Food is linked to cues from culture, family and environment. Think for a minute, where do you go that has a certain food as a “first thought”? Movies = tub of buttered popcorn. Rushing out in the morning = greasy drive-thru egg/cheese biscuit. Sending a card to Grandma = trip to bakery for similar (but not as good) sugar cookies. Dinner at an Italian restaurant = half dozen bread sticks while waiting for the entrée.
These are cues for eating, which we developed over time and nurtured into our food bill of rights. Until we recognize the power of food cues, our efforts to reach and maintain a healthy weight will be unnecessarily difficult.
This week let’s agree to go on a Search and Destroy mission for every possible food cue that might hold back progress.
Keep a note card in your pocket or purse. Write down the place or time that a food cue pops into your mind. Identify which food cues are habits, not genuine hunger. Here’s a clue: what pops into mind? If it’s a cookie, candy bar, cola or chips, that’s a food cue not real hunger and does not need to be reinforced.
Have you made the decision to get down to a healthy weight, re-shape your body and change your life for the better? Great, now you have to make this commitment stick for more than a few days.
First, decide that there is no going back. Your old habits of disease are what weighs you down and holds you back from having the life you want. Let them go.
Sure, it can be difficult to say goodbye to unconscious eating, lack of planning and not enough sleep. But these are the habits of disease and you don’t want them around anymore. They got you where you are - - tired, overweight and unhappy.
As I tell my health coaching clients, “weight loss begins in the brain cells before reaching the fat cells.” That means making a commitment today and every day until health is your new habit.
Create a personal power statement to support changes in your food-mood connection. Here is what I suggest to my health coaching clients:
I reject fear and fat as I nurture my body to my ideal weight.
Notice that this statement is POSITIVE. The diet mentality is filled with negatives (can’t eat this, don’t do that, never do… ). Our brains work better focused on what is positive.
Create your personal power statement. Type it on a small index card or business card and place everywhere you go: car, refrigerator, office, tv room. And remember to carry this card in your calendar, pocket or purse and wallet.
“Weight loss begins in the BRAIN CELLS before it can reach the FAT CELLS.” Are you ready to make a life change and choose health? I am ready to coach you from weight loss to wellness. Contact me today!
The value of a lazy day is refreshing creative processes. Too often over-eating is poor substitute for rest
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February is GO RED for WOMEN month. The Red Dress pin reminds everyone that womens heart health is important. Signs of a heart attack are different in women than in men. Know your heart health risks and start action to improve your health. Weight loss is a major step to improving heart health. I know, because after losing 70 pounds, my high blood pressure problem was cured and my heart health dramatically improved. As a Certified Health Coach, I can show you ways to improve your heart health.
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Introducing my granddaughter, Joy. She joins two sisters and a brother. Healthy food habits are learned in the first four years of life. That’s when children associate “treat” with cookies or sweets and “food” as vegetables or protein. As a Certified Health Coach, I teach overweight adults how to re-define “treat” in ways that nourish the body. If there is a new baby in your family, like our Joy, teach the healthy habits early.
Reality check, some restaurants are better than others for low fat and fresh foodchoices. Fortunately, many restaurants, even local places, have web sites with menu information. Make the effort to check it out before you go. When you arrive, ask questions about how an item is prepared. Request that your food be served without gravy or have it grilled instead of fried.
Ask for a second vegetable or small salad in place of potatoes or rice. You are not being difficult. If you were severely allergic to these foods, you would not hesitate to ask for these changes. Consider that you are “allergic” to the damaging factors of excess weight so you can’t afford to take the menu item as is. You don’t have to go to Burger King to “have it your way”. By the way, that’s not a healthy option, unless you plan to order water.
Preparing Lean and Green meals is easy if you know where to shop. Check out an Aldi Supermarket and be ready to meet the IKEA of food. Not only is there a wide selection but plenty of items for Lean & Green meals. Look for their Fit & Active brand which is lower in calories and zero trans-fats.
New Favorite: Fit & Active ® Dijon Mustard Turkey Breast Tenderloins. This is white meat turkey in a roll form which is perfect for thin slices. The product description is “gorgeously gourmet, which is an understatement. Prepare this for guests and after the compliments roll in, then tell them it’s Lean & Green.
Simple prep: Place the tenderloin flat in a crock pot (slow cooker). Cover with white cooking wine or low sodium broth (Fit & Active chicken broth). Add minced onions. Cover the crock pot and cook on low for 3 hours. Before serving, take the tenderloin out and let rest for ten minutes, then slice.
Add a spring green salad and fresh squash or frozen pack of mixed veggies. If you are feeling fancy, lightly braise fresh mushrooms slices in extra virgin olive oil then serve over the tenderloin slices.
Other Aldi finds: Fit & Active bottled drinks that are no cal, no caffeine, no sugar, no carbs but big on flavor; Strawberry Lemonade, Mango Tropical or Cranberry. The fruit flavors are so bold that you will think it’s the real thing.
Refrigerator stand-by: Fit & Active turkey meatballs. Here’s another easy, delicious crock pot main dish.
Salad Dressings – The Fit & Active dressings must yield to Walden Farms. Look in the chilled produce section at Publix and other supermarkets for Walden Farms dressings which are rich, thick and tasty with no calories, no carbs and no sugars. The Walden Farms Caesar or Ranch are also good “sauce” options for hot or cold veggies.
Dr Wayne Anderson, acclaimed critical care physician and medical director of Take Shape for Life, has created the one-stop book on real health that anyone can understand and apply. Dr A’s Habits of Health begins with weight loss but spends most of this work by sharing his passion to “get America healthy”.
Dr Anderson is my health coaching mentor. I am proud to endorse his book and the new companion workbook that we use in coaching, ”Living a Longer, Healthier Life”. Get an extra copy for a friend or family member who is struggling with health issues.
Dr Wayne Anderson, acclaimed critical care physician and medical director of Take Shape for Life, has created the one-stop book on real health that anyone can understand and apply. Dr A’s Habits of Health begins with weight loss but spends most of this work by sharing his passion to “get America healthy”.