There are lots of reasons to eat. From the dawn of time, it was about survival. Hunt and gather and survive. Food was hard to come by. Consuming was intense when food was found. The body then held on to the calories because food meant energy to survive.
Fast forward thousands of years, and food is so easy to get. It looks tempting. It can be cheap. It is socially acceptable to consume practically everywhere. Instead of thinking of food as a means of survival, we think of it as a pleasure to behold, a way to pass time, a coping mechanism, a mindless habit, something we deserve for dealing with a long, hard day. Unfortunately, our body still wants to hold on to the calories, because it hasn't gotten the evolutionary message that says--no worries--more fuel is readily available. This poses a major health problem contributing to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, some cancers, sleep apnea and at the very least inactivity.
There are a few ways of looking at hunger. One way is to identify it as internal, meaning that it is a physical problem that can be solved by eating. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and the snacks in between are meant to be fuelers and hunger-satisfiers. Those are the times when we can consider the foods groups, i.e. fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, dairy, and 2 tsp of healthy oil to solve this problem.
A different kind of hunger is external and can be associated with urges and opportunity. Maybe you just ate breakfast, but then you go to work and find donuts in the break room. They look appealing. This is really an urge that you can actually do something about.
Today's world is full of temptation. We can't control free samples, party buffets, restaurant menus or candy dishes. We can control our behavior. The first plan of attack is to stay fueled. Eat at regular intervals, from a few food groups at a time if possible. A protein, carb and healthy fat is considered the trinity of satisfaction. That could be a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread and a piece of fruit, for example. Eat every three hours so that you can avoid getting too hungry or "hangry.". External cues will be nearly impossible to resist when your hunger is primal. The next thing to consider is that food that isn't planned, that isn't at a meal or snack time may not be worth the points? Maybe you can avoid the situation altogether by brushing past the free samples at the stores because you are chewing gum and focusing on shopping not eating?
This sounds like work. It is work. It is the most worthwhile work you can do because you get closer to what you really want every time you make an effort, no matter how big or how small that effort may be. Now that's sounding more like a dream come true.
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Friday, February 16, 2018
Take Weight Watchers With You Wherever You Go
This post is coming a bit late because I just got back from a 24 hour whirlwind trip to New York City. I got to see the WW Corporate Office. (Sorry, no Oprah sightings) I was there along with four other WW cruise staff and three WW leaders who traveled the cruise as members, to film a video promotion about the upcoming WW cruise (May 5-12) in the Caribbean.
I was reminded yet again how easy it is to travel and eat out when you are with like-minded people. Going out to a restaurant was easy because the coordinator chose a place that had a wide ranging menu with lots of healthy options. Second, we all understood each other. We are all on FreeStyle, and we all wanted it to work. Third, no judging. My friend, John, ordered fries with a burger but no cheese. That's the freedom that comes from FreeStyle. You can work your points and your zero points to make room for what matters. That got me to thinking about how much everything feels better when you are with like-minded people.
When we went to the WW Corporate Office, I saw two pieces of fruit on lots of desks. Smart. There was fruit by the free coffee bar (yes, fancy) and WW snacks around. That doesn't mean every single person is counting SmartPoints, but it certainly was easy to do if you tried. When lunch was brought in, there were water bottles, two kinds of vegetarian salads plus grilled chicken strips on the side and balsamic vinaigrette. Smart again. I so appreciated the ease of doing the right thing.
We need accountability partners. We need like minded people wherever we go to help us along. I count on my OrangeTheory coaches to keep my workouts interesting, fun and worth my time. I count on my fellow WW coworkers to weigh me and give me advice and help make sense of life-long journey of good health. I count on my inner circle of family and friends to tell it to me straight. I appreciate that.
If we are going to create a healthy lifestyle, we are going to do it one moment at a time, one day at a time...and we are going to need help and encouragement along the way. We all benefit from the kindness, advice, coaching and camaraderie that comes from knowing we are not alone at this.
That is something we can all manage.
I was reminded yet again how easy it is to travel and eat out when you are with like-minded people. Going out to a restaurant was easy because the coordinator chose a place that had a wide ranging menu with lots of healthy options. Second, we all understood each other. We are all on FreeStyle, and we all wanted it to work. Third, no judging. My friend, John, ordered fries with a burger but no cheese. That's the freedom that comes from FreeStyle. You can work your points and your zero points to make room for what matters. That got me to thinking about how much everything feels better when you are with like-minded people.
When we went to the WW Corporate Office, I saw two pieces of fruit on lots of desks. Smart. There was fruit by the free coffee bar (yes, fancy) and WW snacks around. That doesn't mean every single person is counting SmartPoints, but it certainly was easy to do if you tried. When lunch was brought in, there were water bottles, two kinds of vegetarian salads plus grilled chicken strips on the side and balsamic vinaigrette. Smart again. I so appreciated the ease of doing the right thing.
We need accountability partners. We need like minded people wherever we go to help us along. I count on my OrangeTheory coaches to keep my workouts interesting, fun and worth my time. I count on my fellow WW coworkers to weigh me and give me advice and help make sense of life-long journey of good health. I count on my inner circle of family and friends to tell it to me straight. I appreciate that.
If we are going to create a healthy lifestyle, we are going to do it one moment at a time, one day at a time...and we are going to need help and encouragement along the way. We all benefit from the kindness, advice, coaching and camaraderie that comes from knowing we are not alone at this.
That is something we can all manage.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Going Out But Staying Smart
The big push in our Freestyle program is to be able to live life fully and be "free" to be more flexible with our choices. This includes eating out. The problem with eating out, however, is that we get the wrong idea about appropriate portion size, calorie count, points values--not to mention permission to overeat.
Instead of giving up, we can be in the driver's seat by planning ahead. We already know the places we frequent. We already know the meals we prefer. We already know the foods we can't resist. This knowledge is power, because we can easily pretrack these items on any given day so that when we do eat out, we are prepared.
The food supply where we happen to live is full of calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt. That means high points. Loud music in restaurants is designed to make us eat faster and hopefully more. Servers are tasked with upselling every beverage and course on the menu. We can be smarter than all of this. We can special order, ask questions about preparation, get boxes, split entrees, eat soup or salad first and order an appetizer instead of an entrée or drink a lot of water throughout the meal. We can actually beat the restaurant industry at its own game if we get our head in the game.
Ah--yes, it all comes back to what we are thinking. Let's be thinking we can get what we really want by asking for it. Let's be thinking that servers are going to help us instead of sabotage us. Let's be thinking that the way to really enjoy eating out is to have zero regrets when we are done. Let's be thinking that we are worth it.
It's work to stay on top of our game, but that's how we get better at it. That's how we get stronger. That's how we reach our goals.
Instead of giving up, we can be in the driver's seat by planning ahead. We already know the places we frequent. We already know the meals we prefer. We already know the foods we can't resist. This knowledge is power, because we can easily pretrack these items on any given day so that when we do eat out, we are prepared.
The food supply where we happen to live is full of calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt. That means high points. Loud music in restaurants is designed to make us eat faster and hopefully more. Servers are tasked with upselling every beverage and course on the menu. We can be smarter than all of this. We can special order, ask questions about preparation, get boxes, split entrees, eat soup or salad first and order an appetizer instead of an entrée or drink a lot of water throughout the meal. We can actually beat the restaurant industry at its own game if we get our head in the game.
Ah--yes, it all comes back to what we are thinking. Let's be thinking we can get what we really want by asking for it. Let's be thinking that servers are going to help us instead of sabotage us. Let's be thinking that the way to really enjoy eating out is to have zero regrets when we are done. Let's be thinking that we are worth it.
It's work to stay on top of our game, but that's how we get better at it. That's how we get stronger. That's how we reach our goals.
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