You are What You Eat

I know.  I know.  I have said this before and it is certainly a very well-worn saying.  But, sometimes, you need to hear things at least a million times before the message sinks in. 

During our time together - on the phone and in the blog - you have heard me go on about my love of SuperFoods (http://www.superfoodsrx.com/).  Well, recently, I re-discovered a philosophy that walks hand-in-hand with not only SuperFoods, but with the abundant healthy living philosophy we've been embracing. 

The practice is called Eat Clean (www.eatcleandiet.com).  The maven of the Eat Clean movement is a gal called Tosca Reno.  I encourage you to pick up one of her books - The Eat Clean Diet or The Eat Clean Diet Recharged are good starting points.  I have been eating clean for almost three weeks now and have lost 7 pounds.  My head is clearer and I no longer have the mid-day energy lull. 

The basics of Eating Clean are no white flour, white sugar (or white sugar derivative), or foods that are over processed.  If the label has more than five ingredients, or words you cannot pronounce it is not clean.  An interesting blog about food additives can be found at www.fooddemocracy.wordpress.com.

Additionally, eating clean involves buying local and using herbs and spices to bring out the real flavor of foods.  The plan also calls for small meals six times a day and for drinking plenty of water.  Sound familiar?  We know this!  The eat clean books are so reader friendly and they do a great job of tying it all together with other key components like exercise, rest, and perspective.

I have started taking a cooler of clean food with me each week for work.  I bring lean protein (turkey, chicken tenders, hard boiled eggs) and fresh fruit and veggies and rice cakes, nuts, and other healthy snacks.  It takes no time at all to pull a cooler together for the whole week on Sunday night. 

I also have started making sure I have food with me every time I go out.  Yesterday we went to the State Fair and I took a sliced apple with natural peanut butter and a Clif Mojo Bar (70% organic, most delicious bar EVER - you can get them at Target).  I had a couple of bites of Fair food but I did not over indulge.

One of the best tricks I have learned from the eat clean books is the oatmeal bag.  Take a Ziploc baggie and put in 1/2 cup of quick cook whole oats (not instant) and a handful of dried fruit or raisins.  Stick the baggies in your handbag, your carry on, your glove box.  The baggies provide a nearly instant clean meal - all you need is a cup of hot water which you can get anywhere (and usually for free).  I have this for breakfast every weekday. 

The most successful way to lose weight and be healthy is to ignore the diet fads and stick to what we know works in the long run, clean, non-processed, super foods.

My oatmeal is calling!
Tee


Questions

• What impact does making the commitment to eat clean or to choose SuperFoods have on you?  On the environment?  On the economy?
• What can you do today to re-embrace the abundant healthy life you know you deserve?

Activities

•  spend some time learning or reminding yourself about the principles of clean, local eating. The library, the bookstore, the Internet
• go to a Farmer's Market, or your own garden and come up with meals using only the ingredients found there. A delicious plate of grilled veggies - onions, squash, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers - sprinkled with Old Bay. Delicious!
• Make up some oatmeal bags. Go to Trader Joe's and check out their individual packs of dried fruit and nuts. Prepare yourself for when you are not prepared! :-)

Life's Elixer

Water – This is probably the most essential nourishment for our overall health and therefore an obvious choice to give special attention to in our weekly post.

Water has an extensive range of functions essential to life.
- Water assists digestion, absorption and assimilation of food. If you don't drink enough water you can't get the full benefit of nutrients in the food you eat.
- If you don't drink enough water you get constipated and put your kidneys under stress.
- Water is also essential to regulating your body temperature. If you don't drink enough water you compromise the evaporation process your skin uses to keep you cool.
- Staying hydrated will also improve your cognitive ability.

Those reasons are significant enough to make me take note. And if your goal is to lose weight, there are even more reasons to reach for water. Few people realize at first just how essential water is to the success of their weight-loss program.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Your brain does not differentiate between hunger and thirst. So, when you think you are feeling hungry, your body may in fact be signaling to you that you are thirsty! So reach for that glass or bottle of water before you reach for anything else!

If your diet has been one that did not provide you with adequate water, your body will have developed a pattern of storing water. It's part of the body's survival mechanism - to store up the essential nutrients in short supply - just in case they aren't available in the future. So if you don't drink enough water, you are 'conditioning' your body to store water. And water is bulk and unwanted inches.

It's so simple...drink water! But how much? The most common answer we hear is to drink 6-8 large glasses a day. I like the guideline to drink half your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 150, you should drink at least 75 ounces of water a day. Now if you want to increase your water intake I recommend increasing the amount gradually until you get to your ideal intake – after all you are really stretching your water comfort zone. This is a great place to implement our Plus One technique!

And if you drink coffee or an alcoholic beverage, you will need to drink another TWO glasses of water to contract the diuretic effect! And what about soda? A study at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that there was a 41 percent increase in the risk for being overweight for every single can of diet soda a person consumed daily.

So realize that alcohol, caffeinated drinks and sodas are NOT an alternative for water.  If you don’t like the taste of water you can look to Arbonne for a couple of options. Try adding Arbonne’s Fizzy Tabs. They not only make water easier to drink but provide the added benefits of a focused energy boost, appetite control and increased metabolism! And you can also explore the world of herbal teas instead – like Arbonne’s Detox Tea, you may be pleasantly surprised!

When you make a choice for what to drink, you’re better off making it an informed choice. That’s what we want to offer you here.

QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG
- Be honest, how do you really feel about drinking water?! What are your stumbling blocks?
- If you’ve successfully achieved a healthy intake of water, what have you noticed about how you feel? Sharing this can be great encouragement for others.

ABUNDANT HEALTHY LIVING ACTION
- For one day, write down how much water you are drinking. Simply observe and record.
- If there is a gap between how much water you are drinking and what is recommended for you, use the Plus One technique to gradually increase your consumption of water.

FALLING OFF THE WAGON!

This principle addresses the fact that on our journey to Abundant Healthy Living we will have times when we 'fall off the wagon' or get off track. Usually for me it happens when I travel whether it is for business or pleasure. I am sure that some of us are in vacation mode right now.

Giving ourselves some grace is our approach and as with all of the Abundant Healthy Living principles this approach is empowering because it teaches us ...

• To NOT to beat ourselves up
• To acknowledge that it is normal behavior
• To reassess our progress
• To make a new goal and commitment
• To get back to the choices that ultimately serve us.

Choose this approach rather than going down that dark road of giving up, thinking you are weak, thinking you have failed or thinking you can't continue where you left off. Know that all that happened was that you had a bad day or a bad week. No biggie! Think about what you can do to get right back to all the wonderful healthy choices and actions that you know how to do.
QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG

• Think about how your summer is going and ask yourself if you have 'fallen of the wagon' in any area? By sharing your situation on the Blog you can inspire your AHL Team and get yourself back on track.
• What have you done to take advantage of summer?
• What one thing do you want to put at the top of your list as we head into the end of summer?

ABUNDANT HEALTHY LIVING ACTION

• Set a new measurable goal to meet by August 31st!

Exceptions Should Not be the Rule

As I have been on this AHL path - one thing has become very clear to me.  We are willing to put up with behavior in ourselves that we would not put up with in others.  If we go to a store, or restaurant or to visit a professional service provider we expect to get what we want - not for the place or the person to substitute something else. 

We know what we need to do each day to live an abundant, healthy life, yet - we allow ourselves to make exceptions and permit behavior that is contrary to what we want and what we are working for. 

I struggle with exceptions.  It's not always easy to keep in line with our goals.  Situations and loss of mindset derail us.  We make choices that we are not happy with.  The key to dealing with exceptions is two-fold - realize that they happen and to be aware that making exceptions cannot become the rule.  An exception is something that happens on occasion, not daily.  If you are making exceptions daily - it's time for a course adjustment and to recommit.

As always, a foundational principle of the AHL program is awareness.  If you are aware, you can make the change you need to be back on track. 

Activities
- think about the times where you are likely to make an exception.  Devise a "plan B" or "option 2" that you can have in your back pocket when you feel an exception coming on.  For example - do you always make an exception for dessert?  Well, then perhaps your plan B is to always order the fruit or the sorbet.  Then you have satisfied your interest in dessert but in a more healthy way.
- if you've been making a lot of exceptions - then it's time to recommit.

Enjoy August!
Tee

Sneak Eating - Who Are We Hiding From?

Sneak Eating…yeah, you know what this means. Whether it’s adding that candy bar at the check-out and eating it in the car, or having a ‘special drawer’ in your office that you open when you’re really stressed, or waiting for your spouse to go work outside so you can open the pantry…it’s all the same. And who are we kidding? Who do we think we’re really hiding from? Who always knows? We do.

This behavior isn’t empowering. It isn’t part of the Abundant Healthy Fit mindset. When we hide or sneak, it’s as if we are accepting that “this is the way it will always be”. It’s actually a form of self-sabotage. So let’s change it! The first step is to bring it out in the open. Shed some light on it. You may still have that snack, and then again, in the light of day you may realize you deserve to treat yourself better.

And what’s better? Adopting a mindset of grazing…or refueling. Healthy Fit thinking is about asking ourselves – what FUEL does my body need next? The next time you think of snacking – picture that you’re putting sand in your gas tank – do you really want to do that?

So, what’s in your kitchen? Do you have unhealthy temptations within easy reach? Or are your options weighted in favor of healthy, nutrition-rich options? Preparation is the first step. Create your own master list of healthy foods you can graze on, post this in your pantry, carry it with you when you shop.

Make it easy to make the choices that keep your body tuned and fueled so you can be a shining example of an Abundant Healthy Fit person!

QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG
1. When do you find yourself sneaking food? What are you feeling right beforehand? What experiences trigger this behavior? How can you bring awareness to this behavior and create a new healthier way to respond to the triggers?
2. What are your favorite healthy grazing foods? What do you do to make these convenient choices to reach for instead of sneak eating?

ABUNDANT HEALTHY ACTIONS
1. Make us of one (or more) of the techniques we’ve shared on this blog when you find yourself sneaking. Ask yourself ‘Is this Poison or is this Fuel? Decide to wait 5 minutes and see if the desire is still there. Drink a glass of water first! Share what you try on the blog!!