Fruits and Veggies

Eating with the seasons and eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is always going to be the healthy way to go.  Unfortunately, most people around the world--yes, the world--are not getting enough.  In fact, it is recommended that most adults double their fruit and veggie consumption.  

With so many options, it can be a simple matter of getting frozen and fresh vegetables in the house every single week.  Trying a new preparation, like roasting vegetables or fruits like peaches and pineapple can make eating the rainbow more appealing.  Adding new spices or herbs can also make a common veggie like carrots seem more appealing--e.g. roasting multi-color carrots with dried thyme.  That's one of my favorites.  Furthermore, it is so easy--sheet pan cooking.

This week I am committed to trying something new.  That means dragon fruit for the first time for me.  I encourage you to pay more attention to this food group.  Increase your servings of fruits and veggies.  Discover a new recipe or preparation.  Snack on jicama with a low point or zero point dip.

See what it does for you, your energy level and your sense of fullness.  

Stress Less

Everyone feels stress, and we Americans feel it more than others around the world.  Maybe it is our work ethic, our on-demand culture, our Mc-Quick-have it your way attitude?  Whatever the reason, this is a health problem that can lead to weight gain, sleeplessness and sickness to name a few.

While we cannot eliminate stress entirely, we can manage our reaction to it.  This is where the power is.  Personal power.  For starters, consider the situations, times of day, people in your world who bring stress.  Consider how you react presently, in these circumstances.  Consider what you have ever done in the past to calm yourself down, self regulate and manage your stress. 

Many of us, including yours truly, have managed stress by eating sweets or high calorie carbs in response to stress.  Stress makes us crave junky food and retain belly fat. There's always junky snacks available, and it's socially acceptable to eat practically all the time.  Except, now that we are looking for self improvement, weight loss or maintenance and good health, this doesn't work.  We cannot continue to use food to stuff feelings, manage emotional situations or deal with loss and disappointment. 

Exercise is my favorite way to relieve stress.  It is a physical thing I can do with my body to get out of my mind.  By exercising regularly, I am automatically pre-managing my stress.  After sixteen years of doing this, I can honestly say the grouch in me comes out if I haven't been able to do my workouts and practice yoga and play qi gong. 

Meditation, as in breathe in deeply through the nose and out through the nose, is an internal switch we all have that tells the body to stop producing cortisol and adrenalin and slow down.  This is the antidote to stress, an engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system.  Traffic, hospital situations, waiting in long lines--these are all places where the power of the invisible breath can take over.

This week, really consider how you can channel your energy into a positive response to a stressor and make a plan.  See what it does for you.  See how many calories you can save yourself by not eating to cope.  See how it makes you feel, and then give yourself credit for making a change!

Take Stock and Rewind

Our days are made up of so many choices.  Some of those choices we can be happy about because they align with the person we want to be, our values, our intentions.  On the other hand, some of those choices we may not be happy about because they keep us stuck in old patterns of thinking and doing.  They detract from our quality of life.

The trick is to rewind the tape and identify where are things going right and where are things going wrong?  Then, rewind the tape even more.  How did that good decision about going to the gym early in the morning even happen?  Maybe you went to bed earlier the night before.  Maybe you promised a friend you would meet at the gym at a certain time.  Maybe you set out your gym clothes and work attire so that you would have no excuses for skipping the gym...  Then rewind the tape again and realize how you felt having done what you intended to.  How did it make your day go?  What was the payoff?  Repeat!

Alternatively, hitting the rewind button works for bad habits too.  Consider the nightly dinner challenge.  What are we having?  What is there to make?  How long will it take?  The time to plan dinner is not at dinner.  The time to plan is over the weekend during a big grocery shopping trip or when making a food delivery order.  Rewind to discover how that planning may have broken down?  Rewind again to notice what circumstances led up to it?  Maybe you went out of town and were too tired to grocery shop when you got back and now you've been doing take out for three days since.  STOP.  Consider what you can do now--knowing that when you are tired and away for the weekend when you normally shop or order, you need to have a PLAN B in place so that you can be successful with dinners.  That's it.  Promise yourself that next time, you will follow through on your PLAN B so that you can be more successful.

I am breaking a bad habit I've developed at the grocery store by using this rewind technique.  I realized that even before I go to the grocery store, I give myself permission to buy a small baggie of bulk candy.  I don't want to be buying bulk candy every time I am there, so I am consciously NOT giving myself permission when I go.

Pick one thing this week to focus on, and find yourself being more successful, happier and more fulfilled.  Then REPEAT.

Why Do You Care So Much?

Change comes from a dark place.  (If you are comfortable, you aren't making a change.)

Transformation comes from a bright place.  (You want more than a change, you want a glorious reformation.)

Motivation comes from uncovering your reasons why you care in the first place.

Your WHY is precisely those reasons.

Without reasons and without "whys" we can't make anything happen.  We can't get up early and go to the gym or walk 10,000 steps or pack lunches or manage emotions without eating.  We can't bring ourselves to do anything.  We just exist from one day to the next.  After a while, that life becomes very unappealing.

Another truth on the path to transformation is that wanting it badly isn't enough to create it.  Wanting it badly enough to make lifestyle changes, bit by bit, over time does create it.  And even so, that doesn't mean you won't ever have a bump in the road and a set back.  Set backs are normal and part of every single person's life. 

Enter the WHY promises.  When we connect and reconnect to our WHY we remind ourselves that we are worth the effort, our heart's desire is worth pursuing even if it seems momentarily out of reach.

Finding inspiring role models, connecting with others who understand this journey, reading motivation stories can help, but truly, at the end of the day--it boils down to you and what you carry in your heart.  Maybe there is a dream there that hasn't yet been realized because you forgot your WHY.  Maybe there is a limiting belief that it might take "too long" so it's not worthwhile.  This is incorrect. 

When you align your lifestyle with your WHY, you fulfill your dreams.  You find more satisfaction.  You become happier.  #WINNING.

Don't wait.  Connect with your heart's desire now.  Align your actions, your words, your thoughts and your body with your WHY.  Start living the dream.  You belong to this moment.  You belong to this challenge.  This is otherwise known as your precious life.

Sitting is the New Smoking

Have you heard--sitting is considered the new smoking.  The average person in western countries sits for prolonged periods of time--as in ten hours per day.  This contributes to low energy to say the least not to mention risks for diabetes, some cancers, being overweight, etc. 

The key to solving this problem comes from: 1) being aware that you are sitting for prolonged periods of time; 2) creating a habit loop whereby you are triggered by an alarm, a person, a commercial, or a function that tells you it's time to get up and move; 3) focusing on the rewards that come from moving the body, relieving the mind, and taking a brain break. 

To extend the smoking analogy, consider the fact that smokers are motivated on a regular basis to get up and go outside and have a smoke.  They are triggered by the feeling of needing to smoke.  They are rewarded by getting to take a break from work and be outside in fresh air.  They are rewarded by seeing fellow smokers who might be outside too.  They are smoking.  Then they return to their work feeling refreshed.  I am NOT saying it's a healthy habit.  I am saying that it is the perfect (bad) habit loop. 

This week, take a look at how much time you spend sitting--at home on the couch, at work, at activities, in the car.  Does it add up to ten hours per day? YIKES!  That is too long and too damaging to your physical and mental health.  Consider what you can do to create a trigger, even an alarm on your phone will work, so that you get up and get moving for five minutes of walking, stretching, refilling the water bottle. etc.  Consider every effort an investment in your long term healthy lifestyle account.  I promise--you are worth the effort.

Not All Carbs are Bad News

Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap, so much so that there are fad diets that recommend eliminating them altogether--even the good ones.  So, which ones are the "good ones" that are helpful for weight loss, feeling full on fiber and getting vitamins and nutrients?  Fruits and some veggies are good carbohydrates.  So are whole grains like oats, whole wheat, barley, brown rice plus beans and lentils.  Good carbs like whole grains are not necessarily low in calories, but because they are so filling and full of nutrition, they make sense to include in a healthy food plan.

As for the not so good carbohydrates, or the ones that are easy to overeat--those are the foods that we manage wisely.  Potatoes, white pasta, white rice, processed foods, cakes and cookies with white flour--these are the carbs that are high in calorie and can interfere with blood sugar levels.  Diabetics and pre-diabetics beware--we want even blood sugar that comes from eating from all the food groups, in moderate amounts, at regular intervals. 

The food groups are:  fruits and veggies; whole grains; lean animal protein and protein substitutes; dairy and dairy substitutes; healthy fats.  Chocolate and wine are not food groups, neither are potato chips and candy.  They are indulgences that we may like and partake in gladly--but need to be managed for weight loss and weight maintenance purposes.

Research shows that the best eating plan is the one that can be followed and sustained over the long haul.  Eliminating food groups like fruit or whole grains is just not sustainable.  Life is meant to be enjoyed, one moment at a time.  This week, look at your carb intake and notice if there is an opportunity to increase your healthy carbs like adding beans to a salad or trying spiralized veggies instead of white pasta in your favorite sauce.  See what opportunities are out there for you to be more satisfied, one meal at a time. 

Engage All Of Your Senses When You Eat

What would your meals be like if you could anticipate them, look at them, smell them, hear them and savor them slowly?  Using your senses to drop into the present moment--which is exactly where your body is at all times--is a great way to feel like you are getting more even though you may be eating less. 

Mindful eating requires time and attention to detail.  It requires putting down electronics and focusing on the experience, the people, the conversation and of course the yummy food.  It requires slowing down between bites and thoroughly chewing and tasting what's in your mouth.  It is a discipline not to rush through the meal just so that you can move on to the next thing.  In fact, it might be the exact opposite of what you have been doing all day. 

There are endless benefits to mindful living in all its forms--including mindful eating.  In this case, you might get satisfied with less food if you eat more carefully.  You might lose more weight for this reason alone.  You might digest your food better if you eat it more slowly and deliberately.  You might tune into your hunger and satiety cues with greater awareness, etc. etc.

The only thing standing between you and a twenty to thirty minute dinner at a table with a chair, free of distraction, is YOU.  All the advice I share may sound great, but if you don't actually do something with it, then it's just another great idea instead of a tool for success.

School is back in session, and lots of WW members are back too.  With fresh eyes in this new season, take a look around and notice what's changing.  Notice what new veggies are showing up at the grocery store.  Notice what colors are becoming more dominant.  Notice what hot foods you might be in the mood for.  With that, consider your meals to be nourishing opportunities.  Consider your time away from your busy day at a table with a chair to be a necessary ritual to look forward to instead of rush through.  Then, observe what you discover about your hunger, your enjoyment, your sense of satisfaction.