Dear Clients, Friends and Family,
It has been my honor to provide resources, guidance and support on your quest to be your Personal Best throughout 2009 and I look forward to continuing with you on your journey throughout 2010.
I mentioned in my last blog that I was starting to ramp up my nutrition in preparation for a more aggressive nutrition plan to launch in 2010. Let me explain how this started. First, two of our trainers Derrick deLay and Ted Schatz are strict Vegans and have challenged the rest of us to a Vegan diet for one month. So I've been seriously considering and prepping for that. The dairy will be the hard part for me so I haven't made the mental commitment to that yet but we'll see... Secondly, I watched the documentary "Food Inc" this weekend and that furthered my motivation to try this lifestyle and see how my body responds. If you haven't watched the documentary yet, I would encourage you do - maybe even this weekend - and let it be part of your 2010 nutrition and fitness plan launch (ps. You can watch it "On Demand"). If you're local, join us on January 7th at our Vancouver studio when we will show the documentary and then lead a discussion and Q & A afterwards. Call us at 360.574.7292 to reserve your space now.
If you decide to attempt a Vegan diet (or any spectrum of vegetarianism), follow along with my blog where I will post my eating plan and various tidbits to help us along the path.
Another great resource to provide excellent tips on implementing a more vegetarian diet and fabulous recipes is Derrick's website 'Vibrant Vegan'. You can visit his site at http://www.vibrantvegan.com/.
Finally, one of our instructors Karle Wagner sent me the following list and I thought it would be wonderful to share as we ring in the New Year. Here's to the best year ever!
OPTIMAL HEALTH & WELLNESS HANDBOOK 2010
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray and/or meditate.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing! (It's the hard thing)
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. God/the Universe heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank God/the Universe for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
Last but not the least:
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.
I love you all and wish you the very best new year - full of lots of love, happiness, laughter, peace and your best health ever!
xo
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you are local and would like a little extra guidance, our trainers and nutritionist are here to help you personally. Many people often need a coach overseeing your specific plan and progress. We're also hosting a 10 Week Fat Loss program starting mid January which will provide you extra motivation and tools to ensure you really transform your body and change your whole life! You can get more details at http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/events/event_details.php?event_id=105
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
It's time for a flush of the system...
Dear clients, friends and family.
I hope you enjoyed a fabulous holiday and are ready to focus on your health and fitness. You're not out of the woods yet - you've still got New Years to enjoy!
But if you're like me, you're ready to start a little flush of the system. Probably lots of toxins and junk in your system so time to get rid of it!
This week, I'm ramping up my water, fruit and vegetable intake. That will help a lot!
Next week, I'm starting a more aggressive nutrition challenge - I'll tell you more about it later. Maybe you'll want to join along with me.
So even though it's not January 1st yet, start taking some healthy action steps today so you'll have the momentum going by next week.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
I hope you enjoyed a fabulous holiday and are ready to focus on your health and fitness. You're not out of the woods yet - you've still got New Years to enjoy!
But if you're like me, you're ready to start a little flush of the system. Probably lots of toxins and junk in your system so time to get rid of it!
This week, I'm ramping up my water, fruit and vegetable intake. That will help a lot!
Next week, I'm starting a more aggressive nutrition challenge - I'll tell you more about it later. Maybe you'll want to join along with me.
So even though it's not January 1st yet, start taking some healthy action steps today so you'll have the momentum going by next week.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
2 Tips for Looking Hot for the Holidays
Dear clients, friends and family.
Looking and feeling your best is a potent combination of exercise and healthy eating. It always has to include both! So here is your next exercise and nutrition tip to get you Looking Hot for the Holidays.
Nutrition Tip: Part of the problem leading to our epidemic rates of obesity and overweightness is people eating past the point of fullness. This will always lead to energy storage and increased body fat levels! So learning to stop eating when you're full is a big step in the right direction. Use the following hunger scale to help guide you.
The Hunger Scale – Learn to use this scale to rate your hunger and fullness
0 – Ravenous, Primal Hunger. I’m so hungry I could die!
1 – Extremely Hungry, dizzy, shaky, faint
2 – Very hungry, irritable, finding it hard to concentrate
3 – Stomach growling
4 – Hungry but not ravenous
5 - Totally comfortable
6 – Feeling like I ate too much
7 - Stomach is stretched/uncomfortable
8 – Very Full/Stuffed
9 – Very Full and Bloated/Overstuffed
10 – So Full it Hurts, Feels like I’m going to explode, Feel sick to my stomach
LEVELS 0-2: Signifies ravenous hunger. This is when you are most likely to overeat. Avoid this stage!
LEVELS 3-4: These are the best times to eat. Your body is saying that it needs food.
LEVELS 5-10: Starting to eat at these levels indicates emotional, not physical hunger.
Eating until you reach level 6 and higher may indicate that you've lost touch with your physical hunger.
Exercise Tip: Incorporate Interval Training into your Workouts. Here's why.
The benefits of higher intensity exercise are as follows:
*Expends more calories per minute
*More efficient – burns more calories in less time
*Most effective method for improving fitness conditioning
*Most effective method for raising anaerobic threshold. Your anaerobic threshold is the stage of exercise where you feel very tired and feel the need to either stop or slow down. You may feel dizzy or nauseous if you stay at this level too long. By incorporating higher intensity activity into your exercise workouts, you raise your anaerobic threshold. This means that you can exercise at a higher intensity before you start to experience those uncomfortable sensations.
*Most effective method for inducing training adaptations. Incorporating this type of training into your program will enable your body to handle the higher intensities more easily. You will find that intensities that used to leave you breathless and fatigued, no longer challenge you anymore. Soon, you will be able to expend more calories per minute compared to when you first started exercise. When people first initiate an exercise program, a comfortable calorie burning level is approximately 5cal/min. Elite athletes can expend more than 20cal/min and sustain it for over 2 hours! As a result, it takes them a lot less time to burn one pound of fat.
*Most effective method for increasing fat mobilization. This means that as you get fitter, you actually get better at burning fat. Inside of your fat cells, you have enzymes called hormone sensitive lipase and lipoprotein lipase. Hormone sensitive lipase, the "good guys", are responsible for releasing fat from a fall cell to be used for energy. Lipoprotein lipase, the "bad guys", are responsible for the uptake of fat from the blood stream into fat cells to be stored. Lipoprotein lipase functions to develop our unwanted bulges. If you have lived a sedentary lifestyle and have eaten a poor diet all your life, you will have a lot of the "bad guys" and they will be very good at their job. You will have fewer "good guys" and they will not be so competent with their responsibilities. The goal is to get more good guys doing their job. But changing the internal chemistry inside of your fat cells may take years. So in the beginning you may not be experiencing results as quickly as you want because you body is actually working against you. But with consistency in your training program, your body will soon start to work for you. Soon you will have increased your ability to mobilize and use fat as a fuel. Training in a high intensity zone will make you fit quick and enable you to enjoy this wonderful training benefit. Soon you will be burning more fat during and after exercise. You will become a fat burning machine!
*Experience a higher EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption). Have you ever wondered why you continue to breathe heavy and sweat after your workout is done? Why doesn't your breathing and body temperature go back to normal immediately? After exercise you consume a greater amount of oxygen to assist your body in recovering from the stress of the workout and the demands it placed on your body. It is important to know that EPOC uses fat as its fuel. At higher intensities, your EPOC is greater translating into a greater caloric and fat expenditure post activity. Although the effects of EPOC are small, if you expended an additional 100 calories post exercise as a result of a high intensity exercise session, within 100 workouts (5 months), you would have burned an extra 10,000 calories or 3 pounds of fat!
*Intervals are the best way to add intensity to a workout by adding brief, high-energy outputs followed by active recovery phases which will avoid fatigue and injury.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Looking and feeling your best is a potent combination of exercise and healthy eating. It always has to include both! So here is your next exercise and nutrition tip to get you Looking Hot for the Holidays.
Nutrition Tip: Part of the problem leading to our epidemic rates of obesity and overweightness is people eating past the point of fullness. This will always lead to energy storage and increased body fat levels! So learning to stop eating when you're full is a big step in the right direction. Use the following hunger scale to help guide you.
The Hunger Scale – Learn to use this scale to rate your hunger and fullness
0 – Ravenous, Primal Hunger. I’m so hungry I could die!
1 – Extremely Hungry, dizzy, shaky, faint
2 – Very hungry, irritable, finding it hard to concentrate
3 – Stomach growling
4 – Hungry but not ravenous
5 - Totally comfortable
6 – Feeling like I ate too much
7 - Stomach is stretched/uncomfortable
8 – Very Full/Stuffed
9 – Very Full and Bloated/Overstuffed
10 – So Full it Hurts, Feels like I’m going to explode, Feel sick to my stomach
LEVELS 0-2: Signifies ravenous hunger. This is when you are most likely to overeat. Avoid this stage!
LEVELS 3-4: These are the best times to eat. Your body is saying that it needs food.
LEVELS 5-10: Starting to eat at these levels indicates emotional, not physical hunger.
Eating until you reach level 6 and higher may indicate that you've lost touch with your physical hunger.
Exercise Tip: Incorporate Interval Training into your Workouts. Here's why.
The benefits of higher intensity exercise are as follows:
*Expends more calories per minute
*More efficient – burns more calories in less time
*Most effective method for improving fitness conditioning
*Most effective method for raising anaerobic threshold. Your anaerobic threshold is the stage of exercise where you feel very tired and feel the need to either stop or slow down. You may feel dizzy or nauseous if you stay at this level too long. By incorporating higher intensity activity into your exercise workouts, you raise your anaerobic threshold. This means that you can exercise at a higher intensity before you start to experience those uncomfortable sensations.
*Most effective method for inducing training adaptations. Incorporating this type of training into your program will enable your body to handle the higher intensities more easily. You will find that intensities that used to leave you breathless and fatigued, no longer challenge you anymore. Soon, you will be able to expend more calories per minute compared to when you first started exercise. When people first initiate an exercise program, a comfortable calorie burning level is approximately 5cal/min. Elite athletes can expend more than 20cal/min and sustain it for over 2 hours! As a result, it takes them a lot less time to burn one pound of fat.
*Most effective method for increasing fat mobilization. This means that as you get fitter, you actually get better at burning fat. Inside of your fat cells, you have enzymes called hormone sensitive lipase and lipoprotein lipase. Hormone sensitive lipase, the "good guys", are responsible for releasing fat from a fall cell to be used for energy. Lipoprotein lipase, the "bad guys", are responsible for the uptake of fat from the blood stream into fat cells to be stored. Lipoprotein lipase functions to develop our unwanted bulges. If you have lived a sedentary lifestyle and have eaten a poor diet all your life, you will have a lot of the "bad guys" and they will be very good at their job. You will have fewer "good guys" and they will not be so competent with their responsibilities. The goal is to get more good guys doing their job. But changing the internal chemistry inside of your fat cells may take years. So in the beginning you may not be experiencing results as quickly as you want because you body is actually working against you. But with consistency in your training program, your body will soon start to work for you. Soon you will have increased your ability to mobilize and use fat as a fuel. Training in a high intensity zone will make you fit quick and enable you to enjoy this wonderful training benefit. Soon you will be burning more fat during and after exercise. You will become a fat burning machine!
*Experience a higher EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption). Have you ever wondered why you continue to breathe heavy and sweat after your workout is done? Why doesn't your breathing and body temperature go back to normal immediately? After exercise you consume a greater amount of oxygen to assist your body in recovering from the stress of the workout and the demands it placed on your body. It is important to know that EPOC uses fat as its fuel. At higher intensities, your EPOC is greater translating into a greater caloric and fat expenditure post activity. Although the effects of EPOC are small, if you expended an additional 100 calories post exercise as a result of a high intensity exercise session, within 100 workouts (5 months), you would have burned an extra 10,000 calories or 3 pounds of fat!
*Intervals are the best way to add intensity to a workout by adding brief, high-energy outputs followed by active recovery phases which will avoid fatigue and injury.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sometimes you need a little 'bad' to get the 'good'...
Dear clients, friends and family,
I hope you've been enjoying the Holiday season so far. Here's my two quick and easy tips to keep you on the path of looking and feeling your best.
Nutrition Tip: I'm a big believer in doing whatever it takes to get you to eat your fruits and veggies - they are that important! I use this technique with my kids too. Envious friends are always asking how I get my kids to eat so many fruits and veggies. Well, sometimes, you've got to add some 'bad' to get them to crave the 'good'. For example, cheese melted over broccoli, celery with cream cheese, salt sprinkled on cut peppers, fruit with yogurt and granola, apples with caramel, carrots and ranch dip etc. Try this approach and watch your fruit and veggie intake increase dramatically!
Exercise Tip: Invest in the right gear. If it's cold and rainy, it doesn't matter if you've got the right clothing that keeps you dry and warm. You never want the weather to get you out of your routine - especially in the northwest when the weather is so unpredictable. Fortunately, there's lots of great specials right now. Plus you can always put your needs on your Holiday Wish-list!
Yours in Health and Fitness,
Sherri McMillan
I hope you've been enjoying the Holiday season so far. Here's my two quick and easy tips to keep you on the path of looking and feeling your best.
Nutrition Tip: I'm a big believer in doing whatever it takes to get you to eat your fruits and veggies - they are that important! I use this technique with my kids too. Envious friends are always asking how I get my kids to eat so many fruits and veggies. Well, sometimes, you've got to add some 'bad' to get them to crave the 'good'. For example, cheese melted over broccoli, celery with cream cheese, salt sprinkled on cut peppers, fruit with yogurt and granola, apples with caramel, carrots and ranch dip etc. Try this approach and watch your fruit and veggie intake increase dramatically!
Exercise Tip: Invest in the right gear. If it's cold and rainy, it doesn't matter if you've got the right clothing that keeps you dry and warm. You never want the weather to get you out of your routine - especially in the northwest when the weather is so unpredictable. Fortunately, there's lots of great specials right now. Plus you can always put your needs on your Holiday Wish-list!
Yours in Health and Fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
If you're busy but still want to look and feel your best, you've got to read this...
Clients, Friends and Family.
I was just reading this great article that I wanted to pass onto you. This counts for your Exercise Tip for the Day - it's actually full of great tips!
http://health.msn.com/blogs/second-opinions-post.aspx?post=1383814
Nutrition Tip for the Day: When you are super busy, try to eat something quick and easy so you don't go too long without eating anything. Because when you do that, we all know what happens! Your healthy eating plan goes out the window! Here's some On-the-Go ideas for even the most time-starved individuals.
*low-fat yogurt, granola and fruit
*raw vegetables and yogurt dip
*fruit and yogurt dip
*Powerbar or Harvest crunch bar
*Rice Cakes and hummus
*glass of juice or milk
*hard boiled egg
*low-fat crackers and cheese
*a couple fig bars
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
I was just reading this great article that I wanted to pass onto you. This counts for your Exercise Tip for the Day - it's actually full of great tips!
http://health.msn.com/blogs/second-opinions-post.aspx?post=1383814
Nutrition Tip for the Day: When you are super busy, try to eat something quick and easy so you don't go too long without eating anything. Because when you do that, we all know what happens! Your healthy eating plan goes out the window! Here's some On-the-Go ideas for even the most time-starved individuals.
*low-fat yogurt, granola and fruit
*raw vegetables and yogurt dip
*fruit and yogurt dip
*Powerbar or Harvest crunch bar
*Rice Cakes and hummus
*glass of juice or milk
*hard boiled egg
*low-fat crackers and cheese
*a couple fig bars
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
I've got a little rhyme for you...
Who says you have to wait until January 1st to transform your body and achieve your goals?!
Start today - Think of this little rhyme...
One positive step here,
One little action there,
That's gonna be your Bikini next year! :)
Exercise Tip for Today: Variety is key. Try a class you've never tried before. Consult with a trainer. Sign up for a new program. Register for an adventure. Do something that gets you out of your comfort zone to shake things up a bit and stimulate your body to respond positively!
Nutrition Tip for Today: Holiday parties are starting up. Pigging out on chocolates, cookies and cakes and drinking till you see three of everything is enough to make you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck! It’s perfectly okay to indulge a little over the holidays but you’ve still got to keep your health and fitness goals in check. Instead of forbidding any treats over the holidays rather, focus on drinking 8 glasses of water, consuming 5 vegetables and 3 fruits every day, eat breakfast, and consume 5 small meals/snacks each day. If you’ve still got room for your favorite Christmas cookie, go for it. But eat them slowly and really enjoy the taste. At parties you may find yourself eating a lot later than usual. Try to eat something small earlier and then at the party you’ll be less likely to overeat right before bed. And fill up on veggies at the party first - then you'll be less likely to eat everything in sight!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Start today - Think of this little rhyme...
One positive step here,
One little action there,
That's gonna be your Bikini next year! :)
Exercise Tip for Today: Variety is key. Try a class you've never tried before. Consult with a trainer. Sign up for a new program. Register for an adventure. Do something that gets you out of your comfort zone to shake things up a bit and stimulate your body to respond positively!
Nutrition Tip for Today: Holiday parties are starting up. Pigging out on chocolates, cookies and cakes and drinking till you see three of everything is enough to make you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck! It’s perfectly okay to indulge a little over the holidays but you’ve still got to keep your health and fitness goals in check. Instead of forbidding any treats over the holidays rather, focus on drinking 8 glasses of water, consuming 5 vegetables and 3 fruits every day, eat breakfast, and consume 5 small meals/snacks each day. If you’ve still got room for your favorite Christmas cookie, go for it. But eat them slowly and really enjoy the taste. At parties you may find yourself eating a lot later than usual. Try to eat something small earlier and then at the party you’ll be less likely to overeat right before bed. And fill up on veggies at the party first - then you'll be less likely to eat everything in sight!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Yes, you can cheat!
Dear clients, family and friends,
It's a proven fact that stress can make you fat. So if your goal is to look and feel your best, you've got to figure out how to either reduce your stress or respond to it better. I thought this would be a timely topic considering the holiday season begins tomorrow.
Exercise Tip #1: Breathe. Take 60 seconds to just stop and breathe deeply and be in the moment. Just this very act of oxygenating your entire system including your muscles, tissues, heart and organs brings forth incredible health benefits. Can you stop and do it right now? It's only 1 minute. What do you have to lose?! (besides some negative energy and a lot of stress!)
Exercise Tip #2: Cheat Days are okay! (I thought this would be a good tip considering tomorrow!)
A successful nutrition plan will focus on what you need to be consuming every day rather than what you should not be eating. For example, set a goal of eating 3 fruits for the day instead of deciding to not eat any chocolate. In addition, allow yourself one or two "free" days every week. For example, if you love pizza, and chocolate, then one day a week allow yourself to indulge in these items. This will eliminate the feeling of being deprived of your favorite foods and you will be less likely to experience the inevitable binge that goes hand-in-hand with total elimination of your favorites. This type of plan is feasible for most people. You are not telling yourself you are never going to eat chocolate again, but instead, just limiting how much and when you will indulge. Just make sure you don’t go crazy on your free days. It’s not a free ticket to gorge! And try to avoid making deals with yourself regarding your free days. If Saturday is your free day, make sure you stick to Saturday. For example, avoid indulging on Thursday because there’s an office party and then promising that on Saturday, you will skip your free day. Often you end up of taking more free days than you agreed to and all of a sudden every day turns into a ‘free’ day.
We prefer to follow the 80:20 rule for nutrition, which states that if you are eating well 80 percent of the time, you can allow yourself to indulge the other 20 percent. Eating well 80 percent of the time will definitely keep you healthy and will be a much more enjoyable process. This type of belief system is long-term focused. It is important that you decide to only do things that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life. The only way to do this is to achieve your goals while upsetting your life as little as possible. Look at it this way – even our Northwest Personal Training Personal Trainers indulge so don’t try to be ‘perfect’.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
It's a proven fact that stress can make you fat. So if your goal is to look and feel your best, you've got to figure out how to either reduce your stress or respond to it better. I thought this would be a timely topic considering the holiday season begins tomorrow.
Exercise Tip #1: Breathe. Take 60 seconds to just stop and breathe deeply and be in the moment. Just this very act of oxygenating your entire system including your muscles, tissues, heart and organs brings forth incredible health benefits. Can you stop and do it right now? It's only 1 minute. What do you have to lose?! (besides some negative energy and a lot of stress!)
Exercise Tip #2: Cheat Days are okay! (I thought this would be a good tip considering tomorrow!)
A successful nutrition plan will focus on what you need to be consuming every day rather than what you should not be eating. For example, set a goal of eating 3 fruits for the day instead of deciding to not eat any chocolate. In addition, allow yourself one or two "free" days every week. For example, if you love pizza, and chocolate, then one day a week allow yourself to indulge in these items. This will eliminate the feeling of being deprived of your favorite foods and you will be less likely to experience the inevitable binge that goes hand-in-hand with total elimination of your favorites. This type of plan is feasible for most people. You are not telling yourself you are never going to eat chocolate again, but instead, just limiting how much and when you will indulge. Just make sure you don’t go crazy on your free days. It’s not a free ticket to gorge! And try to avoid making deals with yourself regarding your free days. If Saturday is your free day, make sure you stick to Saturday. For example, avoid indulging on Thursday because there’s an office party and then promising that on Saturday, you will skip your free day. Often you end up of taking more free days than you agreed to and all of a sudden every day turns into a ‘free’ day.
We prefer to follow the 80:20 rule for nutrition, which states that if you are eating well 80 percent of the time, you can allow yourself to indulge the other 20 percent. Eating well 80 percent of the time will definitely keep you healthy and will be a much more enjoyable process. This type of belief system is long-term focused. It is important that you decide to only do things that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life. The only way to do this is to achieve your goals while upsetting your life as little as possible. Look at it this way – even our Northwest Personal Training Personal Trainers indulge so don’t try to be ‘perfect’.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Two simple tips to improve your fitness and change your body.
Dear clients, friends and family:
Thanksgiving is two days a way so I'm hoping my daily exercise and nutrition tips will launch you into a very healthy and happy holiday season - minus the 10 pound typical weight gain.
Nutrition Tip: If you have planned your meals correctly throughout the day, you shouldn’t need to eat anything right before bed. Often the calories that are consumed after dinner are those that are eaten not because you are actually hungry and need the energy but because of habitual patterns or boredom. Think of it this way – you are just going to bed. How much energy do you really need? If you find yourself needing to eat late at night, choose something that is low in calories just to get you by until morning.
Side note: Here's a recipe from the American Heart Association for Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry salsa that you might enjoy as a healthy alternative for Thanksgiving dinner.
http://www.goredforwomen.org/recipes.aspx?id=990
Exercise Tip: If your goal is fat loss, try to burn at least 300 calories per workout session. Obviously, anything is better than nothing but if you can commit to at least 300 calories, you will get to your goals much faster. One of the best ways to estimate caloric expenditure is to invest in a Heart Rate monitor. Perhaps you can put it on your Christmas Wish-list?! We find the Polar monitors the most accurate and user-friendly.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Thanksgiving is two days a way so I'm hoping my daily exercise and nutrition tips will launch you into a very healthy and happy holiday season - minus the 10 pound typical weight gain.
Nutrition Tip: If you have planned your meals correctly throughout the day, you shouldn’t need to eat anything right before bed. Often the calories that are consumed after dinner are those that are eaten not because you are actually hungry and need the energy but because of habitual patterns or boredom. Think of it this way – you are just going to bed. How much energy do you really need? If you find yourself needing to eat late at night, choose something that is low in calories just to get you by until morning.
Side note: Here's a recipe from the American Heart Association for Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry salsa that you might enjoy as a healthy alternative for Thanksgiving dinner.
http://www.goredforwomen.org/recipes.aspx?id=990
Exercise Tip: If your goal is fat loss, try to burn at least 300 calories per workout session. Obviously, anything is better than nothing but if you can commit to at least 300 calories, you will get to your goals much faster. One of the best ways to estimate caloric expenditure is to invest in a Heart Rate monitor. Perhaps you can put it on your Christmas Wish-list?! We find the Polar monitors the most accurate and user-friendly.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Monday, November 23, 2009
Did you know that I am super lazy?!
Hey clients, friends and family:
I am extremely ambitious when it comes to my career. I love what I do and I work hard. In fact, I've been accused of being a work-a-holic! Likewise, when it comes to workouts, I am very consistent, disciplined and hardly ever miss a workout. I like to challenge myself with various physical adventures and I love the feeling of really exerting myself. And for my kids, I am an energetic mom that likes to play and do fun things with the kids.
But for some reason, as soon as I enter the kitchen, I become the most lazy, lethargic, unmotivated person around! If it takes 20 minutes, forget it. If it requires multiple ingredients, cooking and fire - yeah, that's not happening. I am the queen of quick and easy in the kitchen. Get me in and get me out as quick as possible. So adhering to a healthy nutrition plan with this type of mind-set can pose a challenge. But I've learned to accept who I am and work around my little limitation which brings me to today's nutrition point to get you looking and feeling great for the holidays.
Nutrition Tip: Eat your veggies! We all know we should be eating more vegetables for optimal health and fitness. But for some reason the act of cleaning and chopping veggies for 10 minutes or so is just too much of an effort for me to fathom (but working out for 2 hours - no problem...Go figure?!) so I purchase a lot of my veggies already pre-washed and cut and ready to eat. Sure, they cost a lot more but because I do this both myself and my kids eat a ton more vegetables. So if you're lazy in the kitchen like me maybe this approach would work for you too! Another quick and easy way to ensure you're getting enough veggies is a product called "Greens Plus". It's a blend of 29 nutrient-rich Superfoods, Sea Vegetables and Herbal Extracts that you mix with water or juice that gives you a nice little extra insurance. You can pick up a jug of this at most health food stores or the health food section of your grocery store.
Exercise Tip: Make some Muscle - Strength training is the true fountain of youth! When you lose muscle mass so many other health variables are negatively affected including your strength, endurance, tone, posture, bone density, metabolism, body composition and more. So commit to hitting the weights at least two times per week and watch your whole body change!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
I am extremely ambitious when it comes to my career. I love what I do and I work hard. In fact, I've been accused of being a work-a-holic! Likewise, when it comes to workouts, I am very consistent, disciplined and hardly ever miss a workout. I like to challenge myself with various physical adventures and I love the feeling of really exerting myself. And for my kids, I am an energetic mom that likes to play and do fun things with the kids.
But for some reason, as soon as I enter the kitchen, I become the most lazy, lethargic, unmotivated person around! If it takes 20 minutes, forget it. If it requires multiple ingredients, cooking and fire - yeah, that's not happening. I am the queen of quick and easy in the kitchen. Get me in and get me out as quick as possible. So adhering to a healthy nutrition plan with this type of mind-set can pose a challenge. But I've learned to accept who I am and work around my little limitation which brings me to today's nutrition point to get you looking and feeling great for the holidays.
Nutrition Tip: Eat your veggies! We all know we should be eating more vegetables for optimal health and fitness. But for some reason the act of cleaning and chopping veggies for 10 minutes or so is just too much of an effort for me to fathom (but working out for 2 hours - no problem...Go figure?!) so I purchase a lot of my veggies already pre-washed and cut and ready to eat. Sure, they cost a lot more but because I do this both myself and my kids eat a ton more vegetables. So if you're lazy in the kitchen like me maybe this approach would work for you too! Another quick and easy way to ensure you're getting enough veggies is a product called "Greens Plus". It's a blend of 29 nutrient-rich Superfoods, Sea Vegetables and Herbal Extracts that you mix with water or juice that gives you a nice little extra insurance. You can pick up a jug of this at most health food stores or the health food section of your grocery store.
Exercise Tip: Make some Muscle - Strength training is the true fountain of youth! When you lose muscle mass so many other health variables are negatively affected including your strength, endurance, tone, posture, bone density, metabolism, body composition and more. So commit to hitting the weights at least two times per week and watch your whole body change!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Friday, November 20, 2009
Two simple and effective tips to get you Looking Hot for the Holidays!
Hey Clients, Friends and Family.
Here are your next two tips to get you looking and feeling your best for the holidays.
Exercise Tip: It's all about the effort!
So today one of our clients was mentioning to me how much she loved a certain Elliptical trainer over a different model. I asked her what was the main difference. She said she really loved working out on her favorite machine because it's so much easier, hardly feels like she's working out at all and yet, she burns the most calories on that machine. Do you see the problem here?!
Let me explain to you how caloric expenditure is calculated on cardio machines. Each manufacturer uses a mathematical algorithm to estimate calories burned based on a few variables such as duration and intensity. However there are no Cardio machine police! So manufacturers are free to be as generous as they want with these formulas. And of course, most understand that if their machine reports a higher caloric expenditure, more people will want to use it and therefore they will sell more units.
Bottom line - if a particular machine or exercise feels harder, it is harder. And therefore if you are working harder, you are burning more energy and calories and that translates into more fat burned!
Remember this - if you are going easier, you are going to have to go longer. And if you are going harder, you can go shorter to burn equivalent calories. So mix it up people and train your entire system!
Nutrition Tip: First thing in the morning, before you put any food in your mouth, drink at least 8-16 ounces of cool, refreshing water. Flush out your system and start your day off on the right foot!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Here are your next two tips to get you looking and feeling your best for the holidays.
Exercise Tip: It's all about the effort!
So today one of our clients was mentioning to me how much she loved a certain Elliptical trainer over a different model. I asked her what was the main difference. She said she really loved working out on her favorite machine because it's so much easier, hardly feels like she's working out at all and yet, she burns the most calories on that machine. Do you see the problem here?!
Let me explain to you how caloric expenditure is calculated on cardio machines. Each manufacturer uses a mathematical algorithm to estimate calories burned based on a few variables such as duration and intensity. However there are no Cardio machine police! So manufacturers are free to be as generous as they want with these formulas. And of course, most understand that if their machine reports a higher caloric expenditure, more people will want to use it and therefore they will sell more units.
Bottom line - if a particular machine or exercise feels harder, it is harder. And therefore if you are working harder, you are burning more energy and calories and that translates into more fat burned!
Remember this - if you are going easier, you are going to have to go longer. And if you are going harder, you can go shorter to burn equivalent calories. So mix it up people and train your entire system!
Nutrition Tip: First thing in the morning, before you put any food in your mouth, drink at least 8-16 ounces of cool, refreshing water. Flush out your system and start your day off on the right foot!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
One Exercise and One Nutrition Tip that you can commit to right now!
Hey clients, friends and family.
Instead of waiting until New Year's to resolve to carve out time for yourself so you can look and feel your best, let's make a commitment to ramp it up right now. Why wait? There's no better time than today. Plus, we'll get you looking and feeling amazing for the holidays!
So over the new few weeks, I'm going to regularly offer you a quick and easy exercise and nutrition tip. Some will be basic - stuff you've heard before but a good reminder! And others may offer a new approach that may help you lock into your program.
Make one small change at a time - it's often the small but consistent changes that bring forth the biggest results!
Exercise: It's Wednesday and many people experience the mid-week workout slump. So if this is the case for you or you recognize another day during the week when you really struggle with sticking to your workout, try a different approach. Plan something on this day that you would never want to miss. Maybe you schedule a tennis match or bike ride with your best friend. Or maybe you plan to always take your favorite instructor's class this day. Maybe you sign up for a new program like Zumba or Dance lessons that you would absolutely love. Perhaps you schedule an appointment with your trainer so you absolutely can't miss your workout. Or maybe you need a restorative day so you schedule in a Yoga class or stretching session. Bottom line - plan do something that you know you will 100% commit to and soon the day that you once struggled with will become your most consistent day.
Nutrition: If you struggle with portion control, try Psyllium Husks as a method to decrease appetite. Psyllium seed husks are indigestible in humans and are often used as a source of dietary fiber. They are used to relieve constipation, irritable bowel syndrome and improve regular GI transit. Some recent research is also showing them to be promising in lowering cholesterol, controlling diabetes and providing a sense of fullness therefore helping with portion control and weight management. You can purchase Psyllium Husks powder that you mix with water and consume 10-15 minutes before your meal. You can pick up at your Natural Food Store and/or the Natural section in most grocery stores.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Instead of waiting until New Year's to resolve to carve out time for yourself so you can look and feel your best, let's make a commitment to ramp it up right now. Why wait? There's no better time than today. Plus, we'll get you looking and feeling amazing for the holidays!
So over the new few weeks, I'm going to regularly offer you a quick and easy exercise and nutrition tip. Some will be basic - stuff you've heard before but a good reminder! And others may offer a new approach that may help you lock into your program.
Make one small change at a time - it's often the small but consistent changes that bring forth the biggest results!
Exercise: It's Wednesday and many people experience the mid-week workout slump. So if this is the case for you or you recognize another day during the week when you really struggle with sticking to your workout, try a different approach. Plan something on this day that you would never want to miss. Maybe you schedule a tennis match or bike ride with your best friend. Or maybe you plan to always take your favorite instructor's class this day. Maybe you sign up for a new program like Zumba or Dance lessons that you would absolutely love. Perhaps you schedule an appointment with your trainer so you absolutely can't miss your workout. Or maybe you need a restorative day so you schedule in a Yoga class or stretching session. Bottom line - plan do something that you know you will 100% commit to and soon the day that you once struggled with will become your most consistent day.
Nutrition: If you struggle with portion control, try Psyllium Husks as a method to decrease appetite. Psyllium seed husks are indigestible in humans and are often used as a source of dietary fiber. They are used to relieve constipation, irritable bowel syndrome and improve regular GI transit. Some recent research is also showing them to be promising in lowering cholesterol, controlling diabetes and providing a sense of fullness therefore helping with portion control and weight management. You can purchase Psyllium Husks powder that you mix with water and consume 10-15 minutes before your meal. You can pick up at your Natural Food Store and/or the Natural section in most grocery stores.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Read this before Thanksgiving!
Many of us are still dealing with Halloween Candy and now Thanksgiving is about a week away. It’s enough to take even the most-disciplined, die-hard exerciser off track.
In America, Thanksgiving dinner goes hand-in-hand with an all-out gorge until you’re about to burst. A retreat to the couch follows because you’re just too stuffed to move. It doesn’t have to be this way – everyone always regrets it afterwards. Remember last year’s moans and groans “Ugh, I shouldn’t have ate the second helping of stuffing and sweet potatoes!”
This year, we’re going to help you be more pro-active:
It’s estimated that the average American can consume 5000+ calories on Thanksgiving Day. Most people enjoy a bigger than usual breakfast, Thanksgiving meal and we can’t forget the left-overs later in the evening. Now if you were an Olympic Athlete this wouldn’t be too much of a problem but since the only activity most people do on Thanksgiving is the walk from the kitchen to the TV, Thanksgiving can wreck havoc on your health.
Plan a Healthy Thanksgiving Meal: If you’re in charge of dinner or helping to plan, keep these tips in mind:
• Schedule the meal earlier in the day. Thanksgiving Dinner between 2:00-5:00 will allow some time for the body to digest the heavy meal before you hit the sack. Or do Thanksgiving the European way – schedule Thanksgiving as an all- day celebration and serve small dishes every hour or so. This seems so much healthier and civilized than mom busting her butt all day long preparing a meal that is consumed ravenously in 5 minutes. Spread the calories out throughout the day and you’ll be less likely to feel awful.
• Minimize the carb overload – Instead of preparing sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing and rolls choose only one or two of these dishes. It will save a ton of calories and you’ll feel less ‘stuffed!’ (pun intended!)
• While guests are arriving, have a vegetable platter available for them to munch on
• Serve a delicious soup as the appetizer
• Serve a beautiful salad
• Serve two or three different types of vegetables at the table
• Use skim or semi-skim milk for all your recipes
• Serve water with dinner
You can have Desert: But before desert is served, insist everyone go for a beautiful walk around the neighborhood. Or plan some fun activities while you allow your body to process the meal. For example, plan a fun game of charades, break out the WII, or maybe pull out the Holiday decorations and have the family help get your house looking festive. Or maybe earn some brownie points with mom, grandma or Aunt Jane by raking some leaves.
Get your workout in: Head to the gym for a quick workout (many are open for limited hours including our facilities in Portland and Vancouver WA) or take a run, walk or bike ride around the neighborhood. If you’ve got family visiting, do it first thing in the morning before people wake-up. A workout will actually make you feel better and help to suppress your appetite so you’re less likely to overeat. And consider ramping up your workouts over this next week so you're expending a little more energy in anticipation of the increased caloric intake next Thursday.
You can still enjoy a wonderful dinner and atmosphere without having everyone feeling bloated and horrible for the rest of the evening and suffering a Thanksgiving Hang-over the next day!
Forward this email to everyone you are celebrating Thanksgiving with this year so you're all on the same page!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
In America, Thanksgiving dinner goes hand-in-hand with an all-out gorge until you’re about to burst. A retreat to the couch follows because you’re just too stuffed to move. It doesn’t have to be this way – everyone always regrets it afterwards. Remember last year’s moans and groans “Ugh, I shouldn’t have ate the second helping of stuffing and sweet potatoes!”
This year, we’re going to help you be more pro-active:
It’s estimated that the average American can consume 5000+ calories on Thanksgiving Day. Most people enjoy a bigger than usual breakfast, Thanksgiving meal and we can’t forget the left-overs later in the evening. Now if you were an Olympic Athlete this wouldn’t be too much of a problem but since the only activity most people do on Thanksgiving is the walk from the kitchen to the TV, Thanksgiving can wreck havoc on your health.
Plan a Healthy Thanksgiving Meal: If you’re in charge of dinner or helping to plan, keep these tips in mind:
• Schedule the meal earlier in the day. Thanksgiving Dinner between 2:00-5:00 will allow some time for the body to digest the heavy meal before you hit the sack. Or do Thanksgiving the European way – schedule Thanksgiving as an all- day celebration and serve small dishes every hour or so. This seems so much healthier and civilized than mom busting her butt all day long preparing a meal that is consumed ravenously in 5 minutes. Spread the calories out throughout the day and you’ll be less likely to feel awful.
• Minimize the carb overload – Instead of preparing sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing and rolls choose only one or two of these dishes. It will save a ton of calories and you’ll feel less ‘stuffed!’ (pun intended!)
• While guests are arriving, have a vegetable platter available for them to munch on
• Serve a delicious soup as the appetizer
• Serve a beautiful salad
• Serve two or three different types of vegetables at the table
• Use skim or semi-skim milk for all your recipes
• Serve water with dinner
You can have Desert: But before desert is served, insist everyone go for a beautiful walk around the neighborhood. Or plan some fun activities while you allow your body to process the meal. For example, plan a fun game of charades, break out the WII, or maybe pull out the Holiday decorations and have the family help get your house looking festive. Or maybe earn some brownie points with mom, grandma or Aunt Jane by raking some leaves.
Get your workout in: Head to the gym for a quick workout (many are open for limited hours including our facilities in Portland and Vancouver WA) or take a run, walk or bike ride around the neighborhood. If you’ve got family visiting, do it first thing in the morning before people wake-up. A workout will actually make you feel better and help to suppress your appetite so you’re less likely to overeat. And consider ramping up your workouts over this next week so you're expending a little more energy in anticipation of the increased caloric intake next Thursday.
You can still enjoy a wonderful dinner and atmosphere without having everyone feeling bloated and horrible for the rest of the evening and suffering a Thanksgiving Hang-over the next day!
Forward this email to everyone you are celebrating Thanksgiving with this year so you're all on the same page!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
When was the last time you saw a guy in a wheelchair Bungee Jump?
We place our own limits on ourselves. When I lived in Vancouver BC, I had the fortunate honor to be Rick Hansen's Trainer - the man who wheeled around the world raising millions of dollars for spinal cord research. He told me once he had to decide to focus on the 1000 things he couldn't do anymore because he didn't have the use of his legs or the 100,000 things he still could do. And he has gone on to live the most incredible life inspiring so many others that you can do anything if you want it bad enough.
He just recently Bungee Jumped in Whistler BC. You've got to watch this clip. It is both hilarious and inspirational showing you that you can do anything when you put your mind to it! It will be a highlight of you day!
If you can't see the clip above, clip on this direct link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtAJFIOz8xs&NR=1
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you are local, please join me this weekend for our 3 hour Exercise-a-thon to collect food and clothing for a local shelter. Click below for more details. We'd love to see you there.
http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/events/event_details.php?event_id=72
He just recently Bungee Jumped in Whistler BC. You've got to watch this clip. It is both hilarious and inspirational showing you that you can do anything when you put your mind to it! It will be a highlight of you day!
If you can't see the clip above, clip on this direct link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtAJFIOz8xs&NR=1
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you are local, please join me this weekend for our 3 hour Exercise-a-thon to collect food and clothing for a local shelter. Click below for more details. We'd love to see you there.
http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/events/event_details.php?event_id=72
Monday, November 9, 2009
When was the last time you had Geese chasing you?!
Happy Monday!
I just finished presenting at the fabulous CanFitPro fitness conference in Vancouver BC. I often hear from clients that they have a hard time keeping up with their fitness routine when they travel. I always explain to them that if you want something bad enough, if your health and fitness is really that important to you, then there are NO EXCUSES! That's right - no excuses. It doesn't matter if you're tired, jet-lagged, your hotel doesn't offer a fitness facility, or you can't find a gym in the area - you've got to make it happen.
For example, today it was raining in Vancouver BC so it would have been easy to talk myself out of going for a run. But I went anyways and here's what happened. First, I found a beautiful trail along the river that was a breath of fresh air and once I got outside, the rain didn't bother me at all and it was actually quite incredible. I would have never got to experience this had I not left my hotel. Then I stumbled across the new 2010 Olympic Oval being built and was able to run all around it and check out how awesome it was. That was pretty cool. And then on my way back there was this group of Canadian Geese hanging out by the trail. It felt so nice to connect with nature. And then as I ran by the geese, a few proceeded to chase me and nip at my butt. I think they were mad that I moved to the states! :) So anyways, had I not gone out for my run, I would not have experienced that exciting adventure!
Bottom line, no matter where you are or what you're doing, you need to do something to move your body today. Don't ask yourself "Should I workout today?" That's the wrong question because the answer will always be yes. Instead ask yourself "WHAT should I do to move my body today so that I can look and feel my absolute best!"
Have a fabulous week!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you're starting to look for good stocking stuffers for the holidays, one of my books might inspire one of your loved ones to get off the couch. Click below for more details.
http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/products/products.php
I just finished presenting at the fabulous CanFitPro fitness conference in Vancouver BC. I often hear from clients that they have a hard time keeping up with their fitness routine when they travel. I always explain to them that if you want something bad enough, if your health and fitness is really that important to you, then there are NO EXCUSES! That's right - no excuses. It doesn't matter if you're tired, jet-lagged, your hotel doesn't offer a fitness facility, or you can't find a gym in the area - you've got to make it happen.
For example, today it was raining in Vancouver BC so it would have been easy to talk myself out of going for a run. But I went anyways and here's what happened. First, I found a beautiful trail along the river that was a breath of fresh air and once I got outside, the rain didn't bother me at all and it was actually quite incredible. I would have never got to experience this had I not left my hotel. Then I stumbled across the new 2010 Olympic Oval being built and was able to run all around it and check out how awesome it was. That was pretty cool. And then on my way back there was this group of Canadian Geese hanging out by the trail. It felt so nice to connect with nature. And then as I ran by the geese, a few proceeded to chase me and nip at my butt. I think they were mad that I moved to the states! :) So anyways, had I not gone out for my run, I would not have experienced that exciting adventure!
Bottom line, no matter where you are or what you're doing, you need to do something to move your body today. Don't ask yourself "Should I workout today?" That's the wrong question because the answer will always be yes. Instead ask yourself "WHAT should I do to move my body today so that I can look and feel my absolute best!"
Have a fabulous week!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you're starting to look for good stocking stuffers for the holidays, one of my books might inspire one of your loved ones to get off the couch. Click below for more details.
http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/products/products.php
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Happy & Healthy Halloween
Happy (& Healthy) Halloween
Halloween is on Saturday and although it’s so fun to dress up, as fitness professionals it’s not one of our favorite holidays. The last thing our kids need is more sugar, fat and a candy binge! So how can you promote moderation and a healthy diet without coming off as the world’s worst parents?!
Go against the norm: The American Dietetic Association offers the following suggestions for nutritious Halloween goodies. You may not be the favorite Halloween house on your block but at least you can feel good about the fact that you’re not sending your neighbors’ kids into sugar oblivion!
• Mini rice cereal bites
• Packages of trail mix
• Cereal or energy bars
• Small boxes of raisins
• Small packages of dried fruit
• Sugar-free gum
• Mini juice boxes
Does it have to be candy? Many kids would enjoy just as much some cool, new Halloween pencils or pens, spooky stickers, tattoos, or spider rings.
Control Consumption: If you leave it up to the kids, they’ll have half their candy eaten before bed-time on Saturday night! Instead, sit down with their stash, and separate it into small sized snack pouches that limit how much candy they have per day. Not that we’re saying that kids need candy every day but at least it’s a start! Explain to them clearly how much and when candy can be consumed. For example, you may set limits that prevent candy intake before bed or in the morning before school. But you may allow a small snack bag only after they eat their nutritious lunch.
In Oregon and Washington, 24.5 percent of 8th graders are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight and this number is increasing every year. As parents and teachers, we need to limit children’s consumption of candy year-round so now is a good time to discuss the benefits of a healthy diet and the ramifications of an unhealthy one.
Move their bodies: The rise in childhood obesity is partly due to the fact that kids are just not moving their bodies as much as they need to. Computers, video-games, TV and the fact that only 54.8 percent of Oregon eighth graders participate in daily PE is wrecking havoc on our kids’ health. So take this weekend as an opportunity to promote an active lifestyle and get them outside for a hike, a long walk or a bike ride. Their bodies will thank you for it!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Halloween is on Saturday and although it’s so fun to dress up, as fitness professionals it’s not one of our favorite holidays. The last thing our kids need is more sugar, fat and a candy binge! So how can you promote moderation and a healthy diet without coming off as the world’s worst parents?!
Go against the norm: The American Dietetic Association offers the following suggestions for nutritious Halloween goodies. You may not be the favorite Halloween house on your block but at least you can feel good about the fact that you’re not sending your neighbors’ kids into sugar oblivion!
• Mini rice cereal bites
• Packages of trail mix
• Cereal or energy bars
• Small boxes of raisins
• Small packages of dried fruit
• Sugar-free gum
• Mini juice boxes
Does it have to be candy? Many kids would enjoy just as much some cool, new Halloween pencils or pens, spooky stickers, tattoos, or spider rings.
Control Consumption: If you leave it up to the kids, they’ll have half their candy eaten before bed-time on Saturday night! Instead, sit down with their stash, and separate it into small sized snack pouches that limit how much candy they have per day. Not that we’re saying that kids need candy every day but at least it’s a start! Explain to them clearly how much and when candy can be consumed. For example, you may set limits that prevent candy intake before bed or in the morning before school. But you may allow a small snack bag only after they eat their nutritious lunch.
In Oregon and Washington, 24.5 percent of 8th graders are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight and this number is increasing every year. As parents and teachers, we need to limit children’s consumption of candy year-round so now is a good time to discuss the benefits of a healthy diet and the ramifications of an unhealthy one.
Move their bodies: The rise in childhood obesity is partly due to the fact that kids are just not moving their bodies as much as they need to. Computers, video-games, TV and the fact that only 54.8 percent of Oregon eighth graders participate in daily PE is wrecking havoc on our kids’ health. So take this weekend as an opportunity to promote an active lifestyle and get them outside for a hike, a long walk or a bike ride. Their bodies will thank you for it!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Monday, October 26, 2009
Don't buy Halloween Candy yet!
If you haven't purchased Halloween Candy yet, don't do it until Saturday. Because otherwise you know what will happen. You'll probably end up eating half of it between now and then and will have to go out and buy more!
If you already have purchased, then put it somewhere very inconvenient to access. For example, put it in the garage on the highest shelf or in the attic that you would need to use a ladder to get at. Or store it at your neighbors house - just make sure you tell them they can't eat any of it either!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
If you already have purchased, then put it somewhere very inconvenient to access. For example, put it in the garage on the highest shelf or in the attic that you would need to use a ladder to get at. Or store it at your neighbors house - just make sure you tell them they can't eat any of it either!
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Nutrition Principle #8 to Losing Weight and Looking & Feeling your Best
Nutrition Habit #8 - Avoid or Limit alcohol in your Diet
I'm probably not going to be very popular after today's posting...
Although alcohol is low in fat content, it is very high in empty calories. In addition, alcohol activates the enzyme that uptakes fat from our bloodstream and stores it in our fat cells. Therefore any food you consume in combination with alcohol will more likely end up in our fat storage depot areas like our hips, thighs and abs. And finally as we all know, alcohol lowers our inhibitions making us more likely to make poorer choices - including poorer food choices! So practice moderation in this area.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
I'm probably not going to be very popular after today's posting...
Although alcohol is low in fat content, it is very high in empty calories. In addition, alcohol activates the enzyme that uptakes fat from our bloodstream and stores it in our fat cells. Therefore any food you consume in combination with alcohol will more likely end up in our fat storage depot areas like our hips, thighs and abs. And finally as we all know, alcohol lowers our inhibitions making us more likely to make poorer choices - including poorer food choices! So practice moderation in this area.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Nutrition Principle #7 to Losing Weight and Looking & Feeling your Best
Nutrition Habit #7 - Eliminate any unhealthy temptations from your environment (work, home, car) and replace with healthy alternatives.
This is one of the most important principles for me. If you’re like most people myself included, if it’s there staring you in the face, you’ll eat it. Make it more difficult to access the foods that stumble you and sabotage your efforts. Eliminate the following from your environment:
*Cookies, chocolate bars, pastries, candy and any high-calorie, sweetened snack foods
*Salty foods such as potato chips, pretzels, taco chips, crackers, and other packaged munchies
*White bread, white rolls, white buns
*Ice cream and high-sugar frozen deserts
*High-fat spreads and dips
*Sugared soft drinks and beverages
*Alcoholic beverages
*Any food that can be classified as junk food or that you habitually binge on
Do you need a kitchen make-over?
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
This is one of the most important principles for me. If you’re like most people myself included, if it’s there staring you in the face, you’ll eat it. Make it more difficult to access the foods that stumble you and sabotage your efforts. Eliminate the following from your environment:
*Cookies, chocolate bars, pastries, candy and any high-calorie, sweetened snack foods
*Salty foods such as potato chips, pretzels, taco chips, crackers, and other packaged munchies
*White bread, white rolls, white buns
*Ice cream and high-sugar frozen deserts
*High-fat spreads and dips
*Sugared soft drinks and beverages
*Alcoholic beverages
*Any food that can be classified as junk food or that you habitually binge on
Do you need a kitchen make-over?
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Friday, October 9, 2009
Nutrition Principle #6 to Losing Weight and Looking & Feeling your Best
Nutrition Habit #6: Commit to Shopping at least once per week and stocking up on healthy choices.
What happens if you get home and you are starved and there is nothing to eat? You are more likely to choose a less-healthy item or dial up a take-out restaurant and order something high in fat and calories. If you want to commit to a healthy diet, you have got to commit to setting up a framework for success. This includes planning a trip to the grocery shop weekly and then potentially one or two smaller trips to the store or Farmer's Market to top up on fresh fruits and veggies. You can not expect to adhere to a healthy diet without making this very important commitment to yourself.
Shop from a grocery list prepared when you are not hungry or stressed out
Determine exactly what you need for a particular period of time. This is where meal-planning for the week ahead really helps. For example, keep what you’ll eat for breakfast, lunch and snacks pretty simple and consistent. Then decide what you’ll eat for dinners each night. For example, you might decide Monday you’ll make a home-made vegetarian pizza. Tuesday, you’ll make salmon, vegetables and rice. Wednesday, you’ll do a vegetable and pasta marinara and salad. Thursday, you’ll do a shrimp and vegetable stir-fry. Friday, you’ll eat out. Saturday, you’ll do chicken or veggie burgers, vegetables and salad. And Sunday, you’ll make healthy burritos. Then buy what you need to make each meal throughout the week. Don’t overbuy – Be careful of bulk buying. And try never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry!
As soon as you get home, plan time to clean, cut and chop fresh produce to ensure it’s ready to be eaten (unless you buy the pre-cut and washed). Cook-a-thons will also make sticking to your nutrition plan a lot easier. Opening the fridge to find a bowl of chili, home-made soup, pasta salad or chopped vegetables will make it more likely that you grab for these healthier items.
Great foods to put in your shopping cart:
Whole Grains:
Oatmeal
Cold cereal – Cherrios, , Bran, Granola
100% whole grain bread or English muffins (or other bread products)
100% whole wheat pitas
100% whole wheat tortillas
100% whole wheat pizza shells
Brown Rice
100% whole wheat pasta
Meats (unless you are a vegetarian then chose vegetarian options!):
Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves and/or frozen cut-up chicken for stir-fries
Skinless salmon filets / 1 whole fish
Skinless turkey breasts
Sliced cooked salmon, turkey or chicken
White porkchops
Ground turkey or lean beef
Frozen chicken or vegetable meat patties
Dairy:
Skim milk or low-fat soy/rice/oatbran milk fortified with vitamin D and calcium
Eggs
1 bag of part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Container of feta-cheese
Low-fat probiotic Yogurt cups
Frozen Foods:
Bags of frozen veggies – green beans, peas, broccoli, corn, stir-fry
Bags of frozen fruit – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
Frozen Meals – Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice – When you’re too tired to cook or in a hurry, these are life savers. They are low in salt, calories, fat and Trans-fats plus they’re actually quite yummy!
Canned/Jarred Foods:
Beans
Soups – look for low sodium
Tomato Sauce
Kalamata Olives
Sun-dried tomatos
Soy-nut peanut butter or all-natural peanut butter (no trans fat, no added sugar)
Drinks:
Bottled Water/Flavored Water
100% Orange with pulp/Cranberry/Grapefruit Juice (fortified with calcium, magnesium and Vit. D)
V-8 (low sodium)
Green Tea
Fresh Produce: Fruits/Vegetables
You’ve got complete freedom in this area. Buy what you love. Here’s some must haves…
3-5 bags of salad mix like Romaine, Spinach or Mixed Greens (make it easy to make salads everyday)
Bag of cut-up stir-fry veggies
Pre-cut and washed veggies – carrots, broccoli, sweet peas, cauliflower, celery, asparagus, mushrooms (make it easy to eat your veggies!)
Peppers – red, yellow, orange, green
Tomatos/Cucumbers/Onions
Apples/Pears/Grapes/Bananas/Oranges/Grapefruit/Tangerines – plus whatever is in season
Spices/Extras:
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper/Garlic
Soy sauce – low sodium
Balsamic vinegar
Salad dressing/Salad spritzers - vinaigrettes are a great choice
Marinara sauce
Cinnamon
Other favorite spices
Flaxseed
Psyliium
Snack-Foods:
Rice Cakes
Popcorn
Nuts – raw walnuts/almonds unsalted– don’t buy too much. And once you get them home, put them in mini-ziplock snack bags separated 10 to a bag
Dried fruits – apricots, cranberries, apples…
If you have a real sweet tooth and are looking for healthier options to prevent the 500 plus calorie dessert binges, try the following:
Yogurt and granola
Weight-watcher deserts – they typically keep them at 100 calories per serving
Pudding cups – 60 calories per cup
Gum/Small bag of hard candies – when you feel a craving coming on, chew on some gum or pop a hard candy and suck on it for a while. It will often do the trick.
Frozen yogurt – but just buy the smaller cartons to prevent eating a whole gallon
I hope this helps give you some direction for your next grocery trip.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
What happens if you get home and you are starved and there is nothing to eat? You are more likely to choose a less-healthy item or dial up a take-out restaurant and order something high in fat and calories. If you want to commit to a healthy diet, you have got to commit to setting up a framework for success. This includes planning a trip to the grocery shop weekly and then potentially one or two smaller trips to the store or Farmer's Market to top up on fresh fruits and veggies. You can not expect to adhere to a healthy diet without making this very important commitment to yourself.
Shop from a grocery list prepared when you are not hungry or stressed out
Determine exactly what you need for a particular period of time. This is where meal-planning for the week ahead really helps. For example, keep what you’ll eat for breakfast, lunch and snacks pretty simple and consistent. Then decide what you’ll eat for dinners each night. For example, you might decide Monday you’ll make a home-made vegetarian pizza. Tuesday, you’ll make salmon, vegetables and rice. Wednesday, you’ll do a vegetable and pasta marinara and salad. Thursday, you’ll do a shrimp and vegetable stir-fry. Friday, you’ll eat out. Saturday, you’ll do chicken or veggie burgers, vegetables and salad. And Sunday, you’ll make healthy burritos. Then buy what you need to make each meal throughout the week. Don’t overbuy – Be careful of bulk buying. And try never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry!
As soon as you get home, plan time to clean, cut and chop fresh produce to ensure it’s ready to be eaten (unless you buy the pre-cut and washed). Cook-a-thons will also make sticking to your nutrition plan a lot easier. Opening the fridge to find a bowl of chili, home-made soup, pasta salad or chopped vegetables will make it more likely that you grab for these healthier items.
Great foods to put in your shopping cart:
Whole Grains:
Oatmeal
Cold cereal – Cherrios, , Bran, Granola
100% whole grain bread or English muffins (or other bread products)
100% whole wheat pitas
100% whole wheat tortillas
100% whole wheat pizza shells
Brown Rice
100% whole wheat pasta
Meats (unless you are a vegetarian then chose vegetarian options!):
Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves and/or frozen cut-up chicken for stir-fries
Skinless salmon filets / 1 whole fish
Skinless turkey breasts
Sliced cooked salmon, turkey or chicken
White porkchops
Ground turkey or lean beef
Frozen chicken or vegetable meat patties
Dairy:
Skim milk or low-fat soy/rice/oatbran milk fortified with vitamin D and calcium
Eggs
1 bag of part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Container of feta-cheese
Low-fat probiotic Yogurt cups
Frozen Foods:
Bags of frozen veggies – green beans, peas, broccoli, corn, stir-fry
Bags of frozen fruit – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
Frozen Meals – Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice – When you’re too tired to cook or in a hurry, these are life savers. They are low in salt, calories, fat and Trans-fats plus they’re actually quite yummy!
Canned/Jarred Foods:
Beans
Soups – look for low sodium
Tomato Sauce
Kalamata Olives
Sun-dried tomatos
Soy-nut peanut butter or all-natural peanut butter (no trans fat, no added sugar)
Drinks:
Bottled Water/Flavored Water
100% Orange with pulp/Cranberry/Grapefruit Juice (fortified with calcium, magnesium and Vit. D)
V-8 (low sodium)
Green Tea
Fresh Produce: Fruits/Vegetables
You’ve got complete freedom in this area. Buy what you love. Here’s some must haves…
3-5 bags of salad mix like Romaine, Spinach or Mixed Greens (make it easy to make salads everyday)
Bag of cut-up stir-fry veggies
Pre-cut and washed veggies – carrots, broccoli, sweet peas, cauliflower, celery, asparagus, mushrooms (make it easy to eat your veggies!)
Peppers – red, yellow, orange, green
Tomatos/Cucumbers/Onions
Apples/Pears/Grapes/Bananas/Oranges/Grapefruit/Tangerines – plus whatever is in season
Spices/Extras:
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper/Garlic
Soy sauce – low sodium
Balsamic vinegar
Salad dressing/Salad spritzers - vinaigrettes are a great choice
Marinara sauce
Cinnamon
Other favorite spices
Flaxseed
Psyliium
Snack-Foods:
Rice Cakes
Popcorn
Nuts – raw walnuts/almonds unsalted– don’t buy too much. And once you get them home, put them in mini-ziplock snack bags separated 10 to a bag
Dried fruits – apricots, cranberries, apples…
If you have a real sweet tooth and are looking for healthier options to prevent the 500 plus calorie dessert binges, try the following:
Yogurt and granola
Weight-watcher deserts – they typically keep them at 100 calories per serving
Pudding cups – 60 calories per cup
Gum/Small bag of hard candies – when you feel a craving coming on, chew on some gum or pop a hard candy and suck on it for a while. It will often do the trick.
Frozen yogurt – but just buy the smaller cartons to prevent eating a whole gallon
I hope this helps give you some direction for your next grocery trip.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Nutrition Principle #5 to Losing Weight and Looking & Feeling your Best
Nutrition habit #5 - Control your Portion Sizes
This is an important principle - you've got to pay attention to your portion sizes. We are victims of a society that is hooked on supersizing everything…supersize drinks, monster size cookies, muffins and bagels and astronomical sized restaurant entrees. For many of us, it may not be that our food choices are poor, we may just be eating too much of a good thing. Out of control portions will lead to weight gain and often cause people to feel lethargic.
Here is a very important message to remember. If at the end of the day, you have expended fewer calories than the number of calories you have consumed from any source, you will store these calories as fat. Here is how it works:
Let's say you consume an extra 1,000 carbohydrate calories in the form of plain pasta. It takes about 30 percent of the calories consumed to break down the dietary carbohydrate and store it as body fat. So out of the 1,000 extra carbohydrate calories, 700 will be stored as body fat. Now, let's say you consume an extra 1,000 fat calories in the form of creams. It takes about 3% of the calories consumed to break down this dietary fat and store it as body fat. So, out of the 1,000 extra fat calories, 970 will be stored as body fat.
It is obviously better to be consuming a diet rich in carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain products because less of the excess will actually be stored as body fat. But you will still store excess carbohydrates as body fat and you will gain weight, whether your diet is low in fat or not. If your diet contains more calories than you expend in a day, you will gain weight regardless of the source of the calories.
When reducing food intake and portion sizes, the reduction should typically occur in the following order:
*Reduce fat intake
*Reduce alcohol intake
*Reduce sugar intake
*Reduce starches (pasta, breads, rice)
It is also wise to pay close attention to serving sizes listed on labels. Sometimes what is listed as one serving size is unrealistically small. So you may trick yourself into believing that you are consuming an item that is low in caloric and fat content, when in fact, what you are actually consuming is four times the listed serving size.
Here are some realistic portion sizes:
*A serving of meat, fish or poultry should be about the size of the palm of your hand
*Your fruit and vegetable servings should be about the size of a tennis ball
*A serving size of cottage cheese, rice, pasta, cereal or other starch is the size of a tennis ball
*A slice of bread, one small roll, or a half bagel or bun counts as one serving
*A serving of sandwich cheese is one slice
*A serving size of fats, oils, nuts, seed is about the size of your thumb
Techniques for Reducing Portion Sizes:
*Use a smaller plate. Instead of using a traditional dinner plate, use an appetizer/salad size plate instead. This will force you to start with fewer calories right away. We’ve been taught as kids to eat what’s on our plate. So a bigger plate automatically means more calories.
*Divide your plate into 4 parts. A quarter of the plate will be reserved for a starch (whole grain rice, pasta, bread/roll), a quarter of the plate will be reserved for protein and the last half of the plate should be reserved for fruits and/or vegetables.
*20 minutes before you eat your meal, have a cup of soup, a handful of walnuts, a small salad, a cup of juice or 8-16 ounces of water. This will help to suppress your appetite.
*To help control portions, keep a food log and submit it to a professional.
*To help avoid mindless, late-night eating, brush your teeth after dinner. Pop a breath mint or breath strip. Go for a walk. Read a book. Take a bath.
*Buy single serving items or place snacks in small plastic baggies to help control portions.
*Avoid buying in bulk. Studies show that when people buy in bulk, they also eat in bulk. Remember – if it’s there, you’ll eat it!
*Eat slowly. The brain needs 20 minutes to receive the signal that you’re full.
* After food is placed in front of you, wait 5 minutes before you eat. Place small mouthfuls of food on fork/spoon. Completely swallow food before you add more food to fork/spoon. Put down utensils in between bites. Use smaller utensils. Consciously take time to taste, chew and savor food.
*Stretch out meals, making them last 30 minutes. Take a five minute break about 10 minutes into your meal
*Take sips of water or other non-caloric beverages between bites
*Introduce a one or two minute delay between courses
When eating out:
*Order one meal and ask for two plates so you can split the meal.
*Don’t order super-size meals; opt for regular or kiddie portions instead
*Share desserts
*Order water immediately
*Order butter and salad dressing on the side
*Ask for your meat broiled and without any additional fat added
*Ask for your chicken to be prepared without the skin
*Order a salad instead of french fries
*Ask for skim milk
*Order a tomato instead of cream sauce for pasta dishes
*Order plain bread instead of garlic bread
*Take one piece of bread from the basket and then ask for the basket to be taken away. Or ask for a complimentary vegetable platter instead of bread basket.
*Order tomato and broth soups instead of cream-based soups
*Order fresh fruit desserts
*Hold the sauce on burgers and instead use ketchup, mustard, relish, tomato and lettuce
*Do not be afraid to ask for any type of substitution
Become aware of your impulses and urges:
What traps you into overeating? Is it a certain time of day? Is it the people you hang with? Is it paired with some type of activity? Do you get the urge to eat in certain places? Do you turn to food when you’re tired after work?
*Make a list of substitute activities. They must be activities that compete with the action of eating - ie. it’s difficult to eat while doing the activity. For example, a hobby, gardening, play a game with family/friends, learn a new sport, visit your neighbors/friends, write in a journal, give yourself a manicure, read a magazine/book, plan your next vacation, Relaxation/breathing exercises, walk/jog/swim/bike ride/go to gym/exercise video/dance to some upbeat music, shower, bath, get a massage, listen to music, prayer, meditation, housework, pay bills, balance your check book, complete a home improvement project, rearrange your furniture, wash your car, clean out closets/drawers, run errands, floss, take dog for a walk, video games
*Then when your impulse or urge surfaces, immediately start your substitute activity. The urge should pass.
If you recognize that you need to focus on controlling your portion sizes, you may initially feel a bit hungry for a few weeks. But that hunger-sensation won’t last long. Your stomach is capable of shrinking and will learn to be satisfied with the smaller meals. Plus when you’re eating the right type of foods, you’ll have more energy and your appetite will effectively suppressed making your plan much easier to adhere to.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
This is an important principle - you've got to pay attention to your portion sizes. We are victims of a society that is hooked on supersizing everything…supersize drinks, monster size cookies, muffins and bagels and astronomical sized restaurant entrees. For many of us, it may not be that our food choices are poor, we may just be eating too much of a good thing. Out of control portions will lead to weight gain and often cause people to feel lethargic.
Here is a very important message to remember. If at the end of the day, you have expended fewer calories than the number of calories you have consumed from any source, you will store these calories as fat. Here is how it works:
Let's say you consume an extra 1,000 carbohydrate calories in the form of plain pasta. It takes about 30 percent of the calories consumed to break down the dietary carbohydrate and store it as body fat. So out of the 1,000 extra carbohydrate calories, 700 will be stored as body fat. Now, let's say you consume an extra 1,000 fat calories in the form of creams. It takes about 3% of the calories consumed to break down this dietary fat and store it as body fat. So, out of the 1,000 extra fat calories, 970 will be stored as body fat.
It is obviously better to be consuming a diet rich in carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain products because less of the excess will actually be stored as body fat. But you will still store excess carbohydrates as body fat and you will gain weight, whether your diet is low in fat or not. If your diet contains more calories than you expend in a day, you will gain weight regardless of the source of the calories.
When reducing food intake and portion sizes, the reduction should typically occur in the following order:
*Reduce fat intake
*Reduce alcohol intake
*Reduce sugar intake
*Reduce starches (pasta, breads, rice)
It is also wise to pay close attention to serving sizes listed on labels. Sometimes what is listed as one serving size is unrealistically small. So you may trick yourself into believing that you are consuming an item that is low in caloric and fat content, when in fact, what you are actually consuming is four times the listed serving size.
Here are some realistic portion sizes:
*A serving of meat, fish or poultry should be about the size of the palm of your hand
*Your fruit and vegetable servings should be about the size of a tennis ball
*A serving size of cottage cheese, rice, pasta, cereal or other starch is the size of a tennis ball
*A slice of bread, one small roll, or a half bagel or bun counts as one serving
*A serving of sandwich cheese is one slice
*A serving size of fats, oils, nuts, seed is about the size of your thumb
Techniques for Reducing Portion Sizes:
*Use a smaller plate. Instead of using a traditional dinner plate, use an appetizer/salad size plate instead. This will force you to start with fewer calories right away. We’ve been taught as kids to eat what’s on our plate. So a bigger plate automatically means more calories.
*Divide your plate into 4 parts. A quarter of the plate will be reserved for a starch (whole grain rice, pasta, bread/roll), a quarter of the plate will be reserved for protein and the last half of the plate should be reserved for fruits and/or vegetables.
*20 minutes before you eat your meal, have a cup of soup, a handful of walnuts, a small salad, a cup of juice or 8-16 ounces of water. This will help to suppress your appetite.
*To help control portions, keep a food log and submit it to a professional.
*To help avoid mindless, late-night eating, brush your teeth after dinner. Pop a breath mint or breath strip. Go for a walk. Read a book. Take a bath.
*Buy single serving items or place snacks in small plastic baggies to help control portions.
*Avoid buying in bulk. Studies show that when people buy in bulk, they also eat in bulk. Remember – if it’s there, you’ll eat it!
*Eat slowly. The brain needs 20 minutes to receive the signal that you’re full.
* After food is placed in front of you, wait 5 minutes before you eat. Place small mouthfuls of food on fork/spoon. Completely swallow food before you add more food to fork/spoon. Put down utensils in between bites. Use smaller utensils. Consciously take time to taste, chew and savor food.
*Stretch out meals, making them last 30 minutes. Take a five minute break about 10 minutes into your meal
*Take sips of water or other non-caloric beverages between bites
*Introduce a one or two minute delay between courses
When eating out:
*Order one meal and ask for two plates so you can split the meal.
*Don’t order super-size meals; opt for regular or kiddie portions instead
*Share desserts
*Order water immediately
*Order butter and salad dressing on the side
*Ask for your meat broiled and without any additional fat added
*Ask for your chicken to be prepared without the skin
*Order a salad instead of french fries
*Ask for skim milk
*Order a tomato instead of cream sauce for pasta dishes
*Order plain bread instead of garlic bread
*Take one piece of bread from the basket and then ask for the basket to be taken away. Or ask for a complimentary vegetable platter instead of bread basket.
*Order tomato and broth soups instead of cream-based soups
*Order fresh fruit desserts
*Hold the sauce on burgers and instead use ketchup, mustard, relish, tomato and lettuce
*Do not be afraid to ask for any type of substitution
Become aware of your impulses and urges:
What traps you into overeating? Is it a certain time of day? Is it the people you hang with? Is it paired with some type of activity? Do you get the urge to eat in certain places? Do you turn to food when you’re tired after work?
*Make a list of substitute activities. They must be activities that compete with the action of eating - ie. it’s difficult to eat while doing the activity. For example, a hobby, gardening, play a game with family/friends, learn a new sport, visit your neighbors/friends, write in a journal, give yourself a manicure, read a magazine/book, plan your next vacation, Relaxation/breathing exercises, walk/jog/swim/bike ride/go to gym/exercise video/dance to some upbeat music, shower, bath, get a massage, listen to music, prayer, meditation, housework, pay bills, balance your check book, complete a home improvement project, rearrange your furniture, wash your car, clean out closets/drawers, run errands, floss, take dog for a walk, video games
*Then when your impulse or urge surfaces, immediately start your substitute activity. The urge should pass.
If you recognize that you need to focus on controlling your portion sizes, you may initially feel a bit hungry for a few weeks. But that hunger-sensation won’t last long. Your stomach is capable of shrinking and will learn to be satisfied with the smaller meals. Plus when you’re eating the right type of foods, you’ll have more energy and your appetite will effectively suppressed making your plan much easier to adhere to.
Yours in health and fitness,
Sherri McMillan
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