diets – Page 3 – sassyfitnesschick

A New Year And A New Start

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Hello beautiful people and Happy New Year to you! I hope you’re still out there since it’s been awhile that I’ve offered anything up to you… I’m still here!

2016 ended with a lot going on, not to mention the usual Christmas events and celebrations to prepare for. A big thing for me was finally having to move my dad out of his home into a personal care home in December as his Alzheimers had greatly progressed and he needed constant care.

Unfortunately, my 2017 started off with him passing away a few days into the new year. Even though we knew he would be leaving us soon, the finality is always something you still have to contend with.

Ah…kinda heavy stuff to start the year off with but life keeps moving… right?

Even with so much going on in my life, a new year always inspires me, gives me a fresh focus and vision with things I want to accomplish or try. A new year full of opportunities and goals to set. And trust me, I have new goals already set.

As usual I’ve heard from many people about their weight loss and fitness goals. That this is going to be “their year” for success. They are ready to get going on “the journey”.

And of course, all of the weight loss products are out in full force on every aisle in the store along with your neighbors who are pedaling stuff and are now experts on nutrition and health … I’ve said it once I’ll say it again… you don’t need any of that to be successful… save your money for new clothes…

it’s sounds old school but solid nutrition and some healthy movement are the only things that will give you life long success at staying healthy and fit.

Sooooo….you have good intentions. You’re ready. More importantly, you’re mentally ready to begin this process… and it IS a process. It’s not something you will achieve overnight but if you keep at it, will be a lifelong process of health and well being… it will just be what you do every day without thinking about it.

Where does one start? How does one start? Do you feel overwhelmed before you begin?

You aren’t alone. I remember multiple attempts before it finally “stuck”. What made it different for me? What got me moving in a permanent forward direction?

I’ll share a few things with you….

First, I had to just make a commitment to myself to do it. Not for my husband or kids or so I could wear skinny jeans . It has to be for you. This is your life, your body, you are responsible for taking care of it and keeping it healthy and well. Do it for you.

Own where you are and be honest with yourself. If you’re overweight you know it. It’s not a surprise. Be real and then get real with how you’re going to change it.

Set realistic goals.

Understand, no one, at all can do the work for you. I can offer someone tips, suggestions, food and exercise ideas etc but if they don’t follow through and do the work…well… then they go no where. What you eat, how much, if you get out for some exercise, it all falls on you.

Know that you will have a good and bad days. It’s important to just keep going. No quitting. No deciding nothing is ever going to change. You commit to one day at a time, hopefully making more positive choices than negative and you live the day you’re in.

Get honest with yourself and really examine your relationship with food.. why do you eat? what makes you reach for food? are there things that trigger you eating? Getting an understanding of food and how you interact with it will be helpful on your journey. For instance, one thing I identified early on, was that I came from a family of emotional eaters. Over time, I’ve really learned to rein that in, be aware of it, and have control over it.

Don’t let the scale be your judge and jury to your health journey. It’s a tool. It in no way reflects your overall health and well being. Use it carefully.. maybe just once a week. Note the numbers and move on. Things like losing inches, lab results (reflecting internal health), getting stronger, or faster and your mental well being aren’t reflected on the scale.

Start small. Start with one thing to change at a time. If you’ve never exercised maybe aiming for 2-3 times in a week would be a good starting place. If you always eat seconds maybe work back on not eating those. Learn to listen to your body…seconds really… are for our mouth and eyes…not our tummies which are usually satisfied.

Food. Don’t cut out everything you love and go on some restrictive diet that makes you want to quit in a week. Eat enough food to satisfy your hunger, no more. Eat when you get hungry. Don’t eat when you aren’t.

Work on eliminating junk type foods. Simple carbs should be minimal in your daily nutrition ( that means things like cookies, candy, soda, sugary drinks, boxed snacks/foods, chips, processed foods, baked goods , fast food etc)

Complex carbs… those found in fruits, green veggies, whole grains, beans/peas, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, pasta etc should begin to fill your plate along with protein and healthy fats.

Treats. I always tell people I’ve been successful by not restricting myself from things I love. I learned early on to really appreciate and savor a small treat over nothing at all. Literally, I could get a few chocolate kisses with my coffee at night and it satisfied the need for a sweet treat. It wasn’t anything that would sabatoge my work for the day and I didn’t ultimately go on some binge because I had overly restricted myself.

With a determined mind set, a willingness to change, the knowledge to take baby steps and progress slowly knowing change takes time, and making small changes in your nutrition and exercise program, 2017 will for sure be your year to achieve a lifestyle of health and fitness.

And the most important ingredient to your success? Don’t quit!

What Shape Is Your Diet?

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“So, what do you eat?” It’s one of a few common questions I get sometimes. What the seeking person wants to know or might be asking is “tell me how to eat. Give me a plan/structure ’cause what you’re doing, it seems to work for you.”

First, I personally abhor structured diets that tell me what I have to eat, how much and when. This is probably why I tossed all that nonsense 8 years ago when I started my crazy adventure.

Even when I work with people I don’t make a meal plan for them. Why? They need to learn how to eat and how to make their own plan work. I want them to know and understand their body and how to listen to it.

Second, how I eat is what works for me. My nutritional needs will be different on several levels. My natural daily metabolic needs as well as what I need athletically will influence my daily diet.

Therefore, I can’t just give someone a blanket “this is what I eat” and expect it will work for them too.

There are some things I do that I think are applicable to anyone and can lead to personal success.

I eat healthy 90% of the time. Meaning, I try to eat real foods as close to their natural form as I can. Of course, I leave wiggle room for those treats that make life fun or don’t make me feel restricted and deprived. This approach has worked for me and I believe has kept me successful.
I drink lots of water. It’s my primary drink ( followed by coffee of course;) I don’t drink alcohol or sugary drinks of any kind. Well, only Gatorade after intense endurance workouts, but that’s a bit different.
I eat when I’m hungry and I eat enough to satisfy my hunger but not make myself feel to full.
Veggies or fruit take up lots of space on my plate at all my meals.
I get 3 meals in and depending on my athletic load that day, healthy snacks as needed.
Protein is a major thing for me at all meals and snacks to support muscle growth and maintenance as well as it doing a fine job keeping me feeling satisfied and not hungry.

And depending on my training schedule and what type of workouts I’m facing for the day, will determine what my nutritional needs are. Obviously, some days, I will require more calories than others.

See how I can’t just make a blanket statement to someone telling them what to eat?

The first step ( I believe) for anyone, is knowing yourself. Be the best student of your body you can. Know what foods make you feel good and healthy. Know what your activities are and how you need to nutritionally support them. Learn to listen to your body and it’s natural signals for hunger and when it’s satisfied. I’ve learned what foods make me feel energetic, satisfied, help me athletically and help me build a strong body. It’s been a learning work in progress.

Make it your goal to eat real, whole foods and allow opportunities for the little treats in life you love ( in moderation)

How else can you make a winning eating plan for yourself that will lead to long term success and sustainability?

* Learn to eat three kinds of foods at meals. Obviously, the bigger variety of foods you eat, the more vitamins, minerals and nutrients you consume. Learn to experiment with different foods at each meal. Include plenty of veggies and fruit.

* Choose foods in their most natural states. Foods in their natural state or lightly processed have more nutritional value and less sodium, trans fats, and other non-healthy ingredients.

* Think moderation. Make a strong foundation of healthy foods, but don’t deprive yourself of things that are enjoyable to you too. Stop thinking of foods as good or bad. Think of moderation and if you enjoy something ( like an occasional coke or whatever your poison is) it can fit into an overall nutritionally strong daily diet. You may be surprised though, that in time, when you start eating good food, you can lose the taste for certain foods you once found appealing.

Teach yourself to not just eat, but to learn to eat better. Look at a stronger, daily nutritional plan as a way to love and respect your body.

Making small daily changes will get you on the road to healthy, balanced and successful eating and living an overall healthier lifestyle.

Tell me, have you learned about yourself? How to feed your body in a way that supports your life and daily activities? What tips or tricks can you share?

The Weekend Mentality

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Hello Monday! And that’s a wrap on the weekend….

Ahh the weekend. It’s a break from the grind and can give us a reprieve from the usual day in and day out activities… if we’re lucky.

Sometimes we still have all the expected responsibilities that come along with life, but the weekend can often be a time to chill out and do things that we’ve put off during the week or maybe it’s just an opportunity to relax and do a whole lot of nothing…

Either way…. it can often signify a change from our normal routine…

and in that it can also mean, perhaps an attitude, that says it’s the weekend and we let our eating habits slip, or we decide since it’s the weekend we “deserve” to eat whatever.

The weekend mentality……

Hold on…..I’m not saying you can’t have that brownie or a burger out…..

I enjoy a good weekend breakfast with my husband ( wellll a lot of times it can almost be brunch ’cause he’s a good sport and let’s me get my workout in and clean up first;) but by then I really am ready to put the food away.. and I enjoy that breakfast… which will almost hold me till dinner….

I just don’t want you to throw away the hard work you’ve invested in the week by going overboard and eating a lot of stuff that will not help your goals, but also might just make you feel not so great as well.

I guess this kinda goes along with my post I did on cheat days.

I think (personally) a practical daily balance not only keeps us sane and gets us to our goals, but allows us to enjoy life along the way without feeling deprived

Drinks out with a friend? Family birthday celebration? You just want some ice cream? A burger and fries has been wooing you for days?

Factor that in to your weekend, but don’t allow an all or nothing approach. You can enjoy those special things and still keep on track.

Personally, I’ve found that as my body has adjusted more to having healthy food the majority of the time, it’s not so crazy about those foods I used to look forward to indulging in periodically so it kinda keeps me in check.

But I still like chocolate cake… a lot…. so on those celebratory moments… I arm wrestle the kids for it 😉

Just a reminder for you… as you get to the weekends… live life… but don’t go crazy…..

Come Monday… you’ll be happy you’re still on the same forward movement towards success =)

What about you? Do you let weekends be a time to indulge more? Or do you keep on track with your normal eating habits?

Food And Cheat Days

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It’s hard to believe we are already moving quickly into another year, and yet another holiday is behind us with the celebration of Easter this past weekend.

For many it’s a time of worship, family gatherings, and well, food. As things go with holidays there are special treats and meals that are prepared as we gather in celebration.

Holidays are meant to be enjoyed. Food is meant to be savored and appreciated.

Therefore, I found it semi-amusing when I was asked on Saturday not once, but twice, in different conversations if I allowed myself “cheat days”.

If you don’t know what this means, in some dieting plans there is a day in the week you’re basically allowed to just eat whatever and enjoy it without any (supposed) guilt for doing it.

The first person to ask me was a friend… he simply inquired if I allowed myself to do that… to have days of indulgence.

The other person was an employee in the store I had chatted with briefly. She was telling me about an asparagus dish involving bacon and she laughed and said ” I know you look really disciplined, but I figure you’ve got to have some cheat days along the way too!”

Ok, I admit, I don’t really “see” myself like others do. Does anyone ?

I know I am a bit more muscular looking than a lot of people roaming around so perhaps there’s an idea I don’t ever touch anything that might be considered “off limits”.

That idea kinda makes me laugh….

So here’s the deal… I’ve never subscribed to the idea of having “cheat days” and I’ll tell you why.

First of all, why would I just want to bomb a whole day needlessly ? And what if I didn’t want anything “off limits” on cheat day ? What if I really need a piece or two of chocolate on a non-cheat day ? Or there’s a special celebration?

On another thought, it also begins to set you up for thinking of foods in “good” or “bad” terms. The idea being you eat bad foods on your cheat day… good foods the rest of the time…

On a personal opinion I’ve just never seen it as a productive idea.

What has helped me be successful and lose weight is balance and moderation of allowing myself things which has kept me from feeling deprived or the need to binge on something because I have withheld it. Somehow, this seems to have worked as I’ve lost weight these past few years and maintained my fitness goals.

This is how I counsel people who are trying to find a balance of losing weight and living this thing called life.

That being said, even though I don’t like setting foods into “good” or “bad” groups, you need to have an awareness that there are definitely foods that support optimal health, keep you well and energetic, that contribute to weight loss and support your fitness goals.

These should make up the majority of your daily diet.

Then there are foods that are enjoyable and make life fun but should be consumed in careful moderation.

There are some “foods” I will never put in my mouth as I see them as wasted, useless, calories that do nothing for me.

When you begin to see foods in this light it also removes guilt that people tend to put on themselves for eating “bad” foods.

I can’t tell you the times I’ve heard people apologize because they had a treat at a party or a piece of birthday cake or something similar. Or worse, feel they have to punish themselves or “work it off”.

Seriously, lose the guilt, stop apologizing. When you make a decision to have something, own it and move on.

As you progress and eating healthy begins to feel what is more normal and natural to you, those other foods honestly, will have less attraction. You will feel better eating healthy foods and (personally) I don’t feel so great if I have a day eating foods my body isn’t used to anymore.

In brief:

Eat healthy, whole foods the majority of the time.

If you need or want something special, consider a small amount to meet that need. Take a moment to decide if it’s really what you want.

Is it something you really love or are you eating it because it’s there?

Don’t lock yourself into one day to go off the tracks. There’s no point in wasting a day or ruining your efforts for the week.

Think moderation and balance.

Guilt is not a part of success. Don’t entertain it.

If you really overdo, just refocus on your goals, pick up, and keep moving forward. Quitting isn’t an option!

Monday Motivation

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Yeah.. it’s Monday beautiful people. I know it came as a startling realization as your alarm blared you to life and left you scrambling trying to remember what day it was and what planet you were on.

Nothing like shaking the sleep out… shaking the body out… and rolling into a Monday.

You’ve already got the to-do list planned and a weekly agenda lined out.

Perhaps, if you’re like many, you’ve decided today….today is THE day.

No.. not to quit your job….

The day you’re finally going to get started…get moving… do things differently.

It’s time to take back your life… to lose weight and get moving again ’cause you’re tired of being fat ( let’s just be honest here, ok? if I can say that about myself where I was 8 years ago… it’s ok… being real is the first step to success) and you’re tired of well…feeling tired. Or feeling sluggish and having no energy or getting out of breath doing simple daily tasks.

You can change all that. Really. It won’t happen overnight, but it won’t happen if you don’t get started.

I don’t care how young or old you are you can start doing things differently to impact your life in a better way.

So, if you’re one of the many who rolled out of bed today with this on your mind, may I offer a few suggestions? Ideas? Tips?

First… I’m super proud of you for wanting to improve your health! And if you’re going to do this remember…

Take one day at a time. I know that sounds rather…simple? But seriously…take one day. Don’t look six months out or think about how you need to lose a zillion pounds… that will intimidate anyone and make them wanna quit. Focus on the day you’re in and focus on making better choices for yourself. Don’t expect perfection just aim for improvement.

Eat a little less, listen to your body when you are hungry, stop when you’re comfortable, practice eating more whole foods, don’t completely deprive yourself.

You know… just little things through your day that will start to add up.

Then… in that same day…try and see how you can add more purposeful movement into your day. Take the stairs, park further out at the store, go for an evening walk, go to the park and really play with your kids.. get creative.

Now… you made it through your day… get up tomorrow…repeat process… only this time you’re gonna try and do just …. a little more….

Eat a little less, eat something more healthy, go for a longer walk, think of a physical activity you want to try and then do it….

And you will focus on caring for yourself one day at a time.

Oh, and if you have a day you don’t do so well with ? You will get up tomorrow and start again. Do not quit.

Focus on one day at a time, with small goals ( focus on 5lb weigh loss increments) adding in healthier foods, allowing occasional treats, and getting in purposeful exercise will have you moving steadily on your way to your goals.

From that point keep challenging yourself to do a little more each day, and each week. Measure success not just in weight loss but also in things like, inches lost, energy level, mental well being, lab/doctors visits, confidence and feeling empowered at tackling your days for your health and fitness goals, and overall satisfaction with how you’re feeling.

You can accomplish anything you decide to do =)

Don’t Wait For Next Year To Change

January

“Well, I’m just gonna get started in January, you know, once the holidays are over.”

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it, yeah, a lot.

The New Years Resolution.

The New Years promise to finally “get in shape”, to “lose weight”, and to “get healthier”.

What it might amount to is a fairly guiltless free for all of eating for weeks like a man condemned to the gallows never to see good food again.

Then with a rigid determination come the official first of the year and a stoic do or die approach, you set out to finally lose weight.

All the good foods are gone ( you might have helped eat them to “get them out of the house”) you’ve stocked up on celery and rice cakes and pulled out the Jillian Michaels workout video that you will overdo on and hurt like heck the next day ’cause your body is protesting all that activity. You will hop on the scale looking for it to show some “loss” to reward you for your first hard day of labor and suffering.

Ha.. ok.. I’m messing with you, but maybe you see yourself in there somewhere.

I do. I used a lot of my past to kinda make fun of the predictable behaviors so many go through each year.

Sad thing is, those good intentions, almost never last past that first month.

I just want to encourage you to not wait for the New Year to start focusing on taking care of yourself. Each day is a new opportunity to eat well, and get in some good purposeful movement. I was talking with someone and again the conversation came up that exercise is something our bodies require for health and wellness, not just to be used as a tool to lose weight ( although it helps with that too).

Exercise is crucial to our overall well being! And needless to say, eating well, gives us good energy to move through our day.

I want to challenge you to not wait for 2016 to start making changes, but begin today.

Taking small steps each day will position you to continue forward movement after the holidays are over towards permanent healthy changes.

Can you think of a better way to start off your New Year ?

The Habit Of Eating

In yesterdays blog I talked about will power vs. habits and their role in weight loss and building a healthy lifestyle pattern.

One habit we all have in common and I’d dare say we all enjoy, is eating.

Food is good. Food is also the source of fuel for our bodies to perform daily tasks and live life. Food is meant to be enjoyed and savored!

There are lots of things to eat, and hopefully, you are making choices to eat healthy and nutritious foods the majority of the time.

In the ways of developing habits I’m sure most of us have habits of eating at scheduled times during the day to keep our energy level up.

We have an amazing God given built in system that tells us when we need food.

Ever get that grumbly, growly, tummy ? That’s the signal you need to eat. Once we’ve eaten enough to be (comfortably) satisfied we stop…or we should.

Unfortunately, many can go to either extremes with this. Either the hunger signals are constantly and frequently ignored which can lead to possible eating disorders, or one can eat often and frequently enough to not even remember what natural hunger signals feel like.

I know when I do long runs, my appetite can sometimes hit the roof and I feel like I can’t get it in fast enough. It feels good when it hits bottom!

Why? Because I’m genuinely, truly, hungry. I always joke food tastes so amazing when you are really hungry.

What I want to ask is this… do you eat when you are really truly, hungry? Or do you eat as a habit ? Because it’s a scheduled meal time?

We do need to schedule and eat adequate meals, but we also need to learn when enough is enough to take care of our hunger but not send us into that “I ate to much” feeling. Balance is what we’re seeking, balance in meeting our needs, but not over doing it.

Get this… you don’t have to eat if you aren’t hungry. Or if it’s a scheduled meal time and you aren’t hungry.

However, if you get balanced, adequate meals in your day you should be experiencing those natural signals before your next meal. Allow yourself to understand, feel, and act on those signals.

Developing a habit to eat, when hungry, and stop when your hunger is comfortably satisfied is a big step towards losing weight and moving into healthy lifestyle patterns.

Is this easy for you to do ? Or will you need some practice to make it a habit ?

Will Power Or Habit ?

Why hello December! November certainly was a whirlwind, wasn’t it ? Here in the States we just wrapped up Thanksgiving last week… which is always an amazing overload to the senses.

A day full of delicious food and tasty treats… how can you go wrong with that ??

Thanksgiving is like this seque into Christmas with it’s plethora of delights.

Candy. Cookies. Rich meals. Cakes and treats.

I grew up with a grandmother and mom who were baking queens during the Christmas season. I will share more on that in another post, but it’s safe to say, I learned all my tricks from them. What a wonderful heritage to be given.

I love baking and I love giving it away. The week of Thanksgiving I took a variety of treats to my local Starbucks ( ’cause I love all my little baristas there 😉 and I want them to know I appreciate them. One of the comments I got was…

“How do you stay in the shape you’re in, and bake like that??”

My response, ” I bake, but I don’t eat much of it” 😉

Then comes something I’ve gotten used to hearing from people.

” I just don’t have that kind of will power”

Ah yes, the illusive “will power”. It’s defined as control of ones impulses and actions, self-control.

Often when I’m talking with people that subject comes up. They are struggling, wanting to lose weight and move into a positive lifestyle change yet feel their willpower is lacking.

Can I say at best, it can fail us ? Oh we will be “good”. We will decline treats and special foods and maybe for awhile feel successful. We will drastically alter all of our eating and feel like we are finally getting somewhere. After attempting to keep rein on our willpower we can even begin to feel angry with it.

“Why can’t we have that treat?”

“Why can’t we enjoy the things we really love?”

And then… one day.. we snap.

Everything that’s been off limits, is now far game. If it can run, it better get outta the way. You’ve held on to your willpower for as long as you can and now it’s anything goes. You deserve to enjoy things too, right ?

And then… you’re back at square one. You might have feelings of failure, discouragement and frustration that once again, you just don’t have the willpower to control things and you’ll never get your goals.

May I offer an alternate suggestion ? One that you slowly, simply, build into your life?

Habits. You begin to build new habits, day in and day out until it’s seamlessly a part of your life and willpower doesn’t really have to do with what you eat. You begin to develop comfortable boundaries with what you eat and when.

I shared on my Facebook page this past Monday that I was ready to get back to “normal” and by that I meant I was ready for some serious exercise and lighter eating. You see, I was able to enjoy my Thanksgiving celebrations, but I’ve built habits into my life that I naturally want to return to.

For me, getting back on the road for a run and having a big colorful salad for lunch was normal for me. Over the past few years I’ve made exercise and eating well, in moderation, habits for myself. Once these things are ingrained in you, it’s not hard to return to them.

When I talk with people I try and stress the importance of building new habits to make the journey to a lifestyle change. I believe it’s ultimately, the only thing that will stick.

Understand this: habits aren’t built over night. They are built from a purposeful and intentional desire to do things differently. So many things we do in our lives are habit, good and bad.

Know you will bomb some days. You’ll feel frustrated and wonder if it will ever stick. It will. Get up and start at it again.

When I first started out walking I was so worried if I missed a single day I’d fall off the proverbial wagon. If I didn’t get my walk in the morning due to scheduling, when I got home, the first thing I did was grab my shoes and hit the road. ( this was before days where I was all super athletically haha) I wore what I had on, changed my shoes, and got it done.

You know what that was doing ? Building a habit in me that said “purposeful, daily exercise is important and necessary. You make time for it. ”

Food. In slow, daily, and steady changes I taught my body to appreciate eating healthy food. I also allowed it Peanut M&M’s if it wanted a few. When you KNOW you can have something, it really removes the power from it, because you know it’s there… if you really need it. In time, certain foods and treats honestly began to have less of a draw. I recognized how good I felt eating well, eating appropriate amounts and feeding my body in a healthy way.

Again, I had days I bombed, and days I felt like super woman. No matter what, I kept a forward moving mentality. Each day gained, got me that much closer to making those things permanent habits for me.

Not my amazing willpower. Not my superior strength of being able to say “no”.

New habits that were leading to a lifestyle change.

I’ve heard it can take 21 days for a new habit to be set in place. Depending on what it is, some things might take more or less time based on our personalities.

My suggestions if you want to build new positive, life changing habits?
Don’t try and change everything all at once. Pick one or maybe two things.

Slow and steady is best.

Do have a journal to write down your progress in the beginning to hold yourself accountable. Don’t be afraid to ask a friend to ask you how you’re doing.

Focus on the day your in. Move through it making good choices. Allow yourself a measure of grace if you fall, but get up and get back at it.

No throwing in the towel!

Do not allow yourself to make excuses to not do what you’ve set out to do. You are more than capable of success.

Make a realistic goal sheet of habits you want to form.

Understand you have to practice your new habit daily to make it a um…. habit 😉

Seeking to build habits instead of having “willpower” will lead you to a new freedom and your healthier lifestyle.

What good habits do you have in place already? What habits do you need to work on and build to live a healthier lifestyle ?

To Count Or Not Count Calories

In the ways of health and fitness stuff there are some common questions that I get frequently.

One being… “Do you count calories?”

Short answer. No. I find it to be a total drag.

Nowwww… if you’re a happy calorie counter don’t get upset here 😉 it does and can have it’s place in helping you understand your calorie intake. It just doesn’t need to be a life long thing you must do. With all the apps out there today keeping track of your intake has never been easier. (just make sure you’re brutally honest about exact amounts of everything you eat) AND understand exactly how many calories you need to lose weight and sustain your activities.

When I started my health and fitness journey ( 8 years next month!) one of the things I set out for myself was to not have to follow a certain set of restrictive rules.

By that I honestly mean, I got rebellious with those rules every time I decided to knock a few pounds off. I didn’t like being boxed into what worked for someone else.
I didn’t want to be told what to do when or what I “had” to eat.

Consequently, I dropped it like a bad habit after a couple weeks of dieting/calorie counting/ eat this meal thing.

You know what worked and what I developed over time ?

I built new habits.

Slowly, steadily, one day at a time plodding along. If I had a day that bombed ( and trust me, I did) I didn’t throw in the towel, I just kept on going.

My new habits meant listening to my body’s God given signals for hunger and being satisfied. When you sit down and are truly hungry food tastes amazing in a different kinda way. I ate enough to satisfy my hunger and stopped.

I learned if I wasn’t hungry at the next meal I wasn’t obligated to eat just ’cause the chow bell dinged.

I didn’t restrict foods or label any as “bad” or eat only salad and rice cakes.

Moderation became my motto. I ate what I wanted but listened to my body’s signals.

I didn’t need to clean my plate…. when I was comfortable I stopped… not when I felt stuffed or heavy feeling… gosh I hate how that feels and rarely let myself go there now days.
Unfortunately, most of the world loves to continue to feed their mouth long after the tummy is satisfied. The outcome? excess pounds.

So in building some new habits of eating when I was truly hungry, and stopping when I was satisfied, and training myself to eat natural and healthy foods the majority of the time I lost weight but wasn’t dependent on calorie counting. I was listening to my body and it’s specific needs.

You can do the same thing. It takes daily discipline and a tenacious, stubborn spirit to not give up, but I tell you it’s complete freedom when you nail down these new habits. Complete freedom.

After almost 8 years… I think it’s working 🙂

Tell me… do you count calories? Do you find it helpful? Or feel it’s something you must do? And if so, do you ever feel enslaved to having to do it ? Or do you know your needs and listen to your body and go by that as your guide?

Freedom With Food

Food…. I think I may have mentioned before… I kinda like the stuff.

And I don’t mean stuff I shouldn’t eat (much) but the fact I appreciate and enjoy all the healthy good foods.

OK… disclaimer… this week I kinda got on a little baking/sweet treat binge. Chocolate chip cookies… peanut brittle … ( which I typically make at Christmas) but hey… I like shaking things up…

Can I just say… peanut brittle… is crack. That is all.

And this… when you don’t eat much sugar… and have “samples” of what you’ve made… it makes your tummy feel….bleh….

Is that a good or bad thing ?? 😉 I definitely am not tempted to eat much of it.

Food, I think we can all agree, is something we have total control over in our lives. Do we not ?

We have the freedom to eat when, how much or how little and what kinds we want to have. No one controls that.

To one extent, some use it as a source of power. It is the one thing they have absolute control over in their lives and sometimes it goes to the extreme, an eating disorder. It can also go in the other direction, eating what you want and how much with no accountability can lead to obesity and another type of eating disorder.

Food can definitely be a control/power issue.

Yet somewhere in those two extremes most of us are seeking to find a balance and order… a freedom with food that allows us treats on occasion but overall healthy eating the majority of the time to sustain life, give us optimal energy and health as well as maintain a ideal weight.

A couple years I started hearing about this rule… and well… if you know me by now… I’m a tiny bit rebellious against some rules.. especially when they involve food. Yet, somehow, this one didn’t repel me. In fact, it seemed to fit into my current philosophy on eating and getting all healthy and fit and stuff.

I started hearing about this thing called the 80/20 rule… meaning you eat good, healthy and balanced meals 80% of the time allowing in your week that 20% would be allowable for those things we really enjoy in life but have in moderation.

Birthday cake. A special dinner out. A couple of our most favorite, ever made cookies.

Just name your poison.

It seemed reasonable and sound, right ?

The other alternative thrown around I never got into the idea of, mainly ’cause it seemed so counter productive….

Cheat days.

A day set aside to eat whatever and how much of whatever… with no guilt. What if I didn’t feel like cheating that day ? What if my craving for a cookie hit…. on a different day ? Not only that, but why shoot an entire day down the toilet…not to mention how it will make my body feel.

No….. that seemed like not the best fit for me.

So over time… I’ve eased into a unstructured plan of eating although honestly at this point I probably eat more of a 90/10 rule. Not to be restrictive or crazy… I just feel better when I eat well all the time.

In an athletic way… food fuels my activities and sustains me for what I do.. as an athlete I understand I have to eat well to perform well.

You know why this idea works ? there’s such a freedom to allow you to enjoy eating what you like and to find your own healthy balance. And if you’re like me and don’t care so much for rules… this allows you to develop your own.

And no, you won’t go all crazy and eat stuff you don’t need…. after all you’re a smart grown up aren’t you ? But you can build your own plan and you will learn to be selective about the food choices you make and really determine what treats are worth having. Hint: a treat is something to have occasionally.

And as you do that you’ll find a new freedom with food you’ve never had. You’ll have power, but in a good way.

What works for you ? Have you ever tried one of the “food rules” ?