Healthy Habit: Everyday Exercise

EXERCISE

 Bad Habit: Not enough exercise

Not consistently.

Not long enough.

Not intense enough.

In my previous efforts to lose weight, I would try to exercise 30 minutes 3 times a week. Which may work if you're already maintaining a healthy weight, but you won't lose weight that way. In truth, my three times a week goal would wither to 2 times a week for 15-20 minutes. 

To lose weight, I needed to exercise 45 minutes to an hour a session (long enough) for 4 to 6 days a week. Training for the triathlon was a HUGE help. It gave me a goal. I wasn't just exercising, I was "IN TRAINING." That mental shift was extremely helpful. I was exercising almost daily because I didn't want to be the last to finish the race (consistency.) I started to push myself (intensity). I wanted to improve my race time, so I worked harder instead of simply going through the motions. Signing up for some kind of "race" is really helpful. You could start with a 5k and work forward from there.

CONSISTENCY: Exercise requires a lot of patience and committment. Everyone has to START somewhere, but I still recommend Monday through Saturday exercise at any level. Building the daily habit of exercise is critical. It's the length and the intensity of exercise that should improve over time. Carve out a time of day that will work. It doesn't have to be 5 a.m.; 5 pm will work just fine. Years ago, I worked with a guy who was totally committed to fitness. He made an appointment with himself to exercising the hour he got off work (5:30-6:30,) and he wouldn't schedule any appointments that would interfere with his personal appointment. I love that example of making an appointment with yourself and keeping it.

For years, I thought that I had to exercise first thing in the morning to lose weight. I just set myself up for failure, since I was always too exhausted in the morning, I would get caught up in getting kids out the door for school. I finally decided to find a time that worked best for me. It happens to be 8am. I'm most consistent if I dress for exercise first thing in the morning, drop the kids off at school and drive straight to the gym on the way home. If I don't go home, I don't get side-tracked. I decided that the money spent on childcare at the gym (for 1 child) was worth it. My health and happiness are worth it. 

INTENSITY: I see a lot of walkers at the gym. If you haven't exercised in years, then you will definitely start slowly, but you're going to reach a point when you're capable of more. I think one of the biggest weight loss mistakes is that we get into habits that are comfortable. If your exercise is very 'comfortable' then you aren't working hard enough. You shouldn't be totally out of breath, but your breathing should be increased. You should be able to utter a sentence, but if you can talk at length or sing, then you really need to step up the activity. Keep monitoring your intensity so you don't ever settle for a weak workout. Don't waste your time! You've bothered to get out there and move your body, so get the most out of it!

LENGTH OF TIME: I'll say it again... for me, I wouldn't lose weight if I only worked out for 30 minutes. I lost pounds and inches when I exercised for an hour. I started talking to myself in those terms. After the first 30 minutes, I'd think, "That was for maintenance... the next 30 is for fat burning." 

VARIETY: I touched on this two weeks ago in the Overcoming Obstacles post, if you missed that one, there are some good tips for handling exercise obstacles as well. Exercise can become boring and doing the same exercise every day will only work one set of muscles. By mixing up your workout, you'll be more engaged by the variety and using more muscle groups. You also allow the previously used muscle groups to rest. I highly recommend adding weight training twice a week, and make sure to work the upper and lower body groups. 

Include a variety of aerobic exercises: running, spinning, Zumba, whatever! And don't hesitate to add sports: basketball, tennis, racquetball, soccer, etc. Have some fun!

SHAPING UP: The best thing about exercise is the way you feel afterward. You have more energy, and you feel fit and strong. I love feeling strong! I also LOVE the shape that exercise gives the body. I know thin people that aren't very shapely, and if you have problem areas like me, it's encouraging to DO something about those spots. I feel like I lose more weight in the right places when I include exercise.

*Words of caution: Exercise can do funny things to appetite. Immediately after exercising, my appetite is decreased, but I sometimes feel an increase in appetite later in the day. Weight Watchers had a good plan for dealing with exercise. You could eat a few more points worth of food based on the time and intensity spent exercising. You can do that and still lose weight if you are already using wise weight loss eating practices.

Exercise can do funny things to the scale. The last month before my fall triathlon, I was really pushing myself during my workouts, and I was hungry in the afternoons. The scale DID NOT drop during that time frame HOWEVER, I DROPPED AN ENTIRE PANTS SIZE. My body was replacing fat with muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less space. I was frustrated at my Weight Watchers weigh-ins, but I was THRILLED to buy new skinny jeans. ;D

Good luck! You can do it!

Healthy Habits: Enough Sleep

Sleep

Bad Habit: Staying up late, and never getting enough sleep.

Sleep is a reservoir of strength!

Strength of will!

Strength of character!

And increased energy!

One of my earlier posts was titled Beauty Sleep, so if you struggle with getting enough sleep at night, I recommend reading that post and the book that shares it's title.

“It’s not so much that if you sleep, you will lose weight, but if you are sleep-deprived, meaning that you are not getting enough minutes of sleep or good quality sleep, your metabolism will not function properly,” explains Michael Breus, PhD, author of Beauty Sleep and the clinical director of the sleep division for Arrowhead Health in Glendale, Ariz.

On average, we need about 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night, he says. “If you are getting this already, another half hour will not help you lose 10 pounds, but if you are a five-hour sleeper and start to sleep for seven hours a night, you will start dropping weight.”

Exactly how lack of sleep affects our ability to lose weight has a lot to do with our nightly hormones, explains Breus.

Three hormones are key in this process are ghrelin, leptin, and cortisol. “Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, you have more ghrelin,” Breus says. “Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating, and when you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin.”

Sleep deprivation also raises cortisol levels in your blood, which makes your body hold onto it's fat reserves, and also makes you crave high fat, high sugar, and highly caffeinated foods.

“You are eating more, plus your metabolism is slower when you are sleep-deprived,” Breus says.

More ghrelin and more cortisol plus less leptin equals weight gain.

When I added a full night's sleep (7 1/2 hours for me) to my weight loss plan, I was amazed by the drop in my sweet cravings, by the amount of self-control I gained, and by how much happier I felt about everything in life. Sleep is a FANTASTIC weight loss tool.

Healthy Habits: Overcoming Obstacles

"There's a boulder in the road! How am I supposed to deal with that?!"

Bad Habit: Giving up when you encounter obstacles.

The Easter Bunny delivered masses of candy last night, and a wonderful chocolate-filled care-package came from Grandma Barbara today too.  Everywhere I look, there's delicious temptation. I confess that I had chocolate covered almonds in my mouth, when I sat down to write this post.
The point is...there are ALWAYS obstacles to weight loss!
They happen seasonally, because of social issues, health issues, and some people argue that there are financial issues too.

YES, you will hit roadblocks! 

NO, you don't have to give up! 

You can work around every obstacle!

Seasonal Obstacles:

• HOLIDAYS: Easter will keep happening. So will Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
• PARTIES: Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, or any celebration that includes food.
• WEATHER: Rain, cold & snow make it harder to get outside and exercise (especially if you don't have a gym membership.)

Seasonal obstacle are probably the easiest to work around, because you KNOW when they are coming. There's time to make a plan and follow it through. One woman from our Weight Watchers group went on a week long business trip at a hotel with great food. She looked over the menu and realized that there were two dinners with desserts that sounded divine. So she made a plan. She ate reasonable portions and chose healthy meal options throughout the week. She skipped all the other desserts except the two that were part of her plan. She enjoyed those desserts without any guilt, and she tried to compensate for the extra calories by skipping the dinner rolls. By the end of the week she found that she still lost one pound and felt great about herself, her planning and the food she chose to enjoy.

You can make a PLAN for your holidays & parties. You probably have a pretty good idea about what's being served on Holidays, and a little forethought and planning can help you walk away feeling good. For instance, I love the stuffing recipe we have at Thanksgiving, but it's loaded with butter and sausage. I can PLAN to have the stuffing I love, and skip the roll and the creamed cauliflower I don't love. And I choose not to guilt myself about it, because I only eat this stuffing once a year. I also find that if I brush my teeth after dinner, then I'm less tempted to keep picking at leftovers. I have a fresh taste in my mouth, and I don't want to be bothered with brushing again.

When at parties, find good conversation! Enjoy the talking or entertainment away from the buffet table. Literally turn your back to the food, and let the out-of-sight-out-of-mind principle work FOR you. Another party tip is to eat fruit and vegetables before you go, along with a glass of water. That way you don't arrive at a party starving and surrounded by fatty horderves and desserts. You can take it easy on the buffet and remind yourself that you ate before you came.

As for the weather obstacles. If walking is your primary exercise, go walking in the mall. Or buy an indoor piece of exercise equipment, or exercise DVD to do. They even rent exercise DVD's at the library.

Social Obstacles:

• "Aunt Carol gets offended if I don't have a seconds of her food!"
• "My husband rolls his eyes and groans whenever I serve a healthy dinner."
• "My kids REFUSE to eat fruits and vegetables, so I feel like I'm wasting time and money if I buy them."
• "My friend went on and on about the dessert she's bringing tonight, she's expecting me to eat it."

These obstacles seem like a mine field. Especially when dealing with loved ones. You CAN work through around them though. My first suggestion when it comes to eating healthy is to START WITH YOURSELF. Trying to change YOUR eating habits, and your spouses, and the kids, and your parents, and your best friends all at the same time is a recipe for disaster. Make a plan for what you are going to eat and do, and carry it through quietly and cheerfully. Some people will notice and some won't. Some will make comments that are discouraging.  Some people say disparaging things because they feel threatened or criticized when they see others making healthy choices that they secretly feel they should be doing too. If you are working to lose weight, just smile sweetly at the nay-sayers and say, "Oh, I'm just trying to take better care of myself."  You can tell 'Aunt Carol' that the food was still "delicious as always" or find something else positive to say.

When it comes to changing your families health habits, LEAD BY EXAMPLE. Cultivate your own healthy habits, and the kids will naturally follow. Be patient. Remember that with kids, it may take 10 or more attempts over several months to introduce a new food. Studies suggest that involving children in meal preparation is an important first step in getting them to try new foods.They're more willing to sample something that they helped to make. Nagging and badgering aren't effective ways to change habits, so be cheerful, and show the family that eating healthy makes you feel happy. People who love you will want to see you happy - you're nicer to be around. And that happiness and healthy living can be contagious.

Physical Obstacles:

• "I have a bad (knee, foot, shoulder, whatever) and can't exercise, so there's no way I can lose weight."

I've mentioned my friend Vickie in other posts. She'd joined Weight Watchers and was having success when she was involved in a HORRIBLE snow mobile accident. Multiple bone fractures, surgery, months of recovery, but she was determined not to let this tragedy knock her off course. Caring neighbors and friends wanted to bring in meals, so she and her husband politely asked that any food given be simple and healthy (baked chicken, fruits and vegetables.) People happily complied, and Vickie lost 65 pounds over the course of that year, and she did it all without exercise.

I've had my own health obstacles. Over a year and a half ago, I developed some serious problems with my feet. I have plantar fasciitis, bursitis and heel spurs. I was being fitted for orthotics (special inserts in my shoes) when I began my weight loss journey last year. The process of adapting your feet and legs to the orthotics takes a month. During that time, the doctor told me that I could not exercise. He said, "Don't even walk your dog, if you have one." I thought it was a crushing blow to my weight loss plans, but it turned out to be a blessing. That first month of Weight Watchers, I was forced to concentrate on the eating aspects of the plan, and I think it helped me to not get overwhelmed. After a month of developing better eating habits, I was ready to incorporate exercise.

I have to thank my sister, Kelli, for what followed. She'd participated in a beginners triathlon and was encouraging me to join her for a second. I had always used running as my primary form of exercise, but the triathlon broadened my horizons. I rediscovered how much I enjoy swimming. My husband loved the chance to go biking with me, and these two new forms of exercise took the pressure (and pain) off of the heels of my feet. I participated in two triathlons last year and hope to do some more after this pregnancy. If my feet are giving me trouble, I mix up my exercise routine with swimming, biking and weight lifting. There are so many forms of exercise out there, that even if you are limited in one area, I'm sure you could find something else that will work for you.

Financial Obstacles:

I was watching a news story about "Health in America," and I was shocked to hear some people claim that they couldn't afford to eat healthy. They said that chips and soda were cheaper than fruits and vegetables. They also showed this same family eating fast food for every dinner, and having to pay for diabetic medication and testing supplies.

HEALTHY LIVING COSTS LESS NOW & LATER! This family could easily satisfy their hunger better with produce than empty chips and soda. Eating fast food is twice as expensive as simple home cooked meals that truly nourish the body, and the need for diabetic medication could be eliminated or significantly reduced by healthier living. Yes, there are a lot of products out their that charge exorbitant prices because they are organic or try to claim unusual health benefits, but I'm convinced that regular fare in your produce department will give you what you need at a reasonable price. Wash fruits and vegetables well and stick to those simple close to nature foods. Think of the money you're saving yourself in future health costs! Think of how you improve your chances of avoiding diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer, and all the expenses that go with those painful diseases. Living healthy saves money and increases your joy in life.

One final note: Don't give in to an all-or-nothing mentality. Just because you overate at lunch, doesn't mean that your day is ruined, and you should abandon all restraint at dinner. If you find yourself colliding with an obstacle, get up and dust yourself off. Get back on the path. If you over eat at one meal, go lighter on the next. Don't give up on healthy habits or on yourself.

Expect Obstacles, so when you encounter them, 

you're ready to find the best detour. 

You'll soon find yourself happily back on track. :D

Healthy Habits: Overcoming Emotional Eating

Bad Habit: Eat to Feel Better

My husband says he's a stress eater, but over the years I've caught myself eating when I felt...

Really Frustrated

Really Tired
Really Depressed
Really Happy
or Really wanting to Celebrate.

My subconscious was sure that if I had an extreme emotion... there must be a food to go with that!

The foods that accompanied these emotional highs and lows were ALWAYS high in fat and sugar.

And I've definitely learned that eating, does NOT make me feel better for long.

In the short term, the VERY short-term, there is pleasure, 

followed by LONG-term guilt, & self-loathing.

Then the guilt and self-loathing lead to some extremely low emotions, which had me looking to sugar to make me feel better. It was a vicious downward spiral.

Among the many diet books I've read over the years, I also happened to read Dr. Phil McGraw's: The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution.
Maybe not surprisingly, when it comes to discussing the psychology of overeating, this famous psychologist had a lot of good insights.

I don't think I could do justice to what I learned from this book without quoting whole chapters. In fact, this is one weight loss book that I would actually recommend, because it addresses your THINKING not simply your eating habits. And I don't think it's possible to experience lasting change without changing our thoughts.

Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."

What we think about ourselves, our worthiness for happiness, our ability to deal with problems and stress all have a huge impact on our lives. This book is good at getting you to look at your thought patterns & filters, self-talk, stress levels, emotional baggage, motivations for weight-loss and what you do to self-sabotage. Dr. Phil has 7 Keys to weight loss. One key deals with food. One key deals with exercise. The other FIVE keys are about thoughts, emotions, environment, impulse control & social support.

He includes quizzes in many chapters to help you "self-diagnose" and then he challenges you to change the thought habits that are holding you back from the happiness you want in life.

In the chapter regarding emotional eating, he says there are 6 steps to regaining emotional control in your life.

1. Take ownership for your reactions: "Whatever the situation you choose your reaction. No matter what the circumstances, your interpretation of those events is of your own choosing. The events in you daily life have only the meaning you assign them... If your response is counterproductive, test your perceptions more often and become more accountable to how you react to the stress and problems in your life. Stop being overly sensitive to the negatives while filtering out the positives. Maintain an active, ongoing awareness of your reactions, and recognize where your outlook is distorted so that you can make adjustments."
2. Resolve, rather than react to, life's problems: "Take a problem-solving approach to emotion-provoking events. Commit to resolving rather than enduring the problems that contribute to your stress, anxiety, or depression... Stop living reactively and begin to choose the right attitude and the right behavior to get the right results. Remember it is ACTION - not reaction - that gets meaningful constructive results."
3. Decelerate your thinking: "Changing your emotional response, and the unwanted eating behavior that flows from it, requires slowing down, listening carefully to your thinking, evaluating you reactions and altering those reactions... Be sure to write your thoughts down. Writing them helps you appraise them more objectively and allows you to get some distance from them." *Instead of turning to the cupboards for comfort, turn to a journal and write down what happened... write what you think about it... evaluate what your thinking... and then write what you'll DO to deal with the real problem. At that point, either take action or take a nap to clear your head and then look at the problem with fresh eyes. ;D
4. Challenge and restructure you automatic thoughts: "Once you identify what's going on in your mind, work to change it. You can reprogram you automatic thoughts and better manage your emotional life. Ask yourself: Are these thoughts really true? Do they serve my best interests? Do they advance and protect my health? Do they help me achieve my goals? Next rewrite your internal dialogue. When walking through an emotional minefield, as you know you will, say to yourself, "I have the power to choose my perceptions and reactions, and I will exercise this power of choice in every circumstance, every day of my life." *These are the best quotes I recite to myself when my mind thinks of eating because of extreme emotions. "If hunger is NOT the problem, then food is NOT the answer!"..."Eat for Fuel Not for FUN!"
5. Gain emotional closure: "Maintaining anger, hurt, vengeance, hatred and other negative emotional burdens eats away at your body, as it does your soul...what makes these emotions so powerful is that they change who you are. They change what you do and contaminate what you give... Heaps of unfinished emotional business can crush your self-control, and you will self-medicate with food again and again... You must insist on getting closure. Closure means you don't carry the problem or the pain. You address the issue, then you slam shut the book and put it away." At this point he discusses the power of forgiveness, both forgiving those who have wronged us and forgiving ourselves and our own mistakes. Forgiveness is a powerful healer, and it's absolutely necessary to redirect destructive behavior to positive behavior.
6. Coping without food: "Carve out time in your life for tension reducing activities... When your nerve cells become agitated by anxiety or depression, it's not easy to quiet them down. Sure, you can do it quickly by resorting to chemical means such as drugs, alcohol, or high-calorie comfort-foods, but those are devastatingly counterproductive and will cause you to close the door to other positive alternatives including: working out, relaxation exercises such as deep breathing, yoga, mediation, writing in a journal or listening to music." *I am not kidding when I tell you that I have completely gotten rid of frustration based food-cravings with a few deep breaths. It surprises me by it's effectiveness every time, but it really works! 

Healthy Habits: Conquering Sugar Addiction

  VS.

"Hello, my name is Candace, and I am a Sugar-aholic."

I'm not making fun. I'm quite serious, and like all "-alohics," I'm always recovering. 

Sugar IS addictive. 

Sugar IS destructive in our bodies. 

Adult Diabetes runs in my family. As a kid, I actually remember learning about family health histories and saying to myself, "Oh.... well then, I'll have heart attacks, arthritis and diabetes when I'm old." It was simple. I believed that's what was going to happen to me, and I was very matter-of-fact about it. I finally woke up to the fact that I have a lot more control over these problems. They don't HAVE to happen. I can choose to live differently to prevent them - especially diabetes.

This is my 6 step program to conquering sugar addiction.

1) Avoid Your Trigger Foods
I think Zingers are the most appropriately named food on the planet. I swear I can actually feel the sugar-high "zinging" to my brain if I eat them. I didn't even discover these cream-filled, fudge-frosted, devil's food cakes until I was an adult. I would buy a box of 10 to put in the kids lunch boxes. Three would go in the lunches, and I would find myself snarfing down the other seven over the course of a single day. I once joked to some friends that Zingers are "chocolate crack," and I'm a junky if they're in my house. My friends thought that was hilarious, and showed up on my doorstep with a box of Zingers that night. I ate the entire box! This is what you call a TRIGGER FOOD.

Everyone has different trigger foods - these are foods that you feel helpless against. Eat one and you'll eat 12 before you know it. You need to take a serious look at foods like this in your life. Once you identify your trigger foods you need to recognize them for what they are to you - an addiction. To tell myself I can eat just one Zinger in the presence of a box is like an alcoholic saying "I can have just one drink in the bar." It won't happen. I don't buy Zingers anymore because I KNOW they are a trigger food for me.  I'm not saying you can never have that food again, but save it for a special occasion, a birthday, anniversary, or specific holiday. On those occasions, buy or prepare enough for a single serving, so you don't find yourself going on a bender.

2) Identify the Sugar

Did you know that every 4 grams of sugar you see on a label is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar. Understanding "grams of sugar" also helps you evaluate all kinds of foods including breakfast cereals. You can identify which foods have a lot of sugar and which ones don't. For instance, 1 cup of Lucky Charms has 12 grams of sugar - that's 3 teaspoons of sugar. If my boys ate lucky charms for breakfast they would easily consume 6-8 teaspoons of sugar before school. I hope you'll look at your food labels, and see how much sugar you're really eating. Next, find ways to cut it back.

3) Dial Down Your Sweet Acuity
It IS possible for you to change your taste for sweetness. For instance if you like to pour a 1/2 cup of syrup on your pancakes, you can gradually reduce this amount along with your appetite for sweet. Soon, you can be topping pancakes with only fruit. Likewise, if you like 3 teaspoons of sugar on cereal or oatmeal, you can slowly cut it back to 1. I've always loved honey-nut cheerios, but I wondered what would happen if I mixed a box of plain cheerios with a box of honey-nut cheerios. I'd cut the sugar in half, but would I still enjoy it? Guess what... I did! It tasted sweet enough to me and made regular honey-nut cheerios seem too sweet. Sprinkling cinnamon, raisins and other fruits on your cereal sweetens it while adding nutritional value. These are great strategies for both yourself and your kids. Leave the box of cookies off the grocery list, and put the money toward some strawberries for your healthy cereal!

4) Tame Your Sweet Cravings with Fruit:
How much fruit have you been eating? If you have a lot of sweet cravings, then chances are you've been missing the mark. Your brain really does require some simple carbohydrates to function. Fruit is high in simple carbohydrates. When you don't get enough your brain sends you a fruit craving. The problem is we misinterpret that signal as "sweets" or "chocolate" cravings. This is nutritionist Zonya Foco's "guaranteed" SWEET CRAVING CURE: eat a piece of fruit every 4 hours with a glass of water and NO more sweet cravings!

5) Create the Right Environment

This principle work for all weight loss, not just sugar addiction. Stock the fridge and pantry with healthy foods and snacks, especially fruit, and DON'T BUY TRIGGER FOODS at all. If your family wants a treat on hand then choose something that isn't remotely tempting to you. For instance, my entire family loves "gummies" of every shape and size, but I can't stand them. I could be in a room filled with gummies and not want a single one. So if I'm looking to treat the kids without tempting myself, then gummies are a great way to go. And you don't HAVE to keep supplies of sugary treats for the family. You're doing them a service by lowering their sugar intake too.

6) Find New Ways to Treat Yourself
I realized that I liked to reward myself with sweets. After a long hard day, or accomplishing a monumental task, I'd think, "I deserve a treat!"  The problem is that "treating" myself to sugar all the time wasn't treating myself well. I needed to find new rewards that made me feel good about my work without hurting me in the process. I now try a variety of rewards. Sometimes I'll treat myself to a magazine (and I enjoy it a lot longer than a candy bar.) Sometimes I'll treat myself to a new cosmetic, accessory, a movie or tv show, a good book, time out with my husband, family or friends. There are a thousand ways to reward yourself without sugar! Give yourself a reward that helps you KEEP feeling good about what you've done and about yourself!!!

Healthy Habits: Ending Portion Distortion

Bad habit: Feast or Famine

There seem to be so many "reasons" to over-eat...

• Maybe you were praised for cleaning your plate & being a "good eater" as a kid...
• Maybe you'd offend the "chef" if you didn't have a huge serving and then seconds to boot... 
• Maybe it's a holiday or the weekend or a nice restaurant and that's "just how you eat on these occasions..."
• Maybe the food is simply delicious and you're listening to your taste buds instead of your stomach... and on and on...

I developed some terrible habits in my teenage years. I'd stay up too late reading or watching TV and then sleep late the next morning. In the mad rush to get dressed and ready for the carpool, guess what got skipped for about 6 years .... Breakfast!

And guess what was forgotten many of those mornings .... lunch money!

On a good day, I'd scrape together a couple quarters from the bottom of my backpack or locker and buy a few morsels of fat or sugar from the vending machine. By the time I got home at the end of the school day, I was famished!

This was a vicious cycle of starving all day and then binge eating that afternoon or evening. I would go without food until my stomach ached and then eat until my stomach ached. What a mess!

What I regret the most was the way I distorted my idea of what a decent portion of food should be. I warped my ability to tell when normal hunger was satisfied and swapped it for a determination to eat until I was stuffed. If I didn't eat 'til I was stuffed then a little voice in the back of my mind seemed to say, "You're gonna be SO hungry later."

Nutritionist Zonya Foco helped me the most in addressing my feast or famine mentality. She has a program called D.I.E.T. F.R.E.E. that teaches eight life changing habits that will improve your health and help you lose weight. Four of the eight habits dealt with the problems I just described.

See if you can guess which healthy habits made the difference...

Drink Water
Include Breakfast
Eat Often
Tame Your Sweet Tooth
Find the Fat
Replace Processed Food with Wholesome
Eat Until No Longer Hungry
Every Day Exercise

I knew it was important to include breakfast. Since I have children who are hungry first thing in the morning, I had already remedied this problem as an adult. It really works wonders. People who eat breakfast will typically consume 100 fewer calories a day than those who don't. That's 36,500 fewer calories per year. It adds up - or should I say - It sheds pounds!

My bad habits had me thinking that I was always starving, but I began to realize that I was seriously neglecting my bodies needs for fluids. I ate and ate, but drank very little. So I started drinking more water. I couldn't believe how much that helped. I also started using it as a tool to help me control my appetite during a meals. If I was feeling especially hungry before a meal, I tried to drink a large glass of water (about two cups) before sitting down to eat. It took the edge off my feelings of starvation and helped me focus on more reasonable portions. Water is SO important for our bodies! Zonya has said that some people actually don't EAT very much but the drink a ton of calories. She estimates that some people could lose up to 50 pounds in a year if they simple switched from soda, coffee, juice, & alcohol to good old water. It would also cut out masses of sugar and harmful chemicals from their diets and clean their body systems instead.

Breakfast and water helped, but two of Zonya's other habits were TOTALLY new to me.

Eat often? Really?

How was I supposed to lose weight if I was eating often? And then I stopped to think about the times of day that I was actually hungry. I feel hungry around 7 am, 11am, 3pm and 6 pm.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner seemed to work their way into 3 of those times, but what was I doing at 3 o'clock? That's right, I was hunting through the house for chocolate, cookies or some other pick-me-up junk that made feel guilty right after I ate it.

What would happen if I gave myself PERMISSION to eat at 3 o'clock? What if I PLANNED to eat something then, if needed? Permission and planning opened up all kinds of possibilities for that time of day. I wasn't going to try to force myself to stay hungry until dinner, and then breakdown and eat anything I could get my hands on. I was going to acknowledge my hunger and plan a healthy snack.

Part of Zonya's "eat often" habit is to include a fruit or vegetable at every meal or snack. In fact at that time of day, she recommends a serving of fruit and a large glass of water to satisfy the hunger, tame the sweet tooth, and keep you going until dinner. She says it will work about 80% of the time, and I've found that to be true. Sometimes I need a little something more, but by giving myself permission to "eat often" I look for something healthy instead of scrounging up junk.

The other new concept for me was "eat until no longer hungry." Well what does that mean? When I ate a meal, I usually asked myself, "Am I FULL? Am I FULL yet?" I was looking for that stuffed to the gills feeling when my body would scream, "Stop already!" But now I started asking myself a new question, "Am I still hungry?" It took me a while to tune out my taste buds and the endorphins I liked from food and tune into my stomach. However, I finally recognized that I was no longer HUNGRY after eating a significantly smaller amount of food than what I usually ate. It's such a simple but powerful question... "Am I STILL HUNGRY?"

These habits compliment each other so well! I'm no longer terrified of being SO HUNGRY later, because I've given myself permission to eat often but EAT BETTER. Whether you're counting calories, or weight watchers "points," or whatever, these habits are incredibly helpful.

I started looking at labels to see what the recommended serving size was and realized that I was almost always eating more than 1 portion. So, I focused on eating the recommended serving size and seeing how I felt. "Was I still hungry?" If the answer was no, then it was time to stop eating and move on with life, but if the answer was yes, then I turned to fruit or vegetables to fill the gap.

I've also incorporated other tools to help me get my portions right. I asked for the EZ Weight Plate for my birthday a few years ago. It's a plastic plate with 4 compartments with built in measurement lines. It's helpful for a number meals, but it doesn't work for everything, and it's pricey.

So, I also bought several sets of measuring cups from the dollar store - cheap and simple. When I set pans and serving bowls on the table for a meal, I just use a measuring cup as the serving utensil. It removes the guess work. I don't have to look at the mystery-sized scoop and wonder, "Is this a 1/2 a cup?" And I've taken the the time to determine the dimensions of other serving utensils like my soup ladle. I now know it holds 3/4 of a cup. No more guessing - or kidding myself - about portions.

And the nice thing is that certain portions are pretty repetitive. For example, when losing weight I knew that a 1/2 cup serving of whole grains was all I NEEDED for a meal ... 1/2 cup of brown rice, or 1/2 cup of whole wheat pasta, etc. Those measuring cups sure came in handy! I still use them as serving spoons.

You know that phrase, "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach." I think the key is to PLAN the portions you know you should eat, so you're not letting your eyes and your emotions determine your portion sizes without rational thought. If you know that the restaurant serves twice as much food as you need, then order the to-go box with the meal, so you can pack up half of the food and put it out of site before you begin. You don't need to feel deprived because you didn't eat the second half right now... NO... you just got a fabulous lunch for tomorrow! With a little forethought and planning I can save myself from my worst self.

So let's see if I can sum up this lengthy post...

• Plan your portions.
• Use simple ways to measure them.
• Eat Breakfast.
• Eat Often (and always include a fruit or vegetable.)
• Eat until NO LONGER HUNGRY.

The scriptures say, "all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature and use of man - all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving." (Doctrine & Covenants 89:10-11)"be diligent and temperate," (Alma 38:10) and "every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things" (1 Cor. 9:25.)  However, prudence, thanksgiving, diligence and temperance seem to take a long time to learn, so let's be patient with ourselves. These good new habits have been the most difficult for me to learn, but the good news is, I AM still learning.

Healthy Habits: A Plan, Accountability, & Focus

A few of years ago, I watched my visiting teacher, Vickie, lose 65 pounds over the course of a year. With each monthly visit you could see her shrinking, and she even did it while recovering from a horrible snow mobile accident that meant she couldn't exercise.

~She had joined Weight Watchers.~

Over the course of the school year, I watched the PTO president drop at least 50 pounds or more.

~She had joined Weight Watchers.~

The following summer I watched my sister drop 25 pounds after giving birth to her second child.

~She had joined Weight Watchers.~

These were also the ONLY people I knew who had lost a significant amount of weight AND then kept it off for years.

"Okay," I thought, "I can take a hint." I decided to look into Weight Watchers more seriously. By now you know me well enough to know that the program has to be in harmony with the Word of Wisdom or it's not for me. So I started by talking with my sister about the program to learn if it fit with my beliefs. It fit. In fact, it was very in harmony with the Word of Wisdom.

They changed the program just as I reached "Lifetime" status, but the new program is actually an improvement and even more focused on plant foods. For instance, the PointsPlus system gives all fruit & vegetables zero points to encourage members to eat more of these foods. (i.e. You don't spend any points to eat a banana, but it will cost you to eat those potato chips - and you won't be nearly as satisfied.) Weight Watchers has a strong understanding of LIFELONG NUTRITION and weight control, not gimmicky short-term weight loss.

And it provided a place me to be ACCOUNTABLE. That was big! Knowing that I would go step on that scale in front of an employee who wrote my weight in a book, was a serious motivator. They didn't criticize me or say anything to make me feel bad, but they would ask how my week went, and it forced me to be honest with myself. I had to ask myself, "Did I live the way I know that I should?" They wrote down my weight and did the math - the weight was up or down. Simple tracking and accountability. It. Is. Powerful.

The weekly meetings helped me FOCUS. Let me be clear. I liked certain discussion leaders more than others. One was boring, one was obnoxious, but most were good created good discussion among the group.  But I'll be honest, the content wasn't always new or life changing. In fact, I started drawing an analogy of why the meetings were important to me. I began comparing them to the principles behind weekly church meetings. (NO! I'm not saying that Weight Watchers is akin to the gospel. Hear me out on this.)

I think God has us go to weekly church meetings to have a place to refocus and recommit to the gospel. Some weeks, we may not hear anything we haven't heard before, but we walk away refocused on true principles and recommitted to living it.

Weight Watchers meetings were my place to refocus and recommit to healthy habits. I wasn't there to be entertained or hear something new and exciting. I didn't believe it was there job to MAKE ME want to be good. And it didn't matter if the topic was something I desperately needed to hear that week. I went to my weekly meetings to be accountable, to focus and recommit. Simple principles, but my attitude was crucial.

Now, I'm not saying that, "You HAVE to join Weight Watchers to lose weight!"

But I can tell you that Weight Watchers has a solid plan that will teach how to make lasting and healthy changes in your life.  It takes time & work to re-evaluate the way you eat and translate recipes and calorie info into their PointsPlus system, but once the initial work is done and really commit to it, things become second nature. For example, I know that I should typically eat only 1 slice of pizza during a meal when trying to lose weight.  I know that I should have 1/2 cup of brown rice and 3 oz of meat at dinner to stay within my points. I also realized that we are creatures of habit, and once you've calculated the healthy stand-by foods that work for you, then you write them down, and it's easy to keep track. You also have the tools you need to calculate new things so that you don't get bored or stagnate. The plan allows for individual taste and personal flexibility. I like that. It means it can be used for a lifetime.

There you have it. The third key that helped me to really lose a lot of weight -
Weight Watchers.

A Healthy Plan.

Accountability.

A Place to Focus & Recommit.

Healthy Habits: Eating the Healthiest Foods

Bad Habit #2: Eating foods that don't nourish.

Biggest Loser trainer, Jillian Michaels, is credited with saying, "Eat for FUEL, not for FUN!" This applies to several aspects of healthy eating, but I'm using it here to point out that food is meant to be fuel for our bodies. You wouldn't fill the gas tank of your car with sugar-water. It would grind to a screeching halt! You body needs the right kind of fuel too. 

"The condition of the physical body affects the spirit. That's why the Lord gave us the Word of Wisdom...In general, the more food we eat in its natural state and the less it is refined with additives, the healthier it will be for us. Food can affect the mind, and deficiencies in certain elements in the body can promote mental depression."                 

  - Ezra Taft Benson, Oct. 1974

I'd also like to point out that Pres. Bensen served as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for eight years. He understood food. "The more food we eat in its natural state... the healthier it will be for us." I've recited that to myself at least a thousand times. If you want to really nourish your body and lose weight, then begin your changes here with food in its natural state. 

I'm not saying that everything needs to be eaten raw. By all means, steam the broccoli if that's the way you like it, but believe it our not, a light steaming for vegetables is the best way to get all of the nutrients from them. Boiling vegetables draws the vitamins and minerals into the water you drain off, and then you don't get as much benefit from them. 

This principle of close to nature foods means that the food you make for your family from whole food ingredients will be infinitely better for you than the packaged meals in the store. You avoid those chemicals on the food labels that can't even be pronounced. Simply put, the things that factories do to food to give it longer shelf life, make it addictive (caffeine, sugar, & corn syrups) and increase their profits, also rob that food of it's fiber and best nutrients.

Nutritionist Zonya Foco joked that "germs are smarter than people," because they won't eat the processed junk. She used a plate of processed chocolate-covered donuts to illustrate that point. This same plate of donuts had traveled with her from lecture to lecture for months without deteriorating one bit. Those pesky germs recognized when a food had been stripped of it's nutritional value, and they wouldn't touch it.
To help illustrate this point with a little humor, I'm adding this clip of comedian Tim Hawkins: The Food Prayer

Zonya also says to shop the perimeter of the store because that's were the food in its natural state can be found... the fruit, the vegetable, the unprocessed meat. Think about where the close to nature foods are located.  

I also look to the Word of Wisdom in identifying the best foods for us to eat.

Doctrine & Covenants 89:

10) And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—

11) Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.

12) Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;

 13) And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

14) All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life... 

16) All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—

I compare any diet suggestions to the Word of Wisdom, and if they don't match, then I won't use them. So, if that diet book says "eat masses of meat but no fruit," then it's not in harmony with the Word of Wisdom. If the latest diet craze says Green Tea will solve all of your energy and weight loss needs, I don't believe it.


As I read the Word of Wisdom, I'm always struck by the emphasis on plant based foods. I take that to mean we should not only eat meat sparingly, but also animal products, especially fatty ones like cheese, butter and cream. I even use eggs whites instead of whole eggs in recipes when I can. Close to nature foods means bread & pasta made from whole grain flour. We switched to brown rice instead of white. I prefer healthy oils and butter - used sparingly - to shortening & margarine. We drink mostly water and skim milk instead of soda and flavored drinks. I use more beans in our meals as our source of protein. Half of your plate at each meal should be filled with fruits and vegetables, a fourth of the plate with a whole grain (rice, bread, or pasta) and the last fourth with protein. You get the idea, and I know you've heard this all before.

Close to nature foods don't merely offer the best nourishment for your body, guess what they also do best? 

They fill you up!

That's right. Foods in their natural state give you more bulk for fewer calories, and the fiber in them will keep you feeling satisfied much longer than the refined and processed junk. So, you get the best nutrients, the largest amount of food, and the fewest amount of calories in close to nature foods. The Lord knew what he was doing when He created our food sources.

God isn't going to change the molecular structure of our food on the way to our stomachs - He expects us to use the best foods for our fuel, and he's told us what they are. He's also told us the blessing for using them, and they are wonderful! After eating this way, I feel CLEAN. There's no other word I can use to describe it. It's clean fuel.


I have to add one other note. The "Before" picture on the first post of this series does not show me at my heaviest weight (such pictures are almost non-existant.) But at my heaviest weight (12 years ago) I was 25 pounds larger than what you see the "Before" photo. The diet changes I described in this post - creating healthy, more natural-food meals - helped me drop my first 25 pounds before my other bad habits had me plateauing. I hope I'm expressing how powerful this natural food habit is. Committing to healthy living and then seeking these natural foods are the foundation for all of my weight loss.

Healthy Habits: Committing to Healthy Living

Your body is an amazing gift from God, and it came with 

a responsibility to care for it according to His directions.

Bad Habit #1: A “Skinny” Mentality

I’ve always wanted to be thin - who doesn’t? But that was never motivating enough. I never pictured myself enjoying being “skinny” as much I pictured myself enjoying that chocolate cookie-dough shake I was craving. “Skinny” was a pipe-dream. Cookie-dough was just down the street!

If I got fired up about being skinny I’d find a “diet.” I was a teenager when I attempted my first diet. It was an "herbal plan” with prepackaged powders that you turned in chalky drinks. I certainly couldn’t eat that way forever, in fact I could only stand it for a few weeks.

I later jumped on the high-protein bandwagon. Diets that said, “Feast on steak but no fruit!” ABSOLUTELY NO GRAINS! Limited vegetables and so much meat that I started tasting blood in my mouth all day. Disgusting!!! Done. with. that.

I followed magazine plans with only a weeks worth of meals - Boring!

I tried calorie counting... restricting myself to 1200 calories a day because I was so impatient to get “skinny”... I was starving... I cracked... and went back to my old habits.

No plan to get “skinny” could ever keep me committed, and deep down I knew they weren’t sustainable or even natural. These diets were not how a body was supposed to be nourished. But then again, I wasn’t nourishing my body properly anyway, so why not swap one warped diet for another if it lead to “skinny,” right? :{

I had to change my thinking. That’s where my real change began.

As a teenager I received these words of counsel...

"Now, we have been given a revelation called the Word of Wisdom. I bless you that you will understand fully the principles that are included in that revelation. That you will never take into your body anything that will be a detriment to your having a clear mind and a healthy body for you will need all the faculties you posses to perform well the responsibilities that will be given to you. The Word of Wisdom is so important in this day and age. You were given a healthy body by your Heavenly Father, and He expects you to return that body in the same good condition that you received it."

This counsel baffled me. The Word of Wisdom said no alcohol, no smoking, no drugs, no coffee & tea. This is NOT a problem for me! I wasn't remotely tempted to do those things. I even avoided over-the-counter-drugs like pain killers and cold medicines. I’ve never even finished a bottle of prescription meds that I was given after my c-sections. Why would I need this counsel about the Word of Wisdom?

And what did it mean to "understand fully the principles that are included in that revelation?" Could there be more to the Word of Wisdom than the "No's?" Could God, the very architect of this human body, actually help me understand how to take care of it? Well, there's a novel idea! And could I find the power to turn this long-time weakness into a strength?

Pres. Packer said “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.”

My behavior needed changing.  Then, what is the doctrine?

You’re about to read a small portion of the information I’ve studied. It may seem lengthy, but it’s well worth your time to read it slowly and thoughtfully.

This Body is a Gift from God:

• "What creation is more magnificent than the human body? What a wondrous thing it is as the crowning work of the Almighty. " - Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley
• "The human body is an eternal creation of the Lord. Before coming to earth we knew that our bodies would be priceless gifts, and we longed for the time when this blessing would be given to us. When we care for our bodies well, we are better able to serve our fellowmen. Good care of this gift show our gratitude to the Lord for the opportunity he has given us to progress." - Relief Society Study Guide 2
• “Know ye not that ye are the atemple of God, and that the bSpirit of God dwelleth cin you? If any man adefile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is bholy, which temple ye are.” - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

We have a Sacred Responsibility to Care for Our Bodies:

• "The Word of Wisdom is a law - a principle with promise. If we obey the provisions of the law, we receive the promises. If we do not, there will be both temporal and spiritual consequences." - Pres. Ezra Taft Bensen, 1983
• "The healthy man, who takes care of his physical being, has strength and vitality; his temple is a fit place for his spirit to reside…Bodily ailments deprive us of the full exercise of our faculties and privileges and sometimes of life itself. It is necessary, therefore, to care for our physical bodies, and to observe the laws of physical health and happiness" - Pres. David O. McKay
• "As women, our physical well-being is vital to the well-being of many other lives. To those blessed to be able to bear children, the health of the mother is extremely important as it provides a healthful environment for the prenatal growth of the child. Genetic endowment is also affected by the daily health practices of the mother. Bearing children, supporting a husband effectively, and managing a home require great expenditures of energy, so good health is very important." - Relief Society Study Guide 2
• "Our attitudes and practices will become those of our husbands and children. It is important for us to set good examples, especially for our children, so they can grow and mature while following good health practices… Cultivating good health not only blesses our families; it also increases our ability to give service to others, to the church and to our communities. Countless lives are blessed when a sister lives wisely." - Relief Society Study Guide 2

"Because a physical body is so central to the Father’s plan of happiness and our spiritual development, we should not be surprised that Lucifer seeks to frustrate our progression by tempting us to use our bodies improperly. One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable precisely because he has no physical body, invites and entices us to share in his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not have and cannot use is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to physical and spiritual destruction.

When any of Heavenly Father’s children misuse their physical tabernacles by violating the law of chastity, by using drugs and addictive substances, by disfiguring or defacing themselves, or by worshipping the false idol of body image, whether their own or that of others, Satan is delighted. To those of us who know and understand the plan of salvation, any defiling of the body is rebellion and a denial of our true identity as sons and daughters of God.

Now brothers and sisters, I cannot tell you all the ways whereby you may misuse your bodies, “for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them” (Mosiah 4:29). You know what is right and what is wrong, and you have the individual responsibility to learn for yourself “by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118) the things you should and should not do and the doctrinal reasons why you should and should not do those things. I testify that as you desire to so learn, as you “watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives” (Mosiah 4:30), you will be spiritually enlightened and protected. And according to your faithfulness and diligence, you will have the power to discern the deception and repel the attacks of the adversary as he tempts you to misuse your physical body." -Elder David A. Bednar, CES Fireside, Things as They Really Are

The Lord has Always Instructed His Children on the Care of Their Bodies and the Blessings of Proper Care:

The Lord first instructed Adam and Eve about what they should eat.

Genesis 2:15-17 . Then through Moses, He gave what has become the “Kosher” Law is in Leviticus Chapter 11. But the places where I found the most insight were as follows:

The story of Daniel and his obedience to the Lords Law of Health:

Daniel Chapter 1

The Word of Wisdom:

Doctrine & Covenants Section 89

LDS.org Website

Study by Topic: The Word of Wisdom

I’m not going to spell out everything that I learned in these scriptures, and I’ll tell you why; I’m convinced that it's only through your own personal study of this doctrine, that you access the instruction of the Holy Spirit, and the power to follow that instruction. Then you can experience what's described in Ether.

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” - Ether 12:27

I have a study journal of this topic and I encourage you to do the same. Write down quotes and scriptures that touch your heart, and those things you feel prompted to do as you study with faith.

Pray for strength and insight, because that power is real, and you have access to it. 

You should expect to grow line upon line and precept upon precept. Understand that learning and change take time, so be patient with yourself, and try to face each day with an attitude of love for the body God gave you. Your body is your greatest gift, and you deserve to enjoy the blessings of it in their fullest!