Potato Chips for Breakfast?
The key to weight management is not another diet with someone telling you what, when, and how to eat. The key to weight management is understanding the "why" to cravings, both physical and emotional. Let me give you an example of a "why" to a craving and what could have become a downward spiral into the black hole of guilt and eating.
I began a new form of movement this past week. It is an indoor cycling camp, which lasts 5 months, and is a pretty rigorous training to prepare for next spring’s outdoor road cycling. Because it is new to my body and the sessions are longer than I have been currently experiencing, they have been fairly difficult for me. Well, when I returned from class this morning, there was a bag of potato chips left on the counter from the night before. I don't really like potato chips, nor are they a food that sets off addictive eating or obsessive thoughts for me. However, I took a few chips to eat while I was preparing my breakfast. Oh wow! They tasted so good, and soon I was grabbing more and more. I stopped, asked myself, "what is going on? Why am I eating these chips like crazy? What is it that they are giving me that is creating this craving?" I soon realized that it was the salt. My body had actually been depleted from my new exercise of important salt, and my body was letting me know.
Now I wouldn't recommend getting your salt intake from potato chips, but that is actually what I did. They tasted so good, and I needed the salt. So instead of beating myself up, I just ate potato chips for breakfast. What did I learn from it? I need to watch my salt intake when I am exercising and exerting a lot of effort and sweat. Then, I need to make sure I get enough salt from a healthy source to compensate, or I risk having those very strong cravings for anything with salt.
Listen to your body! Find the real reason of cravings. Emotional and physical changes cause physiological cravings. Visit Totellwellness.com for help with your emotional and physical cravings.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Endless Cravings
It was a lovely Halloween with all of the candy and treats, which could tempt anyone during the entire month of October. For me, it wasn't any of those dastardly treats that got under my skin or into my stomach, it was my mother's homemade chili, rolls, homemade sugar and pumpkin cookies, and even doughnuts (which I don't particularly like) that sent me reeling into the big black hole of bingeing on Halloween night. I reminded myself, before heading to my mother's party, that food is not love, that I can choose what I eat, that if I stay away from sugar I will be able to hold to my healthy goals only to last – hmmm let me think – two minutes before I was devouring the cookies and moving on to everything else with vim and vigor.
I left my mother's party with a stomachache and that gnawing negative mind chatter, "I always do this; I have no discipline; what is wrong with me?" It reminds me of the doomed King Sisyphus from Greek mythology who was punished by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, repeatedly for eternity. In my most dramatic self talk, I repeated, "Will this always be my battle? Can't I just eat one and be done when I am at my mom's? Will this ever end?"
My first response was that I will always be fighting my mother's cheese, butter, cream and sugar. But my more educated and calm response was that no, I know what it takes to change neural pathways in my brain. This change is hard business, but it is achievable. We must commit to the process, the time, the patience and the endurance, whether it is a day, a month, a year, or even many years.
Neural pathways in our brain, which are linked to cravings and comfort, are like ruts in the brain. It takes lots of driving over them, grading them, and filling them in to create new pathways. It took years to create the old ruts and, although with conscious effort it can be shorter, it takes a lot of hard work to change them. Sometimes we give up and consider ourselves "doomed" simply because we don't realize how long it really takes. We feel defeated and give up. Well, I'm here to tell you, don't give up! Just keep going. If you haven't reached the transformation, it doesn't mean your efforts have gone to waste. Those efforts are smoothing out those ruts, and if your neural signals do get stuck in part of those old grooves, learn from it quickly. Get right back to the task of changing your responses and neural pathways.
It can be done. I know it, because I work on it daily. Is it easy? Actually, once you truly understand cravings and what is causing them, it is easier. When you understand what is happening physically in your mind and body, it is easier not to beat yourself up emotionally and to stay your course. Keep pushing the rock up the hill, and you will be surprised when one day it just lands in a nice grassy area and never budges again. Keep going; you can do it!
I left my mother's party with a stomachache and that gnawing negative mind chatter, "I always do this; I have no discipline; what is wrong with me?" It reminds me of the doomed King Sisyphus from Greek mythology who was punished by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, repeatedly for eternity. In my most dramatic self talk, I repeated, "Will this always be my battle? Can't I just eat one and be done when I am at my mom's? Will this ever end?"
My first response was that I will always be fighting my mother's cheese, butter, cream and sugar. But my more educated and calm response was that no, I know what it takes to change neural pathways in my brain. This change is hard business, but it is achievable. We must commit to the process, the time, the patience and the endurance, whether it is a day, a month, a year, or even many years.
Neural pathways in our brain, which are linked to cravings and comfort, are like ruts in the brain. It takes lots of driving over them, grading them, and filling them in to create new pathways. It took years to create the old ruts and, although with conscious effort it can be shorter, it takes a lot of hard work to change them. Sometimes we give up and consider ourselves "doomed" simply because we don't realize how long it really takes. We feel defeated and give up. Well, I'm here to tell you, don't give up! Just keep going. If you haven't reached the transformation, it doesn't mean your efforts have gone to waste. Those efforts are smoothing out those ruts, and if your neural signals do get stuck in part of those old grooves, learn from it quickly. Get right back to the task of changing your responses and neural pathways.
It can be done. I know it, because I work on it daily. Is it easy? Actually, once you truly understand cravings and what is causing them, it is easier. When you understand what is happening physically in your mind and body, it is easier not to beat yourself up emotionally and to stay your course. Keep pushing the rock up the hill, and you will be surprised when one day it just lands in a nice grassy area and never budges again. Keep going; you can do it!
Monday, October 19, 2009
When Would You Stop Eating?
When would you stop eating?
I had an odd thought yesterday. Suppose you had a large plate of your favorite food and you began eating. But after a few bites, you noticed that the amount of food on your plate remained the same as when you first started eating. No matter how much you ate, the same amount of food was left on your plate. You really couldn't measure how much you had eaten. There was no way of knowing when you had finished your meal by the plate being empty, because it just kept replenishing itself. Would you know when to stop? If there were no way to measure or calculate how much food you were eating, how full would you want your stomach to get before you stopped?
Try this little mental exercise while you are eating sometime: Pretend that the amount of food will remain the same no matter how much you eat. How will you know when to stop if the plate is never clean or partially empty? Can you use your hunger index or full index to determine when you have had enough? Can you feel how full your stomach is? With no external clues, can you listen to your body to know when it has been properly refueled and has actually had enough?
Try it! Test your ability to trust yourself and intuitively tell yourself when you have eaten enough. Your body knows; you just have to learn to listen.
If you want to learn more about W.H.I. (What is your Hunger Index), logon to TotellWellness.com for more information.
I had an odd thought yesterday. Suppose you had a large plate of your favorite food and you began eating. But after a few bites, you noticed that the amount of food on your plate remained the same as when you first started eating. No matter how much you ate, the same amount of food was left on your plate. You really couldn't measure how much you had eaten. There was no way of knowing when you had finished your meal by the plate being empty, because it just kept replenishing itself. Would you know when to stop? If there were no way to measure or calculate how much food you were eating, how full would you want your stomach to get before you stopped?
Try this little mental exercise while you are eating sometime: Pretend that the amount of food will remain the same no matter how much you eat. How will you know when to stop if the plate is never clean or partially empty? Can you use your hunger index or full index to determine when you have had enough? Can you feel how full your stomach is? With no external clues, can you listen to your body to know when it has been properly refueled and has actually had enough?
Try it! Test your ability to trust yourself and intuitively tell yourself when you have eaten enough. Your body knows; you just have to learn to listen.
If you want to learn more about W.H.I. (What is your Hunger Index), logon to TotellWellness.com for more information.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Eating Tip
While researching and studying emotional eating, I have often run across the emotional eating tip: “Eat from a smaller plate.” The idea behind the tip is that it will trick you into thinking you are eating more, and you won’t feel so deprived, thereby empowering you to continue to diet. I’m not convinced our minds are that simple, but I would like to offer a modified tip: “Eat from a plate.” That’s it! Simply try to eat from a plate. Ask yourself how often do you eat from a fast food sack, a paper covered tray, a cellophane wrapper in the car, or standing in the kitchen while eating right from the dish the food was prepared in? It’s a little crazy to think we are soooo busy that we can’t get a plate out, dish up a meal, and sit down to actually nourish our bodies with food. We have minimized taking care of ourselves and nourishing ourselves to a rushed activity with nothing more than our food served in paper or anything else that is convenient and fast.
I think you will find that eating from a plate makes the food so much more enjoyable, and you actually notice THAT you are eating and WHAT you are eating. Eating is your most basic need. Let’s treat eating right. Let’s eat from a plate, and actually pause while we nourish ourselves!
I think you will find that eating from a plate makes the food so much more enjoyable, and you actually notice THAT you are eating and WHAT you are eating. Eating is your most basic need. Let’s treat eating right. Let’s eat from a plate, and actually pause while we nourish ourselves!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Big Change, Small Efforts!
How do we really create the life of wellness we so desperately want? Robert Collier, founder of the once popular Collier’s Weekly, coined the phrase “Success is the sum of many small efforts.” We often create this huge dream of what our lives should look like, and we become overwhelmed and discouraged when we wake up from that dream to find that nothing has changed. Big change comes with small efforts! It actually is a nice thought: We don’t have to do anything big or grand, we just have to do something small today. How wonderful!
My son is a motorcross racer and wants to improve his performance committing to working out daily to achieve his goals. As many of us do, he gets discouraged waiting for the BIG CHANGE in his body to arrive. While waking him up this morning I simply said, “You want to be your best at racing, don’t you?”
Of course, he responded with a sleepy, “Yes.”
To which I reminded him, “All you have to do is get up and do 30 minutes of cardio before school. That is all you have to think about for the next 30 minutes, and you will reach your goal. You don’t have to think about tomorrow or the next day; just think about the next thirty minutes.”
It sounds simple but it is true: If we just make our small efforts over and over again they soon add up to our big accomplishments. Be specific; choose that goal, and break down those small efforts.
If you want help in reaching your big goals and need help in keeping those small efforts going every day, call Totell 801.231.0001. We want you to be successful!
My son is a motorcross racer and wants to improve his performance committing to working out daily to achieve his goals. As many of us do, he gets discouraged waiting for the BIG CHANGE in his body to arrive. While waking him up this morning I simply said, “You want to be your best at racing, don’t you?”
Of course, he responded with a sleepy, “Yes.”
To which I reminded him, “All you have to do is get up and do 30 minutes of cardio before school. That is all you have to think about for the next 30 minutes, and you will reach your goal. You don’t have to think about tomorrow or the next day; just think about the next thirty minutes.”
It sounds simple but it is true: If we just make our small efforts over and over again they soon add up to our big accomplishments. Be specific; choose that goal, and break down those small efforts.
If you want help in reaching your big goals and need help in keeping those small efforts going every day, call Totell 801.231.0001. We want you to be successful!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Eat foods in Season and be healthy
Last night I was introduced to a new vitamin drink which I thought tasted great and had some very promising results. Now, I don’t know if this is a coincidence or related but I slept wonderfully last night! I didn’t wake up once and felt so refreshed when I got up this morning. I immediately thought upon realizing how well I slept, “the drink works! That’s it, this is all I am going to drink for the rest of my life.” It was a silly thought but more than once, in my quest for great nutrition and health, I have heard of something that is nutritionally beneficial and thought I am going to eat that, pop that and overdose on that to make sure I am getting the most out of the promises that are made.
The truth is all foods, that are natural, are good for us. All of them have wonderful benefits and promises but we don’t have to become obsessed with one berry, fruit, vegetable or oil in order to live at optimal health. In fact, if we learn to eat a variety in small amounts we will actually receive all of the benefits from all of them.
Well, how do we do that when there are thousands upon thousands of choices? Eat what is naturally in season and just eat small, normal amounts. If you look at health as something that cycles yearly, just like the seasons, you begin to understand that there are natural foods that should be eaten throughout the year at the natural harvest time which will give your body a more natural and healthy rhythm. Eat berries when they are naturally ripe, eat apples in the fall, oranges are always best around Christmas and artichokes are always a treat in the spring and no more hard flavorless tomatoes any time of year. Nutritionally it makes sense and biochemically it makes sense. You can get every micronutrient you need when you see the benefit of eating with the seasons.
The truth is all foods, that are natural, are good for us. All of them have wonderful benefits and promises but we don’t have to become obsessed with one berry, fruit, vegetable or oil in order to live at optimal health. In fact, if we learn to eat a variety in small amounts we will actually receive all of the benefits from all of them.
Well, how do we do that when there are thousands upon thousands of choices? Eat what is naturally in season and just eat small, normal amounts. If you look at health as something that cycles yearly, just like the seasons, you begin to understand that there are natural foods that should be eaten throughout the year at the natural harvest time which will give your body a more natural and healthy rhythm. Eat berries when they are naturally ripe, eat apples in the fall, oranges are always best around Christmas and artichokes are always a treat in the spring and no more hard flavorless tomatoes any time of year. Nutritionally it makes sense and biochemically it makes sense. You can get every micronutrient you need when you see the benefit of eating with the seasons.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Self-Sabotage, Weight Loss, Weight loss Coach
In all areas of our lives, self-sabotage is a common burden. Christians and non-christians can both identify with the frustration of Paul found in Romans 7, For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Why can it be so difficult to mesh what we want with our physical actions? Self-sabotage is all too common in the world of goals, and especially, weight loss. To fight the fight, we have to know what we are doing to sabotage ourselves. Can you identify 4 ways that you defeat yourself on a regular basis and write them down? Perhaps you procrastinate or are easily discouraged. Do you prioritize your life based on an unhealthy belief that everyone else's needs are more important than yours? Do you allow the least tiny excuse to be exaggerated or debilitating? After you have written your self-sabotaging behavior, ask yourself: "Do I lack a skill, knowledge, a true desire, or motivation to accomplish this goal? Be brutally honest, and become aware of what is really holding you back. Make a plan to beat your self-sabotaging behavior. Find a friend or a coach to hold you accountable to your new process or mode of operation. Beat the internal battle of self sabotage. As a resource for more information, please go to www.TotellWellness.com.
If you want help conquering your mind call Totell (801) 231-0001.
If you want help conquering your mind call Totell (801) 231-0001.
Monday, March 16, 2009
New Year's Resolutions, Lose Weight
I was thinking today that we are already 75 days into the new year. How are we all doing on our New Year's Resolutions? Over 40% of Americans vow to lose weight each January 1st, but 90% fail to ever reach that goal; of those who do, 90% gain back the weight. How sad! Our best intentions will never be reached unless we answer the WHY! Why do we eat when we aren't hungry? Why do we eat foods we know aren't good for us? Why don't we exercise when we know we feel better when we do? There are real answers to the "why". Some are physiologically based; some are neurologically based, and some are psychologically based. Understanding the "why" will liberate you and free you from those things that are holding you back, and it goes far beyond just eating. Sit today and ask yourself some "why" questions, and don't settle with the first answer! Ask why, then why to that answer, and why to the next answer. Get to the bottom of what is really going on, and see how much easier it is to motivate yourself to keep those resolutions going. If you need help understanding the "why" go to www.TotellWellness.com
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Emotional Eating
My clients ask me all the time about emotional eating. Fortunately, that's my specialty. So, I tell them to think about the current movie out, He's Just Not That Into You. In this movie, we see one of the female characters upset, sitting at home in front of the television, and what is she doing? Eating ice cream for solace! Many of my clients, who are female, find comfort in eating to console themselves. Because women are nurturers, they have realized that nourishment offers solace and comfort. Certainly, young mothers have learned that feeding a crying baby will cause the baby to be comforted and happy. This wiring of the female brain to nurture makes turning to food the natural way to find solace for any emotional distress we may encounter. It's natural, but can be very unhealthy if done often or to extreme.
My company, Totell (see www.TotellWellness.com) has a program that pinpoints the physiological needs our bodies have and why we turn to certain foods to meet those needs. Scientifically, our bodies desire certain hormones to bring balance (i.e., comfort). My program teaches the individual how to discern what is needed physiologically and how to obtain those needed hormones without turning to harmful, weight-increasing comfort foods.
My company, Totell (see www.TotellWellness.com) has a program that pinpoints the physiological needs our bodies have and why we turn to certain foods to meet those needs. Scientifically, our bodies desire certain hormones to bring balance (i.e., comfort). My program teaches the individual how to discern what is needed physiologically and how to obtain those needed hormones without turning to harmful, weight-increasing comfort foods.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
