Tag Archives: Nutrition

Feel Good About What You Eat to Turbo Charge Your Weight Loss Results

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Have you ever been tied down and force-fed cookies, crackers, brownies, or cakes?

Nah, me either.

But sometimes it can feel like your eating is out of your control.

Not only do I hear clients complain about this, but I bump up against it myself.

Right now I’m on deadline and will be heading to New York on Sunday. Because I have some limiting beliefs about my ability to handle how much I have to do, I’m experiencing some stress. And this week I’ve been turning to my favorite deadline food of popcorn laced with a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips.

Now neither popcorn nor dark chocolate is “bad,” but I feel that this snack is not the best choice I could be making. The big indicator that I’m out of alignment with my thoughts, emotions, and actions is a little bit of guilt that I feel because I’m giving up my power-greens protein shake for the popcorn. The feeling that my “need” for the popcorn is “out of my control” is also a red flag.

Now there are more ways to address this than you might think.

There is the obvious solution of forcing myself to give up the popcorn and drink the shake. This is what most people would tell you to do. But there’s more going on here than the obvious nutritional advantage.

If I force myself to have the shake instead of the popcorn and I feel deprived and resentful, those negative feelings generate destructive catabolic energy that set off harmful chemical processes that will actually result in my body being less able to absorb the improved nutrition.

So even though I’m giving myself beautiful nutrition, my negative thoughts and emotions would be hindering my ability to fully absorb it.

If my thoughts and emotions are not supportive of the “right” choice, it’s questionable how much I’m doing my body good.

And if I was eating the popcorn and dark chocolate and was focused on appreciating the delicious salty sweet of every bite, relishing how awesome it is to have an occasional treat, was focused on the healthy antioxidants in the chocolate and the fiber in the popcorn, and thrilled at my ability to have all the foods I love on my healthy eating plan, I would be generating constructive anabolic energy that would benefit my body and enable it to fully digest and absorb all the positive elements of the food.

The critical, often overlooked step is taking the time to make sure that your thoughts and feelings support your actions.

The key is to choose foods that you think are good for you, that you feel good about eating and enjoy in the moment, and that you feel good about having eaten afterwards.

What can you do to align your thoughts and feelings with the foods you are eating so that you feel satisfied, energized, and that you are on the right path before, during, and after each meal?

Align your thoughts and feelings with your actions, and the resulting positive anabolic energy will turbo charge your wellness and weight-loss results.

Together we can do it!

Five Things I Learned From Diets

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We headed out early this morning to go hiking with friends, so I thought I would share this blog from the fabulous life, career, and relationship coach, Nicky Roberts.

Over the years I have read at least a dozen books on dieting and nutrition. I have also—both in my life coaching practice and in my personal life—observed friends and family try one diet or another. My father-in-law, bless his heart, tried even the most extreme diets in an effort to reduce the extra 100 pounds or so that he carried with him.

Here are five life lessons I’ve learned from diets:

  1. You have to stick with it. Except for those diets where you only eat one food for days on end, most diets offer you the realistic opportunity of losing weight. But like with most things in life, you have to stick with it. You can’t give it a mediocre effort and expect outstanding results.
  2. Use your common sense. Yes, the cookie diet may help you lose 10 pounds in 2 days but really, should you?
  3. Be discerning about what you commit to. Following on from point No. 2, it’s also a good idea to really think about things like timing, how this choice might affect your health in the short- and the long-term, and how this will impact your life in the broader sense. For example, will you be able to eat out, or at other people’s houses? How will you make it easy for other’s to accommodate your food choices? Don’t just make commitments willy nilly. When you make a commitment and then break it because you really didn’t think it through, you set yourself up for disappointment and a belief that “you can’t stick to it”.
  4. Delayed Gratification. I often notice when I’m in the checkout line that magazines are still printing articles along the lines of, “Lose 10 pounds in 2 Weeks.” Yes, it is possible, but we all know that the diet will be extreme and not sustainable. Losing weight in a healthy sustainable way requires all of the above and a commitment to delayed gratification. Putting down the chocolate cake and enjoying the rewards maybe several days later of looking and feeling good.
  5. We overestimate what we can achieve in a day and underestimate what we can achieve in a year. Small, consistent baby steps in the right direction are the secret to success in most everything—including dieting.


Nicky Roberts is a life, career, and relationship coach who is originally from South Africa. Without ever having seen American soil, she moved to the U.S. in 2003 with her husband and three small children–with all their worldly possessions fitting in 10 suitcases.

Through her coaching practice, Nicky helps women find their core purpose in life and live in alignment with their values, which naturally leads to them feeling confidant and happy.

You can learn more about Nicky at www.nickyrobertscoaching.com and read her blog at coachnickyroberts.blogspot.com.

What’s the Best Diet?

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I just did a search on Amazon.com for diet books.

There were 71,652 results.

What this means is there is no one “right” way for everyone on the planet to eat—or to lose weight.

Think about it. A piece of fruit may be the best food choice for you, but to a diabetic, it could be harmful. Thus the ancient saying, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”

To lose weight, it comes down to the simple formula of taking in fewer calories than you expend. And there are lots of ways to achieve that.

I know women who are slim and healthy who eat a low carb diet, as well as some who eat a high carb diet, who are vegetarians and vegans, who eat only raw foods, or whole foods, the French way, the Mediterranean way, or the paleo way, etc., etc.

So both the challenge and the opportunity is that you have to take responsibility to find the plan for healthy eating that works best for you, that you will enjoy enough to follow consistently, and that is flexible enough to allow you to not only live your life now, but to change, grow, and evolve.

Because what is a healthy step for you today, may be different tomorrow.

For instance, if all you eat is potato chips, a healthier step for you would be a chicken sandwich. Is a chicken sandwich the healthiest choice? No, but it is progress from where you are. And as you get used to making that better choice, it is an easier step to the next healthy level of grilled chicken over salad.

One of the things that trips so many women up is that they think they have to go from eating nothing but potato chips to only organic chicken and steamed vegetables. That’s awesome if you can maintain it, but it’s often just too big a leap. It leads to them feeling deprived.

This is because they haven’t taken the necessary steps to change their underlying thoughts and emotions about what they want, why they want to make healthier choices, and what making healthier choices means to their life.

If the dietary leap is too big, most often they aren’t able to sustain it. If they are able to reach their goal, as soon as they hit the mark they go right back to eating potato chips and regain the weight.

While improving your eating habits slowly and steadily may take a little longer to reach your goals, isn’t the end result the same? And isn’t pulling on your jeans a year later and still having them fit absolutely and totally worth it?

Still, with so many options, how do you know which plan is right for you?

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • What is your definition of optimal wellness? (Truly, this looks different to each person and it’s helpful to get really clear about what this means for you.)
  • What are your goals? (Both short-term and long-term)
  • How well will the eating plan move you towards your goals and your vision of optimal wellness?
  • How likely is it to be healthy long-term?
  • How much will you enjoy the plan? (This is key!)
  • How likely are you to be able to make it a lifestyle?

Ultimately, the best eating plan is the one that you will enjoy enough to do consistently and enables you to make a series of increasingly healthy choices long-term.

What choice can you make today that will be a small step towards your ultimate wellness goals?

Together we can do it!

Progress Not Perfection

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My 18-week Transformation Challenge is complete and I am excited to report that I met—and even surpassed—almost all of my goals.

And I’ll admit that the recovering perfectionist in me is a little disappointed that I wasn’t perfect. Good to know that I still (and will forever and always) have internal work to do!

Progress not perfection!

One of my main goals was to measure my success by how much I enjoyed the process. This was a huge win! The past 18 weeks have been phenomenal! I truly have met my goal of living a healthy, vibrant, and fulfilling life that is meaningful to myself and others.

What this means is that I’m weaning myself off obsession and living life more fully and in balance. This is an important shift to make for long-term sustainability. Life is meant to be lived fully.

Some other wins:

  • Consistently improved my nutrition
  • Recovered and significantly improved my fitness after my surgery in December (went from struggling to do 5 to 10 knee push ups at a pop to 20 to 30 knee push ups. Personal best was 255 knee push ups in a workout!)
  • Weaned myself off all regular prescription drugs
  • Reconnected with family
  • Shifted negative catabolic energy around deadlines, money, and my body
  • Meditated daily
  • Achieved two coaching certifications
  • Definitely let go of some limiting beliefs
  • Lost 2 inches from my waist
  • Lost 1 inch from my hips and each thigh
  • Was able to get back into my size 4 shorts
  • Lost 6 pounds
  • Went from 24.6 to 21.5 body fat percentage

Significant progress right?

Where I fell short was that I didn’t meet my goal of getting down to 19 percent body fat or losing 10 pounds of fat. So I’m going to evaluate my goals—what do I want now? Why do I want those goals? Are they the right goals for me?—and will refocus on a new challenge.

For me, goals are important because there are always opportunities to strive to improve, grow, and evolve. But meeting the goals is not really the true objective. To me, the true goal is to live life to the fullest every step along the way.

No goal is every achieved alone. I would like to thank all of you fabulous readers for supporting me along this journey, as well as my amazing coach, Jenn Barley, the women in my Fabulous Friends accountability group, and the incredible folks in the Transformation Mastery Group. The biggest thanks, however, goes out to my best friend and husband, David, whose love and support makes me a better person every day. Thank you honey!

What are your goals? Why are they important to you? How much are you enjoying the process of moving towards them? What is your definition of success?

Together we can do it!


Wellness Tip of the Day

Aside

Wellness Tip of the Day: By slowly and steadily making those small decisions towards a healthier lifestyle you build momentum and achieve your goals.

Wellness Tip of the Day

Aside

Wellness Tip of the Day: Allow yourself to be energetic, effective and efficient. Move and pick healthy foods so your body can support you throughout your day.

 

 

Can You Love Life And Be Fit and Healthy?

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Are you living as the person you intend to be? Do your actions line up with your desires for the life you want to create?

Often the answer is “No.” For instance, you may want with all your heart to be fit and lean, but you consistently overeat or blow off exercise.

I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else. For the past couple of months, I’ve overeaten or made less than stellar choices on the weekends. While I am happy to say that the over-indulgences weren’t nearly what they would have been in the past, I still made the conscious choices to eat and drink more than is absolutely best for me.

The good news is I’m continuing to make progress on my 18-week Transformation Challenge—I’m more flexible and am getting stronger, I’m seeing muscles develop, and my waist is a little slimmer—but the improvements have definitely slowed.

So the questions I’ve been asking myself for the past couple of days are, “Who do I intend to be and what do I need to do to Be that person?”

One limiting belief I recognized is the feeling that I have to be either or. For instance, either I am fit and lean, Or I enjoy myself with family and friends on the weekends. Is it possible to be fit and lean And enjoy myself with friends and family?

Finding balanceSwitching that Or to And feels much more powerful to me. It’s giving myself permission to  more fully be the person I want to be—and still meet my goals. The key now is to find that balance that lets me speed up my progress And still enjoy my friends and family when I get to see them.

Empowering myself with that “And,” however, may not look like I expect. I think it means I stick to my healthy eating 90 percent of the time, allow myself a little bit less dietary leeway than I have been taking, And figure out how to enjoy myself in other ways than with food.

By making the switch from Or to And, I’m opening myself up to solutions and possibilities that I might not even have noticed before. With a conscious effort to be present, creating a fit and lean body And enjoying friends and family is something I believe can be achieved.

Where are you limiting yourself by using Or instead of And? Do you feel like you have to be successful in business Or have a happy family? Be lean and fit Or are able to enjoy the foods you love?

What happens if you switch Or to And? How does that help you more fully engage in the actions that help you live as the person you intend to be?

Together we can do it!

Photo from www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Do You Need That to Be Healthful?

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nour•ish \ˈnər-ish, ˈnə-rish\ verb

nour•ish•es; nour•ished; nour•ish•ing

[+ obj] 1 : to provide (someone or something) with food and other things that are needed to live, be healthy, etc.

▪ Plants are nourished [=fed] by rain and soil. ▪ Vitamins are added to the shampoo to nourish the hair. ▪ a well-nourished baby

2 : to cause (something) to develop or grow stronger

▪ a friendship nourished by trust ▪ Her parents nourished [=supported] her musical talent.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

How well-nourished are you? I’m not just asking about your diet, but am including your mind, emotions, and soul.

For many, nourishment may not be something they think about at all. For some, nutrition is what comes to mind. There are few of us who can claim to be well-nourished in all areas of our lives.

But if you think about the difference nourishing food can make to your body, just imagine what would happen if you also consciously nourished your mind with information, ideas, and even entertainment that enhanced your knowledge, awareness, and clarity?

Imagine nourishing relationships that are easy, loving, satisfying, and fun? Imagine nourishing spiritual practices that lead to richer, fuller, and more fulfilling life experiences? Imagine nourishing activities (such as work!) that are fun, interesting, and exciting?

What did you do yesterday? How much of that nourished you—body, mind, and spirit? How much of it drained or depleted you?

What are you doing today? How much of what you have on your to-do list is nourishing? What do your choices mean for the overall quality of your life? What choices would you need to make to be truly well-nourished?

Together we can do it!

Photo by Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wellness Tip of the Day

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Wellness Tip of the Day: Nourishment is necessary not only for bodies, but for minds and spirit. Choose healthful information, relationships, activities, practices.

My Secret to Extreme Exercise Commitment

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I had lots of excuses I could have used to skip my workout this morning.

My folks are in town and our guest-suite encompasses my usual workout area. We have a full schedule with more family visits planned. I have stayed up past my usual bedtime most of this week, and there is work to get done before I can fully relax and enjoy the weekend.

But I was committed and I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and did a 30 minute meditation before getting up at 4 to get my hour-and-a-half workout underway by 4:30 a.m.

My guess is that many of you think that is just plain crazy.

So I asked myself, “Why am I so committed to getting my workout in?”

There are definitely things that contribute—I’ve set a physical and time-focused goal that I want to meet, I want to be an authentic example of striving for optimal wellness for all you fabulous readers and my clients, and in all honesty, I want to maintain and improve how I look.

But the true reason that makes my eyes flutter open at 3:30 a.m. without the aid of an alarm clock and gets my bum out of a very warm and appealing bed is the anabolic physical energy I get from moving my body, which impacts every single area of my life.

Feeling physically well has not been something I’ve been able to take for granted since I was about 10 or 11 years old. I was a sickly and sensitive kid that suffered from food allergies, and later chronic back problems and migraines.

Truly this was a gift in disguise as it forced me beginning in my early 20s to begin learning to pay attention to my body and the role and responsibility that I had in creating wellness. In the quest to feel better, I learned about nutrition and exercise, but the challenge was not in learning what to do, it was in the doing.

Typically, out of sheer willpower and often desperation, I would make what felt like austere changes long enough to start feeling better—and then I would slip back into the old, more comfortable patterns, only to start the cycle all over again.

The most obvious symptom of this was that my weight regularly vacillated 20 to 40 pounds.

Why wasn’t I able to make the changes stick?

Because in order to create the physical energy that enables me to do and be the best possible version of me, I had to shift my emotional energy—my thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about Who I was, what I was capable of, and what I deserved. I had to tap into my spiritual energy—my sense of purpose and the meaning of my life.

But ironically, I also needed the physical energy to effectively tap into the emotional and spiritual energy. While I had worked on the different elements separately, it wasn’t until I brought them all together that I began to see true changes in my body, mind, and spirit.

For me, it is my physical energy that has the greatest impact on what I can accomplish in my day, how I show up in the world, my ability to respond instead of react, to see the big picture and let go of the outcome, to have absolute faith and confidence that everything is always working out for me—and you.

When my body gets out of balance and my physical energy slips, so does everything else. Physical energy truly is the foundation of my life. My commitment to healthy eating, moving my body, and rest impacts everything.

What can you do to look at the affect physical energy has on your life? What is one small change that you could make that would boost how you physically feel? How does feeling better impact your ability to be the best possible version of you?

Together we can do it!

Photo by graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net