Comments (11)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, January 25, 2010 9:49 am

Hi There

Today we start week 4 of 12 Weeks No Diets!

To recap, here are the goals we’ve worked on so far:

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 12oz of water with each meal, and 8-12 oz between meals
2. When hungry, eat at least one piece of fruit per day, and veggies of some sort (preferably fresh) for two meals.
3. 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.
4. Portion Control: use your hand to control your portions sizes. When eating out, make it a rule to order what you truly want but only eat half of what’s served. Take the rest home for delicious leftovers

Week 4:

This week we will only have one goal. The goal is to take a step back and PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY. When I say “pay attention to your body” I’m talking about eating consciously. This is about getting to know your body and phasing out the mindless eating. Now that I have a baby, I’m quickly becoming the queen of multitasking, and that includes eating as well. When eating and doing something else at the same time, its easy to over eat. To avoid this, it’s important to slow things down a bit and really take your time when eating.

The phrase “Pay Attention to Your Body” means so much. One habit I catch myself doing is mindlessly “tasting” while cooking. Often times when cooking or baking, the food finds its way into my mouth… then when its time to eat, I’m not hungry, but may eat anyway. This is an area where I need to “Pay Attention.”

If I taste a lot when cooking, then its important to balance that out with a lighter dinner, or, just don’t taste mindlessly. There’s a difference between tasting the food for flavor and straight up eating it.

Goal for this week:

Pay Attention – Really take time to pay attention to your body and identify any habits where you mindlessly eat. This involve more than just eating consciously. Take time when you eat and really taste your food. Enjoy what you’re eating. Make sure you love what you’re eating. And most importantly, remember that you are the one in control of your mind, body, and choices.

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?

What are some areas where you feel you need to be more conscious?

For me, I find when I’m watching the Food Network, I often find myself wanting or craving the food thats on TV even when I’m not hungry.

Comments (25)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, January 4, 2010 9:21 am

Hi

Are you ready?

Twelve weeks of “No Diets in the New Year” starts today!!!

12 weeks of No Diets is about making more mindful choices… Listening to our body, responding to it’s natural hunger cues, and eating what our body needs.

Throughout the holiday season I definitely did some mindless snacking/drinking… a little too much But I never beat myself up over it. I just tried to make more mindful choices the rest of the day(s). With dieting season officially in full swing (hello Taco Bell diet), I say ignore it all and work towards making small changes towards a healthier lifestyle.

Starting today, every Monday I will be posting a new non-diet tip, a nutrition goal, and a killer workout from the fabulous Jessica from How Sweet It Is! By the way… I can’t tell you how excited I am about these workouts!!! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!!

There a couple of points I want to touch on before we get started.

1. Don’t view “Not Dieting” as another diet. The main premise behind “Not Dieting” is to eat when we’re hungry and get in tune with our body. If this is viewed as a diet, then cheating would be eating when we’re not hungry, or for emotional reasons. The body is very forgiving. We’re human and there will be times we eat when we’re not hungry. We should just accept it for what it is and wait until we’re hungry again to eat.
2. This can be started anytime. If you’re not ready to start today, start whenever you’re ready. The info will be here

Mindful Tip #1

Eat When You’re Hungry, Stop When Satisfied…

Reaching and maintaing a healthy weight is all about WHY we eat and HOW much we eat. When we consistently eat for reasons other then hunger, we will gain weight. The key word CONSISTENTLY. We all have our moments… but it’s what we do consistently over time that matters the most. Our body is very smart. It tells us when it needs food and it tells us when it’s had enough food. It’s important to NEVER let our body get overly hungry… this can set us up to overeat.

Here’s how to tell if you’re hungry (ranging from gentle to ravenous):

• Mild gurgling or gnawing the the stomach
• Growling noises
• Feeling lightheaded
• Difficulty concentration
• Uncomfortable stomach pain
• Irritability
• Feeling faint
• Headaches
• Any combination of the above

Are we really hungry or just bored?

Before we eat, let’s ask ourselves these questions:

• Are we hungry or thirsty? Often times we can mistake hunger for thirst. We may actually be dehydrated. Try drinking some water before eating.
• Are we eating because of emotion? This is a big one!! Eating for emotion can mean a number of things… eating because we’re sad, happy, lonely, depressed, bored, anxious, stressed, hormonal, etc… Emotional eating is such a big deal. When we stop eating for emotion, we have to find a way to deal with those emotions in ways other than food.
• Did we get enough sleep? Sometimes I feel so physically tired I think I need to eat…. WRONG! Getting enough zzzz’s at night is so important. We need to make sure our sleep schedule is allowing for enough rest.

NUTRITION TIP #1

Make water your beverage of choice.

This is something I seriously struggle with! I don’t drink enough water! This can be a big player in the “Are we hungry or thirsty” factor. I’m not big on juices or any calorie containing beverage… I just don’t drink enough period. I’m going to make it point to always carry a bottle of water with me.

Water goal for the week: Drink at least 12oz of water with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and drink 8-12 oz of water between each meal.

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! I did Jessica’s Functional Workout this morning and LOVED it!! It was an awesome workout!!!

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Do you have any questions?

I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. I started a “12 Weeks No Diets” page. Every Mondays post/tip will be on that page.

If you have any workout specific questions, go to Jessica’s Blog at How Sweet It Is.