Stay Alive Don't Eat and Drive

Of course we all know that we should not drink and drive. Over the last couple years we have also been educated on the dangers of texting while driving. But what about eating and driving--we do it, but here's why we should curb that habit (pardon the pun)...

Just like texting, eating and driving is a distraction. Let's stay focused on our driving and what is going on around us rather than adding another distraction. Even for those who can multi-task, multi-tasking behind the wheel is just not safe.

Are you more apt to have an accident while eating and driving then if you were focused completely on the road? You bet, but the reason I am challenging all of us to not eat behind the wheel is because it packs on the pounds which will cause more people pain, suffering, and ill health.

I was talking to a friend of mine last night who is a former truck driver. The conversation drifted to eating and driving and he told me that he used to be 100+ pounds heavier when he was a truck driver. Sure he ate junk food when he stopped for meals, but most of those pounds were because he was eating WHILE driving. He had bags of food right by the gear shift where they were easy to reach.

I too was a closet car eater.

Sometimes it was because it felt "safe" because I thought no one would see me. Other times it felt convenient, because I was in a hurry to get somewhere and didn't think I had the time to stop and eat a "real meal." Other times it was because I was on a long drive and I was using food as a way to keep myself awake. This all developed into a bad habit that applied fat directly to my waist, hips, and thighs...along with embarrassing food stains and a messy car strewn with empty bags that I couldn't possibly have eaten all by myself. Yet, of course, I was alone in the car, without anyone to blame by me, myself, and I.


My pledge to myself is to stop this unconscious eating in the car. If you are like most of us who are overweight, then you probably have some unconscious eating habits, too. Spend the next week being extra focused on WHERE you are eating and see if you find yourself chowing down while parked behind the wheel.

If you find that your car is not a mobile snack shack, then notice where or when you are eating unconsciously and use that information to help become more aware of your eating. Awareness along often brings about easy weight loss, because awareness is the first step to change.

For those of you who find the car is your favorite place for fast food then I hope you will join me in the Stay Alive Don't Eat and Drive challenge!

Easter Egg on Your Face?

Easter is over and the candy aisle at my local supermarket are stocked with 70% off items. Boy, in the past I would have totally stocked up.

I had to laugh as I watched a couple--both thin, by the way--having loads of fun "stocking up."

The big difference was they were buying 1 bag of candy and a couple Cadbury eggs--not lots of bags and the entire stash of eggs!

This is how people who are thin think and behave. A good lesson for me.

Chocolate freezes, right?

The funniest part was the guy actually suggested they get another bag--"it will freeze, won't it?" I couldn't resist and said, yes it freezes, but it will never make it to the freezer. The lady totally busted up and he said, "You're right, it probably won't make it through the weekend!"

The biggest difference isn't that they don't enjoy eating candy, it is they know it is not the best decision for their body and that they will regret it later. They will feel physically ill and so they choose to restrict what they bring into the house as a way to do a favor to themselves.

Pretty smart.

Do yourself a favor, and follow their example for weight loss success!

To your healthy, energetic and slender body--you deserve it!

1st Colorado Birthday for Mom

Okay, it was a couple days ago...but still...

My mom just moved to Colorado this summer. I've been encouraging it for several years now and finally she decided it was the right time. The state gave her a glorious autumn, as we often have, and she marveled at the colors and the warm sunshine and that we were grilling the 3rd week in October (she loves my grilled chicken!)

Then came her birthday and a big winter storm. Fortunately for us, we were all saved from the power outages that resulted from an unusually heavy, wet snow...and many broken branches and trees across town.

So going out to eat to celebrate was taken off the table and instead we opted to eat in. We brought over a big pot of chili, some corn bread and vegetables and pie. See...I really do refuse to diet!

One of the best things about my mom being here, for my eating habits at least, is that she actually needs to gain weight. Sounds funny, right? Well, her appetite is small, so it forces me to slow down. Pretty much if I am finished she'll stop eating. Since I don't want to eat MORE, I have taken to putting my fork (or spoon) down and pausing much more frequently. I still eat more than she does (it would be hard NOT to) but this is a good habit for me to develop. And it allows me to enjoy things like cornbread and pie...all things in moderation, right? Right!

Now I just need to remember to practice it even when I'm not eating with Mom!

Weight Loss Success Comes from Small Changes Not Massive Overhaul

When we want to drop pounds we often think we have to make massive changes in our lives.

That thought alone is often enough to keep us stuck. We don't want to have to make these big, radical adjustments. Change can be scary and truth be told...it is hard to do.

It isn't will power, either. We are genetically programmed to follow routine. Oh there are some people who roll with change better than others. And there are areas that we may be okay with change and upheaval and other areas where the thought of change induces stress. And for most of us with weight loss challenges, changing our food and exercise routines seems like it is changing our entire lives. After all the time, energy and focus of our lives often revolves around food--the choosing, buying, preparing, cleaning up after on top of the eating of it.

To have weight loss success we do not have to make huge adjustments. In fact success is guaranteed if you focus on making small, small, small (did I say small?) changes that you can absolutely stick to.

How many times have you promised to "be good" and stick to this or that diet? And how many times did it work for a while, maybe a day or couple of days or even weeks...only to come crashing down on you because you just couldn't keep it up? That's what I thought.

That's because you tried to make too big a change. I know. I've done it too. Often.

That's why I finally declared I Refuse To Diet!!! And that made the difference.

Sure I've made changes in my eating, I make healthier choices more consistently. But I'm not perfect--and I don't have to be! And I didn't start off with radical shifts. I started off with a very small, laughably small change that I new would be simple to keep. In fact, it was so easy that part of me thought it wasn't worthy and it would take forever to lose the excess pounds! But I knew I had tried the other methods in the past and while I might have had short-term success it all came rebounding back like I had a homing beacon glued to my thighs.

So I started small. And it worked! So I added another small change. And so, and so on. In the process I have rebuilt my health; I lost almost 100 pounds in a single year; I can do more and more every day.

The irony was that when I thought 1-2 pounds a week was too slow and I had to find a faster way to lose weight, I stayed stuck as a morbidly obese person. Once I took the focus off the weight loss and instead focused on healthy choices (and deciding that I deserved a healthy body) the weight started to drop off.

Now when I hit a point where I am struggling, I go back to the basics. Where is my attitude and what small change can I make that I can stick to?

Double Up for Weight Loss Success

In my last post I talked about the importance of eating vegetables and not hiding them for long-term weight loss success.

Most Americans just don't get their quota of veggies--by a long shot!

How low is our intake of vegetables (if you don't count potatoes*)

...the average American gets a total of just three servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The latest dietary guidelines call for five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day (2½ to 6½ cups per day), depending on one's caloric intake. (1) For a person who needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain weight and health, this translates into nine servings, or 4½ cups per day (2 cups of fruit and 2½ cups of vegetables).
~ source: Harvard School of Public Health

So what is a cup of vegetables? For many vegetables a "cup" is the same as a 1 cup measurement, but for leafy vegetables like lettuce if you are eating them raw then a cup serving should really be 2 measured cups to account for all the space created by the leafy vegetables.

• Having trouble getting in enough vegetables?
• Tired of eating like a rabbit?

Here's a weight loss tip for you:

Rather than forcing yourself to eat mondo salads each and every day, get more vegetables in your meals by doubling up the quantity your recipes call for!

Most of our recipes rely too heavily on meat and potatoes, with light attention to our vegetables. If you are making a stew for example you can stretch out the servings by bumping up the veggie content. Start by doubling the vegetables and then adjust from there. I find many recipes I can triple the vegetable content and be quite happy!

This will helping your weight loss success and let your dollars stretch further, too!


*Don't count potatoes as a vegetable. While potatoes have some great nutritional and fiber value, they are much higher in sugar content. Use potatoes as you would rice or pasta or bread--sparingly--to keep your blood sugar and waist line under control.

Vegan Equals Healthy Weight Loss Success?

With movies like Food, Inc and Ellen and Oprah both featuring shows on veganism, many people come to believe that being a vegan is inherently more healthy and will lead to weight loss success. While going vegan, or vegan-ish as Oprah has said she is moving, is certainly one option, it is not the only option and may not be the best choice for you.

The most important thing to understand is the definition of "vegan." Veganism is a form of vegetarianism, but one with a more narrow focus. Interestingly, the precise definition varies depending on the source, but most seem to define vegan as a person who chooses not to use animal products in their lives. This is the most strict sense of vegan and includes foods you eat as well as items made from animal hides and furs and things that are testing on animals (typically done as part of "safety" testing.) Therefore the strictest vegans would not use leather, not in the seats of their cars nor in their shoes, belts and bags.

However you can also be a "dietary vegan" and decide that it is okay to wear wool even though it comes from sheep.

Going from a typical American diet to a vegan diet and lifestyle requires a huge shift in mindset as well as taking time to educate yourself on nutrition, learning how to buy and cook differently. That is not a bad thing...just something that does take time and retraining.

If you are looking to lose weight successfully then this could be a great time to try going vegan since you will be changing habits anyway. For some people it is too much and it is better to take things in smaller steps.

That is what I suggest for most people. Start by learning more about nutrition. Choose one day a week to have no animal products in your diet (or try vegetarian meals instead of vegan.)

Do NOT just go out and buy a bunch of food products at the store just because they are labeled "vegan" and assume that you will lose weight. Did you notice that while a lot of pounds were lost on the Harpo challenge (Oprah's studio where almost 400 staffers pledged to go vegan for a week) some people actually GAINED weight?

This is possible because going vegan does not mean healthy. It just means no animal products. So this may be "healthier" it does not mean that it is inherently the best choice if you are wanting to drop pounds.

One of the reasons many people lose weight on a vegan diet is because of the emphasis on plant-based diet.More vegetables, complex carbohydrates, protein in the form of beans and legumes. Eating this way can be more filling and lower calorie per mouthful than eating an animal based diet. Because you are eating things that make you feel more full while the caloric density is lower you are eating fewer calories. Without making any other changes in your lifestyle then chances are really good you will lose weight. Which is good, because this plant-based diet requires a mindset shift and as I mentioned earlier, more work on educating yourself.

So why didn't everyone lose weight?

Not everyone lost weight because there are lots of high calorie vegan foods out there as well. If all you do is substitute your current diet with vegan versions of the same food you are probably not going to lose weight. There is vegan frozen dessert that substitutes for ice cream, for example, that is loaded with sugar and fats just like the original. There are vegan chips, which are prepared using vegetable oil but are not lower in calories. Also, if you go for the prepared meat-substitutes you have to read the labels to see what they are putting in them and how much you get per serving. I picked up one package at the store that was 7 ounces and that is 2 servings. While a 3.5 ounce serving of meat is also appropriate, if you are accustomed to eating a 16 ounce sirloin and you want to switch it for vegan alternatives you may not lose weight (but you will definitely lighten your wallet!)

There are still people who want to become a vegan--that's an awesome goal and one that I support if that is where you heart is telling you to go.

However, the key to weight loss success is to make a radical shift in your mindset not your diet! Decide to focus on your health. Decide that you CAN lose weight and that you DESERVE TO. The same mindset shift has to take place for you to lose weight and keep it off whether you are a vegan or a meat eater.

Then make small changes to your current lifestyle. Make changes that you can and will keep. Then when those changes are incorporated into your life you can make more.

Will this get you to drop 10 pounds in a week? Probably not. But it will allow you to successfully lose weight over time until you reach a weight that is healthy for you. It will also allow you to live your life and not feel like you are a slave to counting calories (vegan or otherwise.) And then you will look back in amazement at the changes in your body and find it hard to believe that you accomplished so much so easily.

Groundhog Day Lesson: Don't Repeat Weight Loss Failures

Do you remember the movie Groundhog Day? It was a funny, thought-provoking movie from 1993 starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. In the movie, Bill Murray's character, "Phil", has to relive the same day (Groundhog Day) over and over and over and over. How often do we do that, reliving our weight loss failures over and over and over?

Fortunately he is given the opportunity to revise his day: Phil is not doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

This is the most important lesson we can learn from the movie. Even though we won't live Feb. 2, 2011 (or thankfully 1993 either) over again, we can choose to live essentially the same days repeatedly. Or, we can choose to change our lives and get out of our ruts and live the lives we want.

In order to have weight loss success rather than failure we must decide to take control of our lives and steer our days in a different direction.

What we have right now...our current weight for example...are results of our decisions in the past. We will continue to wake to the same result until we choose to take different actions.

Fortunately we don't have to make huge changes. Nor do we have to make all the changes in one day, or even one year.

We didn't become overweight because we ate too much food one time. We became overweight because of the accumulation of lots of small actions--eating instead of expressing our feelings, eating without thinking about it, not making healthy food choices, eating too much sugar, not moving our bodies--over a period of years. For some of us this period has been our entire lives.

We can become weight loss success stories! By making small changes consistently we will improve our health. It MUST improve, it cannot NOT improve!

The only way we are failures is to give up. We give up when we try to do too much all at once and we get overwhelmed or frustrated because we are not seeing immediate results.

Do yourself a favor and start now...start small, but start. Then just keep putting one foot in front of the other on the path of your choosing. You'll get out of the rut and find yourself with a whole new script for a healthy, happy life!

Tap Tap Tap for Weight Loss Success

Being a stone sculptor, I LOVE this quote...the analogy is so appropriate for weight loss success.

When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.

~Jacob Riis, Danish born American b 1849

We must keep chipping away at our efforts even though sometimes we don't see any results, knowing that our weight loss success will come as a result of all our activities. Sometimes we will see a big result, like the rock splitting in two, only after repeatedly taking what seems to be the tiniest of actions.

It is not a big blow that creates a sculpture, it is a series of little ones. A big blow creates a fracture in the stone and will not result in the desired outcome. A big blow is like a crash diet...it just won't give us the result we want in the long run.

Using the correct tools is a critical part to this. I can beat my bare fist against a rock every minute of every day for the rest of my life and it will not become a sculpture. However when I put a chisel in one hand and hammer in the other I can create a work of art.

The same is true with our bodies. With simple tools, used repeatedly we can create our healthy, energetic and slender bodies. Our tools are our minds, our mouths (nutrition), and moving our bodies.

I wasn't born knowing how to sculpt, how to use the tools. Similarly we may not know how to pick out the tools for our weight loss success. We will have more rapid success if we learn from someone who has already been there. I didn't learn to sculpt by studying with a painter. I didn't learn to be healthy by studying with a junk food eater. We must surround ourselves with teachers and compatriots who have the experience and shared goal in order to maximize our results.

Write Your Own Weight Loss Success Story

I've had this on my fridge for a while because it is so powerful...whenever I read it I am reminded to take control of my life. This little quote helps shift my mindset about weight loss, keeps me positive and is a great tool for life improvement in all areas.

Most of us live our lives as if we're watching a movie--one that someone else is writing, producing, and directing. We sit back with our popcorn and Jujubes and say, "I wonder how this will turn out?"...Well, guess what? The answer lies with you. You're Sam Goldwyn. You're in charge.

~From Between Trapezes, by Gail Blanke

Maybe this quote from Blanke inspires you to take control of your life in the area of health and fitness. I love the popcorn and Jujubes line...how many times have I sat on the couch drowning myself and my sorrows in a pint of Ben of Jerry's (or two) and wondered when I would become fit and healthy!

Maybe Blanke will inspire you to take control of your life in another area. Maybe it is your professional life that needs to shift. Perhaps your love life could use a rewrite.

No matter where you would like to have an improved life experience it is up to us to take the steps to achieve it.

First we must know what we want to achieve. This is a bit like watching a movie...we must be able to see what we want.

We must believe that it is possible to achieve it.

We must believe that it is possible for US to achieve it. (Very important step!) Still the movie...we visualize that we are achieving it.

Then we focus on the improved result and we take steps to achieve it. Visualizing is great, but visualizing ourselves fit and healthy isn't going to happen if we never get off the couch, never make any changes to our eating habits.

Then we keep focusing on the new result and keep taking those steps, not looking back at what we had or didn't have, not looking at what we have or don't have now. Have confidence that as you move forward and make the steps in the right direction the result WILL come...you don't have to keep checking, looking for it, evaluating your success or not.

Finally we receive it and celebrate and express our gratitude!

Weight Loss Challenge: Immediate Pleasure vs I Know Better

I've mentioned recently how I think setting New Year's resolutions sucks, we'll now I actually have some science to back up my beliefs. Love it when that happens!

Strike one against our efforts to lose weight...big surprise: we like sweets! Turns out humans are genetically built to prefer sweeter tasting foods than bitter ones. This was good for procreation and safety as more bitter tasting foods were poisonous than sweet ones. Survival of the fittest (or sweetest) at work--those who didn't eat the poison survived.

We also get a hit of dopamine when we eat foods that we enjoy...dopamine is a pleasure-sensing hormone and it reinforces the pleasure aspect of eating those foods. So every time we eat something that tastes super yummy we get a hit of dopamine and so we want it even more.

So we like sweets and then foods that taste really good give us a brain buzz.

This double whammy makes it really hard to break a habit. We may have really good intentions (like setting a resolution) but this dopamine hit is more than just a bad habit...it actually hard-wires us to want the substance, even when we have a better reward in the future. So much for willpower!

So it is a showdown between our intellect and our biology. Dr Nora Volkow is an authority on the brain's pleasure sensing pathway and she says this is why unhealthy actions become habits and why they are so hard to break.

Not only are habits hard to break, for some reason we think we will be able to handle temptation better than we really can.

Loran Norgren is a psychologist at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and in their studies they have documented that people who put more obstacles between themselves and the temptation have a much better success rate at not giving in. They have also shown that people tend to overestimate their ability to withstand the temptation...and that leads to their downfall.

Lessons from this?

Immediate pleasure is a powerful thing--and certainly not all bad (that procreation thing, remember But in our effort to lose weight, sometimes we need to put a little distance between ourselves and our food temptation. At least until we can unwire our brains.

Another thing we can do to help us overcome the pull of that immediate pleasure is to be very aware of when we eat and why. Reducing emotional reasons and environmental stimulation really helps. Don't go to the grocery store hungry for one. And don't stock up on your favorite treats to test yourself...studies show odds are you will "not be the biggest loser" if you get my drift.

As far as I am concerned learning to really love ourselves is one of the biggest weapons we have against the pull of immediate pleasure. When we love ourselves we naturally want to take care of our bodies and eat healthier foods. It doesn't mean that we will never want a treat, it does mean that we will be less inclined to have to binge over it. And if we do binge, we will be better able to forgive ourselves and move on.

In the meantime, loving ourselves might just mean putting some distance between a food we love and the bodies we love, at least temporarily!

Why I Refuse to Diet to Lose Weight!--Amen & Caution

I read a great post today at Inland Empire Family blogs, titled "Why I Refuse to Diet to Lose Weight!" You can imagine with a name like that that I had to read it.

People often say they refuse to diet--and it is usually that they have been on diets before. Lots of diets. Diets that let them down. That is the case with "Skinny Jeans Mom" who wrote this post.

I agree with just about everything she (SJM) says...and I've written much of the same thoughts, both here and in my book, Refuse to Diet: Weight Loss Success Starts with Your Mind...Not Your Mouth. She talks about getting ample sleep, getting rid of the guilt if you do have a treat, not skipping meals and moderation to name a few tips. She just makes sense, small changes to get the results you want, diets don't work, don't deprive yourself, etc.

Check out SJM's blog post, it has lots of great tips...but one word of caution--

When SJM talks about water she suggests "stashing" water in your car. Drinking sufficient water a big part of being healthy since our bodies are mostly water, but here is a word of caution. There is so much documentation that shows the sunlight and heat in our cars can cause plastic to leach into our water bottles, so using plastic bottles in our cars is just not a good idea. If I'm out and about I carry a bottle with me, either BPA-free plastic or metal. If I'm driving for a long time or want to leave water in the car then I also have a small cooler with me. Even though I like my water room temp, I will put a small ice bag in the cooler, thereby helping the water to stay fresh and safe.

I would add one big tip: eat consciously. When we stop our unconscious eating by limiting our multi-tasking while eating we experience more satisfaction with the food we do eat and we get full more quickly--we have more pleasure (so if you truly love food, as opposed to loving to put food in your mouth, this is a good thing) and we actually will successfully lose weight.

Read SJM's post in full by clicking here.

Weight Loss Tip: It's a Brand New Day

To really have permanent weight loss it is important to look at each day as a brand new starting point. This shift in your mindset can make a HUGE difference in your success.

The habit that most of us have developed is to condemn ourselves when we go off our eating and exercise plan--when we "fall off the wagon" as it were. We criticize ourselves instead of recognizing that we just don't have to be perfect. And we criticize and criticize until we feel like complete failures...and then what do we do? We eat to feel better! We medicate ourselves with food.

This is the vicious circle we have created for ourselves over the years...and it is one of the reasons that diets don't work!

Diets are temporary...and sadly, the results from dieting are usually also temporary. To create lasting results we have to look at our process in the long-run.

You cannot change what you did in the past. You can't "uneat" the foods you consumed, nor can you exercise now for days you missed last week or month or year. The only thing you have any control over at all is this minute, right now.

Did you blink? Well, then that minute is gone, so you have control over this one...now this one...now this one.

Since you cannot change what was done in the past then berating yourself for it really is pointless. Let's look at what we CAN change--that fleeting moment that is "now."

Every day we wake up to a clean slate. Every day we can strive to make the healthiest choices possible in that moment. Depriving ourselves today because we overate yesterday is not the healthiest choice. Neither is overeating today because we "slipped up" yesterday.

Today is totally independent of what we did yesterday and what we may do tomorrow. Focus only on right now and ANYTHING is possible!

Accept that you overate and recognize that action was in the past. Every action in the past got us to where we are today. If we want to be in a different place next year, a healthier body for example, then we must change our actions right now. If we make small changes and regularly apply those changes until they are habits then we MUST be different in the future!

Notice I said "regularly" and not "perfectly" or "daily." It is NOT necessary to be "perfect"...if is important to be balanced and realistic about what you will eat and do. That is why I encourage you to start with super small steps and get used to those.

Following this logic of every day being a clean slate and that you only have control over the current moment, you may have surmised that every moment is also brand new! How liberating is that! You can choose to have control right NOW even if a minute ago you ate more than you intended! You don't have to wait for the new day for the clean slate--you can erase it right this instant if you choose to.

So instead of saying "I ate 5 Gingerbread men so I might as well eat the entire Yule Log too" remind yourself that you are human and that you can start over, "I ate 5 Gingerbread men but that is in the past and I am choosing in this instant to make healthy choices...honestly, I am so full I would not enjoy eating the Yule Log right now so I am going to pass."

When you can make this mindset adjustment then you WILL have weight loss success!

Even Bees Are What They Eat

"Red" an interesting article today about bees...now I'm not much into bees but the headline got me

Bees turn red from cherry juice

Turns out a bunch of bees in New York have been sipping on runoff from a Maraschino Cherry plant and it is having an effect. The bees are turning red although whether the cherry juice is coating the bees or they are actually changing color from the inside out is not clear.

One thing that is for sure is the honey the bees are producing is actually red.

What is actually turning the bees and the honey red is not cherries, per se, but the Red Dye No. 40 that is used in the making of Maraschino Cherries.

Bees don't have very long lives, so the effect of what they drink shows up pretty quickly.

With people it takes longer. That can be the bad news--by the time the effects show up it might be too late to do anything about it. But it can also be the very good news! We have time to correct our behavior and change the outcome!

All it takes is small changes in our behavior to have a huge impact on our lives. Most of us look at the prospect of losing weight as, OMG I have to lose 25 pounds or 50 pounds or 100 pounds, or whatever is the total number of pounds we want to lose and figuring we have got to go on a massive diet--or it is so overwhelming why the heck should I bother? Instead, we deserve to shift our mindset about weight loss and look at the small steps. If we are conscious about our behavior and make small changes then we must achieve our weight loss goals!

For me, I'll pass on the Maraschino Cherries and the diet!

Weight Loss Pledge: Making and Keeping It

Have you noticed we tend to make the pledge to lose weight at night (again? finally? once and for all? for real this time?)? Okay, maybe it is mid-afternoon...but it seems like we never pledge to lose weight early in the day. And when we do make the pledge we always want to start "tomorrow."

I figure we make the pledge to start the next morning because we want the fresh slate of a new day...or maybe because we want the head start not eating while we sleep gives us!

But how many mornings arrive where we find our resolve has vanished. Maybe we wake up hungry, or maybe it is something else.

My theory is we feel fatter later in the day. Our bellies distend a bit further from food not yet digested. We swell from water retained in our not properly flushed systems.

We wake feeling less bloated and gravity hasn't worked its black magic on us...weighing us down all day long yet. This can lead us to thinking that maybe our situation isn't really that bad. Poof, our best laid plans from the night before disappear on the cool morning air.

So why is it that there is an abundance of weight loss pledges made and so few kept? It has got to be more than the difference between evening and morning.

I believe one of the reasons the pledges slide away so easily is because the night before we were committing to a diet and all the negative connotations behind that word hidden by the shadows of darkness are strong in the light of day.

Instead of dieting, (we do know that diets don't work, right?) let's commit to Refusing to Diet.

And let's do it right now.

No matter what time it is. Don't say "tomorrow."

If you are feeling compelled to say "I really want to lose weight" then the time to start is NOW not in the morning. Not tomorrow. Not Monday. Not on the 1st. Not next year. It is NOW. This instant.

Because it isn't about a diet. It isn't about restricting yourself for chunks of time known as days or weeks or months. Losing weight successfully is about making small changes that you can live with--for a healthy lifetime.

So raise a big glass of water and toast to your health--from this moment:

I choose to regain my health and drop this excess weight. I Refuse to Diet and here's to my healthy, energetic, slender body--I deserve it!

Cheers to that!

Love Is In the Air

It is fall and it is time for us to "go back to school" and learn to love ourselves.

Loving ourselves is crucial to attaining our health and fitness goals...we just cannot have permanent weight loss success if we hate our bodies, and by extension, ourselves.

Tall order I know. We have loads of practice hating ourselves. We deserve to cut ourselves a little slack and not expect to have overnight results.

We won't change from loathing ourselves to loving ourselves overnight any more than we will be 300 pounds one day and 150 pounds the next.

Both changes take time...but if we change the first one the second will naturally follow.

I developed a technique that helped me to learn to love myself...to be able to actually look myself in the eye and say, "I love you Laurie" and not feel like a big, fat liar!

I reveal this technique in my book, Refuse to Diet: Weight Loss Success Starts with Your Mind...Not Your Mouth and in this month's topic on my website RefuseToDiet.com

I hope you'll join me as autumn brings out the bounty of love...and teaches us that small changes bring us big rewards in health, happiness and the slender bodies we deserve!

Favorite Foods for True Weight Loss Success

Last week I gave my Chiropractor a copy of my book, Refuse to Diet: Weight Loss Success Starts with Your Mind...Not Your Mouth. He was very excited to get a copy and see what I've been up to. Yesterday when I went back to see him he told me that someone else had already borrowed it from him!

That was a really cool feeling, to know someone was so excited about my book that they asked to borrow his copy...and that he [reluctantly] agreed (she is a very important person in his life, after all!)

He had read a large part of the book and was asking me if I really still have my favorite treat (for those of you who are new to following this blog, that would be ice cream, the richer the better.) I said definitely. I also enjoy pizza, beer, wine and lots of other goodies. I just don't eat them as often or in as large of quantities. And the truth is I don't crave them like I used to!

A huge part of the "magic" is that I no longer put foods that I love on a list of forbidden foods. That didn't work for me. That doesn't mean I have gallons of ice cream on deck (although I have upon occasion.) I prefer to give myself permission to eat whatever I want, give myself smaller portions and then go back for more if I really want it.

See, the next part of the "magic" is making it all a conscious choice.

I couldn't do either parts of the magic when I was dieting, or when I was trying to lose weight because it was what my doctor told me to do, or my mother wanted me to do, or even because I would get a better health insurance rate.

I had to totally decide that I deserved to be healthy...which is a completely different mindset than wanting to lose weight or look good. With this mindset I can enjoy my favorite foods and not stress about what I am eating.

Am I stick skinny? Could I be a model? Hell no...but then that has never been my goal. I am a healthy weight for my body. I can go hiking like I never could before. I enjoy food like never before. I feel better about my body than ever. In my book, that is true weight loss success!

Changes Take Time for Computers and Weight Loss Success

Gosh I haven't been here in almost 2 weeks...so what has been going on that has kept me away? And has that affected my health routine?

First and foremost, I had a computer crash. Again. Bummer.

Restored it. Again. Lost internet access. Lost USB connections...my old laptop was dying a not-so-slow but certain death.

Before it entirely gave up the ghost I bought a new one and was able to salvage most of what I needed. Needless to say, (at least it should be needless to say...) this was not a quick process for me. I don't let go easily! It isn't that I don't like change...ok, maybe I don't like change all that much, especially when it comes to "tools"...it is like I expect them to work forever. I'm not technologically inept, at least not entirely, but getting your FIRST computer is much simpler than getting a NEW computer.

There is the new operating system. New peripherals. Rearranging the office because things just don't fit quite the same way. Then there is loading all the software. Getting all the updates. Making all the settings work the way you want them to, so it "looks" as much the same as possible. There is just an adjustment to doing things a new way.

Hmmm...this all sounds vaguely like adjusting to a new way of healthy living.

Let's see, new computer...the goals are to be more efficient, run faster, be long lasting. Healthy life...to have a body that works efficiently, that moves more easily and quickly, and hopefully also is long lasting!

A lot of the challenges are the same, too. On our computers, we are used to things looking a certain way and finding them in a certain place. When we get a new computer suddenly things may be (temporarily) harder to find...just because they aren't where they always were. The good news is that because we have to now think about where things are, we can also take advantage of the thinking process and toss out some things that we no longer need, and we can develop new habits of finding and storing things that make our lives easier in the long run.

Same is true when we change our health routines. When we stop living on auto-pilot we can use that opportunity to get rid of old stuff that no longer serves us. And we can develop new habits of moving our bodies and preparing foods that will ultimately make us healthier, fitter, and make our lives easier. But in the mean-time we have to think about it!

Some of my old software programs don't work with my new computer...they are not compatible. But there is always something else available that will do the job...probably better. Sometimes it is even free, so it isn't necessarily a cost burden. The only thing is I have to learn the new system!

Some of my old food and exercise (or lack of) programming isn't compatible with my health goals and my new body. For example, I used to relax by watching TV and downing a pint (or two) or Ben & Jerry's. Definitely not something I can do and maintain 125 pound weight loss! I can have ice cream once in a while...but consistently trying to eat the way I used to is the equivalent of trying to make my computer run old software. At best, it can do it, but it will slow my fast machine down to a sluggish pace. Hardly the best choice for optimizing either my life or my computer.

So, my goal is to be open-minded and flexible in adjusting to my new computer. I know I could choose to look at this as a pain in the rear...that I am having to give up old favorites for things I don't like. On the other hand, I can choose to look at this as an adventure...recognizing that some days I won't feel very adventurous...but that if I am open to it, I will find new and exciting ways to do things and fun new tools that will make my life easier.

I'll adjust my thoughts about my new computer like I did my mindset for weight loss. My goals are attainable. I just have to take one step at a time. I won't learn it all overnight, but I will learn it! I'm not stupid...and if I remember that, and keep to the little steps then maybe I can relax and not revert to eating a ton of Ben & Jerry's out of frustration!

Excuses, Excuses, Opportunity to Stay Stuck

There are always a gazillion reasons to put off implementing changes that we KNOW will benefit us in the long run. The timing isn't right, it costs too much, we don't have time to learn something new, it is just a hassle, we're stressed and want life to be easy.

These can be accurate and very real, but they are also excuses that we can allow to sabotage our efforts to improve our lives.

I've been facing this regarding my computer...my old one (it is about 6 years old) is dying. Its speed has dropped to a crawl. Only some of my programs work--others are randomly disappearing. I can't turn it off because if I do it won't restart and then I have to restore it.

Seems like a lot of bother to stick with something that is supposed to be a tool to make my life easier. But I know it. I'm comfortable with it. New computers have a different operating system and I'll have to learn that. Plus, it costs a lot of money to buy a new computer. Not to mention the time to research what I need, and what I want, in a computer. In other words, getting a new computer means I will have to change, I will have to break out of my comfortable rut.

The final straw? I have to access the internet from someone else's computer because that functionality has been lost. So yesterday afternoon I went out and bought a new computer. After dragging my heels and limping along for a month now, I have a shiny new computer. Of course it is still in the box...but it is a start. It is a step in the direction. Next I'll take another step, then another.

We do the same thing about reaching weight loss goals...we make lots of excuses...because changing is HARD! Or at least we think it is.

Recognize any of these?

• "I don't have time."
• "It is too hot to cook healthy foods."
  
• "I'm too tired."
• "I'm sore...my feet hurt...my back hurts...I can't breathe..." (insert any of a myriad of physical ailments, real or perceived.)
• "I don't know how to exercise" (or cook healthy, or shop for healthy foods...)
• "It is too hard, I'd have to prepare different foods for my family..."
• "It is too expensive to eat healthy and to work out"
• "I don't belong to a gym/ I can't afford to join a gym"
• "We are just so busy right now, I'll make time when ___" (fill in the blank)
• "I don't want to be seen in public exercising because I'm ashamed of my body"
• "I'm too fat to go to the gym"
• "We're going on vacation (or to my parents) and I want to enjoy myself"
• "I'm so busy at work and I'm so stressed...I just want to unwind when I get home"
• "Food is the way I relax, it is how I socialize"
  
• "I have given up so much, there isn't anything else I can give up"
• "Summer is time for picnics, barbecues and beer"

Even when our justifications are accurate (which most of the time they aren't--at least not 100%) they are really just excuses to keep us from moving forward.

This is why it is helpful to look at the changes we make to achieve weight loss as small steps, not radical changes. It is so much easier to take one small step at a time. We can make all sorts of complex plans and set goals to lose 10 pounds a month, but if it is too big then it is such a challenge it seems overwhelming...and it is just easier to push it off and push it off, until finally the final straw happens that forces a change. Maybe that straw is that your body no longer functions and you have a serious illness (like my computer.) It is so much easier to make the changes when you can afford to take small steps, rather than forced complete overhaul.

When we make small changes the results aren't as fast and sexy...we may not have the shiny new computer appear on our desk in a day or a week...but they are much more likely to stick.

Think of the small changes like learning the new computer system so that we ultimately have this slick machine. Contrast that with a crash-course or crash diet, you may get some immediate results, but if I rebuild my computer and give it a fresh "coat of paint" it is still the same old machine that will need to be replaced soon.

Your body is an incredible, powerful, machine...just like a computer, only better! Don't wait until your computer crashes to take care of it! Start with the small maintenance items that you can do NOW and you will keep that machine running smoothly for years to come.

Strategies for Curbing Emotional Eating for Weight Loss Success

Recently I've been writing about strategies for curbing emotional eating. Of course avoiding emotional eating in the first place is a great strategy...but not always practical or realistic. So if you can't avoid eating for emotional reasons you can at least help curb it, or control it so you don't go off the deep end.

So here's a recap of my top 10 strategies for kicking emotional eating to the curb--

1. Ask Yourself Why
2. No Forbidden Foods
3. Make It Conscious
4. Portion Control
5. Pattern Interrupt
6. Have Healthy Choices Available
7. Work for It
8. Read Labels
9. Go to Sleep
10. Water

Keep in mind that permanent weight loss success is a journey. You didn't get fat overnight...and you won't change the habits you developed that got your fat overnight either.

When you do eat out of stress (or joy or anger or sadness), be gentle with yourself. Remember you are practicing new skills. Don't expect perfection. Find some folks who will support you, who understand that this is temporary. And start your healthy eating habits again as soon as possible.

Remember, you didn't blow a diet if you weren't on a diet in the first place!

Happy Mother's Day: the Best Gift

Happy Mother's Day everyone! Whether you celebrate your mother or are being celebrated, make it a great day and give yourself and your family the best gift--the gift of health.

I'm writing this from my own mother's house...and I am feeling especially grateful for her presence. Having lost my dad 3 years ago (can it really be that long?) I am thankful for every day that I get to say I love you to my mom...even when she frustrates me or confuses me! I think it is easy for us to expect that they will always be there...even though in our heads we know that isn't reality, we tend to think of all the people in our lives this way. Our friends and loved ones will always be there...that's what we believe...until something comes up to slap us in the face to let us know that, at least in this physical world, that isn't how it works!

What you may not have thought about, is that is how people feel about you, too! People care about you and just expect that you are going to be there forever.

So, let's give each other the absolute best gift we can--the gift of health.

It is up to each of us to decide that we are worth taking the time to be healthy. The irony of this "selfish" decision is that by choosing to be healthy we are dramatically increasing the odds that we will be around longer for the ones we love...for the folks who want us around, and for those who depend on us being around.

This Mother's Day, take a walk together, laugh together. Celebrate each other, walk down memory lane. Take this opportunity to really connect with another human being... And of course, eat together, too.

Enjoy the fresh air, the flowers...and even the chocolates. A healthy, balanced life is not about giving up all treats forever...it is about taking small steps every day to improve your health...so enjoy a chocolate or two,just not the entire box!

To your healthy, energetic, slender body--this Mother's Day and every day!