Thought for the Day

I tried every diet in the book.  I tried some that weren’t in the book.  I tried eating the book.  It tasted better than most of the diets.  – Dolly Parton

In a recent study, researchers tried to identify predictors of who was likely to gain weight.  The top two reasons were (not surprisingly): 1) people who reported feeling more hungry and 2) people who were less active. 

Now a brand new study just released in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science says that it appears women’s brains generate different activation patterns as part of the hunger mechanism.  More importantly, women’s brains continued to generate that signal even when the women were using a technique called cognitive inhibition to reduce hunger.

Not so far fetched when you consider that women biologically are designed to support and sustain life.  It would make sense that we have an evolutionary mechanism that drives us to eat — even perhaps when we aren’t hungry– because food is available and we have babies to make (and raise).

Today’s Action Challenge:

So what can you do if you are trying to diet and dealing with feelings of hunger?  Here are a few tried and true hunger busters.

• Always eat breakfast.  Studies show that a good breakfast wards off eating too much later and may facilitate weight loss
• Drink enough water.  Try to drink at least one (if possible) two full glasses of water before each meal.  Much of what we feel as hunger is actually thirst.
• Keep “unlimited foods” on hand.  You can have unlimited non-starchy vegetables (carrots, celery, peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, etc) they are very low in calories, high in fiber and packed with nutrition — all upside.  Buy them pre-cut and grab a handful
• Eat smaller combination meals and snacks about every 3 hours.  Be sure to choose close-to-nature foods with healthy carb (whole grains), lean proteins and heart healthy fats (olive and canola oils, nuts, fish oil).  This will keep blood sugar levels stable and prevent feeling excessive hunger which will drive overeating and poor food choices.
• Avoid simple sugars.  Sugary sweets will cause blood sugar to rise and then (once insulin allows sugar into the cells) fall dramatically resulting in energy lows and increased hunger.
• Try to get more sleep.   There is a clear connection between not getting enough sleep, feeling hungry more often — and increased tendency to gain weight (particularly in the midsection). 

  I’m quoted giving estimates of celebrities at play in this week’s US Weekly

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It’s a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women’s life.  Lose weight and look great — 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

Working out and staying in shape isn’t something that you do for other people– its something you do just for you! You have to want it just for yourself, you have to feel you truly deserve it — and you have to feel that you are important enough to make it (and YOU) a priority.

Unfortunately, far too many of us don’t feel like we deserve to look and feel in the best shape possible. We under-exercise and overeat for long periods of time — only becoming concerned with the situation when a wedding, a reunion or bathing suit season looms in the distance. Then suddenly we become concerned about what other people might think about our appearance.

What if we wanted to be in the best shape possible all of the time — just for ourselves — because we felt that we truly deserved to feel good about the bodies we inhabit?

I think some of this is just a function of being female. Most of the women the I know are very giving by nature…to our kids, our partners, our friends, our co-workers, our pets, our community…the list goes on and on. But too many times we put taking care of our health and our bodies at the absolute bottom of the to-do list. I can promise you one thing. If you don’t think that taking care of your own body is a priority — no one else will.

I once heard somewhere that it is a good idea to periodically take stock of how you treat yourself on a day-to-day basis. How do you talk to yourself? How do you treat yourself? What do you do for yourself? Do you do things for yourself on a regular basis, because as the famous L’Oreal ad says “you’re worth it”? Or do you grind yourself into the ground taking care of other folks needs without ever thinking of your own. The fact is, most of us treat virtual strangers with more consideration and respect than we show ourselves.

Today’s Action Challenge:

You are entitled to have some time to yourself (even 20 minutes) each and every day. You can’t keep giving and giving to others without replenishing the proverbial “well”. Just a half an hour a day that you designate to do something for your body will pay you huge dividends in how you look and feel about yourself. It doesn’t have to be a 2 hour marathon workout at the gym 15 minutes away. It could be:

• A brisk walk around the neighborhood
• 15-minutes of the sun salutation
• Stopping by a farmer’s market to get some fabulous organic produce Meditating for 10 minutes
• A bubble bath
• Taking advantage of an empty house — to dance around like a lunatic for bit (not that I would know anything about this personally, mind you

The point is to designate some time that is yours alone (ideally, each and every day) to show appreciation for your body. Regardless of your time constraints, resolve to do one small gesture…something kind to your body perhaps something that only you know about. And do it — just for yourself.

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It’s a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women’s life.  Lose weight and look great — 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!