Dieting Just Doesn't Work

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD OCTOBER 2010 Chew Your Rope Eat Well, Lose Weight, Be Healthy

DIETING JUST DOESN'T WORK!      Much of the medical community, involved in the field of nutrition, believes that the majority of health issues we face today can be prevented by eating the right foods and living a healthy lifestyle.    Over 66% of the U.S. population is overweight or obese.  Two out of three people reading this newsletter are overweight. We all want to be healthy don’t we? I think so. I have never met anyone that tells me they enjoy being overweight or just love taking medication, getting blood tests and seeing doctors.  So why are we getting heavier and sicker every year? Are we just unlucky or do we just not care?  I hear it all the time when I am out there talking to people about food and good health.  People say it is just too difficult to figure out what they should be eating and how we need to take care of our bodies. The information we are fed everyday is conflicting and changes constantly.  If you don’t have 10 hours a day to read the latest study, how can you keep up?  It is easier just to ignore your weight and your declining health and hope for the best.  Well, I have to tell you, it is not all that complicated.  You can be healthy, look great, enjoy your life and not feel deprived just by making simple, logical decisions about what you eat and how you live. Diets don’t work. Ignoring the problem doesn’t work. You need to care about your health enough to take action. Your life will never be the same.    Diets are the product of the publishing industry trying to sell books. It’s worked - there are hundreds of diets books out there.  We see the good-looking celebrity on television talking about how they lost the weight and we hope that this time it will work for us.  We are encouraged to buy the book and follow the diet.  What keeps this diet book market so alive is that every diet will work for some of the people, some of the time.  We want so badly to be healthy and lose weight but are repeatedly disappointed by the results we get following these ridiculous plans. When you decide to go on a diet it is because you recognize that you have self-destructive eating habits and want to change what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat it.  Most people will lose weight on any given diet for a period of time, and then they revert back to their old way of eating.  They have good intentions but the cravings and deprivation becomes too much. Cheating a little here and a little there becomes, “what the heck” and a full fledge slide begins.  If you are over the age of fifteen you know what I mean.  I have tried: The GM Diet, Atkins Diet, Suzanne Somers Diet, and The Fat Flush Plan.  All of these diets worked when I combined my strong will-power and willingness to consume some strange stuff at weird times. I lost some weight but I could never eat like that forever.  Realistically how could I ever expect to reach my goal and stay there? What was I thinking?   I wasn’t looking to weigh 125 for a day.  I became tired and bored. I was seeking variety.  Taste matters and so does feeling satisfied at the end of a meal. I was starving.  I have a huge appetite and counting pea pods, ounces of boiled chicken or making sure I eat multiple heads of cabbage a day wasn’t cutting it for me.  I wanted to be healthy and eat food that tasted good.      Yeah I know, all this sound really logical and you may have even heard it before.  What choices do you have?  I recommend a health coach. Of course I do!  I am not going to say that you can’t do this by yourself because you can!  You just need the knowledge to make smart food decisions and someone that can support your efforts to be healthy.    Any good plan starts with assessing where you are at this moment.  All my clients keep a food journal.  They track what they eat for two weeks before we even get started.   We examine their goals and determine how the food they are eating supports or defeats that goal.  We slowly crowd out the food that is making them sick with healthy, tasty alternatives. The object here is not to starve you to death but to fill your hunger with food that gives you more life.  Dr Mark Hyman claims that his clients see a marked improvement in their health within 3 days of eating the correct foods that bring their body back in balance.  My clients use really simple concepts like: drink more water, practice cooking, increase leafy greens and develop easy and natural ways to nurture your body.  These actions can really change your life.  From lower cholesterol and blood pressure, reduce your risk of Type II Diabetes, increase your energy, sleep better, eliminate brain fog, and control IBS, chronic constipation or any other digestive disorder.  What you eat really makes a huge difference and you will realize this when your health is transformed by eating and living in a simple way.   Achieving a healthy weight is always the starting point for any health issue.   I have seen many health conditions disappear when a client’s weight falls into the healthy range.  I don’t know about you but I do not want suffer a heart attack; develop Type II Diabetes or have cancer.  I do not eat boring tasteless food, I am rarely hungry after a meal and I am far from perfect.      The other important thing I do as a coach, that really has shown to have an incredible affect on achieving better health is taking a look at the “primary food” of your life. Primary Foods are all those other things that really determine our happiness: relationships, career, physical activity and spirituality.   While doing a healthy food demo at Mrs. Green’s Natural Food Market in Fairfield CT last week, a patron shared a great quote with a group of women that were standing around talking about how food affects their lives.  The quote goes something like this “The mind sets the table for the feast of our lives.” We can never hope to achieve good health or happiness without looking at our life with a holistic eye.  What we eat is important but it is just one piece of the puzzle.   I encourage you to start today to make the changes that will bring you good health and happiness.  You deserve it!

Chicken Stir-Fry with Cauliflower and Kale *3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Cut into 3/4-Inch Cubes. *1 Tbs Tamari *1 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar *1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil *3 tsp of Olive Oil *3 Quarter-Size Slices of Fresh Ginger *2 Cloves Garlic, Peeled and Cut Into Very Thin Sliced *1 Celery Stalk, thinly Sliced On the Diagonal *1 Medium Carrot, Peeled and Sliced on the Diagonal *21/2  to 3 Cups Cauliflower Florets *Small Head of Kale - Thinly Sliced *1 Small Red Pepper, halved and Thinly Sliced *Salt To Taste Sauce: *3/4 Cup Water *2 Tbs Tamari *1 Tbs Arrowroot or Cornstarch *1/2 tsp of Dark Sesame Oil Place chicken cubes in a bowl and cover with tamari, balsamic, and 1 tsp  toasted sesame oil.  Marinate while you continue with the recipe. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a wok or a fry pan.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add celery and carrot and toss to coat with oil.  Cover and cook for 1 minute. Add cauliflower and kale and toss to combine.  Cover and cook for 2 minutes, adding 1 to 2 Tbs water to help create steam.  Remove cover to stir vegetables and to make sure they are not burning. Add the red pepper and a pinch of salt.  Cover and cook 1 minute more.  Remove vegetables to a plate and keep warm. In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 tsp olive oil.  With a slotted spoon, remove half the chicken from the marinade and stir fry over high heat for 4 or 5 minutes, or until meat is cooked.  Check center of a cube to make sure the chicken is cooked.  Remove to plate with the vegetables.  Repeat with the remaining  chicken.  You need not add any extra oil because the oil in the remaining marinade will be sufficient to lubricate the pan. In a small bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients.  Add to the pan and cook until clear and thickened.  Return the vegetables and cooked chicken to the pan and heat through.  serve immediately with more tamari, if desired. The First, Not So Healthy, Diet! It is said that in the year 1087, William the Conqueror (who became King of England after his success at the Battle of Hastings) found he could no longer ride his horse because he was too fat. He reportedly refused to get out of bed, and began drinking alcohol instead of eating food in an attempt to lose weight. If this story is true, it may be the first recorded instance of someone changing food intake in order to reduce their bulk. Although it is apparently true that he had grown quite fat by the end of his life, we have no record of what success King William's alcoholic 'liquid diet' might have had. King William died that same year, but since he died from injuries he suffered when his horse fell, we may assume his regime was at least partially successful, because he was on his horse once again. By Dr. Beth Gruber Chew Your Rope Change Your Life! Sign up today for your FREE Health History Consultation. Learn more about my 6 month program.  I would love to support you with improving your health. Learn how to reduce your weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes risk and increase your energy. Flexible appointments are available. Contact me at: Mindy@ChewYour Rope.com or 203-210-7462. I look forward to hearing from you Take Me To ChewYourRope.com Food Factoids: To reduce your weight by one pound of fat a week, eat 500 fewer calories each day. Carbs and protein contain about 4 calories per gram.  Fats contain more than double that at 9 calories a gram.  One teaspoon holds about 5 grams. Alcohol is metabolized in a way that promotes the accumulation of fat in the liver, leading to the proverbial beer belly. An adult expends about 100 calories for every mile walked.  It takes about three miles to burn off the calories in a 20 oz. soft drink. A substantial rise in the U.S obesity rate during the past few decades was paralleled by increases in the availability of larger portion sizes, total calories caloric sweeteners and sugary soft drinks in the food supply. Some obese children consume 1,000 calories a day (equal to 59 sugar cubes) in sweetened beverages alone.  That is more than 3 - 20 oz. bottles of soft drinks. Marion Nestle – Professor at New York University 'Hawk Festival & Green Bazaar' at Audubon Greenwich October 9 & 10, 2010