Is Intuitive Eating a Fad?

Anything I see in mainstream media I often question “Is this just a fad?”

At other times, once something has hit mainstream media it is simply “old news” to those in the know.

Intuitive Eating fits in the last category.

This is Part One of a two part series on why you need to consider mindful Intuitive Eating as part of your healthy lifestyle.

Best Men's Health Tips from Real Men

Why do you live healthy? What healthy habits are important to you?

I asked several men I admire to answer these questions and got a variety of answers.

Which means … you will be inspired to find your own “Big Why” to choose health and discover a idea to help you live it.

Gentlemen: Listen in

Ladies: Share this with the men in your life

Four Hidden Benefits of Gardening

You think gardening is just for super fresh produce and a little exercise. It’s true you get those benefits.

I enjoy teasing Doug, “I’m going to the grocery to get some tomatoes and basil” - then I step out the back door and pick it to eat within 10 minutes.

After a few years of gardening in our backyard, I’ve discovered four benefits that are as important to my health and success as the organic, fresh food. In fact, one of the benefits research shows might be more important.

You don’t have to plant a big garden to get these four benefits … just a 4X4 plot will do.

Why You Should Eat Your Yard (Maybe)

Several “weeds” can be safely eaten, even with medicinal benefits.

Red and white clover are two. Red clover especially has phytonutrients that can adjust with hormones. Which means some people will benefit and others would not - so check with your doctor before consuming on a regular basis.

It’s also high in vitamins and minerals. Great in teas or salads.

Why You Need a Garden at Work (and easy ways to start one)

Several companies have community gardens. The benefits are great — for those who dig in the dirt.

But there are easy ways to get the benefits for even more people, without the “uh-oh, whose turn is it to weed” headache.

Six Reasons You Need to Find Your Unique Path

While growing up I suspected I had developed an unhealthy relationship with food – and sometimes even exercise.  But it was years later at a work potluck Christmas party that I knew I absolutely had a problem and had to change.

Everyone else was at the buffet ooh-ing and ah-ing over different dishes colleagues brought. 

I was in the bathroom terrified. 

“If I eat that _____ I’ll have to workout extra tomorrow. Who knows how many grams of ____ it has.”

“I want to try ____ but if I do I’ll probably not be able to stop eating it.”

“I’ll be good and just have the veggies I brought.  If I break my diet I’ll lose control.”

I realized I was the only one, apparently, who did not feel she could enjoy the food, the people, or the party and I stayed as far away from the table as possible.  Why?  I thought something was wrong with me. 

By that party I had spent almost 20 years fine-tuning my “diet mentality,” through the various diet and exercise rules I learned from the media.

And I wanted freedom.  Desperately.

I wanted to exercise just because it felt amazing and made me strong and healthy. Not because it burned calories I’d eaten the day before.

I wanted to eat a balanced meal because it was satisfying.

I wanted to enjoy a cookie without fear of eating five.

I wanted to go to a party and enjoy it all.

Scratch that.

I didn’t even know that was possible.  All I could fathom was maybe not being consumed with worrying about every morsel, gram, or repercussion after a party.

Thankfully, that part of me is a distant memory, because …

I found my path to THRIVE.

Did you see?

I released a course where I’m going to share with you the mindset, principles, techniques, tools and skills practiced by people who find – and follow – their unique path to health, wellness, and a Thriving Life.

It’s called …

THRIVE LIFE (Go here to learn more; we get started in just a few days.)

While there are so many health benefits to this way of life, the most surprising benefit has nothing to do typical health-parameters.

It has to do with relationships and accomplishing life goals.

Huh?

Let me explain.  Envision that same work party where I locked myself away in the bathroom.  If my mind had been free from food-fear, I would have been mingling with colleagues and enjoying getting to know their families, enriching my relationships.

And when my mental and emotional space is not cluttered with how many calories I eat or burn or how much I do this or that, my mind is free to be creative and pursue dreams.  Plus, there is way less stress.

Here are the six reasons you need to find your own path …

#1 – You stop outsourcing your emotional health to food or over-exercise

You can learn the difference between physical and emotional hunger.

Food was created to bring you pleasure, but it is not what heals hurts or brings peace.

Exercise has many ways that it lifts your mood, but there is a point of using exercise to escape struggles vs. helping you overcome them.

When you sit with discomfort and find what actually fills you emotionally, your strength of self grows.  Your confidence to live and handle difficult situations increases.

#2 – You have mental space to pursue your dreams

This one is huge.

When your mind is cluttered with searching for the next diet or exercise program, or finding recipes that fit the new fad, or shopping for the latest exercise gear you cannot focus on what really matters most to you in life.

It may even go deeper.  If you are staying focused on analyzing food / exercise to avoid dealing with something else, it is time to move forward. 

If you are hiding your best self behind counting this or that, trying to control every bite or workout, it is time to open the curtain and step out on your stage.

#3 – You have increased physical energy

You sleep well, you wake up with energy, and it stays consistent throughout the day so you can accomplish your goals and still enjoy family and friends at the end of the day.

#4 – Your ability to enforce boundaries, with yourself and others, improves

Food police?  Exercise drill sergeant? No more.  Either from others or yourself.

You confidently handle critics.

You also are able to tell yourself “no” when a choice does not value you.

#5 – You have more fun and are more fun to be around

When your excitement comes from discussing the latest fad exercise or diet, it is a boring life.

However, when you have recent adventures or a book you read or a funny family gathering or ____ to talk about, conversations have life in them.

You meet up with people, confident as you accept yourself and others, with less judgement.

Social situations around food are no longer stressful.

You have the physical fitness to enjoy the adventures you want.

#6 – You feel successful, because you are successful

When you learn what works for your body and your lifestyle, and you have the tools and techniques to stick with it, you reach your goals.

You feel successful along the journey because you are living what you value.

#7 – This is a bonus reason because I recently had a conversation with a client and this reason came up – so I added it: 

You become a leader and influencer for good in those around you.

This client was waiting on the inspiration to make changes to come from his circle of family and friends.  I challenged him “Think about who you want to be.  Do you want to be the person who waits to be led or do you want to lead?  Do you want to be influenced or do you want to influence?”  I challenge you, too.  When you find your path to Thrive, you will inspire others to do the same.

This is what finding your path to THRIVE brings you.  It is one of the most amazing adventures you’ll ever go on.

Go here to check out my THRIVE Life course, so you can thrive in YOUR life. 

(We start in a few days.)

Your Questions Answered ... About the Big Lie

When you watched last week’s video “#1 Reason You Aren’t Getting Results” which of these questions did you have?

One listener commented: “So true about finding our own path...how often do we try to fit someone's diet book into molding our way of eating only to find it doesn't work? Then we think we are the failure. No, we only learned that way isn't for us.”

How do I live healthy, or lose weight, without reinforcing the diet mentality or exercising hours a day?

This is such an important question, because if you lose weight using the diet mentality you know from experience the weight will return and you will be even more trapped in an unhealthy relationship with food. And if you lose weight by exercising hours a day, you set yourself up for injury and you don’t have a life outside of exercise - so it is not sustainable.

First, ask yourself your reasons for wanting to live healthy in the first place.

Is it to please someone or avoid criticism? Is to decrease your risk of diseases you don’t want? Is it, like a client of mine, to set a healthy example for her young son? Once you know and like your reasons, then you have the motivation to do the sometimes uncomfortable process of Intuitive Eating and Mindful Movement.

To lose weight without a diet mentality means learning and practicing in depth the steps of Intuitive Eating. Eating only when you are physically hungry, finding solutions to meet your emotional and social hungers without food. Learning your triggers and cues for real hunger. Eating, with unconditional permission, exactly what you want - and knowing what you want is more than just the whim of your tastebuds but also how you want to feel and honoring your body. Savoring your meals without distraction. Research shows us we eat 10% more when we eat distracted - that’s enough to stall weight loss. And then stopping when you are satisfied, and learning what satisfaction feels like.

Exercise has been shown to not only decrease risk of diseases, but it aids in weight loss. But think in terms of accumulating movement throughout the day. Your appetite will adjust to your activity. Be sure to add in strength training to increase your muscle and metabolism.

Help.  I struggle with fast food.

This is so common; don’t feel bad.

Dig in a little and discover what is causing the struggle.

Is it a chaotic lifestyle that you need to prepare food ahead so you have options? Is it that you have trained your tastebuds to crave the salt? If so, perhaps experiment with smaller portions while adding fresh vegetables along side to begin re-training your taste.

Is it that you somehow feel fast food is “bad” in a moral sense? When someone says “I struggle with ___ sin,” that is a moral behavior. But fast food is not inherently sinful. So when you put rules around something that doesn’t naturally come with rules, your sense of autonomy begins to crave the forbidden.

If you take the rules away and say “I can have fast food anytime I truly desire it” often it loses its power. Next time you crave it, ask yourself why you desire it and how much you desire it and if you can wait another 30 minutes before having fast food instead of something else. See what you learn about yourself and the desires.

And when you do choose, out of reasons you like, to have fast food, put it on a china plate and savor it without distraction. You may experience it differently.

How can I deal with the low carb, high/low fat, vegan vs. carnivore, no salt, no sugar way of eating?

I hear your frustration.

This question highlights the craziness of the diet industry.

Sometimes for health reasons a doctor may recommend low salt or low sugar, but when someone tries to combine all of the diet industry advice, without a medical reason, it becomes a big mess. It is classic of when all of the lies in the Big Lie (only one way) collide.

All you are left with is lettuce and water - and even that is controversial now as to what kind of water.

The first way to deal with it is to question what you’ve been believing. What is your personal reason for preferring these descriptions? Do you feel better with a certain amount or type of carbohydrate? Do you have more or less energy on low fat? Why are you avoiding adding salt or sugar? If your only reason is its what you’ve been told, it is time to look at Intuitive Eating, which I talked about earlier.

I’ve tried everything and failed.  Even if I find something that works, how do I stick with it?

This question is powerful. There are five essential pieces to this puzzle. First is building your belief that you can. Look back over other life changes you have made and see what strengths you have. Then apply those strengths here.

Also, think of all of the reasons you want to make this change, and make sure those reasons are yours. That you own them and are not adopting someone else’s reason. Then think of all of the barriers stopping you. Time? Fear? Boredom? Whatever they are, go through them until you have answers to overcome.

Whatever you are doing, also make it fun. Fun for you. If you enjoy nature, include that. If you don’t enjoy nature but like high-energy environments, set yourself up with that.

And get the support you need. Remember the game show with “phone a friend” - do that. Whether someone walks with you or cooks with you or coaches you, you need support.

But do not wait until you have these five pieces in place to start. Start and work through these as you go.

Why You Are Not Getting Results

Here’s a question that I consistently hear: “I’m tired of doing what doesn’t work.  How do I get results?”

You buy the latest diet book every friend swears by – but then they swore by a different one 3 months ago.

You join a different gym or buy another late-night-TV fitness gadget, because this one has (fill in the blank) that the others didn’t have, so you know you’ll use it – next week.

You download another meditation or time-tracker or motivation app, but somehow it doesn’t help.

How do you get results?

Before I share how, I want you to understand that the answer goes against what main stream media and well-meaning fitness gurus will tell you.  It even goes against what my mom taught me (and it took me a while to accept that).

Here’s the answer: Find your path.

A path that is yours, that embraces your lifestyle and values, that enhances your life without consuming it. Why?  Because if it does not focus on you, no program, book, gadget or method will work for you.

Finding your path paves the way to

• greater energy

• freedom from worrying about lifestyle diseases

• peace in your mind and with yourself

• an increased enjoyment of life – whether big adventures or time with family

• thriving in every area of your life

Ready? Go here to enroll in THRIVE Life

You can find your path to results.  Your first step, which – I know from experience - is the hardest, is to stop believing what I call the Big Lie.  It wrecks your path.

It pushes you further away from success and traps you in bondage.  The lie, like most, is subtle in your mind, but you can see signs of it wrecking your path. 

At the end I’ll tell you 6 signs that you may be believing the lie.

First, I’ll share a bit of my story of believing this Big Lie and how it harmed me for well over 25 years of my life.

I used to be deeply trapped in this lie.

When I was 9 I started believing it.  I bought my first fitness magazine and started on my first diet.  The magazine became an authority figure in my life, telling me that I was supposed to eat and exercise a certain way.

I counted the calories on my plate; I analyzed the food on my parents’ plates when we’d go out to eat.  In fact, my dad later told me they stopped enjoying going out as a family because all I did was analyze what everyone was eating.  I wouldn’t skip exercise, even if it meant getting out of bed with a fever to finish it. 

Yes, I did that.

The deeper I got into this lie, the more restricted I became.  Others thought I was self-disciplined – but I wasn’t.  Self-discipline comes from the inside, from the self.  I was forcing conformity to an outside, external, someone else’s rule.

(A little side-lesson here … we all have a need for autonomy, that thing that protects us and our boundaries, our sense of self and our ability to choose.  I allowed this magazine – and later all of the other diet rules – to tell me what to do.  It was my job to tell me that, so I was allowing my sense of autonomy to be pushed down.  And it will only be pushed down so long.)

After developing symptoms of anorexia, my sense of autonomy had had enough.

I remember in college going to parties, eating “perfectly” but then coming back to an apartment and eating ½ bag of my roommate’s cookies.

I was recently reading some of my old journals, which at the time included daily calorie counts.  I came across a section in which I was berating myself for sneak eating several doughnuts.  At the time I wrote it, I recall thinking how “bad” I was.  When I look at it now, I understand that I was starving myself for several days prior, through both under-eating and running several miles.  No wonder I was craving doughnuts.

Of course, the good news now that I don’t believe the lie anymore, I could care less about doughnuts and actually don’t like them.

So, what is the Big Lie? 

“There’s one way to be healthy and you must conform your life to that one way.”

You absolutely must give up believing this lie to reach your health and fitness goals.

Each person’s path is unique, but not random.  Your path will be based on underlying proven principles, but if you believe that there is one way to live healthy, you will be forever trying things that don’t work in the long-run and will always be searching outside of yourself. 

Those ways create struggle, not ease.

Those ways are complicated, not simple.

Those ways constrict and deprive you, not free you.

Are you possibly believing the lie that here is one way to be healthy and you must conform your life to that one way?

Sign #1: You skip exercise or meal-prep because something else came up.  Why?  You didn’t have time to do it “all” and you’ve believed all-or-none; don’t do something half-way.

Your path?  You believe something is better than nothing and set standards that fit your life.

Sign #2: You go workout and push yourself until you cannot walk normally the next day, then don’t workout again for weeks.  Why?  You’ve believed “go hard or go home.”  Or a guru has told you that if you don’t get your heartrate into a certain zone it does you no good.

Your path?  You embrace the intensity of exercise you enjoy.

Sign #3: You eat foods that bore you, or you feel guilty if you eat something you really enjoy. Why?  Someone has played the food police and told you, “If it tastes good, spit it out.  It can’t be good for you.”

Your path? You listen for true pleasure (not false pleasure) and savor quality.

Sign #4: You feel guilty for sleeping a full eight hours, thinking “I’m not working hard enough”…or you worry that you are not sleeping enough even though your energy is great.

Your path? You know the research and adapt it to your life and priorities.

Sign #5: This ____ diet is the one that works.  It worked for so-and-so celebrity last year. Well, that was last year.  This _____ diet is the one that really works.  And if it is not working for you, you must be cheating.

Your path? You understand what works for your body and you know that what you eat is not a moral issue.

Sign #6: You avoid going to a party, trying a new adventure, or just going to the gym because you have to look a certain way, touch your toes, lift a lot of weight to fit in and be “okay.”

Your path?  You go enjoy your life, because you ignore the confining opinions and messages out there.

These lies push you further away from success.

If you want to find your path to results, you must decide once and for all that the hype and the lies, no matter how glorious and glittery they sound, are not for you.

I get it.

Rejecting the lies can be hard, but do you know what’s even harder?

Continuing to try every new one-size-fits-all rule, failing, feeling guilty and trapped.

This is why learning to find your path to Thrive in Life will be one of the most amazing gifts you’ll ever give yourself.

I am thrilled to let you know that enrollment is open for my course: Thrive Life

Click here for details.

Join the conversation – Which of the six signs are you guilty of that is wrecking your path?  What is one small thing you can do TODAY to help you break out of the lies and Thrive?

Easy and Fast Way to Lower Your Stress

If you have ten minutes you can significantly relieve the stress.

Do this:

1. Watch this video (less than 7 minutes)

2. Do the technique (less than 2 minutes)

There you go. Less than 10 minutes and stress is running away from you.

Why Being Healthy Isn't A Habit

Huh?

When you have the inspiration to “get healthy” it is easy to jump in and try to do everything the first day.  That doesn’t work.

But, if you only focus on one habit, you don’t reach your goals, either.  Being healthy is not a singular habit. So, what should you do?

You learn both that habits reinforce each other – working together -- and that you need to build healthy habits one layer at a time.

Why is this important?

1.  You don’t get overwhelmed and then stop.

When you start trying to meal plan and prep, ramp up cardio and strength and stretching, get to sleep on time, do a morning routine, cut down on caffeine, learn new recipes, add in meditation for stress, and 100 other tips you’ve read, you get confused, distracted, and overwhelmed.

Then you know what happens.

You throw up your hands and say “forget it.”  And you never make progress.

2.  You develop traction.

When you know which single habit to start first, and how, you begin to get traction.  Enough that you can layer another healthy habit, which then makes the first habit even stronger.

3.  You experience maximum impact.

As you successfully layer each healthy habit, the “domino effect” - as a friend of mine says, kicks in.  You create an upward spiral.  Every aspect of healthy living becomes easier with greater result.  You succeed with your goals.

In the craziness of life, you need a simple and powerful plan.

Go here to check out my next coaching group, so you can Go Forward in your life.  (We start in just two days – Thursday April 9th.)

How to Build a Healthy Lifestyle in three steps

So many questions.

• How do I keep traction with my fitness goals right now?

• What should I eat to help my immune system?

• If I don’t eat for comfort, what can I do?

• My mind races when I go to bed.  How can I get to sleep?

If you are feeling overwhelmed right now, I have answers. You need a plan?  I have one for you and it starts April 9th.

Are your Health Habits Silos or Ecosystems?

Have you ever thought you can live “super healthy” in one habit, neglect the rest, and be ok?

You aren’t alone.

I’ve known competitive runners who live on pizza and beer, believing their food didn’t matter.

I’ve known vegetarians who didn’t manage their stress.

The first diet magazine I bought at age 9 (that’s a story in another video) touted “lose weight without exercise.”

Your healthy habits are like an ecosystem, all positively impacting the others.  But, how do you not get overwhelmed trying to do them “all at once”?

Watch this video.  Let me know what you are struggling with. I have a resource coming for you soon.

10 Tips to Staying Fit while Working from Home

Employers and business owners need to lead their teams in wellness, whether people are working from home or coming in the workplace.

If you are going in to work as usual right now, you likely have some opportunities you don’t usually have. Like a shorter commute. These tips will help you use that time well, plus stay healthy.

Working from home? I’ve got you covered, too.

Stay healthy and fit - now and always.

What I Got Wrong in my Productivity (and fixed)

I thought I had gotten it right, and recently discovered I was still wrong.

You’ve probably been there, too.

Many years ago I was working as a Personal Trainer at a local gym, while going to grad school. I tried to be “efficient” when I would study between clients. I’d sit in my car where it was quiet. But it would be too hot to concentrate. Or I’d go to the park to read, but too distracting.

I finally figured out that I was more “effective” in the long run if I would drive 15 minutes home, study for an hour, then drive 15 minutes back, even though on my calendar it looked inefficient.

Once I had that “ah-ha” I thought I had the productivity thing figured out…but kept wondering why I wasn’t getting projects done the way I knew, at least on paper, I could.

I tried the ABC prioritizing method. Good? Yes. Incomplete? Definitely.

I tried “time-blocking.” Wow, that really did not work for me. I’d be writing for a blog or video, or preparing for a speaking engagement and underestimate how long I needed, and then my whole “time-blocks” for the day were messed up! Grrr….

I used every “trick” I’d heard of …

“Eat the frog first” from Brian Tracy

And the Pomodoro Technique to help me focus without distraction

But there was still something BIG missing.

As I’ve been helping leaders and professionals increase their energy to make better decisions and get things done, I discovered what I needed!

Energy Zones.

I was using all of these methods, which are good, but in the wrong way.

Once I incorporated what I’m calling Energy Zones, things started clicking.

Before I explain how to map out and use your zones, let me tell you my “last straw” story. I had promised a client I would create something for them that evening. It was in a software program I’ve used 100’s of times. I thought “this should take me about 5 minutes” … and 45 minutes later I was so frustrated with why I could not get the software program to work! Then I saw one tiny button I’d missed clicking.

Why? I was trying to create during a mindless-energy zone. Had I created this during a creative zone, it actually would have only taken the 5 minutes. No wonder I was still getting behind!

Ok, heres’ what this looks like.

1. Notice the times of day you naturally have more mental energy and creativity

2. Watch for the times of day you are alert, but not able to be as creative

3. Pay attention to when your mental energy drops

Then, pull out the time-blocking concept. For me that means after my morning workout, I protect my highest creative work (writing content, researching, problem-solving) at least two days each week.

Early afternoons are my alert but not creative time … strategy and planning come easy for me, so that is when I develop my online courses, answer emails, edit speaking notes.

I get energy both from moving and by interacting with people I enjoy. So late afternoons, I move to increase my energy. And then take the deep mental work I did earlier in the day and give that to my clients in their afternoon calls.

The secret sauce?

1. Increase your overall energy with the practices I provide you here.

2. Find your Energy Zones

3. As much as possible, schedule the types of activities to match your zones

Let me know in the comments what productivity and energy ideas you use!

Best Places to Find Your Garden Seeds and Plants

When we started gardening, it was easy to go to the local big box stores and get seeds and plants. But I never knew if I could trust the quality of what I was buying … or if the selection was good for my region.

Then I found some companies I trust and a local supplier. (Of course, I found other local suppliers who were not helpful and weren’t sure whether their seeds were genetically modified or not. Um…I didn’t stick with those suppliers.)

Here are the best I have found -

Easy Small Space Gardening ... for a healthy heart

This could not be more fun to kick off the weekend.
- Last day of "regular February" before our bonus day.
- It is the end of February's "Heart Month"
- The Nashville Lawn & Garden Show kicks off this weekend.

(A few years ago we started a small space garden and we learned so much at the Lawn and Garden Show. And we are still learning.)

Our oregano and marjoram

While there is a lot you could learn, don't be intimidated to start your own little patch of freshness to enjoy (almost) year round. Really, if you have a bit of info on soil you can do it.

And if you are like me (a.k.a. wanting the most result for the least effort) then "rotating" where you plant foods helps.

So, it was fun to pull all of this together in a video for you.

Small Space Garden.
Easy Rotation.
Heart-Protection specific.

Watch this to find out how to start an easy garden rich with foods specific to heart health.

Then find a sunny spot to start your own little plot of fresh.

Are you Eating the Top Foods for Heart Health?

Too often you read what foods to avoid for a healthy heart.

Let’s flip that script today to focus on what foods will help your heart.

In the video I share how these foods with help your heart, plus a recipe.

Scroll on down below for a list of some heart healthy foods.

Bell Peppers

Cabbage

Hazelnuts

Parsley

Fish

For more heart healthy foods and how to use them, enjoy the video.

What's the Best Workout for a Healthy Heart?

In my book, Go Forward: 28 Days to Eat Move and Enjoy Life God’s Way I share three ways to move.

Before I answer the question, here are the three ways …

SOLO SHOTS - These are dedicated times to workout for 30-60 minutes. Go for a walk. Add in some hills. Play some one-on-one basketball. Play tag with your kids, with the goal of constantly moving.

SHORT SHOTS - Take a 10 minute walk before you start your day. Then another 15 minute walk at lunch. After dinner, perhaps another 10 minute walk with a friend.

STEP SHOTS - There are no dedicated times, just accumulate little bits of movement all day.

The best for heart health?

The answer may surprise you.

How to lower your risk of heart disease

You don’t have to have heart disease in your family to wonder if you are at risk.

Take action now — this month — to understand your risk and, more importantly, to lower it.

Yes. It means shifting some habits. But you can do it.

Is the wrong question hurting you?

When you ask yourself a question, your brain goes into search mode for the answer. And you will find an answer. Perhaps one that is not serving you.

So, yes. The wrong question is hurting you.

But how do you change your thinking for the better? Ask yourself your best question. Let’s discover it.