The Queen of Comment, Miss Angie, was finally dethroned! 

A big congrats to Tim, our Monday raffle winner.  You’ve won a free chocolate cheesecake.  I know they’re a favorite. 

I had a client come in just before closing.  She said, “I’m embarrassed.”  I said, “Don’t be.”

She’d been struggling the past few weeks and life has a been a bit crazy.  This client was so insightful, though.  I listened as she told me how she sat herself down and regrouped. 

“I asked myself why I’m doing this and I came up with 5 words,” she said.  “Belly.  Clothes.  Shopping.  Husband.”  (I can’t remember the last one!)  

Those reasons are now typed in big, bold font and are placed at various strategic locations throughout the house.  She also came up with 3 obstacles and ways to overcome those obstacles. 

What a great lady!  Sometimes we do just need to sit ourselves down and remember what it’s all for. 

The hard thing, though, with nutrition, eating right, and weight loss is that it’s never over.  There’s no finish line.  This realization can be exhausting.  Exercise is much different.  You get your butt in the gym or outdoors, do your workout, and that’s it.  Finished.  Done. 

The same will never be true of eating, unless you take it meal by meal.  You can say, “I did it!” after a great meal or balanced snack and congratulate yourself.  Just know that you’re going to be faced with the same temptations and decisions a few hours later when it’s time to eat all over again. 

It’s a journey.  You can do it Miss Anonymous.  We’re all in this together.

Shopping for our camping trip was a thought-provoking experience: 

Ooo – s’mores!  Ooo, yogurt covered pretzels!  Ooo – fudge brownies!  Ooo, chips and salsa! 

The thought behind these thoughts was that it was vacation, and therefore it was okay to loosen the reins and splurge a little.  Luckily, I came to my senses before putting it all in the cart.  I ended up with s’mores (c’mon – it’s camping!) and chips, thinking I’d be able to control myself in the great outdoors.

Not five minutes after setting up camp, the chip bag was open.  Something about being tired, and probably slightly dehydrated, made the munching quite addicting.  Later that night during the campfire, we actually split one s’more between the three of us.  Now that’s something to be proud of! 

But alas, the chips came calling the next day, too.

The lesson learned is taken from the title above.  If you bring it, you will eat it.  When you’re away from home, off of your normal eating pattern, and sitting in the car for hours, it’s so much easier to be led astray, but it’s just not worth it. 

I came home feeling bloated and oh-so-ready to get back to my normal routine.  Fortunately, it ended up being a really short camping trip (another story entirely), so no major damage was done on the scale.  I hit up CrossFit the next day, which whipped me right back into shape! 

Next time I’m not going to pack anything that I don’t want to eat!

We have a repeat winner!  Congrats again to Angie who won two free dessert cups.  C’mon everyone else - get those comments up before next Monday!

I caught a re-run of Oprah the other day featuring guest star Kirstie Alley.  Kirstie was bringing Oprah up to speed on her weight loss battle and various TV projects.  Oprah asked about a typical day of eating and Kirstie n into what she described as “monoeating.”  Apparently, this refers to eating mostly the same thing every day. 

I had to laugh at the term and then admit that I”m probably one of those!  I simply just don’t mind eating consistently – it actually makes it simpler.  If I get bored I do switch it up, but it works well for me.

Enough about me, though.  Kirstie’s morning went something like this: 

Breakfast:  half a whole-wheat english muffin with an egg (the WHOLE egg, not just an egg white, she clarified) and fruit
Snack:  Fage yogurt with flavored Stevia drops and cinnamon

Sound familiar?!  I couldn’t wait to let you know that you eat like the stars!

Curious about my typical day?  I love my monoeating!

Breakfast #1:  1 egg with toast and cottage cheese
Options #1:  Oatmeal with a milk topping and 1 egg

Snack:  Fage yogurt with English Toffee Stevia

Lunch #1:  Salad with some sort of protein and either beans or bread or crackers
Option #2:  Pastrami sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and low-fat mozzarella or cheddar

Snack:  Protein shake (LFL vanilla PP, almond milk, blueberries) = YUM!
Option #2:  Cottage cheese and strawberries

Dinner:  Always a combination of protein, a starch, and a variety of vegetables

Are you a monoeater or do you like to switch it up everyday?

Congrats to Angie, the first winner of our Monday raffle drawing. 

You’ve won a $10 gift certificate to our Lite Food Market!

Continuing with “The Wagon” post, this article discusses the top five reasons people veer off track and how to come out on top. 

Having counseled LFL clients for a  year now, I have to agree that these are, indeed, the top five!

Click here to browse the article.

Which one(s) hit home with you?

Many of my clients have young children in their lives, whether it be their own little ones or their dear grandchildren.  Since most of our consult time is spent talking about the client rather than the kids, I’d like to take this opportunity to touch on childhood nutrition.

With childhood obesity (and a whole host of other weight-related illnesses) on the rise, it’s more important now than ever to start our kids on the right foot.  The biggest factor plaguing kids today is sugar.  The hard truth is, kids don’t even know it exists until it’s introduced to them.  So, who’s the real culprit?  That’s right.  It starts with us – the parents and caregivers. 

Out of all the things I despise the most in the nutrition world, it really is sugar.  Many people don’t realize that it truly is like a drug.  It can be destructive and addicting, a scientific fact.  Sugar’s effects are especially apparent in kids because their bodies are so little.  A serving of any sugary food (ice cream, chocolate, etc.)  is plenty of sugar for the adult body to handle.  This same serving is simple overwhelming to a child’s system.   

This being said, I must admit that I’m often just as guilty as the next parent.  Whenever I see little baskets of free candy, I can’t help but think, “Oh, Riley would love that!”.  Then I have to remind myself of my profession and my commitment to raising Riley in the healthiest way possible.  I think the underlying issue is that we want to make our kids happy and see their faces light up.  Candy, treats, and all things yummy will surely do that.  But at what cost?

I’ll share a few things that have helped me in my 2 3/4 years of experience:

1. Don’t start out with sugar.  Remember, it has to be introduced before it can be liked.  The biggest culprits are yogurt, cereal, and juice. 
   1. Yogurt in our house is plain, not the fruit  or even the vanilla variety.  If it’s too tart, add a small amount of honey (after 2 years of age). 
   2. Be a cereal sleuth.  For every 12 grams of sugar per serving, picture your child swallowing a tablespoon of pure sugar.   Frightening!  Try Cheerios, Kashi, Shredded Wheat, and Puffins.  
   3. Don’t even start with juice as a main beverage.  Stick with milk and water and think of juice as a treat.  If you must use it, make it 50% juice and 50% water. 
2. Bribe!  When I was last at Subway, I saw a mom waving a Snickerdoodle cookie in front of her toddler’s face.  “Doesn’t this smell good?  This is what you get when you eat your sandwich.”  Hmmmm…….well, that’s great if he eats the sandwich, but then you’re going to douse it in sugar?!  My bribe was a few Baked Lays for every bite of tomato, cucumber, or bell pepper (I asked for his veggies on the side).  The point should be to bribe with their favorite foods rather sugar-laden ones.  For dessert a post-dinner treat can be as simple as warmed applesauce topped with cinnamon sprinkles.  Act excited and they will, too! 
3. Use toddler-friendly phrases.  Red bell peppers and carrots can be called “eating your reds and oranges.”  Broccoli can be called “trees” and we refer to cauliflower as “cauli.” 
4. Plant a garden together and enlist your child(ren) in helping prepare dinner or snacks.  I can’t tell you how many green tomatoes Riley ate last season!
5. Use dips.  Kids LOVE to dip!  Try baby carrots/sliced bell peppers and hummus for a blast of vitamins A and C.

What are some of your stories and strategies?

Starting the third week of June, all blog comments will be rewarded with 5 tickets.  Tickets will be placed in a bowl on the LFL desk and drawings will take place each Monday, giving you the whole weekend to catch up on good reading! 

Prizes will change weekly and will include free featured products, Lite Food Market gift certificates, free program time, etc. 

**  You need not be a LFL client to join the fun!  **

Oh, the wagon.  We’re either off of it or on it.

I can’t help but feel frustrated when clients fall off the wagon and go MIA.  If it’s ever really crucial to check-in, it’s when you’ve fallen off the wagon (or maybe you fell off and then continued to roll for a mile or two).  It’s time to get refocused, remotivated, and re-energized.  

I make a point to remind each client upon signing up that they are human, which means they will have tough times and sebacks.   It’s also important to remember that true, lasting weight gain doesn’t happen over a meal, or a day, or even a weekend.  Weight gain happens over a longer period of time when poor food choices are made again.  And again.  And again.   The important thing is to let it go and get back on the plan with the next meal or snack.  This prevents any permanent damage! 

This is where food journaling comes in.  If you think you’ve gone way off track after a weekend of one get-together after another (ie: high school grad parties), you may be shocked to find you didn’t do as much damage as you thought.   It’s easy to think, ”Oh, I’ve completely blown it” and throw your hands in the air and give up.  The truth is  that food journaling keeps you honest in more ways than one.  It prevents panic for many clients when they realize, “Hmmm, I only had one or two more starches than normal.” 

If you are a client, don’t let a bend in the road stop you from continuing on your journey.  We’re not here to judge; only guide.  And fear not!  We promise we don’t use the measuring tape as a whip.  We’ll probably just share our wagon stories.  We’re all in this together.  Here are some tips to help you get back on track.

1. Come in and chat with the counselors on your normal day(s)
2. Refuse to beat yourself up.  Really, it does zero good!
3. Remind yourself why weight loss is important to you
4. Include lemon wedges or lemon juice in each glass of water
5. Take a B6 supplement to rid your body of accumulated water weight

What helps you refocus and get back on track after a wagon mishap?