Christmas 2021

The holiday season tends to be associated with food. Many of us got caught up in celebratory feasts and nostalgic treats and we lose track of regular, healthy eating habits that serve us so well the rest of the year.

While it is possible to enjoy special occasion foods in moderation and maintain an overall eating pattern that supports health, this year my approach was – don't let food stress you out more. It is the season to gather with friends, family — and good food! 

Eating is more than the delivery of nutrients. We have cultural and emotional connections with the food we put into our body. 

The holidays are not a time to add extra pressure on yourself to eat a certain way. I believe that spending time with family members or friends you don’t typically see should be an enjoyable experience. An occasional indulgence during the holidays isn’t something to stress about.

This Christmas, wife had had to travel, and no kids were coming to visit. I was going to celebrate holidays with my two dogs.  The day before, text message arrived from my neighbors Karen and James inviting me to their house for Christmas dinner. 

The experience was incredible. All dinner meals were Louisiana style foods that I never had before. The food was great, and I enjoyed their company. The names of the foods that Karen and James cooked were difficult to remember, so I asked James to write them down for me and I am posting them here.  

Thank you, Karen and James!

Eat your way to weight loss and health

Today can be the first day of your healthier, stronger life. Focus on what you are eating and drinking today. Eating your way to weight loss and health is about real, unprocessed food. Food that makes your body say, “Thank you. This feels so good!”. Eating real food will change your life. Practically every single aspect of your life is about to get a major upgrade. 

When you upgrade your eating habits, the shift is immediate and profound. Withing a week, you will feel and see changes. You will start to feel better. Withing two to three weeks, you will start looking different. With a month, your blood tests and lab results can reflect all kinds of positive changes. So much can change in a short span of time. You will be amazed.

If you want to pick up just one or two small changes, that is fine, and it is better than nothing at all. You decide if you want to go step by step or make a series of changes. Either way is best if it works for you. Cold turkey approach worked best for me. 

Real food does not have to be boring and bland. It can be delicious. Switching to real food does not mean you are sacrificing flavor. You are simply upgrading your ingredients for the best of the bets. Also, once you switch to real food, you will notice that your preference change. After about two weeks, your teste buds regenerate. 

Real food is not fussy and complicated. It is the opposite of complicated. It is simple. Eating real food is all about ease and simplicity. You don’t need to measure portions. You don’t need to be obsessive about calories. You don’t need to spend twenty-four hours in the kitchen, following complicated recipes with dozens of ingredients. BTW, I do not cook. The most complicated meal that I ever cooked was scrambled eggs. 

It is time to break the cycle, kick the habit, and step into your new life of health and well-being. It is time for a permanent shift, not a temporary one. It is important to remember that is not a “five-week diet.” It is a new lifestyle, not temporary blip.

Follow the principles that worked me and others, and it will lead you into a new way of eating and living.

Thanksgiving is one day

I am posting a picture taken in the kitchen this morning. If you have or ever had a dog, you will understand it. Now a few thoughts on Thanksgiving.

If you want to enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and stay on track with you wight loss efforts you are facing an impossible task. 

Many traditional Thanksgiving dishes, like turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and other veggie side dishes are pretty healthy choices so theoretically you can have a balanced meal at Thanksgiving. 

However, if you worry about your food intake because of your body image struggles and/or try to avoid added calories like deserts and alcohol you may become frustrated, less happy and miserable.

You don’t want to dampen the celebration by focusing too much on calories or avoiding certain foods when you are with friends and family for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s just one day!  

Yes, Thanksgiving is one day. Don't let the big meal become a big month or more of eating and drinking too much. Instead, splurge for the holiday, but get back to your healthy eating plan on Friday.

I know it is a radical departure from the thoughts that I used to share with you at Thanksgiving.

I just think that Thanksgiving Day is not the best time to keep thinking about nutrition and your weight loss efforts. Losing weight is different for everyone and on this blog, I share what works for me.

Understand that no one is perfect

While holding yourself and others to a high standard is important, it is also important to understand that nobody is perfect – whether it be your friends, your family, your co-workers, or yourself.

No one is perfect, even if we believe that we do things for the right reasons. We look at situations from our biased viewpoint, and we want to believe we are right, even when we may not be.

Life is not black and white, and people will have different opinions and react differently to situations.

There are no people that are one hundred percent good or one hundred percent bad – instead, we are a mixture of the two.

See the good in people – if someone is opinionated, they are passionate, if they are stubborn, they have strength.

If people around you make bad decisions, then try to look at this objectively by understanding the context and what made them do this.

Also, remember that you may be far from perfect and realize that you have many traits that people can view differently. 

No one is perfect, and this includes the ones that we love.

Always look on the bright side, and appreciate what you have – your situation in life is better than many others, and it is important to appreciate this.

Action changes things

There’s no single best way to lose weight, but what all weight loss plans have in common is that they produce a calorie deficit.

A calorie deficit occurs when you consume fewer calories than your body expends, so you either eat fewer calories than you previously ate, or boost the number of calories you burn through exercise.

While physical activity is important for many aspects of health, it is much so much easier and more sustainable to create a calorie deficit through diet rather than exercise.

You should know that exercise doesn’t burn as many calories.

If you walk briskly for 30 minutes, you will burn just 200 calories. Since 3,500 calories is a pound of fat, you will need 17.5 days to lose one single pound.

To lose one pound of fat you will have to run 35 miles. If you were to run 7 days a week, you would need to run 5 miles each day in order to lose one pound of fat in a week.

So, what to do?

Eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages and consuming non-processed or minimally processed foods can help you reach a calorie deficit without calorie counting. 

Do not drink liquid calories. Replace sugar-sweetened beverages and replace them with water. Eat fresh, non-starchy vegetable and fresh fruits. Eating lots of vegetables every day will help you lose weight quicker.

Changing what you eat will bring about a large-enough caloric deficit to allow for a satisfactory rate of weight loss.

Take advantage of the motivation you are feeling today and start now. Everything that you need in is your hands.

Doing what works

Now, when you know that you need to do something about your weight, it is time to figure out what you are currently doing and what you want to change. 

This information will help you begin selecting your behaviors that you want to change.

You will then make changes that are designed to help you reach your goal. Of course, there will be challenges along the way. 

One potential roadblock might be finding the motivation or energy to keep going. And you will most likely experience things that make you stop. 

Buy as you move forward, you will begin to adopt techniques, strategies and daily routines to manage any initial discomfort and stress.

Expect some bumps on the road. If it were easy to lose weight, you probably would not need to read blogs like this one. But remember, as long as you keep implementing the changes and don’t give up, you are succeeding.

As your daily routines become less challenging and more satisfying, the process will become a bit easier and may even begin to feel a sense of mastery.

Seeing results will bring a healthy sense of accomplishment, keep you motivated and increase your chance of success.

The key to weight loss is to feel full by consuming healthy natural, non-processed foods and sugar free drinks without artificial sweeteners, with enough protein and nutrients to keep you satisfied and not tempted to overeat on the not-so-healthy stuff. 

Better understanding of ourselves

Human nature is a fascinating concept. 

I was always interested in all aspects of personality and social interaction, exploring the influence of interpersonal and group relationships on human behavior. 

I thought that learning that will make me a more effective person. 

Once we realize why we and others behave in certain ways - whether alone or in group settings - it becomes much easier to avoid stressful situations, reduce anxiety, make better decisions, and live a more fulfilled life. 

The way we perceive ourselves in relation to the rest of the world influences our behaviors and our beliefs. The opinions of others also affect our behavior and how we view ourselves. That is why our behaviors and decision-making tend to be different when we are in a group versus when we are alone. 

From the way we think to the way we behave; the mind is a powerful yet delicate tool. It must be nurtured in the same way we take care of our bodies. 

Gaining a greater understanding of human behavior and mental process will ultimately lead to better understanding of ourselves