Archive for May, 2010

THE ROAD TO HEALTHY EATING ISN’T STRAIGHT

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

I recently read this “thought on whole living”:  The road to wellness isn’t straight, clear, or predictable.  It’s a path you forge yourself.*   It seems to me that you can substitute the words for any part of “wellness”—for example, “weight loss”, “sane eating,” or “moderation”—and this saying still holds true.

Fad diets and extreme eating prescriptions, such as “no carbs”, promise a clear straight path.  Few people stay on them, though, and they don’t reliably bring you where you want to go.  Invariably, someone who manages to keep weight off, someone who’s developed lasting healthy habits, will indeed report having “forged” a path that works.

Often we don’t realize we’re “forging” at all.  If you’ve stopped and started a hundred diets, though, chances are you’ve discovered a thing or two that actually does work for you, even if the overall schemes did not.  For example, you may not have kept your Weight Watchers pounds off, but maybe you’ve incorporated the idea of “budgeting”  so that’s it’s now part of your automatic thinking.  You may ask yourself “Can I afford this?”, as you approach the make-your-own-sundae party.  Maybe you’ve learned that a food log will pull you back to a more mindful eating stance. (more…)

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MODERATION: YES, BUT EASIER SAID THAN DONE

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Every so often, we scramble to shift how we eat in response to the latest diet news. First we aim to avoid fats as if they add instant pounds. Then we learn we can eat all the fats we want, but they have to be the right kind. First we seek “high carbohydrate living”, then we set to banish carbs forever, now we again seek the right kind. We know alcohol’s bad, but now we hear that a daily drink is good. And so on. In the end, we always come back to: everything in moderation. Few people argue with that. But still so many struggle. Somehow we’re more likely to go for the drastic measures, like eliminating food groups, even if they’re doomed to fail.

Why is it so hard to eat in moderation? Moderate portion sizes, moderate allowances for treats, moderate levels of fat or sugar or salt?

Well, some would say that we Americans have no cultural tradition, as people do in European or Asian countries, for example, to teach us how to eat available local foods in satisfying ways that have worked for generations. Others would certainly point to the addictive quality of the highly processed, artificially palatable foods—think cookie dough ice cream and nacho chips—that tempt us in huge quantities wherever we go. (more…)

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THINKING OF SWIMSUITS AND SHORTS

Friday, May 7th, 2010

This time of year I hear lots of worries about the coming warm weather—specifically, about the swimsuits, tank tops, and shorts now called for.  Suddenly, women start to fret once again about upper arm flab, the size of the thighs, weight overall.  It doesn’t seem to matter exactly what shape a person’s in—the complaints cut across every age and weight category.  Along with these worries may come plans for fasting diets, meal skipping, or weight loss informercial products.

I’m not against toning up for swimsuit-and-short season.  While I’d like us to aim for fitness year-round, I can understand the extra push that comes with seeing more body exposed.  I do oppose, though, the “new body in six weeks” kinds of thinking.  Here is some of what I find important to stay mindful of now:

1.  Your body is your body, and it serves you well in many ways.  Don’t use this opening to beat it up.  No matter how successful you are, you won’t necessarily look that much different in a few weeks or months.  So be kind to yourself.  You’ll then be better able to assess what options might really help.  Starving yourself, starving and then gorging, relentlessly criticizing yourself or complaining about your body:  all of these arise from that harsh stance.  And they will make you feel worse and will most likely assure that you won’t reach new fitness goals.

2. Remember that hundreds of scientific studies prove that the lose-weight-quick schemes simply don’t work, no matter what the ads say.  And if you don’t believe in science, ask around.  Try to find someone who’s gotten into great shape and stayed there with a quick scheme.  There’s no substitute for learning to change habits. (more…)

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