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By Estela - Weekly Bite, February 15, 2010 8:09 am

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We’re past the halfway mark and into week 7. How did we do with the goal last week? Giving ourselves unlimited permission to eat whatever we want can be scary… but it’s so important in order live without dieting.

To recap, these are the goals we’ve covered so far:

1. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re satisfied
2. Make water your beverage of choice
3. Break mindless eating routines
4. Increase fiber intake by increasing fruit and veggie intake
5. Pay close attention to meal timing and portion control
6. Pay attention to your body – focus on eating consciously
7. The importance of meal planning
8. Making Peace With Food

This week we will be focusing on calorie counting… or lack there of. Part of embracing “not dieting” is to stop counting every piece of food that crosses our lips. I know calorie counting works for a lot of individuals. If you can count calories and not let if control your life or become obsessive about it, thats fine… but for most, its very easy to become a slave to this.

When I talk about stop counting, I mean calories, fat, carbs, grams, etc…

When we count, measure, weigh, or calculate food, we’re not listening to our body. We’re letting other factors control how much and when we eat… not our body. How can that be fun? Having to count, weigh, and measure everything can become exhausting and time consuming.

For a life-long food counter, not counting can be scary.

The goal for this week is to start small.

Start with one meal without counting anything. Just listen to your body. Let your body tell you when to start eating and when to stop.

After a few days, try to eat two meals without counting. Continue at your own pace until you’ve stopped counting all together.

The ultimate goal is to start eating in response to your body, not the calories counted in your head.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me.

*Don’t forget your workout of the week! *

Click here for Jessica’s No More Resolutions Workout!

No More Resolutions will run for 12 weeks along with No Diets in the New Year

There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts for everyone!

Comments (19)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, February 3, 2010 12:16 pm

Hi Friends!

We’re into week five of 12 Weeks No Diets.

This series is all about not dieting… but just because we’re not dieting doesn’t mean we shouldn’t practice healthy eating habits.

Meal planning is so important. I’m not saying we should write out a weeks worth of controlled menus, but we do need to have some sort of plan to keep us in check. The last thing we need is to feel overly hungry and have nothing healthy around.

To recap – Here are some tips I use for myself and hunger:
*Ask yourself if you’re really hungry, or if you’re satisfying an emotion, bored, or simply eating out of habit. The closer you get to recognizing real, physical hunger, the more control you’ll gain over your eating.

*It’s also important not to let yourself get too hungry. If this happens, you’re more likely to make poor food choices.

*Try not to go more than four to five hours between meals, otherwise your ravenous hunger can result in a binge, and it is usually not a healthy one.

So planning in advance is key, always keep healthy snacks on hand, and schedule snack breaks to energize you and help keep your hands out of the cookie jar.

Planning meals in advance
*Stock your pantry and refrigerator with delicious, nutritious foods. If you want a special treat, go out and enjoy a small portion, but don’t bring it home to tempt you.

*Spend some time each day in quiet meditation — reflecting, breathing, and relaxing.

*Serve meals on pretty luncheon-sized dishes that make portions look larger.

*Package snacks in small bags or containers for portion control.

I really liked this post by Jessica from How Sweet it Is. She has some very practical meal planning tips that I love!

Workout of the week:

Click here for Jessica’s No More Resolutions Workout!

No More Resolutions will run for 12 weeks along with No Diets in the New Year

There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts for everyone! My favorite thing about these workouts is that they can be done at home!

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Question of the Day?

Are you a meal planner? I don’t plan formal structured meals, but I do make sure I have healthy foods in stock. Over the weekend I make a couple of bigger healthy dinners so we have plenty of leftovers throughout the week.

Comments (15)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, January 18, 2010 10:06 am

Hi

Today we start week 3 of 12 Weeks No Diets!

To recap, here are the goals from the past two weeks.

Mindful Goals:

1. Eat when you’re hungry, Stop when you’re satisfied.
2. Identify any mindless eating routines you may have, think of a different activity to work on breaking those routines.

Nutrition Goals:

1. Drink at least 12 oz of water with each meal, and 8-12 oz of water between meals.
2. When hungry, at at least one piece of fruit per day, and include veggies in some form (preferably fresh) for two meals.

Week 3 Goals:

This week we’ll be focusing on meal timing and portion control. These two really go hand in hand.

Meal Timing

This can be so confusing. We’ve heard so many conflicting things. Eat six small meals per day, eat three meals and two snacks, don’t snack, don’t eat past 7 p.m., etc…. If we google “how many meals to eat per day” there will be tons of websites all with conflicting information. The bottom line is… it’s different for everyone. You have to do what works best for your body! You are responsible for setting your own rules. Some people work best eating many small meals per day, and others don’t. I know for me, three meals a day works with a snack or two when I’m hungry. I have friends that eat smaller portions several times per day, and that works for them. What I’m trying to say is don’t force something that doesn’t work. You have to listen to your body and eat when you’re hungry.

If you’re trying to follow a plan that makes you eat every 2-3 hours, but are never hungry, that could your bodies way of telling you not to eat. You want to feel a little hungry right before you eat. Not starving, but a comfortable hunger.

The body typically will ask for food every 3-5 hours depending on how big of a meal you ate last. I NEVER recommend going longer than 5 hours without eating. Keep an eye on the clock and be realistic. If you ate a cheeseburger and french fries and have the urge to eat again two hours later, that’s not real hunger. Be realistic. You know you just consumed a very high calorie meal, so you shouldn’t be feeling hungry. On the other hand, if you ate a smaller than normal breakfast and feel hunger 2.5-3 hours later, it makes sense to have a small snack to stretch yourself to lunch.

Portion Control

Watch your portions. This is a big one. The very first goal I set was “Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re satisfied.” Technically this should help us control our portions, but sometimes we need a little more help. When we cook for ourselves its relatively easy to serve ourselves the proper portion. I like to give the simple rule of using your hand as a tool. Protein should be the size and thickness of the palm of your hand. Carbs should be the size of your fist, fat should be the size of your thumb, and non starchy veggies are unlimited.

Portion control can be a little harder when we eat out. I’m a big fan of ordering what I really want. The key is to not eat it all. Always take your time when you eat. Only eat half of what’s served and take the rest home. Think about the “hand rule” and keep those portions in mind. If you’re going to a restaurant that has a dessert you love, order a light dish and split the dessert with your dinner mate, or, just order the dessert.

Goals for this week:

1. Meal timing – keep an eye on the clock. Never go longer than 5 hours without eating, and be sure to ask yourself “Am I truly hungry?” before eating.
2. Portion Control – use your hand to control your portion sizes. When eating out, make it a rule to order what you truly want, and eat only half of what’s served. Take the rest home of delicious leftovers.

Workout of the week:

Click here for Jessica’s No More Resolutions Workout!

No More Resolutions will run for 12 weeks along with No Diets in the New Year

There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts for everyone! My favorite thing about these workouts is that they can be done at home!