9 January 2013

Celebrating Others Healthfully

I think one of the most difficult things about being on Whole30 is participating in the celebrations of loved ones. Saying no to non-Whole30 foods is just half the battle. The other half of the battle is trying to explain why you can’t partake in birthday cake, drinks, etc.

Since I’m now on my third Whole30, I feel like I have a little bit of experience with this. Just last night, I celebrated my man’s birthday without indulging in anything non-Whole30. Of course, it’s easy with him since he knows what I’m doing and gets why it’s important to me. It’s trickier if you’re around people who aren’t as close or don’t really understand why you eat the way you do.

Here are the things I’ve learned about celebrating others healthfully along the way:

It’s okay — I mean really OKAY —to say no to food.
We’ve all been in situations where we feel really guilty about turning down food, mostly because of who’s offering it to us. But you really CAN say no to food and not offer any explanation!

Sometimes no explanation is better than the truth.
People have a harder time arguing with no explanation than trying to explain that your eating plan doesn’t allow a certain food. “No, thanks,” is absolutely acceptable in almost all situations!

You can still participate in your own way.
Whether that means bringing your own special food, deciding to celebrate without food in a special way, or promising you’ll treat yourself after the event, make sure you do something special or different. Otherwise, you’ll feel deprived all around.

Your loved ones will never remember what you did or didn’t eat.
I promise you, they’re not the food police. Even if it becomes a little awkward to say no to food you’re offered, no one will remember who ate in no time at all. It’s not worth caving just to avoid a slightly awkward situation because it won’t matter at all soon enough.

You can celebrate without food.
I promise, you can! For my birthday this past year, I hosted a big Zumba class. Tons of fun, no food involved.

What other tips do you have for celebrating others healthfully?

22 October 2012

The First Step on the Road to Fit Yo Pants

All your pics have been submitted. You’re ready to fit yo pants. Now, the only question remaining is HOW?

The first thing I need you to do — the first step to fitting yo pants, if you will — is to recognize that whatever you’re doing right now needs to change. You don’t fit yo pants right now, and you clearly want to, so you need to do something different.

I’m not going to be able to tell you exactly what that different thing is, because I don’t know your story or your lifestyle, but I do know that a shift needs to happen. If you’re the kind of person who needs to be told exactly what to do, it might be worth considering getting a Your Healthista Consulting personalized plan. But for the next 5.5 weeks, something’s gotta change.

For those of you that are ready to commit to changing things a bit RIGHT NOW so you can fit yo pants (and feel awesome in the process), here are a few second (and third, and forth) steps to take.

• Commit to getting rid of processed foods, except when they’re treats (see below). I’m putting this one first because it’s the toughest. Even if you think you eat pretty well, take a really close look at your diet and figure out where processed crap is creeping in. Low-fat yogurt? Flavored oatmeal? Sweetened peanut butter? Packaged chips/bread/cereal/etc.? The more ingredients, the more likely it is that food is a processed no-no. These types of foods (and I don’t care how “low fat” or “low cal” they are) will NOT help you fit yo pants, and they really have no place in your diet except as a once-in-a-while treat. So you need to get those out of your life right now, except when they’re a designated treat. Speaking of treats…

• Commit to only having treats when they’re truly worth it (or no more than 1-3x/week). What’s a treat? To me, a treat is anything with more white carbs/sugar than any other macronutrient (protein or good fat). We know that our bodies have no use for white carbs/sugar, but we also know that they’re delicious. And unless you have an issue with overeating carbs (there are plenty of us who do), they don’t need to be eliminated completely. But you need to make sure that every sugary or carby thing you eat is WORTH IT. To decide if a treat is worth it, check out my post on the Here and Now Concept. Another good way to determine if something’s worth it or not is to use this handy flow chart.
  
  Just so we’re all clear, here are some examples of treats: bread, pasta, most cereals, candy, any dessert, alcohol, store-bought juice… you get the point. Even “whole wheat” or “whole grain” breads and pastas should count as a treat even though they’re not white. The small amount of additional fiber and protein they have doesn’t cancel out the fact that the main nutrient they provide is carbs. You can get plenty of carbs from all the fruits and veggies you’re eating!
  
  
• Commit to finding a way to move your body for at least 20-45 minutes four times a week. At this point in the game, I don’t care what you do to get some physical activity in. It could even be walking. Just commit to getting it done four times a week for 20 minutes, minimum. As we progress through this challenge, I’ll be posting workouts and other fitness tips, but I need you to commit right now to making this time available for physical activity.
  
  
• Commit to spending 2-3 hours/week cooking. No matter how you slice it (pun 100% intended), fitting yo pants will probably require some time in the kitchen on your part. You need to find this time NOW. Look at your schedule for the week and decide when you can spend a couple hours prepping food in the kitchen. You might be hard boiling eggs, baking sweet potatoes, roasting veggies, making frittata — whatever you need on hand for the week. Again, I’ll be posting lots of yummy recipes throughout the challenge, but you need to commit the time to make them!
  
  
• Commit to making room in your life for change. Like I said at the beginning of this post, you need to be open to changing some of your lifestyle habits if you want to fit yo pants. You need to make mental room for these changes right now. I know it won’t always be easy, but it will always, always be worth it.

If you can commit to those things right now, I promise you, the next five or so weeks won’t be hard. Starting today, get rid of all the excess treats in your life. Make time for exercise 20-45 minutes four times a week (schedule it in now!). Make a mental commitment to focus for the next five weeks to see what you’re capable of. If you do all that, I promise I’ll post an awesome recipe for you tomorrow (okay, I’m gonna post it anyway, but I’ll feel better doing it if you commit!).

Good? Good.

25 September 2012

SWYPO Foods

Oh heyyyyy, day 16! How you doin’? We’re doin’ just fine. Juuustttt fine. Today, I want to talk about Sex With Your Pants On foods. Please, allow me to explain.

The Hartwigs discourage re-creating your favorite junk foods so they’re Whole30 compliant. They call this “SWYPO” (Sex With Your Pants On) because, as they say, “It’s good… but it’s not that good. You can tell yourself it’s okay, it’s still pretty good, you’re totally satisfied… but that’s kind of a lie. Because you know exactly how good pants-less sex feels.”

It’s difficult for some people to understand why these foods might be not such a great idea on the Whole30. I’m pretty on board with their rationale, which is this:

• Sad Paleo-ified versions of amazing foods like pizza, pancakes, ice cream, etc., are just that: sad. Why waste your time eating a lesser version of a great food? You can pretend to be satisfied eating that food, but the truth is, nothing can satisfy you like the real deal.
• SWYPO foods are a gateway drug. When you eat Paleo pancakes, you’re inevitably going to crave the real thing eventually. Why set yourself up for failure?
• Eating sweet foods can still promote an unhealthy psychological/hormonal reaction, even if you’re using “approved” foods to sweeten. Sweet foods are sweet foods, and if you eat a Paleo dessert after your Whole30 dinner every night, you’re always going to crave dessert. You’ll never get out of the habit.
• Some foods are okay to substitute: spaghetti squash for spaghetti, lettuce for a tortilla, etc., but think carefully about whether you’re just prolonging a long-time addiction by eating these foods.

But these are PALEO pancakes!

I understand these arguments for why SWYPO foods are a no-no, but I have a slightly different perspective:

• SWYPO foods don’t make me feel like crap. When I make my banana pancakes with egg, banana, and coconut flour, they do taste enough like real pancakes, but they don’t make me feel like real pancakes (bloated, sluggish, etc.). That’s pretty awesome.
• Paleo-fied junk food is still a lot better for you than regular junk food. It’s just a better choice, period. And sometimes, in the real world, we have to learn to make the better choice, not the perfect choice.
• SWYPO foods promote learning how to modify recipes and getting better at cooking. I’m all in favor of people becoming more skilled in the kitchen!

But the bottom line is, during your Whole30, you should just stay as far away from all forms of junk food as you can, Whole30-compliant or not. It’s not hard to do for 30 days. After your 30 days, I encourage you to experiment with SWYPO foods as long as they don’t become aneed. They should still be considered a treat even after your Whole30. You can abstain from junk food for 30 days. You really can.

Find out more about the Whole30 program on the Whole9 website!

18 September 2012

The Deal with Fruit

Whether you’re doing the Whole30 or not, you’ve probably heard something about fruit and how maybe it’s not one of those foods you can eat unlimited quantities of without consequence after all. One of the only questions I got yesterday was about fruit.

Fruit contains plenty of fructose, which is a naturally occurring fruit sugar. Naturally occurring is good, right? Well, yes. Naturally occurring sugars are certainly preferable to man-made corn syrup. But does your body really know the difference? Eh, not so much. Sugar is sugar is sugar. The amount in fruit, however, is a lot lower than say, the amount in candy, baked goods, or even savory entrees. And the other stuff you get with fruit (fiber, nutrients) is absent in other sugar-containing food. This helps slow your body’s absorption of that sugar — a sort of antidote to it, if you will.

Here’s the real issue with fruit, as I see it: It can act as a convenient and politically correct crutch/substitute when you’re craving something —anything— sweet. The idea of the Whole30 (or any low sugar diet, really) is to get out of the habit of needing sweet-tasting foods. Why? Because they’re super addicting and make you crave more sweet-tasting foods! Plus, eating hyper-naturally sweet foods dulls your ability to detect subtle sweetness in foods that aren’t saccharine-sweet… So you in turn need evenmore sweetness. It’s a vicious cycle!

So here’s my advice, in a nutshell:

• Definitely eat fruit. DEFINITELY. It’s super delicious and obviously nutritious. That said, keep reading this list.
• Try to focus on seasonal fruit.
• Don’t get in the habit of eating fruit after every meal. Don’t use it in place of dessert or you’ll never get out of the habit of needing something sweet.
• If you find yourself becoming dependent on fruit, cut back and limit yourself to lower sugar fruits (berries are a good bet).
• Again, if you’re finding yourself craving the sweetness of fruit, try to avoid the highest sugar fruits: bananas, grapes, mango, pineapple, cherries, dried fruit.
• But all that said: FRUIT IS STILL BETTER THAN 90% OF ALL OTHER FOODS, in terms of nutrition, etc. So please don’t ever feel bad about eating a few pieces of fruit, especially when it’s local and seasonal! The goal is just to make sure you’re not using fruit as a crutch.

I try to stick to 2-3 servings of fruit per day, tops. I include starchy vegetables in that count too (foods like sweet potatoes and winter squash). But really, if eating too much fruit is your problem… you’re doing pretty well!

29 August 2012

Why You Can’t Eat Healthier by Leo Babauta

I was just going to link to this article, but I had to repost it in its entirety because it’s just so on point and I don’t want anyone to miss it. I see the pattern Babauta describes with clients, friends, colleagues, and people I barely know. Committing to eating healthier doesn’t work if you haven’t figured out how to deal with your demons in a healthier way.

Most people have a hard time moving to a healthier diet, and they don’t understand what’s going on.

I was one of those people: 70 lbs. heavier and addicted to junk food, I would often tell myself that I’m going to start a diet, and even buy a bunch of new food, only to find myself snacking on chips, grande lattes, cookies, French fries and more after a few days.

Why? Because I used those foods to meet many of my needs, and taking the food away meant I had no way of dealing with some difficult things.

Food is a coping mechanism for most people, and to change our eating habits, we need new ways of coping.

Some examples of how we use food to cope:

• We eat when we’re stressed. If you change to a healthier diet, how will you cope with stress instead? You need new stress coping strategies.
• We eat when we’re sad or depressed. How can we learn to cope with these emotions in a healthier way?
• We eat as a reward, when we’ve done something good. What will we do to reward ourselves instead?
• We eat to socialize. How will we socialize without food?
• We eat because we’re bored. How will we cope with boredom instead?
• We eat because we’re angry. When we get in a fight, how will we deal with our anger instead of using food?
• We eat for pleasure. Are there healthier ways to find pleasure that we’ll learn instead of using food?
• We eat for love. We often equate food with love (our moms might have given us food lovingly as kids, or our lover used it to romance us), and so eating becomes a substitute for love. Where will we find love instead?

All of these (and more) are real needs. We all need love and pleasure and rewards, and ways of dealing with stress, boredom, sadness, loneliness, anger and frustration. For many of us, food has become the default way of meeting all those needs — and we can’t just take away the food without finding a healthier replacement. If we do, we’ll fall back into our old habit quickly.

It has taken me years to figure this out and to slowly build new, healthier habits to deal with all of these needs. But I can honestly say I’ve done it, and it’s possible. Do I still think about food when I’m lonely or sad or stressed? Sure. But now I have consciously built up some replacement coping mechanisms that work better for me, and I’m much healthier, leaner and fitter as a result.

Some things that have worked for me (your mileage will vary):

• Exercise – a great way to deal with stress, boredom, anger. After awhile, a run can also be pleasure and a reward.
• Meditation – excellent way of learning to deal with all of our emotions.
• Tea – also great for stress, boredom, anger, but for me a great reward and source of pleasure.
• People – I’ve learned to get my love from friends and family, and to use them as ways of dealing with my tougher emotions — talking with them, working out with them, simply spending time with them.
• Cleaning – decluttering, mindful sweeping, mindful wiping things down with a rag (TM). A great way to mindfully deal with stress, boredom, anger, etc.
• Solitude – I’ve found solitude a great way to deal with tougher emotions (you learn to work out your problems instead of avoiding them by eating food), and solitude can be a reward as well.

These are just a few ideas, and what works best for you will be highly personal. The idea is to figure out what you’ll do beforehand — before the need arises, or it’ll be too late — and then learn to be aware of these emotional triggers as they happen. When they do happen, very consciously do the new habit instead of the old. It’ll take awhile to form the new habit, especially as you’ll probably forget sometimes, but just remember my mantra: “We are all learning.” And have patience with yourself.

Food has become so many things to us, as individual people and as a society. It’s how we socialize, celebrate holidays, watch sports, show love, find comfort, deal with pain. And yet, that’s not always healthy: we are getting fatter and fatter because of this addiction, and it’s time we rethink our main strategy for coping and loving.

I should note that this idea is the same for any other addiction: biting your nails, smoking, drugs, alcohol, etc. We use them as crutches to cope with our needs, and to beat them we need to find healthier methods of coping and meeting our needs.

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