Some questions to those who bashed the Paleo-diet….

If the standard American diet with lots of grains and processed foods is so good for you why are 68% of Americans overweight or obese?

Why is diabetes considered the disease that will break the American Sick-Care System (because we all know there is nothing about keeping us healthy in our “health-care system” – it only pays when we are sick).

Assuming the old adage, You Are What You Eat, consuming the standard American diet is so healthy, why are more people than ever more sick than ever before?

Why is there more cancer, heart disease and stroke?

Why are cholesterol levels so high if low fat diets are the answer?

Could it be that the Standard American Diet of low fat, processed foods that contains few nutrients and high calories could be responsible?

So, eating Paleo? Let’s see…

Whole grains – quinoa, amaranth, whole-grain rice – in small amounts – NOT Zero grains as the report said.

Fruits and Vegetables – hundreds of vitamins, minerals and phyto-nutrients; along with more fiber than your average slice of bread; low glycemic index (except for a few)

Lean Protein – not hydrogenated, fake, processed “low-fat”.  But small amounts of the real thing – and if free-range and grass-fed – even better

Dairy – buffalo yogurt, sheep, goat milk and/or cheese. Okay – maybe no cow dairy or little, most cows I know get their calcium from green grass that is incorporated into the milk (which is not well absorbed anyway – check out the increasing rates of osteoporosis and tell me milk is the answer).

Nuts and Seeds – high in calories if you can’t keep portions under control! Otherwise, great source of protein, fiber and good fats.

Nope, I don’t see a problem here….Paleo isn’t perfect but it is a far cry from the Standard American Diet (S.A.D)…

What would happen if you really made good food choices 80% of the time?

Exercised 80% of what your goal?

Drank 80% of the water you need?

Worked 80% of the time?

You might actually be MORE productive???

You would reach 80% of your goals?

Is that better than not at all?

Once you get to know them you can apologize for giving them junk food and enlist them on your journey to health.  Accountability is a great way to ensure your success. And being neighborly is a great way to break routines and learn about the people who live around you. Only 19% of people said they could name their neighbors.  Get to know your neighbors and find a new walking partner or salad club member.

Just a different approach to change – in order to return to good habits and maintain your healthy weight – you habits must look different day to day.  How are you going to get your healthy habits back on track?

However, today is a new day and feeling a little “hung-over” – not from alcohol, but from the bad food choices, I will get back to the program.  That’s what it means to have healthy eating as a lifestyle.  It’s okay to have some missteps in what you eat – as long as you make a correction immediately.  When an airplane takes off for a destination, it doesn’t fly straight to it’s destination.  It has to take into account curvature of the earth,  wind direction, speed, weather factors and a host of other things for safety.  The pilot makes constant corrections.  If he didn’t, he would never make it to his intended destination.

A healthy lifestyle is the same thing.  You may veer off course, but if you make the correction immediately and accurately – you will reach your destination.  Monitor your course.  You know the where you want go – your destination is long term health.

“…inside all of us is the desire to have a better life. The challenge is the desire gets buried under the fear of what you might have to do. As long as the fear is stronger, you are trapped in sameness and your life is simply chatter!”

What are you willing to do to make a change in the “sameness and chatter”?

Let’s decide to use some of these tips this year, for a change, to curb your appetite and your holiday binges.

• Eat normally throughout the day. Skipping meals causes increases in cortisol, the stress hormone which contributes to belly fat and breaks down muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is your metabolism. No muscle, no metabolism.

• On that same page, skipping meals will cause you to overeat later in the day. You really won’t save any calories that way.

• Look for the green.  In other words, look for the vegetables at a party first.  Fill up on that first, then find some protein…if you are still interested in the “fun food” you won’t eat as much.

• Watch portion sizes.  If you decide to indulge, you can have a small portion and save tons of calories.  Think moderation. A small piece of pie, a small serving of potatoes, you won’t feel deprived.  And you won’t overdo it either.

• Use a smaller plate, helps with portion control, too. For buffet dinners – use a 9” or salad plate for the entree.  Fill up on salad, then use the smaller plate for the entree too.

• Alcohol – Choose beer or wine – both are around 100 calories on average. Mixed drinks and alcoholic punches can pack over 500 calories or more.

• Take your time eating.  Parties tend to rack up calories because we aren’t really paying attention to what we are eating.

• Ask if you can bring the vegetables and dip – even a full-fat dip and vegetables is better than a lot of the appetizers you could be eating.

• Aim to Maintain.  You don’t have to lose through the holidays but let’s not put on the Seasonal Seven.

• Avoid fast food by having snacks with you. Head the the grocery store and pack the refrigerator with pre-cut vegetables that can be eaten with pre-portioned hummus or apples and peanut butter are a quick snack that is portable.  Always have a portion controlled snack-sized bag of nuts in the car, 20 almonds and a bottle of water will hold you until the next meal without all the added fat and unhealthy additives of the fast-food choices.

• Go for a walk.  Park your car as far from the door as possible.  Burn a few more calories – it won’t kill you to walk.

Really, parties and holidays are all about the people, the food is a bonus.  Focus on and celebrate the people in your life instead of the food.

…you are thinking “what difference does it make?”, you already think you’re fat and now you feel even more defeated…

SO STOP!!! Make the choice right now to STOP being the victim!

START making some new choices. Choose to walk or workout a little longer.  Choose a healthy breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack and dinner.  Want left-overs – no problem. You can have turkey all day long! Let’s celebrate throwing out the mashed potatoes and stuffing.  Find the green things in your refrigerator, not the moldy stuff, the vegetables! You are the only one opening your mouth and allowing the food to come in…

You don’t have to be a victim today.  Take control!

I would love to hear how you are taking control today!

to start January 5 pounds down instead of up?  Okay, I know, I’m an eternal optimist… Answer this: What if you actually considered the following AND put ACTION behind them?

1. When you go to a party and see the chip bowl (or whatever you “think” you HAVE to eat), do you already know what they taste like? And do you know what will happen to the scale when you overeat? How does that feel? Think about it for a few minutes. I know you are saying – who cares it’s only one party…but is it? One ounce of chips 158 calories – an 8 ounce bag is over 1200. A standard 5 ounce martini has 350.
2. How would it feel to make the healthy choices first?
3. How would it feel if you spent 10-15 extra minutes moving your body on the day of a party? I know you don’t lake to exercise and don’t “have time” during this season.
4. What if you take time THIS WEEKEND and prioritized your shopping, your schedule, your parties and family get-togethers and your food, so you could plan to bring healthy alternatives and take control of what you can control.
5. What would happen if you decided that Thanksgiving is only one meal, Chanukah  is only 8 days, and Christmas – I’ll give you 2 days to add Christmas Eve celebrations? What if you decided to follow normal meals and choices on all the other days?

Think about what you are doing before you do it…what do you think?

She said “no”, so I asked, “what would happen if you actually stuck to your plan?, to that she asked,  “Well, don’t I get to treat myself once in awhile?”

There are several answers to that question.  First and foremost, are you at your optimal weight? If the answer is yes, then of course you can treat yourself, once in awhile, like once or twice a month, maybe once a week depending on your ability to control the amount. How much and how often will determine whether its a treat or a bad habit rearing its ugly head.  If the frequency and portion control are out of control, like everyday you think you deserve a treat, you are out of control. That’s a whole new blog.

However, if you are in the process of losing, these “treats” only serve to slow down your progress.  They take you out of fat burning state and put your body back into glucose burning.  Also, for you diabetics out there, it may do damage to your organs, eyes and small blood vessels. And by the way, the reason you are in the process of losing weight is that somewhere along the line, over the past few months or years, you have already treated yourself a little too much or too often. Right? So, is that part of what you really want?

Also, what do these treats really say about your commitment to losing weight, your commitment to yourself and your integrity?  You are not in integrity with your goals when you eat foods that are not on your plan.  This is not a guilt trip!  It’s simply the truth.  In other words it’s not congruent to “treat yourself” when the goal at hand is to lose weight, treating yourself is in direct opposition to the goal.

Where are you incongruous in your plan? Where are you not integrity with your goals? Simply put, where are you lying to yourself about what you are actually doing vs. what is actually part of your program?