about weight loss it is more about what the difference is between dieting and a lifestyle. I used to diet all the time, they call it yo-yo dieting. I would lose weight and then gain some back, then lose again, gain some back again, and it was this constant battle. Now I still do this, it's somewhat normal, but the amount that I gain back is so much less and I am learning to balance it out. That is the advice I want to give you, how to make it a lifestyle so that you can reach your goals and STAY THERE.
Losing weight it by far the hardest part. No doubt about it. And only those people who really truly commit to it, have a support system, learn about how to do it properly AND learn how to maintain it will succeed. That last part is the most important part. LEARN HOW TO MAINTAIN your weight loss, maintain your new weight. How do you do that? I hope to teach you through my strategy and experience.
As you are losing weight, whether that be through a program of some kind or through your own decision to eat smaller portions, healthier foods, and add in some exercise, you are undoubtedly consuming less calories than you are used to consuming. At some point people typically go back to what they were doing before and expect their scale to stay at their lower weight, and that will never happen. Your body weighs less now and it needs less food to maintain and sustain that new weight. If you did things the right way and added lean mass to your body (muscle) then you get to eat a little more because your body will burn more calories at rest with more lean mass on it. Yipppeee!!! But the trick is learning to go from that reduced caloric intake you were on while losing weight to figuring out how to eat to maintain your weight, without having to continually go back on a "diet".... this is exactly why diets fail!
I have learned that I am someone who will never be able to eat 3-5 meals a day and maintain my weight... I am just not that person. Now stick with me and let me explain! I still eat 3-5 times a day, just not MEALS. I know that I cannot make good choices that many times a day, I know that my portions get out of control and I am not good at it. That is just a reality of who I am. So I rely on nutrient rich meal replacements to get me through the day with the right amount of calories. To maintain my weight there are many days that I will eat breakfast (egg white omelet usually) but when I don't have time I grab a shake or a meal replacement bar and I know the exact calories and that it is loaded with the correct balance of nutrients my body needs. Let me show you the difference with an example:
Weight Loss Daily Intake: Weight Maintenance Daily Intake:
Breakfast Shake (240 cal) omelet or Shake (~240 cal)
Snack 100 cal whole food snack fiber bar (~120 cal)
Lunch Shake or Meal Replacement Bar (240 cal) salad and Shake (~400 cal)
Snack 100 cal whole food snack fiber bar or other bar (~120 cal)
Dinner chicken, veggies (300-400 cal) chicken, veggies (~300 - 400 cal)
Snack 100 cal whole food snack apple or banana (~100 cal)
Total Cal: 1080-1180 calories 1280-1380
To maintain my weight I know that I have to eat around 1280-1380 calories, that is based on my age, my weight and my activity level. But I also fluctuate those calories throughout the week. I will typically eat like shown on the right 5 days a week and eat like the left (weight loss intake) about twice a week. Why? This allows me to add in a few glasses of wine or beer and still stay within my calories to maintain my weight! If I know we will be going out to dinner one night during the week, and we are going somewhere that I know I am going to eat a high amount of calories, I will eat like shown on the left 4 times a week and then like the right 3 times a week to allow me more eating out calories! It is about finding the balance that works for your body! I know this works for me and for most of my clients.
So what products do I use for my shakes and bars? This has been a battle! I have searched for over a decade for shakes, bars and snacks that have the best ingredients available without artificial sweeteners, without GMOs, without toxins - pesticides and antibiotics used on the food sources, without preservatives and all those other ingredients that are scientifically tied to cancer and other illnesses. I have researched so many products out there, and I have been frustrated. I also wanted things that taste good, crazy right?!? Then in November my path crossed with a distributor of Isagenix and I couldn't believe I had finally found it. Isagenix created shakes, bars, and snack foods that are filled with super foods, NO SOY, 99% lactose free and low in sugar. I could go on and on, but those of you that want more info, just get in touch with me and I would be happy to point you in the direction and give you the guidance to explore that further.
Just remember that losing weight is always the hardest part, but you can do it! Keep in mind that at the end of that road is also going to a new journey, a journey of learning the balance for your body to stay at that weight. Don't give up on it, YOU CAN DO IT. Anything can be done with the right frame of mind, the right coaching, the right support and the right attitude! Get in touch with me if you need some of that.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Stress Eating, Don't Do It!
We all know about stress and the terrible things it can do to us. But do you really? Do you really think about how stress not only affects your mood but also your food choices? I know it affects mine, but I have the power to not let it and so do you.
There are so many different kinds of stress and so many things that affect our stress levels. We all have a breaking point and what we do when we reach that breaking point is what matters. Do you turn to food? Do you stop working out? Do you get so consumed in whatever is causing your stress that you forget to take time to plan how you are going to get through it? Trust me, I know about stress, and I know that right now, at this very moment and over the last couple of days I have TONS of excuses as to why I could just eat terribly and not workout. But I am not going to let that happen, I have the power to make that decision. We can't control a lot of things in our lives, things are going to happen to us, it is how we choose to respond to them that either makes you successful and happy or just makes you more miserable. I know that if I had been making bad food choices over the past few days my body would be handling the stress even worse. I choose what I put in my mouth, that is entirely up to me, so at least I can control something right now!
I spent 25 hours in the car and I could have just eaten drive through food and gas station packaged snack foods, but instead I chose to spend 30 minutes before leaving to pack healthy snacks and healthy foods for myself and my kids. I did allow us to go through one drive-thru fast food restaurant, but I did not order anything for me, and I was so proud of myself! I packed lots of fresh veggies, hummus, grilled chicken wraps (whole wheat tortilla, laughing cow herb cheese and spring greens), ham and cheese wraps for the kiddos, apples, bananas, strawberries, rice crackers and pretzels. We all survived on these foods for the entire 25 hour car ride, and that one stop through a drive-thru. I chose to teach my kids that despite what life throws at us, we still control our choices for food and what we put in our body. We feel better when we eat well, and our body is better able to cope with stress when it has good, pure, healthy fuel.
I love stress eating, I do it well, and that is why I have always struggled with my weight. But I am not going to let it control me any longer. I am making good choices, despite the circumstances, and even when at restaurants and at other's homes, I am making good choices. I have decided that once and for all I am going to remember at all times to stay in control of what goes in my mouth. Even around the holidays! Don't get me wrong I am going to have dessert one of these next couple of days, but I am going to have dessert once, not every day and not more than once a day. We do not NEED treats every day, we don't need them more than once in awhile, and that is simply not more than once a week. Remember the idea of eating in moderation. Moderation does not mean daily, it does not even usually mean 4 times a week. Obviously it depends on what food we are talking about, but in regards to desserts or unhealthy foods, once in awhile is 2-4 times a month!
Christmas time is a stressful time of year, and that is not what it is supposed to be about. So remember to sit back and enjoy it. Remember that no matter what stresses are thrown at you that you cannot control, you surely can control how you respond to it. If you are someone that typically turns to food for your comfort or stress relief, then find something else! Read, take a bath, read to your kids, do something creative, play a game, find some other way to take your mind off of those things you cannot control and divert your attention away from the pantry and the refrigerator. Remember that while we cannot control what life throws at us, no matter how awful and stressful it is, YOU DO CONTROL WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH! Make good choices, keep your body fueled with healthy and whole foods and your body will respond to all of life's stresses so much better.
This post was more of a lecture for myself right now, but I hope that you found something applicable to your life. I also hope that each and every one of you has a blessed Christmas.
There are so many different kinds of stress and so many things that affect our stress levels. We all have a breaking point and what we do when we reach that breaking point is what matters. Do you turn to food? Do you stop working out? Do you get so consumed in whatever is causing your stress that you forget to take time to plan how you are going to get through it? Trust me, I know about stress, and I know that right now, at this very moment and over the last couple of days I have TONS of excuses as to why I could just eat terribly and not workout. But I am not going to let that happen, I have the power to make that decision. We can't control a lot of things in our lives, things are going to happen to us, it is how we choose to respond to them that either makes you successful and happy or just makes you more miserable. I know that if I had been making bad food choices over the past few days my body would be handling the stress even worse. I choose what I put in my mouth, that is entirely up to me, so at least I can control something right now!
I spent 25 hours in the car and I could have just eaten drive through food and gas station packaged snack foods, but instead I chose to spend 30 minutes before leaving to pack healthy snacks and healthy foods for myself and my kids. I did allow us to go through one drive-thru fast food restaurant, but I did not order anything for me, and I was so proud of myself! I packed lots of fresh veggies, hummus, grilled chicken wraps (whole wheat tortilla, laughing cow herb cheese and spring greens), ham and cheese wraps for the kiddos, apples, bananas, strawberries, rice crackers and pretzels. We all survived on these foods for the entire 25 hour car ride, and that one stop through a drive-thru. I chose to teach my kids that despite what life throws at us, we still control our choices for food and what we put in our body. We feel better when we eat well, and our body is better able to cope with stress when it has good, pure, healthy fuel.
I love stress eating, I do it well, and that is why I have always struggled with my weight. But I am not going to let it control me any longer. I am making good choices, despite the circumstances, and even when at restaurants and at other's homes, I am making good choices. I have decided that once and for all I am going to remember at all times to stay in control of what goes in my mouth. Even around the holidays! Don't get me wrong I am going to have dessert one of these next couple of days, but I am going to have dessert once, not every day and not more than once a day. We do not NEED treats every day, we don't need them more than once in awhile, and that is simply not more than once a week. Remember the idea of eating in moderation. Moderation does not mean daily, it does not even usually mean 4 times a week. Obviously it depends on what food we are talking about, but in regards to desserts or unhealthy foods, once in awhile is 2-4 times a month!
Christmas time is a stressful time of year, and that is not what it is supposed to be about. So remember to sit back and enjoy it. Remember that no matter what stresses are thrown at you that you cannot control, you surely can control how you respond to it. If you are someone that typically turns to food for your comfort or stress relief, then find something else! Read, take a bath, read to your kids, do something creative, play a game, find some other way to take your mind off of those things you cannot control and divert your attention away from the pantry and the refrigerator. Remember that while we cannot control what life throws at us, no matter how awful and stressful it is, YOU DO CONTROL WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH! Make good choices, keep your body fueled with healthy and whole foods and your body will respond to all of life's stresses so much better.
This post was more of a lecture for myself right now, but I hope that you found something applicable to your life. I also hope that each and every one of you has a blessed Christmas.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
What do you do with your 168?
There are 168 hours in a week, what do you do with them? Ok, so take sleep out of the equation and you are left with around 112 waking hours. That is a lot of time! Your body only asks you for 6 of those hours to pay attention to it, to strengthen it, to challenge it, to use it and to relax it. SIX hours out of 112, that's less than 6% of the total waking time that you have in a week. So why does everyone keep saying they don't have the time, they are too busy, they can't this and they can't that... it is RIDICULOUS!
6 hours in a week, and actually you don't even need to dedicate that much. If you dedicate 30-40 minutes a day, 5 times a week that would be FABULOUS. Out of 112 hours if you really can't give yourself 4-6 hours of time then you need to evaluate your goals and your lifestyle. It's not a can't... it's a WON'T. There is a big difference. When you put it into perspective like this and look at how much time you really have and then portion that time into the things that you do, you will find that you have more time available than you think. This is where planning comes in. Plan your day, plan your week, plan your workout into that week. Out of 112 hours, take 50 out for those of you that have full times jobs and commute time. That still leaves 62 hours.... that's A LOT!
It all comes back to making excuses. Especially around the holidays. Everyone can find an excuse as to why they "can't" get a workout in, why they don't prioritize it, why they are too busy. But I will tell you that it is those people that continually make excuses that will NEVER reach their goals, NEVER. Do you really want to be one of those people? Take a good hard look at yourself, are you one of those people? If you are, then YOU are the only one that can make the decision to stop that cycle. Stop making excuses, start planning your 168 hours that you have every week and stick to it. Use a calendar, put your workout on there with a reminder alarm and treat that appointment as important as you would an appointment with your boss or your dream job interview. Your body, your health and your sanity should be way more important than those things.
So it comes down to what are you going to do with your 168 this week?
6 hours in a week, and actually you don't even need to dedicate that much. If you dedicate 30-40 minutes a day, 5 times a week that would be FABULOUS. Out of 112 hours if you really can't give yourself 4-6 hours of time then you need to evaluate your goals and your lifestyle. It's not a can't... it's a WON'T. There is a big difference. When you put it into perspective like this and look at how much time you really have and then portion that time into the things that you do, you will find that you have more time available than you think. This is where planning comes in. Plan your day, plan your week, plan your workout into that week. Out of 112 hours, take 50 out for those of you that have full times jobs and commute time. That still leaves 62 hours.... that's A LOT!
It all comes back to making excuses. Especially around the holidays. Everyone can find an excuse as to why they "can't" get a workout in, why they don't prioritize it, why they are too busy. But I will tell you that it is those people that continually make excuses that will NEVER reach their goals, NEVER. Do you really want to be one of those people? Take a good hard look at yourself, are you one of those people? If you are, then YOU are the only one that can make the decision to stop that cycle. Stop making excuses, start planning your 168 hours that you have every week and stick to it. Use a calendar, put your workout on there with a reminder alarm and treat that appointment as important as you would an appointment with your boss or your dream job interview. Your body, your health and your sanity should be way more important than those things.
So it comes down to what are you going to do with your 168 this week?
Monday, November 25, 2013
Simplify! Less really is more!
I cannot stand picking up a magazine that advertises on the front "Easy Healthy Dinners in 20 minutes" and you go to the recipes and all of the meals are extremely weird and have about 20 ingredients in them. Stuff I would NEVER make and don't even know where to buy most of the ingredients! That isn't "EASY" to me. I want easy, simple, few ingredients meals that are quick to make. It really is simple if you just go back to the basics.
Meals should be simple and easy to make, especially for those of us with families and busy schedules. I like to start with my protein, whether that is chicken, fish, pork or beef and just add a few things to it. Here is my favorite Chicken recipe... Put chicken breasts in a pan (no oil needed) on medium heat and let them cook about 8 minutes, covered. They will release from the pan when they are cooked on that side. Turn them over and cook another 5-8 minutes depending on how thick they are. Add 1 T. Butter, 1 T Olive Oil, 2 T. Honey, 1/4 cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice, 2 T capers. That's it! You have a tangy wonderful healthy chicken picatta! I usually serve this with brown rice or quinoa and green beans. It is a family favorite around here.
Did you notice the ingredients? Simple and not a lot of stuff. It seems to me that the less ingredients that are in something, the better it tastes. REAL food tastes better than packaged and preservative loaded foods. You can make so many easy dinners with just a few things, even just adding seasoning to your fish is a great healthy meal. So back up, stop trying to make things complicated and do more with LESS!!
The same is true for foods you buy. In an ideal world we wouldn't eat any packaged food, but that isn't realistic for most families. So start to look at the packaged foods you buy and look at the ingredients. You will notice that foods that have less ingredients are not only better for you, but they really do taste better. Cereal is a big one. I buy all of our cereal in the organic/natural foods section. Look at the ingredients some time! It will shock you that most cereals you probably buy your kids you can't even understand 75% of what is in there. Why are you feeding them that junk? There are so many brands of great cereals that have wonderful ingredients. This is true for almost all packaged foods. So if you are going to each something packaged, look at what is in it and make a better choice. Look at the ingredients and if you can't understand or don't know what something is on the list then you shouldn't eat it.
Simplify. Eat basic and healthy foods from the outside of the grocery store. Don't make meals or dinner complicated: steam some veggies, season some fish or meat and make a salad. Less ingredients, easier to make, and better tasting too. Start to really look at what you eat, look at the ingredients and remember that LESS INGREDIENTS IS BETTER!
Meals should be simple and easy to make, especially for those of us with families and busy schedules. I like to start with my protein, whether that is chicken, fish, pork or beef and just add a few things to it. Here is my favorite Chicken recipe... Put chicken breasts in a pan (no oil needed) on medium heat and let them cook about 8 minutes, covered. They will release from the pan when they are cooked on that side. Turn them over and cook another 5-8 minutes depending on how thick they are. Add 1 T. Butter, 1 T Olive Oil, 2 T. Honey, 1/4 cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice, 2 T capers. That's it! You have a tangy wonderful healthy chicken picatta! I usually serve this with brown rice or quinoa and green beans. It is a family favorite around here.
Did you notice the ingredients? Simple and not a lot of stuff. It seems to me that the less ingredients that are in something, the better it tastes. REAL food tastes better than packaged and preservative loaded foods. You can make so many easy dinners with just a few things, even just adding seasoning to your fish is a great healthy meal. So back up, stop trying to make things complicated and do more with LESS!!
The same is true for foods you buy. In an ideal world we wouldn't eat any packaged food, but that isn't realistic for most families. So start to look at the packaged foods you buy and look at the ingredients. You will notice that foods that have less ingredients are not only better for you, but they really do taste better. Cereal is a big one. I buy all of our cereal in the organic/natural foods section. Look at the ingredients some time! It will shock you that most cereals you probably buy your kids you can't even understand 75% of what is in there. Why are you feeding them that junk? There are so many brands of great cereals that have wonderful ingredients. This is true for almost all packaged foods. So if you are going to each something packaged, look at what is in it and make a better choice. Look at the ingredients and if you can't understand or don't know what something is on the list then you shouldn't eat it.
Simplify. Eat basic and healthy foods from the outside of the grocery store. Don't make meals or dinner complicated: steam some veggies, season some fish or meat and make a salad. Less ingredients, easier to make, and better tasting too. Start to really look at what you eat, look at the ingredients and remember that LESS INGREDIENTS IS BETTER!
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Eat when you are NOT hungry!
I know that sounds crazy, but I truly mean it. Eat when you are NOT hungry! It is contrary to what most diet programs tell you, and think about that, most diets FAIL! So are you going to listen to that advice? You shouldn't. If you wait to eat until your body tells you it is hungry, guess what? You are too late. Your blood sugar has already dropped, your body has needed food for a long time because the signal has already gotten from your stomach through your nervous system and into your brain. Now your brain has processed it and now you realize you have been hungry for awhile. So what happens then? Typically when we already have hunger pains we are past the point of making good choices. It also takes a long time for your body to signal that you have eaten and to turn off the signal in your brain telling you it is hungry, typically 15-20 minutes after you eat your body finally tells the brain to stop thinking it is hungry. By then you have probably over eaten or eaten something that isn't healthy because it was convenient and you start feeling guilty. Make sense? I hope so! So believe me if you start eating when you are NOT hungry you will increase your metabolism and burn through those fat reserves. So how do you do this?
Set a timer if you have to. Eat within 30 minutes of waking up. If you don't typically eat breakfast, start. Coffee is not breakfast either! Studies have proven that people who eat a healthy small breakfast either lose weight faster or are more successful at keeping weight off. This first meal of the day revs up your metabolism and jump starts your body to start burning energy. Every meal you eat should be smaller than you would typically think, smaller than we are trained to think we need. So every 2 hours set a timer and eat something small, even if you are not hungry. Here is a sample of what I eat:
7:30am Egg white omelet with veggies (I cut the veggies on the weekend so this only takes about 3 minutes to make)
9:30am Banana or other fruit
11:30am Apple and Light Baby Bell Cheese round
1:30pm Salad with turkey and light dressing
3:30pm Orange or other fruit
5:00pm Raw veggies or small salad while I am preparing dinner
6:30pm Grilled chicken, steamed veggies, small sweet potato
8:30pm Rice crackers and garlic herb laughing cow cheese
This entire day of all of that food is around 1100 calories. This is typically what I eat if I am trying to lose weight. If I am in maintenance mode then I add in about 400 more calories of good fat foods, like nuts, avocados, etc.
When your body knows it is going to be fed frequently, it doesn't go into starvation mode, it does the opposite. It truly become a fat burning machine. You will find that your portions are automatically smaller, you make better choices and your body learns how to metabolize your food and burn through your fat stores much more efficiently.
Remember that you are not on a diet, you are creating a lifestyle. You need to train your body to learn how to burn through the food you eat to trigger it to get hungry every 2-3 hours so that you increase your metabolism. Start to eat every 2-3 hours even when you are not hungry. Eat less, drink more water, and you won't get STARVING. Your body will start to tell you when it has been about 2.5 hours, you will feel that tiny little first twinge of hunger and that is what you want! That means you have trained your body to increase it's metabolism and burn more calories. You will learn to recognize those first signs of hunger before the blood sugar really drops and before they get worse. You will learn to eat then and your body will be telling you it is time. Train your body and listen to it! This may take 2-3 weeks... so start now. Eat every 2-3 hours when you are not hungry and train your body to be a fat burning machine!!!
Try it and let me know how it goes for you. I promise that if you give this a try for 3-4 weeks it will become a habit and you will be thrilled with how satisfied you feel. It is so great to never feel those hunger pains and know that my body is burning through fat because I taught it how to do that. YOU CAN TOO!!!
Set a timer if you have to. Eat within 30 minutes of waking up. If you don't typically eat breakfast, start. Coffee is not breakfast either! Studies have proven that people who eat a healthy small breakfast either lose weight faster or are more successful at keeping weight off. This first meal of the day revs up your metabolism and jump starts your body to start burning energy. Every meal you eat should be smaller than you would typically think, smaller than we are trained to think we need. So every 2 hours set a timer and eat something small, even if you are not hungry. Here is a sample of what I eat:
7:30am Egg white omelet with veggies (I cut the veggies on the weekend so this only takes about 3 minutes to make)
9:30am Banana or other fruit
11:30am Apple and Light Baby Bell Cheese round
1:30pm Salad with turkey and light dressing
3:30pm Orange or other fruit
5:00pm Raw veggies or small salad while I am preparing dinner
6:30pm Grilled chicken, steamed veggies, small sweet potato
8:30pm Rice crackers and garlic herb laughing cow cheese
This entire day of all of that food is around 1100 calories. This is typically what I eat if I am trying to lose weight. If I am in maintenance mode then I add in about 400 more calories of good fat foods, like nuts, avocados, etc.
When your body knows it is going to be fed frequently, it doesn't go into starvation mode, it does the opposite. It truly become a fat burning machine. You will find that your portions are automatically smaller, you make better choices and your body learns how to metabolize your food and burn through your fat stores much more efficiently.
Remember that you are not on a diet, you are creating a lifestyle. You need to train your body to learn how to burn through the food you eat to trigger it to get hungry every 2-3 hours so that you increase your metabolism. Start to eat every 2-3 hours even when you are not hungry. Eat less, drink more water, and you won't get STARVING. Your body will start to tell you when it has been about 2.5 hours, you will feel that tiny little first twinge of hunger and that is what you want! That means you have trained your body to increase it's metabolism and burn more calories. You will learn to recognize those first signs of hunger before the blood sugar really drops and before they get worse. You will learn to eat then and your body will be telling you it is time. Train your body and listen to it! This may take 2-3 weeks... so start now. Eat every 2-3 hours when you are not hungry and train your body to be a fat burning machine!!!
Try it and let me know how it goes for you. I promise that if you give this a try for 3-4 weeks it will become a habit and you will be thrilled with how satisfied you feel. It is so great to never feel those hunger pains and know that my body is burning through fat because I taught it how to do that. YOU CAN TOO!!!
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