Here and Now

Why do we want life to be different than it is? Why do we think about who we were and who we’re going to be more than who we are? We certainly talk a good game about who we are now. Why do we try to predict the future with the hope that wishful thinking is enough to change it? Life is NOT the way it was. It’s the way it is. Life is not our fantasy predictions of the future or our glory days of the past. Life is that thing that is happening to you as you read this. We fall into the trap of living in the past and future because right here is not good enough. Back then and up there are keeping you from right now.

When it comes to food, think about the here and now. What choice will you make right now. It is not rocket science as some diets would have you believe. Don’t worry about percentages, formulas, and “weird” combinations of different foods to trick the body into losing weight for a short period of time. This battle of overeating, eating garbage pretending to be food, and choosing dangerous ways to lose weight is a nightmare. If you really care about your health here and now, you must clean up your diet today. If you consume high-quality fuel, your mind and body run smoothly. Low-fat chocolate cake is NOT a healthy choice. Fat-free potato chips aren’t healthy either. Don’t get caught up in all the fad diets and weight loss pills. Long-term success doesn’t happen with Atkins, Slim-Fast, or the Coconut Diet. It happens when you consistently choose and eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats. Showing up for six workouts a week requires great discipline. It’s also important to show restraint and discipline in your choices regarding food and supplementation. Our bodies don’t run on exercise, they run on the fuel we put in our mouth. You cannot substitute good exercise for a bad diet. Good diet and exercise have to happen at the same time. If you bring the same level of consistency and discipline to your daily fuel intake as you do to your workouts, you’ll greatly reduce a lifetime of health risks, improve your overall quality of life, and see much greater physical change here and now.

Easy Swap – Cut 150 Calories

Sometimes the littlest swaps or tweaks can make a big difference. If you cut 150 calories per day through diet or exercise, that equates to 54,750 calories per year, which equals almost 16 pounds!  Here are some food swaps you can make to cut 150 calories from your menu.

1. Use mustard instead of mayo on sandwiches.

2. Buy 6-inch low-carb, whole-wheat tortillas instead of the 10-inch flour ones. Not only will you lose calories, but you’ll also get four times the fiber!

3. Avoid soda and juice and drink water instead (or unsweetened tea).

4. If you need a potato fix, try a baked potato instead of french fries.

5. Choose brown rice and rye bread instead of white rice or white bread.

6. Keep 100-calorie popcorn snack packs on hand to eat instead of a bag of chips from the vending machine.

7. Skip the grande Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks and opt for a small latte with skim milk instead.

8. Trade in a normal bagel for a toasted whole-wheat English muffin.

9. Load your pasta with veggies to cut calories but not bulk. Instead of two cups of pasta, try one cup of whole-wheat pasta and one cup of cooked veggies. (Remember to cook whole-wheat pasta longer for the best taste).

Body Fitness = Mind Fitness

 Mind and body fitness?  There is more to fitness than well-toned muscles.  Creating a love of movement can help you commit to a lifelong program of good health through mind and body fitness.

 Whateve exercise you choose, remember that our bodies are made to move to feel good. So when you incorporate regular activity in your life, you’re moving closer to overall mind and body fitness. You can improve your mind-body connection for better mind and body fitness – it’s just important to choose realistic fitness options.

 You might consider redefining exercise as any activity that unites your mind and body and reduces your stress level. In fact, high levels of stress have been linked to weight gain, and certainly can lead to emotional eating. Finding activities that are both enjoyable and easy to do is important when developing any type of exercise plan.

 It’s important to be realistic about what we expect from ourselves. Consider your goals. Is 30 to 60 minutes on a treadmill a reasonable time frame at this point in your life? Are you setting yourself up for failure or success when you create this expectation for yourself? 

 Developing an exercise plan that fits your lifestyle and your desires is critical. Surprisingly, long-term weight loss is linked more closely to whether a person sticks to their fitness routine than to what that routine actually consists of. A routine that is reasonable and pleasurable is more likely to lead to the long-term gains you are seeking.

 All-or-nothing thinking about exercise leads us to first bite off more than we can chew and then give up all together. Just walk into a gym in the month of January and try to get on a Stairmaster. There’s a good chance you’ll have to wait in line. But by March or April, there are usually plenty of free machines.

 It is also important to tailor your fitness goals to your preferences. Some people like the idea of getting out of the house in the evening and going to the gym. Others prefer staying home and doing a quieter exercise routine after the demands of a stressful day. Either approach, or a combination of the two, can result in improved mind and body fitness.

 What is critical is for you to come to know yourself and to take yourself seriously. If you like to be home in the evenings, find things to do in your home or consider an occasional walk with friends or family. If you crave the company of others, head for the gym. Think about what works for you, and follow your inner voice.

 Long-term weight loss can take time. And we can get demoralized when we don’t see immediate results. But remember that maintaining an exercise routine is associated with physical as well as mental well-being.  Our focus on the numbers on our scale can often lead to harsh thoughts, more bingeing and grazing on food, and, ironically, less fitness rather than more.

 It may be that the best exercise you can do right now is to throw your scale into the garbage. Focus on how you’re feeling with your exercise routine. Is it something you enjoy and can maintain? Is it reducing your stress level and allowing a connection between your mind and body? If so, you’ll probably keep it up, and fitness of mind and body and spirit will be yours.

Remember that fitness of mind and body belong together, and that exercise is very narrowly defined in our society. So redefine exercise as any activity that reduces stress and connects your mind and body. You’ll be more likely to continue your exercise plan and achieve the outcome you’re looking for.

Feed the dog

There is a story about wise man who is giving a lesson to a young girl. He says, “There are two dogs in my head.  One is very good; he is positive, optimistic and kind.  The other one is very bad; he is negative, angry and judgmental.  These two dogs are always fighting.”

His young student asks him, “So which one wins?”

The elder replies, “Whichever one I feed the most.”

Like the wise man of this story, many people experience a similar inner conflict with their weight loss.  It is like there are two conflicting voices inside their heads.  I hear these two voices on a daily basis especially when I am deciding what to eat.

One voice is frustrated (and sometimes hungry) and is on the verge of giving up and or giving in to the temptation to eat something that will sabotage your diet.  The other voice, in spite of the frustration, refuses to give up or give in. 

The challenge is which voice will you listen to?  Will you give in to the whispers inside that say what’s the point, what’s the use? Or will you stay focused, optimistic and keep going until you find the right solution for you?

Deciding which voice to listen to is the crucial first step, but there is a second step that is equally important.  The second step is having the right information that will help you get where you want to be. 

Consider this: what you have done up until this point has gotten you to exactly where you are right now.  If you’re feeling stuck and the number on the scale isn’t moving, then you need new information to shake things up.  New insights and ideas come from new information.  Try something new.

Whichever path you choose to follow to get where you want to be, remember the choice between hope and despair is always up to you. It’s a choice you make every minute of every day.  You make it by deciding which voice to listen to.  You make it by deciding which dog to feed.

PRE and POST … EAT!

When it comes to nourishing your body before and after a workout, many people think about three big meals a day. However, one of the best things that you can do for your body is to provide it with more immediate nutrition. Try timing your workout so that it is in between meals with a nutrient and protein-packed snack to bookend it on either side. There is a key 90 minute period in which you want to work out; eating a meal 90 minutes before you exercise, a quick energy and “fuel” meal right before your workout, again right after your workout, and another meal 90 minutes later.

Remember, the point of your pre-workout meal or snack is to provide your body with the materials it needs to fuel your workout. Any time you are increasing strength and building up your body, you need to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to carry it through the workout– otherwise, your body will consume reserve resources in the body, which are much harder to replace.

The point of eating after your workout is to provide your muscles with the materials that they need to build themselves back up. When you do any kind of weight training, your muscles actually break themselves down in the form of small tears in the muscle fibers and then rebuild themselves even stronger in the hours and days that follow your workout. In order to successfully rebuild themselves, your muscles must replenish their resources. Providing your body with the raw materials it needs to rebuild and refuel itself is the entire point of your post-nutrition meals.

Drinking smoothies is one of the best ways to quickly get easily absorbable nutrients into your body after a workout.  Time is truly of the essence when refueling your body post-workout– and using a smoothie, which is liquid and therefore more easily broken down, is a great way to go.  If I have somewhere to go right after the gym, I will pre-make my smoothie and carry it with me to the gym in a thermos or insulated coffee mug to keep it cold and fresh.
Green Power Smoothie:
1 cup liquid- water, juice, or soy/rice milk
1 scoop protein powder
1 serving greens product (Greens+ is a highly recommended option)
1 frozen banana
1/4 cup frozen blueberries

Almond Butter Fruit Smoothie:
1 cup liquid- water, juice, or soy/rice milk
1 scoop protein powder
2 tablespoons almond butter
1 frozen banana
1/4 cup strawberries
1/4 cup frozen blueberries

By using frozen banana, you eliminate the need for ice, and by freezing the blueberries you increase their antioxidant power. Whey or hemp proteins are especially easy for the body to digest, so look for a protein powder based on that criteria. You can use any kind of fruit in your smoothie, so choose your favorites and drink up!

Resistance, Resistance, Resistance

You have heard the saying that the three most important things in real estate are location, location, location.  Well the three most important things to getting a toned body are resistance, resistance, resistance… training.  Yes – weight lifting.

“I just want to tone”.  That is what someone told me today when I suggested some free weight exercise.  …”I don’t use free weights or heavy weights because I just want to tone my body.” Here is the cold hard truth – you can’t simply do the stair climber or treadmill, cut back on calories, and expect a toned body to be waiting underneath your flab. To have a toned look, you need to add muscle. The only way to add muscle is by resistance training. If you don’t use free weight exercises with heavier weights on occasion, the only thing you will get after you cut back on calories is a smaller, flabby body.

Think F.I.T.
To improve your physique you need to work your body harder. This is referred to as the overload principle. It is probably the number one thing you can do to work smarter and get toned faster. As your body becomes more conditioned, you need to increase the frequency, intensity, or time of your workouts in order to continue improving your fitness level.

Frequency: How often you exercise. For beginners, consider starting with 2-3 sessions per week.
Intensity: How hard you exercise. For example, the pace you walk or run, the amount of weight you lift, or your heart rate count.
Time: How long you perform an activity. “Time” can also refer to the number of sets or repetitions you perform in weight training.

Resistance training works very well for the first three months. After that point, the body starts to adapt, and progress becomes more difficult unless you start adding more weight. If you continue to train with the same weight over and over again, your resistance training regimen will soon become worthless. It is very difficult to tone (add muscle to) your body, if you don’t try to lift more weight from time to time. So, when you can do 3 sets of 10 repetitions of an exercise, bump the weight up by 5 pounds or even 2 pounds the next time you hit the gym. But always use good form when lifting.

Resistance training is hard, especially during the first several months. Don’t kill yourself in the gym during this time. And whatever you do, never stay more than one hour. Get to know your body, and explore various free weight exercises. Find some folks who have great bodies, and study what they do.  If I see someone who has a great physique, I always pay more attention to what they are doing.  So many times I will see someone doing an exercise that I have never seen, or a variation that I had not considered.  I will copy it during my next workout.

Start Small
Exercise is not an all or none endeavor. It is a continuum. Keep in mind that a little is better than none and you can do something today, so don’t worry about what you will do next month. Don’t expect results overnight. But do expect to take small steps every day. If you are just starting out, commit to 5 minutes of resistance training (weight training)  every single day for 30 days.  Of course if you can do 30 minutes at least 2-5 times a week, that is even better

Get out of the water !!

I was at the gym today on the elliptical listening to the two guys next to me lamenting about their ups and downs of weight loss.  One of the guys had lost over 100 pounds several different times, which also means that he has gained over 100 pounds several times. There is nothing as overwhelming as seeing that scale start to creep up.  It happens to everyone, but how far you let the creep continue is up to you. Scale creep happens because of the small, daily decisions, ones that you thought were just a big dinner, or a skipped workout were explained away in your mind as isolated incidents.  But they are not.  The little things add up, and they can add up fast if you don’t pay attention.

Gaining weight back is a similar path to how you took the weight off. When you lost one or two pounds a week, you made daily accountability decisions and choices that resulted in weight loss.  Maybe it was your daily or weekly weigh-in on the scale; maybe it was your big yummy salad with your favorite dressing for lunch or pulling out your jeans to see if they fit yet.  All of those little changes, those small decisions added up to your weight loss.

Gaining weight back follows a similar pattern.  Remember, you didn’t lose the weight in a measured exact way of three pounds per week every week, and you don’t gain it the same way. 

It usually starts with one little trigger.

The Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day a week apart … YIKES.  One little trigger, or big trigger for example an over the top meal:  a big steak, baked stuffed potato, a little of the crab appetizer and the chocolate cheesecake, topped  with drink after drink in celebration.  You feel so lethargic the next day, which I call a food hangover, that you break your normal oatmeal/blueberry morning and you have a cup of coffee and a croissant just to function the next day and curb your food withdrawal.

Since you “messed up” breakfast, you say “screw” it to lunch and have the pizza you’ve been missing.  Once you’ve had the pizza for lunch, you think, might has well have the lasagna for dinner because I’ve totally blown it.  What’s one more meal?

Maybe your scale ran out of batteries and you don’t have that accountability that you’ve been so diligent about when you lost weight.  You just stop weighing in because you no longer have your scale.  Two weeks go by and you’re so scared of seeing what that number will be, you go another week without weighing in.  Three weeks turn into four and the pounds continue to pile on.

It can be as simple as wearing comfy sweats for 4 days in a row. They feel so big and roomy, that you eat an extra muffin and you think, wow, I must be doing great because everything still fits! (I’ve done that one myself, many times, then I finally “wake up”, pull up my jeans and say, ughh!!!!  What was I thinking!?!??).  It’s all those little decisions, the same daily decisions you made when you were losing weight, that result in adding the pounds back.

Sometimes it’s not even “your fault”.  You become ill for days and just don’t feel like getting back to your workout regimen.  After you become well again, it’s been a while since you’ve worked out and that great habit you’ve created fizzles. Sometimes even the best intentions get derailed and they can be beyond your control.

The most FOOLPROOF to get back on track is to commit to one good day. 

If one good day seems overwhelming because you’re in such a hopeless spot, commit to one good meal.  Just one.  If you have already blown breakfast, then make your lunch your “on track” option … something that will give you energy, make you feel great,  and give you the confidence that you can do it. Often, just one positive decision, one good lunch, one good run, can give you the jolt you crave to shake it up and get you back on the track of losing the weight.

You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.  Get out of the water and get back on track!

Eating In The New Economy

      

 Eating In The New Economy.  This is the title of a recent post from a friend of mine who is a great blogger and has a blog full of recipes that are made from quality, healthy and whole ingredients.  She also has some great dessert recipes that are worth the calories when you want a splurge day.   http://acooksnotes.blogspot.com/

Gigi’s article is a must read because it gives some great money saving tips, budgeting tips, and value creating tips when it comes to grocery shopping. Often times, changing to a healthy eating plan can cause your grocery bill to be higher because some of the healthier choices and better quality ingredients can be more expensive. 

Many of these tips are also great when applied to weight loss and healthy eating.  I love grocery shopping, but the grocery store is a land mine of temptation.  At every turn there is an enticing snack, on every end cap there is a tempting treat, and don’t forget about the check out lane impulse buys.  One of her tips is to only go grocery shopping once a week. Not only do you save big on your grocery bill, you save big on your calories.

Another great tip is to buy in bulk. Definitely a money saver.  Also, when you buy in bulk and break down the servings yourself, you can be very accurate and know that each serving is the appropriate portion and the appropriate calories for your diet.

She also suggests buying a lot of something if there is a great sale. Especially if one of your favorites (healthy favorites) goes on sale, stock up so you always have your healthy “go to” food on hand.

One of the best things you can do for your wallet and your waistline is to prepare your own meals, and good grocery shopping habits are key. You can choose healthy ingredients so you know exactly what you are eating, and you can have good quality food for a fraction of the cost of eating out.

156 Billion Calories

156 Billion Calories.  That is how many calories will be consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.  I will definitely be doing my part to contribute to that number.  We are staying home this year, so it will just be Todd and the kids and me.  We are going to get all the traditional munchies, and I promised the kids we would do an ice cream social, where everyone gets to have a few favorite toppings. However, I do want to offer up some Super Bowl eating tips. 

1.  You know one of my favorite sayings is to make your calories count.   On Super Bowl Sunday this is key.  If you are staying home, you are in complete control of what treats you have.  Get only the things you really love. If you are going to a party or bar, when you arrive, take a quick inventory of what food is available.  Choose only your absolute favorites, and INDULGE! 

2.  Use a small plate for your food.  So many studies are out now that say if your eye perceives a small amount of food, your brain will tell your stomach that you are not satisfied.  A reasonable portion on a regular size plate may not look like a satisfying amount, but a reasonable portion on a small plate can trick the eye and brain so that the signal to the stomach is that you are getting enough food to satisfy your hunger.

3.  Before you go, eat a small healthy snack at home.  Sometimes we think that we should “save” our calories until the party, so we don’t eat anything all day.  When we show up, we are starving and go crazy on the food.  If you have a healthy snack before you go, you won’t pig out right when you arrive.  If you are staying home, don’t start eating your Super Bowl cupcakes for breakfast.  Decide on a time frame that you will have your treats out.

4.  Indulge in your favorite treats within the first 20 minutes of the “party”.  Be mindful and recognize when you are full.  For the next four hours or so, everyone will be sitting around the television munching.  Mindless munching.  You will already have eaten your favorites, and you are probably full, but you may want to munch.  Most parties are going to have a fruit plate or a veggie tray (or you bring one, so you know there is a healthy option).  Make veggies your mindless munching choice. Guacamole and salsa would be a good plan B.

5.  Seat strategy: choose your seat so that it is across the room from the coffee table loaded with treats.  You may not want to walk across the room in front of everyone blocking their view to re-fill your plate.

6.  A bottle of beer has 150 calories.

Light Bulb Moment : Fat v.s. Sugar

 
It is interesting how one little bit of information can lead to more little bits that take you
to a light bulb moment.  When I was writing my 5 part article, one of the parts was about burning
fat instead of sugar.  I know that sugar is poison, but this was a new way of looking at it for me. 
I don’t eat a lot of sugar though, so I was glad I had a deeper understanding of the whole “sugar thing”, 
but I didn’t think about it too much more.

There is a lot of info out now about doing cardio at a fat burning level which is at a slower pace. 
The theory is that you will burn more fat if you do cardio at a slower pace (your fat burning zone). 
This made sense, but the flip side of this is that when you work at a slower pace, you burn less
calories.  If you do intense cardio, you burn way more calories, so you lose more weight. From a
purely numbers game of weight loss, you want to burn as many calories as you can, so this
“fat burning zone” stuff didn’t seem too important to me.

However, now I have two somewhat unrelated bits of information about burning fat.  One has to do with
lowering your consumption of sugar, and the other has to do with slower paced cardio.

There is a difference between burning fat and burning sugar. While your body can burn either fuel,
it is far better off burning fat. Fat is the body's fuel of choice. Fat, not sugar, is our most
inexhaustible and healthy energy resource. 

The reality is that far too many people do not have the energy they need or want, and there are a
series of slight adjustments one can take to change this aspect of your life.  Let’s incorporate
two somewhat unrelated bits of info.

The first step is to focus on reduction in sugar, and to stop viewing sugar as a primary source
of energy. When you start to reduce your sugar intake, you set in motion a process where your body
can start to burn more fat, to rely on fat as an energy source not sugar. 

The next step is to Slow Down and rethink the idea you hold in your head of what "ideal" exercise
is. When you do an intense workout, you often trigger an innate "fight or flight" mechanism, which
is designed to get us out of trouble quickly. This intense process primarily uses sugar as an energy
source. When you move slowly, your body primarily uses fat as an energy source. 

Key Concept: When you get your body into a mode where you burn fat, you tap into a virtually unlimited
energy source.  There is a guy named  Stu Mittleman who broke the American record for running
100 miles in a day. 

Stu says that our bodies store about 2,500 sugar calories, but have a minimum of 130,000 fat
calories available. When you burn fat your body does not "freak out" and want you to replace
it immediately. If you burn 500 calories in a high intensity workout, most likely you are burning
sugar. In this case your body starts to send signals out to replace that sugar ASAP which leads to sugar
cravings. When you approach exercise in a more comfortable and enjoyable pace, you can begin to
draw from the broader sources of energy. 

This concept might sound simple, but the difficulty lies in the fact that the dominant fitness 
culture promotes intense workouts followed by ingesting sugary sports drinks, and I was going
right along with it. This was one of my light bulb moments. Recently, I started doing a DVD at home
called Insanity.  It is a great high intensity workout, and I love it (and hate it).  As with any
workout DVD series, it comes with a nutrition guide.  One of the things they tell you to do is have
a “recovery” drink after your workout.  I have always had a protein shake after all my workouts, but
just protein.  This program says to get some simple sugars with your recovery drink, to replenish
what you just burned off.  SO I started having a Tbsp of raw honey added to my protein shake….
So I can replace the sugar I just burned off?  Really?  What was I thinking?  No more honey for me. 

Most likely you are familiar with the phrase "no pain, no gain." For many of us, me included,
our ideal vision workout might be an hour of a high level spinning class. We associate ideal
exercise with these high intensity workouts. 

But it is common sense if you think about it. Our bodies over the years were built to store fat
to keep us alive as we moved around long distances. We moved slowly, and our bodies adapted to give
us energy to move long distances. I am not going to stop doing my intense cardio workouts, but I
am most certainly going to pay more attention to the fat burning, slower paced workouts and make
sure I have a good mix of both.