In response to my last post, hotmother asked me to address the cost of healthy food.
It doesn’t have to cost more. In fact, most of my clients find they spend a lot less once they start to eat healthy food. Not only does real food have more nutrients, it fills you up faster and keeps you satisfied longer. This is especially true when you put the emphasis on lean or low-fat protein in your diet.
For example, the next time you tuck into a large pasta dish with a side of garlic bread, notice how quickly you’re hungry again. Add dessert to that meal and you’ll be hungry before you get home from the Olive Garden!
Most processed snack foods are actually simple carbs layered with a lot of fat and offer little nutrition and lots of calories. Chips, crackers, snack bars, cookies, cakes, etc. will “pad” your grocery bill and your waist. Have you ever noticed that an entire bag of chips doesn’t seem to fill the stomach, but an apple will satisfy hunger at less cost and a whole lot fewer calories?
I’ve seen many a client lose weight by addressing the protein imbalance in their diet. They find two eggs will give them energy until noon whereas a big serving of cereal with fruit and toast had them gnawing at the computer mouse at 10 a.m.!
So, don’t assume it will cost more to eat fresh, healthy food.
In fact, the biggest money saver…
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I love the debate over diets I see on Twitter every day. Do weight watchers. Buy Jenny Craig. Follow Biggest Loser. Shred with PX-90. Beach body fads. Invest in a body bugg.
In a way, it’s all a smokescreen, isn’t it? None of these programs is going to bring the permanent change on the scale we all want. Only WE can do that.
Research shows people who achieve permanent weight loss, even if they start out on a diet, leave it behind pretty quickly in order to create a unique, personal lifestyle change. They begin to change their own individual behaviors that impact their weight, instead of focusing on food.
A lifestyle change goes a lot deeper than a diet. It takes a little longer. It’s not quite so simple. But you get to keep it!!! That’s why I invested the time and effort to make permanent change back in 1996. My objective from the beginning was permanent weight loss. I wanted all along to be here, in 2010, celebrating 10 years of sustained weight loss.
Here are 5 behavior changes that have huge impact on weight loss:
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Last week, I posted a notice about this story to twitter and facebook. V Magazine had had the audacity to use plus sized models (size 12, not very plus to the average size 14 American woman) in a sexy fashion story! Whoa! Stop the presses! What are they doing?
Well, most people responded favorably. Not surprisingly, women were thrilled.
Today, I was at the gym and, when I looked up from the treadmill, one of the entertainment shows featured a string of commentators who had negative reactions to the magazine layout.
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Happy 2010!!
Though I don’t make resolutions, I do make goals for myself and for my business, Catalyst Coaching, every year. What’s the difference? Well, a goal is something you work towards, focus on, create. A resolution pretends that life changes on a dime – that, at 12:01 a.m. on January 1st, we’ll somehow change and our behavior will be different than before.
It rarely happens.
Goals, on the other hand, inspire plans and plans insure execution, and that’s when things start to happen.
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As we move from one year to the next, it’s fun to look ahead and make resolutions or set goals. But, before doing that, it’s important to take a look back and celebrate the wins of the year we’re leaving.
Here are my wins of 2009.
1. Maintaining my weight loss of 70+ lbs.
When I set out to lose weight, I was determined to keep my new weight. I was tired of “renting” weight loss and having to give it back at the end of the diet. So, I set about losing weight differently. In March, I will celebrate 10 years at my current weight!
2. Spreading the word about Permanent Weight Loss.
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Tomorrow is always a sad day for me. Even though it comes right after Christmas, it’s been a sad day for me for the past 15 years.
During the decades I spent overweight, fat had a big impact on my life. My appearance kept me from enjoying many activities, made me feel shy and awkward with people, and impacted my relationships.
I hid whenever possible. I dressed in black and stayed in the background. I hoped no one would notice me in crowds or at events. I grew very uncomfortable whenever attention came my way because of my size. You can imagine the horror I felt when my sister Paula asked me to be in her wedding party. It was 1991 and I was at a “medium” weight, having regained some 60 lbs after a 3-year hiatus from sugar and white flour. The weight had returned, as it always did, with a vengeance.
I was even more horrified when I saw the dresses she had picked out!
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Holidays bring stress to most of us. Also trying to lose weight? More stress!
And what if stress is a major food trigger for you? Consider that stress quadrupled!
Often, after a period of successful weight loss, we develop expectations of how our holiday should go, or what we can accomplish during this frantic time. Those expectations can be unrealistic, given the pressures and demands of family, friends, celebrations, the social calendar, etc.
On one hand, it’s not productive to use the holidays as an excuse to abandon healthy goals and routines.
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Diets may be intended to trim our bodies but they actually diminish us as people.
Harsh restrictions give the body the message that it is something to be “whipped” into shape, changed, altered, melted — instead of teaching us to listen to our bodies for the wealth of information inside them.
Diets instill the idea of control. The message is:
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- Confused? Most people are. All this is diet advice from the perspective of what I call Diet Mentality. Based in fea… https://t.co/oLbdhU6utw
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- I've always said exercise is more important than food control. What do you think? https://t.co/nRyJeKMZ9y
- Before and after pictures are usually complete fakes, and give us the misconception that the "after" picture is the… https://t.co/QUdTrITjeG
- Take a look! Wisdom! https://t.co/zjh6DbmIh9
