It’s All in Your Head

A gym membership. A fridge stocked with fruits, veggies and lean meats. A pantry overflowing with whole grains. Drinking 64 ounces of water a day.

These are the keys to effective weight management, right?

They are certainly beneficial, but surprisingly, they’re not what you really need. The ultimate key to effective weight control isn’t something you can buy. But the good news is, you already own it. It’s rattling around between your ears.

Say hello to the mother of all weight loss weapons. Say hello to your brain.

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing registered dietician Paula Schnurman from the Advanced Wellness Centre. With 25 years of experience in nutrition counseling Paula is an expert in helping people attain their health goals.

My first question to Paula was simple, “What separates a successful weight loss client from an unsuccessful one?”

“Successful individuals embrace the behavioral change side of weight loss,” she replied. “They are very self-aware. They understand their problem behaviors and use a variety of techniques to help them break down their internal barriers to change and create healthy new patterns.”

Simply stated, you’ve got to think. Think about your problem behaviors, think about when you’re most tempted to cheat, and think about ways to combat those destructive behaviors.

Paula said the most successful weight loss clients employ the following seven habits.

1) Self-monitoring: the observing and recording of behavioral patterns followed by feedback on the behaviors.

Tracking what you’re doing is the first step to understanding your patterns. Are you keeping a daily food and exercise journal? You should be. It’s the best way to monitor your behavior.

I use Livestrong.com’s Daily Plate and when I go over my calorie count for the day, a big, angry red button pops up highlighting exactly how far over I went. Talk about feedback. I hate that red button. It reminds me that I was less than stellar that day and I need to get back on track.

2) Stimulus Control: identifying the major barriers that are associated with unhealthful eating habits.

For example, for me, drinking wine with friends can lead to overeating. And dancing. And karaoke. Given my vocal range, the karaoke is really the worst part of that scene.

3) Problem Solving: Developing coping strategies to deal with temptation.

For example, I don’t want to give up drinking wine with my friends, but I can limit the amount of wine I drink by alternating between a glass of wine and a glass of water. Or, I can have a healthy snack before I go out, which will make me less hungry and less likely to overindulge.

4) Contingency Management: A positive-reinforcement approach where rewards are given for adherence to desired behavior.

Let me state first that food is not a good reward system. Although it’s tempting to treat yourself with a slice of cheesecake or a vat of cookie dough for losing a few pounds, it’s more constructive to pick inedible rewards.

My reward to myself was a new dress for my cousin’s wedding. It was fun to go shopping for my new shape and the experience had the added bonus of keeping me motivated to stay on plan.

5) Cognitive Restructuring: Refuting faulty thinking with positive self-talk.

Do you remember the character Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live? The skit was titled, “Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley.” Stuart, a bleached-blond, effeminate man, would try and help his guests fix their problems and at the end of the skit he would look in the mirror and say, “I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”

Hollywood loves to mock the self-help movement and that skit was hilarious. But Stuart actually had a good point. A positive internal dialog is vital if you’re trying to change your behavior.

Just think about the following statements. Which one do you think is more likely to get a positive result?

“I might as well eat the fried chicken and mashed potatoes because I’m never going to be able to lose weight and keep it off.”

OR

“I’ve conquered the corporate world, survived two teenagers, and assisted my parents through multiple illnesses. I can figure out how to eat salads and exercise.”

6) Social Support: The physical and emotional comfort we get from family, friends and co-workers.

Success is rarely achieved on your own. Reach out to people to help you. I know I’m more likely to go to the gym if I’m meeting someone there.

7) Stress Management: Learning to change how we manage stress.

A lot of us are stress eaters. We love our comfort food, but that’s a horrible habit.

Since stress is a part of life, you’ve got to develop different coping strategies instead of food. Meditation, exercise, talking with friends, there are a variety of things you can do to relieve stress.

Since I’ve yet to successfully meditate, I rely on exercise and chatting, or venting, which is probably a more accurate description. There’s nothing like a good kvetch session to get out some frustration.

There you have it. Who knew you just had to use your brain.

Now go get thinking!

Food Spotlight: Oy! It's Poi

At a Hawaiian luau Monday night, I dined on many local dishes: kalua pig (pulled pork), lomi lomi salmon (cold salmon, onions and tomatoes), poke (raw ahi tuna salad), lau lau (fish, chicken and beef wrapped in taro leaves and steamed), and poi (pounded taro plant).

The pork, slow-cooked all day in an imu (an underground oven) and the tuna were my favorites. Poi was, um, a different story.

A purplish-gray paste, poi has the consistency of Mastic, that stuff you use to adhere tile to a wall. While it looks like a hideously unappetizing blob on your plate, it actually doesn’t taste bad. In fact, it doesn’t taste like anything. It reminds me of grits, not in texture, but with no flavor of its own, it takes on the taste of whatever you pair with it. For example, Hawaiians sprinkle sugar over it for breakfast and eat it with salty lomi lomi salmon for dinner.

Given its benign flavor profile, and the fact that Hawaiians had access to many other food sources, I wondered why anyone would cultivate it. And why would they make it a part of their daily diet?

It turns out, poi, which is made from the taro plant, has been cultivated across the world for over 5,000 years. Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and India all have accounts of taro as a dietary staple. In the Hawaiian culture taro is sacred and believed to have the greatest life force of all foods. When poi is uncovered at the family dinner table, it is believed that the spirit of Haloa, the ancestor of the Hawaiian people is present and therefore, all conflict among family members has to come to an immediate halt.

Poi is the Hawaiian version of, “shut up and eat your dinner.”

And it’s relatively healthy. It’s low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium and is a good source of vitamins E, B6, and C, as well as potassium, magnesium and iron.

Hmm, who knew?

Even so, I’m afraid poi will remain a Hawaiian dietary staple, not one of mine.

One Hawaiian dish I am adding to my appetizer repertoire is tuna poke (pronounced POH-kay). If you like ahi sashimi (raw tuna), then you’ll love this.


Basic Hawaiian Tuna Poke

Ingredients:
4 cups ahi (yellowfin tuna, sashimi grade) diced
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup green onion, minced
1 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and chill well. Enjoy!

Hula Dancing. It's the Next Big Thing in Exercise.

Aloha from The Big Island of Hawaii!

Michael and I are enjoying a week-long vacation on The Big Island of Hawaii, and as expected, it's fabulous.

While I have yet to utilize the hotel's fitness center, I have been getting my NEAT on. (Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis, a/k/a physical activity.) Between sailing, snorkeling, and a full day of hiking through Volcanoes National Park, I've dropped into bed at night happily, but totally exhausted.

And Michael has had a bit of an epiphany out here. My exercise-abhorring husband has finally found an activity that he enjoys. In terms of cardio training, hula dancing apparently sucks the least for him. (play the video below to see him in action.)

Now if I can only get American Family Fitness to offer a class...

The Least of Multiple Evils

I’ve never experienced “runner’s high” or “cyclists’ euphoria.” (Okay, I made that last one up.) But my point is, I’ve never felt exhilarated with any form of cardio workout. I do it because I know I have to, not because I find ecstasy in the activity. I am always most thrilled when it’s over.

Not surprisingly, when my life gets hectic, my cardio workouts fall by the wayside. I maintain my healthy eating and strength training, but cardio, oh no, I don’t have time for that!

Now that school has started, I have no more excuses—at least not legitimate ones—for not doing my cardio training.

“You need to find an activity you enjoy, that way you’re less likely to skip it.” That’s the advice from fitness experts. Yeah, well, smarty pants fitness people, what if you don’t like ANY of that stuff. Then what?

They don't have an answer for me. 

So, I fall back on the advice of Robert, one of Michael’s previous bosses. Robert’s career advice to Michael was, “All work sucks. So find work that pays the most and sucks the least.”

I think that guy missed his calling as a motivational speaker.

Robert’s point is well taken though. For me, all cardio sucks, so I need to pick the one activity that sucks the least.

And the winner is….cycling. 

In the darkened room, I can sit down, close my eyes and get lost in the music. For some reason being able to shut my eyes is important. I’ve tried closing them while running on the treadmill, but things didn’t go well. Definitely don’t try it, unless you like the feeling of almost being catapulted into the wall behind you.

There is still no ecstasy in cycling, but for me, it sucks the least.

Food Spotlight: Alcohol

Michael and I being "healthy"

Well, it’s finally happened. The news I’ve been waiting for is here.

Moderate daily alcohol consumption is considered healthy. Say it with me people, WOO HOO!

A Dutch study followed 1,400 men for 40 years and found that the ones that drank a half-glass of wine daily outlived their abstaining counterparts by almost four-and-a-half years. Those poor schmoes who didn’t drink thought they were doing the right thing and low and behold their wine-loving friends ended up toasting them at their funeral. It just doesn’t seem fair, does it?

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, it’s a small study, and they’re Dutch so maybe that makes a difference, and what about women?

I had all those questions too and it turns out, there’s volumes of research on alcohol consumption and it’s impact on an individual’s health.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) echoes the Dutch study, reporting that moderate drinkers have the greatest longevity. The NIAAA also found that moderate drinking is beneficial to heart health, resulting in a sharp decrease in heart disease risk (40%-60%).

Furthermore, an extensive review of recent medical research by the NIAAA found that, with few exceptions, studies from at least 20 countries around the world demonstrate a 20- to 40-percent lower coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence among drinkers compared to nondrinkers. Moderate drinkers exhibit lower rates of CHD-related mortality than either heavy drinkers or abstainers.

And the benefits cross gender lines. Both men and women have decreased risk of coronary heart disease with moderate alcohol consumption.

What I find really fascinating is this chart:

People who don’t drink at all have almost the same risk of mortality as heavy drinkers. The lowest risk category are the “one drink a day” folks.

How is this possible?

Scientists point to the numerous benefits of alcohol, including:

◦   It increases good cholesterol in your blood and decreases bad cholesterol

◦   It decreases blood clotting

◦   It reduces coronary artery spasm in response to stress

◦   It increases coronary blood flow  

◦   It reduces blood pressure 

◦   It reduces blood insulin level 

◦   It increases estrogen levels

◦   It reduces harmful arterial plaque

The key, of course, is MODERATION! 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, moderate drinking is defined as one glass a day or less for women and two glasses a day or less for men. And you can’t save up and drink seven glasses in one night. Binge drinking is harmful and doesn’t provide the same benefits as a consistent daily pattern. Plus, it makes you feel like crap in the morning. And it makes me want to go to Five Guys for a burger and fries, which isn’t really on my healthy eating plan.

Also, you should fill your glass with red wine or dark beer. Red wine has an antioxidant known as resveratrol and dark beer is rich in flavonoids. These are known to fight the effects of damaging free radicals. (I think that means if you drink red wine or dark beer you’re also helping to fight Al-Qaeda. You know I'm kidding, right?)

There are, of course, categories of people that shouldn't drink at all---recovering alcoholics, pregnant women, persons under 21, and anyone advised against drinking by their physician. And the American Heart Association recommends that you shouldn't start drinking (if you don't already) just for health purposes. 

For the rest of us, however, the ones that are trying to justify their wine consumption, this is fantastic news.

So let’s get healthy people. Meet me at the bar and we’ll toss back a glass of red goodness or a dark, frothy lager. But just one, or two, if you're a boy.

Now if I can just get the scientific community to sanction the consumption of large amounts of cookie dough my life would be fabulous.

Sources:

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/AlcoholAndHealth.html

http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2009/04/30/jech.2008.082198.short?q=w_jech_ahead_tab

La Porte, R., et al. Coronary heart disease and total mortality. Recent developments in Alcoholism, 1985, 3, 157-163.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1175231/Half-glass-wine-day-help-live-years-longer.html#ixzz0yUfAmkz3

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/03/08/alcohol-consumption-how-much-is-too-much-and-too-little.htm

Food Spotlight: Eggs

First it was cholesterol, now it’s salmonella. The poor egg just can’t catch a break.

Since I like to root for the underdog, I’m dedicating this Food Spotlight to my dear maligned friend, the egg.

When they’re not tainted with salmonella, eggs are an incredibly healthy food. With six grams of protein and a list of other nutrients including, riboflavin, vitamin B12, selenium, phosphorus, choline, lutein, folate, vitamin D, and zeaxanthin, that little guy packs quite a lot into a two-inch oval. And it’ll only cost you about 80 calories. Nutritionists call it a “nutrient-dense” food, meaning they are rich in nutrients compared to their calorie content. More simply, you get a lot of nutrient bang for your calorie buck.

I know, I know, there is that thing about cholesterol. Noone’s perfect and my friend is no exception. Eggs have a lot of cholesterol, 212 milligrams per large egg to be precise. But the good news is, it’s completely contained within the yolk. If you don’t want cholesterol, just eat the egg whites. How many other foods make it easy for you to separate out the bad stuff? You ever try taking the sugar out of a Twinkie? Or the saturated fat out of a French fry? At least my friend made it easy for you. He’s like that you know, very considerate of people’s dietary restrictions.

And lucky for us, recent research has debunked the myth that eating eggs increases your risk for heart disease. A 2007 study published in Medical Science Monitor observed no significant difference in cardiovascular diseases (like stroke and heart attack) between people who consumed more than six eggs per week and those who consumed one or fewer eggs per week.

Now, nutrition guidelines suggest that healthy adults can eat one whole egg a day. (Diabetics, individuals with heart disease, and people with high cholesterol still need to check with their physician regarding egg consumption.)

This week, ready to fill my shopping cart with eggs, I stopped to study my choices. I had never paid attention to the labels before. Nestled among the standard brown or white eggs were “cage free,” “free-range,” “certified organic,” and “Omega-3 enhanced” eggs.

Good God, I thought. Isn’t an egg just an egg?

Apparently not.

I’m skeptical of any marketing claim on a food label, especially when the cost rises with each bold statement. My mind quickly jumps to, “Does it really matter if the hens are cage free, or are they just trying to gig me for more money because it sounds better?”

After some research I deciphered the meaning of all those marketing labels. Here’s a rundown of what those terms mean.

“Cage free” means exactly that, the chickens aren’t in cages, but they’re not roaming around the farm pecking at the ground either. They are often in barns or warehouses and generally don’t have access to the outdoors. More disconcerting is that there’s no third-party audit of the farm. So you have to trust that the supplier is being truthful in his “cage free” claim. Um, yeah, I don’t know about that.

The same goes with “free range” eggs. These chickens have some degree of outdoor access but the amount, duration or quality of access isn’t regulated. And again, there’s no third party audit. Yeah, I have a “free range” dog too. Does that mean I could charge more for her if I wanted to sell her?

If you really want eggs from a hen that is living the most natural life it can, your best option is a “Certified Organic” egg. These hens are cage free and are required to have outdoor access. However, the amount, duration, and quality of outdoor access is undefined. They are fed an organic, all-vegetarian diet free of antibiotics and pesticides, as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program and compliance is verified through third-party auditing.

“Omega-3 enhanced” eggs are from hens fed a significant amount of flaxseed. This claim has nothing to do with how the chicken lives, it could be a caged hen or free range. It is simply stating that the chicken’s feed is high in omega-3 fatty acids.

With all this confusion about labeling I wondered, does it even matter? Does the way a hen is cared for impact the nutritional quality of the egg?

Well, maybe. It certainly makes sense that a hen allowed to forage naturally would have a more diverse diet, leading to different nutrition in her eggs.

A study conducted by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences showed that eggs from chickens allowed to forage in pastures were higher in some nutrients. There’s also a study fromMother Earth News touting the nutritional benefits of free-range eggs versus caged hen eggs, but with a name like “Mother Earth News,” it makes me question their results. Although they claim the eggs were tested by an accredited third-party lab.

All else being equal, I’d buy certified organic eggs, for the sake of the chicken and also because I agree with the logic that a naturally fed chicken will produce a higher quality egg. But it’s not equal. Organic eggs are $2.89 a dozen at Kroger versus $1.89 for standard, caged hen eggs. Ugh, what to do? My family of five goes through about three dozen eggs a week.

I think this is the perfect product to start buying local. This Wednesday I’m going to check out the West End Farmer’s Market. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Sources: http://live.psu.edu/story/47514

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/guide_egg_labels.html

  

http://www.healthybirds.umd.edu/Eggs/index.cfm

It’s Personal

Sitting in my sister Tammi’s house in Augusta, Georgia, I stared out the window at her beautiful Rose of Sharon bush. Its branches, heavy with their load of white blossoms, rose six feet above the deck before arching gracefully over the railing. Shifting my gaze to the right, I glanced at their forested backyard and two-acre pond. Sipping my coffee I absorbed the beautiful scenery before me. Giggling silently to myself, I remembered that, initially, staying with Tammi on her 13-acre property scared me. “But, but, if someone breaks in, no one can hear you scream,” I told her.

“Yeah, that kind of doesn’t bother me,” she replied in her lilting Southern drawl. “Besides, we’ve got about a dozen guns in the gun cabinet. If they get in, they’re definitely not getting out.”

My fear of the isolation slowly diminished and is now replaced with a sense of calm. She and her husband Robbie have a beautiful country retreat, only ten minutes outside town. It’s the perfect getaway. So while Michael partied in Vegas for his annual boys’ trip, the children and I enjoyed a final summer fling visiting my family.

The whole Georgia clan! My mom, two sisters and their families, and my family.

Whether dining with my mom, walking along the Augusta Canal with my brother-in-law Robbie, or sipping wine on Tammi’s back porch, the conversation always shifted to nutrition and fitness. It seems that everyone in my family is on some sort of health kick.

After five days of discussion on what it takes to maintain a healthy diet and exercise program, only one thing is clear—it’s different for everyone.

For example, my mom recently joined Weight Watchers. She finds that the personal accountability of a weekly weigh-in keeps her motivated and focused on making better choices.

Tammi, burned out from the gym, has decided to focus her efforts on nutrition. A busy working mom, she wants to get her diet under control and on autopilot before she reintroduces a vigorous fitness regime.  

For my brother-in-law Robbie, a multi-faceted approach seems to work. He runs or walks daily, watches what he eats, and tries to limit the number of times he dines out, since restaurant temptations are difficult for him to resist.

So what works for me, I thought? What motivates me to stay on track?

Back in graduate school, I remember Michael and I making a bet with Tammi and her first husband. I’ll call him John.

The rules were simple. Whichever couple lost the most weight combined, won the bet. The losers not only had to buy the other couple dinner, but when they ordered their meal they had to introduce themselves to the waiter as follows: “Hi, my name is [  ] and I have a weight problem.”

This strategy tapped into two elements of my personality: competitiveness and my fear of public humiliation. It worked beautifully. No way was I going to tell a perfect stranger that I had a weight problem. And Michael, who doesn’t normally give a hoo-ha about weight loss, can’t stand to lose, so his natural competitiveness kicked in too. Not surprisingly, we won.

Seated at dinner for the celebratory meal. The waiter stood before us and said, “Hi, my name’s Jason and I’ll be taking care of you this evening.”

Michael and I stared at Tammi and John, waiting for their reply.

Tammi dutifully jumped right in. “Hi, my name’s Tammi and, as you can see, I have a weight problem.”

Amid bursts of laughter, Michael and I urged John to introduce himself too. He refused. Embarrassing himself in public was not something he was comfortable with. Welching on a bet, apparently was. Tammi and John are no longer married. Honor, it seems, was a problem for him in multiple categories of his life.

The fear of public humiliation is a powerful tool. One of the happy side effects of writing about health and wellness is tapping into this aspect of my personality. By putting information out there, I feel accountable to you. I feel obligated to “walk the talk.” So as much as I hope I pass along good information and tips to you, I wanted you to know that simply by reading this, you’re helping me. Thanks!

If you think about a time when you were successful, not just in weight loss, but with anything, what helped you get there? Was it a supportive team around you? Was it a clear purpose or goal? A tangible reward? Public acknowledgement?

Whatever it is, apply those same motivators to your health goals.

If you need support, join a weight loss program, encourage a friend to do it with you.

Do you have a wedding or reunion next year? That could be your goal.

Eyeing a fabulous pair of shoes or handbag? Treat yourself once you’ve lost a certain amount of weight or lowered your cholesterol.

Are you like me and need public accountability? Start a blog! Or, simply tell your friends and family your plans. Trust me, they’ll bug you endlessly about your progress.

Good luck!