Category: diet

Aim High, but Be Realistic

When the fear of “things staying the same” surpasses the fear of “failure,” stuff happens. 

So what are you afraid of? I’m hoping it’s more of the same. What IF you register for a 5K three months from now even though you are not currently in shape? What IF you commit to a workout class once a week by pre-paying even though you’re “uncoordinated”? What IF you decide to finally let the youthful, energetic person buried deep inside you out to shine? What’s the worst thing that could happen?

It’s so easy to let your life slide into auto-pilot. Every morning, coffee, cereal, grab your bag, go to work. What’s the point? Have you heard this: Try something once every day that scares you. That means give your life purpose. Reach for new heights. Stop letting fear hold you back.

After all, if you think about the reasons why you haven’t yet made the call to the personal trainer, or signed up for that 5K, they really are pretty silly. They probably go something like this: I don’t know how we’ll coordinate a time with my busy schedule. Or, I’m so out of shape, where would I begin? Or, What if I can’t finish the race? I have answers for all of those, as I’m sure you expected. A) There’s always time for exercise, even if you have to get creative. B) If you’re out of shape, there’s only one way to get in shape, and that’s to get started (we all started somewhere…). C) Who cares? Walk if you can’t run. Do your best. You will never regret having tried. And how fun will it be next year when you look back at that first 5K and laugh at how hard it was back then?

So I say aim high. Set goals for yourself. Real ones you can measure. But go for it—don’t be easy on yourself. Working toward big goals gives us a reason to get up in the morning. It makes the routine bearable because there are bigger things going on that are yours alone to hold close. Ask yourself what accomplishment you’d like to be able to say you achieved this year, and then let it be known that that’s what you’re working toward. Set your fears aside and watch what you can do!

What Not to Skimp on This Year

Resolve to spend your money on the right things.

Some things I don’t skimp on, and I don’t think you should either:

  • Skincare products (If you can’t eat them, why would you put them on your skin?)
  • Healthy foods
  • Workouts

I guess in my 41st year I’m acknowledging that I’ve been working since I was 11 years old, so if organic apples cost $6 instead of the $3 for heavily sprayed ones, I’m going for the organic variety.

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In with the Old

Revisit your old brilliant ideas.

You know how your mom’s old purses are so old that they’re trendy again? I have some shoes I just know will have a second life one day. So I’ve been thinking this concept could pertain to old ideas you’ve had as well. We search and search for new theories and motivation, when sometimes it might do us just as well to look back at our old things and ways to get trendy new inspiration.

Old dusty cookbooks you never open anymore—they used to be your favorites, so check out what you used to make. For us, the cookbooks have evolved from “10-Minutes Meals” to “101 Vegetarian Meals” to “Quick-Fix Vegan.” But once in a while we’ll crack open an old one and find a recipe we used to love—back when our spice rack held dried oregano, dried basil, and garlic salt (and that’s it)—and we’ll dress it up, make it vegan, and see if it’s our taste buds that have changed or our taste for fancier cooking.

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Blood Type Diet: Does it hold any weight?

The era of always seeking a reason

I set out to do a thorough discourse on the blood type diet, but I just don’t care enough about it to exert the energy. Maybe that gives you a sense of how I feel about it.

If you know me or have read my previous posts, you can guess that I could take or leave the whole theory that you should eat according to your blood type—and it is just a theory, without much in the way of evidence to support it. According to the diet’s founder Dr. D’Adamo, I should “focus on lean, organic meats, vegetables and fruits and avoid wheat and dairy which can be triggers for digestive and health issues.” Well, isn’t that eye-opening. Who decided this guy had something enlightening to tell us?

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A Brownie for Breakfast?

Good habits are hard to form, but form them we must.

I just read an article in O magazine that suggests that a brownie at breakfast might help you lose weight. I’m thinking: really? That sounds like brilliant advice to give people who struggle with weight loss. Start the day off with 400 extra calories. Really?

This is not a review of O magazine. If it were I would have LOTS to say about the heavy cream that is an ingredient of almost every recipe they share. This is just me wondering, could that really work? Eat sweets at breakfast to stave off cravings the rest of the day? And is it worth it to try it?

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Into the Mouths of Babes

Train the taste buds right from the start.

My baby is 6 today. Six! My baby! I remember the day we brought her home from the hospital SO VIVIDLY. And yet…

The other day when her 2-year-old brother was begging for a granola-type bar right before dinner, Bella said, “Mommy. I have to tell you something. It’s a secret, so lean down close to me.” I leaned down. She said, “I think when these bars are gone, we shouldn’t buy bars anymore.” I said, “Really? Won’t you miss eating them?” She nodded. But that was okay with her. Because she wants her brother to have better eating habits. At 6, she already says things like, “I think I need to take a break from sugar tomorrow.” And when tomorrow comes and she asks for dessert and I remind her what she said, she ACTUALLY SAYS “OH YEAH” AND DOESN’T EAT DESSERT.

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#50 It Is About You

Guilty of always looking outside yourself for the answer?

Have you ever said, when thinking about taking weight off, “I think I should get my thyroid checked out”? Are you smiling to yourself right now because you SO have?

You know when you’re feeling something that’s not normal but you can’t pinpoint what’s wrong, so you go to the doctor and actually feel relief when you find out that something really is amiss, and that this little pill will make it better? It’s so much better than walking around wondering if you’re imagining things, or worse, feeling the abnormal thing but not knowing how to fix it. We like to FIX things. And our weight problems need to be fixed. Unfortunately, weight problems can’t be fixed (safely) with a pill—the only magic tricks are patience and discipline. Imagine if the flu could only be cured by patience and discipline. Holy cow, this would be one sick country.

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#49 Squash-sta

Put a “spin” on your veggies

My kids call them snakes. Doesn’t bother me… as long as they eat those snakes. Check out the dinner Mike made tonight:

Squash Pasta

I got him a spiralizer for Father’s Day. That’s right. That’s what my sweet husband wanted for Father’s Day. Not an Xbox, but a spiralizer. So who am I to deny him?

What this newest kitchen contraption does is ingenious: It grasps onto the veggie of your choice (squash and zucchini tend to be favorites for this particular operation), and makes it into spaghetti-style noodles. Blended with a bit of real pasta and the sauce of your choice, you’ve got kids eating veggies. Not to mention an exciting new way to serve those veggies to grown-ups, too.

#46 Party Games

What to do when there’s no veggie tray.

Here’s a scenario to ponder: You’re at a party as your husband/boyfriend/significant other’s sidekick and he/she goes off to talk to his/her friends, leaving you smiling nervously at a bunch of people you don’t know. What is the natural thing to do? Check out the food table. Grab a drink. Take sips of your drink. Munch on chips. Search for the veggie tray. Find no such tray. Eat more chips.

This scenario was brought to mind thanks to a training client of mine who recently shared that she was at a party as her husband’s sidekick, was left by herself, found herself alone at the food table with no veggie tray in sight, and didn’t know what to do but munch on chips.

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#45 Hunger Games

There’s no need to play hunger games with your body.

Oh, the games we play to stave off hunger, pretend we’re not hungry, rationalize that we’re hungry again already…

What would happen if we all just very simply listened to our bodies, fed ourselves what we need to survive, and resolved hunger at the physical level?

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