Give the Gift of Fitness

I heard that Americans overindulge so much during the holiday season, from Thanksgiving to New Years, that you can gain Thirteen pounds! Now, I don’t know how much truth there is to that as I have yet to find a study supporting this claim, but I do know that in years past, I’ve been one to over indulge because after all, “It’s the Holidays”

This year is different. I’ve been working so hard to shed the pounds I’ve taken YEARS to pack on and I refuse to let a lack of planning destroy how far I’ve come. Feel the same? I wanted to take this opportunity to share some TIPS and TRICKS that I’ve picked up that will help me over the next few weeks and maybe it will help you too! But first, let me share with you a little bit about my personal plan of attack!

Thanksgiving brings to mind Tradition – at our house, we have been celebrating Thanksgiving with the same family friends for as long as I can remember. Many things over the years have changed – especially as us ‘kids’ grew up and had kids of our own — but we all still get together every year. The other constant is Dad’s Stuffing (We call it stuffing… you may call it dressing… whatever). It just isn’t Thanksgiving without it. (It’s probably the farthest thing from healthy on the dinner table – made with bread, sausage, butter, wild rice, raisins, apples, butter, onions, celery, and yes, more butter.)

So, I had to come up with a plan. How can I enjoy the holidays and not feel deprived without destroying all of the hard work I’ve put in so far?! It was a challenge!

First, I had to come up with a plan – Alysa reminded me that

It’s best to go in with a plan so you don’t end up eating 5,000-6,000 calories (national average on Thanksgiving)

Since I already had my custom nutritional breakdown in hand I set out to figure out what would work for me. Here are my nutritional needs:

(I’m on the same type of exchange program as Rachel – for all of your Expert Dieters like me, this may remind you of the Deal-A-Meal program from the late 80′s)

• -around 1400 calories per day
  
• -48 g fat (30%)
  
• -71 g protein (20%)
  
• -179 g carbs (50%)
  

Here are my exchanges broken down into meals and snacks:

• Breakfast: 1 fruit, 1 fat-free milk, 2 starch, 1 fat
  
• Snack: 1 fruit, 2 fat
  
• Lunch: 1 fat-free milk, 1 starch, 1 beans/peas/lentils, 1 lean meat, 1 fat
  
• Snack: 1 fruit, 2 fat
  
• Dinner: 2 vegetables, 1 fat-free milk, 1 starch, 2 lean meat, 1 fat
  
• Evening Snack: 1 vegetable, 1 fat
  

  Second – determine Needs vs. Wants
  

My next step in creating my plan was to really determine what I WANTED at Thanksgiving dinner – I know I could live without any of it, but what would it really take for me to feel satisfied at Thanksgiving dinner? For me it’s Dad’s stuffing. Knowing what goes into that, I know that portions must be watched carefully, and I also decided that I’d gladly trade in mashed potatoes, candied yams, and green bean casserole for it. So what will I be enjoying this Thanksgiving?

• Turkey (of course) with
  
• Homemade Sugar free Cranberry (from a recipe on Greta’s blog) instead of the YUMMY giblet gravy
  
• A small portion of stuffing
  
• Fresh green beans
  
• Salad
  

This way, I get my childhood favorite, can pass on the things that I could do without, don’t feel deprived and don’t hate myself in the morning!

Third, plan for pitfalls

After dinner, a second family walk is planned and I’ll be passing on desert. The desert I normally have has over 900 calories per slice in it (Caramel/chocolate turtle cheesecake) and I don’t even want to think about the amount of exercise I need to do to burn that off!

I’ll also make sure to eat a fiber-filled breakfast so that I’m not starving by the time the family meal rolls around.

That’s my plan in a nutshell.  As for some other TidBits:

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1. TELL – Tell your friends and family about your goals – this will often prevent the well-meaning saboteurs and if nothing else, establishes a strong support system
   
2. Turkey Trot – even if you didn’t sign up for an official 5K (or longer) race that doesn’t mean you can do your own! Map out a Trail or route that takes you the distance you want and Take the whole family for a morning walk.
   
3. Trusted Taste Tester – I don’t know about you, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten FULL off of just tasting what I’m cooking. Enlist help – that way you aren’t mindlessly eating hundreds of calories you don’t think of
   
4. Talk – My momma taught me not to eat with my mouth full, so if I’m talking, I’m not eating. This means that by carrying on conversation, I’m giving my brain enough time to tell me when I’m full
   
5. Take your Time – when you eat slowly, you eat less. Chew your food completely and really savor the flavors.
   
6. Think – Think about your food before you eat – Not only how good you imagine it will be, but how you will feel after eating it
   
7. Three – the number of bites you take of something where you actually Taste it. So if you want to have desert, enjoy the first bite, confirm how good it is with the second and savor the third.
   
8. Teeth – as soon as I’m done with dinner, I brush my teeth. This way, I’m less inclined to go for desert.
   

What are your favorite Tips? I’d love to know what your plans are!

Thanksgiving is also about Gratitude.

I’m ever so thankful for the entire Sistahood for your support this campaign. You have truly been instrumental in helping me to change my life for the better. I thank you and my family thanks you!

Thank you to our sponsors Earth Footwear, SUBWAY, EA SPORTS Active, and Chefs Requested. You are part of the REASON I’ve had such success.

Thank you also to Pete Cohen, Cynthia Pasquella, Alysa Bajenaru, RD and Tracey Mallett for sharing your time and expertise!

Growing up, Mary Poppins was one of my favorite movies. Yours too? Great, then we are on the same page! Since we are on the week brought to you by the letter “S”, I was looking for a way to bring a little whimsy to my weekly post.

Why am I such a fan of Mary Poppins? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not because she flew around with the aid of only an umbrella, although that was cool or the fact that she had the wonderful bottomless carpet bag that had anything you could possibly need in it. but who wouldn’t love that?! It’s her wit and wisdom that has stuck with me over the years. Particularly:

Spoonful of Sugar – Now don’t jump the gun – I’m not saying that everything should have SUGAR in it, more importantly; it’s the concept behind those simple words. Do you remember the lyrics to that song? In case you’ve forgotten, it’s as follows:

In ev’ry job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!
The job’s a game

Isn’t the same true about Exercise and Good Nutrition? I mean if I were to tell you to spend an hour out of your day doing either (a) something you love or (b) something you dread, which would you choose? If you hated a particular food and I said that if you eat this every day, you’ll be healthy and lose weight, how long would you stick with it?

What’s my point? Find the FUN! Which leads me to another favorite ‘S’ word or two…

Silly & Sassy – it’s ok to be a little silly when you are getting your sweat on and if your kids are like mine, to get them involved, the sillier the better! For me that means Zumba or Just Dance on the Wii or the family favorite EAS Active More workouts! Who said working out had to be boring?! The boys love when it’s fitness time because we are playing and being silly and a little sassy, but if I told them to go run with me or spend an hour lifting weights in the gym, I might not have my workout motivators companions!

Selfish Shelley – Yes, I said it. I can be selfish and while some might think that’s a bad thing, I don’t. Sometimes we HAVE to be selfish to ensure that we are doing what is best for ourselves because as I learned a few years back, if I am not taking care of ME, then I’m absolutely worthless at taking care of anyone else. That also means I need to SPEAK up when I need help and sometimes that’s harder than trying to do it yourself!

Strength – Obviously with added weights the mamaguns are getting stronger, but I’m talking about a different kind of strength here… The kind of mental Strength that you have to have in order to STICK with it when life gets tough. And there’s no one that can do that for you. Your state of mind is also key here – whether it’s negative self-talk, or external saboteurs it is up to YOU to always look for the Silver Lining. You can choose to dwell on the things that aren’t going right, or you can focus on the positives.

Simple – I can’t remember who said this on twitter the other day, but when I read it, it stuck – The more complicated something is, the harder it is to stick with it long term. So that said, the changes I’m making are changes I wish to carry forward into the New Year and all the years I am blessed with to come. That means I have to find SIMPLE ways to work the fitness and nutrition around an already hectic schedule. So whether it’s making massive amounts of healthy food to pack and freeze or Squeezing in a quick cardio blast first thing in the morning, it has to be Simple for it to Stick.

And speaking of Sticking with it – Don’t stop. And if you do stop, don’t be afraid to START AGAIN! Lean on your Support System because Support = Success.

And don’t forget to SMILE – because at the end of the day, whether you have an in-house dietitian and personal trainer or have just picked up 4 random dvds at Target to make the changes in your life that you want to make, it is YOU doing the work and that gives me something to smile about. And by the way – I think you are supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

And in case you aren’t familiar with this SUPER Fantastic word, According to Allwords.com

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

adjective

1. fantastic, Fantastic, very wonderful

Thank you to our sponsors Earth Footwear, SUBWAY, EA SPORTS Active, and Chefs Requested. You are part of the REASON I’ve had such success.

Thank you also to Pete Cohen, Cynthia Pasquella, and Tracey Mallett for sharing your time and expertise!