All or Nothing: Not for Me!

I have a book called Jane Brody's Personal Health issued by the New York Times. A friend gave me this book in 1988!!! (I know this because he graciously signed the book to me with the date). I tell you this because a friend asked me recently when I got "into all this" meaning health and fitness. It surprised me to see the date on this book because I only date my involvement in fitness back to my step-aerobic days in NYC in the 90's. The funny thing about this book is that is has a lot of relevant information even today. There is SO much good information in this book, but to stick to today's topic, all or nothing, I will only quote a few passages. She states: "40% (back in 1982 when the last update to the book was written)of the population are overweight by 20 lbs or more. Instead of adopting a long lasting, nutritionally sound solution to their weight problem, most grasp at health-damaging straws including fad diets and reducing drugs that nearly always fail in the long run..." "Most of us have moved away from the simple menus of yore based on ...grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, and animal and vegetable protein. More than half the food we eat today is PROCESSED...We have also moved far away from the menu HOMO SAPIENS evolved on: a diet rich in complex carbohydrates and fiber (from starchy vegetable, fruits and foods) and low in animal protein. The high meat, high sweet, low fiber diet we currently eat is overtaxing our metabolic abilities and undermining our health." In the intro to the book, she mentions how she lives, which pretty much mirrors my own philosophy: "My guiding principle is moderation. ...I eat three reasonable meals a day with snacks and a preselected "no no food" like 2 small cookies or a 1/2 cup of ice cream...And lo and behold, I lost weight...no more binges, whole bags of potato chips, whole pints of ice cream...I never skip a meal. I consume most of my calories at breakfast and lunch."

She goes on with her wisdom, but for now I will discuss what she has said thus far. What amazes me is that this came out in the early 80's . There are plenty of authors today that reintroduce this information and most of us think it is something new or that they discovered. For example, there is a book that has been on my must read list for a couple of weeks now. It is called The Primal Blueprint, and basically discusses the HOMO SAPIEN diet as Ms. Brody mentions. It does go a step farther than she does, saying we should not eat grains at all and only get our complex carbs from potatoes and vegetables. THAT KIND OF ALL OR NOTHING MENTALITY IS WHAT GETS MOST OF US INTO TROUBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Some other books that I really like are Skinny Bitch and Total Health Makeover, by Marilu Henner. I do like to read these books for general information, and I will even go a step further to say most likely their philosophies work for weight loss and health. However, they definitely promote the all or nothing theory, and I just can't do it. Skinny Bitch wants us all to be vegans. The authors also don't like anything processed and ALOT of other things. I would not be long for this world mentally if I followed their advice to the letter. Marilu has some great tips, but she believes in NO DAIRY and food combining, meaning at each meal you only eat 1 type of food at a time (only protein or starches). CAN WE PLEASE LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD. I DO!!! So do most of us as far as I know.

SO much information to DIGEST (sorry for the pun, could not resist). So, I leave you with 3 tips for your week: SPREAD OUT YOUR MEALS. I have mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating. When you make your meal plate up, place half of it on another plate, and wrap it up and put it in the fridge, knowing you can have it anytime you want. Finish slowly what you have portioned. If you still are hungry, eat the portion you wrapped. Most likely, if you are like me, you will realize that your half portion was enough for now. Maybe you will want the rest of the portion in an hour or two as your snack. Same amount of calories doing double duty-serving as a meal and a snack. Can't beat that. Tip number two: Have one (maybe two) meals a week where you have what you want (like pepperoni pizza or something you know perhaps isn't the best choice). Just do it in a portion controlled way so you don't do too much. Have it, enjoy it, and move on. Lastly, be mindful of your posture this week. When you find yourself slouching, sit up straight, and tighten up your stomach. You will be amazed how this feels. And it works your muscles to sit like this, so this is a good habit to adopt.

AHH Warmer Weather...How do you feel about it?

Most people seem really happy about the warmer weather arriving. Even I suggest often how happy I am about it. Lately, I have been truly happy about it. But there was a time when I dreaded it. Sometimes I still do if I haven't made the right choices the day before or even that day. Warmer weather means less clothes. Less clothes makes some uncomfortable, especially if they are not feeling confident about themselves. I used to fantasize that if I lived in a warmer climate I would be more active, and because of the warmer temps, be in less clothes more often, which would mean I would be more fit in general. WELL, it is a well know fact that overweight people live everywhere, warm and cold climates. My point is that it is up to you to live mindfully and responsibly when it comes to your eating, no matter what season. The problem is it is way too easy to overeat in the winter because you know you can rely on those extra layers. There are a few problems with this theory. One is that you are fooling no one, especially yourself. The other is the yo-yo weight is just not healthy, physically or mentally. The past few years I have made a concious decision to stay active in the winter. I am not saying I don't slip up with my food consumption, but staying active really helps you stay honest with yourself. In a recent article I read about "Shorts Shock". How when you go to put them on either they are a bit too snug in the waist, or you just feel awful in them. Don't let this happen to you. If it is happening, now is the time to get into motion. The truth of the matter is exercise will help you look and feel better, but if you eat too much, no matter how much you exercise, you won't look as good as you want or feel as good as you want. Advice: Have some houmous or some low fat dip or peanut butter around that you can just dive into when the hunger strikes. Pre-portion a decent amount, eat it, then walk away. Literally go for a walk to do something, but don't stay in the kitchen! QUICK FIX: When I need something sweet, I make some hot chocolate (they have a women't health one from Nestle now) and I add light whipped cream. Very satisfying.

The Road to Saiety (and Sanity): What Choices Will YOU Make?

Every time I eat a truly healthy meal I feel great. Each time I make the wrong choices I know I won't feel good as good as I could about myself. I think this is a universal statement. It would probably apply to most reading this blog. If it is so obvious, then why do we consistently make the wrong choices? Don't we want to feel good? Of course we do, but there are many other components to the story. Here is a great example. Yesterday morning, I was feeling pretty good about myself. Taught a really fun ZUMBA class (something I love that keeps me moving, motivated, positive), did not overeat the day before, made healthy choices overall. So in the morning I was not feeling panicked or guilty or any of the things that may entice you to make unhealthy choices. I woke up, baked some triple chocolate chip cookies I was donating (did not Bite,Lick,Taste the dough!), and went about the routine. Had my usual two cups of coffee, then started getting hungry. Really hungry because as I mentioned when you kind of eat a light meal for dinner the night before, you tend to be a bit hungrier when you get up which is a good thing. The interesting thing about this morning is that i had several choices for breakfast, some healthy some not. There was just a smorgasbord around me. You name it, those wonderful cookies baking, gorgeous blueberry muffins, homemade pancakes, granola, sausage, egg and cheese casserole, and some hard boiled eggs. All were ready and waiting, no additional prep needed. What was I to do?

THIS IS THE GOOD PART: Because I was in such a good state of mind, I knew that whatever I chose would lead me to the same place, sort of. All of these choices would lead me to feeling not hungry anymore or satiated. I did not want to use the word full because in a perfect world, you are not supposed to eat until you are full, just not hungry anymore. HOWEVER, WHICHEVER PATH I DID CHOOSE WOULD LEAD ME TO A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE POST MEAL: Did i want to feel great, feel like I can do anything, feel light and clear headed, ready to focus on other things besides what I eat. OR If I chose the Sausage Casserole and Cookies, I would have wound up in my non happy place: "OH I shouldn't have eaten that, it is so bad because of x, y and z" Ok, I won't eat until x time, and I will eat no carbs and have no wine and basically I will make up for what i just did".

Bottom line: If your goal is to satiate your body, choose the healthier path because the place you will end up in is much nicer :) JUST KNOW THAT WHAT YOU CHOOSE HAS TO TASTE GOOD, OR YOU WILL KEEP LOADING UP ON CARDBOARD UNTIL YOU GET SOMETHING THAT IS TASTY! (btw, I chose the hard boiled eggs and had a yogurt. It tasted great and I was happy).

The Bottom line paragraph is a good segue into my TASTING GOOD PHILOSOPHY and THE ANATOMY OF A PERFECT SALAD. I have heard alot about this book called "Skinny Women Don't Eat Salad". I am here to tell you this one does, but it has to taste good. It has to have the right textures and flavors to make you insanely happy you chose the salad.

Here are the requirements for THE PERFECT SALAD: YOU CAN CHOOSE A THEME FOR YOUR SALAD, WHICH MAKES IT EASIER TO PAIR UP THE INGREDIENTS: ASIAN, MEXICAN, ITALIAN, BUFFALO WING, MEDITERRANEAN, SWEET AND TANGY...I WILL BE GIVING RECIPES FOR EACH ONE IN THE BLOGS TO COME. IF YOU CAN'T COME UP WITH A THEME, FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES:

Mixed Greens (both crunchy and darks). I like a little of each: iceberg, romaine, mesclun, and maybe some baby spinach. My absolute favorite green is Arugula. So spicy and delicious! SECRET INGREDIENT: CHOP UP YOUR FAVORITE FRESH HERB LIKE BASIL OR CILANTRO. YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW TASTY THIS WILL MAKE YOUR SALAD. EVEN DRIED HERBS WORK, ESPECIALLY BASIL IN AN ITALIAN THEMED SALAD. CILANTRO WILL WORK IN THE ASIAN OR MEXICAN SALAD.

PROTEIN: I always add a source of protein to my salads. Think hard boiled eggs, avocado, beans, nuts and seeds (i especially like sunflower seeds or almond slices. Cheese is also great, (goat, feta, shredded cheddar, whatever) but only add it if you feel the salad is missing something. Sometimes these other things will be more than enough to satisfy. Meat is great too. Marinated Chicken, Steak slices, turkey roll ups, what ever you like. This is a great opportunity to use up leftover meats like last night's baked chicken or pork line or rib eye steak!

Some kind of Onion: Either Green (scallions which work well with mexican, asian) or red bermuda, or plain white. I think it really adds to the dimension of a salad

A GREAT DRESSING: I ALMOST ALWAYS USE CITRUS IN MY DRESSINGS. If you can make your own, great. Making one is easier than you think, and is also less expensive and healthier than what you can buy (not all those fillers and preservatives. So, for example, if it were an italian salad, i would use extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and my favorite vinegar or a mix of vinegars. If you need a little creaminess to it, add a dab of mayo or lite sour cream and blend. or even plain yogurt. Maybe then add some herbs or dijon mustard. You will get it down to a science eventually and find exactly what you like. For the mexican or asian dressings I would use lime juice olive oil, rice wine vinegar. Or go crazy and use sesame oil, soy sauce and some cider vinegar for your asian dressing. One pre-packed dressing that I have come to like is Ken's Lite Caesar. It is tasty on lots of different salads, not just Caesar. You can even marinate your chicken or steak strips in it before cooking. YUM.

Texture: I always like to have something crunchy in the salad. For mexican salads I like a handful of crumbled up tortillas added just before eating. For Asian, they sell crunchy noodles or asian snack mix (just not too much of these things!)

Sweet and Salty: I love adding craisins as a little sweet surprise. For salt I add salted nuts (like sunflower) or OLIVES. Love those, kalmata or California. Depends on the type of salad.

THIS SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF WORK, BUT IT IS NOT IF YOU DO IT AHEAD. MAKE A FAIRLY LARGE BOWL OF IT, OMITTING WHAT MIGHT GET MUSHY AND ADD THOSE THINGS AT THE END. PORTION OUT A LITTLE LESS THAN YOU THINK YOU MIGHT EAT. I AM PRETTY SURE THAT IF YOU FOLLOW THIS FORMULA, YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH THE LESSER PORTION, AND FORGET ABOUT FILLING YOUR BOWL AGAIN.

Food For Thought

I could not help but use the cliche above because in this instance it fit: You have to loosely plan or think about what you are going to eat for the entire day. If you don't you tend to eat whatever is around. At the end of the day you are wondering what just happened! Yesterday was a perfect example. I did not intend to eat white flour laden carbs at EVERY meal, but I did. Anyone who reads this regularly knows that I am all about everything in moderation. But I do try to stick to some loose rules, one of which is not to have carbs at every meal and try to stay away from them for dinner. The scale went up today, not surprisingly. I was happy because I followed the mindful pattern all day: ate until I had enough and no more, did not pick or BLT mindlessly (BITE, LICK, TASTE). But I could have made less caloric choices. Overall, good day though. I would rather have carbs at every meal than give into mindless eating. Even if you are eating a salad, you can still overeat. So, my advice: Think about what you eat for the day. The best plan of action would be low carb with a healthy fat (olive oil, avocado, natural peanut butter). Another good choice is to try one whole day with no meat per week. It will not only help you stay healthier, it also reduces your carbon footprint (the production and transportation of meat is one of the main drains on the environment).

NEXT TIME: I will get to anatomy of the perfect salad and revving up metabolism, promise. I should know by now that I have to write what is fresh on my mind, and not plan...that's what blogging is all about!

Clean Plate or Clean Slate?

In my last blog I said next time I would write about revving up metabolism and the anatomy of the perfect salad. Both important topics, but I was unexpectedly drawn to the blog this evening. This blog is awesome for me. When I started it, I knew it would be cathartic and it is. Tonight I was once again faced with the clean plate syndrome. Not just mine, but the entire family's. My husband made me a delish cheeseburger. Not what I was planning to eat, but it was certainly divine. After I ate it, I didn't need any more food. Although it was a calorie bomb, I was happy because I didn't need to eat anything else. Then comes clean up: My daughter left 1/4 of her delish burger, some green beans and a mozzarella stick. Now if I was not practicing mindfulness, I would have cleaned her plate without giving it a second thought, almost like i was on auto pilot. NOW HEAR ME WHEN I SAY THIS: IF I WAS GENUINELY STILL HUNGRY, I WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM EATING THAT FOOD. But i just mentioned that i was perfectly satisfied, and that was the truth. Why then do I and others like me feel the need to finish that plate? I stopped and I really thought about it. I thought about all the advice I give, and what I would write to you all. And I stopped myself. To those who have experienced this, they know a small victory is what i had. To others it will sound silly. It is all about habits and reading your body. That is how to have the health and body that you want. Not diets. The freedom to eat what you want is fantastic. Once you know that you CAN eat what you want, feel satisfied and not be a glutton. So, I slid the remaining food in the garbage. A CLEAN SLATE. Every day is a new challenge. An opportuity for a clean slate. I feel I have one tonight. Tomorrow all may change, but tonight I celebrate. And not with food. My goal is to not have this struggle. I tire constantly having to create a clean slate because of my habits. But I am happy to have the chance to make a healthy choice.

Find Things You Love (To Do and Eat!)

Sounds like common sense, right? Than why do many of of torture ourselves with exercise and food we just don't care for? Oh, I want some (fill in the blank) but I really should have (fill in the blank) so I will have the latter. Or, I need to exercise! Let me get to the gym and do the StairMaster for 50 minutes (yikes!) If anyone thinks the StairMaster is inspiring, fun or life altering, please let me know. I am here to tell you it's just NOT! In my last blog, I did say, and firmly believe, that the day after a night of indulging i go straight for the treadmill or even the StairMaster. That is because I know those exercises will result in maximum sweat. I feel instantly better after a good sweat and know I am on the path back to mindful behavior. I might do the treadmill 2 times a month. In other words, I do not plan for consistent torture. The point of all this is find an exercise you like. As far as foods go, have what you are in the mood for (because you will anyway at some point) but either have a smaller portion, or modify it to be lower fat or healthier. (Read my Superbowl Blog).

Speaking of exercise I love, my favorite of late is most definitely ZUMBA! People who know me and read this are probably wondering why I haven't written about it earlier. I guess I wanted to feel it out or see if I would tire of it. I haven't and in fact, as most know, I am now an instructor. I love the workout it provides (especially for the obliques) and the fun it is. Choreographing the dances each week is challenging, but very rewarding. THE MOST rewarding part of this whole experience is seeing the joy on people's faces, hearing the giggles behind me during class (they are having fun, not laughing at me I hope :), and the best, is hearing how ZUMBA is WORKING for the ladies in my class. More than one of them has come up to me to share their success stories of loosing weight, feeling great, loving the dances and more. Congratulations to all who have discovered an exercise they love and are sticking to it. Remember an exercise is guaranteed not to produce results if you don't do it!

SIMPLIFY: This will be a regular feature of the blog. It will include just a few things I do to make life less trying: Next time your showering, clean it while you are in there. Use a washcloth and regular shampoo. The shampoo, in addition to being non-toxic, really does wonders to get your shower clean, even glass shower doors like I have. If you do this regularly, you will get rid of one really annoying chore! Cleaning the shower while fully dressed and dry!

Next time: Anatomy of a the Perfect Salad and Revving up your Metabolism (sign on as a follower of this blog, and I believe you will be automatically notified when there is a new post).