Feet to the Fire

The management team at GISFW has decided to take all the Danvers clients and set them up as the training team for all new managers. You see, since I haven't been to training yet, I've been testing all my skills on you. You've done a great job! Sean, Charles and Brian (the owner) decided I would learn best if they put my "feet to the fire". Honestly, I think they just made me do what they didn't feel like doing, but I am sure they will deny it. I think they kept betting how far they could push me before I ran out the door and never came back. So far, I'm still here. I probably could have stepped back and moved slow, but I don't roll that way. They knew I could push myself further than I thought I could. I made some mistakes(sorry!), but every small success built my confidence, and I finally hit my stride. Good for me, maybe not so good for you.

Now I have a time to focus on you and your healthy lifestyle goals. I am sure when you joined you were VERY excited for the transformations in your future. I was too when I finally decided to take the job. Then you realized, as I did, that this takes work!! Our team knows you have what it takes to make permanent lifestyle changes. And you won't go running out the door! We need you to work hard for the whole hour you are in the studio. Feed off the energy! But what I need you to do is to focus on the nutrition. I will be looking on the Vitabot accounts and the total weight losses. I want to see more paper logs. I know eating "good" takes work, but when you do it - you will feel great and get closer to your goals! You can't out-exercise a bad diet.

Don't think if you don't log it, write it or get on the scale, that any mistakes did not happen! The pounds are still on the body, even if you hide from the scale. Face it, and then take action. Next week is weigh in week - don't be afraid. Being uncomfortable means you are challenging yourself and then you will change. Doing the same old thing, will give you the same old results. So here is what I want you to do:

Eat every few hours. Just break it down to breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner. I've include the Nutrition Cheat sheet in case you can't find yours. Now let's keep it simple, every meal or snack, have one serving of protein (3 oz or the size of your fist) one choice from the carbohydrate list and one food from the vegetable list. A snack can just have a healthy fruit or veggie from the carb list. That's it! Think outside the box. A mid-afternoon snack can be some shrimp and sliced melon. I actually eat 5 evenly spaced meals that are the same size. My dinner usually has 2 green veggies, a salad with olive oil and no carbs, since I workout earlier in the day.

Try and create a few choices for each meal and mix and match. Once you get in the habit of eating this way, you can be a little more creative with each choice. One thing that keep my food interesting this time of year is to grill all kinds of veggies. They taste so good!! I make big batches, so I can just heat them up when I need them. You can even grill fruit. Pineapple, bananas and peaches are good choices.

Keep it Simple

Are you trying to figure out why the pounds aren't coming off? Do you conveniently forget what you ate or drank? Don't think if you don't log it, write it or get on the scale, that any mistakes did not happen! The pounds are still on the body, even if you hide from the scale. Face it, and then take action. Get on the scale - don't be afraid. Being uncomfortable means you are challenging yourself and then you will change. Doing the same old thing, will give you the same old results. So here is what I want you to do:

Eat every few hours. Just break it down to breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner. Now let's keep it simple, every meal or snack, have one serving of protein (3 oz or the size of your fist) one healthy whole food, high fiber carbohydrate and one food from the vegetable list. A snack can just have a healthy fruit or veggie from the carb list. That's it! Think outside the box. A mid-afternoon snack can be some shrimp and sliced melon. I actually eat 5 evenly spaced meals that are the same size. My dinner usually has 2 green veggies, a salad with olive oil and no carbs, since I workout earlier in the day.

Try and create a few choices for each meal and mix and match. Once you get in the habit of eating this way, you can be a little more creative with each choice. One thing that keeps my food interesting this time of year is to grill all kinds of veggies. They taste so good!! I make big batches, so I can just heat them up when I need them. You can even grill fruit. Pineapple, bananas and peaches are good choices. Every meal is not a party. And don't act as if you didn't realize you would have to eat at some point! So plan ahead. You will be glad you did when the stomach rumbles.

Away from home - be afraid!

The secret to weight loss, or even weight maintenance, is calories in vs calories out. When we eat foods that we made, or that have a nutrition label on it, we are pretty sure how many calories, fat, protein and carbs are in it. If you are not sure of the nutrition information of any food, please log onto your Vitabot account or use a calorie counting book.

But..when you eat meals away from home, whether at a restaurant or a Dunkin' Donuts, we are never sure of how many calories there are and we guesstimate. Luckily for us, many restaurants now have web sites with nutrition information on it. But we must look BEFORE we eat! So, let's use D&D for an example. Now, I have nothing against this New England Chain, I love coffee since I'm Italian and married to a police officer, but a for a little somthin', somthin' with coffee you can do a lot of damage:

Bagel with Cream Cheese: 470 cal, 17.5 grams fat, 66 grams carbs
Chocolate chip muffin: 590 cal, 22 grams fat, 92 grams carbs
Chocolate chip cookie (it's small!): 360 cal, 15 grams fat, 53 carbs
Reduced Fat Blueberry Muffin (no bargain here): 430 cal, 22 g fat, 92 carbs
And though not a health food,
Glazed donut: 220 cal, 9 grams fat, 31 carbs. That's actually the lowest in calories. So, if you wanted to have one these choices at a treat meal, and you really wanted the donut, you may choose the reduced fat Blueberry muffin based on misinformation.

Another shockers: Uno Chicago Classic INDIVIDUAL Deep Dish pizza: 2,310 cal, 162 g fat and 4,200 grams of sodium - should be for a family of 4.

Don't even go to Macaroni Grill! I got some of this information from the book Eat This, Not That. For more information go to http://eatthis.menshealth.com/home

To find great food ideas, and to get emails about more food shockers and healthy food substitutions, log onto www.hungry-girl.com It's one of my favorites!

Here's a quick food idea. We all love the Greek yogurt because it's so rich and full of protein. The plain ones are the least in sugar, but you many want a little flavor. I use a little Jell-O sugar free fat free pudding mix, dry to add flavor. Now you can have chocolate, butterscotch or even pistachio. Or...you can add onion soup mix for a great dip for cut up veggies.

20 Years of Experience

I’ve worked for 20 years in the healthy living/weight loss industry, and I’ve learned a few things to be true. This has also been my own personal experience.

You must have a strong WHY to accomplish your health and fitness goals. If you don’t have a very strong why, you will never do the work it takes to become and stay a healthy and fit person. I assume this goal is not temporary, and “for life” is a very long time. We do everything for one of 2 reasons: the avoidance of pain or the pursuit of pleasure. I have met most of you because that last straw moment was painful enough for you to walk through the door at Weight Watchers or GISFW (a big step). However, if your why doesn’t turn positive, when the pain isn’t as strong, you will give up. So, if you got the news from your doctor that you must be on medication, because you are overweight and eat unhealthy foods, you may be shocked into action. But as you get used to taking a pill everyday, or maybe you even get off the medication, because of the diet changes, the pain starts to fade and it gets harder to say no to the cheesecake. You must find a positive WHY. Then focus on how wonderful this journey is (eating delicious fruits and veggies, having tons of energy and getting a good night’s sleep), and not just on the destination; what you do to get to your goals is what you have to keep doing to stay there.

Bottom line, what does a healthy lifestyle get you? Put that reason on your refrigerator, snack cabinet, bathroom mirror and computer screen and let those you love know too so that they can support you as well.

Another thing I learned is that you must get rid of the obstacles that are stopping you from living your best healthy life. I know you know what’s getting in your way. You tell me all the time: “I don’t cook”; “I never have healthy food in the house”; “I drink or eat too much at restaurants”. {fill in your issue} They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, so solve the problem. I’m not saying your obstacles aren’t difficult to overcome-that’s why they’re obstacles-but unless nothing changes, well, nothing changes. But there is a big difference between difficult and impossible.

OK, the last one. All my WW members know that I love analogies. I will miss wearing my outfits and using my props when I do my entrance. Here is one of my favorite stories I like to tell, especially to those members who have come back to see me:

I have this friend and she met this guy, John. He was perfect for her, a soul mate. They had so much in common and could talk for hours. He was kind and supportive and made her laugh. Six months later I called her to see how things were going with John and she said she broke up with him. What? It made no sense.

Back to you…So far, everyone at at WW or GISFW loves being there. You love how you feel. Enjoy what you eat and love how it make you feel. Love the workouts, or are getting to like them more. Your energy is high, cholesterol is lower and clothes are fitting better. But somewhere in the back of your mind, you think this is temporary. I’ll tell you this: NO ONE has ever left me, strayed from her healthy lifestyle, gained weight and said that she’s so glad that she left. We are here to help you, so don’t leave us! I have a mechanic, a tax accountant and doctor. They are the experts that I turn to. I still have to do the work, but they give me guidance and accountability. For my WW members, this has been a wonderful experience and thank for sharing your success with me. I am not going anywhere, though. I will still be at lindadf@comcast.net or you can visit me at Get In Shape For Women in Danvers at 110 Newbury St. I hope to see you soon.