Category Archives: health

Weight Loss: A Long and Winding Road

Diet, Dietitian, health, weight, weight loss, , , ,

Expectation: Once I can finally decide to make the changes to lose weight, I should lose weight every week! If it were a line graph it should look like this one:

perceived

Notice that pesky word “should.” Take that word out of your vocabulary.

Should according to whom? THEM???  Who are they? YOU?? Where did you get your information? Most likely from THEM! And if you can’t do what They say you should do, what does that mean? For many, it means they have failed and will never be successful at meeting their goals. And… well, if you’ll never be successful then why even try?

Let’s go get some ice cream.

Next notice that word “never” that flows from “should” thinking. Take that word out of your vocabulary too.

Trying to live up to those ridiculous “shoulds” can lead to all-or-nothing thinking. Do you really think your HEALTH is an all or nothing proposition? Do you really think that a couple of small changes won’t make a difference?

Good news! Small changes DO make a difference!

If you want to set yourself up to restrict (go “on” a diet or be “good”) and then to binge (go “off” a diet or be “bad”) and then repeat again and again… then keep on using “should” and “never.”

And by the way, being mean to animals or rude to service staff make you bad, not eating a snickers bar. Let it go.

If you prefer to be kind to yourself and take advantage of the additive effect of small changes made consistently (did you just let out a big exhale and feel your shoulders drop two inches at that thought?), then let’s talk about what real weight loss looks like.

Reality: Once I finally decide to make the changes to lose weight, it will be a wild, unpredictable, up-and-down ride!

Next is what this can look like – this is my graph of weight loss since January 1.The blue line notes my recorded weights and the orange line is the trend line I was given based on my goal and time-frame – ah, I think I found THEM! (And see, they are telling me what I “should” do!)

actual

Notice that when you zoom out to look at the big picture, there has been an overall loss. Notice too that when you zoom in to look at a few days at a time, there are times where my weight went down steadily and also where it went up. There are some times that are just up and down and up and down. When you do the math, I’ve averaged a 0.75 pound loss a week. I know a lot of people who would also be upset if they lost that small amount of weight in a week.

I’m not upset because it’s slow. It’s slow because I like Food Truck Fridays… and I’ve been spending more time on Yoga (love!) than Cardio…. and sometimes I’m hungry and tired and surf the couch while other times I’m satiated and energetic and active… and I’m not planning on any of that changing anytime soon.

It’s slow because I prefer to work on a healthy comfortable and enjoyable relationship with food and activity instead of an unhealthy restrictive controlling guilt-ridden relationship.

My hope with this post is to help you appreciate your efforts and be kind to yourself and to relax a little with the scale and numbers and restrictive behaviors. Unfortunately, I know that no matter what I say or write, only YOUR thoughts can change your thoughts. My words can only trigger a little sparkle of a new way to think – a little sparkle that I hope you grow into a great big glowing ball of awesomeness.

Because that’s what you are. One great big glowing ball of awesomeness.

Now, who wants to go get some of that ice cream?

The Secrets of My Success

Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, Healthy Diet, weight, weight loss, , , , ,

I recently wrote, “Change your body or don’t – we are all works in progress – but please start from a place of self-love and body-acceptance.” (Blog here). Today, I share some of my journey.

My weight fluctuates. I remember being 13 and thinking I was too fat (at 115 lbs!).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
13 and playing dress-up at my aunt’s place

I also remember being my heaviest in my 20s (190 lbs!).

alexia and chris

Remember Jane Fonda and the thong-leotard-leg-warmers aerobics phase? I jumped on that bandwagon, got my first certification (ACE Group Fitness Instructor) and got down to 125 lbs as an adult – which I maintained for about two deep breaths. I’ve also attained lifetime membership with Weight Watchers twice!

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My weight goes the 140s to the 170s depending on whether I’m in a calorie-counting-exercising phase or a couch-potato-take-out-dinner phase.

I’m okay with being a “heavier” dietitian. My hope is that it gives people a place of realism from which to start, it reinforces that “knowing” and “doing” are two different things, and it lets people know that I can relate to their challenges since maintaining a socially desirable weight doesn’t come easy for me either!

This year, I’ve focused on bringing my body weight down. My reasons? I like to feel strong (I didn’t) and I have a closet full of super-cute clothes that I want to wear again. Okay, and arms. I love to see my upper arms have a little definition.

Body change will not happen until you are ready and decide what will work for you with your circumstances.

It is EASY to not think about what to eat until you’re hungry and it is HARD to meal plan, shop, and prep.

It is EASY to flop onto the coach at the end of the day and it is HARD to make time (and motivate!) to exercise.

It is EASY to make excuses and it is HARD to find small things you CAN do regardless of circumstances and place responsibility squarely on your own shoulders – where it belongs!

Next is what has worked for me to slowly lose 15 pounds this year – 3/4 pound a week adds up over time.

First was putting some money on the line. I tried DietBet. The app takes your real money from you and challenges you to lose 4% of your weight in 4 weeks. I’ve won 5 games and lost 1. Knowing that I have to make a certain goal or lose $10 – $35 has been incredibly motivating and helped with consistency.

Second was that dreaded meal planning and prepping ahead of time. I started with the New Year, a new notebook, and a heart full of hope. It worked. I have done this faithfully EVERY WEEK since January! It sucks. It’s hard. It takes soooooo long to do the prep sometimes. But it is SOOOOOOOOO worth it! (I do count calories using SparkPeople and have for years – love this site!)

Finally, (and I hate to admit this) a FitBit helped me to get moving. I didn’t realize how sedentary I was. Now I try to get 10-12k steps 4 times a week and 7k on other days. (Note that my employer has incentive money tied to steps – financial incentive helps!) In addition, I tried (and loved!) a yoga studio and promptly signed up for two Intro to Yoga series workshops.

My secrets to success are find something you love for activity, make the time for meal planning and prepping, and put some money on the line!

WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS TO SUCCESS???

NOTE – There are NO affiliations or sponsorships from any of the linked resources mentioned.

Featured picture from:http://www.niashanks.com/stop-weighing-on-the-scale-for-weight-loss/. The other pictures are obviously mine. Please don’t use them without my permission.

Meal Plan Yumminess

Diet, Dietitian, Food, health, Healthy Diet, meal plan, meal planning, Recipe, , , , , , ,

It’s been a while since I posted a meal plan and I’m back with a delicious week of meals to share with you. I’ve been faithfully planning and prepping and have started to get a little bored with the same old meals. This week, I added a few new recipes.

Do as much prep as you can over the weekend. I chop omelet veggies, make overnight oats, boil eggs (last 5 days if they don’t crack!), make mason jar salads, and do whatever else I can to prepare ahead of time. Notice this week is heavier in cooking the first few days but then relies on leftovers to get through the week.

Not listed is a Chocolate Chia Pudding dessert I’ll be making when I sign off from here because chocolate. Yum.

Sunday: 

B – Egg white omelet made with egg whites, shredded cheddar/jack, onions, mushrooms, and spinach served with a piece of toast with olive oil butter. TIP: Do your breakfast prep for the week by chopping onions and mushrooms that have been cleaned with a paper towel (no water!) and storing in mason jars – you still have to cook; but the chopping is the time-consuming part so this saves time in the morning!

L – White Bean Caprese Salad (added chopped raw videlia onions) served on spinach/romaine lettuce.

D – Baked tofu (press, cube, toss with Italian salad dressing and bake) mixed with zucchini carpaccio (pictured with this blog). Note to self: invest in a mandolin.

S – Boiled egg; cucumbers and Zesty Carrot Hummus – you seriously must try this! DELISH!

Monday:

B – omelet with toast

L – Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Strawberry Cucumber Salad (with balsamic glaze – yes please!) and (Chicken) Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats. 

S – Apple with Laughing Cow Cheese

Tuesday:

B – Overnight Oats (were prepped over weekend so easy breezy breakfast) with a sliced banana.

L – Leftover White Bean Caprese Salad on lettuce/spinach

D – Leftover Sausage Boats and Strawberry Cucumber Salad

S – Kefir and blackberries

Wednesday:

B – Overnight Oats with banana

L – Leftover Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Baked fish, steamer vegetables, quinoa

S – Egg salad (egg, mayo) with carrots

Thursday:

B – Overnight Oats with banana

L – Mason Jar Salad (prepped over weekend) with a boiled egg and blue cheese crumbles

D – Fish Bowls (leftover fish, quinoa, chipotle, jalapeno, veggies, sour cream – whatever is on hand and needs to be eaten but with a Mexican twist).

S – Apple with carrot hummus

Friday:

B – Omelet with toast

L – Leftover Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Turkey burgers (tomato, lettuce, red onion, avocado, cheese) and fries (yes – the splurge meal happens for me too!)

S – Kefir and blackberries

Saturday: 

B – Overnight Oats

L – Mason Jar Salad with tuna packet (buffalo tuna is so yum).

D – Turkey Burger Bowls (chopped burger, lettuce, tomato, pickles, blue cheese and the rest of the chopped food that needs to be eaten!

S – Carrots with carrot hummus

Thanks for the inspiration as always to Clean Eating Magazine (just the recipes please people, not the articles! Food is NOT “clean” or “dirty” unless of course, it needs to be washed), SkinnyTaste (easy, low calorie, and crazy good recipes) and this week to my new find, Minimalist Baker.

Let me know if you try any recipes this week and if you like the Meal Plan posts!

Are You Healthy?

Dietitian, HAES, health, Healthy Diet, , , , ,

Is overweight the new healthy? The answer might surprise you.

Let’s start with the definition of healthy. How do you define healthy?

There are many aspects of health – there is body size (BMI, body fat) or metabolic health (lab results) or cardiovascular health (resting heart rate, ability to perform daily living tasks or purposeful exercise) or even emotional and spiritual health (do the standards you hold yourself to for your physical health damage your emotional health?). Or is it based on quality of life? Or the characteristics of those who live the longest?

(Spoiler alert: We are finding that a BMI in the “overweight” range has a lower mortality rate than those in the “normal” weight range).

So, I ask: how should we define health? The good news is that you get to define it based on what is important to you and I’d recommend you do it in collaboration with a physician.

I can tell you that people choose physical appearance over their emotional health a lot. One thing most people have in common when they walk in the door to meet with an RD is that their emotional health has taken a hit regardless of their body size. It seems very few people can find peace with their bodies – even those who appear “fit” or “healthy” to others.

This concerns me.

I used to be there too and I still some days struggle with self-acceptance and self-love (stupid #fitspo memes). It’s no secret that I carry a few extra pounds. Should you consider me proof that knowing what to do to get to a socially desirable weight and actually doing it are two different things? Or should you perhaps consider that I am happy and healthy with a few extra pounds? Could this be true?!?!

In 2007, I was “overweight” by the numbers and I fought with my body and had low body-acceptance. My hips were too big, my belly isn’t flat, my thighs are so big when I sit down… all those things we let ourselves say in our heads when we don’t love ourselves as we are. I had a heart attack. I felt my body had let me down even more… and then I realized that this body that I hated – big belly, hips, thighs, and all – had actually carried me through and I survived that heart attack. Just that simple realization led to a big mind shift and changed those thoughts in my head to appreciation and gratitude for this body that I was lucky enough to still have!

Before you go screaming that being overweight is why I had a heart attack – let me stop you. I was a smoker for decades, I worked a stressful job, and I have a strong family history. Most health conditions (and the supposed “obesity epidemic”) are not as simple as people believe. These things have multiple factors that lead to these outcomes. Being thin would not have prevented my heart attack.

I share all this to lead you into considering your HEALTH over your APPEARANCE. I encourage you to think a little deeper than the eat-less-move-more movement. Check out HAES (Health at Every Size), read up on new studies that might indicate a coming shift in beliefs (just one of many studies here: BMI 27: The New Normal?), and start loving yourself first.

Change your body or don’t – we are all works in progress – but please start from a place of self-love and body-acceptance. Look forward to more information on this topic in the future.

Image from: https://fridayforgood.com/2015/11/20/be-rebellious/