The Health and Fitness Truth Blog

I went out to dinner this week with some women friends whom I haven’t seen in awhile. I was looking forward to the social time, but also looking forward to a nice  big, fresh salad with lots of great stuff in it. My day had been hurried, and my food choices not the most “wholesome”, so I was really craving that salad.

When we arrived at the restaurant and I announced my choice for dinner- a wave of disappointment swept over the faces of my friends. “A salad?” they questioned, “Come on, you’ re out to dinner, live a little!” Well, I actually thought I was living a little! Salads always taste so much better when someone else does the work, and how could I pass up candied pecans, chicken and pears with gorgonzola cheese? Despite their disappointment, I still had the salad and it was fabulous. But, it got me to thinking, why do women try and “sabotage” each other’s efforts to eat healthy?

I have come across this phenomenon many times- of lesser and greater degrees- the most damaging being the nachos, french fries and chocolate cake extravaganza. That’s not to say that I expect myself and others to be martyrs or neurotic food nazis- but why can’t a big salad bring as much pleasure as nachos? I think it’s because somehow people get used to thinking that dinners out are a time to splurge- to gorge- to overeat. However, we all go out enough nowadays that this shouldn’t be the case. I certainly can understand if someone only goes out once every few months, but… every week? There’s a subconscious thought when we go out to dinner that “I deserve this”  (but, we ignore the fact that overeating is not a”reward” but a punishment). And, lastly we want others to overeat with us because seeing others eat healthy while we are gorging on cheese fries makes us feel guilty, and with good reason.  Many of the foods served in massive quantities at restaurants these days are just plain bad for you! Let’s join together and stop trying to convince each other to overeat- or overdrink for that matter- because it’s really a self-destructive behavior, and God knows we women need to support each other in this quest to love ourselves and eat healthy. So, make a pact with your friends today- healthy eating is achievable even when out to dinner! And, eating a salad for dinner leaves room to share a piece of chocolate cake!

This is the time of year when most of us reflect back on the past year and set goals for ourselves for the upcoming year. Many of these goals involve getting healthier-and that also means losing weight for a vast majority- especially after the mind numbing, overeating holiday season we have just experienced. New Year’s Resolutions have become somewhat of a joke- as research has shown that within 6 weeks, most of us have forgotten and forgone any attempts at sticking to our resolutions. One reason that we dump our resolutions so quickly is that we often make resolutions that are too binding, strict or impossible to keep, all based on unrealistic expectations of ourselves.

So- how do we set realistic goals that allow us to find success and stick-to-it-ness in 2006? I believe that the goals you set for yourself right now should be based on where you have come from last year. For example- if you are a non-exerciser, promising to exercise 6 days a week is too big a leap of faith. Start by resolving to exercise 3 days a week to start. Make that an absolute committment. It is doable for EVERYONE, regardless of busy lives and hectic work schedules. This committment can be kept throughout the year- or can be increased over time once you have stuck with the initial stage. And, if you are already exercising and have consistently exercised 3 days week, make your resolution to now exercise 4-5 days week.

Nutritionally, we tend to make the same mistakes.”I’m giving up sweets for the year” is a common resolution. But, this is overly binding for many of us, and once you give in to your inevitable cravings, you may feel like you have failed completely and thus give up on trying at all. Try this instead:
-If you eat sweets every day- commit to cutting out sweets every OTHER day. Try this step first- see if it is doable. Once you have succeeded here- THEN can you update your promise to yourself as you feel necessary.
-OR- if you usually have 3 cookies a day- first cut down to 2 cookies, then to 1 cookie. Take it step-by-step. OR, substitute a lower calorie sweet for your high calorie treat and begin that way. A fudgesicle at less than 100 calories is a fantastic change over a bowl of Haagen-Daz. And, while it may not taste exactly as good- it might be just enough to keep your resolutions intact!

If you are trying to lose weight- DO NOT EXPECT to lose more than 2 pounds a week It just isn’t possible. Nutritional programs like Jenny Craig or reality shows like The Biggest Loser highlight incredible weight loss which sets us up for false hopes. While it is true that in the first week of a severe diet, many people lose weight dramatically, any weight loss of greater than 3 pounds is due to water loss and muscle tissue wasting- not true fat loss.

Finally, weight loss and good health is ONLY achieved and sustained by a committment to exercise. There is absolutely no getting around this fact!