Do you have to?
Growing up in an authoritarian culture, it is tough to get away from the feeling that you have all these things in life that you “have to” do. I had a discussion with a friend a couple a months ago who I raised this point to, and she came up with a couple of objections:
“I have to pay my rent!”
My answer: “No, you don’t. You can put in a 30-day notice to leave, or you can just not pay. Of course there are consequences to everything. But you have a choice. You can get a cheaper place, or sleep on a friend’s couch, or move back in with your parents….”
The “have to’s” in life typically just stress us out and don’t help us get to our goals. Let’s look at making lifestyle changes.
Let’s say someone smokes & drinks regularly, and is 20 pounds overweight.
They might think to themselves: “I have to get healthy and get in shape!”
So they will proceed to quit smoking, quit alcohol, start exercising, and cut out carbohydrates- all at once! Most people that do this are setting themselves up for failure. Why not tackle one thing at a time? Maybe you feel you have to make all of the above changes to get healthy. But “chunking it down”, as Tony Robbins would say, may be a lot easier than to go cold turkey in all areas at once!
Diet itself is no different. When I first realized I needed to make dietary changes, I knew there were some things I could cut out. I started with 3 things at first: soda, cereal, and pasta. These changes led me to actually WANT to start cutting out more bad carbs and replacing them with healthy protein and fats, because I started associating those carb foods with feeling tired and sluggish, and having a gut. They weren’t serving me, and this became obvious.
One thing at a time seems to work well for a lot of people. What has your experience been with making positive lifestyle changes?
Sign Up here and receive:
“The Three Pillars of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Through the Mind-Body Connection” Audio
Honey Nut Cheerios & Health?
The other day, I was chatting with a former investment partner of mine. He’s a brilliant guy and works as a software engineer. He’s made a lot of money in his young life, and moved ahead in his career despite some odds against him.
Towards the end of our conversation, he said he wanted some advice on fitness. He said he wants to start running 3-5 miles a day to lose some weight and get in shape. I mentioned that it’s going to be more about diet & nutrition than how much exercise he can squeeze in.
So he says: “Well, I try to eat pretty healthy.”
I ask: “What kinds of things do you eat?”
And he replies: “I usually start out the day with a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios…do you think that’s good?”
Let’s look at why he would think this is a healthy way to eat. Here are the claims Cheerios makes on their site, and my debunking comments:
“13 Vitamins & Minerals
Contains “good source” (at least 10% of the Daily Value per serving) of the number of vitamins & minerals indicated.”
Wow! 10%! Seriously? I can’t even believe they are bragging about this!
“Low fat
Contains 3 grams or less of fat per serving or per 50 grams if serving size is 30 grams or less.”
Why is low fat a good thing? Oh, because this USRDA says so! Sorry, this is yet another strike against Cheerios.
“Good source of calcium
Contains at least 10% of the Daily Value of calcium per serving.”
Another whopping 10%. And why is getting this calcium good in the first place? We should be more focused on a balanced magnesium/calcium ratio instead of just looking at one side of the equation.
“Made with whole grain
Contains at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving. U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend eating at least 48 grams of whole grain per day.”
Oh boy, WHOLE grains! There’s that all-knowing USRDA again, giving out horrible advice that will go further in making us sick than healthy!
“Helps reduce the risk of heart disease
Product may reduce the risk of heart disease as part of a heart-healthy diet.”
The key where they cover their asses is that last part of the statement “..as part of a heart-healthy diet.” And it MAY help. No studies showing this to be true. Deceptive claim at the least!
“Can help lower cholesterol*
Product can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart-healthy diet.
”
Same as above. Can it? Or not? And which kind of cholesterol is it lowering?
“Excellent source of iron
Contains at least 20% of the Daily Value of iron per serving.”
Let’s see, where else can we get far more iron per serving. Meat! No need for processed crap if you are after iron.
Well I could go on and on, but the bottom line is, Cheerios are simply fake food, and not meant for human consumption. It’s too bad that so many people fall for this idea that because something has the American Heart Association’s stamp of approval and the full endorsement of the government that it must be good!
Sign Up here and receive:
“The Three Pillars of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Through the Mind-Body Connection” Audio
63 – Sowing the seeds of your own health success
(duration 28:59)
We address the psychological topic of dealing with mental and behavioral changes, especially in relation to those who don’t want to give up their favorite comfort foods, which are typically some form of unhealthy carbs. We explore our newsletter post covering this topic, as well as a listener’s response to it, who relates her stories about dealing with the unhealthy eating habits of her patients and co-workers at a hospital. We read some choice quotes from a motivational book titled As A Man Thinketh by James Allen, which was written over a hundred years ago. Become a “master gardener” of your own mind; understand your own power to change your life course and make firm commitments to lifestyle changes. Also, it’s extremely helpful to compassionately connect with feelings and needs in relation to making changes. For instance, when someone is feeling fearful or reticent or dismissive of a healthy message, acknowledge those feelings and understand various unmet needs that might give rise to them, via nonviolent communication. This will tend to dissolve antagonism and place the focus on what truly matters, which is adopting life-enriching strategies to get one’s needs met.
We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody
Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.
Items mentioned in this episode:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_a_Man_Thinketh
Instructions for Sentence Completion Programs
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/articles_essays/instructions.html
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
http://bit.ly/gwJa4h (google books)
The vocabulary of nonviolent communication
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory
The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1 (extended workshop)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ
Please consider contributing to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/
Podcast: Download
Simple eating
After our interview with Sarah Fragoso, I started thinking about cooking, how little of it I do, and the challenges of being single and making meals for just yourself!
I don’t like to get elaborate with my meals. In fact, I keep it incredibly simple, yet, healthy and tasty. Here’s an example of a typical lunch I have:
-Cook up some ground beef on the stove (or take out leftovers from the night before).
-Add a spice to the meat (like cumin!)
-Pour some mixed frozen veggies into a bowl
-Microwave them for 1:30
-Add some olive oil
-Cut up an avocado, add about half to the bowl of veggies
-Add 1/2-3/4 pound of the cooked meat into the bowl
Enjoy!
I do several variations of this. Sometimes I will use guacamole, olives, or cheese in place of the avocado (or in addition to!). Sometimes I will do turkey, fish, or even canned tuna (in that case I need pickle relish, not paleo but necessary to me!). Also, when I use meat, I will sometimes add spaghetti sauce as well (always opting for the lower sugar content in the sauce, preferably no sugar added).
Oddly, I never get tired of this meal. With the variations, I can go through a week of eating lunch and dinner in, and never have the same meal twice! I know I can get much more creative, but many nights it seems there isn’t much time to slave over a stove- and I know I can easily get healthy, tasty nutrition quickly with one of my standards.
So the recipes such as the ones on everydaypaleo.com are great & not hard, but keep in mind you can not cook much at all and still get to your perfect body!
Sign Up here and receive:
“The Three Pillars of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Through the Mind-Body Connection” Audio
62 – Everyday Paleo with guest Sarah Fragoso
(duration 40:14)
In this show we explore the facets of Sarah’s transition to Paleo nutrition, her upcoming book, and her focus on health and fitness while maintaining a busy lifestyle and family with three boys. Motivation is key, especially determining what you’re going for (or what you’re chasing), putting your goals into perspective; just showing up for a workout may be a good goal initially. And, for those concerned with getting the family on board with Paleo foods, with the various Paleo recipes that Sarah presents, kids will leave very few left-overs! It’s vital to keep your priorities in line to ensure a happy life as well as practicing honesty with yourself and others. Also, restaurant eating can be done selectively, though not recommended for everyday healthy eating. Btw, the ultimate Paleo kitchen instrument is the pressure cooker! Don’t forget that you can choose from myriad herbs and spices for your tasty dishes.
We invite you to join our facebook fan page
Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.
Items mentioned in this episode:
Sarah Fragoso’s site
http://everydaypaleo.com/
Pre-order Sarah’s book Everyday Paleo: Embracing a Natural Diet & Lifestyle to Increase Your Family’s Health, Fitness, and Longevity
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/11/30/everyday-paleo-book-is-ready-for-pre-order/
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Everyday-Paleo/Sarah-Fragoso/e/9780982565810
http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Paleo-Sarah-Fragoso/dp/098256581X
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/12/14/what-are-you-chasing-and-of-course-a-recipe/
Andy Deas exploring aspects of crossfit training…
http://chasingcapacity.com/category/crossfit/love-hate-series/
Check out Sarah’s video demos down the page…
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/11/15/thanksgiving-recipes-and-everyday-paleo-pumpkin-pie-cooking-demo/
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/10/19/cooking-demo-paleo-tacos-with-purple-cabbage-slaw/
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/09/07/cooking-demo-breakfast-paleo-pizza/
Hopefully you have a Trader Joes near you…
http://everydaypaleo.com/2009/12/21/paying-homage-to-trader-joes-salsa-verde/
Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
Podcast: Download
