So What's the Deal with GMOs?

So what's the deal with GMOs? Why is everyone mad about them, why don't companies want us to know when we're eating them, and what's the big deal? Well, here's the deal.

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms, which are plants or animals that have been engineered using DNA from bacteria, viruses, or other plants or animals. GMOs are man-made or manipulated to meet the increasing demands of the food marketplace. Since genetically modifying food makes it produce a higher yield, be more resistant to drought and infection, and better tolerate the addition of nutrients, this type of science makes a lot of sense for food companies because they can make more food faster, which makes them more money. And remember, food companies are corporations, not human health service organizations, despite the smiling pictures of friendly neighborhood farmers on their packages of chips.

But what's good for a corporate budget isn't always good for humanity. More evidence is showing increased health problems and environmental damage as a result of GMOs. When I say health problems, I mean that GMOs have been linked to thousands of sick and dead livestock and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals. The reason is because genetically modified food is not food. It is a food-like substance. And the human body was created to eat food, not food-like substances.

GMOs are so serious that most developed nations, including Australia, Japan, the European Union, and dozens more, restrict or ban the production and sale of them. Why has America not taken the same position? Read the second paragraph again.

The reason why people are up in arms about GMOs these days is because we are becoming increasingly convinced that eating food-like substance is bad for us, and that we have a right to know whether or not what we are eating is food. Back in the good old days, if you wanted to eat healthfully you could do what I did when I started eating clean: focus on fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains, and avoid packaged foods. With the prevalence of GMOs, even these foods may not in fact be foods.

A lot of people think that we have a fundamental right to know whether we are in fact eating food, or if we are eating something that looks a lot like food but is in fact a man-made product posing as food. But, the United States does not require GMOs to be labeled, which prevents us from knowing the origin of our food unless we grow it ourselves. There are some enterprising and hard-working people out there who are willing to do this, but it is not a realistic option for most of us.

So what's a food-eating human to do? Well, food companies might not be required to label whether their products contain GMOs, but a few organizations have done that research for us:

The Non-GMO Project was created to give consumers an informed choice. They verify products and list them so you can be aware of which boxes on the shelf contain food and which do not. Check the list of Verified Products on their website before you head to the store. 

If you forget that list at home, no fear! This handy phone app, Buycott, lets you scan a barcode and see whether it contains GMO ingredients. When GMOs stop being profitable, they stop being.

And, you can take action as well by signing the Just Label It petition. Seriously, folks, this is about our food. Its our sustenance. Its what we feed our kids, and what our future depends on. We will most literally and completely die without it. You have a responsibility for your own health, and if you're going to choose a battle, choose this one.

Now, a note of reality - just as with the certified organic seal, foods that are listed as non-GMO are not necessarily healthy for you. There is plenty of sugary candy food out there bearing the organic and non-GMO labels. GMO-free only means that it is pure, natural, and real. Not healthy. There is a difference.

Get out there and get healthy today, even if it means you have to get all up in arms about food quality. That battle is worth it, because you are worth it.

How to Eat (Really)

I'm a Dr. Oz fan, and not because Oprah told me to be one. I like him because of YOU: On a Diet, the book that opened my eyes to the simplicity of clean eating and helped me realize that if I just ate fruit, veggies, lean meats, and whole grains with simple ingredients (and as few as possible) I would never have to worry about whether to eat low fat, low carb, low protein, according to my blood type or my ancestry or my aura or any of the rest of it.  I had clogged my brain with so much confusing mumbo jumbo that I actually thought that fruit made me fat. For real, y'all, I thought that eating apples and pears was making me fat.  

That's nuts. 

When the latest issue of Time landed in my mailbox touting an article by Dr. Oz called, "What to Eat Now," I opened it with apprehension. I didn't want to find that he had somehow managed to turn plain old healthy eating into a new "diet," reducing the concept of healthy eating to packaged meal plans and a quick-slim gimmick.

"Clean eating" has become a buzzword these days, but it's really just eating. It's tempting to package it like a diet, but it's not one. It's just healthy eating, the way we should have been doing all this time!  Then it dawned on me: clean eating is a simple concept, but in the world we live in today, it's not always simple to employ. Mixed up in all of the weight loss messages that swirl around us each day, the simple concept of eating natural foods seems almost too simple. 

"Just eating," is easier said than done, I know. We've been conditioned to stop thinking about what we eat and robotically follow a plan that someone else has created for us. That's what makes clean eating so hard - it relies on us actually learning how to eat. I've been traveling that road for a long time, and while I've made great strides in portion control, learning about healthier ingredients, dumping processed foods, and understanding cravings, I still struggle with things like moderation.  It's a simple concept, but not simple to do.

Luckily, he didn't go all Hollywood with clean eating, he kept it real, nice and boring. :) I've searched the internet to find a link to the article that I can share with you but apparently they want you to buy it for yourself. It's worth it!  A healthier life is within your reach, you just have to take the initiative to remind yourself how simple it can really be.

Check it out and make some clean-eating swaps this week.  And, whether you're a simple eater or simply eating, get out there and get healthy!

The Crooked Path to Wellness

In an ideal world, we would all proceed happily down a path to wellness unencumbered by temptation, fatigue, budget restraints, travel food, and feeders. We'd arrive at our new and improved destination lighter, stronger, and healthier with a smile and in record time!  But, we all know that isn't exactly the case. In the course of any given week we face meals in restaurants, social events with tempting food, and the late-night munchies.  Losing weight is hard, yo.

That's why some people choose to have a "cheat day" built into their nutrition plan. I hate this idea. In fact, when a cheat day is included, I might as well go back to calling it a diet because that's what it is.  I'm known for preaching that a cheat day only cheats you, and I stand by that.  Here's why: if you're eating well, getting rest, exercising vigorously, and living a positive and healthy life, you shouldn't need (and likely won't want) to cheat. 

But that's not to say that every day is a nutritional fairy tale.  Yep, I'm going to ask you to change your perspective again. :)

Cheat, just like the word diet, is a negative word that implies that we are in such a desperate state that we have no alternative but to hide in secret and sabotage our efforts. When people cheat, it is because they don't have the confidence that they can succeed otherwise.  When we cheat, we are saying, "I can't do this on my own."  Why would we say such mean things to ourselves when we're in the process of doing something so amazing?

Remember, we're not on a diet anymore, we're changing our nutrition. And yes, on that nutrition path are some diversions. There are times when we wander off the path and explore a diversion, some of which are well worth it (your absolute favorite dessert, for example) and some of which are not (eating something sugary just because it's there).  Here's the difference between and cheat and a diversion:

A cheat is a negative message that tells us we can't handle our weight and wellness on our own.

A diversion is a positive message sent in the confidence that we have the skill set to keep the portion manageable and return to our regularly scheduled programming.

The difference to your brain is enormous.

I'll agree, sometimes there is nothing better than that rebellious feeling you have when you throw caution to the wind and say, to hell with it, make mine a double-scoop!  It feels great!  But trust me, it feels even better to know that the choice to do so can be a positive one.

You can manage your weight and wellness with confidence.  You don't need to cheat on yourself. You deserve better than that.

Positive self-talk is more powerful than we know. Just saying one positive message to yourself activates your brain to be happier and more optimistic. Try it today. Stop cheating, start winning, and get out there and get healthy!

Watch Yo' Mouth! Why I hate the word "diet."

Diet is a four-letter word.

In order to spell, "diet" you have to start with, "die".

The diet starts Monday!

What else do we say to show our dismay with being on a diet?  It might be one of the most loathed words in our language, and for good reason. It conjures up images of deprivation, sacrifice, punishment, and happy people all around us gleefully eating things we're not allowed to eat because we're on a &*^%$ing DIET. >:/

I used to get called out for using the word diet.  "You're not fat," people would accuse. I'd try to explain that my "diet" was just my nutritional plan, not necessarily a scheme to lose weight.  We all have a diet - it's the menu of food we have planned for the day. But that word carries so much negativity with it that eventually I just stopped using it.  Now, I refer to my "nutrition."

I like it much better! Not only does "nutrition" have a happier sound, it equates to balance in my mind.  "Diet" means the scales are being tipped out of my favor.  "Nutrition" puts the power to choose back into my hands, where I like it. 

Think about this:

What happens as soon as we go on a diet?  We want whatever isn't on the diet!  But what happens when we simply change our nutrition?  Instead of being shackled by the rules of our diet, we're making choices.  What a huge difference!

What happens as soon as we got off of a diet?  We gain the weight back.  What happens when we go off of nutrition?  We die. Honestly, do we ever go off of nutrition?  No! We do nutrition all day, every day. It's just what we choose to be part of it that makes us feel like we need that bad four-letter word.

Try this today - instead of vowing to go on another diet, promise yourself to just change your nutrition.  Walk around in that for a while and see which one you like better.  And if you need help changing your nutrition, let me know.  I'm all over that stuff.

Change your words, change your mind, change your life.  And get out there and get healthy!

Food: Not a Recreational Sport

People have been telling me lately that since I am preggo (officially half way! woo hoo!) I should "relax" and "let go" and loosen the nutritional purse strings a little bit. But since when has incubating another life, which by the way is completely dependent on you for nourishment, been a good time to develop a heavy hand with the chocolate syrup?  If anything, it's time for increased attention to the quality of nutrition!

Now, okay: I can't profess to being a perfect eater 24/7 nor can I deny that I can be rightfully accused of taking nutrition a little too seriously at times. I have my diversions like anyone else (three birthday celebrations in one week will do that to you!) but 90% of the time, while I'm eating more than I did before I wasn't pregnant, the quality of the food is still the same. 

Here's how I keep it clean:

1. A good half of my plate is veggies and/or fruit at almost every meal.
2. I keep the meat to lean turkey and skinless grilled or baked chicken.
3. I keep my dairy to non-fat or low-fat unsweetened greek yogurt.
4. I keep the grains to 100% whole grain 100% of the time, period.

Everything that doesn't fall into one of those categories...well, I just don't eat much of that stuff! That's the 10%.

I appreciate the sentiment but from where I stand, eating healthfully and knowing I am getting a great bang for my nutritional buck is fun. Food is not a recreational sport. It's FUEL for our bodies so we can run, jump, play, work, and have fun!  So no worries: I'm cool.

Good nutrition is an every day thing, and it's the kind of thing that gets better every day. Give it a try: get out there and get healthy!

Eat Simple Challenge: Day Two

A weekend at the beach.
Parents in town.
Father's Day.
My birthday (woot).
Two restaurant lunches for work.
In-laws in town.

Those are all opportunities for nutritional haywire, and that's just June!  Next month there's the 4th of July picnics, a work trip out of town, and vacation!  Egads, it's worse than the holidays! Needless to say, I've been making a plan for eating clean and healthy despite all of these distractions!

Okay, it's Day Two of the Eat Simple Challenge! How is it going? Here's my list of packages I opened yesterday.

Toufayan Low-Carb Wrap (twice)
Arnold's 100% Whole Grain Bread
Chobani Low-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt
A gallon of milk
Publix Greenwise Vanilla Protein Powder

Not too bad! Technically, I could make my own bread and yogurt. I have a breadmaker and a yogurt maker and both are easy to make. So there are a couple of candidates for package elimination right there.

On to Day Two: more data collection. As you record your packaged foods today, think about possible alternatives to what you've opened. Be creative!

And get out there and get healthy! 

The Veggie Pros

So after my confession - and the response I got - about having such a hard time eating veggies these days, my stubborness has kicked in. Darn it, I love vegetables! Not only are they delicious, they're so good for us, easy to prepare, and right there for us to enjoy. I love filling my plate with bright colors and knowing that every bite I take is doing something great for my body.  So I made it a challenge: eat vegetables for one meal every day for a week, starting TODAY.  I'm making a huge salad for dinner and I am going to love it!

It's a choice.

I was choosing to let my whiny pregnant self call the shots, but the muscular, strong, vibrant, vegetable lover inside of me was withering in response. That's not cool. I'm making a different choice and turning the tables.

When it comes to making tough choices, I turn to decisional balance, a logic tool I use in wellness coaching to shed light on motivators that may be in the wings, waiting for a moment to shine.  Some ways to use decisional balance are to list the pros and cons of each choice, visualize yourself living in each choice and experiencing the emotions that result, and simply asking yourself to list reasons why not to make the change. It's pretty difficult to find enough reasons why not to eat vegetables to justify actually not doing it! 

I made my pros and cons, and my con list had just one reason: overcoming my tastebuds. Dude, I've done that so many times and had amazing feedback as a result that I know I can knock it out in no time and I will feel incredible as a result. So, the decision is clear: I want to eat vegetables...I just need to do it long enough to remember why.

Veggies for one meal for a week. Here we go!  If you're struggling with making healthy choices, simply apply some logic.  When you see your reasons why you should stay unhealthy written on paper, they seem pretty lame. Don't be lame.

Get out there and be healthy!

Eeenie Meenie Miney Moe: Choices

This week is about the choices we make between the healthy path and the not so healthy path.  I'm reminded of this daily, mostly because I rant on and on all the time to people about how health is a choice and the vast majority of the health issues we deal with are the result of our own stupid decisions.

But also because I have also been working extra hard to make healthy choices.

Pregnancy appetites are rough, yo!  I've waddled into a very gray area of health lately. Technically, the food I am eating is healthy.  It's mostly organic, definitely all natural, and my calories are more or less prudent for an active pregnant woman (it's hard to tell if I am eating too much or too little these days).  But my diet has been sooo bread-heavy, and a lot of it has been bars. Sugar bars. Clif bars, granola bars, fig bars...if it's held together with honey, I am all over it.  It's been driving me batty!  I haven't had a vegetable in months and it's really wearing on me.

As someone who just a few months ago lived almost exclusively on vegetables, fruit, chicken, and oatmeal, this is new territory. I can't even look at a piece of chicken these days...unless it is covered in cheese and wrapped in a tortilla!

So I am making choices. My sweetened Chobani yogurt is now plain and sweetened with blueberries.  My granola bars are back to being oatmeal with walnuts.  I haven't made sweet potato fries in two days.  Two days!  I'm having to be very strict with my tastebuds and sweet tooth and they are not happy about it not one little bit no siree.

These are choices I make today, but also for the future. I want a healthy baby, and I want a healthy me. I want to be able to keep running, lifting weights, and swimming all the way to the end.   So when I face a case of the grumpy pants about the whole deal, I remind myself:

Health is a choice, and the choice is mine. I choose it today so I will have a choice later.

Are the decisions you make each day towards health or away from it?

Towards your goals or away from them?

Are you limiting your choices in the future because you choose the path of least resistance today?

Make healthy choices with me...or risk the resentment and wrath of a pregnant woman who wants a fig bar. I'm looking at you!

Go out there and be healthy!

Mom, Is This Healthy?

My little guy is fascinated, okay a little obsessed, with the healthfulness of his food. In a way I am thankful for this because I want him to be cognizant of the quality of what he eats. But I am also worried that his focus is so razor-sharp that he'll end up being all nutso about it like me later in life.  So I've started a little therapy fund just in case.

But in the meantime, he's been asking me on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, whether this is healthy or that is healthy.  Restaurants we pass, foods we eat (or don't eat), stuff he sees other people eat...everything and everyone is fair game (you haven't lived until you've heard your preschooler scold someone at a park for eating Wendy's). But while the foods he asks about keep changing, I've found my answers are pretty much the same: some of it is, some of it isn't.

There is a Subway next to the frozen yogurt place we frequent, and so he asks, "is Subway healthy?" And my answer: "some of it is...."  Yes, you can have something healthy at Subway, and it is better than some other places where you can grab a quick meal, but you can also get a huge meatball sub smothered in cheese and buy a cookie, a soda, and a bag of chips on the way out.  Not healthy.

And the froyo: "is frozen yogurt healthy?"  I reply: "some of it is..."  The yogurt place we go to has truly healthy yogurt and lots of fresh fruit for toppings.  But they also have a whole line full of candy you can dump in. Not so healthy.

We drive down the road and he asks about this and that, which is healthy and which is not, and I keep telling him that some of it is, some of it isn't, and most of the time we do a great job of taking something that started out good for us and loaded it up with sugar and fat and presto! Made it unhealthy.  It's as if making perfectly good food unhealthy is our nation's collective super power.

My son seems to be like most Americans: he's aware of the health value of his food, but it doesn't really stop him from wanting to eat too many sweets and skip the veggies. But I'm glad he is at least asking the questions, and hopefully getting the message that in a lot of cases, the health value of our food lies in our hands.

This week is about the choices we make in our health. Today, look at what you eat and ask yourself, did I unhealthify this? 

Then get out there and be healthy!

Not Buyin' It

On Friday I was listening to NPR, as usual, and heard this report on the new "regulations" that will be imposed on food marketers in five years or so, related to how they can market junk food to kids.  It was all about how the "regulations," (in quotes because they're pretty much optional) are not likely to make much of a difference in how food is marketed to kids, and what a shame it is.

And it is a shame.

But here's the thing - the whole time I was listening, nodding, and pumping my fist while grimacing at my radio, one thought was going through my mind:

Just don't buy it.  Don't buy the crap!

Food marketers spend a lot of money selling food to kids.  But the last time I was at the grocery store, all of the people pushing the buggies and swiping the debit cards were adults.  I don't know any kids who are making the grocery list, going to the store, and buying the family's food for the week ahead.  Guess what: it doesn't make one lick of difference what the food marketers say. YOU CHOOSE. 

I have a kiddo, I know how it is.  They have their sweet little faces and they use their magic words and you love them.  Uh huh.  Been there!

Here's how to limit the number of times your darling angel asks if he can please, pretty please, clog his arteries with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil:

1. Turn off the TV and radio.  Listen to your iPod.  DVR your shows and fast forward through commercials. Watch PBS. The only food I've seen advertised there is raisins.

2. Learn about nutrition so you can explain why you're saying no. 

3. Remember, they may hold the air time, but you hold the wallet.

Food marketing regulations may not go into effect for five years, but you can start creating a healthy family now! 

Good day!

Healthy Snacks for Kids

Okay, yesterday I gave you my five fundamentals of raising a healthy eater, and today I have some recipes to try at home.  Now, let me just tell you now that I am not a chef. I prepare food. Just want to manage that expectation. :) I keep food verrrry simple and use as few ingredients as possible. 


Stuff I Make
Ants on a Log (great for kids to help with!)
Slice one apple and add about 1 tsp of freshly ground peanut or almond butter on each slice. Then place three or four raisins on the peanut/almond butter
*Make sure that your PB is all natural, preferably fresh ground. You can usually grind it yourself at Fresh Market or Earth Fare, or ask your grocery store deli. Smuckers also makes a good all-natural PB.


Pita Pizza
Using one half of an Arnold's 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin, Ezekiel English Muffin, or whole wheat pita, put about 1-2 tbsp of all-natural tomato sauce.  I usually use Classico or Prego All-Natural. Add 1 thin slice of Boar's Head Pepperoni, sliced at your grocery deli, and add a little more than a pinch of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for about 5-8 minutes.


Turkey Quesadilla
I bake a boneless turkey breast each week and use it for salads and sandwiches. It's healthier and cheaper than deli meat.  You can use some of it for this!
Using one Toufayan Low-carb Wrap, spread about two tablespoons of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt over half.  Then scatter about 3 oz of shredded baked turkey over that, and sprinkle on about 1/3 cup of shredded cheese (I usually use cheddar because that's what I have).  Add some chili powder (just a little, it is for the kids after all), fold it over, and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.  Slice into little triangles and serve warm.  I have to keep from eating all of these.


Sweet and Salty Trail Mix
This is great for throwing into a container during errands.
1/2 cup Annie's Homegrown Bunny Grahams
1/2 cup Annie's Homegrown Cheddar Bunnies
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds


Mix it all up and portion it out. Just watch the portions because this is easy to eat a lot of.


I also visit The Gracious Pantry for oodles of recipes (she is much more skilled than I).


Stuff I Buy
I try not to buy a lot of packaged snacks, but it's hard to avoid sometimes.  When I do, I always read the ingredients to make sure that what I am buying is just as good as what I could make at home. Also, check out my Simple Swaps for Clean Eating for a reminder that just about anything you like to eat has a healthier option.


Chobani Champions Yogurt  
Just about anything from Barbara's Bakery
Fruit.  Just plain old fruit.  It's pretty awesome.


Unhealthy eating is just not necessary anymore as it's becoming easier to find affordable alternatives for the things we used to think we had to give up to eat clean. Don't assume your kids want junk food, and don't assume that there isn't a way to healthify it when they do!  Just look at the basic ingredients and challenge yourself to find a healthier alternative...if I can do it, so can you!


Bon appetit!

My ladder's new rung

The past few years have been like climbing an athletic ladder of awesome. The Ultimate Fitness Challenge, my first triathlon, a couple of half marathons, and a steady fine-tuning of my personal fitness into a place where I was having a lot of fun challening myself and doing what I love and ending each day completely used up and maxed out.  I've loved it!

But this year, I didn't do the Ultimate Fitness Challenge like I had hoped.  I didn't even register for the training camp like I had planned.  I didn't sign up for the Red Hills Triathlon, and the last time I ran more than 8 miles was the half marathon back in February.  My Turkey Trot goal this year is not a sub-90 minute 15k, but the 1-mile Gobbler...and that's just a maybe.  Why?

Because I'm running for two!

Yep, I've taken up residence in that wacky world of food cravings, undeniable fatigue, and purposeful weight gain!  My family and I are thrilled to be welcoming another little personality into our lives, and I am rolling with the punches of being a walking science experiment for the next six months. 

In my first pregnancy, I gained 75 lbs.  S-E-V-E-N-T-Y  F-I-V-E.  I knew that it was highly unlikely that I would give birth to the world's first 75-lb baby, and I hoped against reason that I was one of those women whose bodies just sprung back into their pre-baby shape after leaving the hospital.

I was not one of those women.

No, I sweated off every single one of those pounds, and then some, off over the course of about 18 months and ended up in the best shape of my life.  It was honorable, but it was a pain and this time I'd rather just not gain that much and skip to the fun part.  So I've been sticking to my workouts and eating as healthy as I can even with cravings for ham sandwiches and cake (not together, thankfully).

I'm really looking forward to this new rung on the ladder and seeing what happens.  So far, I've been able to strike a balance somewhere between being that perfectly fit pregnant woman that everyone secretly resents and being the total couch potato that I was last time.  It's a good place to be, and I hope I can enjoy it while it lasts.

It's hard to watch my gym buddies heave their way through challenging, sweaty workouts while I scale it back, but hey, that's where I am right now. And that's cool.

I'm totally gonna kick some Turkey Trot butt on that Gobbler.  :)

Good day!

Sugar: Who Needs It?

A friend sent me this video last week, and watching it was pretty scary because I could see myself being like one of these women someday...and I don't want to be either!



It's a spoof on the commercials expressing how high-frutose corn syrup really isn't bad for us at all, not any more than real sugar.  To the uneducated ear, it makes a perfectly sound argument.  But the truth is, even if is was the same as real sugar, we still don't need it in our diets because we don't need that much sugar.

WE DO NOT NEEEEEEED PROCESSED SUGAR.

We need glucose.  Glucose is a naturally-occuring sugar in fruits and vegetables that is necessary for energy and balanced nutrition.  But we do not need added sugar in our diets.  I promise.  I swear to you on a stack of apples that you can absolutely stop drinking sugar, putting sugar on your cereal, baking with as much sugar, or tricking yourself into thinking that because it is expensive or fancy-sounding it's an okay sugar.  Agave is sugar. Honey is sugar. Sugar in the Raw is sugar.  And sugar don't like you.

If you don't believe me, read what some scientists said about it.

And then, test your sugar IQ with this quiz.

And then cut out the sugar.

Bye, sugar!

Sabotage City On the MOVE!



Mississippi in Motion is a 12-week program
focused on healthier lifestyles.

 On Monday I lamented about my frustration after a visit to what I call a "sabotage city": a place where even with education about how to live a healthy lifestyle, lack of access to a variety of healthy food products sabotages its residents and keeps them locked down in a cycle of obesity and disease.

Then, yesterday I saw this video on Twitter.  It shares the news of a health campaign called Mississippi in Motion, which aims to increase the health of Mississippi residents through education and events around the state to promote wellness.  If you're a Mississippi resident, as many of my close friends are, please check it out!

And if you don't live in Mississippi, send it to someone who does or someone who knows someone who does. 

Sabotage Cities are everywhere, and I know this is only a drop in the bucket in what we can do about them, but it's better than what I had on Monday!

Please share this!

Good day!

Lessons from a Binge

It's Monday, and I am willing to bet there are more than a few people kicking themselves thinking, "just water and lettuce today...I have to undo the weekend!" 

Binge eating is no joke, and can happen quickly when you're already on a slippery slope of restricted calories, over-training, and fatigue.  I know because I've been there.  I know how that Monday food hangover feels.  It feels like crap.

I used to be really really "good" all week, and then the weekend would come.  Wine!  Cheese!  Dessert!  More wine!  More dessert!  Repeat until Monday when I would dutifully don my workout clothes and march myself to the gym to undo the damage.

But I couldn't undo the damage, because while I might exercise away the calories and hydrate away the bloat, my behavior was what needed the real workout. 

Today's Daily Dose is "Fitness success doesn't require the will to win, it requires the will to prepare. Do you have it?"   The will to change your behavior isn't enough to stop binge eating.  You need the will to prepare what's necessary to make those changes.  Because - can I get an Amen - the "I need to stop" that sounds so loud on Monday morning is but a tiny whisper at the back of a long tunnel on Saturday night when you're facing the Chocolate Thunder from Down Under and two spoons.

Just so we're clear, the other spoon should be for someone else. :)

Anyway, here's what got me to finally change my weekend eating behavior: I stopped myself in my whiny little tracks and thought about how events transpired to create this perfect storm of loosened resolve, what role I played in facilitating those events, and what I could do to prevent them from happening again.

Usually, it came down to three things:

1. My nutrition was too severely limited, and I felt like I had been so "good" I "deserved" a break.
2. My workouts were so rigorous that I was fatigued mentally and physically, too weak to resist.
3. I was socializing and had a party mentality. 


Now, it wasn't easy to get to these conclusions.  I had to ask myself a lot of questions and have a lot of "ah-ha!" moments before I started noticing the patterns.  I put stickers on my calendar for days when I felt really good about my nutrition and workouts, and noticed that every three weeks I went about three days without stickers.  Here's why: every three weeks I had some kind of party or out of town trip.  Restaurant food.  Sugar.  Alcohol.  I was set up!
 
So here's what I did: I changed up my nutrition to something more substantial,  I added a rest day on Thursday so I wouldn't be so tired on the weekend, and I became very picky about the parties and restaurants I went to.  I also had some very tough-love talks with myself about what I wanted more: a healthy and vibrant body or a brownie that takes two minutes to eat. 
 
Sometimes the brownie made a really good argument. Hey, I'm just being honest.
 
But the other 97% of the time I remembered that nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels.
 
If you have a food hangover today, get out a pen and paper and think about what led you to that place.  People, events, places, mood, energy level..it all counts.  Then, think about what you can do to influence those things next time to Monday doesn't have to be manic.
 
You deserve a treat: the treat of being good to yourself. 
 
Good day!

Hard Work = Success? Mostly!

Do you ever find yourself wondering why you're working so dang hard and not getting anywhere?  I do. Here's why: hard work doesn't translate to success. 

Nope, sorry!  Being a hard worker is admirable, but unless you're busting your butt on a good plan, it's just nice to know.  I get that reminder at least every few months when I ask myself why I'm so tuckered out but have only inched toward my health goals.  It's not that I'm not working hard enough, it's that what I am working so hard on isn't a good plan to begin with.

I'm notorious for maxing out on my energy every single day. I'm a real martyr that way, I love ending the day feeling like I sucked out every bit of life it had to offer.  What I'm not good at is recovering from all of that work.  So I end the day exhausted, then I wake up uber early to get a strong start on doing it all again, then I end the next day exhausted, and the cycle continues until I hit the wall, crash and burn, and wake up to my husband telling me he told me so.  That is not a good plan.

I'm also really good at forgetting that what works for one person isn't necessarily going to work for me.  Namely, splurge food moderation. Eating decadent food in moderation is a very sound way for 99.99999% of people to get well-balanced nutrition and have satisfaction in their diet. But I'm not that kinda girl. I try to give in and indulge in rich foods from time to time, but I suck at it every single time. It's not a good plan.

I'm also impatient.  When I set a goal and begin working on it, I want to see results immediately. Who doesn't?  But that makes it easy to fall into the trap of a get-slim-quick plan like fasting, crash dieting, or excessive cardio.  I do not do this, just so you know, and want you and everyone you know to stay far, far away from anything that sounds too good to be true.  Not a good plan.

So what is a good plan, then?  It's different for everyone. But when I feel like I'm spinning my wheels, I stop in my tracks and ask myself these questions:

1. Is what I am doing healthy in the long run? Translation: can it be sustained? Can I still be doing this in six months without turning into an angry and manic she-devil?

2. Am I staying true to my personal truths? Translation: am I expecting someone else's tried-and-true to work for me? Or am I applying my own experiential knowledge and learning from my own mistakes and successes?

More often than not, if I'm worn out but not getting anywhere, I've violated one or both of those rules. When I re-center myself on sustainable activities that are developed based on my own personal success and failure lessons, things get better right away.

Which is awsome, cause I like things to happen right away.

Some things never change. :)
 

Good day!

Feeling the change!

Don't wait until the next
exit to start change!

It's been two days since my big back-to-the-weights workout, and I am still sore. I love it!  My arms are sore, my pecs are sore, and I am just sore all over. It's great!


Being sore connects me to a really important reminder of a significant part of my fitness: change. We all know that permanent fitness requires permanent lifestyle changes, but sometimes implementing those changes is hard. Okay, a lot of the time. Remember that "baby sitting your brain" idea of Intention? Well, my brain has been working for the weekend lately and baby sitting it has been a full time job!  


I've got some really fun stuff happening this year and I cannot wait to get to them, but enjoying everything I have in store will require some hard work on my part. It's going to take change - working harder, training smarter, and focusing on some very specific goals.  So the soreness of my muscles this week is a nice reminder that I'm getting closer to those great things.  


What about you?  The new year is two weeks old - what have you done to ignite change in your fitness? What have you done to act on the resolutions or goals you set? Are you sore?


Real change requires real change, plain and simple. There are a lot of commercials on the air right now telling you that you can change your health and fitness without changing anything about your life. That's bull.  But don't worry, changing your life is a good thing!  Check out this super-handy guide to 29 ways to establish change in your life. I've done them and still do. They work.


It's January 14. Are you feeling the burn of change?

Just Between You and Me...

You don't have to eat all that.

The Lies We Tell

Liar! 

Yes, you!  Me too, if I'm being honest.  We all tell lies to ourselves about the food we eat, especially this time of year when there is so much to lie about.  Do any of these sound familiar?

No one saw me eat that (or I just had a tiny bite), so it doesn't really count. Truth: if your body digests it, it counts. If it goes down your esophagus, it counts. Your body doesn't know it wasn't supposed to count. It's gonna do its thang either way.

I've been so good all week, I deserve to have a treat. Truth: you're right! You do deserve a treat! Go get a pedicure! Buy something pretty to remind you of your hard work. Call a good friend and brag on your great week. Treat yourself right...by not ruining all of that hard work.

I'll make up for this tomorrow.  Make that next week. Truth: you might. But when I tell myself this lie, I almost never follow through and if I do, I resent it.  Exercise should be proactive, not damage control!

When I notice that I am telling these little lies to myself, I try to see it as a sign that I am feeling deprived or too restricted in my nutrition. If I was truly happy with my nutrition plan, I wouldn't be looking for ways to rebel (and then try to pretend never happened), would I?  So I relax things a little and give myself some wiggle room until I feel like I am sufficiently indulged.  But this is the clincher - I still log it, I still eat clean, and I still remain accountable to myself for what I am eating and what that means for my fitness. And sometimes I think about those added calories (and the added water weight I will carry as a result) and decide it's not really worth it.  I mean, it's just food.  Food is a temporary situation.

If you hear yourself telling sweet little lies, take a step aside and ask yourself why. Do you need some wiggle room?  Are you feeling left out of the food celebrations? But are your fitness goals bigger than that?  Maybe so, maybe not.  Either way, be honest with yourself and about the reasons you feel that way.

Santa's watching, after all!

Be merry and bright today. :)

Healthy Holiday Tip: Get Stubborn!

Okay yesterday was really long so I'll keep it short today!  Here are a few tips to help you accomplish what we talked about yesterday - achieving a calorie deficit (AKA progress) or break-even if you want to avoid gaining holiday weight when you're at those food-laden parties.


That's right, it's Healthy Heather's Holiday Hints!


The first step, of course, is to make a plan.  Always make a plan. Write it down and stuff it in your pocket if you have to.


Then, channel your inner three-year-old. That's right, dig in your heels and get stubborn!

Learn to say “no” creatively. Save the three-year-old routine for your internal dialogue, however, unless your plan to avoid holiday weight gain is to not be invited to any more parties. Instead, when you’re confronted with something that is not on your plan, use positive language to redirect the attention away from your refusal to indulge. 


For example: 

• Express gratitude (thanks for offering! that looks delicious!)
• Acknowledge the effort (it is so thoughtful of you to make these for me!)
• Suggest an alternative (I’ll have to try some a bit later.)

And then DROP IT. Stop talking. Move on. Drink some water. Smile.  Tell a joke.


Remember – no one can force open your mouth and make you eat something. Well, they can but they won’t. Don’t engage in a debate over whether you “should” or “need to lose weight.” It’s your decision, and they don't want to hear it anyway. 


If all else fails, tell them you are allergic.


Happy holidays!