Your Body Has to Follow Where Your Brain Goes!

H.A.L.T.

Are you Hungry? Or are you Angry, Lonely, or Tired? Try to pinpoint what’s sending you to the fridge. Is it a physical hunger or is it just boredom? If it’s hunger, by all means, eat up! But be aware if your desire to munch away is fueled by something else. Your machine needs food when it requires food, and it will tell you so. But your mind will send similar signals out when it needs comfort. 

Is it really hunger, or are you looking for food because you are emotional or tired? 

Questions to ask yourself:

1. When was the last time I ate? What did I eat then? Is it appropriate to eat now?
2. If the answer to # 1 is "Recently / Enough / No" - are you feeling an emotional reaction right now? Am I mad at something? Upset? Lonely?
3. If the answer to #2 is "Yes" - you need to rely on whatever motivates you to work through the "false" hunger. 

Drink water. Listen to music. Call a friend. Read something motivational. Examine your upset or emotional response - is there anything you can do to make yourself happier / less upset? Remind yourself why you are eating Clean. 

Putting the brakes on emotional eating is one of the hardest skills a Clean Eater has to master in order to change their eating habits. 



The sooner you can be honest with yourself - and honest with those around you - the sooner you can grow as a person and as a Clean Eater. Honesty IS the best policy. What is driving you? Hunger, or something else?

Listen Closely - This Hits Home For Me!

Trust The Process - CE Motivation

The Struggle to Eat MOAR

Recently ( within the last month or so ) I've struggled to keep on my Clean Eating path. At times, it's been hard. There have been times when I've felt like a complete hypocrite - writing a blog encouraging Clean Eating when I myself have been Clean Eating "not so much." But the siren song of processed, easy foods can be difficult to resist. Excuses aside ( busy mom, full time work, website Moderator, multiple websites of my own... ) I must confess that my consumption has been "Clean-ish" more than Clean recently. 

I've definitely done better.

I've been asking myself "What am I doing differently now than I was doing then? Why was I able to successfully stay Clean for over a year with very little effort, yet I'm struggling now?" Stress? Anxiety? Apathy?  I've struggled again to pinpoint my problem. But time and again, I'm sitting alone, late at night ( my husband goes to bed much earlier than I do these days ) - and the kitchen beckons.

A few days ago, I came across the "One does not simply..." meme picture above, and I realized this is an issue I've struggled with, again and again. This is not the first time this has happened - but I absolutely need to remember this cardinal rule of Clean Eating: Eat at least 6 times a day.

I haven't been eating enough, and I haven't been eating early enough.

It's difficult for me to eat a decent amount before lunch time - it's always been difficult. My natural tendency is to eat lightly in the morning, heavier in the evening. This has GOT to change.

I ate a banana at 9 am this morning, and just forced myself to eat a bowl of hot multigrain cereal ( I like BetterOats brand ). I'll eat lunch soon ( salmon, a cheese stick, an orange, and some edamame ) , and will also force myself back into the routine of eating a mid afternoon mini-meal.

This is why I've been unable to resist snack foods, filching slices of pizza, eating more carbs than I know I should - I'm not eating enough during the day to support my blood sugar and metabolism through the evening. I get home from work and my blood sugar is low. I'm making up for low food intake during the day by eating heavily at night. Then the cycle repeats itself because I'm not hungry the next morning.

"You know you ate too much the night before if you don’t wake up hungry in the morning."

Clean Eating bumps in the road happen. The best you can do is stop the cycle by examining the whys and hows, and come up with a plan to counteract what you are doing incorrectly. Review the core tenants of Clean Eating: Avoiding processed foods, proper hydration, eating 6 times a day, eating low sodium/organic/minimally processed. See where you are succeeding, and where you could be doing better. When I stuck closely to the essence of CE, I was happier and healthier than I've ever been. I want and need to get back there, especially since I know there are Girl Scout cookies in the kitchen...

Thin Mints: "They will not get me where I want to be. They will not get me where I want to be."

Be Your Own Measuring Stick

Some Saturday Motivation - It's a Pretty Easy Concept

Motivational Penguin Has A Message For You

Why The "Everything In Moderation" Rule Doesn't Work

 I discovered this article after a friend pinned it over at Pinterest - and I was instantly drawn to the paragraph I've bolded. It makes SO much sense why it is so hard to get yourself back on track after you've "fallen off the Clean Eating wagon."

I've reprinted the article verbatim; it's by a NYC nutritionist named Dana James.

Why The "Everything In Moderation" Rule Doesn't Work

by Dana James, MS, CNS, CDN.

Two squares of dark chocolate…every night. A glass of wine…every night. A coconut macaroon…every night. All perfectly acceptable, under the weight loss mantra “everything in moderation.”

But will this behavior actually give you a hot rockin’ body?

Unlikely.

Genetically, we are not moderate beings. We are feast and famine. We thrive on the polarity of extremes. We are pleasure seekers and moderation doesn’t induce much pleasure.

Moderation is eating less than you want, in the hope that it will assuage a more primal gluttonous urge. For most people, it doesn’t. Nor does it take away those social engagements that require us to be more fluid with our food choices. The end result? Small treats on a daily basis AND indulgent social eating.

Daily treat-eating also changes your brain chemistry. After just seven days, the dopamine receptor cells start to down-regulate. This means that more dopamine is required to elicit the same mild and pleasurable response. When two squares of dark chocolate were enough to soothe you, it goes up to four pieces, six pieces, then half a bar.

Even more insidious is that the daily treat-eating becomes a conditioned response. After dinner, you’ll feel compelled to have a treat, much like one of Pavlovian’s dogs.

You, however, are not a dog. You can consciously turn this response off. You do this, by stopping the everyday treat eating and trashing the “everything in moderation” rule.

Instead, plan two meals per week where you savor and enjoy your chosen pleasure-inducing food.  When you’re tempted outside of these two meals, remind yourself how truly enjoyable these meals are.

And make them enjoyable. Pull out the silverware, use pretty plates, add a napkin, engage with friends or an amour du jour, make it blissful and quote Oscar Wilde, “everything in moderation, including moderation."

Thank you, Mind Body Green.com and author / nutritionist Dana James 

Your Choices Will Change The ( Your ) World

Listen to the tea. It's smart. Every decision you make matters.

*Do I eat the salad with a bottled dressing ( convenient ) or do I take a minute to whisk together my own?
*Do I carve out time during the weekend to prep Clean foods ahead of time or do I stare vacantly into the fridge to cobble together something last minute ( and ultimately rely on foods that aren't Clean )?
*Do I sit in front of the tv, flipping channels absently looking for something to watch or do I turn off the tv and get some exercise?
*Do I fill my water bottle vigilantly - almost obsessively - or do I hear the "Pfffft!" noise of a soda pop being opened?

The choices you make in the here and now have direct consequence to the health and well being of your body. The choices you make in the here and now either lead down the path of Clean Eating, or they reinforce poor eating habits.

Look at this smart tea bag, and remember it's wisdom the next time you are hungry or bored.

What are you going to do? Do you want the same old same old or are you ready to change your world?

It Doesn't Matter If You Aren't In Control

I Am Just Striving To Be More Than I Have Ever Been

My thought for the day. What is yours?

What You Need, When You Need It

I needed some bolstering yesterday, and got it from 2 unexpected sources.
Sometimes motivation comes from unexpected places. Keep your eyes peeled for it.

Food Is Fuel, Not Your Therapist

Comfort Zone

 I find life's synchronicities very interesting. I've been listening to country music while on my elliptical lately, and one of my current favorites is Brad Paisley's Southern Comfort Zone . I've been thinking about "comfort zones" lately.

What do I find this morning? The picture above - reminding me to look beyond my comfort zone.

Eating healthy isn't as much about picking up an apple and putting it to your lips. It's a change in mindset. It's a change in thinking that causes you to choose the apple instead of the candy bar, the bottle of water instead of the soda. Not because it is better for you, but because you've changed how you think and the candy bar and soda are no longer a viable option. You no longer view the candy bar and soda as food.

If you've been eating the candy bar and soda for a long time now, they are part and parcel of your comfort zone.

Step out of your comfort zone. Change your body. Change your mind. Change yourself.

 Luke Bryan - if you read my blog...I know you are a married man, but name the time and place and I'd be happy to shake it  for you.

Some Motivation For a Tuesday

Here's that kick in the pants you wanted...

and the only candy that is CE Approved: eye candy-

A Thought: What Have You Done Today?

 I came across this picture above and it made me stop and think - what do I do for myself on a daily basis to renew myself? Was today a positive day that nourished my body, mind, and spirit or was today a "not so much" type of day? If the answer is the latter - what can I do tomorrow to make things better?

What food choices can I make to promote good health, fitness, and the smooth running of my body's machinery?

What intellectual choices can I make to cultivate a stronger, wiser, happier me?

What emotional choices can I make to nurture and project the kind of person I hope to be?


Choices - we all have them.

What we do...matters. What we think...matters. How we act...matters. It affects you, and those around you.

Think about it - and go forward today with the intention of eating to sustain your body, not eating to bolster yourself emotionally. Go forward with the intention of acting kindly and responsibly to yourself and others. Go forward with the intention of fostering a better self.

Thought for the day? Go forward.

Thoughts For December 1