Time to Focus!

I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing holiday. I am not a Black Friday shopper so no stress there. Now that the holiday is over it is time to focus and set some goals for the next couple of weeks, as they will be filled with fun, social gatherings and quite a few challenges. It is how you approach the challenges that will dictate how you feel both mentally and physically. Take honest stock on how your eating and exercise went over the weekend. What were you successful with and what backfired and needs to be adapted? Here are some tips to get back on track.

1. Get rid of anything in the house that will prove tempting this week. I will call this a trigger food. Now that the holiday is over, pie, sweets, stuffing etc... is just an extra. We have all had a taste, need to get back to our regular way of eating.

2. Go grocery shopping and stock the house with staples that you will need for the week. Make sure to get fruits, veggies and lots of lean proteins for both meals and snacks. Examples are lf cottage cheese, lean meats, low fat cheese, hundred calorie packs of almonds or walnuts and greek yogurts. Having plenty of protein to combine with your whole grain and complex carbohydrates will help keep the blood sugar stable and reduce cravings.

3 For the next couple of days try very hard to reduce your sugar intake as best you can, especially if you overdid it this weekend. The longer we go with reducing sugar, the easier it is to cut it out.

4. Choose a behavior that you would like to work on this week. Do not select something that is unrealistic to achieve. Start small and we will work from there each week. For example, increase you water intake or food logging for the week are 2 things that are manageable but not overwhelming. The purpose of this activity is to start changing behaviors for a lifetime. CHanges that we can live with and make a part of our everyday life.

5. Lastly, add 1 additional session of exercise to your regular routine. This extra 30-60 minutes of exercise will help boost your metabolism and help to burn off any extra calories that may have been consumed.

If anyone would like to discuss metabolism and its impact on weight loss please feel free to contact me and we can talk about it and see if you would like your measured.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!

Enjoy, Noreen

Happy Thanksgiving!

I would like to wish you all a wonderful and restful holiday tomorrow. That being said, I am also going to arm you with some weapons to help you get thru the day successfully.

1. EAT BREAKFAST!!! This is very important. You want to keep your blood sugar on an even keel to avoid cravings, mood swings and hunger. Make sure you get some lean protein in to help fill you up. Stir a little peanut butter into your oatmeal or microwave some extra egg whites into your scrambled eggs. Avoid sugar at all cost at this meal as to not trigger sweet cravings later in the day.

2. PLAN YOUR SNACKS - Make sure, especially if your meal is later in the afternoon, to plan to have healthy snacks on hand. A handful of almonds mixed into some yogurt or String cheese and a piece of fruit are easy and quick and much better choices than chips, dips and high fat cheeses. By eating a protein and a carbohydrate every couple of hours you will not sit down at the table starving. Our willpower is weakest when we are hungry and our blood sugar is low.

3. DRINK WATER - Make sure you drink enough water. One of the signs of dehydration is hunger. Often when we are busy we forget to drink water. Stand in front of the sink a couple times during the day and just chug down a glass of water. It WILL make a difference.

4. WATCH THE BLTS - What is a BLT?? Bites, Licks and Tastes that we consumed while cooking. I saw a statistic the other day that said one could consume up to 750 calories while preparing Thanksgiving dinner. All made up of small tastes of things while cooking. BEWARE!

5. PLAN AND ENJOY YOUR TREATS - If you want to have dessert, have it. Put it on a plate, pour a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy it with everyone else. Don't wait until your company leaves and finally break down to have that piece of pie. Remember, this is a live it, not a diet. We are in for life changes not the quick fix.

6. FOLLOW THE 80/20 Rule - IF we follow our food and exercise plan 80% of the time, that gives us a 20% wiggle room buffer for when real life steps in.

ENJOY - Noreen

HOLD IT FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!

There is no denying it, the holidays are here! I was reminded of this yesterday when I attempted to make a quick trip to Salem to get my son some new sneakers. Traffic, long lines at the store and not finding what I was looking for quickly let me know - they are here! Holidays can be stressful and busy but they also provide us with a much needed break from our normal routine, quality family time and comforting traditions. We need to strike a balance between the 2. The same holds true for our diet and exercise routines over the holiday. We will be faces with many temptations and opportunities to skip a workout. We need to figure out how to find a balance that will get us thru the holidays both rested and healthy. On average people gain approximately 12-14 pounds from Thanksgiving to New Years. Our goal at WIndham Pilates it to avoid this gain. It may be unrealistic and overwhelming to try to lose a significant amount of weight during this time but trying to maintain our weight is very realistic. Over the next 6 weeks I will be posting a blog each monday with healthy eating tips, behavioral tactics on how to approach a big party or family dinner and motivational inspiration. I will post some healthy holiday recipes and if anyone would like to give me a favorite family recipe, I will try to lighten it up without changing the taste. Many times we can cut back on sugar or oil without changing the taste or texture of the food. FIrst things first, weigh yourself today and post it somewhere you can see it. This is the weight you want to be on January 1, 2011. Second, get a small spiral notebook and start writing down what you eat every day. This can be very informative and will help to identify mindless eating and patterns that may need to be changed. The clients I work with that are committed to food journaling, either on the computer or on paper are much more successful. Third, jot your workout days on your calendar just like you would a meeting at work or a doctors appointment. Exercise is going to play a key role in maintaining your weight over the holidays. I would love to give you a hand in this endeavor, please feel free to contact me by phone or e-mail and we can work together to get thru the holidays healthily. Keep checking my blog as Blogger Jim will be posting soon. He is within 10 pounds of his weight goal and doing great! Take a few minutes to get yourself organized and you will be pleasantly surprised when you step on the scale in January.

Blogger Jim Rolls on!

Blogger Jim has been plodding along this spring/summer and is making progress on both the scale and in behaviors. Here is his latest post.

Down to 232 pounds - hovering just above my interim goal of being in the 220's.

Here's why I think I'll get there soon ...

I've learned that I have to log religiously (got a little sloppy a week ago and paid the price).

I've learned that beer, although fun, is NOT an ally to my weight loss plan.

I'm starting to exercise regularly - the new workout room in the basement is done and I'm walking at least a half-hour everyday on the treadmill.

Also, I'm working with the catchers and hitters for the Hudson American Legion team (Post 48), so am continuing to work up good sweats 2 or 3 times a week while pitching batting practice.

All in all - I went a little backward last week - nothing major, but still gained a pound or two. Lesson learned - now moving on!

Accountability

Have you ever wondered how those few pounds creep up on us? All of a sudden, we step on the scale and we are seeing a number that we have never seen before? How did this happen? Well, the first step to catching these few pounds before they become out of control is by keeping a food log for a few days. For many of us, it is quite an eye opener to see how that "small" handful of pretzel turned into 1/4 of the bag, or 1 cookie really was 4. One way to get a handle on this is by keeping a food log. Nothing too fancy, perhaps a small notebook kept in your purse or on your kitchen counter. Some people like to use computerized programs that actually compute calories per food. There are many programs out there. Most importantly, track your food each day. From this log you can see patterns of behavior. Dangerous times of the day and even events that can trigger overeating. Research has shown that people that track their food intake are most successful at losing the weight AND keeping it off! Please feel free to contact me if you should have questions regarding this or would like a list of names of computer programs that are user friendly. Keep track of your food intake and watch the scale go DOWN!!

Blogger Jim Rolls on!

Many weeks since my last post and time to catch up.
I'm down to 231 pounds (started at 245) and am feeling good about things. The best part of this is that I've developed good eating habits vs. 'dieting'. In other words, I feel like I'm not in danger of 'going back to old habits. That's brings a peace of mind I don't mind having.
Five things that have changed for me in the past month or so:
1) I eat better food. Fattening snacks are out (with rare exception) and fruit is in.
2) I have smaller portions at each meal and snack in between.
3) Water intake, although not regularly there, is much better.
4) I'm aware of what I eat now - I'm staying on top of logging my meals for the most part.
5) Although I've not started an exercise regimen, I do walk whenever I get the opportunity. I go to NYC for business a fair amount and haven't taken a cab in months. Also, every day before baseball practice at the High School, I walk the perimeter of the field two or three times before the kids show up.

Keys to my success so far; No dramatic changes - just a raised awareness of what I eat and great coaching from Noreen Gallo.

Job Well Done!

Yesterday I bumped into a former client from last year and I was thrilled to see her. Not only because she looked wonderful but because she told me she FELT wonderful! This client really wrapped her head around the foundations of the program. Combining healthy carbohydrates with lean proteins at every meal/snack. She has continued to keep the "white stuff" out of her diet and has worked hard on eating every couple of hours! She told me she did not think she could ever go back the her old way of eating!!! She also mentioned that it has become easy for her to live this way. Isn't that what we all strive for? Eating well, feeling great and having it not be too hard!!! Congrats to all of you who are working towards this point. I often comment to clients that they are too hard on themselves, that they don't have to be perfect. This is a process and bumping into this old friend reminded me of this!!! On another note, Blogger Jim is doing great, down almost 10 pounds and that includes a visit to Mom's house!! He will be blogging on this later in the week. Take a moment to reflect on all the positive changes you have made over the last couple of months and start setting a few more goals to strive towards! COntact me if you would like some help in setting concrete goals - summer is around the corner!