Changing a habit takes time. Strive to have patience in your journey. When thinking of overeating or indulging in a “not-so-great” choice, ask yourself why are you eating it in the first place?! Is it a particular incident that triggered the binge? Is it because you’re bored? Is it because you’re in a situation where you can’t vocalize your feelings? Is it your treat of the day? Is it because you’re starving? All of those reasons affect why you might be overeating. Once you recognize the reason, it will be easier to manage. The goal (and this is the tricky part) is to constantly ask yourself why- never forgetting to be gentle with yourself and to see it as an opportunity to figure out what your body needs (physically and under the surface).

Here are some simple strategies to help prevent overeating:

• Curb your appetite – drink a glass of water before your first bite, enjoy a bowl of broth-based soup, an apple, some raw veggies or a salad before your main dish. It will help limit your appetite and give you a sense of satiety sooner.

• Keep your blood sugar at a constant level all day long by not going any longer than 3-4 hours without having something to eat.

• Eat a snack comprised of both a carb and protein 1 to 2 hours before your meal. For example: cottage cheese with apple, peanut butter with celery, tuna on flavored rice cakes, or yogurt with granola.

• Check in with your emotions, are you really hungry for food? – talk to a friend or keep a journal. Practice the exercise: “10 things I am grateful for.” On a piece of paper write down 10 things you feel grateful for. It can be something as simple as being thankful for a good night’s sleep all the way to being grateful for having your friends and/or family at your side. The important part of the exercise is to focus on the positive things in your life. You’ll see- you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

• Exercise! It’s a great way to elevate your mood and get your mind off food. It also relieves stress and improves sleeping patterns.

• Pamper yourself i.e. polish your nails, get a massage, take a hot bath, or read a great book.

• Eliminate temptation. If the food items are not in your house, you can’t eat them.

• Savor your meal. Every meal should take you at least 15 to 20 minutes to eat. Put your fork/spoon down after every bite and chew your food at least 10 times per bite. It takes our bodies a little bit of time before it registers that it is full. Give it the time it needs.

• Drink water throughout the day. If you are craving flavor, try water with a piece of lemon or lime, or be creative and add a piece of fruit like apple, orange, or watermelon (I love cucumber). Revamp your water by adding seltzer, tea, or a splash of your favorite juice.

• Be mindful (not mindless) of what you put in your mouth. Indulging every now and again is fine, but instead of being hard on yourself for eating a piece of chocolate – enjoy it! Become aware of the taste, texture, and aroma. Slow down, listen to your body, and enjoy the process of mindful eating.

• Shift your eating schedule. Eat most of your calories in the earlier part of your day. Breakfast and lunch should comprise the bulk of your calories, and dinner should be the smallest meal eaten preferably before 8pm.

Portion Control Tips:

As the saying goes: “All things in moderation.” Rather than adopting an extreme diet plan, focus on long-lasting lifestyle changes. Research studies have consistently shown that “popular” diet plans are not effective in reducing weight over the long term. Here are a few portion control tips to help you in the process. They are simple, sometimes challenging to accomplish, but very effective. Take it one day at a time.

1. In some cases, half is so much better than whole- instead of getting rid of all the foods you like, just decrease the portion size by half and supplement your meal with veggies, salad or a light soup. For instance, eat half a sandwich for lunch with carrots and some nuts and save the rest for later. Presto! You have an instant dinner.

2. Visually, aim for your plate to look like this: A quarter of the plate should take up the protein of your choice (chicken, tuna, tofu, or beans), another quarter should be starch (brown rice, quinoa, or sweet potato), and the leftover half should be veggies and/or a fresh salad.

3. Slim down that dinner! When dining out, share your entrée with someone or ask your server to bring a “to-go container” the moment he brings your meal. If you package half of your food at the beginning of your meal chances are you won’t open that container and eat the rest of it until later. Other options are to order an appetizer as you main entrée or ask from the children’s menu. (Tip: out of sight, out of mind; so, ask the waiter to avoid bringing the bread basket or other tempting concoctions)

4. If you like snacking like I do, measure out small portions of your snack to avoid carrying the whole bag of goodies. Take control of your portions without having to deprive yourself from the foods you love. Divvy up foods into single serving snack bags to have on hand. Some healthy ideas are: edamame, nuts with dried fruit, or honey wheat pretzels with a cheese stick, cut up carrots or red pepper slices (with hummus!).

5. How much is a single serving of your favorite snack? Evaluate your servings! Check the box and learn what a single portion of your favorite snacks look like by measuring them out the next time you eat them. It’s a great visual exercise and you’d be surprised at how often what we think is a serving is actually 2 or 3.

6. Say NO to Super-Size-Me and Say NO to Buffets! It is incredibly challenging to eat sensible portions while at an “all-you-can-eat” buffet or at fast food places flashing triple size fries. The next time you’re in this situation, try to think about how bloated, full, and uncomfortable you’ll feel after such a huge meal and ask yourself: Is it worth it?  Does my body really need all that food? What’s my pay off?

7. Cook Once, Eat Twice – think ahead and break your leftovers down into individually-sized containers so that when you reach into the fridge, you’ll be retrieving just enough for one helping. This will help you limit your food intake with no additional effort.

8. Wait before reaching for seconds. If you give yourself some time to wait out the urge, you will often find that you don’t need that second helping. Take a deep breath and remember: it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to feel satiated, so try to wait it out.

9. Keep serving sizes in mind when dining out or making your own meals: 3 oz. of meat is the size of a deck of cards; 1 oz. of cheese is the size of a 4-dice put together; 1 cup of grains or pasta looks like a fist.

Remember, this is not about restricting yourself and living by “rules”.
Its about being mindful and trying to listen for what your body really wants & needs.

Do you have any tips that work for you? Share them with us in the comments!
Questions? As away!

“Girl you are messed up in the head. Anyone that would allow themselves to look this much like a man, needs help. You are a woman for God’s sake….and could be a beautiful one at that. Why do you need to look like a monster to feel good about yourself? Please take a step back and really look at yourself”

The above message was sent to Fitness competitor Adela Garcia on facebook today by a woman that she doesn’t know.   I was really struck by it because, while I am of the school of “to each her own opinion”, I wondered why she found it necessary to spew this negativity? or was it negativity in her eyes?  Did she think she was “helping” Adela “see the light?”

Adela is a super fit woman, doing what she loves. Her lifestyle, eating habits or muscle mass might not be for everybody, but telling her she looks like a monster is just down right rude.   She’s just living her life.

I don’t know the woman that wrote the message, maybe she’s unhappy or maybe she’s just mean, but whatever the case may be, she should focus her energy on living her own best life and not on criticizing others.

*Edit – The quote below was sent to me by my friend Annie (thank you!).  I couldn’t have said it better:

There are as many different worlds as there are perceivers or Beings
or individuals. You are not here to create one world where everyone is
the same, wanting and getting the same. You are here to be that which
you want to be, while you allow all others to be that which they want
to be.

— Abraham

Excerpted from “The Law of Attraction, The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham”

My hump day rant:  How hard is it to clean off the piece of equipment you just used at the gym for the next person? Not a trick question.  and not hard.  AT ALL!  Grossey McGrossgross went all about the gym this morning sweating all over the equipment and NOT cleaning it off afterward. BLECH!   I’m funky enough on my own, I don’t need/want someone else’s yuck.  And Grossey didn’t do it to just one machine (although one is far too many), but FIVE different ones!  Needless to say Fitarella had to have a little talk with Grossey McGrossgross about gym etiquette and cleanliness.  I used to teach & train clients at this gym so I feel especially comfortable with talking to members about such things.  But it made me wonder how many other times this person had done it before and how many people just watched and never said anything.  Or maybe they did tell the front desk, but no one followed up…People, if you see this stuff happening, speak up!  It’s your gym too and you pay good money to be there.  So don’t go letting these funkdafiers get away with it!  JUST SAY NO TO DA FUNK! 

So, the lesson is ALWAYS spray & wipe down machines BEFORE use (‘cuz ya never know what the funk is on there) and AFTER for the next person.  The end.

*Note*- What a coinkydink! Just saw this online article about gym etiquette in Experience Life Magazine.  Hadn’t heard about the mag until today – thanks MizFit!

*image courtesy of Lisa Tozzi