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Where are the Diet and Exercise Tips?

You might be wondering since I’m a weight loss coach and all, where are the diet and exercise tips? Where are the diet book recommendations and the newest exercises we should all be doing? Well, I can tell you I don’t plan on doing many “Top Ten Tips to Tighten Your Thighs” lists. You may notice I hardly talk about diet and exercise.

There are zillions of excellent nutrition and exercise resources out there and I will periodically share the ones I like. It’s just not the main point of what I do. Focusing solely on diet and exercise is focusing on the symptoms of the weight solely by trying to control what you eat and how you move. Don’t get me wrong, what you eat and how much you move are absolutely important. However, the critical component I focus on is the cause of the weight—the why’s.

Without looking at why the extra weight is on your body, losing weight is like trying to stop a flood. You stack sandbag after sandbag and hope you’ve stacked enough to keep the water (weight) from coming in. It’s a helpless position, you don’t know how much water is coming, when it may come and if it will be devastating this time. You just stack the sandbags in the form of dieting and exercise and hope it works.

Looking at the cause of the weight is like going upstream of the flood and discovering there’s a broken levy there. You’ve now discovered the cause of the flood. Once you repair the levy, you no longer have to frantically stack sandbags and white-knuckle it. You know the flood won’t come.

This is why I talk a lot about beliefs, thinking and feelings, because that’s where the cause of the weight can be found. It’s in the awful things we tell ourselves, the beliefs we have about food, weight and exercise, and even in what we believe about the world around us and the people in it. Those are the levies we need to repair. Once you do that work, eating and exercise are simply things we do to keep our body fueled and healthy.

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Now in complete contradiction of the above post, here’s an exercise tip just for fun. This one is courtesy of my friend and kind torturer Laura Robinson of 5Focus Wellness Studio here in Seattle.

• Lay on your back with your knees up, feet on the floor.
• Tie one of those stretchy-band things into a knot so it forms a circle.
• Put that bad boy right around your knees. (oh you may want to do that before you lay down, I suck at this!)
• Lift your butt up while keeping your head, shoulders and feet on the floor.
• Now move your feet out sideways stretching that band until your feet and knees are wider than shoulder-width apart.
• Now pulse your knees outward for 60 seconds or until your butt feels like it’s on fire, whichever comes first.

Enjoy!

Debunking Diet Dogma–25 Things Style

I was sitting here trying to write a different article for this months’ newsletter, but I kept finding myself visiting Facebook and reading everyone’s “25 things you may not know about me.” (You can read mine here.) So, I thought I would debunk diet and exercise myths in “25 things” style.

1. Don’t eat after 7 p.m.
Oprah says it and a nation buys it. Didn’t really work for her either.

2. Eat protein after you work out.
If you are a high-performance athlete, a great idea. If you are like the rest of us, just eat when you’re hungry.

3. Eat a little to “store energy” before you work out.
Only if you’re hungry.

4. Eat now if you might get hungry later.
Throw some nuts or a non-junky bar in your bag. Then eat when you’re hungry. Are you sensing a theme here?

5. This tastes so good I don’t want to stop eating it.
Slow down and savor each bite, notice how the taste changes.

6. I can eat more because I worked out.
Don’t connect working out with the amount of food you eat.

7. I’ll eat 100-calorie packs so I can lose weight fast.
They take out the real food and replace it with crapola (technical term). You will feel less satisfied which ultimately leads to eating more.

8. It’s all about calories in and calories out.
Not so much. It’s about tuning into your body, listening and fueling it according to its needs.

9. I can’t be in the same room with chocolate/tortilla chips/fried food.
When you make these things “forbidden fruit” they become overwhelmingly tempting. Let yourself have them, really enjoy them and stop when you’re full.

10. Food is my friend.
No it isn’t. Food is not your friend or your enemy. Food is food.

11. It’s noon, must be lunchtime.
Only if you’re hungry.

12. I should eat 3/4/6 meals per day.
Listen to your body, don’t let external cues determine when you eat.

13. Wasting food is bad.
Like my mentor Brooke Castillo says, “You can either waste food inside your body or outside your body.” Either way it’s not going to the starving kids in <fill in the blank>.

14. I have to deprive myself to lose weight.
Depriving yourself is one sure way to gain weight. And is absolutely no fun.

15. If I don’t do lunges/extreme cardio/dance class it’s not working out.
Just start moving. Do what sounds fun and build from there.

16. Walking doesn’t count.
Yes it does!

17. I’m lazy because I can’t lose weight.
No you aren’t and yes you can. Really.

18. It’s hard to keep the weight off.
It’s hard to keep it on. It requires consistently being checked out of your body and mind so you can keep putting more food in your body than it wants.

19. When I’m thin, I’ll be happy.
When you are happy, you will be thin.

20. My mom always told me…
Can we agree that you can reject this one out of hand? Your mom probably doesn’t even buy it.

21. The chart in Shape magazine says I should weigh X.
Your body knows its natural weight. Don’t look to charts and diagrams to decide what feels right for you.

22. I’ll pick lowfat inferior cheesecake over the most awesome cheesecake ever.
Don’t rip yourself off. If you are going to “joy” eat, go for the best, highest quality treat. Enjoy every bite and stop when you’re full.

23.Whole-fat foods will make me fat.
Healthy whole fat foods are actually good for you, taste great and are more satisfying. I’m talking about yogurt, avocados, nuts, etc…

24. If I weigh myself three times, the number will magically change.

25. It’s all too complicated!
It’s simple (although the execution is not always easy—I get that). Listen to your body, put quality ingredients in it, be kind to yourself and don’t buy into the dogma.

What’s your dogma and how do you debunk it?