Link to .pdf file for Week 74

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Go here for the recipes and shopping list for Week 74.

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A thought provoking question

Do you sometimes berate yourself? Call yourself fat / ugly / a pig / useless? This serves no useful purpose. It certainly won't boost your self confidence!

A friend of mine sent me an e-mail the other day. It was a list of thought provoking questions. The question that caught my attention was:

“If you had a friend who spoke to you the way you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you stay friends?”

We all of us have our failings and weaknesses, especially when it comes to changing our eating habits and leading a healthier lifestyle. It can be difficult to keep on making those incremental changes and sticking with them, though it’s not impossible. We all have slip-ups and indulge in unwise food choices or overly large portions occasionally; but when we do, we can and should forgive ourselves.

Be kind to yourself. Don’t let mistakes disempower you, learn from them and move on.

You can find more questions at http://thoughtquestions.com/

A reader has pointed out that I have misquoted the original question. It should read:
"If you had a friend who spoke to you the way you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend?"
My apologies for misquoting.  17/09/10 5:55PM

Priorities

“The most important things in life aren’t things.” Anthony J. D’Angelo

This quote reminds me of the story of the philosophy professor.

When the students arrived for their lecture, the professor had on his desk a large glass jar and three shoe boxes. The jar was empty. One box contained a dozen or so large rocks, the next was full of small pebbles and the last contained sand. Do you know the story?

The professor greeted the class, and then gently placed the rocks in the glass jar until he couldn’t fit any more in. He asked the students if the jar was full, and they agreed that it was.

Next, he picked up the box of pebbles and began to tip them into the jar. With a little judicious shaking, the pebbles fell between the rocks and filled in the spaces. Again, he asked the students if the jar was full. They laughed, and said yes, this time the jar was really full.

Then the professor gently poured in the sand, which filled the remaining gaps in the jar.

Let’s take the glass jar as representative of life, the rocks as the truly important things (family, health, relationships), the pebbles as other important stuff (school, work) and the sand can represent small stuff and material possessions.

If we put the sand in the jar first, there will not be enough room for all the rocks and pebbles. The same can be said of life. If we spend all our time and energy on amassing material possessions, we won’t have the time and energy for the really important stuff.

We need to be cognizant of what in life is vital for our happiness and well-being, and make sure that we invest time and energy in that – follow a healthy lifestyle, play with our children, write to a loved-one far away. There will always be time to clean the house or go shopping for shoes, so tend to the rocks first.

Tuck shops

When I was at school (millennia ago, it seems!) there was no such thing as a ‘tuck’ shop. We either took a packed lunch from home, or ate a ‘proper’ cooked meal in the school cafeteria (I can still conjure up the smell!), and at break we were given 1/3 pint of milk. These days, every school seems to have its own tuck shop, staffed by volunteer mums.

I find these venues to be easy roads straight to unhealthy eating. The menu may include ‘toasted sarmies’ , hot dogs, pies (of dubious vintage) and Chelsea buns the size of a small pick-up truck! Other than these delicacies, there are inevitably sweets (candy), chocolates, cold drinks (sodas) and chips (crisps). And the poor child who doesn’t have tuck money is sometimes pitied, oftentimes ridiculed.

We don’t have a Jamie Oliver in South Africa, and our volunteer tuck shop mums don’t seem concerned about the sort of tuck their children are tucking into. So our children fill up on starch, fat, sugar and E-numbers at break, and more than likely go home to a sandwich or 2-minute noodle lunch! Did they eat a healthy breakfast? Do they get a decent evening meal? I’m willing to bet that many of them have take-aways – pizza, fried chicken, burger and chips – more than once a week! Do they even know what vegetables are? Oh, they may have a passing acquaintance with lettuce (1 leaf), tomato (1 slice) and raw onion, because those come on a burger. No wonder most children are squeamish when it’s time to go to Gran’s for Sunday lunch, and they are expected to eat all their vegetables (although in South Africa, Gran is probably going to have a braai (BBQ) anyway, and the veg can be sidestepped yet again.

And where’s the fruit, other than in juice form in a box?

Take a close look at what your children are eating on a daily basis. Are they developing healthy eating habits? Do they get the opportunity to make healthy food choices? You are the only example they have, and you are the only one who can educate them. Now. Before they become overweight and even more unhealthy.

Rules can break your commitment

I’ve just seen on Face Book that my niece is starting a ’major health kick 28 day plan’. She says she is giving up smoking and alcohol (both excellent commitments to make!), and that she intends to cut out sugars and fats altogether.

Alarm bells are already sounding in my head! Very few people can set these kinds of limitations, all at once, and succeed.

The greater the number of stringent rules you make for yourself when committing to a diet or health regimen, the less likely you are to keep them up. The only rules – not even rules, but guidelines - you need to implement to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle are:
1. Make healthy food choices
2. Master portion control
3. Consume sufficient kilocalories/kilojoules
4. Introduce gentle exercise
5. Don’t set a time limit

Making healthy food choices means eating more fresh fruit and vegetables, and choosing whole grain products over their refined equivalents – whole grain bread and pasta, brown rice etc.

Mastering portion control is a little more difficult and takes a bit of time. Use the Google search tool above, type in ‘food groups’ and it will list all the posts I have written in the past about how much of what equals a portion, and how many portions of each food group your body needs in a day.

Eating enough is tied in to portion control. If you eat the number of portions from each food group, each day, you will be getting sufficient energy from a healthy variety of foods. When you radically limit the quantity and quality of the foods you ‘allow’ yourself, you will be hungry, tired and quickly get depressed and down on yourself. All foods are 'allowed' - just watch your portion sizes.

Introducing gentle exercise is as easy as parking on the far side of the lot, before walking briskly into the mall or shopping centre, where you will use the stairs in preference to the lift or escalator.

Don’t set a time limit. You will more than likely set an unrealistic goal, not be able to meet it, and get despondent. You will lose faith in yourself, be de-motivated and give up on the whole idea! Slow and steady attains the goal – it’s not a race. Changing too much all at once means you have too much to think about and consider every time you want to eat.

Have a great weekend.

Rewards

When you have a goal in mind, it's good to keep renewing your commitment to that goal. One way of doing this is to reward yourself as you pass milestones along the way (eg every 5kg weight lost). Of course, these rewards should not be edible. But depending on your finances, a pedicure or manicure (even if you do it yourself!) is a nice reward; a facial or a massage; a handbag or new shoes.

Once having reached your goal, you don't want to slide back into old habits, so keep rewarding yourself, every month or so, for sticking with healthy eating - eg a new book or lipstick. Look at your reward and remind yourself what you have done to deserve it.

It sounds silly, but periodic rewards provide continuing motivation and keep you on track.

Nature and nurture

Did you ever think, when you looked at a newborn baby, that (s)he is already everything (s)he will ever be? (S)he is. So is that teenager. So is that good looking guy in the next office. So is your grandmother. All of these people have potential, and it's all down to genes.

Our genes (nature) come from our biological parents - half from mum, and half from dad (and each of them got their genes half from mum and half from dad, and each of them etc. etc.). Genes dictate race, hair and eye colour, gender and blood type. But, beyond that, genes provide us with potential in every area - physical, mental and emotional. And it is nurture that feeds and allows that potential to develop. (This is my personal opinion and you are welcome to disagree - many people do!)

Nurture is usually regarded as the effect of family upbringing, but it goes way beyond family influence. We develop, mature, change, grow and evolve throughout our lives - physically, mentally and emotionally - because we are exposed to new environments, stresses and experiences on an almost daily basis.

Family upbringing - I'm using the term 'family' rather broadly here - has the greatest and most lasting impact on our eating habits, and therefore on our physical health. Children grow taller now than in previous generations because food is more readily available. Children (and adults) grow fatter now than in previous generations because portion sizes have increased way beyond what the body actually requires. We grow fatter and lazier because there is so much processed food available.

Isn't it time we got back to nature and nurtured ourselves, and our children, with healthy portions of fresh nourishing foods? Eating habits are formed at a very early age, but they can be changed. Change yours now. And help your children learn and enjoy the benefits of healthy eating.

9 steps for healthier eating out

Eating out is sometimes difficult. Restaurant menus are usually full of cheesy, fatty, creamy items, and the serving sizes are much too big - for your health and waistline, if not your stomach. So here are a few quick guidelines for next time you eat out.

1. Stick with grilled or baked - grilled will still have added fats, but not as much as fried. Fish and chicken are the best options.
2. Ask for sauces or dressings 'on the side' - you only need a tablespoon to enjoy the flavour. If you choose pasta in a sauce, make sure the sauce is tomato, not cream, based.
3. Start with a salad - this will fill you up a bit so you will be less inclined to eat too much of the main course.  Have it with balsamic vinegar - the acidity of the vinegar dampens the appetite, too.
4. Chips, rice or baked potato? Baked potato is good, but you'll want sour cream or butter with it, won't you? So go with rice to save kilojoules.
5. Vegetables or salad? The veg are likely to be in a creamy sauce of some sort, or have added salt, sugar and butter, so have the salad.
6. Eat only HALF of the protein and starch served to you.
7. Eat slowly. It takes about twenty minutes for your stomach to tell your brain it's had enough food.
8. Dessert? Really? Okay, have a fresh fruit salad (canned fruit has a lot of added sugar).
9. Coffee to finish? De-caff only please.

And I didn't even mention alcohol! Assuming you must have a drink, half a glass (glass, not bottle) of dry wine is good for you occasionally.

Bon appetit!

Diet plans, pills and potions.

Continuing my thoughts from yesterday:

Will you keep the weight off afterwards?
The straight answer? With no behaviour modification? NO.

We all know at least one person who has gone on a diet, if we haven't gone on one ourselves. I personally have started many different diets through the years. And finished them. And put all the weight back on again afterwards. With interest! It's called 'yo-yo dieting'.

People who know me know that I avoid using the word 'diet' whenever possible. In colloquial English, the word has negative connotations. It implies feelings of deprivation. It implies forbidden foods. Going on a 'diet' implies a begining and an end. And this last sentence shows just where the problem lies. Not so much the 'begining', but the 'end'.

We start a diet, usually with good intentions and high motivation. We intend losing x pounds/kilograms. When we finish the y-week plan, or when we get to goal weight, we stop the plan. And gradually resume the eating habits that made us overweight in the first place!

The only way to lose weight, and keep it off, is to modify the way you eat now. That means making gradual healthy changes to our food choices. And then making those changes stick. 'Forbidden' food lists shouldn't feature - we still want to be able to indulge ourselves occassionally, don't we?

Sorry, it's not a rapid weight loss strategy - there's no such thing - but it is worth the time and effort.
For your health. Which is everything, right?

I'm not anti diet clubs - they can supply advice, encouragement and camaraderie. But in the end, you're on your own. Is your club teaching you anything about nutrition?

The sentiments and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. You are entitled to your own opinion, too. If you have had a healthy experience with a diet plan or pills, and you have lost weight and kept it off for at least a year after stopping the plan/pills, I would love to hear about it. Bet you didn't do it without changing your old eating habits.

Have a great weekend.

Vary the veg

Having turned off the TV during dinner, and enjoyed some quality conversation with you spouse/partner and/or family instead, it's time to introduce more vegetables.

If you have been looking at (better still, using) my recipes, you will have noticed that all of them have at least three vegetables in them or with them; if there is a shortage of veg on the plate, then I always suggest a salad. You don't have to serve the vegetables I recommend - you can substitute your own favourites - but I do try to include a variety that is seasonal, relatively inexpensive and colourful. A colourful plate is a healthy plate. A variety of colours indicates a variety of vitamins and minerals. But leave out the veg you or the family really don't care for; just be sure to substitute something else. I personally don't care for pumpkin (except in pumpkin pie, when it is wonderful) - I find it watery, stringy and bordering on tasteless. But I really enjoy butternut squash which has real substance, form, colour and flavour. And butternuts come in usable, storable sizes, which is always a plus in my book, unlike pumpkins.

If I use something unfamiliar to you, do try it. You might enjoy it. I bought ochra a little while ago (I'm not sure if I've posted those recipes yet), something I've never tried before. They were alright. Interesting. A little bit different. I don't know that I would rush to buy them again - but at least I gave them a chance.

Buy a different vegetable this week - something you haven't served in a while, or ever. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Striving to thrive

We all want to thrive and succeed. We all want to be valued for who we are and what we do, at home, at the office and in the community. Very often we feel we are not thriving, succeeding or valued in any area of our lives. A lot of this comes down to our own lack of regard for ourselves.

We are last on our list of priorities, whether our needs are spiritual, mental or physical, everyone and everything makes the top of the list while we leave ourselves trailing behind. And no matter how much time, effort and money we expend on the front-runners they never seem to move off the list entirely and make room for us at the number one position.

One thing we can do is take five minutes in the evening to assess our performance for the day. Even if we have had an 'unproductive' day, we nevertheless completed some important tasks. We prepared meals, made at least one bed, dropped and fetched children from school or creche, supervised homework, listened to a friend, spouse or colleague with attention and sympathy, made somebody smile.

All of the above - and plenty more - are worthy of recognition and appreciation. They are all everyday tasks that you complete without even thinking about them, they are second nature. Value yourself for them, even if nobody else seems to.

Bear in mind, we all feel this way. We also need to show others that we appreciate and value them - we don't do this often enough. It only takes a hug, a smile and a 'thank you'.

Wouldn't a hug, a smile and a 'thank you improve your self esteem?

Emotional attachment

Working from home can make weight loss and maintenance quite difficult. The kitchen is right there, and it is oh, so easy to make a cup of coffee and get out the biscuit box whenever I feel. Yes, that is the way I intended to write that last sentence.

I used to think that I wasn't an emotional eater, but, hey, it turns out I am! And we all seem to have a similar comfort attachment to food. As soon as we feel bored, lonely, unhappy, worried, stressed, tired, dissatisfied, disappointed or overworked - I bet you can add another dozen adjectives to this list, some even positive! - we tend to comfort or reward ourselves with food (and/or alcohol). And I'm not talking sensible portions of good, nutritious food. It's a case of "what can I eat to feel better?"

While eating for comfort may make us feel better - carbohydrates are naturally calming - the feeling is very temporary, and soon swamped out by other feelings... of guilt.

So we need to take control. We always have a choice. We can choose to eat a whole bar of chocolate / bag of pretzels / litre of ice cream. Or we can make a more responsible choice. Instead of indulging in empty calories and lots of fats - which we'll regret later - we can clean or tidy something. At home there is always some little job that needs doing, and even at the office we can tidy and reorganise desk drawers, or make a to-do list. Take a walk, even if it is only to the bathroom. Any distraction like these will improve our mood, and give a sense of achievement. (As long as we then don't then congratulate ourselves with food for a job well done!) If you must eat, have a piece of fresh fruit.

Objectivity helps, too. Mentally take a step back from the situation. Will it (the situation) really matter in a week's time? a year? Stretch. Really stretch. Breathe deeply and slowly. Now, back to work.