Wellness Wednesday

Tip of the Week: Whole foods not Health foods

Did you know that it used to be legally required for the food industry to print "imitation" on any food product that resembled standardized food but did not comply with that standard? The law was repealed in 1973 because the food industry fought it tooth and nail. After all, they had a lot to lose... who would want to buy imitation sour cream, imitation spaghetti, or imitation bacon bits?

Now, instead of printing the embarrassing label "imitation" on all their sophisticated, engineered food products, they proudly boast of low-fat, high-fiber, and no-cholesterol. (But that is precisely what makes them 'imitation'.)

I have totally fallen prey to the "good nutrient" marketing scheme, as well. I'm no expert on this topic but I'm learning a lot from Michael Pollan's book, "In Defense of Food". The basic idea is that food scientists are continually modifying the foods that we eat in order to pack them full of nutrients they deem as "good" and strip them of nutrients they deem as "bad". Thus we are left, not with real food, but with genetically engineered food products that push whatever nutrient is most popular at the time.

So, in efforts to make things more simple instead of more complicated, it's best to stick with basic "real" foods and ingredients that are recognizable. i.e. For a snack, grab a banana and a handful of almonds instead of a protein bar.

Pollan writes, "The most healthful foods in the supermarket sit there quietly in the produce section, silent as stroke victims, while a few aisles over in the Cereal the Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms are screaming their newfound "whole-grain goodness" to the rafters. Watch out for those health claims."

Turns out, a lot of the "health foods" aren't so healthy after all.

Wellness Wednesday

Tip of the Week: Push and Release

Today is Day 86 of my 90 day goal in completing P90X. This little experience has required a lot of discipline as well as a fairly large dose of stubborn willpower.

I will not be posting before & after pictures on this blog as I think it would be slightly disturbing to see photos of your pastor's wife flexing in various positions. I'm sure you are very much relieved. You're welcome.

However, I would like to take a moment to just relish how good it feels to reach a goal. Hard choices that didn't always feel worth it in the moment feel very much worth it right now.

I've had several people ask me if I'm going to continue doing P90X now that I'm officially (almost) done. The answer is yes & no. I'm going to continue working out regularly and will be using a lot of the P90X DVDs to do that, but I'm dropping from 6 workouts a week that felt REQUIRED to 4-5 workouts a week that I'll be more flexible with.

The concept of "Push & Release" is that you can see a lot of progress in fitness (or, really, any area of life) if you will set a mini-goal and push really intensely for a defined season. Knowing that the goal/season has an end date makes it feel less overwhelming and suffocating. You know the break is coming.

Once you reach your goal, you can let up a bit. Not so much that you fall back to where you once were. Don't exchange nutrition and exercise for movies and twinkies. Just maintain where you currently are for a while instead of pushing so hard to achieve the next level. When you've rested a bit and had time for your motivation to rebuild, push again!

Progress is normally not a steady climb up and to the right. It typically more like stair steps.

So, do you want to lose 20 pounds? Set a goal to lose 10. Stay super focused. Count your calories every single day. Determine how many days a week you can work out and stick to it. Weigh yourself regularly. Have a friend that you report your progress to on a weekly basis. Then, once you've lost the first 10 pounds, breathe a little. Figure out what it would take to maintain that weight. What are the new lifestyle habits that you should continue verses the time bound habits that are only needed when you are trying to lose weight? Once you've maintained that weight for a while (at least a month), then you're ready to hit it again really hard.

Feeling like you're always pushing is exhausting and defeating. No one can maintain that pace, so eventually you're likely to give up. But pushing hard for a season can take you to a place that you've never been before. And once you've been there, it's slightly addictive and motivating all in itself.

Set a mini-goal. Make it time bound. Then, put your head down and get to work!

Wellness Wednesday

Tip of the Week: Decide, Commit, Succeed

Those 3 words flash across the screen every time I play a P90X DVD. The principle is so good when it comes to fitness and overall wellness.

When I decided a few months ago to do another round of P90X, the decision had been a long time in the making. Andy & I did P90X one time before (a couple years ago) and so I knew the level of commitment it required. I didn't want to just kinda do it. If I said I was going to do it, I was diving in all the way.

I'm on Day 80 today and there have been SOOOO many days over the last few months that I wanted to skip my workout. But I knew I had made a commitment to myself to stick with this thing for the full 90 days. So, I was able to push myself through my unmotivation and have only missed 2 workouts (and one of those days I spent 8 hours cleaning my house which I think should count for something!). If, however, I had not made that commitment to endure for 90 days, I know that the number of workouts I would have gotten in would only be a shadow of that number.

My point is, if you decide that you want to "get fit" make a clear, measurable goal and commit to it. There are a zillion workout and "diet" programs out there. And if you really stick with the program the way they tell you to, you WILL see results. Most of us just hit a wall of unmotivation and give up way too early. When you've got a goal that you're shooting for, you are so much more likely to stay focused and hang in there.

But you have to decide. And then stick with it with all kinds of determination and stubbornness and ferocity. If you do that, no matter what nutrition plan or work out program you select, you will see huge results!

Wellness Wednesday

Tip of the Week: If you can resist it, you probably should.

All of us have foods that are bad for us that we crave and foods that are bad for us that we could live without. For example, I believe that if the opportunity presented itself, I could eat Tuxedo Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory every single night. I also love homemade chocolate chip cookies and virtually any other homemade dessert. However, store bought desserts I can resist. Also, I'm not a huge fan of birthday cake, potato chips, or plain vanilla ice cream.

So, for me, I've decided that I'd rather not waste calories eating things that I could (pretty) easily live without. Sure, I'm still tempted to grab a piece of cake when I go to a kid's birthday party. But then I think, "I'd rather save those calories to indulge in something I really love." Because the reality is, I will probably still indulge in whatever it is I really love regardless of whether or not I chowed down on birthday cake earlier in the week. It's not like I'd make myself sacrifice the cheesecake just because I had a Spiderman cupcake, so it's like I just saved myself 300 meaningless calories to invest in the real deal later!

Probably all I'm doing is tricking my brain into being willing to delay gratification. But, hey, whatever works, right?!?!

Wellness Wednesday

Tip of the Week: Plan what you eat.

There are lots of benefits to planning ahead of time what you will eat.

First, planning takes the stress out of deciding in the moment what to cook/eat. I never have to wonder at the last minute what I'm going to cook for dinner or prepare for breakfast and lunch. I just glance at the meal plan attached to my fridge.

Second, some people get really good at planning and it helps them save money because they can repeat certain ingredients. I, honestly, could never claim to be a frugal grocery shopper. But I have heard that planning is key to saving money. Somehow.

Third, planning ahead helps you make wise choices in food selection when you're "starving" or grumpy or just really in the mood for some chocolate. Andy often will even decide on what he'll order at a restaurant before he goes out to eat. That way he can jump online to look at the particular restaurant's nutrition information and make a good choice before he's sitting in the restaurant with all the tempting sights and smells surrounding him.

I realize that meal planning takes some time, but it is well worth the effort. Putting a little thought into it on the front end can really propel your desire to eat healthy.

Here's a sample meal plan for our family from this week. Most weeks are similar for breakfast/ lunch/ snacks. I change it up a bit, but I stick to a rhythm that works for us. This week we're having more smoothies than normal because it's one thing that Caedmon can enjoy after his surgery. Another note, a lot of evenings Andy & I will have another snack after dinner because we eat pretty early. We make popcorn, have a piece of fruit, or enjoy a frozen smoothie popsicle that I made earlier.

Monday:
Breakfast- oatmeal with berries
Lunch- Egg salad, triscuits, apple, cheese
Snack- Yogurt
Dinner- Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and meatballs, salad
Tuesday:
Breakfast- Fruit smoothie, whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter
Lunch- leftover barbecue sandwich
Snack- apple & popcorn
Dinner- Stirfry vegetables with pork and quinoa
Wednesday:
Breakfast- Omelet, fruit
Lunch- Apple sandwiches with peanut butter and raisins, yogurt
Snack- cheese & crackers
Dinner- Vegetarian fajitas
Thursday:
Breakfast- oatmeal with berries
Lunch- smoothies, popcorn, celery with peanut butter and raisins
Snack- almonds or walnuts with raisins
Dinner- DATE NIGHT!!!!!
Friday:
Breakfast- Whole wheat banana pancakes
Lunch- humus, carrots, cheese, apples, triscuits
Snack- banana with peanut butter
Dinner- quesadillas with leftover fajita veggies
Saturday: 
Breakfast- smoothie, whole wheat toast w/ jam
Lunch- zucchini muffins w/ cream cheese, fruit
Snack- fresh veggies with hummus
Dinner- Parmesan crusted chicken, quinoa, green beans
Sunday: 
Breakfast- Eggs, bacon, yogurt, fruit, whole wheat toast
Lunch- at church
Snack- yogurt
Dinner- ham & cheese quiche, fruit

Wellness Wednesday

Tip of the Week: Don't drink your calories.

This tip is comin' at ya straight from Bob Harper's book "The Skinny Rules".

Soft Drinks, Juices, Gatorade (and the like), Starbucks favorites, and Alcohol all contain a lot of calories. Depending on the amount you consume, it's not hard to drink the equivalent of an entire meal by mindlessly sipping away.

I'm pretty much avoiding soft drinks and Gatorade altogether (due to my rule of "if you can't pronounce the ingredients you probably should eat it") But natural juices, the occasional treat from Starbucks, and a glass of wine every once in a while isn't going to kill ya. You just have to be aware of the calories that it adds to your diet and make up for it somewhere else.

In the words of Tony Horton, "Drink your water, People!"

The one little trick that helps me drink more water, as simple as it may sound, is having a water bottle that I like. I'm not nearly as likely to pour myself a glass of water and sip on it throughout the day as I am to guzzle through several bottles of water. I don't know why that is, but I know it's true for me. I don't like the water bottles that you have to unscrew the lid. I just like the lids that pops on and off. Here's my current water bottle:

Pretty fancy, huh? It has nothing to do with the brand and everything to do with the cap. This bottle has lasted me for about a month so far. I just refill it and keep on drinking. Whenever I lose it or it gets destroyed, I just buy another one. I typically drink at least 3 of these per day.

If you are used to drinking a lot of calories, you could probably drop a couple pounds really easily by switching to drinking water instead. Once you get hooked on water, you'll start to crave it just like you used to crave soft drinks! At least that's true for me...