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Self-Compassion Keeps Us From Eating The Entire Pie

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Learning girth control takes practice, and overindulging during a meal can trigger a downward spiral of unhealthy eating. Unfortunately, part of dieting is falling off the wagon every so often, but depending on how people view themselves, one incident of busting a grub can be the beginning of the end. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Negative self – thoughts may lead to even more pigging out after blowing your diet, as a way to cope with feeling upset about over eating. I sometimes fall into this category, and I call it the “go big or go home syndrome”. This is deciding to eat the entire pie because I think I ruined my diet by eating one slice.

I’m not big on talking about studies, because it seems like there is a study out there for everything and every angle. For every study that says black, there are two more that say white. However, this one is very compelling.

The study (Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: The implications of treating oneself kindly) looked at 84 college women who were asked to participate in research where they had to each eat a donut, and then they were offered one piece of candy. 31% of these women were on a diet, but each group was made up randomly.

After eating the donuts, researchers encouraged self-compassion by telling the first group that even though they may feel guilty, they should not be hard on themselves. Everyone eats unhealthy from time to time, and there is no reason to feel bad. The second group was told nothing, no words of encouragement, nothing.

Both groups were then asked to taste one piece of candy, but the candy bowls were left in the room after the researchers left. Guess which group chowed down on the most candy? The group that was told nothing and given no words of compassion ate more additional pieces of candy. Did they feel like they already blew it, so they might as well really blow it?

Self-compassion can buffer us against negative self-feelings in all sorts of situations. When we are kinder to ourselves by showing self-compassion, we become less self-critical when we blow our diets (or even dealing with other stressful life situations). A little self-love will help us to cope with negative feelings about our weight by NOT gobbling, gorging, and guzzling everything in site. Self-compassion is caring. Caring about making healthy choices not harmful ones. If that doesn’t work, embrace the inner Dalai Lama where self compassion = happiness.

 

Filed Under: behavior modification, diets make you fat, eating healthy, Fit Tips, healthy habits, healthy weight, mindful eating

The Foolproof Way To Get Back On Track When You Blow Your Diet

June 18, 2011 By 3 Comments

I was at the gym today on the treadmill listening to the two guys next to me lament about their ups and downs of weight loss. One of the guys had lost over 100 pounds several different times, which also means that he has gained over 100 pounds several times.

There is nothing as overwhelming as seeing that scale start to creep up. It happens to everyone, but how far you let the creep continue is up to you.

Scale creep happens because of the small, daily decisions, ones that you thought were just a big dinner, or a skipped workout were explained away in your mind as isolated incidents. But they are not. The little things add up, and they can add up fast if you don’t pay attention.

Gaining weight back is a similar path to how you took the weight off. When you lost one or two pounds a week, you made daily accountability decisions and choices that resulted in weight loss. Maybe it was your daily or weekly weigh-in on the scale, maybe it was your big salad for lunch, or pulling out your jeans to see if they fit yet. All of those little changes, those small decisions added up to your weight loss.

Gaining weight back follows a similar pattern. Remember, you didn’t lose the weight in a measured exact way of three pounds per week every week, and you don’t gain it the same way. It usually starts with one little trigger.

The Fourth of July bash and your birthday only a week apart … YIKES. One little trigger, for example an over the top meal: a big steak, baked stuffed potato, a little of the crab appetizer and the chocolate cheesecake, topped with drink after drink in celebration. You feel so lethargic the next day, which I call a food hangover, that you break your normal oatmeal/blueberry morning and you have a cup of coffee and a croissant just to function the next day and curb your food withdrawal.

Since you “messed up” breakfast, you say “screw” it to lunch and have the pizza you’ve been missing. Once you’ve had the pizza for lunch, you think, might has well have the fried chicken for dinner because I’ve totally blown it. What’s one more meal?

Maybe your scale ran out of batteries and you don’t have that accountability that you’ve been so diligent about when you lost weight. You just stop weighing in because you no longer have your scale. Two weeks go by and you’re so scared of seeing what that number will be, you go another week without weighing in. Three weeks turn into four and the pounds continue to pile on.

It can be as simple as wearing comfy sweats for 4 days in a row. They feel so big and roomy, that you eat an extra muffin and you think, wow, I must be doing great because everything still fits! (I’ve done that one myself, many times, then I finally “wake up”, pull up my jeans and say, ughh!!!! What was I thinking!?!??).

It’s all those little decisions, the same daily decisions you made when you were losing weight, that result in adding the pounds back.

The most FOOLPROOF to get back on track is to commit to one good day.

If one good day seems overwhelming , commit to one good meal. Just one. If you have already blown breakfast, then make your lunch your “on track” option … something that will give you energy, make you feel great, and give you the confidence that you can do it. Often, just one positive decision, one good lunch, one good run, can give you the jolt you crave to shake it up and get you back on the track of losing the weight. You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there. Get out of the water and get back on track!

Filed Under: body image, burning calories, calories, diet plateau, diet tips, fail, Featured, Fit Tips, food choices, healthy eating, healthy foods, healthy habits, healthy weight Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Low Fat – Good For Marketing, Bad For Health

June 11, 2011 By 2 Comments

The other day, Samantha set up a tea party for us – just the girls, as she likes to say. She was explaining each of the plastic food items, and when she showed me the muffin, she declared that it was even low fat.

I was a little surprised that she was using the term low fat. Had I inadvertently mentioned something about that? I try to be very careful when I talk about food. Had she heard it at school from one of her friends?

I don’t buy low fat food because low fat means high in something else (usually some kind of crap). The terms low fat and light have no doubt been a marketing gold mine for most food manufacturers. But low fat doesn’t mean low calories, and nine times out of ten, it doesn’t mean healthier. Light is just a marketing term with really no meaning at all.

Low fat = low taste. Manufacturers must add stuff to make it taste good, like extra salt, extra sugar, msg, etc.

Light=scam. The term light is used when foods don’t meet the FDA requirements to be low-fat. For example, Light Philly cream cheese has less fat than the original, but it has 35% more sugar. Yikes.

So if your goal is to eat healthier, don’t buy anything that says low fat or light. If your goal is to lose weight, don’t buy anything that says low fat or light. If your goal is to enjoy food, don’t buy anything that says low fat or light. I think that about covers everything.

Are there exceptions? Yes. So be sure to read the labels, and make sure your low fat, light options are not hiding high calorie, high crap ingredients.

As for Samantha’s low-fat remark, it probably came from Sponge Bob.

Filed Under: counting calories, eat this not that, eating healthy, Fit Tips, healthy weight, low fat diet. calories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Understanding Why Protein is Important to Weight Loss

April 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Protein, protein, protein.  It seems like so much advice out there tells us to eat more protein if we want to lose weight.  This is actually great advice, but some of the articles make my eyes glaze over with all the technical reasons for WHY.

 I recently read an article on Fitbie.com that explained the ins and outs of protein, and you don’t have to have a masters in nutrition to understand it. 

 At any given moment, even at rest, your body is breaking down and building up protein, says Jeff Volek, PhD, RD, nutrition and exercise researcher. Substitute the word “muscle” for “protein,” and you quickly understand just how dynamic your body is, and how your muscle content can change considerably in the course of just a few weeks.

 Muscle doesn’t come just from pumping iron.  Muscle buildup is triggered by eating protein. In fact, every time you eat at least 10 to 15 grams of protein, you trigger a burst of protein synthesis. And when you eat at least 20 grams, that period of synthesis lasts about 3 hours—and that means even more muscle growth.

 Here’s a quick look at what those numbers translate into when they actually hit your plate.

 20-30 Grams of Protein

1 4-ounce ground beef patty

1 large chicken breast

1 4-ounce sirloin steak

1 large egg vegetable omelet with 3 strips bacon

20 large peel-and-eat wild shrimp

1 haddock fillet

1 6-ounce pork chop

1 6-ounce serving tempeh

10 to 15 Grams of Protein

1 fruit-and-yogurt parfait with granola

2 medium carrots with 1/2 cup hummus

3/4 cup chili con carne

1 serving spaghetti with meat sauce (10 ounces)

1 pouch chunk light tuna

1/2 cup oatmeal with 1 cup 2% milk

12 ounces low fat chocolate milk

6 ounces Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp peanut butter on whole wheat

 Most people end up eating the majority of their protein at dinner. That means you might be fueling muscle growth for only a few hours a day, probably watching TV before you go to bed. The rest of the day, you’re breaking down muscle because you don’t have enough protein in your system.

The single most important diet upgrade for people who want to lose weight is to eat protein for breakfast.  More on that in my next post.

Your FIT Plan

Eat protein at all three meals, which can include meats and eggs or other options such as cheese and milk. If you can boost your protein intake to between 0.5 and 1.0 gram per pound of body weight, this will preserve your calorie burning muscle mass. That means aiming for approximately 20 grams of protein at your main meals, with options like a chicken breast, a hamburger, or a fillet of fish. For each snack, eat at least 10 to 15 grams of protein, such as two hard-boiled eggs, an order of rice and beans, or even a classic peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread. And when in doubt, reach for milk or cheese.

 When it comes to snacks, we don’t usually carry around a grilled chicken breast, and the best sources of protein—fish, meat, dairy, and beans—aren’t quick and convenient to eat. When you’re on the go or too busy to cook, reach for one of these great “grab and go” protein snacks: 

Jerky

Raw Almonds

Protein Powder

Hard Boiled Eggs

String Cheese

Yogurt

Cottage Cheese

 Make a commitment to include protein in EVERY SINGLE MEAL, and you will start to really preserve your calorie burning muscle mass.

Filed Under: Fit Tips, healthy foods, healthy weight, low fat food, metabolism, mindful eating, nutrition, protein Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

BABY STEPS: EASY and EFFICIENT WEIGHT LOSS

September 28, 2010 By 2 Comments

A healthy body works more efficiently, and here is the best part…a healthy body loses weight more easily and more efficiently than an unhealthy body.

This is why nutrition is so important for weight management as well as general health. There is a definite difference between a healthy diet and a weight loss diet. However, if you want to take baby steps, start on a healthy diet and don’t worry about calorie counting. You will actually feel fuller because of the healthy foods your are eating, so your calories will naturally be lower. Once you get in the habit of healthy eating and you make a conscious effort to reduce your calories, the weight will fly off.

It’s worth remembering that 20 minerals, 13 vitamins and fiber (none of which contain any calories) are essential for health. Their presence or absence can also change the rate at which energy is produced or calories burned. When foods cannot be metabolised properly because they lack the necessary minerals and vitamins, their energy becomes unavailable to our body and is stored as fat until we get the necessary minerals and vitamins at some later time. In the meantime we feel hungry and eat more. This too turns into fat unless minerals and vitamins are also provided.

When you choose Nutrient-Dense Foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, oily fish, oats, beans, nuts and seeds, and avoid wasting your daily calorie allowance on “empty-calorie-foods” (which contain calories but no nutrition), like regular sodas, alcohol, sweets and candy, you will get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet which creates a healthy body which makes weight loss easier.

Filed Under: 200 calories, diet, eating healthy, fiber, healthy weight, minerals, pursuit of happiness, weight loss
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