Sometime Something Is Better Than Nothing

My son did the sweetest thing to help me last week. I had just finished grocery shopping and was feeling a headache come on quickly. When I got inside the house I asked him if he would be willing to help bring in the groceries and put away anything that needed to go into the fridge so that I could lay down for a few minutes. He was so sweet and said that he could put everything away because he knows where things go… after all he is 9 yrs old. 

When I woke up I was delighted to find that he had in fact put everything away. As I started to make dinner, I went to the pantry and found… the yogurt. To my surprise I did not find the pasta the kids were going to eat…. that’s because it was in the fridge along with the spaghetti sauce and all the canned goods and a box of oatmeal and the the crackers, etc. I giggled to myself and instead of being annoyed counted the blessing of having a little boy that desired to serve me when I wasn’t feeling good. 

The reality is… sometimes something is better than nothing. 

This simple idea reminded of the first TSFL webinar Zoom call that I watched. Dr. anderson was talking about how as a lifetime practice of health we will need to teach ourselves to make the best bad decision because sometimes that is the situation we find ourselves in. Hearing this from Dr. A really caught my attention. It was one of the first times that I considered that this was truly a forever life change and I appreciated that he was addressing the reality that sometimes we lack 100% control and just need to do the best we can. In the past, I had used the word “cheating” to describe taking a bite of food off plan… but now I found a little more freedom (and less guilt) in this quest for healthy living. 

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. If you are on program, depending how far you go off plan you will kick yourself out of fat burn and create as situation where you have to work to get your body back into ketosis. This thinking is really an effort to help those in transition ad maintenance… but even if you are on program it is great to begin training your brain now on future decision making. 

So here’s an example: You are at a restaurant and your side dish options are curly fries, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, cream corn or baked sweet potato. Or you are at the pizza restaurant with a group for dinner (this is so hard for me) but I’m always up for a gathering with friends so I must go. Do I chose 1 slice of pizza or buffalo wings?

What best bad decision will you make?

This is when we get to put the tools that we are learning to work! To stay on the path to health we need to chose for the foods highest in protein, lowest in carbs and lowest in fat. Given whatever choices you are given, using this filter will help you make the best choice for your health. 

We have made it past Thanksgiving folks! Remember, Thanksgiving is not the whole month - it was only yesterday. So if you stayed on plan congrats and if you chose another option for the day, jump back on the path to health. 

I am thankful and excited to share this journey with you!

* If you have friends that you think would enjoy these weekly encouragements feel free to share. They are welcome to contact me if they would like to be added to the mailing list. 

* I have a $50 scholarship to give away this month if anyone knows of someone that would like to start TSFL. Please message me and we can schedule a call to go over and introduce them to this program. 

The Freedom of Choice

This past Monday I decided to jump back on program and try to lose these last 10 lbs. which would put me at my wedding day weight. I'll admit I have been afraid of that number because... well, I really don't want to be a psycho, cranky, freak that is in a constant state of "hangry".  I got to thinking that maybe since I have been able to keep off these 50 lbs for 6 months, perhaps I can use the habits of health that I have learned and keep off these 10 lbs too. My second and main reason for starting up on program again though is that I want to have a plan for the holidays that keeps me disciplined and includes entering 2017 without food regrets. 

So far, 4 days into program, I have been reminded what its like to first set out on this journey. There have been days that this has been easy and several moments where it was hard and I found myself needing to chose health over the temptation. There have been moments where I have been hungry and even more when I have been surprised again by how little I felt hungry throughout the day. There was the time span where I felt the "ketosis flu" set in and today I enjoyed a day full of the energy that I remembered enjoying when I first started this last January. But most importantly, I have been reminded of how important the power of choice is in my quest for health. 

One of the things I love about TSFL is that this program isn't about being forbidden from certain foods... rather it focuses on making the best decision to reach your ultimate goal. I'm never going to tell you that you can't eat bread/candy/cake - but I will encourage you to realize that if you make that choice you will most likely kick yourself out of ketosis and detour yourself from your fundamental goal which is the reason you are doing TSFL to start with. 

If you haven't yet had the chance, I want to encourage you to read the section regarding choices from Dr. A's Habits of Health (pg. 25-36) These pages discuss our fundamental, primary and secondary choices. Understanding how our choices effect our goals is super important. As a brief overview, these types of choices are:

Fundamental Choice: "The choice upon which all other choices rest." (pg. 28) For many of us in this program our fundamental choice is to live free from fear and find optimal health.

Primary Choice: "A major choice - something we want more than other things that we may also want. " (pg. 25) The example in the book is making a choices between optimal health or a banana split. 

Secondary Choice: "The action we take to support our primary choice, even if we don't want to." (pg. 25)  An example of a secondary choices would be choosing to go to the gym at 6am even though you would prefer to be sleeping, because you know it's the only time you can actually get a workout in.

So, here's a personal example of weighing out choices which helps us make a life long change in our relationship with food: I see a bowl of my favorite candy - peach rings - and I'm pretty sure they want me to eat them. (Yes, that fake gummy, sugar coated, ring candy that you can get for $1 at the gas station. They are my weakness.) 

• First, I remind myself that I have made the fundamental choice to strive toward optimal health.
• Second, I recognize that I am being faced with the primary choice of  quickly devouring those beautiful peach rings OR  the choice to continue my efforts toward optimal health. 
• Third, I make the secondary choice to walk away from the peach rings and go find somebody to talk to and maybe refill my water glass. 

These choices are not easy. Shoot, if this was easy, EVERYONE would be skinny and in shape and our society would be healthy rather sick and obese.  Yet while it is not easy, it IS possible. You can do it. I can do it. WE can do this! 

In my TSFL journey the single best thing my health coach Kristen ever told me was, "I didn't lose 80 lbs by cheating." Those words hit me hard and I made the decision to train my brain to hear her words in my head whenever I found my fundamental choice being challenged. I'll admit there was a moment where her words made me question if I was actually capable of this... but heck, if she could do it so could I. 

So here we go friends... 

Thanksgiving is less than a week away and we will be full swing into the holiday season with parties, special meals, treats and endless temptations surrounding us. And we will have lots of choices to make. Nothing is forbidden... you are free to make whatever choice you feel is best for you. I want to encourage you to nail down your fundamental choice/goal and play out in your head what primary and secondary choices you plan to make. 

We can do this friends! I believe in each and every one of you and know that you all deeply desire to be healthy. The choice is in your hands!

Happy Thanksgiving, 

Kelly

PS - If you didn't get a chance to participate in this weeks Habits of Health call here's the link to the recording of the "Thriving Through the Holidays" Zoom: https://vimeo.com/191581590/293b663582

PPS - Be sure to check out our TSFL Team Fillmore FaceBook page for weekly contests and ways to earn $$$ toward your TSFL account. (There is a contest this week regarding the tools in this call (posted Nov. 14th). Be sure to submit your answer soon as the contest ends this weekend. 

Holiday Game Plan!

We are entering the holiday season and things are about to get real! Together we can beat the desire to fall off of our health journey wagon and create a game plan that will help you THRIVE through the next couple months.

Before we get into this... I want to share something that has really helped me to not be as nervous for the holidays as I had started November feeling. Think about this:

There are 50 days between  tomorrow and New Years Day. 

Which means there are 150 meals between tomorrow and the new year - 

or 300 meals if you are on the 5 & 1 Plan.

How many times are you actually going to be in a situation where you are 

surrounded by extreme temptation by holiday food???? 

Maybe 5 - 8 times???

Let's not throw away all of our hard work for a handful of meals. 

You can do this - surviving the holidays is totally doable - but we do need a plan! There were several tips that I picked up when I first started working toward health that helped me greatly when I found myself in party environments. 

#1 - Carry your water bottle around the entire time in your dominate hand. This will help you from reaching for little nibbles, help you get in your water for the day and signal your brain to make a conscious decision to decide if that food choice is worth more than your goal of reaching optimal health. 

#2 - Bring something to the party that you can snack on and will enjoy. Meat stuffed mini-peppers, stuffed mushrooms, a deli tray.... we have tons of options. Not only will you be bringing something that you can enjoy, but you will also be sharing heath with those at your event. 

#3 - Eat before you go so that you are not hungry.

#4 - Stand away from the food. 

#5 - Use a small plate and do not go back for seconds. 

#6 - Eat slowly.

In my team meeting this week our Director (Team Tinter) shared several tips and strategies for surviving the holidays. It is very important to ask yourself what your plan is for the holidays. What outcome do you want? On January 1st,  where do you want to be in your heath journey?

Here are a couple options that she suggested that you can think through and decide what will be best for you:

Option 1: Would you like to enjoy the benefits of staying on program?
- Feeling great and having more energy to go shopping and spend time with people.
- Continue losing weight so you look even better at your holiday gatherings.
- Experiencing little or no hunger and cravings (making it easier to deal with food and alcohol triggers).
- Stay in “Fat Burning”. 

or...

Option 2*: Would you like a compromise? Stay on program except for the holiday meals
using Medifast meals the rest of each day.
* Know with this option you will need to spend 2-4
days getting back into “fat burning mode” after the holiday meal – causing lower energy, hunger and cravings and slowing down weight loss.
You’ll have to ask yourself:
“Is it worth it?” 

or...

Option 3*: Would you consider it a success to go into maintenance mode?
Still eating 6 times a day, choosing Medifast to offset less favorable choices
Controlling portion sizes
Not gaining weight during the season, instead of putting on the average 7 pounds
*Know with this option - you would NOT be in “fat burning mode”. 

I am available and willing to help you decide which plan will be best for you - lets talk (or text... whatever you want)! Together we can come up with action step plans to keep you on track. 

This year you don't have to use the holidays as an "excuse" and you can enter 2017 in full momentum ready to keep striving toward your health goals. Over the next several weeks I'll be sharing several strategies for rational eating and ways that we can train our mind to stay focused on health... so that we can make a LIFE LONG change and find optimal health!

Have a great weekend!!!

Water you doing?

Water. 

We love to swim in it. 

We bathe in it daily. 

We wash our hands with it and use it in our food. 

And while drinking it is certainly something we do... we need to ask ourselves daily if we are really drinking enough of it?

Just this week I had a conversation with a friend about water and how hard it is to get in all the required ounces each day. It was during that discussion that I remembered (and it finally sunk into my brain) that drinking water is so much more than just something good to do while on program. It is actually a life altering habit of health that not only must we embrace to be successful on this weight-loss journey, but drinking enough water is a disciplined  habit that needs to stick with us forever if we never want to see the weight we lost return.  We need to commit to drinking enough water from today until our last day on earth... this would be an actual permanent lifestyle change.

Remember, TSFL is different than other programs because it is based upon looking at how the 15% of people that kept weight they had lost off for more than 5 years have been successful. At the top of their lists for life long success we find that one of the main daily healthy habits of those folks is that they drink at least 1/2 of their body weight in ounces of water a day. 

Making up to 60% of our weight, water is a vital component of our body. Since our bodies cannot store water (unlike fat), it is important that we replenish it often. By the time that we are thirsty, our bodies have been functioning without enough water for several hours. In fact, being thirsty is actually a warning sign of dehydration.

In Dr. A's Habits of Health, you will find more information regarding water and several FAQ's that can help you understand the importance of keeping up with your water intake on a daily basis. The following except from his book gives us a steak peak into why water is so important:

Finding that it was hard to get in all my 

water, I bought this 32oz bottle. It is so 

much easier to try to drink 3 of these big 

bottles rather han refilling a glass 8 

times throughout the day. 

"During Phase 1 of your weight-loss plan there are even more good reasons to make a conscious effort to drink your eight glasses a day. Here are a few:

* It's calorie free, but helps you feel full and satisfied. 

* It keeps you from overeating. Studies have shown that when we feel hungry, 30% of the time our bodies are actually signaling for water. 

* It facilitates the removal of toxins such as pesticides and preservatives from your cells. 

* It prevents dehydration as your body eliminates excess salt and water from a diet of too much processed food. 

* It minimizes or eliminates fatigue, lack of energy, headaches, and unclear thinking. 

*It speeds up metabolism. A recent study showed that drinking two 8-ounce glasses of cold water increased metabolic rate by 30 % for 90 minutes. 

*It helps your liver convert fat to energy. 

* It compensates for the loss of glycogen as you lose weight. " 

(Dr. A's Habits of Health, pg. 114-115)

I know drinking water is not an easy part of this life change. But in time it will get better. My first week of Phase 1 I found myself getting up several times a night to relieve myself... but eventually that changed. I learned that often when I thought I was hungry, I was actually thirsty. And most surprisingly, I remember how there came a point where my body actually craved water over other beverages.

This weeks challenge is to drink up that water. 

Every. Single. Day. 

I promise you will feel better and that this habit will help you with your weight loss. And one of the best things about water is that it is practically free - so there's no need to worry about it breaking the budget. 

You can do it - I believe in you!!!!

**** Before you go... here's a great stupid human trick involving drinking water from the Ellen Show. Enjoy! Ellen: Water you doing?