Monthly Archive for October, 2007

You don’t have to be scared on Halloween

Published
by
Cathy
on October 26, 2007
in Motivation and Inspiration
. 0 Comments

Is Halloween scarry to you?  No, not the little witches and characters that come to your door on October 31st.  I’m talking about the brightly colored sugar and fat-laden bombs of treats that line the aisles of stores this time of year.  They look so little and cute, and after all, one won’t hurt.  What makes it scarry is can you stop at one?  Does one little treat size (less than a normal bite) satisfy you and allow you to walk away without digging into the entire bag?  For most of us, one is too many and the entire bag is not enough.  This is scarry at Halloween or anytime that our food triggers are set off. 

One night of indulgence in Halloween candy might lead to digging into the leftover stockpile of candy for weeks on end that leads into Thanksgiving and follows up with the holidays in December.  Don’t allow Halloween to be the trigger for three months of unhealthy holiday eating.  Let’s start off right by taking a closer look at Halloween candy.  Even the size references imply calorically that they are a party in waiting - “snack size” and “fun size”. 

Some of the most popular Halloween candy is calorically loaded with sugar and fat, and nutritionally void.  The calorie values listed below are based on one serving of Halloween snack or fun size packages, not full sized servings normally found in the candy aisles.  Ask yourself before popping in a piece of candy - “Can I stop at just this one?  Will this set me up for wanting more?  Are these high number of calories worth the seconds of temporary good taste?”

Butterfinger (1 snack size bar) = 100 calories
Milky Way (1 snack size bar) = 90 calories
Milk Duds (1 treat size box) = 40 calories
Almond Joy (1 snack size bar) = 90 calories
Nestle’s Crunch (1 fun size bar) = 70 calories
M&Ms (1 fun size bag) = 90 calories
Snickers (1 fun size bar) = 80 calories
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (1) = 80 calories
Twix (1 fun size bar) = 80 calories

One of the problems Halloween candy poses is that it reminds us of good times we had trick-or-treating as kids ourselves.  Change the way you think about Halloween and the reward of trick-or-treat candy.  Rather than associate Halloween candy with the fun, carefree feeling, instead consider them as something that will raise your blood sugar, derail your hard work and efforts at weight loss.  You’ve eaten healthy before Halloween, keep it going forward by making Halloween just another day.  Focus on the kids and making it fun for them.

Eliminate the problem by giving out non-food items for your trick-or-treaters.  Give our pencils, stickers, party favor toys, trading cards, or erasers.  You could also promote your own healthy lifestyle by giving treats of individual packages of nuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or small packages of crackers and cheese.  Another option is to purchase candy that you DON’T like.  Purchase your candy the day before or, better yet, on Halloween so it isn’t laying around available for grazing.

Halloween can be a preview of coming attractions of Thanksgiving and the holidays.  Kick off your next couple of months packed of holiday parties and eating to be healthy and a reflection of what you’ve done the rest of the year.  Remember, January 1 will come soon.  Enter the New Year feeling proud of your healthy lifestyle and choices you made.  YOU are stronger than any little piece of Halloween candy!!

All the best,
Cathy

The Punch of Protein

Published
by
Cathy
on October 26, 2007
in Nutrition and Weight Loss and Maintenance
. 0 Comments

Protein is key to a healthy nutrition program.  Proteins form the body’s main structural elements and are in every cell and tissue.  Our body uses proteins to build and repair, growth, strength of bones, function and building muscles, hair growth and regeneration, connective tissues within our bodies, skin, internal organs, and our blood.  Dietary sources of protein include meats, eggs, grains, legumes, and dairy products such as milk and cheese.  Animal sources of proteins have the complete range of all 20 amino acids.  Vegetable sources are deficient in amino acids and their proteins are incomplete molecules.  As an example, most legumes typically lack four, including the amino acid methionine, while grains lack two, three, or four, including the essential amino acid lysine.  Another excellent source of protein is tofu and can be used easily in recipes as it absorbs the taste and flavor of other ingredients.

All proteins are created equal, right?  Wrong!  Different proteins have different levels of bioavailability.  Bioavailability is our body’s ability to absorb the protein contained in the food we are eating.  It is determined by the quality of the protein contained in the food.  As an example, peanuts have a low bioavailability yet chicken, fish, beef, and egg whites have a very high bioavailability. 

As a general guideline, the average woman needs to consume approximately 45-50 grams of protein per day; men need to consume approximately 55 to 60 grams per day to avoid protein deficiency.  Men’s bodies generally have more muscle mass than that of women, thus the difference in protein intake.

For weight loss surgery post-ops that have a malabsorptive procedure, the protein consumption is higher to take into consider the malabsorption component from the surgery.  Generally, for post-ops at their goal weight, an average protein consumption per day for women is 60 to 75 grams; for men is 65 to 80 grams.  Obviously, these numbers are estimates and are used for general reference.  Consult with your physician or bariatric surgeon for your dietary recommendations, and protocol. 

Another general rule of thumb to determine how much protein you need is to divide your weight by 2.  If you weigh 150 pounds, a healthy intake of protein would be 75 grams.  The exception is if you weigh over 250 pounds, use 125 grams as your goal for protein take per day.  Again, follow your physician or registered dietician’s recommendation for your specific needs.

How much protein needed in a person’s daily diet is determined in large part by overall energy intake as well as by your body’s need for protein and essential amino acids.  Physical activity and exertion as well as enhanced muscular mass increase your need for protein.  Requirements for protein are also increased during pregnancy, breast-feeding, or when the body needs to recover from a sickness, trauma, or prior to surgery to enhance your body’s healing.

Protein packs a punch of healthy nutrition to your body.  Proteins contain 4 calories per gram so it is an excellent, calorically low-cost source of nutrition to your body.  Dense protein foods provide a longer sense of satiety to your body.  Weight loss surgery results in some deficiencies - one of which is protein.  Protein overall is a great partner to enhance weight loss for anyone wanting to shed pounds. 

Before I lost weight, I could have cared less about protein.  If protein happened to be contained somewhere in the specialty hamburger with cheese, fat laden sauce, and three slices of bread, then that was okay.  Eating protein wasn’t something I sought for my nutritional requirements.  Now that I understand the important functions my body needs from protein, I consider it a partner in losing weight and maintaining my weight.  Include protein in your healthy nutrition program.  Your body and weight loss program will thank you. 

All the best,
Cathy

The Four “C”s of Weight Loss Success

Published
by
Cathy
on October 24, 2007
in Motivation and Inspiration
. 0 Comments

There are four “C”s that are the foundation for your success at losing weight. 

1.  Control = We cannot control other people, situations, or other external circumstances.  The only thing we can control is ourselves.  We can control our behavior, our reactions, our attitudes, thoughts, and manage our life with the best self-control that we can.  Rather than eat out of control over something externally out of our control, we can stay in control!   When we stay in control by following our own healthy program we’ve created in our coaching sessions, we build on those successes and staying in control gets easier and easier, and becomes second nature.  Rather than reaching for food, we automatically stay in control by using our powerful self-control.

2.  Commitment = We are committed to our families, our significant other, our children, our friends, our jobs, and the many roles in our lives.  We value our numerous commitments to our church, school, volunteer positions, community responsibilities, and other areas in our life we give of ourselves.  The most important commitment we make is the one we make to ourselves in following our healthy lifestyle.  Without honoring the commitment to ourselves, the other commitments are not as fulfilling and meaningful.   We need to place the highest level of commitment to ourselves and our valued health first and foremost. 

3.  Choice = Everyone wants choices.  Personal empowerment begins with choice.  Rather than feel restricted or deprived, give yourself the gift of choice.  Consider this:

     “No, you cannot eat the cookie or bag of chips because they are not healthy and not on your eating program.”  
     “Yes, you could choose to eat the cookie or bag of chips or you could choose to stay strong and in control by following your eating program.” 

Which way of considering to eat the cookie or bag of chips makes you feel strong and empowered?  The first statement makes the decision for you and takes away your power.  However, the second statement acknowledges your power of choice and leaves the choice up to you.  You can, and the majority of time you will, make the choice that serves your best interests.  Whether we are 3 or 93, we want the power of choice.  By giving yourself the power of choice, you will begin to trust yourself more and more to make the best choices.  Why turn over the power of your choice to a diet program when you can trust yourself to do the right thing for YOU. 

4.  Consistency = Just as we didn’t gain 20, 50, 100 or more pounds overnight, we aren’t going to lose that amount of weight overnight either.  What we do consistently determines our success.  As stated by Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”  Stay true to your healthy eating and program of exercise.  Practice your habit of health even during times you may not feel like it or want to.  Consistency is to get started and stay moving forward on the path of your goal of weight loss success.  It is taking small steps day in, day out and before you know it, just by staying consistent, you are at your dream of your goal.

Would you like a beam of reinforcement for your solid foundation?  There are another couple of “C”s you could use as additional strength.  By adding Coaching with Cathy for your weight loss success, you can enhance your momentum further and create an even stronger foundation. 

By building a foundation of weight loss success with the Four “C”s, you will have a solid base.  Make sure to incorporate all four (and include the beam of reinforcement) to keep them strong to maintain your weight loss success.

All the best,
Cathy

What’s the big deal about exercise?

Published
by
Cathy
on October 24, 2007
in Exercise, Movement & Activity
. 0 Comments

Whether you call it exercise, movement, activity, or being physical, our bodies are meant to move and be active.  Our bodies are miraculous vehicles with high performance engines.  In addition to using high quality fuel (good nutrition), cars and bodies are meant to be used.  If you park your car in the garage, you may not chip the paint but the belts, internal equipment, and engine will break down by non-use.  If you park your body on the couch, you will feel tired, run down, and will internally break down by non-use as well. 

Okay, okay, we hear all the time how important exercise is.  Want proof of what you actually get when you exercise and what it does for you?  Check it out…………

1.  Lose weight.
2.  Maintain your weight.
3.  Tone and firm your body.
4.  Increase muscle mass.
5.  Burn more calories.
6.  Boost your metabolism.
7.  Increase your endurance.
8.  Strengthen your heart muscles.
9.  Reduce tension and enable you to handle stress better.
10. Lift your spirits.
11. Increase your self-esteem and sense of well-being.
12. Make you less susceptible to sickness and disease.
13. Improve your complexion.
14. Helps to prevent constipation.
15. Improve the quality of your sleep.
16. Clears your mind by increasing blood flow to your brain and make you more alert.
17. Assist in preventing depression.
18. Elevates beta endorphin levels in blood.
19. Causes your muscles to use oxygen more efficiently thus easing your heart’s workload.
20. Assists in relieving melopausal symptoms.
21. Relieves tension headaches.
22. Reduces back problems by strengthening core, stomach, and lower back muscles.
23. Reduces neck and shoulder pain.
24. Aids your digestive system.
25. Purifies and cleanses your blood.
26. Ease menstrual cramps.
27. Reduces varicose veins.
28. Decreases rate of premature aginging.
29. Increases your flexibility.
30. Reduces addictive cravings and urges.
31. Decrease LDL cholesterol and increases HDL cholesterol.
32. Allows you to feel more optimistic, positive, and overall strong physically and mentally.
33. Relieve hypertension.
34. Improves your posture and general appearance.
35. Decrease chronic fatigue.
36. Increase physical strength.
37. Improve circulation.
38. Stimulate processes of absorption and elimination.
39. To cause bone marrow to increase production of red and white blood cells and increase blood volume.
40. Assist in regulation of appetite.
41. Provides protection against injury.
42. Improves balance and coordination.
43. Increase bone mineral density to prevent osteoporosis.
44. Lower Body Mass Index (BMI), your fat to height ratio.
45. Increase sexual desire and performance.
46. Reduce risk of heart disease and stroke.
47. Reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
48. Increases insulin sensitivity, prevents Type 2 diabetes.
49. Reduce your level of anxiety.
50. Restores confidence, relaxation, and overall mood.

Think of exercise as your adult, grown-up time to play.  Children don’t need to be reminded to play.  They look forward to their play time.  Adopt the attitude of children and consider exercise as your time to play, to be with yourself.

For an investment of your time for 30 minutes per day, 3-5 days per week, look at all of the benefits you can obtain just by exercising.  With all of this to gain, exercise is an excellent investment into you, your long-term health and happiness! 

All the best,
Cathy

Spending Your Calories - Nutrition Bang For Your Calorie Buck

Published
by
Cathy
on October 24, 2007
in Nutrition
. 0 Comments

If you go to a bookstore or any online bookstore and check nutrition or diet books, you will find a wide variety and never been able to read all of them, even if you wanted to!  We know that protein is meat, carbohydrates are starches, and fats are…well, fat.  That’s all you need to know, right?  No.  In the area of nutrition, knowledge is power.  To lose weight sensibly and healthfully, AND to maintain your weight loss, knowledge is most definitely power. 

Healthy nutrition is about so much more than counting calories.  Calories are the currency of food and expenditure of energy by your body.  Think of your calories for the day similar as to the money in your checkbook.  Just as though you spend your financial earnings responsibly,  spend your calories for the day wisely.

The goal in healthy weight loss, maintaining your weight, and to enjoy vibrant health is to obtain the most nutrition bang for your calorie buck.  We all love to go shopping at a sale.  How much fun is it to see a beautiful outfit, look at the regular price and to see it is on sale?  What a deal!  Same thing with our food.  We see a food item that looks good, look at the nutritional breakdown and read the food label.  Take into consideration the total calories, protein grams, carbohydrate count, sugars, fats, and other nutritional information.  After your review, it is a great way to spend your calories for the good nutrition in this item.  What a deal!  Practice this habit and you’ll find a great tool in your toolbox for weight loss and maintenance.

Weight loss can be fun and maintaining your weight is even more fun.  It does not have to be drudgery but can feel like a game that you can WIN! 

All the best,
Cathy

Do you need directions?

Published
by
Cathy
on October 22, 2007
in Weight Loss Coaching for YOU!
. 0 Comments

Do you know what you want?  Do you know where you are going?  Are you moving forward or staying put wishing that you were moving forward in your life?  It isn’t enough to want something more or something different in your life.  It isn’t enough to want to lose weight without a plan.  Would you set out in your car, gas tank full, and say you want to go for a trip without preparation or a map for your journey? 

Start off with a written statement of your destination.  If you are in New York and want to go to San Diego, would you just drive down the street and hope you’ll get there eventually?  You’d create a plan state by state, highway by highway, and an approximate timeline of where you’ll be when.  Do the same thing for yourself.  What do you weigh today?  What is your goal weight?  What do you need to do to get from where you are to where you want to be.  There are pit stops, speedbumps, and beautiful sceneries along the way.  Enjoy your trip to weight loss success.  Create a plan!  Design a blueprint for your plan in weight loss coaching.

We can design a plan for you that includes your likes and takes into consideration your dislikes.  Together, in weight loss coaching, we can map out your plan for weight loss and a plan for your overall success in your life.

All the best,
Cathy

Is Weight Loss Coaching For You?

Published
by
Cathy
on October 21, 2007
in Weight Loss Coaching for YOU!
. 0 Comments

Why weight loss coaching?  Why not?  If you are like me, I tried every diet that came out, stapled my ear to stop my desire to overeat, every diet program, and tried them all again and again and again.  There were parts of diet programs that I liked and worked for me.  I always thought if I could create my own program that included the components that helped me plus have my own meeting one-on-one with my diet program leader, I could be successful.  I wanted a program created and designed special for me.  We are all different and unique, right?  Why not have a program of our own?  Unfortunately, this type of personalized program customized just for me didn’t exist.  

All those years ago that I considered how great a program of my very own could be, here it is!   I am a weight loss coach.  I provide the exact service for my clients, and I can do the same with you.   What do you have to lose except excess weight?  A program of your own makes more sense than a staple in your ear.

In your mind, think of a videotape of your life as it is right now.  Now, visualize your life as you would like it to be?  If you could create your own life that includes your hopes, dreams, and allowing you to live out all of your possibilities and potential, that is what weight loss and life coaching is.  What are the differences in that gap between right now and as you’d like your life to be?  The differences in that gap are the goals and what we would focus on in your coaching.  Together, we will create a personalized program for you to achieve weight loss, weight maintenance, and design the lifethat you are meant to live and enjoy. 

As your coach, I will stand for you.  I will hold your goals, hopes, dreams, beliefs, and aspects of your life in a sacred place of trust.  We will create a plan of action for you to attain the weight loss and life that you envision for yourself.  A coaching relationship is very special and unique.  I understand, I’ve been there and done that throughout almost my entire life.  Now, as your weight loss coach, I can help you lose weight and gain your life and health.

All the best,
Cathy

How Full is YOUR Full? Rate Your Hunger

Published
by
Cathy
on October 21, 2007
in Weight Loss and Maintenance
. 0 Comments

This morning during breakfast, I found myself asking my kids if they were full.  I started wondering about what message I was sending to them or teaching was I providing to them.  What am I really asking them?  What is full?  What is your own definition of “full” for yourself?  Have you ever rated your hunger?

Many people define “full” as being unable to eat anything more.  If that is our definition of full, then we are overeating and overfilling our stomach or pouches (if a weight loss surgery post-op).   For many of us, the feeling of being full at Thanksgiving dinner is our overall identification of full.  Eating once or twice a year of Thanksgiving full filling is acceptable, however, eating close to the Thanksgiving full feeling most days will pack on extra pounds.   We are not meant to eat to maximum capacity of our stomach or pouch every day or even for the majority of days. 

You might want to fill up your vehicle’s gas tank but not your own body’s fuel tank.  Would you fill your vehicle’s gas tank to the brim and then allow gasoline to pour out the tank’s spout on the ground?  No!  Your vehicle doesn’t need or even want that much fuel; neither does your body.

Think of your stomach or pouch as a container such as cup or tank marked with levels 1 through 10.  Let’s define 10 as the full from eating a Thanksgiving dinner.  Your container’s level 1 as very hungry with feelings of physical hunger and discomfort.  A healthy definition of “full” is to approximately a 7 to 8 level.  Eating to between a 7 or 8 will allow for you to feel satisfied for a number of hours yet get hungry again at appropriate intervals throughout the day.  If you like to eat three medium sized meals a day with two planned small snacks, a 7 level might be best for you.  If you prefer to eat three meals a day, eating closer to an 8 could be an alternative. 

Play and experiment with your physical container levels of 1 to 10.  Check in with your body as to how you feel, how your body feels and at what level it functions the best.  Don’t get discouraged as it sounds easy but identifying your own personal levels of hungery and maximum body efficiency can be difficult.  We aren’t used to checking in physically with ourselves.  You don’t need to get hung up on the numbers.  Get used to how your body feels at a 7 or 8 and eat to that level.  Many times we eat according to the clock and not our own bodies. 

For me personally, I don’t eat to full.  I don’t even associate my hunger scale with full.  When I ask myself, and now my kids, I use “satisfy” rather than “full”.  Satisfied is the level 7 or 8, as in “I’ve had enough, I am satisfied, and I don’t need any more right now.”  Full is the level 10 as in “I’m stuffed, I don’t feel very good.”  Do you want to be full or satisfied?  Satisfaction is the key to healthy weight loss and maintenance.

All the best,
Cathy

What Is Emotional Eating?

Published
by
Cathy
on October 21, 2007
in Emotional Eating
. 0 Comments

What is emotional eating?  Emotional eating is when we eat in response to situations and feelings other than physical hunger cues from our body.  It is as though we are feeding our head hunger than our physical hunger.  Physical hunger is feeding our body; head hunger is feeding a void in ourselves that we want to fill.  Emotional eating is a way to suppress, quiet our inner voice of emotional discomfort or pain, or calm emotions such as worry, boredom, sadness, anger, or stress.  Emotional eating serves as a quick fix that also wears off very quickly.  The key is to discover the source of why you want to emotionally eat and address it.  When you eat to feed a feeling, whether consciously or unconsciously, emotional eating is triggered.  Use the urge to emotionally eat as a window into your head and your heart.  So, adopt the practice of STOP-LOOK-LISTEN.

STOP = When you first get the urge to emotionally eat, give yourself a moment of pause and STOP.  Don’t go to the kitchen, don’t reach for food yet.  Give yourself an opportunity to get control over the urge.

LOOK = LOOK at the situation; LOOK inside yourself as to what is driving your desire to emotionally eat.  Are you physically hunger?  Check in with your body to see if you are truly hungry?  Not head hunger but physical hunger.  They can be tough to distinguish but there is a big difference.  Head hunger can seem like physical hunger so be a detective and discover the difference for yourself.  How long has it been since you ate?  Is it too soon for your body to be hungry or is it, in fact, possibly time for a meal or planned snack?  If it is not physical hunger, LOOK at the reason you may be wanting to emotionally eat and LOOK at what you are trying to fill.

LISTEN = What is it you need?  What is causing your head and heart to want to be filled?  Is it a feeling, an emotion, a situation, a person, or a sense of being generally uncomfortable?  LISTEN to what you need.  Do you need to take care of a situation in order to feel resolved with it?  Do you need to deal with a person by talking or interacting with them to resolve your concern with them?  What are you feeling or what is the emotion?  Try to identify the specific feeling(s) or emotion(s).  Many times if you can LISTEN and identify the need you are wanting to emotionally eat over, you can make the urge lessen and go away completely. 

Think how you’ll feel when you are Sherlock Holmes and solve the mystery for your emotional eating!  You can take the mystery out of emotional eating by doing some detective work for yourself.  With each success and not succumbing to the drive to emotionally eat, you gain more confidence and inner strength to overcome any eating or life challenge you encounter.  Now THAT is better than anything you can ever eat!   

All the best,
Cathy

Believe In Yourself

Published
by
Cathy
on October 19, 2007
in Believe In Yourself!
. 0 Comments

I read this and love it.  I wanted to share it with you on my Blog.  Remember, the best investment you’ll ever make is in yourself.

Enjoy…………….

Cathy

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Set your standards high.
You deserve the best.
Try for what you want.
And never settle for less.

Believe in yourself.
No matter what you choose.
Keep a winning attitude.
And you can never lose.

Think about your destination.
But don’t worry if you stray.
Because the most important thing
is what you learned along the way.

Take all that you’ve become.
To be all that you can be.
Soar above the clouds
and let your dreams set you free.

by Jillian K. Hunt
from Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul