Archive for December, 2009

THE JOYS OF “JUST MAINTAINING”

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

As a therapist, you tend to see less joy and fun this time of year than worry and strain. Yes, it’s a biased outlook, but the stresses of the season are certainly real. People trying to keep their health and weight in check, especially, face a daunting array of triggers and challenges. Many simply say, “Forget it!” and let go of goals and good self-care for weeks.

If you’ve followed this blog (see 11/23/09 post), you’ll know that I don’t think “forgetting about it” makes sense—for a lot of reasons. On the other hand, neither does striving for perfection. One idea I’ve discussed with many clients this season is that of “just maintaining”. That is, if you’re working to lose weight, and/or to change your habits for the better, this may not be the best time for full-steam ahead progress. After all, most of us will confront some potent combination of parties, extra tasks and running around, family pressures, and of course all those cookies, candies, special drinks, etc.

If you aim to “just maintain”, though, you won’t need to view this stretch in all-or-nothing terms. In other words, you’ll discern something in between the extremes of resisting everything vs. letting go of all your hopes and progress. This will most likely mean picking and choosing the events you attend, the foods you go for, the types of things you cook or contribute. It might mean carving out exercise time even while life and schedule get crazy.

You might even think of this “just maintain” time as an opportunity to experiment with one new behavior, however small, that could yield interesting results….or that could make future holiday seasons a bit less stressful. For example, try some “assertive dieting” techniques with your family (see references below for more help with that….) On a (maybe easier!) note, you could try some 5- or 10-minute exercise “bites” (also see references) at work. Or, you could simply make a less fattening version of one favored food. (more…)

Tags: holiday eating, weight maintenance
Posted in General, Habit Changes, Holidays, Weight Loss | No Comments »

EATING SANELY AT WORK

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

For many of us, going to work means structure and routine and therefore easier sane eating. However, this is often not true in the month of December—when it can seem like everyone feels obliged to bring cookies, candy, their famous holiday torte, their gift tins of chocolate and sugared nuts. Then there’s also the holiday lunch buffet, and maybe the after-hours office party, too.

Some of this is fun, but some of it indeed feels obligatory. And the hard-to-resist food really adds up. While an occasional treat is fine, daily platefuls can throw eating and weight off track for weeks or even months to come. I know that many do worry about all those cookies, and try to resist, but not always successfully.

To minimize the pull of those treats, talk to coworkers who you know share your healthy eating goals, or a desire to keep weight off. Maybe you can create some solutions together. Maybe you can suggest limits on how much or how many days a week treats come to work. Maybe you can ask people to keep their goodies at home, or at least out of common view. Or maybe you can simply support each other in keeping to your own limits.

Here are some other ideas: (more…)

Tags: Habit Changes, managing weight at work
Posted in Eating at Work, General, Habit Changes, Holidays, Weight Loss | No Comments »

VEGETABLES: More and More and More!

Friday, December 4th, 2009

The number keeps rising! I remember 4-5 a day, then 5-8, and now it’s 11. That’s the currently recommended number of daily fruit and vegetable servings.

This new recommendation comes from the most recent OmniHealth study, which follows various diets (higher-protein, higher-carb, higher-healthy fat) for blood pressure and cholesterol improvements. (For a full description, see Nutrition Action, October, 2009, http://www.cspi.org).

Even if you’re not hypertensive or pre-hypertensive, you’ll keep hearing “more vegetables” as the way to better health and weight. How do you get even 8? Well, keep in mind that a “serving” is usually only ½ cup. The Nutrition Action article suggests a 4-cup salad for lunch and a 4-cup stir-fry for dinner as one possibility. It also raises the idea of “vegetables as the new main dish.” I like this idea, though I realize that for many, it’s a big jump. Families with kids may find this particularly hard.

If you do think of “vegetables as the main dish”, recipes like ratatouille, curries, stir-fries, soups and stews work well. So do simple “gratins”—casseroles with vegetables topped with cheese and baked. For really fast meals, try steamed vegetables topped with cheese shreds or sesame seeds as protein. Or, put them in tortillas with beans and salsa. Mark Bittman, a New York Times food columnist, wrote about making pasta with sauces as the main attraction—in other words, a hearty, stew-like sauce with just a little pasta beneath. These can work nicely as vegetables-as-entrée vehicles. Look for his recipes in http://www.nytimes.com/archives.

Another potential solution to the “How can I get 11?” question: How about an added vegetable serving at each meal? That’s three extras right there. Add a fruit snack or two, and you’re up to five additional. In the summer, at least here in the Northeast, this is easy. Nice produce, gardens, and farmers markets supply us cheaply and well. As the weather gets colder, there’s apples and squashes and potatoes. Winter presents more of a challenge….but the important thing is to start where you can, and find ways to enjoy eating and cooking more veggies. Making some move in this direction makes sense for the new year ahead.

Tags: Habit Changes, Healthy Foods
Posted in General, Habit Changes, Healthy Foods, Weight Loss | No Comments »

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