“So maybe tomorrow. I’ll find my way home…” ~Stereophonics

Four years ago I was a superfit 119 pounds (down from my original 200 pounds). At one point during the summer of 2005, I was down to 114 pounds – too thin by my standards (I am only 5 feet tall). Today – well, today I have no idea how much I weigh. I am going to guess about 128, judging from the fact that I can’t button most of my pants, or when I do, I have a terrible muffin top. (As an aside – I no longer weigh myself because I refuse to focus on a number.)

I way fell off the superfit weight loss wagon about three years ago when the stress of being a single mom with limited income drove me to eat too much chocolate and too many Ritz Crackers.

I still exercised and taught Spinning classes, but the calories I was snacking on were overtaking the calories I was expending.

Then – earlier this year – I buckled down, cut out most of the “white” carbs, started eating healthier overall and lost 11 of the approximately 20 pounds I had gained. Everyone noticed, and people everywhere commented. I felt good and happy about myself…good enough to get rid of the pants that had some “growing room” around the waist.

I don’t know what happened between then and now, but when I went to put on my jeans two weeks ago I couldn’t button them. Not only could I not button my jeans, but I couldn’t button any pants at all! And since I’d given away my “heavier” jeans during my last move, I had nothing left to wear but sweatpants (I refuse to go out and buy larger pants). I was very frustrated, disgusted, mad and sad. I wanted to just give up and eat everything in sight…and feel sorry for myself. Then, a week ago, I decided to once again take the bull by the horns. I lost 82 pounds before – I can lose about 10…I think.

The biggest change I noticed that had caused the weight gain is that I had gone back to my old “fat” thinking of “I’ll start tomorrow.” This is the exact thinking that got me to 200 pounds in the first place. Over the last few years, with stresses mounting, lots of late nights working, issues with kids in school – I fell right back into the old trap of “feel good now, start fresh tomorrow.”

The funny thing is – my motto for fitness has been “tomorrow never comes.” And do you know what? It doesn’t. That is how I gained those 20 pounds back – waiting for a tomorrow where everything will be easier.

So in the course of one short week my pants fit a bit better and I feel more confident. Why? Because, once more, I cut out (or way back on) the “white” carbs (which are really just sugary foods, crackers, white breads, pastas), added more protein and really paid attention to my diet. But the biggest secret was nipping myself in the bud when I was tired and not allowing myself to overeat for energy and then “start tomorrow.” Last week, I started “today.” And kept going.

Even tonight when I went out for Mexican food, I did have lots of chips, salsa, and even sour cream. I had eaten pretty healthily most of this week and ate a light breakfast this morning in anticipation of this “linner.” The “slipping back” me would have taken this a step further and continued to eat junkie foods tonight because I’d “already blown it.” The me that lost the original 82 pounds took control, though, and said, “You’re done. You didn’t blow it. You planned this, you had fun, and now you go back to eating lightly.”

So yes – my pants fit a bit better. And by Christmas I hope to report that the muffin top is no longer “muffining.”

Onward.

~Helen

Photo: ©Flickr: nhanusek

“I hate myself for loving you…”~Joan Jett

If you’re like me, sometimes you eat things you don’t even like.

Take Cheetos, for instance. I don’t like them. They taste like styrofoam and they make me puffy. And yet…when I am tired or stressed, I sometimes discover that my fingers are orange from eating my daughter’s Cheetos (Puffs).

The bummer with eating foods we don’t really like is that we waste calories on things that have nothing to do with pleasure or fun. If I am going to eat something fattening and pretty much useless, wouldn’t it be better to eat some expensive, delicious melt-in-my-mouth Belgian chocolate rather than Hershey’s (wax) chocolate?

In all reality, when I am “stress eating,” I am eating not for flavor or fun but to relieve some pressure in an overbooked and fatigued day.

I want salt, sugar, salt, sugar…and it doesn’t matter what form those ingredients come in. Just bring it.

I think the trick is for us to find other ways to relieve our stress and fatigue. In the past I have used exercise as a stress release and it works most excellently. Sleep is oftentimes out of the question, but what about yoga? Or reading a book, or watching a movie? Maybe snuggling with your child or significant other? Do these things really work, or are they poor substitutes for some good, old-fashioned carbs?

What do you think?

Onward….

~Helen

Photo Flickr ©vkareh

“I see a red door and I want it painted black, no colors anymore I want them to turn black.” ~Rolling Stones

I remember those days of ugly PMS clearly.

I was angry, tired, aggressive, my breasts hurt horribly and I was bloated.

The world was black, my life felt bleak, and it was nearly two weeks of hell.

Pre-menstrual syndrome might not seem like a topic for a weight loss blog, but this is more than a weight loss blog. It is a blog about improving your weight, your health and your life.

PMS doesn’t improve anyone’s life.

Over the last seven years I have had very minimal PMS symptoms except for cravings for salt and sugar (and occasional breast tenderness – TMI). I can’t seem to get away from those. But I no longer cry or get angry. I still do what experts say not to do (eat sugar, drink caffeine) and yet over the last seven years I have been a new woman just before “that time of month.”

Why?

Put quite simply – exercise. Lots of exercise. Exercise has been a miracle for me in many ways (helping me lose 80 pounds of fat, for example) but suddenly last year I realized that exercise had also made my PMS symptoms much lighter. I’m not sure if strength training would give me the same benefits, but I have taught Spinning® at least four days a week for six years, which directly correlates to my amazing reduction in PMS.

Coincidence? I think not. So let’s see what cardiovascular exercise does for menopause, which is just around the corner. Sigh.

Onward and forward.

~Helen

Photograph ©Mars(3)

“Where did you come from, baby? How did you know I needed you?  ~You Sexy Thing/Hot Chocolate

Better heart health. Anti-aging properties. Decreased risk of stroke. Better sex. All from one little magic bean.

Admit it. You knew it was coming…

…the day I would write about the benefits of chocolate. Seeing that this is February, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it seems that an ode to chocolate is quite fitting.

If I could snort raw cocoa powder, I would. If I could have chocolate syrup delivered via IV, I’d have a drip running in 24/7.

If I could fall into that lovely chocolate river so exquisitely flowing in the original “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” movie,  I’d drown a happy woman

Aside from the fact that talking about chocolate makes me all warm and fuzzy inside there are some actual benefits to eating the brown elixir of joy. I am not talking about white chocolate (which, by the way, contains no cocoa powder), or the cheap, waxy kind. I am talking about real chocolate, with genuine ingredients like milk, sugar and cocoa powder….the kind that lights up your brain and releases all kids of legal chemicals.

Putting my pro-chocolate stance away for a moment, let’s pretend we are non-biased towards the all mighty cocoa bean and examine its real benefits:

YOUR HEALTH

1. Dark chocolate (bleh) is good for your  heart. It lowers your blood pressure, reduces your LDL (bad cholesterol) and raises HDL (good cholesterol).

2. Chocolate contains flavonoids, which act as antioxidants (antioxidants protect the body against damage caused by free radicals. I’m not sure what free radicals are, but they don’t sound very healthy). Flavonoids also help improve blood flow to the brain and make you more alert.

3. Chocolate may decrease your risk of a stroke.

4. Chocolate may help lessen the symptoms of PMS.

YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

1. Chocolate makes you feel happier by stimulating your serotonin production (a higher serotonin levels produces a feeling of well-being).

2. Women who eat chocolate regularly often report a better sex life. A new study found that chocolate-eating women “had the highest levels of desire, arousal and satisfaction from sex.” ‘Nuff said.

3. Chocolate contains the “love chemical” PEA (pheylethaylamine). PEA produces those happy, giddy feelings we get when we are in love, and also helps boost seratonin (happy feeling chemical) and dopamine (sexual arousal chemical) levels. A bonus: chocolate will still respect you in the morning.

4. Chocolate “lights up” the same parts of your brain that other (not legal) chemicals do.

Of course, not everyone respond to the chemicals in chocolate the same and not all chocolate is created equal. Most of the studies have shown that dark chocolate is the form that truly has most of the beneficial properties. And we do have to watch our fat and sugar – chocolate is loaded with both.

Now, a moment on our lips equals good health benefits. What more could you want?  Life is short. Enjoy a little bit of chocolate.

Onward and forward.

~Helen

Photo ©eszter

Little quinoas everywhere.

I’ve never had quinoa before, which is surprising considering I’ve been a vegetarian for exactly 30 years. I decided to try it today for lunch. (And let’s face it – I haven’t been shopping and was running low on food options that don’t involve ice cream or crackers.)

Red quinoa has 2 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 6 grams of protein per serving – it’s gluten free, too. I microwaved it with a bit of vegetable broth (well, too much vegetable broth apparently because it was a too strong), and used it as a bed for my salad.

So what did it taste like?

It wasn’t bad. A bit crunchier than my favorite (brown rice), or the cous cous I used to make for the kids, and did not have much flavor on its own without the broth. It felt a bit like eating unground smal flax seeds, but maybe I did not cook the quinoa long enough.

With the black beans, light feta cheese, spinach, tomatoes and tiny bit of olive oil I added, it made for a filling and healthy lunch. Nutritionally pretty balanced too, or at least more so than the five Jo Jo cookies I had for dinner last night. Some days I am good, some days I am “bad.” Today I am good.

Will I eat quinoa again? Yes. I am always looking for healthy protein food sources. Unlike many plant sources, quinoa is a “complete protein,”, which means it contains all the amino acids we need on its own so we don’t have to combine it with other foods. It also contains a good amount of fiber, and the more fiber we eat, the fuller we feel and the more weight we are apt to lose.

Onward and forward to quinoa-land.

Have you ever tried quinoa?

You wake up feeling sick: Head hurting, stomach squirrely, very tired, and thirsty. You know you shouldn’t have done it but you did anyway. You pop some pain killers, drink a gallon of water, eat some carrots and swear you won’t ever do it again. But you will – in less than a month. And once more you will feel awful. What did you do? Overindulge with food – and suffering the proverbial “binge hangover.”

Holiday Hell

The Holiday season is starting again, and with it comes the constant parties, gatherings, and family get-togethers. Everywhere we look there is food, food, and more food. Most people have a hard time resisting the temptation, but for those of us with food issues the Holidays are the equivalent of hell.

No one would bring an alcoholic to a bar and tell him that just one drink won’t hurt. No one would leave a prescription drug addict alone in a pharmacy and encourage them to use whatever drugs they want “just for today.” Yet – how many people encourage you to eat at Holiday gatherings, telling you that “one day won’t hurt,” “you can start tomorrow,” or “don’t be so rigid?”

One day will hurt.

And tomorrow you may feel so bad about yourself and your lack of control that you won’t regain it, pushing your “fresh start” further out of reach.  That is the scary truth.

Losing the Battle with Food

As someone who lost 82 pounds five years ago (and regained 22 of them over the last two years), I can testify to the negative powers of Holiday pressure. Just three short years ago I could eat here and there throughout the Holidays and not overindulge. Food was just food and a cookie was just a cookie. Then the stress of life started to get to me and I gave in, reverting back to some of my old habits, where one yummy cookie became an entire tray of stress-relieving happiness. I had once again lost the battle with food, and given up my ability to say “no.”

But I’ve already blown it…

Learning to control Holiday eating is a common problem. Aidalyn Soliman Myers of Murrieta lost 60 pounds in the last two years and expresses a sentiment shared by many. “My biggest thing is eating something early in the day and thinking to myself, ‘Well, I already ruined it, so I’m going to go all out today and pig out!’” Myers, who recently became a certified Spinning® instructor and teaches other group fitness classes, had to alter her mindset to keep her weight at bay. “Now, I changed my way of thinking and try to eat healthful after that and tell myself that every bit counts, so eating healthy even after falling off the wagon will definitely count!”

Alana Estrada Clarke, a Murrieta personal trainer, Spinning and Pilates instructor with legs that turn even women’s heads, uses her brain instead of her feelings to get through Holiday meals. “I don’t skip breakfast or lunch on the ‘big day’ with anticipation of a large meal,” she says. “When you do that, you end up consuming more calories by being starved, and your metabolism will slow down in response to the lack of food.” (Read Clarke’s other Holiday eating tips.)

It’s you – and only you – for the Holidays

As a trainer, Spinning instructor and motivational coach I should know better. But, like many people, I am human, sometimes weak – and easily led to the “dark side” of eating. The moment of joy, of relief, of sensory pleasure as the brownie hits my lips is indescribably wonderful and almost worth the price. But only almost. With my pants tight and “muffin top” once again part of my life, this Holiday season I am taking control back. Starting today. And tomorrow, which happens to be Thanksgiving.

What are you going to do this Holiday season? Let food control you or will you control your food? The choice is always up to you.

The answer is no, at least according to a Time Magazine article published last week, Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin. In fact, it is their thought that exercise might even make it harder for you to lose that excess weight.

Could this possibly be true?

As someone who has lost 80 pounds and gone from a size 20 to a size 4 by exercising and making moderate changes to her diet, I can confidently state “not very likely.”

Why would Time Magazine makes those claims if they are not accurate? Because study results are always open to interpretation – and because we are talking about that very article right now. Buzz is good for business. That’s why.

When I first read the article on why exercise will not help with weight loss, I did so with an open mind. I analyzed the studies presented, examined the facts, and listened to the experts. Putting my own bias about the many obvious benefits of exercise aside, I found the article itself had many biases against exercise.

Dr. Timothy Church, chair in Health Wisdom at LSU, and quoted in the Time article, has since stated, via the American College  of Sports Medicine, that his “professional opinions were misrepresented,” and adds, “Exercise and diet go together. Weight management is most successful when careful attention is given to both physical activity and proper nutrition (ACSM, 2009).” ACSM has also released their own opinion on the subject in a press release dated August 7, 2009.

Your Self-Control Is Getting Weaker…

Despite article claims that exercise increases hunger (which it can, for a bit), or that people feel justified to eat more if they’ve exercised (it certainly happens), the oddest assertion is that your self control weakens the more you use it. In essence, the author seems to be telling us that if we use our self-control to make ourselves exercise, we won’t have any will power left later to control what we put in our mouths.

The Examiner looked at that statement, and the underlying study, and found that [the author] “…mistakenly misinterprets two psychologists who claim that “self-control operates like a muscle or strength… [a] limited resource that is depleted afterward (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000).  Cloud states that “will power, like a muscle, weakens each day after you use it.”  First, muscle actually gets stronger after continual use, which is a basic, fundamental concept in exercise physiology.   Cloud also misrepresents Muraven and Baumeister’s will-power model.  Although the authors say that self-control is reduced under stress, Cloud interprets this as after a person goes for a run, s/he will eat a pizza rather than a salad.  However, once again, he fails to see the bigger picture. In their review, Muraven and Baumeister recognize  that “not only does self-control show short-term fatigue effects like a muscle does, it also shows long-term improvement, just as a muscle gets stronger through exercise.  In other words, there is a long-term effect of gaining strength with practice.”

In other words, when you first start using your self control, it may be weak. But with continued and regular use, it will grow in strength. Sounds just like a muscle, huh?

The Flip Side

To learn some positives about exercise and how it can improve your life and health, Fitness has put together 10 benefits of exercise for you to review. Don’t cancel that gym membership quite yet…

The electronic version of my “Living the Fit Life” is here. >Download your copy now. It’s free! (Courtesy of LA’s the Place.com.)

Post any comments you might have about it. I’d love to hear your feedback.

So…how did I do it? By taking simple, consistent steps to improve myself. Follow this blog, sign up for my free e-zine. Learn more at about.me. And I’d love to hear your comments about posts, or questions you might have (connect through my Facebook page, too). Carry on – today really is the first day in the rest of your life Read on….}