Friday, April 30, 2010

Do something Friday


You are always practicing something. The question is, "What are you practicing?" --Martical Arts Sensei

I came across this quote somewhere in my web-travels and it has been kickin' around my head for the last couple days.

So what's your answer? Are you practicing mindfulness in your eating? OR are you reading about mindful eating and practicing the eating behaviors that got you to this weight?

You can read all you want (and I do love it that you're reading -- Really!!) but a change in your weight will only come from a change in your behavior. A lasting change in your weight will only come from a lasting change in your behavior.

I know it's not easy! (did I mention I went golfing last night -- on a league, no less), and (shock of the world!) my swing did not feel any more natural (after not picking up clubs since January) than it did the day I took my first lesson. You know why?? I bet you can guess -- because I was practicing non-golf. Non-golf feels natural but golf does not. Hhmmm....go figure.

If mindful eating doesn't feel natural yet -- keep practicing mindful eating. If you give up your ME practice, you will be practicing non-mindful eating. Those are your options.

Well...looks like I am off to the golf course to practice. How 'bout you?

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Of Magic and Miracles


People pray about things that really matter to them. Lately, I have been privy to a number of weight-related prayers. For a number of reasons, health concerns, the coming of summer...I don't really know why...people have been talking about their prayers.

Here's the thing -- God sometimes does miracles but does God do magic???

Don Miller was talking abouta friend praying for confidence in public speaking. Don suggested the friend book speaking engagements where ever he could to give him the practice to feel confident -- but the friend wanted his confidence to come from God. Did the friend want a miracle or magic?

I agree with Don that God doesn't do magic.

Miracles, on the other hand, God creates those every day. Lately, I have even been toying with starting a blog exclusively dealing with the everyday miracles I see. To my way of thinking, God creates most miracles when people bring hard work, cooperation, inspiration, and purpose together. None of these things, individually, add up to a miracle. But when they are blended, they are powerful enough to change the world -- whether the change is big or small -- effects a lot of people or just you -- it's a miracle.

Magic is looking for a "right" food combination, or an herb, or a drink or a to boost your metabolism and make weight loss "happen over night".

The miracle is when you find YOUR purpose, what inspires you, some person or people to cooperate with, and put in the hard work every day to make your weight loss happen. You are absolutely capable of that!! You don't need magic because YOU have the power to create this miracle!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

"I like being really full"



I hear this a lot. And I know some people actually mean it -- I mean, they must, right? They are saying it (and most of the time it is pretty vehement).

If you like the feeling of being really full -- there isn't anything wrong with that. However, if you are committed to being really full AND being a healthy weight, you are going to have to make sure you are eating low calorie food so you can eat lots of it. There's the trade off -- no judgement, just the facts.

If it's food you like and you want to be able to eat what you like to eat AND you want to maintain a healthy weight, you need to eat less of those foods because chances are they are higher in calories than a bag of carrots :) Again -- there is no right or wrong, just facts.

Then it comes down to your decisions and preference. Do you really LOVE being stuffed?

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

You


There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it! It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.
-- Martha Graham

Your job (your life) is a big one! An important one! Worrying about your weight takes precious time away from living. Find your path and be extra-ordinary -- today.

Stories....

Brain scans show stories are an effective way to communicate with each other because in a story, you are not arguing with the story teller -- you are just listening to the story.

If you are here, you have weight loss stories -- things that have worked, things gone woefully wrong, the stories of your experiences. I have those same stories and hundreds of stories from my clients. Obviously, I love the stories of victories, great or small, I love to celebrate the "Ah ha" moments.

Stories inspire and draw people together. To that end, I am proposing we ban together and share our stories -- the little victories that should be celebrated because they are what paves the road to success.

If you look at the top of this page -- there is a tab that says stories. When you click on it, there will be a spot for you to share your. Let me give out gold stars to you! Share your victory. And to get you started, I have put my first story there....

Monday, April 26, 2010

Perserverance


Again with a manifesto. Habitudes in the Classroom - Teaching the Habits and Attitudes our Students Need in the 21st Century.

There are several Habitudes the author lists but for today, I want to focus on Perseverance.

...steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Obviously, if you're reading this blog, you are old enough to understand that obstacles get in the way of what you are trying to accomplish. Even young kids understand this -- they might not like it -- they might fight against it -- but they understand it happens. (wait ... doesn't that apply to all but the most sanguine of us???)

The big question then is -- what do we do when faced with an obstacle? Do we chuck all our good intentions out the window until tomorrow? (maybe sometimes)

Do we give up?

Do we try again? Learn from the situation? Find a way to go over, around, or through the obstacle? I hope so!

"Persevering learners view failure as a learning experience, using each mistake as tuition and each situation as an opportunity to lean something new."

Does this describe you? Are you viewing each eating opportunity to learn something new? Are you curious about how much sugar is too much for you? How much protein you can eat before you feel sluggish? How few bites it really takes to alleviate your physical hunger?

Obstacles happen in learning a new skill. You don't get to have the perfect environment to develop those skills (and even if you did -- you would still need to learn how to using them in the real, less-than-perfect world).

Are you going to persevere today?

Friday, April 23, 2010

Do something Friday


The power of one thing....

This was the advice my Tai Chi instructor gave me the other day. I was asking him how he promotes his classes and he said when he feels like he needs to increase the number of classes he teaches per week, he does one thing a day -- whether it is dropping information off at a new fitness facility or nursing home or making a call he has been intending to make....one action per day.

He has found that if he does this for about a month, he gets the offers to teach he is looking for.

So, I have been trying to find greater opportunities to teach EC classes. I decided to take up the one action challenge. Here's what I have found:

I have to journal -- in the morning and in the evening. It is easier to do the one thing if I have a plan for what it is going to be. Life is busy and to think on the fly doesn't always work well -- if I have a direction for the day, there is more of a chance I will complete the action.

Journaling in the evening allows me to say I did it (gold start for me!!) or not (regroup, reassess and make a plan for the next day). I am only 15 action days into the experiment -- I don't have more classes yet -- but I have made some contacts that might lead to more classes.

What I have really noticed is that I some days I am doing more than one thing because the opportunity presents itself and I am paying more attention to the one thing goal. I am becoming more mindful of seeing the opportunities to talk about Eating Coach to people that might be interested.

Here's the thought for you: If you are struggling to be mindful all day -- set it aside for a while. Concentrate on doing one mindful something per day. Whether it is eating your piece of toast sitting down and tasting it or drinking the first four sips of coffee with your full attention. It doesn't have to be the same thing each day -- just pick something, write it down, and do that one thing. Each day you will learn something new -- what works and what doesn't. Learn the areas that are easier to make changes in.

I expect what you will find is you will start seeing more opportunities to be mindful during the day. And because you aren't overwhelmed with a huge mindfulness plan -- you will have time and energy to taste (or put down)whatever it is that you have noticed.

Before you realize it -- mindfulness will become a growing habit.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Entropy


I just read a manifesto talking about Cherry Bombs -- the idea that is so startling it changes the way you think about something because it changes the questions you ask about the situation.

Mindful Eating can be a Cherry Bomb -- you don't have to stop eating the things you love -- you don't have to start eating the things you don't like. You don't have to exercise more to lose weight. How many of you thought those were the pillars holding up the whole diet universe???

The title of the post come from the idea on page 7.

"Entropy: The inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society. Entropy explains why hot water cools to room temperature, or why a teenager's room inevitably gets messy. Attitudes are the same way. When life doesn't present the desired result, it takes far more energy to stay true to your goals. Pessimism is attitudinal entropy."

Attitudinal entropy...how cool of a description is that??? It takes work to keep a system going. Continual heat on hot water to keep it hot -- continual harping on a teenager to keep his room picked up. Constant work put into the system.

But what about your weight loss?

If the weight isn't coming off fast enough, what happens to your attitude? If you are depriving yourself of your fav foods, what happens to your attitude? Frustration, pessimism, negativity???

And why should you put the working into fighting the attitudinal entropy?

Because optimism fuels hope -- hope fuels action. You can't get to where you're going without action -- so you need optimism.

According to the author:

"Optimism, while requiring more effort, gives you power. It allows you to stand for something bigger than the existing state of affairs. Sustaining any sort of vision -- from raising venture capital to raising children -- requires almost irrational mounts of optimism.

That's why optimism is so annoying. It asks you to take responsibility for you attitude and your actions, rather than throwing up your hands and blaming circumstance."

Wow! Cherry Bomb!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ruthless assessments


I got my "corporate wellness check up" today. I have earned 50 point (out of 450) for agreeing to get my BMI calculated, having a non-fasting cholesterol and blood sugar test and letting them take my blood pressure.

Good news: The tests came out fine.

Bad news: They aren't as fine as last year. I am not an over-achiever any more. Crud!

Now I am all in a crank because I am not where I think I should be -- total cholesterol is up (probably diet related) and HDLs (good cholesterol) is down (probably because I am not exercising as much as I was last year. Double negative!

The upside to the down news: this has lit a competitive fire under me. Where I have tended, as of late, to rest on the laurels of "I am healthy enough", I now have proof that I am not where I want to be -- and it is within my control to get myself there.

This is motivating to me.

What motivates you? What can push you to make better decisions for yourself?

When the chips are down, what is going to motivate me to get out for a run before work when the day will be too busy to fit one in later? Cholesterol numbers.

What will motivate you to put down your fork a couple bites earlier? Is it being able to write in your journal that you ate to an 8? Is that the gold star you need? Would it help being able to tell your success to someone?

Figure out what really motivates you. What beckons from the other side of the finish line? Use it to get you through the tough decisions.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Successful People

Without exception, my clients are all successful people. They are smart, gifted, talented, and know how to work hard for what they want to achieve.

They also come to me frustrated and overwhelmed by the process of losing weight. It is one of the very tangible goals that have alluded them.

They think this shouldn't be the case -- perhaps there is something wrong with them that they struggle so hard and have been unsuccessful? No way!

What ends up happening is that clients solve their weight issues with the same skills that have made them successful in other areas of their lives -- using their creativity, compassion, and perseverance.

If you are struggling or frustrated, look to the areas of your life that you feel most successful and use those behaviors to advance your weight progress.

Being successful with weight management is no different than being successful anywhere else in your life. Most of us don't feel we should start right out in our working career as a CEO -- you start where ever you find a job and then work really hard to learn the skill you need to advance -- it takes a bunch of conscious decisions. Same with learning the skills you need to manage your weight -- conscious decisions to succeed, putting this goal into practice as a top priority, and lots of extra hours on the nights and weekends.

Monday, April 19, 2010

I am following my own advice...


You may have noticed -- I'm trying to clean things up around here. Some of the links from the sidebar have moved to the top of the page.

The information is still there -- just click away and explore.

One thing to note:

I have set a date for the next Mindful Meal! Interested? Click on the link at the top of the page to get the details and send me an email to reserve your spot. (remember space is limited)

Looking forward to seeing you there!

The Yo-Yo Mentality


You have heard me talk about the yo-yo mentality before -- the whole idea of a very cut and dried, black and white, good or all bad mentality. When you are dieting you are either "on" the diet or "off" the diet -- and off means you're planning to start again later.

There are a number of problems with that idea but one I was reminded of the other day was that once you hit your goal weight, you get to be DONE with dieting!! HURRAY!!

The problem with that is, although you might be careful for a little while about what you are eating (so you can maintain your new fab weight), if you haven't changed your normal, everyday relationship with food -- you will be right back to your pre-diet weight (or at least creeping that direction) because your weight is a reflection of your behaviors.

There really is a need to change your relationship with the food you eat. If you want to lose weight, you have some options: move more, eat less, or a combination of both. But the important part, is to make changes that you can live with -- because whatever it takes to get the weight off -- it is going to take that much to keep it off (which is what you want, right?)

So if you are losing weight on Jenny Craig --great for you!! But unless you are going to live on that food forever -- you need to learn to eat more like that when you are "off" the program.

And if you are learning to be more mindful -- and eating to a lesser fullness level more often than not -- then you are making changes that will get you where you want to go and keep you there! No more yo-yo, on again, off again dieting! Free yourself from that! You are smart enough to figure out how to make this work for you. (and if you need some help putting all the pieces together -- send me an email and we can talk!)

Friday, April 16, 2010

Do something Friday

Did you ever see that Drew Carey show "Whose Line is it Anyway"? If you haven't -- it is a really funny contest (versus competition) where teams compete to see who can create the funniest situations using some guidelines from the moderator and some input from the audience environment.

I only know one thing (well...now I actually know two things) about improv. The most important thing is to never say "no". When a partner asks you a question and or sets up a situation and you say "no", you are shutting down the conversation and there is no other place it will naturally flow with split second timing. The partner already has a plan and if you react with a no then the partner (whose turn it is) has to come up with a new plan and that takes more work.

I was thinking about this because yesterday I was reading a business manifesto called "Don't Script, IMPROVISE!"

The author was making a case that, in business, it doesn't do much good to create a script -- the future is changing so fast -- the way we do networked business is so fast -- that to script is to predict the future (which is impossible) and then doggedly stick to it and not react the what is really developing.

I want to make a case that this is true for weight loss as well. One of the reasons most diet plans work for a while is they script what you eat. And you agree to follow the script for a given period of time (until you lose the weight or just can't take it anymore -- whichever comes first)

To plan things out in advance means you are making no allowance for your friend calling up and asking you out to dinner -- you can say no once or twice but you probably don't want to give that up for a lifetime -- just so you can be a couple of pants sizes smaller.

So what if you took the non-scripted, improvisational approach?

Instead of immediately telling yourself no (and then having to redirect yourself -- because you are playing both parts in this show). What if you always said yes and then added your new wrinkle to the plot?

You: "Hey -- I want some ice cream -- let's go get some ice cream"

Other you: "Okay -- how about we do that tomorrow because right now I want to finish folding this laundry"

Or...
You: "I'm bored. Let's go get a cookie from the fridge"

Other you: "Okay, but first let's call Jackie and see what she is up to"

There's no judgement here. No way for "You" to rebel against "Other you's" ideas -- you haven't tried to shut You down -- just redirected for a bit. Being sensitive to the environment you are working in and working with it -- not against it.

It takes practice to get good at accepting and going with the flow. But in the end, you have two choices.

"When you script your narrative, your decision-making becomes binary. There are only two options: On-script and off-script. All the energy goes into one of two areas: Wrestling reality into your scripted vision; and re-writing the script to fit reality....The Improviser knows that there are limitless options for action in every scenario and that if the fundamentals are followed, the story will take care of itself. Your energy and focus goes into performance, into making each and every moment of each and every scene count. And those moments add up...." (p 12-13).

So, how do you feel about working on your improv skills this weekend?

Thursday, April 15, 2010

War on Kludge cont....


Have you given any more thought the idea of your kludgy diet mentality? So...which piece of the kludge are you willing to let go of?

Will it be actively getting rid of the idea that the "low-fat" potion is always the best option?

What about the idea that you need to give up pizza if you ever want to lose weight?

I talked to a former client just today who was telling me she figured out it was okay to go out to her fav restaurant and choose ribs (did I mention she is actively LOSING weight right now?). The key is to eat just a couple -- not a half rack.

Are you ready to get rid of the idea you have to stuff yourself on veggies you don't enjoy so you don't eat too much of the things you do enjoy? (how's that worked? Doesn't it seem like their is always room for the things you really want?)

Point is -- you don't have to (nor is it effective) to disassemble your whole eating structure and start from scratch. Change is scary and hard!! Let's not make it harder than it has to be.

Pick one idea from the list above or figure out one of your own. Then your job is to come up with a phrase (it has to be simple so you can remember it at crunch time) that can affirm your new outlook on eating.

Instead of:

"I guess I'll have the low-fat ice cream tonight" (when you really want Cherry Garcia) how about -- "The calories are worth it -- I am going to taste every bite." Then do it! Taste every bite -- and when it stops tasting GREAT! (and it will sooner than you thought possible ... if you pay attention!) stop eating.

Same can be said for the pizza -- taste it! Stop when it no longer tastes GREAT! If you are still hungry you can have something else -- small salad or fruit, perhaps?

And what if you don't like that salad I just suggested? DON'T waste the calories on it! Getting too full on things you don't like serves no purpose if you are eating mindfully. Really focus on eating what tastes great -- just not overly much of it.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The war on Kludge


I learned a new word today -- actually, I have heard it before and kind of had a vague notion of the meaning, but today, I actually took the time to look it up (via dictionary.com) to make sure I knew what it really meant.

kludge or kluge (klōōj)
n. Slang
1.A system, especially a computer system, that is constituted of poorly matched elements or of elements originally intended for other applications.

2.A clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem.

The definition reminds me of the phrase "cobbled together" -- it might work...but it ain't pretty!

This is what dieters all over the country are facing right now. A patched together food system. Whatever is "in" or "okay" or "healthy" right now, is what we're eating. Whatever isn't the health food du jour is "out" (as Heidi Klum would say). Whatever hasn't been specifically banned but isn't on the health list is kind of a free for all (that is what Americans are really eating -- because most of the other stuff makes us feel guilty because we are either eating it and we shouldn't OR we aren't eating it and we think we should)

So we are a land of diet kludge -- the exact definition of an inelegant and clumsy solution to our collective weight problem.

You know what really makes for elegance??? Simplicity. Having something do the work it was designed/born/bred to do -- that is elegance. Every had the opportunity to see a hunting dog out casting for pheasant? Your personal beliefs on hunting aside -- the dog is doing what it was born to do and having fun!

Why do we need complicated systems for how, when and what we should eat??? We were born to do this! We were born to enjoy it!! Have you ever enviously watched someone eat who didn't give a thought to calorie content, fat content, or what this meal might (or might not) be doing to their waistline? It can be a study in elegance. Doing (and enjoying) what they were meant to do.

Are your eating habits kludgy? What about your snacking in the evening -- grazing on this thing and the next in an effort to avoid (usually unsuccessfully) the food you really want?

Are you ready to give up the kludge and get back to the elegant solution?

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Thought for the day....don't forget the importance of doing.

"When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur...Don't look for the quick, big improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That's the only way it happens -- and when it happens, it lasts."
--Coach John Wooden

Monday, April 12, 2010


For the past week, I have woken (every morning) to the sound of a spring-crazy robin repeatedly flying into my sliding glass door. Over and above how much it irritates me to be woken up when I could be sleeping -- more than how frustrated I am that the window now looks like a wet St. Bernard has jumped up on it and stood there -- what really drives me crazy is that the bird just doesn't get it!

Hour after hour each day, the bird runs into the window -- hitting the glass with its beak making an irritating pecking noise.

This morning, I got up and snuck out to look. The bird was so (tired? sore?), he wasn't even flying into the window -- he was running at it. I stood magazines on the side he was running into (non-bird friendly magazines, it seemed to me)and he still kept running right into the glass. I am starting to have fantasies of sending it flying with a tennis racket!

As I stood and watched this, I realized I had seen this look before. Bird motivations aside, this is the same behavior I encounter when I talk about mindful eating. Those who have been steeped in the diet mentality the longest (which by definition means those who have been unsuccessful the longest using diets) holding tight to all of their diet "beliefs" like it is their religion.

If what your doing isn't working (again and again and again) maybe the fault doesn't lie with you!

Maybe those diets have promised something they can't deliver -- the same way the robin is seeing the promise of a mate (or competition -- I am a coach not a robin psychologist) in the reflection of the glass door -- but after a time of bashing your head against the wall, perhaps you should let it go and try something else.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Do something Friday


Habits are interesting things. On one hands, they are the skills that allow us to get a lot of things done and free up brain space for other activities (think parking your car at work in the same place every day and so you can walk out to it without wondering where you left it). And other times, our habits keep us chained in situations we no longer want to be in (I am specifically talking about eating habit -- go figure :)

The key to having habits work for you is to once in a while take an objective look at what you do on autopilot.

Example: walking into the fast food restaurant and ordering a double or large anything.

If you are looking to lose weight, this might not be a helpful habit. What if you chose the kid's meal? Small cheeseburger, small fry, small drink. Would that be enough food to move you from hungry to no longer hungry? Quite possibly. Would it make you FULL? Probably not -- but do you want to be FULL on fast food? And last question -- are you going to save some calories with a kids meal compared to what you normally order? Absolutely!

Okay -- now your coffee drink.

Do you really need all of the size you currently order? Could you enjoy the next size smaller and not feel deprived?

(Now remember, I am the girl who LOVES 32 oz. fountain Cokes. There is something about the extravagance of having a ridiculous amount that makes my fountain Coke drinking a luxury because I can drink as much as I want and throw the rest away -- I don't want to drink all of the 20 oz Coke -- not the same experience.)

Look at your normal breakfast -- I just had a genius client tell me she realized she was fine eating only one piece of toast (instead of two) with her normal breakfast -- it didn't change how hungry she was throughout the day -- she just always made two pieces until she took a look at the behavior and realized it was modifiable.

I am not saying you have to do any of these things. I am asking you to take a look at a couple eating behaviors you do on autopilot and see if there are any changes you can make to them so you can save a few bites (or gulps) here and a few there.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Maybe it's a maturity problem....


I was listening to Michigan Radio on the way into work.

Jack Lessenberry was taking about the mayoral recall in Flint. Flint is trying to balance its budget (and having difficulties, obviously). The citizens of Flint don't want their taxes increased (who does?) but they also don't like the solution of laying off city workers. Flint needs to balance its budget -- you can't pay people if there isn't any money for it.

Lessenberry says that this is a maturity problem. People need to understand there are only two solutions to this problem --
1. get more money

OR

2. reduce the amount spent.

You might not like it -- but there it is.

The same can be said with the amount we eat. There are those who routinely swear they eat hardly anything! and they are gaining weight like mad. But your body can't make something out of nothing -- if you are gaining weight, you are eating more than you are expending.

It doesn't seem fair (much like the difficult decisions Flint is having to make) but you have two choices.

1. Eat fewer calories

OR

2. Expend more calories through movement.

That's it. There are no magic beans that are going to take care of this problem much like there isn't a money fairy that is going to give Flint enough magic money to let them balance their budget, keep city services the same AND keep taxes at their current levels.

As adults, we need to understand we can't always have it all -- but we can make the choice to maximize the enjoyment of what we have.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

It's not just about you...

Yesterday, in the lockerroom, Dr. Phil was on. Normally, I try to tune these kind of programs out because they just drive me crazy. Yesterday, was no exception but they were talking about obese kids.

So -- not to put the Dr. Phil guilt spin on it -- but what about the example you are setting for those around you?

Making some small changes (that add up to pounds lost for you) also has the added benefit of changing the example you set for those around you -- like your kids.

So maybe it's not all about you -- maybe it's like Gandhi said:

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

These things happen slowly....


You all know I work with people who are recovering from joint replacement...they come to my classes 3 or 6 months out of surgery with aches and pains and tight knee joints that just don't bend. Frustrated. They went through all this work and the their surgeon said they would be "good as new" in 8-12 weeks -- here it's been double that now and still no relief....

I sit and listen. Ask a few questions. And for the most part, you know what? They are right on their healing schedule!

A great many surgeons will tell their patients healing takes 6-12 weeks. Physical therapists will say longer -- maybe even 6 months.

It has been mine experience that a good many times, it takes 12-14 months for people to completely heal from a knee or hip surgery. It takes that long to get all the swelling out of the joint and getting it back to "normal". I can attest to this with my own knee surgery (ACL repair).

But most of the time, people are okay with the longer healing time once they understand it is going to take that long. They just thought it would be quicker (per the doc's assessment) and so they think something is wrong with them as the healing time drags on.

Lots of things (dare I say most things?) take longer than we want them to or think they should. Weight loss is like that -- always takes longer than it seems like it should.

But the weight when on slowly too, right? "No! It happened the night of my 29th/40th/ or50th birthday", you say -- but mostly your wrong. A pound or two here and a pound or two there. A couple bites extra at this meal and a couple secret snacks when you were in your car. They add up...slowly. And that is the way they are going to come off....slowly.

So I will be honest up front. Changing eating habits that have been ingrained over a lifetime is not a quick task. The weight will come off as you change your behaviors -- but slowly -- the same way you are changing your behaviors.

I am hoping that if you know that up front, you will be okay with it and understand that is the way these things work.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Omit Needless Foods


A while ago, I was thinking about how to simplify the Eating Coach message to make it more accessible for students of Mindful Eating to understand what I was asking of them.

Omit Needless Foods was what I came up with.

In that sentence, which part jumps out at you? Where does the emphasis go? If you are like most of my clients, the emphasis goes straight to the "Omit" part. The focus has been "give up the good stuff" -- stop eating.

But what if you put the emphasis on the Needless part? What if you were working through the process of finding what foods are needless in your life?

We aren't talking about broad categories here. Although there are very few redeeming traits found in a Fountain Coke from a nutrition perspective, sometimes a Coke is the perfect thing -- and therefore can't be written off as needless in the grand scheme.

On any given day -- where are the bites that are needless -- the ones that don't take care of your physical hunger AND you don't enjoy them -- the ones that add no value to your life.

Find those. Omit those. If you do that, you will get where you want to be.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Do Something Friday - ... 1-Click Ordering


Amazon makes it easy to order their stuff online. Once you have done it the first time (assuming you can remember your password) you can check out with 1-Click ordering. No brainer -- all you need to do is decide what you want and then... one click and it's done. Whether it's something you need or an impulse buy -- you are more likely to purchase it because there are fewer steps to making it happen.

If I had to pick a 1-Click weight loss idea for this weekend here it is:

One salad-sized plate of food at each meal. That's it. No seconds. You can fill your smaller sized plate however you want but when it is gone, you're done eating.

That eliminates the option of picking at the dishes as they are sitting on the table. No quick forkfuls as you're filling the plate. No leftovers as you're clearing. Just what's on your plate.

With that, you have fewer decisions to make. You have committed ahead of time to the idea of eating this much and only this much.

You have made it easier on yourself by limiting the option of having other decisions to make.

Put the small plates on the top of the stack when you get home. Use only those this weekend. Learn how that amount of food feels.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

How do you want to feel....


Have you given it any thought -- How would it feel to reach the weight you are working on? Don't stop with the easy, breezy "It would feel great!" answer. Work a little harder...

Envision this --

You are running some errands on a Saturday morning -- nothing special, just a quick trip to the grocery store, run through the bank and meeting a friend for coffee after.

You reach into your closet and pull out a pair of jeans -- not your yard working jeans and not the best pair either -- just an old pair of jeans. You don't think about what they are going to look like on you (Lizzie is quiet). You set one foot in and then the other -- still no comment from your reptilian peanut gallery.

You pull them up, button and zip 'em. You're out the door to run errands. You might be thinking about the best traffic route. You might be thinking about whether you will need a jacket or not. You might be wondering where you put your car keys when you came in last night.

What you're not thinking about is:
Whether the jeans are too tight in the butt.
How you wish you didn't have to button them because the waist is too tight.
How long you are going to have to sit at the coffee place because the jeans make sitting uncomfortable.

None of that is entering into your head. Lizzie might be talking but she isn't talking about your weight or your choice of pants.

You are just you running errands.

How would it feel to live that bit of life day after day?