It’s Super Bowl 50 and I’m snuggled with my 11 year old on the couch flipping through twitter during the penalties and I see Adidas Football posts “You can’t beat what you can’t block.” Ah-Ha!! In football speak THAT is the key to weight loss! If you can block your hunger, like an offensively lineman, you’ll have the opening to score into your dream body! BE tough! Hold your blocks!
On first glance I thought this article would prove delayed gratification or holding hunger longer helps you make better decisions. It talks about that and goes deeper, it says highly sensitive people with a large and accute appetites make the best decisions. So for our purposes it proves that the detailed body awareness of Pilates helps with decision making. For years I have said that Pilates makes a person sensitive enough to know the difference between hunger and empty, (the nuance of appetite) this article explains why. Thanks Rebecca Clyde for finding it!
Hunger Is Associated with Advantageous Decision Making
CLICK on the title above to read the article!
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K. Rowling
With almost every weight loss coaching client there is a conversation early in our work about a binge eating situation usually when they have downtime in life. Since I don’t believe in “free foods or “cheat days” to shove their discomfort into I had to direct people to good choices. It is important that the choices are good for them, for their moments where the indulging is eminent and so I ask for a list.
What are 10 things you can do all by yourself to make yourself calm/happy/full/fulfilled?
For me today (it changes often) here’s my list of good choices rather than taking down time to snack:
1) Spend time improving my garden
2) Chopping vegetables to make something yummy, for later
3) Check the Linked In of my cousin who is rebranding herself and make a positive notes in cyber space
4) Listen to my best friends’ incredibly talented daughter’s podcast http://www.rrpod.com/hilarious-online-reviews-out-loud-podcast and laugh till my side aches (hey it’s core work)
5) Put pictures in my children’s photo albums
6) Go for a walk
7) Make a new playlist
8) Clean a drawer with the intention of giving 5 items to goodwill
9) Leave a positive voicemail for a friend
10) Read one of the 4 books my husband is sure I will love! (and I will, I just haven’t made time…)
What are 10 things you can do all by yourself to make yourself calm/happy/full/fulfilled?
Go out there and make good choices! Fill Your Cup….
It was the last day I could use the Kale I bought at the Farmers Market last weekend. It had started to wilt in the crisper, I took the small bunch of Kale rinsed it in the sink and chopped the kale with my kitchen scissors, I added half of a red onion diced and 3 cloves of fresh garlic. I added a splash of water and olive oil to attempt a cross between steam and sauté for the mix. When the color popped on the Kale and it was deep green I put it into the cup then using the leftover olive oil in the skillet I scrambled an egg for protein on top of my semi-salad-sauté with a shake of garlic salt. It took less than 10 min to make!
Small Bunch of Kale
Half red onion diced
1 TBS Minced garlic
One Scrambled Egg
Dash of Garlic Salt on top!
Behave in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Make choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.” – Barbara De Angelis
If you say, even only to yourself, “I want to be thin” and you value your own words, you’ll make the choice to put down the beer, the wine, the snacks, the heavy meals because those behaviors are not aligned with your personal values. Living in alignment with yourself alleviates stress and difficulty with in your own heart. If you believe the only way to be healthy is to eat kale and cod – then eat that way. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know if that’s the healthiest choice but I do know this – if you believe it and live that way, the process strengthens your personal integrity and will feel good in your body and mind.
A this Time of year for Eons people have burned a Yule Log attaching the things that no longer serve them. What is in your life but outside of your belief? Burn it off. Let it go. This year live in integrity and align your beliefs and behavior and Fill Your Cup.
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” – JOSEPH CAMPBEL.
It takes a courageous type of soul to talk about weight management before Thanksgiving, when the weather is cold and all you really want is a mocha and a muffin. But you’ll feel and look better when the sweater eventually comes off if you come explore appetite and life balance with me this Sunday at Atticus at 10 am, I’ll be there with my honey latte, no one will judge your order, so sip what you like. I can’t wait to meet you. Love, Julie
To explain portion control, I’ve used the New York City closet analogy a lot. Maybe because most of my clients are women, but most people, male or female seem to understand.
When you have a small closet you only keep the clothes that fit really well. I’ve had big closets and small closets but I’ve always had items I enjoyed in them. Even if the closet is very small you have what you cherish. Even in lean years with small closets, I still get out of the house pretty often wearing my favorite things, looking pretty stylish and happy. (Ironically, I may not be troubled by sorting through less ideal choices.)
So with your smaller portion take the time to notice what you really enjoy – what makes your heart swell and your eyes twinkle. If you only allow yourself to consume the cup of your two hands amount of food (your small closet) what do you pick?
If your lunch doesn’t have the heart swelling affect, maybe wait until a strong craving for what you really enjoy comes to you. Enjoy your abundance – Fill Your Cup!
I saw a magazine headline titled “Healthy Choice Alternatives.” I looked at the list there were mustardy bread-less ideas for fast food. Then tips omitting this flavorful thing from a recipe, or buying the low fat alternative of that.
How about this alternative? Don’t satiate your appetite and see if you can determine why you are so hungry? You just ate a few hours ago. Accept the feelings that come up and hold on to the discipline it takes to choose to keep your mouth and stomach empty. If you really can’t stay hungry an extra hour or two and eat modesty, well suffer (and I mean truly agonize) over the consequences of being over full or bloated so you remember next time you want to over eat. I hope you’ll chose to avoid the suffering, and you’ll find the strength to reign in your appetite.
It’s not easy, but it’s the most reasonable grown up way around the “alternatives.”
What helps you keep up your discipline and eat light even when you are hungry?
“….like the lasting remnant of a summer strawberry.”
Those of you who’ve taken classes with me for years know I read the paper. I read the Sunday New York Times from my tub and it takes me until Thursday night.
There’s a great article by Amanda Fortini in the magazine this week about lipstick. (By “the magazine” I mean The New York Times Style Magazine.) Maybe because I wasn’t allowed to wear red lipstick in high school, I think red lipstick is the height of woman-hood. I am, like the author unlikely to paint on showy make up every day. No one’s mistaken me for a glamour girl or a diva, in day to day life. Yet the line in Breakfast at Tiffany’s where Audrey Hepburn says, “hand me my purse darling a girl can’t read that kind of thing with out her lipstick” stirs my inner Aphrodite and inspires all the bliss of being a woman.
But I am all 42 years into woman hood now with the wrinkles to prove I’ve done hard things and I’ve laughed a lot more than I’ve cringed. I have lines in my skin and I wonder how red lipstick may bleed into my lip line like the raspy voiced, chain smoking piano teacher I had as a kid? (She had red lines of her mouth etching outward like a mini rivers of blood flowing from a dangerous sea.) Do I need a primer? a plumper? I need a plan!
The plan: layer layer layer: bases, lip liners and pigments and then blot blot, fading out the color in order to look berry stained rather than painted on. The formulas of new lipsticks bleed less but they still sell bases. Your finished look is beautiful prepared for an evening of LIFE, eating drinking kissing and smiling. Not to slick or perfect (whew) I’m in – all in!
I bought a Wallgreens option for $30 Sally Hansen primer Covergirl liner (Passion) and Covergirl Blastfipstick (Vixen) as well as a Nordstrom option fro $65 Kisskiss lip lift and a Nars (Fire down below) I think I’ll wear them all at once. Why not?
Living lean is as much about filling your cup with life, sometimes its about what fills you up away apart from meals, for me, today, it’s lipstick – what is your appetite for life craving? What fills your cup?
An on and off Fill Your Cup follower (sound familiar) told me once she has to start eating lighter on Mondays and if she has a “bad” meal or day then she has to wait until the next Monday to get motivated.
Has anyone else thought that way? I asked her, does fat know the days of the week? Do Calories? Then why is the day a condition for your mind? Just start now in the middle of the day, wait and wait and wait until you are really hungry and then eat something cup size, stay somewhat hungry and then notice when your mind just stops it’s incessant whining and you can eat a cup of something delicious and nutritious 3 times a day. For most over eater’s eating is a lot more about habit than necessity. Overcome your resistance and start right now.
“It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.” – Leonardo da Vinci