Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS THAT STICK….AND TEN SMALL CHANGES THAT COUNT
Monday, January 2nd, 2012It’s a fresh start….it feels great….but I’m afraid I won’t keep it up…. I’ve heard these words, or something like them, a lot this week. So, I start this new year with thoughts on our resolutions to eat well, lose weight, or otherwise improve our diet habits.
New Year’s diet resolutions usually fizzle quickly. The goals we set may be too broad and sweeping, too out of touch with reality to last. They don’t factor in the inevitable complications and challenges. They don’t consider whether or not we’re really prepared or ready. Grand resolutions—say, to eat every day in a way that keeps weight down, for good, forever, period—require understanding and preparation. I’ll return to those in my next blog. Here, I offer some ideas for smaller resolutions.
Those who follow my blogs will know that I believe in the power of small changes (related blogs listed below). Changing one or two specific habits may or may not lead immediately to lost pounds. They open the door to other and bigger changes, though. And they usually have value in themselves, however they affect the scale in the short run. Perhaps most important now, they’re likely to stick. They’re less likely to fizzle out in two weeks. So they’ll leave you feeling confident about your ability to make future changes. (more…)
THE JOYS OF “JUST MAINTAINING”
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011I reprint a post here that suits the season….
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, 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. (more…)
THE FOREVER DIET (New Year’s Resolutions That Stick, Part 2)
Monday, January 24th, 2011As we near January’s end, some remain strong in their new diet resolutions, feeling pretty good about that. Some work away at that “one small change” or two. Others have forgotten how very much they wanted to change on January 1st. And still others suffer in frustration as they can’t seem to stick with a plan.
When diet resolutions sour this early, it usually points to a lack of preparation. Changing habits at any time of year calls for a thorough review of where you want to go, with anticipation of setbacks. If you always give up your diet when you get bored with your routine–or when you get too busy, or when your family wants pizza—why would this time be different?
Usually lacking, too, when efforts break down quickly, is a realistic idea of how change happens. Major changes require a lot of repetition and practice. They don’t happen perfectly all at once.
With weight loss, it’s particularly important to realistically prepare for the long run. On-again/off-again diets can lower metabolism and build discouragement: both of which lead to greater future weight gain. Better to get ready, then, and make changes that can last, than to jump in and out of diets, losing quickly, maybe, and then regaining at least as quickly again. Aiming for a total lifestyle change, rather than weight loss that won’t hold up, pays off in a body that stays lean. People often say they know this, but then another short-sighted diet seems just the thing.
How to make the lasting change really happen? I repeat here the basic framework for setting on the path to sane eating (look through the blog archive and the EatSanely.com “Resources” for more help along your way: (more…)
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS THAT STICK….AND TEN SMALL CHANGES THAT COUNT
Friday, January 7th, 2011It’s a fresh start….it feels great….but I’m afraid I won’t keep it up…. I’ve heard these words, or something like them, a lot this week. So, I start this new year with thoughts on our resolutions to eat well, lose weight, or otherwise improve our diet habits.
New Year’s diet resolutions usually fizzle quickly. The goals we set may be too broad and sweeping, too out of touch with reality to last. They don’t factor in the inevitable complications and challenges. They don’t consider whether or not we’re really prepared or ready. Grand resolutions—say, to eat every day in a way that keeps weight down, for good, forever, period—require understanding and preparation. I’ll return to those in my next blog. Here, I offer some ideas for smaller resolutions.
Those who follow my blogs will know that I believe in the power of small changes (related blogs listed below). Changing one or two specific habits may or may not lead immediately to lost pounds. They open the door to other and bigger changes, though. And they usually have value in themselves, however they affect the scale in the short run. Perhaps most important now, they’re likely to stick. They’re less likely to fizzle out in two weeks. So they’ll leave you feeling confident about your ability to make future changes.
Previous blogs, like those listed here and others, offer plenty of ideas for small changes to integrate into your life right now. Here are ten additional ones, most gleaned from recent studies on weight management. The idea is to start doing this one thing. Assess (more…)
MORE ON SPEAKING UP, HOLIDAYS, AND FAMILIES
Friday, November 19th, 2010First, my blog on assertiveness caught the attention of thatsfit.ca, on aol. Find the interview at: http://www.thatsfit.ca/2010/11/16/lose-weight-assertiveness/
Nourishing your ability to speak up where needed, and to stay in shape through the holidays, leads us straight to talk of family visits. This is the subject of yesterday’s Thin From Within post at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thin-within
Here’s to enjoying Thanksgiving, with sane eating more or less intact!
SPEAK UP TO KEEP WEIGHT DOWN: For the Holidays and Beyond
Thursday, November 4th, 2010As we near the holiday season—and its inevitable challenges to sane eating and weight control—I’m highlighting the importance of speaking up. For stating your needs and preferences becomes especially important in the holiday push to join in, avoid making waves, and keep others happy. It’s not that joining in and making others happy is bad. It can lead to the abandonment of self-care, though, and of course to regained weight. And for this we often end up feeling pretty unhappy ourselves.
Speaking up can prove hard at times, perhaps especially in this season. I offer here some quick reading resources to help you get through these weeks feeling good about how you’ve cared for yourself, with some emphasis on the “speaking up” part.
Eat Sanely blogposts:
11/23/09 (“The Best Holiday Gift: No Weight Gain”)
12/22/09 (“The Joys of ‘Just Maintaining’”)
Click on “Older Entries”, below
Thin From Within blogpost:
11/4/10 (“Assertiveness and Eating Better: Speaking Up to Manage Your Weight”)
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thin-within
Other articles:
“Avoiding the Holiday Spread,” Suzette Glasner-Edwards, O the Oprah Magazine, 12/08
www.oprah.com/health/How-to-Avoid-Holiday-Weight-Gain
“4 Ways to Put Your Diet First,” Suzette Glasner-Edwards, oprah.com., 11/08
www.oprah.com/health/4-Ways-to-Put-Your-Diet-First
“Caring for Yourself at Thanksgiving,” A.F. Hutchinson, mybiglife.com, 11/08
http://mybiglife.com/emotional-weight/288-caring-for-yourself-at-thanksgiving.html
THE JOYS OF “JUST MAINTAINING”
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009As 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…)
EATING SANELY AT WORK
Thursday, December 10th, 2009For 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…)
THE BEST HOLIDAY GIFT: NO WEIGHT GAIN!
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Given the time of year, I’m reprinting an article here that appeared in The Diet Coach’s Letter last holiday season. It’s still timely! I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving.
The average American will gain some weight over the holiday season. While we may hate this fact, consider the even worse news: most people don’t lose it after January 1. If your weight has crept up over the years, then, it may not be your age that’s at fault . Just living through these weeks, year after year, can do the trick. So, not gaining weight during the holiday season is truly its own worthy goal.
In order to not gain, we may need all those tips the magazines bulge with this time of year. Beyond that, we may need to rethink the season in some basic ways. For any six-week stretch focused on eating, drinking, increasing time demands, and decreasing routine is bound to cause trouble. But just because it’s holiday time, you don’t have to automatically abandon your better habits. You may instead have to learn to enter these times with your highest goals kept at the top of your list. Don’t simply assume you’ve got to jump in and let the holiday tide sweep you along. Try to think instead of how to enjoy the parts of the season worth enjoying, while still emerging in January feeling good about yourself. (more…)
-
Subscribe To Our RSS Feed
Categories
- "Thin From Within" (20)
- Addictions (10)
- Assertiveness (3)
- Eating at Work (2)
- Emotional Eating (24)
- exercise (3)
- Featured Article (2)
- General (29)
- Habit Changes (57)
- Healthy Foods (19)
- Holidays (9)
- Kids (2)
- marriage (3)
- relationships (10)
- Self-esteem (6)
- Weight Loss (67)
- weight loss surgery (2)
Archives
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- July 2009
Copyright © 2009. Eat Sanely. All Rights Reserved. Site Design By The Green Internet Group.