New Year's Resolutions that work

Every year people decide to make New Year resolutions but there will be some significant differences between the goals made, the people that made them and the optimism that they will be achieved. It is these differences that can make the difference in the outcome.

You will notice that at the beginning of every year gyms across the nation put out their best offers. The most common offer is a month's free membership and no joining fee. Gyms love this time of year because some many New Year resolutions include getting fitter and loosing weight. Statistically gyms can only profit. This is because of all the people that sign up only a small percentage will still be using the gym after 3 months but most will still be paying their monthly fees promising themselves that they will go 'when they have time'. They don't prioritise going to the gym so consequently don't make the time for it.

New Year resolutions have a very big factor in their favour: they begin on a significant date that allows the past to stay in the past and all offer opportunity and hope for the future. It can be any significant date that draws a line in the sand of time.

How you perceive your ability to keep your resolutions plays a big part in your success. If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. Research has shown that some people believe that their determination will only last for so long and then they will 'have' to go back to their old ways. Guess what? If this is what you believe and focus on, this is what will happen. But when you believe that you do have the determination to follow through then guess what? You follow through. Just because you didn't follow through last year does not mean that the same thing will happen in 2015. It is YOUR choice.

Finally for what purpose are you choosing specific New Year resolutions? What will you gain if you achieve them? What will you loose if you don't? If it is a big goal your reason (purpose) has to be so big and hairy that you can only continue because the alternative is too unpalatable. It is also a really good idea to make some smaller resolutions that are fun, enjoyable and give you great satisfaction. For example you might like to choose a creative project for the year, each month or even weekly. Being creative is extremely important.

To give you some tips and examples here is a great piece by Wendy Squires. I hope that you find it as inspirational as I did:
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/best-wishes-for-the-new-year--here-are-mine-20141228-12b0e0.html


Wishing you a very happy and successful 2015

Sarah

12 Days of Christmas

12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

A piece of my favourite chocolate

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Nine minutes dancing

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Ten minutes walking

Nine minutes dancing

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Eleven pampering sessions

Ten minutes walking

Nine minutes dancing

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

 On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Twelve healthy smoothies

Eleven pampering sessions

Ten minutes walking

Nine minutes dancing

Eight hours nightly sleeping

Seven minutes deep breathing

Six minutes giggling

Five serves of veg

Four types of fruit

Three great books

Two litres of water

And a piece of my favourite chocolate

Wishing everyone a very calm, healthy and happy Christmas

Sarah

Accountability gets results

Last week my washing machine broke down in spectacular fashion. It marched across the floor, smelt of burning and made terrible noises. It is still under extended warranty and so the next morning the washing machine manufactures sent round an engineer who pronounced it totally dead. He would send in a report and we would hear back later that afternoon.

That was nearly a week ago. Daily telephone calls the past three days have finally resulted in a report being filed from the engineer to the insurers so that they can decide what action to take. The report is being posted because they only email if someone else in the company requests it.

Each time I have called the person on the other end has initially been helpful but immediately they realise that my washing machine is still waiting for a report they become defensive. The manufacturers and insurance company blame each other, and today the manufacturers blamed their engineer.

The real issue is this: no one is accountable or wants to be accountable. Their systems are inadequate but rather than own this so that they can take action, they blame others. This is reactive and it always leads to poor outcomes.

I meet many women who talk to me about their desire to become and/or remain slender but few of them are accountable. They blame their current lack of results on anything and anyone but rarely take ownership of it.

"I ate this because..." which means that they use excuses to continue to eat and behave in ways that get results, but not the results that they desire.

The first rule of staying slender is to learn how to balance your food intake and activity. The only way to do this is to become accountable so that you can take the action that gets you the results that you want.

This Christmas I will be enjoying myself which will include eating more sweet foods that I normally do the rest of the year. I own and acknowledge this and will enjoy every mouthwatering crumb. I will also balance this out over the weeks either side of Christmas because I enjoy staying slender.

Enjoy this festive season even more by being accountable for your actions and your outcomes.

Sarah

Staying slender with inspiration

Occasionally I get asked to give a talk on motivation. This is usually to women in weight loss groups who are struggling to remain motivated. Have you ever experienced a lack of motivation? I know that I have.

We tend to procrastinate when we lack motivation, or even put things off indefinitely. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed which leads to inaction and is really another form of procrastination. Why is it so hard to remain motivated?

Motivation is external. We need to see or hear something to remain motivated. A photograph on the fridge to stop us snacking or a personal trainer encouraging us to do just one more rep. And this is the problem with motivation. The very fact that it is external means that you need the stimuli all the time.

The alternative way is to become inspired because inspiration is internal. It comes from within you which means that it is with you all the time. Take a minute to think about something that you are passionate about. For example you could be passionate about dogs. You not only own a rescue dog but you volunteer at a dog rescue centre or donate to a dog rescue centre. You might even become a dog trainer so that people have more positive experiences with their dog and fewer dogs will end up being surrendered to rescue centres. You don't need to have a photograph on the fridge or a personal trainer to keep you motivated. You are inspired and probably inspire others with your enthusiasm and passion.

When you are inspired you want to take action.

What would cause you to become inspired about staying slender? You may not have the answers immediately so let this question sit with you for a few days or even weeks because it is worth the effort to find the answers. When you become inspired you won't need to look to external sources to stay slender.

Sarah

3 tips to stay slender during the Christmas party season

There will be several Christmas parties this year that will probably attend. It may a work party, school mums party, the neighbour's Christmas bash or any number of other groups to which you belong. They will have alcohol, soft drinks and food that is full of fat and sugar.

It can be tempting to fill your plate with all the delicious seasonal goodies and enjoy several drinks because it only happens once a year, everyone else is doing it and you feel that if you don't you won't enjoy yourself.

The great news is that you can drink, eat and enjoy yourself without going overboard, especially if you have several parties to attend this season.

So here are 3 tips to guide you through the Christmas party season:

• Make sure you are well hydrated before you go so that you don't drink lots of soft drink because you are thirsty. Once there alternate an alcoholic/soft drink with a glass of water.
• Have a healthy high fibre snack to eat before you go so that you aren't hungry when you arrive, which would make you crave sugary and fatty food.
• Fill your plate with three foods that have a high water and fibre content, such as fresh fruit and vegetables and salads. This means that you won't crave the sweeter foods as much and will be able to enjoy smaller portions of those you do want to enjoy.

 These 3 simple rules offer you the power to enjoy the treats without upsetting the balance of your overall healthy eating plan.

let the celebrations begin
Sarah

Strength in vulnerability

Last night I was at a women's network meeting during which an inspiring woman gave an excellent 10 minute talk on goal setting. In that moment I realised that I had stopped setting goals because I had become scared that I might not fulfil them. I chose to share this with the group and guess what? I wasn't the only woman there with a fear.

Sometimes we believe that we have to hide our fears, not only to others but to ourselves. We believe that we need to be strong, carry on and toughen up. Whilst it is true that we need to continue to take positive actions it can be detrimental to our success, emotional well-being and to those around us when we don't admit our fears. It was in that moment of admission that I found new courage. This was bolstered by overwhelming support from a group of amazing women.

There is beauty and strength in being vulnerable. It shows others that it is not only acceptable to be vulnerable but that there are many benefits to it.

Years ago when I had my first baby I tried to do it all by myself. Even though I had mild postnatal depression and was exhausted I refused all offers of help. I believed, incorrectly, that showing my vulnerability would be interpreted as me being an inadequate mother. I learnt the hard way. When I had my other four babies I accepted all the help that was offered. This was good for me and good for my family.

What is stopping you from reaching your goals? If there is any fear of vulnerability it is time to acknowledge and celebrate the strength and courage that you have in sharing this.

Let's support each other in our vulnerabilities.

Sarah

You have the power to manage your weight

I have talked to so many women who have become to believe that they can't manage their weight without being on a formal weight loss diet or unless they deprive themselves of all the foods they love. This is not true but there is a large diet industry that is banking, literally, on making you believe that it is the truth.

Penny is typical of many women that tell me about their weight loss battles and explained that she had lost 10 kgs, twice, and both times she regained all 10kgs plus a few more each time. She now weighs 15kgs more than before she went on her first diet. She also had come to believe that she was unable to manage her weight unless she went on yet another weight loss diet.

There are many weight loss diets to choose from. Some offer instant results in only 1 - 2 weeks. Many tell you exactly what and how much to eat for every meal, have you counting calories, points or some other food value like the fat content. There are a few who help you change your mindset, educate you about food and motivate you to be more active. If you want to choose a weight loss diet I recommend one of these because afterwards you will still have the new mindset to help you manage your weight.

The alternative is to take back the power that you think you have lost and manage your weight by following 7 simple rules. You can enjoy being back in control when you learn about the science of weight gain, loss and management and apply it to your life. You can eat your favourite foods and learn how to regain your mojo.

There will be more details about how you can regain control and enjoy the power of weight management in the coming weeks.

Enjoy life
Sarah

Should we eat meat?

I am not a big fan of red meat, preferring chicken and fish. I find red meat hard to digest and it leaves me feeling a bit uncomfortable. Other people chose not to eat red meat for religious, environmental and/or animal welfare reasons. However if you are one of the many people love their red meat the following information is for you.

All the research shows that eating white meat like chicken has very few health issues providing you eat chemically and processed free chicken. (More about processed foods in a minute). The health issues appear to be related to red meat and processed meat.

There are many healthy nutrients in red meat including iron, zinc and Vitamin B12. You can get these in other foods but need more of them and a wider range to ensure healthy quantities. For years the saturated fat in red meat was deemed to be the culprit however new research and findings several years ago have shown that it probably isn't the saturated fat that causes the heart problems and increased risk of cancer. It is something found in the lean part of red meat. The newest recommendations are that you reduce your intake of red meat to a few days only each week.

Processed meat contains nitrates and a lot of salt. The nitrates are thought to react with the bacterial in the bowel and this may lead to polyps which can then become malignant. Smoking meat produces another health issue when it reaches the bowel and may also cause some health issues.

Eating lots of vegetables, fruit and other fibrous foods helps the meat to pass through the bowel and reduces the risk of developing bowel cancer.

The ideal for red meat lovers is to avoid processed meats (bacon, ham, salami and sausages), keep meat dominated meals to no more than three times a week and when you do eat meat have it with lots of vegetables and high fibre carbohydrates like wholemeal pasta, wholemeal rice or root vegetables (except white potatoes). 

Enjoy your steak and roast beef

Sarah

Exercise can make you fat

Yesterday I booked into a Zumba class but it had to be cancelled and instead we were given a 'vive' class. On paper it probably appeared to be the same sort of class with some aerobic exercise to music but there was one very big difference.

Chronic stress leads to adrenal fatigue and your body functions differently in this state. As far as your primitive brain is concerned there are only three reasons for chronic stress: war, flood or famine.

An exercise class that involves lots of running type movements tells your primitive brain that it is correct because you are 'running away' from something bad. It gets your body to produce more stress hormones and instead of loosing weight you gain weight (because of the chemistry and biological changes that occur with stress).

When you dance your primitive brain interprets this as 'all is well' because who dances when they have to run away or survive a war, flood or famine? People dance when they are happy, at celebrations and when they are at a party.

And this is why an aerobic class is different to a Zumba class.

If you want to stay slender and are prone to feeling stressed and/or anxious the best types of exercise classes are fun ones like dance classes, and relaxing ones like yoga, Pilates and body balance. These reduce the amount of stress hormones produced and your body will switch from burning muscle to stored fat.

Have fun and stay relaxed
Sarah

A happy liver helps keep you slender

Last night I had to give a short speech and ended up giving a speech about drinking responsibly. I was not and am not suggesting that any one stops drinking alcohol. Personally I enjoy a good quality bourbon, especially since I had to stop drinking wine because I developed a sensitivity to it.

The message with alcohol is all about how much you drink, both in one sitting and in total during any given week. There are two reasons for this:

1. When you drink too much your thought processes change which can cause you to make choices that you would never consider when sober
2. Alcohol is a poison that your liver has to process and then pass on to other organs to excrete. If you drink too much it can destroy brain cells permanently, cause liver damage and a host of other health related issues.

One of these health related issues is body fat, and drinking lots of alcohol can lead to obesity and the health issues related to obesity.

When you drink alcohol your liver will process it first because your liver works on a 'most dangerous always gets to the front of the queue' system. This helps your body to excrete toxic substances as quickly as it can. Whilst your liver is busy processing the alcohol there is a slow but steady build up of other substances that need to be processed. These include things like cholesterol and estrogen. These might be able to enter the liver for phase one but have to wait too long for phase 2, so your liver sends them back into your blood stream without processing them. You now have additional cholesterol and estrogen in your system creating havoc.

Caffiene and nicotine also require processing by your liver and are put to the head of the queue after alcohol.

Alcohol can mess up your body's ability to maintain a healthy balance of insulin production, fat storage and hunger signals. Because your liver is busy with the alcohol your body ends up storing more of the energy you eat as fat. But your body needs to use instant energy so it uses the easily available glucose in your muscles. This adds up to less muscle and more fat storage. It can also lead to insulin resistance, which means that your body has to put out more insulin to be able to use the sugar in your blood.

Alcohol is very high in sugar, which means that any energy available from the alcohol will be utilized first and sugar from other foods and drinks will also be stored as fat.

As you can see drinking alcohol can make it difficult for you to stay slender unless you follow some basic rules:

• No more than 2 standard drinks per day
• To stay slender chose 2 days/evenings a week to enjoy a drink of alcohol and have 5 alcohol free days
• Plan your week (where possible) so that you can enjoy a drink with friends or at social occasions if you wish

• Now and then there will a surprise occasion where you drink when you had planned an alcohol free day. As these happen rarely enjoy the occasion and continue as before. If these occasions start to happen frequently you need to plan them into your week. 

Love and care for your liver and it will help to you to stay slender.

Sarah

Less sleep can equal more weight

A recent study showed that women not only work out of the home, but once home they undertake twice as much childcare and three times as much housework. I don't think that we needed a study to show us that. We already know!

It is not surprise that women can become so tired. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. Something has to give, and usually it is quality sleep. Even when you get to bed your mind is racing thinking of all the things that you still have to do, or haven't done that must be done by yet another deadline.

In most households everyone comes to you. Broken shoe laces, missing socks, forms that need signing, sore throats, insufficient phone credit... and the list goes on. "MUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM?"

20% of road fatalities are caused by fatigue. These aren't all tired women, there are many tired men out there as well. Being really tired is the equivalent to being drunk. It has similar neurological effects including being unable to make good decisions, being emotional, slower responses and quick to anger. Does any of these signs and symptoms ring a bell with you?

This blog is usually written in the morning, or even the day before, but I have been busy. I could have stressed myself out and either stayed up late or got up extra early to write it, but I chose not to. I know what physiological and psychological consequences either of those actions would involve. So I am writing it late in the afternoon, feeling nice and relaxed and enjoying the potential of helping some of you to say "NO!" I am not going to take all of that on today, this week or even this month.

When you go to bed tonight you will sleep so much better if you:

• eat before 7pm or only eat a very light meal before 8pm
• no coffee after 5pm (or cola)
• go to bed at a reasonable time, which is any time before 10pm
• once in bed read a book or a magazine but no television, phones, ipads or any other device unless you are reading a book from it
• keep the room cooler than during the day because our body's need to cool down to feel sleepy
• acknowledge yourself for all the things that you achieved today, including getting something partially done
• set the alarm for 10 minutes before you have to get up so that you can wake up slowly 

Enjoy a quality sleep of 8 hours as many nights as you can manage.

sweet dreams
Sarah

Hilarious!

You Know You're a Mother When ...

You count the sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they're equal.
You have time to shave only one leg at a time.
You hide in the bathroom to be alone.
Your kid throws-up and you catch it.
Someone else's kid throws up at a party. You keep eating.
As you cling to the high moral ground on toy weapons; your child chews his toast into the shape of a gun.
You hope ketchup is a vegetable, since it's the only one your child eats.
You find yourself cutting your husband's sandwiches into cute shapes.
You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "NOT in your good clothes!"
You stop criticising the way your mother raised you.
You donate to charities in the hope that your child won't get that disease.
You hire a sitter because you haven't been out with your husband in ages, then spend half the night checking on the kids.
You use your own saliva to clean your child's face.
You say at least once a day, "I'm not cut out for this job", but you know you wouldn't trade it for anything". 

When we laugh our brains know that there can't be any danger around. It can relax and let your body go back to burning fat instead of readily available glucose.

What a great way to stay slender. Find ways to have a good laugh every day. In addition to jokes there are funny films, youtube clips and cute things that young children say. Even better have a laugh at yourself now and again, in a loving and gentle way. Trying to be perfect is stressful, and you know what happens when your brain becomes aware of stress.

Please share one of your favourite jokes below in the comment section.

best wishes
Sarah

See the illusion

Derren Brown is an amazing illusionist in the UK. He performs shows both on stage and for television where he uses his stunning level of skills in reading people using such techniques as NLP and behavioural profiling. It looks like mind-reading and telepathy but he is the first to assure that it isn't.

This man has spent much of his career showing how many of those who profess to predict the future are often taking money on false pretences. He is a great performer and even when he tells you how he has done it, and does it again, it can still seem like magic. We love a magic trick.

The world of advertising does the same thing. It creates an illusion that appears so real we believe to be true. Even better than this, these clever advertising bods can create this illusion so that we believe it unconsciously. We tell ourselves that we know it is just an illusion and yet our unconscious believes it to be true so we buy the product.

These clever advertising bods create images and jingles to help the illusion appear real. How many jingles can you sing? How many catch phrases and tag lines can you repeat? Let's have a go.

• "The burgers are better at ...?"
• "............. - where low prices are just the beginning."
• "It's not clean unless it's .... clean."
• "Only the flakiest, crumbliest ......"
• "I feel like ..... tonight."

When we shop, go out or want a treat our unconscious brain already has the answers for us thanks to years of clever advertising in addition to all the habits that we have developed along the way.

It is time to stick it to the advertising bods and the large companies for whom they advertise. It is time to free yourself from thinking that each of these is the solution to your problem. Chocolate may make you feel better for a few minutes but then how much better do you feel a few hours later?

Enjoy thinking for yourself
Sarah 

One of the big food labelling cons

Reading food packaging labels is becoming increasingly difficult. You practically need a chemistry degree to understand half of it, and the rest confuse and contradict.

For a start there may be several types of sugars in the product but they all have different names. Some of these names may not even sound like sugar. All of them are processed and should be avoided at all costs if you want to remain slender, avoid developing type II diabetes and cardiovascular issues.

Then there are the 'daily percentages' of each product, which if believed would mean that in some cases it is apparently fine for you to consume up to 30% of your daily food intake as sugar.

More concerning though, are the health claims. You know the ones. Reduced fat; fat free; low fat; GM free; no added sugar; all natural ingredients and the latest food fad: gluten free.

Technically you could slap a 'gluten free' sticker on a lot of food including fruit and vegetables, meat and fish and nuts. Much in the same way that you could claim that meat was 'sugar free' or that an apple is 'fat free'.

There are an increasing number of people who have a gluten sensitivity or intolerance, which is thought to be due to the change in the wheat produced which is now shorter, stronger and has more gluten in it. Being shorter makes it easier to harvest and having more gluten makes your bread even more sponge-like.

As someone who has a wheat sensitivity there are some specific products that I have to avoid if I don't want to experience abdominal pain. It can be useful to know that certain products are gluten free so that I can use them as a replacement for the product that I used to use. For example gluten free pasta.

But just because it is gluten free does not mean that it is good for you. Yes, the cereal in the middle of the picture at the top is gluten free because it is based on rice. In fact the cornflake cereal next to it is also wheat gluten free. However that doesn't make any of them nutritious. Porridge oats are far more nutritious and eaten in their natural form. They haven't been gleaned of all their fibre and tampered with by a large food corporation. Or have they?

You can still buy wonderfully natural porridge oats but you can also buy ones that have been turned into sugary breakfasts by the adding of sugar and flavourings. Again, not everything advertised as healthy is nutritious.

Enjoy avoiding being conned by food labelling

Sarah

"You can't eat that." Yes, I can!

Last week I was in a meeting and we were brought some Danish pastries. As I took one the person sitting next to me looked in horror as I helped myself to a mini pastry and exclaimed "You can't eat that". This person knows that my other business is weight management, and to her this meant that I shouldn't eat, let alone enjoy, any foods that don't fall into the 'healthy and good for you' category.

But here's the thing. Thinking that a food is 'bad' or 'off limits' leads to the brain interpreting it as famine, and I have written many times before about the knock effects of that happening. If you are new to my blog the shortened version is that the famine switch causes chemical changes in your body that can lead to weight gain, exhaustion and lethargy.

Weight management is all about balance. A mini Danish pastry for morning tea means no other treats for that day. If there is a day of treats, and let's face it, there are days like that, it means that there are whole days afterwards without treats.

 Recently we were in the UK on holiday for a month, and it involved a lot of cake. My family loves cake, and lemon tart. It meant careful balancing during the days we ate cake, careful balancing on the few days that we didn't eat cake, and some adjustment when we got home for a few weeks. Overall I gained one kilo, in that entire month of eating cake almost every day.

I was able to enjoy that Danish pastry because I know the seven rules of weight management. Life is meant to be lived, and if that means eating some cake now and then, I will eat cake. For other people it might be enjoying a portion of hot chips on a Friday night, or having a night out once a week, or enjoying your favourite chocolates.

At the end of the month I will be launching a program for those who want to learn the seven rules of weight management. Message or email me if you would like to know more.

In the meantime, enjoy a little of what you fancy once a week.

Sarah

Use this tip to speed up weight loss

I was at a funeral wake yesterday. It was a lovely ceremony because every person who was there had such lovely memories of the amazing 88 year old woman who had died. As is customary at such events there were platters of sandwiches and little cakes. It was the same at every graduation ceremony I have attended and many school functions, conference meetings and even at a training I attended.

In the Western world we tend eat a lot of grains in the form of bread, cereals and pastas. In the Eastern world we tend to eat lots of rice and noodles. Where ever you live and what ever culture you embrace, there will be a grain-based diet. Grains are cheap to buy, relatively cheap and easy to grow (climates and weather permitting), they fill people up and we use them for nearly every meal and for many snacks. How many meals to you have without grains? How many snacks do you have that don't include flour of some grain?

When I want to loose a kilo, such as when I returned from my holiday in the UK, I use this tip to ease my body back to my maintenance weight. It takes some 'thinking outside the box' to implement it and it can be done wholly or partly. I personally prefer to do this partly as I enjoy grains for breakfast.

You don't need to eat grains. I appreciate that this may be a surprising statement for you. You may want to know how else you will get sufficient fibre and Vitamin B. The answer is to eat more vegetables and fruit. This does not include white potatoes. I will help you further by suggesting some meals that don't include grains, and for snacks I have nuts and fruit.

For light meals, which for me is lunch, you could try:

• Avocado cut into chunks with diced tomato, dry roasted cashew nuts, pine nuts dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Half a carrot thinly sliced and gently pan fried to which you add one diced orange and two large handfuls of baby spinach, then add a splash of soy sauce and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. 

For main meals leave out the grain portion and add more root vegetables and green vegetables. An example is meatballs in tomato sauce (all home-made) on a bed of green beans and roasted carrots.

You may find that these meals don't fill you up as much as ones with grains, so take snacks with you such as mixed nuts and a little dried fruit, or a banana. Also remember to keep hydrated.

Share your experiences of this in the space below.

Sarah 

Being prepared prevents weight gain

Were you a girl guide or had friends who were? One of the things that they are taught is to 'be prepared'. I was a girl guide for a short time but I never found out what I was supposed to be prepared for. Maybe I needed to be a girl guide for longer!

If you are a parent then you know that once you have a child it pays to be prepared for certain events including days out and rainy days. The first time I had to take one of my children to the emergency department it was the middle of the night, my daughter was six months old and I rushed the pair of us into the car and headed for the emergency department. It wasn't life and death but it felt like it. If I had taken just five minutes to prepare our time in the hospital would have been so much easier. I would have had spare nappies, toys, and something for me to drink.

The second time I had to take one of my children to the emergency department I was prepared. I had a bag that would keep us going for an entire weekend if required and whilst being in the emergency department is always stressful at least I didn't have to worry about having something to drink and help my child feel a little more relaxed.

Fast forward nearly three decades and I am attending a weekend course. At lunch time we are released for an hour for lunch and we all head out to find various cafes. By this time I was starving and you already know that when you are hungry you make poorer decisions about what to eat because your brain is already screaming for sugar. So guess what happened? We all headed to cafes to enjoy fatty food followed by something sweet. Most of us did not make good food choices.

On the second day I came prepared. I brought lots of healthy snacks and a healthy lunch. I had a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. At lunch time I headed to a beautiful little park opposite the venue to enjoy my lunch. A few other people had chosen to do the same thing and we enjoyed chatting about the course whilst enjoying the warm sun and fresh air. When I got home that evening I was less tired and continued to make better food choices.

How many times have you chosen the less healthy option because you were out and there were no healthy choices? More often though, you find yourself feeling hungry and your brain is screaming out for sugar. NOW!. So there you are at the check-out, or in the middle of Christmas shopping or having a day out.

What could you have in your handbag for those moments? What could you keep in your car or backpack? It best to avoid 'health bars' because almost anything processed has sugar in it, and/or a lot of preservatives. Just think about this for a moment. How can that bar have a long shelf life without chemicals to keep it edible? If you made biscuits how long can you keep them fresh?

What you can keep in your bag or car are things like a little tub of nuts and/or some dried fruit. Usually I recommend staying away from dried fruit unless it is in extremely small quantities because of it's high sugar content. However in this case if your brain wants sugar a little dried fruit is a great way to give it some sugar, followed by some nuts and/or seeds to give your body a longer lasting form of energy.

Being prepared can benefit every part of your day, from breakfast to your evening meal. Write down a menu for the week which helps you eat well every day and also helps you plan your weekly shop. Take packed lunch to work which helps you eat well and saves you a lot of money. Work out what you can cook quickly and easily on the days that you get home later and will be tired. When you cook make double portions so that you can freeze half for another evening meal.

Enjoy having the power and energy to eat well all day

Sarah

A blog by nutritionist Aaron Flores, RD

What France Taught Me About Balance Variety and Moderation

I just returned from a 10-day vacation in Paris.  My wife and I went for a family wedding but we also used it as an excuse to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary and our 40th birthdays.  It was a memorable trip for many reasons and as I thought more about it, I realized that there is a lot that the French can teach us, if we are ready to listen.  So here are some things that I observed while I was there, in no particular order.

1) There is a very nice sense of balance in France.  Of course that is a word that would resonate with me, right?  There is a sense of balance when it comes to juggling work, family, friends and making time to relax.  I first noticed this just after we arrived in Paris.  We found that many places were closed during the end of July and August.  They were closed because the business owners take an extended vacation during the summer. What a way to really balance work and personal life than with planned long vacation each summer.  Secondly, walking through the city, we found multiple places to just sit and enjoy a picnic or just watch people go by.   You can see by the pictures below that we made sure to use as many of these open spaces as often as possible.

 

 2) Obviously the French are known for their food and, being a dietitian, I knew that I was going to experience as much different foodie experiences as possible.  But for all the "heavy" foods that might come to mind when you think about French food, there is a very strong respect (for lack of a better word) for food and eating.  That is to say, meals are events.  Eating is a time to focus on food, friends and family and not something to rush through.  If you want to experience mindful eating, eat a meal in France.  The best example of this was at a cooking class my wife and I took.  The class started in an open-air market going through the stalls, smelling, looking and talking to vendors about what's fresh and what looks good.  After buying all of the ingredients we needed, we went back to the kitchen to cook our meal.  The spontaneous menu ended up being squid stuffed with risotto, greens and pine nuts in a fennel cream sauce.  Of course there was dessert and we made a Creme d'Almond.  All made from scratch and of course, all delicious.  Since we were in France, we just had to have a cheese and wine course right?!  The entire meal (which was really lunch) was over 2 hours (not including cooking).  A slow cooked meal that was savored the way any meal should be.  Despite the cream, cheese and dessert, there was no feeling of guilt or overeating. It was truly an intuitive eating experience.

 

3) I don't speak French but I had my Google Translate with me all the time so I was able to interpret different words that my wife and I encountered.  Not once did I come across the words "gluten-free." In LA, it seems like I can't take 10 steps without hearing or reading the words "gluten-free."  I'm sure there are as many who suffer from celiac disease and gluten intolerances in France as there are in the USA, but it's clear that we've hit epic fad status here in LA so it was refreshing to not hear those words for 10 days and to not be judged like we were carrying the devil in our bag every morning as we left the boulangerie with a fresh baguette!  

4) France is the land of balance, variety and moderation.  Those words, which seem to be co-opted by big food companies in America, still retain their meaning in France.  Sure, not everyone eats cheese, bread and wine at every meal, and we saw our fair share of "big food" marketing and products while we were there but it's a very different mindset. Balance in all things.  Variety in food choices but also activities.  Moderation with foods by enjoying each bite.  My best example of all of those was going for ice cream at the world famous, Berthillion. My wife and I chose different flavors and the first thing we noticed was how small the scoop was--no more than a melon-ball size of ice cream but the flavor in that one scoop was beyond any I had before.  It was the most intense and delicious scoop of chocolate ice cream that I've ever had.  The French are known for their cheese and wine but I'd submit to you all that their ice cream should receive just as much praise and recognition.  

 

 Like I said above, it was a trip that has had a lasting effect on me.  I feel inspired about food once again and confident in my convictions that ALL foods fit in moderation.  We should respect not only food, but where it came from, and the act of eating it. 

 

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enjoy

Sarah

When more is less

Many diets encourage you to count calories, points or something so that you can add up the total amount of energy that you have consumed and work out how much energy you need to use up to create a deficit. The premise is that to loose weight energy in must be less than energy out.

Whilst this premise is correct it is far more complex than a simple math equation. For example the body uses a different amount of energy to process different types of food. It takes more energy to process protein than it does sugar. In fact it takes zero energy, absolutely no energy at all, for your body to process sugar.

This means that when you eat protein your body doesn't get all of that protein as energy to use or store; it only gets a percentage of it. But when you eat sugar your body gets all of that energy to use or store.

And here's another thing. Your body finds it much easier to use rather than store certain foods. These foods are vegetables, especially green vegetables. Not only do you get to eat a whole lot more for your buck, so to speak, but when you do eat them your body will use them as energy. In addition they provide a host of vital vitamins and minerals, are an excellent source of fibre which means that you will feel fuller for longer and it keeps your bowels healthier and if that wasn't enough, all that fibre helps your bowel to create the microbes that increase your immune system.

Children often grow up hating vegetables. There are threats and promises made to get children to eat their vegetables. There are several reasons for this: vegetables are introduced later to their palate than sweeter foods; young children have many more taste buds than adults and this can mean that vegetables can taste bitter compared to other foods; children may not like the texture; culturally some countries introduce greens earlier than in Western cultures and this means that these young children accept green vegetables as part of their meals quite easily.

If you are one of the many who don't really like green vegetables and remember being made to eat them under duress, it could be time for you to reconsider this food group for the many benefits already stated.

Experiment with green vegetables that you haven't eaten yet. Find new ways to cook and flavour them. Add them to other vegetables that you do like. As you find more and more types of vegetables that you enjoy increase the percentage of vegetables that you eat at each meal. Eventually you want to aim for vegetables being 50% of your main meal. (Potatoes are a starchy carbohydrate and don't count as a vegetable in this context).

Enjoy experimenting and having fun with healthier habits

Sarah

Diets do not work

As you are probably well aware, diets do not work. Whilst they may work in the short-term for some people, they do not work in the long-term for a variety of reasons.

One of the main reasons that they don't work is because your primitive brain doesn't want you to loose weight. No, it doesn't hate you. In fact the opposite is true. When there is another famine you will have the advantage over the people without excess body fat. And you brains 'knows' that there will be another famine because you have already demonstrated that there are frequent famines. Every time you go on a diet your primitive brain interprets this as a famine.

To keep you safe during all these famines your primitive brain is able to change the way your body processes food so that you store more of it as fat; it ensures that you are tired and lethargic so that you won't be able to expand any unnecessary energy, which is any energy not connected to survival; it will make sure that you are totally focused on finding your next meal, so that you survive this current famine. Once the famine has passed, because you have stopped dieting, it will ensure that you regain any weight you lost, gain a little extra for the next famine and make sure that you continue to focus on food for up to a year.

There are a few other reasons that diets don't work, including the primitive part of the brain that ensures you become bored very quickly with the same food. This is to ensure that you eat a variety of foods which is the best way your brain can help you maintain your health. You may think that you will always want cake because you rarely have any, however, if you were to have a slice of the same cake day after day you would actually become bored with it.

If you loose more than 2.5kg in a week your body will automatically go into famine mode. It can't have you loosing that amount of weight so quickly unless there is a really good reason for it, which is survival. If your brain thinks that you need to loose weight to survive it will help you trim down so that you can run away. It can be tricky to convince it of this scenario. Mostly people think of what they don't have, which is interpreted as famine. This doesn't have to be about food. Worries about lack of money, a partner or even a dress to wear to an event can all trigger the famine response.

So if you want to loose weight and maintain that weight loss, is there an alternative to dieting?

Yes there is.

You change your current habits to those of healthy slender women. I use the word 'healthy' because you would not want to adopt habits that could harm your health. It is also important to use healthy role models, women who look after their bodies and have a healthy relationship with them. Using drugs, excessive exercise or near starvation diets are not the habits of healthy slender women.

Next month I will be launching an online program to help women learn about the habits of healthy slender women. No diets, no excessive exercise and definitely no hunger will be involved. Nor will it be boring, limiting, expensive, faddy or involve meals that only you can eat.
It will explain each habit and how you can make it part of your life for the rest of your life. You will still be able to enjoy chocolate and cake.

There will also be workshops for those who prefer to have their information in a face-to-face setting either instead of or as well as online.

Enjoy eating and being slender

Sarah